“Twilight, you’re overreacting.” Spike says calmly. Twilight scurries around the library.
“Spike, you don’t understand! Princess Celestia entrusted me with a new student to teach about friendship! And she didn’t tell me ahead of time! What am I supposed to do!? I’m not ready for him!”
Spike grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Twilight, calm down! He’s just another guy. Just talk to him like you would me.” She sighs and smiles nervously.
“Okay...Thanks, Spike.” There was a knock at the door, and Twilight squeals.
“He’s here! Spike, quick. Stall him! I need to clean up! My hair’s a mess!” She rushes upstairs, her bare feet scrambling to her room and slamming the door. The tall drake sighs and chuckles before going over to the front door and opening it.
“Good morning. Is this, uh...Princess Twilight’s castle?” I ask, rather dumbly. Stupid! No kidding it’s her castle. I try my best to fix my messy black hair as the drake looks in my grey eyes.
“You’re Sixth Sense, right? Twilight’s new student?” I nod.
“Y-Yes. But call me Six, please...Everyone does.” The dragon smiles and shakes my hand.
“Well, she’s getting ready. You came last second, so you’re free to wait in the library until she’s done.” I nod and step inside. And my heart suddenly flutters and my head throbs.
“Woah, are you okay? You look kinda pale…” I clear my throat. None of that. I was sent to make friends, not weird everyone out.
“Y-yeah, just fine. Heh.” I chuckle and grab my duffel bag, shuffling through the long, narrow crystal hallway, the walls glistening like a pink and purple mirror.
The dragon leads me to a large set of double doors and throws them open. My jaw literally drops as I’m met with an enormous array of hundreds of thousands of books!
“This….is a princess’ library?”
“Yup! Feel free to read whatever. Oh, and I’m Spike, by the way.”
“You….the savior of the Crystal Empire, Spike?” He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck with his claws.
“Yes, that one. But just treat me like any other friend, alright?”
My eyes widen in shock. Friend?! “F-friend?”
He looks at me solemnly. “Yeah. Don’t you have any friends?”
I shake my head slowly, my eyes glued to my feet. He puts a clawed hand on my shoulder, and I look up at him.
“Consider me friend number one.” I smile brightly.
We both jump a little as a door upstairs slams open, and Princess Twilight scrambles downstairs, her hair in a towel. She was wearing a short, purple skirt and a white, button up blouse. Her curves were hugged tightly by her blouse, her cleavage exposed.
“Oh! You must be Sixth Sense! It’s nice to meet you!” She smiles warmly.
I gulp softly, tugging on my black shirt collar. “P-please….S-Six….”
“Oh. Okay! Well, Princess Celestia sent you here to learn about friendship, right?” I nod frantically, my eyes glued on the bridge of her nose.
“That must’ve been quite an experience. I remember when I met the princesses, too. I was terrified that I’d say or do something to offend them. But she met me with a warm smile…” She smiles at the memory.
After a moment, she shakes her head. “Anyway, after I finish getting ready, why don’t I take you around town? You just got here by train, right?” I nod.
“Excellent! I’ll be back!” She goes into the next room and shuts the door. I slump down into a chair and sigh.
“Oh, wow….She’s so nice…..and pretty….” Spike clears his throat.
“I’ll just, uh...go make some food. Hungry?” I shake my head.
I barely hear him leave before I’m hit with that intense dizziness and weightless feeling again. Not here...It’s not possible.
“You can hear me, can’t you?” I sigh, hearing a soft woman’s voice behind me. I turn around to see a mare just younger than Twilight standing there, her white hair floating freely around her translucent body.
“Yes, I can.” Her entire body from her clothes to her hair were a pale, transparent white and looked like it was being blown in a soft breeze. She had an older-style dress and flat-shoes. She looks like she’d been around when the town was made.
“Why can nobody see me?” She asks.
“I’m sorry to say, but you’ve passed away. Quite a while ago, judging by your clothes.” Her eyes fill with tears as she starts to sob. I hate it when they cry.
“Why can you see me? If no one else can?” She manages to say. I sigh and scratch my head.
“It’s why I’m here….My special talent is that I can sense and talk to spirits, and even see them. I try to help them move on to their next life…. What’s your name? I’m Six.”
“I’m Maple Star….” I smile warmly.
“Well, Maple. Did you have unfinished business before you….you know.”
“I….I was shy in...life. I just wanted a friend…..”
“I know how you feel….Nobody wants to talk to me. They think I’m crazy or something...I’ll be your friend, Maple.”
Her demeanor suddenly brightens as her color returns. Her hair turns a soft amber color, and her skin becomes a soft tan. Her eyes shine green, and her white clothes deepen as tears stream down her cheeks.
“Wh-what’s happening?” I smile.
“This is what it feels like to ascend to heaven. Rest now, Maple. I’ll visit you as often as I can, friend.” She smiles brightly, and vanishes.
I take a deep breath as the feeling disappears from my head.
“Who were you talking to?” I yelp as Princess Twilight’s voice suddenly appears. I flip around, and she was standing in the doorway with her short hair in a neat bun.
“J-Just to myself! Hahahaha…..” I hope she didn’t hear any of that…
“Six….Princess Celestia told me. You don’t have to lie. Who was it?” I look up at her in surprise.
“You...knew she was here? What did the Princess tell you…?”
“She...well, she said that you’re suffering from delusions and think you can talk to ghosts.”
I clench my fists angrily, but sigh. It wasn’t their faults. No one believes me.
“Believe what you want. I won’t lie to you. Her name was Maple star. She looked like she was around when the town was founded. But she’s gone now.”
She looks at me, clearly skeptical. “Maple Star….It sounds familiar. Well, let’s just drop it for now. Ready to meet my friends?”
I nod reluctantly, and follow her out of the castle into the sun-lit street. There were so many vast colors and shapes that my brain could barely comprehend what I was seeing.
She leads me towards what looked like a gingerbread house, and I smile softly. It looks like a storybook house. And it smells amazing.
“This is Sugarcube Corner! My friend Pinkie lives here and works as a baker! I’m sure you’ll love to meet her.”
“O-Okay, Princess…”
“Call me Twilight. Please.” I blush and nod. When we step inside, it feels fairly normal. No flutters. Good.
“Ooh, hi Twi Twi!” I hear a bubbly voice ring out. I look over to the counter, and I feel a sharp pain in my chest. I gasp shakily and clench my heart, wincing slightly. Twilight looks back and holds my shoulder.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah...Just….it’s nothing.” I look back at Pinkie, who had a pleasant smile on her face. That pain in my heart can only mean one thing: She’s suffering.
The way my talent works is that spirits naturally cling to my energy, and can manifest for me to hear and see. It makes me dizzy and lightheaded. But it only does that for the dead. But if someone living expends all of their energy into their environment, it starts draining from me. And if all their energy is expended into their surroundings, that usually means the person at the center of it is burdened by something in their past that’s haunting them, like a demon.
“Well, anyway...Pinkie, this is Sixth Sense. He’ll be staying here in town at the castle.” Pinkie squees and hops over the counter, her slight chub jiggling as she runs over and hugs me. Her candy-sweet scent overwhelms my nose as my face gets buried in her apron-clad chest.
“You don’t need to suffer alone anymore, Pinkie….Let me take your burden…” I whisper. Her grip tenses slightly.
As we seperate, she looks at me in shock. I can’t help but smile as the feeling in the room brightens as her despair leaves her mind.
“H-How did…” She starts.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Pinkie. Please, call me Six.” I interrupt. She smiles.
“Okie dokie, Sixie!” She hugs me again.
“Thank you…” She whispers. I nod and we separate again.
Twilight clears her throat. “Well, uh...we were gonna grab a cupcake or two, if you have any lying around….”
“That’s okay, Princess…..I-I’d rather not. I don’t handle sugar well…” I say plainly. She looks at me, a little surprised.
“Well, um...if you say so. Just one, I guess.” She says. Pinkie nods with a smile as she hops behind the counter. I sigh softly, my body already feeling the extra weight.
When I consoled Pinkie, I took her burden from her. It weighs on me greatly until I can dispel it, which I’ve never successfully done.
I sit at the counter, and Princ- Twilight puts her hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay, Six? You look a bit tired…”
“I’m fine….I just need a minute.” Pinkie comes back from the kitchen with a box of cupcakes.
“Pinkie, I only wanted one…”
“On the house! And I hope you’ll come to your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ Party, Sixie!”
“I-I don’t know….So many people….It might not be a good idea…”
“Awe, please? Sixie, you gotta have a party! They’re super splenderific!”
I sigh in defeat. How can I argue with her?
“Alright….But not too many people, okay? I…can’t handle it.”
“Yay!” She hugs me tightly, her chest squishing my face. My face burns brightly and I stumble back, blushing softly.
“Easy on the hugs….” She pouts playfully before disappearing into the kitchen again. What was burdening her? I’ll have to ask one of these days….or weeks….or years….
“So, um...Let’s try Rarity next, okay?” She says, clearly uncomfortable being around me. Just like everyone else. She can sense something off about me, everyone can. Like I’m some sort of demon in disguise, or a murderer. But it’s just...all the burdens I’ve taken on in my life are starting to affect those around me, like I’m toxic to them, making them uncomfortable or sad.
“This was a bad idea….I don’t want you to be uncomfortable around me…” I clench my fists, my eyes stinging with forced-back tears.
“Six, I…..I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. And you’re not a burden. You’re my student.” I look up at her, and she smiles back pleasantly.
I nod slowly, and she takes my hand, making me blush as she pulls me along. Why...do I feel this way? What is it?
We eventually get to what I assume is a clothing shop, but looks like a carousel of some kind. Twilight knocks on the door.
“Just a minute~!” I hear a sing-song voice ring out. Moments later, the door opens to a very pretty woman with a long, elegant blue skirt and white blouse with long sleeves. Her long, purple, curly hair ran down her back nearly to her hips. She even had a perfect hourglass shape, not too big, not too small. She must be a model or something.
“Oh, Twilight darling! How good it is to see you!” She hugs Twilight, then looks at me. I jump a little as our eyes briefly meet before mine glue themselves to a particularly fascinating rock.
“And who’s this young man with you?” She asks. I wonder if it’s sedimentary…
I get a hard elbow in the ribs and look up to Twilight, who’s looking at me expectantly.
“I-I-I’m Sixth Sense….O-Or Six….” She smiles warmly.
“How wonderful to meet you! I’m Rarity! Oh, good heavens, you must come inside! Your outfit makes you look dreadfully dull!”
I look down at my black shirt and pants. “Dreadful….? I always wear all black….” She grabs my arm and pulls me along with her. Her free hand glows and various sewing tools and measuring tapes fly about the room, zipping around me like some kind of acrobatic display.
“Those colors make you blend in too much! I would love to design your wardrobe! Something simple, I think...Possibly in red. Yes, red it is! That should alleviate some of your paleness!”
“Pale….ness?” I look down at my hands. I am rather pale I guess. This girl’s making me feel self-conscious…
“Darling, when was the last time you ate? You’re so frail-looking! Like you’re a living skeleton! You must take care of your diet from now on!” She puts on small, half-moon glasses as various materials zip around her hands into sewing machines. I can’t help but stare in awe as she makes a red dress shirt and jeans right before my eyes.
“Marvelous! This should do. The black shoes can stay, but this black-on-black look has to go. Now, go change. Off with you!” She pushes me behind some curtains and draws them behind me.
I look at a full body mirror on the wall and my eyes widen in shock. I was really thin-looking, and my clothes hung off me loosely. I guess I really do need to eat better…
I quickly take my shirt off, and I look myself in the mirror again. I could see most of my ribs, but that wasn’t what I was looking at. Right across my torso from right shoulder to left hip was a wide, nasty-looking scar. The look of it alone makes me tense, so i quickly put on my red shirt. I fix the collar and switch to the jeans before looking at myself again. I wasn’t much to look at in the color department, but the red really brings out my eyes. My creepy, grey eyes.
As I step back into the room, Twilight and Rarity were whispering to each other. When Rarity sees me, she turns to me with a forced smile. They were talking about me.
“You look fabulous, darling!” She beams.
“You don’t have to lie to me. I look like a corpse ready to be put in the ground… And you can talk about me all you want behind my back. I’m used to it already.” It was a mistake coming here. To this town. I should’ve stayed in Canterlot, in my little cabin outside of town.
They both look upset. “We...we didn’t mean to upset you, Six…”
I hold up my hand. “Don’t. I’ve spent my life as someone everybody fears, and it’s typical that you would too. Thank you for having me, Twilight. But I can’t stay here anymore. This was a mistake.” I start to walk out, but feel a magic grip on my waist. When I look back, Twilight was standing there, her glowing hand extended. She was crying.
“Six, please….I-I don’t want you to leave. I want you to be happy here…” My hand glows grey and her grip disappears.
“I want to be happy, too!” I yell. I need to stop. “Do you think I like taking everyone’s suffering from them!?” Six, calm down… “I basically kill myself every day so people around me won’t suffer, and all I get is fear and disgust aimed at me!” Six, stop! You’re gonna say something rash!
“My life has been nothing but a curse and a burden to everyone around me, and I just want to die!!” That did it…
I stand there, panting with rage. I hadn’t blown up like that in a long time. When I calm down enough, both of them look extremely distraught, with tears down their cheeks. Twilight slowly approaches me, and I step back.
“No….” She moves closer, and I step further back, tearing up.
“Twilight, stop it!” She grabs me and pulls me into a hug. My heart swoons and I can’t hold back anymore. I burst into tears, clinging to her tightly as I wail into her chest.
“You don’t have to take the burden on your own anymore….You have friends now…” I grip her shirt tightly, years of pent-up tears streaming down my face, staining her shirt.
I feel a second set of arms hug me from the side as Rarity hugs me, too. I sob harder. This...this is what love feels like….