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// 21: of Glass and Torture 
// Story: One Way 
// by jroddie 
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Chapter 21

I walked down the purple halls, wondering what I could possibly do. Othello was dead, Celestia grieving, and I had no idea what Luna would be up to. The Ghost was the one thing that kept reverberating through my mind. I thought that I was the only one, next to the old colt. The bright green eyes and heavily muscled body seemed to be in every one of my thoughts. I kept myself open to the flow as to not be surprised by any approaching ponies. I could hear the faint whispers of life around me, and I could see their glowing vitality when I closed my eyes. I could feel Antony walking a good ways behind me. I closed my eyes as I thought of him, and the cool breeze made me shiver. I opened them to see Antony walking ahead of me. I could only think of how he coldly murdered Othello.
“Antony?” I said. The grey pony nearly jumped out of his skin, and his horn started to glow. I stomped my hooves on the ground and hands of stone jumped from the walls. Antony yelped as they rushed to grab him. Their fingers enveloped him and squeezed him tightly. He gasped, feeling the crushing hands around him. The arms retracted so that his back was touching the wall. His horn continued to glow, and I could hear the sword before I saw it. I reached out with my mind to grab the erethral blade, and gasped. I could hear all of Antony’s thoughts through it, fractured though they may be. I could feel everything he could feel. His emotions rushed through me as if they were my own. My head swam with his thoughts and emotions. He was afraid for his life.

...sweet Celestia what is he...
...Berry will be...
...what is he...
...I can hear his...

His thoughts grew silent and his emotions subsided. His eyes closed, and he wrinkled his forehead in concentration. I could glean nothing from his thoughts. I turned to look at his summoned blade. It was pointing down at me, only inches from my face. I could see the air shimmering colorlessly around it, like how air shimmers above hot pavement. It was only my colorless magic that kept it from flying down and killing me. I looked back to Antony. He was still in my stone clutches, and his look of stern concentration was still etched onto his face. I looked closer, taking a step in his direction.
“Antony... Put the sword away. I have no quarrel with you.” I said firmly, looking at the pony. He flicked his tail.

     ...can’t let him...

“Please, Antony, don’t do anything that you will regret. I’ll let you down if you remove the sword. Othello’s death is a tragedy, but you can’t let that shape your life. You are not a violent creature. You are a pony. Now please, please remove the sword.” I said cautiously. His shoulders wiggled.

...promise...

“Okay.” I agreed. I could hear the odd brrong as the sword dematerialized. I looked up and it was not there. I opened the fingers holding Antony, and he fell to the ground. The arms retracted back into the wall. Antony was gasping on the ground. The stone arms did not hurt him, but they were not to gentle either. I walked up to him and knelt on my front legs.
“Are you okay, Antony?” I said. He started to speak, but then ended up coughing.
“Scared and winded, is all. Help a pony up, would you?” He asked. I held out a hoof to him and he raised up his own. He pushed off of mine and awkwardly stood on his shaky hooves.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, seeing how wobbly he was. He picked up a hoof and placed it tentatively down on the ground. It held firm, and he took another step. It shook slightly, but it held his weight. I looked to him, and he smiled.

“I’ll live. Where are we going?” He asked. I started to walk down the hall, and he followed me not too far behind. I could still hear the whispers of life around me. The flow made strength pulse through me at regular intervals, like blood pulsed with a heartbeat. I blinked and saw the glow of everything around me. I kept my eyes closed to see. There were a large group of ponies gathered in what I assumed to be the Dining hall, in the center of the palace. I opened my eyes and the whispers returned.
“Is there a meal going on right now?” I asked. Antony looked contemplative for a moment.
“No, Dinner should have ended about two hours ago. Why?” He inquired. I closed my eyes again, and saw the large group of ponies. They were all just a large glob of energy from what I could see, but they were individual creatures. I opened my eyes to see Antony. He was staring at me, with one ear cocked behind him. I could hear it too, but not with my ears. The whispers of the Flow alerted me to a pony approaching. It was coming from the left side of the intersecting hall that led to the main hall of the throne room. I crept up to the corner of the hall to see a small pony galloping towards the intersection. It took a few seconds for me to step out into the main hall slowly as to not alarm it, and see the pony properly. It was a dark, dark green, almost black. It’s horn stuck out of a messy mane of a slightly lighter color.. It was wearing a red scarf. Antony walked up to my side.-
“Who is that?” He asked. I turned back to him. Honest surprise was written all over his face.
“It isn’t yours?” I asked. Antony shook his head.
“No, I don’t think. We will find out in a minute.” He said. The pony galloped for another second and then pulled up to us.
“Captain Shell!” She said, her voice unusually high. I smiled at the formality
“Yes... Um...” I trailed off, not knowing her name.
“Ensign Glimmer of the Foreward eighteenth.” She said. I looked back to Antony. He was still wobbling slightly.
“Well, Ensign, what brings you here today?” I asked. The mare gulped.
“It’s the Dining hall, Captain. There was a pony caught torturing a guard in the upper dormitories. They’ve taken the culprit to the Dining hall, and they want permission to kill her.” She said hurriedly. I was completely taken aback. I looked back to Antony, whose mouth was hanging open in disbelief. I looked back to the Ensign.
“Are you sure?” I asked in complete disbelief. She nodded. I rolled my neck and it popped. I was about to teleport to the Hall when Ensign glimmer interrupted me.
“You have to stop them, Captain. It’s only a filly.” She pleaded with me. I looked at her sternly.
“What is only a filly?” I questioned.
“The pony that they want to kill. Please help her, Captain.” She said, a tear bubbling up to her eye. I looked back to Antony. His mouth was hanging open and he was staring at me.
“What are we going to do?” asked Antony.
“Grab onto my mane.” I said. He reached out and got a mouthful, and I closed my eyes. I could feel more of a gust than a breeze, but then I opened my eyes. Not only was Antony still behind me with a mouthful of my mane, but Ensign Glimmer, a table with an antique vase on the top, and a complete suit of pony armor were all in the middle of the hall. I could feel Antony’s hot breath on my hair, then he let me go. He walked toward the large doors to the hall, wherein muffled arguing could be heard.
“Come on, Edwin.” He said, striding up to the doors. I folowed him, looking over at Ensign Glimmer. She was staring ahead with her mouth hung open. I paused, looking at the dark green unicorn. I picked up a hoof and waved it in front of her face. She stared through it unblinkingly. I paused my hoof, and poked her on the nose. Nothing.
“She’s petrified, Edwin. You scared her half to death. Let’s go.” Said Antony. I turned from the Ensign to Antony.
“Will she be alright out here?” I asked, looking back to the young mare. Her pale blue eyes were focused on something that she could not see.
“Yes. Now let’s go, we have to stop this.” Said Antony. I turned from Ensign Glimmer to see Antony’s grey tail disappearing through the tall, ornate doors. I ran up to the closing door, dodging the table with the vase. I squeezed through the door just as it closed.

I bumped into Antony as I entered the hall. He was stopped right in the entryway, looking at the assembled ponies. I looked, and I could see why. There was an ear shattering din, with all of the ponies arguing about what they should do with the accused. I tried to worm my way through the crowd, but the enraged ponies made an impenetrable living wall. I kept trying to get to the middle of the room, but I was constantly repelled by the flowing barrier. I finally got fed up with this and flew above the ponies. They were all squabbling loudly amongst themselves, but there was no real center to their bickering. The racket was growing piercing, leaving me unable to think. I reached into my mind and unleashed my Numbered magic. A flash, and then a deafening thunderclap could be heard, shattering all of the windows on the far side of the hall. All of the ponies were gathered at the front of the hall, but they all still jumped out of their skin. Some of them screamed. They all stopped arguing. I floated down into the middle of the crowd. All of them were staring at me. I touched down on the hard stone floor, trying to find a pony that matched Ensign Glimmers’ description. Not a single filly or even a young mare could be found. I looked around at all of the assembled ponies, taking in the colors.
“Where is the filly?” I asked in a stern, even tone. The nearest pony, a blue unicorn with baby blue hair gulped audibly. My eyes shot to her, and she shrunk back slightly.
“Do you know where she is?” I asked calmly, my voice betraying no emotion. The blue mare said nothing, but started to shiver. I leaned down with my neck to look her in the eyes.
“I won’t hurt you” I whispered to her. “Just tell me where the filly is.” I finished.
“C-Corporal Trixie knows not where the filly is... But...” She trailed off, looking off to the side.
“Yes?” I prompted. She looked back to me, and then immediately looked away.
“Corporal Trixie saw the filly over there a few minutes ago. She may have moved.” She said quietly, staring at the ground and pointing to her right with a wobbling hoof. I looked to where her hoof was pointing. I started to walk in that direction, and the ponies parted around me like water would part over a rock. All of the ponies were just staring at me in shock. I looked around to try to see the filly. I ended up in front of a wooden column. The column had ropes around the lower part of it. I closed my eyes, trying to listen to the whispers of life. I could sense a small entity on the other side of it. There was broken glass everywhere on the floor, and I crunched on it as I cautiously turned to look at the filly. I could see the filly’s white neck hanging limp over the ropes that bound the rest of her body to the pillar. Her oily black mane hung down over her face, obscuring her eyes. I leaned down to look her in the eyes.
“Show me your face.” I said softly. She slowly turned her head and the hair parted to show bright, neon green eyes. I gasped slightly as I recognized Celestia’s private spy. She looked up at me dumbly for a second, and then urgency flushed her expression.
“Save me, brother!” She whispered urgently. I said nothing, but continued to stare into her bright green eyes. I had no idea how the powerful, muscled colt that kidnapped Spitfire could now be this small, delicate filly.
“We ghosts have more to us than just summoning and the flow, Edwin. Now save me! Hurry up!” She whispered, pulling the thought from my head as if I had spoken aloud. She pulled and struggled against her bonds. This filly was a most intriguing creature. I thought about why she could not just teleport away.
“They rubbed manticore venom on me. Stop staring and untie these!” She whispered in an aggravated tone.
“I thought that manticore venom was incredibly deadly.” I said, remembering my brush with death in the grassy clearing. The filly’s eyes grew much wider than they already were.
“Applied topically, it is harmless and only annuls magic. How did you survive?” She asked, her eyes alight with curiosity.
“I was struck by lightning. And get out of my head!” I growled. She grinned mischeviously.
“It’s something that you pick up along the centuries. Saved my coat more times than I could count. Now help me get out!” She started struggling again, twisting under the tight ropes.
“You may be too dangerous to be set free.” I reasoned. She stopped struggling and looked up with surprised green eyes.
“You could be an Angelic, for all I know.” I continued. The small white filly turned her head and spat on the ground. She turned back to me, enraged.
“Do you really think that I would conduct myself with that filth?!” said the filly in a tinkling voice. I would have laughed if the moment was not so serious.
“Why were you torturing the mare?” I inquired.
“I was trying to drive the Angelic from her. If you hurt them enough, they leave their host. Then you can kill them.” She said, her brilliant green eyes burning with passion.
“You monster.” I replied, feeling sick to my stomach. The filly smiled out of the corner of her mouth.
“It’s not like the host could feel anything. And it would have worked too, except that the orange mare has a great pair of lungs. Her screaming woke up half of the Palace. Push comes to shove, and I end up tied to a pole.” She finished, sighing. I thought about what she said.
“You aren’t really a filly, are you?” I asked. She nodded.
“I am, it’s just that I usually make myself bigger with magic. And a colt. It’s slightly more intimidating than a little angry white filly screaming at you.” She said. My brow arched over one of  my eyes, finding this too odd to be true.
“Do you have a name?” I asked. The only other ghost that I knew had no name.
“Sebastian.” She said. I stared at her incredulously.
“It makes more sense being a gigantic colt with the name Sebastian than with a name like Twinkle or Moonshine or something silly like that! Celestia's fleas, they sure do name foals oddly these days.” She retorted to my gaze. I shrugged and righted myself, rising back to my full height. I walked away from the small filly. I could hear her grunting and struggling against her ropes.
“Save me!” She shouted, drawing the glances of the ponies that were brave enough to approach when I was talking to Sebastian. I chuckled as I walked away from her.
“No. I might take you to the Colt later, though. He wouldn’t be too happy with you drawing attention to our kind. It would be interesting to watch what he would do.” I said. This made her settle down for a moment. I walked on, the only sound being my hooves crunching on glass. The filly started to scream.
“GET ME OUT OF HERE EDWIN! YOU OWE ME! THAT ANGELIC WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. All of the ponies that gathered around her in my absence skittered away, crunching the glass underhoof. I only laughed.
“I’ll think about it. That manticore venom will wear off soon... About another three hours or so?” I said jokingly, walking away from her. She screamed incoherently as I strode up to Antony.
“Do you know where they are keeping Second Lieutenant Spitfire?” I asked seriously.
“Yes, in the upper dormitories.” He replied.
“I need you to take five of your best unicorns there and make sure that nothing leaves her room or enters it. If Spitfire herself tries to leave, do everything that you can to stop her. Don’t try to injure her physically, but if she tries to leave, you will stop her. Do you understand me, Antony?” I asked, making sure that he would understand.
"Edwin... I am a captain too, and I will not be ordered by my-”
“Do you understand!? She is a danger to herself and others and she may attempt to hurt somepony or something. She is an extremely violent pony and will take any means necessary to exit that room.” I said with the utmost seriousness.
“Edwin, please! She is only a pegasus.” Antony retorted.
“And I am an earth pony, Antony. And look at what I can do.” I argued back.
“What do you think that she might do?” Antony asked, slightly worried.
“Any number of things. She may go through a killing spree through the whole Palace, She could make the Palace explode, She could set us all on fire. The possibilities are endless. She may even try to make a run on the throne room or even...” I trailed off, finally reaching the logical conclusion. Every time I saw the Angelic, He only wanted one thing. He did not try to kill me the first time, only because he wanted something else. He tried to kill me the second time, only because I was in the way. He tried to eat me the third time, only because I was an obstacle. He only wanted one thing. He only needed one thing. And I knew exactly what it was.
“Edwin? Edwin! Are you okay? What will she do? What will she do?!” He was shouting, completely oblivious to the disaster that was happening as he spoke. I looked back to him, filling my mind with energy from the flow, knowing that I would need every bit of it that I could get.  I could feel everything around me more intensely as my brain was flooded with the power. I could even slightly feel the emotions of the ponies around me. They were mostly curious, but with an undercurrent of fear.
“Try to steal Luna.” I said bluntly.