Ghosts of the Past

by Itchy

Chapter 1

Sugary Spice sighed as she walked through town. “Why did dad have to go and run that Wrath forsaken boot camp?” she asked herself, kicking a rock down the street. “I mean, he's been so busy lately... and he just got over nearly dieing and blowing up his leg! Couldn't he just slow down a bit until he's fully recovered?”

Letting out a final sigh, she walked into Sugarcube Corner and took a seat at an empty table. She was quickly approached by Pinkie Pie, who noticed her down demeanor, and asked, “What's got your face in a frown?”

Shrugging, Sugary Spice replied, “I'm just a tad bummed that dad is out of town right now...”

Frowning, Pinkie Pie said, “Well, that's not good! But why aren't you playing with any of your friends?”

“I just haven't meshed that much with any of the other colts and fillies here,” Sugary Spice replied, “or at least none of the ones in town right now. Snips and Snails are busy either forging something or running the shop, Sweetie Bell, Applebloom, and Scootaloo are all out on a camping trip in an attempt to earn their Cutie Marks... Screwball is out in Manehatten on a trip with her dad while they're there to pick something up... and Sloth will willingly work out before I even consider trying to be friends with those Pride filled jerks Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara!”

Nodding her head, Pinkie replied, “I see your problem... you don't consider me a friend yet!” At this point, Pinkie threw a leg around Sugary Spice's neck, before adding, “So we'll just have to fix that! How's about you stop by after I'm done working for the day and we bake ourselves a little snack?”

Chuckling, Sugary Spice replied, “That'd be great. Mind if I bring some of my own ingredients?”

“Not at all!” Pinkie shouted, jumping with glee. “We'll be making new recipes! Ohhhhhhh, this is going to be soooo much fun! Just like that time when Twilight came into town and I was all like, 'GAHHHHHHHHHAAA!' only then we had to...”

Sugary Spice laughed as she walked out of the room, leaving Pinkie Pie to ramble on in peace. “I don't see why dad is weary about hanging out with her... she's awesome!” she started, as she made her way towards Cheerilee's home. “A bit hyper and slightly excitable, but awesome.”

Stepping into her temporary home, she hollered, “Cheerilee, ya here?”

The sound of hoofsteps echoed through the house as Cheerilee came down the steps, wrapped in a towel, shouting back, “Hold on a minute, I just got out of the shower!”

Stepping into sight, Cheerilee wrapped her mane with another towel, before saying, “You shouted?”

“More like hollered, but that's beside the point,” Sugary Spice started. “Would you mind if I borrowed your copy of the key to my house to grab some ingredients to bake with later?”

Shaking her head, Cheerilee replied, “Only you and your father would argue that point... sure. It's in the kitchen by the picture of Mecha and I at the Grand Galloping Gala.”

Nodding her head, Sugary Spice quickly moved into the kitchen, and spotted the photo near instantly. Smiling at the smiling faces of her dad and Cheerilee, she ignored the chaos occurring in the background of the photo as she grabbed the house key and made her way out.

“Let's see... the hot sauce bottle is a must, as well as the chilli peppers I have dried in the cabinet... not to mention the cockatrice eggs dad snatched from the forest... better not let Fluttershy find out about those...” Sugary Spice started, going through a mental checklist of everything she'd need.

“Oh, and milk from an Ursa Major!” she added, perking up, before frowning. “How did he even get that...”

Shaking her head, she unlocked her home and trotted in, stepping over the unconscious Diable. “Of course he forgot to give him an order,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It's not like Diable cares if he suddenly passes out or anything.” Snorting, she added, “Probably the reason Diable pranks him so much.”

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A few hours later, Sugary Spice walking along the edge of the Everfree Forest, trying to find one last ingredient. Frowning, she asked aloud, “How hard is it to find a bright blue flower? Especially when everything around here is either brown or green! Blue stands out! AGH!”

A rustling in the bush startled her, causing her to turn around and back up slowly. “W-w-who's there?!?” she yelled, shaking lightly. “B-because I'll have you know, my father is capable of blowing this whole forest up if you even think about hurting me!”

At this point, the being rustling the bushes was revealed, showing a roughed up dark blue-purple pegasus filly, with purple eyes, a dark green mane, and no Cutie Mark on her flanks. Coughing a little, she said, “The Poison Joke is about seventy feet behind me,” before collapsing.

Blinking, Sugary Spice walked up to the collapsed form, before lightly nudging her. “Um... will you be okay if I leave for five minutes to grab those flowers?”

“Yeah... I should be... why do you need them?” the prone figure asked.

“Plan on using them for cupcakes, see if cooking them prevent the effect from happening,” Sugary Spice replied.

“I see...” came the unknown filly's reply.

“Really?” Sugary Spice asked.

“No. All I can see is dirt,” was her sarcastic reply.

“Right... I'll be right back to fix that!” Sugary replied, running off to grab the flowers.

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“Right Sugary Spice, you can go ahead and talk with our guest,” Nurse Redheart said.

“...did you even consider asking for her name?” Sugary replied.

“Well... no. The thought didn't cross my mind,” she replied, rubbing the back of her head while blushing.

Shaking her head, Sugary walked into the room, muttering to herself, “Sloth filled nurse...”

Kicking the door open (much to Nurse Redheart's chargin) Sugary yelled, “Yo! What's your name?!”

Blinking at Sugary's sudden entrance, the forest filly replied, “Lively Spirit.”

“Nice ta meetcha Lively!” Sugary started, kicking a chair next to her bed before sitting down. “What were ya doin in the Everfree Forest? Most ponies round here fear it for laughable reasons.”

Raising an eyebrow, Lively Spirit inquired, “What reasons would that be? After all, the mapinguari* isn't that laughable.”

Sugary Spice snorted, before replying, “Oh no, that's one of the few valid reasons. No, I'm talking about the natural weather, the self-sufficient animals, and, the scariest part of all, the plants that grow all alone!”

Lively Spirit blinked, before deadpanning, “You're kidding, right?”

“Eenope,” Sugary said. “Though I wish I was.” Silence fell for a few seconds, before Sugary broke it, saying, “So... mapinguari?”

“Yeah,” Lively started, “came outta nowhere. Got my mom before my dad could push me into some bushes and then was so distracted with him that I could escape.”

“Wow...” Sugary replied. “Sounds worse than what happened to mine.”

“Oh? What happened to yours?” Lively asked.

“Manticore. Caught my family three days out, and when you don't know the area...” Sugary trailed off.

Nodding her head, Lively didn't say anything for a while. Suddenly, she asked, “The doctors say when I can leave?”

“That'd be now,” came Cheerilee's voice from the doorway. “They decided for you to stay with me for a while, seeing as Sugary Spice here is already staying with me. Figured you'd like to stick with her until you know the area better.”

“That... works,” Lively Spirit replied.

“Great!” Cheerilee said, smiling lightly. “In the mean time... Sugary, if you don't get moving soon, you'll be late for your baking with Pinkie Pie.”

With a quick glance at the clock, Sugary Spice let out a yelp before running through the door, shouting, “I'll see ya later Lively!”

Cheerilee chuckled lightly, before turning to Lively and asking, “Are you ready to go?”

Looking at Cheerilee, Lively Spirit asked, “Does a dragon horde gems?”

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Sugary Spice had just finished cleaning up after baking with Pinkie Pie, the cupcakes from the successful experiments in a bag, the rest in Gummy's food bowl, waiting for the alligator with no taste buds to put them out of their misery.

Grabbing the bag, Sugary Spice stepped out, with a quick shout of, “Thanks again Pinkie!” behind her. Upon exiting Sugarcube Corner, she stopped, just barely avoiding running into Lively Spirit. “Hey there! Cheerilee lettin you out on your own eh?”

Shrugging, Lively replied, “Sorta. She gave me directions here so that you could show me around. She was gonna do it, but some Diamond Tiara's parents came in demanding to know why she had detention or something.”

“Ah, that seems right,” Sugary started, nodding her head. “In that case, follow me!” she added, heading off in a near-random direction.

Raising an eyebrow, Lively Spirit asked, “Where are we going?” before she started to follow her.

“To Ditzy Do's home!” Sugary Spice replied. “Pinkie Pie asked that I deliver her some muffins, and she's always fun to hang around. Not to mention Dinky's there as well... Don't know her too well, but who knows? We could connect with her.”

Shrugging, Lively Spirit said nothing as they made there way to the writer/mailmare's home. Knocking on the door, the two fillies were greeted by Ditzy's wall-eyed smile. “Hello!” she started, before spotting the muffins Sugary was carrying. “Oh! Are those for me?”

“Eeyup!” Sugary replied, handing them over. “Fresh from the oven!”

Squealing a little, Ditzy responded with, “Oh goodie! Stay right here, I've got something for you!”

“Aw, you don't have to do that,” Sugary Spice replied.

“Horseapples!” Ditzy hollered from her kitchen, “You didn't have to deliver them, so you're getting a small reward!” Stepping out into the doorway, Ditzy was holding a loosely bound manuscript, when she tripped and fell on Lively Spirit. “Oh my gosh! I'm sooooooo sorry, are you okay?” she asked, helping her up.

“Don't worry, I'm fine,” Lively Spirit replied, dusting herself off a little. “But what's that you've got there?”

Regaining her smile at the reminder of her gift to them, Ditzy replied, “A copy of the script for the Daring Do movie- signed by the actress who plays Daring Do herself!”

Eyes widening, Sugary Spice took the gift and gently put it into her pack, and said, “T-thank you for this...”

Smiling, Ditzy simply said, “Not a problem- especially after Mecha took out that Chimera that attacked the set!” Suddenly, she gained a thoughtful look, and whispered to herself, “Wonder if I should tell him that they're making a documentary based on him because of that... nah.”

Shaking her head, Sugary Spice broke Ditzy's thoughts by saying, “Once more, thanks! Have a good day!” before walking off.

Lively Spirit followed her a few seconds later, having shaken herself out of her stupor, before asking, “Why did she have an autographed copy of the Daring Do movie's script?”

“Oh yeah, that's right!” Sugary Spice started. “You've never meet Ditzy before, so you wouldn't know that she writes the Daring Do series!”

Blinking, Lively Spirit shook her head lightly.

Back at Ditzy's house, two figures where chatting about what they'd just seen. “I don't care what she gave her, she still hurt Lively Spirit,” the first figure, a stallion from the looks of it, said.

“I know honey, I'm just pointing out why we can't do what you're suggesting,” the second figure, a mare, replied. “Furthermore, it was an accident. She doesn't deserve the full punishment.”

Frowning, the stallion didn't respond for a few minutes, before replying, “Fine. But I still insist that she be punished.”

“Never said that she wouldn't be,” the mare replied. “Now come on, we've got work to do,” she finished, before the two walked into the house.

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The next morning started fairly peaceful. Everypony woke up nice and slow, the foals and fillies running out to enjoy the lovely Saturday that weather-ponies had worked hard to bring them, and the animals were playing in the meadows. Everything changed however, when a loud explosion rang out.

Pandemonium was the flavor of the day, as ponies ran around, screaming their heads off. Sugary Spice, showing that she was indeed Mecha's daughter, was running towards the source of the explosion instead of away from it, before skidding to a stop. There, in front of her, was Ditzy Do's home, or what remained of it. The entire second floor was blown out, and what remained of the first floor was on fire. Ditzy herself was laying on the ground thirty feet from her house, groaning.

Running up to her, Sugary Spice asked, “What happened?!?”

Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, Ditzy replied, “Gas leak most likely... just glad Ditzy was visiting my mom this week...” before passing out.

Panicking, Sugary Spice quickly made sure that Ditzy was alive, before calming down. Taking a deep breath, she managed to get get Ditzy over her back, before starting towards the hospital. When she was about halfway there, she was finally noticed by Doctor Whooves, who immediately ran over.

“Is she okay?” he asked, worry for his marefriend clearly visible on his face.

“Yeah...” Sugary Spice ground out. “But she should probably lay off the muffins... Gluttony's buffet! I thought Pegasi were supposed to be light!”

Realizing that Sugary was having a hard time carrying Ditzy on her back, Doctor Whooves said, “Let me take her,” before sliding Ditzy onto his back. “You go ahead and head back home, or wherever you where when that explosion went off, I'll go ahead and take her to the hospital.”

“Alright,” Sugary Spice replied, nodding her head before turning around. Of course, she wasn't gonna head back home just yet. Making her way back to Ditzy's home, she walked up to Applejack and asked, “Anypony know what happened?”

Caught off guard, Applejack shook her head and replied, “Ah'm afraid not, or at least not anything that makes ta the rest of us. Far as anypony can tell, that gas leak wasn't natural.”

“So somepony was trying to kill Ditzy?!?” Sugary Spice exclaimed, aghast that anypony would consider murdering the loveable mailmare.

“Nah, and that's the confusing bit,” Applejack replied, turning back to the burning house. “It looks as if whoever set this up made sure she'd be outta there before it blew. But ya know what's even more baffling? The lack of any evidence ta show that somepony was present.”

“But... didn't you just say that this wasn't an accident?” Sugary inquired.

“Ah did... and now ya know why we're just as confused...” Applejack said. “We know that somepony set up the explosion, but everything they'd have ta touch... well, it looks as if they'd moved on their own!”

Blinking, Sugary Spice frowned, before replying, “That is unusual...” before she shook her head and started walking back towards Cheerilee's place.

Walking in, she spotted Cheerilee walking down the stairs, looking grumpy while muttering to herself, “Of all the days for an explosion to wake me up, it had to be on a Saturday! Why couldn't it have happened yesterday... or Monday! It've been perfectly fine on a Monday...”

Giggling a little, Sugary Spice cut in, saying, “It happened today because the universe doesn't want you to sleep in.”

Eye slightly twitching, Cheerilee turned to Sugary Spice, before replying, “Well excuse me if some of us actually need to sleep!”

“Hey!” Sugary started, “I need to sleep as well! It's only my dad that doesn't sleep two out of three days! ...and to a lesser extent Snips and Snails since they're now to a one hour a night schedule. Really surprised they didn't go back to their normal sleep cycle after they finished working with that metal though...”

“They chose to force their bodies to adapt to it,” Cheerilee replied. “They enjoy using the freed hours to either work on their schoolwork or produce something for the shop. Actually helped bring up their grades too...”

“Gasp!” Sugary Spice started, forcing her eyes to go wide while bringing her forelegs to her chest. “Are you suggesting that everypony force themselves to only get an hour of sleep each night? I thought you were a teacher!”

Snorting at the filly's sarcasm, Cheerilee told her, “It wouldn't work. Only reason it worked for those two is because Nightmare Metal's magical properties that induce nightmares also helped their bodies adapt to a lesser amount of sleep slept.”

Blinking, Sugary simply replied with, “Ooooh...” before walking into the kitchen.

Following her, Cheerilee saw her pull out the ingredients for pancakes, before starting up a pot of coffee, saying, “No hot sauce in mine please. Your last batch gave me heart burn.”

Nodding her head, Sugary Spice simply whispered, “Wimp,” to herself before getting started, when Lively Spirit walked in.

“I'll take my hot sauce on the side,” she told Sugary Spice, rummaging through the fridge. “Can't stand it in the pancakes, but boy oh boy do they taste good dipped in them.”

“That's more like it!” Sugary replied, smiling widely.

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It was a few days later, and Sugary Spice and Lively Spirit were both laying on a hill, staring up at the clouds. The explosion had ultimately been rule an accident, due to the lack of evidence of true foul play, just suspicious looking circumstances. As it was, Sugary Spice was pointing out various shapes the clouds were making.

“And that one looks like a dragon... while that one looks like a top hat!” Sugary said, joy clearly heard in her voice. “And that one... that one looks like Celestia being chased by parasprites!”

Lively Spirit chuckled at this, before sighing. “How are you so cheerful all the time?” she asked, rolling onto her stomach to face Sugary Spice. “I mean, you told me that your parents were killed not too long ago, yet here you are, laughing it up everyday!”

Rolling onto her stomach as well, Sugary Spice asked, “What do ya mean by that? After all, you've been there with me smiling, so shouldn't you be asking yourself the same thing?”

Shaking her head, Lively replied, “It's not the same. With you, you start smiling and keep on smiling long after whatever caused you to smile is over with, whereas I barely smile before getting depressed again. What's your secret?”

Blinking, Sugary Spice frowned a bit, before saying, “It's... not really a secret. I'm just happy... mostly because my dad keeps me entertained, or somepony else is.”

Letting out a frustrated groan, Lively Spirit turned back to face the sky. After a few seconds though, she took a deep breath, before asking, “Don't you miss them though?”

Raising an eyebrow, Sugary Spice replied, “My parents? All the time. I miss their playful fights about dinner... Their never-ending optimism... My mom's smile every day when pops got home from work... Not to mention their hugs... Sweet Luna do I miss their hugs...” Sugary began to tear up at this point, although her smile confused Lively Spirit.

“You know, everyday we'd all go out and play in the park right next door,” Sugary continued. “It didn't matter if it was raining... In fact, all the better! We'd have the park to ourselves, and the slides would be that much faster... and when mom got on the swing, she would laugh when pops tried to push her and me at the same time, before we'd both jump and start running, telling him he was it.” Chucking, she added, “Never did understand why he never complained about that...”

Taking a deep breath, Sugary ignored the tears that were starting to fall as she kept talking. “We'd always head home after tag, and enjoy a pie or cake mom had left in the oven for when we got back... Always perfect, always delicious. Then it was time for bed, but not before a story first. The Tale of the Rambunctious Filly... didn't realize that it was suppose to be me at the time, but I loved it anyways. Finally, they'd tuck me in, give me a kiss each, and turn off the light.”

Sighing, Sugary turned to Lively Spirit, and finished, “I miss them, I really do. But one thought always enters my mind when I think about them. Would they want me to be sad and miss them? Or be happy while remembering them? I honestly think it's the latter.”

Lively Spirit didn't say anything at first, choosing instead to walk up to Sugary Spice and hug her. After a moment, she replied, “I think so to,” as tears started to leave her eyes. “I just wish... that I could do the same...”

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About an hour after this emotional discussion, the two fillies found themselves walking into Sugar Cube Corner for a sugary pick-me-up in the form of a cupcake.

“Howdy doody!” Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping up from behind the counter, before stopping for a moment, snickering while holding her hoof to her mouth and whispering, “Doody...” Perking right back up, she asked, “What can I do ya for?”

Looking over the fine selection of assorted sweets in front of her, Sugary Spice rubbed her jaw, while humming. “I'll take... two of your hot-sauce specials please.”

“Ah... wise choice,” Pinkie replied in a fake sage tone. “You have learned well, young grasshopper.”

It was Lively Spirit's turn to snicker, before telling Pinkie her order, “One lemon cupcake with blueberry frosting, and one blueberry cupcake with lemon frosting.”

“Trying to trick me up eh,” Pinkie responded, closing her right eye while her left eye eyed Lively up and down. “Well it won't work, schee,” she said, stressing the word see like actors in a poor gangster movie. “Because I've got them labeled schee, and I'm not about to go and mix them up schee!”

All three of them broke down in laughter at this point, before Pinkie handed the two fillies their orders. “Enjoy and have-” what they were to have was cut off, as the oven in the kitchen that Pinkie had left unattended blew up, throwing them all back.

Getting up, Sugary Spice shook the debris out of her mane, before her eyes widened and she rushed over to Lively Spirit, worried at the sight of blood. She relaxed, however, when she saw that it was just a shallow cut that ran along her side. Not serious, but it definitely looked otherwise.

“Ow...” Pinkie groaned, getting up from the wreckage of the table she hit. “I guess Mr. and Mrs. Cake were right about that oven...”

“What do ya mean?” Sugary asked, doing her best to wake Lively up.

“They were worried about it's age and the fact that it's so close to the gas line, especially after what happened to Ditzy,” Pinkie replied, before giving herself a shake and moving over to help Sugary with Lively. “Normally, I'd have just done what they recommend and leave it alone until Mecha gets back, but with all the orders we got today, I just HAD to use it to keep up.”

“Understandable,” Lively groaned out while opening her eyes, before she got up and winced. “Although I think I should head to the hospital...”

“Yeah, you should,” Pinkie said, nodding her head. “And those cupcakes are on the house since, well, I kinda blew you up...”

Shaking their heads, the two fillies left as Pinkie stayed behind to deal with the ponies that would inevitably come to investigate.

Of course, two ponies in particular didn't need to investigate, having seen what happened. “She is a menace, and a clear threat to Lively!” shouted the stallion.

“Indeed...” the mare replied, nodding her head. “Such clear danger, and she doesn't think twice about it! If that had happened with her closer to the oven, Lively could have injured much worse, or even killed!”

“It's obvious what we must do...” the stallion started.

“As clear as crystal...” the mare muttered.

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It had taken a few hours to get Lively Spirit's scratch patched up due to the amount of activity going on at the hospital- namely a blood drive. It wasn't that they didn't want to help the young filly, it was just her insistence that they deal with the drive first since her wound had stopped bleeding, thus needing as much medical attention as a splinter.

So with her side wound free, Lively Spirit walked out with Sugary Spice, saying, “I never knew that unicorn magic could do any of that...”

Nodding her head, Sugary replied, “It is quite amazing, isn't it? My dad's always saying about how they do such a good job there... when they aren't mocking him by painting the walls with his exploits.”

Blinking, Lively said, “You mean all that was real? But doesn't that mean...” she trailed off, as Pinkie Pie, laying on a stretcher being held by two large stallions, was rushed by, scratched up, and with her right foreleg clearly bent out of shape.

Blinking, Sugary asked, “What happened?”

Doctor Whooves, who had been walking alongside Pinkie, replied, “Honestly... chaos would be the best answer. Some trees suddenly fell over as if cut down, the river flooded as she walked past and almost swept her down stream... and then an old building literally FELL ON HER!”

The two fillies had to pick their jaws off the floor, as they stood there in wide-eyed silence. Nodding his head at their reaction, Doctor Whooves added, “She's lucky her Pinkie Sense works as well as it does, because otherwise she'd be dead. End of story.”

Blinking, the two shook their heads, before walking off. “Odd, isn't it?” Sugary Spice said.

“I know...” Lively replied. “First Ditzy's home explodes... then an oven does the encore, and now this?”

“It's almost as if the town is haunted!” Sugary shouted.

With a light chuckle, Lively shook her head and they kept walking.

Unknown to the two fillies, another conversation was taking place by the cause of most of these events. “I don't get it...” the mare said, staring at the hospital. “How did that building not squish her completely?”

“Beats me,” her companion replied. “I'm still baffled as to how she avoided drowning.”

Shaking her head, the mare stepped forward to enter the hospital, only for the stallion to stop her. “What?” she started, “Are we not finishing the job?”

“Tomorrow,” he replied, turning to follow the fillies. “After all, even with their fancy magic, unicorns still can't completely heal broken bones. Only speed the process up.”

Giving the hospital one last look, the mare sighed, before walking with him.

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Lively Spirit was the first up the next day, and was cooking in the kitchen, when an idea struck her. Pinkie Pie was also giving her and Sugary Spice some baked good or sweet all the time, why not repay the favor with homemade cupcakes while she was in the hospital? After all, Pinkie loved them just as much as, if not more, than her and Sugary combined!

And so it was with renewed vigor that Lively got cooking, a hint of a smile on her face the entire time.

Of course, while she packed them away and made her way towards the hospital, two figures stood in Pinkie's room for a more sinister reason. “Shall we increase the morphine to lethal levels? Or inject it with cyanide?” the stallion asked.

“Neither... I was thinking we overpower the heart-monitor and get it to zap her heart constantly until it gives out,” the mare replied.

“Hm... it could work... but do you know how to do that?” the stallion inquired.

Frowning, the mare sighed, and said, “No, I don't. I guess pumping her with excessive morphine will do then.”

Nodding, the stallion stepped up to the IV drip attached to Pinkie, when the door opened to reveal Lively Spirit. “Hey Pinkie, I brought you some...” she trailed off, seeing the two figures in front of her.

“It... it can't be...” she whispered, dropping her basket of goods. “I saw you... I SAW YOU DIE!” she screamed, backing against the door that had shut behind her.

Cursing lightly, her dad stepped away from the IV, saying, “Don't panic dear...”

“Don't panic?!? DON'T PANIC?!? YOU'RE GHOSTS!!! HOW CAN I NOT PANIC?!!” Lively replied, starting to hyperventilate.

“We're just trying to protect you...” her mother started.

“By messing with my friend's medication?!” Lively yelled, her rage beginning to overcome her fear.

Frowning, her dad replied, “She's a menace! She could've gotten you killed with that exploding oven!”

Grabbing her head, Lively started shaking as she closed her eyes. “This can't be them...” she whispered. “They'd never do something like this...”

Both her parents, who'd been making their way towards her, stumbled as she said this.

“Just do what Sugary Spice does...” Lively continued, still whispering. “Recall the good times... Don't think on what these imposters are doing...”

Her parents shook this time, and had Lively had her eyes open, she'd see them fading in and out of her view.

“The happy times...” tears fell as she said this. “The times where they didn't try and kill my friends...”

Her parents totally faded from view at this point, and the lack of sound caused alerted Lively to this. Opening her swollen eyes, Lively got up and ran out of the room, knocking Nurse Redheart aside as she came to investigate the yelling, causing her to miss Lively's tear-soaked face.

“Wonder what's got her so worked up?” she asked herself, before noticing the basket on the floor. “Oh well,” she muttered, picking the basket up and placing it on the table next to Pinkie's bed. “She'll be fine...”

The shades standing next to her, however, were far from fine. “What... what's happening to us?” Lively's dad asked, staring at his hoof that was flickering in and out of existence.

“Lively... when she called us imposters... it shook her faith in us...” Lively's mom replied. “That faith... it's what's keeping us tied to this plane.”

Frowning, Lively's dad shook his head, saying, “No... it wasn't that... remember what she said? About that friend Sugary Spice?”

“Yeah... she's the source of this!” Lively's mother exclaimed, a look of rage on her face. “She must know we're her, and is trying to get her to let go so that we can't protect her!”

“That little- she must be destroyed!” Lively's father snared, a look of rage upon his face.

“For Livley's protection!” they both shouted at once.

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Lively Spirit had run straight home, and was currently in the kitchen, walking back and forth in the kitchen. 'That can't have been them...' she thought to herself. 'They were too... cold-blooded...'

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Lively's parents, almost as if aware that their daughters thoughts were going to slowly destroy them, ran full speed towards the house, phasing in and out of the buildings and obstacles in their way.

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'Not to mention, they're dead!' Lively mentally added. 'So who were those two?'

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Leaping through Sugary Spice's bedroom wall, the two demented specters gave a blood-thirsty grin at her sleeping form.

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'Doppelgangers?' Lively thought, trying to delude herself. 'Rogue Changelings?'

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The two ghosts stepped forward, intent on smothering Sugary under a few pillows, mentally insisting that the moment she died, their forms would re-solidify.

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'But we never met any of those...' Lively continued, tears coming to her eyes as she concluded, 'It really is them...'

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Right as their forms momentarily solidified, Lively Spirit's parents were tackled by two different forms.

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'But why would they... no,' Lively started, standing firm. 'I will not do this to myself... Sugary is right!'

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“Who... who are you?” Lively's mom asked, staring at the two forms that had prevented her and her husband from doing their dastardly task.

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'I keep focusing on their deaths,' Lively thought, shaking her head, 'instead of the good times we had.'

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“You're not the only parents worried about their daughter...” the mare replied.

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'I need to just...' Lively started.

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“Only, we trust our daughter's new dad to protect her,” the stallion replied. “At least, from everything except spirits. That's our job.”

-+-+-+-+-

“Let them go...” Lively whispered.

-+-+-+-+-

As Lively Spirit's parents' forms faded from view, Sugary Spice's parents let out a sigh. “You know, I don't like interfering with threats to Sugary,” her dad said.

“I know,” her mother replied, “How is she to learn to deal with them herself if we constantly deal with them?”

Chuckling, her dad walked up to Sugary Spice, and kissed her on the forehead before saying, “Of course, when you consider that she can't deal with spirits at all...”

“Yeah,” her mother replied, nodding her head. “At least Mecha is doing a good job raising her.”

And with that, the two forms slowly faded away, content to continue watching their daughter as they had been before.

LINEBREAKER

It was a few hours later when Cheerilee walked down the stairs, having finally gotten to sleep in on a Saturday. Grabbing the mail, she walked into the kitchen where Lively Spirit and Sugary Spice were both giggling over a cake. Smiling, Cheerilee said, “You both look happy!”

Nodding their heads, the two started to whisper between themselves, stopping only to let out another giggle here and there.

Shaking her head, Cheerilee sat down at the table before opening her mail. Skimming through the junk and setting aside the newspaper clipping Mecha had sent her, she stopped after opening a letter from the Canterlot Adoption Agency. Skimming through it, she set it down before saying, “Lively Spirit, would you come over here for a second?”

Blinking, Lively gave Sugary a glance, only for her to shrug her shoulders. “Um... sure...” she replied, walking over. “What do you need?”

“I know this might seem a little sudden...” Cheerilee started, “But how would you like for me to adopt you?”

“Honestly?” Lively inquired.

“Yes,” Cheerilee replied. “After all, I just got the paperwork in for the application.”

Lively thought for a moment, before replying, “I'd love it.”

Cheerilee smiled, before pulling out a pen and getting started on filling out the forms.

*Mapinguari- A large, carnivorous sloth-like (in appearance only) creature, rumored to exist in the jungles of South America. Basically the big foot or yeti of South America.

Comments

[Fyn16]

Well, Ghosts of the Pasts, after a... rather longish wait, is finally here, and you delivered! Well-done on Sugary Spice's characterization. You portray her with a sense of maturity not common for others her age, no doubt brought up by Mecha's unique lifestyle. Also, I liked how Lively Spirit's parents weren't evil, but simply wanted to protect her. Glad to see you're back in the writing business, and I look forward to your next work!