Ghost of the Everfree

by David Silver

25 - Presenting

"There you..." Silver's words died in her throat as she gaped at the pony she had been called out on suiting. "Wow..." He was wearing a suit! It fit him pretty well. She hurried in and did a tight circle, peering at him. "Wow! Looking good!"

Dry was doing his best to stand tall and proud, with mixed results. "I only hope it is worthy of you. You like it?"

"Love it!" Silver Spoon clopped eagerly with a giggle. "You should dress up all the time. It looks so good on you!" Unsaid and unthought, but the clothes concealed some of the alien nature of Dry Whisper. "But why? Is there a special occasion I forgot about?" She looked around for the missing holiday or event.

Dry shied back a step. "Oh, um, no... I just wanted to fit?"

"Fit, like, what?" Without asking or warning, Diamond was there to whisper in her ear. "Oh!" Silver raised a hoof to her chin in a moment of consideration. "Looking good! It really does suit you."

Dry smiled so brightly he squeaked, which was a new thing. He jumped back and looked around for the source of the noise, but couldn't find it. "Did you hear that?"

Silver burst into giggles at his reaction. "That happens when a pony smiles really big, watch." She forced a big ole smile on her face, hooves at her cheeks as they stretched into a squeak. "See?" She let them go, relaxing back to her usual smile. "Do Everglow ponies, like, not do that? Guessing not."

"They do not..." He rubbed where the squeak had come from, another step towards Equestrianity. "Is that... considered a good thing?"

"It's more of, like, just a thing." Silver shrugged gently. "Some ponies do it more than others. Now, let's move on to something way more fun!"

Dry perked up at her. "What sort of fun thing? A good fun?" Or a terrifying fun. Both was a strong possibility at times. He didn't flee though.

"The best kind!" She was applauding the idea with a vigorous stomping. "You picked a god, a good one I should think. If you're ready, I'll show you how to reach out to her."

His eyes went wide. "You'll show me how to be a cleric?!"

"Sure, if you want that." She tapped at her chest. "I'm a warpriest, but you could be a cleric, not that different in the end. Either way we're praying to Luminace for a little shard of her, like, brilliance and we do stuff. Sound fun?"

"Yes, um..." Dry flopped to his haunches. "Does that mean I give up being a picture taker?"

"What? No." She snorted at the idea. "Who said that? I'm gonna get a job when I grow up, and warpriesting isn't a job around here." She tapped Dry on the snout. "Probably for the best."

Dry considered that with a blank face a moment before he perked his ears. "Probably. Um, alright, so I can be both of those things." He gathered himself back to his hooves. "That sounds fun! Um... I would prefer to avoid fighting."

"So not a warpriest, we covered that." Silver waved it away. "Straight cleric, praying for miracles, and getting them. Now, we're not wizards." She shook her head firmly. "There is no book of magic for us to read over and over. It doesn't work like that! It's about dedication and being open to her acting through us. Like, with me?"

He was not with her. He was excited though, stomping in place. "How do I start? She's nice, right?"

"One of the nicest." Silver leaned in, touching her nose to his. "Besides me. Even gods have to step aside for..." She colored, aborting the thought with a cough. "Anyway! You have to learn how to hold that power." She cupped her chest with her forehooves. "In here. Until you figure that out, there won't be any magic. It's not built in, like, what, you thought you were a unicorn? No! You're a ghost pony." She raised a brow. "And they don't have magic built in... do they? Doesn't matter! We're going to ask Luminace nicely, and hold it, here." She thumped her chest for emphasis.

"Here?" He tapped at his own chest, slighter than the stocky earth mare before him. "Alright... How?" He sat before her, one ear quirked up at her. "Show me."

"That's what we're here for!" She sat down with him. "So listen up! You've been reading her book, right?"

"Every day!" He smiled with pride at that. "Is it in there?"

"Sorta." Silver turned away and started marching down the road, confident that she'd be followed, which she was shortly afterwards. "That's just an introduction. Everypony that worships her should read it, but not everypony who does becomes a cleric, or a warpriest, or something else. They may just follow her ways and that's fine. It's another thing to be her staff." Silver put out her hoof in a proxy for the magic staff of her god. "Reaching for her, performing magic for her. We are our tool for friendship and to learn. Does that excite you?" She pivoted sharply in place to face him.

"You can be her, like, eyes! You like looking at things and getting pictures. She enjoys seeing things, especially new things, or old things from new angles. Are you ready to serve her? She'll reward you, because she is a good friend too, and good friends do that."

Dry wilted suddenly. "I have done little of that."

"You are a foal from another world." Silver rolled her eyes. "You don't have a lot to give, but that's alright." She waved Dry forward. "You're still giving things. You give your time. You give your attention. Like, you give a lot!" She suddenly stopped cold. "You gave me a coltfriend to chase." Her cheeks went a bright red as she burst into giggles. "So don't tell me you didn't give me anything!"

"By the way!" She was looking him right in the eyes. "Tell me more about what you, you know, like. You like taking pictures, I got that. Tell me more."

"I want to know that!" He pouted a bit. "Um, about you. I know what I like." He realized he was fascinated with her, but knew so little about her beyond the surface. Was he being foolish? "Um... Please. I suppose we owe each other that much..."

"Right." She resumed the trek to Sugarcube Corner. "So let's get a snack and chat about nothing but ourselves for a bit. No magic, no big lessons, just us. Sounds like we both want to learn about what's gonna be taught today."

And they chatted and nibbled on cookies, two things that went together surprisingly well. "You like word puzzles?"

Silver blushed softly. "I do them quietly, by myself. Diamond doesn't get them at all..."

"That sounds fun." He leaned in over the small table that seperated them. "Show them to me!" And soon he had a book set before him, drawn from her pocket. "Ooo." He set a hoof on it and pulled it open with his new stickiness. "I did it!" He was mastering Equestrian stickiness, a bit at a time.

"You did," chuckled Silver Spoon in a good natured tone. "Now let's see if you can beat the first Sodoku. I already, like, beat it, but I do them out of the book." She tapped at the page. "You can do it in the book, go ahead. This one's more of a math puzzle kinda. I'll show you how it works."

So he learned the secrets of sodoku. It was right up to his speed, involving no danger of any kind and a good book to puzzle over. That he was proving decent at it helped, and the day passed pleasantly between the two with a little insight gained between them.

---

"Look at you." Scootaloo was there when he got to his new home, which was her home. "Not gonna lie, a little creepy."

"Creepy?" He directed an ear at her and stopped his advance just a little in the door. "What did I do?"

"You're dating Silver Spoon." Scootaloo rolled her eyes softly. "I know we made up... but it still feels so... ugh." She shuddered in place. "No offense! I hope you're super happy... It's me, not you."

"Do you not like her?"

She tensed at the question. "No! No... We get along just fine... We just weren't always so chummy." She laughed nervously as she turned towards the kitchen, tail stiff behind her. "Look, she and Diamond used to be the banes of our lives. Am I happy they cut that out? Totally! Want the best for both of 'em!" She started ambling away. "Still feels weird that you're dating her. It's a me thing!"

He followed after her into the living room. "Oh, past differences? I'm glad we're past that then. They seem so nice, and so do you. What could you have even fought about?"

Scootaloo peered over her shoulder. "Wow, um... Say." She turned back to him. "You're used to her. You have a specific view. Sounds great. Not even complaining, but that isn't my view." She hopped up onto a chair and grabbed a glass to take a big draw from. "Don't get me wrong. Seriously! You do you. Not even mad at you."

Dry hopped up next to her, sticking to the chair with a soft yelp. It took him a moment to free himself and sit properly. "Sorry... Um... Was she mean?"

"I don't want to dig up old dirt." Scootaloo smirked softly. "We helped a pony that did want to dig up old dirt, her specialty. Hope she digs up some ancient dirt someday and learns something amazing."

"You... are hiding." Hiding was a thing he knew all about. "That's alright." He played with his hooves in front of himself. "I hide sometimes too... If you want to tell me, you can, but I won't make you, um, come out if you don't want."

Scootaloo's hooves fell to either side of her, the glass clunking to the ground, spilling water in a splash. "Did I... Did you?" She started to laugh, flopping against the back of the chair. "Wow... I probably deserved that." She clunked down the mostly drained glass on the small table between them. "Look, uh, difference here. Equestrian ponies don't start with their marks. We mentioned that, right? Mine took a long time to come in!" She turned in place to show off her crusading mark. "And before that, me and the other girls were really worked up about it."

"To go without even the hint of the gods, that must have been very difficult for you." He glanced down to his mark, given to him before he was even born. He always had a clue as to what he was supposed to do, right there. "How does that involve Silver Spoon?"

"She got hers before us, her and Diamond Tiara. They... held it over our heads and made fun of us." She worried her hooves, breathing speeding up with the memory of bad times. "We've gotten over it, really! But... it's hard to just forget it... Don't tell them!" She hopped down from the chair. "Seriously! I don't want to... Just don't."

"I won't." He set a hoof over his heart. "You are trusting me in your hiding place. I will not betray that."

"You are so cute." She went around the table with a giggle. "So, uh... if I can ask, you like fillies? Most colts your age think we're like covered in icky slime and avoid us as often as not." She waggled her brows. "Until they get a little older and suddenly they're interested, or so I hear."

He blushed gently. "I already... went through that phase... I apologized to my sisters for calling them names... Um... Fillies are cute, and pretty, depending on the, uh... one... Silver is both! I'm sorry she hurt you though. I would stop her if it was happening now."

"I bet you would." She set a hoof on his side. "Brave coward, It's in the past, seriously. It's alright."

Author's Note:

Scootaloo has feelings about this... It felt right to me. You?

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Time makes freinds of many an old enemy?

[badninja]

Very interesting. Scootaloo like him and he likes Silver Spoon. However he still sees Scootaloo as a good friend. I wonder what this groups next adventure will be and if they will all fight together again?

[harts fire]

yep Dry is fitting right in.
and yet i can see a heard forming, well kind of.

[Crystal Treasure]

This is diabetes cute and I love it.