A Ghost's Journey

    Our Traveller gave the beings of this world the capability to expand upon their own technologies at a rate impossible otherwise. Travel between kingdoms became as short as a walk to the bathroom, ventures into space an afternoon stroll, and the quality of life better than in all of history. It was a time that changed the world, but when the darkness came the traveller died and that world ended.

     I am a ghost, a being the Traveller sent to protect us before it dies. Robots that are pure manifestation of light capable of resurrecting a singular chosen guardian, but not ourselves. We seek to restore the Traveller from its slumber, and guide guardians to further this goal. Most are eager to help us, and fight back against the darkness that seek to destroy us. My guardian is... different. He sought to understand the darkness by documenting the wretched rituals of the Hive and delving deep into their chambers on the Moon. Occasionally he fought the impossible contraptions of the Vex on a nearby planet, their origins puzzling him. His curiosity to understand our enemy betrayed the interests of the last city, a refuge for the remaining species of this planet, which wanted to destroy our enemies.

     The city had just banished him. Papers, ink, candles, and other items lay tossed around the house in a discord manner as my guardian destroyed his home. He grabbed books in a mad search hastily ripping them from the shelves, muttering something about the hive, and stuffing them into his overcrowded satchel. I didn't pay much attention to what he was saying, as he often babbled nonsense I didn't care to understand. My disinterest ended when he flexed his hoof and brought forth flame, dousing any of the books he didn't fling from the shelf in fire unnatural to any guardian.

     "Your research," I exclaimed, "why are you destroying your work?"

     The guardian spasmed, as if he were surprised I were there, then sighed as he gave me a pitying look. His face was not unusual to me, we often shared disappointment after plundering the darkness for hours and achieving nothing. He reached out a hoof to me, uttering my name, and I floated myself onto it, hoping to calm him. Flames covered me as he used his other hoof to trap me, until I began to melt.

/------/

     When I awoke, all manners of cables and wiring stuck in and out of me, suspending my shell a few inches above a dark table. Directly in front of me was the Speaker, a masked unicorn of a mysterious background unknown to the last city, who represented the voice of the Traveller. He seemed overjoyed at my wakening, and immediately began to remove me from my prison of cables.

     "When I found your shell, nothing but your light remained amongst the darkness your guardian had brought into his home. I took you from the unholy grounds and hoping to uncover what your guardian had buried in the ash, used the bodies of other dead ghosts to revive you."

     "Impossible" I stated, my plates expanding with my disbelief, "not a single ghost has been reanimated as long as they have existed. Only the traveler possess such power."

     The speaker attempted to usher me into another room, then grabbed me with his magic when my hesitancy became clear. It was brightly lit and full of ghosts, their plates dented, riddled with holes, some still sparking. The graveyard meant nothing to me, many ghosts have died in their aid to the city, and once the traveler woke from its slumber we would all live again. He reached for a skull of some sort, pushing dead ghosts aside as he brought it closer to us and showed me it. He asked me if I knew what it was, it looked familiar, but not anything I remembered.

     "This is the Head of an old Ahamkara, a race of dragons native to the garden planet Venus. Legends tell us they were travelers of dimensions from the void, and from the void they came to us offering endless power. Oddly enough, their power came through the bones of their own dead, and wearers of these remains could harness the power these celestial dragons wielded. Rumors claim that the wearers lost part of their soul to the Ahamkara for using the power granted to them, allowing the Dragon to control the guardian, but I don't believe in such nonsense. The mighty beasts were somehow hunted to extinction, despite the unimaginable power they had. Their existence is shrouded in mystery, and most guardians don't know they flew on a planet we once inhabited."

     "You used the bones of a dragon to resurrect me?" I asked curiously, "this discovery could change the tide against the darkness! The resurrection of ghosts could allow many more Guardians for our cause!"

     "What you experienced cannot be recreated easily, the bones are rare enough as it is, and dozens of dead ghosts were scrapped to allow this to happen. The powers are truly miraculous, but come with a price. Those dragons were a part of the darkness, and therefore our enemy. No respectful guardian would dare use their power publicly, without a damn good reason."

     "So what made me a damn good reason?"

     "The secrets your guardian kept holds a bounty over his head, despite his bad reputation we can come to learn from his research, for a warlock of his calibre, its astounding he left you for me to find."

     His statement confused me, in all of my memory I knew of no guardian, only what the traveler gave me when I was made. "There is no guardian I belong to yet". The Speaker didn't seem happy with my statement.

     "Ah, clever one your guardian. No wonder he left you behind, but Im not fully convinced you don't know about him." remarked the Speaker, "im sure we can get something out of you," he said warmly as he levitated a cable from the ground, moving it towards me.

     Floating away from him didn't work, hooray for unicorn magic. I sensed the cable being inserted into me and went offline.

/------/

     "He really did wipe everything." said the speaker. "Takes a warlock to fool a warlock I guess," he sighed. "Only bit and pieces remain of your memory, Id wouldn't be surprised if you knew less than a default ghost just born."

     "So you believe me now?" I questioned unsure of what was to happen next.

     "Mostly, There may be something buried in you, too deep for my time to decipher, but thats just my thoughts. All of my analysis showed nothing unusual." He stood up. "I suppose I must lead you to a new guardian, hopefully someone who's less of a freelancer."

     "You're not going to lock me up some kind of magical prison?"

     "There are fewer guardian each day, despite how tempting your suggestion is. We need all the guardians we can get to defend the city. Take no mistake ghost, if we see that you do know something of your previous guardian, your new one will be without a ghost."

     "Your threats mean nothing to me," I said blandly

     The Speaker took amusement in this. "The traveler is dead little ghost, your kind will never be saved, you" he said pointing his hoof at himself, then me, "are just as vulnerable as a pony without a ghost. Now follow me."

     There was nothing he could of said that could make me believe him, the Traveler was godlike in power, and even though he is sleeping or dead he would rise again.

     "im not going to carry you throughout the tower, so you better stay with me. Im only going to show you what you need to find your new guardian once." He said opening a door nearby, letting early morning light shine through into the room.

     When we left, I was able to get a good sense of the tower. We were high up, at least enough to see clouds under us. The wall nearby us was curved with multiple vents, all spewing out a white gas. There were a few ponies around, some in full battle armor, brandishing weapons out in the open, and others with construction clothes bathed in an orange coat. A few robots stood motionless, offering maps to anyone who asked. As we were walking by, I managed to digitally take one from a nearby robot. It was titled "Old Canterlot" and showed a number of landmarks and areas occupied by the darkness.

     We crossed through a few dark hallways, the fortification of the Tower seeming less impressive by the minute as large puddles of something covered the floor, and robot parts lay littered in many places. We came to the bottom of a flight of stairs, and the Speaker stopped me.

     "Ghost, for the warlock we have lost, we need a new one in his place. Im going to bring you to Ikora Ray, the Vanguard leader of the tower for warlocks. She will help you know where to find a guardian suitable for our cause." He ushered me to her and introduced me.

     Ikora was a medium-sized unicorn with purple robes that had a triangular pattern covering her, giving off a unique elegance no one else in the tower possessed. Her eyes had intelligence and fierceness that would show no mercy to her enemies. On her side was a shotgun marked with odd glowing red symbols on it and a black shiny coat. She stood at a large rectangular table with various devices on it. Near her was a blue cloaked robot managing a map of Canterlot, even further, an odd looking pony with glowing blue eyes, and bulky amor bearing red and white stripes. They all had their own ghosts floating alongside them, despite none of the other guardian we saw in the tower doing so.

     "Ah, a new ghost, tell me" she said, facing the Speaker, "did we lose a guardian? Or has this one been found in dormancy?" her question felt rigged, as if either answer would make her angry.

     "This one had its memory database wiped by its guardian, and was abandoned at his house. Can you tell me where we there may be a suitable unicorn to mold into and even better Warlock?

     "What a poor little machine, all alone and abandoned by its master" she said with empty sympathy. "Alive or dead?" she asked coldly towards the Speaker.

     The Speaker considered this for a moment. "Ghost, are you feeling up to resurrection?"

     "If it will help the Traveller, then im up for the challenge."

     "Good, theres a unicorn ive admired for a long time that should be very useful to out cause, we believe he died near an old shopping mall in downtown Canterlot, likely on the border of Fallen territory. Ill send a capable guardian with you to secure him on the chance they get angry. Take note ghost, its been centuries since he lived, you may have to search for individual bones among the wreckage. A quarter of them should be enough for resurrection."

     "Are you kidding me? finding his remains would be ludicrous in such an area!"

     "I possess the most capable of unicorns" Ikora boasted! "If this ghost doubts our capabilities then I will be happy to offer my finest for the search."

     "Very well then." said the Speaker, "is this suitable for you ghost, or do you need more reassurance?"

     "I think this should be enough Speaker, Id rather not aggravate one of the most powerful Warlocks in the tower."

     "Then it is settled," said Ikora smugly, 'I will send for her". She levitated what looked like a tablet in front of her and tapped a few things into it, and let out a frustrated grunt. "She's off the planet, it will be hours before she can get here."

     "Thank you Ikora, I will make sure your efforts are rewarded in due time." He waved his hoof at me. "Come ghost, you shall stay with me until your escort arrives."

     As we began to leave, I felt one question I had been surpressing fighting its way out of me, begging to be answered. "Speaker,' I asked, "who was my previous guardian?"

     "You wouldn't want to know," he replied, shaking his head, "you would be best leaving him in the past." A look at my face convinced him that this was something I needed to know. Begrudgingly, he said, "Osiris".