The cursed resident.

by Sylif Daring Doo

Hearths Screaming Eve.

Author's Note:

A little early but in the right month at least, so I hope you enjoy.

______*Ponyville, Equestria, Hearths Warming Eve, 12:00 AM*_______

Sweetie Belle walked through the cold town of Ponyville, the town was busy putting up decorations, going from place to place and swiftly finishing preparations for the holiday, she thanked her sister mentally for the winter hat and wool boots that helped to keep herself warm.

The cold weather was accompanied by snow, and quite a bit of it, a few inches to be precise and it was obviously bothering everyone in town, they were shivering even as they walked around with smiles and laughter as they enjoyed Hearths Warming Eve.

Sweetie Belle shivered slightly as she walked, the young filly was heading for Sugarcube Corner to meet with the other crusaders, Scootaloo said that she wanted to talk about how they could get their cutie marks.

'Just so long as it doesn't involve a really high place.' She told herself as she walked, not willing to relive the last time they tried for cutie marks in skydiving or cliff jumping.

Sweetie Belle shivered a little when a cold breeze blew by, she kept walking in good spirits however in spite of the cold, she walked past a pair of unfamiliar unicorns, a mare and a stallion who had a different air about them, she paid them no mind while staying out of their way.

"Can you believe this town? they actually believe in ghosts, it's that Nightmare Moon character, she made them all crazy." The stallion whispered.

Sweetie Belle paused upon hearing this, she looked back at the two who stopped walking, the mare leaned in a little to speak.

"I heard it was some mare called Rarity, the townsponies here think her house is haunted, and that she can see and speak to the ghost, crazy is what she is." The mare whispered.

Sweetie Belle frowned and looked down, she heard the stallion say something that made her bite her lip. "And did you hear that nonsense they were spouting a little bit ago, they claim that the very same ghost was visible and that they could speak to it on Nightmare Night."

Before Sweetie Belle could say or do anything that she would probably regret, a familiar voice stopped her. "Isn't it a little too cold to be standing still in the snow?" The filly looked up and saw a dull gray Pegasus mare with a silver mane, normally she would not know who this mare was, but the glowing cyan cat-like eyes and cutie mark were a dead giveaway.

"Nightm-" Sweetie Belle was cut off when Nightmare shook her head, she then leaned in to whisper. "Because of the holiday we have a lot of visitors, useless as it is im going by the alias of Silver Wing."

Sweetie Belle nodded in understanding. "So are you excited for the tale of Hearths Warming?" She asked curiously.

'Silver Wing' shrugged. "I'm not a fan of pageants or stage plays, never have been and apparently it reminds Alecia of the boring performances she had to sit through." She sighed and looked at the filly. "Who knows? I'll talk to our dearly departed about it, either way we agreed to spend the day together." She then looked around for something. "I should go look for her, I'll see you around Sweetie Belle." Nightmare said before walking off.

Sweetie Belle then made her way to Sugarcube corner, wanting to get out of the cold and into someplace warm, and deep down, she wanted to get as far away from those two ponies as fast as possible.

The young filly soon reached the sweet shop and stepped inside, she smelled the welcoming scent of hot sweets and looked around for her friends, she soon spotted a familiar light yellow earth pony filly with an oversized red bow in her hair, she walked over to join her and carefully avoided bumping into anypony.

Sweetie Belle sat down at the table with her friends. "Did I miss anything?" She asked curiously.

Scootaloo who sat in the corner shook her head. "Nothing important." She replied before looking at Apple Bloom. "So, it's your turn to pick an idea, what do ya got?" She asked.

The earth pony filly tapped her chin in thought, pondering the options until she looked at her two friends. "Well, actually I was thinking, why don't we take the day off from crusading? we probably won't have time to do anything anyway, my family has plans for today anyway." She stated.

"Yea, Rarity wants to spend the day with me after she finishes prep for the show tonight, besides that, I'm not sure." Sweetie Belle added.

Scootaloo sighed, visibly bummed about her friends replies. "That's fine, I guess my parents want to spend the day with me too now that I think about it." She said with slight disappointment.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other with a pang of guilt, the unicorn filly looked at Scootaloo and spoke. "You know.....I don't think Rarity will mind you joining us tonight if that's ok with your parents." She offered.

"And my family would love to have you over.....so long as you don't jump the chicken coops again." Apple Bloom added, slightly giggling at the memory of Scootaloo ramping over the chicken coops and angering the birds.

Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo laughed a little at the memory of a dozen chickens running around in circles for ten minutes, the Pegasus in the group then spoke. "Thanks girls, I'll ask." She said, seeming to be in much better spirits than before.

After the three friends had a few treats, they left Sugarcube corner and went their seperate ways, the cold weather didn't change thankfully, so it wasn't any worse, Sweetie Belle walked back home and shivered in the cold air, wishing that the weather had gotten at least a little warmer.

A long breeze of cold air rushed at Sweetie Belle and she braced, the cold wind was soon gone and she kept moving on. "If she wasn't a ghost, I would trade places with Aleica to get out of the cold." She muttered.

_____*Elsewhere.*_____

"I think you've broken her." Nightmare Moon stated calmly.

Alecia looked at the disguised Nightmare with a raised eyebrow. "Who?" She asked.

"That rainbow maned mare, the one you threatened on Nightmare Night?" The disguised Alicorn said.

Alecia grunted and turned her attention back to her book. "Rainbow Dash, what about her?" She asked curiously.

Nightmare removed her disguise and motioned to the outside. "I've been keeping an eye on her ever since that night, she's slowly getting more and more paranoid, it started off as a quick glance to the side, then behind her, and now she's freaking out about when you are going to scare her." She explained with a chuckle.

Alecia smirked. "There's no better terror than letting ones fear get the best of them, and then scaring them when they think they are safe." She replied calmly.

"And I thought I was evil." Nightmare muttered.

Alecia chuckled and stood up, she set the book down and looked at Rainbow Dash who flew around frantically under the guise of helping with preparations. "I think it's high time I deliver on that promise, don't you agree?" She asked with mischief on her mind.

"Agreed, but how to do it?" The Alicorn pondered.

Alecia crossed her arms. "Leave that to me, just enjoy your day." She vanished with a maniacal laugh echoing on the winds.

Far off, Rainbow Dash felt an unnatural tingle on her spine and found herself dreading what was coming even more, she wouldn't let it show of course.

______*Later that day, 6:02 PM*______

"I hope you enjoy our show tonight Sweetie Belle." Rarity said as she gave her sister a hug, they were currently in the town hall which was renovated into a temporary theater.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "I will!" She then tapped her hoof in thought for a moment before speaking. "Nightmare and Alecia might be watching too, they might enjoy it." She pointed out.

Rarity smiled as her sister went into deep thought. 'She really cares about them, those two pranksters that cause me no end of trouble, I guess it would be wrong to say that they haven't grown on me, I might hate their crude jokes and pranks, and as selfish as it is, I wouldn't trade what I have now for anything.'

"I need to go get ready Sweetie Belle, go and find a seat." Rarity told her sister, they quickly walked off and went to get ready for the show.

Sweetie Belle found herself In brighter spirits than she was a second ago, she had absolute faith in her sister, and in her friends, she was certain they wouldn't miss it.

______*a little bit later.*______

Sweetie Belle smiled and watched the show by Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Spike, they represented the three pony tribes, Unicorn, Earth pony and Pegasus respectively, and Spike was the narrator.

She looked over her shoulder at where Nightmare and Alecia were going to sit, and sure enough she saw them watching, Alecia had a bored yet amused expression while Nightmare seemed pleased, especially when the arguing scene rolled around.

Sweetie Belle turned back to watch the rest of the show, and a few minutes later, when the curtain finally pulled back and Spike declared it over, she joined the audience in applause.

Alecia in the back though, simply stared at Rainbow Dash who seemed to notice her, the Pegasus seemed to be concerned that the ghost would try something here, but instead Alecia simply nodded before walking to the door.

Nightmare followed Alecia out as the audience slowly began to filter out of the building, leaving the six mares and dragon to get out of costume. "Hey, can I ask you something?" She wondered quietly.

"Sure." The ghost replied casually.

Nightmare was silent as a couple walked by, she waited until they were outside and in the air before talking. "Why did you take such in interest in that rainbow maned mare?" She asked out of curiosity.

Alecia raised an eyebrow. "I took a liking to her, what about it?" She asked.

Nightmare flew over to a cloud and landed on it, Alecia floated just next to it. "I want to know if something is bothering you, you act strange when it comes to her." She replied.

Alecia chuckled. "Nightmare Moon, jealous of a Pegasus mare? I never would have thought." She teased with a grin.

"I am not jealous of her, I am simply stating that you don't act like yourself around her, and I want to know why, so stop dodging the question." Nightmare stated with annoyance in her voice.

Alecia stared at Nightmare Moon for a while before sighing and putting her arms behind her head as she laid back. "She reminds me of who I used to be, when i was alive that is.......loyal, brave, brash and a prankster." She said somberly, she then looked at the Alicorn with a mischievous smirk. "She's also very attractive.......in pony standards." She said.

Nightmare shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Your unbelievable." She stated.

Alecia chuckled. "Alright, I got to get going, see you later." She replied before disappearing.

Nightmare flew off the cloud and looked down at the town, she noticed Twilight and the others walking to the library, and she chuckled. "Of course." She whispered to herself before flying above them, trying not to draw attention.

_____*A few minutes later, Golden Oaks Library.*_____

Rarity walked with her friends to the library, they were all in good spirits because of the show and she doubted anything could ruin it.

"So, why did you want us to go to the library?" Rainbow asked, hovering down next to Twilight.

Twilight looked at her Pegasus friend. "First, we agreed to it, second, Princess Celestia said that she made progress in finding a living decendant of Alecia's, I'm just waiting for the letter." She replied, she then looked forward at the library as the approached it. "If you don't want to come with, you don't have to." She added.

At that, none of them spoke as they got close to the library, and just before Twilight could open the door with her magic, Rainbow beat her to it and left the door hanging open when she bolted in to get out of the cold. "What the!?" The Pegasus exclaimed.

The other five mares and Spike quickly stepped inside and stared in confusion as they saw Alecia floating in the center of the room, she was hanging in the air limply but she didn't look normal, her hair was dull gray and her skin had white mist flowing away from her, she wore a dull gray shirt and matching pants that were torn at the rims. "Alecia?" Rarity asked.

Alecia's head looked up from its limp position and she turned her head to face the others, her eyes were a lifeless blue and her face was battered. "Are you alright?" Rarity asked out of concern.

The ghosts face contorted into one of anger and her eyes darkened. she vanished from sight only to reappear in front of them instantly, she then let out a blood chilling screech that was deafening.

Rarity, the five mares and Spike all screamed in terror as Alecia screeched for a few moments before vanishing, the mare then looked around frantically for Alecia but she saw nothing but the terrified faces of her friends.

"What was that about!?" Rainbow snapped, her anger did not mask the terror that her eyes showed.

Applejack looked at the mare. "Ah don't know.....maybe we should-" She was cut off as laughing filled the room, starting low and then devolving into uncontrollable.

Alecia soon reappeared in the room, rolling on the floor laughing hysterically, she looked normal again, with her faded dark red hair with purple highlights, to the black lightning arcing across her skin, along with her usual outfit.

Everyone in the room stared at Alecia with anger until they heard a laugh from outside, Twilight looked outside and spoke. "Nightmare Moon! was this your idea!?" She snapped.

Sure enough, an undisguised Nightmare Moon soon came into view with a large grin. "I'm innocent, I was just following you seven." She answered.

Alecia meanwhile had managed to stop laughing to say two words. "Got you!" She declared happily before returning to full blown laughing.

While Alecia laughed and Nightmare stifled her own amusement, the six mares and the one dragon quietly seethed in anger for a while until Rarity eventually spoke. "Are you done yet?" She asked.

"It isn't funny anyway." Twilight added.

Rainbow crossed her forelegs and huffed. "It is funny when you startle someone, but not when you scare them half to death." She said with annoyance.

Alecia stifled her laughing and looked at Rainbow. "Alright, I'm done." She paused and snickered as she replayed the image of their looks of terror. "You can stop worrying now." She laid back down on the floor and looked at Twilight. "So, what did I interrupt?" She asked.

Twilight looked at Alecia skeptically for a few moments before Spike belched, she looked at the dragon and saw a scroll in his hands, and a little green fire vanishing, the dragon opened it. "It's from Princess Celestia." He said before reading it aloud.

"Dear Twilight, I am happy to tell you that I have finally discovered the last decendant of Alecia's bloodline, a Pegasus mare named Feral Wing, she is a corporal in the Lunar Guard, she is on leave to Fillydelphia right now and has been informed of the situation, she will be returning to Canterlot in a few days where she will then head to Ponyville, I trust that you will inform your friends about this, and that you all allow miss Feral Wing time." Spike finish her reading and looked up.

Everyone in the room looked over at Alecia who fell silent, she simply stared forwards and didn't move an inch. "Alecia, are you alright?" Twilight asked, stepping a little closer.

Alecia took in a breath and looked at the mares and dragon, her face had spectral tears falling down them, she wiped her face and lowered her head. "Damn it Markus, I said I wouldn't let you make me cry again." She said quietly to herself.

She looked up again and more tears fell. "There's actually someone alive.....family, I can't believe it." She continued.

Nightmare Moon stepped forward by a few steps. "Alecia, this is good news, you'll be free." She stated.

Alecia looked at the Alicorn, not bothering to wipe away her tears. "Is it though? I'll be leaving you all behind, I have no idea what you will do without me holding you back, it'll break Sweetie Belle's heart, and on top of that I have no idea what will happen if I leave Ponyville, and that terrifies me." She admitted before sitting up.

"Alecia, with all due respect, none of us know what will happen, but you have been trapped for so long as a ghost, you have a chance for freedom, I think you should take it." Rarity said, stepping up.

"Yea! it can't be fun at all being stuck in one place for five centuries!" Pinkie added as she stepped up.

Alecia chuckled at the pink mare's antics. "Six centuries, not five." She corrected with a small smile.

Fluttershy walked up and spoke. "Your um.....your family must be waiting for you right? m-maybe you should, try?" She offered timidly.

Alecia stood up and looked at the mares and dragon. "I need some time to think, I'll leave you be." She replied simply before vanishing from sight.

After that, the six mares, the Alicorn and dragon talked for a while before most of them headed home, and one of them to bed, and eventually it was just Rarity, Nightmare Moon and Twilight.

Nightmare Moon sighed and started pacing. "How are we supposed to break this to Sweetie Belle?" She asked. "That filly loves Alecia like a sister, how are we supposed to tell her that Alecia might be leaving forever?" She added.

"If anypony is going to tell her, it should be me." Rarity stated. "It will hurt, and she might hate me for it, but she'll understand." She said as she shook her head.

Twilight looked at Rarity and Nightmare Moon, she saw that they were hurting and spoke up. "Listen, we don't know what's going to happen, all we can do now is wait and see." She said with a calm attitude and rational voice.

Rarity nodded, she looked at both her friends. "You're right, what matters most right now is that we be there for the both of them, that's the best thing right now."

_____*Ponyville Outskirts, five hours later.*_____

Alecia stood at the border of town and stared at the outside world, she could see Canterlot in the distance, seeming so close yet so far at the same time, she sighed to herself and sat down, she stared at her hand for a while until she heard a pop behind her. "Nightmare, what do you want?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon approached her friend and spoke as she walked. "I was worried that a good friend of mine was going to do something stupid, and you know what?" She asked.

"What?" Alecia wondered in a disinterested tone.

Nightmare walked in front of Alecia and looked her right in the eye. "She's doing something stupid." She stated with no hesitation.

Alecia sighed in annoyance and stood up. "I don't need this right now Nightmare, i swear I don't." She said flatly, clearly not in the mood to talk as she turned around.

"Alecia.......you need to knock it off." Nightmare said with an authoritative tone, making the ghost look at her. "You are letting yourself fall into a pit of self pity and are acting like a child." She declared in the same tone.

The ghost turned around fully and glared directly at Nightmare for a while "How dare you! you have no idea how painful it is to be around as long as I have! so yes I'm reluctant to pass on!" She slammed her first into the invisible Barrier. "And then no matter what, I end up breaking a little Filly's heart, and I can't handle that again." She shook her head. "So sorry, you are stuck with me around ." She stretched a little and stared at a Nightmare Moon. "See you at home." She said before vanishing.

Nightmare Moon looked up at the moon and then at Canterlot. "What am I going to do with that ghost?" She asked herself quietly.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Nice chapter!

[jimerjam]

noice