Twilight was studying the Amulet very carefully, looking for anything of value. She carefully lifted it with her hoof, remembering how badly it reacted to her magic.

“Still no changes.” She sighed. Several months of observing the piece of ghostly jewelry had led her to almost nowhere. She was able to get energy for her Anti-Spirit weapon, but that was it.

Doctor Hooves only made Spirit Capture technology, which she knew was stolen by Inviso-Bill. She needed to find a way to power her other anti-spirit projects: Ghost Shields, Ghost Detectors, and the hundreds of other blueprinted ideas she had on her work bench.

But she needed some real ectoplasm to make the weapon work. Her artificial stuff wasn't doing its job. “I can hurt Inviso-Bill, and some of the other ghosts. But it's not enough.” Twilight slammed her hoof down in frustration. “I need to find ectoplasm to study and use. But where can I-” Then she got an idea. An ingenious idea. The unicorn got an ingenious, somewhat sinister, idea.

“I got it!” She yelled before grabbing several items from a box labeled Biological Research Equipment. From the box, Twilight grabbed a notepad, pen, binoculars, and a syringe.

“If I could get a ecto sample from Inviso-Bill. I could use it to create better ectoplasm and research what makes him tick!” A groan from upstairs made her quiet down.

It wasn't even morning yet, as evident by the lack of sun and a sleeping Spike the Dragon. Twilight quietly stepped out of her basement, locked the door, then headed out into the dusk Ponyville air.

Star Phantom in:

Ecto Science!

Let's learn some stuff!

The purple unicorn teleported to the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, remembering the information AppleJack gave her during the whole Gala Ticket Dragon incident. She set herself up inside a large bush, and waited. The sun started to rise, and soon the farm awoke to the sound of the Apple Family.

Twilight saw the familiar orange fur of AppleJack as she trotted next to her white furred, black maned brother, Star Apple. The unicorn didn't really know Star that well. He always seemed to be busy or spending time with family, which didn't seem all that strange. From what AJ told her, Star was a stallion that cared deeply for his family, and would do anything for them.

She watched the two interact, somewhat questioning how they were twins. For one thing, they didn't even remotely share the same colors. Most twins had similar colored fur or manes. But not these two. Was it something in the genetics? A magical mishap? Or was Star just that rarity? That 1% that did not resemble their twin. They certainly didn't share the same personality. If anything, they were opposite. AppleJack would sometimes be headstrong, and a bit too honest for her own good. Star, on the other hoof, seemed cooperative, accepting, and even a bit introverted.

Maybe I could talk to him later, ask him some things. She stopped when she noticed Star gasp. What's happening? The two ran into the barn, slamming the big door closed. Is there a problem in the barn? A loud explosion turned her attention to Ponyville, where a large cloud of smoke rose above the village.

Sweet Celestia! A second later, a black and white figured rocketed past her. It didn't take long for her to figure out who it was.

Inviso-Bill! I’ve got to follow him! She instantly broke off into a gallop, hoping to stay close behind the normally elusive spirit.

Her hopes were futile as the phantom accelerated, disappearing in the blink of an eye. But the unicorn was not deterred. She knew where the spirit was going. Whenever another ghost would attack, he seemed ready to fight.

Some of the townsponies believed this meant that Inviso-Bill was a hero. Twilight and many other scientists knew better. Inviso-Bill fights other ghosts for two reasons.

Reason 1: He fights for the thrill of the it. It's obvious through his excitement during battles, and the joking attitude he has.

Reason 2: Ghosts are territorial about their haunts. This is the perfect example. Other ghosts are trespassing on his haunting ground, which is the entire town, especially Sweet Apple Acres, where the spirit is often seen disappearing and reappearing.

Twilight made a mental note to talk to Granny Smith about it as soon as possible if her research got her nowhere. Then again, she could always notify Star. Or Big Mac. It was obvious that AJ knew about Inviso-Bill and made every attempt to hide him from the town.

She just couldn't understand why the orange mare supported that menace so much. It seemed too illogical. Unless the spirit made a deal with her. Maybe he leaves Sweet Apple Acres alone if AppleJack helps him. It was a theory, which she'll have to confirm if… WHEN she captures the ghost.

Twilight's brain slammed hard on the brakes as Inviso-Bill crashed into the pile of soap boxes nearby. In her shock, she stared at the ghostly earth pony, taking notice of the details. His pure white mane and tail, midnight black coat, the shield with a ghost surrounding it, and the slight gloa that surrounded his body.

The stallion quickly shook away the dizziness and concussion before catapulting toward the ghostly octopus rampaging in the skies above.

Twilight took cover in a nearby alleyway and readied her notepad. As the fight dragged on, she took note of Inviso-Bill’s fighting style, remembering her BBBFF’s training in the Guard.
The phantom stallion seemed defensive and reactive more than the offensive fighting most spirits did. He used his smaller size and superior speed to easily dodge most of the attacks. But he was sloppy, untrained. It's as if he was thrust into this battle, completely unprepared.

This means that he could be a young spirit, one who hasn't unlocked his full abilities, and the idea that this stallion. One who fought dragons, metal griffons, dozens of other ghosts, and destroyed the town in a blind rage, getting more powerful made the purple unicorn turn pale.

Her natural colors returned when Inviso-Bill was caught by a tentacle, which was followed by an electric shock. The highly pained scream that resounded from the stallion indicated that he was weak against electrical attacks.

Good, a source of power for her weapons. But most ghosts are not weak to electricity. She needed a universal weakness. One that was easy to make ammunition from quickly.

The screaming ended when the ghost octopus ended it's attack. The reason being that it was paying more attention to the glowing rope surrounding its waist. Holding the rope in her teeth, was the Mare of the Apple Family herself, AppleJack.

The orange mare gave a mighty tug, dragging the octopus into the dirt. Inviso-Bill phased out of his trap right before the mare yanked away his captor, and pulled out the thermos. The octopus was quickly sucked up, and in a flash, the Ghost Stallion of Ponyville took off toward the EverFree Forest.

Twilight charged after the ghost colt, making a mental note to talk to AppleJack later.

It was hard to keep up to the ghost in the forest. While he could just faze through the thick bushes and trees, Twilight had to maneuver around them. After a few minutes, she lost him completely.

“Shoot. Almost had him.” She muttered before deciding to head back into town. The unicorn never noticed the shadow zoom past her toward a familiar castle.

Star sighed as he landed in the courtyard of the former Castle of the Two Sisters. He looked around at the damage, knowing just how the Castle got into its current state.

“Remind me to never piss off that mare.” He muttered to himself before flying inside. If he remembered what Luna said correctly, the library was on the second floor, which should be undamaged.

The half ghost glided through the empty halls, nearly getting lost in the maze of passageways and hidden doors. After nearly an hour of searching, the sight of books and shelves revealed the room’s location.

Star gaped at the hundreds, if not thousands, of books stacked high on the ancient shelves.

“Guess I'll have to do it one row at a time.” He landed softly on the ground and walked inside.

Twilight finally made it back to Ponyville, where life seemed to go on as normal. There was very little damage done to the town, so repairs weren't a major concern for the townsfolk.

But the state of the town was at the back of Twilight's mind at the moment. She only had one thought driving her.

And the target of her thoughts was currently at her cart in the market area.

AppleJack put the bits from her latest sell into the small chest behind the cart when Twilight marched right up to the stand.

“Oh howdy Twilight, what can ah do ya for?”

“You can answer my questions.” The unicorn said. AJ recoiled from the bluntness of the statement, then raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“What kinda questions?”

“Firstly, how long have you been helping Inviso-Bill?”

Sadly, AJ wasn't as caught off guard as she ought to have been. This wasn't the first time Twilight confronted her about it. She made her support of the half ghost known, and thankfully, most of the town is starting to respect and follow her decision. Twilight, however, treats it like a crime.

No doubt because Celestia declared her brother a menace, along with all the other spirits. AJ may respect Twilight, but the unicorn holds the Princess in a little too high a regard.

“Ah don't see why ah shouldn't. He defends the town, and sometimes he needs help. Is that so bad?”

“AppleJack. He's not ‘defending the town,’ he’s defending his territory. What happens when the spirits finally stop coming. He might turn on the town. He already did once.”

“That was from Trixie’s Crystal Ball. Don't blame him for that faker’s actions!”

“Was it from lack of control, or instinct on overdrive?”

Now AJ was getting angry. “Ah ain't havin’ this conversation no more. Ah have apples to sell.”

“We're not done talking. Not until I know your relationship with Inviso-Bill.”

“Relationship? What’re you on about?”

“AJ.” Twilight said slowly. “He stays at your farm. He always seems to be near you. You help him. If I didn't know better, I'd say your in love with him.”

*AppleJack_Brain.exe has stopped working. Too many things wrong with the previous statement.*

After the world's longest amount of silence. AJ finally blinked back to reality. “Leave.”

“W-wha-”

“Leave! Get the buck away from mah stall and stay away from mah Farm!” The entire market turned its attention to the confrontation, intrigued by what made Ponyville’s resident Apple Farmer explode.

The angry mare shoved away the frightened unicorn. “Don't ever make such a disgusting suggestion tah me again! Don't ask me ‘bout the Ghost Colt no more, and don't ever come near mah family with those ideas in your head! Ever!”

Twilight nodded fearfully, and booked it back to her library. AJ gagged and sighed before heading back to lock up the cart. She figured it would be good to go home and drink away the thoughts put in her head.

Twilight quickly galloped toward her home, hoping to avoid the crowd of ponies that gathered during the commotion. When she reached her door, she whacked her head against it several times.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why did I say that? I should know better than to make accusations like that!”

Am I becoming too obsessed? Am I willing to throw my friends into the mud to get my answers?

“I think I'll just go to bed early and apologize to AJ tomorrow.” Twilight said before opening her door.

When she walked inside, she accidently kicked something. It was a box. Twilight read the seal on the top. All there was was a name.

You aren't that far from the truth. Here is some equipment to help capture, contain, and study Inviso-Bill. Use it wisely.

Blau Sango.

Author's Note

The Plot Thickens!
Who is Blau Sango?!
What could possibly be in that box?!
What will Twilight do next?!

I know, but you don't.
FInd out in the next installment!

Toodles!