Sealed Fox: Lunar Sage

"CHAPTER 2: WANDERING FLAME"

Green for the link, black to stop.

Written by HB_DS2013

Proofread by sunnypack

Sunlight poured down the glade, marked with a peaceful silence. Apple Bloom gave a light groan, then shook her head and rose to her hooves. Her body became filled with a soothing, timberwolf ash-fueled warmth.  A dull pain throbbed in her left hind hoof. She sighed,  thankful for her earth pony heritage. Other than her hoof, she was otherwise protected from the magic blast. Her relief turned to icy despair when she spotted Zecora nearby, unconscious. What was left of the vulpine statue had already turned into rubble.

Apple Bloom shook her head and trotted closer. Nearby the rubble was an unidentified creature. She wondered why the creature's forehooves were shorter than its hindhooves, but shook her head and continued. It had a tan body and a mane that resembled a hedgehog's quills. She fell over with a startled squeak. Clamping her hooves over her mouth, nothing of immediate consequence happened. Waiting a few tense seconds more, Apple Bloom darted forward and prodded the chains that seemed to be clasped around the creature's claws. Instead of clinking like she expected them to, the chains disintegrated into dust, sifting onto the ground as Apple Bloom stared on with wide eyes.

"I have seen this one before. This one tried to give a cockatrice what for." Apple Bloom jumped at the sudden rhyme and flinched. "Without your power, Apple Bloom would have met her end. And I am now in your debt." Zecora addressed the space in front of the rubble.

"How did—" The lemon filly gasped, then regained her composure. She turned to her mentor with a raised eyebrow and a questioning tone in her voice. "Ah don't get it."

"The boy speaks with his heart. Telepathy is a skill he can impa-" Zecora winced from the pressure and let out a pained groan as blue mist continued to escape from her body. A crushing pressure bore down on her hooves, buckling like a crate bearing down on a doll. She closed her eyes for a moment and groaned once more. Her body became filled with a grey aura. Blue mist evaporated into tiny wisps, converging towards a glowing dark blue orb with tiny white specks. "Come Apple Bloom. It is time to return home before Applejack goes boom."

"Wait, what's gonna happen to him?" She looked up to her mentor. "How did you know he is a guy?"

"That I do not know. Perhaps he has something to owe." The alchemist glared at the figure. "This dodo did not get the memo."

****

"Ah don't get it."

Overwhelmed by a pounding sensation inside his head, the stranger’s golden eyes fluttered open to the harsh sunlight and a sea of green. He blinked and shielded his eyes, raising his left arm. The squeaky and western-sounding voice washed away the pain in his head, but at the same time piqued his interest. Close to his vision was a dark blue, onion-sized orb with tiny white dots spread all around its surface, giving the appearance of solidified night sky. It glowed with a calm cyan aura, prompting the boy to reach out. To his surprise, the orb felt icy cold and part of its smooth surface seemed to be missing a diamond-shaped piece.

With some difficulty, he took a tentative step forward. He tripped over, but shook it off and stood up once more and stepped out of the glade. Tightly held within his grip was a dark blue ball, about to serve as a makeshift lamp.

The trees here blocked most of the sunlight. Golden square eyes gleamed in the darkness as the creature found himself unable to move, held airborne by a magenta aura. His grip loosened and his head now felt like it was being pressed. Gritting his teeth together, he winced as he watched every ounce of energy in his lanky body ebbing away into the gate. With his emptied mind, the stranger's vision began to blur. The dull sound of hoofsteps echoed and the trees tilted and his hands loosened, dropping the ball onto the ground. All he saw was a mass of light grey and dark grey before blacking out.