//------------------------------// // The Lunar Sisters: Perma // Story: Tales from Tinies. // by MrAquino //------------------------------// Drip… Drip… Drip… The sound of leftover raindrops hanging on the edge of a corner hit the floor in a slow beat, it being one of the many subtle sounds of the old castle, next to the sound of the forests surrounding it, and the animals that sometime visit the abandoned building. I, unfortunately, live in this castle. Well… I wouldn’t say I live in the palace, but I am taking residency. That probably doesn’t make sense, but to clear it all up… I’m dead. I’m a ghost. I am no longer among the living. I could list some more stuff to explain what I’m talking about, but I figure that you already get the picture. Either way, I was currently spending my time in the old castle. And who am I? I am Perma. Perma the ghost girl. And I do know I could possibly go anywhere else, but this is where I woke up in, and I’m a little nervous on the giant forest. Like, literally, it’s a giant forest. I’m not sure if it’s cause I’m a small spirit or that wherever I am, it's just so freaking huge. Either way, I’m fine staying in a broken down castle if it means that I won’t face whatever could be out there. I’ve seen things that I’ve never seen before. Giant lions with bat wings and a scorpion tail, some fluffy bug that divides itself when it regurgitates, and even a creature with a chicken head and a dragon body, once seeing it turn another animal into stone like that Greek monster, Medusa. And I know if creatures like that are in the forest, I could only imagine what better creature could run this planet, seeing this castle only meant some sentient creatures used to live here. And for all I know, some animals could actually eat ghost. It could happen. Anyways, I think one of the major things is how I am a ghost in this giant place, than an angel up in the clouds. Well, when the vanished struck, people tried to continue their normal life, while others started riots and many other things that I could only say was ‘The Purge’ in real life, minus the true stupidity of Hollywood. And with those events brought people who could do anything to survive. Even kill one another. I don’t want to go into detail, but I was separated from my family one day, and I never found them. I don’t know if they are still alive, or even taken by the vanished. But one thing’s for sure, it seems that I was the next target when my life was about to be taken away. The signs were there, the glowing body, the flash of light, and now I am someplace unknown in which the world is much bigger. To be honest, I had a week long depression once I realized I was dead, and that I may not see my family again. I only hope they are safe, or in a better place than in this large world. But after that small depression, I realized some stuff about being a ghost. Surprisingly, you aren’t cold all the time like it’s assumed. You’re kind of at a still state where things aren’t too cold, or too hot. It’s like a comfortable spot in the middle. And I also know that ghosts don’t need to breath or anything, but being trained to do that ever since you were born, it’s a habit that will never die (unlike me, heh). Another thing I’ve learned, being a ghost is almost like living in zero gravity. But you can train yourself to focus on controlling that floating aspect. And lastly, ghosts, for most of the time, don’t have legs, only the faded mist that people came up with. They only come into form when you want to move your leg or even your toe. So, with all this that I’ve learned, I try my best to be more ‘lively’. I still breath naturally, and I do as much as I can to still walk on the floor and keep my legs instead of having that weird tail mist. But I would be lying if I said I never played around with my zero gravity floating, either phasing through walls, or even kicking off of them and make me float by faster. Even made it a little race to see how fast I can reach from one room to another without phasing through the wall. Sometimes I can’t control it, so I give myself a little penalty whenever that happens. So far my record is close to seven minutes. Don’t judge me, flying through long hallways is hard. Okay, where were we? Drip… Drip… Drip… Oh yeah, the water droplets. Man, things get boring when an animal isn’t in the castle finding something to eat. I swayed my feet back and forth, making them blur a little as the laces of my shoe float a little, as if they were floating in water. “Bored… boredom… boring!” I groaned, pushing my cheeks down a little as my eyelids went down a little. I honestly wouldn’t be so bored if I had my phone, but the only stuff I have is the clothes I… well, died in. I mean, I don’t know how or why, but I’m not complaining. Drip… Drip… Drip… I thought about a small tune in my head, snapping my fingers to the tempo. I had something going, so might as well use it to entertain myself for now. I hummed a little before I added the words to the song. “I had a dream so big and loud, I jumped so high I touched the clouds. “Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh.” I smiled a little as I did as the words said, jumping up high, but not touching a cloud. “I stretched my hands out to the sky, We danced with monsters through the night. “Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh.” I started swaying my hips a little to the music in my head, still floating as my legs faded to the mist tail, it swaying as well. “I'm never gonna look back woah, I'm never gonna give it up, no! Please don't wake me now, hey! “This is gonna be the best day of my life My li-i-i-i-i-ife “This is gonna be the best day of my life My li-i-i-i-i-ife.” Now that I thought of the lyrics to this song, it is kind of ironic for a ghost of all beings to sing this song, but I liked the song, more specifically that one collaboration of the song from different singers. Seemed more entertaining to listen to. “I howled at the moon with friends, And then the sun came crashing in. “Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh.” I said, falling down to the floor with the words as I continued dancing to the music within my head. “But all the possibilities, No limits just epiphanies. “Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh.” “I hear it calling, Outside my window. I feel it in my soul (soul)!” I let the music in my head continue as I danced a little more, kind of wishing I could hear it myself, but knowing that it may not happen. “This is gonna be the best day of my life My li-i-i-i-i-ife “This is gonna be the best day of my life My li-i-i-i-i-ife. “This is gonna be, This is gonna be, This is gonna be, yeah. “This is gonna be, This is gonna be, This is gonna be! “This is gonna be the best day of my life. My li-i-i-i-i-ife. “This is gonna be the best day of my life. My li-i-i-i-i-ife. “This is gonna be the best day of my life. My life, my life, my life, my life, my li-i-i-i-i-ife. I guess you can see how this is gonna go now, so we can just jump to the last part. “My li-i-i-ife!” I sung the last note as I felt much better, a little glad that my throat never got dry or tired of being overused. One of the many perks of being a ghost. I let out a small sigh as I sat back down, but heard something that I’ve never heard in awhile. Another voice. “What was that sound?” A male voice spoke, making me gasp in surprise, feeling scared for once. I was excited to see that I could be heard, but I don’t know if it’s another human, or the actual sentient alien that might rule this world. I didn’t want to take the risk, and floated to a high part of the castle in which I could stay hidden. It was a large pillar possibly used to support the castle ceiling a long time ago. When the possible source of the voice showed up, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. What walked in was some kind of cartoon looking horse… or was it a pony? Either way, it was weird looking with it’s large eyes, thick muzzle, and some kind of tramp stamp on it’s flank. But what caught her was the pair of wings on the pony’s sides. ‘A pegasus?’ I thought, knowing they were just a made up creature in Greek mythology. I should've prepared myself to see the unexpected, but even I knew that would take awhile. The pony had a blond mane and tail, his coat being a bright green-cyan color. The tramp stamp he had was three dewdrops. Seeing the image, I decided to name the pony Dew. “What was it?” Another voice said, it being a female voice as a different pony appeared in her view, the pony had a smaller muzzle, and a more slim figure. This mare seemed more… vibrant, having a red coat and a pinkish-purple mane that slicked upwards. I almost didn’t see it, but this pony had a unicorn horn within her mane. ‘A unicorn as well?’ I asked myself, noticing the mare had a fiery blue ring as a tramp stamp, so I decided to call her Ember Ring. “I thought I heard a voice. It’s probably one of those tinies we lost. They might be in this old castle.” Dew answered, wings ruffling as he looked around to see if he could spot them. “Well, whoever voice you heard, we gotta find those tinies if we want to get paid for anything.” Ember Ring said, starting to head down a random hallway while the stallion followed behind. “Tinies..?” I mumbled, not sure what they were referring to. I got out of my hiding spot as I looked to where they were going. I was about to follow until I heard a small gasp of surprise. When I turned to the sound, I actually saw humans. A teenager girl and a young boy, who was probably ten years old. “Uhm… hello.” I lightly waved, the two only backing away a little. “N-no, it’s okay. I’m a human like you.” I said a little too eagerly, moving closer as they stood their ground this time. “But you’re dead.” The boy said, in which the girl placed a hand over his mouth. “Shut up!” She hissed. “Heh, it’s okay. It’s not like I don’t know that.” I smiled a little. “My name is Perma, and what were those two talking horses?” “You don’t know about ponies..?” The girl asked, moving her hand off of the kid’s mouth. “Oh, so they are ponies. That’s one thing I know now.” I lightly shrugged. “But I’m guessing you want to hide from them.” “Y-yeah, if you can show us some kind of hiding place, we’ll be able to tell you about this place and those ponies.” She said, striking up a deal. “No need for a hand shake cause you got yourself a deal.” I smiled, starting to float to one of the more well furnished parts of the castle. “Follow me.” ~-~-~-~ We finally arrived at my room, the two newcomers having to squeeze through the small crack that lead to the room, it having a bookshelf, a couch, and a few pillows on the floor with a book podium to place any reading material down on it. The two went on the pillows on the floor, with both complimenting on how soft they were. “Yeah, I would call this my bedroom, but I technically don’t need one now.” I said, even relaxing on the pillow as I was also able to feel how soft they were even after being in this room for who-knows how long. “So, mind telling me about those ponies that came in as well?” “Ah, yes. Those ponies aren’t really friendly. Ponies in general are nice, but there are some things they do that is kind of weird… and even wrong.” She started. “What do you mean by that?” I tilted my head, obviously not getting the picture. “Well, ponies sometimes tend to… eat us.” She said, rubbing her shoulder while she glances away. “I was eaten three times!” The boy said, making it sound like some kind of accomplishment. “Wait, how can you be eaten more than once, and still be alive? Wouldn’t you get digested ‘n junk?” I just had to ask, it making no sense. “That’s what you’d think, but it seems like magic is real here, and some kind of magic makes it unable to be digested, but also links us to a specific taste.” The teen explained. I’ll try to keep it simple for everyone, but apparently, some kind of magic is the cause of the vanishing, and this magic not only brings us to this world of Equestria (as they call it), but it also shrinks us down, gives us a specific flavor, and makes it unable to be digested like any other food. But that’s just the beginning. Cause of this, there are some laws around humans, who they call 'tinies' here. Some being that you can’t eat kids, or eat any in a safe zone where the tinies mostly live. But even with those laws, there are ponies labeled Snatchers that kidnap tinies so they can sell them off to big timed ponies with money to spare. And those two ponies that came here are snatchers themselves. The stallion was actually named Dewdrop while the mare was named Fiery Fricket. Either way, I didn’t like how we were seen and treated by some of these ponies. “That is just messed up. Don’t they know that we have our own thoughts and opinions as well?” I said, wanting to slam my hands down, but knew that it might just phase through the pillow. “Oh, don’t be mad at all of those ponies. The only bad ones are those snatchers. Everyone else treats us kindly. Even the princesses are trying their best to bring us back home, or, at least make us normal size.” The girl, named Emily, assured, knowing that some tinies might think all ponies are bad. “There’s already a giant woman in Ponyville, and she’s super nice.” The little boy, named Tim, said, meeting the girl before. “Yeah, but some of us are a little intimidated by her size, but what happened to her was an accident apparently, so they don’t really have a solution yet.” Emily explained, making me nod in understanding. But our moment was ruined when I heard a familiar voice. “I think I heard something behind this wall.” The male voice of Dewdrop was heard, making the two tinies hug themselves in fear of being caught. “Well, try and get through this wall!” The female voice of Fiery Fricket shouted, now the small group hearing the thumps of what they can only assume was hooves slamming on the wall to try and break it. “I-I don’t want to get snatched.” Emily said in fear. “I-I want my mommy.” Tim said with tear-filled eyes. I wasn’t sure what I could do, not knowing what I can do. I floated up to see if they were gonna break the wall, but only the thumping sound was heard, not seeing any major damages yet. While I was floating up, I noticed an open book on a page titled ‘Pony of Shadows’. That started to spark an idea in my head. ~-~-~-~ “Oh, come on! Are stallions really this weak!?” Fiery Fricket shouted, seeing that Dewdrop was already getting tired. “Well I don’t see you trying anything!” He shouted back, hitting it one more time before a loud sound was heard all around the room, followed by a chilling gust of wind. “Who disturbs my sacred room!?” A deep voice is heard, making the pony’s fur stand on end, but Fiery Fricket was the first to recover. “Who wants to know!?” She shouted back an answer. “Why, the Pony of Shadows, puny mortal!” The voice responded, making the two get even more scared. “Th-that’s impossible! Princess Twilight banished you to another dimension!” Dewdrop responded this time. “Oh, that Twilight was strong, but not strong enough to get rid of me for good! But I am not here for Twilight. I am here, to strike a deal.” “A… a deal?” Fiery repeated questionably. “Yes. A deal. A deal that only one who is pure in heart, soul, and mind can be given. A pony with those quality will be given my power, my strength, and the ability to get whatever they truly desire.” The two ponies looked at each other, before they glanced up at wherever the ‘Pony of Shadows’, might be. They moved a little closer to whisper at each other, trying to decide what to do about this. “I mean, we just started this tiny snatching thing, so we might have a chance at this.” Fiery whispered, Dewdrop not really sure if he could go along with this. “I-I don’t know, what if something bad happens?” “Oh, don’t be a filly. Obviously this pony is so weak that he needs somepony else’s help, so if things go bad, we can just tell the princess that they’re back and she’ll get rid of him for good.” She responded, coming up with a good enough plan to risk trying this test. They stopped whispering as they stood in attention. “We feel that we are ready for your test!” She spoke, already thinking of the many possibilities of having unimaginable power. “Very well. I only have one test, and that is to see what you hold dear, and what you will give to obtain it.” The voice spoke, soon a glowing white orb floating by them. “I will gaze into your mind, and see if you are worthy of my power.” The orb was first to go into Firey’s mind, her eyes glowing white for a moment as it seemed the ‘Pony of Shadows’ was looking into her mind. It didn’t take long for the mare’s expression to change from stoic, to pure horror, and fear. “You wish for wealth so you may not have to worry about the normal life of paying bills and working for money.” The voice explained. “But what you are blind to see, is that problems will never go away no matter how much money you throw at it. Friends and family will only want your money, and once you run dry, no one will help. You will be alone. And you try to make this happen by taking innocent tinies lives, selling them off, and not think of the consequences. You are not pure… you are CORRUPTED!!!” The voice screamed as did the unicorn mare, tears in her eyes as she tried to shut them to hide what she was seeing, but even so, she could still see and hear what was happening around her. Ponies she once befriended taking her sacks of bits and running away, tinies in cages or even treated like toys or snacks. And the mare now being in a boarded up home, mane messy and coat covered in dirt as she couldn’t even afford to wash herself anymore. Soon the orb phased out of her mind, making her see that she was back at the castle, the girl fell to her hooves as she continued to weep, now seeing that snatching tinies was no way to earn any kind of bits. “P-please, I won’t steal or eat another tiny ever again! Please, I can be cured, wh-what can I do to become pure again?” She begged, Dewdrop too shocked to speak as she saw the toughest mare she met cry waterfall tears while pleading as if her life was on the line. “There is no way to become pure again...” The voice started, making the mare close to crying again. “BUT! There is a way to heal what is most broken. You must turn yourself in, be honest, and get your own money the right way. But you have until midnight to confess, or I shall bestow a curse upon you. A curse that will remind you of the pain you caused, the fear you brought, and your disgusting actions you have made.” The voice finished. “As for you: Dewdrop,” The stallion tensed up when he heard his name in its voice. “You shall do the same, or you will see just how your actions will make you suffer, and you will see it every night in every dream, for the rest of your life.” It seemed now that the two were scared enough to go fleeing for the hills, but they needed one final push to get moving. The orb that was floating by them landed, the glow fading as I stood in front of them. They showed a curious, but nervous look. But that look changed to fear as I used the ghost ability within me to make a rather terrifying face, roaring right at them as they screamed in response and started running right out of the castle and back to the forest to wherever they came from. Once I saw they were gone, I couldn’t help but laugh as that was the greatest(and most exhausting) prank I have ever pulled, but my only one as a ghost. I was once again glad that my throat could never get dry or tired, feeling that if I was still alive, I would have never been able to make that deep voice for that long. “That… was… amazing!” Tim shouted, trying to hug me, but phased through me and fell onto the floor. “I have to admit, that was pretty cool.” Emily agreed, picking Tim up. “I bet if you could scare every snatcher like that, there would probably be no more snatchers in the whole world.” “Heheh, maybe. But I think maybe I might go too extreme. They may be snatchers, but they are just as innocent and naive as you said they were.” I nodded, not helping but thinking of actually scaring ponies for a living… well, not really living but you get my point.