My Little Pony Fan Fiction ❯ A Walk Among Spirits ❯ Chapter 15

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"No! Take me instead of her! Let me take her place!" Skyline begged

 

The stallion laughed as he placed Sweetie Belle on the cart and turned to face Skyline again. He took the door handle in his hoof and mocked, "You'd like that wouldn't you." before slamming the door shut.

 

When he felt his body unlock, Skyline rushed the door. However, this time Apple Bloom jumped in his way. He skidded to a stop and screamed, "Get out of the way!"

 

"Why?! So I can watch you hurt yourself again?!" Apple Bloom argued.

 

"I have to do something! He's taking my friends!"

 

"How do you think I feel?!" Apple Bloom cried as tears rolled down her cheeks and she continued, "They're my best friends damn it! We started the CMC together, got our cutie marks together! How do you think I feel as I watch them be taken away? Knowing I'll never see them again! Trust me, if I could. I'd break down that door and save them, but that door is solid steel. The only thing that will break will be you if you continue to hit that door!"

 

"I have to try. I have to fix this!" Skyline protested.

 

"What makes you think you need to fix this?!" Apple Bloom yelled.

 

"Because this is my fault! If I had just accepted," Skyline argued before he was interrupted by Apple Bloom smacking him across the face.

 

"Stop blaming yourself. You can't blame yourself for the actions of a mad mare. I don't blame you and I know Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell don't blame you," Apple Bloom said.

 

"But," Skyline said.

 

"If you had accepted her offer, you'd be no better than Nip Tuck. You'd be killing innocent Ponies for her twisted pleasure of experimenting on all of Equestria," Apple Bloom said.

 

The day went on like yesterday: they both waited for the door to open and Sweetie Belle to be thrown back in. They heard the sound of hooves and squeaky cart, but each time it passed by. Their hopes slowly diminished. They both knew she wasn't coming back when two trays slid through the doggy door. Skyline and Apple Bloom ate their meal in silence. The goop seemed to get worse with every bite.

 

Skyline knew why all this was happening. Nip Tuck was punishing him for turning down her offer, but why punish the fillies? He never mentioned them when he met with her and how could she know they knew each other? Was there a camera hidden somewhere? As Skyline chewed he scanned the room: up, down, even the corners, but found nothing. Was she just going on assumptions? That brought up a more disturbing thought. Was she just guessing? If he had just been stoned faced when the chubby stallion picked up Scootaloo, would he simply have put her back down and reported back to Nip Tuck? Was his reaction the cause of all this? Sweet Celestia, if I hadn't reacted, would Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle still be here? Was he just ordered to pick up one of the fillies and see my reaction? Skyline thought. He shook his head, no; she doesn't seem like a mare to just go on assumptions. She must keep tabs on her captives.

 

When the two finished their meal, he took both his and Apple Bloom's trays to the front corner. Trays from previous meals were neatly stacked there thanks in part to Sweetie Belle's constant need to organize. When he turned around, a yellow brick gently hit his hoof. He looked up at Apple Bloom who said, "Come on, slide it back."

 

"I'm not in the mood Apple Bloom," Skyline stated.

 

"Come on Skyline. It will take your mind off all of this," Apple Bloom said before she sighed, "Please? I don't want to just sit here waiting for that door to open anymore." Skyline didn't say anything. He took the yellow brick and slid it back to Apple Bloom. It slid smoothly across the cement before Apple Bloom stopped it with her left front hoof and slid it back to him.

 

The two continued to slide the brick back and forth. Neither one saying a word as the silence was only broken by the sound of the brick sliding across the cement floor. Apple Bloom stopped the brick with her left front hoof and slid it back to Skyline as she asked, "We're never going to see our families again, are we?"

 

"I don't know Apple Bloom. I truly don't know," Skyline said as he stopped the brick with his right front hoof before he sent it back.

 

"Granny said that I'll be able to see mom and dad one day, but it won't be until she, AJ, and Big Mac are gone. Said we'll all be together again one day," Apple Bloom said as she stopped the brick with her hoof and sent it back. Skyline didn't say anything as he stopped the brick and sent to back to Apple Bloom. She stopped the brick but didn't send it back. Tears rolled down her cheeks and stained the brick as she sobbed, "I don't want to die."

 

Skyline walked over to his friend and hugged her. It was all he could do for Apple Bloom. It was all he knew what to do. He couldn't manifest the fog creatures to help escape, he couldn't even hide his friends to keep them safe. In the end, all he could do was let Apple Bloom cry on his shoulder.

 

After Apple Bloom was able to calm down they went back to sliding the yellow brick back and forth. It seemed to help keep their minds on the looming doom that awaited Apple Bloom tomorrow. After a while, the light clicked off and the brick slid past Skyline into the darkness of the room. Skyline went to the middle of the room and lay down. However, Apple Bloom didn't go to the back corner. Instead, she lay down next to Skyline with her back to his. Skyline wasn't going to protest. He knew she usually had her friends with her, but right now he was the only friend she had in the room. Even though Apple Bloom seemed to fall asleep immediately. Skyline lay on the cement floor, not wanting to sleep. He knew the nightmare would continue.

 

He'd see the fog creatures be brutalized by the creatures of red mist, but he was also curious about something in the nightmare. What was the significance of the Unicorn, Pegasus, and the wolf pack? Why did they all appear near the end of the nightmare, what did it mean? Even though he didn't want to sleep, the darkness around him made his eyelids heavy and he soon fell asleep.

 

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Skyline's nightmare was the same as last night. The fog creatures were being brutalized by the creatures made of red mist. Their roars and wails of pain made his ears bend back. 

After a while, he fell to the ground and covered his ears with his hooves to nullify the sounds. He closed his eyes and repeated, "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop." The sounds of their wails and roars of pain seemed to grow louder and louder until finally. They stopped.

 

Skyline opened his eyes and quickly stood up as he stared at the tree in front of him. Its shadow loomed over him as he slowly backed away. Hanging from a branch on the right side of the tree was Scootaloo's body with a vine wrapped around her neck. However, the tree had gained a new ornament. Hanging on a branch from the left side of the tree was Sweetie Belle's body. She too had a vine wrapped around her neck and her lifeless eyes stared directly at Skyline.

 

Skyline slowly backed away as it seemed the shadow of the tree continued to extend to keep him in its grasp. Nip Tuck wasn't there, but her voice rang out all around him, "It's all your fault. You could have saved them." Once Skyline was out from under the shadow of the tree. The ground shattered under him and he once again fell down the tunnel. The outlines of the Unicorn and Pegasus appeared again, but this time he could make out what they were saying.

 

The Unicorn tried to move its leg, but it seemed to wince in pain before its horn lit up. However, only sparks came out. The Unicorn shook its head and stated in a distorted voice, "I've used too much magic, I can't teleport us both."

 

The Pegasus stood in front of the Unicorn and extended its wings to look bigger than it was. The Pegasus turned to the Unicorn and yelled, "Then teleport yourself. I can handle these Timberwolves!"

 

"I'm not leaving you to fend them off by yourself!" The Unicorn protested.

 

"You have to! You have to find!" The Pegasus argued before the Wolfpack lunged for the two. The Unicorn, Pegasus, and wolfpack erupted into a blood red mist. Distorted screamed echoed throughout the tunnel as Skyline fell further down.

 

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Skyline jolted awake and looked around at the darkness of the room. He could hear Apple Bloom sleeping and quietly got up and walked over to where he assumed the door was. He sat down and stared into the darkness. He was unsure what the meaning of the Unicorn, Pegasus, and timber wolves meant. What tormented nightmare awaits me now? Skyline thought.

 

It felt like hours before the light clicked on. In that time Skyline did his best to figure out how to save his friend. He could try and hide her behind the door again. Maybe the stallion won't think of looking there again, but he knew that would be the first place he'd look. He thought about hiding her behind the stacked trays in the other corner, but there weren't enough trays there to hide Apple Bloom even if she were to lay flat on her stomach. He continued to try and come up with a way to help her, but when the light clicked on. He had exhausted all his ideas. No matter what he came up with, it always seemed like the stallion would know where to look. It also didn't help that there was literally nothing to hide Apple Bloom behind.

 

"I guess it's time," Apple Bloom sighed as she walked up next to Skyline and sat next to him.

 

"I'm sorry; I couldn't come up with anything to help you. I tried, but nothing seemed to work. If I could only manifest the fog creatures. None of this would have happened," Skyline said as tears began to form in his eyes.

 

"You don't need to apologize. You did all you could and like I said before. I don't blame you for what happened," Apple Bloom said. There were five clicks from the steel door and Skyline felt his body lock up. The door slowly opened and the chubby tan stallion stood in the doorway with a shit-eating grin.

 

"Have you gotten all your goodbyes done?" he mocked as he walked into the room. Skyline didn't say a word; he just glared at the stallion as he picked up Apple Bloom and turned tail before walking for the door.

 

"I swear to Celestia if I ever get out of here I'll make you suffer," Skyline growled. The stallion stopped and his grin grew as he put down Apple Bloom in front of the door and turned around to face Skyline. He walked back to him and stood in front of Skyline.

 

"Is that so?" the chubby tan stallion questioned before he punched Skyline. Skyline grunted as he fell to his side, his legs still locked up and outstretched. The stallion began to kick Skyline in the ribs while saying, "You can act cocky all you want you stupid fucking colt. In the end, I'll see to it you meet your demise here." after he kicked Skyline six more times. He turned tail and walked back to the door. He picked up Apple Bloom again and placed her on the cart. Before he closed the door he looked at Skyline one more time and said, "I'll enjoy watching Viper kill your friend." With that, he slammed the door shut.