Post-Mortem

Sweetie Belle stumbled into her room and crashed onto her bed. This was perhaps one of the worst experiences she had ever had crusading. On top of the incident at the cave, her sister had thrown a fit with the mess she found her in.

The cut was actually not than bad, but it had to be cleaned out, which was more painful than the cut itself was. Her coat had been covered in dirt and grime, and she had to endure one of Rarity's signature four-hour baths. She happened to get lucky, as a customer arrived after the first twenty minutes. While lying on her bed, she listened to the conversation going on downstairs.

"Oh, uh, hello and welcome to Carousel Boutique, sir. Is there anything I could help you with today?"

"Greetings, madam, might you be able to help me refurbish some of my grandfather's old clothing? I found this old vest in his attic, and I'd like it repaired."

Sweetie's ears perked up as her head jolted off the bed. The voice was deep and smooth, almost like- no, that couldn't be...

"Oh, uh, I'm sure I could patch it up for you. Of course, I'll need some measurements first."

"I have all the time in the world."

No, no, it couldn't be. Why would it come here?

Sweetie crawled out of bed and inched toward the door. The door opened with a faint creak, and only needed a glance at the customer. Standing tall in the center of the room was the living corpse she encountered in the cave with a cheshire grin, patiently allowing Rarity to take its measurements.

It took Sweetie Belle a moment before realizing his smile faltered, if only momentarily, when she opened the door, and he was analyzing her intently.

Rarity also noticed the stallion's gaze just before he asked, "You look familiar. Have I seen you around somewhere?"

Sweetie Belle let out the breath she didn't notice she was holding, "Uh... No! No, you most certainly haven't. I'm going back to my room." She bolted back through the doorway, slamming the door shut as quickly as she could. He didn't come here for me, and he certainly didn't recognize me. Good.

"What's her name? I believe I recall seeing a couple other fillies with her: an orange pegasus and a yellow earth pony, if I remember properly."

Please, Rarity, don't-

"Her name's Sweetie Belle, and yes, those are her friends. They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and they aren't well-known for subtlety. I'm sure they stick out in a crowd, and not in the good way."

Sweetie crashed on the bed, groaning internally. He recognized me, and he followed me here. Why else would he have come?

"I know the feeling. Do you mind if I talk to her for a minute? My appearance isn't exactly child-friendly, and I fear I may have scared her."

Wait, what? Please, don't let him in here!

"Don't worry, she's more mature than she looks, most of the time. I'm sure she'll be fine."

Yes! Take that, Mr. Corpse guy!

"Well, could you at least let me apologize?"

Wait, no!

"Well, she'll be alright," Sweetie's relief flooded her face, "but I'm sure she wouldn't mind a simple apology." Her heart sunk into the floor. "Those should be all the measurements I need. Give me a couple days, and I'll have it worked up for you. I'll talk to Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie heard her sister's muffled footsteps approach the door, "Sweetie, could you come out please? My customer would like to apologize for scaring you."

She lifted her head off the bed before yelling, "Apology accepted! Go away!"

"Sweetie, please, open the door."

"I said go away!"

From the other side of the door, Mortem spoke, "Give me a moment."

Sweetie watched the door. A shadowy mist slipped in from under the door and began bubbling upward. The blob twisted and morphed before depositing four thin streaks of smoke toward the ground. The shadowy cloud vaguely resembled a pony, though it appeared to be made of black storm clouds. The smoke pony opened it's eyes, which glowed bright green.

It opened its mouth and began to speak in Post Mortem's voice, "My regeneration, rebirth, whatever you choose to call it, is not a pleasant process. Miss Belle, What you saw was traumatizing, at best, even for most adult ponies. The fact that you can even function after seeing something like that shows remarkable bravery on your part. I both thank you and apologize deeply for this, so if there is anything I can do for you, let me know."

The smoke pony dropped to its knees before dissipating. Sweetie sat speechless. She could vaguely hear the muffled footsteps as Post Mortem left the doorway.

She could hear a momentary pause in the footsteps before his voice sounded across the room, "Miss Rarity, I will be back in a week. If you have not finished, don't rush yourself. I can be as patient as you need."

The bell rung twice as the front door opened and shut. The living corpse was gone, leaving only Sweetie, her sister, and her sister's work. Sweetie hopped back into bed, staring off into space before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Sweetie sprinted through the woods as fast as she could. Whatever was chasing her was right behind, and it inched ever closer. She risked a glance over her shoulder. A pair of bright green eyes loomed out of the darkness behind her. She turned her head forward, just in time to see the stray tree branch she tripped over.

She tried to lift her leg, which scraped against a root, engraving a deep gash into her foreleg. She looked back to the monster pursuing her, and watched as it loomed out of the darkness. The massive unicorn was ice white, with a curly pink mane. It opened its mouth, revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth. The beast crept slowly forward before-

Sweetie jerked her head up from the bed, panting. She stared at her door, trying to catch her breath as she felt her , which beat faster than a heavy metal drum set.

She tried desperately to forget the dream, but it was engraved on her mind for the rest of the night. She crawled out of her room, slowly making her way down the hallway to Rarity's room. She crawled into bed with her sister, and her memory of the nightmare didn't stop her from slowly drifting back to sleep.