Fractured Spirits

Fractal’s heart pounded as he ran through the forest. He should have guessed that he and Thunder Specter would just end up racing again. They never did work if they had to. Besides, Fire Surge seemed to be making fires just fine with very little firewood.

Now as they raced through the trees, the thunder roared overhead. Fractal shot up above the trees and looked out towards Ponyville as he flew. Looking ahead, he saw the storm seemed to be over there as well. That couldn’t be right. They very rarely schedule storms, and if they did he would know about it. After all, he was part of the weather crew. Fractal flew down to tell Thunder Specter about this.

As he got down there, he noticed Thunder had disappeared. Looking around for a moment, he couldn’t seem to find him anywhere. “Hey Thunder, where’d you run off to?” He finally said. There was no answer. Now he was beginning to get worried. Thing were getting weird today, beyond just the casual freaky dream. That weather over the village was a little too natural for Fractal’s liking. Fractal shook his head. Ha, you’re probably just being paranoid. He thought to himself. Maybe there was a quick change in plans while I was gone. Maybe that’s why the storm reaches the village. Fractal also knew that Thunder Specter was a smart guy, so he would probably head back to camp when he noticed Fractal wasn’t around anymore.

He began to walk back to camp. He enjoyed walking on occasion instead of flying. Also, when he was flying the rain was in his eyes, so he settled with walking back. The wind was howling above, making the trees rustle and sway. Fractal was thankful for the cover the trees provided from the wind and rain, but he wished he could fly up above the trees. It would be so much quicker.

Suddenly there was a shout from behind. “Coming through!” Thunder shouted as he came rocketing past Fractal at full speed. The first thing Fractal thought was to fly up and chase after him, believing the race was still on. However when he turned his head backwards he saw what Thunder was flying from. A pack of timber wolves had appeared and were running towards them. Fractal immediately leaped off the ground and took off towards camp.

After a very short time, Fractal caught up to Thunder. “What in Equestria did you do? Hit them with a torch?” Fractal called to Thunder. “I don’t know, but whatever I did they are real ticked off!” Thunder replied over his shoulder. Fractal rolled his eyes. “I can see that, thank you very much!” Fractal decided to take advantage of the situation and folded his wings, landing on the ground to run again. Fractal grinned as he felt that familiar rush of adrenaline flow through his body. “What are you doing?” Thunder called back slowing down. “Now is not the time for your crazy dare devil acts!”

Fractal laughed. “You really think I’m so dumb that I would put myself at risk without a way of getting out? I’ll just shoot up above the trees at the last second!” Fractal said to his worried friend. Thunder was getting angry now. “You fool, you can’t fly up there! The wind is so powerful now I could barely clear the trees without getting blown back down!”

Fractal’s heart skipped a beat. Wind strong enough to keep a Pegasus from flying, even at this speed? This day was falling into chaos faster than he originally thought.

Then the real problem dawned on Fractal. He was not in a good position at the moment. The wolves were getting closer and he had to act fast. Of course he could just fly up a little, but that was far too easy. Instead he kept going on hoof.
“Hang on, I’m going to go ahead and warn Surge!” Thunder Specter called. He took off without waiting for an answer. Fractal wasn’t concerned about this though. He could easily get out of this and still enjoy the thrill. At least, that’s what he thought until the second pack of wolves showed up from the direction he was heading. “Shoot, are you serious?” He said as he saw the wolves glaring at him.

Fractal looked to his left. The forest was thick and unpredictable, and he couldn’t let himself get lost. Fractal was never an explorer. The right side was the same way. There was only one direction he could go.

Up, through the trees.

A mischievous grin crossed Fractals face. The kind of grin that says you’re about to do something crazy and you’re going to enjoy it. Fractal charged full speed towards the wolves ahead. At the last second he leaped into the air and took off up through the trees and into the sky.

Thunder Specter wasn’t kidding. The moment Fractal cleared the trees he was buffeted by a massive gust of wind, which sent him spinning out of control. Fractal fought to regain his control, but it was near impossible. The wind was so strong he couldn’t stop himself. He couldn’t even tell which way he was going.

The wind tossed him like a rag doll. Back and forth, left and right until Fractal couldn’t even think anymore. Lightning blasted through the sky as Fractal battled with the hurricane force winds. Fractal wasn’t running on thought anymore. He was doing whatever he could to get out of there.

He closed one wing and went swerving downwards towards the ground, and then swerved back up like a roller coaster. Finally Fractal close his one other wing, and began to fall. Pushed around by the unpredictable wind, he couldn’t tell where he would land. Fractal braced himself for the crash. The last thing he heard was a loud crack of thunder, and then everything went black.

Invictus jumped as the lightning ripped through the sky, sending out an explosive sound of thunder. Her ears began ringing it was so loud. The wind howled past her as she walked towards the Everfree Forest. Of course it would be a storm on today of all days… She thought to herself.

Suddenly there was a voice behind her. “Invictus.” Invictus turned around to find her brother walking towards her. “Sorry I’m late, got caught up in a chess match.” He said to her over the wind. Invictus shook her head. “It’s alright. I’ve been taking my time anyways.” She said in response.

Her brother shrugged and walked up beside her. “Come on; let’s see if that flower you planted is still growing.” Intredus said. Invictus smiled faintly, but the smile quickly faded as memories and thoughts continued to rush through her mind.
They began to walk towards the spot where they buried their mother. As they got closer and passed familiar sights, the rain only made the memories more vivid. It was almost impossible to cope with.

Then they saw it. The lone rose that stood out from the grass and out of control plants of the Everfree Forest. Beneath a single oak tree, the rose swayed in the wind. It was protected well by the forest’s trees. It looked like it was about ready to blow away though. Invictus approached the rose, with her brother following shortly behind. Its roots were doing their job, holding it down from the wind. It seemed to be missing petals though. Even then, a petal flew off into the forest. The siblings watched it for a moment, as it twisted in the hectic wind, unable to decide which direction to go.

A lightning strike lit up the night sky, sending chills down Invictus’s spine. The storm seemed to be relentless. Invictus looked up into the rain and wind, squinting. There was no end to the storm in any direction. The black clouds went on forever, without even brightening a little anywhere.

Finally, her brother broke the silence as he always did. “I’m surprised the rock is still there.” He said. Invictus turned back towards the rose. Behind it was a rock about the size of her head that sat over their mothers resting place.

It had engraved into it two messages, one from Intredus, and another from Invictus. Intredus’s was a promise, promise to protect his sister and take care of her in their mothers place.

Invictus’s was also a promise, however a much different promise. This promise was that there would be justice dealt to the pony who killed her.

Invictus let out a sigh. “Why would anyone care to move it anyways? It’s not like it matters that much to any other ponies.” She said. “I think it’s more so that they see something important is written on there, so they leave it alone and assume it means something to someone.” Intredus responded.

Of course, he was right. He always suggested the most rational ideas about everything. Except when it came to Invictus’s plans, it was different. Invictus couldn’t see any other way. That dark red pony must have done it. There is simply nothing else that could have happened to cause it.

The two siblings stood in silence before their mothers’ grave, letting the memories flow by, and think about what they would do next. Invictus fought back the tears, to stay strong.

Suddenly Invictus heard a faint voice carried on the wind. Intredus must have heard it too, because they both turned their heads simultaneously towards the forest. The voice was getting louder. It repeated the same word over and over again. “Fractal…” Where had she heard that name before? It sounded so familiar.

Then there was a rustling in the bushes. Naturally, Intredus stepped forward in front of his sister, but Invictus pushed him aside and stood beside him.

An orange unicorn came out of the bushes, looking exhausted and panting heavily. “Hey, excuse me? Have you seen my friend around here?” He began to say, but stopped a moment to catch his breath again.

“Well, if you can provide a description I would be more than happy to say who I have and haven’t seen around here.” Intredus responded. The orange unicorn sighed. “Sorry. He’s a Pegasus, with dark red coloured hair, and has a cutie mark with three light blue crystals pointing in different directions. His mane is a dark navy blue and is rather messy.” The unicorn paused for another breath. “Oh right, and he has golden eyes. It might sound weird, but he does.” The orange pony finished.

Invictus’ eyes shot open. She knew exactly who that pony was. That was the pony who her and her brother had found by their dead mother.

Before Invictus could react though, Intredus spoke to the unicorn. “We haven’t seen anypony like that of the sort, at least, not for a long time.” He said keeping his cool. “What happened, where did he go?” Intredus then asked.

The orange pony responded. “He and my other friend were out gathering wood for a camp fire when they were attacked by a bunch of Timber Wolves. Last we saw him he was trying to fly through the storm to escape the wolves safely.” Intredus’ eyes widened and he shook his head. “Why would he do something so foolish?” He asked in response to the story.

The orange unicorn winced at the question. “He’s… Well, he’s a little bit of a dare devil. He likes to push himself to his limits. I think he may have vastly miscalculated what would have happened though if he flew into the storm.” Intredus sighed at this.

Meanwhile, Invictus’ mind was racing, thinking of what she should do. Her mouth handle everything for her. “Well let’s help and see if we can find him. After all, it is dangerous in the forest.” She said. Intredus shot her a look, but the orange unicorn spoke first. “Oh thank you. We could use all the help we could get. We haven’t checked over in that direction yet.” The unicorn said pointing towards the other side of the path.

Invictus immediately turned towards the direction he had pointed. “Alright then let’s go.” She said. “Wait! Be careful it’s dangerous in the forest if you don’t know what you’re doing!” The unicorn said quickly. “Oh believe me; I know full well what I’m doing.” Invictus said before dashing off into the forest.

Intredus sighed as his little sister ran off. He then turned back towards the distraught unicorn. “What’s your name, and who exactly are we looking for?” He asked. “Well, my name is Fire Surge, and the one that is missing is named Fractal Renegade. My companion who’s helping me look is named Thunder Specter.” He responded.

Intredus was glad there was at least one other pony thinking rationally around here. This unicorn had provided an excellent amount of information to go by, what with the ponies’ description and extra valuable info that most other ponies would skip over. “Alright, thank you. I’m sure we’ll find him.” And with that, they both took off in different directions.
Invictus always let her emotions get the best of her. Her rage made her miss out on crucial information.

Intredus was also worried about what would happen if Invictus found Fractal before him. There was no telling what she might do at this rate. Would she show any mercy or rationality over the situation at all? Intredus certainly didn’t trust her to do so. He had to catch up with her.

So great, now I’m looking for two different ponies. One is in danger from the other as well as other injuries, while one wants to murder the other. Intredus thought to himself. There was no way this day would end well for anyone if this kept up.
“Invictus!” He called out. “Invictus where are you?” He was running now. The wind was blowing leaves everywhere, and the rain stung his face. It was difficult to see where he was going.

Suddenly Intredus saw something ahead. He screeched to a halt right before falling into a deep ravine. At the bottom of the ravine, was a rushing river. Looking down into it, it was easily deep enough to kill somepony from the fall. He decided to take note of this for later and turned off towards the left.

Come on Invictus where are you? Intredus said in his mind. “Invictus!” Right as he cried out for his sister again, there was a lightning strike, quickly succeeded by thunder, drowning out his voice. The lightning was become incredibly frequent now, striking only seconds apart.

As he continued running, he felt a surge of heat. He look up and saw a lightning bolt strike a massive oak tree. The whole world seemed to shake and shudder with energy as the tree lit on fire, and began to collapse. Intredus quickly ran out of its landing range moment before it hit. Man they weren’t kidding about this place being dangerous. This is ridiculous! He thought to himself.

As the tree came crashing down, the ground shook one last time nearly knocking Intredus off balance, and then it stopped. The lightning and thunder continued striking though, the clouds were dark and seemed to glare at him.
Intredus resumed running, but as he was doing so, and more unusual things happened, he began to realize how unnatural this weather was. It almost seemed to be targeting him. Something was not right at all.

Then he thought of his sister. There was no telling what would happen to her. He had to find her, and fast! All hell was breaking loose, and no one would be safe until they found each other and got out.

Intredus looked around and saw there were other locations where the rain and lightning were more frequent, four different locations in fact. As he noticed the pattern, some wild animals ran past him in distress. Another tree, this time not as large came crashing down a short distance ahead.

Intredus was beginning to get annoyed. He looked around examining the pattern in the skies. The weather was only this active around the forest, however it had seemed to spread out beyond those four locations. It was beginning to reach much farther, towards the mountains, and even a little into Ponyville.
It wasn’t just the forest, but the entire valley that was descending into chaos.