5. Not Quite Wight
The wight didn’t appear to notice anypony just yet. It kept its muzzled pinned to the ground as though sniffing around for something. Zest was fairly sure she didn’t have any scent to her anymore, though then again all she could smell now was hot and cold.
“I, know what you. did,” the wight’s voice blew towards them as a whisper carried on the wins. It spoke with unnatural, stuttering stops and inflections. “I saw what. Was inside that, briefcase.”
The… briefcase?
Zest paled and moved back, suddenly unable to blink or take her eyes off it. It had to be talking to her, right? It had to be reading her mind somehow.
“You’re, not innocent,” the wight continued. “You, took. the money. You, can’t run from what you, did. I, saw it all. And I, will. tell everypony…”
Zest shook her head! Sugarcoat knew she’d been a smuggler, but–
“Sh-shut up!” Rind surprised Zest by stepping forward to yell at it. “You don’t know anything! That’s not true!”
Did he also have a horrible briefcase-related secret? That couldn’t be right. Maybe they all heard something different?
“Don’t bother talking to it,” Sugarcoat warned them all. “Don’t even listen to it if you can manage. The thing doesn’t understand what it’s saying. It just knows what sounds will make you the most upset.”
But her frown was deeper.
“Maybe the rest of us should get out of here?” Zest held Sparky close. If she was intimidated by the wight then so was he. “You got this one, right boss?”
“Yes.” Sugarcoat nodded. “But it's already too late for you to escape. We’re surrounded.”
“Is there more than one?!” Zest turned around. “I never heard of a pack of wights before! Is a group of wights called a wong?”
There were no wights behind her, but Zest knew what Sugarcoat meant now. Fore-boots in every direction floated towards them or else crept along the ground as though attached to an invisible pony.
She’d heard wights came at you with a bunch of boots, but never expected it to have a whole army in tow. Fore-boots came clopping and snaking along from every direction.
“I’ll have to fight it and protect the lot of you.” Sugarcoat made wide circles with her shoulders. “Try not to let those boots touch you. Those are its crystallized terror. Touching one will induce a phobic response.”
“Oh right.” Zest moved to be next to Sugarcoat. “Wights can bring out your deepest fears, right?”
“What?” Sugarcoat raised her brow. “Where did you go to school? That’s not how it works.”
“Huh?!”
“You’re already afraid of the things you’re afraid of so that wouldn’t do anything.” Sugarcoat pointed to one of the fore-boots. “They capture the fears of other ponies and induce them on you. Wights go around collecting them. And they’re enchanted so they can touch you.”
Zest didn’t need to be told how bad that could get. With so many hooves about, the wight could easily reduce her to a catatonic wreck too afraid to move!
All the unattached hooves flew at them at once. Zest could hardly flail her forelegs about as they closed in on her. She was far too weak to fight something like a wight!
But before they could get near her, Sugarcoat’s eyes glowed. A half-dome of ice appeared around Zest and Rind. The boots slammed into the wall but couldn’t break through the ice. Not only did they fail to penetrate the wall, but Sugarcoat’s ice continued to spread over the ones that collided. Soon, many of them were encased in ice.
Sugarcoat swept her hoof in front of her and all the fore-boots that came at her froze solid in midair. She then touched her hoof to the ground. A spike made of ice shot up from the ground, impaling the wight straight through the belly and lifting it into the air.
“Yeah!” Zest cheered her boss on. “You’re doing it! That wight picked the wrong pony to mess with!”
“It’s not over yet.” Sugarcoat warned. “Physical damage can’t kill it.”
The wight showed no signs of injury. It inhaled with great difficulty, sounding as though a gallon of tar filled its lungs, then breathed out. The thick smoke came pouring out both its mouth and eyes and melted the ice as it drifted down.
Any plant life that came near the smoke crumbled to dust in an instant. Zest didn’t want to find out if that stuff could affect ghosts.
Sugarcoat punched at the air and the psychokinetic force dispersed the smoke, but several of the fore-boots were already freed and floated back towards their master. With eight additional hooves following, it skittered about the ground much faster than before.
Sugarcoat attempted three times to freeze it solid, but the wight’s movements were too fast and unpredictable. When she’d move to strike it, the wight would throw itself to one side like a rag doll and she’d create an ice block where it’d been a moment ago.
It snaked its way halfway up a tree with terrifying speed. Zest could hardly keep her eyes on the thing! It squirmed as it produced a blade from behind its cloak. One of the floating hooves latched onto the blade.
From the pale, green light that surrounded it, Zest could tell the blade had some enchantment around it. That meant it was magic and could harm even a ghost.
In response, Sugarcoat made her own blade of ice, one that covered her left foreleg. Both swung at the air and a clash resounded through the air though neither touched physically.
A tear in the ground above which Sugarcoat floated appeared, as did a notch in her ice blade. So that sword could cut things without even touching them!
Sugarcoat created another blade of ice and hurled it forward. It hit with enough force to slice through the tree in one blow! As the tree fell, the wight convulsed about to dodge being frozen once more. Just before hitting the ground, it swung again. This time, the blow tore open a gash in the dome of ice protecting Zest.
Zest turned around to find that, while none of the fore-boots had been freed, cracks were forming in the ice. The whole thing would break before long!
It made a gasp for air, then pulled its hoof back. In front of each of the three ponies, heralded by a purple flame, appeared a new boot suspended in the air.
The ones before Rind and Zest crossed one another, grabbing the opposite pony’s shoulder in turn. No matter how she struggled, Zest couldn’t get the dang thing off!
That meant Zest was afraid of… whatever Rind Heart was afraid of? But what was Zest afraid of now?! She patted herself over but nothing.
The wight then charged right at them, pulling its sword back! Sugarcoat managed to come in from behind and freeze the floating hoof that held it, as well as all the others that floated around it. With the largest ice blade yet, she slammed the wight hard in the side, sending it flying.
“Are the two of you okay?” Sugarcoat floated high above them.
Zest looked up at her. Sugarcoat looked so cool just then that Zest couldn’t help but blush. With the night sky behind her, Sugarcoat shone with absolute beauty! Zest’s mouth hung open in awe at how perfect Sugarcoat’s body was.
“I! I – uh.” Zest’s blush got worse! She couldn’t even look Sugarcoat in the eyes! Sugarcoat was way too cool for her! “I mean– I– duh.”
Zest didn’t even want to open her mouth again. If she said the wrong thing, Sugarcoat would think she was an idiot and never talk to her again!
What the heck was happening?! She’d never been attracted to another mare like this before! And even if she had, she shouldn’t be this stupid and awkward. Where the hell had this come from? She was like…
That’s when it hit her! Like a twelve-year-old colt!
She glanced over at Rind and realized she’d inherited his fear of talking to girls! Or something along those lines!
Did Rind have her fears then?
“No!” Rind clutched her hooves over his ears. “Everypony’s going to find out about this! This is all my fault, isn’t it?!”
Yeah! That sounded like Zest.
“No amount of physical trauma will kill that thing.” Sugarcoat turned back to the wight as it got back up. “I can kill it if I immobilize it, but it’s moving too fast. I need you to send the wraith at it. It’s under your control”
“Uh, huh.” Zest could only stare deeply into Sugarcoat's eyes.
“Did you hear me?” Sugarcoat frowned.
“Uh!” Zest started to panic! She barely got any of that! There was no way she could even talk to Sugarcoat like this! She was just too nervous!
Was being a boy really this horrible?! It had to be some kind of exaggeration!
“Pathetic.” Sugarcoat held out her hoof. “Here. I’ll fix you with my aura.”
Zest felt Sugarcoat’s aura! Such an attachment to her sexy boss felt like the best possible thing in the world! Zest could die happy now!
She could feel Sugarcoat’s emotions now, too. Sugarcoat was… perplexed about what emotions to counter this with. A sort of numbness began to creep along Zest until she became completely emotionless and able to think clearly again.
Logically, Zest regained the ability to realize that now wasn’t the best time to drool over another pony. She got the idea, perhaps a suggestion from Sugarcoat, that she could take the boot off now.
Zest reached to it only for her protective aura of stoicism to fade.
Then Sugarcoat got thrown to the side!
She must have been too distracted. The wight finally hit her with that sword. It hit her hard, too, throwing her far and leaving a huge gash in her form!
It swung again, two more times slashing her again and again. Then, five of the fore-boots around it flew forward and grabbed onto Sugarcoat while she was down.
The wight suddenly flung itself towards Zest and landed in front of the two of them. It raised its blade and slashed at Rind this time. A hit from that would cleave him in half. Zest dove in to try and do anything she could, going as far as trying to jump in the way, but she was simply too slow and too far away.
The slash tore the ground, but no blood was spilled. Two images of Rind flew out from where he stood, wave dashing across the ground. They reformed into one behind the wight and Rind held out his hoof to blast it with psychic energy.
The trees shook as the wight was thrown forward several meters by the force.
“Whoa!” Zest reared back as she watched the wight fly over her head. “We have seriously underestimated this kid!”
The wight landed and came skittering back at Rind.
Zest soon found Rind had enormous strength but had little idea how to use it. He threw his entire weight behind every blow, apparently knowing no better form or strategy than that. He sent huge, psychokinetic waves through the woods that splintered trees and sent fore-boots flying. However, he telegraphed each attack and staggered afterward.
It didn’t take long for the wight to counter. As he launched his next attack, the wight flung itself to one side in a jerking motion, as though it were a rag doll thrown hard to the side. The blow missed and the wight landed smoothly on the ground.
Then the wall of ice finally broke, releasing all the hooves trapped within. Dozens of them came clambering out. Rind sent one final psychokinetic blast to throw a few of them back, then the avalanche of hooves came down on them.
Twelve boots hit Zest all at once. Absolute terror consumed her. Everything frightened her now. The woods, the dark, the sharpness of that blade, the thought of talking to any other pony, indeed, every thought that came into her head was worse and more horrific than the last.
Zest never wanted to move again, just hide, hide away from everything and everyone. Even that idea showed no comfort to her. The thought of being alone terrified her just as much as the thought of talking to another pony. There was no hiding, only terror clamping on her from every direction, making her still.
She saw Rind, also covered in boots. She saw Sparky, cowering in the corner as well. She saw Sugarcoat getting back up as well. Yet all of them were terrifying monstrosities in her eyes now. She couldn’t bear to look at any of them.
Seven fore-boots now clung to Rind Heart’s neck from every direction. They lifted them into the air as the wight stood more upright than it had yet to manage. Still, it leaned to one side as it took out its sword again.
The thought of the colt being killed filled her with dread, but she was afraid of doing anything to help as well. The wight had completely and utterly dominated her.
A blade of ice smashed the wight away a moment later, sparing Rind Heart from death. Sugarcoat came to look Zest over. None of it mattered. Zest wanted Sugarcoat to go away just as badly as the wight.
“No,” said Sugarcoat. “You’re one of mine.”
Sugarcoat’s aura flooded Zest. At first, Zest was terrified of that feeling as well but then Sugarcoat’s emotions overpowered her own. She felt Sugarcoat’s desire wrap around her, fill her with comfort, and keep the fear out.
The sort of love you had for a small foal or kitten filled her. The desire to gently keep safe something small and weak grew stronger and stronger until it overpowered the horror.
Two of the boots fell off Zest. The fear of other ponies vanished! Now Zest feared solitude alone. She remained in a pit of the deepest loneliness she’d ever felt, but she at least had a desire to climb out.
Zest reached back out to Sugarcoat and the feeling became stronger. Her fears remained, but she felt protected now.
The wight slashed at Sugarcoat, cutting into her back. Sugarcoat remained firm and pushed her aura into Zest even harder.
Zest knew for certain that she had nothing to fear. The terror vanished like a shadow in the light. All the boots fell helplessly to the ground. The wight lurched back into the darkness, humiliated.
Zest teared up as she looked at Sugarcoat. It didn’t come from that exaggerated super-crush she’d had induced on her before. Sugarcoat really did care about her. She saw Zest as weak and pathetic, but she did care!
“The wraith!” Sugarcoat reminded her.
“Huh?” Zest blinked. “Oh, right!”
Zest just had to impart her will onto it! She needed to help Sugarcoat and that snot-nosed colt! With such genuine feelings, reaching out to the wraith was effortless. Just like an orb, the lesser ghost became an extension of herself. Sparky stopped cowering off in the corner and charged in.
It very nearly felt as though she was the one charging at the wight and slashing it with Sparky’s icicle claws. The wight threw itself back in its unnatural manner, but Sparky and Zest slashed again, this time trying to freeze it as well.
The wight flung itself out of the way of this attack as well, but at last, Sugarcoat go her opening. Her ice clamped down on it, freezing its lower legs. It knew the danger being immobilized presented and thrashed about, attempting to get its sword back.
At the same time, Sugarcoat lifted all of the fore-boots that were still frozen at once. She shattered the ice around them and flung them all at the wight. They collided and clamped down on the wight.
The boots on Rind all fell to the ground as the wight shrieked and flailed about more violently than ever. Rind collapsed, panting and eyes wide. Sugarcoat grabbed these fallen fore-boots as well and slammed them into the wight.
Now completely covered, the wight made an in-equine screeching noise. It shook so violently that it broke free from the ice. Sugarcoat showed no mercy, keeping her eyes locked on it. Zest could feel the waves of aura flowing from her into the wight, amplifying the fear it consumed itself with.
Purple sludge began leaking out of those massive, empty eye holes. Then it came pouring out of every joint in its armor as well. With one final spasm, the wight through itself hard against a tree, splintering it.
Then finally, it fell silent. The mail collapsed in a heap as though nopony had ever been wearing it. The fore-boots all clattered to the ground. Then nearly everything burned away into dust, drifting off into the air.
But a few, small pieces of the wight lingered. Its cape and mangled helmet lay on the ground and the sword harmlessly dug into the earth. So too did a single piece of jewelry – a gold band with an orange gemstone encrusted on it.
“Hey! We did it!” Zest pulled Sparky back close and turned to her mentor with a wide smile.
“For now.” Sugarcoat nodded.
She looked over to Rind, hoping maybe he’d have a more enthusiastic response. Yet she found the poor kid breathing heavily as he stared at the spot where the wight collapsed.
“Ah, crow! I think we may have accidentally left him traumatized,” Zest whispered to Sugarcoat.
“He should be fine.” Sugarcoat didn’t spare him much concern. “Do you feel traumatized? The effects of induced fear don’t linger for long.”
She wasn’t wrong. Even still, Zest moved to his side. She didn’t get too close, fearing her desire to eat him might overpower her.
“Are you okay?” Zest asked from a good three meters away.
“I guess.” Rind kept his eyes on the ground. He looked crestfallen if anything. “I could beat anypony in town so easily, but that thing was really scary.”
“Aw. Don’t feel bad. The world’s a scary place,” said Zest. “Nopony will blame you for not beating something that tough.”
Rind shook his head.
“No! I – I just need to learn how to use my powers better,” he said. “Next time a wight shows up, I’ll get it by myself!”
“I– I guess you did help us. So thanks.”
“Right. But remember, even nice ghosts like us are dangerous,” Zest reminded him. “So don’t come to talk to us again unless it’s a life-or-death emergency, okay?”
Rind Heart nodded.
“We still have one small problem,” said Sugarcoat.
The other two turned to her, too weary to deal with anything else tonight.
“You can’t truly kill a wight, but it can’t reform if you split its possession apart.” Sugarcoat held up the blue cape. “We’ll take this one. And I’ll throw the bracelet into a lake somewhere.”
Of course, it wasn’t as easy as that. Zest heard stories of how the pieces of a wight had a way of finding themselves again. It was all but inevitable some poor pony, a long time from now, would find the last piece of its jewelry and feel as though they just had to have it.
Sugarcoat levitated the helmet and sword over to Rind Heart.
“You take these and tell the adults in your village to send them far away.”
“H-huh?!” Rind stepped back from them. “But what am I supposed to tell them? Like– like how I got all this stuff? I’m not even supposed to be awake after nine!”
“That’s not my problem,” said Sugarcoat. “Tell them whatever you want. Goodnight.”
Sugarcoat left Rind Heart clutching the small pile of treasure and floated back towards home. Zest clasped her forehooves together, thanking him one last time, before following.
When she got the chance, Zest snuck a glance at Sugarcoat’s flanks and felt none of the attraction from before. That convinced her she’d become straight again. Being gay for five minutes had been an interesting experience, though. It filled her with all sorts of questions that would never be answered.
Even still, Zest glowed with a less homoerotic affection for Sugarcoat. Perhaps that could be said more literally now. Sugarcoat all but saw her appreciation and glanced in her direction. Even without auras, she’d likely see the big smile on her face.
Zest moved closer until they were pressed together side by side.
“So!” Zest smiled wide and pressed her cheek against Sugarcoat’s.
“So what?”
“You really do care about me, boss!” Zest grabbed her in a hug and nuzzled Sugarcoat’s neck repeatedly. “I love you, too! You’re the best friend I ever had!”
Sugarcoat remained still as the affection showered her like rain on an umbrella. Sparky swiftly moved into nuzzling Sugarcoat, imitating Zest’s love.
“See? And Sparky loves you too!”
“Wonderful.”
Sugarcoat didn’t smile, but Zest had just enough aura awareness to feel her happiness anyway.
“Oh! And you still haven’t answered my question.”
“What question?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Do two wights make a wong?” Zest snickered, trying to hold in her laugh.
“No.”
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I was already in a good mood, but this chapter put me into a great mood. I then finished it and the ending put me into an amazing mood. I cannot express how much I enjoy your writing.
Yes, yes they do!
I have to ask, did Lemon Zest try to steal from team fortress 2's red team? Because the implications of that would lead this story in a very different direction from what I expected.
This was a fun chapter, made me laugh.
Need to go back and proofread the Chapter. Rind Hard is not supposed to be called Rind heart. Rind has her instead of his sometimes. The spell check works, but it's too dumb for consistency.
Basically LOTR with extra steps. Or is that less steps?
In the coming chapters: Lemon Zest finds herself being turned gay suspiciously often.
But three wights make a weft!