Rainbow Dash looked around. Her surroundings were dark. Where was she? This place was not the asylum anymore. She could barely see her own hooves in front of her and the ground under them felt squashy. And there was nothing that could help her to identify the place she was at now. Everything was just a big, black mass.
“Hello!”, she asked in the darkness. “Is anypony else here?”
Suddenly, she heard a voice calling her name in the distance. “Rainbow Dash!” It sounded dull and far away, so she couldn't identify who was calling her.
“Who is there?”, she asked. Nopony answered her. Suddenly, she heard a quiet giggling. Rainbow Dash shrank down at the sound. “Not again”, she thought.
The giggling became slowly louder. It was approaching her. Then she heard a voice again. “Rainbow Dash! Come, Rainbow Dash! Play with me!”
Rainbow Dash felt like she was shrinking to half of her size. This couldn't be true. It must be a nightmare.
“Playing! Playing! Come now! I want to play with you, Rainbow Dash!”
The voice of the filly just didn't stop and the worst thing was, Rainbow Dash couldn't locate where the filly, or rather the ghost of a filly, was. It seemed like the voice came from everywhere; one time it was behind her, then in front of her, then above her. Rainbow Dash twitched as the voice sounded again.
“Rainbow Dash! I want to play with you!” The ghost of the filly giggled, then a short pause followed before the voice continued.
Rainbow Dash pressed her hooves on her ears. She didn't wanted to hear anymore.
“Rainbow Dash, can you hear me? Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Wake up, Rainbow Dash!”
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash rose up from her lying position, a shriek escaping her mouth.
“Finally you're awake!”, a familiar voice said beside her. “I started to become bored!”
Rainbow Dash turned her head around carefully and then looked in Luna's face. “Luna? Where..... where am I?”, she asked the night princess.
“You are still where you were when you fainted”, she said with a grin on her lips.
“I fainted? Why?”, she asked confused. Then her memory returned. She jumped up. “Where is it? Is it still there? Please tell me it's gone!” Rainbow Dash panicked.
“It is”, Luna answered calmly. “You were asleep for nearly one hour and it seems that I was not the only one who was getting bored. The filly ghost you were so much afraid of was calling you a few times in hope to wake you up, but as you didn't react it disappeared, together with the ball.”
Rainbow Dash searched the area around her carefully. Luna was right. The ball was not there anymore. She sighed relieved.
Luna giggled. “It seems you really left a great impression on little pegasus fillies, no matter if they're alive or dead, dear Rainbow Dash.”
“A pegasus filly? How do you want to know that?”, Rainbow Dash asked.
Luna gasped and covered her mouth with one hoof; realizing that she had talked too much. She hoped that she hadn't said too much to spoil her tour and set up a pokerface. “Not now, Rainbow Dash. You will find everything out in due time.” She trotted past Rainbow Dash, deeper into the corridor, her horn still shining brightly. “Follow me now, your unexpected sleep has cost us time and the night won't last forever.”
Rainbow Dash hesitated again. What she witnessed before fainting was too much for her. She wasn't in the mood to explore this building any further. The usually so brave pegasus hated it to admit it, but she was dead scared. All she wanted was to leave the asylum and to get to a less frightening place.
“Luna..... I..... I do–“ A bang behind her made her jump, interrupting her sentence, and she turned around in fear. The door to the examination room behind her was closed suddenly! It slammed shut, without her or Luna doing anything. “Luna, wait!”, she called out to the princess and galloped up to her. “You can't just let me alone here!”, she protested as she had catched up with her.
“I'm very sorry, but we are in a bit of a hurry, Rainbow Dash.”
“So, this was still not all that you wanted to show me?”, she asked unbelievingly.
“Not quite”, Luna answered. “We have a couple more destinations before we can call it a night.” Luna chuckled.
“Very funny.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. If this was an attempt from Luna to cheer her up with a good laugh after her horrific experience it failed. Rainbow Dash's heart was still racing so fast that she wouldn't have been surprised if it would have created a Sonic Rainboom on it's own. “A-And where is the next destination? How far is it away?”, she asked, hoping to get a little rest before her mind was exposed to new nightmares.
“We're already there actually.” Luna stopped in front of another door.
It was smaller than the door of the examination roon and if there was ever a sign on it, it was gone now. The asylum looked different here, Rainbow Dash recognized surprised. She was so scared that she hadn't noticed that she and Luna had reached a completely different part of the asylum.
“Where are we?”, she asked.
“We are now in the wing with the rooms of the patients”, she explained. “We won't be here for long, but there's something important you should see.”
After her explanation, she entered the room. Rainbow Dash followed her slowly. It was a single room, only one bed was there. And except the bed, the room was empty.
Completely empty. Rainbow Dash walked up to one of the windows and looked outside. The lights of Fillydelphia glimmered in the distance. She wished she could be there right now. Suddenly, she felt the urge for some fresh air and proceeded to open one of the windows. It didn't work. The windows were locked.
Luna appeared behind her. “This is useless, I fear. The windows in this room were never opened and always kept locked.”
“And why this? What happened in this room?”
“Later”, Luna answered. “All you have to know for now is that this was the room of an earth pony. Now look to the bed.”
Rainbow Dash approached the bed and did as she said. First, she couldn't see anything special, but then she saw the chains that were hanging down from it.
They were already rusty and at some spots, it even looked they were sullied with blood. Rainbow Dash couldn't fathom if it was really blood or just the rust that appeared on the metal over time. She let her look slide over the bed and up to the headboard, as she noticed something else on the wall. There were words written down on it.
“I can fly! I can fly! I can fly!”, Rainbow Dash read out aloud. The words were scattered over the whole wall.
As Rainbow Dash had read the words, Luna left the room again, with the pegasus quickly pursuing her. Rainbow Dash was about to ask again what was special about the room, but Luna began to talk before she had the chance.
“We must go up to the third floor now. Our next destination is there. This corridor leads up to a different set of stairs”, she explained the route ahead of them.
“And now listen closely, Rainbow Dash.” Her voice became stern. “As soon as we have set hoof on the first stair tread, you must not turn around until we have left the staircase on the third floor. No matter what you hear behind you and no matter how much it scares you, don't turn around.”
“W-Why?” Rainbow Dash's voice and her body shaked. She already didn't like the direction this conversation was heading.
“Some parts of the building happen to be more haunted than others. I don't know what it is, but if you turn around, you are lost.”
Rainbow Dash had reached a point now where her fear was so big that she started to doubt Luna's words. “But now you're making it up! This whole place is already haunted! How can it be more haunted? That's not possible! And why are you telling me that just after I heard that creepy filly ghost? I'm sure that's no coincidence! You just want to scare me on purpose!”
“It is very true”, Luna said, a slight anger in her voice. “It happened to one of my night guards as I was here for the first time. He heard steps behind him and turned around and when I had reached the third floor he was not there anymore.”
Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth.
“I searched the whole asylum for him, but he was nowhere to be found. He remains disappeared until this very day.”
Rainbow Dash stayed quiet now. She couldn't imagine that Luna would go so far to invent even that.
As the stairs Luna was talking about lied in front of them, she was repeating what she earlier said. As Rainbow Dash nodded to show that she had understood, Luna went ahead and began to trot up the stairs. Rainbow Dash gulped. Then she sat carefully a hoof on the stairs. A loud, devilish laughter emerged behind her. Her hackles raised and she jumped up the next few stairs instead, almost bumping into Luna. She took a deep breath and then proceeded. She slowly walked up the stairs behind Luna, carefully cautious to not turn around. New loud sounds started behind her. It were the strangest sounds Rainbow Dash ever heard. It was like an animal trapped in a metal cage, that desperately jumped against the walls to get out. Only that it seemed like this animal had a big hammer in it's paws that it slammed against the walls.
Rainbow Dash did not turn around.
The first sound was replaced by a different one, a loud humming, that was occasionally interrupted by the sound of quiet knocks.
Rainbow Dash did not turn around.
Another sound came. It sounded like the mooing of a cow, although distorted in a strange way.
Rainbow Dash began to sweat. She was surprised over herself that she managed it to not turn around so far. Of course, she did not wanted to disappear forever, but fear made ponies doing stupid things and Rainbow Dash's fear was not measurable anymore.
Luna and Rainbow Dash were halfway up the stairs. The princess spoke to her. “It's not far anymore. You must resist a little longer. Remember, don't turn around or you won't leave this asylum again”, Luna motivated her.
“I-I wont', Rainbow Dash assured her, although she wasn't exactly sure if she could bear with these sounds any longer.
If there was an intelligent force behind these sounds, it became desperated now, because suddenly, Rainbow Dash's name was called.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash!”, it shouted behind her. Rainbow Dash froze as she recognized the voice and stopped.
“W-What? S-Scootaloo? What are you doing here? This is no place for you, it's too dangerous!” Rainbow Dash began to turn around.
“RAINBOW DASH, NO!”, Luna yelled down to her. “This is not Scootaloo you're hearing. She is not here. It just tries to confuse you.”
Rainbow Dash twitched and stopped in her movement. “B-But what if it's her and something is getting her while we just trot up this stairs? How can you be sure? I have to check on her.”
“No, Rainbow Dash, you must resist. Trust me, this isn't Scootaloo who is talking to you. The force that is behind all this just tries to catch you with all means necessary. Don't turn around.”
“That's not true!”, the voice behind Rainbow Dash spoke up again. “It IS me, Luna! I saw how you and Rainbow Dash left Ponyville and followed you. Then you entered this building. I just wanted to explore it with you and so I entered it too. But I lost your track in the lobby and so I headed in the wrong direction. I'm so glad I finally found you!”
Rainbow Dash's nerves were stretched to the breaking point. Her little sister was behind her and what if something happened to her while she didn't dare to turn around? She had to do something.
“Do not listen to her, Rainbow Dash!”, Luna warned her again.
“But I have to!”, Rainbow Dash said.
“NO!”, Luna shouted.
“Listen, Scootaloo! Just follow me and Luna upstairs! And don't turn around! It will get you if you do! Just look at me while trotting, okay?”
“Mhm. I won't look behind me!”
Luna sighed relieved. Rainbow Dash still believed that it was Scootaloo, but at least she wasn't looking behind her. She continued to move upstairs. As Rainbow continued her movement too, she could hear little hoofsteps behind her. She hoped that Luna was right with what she said and that it wasn't Scootaloo behind her. But if so, she decided, she would cancel the exploration. Luna would be disappointed, but she had to bring Scootaloo home. This was no place for a little filly. Pondering on these thoughts, she heard a few cracks behind her. And then Scootaloo crying.
“Scoots? What is wrong?”, she asked worried without looking behind. “What happened?” Rainbow Dash stopped.
“Ouch”, she answered. “I stumbled down the stairs. Now I'm bleeding.”
“Can you still walk?” Rainbow Dash prayed that the answer was yes. If it was right what Luna said, she couldn't turn around to help the little filly to get up the stairs. Not without disappearing mysteriously.
“No”, Scootaloo sobbed. “I can't.”
Rainbow Dash sweared. What should she do now?
“You must come and carry me, Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow Dash hesitated.
Luna had stopped too now. “Remember what I told you, Rainbow Dash. Don't give in! It would be the last thing that you do.”
“Rainbow Dash, please! I can't move! Please, help me!”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. Some tears flowed down her face. “I- I'm sorry..... I can't! You must make it up the stairs alone somehow”, she said in a tearful voice.
“But I can't, Rainbow Dash! It hurts too much. A-And my bone is sticking out of one of my hooves. It's broken!”, she said in a desperated voice.
“You have to try it, champ! I know you can do it! And remember, don't look behind!” Rainbow Dash began to move up the stairs again.
“Rainbow Dash, no! Don't leave me alone!”, Scootaloo was begging.
Scootaloo's surrogate sister hesitated. She shut her eyes for a moment and then looked to the side. But she continued to move upstairs. There was nothing she could do right now. Luna heard Rainbow Dash moving again and continued her way too. Even she was not completely convinced anymore that this was not Scootaloo. It was possible. A thought hit her. Maybe if she..... A sudden scream from Scootaloo slit the air.
“Rainbow Dash! There's something behind me! It's holding me! I can feel it's breath! I'm scared! Please, come and help me!”
That was enough for the winged pony.
Luna closed her eyes and turned around, getting ready to fly down the stairs blindly to save Scootaloo. She hoped that closing the eyes was the key to turn around without disappearing.
“Scootaloo!”, Rainbow Dash shouted suddenly. Luna stopped in her movement, her eyes still closed. “How did you get here?”, Rainbow Dash asked her. “Fillydelphia is far away from Ponyille, how did you manage it to come so far?”
“Why are you asking me?”, the filly answered. “I have no time for that! I'm in danger, do you not understand?”
“Please answer, Scoots!”, Rainbow Dash replied. “I can't come down and help you if you don't.”
“I was flying, of course! I was flying behind you and Luna all the time, you just haven't seen me. How else should I have come here? I'm a pegasus!”
Rainbow Dash felt goose bumps appear on her whole body, but then she sighed relieved.
“Now come and save me finally!”
“Luna”, Rainbow Dash spoke up to the princess. “Turn upstairs again. This isn't Scootaloo. She can't fly.” Rainbow Dash dried her tears and then began again to trot upstairs.
The thing that imitated Scootaloo's voice began to sob again. “No, Rainbow Dash, please! It's me, I swear! How can I proof it? Ask me another question! Something only I can know!”
Rainbow Dash could swear that there was a shaking in the voice suddenly. It sounded almost nervous. She ignored the voice behind her and quickened her pace; surpassing Luna who still stood there with closed eyes. Rainbow Dash gave her a pat and then she finally turned around. Facing the stairs in front of her again, she opened her eyes and followed Rainbow Dash. After a few steps more, they reached the corridor of the third floor. Unhurt and unscathed.
In the corridor, Rainbow Dash collapsed on the floor. “What place is this?”, she asked between two pants.
Luna sat down beside her. “We should take a little break, Rainbow Dash. We continue when you feel better.”
“How could you choose this staircase to get up here? Isn't there another one?”
“There is”, Luna admitted. “But taking this staircase was the fastest way to reach this floor and since we are running out of time I chose this way anyway.”
“You're crazy!”, Rainbow Dash said. “Can you imagine what would have happened if I had turned around when this voice imitated Scootaloo's?”
“Actually, I can't.”, she replied.
“Huh? But you told me what will happen!”
“Yes, dear Rainbow Dash, but I only read about it myself. I can't tell if a pony that turns around on these stairs really disappears or if the entity is only messing with it's victims.” She took a breath. “What I told you about the disappearing member of my night guard was a lie.”
Rainbow Dash gasped. “What? You tricked me?”
“I had no choice. It was the only way to make you believe me what I said about the staircase and I could not take the risk to let you find out what happens if you turn around.” Luna sighed. “You were accusing me of lying, so I really had to use a lie to convince you." "Ironic”, she added.
Rainbow Dash's anger vanished. “Point taken”, she said. “But let's stick to the truth now, okay?”
Luna nodded.
“Okay, then let's continue.” Rainbow Dash stood up. She looked to the left and then to the right. “What direction now?”
The princess stood up too and pointed to the right. “It's not far away anymore. You will even get the fresh air you craved so much down in the room of the earth pony.”
Rainbow Dash didn't understand what Luna meant, but was really eager for some fresh air, no matter where it came from and especially after that last experience and so she followed her down the corridor without a question. After some minutes of trotting through the corridor, that were rather uneventful again, except the occasional lurking shadows and some sounds Rainbow Dash better not paid too much attention to, they reached a big gate. As Luna opened it Rainbow Dash could feel the chill breeze of the night air swooshing in her face.
Behind the gate was a big room. On the left and right side were counters, with some desks and locker boxes behind them. There were also a bunch of paper boxes, some of which looked unopened. On the outer wall of the room was a small opening. Rainbow Dash could see a pier and behind it, just the starry night sky.
Luna walked ahead. “This room here was the post office of the asylum. Boxes and letters for the patients and staff from relatives and friends arrived here, as well as new medical equipment for the asylum. The opening at the wall over there is where the mail ponies who brought them landed.”
Rainbow Dash thought on the writing over the earth ponies' bed. “And for what are we here now?”, she asked, although not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
“Let's go outside to the pier. I will tell you everything when we're there”, Luna answered and made her way through the room.
Rainbow Dash followed her quickly this time, getting the chance to be outside of the asylum for some moments was something she gladly accepted. As she was outside, she stepped up to the end of the pier and inhaled the nightly air greedily.
“This pier is important for the next story I will tell you”, Luna began behind her.
Rainbow Dash turned around and faced her, new terror already adorning her face.
But Luna was merciless. “You remember what the writing over the earth ponies' bed said?”, she asked her. Rainbow Dash nodded silently.
“The earth pony who accomodated this room imagined that it was able to fly. He came from a family of pegasi and his family always saw him as a disgrace, for not being born as a member of their own race. They locked him up in the basement and always told him how much of a shame he was to them.”
A sad expression appeared on Luna's face and she let her eyes wander across the landscape in front of them.
“He never got any love or even the slightest caring attention from his family. Some even say his family punished and beat him for being an earth pony. One day, he couldn't cope with his situation anymore. He started to believe that he can fly and every time he could go outside, he tried to fly by jumping down high places. He was eventually brought in this asylum and the doctors had no choice then to confine him to his bed. He was very strong, so they had to use chains to do that.”
“A-And what happened then?” Rainbow Dash's voice shaked.
“One night, a nurse came into his room and found his chains open and his bed empty. Nopony knew how he was able to free himself, but they searched the whole asylum for him, from the basement to the attic. But it was too late. He managed it to reach the post office here and went outside through the opening.”
Luna trotted up to Rainbow Dash, who still stood at the edge of the pier.
“It was exactly here, at this spot, where the last moments of his life happened. He spread out his arms as if they were wings and jumped. He tried again to fly, but since he couldn't, he was just falling and when he hit the ground, he broke his neck and died.”
Rainbow Dash gulped.
“Since this happened, several staff members reported about it that the words 'Now I can really fly!' appeared on various walls and doors in the building, just to disappear again after some seconds. They said that his soul couldn't find rest and that it neither wanted to do. Being a ghost, he was finally able to fly now and he enjoyed flying around in the asylum, making his presence known with the words I mentioned. Rumors told about that he wanted to impress his cruel family and that his soul would only went into the afterlife, if it came here and told him some nice words for his newfound ability to fly. Of course, this did never happen and so his soul is flying around restlessly until this very day and will continue to do so for all times.”
As Luna retreated from the edge of the pier and proceeded to enter the post office again, Rainbow Dash was paralysed by fear. Luna was almost willing to end their exploration, clearly her reactions showed that she was impressed enough, but since only one destination was left and she did not wanted to stop before the last story was told, she decided to continue. Nonetheless, her plan was a success and Rainbow Dash impressed by her creepy knowledge, she was sure about that.
Rainbow Dash originally intended to stay outside for some minutes longer, but standing there where the earth pony died and that even alone was nothing she desired, so she shook of her paralysis and followed Luna back through the opening. They trotted silently at each others' side until they had left the post office and Luna had closed the door behind them again.
“I fear our exploration is almost over now. There is one more room I want to show you. We must down to the second floor again.”
“And how do we get there? You want to get down this staircase again?”
“No, this time we will take a shortcut.” She was drawing Rainbow Dash's attention to the continuing corridor right from the gate.
They headed into the direction they came from and as they passed the haunted staircase, Rainbow Dash quickened her pace, even so much that she was going ahead of Luna for a moment. She could hear Scootaloo's voice in her head again while passing it and wanted to leave it behind as quickly as possible. Some additional meters along the corridor, they had to stop.
A huge hole was gaping in the floor, making it impossible to reach the other side, at least for earth ponies.
“We fly down here. It will bring us directly to the last room”, Luna said and then folded out her wings and flew down into the darkness. Rainbow Dash followed her example and they landed directly in front of a door. “Here we are”, Luna said. Her voice began to swell in pride. “This room is the highlight of our tour!”
“The highlight?” Rainbow Dash was worried. “Does this mean what happened in this room is even scarier?”
“Yes, it is much scarier. And also more sad than what you heard so far.” Luna got ready to open the door. “And you already know the ghost who began his undead existence in this room.” With these words, she swung open the door.
She entered it, but Rainbow Dash stayed behind. “No”, she said. She knew which ghost Luna was talking about and her earlier experience, after they left the examination room, was too much for her and nothing she wanted to experience again. But Luna was determined to let her hear this story. This last story had to be told to make their visit and Luna's attempt to impress the pegasus she felt in love with perfect. She activated her levitation magic and dragged Rainbow Dash behind.
“No! Let me go!” Rainbow Dash wiggled around, but the magical grip was too strong.
“Just one more story. We are almost at the end.”
She dragged Rainbow Dash into the room and released her in front of the bed, then closed the door.
Rainbow Dash began to become furious. “Can't you listen, I don't want to hear another story by you!”
“You are mistaken, Rainbow Dash”, Luna answered, unimpressed by the outburst of the pegasus. “I am not going to tell you another story.”
“What? But you said there is–“
“I'm going to tell the story.” A high, clear voice interrupted Rainbow Dash.
Confused, she turned around. And looked into the light green eyes of a filly. It stood directly behind her, not more than a meter away. Her coat and her wings were of a silver color, her mane and her tail fire red, with a pink streak in her tail. In her mane were tiny, pink braids, separating it into two pigtails, that fell loosely over her shoulders. Her flank was bare, no cutie mark was adorning it.
“Hi, I'm Shapy Cloud!”, the little filly said to Rainbow Dash.
“A filly?”, Rainbow Dash asked. “What are you doing here? And since when are you here?”
“I was always here”, she answered. “Well, at least since I was five years old.”
“Always, what–“ Suddenly, the realization hit Rainbow Dash.
She let out a scream and collapsed.Then she crawled backwards until she bumped into the bed. Fearfully, she cowered against it, her body shivering.
“I wanted to play with you”, Shapy Cloud continued, “but then you fainted and you didn't wake up anymore.” Her eyes reflected regret. “I didn't wanted to scare you”, she said a little quieter.
Rainbow Dash almost couldn't believe that the filly in front of her was a ghost; the soul of a restless filly that died a long time ago. She always imagined ghosts as nebulous creatures, only barely resembling their former body, but this filly stood so compact in front of her that she thought for a moment it's alive. But even though she hard a time imagining this, the fact that it was a ghost was enough for her to become completely paralyzed and for the color in her face to completely vanish again.
“L-L-L-Luna”, was the only word she could produce.
“There is no reason for fear, Rainbow Dash. This filly is no vengeful ghost, it just wants you to listen to her story.”
Rainbow Dash was not convinced and Luna's words couldn't calm her, so she really didn't wanted to hear this story. But she was so frozen that she had no choice than listening to the little ghost. Her fear was so big that she couldn't move a single inch away. Her mouth and eyes wide open in shock she listened to Shapy Cloud who just began to tell her story.
“I came into this asylum when I was five years old. I'm a pegasus, but for some reason, I was able to use magic. No one understood how, not even my parents. They always said that I'm special and that I should be happy about it. But that was not enough for me.”
She sat down on her haunches, her big, bushy tail wrapping around her legs.
“I tried to find the reason for it that I could use magic as a pegasus. Under my mane, there was always a strange bump, almost like I had a horn once, but I never had!”
She moved up one of her hooves and slid her mane to the side, giving sight to her bare forehead. And indeed, a little bump could be seen under it; barely a few inches long. She let her hooves sink again, her mane returning to it's usual position, and continued.
“I started to think that I'm an Alicorn and that my horn just didn't grow properly when I was inside of my mommy.” She sniffled. “But mommy and daddy didn't believe me. They always said that can't be and that I just imagine that. But I was sure about it and so I didn't stop saying it.
One day, mommy and daddy said that they wanted to go on a vacation with me. They packed my suitcase, but they didn't tell me where we're going. They said it's a surprise. And then we came here. They said the doctors could help me and to make me stop saying that I'm an Alicorn and that it's only for a few days. I didn't wanted to stay here. But they left me alone with the doctors here.”
Tears started to appear in the little filly's eyes.
“The doctors here were awful. They also didn't believe me that I'm an Alicorn and they even said that I can't use magic and that I was just imagining all of this. I proved it to them, by letting things levitate, but it didn't help. One of the doctors was more nice than the others. He explained me that many unicorns worked here and that there is so much magical energy left in the air, that sometimes things moved by itself. He called it a phe- phe- phenomenon!”
Shapy stopped for a moment and Luna nodded. “An old belief back in these days.”
The silver pegasus filly sniffled and wiped with one hoof over her nose. “But I knew that this wasn't true! I knew what I could do! But nopony here believed me.
One day, I stopped to say that I'm an Alicorn, because I hoped that I could return home again. But..... when my parents came to visit me the doctors said to them that they needed to keep me there longer. They said something was wrong with my mind and that they needed to make more tests. When my parents told me that the doctors wanted to keep me here longer, I just told the doctors that I can't use magic and that I just made that up. I became so angry that I jumped up in my bed and began to scream at them. They sent my parents away and two nurses were holding me down. I felt a sting at my arm and then I got tired. I think I was falling asleep. When I woke up the next day, I was telling them again that I can't use magic. I knew this was it what they wanted to hear, but they just shook their heads. They told me that I'm just saying this now, because I wanted to go home and that my mind is still not okay.”
Now the tears streamed down her face freely.
“I asked them how long they wanted to keep me here. They said it could be months or even years, depending on it how soon I would recover. Or never.” She sobbed. “But I didn't wanted to stay here for my whole life. I could never play with other foals and I almost never saw mommy or daddy. And there were scary sounds at night. And then..... And then.....”
She collapsed to the ground, breaking out in a long series of heart-breaking sobs.
“I can't remember anymore! I don't know what happened!”, she cried out between two of them.
“What is the last thing you can remember?”, Luna asked her calmly.
“I could see the sun shining through the window. And my bed was red. My hooves hurt so much. And then everything was black around me. The next thing I can remember was that I wasn't in my bed anymore. I tried to talk to the doctors and nurses, but that they didn't answer, they just ignored me. One day, one of the nurses finally reacted when I talked to her. But the only thing she did was running away and screaming. And so did everypony I talked too from that moment on.”
Her sobbing became quieter. She stood up again and dried her tears.
“And one day I was suddenly alone. Nopony was here anymore. I didn't knew what happened to me and why everypony suddenly left the asylum. Until I met Princess Luna. She told me that I'm..... that I'm dead. She also told me how much time had passed since I d-died. But she couldn't tell me why I'm still here.” Shapy sniffled again and another little sob came out of her mouth. “And she was telling me what I did.”
Luna nodded again. “This is true. I read about this little filly in one of the patient records. The prospect of staying her whole life here, in this dreadful place, with doctors and nurses that did not care for her feelings, was too much for her and so she decided to end it one day. I met her when I came for the first time into this asylum. I was the first pony she saw after hundreds of years.”
Shapy Cloud walked up to Luna, past Rainbow Dash, and clinged to her side. For a ghost, her movements seemed very compact. She was not flying a few inches over the ground, like one could believe. There even rose small dust clouds from the ground where she was trotting and her hooves made quiet, clopping sounds, although not such loud ones like a living filly would produce.
Rainbow Dash calmed down a little when Shapy told her story, because it touched her what the little, dead filly had to tell, but her heart still raced and her fear was still present. Dealing with a ghost, a real ghost, was just too much scaryness for Rainbow Dash, unlike with ghosts in stories. And as Shapy spoke to her again, Rainbow Dash was immediately in panic again.
“Can we play now, Rainbow Dash? I don't get many visitors here and it's so boring alone.” Sadness was ringing in her voice.
Rainbow Dash was spinning around, facing Luna and the filly ghost. Her fear had complete control of her now.
“No! I know what ghosts like you are up to! You just want to kill me too so that you will never be alone again!”
“THAT'S NOT TRUE!”, Shapy Clouds answered with a shrill voice, her face showing unrestrained anger.
“Sure”, Rainbow Dash answered sarcastically. Then she spread her wings and flew out of one of the glassless windows.
Shapy Cloud began to sob again, big tears flowing down her face. “Why is everypony just so afraid of me?”, she whimpered.
Luna embraced her with one of her wings. “I am not afraid of you, little Shapy. And maybe Rainbow Dash will get used to you one day.”
The crying of the filly moved her and Luna wished she could dry her tears, but for this, her ghostly body was not compact enough and her hoof would have just gone through her if she would have tried.
Luna retreated her wing and bent down to Shapy, facing her. “Cry no more. I have to go and look for Rainbow Dash now. The night is almost over. But I will return in the next night to play with you!” Luna smiled at her.
Shapy dried her tears again and returned the smile. “Okay”, she said in a low voice.
Luna trotted up to the window and then turned around to Shapy a last time. “Farewell, Shapy, until I come back!” Then she spread her wings and followed Rainbow Dash out of the window.
Shapy Cloud looked behind her, still occasionally sobbing, and then she disappeared suddenly, like she was never there.
Luna catched up with Rainbow Dash as she was already flying over the big skyscrapers of Fillydelphia. She landed on the flat roof of one of them, as she saw Luna coming.
“You were not very gentle to this little filly”, Luna said as she landed besides Rainbow Dash.
“I don't care!”, Rainbow Dash snapped back at the princess. “I don't care for a ghost who just wants to consume my soul!”
Luna saw how hysterical Rainbow Dash was right now and so she decided to drop this topic for now.
“I can see that our trip impressed you, Rainbow Dash”, she said satisfied.
“That's a way to describe it!” Rainbow Dash sighed.
Luna raised an eyebrow. “You mean you did not like it? You were not scared?”, she asked with a doubting tone in her voice.
“Of course I was scared!”, she snapped at her again. “But that's not enjoyment! I almost died from fear in there, Luna!” Her body was still shaking, despite being out of the asylum again. “How could you bring me there?”
Luna looked puzzled. “I know from Scootaloo that you like scary stories, Rainbow Dash, and I remember you telling some some during the last Nightmare Night.”
“But these are just stories! I like scary stories, but not real ghosts and real haunted places! I don't want to see or hear anything about that asylum ever again!”
Realizing her misinterpretation, Luna felt embarrassed now. She looked to the ground. “I am very sorry, Rainbow Dash. I wanted to..... spend some time with you and because of your addiction to ghost stories I thought this place would be exactly what you desire and impress you.” Luna hung her head. “Looks like I stand corrected.”
Revelling in her regrets, a thought hit her suddenly. She looked up to Rainbow Dash again. “But why did you not tell me that you don't like haunted houses when I invited you to this exploration?”, she asked her surprised.
This question hit the nail on the head for Rainbow Dash. “Well.....” She laughed embarrassed. “You were asking me if I'm scared and I..... I just did not want to make a fool of myself in front of you!” Her face turned red.
Luna laughed.
“I don't think that's funny!” Rainbow Dash looked angry at her.
“But I certainly do”, Luna answered, with tears of laughter in her eyes. “I can assure you, Rainbow Dash, if you would have told me that you don't like places like this, I would have never come here with you.”
“Let's just forget that”, Rainbow Dash answered quickly. “And don't tell anypony.”
“Don't worry Rainbow Dash. Your secret is safe with me.” She chuckled again.
Noticing that the sun was already on the rise, she asked Rainbow Dash: “How about I invite you to a little breakfast to calm your nerves again, before I have to return to Canterlot? I know a place with good coffee.”
Rainbow Dash nodded gladly. A hot, strong coffee was something she could need right now.
And maybe.....”, Luna asked hesitantly, “we could try another meeting next week? In a less scary place?”
Rainbow Dash nodded again. “As long as we don't meet any ghosts, I am fine with everything!”, she said.
Luna smiled, happy that Rainbow Dash wasn't rejecting her because of the mistake she made. Maybe she could come a little closer to Rainbow Dash at her next attempt.
Luna and Rainbow Dash enfolded their wings and then took off, down into the city, to get the breakfast Luna talked about.
While flying, a question came up in Rainbow Dash. “There's one thing I don't understand. Why was this asylum abandoned? You never told me while we were in there.”
“There are good reasons for this, Rainbow Dash. I didn't tell you about it on purpose. All the ponies who asked me this question regretted it to hear my answer on their question. Are you sure you want to know?”
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment and then shook her head “No, better not. I think you're right.”
She looked at Luna and both shared a laugh, before they landed down in the city.