Phantom Syndicate

by BluePhoenyx

First published 14th of October, 2017

Ghost are haunting Equestria and only a few ponies can fight them. The Phantom Syndicate are up to the challenge, but is it more than they can handle?

When Phantom Syndicate, a group of three young ponies, receives a letter from Princess Luna about a ghost problem, they will have to fight harder than ever before to keep their lives, and their souls, from being torn to shreds.

Heavily influenced by Lockwood & Co. by Jonathon Stroud

Chapter 1: Don't let it touch you

The icy cold night bit at Mirage’s cheeks and nose. Her hood and cape did little to block the chill, so her body resorted to shivering. She huffed, sending a wispy puff of her own warm breath into the air around her. Mirage’s gaze moved around at the sleeping village. The streets were dead quiet. Not a single pony was awake, save for her friends in the house behind her. It was just a stake out, but Mirage was already on edge. She scratched at the ground with her hoof, listening carefully to the night. The moon was full and nearly at it’s peak, so despite the village being dark and quiet, it had a gentle silvery glow about it. The wind was just a persistent breeze that rustled the trees enough to make it hard for Mirage to listen to what she truly needed to; signs of an otherworldly presence.

Mirage had always been acutely aware of paranormal noises since she was a young filly. She could hear their words, hear their movements, hear their cries if she listened closely. Not many ponies could even recognize a ghost for what it was. For most, it was a vase suddenly falling off of the shelf, or just the faintest ethereal image in the corner of their eye. To Mirage and her team, they were real corporeal things that if you were touched by, you were good as dead. Mirage snorted angrily again as she watched the building.

“Come on,” She groaned in annoyance. “I’m freezing my tail off here.” Her ears flicked forward suddenly then swiveled to catch the noise of glass breaking in the house she was backed up against, then heavy hoofsteps coming down wooden stairs. There was a blood-curdling shriek, then a moment later, a slam from the front door. Mirage started to turn the corner which would lead her to the front door.

She slammed her hooves into the ground suddenly and tried to backpedal as the towering figure of a translucent, hazy stallion appeared before her. Even if he hadn’t been floating a few inches above the ground, he’d have towered over Mirage by a good two or three heads. His coat, though shrouded in a mist of unearthly fog, was a gray color and his mane, which was short and stuck straight up, was little more than white tufts of steam rising from his back. His right forehoof was broken, rotting actually, and hanging by a single, precarious strand of flesh and sinew.

“Have to run” The pony said in a bone-chilling whisper.

If any other pony beside Mirage or one of her teammates had been there, they wouldn’t have heard anything, but the stallion’s presence was so strong that they would have seen him clearly. Mirage stood with her mouth wide open in shock at the stallion before her. They were mere inches apart but Mirage could feel the air around her becoming so cold, that the moisture in the air was on the verge of crystallizing. Her flesh tingled, her fur stood on end, every muscle in her body snapped taught in fear. Her hood fell back; Under her coat, her fur was periwinkle blue with a deeper, darker blue mane and tail. Streaks of black sliced through the dark blue of her mane and hung in a swirl over the left side of her face. Her unicorn horn was wrapped in stalks of lavender that pulsated in a dim purple glow in the presence of the spirit. It was well documented that lavender, silver, iron, salt, magnesium, and light were all weaknesses to the spirits of the other-world, but in small quantities, such as the three stalks wrapped around the unicorn’s horn, they would be nothing more than an irritating mosquito bite to the more powerful of specters. The spirit of the stallion before Mirage seemed completely unfazed by her meager protection. It sensed the life in her, sensed the warmth of her body and the vibrancy of her soul. The stallion reared up on it’s hind legs, then began to drop down, as if to crush Mirage. Mirage clenched her eyes shut, turning her head away from her fate and raising a hoof in a pitiful attempt to stop the inevitable. There was a small explosion and a burst of light, then a shower of flaming salt and magnesium. The blast shattered a hole in the center of the stallion, sending it into a smoky haze. It screamed like a whistle being murdered. The spirit floated away on the night breeze, leaving Mirage unharmed. The unicorn dropped her hoof and nearly collapsed as she tried to catch her breath and regain her composure.

“Mirage!” A friendly, deep, (and most importantly) living, voice called out to her. It was the leader of their little band, flying down from his vantage point above where the ghost stallion had been. He landed among the burning remnants of his bomb and inspected her quickly.

He was a little taller than Mirage, but not by much. He had a beautiful stark white coat, with brilliant white wings. His mane was deep black, and his wide, kind eyes were just as dark. They were deep depths of cool and inviting darkness that beckoned you to become lost in them whenever you stared too long. He wore a dark brown vest with several pockets on the outside and several more on the inside. Each pocket held some type of tool he could use in their missions. Mirage had cast a spell on it when they first became partners to hold more and larger items than it could alone. All he had to do was simply think of the item he needed and reach into the pocket to grab it.

“Ugh..” Mirage groaned as she wobbled to her hooves. “I’m fine Spirit Glider, What happened to the ghost?” She asked, using her magic to fix her mane.

“I blasted it into a million pieces,” Spirit Glider said confidently while puffing his chest out in pride. Mirage puffed a quick breath out of the corner of her mouth, causing her forelock to jump up and out of her face.

“And did you find its Tether?” She asked, ignoring his confidence. Spirit Glider deflated at the question.

“Uh.. no. We didn’t find it.” Spirit sighed, his ears drooping back. “We didn’t even see where the ghost came from. We were looking for Death Spots”

Death Spot was a trade term used to describe the unearthly image of where the deceased had ultimately died. Only Ghost Fighting ponies could see these spots, and most of the time it appeared before the ghost replayed its final moments, like the ghost Mirage had encountered had done, or whatever activity the ghost was involved in during its haunting. Finding a Death Spot was usually a good start to determining why the spirit was still in this world. Ghosts hardly ever stayed just to stay: They usually had some unfinished business of some kind or another, typically it had something to do with the cause of their death.

Ghosts weren’t a new concept to ponies, but they had just been harmless incorporeal annoyances; moving furniture, screaming at night, breaking things and the like. Nothing like what they could do now. If a pony didn’t have “the sense” as Mirage called it, then a ghost in the home was a deadly and dire situation. No one was truly certain when ghosts began killing the living. Many blamed Discord since he had quite literally turned everything upside down so why not raise the dead? There was no true evidence for it though and of course, the legendary draconequus would deny any part in the matter. Even with his denial, there was evidence in the ancient texts that suggested killer ghosts were a much older problem. Since there have been killer ghosts though, Ghost Fighters have been right behind, ready to protect the living and fend off the dead.

Mirage groaned again, tilting her head back as if to get away from Spirit’s very words. “You never look for the Tether!” She scolded loudly. She sighed, calming herself down enough to wrap her cloak around her again to keep out the cold.

“Did you hear it say anything that might help?” Spirit asked, almost completely ignoring her scolding as if it were just a normal part of their conversations. He began walking her back towards the front of the house as they spoke. Mirage shook her head.

“All he said was ‘Have to run’ in the creepiest voice ever. I swear they do it on purpose sometimes.” Mirage sighed.

Mirage suddenly felt the icy, unmistakable chill of a ghost’s presence again. She stopped mid-stride, whipping her head around to try and find the source.

“He’s back.” She whispered, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.

The unicorn tried desperately to calm herself down; Ghost fed readily on emotions, especially fear. Just to the left of her, out of the very corner of her eye, she saw the white mist of a ghostly presence. She spun around rapidly, then her heart sunk. Spirit Glider was staring at her, not yet fully registering what she had told him. Behind him, the ghostly stallion was hovering just inches above him. The specter opened his jaws, far wider than any pony naturally could then leaned over Spirit as if to eat him in one gulp. Mirage reacted quickly, letting loose a spell that created a large puff of lavender pieces into the air. They were just the pieces and the dust that would occur if someone crumpled some lavender, but it was enough to distract the specter long enough for Spirit to notice. Spirit ducked down, rolling across the ground to avoid the ghost.

A small wisping tendril of ghostly haze caught Spirit’s left shoulder as he rolled. Instantly the spot bubbled and hissed as if acid had touched it. His shoulder began to turn blue and swell, sending intense searing pain through him. He cried out in agony as he came out of his roll, then looked down at the wound, inspecting the infection progress. It was slow, but clearly spreading through his shoulder. Blood dripped down his shoulder with a mix of yellowish fluid. He didn’t have time to tend to it though, so he reached into one of his vest pockets while the ghost writhed in agony.

“Locket! Loooockkeeeett!!” The ghost wailed in its deafening screech. Mirage felt her ears throb in pain at the noise. She used her magic to create more lavender bombs to keep distracting the ghost while she waited for Spirit.

“Mirage move!” Spirit yelled. Mirage leaped away as a thin, silver chain net flew over the top of the ghost. It landed right on the mark and as soon as it touched the ghost, it wailed in pain again but only for a few seconds before completely disappearing again. The chain net fell to the ground, still sizzling from other-worldly phasm. There was a brief moment of silence before Mirage rushed over to Spirit’s side and inspected his shoulder.

“Spirit quick, the salve,” She said quickly. Spirit dug through his pockets, producing a small jar of light green ooze. He quickly took a hoof-full and slathered it onto his burning wound. It stung, making him grit his teeth against the pain. Slowly, the blue tinge to his shoulder receded and left an eight-inch patch of blue around his shoulder. It still ached horribly, but he was able to put weight on it and move around easy enough.

“At least it wasn’t a full powered Mark,” Spirit said, chuckling to try and make light of the situation.

Mirage rolled her eyes and pushed her hoof lightly onto the wound, making Spirit squeak in pain. “Keep talking tough guy.” She chuckled.

Spirit smiled once the pain subsided then put the jar away. “I think this is the first time you ever saved my life.” He said, twitching his tail happily.

“Oh please! More like hundredth!” Mirage argued, laughing at him. They turned in unison back towards the front of the house.

A donkey walked out of the house, followed by a short, stubby, and overall heavy earth pony. He was gray with large white patches all over him as if someone were painting a white pony gray and missed a few spots. He had a white blaze on his muzzle that reached back and seemed to bleed into his purple and white mane. He had thick, black, square-framed glasses that he was constantly adjusting with his front left hoof. He was huffing and with every two steps the donkey took, the smaller pony was taking three or four just to keep up.

“ What happened? Did you two see where it went?” The smaller pony demanded in an adenoidal, wheezy, tremulous voice.

He was breathing heavily, evidently coming from trotting down the stairs at what must have been full speed for him. He was breathing so hard and sweating so much that when he hit the cold night air, his glasses had instantly fogged up. He tried to wipe them clean with clumsy hooves until Mirage took the glasses with her levitating magic and a soft cloth then began cleaning them off. The smaller pony squinted his eyes in a futile attempt to see without his glasses on.

“He came right around the corner and nearly touched me,” Mirage said, placing the pony’s glasses back onto his face. He quickly spread all four hooves in an animated act of shock.

“He what!?” The pony demanded. Mystic Quill had a high pitched nasaly voice that was annoying at first, but it grew on you after a while as a sort of sweet funny accent...so long as he wasn’t yelling at you, then it was downright irritating. “Mirage! You should know better!”

Mirage rolled her eyes and puffed out some air from the corner of her mouth again to flick the curl of her forelock out of her face, which had rested back down over her left eye. “Yeah well, Spirit got marked” She tattled like a scolded child.

“Hey!” Spirit whined in a childish manner. Mirage giggled and nudged him with her flank.

“He what!?” Quill nearly screeched. His voice broke and his glasses slanted on his nose again. He quickly fixed them before continuing his barrage. “Spirit are you okay? Did you use the salve? How far did the infection go?” Quill rambled quickly.

Spirit laughed at Quill and lifted a hoof, ruffling the pony’s purple hair and messing up his glasses. “Calm down Quill.” He said, his voice dripping with confidence. “We’re all fine, right Mirage?” He asked turning to the mare, who nodded her agreement.

The donkey had been sitting patiently, by her patience was running thin. She cleared her throat and walked over to the group of ponies while Quill fixed his mane and glasses. “I hate to interrupt,” The donkey said firmly, though Spirit felt that she was, in fact, more than happy to interrupt them. “But did you take care of the ghost?”

“As we mentioned before Mrs. Jennet,” Quill said professionally to the donkey. He closed his eyes for a moment and adjusted his glasses again. “This was merely to observe the spirit and determine its threat level, its behavior, and potentially its Tether or what ties it to the living world. This is the first step in the guaranteed removal of an apparition done by our company, it is always a two-day process..”

Quill had always been the more professional of the three of them and usually handled the customers while Mirage and Spirit were busy cleaning up or tending to their injuries, which happened more often than not.

Mrs. Jennet was so taken aback and impressed by the young pony’s respectable handling of the situation, that she couldn’t read between the lines to what Quill was really saying; “shut up and let us do our job”.

“So you’ll be back tomorrow?” Mrs. Jennet asked. “I’ll have to spend another night in that house with that thing?”

“We’ll give you some wards to help keep any further misconduct by the spirit at bay, but yes you will need to spend another night in the house with it,” Quill said, once again fixing his glasses.

“At least morning isn’t too far off’ Mirage grinned playfully. Quill shot her a harsh glance. She responded with a shrug and pretended she was inspecting her cloak for salt burns.

“Alright..” Mrs. Jennet agreed begrudgingly. “Same time tomorrow night then?” She asked.

“Of course,” Quill said politely and followed her back into the house to provide her with several necessities to keep spirits away.

Once he was finished decorating Mrs. Jennet’s house in various items proven to ward off spirits, Quill came back with the rest of their supplies and they made their way back to their current base of operation. It was a modest little home, three rooms plus an office, two bathrooms, (one of which belonged almost exclusively to Quill to “keep messes to a minimum”) a living room and dining room and kitchen, all of which only separated by furniture and some low walls. The dining room they had converted into their second office and consultant room. There was a large comfy couch, though not as comfy as the one in the living room, a small coffee table and a coffee and tea bar to help settle nervous clients.

Behind the furniture, was a desk that Quill used to document their findings and write up receipts and quotes for customers.Every wall also had a bookshelf full of research books, scrolls, documents and newspaper articles regarding ghost sighting, protection and capture methods. Piles of books were also strewn about the floor, making walking around a bit of a chore. Mirage collapsed rather un-mare like onto the couch in the living room. She stretched herself out and lifted a cookie from the jar on the coffee table with her magic, munching happily on it. Hunting always made her famished and if the boys weren’t careful, she’d eat their meals as well. Spirit Glider practically threw himself into his favorite recliner just across from the couch, then used his wing to cover himself in his favorite Wonderbolts blanket.

He laid his head down on a lumpy old pillow. Quill, of course, headed straight for the dining room to record their late night adventure, but he would soon return to the living room where his own chaise lounge would be waiting for him with his own favorite blanket and a stack of books within a short pony’s reach. None of the group slept in their respective bedrooms often. They preferred the company of the team over the loneliness of their bedrooms. Still, if one of them had a particularly exhausting night or was injured, then they would go to their room and sleep it off, sometimes for three straight days.

“Good job tonight everypony,” Spirit said behind a long loud yawn. His tail flicked happily under his blanket and he nestled deeper into the recliner, looking like a dog curled up in their dog bed.

“Yeah, good job,” Mirage said after finishing off her cookie. She yawned, then curled up on the couch with a blanket and pillow of her own before quickly falling asleep.

Quill stayed up well into the night, as he usually did, reading. He read mostly history books, books on ghosts, and books written by famous ghost hunters on catching ghosts. He spent little time reading about anything else besides ghost, although Mirage had noticed on a few occasions that in the wee hours of the morning, Quill would be muzzle deep in a Daring Do book or some other type of adventure book, no doubt imagining himself as a brave and heroic pony, leaping across treacherous ravines in single bounds or rescuing a young beautiful mare from a dismal fate. Quill eventually went to sleep just a couple hours before the sun began to rise. Just as the sun peaked playfully over the mountains to the east and splashed a golden thin ray of light into the three friends’ home, a letter came wafting through the slight crack in the window frame and landed elegantly on the coffee table in the living room. It was addressed to the three ponies by name and signed

“Princess Luna” ...

Chapter 2: More Questions Than Answers

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to Skitter for editing and everyone in fimfiction discord for their help and support. enjoy!

Spirit Glider was the first of the three ponies to wake, which was typical of their little group. He stretched each limb, popping each joint as he did, including his wing joints. He climbed out of his recliner, and then stumbled sleepily into the kitchen, never noticing the letter on the floor even as he stepped on it with his back hoof. Spirit Glider sleepily went to the pantry doors in the kitchen. He raised his left forehoof up to open the doors to the pantry then violently ripped his shoulder away, as if the doors had been on fire. He yelped sharply as he pulled his . Spirit’s shoulder was still heavily bruised, and was even bleeding again. The bleeding wound was swollen, bright red against the blue tinge of ghost toxin, with some yellow pus dripping from the wound. He groaned, then set his hoof down before using his right hoof to open the pantry door instead. Next to the box of oats he had been planning on eating, were some bandages and “Mark Ointment”. Spirit Mirage and Quill were constantly misplacing medical supplies, which were fairly important in their line of work, so their solution was to just keep supplies everywhere.

Spirit Glider stood up on his hind legs to reach the bandages and ointment, then used his wing to squeeze some of the ointment into his hoof. Mark Ointment was medicine created a good fifty years or so go to combat the outdated medicines used before. It was far more effective at stopping minor Marks from spreading. It wasn’t a substitute for seeing a specialist medical pony, but it helped. Spirit Glider was a fairly fast healer though, and minor Marks usually went away after a few ointment treatments and some good food. Once he had the ointment on the wound, which stung horribly, he used his wing to try and hold one end of the bandage while clumsily trying to wrap the other end around his wound. After the third or fourth attempt, and failure, of trying to wrap the wound, he was about to give up. Suddenly, the bandage was covered in a lavender glow, then levitated up and wrapped itself around Spirit’s wound. A piece of fabric tape floated over, then stuck itself to the bandage to ensure said bandages wouldn’t fall off. Spirit watched the bandages move, before looking up to see Mirage standing just inside the kitchen. She was smiling, even though she looked like an absolute wreck. Her wavy mane was a frizzy mess from sleeping on the couch.

“What died on your head?” Spirit asked, grinning at her.

“Your charm.” Mirage shot back, then giggled a little.

She walked over to the kitchen counter, picked up an apple with her magic, then levitated it to her mouth so she could take a hearty bite.

Spirit glanced at her up and down. Her beautiful coat, though a little messy, was soft and bright, and her eyes captivated him. He smiled at her, then went back to trying to grab the oats he had originally been trying to reach out for. Mirage watched him struggle for a moment, then glanced down at the floor briefly. She did a double take when she noticed the letter under Spirit’s hoof.

“Hey,” She said as she let her magic grip the letter and began pulling at it. “Lift your hoof.”

“What?” Spirit Glider asked. He looked down at his hooves and saw the letter. He pulled his hoof upwards, letting the note slip free into Mirage’s magical grasp.

Mirage brought the letter forward, then opened it. Her large purple eyes scanned the page before reading it laloud for Spirit.

“Phantom Syndicate Inc, you are cordially invited to the Canterlot Palace for an urgent meeting for all Ghost Control companies and freelancers. Please bring all employees of your company. Food and drink will be provided, Princess Luna” Mirage read.

Spirit Glider leaped into the air, then did a backflip, using his wings to catch some air as he hit the apex of his loop, then dropped back down onto the floor. He let out a loud, hissing “yes!” as he landed, then he glided over to Mirage and hugged her tight.

“We got a formal invitation from Princess Luna herself!” He cried out. “I wonder what it’s for, she wants all the companies?” He questioned as he trotted around the kitchen.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Mirage mumbled as she turned the letter over, showing the location and date. “She wants to meet midday? But she’s the princess of night, why would she want to hold the meeting at noon?”

“Maybe so we can go back to our duties later?” Spirit suggested.

Mirage simply shrugged and set the letter down on the counter. “Guess we’d better start packing then,” She hummed. “At least we’ll get to see Canterlot, I’ve never been there.” She added with a wide, excited smile.

“You’ll love it. My parents live there.” Spirit Glider said. “We’ll leave tomorrow after we finish helping Mrs. Jennet.”

“Shouldn’t you take it easy?” Mirage asked, concern thick in her voice. “Your shoulder still isn’t completely healed yet.”

Spirit lifted his shoulder up and tried to move it. It was stiff and stung but it wasn’t as bad as before. “I’ll be fine,” he said, waving her off with a wing. “Besides, the princess says she wants everyone, so I have to go, right?” He argued.

Mirage shook her head and smiled. “You’re crazy” She chuckled. “I’m going to wake Quill up then get our bags ready,” she said, then turned to leave the kitchen.

Spirit finished his breakfast just as Quill woke up and joined him in the kitchen. Quill stumbled sleepily into the fridge before opening it and taking out a bottle of juice, then went to the pantry to grab a bag of chips.

“Chips? At ten in the morning?” Spirit teased, grinning at the sleepy pony. “Are you sure you can handle that?”

“Shut up Spirit,” Quill grumbled, then sat down at their kitchen table to eat. “Mirage said you wanted to tell me something?”

Spirit Glider grinned proudly, then scooted the letter across the table. “We’ve been invited to Canterlot” He boasted. “By Princess Luna herself!”

Quill’s sleepiness evaporated instantly as he picked up the letter. “Are you serious?” He asked, then paused. “Wait... does that mean Crimson Iron will be there?” He asked, then groaned before dropped his head onto the table.

“Aw come on Quill, i’m sure your sister doesn’t care that you pretty much left her company for mine.” Spirit said.

“Does your brother forgive you?” Quill shot back. Spirit Glider lost his muster.

Spirit Glider and his brother, Bright Moon, hadn’t spoken in a long time. They had originally started a Ghost Fighting company when they were young after a tragic incident took their parent’s lives away. Spirit was never clear about why, but at some point, he and his brother had a falling out and went their separate ways. Rumor had it, the falling out had been over a ghost mare, but no one was firm on the details. Spirit never talked about it other than the simple “We just had a stupid fight and I left”. That was the most Quill had ever gotten from him anyway.

“I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you,” Spirit mumbled after a moment of awkward silence. Quill adjusted his glasses again.

“Yeah well. I’m sure your brother has missed you too.” Quill said. Spirit nodded in agreement. “So,” Quill continued, “the meeting isn’t until the day after tomorrow, should we figure out how to deal with Mrs. Jennet’s problem?”

Spirit Glider stretched his wings out and worked his injured shoulder a little. “That’s probably a good idea.” He agreed. “Chalk board?”

Quill nodded. They walked upstairs to Quill’s room, which was essentially a library filled with books and research papers, along with various scrolls. In front of Quill’s largely unused bed, there was a large chalkboard covered in chalk dust and doodles. Spirit wiped them away with a quick flick of his wing then picked up a chalk stick with his feathers, writing on the board as he spoke aloud.

“Alright, we didn’t find the Death Spot or the Tether, but we know what it does around the time of the haunt,” Spirit said.

“First, there’s the echo of glass shattering,” Quill recounted and Spirit drew a broken vase in possibly the most cartoonish way possible. “Then it runs down the stairs, and out the door, slamming it behind him.”

Spirit drew a cartoon ghost running down a flight of stairs and out a door. He drew a speech bubble above its head and wrote “Have to run” inside.

“Then it disappears if there isn’t anypony around to try and Mark,” Spirit Glider said. He paused as he tried to think of the events of the night before. He set the piece of chalk down and paced the room. Quill studied the board as if Spirit’s less-than-detailed drawings held some sort of clue.

“Mirage is sure that’s all she heard it say?” Quill affirmed “Have to run?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Spirit answered while he paced. Quill walked over to some old newspapers and took out a stack of them. He set them down on a table on the other side of the room and began searching through them.

“I did some research a few days ago,” Quill said, ignoring Spirit’s muttered ‘you always research’. He found the newspaper he was looking for and found a picture of the stallion the ghost had been when it was alive. “It says Lucky Risk was a wealthy pony that made his fortune in real estate. He was found dead in his summer home ten years ago. Neighbors said they heard running and a loud thud, then a door slam but thought maybe he was just running late to meet a client. They never saw him leave the house.” Quill read.

Spirit wrote the highlights down on the chalkboard then paused. “Wait, a thud? Did we ever hear a thud?”

“No I never heard one.” Quill said. “Mirage didn’t mention one either.

“When a ghost is playing out its actions before death every sound that lead up to that death usually follows it. So how come we never heard a thud?” Spirit asked.

Quill didn’t answer him. He went back to the newspapers as he tried to think of all the possibilities. Suddenly he felt his heart sank as he found another newspaper article with a picture of Lucky Risk at his wedding with a beautiful mare wearing an extravagant wedding gown. “What if he wasn’t the one that made the noise?” Quill asked. He took the paper over to Spirit.

Spirit looked at the picture and the article, then noticed the unmistakable gold chain of a necklace around her neck. The pendant was under her dress but it triggered a memory in Spirit.

“Locket” Spirit whispered and slammed his hoof on the picture. “Locket! The ghost yelled out Locket before it vanished last time!”

“Locket?” Quill asked. “What’s a locket have to do with anything?”

“Mrs Jennet said the ghost didn’t start causing problems until she was cleaning out the attic and she found a box of old things. I bet that mare’s locket is in the box and he’s Tethered to it!” Spirit excitedly called out. He began drawing like a mad-pony on the chalkboard, doodling various ponies and events.

“Mrs. Jennet cleans out her attic, finds the locket, and somehow touching it triggers his ghost to come back and start haunting,” Spirit rambled quickly. “Okay. So on the night of his death, his wife is at the house when he dies and leaves that locket for some reason. And nopony saw her leave?”

“Article said she claimed she wasn’t there that night, she was visiting family in Trottingham.” Quill said. “But how could she have been there if she was at Risky’s summer home too?”

“I don’t know... Quill, go to the archives and see if you can find any information on their relationship or possible suitors, anything you can get your hooves on.” Spirit said. “Mirage and I are going to see if any of his old friends that are still in town that can answer this.”

“But why?” Quill asked. “We know what and where the Tether is why don’t we just go and Bind it?”

“Because Quill, if he wasn’t alone the night he died, and his wife claims she wasn’t there, but her locket was still there, then I think he was murdered and if he was, then that means we can solve a murder case as well as a ghost case” Spirit replied excitedly.
Quill adjusted his glasses again. He was never one to turn down some research, it was a favorite pastime of his, but sometimes he wondered if Spirit Glider’s ambition to constantly find out every detail of a ghost was the reason they were lucky to get a case a month.

“Alright Spirit,” Quill sighed. “Try not to get arrested again, I can’t afford the bail.”

“Of course you can’t” Spirit laughed “I don’t pay you enough.” With that, Spirit was out the door in search of Mirage to explain the situation.

Quill shook his head. He packed a few things in his saddlebags, then made his way outside and to the local library to go through their archives.

Mirage trotted happily under Spirit Glider as he floated above her. She loved the brisk chill of the autumn air and wearing her favorite scarf and cape. It wasn’t as cold as the night before so she kept the cape open. She looked up at Spirit Glider, who never seemed to get cold as he dipped and rolled in the air. She always loved watching him fly around. Spirit looked so carefree when he was flying.
“Alright, so who are we going to see first?” Mirage asked as she looked around the town.

Bridle Falls wasn’t a small town, but it wasn’t a big town either. It had originally started as a pitstop along the river bank for boats traveling around the mountains nearby. Then, the settler ponies began building roads through the mountains and around them. Mirage had grown up there, whereas Spirit Glider and Quill moved there a few years ago. Even though the town wasn’t huge, Mirage hadn’t met Spirit and Quill until last year, when she was looking for a new company to work for. It wasn’t like she had many options in Bridle Falls, there were only 5 Ghost Fighting companies in town not including Spirit Glider’s. She ended up getting offers from all the companies, but chose Spirit’s, because there was only two other ponies so complications with supervisors and co-workers were probably going to be minimal.

She liked her town, and the surrounding area. It had a large shopping center, a huge library and even a few hotels. Tourists liked to hike the surrounding mountains and Bridle Falls, the waterfall for which the town was named, was just outside of town and a huge tourist destination.

Yes Mirage loved her town, but she couldn’t help but feel that maybe it was getting a little predictable. Mirage had a strong sense wanderlust, an urge to get out and explore, so she was probably the most excited out of the three about the trip to Canterlot.

Spirit Glider landed beside her and trotted at her pace. “Lucky Risk’s sister Sapphire Crown still lives here,” Spirit answered Mirage’s question. “If anyone knows anything about his death, she will.”

“Are you sure about this Spirit? Maybe Quill is right and we should just Find and Bind,” Mirage said, using a common saying in the Ghost Fighting business.

“Where’s the fun in that Mirage?” Spirit asked. Mirage rolled her eyes.

They walked through the marketplace, glancing at the wares the sales ponies had to offer. Most of the jewelry was iron or silver these days, and lavender was a popular accent; It was commonly turned into fibers and sewn into clothing. Doing so weakened the power of the lavender against ghosts, but it still offered some minor protection, and was mentally reassuring. Lavender was also a new popular food flavoring and seasoning. It hadn’t really been proven to guard against Ghost Marks, but it had medicinal benefits, which made healthy ponies that much harder to kill. A healthy pony could survive a good two or even three hours of being Marked by a level 1 or 2 Ghost with no treatment around. That was typically enough time to get to help at least.

Spirit watched her look at the jewelry. He had never seen Mirage wear Jewelry, her only form of accessorizing was wrapping stalks of lavender around her horn or her cape. She was a very practical unicorn and Spirit liked that. He noticed her gaze linger a little longer than usual on a particularly fancy brooch a pony was selling. It was a beautiful golden brooch with purple and green gems in the shape of lavender stalks against a black metal circle. The brooch was actually a container with a hole drilled through the center allowing for fresh lavender to be threaded through.

“You go on ahead Mirage, it’s just up the road and it’s the big house on the left.” Spirit said.

‘Where are you going?” Mirage asked, raising her brow suspiciously.

“I gotta check on something.” Spirit said and flew up into the sky without another word, hiding among some low hanging clouds.
Mirage sighed, flicked her forelock out of her face, then trotted on towards the house.

Sapphire Crown’s house was the largest in the whole town. Mirage had gone by this house before but hadn’t really paid much attention to it. She looked around for Spirit Glider briefly before knocking on the door. A butler answered and looked down at her and her garb.

“May I help you?” He asked in a bored, dead tone.

Mirage cleared her throat and stood a little straighter. “Yes, I’d like to speak to miss Sapphire Crown please. It’s an urgent matter,” She said as politely as possible.

The butler looked down at her and raised her brow. “Madam Crown is very busy, if you’d like an audience with her, please make an appointment.”

“Sir, this is very important business” Mirage said. She used her magic to lift her cape up to show him her cutie mark. It was of a bright blue, gaseous, smoky orb with a large tendril of wispy smoke trailing off. The orb had a swirl of magical aura behind it to show Mirages particular talent in using her magic against ghosts. The orb was a typical representation of a soul called a will-o-wisp. Will-o-wisps were what Ghost Fighters nicknamed “ghost beacons”. They hung around areas where lots of deaths occurred or some type of huge tragedy happened. They also liked to hang around where a ghost was staying so they were typically considered the first sign. Regular ponies could see them occasionally as faint lights, so they made great calling cards. Most Ghost Fighters had a depiction of a will-o-wisp in some form or another and in a large range of colors, usually correlating to their specific talent in catching ghosts, as their cutie mark.

The butler saw the cutie mark and he went a little pale as his eyes widened. “Please... Come in miss..?” He asked, trailing off slightly.

“Mirage.” She answered and lifted her head up in pride. She let the cape drop then trotted into the house.

Quill sat at a desk in the public library. He had a good four foot pile of old, dusty scrolls and newspaper articles. He was digging through them and scanning their words, looking for anything that could give him any clues.

“Hello Quill.” A pony said quietly. She was an older mare, a nice cream color with her brown mane tied back in a bun. She had sharp, red glasses on and wool knit shirt on to help with the cold. Quill looked up at her and smiled.

“Oh, hello Book Worm.” He said happily while he adjusted his glasses. “How are you today?”

“I’m doing great,” Book Worm smiled. “On another case?” She asked. Quill nodded.

“Do you know anything about Lucky Risk and his wife?” He asked. “We’re trying to contain his ghost.”

“Lucky Risk’s ghost?” Book Worm asked in surprise. She quickly sat down across the table from him. “I can’t believe he’d become a ghost after all these years. He liked everyone and never had any enemies. He prided himself in always keeping good relationships with everyone.”

“That’s all I’m finding too.” Quill sighed. “I can’t find anything, not even anything on his wife” He said. “Who was she anyway?”

“I don’t really remember her much, just that her name was Crystal Blossom and that they got married overseas.” Book Worm said.
“No one here ever met her, and we only saw her in pictures, but they made a cute couple in those pictures. You can’t tell because most of the pictures in the newspapers were in black and white at the time, but when I went to Lucky Risk’s home he had pictures of her everywhere, they had the same colored mane and tail, and even the same coat color too. And it was clear she was remodeling the place too.” Book Worm rambled.

“No one ever met her? Did she never go out?” Quill asked, raising his brow at the unusual information.

Book Worm paused, bring a hoof to her chin as she thought. “No, no one ever saw her in person.” She said.

“Where was she from?” Quill urged. Maybe he had a lead here.
Book Worm thought for a moment.

“You know Quill, I don’t think we were ever told” She answered.

Quill sighed in defeat. He laid his head on the table and let his eyes drift across the articles. His eyes rested on the picture of Lucky Risk and his wife. He looked at the mare’s beautiful dressed that covered everything on her body. She was wearing make up, a lot of it by the looks of it, especially around the cheekbones. He looked at the locket again as it rested around her neck. He glanced over at Lucky Risk. He was dressed in a fancy tuxedo and had a flower in his lapel. He noticed a mark on the photo at Lucky Risk’s neck but ignored it. Suddenly, he stiffened and stared at the photo for a long time. He suddenly pushed some books over, scaring Book Worm, and dragged a large magnifying glass over. He aimed it down at the picture and studied it for a good long while before crying out in joy.

“That’s it!” He yelled, breaking the silence of the library. “I figured it out!” He jumped down from his chair, snagging the newspaper off the table on his way down. “I’m taking this Book Worm!” He called as he ran out of the library as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Book Worm watched him run off with her jaw hanging down.

Mirage waited patiently in Sapphire Crown’s foyer. She had been given a glass of cider to drink, which she sipped at politely. The front door opened and she heard the butler talking to someone. A few moments later, Spirit Glider came trotting inside.

“There you are.” Mirage scolded. “Where were you-?” She was cut off when Spirit Glider took the basic clasp off and replaced it with the lavender brooch she had been looking at in the market place. Mirage blushed brightly as she looked down at it. “Spirit..”

“I saw you looking at it, and you did save my life yesterday.” Spirit beamed. He blushed a little at the awkward silence and kicked his hoof a little to look busy.

Mirage smiled. “It’s perfect Spirit, thank you.” she said happily. Spirit beamed at her then looked up as Sapphire Crown came walking down the stairs. She was a light blue color with a white and blue mane.

“Good afternoon ponies,” Sapphire said politely. “How may I help you today?”

“We were wondering if you could answer some questions about your brother.” Mirage said. “We’re working on a case and-”

“And it's his ghost?” Sapphire asked with a sigh. She walked over to an old globe on a stand and opened it, revealing a small bar on the inside with some more ‘adult’ ciders inside. She poured herself a glass then started drinking.

“Uh, yes. I’m sorry, I know that the news can be a little unsettling.” Mirage said.

“It’s quite alright. Lucky had his demons, I assumed he’d become a ghost eventually.” Sapphire replied as she stepped lightly across the tile floor to a table.

“Demons?” Spirit and Mirage asked in unison.

“Oh yes,” Sapphire answered. She set her glass down and sighed. “It was a well kept secret, but Lucky had some.. problems.” She stained. “He would disappear for days at a time, then come back and act like nothing had ever happened. It was like he had no idea he’d been gone at all.”

“Really? That’s odd. How come?” Spirit asked. Sapphire shrugged.

“We never knew,” She replied. “But when he met that wife of his it got worse. He’d be gone for months instead of days.”

Spirit and Mirage looked at each other in confusion. “What can you tell us about his wife?”

“I never met her,” Sapphire answered, waving a hoof as if to shoo the question away. “I didn’t even get invited to the wedding. Lucky and I had a fight about that. He claimed he didn’t even remember the wedding but I think it was because she wanted to keep it private.”

“Why do you say that?” Mirage asked.

“Why else would he not invite his sister?” Sapphire asked. “Anyway, that’s all I know,” she said.

“Well, we appreciate your time.” Spirit said. “Thank you, we’ll do everything we can to put his spirit at rest.”

Sapphire nodded. “Thank you,” she said and smiled faintly at them as they left.

“Well now I’m even more confused.” Mirage sighed, but smiled as she looked at her new brooch.

“Yeah, me too,” Spirit sighed he looked up as he saw Quill, galloping desperately towards them and trying hard to keep the newspaper in his mouth from flying off.

“I gof if! I gof if!” Quill cried out as he ran. His glasses were starting to fly off but he stumbled to keep them on.

Quill fell down in front of them, holding up the newspaper to keep it from falling. Mirage picked it up with her magic.

“What, Quill?” She asked and looked at the article. “We’ve seen this already.”

“Look at the picture. Closely,” Quill said. “Look at their necks.”

Spirit and Mirage leaned in together and squinted as they looked at the picture. They were both quiet for a moment, then...

Something clicked in their minds.

They nearly dropped the paper as the three ponies looked at each other, two of their jaws hanging open at the sudden realization...

Chapter 3: The Winds of Change

Spirit Glider, Mirage, and Quill were in Mrs. Jennet’s attic going through boxes in a desperate, frantic search. They had figured out the donkey’s ghost problem hours ago and been looking for the Tether ever since with no luck.

“Guys its getting dark,” Mirage said, her voice wavering as she glanced out of the attic window.

The gentle sunlight of the setting sun was drifting through the attic window, causing the room to have a golden glow and warm up just enough to make Mirage’s cloak somewhere between necessary and warm.

“I know, I know!” Spirit snapped, buck kicking a box over as he did and sending the pile crashing onto the floor.

Mirage and Quill both flinched at Spirit’s sudden burst of rage. Mirage hadn’t seen Spirit so upset before, he was always so calm and confident.

They had turned the entire house upside down looking for the locket. Mrs. Jennet had said she remembered clearly putting it back into one of the boxes upstairs, but when they looked it was gone. Spirit looked out the attic window, watching the sun lower on the horizon. The time of ghosts had begun and they were out of time.

“I can’t believe a pony like Lucky Risk had multiple personalities,” Spirit said, smiling despite their imminent danger. He was clearly trying to make light of the situation. “It’ll make for a heck of a story when it gets published, I just wish we had more clues as to how and why he was killed for it.”

Mirage nodded her agreement. “Maybe finding the locket will help us.” She sighed in frustration, tossing an empty box aside.
“Wisps!” Quill yipped suddenly, pointing a hoof across the room. Mirage looked over and watched as the little balls of gaseous energy began appearing. They were floating just above the ground and rising. Most were a soft blue color with a white center, but they ranged in colors and size as well.

The will-o-wisps themselves weren’t frightening—a pony could walk through them unharmed—but if they were here, then so were ghosts. Nopony knew why, but the more of them there were, the more powerful the ghosts.

There were dozens in this room. They floated around aimlessly, waiting for the energy they sensed. Mirage held her breath as she watched them.

Spirit seemed almost terrified of them as he backed away from the growing crowd, but he did his best to keep his cool. Quill watched them as well for a moment then turned back to the boxes, quickly trying to find the locket. Mirage started looking again as well but paused. She glanced back at the floating balls of flame-like light. They seemed to be, converging almost, onto one area of the room.

“Hey Spirit, look,” Mirage whispered so as not to cause any alarm. She pointed her hoof to the steadily growing crowd forming around one spot of the room in particular.

Spirit looked up and tilted his head. He walked over to the group of wisps then found where they were concentrating. He looked down at the floorboards and felt one of them. It shifted slightly under his hoof.

“Mirage,” He said quickly. “Come here and lift the board up for me.”

“On it,” Mirage said. She trotted over, her hooves tapping lightly on the attic floor. She used her lavender colored magic to lift the loose board up.

Spirit had to wave the sudden onslaught of wisps away from the hole so he could see into it. His heart sank, but his mind buzzed with new questions. The locket was laying on a bed of old, discolored lace scraps along with some makeup and a hoof-mirror. Mirage came up behind him.

“Okay, so there’s the locket but why?” Mirage asked.

“I’m not sure,” Spirit said. He reached into the hole to pick up the locket, but suddenly searing, crippling pain shot through his shoulder, trailing into his spine and sitting like a massive stone in his gut. He stumbled backward onto his hind legs, grasping his shoulder with his free hoof.

“Spirit!? Are you okay?” Mirage gasped.

She rushed to his side as he dropped back down to all four legs. Mirage unwrapped his bandages with her magic. His wound was bleeding again and dripping down down his leg.

“I must have.. Have reopened it when I.. leaned down.” Spirit choked.

Quill trotted over quickly, taking some fresh bandages and gauze out of his saddlebags once he was close to Spirit.
“I’ll take care of it,” Quill told Mirage. “You Bind the locket.”

Mirage nodded and turned back to the locket. She had to push the wisps away again so she could see it. She enveloped the locket in her magic and started to levitate up, but it sparked suddenly. Her lavender colored magic turned black as ink then a burst of electric magic sent her flying back into the opposite wall. She screamed as she flew, and slammed into the into the wall with a harsh thud. A box fell over from the force of the hit and fell on top of her when she hit the floor. Spirit was by her side in an instant, letting the bandages trail behind him as he ran over.

“Are you alright?” He asked breathlessly. He helped her to her hooves then gasped. “Mirage your horn!”
Mirage groaned and rubbed her head with a hoof. “What? What about it?” She asked. She glanced up and saw just the faint tip of her horn beyond her mane.

It was scorched black. She squeaked and rushed back over to the hole, looking at herself in the mirror that was sitting inside. Half of it looked like someone had set it on fire. She groaned and began trotting in place. Her panic was cut off mid-trot though when she noticed something in the mirror. She leaned in and started to look closer. There was something like smoke going across the glass. No, not across, inside. Smoke was swirling inside the mirror. Suddenly her reflection’s eyes glowed bright red. Mirage gasped and began to walk backward, but as she took steps back a sudden burst of foggy mist shot out of the mirror in a pillar. The fog formed the shape of the ghost stallion from the night before was floating above them, but something was different about it. His eyes were bright glowing red, and his jaw was filled with sharp fangs.

“That’s... not the ghost of a pony with multiple personality disorder,” Quill said, backing away from the ghost.

The ghost hissed as it stared down at them. Spirit’s shoulder began aching again, but he tried to ignore it as he too backed away.

“What do we do Spirit?” Mirage asked quietly. Her heart felt close to exploding from her chest as it pumped rapidly with adrenaline.

“I.. I don’t know,” Spirit said. He slowly used his wing to open a pocket in his vest. He watched as the ghost slowly began approaching them. He felt his feathers wrap around the cold silver net in his pouch.

The ghost seemed to sense the silver. It turned its gaze over to Spirit and hissed at him. Spirit froze when it began to advance. Mirage held her breath as she waited for an order from Spirit. She couldn’t think of anything as if her mind had been wiped clean of any good ideas.

It was little Quill that brought her out of her fog. He yelled suddenly, following a helter-skelter throw of a magnesium bomb. It exploded mid-air, sending a rain of burning magnesium and salt over the ponies below. Mirage cried out as a small ember burned through her cloak and onto her back. Her cry was overpowered by the undead screech of the ghost as it writhed under the powerful repellent. Spirit’s wings spread out, covering Mirage to protect her from the fiery rain.

“Quill!” Spirit yelled. He tossed the silver link net over to Quill as he yelled.

Quill caught it and bolted under the ghost, dodging wisps of smoky ghost plasm as his short legs propelled him forward. The shower of fire stopped and the ghost regained itself. It noticed Quill rushing by and began to descend on him. A magical blast of lavender burst against the ghost’s back, making it scream again. It whipped around to see Mirage standing defiantly before it.

“You. Burnt. My. CLOAK!” Mirage snapped and sent another blast of magic at the ghost.

It screeched and started for her, but before it could reach her, she used her magic to make a circle of iron chains appear around her. The ghost bounced directly into the barrier the chains provided. It crumbled against the barrier and pulled back, screeching again. Mirage cringed at the ghost’s face, which looked like someone had taken a bite out of it.

“Hey, this way!” Spirit yelled down at the ghost.

Spirit was flying above it and let a rain of salt pour down over the ghost. The ghost’s horrific wail broke the glass in the attic window, sending shards of it raining down into the garden. Just as the salt hit the ghost, Quill finally managed to get through the wisps and dropped the silver net over the locket. It hissed and fizzled, making the ghost writhe against the ethereal pull binding a Tether caused. It began to move backward as if something was physically dragging it. It struggled and clawed at the floor, leaving deep grooves in the wood floor until it seemed to be sucked into the locket itself. Spirit flew down, passing Quill an iron box lined with silver from his vest. Quill tossed the locket and silver net, into the box then quickly snapped it shut. Mirage rushed over, magically locking the box.

Mirage panted, sitting down to catch her breath. Spirit landed beside her and Quill collapsed, keeping a hoof over the box. The three of them were quiet for a moment then began laughing with the desperate joy that comes from coming so close to death and surviving.

“I thought we were goners for sure that time!” Mirage laughed.

Quill stood up, putting the box in his saddle bag. “Were you yelling at me or the ghost about your cloak?” He asked.

“Both!” Mirage laughed.

Spirit laughed with the pair but suddenly his laugh faded. He wobbled slightly before falling over. Quill caught him quickly and Mirage put her hooves on him to try and steady him.

“Spirit?” Quill asked, helping the pegasus lay down on the ground.

Spirit groaned weakly, He came around slowly and looked up at his friends. “Ugh, yeah,” he mumbled. He looked down at his shoulder, which was bleeding still. “I guess I didn’t realize how bad it was hurting.”

“Come on, let’s get you back home,” Mirage said gently and helped him stand on his hooves again.

“I’ll take the Tether to the post office, you two go home.” Quill agreed.

As Spirit stood up, he looked around the room. “We’ll have to pay for all these damages.” he groaned. The room was covered in scorch marks and the grooves from the ghost scratching at the floor. Nothing had caught fire thankfully, but there was still extensive damage, including the glass window.

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Mirage said. “Come on, put your wing on my back.”

Spirit nodded and did as she asked, leaning against her as they walked back to the house. They passed by Mrs. Jennet, who was asking a million questions a minute, but Mirage ignored her. She knew it was unprofessional, but Spirit came first. Quill could handle her just fine without them.

****

As they walked, Spirit seemed to be getting worse and worse. Mirage looked at his shoulder, and the deep, red stain his blood had caused on his normally brilliant, white coat. There was a bit sized area of red around the actual wound, surrounded by a deep purplish bruise that spidered like a broken mirror around that. It didn’t look any worse than when he’d originally got Marked, but it was clearly still bothering him. They walked in silence for the most part, except for when Spirit had to stop and take a breather. They made it back home, and Mirage helped Spirit up to his actual room instead of his recliner. She helped him take his vest off then took a damp cloth she’d snagged from the kitchen, placing it gently on his wound to clean it. Spirit winced but didn’t complain.

“You’re getting really good with your magic.” He commented after a few moments of painfully awkward silence.

“What do you mean?” Mirage asked. She floated over a roll of bandages and some gauze that were, conveniently placed, inside Spirit’s closet. She found some Mark Ointment as well and started applying it to his wound.

“That last blast of magic you gave it before it hit the barrier,” Spirit replied behind a hiss of pain. “It hurt it pretty bad.”

“Yeah well... I think it was just a one-time thing.” Mirage said. “I was just so worried something was going to happen... It was weird Spirit. I’ve never seen a ghost go from a level two to a three like that in just one night.”

“Yeah, it was weird..” Spirit mumbled. “But I don’t think it's unheard of... I mean, it obviously happened.”

Mirage sighed as she wrapped his shoulder up in new fresh bandages then covered him in a blanket. “It was still weird.” She mumbled. “At least we got the Tether..”

Spirit nodded tiredly. He found a comfortable spot for his leg to rest then sighed softly into his blankets. “We’ll have to catch the early train if we want to get to Canterlot before noon... I was hoping to catch the last train out today and stay with my folks but that left hours ago.”

“Canterlot? In your condition? Spirit you need a doctor right away.” Mirage argued firmly. “I let you ignore it because I knew we still had a job to do, but you need a professional to take care of that”

“I’ll be fine,” Spirit answered. “I just need to sleep it off.” He looked up as Mirage glared at him with a sour look on her face. He sighed. “I’ll see one in Canterlot after the meeting.” He bargained.

Mirage rolled her eyes. It was the best she could hope for she supposed. At least the doctors in Canterlot were some of the best in all of Equestria. “Alright, but I want you to go see one the second it's over got it?” She said firmly.

“Yes, mom.” Spirit chuckled.

It made Mirage laugh too and she turned for the door. “I’ll come back with some water then I want you asleep.” Spirit nodded his agreement.

****

Mirage walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She used her magic to levitate a glass over to the sink and watched the water flow into it. She hardly felt the burn on her horn anymore, but she knew it was still there and would probably leave a mark. She liked that idea. Even little Quill had a small scar on his left ear from a ghost attack. Granted he had gotten it by running away from the ghost through some thorn bushes, but no one needed to know the details. Mirage finally got her scar, though she wished it hadn’t been under such strange circumstances. It was odd for Tethers to reject being touched before a ghost appeared. Sure, sometimes a powerful ghost could use its own energy to protect the Tether, but never before it began its haunting. She wondered if maybe, just maybe, the ghost had pretended to be a lower level to lower their guard? Could ghosts even think and plan like that?

Mirage pushed the thought from her mind. It was too much to think of on such a late night, and Mirage made it her policy to never think too hard too late at night, especially after a particularly tiresome ghost. She brought the water back up to Spirit’s room but found he was already sound asleep. She smiled at him. Despite being such a fearless leader, he was very foal-like when his guard was down. She set the glass of water on the nightstand beside his bed and sat there for a moment to watch over him. She looked around his room, a place she’d only gone into a few other times before. The walls were lined with different weaponry for ghost catching, most of it ancient. Spirit had a fascination with how ghosts used to be captured. Other than the artifacts on the wall, his room was fairly bare. He had lavender plants growing in window planter outside his window, a bookshelf with mostly crime novels, and some awards he’d obtained at The Canterlot Academy for Paranormal Defense. He’d been top of his class all four years next to his brother. Mirage watched Spirit sleep for a little while longer before leaving.

****

Quill returned later that evening. He stepped into the living room to see Mirage laying down on her spot on the couch, her cape hanging on the coat rack with the brooch Spirit had gotten for her still pinned to it.

“How is he?” Quill asked. Mirage lifted her head from her book.

“Hm? Oh, sleeping.” She answered tiredly.

Quill nodded. “Is he going to go to Canterlot in the morning?”

“Do you really need to ask that?” Mirage chuckled. “He said he’ll go to a doctor after the meeting. I figured that was good enough.”

“I guess so.” Quill chuckled. “Guess we better get some sleep then.” He said as he walked across the room and climbed into his chaise lounge. He picked up a comic book to read as he laid down. Mirage nodded in agreement but didn’t go to sleep right away either.

****

Mirage yawned tiredly at the train station as she stood at the edge of the platform, looking for their ride. Quill was buying their tickets while Spirit was resting on a bench next to the bags. Mirage gave up looking for the train and walked back over to Spirit.

“How is the shoulder?” She asked, noticing he was trying to rotate it.

“Stiff, but better,” Spirit answered. Mirage nodded.

Quill returned and they made triple sure they had all of their luggage. The train arrived shortly after and they found their seats. Mirage put Spirit on a bench by himself so he could lay down, which he didn’t seem to enjoy, but she wasn’t budging on the matter. The train lurched forward once all of its passengers were settled, and was quickly on its way towards the rising sun.

It was a good hour into the trip when Mirage finally spoke. “We never did find out how Lucky Risk died..” She mumbled.

“It would have been nice to know.” Quill agreed. “But it really isn’t our job to solve murders, we just have to deal with what comes later.”

Spirit nodded, though he seemed upset at not being able to know either. Mirage turned towards the window to watch Equestria passing by. They had a good long trip ahead of them and Mirage was excited to see new parts of the land she lived in.

“I’m more worried about how the ghost jumped levels in just one night,” Spirit said. “It wasn’t like it killed anyone.”

Mirage thought for a long moment as to why. It was a troubling question since ghosts jumping levels usually only happened when they got stronger, and they usually only got stronger when they killed somepony. She used her magic to lift the letter from Princess Luna out of her luggage to read it again.

“Maybe it has something to do with why Princess Luna is calling a meeting.” She suggested.

Spirit nodded his agreement. “We’ll know soon enough. Canterlot isn’t too much farther.”

****

They arrived at Canterlot a little ahead of schedule, which was just fine for Mirage. She trotted out of the train and marveled at the beautiful, elegant city. She looked at all the ponies walking around, already seeing far more of them than their town ever had. She noticed as well, how elegantly dressed they all were. She had her cloak with her but had kept it off on the warm train. It wasn’t snowing quite yet in Equestria, but Canterlot was close to it, considering it’s height on the mountains. Still, Mirage didn’t bother with her cloak. Spirit was wearing his vest of course but otherwise, he and Quill had nothing on, and Mirage didn’t exactly want to stand out in her drab black cloak. Her cutie mark would do it for her anyway. She hardly noticed at first, but quickly found that ponies were looking at her and whispering. Usually, she didn’t care, but the concerned look the ponies of Canterlot were giving her was scaring her. She hung back next to Spirit, who was taking his time.

“Is it just me or are they all staring at us?” She asked.

“Ponies always stare at us,” Spirit answered.

Quill had to gallop after them, dragging his luggage behind him. Once he caught up, Mirage took his luggage into her magic. “Yeah well, this is a little different.” He agreed.

An earth pony with a light gray coat and a gray and red mane walked up to them. She was tall, almost as tall as Spirit, and had a nice thin frame. Her mane was in a bun and held together with two long silver mane pins that had jeweled lavender charms hanging off them. She had a smug grin on her face as she walked up to them, in particularly Quill.

“Well, you’re a weird-lookin' bunch that’s why.” She said laughing. Her voice was a little high pitched like a squeaky toy and had a “better than you” twang to it.

Quill groaned as the mare reached them. “Hi, Crimson.” He muttered, trying to sound thrilled to see her.

“Hello, big brother.” The mare said cheerfully, ruffling Quill’s mane with her hoof. She knocked his glasses down in the process so he had to adjust them again.

Mirage and Spirit looked back and forth between the pair of them. Quill was a good two heads shorter than her and had to look up to meet her gaze. “Big brother?” They both asked in unison

Crimson Iron laughed at them. “Yeah, he doesn't like it but Quilly is the older brother.”

Quill rolled his eyes as he fixed his mane with a hoof. “I told you not to call me Quilly.” He pouted quietly.

Mirage giggled quietly then held her hoof out to shake. “Hi, I’m Mirage, I work with Quill.”

“Crimson Iron.” Quill’s sister replied as she shook Mirage’s hoof. “I absolutely love your cutie mark, by the way, such a beautiful representation of magic.”

Mirage looked back at her cutie mark for a moment then smiled. “Why thank you, and yours is fascinating as well.” She said.

Crimson turned to show her cutie mark. It was a will-o-wisp wrapped in an iron chain.

“Thank you, I make iron chains now in my own forge. I use to go hunting with my brother but when he left I joined a different company. I use to special in iron protection rings but then I discovered I had a knack for making iron.” She rambled proudly. She stopped when she finally noticed Spirit and her demeanor changed quickly. She suddenly seemed to become star struck as she shook his hoof.

“And you must be Spirit Glider. I heard you were top of your class at CAPD. I was top of mine too but I didn’t get anywhere near the grades you did.” she complimented. She leaned to the side to see his cutie mark. She paused and tilted her head. “Three will-o-wisps? That’s your cutie mark?”

“Is there a problem with it?” Spirit asked.

Crimson backpedaled quickly. “Er, no no there ain’t, I was just, expecting something else,” she answered. “Usually it's a will-o-wisp with some sort of indication of how you capture ghosts, but yours is just will-o-wisps.”

Spirit chuckled at her. “I guess I've just always been good at catching ghosts and improvising.” He answered.

“That is fascinating. You know cutie mark history is a second hobby of mine. Did you know that the creator of the first ghost hunting company had a cutie mark of a will-o-wisp over some magnesium because she was the first pony to discover that magnesium could harm ghosts?” She rambled again.

“Your sister really likes to talk,” Mirage whispered to Quill.

“You have no idea,” Quill whispered back.

Spirit was nodding and smiling as she spoke, being as polite as possible. Mirage both loved and hated that about Spirit. He was so good at pretending to be invested, that it was sometimes hard to tell if he really was.

“Well, we better get going to the conference hall.” Quill finally interrupted, fixing his glasses again.

“Yeah, guess you’re right big bro.” Crimson beamed as she ruffled his mane again. He groaned and re-fixed his glasses yet again.

They began walking down the road again, and Crimson went into a long story about how Quill had gotten his cutie mark, which was an open book with a will-o-wisp hovering above it, by leading some professionals to a ghost’s Tether simply by researching what the ghost liked to do while alive. Quill stated it was a simple process of elimination but Crimson, despite her know-it-all attitude, seemed very proud of the story. Mirage smiled as she listened but quickly found herself getting bored of it. She let her vision wander around her to the various stores and buildings of Canterlot. It was a beautiful city, with tall glistening buildings and smooth paved roads; nothing like her hometown.

They reached the castle and were lead by guards through the extravagant halls and corridors to the conference hall. They passed by stain glass windows depicting the great deeds of six ponies. Mirage stopped to admire one of the windows, showing the birth of a new princess. She admired Princess Twilight Sparkle for her studies in magic; a subject she too enjoyed to study though she could never be as talented as her. She caught back up with the others just in time to reach the conference hall. Inside were hundreds of other ponies gathered in the massive room. They were all talking amongst each other in a loud rumble, but the room was so large that the sound wasn’t too deafening.

Spirit looked around the hall and at all the different ponies. Many were dressed in uniforms to show which company they belonged to or some type of accessory. Spirit never liked uniforms, he felt they just got in the way and were too expensive keep clean or replace. Crimson was already chatting up another pony before they could realize it. A pegasus suddenly landed hard in front of them, making Quill jump almost two feet. The pegasus was a soft silver color with a short, spiky, yellow mane and tail. The pegasus smirked as he folded his silvery wings in.

“Hello, Spirit.” He said calmly and cooly. He and Spirit were the same height and looked pretty similar aside from their color difference and the new pony was more muscular.

“Hello, Moon,” Spirit answered with a slight hint of disdain in his voice.

Bright Moon walked around him and finally looked at his shoulder. “Well well, looks like you got careless.” He said, smirking. He stopped mid-stride as he noticed Mirage glaring at the rude stallion. “Ah, how rude of me.” He said, bowing graciously to her. Mirage was taken aback by that, but let him kiss her hoof. “I am Bright Moon, Moon to my friends.”

“I...figured that part out.” Mirage strained as she pulled her hoof back.

“You must be one of Spirit’s little employees, I knew he’d made his own company but I never expected my brother would get such a beautiful mare under his employ,” Moon said.

Spirit snorted and started to try and push Moon aside but Quill held him back.

“Hold your horseshoes Spirit, she’s got this.” Quill grinned.

Mirage grinned coyly at Moon. “Well, you certainly know how to talk to a lady don’t you? Nothing at all like Spirit. He’s so brash and forward.” She purred. “I bet all the mares fall for you.”

“Well, I am very popular at my company, maybe you could come work for us instead and we can get to know each other a little better.” Moon grinned proudly.

Mirage smirked and turned around, smacking him across his snout with a sharp flick of her tail. “Maybe you should try asking a girl about her instead of talking about yourself.” She said firmly as she trotted back to Spirit’s side. Spirit tried hard to hide his snicker.

Moon glared at her a little. “Fine then.” He grumbled. “But my offer stands; I’ve read about you in the paper and your magic could be useful. Not every unicorn can just produce a cloud of lavender powerful enough to actually hurt a ghost. If you joined us, we’d be even more unstoppable. Just think about it.” He finished his speech with a firm nod and turned to meet with the rest of his companions.

Mirage rolled her eyes as he left. She turned to Spirit, whose smile had faded when his brother left. “Spirit?”

“He still doesn’t forgive me,” Spirit mumbled, looking downtrodden.

Mirage frowned and placed her hoof on Spirit’s good shoulder. She was about to say something but trumpets drowned out her voice. She and everyone else in the hall turned to the front of the room to look at the stage. Two guards set their trumpets down as Princess Luna stepped past the veil of curtains. She was wearing her usual chest armor that sat regally on her dark blue form, which seemed a little thin and slightly frazzled. It made Mirage nervous to see a royal alicorn looking disheveled. Luna cleared her throat and spoke in a firm, eloquent voice.

“Greetings Hunters. Thank you for coming today.” Luna announced. “As you all know, I watch over your dreams at night and protect Equestria. In your dreams, I have seen you all deal with the horrors that you have encountered. I know you are all strong in your own ways. However, I have seen a phantom unlike any other, not only in the waking world but in the dreams of the citizens of Equestria, as a very real apparition”

Her last line sent the room buzzing with concern. Ghosts appeared in dreams as just little nightmares, never actually appearing in their dreams. A pony raised a hoof in the back and Luna nodded to it.

“Has it...killed anypony?” He asked.

Luna closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “It has killed seven..” She replied with a grim look on her face. She tried to be strong, but her voice wavered just enough for Mirage to catch her heartbreak.

“Only five?” Bright Moon asked, flapping above the crowd so he could be heard and seen. “Not to sound heartless, but we’ve battled ghosts that have killed far more ponies than this one. Why is this one so dangerous? Can’t the local company take care of it?”

Luna turned behind her and a young, frail unicorn came out behind her. She was thin, incredibly thin. Even from her spot far from the stage, Mirage could see the pony’s ribs and hip bones. Murmurs rumbled from the crowd as the pony appeared.

“Star Orchid was the company owner in the town the ghost appeared,” Luna announced. She put her hoof gently on the frail pony’s shoulder. “Please tell your story.”

Star Orchid took a deep breath as she stepped forward, looking like she would fall over at the slightest breeze.

“My company and I were called to deal with a ghost that suddenly appeared at a local’s home. We were confused because we’d found and eradicated a ghost from there before, and we made sure there were no other Tethers in the home that could activate if a stronger ghost was gone. We made sure..” The unicorn choked a little as she spoke and clenched her eyes shut. Luna offered another reassuring hoof, which seemed to give her the strength to continue. “We...We did everything by the book; We went in, searched for Death Spots and Tethers, but there was nothing. Then we waited to see what the ghost would do during a haunt, but when that..thing..appeared... It wasn’t like anything we’d ever fought before. It.. It killed the homeowner and his wife... Then.. it killed my companions..” She whimpered behind the tears.

Bright Moon flew up to her and tried to console her. “I still don’t understand... It’s tragic, but plenty of ghost hunters have died from-”

“No!” Star Orchid screamed. “No! You don’t understand! It-it possessed them!”

The room went dead silent at that. Even level 4 ghosts couldn’t take posses ponies. If they tried, they simply killed the pony in the process before a possession could take hold.

“But.. how?” Bright Moon asked, his voice cracking with obvious fear.

“I don’t know... but when it possess one, it would attack another pony and it could Ghost Mark them through another pony... It would take on their personality like a changeling so it could get close and Mark them... But that isn’t even the worse of it.” Star Orchid had to pause to take in a quivering breath and regain herself.

She wiped her face clean of tears and whimpered. “Wh...When it was done... It would kill the pony it was possessing... And then... Then the pony...The pony would... It would become a ghost, immediately, no Tether. I watched all my friends die and turn into ghosts. My friends turned on me... I had no choice but to run... I left their bodies there and I’ve been too afraid to go back for them.”

Mirage quickly understood why Star Orchid was so thin; She felt so guilty that she hadn’t even eaten since their deaths. Quill tried to look like the story didn’t bother him by cleaning his glasses, but Spirit had known Quill long enough to know he was deeply disturbed by how vigorously he was cleaning. Bright Moon took his place back in the crowd. As he left, Star Orchid wobbled on her legs and nearly collapsed if it hadn’t been for Luna catching her. Two guards helped Star Orchid off the stage, taking her somewhere safe and comfortable.

“As you can see,” Luna continued once Star Orchid was gone. “This ghost is far different from the ones you have all encountered before. It has been proven that this creature can make and control others. If you see anything out of the ordinary in any of your hunts, I ask that you report your findings me. I also want to impose new curfews in Equestria, that I will give all of you power to enforce. Should you ever need help, I will provide all of you with a means of contacting your nearest hunters. I need you all put aside notions of individual companies and become one force against this evil.”

“Princess Luna,” an older, gruff stallion said, stepping forward. “Do you believe this threat is truly so dangerous?”

“I am not taking any chances,” Luna answered firmly. “This may seem excessive, however, I believe threats of this magnitude should not be taken lightly.”

The crowd nodded and murmured in agreement with the princess.

“I request that you all stay for the rest of the day so that I may talk with your companies and provide you with methods of contacting me and the rest of your fellow hunters. There are food and drink and you may freely roam the castle until I can speak with you.”

****

The room dispersed slightly, most groups still staying to talk with each other about the news. Spirit, Mirage, and Quill stepped out of the room and into the castle gardens to get some space. They looked at each other without saying a word, but each of them knew what the others wanted to say. They had to tell Princess Luna about Lucky Risk...

Chapter 4: Living With the Past

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading so far, I hope you’re enjoying it.

The fall sun was low and pale in the afternoon sky. Mirage and her friends had been waiting a long time to speak with Princess Luna, and night was coming on fast. Mirage was quickly losing hope that they would be back home in time for the nightly ghosts to appear. She decided to try and consider it like a vacation and hope that nothing too disastrous happened back home.

She turned to Spirit, frowning as she watched him favor his injured shoulder while he stared into nothing. They sat quietly in the Canterlot Gardens, waiting for Quill to finish his talks with Princess Luna. He was, after all, the better speaker of the bunch.
Mirage gently raised a hoof and touched Spirit’s side. It made him jump in surprise and look around wildly. When he realized it was her, he relaxed.

“Oh, sorry, Mirage. I was just thinking,” Spirit said. His voice had softened and become heavy with his thoughts.

‘We could always leave Quill here, you know,” Mirage said softly. She stood up and moved to his other side so she could inspect his shoulder. “I want you to see a doctor anyway.”

Spirit pulled his shoulder away from her. “I’m fine, Mirage,” he huffed. He stood up and walked toward the center of the gardens.

He looked up when he heard a whistling noise above him, as a silver and yellow bullet dropped from the sky. Bright Moon landed gracefully in front of him, making the white stallion step back.

“Spirit! There you are!” Bright Moon panted. He quickly grabbed Spirit’s wing in his mouth and forced it open. “Come on, I’m taking you with me to my place.”

Spirit ripped his wing away, then took a step back. “What are you talking about, Moon? What’s with you?” he demanded. Mirage trotted up beside him to offer her support.

“You heard Princess Luna. That ghost is bad news and I’m not letting my brother get hurt,” Moon said firmly.

“Since when do you care if I get hurt?” Spirit scoffed. He stomped his left hoof to accentuate the point then instantly regretted it when his wound stung.

“I’ve always cared about you, Spirit,” Moon said. “Even when you left, I worried about you. I know how brash and reckless you can be.’ He stepped closer and put his hoof on Spirit’s injury, making him cringe again. “Look at you, You need a doctor.”

“I’m fine!” Spirit yelled. He snapped his wings open in anger. They popped open so fast that his feathers sliced across Mirage’s cheek. She cried out, backing away as a thin line of blood bubbled up along the cut, staining her soft periwinkle fur red.

Spirit slapped his wings closed as he realized what he had done. He trotted over to Mirage, taking her hoof in his as he inspected the wound.

“Mirage, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” he asked desperately.

Mirage wiped her cheek and looked at the blood on her hoof. It wasn’t much, and it stung more than anything. “I’m fi—”

“You’re so reckless! No wonder you’re hurt!” Moon snapped angrily, pushing himself between them. “By Celestia, it’s a wonder you haven’t gotten killed, or worse, gotten her killed!” he added, pointing at Mirage.

Spirit flattened his ears at his brother’s verbal assault. He backed up, and for the first time Mirage saw true fear enter his expression. The will-o-wisps the night before had been nothing but a minor concern compared to the fear he showed now.

“Spirit, I’m fine, really,” Mirage said gently as she stepped toward him. “It just scared me, that’s all.”

Spirit’s jaw clenched tight as he steeled himself. Despite the act, Mirage could see the tears welling up in his eyes. “Just leave me alone!” he yelled, his voice cracking.

He spread his wings again, after making sure that no one was close to him this time. He ignored Mirage’s plea to stay as he shot up into the sky, catching a gust of wind and using it to speed off into the clouds.

Mirage sighed as she watched him fly off. She turned on Moon angrily and snorted. “What was that for? It was just a scratch, it’s not like he tried to killed me!” Her horn glowed, ready for a spell though even Mirage didn’t know

Bright Moon swallowed hard. “I just want to make sure he’s safe,” he said, looking somber. Mirage bit her tongue . “Spirit has always been headstrong, and he never stops to think about the consequences of his decisions. If he had just listened to me, then maybe Lily would still be alive.”

“Lilly?” It came out of Mirage’s mouth so fast she barely realized until it was too late.

Moon sighed, turning away from her as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. “Our sister, Star Lily. When Spirit and I started our own company, we let our little sister join us.

“We took her on what should have been a simple job. Just a level one spirit. He rushed off to look for the Tether, leaving her by herself. We didn’t know there was another ghost there too, but when we heard her scream it was already too late. We got into the room at the same time, but she was already dead. She’d been Ghost Marked by a level four. Spirit lost it, tossing every single bomb he had at the ghost until it went back to its Tether. He nearly burnt down the house.”

Mirage covered her mouth to hide her horrified expression. Moon’s tears were flowing freely down his face as he spoke.

“She came back as a ghost a week later.. Spirit wouldn’t let anyone touch her Tether. I finally had to knock him out and Bind it myself. We parted ways after that.” Moon finished finally.

“Moon, I’m.. I’m so sorry.” Mirage said softly.

Moon shook his head. “Just.. watch over Spirit for me. I know he can be a pain but he really is a good guy.”

Mirage nodded. “I just hope I can find him before he gets any stupid ideas”

Moon turned back to her as he spread his silvery wings, catching the glinting light of the setting sun. “Try Silent Pastures. It’s where he always goes when he comes to Canterlot.”

“Right..” Mirage said then turned to leave the gardens as Moon flew off.

****

Quill waited patiently in line behind the other representatives of the various companies. He sighed when he looked at how many ponies were still in front of him.

It took another hour for him to finally meet with Princess Luna. She waited while he bowed in respect to her.

“I am Mystic Quill, I represent Phantom Syndicate, Princess,” He adjusted his glasses as he brought himself back up.

“Ah yes, Mystic Quill I’ve read your studies on ghost hunting techniques. I was expecting… somepony else,” Luna replied with a strain as if she were trying to figure out a puzzle in her head. Quill sighed.

“I know.. I’m not a unicorn.. Or tall,” he mumbled. “Anyway, Your Highness, my companions and I encountered a ghost just last night that went from a level two to a level three in just one day. On top of that, its Tether moved on its own.”

“I see. That is very concerning,” Luna replied after a moment’s thought. “You found the Tether and sent it to the processing facility?”
“Yes, Princess.”

“Good. I would like to study it myself. I would also like to further discuss your findings on ghost control, if you and your company can stay in Canterlot.”

Quill was surprised but nodded quickly. “Yes, of course. I’m sure my friends won’t mind staying. We don’t have any actual assignments at the moment.”

Luna nodded. “Very well. I will have rooms prepared for you in the west wing.” She looked beyond Quill and saw that no other ponies were in line. “If you’ll excuse me, I have my usual duties to attend to.”

“Of course, Princess.” Quill said and bowed again.

Luna left, and Quill turned back to find his friends.

****

The sun was almost completely set, causing the air in the graveyard to chill considerably. The scent of fallen leaves permeated the air as they scattered across the grass in the breeze. Statues of ponies in triumphant or forlorn poses that decorated the lawns above headstones and grave markers looked sinister in the evening shadows.

Spirit hardly seemed to notice any of them. He simply stared at a headstone under a willow tree. There was a statute above the headstone of a pegasus with her arms folded and wings spread as if she were flying straight up into the air. Spirit let his tears drip down his muzzle and onto the headstone. The dry stone soaked up the tears as if trying to dry them.

“I’m so sorry, Lily...” he whispered, his voice cracking. He heard some soft hoof-steps, muffled by the soft damp grass, approach him. He glanced up just to see who it was then turned away from Mirage.

“Spirit? Hey, it’s getting dark you know,” Mirage said softly.

“I guess Moon told you where I’d be… which means you know what I did,” Spirit mumbled, ignoring her statement.

“He did,” Mirage said. “Spirit, I know it was traumatic, but it’s getting dark, and you know it’s illegal to stay in a graveyard at night.”

“I just want a little longer,” Spirit whimpered, wiping his face clean again

Mirage frowned then sat down beside him. “Alright. A little longer.”

They were quiet as the sun finally set. Mirage wished she had remembered her cloak as the night grew darker and the air -- colder. Mirage shivered and turned to Spirit, watching as he simply stared at the headstone. She looked up at the sky, seeing that the moon was already rising. She looked around as will-o-wisps began floating around the graves and trees. Mirage could also see harmless level one spirits drifting as aimlessly as the wisps through the grounds. As long as Spirit and Mirage remained quiet and didn’t bother them, the ghosts wouldn’t be bothered in return. Even so, Mirage didn’t like being so exposed.

“Spirit, can we go yet?” Mirage asked. The ghosts around them were becoming more active and begun to approach. “I’m sure Quill is wondering where we are.”

Spirit didn’t answer her. He wobbled a little, then fell to the side, crashing onto Mirage’s shoulder. She squeaked from surprise, then looked at him a bit more closely. He was unconscious and despite being ice cold to the touch, he was sweating heavily. Mirage felt her heart freeze solid in her chest as if the chill of the night had iced it over. Spirit’s shoulder was bleeding through the bandages and gauze with yellowish strain swirling in the blood and staining bandages.

Mirage looked around. The ghosts in the area had suddenly sensed his weakness and were starting to float toward them. She tried to lift Spirit up but he was too heavy for her. “Come on, Spirit, I can’t lift you!” she grunted.

She used her magic to try to lift him but he was still too heavy for her to get anywhere. Mirage set him down then stood over him as the ghosts started to encroach. She used her magic to blast some of them with puffs of salt and lavender, making them shriek and fade away. Spirit let out a soft whimper at the noises of the ghostly screams.

Mirage looked down at him. “It’s going to be okay, Spirit,” she whispered, more for herself than him. The ghosts were starting to close in, inching ever closer to them.

She couldn’t help herself. Mirage was imagining one of the ghosts getting past her and attacking Spirit. She could see him becoming possessed and attacking her, but even worse than that, she imagined herself killing him. She didn’t want to think about it; she wanted to focus on the ghosts in front of her. They were just level ones, a foal could handle them, she had to focus.

But she couldn’t. She was watching herself kill Spirit. She imagined his death; his beautiful white coat stained with his blood, his vibrant eyes dulling as the light of life left them and his body going rigid and cold with death.

Mirage couldn’t focus on anything else but the images of his death. She didn’t notice the ghosts approaching even closer, or how one reached out to touch her with a long tendril of ghostly fog. It brushed against her mane, causing the hair to fizzle and burn as if a flame had been taken to them. She cried out in fear when she smelled the stench of death wafting from her burnt hair. Her horn glowed vibrantly, making a blinding light that knocked some of the weaker ghosts into oblivion. The light exploded outward while a barrier cocooned Mirage and Spirit in a lavender colored translucent bubble with petals of lavender floating through it like a snowglobe. The ghosts caught in the explosion of the bubble were instantly disintegrated, the rest were tossed aside. The ghosts attempted to breach the barrier but bounced off of it. With each hit it took, a crack appeared in the barrier. Mirage winced with every hit, as if each crack was a direct blow to her. She wasn’t sure when or how the barrier had appeared, but she was grateful for it. Another sharp hit to the barrier made a flash go off in her head, causing her to see white for a moment. A sharp pain shot through her head and as the blinding whiteness faded, her vision returned blurry and hazy.

She saw a large dark figure approaching from behind the swarm of ghosts. There was no doubt in Mirage’s head it was the ghost that Luna and Star Orchid had warned them all of. She clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to see her own end coming.
At least we’ll go together, Spirit, she thought as the tears seeped under her closed eyelids.

She heard the screeches of the ghosts, then heavy hoof-steps approaching. She opened her eyes to see a light blue aura approaching, then winced again. The energy in her was almost completely drained from sustaining their protective bubble. Mirage wobbled as her head spun and her vision faded in and out. The dark blue figure of a pony stood above her, but she couldn’t make out any details. All Mirage knew was that death was there. Mirage groaned in a futile attempt to scare off the figure, but it was the last thing her energy allowed her to do before she finally succumbed to exhaustion. She collapsed on top of Spirit, her vision going completely dark.

Chapter 5: The creature

Mirage watched Spirit below her. They were in a house but she couldn’t place which one; It looked like the house she lived in with Spirit and Quill, but she could see Spirit in the living room from the top of the stairs, which was impossible in their home. She watched him as he faced off against a massive dark shadow that was against the wall. He was grinning as he looked back at her.

“Go on home and put the kettle on, Mirage. I got this.” Spirit told her, his voice sounded distant but it had the same ring of confidence and head-strong as ever.

Mirage started downstairs after him, but as soon as she stepped hoof onto the first step, they collapsed under her. She cried out as she fell with them. Time slowed to a crawl. She watched as Spirit turned towards her, then watched as the shadow wrapped around and consumed him. She screamed for him to run but the shadow enveloped him.She heard his scream of agony. She called his name but the darkness enveloped her as well.

****

Mirage screamed as she shot up in bed. She looked around frantically, trying to find something to grab onto to keep her from falling. Slowly she realized she wasn’t falling and that she was in a room, a hospital room to be exact. A gentle hoof touched hers and she jerked her attention to it. Quill’s familiar face came to view and she relaxed.

“Quill? Oh, thank Celestia,” Mirage panted, her face twisted with concern and uncertainty. “Spirit? Where’s Spirit?” She demanded.

Quill stepped aside to show a hospital bed behind him. Spirit was sleeping in it, his shoulder freshly bandaged. “He’s safe,” Quill answered calmly. “He’s got a fever though, he hasn’t woken up since Princess Luna found you and brought you back.”

“Princess Luna saved us?” Mirage asked.

“Yes, you dolt. What in Equestria were you doing in a graveyard at night? The Princess had to rescue you! Do you know how that makes us look?” Quill yelled.

Mirage ignored him and climbed out of bed, which she quickly regretted when the room spun and the floor slipped away beneath her hooves. Quill ran over to help, but she had already regained herself when he got there. She made her way to Spirit’s bedside and frowned as she watched him breathe in slow, shallow rhythms.

“Is he going to be okay?” she asked quietly.

Quill stepped over to her. “He’s got a high fever, and his wound was infected,” he answered. “But the doctors are confident he’ll make a full recovery. He just needs rest and medicine.”

Mirage nodded weakly. “Good. I’m glad.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, Quill, I should have forced him to go back but I’ve just...never seen him so... I don’t know, what’s the word? Not, vulnerable but...open.”

“It’s okay. He’s safe now,” Quill said. “You should get some rest yourself. Doctors said you nearly killed yourself using that much defensive magic”

“I am tired,” Mirage admitted as she made her way back to her bed. She stopped to look back at Spirit before she climbed in. “Thank the princess for me, Quill?”

Quill nodded and smiled as he helped her get tucked back into bed. He blushed a little when he realized what he was doing and quickly turned away. “Yeah, I will. I’ll be back later with some food okay?”

“Good, I’m starving.” Mirage chuckled. “How about a hayburger and a huge milkshake?”

Quill smiled at her. “Coming right up,” he said, then left her room to let her sleep.

****

Spirit walked down a long hallway that seemed to stretch forever. It was dark, with the walls painted a horribly grey-green color with a mahogany baseboard lining the bottom. He looked around, trying hard to place where he had seen the walls before. He paused in front of a door to his left just as it was materializing into the wall. Spirit nudged the door opened then stepped into the room. It was darker than the hallway was, making impossible for Spirit to see anything in front of him. He stepped forward a few paces, then tripped over something hard.

When he stood up, lights suddenly flicked on, blinding him for a second. Spirit raised a hoof to block the light from his eyes and allow him time to get accustomed to the brightness. When he turned to see what he had tripped over, his stomach churned in his stomach, making him heave and catch a sob in his throat. His sister’s body was laying in the middle of the floor, twisted, bloated and bleeding, with festering wounds that bubbled and fizzed. Her face was twisted in the agony and her mouth hung open in mid-scream, while her eyes remained wide open as if trying to desperately see her brothers coming to save her from her grim fate. Spirit distinctly noticed the lack of smell, but he was too preoccupied to let the question linger in his mind. Spirit screamed at the sight, just as the door to the room slammed shut. He dropped to his knees, letting hot tears spurt from tight-shut eyes onto his sister’s body. His sobs struggled painfully past the massive knot in his throat, making him hiccup with each rapid inhale.

“I’m so sorry,” he croaked. “I’m so sorry Lily, I sh... I should have been there...”

“Spir-it” A soft voice sang, her voice echoing off the walls of the empty room.

Spirit jerked his head upward and watched as his sister’s body twisted and untangled from its death pose. Her bones snapped back into place, cracking as she dragged herself to her hooves.

“Spir-it,” She sang again, her broken and unhinged jaw made each syllable sound distorted. “Why didn’t you save me Spirit?” Her words poisoned his ears and made his heart ice over.

Spirit leaped to his hooves. He tried to spread his wings to fly away from her, but his wings felt glued to his sides and his hooves felt like one-ton weights. Lily continued her agonizingly slow stride toward him, then reached a hoof out to touch him. Her eyes turned red and fangs grew from her mouth.

“Come play with my Spirit, it’s so easy to die. It’s just like going to sleep.” She hummed. Her hoof was just inches from his face.

Spirit clenched his eyes shut as he screamed. The world fell away suddenly and he felt like he dropped back down into his bed. He bolted upright, still screaming while he struggled against the bedsheets until he rolled off the mattress and crashed onto the floor.

Mirage was at his side in an instant. She used her magic to unwrap him from the blankets then helped him back into the bed.

“Spirit, it’s okay you’re safe.” Mirage cooed. She stroked his mane with a hoof to try and calm him down. “Take it easy.”

“What happened? Where am I?” Spirit gasped in desperation.

Mirage used her magic to bring over a small paper cup of water, then brought it to his mouth. “You’re at Canterlot Medical.” She replied while he drank. “You’ve been asleep for two days.”

“Two days?” he nearly choked on his water.

Mirage nodded. “You passed out at the cemetery, your Mark got infected and you had a high fever.” She opted not to explain what had happened after he’d passed out.

Spirit frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry,’ He mumbled. “I guess I just forgot about it”

Mirage smiled and brought over a bowl of warm vegetable soup. “It got a little cold, but it’s still good.” She set the bowl down on his lap gently, as if doing so might break him.

Spirit nodded his thanks, then lifted the bowl in his hooves to drink from it. They sat awkwardly, listening to the sounds of the hospital around them. Mirage finally spoke up when the tension became too much for her.

“Well, I was going to go to the market today. You should rest up, I’ll be back later” She babbled while she made sure his blankets were properly placed.

Spirit looked like he was about to argue something, but then he lowered his ears and turned away. He obviously didn’t want to continue the conversation and that made Mirage feel even worse.

“Yeah..okay.” He mumbled.

Mirage wanted to make him talk to her, wanted him to ask her to stay, or even just say he felt better and back to his old, cocky self. She hated seeing him so weak and wanted to help, but she couldn’t think of anything she could possibly say or do. Mirage submitted to his mood, and slowly left the room to tend to the chores she never really had

****

It was another three days before Spirit was well enough to walk around again. He and Quill took walks around the hospital to get his strength back up, and sometimes Bright Moon would visit and would help with wing exercises, but he seemed to be avoiding Mirage as much as possible. It was difficult considering she visited often, but the visits were quiet and awkward. They barely spoke, and if they did it was never about the night at the grave.

Mirage walked into his room in the afternoon on his fifth day at the hospital. She had his vest wrapped in her magical grasp along with some medicine. “Ready to go Spirit?” She asked, trying to sound cheerful.

“Ready as I’ll ever be I guess,” Spirit answered. He stretched his wings out as he spoke, then stretched his injured shoulder. The Ghost Mark had turned into mostly a scar thanks to the medication and doctors of the Canterlot Hospital.

Mirage floated the items over to him and let him put his vest on. Spirit remained quiet as he slipped his wings through the sleeves of the vest, making Mirage feel uncomfortable. She waited for him to say something but instead, Spirit walked right past her as if she wasn’t even there. Mirage frowned but followed him out of the room anyway.

Quill was waiting for them in the main lobby with Bright Moon by his side. Spirit walked up to them to greet them.

“Feeling better Spirit?” Quill adjusted his glasses again.

“Yeah. I’m ready to get back to work anyway.” Spirit replied.

Bright Moon sighed. “You sure you won’t come home with me? Silver Dust would make you feel right at home, and I’m sure mom and dad would feel better if we were together.”

“Thanks, Moon, but no. I’m going back home.” Spirit insisted. He moved past Bright Moon and out into the streets of Canterlot.

Mirage and Quill hurried after him, leaving Bright Moon alone. “Spirit,” Mirage called to him. “Spirit wait for us.”

Mirage made it to his side but Spirit wasn’t slowing down, making Quill gallop just to keep up all the way to the Canterlot train station.

****

Mirage sat on her place on the couch when they finally made it home to Bridle Falls. Spirit had, uncharacteristically, gone straight to his room and locked himself inside. Quill was working on writing several scrolls he planned on sending to princess Luna about his studies and being particularly quiet about it. Mirage thumped her tail, just to break the silence.

“Night is coming on soon,” Mirage commented.

“Mhm,” Quill replied, not looking up from his pen and ink.

Mirage huffed out the corner of her mouth to push back her forelock. “Any jobs tonight?” She asked at length.

“Just a couple of level ones” Quill answered her.

“Great” Mirage beamed. “That’ll get everyone out of this funk. What are they? White Mares? A screaming haunt?”

Quill scooted the papers over with a hoof. Mirage used her magic to bring them over and read them. She sighed then set them back down on the coffee table. None of the jobs sounded particularly fun.

She looked up at the stairs, hoping to see Spirit trotting down them, raving about some new method of ghost fighting or a new weapon some designer just released, but he wasn’t coming down. He had hardly spoken on the train and not a single direct word to Mirage. She couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t talk to her, he used to love their talks but now he hardly looked at her. Mirage gave up waiting for Spirit and instead, busied herself by checking on the weapons they would take out that night.

Their weapon’s room was the basement with racks and shelves lining every wall, each one filled with bombs, chains, and nets. She counted them all, then used a pen to write on a pad hanging by the door that they were short seven nets. The count hadn’t taken her long since their weapon’s room wasn’t very big, but it had distracted her long enough for the night to come.

Spirit had his vest on and was already prepped for a hunt when Mirage came out of the weapon’s room with fresh lavender wrapped around her horn and a new silver chain around her neck. She pulled her cloak off of the coat rack by the door and used the brooch Spirit had brought her to clasp it shut.

“Ready to go?”

Spirit looked her up and down and nodded. “Come on, let’s move out” He ordered. Mirage was a little taken aback by his abruptness but followed him outside into the night anyway.

With their new assignment from Princess Luna, came new duties. The other ghost fighters of their town were already on patrol, making sure the rest of the ponies got inside for the new curfew. Once everyone was inside and defenses were up, the hunters went to their clients.

Phantom Syndicate’s first client of the evening was an old mare terrified of shifting furniture. It didn’t take long for Mirage and Spirit to find the Tether; an old statuette she had bought at an auction. It was Bound, packed, and set off in just under two hours. Quill collected their payment then documented it in a ledger.

“Well... One down,” Quill mumbled then adjusted his glasses.

“That was easy. Spirit didn’t even need us.” Mirage chuckled. She grinned and looked at Spirit, but her smile faded as she realized he wasn’t paying attention.

“Where is our next client Quill?” Spirit asked. He looked up at the street lamps, listening to them hum with energy. The lights were meant to keep ghosts at bay, but in reality, they worked better as comforting nightlights.

“A unicorn on Fall Avenue,” Quill answered. “Says he’s been seeing shadows where there shouldn’t be and fresh produce rots the evening he buys them.”

“Right, probably a ghost that died from food poisoning or something.” Spirit surmised. “Be on guard.”

Mirage rolled her eyes a little then looked across the street as they walked. The will-o-wisps were floating through the streets like little dancing stars. She always liked to watch them, despite the potential danger they represented. The ones in the street were safer to be near though, they weren’t necessarily tied to a ghost of any sort, just the energy of the past that surrounded any area.

Fall avenue bordered Bridle Falls, acting as the bridge between forest and town. Many of the homes and buildings on Fall avenue were bed and breakfasts or lodges for hikers to rest after coming back from their trails. Just a hundred feet away the dense forest began with a good eight or nine trailheads starting at the edge of the street. Mirage watched the wisps float in and out of the treelines, mindlessly bouncing off the trunks as they did.

Something caught her attention just beyond the treeline.

It was just a flash of ghostly white and at first, Mirage thought it was a wisp but it didn’t move quite the same. It avoided the trees instead of bumping into them and had a direct path, straight towards them. As it approached closer, Mirage could make out the outline of a pony with some sort of cape floating around them, pushed by some type of wind that Mirage couldn’t feel. It came closer and Mirage recognized the unearthly fog the pony was made of and the pale white glow of a ghost.

“Spirit” Mirage whispered harshly. “Spirit look” Spirit paused and turned back to her, then followed her line of sight to the ghost as it continued forward, slowly and with purpose.

It was just about to break the tree line, giving Spirit a good look at the shape of the ghost; a beautiful young mare. her mane done up in curls and decorated with ribbons and gems, with all of it covered by a long white veil that trailed down her back and fell around her long flowing wedding gown. The gown trailed behind her, floating gracefully just above the ground as if floating carelessly in a tranquil pond. She had her head down as she walked toward them, so Spirit couldn’t make out any of her facial features but when she opened her mouth bubbles floated from it.

Quill quickly analyzed the ghost as she continued to approach and reached into his saddlebag for an old research book. He quickly flipped through its dusty yellow pages until he found a picture of a mare dressed in the same wedding gown with a hoof written description below.

“Rose Bell, died when she tripped over her wedding dress and fell off of the top of Bridle Falls while waiting for her stallion to bring the mayor to officiate their marriage. Hikers who stay out at night often claim to see her falling off the falls and never emerge. She’s considered to be as powerful as a level 2 but since she never leaves her spot at the falls and hikers aren’t allowed to hike at night she’s classified as a level one.” Quill read aloud.

“Then what is she doing here?” Spirit demanded. He used his wing to open one of the pockets on his vest.

“Maybe she’s looking for her stallion?” Quill asked.

It was a weak explanation at best, and they all knew better. Ghosts rarely left their places of death unless the events of their death lead them away from the area and even then not as far as she was, or they were attracted by a stronger ghost, or their Tether was moved. None of those reasons were particularly comforting to them.

Rose Bell had made it to the middle of the wide street and paused. She lifted her head up, showing cold, pure black, soulless eyes staring back at them.

“Why didn’t you save me, Spirit?” Rose Bell’s voice was muffled and garbled as if she were talking under water, but it was clear enough that Spirit could hear her.

His wings lowered with her words as if being brought down by heavy weights. Spirit felt cold as he stared at the mare, and watched her advance a little more. Her dress floated up far above her head, as if ready to wrap itself around Spirit and swallow him whole and blocking off his escape. Spirit couldn’t move from her even if he wanted to anyway; he was lost in the pools of blackness that had become her eyes. Blood began to pour from them, followed by an icy laugh that caused more water and bubbles to float into the air, then there was a brief moment of silence, broken by an intense explosion and a bright light. Magnesium fell in a white-hot shower around the ghost and Spirit, which didn’t seem to truly harm the ghost, but it did catch her attention enough so that she spun around with the train of her wedding dress passing just inches from Spirit’s face.

He snapped out of his trance-like state and looked past the ghost to see Quill holding another bomb. Mirage was beside him, her horn glowing with a prepared spell to combat the demon before her. Spirit quickly flew up into the air to hover above the ghost and opened a vest pocket again, preparing for aerial support with a silver chain net.

Rose Belle began laughing at them, the inequine noise made their blood run cold and froze them in their place. It sounded like massive stones grating against rusted metal, even muffled by the ethereal water she was drowning in, the noise made Mirage’s teeth ache. Rose Bell’s form began to shift and change into a taller, more grotesque creature. Her neck elongated much farther than any pony’s neck could possibly stretch, and boney, blood covered wings, ripped through her flesh, dripping ghostly plasma onto the ground below her. Her voice changed to the deeper, more guttural purr of a stallion when she spoke again.

“You three show me no fear” The ghost chuckled. “Not like those little fools that thought they could defeat me. I relished their faces as I killed them in their own friend’s bodies.”

Mirage felt her heart drop into her hooves at the ghost’s words. This was the creature they’d been warned about. She knew then that the ghost had taken over Rose Bell’s spirit and was controlling it. It seemed a fate worse than death did exist after all.

“Who are you?” Mirage demanded. She’d never tried to actually talk to a ghost, but this one was clearly waiting for a response of some kind.

The ghost laughed again, sending shivers down Mirage’s spine. “I am death itself” Quill took a step forward and the ghost turned on him quickly. “Not a step closer fool. I will rip your miserable beating heart from its chest and watch you slip into my realm.” Quill stepped back again.

Mirage looked up to the night sky to try and find Spirit but he wasn’t there. She looked at the empty sky for him, too afraid to imagine that maybe he had fled. He’d never run from battle before, in fact, he loved to fight, so where was he? Mirage noticed it out of the corner of her eye at the last second; the ghost had rushed forward and was now just a mere two inches from her. His long neck lowered, circling around the back of hers so his mouth was next to her ear.

“I can see into your heart. You are worried your friend has left you at my mercy. You fear he does not care for you any longer than you meant nothing to him.” The ghost hummed. Mirage could feel his ice cold fog making the air around her crystallizing into ice.

“I can see into his heart as well and know it is true. He does not care for you, he never did. You were merely by his side because he needed you. Unicorns are so powerful after all. That is why he always praised your magical advancements. He was pleased to see his weapon growing stronger.”

“No!” Mirage rebuked. Her horn sent a blast of magical energy, blinding the ghost and burning away the very edges of his fog.

He screamed and leaped back as the fire burned his muzzle. He panted from the pain and turned to Mirage. She had herself and Quill in a protective barrier again.

“You’re lying” Mirage continued, taking a step forward as she did.

“Then where is he?” The ghost argued back.

“Right here!” Spirit yelled.

He dropped from the sky and landed hard between the ghost and Mirage’s barrier. He held a hoof up, holding a bottle with some type of liquid silver inside it up. He tossed the bottle and let it shatter at the ghost’s feet, the liquid sprayed out of it and covered the ghost in thick globs of silver. The ghost screamed in pain as the liquid melted through him, creating holes in his unearthly image. His boney wings spread and carried him up into the sky, writhing in agony while he did. Mirage dropped her barrier and raced over to Spirit’s side.

“You came back!” Mirage gasped.

“Like I’d ever leave” Spirit chuckled. “Quill! Take his left, when I give the signal throw a mag bomb at him. Mirage stay center, blast him with everything you got. Move!”

Quill bolted left at the same time Spirit went to the right. He shot up into the air like an arrow and took out another bottle of liquid silver. Mirage’s horn glowed again and she nodded to Spirit. The ghost turned to Spirit as the silver melted away.

“You will pay for that!” The ghost screamed.

“Now!” Spirit called.

Mirage shot a beam of energy, at the same time Quill let loose his bomb and Spirit the bottle. The following explosion set the entire town in a bright light as if the sun had risen just for a moment right above them. It was so intense, and hot, that the trees and even pieces of the rooftops on the other side were set aflame. When the light finally faded the ghost was no longer there, with no trace that it had ever been there.

“Did we get it?” Quill asked. He fixed his glasses again so he could see properly.

Spirit’s smile widened as he dove down toward his team. Mirage trotted up to meet him with a bright smile on her face that made Spirit’s heart lift in his chest. Something flashed behind her, sending his heart straight to the pit of his stomach.

The ghost had returned, this time losing the image of Rose Bell and appear in his real form. He was taller than any pony Spirit had ever seen, with his long snake-like neck stretching back in an “S” curve and a hazy, sickly green coat that glowed with unearthly light. His long tail was more of a dragon’s instead of pony’s, which curved back around his hooves, which were cloven on the forelimbs and sharpened to deadly points. Sharp, serrated fangs grew from inside muzzle and dripped with an acid green liquid that hissed and fizzled when it hit the ground. He stood behind Mirage, reared back with forehooves ready to strike at her.

“Mirage!” Spirit screamed. He dove down after her, knowing he wouldn’t reach her in time with the ghost so close to her. That wasn’t going to stop him from trying.

Mirage turned back and screamed when she saw the new creature behind her. He fell onto her, his massive form blocking any escape for her. Quill desperately tossed a magnesium bomb at it, not sure what good it would possibly do.

****

Time stood still. Mirage’s eye’s shut tight as a white light enveloped her, sending a wave of warmth into her heart and soul. When she opened them again, everything around her was white and blank, like an empty page in a book.

“Where am I?” She questioned herself, but nothing replied to her.

She looked around to try and figure out if she could find anything to tell her where she was. Something in the distance caught her attention, it looked like a dark hole and she could just make out the line of trees. It had to be a way out. She had to try, she had to get back to her friends

“Don’t worry Spirit, I’m coming” She whispered while she galloped toward the opening in the void.

****

Spirit watched as a ring of light outlined the ground around the ghost as he descended on Mirage, then fell straight through the ring disappearing into the ground with Mirage under him. Spirit landed hard again, chipping his hoof on the paved road and taking out a good chunk of the road with his collision.

“Mirage! Mirage no! Mirage come back!” He screamed. He rushed over to the portal as it closed behind the ghost, his hoof just touching the very edge of the closing circle before it finally vanished. Spirit howled as he tried to dig at the ground as if he could just dig through and find Mirage buried under it.

“Spirit stop!” Quill called out. Spirit’s hooves were chipping with each attack of the ground and blood began to flow freely from them. Quill rushed over to him and put his hooves on Spirit’s chest to push him back. Spirit snorted and flicked his tail angrily like a wild animal but Quill wasn’t letting him budge. “Spirit she’s gone!”

“No! No, she can’t be!” Spirit yelled. He stomped his hoof again. Tears were flowing like rivers down his cheeks. “Please. Come back Mirage, I’m so sorry.”

“Get a hold of yourself Spirit!” Quill yelled. He slapped Spirit hard with a hoof, making Spirit finally look at him. Quill was crying as well and the heat of his tears was fogging up his glasses. “She’s gone you, idiot! Stop acting like you’re the only one who loved her!”

Spirit panted, watching Quill’s tears leak from behind his glasses. He turned his attention back to the ground where Mirage had vanished. He saw something glinting in the darkness of the street and walked over to it. Mirage’s brooch was laying on the ground, evidently having snapped off at some point during the battle. He picked up and held it close to his chest, letting the blood from his hooves drip onto it and mix with his tears.

“Come on Quill... We need...” Spirit paused when his voice cracked, but he struggled through it. “Need to..report to p-princess Luna.” He whimpered.

Quill wiped his glasses clean. “Y..Yeah...” he agreed, trying not to choke himself. He helped Spirit to his hooves and walked back home with him quietly.

Both of them ignored the town ponies coming out of their homes with the sounds of fighting gone so they could see what had happened...

Chapter 6: Hints of the Past

The opened portal allowed Mirage to rush through it before closing again, but when she exited she found herself in the dark street of Fall Avenue. Something was-different, though, The buildings were the same, but they looked older, not broken or run down older but like they had just been built. She walked through the empty night streets until she came upon the lavender shop, but instead of the large bundles of lavender and displays of lavender products outside, there were ponies laughing and talking with mugs of cider in their hooves or wrapped in magical embrace. Something too was different about the ponies; apart from the fact that she didn’t recognize any of them, they were all dressed in old-fashioned clothing, with the mares in long layered dresses and bonnets and the stallions wearing vests with top hats.

“Is this Bridle Falls?” Mirage asked herself. She trotted up to one of the ponies outside of the shop. “E-excuse me, do you know the date? I think i’m confu-”

As she spoke,one of the ponies seemed to approach her in order to answer her question, but instead went straight through her. Mirage gasped when she felt him pass through, it was like a cold winter wind chilling her insides, but the stallion didn’t even seem to notice she had been there at all.

She turned around to watch him walk away, her jaw hanging open in horror. Was she dead? Was she a ghost now too? Mirage couldn’t accept that--she wouldn’t accept it. She had felt no pain, there wasn’t any struggle to live or even scenes of her life playing out in front of her, she couldn’t possibly be dead.

A voice brought her out of her own mind suddenly. “You look a little lost, maybe I can help?” The mare’s voice was soft and warm and inviting, like a mother’s voice telling her it would be okay.

Mirage turned back around to see a mare standing in front of her. She wasn’t dressed in any fancy clothing or anything, but that wasn’t nearly as confusing to Mirage as the fact that this mare had her cutie mark. She instantly recognized the will-o-wisp wrapped in a magical aura as her own and was even more confused than before

She was tall, a little taller than Mirage but not as tall as say Princess Luna or Celestia, and she was a unicorn at that. She had a beautiful golden-yellow curled mane that cascaded down her back like strings of silk that almost touched the ground. Her coat was a pastel green color that accented her dark green eyes, and a warm, inviting smile that seemed almost sad.

“Who are you?” Mirage asked.

“That doesn’t matter right now.” The mare replied. “You need to go home.”

“But.. I am home- well, I thought I was.” Mirage said taking one more look around. “Everything is different.”

“You’re in the past, in the earliest days of Bridle Falls.” The mare answered. “This is where everything began.” She gestured a hoof and Mirage followed the line until she saw another mare walking through the streets, wearing a long, beautiful wedding gown. Mirage recognized her instantly.

“Rose Bell? This is the night she went to the falls... the night she died..” Mirage mumbled, his voice catching in her throat slightly.

“You have a unique gift Mirage.” The mare continued. “You can see into the souls of the departed, see their past and learn the truth of their death. This is why you’ve always been so good at hearing their voices.”

Mirage turned back to her when she saw Rose Bell leave the town, rushing blindly to her death. She had been a better listener than Spirit and even Quill, but many other ghost hunters could hear the voices of the dead just as clearly.

“I can what?” She asked. She wondered if maybe she could run after Rose Bell and stop her from falling off the cliff, but if that stallion had walked through her she doubted she could even touch Rose Bell.

Wait, what had that mare just say? “How...do you know my name? Who are you?” Mirage demanded, suddenly very unsure of this mare.

“I know a lot about you Mirage, and about your friends. It was pure fate that brought the three of you together, and I am very eager to see where your paths lead from here.” The mare smiled down at her.

“S-so does that mean, I’m not dead? I can go back?” Mirage asked. She still wasn’t sure she wanted to trust this mare, but she didn’t have much of a choice if she wanted to see her friends again.

“You still have a long way to go before you join the dead Mirage,” The mare replied, her horn began to glow as she spoke. “And you have much to learn about your gifts. Trust your instincts, and you can become a powerful Paladin one day.”

The mare’s magic lifted into the air, creating a portal above Mirage that seemed to open into complete darkness. Some type of powerful force began pulling her into the air as if something had simply grabbed her and was lifting her up.

“W-wait!” Mirage yelled, swinging her legs as if she could gallop away from the magic in mid-air. “Wait, what’s a paladin? How did I get here? What am I supposed to do? Who are you!?”

“You cannot stay in one ghost’s memories for too long, you must go or be lost here forever. You will learn more, just trust yourself” The mare called to her.

Mirage cried out as she was sucked in through the portal. Everything was black and quiet for a long time before Mirage could finally hear buzzing noises, like massive bees humming above her. The buzzing slowed and she could hear patterns in them, then it slowed into voices. She couldn’t understand them at first, but as she began opening her eyes, she heard a stallion speaking to her.

“Miss? Miss are you okay?” The stallion asked. He helped Mirage to her hooves as she finally came to.

She was in the middle of the street, right in front of the lavender shop, which was once again selling lavender and not cider, with her cloak on the ground below her. Her head was throbbing painfully like her heart had squeezed itself inside and was trying to pump blood from there. It made her hopelessly dizzy and even a little nauseous.

“What happened? Where am I?” She asked. She looked around but the bright sunlight blinded her. Once she regained herself, Mirage looked back at the stallion. She recognized him from around town, so that was evidence enough she was back in her own time.

“You’re on Front Street,” The stallion said. “You’re Mirage right? From Phantom Syndicate?” He asked.

“Y-yeah..” Mirage mumbled. “Spirit? Where is Spirit? What about the ghost?” She demanded quickly when it all came back to her in a rush.

The stallion was a little confused but he tried to answer her questions as best he could. “You mean the ghost last night that caused that flash?” He asked. “Spirit Glider said you were killed by the ghost and vanished”

“But i’m not dead.” Mirage groaned, then began to stumble forward. “Take me to Spirit, please,”

“Sure miss” The stallion said softly. He let her lean against him and he walked her back to her home.

****

Quill sighed as he held up his ink pen to his paper, letting a drop of ink splash onto the scroll and soak into its fibers. How many times had he started this letter? And how many times had he let tears mix with his ink? He had to let Princess Luna know about the ghost, and he had to tell her about Mirage’s fall, but he just couldn’t bring himself to write a single word.

He sighed again, for possibly the hundredth time that morning, and looked up to the top of the stairs to where Spirit had locked himself in his room the entire night and had yet to come out. Quill had tried to talk to him at some point in the night, but hearing the muffled sobs of his normally fearless captain made him turn away. He looked away from the stairs and accepted Spirit wasn’t going to come down anytime soon.

There was a loud urgent knock at the door, which Quill was tempted to ignore but when the knock persisted, he caved. He walked over to the door and opened it to see an older stallion struggling to hold Mirage up. She was fading in and out of consciousness and limp in the stallion’s hooves.

“I- uh, think she lives here right?” He asked. Quill was staring at the pony in such shock and disarray, that his glasses fell off of his face and cracked on the ground.

“Mirage!’ He breathed. “Y-yeah bring her in, quickly. Sp-Spirit! Spirit come down! It’s Mirage!” He yelled frantically.

The stallion brought Mirage inside and laid her on the couch, which seemed to help her. She lifted her head up when the room finally stopped spinning and smiled up at Quill.

“Hey, Quill... I didn’t make you worry too much did I?” Mirage asked, her voice low and distant. She was exhausted and her head was still throbbing, but she was happy to be in familiar surroundings again and with familiar faces.

Quill had to wipe his eyes free of tears. “We thought you were dead Mirage, I was so.. We couldn’t...” He trailed off, unable to full form any coherent thought.

Mirage smiled at him and held a hoof out to console him, but stopped when she noticed a form coming down the stairs.
Spirit was staring at her, eyes wide and jaw slack in shock. Mirage started to her hooves at the same time the pegasus spread his wings and leaped off the landing, flying straight down for her. He landed in front of the couch just as Mirage finally managed to stand upright, but she stumbled and collapsed into his forehooves, which wrapped around her in a tight hug.

“I thought you were-we were so- I couldn’t-.” Spirit struggled through his tears.

Mirage held onto him mostly to keep herself from falling, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t happy to smell his familiar mix of natural odor and the smokiness of the magnesium flares that never quite left his soft coat no matter how hard he washed it.

“What happened to you anyway?” Quill asked with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Mirage pulled away from Spirit and returned to the couch with some difficulty. “I..I don’t know.. I think I used a spell that put me into Rose Bell's memories... There was a mare there that said I would make a great Paladin someday, it was all so strange.”

“You what?” they both asked in unison.

Mirage blushed slightly. “Maybe..maybe it was just a weird dream and I used a teleport spell” She mumbled.

“Well we’re just glad you’re back, and you’re not Ghost Marked either,” Quill said, looking her over.

“I’m just exhausted” Mirage yawned.

“You should go to your room, let me help.” Spirit urged. He started to help her to her hooves but Mirage quickly wrestled from his grasp.

“N-no!” She squeaked. “I mean, uh... I’m fine here... With you two” She tried to push as much pleading into her voice as she dared so she wasn’t directly asking that all of them sleep in the living room like normal since she was actually very afraid of sleeping by herself.

Quill caught on first. “Yeah going upstairs in your condition might be tough. I’ll stay down here and work so if you need anything I’ll be nearby”

Mirage smiled and Spirit finally caught the idea. “Oh, yeah, I put my bedsheets in the wash anyway so I’ll sleep in my recliner tonight.” He said. Mirage was thankful they let her keep her dignity but still stayed with her.

Spirit gave her a few pillows to rest her head against, then brought his favorite Wonderbolts blanket over to cover her. It was thick and warm, and very plush so it provided far more comfort than her usual pile of blankets.

“How about some tea to help you sleep?” Quill offered. He had left and brought back a platter balanced on his back with a teapot and cups on it.

Mirage nodded eagerly, a good cup of tea was just the thing she needed to get the chill of that other world out of her bones. She started to use her magic to lift one of the cups up, but only managed to get it a few inches above the platter before her magic failed and the cup shattered on the ground. She gasped and flinched then looked up at Quill.

“I’m sorry, that was your good set too wasn’t it?” She apologized.

“It’s fine, One of the cups was chipped already anyway” Quill replied. He let Spirit pour a new cup and hand it to Mirage, who took it delicately in her hooves.

“Thanks” She whispered. She gently blew on the cup to cool it, then took a few grateful sips.

It wasn’t long before Mirage was fast asleep on the couch, snuggled tightly in Spirit’s blanket and warmed by Quill’s tea. Spirit watched over her for a few moments while Quill cleaned up the shattered teacup.

“Do you think what she said really happened Quill?” Spirit asked.

“Mirage has never lied to us before,” Quill answered, but that wasn’t exactly a confirmation or an argument.

“What is a Paladin anyway?” spirit questioned.

Quill adjusted his glasses after dumping the broken cup pieces into a nearby wastebasket. “I’ll do some research and find out, maybe princess Luna knows.” He suggested.

Spirit nodded then used his muzzle to gently push Mirage’s forelock behind her ear. “Maybe she would be safer with Bright Moon..” he mumbled.

“What?” Quill demanded. “You can’t be thinking about sending her away Spirit”

“That demon is here Quill, I don’t want Mirage to have to go through that again.” Spirit confided.

“She’s a strong mare Spirit. “Quill repositioned his broken glasses again. He had a spare set on his desk but hadn’t gone to retrieve them yet. “She’d bite your head off if she knew you were thinking of sending her away.”

Spirit lowered his head, letting his nose get close enough to Mirage to smell the sweet scent of lavender she always had about her. “You’re probably right but... I can’t lose her.”

“You’re not the only one afraid to lose her Spirit,” Quill responded sharply. “I love her too, you know that you’ve always known that.”

Spirit frowned at him. He knew Quill had feelings for Mirage of course and he had to admit they made the better pair; Mirage was calm and level-headed and just as smart as Quill was. They enjoyed a lot of the same interests too like old books and art, but Spirit was clearly the stronger of the two and could protect her better.

“Yeah well... Now isn’t the right time for this conversation.” Spirit dodged. “Can you send a letter to Princess Luna about the ghost while I get a medic to come look at her?”

Quill huffed in defeat. Spirit knew he’d rather tend to Mirage than argue about which one of them was better for her. “Yeah, Fine.” He replied. “Just be quick”

****

The medic had come and gone, leaving them with a favorable prognosis just as the chilly afternoon was starting to see its first snowfall of the winter season. Ghosts liked the cold, and with days shorter and nights longer, that meant ghost would haunt longer and the longer they could haunt, the more dangerous they became. Not the best time for an all-powerful snake-pony ghost to be rearing its ugly head.

Spirit worked to keep Mirage warm by providing her with extra blankets while she continued to sleep. The doctor had said her condition was normal, and even to be expected, when a unicorn attempted a powerful spell they hadn’t quite mastered or was too powerful for them to control. It left them with the constitution and strength of a newborn foal, which meant that until Mirage got her strength back, she wasn’t going to be hunting for a while.

The medic simply prescribed good food, lots of rest and comfort for the mare before he left and mentioned that she’d be back on her hooves in no time. Despite the good news, Spirit was still concerned. What kind of spell did she cast to make her so weak?
“How is she?” Quill asked when he approached with cups of warm cider balanced on a platter sitting on his back.

Spirit took the platter from him and set it on the table before taking a cup. “Still sleeping” He responded. “Must have really worn her out.”

“I did some research but all I could find on Paladins was some old text about knights and stuff like that, nothing about ghosts,” Quill commented as he sat down in his lounge.

“Maybe the library will have something?” Spirit suggested.

Quill was about to reply until there was a knock at the door. He set his cup down and walked over to the door, unsure of who it could be. They didn’t have any appointments for the day and they had put up a sign for ‘No Walk-ins Today’ so that Mirage wouldn’t be disturbed. It had to be somepony with an emergency but that didn’t matter to Quill, there were two other companies in Bridle Falls after all.

“I’m sorry,” Quill said as politely as he could when he reached the door. “We’re not open for visitors to-”

When the door opened, two royal guards were standing tall before him dressed in their usual armor, and behind them, Princess Luna approached from her chariot. Quill dropped to one knee quickly in a bow when Luna finally reached the doorway.
“I have received your letter, Mystic Quill.” She announced.

“Please, your majesty, Quill is more than necessary” Quill said when he rose again. He turned back to see Spirit walk up beside him and bow as well.

“We’re honored by your visit princess, but one of my teammates it very weak at the moment and shouldn’t be disturbed,” Spirit said firmly. Quill nudged him with a back hoof.

“This is Princess Luna you idiot” Quill snapped in a whisper. Spirit was about to argue him until Luna cleared her throat.

“Quill has told me about Mirage’s experience as well, and that is why I am here,” Luna said. She turned back and nodded to another pair of guards that seemed to struggle with a large box of books. “These are ancient books from the Canterlot Library, along with some that Princess Twilight Sparkle said could be useful to our research.”

Quill pranced in place as he looked at the books and tried to hold back a squeal of delight. “These are from Princess Twilight Sparkle herself?” He buzzed with excitement. He barely waited for the box to be set down to rip it open and, quite literally, dive in.

“Forgive me for saying Princess, but if you read our letter then you know this ghost is very powerful. Why not get Princess Twilight and her friends to put an end to it? This is clearly out of the hooves of normal ponies.” Spirit remarked.

Quill popped his head out of the box, balancing a book on his head while he had another in his mouth. He spat the one in his mouth out when he heard Spirit address the princess so harshly.

“Spirit shut up!!” Quill snapped.

Princess Luna smiled at them. “It is alright, I understand his concern.” She replied. She nodded to her guards who closed the door behind them so they could have their privacy. “I fear this creature may be too much for even Twilight Sparkle and her friends to deal with. Their powers of friendship and harmony are of no use against the dead.”

“Then why can’t you or Princess Celestia stop this creature?” Spirit demanded.

Luna didn’t seem entertained by his questioning but she also understood his concerns so she swallowed her distaste and answered anyway. “My sister cannot see the dead. I can see them, but only because I rule the night and my magic isn’t meant to destroy-” Luna cut herself off as if her next word would condemn her for some crime. Which, in a way, it would have.

All knew about her time as Nightmare Moon, and some ponies even speculated that she had brought the ghosts into their world, but again ancient texts suggested they had been around for much longer than her.

Spirit nodded slowly, and they both looked at each other knowing that he hadn’t really meant anything by it, he was just worried. He whipped around quickly when a soft groan from Mirage caught his ear. He rushed to her side and smiled at her when she opened her eyes to him.

“Hey Spirit” She mumbled tiredly. “I’m starving”

“I’ll get you something to eat. Look who’s here to visit though,” He replied and turned a little so she could see Princess Luna.

Mirage gasped and tried to struggle to her hooves but Luna brought her own hoof up to stop her. “Please, continue your rest, I do not need such ceremony.” She urged. Mirage nodded and carefully laid back down.

Spirit left for the kitchen while Quill cleared off the recliner for Princess Luna to sit in. When she was comfortable, Spirit returned with a platter of fresh fruit vegetables and tea cakes, along with some of the finest tea they had.

“It probably isn’t the fine tea you're used to, princess, but it’s the best we have to offer,” Spirit said after pouring her a cup.

“I rather like a wide variety of teas” Luna answered. She lifted the cup with her magic and took a grateful sip, her smile showed she did, in fact, enjoy it. “Now then, I think we should get down to business.”

“Yes of course” Spirit replied then turned to Quill, who was nose deep in a book and scribbling frantically with his pen on a notepad. “Well, it looks like he already started”

Luna hid a chuckle behind her hoof then cleared her throat. “I have asked my sister if she knew anything of Paladins, however, she had no more information than I did.”

Quill looked up from his readings and adjusted his glasses. “There is an old journal here by one of the first ghost hunters” He announced. “It’s written by a mare named Safflower Spell. She says she’s been studying ghost behavior and psychology, and she has a note here saying she thinks that destroying their Tethers may not be the answer to solving the problem but-ugh it’s so smudged and stained- but something-something about talking to them instead”

Luna frowned at the mention of Tethers not being the answer. What other courses could there be? “Does she mention Paladins at all?”

“Well,” Quill continued. “Yes and no, She says something about trying to find Paladins and bringing them back to Equestria, but she’s not clear about what that means.”

Spirit huffed. “Of course not, that would just make this too easy” he muttered bitterly.

“I’m sorry Spirit but it’s all I can find right now” Quill spat. Luna looked between the two of them with some concern.

“Sorry, Princess,” Spirit mumbled.

“Safflower Spell...” Mirage piped up after being quiet for so long. “Does she mention her cutie mark at all?”

Quill flipped through some pages of the journal, then paused on one page with a look of confusion plastered hard on his face.

“It..it’s... yours.” He sputtered and set the book on the table so they could all see the drawing of a will-o-wisp wrapped in a magical aura...