Howl to the Future

The figure in black moved into a shimmering woodland.

The Elements of Harmony pursued.

The trees were as thick as they were dangerous. Crystals, some jagged, jutted them out at all angles, glowing like the ones in the cave. While traversing the woods at a normal pace would have been easy, the four ground-bound Elements could barely avoid smacking into them, and the thick layer of snow on the ground was not helping.

In the west, the sun was beginning to fall, creating an eerie red hue that cascaded over the frozen terrain.

"He's this way!" Fluttershy called, flying above the canopy and keeping track of the figure whenever he was out of sight of the main group.

The group itself, in the meantime, was beginning to show their fatigue. Even Applejack, despite her high level of stamina, was beginning to pant like a dog under a hot sun.

"Why in the world are we here?!" she huffed. "What's in these woods that could be so darn important to em'?"

"Maybe he really is just trying to lose us," Twilight suggested, before squinting in thought. "Or... maybe there's something else..."

"Aren't these woods totally supposed to be haunted? That's what Shining said," Pinkie called, bouncing along as if they were on a casual jog. "You know, creepy voices and stuff during the night?"

"He was probably just playing around. He does that a lot. It's just a myth," Twilight grunted through panted breaths. "Though they might as well be the only thing in these woods. Animals haven't lived in here for over a thousand years, Cadance told me. They all died out due to over-population-"

She silenced herself at that, instead focusing on the figure in black. He teleported himself across a shallow gap in the ground, what was probably a frozen creek.

"Twilight, if you could..." Rarity called.

"Right!"

Her horn began to glow for a brief second, before a purple bridge of magical energy formed over the gap.

The group made their way across it, but almost immediately upon doing so, they were greeted by a massive gust of wind.

"Eeeep!"

Both Pinkie and Rarity struggled to save themselves from falling off the bridge, the latter only managing to do so by a quick push from a descended Fluttershy, who quickly took to the skies again afterward, shivering at what she heard.

It was a wind filled with whispers.

'Sara tial?'

'Toi maka sheya.'

'Maka ti'san.'

"A-Anyone else hear that?" Rarity gulped.

Twilight shook her head. "It's just the wind, nothing more! We're just anxious and letting little things get to our heads!"

"Forget about it, lookie thar!" Applejack called

.

Across the bridge they came upon a lonely clearing of snow and dead shrub, and on the far side of said clearing was the figure in black. He was facing away from the group, chanting a strange hymn, but as soon as they entered, he pivoted about, 'staring' at them.

"..."

"Do not move!" Twilight hissed.

"That's right! I've had enough of all this arctic running today!" Rarity snapped. "Do you know how cold it gets in Ponyville in a normal winter?! Only thirty degrees! THIRTY DEGREES!.!.! THAT'S IT!.!.!"

"And I've had enough cliches!" Pinkie moaned. "Seriously? Haunted woods? A mysterious powerful magic user in a black cloak? Been there, done that..."

At that, all four mares formed a line, the horns of the two unicorns shining brightly and casting a glow upon the snow.

"..."

The figure in black had no comment.

Slowly, he levitated the glowing crystal before him.

"Rarity, now!" Twilight yelled.

With that, a purple glow overtook the black one surrounding the crystal. As if they were yanking something out of someone's grip, the crystal began to tug towards them.

The figure gave a growl at this.

"RELO'C SEEYAL!"

The crystal began to glow black again.

"Oh no you don't!" Rarity hissed.

Their horns grew ever brighter. A tug of war of sorts began.

The crystal moved towards them.

The figure took a mighty step forward.

"RELO'C TREAC!"

The crystal was released from his magical grip. However, in place of his previous spell came a blast of ghostly, twirling black energy. It released a tremendous, howl-like sound as it roared towards Twilight.

"EEEP!"

Twilight's eyes widened as the spell moved forth.

Both her and Rarity lost their concentration. The crystal dropped to the center of the clearing.

Twilight's horn began to glow yet again, and as it did so, a shiver came about her.

"TWILIGHT!"

The spell suddenly rushed around a purple bubble shield that formed around her like a wave breaking against a rock.

She gasped as it finished. She had no time to channel any emotion when she formed it. No anger, no righteousness. She only felt what was naturally coming to her at the moment.

"Fear..." she whispered, before narrowing her eyes. "Fear generated arcane magic... it works against him."

She then turned to her friends. "Come on, let's grab that crystal before it's too late!"

At that, they gave nods, and the four rushed forward.

The figure in black did the same.

"W-Wait for me," Fluttershy squeaked, wincing as she flew downward in a diagonal angle.

As they did so, Twilight began a sort of duel with the figure. The clearing became filled with black and purple energy blasts dancing between the two. Shields blared for brief seconds to deflect spells. Teleportation became a norm to avoid attacks.

Then suddenly, both Twilight and the figure seemed to have the same idea.

With a puff of black smoke and a flash of purple energy, the alicorn and the figure appeared in the center of the clearing, two feet away from each other, and one foot away from the glowing crystal that sat between them.

The two stood off for a brief moment, recovering from their teleports, and both waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Mara... rael tok?" the figure said in curious tone, glancing at the crystal.

"Is this 'if you want it, go and take it?'" Twilight hissed. "I know you can't speak common, but why in the world did you do this?!"

"..."

"Rhetorical, of course," she groaned.

"Show," the figure said.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Show? Show me what?"

"Balance."

"Balance?! What do you mean?!"

At that, her friends caught up with her.

"Did he just speak common?!" Rarity growled.

Steam blew out of Applejack's mouth. "Bet he's been holdin' out on us."

And then came yet another whisper...

'Twilight...'

Her eyes widened. It came from the crystal.

"C-Cadance?!"

She suddenly snapped towards the figure. "What the heck did you do to her?!"

"... Show."

"THEN SHOW ME ALREADY!"

The figure took a deep breath, and suddenly, a black wave of energy emanated from him in all directions. Twilight gasped at this, summoning her shield, but soon found it wasn't needed. The wave passed by them, barely causing a tingling sensation, much to their relief.

Then, however, out of nowhere, five jagged, tombstone like crystals appeared in a circle around the group, also glowing. They appeared to be more uniform in shape than the others, as if carved. The final differentiation, however, came from the strange symbols that were upon each of them. One was of a jagged tooth. Another of a strange creature tending to what appeared to be a wound on another. Another was of an owl. Another of a Pegasus, then one of an Earth Pony. The final... had no symbol at all. Instead, it seemed to be emanating a strange, lonely song in a forgotten tongue.

Twilight shook her head in bafflement. "What... is this?"

"I have... key," he stated, pointing at one of the stones. "Time... to turn."

Twilight squinted in thought for a brief moment, before letting loose a horrified gasp.

"We need to go!"

"What, why?!" Applejack snapped. "The crystal's right there!"

"Something's happening though! I can sense an aura of his magic building up!" Twilight cried. "This is his trap! He had everything planned from the get-go!"

Indeed, the crystal began to glow brighter and brighter, and slowly, it hovered above the ground. However, no magical energies seemed to come from the figure in black.

"O-Oh no, you were right, Twilight!" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Well, grab the crystal then and let's high tail it!" Applejack whispered.

"I shall do it! Distract the figure!" Rarity said, her eyes narrowing.

Twilight nodded, and with that, an orb of energy appeared upon her sparkling horn yet again.

A purple beam of light roared from it.

Fluttershy let loose a barely audible squeak, closing her eyes.

The figure in black remained motionless.

Rarity's horn began to glow as well.

The crystal became encased in purple energy.

Still, the figure in black remained fixed in place.

At that the blast of purple energy roared around a black, summoned shield. Black smoke jetted from it, obscuring the figure yet again.

"Come on, girls! We. ARE. LEAVING!" Twilight called.

However, despite Rarity's best efforts, the crystal remained stationary, as if glued onto the world. Despite the cold, sweat dripped from her brow.

"I- I can't move the crystal!" she cried.

Finally, the smoke cleared, revealing the figure in black.

"Turned."

And suddenly, five black streams of energy ripped from the crystal, each aimed at one of the 'tombstones.' At the same time, another whirl-wind filled with whispers kicked up around the group, surrounding them with snow.

The group tried to move, but found themselves frozen in place. Fluttershy fell to the ground, her wings immobile.

"T-These woods... really do have ghosts in them, don't they?" she said, facing the figure directly.

And suddenly, the figure lowered its hood. The five mares stared in awe.

"W-What is that?!" Rarity said in a hushed tone.

Twilight took a deep breath. Her eyes were transfixed on her form. An image of something felt but never seen even in the darkest nights, unknown in form but known in spirit. A legend that should not have been alive.

"A ghost."

The figure gave her a curious look.

"Ghost?"

The whispers increased.

The crystal began to glow brighter.

Rarity shouted something.

Pinkie shrieked.

Cadance spoke again, in a hoarse, but loud whisper.

"Vessels! They're all.. vessels!" she hissed. "I... I am their catalyst! You are their worlds!"

"What do you mean?!" Twilight called desperately. "Help me, Cadance!"

There was a brief second of 'silence' where the world might as well have stood still.

Then, Cadance finally replied.

"Fly, you fools! Run!"

A thousand ancient howls filled the air.

The 'tombstones'' symbols became alive, and their forms danced and morphed into six moons.

"But only if you still can..."

And at that moment, the long-forgotten past finally caught up to the present.

The figure narrowed her eyes.

"... Gift."

A gift without a receipt.

None could run.