Ghosts of Skeleton's Past

by Valorousspectre

From the eyes of the young.

"Alright dear, I suppose I have a thing or two to explain to you then?"

Chemise had led Soarin back into her cottage and upstairs and was, in this minute, pulling down the trapdoor to what must be the roof. The portal to the upper room was dark and dust hung in the air as the light tried to permeate the interminable black. Soarin didn't answer, looking apprehensively at the dark doorway. Chemise rolled her eyes and started up the steps the trapdoor had unfolded to become.

"Let's go dear. I'd rather not talk out here."

Soarin looked at the dark portal and shook his head.

"Nuh-uh. No way. I'm not going up there. Not a chance. We can talk right here."

Chemise turned around, glaring at Soarin.

"Soarin. Come up here, now."

He shook his head vehemently.

"Not a chance in Equestria lady. Hell no."

Chemise sighed softly.

"Soarin," She reprimanded softly, "I asked you to come up here. Don't make me come down there and drag you by your ear."

Soarin felt like a young foal being scolded and his ears splayed back and he nodded, ashamed. She smiled to him and trotted up the stairs, followed by the ashamed Soarin. It was brighter than Soarin thought within the attic. It seemed that it was only the small space for the entry that was dark, the rest was a filtered gold colour, like the thatching that made up the roof. In the dead center of the place was a red rocking chair. The thing was ancient and was intricately carved to appear as... well Soarin wasn't sure. It was either blowing wind or flowing water. Either way it was a remarkable piece of craftsponyship. Across from it was a comfy looking chair with armrests that didn't look nearly as elaborate or expensive. She nodded to that chair as she crossed the room, Soarin in tow.

"Sit there please," she commanded him and, without thought, he obeyed. She sat in the rocking chair and stared at him intently. Seconds dragged on to minutes onto what felt like hours. Soarin was fidgeting and getting uncomfortable and was literally about to speak when she cut him off.

"I don't know how you irritated Splintered Dreams," She said calmly, ignoring his start of shock, "But whatever you did certainly riled him up. Now, before you go on a justified tirade, I want you to think carefully of what you may have done to annoy him so that he'd take a stab at you in MY presence."

But still Soarin did not speak, though he wracked his brains thinking. When he came up with nothing however, he merely stayed silent. For the first time since he'd been there, Chemise took on a cold, angry tone.

"Are you blind, Soarin Wonderbolt?" She asked darkly, "Or are you merely stupid?"

Again, he didn't speak, flinching at the words. There was no compulsion to them, simply dark accusation. A long time passed where neither of the pair spoke until Chemise spoke once more, colder, disappointed.

"Soarin, Come here."

She pointed directly in front of her with a hoof. Met with a compulsion he couldn't help but obey, he approached and sat before her, tail curled around his legs, head held low. There was nothing else his body would let him do. Right up until Chemise turned his face towards hers.

"If you will not see what you have done," She said, "Then I suppose it is up to me to show you what you have done to my little Grin."

Shock almost had time to register on his face before it screwed up in pain. Chemise planted both forehooves on his temples and Soarin cried out in pain as images flashed through his mind. Her voice grew soft and gentle, reassuring.

"We will start at the eldest."

~*~

Something's happened to Daddy.

He came home today and he looked all scared and weird. I didn't understand. Nothing frightened my daddy, he's the bravest pony in the world. He's fun and fast and he's my daddy. But today is different, I can feel it. I feel it in his hug. His legs are shaking. I can see it in the way he hugs mum, as though touching her would break her. I see it in the way he hugs my sisters as well. My little sisters. I can see it. He's putting on a brave face, but he's scared. Daddy never was a very good actor. I try to talk to him, I ask him what it is he's so afraid of. He smiles and tells me it's nothing, but I can tell by the way he ruffles my mane that he's lying. It's hesitant, afraid.

Daddy never was a good liar.

He's quiet at the dinner table, and he jumps when mum tries to talk to him, dodging the question as best he could. I can see mum looking at him funny, but she lets it go. The others are quiet too.

I don't like it. Nopony seems to be happy.

After dinner, I try to play a prank and get caught out by daddy. He.... He yells at me... D-Daddy yelled at me...

Daddy never yells at me... not even for a prank...

What's happened Daddy...? Why are you being so weird....?

~*~

"Skies..." Whispered Soarin, a tear leaking out of the corner of his closed eye. Chemise grimaced at the sorrow she was causing, but what had to be done often was painful, and if she didn't do it, nopony would.

"Keep watching Soarin, we have some time to go yet."

~*~

The time went so quick. Hearth's Warming came and went, but the warmest part was Auntie Spitfire. She played with me a lot, and took me flying over Cloudsdale for a little while. Almost made Daddy seem like his old self. I thought that... maybe time would help him. But it's made him worse. Much worse. He hardly eats now, and I hear mum and him arguing at night when they think we're asleep. But I've seen Pepper and Ghosty awake at night, same as me. I know they hear it too. They've fought about us, about mum, and about daddy. Mostly about Daddy. They don't sleep in the same bed anymore. I've seen it, Daddy has his own bed, and mum looks depressed. She looks really tired all the time, and she's getting crankier all the time. She doesn't have time to make our lunches anymore, and she rarely gets up before we leave. Auntie Fleetfoot has taken the job to make sure we're ready to go, and Auntie Spitfire comes as well. I put on a brave face for them, so they don't think I know, but I'm getting scared.

I don't know what's happening, but Mum and Daddy aren't getting along very well anymore. I've heard stories of parents going away and leaving ponies like me and Ghosty and Pepper with only one parent, a mum or a daddy.

I don't want that to happen.. I don't want to be left alone. I want a mum and a daddy. I know I love my daddy more than my mum, but I still love my mummy... I don't want to leave her...

I don't want to go away...

~*~

Soarin was openly weeping by now, and Chemise was holding back tears of her own.

"Please stop... stop it now..."

She shook her head gently.

"No dear Soarin, we still have a bit left on your eldest, then two more."

~*~

Daddy's gone... He didn't come home this afternoon, and Pepper told me he wasn't coming back. Not tonight, maybe not ever. Auntie Spitfire scolded her, told her she was being silly. Said of course he'd come back. Time went slowly. Very, very slowly. Several weeks, and he's still not back. My hope dwindled ages ago.

Daddy's given up... He's not coming back...

I miss my daddy.

~*~

My father is a very brave pegasus. A Wonderbolt, a fantastic flier and a great pony. But today he came home different. Something was wrong, but I couldn't place my hoof on what it is. He's quiet, and he isn't his normal, happy self. But he has no bandages or anything on him, so he can't be hurt. But...

I don't know, he seems off. His voice is odd. Not normal. His voice is normally so confident and so comforting. I won't hesitate in saying mummy is my favorite, but my daddy is important to me too.

Something's wrong, and I want to know what it is.

He yelled at Skies as well. He never yells at Sky. If anything, he looks for any reason to not yell at her.

Something is definitely wrong.

Time passed. But my father didn't improve. Now it's visible. He's not happy, and everypony knows it. I've heard fights when I've been in bed, when Mummy has tried to talk to him about things. He treats her like she really breakable, like touching her will break her. She's getting more and more scary. She gets angry really quickly now, and I have to be careful not to set her off.

I want my father back, but more than that, I want my mummy back.

Hearth's Warming was almost normal again, but there was still something wrong. Aunt Spitfire came along, so did Aunt Fleetfoot. Aunt Spitfire spent most of her time with Sky. It was almost normal, but under it all it just seemed... wrong.
Nothing is the same anymore... I want it all back to how it was.

I want mummy back how she was, I want my father back as he was. I want Pepper and Sky back how they were. Daddy never came back today... Pepper says he might not ever come back...

I want my family back how it was... This isn't how I want to grow up... This isn't how I want things to go.

I want it all back.

~*~

My father has never been especially clever. He doesn't make money from being clever however, so one is to expect that he would not be entirely intellectual. His maturity is deplorable sometimes, much like my sister, Clear Skies. She is also not terribly bright. Not stupid by any stretch, but not bright. dull of attention to detail perhaps, unless one counts physical detail. She does have a keen eye. But father? Only on the track. A fatherly figure is an important part of growing up. All the books say so, and it sounds right in my head. But lately, with the stories I've requested, father has become ensnared. Several times I have observed him being especially loving or careful around my mother. This day, he left the house just before we left for school, precisely seven fifteen a.m. He returned several hours after we had. He had the distinct scent of sweat on him, and he reeked of fear. There was a nervous twitch in his hind leg, left, and his mane was wilder than usual. When one is as dull as father is, one tends to forget that fear exists.

Evidently something has retaught him what 'fear' is.

Everything I've read points to the idea that a little fear is good for a pony. It teaches them bravery, the ability to overcome fear. Of course, the more you're subject to, the harder it is to combat and defeat it. Father has not felt fear, I imagine, in a long, long time. His mind isn't used to the concept, so I think it's struggling to cope. Mother has noticed too, and though my sisters try to hide it, I can tell they see it as well. Clear Skies hides it best, beaming and smiling and hugging him like normal. He wasn't right. I'm not sure if it was a small jolt of fear or a heavy dose, but whichever it was, it's clearly not helping. Then, I may be incorrect. Observations will have to be made.

Stress is obviously getting to him. And only after a few hours. He lost his temper at Clear Skies when she was setting up a particularly devilish prank to play on Ghost, her favorite target. She looked shocked at first, then utterly terrified. Father walked away soon after. Clear Skies spent the rest of the day and night trying not to cry. I could see it in her eyes, the way she moved. Everything pointed to depression. It was not a pretty sight, and not one I wished to observe. Dinner was quiet and reserved. Nopony spoke. Not really. Bed followed soon after.

I have observed father over several months, and his condition is deteriorating. He treats Mother like she's made of fine china or cracked glass, ready to shatter at the lightest touch. Mother is getting frustrated. I can feel it. The atmosphere in the house is riddled with pent up emotions. Mother feels it too. She's getting more and more irritable and often refuses us what we could have had beforehoof. Probably because Father's performances are diminishing in quality. Spitfire has been forced to replace him in shows more than once. I saw her arguing with a reporter in the street outside our house. She didn't want him to come in. Said that Mother and Father liked their privacy. She's right, of course. But that can't be the only reason.

Hearth's Warming was almost normal. Except the frustrations and tensions running high. They diminished when Spitfire entered the domicile with some semblance of alcohol, probably eggnog, followed by Aunt Fleetfoot. She spent a lot of time with me, and I told her what I was afraid of. She told me she'd speak to father. I think she tried to as well. But Father has a thick head and a stubborn streak a mile wide. He'd never listen. He's in denial, saying nothing's wrong.

This is starting to annoy me.

I asked my friends at school about things like this. They said it normally happens before their parents leave each other. Divorce. Divorce isn't unheard of in Equestria, but nopony can say it's common. I don't think that will happen for a long time. When I got home, it looked like Mother and Father had just had a fight, and Mother was trying not to cry. I've heard them before, arguing. Mother always gives up. She can't get him to see what he's doing. He's coming home later and later these days. I think Mother suspects him of infidelity. It's possible to suspect, but I don't think Father is that stupid. Dull perhaps, but not outright stupid.

He left sometime that night. The fool. Mother is in despair. She's hurting much, much worse than she ever did getting those scars of hers. Perhaps the pony in her stories has something to do with this. It would not surprise me. He always seemed to turn up, so what's stopping him doing so again?

I want my Father back. Things were better the way they were. Change isn't always for the better. Now I want what I had back. My books bring me no comforts. My sisters irritate me with their whining.

Father had better get his act together and come home.

Comments

[Valorousspectre]

Changed the idea for latest chapter. So, take a look from the fillies' perspective, courtesy of mysterious magicks and even more curious mares.

[Late Registrator]

Soarin was fine until that other dude went and scared the living shit outta him.

[suckmyponycock69]

I'm sorry, but I have to post this.

[russiancupcake]

I take it the cover image was edited?

[vren55]

... Well Soaring's reaction is understandable, actually very understandable, Splintered Dreams is going to give me nightmares for a while. It's a pity it affected his family as well as himself...

As for Skeleton, darn she's reacting under circumstances beyond her control. She can't really help herself

You sir, are a genius. Skeleton's character is very well developed, though I think sometimes you went a little far on what a normal pony's mental sanity could take, I think you did an excellent job with Soarin's portrayal and this story has really deepened their relationship.

[Radio_Crash]

shit,im out of chapters...

[Lazygamer313]

Hmm, quite the interesting chapter. When you said you would be doing perspective views of the fillies, I would never thought it would involved Soarin' being forced to relieve the past moments of his fillies life's with their thoughts. I would imagine being separate, but nonetheless, the end results is superb. Where instead of focusing on one foal of the family, you have done all in one chapter where we not only see and feel that they are put though through in the situation, but we see Soarin' reacting to this as well. Ironic to imagine how, opposite of Splintered Dreams intent, became an indirect reason to cause amount of chaos between the family in which he wants the least to happen to his precious Skeleton Grin. Now I can't wait to see what happens from here on out with Chemise and Soarin, and how Skeleton Grin further descends back to madness that she once was into before her time with Soarin'.

Overall, this chapter is really superb my man, REALLY well done. I'll be looking foward to your next update, whenever that will be. Keep up the good work man

~Best regards

[Stellar starry night]

Right in the feels man, that really hit there man,

[Valorousspectre]

1924712 Until I get enough money to comission what I want, yes. I'm afraid it's the best I could do at the time.

[russiancupcake]

1995911 I have no problem with it. Just asking out of curiosity.