A dark figure watched as three little fillies plodded along a darkened hallway with a smile upon it's lips.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" the white unicorn filly asked her two companions.
"Of course I'm sure, Sweetie Belle." sighed the orange pegasus filly, rolling her eyes at her companion's remark.
"Yeah, Sweetie Belle, how else are we gonna get our ghostbusting cutie marks?" piped in the third filly, a yellow earth-pony with a big red bow in her mane.
"I don't know." Sweetie Belle answered. "But I got a bad feeling about this."
The three fillies were currently plodding down a dark hallway in the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, the late afternoon sun shining in the sky. The castle itself was sitting in the depths of the eerie Everfree Forest. Their hometown of Ponyville sat on the edge of the forest itself. The Everfree Forest was a dangerous place and the three fillies should definitely not be here, even if they were the infamous CMC.
"I still think we should have told somepony that we were coming out here." Sweetie Belle looked around nervously.
"No way, they would've just stopped us from coming. Besides, after hearing that story about the Pony of Shadows from Rainbow Dash; I knew we had to come here, catch it, and earn our Cutie Marks!" the orange one boasted, a flashlight tucked under a wing illuminating the hallway before them.
"Scootaloo's right, Sweetie Bell! My granny told me the same story. Besides, we came prepared!" the earth-pony flashed a big smile at the unicorn, nodding toward a pair of saddlebags she was carrying.
"Riiiiight." Sweetie Belle drawled as the three rounded a corner, before shrieking as a dark figure appeared before them.
"Relax. It's just a suit of old pony armor." Scootaloo chided.
As the sound of hoof-falls sounded down the hallway behind them, the three fillies looked back questioningly. Shining the flashlight down the hall revealed only an empty hallway without even enough debris for a colt or filly to hide behind. The sound of hooves had stopped when Scootaloo had turned the flashlight down the hallway.
"Hehe. Just an echo I guess, right guys?" Scootaloo asked as she turned the flashlight back aound, a slight tremor in her voice.
"Um, Scoots?" the earth-pony asked, her eyes widewith pinprick pupils. "Didn't that armor have a helmet?"
"Yeah, why?" the pegesus responded nonchalantly until she too saw the afore mentioned armor was indeed now missing the helm. "Uh, where is it? Maybe it fell off?" She quickly panned the flashlight around looking for the missing piece.
A squeak escaped from Sweetie Belle as the helm was revealed to be sitting on the ground, facing sideways, in the center of the hallway a mere two filly lengths behind them. All three felt their hackles rise and their blood chill as the helm, seemingly of it's own accord, turned to face them. Screaming with fright Sweetie Belle dashed forward and delivered a kick to the helm, causing it to fly down the length of the hallway where it clattered then lay still.
"Wow, quick thinking Sweetie Belle." sighed Scootaloo after a moment.
"Yeah, that there was some good bucking Sweetie Belle. Maybe you should join us next Applebuck Season." Applebloom stated smiling.
"Thanks." Sweetie accepted sheepishly.
"Yes, good job Sweetie Belle." congratulated a hollow sounding voice that drew the fillies' attention back to the hallway as a dark shadow with yellow eyes oozed upwards from where the helm had lain before the kick. A wicked smile split the shadow as to where a mouth would be.
"Now Applebloom!" commanded Scootaloo.
Reacting to her companion's call, Applebloom threw the trap at the apparition. The three fillies watched in astonishment as the trap passed harmlessly through the figure before landing empty on the floor behind it. The figure's smile widened as it leaned forward and said, "Boo."
The three abruptly turned flank and ran, Sweetie Belle's admonishment ring over the screams of the other two, "A NET? You brought a net?!". A mirthful giggle issued from the figure as it followed leisurely after.
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Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were waiting for their young wards at Sweet Apple Acres; the sun beginning to set on the horizon. The three friends were lounging out on the farmhouse's porch, sipping cider and discussing recent events in town. Their quiet mussing were interrupted as the three fillies of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as their young wards moniker-ed themselves, came screaming past the farm (literally) headed toward the town at full speed.
"What the hey is up with those three?" Rainbow Dash asked flying up just enough to see the CMC disappear in a cloud of dust.
"I don't know darling, but they looked like they saw something awful." Rarity replied with a look of concern.
"Yeah almost as if they had seen the 'Pony of Shadows'." Applejack glared at Rainbow, knowing she had told the tale to Scootaloo.
"Yes, almost." answered a voice from behind Applejack, which caused the farmpony to gulp since she knew there was naught but solid wall there.
As all three mares glanced towards the voice, they witnessed a shadow with yellow eyes emerging from the wall they had been sitting in front of a smile appeared.
"The Pony of Shadows!!" exclaimed Applejack who quickly turned and galloped after Applebloom. This quick motion resulted in utterances of shock from the other two mares as they bolted after their friend.
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"Whew, thanks for letting me use your bathroom Applejack. That cider went right through me." Pinkie Pie paused as she exited the front door of the farmhouse, and saw a black-coated pegasus with gray and slime-green highlights in her black mane hovering in the front yard. The mare's yellow iris-ed eyes were watching figures in a fading dust cloud. "Hello? Who are you?" Pinkie asked the mare.
Turning to look at the pink party pony, the mare smiled, "Oh, hello Pinkie Pie. You haven't changed much!"
Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side trying to recall seeing a similar pony, then gasped excitedly, "Wait a minute! Are you the filly that belonged to Jasper and Jasmine Spice about ten years ago? The one that like to pull pranks on other ponies, and had no cutie mark?"
"Yes, that's me. My name's Spooky Spice."
"Oh wow, I remember you pulled a super-duper-rific prank on my when I first moved to town!" Pinkie Pie's smile quickly turned to a frown. "Wait, didn't you die in a failed prank in the Everfree Forest though?"
"Yep, me again. I really didn't think that one through. But it worked out in the end!" Spooky beamed showing off her cutie mark.
Pinkie Pie gazed at Spooky's mark, a shapeless mist topped by a pony-skull emanating from a headstone. Pinkie then had a full-body gasp with a smile, "Does that mean your a real Ghost Pony?"
Spooky smiled and nodded happily, "Yes, I guess it took dieing for me to find my destiny."
Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves happily, and started wondering if she should plan a Deathiversary Party. "So what are you doing here in Ponyville?"
Spooky turned to look back at where the dust clouds had been and smiled, "Oh, just making friends!"
Author's Note
Spooky Spice in Legends of Equestria
