Violets are Blue

by hell00001

Chapter 10: Disappearance

Violets are Blue Chapter 10

Sky Runner wasn’t known for her punctuality or her courtesy towards other ponies and letting them know that she was going to drop by and say hello. In fact, in most cases, she happened to drop in on ponies in their most inopportune moments, catching them in the middle of something too terribly important to be interrupted or too embarrassing to be seen. Such impromptu visits never failed to leave a little smudge on whatever good record she had left with ponies, but she never felt to be the wiser to such scarrings. It was just another day in the life of a Canterlot burglar, as she always thought, and in her field of work jobs never failed to surprise her or give her a broader perspective.

Today wasn’t any different from another, and Sky stood on top of a rooftop looking over the apartments where Carbon and Lilo lived. Dressed in her cloak to hide her pale white coat and bright red mane and tail against other ponies, only allowing for her wings to poke through, she snorted when she saw that the light to Carbon’s apartment in particular was entirely absent. The sun had only just set behind the canopy of the Everfree Forest, signifying that the night was still young.

“You don’t suppose that those two are out having dinner somewhere, do you, sis?” Shadow asked as she stood next to Sky.

Shadow was a little blue filly with a brown mane and tail. Sky looked down at the filly and smiled, putting her hoof on the Shadow’s shoulder. She wore a dark cloak just like Sky did, hiding her coat and her mane away from other ponies and only allowing for her oversized wings to poke through.

“Carbon isn’t the kind of pony who likes to go out at night,” Sky said. “For how much he coupes himself up at that university, you’d think he would love the nightlife more than you and I do.”

“So you still want to try the door, then? You know, I have a bad feeling about this.”

Sky chuckled and tussled Shadow’s mane. “Or they could just be spending some quality time together. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to drop in on a time like that, now, would it?”

Shadow sputtered and wiggled herself out of Sky’s reach.

“Sis! You can’t be-!” She tried to say, but Sky had already hopped off of the roof top. Shadow groaned and unfurled her wings. “Oh, for the love of… Can she think about something else for just one second?”

Shadow looked up at the moon as if asking Princess Luna to help her out, but when she didn’t get a response she huffed and hopped off of the roof as well. Sky was already waiting at the entrance to the apartment complex, folding her wings back up against her sides. She winced as her damaged right wing sent several jolts of pain down her back, although she hid her discomfort with a smile as Shadow touched down next to her. The little filly had a pouting face for whenever her sister went after two ponies who were probably wishing for a little alone time.

“Oh come on, Shadow,” Sky said, rolling her eyes and giving Shadow a nuzzle. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe they are out getting something to eat. Come on, we’re never going to know for sure unless we go ahead and check, right?”

Shadow sighed and nodded her head, and together they both pushed through the apartment doors and walked into the lobby. Nopony stood at the reception desk, and the room was very dimly lit with only a several candles from a gaudy looking chandelier hanging over the center of the room. Dust and dirt covered the walls of the lobby, although the carpet underneath their hooves looked as though it had recently been cleaned. Sky pulled her hood back and walked up to the reception desk.

Although there was a bell sitting on the desk, Sky ignored it and hopped over the desk. Looking through several drawers, she found a book with a full list of residents staying at the apartments. She opened the book and flipped through the pages, sitting down on the pillow that the receptionist normally used.

“I still don’t have a good feeling about this, Sky,” Shadow said, looking around the lobby.

“Oh, spooky, Shadow,” Sky said, poorly mimicking the sound of a ghost. “Better be careful or the Boogeypony is going to get you tonight.”

“I’m not scared!” Shadow said with a stomp of her hoof. “I just think it’s weird that the lights to his apartment are off is all.”

“Well, hey, maybe they’re out on the town tonight! As you said,” Sky shrugged, more to convince herself rather than Shadow. “And what better ponies to come home to than me and you, right?”

“Carbon and Lilo have never even met me, and they haven’t seen you in over a year,” Shadow pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but there are worse ponies to come home to,” Sky beamed. “Come on you big scaredy-flanks, stop worrying. Carbon and Lilo are going to love you and it’s going to be great to catch up with them. Just calm down and everything will be okay.”

“Or they might flip out and kick our flanks out onto the street,” Shadow said before muttering, “And I’m not a scaredy-flanks.”

“All the more reason that we would make the perfect welcome home ponies,” Sky said simply, stopping on a particular page and pointing at Carbon’s name. “Found them. Come on, let’s be on our way. They’re on the fourth floor.”

Sky put the book back where she found it and hopped back over the reception desk. She couldn’t help but feel a slight uneasiness seeping into her bones, but she took it for the eerie setting that this apartment left. Sky and Shadow passed through another set of doors and began their ascent up the first flight of stairs, quickly making their way up past the second and third floors. When they arrived on the fourth floor, Sky poked her head out of the door and looked down the hallway.

Towards the end of the hallway where Carbon and Lilo’s apartment was located stood a zebra decorated in all sorts of golden jewelry. She had a small bag secured in her mouth and was waiting patiently in front of the door. Sky looked behind her and saw that Shadow stared at her expectantly.

“Shadow, how about you go and wait for me at the park, okay?” Sky asked.

“B-but sis! What if something happened to them?” Shadow asked. “I can’t watch your back if we’re several blocks away from each other.”

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Sky said, stroking Shadow’s mane. “If I run into any trouble, I’ll come and find you, just like I always do.”

“I thought you said that you didn’t think that anything happened to them?” Shadow asked, cocking her head. “You know, like they went out on the town or were getting some dinner?”

“You can’t ever be too careful, right?” Sky asked in return. “I tell you what, you go and wait for me at the park, and if I do happen to run into Lilo and Carbon while they’re going at it in their apartment, then I’ll introduce you to them, alright?”

“Please tell me that you’re going to do that after they’re done,” Shadow groaned.

Sky gave Shadow a mischievous grin and said, “No promises, sweetie.”

Shadow gave Sky a searching look, then she nudged her sister against her hoof and walked back down the stairwell. Sky watched her go until she was out of sight, then turned back around and pushed the door open.

Naroke heard the door to the stairwell close and she looked over, noticing that Sky was approaching her. She set her bag down in front of her hooves.

“Good evening, my young pegasus friend,” Naroke said, “I take it that you, too, come here seeking whether these two ponies marry as intend.”

Sky stopped in her tracks and gave Naroke a blank look.

“Wait, hold on for a minute here,” Sky said slowly. “Did you just say ‘marry?’ “

“You have not heard?” Naroke asked, cocking her head. “Two ponies, a changeling and a pegasus, are set to be married is the word. I figured that you were here to see Lilo and Carbon. If that is not the case, then we must talk (with them) face to face. ”

“No, no, I am here to see them,” Sky mumbled. “Are you sure that it’s them? You know. Carbon and Lilo? Not somepony else?”

“Although the tabloids do not mention them by name, assuming that they are the two ponies in the news is fair game. I spoke with Carbon in particular the other day; I wouldn’t put it past him if he asked Lilo to marry him right away.”

“And they didn’t think to tell me of all ponies about this little arrangement of theirs?” Sky asked rhetorically with a pout. “When I get my hooves on Carbon, he’d better be making me his best mare. Name’s Sky Runner by the way.”

“And my name is Naroke. It is a pleasure to meet you on this fine day. Unfortunately, neither of them seem to be home at the moment,” Naroke said. “Perhaps if we leave and come back later they will be present.”

“Or we can take a closer look,” Sky said with a grin. She pulled out a bobby pin and trotted up to the door. “They could just be shagging each other in the back room for all you know. Do you have any idea how kinky the dark is?”

Naroke’s face reddened and she struggled to repress a fit of coughing. Sky looked behind her and gave the flustered zebra a wink.

“You don’t mean to barge in on them at such a time!” Naroke protested. “Doing so is like committing a doozy of all personal crime.”

“Trust me when I say I have s-” Sky’s words caught in her throat when the door creaked open at her touch.

The apartment remained too dark to see anything past the floor mat that sat at the foot of the entrance. Sky glanced back at Naroke with a confused look across her face. The zebra returned the look, and slowly her hoof that had originally been covering her face settled back onto the floor.

“How about you stay here,” Sky said, and there was a click has her miniature crossbow snapped out on her hoof. “I’m going to check out the apartment.”

Naroke nodded her head and Sky pushed herself into the apartment. The living room remained surprisingly warm against the cool mountain air from outside with one of the heaters blowing in the corner. Sky’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the lack of light, but when her focus came to, her breath caught in her throat.

Pictures of all sorts lay strewn out all over the floor, the frames damaged and scraped while the glass was cracked or shattered. The table that stood next to the couch lay broken with wood splinters embedded in the floor, while the couch itself had several tears and scratches all along its side. A small trail of dark blood ran along the floor and stopped short before it reached the entrance to the apartment, leaving the dull scent of iron hanging in the air.

“Bollocks,” Sky breathed, and she very carefully stepped around the small trail of blood to trek further into the apartment. Taking a brief look at the kitchen, Sky saw that nothing appeared to be out of place, so she looped around and headed towards the hallway. Carbon’s bedroom door remained open, allowing for her to step in and get a look around. She heard her heart pounding within her ears.

A very thin layer of blood dripped down the wall, and Sky turned her head the other way and saw the closet doors. They lay broken and smashed where Carbon had been thrown.

“What kinds of atrocities have occurred here?” Naroke asked, her voice emanating from the living room. “D-did somepony come by and try to make Carbon and Lilo disappear?”

Sky took a deep breath and stepped out from Carbon’s bedroom. The lights were on in the living room and Naroke stood staring at the small trail of blood that remained splattered across the floor. She walked up next to the stunned zebra and extended her good wing to place it around her back.

“We’re going to find them,” Sky said. “But first I need to know if there is anypony who has a vendetta against Carbon or Lilo. If there’s anything that you know, Naroke, it would help.”

“Th-there was the unicorn, the one from two years ago,” Naroke said. “The one who had kidnapped Lilo and turned Carbon into his foe.”

“I was afraid that you might mention Zumas,” Sky said with a grimace. “Okay, Naroke, is it?” Naroke nodded. “You seem to know Carbon and Lilo pretty well, so here’s the plan. I have a couple of ponies that I know who I could use to track down Zumas, but in the meantime I want you to find any ponies that you know. Round them up and we’ll track this asshole down. We’re going to need all of the help we can get.”

Naroke nodded her head again and Sky gave her a pat on the back.

“Thanks, Stripes,” Sky said and she giggled when she saw Naroke’s nose wrinkle. “We’re going to get them back. Both of them. And we’ll get rid of Zumas for good this time. Alright?”

“I really hope that you are right, Sky Runner,” Naroke said. “Zumas is not the type of pony that you can continue to deter.”

Author's Note:

I did this one in one night as well. Surprisingly. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but then I'm never satisfied with writing Naroke. That rhyming... I can only blame myself.

I big shout out and thank you to Happycamper for allowing me to use his OCs Sky Runner and Shadow. If you want to read more about them, go check out his story Canterlot Burglar. It's a pretty good mix of adventure and comedy.

Comments

[kahtoc]

Sky runner does seem like an interesting character to throw in the mix. It'll be interesting to see where you take things from here. And I thought you did ok.with our zebra friend. Can't wait for the next one!

[hell00001]

3565103

I'm currently preparing for finals so the next chapter is on hold until I can get that done. Once that's done, though, I might write the final chapters in one straight shot and give you guys some actual lengthy reading material.

[sorenxoras]

3574356
Yey lengthy reading!
Good luck on your finals!

[Mr Andrews Pupil]

Poor Carbon. Zumas probably can't wait to get his hooves on him... and Lilo for that matter.

[Equestrian Clock]

Hey! You're rhyming great!

[electrocross]

My friend, you say it is hard to rhyme, but a day is quite a lengthy bit of time. The sentence need not be even, nor the rhymes true such as been. Rhyming is not as difficult as it seems. You need not have a fit of screams. Do not think, just write (type), let your words flow like the dark of the night. You needn't concentrate on everything, just the final word, and that should ease your yearning. Be wary, not, nor be on the spot, just leave it linked, and worry not of the kinks.

[Kit the Kite]

3574356 Sky runner is best pony

[Evil Paladin]

Sky Runner is back! The fun semi-deus ex machina pony!
Time to see if she reprises her role as semi-deus ex machina pony.

[Always Breakfast]

“But first I need to know if there is anypony who has a vendetta against Carbon or Lilo. If there’s anything that you know, Naroke, it would help.”

Y-you don't need to ask this! You were there! You betrayed him after working for him longer than Lilo did -- I'm surprised you're not even higher on his shortlist!

[tsaukpaetra]

Well it's not official help, but help nonetheless!