//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: The ghost and a name // Story: human of the everfree // by Aljazig //------------------------------// "What are you doing?" I was absorbed in my search for a book on spells, so I, at the time, didn't think anything about the voice coming from behind me. "I'm searching for a book on easy spells." I answered simply, still looking carefully through the shelves for anything that might help me. "Then you are looking in the wrong section. You should go to the 4th row and find the book on the 3rd shelf. The Starswirl section is too much for a beginner." Commented the voice. "What would you know, you are probably just-" I turned around while talking and stopped abruptly when I saw who, or better yet, what was standing behind me. The closest I could guess, he, as I ascertained from his voice, was a ghost, he certainly looked the part, with the transparent, almost see-through body and the fact he was floating a few inches off the ground. He looked like a human, about 15 years old, maybe less. He had dark brown hair and light blue eyes, at least I thought he did, since I couldn't see him well, him being transparent and all. All in all, he looked like a child, except for his eyes. Eyes that showed he saw too much of the world for his age. "Um, sorry, I haven't introduced myself, My name is &#)&*." The moment I said my name, the ghost shut his eyes and pressed his hands on his ears, slouching forward, like he was in pain. 'Huh?! What did I do?! I just told him my name! I didn't know ghosts can feel pain! Does he need help? How do I help him?!' My thoughts were a jumbled mess, before a sharp cough cut through them and made me focus on the situation at hand. The ghost was floating in front of me, looking completely recovered and instead of angry yelling, I was expecting from him, seeing as it was probably me, that had hurt him, I got a hum, like when you find something fascinating and hum in interest. That was followed with a simple statement: "Well, that was an experience." I wasn't sure if he was joking or if he was serious. He looked like he was in horrendous pain before, wasn't he even a little bit angry? I decided not to ask that, as to not remind him, to actually be angry, and instead stated: "Are you alright?". It was a simple question, yet he started laughing like I told him the best joke he had heard in years. After he managed to quell his laughter, he answered in the same kind voice he has used since meeting me: "I'm quite alright, little one. I was just surprised since it has been so long since I last felt pain. It almost made me feel like I was alive again. But I do wonder, what did you say, to make me feel pain?". "I just told you my name." At this point I was quite curious, why would even a ghost feel pain from hearing my name from back on Earth? "Hmm. You wouldn't happen to be possessing that little girl, right?" He asked with suspicion clear on his face. The statement took me of guard, so it took me a few seconds to manage a coherent reply. "Of course not! I just know that one second I was home stretching after a day of hard work and the next I was in this body in the middle of the forest." Was my quick explanation. I hoped that he wouldn't try to exorcise me or something, because I wasn't sure if I could count myself as possessing someone or becoming someone. "Ah, I see, sorry your name sounded like something a being beyond the veil would say, so I thought you might be one. But it appears I was mistaken, you just had the misfortune of accidentally jumping dimensions and landed here, where the girl you now are, died just moments before. The additional energy from your transfer must have healed the body and fused your mind with it." Said the ghost, dropping all kinds of bombs on me. "Wait how do you know the girl died? And what do you mean, beings beyond the veil? What does it mean that my mind fused with this body?" I asked in need of answers, especially to the first question. After all, I would rather posses a body of a person who died of natural or unnatural causes instead of me killing them or outright replacing their still living minds with my own. I know it sounds cruel and like I don't care about people dying, but it would still make me feel better to at least still have metaphorically clean hands. "First: I do believe you haven't changed your clothes yet and you look like you only wet yourself in a river, you forgot to wash off the blood and grime. all that points to you either, getting hurt badly in which case you wouldn't be up and about like you are, or the girl before you losing her life in a rather horrible way. Second: We do not talk about the beings beyond the veil, EVER. Third: It is exactly as it seems, the body you are in now, is your body. You aren't possessing it or replacing the previous user, it is yours. And really you have to change your clothes." He brought up some good points. By the hole in the clothes in my belly area I could guess something tore through the girl's belly, and most people don't survive that kind of a wound alone in a forest. I still didn't understand the whole 'beyond the veil' thing, but I could guess it's something similar to void dwellers, as we called the weird beings on earth. And it would also appear that he couldn't exorcise me out of this, no, mine body, since it was, well, mine. As for the last thing he said, ... I looked down at myself, only now realizing, I was still in the torn up dress, I was wearing when I woke up in the forest. 'I can't believe I was able to actually run with this on me!' Were my eloquent thoughts, while gazing at the torn up parts, just imagining what would have happened, if I tripped on any of them while running from the ponies. "Yes, about that, you wouldn't happen to know where I would be able to find some human clothing in this castle, would you?" I asked with a hopeful expression. While yelling 'say yes!' over and over in my head. He laughed mirthfully and nodded, before saying: "And while we walk there I can answer any more questions you may have, maybe I can even teach you a bit about magic in the future, I have after all read all of the books of this library, so I think I could handle teaching someone. Now, follow me." And so I did. While we were moving through the stone corridors of the castle, making turns every now and then, I got curious and started talking: "Um, so, you said you could teach me magic, right?" He suddenly got a look of regret on his face and said: "Sadly, I can only teach you about magic, since I am unable to use magic myself. For some reason the only things a ghost like me can do are travel through walls, float and turn invisible, but none of that are magic." "But I think your existence in itself is magic. That theory is just proven right with the fact that your magical form can disappear, can fly and can squeeze through the holes making up the walls." I said, presenting my theory to him with a grin. I may not know much about magic, but I sure can make a solid theory with the facts I am provided. Then again, I have been wrong and I was assuming that magic worked under similar principles as all of the other particles. "Thank you, it's so nice to finally have someone to talk to, who doesn't just scream at you to go away, the moment you show yourself. There have even been ponies that have tried to exorcise me. As I am still here I think you can guess that they failed." Said the ghost with a smile. "I know what you mean, those ponies really think of humans as even worse than animals. By the by, you never introduced yourself after my attempt failed." I had just remembered, he never told me his name. "Ah, right, knew I was forgetting something. My name is Zero Control, it's a self given name, something you should think about if you don't want to give everyone around you a migraine every time you say your name." He answered and commented. I pouted a bit at that, but decided that it was probably a good idea in case I met any creature that was nice to me. "Hm, I guess, for now, you can call me, ... Night Fairy."