//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: The Lazarus tower // by FacadeArt //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed after the filly trotting around the building. The house was a complete mess. Parts of the floor were missing and the entire first floor was flooded with muddy goo. Both ponies were at loss at what to do next. This little ghost was probably the only creature in the village that could lead them to the sewer entrance. Should they just ask her where it was right away? Or would she figure out that they actually werent "totally awesome foalsitters" and call for the hungry adults outside for help? Suddenly a loud grumbling noise interrupted the group. It was Rainbow Dash's stomach. The flight had taken its toll. "Hehe...umm...I guess I missed lunch today." The ghost turned around and smiled. "Its funny, I never feel hungry...oo oo! I know! I can cook you something Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow hoped that the kitchen was down in the first floor, flooded with mud. It wasnt. If the cooking was anything like Sweetie Belles cuisine, this would be the most life threatening situation they would face yet. "I always wanted to be a cook! But usually theres nopony here to cook for." Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat around the rotten kitchen table. Dash watched as the ghost filly approached the cupboard and shruddered. She was going to die by food poisoning caused by some thousand year old food. The filly reached for the pan and then...nothing. She tried again, nothing, the pan remained unmoved. The ghosts hoof passed right through it. Rainbow sighed in relief. The ghost however was depressed. Her only chance of showing off those amazing cooking skills had slipped away. Rainbow moved in to comfort her, only to find out that her hoof passed right through the ghost. She pulled it back quickly smiling sheepishly. "Dont sweat it kid, we can move those pans for you, just tell us what to do." Rainbow wasted no time in pulling out some apples from her saddlebag. "And dont worry about the ingredients, we got that covered too! Applejack here is one of the best bakers i know! Atleast when she hasn't over-worked herself to submission." "Applejack gave Rainbow Dash an annoyed look. The ghost sniffed. "Really? Youll do that for me?" Applejack took the pan and smiled. "Of course! What kind of foalsitters would we be, if we didnt help ya out? " Applejack moved in to inspect the kitchen stove. It had a furnace under it, probably meant to heat it. Luckily the mares had prepared, and brought matches with them. Wood wasnt too hard to find with all the ruined furniture laying around. Soon the ancient kitchen stove was heating up. Rainbow Dash had brought some caramels with her (even tough she was told to not take anything useless) so Applejack decided to cook up some improvised caramel Apples. She melted the caramels on the pan and stuck a wooden stick on one of the apples. "Now all ya'll have to do, is roll the apples in the melted candy like this." She rolled the fruit in the sugary goo giving it a nice caramel coating. "Oo! Can I try it too?" "Sure thing, sugarcube." She reached her ghostly hoof to grab the apple and then...nothing. The hoof passed right through. The ghost smiled sheepishly. "Whoops, heh, I guess I can just watch for now" Rainbow Dash decided to take a closer look at the cooking ponies and took a step forward, however the floor boards squaked dangerously underneath her. "Hoo boy! thats not good" She said and then the floor gave away. "RAINBOW!" Applejack screamed when the floor boards hit the muddy goo of the first floor. The blue pony however floated above the hole flapping her wings. "What are you screaming for Applejack? Everythings fine." Applejack sighed in relief. "Phew I forgot that your a pegasus for a moment there." The ghost filly looked at the broken floor with a sad expression. "The first floor is so muddy now..." Rainbow Dash perked up. "You know, I bet there's something wrong with the pipes. Maybe we should go take a look at the sewers?" She winked at Applejack who couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about lying to the filly. "Eww I don't wanna go there its smelly! But if you really think you can help, its right outside! The building with the huge sing that says "sewers"." Rainbow Dash felt like an idiot for not thinking of that. "Well I dont want to explore "smelly" sewers with an empty stomach, how about we settle down for that lunch?" Soon the three caramel apples were complete and the group sat down on the table. Applejack had forgotten, however, that the ghost filly could not touch the apple, let alone eat it. The ghost decided to float next to the table and watch the two ponies eat instead. "I know! I can sing while you eat!" "Yeah! That would be great" The ghost took on a pose and began to sing a bittersweet tune. We say good bye for now! But do not look so down! No parting last's forever. Wipe off that sad frown! No matter how lonely you feel! No matter if things seem dark. For i'll be always there with you! I'll always be in your heart! You may travel the highest seas! Or climb the tallest mountains. Feast in the halls of kings and drink from royal fountains. But there's always one thing you should know and ill say it now. No matter how lonely you feel, you'll never be alone! Leaving your home behind, do not be afraid. The night may fall, a storm may come, and all the light may fade. But take on a merry smile, when you face that foul weather. Through love, no matter what, we'll always be together. The song ended and the two mares sat there in awe. "My mommy used to sing it when she had to leave" "...Where is your mommy?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She left one day and told me to wait for her and i've waited for so long now..." Applejack couldn't help but feel sorry for the little ghost. She reminded her of her little sister. She walked to the filly and spoke in a comforting voice. "You don't hafta wait anymore sugarcube...we are here for ya..." The filly looked at Applejack in disbelief. "I don't have to wait anymore? I can go?" "Yes sugarcube you should go after your mommy, I bet she's waiting for ya right now." Applejack winked at the ghost and smiled. "And you know how tough it is to wait for somepony." The ghost smiled tears forming in her eyes. "Heh I know, thank you Applejack." Suddenly the ghost began to glow, illuminating the room with a bright light, that blinded the two mares. Then she was gone. Applejack felt tears flowing down her cheeks. "Applejack, what's wrong?" She heard Rainbow ask in a concerned voice. "Ah don't know its just I cant help but think of Apple Bloom. What if she was left alone to wait for her family for such a long time? What if she waits for me and ah don't come back?" Rainbow Dash gave her friend an affectional hug. "Apple Bloom is safe with Big Mac and Granny Smith in good old Ponyville. And I promised we would both get back." Rainbow looked Applejack in the eyes with determination "And I ALWAYS keep my promises." Applejack wiped her tears and said "Ah know...it's just this place. Everything seems so hopeless." "Thats why we'll have to hurry up and erase that rune." Rainbow Dash was right, and Applejack couldn't help but wonder why she had suddenly felt so sad. Was homesickness getting the better of her or was the cursed island playing tricks on her mind? Maybe she was afraid that her sister would face the same fate as the ghost filly. It didn't make sense though. Ponyville wasn't located next to a dark magic tower and Apple Bloom would always have the rest of her family even if she wasn't there. Then again, being stuck in a muddy town full of zombie ponies would probably take a toll on anyponys mind. She pulled herself away from Dash, readjusted her hat and sighed. "Okay RD...we hafta keep moving. Twilight is still out there and we have wasted enough time as it is. Ah reckon we go back to the window and try to locate this sewer entrance." Rainbow Dash agreed and they moved back to the window overlooking the town. The flesh hungry ponies continued their clumsy antics. Walking across the muddy streets ignoring the horrible weather around them. Rainbow Dash scanned for the sewer building with her eyes. She could see the worn out sign that read "Sewers" in front of a simple stone building placed conveniently right in middle of the biggest herd of zombie ponies. "Rainbow Dash, what do your pegasus eyes see?" Applejack suddenly asked attempting an shakespearian voice. Rainbow Dash turned her head around in confusion. "What?" Applejack smiled sheepishly. "Oh its just something ah heard in a movie once. And when I saw you scanning the village with such concentration... Ah couldn't help it!"ยจ Rainbow Dash ignored the comment and decided to get to the point. "Ok, I can see the entrance right there in the middle of the village but its swarmed with zombie ponies. And to top it all off, our old pal is back and he brought some friends with him." Applejack peeked out of the window as well. She could see the green orbs had returned. The orbs floated around the streets in their usual manner, looking for any unwanted ponies that had made the mistake of sneaking on the island. "Ah bet they noticed the flash of light the ghost filly made when she disappeared and came to investigate." Applejack sighed. "Yeah that cuts out the plan of flying there, those things will fry us the moment they set their little drone eyes on us." Applejack took a closer look at the sewer building, the roof had a huge hole in it. She could see an inn, two blocks away, right next to the sewer entrance and a path formed in her mind. With a little effort they could jump from the window of the inn into the hole and right inside the sewer building. She pointed her hoof at the inn. "If we can get in that inn, we can jump over them zombie ponies and get right inside the sewers." "IF we can get in that inn, any ideas?" Applejack thought of their options. The street was out of the question. They didn't have the power of burying underground and they couldn't fly there without getting noticed. But they could do something close to flying. They could walk across the rooftops. "Ah reckon we craft a makeshift bridge out of these here furniture and use it to sneak across the rooftops." "Thats crazy! How do you know the roof wont collapse under our weight?" "Ah don't." "Whoa thats like super dangerous!" "Ah know." "What are we waiting for then?" They searched the building for a "bridge" and sure enough they found a nice sturdy plank in one of the beds. After testing that it could hold their weight they returned to the second floor window. The rooftop of the second building was right in front of them and needless to say it didn't look too safe. The wind was still quite harsh although not nearly as strong as before. Still one of the mares had to hold on to the board while the other crossed. Applejack decided to be the test pony of the new bridge crossing system and she took careful steps across the plank. In the midway she heard Rainbow Dash hiss behind her. "Applejack, don't move" Applejack looked down and to her horror saw one of the green orbs float from behind the corner of the street. It moved right underneath her and Applejack pulled her hood over her head hoping that it would be enough to hide her. Of course the damn thing stopped and fidgeted around as if something was wrong. Rainbow didn't waste any time, she grabbed one of the toys from the foalsroom and threw it out of the window. The toys splashed in the mud somewhere in the village and luckily the green orb made its way to investigate. Rainbow Dash wiped sweat off her brown. "Ok the coast is clear, go, go, go" Applejack hurried to the other side and held the plank in place. "I got it, get over here" She hissed at Rainbow. In most cases Rainbow would have just used her wings to get across. She didn't want to risk getting tossed around by the wind again however, so she went with the bridge instead. Soon both ponies were on top of the second building. They would have to get across this rooftop to reach the second floor window of the inn. "Im gonna say it to ya right now Rainbow, DONT crash through that window." Applejack whispered. Rainbow took a look at the window. It was still there but the hinges were hanging by a thread. "Nah, I don't think that window can put up much of a fight anyway." She snickered back at Applejack. The ponies crawled across the rooftop making sure that the pressure to the roof was as small as possible. Applejack carried the makeshift bridge on her back. Years of working on a farm making it effortless. Suddenly Rainbow halted and listened to something. "You hear that?" She asked. "Hear what? C'mon Rainbow" "No it sounds like somepony is scratching somet..." Suddenly a hoof came through the roof and grabbed Rainbows leg. She fell right through the roof. "RAINBOW!" She heard Applejack scream behind her when she stumbled on the floor. Then she saw the attacker. A pony with a face of rotten flesh jumped on her its jaws chopping air furiously in an attempt to take a bite out of the pegasus. Rainbow held the monster back with her hooves and kicked the creature. The zombie flew off to the corner of the room. She stood up panting, adrenaline flowing through her veins, and pulled out the moonblade. The zombie made another charge and growled hungrily. Rainbow Dash waited until the last moment and stepped aside. She made a swift swing with her blade and the cut the monsters head right off. Black colored, blood like substance, spilled across the room and the zombies lifeless body tumbled on the floor. Applejack was about to jump down to help her friend but she saw that the sky blue pegasus had taken care of the problem. "Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?! Here grab my hoof, ill pull you back up!" Rainbow Dash didn't answer however. She stared at the lifeless corpse that had almost killed her. "I killed it, I killed it Applejack! You saw it attack me, I had to kill it!" She answered in panic. "Ya'll cant kill something thats already dead Rainbow! Now get over here, ill help you up!" Rainbow stood there silent, still staring at the corpse in disbelief. "Ya want to have nightmares for the rest of yer life? Stop staring at that thing, and get over here!" Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Yeah, your right Applejack, it wasn't a pony anymore..." She felt guilt, guilt for killing a monster that tried to eat her face. It wasn't a pony anymore but she knew that it used to be one. It used to walk around this town talking to its friends. It used to laugh and tell jokes. It... no... He used to be a normal pony with a family and friends just like she was. And she had ended his life. Rainbow shook her head again. That wasn't the pony who had lived a normal life, that pony had died long ago. That was a monster created by dark resurrection magic. The magic she had come to end and... maybe she should just stop thinking about it too hard. Rainbow Dash flew back up on the roof and Applejack hugged her immediately. "Phew! I thought you were a goner for a second there! Are ya okay?" "Yeah Applejack... lets just...lets just get moving ok? Im a little shaken thats all." "We better hurry up then. I bet that racket the zombie made attracted a lot of unwanted attention." The mares quickly placed the bridge between the rooftop and the second floor window of the inn. They decided there was no time for safety when they could see a green glow flow through the hole in the roof. Both mares trotted across the board at the same time and Rainbow Dash reached the other side. She pushed the window open with ease. At that moment the board decided to quit however and it announced its resign with a loud cracking noise. "Jump!" Rainbow Dash shouted through the wind. Applejack leaped towards the window and just barely managed to get a hold of the window frame. Rainbow Dash pulled her in and they collapsed on the floor. "Whoa nelly...Almost died twice again...but we made it." Applejack said from between her breaths while checking that her hat had made it through the ordeal as well. "Heh wouldn't have it any other way..." Dash snickered and stood up. The room with the window that lead to the sewer building was right in front of them. The door however was closed. Dash bashed the door with her hooves but it wouldn't budge. "Great its locked..." Dash said and slumped on the ground in defeat. "Ah bet if the key is still here its in the lounge of the inn. Lets see...the room number is 13" Applejack turned around, the stairs were right behind them. She could see that the inn wasn't flooded with mud. "All right i'll go fetch it being the fastest and all" Rainbow dash sighed. Before Applejack could protest she was already gone downstairs leaving a rainbow colored streak behind her. Rainbow Dash arrived downstairs holding her moonblade between her teeth. There was no sign of zombie ponies. She made her way to the check in and began a frantic search of the key. Something caught her eye however. A brass cannon that was right in the middle of the inn. It was probably just for decoration so she continued her search. She couldn't find the key on the wall however but she noticed a pony skeleton behind the counter. "Could it be..." She whispered to herself. She searched through the skeletons rags and sure enough there it was. Room number 13. She was about to make her leave but turned around suddenly. The cannon was still there, unfired calling for her with a pleading voice. She turned back at the stairs. "Nah I really shouldn't, the dumb thing wont probably work anyway..." She flapped her wings and... Flew right next to the cannon with an excited smile on her face. "...Then wheres the harm if I try it out?" She lit the fuse with glee and waited. A moment passed and nothing happened. "I knew it...its probably better it didn't f.." BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!! The entire building shook, Rainbow Dash flew backwards and the cannon blew up the entire northern wall of the inn. Rainbow lifted her head from the debris. "That...was...AWESOME!!!" The zombies outside however had noticed the giant explosion and turned their heads at the rainbow maned pegasus. "Ohhh right... thats not good." Applejack waited for the blue pegasus to return when she heard the huge boom. Immediately after that she saw Rainbow Dash speed back up the stairs...Followed by a horde of flesh hungry zombies. "Rainbow WHAT THE HAY?!" "No time, lot of zombies, have to escape!" She turned the key into the lock in panic. The door didn't move. "Applejack its not working! ITS NOT WORKING!" The zombies stumbled up the stairs when Applejack suddenly facehoofed. "Of course...why didn't I think of this before." She turned her rear at the door. "Stand back Rainbow. Im gonna introduce this door to Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee!" Then she bucked the door and sent it flying off its hinges, right through the window in the room. "Opened the door AND the window with one buck? pretty efficient if ya ask me" "Yeah Applejack, your're awesome now LETS GO!" The zombies were practically gnawing at their tails when they galloped to the window. Without a second thought, they jumped right through it, into the sewer building.