Special Disclaimer: I have never had to put a notice like this, but I feel that this time, it is all but necessary.

This chapter is probably one of the, if not THE, most dark and disturbing thing I've ever written. There are scenes of very disturbing nature and I warn you, some of this is beyond frightening. If there's been any reason why this story has the rating it does, this chapter alone may be it.

Reader Discretion is advised.. and if you truly are uncomfortable with the subject material, I'll give less explicit summaries in future chapters of this story.
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*later that night*

Try as he might, even with the heavy sedation, Josh found sleep evading him. It'd been over 8 days since he'd had any genuine sleep and his mental stability was beginning to crack even more. Dr. Whooves and the other ponies had been doing all they could to keep him lucid, even giving him tranquilizers to try and help him sleep, but to no avail. They'd even gone as far as to try and find any unicorn with magic that could put him to bed, but found the only ones too busy to travel to Ponyville, even if Champagne had caused the teens insomnia.

After Dash had left, another white earth pony had come in with a small dinner for him, only to have the teen turn the food away, his appetite vastly diminished from all his stress. It had gotten to where there was talk of forcing him to be fed intravenously. After the nurse had left, he'd been given another tranquilizer and left to try to get into a healing sleep, but just like every other pill, he found himself wide awake and tormented with the images now running through his head of Champagne's soulless eyes, the thoughts of Ponyville failing and becoming another trophy in the unicorn's perverse collection, the prospect of Mayor Mare doing what Mayor Hareis apparently had and ending their life.

The worst part was now, even the tranquilizers were losing their effect and he'd begun to have hallucinations. From seeing Champagne looking at him to seeing his soul leave his body, his mind was beginning to deteriorate. There were even times he swore he could see a black mist rising from the necklace.

"I can't believe this...", Josh thought to himself as he struggled to get the rest he needed, "These visions... these thoughts, why won't they go away and let me sleep?"

His restlessness had gotten so bad they'd had to move the elderly pony that had been assigned the bed next to him to another room out of fear of his thrashing giving the pony a heart attack. He didn't know how much longer he could last and it was only now the thoughts of his friends that allowed him to cling to the last strands of his sanity... and even those thoughts were beginning to fade.

"They got ponies for math, science, mail, even tennis... yet they don't have a damn one to help me sleep?", he grumbled as he turned and looked at the clock on the wall, "1 in the morning... Celestia... Luna... someone... help me sleep..."

It was then he heard a soft rap at his door and he grunted. "Great.. another nighttime nurse. With all my rumbling, it's a miracle they haven't kicked me out by now." With a sigh he called out to the pony knocking. "Come in!"

But when the door opened, he found himself looking at a pony he'd never seen before, one seemingly glowing in a light rivaling Celestias. From what he could see through the light, it was a young filly with a rosy red mane covering her head and a set of wide scarlet eyes looking back at him in wonder. The air surrounding the pony was a cold one and he swore he could even see her form shivering.

"Hello?", he asked curiously, "Can.. can I help you?"

The filly spoke, her voice gentle and sweet like honey, in a softness that would have made Fluttershy seem loud. "Mr. Josh.... can you help me?"

No one had called him that since he'd helped give Applebloom a bath and it brought a slight snicker to his lips. "I'm.. not exactly in a condition to help anyone...."

"Pwease?", the filly repeated, "I weally need your help... I lost something.... Pwease?"

Josh just stared blankly at her, finding something in her eyes almost hypnotizing. As much as he wanted to rest, something in them made him feel almost criminal denying her. "How.. do you even know my name..."

"I know all yours names where I am, silly... My names Pedal."

"Pedal, huh?", Josh mused, "How old are you, dear?"

"I think I'm 4!"

Josh just blinked at her for a second, gazing at her body shivering, before he slowly lifted up the covers and crawled out of the hospital bed, limping over to her. His body was extremely weak from all his injuries and the fact he'd just had to have his heart restarted didn't exactly do him any favors. Yet at the same time, he was sick to death of being stuck in that damn bland room and his curiosity as to what the pony wanted his help finding was peaked.

"Sweetie, aren't you cold?", he asked gently.

"A... A little.. but I'm used to it.... can you pwease help me?"

Seeing the pleading on her face, that whimper in her voice, Josh sighed resignedly and limped over to where the doctors had put his clothes and the long coat Gilda had given him before turning to Pedal.

"Now cover your eyes..."

Giggling softly, Pedal placed her hooves over her eyes as Josh removed his makeshift gown, Dr. Whooves and Nurse Tenderheart having to have Rarity sew a couple together to handle the humans form, their normal attire only reaching to a little below his crotch. It took all of a minute for him to slipped into the leather shirt and jeans, the white coat in place of the red sportjacket. Smoothing the fabric over his body, the teen finally turned to Pedal and nodded. Immediately, Pedal pushed the doorway open and motioned with her hoof for him to follow, an action the teen obeyed with little hesitation.

As they walked down the hospital corridor, Josh's hands slipped into his pockets and his limp giving him a small amount of pain, the human couldn't help but notice how quiet the place had gotten. Other than the occasional night nurse pony or custodian doing graveyard rounds, it was as silent as the wind. It wasn't until he approached the front doors that somepony finally acknowledged him.

"Joshua? Mr. Rocket, sir?"

Turning around, Josh saw Nurse Tenderheart looking at him, her head slightly tilted in an expression of bewilderment.

"What are you doing out of your room? Do you need someone to take care of you? There IS a button set aside for our residents to get on-call help..."

Josh just shrugged in reply. "I'm just going out for a walk, feeling well enough and needed some air. I'll be back in a little while. Don't worry... and don't bother Dash, ok? She needs sleep... Celestia knows I ain't gonna be gettin' any."

Before the nurse could speak further, Josh opened the door and, after watching Pedal step outside, he took his first steps into the calm night air.

And yet for some reason....

He couldn't help but wonder why the nurse hadn't mentioned the filly with him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*????*

It took about a half hour for Pedal to lead Josh to her destination. When she stopped at a set of iron black gates, she motioned for Josh to look up.

"I.. I lost it here....", she quivered sadly.

Curiously, the teen looked skywards and read the inscription on the gates...

EQUESTRIAN WINGS CEMETERY

"A cemetery?? Why were you playing in there???"

At this, Pedal just sniffled and started to whimper and immediately, Josh felt guilty for asking such a question.

"I'm sorry, sweetie.. just.. let's go in."

With a nod, Pedal pushed open the gates and led Josh down a dirt path in the middle of the grassy field, tombstones and flowers surrounding their walk and giving the human a feeling of unease.

"I guess even in Equestria, they have to do something once the body's breathed its last....", he remarked as he felt the wind pick up as they continued their trek through the stones. It wasn't until they were at a large marble stone bearing a cross on the top and covered in moss that Pedal stopped.

"It was in there... They put it in my daddy's casket. Please.. please get it for me!"

At this Josh just looked at her like she'd got insane. "Right, ok.... really funny.", he remarked before looking around, "Champagne?? Cameras?? Where are you???? Yeah, graverobbing is REALLY funny, ha ha!"

"Who's.... Champagne? Who are you talking to?"

"Don't lie to me.. he's...", Josh started to say as he looked down at Pedal... and it was then the expression on her face told him something shocking.

She genuinely didn't know who he was talking to.. and the look of childlike curiosity on her face, one that Josh knew was almost impossible to fake... read like she was as confused as the human was.

"This.. this is a joke, right?", Josh pleaded, "You're not serious... You're asking me to dig up your father.... What about rest in peace??? Why didn't you just get it when they buried him???"

"I.. I didn't know it was there!", Pedal wept, "I didn't find out until a few days ago! I'm sorry!!"

Seeing the tears starting to pour down her face, Josh took Pedal into his arms and rubbed her mane gently. "I'm sorry, honey... This is just... a lot you're asking of me.... Digging up your daddy... Are you SURE?! Who KNOWS what kind of condition he's in!"

"PWEASE!!", Pedal pleaded, "I weally need it!!!"

Looking at her face, scrunched in her sadness and her hooves clasped together fervently, Josh gave a resigned sigh and looked around, noticing a shovel resting by a half-dug grave, as if the digger had gone to bed before completing the burial plot. With trembling hands, the human picked up the shovel and, bringing it back to the gravesite, raised it high in the air and said a small prayer...

"Celestia, God, please forgive me for what I'm about to do.... May you have mercy on my soul...."

Cyrus Jones 1810 to 1913
Made his great granchildren believe
You could live to a hundred and three
A hundred and three is forever when you're just a little kid
So Cyrus Jones lived forever

With tears in his eyes, Josh plunged the tool down into the dirt and began the excavation.

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

The first few shovelfuls were hard to bring up, almost as if his body didn't want to do the task... It hurt his heart knowing what he was digging up and what he was doing.. but every time he turned to try and tell Pedal he couldn't do it, he just saw the tears in her wide eyes and he forced himself to keep at it.

Muriel Stonewall
1903 to 1954
She lost both of her babies in the second great war
Now you should never have to watch
Your only children lowered in the ground
I mean you should never have to bury your own babies

Another few minutes passed and Josh began to find the mounds of grass and soil coming up easier and easier, but the feel of the wind on his skin and the slowly drizzling rain didn't do anything make his soul feel at all better about what he was doing... almost like it was mocking him.

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

It took about 20 minutes for the teen's shovel to clank against something hard and, as he looked down and brushed the dirt off the large lump, he found himself looking at the roof of a large silver casket, similar to the ones in his world. Just the sight of the coffin brought chills to his spine and he looked up at Pedal's face, peering over the edge of the large hole.

"It's in there! I know it is!! Pwease....."

Ring around the rosey
Pocket full of posey
Ashes to ashes
We all fall down

With shaking hands and a bite on his lip, Josh wedged the tip of the shovel into the coffin and pushed down with all his might until the lid popped open...

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger

The sight that greeted him inside the casket was a horrible one. The body of a pony, or rather its remains, rested against a white velvet lining. The mare's body had decomposed to a near-skeletal state, the bones of its forelegs clasped over the ribs and what little was left of the graying flesh. Its hindlegs stuck out, devoid of any fur or muscle. The skull was the worst part, its empty eye sockets staring at him like they were holes to Hell. A large crack underneath the stallions jaw told him that this beings death had been a violent one... and even the few remaining bits of clothing, a black top hat and scraps of a black outfit, were ragged and worn. The fact that there were maggots crawling along what little remained of its skin nearly made Josh sick.

"What.. have I done....", he gasped as he looked down and made a sign of a cross on his chest as if begging it for forgiveness. But as he focused his gaze downwards, he noticed something resting in the bones of its chest cavity... something square and black.

Little Mikey Carson 67 to 75
He rode his
Bike like the devil until the day he died
When he grows up he wants to be Mr. Vertigo on the flying trapeze
Ohhh, 1940 to 1992

"What... the...", he murmured as he knelt down and, looking away in revulsion, picked up the object and yanked it out. Looking back at it and shaking the insects off of his hand, he realized he was looking at a video tape, devoid of any label and only bearing three words etched in red marker.

EVE OF ENDING

"Eve of Ending???", Josh murmured, "Pedal, is this what you----"

But as he looked up, he noticed that the filly's face had vanished. After shutting the coffin and flying up out of the hole, his shovel in hand, he noticed Pedal was nowhere to be found. Almost as if she had just disappeared.

"I dig up her dads grave, I fetch a tape she lost... and she doesn't even stick around to get it????", he muttered as he looked around to try to find an exit, eager to just get out of the cemetery after he buried the stallion's skeleton back under the soil. But as he stuck the shovel into the mound of earth, he noticed faintly in the distance a small building, almost like a reception office or a chapel. He didn't know what it was or why it was happening.... but there was something compelling him to go inside. Almost as if... he could hear a voice calling out...

"Mr. Josh! I'm in here!! I'm in here!"

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Feel the rain
I can feel the rain
Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow....
So that I can feel the rain......

Gravedigger

Hearing Pedal's voice, Josh ran as best he could over to the stonewalled building and pushed open the door, realizing quickly he was standing inside the gravedigger's hut, the sounds of whinnying telling him the occupant was fast asleep But the filly was nowhere to be found. The teen began to wonder if he was going insane... that Pedal was just in his mind... What sane filly would ask somepony to dig up their fathers grave.... As he turned to leave, he noticed a small TV resting on a table by the gravediggers bed. Walking towards it and noticing there was a slot for tapes, most likely for security footage, he pushed a button on the front of the console and popped out the tape inside before replacing it with the tape he'd found in the coffin. He HAD to know.....

He had to know why that filly had led him to it..... and as he pushed play.... What popped up onscreen would be buried in his mind until his last day....

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[Special Authors Note: This is where it'll get really bad. If you want to skip past it, just hit ctrl+F and type in Video End]
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The first image was that of an elderly green stallion, wearing a top hat just like the one in the casket, and a black coat, the room he was in devoid of all furniture and atmosphere, looking more akin to that of an interrogation room. The cutie mark on his thigh was one of a wheel, similar to that of one from a cart, and his tail was pure silver, almost matching that of Granny Smiths. But the look on his face as he stared into the camera was one of loss.... of sheer despair... and when he spoke, it was in a tone haunting and empty.. as if all hope was lost.

"They took it all from me..... after all I did for them... I gave them my town... I gave them my money... all I wanted was for them to spare my family..... that was all.... But no..... they had to take them too.... Now... I've got nothing..... No choice..... I'm making this tape...... in the hopes that someone can find this..... and help me....... I know there's no hope left for me... They spared my life.... just to let me fester........ But I have no reason to go on..............

The screen went to static and flashed back into the room to show it now carrying a desk, pictures, a plant, even a small teddy bear on the corner of the hardwood. A small plaque on the desk read the name MAYOR ELBERT HAREIS. The pony that sat at it was unmistakably the same from the beginning, only with a slightly more optimistic face.

'It was supposed to just be a simple eating contest.. the Equestria-Wide-Royal-Eaters-Championship, a tradition in Equestria dating back for some time. My regal city of Albaneigh was chosen to host it. Representatives from all over were coming... Manehattan, Ponyville, even Canterlot... they were all having their best gluttons come here.. I heard the festival that was held to celebrate it was to bring in the bits my city needed for some much-needed repairs... I was so excited..... My whole family.. My wife, Maria, my beautiful colt, Ace, my darling daughter Pedal.....they were so happy for me.... This was supposed to be a dream come true....

The screen went to static and flashed back to show the mayor sitting at his desk, writing out a check with Champagne and Knuckle standing next to him with gloating looks.

But it turned out to be a nightmare..... Our representatives lost..... and I had to fork over all my town had made from the festival to Champagne.... I thought that was the end.... but he told me I should have paid more attention...... The contract they had me sign.... that damn contract.... IT HAD ME TURN OVER MY WHOLE TOWN!!!!! I wasn't about to give in... I paid them their prize money... that was supposed to be it.... THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE END!!!!!!

The next scene showed the mayor and his family, a blue pegasus with red hair, a young colt with a ball cap and a silver coat, and a young white filly with a ruby red mane, huddled together in the office, the mayor and the daughter in a tight hug and the mother and son looking at them in sadness.

I promised my family I'd never let them be run out... I'd never let Champagne take away all my family had built up... all my bloodline had done to serve this noble city, a city Celestia herself had blessed thrice over!!!! They gave me the courage to tell off Champagne.. demand that he leave my town and never return.... Champagne.. he... he warned me I would regret my words...... That... that DEMON!!!!!

The next few scenes were a set of grisly black and white photographs, all showing the grotesque sight of the three ponies slaughtered. The blue pegasus was resting in a bloody puddle on a large bed, her stomach ripped apart and a bullet hole in her head, as well as a puddle of blood pouring from her nether regions. The colt was face-down, a large jagged cut down his back spilling his crimson liquids and going so deep his spinal cord could be seen. The filly was laying next to a teddy bear doll, the both of them splattered with gore, a large bullet wound in her head pouring blood down her face and mixing with the faint lines of tears, her eyes looking on in eternal horror, never to close again, a river of red coating her white sheets.

He.. he came into my home... I was working late in the office trying to fill out the forms to make sure he'd never be able to come here again.... he... he killed them..... Maria... Ace..... Pedal..... MY 4-YEAR-OLD PEDAL....... he and his goons... they killed them.... left me a note saying I should have just given in......... That there was no use trying to get them arrested... their connections had already made it so the newspaper said I did it... that I mutilated my whole family... and my town..... the whole town that my family had built from the soil and the sun.... they turned against me! Those UNGRATEFUL ponies... They believed that I had killed them in a fit of anger..... I lost everything.... I couldn't convince anyone the truth.... I even tried to get them to check out the security tapes, the ones that would prove my innocence.... but when I went to get them... they were gone... All that was left was a note saying they'd been left with my family... left to rot for eternity... that the world would never know what happened... They meant everything to me.. and they died because of my greed... I had nothing more to live for..... I went insane...... All I could think about was wanting the pain to end...... I couldn't eat... I couldn't sleep.......

The scene flashed again to show the stallion back in the empty room, tears running down his face.

That's what has led me to this... I know they'll bury this tape with me.... I know they'll hide the truth.... but Champagne... if you ever see this.. I want this to be what you see when you shut your eyes... I want you to see the broken stallion you made me...... I want you to feel my loss and despair...... I want you ALL to feel my loss... I gave you everything... and THIS was how you thanked me.... There's no reason... No reason to continue...... This is the Eve of Ending.... Maria.... Ace...... Pedal....... I'm....... sorry........

The pony slowly trotted over to a closet and pulled out a chair... and a noose... With shaking hooves, he set the chair down and climbed up, attaching the nooses end to an offscreen hook on the ceiling.... placing the noose around his neck.... and using his hindleg to kick the chair away. His death was instantaneous....

It stayed on his swinging body for almost 5 minutes before the tape went to static.....

------------------------------------------------------Video End-----------Cemetery Begin---------------------------------

Josh just blinked in sheer horror at what he'd just witnessed.... What he had just learned....

"My...... god... He... did it... he did it all..... Champagne..... you... killed them......"

Almost in a daze, he pressed the button on the console to release the tape and slipped it back into his coat before getting up and heading back out into the drizzling rain. He couldn't think of anything but the tape... what it had revealed...

Pedal.... that filly that had led him here...... was nothing more than a spirit.... a memory from the past....

"My god......", Josh thought to himself as he looked upon the gravestones, sitting down upon the step leading into the gravediggers house. "This... this is Hell.... he's trying to kill us too... Hareis.. he tried to warn them... but his control... his iron fisted control and Black Thorn... they hid the evidence... the one piece that could have put Champagne away... and it drove him to the end of a rope... it was suicide.... but not over losing his town..... it was over losing everything..... What can I do......."

"Joshua?"

Looking up in a daze, Josh noticed a large form approaching him and, rubbing his eyes, he could make out the form of a large shadow... and as it came closer, he began to recognize the form from her royal blue coat, her piercing blue eyes, even the way her mane flowed endlessly in the night air......

"Princess Luna... What do you doing here?", he asked, getting to his feet and bowing slightly.

"I'm the Goddess of the night... I'm wherever my nocturnal subjects need me... and from the tears on your face, I'd say maybe you need me right now."

Brushing his cheeks, Josh found them to be moist and realized he had been weeping a little during the video. "Luna... I know it all... I know what happened..... He tried to tell them... and no one believed him... Pedal.... she---"

It was then a thought came to the teen, stopping him in mid-sentence. "Luna... did you.... send Pedal's spirit to me?"

But to his shock, the princess shook her head. "That is beyond even my power. Once a body has passed on, I can no longer help it. I can bring plants and objects to life... but not pony tissue and cells..."

Josh just blinked and put his hand to his mouth. "Then..... how... how did Pedal... how did her ghost...."

"I do not know, my subject. Even Discord would be aghast at seeing the spirits of the dead rise."

"Discord...", Josh murmured, remembering what Twilight and Fluttershy had told him about the former Spirit of Chaos, "This would be beyond even his realm....."

Luna nodded curtly and gestured towards the open grave. "I'm assuming that is your doing?"

Sadly, the teen gave a nod of his own. "She... she told me something was buried in her dad's casket... that's how I found the tape..", he remarked, pulling out the cassette and showing to Luna. "It's his diary... He made this to show what happened..."

"You have to understand how what you're saying... sounds a little strange, my friend.", Luna remarked.

"Miss Luna... nothing is strange to me anymore... I'm a human in a world of Ponies, I've seen death and escaped it thanks to love and life water... Nothing even comes off as odd to me..."

"Not even ghost ponies telling you to dig up a grave?"

"Not even that...", Josh replied with a sad tone. It was then something in the tape began to run through his mind...

I even tried to get them to check out the security tapes, the ones that would prove my innocence.... but when I went to get them... they were gone... All that was left was a note saying they'd been left with my family... left to rot for eternity...

"Luna... I'm gonna ask something that I never thought I'd ask ANYPONY...... where... where are they buried? Pedal, Ace, and Maria Haresis..."

"Well they're a few yards away... Why?"

"Please... may I see them?", Josh asked, "Something's bugging me..."

"Josh are you sure? Maybe you're just seeing things from the head trauma... Dev did cave in a part of you--"

"With all due respect, Princess Luna... please.. just.. I want to see them..."

Shaking her head in confusion and resignation, Luna led Josh to a set of tombstones a few feet away, mixed in with all the other graves. The inscriptions on each grave told them both who was resting in them...

Here lies Maria Hareis
Taken away too soon, she was a delight and a doll.

Here rests Ace Hareis
The angels hold thee now.. rest well little colt.

Here lies Pedal Hareis
In her 4 years in this world, she brightened us with her smile and her spirit...

Sighing sadly, Josh looked over at Luna. "I don't suppose you can see down into their tombs, can you?"

At this, the princess actually sputtered a little bit at the request. "Josh.. do you know what you are asking of me? To peer into their caskets?"

"Miss Luna, I don't like where this may be leading either... but if my theory.. if it's right.... I know I know how to put Champagne away... once and for all.... Please... just one look..."

In her mind, she KNEW she had to be a little nuts for even considering such a grisly thought. She was being asked to peer upon the dead's slumber... Ever since she was a filly, she'd always had a small uneasiness about corpses. Time had helped her fears considerably... but a request like this almost made her start shivering like a little foal all over again.

"Josh... I.. I don't think I can.... This is horrible to even consider."

"Just one look... Just to see if my theory is right... That's all that I ask."

With a deep breath and tears in her eyes, Luna concentrated her focus onto Maria's grave and shut her eyes tight before popping them open to show nothing but pure white as a beam shot down from her horn and began to part the dirt and soil covering her coffin, unearthing the box in less than a minute. Shutting her eyes and opening them again to reveal her normal pupils, Luna said a small prayer as she climbed down into the hole and used her forehoof to gently prod open the casket, Josh crawling in after her.

"Celestia... sister....", she thought to herself as her and Josh began to look over the remains, "Please.. forgive us...."

Maria's body looked worse than the first one, her skull completely severed from her body and a large crack near her vacant abdomen indications of what had happened to her. As the two looked over the skeletal-remnants, Luna noticed something laying amid where her ribcage was... something square and black..... Immediately, the Goddess of the Moon felt her heart leap into her throat, sweat beginning to bead.

"You.. you think whoever killed them... buried the evidence with them..."

"To rot in eternity...", Josh repeated the last part of the message to himself as he reached in and pulled out the cassette before making another cross over his chest and helping Luna shut the casket, "Luna... can you look inside Ace and Pedal's coffins too? I think the tapes of their murders are resting there... I... I gotta get out of here.... Tell Ponyville Urgent Care I won't be back.... Please..."

In any other instance, Luna would have flatout refused and stormed out of the graveyard, muttering about how depraved the teen was for such a suggestion.. for such cheek. But after seeing the video tape inside Maria's coffin.. resting in her skeleton.... She knew the teen's reasons... He wanted to make sure the truth was told... and it was her duty as one of the Goddesses of Equestria to help him make that happen. Softly, she nodded and gave the human a hug.

"This is madness....", Josh remarked, tears welling in his eyes.

"That it is, young one..", Luna replied as she broke the hug, "That it is." With that, Josh climbed out of the hole and got ready to fly back to Ponyville.... But wether it was the wind or the drizzling rain or the shock of everything that had just been revealed to him, he didn't feel much like flying. Slowly he began to limp towards the pathway and made his way towards the tombstone next to the first grave he'd dug up. Kneeling down, he brushed away the moss covering the marble and just gave a sad sigh at the inscription.

Mayor Elbert Hareis
Passed Away at 60 years of age
Finally at peace

"Rest well, Mayor...", Josh whispered, "Thank you... for the key...."

Slowly he got to his feet and limped out of the cemetery's end, the moonlight shining down on him like a beacon of hope and making him look back in reflection.

"The lonely moon... the sign of the night... and now... a sign.. of an end."

Swear at the walls
They make fun of me
Day after day
Eyes that follow me
Is it you again?
Can this be the end forever?

Calmly, the teen strolled down the long roadway, singing to himself as he looked at all the passing ponies, on their way to their jobs and commutes, the sight altogether serene and an eerie contrast to the events of the past few hours.

See through your eyes
Child's heart that cries
Raven flight, flies
And the meaning dies
As it was before
It will be no more
Time does that

As he felt the rain come to a stop, the teen's walk began to evolve from a limp to his normal stride as his leg grew stronger. He didn't know whether it was from the doctors magic finally going through the final stages or just the night air or even knowing what he was going to be going back to... all he knew was that he wasn't having to limp anymore.. and it made the walk back to Ponyville go a lot quicker. Before he knew it, he was looking up at the wooden sign welcoming him back into the small town.

Say it again
Like you said
Does it sound like you?
Where are you now?
Does the young one know you're here?
Breath on the glass
Once again
Feel her pull you in
Nobody leaves
You won't let you
You're afflicted

"Now to get back to Dash...", he thought to himself as he made his trek towards Sweet Apple Acres, the quiet of the night and the near silence of the town filling the air. Seeing all the shops closed, all the streets bare.. it was rather unusual for the teenager.

"Wasn't settling first time I went through the dark, still not settling now..", he mumbled as he strolled past a row of stores by Twilight's library. It was then he noticed a lone pony out on the street with him.. and from their soft mumbling and stumbling, he had a strong feeling he knew who it was....

"Fluttershy??"

Immediately, the figure looked up and, as Josh got closer, he saw indeed it was the shy yellow pegasus. Why she was out at such a late out was beyond him.

"Hey Josh...", she muttered in her soft tone, "I thought you were still in the hospital. Why are you covered in dirt??"

Josh looked down and saw that mounds of dirt and earth were still clinging to his coat, a groan escaping his lips. "I checked myself out and fell when I left, can we leave it at that? What about you, why're you out so late? I thought you were scared of the dark!"

"I am...", Fluttershy admitted, "But Angel Bunny woke up... and wouldn't go back to sleep unless I made him a vegetable salad... Since Meowth's asleep in your castle, I had to go out on my own to get the ingredients from some of the late-night stands."

The human just shook his head. "You really need to stand up more to him. He's taking advantage of your kind nature!"

"I... I just don't like confrontation...", she replied as she turned to head towards one of the nearby fruit stands, reaching into her saddlebag and pointing towards a fresh bunch of cherries to the gray unicorn at the stand.

"Maybe..", Josh remarked as he approached her, "But you've got to stand up for yourself... didn't Rarity once tell me about how you stood up to her and Pinkie Pie?"

"Yeah...", the pegasus looked away, "I try not to think about that...."

"C'mon, it couldn't have been---"

It was then the corner of his eye caught his reflection in a mirror resting against the stand, as if left there by some careless pony, and seeing the ice-white coat and his black shirt covered in filth, he just groaned and started to dust himself off.

"Messy, messy, messy... Gilda would be pissed if she saw her heirloom like this... Bet even the necklace is stained..."

But as he began to pull the necklace out, using his shirt to shine it, a sudden flash appeared in the mirror and the reflection inside changed... into something that made the teen fell backwards with a scream.

Can you hide who you are?
Take a look at yourself
Can you stop what will be?
You think running will help?
Can't give up on the past
When the past never ends
Now the dead that you raised
Live in me

The figure inside the mirror was looking at him with pure white eyes, small red veins piercing through the sockets of their dark black cragged face. His skull was contorted as if in a mix between a horse and a human, his hair/mane stood spiked and tipped with crimson, his mouth was opened in a satanic looking grin, his teeth razor-sharp and monstrous, dark streaks of red poured from his sockets and dripped down his mouth, falling out of view, and the eye of the necklace... was shining on his throat, oozing blood from the flesh. The creature croaked out a loud piercing yell before vanishing completely and leaving Josh backing away frantically from the mirror, shaking so violently that Fluttershy and the mare had to rush to his aid.

"Kid, are you ok?!"

"Josh! What'd you see?!!?"

Josh couldn't speak, he couldn't think... he just got to his feet and tore off like the devil was after him, leaving the two ponies looking on in shock.

What have you done?
You're insane
Can you bring God down?
Plans that you made
Don't include me
One more time
But I will dance
On the wind
Breathing in your heart
Your sacrifice
Wasn't wanted
Still you try

The teen didn't stop running until he was out of the main of Ponyvile and at the head of Sweet Apple Acres. His face felt clammy and wet and his body didn't want to stop shaking. He thought he was gonna collapse right there, but he forced himself to keep running, not stopping until he was at the hayloft Rainbow Dash was using as her bedroom and he threw open the door. But to his shock, the fat pegasus wasn't there.

"Fuck.. FUCK!!!!", he swore violently as he ran from the loft and towards the front door, pounding on it madly like his life depended on it. It took very little time for the lights to come on all over the farm house and the door to open, showing a very irritated Granny Smith.

"What in tarnation?! It's 3 in the morning!!! We're trying to sl----"

Her rant was cut short when she looked up and saw the human in front of her, trembling and shuddering like a dog out of the rain.

"Josh??? What are yo---"

"Dash... Where.... is.... Dash?", he croaked out, "I.... need.... Dash......."

"She's... she's in the guest bedroom.... she wanted to be close to a bathroom after the training for to---"

The teen didn't say anything... he just brushed past her and stormed upstairs, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big MacIntosh all coming out of their rooms.

"Josh, it's 3 in the mornin'!", Big Mac grumbled, "What do ya'll think you're doing waking us up???"

"Why are you all covered in dirt?", Apple Bloom asked, trotting up and hoofing at the splotches of muck still on his coat.

"And why do ya'll look like you just saw a ghost??", Applejack added.

"Dash....... Got... to find.... Dash...."

"Ok, hon.. I think you need to go and get some rest.... You've been without sleep I think for a while it's starting to affect you---", Applejack started to motion for him to head back downstairs, but a yell from the teen cut her off.

"DASSSSHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

His scream was soul-piercing, like he was scared death was approaching them all, and it took almost no time for the last door in the hallway to open and the cyan pegasus to stumble out groggily, rubbing her magenta eyes sleepily.

"What is it now, Big Mac....", she muttered as she trotted towards the commotion, "I'm trying to----"

It was then she got a good look at her lover and her eyes popped wide-awake. His face was pale white and his hair, his clothes... it was all ragged to the point where he looked almost homeless. His eyes were jittering and looking back at her wildly and his mouth was clenched as if trying not to scream again. His hands were clenched so tightly into fist that his flesh was punctured, causing droplets of blood to stain the hard wooden floor. He looked nearly worse than he ever had before and considering how many times he'd been put into the hospital, that was saying something major....

Say it again
Like you said
Does it sound like you?
Where are you now?
Does the young one know you're here?
Breath on the glass
Once again
Feel her pull you in
Nobody leaves
You won't let you
You're afflicted

"Celestia's sake, Josh!!!", Rainbow Dash gasped, "You look awful!!!!! What happened now?!"

The human tried to speak, opening and closing his mouth, but he found no words coming out.. only indecipherable noises. He felt weak and out of control of his muscles.. his body.. his everything......

"Josh!! Speak to us!!!"

It was finally then that a mixture of sleep deprivation, shock, and trauma mixed as one and the teen fell to his knees, his eyes rolling back into his head, before collapsing to his side, left as still as the dead. Immediately Big Mac and Rainbow Dash began to check his pulse frantically.

"I'll call 911!", Apple Bloom offered.

"Ah think he just fainted is all, Apple Bloom..", Applejack reassured her little sister, "No need to send him back into the Urgent Care. Can't imagine he'd want to go back there so soon..."

"Josh..... Josh!!!!", Dash pleaded for the teen to regain his senses, but he was out like a light. Trembling with determination, the pegasus leaned down and grabbed him by the scuff of the coat, dragging him back into the guest bedroom and closing the door. All the 3 members of the Apple family could do was look on in worry.

Once inside, she propped him up against the side of the room and sat next to him, holding his hand and rubbing it just like he'd done for her when she was going through the nightmares.....

And she had the horrible feeling he was trapped in one right then.......

---------------------------------------------------------------
[Special Authors Note: Again, it's gonna get pretty bad here... To skip, just hit Ctrl+F and type in Nightmare End
------------------------------

*???*

Darkness surrounded him, coated his world in black and left him without any remote indication where he was. The last thing he remembered was seeing Dash's shocked face.... then the world had gone out like the flick of a switch. As he got to his feet and rubbed his head, shaking off the cobwebs, he swore he could hear what sounded like static, as if someone was tuning a radio, and as he looked around, he saw visions start to appear.... The images of Pedal, Maria, Ace all dead.... the face in the mirror... and Mayor Hareis.... but his face... looked the worst of them all.

Oh yeah, I've been here before
I can see it with eyes closed
Shadows that look like blood
Dead as far as the mind goes

Everything from his snout up was pure wrinkled green flesh, streaks of blood and gore smeared like dirty fingerpainting. His mouth was opened wide as if in mid-scream, a piercing wail echoing out of it breathing only a single word.....

"HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Fear that comes from my head
Lives in the mirror

Reaching his hand out shakily as if trying to touch the face, the second he brushed against the skull it dissolved at his feet and formed into the same word it had been shrieking.... HELP.

Why won't you let me out?
Does the evil excite you?

Horrified, he turned towards the forms of Pedal, Maria, Ace... all laying in the darkness and slowly disintegrating into blood-red dust. He rushed towards them to try and help, but found himself only clutching clumps of the ashes they'd become.

"No..... No.....", he gasped, struggling to breathe.

Haven't you had enough?
Does the feeling control you?
Just when I think I'm okay
Shadows surround me

An eerie cackling laughter filled his ears and as he turned around, he saw the face from the mirror approaching him.... its full figure now visible to him. It was similar to his own frame, but instead of clothes was just naked bloody flesh. Not even the privates were visible and from the way the creature was striding towards him, it was like it could have cared less...

All of the monster you are
I can feel in my head

"Heh... we meet face to face.... rather early don't you think?", it spoke in a cold tone, almost like it was getting ready to ream somepony out for a bad day of work.

"Who the fuck are you?!", Josh yelled in terror, "Why did I see you in the mirror?!"

"Simple....", it replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world..... "I'm you."

Let me out, let me out
Let me out, let me out
Let me out, let me out
Let me out, let me out

Josh just looked back at the creature and wondered if he had died and gone to hell, going face to face with the Evil One itself. He couldn't even begin to fathom what this thing was saying.

"I'm.... YOU?!"

"You're my home now, host.... Can't say I'm too fond of being stuck in a human's body, but it'll have to do."

"Host??? Stuck in a human??? What are you talking about!?"

The creature just gave a hollow laugh and rubbed its naked chest idly as if still feeling its new form. "That necklace the zebra gave you..... it chooses who it goes with.... and it chose you."

".....you're kidding me, right? You've GOT to be kidding me."

"Am I?"

The creature tilted its head back so far its skull looked almost in danger of tearing right off his shoulders and pointed to its neck, Josh nearly retching at the horrible sight. The same eye... the one from his necklace.. the pattern was etched into its throat just like in the mirror.

"Look at your chain...", it gurgled, "Tell me what you see...."

Almost in disbelief, the teen reached into his coat and pulled out the golden necklace Zecora had given him.. and noticed it was glowing... the piece of jewelry in his hand was glowing so bright it almost blinded the teen and he had to turn his head away to save his eyesight. When the glow finally subsided, Josh looked at the eye on the creatures throat and on his chain and realized he was looking at one and the same. Effortlessly, the silhouette brought its head back onto its shoulders and gave a shadowy grin.

"That necklace holds me... and now YOU hold me too... and I've seen it all...."

With a snap of its fingers, Josh found himself surrounded by the images of not just Maria, Mayor Haresis, Ace, and Pedal... but of Dev, of all the times he'd died, and even silhouettes of six horrifingly familiar ponies and one cat-like creature

No more, I'm through
You win, I'm dead
You're sorry, sorry?
No you're a lie!

"Feel like you can't save anyone... can you?"

With another snap, the silhouettes lit up and revealed Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and even Meowth... all bloodied, limp, and broken to the point where Josh thought he was going to pass out from the sheer shock.

It's over,
Nothing here left alive

"This will be what happens, host.. you've only got one chance to change it.... at least for now..... And I can help you....... I can embed you...."

Josh could only mouth the words "Embed me?". He felt like his voice was gone and never wanting to return.

"I can give you my power... my wit... my energy... just give in to me..... I've already given you the tools you need to stop that fat maggot.... but it's up to you to use it.... and don't think he'll be the only one after you all.... he's only the beginning... I've seen your memories, your pain.... The E.P.A., Thoroughbred, your own family.... they all want you dead. I may be your only hope of salvation... the only hope of saving your new life... Even what they call the Elements of Harmony... will never stop them all... Celestia... Luna.... none of them can. My spirit.. my lifeforce.. can give you the power.. to help them succeed... Just give in.... Give in and let share your life until our power is strong enough to restore me from my prisons... in the necklace.. and in your mind..."

With that, the creature let out a cold cackling laugh as it dissolved into a bloody puddle, leaving the teen looking on in horror as it traveled over to him and began to merge into his flesh. It was then he finally found his voice returning and he let out a shriek.

"SOMEONE!!! SOMEPONY!!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------Nightmare End---------------------------

With a gasp, the teen woke back to his senses and found himself inside the dark of the guest room of Sweet Apple Acres, sitting against the wooden wall. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around and saw his pegasus lover fast asleep next to him, her hoof still on his hand. All he could do was gently lift off her hoof and cup his face into his hands, trying desperately to comprehend the dream.. the hallucination he had........

And after all he'd been through......

He wasn't even sure it WAS a dream.

Let me out, let me out
Let me out, let me out
Let me out, let me out
Let me out, let me out
-----------------------------------------------------

Songs Used are..

Gravedigger by Dave Matthews from the album Some Devil
You're Afflicted/In Flames by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn from the Silent Hill Origins OST
Hole in the Sky by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn from the Silent Hill Origins OST