The Ghost of Coltistrano: Restless Peace

by EthanClark

Chapter 9: “I am your princess, and I command you all to stop your fighting this instant!”

It was the single, most intimidating collection of books Rarity had ever laid eyes upon, surrounding her like the imposing walls of a fortress. They formed the border of the intricate laboratory space she stood in. Her eyes followed the flow of liquid through glass tubes and beakers, the fluttering flame warming the concoction, its glow illuminating the carefully sorted array of crystal lenses orbiting around the crime scene evidence and Rarity failed to hide just how impressed she was. Its observer hummed.

Violet eyes peered through the lenses. Her wings twitched at her sides, announcing every excited chirp from the alicorn princess. Rarity giggled at the sight but kept an eye above her, watching the thin space between the shelves and the darkness beyond the skylight, a feat impossible for the purple alicorn now moving to another instrument.

“Rarity, I just want to say thank you so, so, so much for asking me to help you. You never tell me anything about your adventures outside of Ponyville and, I mean, come on! This stuff is fascinating!”

“I’m glad you appreciate it, Twilight, but keep this between us, yes?”

“Don’t worry, Rarity, a true friend would never compromise another friend. Even with the law… which I guess is aiding and abetting, isn’t it?”

Rarity laughed again, watching Twilight shrug off the thought and return to the crystal lens. The chirps and hums soon stopped.

“This substance is strange, and I mean really strange. You say you found this on one of Applejack’s trees?”

“My partner did, yes.”

“You mean… that partner?” Twilight bounced in place, biting a lip.

“Twilight, please, this is important.”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, you’re right. I’m just excited. I mean, I’ve heard of alchemical solvents, and I’ve brewed hundreds before, but this stuff is almost specific. This bark sample you brought is almost untarnished, like the solvent couldn’t hurt it, but the sample from Canterlot is far more volatile. Come, take a look.”

Rarity approached the complex instrument and placed an eye to the lens. In an instant she recognized the difference between the two samples. The bark was dull, dried, with a barely defined border between the affected area and the rest, but the vial from Canterlot was still viscous and emitted the same noxious odor she had become accustomed to.

“Have you any idea how this could be?” Rarity pulled her head from the lens, rescuing herself from the urge to gag, and met with Twilight’s stern face.

“I’ve been thinking about that, myself. I first wondered if it could be a difference of living and nonliving matter, but they are both living samples, biologically and magically. This suggested something more… disturbing. Watch this.”

From a small box beside the display, hidden beneath a clutter of papers and baubles, Twilight removed a sizeable purple shape, coarse and lagged along some edges. She slowly guided it past the lip of the vial and made contact with the substance. Much to Rarity’s surprise, nothing happened.

“I don’t get it,” Rarity stated plainly.

“This is one of Spike’s scales. Now, he’s a dragon, and the substance becomes inert just on contact with it, but you found this on a pony, right?”

“Right?”

“So, that could mean this particular solvent was brewed especially to hurt ponies. I’m scared to think who would even dare to make something so foul.”

“How revolting! To think somepony would stoop to such depths. Please tell me you know something more, something that can help us find who concocted such a wretched thing?”

“Ah ha! That’s what this is for,” Twilight chirped, pointing toward the boiling array of beakers and tubes.

The princess stepped away, floating a quill and parchment to herself. Rarity watched as Twilight lost herself to a trance of watching the fluids flow across her vision and mindlessly writing notes upon the page, stopping only to correct her spelling or check her results. Again, Rarity found herself looking toward the ceiling. In the dark corners of the laboratory, just above the towering shelves, she could make out a shape, hardly moving and silent. It was watching her.

“I’ve done it!” Twilight’s announcement caused Rarity to jolt. “I’ve gone ahead and made a list of what, most likely, are the ingredients for the potion. Be careful, though, some of those are pretty, um… oh, I’ll just say it. Necromancy. It’s necromancy.”

“‘Razor powder, manticore fur, shavings of a weeping stone…’ Truly? Twilight, I haven’t even heard of half of these.”

“Not many ponies have. You don’t just find a weeping stone. I mean, I had to create my own, and it took me two weeks! Whoever is making these solvents has to be exceptionally powerful.”

“Or exceptionally wealthy,” Rarity muttered. “Now, what about the spells. I’m sorry we don’t have more than just our testimony.”

“Well, from the way you described it, they’re still powerful spells, but anypony skilled enough could cast them. Shockwaves are almost basic considering stuff like this.” Twilight gestured enthusiastically at the samples beside her.

“Of course.”

Rarity stewed in her own thoughts, focused on the list of ingredients in her hoof. Silent seconds passed before she noticed Twilight peering over the page, subtly, slightly bouncing again.

“Something wrong, dear?”

“Huh? No, no I’m good. ‘A-Okay’, just… are you going to meet with him now?”

“Who?”

“You know…” Twilight’s dragged out comment made Rarity chuckle.

“Yes, I am.”

“Can I meet him! I’ve read all of the stories, but you never tell me anything. Is he tall? What about his favorite color? Can he actually see into the hearts of ponies?”

“Twilight, darling, I keep it secret because he asks me to. He’s not a very public pony, as I’m sure you guessed.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s like getting to meet Daring Do, or Starswirl. Okay, maybe not Starswirl, but definitely like Daring Do! Can I meet him, please?”

“Twilight…”

“Please?”

Rarity shook her head at her friend’s stubbornness. Smiling, she looked up to the ceiling and spoke.

“Darling, will you be joining us?”

Twilight held her breath, eyes darting around the room, trembling. Rarity cocked an eyebrow before a familiar gust of air gently brushed her mane. Both ponies watch as a shadowy figure lept from the bookshelves, shrouded in his signature cloak, circling the perimeter of the room before gently landing on all fours beside them.

“Holy smokes, it’s you!” Twilight exploded like a boiling teapot. “I mean, of course it’s you, nopony else glides around quite like that. And you were watching us! That’s really, really creepy, but I can’t believe I finally get to meet you! Can I have your autograph?”

From the middle of one of the shelves flew a hefty tome, Hard-Trotting Heroes and Other Tales of Extraordinary Capers. He restrained the nervous laugh building in his chest, and after a pause Rarity nudged the Ghost to pass a quill to him. Aged pages flipped aside to a blank space now bearing his signature.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Rainbow Dash will be so jealous when she hears I got to meet you. So you were, just, up there? Listening in on us?”

“I was.”

“So cool…” Twilight’s gushing brought a tiny smile from the Ghost, perceptible only to Rarity. “But here I am, freaking out when you’re here for serious work. You must have questions.”

“Only how somepony could gain access to these substances.”

“Yeah, that’s the disturbing part, isn’t it? Solvents are pretty easy to make, especially in large batches, but this has been altered. This stuff reeks of dark magic, and the ingredients don’t come easily.”

“Are they harmful?”

“Not really, not on their own. Well, except the razor powder because it’s, well, sharp, but otherwise no. You see, alchemy is a lot like basic chemistry. Adding ingredients together to make something new. Solvents are especially easy, and good for alchemy, because they naturally take in new ingredients, or ‘solutes’, as well as whatever magic the alchemist wants to pour into the solution. This stuff though? Oh my Celestia, is it evil! Necromantic power is one of the most dangerous types of magic in the world, and when distilled into a potion like this it could be catastrophic if done incorrectly. You need multiple ponies, a scryer on stand-by, maybe a familiar if you’re going for the ‘evil, druidic White Tail’ look, but you hardly see any of those and I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Twilight sheepishly blushed, watching the Ghost and Rarity chuckle at the sudden outburst of knowledge.

“Yes, you are, but you’ve been more than helpful, Twilight.” The Ghost gave her a warm smile.

“Phew! I’m sorry, but this stuff is just so strange. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“And what you said is true,” Rarity interjected. “About the amount of effort this needs?”

“Oh yeah, definitely. Unless you’re somepony like me, or a princess, you probably need at least two other alchemists to help control the mixture. And that’s low balling it.”

“Which means, darling, the Ragged Mare must be well connected.”

“Another conspiracy,” the Ghost groaned.

“Twilight, do you know of anypony who could achieve this? Anyone?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Rarity. There are dark mages in Equestria, but this stuff… there’s not much more diabolical than a potion that exclusively hurts ponies.”

“I agree. Rarity, if the Night Guard are in Ponyville then we need to find them before the Ragged Mare does.”

“I can’t agree more, and maybe end this madness.”

“Hey, guys?”

“And maybe set a trap for her. Subdue the Night Guard and lure her in?”

“Not in your condition, we’re not. You’re still nursing some nasty wounds.”

“We might not have a choice. She won’t be able to take the four of us.”

“Guys? Hello?”

“Fine, fine, I just want this nightmare to be over. But I’m billing you for all the thread-”

Rarity was cut off as she and the Ghost were pulled to Twilight in a wreath of the princess’ magenta magic. Their heads were craned upwards, forced to witness the small figures soundlessly walking along the skylight. Twilight spoke with a quiver.

“I found your Night Guard.”

The skylight shattered to pieces under the force of a silent explosion, followed by blasts of light around the trio. They staggered back as the bat ponies descended into the room. The exit was blocked, glass raining down upon them, and a heavy strike sent the Ghost flying against the towering shelf, threatening to topple it. Once the light cleared he was met with a familiar face.

“There you are!” Glint brought a second blow upon the Ghost, colliding with his jaw.

“Everypony is secure, sir,” said a second guard. “Ready to sweep and retrieve.”

“Do it.”

Of the dozen Night Guard in the room, three exitted. The Ghost could see through blurred vision Rarity and Twilight restrained, runed rings around their horns, and thrashing against their captors. Another blow reminded him of Glint’s presence.

“Not so tough when I’ve got the drop on you, huh?”

“Sure, buddy,” the Ghost spat, reaching into his pocket. “Too bad I’ve got my own back up.”

The faint chime of the sending stone reached Glint’s senses. Only a second after did a furious gust of wind fill the room, staggering the guards, with Gilda ramming into two from above with an ear-piercing screech. All eyes turned to the imposing gryphon as she tossed her prey toward the recovering crowd, giving the Ghost a chance to send a hoof into Glint’s exposed chin.

“This is your chance to surrender, Glint.”

“Damn monster!” Glint tackled the Ghost against the shelf, cracking the wood.

In the chaos, Rarity ensnared her captor in her hooves, violently sending him over her hip and slamming him into the glass-ladened floor, now glaring to Twilight’s. Her kick shattered his muzzle with a sickening snap. Together they freed their horns and joined the fray.

Glint’s wild strikes glanced off the Ghost’s wispy form. He ducked and weaved through the volley and drove a knee into the bat pony, caught by his guard and forced to the ground, toppling the Ghost in a takedown. They rolled over each other before the Ghost launched his cloak toward the blocked door to pull himself free.

“I know how to beat you, Ghost. Get in close so you can use that damn rug!”

“And how’s that working out for you?”

A warcry announced Glint’s charge, but the Ghost wrapped himself in the cloak and nibly rolled over the stampeding commander and sent him tumbling into a bookshelf. He launched the limbs of cloth, grabbing his enemy’s legs and swirling him around the room, watching him soar and crash against the far wall. The Ghost flinched, though, at the thin streak of green from behind him. When he turned, he watched the blocked exit door begin to bubble and melt. The Ragged Mare stepped through.

“Get back, Ghost, they’re mine!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Sharp pin pricks dotted his cloak, each one stinging his hide with its force. The verdant volley cast its glow across the room. Rarity released a blast of her own but was knocked to the floor by two guards, and Glida slowly became buried in the rest of the intruders, who desperately tried to restrain her wrath. In the center of the tempest Twilight stood as a blinding radiance poured out from her horn. She arose, sheathed in light.

“This violence will cease! I am your princess, and I command you all to stop your fighting this instant!”

Her voice was inescapable, and sure enough the combatants below began to yield. Then came a second glow. Golden, glittering, and slithering its way from the tip of Twilight’s horn to all parts of her regal, alicorn form, then tightening with an almost audible snap. Twilight whimpered as her wings folded back. Her fall to the floor was mirrored by a second pony, stepping casually on small disks of magical light as he descended to the center of the library. The Night Guard formed around him.

Rarity's whole body froze, her very breath trembling at the sight while Gilda’s eyes snapped to the invader’s position, sharp as knives and punctuated by a deep growl. The Ragged Mare found the bravery to charge him, if not for colliding with the force of a glimmering, golden barrier surrounding him and the ruined workstation.

The Ghost could only stare. Heat rose within him. His vision narrowed.

“Are you the best Celestia could find?” Shield Wall spat. “How underwhelming.”

“Oh, heavens, Twilight!”

“I’ll put you back in the ground, jackass!”

“Murderer! Murderer!”

The tempest of anger scattered against Shield Wall’s smug grin. He looked down on them from his position, standing overtop Twilight, digging one of his hooves painfully into her neck and drawing a yelp from her. Even the Night Guard seemed stunned by his entrance and stood in awe, cheering.

Only the Ghost was silent. Searing heat surged through his limbs, singing the tips of ears. His teeth ground together. Before him stood the very object of his torment, aged as he was, shooting his wicked grin into the Ghost’s very soul, punctuated with a sharp scoff.

“Forgive my tardiness, I was of half a mind to arrive, at all.”

“You should’ve stayed dead, then. Let Twilight go!” Rarity’s brilliant blue magic gathered in her horn.

“Miss Rarity, I have so relished the opportunity to remind you of your place. Siding with them, pursuing vanity instead of progress. A traitor to your kind.”

Rarity leaned her head forward, preparing to release the blinding ball of power, before another strained yelp from Twilight stopped her.

“Careful, Miss Rarity,” Shield Wall said. “All it takes is one good squeeze and the dear, disappointing princess’ neck will snap, with you to blame. Please, give me a reason.”

He snickered, watching Rarity’s anger drain from her face before turning his attention to the prone mare just outside his barrier. The Ragged Mare stood, seething.

“I don’t have any reservations, you bastard. Let me in that wall so I can kill you, myself!”

“I know not what I did to earn your ire, but idle threats will win you nothing but pain and death.”

“Like what you gave him? You killed my brother! Murdered him in cold blood and left me with nothing!”

“Your brother?” Shield Wall’s brow furrowed. “Do you know just how little that narrows it down? Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, am I to remember every pitiful soul who stood against me? Though perhaps I would, were he truly worth this measure of vengeance.”

The Ragged Mare charged the barrier, flailing her hooves against it’s twinkling structure. Shield Wall laughed at the futile display.

“Adorable. Perhaps I will force the truth from you. I do so enjoy tales of my conquests.”

“Enough!”

Shield Wall’s grin immediately vanished upon hearing the voice, cast from the cloaked figure at the edge of his vision, approaching the barrier grimly. The Ghost’s amber eyes locked with the molten gold ones of his enemy.

“Let her go, Shield Wall.”

“You...” He released his hold on Twilight, stepping forward to meet the Ghost. “You must have known Luna would fail to hold me. Did you enjoy my little parlor trick?”

“Hardly.” The Ghost’s voice came out as a ragged hiss.

“A tad wrathful, are we, whelp? Of course, you must have wished I was dead after the demolition of the prison. Did you celebrate my demise?”

“Not nearly enough, now I’ll only tell you one more time. Let her go.”

Shield Wall paused, eyes squinted and scanning the dark form before him, grinning.

“You are angry… and yet you try to hide it. I can see it. You are trying to provoke a fight from me, make me risk capture, yes?”

“I am,” the Ghost stated. Shield Wall stared back at him, baffled.

“Far braver than I gave you credit for, confessing your scheme in the midst of battle, as if I would let you spring this little trap. I am holding the cards. Now you, and your traitorous friends, will surrender to my authority. I will only ask once.”

The Ghost’s eyes drifted to Twilight, writhing on the floor and staring back at him. Slowly, he shifted to the side, and with a gloved hoof pointed to the Ragged Mare, who still shook with anger before them both. He forced himself not to smile.

“She tried to kill Abby.”

Shield Wall froze. Rarity and Gilda stood with their mouths agape, focusing on the Ragged Mare, watching the Ghost’s scheme unfold. Golden eyes locked onto the fugitive. The unicorn behind the barrier tensed every muscle in his body. His deep, navy coat began to strain under the building pressure of Shield Wall’s strength, and the Ragged Mare could almost feel the murderous glare upon her face.

“Did she, now?”

“Just yesterday.”

“And how, pray tell, did she plan to murder her?”

“The same way she did to your cronies.”

Shield Wall’s breath was hot steam as it leaked from between his teeth, jaw clenched, hooves scraping the floor in anticipation. The war against his own bloodlust was on display for all to see. Now, at the edge of his discipline, he turned to the Ghost.

“I know when I drop this barrier, you will fight me, too.”

“Sounds like a ‘win-win’.”

The Ghost glared at his enemy, watching his face twitch, waiting for the fruit of his words. It took only a few seconds for the barrier to become a blinding dome of golden light, bursting out across the room, singeing the floor and scarring the walls. Roars and thundering hooves announced Shield Wall as he lunged for the Ragged Mare. He took her to the ground, ignoring the Ghost as he went to free Twilight from her bonds. Rarity rushed to his side.

“Darling, are you crazy? You’re not trying to subdue them both at once, are you?”

“I can handle them if they’re fighting each other. Get Twilight to safety. Gilda!”

Gilda pushed upwards with her wings and broke free from the mound of guards around her, floating to Rarity and Twilight. Bat ponies desperately fluttered on damaged wings away from the scene.

“Get Rarity and Twilight a safe distance away, then get Gorn. We can’t let them escape.”

“Dude, those are two of the baddest ponies in Equestria. You’ll die if you fight them now!”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now, go!”

The Ghost stood and charged into the raging battle behind the group. Gilda loaded Twilight onto her back, keeping one eye on the brawl, urgently looking to Rarity expectantly. Rarity paused, but urged Gilda out of the room anyway as the Ghost joined the fray.

His cloak reached out and ensnared their heads. Now covered in the oppressive darkness, they flailed and shook violently against the impervious bondage. Shield Wall wrapped a hoof around the length of fabric and pulled, knocking the Ghost off balance and threw a kick into his side. The Ragged Mare followed the pained grunt and did the same, urging the cloak to release them. There they stood, in a circle, waiting for the other to make the next move.

“I gave you a chance, Ghost. We could’ve taken him down, together.”

“Enough! Whatever scheme this is, it ends right now!” The Ghost wrapped a hoof in his cloak.

“You will learn, my dear, this new Ghost is hardly any fun,” Shield Wall sneered.

“And you will go back to prison!”

“Not with his head, he won’t.” The Ragged Mare lowered her stance, verdant energy seeping out from her hood. “Shield Wall dies tonight!”

“Be quiet, impudent witch! Continue to defy me and you will be silenced... just like the whelp’s dearly departed mentor.”

The Ghost swiped with his cloak, but the Ragged Mare met Shield Wall first, with a violent scream. Blow after blow landed against him, rippling the magical barrier protecting him from the devastating strikes. Her hoof was snagged by the cloak and pulled back. The Ghost launched himself forward, using her as leverage, and threw his rear hoof into Shield Walls face and shattered the barrier with a thunderous boom, flinging the Ragged Mare against the wall.

Shield Wall held his stance and struck the Ghost’s midsection with a firm jab, enough to knock the wind from his lungs. He bellowed as his strikes bounced harmlessly off the cloak’s surface. Once the barrage ended a familiar gloved hoof rose from between the gap in his defense, deflected with a foreleg before Shield Wall took a knee to shoulder, the Ghost cartwheeling to amplify the force of impact. Across their vision flew three glowing vials that crashed beside them. Shield Wall lunged away as the Ghost followed his extended cloak upwards.

The Ragged Mare fired shot after piercing shot into the chaos. The bubbling floor and its putrid glow illuminated her form, and from just between the tarnished wraps the Ghost could see a face, jagged teeth barred between jet black lips. A blast knocked him from his place, clinging to the wall, and sent him tumbling to the floor, colliding with broken glass from the skylight as one shard flew against him with a golden trail.

A frantic foreleg wrapped around Shield Wall’s shoulders as the Ragged Mare yanked him closer to the puddle of solvent. He struggled against her strength, but from within her rags he spied the glint of a dagger, which he used to pierce the mare in the soft flesh of her abdomen. She cried out. The same sharp hum announced her retreat, and the two watched the furious beating of wings. Thin, translucent, with a subtle sheen to them. The three managed to recover, limping back into a treacherous circle.

“Those wings…” The Ghost’s eyes were fixed on the Ragged Mare.

“My, my, that is unexpected.”

“A fitting end, you scum,” the Ragged Mare spat. “That one of the hivefolk, a race you mercilessly hunted, would be your end.”

“You’re a changeling, and he killed your brother…” The Ghost shifted his gaze between his two foes, giving a silent gasp. “He killed your brother. The brother who taught you the knife trick, the same one I know. You… you’re Darrox’s sister. You’re Alate.”

All humor left Shield Wall’s face at the revelation, and they both watched the changeling pull back the tattered hood from her face. She was old, very old, with jet black chitin lining her wrinkled scowl. The crooked horn atop her head stood tall, chipped in some places, and several more spots of damage trailed down her form, leading to a patch of colored chitin the Ghost recognized, though missing its luster. She huffed and lowered her stance, but Shield Wall’s poisonous cackle chipped at her resolve.

“How beautiful! Another bug, an enemy of Equestria, to squash beneath my hoof.”

“No, you won’t.” The Ghost stood between them both, the cloak raised to defend her. “No one is dying.”

“I don’t need your protection, Silver. He killed my brother, your mentor! He deserves to die.”

“Not like this, Alate,” he said, spinning to face her.

“How else, another prison? They broke him out and you know he can do it again. I’m only doing this because you won’t”

“You’re murdering innocents.”

“I’m getting vengeance for Darrox!”

“And I’m honoring his memory by making sure you, both of you, don’t kill each other out of pain and spite.”

“How dare you!” Alate flared her wings, a spurt of magic crackling from her horn. “I know what happened, and he died defending you. He believed in you, and for what? You won’t end the battle passed on to you. Did you love him, at all?”

“I loved him! But I won’t taint his memory with blood!”

“Then he was never family to you!”

“She makes a strong argument, whelp. I almost agree with her.”

“Quiet!”

The cloak snapped and ensnared Shield Wall’s throat. As the Ghost twisted the length of cloth it began to constrict, tighter with each twist, until his prey’s face became blush. The cloak coiled even tighter, the smirk on Shield Wall’s face fading.

“This is your fault! You took me from my home. You killed my father. You poisoned Abby for your own twisted ends. You killed Darrox! I can’t even say my own name because of you! I hate you!”

Shield worked to coil the cloak around his forelegs and pull, but his efforts were met with another tight squeeze and the cloak, tensed like a muscle, lifting him up and slamming him back down onto the scorched floor. The Ghost’s vision was tunneled on his enemy. He hardly even noticed the lingering form approaching from behind.

“Then end it, Silver,” Alate said, hushed, carefully stepping forward. “Take your life back. Put Darrox’ soul to rest.”

“H-He wouldn’t… I c-... I…”

The second corner of the cloak whipped at Alate’s face, knocking her back as the Ghost unleashed a vicious, desperate scream that echoed through the entire castle. The cloak relinquished its hold on Shield Wall and let him fall. He coughed violently and gasped for air to soothe his burning lungs. The Ghost slumped to his knees, gasping.

“I can’t… I can’t…”

He could barely see Shield Wall as he limped from the scene, ascending through the skylight on steps of golden light, Alate holding onto the wall beside her. Blood surged through his skull. The heat and throbbing blurred his vision as he swayed in place upon his knees. Her words traveled to near-deaf ears.

“You have failed him, Silver Spade.”

The Ghost found himself alone when his vision returned, sitting atop shards of glass and surrounded by wreckage. Pain flooded his limbs when he stood, stumbling a few times to get it right, gripping the only untarnished table in the room for support. Cool night air drifted down from the open skylight. It kissed his open wounds as to remind him he was, in fact, still alive. Then, a voice called to him. Her gentle hooves wrapped around him, breaking his fall as he lost his grip on the table.

“Darling? No, no, no, please be alive. Please be… darling!”

“Holy smokes, dude! Lemme help you, Rares, I- guh! He’s bleeding, like, a lot.”

“Help me stop the bleeding. Be careful. Twilight! Twilight, please call somepony… please! Silver, please say something.”

“The ship’s here, we can get him to-”

“No! We can’t risk moving him. Silver, please just… not like this. Not like this.”