The ABCs of Harmonic Death

by Vertigo22

H is for Haunted

The moon shined brightly in the clear, night sky over Neighburgh. A young earth pony mare who had a brown coat and a paint brush for a cutie mark, named Violet was visiting her childhood town for her Summer vacation.

And she was completely lost.

Now where did Mom say the local hotel was? She thought to herself. I could’ve sworn she said it was on Main Street. The young mare let out a heavy sigh and adjusted a saddle bag she carried as continued to ponder where the hotel was.

Violet continued to walk around town. A few store lights remained on, which gave the young mare a sense of comfort from the otherwise empty atmosphere. I should’ve brought a map with me, She thought. Then again, this town was a lot smaller when I lived in here. As Violet rounded the corner, she noticed something. Down the block was a faintly lit sign that read ‘Woodworth’s Hostel’. Maybe somepony in there knows where the hotel is, the young mare thought as she made her way towards the building.

As Violet ran down the sidewalk, she bumped into a unicorn mare, who was walking down the sidewalk. “I’m sorry,” she said as she got a good look at the unicorn. Her dark grey coat matched the concrete sidewalk and she had an eye for a cutie mark, which greatly unnerved Violet. She also appeared rather old and frail.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” The unicorn snapped.

“I said I’m sorry,” Violet said softly.

“You fillies are all the same. No regard for the world and ponies around you.” The elderly mare said with a frown.

“I get it, bitch. It was just an accident.” Violet said, now visibly irritated.

“Excuse me?” The unicorn asked.

Me and my big mouth, Violet thought. “Look, I’ve been spent most of the evening looking for the local hotel. I’m a little short on patience and just want to find a place to sleep.”

“And that gives you the right to disrespect me?!” The elderly unicorn growled.

“Well, no, but,” Violet faltered her words. “Look, the point is, I’m really sorry,” she said.

The unicorn glared at Violet as her horn glowed a ghastly white. “I’ll teach you to disrespect me,” she said softly.

Violet took a few steps back and laughed nervously. “Is it too late to offer another apology?”

The unicorn smirked, but said nothing.

“I-I’ll just be going now,” Violet said as she galloped passed the unicorn and towards the Hostel.

---

Inside the Hostel, a young unicorn stallion with a midnight blue coat yelled and a comically large grin greeted Violet. “Welcome to Woodworth’s Hostel!” he said. “I’m the owner and proprietor of this fine establishment!” The owner pointed to a name tag on his vest which simply read ‘Gordon’. The eccentric stallion levitated a clipboard to himself. “Now, would you like a room?”

“Oh, I don’t want to stay here,” Violet said, taken aback by the stallions energy. “You see, I’m visiting the town because I grew up here, and I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the local hotel.”

“It’s on the other end of town,” Gordon said with a slight hint of indignation. “I’m surprised that someone who grew up here didn’t know where that eyesore of a place is.”

Violet frowned. Well, excuse me for not remembering where one place is, she thought. She glanced at a clock that hung on the wall and then said, “I guess I’ll stay here for the night.”

“Ah, wonderful!” Gordon beamed as he turned around, which revealed a room key as his cutie mark, and grabbed a pen. “What’s your name?”

“Violet Ivy.”

The young stallion wrote down her name and handed her a room key. “Just go up those stairs”- Gordon pointed a hoof to a small staircase behind him- “and it’ll be the third room on the left.”

“Thank you.” Violet grabbed the key and made her way to her room.

Upstairs, in her room, Violet placed her saddle bag on a small bed and hopped onto it. Tomorrow, I can find out how my friends have been and see if I can get a room at the hotel, she thought as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

~~~

Violet awoke in her bed. The moon still shone brightly outside. She lay up and looked around her room.

In the middle of it was the unicorn mare from earlier.

The young mare jumped and backed up against the wall. “What are you doing here?” She asked through her increasingly heavy breathing.

The mare tilted her head and grinned from ear to ear. “Hello, Violet,” She said in a hushed tone, her voice echoing in Violet’s head. The mare walked over to the side of Violet’s bed before she said, “Welcome home.” An aura surrounded Violet as the mare gazed at her. Slowly, the force of the magic strengthened, and started to crush Violet’s body.

~~~

Violet awoke in a cold sweat as she gasped for air. She frantically looked around the room.

In the middle of the room were hoof prints that were burnt into the wood of the floor. Oh sweet Celestia, the young mare thought when she noticed they lead towards her bedside. Somepony around town must know who that mare is. Violet looked outside. Still dark out, she thought. I’m not getting back to sleep though. Maybe Gordon knows something about that mare.

Violet hopped off the bed and left her room. I just hope he believes me, She thought as she made her way to a staircase. Violet descended it and spotted Gordon behind the front desk still. “Hey. Gordon,” the young mare said.

Gordon turned around. “Why, hello there,” He said. “Is there something wrong?”

“Well, you see,” Violet began, uncertainty filling her, “I had this horrible nightmare and when I woke up, there were hoof prints!”

“Are you sure you didn’t just sleep walk?” Gordon asked. “Maybe you spilled something and left them there.”

“They looked as though they’re burnt into the wood though!”

Gordon raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

“Just come see for yourself!” Violet yelled.

Gordon shrugged and followed Violet. “If I hear the front bell ring, I’m leaving.”

“Don’t you have any other employees?” Violet asked.

“Yes, but it was their day off,” the owner said. “A new mare starts tomorrow though.”

Violet nodded as she approached her room. She opened it up.

“Oh, well,” Gordon said as he looked at the hoof prints. “I’ll get somepony to fix the floor then.” Gordon turned to face Violet. “Need anything else?”

“Well, I had a dream about an old mare,” Violet said, “and the path she took is the same as the hoof prints over there.”

“I, uh, don’t know of any ‘old mare’,” Gordon said, “but there’s a library not too far from here. Maybe there’s a book on something like her.” Gordon awkwardly shuffled his hooves. “Anyways I should get back to the front desk. So sorry about your bad experience!” With that, Gordon raced back to the lobby.

“Well, aren’t you helpful,” Violet muttered under her breath. With a heavy sigh, she re entered her room and shut the door. The young mare walked over to her bed and flopped onto it. Slowly, her eyes closed, and Violet fell back to sleep.

---

Okay, first things first, Violet thought as she got out of bed the next morning. Go to the Library. I’ll grab breakfast on the way there. the young mare grabbed her saddlebag and made her way out of the hostel.

Outside, the air was humid, and the sound of cicadas filled the air. Yeah, I’m definitely home, the young mare thought as she walked down the block.

Bump

Violet staggered back and shook her head. “Watch where you’re-” Before she finished her sentence, she got a look at the pony she’d bumped into.

It was the elderly mare from the previous day.

“You,” The young mare said, uneasiness in her voice. “You were in a dream last night.”

“Okay?” The unicorn tilted her head. “So what?”

“You were crushing me with your magic! I even saw hoof prints when I woke up!”

“Are you accusing me of something, Violet?” The mare asked, now visibly aggravated.

Violet took a deep breath. “No,” she said. “I just had a long night and-” Violet’s eyes shot open. “Wait, did you call me Violet?”

The elderly mare smirked. “That is your name, is it not?”

“How do you know it?” Violet asked.

“I overheard you tell it to Gordon yesterday,” the unicorn said.

“I didn’t see you inside there though,” Violet replied as she narrowed her eyes.

“I wasn’t in there,” the elderly mare replied. “I was walking by outside and heard you say your name. You’d be surprised how poor that hostel’s insulation is,” she said with a smirk. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to be to go somewhere.” The unicorn walked passed Violet. As she did so, the young mare noticed that her cutie mark had to changed to the number five

“Hey, wait!” Violet yelled.

The unicorn stopped and turned around. She tilted her head.

“How did you change your cutie mark?”

“I didn’t change it,” the mare said.

“But when I first saw you, it was an eye,” Violet said as she became increasingly uneasy.

The mare smirked and walked away.

“Hey!” Violet yelled as she ran after the unicorn. “Answer me!”

The mare’s horn glowed a ghastly white. She shook her head ‘no’ once more before she teleported away.

Violet cursed under her breath. SOMEPONY has to know who she is. The young mare galloped down the block towards the library.

---

Violet entered the library a short time later. Okay, let’s see, She thought. Maybe she’s a ghost of sorts! Violet walked to shelf full of books on the paranormal and grabbed a few that caught her attention. The young mare walked to a seat and opened one titled ‘Spirits of Equestria’. Well, she doesn’t sound like anything in this book. she thought as she flipped through it.

Book after book, Violet came up empty-hoofed. Maybe I’m worrying about nothing. Maybe she’s just a strange pony who moved here, She thought. Maybe those hoof prints were there before I entered and I just didn’t notice. Violet’s stomach growled. Maybe I should get breakfast too.

The young mare stood up and walked out of the library. I wonder if that place mom and dad used to bring me to is still here, She thought. ’House of Pancakes’ I think was its name.

Violet whistled a nameless tune as she rounded a corner. Up ahead was a building with a large pancake on it. As she walked it, she passed a schoolhouse. A few foals were outside playing on the playground as she passed by. She stopped and turned her head. A smile formed on her face. To be young again.

The young mare’s stomach growled again. “Oh, right,” she said to herself. Violet trotted towards the building.

Violet opened the door, which made a bell ring. A unicorn colt at the counter looked up and smiled. “Welcome to the House of Pancakes,” He said. “What would you like today?”

Violet smiled. “Two blueberry pancakes.”

The colt nodded levitated a plate over to himself and two freshly made blueberry pancakes onto it. “Here you go,” he said. “That’ll be seven bits.”

Violet handed him the bits and walked over to an open seat. Immediately, she dug in That creepy mare can never ruin pancakes, Violet thought as she took a large bite out of one of the pancakes.

Ding

Violet jumped at the sudden noise. She looked over at the front door.

To her annoyance, the elderly mare had entered the diner.

Just ignore her, Violet thought as she took another bite of a pancake. A smile formed on her face as she chewed.

“Hello, Violet,” the elderly mare said as she walked over to the young mare.

The color from Violet’s face drained. She turned her head to face the unicorn. “H-Hi,” She stuttered. “What’s up?”

The mare took a seat across from Violet and levitated a slice a pancake over to herself. “Did you find any good books while you were at the library?”

Violet narrowed her eyes. “Did you follow me there?”

The mare shook her head ‘no’. “I was out for my morning walk when you bumped into me. Then I went to the library.”

“Sure you were,” Violet said as she glared at the unicorn. “Then why’d you teleport away from me?”

“What is an old mare like me to do when some crazed filly won’t leave me alone? I thought you were going to attack me for Celestia’s sake!”

“You wouldn’t answer my question,” Violet said, a hint of agitation in her voice.

“What question?” The mare asked. “About my cutie mark?” She stood up and looked at it. “It’s always been like this.” The unicorn walked over to Violet. Her cutie mark was now of the number four.

“It was an eye the first time I walked into you,” Violet said. “Then it was the number five!”

The elderly mare walked back over to the other end of the table and sat back down. “You must be seeing things, dear. My cutie mark has always been of the number four.”

“Quit lying!” Violet growled. “Just who exactly are you?”

The mare smirked and let out an exaggerated sigh. “I’m a unicorn.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Violet said snarkily. “I mean, do you have a name? A job?”

“I practice dark magic. Whoever does me wrong, I can properly punish with a curse.”

“W-Wait, what?!” Violet shrieked. “Does that mean you laid a curse on me?!”

The unicorn nodded and grinned. “As for my name, why should I tell you that? Don’t you already have something to call me? ‘Bitch’, wasn’t it?”

The color from Violet’s face drained. “What kind of curse did you lay on me?” Violet asked with a whimper.

“Where’s the fun in just telling you?” The mare said as she teleported away, a bright flash of light filling the room as she did so.

“Hey! Wait!” Violet yelled.

“Who are you talking to?” The colt from behind the counter asked as he walked over to Violet.

Violet looked at the colt and blinked. She turned her attention back to the mare, who’d vanished. “There was a mare here just a moment ago,” Violet said.

“Miss, I saw nopony here at any point, other than you. Are you feeling okay?” The colt asked.

Violet let out a heavy sigh. “Did anypony walk in here before I started talking to myself?”

The colt thought to himself for a moment. “Not that I can recall. Why?”

“I was talking to a mare. She walked in and immediately came over to me. I saw her yesterday evening and before I went to the library. I swear, she’s following me!”

The colt raised an eyebrow. “I... don’t know what to say. There was never anypony sitting opposite from you.”

“She teleported out and sent out a bright flash of light!” Violet yelled, her right eye twitching.

“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You’re disturbing the other patrons.”

Violet frowned and let out another heavy sigh.”I’m sorry,” She muttered as she stood up, a distraught look on her face. She placed a few bits onto the table as a tip and quickly made her way to the entrance.

I must be going insane, Violet thought as she left the diner and walked along the sidewalk. No, that’s silly. I mean, I’ve bumped into her. So she must be real! Violet fell to her haunches and placed her forehooves on her temples. I need to calm down. Maybe going to the park will help. The young mare stood back up and took a deep breath and smiled slightly. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. It worked when I was a filly. Violet clapped her forehooves together and walked to the town park.

---

Violet arrived at the park a short time later. She walked to a large tree and lay underneath it. A gentle Summer breeze blew against her. She shut her eyes and smiled happily. Finally, some peace and quiet.

“Beautiful weather, is it not?”

Violet spun around and growled. “You!” She yelled as she stomped towards the elderly mare, who’s cutie mark was now of the number three. “Why are you following me around!?”

The mare smiled from ear to ear. “Our conversation got cut short in the diner,” she said softly. “I wanted to continue it someplace less public.”

“Got cut short?” Violet asked. “You teleported away!”

“I know,” the mare said. “Mind telling me if anypony noticed me?”

“Why do you care?”

“I wiped their memories of me.” The mare walked up next Violet. “Well?”

“Is that why the colt thought I was crazy?” Violet asked.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” the unicorn said with a small smirk.

Violet stomped her hoof. “Answer me!”

“No,” the mare said. “Not until you stop being so rude to me.”

“You’re the one who’s been following me around!” Violet yelled. “You’re the one who made me look crazy in the diner earlier!” She stomped up to the mare and put her muzzle up against hers. “You’ve been driving me nuts since last night! You were even in a damn dream of mine!”

The unicorn pushed Violet back. “And you’re the one who called me a bitch!”

Violet burst out laughing. “All of this,” She said through her laughter, “because of that? Don’t you think that seems rather petty?”

“When you have the power to take lives because of magic, why wouldn’t you get back at those who do you wrong?” The mare asked a devilish grin.

Violet stopped laughing and tilted her head. “You’ve done stuff like this before?”

The mare nodded. “Haven’t you figured out what my cutie mark represents?”

“So you have been changing your cutie mark!”

The unicorn nodded. “It’s a counter,” She said. “And what does it mean when a counter reaches zero, Violet?”

“It means something has ended?” The young mare asked. Suddenly, her pupils dilated, and her heart began to race. “Wait, you’re going to kill me?!”

“Took you long enough to figure that out,” the elderly mare said. “The last pony never did.”

“All I did was get upset at you for yelling at me,” Violet said, her voice barely above a squeak. “Can’t we just forgive and forget?” She asked with pleading eyes.

“I guess you also think I should forgive those who’ve let a door slam into me and who’ve bumped into me, making my food fall down onto the ground?”

“Y-Yes! I do!” Violet said hysterically. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“You tell me,” the mare growled.

“Well, it’s the right thing to do.”

“No, the right thing to do is make sure they never wrong do somepony ever again.”

“You’re insane!” Violet shrieked. “I didn’t wrong you in any way. All I did was get upset that you yelled at me for bumping into you!”

The unicorn chuckled. “Not like you can do anything about it,” She said. “Nopony has ever been able to in the past.” Her horn glowed and she teleported away.

Violet gulped. Okay, remain calm, Violet. Maybe somepony at town hall can help you! She thought as she galloped towards the building.

The sweltering heat, however, quickly began to take a toll on her.

“Just... a little more,” She said through her heavy breathing.

After a short while, Violet charged through the doors of town hall, which startled the stallion behind the front door. “What is it, ma’am?” He asked as he regained his composure.

Violet looked up at the stallion as she gasped for air. “Is there any... anyway I could view the public... records?” As she finished her sentence, Violet fell to the floor and fainted.

~~~

Violet slowly opened her eyes. “Where am I?” She asked in a daze.

An empty schoolyard, save for a swing set, was all she could see. Violet trotted towards the swings and sat on one.

Poof

The elderly mare appeared in front of Violet, her cutie mark now that of the number two.

Violet hopped off the swing and charged at the mare. She tackled her into the ground and threw a punch, which knocked a tooth out.

The mare threw a quick punch and threw Violet off of her. “I come here to talk and you attack me!?” The mare asked furiously.

“Can it and leave me alone!” Violet yelled as she threw another punch to the unicorn.

The elderly mare swiftly dodged the punch and fired off a powerful magic bolt, which connected with Violet’s chest.

Violet reeled in agony as she felt a sharp pain course through every inch of her body. She fell onto her stomach and looked up at the unicorn, whose horn glowed a dark red.

“No more games,” she said as she fired off a large red magical bolt.

~~~

Violet jolted away and let out a loud scream.

The stallion staggered back a few feet. “Don’t move-”

“She’s going to kill me!” Violet interrupted, fear coursing through her. With that, she ran out the front doors.

“Wait!” The stallion yelled. “Medics are… on their way.” The stallion let out a sigh. This is going to be a pain to explain.

---

Violet ran through the streets. No place is safe from her! She thought as she charged passed a few ponies. “Excuse me!” She yelled back.

Thud

The young mare shook her head and screamed. “Go away!” She screamed as she tried to buck the elderly mare, whose cutie mark was now that of the number one.

The elderly mare staggered back a few feet and grunted. “Give up, Violet,” She said. “You’ve got no chance at beating me.”

Violet bucked the unicorn again, but she felt herself get caught by her magic.

“Oh no you don’t!” The elderly mare yelled as she levitated Violet up. Slowly, Violet felt her entire being crushed by the mares magic.

The young mare screamed in agony. “Please, stop!” Violet cried.

A few nearby ponies turned their heads and screamed in panic.

“Damn it,” the elderly mare growled as she dropped Violet, who immediately ran towards the hostel. The unicorn cast off a bright white light and chased after Violet.

---

Violet burst through the front doors of the hostel. She ran up the stairs and staggered back into her hostel room. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest as she slammed the door shut behind her.

“Now, to finish what I started,” a voice said angrily. The elderly mare suddenly teleported into her room, her cutie mark now that of the number zero.

Violet jumped and backed up against the wall. She swallowed a lump in her throat as the elderly mare made her way towards her. “You don’t have to do this,” Violet whimpered.

“You didn’t have to call me a bitch.”

Tears streamed down Violet’s face “Please, don’t do this. I don’t want to die.”

A devilish grin formed on the unicorn’s face. “Nopony will remember who you were,” The elderly mare said as her horn glowed a dark red. A thin beam struck Violet’s chest, which made the young mare let out a loud scream.

Slowly, the beam became surrounded by a white essence. Violet’s pupils slowly disappeared as the young mare felt herself slowly wither away as she watched her very being flow into the mare’s horn. Finally, everything went black.

The young mare’s body fell to the floor with a thud, her eyes now completely white.

The unicorn looked down and smirked. “I’ll make sure of that.”

Author's Note:

Leave a comment telling me what you thought of this story! It'd mean a whole lot to me!

Comments

[Nikkori]

...............

A great twist in the common use of this type of haunting.

[Vertigo22]

7297241 Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[FarmFreshAppleTarts]

“I practice dark magic. Whoever does me wrong, I can properly punish with a curse.”

Ah, and as expected, you're a petty asshole.

“You didn’t have to call me a bitch.”

Man, that's one entitled bitch. She said sorry, a fuckton of times, and you murder her. Some people just looking for a excuse.