Mortem Obire

by The Ancestor

The Storm Passes

"48, 49, 50!" Zipp groaned, finishing her last set of wing push-ups for the night, slowly standing up and trotting towards the nearest bench. Sweat poured down her face and body, a dull but pleasant ache in her wings proving once again that her midnight workout was worth it. She took deep breaths, steadying her heartbeat as she listened to the pitter-patter of water outside, tiny droplets hitting the window, remaining motionless for precious moments before succumbing to the inevitable embrace of gravity, sliding in zig-zagging motions as they raced each other to the ground below and vanished out of view.

Zipp wiped her face with a towel she left on the bench earlier, draping it over her neck before making her way towards the locker room, her hoofsteps synchronising with the rainfall outside. Despite the rather depressing weather conditions outside, her mood was elevated after a thorough workout session, not a single thing weighing on her mind.

Zipp snorted, not believing her own lies even for a second. Her gaze traveled to the locker next to her own, her sister's name printed in big, bold letters on its front. It would've bee so much fun to have Pipp here with her, but she still insisted on leaving her alone, as she was supposedly 'following her own workout regime'. Yeah, streaming each night surely does wonders to her sleep schedule, nevermind her training.

She's been asking Pipp to go workout with her the whole week, but her little sister would always find an excuse to skip the gym, said excuses growing more and more outlandish as the week progressed. Zipp wasn't blind or deaf, of course, she knew Pipp was insecure about her flying skills, or a lack therof, but she for the life of her couldn't understand why Pipp would avoid her.

If she was afraid of other ponies judging her, she could order the gym to be cleared. If she was't sure where to start, Zipp would gladly help her, and if said help wouldn't be enough, hire somepony more experienced. There was solution for any problem Pipp might have, so why wouldn't she ask her big sister for help? Wasn't that a million bit question.

Ever since their mountain hike, Pipp's grown more distant, and not only towards her sister. Haven hasn't noticed this as much, government business taking priority at these trying times of breaking ages-long stigmas, and neither did her viewers, little Pipp masterfully wearing her mask of happiness every time she streamed.

But Zipp noticed.

Noticed how Pipp's breath always bearing a smell of caffeene during their sparse conversations, her eyes slightly bloodshot form the lack of sleep. Noticed how she stopped using conditioner or filing her hooves every few days. Noticed how on edge she seemed as days drew to a close, the unyielding advance of night time flipping an unseen switch in her head. Something was bothering Pipp, something she couldn't talk to neither Zipp nor Heaven, the two ponies closest to her.

Truth be told, Zipp too was uneasy ever since that ill-fated trip, but she could never point her hoof at what made her feel queasy every time she shut her room's lights off before going to sleep, or walked a pitch-black corridor in the middle of the night in a quest for a cup of water. Still, being the level-headed adult she was, Zipp dismissed any feelings of unease as childish fears rearing their heads after hearing Sunny's 'bedtime story', and istead turned her thoughts into a more productive direction.

Or at least she tried to.

Each time she wracked her head around why Pipp was acting the way she was, or finding a way to help her, her mind hit an impenetrable wall that seemed to be the root of the problem. Just what did Pipp see during her alone time in the ancient bathroom of that castle? If she's seen something, that is. The general atmosphere of that place was enough to creep even Zipp out, and that's saying something.

Maybe she wasn't persistent enough, maybe she needs to disregard Pipp's opinion just this once, and actually do something, instead of letting the situation resolve itself, or waiting for Pipp to ask for help herself. Zipp's eyes manuevered to her phone lying next to her on the bench, its screen lighting up as her hoof came into contact with it.

3:33 AM

Yeah, maybe no right now. Zipp sighed, returning the device to its previous placement. Pipp's probably sleeping right now, her streams ending at least an hour agoi in the latest, and she'd rather not try talking some sense into a sleepy and grumpy Pipp. She should probably take a shower, it'd be silly not to post-workout, after all. Zipp stood up from her sitting position, stretching her wings a little as she took a step towards the showers.

Ding-Ding-Ding

Zipp whipped around at the sound of her phone going off, beckoning her closer. Approaching the mobile device, she felt her heart skip a beat. She scrambled to grab the ringing phone, accepting the call and bringing the device to her ear.

"Hey Zipp, how are you doing? I didn't call too late, did I?" Pipp's voice came through the speaker, mixed emotions stirring inside Zipp's mind.

"No, it's okay. Are you alright, though? You don't usually call me" Zipp was tempted to say at all, but bit her tongue and decided on a less passive-aggressive option. "that late."

"I'm fine, just hanging in my room, I guess." Pipp replied with a small giggle. "I guess I wanted to talk to somepony about everything that's happened." She said with a small sigh, sparking hope in her sister's heart.

"Me too, honestly." Zipp agreed, trotting out of the gym and into the castle's wide halls. "Does tomorrow morning sound good? I wouldn't mind talking right now, but it's a little-"

"Sure! Come over to my room as soon as possible!" Pipp's excited voice interrupted Zipp, thesheer intencity of it taking the pegasus aback.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to rob you of your beauty sleep." Zipp replied half-jokingly, heading in the general direction of her sister's room.

"Yeah, I'm dying for a good talk, and talking to you is like a breath of fresh air." Pipp's answer came in a gleeful tone, providing an interesting contrast to Zipp's journey through the dimly-lit corridors of the castle. The mare frowned as she walked past a wall-mounted lamp, the lightbulb flickering as she did. She should ask somepony to fix it.

"Thanks, I'll be there in a second." Zipp said, ready to wrap the conversation up, when her sister's voice continued the conversation.

"Wait!' Pipp protested, the unexpected volume in her voice making Zipp flinch. "Can you keep me company for the time being?" Her voice came shyly as she sighed, nervousness clear in her voice. "It's dark in here, and I'm getting kind of... scared."

Zipp arched an eyebrow at her sister's words, her surprised expression left unappreciated in the sparsely lit corridors of the royal castle. "Never knew you were afraid of the dark, Pipp."

"I wasn't until around a week ago." The mare replied flatly, her sharp change of tone taking Zipp unawares. "Sunny's penchant for storytelling really wasn't the highlight of our trip, wouldn't you agree?" She said with a chuckle, further confusing her sister.

"I'm guessing you're talking about whatever happened in the bathroom?" The second these words left Zipp's mouth, a nearby lightbulb exploded with a near-deafening sound, Zipp barely avoiding being showered with glass shards.

"You can say so. What was that sound, by the way?" Pipp asked in a curious tone bearing hints of excitement behind the question. "You look startled."

"I-I'm fine." Zipp replied with a sigh, desperately trying to calm her racing heart. "Somepony's got to check the wiring here, is all." She carefully walked around the scattered remains of a lightbulb, careful not to ruin her hoof polish by stepping on one.

"Yeah, I think there's a power outage in my section of the castle, the whole place's shrouded in darkness." She grew silent for a second, thinking over something. "Kinda spooky now that I think about it."

Zipp's advance halted as she reached the last working lamp, the dim and flickering illumination it provided being miles better than the pitch-black darkness of the hall in front of her. A seed of doubt sprouted in her mind as she peered into the darkness, her eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light in front of her. Maybe it wasn't the brightest of ideas to go wandering the castle in the dead of night.

Zipp's recent distaste for the dark returned with a vengeance, as she swore she could see shadows dancing in the dark, taking shape for moments at a time, before dissapating into the bituminous mass around them. She blinked rapidly, the visions dissolving as she did, her usual confidence coming back to her as she returned to her senses.

"That's one way to put it." She replied to her sister after a prolongued pause, taking a tentative step into the darkness, which was somewhat abated by her liberal use of her phone's flashlight. "I don't think I'll ever look at a public bathroom the same way ever again." Her reply caused a series of giggles to erupt on the other side of the phone, a small smile gracing ZIpp's lips.

"Neither will I." Pipp replied, her somber tone puzzling Zipp once more.

"What do you mean?"

"Have I ever told you what happened there, in the bathroom?" Pipp's sincere question troubled Zipp, the latter picking up her pace.

"You told me you didn't remember anything specific, just that something scared you enough to make you faint."

"I suppose that's true, but you could say that I scared myself, what with all the eerie atmosphere." Her voice was clear, but Zipp could've sworn she heard something akin to a whisper in the static. "Shame you weren't there to check up on me, though."

"Is there somepony with you, Pipp? And what do you mean I wasn't there, I literally carried you back to out camp!" Zipp's retort came out as an accusation, despite her best wishes.

"No, I am alone. As I always was." The mare's voice was muffled, the whispering clearer than before. "I asked for your help, and you never came for me. Nobody came for me." Zipp's wings fluttered as she took off, racing to her sister's chambers as fast as she could.

"I'm always here for you Pipp, and I'm sorry I wasn't faster back at the castle!" She all but yelled at the phone, flying through the last hall to her sister's room.

"Save your empty apologies, they will not help." The voice streamed through her phone as the mare zeroed in on the door at the end of the hallway, not a sound coming through the other side despite the volume of her phone's speaker. "It is too late for such formalities."

Zipp choose not to reply, instead ramming into the unexpectedly unlocked door of her sister's room, barging in and barely stopping herself from falling face-first onto the floor. She blinked in an attempt to adjust to the pitch-black room she found herself in, a sinking feeling appearing in her gut as she found the room awfully quiet.

"P-pipp? Where are you?" Zipp tried the impenetranable darkness around her, her eyes desperately searching for any signs of her sister. The voice came form everywhere at once, barely a whisper, yet perfectly audible.

"Witness the fruits of your labour, the consequent result of your choices."

Zipp heard a soft click, the room instantly illuminated by the blinding white, revealing a picture everybody dreads to see. It took the mare a few seconds to comprehend what she was seeing, her mind reeling from the thought of what was in front of her being reality.

Hanging from a wire, a good few meters of the floor, was the body of her beloved sister.

Zipp's stupor was broken as she rushed to her sister's body, lifting it up and desperately trying to untagle the knot. Zipp gently lowered it to the floor, horror striken as she noticed the glazed over eyes of her little sister, her face a sickening shade of blue.

"P-pipp! Wake up!" The pegasus pleaded, compressing her sister's chest before attempting to blow air into her lungs. Tears stained her cheeks as she tried to breath life into the still mare time after time, her pleas more and more desperate with each passing minute.

"P-please, I beg you! Wake up!" Zipp's shoulders sagged as she embraced Pipp's side, weeping into her. She squeezed her eyes shut as she clung to the body, a chilling sensation spreading at the point of contact. It all felt so unreal to Zipp, so impossibly horrible that she'd have thought it a dream, but the still cold in her grasp proved her otherwise. What was she going to do? What's she going to tell Haven? How will she sleep at night, knowing that it's all her fault?

"You don't have to." The voice made Zipp's breath hitch, the mare uttering a cry of anguish as the owner continued. "Don't have ro bear it." It continued, closer this time. "There is a way out for you." Zipp's response was a choking sound, her eyes red from weeping as she opened them, a hoof touching her shoulder. "Turn around, and come with me."

Zipp's body turned to the source of the voice, the mare soon devolving into hysterics as she saw the owner of the voice. There, shrouded in a veil of darkness, stood Pipp, a small, waiting smile on her lips. Her eyes sparkled with life, bad had an odd quality about them, something unnatural that ZIpp couldn't put a hoof on, in her condition anyways.

"P-pipp? H-how?" Zipp managed to croak through her hoarse throat, both relieved and horrified.

"Does it matter?" Pipp asked, recieving a choked cry in responce. "Come fly with me, and I'll explain everything to you." She said with a smile, leading Zipp away form the thing lying on a floor, and towards the nearest open window.

Cold wind billowed into Zipp's face, wet droplets mixing with her tears as she stood on the precipice with her sister. Pipp nodded towards the window with a smile, a sting of pain surging through Zipp's heart. She unfurled her wings, letting the wind caress them, a familiar sense of freedom beginning to well up in her sould, only to be crushed by the recent memories. She looked at her sister once more, finding a disapproving frown on her face.

"No-no-no, Zipp!" She scolded, guilt pressing down on Zipp like a mountain range as she remebered her sister's struggles with flight. "You don't need wings to fly! Not the way we're going to anyway." Her frown turned upside down as Zipp nodded shakily, the younger sister putting one hoof over the precipice. "Let's do this, Zipp." Her smile widened. "Together."

Zipp tried to mimick the expression, but her muscles protested as she tried to. She did her best anyway.

"Together."

They both stepped into the night, cold wind rushing past them as they plummeted.

Comments

[superwywy]

3 down 2 to go

[-Pinkamena_Pie-]

Now that I think about it, you remind me of my other self. Manipulative. Good at attacking weakness. It's funny, honestly. You and I are not that different, are we?

[Mister-H]

Dang...

[Hoofprintz]

Dude... you are a madman. This is horrendously excellent.

Oh NO IZZY!