The Ghost: Assorted Adventures

“Maud? Are you here?”

A beam of light followed Silver as he trekked down into the cavern. Gems glimmered around him. Blues and pinks and greens danced within his vision and guided him deeper into the welcoming earth, farther along the dug out path until he reached a surprisingly plain wooden door. The rich tan wood stood in contrast to the dark grey rock that framed it. Silver stepped onto the pink welcome mat beneath him and tapped twice. There was no response.

“Maud?” Silver called out. “I wanted to make sure you made it home safe. You are here, right?”

The door swung open and startled Silver. Before him stood Maud, adorned in the most peculiar headgear he had ever laid eyes upon. Glass lenses were suspended from the strap around her head, which bunched up her mane, and magnified her dull gaze. Other metal arms reached out like spider legs and carried lenses of different colors like a bizarre crown. She blinked slowly.

“Come on in, I was just working.”

Silver took a hesitant step into Maud’s abode. With each step, though, he was graced with a larger view of the grotto Maud called home. There was verdant grass, and a waterfall which decorated the natural spring it poured into. A large lavender canvas sheltered Maud’s possessions and formed a picturesque camp home, accentuated by the rock paths she had built. Past a descent toward the spring was a large workstation. Lumps of the mystery ore were laid out across the table, some cleaner than others, and glimmered in the sunlight that leaked from the grotto’s overhang.

“Whoa,” Silver whistled, taking in the sight. “This place is amazing.”

“My friend Starlight helped me find it.” Maud continued down along one of the rock paths to her station. “I am fine, by the way, Pinkie was more than willing to escort me home.”

“I could tell. So, are you working on the ore?” Silver followed behind Maud.

“I am,” she began. “It’s metallic in nature and has much in common with iron in a refined state. After a cross-section analysis I found the material to be uniform throughout and continued to test its thermal and molecular conductance. What I found is honestly remarkable. I had to measure it in a scalar quantity due to its unique molecular geometry.”

“Right…” Silver said, slowly.

“Paracausal conductivity of the substance can only be detected on the planck scale. Every instrument I have is reading extreme insulative properties within the ore, even in its unrefined state. I’ve been all across Equestria, and beyond, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Of course,” Silver said with a confused smile. “And your vocabulary is as sharp as ever.”

“Sorry, I’m excited,” Maud droned with a small grin. “All substances are either conductors or insulators. Paracausal, or magical, conductivity is in everything except this.”

“You mean it resists magic?”

“It hardly even interacts with it, even on the most basic level.”

Silver approached the table and gazed upon the substance. Now that it was clear of rock and filth he could see the strange, almost copperish glint of its surface. It held a polished finish but its surface was dull. He hovered his hoof over the substance.

“Is it safe to touch?”

“If it wasn’t, I would’ve been dead by now.” Maud walked over and held a piece of the ore in her bare hoof. “It doesn’t register magic. I can’t test the full extent of its resistances, but as far as I can tell magic just... can’t breach it.”

“Is it dangerous?” Silver cocked an eyebrow to Maud.

“It might leave a big lump on your head if I threw it at you, but no. As far as metal goes it’s pretty soft. Not much good as a weapon.”

“Incredible,” Silver mumbled as he picked up a piece. It was surprisingly light and smooth. Even through the specks of earth still clinging to its unassuming surface Silver could feel a strange numbness. It was dull, tingling, and hardly reached past the frog of his hoof but the sensation was enough to cause him some discomfort. Maud leaned over his shoulder and looked at the ore.

“Ponies are magical. You’re feeling your innate magic being pushed away. Weirded me out, too.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“I plan on taking some to Twilight and Starlight. With them I can test just how resistant the ore is, maybe even confirm my suspicions about it.” Maud took a satchel from beneath the table and loaded it with some ore, books, and supplies. “Would you like to come with me?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Silver stepped beside her and followed to the door, holding it open for Maud to step through. In just a few moments they stepped out from the glimmering grotto and into the open air of midday Ponyville.

“So, what sort of suspicions did you have?”

“My professor used to speak about certain ancient substances made by the first pony civilizations. A unicorn kingdom to the north experimented with ways to enhance their powers through metallurgy and alchemy.”

“The Crystal Empire?”

“Or what it used to be.” The two passed by Cafe Hay as the Castle of Friendship came into view. “The name was lost, but stories about how they transmuted the earth into different substances have been studied for centuries. One tale says an experiment went wrong and led to the invention of orichalcum.”

“Can’t imagine a metal that resisted magic was too useful to them, huh?”

“Surprisingly, no. Some might have continued making it, but as far as metals go this is one of the rarest out there. Even my professor had never seen it until recently.” The two ponies stepped past the Hay Burger and came face to face with the towering crystal castle. Silver put his foreleg in front of Maud to stop her.

“Hey, so before we go in, I want you to know things might get a little... teary.”

“How so?”

“Twilight knows me from before. You know, before before. I haven’t told her or Shining Armor I’m still around yet and, uh, I’d like to be-”

“Delicate?”

“Exactly.” Silver turned from Maud and faced the glistening tower. “Unless you want to go first?”

“At least I’ll learn more about you. There’s only so much I can deduce from noble facades.”

“Never let anypony say you don’t have amazingly invasive eyes,” Silver quipped.

“Oh, stop it, you.” Maud put a mocking hoof to her cheek and gestured at Silver before dropping the act and approaching the door. She knocked three times before Silver joined her and a muffled voice could be heard from within the structure. With each passing second it grew louder, punctuated by a click of the knob.

“Coming! I’m coming! Sorry, the castle is just so big and I still haven’t really learned my way around. You’d think there’d be a map or something. Oh, Maud!” The pale pink pony pushed past the door and embraced Maud, deep purple locks falling over the latter’s face. The unicorn looked to Silver and smiled.

“Hi there! I’m Starlight Glimmer, Twilight’s sorta student and friendship counselor at the school.”

“Silver,” he said, shaking her hoof. “We were wondering if Twilight was here. There are some things we need help with.”

“Oh, uh... yeah. Um, let me just call for her.”

“Is something wrong?” Maud said.

“Oh no! No, no, no, no, she’s just, uh... doing science. Please come in, though. Twilight! Twilight you have company!”

Starlight’s voice echoed down the towering hallways of the castle. From the end of one, scaled feet tapped across the immaculately polished floor and a small, soot covered purple dragon stepped before them. He licked his claw and extinguished the flame on his green fringe.

“Hi there, I’m Spike. She’s on her way,” he deadpanned. From the middle of the group came a burst of violet energy, leaving an audible pop in the air. The purple alicorn before them huffed and ran a frantic hoof through her mane. She straightened herself, stretched her wings back, then relaxed as she gave a long sigh of contentment. Her lavender eyes gazed upon Silver.

“H-Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle! You probably knew that, though,” she nervously laughed. “Sorry for the wild entrance, just messing with an experiment. I told Starswirl I was really busy, but come on, who can resist a metacausal analysis of pseudo-magical fields, right?”

“You are just as I remember you,” Silver chuckled.

Twilight’s sheepish grin slowly faded as she took in the stallion’s visage. She gasped, then mumbled, and finally clasped her mouth with her hooves before she found the power of speech once again.

“Oh my gosh, Silver? But I thought... there was a trial. I didn’t…” Her hooves found themselves around Silver’s neck as she relented. Her embrace was returned, and soon after Silver’s tears began to streak down his face. Starlight looked on, quizzically.

“Did I miss-”

“Shush,” Maud quietly interrupted as Silver and Twilight broke their embrace.

“What happened?” Twilight managed to ask. “Where did you go? Have you talked to Shining yet?”

“That’s a story for later, I promise. Right now, though,” Silver said as he gestured to Maud. The earth pony stepped forward and pulled the ore from her bag.

“Silver and I recovered this material earlier today. It’s immune to magic, and we want to know just how immune.”

“Of course,” Twilight replied, wiping away a tear and leaning over the ore. “Did you test it’s molecular conductance?”

“I did. It’s on the planck scale.”

“Whoa! I’ve only ever heard of one substance like that from the pre-Imperial era. You don’t think it’s orichalcum, do you?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out.” Maud placed the ore on the polished floor. “Can you zap it?”

“You want me to take the rarest metal in Equestria and just zap it?”

“Blasting would work too,” Maud said plainly.

“I think I have a better idea. I can cast a powerful disintegration spell. If it really is orichalum, then it should remain effectively unharmed. If everypony could stand back.”

Once the crowd had cleared a torrent of purple power erupted from her horn and onto the floor. The magic splashed over the ore, swirling in concentric patterns as bits of the floor began to rise into the vortex. After a few seconds the magic ceased. When the smoke cleared all that could be seen was the ore, the column of rock below it, and a gaping hole in the once pristine floor.

“Whoops, probably should’ve thought about that. No worries, though,” Twilight chuckled nervously. Her magenta aura formed around the ore before fizzling away as she tried to pull it back. “Sorry, habit.”

“Well, I think that answers your question Maud,” Silver declared, reaching across the gap to fetch the ore before tossing it to her.

“My professor is going to freak,” she said as she placed the ore in her bag. “I’ll have to see just what can be done with this. Stop by tomorrow morning, I could use your help with the castings.”

“Why tomorrow?” Silver’s question was met with Maud’s small grin.

“I’m sure Twilight has a greater need for you than I do.” The two turned toward an impatient looking Twilight as she fidgeted in place. Silver glanced over, then back again with a warm grin to Maud. “I know how to share.”