Blink Again

by Amarandream

7 - Again and Again

Light moved Fluttershy’s jaw up and down with her hooves before tilting her head back and holding her nose until she swallowed. Another meal completed, sans the vomiting her attempts with the meat had produced.

She had scoffed at Twi’s suggestion of force feeding Fluttershy just days prior, and yet here she was, making a routine of it. The reality had become glaringly necessary to her after everything else failed. She wondered what other viewpoints of Twi’s she might come around to. They did start as the same pony, after all. The concern gnawed at her, given how strongly she disagreed with some of those things now. As it was, she hadn’t seen her double in days. Regardless of the fights though, she hoped Twi was doing okay over on the opposite end of their prison.

Light opened the saddlebags she kept Fluttershy's food in. There was scant little left, and unless a miracle occurred, she would be back to trying to feed her friend meat within a couple of days. There was little hope of success in that, but she wouldn't give up so long as there was even a small chance of bringing Fluttershy back. She'd been determined before, but the break of relations between her and Twi made her all the more desperate to help the Pegasus. At least if she succeeded in fixing her, she'd have somepony to talk to again. Maybe that was selfish, but she wasn't sure if she still cared.

Zzzt, POP!

Light bolted upright. A teleport. More than one object, by the sound of it. She couldn't see past the mound of bodies she and Fluttershy were camped behind, but she was sure she'd heard the synchronized sounds of a double or triple teleport.

It seemed the last Twilight had been healed after all. Twi wouldn't be pleased, but Light was comforted in knowing they weren't mourning the death of Princess Twilight Sparkle in Equestria. Of course, that comfort was considerably dampened by the knowledge that something was just teleported. She just hoped it was something inanimate this time.

That thought was immediately squashed by a scream sufficient in pitch to shatter glass. A mare then, and clearly not another Twilight either.

Light rounded the last mound before stopping at the pile of corpses in the center, where any newcomers would be landing. She would have expected to see Twi there as well, but apparently she was now content to let Light handle these matters alone—probably for the best, given Twi’s increasingly churlish attitude. The one pony she did find was a weak-kneed, hyperventilating Rarity.

"Rarity!" Light stepped toward her friend. "I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this. It's all my fault."

"T—Tw—Twilight?" Rarity gulped, meeting her gaze with frightened eyes. "What is this wretched place?" Though the words were little more than a whisper, they held far more gravity than she was used to from the oft frivolous pony.

Light cringed, imagining the accusations her friend would soon be lobbing at her. "Well, you see, this is called a pocket dimension. Apparently, whenever somepony teleports, whatever they teleported is sent to their own version of this space while a copy is sent to the intended destination. What you see around us is what remains of those who teleported before." She choked back tears of self loathing. "Please don't hate me. I didn't know. I never meant for any of this to—"

She cut off, her mouth dropping as she saw the filly creep out from her hiding place behind Rarity. Oh no. Sweetie Belle. As if Light needed any more reason to hate herself. The poor thing had eyes as wide as hoofballs and clung to Rarity's side like it was the last life preserver on a sinking ship. And it was all her fault—every Twilight's fault.

Rarity's eyes followed Light's stare until they landed on Sweetie Belle. "Oh my. Sweetie, it's going to be okay. I'm here." She wrapped a foreleg around her sister, protectively dragging the filly underneath her barrel. "We'll find a way out of this. I promise." Her gaze returned to Light. "Please, please, tell me there's a way out of this." Tears came to those searching eyes as Light floundered. "Twilight?"

"Um, I... I'm working on it," Light squeaked, unable to admit the truth to Rarity. Even to herself, she could hardly admit she'd run out of ideas. She just couldn't say that—least of all in front of Sweetie Belle.

Rarity was not stupid though. Light knew that. Carefully contained to those sapphire eyes was recognition, followed by despair, and then a grim determination. "You hear that, Sweetie? Maybe it will take a while, but we'll get home. We will." She clearly had no more desire to crush the filly's hopes than Light did, even if it meant lying. Though both knew that could only last so long. Eventually, the truth would catch up.

Rarity looked around, examining her surroundings and appearing quite ready to sick up at what she saw. "Twilight, darling, how long have you been here?"

"I'm not certain." Light sighed. "A couple of weeks, I think. It's hard to tell without the sun or moon, and time passes here at a rate three times that of Equestria anyhow. Our only measure of a day is when we get tired."

Rarity blinked. "I'm sorry, did you say 'we?'"

Light nodded. "The previous version of myself is also here. For clarity's sake, she goes by Twi and I go by Light. It's probably best you get used to that, especially since another Twilight could always show up. I would be careful around her though. She’s been here...” Light quickly thought back to one of their first conversations, “about four times as long as me, and most of that was on her own. This place has really gotten to her.”

“Is she dangerous?”

“I don’t think so, but that doesn’t mean she will never become dangerous. I’m worried that the malnutrition from eating only...” she glanced at Sweetie Belle, “what we have on hoof, might addle her wits. Celestia, it might be doing the same to me and I just haven’t noticed yet.”

"What we have on hoof?" Rarity mouthed before glancing around again, presumably looking for a food source, and then turning back more confused than ever. It was only when she noticed the dark stains on Light's muzzle that she took on a sickly pallor. "Oh, I see. Sweetie Belle, I want you to stay by my side the entire time we're here, okay? We're probably safe, but just in case there is something hiding in that darkness, I want you within sight."

Sweetie Belle, forelegs wrapped snugly around one of Rarity's hooves and with eyes shut tight, gave a series of quick nods.

Rarity took a deep breath, gagged on the putrid air for a moment, then stroked a free hoof across her sister's mane. "Well, Twili— ahem, Light, perhaps you would like to show us where exactly you have been staying? I feel we could benefit from a moment of rest, and then you can answer some of my questions. I happen to have quite a lot."

"Of course." Light nodded. "I should warn you though; Fluttershy's there. She isn't well. She's been completely catatonic from the moment she arrived. I haven't gotten so much as one word from her."

Rarity grimaced and Sweetie Belle let out a little whimper. Either one looked like they were ready to go the way of Fluttershy in an instant, but Rarity nodded her on. "Lead the way. If dear Fluttershy is as you say, I will do whatever I can for her." She tilted her head toward Sweetie Belle, then frowned. "Um, Light, perchance, have you had any problems with your magic here?"

"Oh, yeah. It doesn't work." She gave Rarity a sympathetic look. "Sorry. Wings and magical artifacts don't work either."

"Of course it doesn't," the unicorn huffed in agitation. "Let's go." She gently grabbed Sweetie Belle with her teeth and swung the filly up onto her back.

Sweetie opened her eyes as her hooves left the ground, saw a badly mushed up Spike corpse next to a disemboweled and dismembered Twilight, then immediately let out a cry of terror. The moment she was on Rarity's back, her forelegs were wrapped around her big sister's neck and face buried in the expertly styled mane.

Light spared an extra moment to worry over the quivering Sweetie Belle before turning around and plodding back to the area she'd cleared for sleeping.

When the three arrived, Rarity carefully set Sweetie Belle down in the cleanest spot she could find before warily approaching Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, darling, I'm here. It's your friend, Rarity. Can you speak to me?"

Light shook her head. She doubted Rarity would be able to get through to her, but she was welcome to try. In the meantime, Light laid down next to Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie, I'm so sorry," she muttered. "This is all my fault."

The filly gave a weak shake of the head. "No."

"No?"

"You didn't know. Nopony knew." Sweetie buried her head in her forelegs. "I can't look. It's so horrible."

"I know." Light nodded. "But your sister and I are here for you. We won't let anything happen." She waited until Sweetie Belle gave a weak nod, then continued. "Why were you two teleported in the first place?"

"It was all my fault. I was so stupid." The little unicorn let out a whimper. "We were visiting you at your castle when I accidently knocked over a bookcase. It would have fallen right on us, so I guess you must have tried teleporting us to safety." She paused to let out a shuddering breath. "What have I done? It was an accident. An accident..."

"Uh..." Light cringed. It seemed Sweetie Belle was having a similar dilemma as herself, albeit with much less reason as far as she was concerned. What could she do about it though? She knew all too well how hard it could be to get somepony to stop blaming themself. She took a deep breath, quickly considering a way to solve this whole self-blame game entirely. "How about this, I'll stop blaming myself if you do the same. Nopony could have considered this as a potential outcome of their actions, and since we're already here, it's useless to argue over who is at fault."

Sweetie Belle lifted her head to look at Light, then after a moment, nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

"That's all anypony can do." Light knew it wouldn't be that simple, but perhaps if they each agreed to at least pretend there were no guilty feelings, those feelings might eventually go away in truth. She just hoped it happened sometime before they all inevitably starved. There weren't enough resources left to feed five ponies for long, but perhaps that was a worry for another day.

Rarity stepped away from Fluttershy and came back to lay down next to her sister, so close their sides were pressed together. It seemed she had given up on trying to snap Fluttershy out of it for now, but if Light knew Rarity, she'd be back at it in no time. Good for her, though Light was concerned about the effects on her mental wellbeing should she continue to fail. Then again, nopony remained sound of mind for long in this place anyway.

"Light," Rarity prompted, "why don't you tell us about what you've been up to and how you first arrived, and in exchange I can offer a few updates about life in Equestria. I'm sure you'll want to know what everypony has been up to."

Light blinked, letting her surprise show openly. Rarity had just arrived in a place rivalling Tartarus for horror, and she wanted to engage in idle small talk? Surely she had more important questions, ones that didn't focus on something so inane. Then again, it would be good to catch up on current events, and the more serious issues could always be tackled a little bit later. That, and Rarity was looking at her with a strangely insistent expression.

"Okay." She nodded. "Where should I begin?"

For over an hour, the two discussed the petty and only somewhat less petty details of their lives. Light told a slightly sanitized version of events following her arrival, leaving out the part where another Twilight died in her hooves, while Rarity discussed events amongst their former social circle. Apparently, when that previous Twilight was injured, Discord had simply snapped her back into health. A convenient solution, such as was common in Equestria yet almost unheard of in their new home.

Rarity also described how they had all gone to Manehattan to participate in an escape room, only to miss the record escape time by two seconds on account of stopping to sing a song about friendship. When they got back, they learned that Starlight had literally bottled up her emotions and Trixie had accidentally teleported the friendship map into a spa. Of course, that meant that within Trixie's pocket dimension—which, Light assumed, was mostly empty on account of Trixie's lack of skill—the friendship map had just appeared and crashed into the ground.

Despite herself, Light couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. For the first time since her arrival, Light was almost beginning to feel something resembling content. The feeling could not last, of course, but for those precious few moments, it was wonderful.

The conversation came to an abrupt end the moment Sweetie Belle fell asleep. Rarity's expression hardened and she took only a moment to make absolutely sure Sweetie was completely out before giving Light a somber look. "We're going to die in here, aren't we?"

Light's smile fell in an instant. "Yeah. Probably." She sighed. "I've tried every method of escape I can think of, but I'm starting to think it's impossible without outside help, which we will never get. They can't help if they don't know about it. Now that there are five of us in here, I expect our food supplies won't last too long either, even if we carefully ration it. Too much of it has been picked clean or spoiled beyond edibility. Some bodies have even been contaminated with chemicals that I've teleported at one point or another. The best I can say is that we have a working water filtration system, but even that is starting to show some wear, and we no longer have the proper supplies to make replacement parts."

"I see." Rarity shuddered. "It will be slow then." She sniffed, then wiped away a rogue tear. "Light, I'm afraid. Terrified even." Her glistening eyes met Light's. "I'm not ready to die, and I am certainly not prepared to let it happen to Sweetie Belle. She's just a filly, for Celestia's sake! She deserves so much more. She deserves a life." She hesitated, the tears beginning to flow more freely. "If something happens to me, you'll watch over her, won't you?"

"Of course." Light nodded weakly. "She'll have a better life here than either of us can afford to take for ourselves. We'll make sure of that. Both of us."

Rarity nodded one more time, then broke down into full-blown sobbing. For her part, Light could do nothing but close her eyes and lie her head down on her hooves. There was very little she could do for either of the newcomers. She was just glad that she would likely die before them, as healthy as they were compared to her after two weeks there. She wouldn't have to watch the ever-generous Rarity or the spunky, crusading Sweetie Belle slowly perish in her hooves as that other Twilight had. At least, she hoped not.

How long could a filly last in such a place anyway?

Comments

[Cold Bolt]

I think the darkest thing about this story is that, the way it's set up, there's no promise of a good ending. In many stories, the stakes are simply too high for a bad ending to be at all satisfying - but here, the only things at stake are duplicates of our favorite characters, so who's to say that it matters whether they live or die? We could be watching princess purple pone's gradual descent into madness, or worse...

[Amarandream]

10370623
Yep, and that descent into madness is exactly what we saw in Flash Notion's Not The First. As for whether the ending will be happy, tragic, or bittersweet, I have tried to leave as few hints as possible in any given direction. For instance, in the description, I only confirm that she will look for an escape, not that she will actually find one.

To be honest, my outline actually allows for any one of the three aforementioned endings. Even I haven't decided for sure which will become true, though I have some inclinations. If necessary, I can always add the tragedy tag later on should I decide to go that route, though it would spoil the ending.

All of that said, given what I wrote in Harmony Doesn't Knock, I think some people might riot if I give Sweetie Belle the same kind of ending I gave Snowblossom. It turns out, people don't like foals dying. Who knew? shrugs

[iAml3g3nd]

10370633
You could write alternate endings if you wanted to.

[Amarandream]

10662851
I have thought of putting out an alternate ending after I finish the story, but part of me thinks that it wouldn’t be worth it and I’d be better off putting my effort into new things. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

[darklight731]

The one pony she did find was a weak-kneed, hyperventilating Rarity.

Oh no...

She cut off, her mouth dropping as she saw the filly creep out from her hiding place behind Rarity. Oh no. Sweetie Belle.

OH NOOOOO

[Frustration in Excelsis]

The one pony she did find was a weak-kneed, hyperventilating Rarity.

Ah, another inmate for the corpse dimension.

She cut off, her mouth dropping as she saw the filly creep out from her hiding place behind Rarity. Oh no. Sweetie Belle.

... oh dear.

[DarkSnowGaming]

She cut off, her mouth dropping as she saw the filly creep out from her hiding place behind Rarity. Oh no. Sweetie Belle. As if Light needed any more reason to hate herself. The poor thing had eyes as wide as hoofballs and clung to Rarity's side like it was the last life preserver on a sinking ship. And it was all her fault—every Twilight's fault.

Well.....this is f*ck*d up.