private Ripped to Shreds,Tears of Sorrow

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

Glade blushed at the nuzzle,when  she stared into his eyes,he stared back,he almost leaned into her and kissed her,but he didn't because he was a total wimp.

~
Glade blushed slightly as he started to cuddle her,he yawned softly,he felt like he could relax with her...he could finally sleep...

[ReverieRiver 526]

@@Aurora Lights,

 

Ariel felt at ease, more relaxed than she had been in years, it seemed. And although the dread of what came to her in the realm of dreams still lingered at the back of her mind, she couldn't help but to slip into the depths of slumber after only a short while.

 

One would think that perhaps, with her feeling content and relaxed for once, that the nightly horrors would be warded off by the positive feelings. But they weren't. The moment she let herself fall asleep, the images started coming to her, one after another; they were relentless, like a storm of tragedy and terror that plagued her each and every night. She saw these terrible, terrible scenes, each one worse than the last...

 

-------------

 

She saw the aftermath of a natural disaster; a hurricane. The streets were flooded, and several survivors drifted about on pieces of driftwood or whatever else that floated. The bodies of that that didn't survive floated on the water's surface, leaving a grim reminder that this event had taken more than a few lives.

 

She saw a psychopathic stallion beating a pregnant mare. She was bruised, bloody, and tearfully begging for reprieve. But the stallion continued, beating the life out of both the unfortunate mare and the unborn foal. The crack of bones was heard, and the mare coughed up a seemingly impossible amount of scarlet blood. It continued until the mare was breathing no more.

 

She saw a horrible car accident - and one had caught on fire. The paramedics were on the scene to rescue any survivors and retrieve the dead. There were none of the former. One by one, the corpses were extricated from the mess of scrap metal that used to be cars. The first was mangled beyond recognition; shattered glass had sliced up nearly every inch of his now shredded flesh, and one leg had been nearly torn off, with only a few sinewy threads of tendons and tissue holding on. The second was the unfortunate victim that had been caught in the burning car; his flesh had been burned away almost completely, leaving only a charred black mass that vaguely resembled a pony. And the last was that of a foal, no more than eight years of age; she had been found in the first car. Her delicate skull had been shattered by the impact; the chunks of brain that had escaped her cracked skull was left at the scene to be cleaned up later.

 

-------------

 

Ariel jolted awake with a soft gasp, just as she always did when she could take no more of the images that haunted her dreams. The worst part was that the images changed every night; she never knew what to expect when it came time to sleep.

 

She looked around for a few moments, reminding herself that she was safe... not that it helped those unfortunate souls that suffered, that had their lives stolen unjustly before their time. She slowly lowered her head, covering her eyes with her front hooves as she began to weep quietly for every innocent soul that had to face such suffering.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

Glade's eyes opened slowly to the mare crying,he blinked a few times before softly shifting his relaxed body,he pulled her closer to him and softly placed her muzzle under his chin,letting her weep into his neck...He knew the feeling of being scared of something that you couldn't stop,even if you wanted them too...And his vision shook slightly...

~
He was still holding Ariel against him,his hooves holding her tight,she kept crying into his neck,but...but the tears seemed...thicker...stickier...He looked down and saw she was no longer crying,her throat had been torn out,and she had blood all over her,the once beautiful mare was now killed,dead,but he still heard crying,weeping,it sounded like her,he looked into her odd eyes,he started crying and pleaded,"No...no please...no not Ariel...not her...no,no,no-NO!"he cried and held her even closer and tighter,his cries becoming louder and harder,he looked down at her again and shook his head,his ears flat as he wiped off her lips and looked to the sky once before putting his lips to hers and kissing her,her lips were still warm,and he tasted no blood...nothing...He pulled away and stared at her body a moment before letting her go,her head dropping to the bed softly as Glade started crying so loudly that dogs stared howling,he started screaming out,his voice cracking often,"NOOOOO WHY ARIEL WHYYYYY~....WHY DID YOU TAKE HER?!?! I LOVED HERRRR~!!!!"he cried out,before long,he had a gun in his hand,he was staring at Ariel's lifeless body and he picked her up again,laying her body in his lap and picking up her top half,he pressed his lips to hers,tears still streaming down his eyes as he kissed her dead body,they still felt warm,he held her body with one hoof,took the pistol off safety with the hoof that held it,and he slowly raised it up to his temple,pressed the barrel to it,and pulled the trigger,his brains splattering all over the wall with blood and bits of skull...

~
Glade's eyes were wide,but slowly shrunk to normal size...and just then...he realized...he did love her...he needed her...He blinked once before whispering in her ear,"Ariel..."he whispered,but no more than that as he softly put his hand to her chin and dragged her gaze to him,he then couldn't say any more,he had a lump in his throat,his heart pounded as his ears flattened and he blushed as he pulled her to him,he also leaned in to make the motion even quicker,their lips met and he kissed her,softly,reassuringly,and lovingly,he had never kissed a mare before...she was his first...

[ReverieRiver 526]

@@Aurora Lights,

 

Ariel gratefully accepted his comfort; though she couldn't stop the tears, having someone to cry on always helped ease the pain and the negative feelings. She could almost feel it: the empathy and understanding shared between them. Like he knew exactly what she was going through.

 

She was slowly beginning to calm down, unaware that Glade had been caught in another delusion. In fact, she never really realized it at all. She was still caught up in her own sorrow and fear; too lost in herself to even notice him tensing up; her eyes too clouded with tears to see the telltale distant look in his gaze.

 

All she knew was the sound of his voice whispering her name, which brought her back to reality in a sense. Her flattened ears flicked up, swiveling towards him instinctively at the sound. And before she could raise her head to look at him, his hoof slid under her chin and gently brought her gaze up to his.

 

Her clairvoyant senses alerted her of his next action just moments before he did it; she hardly had any time to react, save for the blush that immediately appeared and the instinctive parting of her lips. Her heartbeat quickened as their lips met, and her eyes closed after just a brief moment of shock. She'd never been kissed like this before... but everything about it felt so... indescribable. All she could say to express how this moment felt would be that there was absolutely nothing bad about it; only good feelings, good sensations that ran through her.

 

She pressed back gently, returning the gesture in kind. Even though no words were spoken, everything that needed to be said had been said; she recognized his feelings, and she felt the same way. The feeling that had led her to him, that sudden premonition she had back then... she finally realized why it happened. And she was glad it did.

 

@,

Edited January 19, 2014 by Miss Reaper

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

Glade kept the kiss going for a good 3 minutes before he slowly,softly,and reluctantly departed their lips,he stared into her eyes,but then,his gaze started to wander about her beautiful features,her indescribably sweet soft lips,her cute and warm cheeks,all of the elements of her face just screamed absolute,undeniable,indescribable,perfection in Glade's eyes...she was perfect for him...

~
His eyelids lowered just slightly as he whispered to her again,"Ariel...I have never met a mare like you in my life...I never knew what love was,and now...now..I...I can't keep it out of me,nor do I want to...Ariel...My sweet,beautiful,amazing,Ariel,I love you..."he whispered in the sweetest,softest tone,he had never seen himself as a romancer,but I guess things change with time,even things that were once thought to be unchangeable...

~
He closed his eyes and pulled her into him again,he held her with such soft firmness,it was only described as this:Love. He stared at the wall behind her as he held her in his hooves,to his chest,he even started to softly stroke her mane to comfort her even more,now,he felt like...like he could deal with it,the insane things he had no control over that he saw every day without relent,he felt like...he could be helped,and if he could help the mare he had grown to love too...then...he would,without a second thought,he would,and he can!...He can by just being there for her,with her...He had never felt so close to anypony after his abandonment...but now...he felt closer to somepony...this very mare he held in his hooves... 

[Contrast 292]

Dreamless had already left the room, sometime ago, when he heard a strange sound. He had been following the sound for quite some time. It felt like forever: his hooves were getting tired, and his eyes were barely staying open.

 

He knew that something was wrong, was a hotel floor suppose to be this long? "M-Maybe?" As he continued walking, he noticed that he hadn't looked back ever since he started. He thought he would be able to see something, some land mark that let him knew he was moving forward, but he didn't really see anything... not even the room he started in.

 

He stopped and continued to stare backwards. There was just something not right... After a moment, the floor behind him started to collapse. The ground around him had started to shake violently. He could see a large black abyss.

 

He tried to regain him balance, but stumbled backwards. Luckily, not into the abyss. When he moved backwards, the shaking seemed to slow and the ground started to stabilize again. He turned around and continued walking. 

 

"... So in this dream... I die if I stop walking..." 

 

~

 

Dreamless had gone down stairs for something to eat, but had passed out at the hotel clerks desk. His body was twitching a little, and he was breathing fast.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@, 

 

Glade looked at the spot his other friend was supposed to be...but he was gone,he blinked and looked at the door,it was cracked slightly,had he really been so distracted he didn't hear his friend leave?...

~
He looked to his friend-mare (I say that because it aint official...yet...)and said softly,"I'm gonna look for Dreamless...I'l be right back..."he said softly in her ear and reluctantly departed from her,he got out of the bed and walked downstairs,he looked around a moment before walking towards the clerk's desk,he looked at his friend,twitching and breathing heavy,he looked...almost peaceful...but he would be so more if he put him in a fluffy soft bed,he slowly put him over his back and started carrying him up to the stairs to the room,he smiled slightly as he thought of Ariel and the kiss they shared.

~
He finally got his friend back to the bed,he laid him down on the other bed,parallel to the two,and he covered him up,he then looked at Ariel and climbed in bed with her again,he then pulled her into his arms and snuggled and cuddled with her again,though she was 3 years older than he,he still felt the love she could offer,he softly kissed her forehead and closed his eyes as he covered the two up,he yawned a big yawn before cuddling closer to her,he felt like...he could sleep...for once in his life,he could now not fear the darkness that crept up on him at night...he closed his eyes,and quenched his breath...and took one last breath of Ariel's sweet,beautiful scent before he fell under the soft,black blanket that they called sleep,he he snored softly,not much,just enough to be "cute"...and he twitched ever so often,but he was asleep,in a deep,restful sleep.

[ReverieRiver 526]

@@Aurora Lights, @,

 

Ariel felt warm, comfortable... and relaxed for once in her life. She felt that she might actually be able to fight off the terrible night horrors for this night, she felt so light and happy. But then suddenly, a premonition came to her, barging into her mind so abruptly and with such strength that it caused the unicorn mare to let slip a few magenta sparks from her horn. She caught a fleeting image of Dreamless down in the lobby, and that awfully familiar sense of overwhelming dread.

 

She would have gone with Glade, and perhaps warned him that something was amiss, but he was already gone before she could utter a word. So she sat there alone in the bed, worrying every moment that Glade was gone, wondering what could have happened to Dreamless. It was somewhat of a relief when Glade finally returned with Dreamless, but that feeling of dread wasn't fading...

 

It wasn't long before Glade fell asleep next to her, but she couldn't even think about sleeping with this dread tying her stomach into knots. Her horn started glowing softly with shimmering magenta light as she reached out towards Dreamless with her magic, carefully probing at him, trying to see if she could perhaps elicit some sort of response.

 

"Dreamless?" she whispered. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?" She knew that it was likely futile, considering that he seemed to be unconscious, but she still hoped that somehow he'd respond and that he'd be okay.

[Contrast 292]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

Dreamless groaned in his sleep. Then he continued to twitch and started to shiver. Fi had hopped from Dreamless' hair and onto the bed. She had started to jump frantically in order to get there attention. "zzt!"

~

 

Dreamless' walk had turned into a sprint. He knew he should't be running, if he got tired and fell asleep in his dreams... "But I'm moving forward. Why is this place still collapsing!" He had turned right at a corner, then a left, and another right. "Come on there has to be some end to this!" There possibly was an end, or at least something different happening. The blank walls had started to have color, no, pictures. He saw one of him and the others, but there were two of him in the room. One was still lying on the bed, the other... He started to run even faster. 

 

One of the pictures were splattered with a dark red color, and he could see a picture of a half opened door. He knew it was probably pointless but he still screamed, "Don't open the door!"

~

 

Dreamless mumbled in his sleep, "D~dunt... duur..." Someone knocked at the door. Fi quivered in fear.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@,@@Miss Reaper,  

 

Dreamless felt the absence of Ariel in his arms,so he stirred a bit and when he opened the door,he shot up instantly,he looked right at the door,his spirits whispering to him,"Danger..." they whispered,he had an instant chill run up his spine,he gulped softly and looked around for something to use as a protection,but...all he could do is make his spirits look outside the door...

[Contrast 292]

@@Aurora Lights, (no, don't kill him.)

 

Dreamless was standing outside, knocking on the door. He was playing with a telescope in his hooves made from black magic. He turned his back on Glades spirit and continued to play with the telescope. What was weird though was that he also waved to something behind him?

 

After a while, he turned around and pointed the telescope at the spirit. He stared at it for while, almost examining it for... whatever it was.

~

Someone tapped Glade on the shoulder. "Wha'cha starin at?"

 

~

Fi almost fainted, Dreamless' heart rate doubled.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@,

 

Glade gulped hard as he felt his blood chill,like ice,he made his spirits surround him,they sped up quite a lot,and now,he was almost shaking in fear,he saw Dreamless outside...but...he was right beside him...

~
His spirit that was watching the clone returned to him,he was scared that if he possessed this apparently evil clone,his spirit would turn demonic,for he had done it before,and he didn't like it...

~
He looked at the door and made all of his spirits block the door with a wall of spirit power,the door wouldn't budge.

[ReverieRiver 526]

@, @@Aurora Lights,

 

Ariel was completely on edge now. She climbed out of the bed and moved a little ways towards the resting Dreamless before turning to face the door. That feeling of dread only grew worse, to where she almost felt sick to her stomach. All her senses screamed about the danger that seemed to be very, very close by.

 

She stared at the door with wide eyes for a few long minutes, and then she decided to steel herself for whatever may come. She shifted her stance so that her legs were a bit wider apart, spreading out her center of gravity. Magenta magic began swirling and shimmering around her horn, filling the silence in the room with the distinctive, but soft, hum that indicated the usage of it. Whatever was on the other side of that door, she wanted to be prepared for it.

 

Another image flickered through her mind. The thing standing outside the door was... Dreamless? No, that couldn't be possible, she thought. But, there was no reason for her premonitions to be deceiving her... and why would her mind make up an image like that, of all things? Was it a Changeling, perhaps? Possible, but where were its hive mates? Changelings didn't usually travel solo, at least to her knowledge.

 

Either way, the pony with Dreamless's appearance was standing outside that door, and it was clear that he was dangerous. Whether or not she would actually be able to confront him should it come to that, she didn't know, but at the least, she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Miss Reaper,@,

 

Glade gulped and shot out of the bed and right into the arms of Ariel,he was shaking,he knew what was on the other side of that door,and he did NOT want it in,he gulped and whispered in her ear,"Th-that's...a duple-ganger...an evil spirit that becomes the image of the person it encounters first...but when they change,they change forever...they are similar to clones...but...they kill whoever is associated with that pony,and the pony itself to become that pony..."he said in her ear softly,shaking in her hooves.

[Contrast 292]

@@Aurora Lights,@@Miss Reaper, (You know there are about three Dreamless' here right now right? The one outside -copy of the clone-, the one asleep, and the evil one standing right beside you... lol 1 time I'm glad I wasn't specific)

 

Dreamless had a seat and put his hoof over his chest. "Doppelganger?" It cried a little, "Now I'm hurt, I have a personality and feeling you know." It sniffled, "For instance, I like to do this..." It tapped it hoof on the ground and the real dreamless started to scream out in pain. It smiled a little, but still it was sniffling. "That made me feel a little better..." It tapped it's hoof again and laughed at Dreamless' distress.

 

"Now enough of that, your acting like I'm here to kill? Come on, we've just met, can't we be friends?" He extended his hoof. Some was laughing a little outside. "Oh don't mind him." 

~

 

The clone outside had burst into flames. While it's arguable if it was alive or not, it's screams of pain were very real. "Hey! This wasn't part of the~ ahh!"

~

 

"Well plans change..." It looked at both of them and continued to hold out it's hoof and started to smile. "Well... Pals?" 

(note: you can attack it if you want. I just don't want him dead yet, he's part of Dreamless' stor

[Aurora Lights 206]

@,

 

Glade gulped softly and looked at his hoof a moment,he held the mare even tighter and he thought a second,he stared at the fake Dreamless and looked at the real one,then back to the clone,he looked outside and saw that one,but he looked back at the one talking to him,he couldn't talk,he was too scared.

~
Outside,the window started to ice over,it becoming white with the thick frozen liquid,he stared at him a moment longer before feeling the chilling room temperature,he gulped hard as he saw his breath,the room instantly dropped to 20 degrees,his eyes grew to saucers and he stopped every motion,and he said,out loud,"Oh no..."he said as the window broke and they all saw a being with no face,just a hood,bony hands,and it floated above the ground 2 feet,it's arms were crossed and it had two sickles,it drifted over to Glade and picked him up,he stared up at the being as it said,"Transssmortisss Consestiss...Gratarissssss" it hissed to him,

~
Glade gulped and said back,"Dratoriss,exmorine,Dresarcarus!..."he pointed to the fake Dreamless and said,"Executus!"he said.

~
The being dropped Glade,he landed with a loud thud and he grumbled,the being slowly drifted over and said to him,it's voice very disturbing and evil,"Leaaaaveee..." It stated before slowly opening it's arms.

[ReverieRiver 526]

@, @@Aurora Lights,

 

Ariel narrowed her eyes at the clone, in spite of the fact that she was trembling. She was scared; there would be no denying that. But she had already determined that she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Especially when the clone sadistically inflicted pain upon the original Dreamless and remorselessly did away with its own copy. That, somehow, motivated her even more. The magic around her horn had faltered slightly in a moment of shock, but it flared up once more as she prepared to unleash a magical attack.

 

But then the sudden temperature drop distracted her. The magic faded away completely this time as the dread twisting in her stomach returned with an all-new vengeance. She started shivering uncontrollably from the cold, and she looked around for the cause. She jolted in fright when the window shattered - and froze in terror when she saw the faceless being.

 

All she could do was stare at the being with wide, scared eyes. She wanted to cry out as it grabbed Glade with its bony hands, but her voice was simply gone. The mare was trembling visibly now, and not just from the chill of the presence now in the room.

[Contrast 292]

@@Aurora Lights, (sorry, he's not very serious. Direct opposite of Dreamless)

 

Dreamless had to use his hoof, once raised in friendship, to wipe spit from his face. "Yesh, who knew the dead's breath smelled soo~ bad." He walked directly in front of the monster, ignoring the cold. He might have been to call him a doppelganger, he still couldn't really feel. 

 

He stared at it and smiled, then he said, "Make me. I don't really plan on leaving without him." 

Edited January 20, 2014 by Dreamless

[Aurora Lights 206]

@,@@Miss Reaper,

 

The being picked up the clone and tarted to such the evil soul out of him,but then it stopped,looking over it's shoulder slightly as it saw Glade shake his head,the being then looked back to the clone and threw him out the window,it flew after him to make sure he wouldn't come back up,and suddenly,the temperature went to normal and the window was fixed.

~
Glade coughed and slowly stood,he looked at the window and wiped his face off as he made the door close with his hoof,he slowly walked towards Ariel again but collapsed as soon as he reached her,his nose was now bleeding.

[ReverieRiver 526]

@, @@Aurora Lights,

 

It all happened so quickly; Ariel hardly had time to process the action before everything seemed to settle back into a state of relative normalcy. The mare slowly unfroze as her nerves settled somewhat, and she looked around, almost as if she couldn't believe that it had all seemingly returned to normal just like that. She took a few deep breaths then to try and calm her speeding heart.

 

Then she suddenly remembered, and turned to look at Glade. At first she seemed relieved, but then she gasped when he collapsed at her hooves. At once, she lifted him as well as she could to move him to the bed. The best she could do was get his upper body resting across her shoulders, but that was all she needed. She dragged him towards the bed, and then laid him down as gently as she could, her magic carefully lifting his hind legs and setting them down on the bed as well, making sure he would be as comfortable as possible.

 

After that was done, she sat by the bed, resting one of her front hooves over his. They were apparently safe, and yet her senses were still tingling with that familiar feeling... It was too easy, her mind was telling her. It was over too quickly... Which meant that it likely wasn't really over with... The danger still lurked, and it made Ariel very, very uneasy.

[Aurora Lights 206]

@@Miss Reaper,

Glade slowly opened his eyes and wiped his nose off,he looked up at Ariel and said to her softly,"Ariel?..."he asked softly and he pulled her to him and kissed her lips softly,he then hugged her tightly,"That thing...I can control it...but...it uses all of my energy..."he said,his hug tightening,"a-and...it...it...hurts me..."he said,then showing her a slice on his arm that was slowly forming and bleeding,"It burns..."he said softly. 

[Contrast 292]

Dreamless had started to sneak away. He slowly walked passed the others and towards the door. The only thing that seemed off about him was that his eyes still weren't open. 

 

He trotted down stairs and out the door, luckily still having Fi there to protect him. When he wakes up: he will probably be another town, filled with more problems, and the ever present danger that always loomed over his head.