All I Had to do was Stop

The unbearable ringing in my ears seemingly took an eternity to subside, even my vision was blurred as if a howitzer just went off a mere few feet away from my face. It reminded me of the stories my grandfather shared with me about a war he was wounded in, how he was nearly deafened and blinded but he was lucky enough for that to have only been temporary. After the ringing in my ears and my blurry vision at long last subsided, I could attempt to truly grasp what I had just bore witness to which would be easier said than done.

I can taste the blood that has splattered all over me, the operating table I lay on, the floor and many other spots within the room. Having flopped his now limp body to the floor was the only pony in this facility I can trust, Doctor Bleeding heart was now gushing crimson from a half inch hole in the back of his skull as he involuntarily twitched and foamed at the mouth. Though he moaned and wheezed incoherently as a lead slug had just destroyed his brain, he was completely braindead and within seconds, so too would be his whole body.

Needless to say, Clutzy was going absolutely nuts as he was helpless to stop the atrocity he and I had just witnessed and whatever may become of me. Was I next? Would Coal Hammer just put a bullet through my brain and get his sample that way? At first I thought he was just a cold and grumpy stallion, then I thought he was a little touched in the head. I soon realized that he was a victim of trauma and now, he had just revealed his true colors. He's been through some pretty horrible shit, I get it. Nothing in this world can excuse the act of shooting somepony in the back of the head. They way Coal Hammer acted after the fact however, was just the beginning and it in itself made this all the more disturbing.

"You got blood on my lab coat." Coal Hammer said with an annoyed huff.

I can't wrap my head around this. How can any equine being or any sentient creature commit such a vile, despicable act and shrug it off like he just spilled a glass of wine? Having seen this, I was starting to look at my own mistake in a new light. That's exactly what it was, a mistake. It was unintentional and I felt like shit and even tried to take my own life to atone for it. Coal Hammer just trotted up behind Bleeding Heart and shot him in the back of the head with the large caliber semi-automatic pistol he held in his right wing, the hot, sulfurous smoke still wafting from the barrel. And I thought my mistake was unforgivable, this dirty, cowardly, crooked act truly was. This was no mistake. This was intentional. This was a sneaky, cowardly, low down, atrocious act. This was a murder.

"You killed him, you fucking bastard!!" I screamed hysterically as I flailed about within the few straps that still held me in place.

"Yes, clearly you have functioning eyes." Coal Hammer replied as he used a cloth to wipe Bleeding Heart's blood from off his face. "Congratulations."

"He was the only one here who tried to help ponies you scumbag!! I so badly wanted to give you a chance!! I Know you had it rough but you're a murderer!!"

"Humph. Apparently I let too much information regarding my past slip." Coal Hammer then retreated back to his desk and picked up the phone that sat atop as to dial one of the hospital's extensions. "Yes, this is Coal Hammer, can we get a couple guys from security to remove a...neutralized threat...oh, and a janitor too. It got a bit messy."

The only thing I knew how to do was to try to mentally block this out which of course doesn't help any but in a situation like this, instincts will kick in. As Clutzy hugged me tight while I shut my eyes and bawled at the murder of a good friend and the very likely possibility of being killed soon myself, Coal Hammer trotted out the door that Bleeding Heart broke through. All I had left at this point was my little ghost buddy who I might soon be joining in his limbo. The only solace I had left was the fact that I was finally at peace with my friends and neighbors.

"Well, you're lucky for now since you're contaminated." Coal Hammer said as he trotted out the busted door to presumably go clean himself off. "Can't take your brain out with somepony else's fluids littering the scene now can I?"

Though I was to be spared from the time being, it was only delaying what appeared to be inevitable. I could do nothing but lay there and weep while Clutzy once again stroked my mane and I soaked my face in my tears. I wept for the fact that I would never see my parents and my friends ever again and the fact that such a wonderful pony caught in a cesspool of monsters was so senselessly shot execution style mere inches from me. It was hopeless. I only wish I could tell everypony goodbye.

"What the...what just happened?" A familiar, quivering voice asked a mere few feet from Clutzy and I.

Needless to say, Clutzy and I were immensely confused as we shifted our gaze to my left as I still lie on my back to see something...unexpected to say the least. I felt similar to how I felt when I first saw Clutzy's spirit the night I tried to end my own life. I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating from the wacky shit Coal Hammer injected me with or I truly was going crazy. For whatever reason, Clutzy and I were looking at two Bleeding Hearts, one lying motionless in a puddle of blood that leaked from his skull and the other standing there gawking at the former. My little ghost buddy were flabbergasted and could do nothing but gawk ourselves until the oddly translucent version of Bleeding Heart finally broke the silence.

"Is that...me?" The new Bleeding Heart asked himself as he knelt down to examine the now deceased husk he just arose from. "What...the fuck is going on here!?" He then snapped his gaze up to Clutzy who had begun floating towards him. "Gah! Who the hell are you!? This place is too dangerous for young kids!"

"Um...wow, this is...awkward." Clutzy said as he scratched the back of his head and sunk down to the ground.

"How did you do that!? How did you just float without using your aura!?"

"Long story. Got a minute?"

"Creampuff! Oh my Faust, are you okay!?"

I was rendered totally speechless and I was still questioning whether this was really happening as Bleeding Heart once again attempted to undo the straps that still held me down to no avail. He looked puzzled as to why his hooves kept going through everything he tried to touch. Sinch he's a brand new ghost, he isn't able to touch anything quite yet. Clutzy is a little more able in that regard as he's been floating in limbo for over a year and he has told me that it seems to get even stronger over time.

"I can't seem to...get it!" Bleeding Heart huffed in frustration. "Why isn't my horn working!? And who the hell is that guy on the floor!? Gahh, nothing makes sense anymore!! What's going on here!?"

"D-Doctor?" I asked with a trembling voice. "This is Clutzy, the colt I told you about. You can see him now because...Coal Hammer just shot you..."

After another moment of us gawking at each other in awkward silence, Bleeding Heart plopped down on his haunches and continued to stare at his lifeless body on the floor. Try as he might to deny that we was no longer living within his own body, he finally came to the realization and proceeded to bawling, similar to what Clutzy felt when he realized that he was deceased.

"Nooohohoho!!" Bleeding Heart screamed in pure anguish as he sat on his rump and attempted to weep. "Nooo, this just can't be!! I can't be dead!! Who will...mow am I gonna...My kids!! I can't be there for my wife and kids!! What the fucking fuck!!"

Clutzy and I both agreed that it would be best just to allow Bleeding Heart to let it all out and not disturb him until he was finished or spoke to us first. Bleeding Heart paced back and forth and ranted and raved about his plans in life that he would now never be able to achieve and it wasn't long before he learned that he could no longer physically feel anything much to his further dismay.

"I can't even fucking cry anymore!!" Bleeding Heart bawled as he threw his head back and paused for a moment. "...Coal hammer...how could you?...I always knew he was a prick and had his fair share of demons but...not like this..."

In my still confined state, Clutzy and I continued to give Bleeding Heart his space as he still sat on his butt and sulked in silence, mumbling about how he never took Coal Hammer for a murderer until he found the evidence. His only mistake was turning his back to the psycho, giving him the opening to swoop up behind him and put a bullet in his head. I can't stress enough, I get it, Coal Hammer was somehow abused by ponies who he should have been able to trust. I definitely sympathize with him for that but I can't overlook the act of shooting somepony point blank.

Soon, a few sets of hoofsteps clicked down the hallway and ultimately ended up in the office in which I was still bound to stretcher in the form of two hospital security guards and a janitor toting a mop and a bucket. Upon seeing them, Bleeding Heart went livid and expressed his shock and utter disappointment that they were all in cahoots with Coal Hammer's corruption ring the whole time. The two security guards struggled to life Bleeding Heart's limp body off the floor and onto another gurney they had brought with him as the janitor proceeded to clean up the crime scene, much to mine, Clutzy's, and Bleeding Heart's dismay.

"Hnnggg uh!...Jeez, should have skipped a few desserts, big guy!" A security guard grunted as he and his colleague lifted Bleeding Heart's chubby body up onto the stretcher.

"Yeah, no wonder he was diabetic!" The other said with a sickening chuckle.

I honestly can't wrap my head around how so many slimeballs can end up in the same place. The whole entire time, the rest of the staff has been working along with Coal Hammer's twisted plans and Bleeding Heart was an unfortunate innocent bystander caught up in the clusterfuck and paid for it with his life. After the two stallions wheeled Bleeding Heart's body out of the room and the janitor continued to mop up the blood and small pieces of brain and skull fragments, Coal Hammer finally trotted back in, his mane and tale freshly washed and donning a clean lab coat.

"It's a shame it had to come to this." Coal Hammer said as he trotted in while he used his wings to wipe and polish his pistol with a cloth. "And as a diabetic, his organs won't go for much either." He then glances down at me as I'm still strapped to the stretcher, going out of my way to avoid eye contact. I can't get myself to look at him. "Take her back up to her room. We'll try this again tomorrow."

"Why?..." I sobbed. "Why are you doing this? Why did you kill him?"

"Since you're about to die tomorrow and are in no position to alert the authorities, I may as well tell you." Coal Hammer trotted behind as his two mooks wheeled my away while Clutzy and a still confused Bleeding Heart followed suit. "I'll start with the basics and try to keep it simple enough for you to understand. See, very few ponies have the same ability you have. Anypony that can see one ghost can see all of them. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you're seeing Bleeding Heart right now..."

An enraged Bleeding Heart made an attempt to pummel Coal Hammer to no avail as we all entered the elevator, the former's hooves just passing right through the latter. Clutzy placed a comforting hoof on the good doctor's shoulder as we rode the elevator upward.

"I'm a pacifist!!" Bleeding Heart cried out as he face hoofed. "I'm so pissed, he made me break my own sworn code of peace! Fuck you, Coal Hammer!"

"...not only that, but if you really look hard, you can probably see some of the restess spirits of deceased patients trotting about." Coal Hammer continued. "Seen any strange ponies wearing gowns around here? They're few and far between but they're around...so that being said, let me explain my goal here. Most ponies don't know this or refuse to admit it but or species is inherently evil. Every single one of us. There exists no truly, genuinely good pony...or any sentient being for that ma-"

"That's not true!!" I cried out in anguish at the horrible things Coal Hammer was saying. "How could you think that!? There are so many good creatures out there!! Why would you think such a horrible thing!?"

"Rude, interrupting me like that. Where was I?...oh yeah, notice how these guys are willing to do this shit that we're doing without batting an eye?"

Coal Hammer, his two henchponies, myself, Clutzy and Bleeding Heart finally reached my room and as one of the guards readied a key to unlock the door, the psycho who had me in his clutches pulled a few wads of very large notes from the pockets of his coat. Big, fat wads of Equestrian Hundred Bit Bills were what Coal Hammer held in his hoof to which his cronies helped themselves to one each with a roll of their eyes as they were aware of what remained of his monologue.

"Self interest...greed..." Coal Hammer continued. "It's what ponies are made of, nothing more. Some certainly worse than others but we all are just shit wrapped in skin with some fur slapped on it. Nopony truly cares for one another, most of us are all just brainwashed into thinking we do, and a small hoof full of us are smart enough to realize that it's all just a bunch of horse shit. That's why I have something very special and quite overdue in store for equinity."

"What happened to you, Coal!?" I sobbed as I was wheeled into my room and my straps undone by the guards. "What did your parents do to you!?"

"Ask me that one more time and I'm going to drill your skull very slowly tomorrow. Now get yourself cleaned up so we can just get it over with. Enjoy your last night alive, mkay?"

With that, Coal Hammer then trotted out of the room before his two goons tipped the stretcher over, dumping me off of it and onto the floor. It seemed as if the shock of being a ghost was starting to wear off for Bleeding Heart as he and Clutzy rushed to my side to hug me tight as I cried what would be my very last tears. Mere months ago, I wanted to end my life and took this wonderful gift for granted. Now, I want to live to see my parents and my friends. I want to live to be able to realize my dream and open my own veterinary clinic. I want to someday find my mister right and have foals of my own. It's all about to be thrown away and I can't reason with my soon to be killer no matter what I said.

I wonder if his parents are still around. I wonder if they're aware of the monster they created. Whatever it was that they did to him, it turned him into a self loathing, angry, bitter, hateful, cynical, cold, sociopath of an equine being who thinks nothing of blowing a hole in somepony's head. Who knows how many murders he's committed? He may have killed dozens of ponies to acquire that kind of volume of cash from selling their organs and something tells me he's not doing all this for the money. He said he has something in store for equinity! I'm scared! I'm scared not just for me for of what he might do to so many others if he isn't stopped! But what the fuck can any of us do!?

"We need to alert the royal sisters." Bleeding Heart said as he sprang back up to his ghostly hooves. "And I think I know how we can do it."

"Really? How?" A very hopeful Clutzy asked.

"If one of us can get to canterlot, we can get into the palace library. There is a restricted section that we can get into and find a book on revealing the presence of...well, ghosts. It makes it so everypony can see them. It's a long shot but I think it can work."

"What else can we do?" I asked. "What have we go to lose?"

"Creampuff...I'm so sorry I doubted you. I theorized that your mind was tricking you into seeing Clutzy out of guilt. If I would have known..."

"Doctor, it's okay, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who should be sorry that you had to die to find out."

"You're not the one who pulled the trigger and blew my brains out. We need to act now though, we can't just sit here and panic. I need to get to Canterlot and get into that library to draw attention to ourselves. I guess I can pass through walls now so it shouldn't be hard. I know right where it is."

"Well intended, I don't think that'll work too well." Clutzy interjected.

That's not like Clutzy to have doubts. What do we have to lose by trying. Worst case scenario, we try nothing and I join them in their realm after getting a hole drilled into my skull. If we do try and that still happens...well, at least we can say we tried. Our efforts wouldn't end in vain no matter the outcome. We just have to try something.

"Clutzy, why would you think that?" I asked, immensely confused by his sudden cynicism.

"It won't, trust me." Clutzy curtly replied.

"Well, I'm going to try anyway." Bleeding Heart said firmly as he galloped towards the wall that bordered to the outside. "I'll be back as quick as I can. Do whatever you can to stall Coa-OOF!"

As Bleeding Heart bumped into the wall and bounced off of it causing him to tumble about in the air, I suddenly remembered something Clutzy once told me. Because he died outdoors, he is able to go wherever he wants unimpeded. Any ghost that dies within the walls of a building is confined to said structure until he or she departs to the afterlife or the structure burns or collapses. That's why spirits of those who passed away within the houses they haunt can't leave. In fact, there was an infamous mansion in Japone that collapsed in 1989 and flickering lights that were formerly restless spirits were seen shooting up into the sky. Ah, I digress.

"Whoooaaah, how do I steer myself!?" Bleeding Heart groaned as he tumbled through the air and through the floor and walls that didn't lead to outside.

"Here, I've got you!" Clutzy said as he floated over to help the rookie ghost get his bearings. "Okay, there. Look, try this. When you're standing on the ground, just give yourself a tiny little push upward. When you're off the ground, just lean in whatever direction you want to float. It's easy."

"Like this?"

"Yeah, there you go! Okay, so you go ahead and practice this and I'll take care of the attention grabbing...and maybe grabbing some...other stuff while I'm at it."

"Huh?"

"N-never mind. I'll go ahead and try to get a hold of somepony who can help."

"Time is of the essence. You have to hurry or Creampuff and countless others may die."

"I'm on it. I'll be back as soon as I can."

With that, Clutzy bolted through the wall and out to the city. Bleeding Heart and I watched as he floated his way towards Equestria's capitol city in hopes of finding a way to save me and possibly other lives as well. It was all up to my little ghost buddy at this point and I now entrust my life to him. In the meantime, Bleeding Heart and myself were left to discuss other possible options should this one fail...even after hours of going over it, we couldn't think of any. Clutzy is our only hope.