A ghost in Equestria

I poked my head through the wall of the library and took a good look at all the books and various notes strewn around the room. And I thought I was bad when studying for a science test.

I noticed a small desk in the centre of the room, as I looked over the banisters of the second floor, which held a little wooden horse head statue. On the table was a stressed looking purple unicorn. I’m sure there is a correct colour for her but I decided to stick with calling her purple.

She poured over the books surrounding her desk furiously, and frantically tossing scraps of paper away into growing piles. “Jeez, I’d hate to clean up all that.” I thought aloud. “Tell me about it.” I froze. I turned my head to see none other than Twilight’s assistant Spike the dragon staring at me.

We both let out a scream as we stared at each other. Spikes scream was interrupted by a belch of green flame. I stopped screaming and started laughing at the belch. “What are you?” Spike asked fearfully “I am a ghost, and I have come to haunt you Spike.” Spike let out another scream and I laughed again.

“I’m kidding sheesh, can’t you take a joke.” Spike shot a glare at me. “You shouldn’t exist, or be here, don’t you go to a better place or something when you die?” I chuckled and said “That’s not the only reason I shouldn’t be here.” I let my full form phase through the wood, and placed my feet down on the hardwood floor. Spike gaped at me. He was only up to my knee, where as Applejack and I assumed most of the other ponies would be up to my thigh.

Spike couldn’t do anything but gape at my body, so I decided to have a little fun. “Quite a sight isn’t it, yes the best damn looking human in the entire Earth is right in front of you.” Spike stopped gaping and looked at me quizzically “So, your made of dirt?”

I looked at Spike. “What you talking bout Willis.” I chuckled silently to myself at Spikes reaction, but he shrugged it off “You said you’re a human of Earth, so does that mean your made of dirt? Also, what’s a human?” I opened my mouth to speak but Spike cut me off. “You know what I’ve a better way to find out.” He approached the banisters of the second floor and looked down over it. “Hey Twilight what’s a human?” Spike called to Twilight.

Twilight shot a glare at Spike that made him wince. “I don’t have time for stupid questions like that Spike, I have to figure this out before Tuesday. I looked at Spike “What’s eating her.” He looked back at me with an annoyed expression “She got this riddle that Princess Celestia sent to her on Aprils Foals Day, about a week ago, and she said to solve it within a fortnight, she hasn’t slept since.

I looked at Twilight. She really can’t be taking it that seriously, can she. “What’s the riddle?” I asked Spike. Spike rubbed his temples. “I can’t remember right now. Hey Twilight maybe if you say the riddle aloud it will be a bit easier to concentrate on.” He winked at me “That’s; a great idea Spike thanks. Twilight shuffled a bit of paper on the table and then took one in particular into her hooves and read aloud.

“I come in darkness, but fill the mind with light. I bring enlightenment to some, while gripping others in the hoof of fear. With me it can be a journey of inexplicable joy and sorrow. What I will show you will often be unreachable. Journey with me and what you see may haunt you. Journey with me and you may never want to return home. Journey with me and you will never know when it will end.”

She stopped and looked up to Spike “What am I?” Spike gave a sideways glance to me “A ghost? Maybe.” I let out a silent chuckle, knowing the answer. Twilight gave Spike a dead look. “What kind of ghost, would bring enlightenment?” He shot another sideways glance at me. “You’d be surprised.” Spike said, low enough for me to hear, but not Twilight.

My chuckling got the better of me and Spike looked at me and said “What, I suppose you know the answer?” I nodded briskly “Well tell me.” Twilight looked up at Spike. I shook my head. “Why not. If she doesn’t get this she won’t sleep for weeks.” I looked at Spike and said “If she sleeps, the answer will come to her.” Spike looked at me. “What the hay is that meant to mean.”

I looked Spike in the eye and said this “If I tell you, you have to Pinkie Pie promise not to tell Twilight until she gets some sleep, and make sure she’s sleeping, not reading a book under her covers.” Spike nodded in agreement. “I’m not telling you it until you do the actions.” Spike sighed and said “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my- Ouch!”

Spike accidently poked his own eye, which sent me into a fit of laughter “Alright now tell me.” I nodded at Spike and told him the answer in a whisper, “What are you doing Spike?” The voice from behind Spike made us both turn and freeze. Spike was facing Twilight who had a look of, annoyance and intrigue, but mostly annoyance. “Uhh, talking, with my friend.” Twilight bent down to Spikes eye level. “And where is this friend of yours?”

Spike put on a generally confused face. He turned his head to face me. “Can she really not see you?” “Apparently not.” I replied “Then how come I can?” I shrugged my shoulders. “So far no ponies have noticed me, I think only animals can, I got chased by a manticore when I first came here.” “Spike!” Spike abruptly turned back to Twilight “Apparently only animals can see him. Oh, and he figured out your riddle.” Twilights eyes lit up. She grabbed Spike by his cheeks and held him close to his face “What is it?” Spike let out a muffled reply.

Twilight dropped Spike with a thud onto the floor. “I’ll tell you after you get some sleep.” Twilight glared at Spike “Tell me now.” Spike shook his head “I Pinkie Pie promised that I wouldn’t tell you until you got some sleep.” Twilight gave Spike a glare that could rival Fluttershy’s stare. Spike backed up a bit “Besides even if I do tell you, you need me to send the letter, which I won’t.”

I could see Twilight quickly getting angered at her assistant keeping the answer from her. Spike looked back at me worriedly. “He also said that sleep may bring the answer.” he said as a last resort. Twilight snorted angrily and trotted off to her own bedroom, slamming the door as she entered.

I glanced at Spike who let out a sigh of relief. “For the record, she probably doesn’t think you exist.” Spike said walking down to the mess of notes that littered the floor of the library. “Eh,” I said shrugging my shoulders “She’ll have to sooner or later.” Spike looked at me “Why’s that?” I looked back at him “Would you have thought of the answer?” Spike realising he was being insulted, turned away, but I heard a mumbled “I coulda got it.”

I let out a chuckle and said “Let me give you a hand, er, hoof.” Spike looked at me “Wow, you don’t even have hooves. What are they?” I deadpanned at Spike “You’ve got ‘em too.” Spike looked down at his own hands “They’re claws?” I face palmed. “Mine are Hands.” I said holding up my hand to Spike. He did the same. I noticed he only had four digits on his hand, claw, and each ended in a short but sharp claw.

He poked my hand with his, index claw? He immediately regretted the action as his claw shot away from mind. I looked at him “What happened?” He looked at me with a look of, I wasn’t really sure, it was a mixture between, fear and the knowing it was an accident, but it could happen again.

I raised my eyebrow o Spike who let out a stuttered “Felt, weird.” He looked up at me with his emerald green eyes, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. “Look man,” I said squatting down attempting to join his eye level “I don’t know half of the stuff I may or may not be able to do, so if you touching me, or visa versa, freaks you out, I don’t recommend doing it.

Spike nodded appreciatively. “Now” I said standing up “let’s clean this place.” Spike agreed with a nod of the head and we started about cleaning the place. I looked over all the notes Twilight had scribbled down on the pieces of parchment before tossing them into the nearest bin.

I looked at all the notes with disbelief. Most of them had definitions of different words that may have been the answer. I looked over them all, surprised to see how much effort she put in to solve a riddle.

Spike saw me looking over her notes and let out a snicker when he saw my face. “I know what your thinking,” I turned to see Spike looking at me “yes, it’s all to find out a riddle.” I turned back to the notes and looked over them. She had some good ideas, but assuming that she found a way to prove them false, she continued trying.

It was about 2 in the morning when I had finished. I sent Spike to bed seeing as he actually needed sleep. I sighed to myself as I put the last note into the bin. “Ain’t no rest for the wicked.” I looked up to find that the sun was rising. I decided to explore Ponyville for a bit, seeing as I didn’t really have anything else to do being dead and all.

I phased out of the wall of the library to find that the streets were empty, hardly surprising considering the time. I floated around the market square for a while, trying to get the gist of the towns layouts. The longer I stayed out in the open the more it felt like I was being watched.

I whirled around to see if there was someone, or somepony for that matter looking at me. There was nothing there so I turned back around to find my self face to face with, another ghost. I let out a scream, as did the other ghost. This ghost however was not a human, it was a pony. I stopped screaming after a while and looked at the pony. I would assume she was a mare, seeing as from what I recall from earth the majority of Ponyville’s population were female.

“Uhh, hi.” I said awkwardly. The mare stared at me, and I couldn’t help but feel like I recognised her from somewhere. “Who are you?” the mare asked trembling. I realised that this wasn’t the time to joke like I had with Spike. “I, am like you, a spirit,” I said calmly “only not of pony origin, as you can see.”

The mare stopped trembling “I guess this is my time then.” She said sadly. I placed my hand on her shoulder, surprised it didn’t go through. She looked up at me, I couldn’t recognise her as her body was becoming more and more translucent.

I gave her a heart warming smile. “It’s never truly our time, we continue living, just not in the physical sense.” The mare looked up at me her silver eyes glistening. “What happens when we die?” I didn’t know how to respond to that question, but I didn’t need to as a large doorway appeared in front of us.

The door bore two large carvings of Alicorns, both pure white in colour. “I guess your about to find out.” I said blankly. The mare floated towards the door but turned back to me before entering the doorway. “Tell Scootaloo I’m sorry.” I realised this must be Scootaloo, the orange pegasus of the Cutie Mark Crusaders mother.

I wasn’t able to respond. How would Scootaloo feel. I started to ask the mare a question, but stopped at her eyes. I understood that she wanted her last request to be fulfilled, before she left the world she was so dearly attached to. I nodded in understanding. I wished I could have had a last request before I died, but that wouldn’t stop me from fulfilling someone else’s.

The mare entered the door and it closed almost immediately afterwards. I sighed and decided to head back to the library in order to get Spike to help me find Scootaloo, and fulfil her mothers last request.