Post-Mortem

"Alright, class, what did we all do over the weekend?" Cherilee smiled brightly at the class, though she knew something was wrong with a couple of her students. They were usually full of energy and drive, even if that energy wasn't specifically for school. Over the weekend, much of that energy was gone, especially from- "How about you, Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie raised her head, "Uh, I played with my sister. We went to the park." Sweetie's eyes darted around the room as she shrunk back into her chair.

Cherilee's smile faltered momentarily before turning to the next student, "How about you, Scootaloo?"

The orange pegasus instantly made a casual smirk, "My weekend was pretty cool. I went spelunking with Sweetie and Applebloom." Applebloom put her face in her hooves, and Sweetie nervously glanced at the door. Scootaloo looked between them, "We, uh- We didn't find anything."

Cherilee knew something was wrong. The three of them were nervous, but they had certainly done scarier things than spelunking during some of the other 'crusades' she'd heard about.

"Alright, class, let's turn to page five of our history books. Who would like to read first?"

The rest of class came and went. Near the end, the three fillies seemed to have calmed down, though they still hadn't fully relaxed. Cherilee noticed Applejack and Rarity holding a conversation in front of the school as they waited to pick up their sisters. She couldn't tell what they were talking about, but she could tell they worried.

She turned to two of the fillies as they were coming through the door, "Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, could you wait here for a moment?"

The two nodded and silently sat on the ground next to the schoolhouse.

Cherilee slowly made her way toward the older mares before hearing a bit of their conversation.

"Applejack, I let Sweetie sleep in my bed when she has a nightmare."

"I know, but aren't you bothered that Sweetie was so upset? I mean, Applebloom seemed mighty frightened over whatever this might be."

"Of course I am, dear, I simply- Oh, hello Cherilee!"

The two mares watched Cherilee approach them, and her expression gave Rarity a good reason to be worried. "Pardon me for eavesdropping on your conversation, but your sisters seemed pretty disinterested in class. Well, more than they usually are. I'm sure you're familiar with their friend, Scootaloo." The two mares nodded, "Well, she mentioned something about a cave at the beginning of class. Would either of you happen to know anything about that?"

Applejack shook her head as Rarity opened her mouth, "I believe Sweetie may have mentioned it while I was cleaning her up. It didn't seem to be anything particularly strange. Why, what happened?"

"Well, I didn't hear much, so please talk to them about it. They may be getting older, but whatever this is troubles them deeply. It would be good for them to know their sisters are there to help when they need it."

The older sisters nodded to Cherilee, who returned to the doorway of the school, smiling at the two fillies who sat by the doorway, "Alright, you two can go now."

The pair smiled, and happily trotted back to their sisters.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle began to leave the schoolyard, and Rarity decided to address her sister, "Sweetie, are you alright? Miss Cherilee said you seemed a bit off in class today."

Sweetie leaned against her older sister, who draped a hoof over her shoulder. After a moment, Rarity heard her sister's quiet sobbing, "Well, yesterday, when I went spelunking with the Crusaders, we found this cave on the edge of the forest..."

"...and then he thanked me, and he said that if there was anything I needed, to let him know. Then I had a nightmare. He was chasing me through the woods, and I tripped, and I looked at him, and it was me, but not me. It looked like me, but it was as big as him." Sweetie lied down on the ground, quietly sobbing her story into her hooves.

Rarity had curled up next to Sweetie, her mouth was wide after hearing her sister's story, "Sweetie, why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

Sweetie buried her face in her hooves, "I'm so sorry, Rarity."

Rarity's eyes widened, "No, no, no, Sweetie, you have every reason to be frightened." Rarity tried to find a way to make her sister feel better, "Now, why don't we go to Sugarcube Corner. We could get milkshakes, if you want."

Sweetie smiled at her older sister, "Really?"

Rarity stood and smiled back, "Of course, dear."

The pair silently continued walking before Rarity asked a question that bothered her somewhat, "You said that he thanked you. Would you happen to know what he thanked you for?"

Sweetie shook her head.

Rarity silenced herself, wondering what Sweetie might have done for the creature. She didn't want to press for questions, especially if they might make Sweetie's fear worse.

Unfortunately, things were about to get worse anyway. When the pair entered Sugarcube Corner, they quickly scanned the crowd, and they noticed one character who stood out particularly well. A massive, blood-red unicorn was drinking a strawberry milkshake, reading a newspaper.

Sweetie shook, hiding behind her sister's legs. Post-Mortem took a sip from his milkshake, and paused as he saw the pair that entered the room. He stared at them with the straw poking out of his mouth, and Rarity raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me, what are you doing?"

Mortem shook his paper, dropping the straw back into his drink, "Well, I can see you've talked to your sister. I've been dead for almost fifty years, most of which were fairly boring. This past year and a half, however, heralded the return of Nightmare Moon, a changeling invasion, Discord's reformation, and the addition of another alicorn princess. Needless to say, there's a lot to catch up on."

Mortem turned back to his paper, levitating his milkshake and taking a prolonged sip.

Rarity's eyes narrowed as she approached the unicorn, "How DARE YOU terrify my sister!"

Mortem pursed his lips, looking down at the table, "I'm truly sorry. I'm sure I can't repay you both for what I've done, but, truly, if I can help in any way-"

Rarity took a step toward Mortem's table, "What in Tartarus are you?"

The ponies rarely saw Rarity this angry over something, and the situation was attracting an audience. Mortem's eyes widened as he looked around the room, "You can scream all you like, and I will answer you, but could we please do this somewhere else?"

Rarity stood in front of Post Mortem, jabbing a hoof in the center of his chest, "No, we are doing this right now! You are going to tell us exactly what kind of pony scares little fillies without even an ounce of remorse!"

Sweetie stood behind her sister, watching as this last phrase ignited a fire in Mortem's eyes unseen by her sister. With a swirling vortex of green light, the table, unicorn, and sister pair were dropped into a nearby alley.

Mortem bared his razor-sharp teeth as he stood at full height, "Now listen here, you incessant pain in the flank." Mortem's voice had completely lost its smoothness, becoming forced and raspy, "Do you honestly think I can help being a demon in a land of angels? Your sister had the incredible bad luck of crossing paths with me. How am I supposed to help that?"

Mortem shrunk back into his chair, and his voice slowly regained its smoothness as he spoke, "I've lived for so long trying to be the good guy, but how can you be the good guy when the world can only see you as a demon?" Mortem set his head on the table, drawing his hooves over his head, "I'm sorry. Both for my outburst, and for what happened. I guess the devil is limited to vice after all. I'll see myself out." With a bright green flash, the unicorn disappeared, leaving behind a half-finished milkshake and a slightly singed newspaper.

Rarity took a step back from the empty chair, looking back at her sister, who stared at the ground, "You know, Rarity, he actually didn't seem that bad." A few seconds later, she finally recognized what she had said, "I mean, he's still scary, but not as bad as I thought."

Rarity shook her head, staring at the ground as she left the table, "Sweetie, we need to find out what's going on."