//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Phantom's Story // Story: Seven Ponies, Seven Trials, Seven Loves // by Lieutenant Bubbles //------------------------------// Part One Chapter Five: Phantom’s Story XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Twilight pawed nervously at the floor of the library as she began her explanation. She was good with words, but she didn’t like to lie, she just didn’t see any other way to tell Phantom what had happened without getting herself and all her friends in trouble with him. So she closed the book and began. “Well, Phantom, it seems that somepony cast a spell that went a little wrong.” Phantom looked at Twilight as if he’d been expecting something like this, even though he hadn’t, it was Fluttershy who cocked her head and looked rather startled. “It seems that a kind of spell designed to look for ponies may have been messed up, and instead gone after other species too.” Phantom nodded at this, not entirely sure of what to make of this. He thought for a moment as Twilight appeared to do the same. He opened his mouth, about to speak but Twilight beat him to the punch. “So because this spell didn’t go off exactly like it was supposed to, instead of searching and finding some type of pony in Equestria, it appears that the spell sought out the perfect match for the requirements given to it and brought them here.” Phantom raised a hoof to politely ask Twilight to stop. “So, because I meet somepony’s requirement for whatever, I was brought here?” Phantom missed Fluttershy’s slight blush, and didn’t notice Twilight’s guilty look. Twilight just nodded, apparently not wanting to interrupt him. “Okay, so that tells me why and how I’m here, but not if I could be sent back…” “Well, unless we know exactly which spell was used we can’t say for sure, but I have a feeling that it shouldn’t be a problem.” Phantom was slightly relieved. Sure there might still be a chance but it was apparently slim. He thought of one more question that he just felt he should ask. “So is there any way to maybe… Find out this spell that brought me here or the reason that I was?” Twilight almost visibly blanched at that, and Fluttershy looked rather embarrassed. Twilight thought hard for a moment, and suddenly came up with an Idea that would keep Phantom occupied and give her a chance to talk to Fluttershy alone. “There might be, can you write?” Phantom nodded, having worked hard at the hospital to learn. “Okay, well then I’d like you to write down the things about you that made you unique in your world while I talk to Fluttershy for a moment.” A quill and parchment floated down to rest on a table not too far from him. Phantom paled slightly, not wanting to think of his old life anymore. Not after such a wonderful night. But still, his curiosity piqued, he started to write, thinking hard. As he wrote, Twilight motioned for Fluttershy to join her in the next room. Fluttershy was almost visibly relieved and with a quick glance back at Phantom, trotted off to join Twilight. As soon as the door closed Twilight started talking. “So, I was doing some more research on the spell. I think you’ve noticed but Heart and Hooves day has already passed and we haven’t found our special someponies yet. “ Fluttershy nodded, waiting to see where this was going. “Well, I didn’t read it quite well enough, and I made some assumptions, but I was wrong. The way it was worded is slightly confusing, but what it really means when it said next is not the first one coming after the spell, but the second.” There was a moments silence following that. “So, you mean we will still be able to find our special someponies?” Fluttershy asked excitedly. Twilight nodded and began to speculate with Fluttershy about whose special somepony Phantom might be. Twilight didn’t say it directly, but she had an inkling who it was. At the same time she also wondered if Phantom had been wrenched from another world because of their spell, who else might have been? She’d explain the complicated parts of how their spell had been changed unexpectedly to all the girls at the same time, she didn’t want to overcomplicate things this evening, and she still felt a little bad for pulling Phantom and Fluttershy apart when it was so obvious that they liked each other. Their girl time was very suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door. Twilight opened it with barely any effort using her magic, and there stood Phantom, looking down at the floor sheepishly. “I um…. I finished.” His voice was so quiet you could easily have missed what he said. Even Fluttershy’s embarrassed voice had more power than that. “Oh, that’s great,” Twilight said brightly, stepping back out into the main room of the library, Fluttershy close on her heels, anxious to get back out. Twilight maneuvered her way over to the table where Phantom’s hard work of the past few minutes stood. There was only one word written on the parchment. Scars. Phantom looked over at Twilight as she read the one word list. He’d really tried hard to find the things that made him unique. He’d just lived such an unremarkable life, and was such an ordinary person that he didn’t really do anything or know anyone that would make him remarkable; Just the scars that he thankfully did not have in Equestria. Fluttershy walked slowly and tentatively alongside Phantom, her sense that somepony was upset tingling. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t have to, his discomfort and pain were written clearly across his face for everypony to read. Fluttershy didn’t want to intrude in Phantom’s private matters but she also didn’t like seeing her new friend so upset. “Phantom, you’ve only written one word,” Twilight said concernedly. Perhaps it was that she was afraid that that was all he knew how to write, or perhaps it was that she was genuinely concerned, Phantom didn’t know either way, but what he did know was that he couldn’t hide something that still affected him like this in this world, even if he had apparently been given a new start on life. He’d just have to make his peace with the past and move on. It wasn’t something he wanted to do, but rather something that he needed to do. “Yeah, I know…” As he made up his mind what it was he would have to do, his voice still came across quietly. He took a deep breath and placed his hooves apart to steady himself. He wasn’t ready to do this, he couldn’t do this, he wasn’t sure at all that this had ever been a good idea. “If you don’t mind me asking, how do scars make you unique?” Twilight looked at Phantom, a look of curiosity upon her face. Fluttershy, still quiet, still nervous, edged closer to Phantom; subconsciously sensing his need for support at this moment. “Umm… I’d like to know too… that is if you don’t mind…” Fluttershy’s voice trailed off as she continued with her apologetic way of speaking. Phantom realized how close she’d come to him, and he thought for a moment. Both of these unusually kind ponies were asking him about his most upsetting and horrifying memory. He needed to get it out there, to know that the ponies here would not reject him because of what had happened like everyone on Earth, but he still didn’t feel like he could. Phantom took a deep breath and hung his head, still in thought. Twilight might need the information to help him make sure he never went back to earth, and Fluttershy… Well, Fluttershy deserved to know the truth. In all reality, if it wasn’t for her, he might never have gotten out of that party alive, or at the very least sane. All of that versus his utter horror at those memories, the things he wished he could forget being drudged up back to the surface. It wasn’t going to be an easy choice. He took one look at the curious face of Twilight, and the mixture of curiosity/worry on Fluttershy’s and made his decision. “It’s kind of a long story, but if you have the time, I’ll tell you. Just…. Please don’t stop me until I’m done.” Both Twilight and Fluttershy nodded and sat down on their haunches, waiting patiently for Phantom to tell his tale. ”Remember first of all that this took place in another world, where a lot of the things are going to be strange to you, and I’ll explain about what I can after I’m done if you want to know, but first I’ll explain why scars are what made me unique. I don’t have them here, but I used to be almost covered in scars. My right side, my right arm and leg, my hand and most of the right side of my face were scarred. And not the you got cut bad kind of scar, the ‘something really traumatic must have happened’ kind of scar. I was blind in my right eye, and the few exposed parts of my scars were leathery to say the least. I used to work for a theater, and for years hid the fact that I was blind, but I couldn’t hide my scars. I started wearing a mask to hide the ones on my face, trying to guarantee that nobody would ask me about them. I didn’t want to remember what happened the night I’d gotten burned….” Phantom stopped, taking a deep breath before he continued. The memories of that horrid night flew through his mind, and as tears began to well in his eyes, he continued. ”I had worked at another theater before the one that had fired me before I got here. It was actually the first theater I had ever worked at. It wasn’t the most up to date theater ever, and It needed some work, but it was still a lovely place. My coworkers were all great people and I had never been happier in my life. But one night, something went wrong. At the time, I didn't know what happened, but during the final show of the summer, a fire broke out above the stage, high up in the rafters. There was so much dust that it spread quickly, there was almost no way to contain it.” Phantom began to shake silently as the tears that had filled his eyes started slipping down his face, a fact that did not escape Fluttershy or Twilight’s notice. ”I was up in the catwalks, which is a kind of walkway above where the audience sits, and when the fire broke out, I was tasked with keeping the audience calm through announcements. I kept telling them to remain calm and exit in an orderly fashion, all the usual messages given when something goes horribly wrong. Only where I was, which was the control booth, was also evacuated. I stayed because I had to. Somebody needed to keep the announcements running. I stayed there, watching the fire become more and more involved until the message got to me that everyone was out, and to get out of there myself.” Phantom slid lower and lower to the ground as he continued his story, no longer standing, but rather now in an odd kneeling position, the tears flowing freely from his eyes. As he paused for breath, another sudden shudder went through him. He’d already lied, but he didn’t want them to know that the fire had been his fault, that he stayed there because he’d already felt guilty for letting it happen. Fluttershy, being ever the kind pony that she was, slowly walked over to him, and sitting next to him, draped her wing over him in a gesture of comfort. Phantom looked over at her, taking a moment to see the concern and sadness on her own face, and he hoped that his story wasn’t upsetting her. It was odd, but even though they’d barely known each other, he counted her amongst his few friends. As he prepared to continue his story a sob wracked his body, his tears flowing faster and his voice cracking on the words of a story that he had never before told anyone. ”I left… I left the control room, making my way towards the exit when I heard someone screaming for help. It was a voice that I knew all too well, because that voice belonged…. Belonged to the girl that I cared for. I stopped and looked around to see where she was. And….” Another pause as sobs tear through Phantom, his ability for self control forgotten. He was fully sitting now, his left hoof rubbing unconsciously at the spot where the scars on his right wrist would have been. Fluttershy felt horrible for him, not knowing how this story would end, and even though she didn’t understand some of the terms he was using, she knew that his had to be something hard for him to do. After another shuddering breath, Phantom steeled his resolve and continued his story, determined to finish it. If he could start this story, the least he could do was to finish it. Her name was Alex. And she was… was trapped on the stage. She had a part in the show, and must have been helping people get out of the theater safely, but now she was trapped by the burning curtains and the now flaming debris falling from the ceiling… I tried to get to her. I ran down the stairs to the door of the stage. I didn’t think about how dangerous it was.. I… I… I just wanted to see her safe. I got through the door just in time to be hit by a burning curtain as it fell. It covered my right side, and the hanging pieces knocked me out. When I came to, I was on my way to a hospital, badly burned, and nobody expected me to live. It wasn’t until a week later that I found out what had happened to Alex and what had caused the fire. Alex died on that stage… Not… not five feet from where I fell… and it turned out the fire… was.. was… was my fault. A faulty light was positioned too close to a curtain, and set it on fire… the light was one that I’d put up… that I was supposed to have checked… but I was lazy, and I rushed and….” With that Phantom’s story came to a close as he curled up into a little ball under Fluttershy’s wing, tears streaming down his face as he burned with the shame and horror at those memories. Twilight was the one who put it together first. “So the scars you wrote about were the scars from that fire.” Her voice was quiet and gentle, and for once Twilight seemed almost ashamed of having knowledge. The tears that had slowly slipped down her face were drying, but she could see how upsetting it could be for anypony to go through what he’d gone through. Fluttershy still cried slowly, tears slipping one by one down her face, a look of incredible determination on her face. She slowly pulled her wing back, not to startle Phantom, not to pull away from him, but rather to face him. Phantom didn’t even notice. He was calming down, having never really let go of the pain, and was just starting to recover. He heard Twilight speak in the background, but wasn’t at all aware of what she said. It wasn’t until Fluttershy spoke that he really snapped back to reality. And when Fluttershy spoke, her words would rock his very world.