Limestone knew she was a tough pony. She lived on a rock farm, which often burned from the heat of the sun or froze when the winter wins blew through. She could break a boulder in half with a single hoof and had, many times, carried rocks uphill without any effort. There was little in the world that she believed that could unnerve her.
The forest that she and her friends were currently going through was one of those things. She knew in her mind that it was just another one of the many forests that seemed to plague Equestria, but there was something off about this one. The way the branches in the trees seemed to reach out for her, the way things seemed to be looking out from the bushes only to vanish when she turned her eyes towards them and the faint sounds of voices that spoke without a mouth drove her nerves to the edge. To the best of her knowledge, the forest was one of two things that unnerved her like this.
Absol was the other.
The forest didn't bother him in the slightest. He walked through the darkened trees and thick brush with almost a smile on his face, seemingly perfectly at home among the whispers and the shadows. A part of her figured that being a dark type meant that he enjoyed the darkness more than most, but then he started humming to himself and she felt a shudder go down her spine.
She did her best to hide the fact that Absol unnerved her from the Pokemon, though sometimes she wondered how much he could tell about her just from her body language alone. It wasn't his bizarre look or the fact that he had dark powers that could strike down beings that were already dead. It was something in his demeanor, something telling her that there was more to this creature of darkness. The way he could look at a pony and see their true thoughts. The way he knew when danger was coming without any indication. It was similar to the Pinkie sense.
The Pinkie sense had unnerved Limestone for a time, but eventually she had gotten used to it.
"I am not called the disaster Pokemon for no reason," Absol said. His words sliced through her thoughts so precisely that she was left without a comeback for a matter of moments. "I can predict disasters. My whole species can, actually. We are deeply in tune with the world and the way things are, so we can sense when danger or disaster is about to strike. And we try to warn those around us of when those disaster are about to occur."
"So is mind reading one of your powers or are you just incredibly skilled at guessing?" Limestone asked, putting on a brave face as she did so. She didn't want Absol to know how much him knowing her thoughts had shaken her.
"You are easy to read. You wear your emotions on your sleeve for the world to see," Absol informed her.
"I do that so ponies know not to tick me off. So if you and your species are so good at predicting disasters, how come you could never predict that the people you tried to warn would come for your hide?" The jab had been in retaliation for him reading her thoughts, but the blow struck deeper than Limestone realized. His red eyes were like slits and from the way he glared at her Limestone wasn't certain that he wouldn't turn that dark power towards her. Yet after a moment of what she was sure was contemplation on whether or not to attack her, Absol let go of his frustrations with a sigh.
"Perhaps it is because we try to see the best in others. Or that our souls will not allow us to escape impeding doom without at least trying to warn others of the coming plight. All I know is that we try to help...and are blamed as the bringers of doom," Absol replied in a whisper.
"Did you know that the ghosts were coming?" Marble asked, finally working up the nerve to speak up. She was terrified of the forest and had spent the entire journey through it pressed up against her sister while hiding behind her mane. "I remember Princess Celestia mentioning that you appeared in the same city where the ghosts first resurfaced. Were you trying to warn us of them then?"
"Yes, but once again the curse of the Absol followed me to this realm. The ponies saw me, they were terrified by me and they tried to drive me out. Then the army of ghosts descended upon the city," Absol filled in. "And while I may have a favorable matchup against ghosts, I am not immune to their powers. Overwhelmed and outnumbers, I did my best to help as many ponies as I could. I fear I helped very few in reality."
"You still tried your best, even after they tried to be rid of you. That shows how much of a good heart you actually have," Marble said with a kind smile. Despite his demeanor, Absol couldn't help but give Marble the faintest of smiles in reply. "Once we get back to Canterlot, I am sure that we can speak to the princesses and have this whole bringer of disaster situation sorted out."
"I hope so to, but until the day comes when I am no longer blamed for destruction I did not cause, I will continue to remain skeptic," Absol smirked. He then raised his head and looked around the area that the three were at, noticing a few odd signs of civilization. A pillar of stone here. Remains of an arch way there. All of which were nearly hidden beneath layer after layer of foliage and vine. "We are close to where the ponies in the town were taken. That means we are also close to the ghosts that took them. Stay close."
Limestone gritted her teeth and took a small step closer to Absol, while Marble appeared at his side in an instant. She knew better than to doubt his warning, his ability to foretell disasters was a given, but she also didn't want him to think that she was scared or relied on him. She could handle herself. He was there as insurance.
But as a maniacal laughter began to echo from within the trees and shadows, the fear and chills in her stomach reminded her why they had fought so hard for Absol to join them. The ghosts were creatures of the underworld, having passed away and wanted nothing more than to be among the living once again.
Absol's horn flashed with darkness and a moment later a ghosts that had been hiding in the darkness screamed in pain before bursting into a pile of darkness and ash. Limestone swallowed a lump in her throat as she glanced over at Absol, who was already moving ahead like nothing had happened. He had just struck down a ghost that she hadn't even seen and acted like it was nothing. It was impressive.
Not that she would ever say that.
"Hey, thanks for the heads up on that ghost being there. Are you ever going to warn us whenever we're about to be ambushed or are you just going to deal with it as your silent, brooding self?" Limestone asked with a bit of a smirk to Absol. His response was to be silent and continue to move forward. "Silence it is. Glad that we trust each other."
"Do we really trust each other?" Absol asked.
Limestone took a moment to think about that question, before opening her mouth to respond.
"Please don't make this worse," Marble whispered to her sister. Limestone shut her mouth, realized that she didn't want to be silent, opened her mouth to say something only to be silenced once more when Absol held up a paw.
"We're coming up on something, something large and dangerous," he said in a whisper. "Quiet is essential here." Limestone narrowed her eyes at his bossy tone, but kept her mouth shut as they slowly moved forward. The danger in Absol's voice was enough to tell her now was not the time.
The three silently moved forward as best as they could, the ponies doing their best not to get tangled on any of the vines. Absol avoided each and every plant with ease, all the while moving without any noise at all. If Limestone hadn't been looking right at him, she wouldn't have been able to tell that he was there at all. After nearly an hour, the forest began to thin, allowing the group to see some structures ahead. The group came to a halt next to the ruins of what had once been a stone wall, which still had enough left in it to provide some cover.
Absol nodded his head towards what he had sensed, but Limestone would have been able to notice it even if Absol hadn't pointed it out to her. There was one building amongst a sea of ruined ones that still stood tall and strong, despite the evidence that the years had not been kind to it. A large, square tower that stabbed into the sky, drenched in vines and other plant life. Chunks of the tower itself were missing and the entire tower looked like it was slightly leaning to one side.
But despite the state of disrepair and the years of abuse done by Mother Nature, all three could feel a sense of dread and malice emanating from the tower. It was almost as if the group could sense the darkness and evil that awaited them within. Marble looked at the tower in horror, Limestone felt fear creep along her spine and even Absol seemed on guard by the sight of the den of evil before them.
"That's where they've taken the ponies, isn't it?" Limestone asked Absol, being the only sister able to speak at the moment.
"Yes. I can sense them inside, along with plenty of our spectral friends and...something else," Absol added on. Limestone didn't like the tone of his voice, but before she could voice her opinion Absol began walking towards the tower. "Come, we will not rescue them by standing out here all night."
"Are you sure you just want to walk up to this place and knock on the front door?" Limestone asked, not used to being the voice of reason. "I mean, there could be a whole army of ghosts inside."
"I believe there is an army inside. I can sense a great number of ghosts inside," Absol corrected.
"And a frontal assault is our best course of action? Didn't you just say a little while ago that even you can't handle a whole army of ghosts by yourself?" Limestone reminded him.
"True. But that was when I had to fight them from every conceivable direction. If we go in from the front, they will attack us from the front. As long as they do not surround me, I should be able to handle them," Absol said confidentially. When he saw the hesitation on Limestone's eyes, he added on, "And this could also be where your families are being held. The sooner we cut through this tower the sooner we can find out."
"I hate it when you're right," Limestone snarled, but she voice no further arguments. So with another flick of his head Absol lead the two ponies towards the only entrance to the tower that they could see, a single wooden door that looked like it had been recently repaired. Absol walked right up to it, raised a paw, and glanced back to the two. "Ready?"
They both nodded in reply.
Absol smirked and then tapped his paw against the door.
The next moment the door exploded into a shower of splinters before an unholy roar erupted from within. Limestone tackled her sister and drove the both of them away from the rain of wood, before she glanced at where Absol had been standing with fear gripping her heart. Her fear turned to annoyance as a moment later he landed gracefully beside them, not a hair on his body out of place.
"Do you practice making everything look so effortless or does it come naturally?" she snarked at him. Before Absol could answer, a pair of massive hands grabbed hold of the door frame and yanked with all of their might, dragging out a colossal body of a ghost. But unlike all of the other ghosts that Limestone had encountered, this ghost was not pale or shaped like a pony. This ghost had four arms, a body that looked like magma and burned with the ferocity of the sun. Her eyes shrunk into her sockets as the beast pulled itself out of the tower entrance and loomed over them, a smile on its face.
"So you are the black shadow, the creature that has struck down every one of my brothers that he has come across," the blazing ghosts bellowed with the fury of an inferno as it gazed hungrily at Absol. "I look forward to watching your body being consumed by the flames until only your charred bones remain. Any last words, slayer of ghosts?"
Absol stretched his back, cracked his next, and shifted his weight across his paws once or twice. He then finally let a smile cross his face, but the smile was not directed at the ghost being consumed by an inferno. Absol turned his smile, an ungodly smug smile, towards Limestone.
"Allow this demonstration to clear all doubt from your mind, as I slay this ghosts...effortlessly."