Ghostbuster Girls Ch.4

Chapter 4

Circles in Circles

Right after school, the girls met in the parking lot to figure out how to get to Ponyville Elementary. Applejack just leaned against the pickup truck her grandmother got her after getting her driver's license as she listened to everyone talk. Out of all seven of them, only Applejack and Pinkie Pie were able to drive. While Applejack actually had her driver's license, Pinkie Pie only had a Learner's Permit. Getting all seven of them there was going to be a logistical nightmare. While Applejack could rig up a seat in the back of her truck, with seat belts, she'd only be able to take five total, two passengers in the cab and the other three in the bed. That left one out. If Pinkie was supervised, it wouldn't have been a problem legally.

“Wait a minute,” Pinkie spoke up. “Don't we all have permits because of the Friendship Games?”

Sunset blinked before facepalming.

“The motocross event,” she said. “If we didn't have one, we had to get one to participate in that portion.”

“Well... we still got those dirt bikes?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“They're not street legal Rainbow Dash,” Rarity shot the athlete down. “But the point does remain. All of us can drive legally. We just need a supervisor. And we have been taking Driver's Ed classes together. Well... except for Applejack of course.”

“I'll take the bus.”

All eyes turned to Twilight Sparkle. The science girl just rubbed the back of her neck and said that she was used to using the bus to get around town, and was familiar with the routes. She also said that it would take time to rig up the pickup to take more passengers. By the time they get going, she should be at or near Ponyville Elementary depending on traffic and how many stops are made.

After a moment, Applejack sighed and nodded, saying they would meet her there. As Twilight headed for the bus stop, the remaining girls deliberated on if they should wait at school or chance it and head out with Applejack to Sweet Apple Acres. Eventually they decided to just chance it. Applejack knew some back roads with lower speed limits so safety would be top priority. Once everyone piled into the truck, with Fluttershy and Rarity in the cab and the rest in the back, Applejack fired up her pickup and headed out.

***

While on the bus, Twilight Sparkle dug into her backpack to take inventory on what she had available for this investigation. Magic/PKE Detector, Flashlights, camcorder, EMF detector (just in case), rubber gloves, sample cups...

She smiled as she closed her backpack. It had been years since she had been to Ponyville Elementary. It felt a little strange, but at the same time exciting.

Looking out the window, Twilight thought about the past and sighed. Her reflection in the window shifted to represent Kylie, who looked a little concerned.

“You sure you can do this Twilight? I mean... you haven't been back to that auditorium since it happened.”

Twilight nodded, knowing that any verbal response might make her look crazy to the other passengers. Kylie seemed to figure this out and nodded in response.

“Well... no matter what happens, I'm here for you. Whether I want to or not.”

Twilight suppressed a laugh at that last part. She knew Kylie was a good person. She just tended to be a little more rough around the edges. But over the years Twilight had learned that she still cared for her friends, even if she didn't always show it.

After a moment, Twilight closed her eyes and just started humming a song to pass the time.

***

Applejack's truck pulled in at Sweet Apple Acres, and everyone climbed out. Fluttershy looked into her backpack to check on Slimer, who was again in a jar. She was about to pull Slimer out when the sound of the front door opening distracted her. Looking up, Fluttershy saw Granny Smith standing there with a warm smile on her face.

“Well... ya shoulda called ahead Applejack,” the older woman said. “Ah woulda made another pie.”

If there was something to be said about the Apple family, it was their country hospitality. They treated friends like family, and always had some kind of apple based food item ready for guests.

“Sorry Granny, but this was kinda last minute,” Applejack admitted. “Gotta get the back seat for mah truck fer the girls.”

“Ya mean t' tell me ya drove them out here without that seat?”

“Took the slower back roads.”

“Ah... well... as long as ya took it slow ah guess. That seat should be in th' barn where ya left it.”

Applejack smiled and motioned for someone to follow her. Rainbow Dash volunteered and the pair went off out behind the house. Granny Smith noticed how Fluttershy was holding her backpack and asked what was inside.

“Um... well... er...” the shy girl trailed off, unsure how to proceed before pulling out the jar and setting it on the ground. Granny Smith raised an eyebrow as all she could tell was it was full of a glowing, green substance.

“Before I open the jar, will you give him a chance to apologize?” Fluttershy asked.

“Him? What'cha talkin' about child?” Granny Smith asked.

Sunset, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity stepped back, fully expecting their lunch lady to get a broom and start swinging if Fluttershy actually did open the jar.

Which she did.

Popping out of the jar in a comedic way came Slimer, who shook himself back into shape and looked around. Granny Smith gasped and backed away, but Fluttershy held out a hand.

“Its alright. He's actually harmless,” she said before turning her attention to Slimer. “Now Slimer, say you're sorry about scaring Granny Smith back at School.”

For a moment, it looked like Slimer was going to refuse. But one look at Fluttershy's face seemed to melt the ghost's heart and he turned to face the elderly woman and bowed his head.

“Sorry...” he said.

“Well... that was... somethin'. Ya sound sincere enough,” Granny Smith said after a minute. “But ah'm warnin' ya right now. Ya get outa line, ah'll wallop ya with a broomstick. Ya hear me?”

Slimer nodded as he stayed by Fluttershy. When everyone settled down, Granny Smith offered to get everyone some apple cider. Although she was unsure about Slimer, she even offered the ghost a bottle as a peace offering. Surprisingly enough, Slimer behaved himself and didn't just chug the bottle in one go. He seemed to genuinely want to be at his best in front of the matriarch of the Apple family.

Sunset actually smiled before taking a drink. Felt like things were starting to work out already. But in the back of her mind, she knew that it wasn't that easy. If what Slimer told them was true, then the whole town may be in trouble because of other ghosts appearing. And they may not be as friendly as Slimer. Sunset wasn't even sure how they could combat this threat, or even what was causing it in the first place. If she was back in Equestria, she was confident that her magic would be able to work. But here in the Human World that wasn't exactly an option. They had to come up with some other solution.

Twilight's locket seemed to be capable of trapping a ghost, but the way it was starting to smoke when Twilight released Slimer meant that it wasn't a permanent solution. But maybe it was a step in the right direction. The question was... what was the next step?

Applejack and Rainbow Dash hauled the back seat over and started setting it up in the truck bed. It was clear the two of them had been discussing stuff about the current situation as well. After a few minutes, the seat was secure and seat belts tested.

“Thanks fer the cider Granny,” Applejack said. “Ah wish we could stay fer pie, but Twilight's wantin' t' meet us somewhere.”

“Ah understand,” Granny Smith said with a smile. “Somethin' tells me its somethin' big y'all gettin' involved in. Y'all take care now, and be careful.”

“We will,” Sunset said as she climbed back into the bed of the truck. As everyone loaded up, Slimer took a moment to collect the empty bottles and carefully arrange them in a recycling bin before giving a respectful bow to Granny Smith. The older woman actually chuckled at the ghost's antics and waved goodbye as he flew over to the truck. Fluttershy held the jar as he slid back inside, and closed the lid. They weren't comfortable with having the Spud out and about with them yet, so it was agreed by everyone that Slimer would travel via jar for now. While he complained at first, it was Fluttershy who convinced him that it was necessary for the time being.

Once everyone was secure, Applejack started up the truck and they were off.

***

Twilight looked at the front door to Ponyville Elementary as she heard the sound of Applejack's truck pull into the parking lot. Looking back at her friends, she smiled before pulling out the Magic Detector when they came up to her.

“Well... here we go,” Sunset said as she put a reassuring hand on Twilight's shoulder. With a nod, the seven girls entered the school and made their way to the auditorium. For a moment, Twilight hesitated at the door, but after taking a deep breath, she stepped through and faced her past.

The auditorium was currently empty, and... just like she remembered it. Bringing up her Magic Detector, Twilight started doing a PKE sweep. There was a bit of a spike at one particular spot, and it took Twilight a moment to realize that was the exact spot where her science project had been set up.

For what seemed like hours, the group searched the auditorium for clues and... found nothing. Rainbow Dash was leaning against a shelf that was on a wall, quietly singing something that had a mix of English and Japanese lyrics when she looked down and noticed something odd on the floor. Getting down onto her knees, Rainbow Dash ran a hand across the floor and felt grooves in the tile.

“I think I found something!” the athlete called out. Everyone ran over to see what she found, and Rainbow Dash pointed out the grooves in the floor.

“Rainbow Dash, could you move please?” Rarity said, noticing something about the grooves. The chromatic haired girl asked why, only to have Rarity physically move her out of the way. To her detail oriented eye, the grooves looked like some kind of trail. Sure enough, she managed to trace them to the shelf. Narrowing her eyes, Rarity actually got down on her stomach to get a closer look. It was then that she noticed something odd about the wall behind the shelf. The floor boards that butted up against the shelf seemed to just stop behind it. She also felt a bit of a breeze from under the shelf, which meant there was something behind it.

“Applejack, think you can move this thing?” Rarity asked as she pushed herself back to her feet.

“Ah think so if ah had some help. Why?”

“Humor me.”

Muttering under her breath, Applejack asked Sunset to give her a hand. The pair braced themselves against the shelf and put all their weight against it. After a moment, they were able to shove it across the floor. What they discovered behind the shelf was a hidden doorway.

“Just as I though,” Rarity said with a satisfied smirk. “I felt airflow from under the shelf. That meant either a vent or a door. But the question is... why hide a door behind a shelf?”

“That shelf's always been there,” Twilight said.

“Maybe its the Secret Teacher Apartments!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed,

All eyes turned to the pink party girl. Surprisingly enough, Applejack didn't object to the idea. She said that it was a common theory among the students at the time that the Staff actually lived somewhere in the school. She also said that it was a pretty common belief among elementary school students. Twilight pulled out some flashlights and handed them out before bringing the Magic Detector up towards the door. The readings spiked a bit more the closer she got.

Sunset took a deep breath and put her hand on the doorknob. It took some doing, but she was able to get the door open. Seemed like it hadn't been used in years. On the other side was a staircase leading down. Clicking the flashlight on, Sunset stepped through and started heading downstairs. It was clear that the stairs lead under the auditorium, and opened up into a large chamber about the same size as the room above. The light beams of seven flashlights played across the entire room as the girls looked for anything like a light switch, as there were some interesting looking fixtures on the walls.

“What's that?” Fluttershy asked as her flashlight hit something in the center of the room.

“Aziz! Light!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed before everyone heard an audible click.

The light fixtures came to life slowly, revealing the chamber in all its glory. There was what appeared to be some kind of alter with a pedestal on the far side, and right in the middle where Fluttershy's flashlight was aimed, was some kind of circle drawn into the floor.

“Much better,” Sunset wisecracked. “Thank you Aziz.”

The girls spread out to examine the room as Twilight pulled out her camcorder and started recording. Sunset approached the alter and narrowed her eyes. It looked like there used to be something on the pedestal. Something that could have been a book if the design of the pedestal was any indication. The alter didn't really reveal anything though. Any decorations had been removed long ago if the layer of dust was any indication. Shaking her head, Sunset turned her attention to the circle on the floor.

“Well... this is a little disturbing,” Twilight said as she went around the circle to get it from every angle. “Definitely some kind of text, but I can't make it out. Looks old. Not Latin though. Kylie's not sure what this is either.”

Sunset got down on a knee and brought a hand close to the circle. Just before her fingers brushed up against the circle, they started tingling. Just like with the Ectoplasm she collected. But there was something else. Something that made her want to pull away. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on the characters themselves.

“It... can't be...” she said in disbelief.

“What is it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“This looks like... Ancient Equestrian.”

Everyone turned to look at Sunset.

“One of the things I studied as Princess Celestia's student was magic history. One of the ways a spell could be amplified would be through the use of something called a ritual circle. Instead of needing one powerful mage, you could use several mages working together. The design of the circle would act as both an amplifier and a focus. Here... look at this.”

Sunset started pointing out details about the circle.

“These lines that cross the circle could be used to direct magic energy to a focusing point. And these runes here... could be part of some kind of ritual. Possibly a binding spell? I... I can't make them out though. But... whatever this was... I think it was something dark.”

Standing up, Sunset had a look of determination on her face as she pulled out her cell phone and started snapping pictures of the circle from various angles.

“Um... Sunset?” Rarity spoke up. “If this is Ancient Equestrian... what's it doing on Earth? I mean... we know the Dazzlings had been here for a long time but... I don't think they would have done this.”

“From what Twi... Princess Twilight had discovered about the mirror, Starswirl the Bearded seemed to enjoy dumping some of Equestria's... less desirable entities into this world as a form of exile. There's no telling what else besides the Sirens he sent here,” Sunset explained.

“So... some other ancient evil from Equestria made this?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I... I don't know,” Sunset admitted. “But for this to be here... I need to go home.”

The girls looked at their redheaded friend in surprise. Applejack asked why Sunset was go back to her house, but Sunset raised a hand.

“I'm not talking about my little house here. I'm talking about going home. Back to Equestria,” she explained. “Something like this... there's only one person I know who might be able to tell us what this is. The only person I know of with more magic knowledge then Princess Twilight.”

“More knowledge than Twilight?” Applejack asked. Sunset nodded.

“I... I need to see my old teacher. I need to show this to Princess Celestia.”