Chapter 5: The Poltergusts
Later, Apple Bloom and E. Gadd returned in his hotel with Eternal Rest's portrait, and the scientist gave the filly the blueprints of the Ghost Portrificationizer to study while he went to prepare something. A dozen of minutes later, he led her to a huge room entirely white. However, it possessed various small objects placed seemingly randomly like trinkets, books, sheets, and so on. Behind all those object was a giant statue of a ghost made from various elements like wood and metal.
On the floor, lined beside each others, were three Poltergusts that all possessed some differences.
The first looked like her Poltergust, but bulkier and without the button to control the power and the gauge to show when it was overheating. Also, there wasn't the vent to release the dust and other stuff sucked beside the ghosts, but it possessed wheels.
The second one looked a lot like the first one but possessed a green light on its back above a red switch, and there was a red button on the handle beside the one activating the sucking and the switch deciding if it was in 'suck' mode or in 'blow air' mode. There was also a gauge divided into three colors: blue, green, and red, above a button, and another switch.
The last one was the Poltergoo, with its big tube full of goo in its back. Additionnaly to all the switches and buttons of the previous model, there was also a big lever.
"I present to you the three models of Poltergusts that I developped so far," said E. Gadd. "The Poltergust 3000, the Poltergust 5000, and the Poltergust G-00."
"Uh. What about the 1000, 2000, and 4000?" asked Apple Bloom.
"1000 and 2000 were prototypes that didn't work correctly. 4000 was a kart that I developped for racing," answered the prof. "Now, let's give you a small run down of those three babies, first with the Poltergust 3000. Put it on."
Apple Bloom nodded and took the Poltergust 3000. The first thing that she remarked was that it was much heavier than her Poltergust. No wonder that Luigi could barely jump with it on his back. If she wasn't an earth pony, she doubted that she could lift it. Slowly, she put it on and put a hoof around the handle, ready to press the red switch.
"I tested your Poltergust, and there are some crucial differences," began E. Gadd. "Yours can only suck up very small objects, and you have to open it to get them out if they can't pass through the vent. My Poltergusts, all models, can suck bigger objects, and anything sucked that isn't a ghost is promptly destroyed. Excepted money because I'm not crazy. Money is teleported to a special vault. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to catch ghosts while paying attention to the objects around so you didn't accidentally suck them. Well, with my Poltergusts, you don't have this problem anymore. Try to suck all the objects I placed in this room, excepted the giant statue of course."
Apple Bloom had a hard time believing that the Poltergust could do such a thing, but she activated it and did as she was told, and to her surprise, the Poltergust really was able to suck objects, even objects that were bigger than the entrance of the Poltergust. Some objects, however, weren't sucked, like a trash bin, a big vase, or a suitcase.
"Incredible!" she said. "It looks like magic!"
"There's a quote that says 'technology advanced enough is comparable to magic' or something like that," said E. Gadd. "Maybe magic is a form of advanced technology we don't understand yet? Anyway, there's another feature that I would have loved to show you, but I can't, sadly. You see, in his first adventure, Luigi found three special medals that gave the Poltergust the special power to suck elemental ghosts and use them to spit fire, water, or ice. I still have the medals, but no elemental ghosts around. You will just have to believe my words for this one. That's all for the Poltergust 3000, let's pass to the Poltergust 5000."
Apple Bloom nodded, took of the Poltergust 3000, then put the Poltergust 5000 in its place. It was as heavy as the first one.
"Now, there are three main features that I added with this one. The first one, you know it, is the Dark Light Device. Where for you, it is a separate device in your belt, for me, it's a device part of the Poltergust. The use is the same: cancel the power of a ghost on a object by forcing the Spirit Balls out, and turn visible the trail of some ghosts like the Polterpup and the Polterkitty."
"Spirit Balls?" asked Apple Bloom.
"By your question, I assume that they don't exist in your dimension. In our dimension, this is what ghosts use to turn objects invisible or to possess them. The DLD force those balls out, and you just have to suck them before they return in the object to stop their influence on it. How does this works in your dimension?"
"It isn't as complicated. We just point the DLD at the invisible object for a few seconds, and it turns it visible. Nothing to suck. But Ah didn't think that it'd be used on the possessed objects. It'd have made our job easier."
E. Gadd laughed. "Really? You didn't use the DLD on the possessed objects? Then what did you do against them?"
"We destroyed them."
"Simple and effective. Ohohohohoh! So, next comes the Strobulb. It's a powerful flashlight made to stun the ghosts because, as you know, ghosts fear the light."
"Uh? Not at all. They don't fear the light, they can come out in the sun."
"I should have been more precise. They fear STRONG lights. A sudden FLASH and they stop moving for a few seconds depending of how powerful the flash was, giving you the opening to suck them."
"Mmh... Ah never needed to stun ghosts to capture them, and Ah don't know if this works on the ghosts of mah dimension. This'll need to be tested."
"It this works, it'll make your life much easier. To switch between the Strobulb and the DLD, you just have to use this switch right there," said E. Gadd as he pointed at the switch not far of the tri-colored gauge. "In Strobulb mode, the Strobulb will automatically be turned on to work as a normal flashlight. Then, you will just have to press the red button near the end of the handle to charge the flash." At this, E. Gadd turned the Poltergust on with the switch on the back, under the green light. Immediately, the handle morphed to look like a flashlight, and like E. Gadd said, it was automatically turned on. "Now, give it a try. Uh, please, don't target me."
Apple Bloom turned to a random direction and pressed the red button. The Strobulb stopped emitting light, but a small sound becoming more and more high-pitched showed that it was charging. She then stopped pressing the button, and the Strobulb unleashed a big flash of light that could certainly dazzle anyone targeted by it, not just ghosts. Without waiting for E. Gadd's instructions, she then switched to the DLD and pressed the red button to activate it, the flashlight now emitting a rainbow light. Apple Bloom quickly had to stop however because she could feel the handle overheat. Putting the Poltergust to Strobulb mode, she then pressed the button to start sucking. The handle morphed into the familiar rectangular shape and began to suck air. With a press of the last switch, the Poltergust then began to blow air.
E. Gadd clapped. "You really are a pro! But now, let's talk about the main feature of this Poltergust: the Power Surge. You certainly remarked this tri-colored gauge. Well, you see, once you start capturing a ghost with this Poltergust, this gauge starts filling." At those words, E. Gadd pressed a button on a remote control, and a part of the floor opened to reveal some machine. The machine then activated, and above it, a ghost looking like a more human version of a Prankster from Evershade Valley appeared. "Don't worry, it's just a hologram. Now start capturing it, but keep an eye on the gauge. Once you see the blue part totally filled, press the button under it. Don't forget to stun the ghost first with the Strobulb."
Apple Bloom nodded and began to charge a flash with the Strobulb. Once it was charged enough, she unleashed it, and the ghost was stunned, revealing... a heart? Apple Bloom immediately began to suck it, and when she saw that the blue part of the gauge was filled, she pressed the indicated button. The Poltergust then got a small power surge that clearly weakened the ghost as its heart looked weaker. The ghost was then captured.
"Great job!" shouted E. Gadd. He then pressed another button, and this time, a ghost looking like a Bulky appeared. "Now, capture this ghost, but this time, wait until the gauge is totally filled."
Apple Bloom immediately stunned the ghost with the Strobulb, revealing its heart, and she did as she was told. As she sucked the ghost, she waited for the gauge to be totally filled (so she had to wait for the red part to be filled), and once it was done, she pressed the button. This gave the Poltergust a HUGE power surge, and the ghost was promptly captured despite being clearly stronger than the green one. A capture that would have taken some time was over in an instant! For this brief moment, the Poltergust had the power of her Poltergust in red mode!
"Woah..."
"Awed? That's not a surprise," said E. Gadd proudly. "That's all for the Poltergust 5000. Let's pass to the Poltergust G-00."
Still awed, Apple Bloom nodded, took off the Poltergust 5000, and replaced it with the Poltergust G-00.
"Now, there're some changes between the Poltergust 5000 and the Poltergust G-00. It keeps the Strobulb and the DLD, however, the Power Surge is used for something else: slamming. Once it's charged, then press the button and it will give you a power boost to help you slam the ghosts, even the bigger ones normally difficult to slam by yourself. This way, you can slam the ghosts much more rapidly than you're used to, which revealed to be more effective than the original Power Surge."
"Eeyup. Nothing beats slamming ghosts on other ghosts."
"We agree on this! Ohohohohoh! How about you try this?" At this, E. Gadd pressed a button, and the machine created two ghosts looking like a Tricksters. "You know the dance."
Nodding with a smile, Apple Bloom stunned one of the ghosts and began sucking it. Instead of directly slamming it like she would do, she waited for the gauge to fill, then pressed the button. This gave a small power surge that prompted her to slam the ghost, and she made sure to target the other. She pressed the button again and again until the first ghost was captured, and the second one was very weakened.
"Booyah! If they were real, it would have given them a super headache!" shouted E. Gadd. "If you find the good timing, you can slam the ghost seven times before the gauge empties itself, causing the ghost to escape if he isn't captured by then. So you can choose between slamming the ghosts the normal way, slowly but without limit, or with the Power Surge, rapidly but with a limit. Now, this Poltergust has three other features. You see this lever? Grab it."
As the second ghost disappeared, Apple Bloom put a hoof on the lever on the handle. Suddenly, the handle morphed again, and of all things, a toilet plunger appeared at the end.
"What?"
E. Gadd then pointed at the trash bin still in the room. "Target this trash bin and pull down the lever."
Curious, Apple Bloom did so, and the toilet plunger was suddenly fired at the trash bin. The plunger stuck on it, and revealed that it possessed a small rope with a big knot.
"Now, suck the rope. You may need to approach."
So Apple Bloom approached and sucked the rope. the knot got stuck in the mouth of the vacuum cleaner, and the Power Surge gauge began to fill. Understanding what she had to do, Apple Bloom waited for the gauge to fill, then pressed the button. With the power surge it gave, she was able to slam the trash bin and to destroy it.
E. Gladd clapped. "This is the Suction Shot, useful to destroy bigger objects blocking the way and to open paths. You can also use it on ghosts. Nothing is funnier than a ghost with a toilet plunger stuck on their face, blinding them. This makes them impossible to stun for a moment, but when you are surrounded by ghosts, blinding one can greatly help. Also, you have unlimited ammunition. When a plunger is fired, another appears in its place."
"Cool!" shouted Apple Bloom. She was curious to know how he did it for the infinite ammunition.
"Now, there's what I call the Burst, but I don't think it will work with you. There's a button on the side of the Poltergust that will make it create a large gust of wind under it. It's meant to propel you in the air to avoid things like shockwaves. But since you're quadrupedal, then the gust of wind will go behind you, not under you. At best, it will propel you forward if you do it against a wall, but not upward."
Apple Bloom nodded. Maybe they'll be able to remedy to this.
"The next feature, you know him! Gooigi!"
At E. Gadd shouting his name, the goo in the tube came out to form Gooigi who waved at Apple Bloom and said with his high-pitched voice "Hello!"
"Hello!" waved back Apple Bloom.
"Gooigi is the result of long researches on Goo, and also some luck. Goo is something I created from ghost energy, and Gooigi is entirely made of it. I will lead you to the entries I left if you want to know the details, but the point is that Gooigi can do almost everything that Luigi can do and much more, like entering conduits and other narrow passage, or passing through bars. Arrow and other piercing objects have no effects on him. However, he has some defaults that I couldn't eliminate no matter what I did. For example, he can't yet open doors. Fire and water also destroy him immediately, and strong enough blows can hurt him. He's also very fragile, so just a few of those blows are enough to destroy him. Thankfully, if he's destroyed, he simply reappears in this tube, and he can come back out of it almost immediately."
"Woohoo!" shouted Gooigi.
"I can make an 'Applegoo' for you if you want. With the biological data I took when you used the Pixelator, it'll be easy. It will take some time however, and I will need some footage of you capturing ghosts."
"It'd be useful," agreed Apple Bloom.
"Now, about Gooigi. He can perfectly act on his own, but he's unpredictable. He can catch ghosts and all, but he does what he wants, which isn't always what WE want, like sneaking on a ghost for example. So I developed a way for the one using the Poltergust G-00 to transfer their mind to control Gooigi directly. However, as a result, the users' body enters a sleep-like state. All you have to do is to think about this, and your mind will move between your body and Gooigi's body, and you can also use it to recall him inside the tube. Come on, give it a test!"
Apple Bloom looked at Gooigi, unsure, and Gooigi looked back at her with his blank expression. Eventually, she did like E. Gadd said, and the next thing she knew, her body was now Gooigi's. She already was used to walking on two legs. She had to walk this way a lot while using the Poltergust, but the absence of a tail to balance almost made her fall. Also, having a slimy body was absolutely weird! She feared that it would lose shape at any moment, leaving her as a pile of goo on the floor. Thankfully, Gooigi retained his shape, and slowly, she began to walk around, testing the body of goo. E. Gadd made various objects made of bars, like fences, enter the room for her to test, and she could pass through them very easily. She could reach places that only Little Ghost was able to reach until now!
She eventually decided that she was done testing with Gooigi and would rather wait to have an 'Applegoo' to test with. So she returned to her body and made Gooigi return in the tube.
"Byebye!" he said before disappearing.
"Now, the last unique feature of the Poltergust G-00. Just you wait," said E. Gadd. With the press of a button, he made some kind of box with an octagon part possessing three holes glowing yellow come out of the floor. "Approach this outlet," he then said.
Apple Bloom approached the outlet, and suddenly, electricity came out of it and linked itself to the Poltergust. This scared her for a moment, but she quickly discovered that this didn't harm her. Actually, she felt the Poltergust vibrate.
"Now..." began E. Gadd as he pointed at the giant statue. "suck it up!" he yelled before he ran out of the room, making the machine creating holograms disappear in the floor with the press of a button.
Apple Bloom looked at him as if he had lost his mind, but then pressed the button while targeting the statue.
And a huge vortex came out of the Poltergust, sucking the statue piece by piece as bolts of electricity came out of the Poltergust in a huge racket! The statue wasn't the only thing sucked. As Apple bloom turned the Poltergust around, all the objects remaining in the room were sucked and disappeared in the Poltergust! By the end, when she stopped, the room was entirely cleaned of all objects excepted the outlet!
That thing was beyond the red mode, and it wasn't even overheating!
THAT. WAS. CRAZY!
"Celestia..." muttered Apple Bloom in awe.
Apple Bloom listed all the features of the three Poltergusts and added in the features of her own Poltergust.
Her goal: create a Poltergust with all those features. Against the Lord of Death, everything was good to take. However, she will have to find a way to make that Poltergust spit fire, water, and ice without needing the medals. She wasn't even sure that there will be elemental ghosts in Thanatos' castle. She had to find something to replace them. Then, there was the Super Suction. Having it without the need to plug the Poltergust to an electrical source would be very great! She very doubted that there will be outlets in Thanatos' castle. If she and E. Gadd could also find a way to improve the Goo so she wouldn't need to control it... Magic will certainly be very useful. That Magikoopa couldn't arrive too soon.
But that Poltergust wasn't the only thing she had to develop. There was still that device she had in mind that could turn her into a ghost temporarily. She was sure that E. Gadd could help her create it, but magic may also be needed too.
Having Smart Spirit and Twilight with her would have helped a lot. Twilight was a magical genius, and Smart Spirit was very good at applying magic into technology. With E. Gadd's technology, nothing would be impossible.
But she had to wait for a portal between this dimension and hers to be opened, either from one side or the other, and who knew how long this will take.
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Applegoo.
I have some advice for you: In American society, the wording of what E. Gadd told Apple Bloom in the above quote might be considered kind of suggestive.
That being said, you may want to change "Now... suck it!" to "Now... suck it up!" That would both fix the aforementioned issue and be a reference to the best episode of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! ("Hey Dedede! Suck it up!")
Speaking of Kirby, I can't help but think of Hypernova Kirby whenever Luigi hooks up his Poltergust G-00 to outlets and unleashes Super Suction. It's like Luigi's Mansion ripped off Kirby!
10296314
Alright. And yes, I love this episode too.
Yeah. Well, one uses a vacuum cleaner, and the other IS a vacuum cleaner, so it's not hard to imagine similar capacities.
10296850
I mean, there is a Kirby vacuum, which the character very well could've been named after.
11159477
Yeah, I read about it.