Ponyville was silent. The dark enveloped the small town, pushing ponies into their homes and beds. But while most ponies where safe from the night in their beds or houses, one unicorn pony walked the darkness of the back allies. He carried himself with grace, his smirk shining through the dark. His grey eyes were alight with mirth, yet they held a subtle darkness. A long vertical scar ran down his neck. His dark brown mane was cut into a Mohawk and he didn't have a tail, presumably having lost it. His coat was the same dark brown as his mane. He wore a black saddle bag with a crossed wand and sword icon, the same as his Cutie Mark. The saddle bag sported a sheathed sword.
"Its way too easy being me," he said, patting his saddle bag. His voice was deep and was distinctly a Trotingham accent.
The stallion's ear twitched. Jumping forward, the spot he had been standing in was assaulted by a magic net.
"Ah, what's this?" the mysterious stallion said, maintaining a cocky attitude. "I figured I had more time before the chase began."
"No chase," Ghost said, stepping into the light. He glared at the pony, his glasses glinting in the moonlight. Flare stood on his back, barring his teeth and growling.
"Just a colt trying to look cool," the stallion said dismissively. He waved his hoof in a shooing gesture. "Run along now, past your bed time."
"Normally, I would tell you that the book you stole is dangerous and that you're playing with fire." Ghost continued to glare, ignoring the dismissive attitude of the thief. "But I know who you are and words won't work here, so why waste them."
"Oh, so you think you know me?" the thief said, with a smirk. "And who pray-tell am I?"
"Conceited aren't we," Ghost said, his glare hardening. "Very well, you're Phantom the Spell Thief, born Spell Cutter, you were a formal royal guard before being dishonorably discharged for killing your opponent in a practice magic duel. You evaded capture and have since racked up multiple offences, the most grievous being the crime of stealing other unicorns' magic talent."
Phantom just smiled as Ghost listed off his offenses. "Ah, good times. You've studied my work well."
"I was the one that wrote your wanted poster," Ghost said.
"Oh." Phantom smirked. "Can I request that 'steal' be changed to 'barrowed without intent to return'? It has a certain ring to it, don't you think?"
Ghost shook his head. "Doesn't matter what I think. Just give me the Rune Guide."
Phantom let out a hearty laugh. "And who are you to demand this of me?"
"Just a scribe," Ghost said, standing his ground. "But that book is mine. I'll try civility one more time. Please, give me the book."
Phantom laughed again. He looked at Ghost with a manic smile. "What drives you to do this?" he asked. "Is it bravery, or stupidity?"
A little of both, I guess. Ghost thought. Truth be told, Ghost was terrified. Phantom was a stallion that you did not want to meet in a dark alley, especially problematic since that was exactly what he was doing. Still, through all the fear, one thought kept ringing in his head. I have to get the book back.
Ghost didn't speak. He stood his ground, glaring at Phantom.
"Not so talkative now?" Phantom frowned, as he shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Such a shame. I was curious, but now I guess I'll never know." His horn glowed red, a fire ball forming. "Because tonight you die!"
The fire ball flew at Ghost, its heat scorching the sides of the alleyway.
"Ghost, watch out!" Flare cried, as he jumped in front of him. As the fire ball hit him, Flare summoned his own fire and concentrated on controlling it. The flames dissipated, leaving a slightly panting Flare in its wake.
"Oh, how interesting, well, try this!" Phantom's horn glowed again and he stamped his hoof. Spires of rock jutted out of the ground, heading right for the duo.
Ghost grabbed Flare in his teeth and jumped back. He ran, as Phantom gave chase.
"You know you shouldn't start fights you can't finish," Phantom called, as he chased after him.
Great idea, Ghost. Confront an extremely powerful mage in a cramped alley. You're sure to win. Ghost thought with sarcasm. He stopped berating himself in favor of finding a way to survive. I need to lead him out into the open.
Ghost kept running, dodging elemental attacks as Phantom tried to hit him.
"I quite like this game of tag," Phantom said, with a maniacal laugh.
Ghost spotted the opening to the alley and poured on the speed. Ghost jumped. When he hit the ground, he rolled, simultaneously pulling a sheet of paper out his bag, folding it into a paper plane and chucking it at Phantom.
The plane hit the ground in front of Phantom, who stopped with a raised brow.
"Was that supposed to do—?"
The plane exploded, charring the sides of the alley. The blast wasn't meant to be fatal, but it would defiantly hurt.
Ghost set down Flare and panted.
"Did you get him?" Flare asked.
The smoke from the explosion started to thin, showing Ghost something he was less than fond of.
"Foxtrot," he hissed, as Phantom stood in the alleyway, perfectly fine.
"Admittedly unexpected," Phantom said, dispelling the magic shield. "But ultimately, just annoying."
"Flare, Run!" Ghost shouted, as he and Flare took off in the direction of town square.
"More tag?" Phantom said, giving chase. "Beginning to not like this game."
It seemed Phantom had decided to give Ghost a taste of his own medicine, as Ghost and Flare had to dodge explosions at every turn. It was clear that Phantom was just playing with them, like a cat plays with a mouse. This just served to tick Ghost off.
Ghost was knocked off his feet as an explosion went off to his right.
"Ghost!" Flare cried, as he ran to him.
"I'm fine. Keep running!" Ghost yelled, as he jumped up. The blast had only clipped him giving him a small burn, but ruining the clasp of his saddle bag. As the two kept running, Ghost tried to keep the paper from spilling out of his bag.
Ghost suddenly stopped as a wall of rock emerged in front of them. Turning around, he saw Phantom walking towards them looking bored.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted," he said, with a fake sigh, "but now the game is over."
Ghost growled. "Flare, I want you to run."
Flare tried to protest. "I'm not gonna leave—"
"Flare," Ghost said, his voice lowering as he glared at Phantom. "If you ever listen to me, now would be the time. I'm not going to let him kill you. When I say so, run."
Flare's eyes started to water. "Ghost…" Flare nodded.
"Such a touching moment," Phantom sarcastically said with a frown. "To bad you can't stop me."
"Now!" Ghost called, launching two paper planes at him.
The blast startled Phantom. Flare bolted past him, but stopped when he heard something.
Before he could register it, something plowed into Ghost side, knocking him to the ground, and pinning him face down in the dirt.
"I knew you had something planed," a familiar voice said.
"Rainbow Dash!" Ghost exclaimed with wide eyes. Looking forward, he could see Twilight and the rest of her friends standing behind Phantom.
"What's going on, Ghost," Twilight asked.
Phantom raised a brow then smirked. "Well, it would appear our game has been interrupted." His horn glowed.
"Twilight, he's got the Rune Guide," Ghost yelled.
"Your life is spared, be grateful," Phantom said, the glow from his horn getting brighter.
He's teleporting. Ghost thought in panic. "Get off me, you stupid Feather-head," Ghost said, angry.
"What did you just call me?" Rainbow said, with a fierce glare.
"Bye," Phantom said with a laugh.
He's getting away. He's getting away and it's my fault. In a fit of desperation, Ghost jumped up, knocking Rainbow Dash off and charging at Phantom, screaming.
"Wha—"
In a bright flash, both Ghost and Phantom were gone. The only trace of them being the scorch mark on the ground.
"Ghost…" Flare said wide-eyed. "Ghost," he said, louder. "Ghost!" he yelled in a panic. Flare started to circle the scorch mark. "Ghost! Where are you!"
Turning to the group of mares, Flare started crying. "We have to find him!" he said, hysterically. "Ghost can't fight him! Phantom will kill him! We have to find him!"
As the young fox descended into hysterics, Twilight nodded to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy scooped up Flare and held him close. "Shh," she whispered in his ear. "It will be alright. We'll find Ghost. Shh." Fluttershy rubbed his back as he sobbed into her shoulder.
"I couldn't help him," Flare sobbed. "When he needed it, I couldn't help him."
Twilight examined the scorch mark.
"Think you can find them, Twilight?" Rarity asked, beside her.
Twilight tried to trace their location with some magic, but soon stopped.
"It's no good." She sighed. "Whoever this Phantom guy is, he covered his magic trail."
"What was that book-brain even doing out here?" Rainbow Dash asked, fairly irritated.
Twilight put a hoof to her chin.
Twilight, he's got the Rune Guide.
Twilight gasped. "He was trying to stop Phantom from taking the Rune Guide."
"What's the Rune Guide," Applejack asked with a raised brow.
Twilight shook her head. "No time to explain." She looked around the square. "We have to find them?"
"How?" Rarity asked.
Twilight scanned the square. She noticed there were scattered papers around. Must have fallen out of Ghost's bag. Her eyes widened, as she got an idea.
Quickly gathering all the papers, she went over to Flare and Fluttershy. The fox had calmed down considerably, but was still in tears.
Shows just how young he is. Twilight thought, sadly.
"Flare," she said, softly.
"Yeah?" Flare asked, wiping away tears.
"How did Ghost know Phantom had the Rune Guide?"
Flare sniffed. "The princess told us it was stolen and Ghost started tracking it with a rune."
Twilight held up a glowing sheet of paper. "Like this one?"
Flare nodded. "He put it over a map and it showed him where it was."
Twilight quickly scanned the paper and found a map of Ponyville and the surrounding area.
Twilight smiled. "We're in luck, girls. Ghost left us all we need to track him down."
Twilight laid the map out and put the rune over it. She would have been impressed by how it worked, if she wasn't racing against time. Scanning the map, she found their location.
"Whitetail Woods," she said, packing up the map. "That's where they are."
"Then we better hurry, for Ghostwriter's sake," Rarity said, holding up a discarded wanted poster of Phantom the Spell Thief. The girls could only gulp, as they noticed a word printed on it.
Murder.
The normal quiet of Whitetail wood was broken by scuffling. The same flash that abducted Ghost, appeared, dropping Ghost and Phantom into the forest. Ghost had tackled Phantom mid teleport, so when they reappeared, Ghost and Phantom hit the ground. Phantom kicked Ghost away. Ghost jumped to his hooves, glaring at Phantom.
Phantom returned the glare, his composure broken. "You stupid colt!" he growled. "You threw off my spell!"
"I'm not going to let you take that book," Ghost growled.
Phantom scoffed. "I was going to let you live, but I don't think you deserve that mercy, now." His horn began to glow.
Ghost growled. I can't let him have that book.
"A duel," Ghost said.
Phantom raised a brow and stopped his spell. "What?"
"I challenge you to a magic duel," Ghost said, looking at Phantom with determination.
Phantom laughed. "Oh, that's rich." Phantom began to circle Ghost. Ghost started to mirror his actions. "You named all of my crimes, you know what I've done and yet you still challenge me to a duel. Now I know you're stupid."
"Maybe," Ghost said, not taking his eyes off his opponent. "But it doesn't matter. If I win, I get my book back."
"And what do I get?" Phantom asked, with a smirk.
"My life," Ghost said.
Phantom laughed. "Not much of a prize, but I like your spirit." Phantom lowered his head, as the maniacal smile returned. "But this means you're in my way, and I cut down things in my way."
The two stopped circling and began a stare down. The two froze, waiting for some unknown signal to start. It was silent in the woods. The slightest sound could set them off. A leaf crunched.
The two jumped back, Ghost chucking an explosive plane and Phantom, a fire ball. The two attacks met, exploding.
Ghost prepared two more planes, before having to jump to avoid the rock spires coming towards him. However he was not completely successful as one spire clipped his side. The attack startled him and he was unable to land right. He hit the ground, jumping up quickly. He quickly put up a shield rune, as magic lighting assaulted it. When the lightning stopped, Ghost threw a plane at Phantom. This one didn't explode, however, but unleashed a bright flash. Ghost ducked behind a tree.
"Are we playing hide and seek now?" Phantom called, laughing.
Ghost panted, as he put his back against the tree. He winced as he felt his side. The rock spire had only clipped him, so it was only a scratch, but it was a large scratch. Phantom outmatched him. Of that, there was no question. It didn't help that Ghost would eventually run out of runes. If Ghost was going to have any chance, he needed to play smart. Ghost smirked, a plan already forming.
Ghost dashed out from the tree. Phantom launched a fire ball at him. Ghost dodged and kept running. Phantom gave chase, launching more fire balls at him. Ghost dodged again and dived behind another tree.
Phantom laughed. "You think a tree will stop me?" Phantom's horn sent out a wave. The energy sliced through the tree, toppling it. When it fell, Phantom saw Ghost on the other side, perfectly fine. Ghost smirked before disappearing.
Phantom didn't have time to wonder about it, as he suddenly found himself surrounded by 10 paper planes. The planes exploded simultaneously.
Ghost stood behind him, begging that the explosion knocked him out. The smoke cleared as Phantom laughed. "Nice trick." Phantom had taken the explosion. It showed in the fact that his coat and mane were singed. The problem, was that he was very resilient.
"Foxtrot!" Ghost hissed.
"Going to have to do better than that," Phantom said, brushing off his left shoulder.
Ghost jumped back, barely dodging the fire that had been summoned next his hooves. He activated a decoy rune, the one he had fooled Phantom with before. The two Ghost charged Phantom from both sides.
Phantom didn't even bat an eyelash. Why bother trying to find the real one? Phantom let loose a radial blast knocking the real Ghost away.
Before Ghost could get back up, Phantom's sword was poised to strike. Phantom wore a sadistic smirk as his magic held the blade.
Ghost growled while glaring at the spell thief. "Blades are cheating."
Phantom laughed. "Wake up, Colt. You should know by now," His smile widened. "I don't play fair."
Ghost closed his eyes, waiting for the strike.
Before Phantom could spill his blood, the sword was knocked away by a rock, followed by a burst of magic lightning. Phantom jumped back.
Ghost opened his eyes to see Flare running at him. Behind him stood the girls. Twilight ran over and tried to help him up.
Twilight helped him up, but Ghost pushed her away. "Are you insane?" he cried. "Phantom will have no qualms about killing you."
"Doesn't matter," Twilight said, glaring at Phantom. "I'm not going to let you die when I can do something about it."
"You helped my orchard," Applejack said, walking to Ghost left. "Figured I should return the favor."
"Good heavens, Ghostwriter," Rarity said, standing next to Applejack. "When this is done, I'll need to fix up your cloak."
Pinkie skipped to Twilight's right. "I haven't thrown your party, yet. I don't want you to die before you see it, Ghostie."
Ghost didn't have time to ponder the nickname, as he spotted Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the air above him.
"I haven't gotten you back for that Feather-head comment," Rainbow said, pointing at him. "You can't die yet, Book-brain."
"Beatrix has really taken a shine to you," Fluttershy said, as said bat landed on Ghost head. "She'd be heartbroken if you were gone." Fluttershy turned away. "And… uhm… I wouldn't be too happy either…."
Phantom rolled his eyes. "As touching as this display is, you've broken the rules."
"You broke the rules first," Twilight yelled. "It's only fair Ghost gets some back up."
Phantom paced in front of him. "So I went from fighting a stupid colt, to him, six fillies, a rat with wings, and a fox."
"She's a bat!" Flare yelled, as Beatrix squeaked. The two paused and looked at each other.
Phantom stopped pacing. He looked at Ghost and Twilight. "It would appear I'm out numbered." He smirked as his horn glowed. Six identical copies appeared next to him. "Oh, no I'm not."
"They're not illusions!" Ghost yelled, warning the group. "He stole Multiforce the copier's magic. Those clones are solid."
Twilight glared harder at Phantom.
"Still, I think we could even the odds more," One of the Phantom clones said.
"I like the way you think," Phantom said, his horn aglow once more.
Rainbow Dash and one of the copies disappeared.
The group gasped.
"So it's 'divide and concur'," Ghost growled.
Phantom merely smirked, as one by one the group disappeared.
There was only one thought going through Ghost head, as he was forcefully warped. Please don't let them die because of me.
Applejack looked at the Phantom copy with a fierce glare. She pulled out her lasso.
Phantom laughed. "I'm a master of magic, and you expect to fight me with a lasso?"
"You don't know who yer dealin with, ya dirty sidewinder," Applejack said, through the lasso.
Phantom wasted no time firing off a fire spell. Applejack dodged. Phantom jumped back, firing off more fire spells. Applejack weaved through the attacks, silently thanking her rodeo training. She charged straight at Phantom. She readied her lasso. Phantom fired his slicing wave in a vertical pattern. Applejack dodged to her left. Turning, she saw the wave slice through a tree. She smirked. She dodged more spells, as she ran to her right. Applejack finally stopped, positioning herself between Phantom and a large tree.
"That yer best?" she taunted, starting her charge again.
Phantom growled. He fired off more spells. Applejack, same as before, dodged them. Phantom fired his slicing wave again, this time horizontally. Applejack smirked. Just what she wanted. Apple jack jumped the wave, continuing her charge. She jumped over a surprised Phantom. Twisting in the air, she threw her lasso and snagged a branch, giving it a hard tug. She landed.
Phantom turned around, a glare on his face. "You're just showing off."
Applejack smirked and stepped to her left. "Timber."
"What?"
Before Phantom's question could be answered, he heard the snapping of tree limbs. Turning, he let out a scream as the tree trunk fell on him. Applejack winced. She spotted Phantom's leg sticking out, but it soon wisped out of existence.
"Well, glad that's over," she said, with a sigh.
Her ears could pick up the sounds of explosions in a different area of the forest. Her face hardened and she ran to help.
Phantom was annoyed. He could already tell one of his copies had been disposed of. To make matters worse, the pink pony he was fighting just wouldn't sit still.
"Why!" He fired a lightning bolt. She dodged. "Won't!" He threw a big rock at her. She dodged. "You!" He let loose a fire ball. She ducked under it. "Stay!" He launched a slicing wave at her. She danced around it. "Still!" he yelled.
Pinkie giggled. "You're not very good at this."
Phantom screamed, launching another bolt of lightning. "I have stolen the powers of twenty powerful unicorns."
"You're not very nice, either," she said, as she tilted her head and let the bolt pass.
Phantom let loose a barrage of magic attacks.
"Missed me!" Pinkie said, ducking behind a tree.
She poked her head out. Phantom fired a fire ball.
"So close," she said, ducking back, then appearing behind another tree.
Phantom kept trying to hit Pinkie.
"So you're a meanie," Pinkie said, dodging a fire ball. "And you steal things," She ducked a slicing wave. "But the worst thing."
She suddenly appeared in Phantom's face. She glared at him. "You tried to kill Ghost and make him break his Pinkie Promise." Her voice was deep and serious.
Phantom tried to use a radial blast but Pinkie disappeared. Phantom looked around with a growl. Scanning the forest, he raised a brow at the brightly decorated box. Walking over to the box, he noticed a card saying 'Open Me'. Phantom frowned and began to charge a spell while putting his hoof on the lid. As soon as he lifted the lid, Pinkie popped out, upper-cutting him.
"Shoryuken!" she yelled, knocking him into the air. Landing, she put her hoofs together. A glowing ball appeared.
"Hadouken!" she yelled, throwing it at the air-born Phantom.
The energy collided with him sending him flying into a tree. As he slumped, his body disappeared.
Pinkie smiled, skipping off while humming a song.
Applejack came upon Rarity's battle with a Phantom clone. While it didn't look like Rarity was doing a bad job, she didn't look to good, either. Her coat looked a little dirty. It was clear that all Rarity could do was dodge.
Phantom laughed. "And you came here to save that stupid colt? You can't even fight."
"You brute," Rarity said with a glare. "Manners are not your forte, are they?"
"Sorry, I missed that class," Phantom said, mocking her.
Phantom fired a lightning bolt. Rarity dodged it, but her mane wasn't so lucky.
She gasped as she looked at the singed edges of her mane. She glared fiercely at Phantom. "OH. IT. IS. ON."
Phantom drew his sword. "I'm bored now."
Phantom charged forward. Rarity stood her ground.
Applejack's eyes widened. She franticly searched for a way to help. Her eyes spotted a large stick on the ground.
"It'll have to do." She tossed the stick into the air, turned and bucked it. "Rarity!" she called.
Applejack had intended for the stick to hit Phantom, but Rarity surprised her. Grabbing the stick with her magic, she blocked the sword, then twisted, knocking the blade away. She struck Phantom twice, before busting it over his head. Twirling the remainder around her, she launched it full speed into Phantoms chest, sending him flying. Phantom stayed down, the clone dispersing.
Applejack's jaw dropped.
"That was so cool, Rarity," Pinkie said, skipping out of the brush.
"What was that?" Applejack asked, with shock.
"Oh," Rarity said, trying to fix her hair. "I took Fencing as an extracurricular in school. I became rather good, if I do say so myself."
Fluttershy cowered, as explosions went off around her. Phantom was just torturing the poor Pegasus.
"Please, stop," she begged.
Phantom laughed. "Oh no, this is too much fun." He stopped as frown came to his face. "They've gotten three of them?" he said, in disbelief. He growled. "I better finish up here."
Phantom drew his sword and started walking towards the quaking Fluttershy.
"Please," she begged.
"I'm not one for mercy." Phantom raised the blade with a maniacal smile on his face. "Night."
Fluttershy screamed. The blade never came.
She opened her eyes to see that Phantom was engulfed by a giant shadow, a look of shock on his face.
Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity heard the scream and went running. What they saw, was Fluttershy, a bear, and a dissipating Phantom clone.
Fluttershy was looking over a cut on the bear's arm.
"You didn't have to do that, you know," she said as she bandaged up the arm. "No need for you to get hurt on my behalf."
The bear grunted.
"Well, I do appreciate the help."
"Fluttershy," Rarity said with a sigh. "Thank Celestia, you're okay."
Fluttershy turned to the group. "Mr. Bear heard what was going on and decided to help."
The group heard an explosion.
"No time to celebrate," Applejack said, shaking her head. "Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Ghost are still fighting that guy."
Rainbow Dash smirked as she dodged Phantom's fire ball. Though the trees cut down on how fast she could fly, even her cruising speed was more than enough. Rainbow decided that rather than take on Phantom directly, she would use guerilla tactics. She ducked and weaved behind trees, striking Phantom when he couldn't track her. Rainbow laughed as Phantom cursed at missing her again.
She'd found that although Phantom tried to act cool-headed, he had a very short fuse. Rainbow had no trouble sending him into a fit.
"Time for a finisher," she said, smirking. "This is going to be so cool."
Coming out of cover, she charged straight at the enraged Phantom.
"Got you!" Phantom yelled, firing his slicing wave.
"Too slow," Rainbow said, as she shifted her body, the wave passing her by. She continued her charge and punched him holding his head and grinding it into the ground. Using him as a spring board, she jumped forward and began flying around him. The spinning produced a tornado, catching Phantom. Once he was in the wind storm, Rainbow rocketed straight up, Phantom being tossed up with her. Rainbow, meanwhile, was high in the air. She stopped her wings and closed her eyes, as she fell back. Rainbow took a deep and smirked. Her eyes snapped open. She flew straight down, gaining speed. She intercepted Phantom just as her Sonic Rainboom went off. Grabbing him, she flew straight at the ground, planning to slam Phantom into the forest floor. The two hit the ground, putting a crater in it 5 foot deep. Rainbow shook her head from the bottom of the giant crater. While she was resilient, that still hurt. She looked towards Phantom. The clone was down for the count. Rainbow climbed out of the crater as the clone disappeared. Applejack helped her out. The rest stood behind her concerned.
"You okay there, RD," Applejack asked, looking at the crater Dash had created.
"Yeah," Rainbow said, shaking her head again. "Yeah, I'm fine. As cool as that was, don't think I wanna do that again."
Rainbow figured the only reason she hadn't brained herself on the ground was that Phantom had 'broke' her fall.
"Come on, Rainbow," Rarity said, turning to the sounds of another battle ground. "The night is not over yet."
Ghost panted as he hid behind a tree. He had been able to get away from Phantom using another flash rune. Ghost tried to settle his heart. He checked his bag. He was running low on runes. Soon, he wouldn't be able to fight back.
"Gotta play smart," he mumbled.
His ears twitched. He could hear something coming. Ghost held a blast rune. The sounds were distinctly hoof steps. Ghost held his breath as the sounds came closer. Ghost jumped, out ready to throw the blast rune. He stopped when he noticed a lavender unicorn sparking her magic.
Ghost sighed as he lowered the rune. "Twilight, your okay." Ghost looked around, eyes narrowed. "Where's the Phantom clone."
"I beat him," Twilight said, also scanning the forest.
Ghost raised a brow. "You beat him?" His eyes narrowed. "How do I know you're the real Twilight."
"You got your horn stuck in the library's floor boards," Twilight said with a grin.
Ghost's shoulders slumped. "Good enough for me." His eyes widened. "Wait, you actually beat him? My blast runes couldn't even scratch the guy. How'd you do it?"
"A rebound spell," Twilight said, her eyes still scanning the forest. "It's a fairly simple spell but it has its uses."
Ghost smirked. Even if the clone spell limited Phantom's powers, he was still really strong. "No wonder your Princess Celestia's protégé."
Twilight smirked.
Ghost sighed. "So now we have to deal with the rest of the clones."
Twilight shook her head. "I don't think so. When I was fighting him, he said something about all his other clones getting beat. I think the girls beat them all."
Ghost sighed with relief. Good, no pony is dead because of me.
" Alright," he said, standing straight. "So with six down that just leaves"
"Me!" Phantom said, emerging from the darkness.
Ghost and Twilight crouched, ready for anything.
"Your little group is really making my blood boil," Phantom said, circling them. "And that," he said, shaking his head. "Just will not do."
Phantom's horn glowed. The darkness enclosed on the two. Phantom disappeared. Ghost looked around but couldn't see anything but Twilight next to him.
"A darkness spell," Twilight hissed. "He's limiting how far we can see."
"That's really not good." Ghost gulped, fear gripping his chest.
"I just want to play with you." Phantom's voice pieced the darkness, seeming to come from everywhere.
The two unicorns waited. The forest was deathly silent. The two stood their ground, muscles tense, ready to fight should the die be cast.
"He's not doing anything," Twilight whispered. "I can't counter this. He knows it. Why is he just waiting?"
Ghost stamped his hoof. "That's sick!" he growled. "He wants to watch us squirm."
Ghost clenched his teeth. "Twilight, I'm sorry that you're in this. I'm in over my head and I dragged you girls into this." Ghost glared out into the darkness. "It was stupid for me to try this. You shouldn't have come after me."
"It doesn't matter now, Ghost," Twilight said, softly. "I would have done this for any of my friends. We'll make it out. Just have a little hope."
Ghost nodded. "Wait," he said, his eyes wide. "Friends?"
Before Twilight could answer, the two heard a squeak. Beatrix lowered, carrying Flare.
"Ghost!" Flare cried landing on Ghost back and jumping to the ground.
"Why did he let Flare and Beatrix get to us?" Twilight asked.
"He probably thinks it won't do us any good," Ghost said. He put a hoof to his chin. "Twilight, can he hear us?"
"He has to stay at a certain distance for this to work. If we whisper, he shouldn't hear us," Twilight said, looking out into the darkness.
"How long will it take you to break this?" Ghost asked in a whisper.
" A minute, tops," she answered.
Ghost took stock of his runes. He still had some shield runes left.
"Alright I think I have an idea, but." Ghost sighed, "It's a bit of a long shot." Ghost shook his head. "You have no reason to trust me. I haven't exactly proven to be intelligent with this sort of thing."
Twilight frowned. "At this point some plan is better than no plan."
"True," Ghost said with a smirk. "Alright I want you to try and break the spell. One of two things will happen. He'll break it and charge us, or launch attacks to try and stop you. I can work with either one. I'll use these shield runes to cover you. They should give you enough time. If not…"
"If not, what?" Twilight asked with a frown.
Ghost shook his head. "Doesn't matter. He won't get to you. I promise." Ghost turned to Flare. "Okay it's an illusion spell, right? That means it's only working on us so Beatrix and Flare can see, right?"
Twilight nodded. "Phantom would have to break the spell and cast it again."
"Good. Flare, Beatrix, I need you to spot for me," Ghost said. "Tell me what's coming."
The two beasts nodded.
"Alright, let's start." Ghost turned to Twilight. "Whatever you do, do not stop trying to break this, okay?"
Twilight nodded and began sparking her magic.
Ghost turned to the darkness.
"Left!" Flare yelled.
Ghost jump and activated the shield, blocking fire spell. The shield took the brunt of the attack. Luckily, Ghost could use a shield rune several times.
"Option one, it is," he hissed.
Flare and Beatrix kept spotting attacks and Ghost kept blocking.
The darkness around them started to crack, Twilight's horn glowing bright pink. Ghost panted as he watched more cracks appear in the dark bubble surrounding it.
Ghost blocked a lightning bolt just as the bubble shattered, revealing the forest.
Phantom growled. "Impressive."
Ghost charged forward. "It's over Phantom!"
"Ghost, wait!" Twilight called, trying to get him to stop.
"It's over alright!" Phantom yelled as he charged a spell. "For you!"
Twilight couldn't move. She could barely think. Her hooves were frozen in place, her eyes wide, her breath hitched. All she could do was watch, as Phantom launched a fire ball at the charging Ghostwriter. It hit. Ghost went down, a scream escaping his throat. His coat was singed, his cloak in tatters, his eyes closed. He didn't get back up, didn't move, didn't breath. He was dead.
Phantom let out a monstrous laugh. "That stupid colt!"
Twilight barely noticed her friends appear beside her. Their reactions were the same as hers.
Phantom turned to the group. "Now to finish you off," he said as he summoned a giant fireball, laughing.
Twilight would have put up a shield, but something stopped her. The fire ball had no magic in it.
The rest of the girls prepared to scatter until twilight held up a hoof.
"Girls, something's not right," Twilight said frowning. "That fire ball isn't real."
"Looks plenty real to me," Rainbow Dash said.
"No, Twilight is right," Rarity said, shaking her head. "There is no magic in it."
During the conversation, Phantom just kept laughing. Twilight looked at the group. Everyone was there, except…
"Where's Flare?" she wondered aloud.
Suddenly the fireball wavered away, along with Ghost's body. Instead, Ghost appeared standing next to a cackling Phantom. Flare sat on his back, eyes closed.
"Ghost, you're okay?" Twilight asked with wide eyes filled with disbelief.
"I was always okay," Ghost said with a smirk. "As soon as you cracked the spell, I had Flare put up an illusion." Ghost sighed. "Though, I'm sorry that it had to be gruesome."
"But they saw it too," Twilight said pointing to her friends.
Ghost smiled. "Flare's illusions work differently than a spell based one. It's applied over a large area, initially. Then, when something has been under its effect long enough, he can narrow and concentrate its effect on specified targets." Ghost turned to Phantom, who was still laughing, with a glare. "Right now, he thinks he's concurred Equestria."
"So what's next?" Applejack asked, looking at her friends.
"Well, first things first," Ghost said, walking to phantoms side. Ghost opened Phantoms saddle bag before reaching in and pulling out a book. The book had an intricate rune on its red leather cover. Ghost smirked before putting the book into his own saddle bag. He reached back into Phantom's bag, frowning when he pulled out a piece of paper.
"Just as I thought," Ghost growled.
"What's with the paper?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised brow.
"This is a leach rune," Ghost said, showing the rune to the group. "The way I use it, is as an extra stock of magic energy. I let it fill with magic and then once it's full, I deactivate it and then I can activate it again to release the energy. However…" Ghost activated the rune and slapped it on Phantom's back. Phantom screamed, the rune releasing a bright blue glow. "If applied directly to a magic source," Ghost yelled over Phantom's scream. "It takes all of the magic in that source." Phantom dropped to the ground groan. Ghost walked in front of him. "All of it. Flare, drop the illusion." Flare opened his eyes and slumped on Ghost back, panting, the illusion clearly exhausting him. "You did well, Flare," Ghost said smiling at his little fox brother. Ghost turned to Fluttershy, who still had tears in her eyes from what she had seen, but was recovering. "Miss Fluttershy, could you take Flare for a moment?"
Fluttershy nodded and took Flare. Flare laid down on her back and slept.
Ghost turned back to Phantom. Phantom tried to stand, but fell to the ground. "Don't bother getting up," Ghost said, glaring. "You should know you won't be able to walk for days, after all, you've used this rune on plenty of other unicorns." Ghost kicked Phantom's face, his glare hardening. "You used it to steal their magic, their talent, their way of living." Ghost gave him another kick. "Now their fate is yours. For someone so obsessed with magic, how does it feel to lose it all?"
Phantom growled.
"All your power is now contained in this simple piece of paper." Ghost knelt in front of the disabled thief. "I could activate it again and obtain all your power." Ghost frowned. "But that would make me no better than you." Ghost shook his head, his face adopting a smirk. "No, I have a better idea. One that is a fate worse than death for you." Ghost stood back up and walked away, turning around. "It's kinnda hard to imagine, isn't it? That the power of twenty one unicorns is contained within this flimsy piece of paper." Ghost smirked, ripping the paper in half. "Oops."
"No!" Phantom yelled. "No!"
"There goes all your power. The magic you stole could never be returned, so it will return to the world. All your power is gone, Phantom. You can't even do levitation now," Ghost said. "Oh, one more thing…" Ghost kicked him once more, knocking him out. "That was for calling me a stupid colt!"
Ghost sighed, before dropping to the ground. "Foxtrot, I'm tired." Ghost turned to the group. "Anypony got any rope?"
Applejack smirked, pulling out her lasso and tying Phantom up, while the rest of the group went over to help Ghost up.
Twilight helped Ghost up and steadied him.
"Are you all right, Ghost?" Fluttershy asked, frowning with worry.
"Yeah," Ghost said with a deep breath. "I'm just tired."
"What do we do with him?" Rainbow asked, pointing to the subdued Phantom.
Ghost winced as he felt his sides. With the adrenalin wearing off, he was beginning to really feel the hits he had taken. Rarity and Fluttershy noticed. Rarity ripped Ghost cloak into a useable strip which Fluttershy wrapped around his side.
Ghost was left with just the collar and hood.
"Well, I'll need to make you a new one," Rarity said.
Ghost raised and eye before shaking his head. "Uh… thank you." Ghost looked over to Phantom's unconscious body. "I sent a note to the Princess before I left." Ghost looked at the sky, trying to gauge how much time had passed. "She should be in Ponyville soon with some royal guards."
The group nodded and made to walk back to town with Applejack dragging Phantom.
"Let's drag him through some poison joke," Rainbow said, smirking.
The group laughed, except for Ghost who didn't know what poison joke was.
The group was met by a large crowd in Ponyville's town square. Princess Celestia stood in the center with royal guard around her. The worried look on her face was soon replaced with relief as she spotted the group.
"Ghostwriter, Twilight Sparkle, I am glad you and your friends are okay," she said sighing.
Ghost looked at the ground with a guilty frown. "I'm sorry, Princess. They came after me. It was stupid to try and get the Rune Guide back myself." Ghost pulled the book out of his bag and handed it to the Princess. Celestia took the book and handed it to one of her guards.
"It is alright, Ghostwriter," Celestia said. "What is important is that you all are okay and the Rune Guide is safe." Celestia looked at Phantom, who was being handed off to guards by Applejack. "What of Phantom."
"All his power is gone," Ghost said, glaring at Phantom. "He was using a leach rune to steal magic. I turned it back on him, and then destroyed it, releasing the magic back to the world."
"I see," Celestia said with a nod. "Was there no way to return what he stole?"
Ghost shook his head sadly. "Not one I could see. I admit I might have acted a bit rash."
"Understood." A smile came to the Princess' face. "Rest, Ghostwriter. I will need you to be in Canterlot in a few days for the trial."
Ghost nodded.
Celestia turned to the rest. "You girls should rest, too. It is clear you all have been through a lot."
The group nodded.
Celestia smiled and turned to her guards. "Let us return to Canterlot."
Celestia and her guards left and slowly the crowd dissipated, leaving Ghostwriter and the girls.
Ghost frowned and put a hoof to his chin. "I don't get it."
"What," Twilight asked.
Ghost turned to the group. "I don't get it. Why come after me? Applejack said she owed me, but the rest of you barely know me. Even then, Applejack didn't owe me that much."
Fluttershy stepped up first. "Flare can't live without you," she said handing the sleeping Flare to him.
As Flare was passed to Ghost, he curled up into Ghost's chest. Beatrix squeaked before landing on Ghost's head.
"He thinks so highly of you," Fluttershy continued. "It wouldn't be fair to leave him alone in the world." Fluttershy turned her head away, avoiding eye contact. "And… uhm… you seem nice. I think you would be a good friend."
"I still have to pay you back for calling me Feather-head," Rainbow Dash said before rubbing her neck. "But, I gotta admit, you were pretty cool back there. I wouldn't mind having you around."
Pinkie Pie giggled. "Every pony in Ponyville is my friend and you're living here now, which makes you my friend and that's what friends do."
Rarity stepped up. "It was the right thing to do. You have style, Ghostwriter. It would be a shame to lose it."
"Rarity's sayin' she like's ya," Applejack said, laughing. "We're even now. You're a good guy, Ghost. Ya got your quirks, but I think you'll do fine here."
Twilight smiled. "Like I said, I would do that for any of my friends and I consider you a friend."
Ghost blushed. "But we barely know each other…"
Twilight giggled. "First lesson about Ponyville. You make friends quickly."
Ghost shook his head. "Maybe this is a fresh start," he said under his breath.
Twilight held out her hoof. "So what do you say, friends."
Ghost looked at the open hoof and slowly smiled. "Yeah," he said, shaking the hoof. "Friends."
"Oh! You know what this calls for?" Pinkie said excitedly, jumping up and down.
"It's a little late for a party, Pinkie," Rarity said, attempting to fix her hair again. "I need my beauty sleep."
Pinkie frowned. "How about tomorrow?"
Ghost nodded. "Sounds fun." He frowned. "But, uh, can we keep it small?"
The group laughed.
"Well, I guess it won't be boring here," Ghost said, putting Flare on his back.
"Second lesson about Ponyville," Twilight said, smirking. "There's never a dull moment."
Excerpt from 'The Book of Hope'.
I was there merely as an observer. Yet, it is what I observed that influenced me. These mares taught me something. It was not friendship, though they did expand my knowledge of it. No, what I was taught was something I had lost. Something that influences all sentient life, whether good or evil. What they taught me was hope.
End Scribes are Weird.