Void
A white void. That was all I could see. Just an endless span of nothingness.
And then, from seemingly nowhere, trees began to grow. One may have mistaken the trees for growing both up and down, but it was only an illusion brought on by the perfectly still water that surrounded my path on both sides. The trees grew to their full sizes in a matter of seconds. They bore no leaves and may have faded in with the white sky if not for the gentle gray stripes and blotches that spanned their bodies. Ahead of me was eternity, and behind me was endless. I had only two ways to go on the narrow path I stood upon. Nothing grew on the path, unlike the land beyond the water. No, here there was only dirt.
As for myself, I was nothing. As black as emptiness, I was but an ink spot compared to the pure white that surrounded me. I looked down at my hooves and, without really thinking as to why, I lifted my head to look up into the sky and put my hoof in front of one eye. One side was total darkness, while the other was everlasting white. It was as if the entire world was trying to tell me that I did not belong there.
“You do not belong here.”
The voice came from no single thing or being, but rather from everywhere. The sound was like that of a young female whose voice was calm and caring. When she spoke, it was both like a whisper to the ear and a shout from the distance. It was like she was the world itself.
“You do not belong here.” She repeated, “But I can help you get out. All you have to do is remain calm and continue down the path in front of you. Whatever you do, do not run. If you run, then there will no longer be anything I can do to help you.”
I was confused. Who owned this voice? Why did they want to help me, especially one who sounded so young? What did they know of this place and its supposed dangers?
“You’re unsure. I can tell. Do not be afraid, as I speak the truth when I say that I am here to help. The very last thing I desire is to see you fall. Now go along the path, there isn’t much time.”
I did not have a reason to trust the voice. After all, I didn’t even get a name. Granted I knew nothing of my own name here in this strange world, or even how to talk for that matter, but it was the principle that mattered. Of course, on the chance that this voice was indeed trying to help me and stop me from being taken by whatever it was that desired me, than it would be best to heed her warning. Carefully and slowly I put one hoof in front of the other. Like a foal learning to walk, my hooves began to move as one and after a gentle push in the right direction, I was off.
My journey was a quiet one. Seconds turned to minutes, feet turned to miles, and I honestly had no idea if the voice was still there. It wasn’t like I could just call out to her, not really having a mouth and all that. Nevertheless, I continued. It didn’t even seem like my own hoofsteps made a sound and I began to wonder if I was deaf and could hear nothing beyond the voice. Perhaps it was my own consciousness trying to tell me what to do next? I supposed having the voice of a sweet young girl in your head telling you what to do was far better than most things. After all, it could be some weird cricket that follows you around or something.
Distracted by my own thoughts, I hadn’t realized that I had been quickly approaching something new to the scenery. Before me on the path was what appeared to be a table that was the same white as the rest of the landscape. If not for its defining outline, I may have walked straight into it without having noticed. More curious than the table, however, was what rested on top of it. It appeared to be a device with a triangular base that had four sides and a prong that stuck out from the combined tip. Resting on the prong was a banana shaped object with a spiraling cord that connected the banana back to the base. I nearly jumped back when the device began to shake and a more than slightly obnoxious ringing sound began to blast away the silence.
“Don’t answer that!” The voice from before said, finally speaking up again. “Ignore it! Just go around it and don’t look back!”
But the sound was too much. I feared that if I merely avoided it, then the sound would follow me for the rest of my journey. If the fact that there was a voice in my head wasn’t enough of an indication of possible insanity, then the ringing might just drive me the rest of the way there. In a swift motion, I grabbed the banana shaped piece and pulled it off of the prong. Thankfully this was enough to cause the device to cease its horrible ringing. However, now that I held the object in my hoof, it almost seemed crafted for a specific purpose…
Slowly I brought the object to my face. One end rested against my ear while the other resided near where my mouth once was.
“Well, well, well. It’s about time you arrived here.”
This voice was new. Unlike the first, it was a male’s voice and was far from the calm, sensitive sound of the girl. No, this one sounded like a being who was already having a bad day and had just caught someone redhoofed in trying to make it worse. Needless to say, I did not like this voice as much.
My attention was stolen from the voice by the surrounding scenery. The waters that separated me and the path from the rest of the world suddenly became as black as I was. The water stirred gently, its very character changing alongside its appearance.
“The girl is right.” The voice continued, “You don’t belong here. No, you certainly don’t belong here just as much as you don’t belong in the place that you came from!”
The sound of the voice seemed to intensify with every word. I threw the device away from me out of fear, but it did not take the sound of this new voice away.
“You belong somewhere far worse!” As his shout concluded, the waters shook. A wave shot out on both sides, flowing to the other ends of their respective ends.
“Don’t listen to him!” My heart jumped with delight at the sound of the girl’s voice returning. “He only wants to take you away from here and stop you from getting back home! Hurry up, keep going!”
Without another thought, I maneuvered around the table and quickly made my way off. Remembering the girl’s words from before, I made sure not to run. That was not to say my pace was not quickened of course, but I remained in a walking state.
“What I want is to see a wretched being like him put down where they deserve. When will you learn that there are beings out there that are beyond even your salvation?”
“He is not beyond saving!” She argued, “There’s something special inside him… I know that deep down inside him there is a–”
“A what? Please don’t tell me that you thought this pitiful excuse for a soul has any sort of heart within him. Perhaps I should remind you of your dear little friend’s eventful past, hmm?”
Suddenly from the waters sprang a post with a picture attached to it. The picture was of a mare and it was large and detailed and… familiar. As if I had been there and this was a snapshot from my very own eyes.
“Morning Glory. The first to suffer from your acts of treachery.”
It was all slowly coming back…
“She trusted you with everything, and how did you repay her?” A new post suddenly arose from the blackened waters, just behind the first. This one, like the first, was of a mare. However, this one showed a different mare. “By stabbing her in the back. I find it funny, really. It was your own friend that you sought comfort from your own disgusting feelings that brought about the confession you yourself were debating on whether or not to make. But let us not remain on just one part of your past, shall we?”
Just like the last, a new picture rose up. “Chill Wind. Now, this one I find rather ironic really. It began with her own betrayal of your trust. Of course you deserved it, but still. Not only that, but it happened numerous times! However, this is not about her. It’s about you.” Suddenly, dozens of pictures shot up, each one of a different mare. “You were no better than she was. Wherever she betrayed your trust, you did it thrice more. Was it some way of getting back at her? When you two argued, did you ever try to justify yourself by attacking her similar history?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to see any more of the past I had been trying to escape from. I kept my gaze to the ground and quickened my pace even further. However, the pictures kept rising up one after another from the waters.
“And then comes your most recent escapade.”
This time I stopped. My eyes turned to the new picture that had risen up. This mare, unlike the others who often had some form of attractive look to them or a pair of half lidded eyes that looked up at me, was simply sleeping. Memories of that day began to return. Memories of a day out with friends, and of how the poor little Pegasus mare was so tired from recent sleep troubles that she couldn’t have helped but used me as a makeshift pillow.
“I daresay this was the worst one yet. Just like with the last one,” A new flurry of pictures began to arise, “You betrayed her. Now, let’s be honest here. Most of these were innocent flirting. The little hidden thoughts here and occasional charming remark there… But then it just suddenly wasn’t enough for you anymore. No, you began to go further… and further… until, without even thinking of the consequences, you did it. Congratulations, my boy. You achieved the goal you had set out to accomplish. Now I must ask you,” His voice quieted, but suddenly felt like it was so much closer.
“Was it worth it?”
No more! I began to run as fast as my legs could take me. I closed my eyes in fear that even more pictures might rise up, but there was only one more after that last one. Just one, but I dared not look at it. I kept running and I could hear the waters beginning to act up again.
“Do you know who I am, boy? I am the one who makes sure that all the villains of the world get what they deserve when their time comes. That’s right. While flying along on your way home from your most recent ‘triumph’, you didn’t see the coming packaging truck and its drivers weren’t able to stop in time. Blindsided and sent tumbling to the ground, there was not a soul there to rescue you. You lived as nothing more than a whore! And now…”
I was suddenly stopped in my tracks as I felt something wrap itself around each of my legs. I risked opening my eyes to see that the blackened waters had risen up like tendrils and held me in place.
“I personally don’t give a damn if you ruin your own life. No, it’s when you begin harming others that I really lose my temper. I’m going to show you just how each one of those mares felt when you left them behind for a new trophy to obtain. The way you took some of their hearts and shattered them like glass. But that’s only the beginning. Once we run out of all that, I’m going to make sure that you are never harm another soul ever again!”
“That’s enough!”
A burst of air seemed to blow away the tendrils and return the waters to their almost original, blackened state.
“You act like you know everything, but you are leaving out the most important parts! Morning Glory forgave him that day, and it was, in fact, because of her own mistakes that everything ended! Chill Wind was unstable and didn’t know what she wanted, but he was still there for her whenever she was in trouble! And as for her…”
Once again, the picture of the sleeping mare rose from the waters.
“Fawn Song forgave him each and every single time and did not falter for a moment in her love for him. And, in return, he did the same. It was not his choice that things happened the way they did. Each of us have our own faults and shortcomings, and this other mare pried upon his. His vision became clouded and he was lured into a darker path. Nothing can deny that what he did was wrong… but it is the fact that he understands that what he did was wrong and that he planned to make sure it never happened again that matters. You say that he was hit by a truck, but you must forget that it was because his vision was obscured by the tears in his eyes. He did not hear it coming over the sound of his own mind and his panicking breaths. While it may still need some pushing in the right direction sometimes, he still has a heart… And I’m willing to risk everything to say that there will be a difference after that day. But we won’t know for sure if we don’t even give him a chance to make up for his crimes.”
Silence. Neither voice spoke. Not even the waters shifted any further and they returned to their stagnant state. I did nothing, only stood and looked into the sky, awaiting the judgment that would inevitably come whether I desired it or not. I was at the mercy of these two beings, and running away would certainly do me no good.
“Get out of my sight.”
-------------
I gasped for breath and my eyes shot open. I tried to get up from the spot that I was laying, but the movement only brought pain throughout my entire body. I took a moment to catch my breath and my vision began to clear. It was dark, but my eyes were adjusting just fine. I was in a relatively small room with no immediate attention grabbing features. A curtain blocked the view towards the left side of the room, and to the right was a plain wall with a single window. I could see from my position that the stars were already out, and the clock on the far side of the room said that the time had just passed four. However, all this became irrelevant when I saw the one who was beside me.
Leaning onto the bed from her chair, Fawn was using her forehooves as support for her head. Judging by her gentle breathing, she had long since passed out for the night. She must have done it unwillingly, as a small lamp towards the corner of the room was still giving on and illuminating its small portion of the area.
My eyes continued to search the area and I saw the medical equipment that was against the wall between myself and the curtain. While being no expert in medical technology, it seemed to say that I was doing just fine. At least, I assumed so until I looked down and saw the bandages that were wrapped around my entire midsection. It also felt like some bandages had been wrapped around my head a time or two.
However, none of that really mattered to me much right now. Only one thing mattered anymore. I quietly and slowly reached forward to brush a lock of her long brown mane aside so that I could better see her face. I gently touched her cheek, and I smiled.