Lucid Dreams

by Jumping Jack

The Colt Who Cried Wolf

Author's Note:

A quick reminder. This fic was created with post season 5 in mind of Friendship is Magic. If you are confused on some points, this is why.

Princess Celestia sighed softly as she walked a little tiredly down to the throne room. The meeting lasted longer than she would like. Which was odd as usually her meetings would breeze by. The absence of her sister has gotten the best of her. The regal alicorn understood the task Luna has been tackling. Yet, Celestia wishes she could do more.

If only she had the same power to traverse the dream realm like her sister. Something she has never accounted for in the thousand long years they had been a part. Who knows what kind of dangers or tasks she has had to tackle. Celestia walked up the stairs to her throne, studying the midnight throne next to her’s. Sighing dejectedly, she turned and sat down, facing the door as she readied herself for the next order of business. To quell the disharmony between two elite families.

The door opened and she unfurled her wings in a majestic display as two ponies were escorted down to the foot of her throne. The guards bowed along with the two neatly dressed ponies. One, a chapped pegasus pony with a burly brown mustache, chestnut hide and blue eyes. The other, a unicorn stallion in a cerulean hide, handsome curly sandy mane and stubble. The former wore a penguin tux and the other a rolled up white shirt with a caramel pin stripped vest over his coat.

“You may rise.” Celestia said with a regal smile. The two rose and the guards turned to leave. As the door closed, Celestia nodded to the two. “Now, what’s this dispute over land?” The stallions cleared their throats and the one in the penguin tux went first.

“Your majesty, we come before you in hopes of telling the stuck up Morgue family to back off from the Honeywood fields in the outskirts off of Ponyville. That land belonged to the Stock family for generations! It is only fair we are granted rite to do with as we please.” He said. The representative of the Morgue family rolled his eyes.

“And that is where you are losing your money’s worth. That field is acres of untouched land save for a couple of property owners in the area.” The stallion stated. Celestia tilted her head.

“And have you both talked to the property owners before hoof?” Both ponies nodded, but the Stock representative chimed in.

“One has been abandoned by the previous owner. A one late Mrs. Marigold. Her son and daughter still own the property and both have been willing to let the Stock family buy it off of them. The papers have already been signed and everything!” To make the point, the stallion withdrew a few scrolls from his pockets and rolled them out. Celestia took them in her magic and scanned the words. Indeed, the signatures of both owners have agreed. The Morgue sighed.

“Then there is the other property owner. A lone widow in a cottage full of orphans. I have spoken to Mrs. Wisp a deal in retiring once the kids have been adopted.” Celestia’s eyes widened as the Morgue pony continued. “Doing some research, it turns out these two properties were shared in a mutual agreement. As it happens, the only property owner is currently still on site.” The pony cast a sideways glance at the Stock pony.

“While you may have the papers of one side, the other has yet to make her choice. And as it has been stated before, we have been open to bargaining a deal towards the Stock family in buying those papers off of you.” The Stock pony harumphed.

“Turning the field into a shopping mall is the worst kind of idea to happen to Ponyville!” He stated. “Why would they go to a modernized place when they have everything already?” The Morgue pony rubbed his muzzle.

“It’s to aim for the residents in the Valley. Believe it or not, you stubborn oaf, some of the ponies in Ponyville have a lot of connections to celebrities and even royalty. The Princess of Friendship? May I also dare say that it is home to the one Rarity?” He motioned with a hoof. “It’s not just them. The egalitarian community is also host to a special kind of history in Equestria. One of the current founders live there. You would know that Granny Smith is still kicking.”

Celestia studied the two as the Stock pointed at the Morgue pony.

“Preposterous. That hick valley couldn’t handle the next one hundred years! It’s only fair to make a new Ponyville. One to last forever!” He turned to Celestia. “The Stock family plan to turn the field into a neighborhood. Filled with modern quality of life living and a brand new tomorrow! It is also farther away from the Everfree Forest! Wouldn’t the safety and comfortable living be enough to consider having the Morgue family to hoof over the Honeywood deal?” Celestia hummed before looking to the Morgue pony.

The pony bowed. “Your majesty, if I may?” He then levitated out a scroll from his pocket and over to the princess. She took it in her own magic and scanned the words. Her look furrowed quizzically.

“If I am not mistaken, this is an inheritance letter. From the Bell family?” The stallion nodded.

“It is, your highness. The Bell family originate from Vanhoover. Yet, they make up most of the real-estate throughout Equestria. Their daughter had recently come into inheritance to several hundred acres of untouched land. At the bottom is a list of signatures of ponies that have agreed to own parts of the land unowned and many projects have been invested into them. If you’ll observe, Mortigue Morgue’s signature is one of the many. Agreed to the Valley property. Honeyfield included. By all accounts, the property is pending under the Morgue name.” He looked to the Stock pony.

“Which means, a lot of bits and paperwork has been thrown in to claim the area.” Celestia blinked.

“How much?” She asked. The stallion rolled his hoof.

“Ten billion.” Both the Stock pony and Celestia balked. The Stock pony looked at the pony in concern.

“T-t-ten billion bits?!” He exclaimed. Celestia was no stranger to money being thrown about. If anything, she’s taken aback by the fact that her subjects can manage so much. She furrowed her look. Perhaps she should give Raven Inkwell a bit of a break every now and then. The Morgue pony bowed to Celestia.

“Your highness. With these facts, I would ask for your seal of approval to give the Honeyfields over to the Morgue family. It’ll be beneficial for both you and the Princess of Friendship. The economy would even out and prices would be fairly taxed.” Princess Celestia studied the two. Stock has yet to make a counter point. In fact, the pony was sweating a little too much. Was the contestant overwhelming? She looked to Stock and nodded.

“Well, do you have a counter point?” She asked. The Stock representative sighed and nodded.

“Refurbishment and expansion. The Valley can host so many ponies. So much so that the elites would find the time to relax away from the struggles. A Valley of retirement and vacation homes. We would even house new opportunities for the ponies of Ponyville. New housing. More jobs. A better, egalitarian society. It’s just like Ponyville, but newer! And the Apple family would be able to expand their business far beyond Appleloosa. Same thing with Rarity For You. Plus, with the elites vacationing or retiring to someplace such as Honeyfields, The Princess of Friendship would be able to have more funding for any kind of projects she wants to invest in for the benefit of pony kind.”

The Stock pony bowed. “You will still get the same benefits of Morgue’s deal, but through expansion of more neighborhoods, upping the value of everything.” The Morgue pony shook his head.

“An admirable, but albeit, waste of land and opportunity.” He began. The Stock pony flared and was about to speak when Celestia unfurled her wings out to silence the bickering. When the two bowed, she brought her wings back and closed her eyes in thought.

“I have heard both sides make their points. Yet it feels that the decision cannot be fully made until this Mrs. Wisp signs over the last bit of property. Please, allow me to talk it over with my sister before I can make a final judgement in the matter. Thank you for your time gentle-stallions. Feel free to stay in the guest rooms for a spell while we await my sister’s return. You’ll both be treated as guests of honor under this castle.” The ponies glared at each other. But the Morgue pony made Celestia narrow her eyes slightly.

There was a strange vibe radiating off of the stallion. It probably didn’t help that the stallion seemed to hide such spite behind his eyes despite showing a calm emotion. The two turned and approached the guards that would escort them to their rooms. When the door closed, Celestia brought the scrolls up and swirled them around her. Scanning the contents to get all the facts straight. She couldn’t hide it. A small smile formed.

Perhaps there is a way to help her sister after all.

---

Lunch was peanut butter sandwiches with jelly jam and sliced apples. Pepper chewed his food happily, savoring the taste of the meal. It was one of his favorites. The only other memory of his old life. It has been a long while since he thought of his old home. But he was so young he couldn’t remember any specific details. Let alone understand what had led him to live here. It didn’t bother him as much. It was a quiet place for him to enjoy some peace.

Of course, the glare from a certain filly wasn’t helping that peace at all. Merriweather eyed Alabaster with a curious look. She then tapped her shoulder, causing the filly to turn to her.

“Do you like Pepper?” She asked. Alabaster gave a concerned look at the filly in response.

“What ever gave you that idea?” The filly replied with a hint of genuine confusion. Merriweather fidgeted uneasily in her seat.

“W-well, you are always looking at him. Torque told me that if you like a pony like reaaaally a lot, you just stare at them. Like you are.” Alabaster narrowed her eyes and looked over to a grape coated filly with a end braided posh raven mane and an oversized lab coat too big for her as she tinkered with an appliance that Mother Wisp had given up for the filly to play with.

Granted, the doohickey hasn’t worked in forever, that didn’t stop the filly from taking it apart and reassembling it. Alabaster never understood why she wasn’t one of the first to be adopted. She’s insanely smart for her age and yet, every now and then, the child her likes to come out when she is unable to bide her time with tinkering. Pallet, who was sitting next to Pepper, pushed his uneaten sandwich to him, causing Pepper to look between him and the meal quizzically. The artist smiled.

“You must have been really hungry last time. My dad once said that you need plenty of energy to face the day.” He flushed and rubbed the back of his head. “It always helped me to remember that when I draw.” Pepper narrowed his eyes at the colt. Could this be a bribe? Because it was working a little bit. Pepper slowly reached for the sandwich, keeping his suspicious gaze on the colt. Pallet blankly looked at the colt in confusion as he took the sandwich and moved it to his plate, sliding his plate away from the colt cautiously.

Pallet smiled. “It’s alright, Pepper. I’m not that hungry. Still full from the left over pies.” Pepper swallowed and looked at the sandwich. From what he has read, a sign of friendship is usually a shared meal. The colt suddenly felt less hungry and pushed his plate back towards Pallet, eating the last of his own food. Pallet arched a brow and found this interaction to be strange.

But this was to be expected when interacting with Pepper. As reclusive as he is, it’s only right that he may have trouble socializing with others. This couldn’t be far from the truth, however. Pepper had no qualms about interacting before. It was his tormentors making it hard to get anything in. So why bother talking at all? Let actions speak louder. What has words ever done for him? The colt felt they were better on paper than spoken.

There was a sudden cry that caused the children to look over. Mother Wisp wasn’t in attendance. She had stepped away to handle a certain matter away from lunch. She told them she’ll be back in an hour or so. The kids gathered by the doorway, only to step aside as a terrified tan colt with black straight mane and big rimmed glasses over his magenta eyes stumbled through, pointing over to the doorway.

“I-I-I saw it! A ghost!” He cried. The children began to mutter to one another before Torque spoke up without removing her gaze from the appliance.

“Ghosts? Please. You must have been eating too much paste, Macaroni.” The filly stated. The colt, Macaroni, shook his head terrified.

“N-no! I swear it! I-I was washing my hooves when I saw it peeking around the door!” He exclaimed. Tea Stout rubbed her mane.

“You sure it wasn’t any of us?” She asked. Macaroni nodded.

“Does anypony here have a cream and caramel two toned coat?” Pepper stopped chewing and furrowed his look at the colt. Macaroni seemed to notice this and quickly hurried over to Pepper, causing him to flinch. “Pepper! You believe me don’t you? I can see that look! You have seen it too, haven’t you?!” Pepper shivered and shrunk back in his seat.

“Mac, Pepper most likely has an imaginary friend. Maybe you saw them instead?” One filly from the group stated, causing most of the kids to laugh. Pallet frowned.

“And what’s wrong with that?” He asked. Macaroni shook his head.

“I swear to you all! I saw it!” He turned to Pepper. “You have to believe me!” Pepper didn’t know how to respond. Macaroni has been a colt that likes to make up games with eraser tips. Pepper would sometimes catch him pretending to treat the eraser like an avatar and a pencil as a sword. He was awkward, if anything. But it’s because of that imaginative normalcy that he has been the most interviewed and highly likely to get adopted. It surprised Pepper that the colt hasn’t already.

He remembered how the parents were quite taken with his expressive imagination. He did had a hobby in reading ghost stories and cryptids. Perhaps, that’s what kept making the parents change their minds. Pepper felt bad for Macaroni. The colt saw the defeated look in Macaroni’s eyes.

Pepper felt a nip in the back of his mind. He had told himself not to trust anypony. But, for some strange reason, Pepper believed him. Pepper withdrew his journal and opened it, scanning the recorded dream he had.

“D-do you think ghosts are real?” Merriweather whimpered the question at Alabaster. Alabaster closed her eyes in thought, the filly recounting something within her memories. She opened her eyes and stepped forward towards Macaroni.

“Perhaps, it could be another one of us we have yet to meet? There are fourteen of us. Maybe one more has joined and Mother Wisp hasn’t gotten around to showing the pony.” She waved to Merriweather, the shy filly taking meek steps out to stand next to her. “As the activity monitor’s right hoof, what say we greet our new playmate?” Macaroni shook his head in disbelief.

“I-I don’t think they are. You have to believe me!” He stood up and trotted over to a nearby book shelf, pulling a black leather book. Pepper narrowed his eyes at the book. Macaroni opened to a page as the kids gathered around. The title read:

Beyond the Magic Realm.
A book on the paranormal occult.

“Huh. I don’t ever remember seeing this book.” Pallet stated. Alabaster frowned.

“Have you’ve been sneaking into Mother Wisp’s room and reading her books?” She asked. Macaroni darted his eyes.

“N-no?” He lied, hoping that his demeanor didn’t give him away. Ignoring the suspicious look from the filly, he turned through the pages. Pepper was stunned by the illustrations. Horrors he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Wereponies, Wendigos, Thestrals, Ghouls, Ghosts, Zombies. Pepper eyed Macaroni with concern now. He stopped at a page.

Black Eyes. Macaroni pointed to the picture of a drawn colt and filly with a foal at their hooves. Their eyes hollow and blackened heavily.

“I-I think it’s a Black Eyed colt.” He said. Tea Stout tilted her head.

“Black Eyed colt?” She asked. The colt held up the book as he read a passage.

“Black Eye children, or Black Eyes, are supernatural beings that take the form of colts, fillies or foals between the ages of four or ten years old. The powerful ones take the ages between eleven and fourteen. These supernatural beings are said to aggressively want to enter your home, pretending to be lost and hungry. It is said that these creatures bring bad luck and a plaguing curse that’ll spell tragic ends to anypony unfortunate to invite them in. The greatest tell of these creatures is their hallow, black eyes and pale coats.” Torque clicked her tongue as she crossed her lab coat sleeved covered forelegs across her chest.

“Mac, there is always science and logic behind everything. Ghosts aren’t real.” She stated. Alabaster nodded.

“Which is why, it has to be a new pony in the orphanage. It only makes sense. This place is old, but nothing bad has ever happened here.” Ghost Pepper darted his eyes, hoping to see if anypony thought otherwise. He slumped when he found it was only himself. Torque smirked as she then reached into her lab coat and withdrew a copper wire.

“I have an idea. Let’s say it is your ‘Black Eye Colt’. I’ve done some theory reading myself. Come along, everypony! As I will present to you the wonders of science!” She waddled shuffled a bit due to her sleeves being too long as the tail of the coat dragged behind her. The kids muttered amongst themselves as they followed the filly down the hall. Pallet smiled at Pepper.

“Wanna play along? I think it is pretty interesting, to say the least.” He said. Ghost Pepper eyed Macaroni, who was looking quite uncertain and jumpy at the moment. He has never been so pale in his life. That was when Pepper saw Alabaster glaring at him.

“Don’t think you can sneak away from recess, Pepper. You must be nice and greet our new playmate.” She said sternly. Pepper bowed his head and sighed. He began to follow the rest with Pallet, Alabaster and Merriweather following him. Pepper didn’t show it, but his curiosity was rising. Macaroni mentioned a cream and caramel two toned coat. He furrowed his brows in confusion at the thoughts flowing through him.

For the longest time he’s been here, he doesn’t remember encountering any paranormal events that he could think of. Save for Nightmare Night a few years ago when an older filly decided to play some nasty pranks on the already long adopted children before them. But it was all pranks, right? This is too much of a coincidence. How does Macaroni know to describe a pony such as that? The colt couldn’t be the only one with a cream and caramel two toned coat, could he? Alabaster narrowed her eyes at Pepper suspiciously at the struggling colt.

“Behold! I call it, the Realm Box!” Torque said proudly as she brought out a stool and a bulky, white box that looked strangely like a radio. She grunted as she heaved the box onto the stool with her head, wiping her brow before patting it.

“A Realm Box?” One colt asked quizzically as they tapped it. Torque frowned and waved a sleeve at him to shoo him away before clearing her throat.

“It’s a working title. But! This is the result of theory testing. All thanks to a certain pony who freaked out about hearing voices at night.” She eyed Macaroni, who flushed and nervously avoided eye contact. Merriweather and Pallet walked around the stool to study it.

“What does it do?” Merriweather asked with the tilt of her head. Torque beamed.

“I’m glad you asked, Merriweather!” She motioned with a sleeved hoof out to Macaroni. “I am still missing a component, but this bad boy, in theory, would be able to read the ether waves around us. Meaning that it’ll pick up the very realm which the souls of the dead rest.” Pallet adjusted his artist barrette curiously.

“Ether waves?” He asked. Macaroni chimed in, stammering a bit.

“I-it’s the flow of space between magic and limbo. I’ve read that it is the very space where we are guided to in death.” He rubbed his chin. “It is theorized that in order for ponies to return to the ether, they must give up their memories and past life. That way, they can be reincarnated into a later life.” Pepper found this rather disturbing. So much so that his gaze glanced in the general direction where a lone patch of woodlands were.

Torque unrolled a tool belt and bit down on a screwdriver, tinkering with the box. She just needed to adjust some more variables before adding the last component. She then looked to others.

“Does anypony have a crystal?” She asked. The children exchanged glances with each other. One filly spoke up.

“Do we look like we have crystals?” They asked sarcastically. Then, a raven coated filly with a white and grey streak mane in pigtails and with a heterochromia of ebony and ivory eyes, stepped forward with a laid back smile. She reached into the satchel around her neck and withdrew a white crystal. The children gasped and oohed at the crystal. Pepper tilted his head in confusion.

Echo Heart was always a laid back filly. She was more into the occult practices. She has said before that she practices white magick, whatever that means to the colt. It’s a wonder why she is having trouble getting adopted. It’s a shame. Pepper always found she handled plants better than Funnel. Torque smiled and took the crystal.

“Thanks, Heart! Now then… we just tie this copper wire around the crystal… attach it to the connectors… tune the wave frequency and… there!” The filly pulled back and the kids couldn’t make heads or tails of the design. It looked completely strewn together. Torque proudly held up her hooves. “Fillies and gentle-colts! I present to you, theory testing at its’ finest! The Wave Reader!”

“But I thought it was the Realm Box?” A colt chimed in. Torque frowned.

“Working title! Now then.” She turned the knob and the box made a distant, echoing click. It buzzed for a moment before quieting into a droning static. The children waited expectantly. Awe and curiosity washing over them. Merriweather then rubbed the back of her mane.

“So… what now?” She asked. Torque crossed her forelegs across her chest and hummed.

“Well, the theory is correct. But to really see if it is true as to what studies have documented, we just… ask questions to the box.” She stated. Macaroni stepped forward, eyeing it cautiously before tapping the black speaker.

“Hello? Is anypony there?” He asked. No response. It was strange. The children felt a little uneasy as the quiet droning of distant static was the only thing keeping them company. Echo Heart looked around.

“Our playmate says he saw you when he was washing up. Was that you?” She asked. Again, no response. Alabaster sighed.

“I hate to break this achievement of yours, Torque, but I fully believe we are taking this a little too ridiculous.” She said, motioning around them. “It’s a new pony. We just have to find them.” Torque grinned.

“Glad you can volunteer for it! I one hundred percent agree with you, Allie. But I can’t leave this unattended. Somepony might break it.” She shot a glare towards the same colt that had touched it prior to her unveiling. The colt ducked behind another and nervously smiled. Alabaster nodded.

“Alright, then. But when we come back with the new pony, you all better apologize to then for thinking they were a ghost. You specifically, Mac.” She stated. Mac slumped and shook his head.

“I keep telling you. It’s not a new pony. If you see the Black Eye colt, I can only tell you to run and hide. They love playing hide and seek. If they can’t find you within the hour of being seen, you are safe. But if they catch you.” He reared up and flailed his forelegs at them in a waving manner. “You’ll disappear without a single trace.” Pepper heard Pallet and a few other children gulp. A couple of them shivered. Alabaster spun on her flaks before walking past them.

“You’ll be joining me. I’m not going to have you sneak off again.” She said, eyeing Pepper sternly. Pepper slumped while Pallet gave him a reassuring pat on the back. The two began to follow her while everypony else gathered around the box, asking questions to no response. Alabaster peeked in room after room on one side while Pallet did the other side. Pepper walked a little further down, looking down the hall.

For some strange reason, Pepper felt a chill run up his spine. He adjusted his scarf and tried to warm himself from the uneasiness. Ever since Torque turned on that box, the atmosphere had drastically changed. As if dread had washed over the place. The colt froze upon hearing a door creak to his right. He looked over and saw a door on the left at the end of the hall slightly open. The sunlight from the room blinked for a second, causing the colt to do a double take with his ears dropping in terror.

His ears dropped as Alabaster and Pallet met up with him. They saw his gaze and followed it. Pallet tilted his head.

“That leads to the attic. That’s strange. Mother Wisp always has that locked.” He said nervously. Alabaster narrowed her eyes.

“Rule breaking? Perhaps that new pony is stills little loss. I better go correct that.” She said, trotting casually over to the door, much to the two colt’s awe at her bravery. They nervously followed after her as Alabaster knocked on the molding of the doorway, opening the door more. “Pardon me. If you are the new pony, then I have to ask for you to come down. That area is off limits.” She called out.

No response.

Back where the rest of the children were, Torque was messing with the knob, wondering if the frequency was a bit off. Macaroni sighed.

“Now that I think about. Should we really be asking a being that can potentially curse us all?” He asked. Torque didn’t remove herself as she replied to the colt.

“For the last time, Mac. This is theory testing. It’s not going to be perfect right off the bat. Our greatest minds in Equestria have failed more than they have succeeded. Progress is the knowledge and key to victory.” Mac shook his head before placing the occult book down on the ground, turning to the page.

“It says here not to go looking for them. Avoid at all cost. Do not invite them in and ignore their aggressive threats of weakness.” Tea Stout rubbed her chin.

“But then… wouldn’t that mean that Mother Wisp may have taken in a lost child before us? I remember Daisy Whistle being abandoned at the porch. She was your age at the time, Torque.” She said. Torque nodded.

“I vaguely remember her. But yes. There was also Chicken Foot.” She said matter-of-factly. One filly chimed in.

“Oh, I remember them! He always had that funny waddle.” A few of the kids giggled at the memory of seeing a funny looking colt waddling past them for recess. Merriweather rubbed her chin.

“What about Choco Berry?” She asked. The room grew quiet. Merriweather flushed and shrunk back. “R-right…” Torque pulled away from the box and furrowed her look.

“You know, Tea. That does bring up a fair point. Putting aside my genius mind for a moment to humor you all, Mother Wisp has taken all of us in. But lately, it seems she hasn’t been accepting anymore.” This was true. Some of the children have noticed that Mother Wisp has been helping lost children by, what the kids assume, taking them to a different orphanage. In fact, the reason she had stepped out was because of this fact.

“What if, she had unintentionally invited your ‘Black Eyed Colt’ without realizing it is one? In a state of either sleepiness or frazzled frustration.” Torque suggested. The box began to pop as something that sounded like a voice had come through. However, no pony could pick up what it said. Macaroni’s eyes widened.

“H-hello? A-are you trying to reach us?” He asked. It took a moment, but what sounded like voices were beginning to crackle through. Yet, no pony still could make out what is being communicated. Torque beamed.

“Progress! Well, Macaroni. Since you are the expert in this whole thing, why don’t you try asking if it is a spirit out to curse us?” She smirked in a teasing manner. Macaroni frowned but took a deep breath.

“What is your name?”

Further down and out of sight, Alabaster tapped her hoof impatiently. Pallet squinted his eyes.

“Do you think they are hiding? Afraid that they’d get in too much trouble?” He asked. Alabaster frowned.

“Too much of it is not complying to the demand. I’m being nice here and not reporting it to Mother Wisp. Come on down! We won’t bite. Just want to see our new playmate!” She called up to the attic stairs. There was a loud thunk above them and what sounded like hoofsteps above them. Even the kids around the box heard the commotion and looked up. Dust fell from the ceiling as it trailed down the hall and over the kids. It then stopped just above them.

The kids began to look at each other worriedly. Torque sighed.

“It’s probably just the raccoon again. Mr. Funnel has been trying to catch it for a while now.” She explained. That didn’t help the uneasiness the atmosphere was giving the children. Further down the hall to the three, Alabaster sighed.

“Well, I hate to do this, but you leave me no choice. As activity monitor’s right hoof, I’m coming up to get you!” She called out, shocking the two colts. Pallet put a hoof on her shoulder to stop her.

“Alabaster! Are y-you sure about that? Wh-what about it being off limits? And what if it is th-th-the Black Eyed colt?” Alabaster narrowed her eyes at the artist and shook her head.

“Pallet, I don’t believe in that stuff. This whole joke has gone on long enough. Everypony here is being rude to the new kid. When this is over, I’m going to ensure Mother Wisp gets you all to apologize to them.” Pepper gave a skeptical look at the filly, which she ignored as she then began to ascend the steps. “You two stay here and I will end all of this.”

The two watched her as she disappeared around the spiral of the staircase. The creaking wood of her hoofsteps over them. The two followed her hoof steps as she went further in, though not as quick as the previous. There was some scrapping and small thumps, as if she was moving things aside. The hoof steps quieted. Pepper looked worriedly at the ceiling.

Further down, the box was crackling and popping from the speaker. As if something was trying to break through the reverberating static. The unnerving echo of the box sending chills through the children. Torque frowned as she adjusted the wires and crystal a bit. The moment she held onto the crystal to adjust it, she suddenly felt drained and a voice, clear as day, echoed out of the box with a distant reverb.

“Filly.” It was the voice of a child. Yet, hard to make out if it was a colt or filly. The kids gasped and began whispering amongst themselves. Merriweather supported Torque as she seemed to slump onto her haunches and rub her forehead.

“Are you okay, Torque?” She asked. The filly nodded.

“Just have a headache suddenly. It’ll pass. But did you hear that?” She smiled. Macaroni tapped his chin and proceeded to place a hoof on the crystal. The colt began to feel a little ill, but he pushed through it.

“Was that you in the attic?” He asked. Torque frowned, unhappy with the colt touching her device. With her head pounding, she didn’t fight it. The kids quieted as the box popped and crackled. There was a loud thump above them and a couple of the kids yelled in panic.

Pepper and Pallet further down heard it as well and peeked around the hall. The dust was puffing around the children, as if somepony was stomping around above them. There were multiple sounds of hoof steps. Pepper shivered as he looked back towards the door.

Ensure the safety of your playmate. The stern tone of Princess Luna echoed in his mind.

‘Why me…?’ Pepper gulped as he timidly walked back towards the attic stairway. Pallet looked at him with nervousness.

“Wh-what are you doing, Pepper?” He asked. Pepper’s ears dropped as he eyed the stairs. Adjusting his scarf and taking a deep breath, he cautiously ascended the steps one at a time. “Pepper? Pepper, you’ll get in trouble with Alabaster!” Pallet rasped quietly at him, hoping not to draw attention to themselves. The colt ignored him, as much as he wanted to listen to Pallet’s warning.

When the colt reached the top of the stairs, he saw the light in the attic on and flickering. The constant hum of the light overhead made the attic feel bigger than it looked. Stacked boxes of various items on one side of the attic, trailing out and looking cluttered further in. The colt scanned the area fearfully.

“A-Alabaster?” He asked.

Further down, the box popped and the same voice echoed distantly from the speaker.

“Colt.” Macaroni, who was waiting for a response from the box, balked and looked to the others.

“You hear that? It said colt! I knew it! We are dealing with a Black Eye! Oh nonono!” He began to panic. The voice broke through again, almost drowned out by another that sounded like music.

“Friend.” The voice was then followed by a guttural voice.

“Fear.” It rasped through the box. Merriweather curled at the ground, covering her ears and closing her eyes as she shivered.

“I-I-I don’t want to play this game anymore…” she whimpered. Torque looked worriedly at the terrified children. The filly frowned and walked over to Macaroni..

“Not funny, Mac. You’re scaring everypony.” She said sternly. Macaroni looked pale, shaking his head.

“Torque… you may have actually connected to the other side. What I’m doin… is allowing my energy to be used for communication.” He slumped. “I feel sick. But we gotta’ know if we are in dan-“ Macaroni brought his leg back as the loud thump and crash overhead caused the kids to shriek. Tea bumped into the stool and the box tipped over, breaking upon impact on the ground. The box fizzled and popped. The children looked at it, Torque looking mortified.

“My box…” she shuddered.

“What is going on in here?!” Mother Wisp’s voice sounded as she stepped in upon hearing the kids scream. She rounded the corner to see them gathered around the destroyed box. The nanny eyed the children, making a head count before narrowing her eyes. “Where is Alabaster, Pallet and Pepper?” The kids nervously glanced down the hall, the nanny following them. Pallet balked and ducked behind the wall a little too late.

“Young colt, don’t hide from me.” She called out. Pallet meekly stepped out from the wall and dragged his hooves over to Mother Wisp with a bowed head. The nanny arched a stern brow. “Where is Alabaster and Pepper?” Pallet opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. What should he say? He’s already in trouble. Should he take the fall?

“Right here, Mother Wisp.” The voice of Alabaster said behind him. They looked to see a disheveled and dusty filly with Pepper looking a bit bruised and dusty as well. Mother Wisp looked worriedly at the two.

“What happened to you two?” She asked. Alabaster sat on her haunches and crossed her hooves. She explained to her how Macaroni had freaked out about a ghost. Torque showed them a new invention she made that led to Alabaster stating that she thought they had a new kid in the orphanage who was poking around in the attic. Alabaster glanced at Pepper.

“I told Pepper not to follow, but he did so anyway.” She frowned. Pepper bowed his head, feeling frustrated. Why did the wedding dress wearing mannequin had to fall on him? It surprised him to see Alabaster poking her head around the boxes to see who had entered, causing the crash. Macaroni looked to Alabaster with relief.

“You guys are okay! Did you see the Black Eyed Colt?” He asked with worry now. Alabaster sighed and reached behind her, withdrawing a ragdoll of a brown pony with black button eyes and a light brown mane.

“Behold, your ghost.” She stated as she placed it in front of her. Mother Wisp blinked and looked at the children with concern. Torque smirked and pointed at Macaroni.

“Hah! I knew it! You were just making something up! Well, as fun as it was, I must thank you for allowing me to put a theory to the test!” She looked at the box and tapped it. “The possibilities are always endless!” Mother Wisp cleared her throat and the children stood to attention. She looked between all of them in disappointment.

“If I had known you all wanted to play ghost hunters, I should have made some ground rules appropriately. Torque, clean up your mess. Alabaster, Pepper. Go get washed up and then start cleaning the rooms top to bottom. Take Pallet with you. Everypony else is to clean the kitchen, dining room and sweeping the porch.” The kids groaned and she waved a hoof. “Tut-tut. If I hear any protests coming from any of you, you’ll be cleaning again tomorrow. Anymore and it’s a whole week. Understand?”

“Yes, Mother Wisp.” The kids said in unison. Mother Wisp sighed and rubbed her muzzle as the kids dispersed to start clean up time. Alabaster turned and proceeded to walk towards the wash room, closing the door, leaving Pallet and Pepper to wait outside. Mother Wisp looked to the ragdoll and picked it up. She brushed the ragged mane, her look softening.

‘What am I going to do with these kids?’ She asked herself.

Comments

[Samellan]

You missed a symbol on the center closing tag, and the second half of the chapter is all centered

[Jumping Jack]

11651322
Thanks for the point out. I was out of town so didn't get to it. Fixed it