#(ghost) riders in the sky | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inthememetime · 2 years

Text

Friend, you inspired a whole entire Ghost Riders in the Sky themed fic.

She was flying low over the plains of Texas when she heard them- hoofbeats. Her ghost sense flared up just before she caught the sound of low whistling, the lowing of cattle, and oddly metallic hoofbeats.

A dull red glow began to brighten in the west- the wrong time and direction for sunrise. Her first thought was 'wildfire', but the wind didn't bring smoke or heat.

Well, she wouldn't be Dani Phantom if she didn't at least check it out! She darted up until she started to see the makings of a glowing red herd of cattle galloping northwest, chased by faintly glowing figures on horseback.

She turned to chase them down and found they were going almost too fast for her- she wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.

"Hi!" She shouted.

The ghost nearest to her, a skeleton in tattered cowboy clothes with a dull orange glow on the back of a horse made of bones and shadows, looked at her briefly. "Where's your horse, rider?"

"I don't have one! Why are you chasing the cows? Won't humans see?"

It grunted but made no other attempt to reply. After a few unsuccessful attempts to speak, she flew straight up to take a quick break, then darted forward to speak to the next rider, this one on a horse made of burning coals with a bright yellow glow.

"Hi! What are you doing?"

"We ride to catch the herd, little lady," it rasped, "been a century at least, but we ain't caught 'em yet."

"Can I help?"

It laughed- but not meanly, she thought. It was hard to tell when it didn't have a face. "Yer pretty quick, little lady. Get ya a horse, 'n maybe. Don't count on it though- these cows ain't meant to be caught."

"So why do you chase them?" She pushed past the sensation of breathlessness- she didn't need to breathe, after all.

"We swore solemn oaths, and broke them," shouted another skeleton, clad in a ladies' riding frock and legging astride a horse of steel. "Any of us who catches one of the devil's herd will be granted a wish- rest, freedom, or anything else."

That was interesting, but- wait. That gave her an idea. "Do you know if catching one of the cows lets you wish to be independent of a ghost parent before aging out?"

"Yes, it certainly do!" The skeleton on the coal horse agreed. "Anything you want. Gonna be a rider?"

Might as well- it would at least be a little fun. "Know where I can get a ghost horse?"

"Ask the whistling wind!"

As the sun rose, the riders and herd faded out of view, then sound. Huh. The whistling wind.

After a few days of mindless wandering, she'd realized the cowboys (cow people? There was a girl, maybe) were having a laugh at her expense. "Ask the whistling wind," she grumbled, "I've just been talking to myself like a moron."

She kicked a rock only to find it was more solidly placed than she thought and winced. "Stupid cool-looking cowboys on stupid cool horses."

"Having boy troubles?"

Dani jumped and spun. Somehow, perhaps due to the sharp sounds of the storm brewing through long grass or the traffic from the highway a few hundred feet away, she hadn't noticed the woman sitting on the brown fencepost of the barbed wire fence.

The seemingly normal woman set off her ghost sense- in a big way. The way only Clockwork or Pandora did. Danielle took a step back. "Something like that. Sorry to disturb you, I'm just going to go."

She tilted her head, and Dani saw her eyes were bright red. The noise from the highway disappeared.

"But you've looked so hard for me," the ghost began gently, "I've heard you speak to me in every breeze for three nights. It was only now that you thought to address me during the day."

"But ghosts only come out during the night," Dani asked, "At least, outside of places with a ton of ecto. Right?"

The woman smiled, showing no teeth. "Indeed, dear girl- but I am the spirit of the Whistling Wind. I ride with those who charge the open plains, who sing to me in day and night. I am a spirit of the Wild Hunt- I don't follow all of your rules."

Wild Hunt. She racked her mind and swallowed when she realized she'd invoked one of the fae. Their rules were almost, but not exactly, the same as a ghost's. "Um. Whistling Wind of the Wild Hunt, I greet you," she said politely. Manners were everything with the fae.

"And I, you," she said. "What is your name?"

"Dani-" she began, only to cut herself off. At least that was only a nickname. "Everyone calls me Dani."

"Dani," she said, "a novel name for a girl. I'll take that from you if you make a deal with me," she warned.

"It's only a nickname, not my real one," she said in confusion. Didn't fae always want the real one?

The Whistling Wind grinned wolfishly. "I know. Someone related to you has upset another member of the Hunt. But if you give me that name and take a new one, you'll be off the hook and I'll have won that bet with Loptr."

She couldn't help but grin back, but steadied her face. "Um, are you sure it'll be a fair deal? I'm asking for a ghost horse, and to be one of the riders with the same wish if I catch a cow," she said, then quickly added, "but I don't want to be trapped like them, of course."

The ghost nodded solemnly. "Making you a Ghost Rider- that's easy enough. But with your freedom is the tricky part," she said. "What would you wish for, if you won?"

"Um. So do you know how ghosts have ghost parents until they're a few centuries old?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "Though it's been a very long time ago for me."

"Well, mine is kind of horrible and evil, so I want to be free of him. But I don't want to trade him for someone just as manipulative, which is hard because he doesn't fight fair."

"Ah," said the spirit. "A desire for freedom I can respect. Very well. Give me the name of Dani, which you'll never be able to use to refer to yourself again, and your service for the yearly Wild Hunt for 10 years. Do this, be bound by it, and I shall give you a fitting horse and make you a Rider without their curse, and allow you to make a wish should you succeed,"

"Our agreement cannot be broken or adjusted. Are we of an accord?"

Dani thought carefully. "Yes," she eventually agreed, "I, D-"

She couldn't say her name, and she didn't want to risk saying her full name. Dani just wouldn't come out, for some reason. "I, Phantom, agree."

"Then walk on your own legs due East until the sun rises- in either form. There, you will find your horse and your fellow riders. Good luck, Phantom."

She nodded, remembering at the last moment not to thank her. "Hopefully, I'll see you soon!"

Filled with hope, she started at a quick walk (it was best to be literal with the fae) east.

The hope lasted about two hours. The curiosity remained, however, as she trudged on at a steady pace. It was a good thing she was experienced with stealing Vlad's cash or food and filling up her large hiking bag and the pockets of her cargo pants; it meant she had plenty of easy-to-eat snacks and plenty of clean water and other drinks.

After four hours, she shifted into her ghost form to cool down- even in October, the heat was no joke. The sun set, and she yawned, exhausted.

"Pretty sky," she said to herself and, despite her pained legs, kept on.

At sunrise, she'd never been so tired- not even when she'd been destabilizing. Finally, she stopped and let herself sit, easing her cramped legs. Ellie dumped the remains of her water over her head and leaned back against a tree.

An hour or so later- it was hard to tell, as she'd been dozing- she was woken by her ghost sense, a sharp chill up her backbone. She opened one eye and saw, to her muted delight, a skeletal horse clad in what looked like medieval heavy armor. Its' eyes burned bright green, just like her own.

"Hey, big guy. Or girl. What's your name?"

She didn't expect an answer, and so was doubly surprised by the sudden influx of images and sounds that invaded her mind.

Charging onto a battlefield. Screams of horses and men alike. Arrows caught on armor plates, lance in the side. Shieldbreaker. Wraith of the battlefield, pestilence, venom of a snake, infected wound.

She gagged a little. "So that's a little bit long. How about just...Shieldbreaker? That's pretty cool, right?"

It huffed and nodded with the clanking of metal and harnesses. "Well, I'm-"

She thought for a moment. "You know, Phantom technically belongs to someone else, and I just sold my nickname. How about I be Wraith for now?"

It nodded again and patiently gnawed on some grass nearby.

Shieldbrraker sent her more mental images. Rest. War begins tonight. Campfire. The chase. Breaking of shields and battle lines.

"Sounds good. Wake me up at dark, please?"

The ghost horse flicked its bony tail in response, and she dozed off once more.

Her deal with Whistling Wind didn't include being automatically able to ride, she discovered the third time she fell from Shieldbreaker's back. Still, she climbed back on, and they chased after the so-called Devil's Herd, their steel hooves ringing loudly whenever they hit asphalt or stone.

The ride, she discovered, began at sunset and ended at dawn. Once the sun rose, the cattle were gone, and she and the other riders appeared in some sort of liminal space.

Her phone still showed October 28, 3 PM. It hadn't lost any charge, but it had lost all service. Over the next few days, she learned about her companions; some, like her, made deals to chase the herd. Others were oathbreakers or made deals with evil beings.

Slim- the talkative cowboy from the other night- introduced himself as hailing from the territory of Kansas, while Horace was from the nation of Texas. Highnoon- the woman in the riding dress- said she was from the California territory.

They hadn't been kidding when they said some of them were centuries old! The three ghosts gave her lessons in exchange for stories about what the world was like now.

Slim wanted to know about new guns, mostly, while Highnoon, who'd forgotten her name, wanted to know about everything from women's rights to the Temperance movement. Horace asked only for myths, tales, and legends- he was still as quiet as the first day, but like many of the Riders, wasn't hostile.

Most of them didn't care who she was or what she did- they wanted to catch the Devil's Herd, and as long as she didn't get in the way, they were fine with her.

It was impossible to tell how many days, weeks, or even months she'd spent away; sometimes the sun moved West to East instead, or there were two moons, and again- she had no way to communicate. She couldn't even judge by the state of her supplies, as she never became hungry or thirsty, even in human form.

Every night at sunset, they'd howl and scream as they charged after the herd, and every sunrise, nothing would happen in their dim world with eternally rolling storm bands.

Ellie talked to her new friends and Shieldbreaker, chased the herd, practiced, and chased the herd over and over. She thought many times about using the escape clause Whistling Wind had given her, but knew that would lead to breaking their deal.

And, likely, gaining the full curse of the riders.

So she rode every night, slowly growing a little faster, riding a little longer. And rode. And rode. And rode again.

Until one night, roughly a year or so after she came- it was hard to tell, as the little marks on Shieldbreaker's saddle didn't always stay there. At least a year and a half. Maybe longer.

It had been chance, pure and simple, or maybe fate, that caused the bull to trip- but trip it did, and she took the opportunity by the horns. Immediately, before she could shout a goodbye, or maybe a question, she was in the middle of a dry valley, a black horn still in her hand. To her relief, Shieldbreaker was under her as usual, though the warhorse was clearly confused.

And then it happened- a buzz on her phone. Just one vibration, then a flood as the device searched for data and updated.

She pulled it out- October 28th, same year, same time. But she was in Montana now. "What happened? Where are the others?"

"Chasing the herd," a voice she'd heard once said. She urged Shieldbreaker around and found herself face-to-face with Whistling Wind. "They'll remember you, and perhaps when they catch one, will find you as a friend. Or not. It depends on the wish."

"I almost forgot the wish," she said.

The spirit smiled. "I did not. Be free from your old ties," she said, and the part of her core attached inextricably to Vlad's broke off, becoming wholly her own. "Remember your promise, Rider of the eternal plains, and I will see you next year for the Wild Hunt."

Ellie laughed brightly. "I feel it! It's gone!"

"Ride like the wind, then, wherever you go. May the breeze always favor you, once-Dani."

"I will! It's Wraith, now, I think."

"I'll see you soon- or late. Time is such a tricky thing."

And she was gone, leaving Ellie with Shieldbreaker- now a large black horse- and an eternity being her own master in front of her.

(Image sources: here, here, here, from the Same Energy site)

#danny phantom #inthememetime #danny phantom au #cowgirl dani phantom #fae #deals with the fae #wild hunt references #ghost riders in the sky #ask game #ask answered #dani decides to be free of Vlad #and the Whistling Wind needs to win a bet #coincidence? i think not

59 notes · View notes