The Journeys of C

Chapter VI

The Hearts Warming Eve Phantom

[Three months ago, Canterlot Palace]

“Here it is my Princess. We found it three weeks ago where the blue light hit.” An old colt moved inside the storage and took of a blanket from a sarcophagus.

“What is it professor? I’ve never seen something like this.” Celestia moved closer to the sarcophagus and almost touched the strange jewel the creature inside had in a necklace, but the professor stopped her.

“You’d better not my Princess. According to the site we found it… this should be the god of the white changelings.” The professor looked at Celestia which was staring at the creature.

“I’ve never heard of the white changelings.” Celestia moved her head to face the professor.

“I’m not surprised your highness. The white changelings disappeared a long time ago, before your parents even ruled over Equesrtia. Not much is known about them, we only know they were white and didn’t present any horn like the black changelings of today. But, if what we found on the ruins is true, this is the god they worshipped and the legend says one day he’ll wake up from his eternal slumber, but that’s all we found.” The professor stared at the creature inside and ordered two stronger colts to put a glass panel on the sarcophagus.

“Do you believe the legend professor?” Celestia asked the old colt as she stared at the creature through the glass panel.

“I believe in what I see and I only see a white armor that covers something, but surely not a god, maybe inside is a statue. We couldn’t manage to move this creature’s limbs a bit.” The professor and Celestia left the storage and went to the dining room.

[Present day, Midnight-Snow Town]

                           Snow is a very beautiful thing and a town with snow is very pleasant especially if there are colorful lights like in this place. Every building is surrounded by beautiful decorations, all in wait for the Hearts Warming Eve.

                            Inside the houses, parents are preparing the cakes and other delicious foods for this celebration. Outside, even though it’s very late, kids are still playing with their slides and throw snowballs at each other. One of the young colts threw a snowball to one of his friends, but instead of hitting him, the snowball hit a purple mare in the face.

“We are sorry Miss Tenebris, we didn’t want to hit you.” The young pegasi told the mare with her right eye covered by her hair.

“It’s nothing Pine Air. I love a good snow fight, after all I was a kid too once.” She told the young pony.

“Thank you Miss Tenebris. Want to join us?” He asked the purple earth-pony and other young ponies joined him in begging her.

“Alright, but don’t hit me too much I haven’t played in a while.”

                                         The mare and the kids started playing. The ponies were divided into two teams so that it would be funnier and after they were split, the two teams chose a place and started making snowballs. Tenebris hasn’t played this game since she was a young filly, but she was having as much fun as the kids were, although she was hit almost all the time.

                                        The mare finally found a good place where to hide from the incoming snowballs and saw a perfect target, she made sure not to throw hers too hard so that she won’t hurt the young pony. She prepared the snowball and when the pony was making his own, the mare threw it, but instead of hitting him, it hit a colt around thirty six years old.

“Miss Tenebris!” The colt yelled making the ponies stop playing.

“I’m sorry Mister Gold Hooves. I was just playing with the kids I didn’t want to…” She tried to apologize, but in vain.

“Next time I suggest you do what you are supposed to do… clothes. Come Silver, we’re going home, I don’t want you to spend more time with these peasants. Good night…Miss.” The colt said with a spiteful voice then took her daughter and went home.

                                         The two ponies arrived at their big manor after traveling with a carriage for ten minute. The colt gave the two earth-ponies that pulled the carriage ten bits and went inside the big manor without saying good night to the two, although they did say.

“Dad, please forgive Miss Tenebris, she didn’t want to hit you. She is kind and sweet, she couldn’t hurt a fly.” The young filly told her dad after giving her winter coat to a butler.

“I don’t care what you say Silver Hooves. She was childish and such ponies shouldn’t be forgiven, especially that she is a lower class than us. We have a certain class and prestige while she only has that stupid clothes workshop where she lives. Now, Greene take my daughter to her bed. And I don’t want to be disturbed.” The colt took his pipe and went into his study.

                                     The colt entered his study and sat on the chair of his desk. He took a deep breath, leaned his head backwards then saw a gift on his desk. The colt looked around, he wanted to yell for his servant, nopony was allowed inside his study, but he decided not to yell for his servants and instead opened the gift.

                                      The colt was surprised and scared for what he saw inside the gift box. Inside it was the head of a friend of his and a letter addressed to him. He grabbed the blood soaked envelope and opened it. On the paper inside it was written “Look forwards.”

                                       He slowly moved his head to look forwards and saw the figure of a pony in front of him. The pony jumped on the desk and took out a sword. The colt recognized the silhouette of a mare. She was wearing a mask and her right eye was covered by her hair, he could also see a cape on her back.

“Please! Don’t kill me! I can pay you well if you don’t.” The colt yelled at her, but no sound could enter or exit his study.

“I want none of your money. I want justice for your crimes!” The mare stretched her hoof in which the sword was, then in a flash and a scream she cut off the colts head.

“My blade took out those guilty, but many more remain out there. And in four days this mare, will exact her revenge.” The purple mare took out a red rose and disappeared leaving the flower on the desk.

                                      Next day near the road leading to the town a white changeling was trembling as an earthquake and barely managed to stop sneezing. His teeth were shaking almost as bad as his body, next to him was a bowl of hot soup that should make him feel better.

“C, I finally got that bear pelt you wanted.” Inky came out the forest with a bear pelt on her back as C sneezed four times in a row.

“Quick, Inky, give me the pelt!” C yelled at her as she approached him and put the pet around him.

“I still can’t stop thinking how much did it take me to find and kill that bear. Why didn’t you eat your soup?” The white-furred mare asked him taking the bowl in her hoof.

“It only contains plants, I want meat. I don’t eat plants.” He whined at her.

“C, stop whining and eat the soup.” Inky took a spoon from the ground and wanted to feed C.

“No! I need no soup.” He moved his head away from the spoon.

“C, eat the soup!” Inky yelled at C after other six tries to feed him.

“Are you my mommy?” The white changeling asked her with an ironic voice.

“C! How old are you?!” She shouted at C that whined like a kid.

“I don’t know!” He responded looking at Inky, she saw an opening and put the spoon inside C’s mouth, he gulped the soup immediately.

“See not so bad.” Inky took the spoon out and smiled.

“Argh! My tongue! Why, Inky?! Why?” He stared into her eyes.

“C, I’ve been eating this soup each time I was sick since I was little filly and felt well in no time. So stop your childish whining and eat it!” She yelled at him stretching her hooves so that the bowl of soup was in front of c’s eyes.

“Did I ever tell you how much I hate you when you do this?” C replied taking the soup and the spoon.

“As long as you’re alright I’m fine with that.” She replied looking at C while he was eating the soup.

“By the way, how far are we from that town on the map? “ He asked the white-furred mare after sneezing two times.

“Let’s see. Thanks to the fact we had to stay two weeks in that inn because you got sick… we should be there in two hours if we start moving.” She replied after she looked at the map.

“Anyway… how did you manage to pay for two weeks that inn? We didn’t have any bits left.” The white changeling asked her taking another gulp of the soup.

“Do you have any idea how many dishes and tables I had to clean?” She looked at C which sneezed once more.

“No Inky I don’t and I don’t even want to know, but do you know what I want to know? No stallion tried to catch you?” C asked her taking a final gulp from the soup.

“There were no guards or poachers if that’s what you mean.” She took the empty bowl from him and put it into a back pack where their plushies were too.

“No… what I mean is… did any stallion try to capture your love, like trying to make you fall in love with them?” Inky was surprised by the meaning of the last question and didn’t know how to respond.

“Wait a second C. Does this mean you think I’m pretty?” She smiled with half her mouth and stared at him.

“What?! Of course not… you are my companion and we have just a traveling relationship not a love-love relationship. You are… pretty, but we are just friends. Catfish?”

                                           He replied and sneezed four times once more while Inky tried to keep inside her response, after all C was right, there is no way they could be together. She was silly to even think that, she thought to herself, but didn’t say anything, but there was a question she had to put to C.

“Are there fish that look like cats?” Inky asked C which was a bit confused of her question.

“Aaaaaaa! No, no, no Inky. You see, I like to say ‘catfish’ instead of ‘understood’. Catfish?” He smiled after taking a deep breath and looked at Inky.

“Catfish.” She smiled and closed her eyes leaning her head a bit to her right.

“No, no, no, no! Inky, catfish is just like ‘andale’, only I can say it.” C stared at Inky making sure she understood.

“Okay C, but you don’t have to be so rude.” Inky rose up from the snowy ground and stretched her hoof to help C rise up as well.

“Thanks Inky, but I was wondering. Don’t you need anything to cover you?” He asked his companion.

“No thank you C. We shape-shifters live in the snowy north, our fur is enough. I sure miss those hot water lakes.” She smiled and looked at the sky which looked like a blizzard was coming.

“Nice to hear that, but I don’t want to be caught in a blizzard.” He told Inky then kept moving forwards.

                                               Inky came back to earth and went after C. After three months of traveling together one might think they know each other pretty well seeing how much time they spend together, but in fact, Inky knows almost nothing about C and he knows almost everything about her.

                                                She made a promise to C a month ago not to ask him about his past, but this makes things complicated. He is stranger by the day. When they met, he looked like a super-pony, but now he’s like any other changeling and that sleep he keeps mentioning doesn’t help her either. How long can a pony like C sleep?

                                                 From his perspective, not telling Inky his past is the best thing in the world. There’s too much hurt and burden to tell her. He has to keep it inside or else everything would end, Inky’s friendship and the journey ahead.

                                                The white changeling thought back three months ago when he woke up in Canterlot and how he was exposed like an attraction. ‘It wasn’t their fault’ he said to himself, they didn’t know he was still alive and sleeping.

                                                What he did when he saw himself in front of those ponies was his fault, he left his anger consume him and now he’s running away, following a voice in his head that isn’t a voice. And that mysterious pony from last month, what could C find where he told him to go?

“C are you okay?” Inky looked at C which seemed to snap out of something.

“Yes, I’m okay, but why?” He asked her with a wondering face.

“You’ve been staring at the ground for most of the road, you even whispered something that I couldn’t understand.” She looked with a worried face at him.

“I’m okay Inky, don’t worry, just memories of a past time.” He smiled at Inky and looked forwards.

“Uhm… Okay, if you say you are better.”

                                              She knew there was something strange going on about C, but decided not to say anything thanks to her promise, her friend had to face his past on his own. She decided to stop thinking about this and kept going while C tried to stop thinking about the past.

                                              It didn’t take long for the two and they entered the town, not much happened during the last few minutes of the road. Inky watched C as he tried to suppress anything that came into his mind.

“Well here we are. That was a nice road.” C smiled and looked at Inky which hit him with a snowball.

“What was that for?!” He yelled at Inky confused about the snowball that just hit him in the face.

“Just for fun, C.”

                                                 She moved ahead gently touching C’s snout, but he wasn’t going to give up just like that. He reached down and made his own snowball and threw it after her, but C’s aim wasn’t that good and the snowball passed Inky and hit a purple mare in the face which fell down on the ground and dropped some packages.

“Ouch, if anypony is asking, it wasn’t me. It was that snowpony! Why did you hit her? You evil snow creature!” C stared at it while Inky moved towards the purple mare and helped her rise  up, from the ground.

“Excuse my friend. He didn’t want to hit you.” Inky told her after she helped her up.

“There’s no problem. Lately snowballs have something with me. You’re not from around here are you?” She asked the white-furred mare.

“No, me and my friend are just passing by.” Inky replied pointing at C with her left hoof.

“Well nice to meet you then, hope you have a nice time while you pass by here. Where are my manners, I’m really silly, I apologize for not introducing myself, my name is Tenebris Astrum.” She introduced herself and smiled closing her visible eye and leaned her head a bit to the left.

“Nice to meet you Tenebris, I’m Blue Ink, but you can call me Inky and he’s C.” She smiled and pointed at C which was talking with the snowpony.

“Only C?” Tenebris looked towards him wondering what he was doing.

“Yes, he won’t tell anypony anything else, but I’m okay with that. Oh! You are from town right?” The white-furred mare asked her.

“Yes, why?” The purple mare asked Inky wondering what could she want?

“Do you know an inn where we could stay and by stay I mean, where I can work a few days until we move once more?” She asked the purple mare with a three colored scarf around her neck.

“Uhm… I’m afraid all inns in town are full in this period. Hearts Warming Eve always brings merchants and travelers in our town.” She replied to Inky which was a bit worried.

“Oww… We’ll manage somehow anyway.” Inky smiled at Tenebris while C came next to her with the head of the snowpony on his back.

“Hey Inky. Don’t worry Miss I took care of this snowpony, she won’t hit anypony from now on.” C smiled and took the head of the snowpony in his hooves showing it to Tenebris.

“Mommy, somepony destroyed my snowpony!” A filly yelled for her mom. When C heard that, he dropped the head and hit it with his front right hoof until he masked it as snow.

“Now that that’s taken care o… o…” C sneezed four times.

“Uhm… maybe you can stay with me until you go. I usually don’t have guests and I’d be glad to have some company this year.” Tenebris smiled and told the two.

“If we are no bother to you, I agree.” C gladly accepted the offer.

“But C, we don’t even have any bits to pay Tenebris for the rooms.” Inky looked at him.

“I don’t need money. You’ll be my guests, I really wished for some company this Hearts Warming Eve.” The purple mare smiled to the two. She was really happy to spend this year’s winter holiday with somepony.

“You heard the nice pony Inky, we need not to pay. So let’s go!” C pointed his left front hoof to the sky and leaned his head backwards smiling.

“Oh, no!” Tenebris turned around remembering about the packages.

“Are you okay?” C stared at Tenebris which was gathering clothes from the ground and beautifully folding them before putting them back in their packages.

“How silly can I be?! How could I forget about my delivery?” She was trying to move as fast as she could, but she couldn’t do a bad work.

“Maybe we can help you Tenebris.” Inky told the purple mare approaching her.

“Tenebris?” C asked rising his left eyebrow.

“Yes C, that’s her name. Tenebris Astrum and because of you, her clothes are on the ground.” Inky replied to C leaning down to help Tenebris fold the clothes.

“Okay maybe I can h…” C couldn’t finish his proposition for that the purple mare gave him two packages to hold while she was finishing the remaining four.

“Alright, now follow me. I hope we are not late.” Tenebris started running, C and Inky following her until the three reached a luxurious villa.

“Wow, quite a place to live.” C remarked as he stared at the building before him.

“Owww… I hope we are not late, Mr. Wood Chest is a very important client and I don’t want to disappoint him.” Tenebris was very worried and Inky tried to calm her down, but the door to the villa opened and the purple mare got more nervous.

“Please come in Miss Tenebris, lord Wood Chest expected you.”

                                           A butler welcomed the three inside the villa. Tenebris took a deep breath and slowly entered the villa, she was followed by C and Inky. The butler wondered who the two could be, but she trusted Tenebris and decided not to ask.

“Lord Wood Chest will arrive shortly, until then please wait here. Can I also take your… uhm.. bear pelt, sir?” The butler asked C staring at his bear pelt.

“No thank you Charles. I frankly am quite well with this bear pelt on me. I simply can’t take it off of me.” C responded with a strange accent and smiled at the old colt.

“My name isn’t Charles sir, my name is Narrow Leaf, sir. And I’ll be leaving you.”

                                        The old colt left the hall leaving the three alone in wait for his master. Inky admired the architecture of the hallway and how it was decorated with colorful carpets and beautiful painting of all kinds.

                                   Tenebris was quite stressed, she hoped that her clothes didn’t get wet and that Mr. Wood Chest wouldn’t be angry because she was late. She walked in circles trying to calm down, but that didn’t help and C joined her.

“You’re right Teni, this is quite fun. Yey!” C smiled and walked in circles while Teni realized what she was doing.

“Ahem!” a strong voice was heard coming from the stairs balcony, stopping C from moving in circles and caught the attention of the three.

“Mister Wood Chest, I’m sorry for being late, but… but…” The purple mare tried to explain, but couldn’t find the right words.

“There’s no need for excuses Miss Tenebris, I know I can count on you and being late only once in such a long time since you’ve been making clothes for me is acceptable.” The colt approached Tenebris without caring of the other two.

“Now, I presume you have my order Miss Tenebris.” The colt rose his left hoof and looked into her eyes.

“Of course mister Wood Chest… here are the packages for you sir and the packages for your wife, daughter and son are at my friends.” She looked towards C and Inky and the brown colt approached the two which put the packages down on the carpet just like Teni.

“Well thank you Miss Tenebris, narrow Leaf will take them into the dressers. I think I’ll be seeing you tonight at the theatre?” He asked the mare after calling for his butler.

“Yes sir, the ‘Ghost at the Opera’ is my favorite play and I can’t wait to see it.” The purple mare replied with a big smile.

“Well then , you should get ready. Tonight will be magnificent. Now off you go.” After saying this, the three went outside of the villa and headed towards Teni’s house.

                                            On the road Inky saw the children playing outside and remembered about the kids in her village while C tried not to look at the kids, but he couldn’t do it and each time he saw them something inside him made him smile, but that smile would crumble shortly. The three arrived at Teni’s house in about ten minutes and the purple mare took out a key and opened the door.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’m a bit messy.” She opened the door and they entered her house which was also a shop and workshop and was quite clean in fact.

“I don’t get it. This isn’t messy this is cleany clean.” C said after seeing the beautiful and tidy shop.

“Really? I always thought I was messy.” Teni replied touching her lower mouth with the top of her hoof.

“You should’ve seen my room, my bed over there, around twenty pots near it, some chests there and texts I copied from my uncle’s books scattered all over the place.” Inky replied showing where each of the objects would’ve been located.

“Wait Inky, this is the shop, not the room where Teni sleeps.” C put his right front hoof over Inky’s neck.

“Uhm… my room is quite clean, I only have a bed, a chest at the end of the bed, a desk, two wardrobes and four bookshelves filled with books.” The purple mare replied looking at the two.

“That sounds nice Teni. This play, you are going to, what was it called?” Inky asked the purple mare with a smile.

“It’s called the ‘Ghost at the opera’ and I’d only say spoilers if I told you now.” She replied to Inky with a big smile.

“Uhm… Teni, we don’t have any tickets and we couldn’t afford any tickets anyway. We… I kinda used all our bits a month ago.” C kept touching the top of his front hooves together and looked with a regretful face towards Inky.

“I have four spare tickets the owner of the theatre gave me four months ago for making him the costumes for the actors. And I thought you might want to come. You know, if you want, I’m not forcing you or anything.” She looked at the two hoping that the two would come.

“Well… I’m not a fan of theatres, for certain reasons I wish not to discuss, but I guess we could come” C replied to Teni making her very happy, she hugged C then grabbed Inky’s front right hoof.

“I have just the dress for you Inky.”

                                              She smiled and dragged Inky upstairs into her room leaving C alone in the shop. C didn’t knew what to do and sat down on the seller’s chair and looked towards the door while, upstairs, Tenebris was searching in her wardrobes for a dress that would fit quite well on Inky.

                                               Inky wasn’t quite the fan of dresses, but for an occasion that seemed so important she could make an exception. Teni searched deep until she found the perfect dress, which also had a hat.

“Wait, before you take this on you Inky, you should go wash yourself. The bathroom is on the first to the left as you go towards the stairs. I’ll go down and look for a coat for C, I think I have exactly what he needs!” Teni clapped her hooves together then ran downstairs into her workshop’s storage.

“Teni, where are you going?” C asked the purple mare as he saw her running downstairs.

“I’m going to find you a nice coat to wear for tonight.” She smiled and leaned her head to the right.

“That sounds nice…” He put his head back on the table, but then realized what she said “No, no, no, no! Look Teni I want no coat, I’ll go like this, I mean why would you wear a coat at a theatre?”

“Maybe you’re right… Here, this suit suits you!” Teni took from behind a curtain a very well made suit and jumped on C to put it on him.

“Wait!... Teni stop!... Get off me!” C crawled away from Tenebris and rose up on his hooves in front of a mirror and looked into it.

“Uuuu… Hi there, Mister Sexy. This suit really suits me, I can say that… I suited up!” C turned around to face Tenebris and widely smiled pointing his right hoof at her.

“See? Told you it will look nice on you.” Tenebris replied with a confident smile when Inky came down with her fur still wet.

“I heard screams, what happened?” Inky asked the two and was quite surprised seeing C wearing that suit.

“Inky you’re wet and now you are blushing. I knew suits are sexy, but not so.” C turned around and looked into the mirror.

“Oh right! Inky let’s go up and get you dressed!” Tenebris ran towards Inky and pushed her into her room.

“Look at you wearing that suit, hmm… something’s missing. Ahhh!” C looked around the shop for something.

“Here we go! A bowtie or a tie?” C kept staring into the mirror and moving the bowtie then the tie in front of his neck.

“Wait a second! I don’t need these, I have my necklace. I knew you were smart, just look at you.” C threw the two accessories and kept staring into the mirror for quite a while until Inky and Teni came down

“We are ready!” Teni said reaching downstairs.

“Inky I didn’t know you like to wear dresses.” C grinned while staring at Inky,

“We should get moving you two. It’s incredible how time passes by.” Teni smiled and opened the door waiting for her friends to come out.

“I can’t believe my eyes.” Inky said as she saw the colorful lights on the streets and the decorations, during the day they were nice, but at night they’re magical.

“Teni… how far is the theatre I’m freezing!” C said shaking thanks to the cold night, his suit made him a bit warm, but that wasn’t enough.

“Uhm... Not far, about twenty minutes of walking.”

                                                    She responded to C which simply screamed and ran inside to take his bear pelt on him making sure he wouldn’t ruin the suit and went after Teni and Inky. The white-furred mare couldn’t believe her eyes how beautiful the town was.

                                               The white changeling tried to admire the town that seemed to bring back pleasant memories, but the cold air outside didn’t help him too much. The bear pelt solved all the problems, but he had to take it down twice because it got too hot for him to keep wearing it.

                                                 Teni was explaining to Inky everything she knew about this holiday called Hearts Warming Eve, the shape-shifters never heard of it and she was very curious about what was going on, although there would be three days until the holiday, ponies really enjoy getting ready in time.

“And we are finally here. C, you’ll have to leave your bear pelt at the entrance, don’t worry, nopony will take it away.” Teni told them, then went ahead of them to give the tickets and called for the two immediately after.

“Okay C, please leave your pelt here in a wardrobe, we’ll take it back after the play. Oh! Maybe after the play we can go to a restaurant I like that makes really delicious food.”

                                                         Teni was excited about that thought, but remembered there was a play to watch, and even though she wanted to tell everything about the delicious food at the restaurant to the two, they had to see the play, that’s why they went there after all.

                                                          The three entered a huge room with over two thousand seats and twenty balconies from where the rich use to spectate, but there were some rich ponies like Mr. Wood Chest that preferred to be in the middle of the audience than in some balcony.

                                                       Tenebris was looking for their seats which were in line 10, column 4. Of course, the entire theatre was completely filled with ponies and Inky knew exactly how much C likes crowds and tried to keep him as calm as possible, but as soon as they reached their seats, the white changeling relaxed and waited for the play to begin.

“Hey.” C looked to his left seat where a young kid was standing and was staring at him.

“You are strange mister, why do you have holes in your hair?” The young pony asked him.

“I had… a little accident with a… scissor! Most certainly a scissor.” C shook his head in affirmation and stared at the pony.

“Why doesn’t it fall down then?” He replied to C still staring at his holes.

“I… glued it back with… saliva.” C stared at the pony and smiled.

“With saliva?” The pony asked staring into C’s eyes.

“Yes, saliva. Don’t believe me? Try it, one hundred percent me approved.”

                                                 The kid didn’t say anything else and turned to look at the scene while C turned to face the scene as well and plucked out four hairs and stared at them for a bit then licked them. At that moment Inky turned around after chit-chatting something with Teni and saw C’s attempt at glue.

“What are you doing?” Inky asked C very surprised of what she saw he was doing.

“I’m gluing my hairs back, what does it look I’m doing?” C looked back at Inky and put his tongue back inside his mouth.

“Shhh, the play is about to begin.” Teni whispered to the two then turned their head towards the stage.

                                                        The play had begun and the spectators watched as the actors moved on the scene with an extreme elegance and precision. Teni had seen this play before, but each time there were different actors with different acting qualities and this time was the best play she saw.

                                                         Back in her village there were ceremonies that brought to life legends and myths, but Inky never saw something like this. At first she thought this would be an ancient legend reenacted, but after half an hour since the play began, she saw how big and planned everything was. This wasn’t an ancient legend and she was intrigued by what she saw and couldn’t wait to ask Teni what was the play in fact.

                                                          Most of the play C was quiet and admired the actors as they moved on the stage and the story. After an hour since the play began C started crying, not making any sounds though, but asked Teni for a handkerchief. Inky stared for a few seconds at him and realized why he said he’s not a fan of theatres, he was quite sentimental.

                                                          To explain better why C was crying I’ll have to tell you what the play was about. In the play, a young mare, around her twenties, whom was raised in poverty, came to a big city where she discovered her talent as a singer. She was trained by the best instructors in town, but one day, a thief entered her home and accidentally cut her eyes making her blind.

                                                          The thief was caught immediately by the police, but the mare lost her sight, even if this happened, her lover, a young artist, stood by her side until one faithful day, her lover was making a painting of her and went outside to buy some more paint.

                                                          When the colt was buying his paint, the same thief that took the sight of his somepony, killed him in the shop. In this time, the mare waited for him to come back, she waited on that chair, for her lover to come, but he never came and everypony forgot about her. Her family died a year before and her former friends didn’t even care about her.

                                                        She waited in her lover’s workshop for about two hours when she felt a fire started in that building. The mare felt the smoke rising in the room and tried to run to the door, but it was too late, without her sight and nopony to remember her, she died burned alive, but somehow the unfinished painting survived the fire and was found next day.

                                                          That was the point when C cried, but the play wasn’t over yet. Now act three began, the act in which, ten years later, a young colt would arrive at the opera where the blind mare used to sing once and he would find himself in the middle of a mystery where a mare with her right eye covered by her hair would sabotage the plays and kill certain ponies.

                                                           The play kept going until the part where the masked mare would appear. It was the part when that mare would introduce herself as ‘The Ghost of the Opera’ when smoke rose from the stage and the actors were thrown off the stage.

                                                           After the actors were thrown, the smoke cleared and a masked mare, with her right eye covered by her hair and a cape on her back, was the only pony on stage. She looked exactly as the ghost. The ponies were shocked and the director of the play screamed at her to say who she was. The mare made a fast move with her right front hoof and threw three knives towards the spectators, each knife penetrating the heads of Mr. Wood Chest’s family, including him, killing them instantly.

“I am the Phantom of Heats Warming Eve and in two day, I shall exact my real revenge! You cannot run from town ponies, those who try to run will be the first killed. Justice shall fall on this wretched city!”

                                                       The crowd was startled and guards ran towards the stage to capture this supposed ‘phantom’, but the mare jumped in the air in disappeared into a smoke screen. The ponies inside were scared and ran towards the exit. Inky grabbed C and took him outside the theatre, Teni being already outside.

“Inky you can stop now!” C said as the two were outside the theatre and arranged his tie.

“What happened back there?” Teni asked the two.

“I think we’re in the middle of a mystery my dear Teni and we are just the ponies you need right now.” C said while finishing arranging his tie and wanted to go back in to investigate, but Inky stopped him.

“I don’t think this is a good idea C.” She told him holding his left front hoof.

“But why Inky? This is what we do. We resolve things paranormal and normal.” The white-changeling replied.

“First, I don’t think we can fool the guards if they see you and second, I think we have some explanations to give to a certain pony.” Inky pointed her head towards Teni which was confused about the discussion of the two.

“Right… Uhm… Teni, we can go back at your house and we shall explain everything over a cup of hot chocolate.”

                                                       The three headed towards Teni’s house, C forgot about his pelt of course and all the way back to the house he sneezed and shivered pretty badly. But, as soon as the three arrived, the white changeling fell on the ground and kissed the warm floor thanking a god only he could pronounce his name.

“C, I think that’s enough.” Inky took him off of the floor while Teni brought them some hot chocolate.

“Delicious! Thank you Teni!” Said C after he sat down on a chair and drank some chocolate.

“With pleasure C, but can you please explain to me, if it doesn’t bother you. What did you mean by the fact you’re the ponies we need at this moment? If it doesn’t bother you.” Teni asked with a shy voice.

“It doesn’t bother us Teni. C meant that, since we met three months ago we’ve been dealing with strange stuff.” Inky replied then drank a bit of hot chocolate.

“Yupy ducky we did. First we took part in the Steam-War ending it, although I was forced to use what I was left of the powers in the necklace, and don’t even think to ask about it because I won’t answer.” C drank a bit of hot chocolate then kept explaining.

“ After that war we dealt with a scare crow and then dealt with some timber wolves on the way to Maris, where not only did my body return to normal after my long sleep, but also stopped and ravenous creatures known as the shades and ended up with my face half frozen for two days.” C drank what was left in his cup then complimented Teni.

“Umm…thank you C. That made sense…somehow. Does this mean you are here to stop that phantom?” Teni drank a bit of the hot chocolate and put down the cup.

“Now that we saw it we’ll do our best, but I think we can use the help of a local, meaning you Teni.” C smiled and stared into Teni’s eyes.

“Me? Well… Uhmm... Okay, I think I can help you if there’s no problem.” Teni responded ad slowly drank what was left in her cup.

“Yupiiii-kiii-yey! But first, I think I’ll go to sleep I’m a little tired.” C said and rose up from the chair.

“Right! I have to show you the room, I’m sorry if it’s inconvenient, but I have only a guest room with a single bed, I hope it won’t bother you.” The purple mare said while Inky finished her hot chocolate.

“It was delicious Teny, thank you. I have no problem with it. Do you C?” The white-furred mare looked towards C and smiled.

“I have no problem-o.” C replied looking at the white-furred mare.

“Then let me show you the room.”

                                                      Teni took the two upstairs and showed them the guest room. The place was quite clean and had a bathroom a wardrobe, four bookshelves and a cupboard. The carpet was small, being present only in the middle of the room.

“Good night, you two. See you tomorrow.”

                                                 Teni smiled and left the room leaving the two inside, but C just jumped on the bed throwing off the suit on the cupboard and instantly fell asleep. Inky took her time before she went to sleep and arranged C’s suit and her dress, Teni worked hard on them and didn’t want to ruin them. After she folded them, the white-furred mare lay on the bed and fell asleep.

                                                 Back at the theatre the guards were inspecting the scene and decided to close the place until they make sure there’s no way that the ‘phantom’ will endanger the spectators once more.

                                                 The Wood Chest family was taken home and put on the bed of the now deceased Mr. Wood Chest. Narrow Leaf, their butler covered their bodies with a blanket and left the room closing the door.

                                                 In her room Teni wasn’t sleeping yet, instead she was looking into a mirror and crying like something in her life was taken away from her. She knows it’s something important, but doesn’t know what exactly, she just cries each night, but life keeps moving she says to herself then she went to sleep in her warm and soft bed.

                                                 The three slept, nothing important happened that night, except the panicked ponies which didn’t know what to do. One merchant said he won’t stay in that town and decided to leave, but as he exited the town, a knife penetrated his head and the figure of the mare was seen once more, but she disappeared in the smoke screen again.

                                                    Next day Inky woke up from her sleep and saw that C was still sleeping and decided not to wake him up. She went to the bathroom to wash her face then went outside the room and saw Teni coming out of her room.

“Good morning Teni.” Inky said smiling.

“Good morning Inky. How did you sleep?” She smiled and approached Inky.

“Very well, the bed was very soft. C’s still sleeping, but he’ll wake up eventually.” The white-furred mare told the purple mare.

“I’m glad to hear that. As long as you stay with me feel like you’re home.” She smiled and looked at Inky.

“Thank you for your kindness Teni.” She smiled, but her stomach soon made noises announcing her that she was hungry.

“It seems you’re hungry Inky. Come with me, I want to make an omelet.” Teni went downstairs, Inky following her into the kitchen.

“What a tidy kitchen you have Teni, my mom would be jealous.” She said to her friend.

“I just like to keep things in a certain order, I’m sure your mom does the same. No let’s see, what was I doing here?” Teni touched her lower snout with the top of her right front hoof.

“Ah yes! An omelet! Inky can you bring me the flour from that cupboard?”Teni pointed to a cupboard on Inky’s right while she climbed a chair to get a recipe.

“Uhm... Teni , why would you need flour for omelet?” Inky asked the purple mare as she took the flour from the cupboard.

“Ahh! I wanted to say salt. Sorry Inky, I’m silly, now where was that recipe?” Teni searched better the cupboard for a certain recipe.

“I got the salt Teni. Do you need anything else?” Inky asked putting the salt on the table.

“I got it!”

                                                             Teni had a paper with a recipe on it, but she forgot she was on a chair and thanks to her sudden movement she fell of the chair, but Inky caught her before she would get hurt. The chair fell down and Inky put Teni on her hooves and caught the recipe and gave it to her.

“Thank you Inky. Now let’s see… We need four eggs.” Teni kept reading the recipe and Inky brought her everything.

                                                        Upstairs, after ten minutes since Inky woke up, C woke as well and went to the bathroom to clean his face. After he washed his face, C stared into the mirror and touched his head like he had a headache, but he just had a bad dream, that’s all.

                                                    He came out of the room and felt the smell of omelet coming from downstairs. He opened his mouth letting his very long tongue fall down on the floor, but he put it back in and ran downstairs to see the omelet.

“Good morning C, how did you sleep?” Teni asked the white-changeling.

“It’s more like good afternoon half past two, but okay. I slept well, now… Where’s the omelet?!” C yelled staring into Teni’s eyes.

“Uhm… We’ve almost finished it.” Teni replied with a smile.

“C calm down, it’s finished.” Ink put three plates on the table and put the omelet on them.

“I missed you so much omelet. Just look at you, so yellowish and tasty, you even have cheese.” C talked to the omelet and licked it.

“C, that’s disgusting.” Inky said looking at him.

“It’s my omelet, I do what I want with my omelet. Like eating it in only one bite.” C took the plate with omelet in his right front hoof.

“Uhm… Sorry if I say this, but how’s that possible?”

                                                            Teni asked and hearing that, C moved his long tongue out of his mouth and took the omelet from the plate and gulped it without chewing, but of course this burned his tongue because the omelet was still hot. The white changeling jumped of his chair and ran to the sink to cool his mouth.

“I’m sorry, but that was disturbing C.” Teni said looking at him as he kept pouring water in his mouth.

“C come to the table and let us eat this omelet.” Inky said as she took a bite from the omelet which was quite delicious.

“I’m glad you like it. Uhm… C, you’ll get a stomachache if you keep doing that.” Teni said staring at C which stopped pouring water into his mouth.

“Don’t you worry Teni. I have an iron stomach and it can take quite a lot.” C assured the mare with a smile then sat at the table.

“After we finish the omelet I have something I want to show you.” Teni said to the two then took a bite of her omelet.

                                              Teni and Inky kept eating without saying anything while C stared at their plates and tried to hide the fact he got a stomachache. Inky saw C acting strange, but decided not to say a thing. After the omelet, Teni grabbed the hooves of the two and took them into her workshop’s storage.

  “Tada! This is where I keep the clothes I make for sale in the shop, I have too much free time, now where were those? Aha!” Teni ran towards a pile of clothes and took a hat out of it and kept searching for those clothes.

“Wow, these are quite a lot of clothes. Awww… “ C put his right front hoof to his stomach.

“Here they are!” Teni exclaimed and ran to the two showing the three costumes she made for a play once.

“Detective costumes… really Teni?” C looked at Teni with a dull face.

“Come on you two. We’re investigating something, we can quite use them, plus they keep you warm.” The purple mare said and C widened his eyes.

“Suddenly I feel pretty flishing detectivish.” C took the costume on him which also came with a hat.

“See, come on Inky, put it on!” Teni smiled and gave Inky her costume and the two mares put them on.

“Now my dear companions it’s elementary that we go to investigate the scene of the crime so that we can then call the suspects.” C spoke with a strange accent and looked at the two.

“C are you okay?” Inky asked her friend.

“I’m entering the skin of the character Inky, you two are my companions and I am the detective.” C replied going back into the shop.

“Now let’s see. Where should we go first?” The three exited the store and C asked taking his ball pen a.k.a. ‘pix’ out and touching his lower mouth with it.

“I say we go investigate the theatre.” Inky said staring at C.

“Good thinking Inky… awww… my stomach really hurts, but we must do it no matter what!” C was petting his stomach when Teni thought of something very important.

“Sorry, but how are we going to pass the guards? I don’t this they’ll let us inside.” Teni said to the two, pretty worried.

“Don’t worry your pretty head Teni, I always have a plan.” The three ran towards the theatre and stopped in front of a guard.

“The theatre is closed during the investigation, none can pass.” The guard said blocking the way of the three.

“That’s why we are here good sir. I’m C and these two are my companions, we are here to inves… aww my stomach… Okay, this is better. We are here to investigate the ‘phantom’.” C replied smiling with the left half of his mouth and staring into the guard’s eyes.

“Tenebris is this some sort of joke?” The guard asked her.

“I’m here to help them Marshmallow. They can help us.” She said smiling at the guard.

“Okay, I’ll let you inside. Do you ever take off that scarf Tenebris?” The three went inside and Teni stopped to respond.

“Only to clean it, it’s very important to me Marshmallow, I don’t know why, but it is.” She looked and touched her scarf while talking to the guard.

“Don’t worry Tenebris, one day your amnesia will disappear.” The guard touched Teni’s right shoulder.

“Teni are you coming?” C yelled from inside the theatre.

                                                               The purple mare went after the two leaving the guard behind . Inside the theatre, guards were inspecting the stage for anything out of the ordinary, but there was nothing, but right when the chief inspector wanted to call it a day and reopen the theatre C and his companions entered the room.

“Hi there everypony, I’m.., aaaa… Do you have any medicine for stomachaches?” C was petting his stomach when four guards came to them and pointed spears at them.

“Tenebris, what is the meaning of this?” The inspector asked the mare staring at her.

“It’s okay, I’m alright. Here’s my identification.” C took out his pix and showed it to the inspector.

“I’ve never seen such an id.” The inspector said staring at C’s pix.

“We are special angents. I am C and this is my companion Inky. Tenebris is here to help u… Really now do you have any medicine for stomachaches?” C stared at the inspector which took out from his pocket a syrup.

“I don’t go anywhere without it.” C took the syrup and drank the whole bottle.

“Okay, now I feel better. Inspector, now that I feel better I’d like to ask you and your guards to leave the theatre, but keep it closed until we say otherwise. Any questions?” C gave the syrup to the inspector and walked on the stage.

“With respect sir, but this is my case.” The inspector stared at C.

“Please sir, C’s actions might seem strange, but you have to trust us.” Inky put her left front hoof on the inspector’s right shoulder.

“Alright, but if you find the culprit or anything I want you to contact me, understood?” The inspector stared deep into Inky’s eyes.

“We’ll do our best inspector.” Inky stared back into the inspector’s eyes and the colt called for his guards and left the theatre leaving the three to do their work.

“So what are we going to investigate first C?” Teni asked the changeling which stood on the stage and looked at the wood from which it was made.

“We look for a hidden door, a rope and something that would make smoke, like… like...” C kept his ear on the floor and beat the wood in search for a hidden trapdoor.

“Like a bucket with hot gray coloured water?” Teni stared at C and asked.

“Yes, something like that, how did you know?” C looked at her while Inky was looking behind the stage curtains.

“The black-cat, a criminal from a novel I read once used ice and a bucket with hot colored water to escape the scene of the crime.” The purple mare responded looking at C.

“C, Teni, come and look at this!” Inky called from behind the curtains.

                                                        C and Teni went at Inky which found a steel panel with ten heavy bags tied together by a rope. C looked better at the steel panel and told Teni to go climb a ladder that lead above the stage and look for anything strange.

“C I think this I see something.” Teni yelled from above the stage.

“What is it Teni?” C yelled back asking the purple mare.

“There’s a rope from which a pony could swing towards that pile of furniture.” Teni yelled and pointed with her right front hoof at a pile of furniture that seemed to have an opening.

“Good work Teni, you can come down now. Inky I’ll wait for Teni you go and see what you can find there.”

                                                                C told the white-furred mare which did as he said and went towards the pile of furniture. As Inky arrived next to the furniture she tried to push it, but it was too heavy and understood why the inspector and his guards didn’t see this before, there were not strong enough to push it and there were no pegasi guards, pretty strange.

“Found anything Inky?” Teni asked the white-furred mare as she and C approached her.

“The furniture is too heavy to be pushed, but I think I can manage to climb up there then jump inside.”

Inky told the two pointing at the opening from around the furniture.

“Teni can you give Inky a lift? I really ain’t that strong.” C asked the purple mare with a smile and she gladly helped Inky which as soon as she reached the top of a wardrobe jumped inside the circle.

“C, Teni, I think I found something in here.” Inky said from the other side, her voice almost like a whisper.

“What is it Inky?” C asked the white-furred mare, but she didn’t respond.

“A trapdoor.” Inky’s voice was heard coming from the right part of the stage. Apparently there was a trapdoor hidden there.

“Good job Inky. Did you see anything down there?” C and Tenebris approached Inky.

“It’s dark and narrow, but I think I saw a tunnel and some torches.” Inky told the two coming up on the stage.

“I have an idea!”

                                                                   Teni ran inside the room of one of the actors and searched for something inside the cupboard and apparently found what she was looking for. She ran back to C and Inky with a lamp in her mouth and four tinderboxes on her back.

“How did you know Teni?” C asked the purple mare after he took the lamp and gave the tinderboxes to Inky.

“When I brought a pair of costumes I made here once, the owner told me each room in the theatre has to have a lamp and at least ten tinderboxes in case something happens.” Teni explained to C with a big smile.

“Good job Teni. The lamp seems to be only half full, it must’ve been used before.”  C put the lamp down and went down the stage through the trapdoor.

“Inky I think I see a torch, come down here and bring me a tinderbox.”

                                                           C said touching what felt like a torch, Inky, immediately as C called, went down to join him with a tinder box in her mouth leaving the rest to Tenebris. When she reached down, she gave him the tinderbox and he immediately lit the torch, now with the tunnel illuminated, the two could see that it was quite deep.

  “Teni come down here, we’ll need you for this.” Inky called for the purple mare which took the lamp and the remaining three tinderboxes with her.

“Wow, this is quite deep, who could’ve made these tunnels?” Teni looked around the location they were until C went ahead forcing the two to follow him, but not before closing the trapdoor.

“I wonder, how long did it take the ponies which made these tunnels to finish?” The white-furred mare asked while she looked around the tunnel as they moved.

“These tunnels seem to be as old as the town, I wonder if anypony knows about them.” Teni looked to her left then at Inky when C fell down and slid through a tunnel.

“C, are you okay?” Inky yelled so that C would hear her.

“Yes I am, but I dropped the torch! Watch your step and come down here I need the lamp.” C yelled back so that the two mares heard him.

“I’ll go first with the lamp, Teni you come when I give you the signal and bring the tinderboxes, alright?” Inky tried to look at the purple mare, but it was too dark to distinguish anything.

“I understand Inky.” Teni replied and Inky took the lamp and moved carefully until she found the tunnel and let herself slid down to C.

“It’s okay Teni you can come too.” Inky yelled through the tunnel so that Inky would hear her.

“Coming.”

                                                                          Teni replied, but right at that moment she heard a grunting and hooves moving towards her, she got scared and fell into the tunnel, unfortunately losing a tinderbox on the way, but the good thing was that Inky caught her before she hit the ground with her head.

“Teni are you okay, what happened?” Inky helped Teni back on her legs as C lit the lamp.

“I heard a grunting back up and hooves moving towards me, I got scared.” Teni replied looking at Inky.

“I don’t think we’re alone in these tunnels. We must keep moving, I don’t know how long this lamp will last, but if you find a torch lit it immediately. Catfish?” C turned his head to look at the two mares.

“I understand C.” Inky replied and went after him, Tenebris standing next to her.

“Why did we stop?” Teni asked looking at C.

“There’s a door here, but it’s locked. Inky, Teni help me force it.”

                                                                       The two mares went to the door and started pushing it as hard as they could. The atmosphere in that place of the tunnel was frightening, the walls and the roof of the tunnel were quite wet and drops of water could be heard falling on the small puddles on the ground.

                                                                        The darkness and the chilly air didn’t help the atmosphere, one pony would easily get scared in there with such a darkness and narrow passages, not that the three weren’t scare, but C preferred not to show the two how scared he was.

“Did you hear that?” Tenebris stopped pushing the door at the sound of something.

“Hear what?”

                                                                  C asked looking at Tenebris. Right at that moment a grunting and hoof steps were heard coming towards them, the sound of grunting getting closer and closer. C got agitated and started pushing the door as hard as he could, Tenebris and Inky helping him.

                                                                  The sound got stronger until from the distance you could faintly distinguish the figure of a pony in the darkness moving towards them moving his head to the left or right like having a spasm.

                                                            The three pushed the door harder until it opened and C was the first to enter, while Inky and Tenebris were left in front of the door and saw the ‘pony’. The pony was filled with scars and his jaw was broken, but managed to move it somehow. The pony had neither a tail nor mane, but he had a cut from his lower left cheek up to his forehead and it was kept opened by small hooks and you could see his eyeball moving.

                                                              The ‘pony’ was grunting and moved like having spasms, as he moved closer towards the two. The mares could see other horrifying thing about that creature. It had a spikes going inside his throat and had two small spears in the back and dried blood from his right eye socket and a knife down his throat up to his chest, but as the mares looked better they saw the creature had spikes going through his front legs and coming out his hooves.

                                                         C pulled Inky inside, the creature saw that and started running towards Tenebris, but Inky pulled her inside and the three closed the door at the right moment leaving the creature locked outside, but pushing the door, but the door couldn’t move, it got stuck once more.

“What is that creepity creep?” C asked breathing heavily looking at the two mares.

“How are we supposed to know?” Inky said looking at C.

“Uhm… Friends, you should see this.” Tenebris said looking in front of her.

“What the crystalline flish?”

                                                                   C looked at the direction Tenebris was looking and saw an old torture chamber with dried blood all over it and bones thrown all over the place. Tenebris almost vomited at the sight of the place.

“Does it look familiar C?” Inky came next to C and looked forwards.

“I told you before Inky, I didn’t want to kill them, but I was hungry and angry. I couldn’t control myself, but this… this is something else, this is not normal.” C approached and touched a torture table that used to stretch ponies until they broke.

“C, you know I don’t blame you, but you are right… who could do such a thing?” Inky approached C which kept looking at the torture table.

“It can’t be…” Tenebris said after she moved some planks from the right wall.

“What is it Teni?” Inky asked her as she looked towards the purple mare.

“That’s the symbol of Mt. Wood Chest’s family.” The purple mare said backing away from the wall.

“There’s another one there, but it isn’t the same.” C said looking to his left and saw a torture wheel.

“That’s Mr. Golden Hooves family shield.” Tenebris responded looking at the shield.

“There’s another symbol here and another one there.” Inky said looking around the room.

“They are all the symbols of the noble families that founded this town, and that’s the symbol of the undertakers.” Tenebris was shivering while looking around.

“There’s another trapdoor here, probably leading to another level of these torture chambers.” C said looking at a trapdoor near a pyramid used to cut ponies in half.

“How could ponies do such things? Back in the village we always hear how civilized they are.” Inky said holding the poor purple mare from collapsing on the ground.

“But, they are civilized.” The voice of the masked mare from last night was heard coming from the door.

“Civilized to be monsters and animals! They are look so happy and welcoming up there hiding their true nature.” The masked mare kept saying.

“There are weeds in every species.” C replied turning around to look at the mare.

“What do you know, changeling?! You can be white, but this doesn’t change the fact your specie is savage and attacks innocents!” The masked pony yelled at C pointing his sword towards him.

“I’m not like them! I’m one of a kind in fact.” The white changeling replied staring at the mare.

“Then why do you hide your past? I can see through your mask beast! I hear them screaming in pain as they burn. As you plunged your filthy teeth deep into their flesh and not only ponies, other species as well. They begged for mercy, they believed you are something else, but you didn’t care, you were hungry. Did you ever think in what pain you put them?!” The masked mare yelled at C.

“It… wasn’t my fault… I didn’t want to…” C fell on the ground and started crying while remembering the screams of pain and cries for mercy.

“Leave C alone! He’s not a monster!” Inky yelled at the masked mare as C trembling and crying on the ground.

“And who are you to say such a thing? I can see even through you… shape-shifter. I can see what your kind does through your own eyes. You think you are different, you ran away because of that. You think you can be something else, but deep inside you know you are just like them!” She yelled at Inky, the creature outside smashing the door harder.

“You don’t impress me pony! I don’t care what you say, you don’t know me, you don’t know through what I’ve gone through! I’m not like them, I’m different and I’ll prove it.” Inky glared at the masked mare, but she wasn’t impressed.

“You two make me laugh! Two beings that should’ve never been friends traveling together, sooner or later you’ll realize this and show who you really are.”

                                                                           The masked mare stopped for a few second and put her sword back in its hilt and took out a scepter with a glowing ball on the top and two golden horns that almost looked like snakes moving on the sides. The masked pony slammed the scepter to the wall causing and earthquake, but the scepter didn’t broke.

“Go, get them poor ponies!”

                                                                           The door leading to the torture chamber opened, three creatures entered the room. Inky and Tenebris grabbed C and ran towards a door that opened during the earthquake, but the ceiling crumbled, blocking Tenebris inside the torture room.

“Tenebris!” Inky yelled from the other side.

“Go without me Inky! Go get the noble families, for me.” The next thing that was heard coming from Tenebris, were screams and the grunting of the three creatures accompanied them.

“I shall avenge you Tenebris.” Inky grabbed C and forced him to run along with her through the collapsing tunnel.

                                                                The two kept running until the white-furred mare saw a trapdoor and opened it. Inky used all her force to push C through the trapdoor and then by a miracle she climbed out of the tunnel right when it finally crumbled.

“Inky… Why did you save me?” C asked Inky, his tears dried on his cheeks.

“C, I know you better than what that masked pony said. I know you are different, I don’t care about your past, I care for what you are now and you are a great friend, now snap out of it C. We have justice to bring for a friend.” Inky said rising up from the ground then helped C rise up as well.

“What are you doing here?” The inspector was in front of the two.

“Inspector, gather all the nobles of the town and the undertakers. We know what happened.” C said staring at the inspector.

“There’s no need to call for them changeling. They are all here.”

                                                              The chandelier in the dining room lit and the noble families of the town along with the undertakers were grinning and the inspector started laughing, the rest of the ponies joining him.

                                                                  Deep within the tunnels, the three disfigure ponies were dragging Tenebris’ body, which somehow had no scars on it. The creatures kept going until they reached a room that seemed to be a common grave for all those that died in torture.

                                                                The three creatures put Tenebris’ body in the middle of the room and as soon as they backed away a light appeared above the room lighting it. When it did, the light revealed bodies of disfigured ponies that still moved and shrieked in pain. There were bodies on the wall with spears through their chests that moved and screamed.

                                                                 All these screams and shrieks woke Tenebris up, she wasn’t dead she was still alive. The creatures didn’t kill her, but she was terrified and rose on her legs and looked around until she saw the door. She was hardly breathing, both thanks to the scent of decay and to the horrifying scene she witnessed.

                                                              She arrived at the door and tried to open it, but it was no use, the door wouldn’t budge. She was trapped there with those creatures that were moving towards her screaming in pain.

“Stop!”

                                                                The voice of the masked mare was heard coming from the back of the room and from a smoke screen the masked pony appeared and the creatures backed away letting their mistress pass.

“What do you want from me? I didn’t do anything, I didn’t do anything.” The purple mare said crying and holding her red scarf with her hooves.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you. I just want to show you something.” The masked mare said, Tenebris was terrified, but somehow trusted her.

“Did you ever wonder why your scarf is so important?” The masked mare said after stopping in the middle of the room and turned around to look at the purple mare.

“It’s important. That’s all I know, the doctors told me I suffer from amnesia.” Tenebris said looking at the ground.

“I want you to see something. When you do, I believe all your questions will be answered.” The masked mare leaned down and opened what seemed to be a trapdoor, and underneath it was something horrible that made Tenebris cry.

                                                                 C woke up after cold water was thrown on him by the inspector. He looked around and saw Inky being awakened by cold water as well. As the two looked around better, they saw their hooves were tied up with a rope in the middle of a big balcony and beneath the balcony was a large empty swimming pool, but which had spears on the bottom of it. The two were inside the huge villa of the Rich Mound family.

“What is the meaning of this inspector?!” C yelled as he tried to get out of the ropes and sneezed four times.

“You are behind this aren’t you?” Inky glared at the inspector and at the noble families that were behind him.

“Of course I am, you stupid creature. It took you some time to figure it out though. Didn’t it seem strange there were no pegasi guards?” The inspector grinned and glared at the two.

“Why? Is money so important to you that you take pony lives away?” C asked glaring at the ponies.

“Money?!” The inspector exclaimed and all the ponies began laughing.

“That’ what a simple mind like yours would think. We didn’t do it for money, their families came in town already rich, but you see. When you are rich there is a problem, how would you entertain yourself? Other nobles threw parties, went to operas, theatres. But, they had another taste, they only saw fun in torturing others.” The inspector said glaring deep into C’s eyes.

“Our ancestors came into this location and raised this town from nothing and one day when they saw a worker dying in pain, they had fun. That’s when they ordered the catacombs to be built and the first to be tortured in them were…” A noble colt said smiling.

“The very workers who raised them! That’s why nopony knows of the catacombs!” C exclaimed glaring at the ponies.

“Why do you help them inspector? You should bring justice!” Inky yelled at the inspector which laughed.

“There was no inspector in this town since it was built. I’m in fact a murderer wanted throughout Equestria. All inspectors were murderers or psychopaths, I’m a bit of both. The only true inspector in this town died two years ago in ‘mysterious’ circumstances.” The colt said glaring into Inky’s eyes with a devilish grin.

“So nothing has changed. After all this time, nothing has changed. There will always be weed no matter what species you are.” C said glaring at the inspector.

“I don’t understand what you are meaning changeling, but there will always be weed, no matter if you are a griffin, a changeling or crystal pony! There will always be weeds and we shall always be victorious because we never disappear!” The ponies started laughing hysterically, the inspector being the one who did with great passion.

“I think it’s time for us to begin the party, we’ve talked too much. You know, we just killed half of my guards in that swimming pool, but we didn’t have enough fun. Too bad Tenebris died down there. I had something special prepared for her!”

                                                                The nobles moved away making a path for the two to be thrown into the spikes, the inspector moved in front of the stone fence, rose on his back legs and stretched his hooves smiling like a devil, but at that time a wave of air hit him, pushing him off of the balcony, broking the stone fence.

                                                               The nobles looked at the direction from which that monstrous wave of air came and saw there a purple mare. C and Inky turned their heads to see what happened and recognized Tenebris. She was wearing the mask of the mare that trapped her in the catacombs, but she took of the mask and tears falling down her left cheek.

“Teni you’re alive!... Teni?” Inky stared at Tenebris, but she wasn’t that purple mare filled with life the two met.

“You killed her…”Tenebris said on a low voice, only C and Inky heard it.

“…you killed me!” Tenebris yelled so hard, another wave of air hit two nobles making them falling down into the spikes.

“Tenebris what do you mean?” Inky asked her friend staring at her.

“Four years ago I was found on a field outside the town. The doctors told me I suffer from amnesia, but I can feel things from my past.” Tenebris was crying harder and took a deep breath.

“For four years I didn’t know who I was or where I come from until this night!” Tenebris yelled making the ground tremble.

“Teni, what are you?” C asked her staring into her eye.

“I am a ghoul! Forty years ago I was a unicorn living in this blasted town! I had a family, I had a daughter. We lived a happy life until they invited my husband to his death!”

                                                                  Tenebris shouted once more making the ground beneath the swimming pool open and the disfigured ponies to show themselves stretching their hooves in to air waiting for the noble families.

“I was worried. I cried for days, until one day when I was delivering a package I saw in this very villa that trapdoor. I went down through it and found the torture chamber, and there on the torture wheel was my husband, barely alive.”

                                                                     Tenebris made four steps towards the ponies, one of them got panicked and backed up forgetting about the pit and fell into it along with a mare which dress he grabbed. The disfigured ponies grabbed them and started torturing them just as they did with them.

“I wanted to run outside and tell everypony about the catacombs, but they caught me, they tortured me until one say they had enough fun out of me and made me swallow snakes! I died on Hearts Warming Eve, I was the only one to die that day! They threw me into that common grave of theirs, but that wasn’t the end of me!” She yelled again, the hole in the ground getting bigger and the torture machines came out.

“In that pit our spirits cried, they suffered. We wanted revenge, our cries created the staff from the horn I once had. Forty years the first bodies that awakened hid the staff and my body, until four years ago I was ready to wake up. My body remade itself and I rose up from the ground, leaving the staff behind, thing which created the ‘phantom’.” Tenebris stopped talking and advancing, but then she rose her head and had a devilish grin on her face.

“I forgot my past, but by doing so I integrated amongst you. I remade my life, while my staff filled each day for the past four years with the souls of everypony you killed, until last months, when it was full!” Tenebris yelled and the walls started cracking a light-blue color emanating from the cracks and soon ghosts were passing from one crack to another.

“The start created the ‘phantom’, it brought the dead back to life, but they couldn’t come up. They might be dead, but they still remember what and who they were. They didn’t want to scare the innocents in this town so they sent the ‘phantom’ to prepare everything. Tonight is the eve of the holiday you killed me, the ‘phantom’ was to use the staff to drag you into the underground, but she saw me and decided to help me remember who I was.” Tenebris’ eyes started glowing, her grinning getting more out of this world and her skin started decaying.

“This night she saw me into the catacombs and made me remember who I was! This scarf is very important to me for a certain reason, they put the scarf around my neck so that I wouldn’t forget what I was fighting for, but I forgot until the ‘phantom’ showed me the only thing that could’ve made me remember who I was, the only thing that hurts more than torture!” She stopped from yelling, but her body kept decaying.

“Beneath the middle of that grave, I saw the most painful thing… I saw… my daughter!”

                                                                        Tenebris let out a shriek not from the mortal world and the cracks in the walls and floors got bigger and the hole in the ground also got bigger. The ghosts came out of the cracks and started pushing the ponies down of the balcony into the pit, their bodies and souls would be tortured for eternity.

                                                                        Screams of pain started echoing from the hole as all members of the noble families, young and old were tortured. One of the ghosts that jumped on the nobles freed C and Inky from their bindings, buy there were still nobles and undertakers resisting on the push from the ghosts.

“You tortured her! You made her suffer, until you decided to try something new… You threw her in that grave when she was still alive and left her there to die the worst of deaths!” Tenebris started crying blood and her anger pushed most of the remaining noble of the balcony.

“Teni stop this!” C yelled at the purple decayed mare.

“I won’t stop!” Tenebris pushed C and Inky to the walls and turned around to stare into their faces.

“Teni stop. You are better than this.” Inky said trying to move, but Tenebris’ powers were too great for even the mightiest and strongest of shape-shifters to escape.

“I will bring justice Inky! They will suffer as we did, their souls will be tortured for eternity!” Tenebris yelled making the glass above the hole break, making snow enter the room.

“Tenebris you must stop. This is not justice, this is madness, you are better than them.” C said looking at Tenebris.

“What do you know about justice C?! Maybe I didn’t see what the ‘phantom’ has, but I trust her! You are a monster just like them you should join them in eternal torture.”

                                                              The decayed mare moved her head in front of C’s eyes and glared into his eyes. The mare used her powers to levitate him above the pit and made the hole bigger. The mare took out the staff and used it to bring the memory of those C killed to life. All those he ever killed appeared inside the pit and were stretching to get C and kill him.

“No! Teni stop! Teni don’t do this!” C screamed at Tenebris trying to get away.

“Why aren’t you strong? What happened to you? Without his armor he’s weak, he’s nothing.” C’s victims were saying from inside the hole.

“Please no! I’m sorry! I didn’t want to do it! I couldn’t control myself, please stop!” C was struggling as hard as he could and yelled with all his power.

“Is that you brother?” A voice was heard coming from the ever growing pit which was filling with C’s victims.

“Sister… I…” C started crying and could close his mouth how scared and sad he was and at that moment Tenebris let him fall into the pit.

“Teni nooooo! Please save him!” Inky yelled at Tenebris.

“Why should I Inky, he’s a monster! The souls of those he killed, on those he committed genocide, deserve revenge!” Tenebris yelled at Inky glaring into her eyes.

“What about your daughter?!” Inky yelled back at Tenebris with her eyes closed.

“Celis… “ Tenebris said, and the ghosts stopped from advancing.

“Do you think she would want this to happen? She’s up there watching you Teni, you’re her mother, you should be an example for her! I’m sure she wouldn’t want you to do this.”

                                                                          Inky was crying, but found the power to tell this to Tenebris which started thinking about her daughter and her body began restoring. The blood that was pouring down her eye was turning back into tears and the ghosts started disappearing.

“Maybe I don’t know your pain Tenebris, but this isn’t an excuse for you to turn into them. Teni you are better than them, show them this, There are better ways to bring justice. Now please end this madness.”

                                                                           Inky said from all her heart with a kind voice while tears were moving down her cheeks. Tenebris’ body returned to normal, she was once again that beautiful read scarf wearing earth-pony she and C met when they arrived in town.

“Inky… I am sorry!” Tenebris jumped and hugged Inky, her staff falling down on the ground, and the pit closed leaving the remaining four nobles and an undertaker were heavily breathing and trembling in fear.

“It’s alright Teni. You can cry as much as you want.” Inky hugged Tenebris back trying to calm her down.

“Mommy.” The voice of a young filly was heard coming from behind Teni’s back, and right there was her daughter smiling while looking at her mother.

“Celis… I missed you!” Teni hugged the ghost of her daughter, both crying and hugging each other.

“Take care of yourself mommy.” The ghost of Celis started floating in the air and fading away with her right front hoof stretched holding her mother’s hood.

“Celis, don’t go! I love you…” Celis disappeared in thin air leaving Tenebris with her right front hoof stretched into the air “I love you…” Teni fell on the ground crying as hard as she could, Inky watched the scene, but didn’t know how to respond.

“Help… anypony… changeling down.” Inky heard C’s voice coming from the empty pool and ran at the balcony to see him, the nobles were petrified I fear to do anything anyway.

“C you’re alive! But, how’s this possible?” Inky stared down at C which lay down on his back looking at the sky.

“Hey Inky, how’s life? And let’s say I’ve been forgiven… I’ve been forgiven.” A tear passed C’s right cheek.

“Are you going to rise up?” Inky asked him.

“Nah, I’m fine. I’ll stand here a bit and look at the sky.” He replied looking up.

“Let’s get out of here.” The surviving undertaker whispered, but Inky had something to say about this.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Inky stared at the ponies.

“To the bathroom. Ehe… he… he.”

                                                                   Inky punched the undertaker and went towards Teni and helped her rise up from the ground. Tenebris was destroyed after this night, but she had to move on, that’s what her daughter wanted for her. The white-furred mare and Teni went down into the bathroom and took C off the ground. The three ponies then went outside where the town had gathered, because of the noise the event caused.

“What happened? We heard terrible noises coming from here.” A mare asked the three ponies.

“I’ll handle this.” C said and went towards the mare and whispered something into her ears making her sad and angry at the same time.

“Let’s get the nobles my fellow citizens!” Without thinking any more the ponies of the tow rushed inside and captured the surviving ponies before they could escape.

“Because of you my father and husband died.” The mare said while tears moved down her cheeks.

                                                                  C and Inky took Teni back to her house, but to their misfortune, the nobles set the house on fire destroying everything Teni ever had. The purple looked as the last remnants of her house burned. There was nothing left for her, her entire life was now destroyed the only thing he had left was the scepter and the scarf that she made for her daughter.

“Teni, I’m sorry.” Inky touched her left shoulder and thought what could she do for her to feel better.

“You don’t have to be sorry Inky. It’s not your fault.” Teni said looking at Inky with her eyes closed and smiling while tears were moving down her cheeks.

“I got it!” C exclaimed with a big smile.

“C I don’t think this is the time for joking or fooling around.” Inky stared at C which was smiling.

“Who said I’m fooling or joking? I’m as serious as death, not a good comparison, but who cares? Teni look at me!” C said and grabbed Teni’s cheeks.

“Teni I’m making you an offer that will change your life and you can’t refuse it. Come with us!” C exclaimed surprising Inky and making Teni wonder.

“To come with you?” Teni asked looking at the ground.

“You have no right to look at the ground Teni. I’ll count to three… One… thr…”C said, but Teni stopped him.

“Wait! C… I… don’t know how can I ever repay you for this kindness? I’m sorry for throwing you into the pit. Can you ever forgive me?” Teni looked into C’s eyes trying to smile, but she felt very guilty.

“No need to. I already forgave you. Now less talking more traveling we have new places to see and ponies to save!” C smiled stretching his right front hoof to the sky.

“Excuse me stranger.” A mare said to C. He turned around and saw the mare with the entire town behind her and the surviving ponies tied up.

“Oh, it’s you madam. Sorry, we ain’t staying we have to go.” C said turning around, and looking at the road.

“That’s it stranger. We want to thank you before you go. I don’t care what or who you are, you helped us finally bring rest and justice to our loved ones and for this, please accept this humble gift of four hundred bits and this food prepared by our town’s greatest chefs.” The mare said showing C the gifts from the townsfolk.

“Humble? This is more than I can accept… I… Thank you madam.” Inky took the bag of bits and gave it to Teni and put the wooden bag filled with goods on Inky’s back.

“Thank you once more ponies! Now off we go to new adventures!” C stretched his hoof pointing to the road.

“Uhm… C… where exactly are we going?” Tenebris asked looking at C.

“We are going to Manehattan my dear Teni, now off we go!”

                                                             The three ponies started moving waving their hooves towards the townsfolk. A new companion joined C and new adventures lay ahead, the place that the mysterious robbed pony told C about and many more dangers wait for the three along the way.

Next Chapter

“Strange things happen in this house.” An old colt said.

“What sort of strange things , if you don’t mind saying of course?” Teni asked the colt.

“Don’t make a sound, don’t even sare to move.” C stopped stretching his left front hoof stopping his companions and the four ponies from advancing.

“What is it?” A colt asked him.

“They are waiting for us.” Inky said looking ahead.

“Is that you my love” The sound of a filly was heard approaching the terrified worker which screamed, but then nothing was heard.