//------------------------------// // Act I (Marley's Warning) Pt II // Story: Hearths Warming: Scrooge // by Daxisle //------------------------------// Act I Pt II Scrooge stumbled up the short, stone stairs up to his danky and run down little house. He didn't need much, no point in wasting money on fixing a building he didn't see as broken. Staggering in and locking the door behind him, the half drunken stallion took a breath and looked around his home. The curtains lay with multiple tares against the aged and chipped walls with a cracked floorboards strewn about and a small table that looked ready to crumble at any moment standing before a comically heightened chair in front of the fire place. Feeling relived to be home, Sin wondered over to the kitchen, retrieved a bag of oats from the pantry and began making his porridge for the evening. Poring the water he'd gathered from the winter precipitation, the concoction of "nourishment" finally came to edibility and he quickly brought over the bowl to the rickety table and set it down to cool. All through out the meal, Scrooge constantly cursed the small draft that carried through the livingroom. It was particularly bad this night, even offering a small wisp of noise to accompany the cold gust that assaulted his coat. As he took the first sip, the warmth of the soup gave instant relief to the cold. Finally, he relaxed a bit and gave up fighting on thinking about the shop keep he'd seen. Those eyes, he knew those eyes, and to call him partner? How could such a coincidence be possible? But that had to be all it was, right? That and the alcohol. Marley hated the holidays just as much as he did, so thinking about his late partner in the banking industry was only natural. He finished the stew quickly and grumbled as he made way for his bedroom. The clock in the living room struck, making him jump lightly, for twelve clear and powerful dings. 'Midnight, already?' Wow, he must have been at the office longer than he thought. Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose. He donned his night wear apparel and took in his tattered and run down four corner post bead. The once lustrous darkened wood had long lost it's shine with small chips missing from the frame. The ripped and torn sheets faired little better, making the effort of pulling them on all but a useless gesture in terms of trapping body heat. Still, the stallion managed. As Scrooge nestled into bed and laid his tired and drunken head to sleep, a small thought crept into his mind that gave him a small smile. He may have been cold, but that pony he bought the carrot from was in a worse predicament. 'Yea, I may have a it a bit bad, but at least I'm not out selling vegitation at Twelve in... the... morning.' It didn't really dawn until just now how uncharacteristic it was to find a stall open so late. Yes, venders were known to keep shop as late as 8'oclock, but midnight? That was more than just abnormal. Crash, Sin bolted up and looked to left corner of the room. "What in Tartarus?" He complained as he stood from his bed and made way to the commotion. He froze as his eyes fell upon the small and shattered ceramic pot, pieces of white and dark blue scattered from the more intact hunk in the corner. "What?" He asked tilting his head and taking a cautious step closer. 'I don't remember ever having a tea pot like this." A sudden, matalic slinking suddenly caught the stallion's attention with a gasp. It was quick, like a sudden falling of chain from down stairs. Someone was in his house. Quickly, Sin darted to the other side of his bead and took up a small crossbow he'd aquired for just such an occasion. All the money in the world wouldn't do him any good if some lowlife could just waltz right in and take it, right? He cautiosly pushed the door to his room open and peered into the stairway outside. He couldn't make out anything other than the darkened hallways and floor boreds. He tiptoed out of the room and down the way to inspect the restroom and then the closet before going down stairs. With very step he took, a small, tingling sensation in his back of his shoulders grew, radiating to a sickly feeling in his stomach. He wasn't sure why, but what ever the feeling was, he knew it wasn't good. Like looking upon two trains about to collide full force, killing hundreds of passengers on board! Or worse, watching a bit go into a storm drain. He continued to inspect the down stairs, being as methodical as possible with his search. Every rug went over turned, every cubored opened, and ever pan closet went over with a fine toothed comb. Still, he couldn't find anything. 'hmm, must have been the draft.' He supposed, the uneasy feeling in his back subsiding a little. It came back in full force as he heard a distingishing, metal thud from behind him. He jolted around and held his crossbow at the ready. Another thud, he looked to the stairs. "Show yourself!" Another thud, this one getting closer. Sin took a breath and steadied his arm, another thud, this one right in front of him. A glint of moonlight caught the small object as it bounced down the stairs and landed at his feet, causing the stallion too look in skeptical bewilderment. A bit? Indeed it was! A free bit delivering itself just for him! Sin's greed instantly superceeded his fear and he went to pick up the coin. "Hello, my friend." He smiled happily, the empty joy of materialism taking him. "Where have you been hiding?" 'probably stuck in the top stair, maybe if I rattle around more, more money will come out!' It was a neat idea, while he was very careful with his bits, even he has let a few slip from his grip from time to time. He inspected the golden marvel for a moment then suddenly dropped it in horror and recoild. There, on the tails side was the abnormal chain of bit signs! "Where are you?" Sin spat, his eyes shooting about wildly, "Oh I see, like to play terrorize the old stallion, eh? Heh, alright; let's see what you've got." Silence. Scrooge licked his lips, his heaving chest some how gaining less oxygen than if he was breathing normally. Looks like all those years of smoking in primary school were finally catching up with him. A sudden whisper caused Sin's ear to twitch. He strained his ears for it again, it wasn't the wind, it was a word. There it was again, but he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Closing his eyes and putting his ears on overdrive, the stallion took a breath and waited. And waited, and waited, but nothing came. Finally he let out a sigh, he was tired. He was tired, still a bit drunk and hearing small whispers from a draft. That was it. He didn't remember the tea pot, but he had plenty of things he didn't remember having. The bit was probably knocked loose from top stair and the clanking and whispering were probably just the draft knocking some things over. Sin chuckled at his own stupidity and slowly opened his eyes. His smile faded instantly, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates while his pupils and retinas constricted. "Boo." He jumped backwards and toppled onto the table, smashing it under his weight. There, slightly greyer than he remembered, translucent, and wrapped in dark chains stood his late dragon partner from years ago. Sin was in shock and terror, both in the matter of seeing a long dead friend and the fact he was a... No, no enough of this. He's not a ghost, this is just a bad hallucination! Curse that vendor, he must have laced the carrot with something! Yea, that's why this was happening! It's all just a really bad trip, or a bad dream. "Hey Sin... You alright?" Marley asked, peaking over. Scrooge took a breath and righted himself. "Yes, I uh... I'm fine." he lied, pushing himself upright. Now he was that he was convinced it was a dream, he decided to play along. He hadn't spoken to Marley in years! Might as well see what the old bastard was up to. "You could have just knocked at the door, you know." This response confused the drake for a moment. "Knocked at the door? I'm a ghost, dude." Sin scoffed and chuckled. "Yes, yes you are. A ghost in my dreams." Taking in the sight of his old partner again filled the pony with a bit of nostalgia. Marley had been the only being in the world who'd ever understood him worth a lick. Aside from the lighter grey tint, the dragon looked just like the last time the two spoke. Tall and lanky with spines slicked back going down all the way to the tip of his tail. Any doubt that it was a ghost was relieved the moment Sin realized the bolt from his bow had accidentally discharged and lay on the wall directly behind the spirit. Marley crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Oh c'mon, you think this is a dream?" Sin gave his friend a dead pan before going through the notes of improbability that ghosts were real. "Alright," the dragon smirked, exposing his claws. "If this were a dream, than you wouldn't feel this!" He launched at his friend, striking his face with a single claw. "Ouch! Why the living- ouch?" Scrooge repeated as he rubbed his hoof upon his face, realization suddenly dawning. You're not supposed to feel pain in dreams... which meant... "No..." Sin took a step back. "No, this can't be... you can't be-" "Oh yea," Marley smirked, nodding his head. Sin went over the options in his head, cognitive dissonance kicking into overdrive. Ghost weren't real, but here one stood before him, of his old partner no less! How is that possible? Spirits actually exist? No, spirits do exist! Well, there is still the possibility of the carrot being laced with something. No, he'd be staggering around ready to throw up by now if it was powerful enough to give this kind of a bad hallucination. Alright, what to do... Option A) Run like hell. Option B) Shrug and go back to bed and Option C) See what he wanted. The first one sounded like the best, but if the ghost chased him down, then what? He tried shooting it with a cross bow and that went right through him! And Marley had displayed he was more than capable of doing harm to the living. B would probably end the same way. Guess the only course of action was to see what he wanted. Sin tried to speak as casually as possible, but stuttering and pauses were anything but irrelevant to one such as Marley. The old bastard was a shark when it came to gauging confidence, he knew just how to exploit and put pressure if he sensed a weak will. "Sound off like you've got a pair!" Spike barked, making Sin jump. "Whatdoyouwantfromme?!" "That's better," Smiling, the dragon nodded before his smirk faded, donning a deeper and more serious expression. "I've come to warn you about the fate that awaits should you continue of the path of greed you've chosen." Sin nodded in understanding. Marley slowly wrapped his claws around the chains that bound his body. "These, Scrooge, are the chains of my own greed. Forever binding me to this earth for the rest of eternity, a due punishment for a lifetime of unsatisfiable want and claim." He pulled the chains forward and pulled a safe, easily three times the size of Sin, screeching across the floor. "Forever and all time," he paused, the dragon's manner suddenly turning to despair. "I shall carry this burden I made for myself in life." "Why?" Spike's mouth gaped, as if he'd just heard the stupidest thing in the world. "What do you mean: why? Because I was a greedy bastard, that's why!" "Yea, you said that, but why do you have to carry those chains?" Sin asked slowly. "Basically, I'm asking who forced you to do it?" Spike was about to answer but lost his voice at the last moment. His face scrunched up in thoughtful determination as he put his claw to his chin. After a few minutes to think the answer over, he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "you know, I'm not really sure how this happened." Sin furrowed his brow "Well, did you speak to a higher power?" "Naw, I just got a note." Sin quirked a brow. "A note?" "Yea, it pretty much said what I just told you." Marley shrugged, his chains rattling a bit. Sin frowned in attempted comprehension. "Well, that seems a tad rude. You get sentenced to eternity in chains and all you get is a note about it?" "I know, right!" Marley exclaimed, happy to finally be understood. "I was a little frustrated for the first few months but after that, the world just kinda went numb, ya know?" Sin nodded in empathy, could one empathize with a ghost? "Yea, so there's a spirit after all, huh? Weird, I thought we all just lost our consciousness." He paused an thought for a moment. "Wait, does that mean ponies also go to Tartarus too?" "Ooooh yea." The drake nodded matter of factly. Sin held out his hoof. "Hold on, this is what I have to look forward to when I die, right? Just being shackled in chains and numb for the rest of eternity?" "If you don't change your ways." Marley nodded again. Letting a huge sigh of relief go, Sin thanked Celestia for his luck. When he caught the questioning look of the specter before him, he explained why such a fate was actually a far cry from what he'd feared. "Tartarus is full of burning souls. The worst I'll have is wondering the earth with chains and feeling numb! C'mon, that's an easy choice!" Marley thought about that for a moment. Yea, his consciousness in it's current form wasn't exactly fulfilling or happy, but at least he wasn't burning for eternity. Suddenly he smacked his claw to his face. "Gah, that's not the point! You're supposed to strive for something better than this!" Considering the option for a moment, Sin shrugged and inquired about the alternatives and what was necessary to get them. To this Marley also found himself at a loss, literally he knew nothing other than what fate he'd been stuck with and witnessing the souls of other ponies being taken to Tartarus. That was it. "So... you don't even know if there is a better place?" From the evidence presented, anecdotal though it may be, it seemed there were only two known options to choose from. And the decision wasn't a hard one. "Alright, you know what? That isn't even the point. I've come here to warn you that you'll be haunted by three spirits tonight." "Are they all as illogical as you?" Spike dead panned. "Yea, I'm gonna go now." "Aw come on Marley, don't get your chains in a knot." Sin withheld the urge to laugh at his own joke, and approached his friend. "I mean, is it really that bad? You could be burning in eternal damnation right now, left to suffer in fire for the rest of existence; for Celestia's sake! Instead, you get to wonder the earth forever and observe the future of the pony race and be undisturbed during the process!" "Knowing you, that sounds like your paradise, not punishment." Marley looked back at his friend with contempt. "You think I enjoy this? My drive and thirst for knowledge died with me, Scrooge! I don't want to learn or gain wisdom anymore you fool!" He roared. Sin took a step back from the sudden and angry out lash. Had death truly changed Marley that much? As long as he'd known the dragon, money and knowledge were the only things that ever mattered to him, and here he could have an eternity of both! Why wasn't he happy? "All I want to do now is rest in peace." He tugged at his chain, "and spare you from the same fate I suffer through." Sin didn't know what to say. It did pain him to see his friend like this, but the torture made no sense! Marley never hurt anypony, he'd never stolen and since when did a pony wanting to keep what they've earned become a crime anyway? The dragon had done nothing to deserve this kind of suffering. The clock bell tolled again, one 1'oclock. With a heavy sigh, Marley spoke again. "My time with you is done, old friend." He turned, offering one last sad smile. "I hope you take heart to what the future has to show." And with that, the apparition slowly faded until he'd completely vanished, leaving Scrooge standing alone in his living room with not but the ticking of his old clock for company. Questions swimmed through his mind, what had Marley done to deserve this fate? Was there alternatives to that or Tartarus? Who was the one who bestowed such misery, and most importantly, what was it that the one who sent him thought he needed to change and why? In hind sight, perhaps it would have been better to ask as to why his greed was bad instead of about the chains, all well. If his guess was right, he'd have plenty more ghosts to talk to about it.