The Day of the Dead

by Bookpony579

Chapter 7

Twilight and Ursa continued to read the article, their eyes widening with every word, with Twilight reading it out loud so Spike could hear it.

"Last Thursday at ten thirty eight pm., Police and emergency workers responded to a distress call from Lyanna reporting that she had found her mother, Ursa Brown, unconscious in the basement pool of the Great Bear Inn, a popular stop for tourists. Unfortunately, personnel arrived too late and declared that Ms. Brown had died by drowning. Though initially suspecting foul play, the authorities have recently declared it an accident due to the fact that the pool was old and the process of cleaning it was tricky. The owners of the Inn have since then sealed off the pool to prevent further accidents. Many locals have sent their condolences, saying that Ms. Brown was a beloved and well established member of the community."

They stopped there, and tried to process what they had learned.

"That's how I know the name of this place!" Twilight realized. "It was all over the news!"

"I-I remember now..."Ursa said distantly as she looked into space. "I was supposed to meet my friend in town for a movie that night, but my mother was sick, so I had to do her chores. I remember slipping on the ledge, my head hurting and...." Ursa paused and her next words came so quietly, Twilight and Spike had to listen carefully to hear it. "...I woke up, dead."

"I'm sorry..." Was all Twilight could offer.

"Thank you."

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested this revelation.

"My poor girl..." Ursa began crying. "To have to find her own mother like that...."

"I'm so sorry." Twilight offered again. "I can't change what happened. But we can still try to make things better now."

Ursa sniffed and wiped her eyes. "You're right. The only thing we can do now is get that note. What's next?"

"Let's go talk to Cloud and see if she'll give us her half of the amulet."

With newfound determination, they headed for the front desk.

---

Cloud was exactly the way Twilight first found her; standing behind her desk, tidying everything up.

"Oh! Twilight! Are you enjoying your visit?"

"Yeah. The Inn is wonderful." Twilight though quickly on how to phrase her next question delicately. "So.....this is kind of a strange question..."

"Yes?"

"Did....did your mother....give you anything when you were thirteen years old? Like say....an amulet piece?"

Cloud's jay dropped. "How-how did you know that?"

"Trust me it'll make sense later. But I really need to see it!"

Cloud looked hesitant but relented, and pulled the piece out of a desk drawer. It looked like half a circle, with half of a green gem in the middle.

"That's it!" Ursa shouted.

"It's beautiful." Twilight couldn't help but say. "I know this is going to sound really really weird too but.....can I borrow it for a little bit? I promise I'll give it right back!"

Cloud blinked and gripped the amulet tighter. "W-why?"

Twilight took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to best explain.

"I-I know this is going to sound crazy....but I can see ghosts."

"Wha-what!?"

"I know! I just found out today myself and let me tell you; I freaked out-" She felt Spike nudge her leg and she got back on track. "So anyway, your mother, Ursa Brown, she talked to me."

"She what!?"

"She asked me to come here to help you, your sister, and your grandmother. I promise to show you later, but right now I really need you and your sister's amulet halves."

Cloud just stared at her for a minute, frowning. "Do-do you have any idea of how crazy you sound right now?"

"I know! I understand! And I know how hard it must have been-"

"You know?" Cloud asked icily.

"I-I read the article online. And I remember it being all over the news when it happened."

"Oh? Did that article or any reporters happen to mention that she died all alone?"

"Huh?"

"That's right! We were all here! All three of us! We knew cleaning the pool could be dangerous! But not one of us bothered to help her! Not one of us bothered to check up on her until it was too late!"

"I'm sorry-"

"NO! No more 'I'm sorry's! Just-" She pushed the amulet into Twilight's hands. "Just take it and leave me alone! Please!"

Twilight quickly walked away from the grieving woman, knowing that any more talking would just make her more upset.

"Well that could've gone better..." Twilight sighed when they were out of earshot.

"It's okay Twilight, you did your best." Spike said comfortingly. "I guess they're just more upset than we thought they were."

"I'm so sorry about that." Ursa said. "Cloud is normally such a shy and quiet girl. I guess my death hit her hard."

"Honestly," Twilight spoke up. "I think it hit them all pretty hard. Did you see how upset Elinor and Lyanna were when you were brought up? I think they blame themselves too."

"Well, at least we have the first part of the amulet." Spike pointed out.

"But we still need the second half to open the safe." Ursa reminded him.

"Then I guess we need to talk to Lyanna next." Twilight said with a tone of dread.

"I wish I could help you more sweetie. But there's not much I can do besides float through walls. Only ghosts who stay beyond Dia de Los Muertos can interact with the living world." Ursa explained.

"I know. But Lyanna was the one who found you. Considering how upset Cloud was, I can't imagine what Lyanna might do when I ask for her amulet."

"Only one way to find out." Spike said.

Twilight sighed. "You're right. Now how are we going to find Lyanna?"

"That I can help you with!" Ursa said before floating off. She returned a few moments later. "She's still in the dining room."

"All right then, one piece down, one to go." Twilight confirmed as they headed back to the dining room.

Comments

[Comickook]

Once more, this is a great chapter. The exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places.

I particularly liked the bits of added detail concerning Ursa's death and Twilight's point concerning how the death was effecting Ursa's mother and daughters.

And I have to admit, for some extremely odd reason, I can't help thinking that the friend Ursa mentioned preparing for might have been one of Applejack's parents (who could have died themselves either JUST before or VERY shortly after Ursa's death, which would explain AJ's dislike for the Day of the Dead). However, I'll ALSO admit that I COULD just be overthinking it and I am very wrong.

At any rate, I will definitely be looking forward to the next chapter and some more pieces of the mystery uncovered.

[Bookpony579]

9009637
Nope! Sorry!

It's just a random stranger who will never appear.

[Comickook]

9011750
Yeah. Kind of figured I was overthinking it. Thanks for clarifying that, though.