“D-Dad,” the young mare called out from behind the door “I-I made breakfast…”

“Why are you cooking, sweetheart?” her father asked, though his attention was still on his work “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for school?”

“Dad, I…I’m an adult now, and I’ve been one for years. I’ve graduated for… a while now.”

“Yes, yes, that’s nice sweetie. Now leave daddy alone and go get ready for school. I’ll be down in a minute.”

The mare sighed as she slowly backed away from her father. It had been years since her father had last come down for dinner. In fact, it’s been years since he’s done anything other than focusing on that new spell of his. A small part of her told her to stop, to just give up and leave the house like she had planned to do for years now.

No, she can’t give up now. One day, she will have her father back.

As she trotted down the staircase, the mare looked at the many pictures and awards that hung on the walls of her home. They were all memories of a happier time, back when her family was whole. But in just one day, all that went down the drain. Her father lost his reputation and sanity, while she lost the pony she cared about the most. The once lively household had become as silent as a graveyard.

She stopped in front of an award dated five years ago. It was the last one her father had won before the Magic Institute stripped him away from his title and shunned him forever. She dusted off the frame and stared at the name written on the small piece of paper.

Morpheus.

Releasing a nostalgic sigh, the mare returned to the kitchen and started eating the eggs she had fried for breakfast. Her mind was busy trying to cook up another plan to get her father down, but she knew that she’s tried them all. At the very least, he eats the food she leaves in front of his door.

Putting aside the fact, the mare continued with her meal in silence. After this, she’ll have to clean the house and fix whatever it is that her father had broken during his late night experimenting. This has been her routine for years now, and she doesn’t see it stopping soon.

Sometimes, she wondered how her life would have been like if she had been born to a normal family. Would she be happier? Would she still grow up to be the same cowardly mare she was today? Would she care about her family as much as she does now? She doesn’t know. Maybe in some other world where her family had been there for her when she needed them most, she would have managed to become the nurse she had always dreamed to be.

As she gulped down a cup of orange juice, she noticed a particular smell coming from her father’s workroom. In fact, it smelled suspiciously like…

“Smoke!”

Without second thoughts, the mare jumped off her chair and dashed upstairs. All sorts of terrible images popped up into her brain, and all the while she prayed that she was wrong. Maybe her father had just dropped a vial of chemicals, or was just using an extremely strong fire spell. There was no way that the smoke really came from a fire!

However, just like the hundreds of wishes she had made, none of them ever came true. As soon as she reached the second floor of the house, she could see the raging fire licking and burning down anything it could reach. The mare wasn’t an idiot; she knew that the old house would burn down soon. If she were to run now, it would only take a few seconds to reach the front entrance.

She turned to face the stairs, but soon remembered her father still in his workroom. Even if he wasn’t the best of parents, he was still the only family member she had left. She couldn’t just leave him to die!

“DAD!” she shouted as she bucked the door “Please, hurry! The house is on fire!”

She kicked and kicked, all the while smoke entered her lungs and soot dirtied her pristine white coat. She coughed and spluttered, but her will to protect her father was far too strong. Tears streamed down her dirty face as she continued to call out her father’s name in between coughs.

“DAD!!”

With a final swing of her legs, the door finally buckled and fell down, revealing a raging fire that enveloped the entire room. She stared into the roaring flames, imagining just how long she could survive in there. Her brain was already screaming at her, telling her to get out now. There was no way a weakling like her could save her dad.

She took a step back, apologising to her dad for her cowardice. The smoke was getting thicker now, and the flames were reaching out to her, trying to grab the terrified mare. Turning her back to the burning room, the mare took her first step away from the burning room.

“Ugh…”

“Dad…!”

Despite her better judgement, the mare ran back towards the workroom and charged in. As soon as she stepped into the room, she could feel the searing heat scorching her body. Sweat started to pour down her face in buckets, and more than once she screamed as the flames singed her body. However, she still pulled through. She can’t leave her father behind!

“Dad…” the mare whinnied. She was running out of energy quickly. If she didn’t leave now, she might black out “Dad…”

Just as she was about to give up, she saw her father’s figure in the corner of her eyes. With all the willpower she could muster, the mare dragged her hooves through the burning building, all the while her tears dripped onto the carpeted floor. Her once beautiful coat and mane were ruined, burnt beyond all recognition. She didn’t know just how much longer she could stand the heat.

A small smile graced her lips as she finally reached her father’s location. She wasn’t a strong pony, despite being an Earth pony. The most she could do right now without straining her already pained body was to drag her father by his tail in hopes that she could escape quickly.

Minutes passed, and the mare could swear she could hear the sound of sirens blaring from outside her house. Had the fire department arrived? Do they have enough time to save them before the sweet embrace of death grabs hold of them? Her energy was wearing thin. Even if she could reach the front door in time, she doubts she still had long to live. She had been in the fire for far too long.

Even though she was facing her imminent doom, the mare smiled. At least she’s going to die trying to save her father. She wouldn’t want to leave any other way.

“Red… heart…”

“Dad?!”

The mare turned to look at her father, coughing up a storm. She had already resigned to her death. The least she could do was listen to her father’s dying words.

“I… I’ve finished it…”

“That- *cough**cough* That’s wonderful…” Redheart cried. She had given up trying to pull her father to safety and had dropped to the ground. Her breaths were heavy and slow.

“I’ve finished the spell…!” Morpheus cried out louder, getting up onto his hooves “I’ve finished the spell!”

Redheart could only smile. Her tears had all but dried up by now, so she only sat there in silence. She wished she could have replied to him, but she was far too weak to do so.

“Nopony will have to die anymore…” Morpheus’ voice had fallen gravely silent, and a shiver ran down Redheart’s spine “Nopony… will have to die… anymore…”

Morpheus took out a small hoofful of flowers from inside his lab coat. Despite coming out of a pony that had been crushed by rubble, they were still pristine. She could barely make out the flowers through the thick smoke. They were a bright red colour, and Redheart swore that she’s seen them before but couldn’t remember where. As the memory suddenly rushed into her brain, the mare’s eyes flickered open in panic.

Demonsbane.

If she had more energy, Redheart would have stood up and run away right there and then. But alas, she was left lying in the floor in pain as her father crushed the flowers down and swallowed them. He reached for a broken piece of glass lying nearby and slit his forehoof. Blood dripped onto Redheart’s face, but Morpheus paid it no heed. Instead, he started chanting a mysterious spell in another language and drew symbols on the ground with his own blood.

The fire had already surrounded them, giving them no chance of escape. Just as Morpheus finished chanting his spell, charging his horn with pure black energy, the fire fighters managed to reach them. They gasped in shock as Morpheus released the spell, enveloping the whole house in a bright light.

Energy seeped through the entire land, and soon all the ponies could feel as if their bodies were feeling lighter. Just as their confusion was about to set in, dozens upon dozens of ponies started dropping onto the ground. Fear finally overcame them and they screamed, running around in a frenzied panic.

Their screaming did not last long, however, as their spirits were forcibly torn off from their bodies. The ponies managed to stay sane long enough to actually see their bodies drop down onto the floor. Cries of fear and panic filled the lands as all the ponies soon found themselves as nothing but spirits, standing over their now deceased corpses.

Redheart blinked her eyes open, realising that she could no longer feel the heat of the flames. Not only that, but her previous injuries were also completely healed. As she stood up, she could see her father’s figure standing before her. Despite her fears, Redheart faced her father and called out to him.

“Wha… What did you do… Dad…?” she asked, shuddering in fear “What did you do?!”

“Well, my little lamb… Your father has made a very, shall we say, wise choice…”

That was not her father’s voice. Redheart had lived with her father all her life, and that sounded nothing like him. It sounded too ancient, too menacing. The voice terrified her, especially since it came from her own father’s mouth.

“What did you do to Dad?!” Redheart screamed, backing away from her father’s body “What did you do to him?!”

“Dear lamb, why must you scream?” the voice chuckled, but all it served to do was fill Redheart with even more fear “Your father had asked me to aid him in his quest to give his world immortality. And what he asketh, I giveth. Now your bodies are all asleep, and your souls are free to wander. You have an eternity to live, so live it to your fullest…”

And with that said, her father disappeared from before her eyes. Redheart could only scream as she called for her father back. No longer feeling fatigued, Redheart ran through the burning house, but quickly realised that she could no longer touch the physical world.

She stared into the sky, wondering just what had happened to her father and what he had done to summon such a demon. Turning around to see her childhood home burn down, Redheart felt her tears fall down once more. If she thought that she had lost everything before, then she had truly lost everything now. Her father, her home, and now even her physical body.

“This is all my fault…” she whispered “This is all my fault…”

Millennia have passed, and the inhabitants of that world were forced to watch as the land they lived on slowly perished. Morpheus never returned, no doubt using his new body to his heart’s content. All the while, Redheart kept to herself inside a dank cave, crying for all the she was worth.

It was then that a miracle happened. A small doorway had suddenly opened where Redheart’s house had been, revealing a creamy white void of nothingness. With nowhere else to go, the inhabitants of that world all walked into the portal, bidding their former world goodbye. Redheart was the last to leave, wondering if she was even worthy of following them to this new land.

After debating it for a while, Redheart stepped through the portal and into a bright world full of nothingness. A thought occurs to her that maybe they have made a grave mistake, but by the time Redheart turned around the portal had already disappeared.

Now what were they to do in a world filled with nothing? Turns out, it didn’t take long for them to find out.

Whatever the ponies imagined, it appeared before them so they may use them to their heart’s desire. After so long of having nothing to do, the former world’s inhabitants found that they had much more to do than they ever had before. Joy spread through the land as they were finally able to rest in peace in what they claimed was their Heaven.

That is, until today.

Nurse Redheart wanted to scream, but her voice was drowned out by the sheer thickness of the white creamy walls surrounding her. For hours now, she had drifted in and out of consciousness, each time witnessing the black creatures floating ever closer towards her.

This must be the price she had to pay for leaving her friends behind when they needed her most, to die alone in purgatory.

Just as she was about to fall unconscious again, she finally made out the black figures that have been moving ever so closer to her. Ponies, all of them. Were they the spirits of the dead here to bring her to the Afterlife?

Redheart tried to swim back towards the portal, just as she had for hours, but again her strength failed her. She drifted there in the creamy white space as her breath grew thinner.

“Hello?”

Panic engulfed the nurse as she twisted her body around, crushing her body even more. One of the black figures had approached her, and Redheart swore she could have fainted there and then. Standing before her was what could have been her own mirror image.

“A-Are you hurt?” the mirror-image asked as she hugged her body around Redheart “How can I help you?”

Nurse Redheart’s eyes slowly gazed at the portal entrance she had just come through. The spirit turned to look at it as well, giving a knowing look of surprise.

“Should… Should I bring you there?” the spirit asked, earning no reply from Nurse Redheart “Hold on, I’ll get you out. I promise!”

The spirit held Redheart as she swam towards the entrance with all her might. A familiar sense of déjà vu entered the spirit’s mind, but she didn’t give it much heed. All she knew was that this pony was in pain, and she needed to help her.

She never even bothered to ask why the two of them had the exact same face.

Author's Notes:

Short chapter is short