//------------------------------// // Day 8 // Story: Alternate to Magic // by smirker //------------------------------// The next morning comes and Twilight Sparkle was already tending to her daily routines, the mirror flashes and Sunset Shimmer comes, "Hey, I came as fast as I could, you said there's a strange pony who just came here, right?" Sunset Shimmer asked, "Yes, but there's three of them, come on, Sunset, let's see if one's here right now." Twilight Sparkle replied, and they walk to a window and look out, "Oh, that's one right there." Twilight Sparkle said as she points to Walker, Sunset Shimmer runs outside to go see him. Walker was heading to school and he sees Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle in front of him, "Well, Walker?" Scootaloo asked, "What?" Walker asked, "What is going on with your family?" Sweetie Belle asked "What do you mean?" Walker asked, "We found your family tree, and every single mother in your family died on the same day they gave birth to the child, and every child in your family tree is a single child and a boy." Sweetie Belle replied, "How did you find my family history?" Walker asked, "Princess Twilight lives right there." Scootaloo replied as she points to her home, "Oh, makes sense, she should have a record on everybody living in Equestria." Walker said, "What is up with that?" Apple Bloom asked, "Even if I did explain, you wouldn't understand." Walker replied, "What about yesterday, when those skeletons came out of the ground?" Sweetie Belle asked, "They were after me." Walker replied, "But what were they?" Sweetie Belle asked, "How can I explain this?" Walker asked, "Come on, Walker, answer us!" Sweetie Belle said, "I really don't know how to explain it to you guys." Walker replied, "Souls? Possessed? Void? What are those?" Scootaloo asked, "Souls and Possessed and self-explanatory, I don't know how to describe the Void, though." Walker replied, the Cutie Mark Crusaders glare at him, "Excuse me, Walker." Sunset Shimmer said as she runs to him, "Sunset Shimmer, ya won't believe..." Apple Bloom said, "I heard everything, Twilight told me, too." Sunset Shimmer replied, she looks at Walker, "Now, Walker, I'm going to need you to hold still, this won't take long." Sunset Shimmer said, and she touches Walker's front right hoof with her front left hoof and sees his memories. Sunset Shimmer sees Walker's memories and he was celebrating his fourth birthday, his present was a caffeinated drink, "What the? Dad, granddad, I wanted a toy." Walker said, "Sorry, son, but the present you wanted was sold out." Runner replied, "Yes, we tried to improvise, and thought you would like this instead." Sprinter said, "But why a strong tea?" Walker asked, "Uh, well, it's so... you can stay up longer to enjoy your birthday." Runner replied, "But there's nopony here but us three, and we live in the woods, I'm tired of doing things without ponies my age." Walker said, "But you have those students at your school." Sprinter replied, "I don't feel like I belong with them, everypony is so different from me." Walker said, "Oh... um... I see, I'm sorry, Walker, but this really is the best we can do this year." Runner replied, "This birthday stinks, I'm heading to bed." Walker said, and he walked to his bedroom and laid down. Sunset Shimmer's vision changes and Walker was in a place that was completely light blue with black areas of land floating in the air, "Whoa." Walker said with awe, he walks forward with curiosity. Dark blue flames appear in front of Walker, "Whoa!" Walker said, and the dark blue flames form into a bipedal creature who looked like a male human, he had slightly tan skin, a round face shape with a pointed chin, and short black hair with fringes of hair for his bangs, he wore a blue trench coat that was open in the front and went down to his feet, blue pants, blue wrist-length gloves with the ends under his trench coat, blue mid-calf length boots that his trouser legs were tucked into, a blue belt with a light blue buckle, and a light blue long-sleeve shirt that was tucked into his pants, he had light blue eyes, but sometimes, his eyes had flames in them, his sclerae had dark blue flames, while his irises and pupils had orange flames. Walker looked at him with surprise, "Hello, Walker, your fourth birthday has come, has it not? Welcome to the Void, it is time for you to receive powers that were bestowed upon your ancestors by me, and passed down through the males of your paternal bloodline. My name is Spirit, and I grant you some of my powers, just like how I did to your father and paternal grandfather before you, when they were four years old." the being said, and dark blue and orange flames engulf Walker, he screams in pain while he gets burned, but the flames and pain soon disappear, he holds his four legs out while he floated in midair, "See, there you go, now go and test out your powers, I think you will like what you can do." Spirit said, and he disappears. Walker walks forward and he noticed his first powers, he saw the ghosts of the deceased in the portals of the worlds, they were light blue in color and transparent, he watched the deceased walk around and mind their own businesses. Walker feels powers in his front hoofs and he lifts them up, some of the ghosts disappeared and reappeared around him, Walker moves his hoofs around and the ghosts did whatever they thought he commanded, Walker smiled and lowered his front hoofs, the ghosts disappeared into the ground. Walker sees a far away land he wanted to go to, he teleports there with his mind, Walker noticed he can hear the wind blowing in the realm, and realized he had enhanced hearing, Walker wondered about something and decided to try looking, his vision was sharper and more clear than before, Walker was enjoying his newfound powers. Spirit appeared in front of Walker and floated in midair, "You have more powers as well, close your eyes for a few seconds, and reopen them." Spirit said, and Walker did, to his surprise, his entire vision was a different color, his vision was dark blue, while people were light blue, and objects were a regular blue, Walker saw he can also tell how people felt, if they were watching him, if they had any wounds or items hidden on them, and can read their heartbeats, he closed his eyes again and reopened them to make his vision normal, "You have two more of my powers, go over there and jump around, don't be afraid, just hold one of your hoofs out." Spirit said, and Walker ran to the nearest floating land, he jumped and held his front left hoof out. A black skeletal hand came out of Walker's hoof and it grabbed a ledge, the arm moved forward and disappeared, Walker swung around with the skeletal arms and was high in the air, "Woo-hoo!" Walker said, and he landed on the farthest floating land since there were no more after it, Spirit reappeared in front of him, "You have one more power, you can open portals with your mind, you can travel between Equestria and the Void at will, you can come back here anytime, but you can't do it in your sleep, you have to do it in real life." Spirit said, Walker smiled, "What do you think of my powers, Walker?" Spirit asked, "This is awesome!" Walker said, Spirit chuckled, "Would you like to see how your father and paternal grandfather reacted when they got my powers?" Spirit asked, Walker nodded enthusiastically, Spirit made dark blue flames appear and it showed a colt Runner, he looked just like Walker, "No! I can't believe it! I've become a monster, just like my father!" Runner said, Walker watched with surprise and shock, the picture then changed to show a colt Sprinter, who looked just like Walker as well, "Oh well, this is normal for our family bloodline, my father had it, too." Sprinter said, Walker becomes surprised that his paternal grandfather was not excited to have the powers. The dark blue flames disappeared, "Time for you to wake up now, Walker, go see Sprinter to train your powers." Spirit said, and he disappeared while Walker's vision became pitch black. Sunset Shimmer's vision changes and she sees Walker waking up, "Aw, it was just a dream." Walker said sadly, he was about to head to the kitchen to get breakfast, but he teleported there, "Wait a minute, it wasn't a dream, it was real, this is awesome!" Walker said, he hears running and sees Runner and Sprinter coming to him, they were able to sense Spirit's powers within him, "Oh no, not you, too." Runner said with shock, "What's wrong, dad?" Walker asked, "You've become a monster as well, just like me and dad." Runner replied, "Monster? I like these powers." Walker said, and the vision changes again. Sunset Shimmer sees Walker and Sprinter outside, she sees the three originally lived in the woods with no neighbors, "Okay, grandson, I assume Spirit taught you the same things he taught me and Runner, those are the basic powers, you have three more powers." Sprinter said, "Really?! I wanna learn them now!" Walker replied with ecstasy, Sprinter laughs, "Patience, my grandson, we'll start with the first thing, an explanation, there is another type of energy in this world besides magic, it is called spiritual energy, it is not visible to the naked eye, spiritual energy is released into the air when someone or something dies, and it can be conjured, taking on any shape, form, or sound the conjurer desires, and when the conjurer is done using that spiritual energy, it is released back into the air, ready to be reused. Ponies in this world cannot see, hear, or use spiritual energy, only the males from the paternal side of our family can because of the deal we made with Spirit." Sprinter said, Walker nodded while excited, he was already finding this to be very interesting, "Okay, now that's out of the way, the first other power you have is you can conjure any weapon you please with spiritual energy, this is the one Runner and I preferred personally." Sprinter said, and he makes a sword appear in his front right hoof, which Walker did not recognize, and in Sprinter's front left hoof was another weapon he did not recognize, it was a pistol with a wheel and lock mechanism, "What is that, granddad?" Walker asked, "This is a gun, a pistol to be more specific, when I was in the Void, I saw these several times in one of the portals to another world, and I saw these were accurate and deadly, so I decided to use it, but unlike the regular one, which only holds one bullet, since this is a spiritual weapon, it holds infinite." Sprinter replied, Walker was excited, "Just hold the gun out and pull that trigger down there." Sprinter said, and Walker summons it in his front left hoof and aims it, along with the same type of sword in his front right hoof, he fires the pistol and a bullet made out of dark blue fire comes out, Walker exclaimed with shock, jumped back, stumbled, and blinked his eyes, the loudness of the gun scared him, "Now, now, Walker, you can use your spiritual energy to nullify the sound, but always remember this with your weapons, a long range weapon will always be weaker than a close range weapon." Sprinter said, "What? Why?" Walker asked, "That's just the way it is." Sprinter replied, Walker looked down, "Now, your second power Spirit didn't tell you about." Sprinter said, and Walker stood up, "Every time you land a hit with your attack, you absorb spiritual energy, they allow you to do special moves, you have four special moves, but first, you must attack me, and land a hit, you'll feel your spiritual energy get stronger." Sprinter said, and Walker used his spiritual energy to make the gun mute, he fires many times at Sprinter, and felt his spiritual energy getting stronger very slowly, "You can make your spiritual energy charge up faster with your sword." Sprinter said, and Walker begins slashing Sprinter with the sword, while Sprinter just endured the hits, Walker felt his spiritual energy meets its maximum charge, "Whoa, what is this dark blue aura around me?" Walker asked, "That's for later, now, focus with your spiritual energy, and use your mind to decide which of the four abilities you want to use, the stronger it is, the more spiritual energy it will take." Sprinter said, and Walker saw his four spiritual abilities in his mind, he places his front left hoof on the ground to do the first one, four light blue round heads came out of the ground and went to attack Sprinter, he shot them with his gun and they got destroyed. Walker tries his second spiritual ability and made himself turn transparent and light blue, Sprinter fires bullets at him and Walker realize his second spiritual ability made him invincible, "That one lasts as long as you have spiritual energy in you, Walker, once when it's drained, you change back, but you can change back at will, and you can't touch or hurt anyone when in that form, either, unless they're a spirit as well." Sprinter said, and Walker changed back. Walker tries his third spiritual ability but nothing happens, "What the?" Walker asked, "You don't have enough spiritual energy, you need to attack me again to recharge it." Sprinter replied, and Walker did, he puts his front right hoof on the ground, dark blue flames surround him and spin counterclockwise around him, "Whoa!" Walker said, "That move is used for offensive and defensive purposes, anyone who touches those flames will get hurt, so it also protects you from close range harm, it won't work against long range, though." Sprinter said, the flames disappear and Walker nodded, he tries his last spiritual ability, he holds his front left hoof out and he shoots out a stream of dark blue and orange fire, it burns whatever it touched, "Wow." Walker said, "That's your strongest spiritual ability right there, it kills almost anything in a single burn. The color of the fire is also important, orange flames are stronger than dark blue flames." Sprinter said, Walker nodded, "Okay, now your last ability, focus on the dark blue aura around you, and absorb it into yourself with your mind." Sprinter said, Runner realized what Sprinter was going to teach him and was very uneasy. Walker absorbs the aura into himself and he floated in midair, he spun around slowly counterclockwise and let out a grunt when he finished spinning in a circle, he lands on the ground. Walker looks at himself and realizes he has transformed, he was made out of dark blue flames, and he had a horn on his forehead, and bat-like wings on his sides, Walker realized he has transformed into an alicorn-like creature, he was able to tell he was about as tall as Princess Celestia, he soon changed back, "What was that?" Walker asked with curiosity, "That, there was your spiritual form, your most powerful ability, when you transform into that form, all of your powers and abilities increase tenfold." Sprinter replied, "Whoa!" Walker said, "Walker, wait." Runner said as he ran outside to them, "You mustn't use that form, it is monstrous and dangerous." Runner said, "Oh, come on, dad, it was awesome." Walker replied, "It's his choice, son, let him use it as he pleases." Sprinter said, "Okay, but restrain it, Walker, don't use your powers unless you have to." Runner said, "Yes, dad." Walker replied, "One more thing, Walker, do not, under any circumstances, use it at school, while regular ponies cannot see the dark blue flames of your powers, they can see the damage it causes, also, you will see deceased ponies at school, the other ponies cannot see them, so do not call out to them." Sprinter said, "Yes, granddad." Walker replied, "Good, off to school now, it's about to start." Sprinter said, and Walker walks to school. Sunset Shimmer's vision changes multiple times and sees Walker fighting souls, skeletons, and many more creatures that she did not recognize, her visions stop after a short amount of time. Sunset Shimmer lets go of Walker and her eyes stop glowing, "Oh. My. Gosh." Sunset Shimmer said, "What?" Walker asked, "Your powers are amazing!" Sunset Shimmer replied, "What did you say, Sunset Shimmer?" Sweetie Belle asked, "You all won't believe this, but Walker's powers may be an alternate to magic." Sunset Shimmer replied, "What?" Apple Bloom asked, "Really?" Scootaloo asked, "Yeah, it turns out that Walker and his family use this type of energy called spiritual energy, it's not visible to the naked eye." Sunset Shimmer replied, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle look on with surprise, "Until now, that is." Twilight Sparkle said as she walks to them, "You finished the spell, Twilight?" Apple Bloom asked, "Yup, I just finished making it. Alright, Walker, let's see this spiritual energy." Twilight Sparkle replied, and she casts a spell and shoots a beam at Walker with her horn. Walker's eyes glows the same colors as Twilight Sparkle's magic aura, all of Ponyville glows and it disappears, everybody gasps at what they saw, there were light blue and transparent ponies and animals everywhere, light blue flames in the air, and a dark blue aura around Walker. Everybody looks at Walker with disbelief while Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer run to them, "Wow, I didn't think the spell would actually work." Walker said, "What is this, Walker?" Sweetie Belle asked, "My vision and hearing every day." Walker replied, they all look and see the light blue and transparent ponies and animals getting on with their days, they could be heard as well, Runner and Sprinter teleport and appear to Walker's sides, "You really were that desperate to learn, weren't you guys?" Runner asked, "Yeah, you three have been acting weird ever since you three came here." Twilight Sparkle replied, "So, this is why, huh?" Sunset Shimmer asked, "What is this?" Apple Bloom asked, "Our vision and hearing, we can see and hear the souls of the dead." Sprinter replied, "Souls of the dead?!" Twilight Sparkle asked, they all look and see the ghosts of Bright Mac and Pear Butter rubbing their snouts on Apple Bloom, "It's that feelin' again, so that's what it was, it was mah mom and dad." Apple Bloom said, "As I said before, just because they're dead doesn't mean they're gone." Walker replied, "Oh, this is amazing, that means you three can reunite the living with their deceased loved ones." Twilight Sparkle said, the residents of Ponyville murmur with agreement, "Say, who is this Spirit guy?" Sunset Shimmer asked, "How do you know about him?" Runner asked, "I saw him in Walker's memories when I touched him." Sunset Shimmer replied, "Very well, he is the ruler of the realm known as the Void, the Void is the realm your soul goes to to receive judgement after you die, your judgement will determine where you will go to for the afterlife, if you receive salvation, you go to the overworld, damnation, the underworld." Sprinter said, "What determines your judgement?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Your actions in life, and your personality type." Sprinter replied, "Why do you all have some of his powers for?" Sunset Shimmer asked, "One of our ancestors made a deal with him to ensure our family's survival." Sprinter replied, "Wait, explain what you mean." Twilight Sparkle said, "During the time when us ponies were divided by unicorns, Pegasi, and earth ponies, our family was attacked the most often due to us being the closest target to both types of ponies, one of our ancestors saw Spirit taking a dead pony's soul, and he did a ritual in his name, Spirit was satisfied and contacted him, he gave him some of his powers, and it will be passed down to the males of our family's paternal bloodline, but it came with three prices." Sprinter replied, "What are they?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "The first one was the mare who carries the child for the next generation has to be an earth pony, trying to have a child with a Pegasus or a unicorn will result in a miscarriage." Runner replied, the adult ponies gasp, "A miscarriage?" Applejack asked, "Yes, we can't marry ponies of different types, or both, the mare and the child will die." Sprinter replied, the foals look at them with shock, "What's the second price?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Only colts can be birthed, and one colt at a time, if the baby is a filly, it will change to a colt, as for twins, if it's twin brothers, they will merge into one colt, if it's a twin brother and a twin sister, the colt will be born while the filly will not." Sprinter replied, "So, you guys can't have sisters?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "No, our family cannot birth daughters." Runner replied, "Didn't any of you ever want a daughter?" Fluttershy asked, "Not really." Sprinter replied, "It was my wife who wanted one, not me." Runner said, the others were silent for a bit, "What's the last price?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "As soon as the son is born, the mother dies." Runner replied, the ponies gasp, "And the father has to raise the son alone." Runner said, "Oh, no." Fluttershy said, "What?" Walker asked, "You never experienced a mother's love." Twilight Sparkle replied, "It's not that bad." Walker said, "That's because you never had a mom." Apple Bloom said, "Yeah, moms are the best." Sweetie Belle said, "To be honest with you, I grew up without a mother figure, too." Runner replied, "I did as well." Sprinter said, "So, it's not just me?" Walker asked, "No, your father and I grew up without moms as well." Sprinter replied, "Wait, but why are only males from the paternal side allowed to have powers?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Because our ancestor who made the deal in the first place was a male from the paternal side of our family, so it just stuck." Sprinter replied, "So, it's not because Equestria is mostly female dominated?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Nope, I asked Spirit when I was a colt, that's what he said, if the pony who made the deal was a female or from the maternal side of the family, then that would've stuck instead." Sprinter replied, "Why didn't Spirit allow y'all to have siblings?" Applejack asked, "Because if we have two or more sons, they might fight one another with their powers, and as for sisters, they won't inherit his powers, and would grow jealous and resentful of her brother." Runner replied, "Oh, yeah, I can see that happening." Twilight Sparkle said, "Would you be jealous of your brother if he had our powers and you didn't, Princess Twilight?" Walker asked, "Well, I'll admit, I kind of would be." Twilight Sparkle replied, "We still come with responsibilities, me, my dad, and my granddad have to travel to the other worlds to bring the dead souls to the Void to receive judgement." Walker said, "Wait, other worlds?" Sunset Shimmer asked, "There are more worlds than this world and the world you're staying in." Walker replied, Sunset Shimmer's eyes widen, "How much more?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "A lot more." Runner replied, "Say, why did ya go to the Everfree Forest the other day for, Walker?" Apple Bloom asked, "Some of the souls that received damnation escaped from the underworld and came back to the world of the living to haunt them, I had to hunt them down and bring them back to the Void to get sent back to the afterlife." Walker replied, the Cutie Mark Crusaders become uncomfortable, "It's late, go to school, Walker, your grandfather and I have to go to work." Runner said, the others agree and they all get on with their days. Runner was teaching the foals how to run like a professional track runner and there were souls of dead foals with them, "Whoa, did they just arrive?" a colt asked, "No, they were there running with you all the whole time." Runner replied, the living foals look at them with surprise while the souls wave at them and smile, "Come on, everypony, we started late today, we have to do stretches now." Runner said, and they do, the living foals look at Runner, "What?" Runner asked, "It's really hard for us to concentrate with that dark blue aura around your body." a filly replied, "Oh, that, just ignore that." Runner said, and they stretch, they finish after a few minutes, "Alright, let's try running a little farther today, go around the trees and run back this time." Runner said, the foals nod while Runner got ready to run with them, "Ready." Runner said, the foals were ready to run, "Go!" Runner said, and he runs with the foals. Sprinter was teaching the others how to defend themselves and he was in a boxing match with Bulk Biceps, the two fight and they stop when they hear a lot of girls cheering for Sprinter, the two look back and see a lot of souls of female ponies cheering for Sprinter and screaming at him to win, "Who are they?" Smolder asked, "My fans from my younger days as a boxer." Sprinter replied, the ghost mares continue to cheer for him, "Come on, Bulk Biceps, let's continue." Sprinter said, and they continue boxing. Sprinter punches Bulk Biceps in his chest a few times with his front hoofs, and ducks when Bulk Biceps tries to hit him, they hear chuckling and the ghosts of a few stallions watching, "Are they your fans, too?" Gallus asked, "No, they were my opponents when I was a professional boxer." Sprinter replied, "Come on, Sprinter, you can take him." one stallion said, "Do that famous finishing move of yours." another stallion said, the two continue punching one another until Sprinter grabs Bulk Biceps' front legs, "Wait, here it comes." a third stallion said, "That finishing move of his." a fourth stallion said, Sprinter gets on his back while holding onto Bulk Biceps' front legs and kicks him in the groin with his hind left hoof. Bulk Biceps groans loudly and falls over while clutching his groin with his front hoofs. Sprinter stands up and looks at Bulk Biceps with a smile, the stallions laugh while his students look on in shock, they listen and hear the ghost mares cheering for Sprinter. Bulk Biceps groans loudly while the ghosts of Sprinter's former opponents still laugh, "Wait, lift him up a bit." the first stallion said, and two of them do, they also move Bulk Biceps' front legs and there was a dark purple bruise on Bulk Biceps' groin, Sprinter's students gasp while the stallions continue to laugh, "He's still got it!" the second stallion said, they continue to laugh while Bulk Biceps pants a little heavily from the pain, "SPRINTER!!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she flies to him, Applejack runs to him as well, "We told you, no hits to the groin!" Rainbow Dash said angrily, "That rule doesn't apply in actual fights." Sprinter replied, "Still what were ya thinkin'? Ah can tell by just looking at him that low blow hurt more than a bunch of stings from a nest full of flash bees." Applejack said, Bulk Biceps continues to groan in pain, Granny Smith walks over, "What is that dang ol' sound?" Granny Smith asked, "It's Bulk Biceps right there, Granny, Sprinter here just hit him in his junk." Applejack replied, "We all did that." a stallion ghost said, "What?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Yeah, we all did hits to the crotch when we did boxing." another stallion replied, "Ah remember boxin' when it first started, hits to one's junk was allowed back then, a rule was made years later that disqualified low blows cause it caused so much pain to the person who got hit." Granny Smith said, "It's must've been after I retired, that rule was never made throughout my entire boxing career." Sprinter said, "Well, that explains a lot." Rainbow Dash replied, she looks at Bulk Biceps and saw he was unconscious, "He's unconscious!" Rainbow Dash said, "Come on, y'all, let's take him to the hospital." Applejack said, and Sprinter's students carry him away, "So, what caused you to come to Ponyville?" a stallion asked, and Sprinter begins to catch up with his former opponents. Walker was in class and trying to work, the foals and Cheerilee groan and growl since they were distracted by the loud conversations of the ghost ponies in the class, Walker exhales loudly as he focuses on his morning work, "Is it like this for you all the time, Walker?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Yes." Walker replied, "How are you able to deal with this?" Pipsqueak asked, "Trust me, I'm having trouble staying calm, too." Walker replied, "Um, excuse me, souls, I need you all to keep it down." Cheerilee said, they did not, "Excuse me!" Cheerilee said loudly, the foals and souls look at her, "Souls, keep your voices down, me and the others are trying to work." Cheerilee said, and the souls converse with quieter voices. Walker finishes working and sighs, he looks up again and Sweetie Belle looks with him, she sees light blue flames floating in the air, "What are those, Walker?" Sweetie Belle asked, "More souls, not all of them change to their physical forms, some of them float in the air as flames." Walker replied, "How come?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Either they choose not to, or I've fought them in the past and destroyed the body form, they change to their flame forms if you destroy their bodies, it's how they travel faster and heal." Walker replied, "Where do you get the spiritual energy for your powers?" Sweetie Belle asked, "The flames floating around there, I absorb them, there's also me hitting my enemies, I absorb some of their spiritual energy into myself that way, as well, when I use a spiritual ability, it is released back into the air." Walker replied, "Wow, so everyday is like this for you." Sweetie Belle said, "Actually, not completely, ever since I came here, my four advisors haven't been with me." Walker replied, he feels tingling in his head, "I kept them away because you're basically on break from traveling through the worlds, if you wish, I can send them to you." Spirit said telepathically, "Yes, please, Spirit, I'd like them here." Walker replied, "Very well." Spirit said telepathically and he ends the contact. A white light appears around Walker and it divides into four lights, they form into four bipedal humanoid figures, which made the foals and Cheerilee gasp, two of them were standing, one was floating, and one was sitting, "Who are they, Walker?" Apple Bloom asked, "My advisors, this is Optimist." Walker replied as he holds his front right hoof out to her, "Hello." Optimist said as she waves her right hand around, she looked like a little girl, she had an inverted triangular face, fair skin, yellow eyes, and straight bright blonde hair that went down to her scapulae, she was wearing a light yellow, knee-length, sleeveless dress, and yellow sandals, "This is Pessimist." Walker said as he holds his front left hoof out to him, he was sitting on the floor, "Don't bother, Walker, I'm bound to forgotten by them." Pessimist said, he looked like a teenage boy, he had an inverted triangular face, pale white skin, blue eyes, and messy jet black hair, he was wearing a gray long-sleeve shirt, blue trouser jeans, white socks, and black running shoes, "This is Passive." Walker said as he holds his front right hoof out to her, she was floating in the air, she was wearing a light blue, long-sleeve, floor-length dress, had straight long white hair, an inverted triangular face, whitish blue skin, and her eyes were closed, "Can she see?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Yes, I am merely meditating right now." Passive replied, "I wanna see your eyes." Scootaloo said, and she opens them, they were blue with light blue ice coming out of them, the foals exclaim with awe, "And this is Aggressive." Walker said while holding his front left hoof out to him, "What are you all looking at?!" Aggressive asked, scaring everypony, he had red skin, a square face shape, short black hair, and red eyes with orange fire coming out of them, he was wearing black pants that went halfway down his calves, since the rest of the pants below there was ripped, he was extremely muscular, "Wait, Aggressive." Walker said, "Yeah." Aggressive said, "Since everybody can now see and hear you, you're going to have to keep your voice down with you advise me." Walker replied, Aggressive nods while smiling, and they all work. Cheerilee's class works while the souls were still loud and distracting everybody with their loud conversations, "Just listen to them. Loud. Annoying. Distracting. You should use your powers to attack them and send them a message that if they don't pipe down, you will destroy their body forms." Aggressive whispered, Sweetie Belle stops working and looks at Walker with a shocked expression, "It will make you the alpha and secure your dominance and superiority over them, along with making them quiet." Optimist whispered, "You will make yourself feared and it will cause them to raise up against you, which will cause even more chaos." Pessimist whispered, "You should just sit and try to ignore them instead of causing a scene." Passive whispered, "You will be able to get through the day with no problems." Optimist whispered, "It will make you look like a pushover with no backbone and will get stepped on." Pessimist whispered, Walker thought about their words, "I'll go with you for now, Passive." Walker said, Sweetie Belle smiles and they all work until it was time for recess. Walker plays with the students and the souls of the dead foals, he notices that his classmates try to play with them as well, the recess was normal while Optimist, Pessimist, Passive, and Aggressive just watch. The day continues and Walker was bored in his class, he senses something outside and looks to his left, he closes his eyes and reopens them, he looks and saw a ghost outside the school, the light blue figure disappears, Walker then looks around and sees the ponies were not reacting, "Phew." Walker said as he sighs with relief since he realizes that Twilight Sparkle's spell did not work completely, he looks around was able to see what was in his classmates' saddlebags, he sees they were just ordinary school supplies such as pencils and erasers, he sees magazines and comic books in some of the saddlebags as well, he continues working and finishes, he then sits until it was time to go home. Runner and Sprinter finish work and they were heading home together, they hear running to their rights and look, they saw Walker coming, "Your advisors aren't with you two?" Walker asked, "No, I don't think we need them at the moment." Runner replied, "Oh, well, I actually asked Spirit to give me mine." Walker said, "Why?" Runner asked, "Um, so I can have them help me make decisions." Walker replied, Runner glares at him, "Um, did I do something wrong, dad?" Walker asked, "Let it go, my son, they were bound to be discovered sooner or later anyway." Sprinter said, and Runner stops glaring, "Still, I wonder what it's like having these four seen by others." Walker said, "It makes people understand you better on why you act the way you do." Optimist said, "Having us visible makes you look suspicious." Pessimist said, "Where are your four trainers?" Sprinter asked, "I actually didn't ask for them to appear." Walker replied, "I see." Sprinter said, "I wonder if I should." Walker said, "They'll be around to keep you from being lonely." Optimist said, "They will distract the others." Pessimist said, "I'll admit, this is a tough one." Walker replied, "We might as well have our advisors as well, Runner." Sprinter said, "Yeah, they could help us in the long run." Runner replied, they feel tingling in their heads', "Very well, Runner and Sprinter, here you two go." Spirit said telepathically, and he ends the contact, eight lights appear and they form, Runner's and Sprinter's advisors were with them, the ponies look on with surprise. Walker, Runner, and Sprinter hear running and see Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack come to them, they now saw three Passives, three Aggressives, three Optimists, and three Pessimists, "Who are these guys?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "We are their advisors." Walker's Passive replied, "So, there's three of you?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Not exactly, we are one, but we can divide ourselves as much as we want." Runner's Pessimist replied, "So, how exactly do these advisors work?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Passive and Aggressive will give me advice on how to deal with people, while Optimist and Pessimist will give me advice on every decision I think of, usually, Passive will give the pacifist advice, and Aggressive will give the violent advice, then Optimist will list the pros, and Pessimist will list the cons." Walker replied, "Where did you four come from?" Applejack asked, "Residents of the Void, created by Spirit himself." Sprinter's Passive replied, "What the? Wait a minute." Twilight Sparkle said, she looks and sees while the three Passives and Aggressives glowed the same brightness, Walker's Pessimist glowed just a little brighter than his Optimist, Runner's Pessimist glowed the same brightness while his Optimist was a little dim, and Sprinter's Pessimist glowed very brightly while his Optimist was very dim, she was also laying on the floor and looked weak instead of standing up like the other two Optimists, "Why are your Optimists and Pessimists all glowing a different brightness?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "It is their own personal points of view on the world, the more positive or negative they become, the weaker or stronger our presence will be." Sprinter's Pessimist replied, "Sprinter, your Optimist looks very weak." Twilight Sparkle said, Sprinter's Optimist looks up, "It's okay, his negative point of view on the world has made him able to foresee a lot of unfortunate situations that most do now foresee." Sprinter's Optimist replied weakly, the six mares look at her with discomfort since she sounded like she was dying, "It is not just Optimist and Pessimist, the more gentle or violent they become, the weaker or stronger my and Aggressive's presence will be as well." Sprinter's Passive said, "Wow, I'd sure like to have such advisors." Fluttershy said, "I still wish Sprinter would be a bit more positive, though." Twilight Sparkle replied, "He's not completely negative, if he was, I wouldn't be here." Sprinter's Optimist said, "Wait, you're saying, if someone is completely one...?" Rainbow Dash asked, "The other will not be around at all, if Walker was a completely passive person, Aggressive wouldn't be there with him, same with if he was completely aggressive, I wouldn't be here." Walker's Passive replied, the ponies murmur, "It's getting late, I have to go home and do my homework." Walker said, "Okay, Walker, I'd like to know more about them tomorrow." Twilight Sparkle replied, and Walker, Runner, and Sprinter head home while their advisors went with them, their Optimists walk with them while Sprinter's Optimist crawls, Sprinter picks her up and puts her on his back, their Aggressives also walk with them, their Passives float with them, and their Pessimists just sit and slide across the ground, "*gasp* Ponies can see one's personalities and points of view?!" Walker, Runner, and Sprinter hear Silverstream ask with excitement, "No, Silverstream, it's just those three." the three hear Twilight Sparkle say, "Still, you guys interacting with souls and the afterlife is awesome!" the three hear Silverstream say, "Silverstream, again, it's just those three, this is new to us as well." the three hear Twilight Sparkle say, "Is Sunset Shimmer still here?" the three hear Applejack ask, "Yes, I'm planning to ask her about what she saw in Walker's mind this morning, I also had Spike send a letter to Princess Celestia about Walker's powers and the area, Princess Luna thinks the Void is where Walker is going to in his sleep." the three hear Twilight Sparkle say, "Ah wonder what this Void place looks like." the three hear Applejack say, "Me too, Applejack, me too." the three hear Twilight Sparkle say, Walker, Runner, and Sprinter enter their home and they could no longer hear the conversation. Walker dreams and saw he was in a pitch black area, he quickly summons a pistol in his front left hoof, "Where are you?" Walker grumbled to himself, he grunts and had claw marks on his chest, he closes his eyes and his vision becomes dark blue, he sees the light blue bipedal creature in front of him, it disappears and Walker looks around while aiming his pistol, he sweats and breaths heavily, he did not see it anywhere. A rift appears in his dream and he saw Princess Luna come, she flies to him, "Wha? What kind of nightmare is this?" Princess Luna asked, Walker grunts and he falls and had claw marks on his back, Princess Luna notices it and casts a spell to light up the place, she sees the pitch black humanoid figure in Walker's dream, "What is this?!" Princess Luna asked, the creature disappears and Princess Luna looks around. Walker stands up and looks around, he sees the creature reappear and Princess Luna shoots a zap from her horn, but it goes through the creature and does not harm it, leaving her speechless. Walker quickly aims his pistol at the creature's head and shoots it, he changes his vision back to normal while the creature changes to a light blue flame and Walker absorbs it into himself, he wakes up shortly afterwards. Walker wakes up in his bed and sees he could not move nor speak, he looks at the door across from him and sees another humanoid pitch black figure there, it walks to him slowly and teleports short distances while its head twitches around, it stands on Walker's bed and growls. Runner and Sprinter hear the growl and wake up, they see the black figure on Walker's bed, Runner quickly summons a pistol in his front right hoof and shoots it in the head. Walker inhales deeply while Runner absorbs the creature's soul, "You okay, Walker?" Runner asked, "Yes, dad." Walker replied, "So, the Shadows are here, too." Sprinter said, the three look around and go back to sleep, the three sleep without dreaming.