As If He Came from Nowhere

by Alfoals Trottenbauer

Who is he?

Ace trotted to his part-time job at Sweet Apple Acres, as an aid for Granny Smith while Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom were away, no one seemed to notice him anyway. Granny Smith seemed to often mistake him for Big Mac, usually asking him why he doesn't say 'Eeyup' how he does. There he was picking apple trees in place of Applejack's bucking, whilst she was Celestia knows where, with the other five. Some ponies passing by seemed to stare in wonder at Ace picking the trees, as if Ace wasn't there and the apples were being magic'd into a bucket from nowhere. He always wondered why somepony always seems to do that. It was night time anyway, Ace went to Granny Apple to make sure she didn't need anything before he went home. "No problems here, Mac. Say, don't you live here anyway?" She asked, confused.

"Um, I'm not Big Mac." Ace replied for at least the umpteenth time.

"All right, Ace Hearts." She said, clearly not remembering his name.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Ms. Apple." He said over his shoulder.

As he walked home, Ace noticed only Applejack, her family, and her friends seemed to notice him. When he trotted over to the square Ponies around him jumped, as if he came from nowhere.

"Didn't see you get here."

"Ah...! Oh sorry, you scared me."

"Never seen you before."
Everypony around him acted so strange, as if he never existed prior to stepping on the square. He trotted home, quite annoyed no one cared about him enough to even acknowledge he ever existed. He cantered into his home, dwarved by Twilight's library. He decided to ask her and forget about it until morning. The next day he went to Twilight's library. He knocked on the door with his hoof, Spike almost answering the door immediately.
"Hey Ace! Need something?" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah, is Twilight here? I need to ask her something." He nodded, a little disappointed.

"Thanks." He walked in quietly, Twilight reading a large book with a picture of a Draconequus on the page she was on.

"Twilight? can you tell me something?" He asked politely.
"
Yes, what is it?" She asked, closing her book.

"Am I... visible to other ponies?" He asked, awkwardly.
She looked like she never heard anything so stupid in all her life.
"Well, of course you are!" She said, shocked by how ridiculous the question was.

"If you come to the square with me, I can show you what I'm asking this for.

"Alright, lead the way, Ace." She said, standing up. They trotted to the town square. Nopony looked at him the whole way there, then as soon as he set foot on the square, everyone around him jumped.
"Where'd you come from!?"

"Didn't see you there, sorry."

"Oi, when'd you get 'ere?" Ace looked at Twilight.

"See what I mean?" She nodded, curiously.

"Hm... Try stepping outside the square, then stepping in again." He did so and yet again people jumped at his presence.

"Maybe the other five can see you?" He thought it sounded right. They went and got Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash. Twilight asked each one of them if they could see Ace.

"Applejack, can you see Ace?"

"Yup, 'bout as clear as a crystal!" She said.

"Fluttershy?"

"Yes, hi Ace."

"Rarity?"

"Yes, you do look like you could use an outfit, Ace."

"Pinkie?"

"Yeah, why haven't I seen you at any of my parties? Oh, I probably never invited you, silly me!"

"Rainbow?"

"Yeah. Why are we even doing this?" She wrote something down on a clipboard with her magic. Ace was confused.

"Ms. Apple and Big Mac seem to be able to see me too, although Ms. Apple usually mistakes me for Mac."
Twilight looked as if something was on her mind.

"Maybe we should go to Celestia for help?" Ace's face lit up at the mention of Celestia. He was instantly excited to see the princess.

"Sure..! I mean um, if she isn't busy..." He tried to sound discreet.

"Alrighty then, well then let's get goin'!" Said Applejack excitedly. The seven galloped toward her castle until they got to it, then politely trotted into her throne room.

"Your majesty, I have a friend here who seems to be invisible outside of me, my friends and the Apple family." Celestia examined the black-coated, red eyed unicorn.

"Hm... I'll call in a guard and see if this is true." A guard came galloping around a corner.

"Yes, your majesty?" He asked.

"Can you see a black-coated, red eyed unicorn before you?" she inquired.

"No, your highness, is he a missing prisoner?"

"Nevermind, you can go." He left, wondering if his princess had gone mad.

As he did this, he phased directly through Ace. Ace jumped back, worriedly. The princess was shocked. In fact, everypony was shocked, including Ace. Twilight wrote something down.

"Ace, something might be seriously wrong with you, we should go back to my library to look up what it is."

The seven left the castle, five of them returning to their homes.
Ace and Twilight walked back to the library to get to the bottom of this. They arrived in the afternoon, Spike eyed them worriedly. The two of them looked as if they saw a ghost.
She opened a book titled 'Magical exceptions and other curiosities' and flipped to a page with a large label that read 'Selectively Intangible Entities'. Twilight looked over at Ace worriedly.

"It says here you're permanently intangible to other ponies aside from elements and their family." Ace's eyes widened at this notion. Then he looked out the window at the hundreds of ponies he'd never get to meet.

"B-but, how would that work? D-do I really exist then?" He asked, as if pleading.

"Well it also says you don't exist physically, but on some magical level."
He looked at his hooves, horrified. What could this mean? Why did this happen to him? Why could he never fully exist? He returned home, now knowing that he could never fully experience life like a normal pony should.
He continued his life normally the next day, although no one ever met him. No one saw him, no one could see him.
He wondered if he'd ever meet anyone he could love. He wondered if he even COULD love.

Author's Note:

Hope you guys like the story so far!