Chimes In the Dark

by Faindragon

Chapter 5: The Orb - Part 1

Chimes In the Dark - Chapter 5: The Orb - Part 1

NOTE: Grammar not corrected

The chime echoed through the church, finding its ways through hallways and rooms. But something was different; this time did the chime follow another sound, the sound of screaming. The sounds entered a room, the throne room of this place, found its way to the pitch black mare sitting on the throne. She couldn’t help but laugh at the sound of the screaming, it was so filled of… horror. What delight she found in that sound, the sound of somepony in horror. She didn’t like this, it had been too easy this far. The sound of the chime followed the scream. She laughed again, barely managing to lift the quill with her magic. The quill made the third line on the paper. Three chimes had passed, this would be a fun night.

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-

Notharam could feel his essence being, ripped apart of the statues deep red eyes. He realizes that the scream that filled the library was his own, a scream that slowly thorn his throat apart. His eyesight narrowed, narrowed so that the only thing he could see was those deep red eyes, staring into his soul, ripping his essence apart.

Slowly did the light return, replacing the darkness and the red eyes within it. He was shaken by hooves, his name called over and over.
"Notharam, wake up! Notharam, I won't let you die here!"
Mistrunner half screamed, half cried, with a voice full of panic and horror.

His throat felt like fire was going through it, like if it was burning from the inside. He must have damaged it with the screaming. He tried to talk, forced the words out, ignoring the pain it caused him.
"I... I'm here Mis... Mistrunner. "

His eye vision returned to normal, and he saw Mistrunner and Emerald standing over him. Zinky was hiding behind Mistrunner, tear streaming out from her eyes. He lifted his head, looking around before he focused his eyes on the others.
"How long where I gone?" He asked, and directly wishing he hadn't. He hadn't more than whispered, and still did it feel like if he had thorn of flesh from the neck with his own hooves.

"Not for more than a minute or two. You started to scream when you saw the statue, and wouldn't answer when I asked what it was about. You really scared Zinky and me, I thought I would lose you."

Notharam looked around, finding himself at the statue of Celestia.
"How did I get here, what happened? The light disappeared!"

"I don't know what happened, Notharam. But the light didn't disappear. I had just finished the translation when I heard your screaming, that wasn't even three minutes ago. Then Mistrunner appeared, like if she came out of a mist, with you and Zinky on her back." Emerald said, he sounded worried.

Notharam looked at Mistrunner, for the first time seeing how tired she really had to be. Her flanks heaved as she breathed, short and violent breaths. She had tears in her eyes, tears that made her eyes reflected the weak light from the sun statue,reflected them in more colors than he thought was possible.

"I thank you, Mistrunner. Without you would I probably not be alive at this moment." he had to thank her, even if the pain that rippled inside of him threatened to make him lose his consciousness again.

“Take it easy Notharam, we don’t want you to hurt your throat more than you already have. Let it rest for a bit.” Mistrunner said, her breathing had nearly returned to normal but concern still filled her eyes and voice.

Notharam relaxed, putting his head down against the chilled stone floor. He found himself looking up at the sun statue; the warm light erupted from it illuminating his body. His throat slowly returned to normal, as if the sun itself had healed it. Emerald had gone back to the parchment, writing on it at the same time as he checked the book. Mistrunner and Zinky talked softly, too low for him to hear, Mistrunner looked his way more than once with her eyes full of worry.

It was then he noticed it. The sun was slowly transforming, getting darker. The yellow slowly turned black, but the light was still illuminating from it. Abruptly something could be seen in the dark sun, something blue. It was those eyes again, staring at him, staring into his soul.

He wanted to scream, his lung was filled with the air needed, but he didn’t. Something stopped him. Did they others see the eyes as well? Was it only his imagination this time as well? And why couldn’t he see anything else than the eyes, where was the coat on the other horse? The mane? He wanted to see anything at all, other than those ice-cold eyes.

“You are really cute when you can’t do a thing, you know that don’t you?” The ice-cold voice called out from around him, mocking him.

He opened his mouth, trying to scream, only to be stopped by a cold hoof against his lips.

The owner of the ice-cold voice laughed softly. “I wouldn’t scream if I were you, my dear Notharam. You are the only one that can see me, the others cannot. I don’t think you have seen the looks they have given each other behind your back; don’t push their view of your sanity. Instead, listen to what I have to say Notharam, it might help you survive through this night.”

She chuckled once more; Notharam felt it as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been emptied over him.
“You know too well that I’m planning on killing you and the others, but did you know that the others all have something that ties them together?” The ice-cold voice said, followed by a soft chuckle. “What ties them together, the reason they all are here, is you Notharam.”

Notharam flinched, feeling a cold hoof touching his cheek. He couldn’t see the hoof, only feel it. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the cold hand. He couldn’t ignore it, and the worst thing was the ice-cold voice whispering to him, it was as if the owner of the voice stood next to him. But he knew that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t feel the breath of the other pony, the only thing he could feel was the cold hoof on his cheek and the whispering into his ear.

“You Notharam, and you alone, are the reasons why they are all here. You are the reason why they will die, why their lives will be ended in this temple tonight. It is because of you that they will be sacrificed for the greater good. The harmony of the goddesses must be contained.”

“Why? What have we ever done to you?” Notharam whispered, hoping that the others wouldn’t hear him.
“I never said that they had done anything to me. The only pony in here that have ever done anything towards me is you, Notharam. YOU are the reason that anypony is here at all. You are the one that is to blame for this.” The cold hoof moved, followed his muzzle to its tip. It pushed against his muzzle tip, pressing his head back.
“YOU ARE TO BLAME FOR THIS, NOTHARAM.”
The cold voice was heated with anger, anger that was gone in an instant. “You don’t recognize the others? I’m not surprised, you were never bright with the details, only the straight rush before a fight, it was the only thing there was for you.” The chuckle was heard once more. “Let me brighten your memory, Notharam.”

The sun statue slowly changed, the blue eyes disappeared and were replaced with something else, a picture. As if the orb had transformed into a window could he see something, a beautiful view over a small town. He could recognize the town, it was Ponyville, a town he had only have the joy of visiting a few times in his life.

The leaves had started to change color, he understood that this was something that had happened, and not something that happened now. He could see himself down there, it had to be two years ago, that was the last time he had been in Ponyville and it had been in the autumn, only days after he had been taken out to join the army. No sound emerged from the statue, even though he remembered that the birds had sung in the wind this beautiful autumn day. This was a time when he had to make the toughest decision in his life. He knew all too well what would be seen, and he feared it.

He saw himself going up to a big building, with a small filly in one of his saddle bags. The filly didn’t look more than a week at the most, he knew that the mother had died in the birth bed. He hadn’t been able to take responsibility for the little filly. He hadn’t had the bits, he hadn’t had any home for it. He had been the only one who had been willing to take care of the filly.
The mothers’ family, Silverstar’s family, believed that the filly was the reason that Silverstar had died. But to take care of the filly he needed bits, so he had signed up for the army again. He had been accepted, and had taken the filly to the only place that had been able to take care of her while he was away. Ponyvilles home for homeless fillies and colts.

As the past him enter the building did the view changed. Now he saw the inside of the house. The house had once been a beautiful house, but had seen better days. He had lifted the filly, tears streaming from his eyes, and given it to the ‘child keeper’, a fat mare with grey coat and a hideous pink mane. The filly had looked upon him with her big, sad jade eyes, and Notharam could feel how he started to cry when he looked at the scene.
“Take it away, please take it away. I understand where you want to go with this. I can’t handle it.” He begged with a whisper, hoping that the view would disappear, that the statue would change. It did.

He could see himself, standing outside the same building once more. This time it was spring, the snow had just melted away. He had returned to Ponyville after his three years in the army. He knew too well this scene, it had etch itself to his mind. The ‘child keeper’ had invited him into the office, where she had explained that a mistake had been made. The little filly, his filly, had been given a new home. He had started to cry, nothing had been able to stop it. He had ignored the papers, papers that he now saw from the view of the statue. It was the adoptions papers, a name had been filled in under ‘Name of the filly being adopted’: Zinky.

Notharam could feel tears streaming down his muzzle, Zinky was his daughter? But, how could it be? He had looked for the ponies that had adopted his daughter for a long time, without any luck. It was as if the ones that had adopted her had fled Equestria, nopony he talked with had recognized the name of the colt and mare that had adopted his little filly. And now he had found her, in a place like this, with a maniac that wanted to see them all killed, or sacrificed as she said it.
“How can you do this to me? Who are you?” He whispered out, his heart aching.

The ice-cold hoof was back, gently whipping the tears away, the voice softly whispering into his ear.
“You should know who I am. After all, you are the one who abandoned me; you are the one who betrayed me. Let us say this is my revenge, even if it serves a greater purpose as well.”

Notharam was taken aback. He would never have betrayed anypony, nor abandon. He tried not to think about his filly, Zinky as he corrected himself, who he had left in the homeless home. He would have returned to take her back, but things had turned out different.

“I have never betrayed anypony, nor abandon them. What are you talking about?” he whispered to the thin air around him.

The owner of the voice laughed again.
“You have betrayed more than one pony in your life. You betrayed Zinky first, then me. But now you will pay for it. Let us see what it is that ties the next pony with you, shall we?”

Notharam opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced by a hoof over his lips.
“Sssh, look and enjoy the show, Notharam. It’s the least you can do for the ponies you have doomed.”

Notharam could only watch in horror as the statue slowly changed again.

And the clock chimed.