Once upon a time, more than a thousand years ago, the land of Equestria was filled with peace, prosperity and harmony because of the reign of the Royal Sisters; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
Together they had united with the leaders of the three pony tribes, and once the leaders saw them fit to lead all of them they appointed the two as the supreme rulers of Equestria. Shortly after this they defeated Discord who had taken over the land before them. Then barely a few years later they banished Lord Tirek who had threatened war with them. Now all of Equestria lived in peace during their mighty rule.
All was well in the great land of Equestria for no one thought that things would go wrong. They believed they had been through the worst of the worst.
What they did not know was that deep in the shadows their Princess of the Night was brewing in her anger and despair that her subjects were relishing in her older sister's light while shunning her beautiful darkness. They soon forgot how together they brought peace unto the land, not simply Celestia herself.
Darkness grew in the younger one’s heart over time. She began neglecting some of her duties, seeing no point in doing such things. The magical forces in the air could sense this. Strange spirits rose from their hiding and roamed throughout Equestria as they pleased, knowing that the Princess that normally scared them back into hiding was not currently concerned with such things.
Among some of these spirits came a rare type, that is hardly if ever seen. It was a Blandishment.
She was like many other spirits that lived in the land as she, but with one difference: she was unsure of what she wished to do with her life. Other spirits knew what they were and what they wanted to be for the rest of eternity. But this was simply a curious spirit that wished to fulfill a duty she bestowed upon herself. To find out what she was meant to do.
Life for this particular spirit had mostly been a calm one. She knew that she must find a purpose for her life and she wished to fulfill that. Other than that she could do what she pleased.
But there is more to being a spirit than doing whatever you wanted. There are a few choices that most spirits have to keep them busy; they may either chose to haunt or protect a certain area or a house if they wished, or to create nightmares in ponies’ dreams. The last, which is something a spirit does not normally do, is stay in their good nature.
Of course if they do any of this in a playful way then they are choosing to be mischievous spirits. If they go too far, for example if they disturb the residents to practical insanity or drive them to death, then they become evil spirits. Other than that they are good. Doing little favors for ponies here and there, helping find lost objects, comforting a crying filly so the parents could sleep, even drive away evil spirits.
These were all fun for many, but this spirit was not interested in doing such things. She was still young and unsure of what she honestly wished to be.
Ever since she could remember when she came out of hiding, she wanted to simply try and understand the world that was before her, and if possible find out what her purpose was for this life.
So as a result, for a few years she had wandered parts of the wilds of Equestria, searching for something, anything, that would bring some sort of purpose to her life. Never did she stay in villages or cities though. She preferred to keep her solitude.
It seemed that every place was the same. She never found anything interesting, nor worth her time.
She learned myriad things here and there, but nothing kept her attention long. Which is another thing about spirits; they have very short attention spans. Very short.
It was ghastly for her as she found herself in yet another forest that held no wonders to it. She sighed to herself as she thought of a way to possibly pass the time for a bit. Then an idea came to her as she smiled to herself.
The spirit hovered to the ground and stretched her magic as she shifted her form into one of a wolf. She enjoyed transfiguration very much, but tried to not stay in one form for too long. It was distracting in her opinion. What was the point in being in a form that was not your own when you had a job you wished to fulfill?
She stretched her forelegs and yawned widely as she got the feel of her new body. It was strange to be on four legs instead of having none. She then looked down into a puddle that lay before her, seeing her beautiful coal black fur with one red streak that laid across her face and her emerald green eyes staring back at her.
Ah. This is quite a wonderful form, I must say. I wonder why I do not transfigured to this more often?
She smiled to herself as she lifted her head proudly then she ran swiftly through the trees, exploring the land. Sadly it looked the same as all the other forests before. There were old oak trees that dominated all the living, flush ferns growing madly across the forest floor, as was the moss, and little groups of wild flowers which seemed like specks of color among the mass of green that surrounded them.
Little rabbits and squirrels would perk their heads up when the sound of her beating paws drew close. Once they realized what it was, they would flee in terror, as she bounded away through the brush.
She watched through her peripheral vision as the trees seemed to zoom past her, the ferns grazing across her flanks and her legs as she ran with all her might. Branches snapped under the impact of her paws, the sound of the moss and leaves smashing beneath her while she ran. She heard water running in the distance and dozens of birds chirping in the trees.
It was all beautiful, yes, but it was all an indifference to her. All she wished for was to see what this forest may have in store for her.
The transfigured wolf ran until she suddenly screeched to a stop when she realized she was about to run into an open field. She stood straight and tall, the wind blowing through her thick fur as she sniffed the air, curiously.
There is something here, but what?
Ah! Deer.
It honestly was not normal for a spirit to hunt, but she had observed other animals do this many times, so curiosity of what the experience may be like got the better of her.
I have never hunted deer before, only small creatures. This shall be interesting!
She crouched low onto her belly, examining the field, searching for the deer that she had smelled. Sure enough a small herd was grazing a little way from where she was. She began to crawl ever so slowly towards them, the strands of tall grass and weeds covering her as she was careful to not make any sudden movements or loud noises that may startle them.
It felt interesting to her as she dug her claws into the dirt beneath her paws, grasping it as if it could muffle the very sound of her movement even more. Her furry belly scraped the ground as she swished her tail slowly from side to side, as she was finally close enough to the deer that she could practically feel it's heart beating in its chest. She breathed in deeply through her nostrils, smelling the strange scent of the wild animal, her eyes locked onto her target. Her mouth began to involuntarily water as the scent became stronger. She licked her chops, unsure of what to think of this, but deep down she felt it was because her wolf instincts were kicking in. Hunger was dominating all of her thoughts as she kept her emerald eyes on the young deer.
The deer lifted its head from grazing in the field, then its innocent eyes turned towards the edge of the field, unaware that a predator was lying but a yard away from her.
The spirit was going absolutely mad as her instincts were screaming at her to pounce onto the deer, but she kept her control as she waited for the precise moment to do so. When the deer lowered her head to graze once again she saw her chance.
With one leap the wolf pounced upon her prey and bit into its neck. The other deer fled, and the one that she had grabbed tried to flee along with them. It screamed and thrashed as it fought the wolf, hoping to get away. She kept her teeth held onto its neck, crushing its windpipe between her mighty jaw, scratching at its fur with her razor sharp claws.
The deer kicked madly and screamed as it tried to fight her away. It jerked its head from side to side, as if to break free from the wolf’s grasp, but instead it resulted in her tearing at her own fur even more. Blood ran down its neck and into the transfigured wolf’s mouth, driving her a bit crazy with hunger as she bit down harder into the deer’s neck. It squeaked in pain as it crumpled onto its knees, slowly giving in to the slow, painful death.
It was exhilarating as she ended this deer's life, feeling its anima tug onto life. She sucked onto the anima, encouraging it to leave the deer's body. Come on. Come on. With one last jerk of her legs the deer let her eyes roll back into her head then breathed its last breath, giving in to the inevitable death that lay before it.
The transfigured wolf opened her mouth, letting the animal fall to the ground then slowly breathed in its anima through her nostrils. She sighed in contentment as her own energy replenished to its full capacity.
Nothing felt better to her than this. Wild creatures’ anima was different from ponies’, gamey in a sense, but it was better than nothing. With every one she took, she gained knowledge and abilities along with them. Not many were of an advantage to her at the moment, animals lacked the zeal ponies had but they did have knowledge of their instincts. It was fascinating what she learned from them, and it was useful when she transfigured since she would know how to act like the other animals and blend in whenever she needed, but other than that it was meaningless to her.
Besides, she only took an animal’s anima every once in a while for sport or out of desperation when she was very weak. She would much rather have a pony’s anima, she enjoyed the anima of ponies so much more, rich with experience and culture, though only rarely did she chance upon a recent corpse. As long as it was reasonably fresh, she could sip at the small wisps of life yet to evaporate, and feel both intoxicated and sated for a while. This was much more than any other animals she had.
The knowledge she gained with each pony and the childlike wonder that came with it was absolutely amazing to her. Maybe one day there would be something that would change her life for the better, show her what she was meant to be.
The spirit left the dead body to the open field and ran into the forest once again, hoping to find another animal to hunt or perhaps someplace to spend the rest of the day and explore.
She ran through the trees, leaping over fallen trees, dodging branches from every which way, and skidding across the forest floor to make sharp turns in order to not slam into anything.
Instead of a cave however, she happened to come across a town. She screeched to a halt, leaving deep paw prints on the ground before she began to pace for a second, unsure if she should leave this place or continue her search. She then stopped pacing and lowered herself to the ground behind a bush, her ears twitching a bit as she examined the area.
The town was very small, yet sturdy it seemed. Some houses looked to be made of wood and straw while others were made of brick. The dirt roads were quite muddy, for the ponies’ hooves sank deeply into the mud as they walked about.
She took a deep breath in through her nostrils then wrinkled her nose in disgust. The smells coming from the town were mixed of bread, coal, and straw.
Absolutely the most horrid smell I have ever encountered. Besides death that is.
She was unsure if she should go into the old raggedy town, but it was getting to be a bit late, and who knew if she would come across anyplace else in the forest. Perhaps something would spark her interest in this little town.
I suppose it would not hurt to spend some time here. I could learn a bit while I am here.
The spirit lifted herself to her feet then changed to her mist form as she flew into the air and towards the town. Once there she began observing the ponies surrounding her as they went about their lives. The buildings looked even worse up close, but she now noticed that flags and small adornments were decorating most of the village. She looked closer at a few seeing that they were in fact holding the symbol of the sun on them. All of them had this same symbol.
Hmmm. Perhaps this has some great meaning to them? Why would they decorate their place of living if it did not?
She had not spent much time in populated areas so she was largely ignorant when it came to ponies’ behavior, but she had a fair idea of how they were. Enough knowledge to get by, she assumed.
The energy she felt radiating off these beings was strong. She tried to ignore it as she usually did, but this was different from the funerals she normally attended when she was in need of anima. She normally felt emanations that were wrought with longing and melancholy, but this was very strange.
Some seemed much lighter than the sadness she normally felt, others were hard and undesirable.
The spirit observed one of the ponies as he trotted through the square, smiling as he did so, nodding his head politely to other ponies that passed him by.
Why is he doing such a thing? This does not benefit him to any degree. Rather useless I say.
She kept flying about, watching as the ponies ran around attending to their business while young foals and fillies played together in the streets. None of them acted out of the ordinary though. They all simply bustled about, running through the streets, pulling carts, selling from stalls, talking to one another, or heading back home from work. It was beginning to bore her a bit. She wished she could simply enjoy herself, but she couldn't. Her nature wouldn't allow her to.
But then something caught her attention.
A young pony was lying next to a tree behind a house, hiding itself from all the other ponies. She grew curious and moved closer to it, then noticed that it was female. The pony was wearing a dark green cloth upon her head, holding her light amber mane back and she had her head tucked between her fore legs, her ears drooping against her head. She listened closely until she could finally hear faint sobbing sounds coming from the pony as she buried her face away from the world.
This was more like the emotions the spirit was used to feeling, but this was not a funeral. Why was this pony upset? Did she have a reason to be?
Her curiosity grew as she hovered closer to the pony, honestly wanting to know what the problem was.
The green eyed spirit transfigured herself into the form of a pony herself so this one would feel a bit more comfortable to speak to her. She knew that if she was anything else the pony may reject her or be too afraid to say a word to her. That would simply not do.
Once she had become a pony, she examined herself briefly to see her long crimson red mane, white fur, and small black spot upon her chest.
Fascinating.
A thought struck her. What of her eyes? Would they be too strange for a pony? They looked like other ponies’, but the color was much more brilliant than any others’. Surely it would be too much for this form to keep her natural eyes. She then changed them to a duller jade, so they wouldn't be so alarming.
She gently poked the pony with her hoof to see if she would respond. The pony raised her head, quickly wiping away her tears before her eyes met the spirit’s. The tan pony forced herself to smile as she slowly raised herself to her hooves, wishing to greet the stranger.
“Hello.” Her voice was a bit raspy, but quite pretty. “I'm sorry if I disturbed you.”
The spirit raise an eyebrow, confused. “Why would you be a disturbance?”
The pony shook her head and brushed her messy mane away from her face. “Never mind. My name is Lilyena.” She stretched out a hoof to greet her.
She simply stared at the hoof in confusion and tilted her head to the side. “Name? What is that?”
Lilyena raised her brow in confusion as she let her hoof drop to the ground. “Do you not know what a name is?”
The spirit shook her head. “’Tis a mystery to me. I am not from here.”
“Still, anypony should know what a name is. Surely you have one, do you not?”
Once again she shook her head. She had no idea what names were, nor what use they had. If she had gone through most of her life without one, why gain one?
“What if I gave you a name?” She asked, speaking her thoughts.
The spirit saw no point to this, but it seemed that it meant something to this, Lilyena, as she called herself. Perhaps she should go ahead and let her, then she may tell her why she was crying earlier.
“Alright.”
Lilyena looked over the spirit, examining all of her features hoping to find something to inspire her. Her cutie mark seemed to be a shadow of a sort. This is strange as well as unique. It reminded her of a story she read some time ago when she was a filly. What had it been called? She tried to recall it, and once she did she smiled.
“How about, Astra?” Lilyena asked.
She thought to herself for a second as she let the name set in. It seemed fitting for one like herself. It was not entirely too bad. Yes, perhaps it would work. If she was going to have a name might as well make it a good one.
“I like it.” Astra smiled.
Lilyena looked to the sky, seeing that dark clouds were filling the sky, threatening to rain. She couldn't leave this stranger out to the cold.
“Would you like to come in?” She asked. “I have some soup cooking. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold out here.”
Astra looked up at the clouds. Rain was of little worry to her, but she wanted to know what was wrong with this pony so she agreed.
Lilyena smiled as she led her guest to her backdoor. Astra was a bit wary about doing what she was about to do, but honestly what did she have to lose? She walked into the house behind the pony and gently closed the door with her magic.
It seems there is no turning back now.
Upon entering the house she saw that it was a very small and, in places, damaged. The walls were sinking in and the wood was cracked and had obviously been attacked by termites at one point. The floor was made of a very smooth wood so it looked nice.
Other than the horrible state of the structure, the house was very well kept and clean. She admired this pony for keeping the house well in order.
It seemed that she made do with the condition of her house, yet made the best of it.
Lilyena trotted into the kitchen then picked up a wooden spoon that sat on the counter next to the stove.
She lifted the lid from a small iron pot that sat upon the stove, steam immediately escaping from it as she did so. The smells that wafted through the kitchen were lovely, or so Astra thought. She wasn't accustomed to these sorts of smells, cooked food that is, being in the wilds most of her life had taught her to appreciate the scent of raw meat that had been freshly killed a couple of minutes ago and fresh greens that grew alongside flowing rivers. But she supposed that this smell must be as good as that was to ponies.
I wonder what a freshly killed pony would smell like?
The random thought ran through her mind as she thought back on the scent of the previous corpses of ponies she had encountered. They smelled awful, of course, but what of a recent body? What of the anima she could gain? Shivers ran down her as the thought of what all that anima running through her would feel like. It would definitely be better than some deer’s anima. Ah. Maybe one day.
Lilyena stirred the soup gently with the spoon before she took a bit into the spoon and tasted it. Satisfied with the taste, she covered it once again then attended to the fire in her stove. She threw a log into the flames, briefly watching as they engulfed the wood with sparks and heat.
She closed the door with her magic then trotted to her cabinets where she grabbed two bowls, then she opened a drawer to grab two spoons.
Astra watched patiently as Lilyena worked with rapid speed, setting her table to the highest of standards. From the appropriate setting of the dishware to using the correct ones as well, Astra was very impressed. She may not have seen much of pony society, but she knew that there were a right and wrong to standards from what she had seen at different classes of ponies in her travels, so she knew the basic difference between them.
This made her wonder even more. What is a pony of this kind of upbringing doing in this raggedy town? Surely a pony would not drop her standards if she was of a upper class. That would be ridiculous.
Astra shook these thoughts away when she saw that Lilyena had gestured at her to take a seat, which she assumed meant that it was almost time for supper. She took a seat at the table then gazed at the cutlery. It was rather strange for her to have to eat off of something and to use things to pick up food. It seemed that this would be an interesting first for her.
Lilyena took the bowls then poured soup into them with a ladle. She placed them on the table before she took a seat herself and filled their glasses with water. Satisfied with her work Lilyena smiled at the spirit.
“I hope you enjoy,” she said.
Astra nodded. “Many thanks to you.”
Astra then lifted her spoon, curiously poking at her soup to see what it was. It seemed to consist of carrots, celery, corn, zucchini, and some other vegetable she had never seen before. She did not know what to think as she carefully brought the food to her lips then took a cautious sip.
It tasted absolutely spectacular for her first trial of pony food, but what she didn't know was that this was considered to be a peasant dish to many. To her it was food meant for royalty.
She eagerly ate the food, taking rather large spoonfuls of it and barely having any manners.
Lilyena smiled at the pony and shook her head. She was pleased that she was enjoying her food, but it rather irked her that this pony was not showing any civility or manners. Perhaps she has not eaten in a long time. She looks to be rather skinny. I shan't say a word then.
Once finished, Astra licked the bowl clean before licking her chops in content. It was very delicious and satisfying to her hunger.
Lilyena smiled then grabbed Astra’s bowl with her magic.
“Would you like more?” she asked.
Astra nodded enthusiastically.
Lilyena laughed softly then served her guest more food. As the spirit ate a bit more calmly she wondered if this would be a good time to ask questions.
“Why were you crying outside, when I saw you?” she asked.
Lilyena was a bit uneasy with the fact that Astra asked that. Still, it may be an unavoidable subject.
“Nothing of your concern, I am sure,” she said with a gentle sip of her soup.
“If it were not of my concern then why would I ask of your well being?” Astra asked.
“You misunderstand. I mean that you should not worry of my issues or the fact I was crying outside of my home.”
“But I am curious,” Astra said.
“Do not be,” Lilyena said coolly.
“Why ever not?”
“Because it is none of your business.” Lilyena was trying her best to stay calm, but this pony was starting to push her buttons.
Astra realized that this pony was not interested in sharing any information, so she supposed that she try a different approach.
“I apologize, for my curiosity.” Astra said.
Lilyena nodded. “I just am not in the best situation at the present moment.”
“I see.” An awkward silence temporarily filled the air as they ate.
“If I asked what the situation was, would that also be none of my business?” Astra asked.
Lilyena eyed the spirit, growing more and more irritated. I’m starting to regret letting this stranger in my house. She is quite the inquisitive one.
“It's complicated,” she said simply, hoping that Astra would drop it.
The spirit had no knowing of Lilyena’s annoyance though. She thought that if she pried enough maybe the pony would finally tell her everything.
“I may be able to keep up.”
The pony rolled her eyes before she finally decided to give in and tell the spirit what she wished to know. It was a bit uncomfortable for her, but if it shut this pony up, she was all for it.
“My husband and I want to have foals,” she said.
Foals? Astra knew what they were, but she saw no reason why a pony would desire such a thing. They were simply a younger, prettier version of yourself that either gets spoiled out of their mind or abandoned. Why waste time on such a thing?
“And?” Astra pried.
Lilyena sighed deeply. “And… I am unfortunately unable to give us the one thing we desire most.”
Um… How is a pony unable to have offspring? Isn't any living being capable of such a thing?
“Why are you unable to?” Astra asked.
The pony suddenly grabbed her bowl with her magic and threw it roughly against the wall, shattering it to pieces.
Astra was taken aback by her actions and the rush of strong sense energy that came her way. This was something she had never ever encountered in her life. It felt entirely different from all the other elan she had felt throughout the town. It was… it made her feel what that deer back in the field felt. What is this called by ponies? She thought madly for a second then it came to her.
Fear.
But what of this élan that she is feeling? Astra tried to think of what it may be called or even what it was, but nothing she had ever felt could compare to this.
Lilyena breathed evenly as she glared at the now slightly frightened pony that sat at her table.
She counted silently, hoping to control herself. She knew that she may have overreacted a bit, but she couldn't help it. Her hormones were absolutely over the roof the past few days. Which had previously made her think she was pregnant, but a doctor’s visit she had just made that morning told her different.
She was heartbroken by the time she had returned home so, of course, she began sobbing the minute she could. Not only was she upset that she without child, she was also scared. She had previously told her husband, Iron Shield, that she may be pregnant, which he was overjoyed to hear. But now, what would she tell him? How would she tell him? Would he be upset? Would he be heartbroken as she was? Or would he be angry with her?
Lilyena shivered as she thought of what would happen if he became angry. Iron was a kind pony most of the time, but when he was angry, it was truly terrifying. She had been victim to his rages a few times, but ever since he had given up drinking it had helped the outbursts to shorten, which she was truly thankful for.
Now this… this may change things.
It was unsettling for Astra as they stared off for what felt like hours to her. She knew that it was merely seconds, but this new emotion roaming through her body, brought a whole new light to time. It was strange yet fascinating all at once. If only the circumstances were different so that she may come to more of an understanding of this. But she felt that would be a bit impractical at the moment.
Lilyena closed her eyes then took one solid long breath. Once she felt her nerves settle she picked up the pieces of the bowl she had broken and threw them away, before looking to her guest once again.
“I am very sorry for my irrational behavior, Astra.” Her tone was honestly apologetic. “As I said before; I am not in the best situation at the moment.”
Astra was still a bit wary of her, but she nodded in acceptance of her apology.
“It is alright,” Astra said.
Lilyena shook her head. “No. I should not have lashed out as I did.”
“Was that what just happened?” She asked.
Now Lilyena was truly confused. Where ever did this pony come from if she didn't know what a name nor what anger was?
“How do you not know these things?” she asked. “You are a pony are you not?”
Now it was Astra’s turn to be uncomfortable as she twisted her hooves, nervously.
“Not exactly,” she said.
Lilyena raised an eyebrow before speaking in a suspicious tone. “Whatever do you mean?”
“What I mean, is that I look like a pony, but I'm not always a pony,” she explained.
What in Celestia’s name does she mean? Not only is she a curious little thing, she may be crazy as well! Maybe I'll at least try to let her explain.
“What are you when you are not a pony then?” Lilyena asked, cautiously.
Astra thought it over for a second, wondering whether it may be a good idea to tell her of her true origins. Would it be wise to let her know of this kind of secret? Ponies are not normally supposed to know when a spirit is in their midst, unless it is, of course, their purpose. Telling her this would serve no purpose though. Would it? Perhaps she would learn more from this pony if she did so. There was no harm in gaining knowledge, right?
Astra then decided to take the risk. She smiled a bit as she revealed her beautiful dark emerald eyes. “I am a spirit.”
Author's Note
Thank you for reading
