A Dance With Death

by Dee Pad

Chapter 16 - Living Dead

Samba lay still, her thoughts foggy and unfocused. She felt like she usually did the morning after a particularly exhausting night at the pub; the sort of morning where one simply didn't want to get out of bed and just hide themselves under the sheets like a hermit crab nestled snugly in its shell. The morning rays of the sun didn't help either, piercing through the window like a high-power searchlight.

But there was no escaping the call of a new day. She was awake now, and sleep would likely elude her for the remainder of the morning. Still, she resisted, forcibly keeping her eyes clenched shut. Even if she wasn't going to get back to sleep, she also didn't want to wake up. Instead, she continued to lay there, allowing whatever random thoughts circling through her subconscious have free reign in the forefront of her mind. Several images flashed in her mind's eye; images of Limbo, Poe, Night Owl, and...

The image of Loose Leaf suddenly appeared in her thoughts, standing over her and brandishing a knife with a psychotic grin.

Samba's eyes flew open, and she shot up from her bed in a near panic.

Except she wasn't in her bed. She was in her living room, on the couch. Confusion came over her. The last thing she remembered was that image of Leaf. She recalled being stabbed. She remembered the pain. She thought she had died. Had it all been a dream? A lucid nightmare?

"Mornin', sleeping beauty."

Samba's ears perked up at the sound of the somewhat familiar voice. She glanced over the back of the couch toward the kitchen, where Poe Ravensong was seated at the table, helping herself to a bowl of oatmeal. Webber was present as well, just laying on the table near Poe.

Poe looked in the general direction of the bathroom. "Yo, Limbo, she's awake."

Limbo practically broke the bathroom door down on her way out, rushing over to Samba's side. "Samba! You okay?! How you feeling?!"

Samba was a little taken aback by her very concerned tone, like that of an overbearing mother after her kid had scuffed their knee. "Um, okay, I guess?"

Poe got up from the table, grabbing Limbo by the tail and pulling her back a smidge. "Give 'er some room, yeah?" She offered a more calming smile to Samba. "Welcome back."

Samba scratched her head, still feeling a little confused. "What happened? Last thing I remember was being at Leaf's place, and he..."

"Stabbed you, yeah."

Samba stared at Poe, waiting for the "Psyche!" But after a few moments of awkward silence and a curious quirk of Poe's eyebrow as she awaited her response, Samba gleaned that she wasn't joking. "Really?"

"Just look."

Samba looked down, finding a sizable scar in the middle of her chest, though the wound had healed over nicely enough. But the presence of the scar was puzzling on its own. "Wait, how long was I out?"

"Well, it's ten in the morning, so about five hours," answered Limbo.

That only confused her further. How could a grievous stab wound to the chest heal over in just five hours? "I... don't understand."

"Yeah, well, the spell couldn't totally fix it, so you're just gonna have to bear that scar," Poe informed her.

Samba blinked. "'Spell'?"

That's when it started to click. She was stabbed. That actually happened. The question then became: how could one possibly survive such a wound? The answer: they couldn't. That just left one explanation. She had indeed died. Leaf killed her. So if she was still here, sitting in her own apartment, talking to Limbo and Poe, then that would mean...

"Wait... Are you telling me...? Am I...?"

Limbo grinned. "Yup. Welcome to the six-feet-under club, Samba."

Samba's pupils narrowed, a feeling of panic crashing over her like a tidal wave. She held a hoof to her chest, suddenly feeling the urge to start hyperventilating as the anxiety hit her, but she was now acutely aware of the fact that she was not even breathing at all. Also, her skin was cold, and her heart wasn't beating.

She looked between the two other mares, both smiling with a mixture of compassion and amusement at her reaction. "I'm a zombie?!"

"'Fraid so," Poe confirmed. Seeing that her new friend was on the verge of a panic attack, she decided to try and quell the confusion and uncertainty flooding her mind. "Hey, you know by now that bein' dead has its perks, yeah? You don't gotta eat, so you save money on food and drinks."

"And you wear perfume regularly anyway, so you probably don't have to worry about odor too much," added Limbo.

"I don't think she's gonna have nearly as many problems as you, Limbo. You had to spend two weeks in my freezer after floatin' in seawater for a few hours. Samba's innards ain't really rotten at all by comparison. The only real damage is that scar and probably the punctured lung, maybe some heart damage, but as long as her brain's good, she's good."

Even if she didn't need to, Samba took a deep breath. She could practically feel the oxygen whistling through the hole in her damaged lung, though that might have just been her imagination. Of course, she had many questions, and she wasn't sure where to start. Her mind just picked one at random.

She rubbed the scar on her chest. "Um... I remember Limbo mentioning that damage from before death couldn't be fixed. So why did my stab wound heal over?"

"That was just an assumption," said Poe. "Considerin' Limbo stunk like a wet dog in a sewer, we could safely assume her guts weren't in pristine condition no more. And it ain't like her eye grew back or nothin'. Guess if the wound is fresh enough, the spell can at least partially repair it, lucky for you. It'd be pretty weird if you had to walk around in public with an open gash in your chest."

Speaking of gashes and wounds, Samba suddenly remembered something. "Oh my gosh! Poe, your leg! Are you—"

Poe raised her hoof to cut her off. "Chill, I'm fine." She lifted the leg, showing that it was wrapped in medical bandages, though already pretty soaked with blood.

Samba sat back on the couch with a relieved sigh. "Oh, okay. But I'm surprised they let you out of the hospital with a wound like that."

"Hospital?" Poe scoffed. "You think I had time for that? We had to drag you here as fast as we could and set up the spell to bring you back. Mighta left some stains, but Limbo managed to mostly clean 'em out while I was wrappin' myself up, along with the runes I had to draw. Hope ya don't mind me using the stuff in your medicine cabinet. And your cleaning supplies."

At the mention of the necromancy spell, another disturbing thought occurred to Samba. She looked at Poe with deep worry, as well as guilt. "Wait. Does that mean... you sacrificed another ten years of your life force? For me?"

Poe waved her concern off dismissively. "Look, don't make a fuss over it. What was I gonna do between the ages of sixty and eighty anyway? Sit around a retirement home waiting for some nurse to bring me my pills? The way I see it, if I don't accomplish all the stuff I wanna do before I hit sixty, then I ain't livin' my best life anyhow."

Samba still frowned with remorse. "You really didn't have to do that. It's wasted on somepony like me..."

"Alright, I'm gonna stop you right there," Limbo interrupted sternly. She gave Samba a firm prod in the chest, making her wince. "First of all, you just got brought back from the dead. You'd think at least a thank you would be in order. Second, this whole thing you got going in that brain o' yours is exactly that; it's all in your head. You feel guilty for your past mistakes and keep telling yourself that you're worthless, and a bad wife, and a bad mom, or whatever garbage you keep feeding yourself. Maybe you were back then, but that's not the Samba I know. The Samba I know wanted to better herself. She wanted to help me help other people. She caught Trixie's kidnapper, she found the theif at the Magi-Tech Expo, she figured out that the Ghost wasn't a changeling, and she was willing to put her life on the line to save her daughter all by herself. Weren't you the one who said that if it came down to your life or Pira's, you weren't sure what you'd do? Well, I guess we know the answer now, don't we? And I wasn't about to let you get outta showing that cute little filly how great a mom you can be."

Samba just deflated, not because Limbo's words were ringing hollow, but because she was starting to realize that Limbo was right. She must have sounded insufferable all this time, constantly bringing herself down and underselling herself. She did save Pirouette, and Leaf's other victims. And, of course, she saved Limbo.

She straightened up, an adamant look in her eyes. "You might be right, but I still don't regret what I did. Admittedly, it never occurred to me that Poe would be willing to bring me back if I ended up getting killed. So I was literally throwing my life away to save you, because you wouldn't get another chance if he had stabbed you. Like I said, there's so much more you can do with the life that Poe gave you. I think I feel the same about how haphazard you could be as you did about the way I talked about myself."

Limbo scratched her head with a sigh. "Alright, I guess that's fair." She received a firm slap upside the head from Poe. "Ow! The hay was that for?!"

"For bein' a dingus, ya dingus," Poe chastised with a furrowed brow. "I bring you back to life, and you go and act all gung ho because you think you ain't got a life left to lose? You do have a life, dummy: mine. That's my life force keepin' you going, dipwad. I didn't bring you back just so you could save me and then chuck yourself back in the harbor. There's people in this city that still need your help."

Limbo grumbled incoherently like a child scolded, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, well... the slap was unnecessary..." She received another slap in response. "Geez, will you stop?"

"You gonna apologize?"

"Ugh, fine, I'm sorry. Happy?"

Poe grinned playfully, draping a hoof over her best friend's shoulders and pulling her into a light embrace.

As much as she didn't want to interrupt them, Samba still had some stuff on her mind. "Um, I do have one more question. How'd you even cast the necromancy spell? Didn't you burn the book?"

"Yeah, but I just committed it to memory," Poe answered simply. "What, you think I'm just gonna let a spell like that be lost to time? I had a notebook back home that I drew the runes in, like, a hundred times to make sure I didn't forget it in case I ever needed it again. Course, I told the Ghost I couldn't remember and he just believed me."

"You're lucky he did, because the alternative was you being murdered," Limbo told her sternly.

"Look, can we all just admit that that we've all made some reckless decisions," Poe said with a roll of her eyes.

Limbo smirked victoriously. "Ain't all high and mighty now that the horseshoe's on the other hoof, huh?"

"You wanna shut it?" Poe ordered with a threatening glower. "I don't wanna have to beat you down after you guys saved me."

Limbo pressed her forehead against Poe's, challenging the threat. "With your bum leg? That's come cockiness there, but I'll take a free win."

"Guys, can we not? At least, not in my apartment," Samba interjected. She looked at Poe specifically, flashing a smile of deep gratitude. "But Limbo had a point. I owe you big time for bringing me back to life. I just don't know how I can possibly repay a debt like that."

Poe flicked a hoof dismissively. "Eh, don't worry about it. You saved me first, 'member? Far as I'm concerned, this makes us even."

"I... can't really accept that. You cut off ten years of your life for me—not to mention the years you lost in captivity—and according to Limbo, the spell's effects are indefinite. So you've now lost twenty years of your life while me and Limbo get to live forever." Samba blinked after she said that. "Which is... something else entirely that I now have to come to grips with. Anyway, what I'm saying is that you got the raw end of the deal. I feel like I should do something in return."

"You don't have to do nuttin'," Poe reiterated. "I don't need nopony waitin' on me cuz they feel like they owe me. That'd just make me feel weird."

Samba didn't want to accept that, but also didn't want to impose on her. After a quick glance around the apartment, she spotted the half-eaten bowl of oatmeal that Poe had made for herself. She grinned hospitably. "Okay, then, what if I just make you a something to eat. You know, something better than just a bowl of oatmeal."

Poe hesitated, but just to settle this debt, she smiled back. "You know what? Sure, I'll take that."

Samba eagerly skipped to the kitchen. "Great! I may not be a particularly good chef, but I won't say I'm bad either. I can make some pancakes, maybe some hash browns, marmalade toast, a hot cup of tea—uh, wait..." She glanced back, hoping she didn't insult Poe. "Maybe coffee?"

"Nah, tea's fine. I ain't a caffeine freak like this junkie," Poe joked as she nudged Limbo, earning a slight scowl from her friend.

"Cool, I'll just get everything ready, and maybe I'll make it a meal for the three of us if I have enough stuff for it."

Samba hopped around the kitchen, grabbing everything she needed with her magic. She pulled out the frying pan, retrieved a pack of frozen hash browns from the freezer, popped some slices of bread into the toaster, filled the kettle...

But as she did all this, Limbo only watched in awe at all the things Samba was moving around, the mare obliviously humming a tune to herself as she prepped their breakfast. Limbo felt the need to interrupt her and bring her attention to the elephant in the room. "Um, Samba?"

The dancer halted, turning to her with an amicable grin. "What's up? Oh, if it's about coffee, I think I still have some of the stuff I bought for you left."

Limbo just pointed.

Samba quirked an eyebrow, puzzled. She looked around, now noticing all the objects hovering around her, wrapped in a silky, pink aura. She let out a surprised yelp as she finally realized what she was doing, and everything suddenly fell to the floor as the light of her horn disappeared. "Wh-What the—?! W-Was I...? Huh?!"

"What's the deal?" Poe asked the two mares.

"Samba has funnel horn," Limbo breathed.

"Yeah? Doesn't look it to me."

"Well, she did."

Samba just stood there, flabbergasted, staring at all the cooking supplies scattered around her that had been hovering around her head moments ago.

"Okay, so she's better now, or what?" Poe surmised based on the evidence.

"Wh-What happened? Why can I use magic all of a sudden?" Samba stammered uncomprehendingly.

"Maybe it's the necromancy spell," Limbo posited. "She's got that magic powering her brain now, right?"

Poe shook her head. "If she was using the spell's magic, it'd be a different color. My aura is red, so the spell's aura is red, so, presumably, her aura would be red if that was the case. Plus, from what I know about funnel horn, it restricts magic use. So it wouldn't matter what the magic's source is if the flow to the conduit is cut off."

Samba's eyes widened, a realization dawning on her. "Wait... I used the Spellmet..."

"So?" questioned Poe. "Don't that thing let people use spells even if they can't use much magic themselves?"

"Leaf used to have funnel horn too," Limbo told her. "Apparently, the Spellmet was what cured it."

Poe just shrugged with a nonchalant smile. "Well, great. You can use magic now. Congrats. So, we gonna have breakfast, or...?"

Samba perked up, an idea suddenly coming to her. "Oh! I just thought of a way that I can properly repay you now! If I can use magic, then you can teach me the necromancy spell, we kill you, then we bring you back to life! Then the twenty year loss won't matter, right?"

Limbo and Poe just stared, a little dumbfounded and shocked.

"Um, that's... kind of a morbid suggestion, don't you think?" Limbo commented.

"I, uh... appreciate the thought and everything, but I don't think it works like that," said Poe. "It uses the caster's life force, and, as we just established, your magic ain't my magic. And you ain't got no life force to give no more."

Samba deflated a little, feeling a bit silly and kind of embarrassed. "Oh. Well, can we forget I suggested killing you, then?" she requested with an awkward grin.

"Only if I still get breakfast," Poe chuckled.

Samba jumped right on that, admittedly excited to actually use her magic to help. It felt surprisingly natural considering she'd gone her whole life without it up until now, but she decided to take it slow to avoid making a mess or hurting herself—not that the latter point mattered much anymore.

As breakfast was being prepared, there was a knock on the door.

"Can you get that, Limbo?" Samba requested.

Limbo answered the door, and on the other side was Night Owl, sans uniform. "Wow, back already? Figured you'd be up to you neck in paperwork," she quipped, stepping aside to let him in.

Owl sighed as he walked in. "I'm delegating. I've got too much on my mind to focus on that stuff. Plus, I'm on leave for a while because of this," he said, raising his hoof wrapped in bandages. He looked toward the kitchen, seeing Samba casually cooking for her guests.

Poe smirked knowingly. "What's up, Sarge? You look like you seen a ghost."

"Not inaccurate, all things considered," Limbo added with a snicker.

Owl ignored their joking as he continued to stare at Samba—particularly, the knife-shaped scar on her chest—making the mare feel a little awkward. "So... the spell worked, I guess."

Limbo answered for her. "Yep. Samba's a bona fide undead abomination."

Samba took a step toward Owl, a worried and pleading look in her eyes. "What are you going to do now, Owl?"

Owl just looked her in the eye with utmost seriousness and professionalism, eliciting a nervous gulp from Samba. "I assume you're talking about the legal ramifications of your situation." He closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh through his nostrils. "In regards to yourself and Limbo, you've technically done nothing wrong. The one who broke the law was her," he said with a tilt of his head toward Poe.

"So, what? You gonna arrest me now, is that it?" Poe asked in a defiant tone.

Owl paused for a moment to exchange stares with her before answering. "Let me ask you something: what kind of person do you think I am?"

Poe arched an eyebrow, the question causing her to lower her guard.

"In the past, Limbo's accused me and the whole force of being too selective about the crimes we choose to persecute, whether it's worth the effort. After all of this nonsense with the Ghost, I've been thinking it's time for some restructuring at the precinct."

"That mean you're gonna fire the all incompetent boobs you've got over there?" asked Limbo.

"If we did that, we'd have no police force left, and I'm including myself in that. No, from now on, I'm just gonna make sure we're all people that the citizens of Baltimare can actually depend on, if only to make you eat your words."

Limbo smirked. "I look forward to being proved wrong."

Owl looked back at Poe silently before shrugging his shoulders indifferently. "But old habits die hard, and my cuffs are back at the precinct, soooo..."

Samba grinned with relief. "Thank you, Owl."

"That being said, if your secret gets out eventually, leave me out of it. I'm giving you guys a pass because you've all been through a lot. Don't make me regret it."

"I'll try my best, but I've still got to get used to this," said Samba with a light chuckle.

Owl glanced at her scar. "Might want to cover that up for a while, though. People might get suspicious if they suddenly see you with a fully healed scar out of nowhere."

Samba rubbed the mark on her chest. "That's a good point. I bet I have something here I can use." She started rummaging through the boxes she still hadn't unpacked and removed a white, silk scarf, wrapping it around her neck. "How's that?"

Seeing that the scar was fully concealed by the garment, Owl shrugged. "That works."

Limbo nudged Owl. "Hey, been meaning to ask: you let Career out?"

Owl nodded, though solemnly. "Yeah, but his relief was pretty short-lived. As aggravating as it's been to deal with him, I took no pleasure in breaking the news to him."

"I would bet. Imagine finding out that your younger brother was the Ghost of Baltimare and then learning that he's dead. The guy's probably in shambles right now," Limbo commented with a surprising amount of sympathy.

"No kidding. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled out of the race. That's a lot of emotional stress to deal with without having to run in an election at the same time."

"Um..."

Owl quirked an eyebrow at Samba. "What's wrong?"

She hesitated to answer, her mind wracked with worry and guilt. "I... I'm the one who... killed him, right?" she whimpered meekly.

Both Limbo and Poe stared at Owl, waiting for his response.

"I can't tell you not to feel guilty or anything, but if you're worried about being labeled a murderer, or getting arrested, I think you can relax," Owl told her. "There's undeniably a case for justified self-defense. The culprit was armed and he'd already injured two people. Your actions, while perhaps hasty and reckless, saved lives in the end. Kind of reminds me of somepony else I know..." he said, casting a smirk towards Limbo. "Whether you consider that a compliment or an insult is up to you."

Samba was relieved to hear that, but still regretted that she had to do that. However, her eyes briefly shifted to Poe, as though expecting something from her.

The other unicorn looked practically disgusted when she pieced together what was going through Samba's mind. "Whatchu lookin' at me like that for? I ain't givin' up another ten years to bring a criminal back to life. He made his bed, now he gotta lay in it. That bed just happens to be a coffin."

Samba sighed, but shrugged in acceptance. "I guess. Just feel pretty bad for Mr. Career, that's all."

"Understandable, but I'd prefer if you kept this whole situation under wraps," Owl requested. "I'd rather it not get out that I allowed civilians to put their lives in danger."

"Least we can do for you for keeping our secret," Samba agreed with a grin.

"Knock knock."

The four ponies turned toward the door that Owl had left open. Standing at the threshold was a pair of changelings: Mandible and a male changeling with dark blue chiton, a purple shell, and pink for his eyes and the membranes of his mane and tail. Samba had seen him briefly when she rescued Leaf's victims at the soup kitchen, so she knew this was Mandible's brother Pedipalp. Upon seeing the two, Webber scurried away, hiding on the underside of the dining table.

"Oh, Mandi, hi!" Samba greeted enthusiastically. "You two holding up okay?"

Mandible nodded, a notable amount of relief in her eyes. "Yeah, we're good. The police kept us overnight to ask about the Ghost, but I guess the cops caught him while we were there."

"Hey, don't give Owl all the credit. I was there too," Limbo told her.

"Yes. As a victim," Owl reminded her with a needling smirk.

Limbo pouted grouchily. "Well, she didn't need to know that."

Mandible shoved her brother into the apartment and in front of Samba, surprising both of them "Oh! I didn't get a chance to introduce my brother last night! This is Pedipalp, or just Ped."

Pedipalp grinned awkwardly, his blue skin tinting red around the cheeks. "Uh, hi," he greeted, his voice similarly nasally to Mandible's own.

"Um, nice to meet you," said Samba hospitably.

"So, whatcha gonna do now, Ped?" Poe asked. "You gonna keep goin' on with your little tour of Equestria?"

Pedipalp sighed, scratching his head. "Maybe eventually. But after all this, I think I need some house medicine."

Samba, Limbo, and Owl just stared, befuddled.

"Think he means he's homesick," Poe explained.

Limbo rolled her eyes. "Great, they both do this crap."

"So we're gonna catch a flight back to the Changeling Kingdom and just relax and spend some brother-sister time together for a while," said Mandible, giving her brother a loving hug.

"We can stay in touch, though, right?" Samba asked hopefully.

"Yeah, totally! I'll send you jewelry every now and then!"

Samba tilted her head. "Uh, you... don't have to do that."

"She's sayin' she'll 'give you a ring,'" Poe told her.

"Oh, right. Oh, wait, your phone was destroyed, though."

"Oh! Actually, that's one of the reasons I came over. Before we head home, me, Ped, and everycreature else that was kidnapped are all gonna go out and get new phones and maybe have a big dinner together. We wanted to invite Poe, and you guys can come too if you want! Oh, and Pira!"

"I'm down," said Poe with an eager grin, then cast a smirk at Limbo. "Just make sure Limbo ain't around when we get the phones. Her aura might fry 'em all off the bat."

"You're hilarious..." Limbo deadpanned sarcastically.

Samba's ears perked up at something Mandible said. "Hang on, where is Pira anyway?"

"The cops said they were bringing her home," Pedipalp answered. He looked around the apartment. "Is she not here?"

Samba shook her head. "She lives with her father on the other side of town. Speaking of which, I should really go see her. And Rhapsody..." she said, crestfallen. "It is my fault she ended up in that situation, so I should explain."

Limbo placed a hoof on her shoulder sympathetically. "Don't take on all the blame. It's my fault too. I'll go with you, if that's okay."

A small smile worked its way back onto Samba's face. "Yeah, it's fine. I'm sure Pira would want to know you're okay anyway."

"In that case, I'm goin' too," Poe insisted. "But can we take a taxi? I ain't walkin' across the city like this." She lifted her injured leg.

Pedipalp gasped. "Poe! What happened?!"

The unicorn just shrugged off his concern. "Don't worry about it. It's nothin'. Should probably see a doctor eventually though," she mumbled.

"Well, I'm gonna be on my way," Owl said, brushing past the two changelings toward the door. "Enjoy the rest of your day, folks."

"Thanks for stopping by, Owl," said Samba gratefully. "And thank you for everything else too."

He just gave a nonchalant wave over his shoulder as he disappeared into the hall.

Samba turned to Limbo and Poe. "You mind if we postpone our breakfast. Uh, well, I guess it'll end up being brunch at that point."

"Kinda hungry after the night we had, but sure," said Poe with a shrug.

"'Kay, well, guess we'll untangle your mane, then," said Mandible. "We just wanted to stop by to make sure you guys were okay. We'll smack you down when we figure out when we're gonna do the phone slash dinner thing."

"Alright. See you later." Samba waved to the pair of changelings as they also took their leave. She then turned to the two remaining mares. "So, we ready to head to Rhapsody's?"

Limbo started toward the kitchen. "Yep, just let me get a coffee to go."

***** ***** *****

Samba just stared at the number plate on the door, her expression full of trepidation as she pensively shuffled her hooves on the carpet of the apartment building's second floor hallway. She had already buzzed up at the entrance, so Rhapsody knew she was coming. Now the problem was actually biting the bullet, because she knew what was going to happen when she went inside.

"Soooo, is your ex gonna serve us tea out here, or do we actually get to go inside at some point?" Poe said impatiently.

A long sigh escaped from Samba's now superfluous lungs. "I'm... not looking forward to this, in case you couldn't tell. I think I still need a minute to compose myself and figure out what I'm gonna say."

"Or I can just rip the bandage off for ya." Poe didn't wait for approval and just knocked on the door, causing Samba to tense up nervously.

"H-Hey! I'm not ready yet!"

"Well, I've got a hole in my leg here, so I'd like to get this over with before I pass out."

Before Samba could voice any more protestations, a voice called out from inside the apartment, sounding rather terse and exasperated already. "Come in."

Poe just gestured for Samba to lead the way, forcing the dancer to swallow her apprehension and open the door. Samba, Poe, and Limbo stepped inside, finding both Rhapsody and Pirouette seated at the dinner table, eating a hearty pancake breakfast with all the fixings; maple syrup, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate chips, whipped cream. Seemed as though Rhapsody was trying to keep a little girl who had just been through a harrowing experience calm and happy, evidenced by Pirouette's ravenous appetite as she voraciously devoured her meal. Rhapsody, on the other hoof, had no plate. He was simply seated there quietly, looking the same as he usually did after a long and rather taxing day at work. And that expression was directed towards Samba the moment she entered the apartment.

Conversely, when Pirouette saw her mother, her already content grin grew even wider. She hopped down from her chair and rushed over to meet her, her mouth still covered in whipped cream and her tongue stained purple from the blueberries. "Mommy! You're okay!" she exclaimed as she leapt into her mother's embrace.

Samba hugged her back gently. She didn't really have the heart to tell her that that wasn't exactly true.

Pirouette's sights then shifted to Limbo, who greeted the filly with a friendly grin. "Lady Limbo! You're okay too!"

"Sure am, squirt. Gonna take more than that to keep me down," said Limbo, giving the filly's mane a playful tousle.

While Pirouette was busy celebrating that Limbo and Poe were well, Samba's attention was instead focused on Rhapsody, who was walking over to them with a scornful scowl on his face. Samba knew what was coming and braced herself for it.

"Hey, so, interesting thing," Rhapsody started with a sardonic tone. "I just learned that our daughter was kidnapped yesterday. Can you, uh... explain that to me real quick?"

Samba sighed shamefully. "I'm... not going to try and convince you it wasn't my fault, because it was. I admit that, but—"

Rhapsody held up his hoof to stop her. He clenched his eyes shut, rubbing his temple as he tried to comprehend this. "Look, just... don't, okay? First of all, why am I only hearing about this now? Our daughter gets kidnapped while under your care, and I don't learn about it until the cops bring her home. Did you not think to tell me about this?!"

Samba opened her mouth to defend herself, but Rhapsody kept talking at her angrily.

"You've done some irresponsible things, Samba, but this takes the cake. How in the world can you be so inattentive that our daughter ends up kidnapped?!"

Samba shrunk back, her ears flattening against her head. She couldn't even look him in the eye. She knew he was right, and even telling him that she went to save her wouldn't likely convince him otherwise; he'd only think it was even more irresponsible to put herself in danger like that.

Rhapsody just shook his head with an exasperated groan. "Look, I don't even want to do this right now. Just leave."

"Alright, I understand..." Samba sighed quietly. She turned back toward the door, this meeting going pretty much how she'd expected. She wouldn't be at all surprised if Rhapsody wanted to nix the idea of her and Pirouette's monthly weekends together from now on.

Pirouette watched with a frown as her mother started to leave. However, before Samba could reach the door, Poe grabbed her by the leg and pulled her back.

"Now hold up one second here," the black unicorn insisted with a glower toward Rhapsody. "I know you two are divorced and everything, and while I'm no relationship expert or nothin' and don't know all the details around you guys splitin' up, I'm gonna go ahead and say that ain't any way to be talkin' to your kid's mom."

Rhapsody just shot a scowl right back at her. "If you don't know the details, then maybe you should butt out. This is none of your business. Who the hay are you anyway?"

"That's Miss Ravensong, Daddy," Pirouette told him with a chipper grin. "I met her after I got taken away."

Rhapsody's stern expression let up a little. "Oh. You were one of the kidnapping victims?"

"Yeah, that's right. So I met your little girl already. She's a tough cookie that one, let me tell you. Didn't cry at all."

"I cried a little..." Pirouette admitted quietly, knowing that Poe only said that for her father's sake.

Rhapsody raised an inquisitive and impatient eyebrow. "Okay, so what does this have to do with Samba?"

"Everything," Poe stated firmly. "You wanna know what this little filly talked about the whole time she was in there with us? This mare." She pointed a hoof at Samba. "The entire time she was telling us how her mommy and Limbo were gonna come and save us. Because she has faith in her mother. She respects her. And you know what? She was right. Wasn't in there for even a whole day and Samba shows up and frees us all." Poe draped a hoof over Samba's shoulders, pulling her in close, though maybe a little more forcefully than Samba would've liked. "We owe this mare our lives, and so does Pira."

Rhapsody obviously already knew that—there was no way Pirouette wouldn't have mentioned that immediately—so he didn't look surprised. But with how adamantly Poe was defending her, he let his guard down slightly.

"Just to clarify," Limbo chimed in, "after she disappeared, Samba immediately went to the police. But apparently they were stretched too thin with an investigation to help her."

"Okay, I understand that, but that doesn't change the fact that she let it happen in the first place," he reiterated.

"Come on, that wasn't entirely her fault. We were both being deceived by an expert criminal."

"Aren't you supposed to be the expert at catching such criminals?" Rhapsody chided.

Limbo wasn't fazed by the insult. "We all make mistakes. I'm sure you ain't exactly Mister Perfect either."

"Look, when it comes right down to it, this is none of your business," he repeated to both Limbo and Poe. "This is between me and Samba, and I'm still pretty hung up on the fact that she let our daughter get kidnapped. So forgive me if I'm a little tightly wound right now, but I'll be the one to decide what's best for my daughter."

Limbo's terse scowl shifted to a rather furious glare. Samba wasn't sure she'd ever seen Limbo look so angry before. "Alright, I've had about enough of this. This mare," she insisted, pointing to Samba, "is a wonderful person. Maybe a little hard on herself, some poor self-esteem, but I'm of the opinion that you're mostly responsible for that given the way you talk about her. And yet she still has nothing but good to say about you! I don't understand how this woman is still in love with you, but you know what? Maybe it's a good thing you got divorced, because you don't deserve her!"

Rhapsody winced slightly under her verbal assault, but didn't back down. "Okay, I get that she essentially corrected her mistake, and that's a step in the right direction, for sure, but I'd be willing to bet you were there to help her."

"And what's wrong with that?! Isn't that why people fall in love and get married? To help each other? To cover for their own weaknesses? To feel complete? After I first met you, she insisted on helping me investigate the Ghost, and I've already told you how helpful she's been! And now we've done it! We finally caught the Ghost of Baltimare! And it's because of her!"

Rhapsody was quite surprised to hear that. "Really? That... sounds like an exaggeration."

"An exaggeration?! An exaggeration?!" Limbo was chomping at the bit now, gritting her teeth furiously. Somehow, this stallion still needed proof. And Limbo had just the proof to give him to show just how far Samba was willing to go to help people. "I might not be the most serious person in Equestria, but I absolutely am not exaggerating when I tell you that this mare sacrificed her life for me last night!"

Samba's eyes widened. "Limbo! What are you doing?!"

Poe just stood there quietly, waiting to see how this played out.

Rhapsody furrowed his brow at her, vexed by the assertion. "What are you talking about? She's standing right here."

Limbo pointed at Samba again, the utmost seriousness in her single silver eye. "The mare that's standing before you right now is a walking corpse. A zombie reanimated by dark magic."

Pirouette stared, wide-eyed, at her mother. "You're a zombie, Mommy?"

"Um, well..." Samba wasn't entirely sure how to play along with this. She didn't know what to say in this situation that would make things better.

"What kind of joke are you playing at right now?" Rhapsody asked with doubt dripping from his voice. "A zombie? That's ridiculous. Zombie's aren't real."

"Yeah?" Limbo grabbed Rhapsody by the leg, forcing him to place his hoof against Samba's barrel.

After a moment, Rhapsody realized how cold she felt, and he now also noticed the distinct lack of a heartbeat. His mouth started to fall open in disbelief. "What...? I don't understand..." He saw Samba's eyes turn away, as though she were ashamed of what she was.

"Samba was stabbed last night," Limbo told him. "And if she hadn't thrown herself under the knife, I wouldn't be here right now. F.Y.I.: I'm a zombie too, so if I had been stabbed, there'd be no coming back for me."

Rhapsody looked his ex-wife in the eye, still unsure if he truly believed this. "How...? Samba... She's not serious, is she? Are you really...?"

Samba sighed quietly. She pulled down the silken scarf around her neck. Rhapsody was taken aback by the sight of the scar that was hidden beneath it. "It's true. I... was murdered last night by the Ghost. Poe brought me back to life using an illegal necromancy spell."

Rhapsody was at a loss for words. This sounded so absurd that it almost had to be true. But, still, how could he just believe that his ex-wife was a zombie? It was too farfetched to just accept. He shook his head, trying to reject the very notion. "Okay, I don't know how this works really, but this is pretty far to go to try and convince me that she's changed."

Poe started toward the kitchen, unnoticed.

"You still don't believe us?! The hay is wrong with you?!" Limbo snapped. "I just willingly revealed a secret about myself that I've been keeping for the past couple of years! What else do I need to do to convince you?!"

Before anypony could say anything else, a kitchen knife wreathed in red magic was suddenly thrust into the side of Samba's ribs.

Rhapsody took a step back in horror. "Holy crap! Samba!"

Samba simply clenched her teeth, hissing in slight pain. "Ow! What the hay, Poe?" she said, casting a disgruntled—yet nonchalant given that she was just stabbed—glare at the black mare.

"He still needed convincin', so I'm just showin' him that we ain't jokin' around," Poe explained casually.

Samba pulled the knife from her body with her magic, causing a small splash of blood as her blood had not yet had time to coagulate like Limbo's. She glared at Poe with a disapproving grumble. "What is with you two and ruining perfectly good cutlery?"

Rhapsody just stood there in shocked silence. His ex-wife had just been stabbed in front of his eyes, and she reacted as though she were merely pinched. On top of that, he watched as the wound repaired itself in a glow of red magic, making it look like it never happened. "Holy... Samba... You're actually..."

"Convincing enough for you?" said Limbo. "I can stab myself next if you needed a little extra proof."

"No, no, I think that's sufficient," Rhapsody breathed quietly. He stared worriedly at Samba. "Samba... Are you... okay? Uh, is that even something I should bother asking at this point?"

"Well, I could actually be dead," Samba answered. "As in, not reanimated, and not able to be here now. But, honestly, I don't feel that much different. Poe was pretty quick to bring me back, so there wasn't any time for me to, you know... rot."

Rhapsody just nodded rather absentmindedly. He was paying attention, but still felt like this conversation wasn't actually happening and that maybe he was just dreaming. He lightly brushed his gelled bangs aside with a quiet sigh. "This is... a lot to take in."

"I know. Believe me, it was just as much a shock for me." Samba looked at him pleadingly; a look she'd given Rhapsody a number of times around the time they got divorced. "But even if my heart can't beat anymore, that doesn't mean I don't still love you and Pira as much as I always have."

At the mention of the filly's name, Poe glanced at Pirouette. The kid was just staring at her mom silently, eyes wide and mouth agape. "Ah, geez, I didn't traumatize your kid, did I?"

Seeing the expression on his daughter's face, Rhapsody gently tried to coax Pirouette away, speaking in a gentle tone. "Maybe you should wait in your room, honey."

Pirouette resisted, not removing her eyes from her mother. "Mommy... You're..."

Samba couldn't look her in the eye. It must have been truly horrifying for a child so young to learn her mother had been killed, let alone zombified, stabbed right in front of her, and drops of her blood staining the carpet. "Pira... I know this must be scary for you, but—"

"You're using magic!"

Samba blinked at her daughter's sudden outburst, following the filly's pointing hoof to the bloody knife held in Samba's magical grasp. "Oh, uh, yeah. That's something that happened too."

"Wait, so you're dead, but you can use magic now?" Rhapsody questioned. "How does that work?"

Samba shrugged. "It's a little complicated."

"This means you can help me practice magic, Mommy!" Pirouette exclaimed gleefully, hopping in place in excitement.

Samba was a bit caught off guard by her exuberance. "Um, I guess. But your exam is in two weeks, right? I doubt I could learn any noteworthy spells in that time and still teach them to you."

"Oh! Then maybe I can teach you while I practice!"

Her mother couldn't help but smile. "That sounds like fun."

Rhapsody scratched his head at his daughter's surprising optimism. "Uh, yeah, that's great and everything, but I thought you'd be a little more shocked to find out your mom's a zombie, Pira."

Pirouette looked at her mom, her eyes going wide again as though this was the first she'd heard of it. "My mom's a zombie." A wide grin stretched across her little cheeks. "That's so cool!"

Rhapsody glanced at Samba with a rather conflicted look in response to her reaction.

"Hey, don't look at me. You're the role model," Samba told him.

Pirouette hopped over to Limbo. "And you too, Lady Limbo?!"

She nodded. "Yep. Dead as a doornail and twice as lively."

"So, um..." Pirouette looked a little confused. "What can a zombie do?"

Limbo scratched her chin. "Um, well... Any injuries we suffer get repaired, as you saw. We can even reattach severed limbs. I spent most of last night as just a talking head sitting on a table."

That seemed to pique Pirouette's curiosity. "Can I see?"

"Uh, maybe decapitation is a bit extreme for a little filly to witness. Maybe we could start with an amputated leg." Limbo held out her leg to Pirouette. "Go ahead, give it good tug."

The filly was about to eagerly grab hold, but her father desperately pulled her away

"Pira, do not! I feel like I shouldn't have to say this as a parent, but no dismembering people, please," Rhapsody begged her. He looked back at Samba, the two of them exchanging uncertain expressions. "So... Where exactly do we go from here?"

"I guess that's up to you," Samba said quietly. "Poe was generous enough to give me a second chance at life. Now... I guess I want to ask again if you'd be willing to do the same."

Rhapsody ran a hoof through his mane with a sigh. "You want to get back together. Samba, I—"

Samba stepped forward assuredly. "I want us to be a family again. I know I was never the best wife or mother, but I can tell you with confidence that I can change. I promise it'll be different. I can pull my weight this time."

Rhapsody hesitated.

"You know my opinion already," Limbo chimed in. "If you ask me, this is not the same mare you divorced. She put her life on the line for her daughter, and even lost her life to save a person she'd only known for a few weeks. I think the least you can do is take some time to get to know the new and improved Samba."

He observed the expressions of both his ex-wife and his daughter. Rhapsody stared Samba in the eye. It was a little hard to look at her the same way given what he had just learned, but her eyes were still the same eyes he remembered from their time together, but somehow... stronger.

Rhapsody closed his eyes and took a long breath through his nose before giving her his answer. "Are you still coming with us to Canterlot?" he asked with a soft smile.

Samba grinned hopefully at the question.

***** ***** *****

The afternoon sun bathed Baltimare in its warming light, a gift that the residents would have to enjoy while it lasted, as autumn would soon be approaching. Already, a slight nip could be felt in the air in the early mornings and in the evenings, so most folks had already opted to start breaking out the warm clothes in preparation for the chilly fall weather. Nevertheless, today was warm enough not to warrant it. The skies were mostly clear of clouds, the noon sun beamed down comfortingly, and the buildings beamed back as the sunlight reflected off the windows.

One building in particular shone brighter than the others. In fact, it practically blinded everycreature who looked at it. It certainly didn't help that it was one of the tallest buildings in the city, acting like an overly aggressive lighthouse in the middle of the city, except it probably inadvertently caused more accidents than it prevented. Of course, that was the headquarters of Mango Incorporated, it's primarily glass construction not exactly eyesight friendly on particularly bright days, especially for avian individuals.

A taxi carriage pulled up outside the gate to Mango Inc., and out stepped a unicorn mare, a pair of saddlebags on her back and a silky scarf wrapped around her neck for reasons other than temperature. She payed the cabbies their fare and thanked them for the lift before they galloped off to find another potential passenger.

Samba stared up at the glass building from her vantage point on the sidewalk. Even though there was still some distance from the gate to the tower, she still had to crane her neck more than she'd like. Just looking at it made her gulp involuntarily. Apparently, being undead hadn't alleviated her newfound fear of heights. Regardless, she had come here for a reason, so she did her best to suppress her apprehension and forged ahead. At least she knew the top floor only had one window, so that was at least a little comforting. A little.

Stepping inside, Samba found herself in the familiar barren tundra that was the lobby. As usual, Quad Blast was standing guard at the elevator, while Zuri, the zebra receptionist, sat at her desk some thirty feet away from the elevator. It was puzzling how the only two people who were ever present in the lobby decided to keep so much distance from one another. Then again, Zuri's face was buried in her phone, not even looking up when Samba walked in, and Quad just stood there like a statue for the most part. Either he took his job a little too seriously, or Zuri just wasn't interested in talking to him, not that Samba could necessarily blame her.

Samba approached Quad with an amicable smile. "Hi, Quad," she greeted.

He returned her greeting with a curt nod. "Afternoon, ma'am. You have an appointment?"

"Uh, no. I just got back home from a trip, actually. But I was really hoping I could talk to Mister—uh, your boss for a few minutes."

Quad hesitated for a moment, not exactly giving Samba much hope that he'd bend the rules for her. But eventually he smiled. "Well, I know the boss likes you, so I'll see what I can do. Gimme a minute."

Samba grinned gratefully as Quad made the arduous trek over to the reception desk. Even though the lobby was built like an echo chamber, she couldn't quite make out what Quad and Zuri were saying, but she got the impression that Zuri wasn't chuffed about being bothered. It took a couple of minutes, but Quad eventually sauntered back over with an accommodating smile.

"Boss said you can go on up."

"Great. Thanks, Quad," said Samba as she boarded the elevator.

"No problem, uh... Limbo?"

Samba stopped, quirking an eyebrow at him over her shoulder. He was staring at her expectantly, awaiting validation. She thought about correcting him, but opted to not, just giving a shrug. "Close enough."

With that, she let the door close and hit the button for the eightieth floor with no lack of trepidation, keeping her eyes shut the whole way up so she didn't have to watch herself rise further and further above terra firma. She opened them again once she felt the elevator come to a stop, but what she saw as the doors opened was rather unexpected.

Of course, Mango Career was seated at his desk in front of the large window that Samba did her best to avoid looking directly through. However, he was not alone. Conversing with him were both Night Owl—evidently back from leave if his uniform was any indication—and the newly reelected Mayor Highstrung. The moment the three stallions turned toward her, she hesitated, feeling more than a little awkward.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know you were busy," Samba apologized, prepared—and admittedly a little relieved—to ride the elevator back down. "Quad said I could come up, so I thought he got the go-ahead from you and—"

"He did," Career stated plainly. "You're not interrupting, really. Actually, your arrival is rather serendipitous given the topic of our discussion."

Samba could infer what exactly the topic was based on both his somber tone and listless expression. But that was also the reason she'd come here today, so it wasn't as though she weren't expecting the topic to come up. "You mean... Leaf?" she surmised.

"We're still investigating the effects of his actions and trying to track down his contacts," Owl explained. "Not to mention Mr. Career's on parole due to his involvement with his brother's activities, regardless of whether or not he was an unwitting accomplice."

Career sighed remorsefully. "I feel awful for the way I behaved knowing what I know now."

Samba approached Career's desk, standing alongside Owl and Highstrung. She offered a sympathetic and apologetic frown. "Sorry I couldn't make it to the funeral. I've been pretty busy spending time with my daughter and ex-husband, and I just spent a week in Canterlot, so—"

"No need to apologize," he interrupted respectfully. "We decided to keep the whole thing lowkey, seeing as he turned out to be a kidnapper and a murderer." His voice became quiet near the end of that sentence.

"Among other things," added Owl.

"It's just as well," Career continued. "There's no guarantee that the Leaf you knew was the 'real' Leaf anyway. And I'd like to apologize on his behalf for your child being kidnapped. There was no reason you needed to get involved in all of this hullabaloo."

"Well, I kinda brought that on myself when I insisted on helping Limbo," Samba admitted.

"Actually, Samba was the one who figured out that Leaf was the Ghost," Owl mentioned. "Without her, he may have slipped away from us before we could catch him."

Career's eyes widened in slight surprise. "Is that right? Well, perhaps I owe you some thanks, then."

Samba looked away ashamedly. He might not be so quick to thank her if he knew she was the one who had ultimately taken his brother's life. She briefly considered apologizing for that too, but remembered Owl's words about keeping that on the downlow, so she kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to risk upsetting him further while he was still clearly grieving.

"Speaking of which, I would like to offer my thanks as well," Mayor Highstrung chimed in. "Solving this case helped keep my reputation intact."

"Oh, uh, you're welcome. And I'm also sorry I couldn't make it to Gust's funeral," said Samba sympathetically. "She was a good person. She didn't deserve this."

"I'm sure your plate was full. Besides, it was also a small gathering, though, uh... in a different sense. Being surrounded by her friends and family is one way to make a man feel big, though," he chuckled.

"Have you reached out for a replacement yet?"

"Already have a new hire."

"Oh. That was quick," Samba said with some surprise.

"He was putting out ads the day after Gust's murder," Owl mentioned.

Samba cast him a somewhat reprimanding scowl, prompting the mayor to tug nervously at his tie.

"Wh-What? With the election so close, I needed the assistance. And she's a young hippogriff lady, real go-getter type, so she's already been quite helpful, though perhaps a tad scatterbrained at times. And the cultural diversity is a nice plus."

"Uh-huh. Oh, and congratulations on the reelection, by the way."

"Not sure winning by default warrants congratulating," Owl quipped.

Samba turned to Career. "I understand why you pulled out this time, but are you going to run in the next election, Mr. Career?"

Career flicked a hoof dismissively. "I haven't really put much thought into it at this point. A little too much on my mind currently."

"Right, sorry."

The business pony silently looked over the dismantled spellphones and spare bits and pieces scattered across his desk. "After all of this, I've even considered shutting down the whole Spellmet project."

The other three ponies were surprised to hear that, Highstrung giving him a concerned look. "Are you serious? But from everything I've heard, it's a revolutionary device. I hear your company's stock prices skyrocketed following its unveiling. And that's insane considering how valuable your company is already."

"After seeing how they can be misused... I'm sure the shareholders' opinions would flip if the authorities were to disclose how it was used by the Ghost of Baltimare. Thank you for keeping that particular detail away from the public, by the way, Sergeant."

"There are obviously people who know—namely, Leaf's victims. We've asked for their cooperation in keeping it hush, but the information could still easily get out there," Owl explained.

"And I should be prepared for the inevitable backlash when it does," Career responded quietly. "That's why I think it'd be best to preempt the situation by cancelling the project sooner rather than later."

"Please, don't cancel it."

Career looked at Samba, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Yes, the Spellmet was misused, but that was just a prototype, right? And it was your brother that took it. You're going to implement better security features and stuff when it's ready for release, so maybe just get a head start on that now."

Career sighed in defeat. "I appreciate the support, Samba, but I'm a businessman. Promises don't extinguish the flames of outrage so easily."

Samba took a step forward. "But when people actually see what your invention is capable of, they'll understand how important it is."

"They've already seen what it's supposed to do. What more do they need to see?"

"This."

Career watched as Samba's horn lit up with pink light. Then, one of the spellphones on his desk, now enveloped in the same pink aura, levitated into the air and over to Samba. Career stared, slack-jawed, as he pieced together what she was getting at.

"The Spellmet cured my funnel horn, just like it did for your brother. You might've been unsure about it at first, but doesn't this prove that whatever you're doing with the Spellmet is a huge breakthrough not just for technology, but in medicine? You've invented a cure for a crippling disability by complete accident."

Career looked conflicted. "According to Detective Limbo, Leaf's funnel horn being cured was the catalyst that lead him down the path to becoming the Ghost. If anything, this is only more concerning."

Samba smiled reassuringly. "Honestly, it's not even so much that I can use magic now that makes me happy. I don't recall feeling any kind of adrenaline rush or anything—actually, it was kinda painful, to tell the truth. But seeing the look on my daughter's face when she found out was an amazing feeling. I've been able to really connect with her over the past few weeks because of this. Practicing magic with her has been pretty fun." She punctuated that by twirling the spellphone around in the air. However, it slipped from her magical grasp and fell to the floor with a clatter. She blushed, an embarrassed grin appearing on her face. "Heh, oops. Sorry, still not very dexterous with this stuff. Uh... Do I have to pay for that?"

Career was quiet for a moment. He let out a quiet breath through his nostrils, then smiled softly at Samba. "It's fine. It was already broken."

Samba breathed a sigh of relief.

"But perhaps you have a point," Career conceded. "My brother may have simply been an outlier. Maybe if we started with a limited release, offering Spellmets only as medical aids and not available to the public immediately, we could perhaps identify and isolate similar cases."

"Maybe they could require permits to own for personal and public use," Mayor Highstrung suggested.

Owl smirked. "Actually acting like a mayor. Not a bad idea, honestly. I can ensure the B.P.D.'s cooperation with that."

Career chuckled. To Samba, it looked as though he needed that little bit of levity, like a small amount of weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Sounds like something worth discussing. So, I suppose I'll hold off on cancelling the project for a while until we can iron out the details." He looked at Samba with a grateful smile. "Thank you for coming by, Samba. It means a lot that you're willing to come here despite any hardship that me or my brother may have put you through."

"'Hardship' is putting it lightly..." Samba mumbled under her breath, rubbing the scar concealed beneath her scarf.

"That being said, I'd like to thank you properly for your contributions to the case. So, if there's anything I can do for you, just name it," Career offered.

Samba considered it for a moment. She removed her spellphone from its sleeve, staring at the crack on the screen from when Pirouette was kidnapped. Even though she'd joined Mandible and the other victims on their outing a few weeks ago to buy new phones, she didn't bother since spellphones are expensive and hers still worked fine even with the crack. But, if Career was going to offer...

"Um... A new spellphone would be nice."

Career laughed at the simple request. "Consider it done."

***** ***** *****

"A little more to the left."

Poe hoisted the desk as instructed with her magic.

Limbo eyed it up, unsatisfied. "A bit more."

Poe shifted it another couple of inches.

"Another smidge."

Poe rolled her eyes as she moved the desk again, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead as the weight of the desk started taking its toll.

"A tad more."

"I ain't doin' this 'til you run outta synonyms," Poe griped with an annoyed grimace.

Limbo pursed her lips as she sized up the desk. "Just a skosh more to the left."

In aggravation, Poe released the desk, letting it drop half an inch to the floor with a loud thud. "Yup, it's good. Ain't touchin' it no more."

"Hey, this is my office. I think I have every right to be nitpicky."

"Then move it yourself, ya lazy bum. 'If you want somethin' done right,' etcetera, etcetera."

Limbo eyed up the desk's position once more, the backdrop of the Baltimare streets through the window reminding her of her previous office. That thought brought a small smile to her face. "Yeah, that's probably good anyway."

After finally ridding Baltimare of the Ghost, Limbo got a handsome payday from Mayor Highstrung, not to mention multiple gift baskets from the grateful loved ones of Leaf's victims. So, the undead detective decided to splurge a little and do some shopping to decorate her new apartment. In actuality, Limbo's new apartment was Samba's old apartment. Samba had since moved out and was living with Rhapsody and Pirouette again on a trial basis. The couple were giving their relationship another shot, so it was suggested that Limbo turn her temporary home into a permanent one.

And that's what Limbo and Poe had been doing for the past few days. She'd bought some new furniture and fixtures—such as a desk, coffee maker, corkboard, and filing cabinets, among other things—and they'd been gradually moving the stuff into the apartment to make it feel more like home.

Poe flopped back on the couch, kicking her hooves up and prepared to take a short nap.

Limbo cocked a judgmental eyebrow at her best friend. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like? If you're gonna make me do all the heavy liftin' just cuz I can use magic, then I'm gonna take a break every now and then. Sounds fair, yeah?"

"Yeah, well, if you're gonna lay here and mooch off of me, I'd like it if you pulled your weight."

Poe scowled at her from her reclined position. "What, draggin' that desk up the stairwell ain't pullin' my weight? Liftin' stuff with magic is strenuous too, ya know." She sat up, glaring into Limbo's singular eye. "And whatchu mean 'moochin'? My old landlord gave my apartment to somepony else when I disappeared two years ago, and you know dang well Mom and Dad moved back to Manehattan ages ago. Where else am I s'posed to go?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe to a new apartment," Limbo chastised.

"And how am I s'posed to afford a new apartment with no job, wise guy?"

"By getting a job."

Poe got up off the couch to confront her. "Oh, that's real nice. I been locked up in a smelly cellar for two years, and you're already gonna get on my case about being 'lazy.' Cut me some slack."

"Don't act like you're a traumatized child," said Limbo with a roll of her eye. "That was, like, a month ago. Get over it."

Poe narrowed her eyes. "You're a real piece of work. And a hypocrite to boot."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you splash around the water with fat, smelly hippos," Poe groaned sarcastically. "Whatchu think it means? You need a dictionary? Samba told us alllll about your little pity party after your apartment got burned down, and how she had to give you a good kick in the flank to get you off your butt. So where do you get off chewin' me out for the same thing?"

"I'm passing on a lesson I learned! Don't give me crap because I'm trying to improve your quality of life."

"Well, ain't you a saint? Shutcher hole for a few minutes and actually do some work around here yourself before you start flapping your rotten gums at me. You know the necromancer typically resurrects people to make them do their bidding, right?"

"This ain't a zombie flick, this is real life, ya dunce."

"You don't even get exhausted! You ain't got a reason to rely on me and my magic. You're the lazy one!"

"That's a fine way to talk to the person who saved your life."

"Samba ain't here," Poe goaded with a needling smirk.

Limbo grimaced in annoyance. "You're askin' for a firm smack in the jaw."

"Go ahead and try it," Poe challenged confidently. "I'll floor you, just like old times."

"You outta your mind? Not only do I have police training, but you're outta practice. What do you think you can do to me?"

Poe smirked snidely, her horn lighting up.

Limbo felt her right front leg being lifted of its own accord, wrapped in red magic. She glared at Poe. "Don't you dare rip my leg off."

"Imma rip your leg off," Poe declared defiantly.

Without even giving the threat time to gestate, Poe began tugging rather roughly on Limbo's leg until it popped out of its socket and the flesh and sinew started to peel apart, eventually wrenching it free from Limbo's body. She waved the severed limb back and forth like a trophy of her victory.

"You're really asking for it," Limbo grumbled.

Poe slapped Limbo across the face with her own dismembered hoof. "Stop hittin' yourself," she chortled.

Limbo scowled back at her. "What are you, twelve?"

"Whatchu gonna do about—" Poe was cut off when Limbo's disembodied hoof slapped her right back. Witnessing her snarky snickering, Poe swung the whole leg at her, bringing it across her face again with more force and dislocating Limbo's jaw.

Even though her jaw clicked back into place moments later, Limbo still cast a rather infuriated glower at Poe. "That's it, you're goin' down!"

Limbo tackled Poe to the ground with a primal shout, managing to pin her despite being down a leg and started delivering restrained punches with her remaining front leg.

"Really? This is your 'police training'?" Poe laughed as she held her hooves up to block the blows. "You fight like a moody teenager. Seriously, what happened in the last two years? You really let yourself go."

"I'm gonna kill you so hard, no necromancy spell will be able to bring you back!"

"Ooo, I'm so scared. But, seriously, this is startin' to get annoying."

"Then cry uncle, ya big baby!"

Their fight was put on hold for the moment when they heard the door open. The two mares turned to find Samba standing at the threshold, looking a little befuddled by the sight of them on the floor, one missing a leg.

"Um... Am I interrupting something?" Samba inquired cautiously.

Poe capitalized on Limbo's moment of distraction to kick her in the gut, knocking the little wind she had in her lungs out of her and pushing her aside as she reeled. Poe stood up, casually dusting herself off and greeting Samba with an amicable grin. "Nah, just messin' around. We got two years of this junk to catch up on."

Samba eyed up the severed leg on the floor. She gave the pair a reprimanding glare. "You know, you two need to be more careful about this stuff. Anypony could've walked in and found you like this."

Poe grabbed the limb and waved it in the air carelessly. "Relax, would ya? We're just breakin' in the new apartment. Gotta make it feel like home, right?"

Samba sniffed the air. "Well, it's already starting to develop a java-y scent, so you're on your way." She glanced up to the corner of the ceiling near the door, spotting Webber perched in a web. The spider waved a leg at Samba. "And Webber's already made himself comfortable I see."

Limbo snatched her leg back from Poe and reattached it, flashing a welcoming smile at Samba. "Hey, welcome back. How was your trip?"

Samba grinned eagerly. She'd been looking forward to talking about it. "It was great! First of all, Pira passed her exam!" she exclaimed with an proud squeal.

"Nice," Poe congratulated. "Bet she was bouncin' off the walls."

"You're not kidding," Samba giggled. "And it only got worse when she met Princess Twilight. I thought she was gonna explode when the princess offered to give us a tour of the castle."

"Using your influence to pull some strings, eh?" Limbo joked with a sly smirk.

"Well, I can't say you're wrong," she responded somewhat bashfully. She let out a rather conflicted sigh. "But it's still a bittersweet feeling. I'm ecstatic that Pira gets to go to Celestia's school, but it's kind of a shame that this has to happen so soon. We just started the long journey towards repairing our family, and now our daughter is gonna be moving to Canterlot when the school season starts in the fall."

"Ain't like you're not gonna go visit her, yeah?" said Poe in an attempt to cheer her up.

Samba smiled. "Well, yeah, of course. Whenever we get the chance."

Limbo hesitated to ask the question on the tip of her tongue, but her curiosity got the better of her. "So, uh... Not to pry or anything, but how are things going between you and Rhapsody anyhow?"

Her smile persisted, which was already a good sign. "I think it's going well. When we were exploring Canterlot, it felt like we were dating again. And just being with him and watching Pira enjoy herself made me feel more like a real parent than I ever have."

"Think you're gonna get remarried?" Poe asked rather bluntly.

Samba rubbed her neck awkwardly. "Um, well, I don't know if we're quite there yet, but maybe someday. I don't know if he's been going easy on me or not, but he's definitely seemed pretty happy since I moved back in with them. Oh, speaking of 'moving in,' I got you a little house-warming present."

She opened her saddlebags and passed Limbo the gift. It was a white coffee cup with fancy gold trim and the words "Best Princess" written in purple cursive.

"I picked it up in a souvenir shop in Canterlot. Figured you'd want to start a new collection," Samba explained.

Limbo looked it over analytically. A genuine, grateful smile creased her lips. "I love it."

Poe rolled her eyes, though not without a sassy smirk. "Alright, save the lovey-dovey stuff for Rhapsody."

Limbo cleared her throat. "Right, anyway..." She looked at Samba hopefully. "I've been wanting to ask you, Samba... I know you wanna focus on your family and everything, but I'd love it if you wanted to continue being my assistant."

Samba quirked an eyebrow, puzzled. "Really? I figured you wouldn't need me around now that Poe's back."

Limbo and Poe exchanged confused glances. "Whaddaya mean? Poe never worked for me."

"She didn't? Oh. I just kinda figured with the way you always talk about her and how close you two are..." Samba looked to Poe. "So, what did you do before? Your job, I mean."

"I worked retail at the mall," Poe answered.

Samba blinked. "Huh. That's... a bit more mundane than I would've expected from somepony like you."

Poe shrugged. "Eh, you take what you can get. And it ain't all boring. An old dude slipped on a banana peel in the produce aisle once and broke his hip. So that was a fun day. Doubt that job's still available though. Gonna have to break out the classifieds at some point, I guess."

"You think of that all by yourself," Limbo deadpanned.

"You want me to rip off another leg?" Poe threatened.

Limbo ignored her, turning back to Samba. "So, you interested?"

Samba hesitated for a moment. "Uh, well, I was kinda looking forward to getting back to dancing at the pub. I've been feeling pretty reinvigorated lately, so I might actually have fun doing it for the first time in a while. Plus, Pira going to Canterlot will give me and Rhapsody some time to work on our relationship."

Limbo nodded understandingly, though not without some visual disappointment on her face. "Okay, I get it. But I'll definitely miss you around here."

That dejected look on Limbo's face did a good job of making her feel guilty. "Well, I guess if I have a day off from the pub, or if Rhapsody's at work, I can help out around here a little. Might be a nice change of pace every now and then."

Limbo perked up immediately. "Great! Cuz, listen, I've actually been thinking about names for my agency."

"Oh, uh, okay. What, you want my approval or something?"

"Yeah, of course. Okay, first one I thought of..." Limbo swept a hoof through the air. "Flesh and Bones Detective Agency. How's that sound?"

"Kind of a name is that?" Poe criticized.

"Yeah, I don't know," Samba agreed. "That name doesn't make any sense unless people know we're zombies."

"With the eyepatch and everything, people'll probably be expecting a pirate-themed agency," Poe snickered.

"If you're so smart, why don't you come up with a better name?" Limbo challenged with a scowl.

"Who said it needs a name? You been doin' fine without one so far, yeah?"

"It's called 'rebranding.'"

"Considering it didn't have a name before, wouldn't it just be 'branding'?" Samba corrected.

Limbo threw her head back with a groan. "Ugh, don't start with this. I enjoyed my week off from your nonsense. Don't ruin it. If you got any suggestions for a name, I'm all ears."

Samba mulled it over. "Hmm... What about... Bitter and Sweet? You know, bitter because you like coffee, and, uh..." She trailed off, suddenly feeling self-conscious about the suggestion.

"Sweet because of you?" Limbo smirked playfully. "Geez, Samba, didn't expect you to have such an ego."

"Now that I think about it, maybe it's not that fitting," Samba admitted; her face would've turned a tad red were she still capable of blushing.

"How about Beauty and the Beast?" Poe laughed.

Limbo narrowed her eyes grumpily. "If you're not gonna help, there's the door. And you can walk yourself into the harbor while you're at it."

"Well, I don't know exactly what kind of name you're looking for," said Samba.

"Alright, we're gonna have a brainstorming session for this," Limbo insisted as she headed for the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot. "We ain't leaving 'til we come up with something we can all agree on."

Limbo sat down at the table, and Samba and Poe reluctantly joined her to try and come up with a suitable name. This would turn out to be an arduous process and the discussion would end up continuing on and off for the next few years.

The End

Comments

[hehelover]

Sometimes I do question the choices the characters make but overall this had been a pretty fun story with solid writing, as usual. Though like I’ve been saying, Gust being the only one who really died aside from the villain still upsets me a little. Hoping for more!

[Eight_Metal]

Loved it. I hope to see more from you in the future.