- >Where are you?
- >Looking around, you observe your surroundings..
- >Wood floor, a backdrop, some red curtains.
- >No.
- >You remember this stage.
- >There is no audience this time though.
- >You’re alone, though you attempt to call out anyways.
- “Hello? Is anypony there?”
- >Silence.
- >It’s then, that you hear something.
- >The sound of insects crawling.
- >Not again, not again, not again!
- >You look around in hopes of finding an exit, but only darkness surrounds this place.
- >Your heart starts to race as the whispers join the crawling.
- >Unlike last time, you can move.
- >To hell with this, you have to run.
- >You jump off stage and start to sprint forward only to freeze.
- >Familiar pale eyes stare back at you.
- >You start to move back slowly, the eyes follow.
- >From the darkness, the monster takes its familiar form of a pony.
- >It starts to lumber forth from the darkness.
- >Eri.
- “No!”
- >Eri.
- >Turning, you sprint back to the stage, and stop.
- >Quickly looking back behind you, you see it has stopped moving.
- >You face it, you have to do something.
- “I’m not afraid of you.”
- >It starts to grow in size, becoming more disfigured.
- >You can’t escape, not forever.
- “I can fight, I can-, I, I can’t! Somepony save me, please!”
- >You shrink down before the monster.
- >It surges forth, maw agape.
- >Suddenly, you’re shoved off to the side.
- >As you land you land safely nearby, you see Rest standing by you.
- >She smiles before facing the monster. “Stay away from her you fuck.”
- >It roars and charges again.
- >However, you jolt awake.
- >Looking around, you see that Rest is holding you close.
- >”Bad dream?” She says in a hushed voice.
- >Your heart is racing, but you start to calm down knowing she is there with you.
- “Yeah, same nightmare, this time though. You saved me, and were trying to fight it.”
- >She looks surprised for a moment, and smiles.
- >”Well that’s good to know I can fight this thing in your dreams.”
- “Would be nice to finally kill it at last.”
- >”Yeah, I bet it would.” She yawns. “It’s really early though, how about you try to go back to sleep?”
- >You’re pretty tired still, and as long as she is here, sure.
- “Okay, I’ll try. Goodnight Rest.”
- >”Goodnight Eri.”
- >Sleep takes you once more, though this time, you are dreamless.
- >Warm light bathes your face as you reawaken once more.
- >You notice Rest is gone and you are alone in bed.
- >She probably is downstairs, waiting for you to get up.
- >You go through your usual routine of washing and stop after drying off.
- >The stitches are still on your foreleg, but you don’t have to wear the bandages anymore.
- >The thought from before rises to the surface.
- >’Bleed away the sorrow’
- >You shake your head and go downstairs.
- “Good morning Rest.”
- >Silence.
- “Rest?”
- >You start to look around, and can find her nowhere.
- “Rest, where are you?”
- >Your heart begins to race.
- >’She left you, just I like said she would.’
- “No! She probably just stepped outside.”
- >’And what? Went to the store for smokes?’
- “You don’t know that. She wouldn’t leave me.”
- >’Look around Eri, she isn’t here. Oh wait, you already did that.’
- >You try to calm down, but the thoughts aren’t helping.
- >’Face it, she’s gone, you’re alone. You know what that means?’
- >Your eyes dart quickly to your leg and away.
- “No, I won’t do it, I said I would stop.”
- >’Fight all you want, but in the end, you’re hurting. You can bleed away the sadness.’
- “I’m better than this, I finally forgave Connie and Rest has been helping me.”
- >’She isn’t here either.’
- >The words hit you, the clock nearby shows it’s after 11.
- >Sitting down, you start to hyperventilate.
- “She, she’s just late that’s all. Rest will be coming any minute now too.”
- >You look to the door.
- >’Ticktock Eri, ticktock. How long will you wait?’
- >Time feels like it flies by.
- “I’ll just walk around the house, write some poetry, kill time. They will be here. They have to be here.”
- >’You’re alone.’
- “NO!”
- >As your chest heaves, your eyes dart around.
- >You start to pace, but eventually, you find yourself in the bathroom.
- >’You know why you’re here.’
- >You try to rationalize.
- “I just happened to end up here, that’s all.”
- >’You know where to look, under the sink, in the usual box.’
- >Your heart pounds harder, and in a zombie like fashion, you search.
- >However, the box is gone.
- >You keep searching, but it’s still not there.
- >Rest must’ve found it and moved it.
- >Feeling a bit of relief, you start to regain control.
- >Looking back in the mirror, you see that you’re a bit of a mess.
- >’You’re pathetic.’
- “I’m not. I’m the best I’ve ever been.”
- >’Then why did you just look for the box?’
- “I, I just needed to find it.”
- >’You know why you did, don’t lie to yourself.’
- “I’m not, I’m” You take a moment to breath. “I was just making sure is all.”
- >’To think you hit a new low, lying to yourself.’
- “Shut up.”
- >Your pulse starts to race.
- >’You’re alone, your box of razors is gone, and now-”
- “I SAID SHUT UP!”
- >You smash the mirror with your hoof.
- “Ow, fuck!”
- >Pulling back, you see your hoof is bleeding and your mirror is broken.
- >As you look over your hoof, a gleam of broken mirror catches your eye.
- >’Bleed away the sorrow Eri.’
- >Your heartbeat thunders in your ears.
- >It’s only one cut.
- >Slowly, you reach for a broken shard.
- >From down stairs you hear the front door open and shut.
- >A familiar voice calls out.
- >”Eri, I’m back. Are you up?”
- >You freeze and slam the bathroom door shut.
- >”Is everything alright?”
- >Hearing Rest’s hoof steps approach, you start to panic.
- >Shit, shit, shit.
- >I let myself get out of control, how the hell am I supposed to explain this?
- >A knocking on the door breaks you out of your thoughts.
- >”What’s going on? Why’d you slam the door? Are you okay?”
- >You’re trying to get your breathing under control.
- >She starts to knock on the door again.
- >”Eri?! I don’t what you’re doing in there, but you’re worrying me. Please answer me!”
- >Fuck it, you have no way out of this one.
- >’She’s going to leave you for this.’
- >Fuck off, this is your fault.
- >’You’re arguing with yourself dumb ass.’
- >You reach out and open the door.
- >Backing away, you sit on the edge of the tub and look down.
- >”Eri, what the hell happened?!”
- >Rest approaches you, but you’re still looking down.
- >”Please tell me you didn’t-”
- “No, I didn’t cut myself.”
- >”Thank Celestia, can you tell me what happened?”
- >You sigh.
- “You weren’t here when I got up, I started to panic, so I tried to calm down by walking around. I found myself in here. I did try to find my box of razors, but I couldn’t find them. As I started to calm down, something inside me snapped, so I punched the mirror. Where were you?”
- >”I went out to get some groceries for the house. I didn’t think I’d be gone long, but I ran into Connie. I told her what I was doing and that I would be heading back soon. I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted in the market, but I thought you would be alright for a little bit.”
- >Your eyes shoot up to face.
- >Her eyes are looking at you with one emotion, pity.
- >’I told you.’
- “After everything, everything I have been through. You thought I’d be alright?”
- >”Eri, I get that I wasn’t here when you got up, but do you really think I’d abandon you?”
- >Yes
- “Yes.”
- >Her eyes shrink and she takes a step back with a look of hurt.
- >You feel shame overcome you.
- “I didn’t, I didn’t mean to say that.”
- >’Of course you did, it’s about time you spoke your mind.’
- >Leave me alone!
- >Rest looks away a moment before looking back to you, her face has shifted to that of anger.
- >”Everything I have done for you. I put my job on the line for you, I have practically moved in with you, I took care of you, I was there for you for when Connie came back. I have done so much for you Eri!”
- >’See? She is now sick of you.’
- “Rest I-”
- >She starts to cry.
- >”You know why I care so much about you? Do you? Because I was there once.”
- >What?
- >She pulls off her purple wristband and shows you her fetlock.
- >Your jaw drops.
- >It has multiple scars.
- >”When I was first assigned to you, I didn’t know the full details. It’s very rare to find another pony who self harms, let alone, tries to kill themselves. When I saw the marks, I knew.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “You have any idea how much it hurts to work in a hospital? I have to watch patients die all the time. When one of my patients die, I usually drink to forget.”
- >You wondered why you smelled liquor on her before.
- >”Sometimes, I let myself go too far, and end up cutting myself. I only stopped cutting recently when I met you.”
- “Rest-”
- >”I’m not done, you need to understand. I admit I still drink every now and then, but I have been trying to stop. It’s so damn hard, I can’t lose you Eri. You can be difficult at times, but I push through. That’s why I care so damn much about you. I don’t want you to die!”
- >Before you can react, she pulls you into a hug and starts to sob.
- >You’re not certain how to act.
- >No, wait, you do.
- >You wrap your legs around Rest, and gently rub her back.
- >She shudders a moment, but continues to cry.
- >Well, now you feel like absolute shit.
- >Is this what it’s like to deal with you when you breakdown?
- >Feeling your own tears coming, you join her in crying.
- >Time seems to slow, and you just keep holding each other.
- >Slowly Rest calms down, her cries now just sniffles.
- >She pulls back from you, her red eyes now pink and puffy.
- >”I should’ve told you sooner, I know. I wasn’t sure how to tell you though. I kept thinking you’d think I was a poser or something.” She shakes her head. “Clearly I was being dumb.”
- >She lets out a little laugh, and you smile.
- “You’re not dumb. If anything, I’m the dumb one here. I know you do so much for me, more than anypony I’ve ever met, I’m sorry that I don’t show my appreciation more.”
- >She rubs your wither.
- >”It’s okay Eri, it will all be okay, you’re just going through tough times. I forgive you.”
- >You share one final hug before she stands back up.
- >”I should start to clean this up.”
- “No, I’ll do it, I made this mess, I should be the one to clean it.”
- >”You’re sure?”
- >You nod.
- “Yeah, it’s the least I can do.”
- >”Alright then, but first, let me see your hoof.”
- >She reaches out and you place your hoof into hers.
- >Carefully, she examines it.
- >”Thankfully its a minor cut, just need to clean it up.”
- >You nod, you’re lucky that she is around.
- “I’ll take care of things, I promise.”
- >She nods back.
- >”I’ll go put the food away, I figured you were sick of soup and sandwiches.” She says with a wink.
- >You smile.
- >In truth, you don’t care, it’s better to share a meal with another than alone.
- >Rest picks up her wristband and leaves you to the mess.
- >You clean up your wound and start to pick up the broken mirror pieces.
- >Placing it in a towel, you head down stairs to dispose of it.
- >Upon reaching the living room, you see Connie and Rest talking.
- >Setting down the towel, you turn to Connie.
- >She looks at you with a smile.
- >>”Hello Eri, I was just stopping by for a moment.”
- “Oh? You’re not going to stay?”
- >She shakes her head.
- >>”I’m afraid not, I wanted to let you know that I have been busy planning. I figured I’d give you a day to breath from yesterday. I know that we both went through a lot.”
- >She’s not wrong there.
- “Oh, okay.”
- >You’re feeling a little down.
- >Connie, noticing your sadness, tries to reassure you.
- >>”Hey, please don’t be sad about this. I came because I’m trying to be more open with you. I promise tomorrow we can start to work on rebuilding our friendship.”
- >She’s trying, you’ll give her that.
- “Yeah, thank you for coming by. I’m looking forward to what you have planned.”
- >Connie’s smile grows.
- >>”You’re welcome, I’m certain you will like it. Take care you two.”
- >As she leaves, you tend to the garbage before coming back to talk to Rest.
- >You find her sitting on the couch, in a bit of a daze.
- “Rest?”
- >She jolts before looking to you with a smile.
- >”Hm? Oh sorry, was thinking.”
- >Funny how things have switched, even if it is for now.
- “We should probably talk.” You offer up.
- >She looks at you curiously.
- >”Oh? What do you want to talk about?”
- >Joining her on the couch, you take a moment to think.
- “When I tried to kill myself, all those weeks ago, I was at my lowest point in my life.”
- >Rest stops you.
- >”Eri, are you sure you want to talk about this? You already have been through a lot this past week. I don’t want overwhelm you with what happened today.”
- >You nod.
- “Yeah, I am. It’s about time we talk about it. No point in hiding anymore.”
- >You take a breath and continue.
- “I had no friends, no family, no one to love me or love them back. I’d just go through the motions each day, but finally I got sick it. If it wasn’t for that passerby who heard my scream, I’d be dead. I hated them for saving me, hated the hospital for keeping me alive.”
- >Pausing to take another breath, you see that Rest hasn’t taken her eyes off of you.
- “When I met you, I hated you too. I thought you were just another pony trying to ‘help me’, but as time went on, we spent time together in my stay.”
- >She smiles.
- “Slowly, I let you in. You were the first pony in a long time that I finally let into my life. I was scared, kept thinking you would betray me. That changed each day you visited when I was released. I couldn’t believe it. I finally met one pony who cared. A part of me was convinced you would leave, but you never did. Even with everything that has happened, you are the best friend a pony could ask for.”
- >As your eyes start to fill with tears, so do hers.
- >”I’m glad that we are friends Eri.”
- >She offers up a hug that you eagerly accept.
- >”I’m so happy to hear you open up to me, you have no idea.”
- >You let out a choked sob, but try to keep it under control.
- “Me too”
- >Your stomach complains loudly.
- >Way to kill the mood.
- >You both pull away, and share a laugh.
- >You could get used to that, laughing with a friend.
- >”So I did grab some food to go from the Cafe Hay. It’s probably a little cold now.”
- “I don’t care, it’s better than nothing.”
- >Sharing a smile, you both head to the kitchen.
- >For once, you’re looking forward to tomorrow.
by
NHanon
by
NHanon
by
NHanon
by
NHanon
by
NHanon