Wild woke up after dreamless slumber feeling not anywhere near as rested as he wanted. He blinked wearily, then rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes again. The desire to get up and live the day was entirely absent from his mind, and this day he wanted nothing more than to do absolutely nothing.

The events of the day before were clear in his mind, and he wished nothing more than for them to never have happened. His brief imprisonment, then his confession, all of it hurt and he... he was tired. He had been tired for a long time. Luna said many encouraging words, but they felt empty despite her clearly believing them and meaning them. All he knew was pain and suffering, and all he would ever know is pain and suffering with some short and insignificant moments of relative calm in between. There was nothing else for him.

He was forced to drag himself out of bed once he realized he needed to relieve himself. Automatically, without thought, he did just that. In the bathroom, he looked in the mirror and saw a face that should never have been his. However, his wishes and desires didn’t matter - he had what he had, and he would have to make do with that. Even if it was futile, even if the only thing he could do was survive until something ended him in one way or another.

He forced himself to take a shower, taking brief relief in the feeling of water going through his fur and across his skin. After drying himself off, he applied the descarring ointment, knowing he couldn’t stop now if he wanted at least something to improve in his life.

A letter was waiting for him at the door.

Dear Wild,

I have contacted the Ghostbusters guild, and they will arrive this day at noon. The only thing required of you is to escort them to where the ghost is, and you will be able to leave right after. The meeting point is in front of the entrance to the Royal Orphanage. If you do not wish them to know who you are, come in your spirit form and present a different name. They will not harm you in any way, I made sure of that.

As promised, I have attached a list of ponies who can help you with a variety of problems should you choose to contact them.

I am sorry I cannot be there personally right now, but I will be there for our therapy session as promised. You have put great trust in me, and I hope I will be able to help you with anything you want.

Have a good day,

Luna

Wild felt a rising sense of shame and guilt - how could he even think about doing nothing when he promised to help Cave Explorer? At least Wild was alive and not stuck even if it often felt like he was. Cave Explorer was dead and had no future, so who was Wild to complain about his life? He was, after all, perfectly aware that many others had it a lot worse than him.

Wild came down to the cafeteria to eat, not really tasting anything. He greeted Precision, Swingblade, and, after a small while, Artful. Whether they sensed he was not in good mood or were simply mindful of him, no one tried to include him in any conversations, and he was glad for that.

After breakfast, he went back to his room and lay down on his bed. He attempted to meditate, focusing on his breathing. In, hold, out, and repeat. In, hold, out, and repeat. He felt through his body, becoming truly aware of his limbs, of his horn, of his muscles. The simplicity of being a spirit called to him, yet he remained in his body, desiring to hear his heartbeat, truly taste the air, and feel the bed he was lying on. Without these sensations, being a spirit felt liberating yet also incomplete. Having all those feelings made his life more complex yet also more colorful.

He lay there on top of his bed staring at nothing and contemplating things he believed would be useless in the end, but he couldn’t help it. Even if his life was just a series of hurts, even if none of it had any meaning, it was still his life. However, for just a moment, he considered that perhaps, maybe, it would be better if he died.

He was tired and he wanted the struggles to end. No matter who was around him, no matter where he was, no matter when it was, he was going to get hurt, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was powerless and had to rely on those who could squash him if they so wished.

He was tired. He closed his eyes, wishing that he would simply drift off to nothingness. Let his consciousness fade away, his soul to dissipate into thin air. However, he knew he was too scared to try it, too weak to do it. And, somewhere deep within, he knew he still had hope that things would become better. This pain had to mean something. Unless... unless there was nothing more to it than simple happenstance.

He could feel the burn in his eyes as tears welled up, his throat constricting as he prepared for a sob that he knew was coming. He was weak, he was powerless, and there was nothing to be done, nothing that could be done. Princess Celestia was over a millennium old with skills and knowledge to back it up, Princess Luna was just as powerful despite missing a thousand years from her life. There was that third alicorn named Mi Amore Cadenza somewhere, who was likely very powerful as well.

What was he in comparison? A wimpy little unicorn with no real magical talent or power to speak of. The only trick he had, the ability to separate from his body, was clearly not as great as he thought - one spell, and Celestia had him captured. He broke out, of course, but then she got him into her own basement where there was no escape from.

He let out a single sob then swallowed. No, he couldn’t end his life again. This life was still not nearly as bad as it could have been. It could always be worse somewhere else. It was worse back on Earth. Being captured and being questioned was, by far, the least bad thing to happen to him.

In the end, he wanted to live. There was a possibility that his life could be good. He already saw glimpses of it. Even if he still had no friends, he knew people, and they didn’t mind him being around. That had to be a decent enough start. Even if he still felt a pang of loneliness, more often these times than before, his life was still better. Maybe... perhaps one day, he wouldn’t feel so alone. It was something to strive for, to fight for.

However, he was still tired, so tired. He just needed a simple small moment to just breathe. And so he did until it was near noon.

He met the Ghostbusters in his spirit form, traveling through the Royal Orphanage by sticking to the shadows, making sure no one saw him. Then he came from an entirely different direction in order for the Ghostbusters not to suspect that he lived in the orphanage. The Ghostbusters were a group of four ponies, two unicorns and two earth ponies, each dressed in identical gray jackets, and each jacket had a white circle on each sleeve. It made Wild pause for a moment before he continued his approach, wondering if there was any connection at all between their circles and his talent mark. There could be, yet likely there wasn’t - a circle was, undoubtedly, a very popular shape.

The Ghostbusters weren’t alone - there was another pony with them, a unicorn with a talent mark of a steel arch. Wild wondered what their purpose here was.

It wasn’t long until his approach was noticed. The Ghostbusters were eyeing him with undisguised interest, but there was no fear or wariness. The unicorn was, however, anxious and was standing behind the Ghostbusters.

“Ah, g’day to you Mr Spirit!” a unicorn Ghostbuster greeted him, “So, you’re gonna show us where our ghost is?”

Wild stopped not far from them and gave a nod.

“Alright, that’s great!” the Ghostbuster grinned, “So, I’m Spirit Catcher, a he, the other unicorn’s Sei, a he or a them, either works. And these two ladies here are Rock and Roll.”

Wild looked over the group and nodded. As far as he could see, they were not a bad bunch of people. Rock and Roll in particular were giving him friendly grins, although the fact that they were earth ponies made Wild wonder what they did when it came to ghosts. He didn’t think that their obvious muscles would help with wrestling ghosts, but then he didn’t really know much. They did have two packs each, so perhaps whatever they had would be helpful.

“And here with us is Rivet, he’s gonna help us with the cave-in,” Spirit Catcher gestured at the non-Ghostbuster unicorn, “We’re still waiting for two ponies, they should be here any moment now,” he lowered his voice a bit, “They are parents of Cave Explorer.”

Wild nodded once again.

“So, what do we call you?” Spirit Catcher asked, “Wouldn’t want to just call you Mr Spirit, now would we?”

Wild hesitated for a moment. Giving away his name would mean exposure, and that wasn’t what he wanted. Perhaps... he could make up a name for his spirit form, just like Luna suggested. But what kind of name? He was never good at coming up with something like this on the spot. However... maybe he had something.

He was a ghost, wasn’t he? But not quite. Half a ghost, perhaps. There was a word in Russian he knew that meant ‘ghost’, so perhaps he could take... a half of it. Indeed, it would work.

“My name is Zrak,” he said, making Rivet shudder yet the Ghostbusters reacted with nothing but nods and smiles.

“Alright, Zrak, pleased to meet you,” Spirit Catcher said, then turned his head slightly, “Oh, I think I see ‘em.”

Not long afterwards, a pair of older pegasi stallions came to the group, slightly out of breath. Both of them had some silver in their manes and tails, but looked otherwise no different from other adults as far as Wild could tell.

“Sorry, the train arrived a few minutes later,” one of them explained as they came closer. Then they turned their eyes on Zrak, “You... it’s you who found him, right? You found Cave Explorer?”

Zrak nodded. One of them fiddled with a pack at their side before producing a photograph.

“Is it him?”

On the picture, there was a young pegasus smiling as some sort of award was hanging around his neck. Zrak could only nod.

One of the stallions turned to the other and whispered, “It’s him. It’s really him!”

“I know, I know...” the other wiped a single tear, then inhaled deeply and turned to Zrak and the group, “Alright... let’s free our son. Let’s... let’s get him out of that place.”

“That’s what we’re here for,” Spirit Catcher nodded, “Alright, Zrak, lead the way.”

Zrak nodded once again and then led the group to the cave, tracking the markings he made. The group was silent except for the old stallions, quiet sniffing coming from them every so often. Zrak felt as if something was clenching his heart except he had no heart at the moment.

In this silence, he led the group through the forest, and it didn’t escape his attention when the Ghostbusters noticed the marks on the trees.

“Zrak, did you leave those marks?” Spirit Catcher asked. Zrak turned around and nodded, “Huh, interesting.”

For a short while, the silence stretched until Zrak heard one of the Ghostbusters started humming a song. It was... strangely familiar. Oddly, impossibly familiar. However, Zrak didn’t think he had ever heard it before, certainly not in Equestria. But maybe it was on the radio in the background? The humming continued, and now words were sung, and even as they were quietly muttered, Zrak could almost recognize them.

“...huyogoaca?” it was Rock who hummed, “Gostbustas!”

Zrak stopped there and then as thoughts spun inside his head. It couldn’t be... He flew over to Rock, the suddenness of it making the group almost stumble.

“Where did you hear that?” he asked, doing his best to keep his voice level even as he felt like there was thunder inside of him. If he was right... oh, was he not right already? Now that he thought about it, their name was quite obvious. Of course, they didn’t say it in English, but this song... it could not exist in Equestria. It could not exist in this world at all.

“Oh, we’ve a radio at the base, and we tweaked it a bit,” she explained calmly, but there was tension in her body. Zrak could feel other Ghostbusters becoming tense as well, “It catches odd things sometimes, and there was this song. Really catchy, but I’ve no idea what the lyrics are. Do you know what they are?”

Huyogoaca... that was an odd word if one was talking about the language ponies used, but...

Who you gonna call?

Ghostbusters!

Zrak, if he had a physical body right now, would be trembling. He shook his head and silently returned to leading the group further. He couldn’t reveal what he knew, he couldn’t. But now, there was something he had to figure out, something he had to deal with as soon as possible.

He didn’t know if his warning to Luna would turn out to be true, but it appeared it was. And he... Zrak didn’t think he could process it, not yet, not until he returned to his body, not until he had time.

He couldn’t do that now. He had a goal, and he needed to fulfill it, and then he would be free to return to his body and do... some thinking. A lot of thinking. And maybe he would need to check something. Maybe he would need to send some sort of a warning. Princess Luna, she could be trusted with this. He couldn’t simply not act.

Zrak mentally breathed in, held it, and then breathed out. There was no time to panic yet. He would finish things up here and only then he would give himself time for it. He continued making the way until the group came to the cave entrance.

“This is the cave,” Zrak explained somewhat unnecessarily, “It is further down there.”

“Alright, lead on then,” Spirit Catcher nodded, and the group descended into the darkness. The unicorns of the group had to light their horns for everyone to be able to see. As Zrak glided down easily, the group had to be slower, stepping carefully in order not to tumble. The cave continued to snake downwards until a sizable rock with a large X marked on it came into sight.

“We have to go in here, between the rocks,” Zrak said, then added, “It is tight.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Spirit Catcher shrugged.

A turn, another turn, and then, finally, were the stairs. At the bottom, the cave-in was clearly visible.

“Alright, Rivet, your turn,” Spirit Catcher gestured.

“Hm, yes, give me a few moments,” Rivet nodded, his horn lighting up in a different color as he made his way down and then walked around, quietly muttering under his breath.

Meanwhile, the others spread out on the landing, sitting down to wait. The Ghostbusters were patiently waiting, idly tapping their hooves or stretching. Cave Explorer’s parents were huddled together, whispering between each other. Zrak stood in one place motionlessly, unsure of what to do.

Spirit Catcher walked over to him and spoke in a low voice.

“So, Cave Explorer is there behind the cave-in?” he asked, and Zrak nodded, “Can you check on him? Tell him that we’re coming?”

Zrak nodded once more and then flew through the cave-in. Cave Explorer was still there by his own body, fruitlessly trying to move boulders that he could no longer touch. His form shuddered when Zrak came into view, and he practically leaped up.

“Wild! You came back!” he said, “I’m getting out of here, right?”

“Yes,” Zrak nodded, “We will get you out of here. Your... your parents are waiting on the other side.”

“Oh,” he looked down, “I... I don’t know if... I don’t know if they want to see me.”

“They do,” Zrak assured him, “They would not be here if they did not.”

“I guess that’s right...”

“And by the way, call me Zrak,” Zrak insisted, “Do not call me Wild in front of any of them.”

“Alright,” Cave Explorer easily agreed, “Just... hurry up. Please? And... tell them... tell them I am okay. That I’m waiting. That... I’m sorry.”

“I will,” Zrak nodded, then flew back through the cave-in.

On the other side, Rivet swore as he startled at Zrak’s sudden reappearance, and one of the Ghostbusters let out a quiet chuckle.

“...Cave Explorer is there,” Zrak began, “He said he is waiting. He is... okay. And he wants things to hurry up.”

“You heard the spirit, we need to hurry up!” one of the old stallions spoke up, “He’s been down here all alone for... for who knows how long. We need to get him out of here!”

“And we will,” Spirit Catcher assured him, “Rivet, how’s it going over there?”

“The ceiling seems stable for now, but I can’t say if it will change when we start taking care of the cave-in,” he replied, “I should be able to reinforce it for the duration, though. We can start working in just a moment.”

“Do I need to be here?” Zrak asked, trying not to show it that he wanted to leave immediately.

“We’d appreciate some help in moving the boulders if you can do that,” Spirit Catcher said, “And once we meet Cave Explorer, you should be here in case something goes wrong. Ghosts are generally docile, but sometimes...” he shuddered, “Well, there’s a reason we are here and not just some random bunch of ponies, you know what I mean?”

Zrak nodded, settling down. He could wait if only for a bit longer even when everything inside him urged for him to run and check whether Equestria was in danger.

Rivet stabilized the cave with a couple of spells, the surrounding stone glowing with his magic. Then the unicorns started moving boulders and, when they were too heavy, the earth ponies used their powerful legs to strike at precisely the right point to crack them and then break them down into smaller boulders. Zrak could help move them with whatever power he had now, although anything big remained immovable.

The work continued for hours with some breaks in between. A sheen of sweat was covering the Ghostbusters by this point, yet there was more work to be done. At some point, when there was silence when everyone settled down for a drink of water, a muffled voice came from behind the cave-in.

“Hello?”

The old stallions jumped immediately, rushing closer, pressing their ears to the remaining rubble.

“Son? Cave Explorer, is that you?” one of them shouted, his voice reverberating around the cave.

“We’re here, son! You just wait!” the other joined.

“Dad? Papa?”

“We’re here! We’ll get to you!” he looked back, “Come on, what are you all waiting for? He’s there right on the other side! We’ve got to get to him!”

Zrak didn’t comment that Cave Explorer was already dead and hurrying up would not fix it. The work continued, now at a faster pace, and the old stallions did their best to push the smaller boulders around with their slight frames, breathing heavily from the effort. Zrak, feeling the frantic energy, did his best to aid as well. There was perhaps no point in hurrying, but he wasn’t going to say that or not put in the effort to help. He didn’t feel tired at all, after all.

Slowly but surely, the cave-in was cleared. The sight of Cave Explorer’s body with his ghost floating above it made his parents gasp and cover their mouths, tears freely streaming down their faces.

“We can help you touch him,” Spirit Catcher quietly told them, “Hold still for a moment, please.”

A spell was performed on the two of them, adding a subtle glow to their fur.

“Dad, papa...” Cave Explorer said weakly, “You... you came.”

“Oh, son...”

The two fathers lunged at him and hugged him tightly as they all wept together. Zrak turned away, wishing he could shed his own tears right now.

“I’m so sorry, dad, papa-”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” one of the stallions shook his head, “We’re... we’re glad to see you again. Even... even if it’s going to be one last time. We... we didn’t know what happened to you.”

“We hoped you just... needed time away, like young people do,” the other said, “But... but... you’re... oh, son...”

Zrak never got his own reunion, and he wished he had a chance to say goodbye. He was glad at least someone else got the chance to do it with their own family.

It was no longer his place to be there, however. It was a moment for the family, and they deserved to have it without him hovering over their shoulders. With one last look at them, two living pegasi embracing a ghost of their son, Zrak left.

Author's Note

I've initially intended for Wild to change his name to Zrak precisely because of the reason he gets that name in this chapter, but I ultimately decided against it. Even though ponies, in my story, usually change their name after getting their talent mark - thus solving the old issue of "why are ponies named for their marks before those marks even appear?". They are not required to do so, and so Wild decides that he doesn't want to change his name.

The name he picked comes from Russian призрак (prizrak), which means ghost.

It has previously been said that the existence of other worlds isn't unknown in Equestria, and sometimes things just spill through. Sometimes, it is songs from a radio.