Lord Phantom

by GlassAlicorn

Explain

Chapter 4: Explain.

It was yet another night doomed to have something go wrong for the town, but for her, it was simply business as usual. As she walked under the cloudy sky, she couldn't help but laugh at how easy things had been. No one suspected her for anything that happened, despite her being the only one truly capable of inflicting so much damage so quickly and efficiently. But of course, why would they suspect her? Capabilities aside, she was simply too nice to do these things.

And that's what made things so easy.

Her horn glowed as she approached the locked door to Sugarcube Corner. Yeah, like a lock would keep her out... She had gotten better at teleporting recently, so as long as she knew where she was going, no locked door or gate would block her way. The fact that she was able to dim the flash of light when she teleported helped keep her hidden, too.

She looked around the dark, quiet shop briefly, seeing nothing that could cause a problem. Smirking, she walked into the kitchen, horn starting to glow, a small piece of dynamite which she had stolen from Cloud levitating out of her small saddlebags. She then lit it, and carefully set it on a counter where it would deal damage to the entire kitchen.

“Stop right there villain!”

She didn't even bother to look at the pink pony that was poking her head out of the cabinet. Instead, she immediately teleported to the outside, Pinkie only catching a glimpse of her before the dynamite exploded, wrecking the kitchen yet again. “...I was sure I had the culprit this time!” Pinkie, now covered with soot, shouted in distress, “I'm going to have to follow them!” With that, she jumped out the broken window, but saw no trace of the mysterious lavender Unicorn that seemed determined to ruin everyone's day.

"...Should have known Pinkie would be lying in wait..." the Unicorn muttered to herself as she approached Rarity's home after teleporting to it to evade the hyperactive 'ninja detective', “But I don't have time to worry about her.” She looked up at the clouds again, noticing how dark they were getting. Looking back at the boutique, her horn glowed and she promptly teleported into the building, a bit surprised to see its owner asleep at a desk.

'Probably up late designing something...' she reasoned, choosing to ignore Rarity for now. She promptly levitated all the materials, dresses, and mannequins in the room, knowing that a small error could wake up the white pony too soon. Seeing that everything was aligned the way she wanted it...

Crash! Thud! Smack!

Rarity immediately woke up at the noise and flash of light, levitating a baseball bat that had been near her the entire time, “GET AWAY FROM HERE YOU RUFFIAN!”

THWACK!

“OWIE!”

Silence, as Rarity realized she had, in fact, not hit the culprit.

“You...you hit me with a bat!” Pinkie cried, indignation evident in her currently shrill voice as she clutched her helmet-covered head, having been previously hiding in some box. “I know, dear, and I apologize...” Rarity replied, “...I thought you were the one who...” she looked around her shop, which was an absolute wreck, “...did this...”

“Of course I'm not, you silly filly!”

“Yes, yes, I know, darling. Are you alright?”

“I've never been better!”

As if to emphasize this point, the helmet suddenly split in two and slid off Pinkie's head.

Rarity's only response was her left eye twitching uncontrollably.

The Unicorn watched the two leave the boutique, and immediately went in the opposite direction of them. They weren't supposed to figure out it was her; that wasn't in the plan. And that ninja pony was annoying enough, therefore she didn't need Pinkie or anyone else trying to catch her. Ignoring the fact that the two would likely keep looking for her, she came up to Fluttershy's cottage and stood between it and the chicken coop.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, and taking a brief glance at the rainclouds above, she then focused on her task, her horn glowing brightly as a purplish wave surrounded the immediate area. This lasted for a few seconds, until...

“I'VE GOT YOU NOW!!!”

“Oh, for the love of...” the Unicorn grumbled, not bothering to finish the sentence as she again teleported away, Pinkie attempting to pounce on her, having been hiding in a nearby barrel. However, since she was no longer there, the pink pony slammed into a now very disgruntled chicken, which had walked over there for whatever reason. The chicken shrieked, pecked Pinkie on the head, and then ran off still shrieking, all the other chickens deciding they should join her, beginning to shriek as well. A shrill scream was heard in the cottage, and Fluttershy promptly flew out the window, followed by a less than amused Angel and some very ticked off birds, plus a frog. Wherever it came from.

“Pinkie, I insist you slow down and-OH GOOD HEAVENS!” Rarity screamed, seeing the disaster area, “WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!” Ignoring Fluttershy's desperate pleadings for help as all her animals tried to attack her, Pinkie turned to Rarity. “That Mean Meanie Pants has struck again!” she stated as it was the most obvious thing in the world, while a cat suddenly hissed furiously in the background for some reason or another.

“...So I see...”

“Come on! If we stand around here, we'll lose that meanie! Fluttershy, you come with us, too!”

Pinkie then zoomed off, leaving the other two to stare at each other, blink, and then follow.

Later...

“...I'm guessin' whoever has been killin' the trees ain't comin' tonight...” Apple Jack muttered as she stared intently at the trees a few feet from her. She may have taken over the watch an hour ago, but it may as well have been a century. She hadn't seen anything, and it was getting difficult to stay awake. Too difficult. She knew it would probably be a good idea to go elsewhere, particularly with how the clouds seemed to be threatening rain, but she was nodding off. A few minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

Before she could close her eyes completely, Apple Jack caught a glimpse of lavender in the corner of her eye, and turned her head in the direction of it, seeing a lavender Unicorn using magic to drain the life from a tree. Her eyes opened wide and she was fully awake when she realized who it was, but before she got the chance to say anything...

“WE ARE NOT GOING TO POUNCE THE CULPRIT RIGHT NOW!”

Apple Jack was unable to give any kind of reaction as Pinkie came out from inside her hat and charged at the Unicorn, causing Apple Jack to be shoved face-first into the ground, her hat off to the side. “...That did not just happen...” Apple Jack managed, spitting out whatever grass or dirt ended up in her mouth as she stood upright, “...It just...thinks...it happened...”

Before Apple Jack could do anything else, she heard two ponies run up behind her, and then panting. She turned around, seeing a very tired Rarity and Fluttershy. “Before you say anything,” Rarity breathed, irritation evident, “This was Pinkie's idea!” Fluttershy gave her a blank stare, as if to question why that valuable piece of information was kept from her this entire time.

“...What was Pinkie's idea...?” Apple Jack asked, as the Unicorn, clearly Twilight, suddenly ran by them as fast as she could, Pinkie pursuing with reckless abandon, “Ya know what? I don't really care at the moment.” Without another word, she joined in on the chase, determined to catch the culprit and ask her why she would do such a thing.

Crickets were chirping as Rarity and Fluttershy stood there in silence. “Um, should we follow them?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Yes, darling.” Rarity replied, not looking enthusiastic. Nonetheless, the two chased after the others, running past a tree with blankets on a large branch. The sleeping pony in question was woken up by the noise, startled.

“Hey, what's the big idea?!” Rainbow shrieked, not at all pleased that she was woken up. She looked at the group, blinking in confusion. She then jumped off the branch and flew after them, wanting to know what was going on. First she was unable to fly back into her own home, and now this.

It didn't take long for the group to end up back in the town, and it most certainly wasn't going to take long for the chase to dissolve into a completely chaotic mess. Which is exactly why the rainclouds decided they were waiting way too long, and a downpour immediately started, drenching everyone and everything within seconds.

“NO FAIR!” Rocket's muffled voice cried within a soaked cardboard box as he tore and punched his way out. “...Just what are you doing at this hour, in a storm, hiding in a cardboard box of all things?” Rarity breathed as she tried to ignore her now ruined mane as much as possible, the others pursuing Twilight. “To be quite honest...” Rocket replied, placing his front hoof on his forehead, deep in thought, “I have no earthly idea.” With that, the colt ran off to Chaos' house.

“Oh, why did such a dreadful downpour have to happen tonight?!” Rarity cried, glaring up at the clouds, which only served to get a lot of raindrops in her eyes, disorienting her briefly. After she regained her focus, she then critically scanned the area for the others, seeing Twilight standing in the center of the street, her expression daring someone to be crazy enough to go after her. At this, Rarity decided to consider her options. If she charged towards Twilight, there was a very high chance that she would get mud all over her hooves thanks to the rain, or worse, trip and fall into a puddle of mud and then get it all over her. But if she remained there, no doubt her friends would not be pleased. It was really a lose-lose situation. Decisions, decisions.

“Why must it always be so hard?!” the white Unicorn whined, as if the world was possibly ending, “But I must think of my friends...” She looked back at Twilight, feeling her left eye twitch at the lavender pony's still taunting gaze. It was an expression that the longer Rarity stared at it, the more infuriated by it she became. “It. Is. On!” she yelled in rage, and ignoring her fear of the mud for at least ten seconds, she charged towards Twilight, whose expression shifted from taunting to downright mocking. This only served to make Rarity even angrier, and caused her to ignore the mud all over her hooves even more.

Either the heavy rain and darkness of nighttime was making it difficult to see, or she was completely and totally oblivious to everything else around her, but Rarity failed to notice Apple Jack running towards Twilight from the left, Fluttershy running (to the best of her ability) from the right, Pinkie coming up from behind Twilight, or a very confused Rainbow about to launch herself into the general area where her friends were, from a roof she had been forced to land on due to the storm. It seemed none of the five ponies noticed each other.

Twilight stood there pawing at the ground expectantly, as the first four ponies came closer while Rainbow landed on the ground and slid in the mud, managing to regain her balance quickly, sprinting towards the others. Twilight smirked and her horn glowed, realization of what she was planning on doing suddenly dawning on Rainbow. “W-wait!” the rainbow Pegasus yelled as loudly as possible, struggling to stop as she slid forward, having been running too fast. But the warning and realization of what was about to happen came too late, and Twilight promptly teleported away, causing everyone to crash into each other, also unable to stop fast enough to prevent such an epic collision.

“Hey guys!”

Everyone visibly cringed as Emerald's voice could clearly be heard, before the pony walked up to them, apparently having seen absolutely nothing. “Whatcha doin' in a puddle of mud and in the rain?” she inquired, “I don't think that's healthy!” she suddenly looked thoughtful, “Here, have some umbrella!” With that, she detached the umbrella from her saddle and levitated it over the very disgruntled group, still grinning widely as they all regained their composure.

“...Why are you smiling...?” Rainbow finally asked as she stood upright, trying to shake some of the mud off, “...It's really starting to freak me out.” This only prompted Emerald to grin even more. “I'm smiling because I don't know what the pineapple is going on.” she said overly cheerily, as if stating the sky was blue, even though that isn't an accurate description with the storm around.

“O...kay...”

“Oh! My beautiful mane and coat are ruined!” Rarity shrieked as tears formed, clearly having her priorities straight. “...I think the mud is the least of our problems, Rarity.” Apple Jack stated bluntly, looking very annoyed.

“Must you be so insensitive?”

“Is there a problem?” Emerald inquired, worried that an argument might ensue. “We've been chasing Twilight all night!” Pinkie cried, apparently not afraid to tell Emerald such things, “Do you know where she is?”

“In the library of course! I just walked by there.”

“Thanks!”

Giving the info no second thought, Pinkie zoomed off, leaving the others in the dust, or rather mud, as there really isn't any dust right now. “If we're chasing Twilight...” Rainbow managed, as the others stared in the direction Pinkie went, “...Why would she go to the library? You know, the one place we're guaranteed to look for her in... Guys?”

The others had run off after Pinkie.

“...I really have no idea what's going on...”

“Cool, because neither do I!” Emerald cried rather happily. Rainbow's only response was a facehoof, before speeding off towards the library, Emerald following for whatever reason. Whatever was going on, she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

“Guys, can you just chill for one second and tell-AHHH!” Rainbow tried, but was immediately sprayed by a water hose, any mud that was not washed off by the rain removed, “...Honestly...” Apple Jack promptly pointed an accusing hoof towards Rarity, and Rainbow decided to consider this the least of her problems.

“I see a candle light...” Pinkie stated, as if that information was too difficult for the others to find, “That means she's here!” With that, Pinkie decided to knock, and waited anxiously as the lights turned on. Twilight then casually opened the door and opened her mouth to say something, but was unable to as Pinkie tackled her the second she opened the door.

“How could you be such a Mean Meanie Pants?!” Pinkie shrieked, pinning down the very disgruntled Unicorn, “Blowing up the kitchen at Sugarcube Corner, trashing Rarity's shop, making Fluttershy's animals all mean, killing poor Apple Jack's trees, and everything else that has gone wrong these past few days!” she then glared at the now very dumb struck and extremely worried Twilight, “And all we wanna know is...why would you do it?!” Twilight continued to stare at her in shock, trying to make sense of the accusations that had been thrown her way. “I...I don't know what you're talking about...” she protested weakly.

“Playing dumb, huh?! Well that won't work here, Missy! We've done careful research, and have caught you red-hoofed!”

“But I-”

“I saw a purple Unicorn at Sugarcube Corner! I saw one at the boutique! And I also saw one running away from Fluttershy's cottage! And then finally, we catch you in the act of killing those trees! And there are no other purple Unicorns in town, so by process of elimination, it must've been you I saw at the crime scenes! Now confess!”

“...I didn't do any of those things! I wouldn't do any of those things! And I've been studying all night! A-and even if I wanted to, I can't do any of the actions you're accusing me of! My magic is too weak!”

“Doesn't seem like the truth ta me,” Apple Jack piped in as she and the others came into the library, closing the door as lightning flashed and thunder boomed, “I know what I saw, and it was nopony else. It was you killin' the trees, and your magic was just fine dandy! I don't want ta believe it, but I saw it with my own eyes.” Twilight then looked at Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow helplessly, hoping one of them would disagree. “I saw you run away from the farm, and I saw you standing the in the middle of the street taunting me and everypony else to chase you just so you could leave at the last minute and make us crash!” Rarity shouted indignantly, still very upset about the mud.

Afterwards, a frightened squeak was heard.

“...Fluttershy...” Rarity managed, nudging the timid pony, “Would you be a dear and just say it already?” The only response was another squeak, before Fluttershy was able to raise her voice, “”I saw you at the farm, and in the street, too!” she then laid down and covered her face with her hooves, adding in a small voice, “...I thought you were nicer than that...”

All eyes turned to Rainbow, who was looking very red, and in the angry sense of the term. “Can anypony tell me what it was I just heard?!” she finally snapped, looking as if she would burst into flames due to rage. And if she were a Unicorn, that outcome was even more likely. “Get off her,” she demanded, shoving Pinkie off of Twilight and helping her stand up, before glaring at the others, “I can't believe you guys! She's our friend, and you decide to treat her like this?!”

“Don't ya go and act like ya didn't see anythin'!” Apple Jack shouted, still angry and now confused. “All I saw was her standing in the street,” Rainbow argued, not at all calming down, “And I don't believe that was her!”

“Then care ta explain why it was her we all saw tonight?”

A slight pause, “...Oh come on! You don't believe somepony would've pretended to be her?! Somepony with a grudge and the skills to create such an illusion to do these things is easier to believe than a good friend actually doing it!”

“Um...” Emerald said timidly, “I have no idea what the pineapple is going on. May I go home?” Everyone in the room stared at her in annoyance, no one really wanting her there in the first place. “You're excused.” Rarity stated plainly, eye twitching.

“Yay!”

With that, Emerald left the library.

“Now Rainbow, what of that letter Twilight sent you after you crashed into the windmill?” Rarity inquired, not wanting to believe Twilight had sent it, but seeing nothing to prove she did not, “How did it go, again? 'Nice job breaking it, Rainbow Crash'?” Twilight's eyes widened in shock and she tried to protest, but nothing came out of her mouth. “You honestly believe she'd say that to me?” Rainbow retaliated, snorting.

“Look darling, I'd like to believe you, but it was in her own hoof-writing.”

“Don't care. I'm sure there's a way for Unicorns to copy another's hoof-writing.”

“...Can we please stop fighting?” Fluttershy begged, hiding in a corner and looking very conflicted. “You know what?” Rainbow said, her voice becoming strained, “Us fighting is probably what whoever did this wants! Didn't any of you think about that?”

“...Maybe...I mean...it's possible...but...I just don't like seeing my friends angry at each other...”

The silence that followed was suffocating, as everyone felt as if something was even more wrong. Twilight nervously backed away, the tension getting to her, as tears formed in her eyes. Rainbow was still glaring at the others, but it seemed as if her tongue refused to let her say anything else, though she clearly wanted to.

Twilight stopped backing away when she came to a window. She turned to look at it right as lightning flashed, seeing a very tall cloaked figure with wings and a horn staring at her intently. She let out a shriek and jumped away from the window, catching the attention of the others. “What is it?” Rainbow asked, while the others opted to stare. “T-there's something there...” Twilight managed, trying to keep herself from looking out the window again.

Rainbow promptly ran over to the window and looked outside it, seeing a vague shape move as lightning flashed again, only to reveal nothing. “...Huh?” the rainbow mare managed, unsure of what had happened. “I don't see anythin'.” Apple Jack stated plainly as she checked another window, everyone else doing the same.

“...I think I saw something.”

“Y'all were probably imagining it.”

“I know I saw something!” Twilight cried, still shaking. “I think you're just saying that so we'd think it was a horrible monster that did it!” Pinkie cried, pointing an accusing hoof at Twilight.

“No, that isn't true!”

“ENOUGH!” Rainbow screamed, her voice cracking, “If all you're going to do is keep blaming her, then just leave already!” The unnatural irritability was getting to her, and she wanted nothing more than for it to just leave. “If that's the way you wanna be, then fine!” Pinkie cried, opening the door, walking out, and slamming it over-dramatically, leaving the others to wonder why she was crazy enough to go outside in the rain and lightning. Nonetheless, Apple Jack, Rarity, and Fluttershy followed her, the looks on their faces pained.

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief, some of the discomfort leaving her. But she still couldn't shake the feeling that someone, or something, made this happen. She couldn't believe that the others would act like that. Not without something making them do so for its own purposes. They all should know that, after Discord...

“...Thank you.” Twilight's voice was soft, but it was still enough to snap Rainbow out of her inner monologue. “...Heh, no problem...” was the response, “It's what...friends are for, right?” Twilight didn't respond, instead walking towards the stairs, too tired to do anything else. Rainbow, however, stood where she was, staring at the floor.

“...Wait.”

The lavender mare stopped and looked at her friend. “What is it?” she asked, looking concerned. “I, well...can't really go home in this weather...” Rainbow explained, a tad embarrassed, “...Could I stay here for the night?”

“Of course you can.”

“Thanks a lot.”

Responding with a weak smile, Twilight then led her friend upstairs to a small guest room. “Good night.” she said, though it sounded dull and forced. “Uh-huh...” was Rainbow's only response as she walked in and closed the door. Twilight stood there for a moment, then headed towards her room, resisting the urge to scream when she found Shadow Star of all ponies in the hallway, sitting on her haunches and calmly sharpening a knife.

“S-Shadow...?” Twilight stuttered, sufficiently freaked, “Why are you...? How did you...?” Shadow then looked up at her, expression unreadable. “It was raining,” she stated plainly, “I saw a library. I came in.”

“...Are you the one I saw outside?”

“No. I came in before the lightning. It is unwise to stand there in a storm like that. And I am neither tall nor a stallion.”

“...Wait...how would you know who that person was?”

“I do not know who they are. I merely stared at them intently so I knew they were a pony and not a creature from the depths of the underworld.”

Twilight made no response, instead choosing to dwell on this odd turn of events. First all her friends but Rainbow blame her for all the bad things that had happened, then she saw the silhouette of someone, and now a ninja had decided to come in uninvited, without anyone knowing she came. And the ninja had a knife, no less.

“...Your aura confuses me,” Shadow spoke up, staring at Twilight so intently that it made her shuffle her hooves nervously, “Please work on that.” Shadow then put the knife and its sharpener away, and trotted down the stairs, as if nothing had happened. “...Huh?” was all Twilight managed. Finally, she got over it and went into her room, crawling into the bed, in hopes of getting some amount of peace that night.

But at this point, one might wonder why she bothered hoping for that.

Comments

[kingthe13]

split persinality..... well makes sense
for know but im watching you