Chapter 7- The Giggling Ghostie[REBOOT]
"You let that ill filly do WHAT?!"
After the outburst, there was a moment of silence. The air was tense as rage flamed from Applejack's snout.
"Shhh-! Don't do that!" Twilight complained, stopping the flow of magic from her horn. "If I mess this up, you might have to live the rest of your life flankless."
Applejack was sticking out of her portrait, her head, neck and parts of her upper body exposed. Other parts, like the lower half of her forelegs, and lower body were still in the painting. Twilight was on the side of the painting, focusing her magic as hard as she could in order to continue to materialize her friend. It hadn't taken long after Sweetie left for Twilight to figure out how to begin the paint re-animation spell. The process was tedious to the mare, but at least it was working. She was getting her friend back.
Once Applejack's head was out of the painting, she seemed to wake up, most likely due to her new physical brain activating. She kept up this process, while also using a low level healing spell on her brain, to make up for the brain cells she was losing due to lack of blood and oxygen. To be honest, Twilight thought that she could do it much quicker than she was now, if only her magic wasn't so weak. Though she had to be thankful. She could be so weak that she couldn't do something like this at all. Once Applejack's upper body was formed however, she was able to speak, and boy did she have some questions.
Applejack didn't seem to remember being ghostified, but only coming to the mansion, and everything going black. Twilight explained that the mansion seemed to be haunted by ghosts controlled by their host Specter. Then came the question: If she was ghostified, how did she get her body back.
After some pressing, tired Twilight was then forced to explain that due to her own weakness magically and physically, she'd entrusted Sweetie, the school-aged filly, and probably the worst person to deal with such a situation, to capture her murderous friends.
"What the hay is wrong wit' you..." Applejack muttered, trying to tame herself at the threat she could become a paraplegic.
"Will you stop already?" She sighed. "Look, I know it sounds like, but listen. I couldn't stop her, she was stubborn and... well, I didn't have a chance. Look, I know it was a stupid-"
"Stupid? Tha' ain't even beginin' to describe what you did." Applejack criticized. "Tha' was careless! How could ya-"
"What else was I supposed to do?" Twilight asked sharply. "I'm too weak to save you guys, and stop her to begin with. I tried to talk her out of it. Believe me I did."
"Twi. What'd you think that Rarity’s say if she found that ill filly got gobbled up by one of them ghosts?"
"You don't think I don't know that?!" Twilight cried. "I did everything I could, but I couldn't change anything Applejack. I'm sorry. I know it was stupid. Just a stupid old mare..." Tears rolled down the mare's face.
"...Twilig... ahm sorry. I didn't mean ta make ya cry." Applejack started. "...Ah guess I juts’ know how Rarity’s feel if something'... ya know like' if something’d happen ta Applebloom."
Twilight wiped her tears from her wrinkled cheeks and nodded. "I know... I just... I just I know I'm the one who's supposed to be out there."
"Ah know. Ah know. Ah shoulda figured ya would've tried yer hardest to keep her out a harm." Applejack sighed and bowed her head down. After another few moments of silence, a new sound entered the room. Something besides the hum of the walls or the silence between the two. A whirling sound. Both of the mare's attention went to the back of the room as they saw a green light swirling around an area in front of a mirror with a mirrored frame. The sound came so suddenly as they were talking that it had shocked Twilight, and even caused Applejack to jump up in the air with the painting still attached to her unfinished body.
"What in tarnation?!" Applejack exclaimed. "What in the hay is that?"
"That... that must be her now. She must be using that magic camera I gave her." Twilight said.
"Magic wha?" Applejack asked, confused.
Sweetie Belle materialized in the room in front of the mirror. Though she wasn't alone. While she was still holding up the camera at the mirror with her right hoof, her left hoof had another filly, which she cradled around her neck, keeping her propped up. Once the whirling had stopped, the two mares could see the two fillies in greater detail. The filly Sweetie held was curled up under a red tattered blanket like piece of cloth with the Cutie Mark Crusader emblem of another caped filly on it. Though at first, neither of the two mares could tell who the new filly was at first, once Sweetie laid the filly down, exposing the red mane, and bow-
"APPLEBLOOM!" Applejack exclaimed. "Aw no. Applebloom!"
The filly lied there motionless, as the apple-bucking pony called after her. The trip back from the mirrored hallway had been disorienting to the filly, so she didn't even acknowledge the worried outbursts of Applejack at first. Sweetie shook her head, trying to regain her equilibrium, as the world seemed to move unsteadily. Once it stopped moving, and Sweetie's normal eyesight returned, so did her hearing. She looked up at the Applejack and Twilight.
"Oh... hey guys." Sweetie said, still feeling a bit detached from reality. "How's it going?"
"Sweetie... Is she..." Twilight asked, looking at Applebloom, lying on the ground.
"Oh, yeah... she's fine. She just a little tired from being frozen. I guess." Sweetie said.
"F-frozen? Is that what ya just said?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah..." Sweetie smiled. "It was a close one... I don't think she would've lasted much longer if I didn't find her... I doubt I'd even be here if it wasn't for her to begin with..." Sweetie gave her head another shake, fully waking up her mind. "Hey! You figured out how to bring Applejack back!"
"Yes I did." Twilight smiled slightly. "...only kind of though. It was easier than I thought too. Besides a couple extra precautions I had to make while I was materializing her, all I had to do was just pump the painting with a bunch of magic. The spell's so simple, you could even do it if you did it fast enough."
"Nah. Probably not. I'm no good at magic, you know that."
"Sweetie." Applejack said to herself. then something hit her. Hard. "SWEETIE!"
"Gah!" Sweetie screamed in shock. "Don't do that! You'll give me a heart attack."
"Guess it just comes with the revival." Twilight mumbled.
Applejack on the other hand wasn't joking. Just by looking at the filly, memories rushed back to the apple-bucker's mind of that night. Or rather the most recent ones. It seemed so dream like, but at the same time so vivid. She might have still thought it was a dream if she didn't spy the hat on Sweetie's head.
She remembered bucking a tree for a while.
Sweetie coming in.
The two talking for a while.
Making Sweetie break her hoof.
Then trying to kill Sweetie with apples bucked at speeds that might put Rainbow Dash to shame.
"Aw Sweetie. Ya know I didn't mean it, ahm sorry!"
"Huh?" Sweetie looked at Applejack puzzled. Then she'd remembered. Sweetie supposed that since it's already happened so many times that night, that she'd almost forgotten that Applejack did try to kill her.
"Ah don't blame yeh if ya hate me or anythin' but ah didn't know wat I was doin' and... and..." Applejack hung her head low in shame. "Ah... ah didn't mean ta hurt ya... ah couldn't control mahself ta..."
"Applejack, it's okay." Sweetie smiled. "It's not like you hurt me or anything."
"Don't lie Sweetie, especially to me!" Applejack exclaimed. "Ah... made ya break yer hoof, and tried ta bash yer skull in with apples an' buckin' ya across the room... Ah remember... laughin' at ya ah..."
Truth be told, Sweetie had forgotten about the hoof fracture and that pain in her side. It had been healed rather quickly, thanks to Twilight's heart treat. Applejack was obviously extremely hung over all of this, while Sweetie was much more indifferent about it all. Sweetie went over to Applejack and embraced the half-finished mare.
"I'm not mad at you Applejack. Honest." Sweetie promised.
"Ah... Ahm sorry..." Applejack said back hanging her head in shame.
"I know. I know... oh yeah! By the way," Sweetie broke the hug to stand in front of the mare. "I think this is yours." Sweetie said taking off the mare's hat and placing it on her head. Applejack however, shook her head.
"Nah... ah want ya ta hold it for a li'l longer. Fer good luck. Least till ahm out of this painting." Applejack said. Sweetie nodded and placed the hat back on her own head.
Good luck huh? Sweetie thought. She'd definitely need that.
"So... did you find another?" Twilight asked.
"Find another wha'?" Applejack asked.
"Well, as I told you, Sweetie's been using that little pack on her back to capture ghosts. That's how she brought you here." Twilight said.
"Ah, righ'. The reason ahm in this thing. Brought back another though? Like one of our friends?"
"Yeah, I caught another one of the portrait ghosts." Sweetie explained.
"Portrait whats?" Applejack asked. "Ahm sorry, but ahm not rightly sure ah understand tha part."
"Hm. Is that what the book calls us?" Twilight suggested
Sweetie nodded.
"Ah. Alrigh'."
"Alright well..." Twilight said. "... you came back. Did you get anyone? Or just Applebloom?"
"Yeah! This time, it was Fluttershy." Sweetie said.
"Fluttershy?" both Applejack and Twilight said.
"I guess that explains why it didn't take so long huh? She probably wasn't that hard to capture." Twilight supposed.
"Actually... like I said, I'd probably have been done for if Applebloom didn't come along. She was killing Applebloom when I first saw her... just by looking at her."
"Really now?" Twilight asked intrigued.
"Yeah, with an alternate version of her stare. And tricking me by being really nice."
"Hm... Applejack, and you said you killed her by using your bucking?"
Applejack nodded.
"Hm. I suppose these portrait ghosts use their talents to kill whoever they fight oppose to having generic powers of whatever ghost type they turn into." Twilight hypothesized.
Sweetie nodded in agreement. That made sense, especially considering that both Applejack and Fluttershy still had their cutie marks. Definitely something she had to keep in mind.
"In any case, we had better put her through the spirit printer."
Sweetie nodded, and went over to the machine. She stuck the nozzle in the hole.
"Processing..." the spirit printer said.
The machine made several mechanical sounds as it took the ghosts out of Sweetie's GCD. The lights on Sweetie's pack all went red once again. The ghosts went through the machine. The three of them watched as the machine turned the ghost ponies into pieces of artwork. Rather than three paintings this time, only two came out.
The first one to pop out was a portrait of a triplet of fancy looking ponies smoking something. One of the ponies let out it's long tongue as it smoked, reaching all the way down to the floor.
"Somehow, I don't even want to know how those things attack." Twilight said, noticing the abnormally long tongue.
"Good comment." Sweetie said, remembering how wet, slimy, cold and painful it felt on her flank.
--Ugh.
The final portrait to come out was of Fluttershy. She looked down shyly away from the painter, in her usual Flutter'shy' manner. She wore a dress, just like Applejack did. Her dress seemed much more organic, as it seemed it was made of leaves and flower pedals. It was tied together at her neck, with a butterfly shaped button.
"Hey, I have a question. Were these the dresses you wore here?" Sweetie asked.
"Yeah." Applejack replied. "They wer' all the dresses we wore to the gala. Thought, why mak' new dresses when we got some fine good ones, lyin' in our closets gatherin' dust?"
"I guess that makes sense." Sweetie said. "But, then why aren't you wearing your dress like in the portrait?"
"Sweetie, the painting reanimates ponies." Twilight explained. "It doesn't create clothing though. I think these portraits were ones that were taken of us and other ponies during the housewarming party."
"Oh... ok." Sweetie said, as she took the nozzle of the GCD out of the spirit printer. "Well... hope you can get her talking by the time I get back. I'd better get going."
"Beg yer pardon?" Applejack said.
"What?" Sweetie asked.
"Where do you thin' yer going?" Applejack asked.
"Back out see if I can't find any pony else." Sweetie said.
"Aw, no ya ain't." Applejack said.
"Huh?" Sweetie said.
"You ain't going back out there." Applejack said.
"Why? You saw it. I caught you, Fluttershy, and about 4 of those other ghosts!" Sweetie argued. "I can take care of whatever's out there."
"No, ya can't." Applejack said.
"But-" Sweetie tried, but Applejack cut her off.
"Listen ta me, little filly. Don't think cause ya caught a few ghosts that ya anythin' special ya hear?" Applejack said. "Ah... Ah maybe wasn't able ta really talk o move mahself, but ah saw things as a ghost. This place 's worse than ya think. Think ya've see horrible yet? Ya think ya hot stuff jus' cause ya caught two of probableh the weakest ghosts out thare? Sweetie. That's righ. Me and Fluttershy probably ain't nothin' ta what ah've seen. Ah'm only thinkin' of you, and that there idea of yers, going back out is plum crazy of you."
"Well, I'm thinking of my own friends Applejack." Sweetie shot back. "I know that it's dangerous out there. To be honest, if I could, I'd stay right here, and close my eyes, trying to imagine that all of this is just a bad dream... but every second I stay here, is another second my friends could be in danger. Applebloom is here... so that means that Scootaloo is probably somewhere in the mansion too! Sure ponies have been turned into ghosts, but you saw Applebloom. Ponies can die here. And then they become those mindless... things! Right now could be a moment Scootaloo could be dying in some hallway... or even getting their spirit grabbed out of her body. No, Applejack. I... I can't stay here. No matter how scared I am... or how dangerous it is out there."
Silence fills the room, aside from the humming from the walls.
"Applejack..." Sweetie finally said. "You... you were a ghost, right? You wouldn't know by any chance where I could find another one of your friends... would you?"
"Ah ain't tellin' you." Applejack said coldly. "Yer just a little filly over her head. Ah ain't sayin' nothin."
"Ok." Sweetie shrugged as though it was nothing.
"Wha'?" Applejack asked.
"I guess I could just wander around the mansion, hoping I come across one." Sweetie bluffed. "And you know, If I don't have a destination, I could get lost... maybe even come across another gang of ghosts to practice on, if there aren't too many of them." Sweetie walked slowly to the door.
"...Sweetie wait." Applejack said.
Sweetie turned around. "Yes, Applejack?" She asked innocently, fluttering her eyes.
"Ah... ah can't have you wanderin' these 'ere hallways li' that. An' since yer gonna go out anyway... n' Twi probably can't stop ya the way she is... suppose ah might as well at least tell ya where ya need ta go." Applejack closed her eyes, reaching back into her memories. "Ah remember... seein' ghosts... somewhere around the cookin' place. The kitchen. Ah remember seein' two ghosts. Ah think both of them were those our friends... what'd ya call them. Portrait ghosts?"
"Portraits of Harmony technically, but go on." Sweetie said.
"Now... don't be git'n all exited or anything. Ah didn't really git a good look at 'm... but ah thought one of them looked... kinda white." Applejack said.
"W-white? You mean a white coat?" Sweetie asked.
"Yeah. Ah think ya know wha' ah'm gettin' at 'ere." Applejack said.
Sweetie smiled. "Yeah." There was only one pony that stood out in Sweetie's mind, who had a white coat. One that also happened to have a beautifully kept purple mane, and blue sparkling eyes.
"Thanks Applejack." Sweetie said, going over to give the mare one last hug.
"Now... once ah git outta 'ere, ya know ahma be takin over, righ'?" Applejack noted. "Righ now, I only got half of me and ah feel fine as a fiddle so..."
Sweetie nodded with an "I know", understanding perfectly clear. If she could catch Rarity, she wouldn't be too keen on leaving her sister again anyway.
"Be careful out there ya hear?" Applejack said as Twilight once again, opened the door for the filly.
"And remember to get back as soon as you can! Come back if anything goes wrong!" Twilight said.
"I know. I'll see you guys later!" Sweetie said as she headed through the door.
--Pfft. Like anything's going to happen. MUSIC TIME!
***
Sweetie figured Applejack had given her the closest possible place to search for her friends. It was most likely she wanted to keep her at a leg's length in case things went south though. Still, it wasn't that far, and it was the most solid lead Sweetie had received all night. Sweetie didn't have a long way to walk in order to reach the kitchen. After all, the entrance to the cooking area was just through the dining hall. It wasn't any further than the foyer was. Sweetie walked down the dining hall, her flashlight lighting her initial path, when the lightning didn't. The storm still roared outside.
As Sweetie walked, she thought about several things.
First off, was the location that Applejack had given her to look. It wasn't after she left that she realized that Twilight had probably already spent 10 or 20 minutes in that area making the heart candies. Even if it was her primary focus, she only mentioned having the confrontation in the dining hall with the licker ghost. Nothing about the kitchen. Even more than before, she wondered if this was more of a way to keep her busy while Applejack continued to come back to life, rather than a real hunting mission. Sweetie put aside her suspicion. After all, Applejack was the Element of Honesty. Not even her twisted ghost form could lie to the filly. Sweetie had watched Applejack's facial expressions. It was easy to tell if she was lying or not, anytime she managed to crank one out anyway. With Applejack's abysmal poker face, even the whitest lie she knew was a lie would make her sweat. Her facial expression was worried, but it wasn't a liar's face.
Secondly, Sweetie also found herself thinking of her Scootaloo. She remembered the last time she ever saw her friend, was when she had that green stuff splattered all over her face. Scootaloo was the one who came up with the CMC plane idea to begin with. Sweetie didn't know wither she'd hit the filly for coming up with such a stupid idea or thanking her when they all finally reunited. True, things were horrible now, if they didn't find their way out to the mansion, then most likely no one would be here to save her sister. Like Twilight said, no one would be coming for them, and anyone who did wouldn't stand a chance against them. At least as a filly Specter probably didn't expect much of her. Either way, if she didn't come out, she'd never have seen her again.
Sweetie's final thoughts before she found herself standing in front of the door which led from the dining hall to the kitchen was Rarity herself. The thought that her sister was behind that door eliminated any initial fear that the filly had. The thought that she'd be able to see her sister again was euphoric. Even if only one more time. She wasn't afraid to fight to save her sister, but then again what she felt now wasn't going to matter once she actually started fighting. At that point, the only thing that would matter was survival and victory.
Sweetie pushed the cold door open and walked through, trying to put her bravest face on, but once again, just chattering her teeth. Once she entered the kitchen, she found nothing. As Sweetie had thought before, the kitchen was empty, and like the rest of the mansion, had an abandoned look.
The kitchen was grander than what Sweetie was used to. It's size was like something she imagined in a big fancy restaurant, rather than someone's house. Though, unlike any thriving restaurant, rusted pots and pans covered any of the uncovered stoves. Racks with various ingredients and other cooking were all along the center of the room. The room had a misty feel to it. It wasn't a cold mist but rather a fog. It wasn't smoke, Sweetie figured, but it was definitely odd. Something was definitely off here.
"How Twi managed to stay in here longer than a minute is beyond me..." Sweetie mumbled as she ventured further into the kitchen. Through the mist, she realized the kitchen was larger than she initially thought. It was like a never ending hallway of pots, pans, and cooking supplies. Sweetie then started to smell something. Nothing bad, but rather delicious. Sweetie's snout led her to an oven. The oven, unlike the rest of the kitchen, or the mansion for that matter, was new looking, and actually a bit shiny. On top of the stove were apples. They smelled of cinnamon and butterscotch. Suddenly, a memory hit Sweetie. It was of her birthday, only about 3 or 4 months ago...
~~~~~~~
"Surprise!" all of her friends had said at the door of Sugarcube Corner, once Sweetie opened it up.
Sweetie was puzzled at the strange greeting at first. Sweetie never took surprises in instantly, unless they were meant to scare or shock her. The 'surprise' definitely shocked her however. She jumped back and fell to the pavement in front of the bakery. Sweetie smiled once she realized that the surprise was meant to celebrate her 10th birthday.
"Well, come on you silly filly!" Pinkie exclaimed, grinning wildly. "Get on in here!"
Sweetie got up off of her flank and entered the bakery. The inside was filled with balloons and banners that said 'Happy Birthday Sweetie Belle". It was a bit embarrassing to the filly to have her 10th birthday, and still be without a cutie mark, though any negative feelings were eliminated, thanks to her friends.
"Hey Sweetie!" Pinkie bounced over to the filly with the exuberant attitude she'd maintained since filly hood. "You want to try something? I've been saving it for a super dooper special occasion!"
"Sure Pinkie." Sweetie said. "What is it?"
"It's a new treat I made!" Pinkie got close to Sweetie's ear, and whispered in a secretive, yet obvious manner. "I've been keeping it a secret, so don't tell anyone."
"Sure Pinkie. Whatever you say." Sweetie rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on Sweetie! You've got to Pinkie Pie promise. Ok?"
Sweetie sighed. "Cross my heart and hope to fly." Sweetie pretended to flutter her arms like a bird. "Stick a cupcake in my eye." Sweetie pretended to have a cupcake in her hoof, and placed her hoof over her eye.
"Ok. I call it the Sweetie Apple Surprise!" the pink party said happily. She took out of nowhere, a treat that resembled a candy apple. It had something sprinkled along its outer edge, and a hole in the side of it.
"You named that after me?" Sweetie asked.
"Yeah! I've got one for all of my friends. Applejack Creampie, Rainbow Dash Cupcakes, Twilight Sparkle Sprinkles..." she said. "And this one, just for you!"
"Well, gee. Thanks Pinkie!" Sweetie said as she took the sticky apple, and placed it in her hooves. "Um... aren't these supposed to go on a stick or something?"
"Nah. I like to lick it off my hooves when I'm done." Pinkie smiled. "Well? Try it!"
Sweetie obeyed the mare taking a bite of the treat. It tasted amazing. Something about the mixture of the apple, cinnamon, and caramel coating blended together so well. To top it all off, the apple's core was somehow taken out, and replaced with ice-cream.
"Mmmm!" Sweetie said, her mouth still filled with the treat. "This is great!"
"Thanks!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Have as many as you like! There's more on the party table."
I thought this was supposed to be a secret? Sweetie thought.
"Have fun for the rest of the party!" she said. "If you need anything, you know who to call!" Pinkie bounced away.
"What was that all about?" Scootaloo said, walking up next to her friend.
"Oh nothing. Just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie." Sweetie said.
~~~~~~~
Sweetie smiled at the memory. It was fun though. This had to have been the second time her mind had been brought to the pink party pony. Both of those thoughts involved that treat. Was it just a coincidence in her mind? What was it about her that made the filly think about her?
Sweetie stared at the treats lying on the stove. Her light shined solely on the stove for a good minute. She contemplated wither or not she should try one. It was then, Sweetie connected the dots. A tray of one of her most favorite deserts, lying on a stove freshly baked? It was almost as if whoever made those treats made them just for her or at least to get her distracted for a moment-
"You should try one they're delicious." somepony whispered into her ear.
Sweetie turned away from the treat to have her fears realized. The entire kitchen had changed. This time however, was by far the most horrifying transformation yet. It wasn't the quality of the place that scared her, but where she was that horrified her... for she was standing behind the counter, in the small kitchen area of Sugarcube Corner and face to face with the worst possible thing.
***
"I... I can't believe I almost..." Fluttershy said, as tears rolled down her face.
"We know." Twilight said stroking her back. "It's alright. You didn't have any control. Sweetie isn't mad. She'll tell you herself once she gets back."
Twilight was getting better at circulating her magic in her old body. She was more and more quickly exerting magic into each painting. In this situation, Twilight resolved to taking a break from Applejack and working on Fluttershy. She figured that she could get more information about the mansion if more of her friends were able to speak. Plus, after seeing Applejack's outburst and guilt, and considering Fluttershy was Fluttershy, that it might be best to let her get her crying out so she could better handle when Sweetie came back.
"I... I just wish I could have stopped looking at them. Just for a second... just to let them run." Fluttershy said quietly. She felt just as much, if not more guilt than Applejack did for her puppeteered actions.
"Don't blame yourself. It was that damned Specter. He did that. He tried to hurt Sweetie and Applebloom. Not you." Twilight turned to Applejack. "Right Applejack?"
"Yeah, tha' rattle snake's th' one who tried ta kill mah sis. When ah git mah hoofs on em... but ya, ah don't blame ya at all." Applejack gave a reassuring smile.
"A-and you’re sure she's fine?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the filly lying down, motionless.
"Yes, I checked her breathing. She's still freezing cold, but I think her body temperature is steadily returning." Twilight said.
"Suppose th' best thing ta do now is let' 'er rest." Applejack determined. Twilight nodded in agreement.
"But Fluttershy. I hope you don't mind me asking this but... how did you find Applebloom?" Twilight asked.
"Well... it’s a little fuzzy. I'm still trying to remember what happened myself... I'm sorry." Fluttershy apologized.
"No need to say you’re sorry, but just try... Think back to your last location." Twilight said.
"Well, I know I went down to the mirrored hallway... then I remember Applebloom coming up to me, and staring at me... no... we talked. I don't remember what she said, but we talked... She looked a little different though. I... I just can't remember." Fluttershy closed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to regain that piece of memory. "I... I remember that she looked at me first... said something... then I got angry... I don't know why but I didn't like what she was saying. And she was staring at me like she wanted to get caught. At least that's what I thought at the time..."
"Ya think she wanted ta get death stared?" Applejack asked.
"W-well, I'm not sure. That's just what I remember thinking is all. I could be wrong, I'm sorry." Fluttershy said quietly.
"Odd." Twilight said, glancing back at the sleeping filly. "I wonder what was going through her mind when she came to you." Twilight sighed. "Is that all you can think of?"
"For now..." Fluttershy looked down.
"Well, if ya think of anythin' else Fluttershy, tell us."
Fluttershy nodded as Twilight resumed her focus her mind and magic on the paintings.
***
"Wah!"
Backed against the oven, Sweetie instinctively covered her face as she saw nothing but pink light stroke her vision momentarily. When nothing happened, she took her hooves off her face to see her new environment in full.
"What the hay?" Sweetie said to herself through the flashlight in her muzzle. It wasn't just Sugarcube corner shocked her, but it was the same Sugarcube as her birthday memory, though now, it had the same abandoned look as the rest of the mansion... if she was still in the mansion to begin with.
Sweetie noticed something outside of Sugarcube corner. It glowed in the darkness of the streets of what seemed to be Ponyville. It was most definitely a ghost... and Sweetie had a good idea of who that ghost was too. It's white coat, and purple mane... Sweetie couldn't think of anyone else it could be. It had to have been her... Rarity.
Sweetie walked around the counter to head out to confront her ghostly sister, but something stopped her. It was the ghostly laugh. No. Not a ghostly laugh, but rather a giggle. A light-hearted giggle that was extremely familiar to the filly. A giggle that would have been familiar to anyone in Ponyville for that matter. She started to see mist in front of her mouth, indicating the dropped temperature. Her teeth begun to chatter on the flashlight in her muzzle.
"♫When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...♫"
Sweetie knew that voice well, as one of her friends. This was Pinkie.
"♫I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw. But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all...♫"
She was watching her. Suddenly Sweetie remembered what Twilight had said. The powers of the ghosts adapted to their talents. If Sweetie was about to fight Pinkie here and now, there was something in the back of her mind that told her here she didn't have a chance.
If Sweetie stayed here she would die. Sweetie cautiously approached the exit to Sugarcube corner.
Where the heck was she?
"♫She said, "Pinkie, you've gotta stand up tall and learn to face your fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh and make them disappear.♫"
Sweetie was almost at the exit. Rarity had noticed the filly through the window, and started to walk away.
"Ha, ha, HA!"
Suddenly, from under the feet of the filly, barely a foot away, a pink ghost pony with curly hair and bright blue eyes came up from the floor. The filly screamed was scared backwards into some tables and chairs that were around the bakery. The pink ghost giggled at the scared little filly. She dropped her flashlight.
"Wow Sweetie! You sure are jumpy tonight!" Pinkie giggled. "Jumpie Sweetie! Or Jumpie Belle! I like the sound of that. Which do you like better huh?"
Sweetie scrambled to her feet to face the ghost.
"Aww. Jumpie..." Pinkie said sadly looking back on the stove in the back of the bakery. "You didn't eat any of my deserts. And I made them just for you!"
Sweetie regained her mind. She wasn't about to hesitate this time, and fall into a trap like with Applejack or Fluttershy. Sweetie went for her flashlight, and pointed it at the ghost of Pinkie.
***
Applebloom opened her eyes slightly to see the mares all on the other side of the room. Their focus had been driven away from the filly for the moment. As they were currently distracted, with a snake-like movement she crept from under Sweetie's cape, and hid behind one of the mirrors. To anyone who wasn't paying close attention, it almost still looked as if the filly was under its covering.
She snuck closer to the three mares, trying to stay as hidden as possible behind the several mirrors around the room. She got closer and closer to the lavender unicorn pony. It wasn't long before Applebloom had made her way behind Twilight, managing to remain unnoticed-
"Applebloom?" Fluttershy said, noticing the filly. "I didn't see you there. How a-" Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, Applebloom yanked Twilight by the tail, breaking her flow of magic to the paintings, ceasing the reanimation process-
"Gil-"
"Ah!"
-and nearly cutting Applejack and Fluttershy in half by the sudden disruption of steady magic. Applebloom took the old frail unicorn mare, and threw her to the ground with amazing strength. Even as a filly, and even in Twilight's current state, it was dream like she could even acomplish such a feat. But no one in the room was concerned over how she managed to do it.
But why.
"Applebloom!" Applejack exclaimed, shocked by her actions. "What in sam-hill do ya think yer doin?!"
Applebloom ignored her sister and went over to Twilight, who lied on the ground, moaning in pain. She stood over the unicorn menacingly.
"A...Applebloom?" Twilight said. No. That wasn't her. It... it couldn't be her. It just...
Applebloom grinned before bringing her hoof down on the head of the unicorn mare.
***
Pinkie giggled at Sweetie, as she seemed to dance around anywhere Sweetie shined her flashlight. It was useless. Sweetie couldn't determine wither or not her conventional flashlight to ghost capture method would work, simply because Pinkie wouldn't let her. It wasn't as if the mare was extremely fast, but it was almost as if she knew where exactly Sweetie would shine her light next.
"Gah! why can't I hit you?!" Sweetie yelled.
"Because I'm special! I even get my quotes colored! My name too! Oh, and I get two music notes when I sing now!"
"What?"
Per usual, Pinkie was making absolutely no sense.
Wait... no... Sweetie realized. ...her Pinkie sense. If Sweetie was right, then it was hopeless. As long as Pinkie could anticipate her every move, she wasn't going to touch her.
Sweetie stopped following the mare with her flashlight. It was obvious that trying to break her with light alone was useless.
"Aw, c'mon Jumpie! Don't give up yet! I was just starting to have fun!" Pinkie said happily. "Oooh! I know what you need! Just a little motivation." Pinkie charged for Sweetie, too fast for the filly to react. The mare went right through the filly's body, chill filling every fiber of her being. Suddenly however, it felt as if a weight has been released off of Sweetie. Sweetie looked back on her back, and to her horror, the GCD was gone.
"What the-?!" Sweetie yelled. Without that device, she was almost completely defenseless.
"Jumpie. Looking for this?" Pinkie said, holding the GCD in one hoof.
"Hey! That's mine!" Sweetie yelled. "Give that back!"
"Ah, ah, ah! You've gotta catch me first!" Pinkie said, floating to the next floor.
Well I can't catch you without that now can I? Sweetie groaned in frustration. She had to get her device back. She used her flashlight to locate the stairs, and quickly ran up them. Rather than finding the next floor of the Sugarcube Corner, she found herself in another hallway of the mansion. When she looked back, the stairway to her previous location was gone, as if it never existed to begin with.
"What the hay is up with this place?!" Sweetie said to herself, panicking. She felt as though she were losing her mind.
***
Applebloom forced opened the door to the safe zone. She began to drag the unconscious mare out of there.
"Applebloom! APPLEBLOOM!" Applejack exclaimed. She was struggling to get free of the painting, but to no avail. She did however gain the filly's attention. Fluttershy merely looked on with shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"Yeah 'sis'?" Applebloom said. Though the way she said "sis" almost sounded sarcastic. "Whats the problem?"
"What th' hay's wrong with you? Ya dang well nearly killed Twiligh'!" Applejack asked.
Applebloom laughed. "Ah don't know wha' yer talkin' about. Ahm better than ever." For some reason, the accent she was giving wasn't the normal one Applejack was accustomed to. Instead it felt forced, as though it wasn't genuine. "And besides, pop 'd kill me if ah killed 'er here. Don'tcha worry though. She'll be dead eventually."
"A...pplebloom..."
"What's gotten in to you..." Applejack said angrily, though this time, it wasn't to Applebloom. It was quite apparent that this wasn't the Applebloom she knew. Either way, this time, she didn't answer. She simply dragged the mare out of the safe zone, and shut the door, leaving the two mares, halfway, sticking out of their portraits, trapped.
***
--Where?
Sweetie chased down the sound of giggling in the hallway. She desperately searched for Pinkie and her only means of defense against the ghosts. Sweetie saw the hallway was filled with locked doors and statues of guard ponies with their own weapons. The hallway was so narrow, that if one of them were to release, there was little chance the filly would be able to evade.
--Just one little slip.
Sweetie ran blindly, not noticing how her flashlight was flickering on and off as she continued down the hallway. Sweetie wasn't sure if she was looking for Pinkie anymore, or just running out of pure panic.
Her breath was becoming shorter out of fear and exhaustion.
--Are you sure you're breathing anymore?
Apart of her wanted to just lie down in the middle of the hallway, and let Pinkie get away. Her adrenaline and will to live kept her on her feet and moving. She doubted she could stop.
The guard ponies of the hallway seem as if they were watching as she continued down the narrowing hallway. Sweetie begun to feel claustrophobic as the walls seemed to be closing in on her.
--The walls.
--The walls would kill her.
"No... no! Someone! Anyone! Help!" Sweetie screamed as she felt the walls close in all the way. Darkness befell the filly as she dropped her flashlight.
"AH! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
--And then silence.
--And nothing else.
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A couple spelling and grammar mistakes, but then you get punched right in the nuts by story, and you forget all about it. MOAR.
"Sure people have been turned into ghosts, but you saw Applebloom. People can die here"
This is incredibly jarring, should be ponies.
THE SUSPENSE.
aww hell no appleblooms possed and pinkie pie is super ghost poor sweetie D:
161277 I suppose I was trying to capture her accent, but maybe over did it a little. I'll check that out.
I sense that someone is going to help her (luigi? proffesor E.Ghadd?)
Man, another cliff hanger, darn you, i'll be thinking about it all day long now. what ever you do, don't stop i LOVE this story.
-WW
162579 I'm happy someponies got that.
.... Losing the GCP is going to lead to so much difficulty for sweetiebell and what will come of scootaloo???
And possesion??? wow applebloom must have had a hard time
Finally it looks like we are gonna have a ghost Twi folks! I would say that this might be a bust since the ghosts can sorta already tele port in swetties point of view but twilight konws how to Group teleport so prepare fer some scary stuff!
Keep goin the suspence is killing me!
"Rainbow Dash Cupcakes"
"
That reference. I laughed, then said "Well played, Moon Shooter.
I shat my pants when I came across the words "Rainbow Dash Cupcakes" I'm mean seriously I just got over reading that fanfic
Why in the name of Lauren Faust is there no fanart of this thing!?
...
...
...
You know what? Screw fanart. This needs to be added to the GAME! Does anyone know where I can find a bonygramer with a copy of Luigi's mansion? This must be done. ASAP.
A little Fridge Horror for you guys. Sure, the GCD can make portraits out of the ghost
, and Twilight turn the portraits into flesh
. And after all, the ghost are nothing but the souls of the Mane 6
. Now... What happened to the original corpses
? Are they still somewhere in the mansion
? What if Applejack finds her own corpse of her old body
?
This isn't Red vs Blue for respawning to be taken that simple.
as soon as i finished this chapter i thought:
*flashlight hits the ground*
continue?
yes no
also
"rainbow dash cupcakes" i see what you did there
S-S-S-SPLENDID BREAKER!
For maximum ironies, I played Giggle at the Ghostly while I read this.
I guess understand that fanart picture.
Pinkie stole the GCD and Apple Bloom got ahold of Twilight! This can't be good!
Twig... Ham sorry. I didn't mean to..." Applejack started. "...Ah guess I juts’ know how Rarity’s feel if something'... yam know..
Atrocious. Apparently everyone's previous comments about how your grammar and spelling are crap were just ignored.
You just had to list 'Rainbow Dash Cupcakes', didn't you? Well done!
I really should have gotten around to reading this earlier. This is really good, even for a person who's never really played Luigi's Mansion. Only problem I see is the changes in tense that occur at random.
Damn you internet e__e
161395 *begs for luigi to magically show up*
/)/)
" Rainbow Dash cupcakes"
oh, shit.
You kept having AJ say ill filly. Did you mean Li'l filly?
...giggitydl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Spitfire_rape.png
Rainbow Dash Cupcakes
I see what you did there.
No, it's the first motorcycle. Sluts can't count.I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten I'm not at Rocky Horror. Which is tonight, come to think of it, though I'm not planning on going.
. . . Anyway, don't tell Sweetie about that little slip. I'd be so embarrassed, especially if I had to explain to her what "slut" means . . . probably I'd just run away instead and never show my face in Ponyville again. Seriously, this never happened, is that clear?
I don't think blindly running after Pinkie without checking the book is going to accomplish much, Sweetie. Pinkie'll probably make sure you don't lose her, since that wouldn't be much fun, so you really need to stop for a moment and check if she's got any known weaknesses.
WHOA. Dear god, am I the only one that thinks using Giggle at the Ghosties made this chapter legitimately creepy? I mean, it's in Pinkie's character to DO that, but even with the song in the background, I was hearing it with a very.... sinister tone, I guess. Apple Bloom being crazy didn't help, either.
WOW AMAZINGLY CLEVER TITLE.
Applejack Creampie, Rainbow Dash Cupcakes, Twilight Sparkle Sprinkles..."
rainbow dash cupcakes.....
DAMN YOU!
now i have to get that horrible animation and fanfic out of my head.
820174
you are a really good narrator.
Is AJ calling herself weak?
3341556 ._. one of the many reasons why I'm going through these chapters.