Derpy's Fiery Protectorby SpiritOfDancingFlamesChaptersSaved by the StrangerAn Unwelcome Family VisitCapture and DefeatThe Day After; Things Are ExplainedSaved by the StrangerDerpy soared through the skies, trying to finish up the last of her route. She located her next stop, and went in for a landing. Just before she got below the tree level, her eye slid out of place, distorting her vision, making it almost impossible to tell where she was going. Desperately attempting to land, she closed her eyes and curled up as best she could. She hit something hard and metallic, dropping her saddlebag, then hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She opened her eyes. Letters fell to the ground, scattering in the air. She turned her head side to side, looking around for her mailbag, then looked up and found it… on top of one of the meaner unicorns she had on her route. He growled, then launched into a furious tirade, yelling at her. She retreated hastily, trying to hide her tears as she quickly gathered up the spilled mail, trying to find his, but they were all mixed up. And the more panicked she got, the harder it was for her to read the addresses. She always had trouble with them. The other mailponies back at the post office were kind, and they sorted the mail in her bag so that she could grab it without having to read each one. But whenever something like this happened, it took her a long time to figure out what the out-of-focus words were saying. It didn’t help that she was being shouted at. She hated being shouted at, it made her want to curl up in a ball and hide from the world. She tried to focus her eyes, desperate to give him his letters and get away from him so she could cry in peace. But she couldn’t, not with all the yelling and the hurtful things he was saying. Each name felt like someone had punched her. Stupid. Klutz. Idiot. She tried and tried again in vain to figure out which of the dozens of envelopes she was looking for, when suddenly she heard it. The word. Freak. Sobbing, she couldn’t take it anymore. She stuffed all the letters back in her bag, spread her wings, and lifted off the ground, making her way back to the post office as fast as she could. …Or at least, she would have. Just after she got off the ground, a blue aura surrounded her, and she slammed into the ground. “Where do you think you’re going?” snarled the forest-green stallion. “Do you think you can just leave without doing your job? I want my mail, and by law, you have to deliver it. Unless you want to be fined, or imprisoned. Actually, I would have no problem with that. Maybe then I’d get a mailpony that is actually competent.” He tossed his wheat-colored mane. Derpy was crying, tears streaming down her face. She had to get away, had to make it stop, but she couldn’t move her body, couldn’t even move to wipe her nose, which was running and dripping into her mouth. Bile rose, but she tried her hardest to keep it down; if she threw up like this, she might suffocate. She was in complete panic, straining against the stallion’s magic, but she may as well tried to move a mountain. He pulled her closer, angrily looking her in the eye. “You listen to me, you little freak. Nobody wants you around, with your messed-up eyes and the inability to do anything without breaking something, losing something, or causing problems for everypony.” He spat in her face. “You’re nothing but a nuisance and an idiot. You can’t do anything right, can you? I bet you can’t even read.” He shook his head. “How you even got your job is beyond me, but trust me when I say that that won’t be the case for long.” He huffed, looking around his yard, surveying the damage. His mailbox had been snapped, the post in splinters, and the box had flown into some of his glass yard art, which was now no more than a mess of shards scattered about. Several priceless pieces, all handmade, now just a wreck. Grinding his teeth, he turned back to Derpy, still trapped in midair where he was holding her. In a rage, he focused on the odd-eyed mailmare. Derpy grunted in pain as she felt pressure on all sides, squeezing her tightly. With a flare of his horn, he slammed her into a tree. She gasped in pain as she heard a loud snap from her front leg. Shutting his magic off, he smirked as he let her fall to the ground. The shock and the pain filled Derpy, her vision going white, until there was nothing but pain in her world. It seemed to last an eternity, but finally the white faded, leaving her with the out-of focus world. She groaned, she was unable to move, but from pain rather than magic. The unicorn trotted over with a sadistic smile. “You’re gonna regret getting out of bed this morning, you little freak,” he said. He turned around, picking up his back hoof. “..N-no-” she gasped. He ignored her, driving his hoof into her face with the strongest kick he could. Her tears flowed over her cuts, stinging and adding to the pain. She whimpered, trying to form words, but she hurt too much to move. But she tried, oh she tried! Especially when she saw him raise his hoof again. She couldn’t stop him, so she closed her eyes tight and waited for it. She saw stars, pain flaring, white taking over her vision. He smirked, drawing his hoof back once more. Derpy, unable to move, closed her eye and wished he would just kill her. She gave up, and she relaxed, accepting the inevitable. She waited for him to finish the deed. A yell of fury sounded behind them, and she felt a rush of heat pass by her. A bright light shone through her eyelids, and she cautiously opened her good eye, trying to figure out what was happening. An off-white stallion with a vibrant, red-orange striped mane, was grappling with her attacker. Fire coated his hooves, and he shot bursts of flame from his horn. He reared up, slamming his flaming hooves into the green stallion, who snarled and backed up, trying to avoid the new threat. To Derpy’s shock, the fire-wielding stallion unfurled a pair of wings like she’d never seen before. They didn’t look like normal pony wings, and they were lined with a deep red that glowed brightly. The stallion rushed forward, moving faster than even Rainbow Dash. His image flickered, like he wasn’t quite in sync with the world. With devastating speed, he slammed his opponent’s legs, like lightning, then leapt back and continued pummeling the cruel pony. As Derpy watched, she knew that there was something strange about the newcomer. After a few moments, she realized that his tail didn’t match his mane – his mane was red-orange striped, but his tail was red and blue. The stallion flapped his wings, buffeting the cruel pony with wind and lifting himself into the air. He raised his head, charging up power. His horn began to glow with crimson light, and a low hum filled the air, steadily rising in pitch. His eyes were filled with pure hate for his target, and Derpy knew he wouldn’t hesitate to kill. As much as she wanted the green stallion to pay for what he’d done, she didn’t want him to die. She could never hate somepony that much. She struggled, opening her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a whisper. “Stop.” Much to her surprise, he seemed to have heard her. His horn slowly dimmed, and the vibration in the air dissipated. He touched down on the ground, folding his wings, regarding the pony before him with disgust. He stood still for a few moments, then in a blur of motion, a thin flame sprouted from his front hoof, and he jumped forward, swiping at the stallion. There was no blood or new mark on him, but defeated stallion cried out in pain and loss. Derpy couldn’t figure out what had happened, until she saw a bit of green on the ground. The fiery stallion had cut her attacker’s horn off. She would have gasped, if it didn't hurt so much. With a snort, the victor turned from the wreck, facing Derpy. She panicked. Was he going to hurt her, too? A soft, orange glow enveloped her, not restraining her, but cradling her gently. “Hey,” he said, and she flinched. This was the first time he’d spoken, aside from the battle cry she’d first heard. His voice was soft, and a little higher-pitched than she’d expected. “It’s gonna be okay. Don’t worry.” His soothing words were a lot nicer than the yelling from earlier. Her vision began to go dark, but the stallion kept talking. “It’s alright, I’ll keep you safe.” Just before she lost consciousness, she heard him say one last thing. “I promise.” Author's Note This is my first story. I am writing this (yes) with myself in it, but it's going to be a 3rd Person story. I apologize in advance for any cliffhangers or periods of long absence I may leave you with, but I don't have all the time in the world, unfortunately. I'll do my best to keep publishing, though! I have no idea whether this will go well or be a huge flop. If you're reading this, thanks, and have a muffin. ~SoDF (9/29/16: Slightly edited, also giving spaces between paragraphs to help it read a little smoother.) An Unwelcome Family VisitMinutes later, a crimson flash from his horn revealed a scroll hanging in the air, tied with a ribbon and seal Derpy couldn’t make out. “Oh, good! Is this what I think it is? He opened up the important-looking scroll, peering closer. “…Oh. This is most definitely not for me,” he muttered sheepishly. “Great. I'll just forward this...art... to him, goodness...” He lit it on fire with a spark of his horn, the smoke going out the window in a reddish glow. He sat down, hoping for what he was actually waiting for to arrive. A few minutes passed, and another red flash lit the hall. A second scroll fell into his waiting hoof. He opened it excitedly, scanning it quickly, then whooped and danced around. “They said yes! Fantastic!” He turned to Derpy, barely able to keep himself from jumping up and down. “As soon as I got you here, I immediately informed my commander of what had happened, asking for permission to heal you. Normally, we’re not allowed to use angel-grade magic on regular mortals, but he made an exception. Oh, this is great! Now, hold still, and relax.” He pointed his horn, glowing silver and gold, at Derpy, who did her best to do as he said and relax. Holding still wasn’t too much of a problem, since she could barely move anyway. A brilliant beam shot into her from his horn, and immediately she began to feel weird – really good, but weird. It kind of tickled, and she giggled a little. Soon, she felt really good – perfect, almost! The beam from Spirit’s horn slowly faded, finally shutting off. Derpy felt like she’d never been hurt in the first place! She happily hopped down off the hospital bed, trotting around in a circle. Flapping her wings, she fluttered around the room, the wind sending papers flying, but she paid them no mind. Finally, she touched down, staring at Spirit in awe. Making a spur-of-the-moment decision, she ran to him and nuzzled against his side, the perfect height since she was a little shorter than him. “Thank you very much!” She smiled up at him. Spirit grinned at the Pegasus. He raised his horn in the air, and in a moment, he was once again a normal unicorn. He was still a little taller than Derpy, so he was the right height to nuzzle the top of her head. “You’re very welcome! I hope I don’t have to do that again. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe. Nopony else will hurt you when I’m around.” “I’m glad you found me, I’m a very lucky filly.” They sat down, waiting for the doctor to come to give Derpy a clean bill of health and release her. While waiting, Spirit did one of his regular magic scans of the area. Being a little lazy, he didn’t bother to cloak it. He came up with not much, maybe a little darkness, but nothing major. Probably just the Everfree Forest nearby; that place always seemed full of darkness. Finally, the doctor came in, and he dropped his clipboard out of shock. “Oh, um, I kind of healed her,” Spirit said, mentally berating himself for not telling them. Getting over his shock, the doctor put on a professional face, checking Derpy to make certain she was fine. As the sand-colored unicorn worked, Spirit was unable to sit still. Something itched. And it was getting itchier. Funny, he thought, I remember the presence of darkness kind of itched like this- A sudden explosion sent the three ponies flying back. When the dust cleared, it revealed a gaping hole in the side of the hospital, and a figure that stepped forward towards them. The stallion was tall and crimson, with a mane striped with black and the same red color his coat displayed. He had strange wings similar to Spirit’s, but not quite the same. A sharply pointed horn glowed with dark red magic. Spirit paled, or he would have, if he wasn’t already white. “Fern?” ‘Fern’ bared his teeth. “Do not call me Fern! I am Inferno!” Spirit shook his head. “Nah, you’re always gonna be Fern to me.” Scowling, Fern got in Spirit’s face. “Don’t call me that. You know not to call me that!” Spirit shrugged. “I know you don’t like being called that. Since you decided to betray everyone and go over to that side, I don’t care if you don’t like being called Fern.” “Mom told you not to call me that.” “Do you see her around here?” “…Um, Spirit? What’s going on?” The two looked at the grey mare, who was thoroughly confused. The doctor had already run off in terror, so she was the only other one there. “Oh, sorry, Derpy. This would be my …brother, Fern.” “It’s Inferno! Get it right!” “Okay. Hi, Inferno, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Derpy!” She smiled. “Yeah, hi, kid.” “So, why are you here?” she asked the fuming stallion. He smirked. “Well, I’ve been trying to track my brother for a long while. Not much luck, until I got a big, fat beacon yesterday, followed by another two today. I’ve got a score to settle,” he added with a malicious grin. “Fern…” Spirit warned. “This is a hospital. Don’t turn this into a battlefield, there’s no need for unnecessary death.” Fern scoffed. “Like that’s supposed to make me care?” He chuckled. “But don’t worry, dear brother, this isn’t my chosen battleground.” Flying out the hold he came in, he gestured to the town behind him. “This quaint little town is.” Derpy stares at him in shock, then anger began to build up in her. Seeing a nearby bucket of water, she ran up to it, grabbed it, and threw the water on Fern. Drenched, Fern looked at the mailmare incredulously. “What in the Dark Creator’s name was that?" Sheepish, she dropped the bucket and hid behind Spirit. “Um… well, you’re a fire angel, so I thought…” The dark angel laughed. “A brilliant thought, but no, water does not hurt me. But,” he added, charging up power in his horn, “I know what would hurt you.” “Derpy, get down!” Spirit shouted, then fired a beam to meet his brother’s magic. The twin beams of fire raged against each other, but slowly, Fern's attack gained ground. As the attack came nearer and nearer, Spirit growled. “You may be more powerful than I, brother… But I know what tricks you can’t do!” Snarling, Fern broke off the attack and lunged at him, but before he reached them, Spirit put a hoof on Derpy and the two vanished in a bright flash. “Curse it,” Fern grumbled. “Well… They can’t hide for long.” He jumped out the hole, flapping his wings and heading for the town. Author's Note Yikes, it's been a while. This chapter has been sitting on the back burner half-cooked for a while, and I had a free period in which I had little to do, so I decided to do myself and all y'all a favor and finish it ^-^ Hopefully I can get back into the habit of writing. My collab with Trombone15 hasn't really gone anywhere, probably because it's sort of a sequel to this story, eheh... Kind of my fault there. I'll be working hard to finish it all, though! (9/29/16: Edited out the cringy first paragraph, spaced the paragraphs.) Capture and DefeatThey reappeared in a bright flash. Derpy looked around, they were on a hill outside of Ponyville. Disoriented, she leaned against Spirit, who was watching the town carefully. “What’s going on?” Spirit sighed. “My brother is a dark angel. I’ve been avoiding him for a long time, because I… well, it’s kinda selfish, but I don’t want to hurt him.” He shook his head. “Evil though he may be, he’s still my brother, and, well, all I have left. Our parents were mortal, and they perished not long before I finished my training.” “Oh,” she said. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but… maybe his brother wasn’t as bad as he seemed. Maybe he wouldn’t actually hurt anypony. A loud explosion in the town shattered the silence, so powerful that she could feel the ground shake at her hooves. A cloud of dark smoke rose, and her breath caught. “W-was that-?” Spirit was grinding his teeth. “Yes, that was Fern. Bucking Celestia on a unicycle, I didn’t think he’d actually follow through…” Derpy’s eyes dilated as her thoughts shot to one thing: her precious filly. “Dinky!” Her wings shot open, and she jumped up, flapping. “Woah! Derpy, no!” Spirit encased Derpy in a huge bubble, bringing her back down to the ground before popping it. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but if you go out there, Fern won’t hesitate to kill you!” Derpy growled. “My filly might be in danger.” She poked Spirit forcefully in the chest. “Don’t even try to stop me.” He shook his head firmly. “Derpy, no. I’ll find your filly for you, but you have to stay here. What use would it be to your filly if you died trying to find her? How well would she do without her mom?” “…” She glared at him, then plunked her rear down in a huff. “Fine. But if there is one hair of her mane out of place, you’ll be sorry!” “All right, all right. Sheesh. Okay, I’ll get her, and on the way I’ll contact the Council and Princess Twilight. The Princess can shield the town once I draw Fern out of there.” With a confident grin, he took off, leaving Derpy behind, feeling actually rather useless. Her tough demeanor dropped, and she laid down with a sigh. “Dinky… stay safe for mommy, okay?” She sadly watched as more fires and explosions spread across the town, paying no attention to her surroundings. So intently she was watching, that she didn’t notice the tendrils of dark magic creeping up on her. Suddenly, they lashed out and wrapped her tight. She screamed. “Spirit! Spirit, help! Somepony!” The dark magic dragged her, kicking and flailing, through a dark portal. It faded into the shadows, leaving the hilltop completely still. * * * * * * * “Thank you, Spirit. I and the Elements of Harmony will be ready to shield the town as soon as you draw him out.” Spirit nodded to Twilight. “Yes, Princess. I will do what I can.” He unfurled his wings, then leapt up into the air. “Wait!” Twilight cried. She gave him a concerned look. “Stay safe.” Spirit beat his wings, hovering, and gave her a happy smirk. “Now, where’s the fun in that?” He laughed, then shot up high into the sky. “Alright, brother, where are you hiding?” he asked himself, scanning the area around him. A low hum filled the air, building in pitch. “Right here.” Spirit’s eyes went wide as he turned to see Fern, his horn ablaze with light. “Gotcha,” he smirked, then fired the blast. A loud explosion filled the air, and Spirit tumbled through the air, wind screaming by him until he crashed into something rock-solid. “Ow…” He winced, prying himself from the indent that he’d made. Before him was a huge drop, and a ways beyond that lay Ponyville. “Filthy bugger shot me into a mountain…” “What’s the matter? I thought you liked playing rough?” Fern said as he swooped in, flapping his wings as he came in to sneer at Spirit, who glared right back at him. “I can take what you throw at me, but a fight amidst the innocents is uncalled for.” Fern snorted. “Who cares about those puny little things? C’mon, let’s go back and play, I want you to watch as I destroy your precious little ‘innocents’.” He flew in, clamping his limbs around Spirit. “Get off!” Spirit groaned, still weak from the impact. “Let me go!” A cruel smile played about Fern’s face. “Oh, of course. I’ll let you go, so you can fall into the ‘innocents’, wouldn’t that be great?” A crackling thrum resounded through the air, and Fern’s smile dropped. “Oh, no you don’t!” he roared, speeding forward. But not fast enough. A purple barrier rose before them, enveloping the whole town. Spirit could see, far below, six forms in a hexagon, glowing brightly. “Looks like the town’s out of bounds, huh?” Fern hissed. “Fine! Instead of destroying the tow, I’ll destroy you!” He dropped Spirit, then charged a bolt and fired it directly into him, propelling him into the ground. Diving, he stretched out his forehooves and ran into Spirit’s aching form, knocking the breath out of him. “Weakling!” He slammed a glowing hoof into Spirit’s face. “You always thought-” slam “-that you could beat me!” slam “You always got looked up to-” slam “-even though I was the stronger one!” Coughing, Spirit groaned, then spit out a wad of blood. He gave Fern a look. “I was looked up to because…” he coughed. “…Because I was kind. You were…an arrogant jerk with…a big head and too much power,” he wheezed as blood ran freely from his nose. Fern locked eyes with him, hatred burning fiercely in his gaze. He raised a hoof, glowing white hot, then shot it forward. Spirit closed his eyes, bracing himself. …But the blow never came. Instead, Spirit felt the weight shift off of him. “What the hell do you mean, I can’t kill him?” Opening his eyes, Spirit saw his brother, shouting at….seemingly nothing. “You- What? Okay, okay! Fine,” he yelled into thin air. He turned and gave Spirit a look of disgust. “Well, brother, looks like you’ll be spared for now. I can’t kill you… yet.” A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t knock you out.” He thrust a hoof at Spirit. There was a flash of pain, then darkness. Author's Note Half of this has been finished for a while, I've finally gotten myself into a good writing mindset~ Hopefully I can get the next chapter out soon! The Day After; Things Are ExplainedFor a few moments, all there was in Derpy’s world was pain. She would have groaned, if she could. She wished she could go back, back to the peace that the blankness had brought. But she was slowly drawn out of the dark by a sound. She couldn’t make it out yet, but it was growing steadily clearer. Unfortunately, the clearer the sound got, the more pain she felt. The light grew closer… closer… “Miss? Can you hear me, Miss?” A gentle, though fairly panicked, voice asked her, now coming in loud and clear. Did she recognize that voice? She couldn’t remember. Her eyes fluttered open, then she quickly shut them tight again. It was too light – it hurt her eyes. She tried again, going much slower this time. At first, all she could see was white, but soon the glare faded, and she was able to see the pony in front of her – A unicorn stallion with a red and blue striped mane, looking down on her with worried, blue eyes. “Nurse? She’s awake!” the stallion called. He turned back to Derpy. “Can you hear me?” he asked again. A little drowsy, and in a lot of pain, she just nodded. She tried her best to look around, though she could barely move. Where was she? She knew she was in a building. All the walls were white, and there were machines around… She was in the hospital? How did she get there? “Oh, thank goodness. I was beginning to worry you’d gotten a bit of brain damage.” She looked up at the relieved figure before her. Of course! He’s the one that must have brought her here. She thought back to the day before, and remembered him promising that she would be okay. She smiled a little. “Well, if you’re good enough to keep up a happy face, you must be alright.” The stallion smiled at her. “Can you talk? Or would that hurt too much?” Derpy tried to open her mouth to say something, but her jaw hurt really bad. She stopped, but not before a few tears trickled out of the corner of her eye. Oh, raisins, she thought, then immediately berated herself for even thinking such profanity in front of a stranger. The tears were slow-moving, and they tickled and itched. “Here,” he said, and a white silk handkerchief floated over with an orange glow, gently wiping them away. Derpy gave a little happy smile, and the stallion grinned back. A playful look gleamed in his eye, and the kerchief unraveled into a square, then began folding itself in a complicated way. Derpy watched, entranced, until with one final movement, it had become a crane! Or, at least, a folded crane. Not a real one. That would be surprising. Her smile grew a little wider as she watched the crane flap around the room, glowing with the orange light from the stallion’s horn. Still controlling the crane, he talked briefly to the nurse. She gave him a clipboard and a pill bottle, which he set on a side table, then he turned back to watch Derpy and the crane. It came to rest atop her head, and she giggled a little. It hurt to laugh, but it was worth it. She felt better. She was almost able to forget what the green stallion had said… Wait. She looked at the stallion in front of her, and her eyes widened. It was the same pony, she knew it. But how could it be? For the one standing in front of her did look and did sound the same, but if it was, where were his wings? And why was his mane a different color? Why was he a different color? She started to get a little scared. What was going on? As she panicked, her vision went blurry – one of her eyes had decided to take a little trip again. Seeing her expression turn frightened, he set the napkin down “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you okay?” She didn’t answer, just kept staring at him, afraid and confused. “What? What hap-” He stopped when he realized what it was that was probably spooking her. “Oh. Is it that I look different?” A little nod confirmed it. “Ah. Well… It’s a long story.” The stallion blinked, then after a moment, facehoofed. “Oh. I haven’t even introduced myself, have I?” He shook his head. “Geez, I’m just out of it today, huh?” He stood tall, then bowed to Derpy. “I am Spirit, and it is an honor to meet you, Miss…” He glanced around, then turned to the clipboard he'd put on a table nearby that had her medical information on it. He scanned it a moment, then turned back to face her. “…Miss Derpy Hooves,” he finished, bowing again. “Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to bow or anything,” he chuckled. Derpy smiled wryly in response, unable to do much more than that. He rubbed his head with a hoof, thinking. “Hm… How should I start this?” He sat down, quietly collecting his thoughts for a moment. “It all kind of started when I was just a colt. See, my village, whose name I must keep a secret, had certain things that set us apart from everypony else. We believed that angels walked among us, living and fighting as guardians against the evils of the world. It was said that angels were born as normal ponies, but they became what they are through a pilgrimage to a sacred place. “Now, not everypony could just become an angel. You had to be chosen at birth by one of them. If you were just born, and they chose you, they would fly to you invisibly, and they would leave their mark on you. The marks, each one unique to their bearers, would shape you on the inside as you grew. The changes wouldn’t be noticeable, of course. At least, not with mortal eyes.” Spirit paused, looking at Derpy. “You alright with this? You need a second?” Derpy shook her head, or at least, she tried to. She understood, and she was enjoying listening to him. She smiled encouragingly, silently asking him to continue. He nodded, clearing his throat. “Now, there are some that had dreams, in which they saw what was growing. But they wrote it off as just a fantasy their minds had woven during their sleep. It’s understandable, of course. Who would believe that they were a sign of their coming immortality?” He grinned. “I remember when I had my dream. I was in my room, but everything was dark, and it was storming outside. I couldn’t leave, well, I couldn’t move really. In front of me, there was a mirror. As I looked into it, I was shocked. “Unfurling from my back, spreading wide, were wings. Wings like I had never seen before. Being a unicorn colt, that freaked me out. But of course, it was only a dream, right?” He chuckled. “There is one sign of an angel that can be seen with mortal eyes. Under the full moon, during the heart of the winter solstice, the mark can be seen, faintly glowing silver on their flank. Oh, speaking of which, angels don’t ever get a Cutie Mark. Their angel mark takes that place.” He turned his body, showing his blank flank to Derpy, who stared at it. It was very unusual to see a grown stallion without a Cutie Mark. “There’s a celebration every winter solstice, where the whole town comes together. When the moon is at its peak, everypony without a Cutie Mark checks their flank. If they find a mark, they’re brought to the village elders, who will decide if they are old enough to go on the pilgrimage. The road there is hard, but once you enter the sacred place…” He trailed off, eyes shining from the memory. “It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.” After a few moments of silence, Spirit seemed to come to his senses. “Ah, sorry. Got lost in my thoughts, there.” He smiled apologetically. “Anyway. Once you’re there, the Angels take you in, and you join them in protecting the world from its evils. That is, after about fifty, sixty years of training.” Derpy’s eyes widened. That was a long time! She had been delivering mail for about seven, eight years now, but fifty years? Sixty? That was too much for her to imagine. Especially since that was all before he even really started! Spirit seemed to read her expression, for he laughed. “That’s pocket change. Angels are immortal. Well, more or less. We can be killed in battle, but only by another immortal being, using very old, very powerful dark magic.” He hesitated. “I’m not sure if you want to hear this, but I guess it wouldn’t change anything to tell you…” He drew in a breath, then let it out slowly. “There are some angels that, once the training is done, reject it all, go off on their own to pursue a darker path. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does… well, it’s not pretty. Chrysalis, and with her the first Changelings, were created by a dark angel. King Sombra? Dark angel. Tirek? An experiment made by a dark angel fusing his soul with a Centaur. Half the things in Tartarus are experiments like these.” He made sure Derpy was alright before continuing. “So, there are two kinds of us. Angels and dark angels, but we’re both the same type of pony. We’re a race similar to Alicorns, but different in many ways. We’re called Divinicorns. Those who fly as angels are called Walkers of Light, and those who do not are called Walkers of Darkness. Our job as angels is to keep them from tearing the world apart.” Spirit shrugged. “And, that’s about it. I’m an angel. You saw what’s called my Soul Forme yesterday. When I’m in that form, my power is increased, and yeah, my mane changes color to reflect my inner element. I told you my name is Spirit? Well, that’s part of my title. I just use it because I don’t have a mortal name. After a few centuries of life, you find that it kind of loses meaning.” His smile turned a little proud. “My title reflects who I am, at my very core. It won’t ever change, because I could never change that, not even if I had a few centuries of time to kill. But y’know, I wouldn’t want to try. I’m pretty proud of my title.” He smiled, then closed his eyes. His horn glowed in twin bands of gold and silver, filling the room with light. Derpy had to shut her eyes, it was too bright to look at. When it died down, she opened them again. Spirit now had his angel wings, lined in glowing red, stretched out enough that they seemed to fill the room. He tossed his now red-orange mane with pride, grinning at her. “I am the Spirit of Dancing Flames.” Author's Note Well, here it is! Chapter Two! Maybe now some of the questions in your head are answered. If you hit the 'Thumbs down' button, please leave a short note telling me why you don't like it. I can't improve if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong. Special thanks to Nico-Stone Rupan for the follow and the kind comment! Thanks Emerald Skies (Sis ^-^) for the follow, too. And of course, thanks to all of you who are reading this story. Have a muffin. ~SoDF (9/29/16: Slight edits, spaces between paragraphs.)
Saved by the StrangerDerpy soared through the skies, trying to finish up the last of her route. She located her next stop, and went in for a landing. Just before she got below the tree level, her eye slid out of place, distorting her vision, making it almost impossible to tell where she was going. Desperately attempting to land, she closed her eyes and curled up as best she could. She hit something hard and metallic, dropping her saddlebag, then hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She opened her eyes. Letters fell to the ground, scattering in the air. She turned her head side to side, looking around for her mailbag, then looked up and found it… on top of one of the meaner unicorns she had on her route. He growled, then launched into a furious tirade, yelling at her. She retreated hastily, trying to hide her tears as she quickly gathered up the spilled mail, trying to find his, but they were all mixed up. And the more panicked she got, the harder it was for her to read the addresses. She always had trouble with them. The other mailponies back at the post office were kind, and they sorted the mail in her bag so that she could grab it without having to read each one. But whenever something like this happened, it took her a long time to figure out what the out-of-focus words were saying. It didn’t help that she was being shouted at. She hated being shouted at, it made her want to curl up in a ball and hide from the world. She tried to focus her eyes, desperate to give him his letters and get away from him so she could cry in peace. But she couldn’t, not with all the yelling and the hurtful things he was saying. Each name felt like someone had punched her. Stupid. Klutz. Idiot. She tried and tried again in vain to figure out which of the dozens of envelopes she was looking for, when suddenly she heard it. The word. Freak. Sobbing, she couldn’t take it anymore. She stuffed all the letters back in her bag, spread her wings, and lifted off the ground, making her way back to the post office as fast as she could. …Or at least, she would have. Just after she got off the ground, a blue aura surrounded her, and she slammed into the ground. “Where do you think you’re going?” snarled the forest-green stallion. “Do you think you can just leave without doing your job? I want my mail, and by law, you have to deliver it. Unless you want to be fined, or imprisoned. Actually, I would have no problem with that. Maybe then I’d get a mailpony that is actually competent.” He tossed his wheat-colored mane. Derpy was crying, tears streaming down her face. She had to get away, had to make it stop, but she couldn’t move her body, couldn’t even move to wipe her nose, which was running and dripping into her mouth. Bile rose, but she tried her hardest to keep it down; if she threw up like this, she might suffocate. She was in complete panic, straining against the stallion’s magic, but she may as well tried to move a mountain. He pulled her closer, angrily looking her in the eye. “You listen to me, you little freak. Nobody wants you around, with your messed-up eyes and the inability to do anything without breaking something, losing something, or causing problems for everypony.” He spat in her face. “You’re nothing but a nuisance and an idiot. You can’t do anything right, can you? I bet you can’t even read.” He shook his head. “How you even got your job is beyond me, but trust me when I say that that won’t be the case for long.” He huffed, looking around his yard, surveying the damage. His mailbox had been snapped, the post in splinters, and the box had flown into some of his glass yard art, which was now no more than a mess of shards scattered about. Several priceless pieces, all handmade, now just a wreck. Grinding his teeth, he turned back to Derpy, still trapped in midair where he was holding her. In a rage, he focused on the odd-eyed mailmare. Derpy grunted in pain as she felt pressure on all sides, squeezing her tightly. With a flare of his horn, he slammed her into a tree. She gasped in pain as she heard a loud snap from her front leg. Shutting his magic off, he smirked as he let her fall to the ground. The shock and the pain filled Derpy, her vision going white, until there was nothing but pain in her world. It seemed to last an eternity, but finally the white faded, leaving her with the out-of focus world. She groaned, she was unable to move, but from pain rather than magic. The unicorn trotted over with a sadistic smile. “You’re gonna regret getting out of bed this morning, you little freak,” he said. He turned around, picking up his back hoof. “..N-no-” she gasped. He ignored her, driving his hoof into her face with the strongest kick he could. Her tears flowed over her cuts, stinging and adding to the pain. She whimpered, trying to form words, but she hurt too much to move. But she tried, oh she tried! Especially when she saw him raise his hoof again. She couldn’t stop him, so she closed her eyes tight and waited for it. She saw stars, pain flaring, white taking over her vision. He smirked, drawing his hoof back once more. Derpy, unable to move, closed her eye and wished he would just kill her. She gave up, and she relaxed, accepting the inevitable. She waited for him to finish the deed. A yell of fury sounded behind them, and she felt a rush of heat pass by her. A bright light shone through her eyelids, and she cautiously opened her good eye, trying to figure out what was happening. An off-white stallion with a vibrant, red-orange striped mane, was grappling with her attacker. Fire coated his hooves, and he shot bursts of flame from his horn. He reared up, slamming his flaming hooves into the green stallion, who snarled and backed up, trying to avoid the new threat. To Derpy’s shock, the fire-wielding stallion unfurled a pair of wings like she’d never seen before. They didn’t look like normal pony wings, and they were lined with a deep red that glowed brightly. The stallion rushed forward, moving faster than even Rainbow Dash. His image flickered, like he wasn’t quite in sync with the world. With devastating speed, he slammed his opponent’s legs, like lightning, then leapt back and continued pummeling the cruel pony. As Derpy watched, she knew that there was something strange about the newcomer. After a few moments, she realized that his tail didn’t match his mane – his mane was red-orange striped, but his tail was red and blue. The stallion flapped his wings, buffeting the cruel pony with wind and lifting himself into the air. He raised his head, charging up power. His horn began to glow with crimson light, and a low hum filled the air, steadily rising in pitch. His eyes were filled with pure hate for his target, and Derpy knew he wouldn’t hesitate to kill. As much as she wanted the green stallion to pay for what he’d done, she didn’t want him to die. She could never hate somepony that much. She struggled, opening her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a whisper. “Stop.” Much to her surprise, he seemed to have heard her. His horn slowly dimmed, and the vibration in the air dissipated. He touched down on the ground, folding his wings, regarding the pony before him with disgust. He stood still for a few moments, then in a blur of motion, a thin flame sprouted from his front hoof, and he jumped forward, swiping at the stallion. There was no blood or new mark on him, but defeated stallion cried out in pain and loss. Derpy couldn’t figure out what had happened, until she saw a bit of green on the ground. The fiery stallion had cut her attacker’s horn off. She would have gasped, if it didn't hurt so much. With a snort, the victor turned from the wreck, facing Derpy. She panicked. Was he going to hurt her, too? A soft, orange glow enveloped her, not restraining her, but cradling her gently. “Hey,” he said, and she flinched. This was the first time he’d spoken, aside from the battle cry she’d first heard. His voice was soft, and a little higher-pitched than she’d expected. “It’s gonna be okay. Don’t worry.” His soothing words were a lot nicer than the yelling from earlier. Her vision began to go dark, but the stallion kept talking. “It’s alright, I’ll keep you safe.” Just before she lost consciousness, she heard him say one last thing. “I promise.” Author's Note This is my first story. I am writing this (yes) with myself in it, but it's going to be a 3rd Person story. I apologize in advance for any cliffhangers or periods of long absence I may leave you with, but I don't have all the time in the world, unfortunately. I'll do my best to keep publishing, though! I have no idea whether this will go well or be a huge flop. If you're reading this, thanks, and have a muffin. ~SoDF (9/29/16: Slightly edited, also giving spaces between paragraphs to help it read a little smoother.)
An Unwelcome Family VisitMinutes later, a crimson flash from his horn revealed a scroll hanging in the air, tied with a ribbon and seal Derpy couldn’t make out. “Oh, good! Is this what I think it is? He opened up the important-looking scroll, peering closer. “…Oh. This is most definitely not for me,” he muttered sheepishly. “Great. I'll just forward this...art... to him, goodness...” He lit it on fire with a spark of his horn, the smoke going out the window in a reddish glow. He sat down, hoping for what he was actually waiting for to arrive. A few minutes passed, and another red flash lit the hall. A second scroll fell into his waiting hoof. He opened it excitedly, scanning it quickly, then whooped and danced around. “They said yes! Fantastic!” He turned to Derpy, barely able to keep himself from jumping up and down. “As soon as I got you here, I immediately informed my commander of what had happened, asking for permission to heal you. Normally, we’re not allowed to use angel-grade magic on regular mortals, but he made an exception. Oh, this is great! Now, hold still, and relax.” He pointed his horn, glowing silver and gold, at Derpy, who did her best to do as he said and relax. Holding still wasn’t too much of a problem, since she could barely move anyway. A brilliant beam shot into her from his horn, and immediately she began to feel weird – really good, but weird. It kind of tickled, and she giggled a little. Soon, she felt really good – perfect, almost! The beam from Spirit’s horn slowly faded, finally shutting off. Derpy felt like she’d never been hurt in the first place! She happily hopped down off the hospital bed, trotting around in a circle. Flapping her wings, she fluttered around the room, the wind sending papers flying, but she paid them no mind. Finally, she touched down, staring at Spirit in awe. Making a spur-of-the-moment decision, she ran to him and nuzzled against his side, the perfect height since she was a little shorter than him. “Thank you very much!” She smiled up at him. Spirit grinned at the Pegasus. He raised his horn in the air, and in a moment, he was once again a normal unicorn. He was still a little taller than Derpy, so he was the right height to nuzzle the top of her head. “You’re very welcome! I hope I don’t have to do that again. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe. Nopony else will hurt you when I’m around.” “I’m glad you found me, I’m a very lucky filly.” They sat down, waiting for the doctor to come to give Derpy a clean bill of health and release her. While waiting, Spirit did one of his regular magic scans of the area. Being a little lazy, he didn’t bother to cloak it. He came up with not much, maybe a little darkness, but nothing major. Probably just the Everfree Forest nearby; that place always seemed full of darkness. Finally, the doctor came in, and he dropped his clipboard out of shock. “Oh, um, I kind of healed her,” Spirit said, mentally berating himself for not telling them. Getting over his shock, the doctor put on a professional face, checking Derpy to make certain she was fine. As the sand-colored unicorn worked, Spirit was unable to sit still. Something itched. And it was getting itchier. Funny, he thought, I remember the presence of darkness kind of itched like this- A sudden explosion sent the three ponies flying back. When the dust cleared, it revealed a gaping hole in the side of the hospital, and a figure that stepped forward towards them. The stallion was tall and crimson, with a mane striped with black and the same red color his coat displayed. He had strange wings similar to Spirit’s, but not quite the same. A sharply pointed horn glowed with dark red magic. Spirit paled, or he would have, if he wasn’t already white. “Fern?” ‘Fern’ bared his teeth. “Do not call me Fern! I am Inferno!” Spirit shook his head. “Nah, you’re always gonna be Fern to me.” Scowling, Fern got in Spirit’s face. “Don’t call me that. You know not to call me that!” Spirit shrugged. “I know you don’t like being called that. Since you decided to betray everyone and go over to that side, I don’t care if you don’t like being called Fern.” “Mom told you not to call me that.” “Do you see her around here?” “…Um, Spirit? What’s going on?” The two looked at the grey mare, who was thoroughly confused. The doctor had already run off in terror, so she was the only other one there. “Oh, sorry, Derpy. This would be my …brother, Fern.” “It’s Inferno! Get it right!” “Okay. Hi, Inferno, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Derpy!” She smiled. “Yeah, hi, kid.” “So, why are you here?” she asked the fuming stallion. He smirked. “Well, I’ve been trying to track my brother for a long while. Not much luck, until I got a big, fat beacon yesterday, followed by another two today. I’ve got a score to settle,” he added with a malicious grin. “Fern…” Spirit warned. “This is a hospital. Don’t turn this into a battlefield, there’s no need for unnecessary death.” Fern scoffed. “Like that’s supposed to make me care?” He chuckled. “But don’t worry, dear brother, this isn’t my chosen battleground.” Flying out the hold he came in, he gestured to the town behind him. “This quaint little town is.” Derpy stares at him in shock, then anger began to build up in her. Seeing a nearby bucket of water, she ran up to it, grabbed it, and threw the water on Fern. Drenched, Fern looked at the mailmare incredulously. “What in the Dark Creator’s name was that?" Sheepish, she dropped the bucket and hid behind Spirit. “Um… well, you’re a fire angel, so I thought…” The dark angel laughed. “A brilliant thought, but no, water does not hurt me. But,” he added, charging up power in his horn, “I know what would hurt you.” “Derpy, get down!” Spirit shouted, then fired a beam to meet his brother’s magic. The twin beams of fire raged against each other, but slowly, Fern's attack gained ground. As the attack came nearer and nearer, Spirit growled. “You may be more powerful than I, brother… But I know what tricks you can’t do!” Snarling, Fern broke off the attack and lunged at him, but before he reached them, Spirit put a hoof on Derpy and the two vanished in a bright flash. “Curse it,” Fern grumbled. “Well… They can’t hide for long.” He jumped out the hole, flapping his wings and heading for the town. Author's Note Yikes, it's been a while. This chapter has been sitting on the back burner half-cooked for a while, and I had a free period in which I had little to do, so I decided to do myself and all y'all a favor and finish it ^-^ Hopefully I can get back into the habit of writing. My collab with Trombone15 hasn't really gone anywhere, probably because it's sort of a sequel to this story, eheh... Kind of my fault there. I'll be working hard to finish it all, though! (9/29/16: Edited out the cringy first paragraph, spaced the paragraphs.)
Capture and DefeatThey reappeared in a bright flash. Derpy looked around, they were on a hill outside of Ponyville. Disoriented, she leaned against Spirit, who was watching the town carefully. “What’s going on?” Spirit sighed. “My brother is a dark angel. I’ve been avoiding him for a long time, because I… well, it’s kinda selfish, but I don’t want to hurt him.” He shook his head. “Evil though he may be, he’s still my brother, and, well, all I have left. Our parents were mortal, and they perished not long before I finished my training.” “Oh,” she said. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but… maybe his brother wasn’t as bad as he seemed. Maybe he wouldn’t actually hurt anypony. A loud explosion in the town shattered the silence, so powerful that she could feel the ground shake at her hooves. A cloud of dark smoke rose, and her breath caught. “W-was that-?” Spirit was grinding his teeth. “Yes, that was Fern. Bucking Celestia on a unicycle, I didn’t think he’d actually follow through…” Derpy’s eyes dilated as her thoughts shot to one thing: her precious filly. “Dinky!” Her wings shot open, and she jumped up, flapping. “Woah! Derpy, no!” Spirit encased Derpy in a huge bubble, bringing her back down to the ground before popping it. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but if you go out there, Fern won’t hesitate to kill you!” Derpy growled. “My filly might be in danger.” She poked Spirit forcefully in the chest. “Don’t even try to stop me.” He shook his head firmly. “Derpy, no. I’ll find your filly for you, but you have to stay here. What use would it be to your filly if you died trying to find her? How well would she do without her mom?” “…” She glared at him, then plunked her rear down in a huff. “Fine. But if there is one hair of her mane out of place, you’ll be sorry!” “All right, all right. Sheesh. Okay, I’ll get her, and on the way I’ll contact the Council and Princess Twilight. The Princess can shield the town once I draw Fern out of there.” With a confident grin, he took off, leaving Derpy behind, feeling actually rather useless. Her tough demeanor dropped, and she laid down with a sigh. “Dinky… stay safe for mommy, okay?” She sadly watched as more fires and explosions spread across the town, paying no attention to her surroundings. So intently she was watching, that she didn’t notice the tendrils of dark magic creeping up on her. Suddenly, they lashed out and wrapped her tight. She screamed. “Spirit! Spirit, help! Somepony!” The dark magic dragged her, kicking and flailing, through a dark portal. It faded into the shadows, leaving the hilltop completely still. * * * * * * * “Thank you, Spirit. I and the Elements of Harmony will be ready to shield the town as soon as you draw him out.” Spirit nodded to Twilight. “Yes, Princess. I will do what I can.” He unfurled his wings, then leapt up into the air. “Wait!” Twilight cried. She gave him a concerned look. “Stay safe.” Spirit beat his wings, hovering, and gave her a happy smirk. “Now, where’s the fun in that?” He laughed, then shot up high into the sky. “Alright, brother, where are you hiding?” he asked himself, scanning the area around him. A low hum filled the air, building in pitch. “Right here.” Spirit’s eyes went wide as he turned to see Fern, his horn ablaze with light. “Gotcha,” he smirked, then fired the blast. A loud explosion filled the air, and Spirit tumbled through the air, wind screaming by him until he crashed into something rock-solid. “Ow…” He winced, prying himself from the indent that he’d made. Before him was a huge drop, and a ways beyond that lay Ponyville. “Filthy bugger shot me into a mountain…” “What’s the matter? I thought you liked playing rough?” Fern said as he swooped in, flapping his wings as he came in to sneer at Spirit, who glared right back at him. “I can take what you throw at me, but a fight amidst the innocents is uncalled for.” Fern snorted. “Who cares about those puny little things? C’mon, let’s go back and play, I want you to watch as I destroy your precious little ‘innocents’.” He flew in, clamping his limbs around Spirit. “Get off!” Spirit groaned, still weak from the impact. “Let me go!” A cruel smile played about Fern’s face. “Oh, of course. I’ll let you go, so you can fall into the ‘innocents’, wouldn’t that be great?” A crackling thrum resounded through the air, and Fern’s smile dropped. “Oh, no you don’t!” he roared, speeding forward. But not fast enough. A purple barrier rose before them, enveloping the whole town. Spirit could see, far below, six forms in a hexagon, glowing brightly. “Looks like the town’s out of bounds, huh?” Fern hissed. “Fine! Instead of destroying the tow, I’ll destroy you!” He dropped Spirit, then charged a bolt and fired it directly into him, propelling him into the ground. Diving, he stretched out his forehooves and ran into Spirit’s aching form, knocking the breath out of him. “Weakling!” He slammed a glowing hoof into Spirit’s face. “You always thought-” slam “-that you could beat me!” slam “You always got looked up to-” slam “-even though I was the stronger one!” Coughing, Spirit groaned, then spit out a wad of blood. He gave Fern a look. “I was looked up to because…” he coughed. “…Because I was kind. You were…an arrogant jerk with…a big head and too much power,” he wheezed as blood ran freely from his nose. Fern locked eyes with him, hatred burning fiercely in his gaze. He raised a hoof, glowing white hot, then shot it forward. Spirit closed his eyes, bracing himself. …But the blow never came. Instead, Spirit felt the weight shift off of him. “What the hell do you mean, I can’t kill him?” Opening his eyes, Spirit saw his brother, shouting at….seemingly nothing. “You- What? Okay, okay! Fine,” he yelled into thin air. He turned and gave Spirit a look of disgust. “Well, brother, looks like you’ll be spared for now. I can’t kill you… yet.” A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t knock you out.” He thrust a hoof at Spirit. There was a flash of pain, then darkness. Author's Note Half of this has been finished for a while, I've finally gotten myself into a good writing mindset~ Hopefully I can get the next chapter out soon!
The Day After; Things Are ExplainedFor a few moments, all there was in Derpy’s world was pain. She would have groaned, if she could. She wished she could go back, back to the peace that the blankness had brought. But she was slowly drawn out of the dark by a sound. She couldn’t make it out yet, but it was growing steadily clearer. Unfortunately, the clearer the sound got, the more pain she felt. The light grew closer… closer… “Miss? Can you hear me, Miss?” A gentle, though fairly panicked, voice asked her, now coming in loud and clear. Did she recognize that voice? She couldn’t remember. Her eyes fluttered open, then she quickly shut them tight again. It was too light – it hurt her eyes. She tried again, going much slower this time. At first, all she could see was white, but soon the glare faded, and she was able to see the pony in front of her – A unicorn stallion with a red and blue striped mane, looking down on her with worried, blue eyes. “Nurse? She’s awake!” the stallion called. He turned back to Derpy. “Can you hear me?” he asked again. A little drowsy, and in a lot of pain, she just nodded. She tried her best to look around, though she could barely move. Where was she? She knew she was in a building. All the walls were white, and there were machines around… She was in the hospital? How did she get there? “Oh, thank goodness. I was beginning to worry you’d gotten a bit of brain damage.” She looked up at the relieved figure before her. Of course! He’s the one that must have brought her here. She thought back to the day before, and remembered him promising that she would be okay. She smiled a little. “Well, if you’re good enough to keep up a happy face, you must be alright.” The stallion smiled at her. “Can you talk? Or would that hurt too much?” Derpy tried to open her mouth to say something, but her jaw hurt really bad. She stopped, but not before a few tears trickled out of the corner of her eye. Oh, raisins, she thought, then immediately berated herself for even thinking such profanity in front of a stranger. The tears were slow-moving, and they tickled and itched. “Here,” he said, and a white silk handkerchief floated over with an orange glow, gently wiping them away. Derpy gave a little happy smile, and the stallion grinned back. A playful look gleamed in his eye, and the kerchief unraveled into a square, then began folding itself in a complicated way. Derpy watched, entranced, until with one final movement, it had become a crane! Or, at least, a folded crane. Not a real one. That would be surprising. Her smile grew a little wider as she watched the crane flap around the room, glowing with the orange light from the stallion’s horn. Still controlling the crane, he talked briefly to the nurse. She gave him a clipboard and a pill bottle, which he set on a side table, then he turned back to watch Derpy and the crane. It came to rest atop her head, and she giggled a little. It hurt to laugh, but it was worth it. She felt better. She was almost able to forget what the green stallion had said… Wait. She looked at the stallion in front of her, and her eyes widened. It was the same pony, she knew it. But how could it be? For the one standing in front of her did look and did sound the same, but if it was, where were his wings? And why was his mane a different color? Why was he a different color? She started to get a little scared. What was going on? As she panicked, her vision went blurry – one of her eyes had decided to take a little trip again. Seeing her expression turn frightened, he set the napkin down “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you okay?” She didn’t answer, just kept staring at him, afraid and confused. “What? What hap-” He stopped when he realized what it was that was probably spooking her. “Oh. Is it that I look different?” A little nod confirmed it. “Ah. Well… It’s a long story.” The stallion blinked, then after a moment, facehoofed. “Oh. I haven’t even introduced myself, have I?” He shook his head. “Geez, I’m just out of it today, huh?” He stood tall, then bowed to Derpy. “I am Spirit, and it is an honor to meet you, Miss…” He glanced around, then turned to the clipboard he'd put on a table nearby that had her medical information on it. He scanned it a moment, then turned back to face her. “…Miss Derpy Hooves,” he finished, bowing again. “Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to bow or anything,” he chuckled. Derpy smiled wryly in response, unable to do much more than that. He rubbed his head with a hoof, thinking. “Hm… How should I start this?” He sat down, quietly collecting his thoughts for a moment. “It all kind of started when I was just a colt. See, my village, whose name I must keep a secret, had certain things that set us apart from everypony else. We believed that angels walked among us, living and fighting as guardians against the evils of the world. It was said that angels were born as normal ponies, but they became what they are through a pilgrimage to a sacred place. “Now, not everypony could just become an angel. You had to be chosen at birth by one of them. If you were just born, and they chose you, they would fly to you invisibly, and they would leave their mark on you. The marks, each one unique to their bearers, would shape you on the inside as you grew. The changes wouldn’t be noticeable, of course. At least, not with mortal eyes.” Spirit paused, looking at Derpy. “You alright with this? You need a second?” Derpy shook her head, or at least, she tried to. She understood, and she was enjoying listening to him. She smiled encouragingly, silently asking him to continue. He nodded, clearing his throat. “Now, there are some that had dreams, in which they saw what was growing. But they wrote it off as just a fantasy their minds had woven during their sleep. It’s understandable, of course. Who would believe that they were a sign of their coming immortality?” He grinned. “I remember when I had my dream. I was in my room, but everything was dark, and it was storming outside. I couldn’t leave, well, I couldn’t move really. In front of me, there was a mirror. As I looked into it, I was shocked. “Unfurling from my back, spreading wide, were wings. Wings like I had never seen before. Being a unicorn colt, that freaked me out. But of course, it was only a dream, right?” He chuckled. “There is one sign of an angel that can be seen with mortal eyes. Under the full moon, during the heart of the winter solstice, the mark can be seen, faintly glowing silver on their flank. Oh, speaking of which, angels don’t ever get a Cutie Mark. Their angel mark takes that place.” He turned his body, showing his blank flank to Derpy, who stared at it. It was very unusual to see a grown stallion without a Cutie Mark. “There’s a celebration every winter solstice, where the whole town comes together. When the moon is at its peak, everypony without a Cutie Mark checks their flank. If they find a mark, they’re brought to the village elders, who will decide if they are old enough to go on the pilgrimage. The road there is hard, but once you enter the sacred place…” He trailed off, eyes shining from the memory. “It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.” After a few moments of silence, Spirit seemed to come to his senses. “Ah, sorry. Got lost in my thoughts, there.” He smiled apologetically. “Anyway. Once you’re there, the Angels take you in, and you join them in protecting the world from its evils. That is, after about fifty, sixty years of training.” Derpy’s eyes widened. That was a long time! She had been delivering mail for about seven, eight years now, but fifty years? Sixty? That was too much for her to imagine. Especially since that was all before he even really started! Spirit seemed to read her expression, for he laughed. “That’s pocket change. Angels are immortal. Well, more or less. We can be killed in battle, but only by another immortal being, using very old, very powerful dark magic.” He hesitated. “I’m not sure if you want to hear this, but I guess it wouldn’t change anything to tell you…” He drew in a breath, then let it out slowly. “There are some angels that, once the training is done, reject it all, go off on their own to pursue a darker path. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does… well, it’s not pretty. Chrysalis, and with her the first Changelings, were created by a dark angel. King Sombra? Dark angel. Tirek? An experiment made by a dark angel fusing his soul with a Centaur. Half the things in Tartarus are experiments like these.” He made sure Derpy was alright before continuing. “So, there are two kinds of us. Angels and dark angels, but we’re both the same type of pony. We’re a race similar to Alicorns, but different in many ways. We’re called Divinicorns. Those who fly as angels are called Walkers of Light, and those who do not are called Walkers of Darkness. Our job as angels is to keep them from tearing the world apart.” Spirit shrugged. “And, that’s about it. I’m an angel. You saw what’s called my Soul Forme yesterday. When I’m in that form, my power is increased, and yeah, my mane changes color to reflect my inner element. I told you my name is Spirit? Well, that’s part of my title. I just use it because I don’t have a mortal name. After a few centuries of life, you find that it kind of loses meaning.” His smile turned a little proud. “My title reflects who I am, at my very core. It won’t ever change, because I could never change that, not even if I had a few centuries of time to kill. But y’know, I wouldn’t want to try. I’m pretty proud of my title.” He smiled, then closed his eyes. His horn glowed in twin bands of gold and silver, filling the room with light. Derpy had to shut her eyes, it was too bright to look at. When it died down, she opened them again. Spirit now had his angel wings, lined in glowing red, stretched out enough that they seemed to fill the room. He tossed his now red-orange mane with pride, grinning at her. “I am the Spirit of Dancing Flames.” Author's Note Well, here it is! Chapter Two! Maybe now some of the questions in your head are answered. If you hit the 'Thumbs down' button, please leave a short note telling me why you don't like it. I can't improve if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong. Special thanks to Nico-Stone Rupan for the follow and the kind comment! Thanks Emerald Skies (Sis ^-^) for the follow, too. And of course, thanks to all of you who are reading this story. Have a muffin. ~SoDF (9/29/16: Slight edits, spaces between paragraphs.)
