Ghosts of Skeleton's Past

by Valorousspectre

Chemise

I wake up in the basement…. I’m so tired… and hungry…
I must be here sleep walking… But why?
Following some crimson spots, looking for my wife…
Where could she be..?
Suddenly I realise,
I see it all with real eyes…
These crimson spots are dripping from my hooves…

~*~

Soarin groaned in his sleep, slowly swimming into consciousness. He felt a bed beneath him, but not the kind of bed he was
used to. It was harder than he remembered, and there was a warmth lacking from it that he missed. His eyes opened and…

He saw nothing.

He blinked several times, thinking maybe he wasn’t actually open eyed. When he still didn’t get any reaction from his eyes he put his hooves to his face, thinking perhaps something was over his eyes. Feeling nothing, he did what was natural for anypony in his position.

He panicked.

He yelled out his fear, rubbing at his eyes frantically. It was then that he realised that he had a skull splitting headache originating from the back of his head. He instantly fell silent, his head pounding. It was as though his brain was being squeezed in some sort of barbed vice. With a self sympathetic sniffle, he held his head to try and stave off the pain. It wasn’t working all too well.

“Are you alright? I heard your yelling and I feared the worst.”

Soarin cocked his head to one side, almost groaning again from the pain simply of doing that.

“Who’s that? Where am I? Why can’t I see?”

“Hey, calm down. Getting worked up will only make your headache worse. As for where you are, you’re in my home. More specifically, in my bed. As for why you can’t see…”

The voice stopped before beginning once more.

“When you fell from the sky, when I found you, you had a really bad bruise on your head. I’m afraid it hit the part of your brain that operated the optic nerves for your eyes. That’s not to say you’re going to be permanently blind. I promise you, given a little while, maybe a few more days, you’ll be able to see again just as well as you could before.”

Soarin clammed up, ceasing his talking, to consider this information.

“So… you’re a doctor?”

The voice giggled softly. It was quite obviously female.

“No, I’m not a doctor. I trained to be one a long time ago, but I never went through with it. That’s why I know that you’ll recover your sight. It’s bruised, but not ruptured or bleeding, so you’ll be okay.”

Soarin thought about this for a while, now able to detect the subtle sound of breathing from somewhere in front of him.

“You still haven’t told me your name Miss.”

“That’s true. If you must know, my name is Chemise.”

~*~

Soarin the Wonderbolt, MIA?

The headline blared up at Skeleton from the front page. Despite the Wonderbolt’s attempts to keep it under wraps, Soarin had been missing for the better part of a week and Skeleton was torn about it. She wasn’t sure if she should be scared for him, sorry for driving him away, angry at his fleeing or dreading that he left home to go with some other mare. Fleetfoot had taken almost all of her time off to visit and keep the desperately confused mare’s company and, whilst she thought her fears were unfounded, couldn’t sway her to see it from her perspective. Skeleton had become a recluse, even to her own foals. Spitfire and the other team members had taken to swinging by each morning almost in a shift like fashion to make sure the three fillies went to school with lunches and ready to tackle the day. Skeleton’s already petite frame and thinned dramatically and she now appeared as she once had, skin and bone. She was plagued by nightmares and thoughts that only served to fuel her terrified and horribly addled state.

She was an emotional wreck.

See, I told you. Do you remember? All those years ago. I told you this would only lead to more heartbreak.

“Go away…” She muttered quietly to herself, trembling as she lay sprawled out on the bed.

No, don’t think so. You knew this would happen. You knew, and I even told you. But do you listen to me? Of course not. Whyever would you listen to the only one who ever loved you? The only one who ever looked after you?

“But… Soarin…”

Soarin was after the thrill of the hunt. All stallions are. You were the unobtainable. The mysterious mare that nopony else had captured and tamed. You with your sharp teeth and freakishly quiet wings.

“……..”

What? Nothing to say? Giving up already? It’s about time you realised that I was and still am right. I’ve always been right. Always have been, always will be. You know it, I know it. There’s no stopping that.

“Leave me alone…” She replied in a small, weak voice.

Ha! Leave you alone? I did that. I did that for a long time. Just over a decade in fact, and look where it got you! Look at yourself. You’re the same, if not worse, than you were before! Drained, unloved, and unwanted. Rejected from everywhere you’ve ever been and anypony you ever thought loved you.

“That’s not true...”

Even your parents threw you out. They could have stood up for you, but they got rid of you instead. Never looked back and never wondered if it could have been different.

“But… mother…”

Mummy never wanted you in the first place. You were an accident, and you were born a freak.

“You know, self destructive thoughts like that? They can be really, really dangerous. You shouldn’t let yourself develop a second personality; it’s hazardous to your health.”

Skeleton looked up in alarm from where she’d buried her head in her pillows and swung her head around to face the door. There was a tan unicorn stallion sitting at the foot of her bed. Just outside the door stood Spitfire, Rainbow Dash (Who Grin had met years before whilst trying to gain Soarin’s favour) and a purple mare who looked vaguely familiar. She was a unicorn with a pink and purple mane and eyes that betrayed a great intelligence. The stallion cleared his throat and smiled.

“My name is Talisman. I understand you’ve already met my wife, Twilight Sparkle. She assisted you in weaving a two way communication charm into a letter. I’m here to help you out.”

~*~

It’s been bugging me since I’ve been here. There’s something about this mare that seems familiar. I can’t place it, but I feel like I should know her, or at least feel something about her. Celestia dammit, Why is this annoying me so much? It’s not like I’ve met the damn mare before. I didn’t even get to see her until yesterday.

Soarin grumbled angrily from his weeding. As payment for looking after him, Soarin had insisted he help his hostess, nurse and doctor all in one to do her gardening, since it was horribly overdue. Unfortunately, he also had to avoid touching the thorns that littered the vines holding the countless roses that made up the majority of Chemise’s garden. He’d already accumulated his fair share of pricks and pokes from the absurdly long thorns from her more exotic roses. Aside from them being almost three inches long, the exotic roses’ thorns were bright red, and the flowers themselves were a pale blue colour. Right now though he was taking care of regular roses, with a standard size thorn. Something he’d gotten quite good at, given his wife’s love for gardening. One would assume that, given that they live in clouds, Skeleton would be incapable of gardening, but then one would be wrong. Skeleton had a small greenhouse like structure in which she housed all of her flowers in beds of Earth delivered by pegasi post monthly. So he’d gotten quite good at it.

Something Skeleton told me once perhaps? I’m not certain, it’s too hard…. Ugh, she’s told me so many things…

That thought made him stop what he was doing as his thoughts were cast back, latching onto Skeleton and all things associated with her. All the troubles they went through before finally beginning to date, the troubles they had when they’d started to date, the subsequent stress and threats and her eventual shaming of the paparazzi and reporters that had made their lives hell. The birth of their daughters, the way she nibbled at his ear gently when she thought about things, her normally gentle nature, the dozens of gifts she gave him to try and keep his attention at first, and her following occasional gift to remind him just how much she loved him.

What did I do?

The thought suddenly hit him. Like a hammer hitting an anvil.

Why did he come for me? What in the hell did I do for him to find me? I wasn't hurting her... I was trying my damn hardest to NOT hurt her... I did my absolute best...

"SOARIN THE WONDERBOLT!"

Oh fuck.

~*~

"A therapist? A psychologist?"

Spitfire's smile faltered as Skeleton's eyes fell on her, enraged. Rainbow, Twilight and Tal took a wary step back.Skeleton's teeth were bared and she growled angrily, low and threatening. Like a rabid dog, an aggressive reminder of just how dangerous she is.

"I didn't ask for your help, and now you think I'm crazy!? So you bring me a Psychologist!?"

Spitfire stammered for an answer.

"I... well I... I just... I was just..."

She was at a loss for words, and finally just went quiet. It was then Talisman spoke up.

"Now Skeleton, I'm not here to call you crazy, and nopony here believes that you're crazy. I'm just here t-"

"Shutup!" She screamed at him, spinning around, her wings flaring threateningly and her eyes almost burning with a malevolent fire.

"You think you can just give me over to a psychiatrist? You think you can give me over to a shrink!?"

They were all backing away by now as Skeleton advanced menacingly, still growling.

"I trusted you Spitfire, I thought you'd know me well enough as a friend to know that I HATE shrinks!"

Spitfire felt tears in her eyes and she stammered, trying to answer.

"I... I was just t-trying to help..."

"Just trying to help!? Trying to help!? I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"

The entire crew jumped back a step, backpedaling to try and escape the wrathful vengeance of the bone white mare. Her voice had changed, deepening in pitch. Whilst there were still some aspects of her voice in there, it was mostly dark, dangerous and lethally angry. She looked pissed.

"I looked after myself for years before Soarin, I looked after myself and him with Soarin, and I certainly don't need anypony else now!"

But as suddenly as the rage had arrived, it vanished once more and, as Skeleton realised what she'd done, what she'd said, a mortified look swept over her face. In a flash, she'd turned and, ignoring Spitfire's strangled call for her to stop, she followed in the wingbeats of her husband, and left the building.

She wasn't aware how long she flew, driving out thought with flight. Pure concentration on nothing but flying as far and as fast as she could. She didn't think about where, she didn't think of why, she simply flew, tears in her eyes. She'd yelled at one of her best friends, for trying to help her. Sptifire'd always been there since they'd met, no matter what. Her and Fleet. Now...

She didn't know how, she didn't know when. But somehow, somewhere in her mind, she was seeking a place to stay. A safe haven away from anypony who wanted to hurt her. A place she could never be hurt.

The place she got her first real friends in years.

The Carousel Boutique.

~*~

The creature charging at Soarin, for it could only be described thus, was terrifying to say the least. There was no mistaking the mask however, telling Soarin it was Splintered Dreams. This time however a long, razor sharp looking blade protruded from his mouth horizontally, the hilt in his mouth. His constantly colour shifting eyes were focused, sharper than the blade itself and full of pitiless, unconscionable rage. With a shout of terror, Soarin turned tail and galloped, running from the madstallion behind him, using his wings whenever he could, leaping over gardens that didn't seem to slow down the pony behind him at all. With a sizzle and crackle, a bolt of dark lightning lanced through the air and missed Soarin by inches. With a yelp of consternation he kicked off the wall of the house and galloped away from it.

I can't let him get near Chemise!

Unfortunately, it was all open terrain around the cottage, so Soarin was constantly dodging bolts left and right. Until the ground erupted before him and he turned sharply left, then right as the earth exploded again. Sweat lathered his coat and his feathers were being ruffled as he spread them, looking to fly. With a shout of triumph he lifted off, flapping hard to get away.

thwpthwpthwpthwpthwp

The sound of something spinning through the air sent a chill down Soarin's spine as he veered left, narrowly dodging whatever it was that was thrown at him only to be hit with another. The bolo wrapped around him, tangling his wings and sending him hurtling back to ground level, shocking him for extra measure. He hit the ground hard and the wind was knocked out of him and, before he could even try to take a breath, Dreams was there, barreling towards him. With nothing left to do, and his wings being helplessly snared by the bolo, Soarin closed his eyes...

And gave up.

But the finishing blow never came.

"ENOUGH!"

The familiar voice startled Soarin into opening his eyes and he looked incredulously at the stalwart form of Chemise, staring down the multi-hued eyes of who was to be his killer like he was nothing but a disobedient kitten. Dreams growled through the hilt in his mouth and dropped the blade.

"You..." He snarled angrily, prompting a sharp nod from Chemise.

"Yes Dreams, Me."

"Out of my way!" He yelled at her, his horn beginning to bubble and spark with the power of dark magic, bringing terror to Soarin's heart that he'd never felt before, not even when he was about to crash particularly badly in practice. But Chemise didn't even flinch as a dark aura fell over her and Soarin. Soarin felt it, the inconceivable power of pure, raw fear. Fear, stealing into the heart, the mind, the soul. In that moment, Soarin could feel every doubt he'd ever had, every fear he'd ever imagined and everything seemed infinitely freakishly scary. He whimpered from behind Chemise, who had yet to even flinch, even as Soarin curled into a fetal position as best he could.

"Splintered Dreams."

"What?" He snarled back, consternation in his eyes.

"Stop it."

For a moment, he merely snarled, but his horn faltered and flickered out and fear showed in his eyes as the effects of the spell vanished from Soarin in mere seconds. Soarin stared at Chemise in amazement.

"You are wrong," She said sternly to Dreams, who flinched back, "You have wronged this stallion, and you should be ashamed of yourself. You WILL apologise, and you WILL leave straight after. And leave the sword here as well."

A strangled sound escaped his throat and a tear actually came to his masked eye before he sighed and his head dipped. With a mere thought, the bolo holding down Soarin vanished and Splintered Dreams spoke.

"I apologise to you, Soarin the Wonderbolt. May we meet again under different circ... umstances."

Jerkily, he turned around and, miraculously, he left, taking slow steps with his head down, tail held low looking positively miserable. The sword was still on the ground. Chemise huffed at the stallion's back, picked up the blade and looked at Soarin over her shoulder. He was still staring at her in absolute shock. She sighed softly and smiled, gently placing the sword down again to speak.

Come dear, we have much to talk about."

Comments

[Qussar]

Oh my god...
Best thing to wake up to
I love you

[Grado]

It lives!

[Natzo]

On hiatus?

[Valorousspectre]

1834141
How about, instead of swearing sulferously on the story itself, YOU CHECK OUT MY NEWEST BLOG AND STOP COMPLAINING.

[Lazygamer313]

1834141 Dude was that really necessary? i mean come on!

Nice chapter, creepy way to start of the chapter with Soarnin's dream, can't help but wonder if its some sort of foreshadowing of Soarin's madness.... Besides that, nice focus on Skeleton Grin and how she's dealing with her husband sudden departure, to which its very saddening to say the least. It would have been nice to see how the children are taking as not only the had to deal with their fathers disappearance, but to see this new side of their mother that they have never seen before (it would help see the situation through their eyes, to which would be more saddening).

Now we see that Splintered Dream would want to kill Soarin' on the spot, but I have to ask why, he didn't touch nor done anything direct to Skeleton Grin as he was told. Like how there are bigger thing in the picture then it would seemed as Soarin' ventures more and more about the mysterious origins of his darling wife, as Chemise would reveal to him soon enough.

Overall, pretty decent chapter. I shall be looking forward to your next chapter, whenever that'll be, but it'll be worth the wait. Keep up the good work man

Best Regards

[Valorousspectre]

1834527
You misunderstand.

Splintered Dreams threatened Soarin on the grounds that he ever hurt Grin. He never said be it physical or mental. And that little adapted song part at the start (Alice Cooper btw) isn't foreshadowing madness I'm afraid. It's a vague sort of warning from his subconscious. A niggling thought in the back of his mind for what he's actually done.

Sorry to disappoint you. But if you want to know the foal's perspective, I'm getting to that. Not the next chapter though unfortunately. But I promise the one afterwards will be from one of the three fillies' ideals. If you like, you can pick which one.

[insightguy]

1834162

sorry bout that, the "on Hiatus" killed my joy as fast as it was ignited by the new chapter.(90% of the time, I see writers put on that sign and are never seen again.)

I have to say, this is one series I didn't expect to follow. poor soarin......................

[Lazygamer313]

1834595
Ahh of course, derpity derp derp, I should have caught that. Interesting tidbit with the Alice Cooper song and Soarin's dream.

Good to hear that we have yet to see the foals' perspective in the next few chapters, it shall be interesting to say the least. As for who out of three that should get focused on, it would be hard to imagine if its only one that gets the perspective or overtime that we get to see all three, as each of them have distinct perspective view of their parents who have certain level of attachments to said parents as well as emotional awareness

Like the following(forgive me if I get the names wrong or got some facts messed up for its been awhile): The manipulative Clear Skies who is daddy's little girl in every image and have to deal with her fathers sudden disappearance, the subdued Pepper Pot who seemed to be demanding to know her mothers origins and to find out every single detail about her, and the cunning Ghost Charm who view her mother as her idol, role-model, and superhero.

Looking at these, it would be hard to imagine who should be get some screen time as they can be use to gain a clear, unique perspective view of the situation. But if all three are going to used from the order of dealing the least emotional experience to the most intense, I would vote for using Clear Skies unless you or someone else feel not otherwise. After all, it is your fanfic, and I have good faith that you make the story a great dramatic experience