Hello once again, and welcome back to Zach in Equestria! Now this chapter will have a….well let's just say that if you are really sensitive, I would skip this one.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to both this story and Walking the Path, It really means a lot to have your guys support. Thanks for those who submitted songs for this chapter.
I had planned on this chapter being much worse than it is so..I hope you like it. And to avoid confusion, a large piece of this chapter will take place in a flashback/dream, whatever you want to call it.
I'm still looking for any oc submissions or fan art if you guys are interested just message me. For anybody who is interested in talking with me personally, just check my profile for my FB account.
OK, that's it...I think...now onto the story!
chapter 11
Another morning waking up confused...and a pounding head too, oh joy. It was strange not being in Fluttershy's house but I'm starting to get used to it.
I felt the blankets shift, there was someone next to me. Ah shit, not again. Some pony who won't remember me and will try to kick my ass.
I glanced over and saw Silverstring, her mane was ruffled and she looked...cute. "Are you awake yet? Did you sleep well?" She opened one of her eyes and rolled to face me.
"Yeah I'm awake, and I slept fine. Once you let me sleep that is, I had trouble doing so with your snoring." I wasn't aware I snored, but at least she remembered.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know I did that. If you needed to you could have covered my mouth." At this Silver started giggling, trying desperately to cover it up.
"What's so funny? If I was making it hard to sleep you could have covered my mouth." Silver was staring at me with both hooves pressed down on her mouth.
She hastily climbed out of bed, laughing as she did "Oh but I did, that's how I got to sleep." I began to notice a strange taste in my mouth.
I hadn't noticed it before, being preoccupied with my headache, but now I could taste it. It wasn't something I could readily name.
"Ok, well I need to go shower so I can make it to work. No peeking!" Silver pointed her hoof at me as if I was planning something.
"Don't worry, I won't. I need to get ready for work too." I saw Silver give a playful frown, she seemed disappointed that I wasn't planning on disobeying her.
"Aww...you're just no fun. Come and see me after you finish your shift okay Zach?" She swished her tail in my face playfully, I could still smell last night on her.
"Yeah, I'll drop by on my way home. You get off pretty late anyway so I can go around town a while before then." As Silver headed off to the shower I grabbed a clean pair of clothes.
Oh man...I reek pretty bad too. Plus my head won't stop pounding. Might be good for me to take a shower too. I checked the clock, It was already eight!
I should be there by eight thirty and it would take longer than that from here, so there was no way I could afford a shower first.
They have a public washroom. Maybe I can sneak a quick shower once I get there. "See you Silver!" I could hear her faint reply as I ran out the door.
On my way down the stairs I bumped into a large orange thing that nearly sent me flying down the last flight. "Watch out!"
As I barely caught myself on the railing, I noticed the familiar orange, jagged mane and the strange wings. Guess I wasn't imagining those last time.
"Oh...hey Shelby. How are you? I'm kind of in a rush here, so I'm sorry and all but I can't really stay." My disgruntled neighbor couldn't get out so much as a word before I was past her and out the front door.
As I began running up the street I heard a faint flapping from behind that was getting gradually closer. "Hey, wait up! What's with the rush? You just run into a girl then blow her off!?"
"Sorry about that Shelby, really didn't mean it but I need to get to work so I have to hurry." Shelby seemed to consider this for a moment, then she started to pull away.
"I guess that's fine, but you owe me once you have free time, got that?" Before I could answer her, she had already flown away.
Running the whole way, I was able to make it to the spa by eight twenty. That gave me ten minutes before I had to be at my table.
I heard the door chime as I walked in, gasping for breath and my face as red as an apple. "Hello Aloe, Lotus. Is it okay If I take a quick shower before work?"
They laughed and, for a fleeting moment, I swear I caught some strange look being exchanged between them. "Sure, just follow us." They brough me through a door marked "employees only" behind their desk.
"This is our private area. There is a full bathroom, a shower room...pretty much anything you may need. We live here, so It has al of the essentials." No wonder they have no trouble opening so early, they live in the spa!
"Thanks again you two, I didn't have the time to shower at my place this morning." When I mentioned this they both drew closer, I assume to smell me. When they stepped back I saw Lotus whisper something to Aloe, but all I could catch was something about rutting.
Why do they think I've been digging? I guess I do smell pretty sweaty, but this isn't important now, I need to find those showers. "So, where are the showers? Oh...and may I have some soap?"
Aloe walked by me, bumping me with her hip as she passed. "I'll show you to the showers, Lotus will get you what you need. You have clean clothes?" I showed her the bundle under my arm, I just hope I hadn't dropped anything on the way here.
"Good, just this way then." Aloe led me down a small hallway, where I had to watch the ceiling, otherwise I would hit my head on the lights. Then into a slightly bigger bathroom. There was pale blue tiling that made up the floor, with a set of pink ceiling lights.
Since this room was taller than the hallway I was able to stand up straight. "So this is where you two live? Nice place...how much does it cost?" Aloe smiled sweetly at me as I was looking around the pleasantly furnished bathroom.
"Why honey? Already feeling lonely in your new apartment?" I was going to ask how she knew I had moved, then I remembered that Rarity and Fluttershy went here on a regular basis.
"I'm doing fine, just thought it would get expensive living out of a spa. But you two obviously take care of yourselves." The bathroom door opened again as Lotus came in, she had a bottle in her mouth and a towel across her back.
"Here you go Zach, this soap can be used on your body and in your hair. We'll leave now, just call if you need anything." I took the bottle from Lotus's mouth, It wasn't labeled.
I popped the lid open and took a whiff, and at first I couldn't smell anything, but eventually I picked up on a faint trace of a flower. "Thanks girls, I shouldn't be too long."
As the girls left the room, I couldn't help but watch them leave. They were pretty nice to me since I arrived, and they were beautiful too. "Stop it Zach, you have more important things to focus on."
I put the bottle of mystery soap on a shelf under the shower head, then I began to disrobe. I don't know how I missed it before but there was a full wall that was nothing but one giant mirror!
All the cardio and the heavy lifting at AJ's was beginning to show on my body. I could see more definition in my arms and chest, and my legs had gotten more toned. "No six-pack yet.*thump*..oh well."
Maybe it was just me being weird, flexing nude in front of a full body mirror, but I swear I heard a thump on the other side of the wall. Probably just something falling over or some pipes moving.
I walked back into the shower and grabbed for the curtain. Somehow I hadn't noticed that there wasn't any curtains in these stalls. It's not like I was in a public bath, so I suppose it didn't matter.
I had always been nervous about being naked in a public place, because anybody could see you and It made me feel vulnerable. It was different here though, I guess It was because I knew that nopony would just walk in.
The only two who used this bathroom knew I was in here and happened to be my bosses. The water did feel nice though, and the soap made my hair smell like fresh flowers...it also made it tingle.
It wasn't the uncomfortable tingling you get when your leg falls asleep...this was more like a constant tickle. "The heck is with this stuff?" I figured I had nothing else, so I continued to wash with the strange soap.
Soon after rinsing the suds off my body I noticed a pleasant sensation, much like the one on my head, cover my body. I was standing against the wall of the shower with every inch of my body bubbling..
It was nice, but at the same time, I hated it. It was like something was tickling every spot of my skin, but when I tried to ignore it grew like an uncomfortable itching. "What the hell?! What was in that soap?!"
I turned off the water and dried off as fast as I could. After throwing my clothes on I left the bathroom so I could find Aloe and Lotus. "Girls! I think there was something up with that soap! My skin feels funny!"
I couldn't find them anywhere in the back, so I guessed they had went to the front desk to wait for customers. When I got to the entrance I didn't see either of them there. "Where are those two?"
Suddenly I heard something hit the floor. It sounded like it had come from the message room. "Girls, are you in...here?!" As I opened the door and walked in the first thing I noticed was Aloe and Lotus laying on the massage beds.
The second thing I noticed was they were both grinning, like this was all expected. "Umm, girls...shouldn't someone be at the front desk?" I don't think this is a good business strategy.
They both began laughing again, now it was starting to annoy me. "What's so funny? My skin is all weird since I used your soap and you're not watching out for customers!" Aloe held up her hoof, calling my attention to her.
"The reason we're laughing was you must have been in such a rush today that you didn't notice the closed sign on the door. We're taking a break day, and when you showed up we decided to roll with it."
Then Lotus came in "But I'm not sure why you feel funny. Maybe you're allergic to the flowers used to scent the soap? But since you're here why don't let us try one of your massages?"
As much as I would like to, I'm not completely sure my body is up for it right now. "Sorry girls, maybe next time. That soap made me really sensitive. Besides, I'm kind of tired."
Aloe winked at her sister and looked at me with a smirk "Oh, we know. We could smell it on you when you came in. Try to save some of your energy for us next time, all right?"
I had no problem with that, though I felt kind of awkward that my bosses could apparently smell that I had sex last night. "Yeah, I'll do that. See you two around." There wasn't much of a reason to stick around if there wasn't going to be any work.
"Maybe FallenStar is ready to get out by now?" I hadn't seen the little colt in a while, might as well go check up on him. I headed towards the hospital, If he hasn't gotten out by now then he must be getting lonely.
I walked in the front door to a rather empty waiting room. The only one in here was a nurse, with her back turned to the door. "Hello miss, where can I find FallenStar's room?" The nurse turned abruptly at the sound of my voice.
"Oh...hello Zach, It's nice to see you again. You can find him just down this way, follow me." I didn't recognize her at first, but it was Redheart! I was a little uncomfortable already, and this made it worse.
I liked nurse Redheart, but if the last time you saw someone was having sex in a random hospital room, you would feel awkward seeing them during work hours too. I followed her anyway, I had come to see Star so that's what I was going to do.
She led me into a room marked recovery. I could see several ponies as soon as I went in, but there was only one foal. Star was trying desperately to fly around the room, but all he could manage was staying airborne for a minute or two, and that was while staying still.
"Hey Star, how have you been buddy." After the colt landed I pulled him into a friendly hug. I felt bad for him, and I wanted to help hm any way I could. He returned the embrace then led me to a few chairs by the windows.
"I've been good Zach, I can start to fly again though not very well. I haven't remembered anything yet, but I'm being let out later today, so maybe going to school and stuff will speed it up." I was glad to see the colt so full of hope.
"So...where you going to stay? They won't let you live at the hospital will they?" I don't think Star had worked this part out yet because his face fell as soon as I asked.
"I don't know, I don't know where my family is so I don't have anywhere to go." His position reminded me of how I was not too long ago. Then an idea struck me.
"I think I know somepony who will let you stay with them. They're a close friend of mine and they are very kind and gentle. Her name is Fluttershy, but you should help her take care of her animals, can you do that?"
"Yeah, that sounds great! I love animals, so that should be easy."Well...It would be if Flutter only had normal pets, but he'll find out for himself. The nurse waved me over, I felt Star grab at my sleeve as I stood.
"Don't worry buddy, I'll be seeing you around. Next time we can go out and play. alright?" Star held my gaze for a moment then nuzzled into my stomach.
"Goodbye Zach, promise that you'll come see me soon." He was holding out his hoof, waiting for me to do something. I closed my hand up into a fist and gave him a solid bump.
When I got to the door the nurse began to whisper something "Sorry to cut your visit short, but we need to do his physical examination to see if he's ready to leave. I'm sure he'll be out by tomorrow.
"Thank you Redheart, I'll be going now. Tell him I...I'll be here for him, you know, If things aren't all better." I let nurse Redheart escort me back to the waiting room. I had just remembered that I needed something as well.
"Umm, nurse Redheart? I used this soap today that made my skin tingle, and It's starting to get really annoying." I saw the nurse duck behind the front desk for a moment, but she returned with a small bottle before too long.
As I took It from her mouth, she started to explain just what she had given me "I think the soap you used had a certain flower in it. This flower causes a soft tingling on the users skin shortly after being removed. You must have had too high of a concentration."
*cough* "So...this lotion will remove the remnants of the flower from your skin. Will you need any help putting it on?" Redheart seemed a bit hesitant asking that last part, and It made me flush slightly too.
"N..no! I'm fine, don't let me bother you. Where's the nearest bathroom?" Looking just as embarrassed as I was, Redheart pointed me up the hall and told me it was the first door on the left.
"Thank you." I turned abruptly and ran up the hall, nearly knocking down an elderly Stallion in a doctors uniform. I gave him a rushed apology as I ducked into the bathroom.
I threw off my clothes, uncapped the bottle, and began to rub it into every spot I could reach. I felt the difference almost immediately and boy was It wonderful! "Ahhhh...It's finally gone!"
I let it dry, then put my clothes back on. As I shit the door I heard a disturbance from the front desk. "Hey, what's going on...here." As I turned the corner I noticed a mare with scorch marks on her head, neck, legs and back.
She was laying on a stretcher, the emergency personnel were talking with some doctors about moving her to the ER. As I passed by her she opened her eyes and began to speak. "P..please *cough* somepony has to *wheeze* go back. My Coltfriend Is still there trying to *cough* stop It."
I assume she meant stop a fire, those looked like some serious burn marks on her body. Her Coltfriend mus be either very stupid, brave, or both. "Where is he?" She took a few deep breaths to steady herself before responding.
"You can see the smoke from Sugarcube Corner, he's probably still out in the middle of the woods." Before the EMT workers or the doctors could stop me, I had run out the front door heading straight for Sugarcube Corner.
I passed by several panicking ponies, they were all running past me which told me I was going In the right direction. As I approached Sugarcube Corner I could make out a large column of smoke in the distance, The sky was tinted red on the horizon.
I could just begin to see the edge of the forest when it hit me. I was nearly choking on the smell of burning wood and the wave of heat on my face made me cringe. "I don't even see the fire yet, how bad is this thing?!"
I heard screaming overhead as several pegasi began flying about as thunder clouds slowly formed above me. "Hey, Zach! Are you bucking crazy?! Get out of here!" I recognized this voice. Rainbowdash came down low to scream at me.
"I can't Rainbow! There's somepony in there, and you guys won't make it to him once you've put the fire out!" Before she could argue with me anymore, I sprinted into the trees.
I saw a red glow up ahead and the heat was growing worse. My mouth was drying out and It hurt to breath. I heard a sickening snap as a tree branch overhead gave out and nearly crushed me.
I was finally inside the fire, the trees were coated with flame. It might even be beautiful, the way it danced, if it wasn't so destructive. I didn't see anypony here so I continued forward.
"Hey, If you can hear me, your Marefriend Is ok! She sent me to get you out of here!" The smoke was getting so thick and choking that I didn't think he would see me before he heard me.
I was about ready to turn back, fearing I was getting lost in the blaze, when I tripped over something. I had to walk with my mouth and nose covered so I couldn't catch myself. I hit the hot ground hard on my side.
It knocked what little air I had out of me, but when I looked down to see what had tripped me up I was shocked to see It was an unconsious pony. I couldn't recognize him at first because he was covered in ash and soot.
Then I glanced down and noticed his mark, It was Magicalblast! "Hahaha! What luck, the dumbass practically did himself in for us. Now we can watch him die for what he's done."
What! hell no! He may be an ass, and he may have insulted my father, but he doesn't deserve this! "Ugh! Once again you show how weak you really are." I grabbed Blast and placed him on my shoulders.
I was feeling light-headed as I ran back through the burning woods. I saw a light up ahead, but we we're still in the fire. I could barely keep myself standing as I cleared the entrance, which was now also on fire.
I dropped Blast, his limp body was weighing me down, but after letting him go, I took three steps and fell flat on the ground. My shirt had been completely burned off, exposing my now blistering skin to the breeze.
I didn't want to move for the rest of my life. Every square inch of my body was shrieking in pain. Just as I heard Rainbow's voice coming closer, I began to black out."Now it's my turn to play with you.*wheeze* Hahahahaha!"
Everything was dark for a while, then I saw a light. It wasn't a soft light, this light looked harsh and cruel. Like it wanted to show me something that would hurt me. "You don't know how right you are."
The light was getting closer, It felt like I was being pulled through a long tube. I tried to speak but nothing came pot when I opened my mouth. "Now that's no fun, I can't let you go and do something out of character can I?"
What the hell do you mean?! Where am I, and why are you here? "Well, the first and second questions will be answered for you in a moment, the third will make sense once you understand them."
I felt my feet hit something solid, I was now standing in my bedroom. How did I get here? Wait...my house! I ran to my calendar, It was August seventeenth, the day after my birthday. I had just turned sixteen.
"Why...why are you showing me this!? I don't want to see this again! "I told you that you need your anger to survive, and I'll use this to prove it. Besides, I've had enough of you acting so weak. This is your punishment."
I looked to the clock on my desk, It said it was six thirty in the morning. I knew what was going to happen next, and It made me feel like crawling into a ball and dieing. This day...this day nearly killed me.
It was the morning after my sixteenth birthday, and my father had just died. We had gotten the call saying the police had found his body in a back alley, and this was just after I had blown out my candles.
I remember going to bed that night, crying so hard I had thrown up. My mother didn't react, I'm not sure If she was hiding It, or she had gone into shock. They said that it was a case of "fatal brutality", which was just a fancy way of saying he was beaten to death.
Nice birthday present huh? I woke up the next morning feeling dead to the world. I though It was over, but then came the...*knock knock* And now It begins. "Don't be rude now, you have guests."
Go fuck yourself! No, why can't I stop myself!? I wanted to hide, run, whatever I had to do to avoid what was coming next. "This is a memory you dumbass. You can't alter your memories."
I gripped the door knob, I was screaming at myself to let go, to just lock the door and call the police. I twisted it and pulled the door open, and saw three men. I never wanted to see them again.
"Hello sport, is this the Dionne household?" No! Oh god just say no! please don't tell them you're father's name. I tried desperately to say no, but I couldn't force anything out, so instead I just nodded my head.
"Thanks sport, ok boys...looks like he gave us the right house." Suddenly a fist collided with the side of my head and I was on the floor before I could do anything. "Now you'll see why you need me. I'm the reason you didn't die today"
When my vision finally returned I was propped against the wall with my hands tied. I heard a muffled cry nearby, It was coming from the bed. Mom! No, I can't let It happen again!
"I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about It, those guys are long gone, as you know. You're both tied up and *crackle* things are about to start heating up in here." He wasn't limiting my movements as much anymore, he wanted to prove that I had no chance without him huh?
I'll show him, I won't be like him any more. I won't become cruel and hateful because of this...dammit! I hit my head against the wall and used the adrenalin to throw my body forward. I was able to get to my feet, though I was unsteady.
I heard the cracking getting closer, It must be spreading to the hallway by now. Have to cut these damn ropes! I saw a piece of metal sticking out of the radiator. Maybe I could use that?
I backed up to the radiator and placed the piece of metal in between my hands. I began to slide my arms up and down, as I felt the ropes loosen the metal caught my skin and cut the palm of my hand.
It was going too slow! I could feel the heat rising In the room and I wasn't even done with the ropes on my hands. "Being calm will get you killed, stop screwing around and get angry! You want to get back at those thugs?! Then you better get out of here alive!"
I finally severed the last strand and freed my hands, I rushed to the bed to check on my mother. She was tied to the bed stand by her wrists. "It's ok mom, I'll get us out of here!" I wrapped my hand with a sheet and broke a window. I could use the glass to cut her free.
"That's right! use that anger, When we're done here you can go kill those bastards!" I was starting to have mixed feelings about that. I knew I shouldn't seek revenge but I felt like they deserved It.
By the time I had cut both of my mother's wrists free, the fire had covered the far wall and the room was filling with smoke. There was too much to escape through the window, and I began to choke on It.
My mother had inhaled the smoke for too long as I cut her free, she had passed out. "No Mother! You have to wake up! We need to get out of here!" I looked around and felt tears sting my eyes.
I saw the doorway was blocked by fire and the window was too small for her to fit through. I had no clue how I was going to get her out alive. Then there was a horrible creek from the ceiling as one of the support beams snapped and began to fall.
The ceiling was crumbling around us, pieces falling among the collecting ash. Time stood still as I looked up, black snow falling onto my face. I saw the beam fall and knew I wouldn't be able to move her In time.
It's going to happen whether I like It or not... In a last second decision I threw my body over my unconscious mother, hoping to shield her from the falling debris. I felt the wood connect with the center of my felt like I had small star fall directly on heat was so bad that I couldn't feel It anymore.
The darkness took me once more, only this time when I came to I was In the hospital. There was a fireman standing next to my bed, he had his hat in his hands. "I'm sorry son, but your mother didn't make It. We tried our best...but when we got to her she was already..."
Everything faded then...all that remained was me, sitting alone in the dark, crying. "Now do you get it? I exist because you need me. I am your defense. I am your weapon against anything that stands In our way. I am you Zach!"
"No...I may have been like this once..but I won't let It happen again. What's the point of having survived If I'm just going to live a hateful life? I need to move on...live a good life...for my parents."
"You'll see eventually, and when that day comes I'll be back in control." As my hateful side began to disappear I heard the sound of running water. The darkness was suddenly broken by a light shining in the distance.
"Is that the sun?" I stood on my unsteady legs, and took a few steps toward the warm light. As I got closer I noticed things change around me. I was no longer in a black emptiness, I could see trees and a river.
There were birds performing perfect little flying routines as they passed by, sharing their sweet autumn song. I remember this spot, I would always come here to catch the fish returning to the warmer waters.
I heard the familiar crackle of a radio being tuned, but this seemed to be coming in too clear, like it was in my head. It seemed to come from across the stream, so I waded in to get across. Music began as I heard a familiar voice start singing along with it.
"You hold your every breath, but life is for the living...In the water."
I began to feel the pull on my legs grow from a gentle stream to the dangerous flow of a river. It was now up to my stomach and rising.
"You feel that you should run, but where are you to hide...In the water?"
I had begun to panic, I tried to make it back to the shore but I was swept out by the strength of the water.
"Against the tide we struggle, with the skin we're in..the skin we're in."
"Against the tide we struggle..to keep..our heads above the deep, and our hearts above the lie...above the lie."
I don't remember this ever happening...how horribly ironic, going from burning to drowning. I was pushing as hard as I could to stop myself from colliding with rocks or the riverbed.
"You vow our life and blood, but this is not our home...In the water."
"Our hope here's never found..just ry to keep your way here...In the water."
"Against the tide we struggle, with the skin we're In...the skin we're in."
"Against the tide we struggle...to keep...our heads above the deep, and our hearts above the lie...above the lie."
My legs were getting weak now, and I don't think I could fight It anymore."Someone, please help..."
"With who we are today..could never make amends for what we've done...tainted blood."
"His eyes, his eyes are full of love...forgive them...release them."
The water surged over my head as my body finally failed. I was pulled down to the bed of the river and dragged with the current, until I blacked out.
"Against the tide we struggle, with the skin we're in...the skin we're in."
"Against the tide we struggle...to keep...our heads above the deep, and our hearts above the lie...above the lie."
I awoke on the opposite bank, the water was at the normal level and I was perfectly dry. "About time you woke up boy, I've needed to have a talk with you." I stared into the grizzled old face that was looming over me.
I swear there was something disturbingly familiar about the tanned skin and furrowed brow. The way he set his jaw, and even his eyes we're...the same as mine! "Dad?!"
And that's the end of chapter 11 everybody! I hope you're all as excited as I am for next chapter.
I know there was a lot happening this chapter and I inevitably confused people. If you don't understand something please don't hesitate to ask me.
And just a heads up, I won't be working on new chapters for a little while because I'm going to be editing all of the older chapters for ZiE.
Thanks to CakeMixPony, my good friend who suggested the song, It worked great buddy.
Also thanks to Anadel, the owners and creators of this sweet song. Hope everyone has a great day and I'll see you next time!
