The ghost of Princess Hollow

by The Equestrian Scribe

Rating: everyone
Tags: Rarity, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Main 6, Romance, Princess Luna, Mystery
Length: 4155

All Rarity wanted was to earn some money from a small boutique in ponyville. She hadn’t prepared to come face to face with a ghost.

All Rarity wanted was to earn some money from a small boutique in a small town - ponyville. She hadn’t prepared to come face to face with a ghost, especially under her own home. The ghost of Princess Hollow is a mystery that she refuses to leave unsolved, no matter how much danger she and her friends get into on the way.

Originally inspired by the book “The Enchanted Library” by Monochromatic on FIMFiction. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly suggest giving it a read.

Published 2020-12-08 19:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-12-14 18:37:11 UTC

1 – Ponyville train stop

Author's Note

A lot of this book has already been written so I imagine updates won’t be too far apart. A few things to note though:

1, I haven’t written a full book since I was around 15 so excuse me for any spelling, grammar, plot or other mistakes.

2, There won’t always be author notes but if there is there’s probably a reason for it.

And 3, I know this may seem an odd choice but Fluttershy is a unicorn and Pinkie is a Pegasus in this.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

1 – Ponyville train stop

1 – Ponyville train stop

Rarity sighed as she looked out of the carriage window, leaning back into the plush seat and watching the countryside fly by. She debated closing her eyes to try to get a few more minutes of sleep, but quickly dismissed that idea when she heard some commotion from outside her carriage door. No, now wasn’t the time for sleep. Now was time to plan. She sighed once more as she enveloped the pencil that lay before her in magic.

It was a well known fact that Rarity was a mare that liked to dream big. So, it was of no surprise to anyone when she had announced to her dear friend fluttershy that she would be packing her bags and moving to Ponyville. Rarity stared down at her notebook once more, willing an idea to poof into her head. All she managed was a headache.

Now, moving to Ponyville in of itself wasn’t such a far fetched idea. Rarity imagined many ponies decided to take a break at the small village after a long train ride – it was a stop off point after all! And, she imagined, that a few of these ponies would probably be taken by the charm of the farming ponies that lived there. Sure it wasn’t the prettiest place but it did have… potential.

Rarity grunted in frustration and almost threw her pencil down. She hadn’t slept nearly enough to be trying to come up with designs! “After all,” she thought to herself, picking up and immediately putting back down her pencil. “Tiredness blocks creativity like nothing else.”

She was confident in her plan. It was simple, really. Just set up a boutique in the beautifully haunting building she’d brought, attract customers from the station when ponies get off to switch trains and make enough money to be able to open a boutique in a much more refined place – Canterlot!

As the train began to slow, she sighed for a third time and finally put away her pencil and notebook. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the simplest plan. Honestly, she wasn’t 100% sure she’d made the right choice with this trip. “I mean, it might take a few days of cleaning before I can open.” She idly thought, waiting for the train to slow down enough so she could stand properly. “Then I need new designs and fabrics – oh and I’m going to have to order those in! I wonder if fluttershy knows where the closest fabric shop is?”

She stood as the train slowed to a stand still. “No point in rushing. Everypony else is probably getting off here too.”

Rarity took one last look out of the window before leaving to be met with the sight of a forest full of apple trees. She really hoped that was only a small portion of what was grown in Ponyville – apples were never really a favourite.

She levitated her bags up off of her seat and opened the doors to find her place in the stream of ponies making their way off the train. Luckily, there were only about ten other ponies in her section so she could fit into a gap and get off easily. A tall stallion gave her the go ahead and she smiled, giving him a short nod before stepping off the train and turning to the only other pony she knew at the station – Fluttershy. Or, well, a ball of pink and yellow fluff she assumed to be fluttershy. The shaking mare had crouched down quite low to avoid the looks of others around her.

Rarity’s smile only grew as she trotted towards the unicorn-shaped-ball, and grew even further when Fluttershy recognised her finally and jumped up to hug her.

“Rarity! I’ve missed you so much, I’m so happy you’re here. I forgot how many ponies switched at this time.” Fluttershy said, pulling back from the hug and giving her a smile of her own. Rarity was glad the other mare’s shyness had been put on temporary hold and took the chance she had, gesturing with her head to follow as they both began to make their way towards Rarity’s temporary accommodation.

“Yes, terribly sorry about that darling. I missed the earlier train by only a few minutes and got the rudest reply when I asked when the next train would be!” Rarity began, telling all about her adventures with the train conductors and passengers as they made their way into and back out of town. “… I mean, the nerve!”

Rarity’s story ended abruptly when she realised she’d been the only one talking all the way to Fluttershy’s cottage. She knew Fluttershy didn’t have a problem with that, but she blushed and apologised anyway. “So sorry dear, I’ve been talking this whole time! I suppose I just missed being able to chat away and have someone listen. Anyway, do tell me, how have you been?”

“Oh, I’ve been just wonderful! The owls have been visiting a lot recently – I think they’re trying to build me a set of wings!” She giggled, opening the front door to her cottage. It was only when the laughter between the two had died down and Rarity was about to say something that Fluttershy continued. She bent her head as she shut the door and smiled, a small blush covering her face.

“To be honest, I missed having someone to talk to as well. The animals around here are wonderful to listen to and all…” she raised her head, her blush deepening ever so slightly as she tried to hold eye contact with Rarity. “But I’ve really missed having ponies to talk to. The ones in town are a little scary.”

“Yes, I imagine talking to strangers would be a little frightening if you weren’t used to it.” Rarity consoled, lifting a hoof and smoothing back the other mare’s hair to get a closer look at her. “No matter, I’m here now.”

Their moment was cut short by a tapping at the window closest to Rarity. She jumped and turned to see two big yellow eyes staring back at her.

“Zuzu!” Fluttershy called, shyness washed away temporarily as she levitated the window open to allow the small owl access into her home. “You scared us! Why are you awake? It’s too early for owls, it’s only afternoon! Are you hurt?”

The worry Fluttershy displayed quickly faded as she listened to the bird hoot. It was replaced with a nod and a gentle sigh instead.

“Okay, but you must go to sleep as soon as you’re back. I promise you’ll feel much better!” The owl hooted once more, nodded to Rarity and flew off through the window. Fluttershy levitated the window closed once more and turned to Rarity, a hoof tracing the floor as she spoke. “Sorry about that. If you hear any tapping on your window while you sleep – “

“ – it’s probably one of your bird friends come to say hello?” She finished, quietly laughing to herself as the other’s face flushed once more. “Well then, looks like I’d better get the boutique ready as soon as! As much as I appreciate you letting me stay, I’m unsure if I can deal with owls at my window every night – or any other critter for that matter! Now, won’t you show me to my room?”

They both laughed and Fluttershy nodded as she led Rarity upstairs.

2 – Apple pie

2 – Apple pie

When the estate pony said the place was in need of a few repairs, she wasn’t kidding. Rarity sighed into her cup of tea and idly stirred it with a spoon. The recently gone week and a bit had been all about bringing in the pre-booked work ponies to assess the damage to the boutique – and to say it would need extensive work was an understatement. She looked up once again at the café table that hosted all manor of notes and quotes on the repair work that would need to be done to even think about setting up a work station. And fluttershy’s house, as lovely as it was, wouldn’t be able to accommodate that need either.

In short, it was a disaster.

Rarity raised her cup and closed her eyes to down the last of her tea. If she was going to spend bits on tea at this point, she was damn well going to enjoy it. She levitated the cup away from her mouth and almost fell off her chair when she realised she wasn’t alone anymore. A scruffy orange mare with blonde hair tied into plaits and a cowpony hat tilted her head at rarity’s surprise with an amused expression.

“Sorry sugarcube, didn’t mean to scare ya. Do you need directions?” The pony asked, giving rarity a toothy grin. Rarity let out a breath and managed to return a smile – albeit a weak one.

“Thank you, but no thank you. I’m not lost.” She replied, finally setting her cup back down on the table. She gave the pony a nod and returned to looking through her papers, assuming the pony would be satisfied with her answer.

Oh how wrong she was.

“Oh! Are ya visiting? No offence but you seem the fancy type, we don’t get many ponies like you around here. It’s usually just the ponies from the train – but even they don’t go out this far. I guess you have good taste though, coming all the way to this end. Have ya tried the apple pie? Oh, I’m applejack by the way, nice to meet you…?”

Rarity blinked at the pony and took a few seconds to process the word vomit that had just been thrown at her. Then she took a few more to understand what was happening. “Rarity. Miss rarity. I’ve just brought a building nearby, though I’m not staying there currently so I suppose I sort of am visiting, strictly speaking.”

“Oh now my little sister said she saw a new mare wondering around the market the passed few days, but I thought she was fibbin’! Nice to know she was telling the truth, aye?” Applejack said, looking across the street to where the market was usually held of a morning and raising a hoof to adjust her hat.

“Yep, I sure reckon she’ll be pleased to know I met ya. But you didn’t answer my question!” The mare said, turning back to rarity and hopping up onto the seat across from her. Rarity quietly sighed as she did so. It wasn’t as if she was against having company – not at all! She simply wished to be able to figure out a solution to her problems before meeting the locals as such she could present herself in the best light possible. She supposed that decision had been long made for her though. She resigned to her fate of being the centre of attention for the time being and turned to the pony across from her, who was looking right back at her with a questioning look. It was then that rarity realised she’d been quiet a little too long.

“Ah shucks, sorry about this.” Applejack suddenly said, seeming to come to some kind of conclusion in her head. She plucked her hat from her head and held it to her chest as she got down from her seat. Rarity looked at her confused - wasn’t this pony trying to get her to talk a minute ago? “Ah can see when I’ve overstepped. I guess I got so caught up in the fact that you were a new face that I didn’t stop to think ya didn’t want company. You’re obviously busy so I’ll be on my way.”

And in that moment, rarity wished she was a little more cold hearted. If she was, the regretful expression the other mare had wouldn’t have affected her so much as to make her call the other mare’s name as soon as she started to walk away. “Oh – wait! Applejack?”

Applejack places her hat back onto her head, took a breath and turned around. Rarity could still see guilt on the other’s face, but she hid it well with a smile. “Yes, rarity?”

“Oh.” Rarity replied, not expecting the other mare to actually reply. A silly thing to expect, looking back, but an expectation none the less. One that left rarity scrambling for anything she could say to prevent any further embarrassment. “Yes, um – ahem – I was just, uh, wondering…”

A small laugh escaped the mare and caused the blush rarity was trying desperately to push back down to flare up again.

“Now sugarcube, if ya wanted company, why didn’t you just say so?” Applejack said, shooting the other pony a smirk as she hopped back up onto the seat. Rarity made a point to shoot the other a glare, which only caused the other to laugh again.

Rarity put her hooves on the table and immediately pushed her face into them to try to stop the blush that had been a constant through their chat. She decided that she’d rather die than deal with this mare’s grin again and chastised herself for being the reason behind it. “Now, now. Hiding won’t do much to stop that there blush you’ve got, but maybe having a chat will. You’ve got a lot to do by the looks of it – why don’t ya have a little break and a little something to eat? On the house.”

Suddenly it all clicked for rarity. She let out a groan and lifted her head. “That’s why you asked if I’d tried the pie, and that’s why you appeared out of nowhere. You own this place, don’t you?”

“Well ah don’t own it per say, but I am covering for a friend who does.” Applejack said coyly, rubbing her hooves together and bowing her head slightly. “She’s taken a few weeks to go visit her family and left me in charge. I didn’t think it would be too hard, but to be honest with ya, I’m not much good at baking without apples.”

That brought a grin out of rarity. She thought back to how barren the place was in comparison to the rest of town, and how there was only one lightly charred cupcake in the display when she ordered her tea. “Well, that explains the cupcake. I didn’t know it was possible to burn icing.” Rarity teased.

“I didn’t – I did but – “ Applejack grumbled jokingly as she crossed her forelegs. “That one wasn’t meant to be out on display. Sweetberry said she’d eaten it – that’s the last time I leave that pony in charge of the display!”

Rarity stifled a giggle as applejack cursed out her coworker some more. It was nice, rarity had to admit, to have somepony else besides fluttershy to talk to. As much as she did adore the pony there was only so much animal talk one can take.

“At least now we’ve got some proper food out. Been slaving over those pies all day, though I don’t suppose it’s a good time for it now, aye? Getting a bit late in the day.”

Rarity looked up at the sky to see the sun was much lower than she thought. She supposed she’d better head back soon, but the fresh air was a nice change from the smell of animals. Just a little longer couldn’t hurt –

“Rarity.” A voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned to look back down at applejack and sent her a sheepish grin. “You seem a little distracted if you don’t mind me sayin’.”

“Ah. Yes, sorry applejack. Sometimes I’m all talk and other times I can’t listen for the life of me. I must be a terrible conversationalist. Do go on.”

Applejack nodded along as rarity spoke and raised a hoof to lean on as she listened. When she finished, she flashed another smile. “I understand sugarcube, no need to explain. Now, ah promised you a little something on the house, so why don’t you tell me what tea you had there and I’ll go cut you up a slice of fresh pie to go with it.”

“Oh, well applejack, thank you for the offer but it’ll be just the tea for me if that’s okay. I really would love to try your pie but I’m just really not a big fan of apples.” The look of shock that followed was enough to make rarity rethink her stance on animal talk with fluttershy. Applejack’s mouth was wide open and her eyes were almost comically large, in fact, if the look was anything like her old magic teachers when she confessed she hadn’t been studying at all over summer break, she was about to be taught a long long lesson.

“Bu- but you’re in ponyville!” Applejack began. Rarity gulped and began looking for an out. As much as she had enjoyed talking to the other pony, a lecture was not what she needed right now – a lecture about disliking how a piece of fruit tastes, nonetheless. “We’re known for our apples, it’s the big thing around here? Why did you decide to come here of all places when you don’t like apples? That’s like – that’s like the worst thing to do – “

She was cut off by the sound of a bell. Rarity turned over her shoulder just in time to see a tail disappear through the café door and an applejack jump up to run after them, muttering about how her coworker probably hadn’t even put out her pies yet. Before running inside however, the mare turned back and sent rarity a pointed glare. “Now don’t go running off, you hear? We need to have a little chat!”

Rarity saw this as her chance to escape the incoming lecture and jumped up as soon as the other had left, collecting all her papers in what she hoped was a speedy but dignified manner before her companion returned.

Rarity began her trot back to the cottage with a yawn and a glance up at the slowly darkening sky. She knew she would seek out the mare for some company once again – but not that night. She wasn’t quite ready to hear about apples for the next few hours just yet.

She was, however, ready for her dinner and a cozy bed.

3 – The boutique

3 – The boutique

“Uhh, rarity?” A small shy unicorn shivered as she called out into the empty hall. “I’m here…”

“In here darling!” Rarity called, levitating the last curtain fabric off of its rod. Fluttershy very quickly appeared next to her, obviously having heard her voice and run as soon as she could. Rarity chuckled. “Now fluttershy, there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of!”

“I think I’ll disagree – if that’s okay with you, that is.” Fluttershy replied, crouching down to the wooden floor beneath her as she scanned the room for signs of danger. Rarity smiled. The place could be seen as scary, she supposed, with its tall ceilings and dark presence. But she saw it more as an enchanting place, full of interesting architecture and a lot of dust. Rarity looked around the small room she had began her work on and sighed. As beautiful as the place was, it would take a while before she could start work here.

The room was a deep blue colour and the tops of the walls were covered in a sculpted pattern that resembled swirls and stars. The main attraction, however, was the small crystal chandelier that hung in the centre of the room. In fact, most rooms had a similar design. It was one of the main things that attracted rarity to this place in particular – the oddness of it. All the other buildings in Ponyville were very similar with their white walls and hay roofs. The only unique places she could identify were the town hall, the café and fluttershy’s house – though rarity had to admit she hadn’t been too far into the town. Also, thinking about it…

“Fluttershy, do you live in Ponyville?” Rarity asked curiously as she shook out as much dust from the curtains as possible. It seemed like they hadn’t been touched in years.

“Not technically.” Fluttershy replied from across the room. Rarity looked over to see the other mare had calmed down and began to explore a little now she knew she was close to rarity once again. “I’m just outside the boarder. It’s a little easier to say I live here though.”

Rarity hummed in reply as she folded the dark blue fabric up. She began looking around the rest of the room to decide what needed to be done next. Having the work ponies come in was helpful to show her what needed to be done, but there was no way she could afford to pay them all to do away with the boutique’s problems. At least it explained the suspiciously cheap price of the place. She knew she should have double checked.

She looked around at the oddly shaped room in wonder. The arched door she came in from was a large dark wood that only worked to dim the room even further. “At least it looks nice.” She thought to herself, finishing her folding and placing the curtains on the table next to a window. It was, once again, a dark wood. She supposed it must have been used by an avid writer at some point as it was covered in dried out ink and a built in line of shelves with a few worn out books that decorated the area behind it. She was briefly tempted to step forward and see what the books were but decided against it.

The desk spanned the length of the wall up to the single large window and turned a corner to also hit the door on its right. To the left of the door, there stood a large ornate wardrobe with handles in the shape of crescent moons. “That’ll be a pain to clean.”

To the left of the cupboard there was once again a wall with built in shelves up to the ceiling. A ladder leaned against these shelves though, meaning rarity would have easy access. She could picture it so clearly – fabric in all different colours and textures would fill the shelves from bottom to top just waiting to be taken down and used by her. She’d keep her mannequins on the unoccupied space to the right of the single window and spend her time sewing in-front of the other two windows. Rarity stepped forward to where fluttershy was – opposite the cupboard – to take a peek out the window on the other side of the room.

And what a view it was. The boutique was situated close enough to the train station that it was viewable to passengers but far enough away that she was a little secluded from the rest of town. She could imagine that the other ponies had built away from the old building a long time ago and hadn’t branched out since. The right side and back of the building were almost hidden away by a large forest, only being distinguished from it by a few spaced out rocks. Rarity would only be able to see Ponyville from the left side of the boutique and only the corner room was in the right position to give a view of the town and the station. Even the one below was a little too low down to see the station.

“Well, there’s a lot to be done but I think this could work. We should probably hold off on painting…” rarity began, turning to fluttershy and leading the other mare out the room. “Cleaning first, then repairs and then decorating.”
With a nod, fluttershy levitated a dustpan and brush out of the saddlebag she had left by the door and set to work on the floors. Rarity sighed, deciding to take another look around so she could compile a list of things that needed to be done. It would be a long day for the both of them.