Rise of the Red Spirit

Chapter one: Welcome to the library

      “Hey… Twilight, she’s waking up!” A voice murmured in the girl’s—well, now mare’s—subconscious.

  “Oh thank goodness. I was getting worried.”

     A sharp pain in her back caused the mare to open her eyes sooner, taking notice of the dry blood from the previous night.  Her bleary eyes scanned the room she resided in; there was a shelf filled with books on her left, by her bed was a nightstand with a lamp, and on the far side of the room was a mirror. Curious, she leaned over to get a good long look at herself.

  She was staring back at a familiar shade of blue eyes. Her fur was a messy shade of white, while her hair was brown, but it had blue streaks after every braid due to a rebellious moment she had a few years previous. The few things that only seemed familiar were the nose ring, and the eyes. Other than that, the body itself was foreign to her.

     “Um, is everything alright?” One of the ponies asked, and she matched the voice to the white one with the nurse’s hat. She blinked in response. “I understand it’s a lot to take in. I had to give you around 27 stitches on that scar of yours while you were sleeping. You have a scrape on your cheek too, but I can’t do anything else to it.”

Twilight smiled at her and nodded. “You were very brave out there. I bet even Rainbow Dash would be impressed.”

     The mare just stared at the two with her mouth agape, before she spoke up again. “Where… where am I? Is this, some kind of prank?” Her voice squeaked when the last word left her lips, and she gripped the covers with her newly formed hooves.

     “Prank?” The nurse pony mumbled, sharing a look with Twilight. “No, no dear I can assure you it isn’t. You’re in Equestria now; the Golden Oaks Library… Books and Branches, to be exact. Twilight here let you sleep in her guest bedroom until you’re well enough.”

   Those words fell upon deaf ears however, as she began to shake back and forth in a frantic manner. Her eyes were slightly crossed, making the two other ponies take a couple steps away from her. “I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming.” She chanted. If things couldn’t get any worse, Spike decided that right then would be the perfect time he showed up.

    “Hey Twilight, hey Nurse Redheart; how’s the mare doing?” He asked casually, folding his arms behind his head. Twilight was about to usher him out when a piercing scream filled the room, and all tilted their heads up to see the poor mare hugging a pole on the ceiling, her wings shot up in fear.

    “…He’s… HE’S A TALKING DRAGON!” She screeched. Spike raised his eyebrows and chuckled, shaking his head.

   Nurse Redheart couldn’t hold in her laughter when that happened, even though she cursed herself for it later on. “You just took on a three foot Timberwolf and you’re afraid of a talking dragon.”  She spoke in a flat tone, closing her eyes.

    “Surprisingly, I’ve gotten a lot worse reception than that when my wings grew in.” He told her, smiling. He then turned to the scared mare trapped on the ceiling. “I may look the type, but I won’t hurt ya.”

     Twilight nodded. “Come on, let’s get down from there.” Using her magic, she slowly moved the frightened pony off of the pole and into the bed. She gave her a soft smile. “Now just take deep breaths. You can do it.”

      It took a while, but after doing what she was told, she could finally take a good look at her saviors. Her eyes grew wide again. “Whoa… you’re; an alicorn. And that pink light that you used to get me down, that- that was legit magic, wasn’t it!” She grinned and pointed to Nurse Redheart. “You’re an Earth Pony! You guys probably either work on farms or hospitals for the public!” She then finally turned her gaze to Spike, who merely smirked. She nodded in approval. “Cool wings. They’re all backwards.” She simply said, fighting a smile.

     Twilight furrowed her eyebrow as she stared at her. “Did you just… figure all of that out within mere speculation?” The mare looked at her oddly before she shyly nodded, a small blush appearing on her face. Twilight giggled as she remembered  Fluttershy’s reaction the first time she met Spike. “Ah, well I guess introductions are pointless. But I’ll just tell you anyways. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

    “The names Spike,” The dragon replied, lifting up off the air a little.

  “Nurse Redheart; I’ll be coming over from time to time so I can check on you.” A pause, “What’s your name, dear?”

       “I… uh,” She frowned, stopping for a minute. The calm, fascinated looks written on the ponies faces urged her to continue. She hated that she felt so drawn to them. “Trinity.”

      “Oh,” Nurse Reheart said in pleasant surprise. “What a beautiful name.”

   Twilight nodded. “It’s just a hunch I have… but, do you remember where you were from? Before that Timberwolf attacked you?”

     Trinity shrugged at that. “Yeah; my brains a little fuzzy right now though. I guess ‘cause I’m just tired.” She heard Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

      “At least she’s not suffering from amnesia.” She told Nurse Redheart.

   “You’re not going to believe me but, I used to be a human. Then something happened to me that forced me to change into…erm, this.” She muttered, spreading out her wings for emphasis. “Don’t know how though.” Silence.  Nobody spoke after she admitted it. Then it was Spike who broke into a wide grin, lulling his head to one side.

    “I knew it. I knew you would say something like that.” Twilight stared at him in disbelief.

       “Ah, elaborate.”

   “Gladly. Manitcores were said to be myths. Hydra’s were said to be myths. Coctrice’s were said to be myths. Humans? Them too! But now everything’s just a bunch of bullshit!” Spike wasn’t angry by this; in fact, he was elated. He proved a valid point.

  “Alright, alright,” Twilight shushed, “I see where you’re getting at.”

     Nurse Redheart giggled at the scene and turned to Trinity, tipping her head as a farewell. “I’ll check how you are tomorrow. Hope you have a goodnight.” She nodded and whispered something to Twilight before leaving down the stairs.

        Trinity couldn’t respond; she felt the sleepyness drift back. “If you need anything let me know, okay?”  Twilight told her with a smile, walking over to nuzzle her. Trinity stiffened at the touch, and just stared back at her with wide, confused eyes. Spike waved a claw as a goodbye before following.

      “Y-yeah…sure…” Trinity muttered with a frown, once everyone disappeared from her. She pulled her covers high above her head. She then forced herself to close her eyes, not looking forward to the nightmares that visit her every single night.  “Whatever.”

******

      Princess Celestia sighed as she read the scroll Twilight had sent her, a wave of mixed feelings aching at her heart. She had seen the bright red light shoot through the sky before anypony else did; it wasn’t hard to deny something like that. She had caught the signs. They were… all too familiar.

     “Sis-sister!” Princess Luna cried, running down the castle hall. She didn’t even stop when she knocked down a Royal Guard. “Sister, have you seen—“

     “I have, Luna.” She told her, getting up from her place. “I also received a well thought-out letter from my faithful student and fellow princess. These times are dire, I’m sure you’ve known, but I have a feeling they’ll only get worse.”

    Luna paused, licking her dry lips as she shifted on her hooves. She looked into her sister’s eyes. “Have you tried to reach her? At all?...”

     “Every day, Lu,” Celestia muttered. She carefully placed the letter on the shelf beside her. She then walked over to a window, gazing out into the stars. ”My heart aches to hear her voice, but I know that it will not answer. She is too far gone.”

   Luna could only nod at that, feeling remorse over her grieving sister. She followed her and stood next to her, resting her   head on her neck. “Focus on the present for now, Celly. That’s all we’ll speak of.” Luna muttered dejectedly, and then she too, lost her eyes to the starry sky.