Lacunae came to Ponyville to get away from her problems - to try and find a better life. However, nothing can ever escape what lies Beyond
Lacunae left Canterlot in the hopes of settling down. She gave up trying to find a cure for her insanity a long time ago, now she just wants to get away from everything. In Ponyville Lacunae hoped to find a better life.
Then things go wrong. A local flower mare goes crazy, the Princess of Friendship creates a curfew, and the recurring symbol of an eye keeps cropping up everywhere. Lacunae is at the centre of this problem, and she needs to fix it
There are few things quite as terrifying as death. It is one of the great mysteries of life - something that constantly lurks in the back of everyone's minds. Death looms like a shadow, ever waiting for a moment to strike when least expected. While many know what causes death - not many know what comes after. That is where the true fear in death lies; the ever-looming fear of the unknown.
It's an old cliche: the fear of the unknown. Such a fear can drive a pony mad, fearing for what lurks in the inky void beyond perception. What could be hiding in that unfathomable place? Why can't we see it? Why do I hear noises underneath the bed? What's that strange shape outside my window? Such questions are all too frequently asked. Some may find their answers to the detriment of their sanity or life, most never do. Ultimately there are questions that should never be answered or asked in the first place.
Some ponies don't think before they leap into the void. They stare down into the darkness, an untapped potential lurking just beyond their reach. All they need to do is jump and they will find their answers. Some don't even need to jump, just a simple step forward and they'll have all the answers they so dearly crave. Despite the ever present need to know, most turn back. They retreat from the void and its terrible contents and continue their life, never knowing what could have been.
So... what happens to the ponies that jump? To those that dare venture into the bottomless pit of answers? Daring to remove the fog that separates the living from the abyss?
To this there is a simple answer: an eye opens that can never be shut.
~***~
Pills. It's always pills. At least the tiny tablets have a variety to them. Take them with water, take them with food, take at night, cut into halves, cut into quarters. They all have a variety of restrictions - a set of rules to follow. Some make me feel higher than Celestia's sun while others mess around with the cogs of my mind till the world is as strange and chaotic as Discord. A long time ago I used to just take whatever pills they thought I needed - now I only take what actually works.
Two in the morning. The hard capsules press against my throat as I choke them down with water. I can feel them travelling down my throat as I gag slightly. I hate my morning tablets. They might be the only thing between me and the thoughts, but that doesn't mean I have to like them. Still better than the liquid medication - at least the taste is only temporary with pills.
Ever since I first got my cutiemark I've had pills. Since I first received treatment for my 'condition'. Well, they thought they were treating me. In truth they were just making it worse. I still remember the days in that cushioned room solving puzzles while I was observed. They had to make sure the corners were rounded - too risky otherwise.
As I pick up my toothbrush, I catch sight of my reflection. The unicorn that stares back at me looks wrong. Purple long mane, purple coat, purple horn, blue eyes. While for the most part she looks like me there is one glaring difference between the real me and that thing staring back. Namely the fact that her skin is peeling off in places, revealing rotting insides infested with long white worms. I sigh and close my eyes for three seconds. "One... two... three"
The abomination that stares back catches me off guard. My toothbrush clatters to the floor as I shut my eyes again to try and remove the image from my head. It isn't real, I know this. When I was a foal I didn't know their games. Several times I'd convince myself that the reflection was real, then everything would get hazy. A short while later I'd wake up in the hospital, my sisters standing by looking tired as they always did.
A few more seconds. This time I don't take chances. It's a simple spell, one that drains the Tartarus out of me, but works better than the nasty pills I used to be on. Breaking into Canterlot's forbidden library had been one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life. I saw plenty of terrible things in the books inside - things ponies weren't meant to see. It was worth it for the spell though - the only thing that blocks them out.
There was a reason why the spell was in the forbidden library. It removes a cutiemark - effectively severing the cord between the self and destiny. What made it particularly dangerous was that any race could perform the spell and in doing so effectively destroy another pony's life. Some medical professionals knew the spell in case a pony had a particularly mentally or physically damaging cutiemark. The reason why it hadn't been cast on me was that the doctors thought I had schizophrenia and that it wasn't linked to my cutiemark. I had to learn it myself to even stay sane.
To describe the sensation of the Severance is surprisingly simple. It's like having something important, something vital cut off from the soul. Having a cutiemark removed is as painful and mentally damaging as removing a pegasus' wings or a unicorn's horn. After so many years of doing it - I've become accustomed to the pain. Accustomed - not used to. The spell is even simple - just finding the tether between the pony and their talent and cutting it. Although even for a decently gifted unicorn such as myself it leaves me feeling drained and weak for the rest of the day.
When I open my eyes again the abomination is gone. The image, while still unpleasant to look at, thankfully won't be seared into my brain to slowly drive me insane. Even without the effects I still don't look particularly pleasant. There's bags underneath my eyes, my ribcage is visible, and my cutiemark-
Well, let's just say my cutiemark was never a pleasant sight to begin with even after my alterations. While the space where it once was is blank beyond a few scar lines, the mark itself still floats beside it. I have a jar prepared - I just need to seal it away while I go about my day. Just for today, any longer than that and it can take a toll on a pony's psyche. As tempting as it would be to remove the foul thing that ruined my life - I'm not interested in going any crazier than I already am.
Still, I have a schedule to keep. Today's flavour of toothpaste is strawberry - I think I deserve a treat after what I just saw. Princess Celestia's sun still shines, Friendship is still elusive, and I'm still insane. What else is new?
~***~
Ponyville market feels brighter today. With the added business the new Friendship School is bringing in - new stalls have cropped up to trade with the foreign students. Gem, spice, pastry, even meat stalls have cropped up since the Friendship School opened. Although the meat stall is legally required to only source meat from consensual donors or carrion, it still gets odds looks from the folks of Ponyville. Thankfully today I only need to go to one stall today - my favourite stall.
The flowerstand is run by three mares of whom I know fairly well. Daisy, Roseluck, and Lily are the only three mares of whom I've tried to socialise with. I've never been one for others - conversation can quite easily derail when they get involved. For some reason though these three never spark the Others interest in the slightest. Even though today is my cheat day, I still prefer to talk with them. They're friendly if a little dramatic and as harmless as a pony could possibly be.
"Good morning Roseluck" I don't have the energy to bounce, but I do perk up slightly as the earth pony comes into view. She doesn't look up from her arrangement, eyes glistening in the sun light. Roseluck still smiles as I approach, that familiar warm smile.
"Good Morning, how have you been?" Roseluck continues to look at her arrangement as she speaks. Out of the three mares, Roseluck is usually the least concerned with perfection. Today seems to be an exception however as she diligently arranges something behind the counter.
"Same as usual. My sisters still haven't responded to my letters, but they did send money through. They're always quite busy though, so I can't blame them" Roseluck hums as she continues arranging her flowers. I don't think I've ever seen the mare so focused on something before - the flower mares aren't usually so precise. Most ponies simply order their flowers as a gift to their significant other to share, they're usually eaten not looked at.
Awkward silence reigns for several seconds as I wait for Roseluck to finish up so we can chat. Roseluck is always up for conversation. The flower mares know all the gossip in Ponyville and usually they can barely contain it for any longer than a femtosecond. I'm not great with social interactions, but I do look forward to hearing about what's going on in Ponyville before I go back home.
The seconds turn into a minute. Two minutes. As it reaches three minutes I awkwardly cough and force a smile. "Can I see what you're arranging?" I don't know much about flower arrangements or aesthetics, but whatever she's doing must be enrapturing.
I put a hoof on the counter and Roseluck jumps, dropping whatever she was doing. Her chartreuse eyes focus on me as if she's only just noticing my presence. I try to smile, to be polite. Roseluck doesn't return my smile. Somehow the pale yellow mare had gone even paler - practically white. Something clatters to the floor, something... heavy? Maybe metallic? Certainly not a bunch of flowers by any means.
I try to peer over the counter, but the second I get close Roseluck takes several steps backwards. "Wh-what... wh-what happened to your... your face" Roseluck's pupils shrink as she stares at my face. Not my eyes, my face.
Immediately my hoof reaches to touch my face to see if there's something wrong with it. What if the things the Others showed me were right? I could never really be sure. "What's wrong? Oh princesses, what's wrong with my face?" my hoof pulls at my face. It feels like fur, whole and normal. That's the one thing that keeps me sane - touch, smell, even sound can be warped by them. Never touch though. Touch can never be fooled.
Roseluck is a dramatic pony, certainly one prone to fainting. I've seen the mare faint over a broken flower stem, which somehow isn't the worst thing she's overreacted to. However, usually she just overreacts with woe or despair. Fear, real true fear isn't something I've ever seen Roseluck express. I know fear though, my own fear and my sister's quite well. The look on Roseluck's face, the emotion that was etched into every fibre of the earth pony's being: that was fear.
And it was directed at me.
"Rose? What's wrong?" I take a step back. Other ponies in the marketplace are starting to notice the flower mare's odd behaviour. They're all staring, eyes fixated on both me and my friend. I thought removing my cutiemark would prevent this from happening, I hate being looked at.
Rose shakes her head and I finally notice her forelegs. I don't like blood. Blood makes me remember the day I got my cutiemark. Scarlet stains Roseluck's forelegs, matted into the fur. Whatever pattern she was cutting in is lost in the tide. Holy shit, the clatter, the focus, Roseluck...
"Somepony! Call Nurse Redheart!" I duck around the cart and try to get close to Roseluck. She cowers against a wall, pupils narrow pinpricks. I stop a few steps away as she begins to whimper and close her eyes. The gravel I'm standing on is wet underneath my hooves - it's probably going to stain.
I open my mouth to try and talk, but Roseluck starts mumbling. I can make out a few words and phrases. "The eyes... no hiding... need to... can't stop... go away" Roseluck mumbles as she buries her face in her bloodied forelegs. A warm breeze blows between us (when did it suddenly get cold?) reminding me that I have a mouth.
"Rose, what's going on?" Roseluck looks up, eyes unfocused for a few seconds before finally narrowing on me. She screams and in a flash something yellow collides with my face. Then everything goes black.
The sterile scent of hospitals is something I don't think I'll ever forget. It covers the decay, the sickness that creeps through everything inside. Hospitals are a place of mortality and insanity - places I don't want to be. Ponies are fragile beings, prone to breaking under even the slightest stress. Not recalling how I got here is almost as familiar as breathing, but this hospital is different to the one in Canterlot.
There was a slight cosiness to the Ponyville Hospital. It still smelt like a hospital and still had that creeping edge of everpresent mortality, but there was warmth. There was a window beside the bed, I could make out the branches of a tree in the waning sunlight. Something about the orange sky worried me, but I couldn't remember exactly why. I couldn't really focus on that though - my face felt like it'd taken a buck to it.
Modern medicine was a wonder. While it couldn't heal sickness or serious injury - a broken nose wasn't really a problem. Sure, it hurt like Tartarus - but a part of me just knew that it could have been worse. I was connected to a healing potion drip of which I certainly wasn't going to pull on. The thought of blood squirting from a removed catheter made me queasy, more so than usual.
Suddenly it all came flooding back. My mouth goes dry as if to vomit as images flood my mind, but there's nothing to come up. Roseluck, standing cowering, forelegs practically scarlet with blood. It's certainly not the worst thing I've seen - they just love tormenting me with terrifying images. What makes this wrong is this is real; real and terrible. Worse - my friend was badly hurt by it.
Roseluck was the first pony to be nice to me when I moved in. She was friendly and actually tried to make conversation with me. Back in Canterlot I had quite a reputation as the crazy adoptive sister of the Sugar family with the freaky cutiemark. Aside from one pony - everyone else that wasn't related to me left me very quickly. No one wants to be friends with a pony who couldn't tell what was reality and what was an illusion.
I sat up and winced as a splitting pain went through my skull. Apparently it was a bad idea to suddenly move after receiving a buck to the head. From an earth pony no less. It hurts so much I can literally hear the pain. I can feel it behind my eyes forcing them shut as I close in on myself. Thoughts hurt. Everything hurts. Why won't it stop?
Hush now quiet now, it's time to rest your sleepy head
The migraine stops as suddenly as it came, my blood chilling in my veins. It'd been a long time since I heard that lullaby, since the day they first came to me. They weren't real of course, they were my conscious mind equinepomorphising my insanity caused by my cutiemark. Still didn't make it any less creepy to hear a physical representation of my-
Wait.
I shimmy out of the covers enough to look at my flank. My cutiemark decal was supposed to be an exact copy of my cutiemark. It was... unsettling. What was worse was that the thing kept changing on me, so I'd have to alter it constantly. At first it'd been one single eye - an oddly shaped eye that looked a bit like an almond rather than a real eye - that had a pupil, but no iris. Over time at seemingly random points in my life, other eyes appeared. Dragon, pony, goat, even thestral eyes have appeared. Last time I checked there were seven.
Now there were eight eyes: an additional chartreuse, distinctly pony eye right in the left corner.
~***~
Time and memory are not my friends. They jump and dart around me constantly, as elusive as sanity. Although I might not be crazy. My life has kind of shattered around me in the span of a day. Up is down, left is right, I'm somehow not crazy and I keep hearing a Celestia forsaken lullaby.
Hush now quiet now, it's time to go to bed
Not until I see Roseluck, creepy voice. I have no clue what's going on, but I need answers. Pink, the best sister in the world, would remind me that I need to make some hypothesis or do research and not stop until I have an answer. I don't have a hypothesis because I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I can do research.
Ponyville Hospital is a lot smaller than Canterlot Hospital as it turns out. Between when I discovered Roseluck's eye on my cutiemark and now are an all too familiar blur. However, I have a good guess on what happened. I still have the stand carrying the bag of healing potion beside me and I'm in front of a door that seems to be the ICU based on the fact it has some security. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the mystery of the missing memory.
While I do know a few spells that could get me in easily I don't want to have to explain to security why or how I broke into the ICU, especially with my record. Canterlot Mental Hospital has a fairly extensive file on me, one I don't want to add to in a hurry. If I'm not allowed in the legal way then I can still try the easy way. I press the button on the side of the door. "Doctor Horse speaking, state the nature of your visit and name"
"U-um, Lacunae here to see R-Roseluck? I'm her friend" I barely manage to mumble out. He takes a while to respond, the sounds of a lullaby playing in my head. The voice singing is familiar... but I can't place where I've heard it before. It's not my sisters or anyone else recognisable. Understandably though it sets my mane on end, but I can't for the life of me figure out who it is singing.
The speaker crackles as a buzzer sounds. "Come on in, just be wary that her bedside is filling up rather quickly" I push open the door and trot in. The air inside is almost freezing and underneath the smell of bleach and alcohol is a distinctly metallic odour. Faint, but unmistakable nonetheless. A brown unicorn is there waiting for me as I enter, levitating a clipboard with a distinctly bored facial expression. He briefly looks at the stand I'm holding onto with the half empty bag on it, but doesn't seem to care too much. "Follow me" I trot a few paces behind Dr Hooves, the lullaby even more creepy with the looming aura of death in the air.
Hush now quiet now, close your sleepy eyes
Eventually we reach Roseluck. She isn't restrained despite having kicked me in the face earlier, but I can see why. Roseluck's forelegs are covered in brown bandages, the smell of various dressings interlaced with the metallic tang of blood nauseatingly strong. A tube goes underneath her bandages linked up to a blood bag which is presumably saving her life. There's a wet cloth covering her eyes, Rose's face deathly pale as she mumbles incoherently. No wonder they didn't think to restrain her - she looks close to death.
Daisy, Lily, and... Starlight Glimmer? The three look up as I approach. The two flower mares muster up some weak smiles at the sight of me. Doctor Hooves sighs and trots away without another word, leaving me alone with the three mares. Awkward silence fills the room, save for the singing in my mind. "Hey"
"Hey" Daisy replies to my awkward attempt to start a conversation first. She seems quite uncomfortable, constantly staring at my broken nose. "Please don't hold it against Roseluck. Sh-she's not... sh-she's-"
"The eyes... they stare... stop" Roseluck whimpers as she begins to twitch. Daisy places a hoof on the bed beside Roseluck, looking about ready to cry.
I nod and stand on the other side of the bed as I look at Roseluck fearfully. "I have an idea on what she's going through, so no judgements" I clear my throat as I look at Starlight suspiciously. Like many of the ponies in Ponyville, Starlight Glimmer is quite a terrifying presence for me. For others it'd probably be the fear of her snapping back to the pony who stole Twilight and her friend's cutiemarks. There's a rumour that S class unicorns like Starlight can sense dark magic - considering the fact I have a nasty susceptibility to cast one of the darkest spells there is for 'cheat' days, I probably reek of it. However, Starlight seems far more interested in Roseluck at the moment to bother with me.
"If this isn't too intrusive, can I ask what she's been mumbling about?" I try to ask as normally as I possibly can as I lock eyes with Lily.
Lily frowns and shakes her head slightly as if the very thought disgusts her. "Eyes mostly. I noticed that she was repeating herself though and managed to piece together a phrase... but it's just..."
"It's just what?" I look back at Roseluck as she begins to mouth something, but no sound comes from her.
Lily shifts awkwardly in her seat as she looks back at me. "There are a few phrases. They're all about eyes and watching... except one" I lock eyes with Lily and feel a hint of dread as the singing abruptly stops. "'The wall between the Others and us is crumbling down in the gaps'. It's nonsensical, but for some reason it unnerves me" Lily blinks a second as her golden eyes focus on me. "Why do you ask?"
Beads of sweat make my mane cling to my neck. "J-just a hunch. C-could you, um, this is going to sound really, really weird, but could you check Roseluck's cutiemark for me?" I can feel Starlight Glimmer's stare burrowing into me at the question. Lily looks uncertain, but Daisy is way ahead of her as she pulls the blanket down to look. The hospital gown covers up most of Roseluck's pale fur, but from my memory doesn't extend to past the cutiemark. The sheet creeps down agonisingly slowly, Daisy clearly cautious as to not disturb her friend too much.
The edge of Rose's cutiemark is visible, the green stem still there. However it's paler then I remember although that could just be from the bloodloss. She is paler than usual everywhere else - surely her cutiemark is the same? That's how pigmentation should work. Daisy frowns however as she catches sight of a distinctly red outline. "What the-" Daisy pulls the cover away quickly as we all gasp.
I'm not a stranger to the defacing of one's cutiemark. Several times after I would black out in Canterlot Mental Hospital, I'd come to with bandages over my cutiemark. It was extraordinarily taboo though and considered a truly terrifying thing to happen. Cutiemarks were a pony's destiny - to purposely bring a weapon to the definition of themselves was horrifying to even think about. By some miracle of magic the scars did nothing to cover the pigments of a cutiemark and would just be slight distortions of the skin, barely visible. The fresh wounds however were very clearly visible.
Over the top of Roseluck's cutiemark she'd engraved an eye. Not just any eye however. While to the others in the room - the alien almond shape and lack of iris would almost seem like the mark of a cult. To me it was an image that made the blood drain from my face and cause a dizzy spell to start. Roseluck had engraved my cutiemark over her own... what was worse was that it seemed older than the wounds on her forelegs by a day or two.
Twilight's castle is a surprisingly large place. Starlight told me to wait by the door, to not move till she got the Princess of Friendship, and then they'd question me. It's nearly night, Luna's moon is visible through a window on the wall, but the sky still has a tint of colour. Usually by now I'd be home, safe in my bed with my music on and with my sensory pad until I fall asleep. Sensation keeps me grounded through the darkness of the night - now all I have is cold hard crystal, and the ticking of a clock on the wall.
The clock is unbearably close to seven. I pace, hearing my hoofsteps echoing through the castle. Time looses all sense when I look away from the clock - stretching and warping. Sometimes I swear it's been hours, but a quick glance reveals it to have been only a minute. Tick, tick, tick - the sound reverberates in my head.
I look down one of the halls. There's two halls and a door, one leading left and another leading right. A staircase leads up to somewhere, but I haven't the foggiest idea what. Really, I could leave - this place makes my fur stand on end, but the thought of Roseluck makes me stay. I really like her, she's nice, and knowing that I might be involved makes it all too much to bear.
Then I hear it - subtly, on the barest hint of perception. I look down the left hall, trotting closer. The noise gets louder, but so is indecipherable. I look at the clock - it's frozen right before seven. No more ticking, no sound save for that odd noise. I'm not a complete idiot; there's no noise really there, time hasn't stopped. My hooves rub against the cold crystal floor to try and rub away the noise in sensation. All I need to do is wait for Starlight and Princess Twilight and I can help Roseluck.
The noise remains, still omnipresent but unrecognisable. Now though it has a pattern. A steady cadence, a brief minuscule pause between each instance. It sounds familiar, but for the life of me I can't figure it out.
Run
A voice, recognisable as the voice from the hospital, speaks to me. I can't help but snort a little at it's presence. "Why?" the voice takes longer than expected to respond. My ear twitches as the unrecognisable noise changes, a decibel louder than before.
They're coming for you
The noise, as if to emphasise the voice's point, grows louder still. Even as it becomes noticeably audible instead of just barely perceivable, it's still strange. Noise, pause, noise, pause. It sounds almost wet, but there's something else to it. Like something knocking against something hollow. Really it's too faint to even try deciphering what it is. I swallow down my fear, and stay perfectly still. "Who's coming?"
Them
The noise gets closer. I stay still, even as my body screams for me to run. All I have to do is keep rubbing the tiles, just focus on the tiles. Not the noises, not the voices, nothing but the tiles. Something wet thuds against the ground to the left, disturbingly close. I look to the right, away from the left even as everything tells me I should see what's coming for me. "It's not real, it's all in my head, nothing is there" I remind myself, closing my eyes as I focus solely on the cold numbness in my hooves.
A deathly rasp comes from the hall, impossibly distorted. It couldn't have come from any living mouth. There's too much dissonance - like wind blowing through the holes in a pipe, but wet and filtered through rocks. I cringe at the noise as my mind screams at me to run. Cautiously, I open my eyes and look left. The darkness is a thick blanket concealing whatever horror is concealed in it, but the noise is everpresent.
Then the darkness moves, parting around the shape of something mangled, and wet, and equine, and... blue. "F-father?" a horrible simulacrum slithers into the light. Muscle and bone are exposed as the creature shambles on splintered hooves, each step an agony as it breathes through a rotten throat. My nose wrinkles as the overwhelming stench of metal and decay abrade my senses. I lock eyes with the creature; despite their glassy deadness, they're still the same electric blue as my own.
"H-h-hel-l-l-p m-m-me" The abomination wrasps as its twisted limbs drag it across the floor. That's when I notice the trail behind it of things that should be kept inside.
I take a few shaky steps back, but my muscles feel stiff as death. "You're not real. Y-you're not real" I try to affirm that fact. The one fact keeping me sane. My father smiles with yellowed teeth as red tears fall from his cold, dead eyes.
Want to take that risk?
My hooves thud against the cold tiles as I run away. Something is screaming and it takes me a few seconds to figure out it's me. I need to run. I need to escape from whatever that horrible thing was. Am I going up the staircase or down the right hall? It doesn't matter. I can't be near that thing.
I scream even as my throat burns. I scream still as I reach a fork in the road. I go left and reach a door. I open the door. I jump inside, magic darting around to find something to lock the room behind me. My screaming is cut off when I taste blood and my throat gives out. Pain overwhelms me as I curl up against the cold tiled floor and cough up the thick metallic fluid in my lungs.
Darkness overwhelms my vision as the comforting void envelops me.
~***~
H-hello? Can anyone hear me? Please, I'm trapped. I don't know where I am, everything is dark and what I can make out... it doesn't make sense. My name is Roseluck, the last thing I remember was going to sleep and waking up in this... it's not even a place it's more like the concept of a place mixed with a nightmare. If you're hearing this, p-please help. We don't know what else to do but hope someone hears us and answers.
Please, time is running out. I don't know how much longer Moonlight's spells can keep Them at bay. You're our last hope- oh goddesses, I hear them. They're so close, why are they so close?! OH GODDESSES I SEE THEM!! HELP US, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE PLEASE SA
~***~
Consciousness comes in drips punctuated by the mind breaking subjugation of a migraine. All I can make out are bleary purple hues with a splash of turquoise and distorted noise. In some blinks though, the shapes change. From vaguely equine blobs to spindly bipedal creatures of indiscernible origin. They look almost like a dragon crossed with a yeti and something from H.P Hoofcraft - there was a definite maddening quality to them like they didn't belong in this reality.
Eventually though the inequine shapes blended with the pony blobs - forming the silhouettes and eventually faces of two of Equestria's strongest magic users. Both were definitely worried and quite confused - even with my limited ability to tell emotion I could tell that much. "Can you hear me now?" I try to focus on the voice, but I'm still too muddled to discern which one of them is speaking.
"Y-yes" a wad of some thick metallic substance clogs my throat for a second at my attempt at speech. I have enough sense to reach a hoof in front of my face as I cough up whatever foul liquid was trapped in my lungs. It comes up surprisingly easily and splatters across my fur - staining it a dark burgundy colour. I can feel more of the dried substance in my fur and practically reek of the foul stuff. Blood might be a life giving substance, but I do far prefer to keep it inside as a general rule.
Starlight's magic helps me to stand upright as my body protests. My head feels like it has taken a hammer to it, and my throat is even worse. Generally I just feel like shit, not a particularly unfamiliar feeling for me, but not a pleasant one. "W-water. N-need water" I croak out, coughing up more blood onto the cold crystal floor.
Almost instantly a glass of water is placed in front of me. I look to Twilight and Starlight, the latter of which shrugs. "You'd been out for a while. After what we heard, I had a feeling you'd need something to drink" I don't dare argue with Starlight's logic on that one. I don't dare use my magic what with my already terrible headache and instead grasp the water between my hooves. Drinking like this is certainly less simple, but it's better to be safe rather than sorry.
The water does little to help my aching throat, but at least it does something. After a few more sips I look back up at the two and sigh. "I-I saw something, wh-while I was w-waiting" my voice is scratchy, gravelly as I try to force the words out of my ruined vocal chords. "I see th-things like that all the time, b-but there w-was just something... off about it. It f-felt realer th-than usual, more defined"
"What do you mean? What do you see all the time?" Twilight scoots a little closer.
I cough into my hoof and take another sip to prepare myself. "Wh-when I was a filly, I saw things. S-sometimes they started off harmless enough: a filly playing with her mother, my father reaching out to give me a hug, m-maybe even my sisters talking to ponies I couldn't see. Th-they never stayed harmless though. When I-I was young They didn't have to try h-hard - make teeth grow sh-sharp and long, twist th-their shape a l-l-little to the wrong side of the spectrum. Then th-they started twisting my body... I got put in C-c-canterlot Mental Hospital after I tried popping the e-eyes on my skin with a sewing needle" more coughing, more blood. I really shouldn't be straining my chords like this, not after what I just did to them. This could be important though, any detail could help Roseluck. "I-I learnt a set of rules to keep them manageable. Celestia's sun hurts them - th-they manifest more in darkness, only rarely in the light as small l-little tricks. Th-they can't fool touch: overwhelming that sense makes it harder for them to trick the other senses. L-l-l-lastly-" I almost collapse as a fit of spluttering takes over. One of them presses a hoof to my back and gently pats it as I splatter crimson all over the blue crystal.
"What? What's the last rule?" I try to swallow down the wad of blood in my throat, not wanting to sully the princess' castle any further.
I look Twilight dead in the eyes and feel my chest tighten. "Don't ever listen to what they offer, because the price isn't worth it" my legs collapse underneath my weight as I choke on my own blood. Darkness once again overwhelms me as my own body betrays me, hacking and coughing without a chance for breath as I drown in my own fluids.
~***~
I walk forward through the Wall, and on the other side I am welcomed. Tentacles and claws rake across my form in greeting, a thousand mouths all screeching in joy. Today I bring home sustenance, today I bring home another small victory. The flesh of reality is a treasure in the Beyond - a delicacy most prized. It must be eaten fresh, must be savoured quickly before it is tainted any further by Our Home.
Today's prize is pretty. I savour her eyes, yellow and filled with life. Y̸͎̼̯̰̳̝̌a̾ͥ̀̒c͎͂͛̋ͫͪ̑͢'̱̮̞̈t̯̘̪̦̪̿̽ͨ̏͗͝h̆͂͗̿̓̃̓҉͙̦̟̤̗̞a̽a͈̱̣͔̼d̬̜̗̮͈̲ͯ̑͑̓̐͆͛͠h̦͎̾͐r̢̬̬̼̣̹̹̈́́͂ͮ'ͯ̂̀vͫ̓̽҉̩̟͚ḩ̦ͦ̏̄̄̑ͦiͯ̇ͧͯ̄̆͏̰̠̙̲r̶̺͔̩ dines on her pretty blue mane, soft and dainty as mortal life. Each of us takes our due, savouring every scream until Ì̶̱͍̓c̶̗̯̯̲̿t̷̡̘̙́̂̓͜a̵̯̠͛̋̀m̷̳͎̱̩̐b̷̨͇̌̚͠ṛ̴͕͐̈́͠i̶͎̘̮̩̔̓͝͝s̷̫̖̭̄̃̃͠ dissolves her throat with one swipe of his acid talons.
Tomorrow we dine on the others and their fear. For now though, we wait in the Beyond for our little Naocnod to bring us our due.
