//------------------------------// // Spiritual Bloom // Story: Pipp the Poltergeist // by Misty Shadow //------------------------------// Sunny Starscout had entered the space of her mind after sensing a warm presence, now seeing an area completely filled with a bright, white light. Just like when she had eaten one of Sprout Cloverleaf’s cookies, she saw a ghostly image of her father flash. Only this time, the image of her father became solid in front of her, speaking to her directly. “Long time no see, Sunny.” the image of Sunny’s father, Argyle Starshine, greeted her happily. “Dad?!” Sunny cried in shock, feeling a rush of mixed emotions. “Is it really you?!” Sunny couldn’t help but ask on impulse. Whether the figure standing in front of her was something her mind had conjured up or the real spirit of her father was something she had to ascertain. “That depends.” the figure gave her an unprecedented response. “Do you want it to be me?” “Huh?” a perplexed Sunny reacted, putting a hoof to her head and shaking her head. “Okay, now I’m confused…” “Then allow me to try and explain it in a simple way.” the figure responded. “When ponies lose the ones they love, they naturally want to believe their loved ones are still with them in a way. If a pony’s will is strong enough, they can make that belief a reality they can live. Now that you are spiritually aware, the ones you love who no longer have a physical form can always abide with you…if you truly desire for it to be with everything in your soul.” “…” Sunny was awestruck, having no clue what to say. This figure standing before her had such an endearing presence, filling her with hope that what she had been told was the truth. She was truly starting to feel now that this really was her father…and she knew in her heart the best way to confirm this feeling… “If you really are my father…” she told the figure. “…I want to know two things. Just please answer these two questions for me.” “Gladly.” the figure answered cheerfully with a nod and a warm smile. “Has the afterlife been good to you?” she asked. “And…if you’ve been watching over my friends and I…can you tell me that Pipp is okay?” “Are you sure that’s what you wish to ask me?” the figure replied, still smiling. “You know there are better questions for testing to see if I really am your father. Also, don’t you want to know if your father’s proud of you if he’s been watching over you?” “Yes, I’m sure.” Sunny answered sincerely, nodding and smiling warmly just like the figure had. “Because even if I was only slightly confident in my belief that you’re my father, what’s most important to me is that he’s doing just as great in the afterlife as in this life…and that all of my friends are safe.” “Oh, Sunny…” the figure replied, lifting up his forelegs, inviting her to give him a hug. Sunny answered the invitation, knowing as soon as she entered this figure’s warm embrace that it really was him…not an illusion conjured by her mind, but her father, Argyle Starshine. “There’s a reason I don’t need to ask you much…” Sunny further explained her reasoning for asking what she did as tears of joy began to roll down her cheeks. “It’s because I’ve always known in my heart that you’ve always been here for me…that you’ve never truly been gone…” “I can assure you,” said Argyle, “I am just as alive now as I was before I passed away. My faith in you makes me feel alive, and your faith in turn enhances that feeling of vivacity. As for Pipp, I’d say she feels more alive than ever right now. She knows the truths you and your friends will have to face will be difficult to take in, but fully trusts in all of you pulling through. This challenge Sprout has given you is nothing but a minor obstacle.” “Heh heh…” Sunny snickered. “I can’t believe I was actually nervous when I first realized he had supernatural powers. Not so much because I was afraid of him, but because of how…uncertain that fact made me. After all, I’ve never looked at Sprout as the type to deserve otherworldly power, but even though he’s annoying and selfish, I can’t bring myself to look at a pony I used to play with as all bad. Getting to see you again makes me more confident that there’s something more to this…there has to be some desire to do good in him.” “There’s a desire to do good in all of us, Sunny.” Argyle replied. “Even a pony as evil as Opaline has deluded herself into thinking she’s done good for the world in her attempts to turn it into a place where the strong have full domination over the weak.” “Opaline…” Sunny repeated that name as she recalled something. “When I said her name in front of Sprout, he started acting really strange…like he was a completely different pony. I felt something from him that really freaked me out!” “What you felt wasn’t coming from him.” Argyle explained. “That was the anger of the spirits of Opaline’s victims. Opaline has been making ponies suffer since before the time of Twilight Sparkle. Their ghosts have been drawn to this location, not by lingering attachment to it, but by something that has called them here. I think they’ve sensed that this is where they will finally be able to find peace…” “If it’s peace they want, it’s peace they’ll get!” Sunny exclaimed enthusiastically. “It’s my job as the alicorn to lead ponies to live happy lives! It should be no different for the afterlife! If they want help finding peace, I’ll gladly accommodate them!” “Ha ha ha ha ha!” Argyle let out a hearty laugh. “I’ve only just explained to you who these ghosts that terrified you are and what they want, and your first reaction is an expression of an earnest desire to help them! That’s my girl! You’re going to burn through this…” “You bet!” Sunny exclaimed, pumping a hoof. “I know for sure how I’m going to answer Sprout’s question now…and it’s all thanks to you.” “Don’t be so modest, my dear.” Argyle warmly replied as Sunny prepared to leave the space of her mind and give Sprout her answer. “You should know that the reason I had this conversation with you isn’t because I felt you needed my encouragement…” It’s because… Having now returned to the physical world, Sunny was fully ready to give Sprout the answer to his question, exuding an aura many times brighter than she was exuding before. Her friends could feel the strength of her aura and were amazed. Sprout could feel it too, quickly also feeling his confidence in his own power diminish. “What the…” he said in his mind with nervosity. “Where did this power come from?” “So…” Sunny told Sprout with a confident grin and glare. “Ready to hear my answer?” “How…” Sprout continued to make disbelieving remarks in his mind. “…Why does it feel like our roles have now been reversed?” “Yes…” he answered Sunny sheepishly, hating to hear the sound of fear in his voice. “If I was trapped in a burning building with Izzy and Misty on one side, Pipp on the other side, and you lying unconscious in front of me, and only able to save one pony…” Sunny said before giving her answer. “…I’d save you…” Every pony was surprised to hear Sunny say this, wondering what her reasoning could possibly be. “Is she really going to tell Sprout what she thinks he wants to hear?” Izzy pondered in her mind. “No…Sunny’s too principled for that…I can sense that she has a deeper reason…” “Why?” Sprout asked curiously. “Why not save your friends? If you save Izzy and Misty, you save two friends. If you save Pipp, you save a princess, sparing another princess who’s a friend of yours from losing a family member. Why choose me, a pony who isn’t close to you?” “I’m not choosing you.” Sunny explained. “I’m just saying I’d save you because you’re the only pony I can save.” “Huh?!” every pony exclaimed in bewilderment. “Are you making fun of me?!” a displeased Sprout yelled. “Trying to call me weak?! You do know that if I don’t like your answer, I won’t dispel that familiar! You’ll have to leave knowing that you’ve failed!” “No, Sprout…” Sunny retorted. “You’ve failed. That’s why I can only save you.” “That does it!” Sprout cried angrily before turning and pointing a hoof at his familiar, the spirit that resembled a slightly overweight male Twilight Sparkle. “You! Hope you’re having fun relaxing there because I command you to…” Sprout abruptly paused, finding himself unable to finish his sentence. “What’s going on?” he asked himself in his mind, confused. “Why can’t I give him the order to stay there all night?” “I know what you’re thinking…” Sunny told Sprout. “The reason you can’t tell your familiar to continue making sure we don’t get inside is because your heart’s not in it. Your will wants me to pass this test in a way you like, but you know in your heart that’s not going to happen. You know you have to face the truth that my will is stronger than yours.” Sprout then suddenly felt the compulsion to look up at the top of Canterlove Studios and see that Pipp was watching him from a window with a smirk on her face. She then pulled herself away from the window. “I think I’ve seen enough…” she remarked to herself gleefully. “Sunny, Hitch, and my sister definitely have what it takes to handle the supernatural energy of this place…with the help of their chaperones, of course…” Sprout then felt the premonition that Pipp was preparing to greet her friends, which made him feel even more unnerved. “What’s happening?!” he cried as he turned back to Sunny and her friends. “Have you put some kind of spell on me?!” “No.” Sunny answered bluntly. “I already explained, this is not me, this is you. Deep down inside, you want me to save you from your ego, but your ego is preventing your spirit from experiencing the growth you crave. Tell me, if I were to restore you to a conscious state in that burning building, would you help me save Izzy, Misty, and Pipp? I believe that with the help of your supernatural powers, we could save every pony.” Sprout felt a sense of elation upon hearing that. “So you chose me because you trusted me?” he asked, feeling relieved, though also frustrated. “Geez, why didn’t you say that from the start?! That familiar would’ve already been dispelled! Were you just playing mind games with me by way of revenge?” “Again, no.” Sunny responded. “Regardless of whether I chose to save Izzy and Misty, Pipp, or you, I know we’d find a way to save every pony. But you’re the only pony in that scenario whose soul needs saving. Because if our roles were reversed, and you didn’t have your supernatural powers…you’d leave me to die.” Those words were enough to immediately induce fear into Sprout again, his face contorting into an expression of pain and shock as he recalled the question Pipp had asked him that was similar to what he asked Sunny... Sprout’s mind flashed back to the night before, the night of the day when he had first met Pipp the Poltergeist… “What do you want from me?” he asked Pipp, who was floating above him, in a timid tone of voice, while he was sitting on the couch in the lounge room of Canterlove Studios. “I just want to ask you a question to see if you’re up to a certain task.” Pipp answered in a sly tone of voice. “The same spirit who possessed me seems to have taken a liking to you now that you’ve suffered a painful experience as we both have…” “Don’t remind me…” Sprout said uncomfortably, clutching himself as he recalled the agonizing feeling of being scorched by intense heat. “I’m just glad I didn’t end up like poor you, where I can’t truly call myself alive or dead…” “I don’t need your pity.” Pipp retorted, nonchalantly stroking her hair. “I feel more alive than ever…now onto what I wanted to ask you…the way you answer this will determine how I decide to use you…are you ready?” “I sure am, boss…” Sprout replied with a hint of frustration and sarcasm in his voice, not liking the idea of being “used”, especially after experiencing something traumatic. “What would you do in this situation?” Pipp asked him. “Sunny, Hitch, and your mother are drowning in the sea. Your earth pony magic isn’t working right, and you only have one life preserving ring nearby you that you can use to save one of them. Who do you save?” “Well, that’s easy.” Sprout answered. “My mother. I’d obviously hate to leave Sunny and Hitch to die, but it’s my mom. Sunny and Hitch were my friends when I was a kid, sure, but we naturally grew distant from each other as we got older. Besides, there’s an old saying. Friends come and go, but family’s always there for you. You can replace your friends, but you can’t replace your family.” “That’s all I need to hear.” Pipp told him blankly. “Now then, listen closely to what I have to say…” After Pipp started relaying to Sprout what she wanted him to do, Sprout’s mind returned to focusing on the present, with a key part of that moment from the past now standing out to him… “Now I get it…” he said in his mind, feeling embarrassed. “She may not have reproved me for the way I answered, but her assigning me to this role wasn’t her way of saying I was right or that I had given her a worthy answer. She didn’t trust me to show Sunny that she still has a lot to learn about magic. She trusted Sunny to show me the weakness of my heart…” Sprout felt guilt for how he had answered Pipp’s question and how rude he had been to Sunny and her friends welling up inside of him, intensified by him seeing Sunny smirk at him with a familiar figure by her side, a figure whose presence earned the amazement of Sunny’s friends along with Sprout’s remorse… “I’m sorry that I mocked you for not having a mom…” he apologized on impulse in a somber tone of voice. “My mom is the best…but you have a pretty cool dad…and unlike you, I don’t have a dad who lives on inside of me…” Sprout then began to cry with his hooves on his face, remembering how he felt alone growing up without a father. Sunny’s smirk faded upon seeing Sprout like this, empathizing with him despite his actions. “Sprout…” she told him affectionately. “Even after how mean you’ve been to my friends and I, I don’t hate you. All we want is for you to let us see Pipp again. And I know that’s what your heart wants too. You used this test to see if I could fill a void in your soul while also stroking your ego, but doing both is impossible. Our egos are what prevent our spirits from growing. That’s why my dad came to me in my mind after you asked me that question. Not because he saw me as in need of help…it’s because…” “I wanted my daughter to pass the key to spiritual maturity onto you.” Argyle told Sprout. “Her humility is what allowed her to want to help you despite the fact that you’ve been an enemy to her. Are you ready to humble yourself now?” “Yes.” Sprout replied solemnly. “I admit defeat. I’ll dispel my familiar now.” “Heh heh.” the familiar chuckled. “I knew things would turn out this way. I hope you kids won’t disappoint me once you get inside…and learn how I died…” “Huh?” Zipp reacted in thought to the familiar’s last words before Sprout put his front hooves together, causing the familiar to vanish, leaving small flames that dissipated behind. “Learning how he died…is that the mystery Pipp wants us to solve?” “That fire…” Hitch said in his mind curiously. “It’s like Opaline’s…but also not. The essence of it doesn’t feel malicious…it feels…benevolent…created by the power of unity…” While Zipp and Hitch were focused on the familiar’s words and his fire respectively, Sunny’s attention was on the ghost of her father, their eyes meeting before he began to fade. “I’ll let you go now, darling…” Argyle told his daughter affectionately. “Just remember this…a fire’s purpose isn’t to burn…it’s to warm…” “Dad…” Sunny wondered to herself, recalling what she and her dad discussed about Opaline’s victims. “Do you already know how I can give those ghosts their peace?” Once Argyle had disappeared, Sprout got up from the table and trotted closer to Sunny and her friends. “Congratulations on passing your first test.” he told her sincerely. “But be warned, things are only going to get more difficult from here on. I’ll be transparent and say that Pipp wanted me to gauge your potential with a warm-up. I knew you were coming here from what Izzy and Misty texted me.” “Color me shocked…” Zipp remarked sarcastically as she and the rest of the group turned to Izzy and Misty. “Let me guess, Pipp’s wishes?” “We’re not just acting in her best interests.” Izzy explained. “We’re also doing this for all of you.” “Pipp also wants us to guide and protect you.” Misty elaborated. “Being able to sense the supernatural is not enough if you want the strength to handle the energy inside of Canterlove Studios. You also need to have an extraordinarily powerful will…the will to experience death…” What Misty said had Sunny, Hitch, and especially Zipp feeling mortified…if Pipp was inside…that meant… “No…” The only word Zipp could utter came from her mouth as her mind desperately searched for a way to deny what she deeply feared… “Izzy…” she found herself able to say something else as she recalled something Izzy had told her before they had set off. “You told me about how unicorns have stories in their folklore about ponies being able to transform into ghosts without dying…my sister’s not…actually dead, right?” “Ha ha ha…” a ghoulish laugh came from behind. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Recognizing the voice behind them, Sunny, Hitch, and Zipp turned around straight away to see…Pipp the Poltergeist. Her ghostly form had passed through the entrance doors where the familiar had been, with the upper part of her form floating outside of the building and the lower part of her form remaining inside of the building. “AAAAAIIIIIEEEEE!” Sunny, Hitch, and Zipp shrieked in terror. “PIPP! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!” “I died.” Pipp replied bluntly, grinning blithely. “But I found a way to live again while also being a ghost. My physical body is now spiritual matter. The Pipp you once knew is gone. For I am now…Pipp the Poltergeist! Mwa ha ha ha ha!” Pipp cackled maniacally while raising up her hooves as the sound of lightning striking could be heard. A small flame could also be seen in her eyes… …and inside of that flame, another pair of eyes could be seen…a pair of lifeless eyes belonging to what looked like a soul…