chapter 1 Welcome to Today
chapter 1
"Welcome to today"
Twilight Sparkle felt Celestia's sun peak through her Chamber window, tickling her eyelids as she slept. She smiled slowly waking up and thought, 'This is going to be a great day' and hopped out of bed a spring in her step and a song in her voice,
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Waking up in the light of a shining new day
Giving thanks to the moon for guiding my way
There is no greater gift to the soul
Lie in each breath that my body can hold
So Holy spirit, hear my voice, today
Welcome, magic
Welcome, sweet sun ray
Love is no secret
Look all around you
Welcome to this day
Life is simple and clear when you make the right choices
It's true that you're here when you find your own voice
Oh, my brothers and sisters believe
You are just what you are meant to be
Oh, Holy spirit, hear my voice, today
Welcome, magic
Welcome, sweet sun ray
Love is no secret
Look all around you
Welcome to this day
Welcome, magic
Welcome, sweet sun ray
Love is no secret
Look all around you
Welcome, magic
Welcome, sweet sun ray
(Sweet sun ray)
Love is no secret
Look all around you
Welcome to this day
Look all around you
Love is no secret
Look all around you
Welcome to this day
As she finished singing she entered Sugar Cube Corner to the sound of pot's and pan's banging around and her Party-throwing friend, Pinkie Pie, humming to herself while she worked in the kitchen.
"Hi Pinkie!" Twilight called out.
"Be with you in a slippity second Twilight!" the pink pony said jovially then quicker than the eye she zipped into the other room behind the counter, "Hi what can I do for you?"
"I just came by for something small for breakfast." the Princess of Friendship said smiling.
"alrighty-do! What would you like? A strudel? A muffin? Oooh maybe a Mufdel?" Pinkie Pie said giggling.
"I'll just have a Muffin thanks." Twilight said, "I'm heading to Zecora's today about Spike. He seems to have caught a bad rash of some kind."
"Awww. Bummer. Well maybe she can come up with an ointment or something super Dee duper to help! But don't wander too far..." Pinkie said
"Why not? We've been in the Everfree Forest before, we know what lurks in there." Twilight said
"I'm not talking about the monster's Twilight. I'm talking about the Spirit of the Everfree." Pinkie said
"Spirit of the Everfree?" Twilight asked, "what's that?"
"Well, they say an old building lies crumbling in the Forest and a Spirit of a lost Civilization haunts it. Whoever goes to the house is never heard from again.....EVER!!" Pinkie explained creepily.
"Uh-huh....well I better get going Pinkie. Thanks for the muffin!" Twilight said a bit creeped out by her friend and exited the bakery as quickly as possible.
"No Problem Twilight! Come back soon!" The pink party mare called out and hummed a happy tune while cleaning the counter.
****
Twilight walked through the Everfree Forest calmly but carefully as she didn't want to attract any timber wolves or anything dangerous to her presence but she couldn't help but think about what Pinkie Pie said earlier at the bakery.
[i]'Spirit of the Everfree? I don't remember reading about that in any legends of Ponyville at the library? I'll have to have a look once I get back home.' She thought but then suddenly heard a twig snap. Quickly looking around she saw nothing in her vicinity and lightly chuckled to herself a bit scared.
"It was probably a bird Twilight, nothing to be afraid of..." she said trying to calm herself down but then heard a low growl. Then a Timber wolf stepped from out of the bushes licking its chops. Taking no time to think Twilight quickly ran from the Timber wolf as fast as she could dodging trees and bushes just to get away. But when she looked back to see if it was still following her she tripped and fell down a steep hill tumbling and hitting rocks and hardened dirt. Once she reached the bottom she quickly stopped her head from spinning and hid behind a rock. She made no sound as she heard footsteps of the Timber wolf at the top of the hill, searching for her, but then quickly walked away not finding it's meal. With a sigh of relief Twilight got out of her hiding spot and took a look at her surroundings. What she saw astounded her, laying barren in the middle of the woods was an old two story house made of brick, wood and various other materials she couldn't identify but she knew it 'made by pony hooves.
"what is this place?" she asked herself before slowly stepping towards the building. She ascended the steps of the porch and walked towards the door noting it was broken off its hinges and barely hanging. Carefully she opened the door and stepped inside to what she assumed was the kitchen area. Inside there was a counter and stove and sink spanning from her left and around to the other side of the kitchen into a dining hall of sorts where a bathroom was before her in the same area as the kitchen door and stairs next to the bathroom separated by a wall. As she stepped in further she examined the house noting the burnt and broken furniture and appliances. As she stepped into the dining room she heard glass crack under her hoof and looked down to see a picture frame and a photograph of three strange beings a heavy female with short brown hair and glasses with a taller male with a large cranium to her left and a smaller bearded male with glasses laying his head on the females shoulder all smiling. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the photograph and sense the ponies in the photo were the ones who lived in this house. Then Twilight felt a slight cold breeze in the air and shivered before hearing a voice say
"Hello?" Twilight couldn't help be a bit unnerved by the voice but decided to ask,
"Is any pony here?"
"I'm here....who are you?" the voice echoed.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Michael." the voice said sounding a bit scared.
"There's no reason to be afraid. Can you come where I can see you?" Twilight asked
"I can but you might run away." the voice said
"I promise I wont run." Twilight said smiling kindly.
"You sure?"
"Cross my Heart, Hope to fly, stick a Cupcake in my eye" Twilight said doing the signature Pinkie promise. The voice chuckled a bit before saying,
"Alright I'll come out." then a few feet from her a Ghost appeared before her. Needless to say Twilight was scared to the point of screaming but no sound could come out her throat she was so scared and yet amazed at the scientific possibility of there being Ghosts.
"Um, Miss Sparkle?" the Ghost asked.
"Y-You're a-a G-Gh-Ghost!" Twilight said finally able to speak.
"Yeah.....I am." the Ghost said sadly. Twilight took note of the tone in his voice and gave a look of confusion.
"Y-you're no going to scare or hurt me?" Twilight asked.
"Why would i? You haven't done anything wrong." The Ghost said. Twilight stood there for a brief moment thinking about how logical this Ghost seemed to be.
"So, what is this place?" Twilight asked.
"This, used to be my childhood home." the Ghost said sadly.
"What happened?" Twilight asked shocked at the destruction.
"The world ended..My family and I died as did my race but while most burned in the fires, some were allowed sanctuary and peace once my Lord and Savior came to rescue us."
"Then why are you here? And why didn't he come for you?"
"He did but He said I had a duty to fulfill, to bring His Light to the world again and find the happiness I was denied."
"Wow. That's a lot to take in. Um, what's your name?" Twilight asked.
"My name is Michael. Michael Adams." Michael said smiling.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle nice to meet you." Twilight said smiling back and giggling He nodded and chuckled as well.
"So, Can you leave here? I mean I hear Ghosts can't leave the houses they haunt until their duty is fulfilled but I'm not sure it's true is it?"
"In a way yes it's true but for me I was given leeway to roam this land as I pleased but I've never tested it because I worry how others would react." Mike said sadly.
"I see. Can you posses ponies?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. And objects."
"What about going through walls?" she asked to which he nodded. She was reluctant to ask her next question but sucked up her courage and asked, "Wheres your body?"
"I'll show you. Follow me." he said and floated up the stairs and into the room at the top left to which she followed and looked to the bed and gasped. On the bed was a golden and glass cascate with a figure inside looking perfectly preserved as if the figure was only sleeping.
"That's your body?" she asked.
"Yes. My Lord used his abilities to preserve my body until I am able to reclaim it but I'm still unsure how to do so. I've tried possessing my body but the glass is protected with some sort of invisible barrier that I cant phase through." he said.
"Has any pony tried lifting it?" she asked.
"I've been meaning to but most ponies who have come across my house have been too afraid to enter."
"Let me give it a try." Twilight said and her horn ignited with violet magic and she concentrated to levitate the casecate to which to their surprise was now floating towards them.
"I-Is it heavy?" he asked.
"It i-actually no...it's very light. Almost like I'm not even lifting anything." she said puzzled.
"Strange. When I died I was at least 170 lbs." he said puzzled as well.
"Well we should probably get this to my Castle. I'll have to write a letter to Princess Celestia about this whole thing." Twilight said.
"she won't try to destroy me will she?" Mike asked afraid slightly.
"I don't think she'd resort to that until she knows your whole story but I highly doubt it."
"Oh good." He said and with that the Princess of Friendship and the Ghost left the old structure and out of the Everfree Forest.
