To begin with, Chrysalis was dead. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of her burial was signed by the clergyman, the undertaker and the chief mourner. Cinch signed it and her name was good upon "Change, for anything she chose to put her hand to".
Abacus Cinch and Chrysalis were partners for who knows how many years. Cinch was her sole executor, her sole administrator, her sole friend, and sole mourner. Cinch was not dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but she knew that Chrysalis was an excellent Principal on the very day of the funeral with with an undoubted bargain.
When Chrysalis died, Cinch inherited her school, Crystal Prep Academy and she made a promise to her: Making Crystal Prep the most prestigious school in Canterlot City.
True to her word, Cinch had fulfilled her promise in the last twenty five years.
However, she was more concerned with with the reputation of CPA than of the safety of her students and teachers. And for some strange reason, the Holiday season had only ever been a time of stress for her.
It was the night before christmas and the big city of Canterlot was covered in a thick blanket of snow. The air was cold and clumps of wet flakes drifted windlessly down. The town was decorated for the season with bright lights, wreaths, and other decorations.
While everybody was happy and excited for the following day, inside of Crystal Prep Academy, Principal Abacus Cinch, inside of her office, was sitting in her oversized revolving chair as she scribbled her signature to petitions and requests with her pen.
Suddenly, a soft knock at the door was heard.
"Come in," she said in her usual stern tone, not looking up to see who was coming into her office.
"Merry Christmas, mom!" a female voice said cheerfully.
Cinch looked up from her work at the source of the voice. It was her daughter, Sunny Flare with a genuine and innocent smile.
But Cinch had a neutral expression. "Bah, humbug."
"Mom, you really don't meant that, right?" Sunny said, the smile never leaving her face.
Cinch raised her brow. "What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry?"
"Come on, what right have you to be dismal on an occasion that only comes about once a year? Don't be cross, mom," Sunny replied.
"What else can I be when I live in such a world of fools as this one?" Cinch coldly asks. "Christmas is nothing but a waste of valuable education for the reputation of Crystal Prep Academy. Every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart."
Sunny frowned at this. "Mom..."
"Daughter..." Cinch began with sigh. "Keep Christmas in your own way and let me keep it in mine."
"But you don't keep it," Sunny said as she shook her head.
"Then leave it alone then," Cinch replied while adjusting her glasses. "Much good it may do you. Much good it has ever done you."
"There are many things from which I might have derived good by which I have not profited," Sunny placed her hands against her chest. "Christmas is among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round as a good time. A kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time. The only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys," she continued with a beaming, gentle smile. "Every year is filled my cusp to the brim with delight and happiness and do me good to say, God bless it!"
Cinch expression didn't change, not even a bit. But she gotta admit that was quite a speech.
"You're quite a powerful speaker, madam," she told Sunny. "I wonder why didn't you choose to study for government."
"Don't be upset, mom. Dine with us at Applejack's house," Sunny said with a gentle smile.
Cinch furrowed her eyebrows. "You mean with those freaks students of Canterlot High?"
There was a long silence in the office until Sunny managed to speak.
"Um, will you come to see us?" she pulled her eyebrows together.
"Oh, I'll see you all..." Cinch said before giving her a icy glare. "I'll see you all in hell."
Sunny Flare gasped. She was astonished, small tears coming from the edge of her eyes.
"Fine," Sunny said with a sad sigh. "But why can't we be friends?"
"Still with that nonsense?" Cinch gave her another cold glare before returning to her work. "Good afternoon."
Sunny let out another sad sigh before exiting the office without even looking back.
Shortly afterwards as Cinch continued her work, she heard another knock on the door.
"Enter," Cinch said, this time looking up.
A woman of about fourty years old, with a brown business suit, white hair and pale light grayish amber skin, entered the office.
"Principal Chrysalis, I believe?" the woman politely asked. "My name is Mayor Maiden."
"Ms. Chrysalis has left this world twenty five years ago in this very day," Cinch replied. "I'm Principal Abacus Cinch."
"Oh, well, I have no doubt her liberality is well represented by her successor," Mayor Maiden said with sincere politeness.
Unbeknown to her, Cinch's brow furrowed at the word "liberality".
"In this festive season of the year, Ms. Cinch," Mayor Maiden continued. "It is more than usually desirable that we should make some provision for the poor and the destitute, who suffer greatly in these days," then her face saddened a little. "Many people are in want of warmth, comfort and food, madam."
"Aren't there prisions?" Cinch asked in a callous tone.
Mayor Maiden raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Huh? Oh, yes, plenty of prisons."
"The treadmill and the poor law are in full vigour?"
"Umm, very busy, madam," Mayor Maiden replied.
Cinch slowly nodded. "I see."
"Well, under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind and body to the citizens, the government of Canterlot are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy food and means of warmth for the poor. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when "want" is keenly felt, and "abundance" rejoices." Mayor Maiden explained as she pulled out a pen and a notebook. "How much money you want to put?"
"Nothing..." Cinch coldly replied.
Mayor Maiden blinked in surprise. "W-What?"
"I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry," Cinch coldly said. "I only support the establishment I have mentioned and my school. It cost enough and those who are in need must go there."
"But many can't go there and many would die," Mayor Maiden pleaded.
"Then they had better do it. It will decrease the surplus population," Cinch said as she returned to her work. "Good afternoon, madam."
Seeing clearly that it would be useless to pursue her point, Mayor Maiden withdraw the office.
The bell of the school rang. The doors flew open and boys and girls began pouring out of the place. Meanwhile, in Principal Cinch's office, the woman was getting ready to go home, picking up her blue coat from the coat rack.
Stepping outside of her office and locking it, she began to walk towards the exit.
"Principal Cinch," a female soft voice called her.
Cinch turned to look at the source of the voice. Behind her, stood Mi Amore Cadenza, or a.k.a Cadence, the dean of the school.
"May I have a word with you for a moment?" Cadence asked.
"You'll want all day tomorrow, I suppose," Cinch said, aware of Cadence's curiosity.
"If it's not too much to ask miss. It's only once a year," Cadence spoke up.
After a few moments of silence, Cinch sighed. "Alright, you have it."
"Really?" Cadence said with a gentle smile.
Cinch gave her a firm look. "But be here the next morning."
"I will," Cadence gave her a thankful smile. "Thank you, Principal Cinch."
With that said, both woman left the building and Cadence hurried home to spend Christmas with her husband and daughter. As for Abacus Cinch, she began to make her trek through the city of Canterlot.
As she continued to make her way through the quieter part of the city, a chorus sang in front of Sugarcube Corner in perfect harmony, much to the discontent of Abacus Cinch.
"I'm living in a world of fools," Cinch muttered to herself as she continued to make her way until she couldn't hear the chorus anymore.
Arriving home, Cinch approached the door of her house and extracted the key of her house key from the pocket of her coat. She puts the key in the lock of the door and took a glance at the knocker. However, without undergoing any process of change, the knocker is no longer a knocker, but a face...
Cinch gasped at this. She immediately recognized the face.
The face was of a female, possibility in her mid thirties. The face looked pale and lifeless and was glowing an eerie white-blue aura. It had long dark green hair and black skin. It's eyes were closed and it's mouth was embitteringly closed.
"Chrysalis?" she whispered.
Slowly and carefully, Cinch reached out her hand to touch the knocker turned face. But then...
"CIIIIIIIINCH!!!" the face screamed bloody murder as it opened it's ghostly white eyes very wide.
Cinch stumbled backwards, half scared to death. She stood up nervously, expecting the next move of the apparition.
However, the face became a knocker again, as if the face never were there in the first place.
Cinch quickly regained her composure and shook her head. She puts her hand upon the key, turns it sturdily, opened the door and walked inside as if nothing happened. Cinch closed the door quietly behind her and fastened it.
"It must be my imagination," she muttered as she ascended the stairs. Once upstairs, Cinch went directly to her bedroom and locked herself in.
Satisfied, she closed his door, and locked herself in. Double-locked as a matter of fact. Secured against any surprise, she dressed for bed, putting on her dressing-gown and her slippers.
Cinch sat down on her armchair before the fireplace with a bowl of gruel in her hands. She dipped her spoon into the bowl, scooped some gruel out, and brought it to her lips.
As she leaned her head back in the chair, her glance happened upon a bell, an unknown bell that hung up in the chandelier above the ceiling.
"Strange, I don't remember that bell being here before," Cinch muttered as she put the bowl of gruel on a nearby table.
As she was about to stand up from her armchair to turn off the light, extinguish the fire from the mantelpiece and go to bed, the small bell mounted above began to swing...
Cinch instantly looked at the bell. "Huh?"
Soon the bell rang out loudly than before. The sounds of the bell resounded through the house and without a sound or without a wisp of wind, the fire extinguished as if the life of it was sucked away, leaving the only light coming from the chandelier.
However, the room was bathed in darkness. Cinch began to sweat heavily at this.
This was succeeded by a clanking noise, deep down below, as if a person were dragging a heavy chain. The noise became much louder, on the floors below; then coming up the stairs; then coming straight towards the door...
'What is going on here?' she thought to herself with a look of worry.
A chain of silver came through the door, and then two more, each landing with a rattle and a thunk on the floor startling Cinch in the process. An arm came through, followed by another. The next thing to burst through was a head, and then the rest of the body.
Abacus Cinch froze.
Right before her eyes, there was a female spectre. Despite being a ghost, her black skin could be still seen. She had dark long green hair and emotionless, unfeeling ligh green eyes. The spectre was dressed in a heavy white cloak and was bound and tied in chains.
The apparition said nothing as her death cold eyes focused on Cinch.
"W-What d-do you w-want with m-me!?" Cinch asked, her voice filled with fear.
"Much..." the ghost said in a unreal tone.
"W-Who a-are you?" Cinch asked once again. She could hear her heart beating faster.
"In life I was your only friend, Chrysalis," the apparition now called "Chrysalis" explained.
Cinch shook her head. "I-It looks l-like you, but I don't b-believe it."
"Why do you doubt your senses?" Chrysalis asked, her expression never changed.
"In first place, you're a ghost. Ghosts aren't real," Cinch replied and continued, "A little thing affects the senses. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave abou-"
"WOMAN OF A WORLDLY MIND!!! DO YOU BELIEVE IN ME OR NOT!?!?!?" Chrysalis wailed as her eyes became pure white.
The principal screamed in fright and kneeled before the ghost.
"Mercy! Please, mercy!" Cinch pleaded, tears starting to come from the edge of her eyes. "Dreadful apparition, why do you trouble me!? What I have done!?"
"It is required of every man and woman, that the spirit within him should walk among his people-folk and travel far and wide," Chrysalis quietly explained as her eyes became normal. "And if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth and turned to happiness," The ghost then frowned deeply, "Woe is me..."
After a few moments of silence, Cinch spoke up. "You are fettered. May I ask why?"
"In death, I wear the chain I forged in life," Chrysalis replied, "Link by link and chain by chain. It is the burden of a not well lived life."
"It is that what causes you such pain?" Cinch asked, feeling bad for Chrysalis.
"No rest, no peace. Incessant torture of remorse," the apparition sadly said as she hung her head down. "These chains tighten and choke me, reminding me of my selfish decisions and the pain I caused for the others."
"Twenty five years dead. I was the only the person who came to your funeral," Cinch reflected.
Chrysalis looked up, staring intently into her eyes. "As for you, I can see your chains. The weight and length of the strong coil will you bear it's heavy and long as mine. You have laboured on it twenty five Christmas Eves ago."
Cinch glanced at the floor, in the expectation of finding herself surrounded by some cold and unforgiven fathoms of chains. But she could see nothing.
"Take heed, Abacus Cinch, my time is about to end," Chrysalis began as Cinch looked up at her. "For I'm doomed to wander the earth endlessly, never staying in one place but for a few moments. I am here tonight to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate."
"Escaping your f-fate?" Cinch said with a mix of hope and confusion. "How? T-Tell me!"
"You will be visited... By three spirits,"
Abacus Cinch felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
"T-Three... S-Spirits?" she stammered.
Chrysalis slowly nodded. "Yes. Without their visits, you cannot hope to shun the path I tread."
Cinch didn't like the sound of that, but nodded in agreement.
"Expect the first tonight at midnight. The second when the bell tolls one. The third when the last stroke of Twelve has ceased to vibrate."
The apparition began walking with her pace stifled by the the chains as she approached the door. But then, she turned to look at Cinch.
"I hope this will be our last meeting, Abacus. For your own sake, remember what has been said here," as she finished her sentence, the ghost simply walked through the door, completely disappearing.
With a shudder, Cinch went into her bed, drained from her activities of the day and the sudden visit of Chrysalis. Her eyelids got heavy and silently drifted off to sleep.