• Published 19th Jan 2012
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Sweetie's Mansion - Moon Shooter



A My Little Pony/Luigi's Mansion Crossover

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Chapter 14- The Frozen Light Spectrum

"Get away from me you freak." Gilda said. Sweetie was starting to come to, after being phased through by the ice cold ghost.

"Aw, C'mon Gilda. We're all friends here!" came Pinkie's voice, as ghostly and bubbly as ever.

"I'm not your fried dweeb. Now are you gonna break me out or not?" Gilda asked, getting increasingly annoyed at the mare.

"Only if you say Pretty Please with Peanuts and Pineapples." Pinkie responded happily.

Sweetie tried to get up on all fours again, but her body wasn't listening to her. She couldn't remember why her body wasn't working right. She tried to recall facts. She was in a mansion, catching her friends turned into ghosts. Whenever she caught a ghost, she'd get shocked and put near death... was that why she felt like that? Did she catch a ghost?

"Look loser, I'm the one in charge around here. You gonna do what I say, got it?" Gilda said.

"Nah, that's ok. I'm no good at following orders anyway." Pinkie said. "Why don't you ask my Dashie to get you out? You’re in charge of her, right?"

Rainbow Dash... that was the last ghost she remembered seeing. Did she catch her? She didn't remember it. All she could recall was fighting some bully griffon, freezing some statues... and getting flown at by Rainbow Dash. No, she definitely didn't catch the mare. She got away.

Sweetie's nerves started to wake up again, as she felt the rain around her, lightly hitting her coat. She was lying in a pool of water that accumulated from the rain around her. Her muzzle stung from Gilda's blow, her body ached and felt cold, and miserable. She wished she could just stay lying there, but knew better. She knew she had to get up and out of the rain at least, and figure out what to do next. Besides, the last thing she needed was a cold.

Sweetie made a second attempt at moving her fore legs in front of her, with much more success. It was painful, but she managed to push her upper body up off of the ground. She opened her eyes to see her flashlight, also lying in the pool of water. Thankfully, it was still working though it was in the rain for however long Sweetie was knocked out. Sweetie pushed herself up onto her flank, so she was sitting in front of the flashlight. Sweetie checked her back to see that her little GCD was still on her back, along with her saddlebags, which sat under it. She looked over to the edge of the outdoor eating area's banister to see Gilda was still there, just as frozen as before, and surprisingly still alive. One might have thought that the freezing of her body might kill them... what made the griffon so special? Hovering above her, was the pink ghost mare that’d been following her all night. Sweetie moaned in pain, as she rubbed out some of the tension at the side of her neck, gaining the two's attention.

"Sleeping on the job are we?" Pinkie asked, abandoning Gilda to float over to the filly.

"W...wha?" Sweetie asked, still trying to get her mind back up to speed. Pinkie was frowning now, which always meant something was wrong. The pink mare never frowned... at least not to Sweetie's memory. She seemed disappointed about something.

"While you were taking a nap, Dashie..." Pinkie trailed off. "She's gone Sweetie. She flew away."

"F...flew away?" Sweetie asked. Then Gilda's words came to her: you’re not catching that mare. Not until you grow some wings... "No... she can't be... she can't have escaped. No..." Sweetie bowed her head in shame, that she'd failed her task to catch her friend-

Pinkie giggled gleefully, causing Sweetie to look back up at the mare. She was grinning again. "You should have seen the look on your face Jumpie! You were all like 'I failed' and I was like 'I can't believe she's so gullible'!" She laughed.

"What are you saying? You mean, I didn't lose Rainbow?" Sweetie asked.

"Well... I wouldn't say that." Pinkie said. “She's here, but she's not here.”

"You mean she's somewhere in the mansion?" Sweetie asked.

"Uh huh!" Pinkie chirped happily. This was good, now that Sweetie knew she didn't lose her chance at Rainbow... but something didn't quite strike the filly right. If she was supposed to be making the storm, which she could tell was beginning to die out, then why didn't the mare go back up? Sweetie then remembered how Rainbow managed to stall her ghostly self from attacking her. Sweetie decided to interrogate Pinkie and possibly confirm her suspicions.

"... But why?" Sweetie asked.

"You already know! You thought it yourself, Rainbow's got some strong willpower going on. Hm..." Pinkie thought for a moment. "... and I think I know what helps her."

"What?" Sweetie asked.

"Well, you know AJ and Rainbow right? Well, I was thinking... you know about their competitiveness right?" Pinkie asked.

Sweetie nodded. She'd heard plenty from Rarity and Twilight about the two's competitive spirits to be better than one another. She even knew about the Running in the Leaves fiasco, where their competitiveness almost resulted in the end of their friendship.

"What about it?" Sweetie asked.

"Well, I figured that if Rainbow held something like that in her heart, she'd be strengthened by the thought of AJ." Pinkie explained, "And if that's the case, then when she saw your hat, those memories of her friendship with Applejack woke up, and got her to gain a little control over the ghostie controlling her."

"I guess that makes sense." Sweetie said, touching Applejack's hat, happy it managed to come in handy.

Hm... memories make a manipulated spirit's will stronger? Maybe I could use that to catch Rainbow with...

"Maybe you can Sweetie, and I'm just the mare to help you." Pinkie said.

"Huh?" Sweetie asked puzzled. "Y-you mean you’re going to help me catch Rainbow?"

"Sure! That's why I came over here! I figured if you weren't dead by the time I got over here, I'd see if I couldn't help you out!" Pinkie said.

"T-thank you?" Sweetie was unsure if she should have been thanking the ghost mare for giving her assistance. Still, she could have let her go after Rainbow all by herself, and let her die, right? Sweetie wondered... Maybe that memory thing is happening with Pinkie? Maybe she's fighting Specter's control? Maybe she's like-

Pinkie giggled, taking the filly out of thought. "W-what now?" Sweetie asked.

"Oh you silly filly. I'm not helping you out of the kindness of my ghostly heart. In fact, I look forward to you dying. I just want to have fun doing it myself. It's not always you get the chance to play with a filly as fun as you... so I wanted to do it myself!" Pinkie said happily.

Sweetie's heart sunk, her hope doused. Should have known it was too good to be true...

"I'm still following Mr. Yield's orders Jumpie." Pinkie said.

I thought you said you didn't follow orders?

"...but, I'm just bending his orders a teeny bit." Pinkie said. "I'm gonna have to kill you eventually, but I want us to have fun while I do it. What do you say?"

"...well, at least you’re not trying to kill me now." Sweetie said optimistically.

"That's the spirit!" Pinkie said, punching Sweetie in the shoulder. She flinched at the nearly instantaneous frostbite she felt as her hoof made contact with her shoulder. Sweetie then felt the cold and weakness rush through her again. She felt herself momentarily fatigued, and her she was reminded of her ache.

Sweetie reached into her saddlebags to fish out something that could possibly mend the pain.

"Wait a sec Jumpier." Pinkie said.

"What?" Sweetie asked.

"I'd... I'd save that little heart candy if I were you." Pinkie said.

H-how does she know about my heart candy? Doesn't she have something better to do than to watch me all night?

"Sorry Jumpie, you’re just so interesting to watch!" Pinkie grinned. "Besides, you don't feel like you're about collapse and die yet I hope."

Pinkie did have a point. Sweetie felt weak, and hurt all over her body, especially in her muzzle. All that aside, she was 'fine'. Sweetie decided she would take the ghost mare's advice.

"Well then... I guess we should better get going." Sweetie said, getting up on all fours.

"Now hold up there Jumpie." Pinkie said, holding her hoof. There's just one thing need you to do... well, it's more of a suggestion."

"What now?" Sweetie asked.

Pinkie floated to the side of the filly and put her arm around her neck, her muzzle to her ear.

"You see that frozen meany old griffon over there?" Pinkie whispered loudly as she pointed at Gilda, who was preoccupied with trying to free herself from her icy restraints.

"Yeah?" Sweetie asked.

"Push her." Pinkie said.

"Huh?" Sweetie asked.

"You heard me. You know you want to." Pinkie said.

"Y-you’re not serious right?" Sweetie asked shakily.

Sweetie knew what would happen if she did what the pink mare suggested. If she pushed her, chances were, her frozen body would break apart from the impact. The griffon was barely alive as it was. Sweetie doubted she would survive if she broke her up any more.

"What the heck are you two dweebs whispering about?" Gilda asked.

"I'd do it myself, but I'm kind of on thin ice as it is. I doubt killing Specter's little birdy would make him very happy with me." Pinkie said.

Specter's little birdy huh? What exactly is this Gilda to Specter anyway?

"I-I can't. I won't." Sweetie said.

"Jumpie, let's face it. Sure, she's frozen, but she's gonna thaw out eventually. Especially after this storm is over. She's gonna hunt you down and kill you, and I doubt you'd fare very well against her. Why not just end it here and now? Just push her over, and be done with it. It's quick and simple. Just a little push, and there's one less griffon to claw at your flank." Pinkie said smiling devilishly at the filly.

As much as Sweetie hated to admit it, the mare had a good point. Sweetie already had two fillies and a dragon that weren't ghostified on her tail; even more something told her that Gilda wasn't exactly possessed, which meant she couldn't save her. If Sweetie did something about Gilda now... killed the griffon before she could she could kill her... Maybe.

Sweetie felt herself get up and walk over to the griffon, who'd kicked her in the muzzle so hard and coldly. She could still feel the pain as she walked closer to the griffon. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but the filly knew she'd have to make a choice now.

"What do you want pipsqueak?" Gilda asked annoyed by the filly's approach. Sweetie simply stared at the griffon. She didn't like her. She really didn't like her. Without any good reason, the griffon had tried to kill her, of her own free will. For a second, watching her break into a million pieces seemed like a pleasant thought...

"No!" Sweetie said. "I won't do it! I can't hurt anyone like that Pinkie. Even if they are just a big smelly bully griffon."

"What the heck are you talking about dweeb?" Gilda asked.

Pinkie frowned, somewhat disappointed in the filly's decision, but bounced back with a smile and a giggle. "Oh well. It was worth a try. C'mon then, let's get going. I want to get this done before Gilda finally thaws. I don't want her to have all the fun."

Sweetie walked over to the hole in the glass, where she'd crashed the statue of the griffon through.

"Hey! Get back here and get me out! I'll kill you!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this Pinkie... but neither do I." Sweetie said, imagining the horrible things the griffon planned for her...

***

Before leaving the eating area, Sweetie sucked up some rain water with her GCD, unsure if she might need it later. She figured it was best to keep herself fully loaded with anything she could, just in case she had to defend herself. Sweetie walked over the broken glass of the sliding window, and the stone shards of the crashed griffon. They were sharp, but much like the window Sweetie had nearly committed suicide on, they didn't penetrate her hoof. Sweetie wondered if they were some ghosts possessing the stone griffon, or some kind of magic spell. Maybe she'd ask Twilight once she got back to the safe zone. She knew all about magic stuff, most of which Sweetie could never imagine being stuffed into her own brain. She was one of the smartest, most magical unicorns she knew...
***

"Alright Sweetie, remember. Visualize the ball, and imagine it being lifted into the air." Twilight said softly to the filly.

Sweetie looked at Twilight, then at Rarity, who was sitting to the side, watching her little sister attempt her first telekinesis spell. Sweetie looked back at Twilight, who looked at the little filly hopefully. A month ago, Twilight had been tasked with tutoring Sweetie Belle in magic, by Cherelee. The filly struggled with her ability to control her magic, and preform the most simplest of magic. This reflected on her school work, as she wasn't like a pegusi, or earth pony, who were taught how to muzzle write at an early age. Unicorns like her would often write using their magic... but not Sweetie, who rarely ever managed to turn in any legible hoof written work. Twilight had been working with the filly for the last month with little success... Twilight was even beginning to show slight annoyance with the filly. Only recently did she get the idea of Rarity, attending the sessions. Maybe her sister's presence might help the filly?

"Ok Twilight." Sweetie said. "I can do this."

Twilight placed Sweetie's Cutie Mark Crusader ball in front of her. Telekinesis supposedly worked best on familiar objects, which why the mare had chosen the ball. Sweetie gave one last glance at Rarity, who smiled sweetly at the filly.

"Go on dear." She said to her sister.

Sweetie heard sounds of ponies outside the library they were sitting in. Sweetie ignored the sounds outside, determined to get this spell right. She was going to show her sister what she could do. She was going to levitate the ball with her magic today, if it was the last thing she did.

The little white filly closed her eyes and imagined her ball. An image of her and her friends playing around the tree house surfaced in her mind, but she pushed them away, singling out the rubber CMC ball. She saw it in her mind, and imagined it floating in the air, and her grown mare friends congratulating her on her first levitation. Maybe they'd go out to eat? It had been a long time since Sweetie had gone out with her friends and Rarity to-

Sweetie shook the thought from her head, trying to focus... though it was kind of difficult with all of the ponies outside making such a commotion. She kept the thought of raising the ball clear in her mind. She then started to channel the magic in her little filly body into her horn, just like Twilight had taught her. Now she had to take the ball with her magic. As she did, the filly felt a connection between her horn and the ball. As though she were touching it, but not with her hooves, or any part of her body; rather she was touching it with her very mind. Now, all that was left was to lift the ball. Sweetie gritted her teeth, as she tried to push the ball up into the air. As her eyes were closed, she didn't hear either of the mares say a word. Was it not working? Did she have to try harder? She could hear more ponies outside of Twilight's library, most likely gathered at the town square, just outside of the library. Sweetie didn't have time however to think about something like that. All that mattered to her was levitating the ball and impressing Rarity.

Magic left the filly's body, as she started to feel weaker. The effort being exerted from her body through the small amounts of magic made her almost want to collapse. She stayed strong however. She would do it for Rarity. For-

"Rarity, where are you going?" Twilight asked.

Those five words broke Sweetie's focus more than any number of ponies outside in the town square could have ever. The filly's clamped eyes snapped open, as she saw the rubber ball, which levitated only about a foot in the air, fall back down onto the floor, bouncing into a nearby corner. When she opened her eyes, she saw Rarity's tail as it exited the room.

Sweetie's heart sunk. She didn't impress the mare... no, quite the opposite, she must have bored her into leaving...

"C'mon, let's catch up to her." Twilight said.

Sweetie glumly followed the mare, who was as of now, oblivious to her new mood. They both went outside to see what had caught the filly's sister's interest. It turned out to be a small group of celebrity ponies Sweetie had never heard of, but was sure Rarity mention among the hundreds of others.

"Rarity..." Twilight said disappointingly to the mare. She wasn't listening to Twilight as she tried to follow the celebrity ponies along with the other group of mares and stallions equally interested with them. Twilight looked down at Sweetie, who still had her head hung low. "...Sweetie. You did really well..." The mare said, unsure of what else to say to comfort the filly.

Sweetie knew how the white maned mare couldn't resist the desire to meet someone famous, which made her feel a little better about herself. At least she didn't 'bore' the mare... but Sweetie felt certain anger for the celebrity pony, which had to come around that one time. They'd virtually stolen her sister from her, on the day of her first levitation none the less. Sweetie hated celebrities... because they always seemed to take her sister, and only family away from her...

***

Sweetie exited her memory to find herself further down the hallway, past the glass and stone shards. She'd been so lost in thought by the memory that she didn't pay attention to anything around her. All she could think about was that memory... and Rarity. Sweetie was beginning to get more and more worried about the mare. Sure, she was still a ghost, but Sweetie remembered Spiffy saying that the stallion had a thing for the mare. Sweetie wouldn't have her sister stolen from her again. Suddenly, the filly had a hatred for the stallion... not because he was trying to kill her, or that he'd ghostified her friends, but because he might steal her sister away from her again... and Sweetie wasn't going to let that happen.

Sweetie shook her head, knowing she needed to focus on more important things, like Rainbow Dash, and how she was going to catch the fastest mare in Ponyville, and possibly Equestria. Maybe Pinkie would have an idea.

"Hey Pinkie..." Sweetie asked, "... Pinkie?" Sweetie stopped, and shined her flashlight around the hallway. Sure enough, the ghost mare who promised to help her in her mission was gone. She must have left while Sweetie was remembering. So much for helping me...

Sweetie decided that she'd best try and figure out how she can catch Rainbow anyway, despite her "partner's" absence. She sat down on her flank, and took out her ghost book, or as Twilight had called it, the Ghost Encyclopedia. She placed it on the floor, and flipped through the several pages, until she finally came to something new. It was a photo of the ghostly Twilight.

Portrait of Magic
Gender: Female

Bio: Well, considering you have time to read this, you're either hiding for you're life, which I expected, or you managed to catch her... and if you have, good job. If not... well, you’re gonna get yourself killed in a few seconds anyway. The Portrait of Magic is one of the most magically powerful mares in the mansion. She is able to summon and possess pieces of literature to do her bidding, such as attacking you. She mainly focuses on ranged attacks, including creating magical lightning bolts to attack her victims with. Furthermore, she has the ability to use a magic spell known as "Mind Dive" which is a little like ranged possessing. She can manipulate your mind into doing her bidding, like a brain washer. Good luck getting close to her. Though I do have a little bit of good news for you. There is a way to break most Mind Dive attacks, and this is through light entering the eye, and breaking the hypnotic spell... now all that's left is to keep from getting barbecued by a bolt of lightning, or frozen by a flying book. If you do manage to break her control, and get close to her however, she uses most of her magic for her attacks. Naturally, since that magic is being transferred out of her ghostly body, her magical shield is weaker. That's all I got for you kid. Good luck... you’re gonna need it.

"I showed you, huh book?" Sweetie said to the book, then realized I'm talking to a book... I guess I'm lonelier than I thought...

Sweetie flipped to the next page, to find a photo of the statue of the griffons that nearly killed her.

Spectral Stone Armor
Info: Let's just say, you'd better hope you don't come across any more of these. The ghosts inside of these enchanted rocks puppeteer them from inside, by fusing themselves to different parts of whatever stone statue they've chosen. They are strong, and not even your Spectral Throwback will have any real effect on them. Unless you can physically destroy them, you won't get very far in fighting them. Luckily, because there is more than one ghost commonly in one statue, they occasionally have communication problems, and are ironically in result dumber than the average ghost, and can be fooled. If you ever find yourself face to face with one of those things, keep that in mind. It just might save your life.

Though it didn't mention anything about the Elemental Capture feature, Sweetie had to agree with the book. If she hadn't tricked the stone griffons into crashing into the wall, and had to freeze them all, she doubted she'd have had enough water to take on all five of them. Sweetie flipped to the next page to find what she was looking for. It was a picture of the ghostly Rainbow Dash.

Portrait of Loyalty

Gender: Female
Bio: Not bad you've managed to make it this far. Maybe I misjudged you kid... maybe you'll actually figure out how to catch the Element of Loyalty after all? In either situation, the Element of Loyalty, as far as light is concerned, is impossible to capture. Light passes through her, and bounces back off of her and into the colors of the rainbow. Normal light won't work for catching her... but maybe she'll break under a different light... but all that's only possible if you manage to get your light to shine on the speedy mare. She is so fast, that she can pass through light without even touching it. In result, she can phase through light. Her main attacks are commonly close quarters, but she'll usually use her speed to fly through her victims, freezing them from the inside out. You'd be lucky to survive one fly through, let alone what two might do to you. She also has the ability to control storms, given her background as a weather pony when she was alive. Being inside is the best option when fighting the mare... again, if she slows down enough for you to be able to. Good luck with your newest suicide mission.

So my flashlight won't affect her... Sweetie thought. Though the book confirmed it, she figured that already after she tried it the first time. Then how the hay am I going to catch her?... I guess I'll just have to wing it.

With no more new entries in the ghostbook, Sweetie closed its cover and stuffed it back into her bag. She took a deep breath, as she looked down the dark hallway, farther than her in her muzzle flashlight could reach. She didn't know how she was going to capture Rainbow, but she was determined to somehow. The more ghosts she caught, the closer she felt to freeing her friends, escaping the mansion... and rescuing Rarity. She wouldn't let her sister leave her without a fight. Not again...

Sweetie walked down the hallway until she came to a corner. There, she decided to check her map. According to it, if she headed left, she would be heading in the direction of the hallway that led back to the flaming balcony walkway over the dining hall. She was sure the few doors she saw along that way were locked, and it wasn't if she could go past that hallway again. To the right however, would lead to a second stairway, the right side of the balcony walkway where she last saw Spike, and another hallway branching off of that. She could only hope that Spike had left the area while she was knocked out, as it was the only possible direction she could go now.

Sweetie walked down the right hallway, further. As she did, she started to feel the chill down her spine. Her teeth started to chatter softly, as she saw cold mist coming out of her mouth. Hopefully that meant she was getting closer to Rainbow Dash, and not another gang of ghosts. The last thing she needed was to be ambushed in her weakened state.

Sweetie started to come across new doors. Out of curiosity, and a little bit of doubt, she reached up to open one. To her surprise, the first door she came across was unlocked! That's a first... Sweetie thought. Since it was in fact, unlocked, Sweetie decided it would be best to check it out. It wasn't every door that would unlock so easily for the filly. She touched the knob... it wasn't cold, which probably meant there weren't any dangerous ghosts inside. Even so, Sweetie didn't feel comfortable opening the door. It just felt too easy... but after moments of hesitation, the filly finally opened the door.

Sweetie was blinded with light. She staggered back from the intense light, but pushed herself to go further into the room. Sweetie's eyes finally adjusted to the light, and what she saw shocked her. The room... it looked normal, much like the rest of the mansion did on her first entrance... but that wasn't what surprised the filly the most. For inside of the room were three ghosts. First, there was Madame, who sat in front of a desk with a mirror on it against the far light red wall. She seemed to be writing something on a piece of paper, ignorant to the filly's presence. In the center of the floor, lying on the floor were two children, who looked only a year or two younger than Sweetie. They had similar features to each other, with the same yellow eyes, greyish coats and brown manes. Sweetie recognized them as a filly and a colt... she figured they had to be twins. They wrestled on the ground over a stuffed bear. Could they be Madame's twins? And if so, why had Madame asked her to catch them if they were right there behind her?

"M-madame?" Sweetie asked. "M-madame, is that you?" Madame gave no answer. She seemed to be ignoring the filly... either that, or she didn't know she was there to begin with. She seemed to be intensely focused on her writing.

"It's mine!" The colt said.

"No! It's mine!" The filly said, "Mommy got it for me! Mommy said!"

Sweetie wanted to try and communicate with the foals. She started to move forward, but she was stopped by the sound of Madame putting her ink quill down. Sweetie stood still on the carpet, as Madame got up. She ripped out the page from the book she was writing in, and rolled it up. She then kissed the rolled up piece of paper, and floated the ripped out piece of paper over to a chest on the far side of the room. She placed it into a chest against its wall. She turned as she saw a flash of lightning outside of the window. It seemed to scare everyone in the room, Sweetie and the foals included.

"Another storm..." She said to herself. "Come along now you two."

"Mommy! Tell Marbles that you got it for me!" the filly said.

"Mommy! Tell Candy to share!" the colt said.

Madame simply looked to the filly and colt and smiled. The then went over to the chest and took something else out of her pocket Sweetie couldn't identify and placed it in the chest before closing it. She took a key out of her orange dress, and locked the chest with it before placing it back into the dress's pocket.

"Come on. Your daddy 'll probably be home soon from work. Let's go wait for him downstairs and help Spiffy make him a special dinner. Hm?" Madame said to her children. "And Marbles? Let go of your sister's doll. Do you really want all of the Stabletown kids to know you play with dolls?"

Marbles thought for a moment, and finally let go of the stuffed bear. He seemed more worried the menacing look his mother gave him rather than what his schoolmates might think of him. Candy hugged her stuffed bear, while sticking her tongue out at her brother.

"No fair..." Marbles sniffed.

"Marbles, did you ask your sister to play with her toy?"

"She wouldn't have let me anyway." Marbles claimed. "She's just a big plot-head."

Its times like this I'm glad my sister's a mare and not a little filly. Sweetie thought.

"Marbles, we won't have that kind of language in this household." she said. "Now stop bullying your little sister. That's no way of a gentle-colt like yourself to treat a filly."

"You’re always on her side." Marbles said.

"Because I'm the better one, right Mommy?" Candy said.

"I love you both equally. Tell you what, I'll let your father decide who here's at fault when he gets home ok?"

"... fine." Marbles said.

Candy smiled victoriously, as Madame ushered her two children past Sweetie and out the door.

"Hey! Wait up!" Sweetie said, following the three ponies out of the room... but when she looked around the hallway, they were gone. "Where did they... what the hay?"

When Sweetie turned back around, the room changed back to its old abandoned look. The book was gone off of the desk with the mirror and replaced with a white sheet. The framed mirror was now broke, shattered and useless. A layer of dust now replaced the carpet. The only thing that remained the same... was the chest.

"Why did they ignore me? Is the mansion playing tricks on me again? Or... or did I just imagine that? Am I going crazy? I know I saw ghosts just walk past me! I know I did!" Sweetie said. She checked her ghostbook. Maybe it would have something on Marbles and Candy, just like Madame... but there was nothing. It was as though she never encountered them to begin with. She took a deep breath. Whatever just happened, crazy or not, it didn't change the fact she had to keep moving. She figured the best thing to do was to check the chest. She walked over to it and tried to open it, but it didn't work. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Madame had locked that chest. She wouldn't get to see what was inside until she found the key. Of course... it's never that easy.

There didn't seem to be anything else of immediate interest in the room, so Sweetie left, and decided to continue exploring the hallway. As Sweetie continued to walk down the hallway, she started to hear voices in her head. At first she was really beginning to question her mental stability of the situation... but then she started to recognize the voices. It was Rainbow Dash! Her voice was too low for her to know what she was saying, but it was definitely her. Sweetie figured it was from her using her camera to read her mind back at the eating area. She'd almost forgotten about that. She also heard the second voice, which she assumed was her ghostly form. Sweetie figured that Rainbow was hiding in one of the rooms...

Sweetie moves from room to room, for the most part identical to each other except with a few new pieces of furniture, in different parts of each room. The next room she came across that was of some remote interest was a bathroom. There was something different about this bathroom however. It had all of the normal accommodations: toilet, sink, tub... and glass tile floor. What made the bathroom special was the sheer number of mirrored surfaces in the bathroom. Every design in the bathroom seemed to incorporated mirrors. It was almost like Fluttershy's mirrored hallway on a smaller level.

What is it with mirrors and this mansion? Sweetie thought.

Other than the extraordinary mirrors in the bathroom, it held nothing more of interest, but Sweetie decided to keep it in the back of her mind, just in case she could use it for something. Maybe if she was around it when she caught Rainbow, she could use it to escape. With nothing else keeping her there, Sweetie exited the bathroom to explore the hallway further.

Down the hallway, she noticed something. She turned her flashlight momentarily to confirm what she saw. It was some kind of glowing aurora on one of the doors... possibly ectoplasm? Could that be where Rainbow Dash went? Sweetie ran down the hall to the door. Sure enough, there it was. On the door of interest, there was ectoplasm, in the shape of a thundercloud and thunderbolt. The ectoplasm, unlike the other ones she'd seen, its color changed. It started blue, then red, then orange, then yellow, green, indigo, violet, and then blue again. If this didn't scream Rainbow Dash at the filly, nothing would. No doubt about it, Rainbow was behind that door.

Sweetie tried for the doorknob... but it wouldn't budge. The door was locked.

"No way... no way... are you KIDDING ME?!" Sweetie screamed at the door. "Of ALL the doors in this stupid hallway, THIS is the ONLY one that's locked!" Sweetie banged her hoof against the door in frustration. The stress of the mansion was starting to get to her again, as she was starting to get sick of finding locked doors. Sweetie gritted her teeth, angrily... then she took a deep breath, regaining her composure. Now's not the time to be a little filly. I've got to be a big filly... for Rarity. Got to remember sis... got to keep moving forward. Sweetie figured she'd need a key. If this was anything like Applejack, she would most likely find it somewhere in the hallway. Hopefully it wasn't attached to a mouse's tail this time.

Sweetie walked back down the hallway, and decided it best to try and check more rooms. She turned down a second hallway that was crossing the hallway of the chest room. She continued to explore the different rooms of the mansion, finding nothing of any real interest. She must have gone through 5 or 6 rooms in the hallway before finding a something different. It was the same etching of a flame. Could this be another of Madame's rooms?

Thankfully, this door was unlocked, and she entered the room with ease. As Sweetie expected, it was a similar set up to the room Sweetie found on the 5th floor. Sweetie wondered what a mare could want with more than one bedroom.

I guess that's just what you get when you're rich... Sweetie thought. Say... what's that?

On the bed, Sweetie saw a lone piece of paper. It was ripped at its edge, but it was still readable. Sweetie went over to the bed and picked it up. Was this one of the missing pages to the journal?

April 13th 852 A.C

It's been 5 years since the birth of Marbles and Candy, my two beautiful foals. I love them with all of my heart, but at times, their activity can get a little... unbearable. Their sibling rivalry almost reminds me of myself as a little filly. I remember how my grandmother said, before her untimely death, that when I finally had foals, they would drive me crazy... Like today. Those two couldn't stop fighting over that little bear Specter got them for Christmas last year. They've been fighting over it since Marbles lost his own little bear in that mouse accident at Stabletown. Funny... I remember, back when I was pregnant, Specter told me something about how dangerous it was for a Yield to be afraid of something. When we discovered that he had musophobia, I told Specter that there was nothing to be worried about... but he still seemed somewhat worried about Marbles' fear... well something did happen today. He got scared today, of a little mouse underneath a dresser Spiffy must have forgotten to clean out in one of the bedrooms. This was the scary part for me... when he found them, after trying to hide Candy's bear for the umpteenth time, naturally he ran. But as he passed by my room on his way upstairs, I saw something different than a normal fear. I saw something as though he were running for his life. I gave chase to him today. He ran down our hallway, to the window at the end... without slowing down. "Get away from me!" He'd yell. "Get off of me!". I figure now that he was hallucinating of some respect, but then I was so confused and scared for my little foal, especially since he was running head on for an open window. Marbles was fast. Much faster than a mare like me, so couldn't catch up to him. I remembered the tears that came into my eyes as I ran, and imagined what would happen if he didn't stop soon. When it seemed like he was about to head out of the window, low behold, Spiffy Butler came out of one of the doors and closed the window, unknowing of the fearful charging foal until he made contact with the glass. Even then, at his speed, he managed to crack the glass with his little foal head, fracturing his horn and skull. Even as I write these words, I tear up at the memory of my little Marbles being in pain. After getting him to the doctor to patch up his head, we headed over to the Stabletown psychiatrist; where we signed up Marbles and Candy, mostly because I was worried for both children and their mental stability, for sessions to discover their problem. Our first visit, as the psychiatrist was doing his evaluation of the two foals. Specter, the entire time through, had one of those "I told you so" looks on his face... but he remained silent the entire time, as he watched the doctor put them through different psychiatric tests I couldn't understand. The doctor said that they both had a mental disease... a rare one only known to a small group of families in all of Equestria, one being the Yields known as Phobiapathy. He said it was so rare, that doctors didn't really have a treatment for it, but only knew that it was a disease that took one's fear, and multiplied it by 10 to 100, causing the victim to lose all control over themselves and a situation. He said there was nothing he could do... when we all returned to the mansion, the colt was back to his normal foal self, as Candy teased him saying he was crazy. I almost thought that her little insult might have some truth to it. Specter seemed to be giving me the cold shoulder for the rest of that night... something that only happened when he was really peeved, especially with me. I can only hope everything is back to normal in the morning... but somehow, with that Phobiapathy thing... I doubt that some things aren't going to be the same...

Phobiapathy huh? That doesn't sound fun. Sweetie thought. I guess I'd better stick this in the book. Could be useful... She took out her journal and stuck the piece of paper inside before closing it and stuffing it back into her saddlebags. Sweetie shined her flashlight around, looking to see if there was anything else of interest in the room. There wasn't anything that caught the filly's eye... accept the closet door that was ajar at the wall to the far left of the bed. She went over to investigate.

She pulled the sliding walk-in closet open. Inside was what you'd expect: clothing and hangers. Sweetie wondered... she remembered seeing the apparition of Madame put the key to the chest in her dress pocket. Could be still in that pocket? Sweetie moved through the clothing in the closet before finally, she came across a dusty old dress of the same shade of orange she saw on Madame. She reached into the pocket of the dress... and then she felt something inside. She pulled it out to see that it was a yellow, rusted skeleton key. She grinned happily. Now, we're getting somewhere...

She figured it had to go into the chest. Her newest objective was to get back to the chest room, and see if there was anything else useful inside. She stuck the key into her saddlebags and headed out of the bedroom.

Once she was back out in the hallway, she saw something in the distance. Something glowing... and pink. It was Pinkie! Where the hay was she? She used her hoof to beckon the filly over to her. Sweetie felt something wrong with the scene, but decided to meet up with the mare anyway.

"Pinkie, where were you? I thought you were supposed to be helping me." Sweetie called to the mare as she got closer. Pinkie however didn't respond. She just floated there, grinning at the filly. Though grinning ghosts never made the filly feel any more comfortable, she was used to Pinkie's grin by now. Still, something about this particular way she was grinning rubbed the filly the wrong way. It was almost as though she were eager for something. As she finally got to where the mare was, she asked "How are we supposed to catch Rainbow if you keep-"

Sweetie was unable to finish her sentence as Pinkie let out of the words "Sick 'em chicken.". At first, Sweetie was unable to process the random statement Pinkie had just said... not until Scootaloo came out of the darkness from behind Sweetie and tackled her to the ground. It was an ambush, likely planned by the pink mare. Pinkie giggled as she watched as the two fillies wrestled below her. Scootaloo eventually pinned the filly down as she took one hoof and put it at her neck. Sweetie started to choke.

"Well, you two have fun now." Pinkie giggled, as she phased through a wall and disappeared from the scene.

"Hey Sweetie. How many mares does it take to fool a stupid filly?" Scootaloo asked. "None! You just that dumb!" Scootaloo used her free hoof to begin punching Sweetie's face. Her coat started to bruise and her muzzle wound opened up again. Sweetie started to feel weaker in her struggle as she lost more and more oxygen. Scootaloo felt her starting to calm down. "Come on Sweets. It's no fun if you don't fight back. C'mon! Hit me!"

Even when Sweetie was getting her face pounded in, the thought of hurting her friend with her one free hoof was horrifying. She tried to release herself from Scootaloo's grip around her neck, but she was simply too strong. If she didn't do something soon, she'd suffocate. She had to do something... she had to survive... she had to...

Sweetie yelled as she used her free hoof to hit Scootaloo back in the face. In all honesty, Scootaloo didn't see it coming from the little white filly. She let go of her neck to touch her face that was now presently pained. Out of adrenaline, Sweetie threw a second punch at the orange filly's face, causing her to fall back off of her fully.

Sweetie hesitated for a moment, worried that she may have really hurt her friend... but she didn't have time to hesitate. Sweetie scrambled back up onto her hooves, picked up her flashlight, and ran back down the hallway. Scootaloo let out an angry cry as Sweetie turned the corner of the hallway she assumed to be the one with the chest room. She counted the doors, hoping she remembered how many doors there were before she would hit the chest room.

3...2...1... here! This has to be the one! Sweetie thought as she slipped through into the room, hoping Scootaloo didn't track her back. She stood against the door leading back to the hallway, listening. At first, it was silent. This made Sweetie nervous in much the same way when she head-butted Applebloom. The little white filly didn't care that she'd just tried to kill her... she still hit Scootaloo, and felt sickly guilty over it. She hoped she could still walk around and move...

Sweetie was both relieved and horrified to hear hoof steps outside of the door. They passed by the door, unknowing that she was inside. Sweetie silently sighed in relief. She had escaped Scootaloo... for now. Sweetie took a deep breath, shaking the chills she felt from hurting her friend. It wasn't as if she was dead right? She looked at the hoof she hit Scootaloo with, which had a dot of fresh blood on it. She shuddered and wiped it off onto the carpet. It still didn't feel good, no matter how many tries her friends had on her life.

Sweetie went over to the chest and took out the key she found. She stuck it into the keyhole. At first it wouldn't fit, and Sweetie started to get nervous. This was the right key, right? She used all of her little filly muscle, in order to push the key further into the hole. Finally, it connected with the tumblers of the lock. Sweetie guessed it was harder to open because of the age of the lock. Sweetie was then afraid she might actually break the lock if it was also weakened by age. Slowly and carefully, she turned the key, until finally, it clicked open. When Sweetie tried to take the key out of the chest, it snapped in half, with apart of the key still stuck in the lock.

Guess this is useless now. Sweetie thought as she tossed the remaining part of the skeleton key to the ground. The filly opened the chest up slightly, but was scared by a little golden mouse, which scurried out of the small opening. Sweetie fell back onto her flank as she watched the mouse phase through the wall and leave the room. Sweetie didn't see a key on it... she supposed it was just there to scare her.

She opened up the chest fully to find it was some kind of jewel chest. Gems of all shapes and colors were inside... but there were two things inside of the chest that stuck out to the filly. The first being a piece of paper, rolled up much like the one she found on the bed, it was ripped on the edge... this must have been another one of the journal pages. Why was it locked up like this? Only one way to find out. Sweetie opened up the rolled up piece of paper and begun to read...

June 24th 852 A.C

Specter and I had our first fight today... I know I've written about other times him and I have fought. I suppose it's simply something that comes with being a married couple, but... but this one really made me... it made me scared of him for a bit. I'm not even sure what happened. I'm not even sure what I did wrong. It was about mid-day, I was working in the family kitchen with Spiffy to help make some snacks and cake for Marbles and Candy's birthday party in a couple days. It was going to be big, and we were just two ponies. After all, I doubted Specter would offer any help with him almost always being at his mysterious profession. Spiffy said that we needed flour, and he needed to go down to the cellar past the dining hall to get some. I volunteered to take his place. The stallion worked so hard, and I wanted to at least save him the trouble... but the funny thing was, he argued with me. I've never had that butler argue with Specter or I, given he was hired to serve us. He didn't want me to go down to the cellar myself... but I ordered him to allow me to go. I rarely use my status as Specter's wife against him, or anyone for that matter. It just seemed like the cowards way out of a situation, but the butler's resistance to allowing me to go fueled a curiosity in my heart. The mansion was so big, that I never gave anywhere Specter didn't show me a second thought. What was down there anyway? In any case, Spiffy was forced to let me go and receive the flour... but the mare-servant had the nerve to tell me to 'come straight back', can you believe it? I ignored him of course. I'm a mare, not some little foal that couldn't take care of herself. Well, I went down to the stairwell that led to one of the basement levels. Funny, it was behind a door with a very identical color to the wall... no wonder I never noticed it before. It was almost like Specter was hiding something behind the door. I went through and headed down the stairs, and came across two doors. The first one was a normal wooden door. I figured that was where the flour would be. I was ready to head in and get it... when I noticed the second door. It was metal, and had a magical lock on it. It was one of those kinds of doors you would either need to know the magical wavelength for, or be really good at magic in order to open it. I remembered seeing it in one of those catalogs Specter keeps up in his room. I couldn't open it... but I sure as hay could try. I put my ear to the door to see if there was anyone inside, but all I heard was a weird humming noise. Like there was something inside of the walls. I yanked on the door, trying to open it... then my heart stopped when I heard him. "What the hay do you think you’re doing?!" I turned around to see Specter. I almost didn't recognize him with his anger filled eyes... he was definitely irritated on my attempted entrance to the metal door. I asked him questions, but he shot each and every one out of the air. It turned into an argument... our voices yelled at one another, so loud that it went all the way up to the first floor of the mansion. It wasn't long before Candy, Marbles, and Spiffy came down to finally settle us down. After all, we weren't going to argue at each other in front of our foals, right? For the rest of the day, and night, Specter's been giving me the cold shoulder, so I'm probably not going to sleep with him tonight. He's keeping secrets from me, and I know it. I thought we were supposed to trust each other to the day we died? I... I can't let him see this journal. I'm going to hide it in my jewel chest where hopefully he won't find it. The last thing I want is to spark up another argument with him. Don't get me wrong... I love Specter... but I'm not entirely sure I can trust him anymore...

Is... is she talking about the safe zone? Sweetie thought. She had to be... then it was true. Specter had the safe zone made for him... but why? Maybe it was some kind of bunker, for if his ghosts got out of hoof? Did that also mean that he owned the spirit printer, or the camera, or even the GCD? It didn't make any sense...

The other thing that caught Sweetie's eye was a small gem with something inside... Sweetie wondered if she might be able to break the rock. With all of her might, she threw the gem at the nearest wall... it was no good. The gem bounced off of the wall like nothing. The filly wasn't strong enough to break it by herself. She needed more force... Maybe she could use the GCD? Sweetie made sure the device was set to "suck", and sucked up the gem so it stuck onto the nozzle. She then switched it to "inverted" and aimed it at the wall. She then shot the gem at the wall with the momentum of a bullet, as it hit the wall, and shattered into tiny little pieces. Something fell to the ground. Sweetie went over to examine it... It was a key! It had the emblem of a lightning bolt that shined different colors when Sweetie shined her light on it. She grinned, sure that this was the key that would allow her to get inside of Rainbow's room. Alright Rainbow... I'm coming for you now.

***

Sweetie stood in front of the door that led back out to the hallway. She knew she had a little ways to go before she would make it to Rainbow's room, and there was still the matter of Scootaloo, who was still likely patrolling the hallway. Something told the filly that if she got her hooves on Sweetie again, she wouldn't let her escape so easily. She had to be careful... she couldn't afford to be seen by the filly again. Scootaloo was faster than Sweetie, more so in her ghostly form. She'd have to sneak over to the door... and there was only one way Sweetie could think of.

Sweetie turned her flashlight out, and was immediately consumed in the terrifying darkness. She felt just a little colder, and much more afraid without some kind of light to look at. Her legs shook, as though they were ready to give out on her. Sweetie was already weak, and the thick darkness wasn't helping at all. She wasn't sure how long she'd survive in the darkness now. She had to move fast.

With that, Sweetie felt her way around the door, and slipped out of it into the equally, if not more dark hallway. Sweetie then begun her slow walk down the hallway. The darkness was so thick, Sweetie started to feel dizzy, as though the hallway was spinning. Nothing felt there... Sweetie felt along the walls as she walked, to make sure she wasn't slipping out of reality again. Even though Twilight was caught, something told her that her mind was still not the safest place now...

She felt her way around the corner, trying to keep her hoof steps as quiet as possible. When she heard a hoof step, she'd stop for a moment, to hold her breath... only to find it was her own hoof steps a little louder than she'd intended. In the distance, Sweetie could see the glowing ectoplasm on the door. It seemed to float in mid-air in the thick darkness she was in. She was close, and had to resist the urge to run to the floating light. Sweetie made it to the door and stopped in front of it. She looked at it, knowing Rainbow was behind there. She heard the voices in her head, seeming to argue about something Sweetie couldn't understand. It's then Sweetie realized something... she still didn't know how she was going to catch Rainbow Dash. What would she do?...

Sweetie heard hoof steps... this time, she was sure it wasn't her own. There was only one other pony's hoof steps they could be. Sweetie reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the lightning key. She stuck it into the hole and turned. As she'd hoped, it was a perfect fit. She left the key in the hole as she rushed into the room. As she did this, the door closed behind her on its own and clicked locked. Sweetie was trapped.

No... Why didn't I grab the key! Sweetie thought as she desperately tried to open the door back up. It was no good. She was trapped until she caught all of the ghosts in the room... but the question became... where were the ghosts in the room?

Sweetie turned her light and shined it around the room. It was bare, and had nothing of any real interest. All there were, were four blank white walls. Was it some kind of empty storage room? No... it felt like something was here at one point. The question was... what?

Without warning, the walls started to glow. They were, much like the ectoplasm on the door, changing colors of the rainbow.

"Look what we have here? A little annoying filly interrupting my nap?" Rainbow's voice echoed in the room.

You were sleeping? Sweetie thought. Can ghosts do even do that?

"I was so bored waiting for you, I thought you'd never show up." Rainbow said. Sweetie looked around the room, trying to anticipate where she was going to show up.

Sweetie! Stay sharp, I'm going to charge at you! the real Rainbow said in her head.

Where? Where are you coming from? Sweetie thought back to the mare.

"I can't believe there are ghost afraid of a little squirt like you." Rainbow said.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm going to catch you!" Sweetie said to the ghost Rainbow Dash.

"Tough talk, for a filly that can barely stand up straight." Ghost Rainbow responded.

"Well, if you’re so tough, why don't you come out and face me like a mare!" Sweetie called back.

"With pleasure." Ghost Rainbow said. Sweetie heard a boom, followed by a whoosh sound echo through the room.

Dodge now Sweetie! I'm coming from the front wall! Dodge! Rainbow thought.

Sweetie followed the mare's orders and shifted to the right, narrowly dodging a speeding Rainbow Dash. She saw a rainbow streak past her. She must have used her sonic rain-boom to charge her with. A few more inches and Sweetie figured she'd be as frozen as Gilda... probably worse, providing the rain-boom itself didn't rip her to shreds. Sweetie couldn't risk an attack from Rainbow, no questions.

"Aw yeah, this is going to be fun. Boys? Looks like Sweetie here wants to dance. Let's see who's going to be her dance partner?" Rainbow said. Out of each of the glowing walls came a red licker.

"Are you kidding me?!" Sweetie said.

Sweetie! You've got to stay focused alright? Listen to me, and keep those things off your flank! You can do this! Just don't give up! Rainbow thought to Sweetie. Rainbow was right. Now wasn't the time to give up.

Sweetie pointed her flashlight at each of the lickers.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Sweetie pointed her GCD in between two ghosts, as she switched her nozzle back to "suck". She hit the button and caught both ghosts inside of her nozzle's gravity. The third ghost disappeared.

10, 9 yank 7654, 3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing Ghost. The GCD said.

The two ghosts were caught, as two of the GCD's lights went green. When the third ghost showed up, Sweetie didn't waste any time trying to capture it. Instead, she switched to the GCD's Spectral Throwback, and shot it, causing it to fade away into nothing.

"Let's crank it up a notch, eh Sweetie?" Rainbow called.

Right Wall! Dodge Now! Rainbow thought to the filly.

Sweetie jumped forward, narrowly dodging the streak of freezing rainbow. She went through to the other side of the room's wall. Suddenly two lickers came out of each wall, with a total of six lickers. Sweetie's flashlight started to flicker, so she knew she didn't have much time before it inevitably went out. Sweetie quickly swept the lickers with her flashlight before it went out. She then proceeded to capturing two more as the other ghosts disappeared.

-7 yank! 654- The GCD said.

Sweetie! To your left! Look out! Rainbow thought.

Oh no. Sweetie was still catching the two ghosts. Still, as she held the GCD in her hooves, she used her hind legs to jump to the side, and effectively dodge Rainbow, while she captured the two ghosts.

Not bad kid. Rainbow thought, impressed with the filly's quick thinking.

As the 4 other ghosts appeared, Sweetie switched back to her Spectral Throwback, and shot three of the ghost... before the last one managed to get an attack in on her with her tongue. Sweetie yelled in pain, as she fell to her side.

Sweetie! Rainbow thought. Sweetie, get up! Get up!

Sweetie was having a hard time moving herself again as the red licker approached. She didn't have any more ghosts in her containment pack... things didn't look good for the filly. Sweetie wasn't about to give up just yet. She still had her flashlight in her muzzle. She moved her head to the side to shine her light on the licker.

Ding!

Sweetie used her remaining strength to switch her GCD back to "suck", and started to capture the ghost. It was a lazily done capture, for without the resistance from Sweetie, the ghost was less afraid, expecting the filly to faint at any second.

4, 3, 2, 1, 0 Capturing Ghost... The GCD said. The ghost's eyes widened in fear as it screamed and was sucked into the GCD. Sweetie lied on the ground, motionless. Her flashlight fell out of her muzzle and pointed at the back wall, illuminating everything on that side.

Sweetie... Sweetie! Are you alright?! Say something! Rainbow seemed genuinely worried.

I'm... I'm still alive, but I can't move. I just need a second. Sweetie thought.

You don't have a second Sweets. I'm-

"Here." Rainbow said as she hovered through the wall, and over the filly. She sighed. "I really wish we could do this more often, but I guess all good things have to come to an end. See ya Sweets." Rainbow picked up the filly into the air. She was there for a few moments, before Rainbow grinned, and gave her own ghostly cackle, before reaching down the filly's throat. Sweetie gagged at the cold ghostly hoof, as it grabbed her spirit. Sweetie didn't see herself escaping this situation. Rainbow had gone silent in her head. Is... is this the end? Did I lose? Game over?

Everything seemed to pause when the sound of a key turning in the door was heard.

"Huh? What the-" Rainbow said.

The door opened, and the flashlight exposed a little orange filly. It was Scootaloo! She must have been hunting Sweetie and heard all of the commotion happening in the room.

"S..S...Scoots?" Rainbow slowly whispered.

Rainbow dropped Sweetie onto the ground with a thud. She was beginning to regain control over her body now, as she was able to stand up straight again. She looked at the filly and the mare, who stared into each other's eyes intensely.

"R...rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo said herself. Rainbow floated down to the ground and sat there to stare at the orange filly. There was only one thing Sweetie could figure was happening. It was that memory re-awakening will thing Pinkie was talking about. Rainbow was Scootaloo's idol, and Scootaloo was Rainbow's biggest fan. They shared so much together, that they were like best friends. It was almost the equivalent of them being sisters... or even mother-daughter. They stood there locked, and Sweetie just stared at the both of them. Time seemed to stand still for a bit.

Uh... Sweetie? I'm not really sure how long I can hold her like this... If you’re going to do something, do it now. Rainbow thought.

Right, right. Sweetie thought, breaking out of her trance. Ok, so normal light doesn't work... and I'm all out of Spectral Throwback... now what?

Suddenly, something sparked in Sweetie's head. She remembered a science lesson from Cherelee. It was something about ice and the slowing of particles. When something got colder, the particles in that item would slow to a crawl, or completely stop... did that apply to ghosts? Could she freeze Rainbow, like she froze Gilda? It wasn't like she could freeze to death, given she was already dead, and Sweetie still felt the water swishing around in her GCD. It was definitely worth a shot.

Sweetie switched her GCD to Elemental Capture, and made sure it was inverted. Then she shot the freezing mist at Rainbow.

"AAAHHH!!!" Rainbow screamed as the biting cold that surpassed her own normal ghostly temperature covered her body. It wasn't long before she was tangible and frozen solid.

Luna above! That's cold! Rainbow said.

At least you’re not killing me anymore. That's good news.

Yeah, but I wouldn't say you’re out of the storm yet Sweets. Look! I think Scootaloo is losing control again.

Rainbow was right. The crazed look of Scootaloo's possessed yellow eyes had returned. Scootaloo charged for Sweetie, who dodged the filly and ran out of the door. Sweetie grabbed up her flashlight and ran down the hallway, and took refuge in one of the dark rooms. She turned out her light and held her breath as she heard the hoof steps come closer and closer to her position. To Sweetie's horror, they stopped in front of the room Sweetie was in. She knew Sweetie was in there.

Scootaloo stood outside of the door for a few minutes. Sweetie wondered what was taking the filly so long to open the door... then she said something.

"I'll see ya soon filly. Stay sweet." Scootaloo said before walking away, Sweetie listened as the hoof steps faded away... eventually, it was quiet. Sweetie sighed in relief. She wasn't sure why Scootaloo had let her live, after all she was cornered in the room... but Sweetie didn't care. All that mattered was that she was still alive... Sweetie wondered… was that Pinkie’s ‘plan’? Did she want Sweetie to use her friend to catch Rainbow? To use her as bait, nearly getting herself killed?… She supposed it didn’t matter anymore. Now all that remained was to capture Rainbow, which she still had no clue how to do...

Wait a second. Something dawned on the filly: The book questioned if she would break under a different light... or rather different lights. What if she put all of the colors of the rainbow back in Rainbow Dash when she shined her light on her? Would that work? If so, Sweetie had an idea of how she could pull this off.

Sweetie ran back to the empty room with the frozen Rainbow in it.

What the-. Sweetie, what are you still doing here? I thought you ran away? Rainbow thought.

Oh come on Rainbow. I'm not going to just leave a friend behind.

Then what are you gonna do? You can't save me. Light just bounces off of me, remember?

Yeah, but I've got a plan. Just give me a second. Sweetie thought, as she began to push the frozen Rainbow Dash out of the room. She pushed her down the hall, and into the mirrored bathroom.

Weird bathroom. Rainbow thought. What are we doing in here anyway. You gotta go? Rainbow

To be honest, I’m not sure why I haven’t already. No, look. I'll show you. Sweetie thought back as she prepared her GCD for sucking for whatever would happen should her theory prove true.

Then, Sweetie shined her light on Rainbow Dash. The light bounced off of her in the colors of the rainbow. The moved along the mirrors... until each and every one found their way back onto Rainbow Dash.

Ding!

Ha! Way to go Sweetie! Rainbow thought.

The ice broke, releasing Rainbow. Now was Sweetie's chance. Now or never.

Sweetie activated her GCD and began to suck up Rainbow.

"No!" Rainbow screamed.

30, 29, 28-

Rainbow desperately tried to get away from Sweetie, as she held on for dear life on the ride Rainbow was going to take her on. She dragged the filly out of the bathroom and started to drag her through the hallway.

22, 21, 20 yank! 1918171615, 14-

The ghost mare tried desperately to release herself from the gravity of the GCD.

You've almost got me Sweetie! Just a little longer! Rainbow cheered on the filly.

9, 8, 7-

Rainbow tried throwing Sweetie against the walls at her high speeds. They hurt more than they did with other ghosts, but Sweetie wasn't going to let Rainbow down. She was almost there... almost-

3, 2, 1, 0. Capturing Ghost.

Sweets, I feel tingly all of a sudden. That normal?

Oh no. The lightning bolt.

The who now?

Sweetie wasn't sure if she was ready for it this time. She was already weak. Imagine what the bolt would do to her now-

The lightning bolt stemmed from Rainbow to Sweetie. Both Sweetie and Rainbow screamed out in pain, as Rainbow was sucked into the GCD and silence filled the hallway.

Ghost Capture Successful. The GCD said as a light on the back of the GCD pack came on.

Sweetie laughed nervously. She didn't hear Rainbow in her head anymore... did she do it? I... I did it... I... Sweetie collapsed onto the floor, motionless. She was losing consciousness. She heard hoof steps as she lost consciousness. She didn't know who was coming, but she didn't care. She caught Rainbow...

Only two more to go now...

Author's Note:

[10/16/18]

you know, going through this stupid story, the spelling mistakes are kind of growing on me.

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