Lich Games

Zzzzzzrow! An orange and yellow blur shot through the Everfree Forest.

“Can’t ya go any faster?” Applebloom yelled over the wind.

“I’m going as fast as I can o-” They abruptly banked left to dodge a root that seemed to sprout up to trip them. “-kay?” Sweat dripped down Scootaloo’s face, and she grit her teeth in concentration, ignoring the burn as the salty liquid touched her eye.

Zzzzzzzzooom! At long last they erupted from the foliage, bursting into sunshine and onto more friendly ground.

“We’re almost there!” Applebloom cried, pointing at the library. Scoots narrowed her eyes, and the buzz of her wings managed to pick up just a little bit more. Blood pounded in her ears, and it wasn’t just because of the race to Ponyville. Please be okay, please be okay, she repeated in her head, trying, and failing, not to think about the timberwolves.

“Is there anything else you need before I head out Twilight?” Spike asked as he opened the library door.

“No I should-”

“LOOK OUT!” Scootaloo tried to brake, but there just wasn’t enough time, and the two fillies, dragon and scooter all tumbled into the main room, spilling onto the floor at Twilight’s hooves.

“Oh Celestia are you okay? Why are you in such a hurry?” After a brief pause she added, “And where’s Sweetie Belle?” At the mention of her sister, Rarity perked up, and looked over the top of the novel she’d been reading, eyebrows knitting together.

“We *gasp* were trying *wheeze* to get-” Scootaloo struggled to catch her breath while simultaneously trying to tell their tale. Twilight separated the entangled friends in a magenta aura and placed them on the ground.

“Hold on. Calm down and catch your breath.” Scootaloo shook her head, eyes wide. A bead of sweat formed on Rarity’s temple. Applebloom put a hoof on Scoot’s shoulder and said,

“We was in the Everfree tryin to get our daredevil cutie marks, but the tree we were gonna use fell over. We saw another one, but when Sweetie Belle went through the bush to get to it, she fell into this huge crack!” Rarity was on her hooves now, holding one over her mouth. Somehow, her face had gotten even paler.

“She said she was alright, so we were gonna throw the rope down to her, but then she screamed and took off running a-and some timberwolves came out after her and w-we had to-” The rest of the story devolved into unintelligible sobbing as her resolve broke. Already several items were flying around the room, encased in magenta auras, packing themselves into saddlebags. Twilight turned to Scootaloo,

“Can you lead us back there?” Scoots just nodded. Rarity stepped up beside Twilight,

“Then there isn’t a moment to spare! We must leave at once!” She punctuated the last word with a stomp of her hoof. Scootaloo, in a light blue aura, floated over to Rarity, settling on her back, while the now packed saddlebags came to rest on Twilight’s. With a stern nod, the two friends fled the library.

“Stay here with Applebloom!” Twilight shouted to Spike, “If anypony asks, tell them where we went!” She couldn’t hear what Spike said over her galloping hooves, but she saw him salute from the library doorway, and turned her attention to the task at hoof.

Sweetie Belle was terrified. Fear and adrenaline were the only things keeping her going. Thankfully, timberwolves weren’t very smart, or fast. The hair on the back of her neck stood up when she heard the howls behind her. But they sure didn’t give up easy. Each thud of her hooves on the dirt path sent shocks of pain through her legs, and she sucked wind like a bellows, face aflame with exertion.

"Where am I?" she panicked, eyes darting around the unfamiliar surroundings. She could’ve sworn she’d gotten on the path to head back where her friends had been. Tears stung her eyes and errant strands of her mane were plastered to her face, tickling where they touched. Keep running. Just keep running. They’re dumb and slow. Keep running. She repeated it to herself over and over again, desperately forcing her hooves to stay in motion.

The path ended and she flew into the clearing. And stopped. A stone cliff jutted up before her, surrounded on three sides by the Everfree Forest. She was trapped. Icy panic started prickling in her chest, but then she noticed a crack in the rock face. Before she could form a plan, the brush behind her shook and rustled, and Sweetie leaped into action.

The brief pause had let her fatigue catch up with her, and now her knees wobbled as she ran. Just a little more! Too tired to stop, she simply slammed into the rock wall, the impact barely registering, and rose up onto her hind legs, shimmying into the crevice. Tug, tug! Her leg was stuck! With one final burst of adrenaline, she wrenched it free and fell onto the cold dirt. Slowly, she pulled herself in a little deeper, away from the scrabbling claws and snapping jaws.

Sweetie flopped onto her back, gasping in the cool air, the burn in her chest receding, and moving instead to her limbs and face. For a time she simply lay there, catching her breath and letting the burn fade. Maybe I’ll get a marathon cutie mark! The thought made her smile despite it all, and she huffed a laugh. That’s when she noticed the cold wet thing on her leg.

Her eyes snapped open. Images of snakes, slime monsters, zombie ponies and other horrible things flooded her thoughts, and her flushed cheeks lost some of their color. Slowly, slowly she lifted her head, ignoring the pounding within it, and the snarling dogs just out of reach. Oh. It’s not a snake. Just blood. She sighed with relief, before the implications of the thought sank in. B-b-blood!

They’d gotten their fair share of injuries during their adventures, to be sure. But as she stared at the gaping wound, the stream of crimson fluid coating her leg, the world started wobbling. Flopping back down, she struggled to remain calm, but swiftly lost that battle.

“HELP! HELLLLP!” she cried, voice cracking in terror. Everything started looking funny, like she’d been staring at the sun for too long. Little fireflies danced in her vision, and the world seemed to tilt beneath her, enough so that she pushed her forehooves against the the dirt to keep from flipping over. As the tunnel of darkness collapsed on the jagged line of sky, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Am I going to die?

*huff* *huff* *huff* *huff*

Twilight and Rarity stood at the top of the cliff, catching their breath. Next to the bush lay the zip-line equipment still sprawled on the ground. Twilight’s head turned,

“Okay. *huff* Let me, whew, let me see your leg Rarity.” The pony in question lifted her appendage, jerking it back in surprise when she felt the needle prick it.

“Ow! What on earth was that for?” she demanded, bringing the wounded leg to her lips. Twilight didn’t respond, horn glowing, laying the pin flat in the air, and setting it spinning. After a moment, the red tip settled to the west.

“Okay! Sweetie should be over here!” As the three ponies took off, Rarity asked,

“Some kind of compass?”

“Right! But it will only point to you or your close family.” For the next few minutes, the only sounds were the pounding of their hooves, and their gasps for air. Despite the burn in her lungs, Rarity’s stomach was ice.

Please be safe. Please be safe. She fought back tears and shook her head to banish terrible images of Sweetie Belle, broken and ravaged, crying out for her. Branches whipped past, bouncing off the top of Scootaloo’s helmet, her face buried in Rarity’s mane. Rarity couldn’t tell if the moisture on her neck was sweat, or the tears of the poor filly. Probably both. Her mood flipped between anger and gratitude; that they would do something so positively foalish, and that they’d had the good sense to come get her right away. As they galloped, a small grin forced its way out of her at how much distance her little sister had covered, and with it, a measure of hope.

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she almost missed Twilight’s call to stop, and skidded to a halt just before the cliff’s edge. The needle pointed straight ahead, and with a pained groan, Twilight’s horn flashed, and all three ponies appeared at the bottom. Rarity may have been carrying a filly, but the strain of the compass spell was starting to take its toll on Twilight. She wanted to tell her friend to take a moment to relax, but the thought of Sweetie Belle… Twilight would never have agreed anyways, she told herself.

“I, *huff* think, *huff* we’re getting closer!” Twilight gasped, feeling the needle starting to pull harder. With those words, both mares rallied a second, or possibly third wind, and surged onward with newfound speed. Rarity grit her teeth, spittle spraying out in a most unladylike fashion, I’m coming Sweetie Belle! Just hold on!

Sweetie’s eyes opened. The first thing she noticed was the complete lack of pain. She felt… great! She took a deep breath, reveling in the damp earth and irony tang… Her heart rate skyrocketed. Again her head lifted, and she looked down at her leg, coated with dark, sticky blood, laying in a nauseating pool of the stuff. Breathing heavily, she tried to move it, and saw an ephemeral limb slide out of her skin.

With a shriek she was on her hooves, staring down at herself. Nononononono! Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at her own face, utterly serene. I look like I’m sleeping. Wet drops fell from her eyes, but phased through the ground, vanishing. She cried.

For long minutes she cried. Sniffling, she wiped her nose with a forelimb. Each time she began to compose herself, she’d look down, and her chest would constrict, choking out another sob.

“What is it little filly?”

The voice went through her like an icy wind. Shivering, she turned to face its source. Her mouth was open, but no sound escaped, too terrified to scream. A hooded pony with twin emerald flames beneath its black cowl regarded her, an aura of fear and discomfort emanating from it. For a time, they stood like that, neither moving, neither saying a word.

Sweetie’s mouth closed and opened a few times, eyes never leaving the green fires. They tilted, and she knew it was looking at her corpse. The thought made her shudder. After a lengthy pause, they flickered back to her.

“Don’t want to die?” The question carried a mocking tone, and her vision blurred with tears. I’m just a filly! Cold laughter grated out of the thing, each sound painful to her ears. In a flash, everything changed.

She stood in the main room of the boutique, watching a disheveled Rarity staring at a picture on the lounge. Without walking, Sweetie moved to the other side. It was a picture of her. From here she could see her sister’s misery more clearly, her eyes red and puffy, dry despite the sobs that shook her frame. Pain radiated in Sweetie Belle’s chest, hearing her sister’s anguish. Everything changed again.

Now she saw Rarity, pristine once more, packing the picture, and a single pair of scissors into a saddlebag. Sweetie shivered. No.

They were back in the forest, Rarity standing by the crevice, by the stones and flowers that marked the place of Sweetie’s passing. Sweetie tried to get to her, but she couldn’t move. Rarity lay down by the stones, and pulled the picture out of the bag.

“Rarity!” She set it down beside the flowers. Sweetie’s heart pounded.

“Rarity!” The scissors came out next, held in an iron grip by the fulcrum, blades exposed. Sweetie’s legs refused to obey, and she could do nothing but stare as a slow smile spread on her sister’s face. Sweetie shook with effort, and terror, desperately struggling to stop this. Rarity’s foreleg moved.

“RARITY!”

A fountain of crimson shot out of the cut, spraying onto the stones. With a shaky hoof, she managed to grip the blade, and cut the other leg. Rarity lay her head down on her forelegs, face soaking up the blood. Now Sweetie could move, and rushed to her side.

“No no no no no no.” When Rarity saw her, her eyes sparkled, and her smile grew.

“Hi Sweetie,” a bloody hoof reached out for her, passing through her cheek, “I’ll be with you soon.” The vision grew hazy, and once again she stood on the dirt beside herself, chest heaving. It took a long time for her to slow her breathing, to stop crying, to push away the image of the bloody hoof, and that smile. A freezing wind stirred through her,

“Will you let this come to pass?” Sweetie looked up at the flames, and shook with fear.

“W-what do you m-mean?” It laughed again, hammering through her head.

Rarity’s vision was tunneling. She couldn’t seem to get enough air into her lungs. Everything was tingling and burning, but she couldn’t stop. Twilight had fallen behind, but she knew, knew Sweetie was just ahead. She burst into the clearing, hooves slamming the ground as she rocketed towards the crag, and the white shape within it. Tears stung her eyes, and her mouth opened, though she had no breath to scream. Finally, she scooped Sweetie Belle up, and hugged her close, sinking to the ground as she sucked ragged breaths that struggled to become sobs.

“Rarity! I’m sorry, I’m sor-” her apologies were muffled as Rarity crushed her tight. Scootaloo too wrapped her forelegs around the filly, crying with joy, as Twilight made her way through the brush, and smiled at the scene. She tingled everywhere, sore and tired, her horn blazing with exhaustion, causing white fissures in her vision. But Sweetie Belle was okay. That was all that mattered.

As they lay, catching their breath, Sweetie nestled beneath Rarity’s chin, gathered around the portable fire Twilight had brought, they listened to the filly’s amazing tale.

“I was sure I ran the right way, but then I came out here, and they were right behind me, so I ran to the wall and hid in there,” a white hoof pointed to the crack in the cliff.

“Well I for one can not believe you went so far!” Rarity gushed, “I barely made it here myself!” Sweetie blushed at the praise, nuzzling against Rarity’s chest. She sniffled, fresh tears leaking out, and Rarity smiled, her own eyes glistening. Twilight stood, horn aglow packing the snacks and portable flame, while she lifted a barely conscious Scootaloo onto her back.

“It’s getting dark, we’d better head back,” she said, settling the bags behind the nearly dozing filly.

“Yes, very true. I should hate to have run all this way only to be caught in the Everfree Forest at night,” Rarity said as she settled Sweetie Belle onto her back, who was still wide awake despite everything she’d been through. Their return pace was considerably more leisurely, despite the setting sun, and their spirits soared.

As they exited the clearing, Twilight shivered, horn tingling in displeasure. Still sore from the blood compass, presumably. Sweetie clung to her sister, nuzzling the back of her neck.

Ponyville was wild. The moment they emerged from the forest and Pinkie saw they were okay, the party was on! Seemingly from nowhere streamers, supplies, snacks, cakes, punch, cider, the list went on and on. Ponies cheered and laughed, hugging the sisters. Luna and Celestia both received countless praises that night, and on into the morning, and through it all, Sweetie never left Rarity’s side.

Applebloom tackled the filly, tears in her eyes, squeezing her so tight she turned blue, until Mrs. Cake came by and plunked down four milkshakes, “On the house.” By the time the sun came up, things had finally started to die down, and the guests of honor retired to the boutique amidst much fanfare and numerous well wishes.

Together they went upstairs. Together they bathed. Together they went to bed. And not a word was spoken. Nestled side by side, in the warm covers, together they slept.

When they finally woke up, it was late in the afternoon, and the events of the day before seemed little more than a bad dream.

“What would you like for breakfast?” Rarity asked, knowing the answer already.

“Pancakes!” came the inevitable reply from a bouncing Sweetie Belle. Rarity smiled, and led the way. Humming a little tune to herself, she whipped up the batter and set the table. Sweetie had already taken her seat, bubbling with enthusiasm while the pancakes sizzled. Rarity felt a twinge of curiosity at her sister’s attentiveness, but pushed the thought away. She’s just happy to be home, safe and sound.

With a very late breakfast behind them, they washed the dishes, Sweetie Belle extra careful not to drop anything she dried, even if it took a little longer.

“Well then I’m sure you’d like to go play with your friends, and I do need to get some work done today.” For a second, Sweetie looked terrified.

“No no, that’s okay. Can I just stay here with you for a bit? I promise not to get in the way.” Rarity opened her mouth to argue, but something about Sweetie’s behavior stopped her, and she closed it with a snap.

“Why of course you may! How about you bring down some of your coloring books?” Sweetie lit up at the idea, and flew upstairs. The rest of the evening passed in relative silence, save the hum of the sewing machine, the cut of the scissors, and the scratch of crayon on paper. Until Rarity stopped mid-stitch. Something was wrong.

*sniffle*

She turned to find Sweetie Belle staring at her picture, crying.

“Darling whatever is the matter?” Rarity asked as she walked over. The picture was a red heart around a crude depiction of her and Sweetie Belle. Above it read, “BSBFF”. Rarity, concerned, sat beside her on the couch.

“Oh it’s lovely Sweetie Belle!” The filly’s hoof shook violently, wracked by another sob, and the crayon fell to the floor. Rarity grabbed her in a hug, pulling Sweetie tight against her as she cried.

“Shh sh sh sh,” she said, running her hoof through Sweetie’s mane, “it’s going to be alright.” For some reason, that only made Sweetie Belle cry harder. Her grip tightened on Rarity’s neck, and warm tears stained her coat. It was then that she heard the commotion outside. Somepony was shouting, or at least speaking very loudly, and Rarity thought she heard the distinctive rasp of a certain pegasus.

*knock knock knock*

She moved to go to the door, but Sweetie’s death hold on her made it all but impossible.

“Sweetie-”

“Don’t go,” came the muffled cry. Cold dread settled in Rarity’s gut. The door opened. A hooded pony walked into the parlor, each step eerily loud and clear. From behind it her friends swooped in, taking up positions between the two sisters and the frightening newcomer. Despite the balmy air, a winter chill swept through the room.

“It’s time.” The voice seemed to come from within their heads, and hackles raised throughout. Sweetie sobbed.

“What the hay is going on here?” Dash demanded, posturing for a fight. The others followed her lead, widening their stances subconsciously. The hooded pony pointed a black hoof at Sweetie Belle,

“We made a deal.” Rarity shakily rose to her hooves, Sweetie still clinging to her neck.

“What deal? What on earth are you talking about?” For an instant, the room changed, and they stood, impossibly, in the crevice, watching Sweetie talk with the stranger over her own body. In the image, Sweetie sat down, tears falling from her face, and dejectedly nodded. Green-black magic swirled around the wound, pulling the blood back in, before tendrils reached out, snaring her soul, and reinstating it.

As suddenly as it had begun, the image was gone, and they stood in the parlor once more. Even the crickets were silent. The wind stirred once again,

“A life for a life. That was the deal. The deal of the dead.”

“Well that’s a load a hooey! Now see here, ain’t no way I’m letting you take mah friend, so ya best get on.” A general chorus of “yeah” followed, save for one noticeably absent voice.

“Twilight?” Pinkie asked, “You’re about a shade away from being Rarity.” Everypony turned to see tears leaking from Twilight’s eyes, her face pale. She mouthed “Deal of the dead?” as she sank to her knees.

“Twi? Sugar? What’s amatter?” Twilight’s head slowly turned to Rarity, who, surprisingly, appeared more composed than before.

“What is it darling?” It took a few tries to force the words past the lump in her throat.

“It’s a lich. Sweetie traded your life for hers.” Dash’s hooves slammed onto the ground.

“Well too bad! Trade something else!” Rarity’s eyes slid closed,

“I see,” she whispered.

“What?” Pinkie shouted, flailing her hooves in the air. Twilight’s head hung low, and she spoke without emotion,

“The deal of the dead is an exchange made with a spirit or shade. It’s a pact, sealed in blood, bound by fate. It can’t be broken. To go back on it would have ramifications infinitely worse than the fate prevented by its use.” Applejack was wide-eyed,

“But, what about the princesses? Or the Elements? There has to be something!” Tears had formed in her eyes. Twilight shook her head, but said no more.

Fluttershy grabbed Rarity in a hug, weeping into her mane with Sweetie Belle. Rarity merely smiled, hugging the pegasus for a second before gently pushing her away, and setting Sweetie down. When their eyes met, she said,

“Listen to me Sweetie Belle. I love you.” Sweetie sobbed, but Rarity pushed on, “If this is the price I have to pay to keep you safe, you know I’ll do it gladly.” Her hoof came up, cupping Sweetie’s chin.

“Make me proud. I’ll always be watching over you.” Dash angrily blinked tears from her eyes while Applejack wiped her own with a foreleg. Rarity walked over to the lich, turning to face her gathered friends. Pinkie whispered,

“This can’t be happening.” Fluttershy had wrapped her forelegs around Sweetie Belle, who reached out towards Rarity, throat too exhausted to cry. Rarity had to clear her throat before she could speak.

“You’re the best friends I ever could have asked for. I…” she faltered, tears rolling down her cheeks, “I’ll always cherish our time together. I love all of you.” Rainbow’s wings snapped open, finally shaking off the spell caused by her friends’ bizarre behavior,

“No!” The space where Rarity and the lich stood swirled like water down a drain. When it cleared, they were gone. The room was silent. They stared where Rarity had just been.

Rarity.

The Element of Generosity.

Their friend.

Gone.