//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: "I loved you." // Story: The Ghost of Coltistrano: Restless Peace // by EthanClark //------------------------------// Polished crystal stood between his ears and the cacophony of fluttering wings just beyond the walls. Another step upwards, following the long spiral of stairs that was the palace’s main transportation up it’s pristine tower, cast in the shadow of the invading swarm, their cloud of violence and treason blocking any light that may yet fall through open windows. He would slink to the far wall when an errant Night Guard broke free from the flock, but the cloaked pony marched on. Up, and up, until he came to a final room. The circular landing was bordered by several windows, a spyglass trained out of each one. Discarded books and scrolls littered the floor. Among the more solid areas of the wall hung charts displaying stars and trajectories, pathways through what he could only guess were the airways between the capital city and the rest of the empire, though most showed signs of wear and abuse, tossed haphazardly aside in the ensuing chaos. The pony stood puzzled. He was utterly alone in the disheveled observatory. No guards, no watch, no obstacle to defend their loathsome leader. “Silver…” An urge swelled up in his chest, one to grasp his umbral cloak and lash out against the soft, timid voice calling his true name. Instead, he stood still. Hoofsteps, faint as they were, reached his ears as he prepared for whatever pain may come. He turned. Abby’s ruby mane fell to all sides, clinging to the streaks of black makeup down her cheeks, and the slightest quiver in her lip stifled the many muffled words she tried to utter. The once immaculate dress she had arrived in was in tatters. Evidence of black soot, dangling threads, and the occasional deep, red stain only accentuated her pitiful state. The unicorn had witnessed battle. Words finally rose from her mouth. “Silver… I… I never wanted this… any of it.” Abby’s statement urged fresh tears from puffy, bloodshot eyes. “It was him, only him. I promise, my love, I-I… this isn’t what I wanted.” The stoic shadow said nothing, a silence that summoned another whimper through her bared teeth. “You know me, yes? This chaos, the m-... murder… you know I would never want it, not without good reasons. I-I thought I did everything right. Alate was the perfect accomplice. Shield Wall was somewhere he couldn’t escape. All I needed to do was make the arrangements and… please stop looking at me like that. Please…” Abby averted her gaze from the Ghost. Tired, amber eyes peered down on her, framed in the black cloth of his cowl, like nightmarish orbs of fire and judgement. She grit her teeth and whipped her head back to face him. “He deserves it! They all do! Monsters and criminals who ruined my life, who ruined yours. Every night for six years I begged for you to return, for you to whisk me away like you once promised you would, and when you did the trampled pieces of my heart could finally heal, now that you were back… but you weren’t. Not really. You were this… thing. Some nightmare woven from the face of my greatest love. S-So, yes, I made a plan, one that would save you like you saved me. From him. “You told me enough about Darrox to find his family, and when I told Alate what happened she… I should never have trusted her. Old and bitter, furious at her brother’s death. Did you know she wanted to kill you, too? And I stopped her. It was my order that you wouldn’t be harmed, only Shield Wall and his minions... but she doesn’t care anymore. Oh, goodness, Silver I’m so sorry.” Her audience was unmoving, statuesque in the face of her confession, save those same tired eyes. They never once looked away. Each second she was trapped in his gaze she felt her ears begin to burn, her stomach flutter, until the pressure scraped at the surface of her restraint. “Stop looking at me like that!” Her frantic howl shook the room. “I did all this for you, to free you! Everything I’ve done was to rescue you from whatever foul thing that cloak is. This life you’ve chosen… it’s killing the life we could’ve had. I sacrificed my safety, my sanity, my everything to free you from a fight that was never yours to begin with! “So why are you still looking at me like that?! Why did you forget everything we promised? Why did you stay away from me, to be with her? I love you! A love powerful enough to do all this. Does that mean nothing to you? Why can’t… we can… don’t you love me? The way we stared up at the stars and promised the world to each other, don’t you remember? You love me.” Even the sounds of terror surging through the palace failed to pierce the silence between them. Abby’s sobs and fierce eyes were all the Ghost could focus on, a face that drained him of whatever zeal he had making the long climb to this somber point. Finally, he moved. Abby froze as a gloved hoof reached up, tugged at the lip of his cowl, and slowly pulled the mask from his face, allowing argent locks to tumble across his neck as he looked to her with a gaunt face.  “I loved you.” The hollow, haunting statement brought a shiver up her spine and her knees buckled. Abby collapsed. Her wailing echoed in the observatory and beyond, overwhelming his senses as he fought back tears of his own, but the broken mare before him filled his chest with an inescapable emptiness. He could feel the urge to lean down, to take her in his embrace, something to satisfy the sharp pain in his throat, but he didn’t. With his face still bare he turned from her and crossed the room to the final staircase leading to the very top of the palace. It was only twelve steps to the observation deck. Frigid air blew around him, sending the cloak aflutter, his exposed face almost burned by the frost and saved only by the warmth of the setting sun. Grunts and a sharp cry reached his ears before he crested the stairs and walked out onto the deck. Before him, in the center of the large pavilion hovered a large heart-shaped gem, shining brilliantly and flanked by two ponies. One lay on the floor, struggling, flailing angrily at the powerful hoof of the other, pressed against her head as he slowly turned his attention to Silver. Lips curled into a smirk.  “I expected you sooner. A disappointment, as always, whelp.” The cloaked pony closed the distance, fighting the chill creeping into his limbs before pausing at the sight of green blood speckled across the floor. In the waning light of day he could see a tapestry of blood and lacerations across Alate’s carapice, leaking onto the floor, her dull eyes refusing to let Shield Wall out of her sight. The horn on her head pulsed with a dark fog that grew slightly with each ragged breath from Alate.  “Removed the mask, I see? Looking to relive your previous victory over me, no doubt.” Shield’s hoof dug deeper into Alate’s temple, drawing a whimper from her. “If you have come to rescue this… thing, you are more than welcome to what remains when I am done. She was at least formidable. Far more than your bird.” Silver tensed, and Shield Wall’s eyes flickered in the sunlight. The grin grew wider.  “I could hardly call Gorn a threat. Far too wild and undisciplined, much like the rest of his kind. This creature, however, has managed an extraordinary amount of control over these dark powers. Admirable, if not blasphemous.” He glanced at Silver, but twitched when his comment was met with silence, his shrouded nemesis doing little more than glaring at him. Into him.  “But, of course, you must be here to stop me,” he spat. “You are welcome to try, but my forces have already breached the palace. Perhaps I shall thank this creature for her interference, and for returning the cursed horn, but you stand unprepared to stop me this time. The empire is mine, and once again my world can be realized.” His hoof moved from Alate’s bleeding temple to her fused horn. The slightest touch drew a seething whimper from her as the wound began to open again, spewing blood down her face, and with a spiteful tap against it she writhed. Wicked eyes stared Silver down, scanning his flowing form. “And then what?” Every ounce of malice evaporated from Shield Wall’s face. His mouth hung open. A few airy words left his lips, silent babbles of confusion, until he barked back. “What do you mean, ‘and then what’?! I win! The empire is mine, and very soon Equestria will be, too, unless you dare to stop me.” “No, no, I mean what happens next?” He took a slow step forward, again watching Shield’s anger melt away. “You dig that horn into the heart and… what? Corrupt everything? Turn this entire country into your own private army, then march on Equestria?” “Of course, you ingrate! Darrox’s soul must be in tears to see your ineptitude on display.” “So, how long will that take? A week, two weeks? Months? How quickly can you mobilize the entire empire before Celestia and Luna march up here and take it back?” “Do not speak to me of logistics, whelp, I-” “Things were easier when you had power, right? Station? When you were in command you had ships, trained soldiers, money, and the authority to hide it all away. Now look at you…” A small smile graced Silver’s face. “Careful with your insinuations, I am still in control!” “No you’re not. You have a cobbled-together insurgency and the illusion of a plan.” “Yet, here I stand, my forces locked in battle and my ultimate goal within reach. Tell me, whelp, what is that if not control?” “Hubris, like when you tried to assassinate Celestia. Or when you smuggled gold to bribe dragons to attack Equestria. The yak invasion, my death, the attack on Manehatten. In all those grand plans, how many of them actually succeeded?” “You mock me,” he seethed. “I do,” Silver declared. “Because for twenty years you’ve tried this same plan, over and over, and every time something or someone stops you.” “This is not some petty villainy like your mentor so joyously imagined, this is what it takes to build a better world. A stronger world! One where the forces of evil would not dare threaten our glorious home.” “Then why isn’t it working!” The sudden outburst stunned Shield, leaving him staring dumbly at the now fuming pony before him. The ends of the cloak coiled up to accentuate the tension in Silver’s face. Even Alate ceased her pained moans when his thundering voice nearly shook the pavilion around them. Silver huffed before speaking again. “How many more have to die in the name of your perfect world?” “As many as it takes,” Shield Wall spat back. “This is not some storybook heroism, the real world is hardly so juvenile. I am working to save Equestria!” “You could’ve saved Equestria years ago. With all that power and charm, all that money and influence, you had the chance to put all of that towards a better future, but you chose war! You chose murder and hatred. You ordered my father killed, you murdered Darrox, and chose to attack the very country you love so much.” “Obstacles! All of them, obstacles. Vile traitors daring to stand against a better world, traitors lacking vision to see what I see!” “All I see are good ponies standing against whatever madness you’ve fallen to. Ponies who know real evil when they see it, and aren’t afraid to stand up to it. Ponies like Midnight Gavel.” “Do not say his wretched name!” “He was your friend, he loved you, and even he saw the depths of your nefarious nature.” “Silence! Silence or I will-” “And you planned to murder him, for what? Because he saw the truth, or because you didn’t like the truth?” “He was weak, weak and foolish!” “Like everypony else who bought into your madness, but they all saw the truth, didn’t they?” At this, Silver smirked. “The terrible Vice General Shield Wall, guilty of murder and high treason, the most dangerous pony in Equestria. Not for the bodies he’s buried, but for thinking his evil was righteous.” A terrible sound thundered forth from his hoof as it slammed against the crystal floor, cracking it, every crease of his contorted face illuminated by the sunset, accentuating eyes of molten fury. “They must die, all of them! The posh and elite, the scores of undeservings below them, below me, all who fail to grasp just what I am trying to do, so of course they fight. Like children, they lash out towards that which they cannot understand, and I am forced to resort to such base methods to finally make them see, yet still they defy me... and then there is you… “The Ghost… the champion of their defiance. When I plotted to rally the bandit clans against the crown, your mentor struck at their leadership. When I rob the treasury of its gold to sail to the Dragon Lands, again, he interferes and casts me from my own vessel. When I stage war on the northern border, you arrive to thwart me through sheer dumb luck! And at the moment of my victory, the prize I spent twenty years to claim, your band of traitorous cretins manage to defeat me! You rob them of the chance to become stronger, only for them to fight for you, instead? How am I to save the world when the world keeps fighting back?!” “You can’t save a world that doesn’t need saving, Shield.” Words left him. All that remained was icy air singeing his lungs with each ragged breath, his skull throbbing. Amber eyes held him in a phantasmal grasp. Then, with a twitch of his lips, a riotous laugh flew from him and around the pavilion. “You… you are trying to undermine me, yes? To invalidate my mission. Your mentor has tried this before, but not even his cunning was enough to sway me, and the only difference is his argument was sound. ‘Does not need saving’? Bah, that is exactly why you are here, to save the world! To save it from…” The final word dangled from his lips, so close to the edge that both he and Silver could almost hear it, but for the moment he merely stood there, frozen. Painful pressure removed itself from Alate’s head as the offending hoof retracted. She limply pulled herself away as Shield Wall’s gaze began to drift, scanning the world around him in a daze. First to her and the horn upon her head, still dripping it’s cursed smoke and green power onto the floor, but his eyes more closely observed the wounds upon her body, many of which he recognized, until he met Silver’s gaze and took in every detail of the unmasked visage before him. Just to the left, along his collar, Shield could see the start of a twisted line of flesh, just barely creeping beyond the confines of the fabric. The cries of battle from below began to wane. “You finally get it,” Silver said, each word a sharp stab, slowly closing the distance. “This was never about saving the world, not for you or Darrox, not even for me. All I wanted for six years was to be rid of you. That’s why I came back, to protect those I loved from your sick schemes and make sure nopony would ever know your evil again, but that was it. Was that what you wanted, just to keep your home safe from what you thought were threats? Look around. Even here, ponies stand against evil threatening their home, without your direction, and they’re winning. This insane plan was foiled before you even hatched it, only now you finally see you’re not the hero. Ponies like you and me don’t save the world, we just save it from each other. “But don’t take this epiphany as forgiveness. You’re a monster, and the only comfort this nightmare will bring is knowing by the end of it your vile vision of a new world will never be realized. This is your final plot, Shield. It’s over.” Shield turned to face the Crystal Heart, floating just before him, and peered into the reflection of the old and withered unicorn staring back at him. Grey hairs danced across the warm brown fur of his face and across tired eyes. In the corner of this sight he spotted another, a familiar unicorn of deep blue staring back at him, blood trickling from the hole in his head, filling Shield with a chill to dwarf the biting breeze encircling him and his nemesis. “It is, is it not…” He gave a long, ragged sigh. “I do not love many things, but I do love my country. Yet, my country provides home and aid to its enemies. Changelings, sorcerers, monsters. Those who seek to tear down all we have built we meet with little more than tolerance. Tolerance… tolerance does not claim victory, only stalemate. Victory over our enemies is achieved through strength, discipline, and the will to become something far more deadly than we are. My country recoils at the thought, but it is the only way. Good walls make good neighbors, after all.” “Not if the people are backed against them.” “Then they are forced to grow,” Shield snapped, the venom in his voice evaporating as soon as it was uttered. “But… yes. Too many times have I toiled to force the world to work, when… it worked all along... congratulations, then, you accomplished what you master could not. You killed the dream.” “Just like that?” “Do not insult me. It does not take one of my intelligence to appreciate the power of perspective, especially in the case of my life’s work, and after all we have suffered, you and I. So, yes, ‘just like that’... but not for us.”  His turn was slow, forsaking his own haunting reflection in favor of the pony in black, who responded with a lowered stance and a firm, unerring gaze. Glittering gold danced along Shield’s horn, power shining against his scowl. With a wordless acknowledgement Silver took one end of the cloak in his hoof. Shield Wall spread his stance, tucking his chin and pointing his glowing horn directly at his target. Only once did Silver allow his gaze to divert, peering over to the struggling Alate. He gave her a nod, permitting her to escape through a cloud of dark smoke that trailed off and away from the tower, limply gliding against the stiff breeze. Silence fell upon them both. No more orders shouted from below, or sounds of clanging metal, no more screams from the battle that once raged throughout the palace, replaced by the rush of pumping blood in their skulls.  Dark cloth cracked in the air on its path towards Shield Wall’s face, colliding with the glittering surface of his barrier before being taken in his grip. Shield pulled hard, forcing Silver off balance, and followed with a mighty swing upwards that scraped against his jaw, but was soon met with a fierce kick propelled by the force of Silver’s falling body. When both ponies recovered, they charged. Their hooves locked in a furious exchange of blows. Silver allowed his cloak to follow his strikes, jutting out from his hooves like spears with each jab and cross, keeping Shield on edge even when at range, but the unicorn took the chance to dive low. Ducking another jab allowed Shield to dive straight for Silver’s hind legs, and with a grunt he was hoisted over Shield’s back and bucked hard against one of the columns surrounding them. Silver barely had time to stand before a volley of golden bolts showered upon him. They rapped against the fabric like a violent storm of hail, prompting Silver to risk releasing a length of cloak upwards, snagging on the pavilions supports with a grip strong enough to hoist him from the floor and soar overhead. A bolt or two managed to find their way past the flutter cloak that carried him in the air, but left little more than singe marks against his reinforced chest, failing to stop Silver from diving down onto Shield Wall with a furious knee.  Silver was atop his nemesis, unleashing the most brutal, wild blows he could muster, each one striking with a force great enough to shake Shield Wall’s chest even from within his now failing barrier, but Shield took advantage of Silver’s frenzy with a measured strike to his eye. Another direct blow landed against the padding on Silver’s side, and before he could recover he found himself slammed backwards against the floor in a leg lock. Shield rolled off of him, horn glimmering in desperation to repair his cracked and crumbling magic. It was when he looked back to Silver, though, he saw the cloak wrap tightly around his enemy’s arm with audible tension, and with a low roar Silver threw the reinforced limb square into Shield’s face, sending him spinning through the air as shards of magic followed him. The polished crystal floor beneath him began to grow red, painted in the warm blood slowly falling from his mouth and nose, and the very sight twisted his face into a deep, feral scowl. Blood flew from Shield’s mouth as Silver approached, spat straight into his eyes, allowing Shield the opening he needed to funnel each terrible ounce of wrath into a flurry of savage blows. They crashed against Silver’s jaw, his sides, his throat, everywhere the mighty cloak shouldn’t guard was Shield’s target. Two hooves shot out from within the flowing darkness and pulled Shield’s face directly into Silver’s skull with a crack. Once he wiped the blood from his eyes, Silver ensnared Shield’s offending limbs and forced him to the ground before spinning into a wheel kick that collided with his shoulder, spinning again to deliver one final strike. Through one limply lidded eye Shield could see the blow rocketing towards him, and with a bloody smirk he loosed a bolt from his horn, one that clashed with Silver’s hoof, stopping it in its path. He yelped at the white hot blast, grasping his charred glove, casting it off before the searing spell could melt his flesh, as well. Shield Wall limply stood to his hooves. Silver gave a ragged huff, cradling the singed hoof, wincing each time it was assaulted by the stiff, cold wind. Their gazes met. Golden eyes, framed by streaks of blood, never strayed from Silver as he found the courage to stand in his injured hoof. Their weary limbs dragged against the floor as they closed the distance, staggering back into some semblance of a fighting stance. Then, Shield’s eyes twitched. Silver could almost feel the heat against his neck before he pivoted on his back hoof, swiping the cloak out behind him and slicing into a turquoise bolt of magic as it soared, watching it fizzle in the air. The fading sparks revealed its source. Smoke rose from a unicorn’s horn, framed by gentle ruby hairs that fell across a twisted face of tears, heavy breaths falling from her lips in jagged puffs of steam. Once-pristine threads were torn from the dress to allow her full range of movement. Abby stood before him, seething. “Abby, what’re you-” “No! No, not another word! No more lies, no more tricks! Give him back to me! I want you gone, gone from my love and gone from this world! Give him back!” Another, then another bolt flew from her as she steadily advanced, each one caught and dispelled by the cloak. Caught off guard, Silver floundered to maintain his stance as Shield Wall looked on, but his trembling jaw began to loosen with each impact against his foe, and soon a crooked, toothy grin spread across his face. He charged Silver. As his enemy caught another blast Shield barrelled toward him and released a powerful kick to his midsection, sending Silver flying against one of the hulking columns of the pavilion. “You see now, Abundant?” Shield asked, recovering. “Everything you once loved in him is gone, replaced by this creature.” “S-Stay away from us,” Abby barked, thrusting her blinding horn toward him. “Please, my dear, listen to me, you are not the only one his cursed influence has tainted. He destroyed my dreams, just as he has your love. Let me help you.” “Damn you, and damn your help! Why should I ever, ever listen to another vile word from you?” “Because I have killed the Ghost before...” She froze. Each long, silent second she went wordless was another length Shield Wall’s wicked grin grew as he reached his hoof to her cheek. Silver readied his cloak, clasping this head with one hoof until ringing in his head passed, revealing the scene before him. “I can kill him again… if you help me.” “Abby! Shield, get away from her!”  “This is a trick,” Abby stammered. “You said it yourself, you want him gone from this world.” “B-But you-” “Are the only one who understands!” Shield grasped her forelegs, manic. “Look at us, both: I have lost my purpose, you your dignity, all because of the one thread of hatred we share. The Ghost. All the terror he has wrought upon our lives can be undone, but only together! I took your love once, but let me deliver him back to you. I am the only one who can!” Silver rose to his hooves just in time to find Abby’s piercing gaze upon him, framed by a pale and ghastly face. To her side, Shield Wall leaned into her ear. Silent words passed between them, and Silver watched them both slowly spread apart, orbiting in a painfully slow path until they stood on either side, flanking him, trails of glittering sparks falling from their horns. Silver’s head whipped to either side as he dug in. Abby fired first. The turquoise bolt whizzed toward him, caught by the cloak, allowing Shield Wall a clear shot of Silver’s exposed head. Golden flame spit forth before it collided with the redirected spell flung by Silver, bursting into a cloud of sparks that forced Shield back, blind to the lunging kick that slammed against his jaw. Another bolt fired, this time colliding with Silver’s leg. He stumbled as he landed, his balance soon compromised by three more bolts from Abby, the final one bursting and pushing Silver along the floor. Through squinted eyes he watched Shield return to Abby’s side. “I loathe to admit it, Silver, but you were right,” he sneered through a bloody grin. “I cannot force the world to work as I wish, it is fickle and foolish, but neither can you. All your talk of purpose, your master’s mission… was it all bluster, or were you simply so blinded by the old fool’s words to see anything beyond? To see her?” Silver kept his eyes on Abby as he stood, searching for some evidence of a response. Instead, her eyes danced around the space before her, incapable of holding contact for long. “The very reason you returned, the very reason you fought with such vigor in Manehatten, abandoned. You chose the musty hoof-me-downs of a raving old bug over her.” “Abby, he’s not trying to help you, you know that. Don’t listen to him.” “Or what? What can you offer her? I think the only thing you fear more than letting her decide for herself, is who she may choose. After all...” Shield gently placed his hoof over Abbys’ shoulder, placing his face beside hers. “She hates you almost as much as I do.” Without hesitation he stormed toward Shield Wall as a bolt of darkness and fury. They crashed onto each other and landed at the edge of the pavilion. Each end of the cloak, every available scrap of surface, pinned Shield to the floor, leaving the manic unicorn defenceless to Silver’s silent, focused, and ferocious beating. He shunted the pain in his singed hoof away as he struck the field with force enough to bend it, crashing into whatever part of Shield’s body fell prey to the murderous assault, blood pooling in the field as its occupant took it all. The twisted face he wore, however, slowly began to unravel with every strike as he struggled more and more. Then, Silver choked. He was pulled back by the cloak, dainty yellow hooves wrapped around the fabric. From the corner of his eye Silver found Abby prying him from atop Shield Wall. Writhing and thrashing against her, reaching down toward Shield’s returning smile, Silver finally tumbled back, Abby stepping between them, her horn brilliant. The sea green eyes he once dreamed of years ago peered down upon him with intensity enough to match the pain that wracked his body. Haggard breaths failed him, his voice lost to the terrible, sinking fear of the image before him. His slightest movement brought those fears into reality. A thin, glimmering length of power flew from her horn, past the small gap in his cloak and piercing the soft material between his padding and out the other end. No scream left his lips. He fell to his knees, grasping the site of the open wound, left to watch as Abby lifted Shield Wall to his hooves. With a flash and a wet cough a golden light sprung from Shield’s horn. A piercing screech filled the air as he turned. “Do not dare think this is the end, Silver Spade. You have spared this city its fate, but know the fault of what comes next lies with you, for giving me clarity. I do not need a world that bends to me, only a world without you.” The fluttering of leather wings reached their ears and Shield offered his weary hoof to Abby. She glanced between them both. In her bloodshot eyes, Silver could see the final few tears that threatened to fall as he limply motioned to her, fighting the pain in his side. “Abby… please, I’m… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” A final streak fell from her face as, slowly, she took Shield’s hoof. The two fell back, off the tower and into the open air. Silver summoned what strength he had left and sprinted after them. He leaped from the ledge and followed them down, plummeting towards a cloud of wings and armor. Silver shot his hoof out towards Abby, reaching for her, and for a moment he could almost see her begin to reach back before she was snatched away by the unicorn falling behind her. A final blast from his horn collided with Silver’s face and sent him tumbling through the air as Shield and Abby were caught by the swarm of remaining Night Guard, fluttering away from the city.  Silver fumbled over himself in the air before managing to grasp the ends of the cloak. The garment spread to catch the air, slowing him enough to only tumble as he crash landed on one of the nearby rooftops and slammed into the chimney. That was when the pain came out. Silver screamed her name into the frigid air, limply pounding the stone beneath him as it slowly became painted with his own blood. A familiar beating of feathered wings reached him, the gentle embrace of talons on his shoulders, but the comforting presence did nothing to stop his voice from calling out to the ever shrinking cloud of black in the distance.