A Walk Among Spirits

by ChaosDragoon

Chapter 2

He swallowed hard and slowly turned his head to look at his back. He started to hyperventilate at the sight of the stumps where his wings should have been. Around the stumps were dried up patches of blood on his gray coat.

"Finally saw what they did to you huh?" Scootaloo said. She had looked up as Skyline discovered his wings were gone.

"Why would they take your wings?" Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo and Skyline before she continued, "For that matter: why take Sweetie Belle's horn." Sweetie Belle choked as she tried to hold back her tears. Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's eyes were like Apple Blooms: Bloodshot and lines staining their cheeks.

"Isn't it obvious?" Scootaloo hissed before she continued, "They don't want us escaping. They plan on us dying here after they do whatever they're planning for us."

"But why keep us prisoner? Why us? What are they planning?" Skyline asked. His question would go unanswered from the moment as some Pony screamed outside the door.

"Please, dear Celestia anyone but her! I'm begging you, please! Not her!" the voice screamed in panic. The screams lasted for a while before disappearing.

"What in Equestria's name was that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I'm not sure what that was or why we're here. All I do know is my sister will come and rescue us," Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash will come and find us in a flash. She's already looking for me probably. We'll be rescued in no time," Scootaloo said matter-of-factly. Skyline walked over to the door and placed a hoof on the steel door and looked back at the fillies.

"I hope you're right," Skyline said before he looked back at the door and added, "Hopefully we're found before we're introduced to her." Everypony shivered at the thought of what the voice meant by her.

Skyline walked away from the door and back towards the three fillies and said, "We should find out if this place has a way out. There might be a weak wall or maybe the previous Pony in here left a clue." The three nodded and they all looked around the padded room for any hint as to how to escape. After what felt like an hour, Scootaloo sighed in frustration.

"Nothing, not even a window. The only option is the door and I highly doubt they would just keep it unlocked," Scootaloo said. I won't quit, not until I escape. I know you're looking for me, mom. Dad. Skyline thought.

A small rectangle window opened at the top of the door and yellow eyes glared into the room at the four foals. The window closed and from the bottom of the door, four trays slid onto the floor from a small doggy door. On the trays were globs of pinkish-gray goo, a small dinner roll (one roll already having mold on it), and a yellow brick. Skyline walked over to the door once again and pushed where the dog door was. It didn't budge.

"Even if we could open it, that door is so tiny, Featherweight couldn't fit through it," Apple Bloom sighed. Skyline sighed as well and turned his attention to the trays with food on them. He sniffed the goop and his muzzle scrunched up and he nearly gagged at the smell of the food. The three fillies did the same and also nearly gagged at the smell of the food. Sweetie Belle poked at the moldy roll on her tray and Scootaloo picked up the yellow brick. She let it drop to the cement floor and it didn't break.

"Is this what we're supposed to eat? Whatever it is, it can't be edible," Apple Bloom said. Skyline gulped and decided to take a bit of the goop. He had to hold down his vomit as he choked on the food. He swallowed hard and gagged on the horrible taste. A shiver went down his spine before he sighed and went for a second bite.

"What are you doing!?" Sweetie Belle yelled before she continued, "If this stuff looks and smells as bad as it tastes. Why are you eating more?"

"We don't know when the next time we'll get another meal. For all we know, we'll get a tray of this gunk once a day, if that," Skyline explained before he added, "I for one am not starving to death in here. Wherever here is." He quickly took another bit and forced it down. It seemed like the second bite was more disgusting than the first. Each bite he had to keep himself from vomiting. This stuff tasted terrible going down, he didn't want to know how it tasted coming up.

The three fillies looked at each other before they too ate some of the goop. Each one had the same effect as Skyline. They all tried keeping their vomit down. Sweetie Belle lost that fight and rushed over to the toilet and barfed out the goop and whatever else was still in her stomach. By some miracle, all four of them were able to eat the goop without any more incidents. Each one washed out their mouth with the water from the faucet.

There was a loud thud on the metal door as a booming voice yelled, "Lights out worms." The light hanging from the ceiling clicked off and the four were left in total darkness. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all slept in the back right corner of the room. Huddled up together for warmth and safety. Skyline took a spot in the middle of the room and lay down on his side. His stomach grumbled in protest at what he had forced in it. He was unsure he would be able to sleep tonight after everything that happened, but he found it quite easy in fact to fall asleep in the total darkness.

---

There were bright flashes and Skyline saw dots in his eyes. He shook his head to get rid of them as the Pony who had taken their picture removed it and framed it for them. He handed the picture to Skyline's mother. Skyline looked at the picture, his father stood there smiling with his wings extended. His silver coat shined in the sunlight and part of his green mane was sticking up. His mother looked beautiful. The sun was at the tip of her horn and her golden coat glistened in the sunlight. She had put her pink mane in a ponytail. He turned back to his parents, but they had vanished. He looked around but couldn't find them, in fact; no Pony was nowhere to be found. The only thing he could find was the camera used to take their picture.

The camera started to violently shake and from the lens poured out red mist. The mist formed into a stallion sized cobra. Its glowing green eyes locked onto Skyline. Black mud dripped from its mouth. The snake suddenly lunged forward towards Skyline, mouth open and ready to devour him. Skyline couldn't move, he was frozen in fear. The snake suddenly stopped midway when a roar echoed out. Skyline turned around to see a white tiger standing atop a carousel. The Tiger's body was made of thick white fog and the black stripes were made of black smoke. Its blue eyes cut through the air and stared at the snake. It roared again and the snake retreated into the lens of the camera. Skyline turned back towards the camera in time to see the snake lunged towards him from the lens.

---

Skyline lurched awake in a cold sweat. He sat up and placed his hoof on his face. This place is giving me nightmares Skyline thought. There was a thud outside of the steel door that made Skyline jump and woke up the three fillies.

"For fuck sake, don't damage the good," a voice hissed before continuing, "This guy is no good to the professor if he has brain damage." Skyline looked back at the fillies before looking to the door again.

"Sorry. This guy's heavy. Must have had one too many hayburgers," another voice said.

"Yeah well make sure the goods aren't damaged. I ain't going to be the replacement for this fat flank if he's brain dead," the first voice argued.

"Yeah, yeah I get it. Sheesh, you act like she's a mental case" the first voice said before he grunted.

"She is!" the first voice cracked before continuing, "Have you seen the fucked up shit she does with these poor souls?" Skyline was now standing up. He quietly walked over to the door.

"I just told you I was just hired. So no, I haven't seen what she does to these Ponies. I'm not paid to think, just to transport them to The Clinic," the second voice explained.

"Oh just wait, you're going to need therapy for life. The bits seem worth it, but you'll be scarred for life," the first voice said.

"Hey!" a third voice yelled before adding, "Quit screwing around and deliver the new specimen to The Clinic. The professors waiting!" one of the voices grunted and Skyline heard wheels squeak down the hall before disappearing.

"I think the her that Pony was screaming about is this professor those two were talking about," Skyline said as he turned to the three fillies.

"A better question is what kind of stuff is she doing to the Ponies here in her Clinic?" Apple Bloom said. The light clicked on and the small window opened to a pair of green eyes glaring at them.

"Looks like you all survived your first night," the stallion chuckled before continuing, "Be ready my little Ponies. You all might be chosen today." The stallion chuckled again before closing the window. All four of the foals looked at each other. Hoping they wouldn't see The Clinic.