open Broken Souls

[Shadow Dancer 111]

Indicus was sitting at the pond in the center of the towns park thinking of the events that brought him to this point. The echos of the dead that he was in charge of keeping alive during his years of service haunted him. the rings that he held on a copper chain were a reminder of a future that could have been. After the day his fire-team died including his marefriend he quit his position in the Lunar guard even refusing an offer to be promoted to a commander.

 

He tried to settle in the normal life as a civilian Luna even gave him a place in Ponyville in reward for his service and a retirement gift. over the months after his retirement he still was restless unused to the feeling of not having to go out on a mission to scout an area, kill a dangerous enemy or even protect a VIP and worse of all the peace let him think. So about three months into his retirement he posted himself as a mercenary on major town boards, within a few days of the posts he started getting letters for various jobs. The work kept him from thinking too much and gave him a sense of familiarity.

 

But lately the jobs had started to thin and so he found himself sitting at the pond thinking. 

[Aurora Lights 206]

Glade blinked and looked around with his eyes as he heard the voices and screams of stolen souls,he knew they had been killed,they were lingering around somepony... He looked up and he saw Indicus sitting across the pond,red orbs circling him violently,they were angry,yet they could not be seen by him,he narrowed his eyes as he saw their pasts,he put his hoof to his chest in pain as he felt the bullet rip through him,he saw the faces of the dead scream in agony and hatred,"..."he stared at the pony and noticed his demeanor...he was definitely militant,or used to be...

 

@@Shadow Dancer, @@Gloomfury, 

Edited October 24, 2015 by Aurora Lights

[Gloomfury 243]

Rag Stitch wondered into random town the night before. It was  fairly crowded, so it was a little tough to move though the streets without getting in anyone's way. So he mostly took to walking though allies and back roads. As he did he hugged his rag doll close to him, while he wasn't good in crowds he was little scared of being alone. Years without any contact made him afraid of being isolated while also being weary of large groups.

 

He was also not very good at meeting new ponies. Be cause of how small he looks and the fact he likes wearing dresses, he would always be confused with being mare. And once they find out he's a stallion the look at him strangely and call him mean things. But he tries to get over it.

 

While he was wondering aimlessly though a back street he stumbled upon a park.  When he saw the trees and flowers a small smile grew on his face. He always loved parks, it made him feel calm and relaxed. He made is way into the park, as he looked around hew saw a few ponies. Mostly keeping to themselves. He saw one stallion sitting near a pond who seems to be in a bit of distress. Not wanting to bother him, he kept his distance. 

 

But he couldn't help but worry about the stallions condition.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury, 

 

Glade looked at the stallion across the lake but felt heat,though the rain was ice cold,he felt burning on his body,he looked around and caught a mere glance at Rag Stitch,he saw 2 red orbs swirling around him, and he felt the flames that scorched their mortal bodies,he heard their screams of agony,he felt the intense heat and heard the crackling and roaring flames,he gulped as he stared at the...stallion?,"Hm...odd...a stallion that wears dresses."he said to himself and he kept his gaze on him for a moment.

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights,

 

Rag sat down near a flower bed. He took out his rag doll, Dishcloth, out other carrier to place her next to him. He mind wondered a little as he fiddled with her hooves as he stared at the flowers. After a few moments a feeling came over him, like he was being watched. "He looked around lightly till he saw the stallion was in distress. 

 

Slightly locking eyes with him he shyly looked away. Maybe the stallion mistook him for a mare? Or maybe he could tell he was a stallion and was thinking he was strange or a freak for wearing a dress. He didn't know. Bit it didn't stop him from thinking all these negative things. about himself.  He hugged Dishcloth closer to him as he started to trembling a little.   

[Aurora Lights 206]

Glade blinked as Rag hugged his little doll and Glade looked away with his head but kept his eyes on him,this stallion intrigued him,could he have been more scared of ponies than he was? He hasn't said or done anything to make him tremble...,'Leave the stallion alone Glade,he's not worth my time...Wait why am I saying that? I should be the one that's being said to,I should be the one he's saying that to...M-Maybe I should talk to him,maybe...'He thought to himself silently before he stood up and started to trot over to the flowerbed where Rag was.

 

@@Gloomfury, 

Edited October 24, 2015 by Aurora Lights

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights, 

 

Rag anxiety grew a bit more a he heard the sound of hoof steps coming towards him. His breathing started to quicken as he sound got louder. He didn't know what was going to happen when whoever was walking over to him reached him. And hat scared him even more, making him hug Dishcloth closer and tremble even more. 

 

By the time he felt he pony really close o him he was nearly hyperventilating. 

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury,

 

Glade looked at the stallion and blinked once before he said," Hello,sir." he said in a soft voice,it was pretty much the only voice he had,but still. He smiled slightly and sat down beside him and looked at the dress,then the doll,"Who made those? he asked,then he saw the spirits look disgusted at the stallion,he sighed,"Your parents...they died by fire?"he asked softly,he didn't want to scare him,but he had to know the reason they died to be able to harness their energy and soothe their anger.

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights,

 

Rag was still in slight panic even though the stallion just said hello to him. And from calling him sir he also knew he was a stallion as well. But he asked about his dress and Dishcloth. But when he mention his parents he eyes went wide and shrunk to pinpoints. It's been a long time since he's thought about his parents. All the memories of him in he caller, cleaning there clothes and sleeping on a pile of old dirty rags and ripped clothing. 

 

Then he remembered the day he escaped and the fire that engulfed he house he lived under for mos of his life. He didn't know what happen to the ponies that were his parents. But now he wondered how did a stallion he didn't know somehow know about his parents. And how did he know they died?

 

He look at the stallion, eyes filled with anguish from his flashbacks. "H-how do y-you know?" He asked, his voice even smaller then the stallions.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury,

 

Glade took a deep breath then let it out as he looked away and he looked back at him,"I can see spirits,ghosts. I can hear them scream and cry in pain,i can feel their anguish and hatred and fear. Your parents...They hated you,did they not? You are not alone my-..."he stops and looks down," Your not alone,sir...When i was a colt,I was tortured for my abilities,the things I could not control."he said as the rain slowly stopped pouring," I've seen death. He's a-a very...whats the word?"he looks away,"Well,he is like you and I...alone,cold,miserable most of our lives."he looks down,"My parents,they abandoned me,left me to die at a park one day...a park just like this."he looks at the crimson flower in the bed of flowers and he looks at the stallion," I have hallucinations now...always have..."he looks away,and slowly lays down,resting his head on his hooves," I have no home,I scrounge for money,I'm not skilled in any way,other than seeing spirits."he closes his eyes for a moment and then opens them,sitting back up. 'Why are you telling him this,you insignificant worm...Because...he is like me,alone,scared,nowhere to go.Look at him,he's worse than I am...kind of. So you pity him? You truly are weak aren't you? Weakness is hurting him while he is down...strength is picking him back up,making him better...' He sighs as he has an internal debate with his darker side and he blinks before his vision blurs...

 

He stares at the doll as it slowly starts to bleed from the stitches on it,the buttons on it's eyes turning to real ones and staring at him with hatred and anger,he looks away and he sees the flowers dying and rotting away,then he hears the voice of someone familiar...his sister,"Your so useless Black! You aren't worth the life you were given! I wish you would die! I hate you! Your nothing compared to me! Now,I'll show you how strong I am,you weak maggot!" he hears her voice and feels the cutting of his side again,it burned and he looked down to see blood come out of it. he then looks back up at the stallion in front of him.

 

All the while he was having his hallucination,he just looked like he was staring off into space,he looked blank and emotionless,like he didn't even have a soul...but now he has life back into his eyes and he's still looking at that red flower.

[Shadow Dancer 111]

Indicus watched a pony go over towards another for some reason and speak to them. Then the same pony fixates on a flower. Indicus just shrugs not really caring to worry about others tendencies and matters he even saw the pony look at him for a moment for some odd reason. Indicus just put it on being a personality thing.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Shadow Dancer,

 

Glade looks over to the pony across the lake and sighs softly,he knew he would make fun of this stallion. He had to protect him...'Why protect him? he should suffer...He's a freak,like you...That's exactly why I have to protect him.'  he thought silently as he stayed stationary beside the stallion in the dress and doll.

 

@@Gloomfury, 

[DragonoftheSkysWind 66]

Stareva stayed where she was and watched as glade walked over to another pony, 'hmm... wonder why he went over there?'she asked herself in her mind, she then started watching the fish again, then when the rain had stopped, she had stood up and walked to an area where the sun was shinning through and then sat back down

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights, 

 

Rag was shocked to meet someone who's had a life so similar to his. He was also shocked to know that the stallion could see spirits and that he knew that his parents despised him. His ears fold back as more of his buried memories came back. "They did. And the told me every day. They were both unicorns and I was born.. a mud pony. They would call me that whenever they wanted me to do something. I use to think that was what they named me. But Dishcloth said that because it sounded mean meant that it wasn't my name." He hugged his doll closer.

 

"Unlike you, I was placed under the house in a caller most my life.  I didn't even know what the sun was or looked like. My only light was the the light that came from the top of a dumbwaiter and a hole in the floor that reached down to me. I was made to clean their clothes and anything made of fabric. I had barely anything to eat. During winter I would have to sleep over a hole that was connected to the sewer, which I also used as a toilet, just to keep warm. The smell made it hard to breath so I had to cover it with old rags I used as a bed. 

 

I lived like that for eighteen years. But then there was a fire. I didn't know how it started, but Dishcloth said I had to escape or I was going to die. So I crawled up the dumbwaiter  and ran out the nearest door. I didn't know whet happen to my parents. But I guess they didn't make it." His eyes got a faraway look as he told his story. He didn't like remembering his past, but he didn't mind telling others about it.

 

"I had to learn... pretty much everything. Just to survive. Because I learned to sew on my own I was able to get some work in second hand clothing shops. But during my first year out of the caller, it was vary hard."

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury, 

 

Glade looked at him with a soft sympathy,he sighed and looked at the two red orbs and he closed his eyes as he felt their energy absorb into him,he then saw them turn blue and they floated over to be around him,he opened his eyes and looked down,"I'm sorry to hear that. My sister,and mother...they abused me,they cut me,I nearly bled out...but they didn't want to serve prison time,that's when I met death." he looked at his now friends and said,"And the dress?"he asked kindly,he was truly curious how he grew to wearing dresses. He pitied this stallion,he never did anything wrong,but he was born non-unicorn...he sighed and looked down 'At least my parents had a reason to hate me,he was just...born...' he looked at him and shook his head,"Your doll,Dishcloth,it talks to you?"he asked and examined the patched together mass of rags,"I have hallucinations...they show me things in a different light,they show me,how things can die,how life can end...It shows me the afterlife...It shows my own death,your death,everyone's..." When you see your own sister cut your throat and then proceed to eat your non-cooked flesh..."he looked at the red flower and picked it,"Do you know what it's like,To hear the dead's screams all day,all night? To see the hatred and anguish and suffering of the souls of the dead?...To feel yourself being tortured by someone you don't know...Shot,stabbed,bled dry,eaten,raped...Countless other horrors..."he looked down and placed his hoof on Rag's shoulder and looked into his eyes,"I had someone to teach me...You had no one,and I'm sorry...Maybe,I can help you,teach you what I've learned about life and death..."Rag then felt the spot where his shoulder was get instantly cooler with Glade's touch. 'Why?...Why? Why teach HIM?! Your not his mother,nor his father,let him live or die! Kill him,Take his soul,harness the sweet agony...I told you once already,you disgusting being...I'll never kill for no reason! Oh?...What about Her? What did you kill her for? Or your other friend? He didn't do anything to y-SHUT UP!! They they-were accidents! My-My Hallucinations,they-they-they made me,I saw I s-s-saw!...Wait...You did this...All these years...No,you wish it were I that made you kill them,you wish it were me that gave you the hallucinations...No,that's all you,Black...Your own sick mind...Hahaha...' he gulps and looks off into the distance as he debates with himself again.

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights, 

 

Rag shook his head. "I don't know what it's like. As for the dress. " He said lightly pulling it." When I started working in thrift stores I had to fix up mostly dresses. As I did I really start to like them. I fix this one up myself and I just started wearing them. They feel nice, better then normal stallion clothing.  It's warm and cool at the same time they look pretty. And for some reason... I feel like a dress suites me." He chuckled.

 

"Sometimes I feel more like a mare then a stallion." He smiled before lifting up Dishcloth. " And yes, Dishcloth dose speak to me. She's my best friend. She helps me a lot. I made her when I was in the caller. When I did it I also gained my cutie mark. Though I didn't know what it was at the time. Until a month after I got out." After hearing about his family and how then hurt him so badly his smile went away.

 

But when the stallion said he could teach him, a small smile came back.  He moved closer and placed a hoof on his. "You are very nice. I still have a lot to learn. I was lucky enough to run into a few ponies that helped me as well. They taught me how to do things and what everything was. But I still like to learn more.

 

So I would love it if you could teach me." He smiled. Then he placed Dishcloth near the stallion's hoof. "And Dishcloth seems to like you as well. And she's usually picky about ponies too." He giggled. "And do not worry about you're Hallucinations or telling me how I will die. A friend of mine has been in a lot of battles. He's bragged about dying four times and coming back. He said he met death as well.

 

He told me not to fear my death. So I don't. Plus..." He placed both hooves on his and lift it up lightly. "I feel like you've had a harder life then mine. Another friend told me to always be kind to others. And I like you, so I want to help you as well. Because it is not your fault. It's not your fault." His hooves were shaking a little as he repeated the words 'It's not your fault.'  quietly.

 

A year before he met a really nice pony who treated him like he was family and helped him though such a self loathing time in his life outside. She said the same words to him, and it helped a lot. As he remembered his time feeling that way tears started to come out his eyes. "It was never your fault and no one can tell you it was." Then without thinking he pulled the stallion into a hug.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury,

 

Glade blinked as the stallion put his hoof on top of his and he nodded as he listened to him,when he raised his hoof into the air he almost felt a little uncomfortable but he didn't mind it,as long as he could help him,then when he was sucked into the hug,he gulped as he heard millions of high-pitched screams in his ears,he gulped as his eyes widened and he felt his muscles tense up 'Wha? Why is he hugging me?!?' He thought to himself . Glade felt so uneasy now, but he shouldn't be,he wasn't a mare even though he looked like one and...smelled like one...he even felt like one... he gulped softly and looked around behind Rag,since he thought it would hurt his feelings if he pulled away,yet he was almost about to have a panic attack.

 

His vision blurred as he stared at a pony that was looking strait at the two,evil intent in his eyes as he started to smile wickedly,he then started to laugh,it was twisted,scary,demonic...He then saw said pony chuckle when Glade felt his ribs being crushed by what felt like a million pounds,he looked down and saw Rag,but he had a vile smile on his lips,he asked in a quiet,disturbing voice,"Why so SERIOUS?!" he heard him ask and he gasped when he saw his flesh rotting off of him,but he knew couldn't run,for if he did,he would run in the real world...

 

Glade blinked a few times before he realized he was actually crying,he looked around and felt Rag's hooves around him still. He gulped softly as he felt his hooves shake,'Why did that one scare me so much? I've seen tons worse than that...Mhmahahaha...It's because you thought your only friend,this dear little stallion, was like your sister...You truly are stupid aren't you? No..wait...your-your right...Of course I am,I always am...Every time you have a question about yourself,I always have the right answer...do you know why? It's because I...am you...I am your true nature,I am your conscious,I know everything about you,even things you don't know...Then why are you so mean? Because...I am your true nature,your not as nice or innocent as you think you are...Inside,your cold,dead...worse than the souls that have died...your nothing...inside..." he gulps as he realizes this fact and he looks down.

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights,

 

Rag felt Glade's body tense up when he hugged him. Maybe he wasn't use to being hugged? Ever since he received his first hug from another friend he was a little hooked on them. But at first it took getting use too. He looked up at Glade and noticed the scared look in his eyes, along with his own set of tears.

 

Rag got worried and pulled away slowly. "Oh no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hugged you out of the blue like that. Did I hurt or scare you? I'm so sorry." As his worry grew so did his anxiety. He picked up Dishcloth and hugged her close to his chest. And not wanting  to make Glade anymore uncomfortable, Rag moved away from him a little. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He repeated a few more times as his head went downcast. His long main covered his face while he kept muttering his apologies 

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury,

 

Glade looks at Rag with a slightly distant look,but it mostly showed confusion,he looked away as he tried to understand what just happened to him,his inner mind telling him what he really was on the inside,his friend and said,slightly unnerved and shaky,"N-No...I just...Hallucination...Sister...M-My..."he looked away as he ran his hoof threw his own mane and he took a deep breath then slowly let it out,"No...You didn't hurt me nor scare me...a hallucination I just had did..."he looked down

 

'I'm-I'm nothing like you...​But you are...You feel it in you,the urge to kill...to let me out,let me get my sweet vengeance...' He thinks silently as he looks at the stallion in front of him.

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights,

 

 "O-oh." Rag said as his head lift up. He was still feeling worried about Glade. His hallucinations must be very vivid. Rag couldn't imagine what it must be like for him. The only thing Rag feels is heavy anxiety and sometimes panic attacks. Rag played with one of Dishcloth's hooves as he thought of how he could help Glade in any way. He thought of something after a few minutes. Though it might not work.

 

"Could.. you tell me what you sew in your hallucinations? Maybe you'll feel better if you talk to someone about them. If not, then.." He then hold up his doll. "You could talk to Dishcloth. She's a very good listener." He smiled.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury,

 

Glade blinked and looked at him,"I...saw...I saw a stallion,he was scary...he looked like he would have hurt or killed us...He...looked like my father..."he looked down and shivered slightly,"I saw...you,you were crushing me and I saw you...r-rotting...your flesh...was just...rotting off your face...it was...disgusting. But the worst part...your voice,it was the voice of my sister..."He looked at Dishcloth and slowly took her into his arms and gulped softly as he stared at the doll,he then started to feel his vision blur but he clenched his teeth and he shook his head hard while saying in a disturbingly deep voice,"No...No,no...No..." He stopped his hallucination somewhat but he still saw blood come out of the doll's stitches as he held it and he gulped softly as he slowly hugged it,"Luna...Help me..." he growls out softly before he looked at Rag and he gulped softly as his eyes turned from orange to green again.

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights,

 

Rag was even more worried for Glade after hearing about his hallucination. He didn't think they would be so... disturbing. Especially the one about him. His family must have been really horrible. When Glade hugged Dishcloth rag calmed down a little. But he was still worried. He moved closer to him. "From my experience outside the caller, I learned it will take a very long time to come to terms.

 

But it will stick with you forever. I have nightmares and I sometimes have panic attacks whenever I'm in close spaces. I've passed out a few times....I even wet myself." He blushed a little and looked away shyly. "I couldn't even sleep in a bed for some time. I would just put towels or clothes on the floor in a corner and sleep there.

 

I still have flashbacks. It got so bad, I tried to take my own life by drowning myself in a lake. I wanted to die in a open space, outside and nowhere near fire. But I was saved. That was when I met one of my friends. He took care of me for a while before I set out on my own again." He smiled. "He was the first one to say I looked pretty in a dress.

 

After that It was less harder to deal with."

 

He looked back at Glade. "It must be agony for you. And I can't stand that thought. So I want to help you.  And I promise, that I will never hurt you. I could never hurt anyone."  

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury,

 

Glade smiled slightly at his friend's attempt to help him but he sighed solemnly,he said in a weak,almost depressed and broken voice,"I tried to forget...I want to,I want to so bad...But,these hallucinations,and the souls that scream at me,in my ears constantly remind me of the past..."he looked down and closed his eyes for a moment,a tear rolling out of one and dripping on Dishcloth. 'Should I tell him? About what I did?Yes. Tell him." He gulps softly as he takes a deep breath and says in a broken voice,"A few years ago,when I was 17,I was having a good time for once in my life,I had friends,and a mare-friend...I know,hard to believe since I am deathly afraid of mares...My hallucinations were down to a minimum,I was having one or two a day...But...One day,when I got home,I had a very bad hallucination,I saw my sister coming at me to kill me with a knife...So,I pulled out my gun and I shot her...But,It was when my Hallucination was over that I realized...I killed my mare-friend-" He starts to have tears coming out of his eyes and his voice quavers,"I-I killed her,then,not 10 minutes later,I killed my only friends...I killed them...because of my hallucinations...I saw them as my parents and my sister...I killed them...I-I...I took their souls..."he slowly lays down and covers his face with his hooves as he cries,softly weeping into Dishcloth and he says in a voice louder than any before," I Wish I could die!...I wish I could kill myself,and believe me,I tried! But Death Wont show up! He never does! Not for me!"he cries out. 

[Gloomfury 243]

@@Aurora Lights,

 

Rag Was shocked after hearing what Glade had done. What  his hallucinations could drive him to do out of fear. Rag has felt fear himself but not the kind that would drive him to kill. But he couldn't see a reason  for him to hate Glade. Rag knows ponies who have killed and how it effect them. For Glade, the guilt itself hurts him more then anything he had dealt with with his family.

 

Without thinking, Rag pulled Glade close to him again and hugged his head to his chest. He couldn't help but start crying himself. "It was not you're fault! Your fear made you kill them. You do not deserve to die. I don't want you to die!" He cried, hugging him closer.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Gloomfury, 

 

Glade gulped and he closed his eyes for a moment,he then took in a deep breath and let it out slowly,he cleared his eyes of the tears and he hugged Rag back,"Rag...I need you to help me."he said and pulled away from him,"I-I...I need your help..."he said and wiped his nose,"L-Lately I've been seeing these souls...they...they are not like any I have seen before,their gray,emotionless...no fear,no anger,no sadness. I need to help them.If not for myself,then to help them...I can't change what I've done...And I thank you for realizing that,no matter how cold,and dead on the inside I am,I can tr-try...to make myself useful.."he looked down and handed Dishcloth back to Rag before he slowly stood up,"I need you to help me..."he said and held out his hoof,he still had tears in his eyes,but his voice was more steady,Rag really did help him,after saying he didn't want him to die. He realized that,it doesn't matter how bad he's been,nor how destructive he is,he can rely on his friend...Rag...

 

He looked away as he saw the ghosts of his friends smiling at him,laughing and nodding,he then heard their voices saying," We Love you Glade! Forever! Until we see you again,this is good bye! " Glade chuckled softly and waved at the ghosts. He looked down,tears still rolling down his cheeks as he looked at the souls of his friends start to disappear,he looked down,then he looked back up at Rag,seeing one of those gray spirits behind him,he looked over Rag's shoulder and saw it...just...stare. Glade felt uncomfortable and looked away,but couldn't help but feel watched,and he saw the same spirit and he shook his head," So,Rag...do you want to help me?"he asked him finally,wiping off the tears from his face.