//------------------------------// // Level 18 - Get More Garlic // Story: Dead Heart // by Leila Drake //------------------------------// "I'm so happy you decided to join the party!", cheered Pinkie Pie. She and Priest were on their way to Golden Oaks Library, Priest still a bit wobbly on his feet. Pinkie more than compensated for his lack of enthusiasm with her own, bouncing on the spot when he paused and trotting ahead when he resumed walking. Her mane bounced along, giving Priest the impression of a Pinkie-shaped Balloon with a caring smile on its muzzle. The streets were not entirely empty but most ponies had already gone to their respective homes to further celebrate Nightmare Night. This time almost no one gave Priest weird looks which was probably because everyone was wearing some kind of costume. On this night he didn't stick out as much as usually. "Twilight and Spike really like you, Priest, it's as plain as day, and besides, I'm sure everypony is already at the library having fun, oh, I can't wait to get there, Rarity and Twilight did the decoration. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are there, too! Did you see Button's scythe? Oh right, you probably didn't, he kept it a secret until today, I just caught him getting the parts -", she giggled, "- you'll probably see it when we arrive..." She went on like this for the entire walk. Even though Pinkie claimed that she couldn't wait to get to the party she patiently offered a glass of sugary water she had pulled from light-knows-where to Priest and smiled happily as his face gained a little color after a while. She stopped and turned back to Priest when a hand touched her shoulder. "I'd prefer if you didn't tell anyone about earlier", he said. "Okay", shrugged Pinkie. "Wait, that's it?" "Of course, silly! If you wanna keep the talk private, who am I to un-private it?" She smiled warmly at him. "Thanks." "Oh my gosh!", gasped Pinkie and jumped back. "What?" "I just realized! You don't have a costume!", she exclaimed in a horrified high-pitched tone as if someone had left the stove on. Priest frowned. "I... kinda forgot that over the puking." "Wah, Priest, too much information!" "Sorry." "But this is Nightmare Night! You need a costume! It's the most important thing ever!" "But you don't have one either", pointed Priest out as they passed the Marketplace. The stands were already gone or closed. A single cloud floated lazily above an empty wooden tub. Maybe the weather team had had a stand, too. A single unicorn made her way across the square, a basket of candy in her magical grip. Pinkie rolled her eyes and grinned. "Of course I do!" She jumped behind a tree and emerged from the other side in blue pants and a yellow-orange vest which clashed terribly with her pink coat. "I'm going as a construction worker! I just didn't wear it because of the cupcakes. Wouldn't wanna get it dirty before the party! Rarity gave me that tip." She completed the costume with a hard yellow hat. "So what's your costume?" "I bought some bandages to go as a mummy..." "Oooh, like Sweetie Belle? Do you have them with you?" "Yes...?" He didn't like the sound of where this was going. "Then prepare for the Pinkie Bandage Cyclon Attack!" - - - The library was already full of ponies when they arrived. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had gone upstairs with Spike and Time Turner while Mara and Derpy stayed in the main room. Rarity was there, wearing a beautiful light blue dress, along with Fluttershy – completely in green – and the blue pegasus Priest recognized as Rainbow Dash. She wasn't wearing her costume anymore. Twilight had mentioned it had been some green pegasus pony. He had forgotten the name, Something 'Do' and basically a Harrison Jones kind of character. Twilight and Applejack just came from the kitchen, bringing the snacks. The delicious smell of baked apples and the jingle of Twilight's hat bells filled the library. Priest smiled. "Wow." "Now look at what the night wind brought in", grinned Applejack. She had already gotten out of her costume as well. Streaks of red paint still decorated her left cheek. Rarity turned her head from her conversation with Fluttershy and beamed. "Priest! Are you all right?" "Uh, sure. Why?" The unicorn smiled at him, a small concerned frown darkening her expression. "Spike said you were not feeling well." He tried to wave it off. "Nah, I'm good. Hey Mara, Derpy, Fluttershy." Fluttershy waved at him, then she and Rarity resumed their conversation. Derpy and Mara approached him and stretched out their hooves. He bumped them with his fist and eyed the grey pegasus's bandage. "How is your side?" Derpy smiled at him. "Better than the doctors expected. Thanks to you, that is! If there's anything I can do to show my gratitude...?" "Watch out for yourself. Your family will appreciate it." She smiled awkwardly, a hint of confusion in her golden eyes. "Huh?" Stupid, she still doesn't know about the ghost. Better not to spoil the evening for her. Priest swallowed. "I – I'm glad you're better. Just take care, okay? Mara, can I talk to you for a second?" "Sure", said Mara, frowning a little. "Later, Derps." "Yep." Derpy waved at them as Priest led Mara into the kitchen which was thankfully empty at the moment. He pushed the door shut with a click and turned around to face Mara. "What's wrong?", she asked. "Where's Spirit?" "Oh, he's out with a friend, he's all right. Dear Luna, you look tense!" Priest snorted. "You're not the paragon of calmness either. The way your eyes keep darting around..." Mara let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, about that..." She looked at the floor. "I think I had a dream last night." Priest shrugged. "That happens. I had a dream, too." Her eyes met his. "I wish I could remember it, I can't shake the feeling it might have been important. And the auras are so bright today, it's really scaring me." "Any idea what's causing it?", said Priest. Mara shook her head. "Maybe they are so strong because it's Nightmare Night, maybe it's because of the ghost..." "Hum. I haven't seen her around today." She smiled weakly. "Neither have I. First good news since Ditzy got out of the hospital. Still, she might come back." "I get the feeling we should stick together until the whole thing is resolved", said Priest softly, rubbing his bandage-covered chin. "Agreed", nodded Mara, relief on her face. "I'm glad Spirit is out of harm's way and the foals are upstairs. If anything goes wrong, the Element Bearers -" A knock at the door made both of them jump. Priest opened the door. It was Twilight. "Can I come in?", she asked politely. "You can", said Priest and smiled briefly. "You are just in time, Princess. Mara and I were talking about our... situation." His voice went back to its usual raspiness. Twilight blushed. "I figured that. I wanted to ask if you were all right?" "Yes. Stop asking me that", said Priest in an annoyed tone. "I'm just worried, we all are", stated Twilight, throwing a glance at Mara. "If the ghost comes back we are defenseless." Priest frowned. "What? But the Elements - ?" "Scratch the Elements", sighed Twilight. "We gave them back to the Tree of Harmony. And before you say anything else: Arcane Magic doesn't work on spirits." "Great", groaned Priest. Mara tilted her head. "How do you know that now?" "Princess Luna visited earlier. She said that she knows of no magic that can vanquish the ghost." "Oh dear", mumbled Mara, sitting down at the table. Priest smiled wryly. "I know some magic that does. Unfortunately it's not... at our disposal right now." Twilight's eyes widened. "Your Light magic?" "Yeeeeaah", he confirmed slowly. "Bummer, huh." The alicorn's frown deepened as she started pacing around the kitchen table. "But there must be some way to restore your magic! I know that we looked into what might have caused its disappearance but what if..." Priest stretched out his arms. "Twilight! There's nothing we can do! Except stick to traditional means, I guess." He sat down on a chair next to Mara. "Traditional?", asked Twilight and Mara at the same time. "Traditional", said Priest, surprised by the sudden undivided attention of both mares. Thanks, Vol'Shalai, he thought. They don't need to know old school exorcisms are more of a Troll shaman specialty. "We gotta get some stuff for it. I can't heal or fight anymore buuut I think I can still bless stuff... I mean, the Light is not 'gone'..." He indicated quotation marks with his fingers. Twilight blinked at him. "Would you mind explaining that?" Priest straightened up and raised his voice a little. "That would take too much time. We need to be prepared if the ghost comes back." "Which might happen pretty soon, according to Luna", added Twilight, producing a piece of parchment and a quill. "Go ahead, Priest." "Okay, we need whatever we can get of the following: an ash branch - or holly or cedar, a sage flower, garlic, a bell, a piece of coal, a lamp - wait, I think I have one!" He pulled the small lamp from his bag. "Scratch that item." How did Celestia know I'd need it?, he wondered. Oh well, not important right now. "My goodness, how do you know about all of those things? And why bring it up now?", said Twilight, looking up. "You said we needed to find out what the ghost wants." Priest sighed. "Sure we do. But that doesn't work out so often. Remember what I said about the lost causes?" Mara cleared her throat. "This is weird. Wouldn't Zecora know anything about anti-ghost-potions or something? She is an expert at that kind of thing." Twilight shook her head. "I already asked her. She knows how to trap some spirits like the Nightmare's minions but this one's a different kind of spirit and way too dangerous for a single pony to deal with." "So which of those things do you think you can get on short notice?", insisted Priest. "Hm", mumbled Twilight. "I have garlic and a bell. There's no coal in the library, just normal wooden logs..." "I might need to write on the floor", explained Priest. "Oh." Twilight giggled awkwardly. "Then what about chalk?" "That would work." "Good", she grinned. "Let's see... A sage flower? No, sorry..." Priest nodded. "How about the wood?" Twilight blushed violently as she said slowly, "There's a small casket made of ash in my bedroom. I could get it..." "It would have to be a stick or a small branch." "Then: No, I don't have any of those." "Not really a surprise", sighed Priest. "Fine, I guess that will have to do. I suggest we keep an eye on Derpy." Mara nodded and rose from her chair. "I'll get the items", offered Twilight. "Let's not tell the others unless we have to. I don't want to scare them prematurely." "But what if she attacks us?", said Mara. "We should try and draw her away from the other ponies", mused Priest. "Pull her aggr-, get her attention somehow." "I'll try", said Mara, her expression as dark as the cloudy night sky. "All right, let's join the others before they get suspicious", reminded Twilight. I really hope that Priest knows what he is doing, she thought. - - - "Alright everypony, you all got your cards?", asked Derpy. The others nodded. They were sitting in a circle in the main room. Priest had taken two pillows; it still was a bit uncomfortable but he had decided to shut up about it. Bowls of sweets and other delicious treats were spread between them. "So", said Derpy, shifting in her seat while Rarity shuffled two piles of cards, "Mara and I made this game up but if it goes wrong we might have to change the rules a little. We never played with so many ponies before. Is that okay for you guys?" Twilight smiled expectantly. "Sure." Applejack nodded and Rainbow Dash simply shrugged. "Now look at the two stacks. There's doors and there is treasures..." "I like where this is going", mumbled Priest into Pinkie's ear. She just grinned. - - - Two hours later they were telling ghost stories. Rainbow's tale of the headless horse's latest victims was the scariest so far. Applejack's story about a strange crop-eating creature which was totally not a bat got interrupted by Fluttershy who stated that it was not really a ghost story. The cowmare grumbled but let Fluttershy tell another one. It was not creepy at all but no one stopped the nervous pegasus. Something about Applejack's story seemed to have struck a nerve and the cowmare refrained from any comments about Fluttershy's reaction to it. When it was Priest's turn everyone was already hyped and excited. "I'm not sure I should do this", said Priest, chewing on a pumpkin cupcake. "Come on, you can do it!", Pinkie encouraged him. He glanced at her. "Yes. That's why I'm worried", he explained. Twilight hummed. "Maybe if you don't go too much into detail?" He sighed. "That could work." "Whoo-hoo!", cheered Rainbow Dash. "Bring it on!" "Oh my", muttered Fluttershy. "Are you all right, dear?" "S-sure, Rarity, no problem. If it gets too scary I'll just say so." Rarity nodded and turned to Priest. "So, what is your story about?" "Fine, you asked for it." He sat upright and cleared his throat. "This is a ghost story from my world - actually the only one I can remember well enough to tell. It's about a woman that lived in a forest close to Lordamere Lake..."