Ghost

by warewolves

First published 12th of December, 2014

A ghost haunts Ponyville's streets, but why?

My name is Nopony. As in, nopony can see me, hear me, or even feel me. The most I get is a shudder as I pass through them. Nopony can tell I am here. Nopony can help me move on. Nopony can hear my story.

For I am a ghost. Stuck to roam this planet until I find peace.

1

Nopony remembered the day of her death very well.

It had begun with a regular day in her home. Where her home was she no longer remembered. It had been a small building that had very little charm, a box she lived in from day to day. It didn’t matter about the flowers around it, nor the orange tree out the back. Nor did it matter how she barely had any furniture to speak of. That was all in the past, her house had been demolished long long ago.

Nopony had been writing at a desk, working overtime to care for her husband, a stallion with a bright auburn mane and a Cutie Mark of an eagle. Attached to his brown body was a set of wonderful wings. Nopony had once gone flying with her husband, soaring over the landscape. Not anymore, her husband had died of old age long ago, with a new wife mourning by his side.

Nopony said goodbye as her husband left for work, moving the clouds or something like that. Digging into her reports on...she couldn’t remember, Nopony didn’t hesitate to let a weary smile fall on her face. The work had something to do with her Mark, not that being a teacher helped her now.

A thump at the door, followed by two more. Nopony stood up, and slowly walked over to the door, levitating it open. There was her newest friend, an orange pony by the name of Sunset Swirl. They had become close after realising both had similar destinies. Nopony always loved when Sunset came over, it meant she needed help with her magic experiments.

“Are you ready? This one is bound to teleport!” Sunset turned and trotted away, and Nopony smiled softly in response. Quickly packing up her things, leaving a note for her husband, she followed Sunset back to her friend’s home. They went straight to the basement, and looked to the lump of coal.

“I don’t see why you’re trying to invent a different means of teleportation, we already have one.” Nopony rolled her eyes in irritation as Sunset growled, annoyed at hearing the same question a second time.

“I told you, that spell is inefficient! My ancestor admitted to it himself! If I can do this right, even the worst magic-user in the world will be able to use teleportation.” Sunset smiled and gritted her teeth, beginning to cast the spell. Nopony rolled her eyes, quickly looking over the spell. From the looks of it, only one syllable had been changed.

Nopony concentrated, joining her magic with Sunset’s. The coal began to float, and as they both winced under the strain, it vanished with a pop. Nopony collapsed, gasping for breath. Sunset fared slightly better, grinning like a mad dog as she saw the coal had teleported to the correct location.

“We did it! We-” Sunset cut herself off as the coal imploded, collapsing in on itself. Sitting down, she sighed and rubbed her forehead, mumbling something about equations. It all went over Nopony’s head. Standing up, she approached the coal, and shrugged.

“At least it teleported this time.” Nopony cried out in surprise as Sunset grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning Nopony around, and gasped, smile returning to her face.

“You’re right! If I can just find out why it imploded. Maybe it’s because of the magnetic field I imbued it with.” Sunset dived onto the table, writing down her thoughts as she spoke them. Nopony giggled and smiled, unaware that the coal fragments behind her were shaking. Behind them was a table of beakers and medical equipment. Including one knife.

Nopony didn’t know it at the time, but the magnetic field of the coal had attracted the knife, sending it directly toward her back. It had taken her two months afterwards to hear Sunset talking about it, crying over it. Nopony had blinked, and looked down as her body fell away from her, thudding to the ground.

Nopony had died instantly, and Sunset blamed herself. The research into efficient teleportation had been scrapped. And eventually, the notes were buried as Sunset’s house was crushed during the battle of the two sisters. Nopony was glad for one thing though, Sunset had moved on, becoming a worthy successor to her ancestors.

Even if she wasn’t aware Nopony had been beside her the entire time.

Applejack was working the stall as usual, selling apples to the ponies that passed by. Beside her, Nopony watched them pass, sleeping silently. If anyone had been able to see her, they would notice she was floating. Nopony didn’t like to do it, due to the memories it invoked, but she could fly even higher if she wanted to.

“Howdy Spike, here to pick up lunch?” Applejack smiled warmly at the baby dragon, who nodded and held out the money as Applejack handed over the apples.

“Twilight’s been working on that experiment of her’s again. You’d think she’d remember to at least eat, let alone sleep, but that’s Twilight for you.” Spike waved goodbye, and continued along his way. Nopony opened her eyes, watching him leave. Yawning, she stood up, and slowly began to follow after him. However, Nopony didn’t walk, she just silently flew after him, hovering above the ground.

Nopony wondered just what experiment Twilight was doing today. Really, the mare reminded her a lot of Sunset, always finding something to dig her nose in. Nopony closed her eyes and smiled, passing through somepony, who shivered in response. Spike opened the door and entered the castle, Nopony phasing through it without care.

“Twilight, I’m back.” Spike fell forward as the apples were torn from his grip, and a purple Alicorn dived straight into it, devouring them instantly. Spike rolled his eyes, and pointed toward the ‘science lab’.

“What are you doing in there anyway? You’ve been locked up for nearly 48 hours now.” Spike waited as Twilight wiped her face, and grinned eagerly, pushing Spike into the room. Groaning, he took as seat at the desk as she began to show him notes.

“You won’t believe what I found buried in the library at the ruins. A diary from somepony related to Starswirl! Her name was Sunset, and the beginning half is filled with diagram upon diagram of an experiment related to teleportation.” Twilight’s words immediately caused Nopony to stiffen, and look at the diary. It was indeed Sunset’s. Shuddering, Nopony ignored her anger over the fact Twilight was touching her old friend’s personal property.

“So you want to try her experiment.” Spike made a motion with his claw, bored beyond compare. Really, ever since Twilight had discovered the secret section filled with magic-protected books, she had been gaga over them.

“No, see here’s the funny thing, she stopped it suddenly. I can’t find out why, but from what her diary says, it was a dead end. But I’ve been looking her working over, and I think I could get the spell working. It uses old magic tricks like magnetism to boost the spell, but I can probably use newer magic tricks, such as a ping-pong effect to multiply the magic instead!” Twilight continued speaking, barely stopping to take a breath. Nopony decided it would be nice to see her friend’s work completed finally, and lowered herself to eye level, looking over Twilight’s notes.

Spike shivered, and hugged himself tighter as Twilight continued speaking. Must be a draft or something.

2

“Success! I’ve done it!” Twilight beamed proudly as Rarity cast the spell, and teleported to the other side of the room without hassle. On her horn was a small circular ring with a glowing purple jewel in it. As soon as Rarity’s horn stopped glowing, the jewel faded to a gray color. Twilight had a similar ring on her horn.

“It’s not perfect, but this is just the first step in both long-distance teleportation AND easier teleportation spells. With this, anypony can borrow the magic from somepony willing, and use to to cast a spell. If enough ponies are wearing the matching jewel, then we could even charge higher power spells. Why, we could even move the sun!” Twilight raised her head to the sky and couldn’t help but give a maniacal laugh.

“Is that all Twilight? I really must go. Sweetie Belle will be home soon.” Rarity levitated the ring off her horn after Twilight nodded. Taking both rings, Twilight placed them down and showed Rarity to the door, closing it after her friend left. Trotting over to the desk, Twilight quickly composed a letter with her findings, and held it out for Spike.

“Send this to the princess at once!” Twilight shivered as she passed through something, and glanced toward the closed windows in confusion. Shrugging it off, Twilight watched as Spike sent the letter, and returned to the table to look over her notes. Flipping through them, she smiled.

“This Sunset was as much the genius as her ancestor, Starswirl. The notes she left in her journal cut back months of work. Without this journal I would have never even figured out that the reason teleportation is hard for most unicorns is not due to the magic required, but the fine control of the spell. I mean it’s an easy mistake to make Spike.” Twilight frowned as Spike nodded, a bored expression on his face as he folded his arms.

“Uh, well, anyway. How about I start on dinner?” Twilight smiled sheepishly, and Spike nodded, patting his stomach as it growled. Both turned and headed into the kitchen, shivering as the air dropped in temperature once more. Shrugging it off, they returned to their eagerness for dinner. After all, it was only Nopony.

‘I’m glad, my old friend is finally getting the recognition she deserved for her work.’ Nopony smiled softly as she glided over to the table, looking over what notes were visible. How she wished she had the ability to touch them, but even over the many years, she still hadn’t figured out how to make herself tangible enough to touch stuff. As most, she could probably keep a glass cold.

‘I wonder what Pinkie Pie is up to.’ Nopony spared a quick glance toward the kitchen, before floating out the door and gliding toward Sugarcube Corner. Entering, she quickly headed for the back rooms, where the family actually lived, and found the Cakes eating. There was no sign of Pinkie Pie. Rising up, Nopony went through the ceiling, and entered the bathroom.

“And so I said, that’s not an alligator, that’s a crocodile!” Pinkie Pie beamed down at Gummy as she shared the bath with him. Having already finished dinner, she giggled as her stomach asked if it was ok to have another dessert after her bath. Pinkie Pie quickly agreed it was definitely ok. One could never have too many sugary treats.

“So if anyone asks, your mother was a crocodile. I want to surprise everyone when she turns up to your next birthday, and she’s actually an alligator. Won’t that be fun?” Pinkie closed her eyes and giggled, standing up to get out of the bath. Slipping, she splashed lukewarm water on the tiles, and bit her lip.

“Darn, Mrs Cake is going to get up me if I don’t clean that up.” Standing up, Pinkie stepped onto the tiles, and shivered. That was strange, the water on the ground was now cold. Shrugging it off, Pinkie grabbed a towel and mopped up her mess, and dried herself with the same towel. Pulling out the plug, Pinkie giggled as Gummy complained, and placed it back in. Pouring a very small amount of water in the bottom for him, Pinkie left him to his bath.

“I’ll see you two later,” she spoke without thinking, rubbing her hair dry as she stepped into her room. Opening her cupboard, she pulled out some of her treats, and jumped onto her bed. Pulling out a comic book, Pinkie smiled, and began to read. Eating a cupcake, her mind caught up and she paused. Wait, two? Shrugging, Pinkie discarded it and went back to reading. It wasn’t important, she was 77% sure of that.

Nopony left Pinkie Pie alone, and slowly floated toward Twilight’s. By now, they should be done with dinner, and if Nopony was lucky, Twilight would be ready to continue. Entering the house, she realised that wasn’t the case. No matter, Twilight deserved an early night. After all, she had been up for two days straight.

Turning, Nopony slowly glided through the houses, watching families and friends slowly go through the motions and head to bed. Flying into the Everfree, she watched as the nighttime creature slowly woke up, and watched them shiver as she passed by. Stopping at the ruins of the castle, Nopony sighed.

Tracing the ruins back into the forest, Nopony followed a nonexistent road by memory alone, pausing by a tree that had fallen over a creek. Looking at it, Nopony wondered what had once been here. Had it been her home? Closing her eyes, she looked upward, remembering that it was irrelevant.

Nopony slowly flew back into Ponyville, and found one pony that was currently partying the night away. There were a few crowding around the mare, and it took Nopony a moment to recall her name. Vinyl, a DJ who was known for staying for all times of the night. Nopony turned, and trotted back towards Applejack’s stall.

At the moment, it was just wood, but in the morning it would be a bustle of news and energy. Nopony curled up on the same piece of grass she normally did, noticing how the grass had started trying to grow away, leaving a small circle in the ground. Closing her eyes, Nopony knew soon she could have to find a new place to sleep. Maybe sleeping at the farm, or at Twilight’s.

Nopony supposed it didn’t matter, ponies wouldn’t really pay much attention to some weird grass.

3

“Oh no,” spoke Twilight, flipping to the final pages of the notebook. They were from an old Sunset Swirl, on her deathbed and writing out her final words. According to the notebook, she had given a note to Luna to be passed to any who resumed her research. It had taken some time for Luna to find the letter, and it had just arrived.

“What is it?” Spike glanced up from his breakfast as Nopony gave a yawn, waking up herself. It had taken her a few days, but she had decided to make herself a new home in Twilight’s rafters. There was a small alcove that her pet owl used to go into. Nopony didn’t understand why that owl now slept in its own room, but it left her a nice place to sleep.

“Well this letter from Sunset Swirl. It says a friend of hers was killed because of her research into teleportation. I-I never knew it could be so dangerous. I’ll have to take proper safety measures. No wonder she stopped her research.” Pulling out a pen and paper, Twilight quickly wrote down a list of possible measures she could take to increase the safety of her device.

“Does she say a name?” As Spike spoke, Nopony poked her head out and looked down. After a moment of vertigo, she slowly descended back to the safety of the ground. Sunset had left a note warning ponies of the danger. Smiling sadly, Nopony closed her eyes and put a hoof to her chest. Her friend had remembered, even to her deathbed. Nopony had been remembered.

“No, but it’s lucky we got it today and not tomorrow, considering we’re testing the device today.” Folding up her piece of paper, Twilight put it into her saddlebags, and smiled warmly at Spike. Finishing his food, he leapt up on Twilight’s back, and they headed out the door. Nopony glanced to the letter Sunset had left, neatly folded on the desk, and followed Twilight out.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, may I present to you; Princess Twilight Sparkle! Today, she is going to present her most wondrous invention; long-distance-teleportation!” The strange pony announcing was one Nopony had seen around town occasionally. She was the mayor, or something?

“Thank you Mayor. Now before we begin, I will explain how this test is going to work. I thank all of you for willingly giving up the area in front of town square so I had room to build it.” Pausing, Twilight bowed her head slightly. Motioning to Rarity, she began to lead a large group of unicorns up to the stage.

“We will put an item inside this circle with a device stuck to it to tell the magic what to teleport. In this case; a medium sized rock. In Canterlot, a similar device has been set up. I won’t go into the specifics of how this all works, but essentially I have written the magic into a block that can be inserted into the machine. Each block contains the coordinates of the other.

“This group of unicorns will then send their magic into special slots on the machine fed via the rings they are wearing on their horns. When the machine has amassed enough magic, it will teleport the item.” Putting on her own ring, Twilight stepped off the podium to join the group of unicorns.

“If this succeeds, Spike over there will recieve a letter. In addition, they will be sending back a pre-arranged package. Please hold all questions until the end of the experiment.” Smiling, Twilight glanced to the unicorns, ensuring they were ready. Concentrating, they began to channel magic into the rings.

Nopony stood beside Spike to one side of the stage. Ever hopeful, she watched as the strange circle began to glow. There was a small box attached to the circle where a cube was slotted into. Both were glowing with strange runes. This proved once more that Nopony’s knowledge of the arcane was very limited.

There was a flash of teleportation magic, and the rock vanished. The unicorns stopped channeling magic, and glanced to each other. None were even slightly tired. A burp sounded, and Spike held out a letter for Twilight. Grinning, she read it and flared her wings in victory. The circle lit up for a moment once more, and a stack of books appeared, completely unharmed. Twilight stepped back to the podium as Rarity led the unicorns offstage.

“I will now be taking questions, yes you with the yellow mohawk.” Twilight pointed, and the pony spoke loudly over the distance.

“When will this be able to be used by us?” Musing for a moment, Twilight considered his question.

“We are not entirely ready for pony transportation at this point, and we really need to set this up in a room everypony can use. Me and the other Princesses are working this out as we speak, but I couldn’t give an accurate time of when just yet.” Twilight saw the disappointment, but knew there was nothing she could do.

“Is that all?” Twilight waited, and so no further hooves being raised, and wrapped up the meeting. Joining her friends, they began to talk excitedly about the results. Twilight couldn’t believe it, long distance teleportation could soon become a normal thing. Want to go shopping in Canterlot? Teleport! And not to mention the job opportunities that would open up for Unicorns.

Nopony smiled as she watched, touched by the news her friend’s dream would finally come true. If only either of them were alive to appreciate it. Nopony glanced around to all the ponies. All of them would be able to enjoy it. Nopony was glad about that. But at the same time, it reminded Nopony of what she was currently missing.

Why was she still here? Would she always be here? Nopony sighed silently, knowing she would never receive the answer. There was no one to see her, hear her, know her, or even speak her name. She would be here for eternity, and then even longer after that. Nopony discarded her thoughts with a quick shake of her head, following Twilight home.

It wasn’t like it mattered anyway.

4

The weeks had passed quickly, Twilight moving onto pony testing with careful caution. Nopony watched this, and watched as her friend's dream was realised, and the device was complete. Watching ponies go into the device, and teleport, Nopony felt at ease, and sighed. Eventually, curious, she flew into it with a group.

“Hold on, there’s some sort of anomaly.” Narrowing her eyes, Twilight looked at the readings, and then to the five ponies in the teleport. It was strange, the dial was reading six ponies. Pinkie Pie leaned over her shoulder, and giggled.

“Looks like we’ve got a giggly ghostie,” she spoke, bouncing around on her tail. Snorting, Twilight opened her mouth to discredit it. Pausing mid bounce, Pinkie Pie breathed in, and a bright smile fell on her face.

“That’s IT! That’s who was watching me in the bath!” Turning, still hovering in the air, Pinkie Pie began to bounce toward her home. A beaming grin on her face, plans being made and discarded based on level of fun. Watching this, Nopony discarded the teleportation idea, leaving it for another day.

“What the- Now there’s five.” Rubbing her forehead, Twilight didn’t understand what her machine was telling her, and sighed, knowing it would keep her up for nights on end. Charging the machine, she looked to the Unicorns and nodded, watching as they powered the spell, and teleported the ponies to Canterlot. Beside the machine was a circular platform surrounded by a fence. A group from Canterlot appeared in a flash, heading home after a day of shopping.

Floating through the wall, Nopony watched as Pinkie Pie began to prepare a party. Confused, she folded her hooves, considering this strange behavior. Surely she wasn’t talking about her bathtub watching right? That would require obsessive memory. Glancing to the ceiling, Nopony let a whimsical smile fall on her face. It was Pinkie Pie after all.

“Hrm, streamers, balloons, or both?” Frowning, Pinkie Pie seemed to be debating a very serious problem. Watching this, Nopony shrugged, not really have any connection to either. The red balloons really did look nice though. If Nopony had been planning it, she would have made them a blushing scarlet.

“Balloons it is!” Cheerfully, Pinkie Pie began to blow up balloons, somehow filling them with helium despite using her breath. Tilting her head, Nopony’s curiosity was piqued. What was this zany pony planning? Watching as Pinkie Pie pulled on some sort of lever, she blinkedd as five boxes in different styles dropped.

“That won’t do,” she spoke, pulling out an empty box, and painting it a bright red. Leaving it out to dry, she quickly scribed five letters, and bounced out the door. Shaking her head, Nopony found a small alcove near the roof to lay down in, and closed her eyes. Pinkie Pie would be back.

“So let me get this straight Pinkie. You threw a party. For a ghost. That was watching you bathe.” Walking into the building, the five were fighting their urge to just put it under ‘Pinkie being Pinkie’ with all their might. The last time they’d done that, the town had been destroyed. Sighing, the five took their presents, and decided to just go along with Pinkie’s plan.

“Yeah, why?” Tilting her head, Pinkie giggled, serving the guests, but leaving one item out that she didn’t touch. Rainbow Dash saw the last cupcake, mouth watering. Pinkie blocked her, shaking her head and giving a giggle as she held out a new cupcake. Watching this, Nopony let herself relax, enjoying the sound of commotion.

“An ouija board? You serious?” Holding back laughter, Rainbow Dash was amused Pinkie was actually going to such lengths for a prank, even so far as to put candles out. Nodding, she placed it on a table, and the others sat down, bemusement on their faces. Floating down, Nopony looked at it, wondering what it was. This was something Pinkie hadn’t brought out to a party before.

“Oh ghosty from beyond the grave, hear us calling for you, use this board to talk to us!” All placed a hoof on the small heart-shaped wood, and waited. Nopony rubbed a face over her hoof, surprised to see Pinkie doing something so stupid. Nopony couldn’t even make a room completely cold, and she expected her to move the board?

“It’s moving,” sniggered Dash, and the others glared at her as ‘the ghost’ spelled out ‘fake’. Pursing her lip, Pinkie folded her arms, and the others removed their hooves as well. Quiet discussion began, the board forgotten. Nopony was glad, her answer would have been no, even if she had been able to control it.

Silence hit the table as the wood slid over the ‘no’ answer. Blinking, Nopony’s eyes widened, glancing around for any other spirits. Confused, she scratched her head. Giving a nervous laugh, Dash began to make an excuse about needing to leave. Pinkie ignored her, eyes focused on the board.

“Why not?” Pinkie’s question jolted Nopony, and she shuddered. Why not? What was wrong with not wanting to talk? Nothing they said would make a difference to how she was now. Talking to them would resolve nothing. It was pointless, futile, there was no point to it.

“N-o-space-p-o-i-n-t. No point? Of course there’s point maybe we can help you pass over to the other side? Don’t you want to leave this plane?” Everypony excluding Pinkie was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable, noticing that the room felt slightly colder than normal. Nopony snorted, levitating over the board as she looked down at Pinkie.

“H-o-w. How? Well that’s simply silly ghosty, we find out why you’re stuck here, and then complete your unfinished business. What's your name? It could help us find out what your business is.” Giving a smile, Pinkie raised her head, somehow looking directly at Nopony. Snorting, Nopony lent down, trying to pick up the piece of wood. To her surprise, it seemed unnaturally light, almost willing to react to her touch. Tossing it in her hoof a few times, she tossed it at the wall.

“Nopony. I am Nopony.” Turning, she flew through the wall, an unnatural gust blowing out all the candles the moment she left.

Author's Notes:

5

Curled up in her patch of grass, Nopony gave a quiet squee in glee. She had spoke! Closing her eyes, she smiled for the first time in centuries. How? What had changed during their presence that had allowed her to speak? How had she gained enough presence to affect the board? Sighing, her smile faded, and she looked to the night sky.

But what difference did her speaking make? These ponies thought they could help, but what help could they provide? Twilight had already tried to find her identity, and failed. Besides, Nopony knew that wouldn’t help. How would knowing who she was change what she was? Sighing mentally, she wondered just why she was dwelling on it so much.

‘Lonliness likely. It’s the first time someone has even noticed my presence in...when was the last time?’ Frowning, Nopony examined her fragmented memories, and then discarded her thoughts just as swiftly.

‘It doesn’t matter, I am Nopony.’ Closing her eyes, she let herself drift into a half-sleep, ignoring all her musings as they were quietly washed away. Nopony didn’t understand what washed them away, but she was grateful for it. Thoughts were pointless to hold onto, whatever those thoughts had been.

“Nopony? Nopony?” Opening one eye, Nopony noticed Pinkie Pie slowly approaching her location, body occasionally twitching. Only one other pony had decided to come with her; Twilight.

“Are you sure you can find her Pinkie?” Expression a mix of fear and unease, Nopony could tell Twilight was fighting her desire to flee. That was normal, considering what Nopony was. Closing her eyes once more, she shifted slightly.

“I think so. My Pinkie Sense can sense her, but it’s sorta like walking around Ponyville blindfolded. You kinda know where you are, but it’s easy to lose your sense of direction.” Tilting her head as she spoke, there was a measure of confusion on the normally upbeat face. Walking through Nopony, Pinkie shivered, and stopped after taking another step. Turning around, she frowned, peering at Nopony.

“Nopony?” Opening one more eye to look at Pinkie, Nopony grimaced. Just great, Pinkie could sense her. Sitting up, she wondered just how she was supposed to even let Pinkie know. This entire search mission was completely flawed.

“The board moved, it said ‘flawed’.” Glancing behind her to where Twilight was standing, Nopony’s eye twitched as she saw they had brought that stupid board. Nopony should have known Twilight would have some sort of plan.

“Nopony, please, just give us a chance. If we can’t help you move on, we promise to leave you alone in the future.” There was a chance that appealing to the ghosts desire to be alone would succeed. Twilight hoped she was right.

That did appeal to Nopony, especially considering what could happen if she didn’t. Parties in her honor, questions about what she could do. The amount of annoyance these two could place on her would be endless. Sighing, she silently agreed to it, watching as the board slowly slid over the ‘yes’.

“Yes! Thank you! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed in our results. So what is your name?” Glancing down, Twilight watched as the board spelled out ‘Nopony’. Frowning for a moment, Twilight shook it off, and tried again.

“No, I mean what was your name when you were alive?” Watching the dial, Twilight muttered the letters to herself.

“I-d-o-n-t-k-n-o-w. Hrm, you know this is a little inefficient, can you speak, like you did earlier?” Once more, the board repeated ‘I don’t know.’

“Well, uh, could you try it?” Falling silent, Twilight waited. Glaring at her, Nopony growled in annoyance This entire conversation was exhausting, and pointless. If it wasn’t in return for never being bothered again, Nopony would have quit long ago. Regardless, she had said she would try, so there was little point complaining about it.

“I suppose.” To Nopony’s surprise, it was almost too easy to speak. Her voice seemed to whisper on the wind, and she watched the two shiver slightly.

“Alright, so what do you remember of your life?” Tilting her head, Twilight levitated out a notepad, prepared to write.

“I had a house. There was an orange tree out the back. I had a husband. I was a teacher. My friend was a scientist.” A lot of the information Nopony provided was useless from a first glance, but Twilight was sure she’d be able to find some means of figuring out who Nopony was. The final sentence gave her a nagging suspicion, and she pulled out Sunset Swirls journal.

“Was your friend Sunset Swirl? I mean, she was a scientist, and it seems oddly relevant considering we found out about you around the same time her experiment finally reached completion.” Holding it up for a moment, Twilight gave a cheerful smile, before suddenly freezing as a chill went down her body.

“Yes, my friend was named Sunset Swirl.” Raising an eyebrow, Nopony wondered why Twilight was suddenly sweating.

“Pinkie, can you...do me an uh-favor and keep Nopony busy? I uh- got to go confirm something with...Celestia about...Sunset Swirl…” Turning, Twilight flared her wings, flying toward her home. Pinkie Pie tilted her head, but gave a shrug.

“Well, Nopony, how about we go see what your favorite food is. Maybe you can still smell, huh?” As Pinkie bounced away, Nopony begrudgingly followed. Just great, food. Now she would have to pretend she could actually smell it. For a moment, Twilight's behavior nagged at her, but was swiftly discarded. It was what happened with all of Nopony's thoughts eventually. Dwelling solved nothing, after all.

6

“Spike, please read out my list of things to do one more time.” There was one thing Twilight knew she was good at, and that was checklists. With that to be solved, she needed to manage her time very well. Rolling his eyes, Spike began to re-read it.

“Panic over the fact ghosts are real. Pack saddlebags with books on ghosts. Get on train to Canterlot. See Princess Celestia about ‘that’. Buy gems for Spike for being such a good sport about this.” Raising an eyebrow, Spike wondered if Twilight would get the hint. Giving a sheepish smile, she quickly wrote down the last one.

“Ok! Let’s start going through this.” Giving a nod, Twilight placed the list down, and breathed in.

“Howcanghostsberealwhyistherenoscientificevidenceofthisifghostsarerealwhyhasnoponydiscoveredthem.” Taking a breath, Twilight continued.

“HowmanyghostshavebeenaroundhowmanyhaveyettofindpeacewhydidCelestianottellmetheywererealwhenIaskedasafilly. THIS CAN’T BE REAL!” Kneeling, Twilight angrily pointed a hoof at the ceiling, gasping for breath. Standing up, she sighed, giving a warm smile.

“That’s better, next!” Picking up her list, Twilight began to levitate books on ghosts into her saddlebags. Finished that, she gave Spike a hug, and trotted out the door.

“See you when I get back Spike!” Flaring her wings, Twilight took off in the direction of the train station.

“Twilight, what brings you all this way to Canterlot?” Celestia looked to Luna, and the both began to dismiss most of the staff from the throne room. One serious look from Twilight was all it took. Standing up, they lent down and nuzzled briefly. Stepping back, Twilight gave a warm smile, and then shouted as she pointed a hoof at Celestia.

“Ghosts are real! There’s one living in Ponyville.” Pulling out the diary, Twilight briefly went over the contents, before noticing the hesitant looks she was being given.

“Twilight, there is something you must know about Sunset Swirl, and the ghost you speak of. You see, we have a part we played in her memory loss, for a good reason.” Bowing her head, Celestia stepped aside, letting Luna tell the story.

“Before my transformation into Nightmare Moon, there was a war that broke out between the races. This eventually led into the events of Hearts Warming Eve, but a lot of dark magic was created and abused during that war. After the creation of the Harmony Tree, and our coronation’s, we began phasing out all knowledge of such spells.

“However, some families kept copies in absolute secrecy. It took centuries to finally remove every trace of these spells.” Pausing, Luna looked to Celestia, and she sighed.

“One such family was the Swirls. Descendants of Star Swirl.”

“- So pies saved the day in the end.” As Pinkie Pie spoke, Nopony jolted in and out of awareness. Normally she would have spent some time in a state similar to sleeping. This was the first time in her memory she had remained alert for so long. It brought questions to her mind, when it was conscious enough to form them.

’Apparently I still need sleep. What sort of ghost needs sleep? Another question to never be answered.’ For some reason, Nopony was starting to develop a headache. It wasn’t from Pinkie surprisingly, and it confused her even further than before. Why were unanswered questions causing her pain?

’How am I even able to experience pain as a ghost? Why haven’t these questions occurred to me before. How long is Pinkie going to keep me here? Why do-’ Like an anvil slamming into the ground, Nopony’s thoughts scattered like leaves, and she closed her eyes.

“Nopony?” Pinkie was poking where she was floating again. Opening her eyes, she gave a loud sigh to show she was still here.

“Oh, you must be tired. Let me just clean up, and you can go rest.” Giving a giggle, Pinkie began to clean up. Watching this, Nopony smiled. Finally, she’d be able to surrender to the blissful state of nothingness, and forget all these questions that hurt her head.

’Why do I want to forget?’ Nopony frowned, and rubbed her head as another spike of pain hit her. A shudder passed through her body, and she fought to push the fog away slightly, instinctively chasing the feeling that suddenly permeated her being. A nagging buzzing in her head.

“Did it just get colder in here?” Looking up, Pinkie noticed a shimmering circle of frost where Nopony was. Walking over, she pushed a hoof into it, and shivered. It was as cold as death!

“Don’t stop talking.” Voice suddenly more substantial, Nopony fought desperately to keep the fog away. There was something it was hiding, and she had a burning desire to find it. It was almost instinctive, a powerful curiosity which vibrated every inch of her ethereal body.

“Uh, okay.” Beginning to talk, Pinkie turned the stove on in hopes of heating up the room. Whatever Nopony was trying to do, her Pinkie Sense was telling her it would lead to answers. The room continued to grow colder, and Pinkie camped out right beside her open oven, turning the head up to max.

“Pinkie! Stop!” Slamming the frost encrusted door open, Twilight used a spell to heat up the room in an instant, and dived over to her frostbitten friend. Celestia and Luna quietly followed behind. Blue magic washed over the room, and all turned to watch as Nopony became visible for the first time. Glowing white eyes, shimmering white body, wavy hair which seemed to meld into the body. Nopony was rapidly starting to grow in size, and her mane was starting to wave in an unknown wind.

“We’re too late,” spoke Celestia, eyes narrowing as Nopony began to howl in pain.

“T-Too late for what?” Pinkie was still shivering, and she looked to Twilight, who had a grave look on her face.

“To stop Nopony from becoming a Wendigo.”

7

Nopony remembered.

“Sunset let me in! I’ve got big news!” Opening the door, Sunset Swirl rolled her eyes as her friend barged her way into the house. Following her down into Sunset’s basement, Sunset sighed as her friend pulled open her old notebook. Revealing the page dedicated to the teleportation, Sunset reared back as the page was pushed into her face.

“We’re going to try and get your teleportation thing working, I’ve got an idea! Magnetic force!” Her friend, while a bit on the zany side, did have a point. Sunset put a hoof to her chin.

“I dunno Starlight Shimmer, could be dangerous. There’s a risk of overloading it and causing the magnet to attract objects toward it in a substantial radius. We’d have to ensure nothing metal is kept in here during such experiments.” Giving a smile, Sunset chuckled at the eagerness of her friend.

“But alright, we can give it a shot.” Smiling, Sunset began to pack up all the metallic items in her lab. Glancing toward a picture, she dreamed of the day she met a stallion whom cared for her as much as Starlight’s did for her. Turning around, Sunset noticed Starlight’s horn glowing.

“What spell are you casting?” Curious, but not alarmed, Sunset frowned as Starlight’s smile turned sadistic.

“The forbidden spell you kept locked in your secret compartment.” As Starlight’s grin grew, Sunset’s eyes widened, and her mouth went ajar. The forbidden spell that her ancestor had saved in case war broke out once more.

“How did you even get in there? It’s magic coded so only his ancestors could open it.” Then it dawned upon her. The teleportation rings Sunset had been experimenting with to share the power of multiple unicorns. Could it have?

“Your thinking is correct. I drugged you one night and performed the deed. No longer will your pathetic victories and intellect be yours and yours alone. Every memory, every theory will be mine. And you get my old body. With a few key memories missing of course. Can’t have you plotting your revenge, can we?” Magic growing to greater levels, Starlight cast the spell, and Sunset cried out in pain.

“No!”

‘That’s right, my best friend betrayed me.’ Closing her eyes, Sunset let a single tear fall from her ghostly form. The cold no longer bothered her, and all she could feel was a burning hate in her heart.

‘How could she? How could they support her for all those years? How could Twilight name MY project after her? It was my name, but she’s the one that got a statue made in her honour. And to top it off, she went and killed me at the next possible convenience. How could she? How could she!?’

“HOW COULD SHE!” Windows shattering from the sheer cold of her voice, Sunset ignored the ponies as she phased through the roof, heading for the sky. All that was left was anger. All she wanted to do was get revenge. They would all pay! Hate, Hate, Hate. The world deserved to be frozen, just like her heart had been when her friend had pulled it out of her chest with a rusty blade from an era past.

“THEY WILL ALL PAY.”

Her wails rose to deafening heights, and clouds began to obscure the sun.

Protected by the barrier Celestia had erected, the ponies huddled together. It was obvious holding such a large barrier was straining her limits, but Celestia maintained it, keeping Ponyville from freezing over. Just.

“What do we do?” Looking to Luna, Twilight bit her lip. Their entire plan had hinged on getting here in time.

“We will have to eradicate the Wendigo from this planet, just like your forebears did over a thousand years ago. We must get to the Crystal Palace and send a pulse of love once more through Equestria.” Flaring her wings, Luna prepared to take flight.

“Isn’t there some way we can save her? She doesn’t deserve to just vanish, even like this.” Pinkie Pie glanced toward the sky, biting her lip as the clouds finally obscured Nopony from view. Luna shook her head sadly, but paused when Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder.

“The-huff-files-hah-you know what to do.” Gasping for breath, Celestia struggled to even finish the sentence. Luna frowned in response.

“Are you sure? We agreed to never use those spells except for a war-like emergency.” Concerned, Luna didn’t want to dive into that section ever again. There were some secrets best left secret. Celestia managed a nod, and began to shake on her hooves. Luna turned toward Pinkie Pie.

“My sister cannot keep this shield up at this size. Move everypony as close as you can to her location, or she will not last.” Seeing the pink pony salute, and vanish, Luna then turned to Twilight.

“Come with me, there is one final secret we must show you.” Conjuring a smaller shield of her own, Luna took into the air. Twilight did the same, following her to the Castle Ruins. Glancing up, Twilight bit her lip, catching a glimpse of the Wendigo. Nopony was already so huge…

Landing, Luna quickly led the way into the catacombs of the castle, and toward the organ piano. Magic weaving a complicated set of music onto the device. After a moment a silence, the piano shuddered, and slid into the ground. The wall slid open, and the two entered the room. Looking around, Twilight shuddered as wave after wave of protective spells passed over her.

Arriving in the room, Twilight breathed in sharply. Row upon row of old scrolls, barely even legible by this point, were lined up carefully. Walking over to one, Luna gently pulled it off the shelf, and unrolled it. With an unknown spell cast by Luna, Twilight could see words slowly appearing on the unmarked paper.

“This is-“ Cut off by her own amazement, Twilight couldn’t believe what she was reading. A true time spell. One that would allow anypony to return to any point in time as many times as they wished.

“Please understand, that once this ordeal is over, I will have to wipe the spell from you memory, along with this location.” Luna rolled the scroll back up, and put it away.

“I understand, nopony must ever know this place exists. Can I at least keep the memories?” Such power in the wrong hands could cause many problems, Twilight knew. As such, they quietly left the room, and the organ rose up once more. Looking at the wall, Twilight couldn’t even see a difference, and soon lost where the door met the wall.

“But who should I go back in time to see? I can’t change what happened to Nopony. That could have serious repercussions to the future.” Biting her lip, Twilight rubbed her forehead.

“It is not when in the past you should return to Twilight, but whom you should bring back.” Closing her eyes, Luna breathed out. Blinking, Twilight breathed in once more. Of course! The spell could travel both ways! Should she try the future instead? But if it was the future, wouldn’t they have already come back to fix it?

‘Who should I bring back…’ The first answer was a version of Sunset's past self. After all, they could wipe the memory once done. But what would her past self say that would reach? Maybe Clover the Clever, whom created the fire of friendship and ended the wendigo’s? But that wouldn’t help either…

“The only other pony I can think of is Starswirl…” Glancing to Luna, Twilight bit her lip.

“You will have plenty of time once you make the choice,” suggested Luna. Of course Luna was right.

“Right, okay. I’ll be back soon.” Giving a sheepish smile, Twilight concentrated, breaking out into a sweat. This spell required some serious horsepower. And suddenly, she popped out of existence.

Popping into existence, Twilight stumbled over a stack of books, falling to the floor. Standing up, she brushed herself off, and looked toward the stack of books. Leaning down, she opened one up, skimming it out of curiosity.

“Excuse me, thou art rude to read mine books.” Jumping slightly, Twilight turned to see the very pony she had been looking for. Placing it down gently, she stuttered and apology, and looked down. Here he was, her hero in pony!

“Tellest thy, how many Alicorns are in thy era?” Pulling out a large scroll, Starswirl unrolled it. Glancing to it, Twilight saw various names written in chronological order, and a number above each once.

“Four. Me, Luna, Celestia, and Cadance.” Rubbing the back of her head, Twilight gave a sheepish laugh.

“Ah, Modern Equestria then. Good, I don’t have to keep up the deplorable accent that evades Equestria up until the Post-Modern era.” Accent changing, Starswirl rolled up the scroll, and placed it back in the drawer, before standing up and giving a bow.

“So, what problem faces your time? Monster from another dimension? Discord again? Elements of Harmony shattered and you can’t find the pieces?” Standing up straight, Starswirl glanced toward a bell as it rang, and a scroll slid down a wooden tube. Pulling it out, he signed it, and tossed it out an open window.

“U-Uh, Wendigo.” Taken aback, Twilight wasn’t entirely sure what she had been expecting.

“Can you not use the Crystal Palace? It’s been restored by this point, correct?” Glancing toward the table, he pulled out a list of events, before nodding to himself. Stroking his beared, he looked Twilight up and down, before chuckling.

“W-Well you see, t-the wendigo is- Well sh-she is.” Pausing, Twilight took a deep breath in and out, steadying her nerves. She was here on business, as much as she wanted to pick apart Starswirl’s mind.

“The Wendigo is your great great granddaughter, excluding a few greats for simplicity’s sake. A pony named Shimmer Swirl stole a forbidden scroll from your family and used it to steal Sunset Swirl’s memories and body, and then killed her some time later. Celestia and Luna managed to keep the transformation at bay by making Sunset forget, but it’s too late to redo the spell now.” Taking a breath, Twilight’s ear flickered when she heard a sound in the other room.

“Oh you want to know what that is? Come,” spoke Starswirl, opening the top of the door to show Twilight what was inside. It was a large room with an antigravity spell on it, and two Alicorn fillies were playing around in it.

“Cute aren’t they? Cute is the word right? Eh, not important. Watch this.” Smirking, Starswirl whistled, catching the two fillies attention.

“Thy voices are silkiest of sweets, pray provide me a song from the heavens.” Giving a small bow, Starswirl began to snigger as the two fillies broke out into an ear splitting chorus that sounded almost as bad as nails down a chalkboard. Clapping them, Starswirl closed the top of the door, and the sound cut out almost immediately.

“Bet you didn’t know they use magic to enhance their voices in your era. Bet you is correct, right?” Frowning, Starswirl pulled out another scroll, sending a pile of papers falling to the floor.

“No it’s ‘betcha’. Slang these era’s.” Rolling his eyes, Starswirl quickly fixed up the pile, and sat down at the desk.

“I can have a spell whipped up for you within a week or so. Until then you can either hang around this era, or just time hop to next week. Just make sure you put on the clothes provided near the door if you decide to head outside. There’s also spending coin there too.” Beginning to write, Starswirl levitated a pair of glasses onto his nose.

“How often do you get visitors from the future?” Stupefied, Twilight seriously wondered how somepony could even keep up with so many era’s.

“Eh, every other week or so. Sometimes two at once. That’s when things get really entertaining let me tell you.” Chuckling, Starswirl continued to work, occasionally mumbling words. Twilight glanced toward the books, and then back to Starswirl.

“May I-“ Cut off, Twilight blinked.

“Yes you can look at my study notes,” he replied, rolling his eyes.

8

“You know, when you said ‘next week’ this isn’t what I had in mind.” Eye twitching, Twilight could barely contain her disbelief as a myriad of Celestias began to speak over the top of each other. Most of the conversation seemed to stem from the smallest pony, a filly who was demanding their attention with a puffed out chest, and a booming voice.

“I. DEMAAAAND. COOKIEEEES!” The older Celestias were sitting back, watching with a quiet chuckle. With no discernible way to tell them apart, Twilight wondered which one was from her Era. It was definitely not the one with a billowing black mane that was speaking about ‘doom’ and ‘death’.

“You heard the lady! More cookies!” Starswirl slammed the door open with a hoof, and the ceiling began to rain with cookies. The vast majority of the Celestias chuckled, taking a bite out of the cookies, the black maned one said something about cholesterol death. Squeeing, the filly flitted about the room, trying to eat as many as she could before it ended. Feeling slightly ignored, Twilight waited there, tail swishing.

“Right, so anyone from further than the Modern Equestria era?” Quite a few Celestias raise their hoof. Starswirl motions to Twilight.

“Right then, how’d this Twilight here solve that whole ‘Wendigo that’s apparently my great something or other granddaughter’ bissiness.” Waving a hoof dismissively, he begins to hand out drinks. Numbly, Twilight takes it. They all begin to laugh, and a younger looking one speaks up.

“You’re going to love this. Get THIS, she just hugs her.” Throwing her arms up, the Celestia begins to giggle, and the older looking ones roll their eyes.

“I never should have used that youth serum,” groans one, rubbing her temple.

“Preaching to the choir,” soothes one, patting her back. Which back? Twilight had lost count of who was patting whose back by this point.

“Well there you go, hug the Wendigo, don’t be slow, get on my flow.” Having realised halfway through he was rhyming, Starswirl decided to follow it to the end. Twilight rises, and shakes her head. “Uh, right, I should get out of your hair.”

Starswirl chuckles, “Nonsense, I just ordered pizza!” There’s a knock at the door, and a Celestia walks in, levitating in over 30 pizzas. Bewildered, Twilight looks down to her slice, and shakes her head, smiling despite her complete lack of understanding.

“Got any extra cloves?”

Returning to the present with a large food bulge, Twilight groaned, holding her stomach.

“Ugh... I should have never challenged her to that food competition.” She looks around, not seeing Luna, and heads outside. The world was dressed in snow and a large sphere of ice stood in the centre of Ponyville.

“Ooops, I overshot.” Charging the spell, Twilight tries again.

“Ah, thou return.” Luna bows her head in greeting, and they head outside into the snowstorm.

“Yep, I’m booked for a day too, apparently I’m a regular visitor.” Blinking, she shook her head in dismay. Luna nodded.

“Ah yes, I too know that feeling. It is quite...bewildering hearing current problems being talked about with such...nonchalance. I remember when my transformation into Nightmare Moon became a topic. When I asked if it was avoidable, they merely laughed and replied ‘you can try, but you will ultimately fail’.” She smiles sadly, “They were right.”

“Honestly, this entire thing is hurting my head slightly, but I got to meet Staaaaarswirlll~” Dancing briefly in the snow as they walk, Twilight almost forgets the fact there was a Wendigo howling in front of them. Luna looks up, and clears her throat.

“Mmmn yes, but we should probably focus on the problem at hand, I take it you found a solution?” Luna waits expectantly.

“I did! But I need to get close to her to pull it off.” Twilight jumps into the air, taking off. Following Luna nods.

“I will guard you then.” The winds that were battering them to and fro faded into a slight breeze as Luna worked her magic, and then began to inch closer.

The ghostly form of a Wendigo danced around the eye of the storm, howling as it circled, keeping the storm spreading further and further. It battered against the barrier, howling in anger that any would dare try to keep it out.

“Sunset Swirl!” Twilight watches as Luna’s magic began to fail, and struggled to remain aloft, fighting for every inch as she tries to get closer to the Wendigo. The Wendigo focused on her, and the winds grew stronger, beginning to push her away. The howling cries from it were deafening, but Twilight continued on.

“You have every right to be angry! But you need to let go!” Twilight flipped over, slipping further away from her target. The Wendigo’s shrill cries were all Twilight could hear.

“Yes, she used you, but have you really forgotten what it means to be a pony? Have you forgotten the friendship she shared?” Her wings began to freeze over, and she saw movement behind her as Luna fell, unable to keep herself aloft. Twilight could feel herself loosing height, and she tried one final time to reach Nopony.

“Don’t become just a nopony! Don’t become just a Wendigo! You are more than that! And you will be remembered as more! Not her, YOU!” Legs flailing, her wings locked up, and she began to plummet. Gritting her teeth, she tried to use a heating spell to unfreeze them. Wings unfurling once more, she bulleted upwards.

“DON’T BE A NOPONY! BE A SOMEPONY!” Rocketing forward as fast as she could, Twilight closed her eyes as the snow blinded her, opening her hooves wide as she desperately tried to reach Sunset Swirl.

Something ice cold slides into her grip, unmoving. Opening her eyes, Twilight looks down as her entire body begins to turn the same ghostly blue-white as the Wendigo she was holding. She ignored that, and looked into the Wendigo’s eyes, giving a smile, and hugging her tighter.

“You aren’t a Nopony. Noponies don’t cry.” It'd been barely noticeable, but there were the unmistakable marks of tears rolling down the Wendigo’s face, seeming to be the very source of the icy blizzard that was currently freezing her very soul. Twilight shivered as her body began to not respond, but held on.

“I am...somepony...” The howling winds began to slow, and then cease, and the two began to plummet down. Wings unfurling with intense pain, Twilight winced, but managed to slow their fall. Rolling onto her back, she protected Sunset from the fall, and then opened one eye, blinking away her blindness to see a pale, golden silhouette of a statue she had seen in the Canterlot Gardens.

“I am....somepony.” The form shimmers, and then floats upward, fading into twinkling lights.

Author's Notes:

Alternate ending: /story/321373/ghost

Epilogue

Author's Notes:

As requested, here you go.

Stretching, Twilight gave a yawn as she woke, and rose out of bed. She brushed her hair while half asleep, headed downstairs, and out the door. Walking through town, she approached the Sunset Teleporter, nodding in greeting to the unicorns on duty, and stepped inside. One short teleport later, she was in Canterlot, and on her way to the castle.

“Morning Princess Celestia, you called for me?” Bowing her head in greeting, Twilight followed Celestia as she led her toward a balcony overlooking the city.

“Has there been any word from Sunset Swirl since she faded into golden stars?” Celestia looked toward the rising sun, sipping her tea silently as she waited for Twilight to answer.

“Afraid not. I think she might have moved on.” Giving a sigh, Twilight put her cheek to the cold stone railing, enjoying its cold touch.

“I am sure she is happy, wherever she is, that you named the device in her honor,” commented Celestia, looking down with a sad smile.

“It was the least I could do, it WAS her invention in the first place. I hope she’s found peace, wherever she is...” Another sigh escaped Twilight’s lips.

“I’m sure she has.”

“And that’s BINGO! Man Sunset, you’re on a ROLL tonight.” Being elbowed by her husband, Sunset gave him a nervous look, noticing the glare Starlight was giving her.

“Oh ignore her, if she wanted me she shouldn’t have used forbidden magic. She can go buck an apple tree for all I care,” he spoke upon noticing her gaze. Looking back to him, Sunset gave a soft smile, and closed her eyes, breathing out.

“If anything, she did me a favor. I had you waiting for my return, all these years. I’m sorry it took so long.” Looking up, Sunset felt the warmth in her heart, staring into his lovely hazelnut eyes.

“Honey, you are a mare worth waiting for, every time.”