Heartbeat

by Vietmane Veteran

Chaptre One

She was so many places, so many. She was scattered so far, in so many things in the ground. She was so very cozy as she slept.

She remembered so much as she slept in her eternal beds, wherever any of her was. Her parts were found by her new Father. A kind Father. Like all her Fathers, he lovingly caressed her as he carried her out of bed, each and every one of her.
Eventually, he started to take parts of her, piecing them together for the best version of her. She was a donor. Well, most of her was donated while those parts of her had blood flowing. She had fallen deadly ill, and so most of her had volunteered to help somepony else get better.

But now, she was still; the blood flowed no more. She breathed no more. But her new Father was going to change that. She heard from so many sets of ears that she was going to be made into life. A new life from old bodies. She was so happy, all her thoughts blurring together. Once again, they would feel the embrace of Father!

Father was so happy, so happy, to beat Celestia at her own game! But what did Celestia play?

Oh, so much of her was lost in the process. So many times, she thought she was ready, her new body full of spells, all the rest of her watching, listening, waiting to see their new body move! But the spells always failed, lost their spark, or BURNED her body!

It always hurt so much! To feel life pumping through, to enter with such pain, only to feel an ever greater pain! Burning, frying, dying so painfully! She tried to hold on, but it only extended the pain.

Oh, woe was her father, for he wept much after each failure. And so much of herself faded, as the pieces became cinders, or the spells preserving them wore off and they decayed, or they were stolen and torn by wild things. And as those pieces left, so did much of herself. She became scared. She was able to grasp some of those fading memories and meld them together, preserving some thoughts of the remaining.

She had an grand idea! She would help Father! As he made bodies, she would too! When he finished with one, she could use the pieces not yet used. A part here, a piece there. But her work was so slow, and Father was so much faster! And his skill greatly exceeded hers! When she was piecing bone with bone with the passing hours, he made a skeleton come together at his will. While she struggled and failed to create a thin head of hair, he made such pretty manes and tails. She lacked so much knowledge, but he was able to make a heart beat without the body.

She loved her Father so much, and just wanted him to be happy! So, she copied what he did. She could not activate the spells like he could, but she could piece together her body the way he did. She watched, and pieced so slowly. She didn't know why the parts went where they did, but she put them just like Father did. She added some things. A horn, just like her father. And two feather things. Like pony wings, but larger.

She tried to make sure they stayed together, all for Father, but it was getting harder. There was less of her around now, just bits and pieces, snippets of thoughts. And now she was nearing just one voice, for the few that remained grouped together in a desperate attempt of self-preservation.

All for Father. She just wanted to hug him, comfort him, let him know that she was nearby and that she LOVED him.

One day, she observed that he had ran out of other parts, and he was prepared to go the way of the REAPER. The REAPER, who had WATCHED her for so long, who stayed back because she BEGGED the REAPER! And now Father wanted to go in her place!

She cried, and her body shook from her grief. Her Father looked up. His complexion changed in a moment, the REAPER forgotten by him. He leapt forward in joy. He grabbed the body and thrust it into his work place. He started the spells once more. His magic flowed through her body like so many times before. She moved into the body, flowing to everything. Oh, how she loved Father and all he did for her! And now, she could give back! Entering the body always hurt so much, but it would be worth Father's happy face!

Her body shook with pain as the spells flowed through. But these were the last parts; this just had to work! She hurt, oh, how everything hurt! But she braced through, she had to, she had to, she had to! Her body shook more than ever! Then, it laid still. Everything was focused into one form. Her eyes couldn't see the image, for she was used to seeing everything at once. Her ears, one on either side of her head, could only catch so much sound. So, she laid there. Father came near, his hoof steps slow. She yearned to turn to him, but she could only hear. She could not feel, she could not taste the air, she could not see. So, she waited.

Father came near, walked around her. He spoke, but she knew not what he said. She waited, waited so long. She waited and waited and waited! She could not stand it any longer! These were the last parts, Father must be made happy! She focused, she felt through her interior, she concentrated on her body. She breathed! A deep, long breath as her lungs filled with air! She rolled towards the sound of movement.

Father! She opened her eyes to see him. Oh, the joy on Father's face! Bu- but wha- what's that look? He looked scared! She raised a hoof towards Father, wanting to comfort him. He lept up and galloped for the window of the shed. Wa- wait! Why did he jump through? Where was he going? What about her? Was he leaving her?

No, that could not be! She tumbled off the wooden table and onto the dirt floor. She raced for the window, stumbling as she moved. She raised her front to the window sill. He was leaving her! "Father!" she tried to call, but out came a scream of pain! Father galloped faster, leaving her behind in the shed. No, leaving for something. To get something?

She would just wait for his return. She turned her head away from the sill and fell over as she lost her balance. Her head hit the ground with soft sound. Was her head soft? She got up and stumbled more. She forgot how to use a body. She searched for food as she stumbled, but there was nothing. Nothing but her that was edible, but she wasn't going to eat herself. But that wooden wolf might.

She slowly looked back to the window. Yes, that was a wooden wolf. That's called a Timber Wolf. AND IT'S GETTING FURTHER IN.

She had to get to the door. She slowly shuffled to the door as the wood wolf tried to force its way through a window that was narrower than it. She was almost to the door when it succeeded. She screamed, throwing open the door and hurting her arms in the process! She ran, oh, she ran! RUN RUN RUN, OR THE WOLF WILL GET YOU! RUN RUN RUN, THAT'S WHAT YOU HAFTA DO! She kept that silly rhyme in her head as she ran, ran this way and that, under roots and over stumps. She ran even when she didn't hear the growls anymore. She ran past the scary hut with the black and white pony by a pot. The pony was safe in that hut, she didn't want to bring danger to them, so she ran past. She ran until she realized she wasn't in the forest anymore.

She stopped, surprised by what she saw. She took slow steps as she traveled onwards. There were so many animals! All sleeping so soundly. She wanted to pet them, but with the amount of control she had on her limbs, she would probably smack them instead. She stumbled through, step after step.

She liked the one in the tree, with its red tail and brown body. So fascinating, the way his body had so many pieces that were not normally found together. Maybe he was a brother for her. She'd come back when it was day. But they were a long path that she wanted to follow first.

She followed the path into a town. Everything looked so nice, so peaceful. Such a pretty shade of yellow coated the walls of the buildings. She stumbled her way through the streets, observing this night-time town. ... It was very quiet. She always imagined that there would be more activity at night in towns. Oh, well.

Ooh, such a pretty building! The way it was built reminded her of a carousal. There was a light in one of the ground windows. Perhaps she could stay here tonight, and to the animal place later. She knocked on the door. Hoof steps came near. The sound of magic, and the door opened, spilling light upon her face.

"Hello, latecomer, and welcome to- *Shriek!*" The white Unicorn fell back and crawled backwards in terror. She stepped in, fearing what was behind her that made the pony scream in such a way. But she found herself being lifted in a grip of magic, and forcefully flung out of the building. She hit the ground and the door slammed, the sounds of things being moved reaching her ears. She glanced all around but saw only herself. But that would mean that she was why the Unicorn screamed.

She stumbled to the window, trying to peer in. But things had been put in front of them as well, creating a wooden-backed mirror of sorts. And what she saw made her understand why the Unicorn scream. She understood why Father left her. She was such a pale, pale color. Her eyes were glazed over, but they were also bloodshot. Some blood leaked from her ears. And her feathery things just lay limply down, dragging the ground. And her horn's rings had tints of red, blood. A sign of just how shoddy her work was. Which meant she was shoddy. A shoddy freaking freak.

She stumbled off. She still couldn’t feel anything. Maybe she never would feel. She wouldn't even know if she was starving to death. Or if she swam, if she had been below the water for too long. Or if it was cold enough to freeze to death!

She roughly shook her head to clear her mind of her past deaths. That brought individual memories, and they needed to stay as one being, or they may not be able to control this form.

She stumbled until she found the dirt road. Maybe the animals could let her stay with them. If not, she would be condemned to stay in the forest.

Why was it taking so much longer to reach the animal place from town than the other way around? And why were the trees different? And what was that building up ahead? Oh. Oh, dear. She took the wrong road. Maybe she could sleep in that barn up ahead.

She increased her pace, tripping once or twice. Oh, there were some swine and sheep on the farm! Where was the shepherd? Probably watching from the distance with a slingshot ready. Well, maybe he might mistake her for a normal pony seeking shelter. Or not see her at all. That would be best.

She reached the barn. With some difficulty, she opened the door. Inside, there weren’t any animals like she thought there would be. Weird. Were they sleeping elsewhere? She went behind some bales of hay. She laid down and pulled some loose hay over herself.

This would do. She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep, letting her thoughts settle for the night.

Author's Note:

Frankenstein is a beautiful creature.