Destiny: The Wrath of Tirek

OI----------------Spike----------------IO

The first thing I remember was darkness. Everywhere. It consumed everything. It had been terrifying.

No sound, no sight, I couldn't even feel the air around me. I slowly gained most of those sensations, but I still could not see.

But then, they appeared.

One by one they winked into existence, small points of light. At first there were only a few, maybe ten at most. But not long after they grew in number.

15, 20, 30, 50, 100, 500! They kept multiplying until I almost couldn't count them.

And as if that wasn't wondrous enough, she appeared. Our mother.

Luna.

"Do not be afraid little ones," she said, "You have all been created for a wonderful, noble cause. Darkness has fallen over our land, but the ones to defend us were lost to us."

"W-what do we have to do with it?" asked one of the lights, her voice laced with a hint of fear.

Luna drifted over to him, and answered reassuringly, "You shall seek out these fallen heroes. You will bring them back to this life for a second chance, and allow them to defeat the evil that has befallen the land." She started to turn away, her voice taking a sinister tone.

"We must not rest until he has paid dearly for his crimes."

"He?" Another light asked.

Hoping to help, I called out "What can we do?"

Turning to me, she called out to address the rest of the lights, her voice raising to near deafening levels, yet still retaining a soft quality to it.

"You shall all find one worthy soul, living or dead, that has a true heart and strong will. It may take years, decades, maybe even centuries! But each of you will find your Guardian. You are my Ghosts, the final remaining pieces of my essence. I wish to be out there, lending you aid, but if I were to leave this place, it would spell doom for those left. There is no more time for talk. I must send you on your way."

Suddenly, in a flash of light, she disappeared. In her place was an orb of light. I felt drawn to it, as though I were meant to go through it. I drifted forward. The closer I came to it, the more awake, more alive I felt. I soon came close enough to be able to look at it up close. Through the light were shades of green and blue, but nothing clear enough to make out.

Seeing no other option, and trusting this to be Luna's intention, I flew through it.

======OIO======

A castle stood, or rather slumped, deep in the forest. Anypony who saw it would agree that it would've been a privilege to see it way back when. It would have been quite a sight.

But now it sat in overgrown ruin, one of the few places lucky enough to be spared during the Collapse. Time had been its only enemy.

But now, finally, after centuries of waiting, the castle had a visitor. A lone speck of light, making its way across the night sky. It slowly bobbed and weaved, occasionally emitting a cone of blue light, as though it were searching for something. It's body, a purple metal shell, ticked and spun as it flew around.

It hovered around the courtyard for a while, and soon made its way inside. Upon entering the main hall, it seemed to perk up, as though something caught its attention.

It now moved with purpose, moving toward the lower levels of the castle. Its shell started opening and closing, as though to contain excitement. It kept scanning everything, making doubly sure it didn't miss anything.

Finally, it stopped at a pile of bones. The Ghost took one look at it, not even bothering with a scan.

"There you are!" it exclaimed, sounding tremendously relieved and jubilant. It then called upon the strongest magic in existence, requiring so much energy even the Light wouldn't be able to sustain it more than once per Ghost currently out there.

For just one second, a second sun appeared from the depths of the ruined castle. But one second is more than enough.

On the hills overlooking the ruins, a pair of eyes hungrily sought out its prey.