The Spectre of Phalanxia

Within an instant, Invictus and his group were able to transport themselves to the Rainbow Bridge. They saw the temple and walked straight towards there.

‘I don’t understand,’ said Stygian whilst he was confused ‘If what we’re looking or is Tartarus, why don’t we go to the gates there?’

‘We can’t access what we’re looking for from there,’ said Caldor when he told them of the place ‘Taking the bridge is the only way.’

‘Why is that?’ said Mistmane when she was partially confused by what he meant.

‘The bridge keeper that Singe was looking for, it resides in a part of Tartarus that guards the bridge between the living and the dead. It’s like an underworld, only cold and terrifying.’

‘As in a realm beyond the grave,’ said Rockhoof when he was shocked over what he found out about Tartarus ‘Where the dead roam?’

‘Precisely.’

They arrived within a sanctum and activated the rainbow tree, allowing it to plot a course to Tartarus. After they arrived, they went outside, only for the bridge outside to be partially covered in thick ice and snow.

‘Oh dear,’ said Mage Meadowbrook when she was surprised to see the place ‘This place sure looked a lot different from the last time we were around.’

‘Aye, that be true,’ said Caldor when he took in on the scenery ‘But a thousand years can change a lot if one’s not careful.’

‘Especially with Tirek.’ said Rockhoof when he reminded them of who else was locked in Tartarus.

‘Who is this…Tirek?’ asked Invictus when he partially looked at them.

Starswirl stood next to him and explained ‘A long time ago, about a thousand years ago before the Pony of Shadows came to be, there were two ancient creatures from a distant land. One was a mysterious creature named Scorpan, whilst the other was his brother, a Minotaur named Tirek. When they both came to Equestria, they both sought power and dominion over the land itself. But whilst they were there, Scorpan realized the beauty and kindness of pony kind, even from what I taught him. Scorpan tried to convince Tirek to turn away from his path of darkness, but refused, for power was all that he craved. So Scorpan warned Celestia and Luna about Tirek’s plan, causing them to retaliate and imprison him here in Tartarus, whilst Scorpan returned home to teach what he had learnt here.’

‘Why did you not just simply execute him?’ said Invictus when he was curious.

They were surprised at first for suggesting it. ‘We don’t do that,’ said Mistmane with concern ‘If we ended up killing them, then we’d be no different.’

‘Then how many times did Tirek, Chrysalis, Sombra and Storm King tried to take over Equestria?’ said Caldor when he agreed with Invictus.

They wanted to say something, but somehow realized that they did have a point. With Invictus saying ‘We will be what we choose to be, not from what others expected us to do. Who you were, is not who you will be. You must be better.’

They continued with their journey, climbing over ice, crawling under, with Rockhoof complaining about the cold when he was on the icy ground, with Flash Magnus feeling the same when his wings kept touching the ice. They continued to walk, until Mage Meadowbrook yelped when she saw a dead spirit walking by. ‘What is that?’ said Meadowbrook when she saw so many of them walk by.

‘They happen to be the dead.’ said Caldor when he looked at them.

‘The dead?’ said Mistmane when she was surprised to see the spirits.

‘Aye,’ said Caldor when he told them ‘See Tartarus was more than just a prison here, it was also a realm that were meant for the dead to come when they have perished. If they’re pure and innocent, then they go straight for the heavens, a kingdom where angels and spirits roam. If not, they end up here, wandering the dead wastelands for all eternity. Such is the nature of this place.’

‘But for how long?’ said Somnambula when she looked at the place ‘If this place had existed we would’ve known about it.’

‘That’s because all knowledge of this place and the realms have been lost throughout time. The only ones that knew about this place were the humans. And all of you know of their fate.’

They remembered from their earlier conversations, which left them disturbed the fact that the humans were all destroyed because of the magic the original unicorns had casted to save Equestria. ‘Oh…um…’ said Stygian when he wanted to change the subject ‘Anything else we need to know about this place?’

‘Aye,’ said Caldor when he told them the curse of the realm ‘If you tend to roam here for too long, you’ll be haunted by a piece of your past.’

‘Piece of our past?’ said Starswirl when he was surprised to hear that.

‘See, if you have ever committed a sin, did something unforgivable and also a great atrocity, this place will display a image of you lot made of smoke, and show you what you have done, tormenting you for all eternity. If you lot had sent Tirek here, he would’ve been tortured for so long, he’d lose his sanity.’

‘Aye, he’s right.’ said Rockhoof when he felt the same disturbance ‘I can feel this weary magic from within this plain. It’s hard to ignore something like this.’

‘Look,’ said Flash Magnus when he pointed a passage way above ‘There’s a way for us to go through.

They climbed up the wall until they were able to reach the passage way. They followed the pathway until it had reached an opening. But when they got there, they saw the bridge with the dead walking through it, whilst all of them were being watched by the bridge keeper. Over twenty feet tall, carrying what appeared to be a stone made battering ram, whilst it had tusks that almost looks like an elephant’s tusks. Many except for Caldor and Invictus were shocked to see what the creature was.

‘Oh my.’ said Mistmane when she saw how huge it was.

‘So that’s the bridge keeper.’ said Flash Magnus next.

‘It…looks a lot like the creature from the book called “Lore of Monsters”.’ said Mage Meadowbrook when she saw how big it is.

‘They say we need the heart of the Bridge keeper,’ said Somnambula when she couldn’t make sense of what Singe was asking ‘Why do we need its heart?’

‘The bridge keeper’s heart contains a powerful and old magic,’ said Caldor when he explained ‘With its heart you could use it and create a spell out of it to save everyone’s lives. With that magic it can help Flurry Heart and it would also save her from death if we’re gonna make it in time.’

‘Then we’d better make haste,’ said Invictus whilst he pulled out his two swords ‘Time is of the essence.’

He jumped off the ledge and slowly walked towards the beast. The Pillars wanted to join in, until Caldor stopped them ‘Bad idea Pillars.’

‘What, why?’ said Stygian when he wanted to help too.

‘We can’t take that thing, but he can.’

Invictus walked over to the bridge keeper as it slowly guided the dead souls to the other side of the bridge. Invictus thought of how to get the bridge keeper’s attention. He raised his fists in the air, smashed the ground, grabbed a piece of the boulder and tossed it against its head. The bridge keeper stopped, slowly looked at the direction it had been thrown and immediately saw Invictus. The creature snarled as it got angry, roared with anger and jumped from the spot it used to guide souls. It roared a couple of times and held onto its stone made weapon, whilst slowly, Invictus pulled out his two swords as they set themselves ablaze, whilst standing in position to attack. The bridge keeper swung its weapon, but he dodge it as he was able to cut the side of its leg, with the bridge keeper roaring. It swung its weapon again, this time able to land a hit, with Invictus using his swords to block its attack, landing against the side of the wall. He jumped off the wall and used his chain swords to strike against the beast, knocking it backwards a few feet.

Invictus swung his swords around whilst they were lit aflame, spinning them so fast they almost looked like a fire shield, then he combined it together to form into one massive chain sword. He swung it so hard, it cut the bridge keeper’s chest, causing it to roar in pain. Now angry, it attacked again, only for them to see Invictus catching it with his bare hands, whilst his feet were firmly planted onto the ground. ‘He really is strong,’ said Rockhoof when he was surprised ‘Dare I say it, he’s stronger than me.’

Invictus saw an opportunity to attack, only for him to be knocked aside as if he was nothing, and crashed against the wall, which shocked the others in the process. ‘Oh hell.’ said Caldor when he saw Invictus on the ground.

Invictus looked at the bridge keeper in rage as he gripped his hands ‘Not done yet.’

The bridge keeper attacked again as he raised his weapon in the air, until he got bashed in the head by Flash Sentry by using his shield. He flew close to the bridge keeper whilst pounding his shield as he taunted ‘You looking for me ya ugly mug?! Come and get me!!’

The bridge keeper roared as it tried to attack whilst swinging its stone pillar around, but Flash Sentry kept dodging it as he tried to get the creature’s attention. ‘Stay out of this,’ shouted Invictus when he didn’t want them to intervene ‘This is my fight!’

Both Starswirl and Stygian used their magic to restrain the bridge keeper’s arms as it struggled to escape.

‘Never mind us!!’ shouted Stygian whilst he struggled to remain focused.

‘We’ll hold it for as long as we can!!’ shouted Starswirl whilst trying to gain a hoof hold on the ground.

Mistmane jumped up and used the crystals to encase its shins with thick ice, with Mage Meadowbrook using her potion to harden the crystals so that it doesn’t break free. Somnambula kept bucking the back of the creature’s head whilst trying to distract it, with Rockhoof using all of his strength to throw it off balance. Caldor ran up to Invictus and helped energize him ‘Brother, this will give you the power you need to finish it off.’

And with great concentration, Invictus summoned his inner energy, and glowed red whilst his fists were aflame as he yelled in rage. He attacked head on as he sprinted towards the bridge keeper. He punched the bridge keeper’s gut hard, making it grunt as it bent over, whilst at the same time, delivered an uppercut as it had been pushed backwards. The bridge keeper began to be disoriented, whilst Invictus charged again, delivering another but powerful uppercut, launching the creature in the air, whilst Invictus used his swords to grab the stone pillar, whilst pulling it so hard, the stone pillar crushed the bridge keeper’s head, killing it the moment it landed on impact.

Invictus landed on both his legs, whilst he panted loudly of the exhaustion that had just kicked in. The Pillars felt the same way as they felt they had exhausted themselves after facing a creature like that. ‘Holy Celestia that was horrible, that creature was more dangerous that we could’ve imagined.’ said Somnambula when she had also collapsed on the ground, with Flash Magnus catching her. She looked at him and noticed that he looked handsome, which made her smile and suddenly stroked the side of his face, which left him surprised, but also blushed, making his heart skip beats for her.

‘Agreed,’ said Rockhoof whilst he sat down holding his shovel ‘That thing was more tougher than an Ursa Major on the coldest nights.’

Stygian and Mage Meadowbrook helped Starswirl and Mistmane stand, trying to help them balance themselves. ‘So what now?’ said Stygian when he was able to help Starswirl stand.

‘Now we just need the heart,’ said Caldor to the Pillars, then looked at Invictus ‘Alright brother, you know what to do.’
Invictus grunted whilst he walked towards the dead bridge keeper. He grabbed the side and climbed up until he was able to get a steady feet. He walked over to the center of the bridge keeper’s chest whilst the others watched. Invictus raised his swords in the air, preparing to strike. And with great thrust, he pierced through the keeper’s chest, which disgusted the Pillars when they saw what he was doing. He pulled the blades to his direction whilst cutting the chest as if he was cutting a rib eyed steak. He pulled them out again, and thrusted it down its chest again. But this time, he was able to open the keeper’s chest wide open. He placed both his blades away whilst he plunged his right hand right into the keeper’s chest. With great struggle, he pulled it out. But to the pillars’ surprise, its heart was different, for it appeared to have been made of stone whilst generating its own special aura and energy.

‘That’s a heart?’ said Mage Meadowbrook when she looked at it.

‘It looks nothing like a heart.’ said Flash Magnus when he looked at it.

‘It appears to be a stone with jewels on some sides.’ said Mistmane when she used her crystal magic knowledge.

‘Aye, that may be,’ said Caldor when he pointed things out ‘But you must remember, not all creatures have the same hearts. Most of their hearts were made of jewels like this, and they were only made for creatures like them.’

‘I see,’ said Starswirl when he observed it ‘So every creature’s constitution, as well as their own physiology, are more different than ours.’

Invictus was able to place the heart inside a special container behind his back, whilst climbing off of it as he asked Caldor ‘I have the heart, I need nothing more?’

‘You’re all set,’ said Caldor when he walked over to Invictus to see if he’s going to be okay ‘So let’s try not to linger here any longer before we could set out on our journey.’

However, just when Invictus stepped off of the now dead bridge keeper, he saw something afar the horizon. The darkest clouds slowly began to form a stern human face with a thick beard, staring at them angrily for some reason, whilst his eyes generated lightning. ‘Invictus.’ said the mysterious being to Invictus.

‘Zion.’ replied Invictus when he was surprised from the inside when he saw the face and heard the voice.

The Pillars overheard him as they stood there looking at him, both puzzled and confused. ‘Zion?’ replied Somnambula when she wondered what he was talking about.

Invictus stood there for a few moments as he kept staring at the face, until he said the words ‘My father.’

The Pillars were shocked when they found out what he had said, with Rockhoof yelling out loud ‘Yer father was Zion?!!!’

‘That would explain a lot.’ said Mistmane when she was also surprised by the discovery.

Invictus instantly grabbed Caldor by his shirt collar and said ‘What is that place?’

‘Never, go there. Understand?’ Caldor when he was able to calm Invictus down.

Invictus looked at the cold horizon, wondering how Zion could possibly in Tartarus. He looked away from the horizon and said ‘How he here, that is not possible.’

‘It’s not brother,’ said Caldor when he reminded him of the domain they were in ‘Tartarus is known for torturing their prisoners with torments with their own past.’

‘Moments of their own past?’ said Stygian when he began to worry.

‘Then we must leave at once.’ said Starswirl when he was worried that the domain would affect them too.

‘Now that, I couldn’t agree more.’ said Caldor when he looked at the large wooden door ‘And that door happens to be our only way out.’

With great strength, both Rockhoof and Invictus used all of their strength to open a door to the other side. When they opened it, the dead were able to continue on their journey without delay, but they also had to go through large sections of ice by crouch walking.

‘Forgive us for speaking Invictus,’ said Somnambula when she looked at him ‘But is it true, your father is truly Zion?’

‘Not right now,’ said Caldor when he quickly looked at them ‘Let’s just focus on getting out of here, and then we can worry about that later.’

‘You don’t have to tell me twice,’ said Flash Magnus when he agreed ‘We need to leave before we all freeze to death.’

After crawling through more and more ice barriers and so on. Until eventually they were able to see the rainbow bridge. ‘Oh thank goodness,’ said Mage Meadowbrook as she was relieved ‘Now we can finally get out of this infernal storms.’

They made their way to the Rainbow Bridge as they entered the temple and to the mighty tree. ‘Now come brother,’ said Caldor when he and Invictus had reached the pedestal ‘Let’s get back to the other world to give the Alicorn Infant what she needs.’

After when Invictus activated the Rainbow Bridge’s power, the Pillars were still reeling over of who he was. ‘Your father was Zion,’ said Stygian when he was surprised beyond belief ‘I finally understand. We’re standing in the presence of the Spectre of Phalanxia.’

‘Do not, call me that.’ grumbled Invictus, seeing that he hates being called that more than anyone.

‘Oh, don’t get us wrong stranger.’ said Flash Magnus when he remembered the old stories ‘From what all of us had heard, the pantheon there had it coming.’

‘But still,’ said Starswirl when he too was surprised ‘I can’t believe we’re standing in the presence of a legend itself.’

‘And we heard that you hated the gods,’ said Mistmane when she too was surprised ‘But you really cannot stay away from them, can you?

‘You must not tell the others,’ said Invictus when he talked about Twilight and the others ‘They must never know.’

‘Bullocks brother,’ said Caldor when he spoke to him ‘Respectfully bullocks. They have to know, for they’ll never trust you if you’re not open to them.’

‘Hmph.’ said Invictus when he grunted.

‘Look, I get it,’ said Caldor when he tried to prove a point ‘You hate the gods, all gods. It’s no accident that that includes yourself, and your sons as well. I can see why you chose and found a way to remove their godhood and immortality so that they wouldn’t go through the same thing like you did. But you cannot always carry a burden like that. Don’t you see, it’s all connected man.’

‘You. Will say. Nothing.’ said Invictus angrily when he didn’t want them to talk about it.

‘Alright, fine.’ said Caldor when he couldn’t change his mind.

‘Was I once like that?’ said Starswirl when he was curious.

‘You have no idea.’ said the Pillars when they told him the truth.

The bridge eventually reached their destination, allowing them to exit the temple and returned to the world of where Sunset and the others reside. ‘Now come on,’ said Caldor when he was the first to exit ‘We’re almost there.’
So all of them hastened to Flurry Heart, hoping to cure her.