In an instant, the group outside the doors were chilled by the rush of wind from inside. It was freezing in the factory. Rainbow shivered, eyes narrowing. The presence of an Absentia usually had that effect. She should’ve been prepared for that. She made a mental note to herself to remember that for next time.

If there is a next time.

She shook that thought of her head and motioned for the team to continue inwards. As one unit, they all stepped forward, walking inside the still dim factory. The entrance area was brightened by the light outside, but around them, the branching hallways were all dark. “Must’ve blown the lights on us,” one of the team members muttered.

“You’re trained for this,” Rainbow said back, her voice a whisper. She wasn’t sure why they were speaking so softly, but it just felt wrong to speak louder. She looked around, trying to catch any glimpse of the Absentia. It was silent in the entrance, however, and nothing could be seen anywhere. They spent a minute or more standing there, watching, but nothing happened. Nobody came.

It was like they were alone, and in a way, they were.

“C’mon,” Dash mumbled to herself. Her heart was beating just a bit faster in anticipation for something, anything. Where was she? Dash knew the Absentia would come for her. So where was she already?

She turned her head. Nothing to the right. She glanced left. Nothing. The guard behind her spoke. “Anyone see-”

Alarms. Ringing in her ears. They all jumped as the door suddenly slammed shut, the entrance lighting up with flashing lights. Rainbow shook her head, stumbling for a moment as the flashing lights disoriented her. She saw something in the lights, orange and purple, and she jumped away from it. Someone fired at it and missed entirely, hitting the wall with no effect.

Rainbow took another step back before she heard it. One of the team members, issuing a blood-curdling scream, followed by the sickening crunch, snap, squish of his spine breaking, his neck twisting, blood draining out of his mouth. Rainbow swallowed her bile - the sounds, she was used to, and the smell. But the fact that Scootaloo had…

The alarms faded and darkness surrounded them. “LIGHTS,” she cried out, cursing her voice for wavering slightly. In a moment, the pegasi had gathered their lights, lighting up as much of the room as possible.

The lights centered on the body in the middle of the room. He - no, it was lying face down, the spine poking out from the wounds on it’s back. Rainbow nudged it over to check his chest. Still intact.

… She didn’t take the soul.

“Alright, everyone. This one’s smart. It knows the hibernating state they go in after they feed and resisted instinct so that didn't happen. Be on your guard.” She looked around, taking a deep breath.

This wasn’t going to be pretty.

*~*~*~

Scootaloo shuddered. She watched the ponies who were here to kill her with vague interest. The body on the ground, however, pulled at her attention. She was so… terribly hungry. She wanted to feed. To feast. She counted 6 more living pegasi to dispose of. 7 souls she could take…

But she would rest then. She growled, flying above the group. No pony ever looked up. She would be perfectly safe up there.

She watched them eagerly. As soon as all of them were disposed of, her job would be done. Then, she could finally rest. Just 6 ponies to kill.

She found it easier to justify now.

She landed behind one of them as they started walking. Rainbow Dash called for them to watch her back as they surveyed the damage she had done. She walked coolly behind the last member of the group as he looked right through her. She wouldn't be seen unless she wanted to be seen.

Did all Absentia have this kind of control? Or was it only her? Was it only because of the circumstances of her death? Betrayed by the one she’d thought was loyal to her? Taken too early from this world, without a friend to help her, without a destiny-

The Absentia shook her head. No need to think of the past in such a way. It was just her and Dash now, and a team of free Spectra. No friends. No memories. Just Absentia and her prey.

She licked her lips, hungry once more. She fought it back that. Revenge first. Satisfaction later. Satisfaction would take a back seat for now, and once they were all dead and gone, then she would feed, she would rest, she would be at peace.

In a flash, a pulsing shake of the world, she disappeared, leaving only a cool breeze in her wake.

*~*~*~

Rainbow swung her head this way and that, looking desperately for any sign of the Absentia, as well as any sign of the damage she had done. She knew this Absentia had grown wise to the mechanizations of her new life, and she knew that this one was vengeful. It made sense that this one would seek revenge through destruction.

Here and there throughout the factory, wires had been pulled from the walls, bits of clouds wisping around without a tether. Lights were torn from their sockets - they would flicker senselessly, making the already uneasy team even more jittery. Rainbow occasionally felt a burst of cold wind behind her, as though the Absentia were breathing down her neck all along. But the team was behind her. She had to remember that.

It didn’t fill her with much hope.

“Manager.” She looked behind her sharply. One of the mares on the team walked close, whispering still - as though that might prevent another attack. “Might I offer a suggestion?”

“If you dare say we should split up, I’ll do so - you’ll go alone, and me and the rest will stay together.” The mare paled at the suggestion. “Was that what you were gonna say?”

“N-No, M’am.”

“Smart mare. Now what was it that you wanted?”

The mare licked her lips, cowed by Rainbow’s response. “Follow the death path. I’ve researched these Absentia extensively, and they tend to lead their killers along the path of their death. And, well… We all know her story after what happened here.”

Rainbow fought against her hooves, forcing them to continue forward. She wanted to stop, to regain herself, to stop and think; but no, no time here. Had to keep moving or they would all die. “You might be right. Everyone else hear what she said?” Affirmations came from the team.

Three confirmations.

Rainbow’s eyes widened and she swung around. four ponies stood behind her; the mare who spoke, and the three ponies behind them.

There had been five with her after the death of that stallion.

“Where’s Dust Rider?” one of the team asked, surprised. No one had an answer.

Rainbow shut her eyes tightly. The cold was seeping into her body, through her wings. She shivered and stamped her hoof angrily. That was 2 ponies of her 6 pony team, gone. “He’s gone. Leave him for dead and forget he existed. Another mechanical injury.”

“B-But he might still be-”

“I don’t care!” Her eyes flared open with her wings. “We’ve gotta find this Absentia and finish this, before I lose another one of you, alright? I’ll not let this THING take another innocent life!”

There was silence after her comment. Rainbow took a deep breath, thinking of what she’d just said.

And in her ear, she heard a voice. No, not in her ear - everywhere. Everywhere, the voice spoke, and the ponies there looked around, all hearing it, all knowing what it meant.

I’ll not let this THING take another innocent life, Rainbow’s voice cried and echoed.

“And neither will I,” a softer, forgotten echo replied.

Author's Note

This took me awhile! Sorry about the wait guys. I'm trying to finish this one up as fast as possible so that I can focus on some of my other fics. Also, my hand is mildly injured tonight (a slip up with a knife, just a minor cut but annoying as heck) and so typing is harder than normal/slower. Sorry guys!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbOz-QrVLWk was the song I listened to on repeat for this one. Who knew Undertale stuff would have so much inspiration for this fic!