Twilight felt it coming. It wasn’t going to be voluntary, as it never was, but this time, she was prepared. Her eyes moved even faster, taking in the information on the page in mere seconds. Her eyes began to water as stifling the urge was becoming more difficult. She was almost done though, and just as she finished, she shut her eyes, focused her magic and simply allowed it to happen.
“Yawn!” Twilight’s muzzle stretched out as her body made her pay further for denying it sleep, but she almost didn’t notice. Her concentration was on her magic, focusing it and twisting it within her horn. Tonight would be the night she fixed her pest problem, and now was her best chance. Her ears twitched as they were her only reliable sense now, and perked as they caught the intruder.
Flip.
A bright orb of light pulsed through the room as the page of the book settled. She heard a strangled yelp and knew she had caught her prey. Thank Celestia, Zecora knew some magical tricks for such a threat. Now if only she hadn’t been right. Finally, her body decided the yawn could end, and her muzzle shut as her head ached from the force of the spell.
Her eyes scanned the room. It was her simple bedroom in the castle, with a single dresser in the room. It wouldn’t be cluttered if not for the mountains of books that had embedded themselves into each corner. It almost made her sigh each time she saw them, as she had never regained joy in shelving and organizing her library ever since she had lost her library. One such pile had collapsed though, with a single, dark brown hoof sticking out of it.
Twilight focused her magic and another glow of white came from her horn as she levitated the thing. A pony shaped creature came up from the pile and started to shake its head, but Twilight knew better. Then again, most would be able to tell something was off by seeing through the creature. “Who are you, and why have you been haunting my castle?”
The pony shook itself a bit more before trying to right itself and failing. It decided to simply hang there and stared back at her with bright green eyes. Twilight almost yelped and lost control of her magic as she realized that everything about the pony was just like her, even down to her bowl cut mane. A slight tinge of red touched the specter’s cheeks and it looked away. “I’m not haunting.”
Twilight grit her teeth and took a deep breath in to regain her composure. “You are inhabiting this place, are unwanted, and bothering its patrons. I would call that haunting.
It looked down and put its front hooves over themselves. “I… I’m sorry Twilight. I didn’t mean to scare you if I did.”
She sucked in her lips and grimaced. “No… you never scared me, but that doesn’t excuse coming here uninvited and deciding this was your home.”
The ghost shook its head before leaning in closer. “I swear Twilight, I wasn’t trying to make this my home, but trying instead to make sure this place felt like home to you.” It hung its head down. “I supposed I did the opposite though.”
Twilight’s eyebrows furrowed, annoyed that she hadn’t noticed faster the oddity. “Ho-how do you know my name?”
A small smile crossed its lips and the ghost chuckled. “We spent over a year living with one another. I would hope I’d have learned your name by then.”
Twilight simply stared at the phantom across from her for a few moments. Very little about it made sense, and the more she thought, the more one fact kept wiggling into her mind. “Are you a mare, or a stallion?”
The ghost looked down upon itself and lifted its shoulders slightly. “I manifested as my view of beauty and perfection, so I suppose that would make me a mare, though I could probably change if you needed me to.”
Twilight’s face grew very hot, very quickly. “What? What do you mean by manifested? What do you mean by ‘if I wanted you to’?” She swallowed hard and felt her throat trying to close as her confidence suddenly faded. “What do you mean by perfection?”
The spirit hung its head low, its green and light brown mane covering its increasing blush. “Well, the romance novels told me what to look for in a mare, and I don’t think I’ve seen one who beats you in beauty, kindness, and most definitely, intelligence. It’s pretty simple if you think about it.”
Twilight raised a hoof to her face, trying in vain to hide her own blush. She peeked at it from the side of her hoof and saw that it wavered and fidgeted where it floated. Don’t let it get you flustered Twilight. Just because it says some nice things and pretends to know you, doesn’t mean you should trust it. “So, how did you come to be here.”
“Oh,” its head rose as its tone did the same, “that is simple. When your friends dug up my roots, I followed.”
She was silent for a few moments as she stared at the ghost. Despite being able to see through it, if she focused, she could tell more. The were odd lines along its body, and even small, almost unnoticeable metal parts to each joint. Or at least, ethereal parts. She leaned forward for closer inspection, causing the ghost to rub its forehoof and its ‘mane’ started to sway, showing small details of each ‘strand’ moving on its own. “Golden Oaks?”
“J-just… just Oaks, please.”
Twilight sat back, her mouth hanging open. “Bu-but how? You were destroyed.”
A faraway gaze filled Oaks eyes as it looked into the distance. “Yes, yes I was, but that does not mean I died. No, I know what death is like, and this isn’t it.” Its head hung low. “Death is when you have your insides ripped from you by bandits and made into a shelter for their loot, only to grow dirtier by the day.”
It started to shake and distort as it hugged itself. “Death is having masters year after year expand within you, turning you to their own uses and then leaving you there, dirty, scratched, and broken.”
Twilight held a hoof out as tears filled her eyes. “Oaks, I’m so sorry. I swear, I never meant to hurt you, and I am certain that my friends never did either.”
It shut its eyes for a moment and shook its head. “What?” The ghost saw the tears in Twilight’s eyes and started shaking its head even faster. “No, no you misunderstand! That was all before you came along. Before I had someone I truly wanted to be a home for.”
Twilight blinked a few times. “Wha-what do you mean?” She almost jumped as its ethereal hooves wrapped around her own. They were warm though, and Twilight felt herself blush at the contact.
“I mean that you took care of me, you cherished me. When someone busted down my roof, or knocked my wonderful tomes to the floor, you always picked them up, you always repaired me. It didn’t matter how big or small the job that needed to be done was, you would always make sure it was done perfectly. It… it felt like nothing I had experienced before.”
Its chest started to glow yellow as it’s face came closer. “When you were in my halls, I was happy, I was alive once more. I felt like the great oak I always had been and it pushed me to learn. I wanted so desperately to absorb the knowledge kept in my books that eventually, I did, but no amount of knowledge would have fixed my real problem.”
The light in his chest faded and it pulled away it’s hooves. “I couldn’t talk to you, I couldn’t follow you. When you left my doors, I had to leave you alone. I could never repay the favors you had done to me and it hurt. So, when that centaur thing attacked, I,” Oaks hung it’s head low, “I was happy. I know it’s selfish, but if the books were right about ghosts, it would be my chance.” It turned to her. “My chance to tell the beautiful purple mare that I loved her, and that I wanted to make sure that no matter when or where she was, she would never be alone.”
Twilight simply stared at him. Minutes passed in silence as she didn’t even blink. Oaks inner light went from bright pink with tinges of blue, to increasingly less of the former, and exponential amounts of the latter. “I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I,” it shut its eyes and looked away. “I… I should just go. I was wrong in having done this.”
She finally snapped out of it as the astral being started to fade. “Stop!”
It paused just before all of it had truly started to evaporate and looked to her. “Y-yes?”
Twilight bit into her lip slightly. “It… it’s just a lot to take in, okay?”
The ghost looked down. “Yes, yes I suppose it is.”
She looked back up just as Oaks did and looked deep into those eyes. They were riveted on her own, and it filled her chest with warmth. “I always thought I had simply abused my home.”
“It could have only been abuse if you had not taken care of me. If you had forgotten that I was there to be with you, not simply for you.”
Twilight bit into her lip again before looking back at the odd creature. Its body still mirrored her own in shape and style, but that somehow didn’t put her off, not anymore. ‘My view of beauty and perfection’. She thought for a few moments and swallowed hard. “I, I don’t know what to say.”
“I don’t know what I expected you to say, to be honest.”
She smiled as he tried a nervous chuckle. “Well, how about, for tonight, we don’t say anymore. You… you can just sit beside me and turn my pages for me, okay?”
It smiled. “Sounds lovely.”
Twilight snuggled against its side, and immediately felt a surge of warmth and care fill her. She looked back at the copycat’s eyes and saw happiness there. Happiness, and unconditional love. It hadn’t expected her to say yes. I doubt it even thought I would approve of it. And yet, here it is. Sitting with me. Caring about me. Trusting me. The more she thought about it, and the longer she looked into its eyes, the more confused her mind became.
“Twilight? Are you okay?”
She blinked one more time before pushing against the bed. Instantly, she felt like a fool as more warmth hit her face, but no second muzzle met hers. Oaks backed away and looked at her. “Twilight?”
“It… it’s weird, I won’t deny that, but, you are nice, attentive, and caring. I… I don’t see how I could ask more from a loved one, especially after they took care of me for so long.
Oaks smiled at her. “It was my pleasure.”
She smiled back and tried once more to bring her muzzle close to it’s. “That doesn’t mean I can’t thank you for it.”
A gentle pressure came around Twilight. Each point of contact was another place that the ethereal warmth from Oaks filled her, until finally the pressure came against her lips. She let out a content moan as her guest stayed there for but a brief moment before retreating. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”
She smiled back and pretended to rub it’s cheek. “It is my pleasure.”