He slammed against an unaware pegasus as he bounded around the street corner. Indignant curses followed him, but his frantic hooves were more concerned with the thundering crowd of plate armor and fierce glares pursuing him. The bolt of blue magic he released from his horn swung wide thanks to the light of the afternoon sun and did little more than stoke the guards’ ire, barrelling ever closer to their fleeing target. His cargo jostled upon his back with each step. ‘Property of Lord Aristo, Coltistrano Governor’ was sprawled across the polished wood of the chest, soon to join the rest of the crates in the possession of his comrades ahead.
“I got it! I got the last one!”
“Then climb on, we gotta move!”
The unicorn clambered onto the wagon, and with a mighty grunt the earth pony hauling it began his charge through the market district of Coltistrano, their entourage closed in tight formation around their stolen goods. Futile commands from the guards flew almost as fast as the hooves of the criminals they pursued. All around them, the citizens of Coltistrano dove for cover to save themselves from the rampaging crowd and the cargo threatening to spill from the wagon on each dangerous turn it made. In all their focus on escape, no one noticed the shape above them.
More spouts of blue magic, joined by green and orange, flew from the gang of thieves, this time forcing a wedge in the once tight formation of the guard. The wagon wheels tore through the tight market stalls of the city’s main street. Ponies fled, some even hurled objects at the city’s attackers, but the thieves took cover when the guard fired back with magic of their own. A pegasus lept from the wagon with an orb of cloth and wood in his hoof, fire spurting from the top. Keen eyes spied the heart of the guards’ formation and willed his limb to release the bomb into them, only to spy his hoof empty upon trying. He fluttered in the air for a second, staring at his own limb, before coming face to face with the very thing he feared. His cry was the only warning they would receive.
A figure strode beside them, atop the many buildings, keeping his threatening pace alongside the fleeing ponies and locked his gaze with the earth pony at the head. With a smirk the figure dove from the rooftops as a graceful length of black, inciting the cheers of ponies who had come to recognize such stunts. Hooves in black boots connected with the wagon before connecting with the face of any thief who stepped forward to protect their cargo. As the brawl raged on behind him, the desperate pony at the helm took a wild turn left and into a narrow alleyway, launching the pony in black from the wagon.
He dared to peer back and revel in losing their masked pursuer, but the brief moment of victory was squashed by the image of a black streak in the corner of his eye. This time, the masked pony came for him directly, causing him to buck wildly in a desperate attempt to free himself. There was a crack and a hiss, and before the earth pony knew it the yoke he was tied to had come undone and the wagon now trailing behind on its own, soon to be overrun by the city guard. All four hooves slammed the earth.
A quick stop and a graceful roll from his attacker finally gave him a clear picture. The yoke, discarded at his hooves, had its metal bolts eaten through by a bubbling concoction, its source from within the flowing black cloak of a pony who now stood before him. All around, the citizens of Coltistrano gathered to witness yet another public display of their resident guardian, and the cloaked pony smiled.
“Enjoying your tour of Coltistrano? Our next stop is the city jail, as I’m sure you guessed.”
“H-How did… you’re not supposed to be out during the day!” The earth pony shuddered where he stood.
“It’s a pleasure to disappoint.”
With the sound of clattering plate armor from behind and the enraptured audience of ponies around him, the lone thief reluctantly looked to the famed crusader as his only means of escape and threw a fierce hoof for his masked target. The blow was dodged, and the form of black stepped to his side, pivoting to roll over the thief’s back and throw him to the earth, a move signaled by a chorus of praise from the onlookers. Even as the thief tried to recover he was met by the flash of black cloth that swept across his jaw like a whip before collapsing into unconsciousness. The Ghost approached, prodding the limp attacker and rolling him over to reveal a small sigil pinned to his saddlebag. Two spears, crossed behind a shield.
He grimaced, letting the pony fall once more to the ground as the clanking of plate signaled the guards’ arrival. With a grin, the pony in black bowed to the ponies around him chanting his name and was hoisted into the air by the cloak. Chanting carried his heart like the wind as he glided on the breeze towards a more secluded rooftop and strode towards the distant plume of smoke and blaring whistles. Eyes of passengers below never had a chance to catch him leaping across the gap towards the train station. There, standing alone on the secluded end of the platform stood his next target, and the Ghost began his slow prowl along the station’s roof before softly descending along a strand of his cloak. Gloved hooves reached out from the shade and snaked around her sides to pull her in.
“Ooh! You made it,” Rarity said as she spun to meet her stealthy suitor. “With all the commotion I feared you’d forgotten about me.”
“Never.” The Ghost drew her into his embrace, lips meeting hers.
“Mmm, so bold, what if somepony saw you? Imagine the scandal.”
“‘Lady Rarity, in the grasp of Equestria’s most paranormal paramour.’ Ooh, somebody stop the presses.” He placed a second chaste kiss against her cheek, and a giggle signaled her retaliation of affection. “Thank you for coming this weekend.”
“Oh darling, of course, I visit often enough it’s become a second home… but…” Azure eyes lost their sensuous spark as they drifted down his frame. “Maybe one day, one day soon, we could make it more… permanent?”
He didn’t notice his hoof touch hers, or the almost goofy grin that soon dominated his expression, but Rarity’s violet mane jostled at his sudden move to take her in a hug, and for a moment they sank into each other’s embrace. That was, until the blaring train whistle cried out. They tried to ignore it, almost desperately, but it was a call neither could ignore.
“I’ll be back, my love… soon,” Rarity declared, cradling his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, Rarity.”
A final kiss signaled their separation as Rarity boarded the train back home to Ponyville. The Ghost watched from the shadows as the roaring hulk of steel and wheels lurched along the tracks away from Coltistrano, all the while her eyes locked onto him until she was far out of sight. The light of day began to fade, and he began his evening ritual.
It was routine at this point. He would find a rooftop far from the commotion of his latest caper, jog his way across the buildings as a final patrol, then leap from the cliff his home rested upon to glide into the open mouth of his lair, carved into the cliff face, a sequence he once again performed with great familiarity. He pulled the mask from his face, pausing only to take in the warmth of the sun on its final steps across the horizon. Twilight had come, signaling the moment the lord of Coltistrano would return to his true guise, but not before taking great care to stow his cherished uniform and bounding up the stairs of his undercroft to enter the manor.
“Hello,” he called out. “Is anyone still here? That mess downtown has been resolved, same goons from last week.”
Silver pulled a plain maroon tailcoat from one of the sofas of the lavish study to draw it over his frame. Rich, warm wooden walls framed his journey past the tall bookshelves and into the manor proper with lamp light dancing along their polished faces, but Silver found a tension in his brow. There was no answer to his question. Familiar voices of his home were gone and Silver found his hooves quickening their pace as he began to dutifully pull open each door he passed.
The kitchen was untended, manor passages devoid of traffic, and even the carefully tended garden behind the house sat empty in the warm night air. Another call left his mouth, firmer and followed by each pounding step that led him to the west wing of the mansion, and before the tall and ornate doors closing off what he knew as the lounge he forcefully slammed his front hooves against them, uncaring of the damage he may cause as their weight was shoved back. Two figures inside the room lurched forward at the surprise arrival.
“Silver!” The chestnut mare shook in her seat, whipping her brown and graying mane across her face. “What’s happened, is everything alright?”
The other pony, a unicorn, stood at the sudden entry, nearly knocking over the table between him and his host and spilling the tray of refreshments upon it, but soon produced a smile at the sight of Silver’s own growing grin, finally recognizing them both.
“Mom, sorry, I called out and no one responded… I was nervous,” he said approaching Honey Hearts, patting her shoulder. “Shining, good to see you still haven’t learned to knock.”
“You’re one to talk,” Shining quipped.
“Well, Silver, you scared me half to death. Remember the last time somepony went rampaging through your house.” Honey pushed Silver’s hoof away firmly, but never lost the soft tremble in her voice. “Shining arrived while you were out on business. All the way from the Crystal Empire, too. Forgive me, Shining, were you staying long?”
“I guess that depends on if Silver’s up for more ‘business’.”
The statement made Honey and Silver share a look, wordlessly prompting Honey to collect the tray before them and allow the two friends some privacy. Shining wasted no time in returning to his seat, and Silver found himself falling into the lush sofa just opposite the prince, releasing the last bits of his tension in a ragged, breathy chuckle.
“Sorry about that.”
“No big deal, I heard you’ve been jumpy these last few months,” Shining said. “Anything going on? Leads on Abby, maybe?”
“Were I so lucky… no, just the usual cadre of local criminals. Today’s train robbery was the latest of their devious designs.”
“Do you always speak in alliteration?”
“Do I?” Silver’s cocked head and furled brow brought a smirk from Shining, chuckling as Silver ran over the words again, silently.
“Do you need any help with them? From the sound of it, they’ve been a problem for a while.”
“What? Oh no, no, just leftovers from Serenade’s old cohorts and organized gangs in the region. I’ve been running into them ever since I drove him out of town, years ago, but they’ve scattered across Equestria from what I’ve gathered. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“They’re not Shield’s goons, are they?”
“Well… I’m not sure. Today’s batch were wearing his symbol, and to think he’s just sat idly while we track him down is unlikely, I’d say, but there’s also been no word of him since the Crystal Empire. If they are, though, it seems they’re easily thwarted.”
“I saw some of that on my way in, a lot of leaping and gliding on that cape of yours.” Shining raised a foreleg across his muzzle, giving his eyes a contorted, menacing glare as a quivering vibrato rose from his lips. “Oooooh, beware the Ghost of Coltistrano, for now he sets his sight upon you!”
Silver’s hoof flails out towards Shining, a warm and sharp laugh the only applause for Shining’s mockery. “The ponies love a show, Shining, don’t act so envious because you lack my natural charisma.”
“It’s still hard to believe you were ever a soldier.”
“The uniform never really fit me, you know that. Lots of lectures from old Sergeant Ironsides. You remember him?”
“Pfft, how could I forget? He threw us both on midnight patrol for a week straight when we drilled in Appleloosa. I still have nightmares about him, enough to keep even Luna awake.”
Between the chuckles both stallions shared, Silver found himself lingering on each word that passed between them. They warmed him. In just the seat across from him sat a pony he, in only recent memory, was terrified to approach with the truth, but with each new exchange Silver felt his worry evaporate.
“But what about you, Shining? Do all unicorn princes migrate south for summer, or is it just the ugly ones?”
“I think you’ve been wearing that mask too tightly,” Shining shot back, his smile slowly slipping into a thin, somber line on his face. “I’m not here for long. There’s a situation back in the Crystal Empire. Of everypony tied to it, I figured you and your friends should be the first ones to know.”
“What happened?”
“Well… let me start off by saying we found Alate. Took us a while, and a lot of scared patrols in the mountains, but we found her. She’d been hiding out in the White Wastes for a few weeks after the battle. Not sure how she survived, but I’d bet the horn on her head had something to do with it. She was… well, it wasn’t a pretty sight when we brought her back. Barely put up a fight.”
“That would’ve been months ago,” Silver stated. “Almost a full year.”
“Yeah, yeah it was.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“Believe it or not we did. Think about it, I mean. Cadence and I wanted to ask if Alate could be safely moved here instead of being held at the palace, but Alate wasn’t our primary target. We hadn’t found any sign of them… Abby and-”
“Shield Wall.” The name brought a chill to them both, joined by memories of the assault on the Crystal Palace, horrors they still held scars from.
“Right. So long as he was at large we couldn’t risk moving Alate. The Crystal Corsairs know the empire well, but you know how Shield operates. Nothing’s ever easy with him.”
“I know… but I don’t suppose you traveled half of Equestria to confess in person, right? Something happened.”
“Yeah,” Shining drew out. “Alate had been working for us as a spy, serving her sentence searching the empire in ways we never could. With her help we made heaps of progress in finding where the remnants of the defected Night Guard were hiding, until a few days ago. The palace was invaded and Alate was attacked. The horn was stolen and, according to Alate, Glint took it.”
A hoof pressed against the bridge of Silver’s muzzle. Shining avoided eye contact with the pony across from him, electing to look out through the window and into the night sky, patiently waiting for his friend to process both the influx of information and whatever emotion summoned his low, rumbling groan.
“I think now you can say ‘I told you so’.”
“No, no, it wouldn’t have mattered,” Silver declared, waving his hoof. “The protection of a princess is as good as it gets. Do you have any leads?”
“There are a few rumors floating around the Equestria-Empire border of bat ponies once loyal to Luna crossing illegally, using the old mining shafts from Sombra’s days, but Glint resurfacing is what concerns me most. He’s their commander, after all.”
“With Glint in play that means something big might be happening, but my last encounter with Shield’s forces was four months ago, in Cloudsdale. Strange they would resurface now.”
“Maybe they got tired of the humiliation I hear you’d been giving them?”
“They talk about that in the Crystal Empire?”
“Are you kidding? The Ghost is all some ponies talk about up north. Like it or not, buddy, you’ve become something of a celebrity.”
“Fantastic,” Silver scoffed. “Right when ‘Equestria’s Most Wanted’ rear their ugly heads again. Can they use the horn?”
“From what our court wizard Sunburst tells us, no, or at least he doesn’t think so. I doubt Shield would willingly stick it to his own head, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still dangerous. You saw what it did to Alate.”
“And Gilda. I won’t risk that kind of power out there in the world, again.”
“What power is that?” Honey asked, announcing her return with the gentle clattering of a tray in her hooves, decorated with sweets and cups of tea that deftly landed on the table between them before taking back her seat at the head.
“There was an attack at the palace.”
“What? Shining, you didn’t think to mention that? You boys will give me a heart attack one of these days, I swear to Celestia.”
“Cadence and I are fine, Ms. Hearts, I promise. I just need Silver’s help finding the culprit.”
“Oh, another grand escapade? Equestria has the EUP for a reason.”
“This could help us find Abby, mom.”
Honey’s teacup froze in place at the mention of the name, her eyes falling upon the stern face of Silver. “I see… what awful business.”
“They’re the same ponies who attacked the empire, if we find them we find-”
“I understand, Shining, but…” Honey shook in place, but after a brief pause managed to contain her nerves and take a slow, deep breath. “You had best alert the others, then. Come on, you two can treat me to a slice of cake for all the worrying you put me through.”
Shining and Silver both shared a look as Honey gulped down her tea and led the stallions out into the fresh summer air of Coltistrano by night. The city glimmered with the light of street lamps and the ponies that walked along their gentle rays. Starlight from above poked through the veil of darkness and filled Silver with a gentle, calming stillness, a sensation he had become increasingly familiar with. Many ponies nodded to their governor, and he in return, occasionally chatting about the happenings of the day as they passed the final remnants of the afternoon’s dramatic chase yet to be cleaned from the city streets. In the distance hung a black sign with a familiar golden ‘G’ signage upon it.
The Golden Goods bakery played host to ponies of all sorts, drinking and eating and socializing with loved ones as the trio entered. Silver could spot a few familiar faces among the guard ponies in one corner booth from his earlier outing. Ponies inside began to take notice of the aristocratic assembly about them and stood to show their respect. All except the source the indignant commentary Silver had come to adore more than all the respect in Coltistrano.
“Whassa matter, raghead? Your fat ass can’t handle the food, so you bring the pretty boy as backup?”
Gilda’s sharp words could cut the fresh pie she held in her talons, soon to be boxed and passed off to the expectant pony at the bar with a surprisingly genuine smile from the gryphon. Coming from behind the bar she and Silver landed in an embrace, ending in a firm slap to each other’s backs.
“I only brought him to help rescue your waistline, Gilda. You eat so much of your own stuff I can’t do it alone.” A dramatic hoof touched Silver’s chest, and his mockery cracked a smile on Gilda’s face.
“Yo, Ms. Hearts, anything you want off the menu is my treat, okay? Hey, bat boy! VIPs!”
A second figure emerged from the bakery’s kitchen, a stark white and stained apron contrasting his deep, royal blue fur and fluttering wings. The slit-shaped eyes locked onto the new visitors as Kindle trotted across the floor to join his comrades.
“Two of the most dangerous people in Coltistrano, both working in a bakery,” Shining said incredulously.
“A lot better than working in a palace, at least here the food is good,” Gilda snarked, slapping Shining on the shoulder. “Well sit down already, nerds. Order something so I can put it on Silver’s tab.”
“You wound me, Gilda. Kindle, she hasn’t torn you apart yet, I see?”
“Some days it sure feels like it,” Kindle chuckled, looking to her with a softness only Silver detected. “But who knows, maybe she’s lightened up?”
“Brave words from the guy who’s gotta clean tonight.”
“I, for one, and happy with how Kindle turned out,” Honey declared. “Silver, you should start taking him on your patrols. Would save my heart a mountain of worry, especially with recent events.”
“Really?” Kindle beamed, forcing a chuckle from Silver. “That’d be awesome! I’ve always wanted to know how to do all those flips. We could patrol if those thieves ever want a rematch.”
Shining chuckled, nudging Silver beside him. “Looks like you got yourself a sidekick. You’re not going to dress him up in a cape, too, huh?”
“Dude, Kindle and I saw it and you kicked ass today! I saw those bastards crash when you jumped them the first time. They nearly carved up the front of my store. What were they even after?”
“Money… my money, a few donations I made to Canterlot and surrounding towns.”
“Why did they want that?” Kindle asked before receiving a firm slap to his shoulder.
“Because thieves like money, duh, and raghead here’s got a lot of it.”
“Wow, all those bits and you still live with your mom, huh?” Kindle’s sass summoned bolts of sharp laughter from Gilda’s beak, smacking his hoof against her claw in celebration while Silver cocked an eyebrow.
“You got a mouth Kindle, we’ll fix that on my next patrol, but for now…” Silver’s words drew Gilda and Kindle’s eyes to him, expectantly, as he leaned against the bar and spoke. “The Crystal Palace was invaded, Alate’s alive, and the horn was stolen… by Glint.”
“Glint?” Kindle perked up at the name. “What happened? Was he captured?”
“They escaped with the horn,” Shining said. “I’m here informing Silver of what happened before I return to the Empire, who knows if he’ll return. If you’re all able, I’m asking you to keep an eye out in Equestria for you-know-who.”
“Shit, I’m in,” Gilda butted in.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Kindle said, also. “Any chance to bust that psycho.”
“We’ll leave tomorrow, then. Gilda, you’ll helm the Tornado and take us to Ponyville.”
“What’s in Ponyville?” Shining asked.
“Oh, you know what’s in Ponyville,” said Gilda with a wicked grin. “He wants to pick up his marefriend.”
“My marefriend is the best sleuth we know,” Silver shot back.
“Uh-huh, I bet you like it when she ‘solves your mystery’, huh? ‘It was Silver and me, in the library, with everything and then some’.”
“Oh, I can’t listen to this,” Honey said through a smile as she raised her hoof to Gilda’s beak. “Just go be heroes and come back alive, please. There’ll be plenty of teasing when the fate of Equestria doesn’t hang in the balance. Now Gilda, you mentioned Silver’s tab…”
As Gilda eagerly covered each item on the menu with Honey, occasionally giving a dignified wave of her claw to emphasize an item’s quality, Silver glanced around the room. Ponies of all kinds bonded together over drinks and food, embracing each other, singing songs and casting their chorus of laughter well beyond the confines of the bakery, far out into the night beyond. Occasionally, Silver would lock eyes with a pony. They would nod or wave with a grin, even raise a glass to the pony they knew as their governor and allow Silver to fully absorb the scene around him. A dream come true. A home restored.
Gilda’s signature cackle snagged his attention. Plates of delectable sweets were passed out and shared amongst the small group as they laughed into the late hours of the night of whatever came to mind, far from the cloud of worry that followed them here. Worries that, as far as they were concerned, could wait until tomorrow to haunt them.