Ruby was a ghost. That didn't stop her from having morals though, just made it hard to convince others that she was doing things for their own good. So, given that, she'd decided fear was the easier way to achieve her goal. It had worked so far and she intended to make it work from here on in.
“Don’t go any further.”
Ruby stared at the creature to which she had spoken, a large biped in a black cloak that had stumbled through the Everfree until eventually coming here. She’d been watching him. She’d let go of her invisibility when it was clear he intended to enter the village. She wasn’t going to let another pony go in there as long as she could do something. She owed the world that at least.
It turned to face her, a slight look of surprise on it’s face, no doubt from her sudden appearance. Instead of the questions she thoroughly expected, questions she couldn’t blame anyone for having, she got something else.
“You follow me for the past three hours and only now you’re talking?” He said, confusion holding onto his tone. “Why not tell me to stay away earlier?” Credit to him, despite his questions and apparent doubt, he did stop his trek as per Ruby’s request.
Ruby didn’t know how he knew she’d been following him, but stranger things had happened. No, at the moment the most important thing was to make sure he didn’t go any further in his current direction. That was all she lived for.
Well, figuratively speaking.
“If I’d known you could see me I would’ve, A guardian is much scarier than a random ghost in the Everfree. For all I know I might’ve scared you into the village instead of scaring you away.” Her eyes stayed on the thing… Something was different about it. Aside from the obvious form, there was something else, deeper in, that was different from the other ponies who found themselves lost in the thick unforgiving trees of this forest.
“Oh, there’s a village?” He ignored the rest of her words. “Huh. I suspected it was simply a magical binding. Maybe put in place by a mage to keep an undead army in check. A village though?” He tapped his chin. “That’s new…” Slowly his eyes swiveled from a thoughtful upward gaze and back towards Ruby. “How aware are you that you’re dead by the way? I mean, obviously slightly, but to what extent?”
Her eyes narrowed. He seemed to know more about her position than he was letting on. Not to mention the simple fact that he was completely unshaken by the transparent filly with glowing eyes and a voice that seemed to pass through the bones. Blonde mane and white coat included, she liked to think she was rather scary. He was also exceptionally rude and inconsiderate. “My corpse is in a fire place in the village. I’ve been dead for several years now.”
“So… very aware then? Explains why you can’t leave this forest though...” He tapped his chin again. “Well that leaves you two choices then, since you're obviously a benevolent spirit. I intend to exorcise this town of all it’s nightmarish residents. So,” He held out his hand, pointer finger stretched skyward. “One. I destroy your body and let you roam the world as you please, so long as you remain benevolent. Or,” He raised his second finger into the air. “Two. I free your soul from this mortal plane and let you continue on into the afterlife.”
He waited in silence. Ruby merely stood there in shock. Who did this mortal think he was? He was certainly crazy. She’d been convinced by two separate ‘exorcists’ in her time here, both had boasted exceptional credentials. Neither had gotten so far as the second house in before losing their lives. They were simply too strong and rooted in the world to be dispatched. The only hope was to contain them.
Of course, it hurt her to admit this. They’d been her friends not so long ago… even if they had killed her. Nothing could be done though, She’d learned that as time after time people died to them. Warriors, Spiritualists, Mages. None stood a chance. “I’ll let you think about it then, I need to clear the town first anyway.”
Ruby was shocked from her thoughts, she hadn’t even noticed him turning away. She COULDN’T let him go! The essences of death began to wrap around her hooves. She glared at the thing and raised onto her hind legs. The energy flowed together, drawn to itself, and formed a large swirling orb of transparent white. She leaned back for a moment before tossing it forward with all her strength.
It flew through the air, straight and true, only after launching it did Ruby realize what she had done. She hadn’t meant to. She’d simply lost control… “Watch out!” She called, wanting him to dodge it, something, she didn’t want another death on her conscience, she pleaded internally that he’d move, run, something. Instead, he raised a hand and without breaking step or slowing down, pointed off to the side. The ball immediately darted in the direction he’d indicated, hitting a tree and dissipating in a puff of energy.
He put his hand back into the pocket of his cloak and continued, as if nothing had happened at all. Ruby, still in shock at what she had done and how easily he had detoured it, stayed behind stock still for several moments before suddenly catching traction and dashing after the strange creature, both in fear and anticipation for all the possible directions that events might go from here.
As soon as he entered the town, he looked at the green happy world he seemed to have stumbled into. He frowned and moved his hand in front of his eyes, as if wiping something from a white board. The grass melted away to rotting brown, the sky became overshadowed by black clouds and, most importantly, the forms of the various citizens of the village dissolved into towering black forms of death and nightmares. They didn’t seem aware that their disguises were gone yet.
“Do you know their names?” He asked over his shoulder to Ruby, somehow knowing she was only a few steps behind him. His tone was sad and his eyes looked dead now, a stark contrast to how… full… they had seemed before. Like a man who watched his children die.
“Most of them, why?”
“It’ll make it easier.” He said idly as he began to step into the town. He took a white glove from his pocket and slipped it over his skin. Clenching and unclenching the hand as if to make sure it was still functional. “Make sure to tell me the name of the one I have pinned, it’ll make it more painless for all of us.” As he walked into the town, Ruby noticed a strange insignia detailed into the back of the glove, she couldn’t quite make it out though, it seemed like it was always changing, though that simply could have been the movement of the biped at play.
“Welcome to -” The first one greeted, it’s voice grating and rough. Before it could finish it’s phrase though, it had a hand wrapped tightly around it’s neck. The biped’s sudden momentum took the monster to the ground and trapped it under an impossible weight. The biped merely glanced at Ruby before she remembered her role.
“Grey Hoof.” She blurted hurriedly. He’d been the one to order her murder, If she had a grudge against any of the ‘ponies’ here, it was him. She watched as he tighted his grip on the struggling Grey Hoof, then, he let go. The black creature stayed on the ground, as if out of breath. It’s skin began to turn white and fleck off.
A white light burned through the clouds and hit the monster, causing it to hiss loudly. The strange biped let this light dance over the skin of the creature for a moment. Then, he spoke. “Grey Hoof.” The light died away and the form went still. In a sudden flash of light the body disappeared. “May you find whatever joy there is to be had on the other side.” He stood there, by the empty space for a moment longer, as if in contemplation, but was forced from his thoughts as the village began an all out attack. Two of the creatures charged him, but one was suddenly tackled away by another black form.
The biped seemed slightly distracted by this unexpected help, but only for a moment. He sidestepped the tackle from the dark creature, then spun and grabbed it’s throat with the gloved hand. Shards of white shot through the skin on such a rough impact. He looked expectantly at Ruby, but no words were forth coming. She looked at the biped hopelessly, she couldn’t think who it was. It might’ve been Three Leaf, but she didn’t know for sure, and she didn’t want to see what happened if she were wrong.
Panic shot through Ruby’s mind as she tried to think how to know for sure, but she only came up empty time and time again, she looked helplessly at the one who was trying so hard to fix everything, she wanted to apologize for being so useless, but she didn’t have the opportunity to voice those words.
A sharp crack broke the air and the black creature collapsed the ground, it’s head thoroughly separated from it’s body by a clean white slice. That originated from where it had been gripped by the glove. It disappeared in a flash of white as well, but this time accompanied by a sickening guttural roar of pain. It tore at Ruby and she suddenly felt extremely sick. She felt extremely sick at the prospect of what might’ve just happened. “They’re fine.” Came to words from the biped. “The pain is over.”
She wasn’t sure why, but these words brought great comfort to Ruby.
She watched, slightly uneasy as he repeated the process with each of the creatures, one at a time, the singular black monster helping to hinder group attacks, allowing him to take the situation at his own pace. One by one, each aggresive monster was freed from their torture, and allowed to move on from this cursed place. One by one, until all that was left was the one who had assisted them the whole way.
The biped looked at her, a half smile on his face that only barely covered up the confusion that was clear in his eyes. “Mitta.” Ruby said. She knew it was, it couldn’t be anyone else. The one who most deserved to go in peace.
“Ruby.” Came the sore words that scratched out of the things throat. “I’m so sorry…”
The biped glanced between the two, each one completely silent in the other’s presence. Then, a slow smile spread across his face. “Where’s your corpse Ruby?” His words seemed strange, stranger still was how he was taking the glove from his hand and replacing it in his pocket, even with the corrupted form of Mitta mere feet from him. “Were going to have a happy ending to this.”
The two beings looked at each other, confused, but they lead him to the fireplace all the same. He crawled in first and looked at the corpse. A sad look danced in his eyes as he carefully took the burnt form from the ashes, taking great care in his movements as he pulled it out. He laid it out on the floor, not more than a black skeleton anymore. “What you saw before.” He said idly as he began to arrange the body with great caution. “Was the part of my job I was hired to do.” Eventually, he decided it was acceptable and stepped back. “But this is the part of my job I enjoy doing.”
He clapped his hands together with force, and the world went white.
A feminine voice danced at the edge of Ruby’s hearing, but she couldn’t quite make it out. It was just… barely illegible. She forced herself onto her hooves and felt, for the first time in a long time, the floor underneath her. She was shocked by this, it didn’t make any sense, she looked around for an explanation until her eyes settled on Mitta.
Mitta was completely normal again, the pony she had been before, albeit a year or two older by the looks. Her head had finally cleared up enough to make out the words being spoken in the other room, but she was far too happy by this sudden change to care what was being said. She lunged at Mitta and wrapped her in tight hooves, a smile plastered permanently to her face. The form stirred, but she seemed to be just as out of sorts as Ruby had been.
It was a moment before she realized what was going on.
“Ruby! What… How…” Her words faded away, wrapped in disbelief. She looked at her own hooves and body and remained in complete shock for several impossible moments. Then at long last, returned the hug.
They were interrupted as the door to their room swung open. “Perfect, you’re awake.” The mare who spoke had a professional tone in her words, much at odds with the smile on her face. Her coat was olive green and her mane was black and her eyes seemed a little too dark, but somehow welcoming. “I’ve worked out a deal with the Apples here, they’ve agreed to give you shelter until you can get back on your feet. They can be gruff at times, but I assure you they mean the best and they’ll take care of you for as long as you need.”
“Why did you-”
“The thing that brought you to my door… I owed him.” Her eyes flashed green but neither pony could tell if it was magic or some malevolent lighting that caused it. “I really must be going though, before my husband begins to worry.” She smiled and left, but it was a long time before either mare or filly could bring themselves to do the same, but when they did they did it with force and determination to meet this new day.
It’s not everyday you’re granted a second chance at life after all.
Well, most of the time anyway.
Depends on circumstances and present company I suppose.