> Colorless Eyes. > by FXCF > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > From The Journal Of R.D; Entry 92 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From The Journal Of R.D, Entry #92 I couldn’t tell you when it began. But I can remember the oldest memory of it. It was many a year ago, when the thrill of being an Element Of Harmony had really kicked in. It was right after Twi had become a Princess, after that whole debacle of kicking Discord’s butt in for that cruel prank he set up for-friggin’-ever ago. And let me be the first to tell you, nothing was more nightmarish than an entire crowd body-blocking you from being able to get out of Dodge, especially when there was a perfectly good series of clouds just Waiting for me to fly through.  It was autograph after autograph, and I’m 100% sure my hoof would have been stained black with ink for the rest of the week. Though, after like, 50, I felt… weird. Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being watched, just out of sight? I felt that. The little tingle running up and down your back, making your mane stick out. I ran my eyes through the crowd, just out of impulse, fully expecting to just see another rabid fan, trying to get my attention, and then Bam- White. Out there, in the crowd, was a Stallion. He looked thin, sickly, and had not a drop of color to him. His eyes just, stared. Empty. Colorless. It sent a chill through my heart. I blinked, and he was simply gone, not a single detail moved, and not a single hair on anypony’s mane moved. Like he was never there. Of course, this is The Rainbow Dash we’re talking about here! Some creep looking at me like that wasn’t gonna stop me from having a good time. Still, it made me pause. A weird thing, I guess. The next instance occurred at Ponyville, while Pinkie and I were enjoying a hearty drink of Cider. He was by a bench, sitting next to that weird pony addicted to those weird “Humans” she kept going on about, but she didn’t seem to notice him. Now, he was close enough to make out details. He was a pegasus, and his eyes weren’t all White. It was kinda inverted. The whites of his eyes, I think I’ve heard Twi call it the Sclara? Or something, were black. I could make out his mane, too. Ragged, dirty, and I swear I could see bare patches of skin, just as white as the rest of him. And his wings… they looked Mangled. I remember asking Pinkie “Hey, Pinkie, do you see that guy over there?” and I pointed over to the Stallion. “Over by the bench? That’s Lyra, you silly filly! She’s a Girl, not a guy.” The party goer laughed at her friend. “What? Not her, I mean that white stallion, right next to her…” He was gone. “What? He was just there!” “RD, I think you need to take a nap or something. Nopony’s over there but Lyra, and if there were, they’d have messed with the paint on the bench! Speaking of that, we should probably get Lyra off the bench before the paint dries.” Yeah, it took me a bit to actually notice that the bench was still a glistening white, the tell-tale sign that the local Painters forgot the sign. I really thought that Pinkie was right, that I just needed a nap. But those Colorless Eyes didn’t leave my mind. It was like a hypnotic spell, stuck in the back of my brain, never leaving. It was there when I blinked, it was there when I slept. Eventually it went away, but then he showed back up. Closer, though. Every time, his face started changing. After the bench, he started to, well, I guess he was starting to Smile. It was hard to tell, as he had no visible lips, and his eyes never changed from their fully blown open state. It took several months for him to get closer. At the time, I only saw him as a stalker, nothing more. Persistent, yeah, but I could deal with it. After all, that jerk was fast enough to vanish before Pinkie saw him, and if anypony was as fast as Me, it was that Bubblegum Menace. Nopony Else needed to get involved. After all, this jerk was picking with Me, so it’s My problem. At least, that was my reasoning, back then. Truth is, I was scared out of my mind. I mean, could you blame a Mare? Every waking moment was haunted by that Freak, and constantly vanishing on me made the fear I felt every time he appeared Worse. Thankfully, he never showed up anywhere near my home, or near work, or while I was around Unicorns like Twi, and Rarity. Funny, he actually made my relationship with the two better. Well, Was. I say that, as just a few weeks ago, he began getting closer, and sleep became a distant memory. I slept about a total of 3 hours, in like 6 whole weeks. Because every time I tried, he was there, outside my window. And… He was crying. That single, black and white eye, pouring tears, constantly. It didn’t leave any tracks, as per usual, so I guess that’s when I started figuring it out. He wasn’t real. But that didn’t matter to my brain when he popped up outside my window in the early hours of the morning. Nearly gave me a heart attack, and had me running to Twilight with my tail between my legs. She, uh, wasn’t happy to see me at 2 in the morning. I guess I’m writing this all down in case… I dunno, in case I die in my sleep? After this morning, my brain and heart just refuse to accept he’s fake, so I’m terrified that they’ll just, shut down in the middle of the night. I guess I can call this my “Memento Mori”, then. Or, a Eulogy? Who knows, who cares. > From The Journal Of R.D; Entry 93 & 107 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From The Journal Of R.D, Entry #93 He was at the foot of my bed. Just standing there. But his eyes were sharper now, slanted. The tears were gone. Like he was Glaring right into my soul. Those eyes were glowing, and I felt like I was being strangled. When I blinked, he was gone, but I still felt like somepony was crushing my throat. Wasn’t until I rolled out of bed and coughed up what felt like my lungs that it stopped, but by then I was already covered in blood. Blood from my tongue, nearly bit the damn thing off earlier when I screamed. I think I’m going to stay inside for today. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #107 I think I’m sick Last night I couldn’t stop puking, started turning red He doesn’t leave, just stays Just out of sight I can see his chest just over the desk, I can hear him breathing I need help But who can help me? He won’t stop breathing, it’s so loud. Twilight? Yeah, Yeah! She can help, Twilight can help! Twilight's always got the answers! > From The Journal Of Twilight Sparkle: Copied Letters To Princess Celestia: Entry #387 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From The Journal Of Twilight Sparkle: Copied Letters To Princess Celestia: Entry #387 Dear Princess Celestia, Last week was a bad week for everyone here in Ponyville, and in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash, the Element Of Loyalty, suffered a horrific mental breakdown, and is currently being kept at the Equiis Mental Facility. Equiis hasn’t been open since before I was born, but this was needed. She was… horrible. Rainbow kept screaming at the dark while trying to talk to me, shouting out about random Numbers and some kind of “Monster” that she called the “Colorless Eyes”. I could hardly follow her train of thought, but from what she kept yelling that a “He” wouldn’t leave her alone, that her dreams were filled with “His” stare. However, Rainbow refused to give me an actual description of this “Colorless”, and whenever I tried to slowly pry she began shutting down. At least, she started off that way. After roughly 10 minutes, she began screaming at nothing, before falling to the ground and suffering a seizure. After that, Fluttershy and Rarity brought in Medical Assistance to take her to a Doctor. Nurse Redheart gave us the news a few hours ago. Rainbow Dash has, mentally, shattered under unknown causes. We’re not sure if she’ll ever get better. I’m scared. Not a single medical journal I’ve gone through has something like this, and I’ve gone through Hundreds, possibly Thousands of entries! Please, Princess, give us some help. Please. Your Ever Faithful, Twilight Sparkle. From The Journal Of Twilight Sparkle: Copied Letters To Princess Celestia: Entry #388 Dear Princess Celestia, Rainbow Dash, The Element Of Loyalty, passed away this morning, at 8:27 AM, Tuesday, Mondas, 1557 PCE. We don’t know what to do without her. All that’s left is a single page Rainbow left behind. I’ve done my best to transcribe it here, as per her final wishes.  I don’t know what to make of it. I’m sorry, for not trying harder. > And What Was That Note Left, Friend? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “348 348 348 348 348 348 348” “I know now. I know now. I know now. The Colorless Eyes have kept me locked in a loop, a loop of eternal suffering. I awakened in an abyss, before being risen by Chains, into the maw of that Machine, the one I sent so many into. Bones, Flesh, Muscle and Mind, rendered over and over, as if amidst a Storm. I see flashes of faces in my nightmares, ponies I’ve wronged, ponies I’ve helped. Everyone there to watch me drown in the very thing I bled out of others. But HE let me out, out of the loop, just for a fleeting moment. Even as I write this, I can feel my eyes trying to close. He’s in the corner, laying down and watching, as if a foal seeing his mother reading the morning paper. So, using what awareness I have left, I leave two messages to my Friends. I’m Sorry. I’m sorry for all the crap I did during the time we’ve known each other, being a jerk with the whole Mysterious Mare-Do-Well situation, being egotistical all the time, all that. I would have apologized back when you all visited, but I was busy screaming at the walls. Sorry. I wish I had more time, leave you all notes, but I can feel his gaze sharpen. I leave just one last request. Bring this letter to Celestia, tell her to investigate Cloudsdale. Screw it, tell her to send in the entire Guard, to that damn Rainbow Factory. It’s story isn’t quite as nice as the story we knew of Sugar and Spice. The letter continues on for about 4 more lines, repeating the numbers 348 in an increasingly shaky manner. At the foot of the page is a splash of ink that seems to melt into an odd poem. SLEEP TIGHT, ATOP ENGINE PURR, LEARN WELL, IN MOMENT SPUR, REMEMBER TRULY, OLDEN TALE, SILENCE CHILD, DO NOT WAIL, KNOW IT'S STORY, HEAR IT'S TALE, LEAST WINGS TAKE FLIGHT, WE AID IN MACHINES MIGHT. > Epilogue: Understanding The Horror. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dreamscape was a strange thing. It was a mix of Cold and Boiling, bright yet dark, and was Luna’s paradise. But tonight, it was her curse once again. Tonight, she was here to save a life, something she’d not done in an Eon. Within the Dreamscape stood a wall of doors, each leading to a different dream, and the one before Luna, one covered in cracks and rainbows, belonging to the Element Of Loyalty. With trembling breath, she reached out to shove open the door to Rainbow Dash’s dreams, but… It didn’t budge. That was new. With another shove, Luna’s confusion grew. It didn’t just not budge, the whole thing felt like a tooth about to fall out. If she breathed towards it in the wrong way, the doorway would probably topple over like a drunkard. “What is this trickery?” The Lunar Princess growled. “The Dreamscape has never done this before!” “Of course it hasn’t. That was before I was born.” Luna turned hoof faster than a bolt of lightning, a sharp blast of Magic following in her wake towards the unknown target. It impacted a stallion behind her, which was quite concerning, as nopony else had the ability to enter the Dreamscape sans herself. That stallion… it was an exact mimic of the scant few descriptions Rainbow Dash had given in her Journal. White patchy fur, mangled wings, ratty and tangled mane, and black tar like eyes, housing a white ring that served as an iris. “I don’t think using magic will work on me.” The being spoke in a tone that was a front between Bored and Dead, sounding much like somepony under water. “Shame.” “What in the blazes are you supposed to be?! Art thou the Demon terrorizing the Element of Loyalty?” Luna growled, forming another blast of pure magic. The being simply blinked, a few tears running down its cheek as a result. “A Mistake.” That made Luna pause for a moment, before regaining composure and releasing another spell, this time one made specifically for beings of the Spectral Nature. Once more, it did nothing but ruffle their mane. “Please stop that. It won’t stop my suffering, so wasting your own strength is a pointless endeavor.” It grumbled, simply slumping down onto its flank. “I know you want to help her, but you can’t.” “And what exactly is stopping me, foul being?” “My Curse.” The absent-eyed being raised a look to the Moon Princesses eyes. “I was created by cruelty, pain, and the urge to Hurt. But it was the urge to hurt the guilty. Two Unicorns, their names no longer matter. They made me to make ponies confess.” Its eyes rose higher, towards the eternal void that made a sky. “What became of Rainbow Dash was an accident. They hit her by sheer chance, through the bars of their window, from the Academy. And now Rainbow Dash’s sins are being laid bare, and I don’t want that.” It rose from its sitting position, now placing a hoof onto the doorframe of Rainbow Dash’s dream. “She is an evil mare, truly, but she is not devoid of Good. Her sins within that Machine, the sins that led to me taking the form of this… ‘Flame Storm’, are numerous and disgusting. But… she had a lot of Good, somewhere in there. I guess we can blame a million things. Society, her Parents not simply leaving Cloudsdale and letting her gain her position, her overwhelming ego being fueled by the Factories old boss… It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters much anymore.” To this point Luna had simply stood by, mental cogs slowly twisting in circles at this new information. It… didn’t feel like a lie. It felt too sincere, the sorrow in its voice so deep and raw, it felt like an Ocean. “What- What in the name of Tartarus do you mean by Her Sins?! And what Machine?” Luna’s voice felt as wobbly as the door beside her and the Curse. “Have you not read the journal? Oh well, not enough time to really care.” It mumbled. “I’d explain, but it’s not really worth it right now. Just ask your dear sister, I’m sure you’ll have a lot to talk about.” The Curse sounded almost sarcastic. Almost. But it’s gaze turned once more to the door, gazing at the latch as it suddenly cracked. “She’s dying, Luna. One of your heroes is dying right before you, and you’re sitting here, talking to a sentient Curse that’s killing her, miles upon miles away from her.” It placed a hoof upon the latch as Luna began stepping back, eyes widening. “Go. There is Nothing for you here.” And so, she left. With nothing left, the Curse opened the door, the deafening sounds of screaming and machinery was heard for a moment, before the door fell close, Forever.