The Day My Life Ended

by Authora97

Chapter Thirty: Darcy (Revised)

My body fucking hurts. Like it really fucking hurts. Fucking Storyline, whenever she does magic it packs a punch. Seriously.

“Oww.” I snapped my eyes shut. The pain stayed. Even weirder, my eyes didn’t feel like plastic anymore. They squished when I shut them. I loosened up. The eyelids relaxed naturally. Bright light squinted through my flesh.

“Hey, hey, remember what she said! Give her space!” Is that-?! No way. There’s no way.

I squeezed my eyes again. The light vanished. Skin moved over my eyes. It’s skin. Real, human skin.

“But she’s hurt!”

“It’s the same hurt as earlier.”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“It is! She even said she was fine!”

“She said that when she fell out of a tree yesterday.”

I blinked. The bright lights were a lot like the ones from the storage room. My doll eyes could handle anything. These human ones can’t take shit. My vision is fucking immaculate.

But I haven’t had flesh eyeballs in six years. Not that I noticed the six years, it’s hard to notice things when you’re dead. To exist in an abstract void of nothingness until somebody brings you back to life. So I tried sitting up.

“Wait-” Somebody jumped up to meet me. It’s a teenager. Worse, one of the classmates that Morgan had. I think. They got her a card so she bragged about it. “Your stitches!”

“My what?” I mumbled. A natural tongue, natural vocal chords. It feels wrong somehow. Was my soul used to plastic toys? That’s bullshit. “Ugh.” I coughed, hard. Somebody pushed water at me. I took it, chugging it down. “Gaaah, fucking shit. You piece of-fucking author!”

Fluttershy. Or a human girl who dyed her hair pink, wore yellow, and had turquoise eyes. Morgan has gotten desperate for friends.

‘The fucking Equestrians fucked up my shit-’

“...Fluttershy?” I asked.

The woman waved, quickly tucking her hand away again.

I turned. A bunch of girls were in my hospital room. Most of them had colorful, distinct haircuts. You can forget that shit. The hairstyles of the Mane Six get burned into your brain.

Two humans were the only solace. Yes, the human friends Morgan had once upon a time. My sister truly had her shit fucked with.

And I wasn’t involved. Fuck.

“You all better start being useful.” I warned them. “Right now.”

They all gawked at me.

“Now!” I snapped.

“Morgan, your eyes-” One of the ponies started.

“What did you just fucking call me?” I growled. None of them spoke then. So I tried climbing out of the bed. “That’s it!”

“No!” The humans reached out. The taller one pushed at my shoulder. I grabbed her wrist and forced her back. Her sister caught her. “Morgan what are you-”

Why does she keep getting close to such idiots?! I jumped out of the bed. “Listen here-”

And my body betrayed me. It tightened up. A horrible, sharp pain went out in my stomach. I flopped back down on the hospital bed.

“Shit shit shit-” I squeezed the bedding. My human head pushed down. Curly black hair fell around me in a curtain.

Curly?!

That bitch!

The spell. She used a spell! I didn’t register it immediately thanks to the fucking new body. She did this to me. I know she did. That fucking spell! She did magic, and it fucked us up!

She said switch.

I pushed myself up. The pain came back, and I ignored it. Not the time, it’s literally not the time. I can push through it. How many times have I been stabbed and hurt? Too many times to react to pain like this.

“Uhh, you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked.

I pointed a finger at her. “You. Shut up. Shut all the way up.” Standing took so much effort. None of these prudes get to know about it. So, I will stand and lean on the hospital bed. “It’ll pass. It always passes.”

It’s just pain from the universe transfer. That’s gotta be it. It better be it. If my sister switched our bodies and gave me the shitty one, I will kill her. Granted I already planned to do that...I will kill her twice.

“Morgan?” A real human asked.

I laughed. Tiny, bitter, and stupid. “No.”

They all froze. It’s the kind of reaction I love. Terror, horror, revulsion, and maybe even dread. It’s what I expected from my sister. Instead, she met me like she fucking expected me to be there. It’s horseshit.

Ha. Get it? Horseshit. ‘Cause these are horses.

Oh god, I’m delirious.

“Killjoy. Darcy.” Twilight Sparkle realized.

“Bingo.” I smiled wider. Right. Back to scaring people until I get answers. “So. People better start talking, now.”

“Morgan didn’t tell you?” Rarity asked.

“We didn’t exactly chat.” I hissed.

“But you’re- this is-” Applejack glanced between the bed, and me. “What happened?”

Pinkie jumped up from behind her. “It’s easy!” Applejack yelped. She jumped out of her boots. “Morgan and Darcy switched bodies! Like a supersecret twin power! My sister and I tried doing that once, but it didn’t work.”

The shorter human turned to her sister. “Does that make any sense?”

The taller human sighed. “It makes as much sense as everything else this week.”

“Fuckheads!” I snapped.

“We need your help.” Twilight stepped forward. “We’re stuck in Morgan’s world. She tried to take us back, but this man-”

“A ruffian called Dominic Chamberlin.”

“-stopped her. He took Lilac-”

I clicked my fingers. “That. That there. He fucked with Lilac and is still breathing. Where is he? No, fuck, where is she?”

Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity split up. It revealed the tiniest hospital couch. An unfamiliar child laid out on it. Midnight blue hair instead of scales, lilac purple clothes, and a skin color that’s somehow very close to our’s.

Yeah. That’s the kid.

If I were in pain, I would’ve stumbled towards her. The pain is pushed down, and kept away. It doesn’t matter. That kid, that still so tiny kid, does.

So I knelt beside my niece. Older than I last saw her. She’s taller. Human, obviously, but the differences aren’t that big. The hair on her head- if it’s any comparison to her normal head scales- are longer. No freckles on the tanned skin. She’s still got chubby baby cheeks. There’s an impression of cheekbones that’ll stick around. This girl is tiny. Overall, she is tiny and unprotected in sleep.

Some idiot took advantage of that.

I reached my hand up. Some of the girls winced, gasping sharply, trying to reach out and stop me.

“How old is she?” My fingers brushed her hair. Soft, so fucking soft.

“Seven.” Spike answered.

That doesn’t check out at all. She was five the last time I saw her. My sister does love complicating the timelines. It’s been six years since I saw her. She either stayed in my world six years after dying, or left Lilac for six years to pick me up. The answer better be fucking good.

I’ll ask her later. Then kill her if she answers wrong.

“You said his name was Chamberlin?” I asked.

“Dominic.”

“First and last, that’s all I need.” I stood back up. That kid needs to be kept safe and alive for all of time. “Fuck, why did Morgue even bring her here? She wouldn’t do that until the kid was ten.”

They all exchanged looks. I smiled again.

“What?”

“He- He kidnapped her from Ponyville.” Twilight answered.

Wait. Wait, what? “From Ponyville? Not here?”

Twilight shook her head. “He went to Ponyville, and brought Lilac here. He hurt Morgan when we got her back.”

“He went to Ponyville?” I repeated. “Did she bring him there?”

Twilight shook her head.

That’s new. That’s very fucking new. Looking down at Lilac, then the hospital gown on my body, I realized what my sister did. The shit she ran away from.

He’s got my sister’s powers. He used them to take my niece, to hurt her and hurt my fucking sister. I’m the only one allowed to do that.

“Okay. That helps.” I scratched my head. This curly hair is an abomination. “So. I’ll just go.”

“You can’t leave.” The taller one said.

“You plan on stopping me?”

“Yes. I don’t know who you are, or what you’re like, but I do know that’s my friend’s body and it’s hurt. You can’t just walk out with it.” She insisted. “She needs to heal.”

“If she wanted to heal, she’d still be here.” I countered. I crept closer. “So I guess she’s fine with me walking out with it.”

The shorter one stepped closer. “You’re a minor. You need parental permission to leave. Neither of her parents will let you leave.”

I laughed. “Assuming I want that permission to begin with.”

“You don’t.” The shorter one nodded to my niece. “But you need somebody to watch her. Don’t you?”

I tilted my head. “So?”

“So. Have her grandparents do it.” She offered. “They’d do better than us.”

“Do you even know what those seven can do?” I asked her. “That one can breathe fire. She moves really fast. Those two can use magic. Nathan and Sarah Spencer can pray problems away. I don’t need their shit. I need you out of my way.”

So I stepped closer again. The hospital gown was empty. My sister took her Bag for the trip. It’s reasonable to assume she took all her weapons with her. She did. Lilac, however, had a new addition. Her outfit had a very particular item tucked away. It’s in the perfect spot for me to grab and use.

The knife handle slipped into my hand. I jumped forward.

Purple and pink magic grabbed me. Fuck these ponies are annoying.

“How did you even get that?!” Rainbow Dash asked.

The shorter one flinched back. Her taller sister took her side, stepping in to block any possible blow.

Twilight came closer. It’s only her magic hold that kept me from hitting her. “Dominic Chamberlin has attacked us on two other occasions. He found Morgan in this hospital once before. Without her parents here, he can do it again. We need to get you out. You need to work with us because we know more about him than you.”

She’s very gutsy when the situation calls for it. Pity she’s not like that all the time. “I can take him.”

“I know.” Twilight nodded. “Can Lilac?”

No. If he’s smart enough to get my sister twice, and as bad as he did, then he’s probably a challenge for me too.

“Fine.”

==DMLE==

Nathan Spencer stepped into the hospital room. I smiled too sweetly at him. He frowned at me. “Why are you wearing those?”

The sunglasses stayed perched perfectly on my nose. “The bright light was giving me a headache.”

“You can’t wear sunglasses indoors.” He reached for my sunglasses.

I grabbed his wrist. The man stared at me. Twilight, poking her head in from the hallway, shook her head. I kept up my sweet smile. “Doctor’s orders, Dad. The glasses stay.”

He frowned. Still confused, but going along with it. He moved back. I let go of his wrist. He nodded to the door. “Did her mother come get her?”

Oh, Morgan, lying to your parents. I love when you do that. “She did. Went away without another word.” The ponies took her away to the Spencer house. It’s easier to hide there, and it’s where I want to go. Morgan definitely left her bike there so I can borrow it for a quick trip, the same for her other laptop.

“Good.” He held up a small bag. “Now change into this. Your mom said everything fit.”

He handed me a bag of school clothes. A bright pink hoodie with the school name in white, and a pair of school labeled sweatpants. It’s almost cute.

“Oh, lost and found is thriving.” I said.

“Your mother was very worried.” He warned me. “So you better say thank you for this the next time you see her. She almost missed her meeting to get this together for you.”

“Oh no. Not her meeting.” I rolled my eyes behind the sunglasses. Twilight grabbed at her hair, twirling away from the door. “I’ll be very sorry about it when we get home.”

“No, we’re not going home.” He countered. “We’re going back to school. I have a math class to teach, and then three bible classes. You have classes you’re behind on.”

That’s good old Nathan Spencer. He hasn’t changed. That’s fair, even reasonable. Last I saw him was in November at Thanksgiving. Two months passed for him. His daughter is in the hospital for being shot. She only recovered because of magic voodoo nonsense. But because she can function, she can work. Morgan could’ve caved to that.

I have a job to do.

“And it’ll be okay, after yesterday, if I come back to school?” I asked. The man frowned. “I’m really scared now. I can rest at home.”

“Nobody can watch you at home.” He insisted. “We’ve got too many things happening at the school today. Because of what happened yesterday, a lot of things need to be done.” He glared at me as if to say the events of that were my fault. Like I, or Morgan, had started that attack. Like we were responsible.

This is just fun now. “I can take care of myself, Dad, since I’ve already been such an inconvenience to you guys.”

“Don’t do that.” He snapped at me. “Don’t turn this around on me. You’ve been making messes for us all week. Do you know how many times an ambulance has been to school this week? We have safety concerns. Multiple investigations started on if we can keep the kids safe, the school staying open! You’ve put us in deep trouble over your tantrums!”

My skin is shaking. They took my fucking knife with the kid, but I have my own two hands. This plastic bag for the clothes can be an option. Nathan Spencer doesn’t need to last. I can blame Dominic Chamberlin for it. It’s like Christmas.

“Tantrums?” I repeated. “What do you-”

Twilight poked her head around again. Her purple eyes were wide with horror. A familiar expression, yes, but this was different. She wasn’t glaring at me. Twilight was looking at Mr Spencer. Fuck, Twilight doesn’t need to see me kill this fucking idiot.

“Keeping you at school keeps you out of trouble.” He scolded. “In my sight at all times. So you’ll be in my office, working until the end of the day!”

“But Dad-”

“No. That’s how it’s going to be.”

It’s not fair, right, or anything close to good. “For the whole day?”

“Even during Bible class.” He added, narrowing his eyes. “You could use the reminders. We’re discussing the importance of respecting your teachers and their teachings.”

At least it’s only-

“We are talking about it in all three classes. And I expect you to listen.”

I’m going to kill Morgan three times.

Mr Spencer ordered me to change. They gave us her tattered undergarments. As we left the room, Twilight stayed in her place.

I pointed a warning finger at her. She better keep my niece safe or I kill her too. Twilight nodded.

==DMLE==

His car was still so tiny. As we drove, loud talk radio filled the silence. He was clear on what he wanted.

I needed to see my niece again. This piece of shit drove the wrong direction. This fucking pink hoodie was making my eyeballs bleed. The sweatpants were almost fine. “Hey. Dad.”

He didn’t turn down the radio.

“Daaaad.” I tried again. “Dad. Father. Father. Faaaaatheer!”

“Be quiet, Morgan. I need to focus on driving.” Mr Spencer ordered.

I hate being called her name. He’s not even doing it to be a dick, mistaking me for a twin. He has no idea I exist. Fuck him. “During the three Bible classes, am I supposed to be quiet or do commentary?”

“Being quiet is respectful.” He pointed out.

“Yes but you want me to pay attention. So do you want me to make commentary, or be quiet?”

“I think it’s obvious which one I want.”

“But how do you know if I’m listening if I’m being quiet?”

“I will ask questions and you will answer.”

“See, that’s making commentary.”

“No it isn’t.”

“Well, you’re not asking yes or no questions. You want to start a conversation. That’s commentary.”

“The questions have obvious answers that are short. You do not have to speak.”

“But if I’m doing it three times I’ll have more answers as we go along.”

“Which is why it’s better for the students who this lesson is actually for.”

“Then you admit the lesson isn’t for me! So why am I paying attention?”

“So you can learn the lesson.”

“But if you’re teaching it to other kids, then they need to learn the lesson too. And if I am misunderstanding it, given how much I need this lesson, they definitely are misunderstanding it.”

“I have been clear on what I expect from you.”

“Can I take notes? I’ll need to take notes.”

“No. No notes needed.”

“What about the test? Surely I’m studying for a test.”

“No.”

“What about the rest of the day? Am I also following you at lunch, cause I don’t have a lunch right now so I will need something ordered in for lunch. Is there a nice restaurant nearby cause I can just go there for lunch. We can go together. It can be a father daughter event, and I can ask you more questions about the lesson. To make sure you know I learned something.”

==DMLE==

Mr Spencer left the house without looking back. I waved goodbye until the car left my sight.

Annoying your kidnapper works every time.

So I walked to the house. The door opened. A kid ran out.

“MOM!” The kid screamed. She leapt up at me.

I caught her. “Sorry, kid.” She stayed in my arms. So I lowered her to the cold grass. Lilac sniffled and struggled against me. “I’m not your mom.” My sunglasses came off.

She sniffled again. But she looked at me, and the eyes were a normal human shape. “Huh?”

“Hi.” I greeted again. “You got big.”

Lilac dropped her jaw. “A-Auntie?!”

Hesitating, I nodded.

Her lip quivered. My chest ached.

“Auntie you’re back!” She cheered.

She..She missed me? Doesn’t this kid know what happened to me? It was very blunt. We often hid the truth of our family from Lilac. Still died. Morgan would’ve told her that I was never coming home.

“What did your mom tell you about...about what happened?” I asked.

Lilac gulped. “That it wasn’t my fault, that it was the bad man’s.”

“No. No, not that. No. I meant about me being gone.”

Lilac hugged me again. “You had an accident, and got hurt really bad.” She sniffled, crying on my arm. “But you’re back! If you’re back, Mommy can be back too!”

“That’s what she told you?”

“Yeah.” She squeezed tighter. “I missed you so much, Auntie!”

Lying to Lilac still. Does your daughter know the kind of monster you are? Definitely not, or she would stop loving you.

Is that really how I want to kill you? Maybe. Plenty of people have stabbed you, or shot you or poisoned deer. Myself included. But how many people broke you down to nothing?

I know that number too. It’s a lot. Not nearly as much as physical pain, but the impact they left lasted a lot longer. That’s a kind of pain that has stuck with you. That’s the way a person can really hurt Morgan- if they so choose.

And Lilac still loves you. This kid probably had the worst week of her life, worse than mine at her age, and she still loves you. She loves her mom more than I ever loved mine. Lilac was always better than us.

I can see it. A way to hurt Morgan using Lilac. Last time, I threatened to hurt Lilac. That’s where I screwed up. I can’t hurt the kid. All I need to do is say the right string of words. Lila will definitely believe me. Morgan’s not even here to argue it. And by the time she is, Lilac will ask why she hurt her auntie. Morgan won’t even deny it. Lilac will turn her away. It’ll crush Morgan into nothing. I’ll win. It’ll make Morgan cry. Lilac will cry too.

And I don’t wanna break her. She’s got the innocence that I have fought so hard to protect for so many. The kind I lost when I was this small. If hurting my sister involves hurting this kid, then I can’t do it. Lilac deserves better.

I’ll just kill the motherfucker that tried.

Then, I only kill Morgan once. As a mercy. A rebalancing of the scales, pun intended. She’ll probably even bounce back. That’s the problem when everyone in your family is immortal.