- Aggression -
Twilight stumbled into her bathroom the next morning, heavy bags under her eyes. Her body was on autopilot, going through the motions of her morning routine with very little guidance. Into the bathroom, turn on the light, start the shower, wait for shower to warm up, adjust temperature, and finally climb in.
The water helped to drive away the clinging haze that consumed Twilight’s mind, but could not clear it away completely. She had only been able to scrape together two hours of decent sleep during the night, and blamed her imagination. As she laid in bed, trying to sleep, she kept opening her eyes and looking out into the darkness of the bedroom. She couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched. She even tried sleeping with a light on, something she hadn’t done since she was a filly, but it didn’t help.
Lifting a hoof to her mouth, Twilight covered a yawn before going about the process of scrubbing her coat, mane, and tail clean. It was a routine she usually did with a rote efficiency, since she had other things she wanted to get done in the morning. This morning, however, she allowed herself the small luxury of just enjoying the warm shower. It also gave her more time to wake up and scrape together what little energy she had gained from her few hours of sleep.
Twilight stayed in the shower until the hot water was about to run out, only shutting the faucets off when she felt the water beginning to cool. She then remained in the tub for a while, letting herself air dry before she climbed out to finish the process with a towel.
Her long time in the shower left the room choked with warm steam, which Twilight didn’t bother trying to vent as she cast a spell on her mirror. She warmed up the glass, evaporating the fog that had condensed on its surface as she wrapped her towel around her head in a bun. Then, once the mirror was clear, Twilight levitated her toothbrush and applied a carefully measured portion of toothpaste to the bristles before beginning to brush her teeth.
It was another part of her routine Twilight had down to a stone cold checklist: brushing the sides of her teeth in well practiced order as her mind wandered to other subjects. She began thinking about what was on her schedule for the day. She had to go and pick up some candy for Nightmare Night from Bon-Bon’s sweet shop. Then she needed to go check on Spike and see if staying at Sweet Apple Acres helped him get some sleep. Then she-
Something moved in the mirror behind her.
Twilight tensed and held the toothbrush still in her foamed mouth. She leaned in to the reflective surface, inspecting the image as she tried to discern the source of the movement.
It was the steam in the room. The mist behind her was still twisting, though it had lost much of its momentum. Twilight turned and stared at the steam directly for a time before a small smile formed on her lips. She gave her tail a small flick, and set the mist swirling again.
Satisfied she had solved the mystery of the swirling steam, Twilight resumed brushing her teeth. She scrubbed each tooth with due diligence, and then set her toothbrush down. She sipped some water from the faucet, gargled, and rinsed before looking at her reflection to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.
The glance turned into panic. Twilight stumbled away from the mirror and ended up falling back into the empty bathtub with a loud thud. The fall left her head spinning. She laid belly up in the tub, and once her head had cleared, she righted herself as fast as her hooves would allow and stared at the mirror.
Twilight took several deep breaths, trying to calm her now racing heart. She had seen something, though she wasn’t sure what it was. A shadow, a silhouette... whatever it was, the simple sight of it had scared her witless.
As she regained her composure, Twilight cursed herself and climbed out of the tub. It was that same unfounded fear that had kept her up all night and she was tired of dealing with it. There was nothing in the mirror and there hadn’t been anything there. She was just imagining things.
Turning on the sink, Twilight rinsed her mouth of the lingering toothpaste foam and then stomped out of the bathroom, sweeping a good portion of the shower steam into the bedroom with her. Without pausing a moment, she grabbed up her to do list and saddlebags before heading down the library stairs, fully intent on distracting herself from her foalish fears by diving right into her day’s tasks.
“There are no such things as ghosts!” Twilight lectured herself as she slammed the bedroom door shut and stomped down the stairs. She left the bedroom utterly empty except for the steam, which continued to drift out of the bathroom: steam that swirled, as if nudged by something.
~~~
Spike groaned, turned over, and forced his eyes shut. He laid on the porch swing of the Sweet Apple Acres’ farmhouse, resting his head on a pillow as he made a fresh attempt at getting some sleep. The swing gently rocked back and forth, driven by Granny Smith, who was sitting nearby, looking out across the farm with a pleasant, relaxed smile on her face. It was late afternoon, about the time Ponyville started shutting down and ponies began leaving work to return to their homes and families.
“You know, you should stop tossin’ and turnin’ and just get some rest,” Granny Smith lectured without taking her eyes off the distant horizon.
“Easy for you to say,” Spike grumbled and rolled over onto his back. “You didn’t have to deal with a ghost.”
“Ghost... ha, that’s a lot of poppycock,” Granny Smith sneered, her wrinkled face contorting. “No such thing as invisible ponies and spirits. Besides, I didn’t have the luxury of thinkin’ about things like that when I was growin’ up, we had too much apple buckin’ to do. Yep, from dawn to dusk we were workin’ the fields, makin’ this place the best it could be.”
Spike groaned, covering his head with a pillow as braced himself for what he sensed was going to be a long, rambling speech about how things used to be.
“Nope, I had to work for my supper, not like some of the other ponies in town. Like Applejack’s friend, Rainbow Dash. She’s supposed to be our town’s weathermare, but she spends half her time napping or practicing her tricks. I say, if she has that much free time, she should find a way to be more productive. Celestia knows we could use the help on the farm.
“And it’s not just her. There’s been a lot of lazy do-nothings here in Ponyville. Why, when I was in school, there was this filly named Tarot. You know what her special talent ended up being?”
“No,” Spike moaned from beneath his pillow.
“Fortune telling. What kind of talent is that? She just sits around all day reading ponies’ hooves and playing with tarot cards. I swear, she hasn’t done an honest day’s work her entire life. About the only thing she did right was that family of hers. Those two colts of hers grew up right, but it’s mostly thanks to their father. Now he was good, hard working stallion.”
Spike poked his nose out from beneath the pillow, defeat heavy in his voice. There was no hope of escaping Granny Smith’s ramblings. “Uh-huh.”
“Speaking of loafers, there was another one I knew that was even worse than Tarot,” Granny Smith announced, as if it was some great epiphany. “He was the town’s librarian back when I first got married, but he wasn’t like Applejack’s friend, Twilight Sparkle. No, she does it right; she’s the librarian and she’s Celestia’s student. She keeps herself busy, but Third Eye... bah, he had too much time on his hooves. He was a right creepy unicorn too, always jumpin’ at shadows. He even ran into the barn and started burnin’ somethin’ that stank like rotten eggs and garlic while ranting about how he was ‘banishin’ the spirits.’”
Spike bolted upright. He took the pillow off his head and spun around in his seat to look at Granny Smith intently. “Wait, banishing what?”
Granny Smith blinked a few times, surprised somepony was listening to her ramblings. “Uh... spirits. It was just a little while after my husband and I got married. Third Eye came by the farm to pick up an order of some special apples. While we were gettin’ them apples out of the barn he just started shoutin’ for no reason. We didn’t know what to make of it.”
“What happened after that?” Spike asked
“Well, Third Eye started burning those weird sticks and waving them all around, spreadin’ that nasty smellin’ smoke all over the place. Now, we Apples are known for our hospitality, but we didn’t need that strange smoke around our harvest, makin’ them smell bad. When we couldn’t get Third Eye to stop, my husband went and bucked him right off the farm. He hasn’t been welcom ‘round here since.”
“Where is Third Eye? Does he still live in Ponyville?” Spike asked as he stood and stepped towards the elderly mare.
“I don’t know what happened to Third Eye. I can’t even remember the last time I saw him,” Granny Smith admitted as she leaned away from Spike, reestablishing the personal space he had invaded. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear he’d kicked the bucket, most of the ponies my age have. Still, I suppose you could go ask at the mayor’s office. They would know if he’s still around.”
Spike jumped down from the porch swing, an excited smile on his face. “Oh, this is perfect! I’ll go find Third Eye, and he’ll be able to get rid of the ghost. Thanks, Granny Smith!”
“Now just hold your horses,” Granny Smith called out before Spike could run off. “Where do you think you’re goin’?”
“I’m going to go to the mayor’s office and ask them where Third Eye lives,” Spike answered.
“Then you’d best be turnin’ around, because the mayor’s office is gonna be closed by the time you get to town.”
“But Twilight-” Spike tried to protest.
“Now don’t get your spines in a twist,” Granny Smith lectured as she eased herself off the swing. “You can go to the mayor’s office tomorrow. Besides, it’s supper time and I could use a young pair of claws like yours in the kitchen. Applejack and Big Macintosh have been workin’ the orchards all day and they’re going to be needin’ a nice big supper.”
“But what about Twilight? She’s been all alone in the library with the ghost! What if it’s done something to her?” Spike asked, only for Granny Smith to nudge him in the side and direct him towards the farmhouse door.
“Now that’s enough of that ghost talk. Go wash those claws, we’ve got a supper to make.”
~~~
Twilight wore a smile on her face as she yawned and slipped into bed. It had been a good day. She had gotten everything done on her checklist and only thought about ghosts once, and that was when she was helping Pinkie Pie hang some fake ghosts outside of Sugarcube Corner for Nightmare Night. Yes, a totally normal day that helped clear away all of the crazy paranoia she had been experiencing the night before.
It had been a good day, but a long one as well and Twilight was dog tired. She couldn’t help but yawn again as she turned over in her bed and looked out the window at the moon. Her eyes began to slide shut, and soon she drifted off into a blissful and well-earned rest.
~~~
Sqweeee... sqweeee Sqweeee... sqweeee
Twilight slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times to bring the world into focus. It was dark, the only light coming from the moon and stars outside the window. She didn’t quite understand why she was awake; it was past midnight and sunrise wouldn’t be for about six hours. Still, she just shrugged it off and snuggled back into her pillow, fully intent on getting back to sleep.
Sqweeee... sqweeee Sqweeee... sqweeee
Twilight sat up in bed, ears swiveling forward as she listened for the sound. It was a familiar sound, but she couldn’t place it and was about to lay back down when the noise repeated for a fifth and sixth time. It was enough for her to get a bearing on where the sound was coming from; it was originating from the library’s main floor.
After getting out of bed, Twilight made her way downstairs. She didn’t bother trying to light any of the library’s lamps or candles, instead using her horn to light the way. She reached the ground floor without any difficulties, and began sweeping the beam of light from her horn across the room as she searched for the source of the noise.
Sqweeee... sqweeee
The sound repeated itself again, and with its help Twilight was able to zero in on the source. Her light fell on the door to the library’s basement, just beyond which she saw her Smartypants doll sitting on the floor. She had gotten the doll back from Big Macintosh a few days after the commotion she caused, following an awkward and overly personal conversation she would have rather avoided.
Still, that wasn’t really important at the moment. What puzzled Twilight was how Smartypants had gotten out. She usually kept her tucked away in the bedroom, and she couldn’t recall taking Smartypants out since the incident with the “Want it, Need it” spell.
“What are you doing there?” Twilight asked the doll as she trotted towards it. The doll, of course, offered no reply, just lying on the floor as Twilight moved past the basement door and stood over it. She reached out a hoof and gently put it down on the doll, causing it to let out the squeaking noise she had been hearing from upstairs.
“Well, I don’t know how you got here,” Twilight said as she picked Smartypants up, “but we’re putting you right back up-”
SLAM
Twilight jumped and spun around, dropping Smartypants as she moved to the now shut basement door. She tried to push it open, both with her body and magic, but it remained tightly shut. There was no lock on the door; there was no way it could stay closed unless somepony was holding it shut from the other side, and yet she could not get the door to budge.
Sqweeee... sqweeee
Twilight froze up as a shiver crawled up her spine. She turned slowly, refocusing the light from her horn on the patch of floor where she had dropped Smartypants. The toy was gone, and another squeak filled the air. She could tell it was coming from the pitch black basement below.
Unable to get out the door, Twilight swallowed nervously and made her way across the landing to the stairs. She went down a single step at a time as she strained her eyes and focused her magic, trying to pierce the darkness. The shadows around the room proved uncommonly persistent, but she pushed forward to reach the bottom steps before walking to the center of the basement.
She found Smartypants again. The toy was sitting upright in the center of the floor. She approached it, and was calling on her magic to pick it up when she felt a draft on the back of her neck, as if something with an icy breath had exhaled on her.
...Mine...
Twilight spun and looked around frantically, flashing the light from her horn around the room. She couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t stop the growing panic in her chest. Her mind was flashing back to the events of that morning and the night before, and as those memories bubbled to the surface Twilight did the only thing she could. She began to chant to herself, a panicked chant to try and drive away her fear.
“There’s no such thing as ghosts. There’s no such thing as ghosts. There’s no such thing as-”
Twilight’s chant came to an abrupt end as she felt the cold draft on her neck again. The air felt wrong in so many ways.
...She was mine...
With a panicked yelp Twilight bolted for the stairs, galloping up them at full force while her horn began to glow. She was on a collision course with the still blocked door, but just as she was about to crash she called on her magic. In a single bright flash, she teleported up to the bedroom.
The moment Twilight was sure her spell had worked, she proceeded to turn on every light in the bedroom and barricade the door before diving beneath the covers of her bed. There, she curled up into a small, shivering ball and resumed her panicked chanting. “There’s no such thing as ghosts. There’s no such thing as ghosts. There’s no such thing as ghosts. There’s no such thing-”
Sqweeee... sqweeee
Terror gripped at Twilight’s chest. The squeak had come from Smartypants. Twilight could clearly remember leaving the doll in the basement, yet it sounded as if the squeaking was coming from right on the other side of the bedroom door.
Sqweeee... sqweeee Sqweeee... sqweeee Sqweeee... sqweeee
Over and over, something made Smartypants squeak. Twilight, however, didn’t dare leave her bedroom a second time. She stayed right there, under the covers with the door barricaded and lights on. She would remain there for the entire night.
Sleep, however, was something Twilight couldn’t risk. She was too scared and it was too dangerous to go to sleep. Even if it was safe to rest, the squeaking from Smartypants wouldn’t have allowed her. Over and over the toy squeaked, persisting at a constant pace with the reliability of a finely tuned clock and tormenting Twilight for hours.
It only stopped once the sun had begun to rise.
~~~
“Now let me just be sure I understand you correctly,” Rarity began. “You want me to perform surgery on this doll to remove its squeaker just so you can look at it?”
Twilight nodded her head firmly, holding out Smartypants. As soon as she had been able to round up enough courage to leave her bedroom that morning, Twilight had grabbed Smartypants and bolted out the door. She then ran at a full sprint across Ponyville to Carousal Boutique, arriving just as Rarity was opening her shop for the day.
“I also want you to check for anything else that somepony might have stuck in there,” Twilight instructed. “Spell stones, enchanted sticks, an advanced alchemical skeletal system... stuffing.”
“But Twilight, dear, it’s supposed to be filled with stuffing.”
“Take it out anyway; I have to make sure somepony didn’t put a spell on it.”
Rarity grimaced, but nodded her head and gingerly took Smartypants from Twilight, carrying the doll into her shop as Twilight followed. “All right, if you really want me to, I’ll open up its seams and see what I can find. Still, Twilight, perhaps you would like to freshen up while you wait. You’re looking a bit ragged.”
Twilight glanced at her reflection in one of the many mirrors located in the boutique’s front room, agreeing with Rarity that she didn’t look her best. She had left the library without taking a shower or brushing herself, so her mane, tail, and coat were a mess. The bags under her eyes also made it apparent that she hadn’t been able to get as much sleep as she would have liked the night before.
Despite this, Twilight shook her head and continued to follow Rarity into the boutique’s back room. “Thank you but no, I need to be there when you open up Smartypants. I’ve got some magic detection spells that should let me figure out why she was squeaking by herself last night.”
Rarity set Smartypants down on one of her work tables before turning to look at Twilight. “Squeaking... by itself?”
“I know what it sounds like, Rarity, but that’s why I need you to open Smartypants up so I can check her squeaker.”
Rarity picked up a tool from her workbench: a seam opening tool. “All right, let’s have a look then.”
With fine dexterity earned over her years of dress making, Rarity began the impromptu doll surgery. She began by removing the doll’s blue, polka dotted shorts and turning the doll over several times. The seamstress was examining every part of the doll, looking at every visible seam before finding the one she was searching for. Since dolls need to be stuffed before they are finished, there was always one seam someplace that was more exposed than the others.
Rarity eventually found that seam on the doll’s right side. With delicate precision, she cut the seam open and exposed the doll’s aged stuffing, which had been stained and discolored by years of love and affection from its owner.
With the seam open, Rarity began to remove sections of the stuffing, setting them off to one side until she found the toy’s squeaker. She then lifted the small device out, holding it up in the air with a small triumphant smile. “Ah, here it is.”
“Give it!” Twilight snapped as she snatched the squeaker out of Rarity’s magic and threw it on the floor. She then proceeded to cast a number of spells on the squeaker, her horn flashing brightly several times while Rarity looked on, both insulted Twilight had snatched the squeaker away so rudely and yet curious whether or not Twilight would find anything wrong with the noise making device.
“No... that, that’s impossible!” Twilight exclaimed as she shied back from the squeaker after casting her twenty third magic detection spell.
“What’s impossible, Twilight?”
“There’s no spells on the squeaker; the only spell that’s ever been cast on it was my ‘Want it, Need it’ spell,” Twilight answered as she continued to back up, putting Rarity between her and the squeaker. “That means something else was making Smartypants squeak, a-a-and that means the library is...”
“Now Twilight, don’t tell me you’re actually starting to believe what Rainbow Dash and Spike are saying,” Rarity lectured as she strode over to the squeaker and picked it up with her magic. “I’m sure you were just... Twilight?”
Rarity blinked a few times as she looked around the now empty room. Twilight had left without saying a word.
~~~
“Tell me why I’m flying you to Graintan again?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked over her shoulder. She soared over rolling hills outside of Ponyville, following a dirt road as it wound its way west.
“Because that’s where Third Eye lives,” Spike answered from his seat on Rainbow Dash’s back. “That, and I think you owe me a favor after that whole thing with the phantom speller.”
“I already said I was sorry,” Rainbow Dash protested, “and why do you need to find this stallion anyway?”
“From what Granny Smith told me, it sounds like he knows about ghosts and how to banish them.”
“Oh, I get ya,” Rainbow Dash said with an understanding nod, “you want him to get rid of whatever is haunting the library.”
“Yep!” Spike confirmed. “I know Twilight says nothing is there, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Now come on, Rainbow Dash, can’t you go any faster?”
A devilish grin formed on Rainbow Dash’s face. “Oh, you want me to go faster?”
“Uh... no, wait, I changed my mind. I changed my miiiiiiinnnn-”
Spike’s protests fell on deaf ears as Rainbow Dash circled once and then spirited forward, zipping through the air with her renowned speed. She bolted across the sky in the direction of Graintan, with Spike holding on for dear life.
~~~
“You sure this is the place?” Rainbow Dash asked as she and Spike stood next to one another on a dirt road. They were just outside the town limits of Graintan, surrounded on all sides by waving fields of grain. Directly in front of them stood a farmhouse, smaller than Applejack’s home and also in a worse state of repair. There were shingles missing from the roof, and the grass out front had been allowed to grow wild. It was nothing a good weekend of work couldn’t fix, but it gave the home an ominous appearance.
“Yep, this is the right address,” Spike confirmed as he looked at the note he had scrawled in the palm of his claw.
“Sure is creepy enough to be a house for a pony that deals with ghosts,” Rainbow Dash commented as she and Spike made their way to the front door, her eyes drifting around the unkempt property while Spike remained focused on the door ahead.
“Good, because that’s what we need.”
After climbing onto the house’s small front porch, Spike knocked on the door. His knocks were answered within moments. The door jerked open a crack, and through the small opening a dull green, panicked eye peered out at them.
“You’re not dead,” an aged voice from behind the door accused.
“Uh... no, we’re not,” Rainbow Dash said as she recovered from how abruptly the door had opened. “We’re here looking for somepony named Third Eye. Is that you?”
“I’m Third Eye, but who are you?” the stallion behind the door asked, the tone of paranoia rising in his voice. “Did my brother send you? Are you with the nightmares?”
“No, we need to talk to you about a ghost that’s haunting the Ponyville Library,” Spike explained. He took a step towards the cracked open door only to have it slammed in his face.
“No! No no no! Impossible, Ponyville Library can’t be haunted!” the stallion shouted from behind the closed door. “It’s impossible. I made it impossible. Now go away!”
Spike knocked on the door again. “But we need your help. There’s really something in the Ponyville Library. You see, Rainbow Dash brought a phantom speller in and-”
The front door of the home snapped back open and Third Eye peered through the crack again. “phantom speller, what phantom speller!? You took a phantom speller into the library!?”
Rainbow Dash stepped back anxiously. “Well... kind of, yeah.”
Again, the front door of the house slammed shut. That loud slam was followed by the sound of a pony undoing chains and locks from the far side. The door then flashed as a spell was lifted off its wood before swinging open to reveal a dull, tombstone gray unicorn stallion. His cutie mark was purple lines in the shape of an eye inscribed within a triangle.
The stallion anxiously leaned forward and looked intently at Spike and Rainbow Dash, revealing his thinning mane. His tail, which was the same stringy silver color of his remaining mane, twitched anxiously, and the frown of his lips only worsened his wrinkles, which made it clear he was as old as Granny Smith.
“You aren’t possessed,” Third Eye said. “No... your auras have traces, but only from contact. No, not possession, just contact. Contact with... with...”
“With wha-” Rainbow Dash tried to ask, only to be cut off as Third Eye jumped back into his house with a panicked look on his face. His horn glowed, and before Spike and Rainbow Dash could react they were dragged into the house.
Rainbow Dash struggled against Third Eye’s magic. “Hey! Let us go!”
“No, not yet. We can’t talk yet. House must be secure before we can talk,” Third Eye muttered to himself. He returned to the door, shutting it with a slam and putting a dozen locks and chains in place. He then touched his horn to the door, causing the wood to flash with a pale white tone.
Only once the door was secure did Third Eye calm down. “Okay, we’re safe now. We’re safe from the glowing eyes. We’re safe from it.”
“Safe from what?” Rainbow Dash asked once she and Spike were released from the levitation magic.
“The nightmare... the nightmare that’s touched you, that’s been near you. The nightmare that’s after me. But no... that’s impossible. The library is safe. I made sure it was safe. If... if it’s not safe, then there is a chance-” Third Eye fell silent and his pupil’s narrowed. He bolted into the old home’s living room, and began shoving furniture against the walls.
Spike and Rainbow Dash stood back and watched as Third Eye moved one final piece of furniture. He then levitated the large rug in the center of the floor off to one side and started pacing in a circle around the now exposed boards. “What... is he doing?” Spike asked.
Rainbow Dash leaned in close to Spike so she could whisper in his ear. “I don’t know, but I think this stallion’s crazy. We should go.”
“No!” Spike whispered back. “We have to at least ask him if he knows how to get rid of the ghost.”
“It isn’t a ghost!” Third Eye barked, having overheard the pair. “No, your auras are tinged by what it really is, a nightmare.”
“Wait, are you saying a bad dream is what’s haunting the library?”
Third Eye shook his head and dropped down onto the floor to closely inspect the wooden boards that had been covered by the rug. “No, other kind of nightmare; something that lives beyond the dreams. Not a ghost, not a spirit... your auras were touched by a nightmare. The nightmare. But no, it’s impossible. The library is safe, just like this place is safe. Nothing can get in... can it?”
Third Eye touched his horn to the floor, its pale glow spreading to the boards. Soon, a large, complex symbol took shape on the floor, the sight of which seemed to calm Third Eye’s breathing. “Yes. The ward is good. The ward still works.”
“What... what is that?” Rainbow Dash asked as she and Spike approached the glowing drawing.
“It’s a spirit ward. It keeps them all away. They cannot enter this house without permission as long as it’s here, but the library has a ward. Library should be protected, but you’ve been haunted. There is something there, but the ward should keep them away, should keep it away.”
Rainbow Dash reached out to touch the diagram. “How does this-”
Before her hoof could come in contact with the glowing lines, Third Eye tackled Rainbow Dash. The pair rolled across the floor and crashed into the far wall with a resounding thud.
“Do not touch it!” Third Eye ordered. He wrestled vigorously with the pegasus for a brief moment, but his age caught up and he soon fell off her with a wheeze.
Rainbow Dash pulled herself away from the stallion with angry huff. She reared back, put up her front hooves, and began to box at the air while jumping on her back hooves. . “Hey, you want to go, let’s go!”
“No, Rainbow Dash, we need his help,” Spike said as he put himself between the two ponies.
“But he tackled me!”
“Because you were going to touch the ward!” Third Eye accused through his wheezing. “The ward must not be touched. The ward is delicate; it is written in ash. You could have ruined it, and then they’d come for me. It would come for me.”
Spike turned to face Third Eye, holding up his claws and speaking as gently as possible. “Okay... it’s okay. Rainbow Dash isn’t going to touch the thing on the floor. Just calm down. We’re safe here.”
Third Eye’s breathing slowed and his tension began to dissipate. “Yes... The ward is safe, so we’re safe; everypony is safe.”
“That’s it,” Spike encouraged. “Now, please, we need your help.”
“Yes, help,” Third Eye said, nodding his head. He levitated the rug back onto the floor to cover the glowing symbol. “You need help. You’ve been touched by a nightmare; your auras are marked. No denying it, but how? Nightmare can’t get in without permission. The ward prevents that... unless it’s damaged. Yes, ward in the basement must have been damaged.”
“What ward in the basement?” Spike asked.
Third Eye used a hoof to make sure the rug was lying perfectly flat. “I lived at the library. I was the librarian. I did a good job. I kept all the books in order, cleaned the shelves, helped ponies.”
Third Eye turned away from the rug and motioned to his flank. “But my talent, my special talent, is seeing things other ponies can’t. I can see the spirits, see the nightmares. I can see them all, and I thought I’d help. I was going to make all the spirits go away, make Ponyville safe.”
“But then I fought with a nightmare, a strong Nightmare,” Third Eye whispered as a shiver of fear gripped his body. “I tried to bind it in bones, tried to stop it, but it didn’t work. Only made it worse, I only made it worse. I couldn’t beat it, could only run, but it chased. I had to protect myself, protect the library. That’s when I put a ward on the basement floor. The ward kept the nightmare out, but it went after me whenever I left. Started putting wards all around town, hiding them where they wouldn’t get broken.”
Third Eye focused his gaze on Rainbow Dash and Spike, stepping towards them. “I was only trying to protect the ponies. I didn’t want to scare them, just protect. I told them about the nightmare. I told them about its hunger and cursed eyes. I told them to watch out, but then the mayor got angry. The mayor said I was spreading rumors, scaring everypony. They... made me leave.”
Third Eye shivered and he looked out a window as if expecting something to be out there, watching him. “Came here, but the nightmare followed. The nightmare was angry. It wanted to get me, so I put a ward on this house, put a ward on the yard, and protected myself. Nightmare finally left, but I know it will come back. It will always come back. Nightmares are patient, they get what they want... but it can’t get me here. The ward protects me.”
“And one of these wards is in the basement of the Ponyville library?”
“Yes,” Third eye confirmed. “But the ward may have been damaged, it doesn’t take much. A pony walking on ward directly can damage it. Liquid can damage it too, wash it away. I must never spill, never spill.”
“Wait, Spike, you remember Pinkie Pie’s ‘Welcome to the Season Party’?” Rainbow Dash asked, her anger at Third Eye replaced by concern.
“Yeah, what about it?” Spike asked.
“You remember what happened when I tried to play ‘Pin the Tail on the Pony’? I ended up missing the poster and crashing into the bobbing for apples barrel.”
“Of course I remember ,” Spike said. “You spilled punch everywhere, and then lights went out and my poor, sweet Rarity-”
“Wait...” Third Eye interrupted. “Spilled punch in the basement? The lights went out? How long were they out? Did you have to relight them?”
“The lights were only out for a few seconds, and then they came back on all on their own,” Spike answered.
“The spilled punch... the punch, it was the punch!” Third Eye yelled. “The punch broke the ward; the punch washed it away, and the spirit got in. The wards are still safe. The wards still work, but now library isn’t safe.”
“So do you believe us now, that there’s a ghost in the library?” Rainbow Dash questioned, struggling to follow Third Eye’s ramblings.
Third Eye nodded his head furiously and began to pace. “Yes, the library is haunted, but not by ghost. Ghosts aren’t always bad, but nightmares are. Nightmares are the worst. They always want something. That’s the way they are, they always want. They can be patient, but they always want. But what does it want now?”
“Hey, we may know that!” Rainbow Dash perked up. “It told us what it wanted when we were using the phantom speller.”
Third Eye tensed at the mention of the phantom speller. “No... those are bad. They give the nightmares power; they make it easier. Still, the damage is done. We can’t undo the damage. Can only make best of it. Yes, we’ll make the best of it. Use the information against the nightmare, banish it, make it go away... make it go away.”
The old stallion’s eyes flashed with fresh life as his manic speech slowed. “Yes... make it go away. The tinge on your auras, it looks like the nightmare’s aura. Yes, it’s the same nightmare. If we beat it, then it will be gone. Then I wouldn’t need the wards. There would be no more wards, and no more wards means no more hiding. I could go outside, go to town... I haven’t been town in a long time. I want to go town. It would be nice to go to town.”
For a moment Third Eye’s erratic speech cleared and he locked his gaze on Spike. “Tell me everything!”
~~~
Spike ended the explanation several minutes later. The group had moved to Third Eye’s kitchen. The stallion had become calmer and less nervous, though he still sporadically twitched and looked about, as if fearful something was about to jump out at him. Still, he was focusing, speaking more slowly as he thought about what he had just been told.
“And Twilight,” Spike said as a final addition, “she refuses to believe there’s a gh- I mean, nightmare in the library. She doesn’t believe in things like that, period. She’d also be mad that we came all the way out here to find you, but... I just know something is there.”
Third Eye rocked his head from one side to the other. “She took her. I want her back. She will help me get her. She will be mine.”
“What do you think it means?” Spike asked anxiously, getting chills as he remembered seeing the those words being spelled out on the phantom speller.
“She... she and her, her and she,” Third Eye mused, as if he was rolling around the thoughts in his mouth. “The nightmare is speaking of two females, likely two ponies. Yes, two ponies, and the nightmare had one, but it was taken. That means nightmare had one pony possessed.”
“But she... who is she?” Third Eye asked nopony in particular. “The events began before the phantom speller was in the library. That means she was already there. It also means the nightmare is powerful, but I knew that. The nightmare I tried to beat was powerful. It would be able to haunt before the phantom speller gave it strength. It’s only stronger now, but we can beat it. I want to beat it. I want to be able to go town. I can go to town when the nightmare is beaten.”
Third Eye heaved a weary breath, looking up at the ceiling while continuing to think out loud. “Yes... go to town, but not now. Need to focus. There were only two in library. She is not baby dragon, baby dragon a boy. Yes... the unicorn is the she. So ‘she took her’ means the unicorn took the her away from the nightmare.”
“So, wait a minute. Is Twilight the her or the she?” Rainbow Dash asked, drawing Third Eye out of his thoughts.
“Your friend is the she. Your friend is the one that took her away from the Nightmare. She is the one that will help the nightmare take her back. She is also the one that the nightmare wants, but who is her? Who is the one your friend took?”
“We don’t know,” Rainbow Dash answered, though she wasn’t entirely sure whether or not Third Eye wanted his question answered. “The spirit wouldn’t tell us.”
“Not a spirit, it is a nightmare,” Third Eye corrected. “It also doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what was taken. We know the nightmare’s motive. It’s angry; it had something taken away. It wants to take that thing, that pony, back... but it can’t get it. It can’t take the pony back; it needs help. Nightmare is going to use the unicorn to get her back. That is why it haunts, it wants the unicorn. It wants the unicorn to get her back.”
Spike jumped up from his seat. “So that thing is after Twilight! We need to get back to Ponyville and warn her!”
“No! You don’t leave now. You can’t leave now!” Third Eye said firmly as he pointed to one of the windows. “It too late in the afternoon, far too late. We won’t get to Ponyville before it’s dark. We can’t go out in the dark, can’t arrive there in the dark. Nightmare has power in the dark. Celestia’s sun holds the nightmares back, but during the night they can stand. Even with Luna back, nightmares have strength at night.”
“But what about Twilight!?” asked Spike.
“Twilight will be fine; she will be fine. The nightmare wants to possess her, but it can’t. Nightmares can’t possess those who don’t believe. Doesn’t help me; I do believe. How can I not believe when I can see them? But she can’t see them. It can haunt, but it can’t possess. It can only possess those who believe.”
“Why would that make a difference?” Rainbow Dash asked, only for Third Eye to shrug in reply.
“Don’t know. That’s just the rule. Don’t know why it’s a rule, but it’s a rule. That’s always been the rule. I think it’s Celestia; I think she protects Equestria, but not me. She won’t, she can’t, help me. It’s because I can see them, because of my cutie mark. I can see them, thus I believe in them, thus they can haunt me. Wish I couldn’t, but I can’t change my cutie mark. That’s the rule; I just can’t change my cutie mark.”
Rainbow Dash sighed, exhausted from trying to keep up with Third Eye. “So, what do you think we should do?”
“Wait till morning. I’ll be ready, and then we can go. We can go replace the ward, and make the spirit go away. Just in time too, Nightmare Night is two days away. Nightmares are strongest on Nightmare Night, because for one night everypony pretends to believe. Belief gives them strength, allows them to possess. Even pretending is enough, but we’ll replace the ward before Nightmare Night. We’ll do it before, and the library will be safe again.”
“And just where are we supposed to stay until morning?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“You can stay here, sleep here. My couch folds out; it makes a nice bed. You can sleep here where it’s safe, and in the morning, we’ll go get it. Yes, we’ll defeat the nightmare, and I’ll be free.” Third Eye stood up from the table, continuing his ramblings as he went into the living room to unfold the couch’s sleeper bed. “I’m sure it’s the same nightmare. It’s the same nightmare, and when we beat it I’ll be able to go to town. Yes, go to town and... maybe have ice cream.”
“Okay, after this, we’re officially even. Dealing with this guy more than makes up for the phantom speller prank I was going to pull,” Rainbow Dash stated firmly, not liking the idea of staying the night in the creepy house with the unpredictable Third Eye. “Just look at him! He’s not just a few apples short of a bushel, he’s missing about half the bushel! Are you sure he can even help?”
“You saw that thing he has on his living room floor,” Spike pointed, remembering the glowing symbol. “And everything he’s said kind of makes sense.”
Rainbow Dash huffed as she stood up from the table. “Great, I just love having sleep overs with crazy ponies.” Dash turned to go into the living room, but glanced back at Spike to see him staring anxiously out the dining room window. “Listen, Spike, if you actually believe what Third Eye says, then you don’t have to worry. Twilight will be fine. I mean, she’s the last pony I’d expect to believe in ghosts.”
Spike perked up a bit as he turned away from the window with a chuckle. “Yeah... Twilight would believe in the tooth fairy before she believed in ghosts.”
~~~
Twilight flinched as she looked up from her book, breathing anxiously as she surveyed the bedroom. She wasn’t sure if she had just heard something or not, but after seeing that the room was empty, she forced herself to go back to her reading.
Glancing out the window, Twilight saw that night had fallen. She yawned, exhausted by a long day and her lack of sleep the night before. She wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but she had to remain awake. Her bed was piled with books, and she was reading as fast as her eyes would allow.
After leaving the Carousal Boutique, Twilight had gone straight back to the library and pulled every book she could find on spirits, ghosts, and the paranormal. It was actually surprising how many books the library had on the subject, and most of them were tucked away on a specific shelf in the basement. She had been reading since then, reading every page she could lay her eyes on... and through all her reading Twilight had come to a startling conclusion.
Ghosts were real, and her library was haunted.
Still, with that admission came resolve. While she had yet to find specific instructions, scrawled notes in the margins of the book seemed to indicate that there were ways to fight back against ghosts and other paranormal things. There was a way to fight back, she just had to find it.
Another sound made Twilight look up from her feverish reading, but this time it wasn’t a thump or some other sound she hadn’t been able to pinpoint. This time it was the library’s clock announcing the hour. It was midnight, and sunrise wasn’t for several more hours. She felt her heart sink at the prospect of having to remain awake all night, but she wouldn’t stop. This was her library, and she wasn’t going to let a ghost chase her out. She was close to an answer, and once she had it she would use her magic to make the ghost leave. All she had to do was keep studying and find the solution.
Yet, through the haze of her worry and exhaustion, Twilight found herself focusing on the clock. She counted off each chime, finding her mind calmed by the reliable, rhythmic tones.
one... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... nine... ten... eleven...
Twilight perked her ears up, straining to hear the final chime. The library had fallen into an uncomfortable silence, one that sent a shiver down her spine. She knew she hadn’t missed a chime; she had counted each one.
Twilight sat up in her bed and levitated the nearby candle into the air, holding it high as she looked around. It was coming; she knew it was coming, but how would it come? It had burned her mouth with oatmeal, sent a chill down her spine, and taunted her with Smartypants. It had never done the same thing twice, so what was the ghost going to do?
Waving the candle around, Twilight began to jump at shadows. Everything in the room became suspect; the ghost could use anything. The books could start falling off the shelves on their own. The window could open. The paranormal books she had managed to read had made it clear that ghosts could affect anything physically.
Still, as Twilight looked about nothing seemed out of place. Everything was normal, and for a moment she tried to calm herself down. Maybe... maybe she had just miscounted, missed one of the clock’s chimes. It was entirely possible; between being scared witless and her lack of sleep, Twilight knew she wasn’t at the top of her game.
Twilight set the candle down on her bedside table and shut her eyes as she focused on calming her breathing. “It’s all right,” she said to herself. “Nothing’s there... nothing’s there. It’s all right.”
THUMP
Twilight froze, not daring to open her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she had actually heard something or if it was her imagination playing tricks on her, but for a moment she just listened. Only when she was sure she didn’t hear anything else did she dare open her eyes and look to see what had caused the noise.
It was a book, a single book laying open on the floor. Twilight couldn’t clearly see the words from where she was, but she could make out the pictures on the book’s exposed pages.
Forcing down a swallow, Twilight gathered up the faint traces of courage she had remaining and climbed down from her bed. She picked up the candle from her bedside table, and very cautiously approached the book. Inch by inch she got closer, and as she did she began to recognize the pictures on the page. One was of Celestia and Luna, standing together on clouds with Luna turned away. The other was of Nightmare Moon, rearing back in a frightful pose.
But there was something else about the pages: they had been torn. Something had shredded the text beneath the pictures, and for a moment Twilight’s concern over her books overpowered her fear. She closed the distance between her and the book in a few steps, picking it up as she began to inspect the damage to the pages.
It was like the book had been shredded by claws. The words and most of the illustrations were destroyed. The only pictures that had survived were the ones of Luna and Nightmare Moon. Twilight closed the book and looked on the cover. It was also shredded, and jagged letters had been clawed into the book’s cover.
...!She was MI...
An unworldly scream erupted in the air. It shattered the silence of the library, and sounded like it was coming from all around. It painfully grated on the ears, and smashed every thought in Twilight’s mind. The scream was followed by a stomping on the library’s staircase. Something was coming upstairs, and it was coming quickly.
Twilight did the only thing she could think of: run! She bolted for the bathroom, leaping inside with her candle and slamming the door shut. Normally, the bathroom door didn’t have a lock, but in a rush of adrenaline and fear, Twilight called on her magic and transformed the door handle into a heavy bolt lock. Just as something threw itself against the door, she clicked the latch shut.
Again and again something large and heavy slammed against the door. The ghost was trying to break in, and Twilight was in a panic. She climbed into the bathtub and drew the shower curtains shut, curling around the small flickering flame of her candle as she shut her eyes. Tears streamed down her face, but Twilight kept a hoof over her mouth to muffle her crying.
She was trapped; trapped in her own home. Her only hope of escape was her teleportation spell, but each time she attempted it, her concentration was ruined by whatever was slamming against the door.
Tears began to stream down Twilight’s face. Already, her mind was filling with horrible thoughts of just what would happen if the ghost got in. Would it devour her, attack her, or do something worse? She couldn’t even imagine anything else as the dreadful pounding of the door continued. Each slam shattered her thoughts like fragile glass. She couldn’t get away. She could only hide until morning and hope that the ghost couldn’t break through the door.
Then the pounding stopped, and for several minutes the only sound Twilight could hear was her own muffled whimpering. She didn’t dare believe that the ghost was gone. She knew it was still out there, someplace in the library, but now that it wasn’t pounding on the door she was able to calm herself down a little and catch her breath.
Looking in the candle’s flame, Twilight tried to focus in on its gentle flickering light. It brought some peace to her mind, but only enough to make Twilight realize she couldn’t stay in the library. She had to escape. The ghost had never haunted her outside the library. If she could get outside, then she could get someplace safe and get help. She could go to Applejack or Rarity for help, or maybe even go straight to Canterlot. If anypony could protect her from a ghost, surely Princess Celestia could.
But she had to get outside the library first. Maybe... maybe she could manage to teleport herself that far. The shorter the distance, the less magic and concentration her spell took. Yes, she could just teleport to the street outside the library. Then, she could gallop away and get help.
Struggling to her hooves, Twilight forcibly calmed her breathing as she set the candle down in the bathtub. Her knees were shaking and she felt nauseous from her fear, but Twilight made herself focus. She called on her magic, and after sucking in a deep breath Twilight unleashed the spell.
It was over in a second, and Twilight knew immediately it had worked. She could feel the dirt of the road beneath her hooves and the cool night air on her coat. She opened her eyes and looked up at the nighttime sky. The glittering stars never looked as beautiful to Twilight as they did at that moment. She then looked back, letting a wisp of a triumphant smile form on her lips as she looked over the darkened library. She had teleported to the exact place she wanted to be; she had escaped.
“HA!” Twilight called out in a mixture of panic and triumphant joy. “You can’t get me out here!”
The nightmare proved Twilight wrong. The library door swung open violently, slamming against the bookcases inside. Then, before she could take a single step, something grabbed one of her hind hooves and pulled her to the ground.
“NO!”Twilight screamed as she was dragged backwards. She scrambled, kicking her hind legs as her forelegs struggled to get a grip on the loose dirt. When that didn’t help, she looked to see the library’s dark entryway yawning wider, like some mouth about to swallow her.
“NO! Let me go! Let me go! Help! Somepony HELP!” Twilight cried out desperately, but there was nopony around to hear her. She continued to scream and claw at the ground as she was dragged inch by inch towards the library door. Then, once she was actually inside, the door slammed shut.
“NO! Leave me alone! Leave! Me! Alone!”
Twilight’s final screams echoed through the streets. The library’s dark windows revealed nothing. Only one light remained, a single candle that continued to flicker from its place in the bathtub. Then, even that light was extinguished, leaving the entire library consumed in darkness.
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Great. Now I can't read this without turning around and looking behind me.
Once Third Eye starts to explain, and especially with a name like Nightmare, it's pretty clear what's happened. But there's no way of knowing what's going to happen next.
It's so exciting!
SPOILER ALERT!!!
so nightmare wants Luna back?? interesting teory.
I should not be reading this at 1 in the morning.
Ghost rape is worst rape.
1032740
No. You should.
Dear god this is scary than anything I have ever seen or read I do not know how someone made ponies this scary but they did the ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=I.4921114217548479&pid=15.1&W=157&H=160 and know I am scare terrified and stuck in a state of being petrified. I am constantly looking back to see what is going to attack as my mind fades into black. I felt like rhyming but in shorter words I am fucking scared shitless ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=I.4888068727767201&pid=15.1&W=160&H=120
I am slouched on a couch and reading this on a laptop, also my brother is playing castle crashers.....I am really not that scared
Every two lines my back did that weird shivery thing that happens when you're listening to music sometimes
And I realise there's probably like two words for that feeling, but fuck you I'm scared
620866 I WILL MOLEST EVERYTHING YOU LOVE!
In my room........ Reading this alone............ Already believes my room is haunted.............. But the room creaks and make more noises than usual........................ Is this a sign.................. Congrats pen stroke............... You've made a series of stories I love (ones with nyx in it)................. But you've made the creepiest My Little Pony fanfic I've Ever read.............. It still creaking
I always feel like Somepony watching me Tell me, is it just a dream!
OMG its midnight and im reading this and my doors creaking pen stroke why do all your stories somehow relate to the real world
Dude, you're good at this horror stuff! I'm really glad its noon right now, otherwise I'd be rocking in a corner somewhere tearing my hair out and muttering to myself.
So the 'nightmares' are practically the substitutes for 'demonic entities' in Equestria, at least in this story.. neat!
It fits.
To make things more clearly, about what I'm referring to. Christianity has long since established a faculty known as "demonology".
In the demonology, we differ between various standardized appearances of entities, though they also can be be further specified in particular, that exist in the spirit world, and can wander our mortal realm, the world we interact with.
Most important of those hauntings for every paranormal investigator are:
- Residual hauntings, where the the spirits are practical recordings of what once happened, and are just repeating what once was. It's more like the place haunts itself if you want to put it like that, and people are generally ignored by such hauntings, they simply witness them.
- Independently Intelligent hauntings, include spirits, that can actively interact with us, for example leaving their voices on recordings when we ask a question, and they give a response to it that ties with the question asked. Most of those spirits seek simply for attention or help, what pinkie tried to do basically. Some are nice, some are grumpy, and some are angry, or loose their patience fast if you intrude to much on them.
- Poltergeists, are spirits that can interact in direct physical contact with our world. They can manipulates objects, some are rather heavy, and lift them, throw them, twist them, push them. Poltergeists are mostly known for their negative responses to people intruding their homes. Not all of them are bad though and they are still mostly human, the once departed.
- Demonic entities or short just 'demons', they are the worst kind of spirit, extremely aggressive and malicious, specifically because they aren't even human spirits, but demons, hailing from a different realm entirely. They can also be dangerous tricksters, since they can pose themselves as good spirits and confuse their victims, leading them into false believe and security. Later though, they reveal their true faces by actively tormenting, hurting or possessing people, most of the time when they least expect it. They are very powerful entities that can easily drive people into committing murder or suicide. They can practically do all what the above mentioned hauntings can do, and more.
The nightmares in this story, seem to be substitutes for the "demonic entity".
Reading this at 1:19 AM
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2:00 am an't much better, buddy
Damn this is good though
Reading this while listening to happy music helps but is still fucking scary, especially since I am home alone and I swear I just heard someone laugh...
I've got to stop reading stuff like this at night....
I'm pleased as punch that it was the punch. :)
Okay, I love this story. I love it a lot, actually. I'd even say horror-wise, it's up there with Something Sweet to Bite. One little flaw my OCD picked up, though-
Alright, understandable. Twilight has reached that hysterical, near-breakdown part of her fears-MAGNIFICENT job portraying that, by the way-but two paragraphs later-
-she starts crying again.
Aww, poor Third Eye :(
He must have been so lonely all this time. I hope Rainbow isn’t too mean to him, he doesn’t have any friends as all.