Ponyville is filled with strange citizens. Enigmas such as the mildly psychotic Lyra, drama queens Roseluck, Daisy, and Lily, as well as Pinkie Pie, the reality-defying party pony are all welcome in the quaint little town.
But there is one new arrival that stands out among the rest, an individual with a tale so horrifying as to shake this blissful village to its core.
Is it possible to heal any wound? To regain something lost that may never have been there in the first place? Does there exist any hope for a soul that has been so thoroughly broken and betrayed by the world?
In the bright and happy land of Equestria, is it possible to bring such a victim back from the brink?
This is a story that's been on my mind for a while, so I figured I'd finally mollify my creative muse's demands and get it out. One of my very favorite things to read about__indeed, perhaps my most favorite subject__is those who so desperately need it getting the help and therapy they need. I like to think that in Equestria, where the common citizen is so much friendlier than us humans, such help is likewise more plentiful.
I know that there are some individuals here on earth that are past the point of complete recovery, indeed, past the point that we have tools to help them. But I sincerely doubt that Equestria is bound by the same rules, and thus I've been wondering if there's any individual that's beyond help.
Strap on in folks, this one's gonna be rough.
New cover art by the fantastic Flygon! My gratitude knows no bounds!
(P.S. Just to clarify: The title is Libero as in the Latin word for 'liberate', not the volleyball term.)
(P.P.S. For those understandably put off by the...well...strangeness of the writing in early chapters, it gets better later on.)
Why is there a tragedy tag, then?
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Excellent question, good sir. That is because the tragedy is not over yet for our poor main character. He is going to hit rock bottom before the end, and that is rather tragic, methinks.
While this story is about healing and recovery, there's still a lot of trauma to go before that can happen, even in this narrative. One could say that our hapless protagonist is not quite 'out of the woods' yet, and so there's still tragedy to go.
If you're still befuddled, it will become clearer later on.
very slow pacing and the descriptions are a bit heavy handed, but it's a fun read
Hmmm, very interesting story so far. I have always been hoping someone would write a story with this type of premise. Definitely ending up in my potential folder, that is for sure.
I can totally see the tragedy tag for the story, even though, in your summary, that it states that it will have a happy ending. The abuse that you are implying in the first chapter is not something that’ll ever truly go away (with Magic or otherwise). He may learn to live with it, but the trauma will always be with him for the rest of his life. I believe that there is a quote that sums it up nicely:
So in a very poetic sense, even if he gets through all of the trauma that he has endured, he won’t be the same like it was before the abuse (if there was a before), hence a true tragedy in my eyes.
I must also commend you on your descriptions of the characters mental state, from my understanding of psychology, you seem to have described mental trauma, and it’s effects, very accurately. Do you by any chance have a degree in psychology? If you don’t, I certainly would say that you seem to have a better grasp of the concept than most individuals.
I certainly can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in the upcoming chapters. The first chapter shows a lot of potential in the story, of that there is no doubt. I’ll take my leave now, and wish you a good day
Great story so far,
SonicDJM
(PS: Nice “My Fair Lady” reference you have there, I think it fits very well into the theme of the story)
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It brings me intense joy to find that even one individual is eager to read my work. I actually don't happen to have any sort of degree in psychology, but I suppose you could say I'm more knowledgeable in that field than most, having some relatives with such issues and thus reading about it more often.
I'm so glad someone got the reference! It was a slight worry of mine in placing it there that no one would, but it seems my actions were vindicated, which makes me very pleased.
You can rest assured that with such feedback, I'm not going to cease working on this anytime soon. Our protagonist still has much to go through, and the tale is only beginning.
I thank you for your kind words, good sir, and look forward to hearing from you in the future.
This seems like a case of agoraphobia and Pantophobia even though Pantophobia is not really diagnosed anymore as an actophobia. A couple of study cases I have read, reminds me of what this pony is going through. But it's not as bad as it seems because he reasonably knows that his mind is playing these tricks with him. Some people who suffer from cases like this truly believes if they walk outside something bad is going to happen. But at the level he has it it had to be a significantly devastating incident to make him like this. Most abused victims does not have this level of phobias.
Well, this was an enjoyable read so far. I shall watch your progress with great interest.
Well aren’t you breaking my heart now:D
Thanks for that stab to my cold, cold heart. Appreciate it.
This is developing nicely, I'm very interested to see where this goes. Nice work as always.
Let’s violate the Geneva conventions:D
I think st he will find out so Twilight is waiting SHIT-STORM XD
How Manny charm spells do you want on h- YES
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Are you sure? I always thought a tragedy was a story with an unhappy ending.
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You know what? It would seem that upon further scrutiny, I have indeed misused that tag. The tag help page on this site states that tragic events in a story should not be confused with a story that is a Tragedy, and thus should not have the corresponding tag.
I thank you good sir, for correcting this misinterpretation on my part. Rest assured, this story will have a happy ending, and just because it will be an extremely rocky road to get there does not, in fact, change it into a tragedy. The mislabel shall be rectified shortly.
I don't know anything you could do to fuck him up and more than to make him a pariah.
Who should be his care taker? who is the best person with the power and the personal experiance to raise this fucked up dumpster fire of a kid, is DISCORD!.
This kid is Discord ver 2.0 in many many ways.
Discord should raise this kid. Prove me wrong!
Monk
And Soul, you wrote a fucking masterclass of a story I take my hat off to you because this is a masterpiece.
That...seems extremely out of character for Rarity, even at her most histrionic. Any chance it was a hallucination and DK did it to himself?
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Ah, to be sure it would indeed be out of character for canon Rarity. However, she has been under immense pressure for a while now, and is not at her finest.
If that's not enough, observe for me a rather conspicuous tag for this story up above. It is black in coloration, and is made of two words.
So, maybe this Rarity is significantly more violent under pressure.
Also, there is the potential explanation of Knight overexaggerating matters. It's obvious throughout the story that not everything he says is true.
Hope this helped!
That charm is going to wind up biting them all in the behind somehow, I just know it
Now that's a twist I didn't see coming. Can't wait for the next chapter! Keep it up!
The plot thickens.
Also, good explanation how was anybody able to break an unbreakable barrier, I was wondering how did Broken managed that.
It seems somewhat like Darkness and Knight are separate personalities (or thought processes as suggested in this chapter). The story occasionally refers to them as individual entities, but I cannot say that I can tell them apart as of yet.
Not gonna lie, I was really hoping this would turn into an adoption situation. The poor kid really needs it.
Also, good twist on having Starlight and Sunburst as counselors. I don't think I've seen this one before. Keep up the good work!
Well that escalated quickly. That really got out of hand fast. Darn it Sweetie Belle. Hopefully this leads to him getting the structure and help he actually needs.
I love this chapter. 😎
Monk
I’m confused as to what happened
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Ah, yes, that is indeed very understandable.
I wrote this chapter in a very purposefully vague way, as a stylistic choice to contrast the heavy descriptions of Darkest's perspective against the sparse, 'bare minimum' of Knight's. Unfortunately, the cost of such a course of action is that some people are rendered unable to glean the necessary information due to the discrepancy of this style and that of the earlier chapters.
It's a bit like reading a chapter of an incredibly in-depth and slow-paced slice-of-life story only to immediately jump into the vaguest poetry which possesses only obscure innuendos of what is occurring. It's a style choice, and one which I do stand by, but it seems my fears about readers getting befuddled over the jarring transition have been vindicated.
Incessant rambling aside, exactly what were you confused about? If you don't mind my asking, of course.
I would like to offer clarification with regards to anything that seemed especially nonsensical, for it is likely that others may feel the same way you do and thus would appreciate any light I can shed on the matter.
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I just basically need a recap of what happened
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In that one chapter or the whole story since then?
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Mostly the one chapter
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A summary of this chapter in greater detail for those who may have been blindsided by its sudden nebulous style (Spoilers):
Knight is brought back to the place he was raised: A manor owned by a unicorn noble named Broken Barrier and operated by a slew of his finest loyal servants.
They take him to Broken, who is waiting in a dedicated room for torture called the 'classroom'. It's the main room where Knight learns things like how to speak properly, how to be submissive to everyone, when somepony is about to attack him, and so forth. The classroom is equipped with all kinds of tools for causing pain, such as swords, metal rods, scissors, etc. called 'learning tools. Broken hits Knight repeatedly in attempts to get him to cast a shield, but fails to do so. This goes on until late at night, when Knight is finally allowed up to his bedroom.
Early the next day, a servant comes to collect Knight, and brings him out to the courtyard, which is where he learned how to cast barriers. One of Broken Barrier's manipulation tactics was to change his accent up and he uses that to goad Knight. Broken he knows that speaking poorly is an affront to Knight's ears and puts him in a lot of mental pain, like what we've seen with Applejack and Carrot Top. Broken gets angry and beats Knight when he doesn't make a shield, and that goes on for many hours.
Finally, in scene three, Knight gives up resisting and summons a shield around himself. Several minutes later, we see Broken's main method of abuse as he breaks the shield. When Broken breaks Knight's shields, it puts him in overwhelming agony, and both of them know this. This is how Knight improved and trained with his barriers so often. Through heavy concentration, he can resist Broken's attacks, and the shield remains in place. Unfortunately, he's gotten rusty, and lasts less than ten minutes before the shield is shattered. They repeat this process for the rest of the night, until Knight is allowed to go back to his room.
Some time later, Knight is led back to the classroom, where Broken gives him a language 'lesson'. The stallion also blatantly lies to him, saying that he had spies in Ponyville and confirming Knight's fears thus far about it. Broken doesn't actually have any spies in Ponyville, and doesn't even know where it was that Knight ran off, but the deception is still effective, and Knight is convinced that he's not safe anywhere.
In the fifth scene, it is revealed that the Royal Guard had been searching for Darkest Knight this whole time, and finally found where he was being kept. Captain Shining Armor commands a charge there, and they head off.
In the sixth scene, Broken tries to escape with Knight in tow but is held back by the royal guards. Knight manages to escape, and immediately heads down Mount Canterhorn to Ponyville, as that's the only place he can think to go.
When he gets to Ponyville, the townsponies are so happy to see him back that they crowd around him, making him panic since he thinks that there's spies working for Broken when there actually isn't. Twilight escalates the situation when she asks Knight if it's really him, and finally the panic reaches a high enough point that Knight casts a shield around himself.
Twilight immediately tries casting a slew of spells to try and remove the shield, seeing as Knight is heavily injured and absolutely covered in blood. A team of ponies from the hospital is called, and they wait just outside the barrier with a stretcher at the ready, prepared to give him immediate medical attention. It's revealed that Knight can hold a barrier with no effort at all until he passes out, at which point all summoned shields fade away.
Twilight can't break through or otherwise remove the shield, so eventually she calls her friends out, each wearing their respective Elements of Harmony. They talk for a while about whether or not to go through with this, but eventually they all come to an agreement (that Knight really needs medical attention and it's worth the risk) and activate the Rainbow Beam of Doom. Said beam does absolutely nothing to the shield, so they're back at square one.
Fortunately, Knight finally faints, and they rush to bring him to the hospital. While he's unconscious, Twilight, without consulting anypony, casts a questionable charm on him to make him trust ponies unconditionally.
When he wakes up, Fluttershy is sent in in hopes of getting through to him. Knight cowers away from her at first, but when she only lays down and doesn't do anything else, the charm slowly activates. Knight mind has been made highly resistant to magic in general, so the powerful charm meant to make him trust all ponies instead only activates when certain conditions are met. Fluttershy meets these conditions, letting Knight take the initiative and not doing anything at all without his deliberate enticement.
Eventually, the charm activates completely, and the exhausted Knight falls asleep while cuddling with Fluttershy.
Hopefully this helps!
Just to clarify, Darkest Knight has 2 different personalities, Darkest, and Knight. Correct?
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So he perceives things to be different than what actually happened?
So Rarity never screamed at him, he just perceived it that way?
Wouldn’t Starlight refer to Twilight as “Twilight” instead of “princess”?
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Starlight met Twilight mere hours ago, so they're not exactly on a first-name basis yet.
Recall that this is an alternate universe, so canonical things aren't very dependable.
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Not exactly: Something had to have happened to set him into such a panic, and for Rarity to feel the need to apologize later. While it's possible that Knight overexaggerated things, what matters much more than that is the affect it had on him.
Though be assured, what happened here will be clarified in the future.
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Kind of, but not exactly. This is something that will be cleared up later down the line, but notice how, in the earliest chapters, the narration often refers to 'his deepest instincts.' Slowly, as chapters continue and more is revealed, 'deepest instincts' is replaced with 'Knight'. That holds some significance, I'd think.
Hunh
I need a recap as to what happened
Interesting. I wonder how they will react to the fact that he was under the effects of a potion. The CMC caused it, despite being told to stay away. Although this went very far and they will likely be traumatised.
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Essentially, (and this is very bare-bones) Knight went to Canterlot and wreaked havoc before beating up the Royal Guards and Shining Armor. He then proceeded to beat up the princesses, Celestia and Luna. Then he beat up and killed Broken Barrier. He did all of this because his personality has been reversed, but at the end of the chapter, the potion wears off and he frees everyone he trapped in barriers, hiding in one himself.
This is really interesting.
I am already invested in this guy
SWEETIE BELLE!???!?!? WTF???!!??
sweetie is an absolute menace in this story
I imagine he would have thought to brew more of the potion (but then no one could have stopped him)
This is a wonderful story. You are an extremely talented writer. Keep up the good work!
Man, can't this kid catch a break?
Well done, as always.
I need a recap on the interview, and the part where Twilight’s family is discussing it