Together Banished #4

>You shamble tacitly towards the river’s passageway, grasping weakly onto your bucket.

>Behind you, the soft rebounds of coughing reach your ears.

>Making your way out of the thoroughfare, you kneel beside flowing water, scooping your bucket full without delay.

>Veering back towards the passage, you continue your choleric totter.

>You count this as the third trip this night and the second bucket of water she’ll drink.

>Overall, the night so far hadn’t been going well at all.

>You’re starved, due to the previous incident involving the meat locker.

>But also Chrysalis’ coughing has been keeping you awake.

>At first you wanted to ignore it, but her coughs worsened to a point it became almost seamless.

>Your solution was to have her drink, hydrate her and hopefully clear out whatever was tickling her throat.

>And of course you hoped that’s all it was. A tickle in her throat.

>The first bucket of water supplied to her was given without word or command.

>You just wanted to get some sleep, small-talk was the last thing on your mind.

>You simply placed the bucket in front of her bed and returned to your own.

>Before you could even settle under your bedsheets, a loud crash emanated opposite from your bed.

>The sound alarmed you, it nearly made you shout.

>Turned out she’d dropped the bucket and consequentially soaked most of her bed.

>By the surprise present in her eyes and her shaking hooves, she must’ve genuinely lost her grip.

>Intentional or not, exhaustion was making you far too aloof to care. Hooves must be hard to work with anyway.

>After you reluctantly lifted yourself off your mattress, you ordered her to swap beds with you.

>She was hesitant at first, but when you repeated the instruction with identical emotion she shifted over and put restraint on her hacking.

 

>You then took the toppled bucket, threw off the drenched sheets and scraped yourself back towards the river for more water.

>When you returned you kneeled down next to her, bucket raised cordially towards her face.

>It was a gesture that confused her. You explained that you were going to hold the bucket for her whilst she drank, all in order to avoid another accident.

>Her reluctance was thoroughly more expressed.

>She said something about refusing to be treated like a child.

>Stoically, you denied contesting whatever she said by remaining silent.

>But the raised bucket remained.

>Eventually her coughs pushed her into conceding.

>Or maybe it was your boorish stare, either way her pride gave in.

>She carefully dipped her head forward and began drinking, you tipped the bucket gently with her pace to ensure she took down every last drop.

>Of course she whined after she’d finished.

>’Blah blah blah you dare ridicule me!? Blah blah, don’t forget you’re a sorcerer.’

>But those complaints meant she stopped coughing, so you took it liberally.

>Under the assumption she’d recovered, you went back to your new, soaked mattress.

>You collapsed onto it. It wasn’t a good idea now that you think about it, but you were tired.

>Your attempt to sleep was instantly interrupted however.

>She awoke you again with more coughing, lighter than before, but certainly loud enough.

>Thus it had started ALLL over again.

>So you threw yourself out of bed, snatched the bucket and went with what had to be done.

>That’s what’s brought you back to that river, along with that accursed bucket in the middle of this horrible night.

 

>As you make your approach back into the chamber, you try and pacify your agitation.

>After all, you need to be magnanimous about this. It’s to be expected for her condition.

>Still, you’re really tired, it’s difficult to be reasonable when your eyes are pleading to be closed.

>Entering, you immediately heave the bucket towards Chrysalis’ bed.

>Kneeling down, you raise it to her face just as you had done before.

>You’re going to keep concise about this matter.

>She actually doesn’t mope incessantly, following the procedure by leaning over to drink.

>Again, water appears to amend her throat, her coughs terminating immediately.

>Almost too quickly, your suspicions aver.

>She doesn’t drink all of her water, instead she pulls her head back after a quarter of it is consumed.

>Then she just looks at you oddly.

>You can’t really break down her expression, you’re a tad too tired for ambiguous signals.

>So you just provide a dull, exaggeratedly slow blink and put the bucket down, longing for sleep.

>That’s when she begins louring at you disapprovingly, as if you’ve missed some sort of cue.

>Fine, you’ll bite.

“What?”

>Man, you sound rough.

>”Answer this, sorcer-“

“No. Go to sleep.”

>Placing the bucket beside her, you twist around and advance towards your bed.

>You know she’s glowering tempestuously at your back, ready to throw a tantrum.

>Angry ruffling begins behind you, but no complaining.

>She finally took a hint.

 >At long last, you arrive at your soaking bunk and fall on top of it limply.

>Time to sleep, oh sweet blissful sleep.

 

>You only get to close your eyes for a minute, then something startles you.

>It’s a loud, single, preposterous noise that discharges beside you.

>It was clearly made by Chrysalis, but it sounded bizarrely like a cartoonish bark.

>You don’t know what she just did, but it hardly sounded serious.

>Well, you ignore it; you don’t even want to know what she’s up to.

>Yet she does it again.

>Then again.

>AND AGAIN.

>Each imitation becomes louder and more obnoxious than the last.

>Digging your face into the mattress, you muzzle yourself from screaming bloody murder.

>You also use the wet bedsheets beside you to try and bury yourself from Chrysalis’ racket.

>But she doesn’t stop, her outlandish coughs breaking through your sanctuary far too easily.

>What is her fucking problem?

>Four minutes is all you can manage to withstand.

>The endless noise is chipping against your sanity.

 >Violently pushing all bedsheets above you away, you turn your head away from the mattress and face her directly.

>She goes through two more erratic noises before finally noticing your rabid stare.

>Smirking lightly, Chrysalis closes her eyes, lifting her head up victoriously.

>”Answer. This. Sorcerer.”

>No, go to sle-

> “You WILL tell me your motives! Why do you keep me imprisoned here in your lair!? Am I being kept captive to be held ransom perhaps, or do you seek to supersede my empire for your own nonsensical contrivance!?”

>You slowly push yourself up, rubbing your eyes with a set of fingers.

>You’re truly becoming sick of these accusations.

>But after noticing her countenance, it snaps you into an even more humorless state.

>It almost makes you forget her crazy method of catching your attention.

>She’s made a complete turnabout, from puffed up sneering into vicious hostility.

 

 

>”I warn you, my kingdom shall never bow to the likes of you and your kind...I will refuse to submit to you, no matter the cost! As Queen of all changelings, this I will AFFIRM with every living breath I take!”

>You adjust your legs, sitting at the end of your mattress now.

>Where is she getting all these messages from?

>”So what is it, swine!? What do you truly desire!? What purpose is behind all of this!?”

>Pensive, you gaze towards the ceiling.

>Chrysalis’ glare intensifies in response to your silence, per usual.

>”ANSWER ME, SORCERER!”

>She’s surges into a stand abruptly after that roar, with all her sharp teeth exposed. She even starts to lean aggressively towards your direction.

>And here you thought you were the one about to murder something tonight.

>Sighing, you level your sight back towards Chrysalis.

>She definitely isn’t going to settle down without a response.

”Because...”

>...you’re a complete idiot who wanted to bring more torturous experiences into your ruined life?

>What a perfect response after those stupid noises she previously made.

>She does kind of deserve it...but...

>...it’s best not to be a dick about this. She’ll go savage.

>But the real reason is a little pitiful. She wouldn’t accept that.

>In fact her response would probably be worse to that than to the other answer.

>Tapping your fingers prudently, you fall deep into thought.

>You need to come up with another reason; something still true and believable.

>This could be your only chance to get something through that paranoia of hers.

 

>”...because I want to atone.”

>She blinks, her previous expression gets erased, it’s left as blank as paper.

>”Atone?”

>Errrr...got to roll with this, Anon.

“..Yeah. I mean, I didn’t actively choose to live here you know? Who’d want to live in a shitty, barren place like this?”

>Again, she blinks in confusion.

“I’ve been banished here by a...err, Princess? For all that sorcerer jazz, similar to what you keep rambling on about: being evil, holding incredible power, danger to ‘A quest tree ha’. Stuff I never really understood.”

>Stretching your arms behind you, you lean back against them.

>You wanted to explain that you weren’t even from this PLANET, but that would overcomplicate everything in your answer.

“So, by helping you out I’m doing a good deed, right? Maybe by being altruistic like this, I can prove I’m not one of those evil sorcerers to become...un...banished? Then I might be able to figure out how to get back h...”

>She’s still got that vacant stare.

>Uh oh, she isn’t buying it. She totally isn’t buying it!

>Why would you think up something so stupidly sentimental? That answer didn’t even makesense!

>Alright, no problem. Try to recover, try to recover-

“I...mean, uh. I just...wanted to do...good. Helping others in need is good, very good, so...everything’ll be good...for me.”

>Christ Anon, get your shit together.

“Then when you properly recover I can kick you out...and feel good about doing it.”

>Ya blew it.

>Her gawking hasn’t changed in the slightest, it’s awfully embarrassing.

>Groaning, you start to fumble about on your mattress, trying to get comfortable again.

>Being so tired made your answer ridiculous in the first place.

>And of course register as perfectly passable as you were saying it.

>Now you just REALLY want to sleep and regain your rationality.

 

“There, you’ve got your answer. Now just let me sleep, PLEASE.”

>After that little snap, you cram your eyes shut.

>Just forget everything that you just said, find peace and be quiet.

>The silence that follows isn’t as calming as you thought.

>But it’s only a few minutes before you hear something even more unsettling.

>”Sorcerer.”

>Can’t she listen once? For just this time, please?

>No, she won’t. You know she won’t, it isn’t in her nature to respect your requests.

>Is she going to chastise your answer for not being SORCERER enough?

>Oh you’re damned sure she’ll find a way to make that an adjective.

>”Your name.”

“What?”

>She sighs impatiently.

>”Your NAME, sorcerer. Your NAME.”

>For once, you’re the one rendered speechless for a few seconds.

“Uh, Anonymous...it’s Anonymous.”

>Then silence occupies what little is left of your cave.

>A little more comfortable silence.

>It helps you manage to drift off to sleep several minutes after, slumber actually took you by surprise.

 

>You are now Chrysalis, Queen of Changelings.

>Watching ‘Anonymous’ from afar, you evaluate your circumstance.

>Right now, you’re in a predicament.

>A humiliating one that you still struggle to ratify.

>This circumstance? You’ve fallen into the revolting grip of a sorcerer.

>His intentions are mysterious, impossible to fathom.

>You’ve been rightfully weary so far, constantly attentive to his actions.

>But after his confession, you’re actually beginning to believe he’s truly a deluded character.

>His words radiated with honesty, you could almost taste his sweet, naive emotions trickle against your fangs.

>Denying his own kind, trying to set himself apart from their atrocities.

>A miserable display of authentic remorse. Pathetic, really.

 >Whether the fool recognises his race or not is of no concern.

>He is a sorcerer, there is no doubt.

>Although he lacks the attire, attitude and atelier, his anatomy cannot be mistaken for any other creature.

>His banishment is further proof of this fact.

>So you must always remain vigilant, sorcerers are maleficent beasts, within the highest orders of evil.

>Possessing legendary magnitudes of magical energy, all used at whim with utmost apathy.

>...It is an amount of energy you couldn’t dream of obtaining.

>Although this is your very chance to make fantasy a reality.

>Speaking of magical energies, for the time being your own magic seems to be stunted, you cannot perform any of it at all.

>Neither can you shift forms.

>It is most likely interrelated with the wounds you woke up with.

>Your banishment from Canterlot and the proceeding fall, that must have been the source of all this damage.

>Losing control of your wings after being thrown with such force, not even your magic could stabilise you.

>Your failure at Canterlot is a distressing fact, building your anger.

 

>That failure has forced you into waiting, helpless to this sorcerer’s disposition until you properly recover.

>It is this vulnerability which makes you seethe with anger.

>You are Queen of the destined rulers of Equestria, the changelings!

>Such weakness violates that image at every angle.

>Merely thinking about it makes you irate.

>Grimacing, you feel your stare towards Anonymous intensify with murderous desire.

>You could kill him right now, tear out his throat with a simple bite as he sleeps carelessly.

>But if you do that, you seal your chances in draining his love.

>A SORCERER’S love.

> If Cadence’s husband provided you with enough power to best Celestia...

>...then the love from a sorcerer will let you shift the very foundations of Equestria like mere putty.

>It is DESTINY that has brought this recreant into your hooves.

>It is DESTINY which will let you will consume his love!

>Yes...YES!

>All you have to do is seduce him...his love will be yours to devour!

>Everyone, EVERYTHING will be at your complete mercy! Nothing will be able to stop you!

>And then can you finally bring forth your kingdom and rule not just your people, but every single race in Equestria, just as you are truly entitled to!

>ALL SHALL BOW BEFORE YOU! BE THEY PONY, GRYPHON OR EVEN DRAGON!

>YOU WILL BECOME CHRYSALIS, RULER OF ALL EQUESTRIA!

”AHHHAHAHAHA-“

>You quickly jam your mouth shut with both hooves, containing your laughter desperately.

>Shooting a glance towards Anonymous, you fear the worst.

>But he only groans, making unintelligible mumbles and shuffling a few times in his bed.

>Sighing out in relief, t is fortunate he did not wake.

>You took your plan a bit too compassionately.

>Despite your enthusiasm, you still have obstacles.

 

>Your body still needs to recover. Physically, you’re still extremely weak.

>Even the sorcerer can overpower your actions, as realized by your first endeavour against him.

>Plus it was shown again where he openly degraded your sovereignty by carrying you like some...some...

>...some PET.

>It was insulting that you were unable to resist his blasphemous maltreatment.

>Finally, you could not even lift a bucket of water. A true example of your deplorable condition.

>And the aforementioned inability to use magic is even more of a hindrance.

>It may make entrancing Anonymous difficult.

>Difficult, yes. But not impossible.

>Far from impossible, actually. Captivating a simpering wretch like him should take less than a day.

>...It is something that will be necessary too, as it is your ultimate problem.

>Eventually, you’re going to require TRUE subsistence: love.

>Fortunately, your last victim left you well provided.

>Shining Armour’s love still flows strong within you, but eventually that will dissipate.

>You even took steps into conserving that precious resource.

>Eating that quantity of meat will preserve that love by giving your body nutritional support.

>But even now, it’s being used to heal your wounds.

>It won’t be enough for all of them, eventually what is left of Shining Armour’s love will be used to properly repair your body and sustain you.

>And when that depletes you’ll be left starving...

>...a sensation you are truly terrified of.

>That emptiness, that pain.

>It will all writhe inside every vein in your body, driving every sense of perception crazy.

>Constantly it will scream at you for remedy. It will scream and torture you until you are full again.

>Or...until you lose your sanity. You shiver.

>Though for now, you must rest. Dwelling on this matter longer could cause more outbursts.

 

>You are now Anonymous.

>A thick fog is consuming most of your vision. You can barely tell what you’re standing on.

>By what you can barely see, you’re in a courtyard of sorts, or a garden.

>Perhaps...an enclosure?

>The fog makes it difficult to distinguish exactly where you are.

>It also appears to be raining, a barrage of water piercing bitterly across your body.

>You feel confined, the air is stagnant and thick.

>With all this rain, it’s cold. You’re shivering quite severely.

>Normally you’re quite resistant with temperature, but your clothes are drenched, as if you’ve been standing in heavy showers for hours.

>Needless to say, you’re extremely confused, uncomfortable and frightened.

>You need to get out, maybe find shelter. But you can’t decide on a direction.

>Before you can comprehend anything further, a large shadow becomes visible in front of you, deep within the fog.

>Aside from its superior height, you can’t make out any details.

>Slowly, it begins to become more distinct, growing in size as if you’re moving towards it.

>But you haven’t moved since you arrived, you don’t want to approach that thing.

>You try to run, but your muscles reject you, your body is refusing every command.

>The massive shadow approaches closer and closer, dread numbing your thought.

>It emerges.

>A statue, a statue of something you struggle to piece together.

>It’s bizarre, although you can tell it’s a statue, your perceptions aren’t letting you specify.

>Like you’re trying to peer through viscous water, it keeps shifting form randomly, every angle twisting into each other.

>Suddenly, a voice rumbles from the statue.

>”I..A dE r...CER..”

 

>Everything is distorted, it cuts off on several words, you’re unable to make anything out.

>It is made even more cryptic with an unnerving chorus effect.

>”It...A DeAL sORC..”

>Every word burrows into your body, your anxiety becomes almost maddening.

>Repeating itself over and over, it becomes more and more intelligible.

>For some reason, as words become graspable, you start to lose your nerve.

>That intense fear releases your paralyzed body, you immediately break into a frantic sprint.

>Away from the statue, as far as you can possible achieve.

>”IT’S A DEAL, SORCERER.”

>The voice shouts this at you, from every direction conceivable.

>A deal? What-

>Suddenly, that sentence is shouted again.

>It is so loud that your own thoughts are consumed within the noise.

>It feels like your head is going to explode.

>You scream, your voice reaches nothing. Not even your own ears.

>Running as fast as you can, the world around you starts to fold into itself, dissolving into darkness.

>After a delay, you finally hear your scream, reversed and shifting in pitches.

>A terrifying image flashes briefly before your eyes, burning into every inch of your skull.

>The statue’s face, mutilating you with terror in its eyes.

>Your body contorts, twisting into an impossible mangled mess.

>You feel bones snap, every joint pop, every muscle tear, every organ explode.

 

>You wake up screaming.

>Thrashing hysterically, you flee from the image, scrambling off of your bed, tumbling out onto the hard floor.

>You feel yourself shivering, you’re sweating and breathing laboriously.

>Both your eyes shoot at every direction, it’s your cave.

>Light is beaming slightly from the tunnel behind you that leads outside.

>It was...a dream?

>You look over your body, everything seems to be fine. You aren’t in a pulpy mess.

>You’re...okay.

>Are you really? You face towards your bed.

>Chrysalis is clearly awake, gazing at you with eyes wide.

>She’s visibly unsettled, hopefully you only screamed once.

>Looking away from her, you stare back down at your body.

>Never in your entire life have you experienced a nightmare so real.

>Trying to regulate your breathing, your composure unsteadily returns.

>Still, an overwhelming amount of fear plagues you.

>It’s pushing you towards sobbing uncontrollably, but you can’t manage to make the first whimper.

>Slowly getting off your backside, you crawl towards your mattress.

>That’s when you feel a blasting headache slowly materialise.

>Coupled with light-headedness and a strong desire to vomit.

>Burying your palms deep into your face, you just sit there, breathing forcibly.

>Feeling absolutely horrible.

>Sorcerer. That word came to haunt you again.

>What does this world have against you, all over this stupid word?

>Huddling your legs closer, you try to control your shaking.

>After that nightmare...it doesn’t matter what that word signifies.

>You don’t want to know what sorcerers are, what it all means.

>Even if it kills you.