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The ghosts haunted me in my waking hours. They glided
through my dreams at night. It was like I couldn't escape from them. The mangled
hand. The red robes.
"Let's just say these are real ghosts," my best
friend Indigo Musician the bleu Gelert said. "Which they probably aren't, but
let's say they are. Why would they target Ruby specifically?"
"Beats me," Emerald said. Indigo, Emerald, Dante,
Daywalker and I were lounging around my NeoHome. SapphireCloud777 the blue Eyrie
would be joining the meeting shortly. My brother AmethystSkye111 was at an art
festival and my owner Ridergirl333 was at a guild meeting.
"These ghosts may very well be real," said Dante.
"I read a book that said the spirit world is somehow in tune, maybe parallel
to our own world and…"
"This is Neopia, not the sci-fi channel.
There are no ghosts," Indigo replied.
"How do you know?"
"It's not plausible!"
"Not to a closed mind, it isn't!"
"My mind isn't closed!"
"Will you to stop bickering?" Sapphire came
through the kitchen door and immediately assumed her natural role as keeper
of the peace. "Now what were you arguing about?"
"The ghosts that haunt Ruby. Are they real?"
"Ghosts!" Sapphire jumped, beating her wings
frantically. She's afraid of ghosts, Spyders, dark faeries, Grarrls and for
some odd reason, the Easter Cybunny. She's afraid of lots of other things, too.
It's not that she's a coward. If it was important, she could face her fears.
A lot of things just tend to spook her.
"Calm down, Sapphire," I said. "Now could you
please help us solve this mystery?"
"After a few deep, tense breaths, Sapphire calmed
down and relaxed on a red beanbag chair. "I have no opinion on the ghosts whatsoever.
I don't even think we should be worried about the ghosts. They'll go away with
time if they're not real. If they are, they won't go away.
"The thing we should focus our energies on is
this: who wrecked the party? Because this question is not going to go away,
not ever."
I smiled at my sister. She was right.
"I'd personally put my Neopoints on Cassandra
Royalhoof. She might not have done it herself, but she could have gotten someone
else to do it for her."
"She could have done it herself, Sapphire."
"It's entirely possible, Indigo. But I don't
think she'd risk her reputation doing that."
I didn't know what to think anymore. Emerald
hadn't spoken either. He obviously still thought that this was child's play,
unworthy of his precious time. Instead, he bounced a yellow bouncy ball around
and looked bored. I tried not to meet his eyes.
Little did I know how much he would mean to the
mystery.
* * *
The next day in school, I tried to resume life as normally as possible. I did
everything I would have done if the ghosts weren't here. I wrote an article
for the Voice, aced a science quiz and talked with my friends. I even managed
to slip into detective mode during gym period. No one had erased the writing
on the wall, and I examined it time and time again while we were running laps.
It was sloppily written in big bold print, all of it in capital letters. I couldn't
identify the handwriting.
I examined the ground beneath my hooves. It was
the same old ground, all right. No signs of scuffmarks, muddy hoof prints or
paw prints, or colored hairs that might possibly narrow down my list of suspects.
I was beginning to lose hope. How could I ever
solve this mystery, anyway? It would be impossible. No clues to work with, no
interesting leads, and a mob of ghosts breathing down my neck. For a fleeting
moment, I smiled. Breathing ghosts? It was absurd.
* * *
"Ruby!" Indigo called to me during lunch. She picked up her tray and moved
to my table. "Emerald, Dante, Daywalker, Matt and I are going to Kauvara's shop
after school. And you're coming with us. I think maybe she can help us solve
our mystery."
"If it'll get rid of Casper and Crew, I'll do
anything," I smiled dryly, poking at my meatloaf with a plastic fork. "What
do you suppose they put in these things?"
"Problem students," Indigo replied.
We giggled.
* * *
After school, my friends and I walked to Kauvara's magic shop. The sun shone
brightly in the periwinkle sky, but the earth was chilly. Crisp, cool winds
blew on the ever-shifting dead leaves, wafting them onto the sidewalk where
they crunched under our feet. I pulled my red fleece jacket closer to my face
and shivered.
Indigo knocked on the door of Kauvara's shop.
The mystical starry Kau opened the door. "Welcome!" she said cheerily. "May
I interest you in some morphing potions? Or maybe a healing potion or a Faerie."
"No thanks, Ms. Kauvara," Indigo said politely.
"We wanted to ask you a few questions. We've been having a few problems with
some magical beings and we though you could help."
"Ah, children," Kauvara said in her deep, husky,
yet soothing voice. "Magic is my forte. What troubles you, my pup?"
"Actually, Ruby has the problem." Indigo gestured
towards me.
"Do tell."
So I told. I told every horrible detail that
happened, from Cassandra's awful vow to that gym class in which I searched for
clues and despaired. Kauvara listened silently the whole time, nodding and thinking
and nodding some more. I could practically see the gears in between her horns
turn as she tried to figure out what was going on.
Finally, when I had finished talking, Kauvara
came to a conclusion. "I don't know if these ghosts of yours are real or not.
I doubt you could have imagined them up yourself, but I also don't know why
only you can see them."
"So?" Indigo asked impatiently.
"So I don't think the ghosts will go away until
you solve the mystery and reveal the truth. For I have heard a tale on Mystery
Island about the Thousand Spirits of Myst. Supposedly, these spirits haunted
all that was unknown in the world and obscured them with their haze. If anyone
were to come near these Honored Truths, the wrath of the ghosts would descend
upon them, and they would live the rest of their lives, cursed."
"It's a good thing Sapphire isn't here," Emerald
whispered. "She'd be under the table hiding by now."
Kauvara ignored my brother and continued. "It
seems like we're dealing with the same ghosts, is that not true, Ruby?"
I gulped. "It's true."
"Well, It seems that some aspect of the party
must have been an Honored Truth. You seem to be coming very close to this Truth,
and they feel threatened by your will.
"The only solution I can see is this: You must
discover whatever it is they're hiding. For if their Truth is revealed, they
shall lose their power."
"So basically, to get rid of the ghosts, we
have to get past the ghosts."
"Exactly, my child."
I sighed, "Thanks Ms. Kauvara. Thank you so much."
"Anytime. Best hopes and good magic go with
you on your journey, children."
"You too, Kauvara!"
To be continued...
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