Dear Diary,
Oh, how easy it is to manipulate these single digit IQ cock toys. They fall for me every time. Bless my, admittedly less, good-looking mother. A shame that she never approved of me treating men like they were merely objects. What does she know anyway? I have it all with Aaron; money, a mansion, and servants. He treats me as I was meant to be treated: a queen. Or perhaps a princess. It's not important. I deserve this. I am royalty. They should know better than to request things from me. I am meant to be the one who's supposed to ask for materialistic things. Not these good-for-nothing peasants. They should bow to me. Even Aaron. He refuses to divorce that poor, useless bitch, Aurora. She's a leech. That's all she's ever been. Her child too. Both of them, leeches. They believe me to be "too harsh". Hah.
Ah, but they will learn in time. At least, they'd better. It'd be a shame if I had to... make Aaron get rid of them. Heh. It'd definitely be fun though. The many ways to get him to kick them out would really get me back into the creativity field. It'd be fun to have someone write out my greatest fantasies. Oh, the things I can dream up of Aaron and I doing. Granted, I'd be the one to save the world from these lower class fools in the end. Mmm... really puts me in the mood for things when I think about that…
Rainbow turned the page and then turned her head to Sunset, who had a faint tint of green on her face, which caused Rainbow to say but one thing.
"Same."
Dear Diary,
So, Laney doesn't like me. Figures that she can't respect royalty when she sees it. That little twerp would rather hang out with that pompous fool who tends to the horses. Filthy animals. I guess it's fitting that a child would want to hang out with one of those, though. No matter. I'll get her to love me just as Aaron loves me. I don't care if I have to beat her until she's subordinate. She'll love me, and that will make Aurora and the others love me. Once they all love me, I will truly rule over this place. They will all bow before me. I will be the queen that I was born to be. And then...
Then I will kill them all. And their money will be mine…
Rainbow shivered. Before she could turn the page, Sunset did it. "Thanks, Sunset..."
Sunset remained silent, instead opting to shift closer until she was touching her.
Dear Diary,
Aurora had the audacity to say that I was a whore. Hah. She's one to speak! She didn't marry Aaron because she loved him. Someone who practically wears rags day in and day out couldn't possibly have any sort of emotional feelings for a man such as Aaron. I bet he only married her because he felt pity for her. Such useless emotions for such a wonderfully rich man. I'll take great pleasure in making him lose them.
As for Aurora... well, I put her in her place. I’ve always loved my nails. It was always fun to etch messages into daddy's skin whenever he slapped me around for being insubordinate in his eyes. He did eventually stop when I started to make those messages a bit... too painful for his tastes. Oh well. At least his blood didn't stain my clothes. Otherwise, daddy may have lost more than he desired…
"What the fuck?" Rainbow flipped the page. She skimmed it and slowly handed the diary to Sunset.
"What is-"
"Just read it."
Dear Diary,
Aaron told me to stop yelling at Laney. Well, isn't he just a gutsy one. A shame that I had to teach him a lesson just as I had to teach Laney. I almost felt bad...
Hah. That was hard to actually write. Sometimes, I crack myself up.
Aaron couldn't even finish his first sentence before he felt the edge of my nails slice across his right cheek. That shut him up real fast. He ran off crying to the bathroom. He tasted really nice...
As for Laney... that little rat sure can run fast. Especially when I throw Aurora's precious family vases.
Nobody dared to challenge me though. I'm beginning to assert my rightful place as the dominant one. A good thing they're beginning to see their rightful place as lesser beings. Otherwise, I may have to advance to the final stage of my plan to inherit their collective fortune.
And where's the fun in doing that when I can toy with them? I'm a master puppeteer after all…
Sunset grit her teeth and seethed with anger. She didn't even notice Rainbow take the diary out of her hands until she spoke up.
"Let's just... skip to the end."
"Good idea." Sunset said through her teeth.
Rainbow flipped through page after page of hate-filled ramblings from a clearly... unwell individual. Eventually though, she reached the end.
"Geez, almost two hundred pages of this crap."
"Yeah." Sunset flopped backwards. "Just get on with it..."
Dear Diary,
Hmm. I can't believe he did it. I was beginning to think that he was too stupid to not do it. But here I am. In my bedroom while they slowly die outside. I wish they'd hurry up. I need to get them into the attic before someone notices that I did it.
I had planned to wait until Thanksgiving, but apparently, they can't see me for who I am: a queen. No, instead, they wish to kick me out! Hah. Oh well. If Aaron cannot assist me in getting them to worship me, I'll just take his money and run while they all grieve for the loss of those three worthless bottom feeders. I shall go find myself a man who will treat me as I deserve to be treated.
A Goddess.
Rainbow took a deep breath and slammed the diary shut. "Okay."
"Okay?" Sunset sat up. "What do you mean 'okay'?"
"Okay." Rainbow stood up and walked out of the room.
"Rainbow?"
"Okay."
Sunset hopped of the bed and ran after her friend. "Rainbow, are you feeling alright?"
"Okay."
Sunset stopped walking and tilted her head. "You don't seem okay..."
"Okay." Rainbow walked over to the fireplace and kneeled down. She took out a lighter from her back pocket and turned it on before throwing it onto the age old wood that was still in there.
"Rainbow, why are you- no, don't do that!"
Rainbow ignored Sunset's warning and threw the diary into the fire. "Okay, fan-fucking-tastic!" She stood up and clapped her hands. "That felt really good. Wouldn't you agree?"
Sunset stared at Rainbow; slack jawed. "Rainbow! Do you realize what you've done!?"
"Yeah, I burned some crazy bitch’s diary." Rainbow's eyes widened as her own words echoed in her head. "Nothing she can do to bring it back!"
"Yeah, but she can no doubt cause you a world of hurt."
"Psh, all that matters is I got rid of that piece of crap."
Just then, Rainbow was lifted up by the collar of her shirt and brought halfway up the stairway, screaming and flailing her arms like a child who didn't get the toy they wanted from a toy store.
"Hey! I asked about forty times now: what are- ah!” Before she could finish her sentence, Rainbow was rolled down the stairway. "Joke’s on you." she said from the bottom of the stairs. "That ain't bringing your diary back!"
And then, a random book was thrown at her.
"I think that's your cue to shut up, Rainbow." Sunset said from beside her.
"I got that." Rainbow stood up with Sunset’s help. They then walked over to a nearby couch and sat down. "I'm surprised that kid hasn't come to lecture me again."
"Eh, I figured you should learn this one on your own." The child manifested herself on one of the arms of the couch. "Gotta say though: you roll pretty well. Even better than that one fat guy she used as a soccer ball."
"Good to know." Rainbow rolled her shoulders. "Ugh, I'm gonna hurt like hell when I get home..."
"Eh, you'll get over it." the child said. "Good thing you didn't burn the other copy she kept in her secret compartment. Then she mighta thrown you down one of the longer staircases."
"Yeah, whatever." Rainbow folded her arms. “By the way, how many pages did you read again?”
“Ten.”
Rainbow's arms fell to her sides. “Ah crap.” She let out a sigh and looked at Sunset. "Well, how about we go back upstairs?"
Sunset shrugged. "Alright." They got off the couch and walked up the stairs, Sunset keeping a hand on Rainbow’s back.
"When we get out of here, I wanna see a scary movie with you, Sunset." Rainbow said.
"Why?" Sunset asked.
"Because I wanna see just how inaccurate the movie is compared to what's happened to us here." Rainbow replied. "That and I just wanna see a scary movie."
"Because this isn't scary enough?" Sunset asked with a chuckle.
"No, I just wanna be entertained." Rainbow said. "My ideal haunting is not being thrown around like I'm a rubber ball."
"Fair enough." Sunset said. "So, where do you wanna go now?"
"Uh... how about a room we haven't been in?" Rainbow said with a smirk. "That sounds like it'd be fun."
Sunset playfully bopped Rainbow on the head. "Smartass."
Rainbow responded in kind. "So, I was wondering..." She walked in front of Sunset. "How much longer we gotta be here?"
Sunset blinked and scratched her head on confusion. "Rainbow, you have a watch, don't you?"
"Yeah…” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head and let out a laugh. “But the kid stole it."
Sunset pursed her lips. Enough doubt to fill everyone in a major metropolitan city filled her. "The kid stole your watch?"
"Yeah." Rainbow nodded.
“Mhm…” Sunset also nodded. "And how did the ghost kid steal your watch?"
Rainbow stared blankly.
"You left it in the bedroom."
"I left it in the bedroom..."
Sunset shook her head. “And why did you take your watch off?”
“Hey, that was a seven hundred dollar watch and a gift from Rarity!” Rainbow protested. “I wasn't getting it dirty!”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I thought we were gonna help the kid with Other Mommy.” she said. “Why don't we formulate a plan for that?”
“We blast Other Mommy with magic and then celebrate with cake.” The two stopped at a random door. “Bam, done.”
“Yeah, but how-”
Rainbow waved a hand in front of Sunset’s face. “We have time.”
“Yeah, but-”
“We.” Rainbow pressed her nose up against Sunset’s. “Have.” She pressed it harder. “Time.”
Sunset’s eyes darted around. “Okay…” She slowly backed away. “I gotcha.”
“Terrific.” Rainbow walked over to a nearby door and leaned up against it. “So, how about we go in here?”
“Alright.” Sunset walked over and opened the door. Inside was a surprisingly neat and tidy room, filled with a few trophies and autographed sports merchandise.
“Oh, looks like my room!” Rainbow said. “Only a little less cool.”
“I doubt that you were as cool as Uncle Jack.” the child said from atop the canopy of the bed that rested at the far north end of the room. “He was pretty cool.”
“Well, he has almost as many trophies as me.” Rainbow said as she counted them, deliberately skipping the vast majority of them as to not acknowledge that Uncle Jack had at least eight times as many as her. Once she was done, she spoke up, suppressing the jealousy she felt. “So, how’d someone so cool die?”
"He fell off his bike and hit the road."
"...That's it?" Rainbow asked.
"Not all of us died in ridiculous ways, you know!" the child said indignantly. "I'll have you know that my Aunt Kathy died of old age."
"How old was she?" Sunset asked.
"Fifty-four."
“That’s not very old.” Rainbow said. “I figured she woulda been, I dunno, a hundred.”
“Aunt Kathy died here in the nineteenth century.” The child thought for a second. “Though I guess most of my family have died in stupid ways. I think she was actually last one to die of natural causes.”
“Your family’s weird.” Rainbow deadpanned. With that, her stomach growled.
“Guess all this talk of my dead family members is making you hungry.” the child remarked. “Hope you guys aren’t zombies; I like Sunset.”
“What about me?” Rainbow asked.
“You’re kinda cool too.”
Rainbow folded her arms and sulked. “Whatever. Let’s go eat, Sunset.”
“But we just got up here.” Sunset's stomach growled as an addition to her sentence.“On second thought… that sounds like a good idea.” She turned around and walked out of the room and back the way they'd come. “Think our backpacks have been invaded by ghosts?”
“Nah.” Rainbow waved a hand dismissively. “Unless they're that raccoon. Then yeah, definitely. I remember Fluttershy once telling me that she was certain there were two animals who'd steal food from beyond the grave.”
“What was the second?”
“Pigeons.”
Sunset stopped and folded her arms. "You made that up, didn't you?"
"I totally did."
"Thought so." Sunset said. "Fluttershy would never say something like that about an animal.*
"Think there’s any animal she doesn't like?"
Sunset arrived at the stairway and placed a hand on the railing. "Nope."
"How does she do it?" Rainbow ran down the stairs and turned to Sunset. "I've known her all my life and I can't figure it out!"
"Hm... I have an idea." Sunset ran down and went up to Rainbow, waving her hands around. "Magic!"
"Right..." Rainbow turned around and jumped back in surprise. "Oh my gosh!" She ran over to something she was certain hadn't been there when they went upstairs.
A piano.
Rainbow zipped over to it and sat on the chair that was in front of it. “What do you want me to play?”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Rainbow, you can't play the piano.”
“Psh, says who?”
“Says me.” the child said from beside Rainbow. “Get off my chair, I have practice in ten minutes.”
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, this is yours?” she asked. “How did it get up here?”
“Uncle Joe helped move it up here.” the child answered. “Now seriously, get up. I have to practice, and I don’t want Other Mommy getting antsy with me over failing to start my piano practice late because some random home invader decided to sit in my dang seat. Again!”
“Yeesh, okay.” Rainbow sat up and walked back to Sunset’s side. “Why does she want you to play the piano though? You guys are dead.”
The child turned her head around, once again not moving the rest of her body—much to the horror of the two girls. “Other Mommy likes the music. It soothes her soul—or what little she has left of it if I’m to be an optimist about it.” she said. “She likes to claim that she deserves it after a long day of work. I personally think she likes to stroke her ego because her step-child is more talented at anything meaningful in the afterlife because she’s a worthless whore and a leech.”
Sunset flinched. Although she was used to swearing at this point, what with Rainbow having quite the mouth on her, hearing it come from a child who looked to be no older than ten was... something else entirely. She brushed off the feeling, repeatedly telling herself that at this point, she must have been somewhere around a hundred and ten. While Rainbow and the child talked about things that entered one of her ears and quickly departed out the other, she walked over to the bookshelf and skimmed it. One caught her attention, mainly because it was the only one that wasn't as thick as an atlas. Rather, it was no thicker than her pinky finger. She grabbed it and blew the dust off of it. “Oh, a journal.”
"Oh, that one's mine." the child said. "Though I think two pages have actual entries in them. The rest I used to draw things. I wasn't very good at it. My dragons looked like oversized scorpions with wings."
Rainbow turned her head. "Another one!?" She rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Sunset, don't turn into Twilight on me!"
"Gimme a bit, Rainbow. I wanna read a bit of this." Sunset opened the journal and read the first entry. It detailed about the time she spent with Bucephalus, tending to the horses and riding on one, only to fall off and scrape her leg. "Well, it's nice to read something heartwarmi-"
"Sunset, let's go eat!" Rainbow ran over and slammed the book shut, resulting in a faint squeak from Sunset. She narrowed her eyes. "I'm hungry and you were complaining before that you were too!"
"That was my hand..."
"Oh." Rainbow opened the journal and slowly removed Sunset's hand, patting it as she did so. "Sorry."
"Yeah..." Sunset rubbed her hand. "Well, if you want to eat so badly, let's go."
"Woo-hoo!" Rainbow pumped a fist into the air and ran over to her backpack before zipping over to the kitchen door. "C'mon, slowpoke. We ain't got all night!"
Sunset rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. She put the journal away and walked over to her own backpack, then to Rainbow. "Alright, I'm here." She flicked Rainbow's nose. "Was that fast enough for you?"
“I guess so.” Rainbow smirked and flicked Sunset back.
Sunset chuckled and opened the door to the kitchen. Immediately, her nose was assaulted by a... questionable smell. "Ugh, what smells like piss?"
"It wasn't me, I swear." Rainbow replied. "I hope." She added under her breath.
Sunset turned her head to Rainbow. "Like you'd ever admit to doing that."
"Well, I mean..." Rainbow thought for a moment. "Nah, you're right." With a sense of unbreakable pride inside of her, as was normal for her, Rainbow walked into the kitchen and placed a little bag on the counter. She took her sandwich out and turned back to Sunset. “Think this place would be good for a romantic date?” she asked as she took a bite out of a sandwich. “Feels really… cozy if you get past the fact that it’s a shithole full of ghosts.”
Sunset chuckled. “I didn’t think you of all people would be an expert on what’s a good place for a date and what isn’t.”
“Eh, comes with having hung out with Rarity for so long.” Rainbow went to take another bite of her sandwich, only to feel it get snatched out of her hands. “Not funny, Sunset.”
“That wasn’t me.” Sunset replied.
“Then what was it?”
“It was the raccoon.”
Rainbow spun around and locked eyes with the raccoon. "You!"
The raccoon tilted its head and waved a little paw at Rainbow before scarfing down her sandwich.
"My sandwich!"
The raccoon made its way over to Rainbow's bag and took out her water. Without hesitation, it sunk its teeth into the bottle and sucked out some of the water.
"My water!"
The raccoon looked over at Rainbow and stuck its tongue out.
"Ooh. Your pride." Sunset snickered.
Rainbow ignored her friends remark and instead took the totally sensible, logical, pragmatic, and normal route.
She grabbed a nearby frying pan and slammed it down. The raccoon, however, was craftier, and used its years of evolution, training, and tutelage from older, wiser raccoons to dodge the flying frying pan.
And thus, Rainbow created a nice dent on the aging counter.
"Nice one, Rainbow."
"Can it, bacon-head." Rainbow raised the frying pan back up and brought it down where the raccoon was.
And missed. Again.
Rainbow looked at the frying pan and threw it behind her. "No! Screw this!" She grabbed her bag and walked over to the stove.
"Rainbow..."
"Sunset, just trust me on this!" Rainbow turned the stove on.
Sunset groaned. "Rainbow, just ignore it!"
"No, Sunset! It stole my food!" Rainbow placed the bag over the stove, at which point the bottom of it caught fire.
Sunset's eyes shot open. "Rainbow, it’s a raccoon and it’s already eaten your sandwich!" She grabbed the hose and sprayed the bag with water, extinguishing the fire.
Rainbow fell to the ground and sobbed. "That sandwich..." She looked up at Sunset, teary eyed. "My mom made it..."
Sunset stared at Rainbow. She wasn't sure if she'd heard what Rainbow said correctly or if, perhaps, Valery had killed her and she wasn't aware of it. So, she pinched herself.
It hurt.
"Well, I'm definitely alive." she said to herself. She placed the hose down and walked over to Rainbow. "I'm... sorry about your sandwich." She kneeled down next to her friend and put a hand on her head. "I'm sure your mom will make you another sandwich tomorrow."
"Yeah, but... what if we die!?"
Sunset was more than a little surprised at Rainbow's sudden emotional outburst. In fact, she was beginning to believe she was dead and the pain she felt was all a trick by Valery. Regardless, she knew that believing that would mean not believing Rainbow.
And that was too big of a risk to take.
"But we will get out of here." Sunset hugged Rainbow. "You know we will."
Rainbow wiped away tears from her eyes. "Y-You promise, right?"
Sunset placed a hand under Rainbow's chin and turned her head so she was looking at her. "I Pinkie Promise." she said. "We will get out of here alive, and nothing will stop us from doing so."
Rainbow shuddered. Her brave facade crumbled piece by piece. All she could think of was keeping her hold on Sunset.
"Please, don't leave me..."
"I won't, Rainbow." Sunset said softly. "I'm right here. I'll be here as long as you need me."
And stay she did. Sunset wasn't sure how long it was, but she held onto Rainbow, who never stopped holding onto her like her life depended on it. Perhaps it did. Sunset wasn't used to her normally prideful friend showing so much of an emotion that clashed with the person she usually was.
But eventually, Rainbow's grasp loosened. "I... I think I feel better."
"You sure?" Sunset wiped a tear away from under Rainbow's eye. "We can wait a bit longer if you feel you need it."
Rainbow shook her head. "No... but can I, maybe, have some of your snack?" She gave a hesitant smile. "Please?"
Sunset nodded. "Sure." She grabbed her sandwich from her bag and split it in half. "Here ya go."
Rainbow's eyes lit up with joy. She quickly devoured the sandwich and hugged Sunset. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome." Sunset hugged Rainbow back. Although she knew she'd been hungry, it still surprised her to see her friend devour the sandwich that quickly. She broke the hug and quickly ate her own half. Once she'd finished, she stood up and stretched. "Alright, where are we headed next?"
"Well, there's a door over there." Rainbow said. She stood up and stretched before walking over to it.
Creeeak...
"Hey, Sunset! I found the basement."
Sunset walked over. "You... you really wanna go down there?"
"Heck yeah!" Rainbow pointed her flashlight down. It was dark.
"Rainbow, I can't see anything."
Really dark.
"Oh… I forgot to turn the flashlight on." Rainbow flicked it on and shined it down. "Hmmm... oh, there's a TV down there!" She took a step forward.
Sunset grabbed Rainbow's collar, yanking her back. "Notice anything else?"
Rainbow shone her flashlight around until they landed on the part right after the doorway. "Oh... there’s no steps."
Sunset nodded. "Now, can I get a ‘thank you’?"
Rainbow walked away and grabbed a rope. "Nope." She tied it to a pipe and threw it down into the basement. "You gonna join me, Sunny?"
Sunset looked at the pipe and then back at Rainbow. "I... think I'll stay up here."
"Aww. What's wrong?" Rainbow asked in a childish voice. "Someone scared?"
"That pipe looks like it'll break." Sunset deadpanned.
"Psh. You worry too much." Rainbow got in place and climbed down the rope.
Clang! Thud!
Sunset winced and looked down. "You okay?"
"Shut up..." Rainbow sat up and brushed herself off. "You coming down or what?"
"Mind getting some boxes for me?" Sunset asked. "I'm not in the mood to jump down. Looks like a long way to go."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure." She walked off and grabbed a few spare boxes she saw lying around, stacking them up one-by-one. "Here ya go. One makeshift staircase, my fair bacon head."
"Why thank you." Sunset replied sarcastically. She walked down and flicked on her flashlight. "So, this is the basement?" She looked around. The echo of water dripping was the only sound, save for Rainbow's heavy breathing. "I guess there's a fat person who lives down here or something..."
"Ha. Ha." Rainbow flicked Sunset's head. "Not my fault that I get exhausted after falling down."
Sunset flicked Rainbow back. “Well, you should work on that, or you may cost us a soccer game.” she said before walking ahead.
Rainbow pondered that for a brief moment before rolling her eyes and looking around a bit. “Geez, this place looks crappier than any of the rooms upstairs." she said to herself. She turned to catch up to Sunset, only to come face-to-face with a large spider. It hung from its web, its many eyes set solely on Rainbow, who jumped back in surprise. “Well, hello-” Rainbow stopped speaking when she noticed the build of the arachnid. Its legs were slender, like most of its body. It was also dark brown in color, which set off a warning siren in Rainbow’s head. She thought back to something that Fluttershy had once told her when she had seen a spider like this while she was staying overnight at her house.
Then it hit hit her. Hard.
“Oh… oh shitI” Rainbow mounvered around the spider and hightailed it over to Sunset, who jumped in surprise at her friends sudden panic.
“Is everything okay, Rainbow?” Sunset asked, more than a little concerned at her friends sudden change in behavior.
“There… there was a spider.” Rainbow said, her breathing heavy.
Sunset stifled a laugh. "Aw, is wittle Wainbow afraid of a common house spider?” she asked in a mocking tone.
Rainbow looked over at Sunset, who stood in front of a large spider web. “It wasn’t a common house spider.” she said. “It was a brown recluse!”
Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “You sure it was? Those things are always misidentified by people. Remember when Rarity thought she saw one in her house, but it turned out to be a regular old spider?”
“No, Sunset, I’m sure of it!” Rainbow protested. She went to speak again, only for something to catch her eye. She narrowed her eyes slightly and saw a spider descend down from its web land on top of Sunset’s shoulder. On it was a large egg sac, which made Rainbow cringe for a second before she realized the type of spider it was. “Well, I guess if you don’t believe me, you can ask the mommy what kind of spider she is.”
"W-What!?" Sunset looked around until her eyes landed on her new-found guest, which had happily made itself at home on her shoulder. She let out a shrill scream, took her jacket off and threw it to the floor. "Rainbow! K-Kill it! Please!"
Rainbow burst out laughing. She walked over to her friends jacket, only to see the spider skitter off into the darkness. "Oh..." She turned around to her friend, who was paler than the child that had made herself their tour guide for the mansion. "Um... well, it's at least gone?"
"Can you..." Sunset rubbed the back of her head and let out a nervous giggle. "Can you please make sure that it didn't leave any babies in—or on—my jacket? Pretty please?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes and picked up the jacket, shaking it, brushing it, and even blowing on it.
"Nope. No spiders, Sunset." She tossed it to her friend and smirked. "And I even checked for cockroaches while I was at it."
"How'd you do that?" Sunset asked as she put the jacket back on.
"I 'unno, I just wanted to sound extra nice there."
Sunset smiled. "Well, thanks, Rainbow." She hugged her friend, who hugged her back. After a brief embrace, the two continued onward, eventually ending up in a makeshift den that had a surprisingly intact bed, a television, and a small kitchen.
"Wow, this place actually looks... habitable." Sunset said. She examined the room, eventually settling on a stack of letters that rested on a wooden table that sat between the television and a beige-colored couch. She walked over to them and picked them up. "Oh..."
"What is it?" Rainbow asked from the kitchen. More specifically, from within the refrigerator.
"Come look at this." Sunset replied.
Rainbow groaned and walked over, grabbing the letters from Sunset. Her eyes widened as she read through the top one. “Hmm… so, Daddy poisoned Mommy with… Rat Poison.” She put the letters down. “Well, Daddy was a nice-sounding fellow.”
“Not gonna read the rest?” Sunset asked.
“No thanks, I've had my fair share of this fucked up family for one night.”
Sunset shrugged and sat down on the couch. The letters were exchanges between a man named Aaron, who she quickly deduced was the father of the child they'd seen. The letters started out innocent enough and spoke of a what seemed like an ideal life between him and his wife, Aurora. However, after less than a dozen letters, the tone changed. Aaron spoke of a woman named Valery, who he met at a bar. He mentioned how she promised him a better life than the one he had. A life where all of his wildest dreams and desires could come true.
Sunset felt a sense of unease grow inside of her. The letters devolved into mad ramblings; about how Valery was unfathomably sadistic to his family members and Aurora's. She verbally abused anyone and everyone, yet Aaron seemed content with it all. He repeatedly said that Valery only acted in their best interests and that she could help make everyone's dreams a reality if they simply did as she asked.
By the time Sunset had reached the final few letters, they'd devolved into incoherent ramblings about dreams, love, money, and sex. The handwriting on the final one was barely legible, leaving Sunset with a headache as she attempted to make heads or tails of what each word (let alone each letter) was. What she could make out was that Aaron had purchased a large amount of rat poison, just as Rainbow had mentioned. By the end of the letter, Aaron had strung together a random series of words that, put together, made no sense, which caused Sunset to place the letters back on the table and fall sideways onto the couch.
"What's wrong, Sunset?" Rainbow asked from the kitchen. "Family too screwed up for your liking?"
"No, it's just..." Sunset sat up and rubbed her head. A wave of emotions filled her, not the least of which was sadness. She tried to wrap her head around how one person could create so much strife in an entire family. She pursed her lips and took a deep, albeit shaky, breath. "Reading this was painful. That's all."
"Right." Rainbow walked around the counter and hopped beside Sunset. She grabbed the letters and flipped through them, her face changing from chipper to shock to anger. Before long, Rainbow threw the letters into the kitchen and stood up. "How could... how could someone do that!?"
Sunset grabbed her friends arm. "Calm down." she said in a soft voice, worried her friend may end up breaking something and invoking the wrath of a spirit they'd yet to meet.
Rainbow seethed with anger. The things she'd read made her blood boil. A woman who sewed an entire farmsteads worth of discord throughout a family of almost fifty people, all the while basking in it... it made her head spin. All the while, the patriarch and matriarch of the house were at each other's throats, day in and day out, neither of them willing to back down from who was in the right.
"That 'Daddy' is a real piece of work!"
As if on cue, a second hand grabbed a hold of Rainbow. This one was much smaller, and much paler, than Sunset's. It attempted to push her backwards, though it failed to do so. Despite that, the rest of the child manifested, a look of anger on her face.
"Daddy is not a piece of work!" She growled. "Daddy is a good man and you should know that! Daddy's problems were from that... that daughter of a horse!"
Sunset bit her lip at the unintentional insult to her race.
"Oh, Daddy was a good man, huh?" Rainbow asked sardonically. "If Daddy was such a good man, why'd he let Valery get to his head? Why'd he let her manipulate him so much that you and your mother had to live on just barely enough food from day to day?"
"W-Well, that wasn't-"
"Yeah, okay, sure, whatever." Rainbow interrupted. "If your dad was such a good man, why'd he slap your mother around like she was trash? Why did he talk trash to his own siblings and parents like they weren’t even people? Tell me and maybe I'll be consider that your dad was something more than a piece of human trash!"
The child looked up Rainbow. "My Daddy was a good man! He... he just... went through a very hard time and wasn't in control of his actions. It's the truth!"
Rainbow felt something inside her snap. She grit her teeth and clenched a fist. "Okay, kid, I'm sick of you defending this dude!" She flipped over the table and glared down at the child, a look of unbridled fury in her eyes. "How can you be so stupid that you cannot see that your father was a freaking monster!? I don't care if your dad wasn't 'in control'! He killed you and your mother! Are you telling that me that you can defend him for that?! That you can love him after that?!" Rainbow covered her face with her hands and let out an uneasy sigh. "None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for him. Had he just remained loyal to your mother and ignored this wretched bitch that you call 'Other Mommy'! Yet here I am, having to explain to you that the man you seem to be so hellbent on defending is the reason your family has spent over a century tortured at the hands of the woman that he brought into your life! Still feel like defending him?!"
"B-But-"
"Ah, okay, you-!" Rainbow threw her hands up into the air and slammed them onto the sides of her pants. "Come on kid, your dad never even mentioned you in those letters. Not once did he even acknowledge his own child's existence. When he said he had purchased that rat poison, he simply said that he'd put it in the food of his family. Are you still going to believe that your dad was a good man after that?!"
The child looked up at Rainbow. Her lower lip quivered slightly. "D-Daddy..." She fell silent and turned around. A whimper escaped her lips, which quickly grew into sobbing. Before either girl could say anything, she faded away as crying filled the air.
"Rainbow..."
Rainbow turned around, her face still red with anger. Her expression quickly softened as she saw Sunset, who looked less angry and more concerned.
Sunset stood up and walked over to her friend, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I understand that what you read upset you, but... you didn't have to go so far with what you said."
"Y-Yeah, but-"
"Rainbow." Sunset said in a much colder tone, which caught Rainbow off guard. "We agreed to help her and her family. Right now, we don't need to anger the spirits who don't want to turn us into their playthings." She brought her hand back down to her side. "Now, will you go apologize to her?"
"Yeah… Yeah, you’re right." Rainbow walked back the way they'd come, Sunset at her side. "What do we do about Aaron after all of this is done, though?"
"I'd rather let them decide. As far as we know, he's done nothing since they've become spirits." Sunset replied. She climbed back up the box staircase that Rainbow had made for her. "We have enough on our plate with Valery."
Rainbow remained silent for the rest of the walk. A short while later, they arrived outside the child's bedroom. From behind the door, they could hear faint sobbing.
Sunset knocked on the door, which made the sobbing cease. In its place was the sound of light footsteps, which grew (slightly) louder until the door opened.
"Oh..." The door slammed shut.
"We just want to talk!" Sunset said. "And... Rainbow wants to apologize."
Silence filled the air for several seconds until the door creaked open. "Does she?"
Sunset nodded. “So, may we come in?”
The child nodded slightly and opened the door. “Make yourselves at home.”
Both girls walked over to the mattress and sat on it, at which point Rainbow spoke up. “Look, sport, I… I lost my temper. I’m sorry. I… I can’t say that I understand what you’ve gone through.” She rubbed the back of her neck and took a deep breath. “But I never wanted to upset you. I’d never want to do that to anyone. You’re a great kid, and you’ve been the highlight of this entire night.”
The child shut the door and walked over and sat in front of the girls. “Daddy always wanted me to be proud of him. This mansion has been handed down from generation to generation. My great-great-great grandfather owned a brewery that became a monopoly. He’d always tell me, even on his worst nights, that I’d be the owner of the house one day. He’d always say ‘Laney, when you grow up to be big like daddy, you’ll call the shots around here, and everyone will listen to you’.” She buried her face into her hands and let out a sob. “You were right, Rainbow. It’s Daddy’s fault that this all happened. But I can’t be mad at him. Daddy was always the one who protected me from her. Any time that Other Mommy got mad at me, Daddy would always tell her to stop. Daddy never let anyone hurt me! It's why he didn't mention me in those letters. He didn’t do anything bad to me.”
Rainbow felt a pinch of guilt fill her. “I’m… sorry, Laney.” she said. “Why did Vale- I mean Other Mommy do what she did?”
“Other Mommy wanted the money that Daddy had. She’s a sanctimonious bitch. She saw Daddy for his wealth and became a leech. Even now, she feeds off of the remorse he exudes on a daily basis. She’ll always enter his room and bask in it. I’ve heard him cry entire nights while she dances around outside like she’s performing some sort of ritual.”
“So… if Daddy’s so remorseful, why did he do it?” Sunset asked.
“Other Mommy said that either he’d kill us or she’d kill us, along with him and the rest of the family.” Laney said. “But when Daddy poisoned us, Other Mommy poisoned his food too. When she hid our bodies in the attic, the family members who already lived here as spirits ripped her apart.”
Sunset and Rainbow cringed. “So... I take it they hid her body upstairs?”
“No.” Laney replied. “Nobody wanted to touch her body, so they let her rot in the attic.”
“Well, I can’t blame them.” Sunset remarked. “Was there any other reason that Daddy didn’t break up with Other Mommy? Or was she just that manipulative?”
“There was one thing that Daddy left out in those letters.” Laney said. “She always said that if he ever broke up with her, she would gut his sunshine like a pig and paint his room with her.”
“And why would he leave something like that out of the letters?” Rainbow asked. “Was he afraid nobody would believe him?”
“She said if he told anyone, she would do it.” Laney said. “He was too afraid to test her, which was probably for the best since she liked to remind him every other day about it. Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t snap and kill her. I guess he was too afraid of what her family may have been like.”
Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, if they were anything like she was, I can’t blame him.”
"Well, don't worry, Laney!" Rainbow said. "Valery ain't gonna do a thing to you so long as we're here. What do you say? How about you show us around the basement a bit more before we go kick your stepmother’s butt back to whatever part of Hell she crawled out of?"
Laney giggled. "Sure, that sounds like fun... but first." She stretched her arms out. "Can... can I have a hug?"
Sunset and Rainbow both smiled and stretched their arms out.
"Yay!" Lane stood up. "No, wait. Group hug!"
Sunset giggled and pull Rainbow close to her. "You aren't getting out of this one." she said.
"For once." Rainbow said, "I don't want to." She wrapped an arm around Sunset and gestured for Laney to come over, which she did.
"You two are the best sisters I never got to have." Laney said as she wrapped her arms around the girls. Despite the fact she patched through them slightly, the love and affection filled Sunset and Rainbow all the same.
"I can say the same to you." Sunset said, a smile on her face.
"Yeah, sport. You're alright." Rainbow added.
Laney broke away from the hug, her arms patching through both girls. "Well, want to go see the rest of the basement? I think Uncle Philip had some really awesome stuff down there!"
Both girls nodded. With that, the three of them made their way back to the kitchen where Laney remarked on something.
"You used Other Mommy's Halloween decorations as steps?"
"Uhh... she won't be mad, right?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh, if she finds out, she's going to probably rip your hands off." Laney said. "Oh well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing she's done to someone who's touched her stuff."
Rainbow let out a nervous laugh, which caught the attention of Sunset, who then elbowed her friend.
"Don't worry, Dash. We've got this." she said as confidently as possible. In the back of her mind, she prayed that Rainbow couldn't see through her facade.
Luckily, she didn't, as Rainbow nodded and walked alongside her down her makeshift staircase. Once they'd gone down it, Rainbow turned to Sunset and asked, "So, what would you rate this mansion in terms of appearance?"
"I'm not Rarity." Sunset replied.
"Well, think like her!"
Sunset thought for a second before she cleared her throat. "Well, darling, I must say that the floor is far too dirty, the decor is several decades out of style, the paintings simply aren't pristine enough, the beds lack any sort of cushioning, the lack of carpeting is an absolute travesty, and the raccoons are just awful!"
Rainbow burst out laughing, getting the attention of Laney. "What's her deal?"
"Let's just say we have a friend who would definitely upset Mommy. Big time." Sunset said with a giggle.
Rainbow stopped laughing and stood up. “Oh, that was really good.” she said. She walked over to Sunset’s side. "Bet you wouldn't have sex here." she whispered, causing Sunset blush with the intensity of a thousand stars.
"O-Of course I wouldn't!" Sunset said. "Why do you ask?"
"Eh, I bet Flash would love it here."
"Screw you, Rainbow..."
"I'm unsure as to who this 'Flash' person is that you two speak of, but I can assure you that he would not enjoy it here, lest Other Mommy opt to make him her new husband." Laney said. "Or... she might just kill him. I think it really depends on what side of the spectral bed she wakes up on."
Rainbow ignored Laney and opted to further tease Sunset. "Aw, does-"
"Say one more word, Rainbow, and I'm flicking your nose very hard."
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. "How do you flick har-"
"Shut up, please."
Rainbow let out a huff. "Well, excuse me for trying to keep the mood as joyful as possible. It isn't easy trying to be Pinkie Pie you know." She followed Laney back to the little room, Sunset trailing behind. Whether that was due to the thought about Flash Sentry becoming Valery's victim or the fact she remembered that two brown recluses were around, Rainbow wasn't sure. She leaned towards the latter, though.
"Well, this is Uncle Philip's room, as you two may or may not have already guessed." Laney turned around and held out her arms. "It's not much, but he was never exactly picky about where he lived. In fact, he'd once told Other Mommy that he'd sleep on the floor without a blanket."
"Do... do I dare ask why he offered to do that?" Sunset asked, an immense amount of hesitation in her voice.
"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing bad." Laney said reassuringly. "He just wanted Other Mommy to stop yelling about Daddy having to hire someone to make him a room. Uncle Philip was always Daddy's favorite brother. They did everything together. He was even his Best Man at his wedding!"
"Is that why he wrote the letters to Philip then?"
Laney nodded. "Mhm. Uncle Philip read them all the time. I think it drove him mad to see his closest friend and brother go crazy like that. He became a recluse and only went upstairs on holidays. He'd shower after everyone had gone to sleep. I don't know why. He never had that big of a beef with Other Mommy. He hated her, yes, but nothing she ever did to him bothered him as much as it bothered others. I think Daddy's change in personality killed him inside." She looked over to a large bookcase that rested on the far end of the room. "Come here. I can show you what we found after he died."
The two girls looked at one another before following Laney. Once they reached the bookcase, Laney moved it aside, revealing an enormous hole in the wall. "From time to time, we heard the sounds of hammering come from down here." Laney said. "Uncle Philip worked as a carpenter, so we always figured he was putting down a carpet." she said. "In hindsight, it was stupid we thought that, but in our defense: we lived with Other Mommy."
"So... what was Philip doing?" Rainbow asked curiously.
"After he died, which wasn't too long before I died, we found some notes that said that he thought there was gold down here."
Rainbow's eyes lit up. "Was there?"
"No, but he found a fossil of a Velociraptor according to one of the notes." Laney said. "He threw it out."
"Did he find anything else?" Sunset asked.
"Oil." the child deadpanned. "He drowned in it. He also almost burned the house down because he was smoking while he dug." The child let out a sigh. "Uncle Philip was an idiot... he's why Uncle Boris took up drinking."
"How'd Uncle Boris die?" Sunset asked.
"He died in the fire Uncle Philip started." Laney shook her head. "Uncle Boris' wife, Aunt Janet, didn't take it well. She took up the mantle of drinking heavily after he died."
Sunset cringed. "And I take it she-"
"She died drinking and driving a week later because she forgot you should drive sober."
"Well, I'm very sorry that you had to go through so much loss in such a short span of time." Sunset said. "It must have been very hard on your family."
"I appreciate your sympathy, but it hurt no more than what Other Mommy did on a daily basis." Laney replied. "Let alone an hourly basis."
"Yeesh." Rainbow looked over at the hole once more. It was tall; taller than her, which made her wonder how tall Uncle Philip himself was. It went on for quite some time. Exactly how long it must have taken Uncle Philip to make this, and where he got the resources to do this, baffled Rainbow. Coupled with the thought that someone was capable of driving someone else to the point they'd dig based on what she could only guess was the lurid thought of endless riches and all Rainbow could do was feel a deep sense of sadness.
"Um, Rainbow?" Sunset asked. "Are you okay?"
Rainbow shook her head. "Huh?" She looked around before fully snapping back into reality. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking."
"About what?" Laney asked. "You looked like you were going to cry."
"I did?" Rainbow rubbed her eyes. "Oh. Guess I had something in my eye."
"Sure you did." Sunset said, grinning. "Anyways, while you were thinking, I came up with a plan!"
"Great!" Rainbow cheered. "What is it?"
"Well, I was thinking; our geodes may be able to purge Other Mommy out of this world and banish her back to her hunky dory flat in Hell.”
"Sounds good to me!" Rainbow said. "Just one question: how exactly do we do that?"
"We... use our geodes," Sunset replied.
"No, like, how do we get her in place?"
"I'll explain when we get there." Sunset replied. "For now, let's get going before day breaks."
"The sun doesn't rise for another-"
"Listen, let's just get this over with. The longer we stall, the more time she has to prepare for us!" Sunset interrupted. "Now, where's Other Mommy?"
“Third floor.” the child replied, which resulted in an audible groan from both girls. “Quit being a bunch of babies. It’s that or death, and I doubt either of you will die from walking.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have quite the smart mouth?” Rainbow asked. “Because you have one that’s bigger than mine…”
“Years of endless torment does that to you.” the child said. “Now come on. Let me bring you two to where Queen Bitch is.”
Sunset and Rainbow both sighed, both knowing full well that when all was said and done, their feet were going to hurt like hell.
And then some.
“Don’t worry, Rainbow.” Sunset said. “When all of this is over, we can take a nice trip to the spa.”
Rainbow’s eye twitched involuntarily, only to stop a moment later. For the first time in her life, a trip to the spa sounded… great. “Alright, cool.” With that, the two—and the ghostly child—began their journey to the room at the end of the hallway.