17 - Light in the Dark
Light didn't know exactly how long it had been since she and the others found Twi's corpse. Maybe it was just a few days, maybe it was a week or more. Time was hard enough to tell within the pocket dimension already, but the recent disruption to their sleep schedules made it darn near impossible to keep track of.
Rarity was always on watch for Fluttershy whenever she was awake, and when she wasn't, Light or Sweetie Belle temporarily took up those duties. Each of them only slept for a few hours at a time, partly from stress and fear induced insomnia, and partly out of necessity. Rarity needed to be on watch as often as possible. That way, Light was free to work on her dart throws and could spend all her time preparing for the perfect shot on whoever teleported in next. And on that note, she too needed to be awake as much as possible to minimize the risk of the next teleportation occurring while she slept.
It was a plan they'd put in place the moment they went through Twi's papers and found no evidence of anypony having tried such a thing before—though, of course, that didn't mean nopony had tried it, just that nopony had neatly recorded such an attempt within Twilight Sparkle's pocket dimension. Light just hoped the target was, in fact, a who and not another bag of half-empty marshmallows, because those would be much harder to hit. Though it would be nice to have a target that wouldn't scream in pain.
For her part, Sweetie Belle either helped with the watch or fashioned new darts for Light whenever she accidently broke one while training. After all, Light preferred to have a few on hoof at any given time—each with a message already attached—just in case the next teleportation happened while she was training. Occasionally, Sweetie would even throw a hunk of meat into the air so that Light could practice hitting an aerial target.
Light had tried teaching the other two to throw the darts as well, just in case the inevitable teleportation happened during her few hours of sleep, but they'd had no luck there. Sweetie Belle just didn't have the size or strength to get a dart large enough to hold a message up to the required height, and Rarity couldn't hit the broad side of a barn—from the inside, mind you—with the aim she had. That pony was probably the best dart player in Ponyville, but while her telekinetic throws could triple twenty her way to victory against Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie alike, it seemed that skill did not translate into dental dexterity. This sudden lack of an old skill frustrated Rarity to no end, but Light assured her she could make the shot on her own.
Preparing to test out Light's new escape idea and watching for any sign of Fluttershy were not their only preoccupations, of course. That first day after Twi's death, Sweetie Belle had come up with the wonderful idea of holding a small ceremony for Twi. Light was surprised that Sweetie wanted to honor the same pony who had touted the idea of assisted suicides for little fillies, but both she and Rarity had agreed with the idea.
In the face of all the help Twi had provided them, and in recognition of who she once was, they chose to treat her passing like they would the loss of a most cherished friend, regardless of the mistakes she'd made along the way. For Rarity, who actually was Twilight's close friend, that statement wasn't even an exaggeration. Maybe that was why she was the only one to cry during the brief eulogy Light offered, even if said eulogy was clumsily worded on account of the awkwardness inherent in eulogizing oneself.
In the time since that ceremony, Light had begun experiencing biological problems of increasing severity. Stomach aches, constipation, decreased energy, and a weakening of the limbs were all symptoms of malnutrition and being forced onto an entirely meat-based diet, and it seemed these things were finally beginning to catch up to her in force. She didn't tell Rarity or Sweetie Belle, of course, as that would only worry them and give them anxiety over the same problems afflicting them in the near future. Besides, it wasn't as if there was anything they could do to help her. Though it did make her wonder if Twi had been experiencing the same things and similarly not telling anypony.
With a yawn, Light felt her eyes growing heavy and head fogging up. She’d slept recently, but with how little she'd received, her body was already begging for a return to dreamland—or nightmareville, as had been the case every night since Twi's death. It didn't help that Sweetie Belle had dozed off while cuddled up to her side, and was easily as soft as any of the best pillows she'd owned.
Light glanced to Rarity, finding her just as alert as ever, and instantly felt much better about her own drowsiness. Perhaps she could stand to get a little more sleep, and with Rarity on watch, it wasn't as if anything bad could happen. Yes, that was exactly what she would—
SNAP!
Adrenaline spiked, eyes shot open, and in an instant, Light flicked a dart from the floor to her mouth with a wing, whipped her head back, and threw. She barely even took time to aim, unwilling to waste even another millisecond when the time restrictions were so severe—far more severe, even, than her previous attempt with throwing a dart at the clone rather than at the original.
A scream from the familiar lavender alicorn floating in the air signaled a direct hit, though Light couldn't see well enough from a distance to identify where she'd hit or if the message had been copied over to the clone as they'd planned. She just hoped it was a wing, the last thing to be copied over to the clone and thus the only part that might remain uncopied or only partially copied long enough for the dart to land home.
Did the wings only form last because she was originally a unicorn and thus gained her wings later in life? Maybe they'd form at the same time as everything else in a pegasus. Would it be possible to test...?
The clone vanished and Twilight Sparkle fell to the ground, still screaming. Light's brief and inappropriately timed fantasy of a new experiment was immediately forgotten in favor of rushing to the injured alicorn. Rarity and a now wide awake Sweetie Belle came right after, the former remaining cognizant enough to simultaneously keep an eye out for Fluttershy.
Upon reaching her other self, Light was flooded with an unorthodox mixture of guilt and relief to see her dart had pierced straight through the wing. Did that mean the message would be copied and sent off with the clone, or had she been wrong? Maybe it wouldn't be copied at all. She suspected she would soon find out.
For now though, all thought had to go to the wounded pony before her. She caused that pain, and she needed to do everything she could to soothe it.
"Twilight, can you hear me? I know it's a shock, but you need to listen. Rarity, do you think you can help with her wound? Sweetie Belle, I want you on watch while she does that."
"Wh— what's going on? Did somepony attack me? Who are you? Why are you covered in blood!" The new Twilight tried to scramble away as Rarity got close to inspect the wound, instead screeching and falling into a heap when the rapid movement caused the dart still impaling her wing to shift, worsening the injury.
Rarity responded by making soft cooing noises, moving forward one slow step at a time as she tried to calm the hyperventilating Twilight. "Shh. It's going to be okay, dear. I know this must be terribly disorienting for you, but I need you to listen closely. We are your friends. We wish no harm upon you aside from that which you have already received—a necessary action on our part, I assure you."
"But you— This place— I—" Twilight's eyes went back and forth between them as she struggled to finish a thought, before finally settling her gaze on Light and shouted, "Changelings!"
Light groaned. "This again? Seriously!?"
"Now, Light," Rarity gave a look reminiscent of the ones her mother, Twilight Velvet, would give her when correcting her behavior as a filly, "situations like this require the delicate touch of a lady. Why don't you take a step back, give her some space? I can take care of this."
"A lady? I'm literally a princess!"
"Yes," Rarity raised an eyebrow, amused, "which is why you felt the need to scream that in my ear. A paragon of social etiquette you are. Truly."
Light's jaw dropped, flabbergasted by the unexpected burn.
Of course, this meant that she did nothing when Rarity used that opportunity to take control of the situation and explain everything to the new Twilight herself, all while gently removing the dart from her wing and bandaging it with a bit of stray cloth taken from the saddlebags of a nearby corpse.
When the new Twilight finally calmed down and the explanations were complete, Rarity gave a satisfied smirk, as if she had explained everything so much better than Light herself could have.
Though that only lasted until Twilight nervously asked, "So... are you the reformed kind of changelings or the 'rah, I'm going to eat your love' kind?"
Light couldn't help herself, she burst into a fit of laughter. A fit that only grew wilder when she took note of the indignant fury that Rarity probably thought she was hiding so well. Even Twilight had a somewhat amused, and far too innocent, look on her face. She must have been spending an awful lot of time with Rainbow Dash to pull a stunt like that.
A sharp pop sounded out from almost directly above, followed shortly after by a small slip of paper drifting down toward them.
Light snatched it out of the air just as Rarity was reaching for it, greedily unfolding it and consuming its contents.
It turned out, consuming its contents didn't take long. Very little was written there, made out ineloquently and with a shaky script that would have put Derpy's scrawl to shame. The stress, shock, and fear of the writer practically oozed onto the page, and yet, it was probably the single most beautiful thing Light had ever had the pleasure of reading. More perfect than any poem, any textbook, any dissertation, the single line written on that piece of paper was what none of those could ever be: salvation.
Light looked down, read it one more time, then passed it off to Rarity. Already, the words were permanently engraved into her mind.
Sit tight. We're coming.
~SG & TS
And then, before another word could be said, a veritable hoard of good food and precious supplies began pouring in.
Fluttershy watched from distant shadows as supplies were teleported in, as the others made cries of jubilation and loudly pronounced that soon, they would be saved. And privately, internally, she made similar cries.
It was over! The horror would finally come to a close and she would be back home, surrounded by friends once again. Oh, she already knew exactly what she would do. She would speak with every pony in ponyville, share her excitement at being alive with each and every one of them, and then she would go to Sugarcube Corner and share a nice meal with all of her best friends. After that, she would return to her cottage, say hello to all of her animal friends, and have a nice, relaxing night of sleep within her own bed, where she was safe, and warm, and knew nothing exciting would ever happen. Though, perhaps a good cleaning would be in order first. She didn't want to track blood and gore all over Ponyville.
Suddenly, all sense of elation died. Wait a minute. There would already be another Fluttershy in Ponyville, wouldn't there? That pony would be the one sleeping in her cozy little bed, and that pony would be far more welcome in Ponyville than the killer she herself had become. And what of the Elements of Harmony? They surely couldn't share the Element of Kindness, could they? That would probably go to the other Fluttershy as well.
Worse was the thought that, once they got out, the others would tell their friends back in Ponyville what she had done. They would all turn against her, call her murderer, and soon, Fluttershy would find herself outnumbered not just three or four to one as it was in the pocket dimension, but a hundred times that. What would they do to her? Imprison her? Banish her? Imprison her in the place they banished her to? Maybe they'd just get it over with quickly and execute her.
She had to come up with a plan. Some kind of plan. Oh, it was all over! Over!
"Why do you fret, my little pony? Are you afraid?"
Fluttershy froze. That voice behind her... Another hallucination? It was different, not the same voice as before. This one was mature, motherly, with a sense of wisdom and age behind it. She was certain she'd never heard it before, yet it sounded eerily familiar nonetheless.
She wanted to turn her head and look, to see what this new vision might possibly look like, but something kept her from it. She was afraid to turn, terrified even. Who was this new mare?
"Do not fear, but listen closely," the voice whispered in her ear. "The ponies of Equestria will do terrible things to you if they learn what you did here. You must prevent that."
"B—but... how?" Fluttershy whimpered.
"No witnesses, little Fluttershy. That is how."
"You don't mean—"
"Yes. You can tell whatever story you want to your rescuers, if you are the only one left to tell it. Perhaps you even come out of this a hero. And I can help. I can give you the strength to do it."
Fluttershy gulped, terrified to defy her mind's newest demon, but finding it necessary nonetheless. "But what about Sweetie Belle? She's just a filly."
"Twi was right about one thing, you know," the voice began, a hint of malice slinking its way into her tone. "Sometimes, a quick but merciful end is for the best. Remember, nopony can remain if you want to live. You want to live, don't you?"
Something deep inside Fluttershy screamed, and fought, and yelled out the words, "No! Absolutely not! Nothing is worth all of this, not even my life!" And yet, that part of her was too small and far too weak, and so she didn't say those things. Instead, all she could do was nod. And in that instant, she felt herself growing stronger.
"I understand."
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OH GOD OH NO
Oh crud
Oh fuck!
This could end very well or very badly, if they manage to kill Flutters or at least immobilize her it may end well, but on the other hoof a part of me deduces that Flutters will kill them all, then she will be rescued and she will tell them that they all died in an accident, or they killed each other, or their bodies could not bear the meat or they went crazy, then they name her a hero (again) in some celebration and she ends up looking at nothing smiling maniacally like Norman Bates.
Think it through you nutcase... if they open a portal and walk in how are you going to explain their deaths? What if you take battle damage? What if that information was included in the note?
10676795
Yeah, I’ve intentionally made her plans and general reasoning make less and less sense as time has gone on. And since I don’t intend to hit any (sane) character with the idiot stick, she would likely find it extremely difficult to come up with an explanation that doesn’t fall apart within the first few minutes of the inevitable investigation.
HA YES!
Oh no.
WOAH, SHIT. Well, at least the team having real food will get them in better shape, however slightly in the time the have.
10676870
You could try to make the whole Teleportation fiasco that has been going on for who knows how long a slapshod alternative to Teleportation that most Ponies believed was the real deal.
Actual Teleportation involves sending out an Arcane-based "Beacon" to the target location that the casters' magical signature hones in on to pull them towards it automatically. The actual teleportation occurs by way of the Casters innate magic pulling them into the Thaumatic Plane towards an object known as an "Intermediary Sphere" which the Beacon is designed to loop around to pull the Caster along in what is essentially close to a Slingshot Maneuver as they skirt the Spheres' solid outer surface to pick up momentum and speed to reach the target destination in a timely manner before manifesting and finishing the Teleportation in a process that only takes around three seconds to accomplish. The mechanics of this technique is referred to as "The Caterpillar Effect": named as such after the movement patterns of Caterpillars as they inch their way along the ground.
The version of Teleportation that most Ponies have used and thought was the real deal uses more Magic than originally necessary and instead of generating a Slingshot Maneuver to get them around the Intermediary Sphere, instead slams them inside of the Intermediary Sphere while using the residual Magic to create the copy and sending that to the target location instead, hence the pile of dead corpses of Twilight along with whatever and whomever she had teleported with her. Why nopony else can access this one Intermediary Sphere is because this one is particularly tied into Twilights' innate Magic alone. Celestia and Luna who were actually taught about The Caterpillar Effect by the Moon God (who originally taught Unicorns how to use Magic), thought that everypony in Equestria already knew about The Caterpillar Effect and didn't realize that the others' method was heavily-flawed.
10678693
I thank you greatly for your thoughts and the work you put into writing all of that, but there are a few problems I see with them.
If Celestia’s method was correct and other unicorns used an incredibly flawed method, why would she not realize it? She’s literally the one who taught the teleportation spell to many of those who use it (of which there aren’t that many) through Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and apprenticeships (Twilight and Sunset).
Also, in season six’s “A Hearth’s Warming Tail” Twilight says that Star Swirl was an expert at teleportation among other things and in season seven’s “Shadow Play” he is mentioned as being Celestia and Luna’s teacher. These two facts combined imply that he is the one who taught them how to teleport, not any “moon god.”
The rest of what you said about the caterpillar effect and the spheres is extremely interesting, but I will confirm that, within the context of this story, there is no known teleportation spell that can get around the pocket dimension conundrum. Portals, meanwhile, are a different matter entirely.
Thanks anyway though! I always encourage discussion and theories. :)
Super awesome that Light's plan actually worked. Kinda surprised it took so long for her to get that dart idea after so many teleports. At least now they have proper food. Now the only thing to worry about is Fluttershy... If I had to make a prediction, Twilight(Not Light) is gonna be very short-lived in the sphere.
I also really wonder how they'll actually be rescued from the sphere, if that's even possible. I guess only time will tell.
10682130
I would recommend establishing a network of communication first now that information flow out of the Intermediary Sphere is indeed possible. If they discover The Caterpillar Effect as a means to teleport properly, they could conduct some experiments to try and get a proper resonance effect to get an item sent into the Intermediary Sphere to also phase back out of it again without leaving behind a clone in the process. Then all the Ponies outside would need to do is to better manipulate the arcane fabric and send the versions of Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy through the Teleportation and Intermediary Sphere and to be in close-enough proximity that the Teleporters would draw their copies into themselves to merge back into single beings once again with their complete personalities and memories intact... The only problem I can see happening is that in doing so, the Intermediary Sphere would briefly shatter and scatter all of the contents of the Intermediary Sphere across the immediate landscape. A little bit of psychological therapy and counseling would get rid of most of the shell-shock they have experienced, maybe a bit of Sunlight as well.
10682259
Okay, I have a lot I want to address here. Before I do, let me just say that I appreciate your input and theories regardless of whether or not they are correct. Now, for the problems I see with what you mentioned.
Given the accuracy and timing required to get a message out, not to mention the right kind of target to shoot at, I don't think establishing a reliable form of information flow out of the sphere would be feasible. This is especially so since communication with the outside would be required to set it up in the first place. It would also distract from other efforts for both sides, and would be largely unnecessary, since those on the outside are already doing everything they can to help and would be unable to aid with any new crises except to provide supplies, which they have already done in large quantities.
As for the rest--setting aside the fact that the caterpillar effect (as you describe it) and a proper way to teleport don't exist in this setting, not to mention that those spheres are probably not what you think they are--I don't see how merging them with the versions of themselves still existing in Ponyville would be in any way desirable. Not only would it be essentially killing nine different personas (Twilight x3, Fluttershy x2, Sweetie x2, Rarity x2) and creating four new ones based on the combined memories and personalities, but it would also leave all four of them (including three Elements of Harmony, who are crucial to defending Equestria) badly traumatized by the events in the sphere and perhaps even violent or no longer deserving of her element in the case of Fluttershy. The psychological problems caused by this are also far beyond what a bit of therapy could solve and would likely leave permanent scars on all of them. While merging may be preferable for some of those inside the sphere as a way of getting their life back, it definitely would not be preferred by those still in Ponyville, who are living perfectly normal lives already and would rather have them not marred by suddenly remembered trauma.
Thanks for participating in the conversation regardless. Maybe you should write your own Blinkverse (or similar) story with these ideas. I think you'd do a very good job with it.
10682259
I also really like your theories. Also the idea of having everything in the sphere dumped to wherever the teleport location is sounds absolutely haunting.
Absolutely love this. I don't usually go for scary horror stories, but the concept and execution of this have just sucked me in beyond any hope of escape. Almost like the bubble dimension itself.
The characters work, the slow degredation of sanity works, even fluttershy snapping under the extraordinary environment isn't really out of the question at all. She was never the most emotionally resilient pony, oscillating wildly at times between hyper aggressive and hyper submissive at various times. In an absolute horror show like the bubble dimension, most anyone could lose it.
Fantastic work here. Can't wait for the next few chapters.
10682471
Thanks! I'm glad you like it. I just hope that I can maintain what makes people like this story through to the end. As it is, I'm almost finished with chapter 18, Feast of the Damned. ;)
10682490
Wow, that's not an ominous title at all. 😁
10682492
Hehehe. No comment.
Are you implying that they're is some sort of demon, related to this spell that perverts ponies in there and enjoys their suffering?
I'm going to be so so frustrated if Fluttershy succeeds
PLEASE tell me they get some weapons teleported in? For defense?
11381400
Nah, otherwise we don't get a good story, everyone knows that everyone wants EXCITEMENT! FEAR! and they want you to feel FEAR FOR THE CHARACTERS! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!
just as long as it is a good ending though, I would hate for them to die.