> Day Of Death > by Firestreak2018 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Say Your Prayers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You slowly awaken, feeling as though you had too much to drink last night. The constant feel of the room swinging to and fro around you was too great to ignore, and you swear that you never, ever drank until you were in such a sorry state. So why did you feel like that? You racked your brain to recall every single activity of yesterday, but nothing gave a solid explanation to why the room seemed to be spinning in circles around you. After a moment, however, you decided not to think too much about it because of the steadily growing headache that was brewing like a storm. Instead, you headed for the opposite side of the room, where your one and only piece of furniture sat. You didn’t really know much about this piece furniture, other than that it was comfortable to have it roll out the knots of your back from time to time, but heck: You didn’t even know much about this room either. Other than the fact that you have food and drink lying all over this one-roomed house so that you didn’t have to move around when you felt hungry or thirsty, you didn’t really know about anything else. Why are you so ignorant of everything else? You comfort yourself from your apparent lack of knowledge with the rationalization that survival is more important than getting to know about your abode. Yes, yes. Yes indeed. You were being hunted, and you always have been. Ever since you came into existence, you were hunted, and no one was there to offer you permanent shelter. Those that you’ve seen didn’t seem to stick around long enough for you to call them ‘friend’ either, with those that thought that staying put was a good idea being the first to be caught. The wiser ones adopted a nomadic lifestyle, jumping from house to house so that their pursuers would never catch them. You loved to be known as one of the wise ones, which would be why this house of yours was only for you to stay for one night. You were going to move out of here in a matter of hours, for this was only a place for you to rest, not stay; A temporary shelter, not a permanent home. With that thought in mind, you sluggishly lumbered around your room that still did not give up on making you dizzy, making sure that the coast was clear before you attempted another move. None of your pursuers were in sight, and although you could be sure that you had overslept, it was still pitch-black outside instead of rays of sunlight lighting up the day, much to your confusion. Strange you thought to yourself as you sought another opening to see through, still getting the same result. Has time slowed down or something? You turned away in temporary nausea as you felt the spinning sensation worsen, and it was only because of the violent thump that shook you to the core that you realized: It wasn’t about anything you did, you were being kidnapped! And in your very own house, even! The thought of it was comical, and you would have laughed your head off if it was not for the danger that was lurking from all sides. You were honestly surprised at how smart your pursuers were, but you told yourself that you were still more cunning than them.You had to escape stealthily and quickly if you still wanted to live, and that meant that you shouldn’t even be sitting here worrying. You were not going to die today, that was for sure, and every passing second of idle waiting was bringing down your resolve. You had to act fast, not freeze up in anxiety. You try to bring yourself to exit by one of the windows of your room, but you were not fast enough to avoid the sudden swing as your house was once again brought into a motion, causing you to slam painfully against a wall. A resounding crack made itself known, and you could feel your pulse quicken as you watch as your once protective house became a prison, leaving you with no way to escape as your pursuers finally stared down at you. Your pulse quickened even more as you realized: These weren’t just your pursuers, they were MONSTROUS ones! You had seen these giants care for the smaller ones before even though they looked nothing like each other, and from silent, distant observation, you knew that these monsters were not as easily outsmarted as their smaller counterparts. A new, overwhelming sense of hopelessness enveloped your being as you found three pairs of black orbs surrounded by blue, magenta and purple, which were then surrounded by white, staring down at you, as if they were sizing you up, seeing if you were worthy to become their next snack. You looked for an opening on the wall you were pasted to as you gained altitude, but finding none, you knew that it was all down to the mercy of your captors. They captured you for a reason, so chances of your escape do look quite bleak as they rip you from your last defense and leave you suspended in the air, vulnerable. As much as you’d love to be able to plead for mercy, these monstrous abominations never listened, and before you knew it, memories of all the deaths you had seen all came rushing back to you: The drowning, the slow death of being torn apart, the stabbing from a colossal curved blade, or even worse, the cruelty of gravity as it pulled his counterparts into a pit of chirping young, destined to mature and become just like their parents: Pursuers who took joy in killing as many of their prey as possible. You had never felt so hopeless in your life before, and naturally, you slumped down from your mid-air writhing in acceptance. But wait- the sudden glint of light that disorientates you momentarily makes you take notice of the lavender aura that is also responsible for holding you in the air, and you let out a silent scream as you see another object also enveloped in that same, horrid aura. No… You think to yourself as you silently gasp, the object moving ever closer to you at such a slow rate that you could be sure your captors were trying to toy with you. Not the blade! Not the blade! As if sensing your plight, the huge blade paused as the tip nicked your flesh, and you instantly calmed your writhing down to see what had caused the hesitation despite the pain of the blade beginning its journey through your midsection. You pause and look up in fear, and as you looked into the eyes of that dreadful purple monster, you prayed. Prayed that your death would be swift and painless. Prayed that this was all a nightmare before you woke up to find yourself in one piece. Prayed for anything but this cruel end to your existence. The last thought that crossed your mind after the chilly blade impaled you was how you regretted not worshipping the divines fervently enough to save you from death’s door, and as your vision faded, you could already feel the howling wind around you as you fell towards a deep and endless medium of indigo, never to wake up again. A soft plop of the fishing hook entering the water finally made Twilight aware that the deed had been done, and although she could see the being squirm in her telekinesis, she would never know all the fear and torture she had caused it just by hesitating at that moment. One life ended, and it was her deliberate doing because she succumbed to peer pressure. “I just don’t understand why you pegasi must even eat fish!” The purple alicorn lamented as she levitated a paper bag to her muzzle to empty out more of the contents that her stomach refused to hold. “Ugh… I’m staying off the strawberry milkshakes for a while.” She levitated a half of an apple, trying to be fascinated out by the hollowed section in it, but it only served to crush her with even more guilt, along with causing her to make another vow. “And apples too. I think I’m gonna stay off those for a while too. Just in case there are any worms in there...” “Oh c’mon, Twilight!” Twilight looked at her rainbow-maned friend who tossed a whole apple in her mouth and finishing it off in one bite. Her stomach did another backflip and she gagged, but her already empty stomach had nothing else to expel. “It’s just a normal way of life, just like in your books and stuff! Ya know, survival of my fitness yadayadayada…” “Survival of the fittest!” Apparently, a queasy Twilight is an angry Twilight too. “Ugh… Whatever, egghead.” Rainbow Dash snorted as she shook the pole she was holding and continued waiting. “My point is, we’re doing our part in making sure nature stays, well… natural!” Twilight knew that Rainbow’s words were true, but the sheer act of snuffing out an innocent life still didn’t sit right with her. Her face showed that she was still partially unconvinced of the morals of this activity, but Rainbow was not free to settle her argument as a tug from the opposite end of the pole made her squeal with excited delight. “Can’t talk, got a bite here! Fluttershy, a little help with Twilight?” The butter-colored pegasus nodded from her daydreaming and turned to Twilight, who raised a brow at their friend who seemed to be playing tug-of-war with the water. “Yes, um… Rainbow Dash is absolutely correct! Um… If she wants to be, that is.” A frustrated shout from Rainbow about how Fluttershy should stop being herself was heard before she fell into the clear waters of the lake. “Um… Okay… But see, Twilight, you’ll get used to it. I cried every day when I had to do fishing, but I managed to get over it after two years or so. If I didn’t get used to it, Mr Bear would have left for the animal shelter, and we pegasi wouldn’t have enough proteins!” Twilight winced at the thought of how many tears her meek friend had shed for the sake of her pets, and she decided that she was going to take a while before she came back to this. She couldn’t play the role of a regal princess if she was too busy bawling her eyes out about killing a worm. “Yeah… But there are other sources of proteins too, Fluttershy. How else do Earth pony bodybuilders get so ripped?” Twilight levitated Rainbow’s pole out and effortlessly brought her catch out to land with some distaste as she let the pegasus clamber back onto the bank of the lake with nothing literally holding her back. “Sure fish is another source, but I think I’d rather stick to spinach and hay, really.” Another short pause came over the group as a drenched Rainbow Dash plopped her flank down against the ground with a huff, hugging her heavy catch with all her might as if it was going to flop back into the water if she didn’t do so. “And Mr Bear can hunt for his own food too, y’know. I see him pleading you to let him settle his own diet from time to time, so I’m pretty sure he’s alright with you not spoiling him.” “That’s quite true, I guess…” Fluttershy looked back onto the ground in deep thought before her face brightened up, and she trotted towards Rainbow. “I think Twilight’s right about this, Rainbow. Let’s be vegetarians!” Her last word shrunk the cyan pegasus’ eyes to pinpricks, and with a yelp of terror as Fluttershy reached for the struggling fish, she took off from the group, leaving Fluttershy and Twilight covered in a spray of fish scales. Fluttershy, however, didn’t seem fazed by it as she meekly shouted to her already-far-away friend. “If you want to, that is!”