//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Ghosts // Story: Silent Ponyville: Duet Of Sorrow // by KillerSteel //------------------------------// “What do you mean she made it out?!” A voice shouts out into the fog, deep and commanding, coming from a tall shadow standing atop a house in the town. “I mean exactly what I said.” A younger, higher voice answers, belonging to a shorter shadow standing across the street. “You do realize what she’s heading towards, right? You said you would make this up to me, woman!” The taller shadow shouts, consumed by anger. “She still has a long way to go! We can still do this! Just stick to the plan.” The younger shadow shouts back, a twinge of fear in her sentence. “I know we still have her within our grasp, and him as well!” “You had better be right…for your sake.” The older shadow hisses, looking to his right, two piercing red eyes shining through the fog. He turns to a small light source sprinting to the fog, and the younger shadow flies up to the house top behind her. “Here she comes now…as you figured, she’s making a beeline towards the next destination.” “Then we’d better go prepare her welcome…” The younger shadow whispers, and they both vanish back into the fog. “C’mon Sehn, where are you?” Rainbow says to herself through the lantern handle, using the houses around her to try and find the right road. “He better not be dead! He still has a deal to keep!” A buzz from her saddle bag forces her to skid to a stop. She looks around herself, drawing her knife. “I better not die either…” She growls, lowering herself and pressing onwards, staying alert. A shadow moves in the distance, seeming to look towards Rainbow before running away. Rainbow raises her eyebrow, hearing the buzzing grow louder, and she looks around herself again. She looks behind herself, seeing a wall of shadows advancing, slowly, towards her. They all look like Equestrians, the clanking of the armor like a steady march of a full battalion. “Oh boy…!” Rainbow shakes, turning to face the shadows and backing away, sheathing her knife. They aren’t moving too quickly, but which way was it to Sugar Cube Corner? She looks around herself, trying to find some landmark she could use, before spotting a road sign, her fears settling in. “Gah…of course they’re marching between me and where I want to go!” She hisses, staring down the opposing force. They all draw closer, the shadows not gaining any greater form…instead they remain shadows, floating over the ground, their legs mere stumps ending in moving flame, their eyes a pure, glowing red. Something about them unsettles Rainbow, and she backs away further, their gaze prying their way into her mind. Voices begin to ring out, varying in tone from a pitch that hurts the ears to a deep baritone that can barely be made out. “Criminal…” “Killer…” “Living disasterrrr…” “Traitor…” “Guilty…” The chants continue to bounce around in Rainbow’s head, easily overtaking her own thoughts. “S-shut up!” She hisses through her knife, trying to block out the voices. She shouts and screams inside her head, the voices echoing louder, trying to push her into a corner, her mind soon becoming an inferno of voices, screams, shouts…pained souls ripping and tearing their way into her subconscious. She quickly turns and starts sprinting, simply wanting to get away. The voices continue to echo, but become quieter until the buzzing of the walkie talkie makes its way into her ears, that soon dying out as well. “What was that?! Can’t really question this world anymore but…ah, my head…” Rainbow slows herself to a walk, then stops, holding her forehead, some remnants of the whispers sticking in the back of her mind. The screams are still clear as day, but quiet enough to allow her to think. She shivers, her breathing shallow and harsh, eyes shut tight, terror streaming through every inch of her. “Those screams…they were too real to be made by those…things. Why do these things keep happening to me? What’s trying to dig its way out?” She asks herself with a whisper, all the swirls of memories too disconnected to mean much, but she knew they were all connected somehow. The city, the red hedgehog, the uniform, Sehn…the screams and pain…they all lead back to something. The buzzing from her bag returns, and her eyes snap open. The buzzing is loud, immediate…Rainbow slowly looks up, spotting flames that extend into legs, into an Equestrian’s body, into a head with those deadly eyes. She locks eyes with it, letting her own hoof fall to the ground. “What are you…?” Rainbow whimpers, unable to back away. “…Remnants…” The shadow answers, the deep voice coming as a far-away echo. “R-remnants of what?” Rainbow stutters. “…Of you…of what you left behind…” The shadow whispers, its gaze unchanged. “Your past stands before you…yet you do not acknowledge its presence…you do not accept what’s happened…” “How could I? None of this makes sense…! Just…random flashbacks that don’t connect anywhere!” Rainbow whimpers back, the buzzing of the walkie talkie all too loud in her head. “…You will accept what’s been done…you will acknowledge us…and we will have what’s rightfully ours…murderer.” The last word comes as a spiteful, venomous statement from the shadow. “I’ve never killed anyone! I’ve never even harmed anyone! Well…never with the want to!” Rainbow stands her ground, her eyes shaking from the blazing fire of the red eyes, the back of her head starting to hurt. “…You will answer…child…answer for what you have done to us…” The shadow growls, moving over to her side without so much as a movement of the body. “Even now, we find our way through you…” “Leave me alone! I…I’ve never…” Rainbow looks down at the ground, unsure of herself. “Why is all this happening…? Why does this place have to exist?” She trembles, mumbling. “Be strong, Dash…” A meek whisper catches her attention, and the buzzing from the walkie talkie disappears. Rainbow looks up, seeing the ghost of Fluttershy. “F-Fluttershy…?” Rainbow stutters, eyes wide in surprise. The ghostly image before her simply stares back with a smile. “One and the same…” “You’ve got no idea how much I’ve wanted you here…but…this doesn’t make sense…why are you here?” Rainbow asks, worried about the answer. “I’m here because you wanted me to be here…or do you not want that?” Fluttershy asks, looking down. “No, no, I do want you here! It’s just…I don’t know why you’re here…did Twilight bring you in?” Rainbow asks, moving closer to the ghost. “She did…I came by the library, and found you in the spell…I asked Twilight to send me in as well. I’d suffer through anything just to help you get through your troubles, just like you did with me.” Fluttershy smiles weakly, looking to the side, embarrassed slightly by the comment. “That’s…brave of you…thanks.” Rainbow smiles back, all her fear melting away. Though she was only here in spirit, it was enough to push her forward. “You saw the silver pony standing next to me, right? His name’s Sehn…have you seen him anywhere?” “Silver pony…?” Fluttershy raises her eyebrow, looking up in thought. “I-I think so…but I haven’t seen any silver ponies here. What does he look like?” “Silver spikes, taller than me, brown eyes, camouflage pants and jacket?” Rainbow asks, gesturing to mark the spikes flowing back off the head, raising it above her to mark height, pointing to her eyes and clothing. “His clothes look a lot like mine.” “Hmm…” Fluttershy strokes her chin, eyes closed, thinking. “Silver…camouflage clothing…brown eyes…tall…I…I think I’ve seen somepony looking like that.” “Really? Where is he?” Rainbow asks out of spontaneous excitement. “Well…follow me, I’ll show you where I last found him.” Fluttershy says, walking away, her body easily fading into the fog. “H-hey! Wait up, Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouts, running after her. She stays just within view at the edge of the fog, most of her body faded into the bleak distance, almost floating above the ground. Something comes into view, and Rainbow skids to a stop, kicking a rock in front of her. It falls off into the abyss in front of her, Rainbow having stopped just at the edge of the cliff surrounding the town. She looks down into the darkness, shocked. “F-Fluttershy! You nearly-!” She looks up, Fluttershy floating above the abyss in front of her. She smiles, “What’s the worry for, Dash? You have wings and can react at the speed of sound…I did say I’d lead you to where I last saw him…” She looks down, Rainbow following her gaze. “You’re…kidding me…” Rainbow whispers, staring down into the abyss, putting a hoof to her mouth as the realization slowly climbs up her spine in a shiver. Fluttershy simply looks down, and closes her eyes in a moment of silence. “I saw him running this way a few minutes ago, but I couldn’t move fast enough to follow him. He ran in this direction, so…” “He can’t be dead!” Rainbow shouts into the abyss, shaking. “He…he can’t be!” “Well…where could he be then? I know he ran off in this direction…” Fluttershy replies, pushed back by Rainbow’s shouting. She looks up at Fluttershy, fear in her eyes. “Are you able to leave this place?! You have to check on him!” “I-I…what?” Fluttershy stutters, taken aback. “You have to leave here and check his body outside! Check for anything! Just tell me he’s still alive!!!” Rainbow screams at the ghost in front of her, beginning to sob. She moves away from the cliff before collapsing onto her belly. “He can’t be dead…he can’t be…” Fluttershy floats over to Rainbow’s side, laying down beside her. “Some truths are really hard to accept, Dash…I’m sorry this has to be one of them…” “You’re crazy if you think I’m gonna believe this!” Rainbow turns and shouts into Fluttershy’s face, the ghost springing away from her in shock. “D-Dash, calm down…!” She stutters, Rainbow quickly looking sorry for shouting at her, tears still freely streaming from her eyes. “I-I’m sorry…it’s just, I don’t want to believe Sehn’s dead…” “Why? What was he to you?” Fluttershy asks, tilting her head in a confused look. “I thought he was just some pony who came by, looking for help…” “He was a friend…a friend from a long time ago who I only just remembered…” Rainbow sniffs, smashing her hoof into the ground, “We had a deal, darn it!” “Why do you care so much about him, though?” Fluttershy asks, still slightly confused. Rainbow just looks up at her, confusion on her face too. “Wh…what do you mean ‘why’? He was a friend of mine!” She raises her voice, getting up and walking over to Fluttershy, “If it was you down there, I’d be freaking out like this, too!” “D-Dash…” “No! You don’t just ask someone why they care about a friend when the answer is right in your face!” She pants, staring Fluttershy dead in the eyes, “…Isn’t it obvious…?” “N-…n-no, it isn’t…he’s from somewhere else…” Fluttershy mumbles, looking away. “So he’s like Zecora now? Just because he’s different, he shouldn’t be friends with me?” “No, no…just…well…” Fluttershy slinks away, whimpering. Rainbow sits down, wiping away her tears and taking a deep breath. She lets it back out as a slow sigh, trying to get herself back under control. “It…it was a long time ago. I’ll tell you about it once we’re out…he just means a lot to me.” “Means a lot to you? He means more to you than me?” “What? No, of course not! It’s…well…how do I put this?” Rainbow rubs the back of her neck, trying to think up the right words. “He…well, he cared for me in a time of need. He showed me kindness in that place…I barely remember any of it…” “He was just nice to you? That’s why you’re freaking out over him?” Fluttershy turns to face Dash, “You shout at me like I’m the bad guy, just because I told you the truth about him?!” She walks straight up to Dash, now angry. “I’m trying to help you move on, and you’re just wooing over him!” “W-what’s gotten into you? You wouldn’t do the same in this situation?” Dash asks, leaning back from Fluttershy’s burning gaze. “No, I wouldn’t! I’d accept he’s gone and move on! But you just want to be with him, don’t you?! You want to be with him more than you want to be with me!” Fluttershy screams into Dash’s face, shock and confusion written all over it. “Well, if you want to be with him so bad, then be my guest!” Fluttershy shouts, then spins around and gives Dash a mighty kick from her hind legs, blasting Dash off the ledge of the cliff. The world seems to slow down for Dash, falling inches a minute, staring at her marefrriend, the one who exclaimed love for her…and now her killer. Dash’s wings felt glued to her sides, the world itself lashing out at her body in maniacal hunger, wanting to devour her soul to feed its endless void. She was dead…and she couldn’t do a thing about it.