//------------------------------// // The Discovery // Story: The Ghost Of Ponyville // by RCharge //------------------------------// "But… guh… what?" Twilight babbled as a few strands of her mane stood on end. “T-that door closed behind me. How is it open now?” Twilight turned to trot away when she felt a chill run down her spine. When she turned around this time, she saw a teal and aquamarine earth pony flying at her. “Oh, thank Celestia! Someone else is in… here…” Twilight paused as the realization dawned on her. Wait. Earth pony… no wings… no horn… and flying? That makes no sense! Unless… Twilight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she took a few steps back from the pony. Wait, does that mean that she’s a ghost? I refuse to believe it. They’re not real, it’s scientifically impossible! As Twilight stood there, the earth pony phazed right through her, showing no signs of discomfort at all. Twilight screamed as she galloped off as fast as her legs could carry her.  The earth pony flew after her, its teal and aquamarine coat reflecting the moonlight as they passed an upper story window. Its mane and tail fluttered in what could only be described as an invisible breeze as it pursued her. As Twilight galloped down the hallway, she wondered how she ended up in this mess. Her mind wandered back to a few hours ago when she was overlooking the setup for Nightmare Night. Nightmare Night was fast approaching. Stalls lined the plaza and spilled out into the adjacent streets. With twice as many booths and prize stations signed up than last year, this year’s event looked to be the most interactive one yet. Twilight Sparkle was traveling the strip as she supervised the decorations. “Howdy there, Twi! Helping with the decoratin’ as usual I see!” Twilight paused when she heard Applejack's voice. Glancing over, she saw the farmer pony running a rather modest stall. A few kegs of her world-famous apple cider were sitting on some shelving in the back, along with a few boxes of mugs with the words ‘Sweet Apple Acres’ printed on them. Twilight trotted over and smiled at her friend. “Hey there, Applejack! I see that you managed to convince Granny Smith to allow you to break out the reserves, huh?” she mentioned, gesturing to the kegs in the stall behind her. Applejack let out a chuckle and flicked the brim of her stenson upwards and out of her eyes. “Eeyup… ‘course it wasn’t easy to convince her though. Granny’s set in her ways an’ as stubborn as a mule...” Applejack simply shook her head as she rested a foreleg on the counter. “She didn’t want me to sell any cider outside of the cider season. When ah told her that it wasn’t for selling, just drinkin’, she decided that she didn’t see no harm in giving up a keg er three. As long as I didn’t give it to no foals, that is.” Twilight nodded her approval at that. “So… are you gonna get dressed up this year? I remember somepony promising that they would~!” Twilight sing-songed as Applejack simply groaned. “Twi, I’d love to get dressed up tonight...” Twilight was about to say something, but Applejack continued before she could. “However, I kinda… have to be running the stall this year. I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to this time.”  Twilight sighed ruefully. She knew better than to argue the point, so she decided to drop the subject. “I really should be moving on anyway. I have lots of other stalls to inspect and decorations to assess. I’ll swing back around later, okay?” Twilight smiled at Applejack and turned to leave. “Alrighty, sugarcube! Y’all have fun now!” Applejack called out as she waved at the retreating form of Twilight before she went into the back to inspect her stock. As Twilight walked, she heard the sounds of grunting as well as a sharp ringing tone. She raised her head, spotting the Cutie Mark Crusaders settled in a small area enclosed with a fence.  Apple Bloom held a hammer in her hoof and appeared to be driving a loose nail into the side of a bucket. Nearby, Scootaloo was setting up a machine with a small cylindrical weight on the bottom and a bell on top of what appeared to be a six-foot-tall standing post with numbers painted on the sides. A padded hammer and a small seesaw that served as a counterbalance for the weight completed the attraction. “Hi, girls!” Twilight called out as she approached. The three fillies stopped what they were doing and looked over at her. “Hiya, Twilight!” the trio announced nearly in unison as Apple Bloom returned to hammering in the loose nail. “We were just setting up our station!” Sweetie Belle shouted over the commotion with her usual wide smile. “I can see that!” Twilight chirped as she leaned over the short fence that was positioned around the perimeter. “Do you girls need any help?” Apple Bloom set down the hammer and shook her head. “Nah… I think we got it. Right, girls?” she asked as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle simply nodded. “Uh huh!” the other two proclaimed as Apple Bloom picked up the hammer in a hoof before she returned to work. “Alright, be careful, girls… don’t want any of you getting hurt,” Twilight said as Scootaloo simply groaned. “Twilight! I’m sure we can handle it ourselves…” she groused as she turned her head to fruitlessly hide her growing embarrassment. Twilight simply giggled as she patted Scootaloo in a reassuring manner. “I know, I know… you three just worry us sometimes, is all. I’ll let you three get back to it. Have fun, girls!” Twilight remarked as she trotted away down a side street. “Bye, Twilight!” the three fillies exclaimed as they got back to work. As she traveled down the side street, Twilight noticed that the stalls were sparse here. Normally, this meant the ones that were present didn’t have to make as much of an effort as the ones set up in the plaza. Several prize booths, a food stall or two, and even a stall that panhandled hoof-stitched costumes was on the street that Twilight traversed. As she arrived at the end of the street, a tent sat in the middle of the road blocked her way.  Chequered fabric with lines of purple and pink was spread evenly to catch the eyes of any ponies that trotted by. The fabric at the top tapered off into a single point, the front part of the tent seeming to part down the middle. The flaps of the parting fabric curled back, framing an entrance obscured by another piece of fabric. She immediately noticed a sign depicting a crystal ball stationed over the loose tent flap with some words written in Zebrican. She tried for several moments to decipher the words, but to no success. “Strange… I don’t remember seeing this particular tent before...” Twilight remarked as she paused and brought a hoof up to her chin. She tried to recollect her photographic memory of the layout of the Nightmare Night stalls to see if this particular tent was mentioned anywhere in the original markup. After a few minutes of contemplation, she realized that no listing was set up for this tent. This only fueled her curiosity. “Wonder when this was set up…?” she asked nopony in particular as she nosed the tent flap open and made her way inside. The layout was fairly spartan, with a few bookshelves in each corner of the tent flanking a singular table with a crystal ball settled upon it. Its base was carved from topaz gemstones and the crystal had a smoky quality to it. Twilight was about to inspect the crystal ball closely when the sound of shifting fabric and somepony clearing their throat could be heard from behind her. “You are not the one for which we have sent. May I ask why you are snooping around inside of my tent?” When Twilight turned her head, a zebra stood in front of the flap leading outside. Prancing in place and chewing her lower lip, Twilight spun in a half-circle and looked at the opening of the tent with a sheepish smile. “Oh, I’m sorry… I was just curious, that’s all. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m the coordinator of the Nightmare Night celebration this year,” Twilight mentioned as she approached the zebra. “I didn’t recall seeing this on the scheduled list of stalls and--” “So you came to see what it was about. Now I must ask you to get out!” the zebra admonished as she opened the flap. “I am still decorating, as I’m sure you can see… Now please refrain from bothering me!” Twilight wanted to ask many questions, but the expression on the zebra’s face allowed for no arguments on the matter. Twilight rubbed her forelegs together and quietly exited the tent. Behind her, a hoof shot out to hang a small sign on a well-disguised hook attached to the tent flap: “Decorating in progress inside, no prying eyes shall I abide.”  “In other words... no trespassing, keep out,” Twilight mused as she scratched her head. She knew better than anypony that personal space was to be respected. “She seemed rather hasty to send me away. Maybe I should go back and check… ?” she asked as she rubbed her chin with a hoof. “Might be best if I don’t. She was rather touchy with me snooping around… she might’ve gotten physical if I stayed any longer. I’ll just check up on her later, I guess.” She turned away from the tent and returned back up the street from whence she came. Meanwhile, inside of the tent, the zebra pulled out something from a small storage area in the back. She dusted off what appeared to be a household shrine; a small pyramid-shaped box with a square base. Three openings, two of a smaller rectangle and one of a bigger parallelogram with a small awning, were featured promptly on the side paneling. A pagoda roof sat on top of the small structure. The zebra took out five candles from a box and placed one on each corner of the base, along with one on the top. “That was close, my dearest friend. We were almost discovered right then.” The zebra rubbed the side paneling of the shrine with great fondness before she continued, “Of this ruse a few hours must be spent... only then can we progress to the main event.” A soft glint passed over the zebra’s eyes as she stowed it away and resumed her decorating. As Twilight continued walking, she felt an icy chill run down the length of her spine. She spun around in an instant, yet nothing was there. Deciding it was just the wind, Twilight hurried back up the side street and towards the plaza.  As she ran, she constantly looked behind her to see if anything was there. Unfortunately, this also meant she wasn’t watching where she was going. Pinkie was pronking by as Twilight ran right into her, sending the two sprawling along the plaza. “Whee!” Pinkie shouted as they tumbled across the cobblestones together, clearly enjoying it as they came to a stop a few feet away from the side street. “Hiya, Twilight! I was just going around and looking at all of the decorations and sweets, and I noticed that this year is much bigger than last year’s, do you wanna know how I know? Huh? Huh? Huh? Well, it’s because the stalls are spread out evenly around Ponyville and--” Pinkie suddenly stopped speaking as Twilight firmly pressed a hoof to her mouth. “I get the picture, Pinkie… and yes, this year is much bigger than last year... that’s for sure,” Twilight added as she removed her hoof and kept looking over her shoulder. Even though Pinkie usually had a difficult time keeping focused, she immediately knew that something was wrong. Twilight normally at least paid attention while talking to her. An uneasy feeling settled in Pinkie's stomach as she addressed Twilight again.  “Hey, Twi? Are you okay? You’re acting all spacey and floaty today…” Pinkie waved a hoof in front of Twilight’s eyes. This caused her to refocus on Pinkie as she nervously pranced in place. “N-nothing! It’s nothing! Everything’s totally fine!” she stated with a weak chuckle. The look she got from Pinkie made her sigh and rub the back of her head. “W-well… now that you mention it… I did have a run-in with someone that made me a little uneasy.” “Oh, you mean that eclectic zebra that opened up a fortune teller stall at the end of Seapony Drive who really wants to try and keep whatever she’s doing a secret from everypony?” Pinkie blurted out as Twilight blinked. Her mouth opened and closed a few times in order to process what she just heard. She raised a hoof to speak, but shook her head and lowered it. “R-right, her.” Twilight rolled her eyes, some questions were best left unasked around Pinkie. “As I left I suddenly got this icy chill that ran along my spine too. Do you have any thoughts on her?” “You mean besides my random tail twitches and sneezing?” Pinkie announced as her tail and nose decided it was a good time to demonstrate. “Nupe! Other than the fact my Pinkie Sense is telling me that somepony new is coming to town… but that’s normal!” Pinkie chirped as if the occurrence was nothing more than a normal part of her daily routine.     “Right. Say, uh, Pinkie?” Twilight asked as Pinkie pressed the frogs of her front hooves together. “Yes, Twilight?” she replied sweetly. “Do you think I could… hang around with you for a while? I’m still kinda nervous about… well, you know,” Twilight stated as Pinkie nodded in a manner which Twilight took as her understanding. “Okie dokie lokie! Come on, Twilight! Let’s go and look at the sweets!” Pinkie declared as she pronked off towards a side street. As Twilight followed, the smell of confectioneries met her nose. Her previous worries momentarily forgotten, she hurried along to catch up with her friend.   After a few minutes, Twilight was sick to her stomach. Pinkie must have taken her to every booth that sold sweets on the street they were on. “...That candied apple was so good! Nice and crunchy and sweet with just enough caramel to--” Twilight droned out the ramblings of her friend as her stomach rumbled angrily. Suddenly a wave of nausea struck her, if the hoof pressed against her mouth was any indication. Pinkie must’ve noticed this, for the angry buzzing in Twilight’s ears slowly became a dull hum. “Twilight? You don’t look so good. Want me to walk you home?” Pinkie didn’t wait for an answer as she began leading Twilight to her castle. Along the way, they passed the old Hatfield Manor that sat on the outskirts of Ponyville.  Twilight gave the manor a cursory glance. She secretly hated the manor, which was one of the main reasons she never walked past it. It was in a state of severe disrepair. The side paneling had mold growing in several places as well as windows caked with grime due to the passage of time. And that’s talking about the few windows that still sported intact glass panes. She squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of the interiors. When she did, she noticed a pony-shaped silhouette in an upper story window. Twilight stopped and raised a hoof to scratch her head. She happened to look up at the window and she noticed that the silhouette in the window mimicked her.  Pinkie stood there and watched Twilight as she decided to test her theory by shaking her head. To Twilight’s surprise, the silhouette’s head pivoted back and forth along with her. She danced in place, figuring that she could outsmart it with complex movement. To her dismay, the silhouette followed her routine to the letter. She took this moment to rub her eyes with a foreleg.  During this time, Pinkie started to grow increasingly worried for her friend. She was standing there, watching Twilight make silly motions to a window that had nothing in it. Wow, Twilight must be super-duper-scooper stressed! Just like me when I had to bake that triple tier chocolate Pinkie surprise cake for that competition that one time! Maybe I should whip her up some hot chocolate when we get to the castle? That always relaxes me when I’m stre--Pinkie was jolted out of her inner thoughts by Twilight addressing her. “Huh? Wha…? Pinkie? Do you see that?” Twilight asked as Pinkie looked over at her. “What did you say, Twilight? I… might’ve not been paying attention…” Pinkie punctuated her statement with an apologetic smile as Twilight sighed. “Do you see that?” Twilight repeated as Pinkie scratched her head. “See what?” came her response. “That shadow in the upper story of the abandoned Hatfield Manor! Do you or don’t you?” Pinkie squinted up at the upper story windows and simply shrugged. “Nupe! I don’t see anything, Twilight! You probably were just seeing things because of how lightheaded your poor little tummy is making you!” Twilight mulled over Pinkie’s words, and she had to admit that made a surprising amount of sense. She decided to look up at the windows one more time. However, by now the silhouette had disappeared. Twilight darted her head between the upper story windows, yet she didn’t see it reappear anywhere. Deciding that it wasn’t important anymore, Twilight returned her attention to Pinkie and raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you start making sense, Pinkie?” “Eh, I have my moments...” Pinkie mentioned with a wink. Twilight knew she wasn’t going to get a straight answer, so she just shrugged and let Pinkie lead her home. A pair of eyes were watching them go. “The way they stared filled me with fear… only to be relieved now that they do not know I am here,” the zebra remarked as she turned the corner. Sounds of something being dragged could be heard as the shrine was lugged past the windows and into a side room. “Only a few more hours, my dear… then the show can begin out here!” She announced as she rubbed the frogs of her front hooves together with glee. She left the room and turned off the lights.  One of the candles on the shrine lit up in a scintillating indigo flame. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was flying above Ponyville to set the weather for tonight. She paced up and back as clouds were dragged over the town, overlapping in key areas to allow only low light to filter down. Wind currents were adjusted, air flow was modified, and humidity in the air was calculated as she flew down to admire her handiwork. “This Nightmare Night is gonna be… awesome!” she declared as she swooped down to land in the plaza. “Time to go find Twilight!” Rainbow trotted down a side street that took her past the Hatfield Manor. As she passed the house, she stopped and looked up at a window where a brilliant purple light flickered ominously.  “Uh… that doesn’t look normal,” she realized as she flew up to the window to get a better view. However, the windows were caked with years’ worth of grime which hindered her view of the interior. She tried to open the window, but the hinges were rusted and didn’t budge. “Huh, that’s weird.” As she stared through the grime-coated glass pane, a vaguely pony-shaped figure sped past. It was so close to the glass that it might as well have been right in front of her eyes. Rainbow let out a totally uncool shriek as she flew off in a hurry. “T-T-Twilight!” she called out as she zipped off towards the Castle of Friendship. She landed on the front porch and frantically knocked on the front door of the castle. Spike answered the door, and Rainbow inadvertently completed the knock on his head. “Hey! Rainbow! What gives?” Spike groused as he waved his claws at Rainbow’s hooves. “I’m not a door, you know!” he groaned as the pegasus looked down at him. “Spike! Is Twilight home?” Rainbow blurted out without missing a beat. “Um, yeah… her and Pinkie are--” Rainbow blew past him as she hurried inside, “--in her room.” Spike sighed as he rubbed the palm of his hand along his face and shut the door behind him. “Twilight! Twilight, Twilight, Twilight!” Rainbow parroted as she flew along the hallways. “In here, Dashie!” Pinkie called out as Rainbow doubled back and flew into Twilight's bedroom. “There’s no time to explain! You gotta come with me! It’s an emergency!” Rainbow declared as she fidgeted in place. Twilight lightly groaned as Pinkie turned to Rainbow. “Hi, Dashie! Twilight has a nasty tummy ache! She’s staying off of her hoofsies for now. What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked as Rainbow squashed the pink mare’s cheeks in her forehooves. “Something’s going on at the old manor! I saw an ominous purple light and something moving inside! That can’t mean anything good! Come on! We gotta go and see what’s wrong!” Rainbow said as she tried to tug Pinkie out of the room. However, only her head moved with Rainbow, the rest of her wasn’t budging. “Are you super-duper-scooper sure that you want to start this early?” Pinkie whispered to Rainbow, who blinked and allowed a small grin to slither onto her face. “Well, I was saving all of my pranking for last… but it might be fun to scare egghead over there,” she whispered back as she released Pinkie’s head. It quickly snapped back into place as she nodded.  “Can you two keep it down?” Twilight asked as she slowly opened her eyes. The commotion had roused her from a dreamless sleep. “All this talk about supernatural occurrences is ridiculous… they aren’t real.” “I-I don’t know, Twilight. I’m sure I saw something moving in there,” Rainbow retorted as Twilight raised an eyebrow.  “Well… if you’re sure…” Twilight replied with an air of uncertainty. “Of course I’m sure! I was just at the manor! If we hurry, it might still be going on!” Rainbow quickly flew over to a nearby window as Twilight rolled her eyes and got up. “Alright… if we go and look at the manor… will you let me get some rest afterwards?” Twilight groaned as Rainbow flew back over to Twilight and nodded her head vehemently. “Yeah, sure, whatever! Come on!” Rainbow babbled as she flew back out of the castle and onto the streets, with Twilight and Pinkie following soon after. They arrived back at the manor where the ominous purple glow continued to radiate from the upper story windows and spill into the darkened streets. By now, a small crowd of ponies had gathered, and hushed rumors were beginning to circulate. “What’s that light?” one of the collected asked. “I thought the manor was abandoned?” another one stated. “What if it’s... h-haunted?” Several gasped as one of the flower girls fainted in fright. “Calm down, everypony!” Twilight announced as the crowd parted and allowed her to pass through. “There’s no such thing as ghosts! It’s a scientific improbability! Ghosts don’t exist!” “Oh yeah? Why don’t you scientifically explain that ominous light then?” someone in the crowd asked as murmurs of agreement wafted along the collected. “If ghosts don’t exist, and the manor’s abandoned… then what’s producing that light, huh?” “Settle down! Settle down, everypony!” Twilight instructed as the crowd begrudgingly did as they were told. “Since nopony here knows what it is… I’m going inside to investigate!” Twilight announced as Rainbow and Pinkie galloped up to her. “Not without us, you aren’t, silly filly!” Pinkie gently booped Twilight’s nose as she settled by her side. “There’s no way in Tartarus I’d let you go in there alone, Twilight. I’m going with you as well,” Rainbow added as Twilight made a motion to protest, but she simply shook her head and sighed. “Yeah… alright. Let’s head inside and see what’s going on,” Twilight decided as they trotted up to the door. When Twilight rested a hoof on the door it swung open with no resistance. The crowd slowly dispersed as the trio entered the old manor.