//------------------------------// // 7 Chasing Shadows // Story: Ghost Hunter Twilight // by Keywii_Cookies55 //------------------------------// "Wow, it worked!" The yellow coated, pink maned pegasus known as Sunny excitedly cheered to herself, floating slightly above the unmoving form of Spike. The alley between two Partyville shops provided the perfect cover to avoid being spotted by any prying eyes. A cunning expression was frozen onto Spike's face, while Sunny's was wearing a far more justifiably pleased look. "I sure didn't think I'd be good at magic!" Sunny continued, "Give yourself credit, Pastel, you're amazing!" She landed back on the ground and inspected Spike, smiling innocently at him, she then shook her head and turned to look around the alley. "No, you're just saying that." "This particular dragon is potent, We'll be done in a tenth the time." A voice spoke in Pastel's head, she giggled to herself. Not missing a single beat in her self conversation though, she did a twirl. "He, he, he, I'm so proud of me!" She looked back at Spike, who remained frozen in place. "Thank you so, so much for helping me test my spell." She began to pace back and forth. "I didn't think it would work, but I tell myself in the mirror every morning. I say 'Pastel Garden, you can do it!' and guess what? I did!" Pastel did a small happy dance to herself before she brought her hoof to her mouth in contemplation. "I should celebrate. But how do you celebrate getting a spell right? Hmm..." She began to think harder, making a show of forcing thoughts to her head. After a short moment she relaxed and smiled. "Maybe I should invite my friends over? We can have chips and dip while I show off how well I can do my new spell." "Begin to finish up, Fluttershy, we're quite well off now." The pony who called herself Pastel Gardens shook her head, "No, I could never do that to them, they're my friends." She then smiled and, after a moment of thought looked back down at Spike, "I can't thank you enough for helping me test out my magic on you." She stared at Spike for a moment, smile still on her face, but now silent. The quiet noise of nearby ponies chatting could be heard as Fluttershy had her eyes locked with Spike's. Immediately her confidence crumpled and she looked remorseful. "Oh my gosh! I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry! I should have asked you first." She looked around frantically in a panic, distressed at having crossed a line. "I didn't mean to freeze you without asking first. Let me undo that!" What Spike remembered next was blinking away a daze. He didn't know how much time had passed since whatshername unfroze him, but he wasn't happy about it. He looked around for her, but couldn't find any sign of yellow anywhere. He ground his teeth in anger and clenched his right claw around the handle of an experienced blade. After a moment of his blood boiling he forced himself to relax. Letting out a sigh he returned his knife to where he'd grabbed it. "What a freakshow," He thought, bitter, "I swear, next time I see her, I'm shanking a bitch. Nobody holds me against MY will!" Nodding at the reassertion of his identity, Spike took in his surroundings, noting for the first time that he was in an alleyway, and so he made his way out. Re-entering the townsquare, he located his stall and started rummaging through his bag one more time. Being that he'd been taken by surprise only minutes earlier, Spike hated that he was caught a second time. "Wow! A snake!" Spike practically jumped fifteen feet in the air before he grabbed his chest and turned around to face the voice. "Jesus SHIT you startled me." He thought as he looked up at the earth pony that decided to speak to him. "I've never seen one of you before." She mused as she smiled to an unsettling degree. Suddenly, however, her entire form shifted from one of careful enthusiasm to dreaded epiphany. "Do you like having things?" "There's things in my bag I can give you." She stated as she reached back into her saddlebags. Spike, however, was exceedingly uncomfortable with the events unfolding in front of him. He'd always scammed people without remorse, a feat he considered an accomplishment considering he'd never once spoken a word to anyone. It took cunning, resources, and just a touch of luck, but he could part even the most crafty from their cash. This mare had him backpedaling however. It was one thing to steal from good honest people, it was another thing entirely to do nothing at all and still be taking from others. It...stopped Spike, made him hesitate. "Wow," he thought, taking an actual step back, "Um...not even three seconds have passed you stupid, stupid horse..." Spike was a picture perfect example of  nervousness, he didn't know how to act around somebody so willing to part with their things at no prompt. The whole situation was unsettling him. It was immediately made worse when the pony finished rummaging through her bag and pulled out a pork pie, placing it on his head with a smile. "There you go, a hat!" "I...I can't even," He thought, taking another step back. "I need to get out of this place." --- Across the district, a clock tower extending into the sky from the roof of a library struck 10:30. The sky itself was a lightly-clouded affair, the sun was shining brightly through the air. In the town below said tower was a lone young pony of yellow, a look of deep concentration on her face. Applebloom looked down at the ground intently, staring at what could only be a hoof print. "It must have gone this way." She thought as she studied the print, before she looked back up and behind herself in confusion, "Or maybe I've lost it?" Rolling her eyes, she began to walk forward. She looked carefully at the ponies around herself, the adults she didn't care much for, the fillies that she knew but avoided. Their intellects clearly weren’t on par with her own.. Most of them thought that Partyville was a perfectly normal place to live. Particularly the mares and stallions, the adults were incredibly stupid. Applebloom had her suspicion for why ponies seemed to get dumber as they got older. A curse, a disease, lead in the drinking water; In the end the the reason didn't matter, what mattered is that almost all of the fully grown ponies in Partyville were easy to manipulate and, if you're Applebloom, easy to convince that she's just another kid. It made her activities a simple matter to hide, at any rate. She looked around and noted nobody was following her as she walked one of the roads that lead out of town. "Loads of different ways it could have gone." She contemplated deeply as a wave of sorrow washed over her. "Especially considering it disappears whenever it feels like.” She shook her head, gathering her composure, "I'm sure I'm fine." Coming up on a street crossing sign her eyes narrowed. "If I mess this up I'll have to wait for the seasons  to switch over again..." She continued walking, leaving the outer limits of St. Orangeberg. "That's in two months right? At least I'll be-" As Applebloom passed a bush she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide open. She felt a hint of anticipation and excitement enter her as she stared ahead at someone. The someone in question was a hooded figure walking into the forest. It was difficult to make out identifying features, but Applebloom knew immediately that this was who she was searching for. She stood staring for an imperceptible moment before she came to her senses and began to slowly follow the hooded figure. "Okay, breathe in, out, this is it. Finally going to catch a vampire." The vampire paused shortly before continuing on. Appleblook suspected that she might be thinking too loud, but then scrapped the idea as superstitious. "Remember everything you've learned. This should be easy." She continued to stare at the vampire while following it, making sure not to get too close. "Just keep it in eyesight and don't blink. Easy," She thought, her eyes already straining to stay open. "Even an adult could do this." Something Applebloom was acutely aware of was the fact that the vampire was leading her into the think forest of the wilds. Clearly it knew she was tracing it, but she knew that as long as she kept her concentration, it couldn't do anything to stop her. Line of sight meant everything. "Careful..." She thought to herself as she closed her left eye only, opened it, and followed with her right. "Careful..." "Hey Applebloom, what are you up to?" A voice she recognized asked from behind her. It was hard to mistake the raspy hollowed echoey voice of Scootaloo. A friend who she didn't mind catching up with, but she was currently busy. Turning around, Applebloom shook her head. "Can you hold on a second, I'm busy." Another voice spoke up behind her, equally recognizable from it's raspy chill, "Doing what?" the second asked. "I'm trying to c..." Turning her head back to look ahead, Applebloom deflated, "aaaaaaaattttccchh..." staring forward, she was disappointed to see no vampire. "Aaaaawwww..."