A Corpse in Equestria

by LucidTech

Chapter Twelve

Berry Punch’s house was cozy. Though perhaps it would be more accurate to say that at one point the house had been cozy. Weeks of neglect, however, had taken its toll and left every inch of furniture covered in a thin layer of dust, thus replacing the coziness with something more ominous. Adding to this feeling, any food that had been left out on the counter had fallen victim to the passage of time. This food was, thankfully, not present when the group arrived at the house, someone had been gracious enough to remove it. Unfortunately, not before it had started to rot. The smell of decay, faint and light though it was, still lingered. It swirled in a strange kind of dance macabre with the musty scent of a home that had been empty for a long while. Jack was happy to see it though, he felt as tired as the dead ought to be and, as they say, any old port in a storm.

As Berry, Colada, and Cheerilee made their way into the kitchen along with the conversation they’d been carrying for the past block or two. Jack, as usual, hadn’t felt any desire to interrupt. On top of his usual anxious restraint was his knowledge that Cheerilee was still unable to hear or see him, thus even attempting to enter the conversation would’ve been an ordeal.

Instead of subjecting himself to such a terrible fate Jack broke from the group and opted for the living room, more specifically the couch. A piece of furniture which, to Jack’s aching spirit, looked as comfortable as one could dream of. Given that Jack’s interactions with the physical world were largely based on his perception of it, this meant that to Jack it was the most relaxing couch he had ever encountered.

He reclined in the seat, more at ease than he’d been since his death. Swaddled in the relief of the couch, the pull of the forest on his mind shrunk and diminished until all that was left was barely a trifle. It would be so easy to relax like this forever. To become little more than a fixture of the building, resting for eternity within the walls and ceiling until it all came tumbling down under the slow forces of erosion and entropy. To finally, after the daily wear and tear of simply existing in the world of the living, truly live. A luxury which, ironically, would be granted to him by his death. There was no need for food, or air, or other people. Nothing that had to be done, nothing that would force him out of sleep in the morning. To never move from this place, to haunt it forever, in peace. It would be wonderful. And he did feel so absolutely tired.

The thump of a door closing jolted Jack suddenly to attention, his eyes naturally snapping towards the window on the wall opposite the couch, through which he could see the mango colored sky fading into a violet night. He turned then to the direction of the door, conscious thought once again beginning to piece itself together in his head. There he saw Colada and Berry Punch lingering near the door, both clearly having just bade goodbyes.

Jack took a moment to gather his thoughts before he started to speak. “Did Cheerilee leave?” Jack asked, his mind trying to catch up with the world around him.

“Ah, look who’s awake.” Berry said, turning to him with a teasing smile. “Yes, she just headed out. She kept saying she had a busy day at school tomorrow, but then she would think of a reason to stick around. Had to almost force her to go home.”

Jack stood from the couch and glanced to Colada, who looked like she was trying to pinpoint his location. “Sorry for checking out as soon as we got here, I felt like I was just about ready to collapse. Did a lot of walking yesterday. When Twilight and her associate stopped you on the street I thought I might just fall asleep right there on the road.”

The smile faded from Berry’s face at the mention of the ponies who had waylaid the group on the way home. “Yes, her associate.” Berry chewed her lip for a moment, looking at Colada deep in thought.

“I’d never met her before! But she seemed really nice.” Said Colada.

“You’re just saying that because she gave you a reason to talk and didn’t try and stop you.” Jack said, deciding to try and engage with Colada while Berry seemed to be mulling over thoughts he could only begin to guess at.

“Nuh-uh!” Colada said, defiant. Her stance facing Jack as she seemed to have pieced together his general direction.

“Yuh-uh” Jack retorted, falling easily into the pattern.

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yuh-”

“Did you notice anything odd about her?” Berry interrupted, seemingly not noticing that she was cutting into the conversation. Or perhaps recognizing that she wasn’t interrupting anything important.

“Nuh-uh” Colada said, then blinked once in a small self-induced confusion. “Err, I mean, no I didn’t think she was odd or anything.”

“I felt like I’d seen her before but other than that, no. I didn’t see anything specific that would suggest anything weird.” Jack supplied.

Berry hummed to herself for a moment, looking into the distance. “Felt like you’d seen her before…” She said idly, the words not really directed at anyone.

“Why do you ask?” Jack queried, curiosity overpowering his anxiety at starting a conversation.

“Huh? Oh. Nothing, just… she looked… I dunno. Weird I guess. Thought I saw…” Berry shook her head, clearing the thought. “It was nothing I guess, don’t worry about it.” Her attention now back on her current surroundings Berry lowered her head to Colada’s level and smiled. “Happy to be home kiddo?”

“Happy you’re home Sis.” Colada corrected, hugging her sister’s snout. Then, after a properly tight hug, she pulled away. “And now we’ve got a ghost in the house too! Oh! Does that mean our house is haunted!?”

“I think the ghost has to be around for a while before you can call the house haunted.” Berry said with a smile, then turned to look at Jack. “Whaddya say? Want to live here so that little sis can say she lives in a haunted house? I imagine getting a new home would probably be pretty difficult for a ghost and as long as you don’t mind sleeping on the couch we’re happy to have you.”

“I would love that.” Jack said with a smile, thinking about waking up every day to the same gorgeous view. True, sleeping on a couch wasn’t exactly luxury but it sure as hell beat sleeping in hospital visitor chairs and was assuredly several tiers higher than sleeping stuck halfway in a wall. Then, reality caught up. “Oh, but. I have some other stuff I need to do first.”

“Oh? Like what?” Berry said.

“Well for starters I think it would be best if I lay low for a while. As long as Twilight is looking for me I think I’d rather avoid leaving her any clues.”

“What? You’re trying to avoid Miss Twilight?” Colada said, suddenly confused. “But she’s SO COOL! She’s saved the WHOLE WORLD a bunch of times! She’s like… the best at magic!”

Jack looked to Berry for confirmation, knowing that children could be prone to exaggeration. When she nodded and gave said confirmation, however, Jack found that despite now knowing Twilight was a hero, his opinion on the extremely powerful royal Alicorn had not changed that much. Still, it wasn’t like you could just tell a child that you didn’t like someone because they were excited about your death. That was a whole can of worms, especially since Colada seemed to idolize the princess to some extent. Jack was trying to find the words to try and explain when Berry came to his rescue.

“I think laying low sounds like a good plan.” She turned to Coldada. “Just until Princess Twilight calms down a little, you know how she can get when she’s excited.”

Colada nodded in what she probably thought was a wise elderly way. “She can get almost as in your face as Pinkie Pie is when-” Colada’s jaw opened and she turned to the spot where she knew Jack was. “When someone new comes to town…”

“I don’t like that sound of that either.” Jack said, vaguely remembering his encounter with Pinkie Pie what felt like a life time ago. Luckily, she didn’t seem able to perceive him. Though the words she had said had been oddly perfect for both him and the pony she’d been talking to. Regardless, he wasn’t sure he was ready for a second predator to begin hunting him down.

“She can be pretty extreme, it’s probably a good idea not to draw too much attention from anyone in that friend group if you can avoid it,” Berry confirmed. “But from the sound of it you had something a little more in mind than hiding in our attic.”

Jack nodded slowly. “Yeah, the thing is I was also planning on taking a trip out into the forest.”

“The Everfree Forest?” Berry asked in a tone that told him she would like very much for his answer to be no. Reinforcing this was Colada, who stood with mouth wide open in surprise at his statement.

“Is that the one by the apple farm, kind of gloomy?”

“Yes.” Berry said tersely.

“You can’t go in the Everfree Forest!” Colada said, getting her voice back. “It’s super dangerous in there! There’s probably even stuff that’s bad for ghosts!”

Berry pressed a verbal attack, denying Jack a moment to defend himself until she’d said her piece. “Why, exactly, are you planning on going into the very obviously evil forest? I am dying to know what could possibly have convinced you that is a good idea.”

“I- it’s- I don’t know how to explain it.” Jack struggled with the words, how exactly did one go about explaining a dark void at the center of your being that was even now pulling you towards the dark scary forest. Or, better question, how did you explain that in a way that alleviated the worry of the people who cared about you. Since, if he just told her about what exactly was going on, she would probably only grow more worried about him.

“Jack.” Berry said, her voice tired.

“You can’t go into the Everfree!” Colada reiterated once again, hurrying over to the door as if to block his passage. “I won’t let you.”

Jack didn’t have the heart to tell her he could always walk out through a wall. It seemed like an act of cruelty to do so given the circumstances.

Berry, however, was under no such delusions. She knew that if Jack wanted to leave she couldn’t stop him. “Is there anything you can tell us that would make me feel better about you going into the forest?”

Jack stood in silence for a moment before a thought came to mind. “I can tell you about Sam.”

Berry blinked, once, in confusion. “Why would that make me feel better?”

“Because that would mean we’re friends.” Jack said. “And you’ve got to trust in your friends, right? So, when I say its something that I have to do, you would know that I mean it.”

Berry offered a half-hearted smile. It wasn’t a perfect solution, it was barely even a workable solution when it came down to brass tacks, but it was something. Given the alternatives, she could work with something.

She walked over to the kitchen table and motioned for Jack to sit down. “Alright then.” Berry said, glancing to Colada as she also took a seat. “Tell us about Sam.”

Comments

[OneAmongOthers]

More of the dead man comith!

[Fireeaters]

I wonder if this is gonna suddenly turn into a Bleach crossover

[Oreng Pingvin]

11662540
Hooray?

[Alyarin9000]

I do agree with the mares, but go he shall.
I'm sure his plot armor will protect him

[Silver Starlight]

11662802
I mean, it hasn't so far

[Frazzle2Dazzle]

This story continues to make me laugh. Can’t wait to hear about Sam!

[Hairy Rainbowish Thingy]

Pretty cool story so far.
Don't think i ever read a fanfic where a man straight up dies and become a ghost,that doesn't straight up strat growing anime style power and abilities, like this one yet.
Though, i really wonder why he seems to be a different type of ghost then the Apples.

[Monk With No Name]

Wait we don't get to see the rest of the conversation with Twilight!? I wasn't expecting anything life unlife changing, but at least some insight.

[dinoding]

I mean, It might be best to ask them about the evil spirit before he does that lol. Might learn a think or two!

[DrPlacebo]

I wonder why none of the ghosts can see Nightmare. Apparently she's something apart from Luna?