Chapter 4: Return to the Surface

Rarity looks around the city in the Underworld, looking puzzled. Where is her new husband? Doesn't he wish to be with her for all afterlife? The unicorn calls out, "Ben, darling! Come out, where are you?"

"If you want my opinion, I say your colt-friend is kinda jumpy." Bray remarks in Rarity's head, much to her annoyance.

"Ahem, he isn't my colt-friend, Ben is my husband. Ben! Where have you gone off to, darling?"

Just then, Rarity's eye pops out. Bray looks around while speaking, "Say, how about if it makes you feel better, I will keep an eye out for him? Make things better."

Rarity couldn't argue. As she and Bray looks around, they fail to see Ben peeking out from his hiding place, in hopes to avoid being seen. The stallion got to get out of this mad place and back to the land of the living.

"Benny?" Rarity asks in concern. Ben nods as he snuck out of his hiding place, making his escape. However, he didn't go unnoticed as a certain donkey spots him sneaking off.

"Hey, there he goes, there's the living pony! He's making a break for it!" Bray calls out to Rarity. Ben, realizing that he has been seen, yelps and runs off in alarm, "Quick, after him!" Rarity nods as she puts her eye back on and follows her new husband.

"Ben."

Ben gallops off quickly as fast as he can. Rarity meanwhile stops near some parts of bodies, looking around to see where her 'love' has gone off to. She then saw a corpse hoof pointing to which way Ben went.

"Thanks." Rarity said with a nod as she continues chasing Ben who runs off and stops near a coffin area. The Earth pony sweats a bit, especially when he hears his 'bride' calling for him. "Ben! Where are you? Come back!" Thinking quickly, Ben quickly jumps into a coffin and pretends to be a dead person. Sure enough, his ruse works as Rarity goes pass him, "Ben; Oh dear, where have you gone?"

Once Rarity is gone, Ben opens his eyes and sighs in relief. She's gone, what now? Just then, then the pony yelps as an Earth pony in a spider-body named Photo Finish appear, asking in a German like voice, "Married? I am a widow, ja," Ben's response; He screams like a coward and rush off, hitting Photo on his way out, "Gah; Living are so rude! Hey, Rarity! Your lover went zat away!"

Upon hearing Photo, Rarity turns to see Ben galloping off in a panic. The mare calls out, "Ben!" Ben kept on running to get away from his so-called wife as fast as he could. The stallion yelps upon seeing Rarity who is almost close but is looking the other way, "Ben, darling?"

Ben gallops off some more then he stops near a corpse named Knightshade. He shakes him a bit in fear while yelling, "Please! There is a mistake, I am not dead!"

Of course, Knightshade was shaken to the point up his head falling right off, making Ben yelps. He runs off nearby but stops as an undead Fancypants trying to get through, saying, "I say, excuse me, sir."

Ben would've moved aside to let Fancypants through...except he saw, to his horror, that there is no reason to do so! The unicorn was split into two big time. The frightened stallion looks worried as the two sides said while passing me, "Excuse me, thank you."

Ben quickly makes a break for it as fast as he can. The stallion looks more scared to hear Rarity calling out for him, "Ben." He didn't get too far as the pony runs into an alleyway...and find his remaining way blocked.

"A dead end," Ben groans a bit in worry. To make matters worse, he can hear his pursuer getting closer.

"Ben! Hello!"

"Hey." A familiar baby Dragon appears from out of nowhere, making Ben almost faint dead away. "Man, you seem jumpy for someone who was married to the hottest mare in the Underworld."

"Look, it was a mistake!" Ben exclaims to Spike frantically. "I didn't mean to marry her, it was an accident!"

"Then why did you even made your vows to her?"

"Look, get me out of here! Is there another way out!"

"Yeah. Try going up for one." Spike suggested as he points to a wall. Ben nods as he grabs the big wall and begins climbing his way up the wall. Spike climbs after him to see if the living one is doing okay; Though something tells him that Ben didn't really mean to marry Rarity at all.

Ben kept on climbing until he reach the top, grabs the bars. The stallion sighs, thinking that the worst is over...until he grabs a leg of a familiar unicorn. Ben looks horrified and embarrassed as Rarity stood at the top, waiting for him.

"Dear, why didn't you use the stairs?" Rarity asks Ben with a giggle as she helps him up. The stallion groans a bit; So much for trying to escape.

Spike catch up to the married couple, sighing while saying, "Oooooh, you almost made it." Still, he, Ben and Rarity looks around at the view; Looks kinda wonderful...in a scary creepy kinda way.

"Oh, isn't this view beautiful? It takes my breath away...well, if I had any, it would." Rarity giggles as she dances a bit. Ben dances a bit while looking at her. "Romantic, isn't it?"

"Sure is."

Ben notes that Spike is sighing lovingly to Rarity who sat on a bench nearby. The pony can guess that this baby Dragon must be in love with her or something. Of course, the sudden marriage may've made it difficult for Spike to have any hope. Ben reluctantly sat down next to Rarity with Spike joining him.

Ben decides to get serious at this point. He sighs while saying to Rarity, "Miss, look, I'm very sorry about what happened to you. I truly do. And while I wish that I can do anything to help, I really need to get home."

"But darling, this is your home now." Rarity points out, though not getting what Ben is explaining to her.

"But I don't even know your name."

"Oh yeah, that's one great way to start a marriage." Bray in Rarity's head remarks in sarcasm, causing Rarity to groan in embarrassment. Why he do that when things are getting good?

"Shut it!" Rarity hiss quietly to Bray. She smiles to Ben while continuing, "Rarity."

"Rarity; Right," Ben said right back to Rarity with a nod. What a nice name. If it weren't the fact that he truly loves Twilight and if Rarity was alive, this would've been different.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. I got something for you." Rarity giggles as she takes out a box and shows it to Ben. "It's a wedding present."

"Very cool; I wish I got one from you." Spike said to Rarity with a sigh while Ben takes the package, examining while shaking the thing. Rarity is worried, wondering if her new 'husband' likes his present or not. "I would appreciate no matter what you got me. Anything you get is wonderful and generous."

"I do appreciate your kind words, Spikey, but alas, we don't know each other long enough to do so."

"Rats."

Ben finally opens the box, looking startled as he saw bones and pieces of gray stuff inside. Not wanting to be rude to his new 'bride' for his gift, the stallion said nervously, "Uh, thanks...I guess."

Suddenly without warning the box shakes a bit like mad. Ben yelps and tries to close it, only to be surprised when the box jump and open up, causing the pieces inside to roll around on the ground. As the trio watch, it forms into a black like female dog with red eyes and flesh wounds. Ben's eyes widen in surprise some more, could it be...?

The dog barks as she picks up her collar and shows it to Ben who reads it, "'Winona'?" The dog barks happily. "Winona! It's you!"

"I take it you know her?" Spike asks Ben as the dog jumps up to Ben and licks him on the face, making the living pony smiles.

"Yes! Winona, what a good girl! Rarity, where did you find her?"

"While you were out, I did some searching for a wedding present and found her in the cemetery." Rarity explains to Ben while smiling lovingly. "I figure you would love her."

Winona got off Ben and looks to her master who grins while asking, "Who's the good girl? Sit, sit. Winona, sit."

Winona obeys as she sat down on the ground. Spike impressed spoke up, "Man, even when she's gone, your dog listens to you."

"Yeah, I know. Good girl, Winona. Okay, roll over, girl. Roll over." Ben instructs Winona who barks and rolls over a bit. "Good girl. Okay, play dead!" Of course, the dog just looks at him funny as if asking 'what, you kidding?'

"Too bad! Already expired, pal."

"Oh, sorry. Win; Ironic since you already pass on; Hee hee hee."

Rarity smiled, hugging Winona and giggling. She remarks, "Your dog is such a cutie, Benjamin. You are lucky to have a pet like her."

"Well, you should've been Winona back when she had fur." Ben comments with a smile making Spike and Rarity chuckle a bit. "I will be honest. My dad never approved of Winona jumping up like this. Then again, he never approved of anything unless it is by his standards."

"Your dad has a different life, does he?" Spike asks Ben in concern.

"My father was the infamous pirate Jack Silver, the sailor who roamed the Equestrian Seas. He is more of a parrot pony than a dog one so you can see why it was hard for him to get along with Winona. Dad was a loner with a crew until he met my mother Princess Celestia. The two fell in love, one thing led to another and you get the idea."

"Is there any chance that would approve of me?" Rarity asks Ben with a hopeful grin. It would be wonderful to meet the parents of her new husband!

"Yeah, well, sadly you would never meet him." Ben said to Rarity with a sad sigh. After all, he is trapped down here forever and...but then an idea came to his head, making him smile excitedly. "Hang on. Now that you mention it...yeah! I think you should meet mom and dad!"

"Ben, what are you doing?" Spike asks confused as he and Rarity watch Ben stand up, taking in the view of the undead city. First, the Earth pony revealed to the Dragon not too long ago that he never wanted to marry Rarity. Now Ben wants to introduce his parents to her?

"Yeah, in fact, why not; we are married, Rarity, so you should meet my dad and my mom! Right, we should go and see them right now!"

"What a smashing idea, darling! Where are your parents buried?" Rarity asks Ben with a happy squeal. Of course, Ben looks a bit down for some reason. "Ben? Is there anything wrong?"

"Yeah, about mom and dad...they aren't actually...from around here." Ben explains seriously to his undead wife and new friend.

"What? So where are your old folks?" Spike asks puzzled. To answer his question, Ben points a hoof to the surface. It didn't take long for the two undead ones to figure it out. "Oooh, I see. They really aren't from around here."

"As in they're still alive?" Rarity asks Ben in concern.

"Yes, afraid so," Ben said with a pretend sad look as well as concern to his bride.

"Hoo boy, that is a problem then."

"Why not? You undead get to come out of the graves almost all the time."

"Yeah, but that's normally on Nightmare Night, when we're summoned by black magic or on special occasions." Spike explains to Ben with a sigh. "Unless it's one of those, we can't be disturbing the living anytime soon, Ben."

Just then Winona got an idea. He tugs on Rartity's undead goat and barks a bit. The corpse bride ask puzzled, "What is it, Winona?" The dog whispers something into her hear. Rarity as if she could understand him gasps. "Wait, no, we couldn't possibly..."

"Possibly what; Wait, hang on, are you suggesting..." Spike begins to ask, realizing what Winona is suggesting here. The dog frowns and barks a bit. "Okay, okay!"

"Very well, if you put it like that."

"What? What is it?" Ben asks the two hopefully. Is there a way to make it up top despite the conditions after all?

Spike nods as he gave the lowdown to Ben, "You see, there is a way to get back up but we must disturbed him in order to do so."

"Who?"

"The Moochik," Rarity explains, making Ben stunned upon hearing the name. This Moochik must be the town elder of sorts.

Hope this guy doesn't mind visitors...

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The Moochik lives in a tower that is on a cliff that overlooks the undead city. If any corpse needs help or assistance, he's the person to turn to. The quartet enters the place while some thunder sounds, causing Winona to bark in fright.

"Shh, it's all right, Winona." Rarity said gently, quieting the scared dead dog down. She looks around while calling, "Moochik, are you here?"

Ben looks stunned at the lot of books that are around the place. This Moochik creature must've practice a lot in magic, has knowledge of death and the whatnot. Hopefully he could help in bringing him back to the surface in hopes that Ben can be reunited with Twilight...but how will he explain this to Rarity and Spike later?

"Hey, anyone home? Hello?" Spike calls out with a frown. "Strange, he should be here..."

Suddenly, Ben knock some books over by accident, causing some crows in the room to caw like made while flying off. Winona yelps, fearing the worst. The quartet then saw a hand belonging to a gnome corpse who coughs a bit appearing while holding a lamp. Rarity grins while saying, "Ah, Moochik. There you are." So this is the Moochik? Ben is surprised because he was expecting the elder to be a pony or a Dragon. Oh well.

The Moochik put on some glasses and saw the group. With a smile, he spoke, "Ah, Rarity, my dear. There you are. What brings you here?"

"I've brought my husband Ben."

"What did you say? Husband; so you and the Dragon finally got together, how nice. Though I thought his name was Spike."

Spike chuckles sheepishly as he rubs the back of his head, saying, "Yeah, I wish that I was her husband but I am not it." The baby Dragon points to the living Earth pony, much to the Moochik's confusion. "That's him right there."

"Hey, a pleasure to meet you sir," Ben said with a nervous smile. He hopes that the Moochik doesn't suspect what the Earth pony is up to.

"Listen, we need to go up. Upstairs, as in to visit the land of the living," Rarity explains to the Moochik with a smile.

"The land of the living," The Moochik said in concern as he walks down the stairs, "Oh dear."

"Please, Moochik. It's important."

"Now why would you want to go up there? The living is dying to get down here."

"Ha ha ha ha! Oh man, that's a good one, ha ha ha ha!" Spike laughs like mad while slapping his knee a bit. Ben and Rarity of course just roll their eyes a bit at this bad timing.

"Sir, I beg you. Please help...it means so much to me...err, I mean us." Ben said while correcting himself on the last part to the Moochik. The Earth pony wants so much to go home, not just to see his parents but to see Twilight again.

"I am not sure about that. It's...just not natural." The Moochik said in hesitation. After all, the undead don't normally visit the land of the living unless it's on special occasions, Nightmare Night or summoned by black magic.

"But isn't there anything you can do?" Rarity asks the Moochik in a pleading voice. "Please, help us."

"Well, let's see what I can do. Now where did I put that book?"

The Moochik goes through a book cabinet, looking for some sort of book that could help him. As Rarity watch, she fails to hear Spike who is whispering to Ben, "Just so I'm clear, there is a real reason why you want to go back home, right?"

"Yes, I want to see my true love again." Ben whispers to Spike in concern. "It isn't Rarity...I didn't wish to lie to her but this is the only way I can see Twilight Sparkle again. Please, don't tell her."

"My lips are sealed though I don't feel like lying to Rarity."

The Moochik now looks through a drawer causing some crows to fly out of it. As Ben, Spike and Rarity watch, the gnome mumbles, "Now I know I left it here somewhere..." The Moochik goes through each book, though one of them almost hit Winona. He then grins as the gnome pulls out a book. "Ah, found it."

With a smile, the Moochik blew the dust off the book then goes to a dusty desk that has some bottles on it to lay it down. The old gnome flips through a few smiles and smiles as he found something. Yes, this could work.

"I have it." The Moochik said, making Rarity smile a bit. "It's a Mystic Pony haunting spell, something for these quick trips. As long as you don't kill anyone, it will go fine."

"Glad you thought of this." Rarity said to Ben with a smile.

"Yeah, same here," Ben remarks with a light chuckle; this is going to be perfect! He can go home and be with Twilight again!

The Moochik begins to work on something. He put in some liquid contents and some powder into a bottle before grabbing a feather from a nearby raven, putting it into the mix. Soon a puff of smoke is seen before the gnome lifts the bottle...and drank the contents.

Spike blinks while asking, "Uh, what was that got to do with getting us to the surface?"

"Nothing, I just needed a drink." The Moochik remarks with a chuckle. "Now then, where were we?"

"The Mystic Pony haunting spell," Rarity reminds the Moochik of what he's doing. The gnome nods, remembering how. He grabs the raven hard causing it to lay an egg then picks it up.

"Okay, here we go. You all ready?"

"Sure am." Spike said as Ben and Rarity nods as well. All of them are eager to get back to the land of the living...but some for different reasons. Hopefully this will end well.

"Now then, remember, when you want to come back, just say 'Hopscotch'." The Moochik explains clearly, much to the confusion of Rarity and Spike.

"Hopscotch," Rarity and Spike ask in confusion.

"Yes. That's the word."

Soon the Moochik cracks the egg and drop the contents. Soon smoke appears and engulfs the four before they disappear from sight. Ben is on his way home and with some special guests to be precise!

Author's note
Okay, Ben, Rarity and Spike returns to the land of the living. In the next chapter, they meet up with Loudmouth while Ben sneaks off to see Twilight. But when Rarity finds out the real reason why her 'husband' wishes to go back home, heartbreak occurs. Read, review and suggest.