//------------------------------// // Table for Two. // Story: The Baltimare Incident // by Powerdrainer //------------------------------// I want to thank Vates Despero for proofreading and editing this chapter. Table for Two. <<>><<>><<>> Two blurs shot through the air, flying at high speed to get away from the entities chasing them, the ominous glow of their pursuers reflecting in the many windows they shot past. They'd been at this for the better part of an hour now, and despite their numerous attempts to escape the deceptively open city, they found themselves thwarted each and every time they tried to make a run for it. This time was no different, and they were now trying to shake off their pursuers in a now distressingly familiar game of cat and mouse. Of course they were more than agile enough to maneuver through the urban jungle of Baltimare without any trouble. And it might have saved them, if it wasn't for the fact that the beings chasing them could simply phase through the buildings they were forced to avoid. But flying over the buildings wasn't an option either, as it left them exposed. Exposed to the many green beams and bolts the ghosts shot at them. Bolts and beams that, once more, narrowly missed them, and damaged and scorched the buildings behind them. This was also the reason they found themselves trapped in this open city. Any who dared cross the city limits, and step out into the open was just a large target for the ghosts to shoot at. Not that staying inside the city was much better. There were just more places to hide. For as much as that helped against entities that can move through walls, disappear, and fly. Another sizzling beam was fired at the escaping duo, and again they managed to avoid the attack, leaving the beam to pass harmlessly underneath them and blast through the window of a skyscraper ahead of them. However, although the beam missed them, the young unicorn stallion cowering inside the room was not so lucky. He saw them approaching. He saw them shooting his way. He saw the pegasi dodge the attack. He saw the beam of energy heading his way, and he reacted to it. With a burst of magic he projected a shield in front of him, meaning to deflect the ghost's attack. The window was struck, and the beam melted its way through, passing through it without slowing down, before it finally hit the glowing yellow shield. The unfortunate stallion only had a split second to realize something was going horribly wrong. Energy met energy, clashing together in a violent reaction of opposing forces, with a catastrophic chain reaction occurring in the center of the diametrically opposed energies, and the room with the stallion in it exploded in a massive ball of energy and fire. The explosion tore away a large portion of the building's wall, opening up several more rooms with screaming ponies, while several rooms closest to the blast were also obliterated. The two pegasi looked on with wide, horrified eyes, unable to respond in time when several massive chunks of wall were blasted their way. One of them was hit in the gut by a couple of broken bricks, and the air exploded out of his lungs as he dropped down. The other, however, was knocked out by a portion of wall hitting her head, and she plummeted down accompanied by a trail of blood. <<>><<>><<>> Small orange hooves grasped happily at the smiling face of the teal pegasus mare as she leaned in to nuzzle the filly, making the foal giggle in response as she tried to give a full body hug to her mother's face. "Thanks again for looking after her, Bell. We really appreciate it," an orange pegasus stallion, the filly's father, says to the light blue earth pony standing next to him. "Oh, no problem, Sky," Bellflower replies, smiling as she looks down at the happy foal, "It's always a pleasure having her over." Smiling, the filly's mother hugged her daughter, "Now, are you going to be a good filly while you stay with aunty Flower, Scootaloo?" she asks, and Scootaloo nodded her head enthusiastically while giggling, trying to catch one of the loose strands of her mother's wild mane. "Alright. That is a definitive yes," Scootaloo's father proclaimed with a laugh as he leaned in to give his daughter a nuzzle on her head, "You be good now, little Mayfly. Mommy and daddy will be back soon." Scootaloo quickly grabbed her father by the muzzle, hugging his face as she held him with her tiny hooves, much to the amusement of the two mares standing next to him. "Come on, Scootaloo. Let your father go," Bellflower says as she picked up the foal, placing her on her back, "You don't want them to be late, do you?" Shaking her head in response, Scootaloo looked up at her parents over Bellflower's head, while the three adults walked outside of Bellflower's guesthouse. Looking back at their friend and daughter, the two pegasi opened their wings and flew up, waving at Scootaloo and Bellflower as they left. "Bye Scoot Blaze, Sky Rider," Bellflower called out, waving back at them, "We'll see you soon." "Bwye mom. Bwye dad," Scootaloo shouted happily, waving, while also flapping her wings at her parents, who kept waving back at their daughter and friend until they were nothing but a small dot on the ground. Scoot Blaze sighs as she and her husband set out for their intended destination, drawing Sky Rider's attention, "Is everything alright?" he asks her. "Yeah. Just wishing Scootaloo could come with us. You know how much she likes getting to see her uncle." "Heh, I know. But you know she can't come with us right now." Silence settled down between them for a moment, as Scoot Blaze looks forward, deep in thought. "Hey, Scoots. You're alright?" Sky asks after a moment, his voice, although directly next to her, also sounding very far away. "Yeah. I'm alright," she answers, but he didn't seem convinced. "Scoots!?" he almost shouted, to her confusion. But just as she was about to reply, she found her world darkening, while the pull of gravity took hold of her. "SCOOTS!?" Sky's voice echoed loudly around her. And yet, it sounded as if he was miles away. So close, yet so far away. "SCOOTS!" Her eyes snapped open, and the rapidly approaching ground filled her vision. Blood flowing down her head and into her eyes blurred her vision, while she desperately tried to stop her uncontrolled fall. But a searing pain, as if somepony had plunged a burning knife into her side and then twisted it around, made her scream in agony, and she knew something was horribly wrong with her right wing. "SCOOTS!!" Sky Rider desperately shouted as he dove down after her, wings beating faster than he had ever thought possible as he saw his wife hurtling towards the ground, a rain of blood following her down. Yet, no matter how fast he went, no matter how much he forced his wings to beat faster, it was as if the air had grown thick and was actively resisting him. It was almost as if he was moving in slow motion, while she seemed to fall at an accelerated pace. And, for a single, horrific moment, his eyes locked with those of his wife, seeing the absolute terror in them. A terror that was mirrored in his own as he saw her falling form close in on the ground. He tried to look away, but he couldn't. He tried to force himself to go even faster, but he couldn't. He couldn't do anything, but watch. Watch as his love plummeted down. All the while, back behind him he could hear the cold, harsh laughter of the ghosts who were responsible for all of this. But he couldn't care about that now. Not now while one of the two ponies who meant everything to him was falling to her death. Time slowed to a crawl as his vision narrowed. Everything fading away to the background, save for his wife as she stared back up at him. He felt his heart pound in his throat, its sound impossibly loud as he strained to push himself just a bit further. His leg stretched out, desperately trying to grab his wife, wishing against all odds he would be able to grab hold of her, to save her; denying the harsh reality his eyes were seeing, even though, deep down, he knew he wouldn't be able to reach her. Bolts of green destruction soared past him, narrowly missing the plummeting pair, and impacted on the street below, shattering the pavement in an almost mocking form of softening the ground for the falling mare. But he payed the emerald bolts no mind. Their destructive force paling in comparison to the burning hot spike he could feel wedged in his heart as Scoot Blaze neared the ground, with no escape from the cold grip of impending death. "SCOOTS!!" he shouted a final time, knowing her fate was sealed. When, in a blur, a figure shot underneath her, grabbing her mere inches from the ground, her tail touching the unforgiving stone of the street for a moment before, it too was dragged along by the blurring figure. 'What the...' Sky Rider thought for a split second, before his own precarious position started to register, and he pulled up sharply, flapping his wings with all his might to keep from slamming into the street below. He landed hard, his legs buckling under the force, but he was able to right himself in an adrenaline fuelled instant. Whipping his head back and forth, he searched for his wife, and whatever it was that had taken her, expecting it to be a ghost of some sort. What he wasn't expecting, however, was a single pegasus, clad in the all too familiar blue spandex suit known to all ponies. A Wonderbolt. A Wonderbolt who carried his wife on her back, shaken, but alive and well. "SCOOTS!" he yelled as he ran to her, only to be stopped by several green bolts and beams slamming into the ground around him. He dodged and rolled out of the way, before looking up, noticing out of the corner of his eye that his wife's saviour had also taken notice of the overhead threat, staring up at the small gathering of ghosts who stared down at them with malice in their unnaturally green glowing eyes. Several more blurs shot past, drawing the ghosts' attention as they were taken by surprise, and their assault on the ground below came to a stop. Wasting no time, Sky Rider hurried over to the Wonderbolt and his wife, seeing the former helping the latter back on her hooves, while also keeping a watchful eye on the sky. "Thank you," Scoot Blaze said with a tremble in her voice, wincing as she shifted her injured wing, while her husband rushed in to make sure she was alright. The Wonderbolt gave a nod in return, making her wild, fiery mane wave in response, while also taking notice of Scoot's injured wing. "We can't stay here," she said as she removed her flight goggles from over her eyes, revealing two bright orange irises, "My team is drawing them away for us to escape, but we don't have long."—she then turned to Scoot Blaze—"Any chance you can fly?" Scoot tried opening her wing, but faltered when a sharp pain shot through her entire side, making her wince as a result, "No- gha- No, I can't." "Hayseed!... Right, looks like we're hoofing it out of here then," she says, observing their surroundings, "Follow me, and stay low. There is no telling where these things might show up next." "Hold on," Sky Rider cuts in, "Where are we going? Isn't the entire city overrun by these things?" "Mostly, yes," the Wonderbolt replied grimly, "But small groups of royal guards are still putting up a fight here and there. There's a restaurant not too far from here where more refugees are. Most of the guards are there too. It's the best place for you to be right now. At least to get somepony to take a look at that wing of yours," she says while nodding at Scoot's side. "But how is that place any safer than any other place? Can't they move through walls, disappear, and fly?" Scoot asked as she and her husband looked in the direction indicated by the Wonderbolt. "I never said it was safe," she started, "Just that it was the best place to be right now. Now, come on. We can't stay in the open like this," she finished and with that began walking towards the restaurant, followed a few seconds later by a hesitant Scoot Blaze and Sky Rider. Sky staying at his wife's injured side, keeping a watchful eye out for anything that might be a threat to her, when he turned to the Wonderbolt. "Hey," he called out, drawing her attention, "Thank you. For saving my wife, that is." "Don't sweat it. It's what I do," she replied with a small smile. "May we at least know your name?" Scoot asked, "I would like to know what to call the one who saved me." Looking forward again, then up, the sun reflecting off of the flight goggles, the Wonderbolt took a moment to look around before answering, "My name is Fire, Spitfire. And we really should hurry," she answered, and picked up the pace, followed a moment later by the two grateful pegasi, "It seems my team's diversion is played out." <<>><<>><<>> The sound of hooves hitting the paved road in rapid succession reverberated throughout the abandoned streets as two ponies ran for their lives. Apple Gleam and Sweet Apple were moving as fast as they could, not stopping for anything, knowing just what horror was following them. This large metallic ghost, who they knew was out there, maybe just around the corner? They knew, as they had encountered him several times now. Indeed, whenever they tried to hide, rest, or even just catch their breath he would show up. Allowing them no respite, and forcing them to keep running or face him. This was a hunt, and they knew it. He had made that perfectly clear from the start. And He was also making sure it would continue for as long as he liked. Which also meant they had been running for the better part of two hours now. And even though they were used to working until their muscles were sore, and their legs weak from yet another day of intensive labor, a continuous all out run like this was something they were not accustomed to, and their muscles were screaming in protest. Sweet Apple was the first to go down, tumbling to the ground with a yelp as her hind leg cramped up. Apple Gleam didn't waste any time helping his wife, and he quickly scooped her up on his back before continuing their miserably unsuccessful escape. His wife's added weight draining his waning strength even more. Not that he would ever mention that, of course. This ghost was horrible, yes. But his wife when she was angry? Now, that's a scary thought. Still, the split second delay caused by his wife's fall caught up with them, and now both he and Sweet Apple could feel a haunting presence nearby. Their fears were realized mere seconds later, when, with a twisted grin, Skulker faded back into view. Raising his arm, he fired several glowing green globs of some sticky substance that they had already discovered would trap them if it hit. Apple Gleam dived to the left, his wife falling off of his back as he did so, while Skulker took aim at the two downed ponies. Apple Gleam and Sweet Apple looked up at the metal behemoth, anger and fear showing in their eyes, while Skulker wore displeased frown. "I must say, I'm disappointed. Your physical form made me believe you'd be capable of more than this, but it seems I was mistaken. Perhaps I need to find better, more suitable prey for me to hunt," Skulker says, slowly moving his weapon back and forth between the two ponies. Apple Gleam, seeing this madman finally aim that infernal weapon at his wife, having chosen a target, surged into motion. Tapping into his earth pony magic, he focused it all into his right front leg as he reared up and delivered a bone crushing blow with all of his might. Gleam's hoof hammered into the metal. Magical energy coursing through his veins, connecting with Skulker's armor, and the spectral energy it was infused with. Energies clashed, and Skulker was launched back, his armor dented from the blow. Apple Gleam suffered a similar fate as he was blown away, the bone in his leg shattering from the force. His body dropped to the ground with a thud, rolling briefly before the momentum was spent. And all the while, he screamed in agony as the bones in his leg shifted and turned. Splintered bone sticking in the muscle, sending burning spikes of pain to his brain as he was lying limply on the ground, unable to move from the pain. Sweet Apple, seeing her husband in such distress, quickly made her way over to him, ignoring her own discomforts as they paled in comparison. Quickly, but carefully, she pulled him onto her back, before hurrying away. Not wanting to be there when Skulker showed himself again. … "Excellent," Skulker muttered after a moment, fading back in to view, "Looks like they have a few surprises in them after all"—he grinned evilly as he looked down at the dent in his armor—"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this." <<>><<>><<>> Cries of desperation. Frightened screams. Shouts of pain. A suffocating aura of these and more horrific emotions hung thick in the air, and Scoot Blaze and Sky Rider were having a difficult time moving through the rather sizable mass of ponies, trying to reach the makeshift medical post located in the restaurant's kitchen. Ponies were either frantically running around, seeming too afraid to stay in one place for too long, but not knowing where to go. Others were hiding underneath whatever piece of furniture they could find. Foals were crying, with the more fortunate among them clinging to their parents, whereas others were wandering around aimlessly in search of their mother, father, or an older sibling. Several medically trained ponies were also busy trying to treat the injured; treating the most seriously injured first, and leaving the minor injuries for some other time. And, in a few horrible instances, all they could do was place the injured soul in a relative quiet place to die peacefully. As much as that was possible, anyway. It was truly a horrible sight to behold. A scene that would haunt your thoughts forevermore, and one they would all be revisiting in their nightmares for years to come. Why the ghosts hadn't yet attacked this place was anyones guess. But, looking around, one might suspect they simply choose to leave this place be to let the suffering continue for as long as possible. It was hard to believe that there could be anyone so cruel. Yet, looking around, it seemed one of the more logical answers to a question none dared to ask. Yet, as horrible as it all was, Sky Rider just couldn't let this get to him if he wanted to get his wife the help she needed. And, together, they slowly pushed their way through the mass of bodies, seeing a rather sizable line of ponies lying on the ground, with bandages covering various portions of their bodies. Most of them seemed to be royal guards. "Hello! Anypony?" he called out as they reached the medical post, "Could anypony help us?" One of the ponies helping the wounded turned to them. A beige earth pony mare with a dark red mane, a deep blue streak mixed in with it, as well as several crimson splotched staining the fur on her chest and hooves. "What is it? Are any of you injured?" she asked, the words tumbling out of her mouth in a rush, a clear tone of desperation present through her clearly forced calm. "It's my wife," Sky Rider said, "There is something wrong with her wing." Hurrying towards her, the medical pony inspected the indicated wing. But due to either inexperience, or frayed nerves, she completely lacked any gentleness as she pulled the wing open, causing Scoot Blaze to cry out in pain. "Multiple fractures. Bone is broken in two places. Several primary feathers damaged or missing…" she mutters in a flurry, "Nothing too serious." "What?! How is that not serious!?" Sky Rider shouted angrily. "Just look around!" the mare snapped, "We have more urgent injuries to deal with. At least your wife's isn't dying!" she spat, before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down, "Look, I'm sorry, but things have been very hectic, in case you haven't noticed. Although your wife isn't able to fly, her life isn't in any danger," she said before flinching, as she looked at the many wounded lying around, "No more than the rest of us in here anyway, considering everything that has happened. In fact, she's better off than some who have come through here. Just… Just don't use your wing. I can put it in a splint, but that's about all that we can do for right now." Sky Rider was about to protest, when Scoot cut him off, "That will do. Thank you," she said in a small voice, barely audible over the many pained groans of the ponies lying around them. Nodding, the medical pony grabbed some bandages from the saddle bag she carried with her, as well as a ladle lying nearby, and used it to secure the wing to the best of her ability. Still, it was a patch job, and it wouldn't be able to endure much. But for the time being, it would prevent Scoot Blaze from shifting the bone by accident. No sooner did the mare finish her work, than a new commotion drew their attention. Ponies were screaming, while several guards moved in on the source of the disturbance. Sky Rider and Scoot Blaze both stared with wide eyes at the spectacle, along with everypony else, as two earth ponies stumbled in. A stallion and a mare, the former barely conscious and being carried on the back of the latter. "Somepony, please help!" the mare pleaded as she limped in, nervously glancing behind her. The guards quickly helped the stallion off the mare's back, while calling for a medic, while others secured the perimeter, keeping a watchful eye out for anything not living. One of the medics, the mare who had helped Scoot Blaze, hurried towards the earth pony mare to assist her in any way needed, while her colleagues tended to the stallion. "Is everything alright? What happened?" she asked the heavily panting mare. "It's t- this ghost. It's been -gha- huntin' us since this whole thang started, never lettin' Gleam an' me rest. Gleam tried ta fight it, but somethin' happened, Ah ain't sure what," Sweet Apple replied, slowly catching her breath as she looked at her husband lying on the ground, "... Is he gonna be alright?" A unicorn mare looked up at her words, her horn aglow as she magically scanned Gleam's body. "He isn't in any immediate danger," she replied, pausing a moment as she bit her lower lip in thought, "Still, he isn't in the best of shape. His leg is completely shattered, with bone splinters causing internal bleeding. It is entirely possibly that he might not ever be able to use it properly again if he doesn't get immediate medical treatment. And then there is his magic..." she trailed off for a moment, trying to find the right words, "His magic, it's almost completely drained. It will recover, I'm sure, but he'll be severely weakened for quite some time." "WHAT!?" Sweet shouted, "But how? How'd somethin' like that happen?" she asked, worried, but the mare only shook her head sadly. "I don't know. I have had no idea what has been going on today ever since those ghosts showed up. None of us do. But the more pressing matter is your husband's leg. We don't have the equipment to treat him here, not for an injury as severe as this. Not, unless…" she trailed off, looking away from Sweet Apple. "Unless, what?" Sweet asked after a few tense seconds, a quaver in her voice. "... Not, unless we perform the most... basic of procedures." The tone of the mare's voice sent chills down Sweet's spine, and she struggled to swallow the thick lump which had formed in her throat before asking with a fearful voice, "What kinda procedure?" "... Amputation." The ground seemed to fall away from beneath Sweet's hooves, and she stood there mute in shock. That one word. That one simple word felt like a buck to the gut. If they did that, and if they managed to get out of this ordeal without any other severe injury, Gleam would still be crippled for the remainder of his life. A life he wouldn't be able to live to its fullest missing a leg. Sweet's eyes slowly drifted to her husband, still lying on the ground while the medics worked their magic, literally and figuratively. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Looking at Gleam again, she knew that the odds of him getting the proper treatment was almost non-existent. But if they did this, maybe he had a better chance. Maybe she could take over some of his chores back at the orchard. Until their son was old enough to help out with the more labor intensive tasks, at least. But would he want this? And what if somepony, anypony, was able to save them in time and get Gleam the medical treatment he needed? What if by doing this she was making a mistake? And what if she was making a mistake by waiting. But whatever the case, she knew it was a mistake to wait too long for either of those choices. "... What… What da you think is best fer him?" she asked in a small voice. "He doesn't have much time in this condition. We are able to stabilize the bleeding with our magic, but unless he gets treated, one way or the other, it will not make much difference. We'll put him in the back where it's quieter, and tend to him as best we can, but if we don't get out of here soon, we won't have much of a choice but to amputate… I'm sorry." "I… It's alright," Sweet Apple murmurs, looking down at Gleam. "The best thing for him now would be some peace and quiet," the mare says as her colleagues levitate Gleam up, and carry him to one of the back rooms, a small storage room they had cleaned out earlier, and placed him the ground. "We'll need to have a decision soon, though. Please don't wait too long, for his sake." Sweet Apple nodded sadly as she grabbed Gleam's uninjured hoof in her own, holding it tightly while quiet sobs escaped her. The few ponies still there quickly left the couple to help their other, and hopefully more fortunate, patients, while also giving the couple some time to think. Celestia knew they need it. But during all of this, nopony noticed the pair of glowing green eyes, or the quick flash of an evil grin hanging in thin air. <<>><<>><<>> "What was all that about?" Sky Rider wondered as he and Scoot Blaze watched the injured stallion being carried away. "I don't know," Scoot replied, looking around the restaurant with a saddened expression, "Guess just another injured pony among the many others," she finished with a sigh as she looked at her injured wing. She opened her mouth to add something else, when she was roughly bumped into by some stallion who seemed to be having difficulty walking. "Hey!" Scoot and Sky shouted simultaneously at the unknown pony, who only grunted in annoyance at them as he stumbled away, leaving behind two irritated and somewhat confused pegasi. The irritation for obvious reasons. The confusion because of the weird green glow coming from the pony's eyes. <<>><<>><<>> "Oh, Gleam. What should we do?" Sweet Apple asked sadly, holding her husband's hoof while he lay unconscious. No answer came to her as she sat there in silence, trying to figure out what to do. The silence was abruptly interrupted, however, as a stallion roughly opened the door and looked at the pair with a sickening grin. "Can- Can Ah help you?" Sweet asked nervously, as she stared at the strange stallion. "Oh, I think you can," he replied in an all too familiar voice, and a wavering aura of pale light surrounded the pony's body as Skulker slipped out of him, activating his weapons, "I'll be your waiter this evening. The special of the day is mayhem and destruction." Stunned by this development, Sweet Apple could only stare in silence at the horror before her. A silence that would only survive for a few tense seconds. <<>><<>><<>> A loud feminine scream echoed from the back of the restaurant, drawing everypony's attention to the horror that was about to unfold. The ghosts had finally come. And with them, chaos broke loose.