The Baltimare Incident

by Powerdrainer

Consequences

With beating wings and a heart rate to match, Soarin shot through the sky, forcing his already strained muscles to squeeze out every last bit of speed he could manage to propel him, as well as his passenger, as fast as he could, away from the ghosts; forcing himself to ignore the feeling of Spitfire's misaligned legs and the flow of her warm blood staining his fur, while also pushing the pain of numerous injuries he had sustained to the back of his mind. Aided in this task, by some twisted sense of irony, by the ghosts in pursuit.

Loud explosions coming from where he'd just left, told the story of a battle started anew and he knew his princess stood facing the ghosts and more specifically, that one ghost, head on, buying him the time needed to escape with Spitfire, as long as he could outfly the group still hunting him down.

Shrill screams, accompanied by a rapidly increasing number of glowing green bolts and beams flying in every direction, but a significant number also aimed towards him, disappeared into the night's sky, or blasting holes in the buildings and street illuminated his retreat, and he knew he was not out of danger yet; so he pushed himself harder than he had ever done before, heart pounding in his ears and wings screaming in protest from over exertion, yet he kept pushing and pushing, the outer edges of his vision darkening as he desperately sought for a way to escape with both their lives intact.

Then, without warning and, taking him by complete surprise, everything lit up as bright as day.

A shock wave of heat and raw power slammed into him moments later, and both ponies fell to the ground below.

"Come on, y'all," Sweet Apple waved the group over with a hoof after scouting ahead and the three other ponies moved as fast as they could, to cross the distance separating them from the next relatively safe place.

"LOOK OUT!" Sky Rider shouted as quietly as he could, having spotted a group of ghosts on approach and he, his wife, and Apple Gleam ducked for cover, while Sweet Apple jumped back into the dark entrance of the high rise hotel she'd just scouted the lobby of.

Back pressed against a wall, Sweet Apple glanced back out, watching as the sizable group of ghosts flew over; shouting, screeching and laughing wickedly, as they passed. It didn't take long for her to realize that they were indeed moving in the direction of where they had heard their princess shout. That realization alone made her worry more than she suspected.

Yes, these horrible creatures were now distracted, giving the four of them, as well as who knows how many others a chance to escape. But at what cost? Their princess was powerful, no question about it. But there were so many ghosts and the things they could do, have done…

Running the other way was the right thing to do, but she also felt deep down it was not the right thing to do.

'An Apple doesn't run, dangit'

Shaking that thought away, she watched as the ghosts moved away, then waited for several tens and unbearingly long seconds more to make sure everything was clear, before quietly calling the others of her group.

With as close to a mad scramble as they could, the three moved into the relative safety of the, assumedly, empty hotel; moving as far away from the doors and windows, and quickly seeking additional cover behind the check-in counter; the floor behind littered with logbook pages, keys to the various rooms, as well as a couple of decorative potted plants; trampled in the panic to escape.

"Are y'all alright?" Sweet Apple asked after a moment.

Neither of them had time to answer, as right then and there, a blinding burst of light lit up the night, before a tremendous shockwave slammed into the hotel which shook, groaned and rumbled in protest, before failing in its entirety.

Stepping out of yet another side street, moving around an overturned carriage, Granny Pie carefully scanned the streets and sky for any sign of ghosts, ready to send her grandfoals running, while drawing any undead attention to herself if need be.

Luckily, once again the path they had chosen proved to be free of any ghosts. Nor did they seem to run in any other pony, griffon, or other creature living in, or passing through the city at the time of the invasion. Though such a thing would be strange, considering the large number of creatures in Baltimare at any given time, but right now such matters meant little to her. The street and sky were clear, and it was safe, for now at least, for Pinkie and Maud to step out in the open.

"Come children, we can't stay out here for too long," Granny Pie urged the two on, making haste to get as far as they could away from where every ghost would undoubtedly go to; nervously watching the sky for any sign of these undead abominations, while she waited for Pinkie and Maud.

Pinkie with her newest friend, Gummy, still planted snugly in the confines of her mane, quickly picked up her pace while Maud lagged behind, hesitating as she herself looked out for any sign of danger with large, haunted eyes.

Noticing this, Pinkie rushed back to her older sister. "Come on, Maud. Gummy says we're going to be fine, so don't worry."

Maud, currently at eye level with Gummy, blinked slowly, then looked down at her sister; forcing a weak smile, then nodded.

"Okay," she said monotonously and took a hesitant step out on the street.

"Everything is going to be fine, dear. You'll—"

A sudden, blinding burst of light cut Granny Pie off and all three cried out in fright. Then a shockwave slammed into them and the city shook.

Celestia glared with narrowed eyes at the ghost before her; sword before her, held aloft in her golden glow.

Skulker grinned darkly, his left arm hanging limply by his side, aiming a wrist mounted weapon with his right.

Slowly, both combatants circled around, waiting for the other to strike first; surrounded by a thrashing mob of undead beings, some of which were making wagers on the outcome.

Celestia moved first, swinging her sword, followed by a quick jab, as Skulker easily avoided the first strike as expected. Channeling her magic, she fired a bolt of destructive might towards the cybernetic ghost while he was forced to dodge the sharpened edge of her sword.

Seeing what came to him, Skulker twisted at the last second, presenting the already dead arm of his to catch the bolt; destroying his arm past the point of repair, but sparing everything still functional.

Jumping away, he caught Celestia's sword with his wrist mounted blade; sparks shooting from the clashing metals on contact.

Grinning, he fired several rockets from his back towards Celestia, who quickly deployed a shield to protect herself.

With her attention shifted and blinded by the explosions before her, Skulker used this opening to knock away the sword and circle behind his foe.

"Too easy," he taunted, priming yet another of his weapons.

Whirling around, Celestia swung her sword, only to realize her mistake as she sliced through the now wavering image of Skulker, before it flickered out of existence.

"Too easy," Skulker grunted, this time annoyed as he faded back into view, aiming a weapon point blank at Celestia's head from the side.

With a shout of anger and frustration, Celestia shover him away with as much force as she could; blasting Skulker away with blurring speed, while his weapon discharged from the sudden shock.

Though knocked off aim, the fired projectiles still hit home and struck Celestia in her torso; blood spewing out as she collapsed with a cry.

The ghosts surrounding her, a path carved through them revealing which way Skulker was launched, slowly looked back from the hole in some distant building to the struggling mare as she forced her hooves back under her; gritting her teeth as she forced the pain to the back of her mind, focusing all her anger and grief at the ghosts around her, and the one pulling himself out of the wall in particular.

Reaching out with her magic, she looked for her sword, only to find it too, was flung away, and she now faced this force without it.

No matter. She stood in defiance against many horrible entities endangering her ponies, with, or without her weapon before. This would be no different. But as Skulker finally pulled himself free and his damaged form was revealed, the mixture of excitement, and anger burning in his eyes send a terrifying shiver down her spine.

This truly was a monster. Driven by one thing, and one thing only. To kill.

With a roar, Skulker aimed the full extend of his still functional arsenal at Celestia, while every ghost around her charged their own attacks; the area lighting up with toxic green light, and Celestia knew that, in the state she was, she couldn't run, or dodge. And with no time left to think, she acted on instinct alone and casted the strongest shield she could around her.

The ghosts fired.

Skulker could barely be heard roaring an insult at the other ghosts' action when the combined might of all spectral entities connected with Celestia's magic.

The shield flared.

Energies clashed.

The night lit up with blinding light.

Then everything exploded.