Part I- Journey of the Spirits
Prologue I - Blue Flames
…
Warning: Violence, Blood, and Needles
A dark gray wisp strided its way down a clearing surrounded by shards and clumps of bright crystals and trees that towered above the surrounding flowers and buildings, the light of the distant sun pierced through the gaps of the leaves and brightened the grayish-cyan grass. The plants below followed its movements as it made its way towards the bumpy path and the luminous river. When the wisp of light reached a spotted rock, the wisp shaped itself into a tall mare with mane almost reaching her withers, her pale blue eyes shining brightly as she continued to make her way to her destination.
Her eyes scavenged the land thoughtfully, making sure she did not trip over anything in the gray, uneven path. She instantly froze when she noticed a smoky gray wisp accompanied by shards of crystals emerging out of the grayish pastel green, cloud-like grass. It almost seemed to split the land. Her squinted eyes clouded before letting out a disappointed sigh, turning her head away and continuing on her way.
It was getting worse everyday, ever since an unusual sickness infected the Spirit Stone only a few years ago, it caused major harm to the Spirit Realm. Everyday more and more flowers started to wither away, the ground was converting to gray by the second, spirit animals disappeared or began scattering inland where the spirits will usually live, not their usual habitats. What was even worse was that it was tampering with the connections between the real world and the spirit realm. Spirit Striders could barely connect with their only medic Orchard Jasmine. Meetings would be short and it would be difficult to give all the details to the medic.
The spirit gave out an overwhelmed sigh, examining the damage one last time before continuing on her stroll. Her eyes gazing around as she trotted, the land she once knew to be breathtakingly gorgeous and full of life almost looked like abandoned ruins. Most of the land still preserved the sweet and beautiful scenery as well as the history but if the infection isn't cured soon, all of that would be gone.
Her ears pricked forward as she picked up the pace when she heard soft voices, knowing she was close. Sounds of wisp birds and the loud waterfall thrashed and sang along with the forte clicks of her hoofsteps and the gentle jingles of her seashell jewelry wrapped around her neck. She halted almost clumsily when she spotted a group of ponies sitting near the waterfall, their voices were full of laughter as it echoed across the land.
The mare could only smile when she caught sight of her friends and couldn't help but feel a rush of nostalgic memories rush through her head, making it ache in a mournful but jovial way. She shook it off as she approached her team.
A stallion with orange eyes quickly glanced at her and dipped his head in greeting, "Finally, you came, Robin. You are always late to our meetings." he reminded, his deep voice edged with humor.
She couldn't help but chuckle before rolling her eyes, "You know I always get sidetracked with some nosey spirits who want to know our business, Saturn." Her voice echoed harshly but tenderly.
They shared a small chuckle before turning to the others and sitting down next to an earth pony with bright quartz-gray eyes, her partner, Valor. They quickly touched noses with each other before turning their attention to the group.
They all sat around and began chatting about the recent activities going on in the Spirit Realm before a short unicorn with a soft dark blue coat and freckles stood up, his silver collar necklace glistening brighter once it touched the light. His mane was tied up to a bun and tied up with gray string, his eyes narrowed and he cleared his voice. "Alright everypony! We've got some important business to cover" he announced, his voice warm and slightly gruff like a yak.
Valor lifted their head and tilted their ears forward to listen closely as Saturn and Robin turned their attention to him. He sniffed in the bittersweet air that drifted among them before he continued, "I had a vision last night.” he said in a calm but worried tone.
Robin and Valor's ears perked up in excitement as Saturn boasted "That's great news, Strike! What did you see?"
Strike lifted his hoof hesitantly, "The vision was brief and rushed but I finally pieced it together.” He paused briefly before explaining his vision, it was short and quick but he was still able to explain almost in full detail, although he had to stop multiple times to recall certain details. “I believe the ponies that I saw are the new guardians.”
Robin's ears flattened, “...But how are we supposed to get in contact with them?”
"We will talk about that with the Spirit Striders later. But for now we should wait, the chosen guardians are young and I don't think they should know of this future responsibility yet. I'm worried that they'll do something reckless...they might get hurt or worse. You know what happened to Stonebell,Tsunami, Blair, Holly and Everest." he added.
They all lowered their heads in sorrow, what happened to them before was unforgettable and would change the law of the guardians forever. Robin remembered the young ponies on that horrible day, despite the signs she tried to send them, she could do nothing but watch their fates unravel in front of her. Her heart washed over with bitter guilt, knowing she could have done more to save them. She winced quietly at the pain in her chest, she felt Valor press against her side in comfort. Robin glanced at them and gave them a small smile before turning to the others.
Strike continued, "We will have to send out one last message to Orchard Jasmine. We don't want to overuse the crystal’s power, if we do, relics won't work anymore and the crystal will die.” he cleared his voice and took a long pause before lowering his gaze.
“I see the infection is getting worse, no matter how hard we try we can’t find the source of it. All of our healers are exhausted from trying to heal the land.” Robin added, her eyes widened with concern, Saturn nodding in response.
“We will find the cause of it soon.” Valor reassured her, “I’m gonna deliver this information to the Spirit Striders, anything else you want me to tell them?” Their voice echoed softly as they stood up confidently ready to go.
Strike nodded, “The ponies of Equestria need to know where the Spirit Stone stands. For many years, the creatures of Equestria could never feel the presence of the spirits and there are many lost souls still wandering and still trying to find their way to the crystal. In fact, many ponies aren't aware of the existence of it. We need a pony to find the crystal to restore the connection and to lead the lost ghosts back here so they can be with their ancestors.”
“And hopefully heal the infection.” he added “I already foresaw a pony who will find the crystal and reconnect us with the outside world. We don't know much about where the Crystal is located but I know they'll be able to navigate the crystal. The wandering spirits will help them." he reassured.
"Do you know who it is?" Saturn inquired, his ears flicking.
"Yes...er...no,” he sighed, “It was about 14 years ago... I felt this unusual energy coursing through the ground, it was definitely a Crystaling...thats for sure. A Crystalling for a new crystal pony...possibly royalty. I foresee many possibilities of how this may go but I truly believe that they will relocate the crystal and try to heal it.” he pauses a bit and adds with a small laugh, “And I'll be sure to inform Jay about this, he won't be happy knowing that we left him out in all this.”
The group shared a laugh before sharing their farewells with each other. Valor grinned as they stood up, "Very well, I will send a message to the Spirit-Striders to deliver this prophecy to Orchard."
…
Valor ducked their head into the silver caves, their eyes squinted once the brightness of the caves hit their sensitive eyes. They shook their fur rapidly, water splattering into nearby rocks and making their braided mane puff up, their hooves quickly came up to make it neater. They trotted carefully through the dugout clouded with icy mist below their hooves, admiring the quartz along the glowing walls. Moss and leaves brushed against them as they made their way clumsily so they could get to the other side, the moist rocks wedged between moss below them almost made them slip.
Spirit animals slept in the caves, living in the cavities in the walls and in the small ponds located in the middle of the caves. Valor did their best not to accidentally step on any of their tails or paws, or Valor would feel guilty for the rest of their life. They spotted a branch that stuck out of the walls of the hollow, where it held a family of spirit owls sleeping peacefully.
A reason why Valor valued these caves, so much life lives in these caves...or at least it used to but that didn't make them love the caves less.
The smell of the musty earth and fresh, damp plants, and iron scent of the crystals made them feel at peace as a nice rush of nostalgia rushed over them. They finally found balance as they walked along the path. Their surroundings reminded them of when they were alive all those eons ago, they and Robin would visit these caves while they were in their spirit form. These were the caves where Robin told them her true feelings to them and where they would go on little dates and spend time with the spirit animals.
They would both teasingly hide from Strike , Saturn, and Jay Spirit when they had “important meetings” to tend to. Of course they would always be found but it never bothered Strike and Saturn but Jay on the other hoof was older and he definitely didn't like their childish behaviors. Not only that, he was bossy all the time and paranoid mostly, he was always overprotective of everyone in the group and didn't tolerate ridiculousness.
Maybe that's why Saturn barely invites him to meetings.
Panicked howling echoed throughout the hollow as a small spirit fox slid across the caves, abruptly interrupting their reminiscence to the past, snapping them back to reality. “What-”
Valor turned around, watching the panicked spirit fox run out of the caves, the family of owls following them in response. Then another animal sped past them, another spirit owl, a spirit deer, a spirit cheetah, then a spirit wolf. All types of spirit animals rushed past them, making loud noises. Concern rushed over them instantly, they spotted a light in the distance making their ears prick up as they went to go get a closer look.
They carefully picked up the pace trying not to trip over or bump into any incoming animals, soon most of the animals had evacuated and now it was only them in the tunnels. A large boulder covered most of the view in the distance, but they could still make out the bluish light that was getting brighter by seconds.
Crackling and hissing could be heard, becoming louder once they got closer. Their eyes widened in realization as their fur raised up in panic but they remained calm, quickly galloping towards the boulder that was a couple of feet away. Once near, an agonizing scent entered their lungs, they coughed rapidly as tears formed in their eyes.
Smoke almost covered the entire hollow as it blended and danced with the cold mist. Despite the urge to turn back due to the acrid smell that irritated their chest, they had to put out the fire or it would spread and cause more damage to the land. Specks of fire and ash flew out and burned their skin, they squinted their eyes very tightly to prevent any specks from blinding them.
Finally, they reached the origin of where the fire started, they took a short moment to study the damage. The once crystal walls of the caves were now replaced with raging fire and dark charcoal, the burnt mineral let out an intoxicating smell that mixed with acrid smoke, causing them to cough violently. The fire wasn't the color they expected it to be, instead it was a darkish purple and icy blue hue with pure black ash.
After estimating how bad the fire was, they quickly tried to summon a couple buckets of water. They gripped two of the buckets in their mouth and tossed the water towards the fire, to their surprise, the fire did not subside like they expected to. The blinding flames instead shot back once the water made contact, the flames roared back at Valor which caused them to stumble back to avoid getting burned. Specks of ash flung into their eye, making them wince in pain as they staggered back into a crystal wall.
Their breathing became quickly realizing that this wasn't an ordinary fire that could be put out with a couple of water buckets, this was something they couldn't even explain. Tossing the water buckets to the side, they galloped away from the raging fire that spread quickly behind them. They breathed heavily, the acrid smoke slipping inside their lungs, causing them to violently cough. They had to get somepony! Anypony!
Then Valor halted to a stop when something blocked them; another spirit stood in their path, their face hidden in the shadows “I don't know who you are but you need to get out of here now!” they demanded as they shot a glance at the raging fire behind them then back to the spirit.
They didn't move a mussel, the spirit only stared blankly at the pony.
Valor wrinkled their nose in annoyance, “Come on! We need to go! Don't just stand there!” they scolded as they attempted to push the spirit away from the incoming blazes.
Not even a movement.They were about to shoot another demand at the spirit until they looked into the spirit's eyes. An unusual blue-gray with hints of red and it looked dead. They had never seen a spirit like this before, a shiver ran down their spine as they raised their head again to face them. Valor was about to open their mouth to speak until an unbearable pain ran across their chest, they screamed in agony, seeing their scarlet blood drizzle down their body as an ear-piercing yell of rage.
The spirit held a dagger which was now stained with Valor’s blood and it was roaring angrily at them in a fighting position, its eyes had changed to a deep crimson. Valor staggered away swiftly, pushing through the spirit and towards an icy incline, feeling the hard thumping of the floor coming from the other spirit following them with a dagger lifted and eyes sharp. Valor’s hooves were soaked in their own blood, causing them to slip while they ran.
I must get to the others!
Their eyes widened when they caught sight of the exit of the caves, they just had to get off the incline and away from their attacker. Then, they began to slow down, their vision became a cloud and the pain from their wound became overwhelming.
No! I must make it!
They ignored the sharp pain from their scraped legs and chest, they urged themselves to keep moving. The headache got worse and worse and their vision became foggy, it felt like boulders were crashing down on them. Until they couldn't move forward anymore, collapsing sideways into the rocks below. Some of the sharp rocks pierced their skin, groaning in pain and trying to drag themself to the glowing exit, leaving a trail of blood behind them. Their eyes widened. The blue flames now blocked the exit and it surrounded them.
“HELP! HELP!” they screamed, “Help…” they added weakly, coughing up more blood.
They wouldn't die yet. They had to warn somepony.
They gritted their teeth as they tried to use their magic to lift themself up, but the aura quickly flickered away. The caves were slowly collapsing, the beautiful caves they had once known. All burnt and cracked. Blood now steaming out of their mouth, Valor’s body went limp in defeat, eyes still wandering in terror. Gazing up at the high incline, seeing the shadowy figure towering over them. The creature’s roar shook the hollow, jumping towards Valor with teeth bared and eyes glowing.
“Wake up. Wake up!”
Valor gasped, immediately jolting awake and stumbling away from the voice. “Who’s that?! Stay away from me-” they winced in pain, holding their chest that was stained with blood. They looked up, fear glowing in their eyes. They gasped, “Saturn!?”
In front of them, stood the spirit pony, with his tail curled and between his tail. He was also wounded badly. Valor galloped towards the stallion and embraced him.
“I’m glad you’re ok. But I need you to stay close, it's not safe to go too far...and you’re wounded badly.” he untied his scarf and handed it to them. “Keep this against your wound, it will stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, I don't have any herbs or real bandages with me, they have confiscated everything I had.”
Valor dipped their head in thanks, wrapping the scarf against their wound and their ears perked up. They gazed around the room, but there was nothing, just pure darkness, they would even see their own reflection on the ground. Then they faced their friend again, “Wait...who confiscated your stuff?” they asked
“I’m not sure. But all I remember is that I was chased by an odd spirit. To be honest...I'm not even sure if they ARE a spirit. They stabbed me on the leg and I broke it when I was running away.” he looked down at his left hind leg, it was twisted with the blood soaking through the coat that was used as
“I was being chased by an unusual figure as well...who could that be-”
“SILENCE!” a voice demanded, distorted and raspy.
The two spirit ponies looked around their surroundings, both in a fighting position. “Who are you? Show yourself!” Valor growled.
The voice didn't answer, “Oh you two little ponies must be so lonely...so powerless, don't worry, there will be more of you in a few more days.”
Saturn tilted his ears forward “More of us in a few days?” he questioned, “What in Tahrina are you talking about? Where are we? Who are-” his eyes slowly averted to the shadows, his pupils dilated as he gasped.
Shadow ponies emerged from the darkness, they were all faceless and two were holding needles with a pale purple substance. All of them surrounded the two spirits. Valor let out a gasp and scrunched up their muzzle, they tried to use their magic but nothing came out of it. They swore out loud before turning to Saturn, “We will have to fight them off.” they whispered.
“There’s no escape, you will be under our control now.” the voice echoed menacingly.
The shadow ponies stepped closer, one of them tackled Saturn swiftly, Valor knocked one of them off of the stallion who quickly scrambled to his hooves. He ran over limply and rammed his head against one of the shadow spirits who was attempting to tackle Valor, just before he could pin him down, a sharp pain stung him on the neck.
“Saturn!” Valor exclaimed, running over the collapsed stallion who was twitching in pain but they were pushed off their hooves before they could get to them.
The rest of the shadow ponies detained them, Valor yelled and writhed in their grasps but stopped when one of them jabbed the needle into Valor’s neck. They all stepped away to watch the spirit pony twist around in agony, Valor felt weak again, the pain intensifying everytime they moved. They gazed over at Saturn, his eyes were cloudy and his body was limp but he was still breathing profusely. Then he fell limp, eyes empty.
Is he dead? IS HE DEAD!?
Tears streamed down their blank eyes. Everything hurt. Their body. Their mind. Their soul. Their heart.
Valor looked back helplessly and distressed towards the shadow spirits, looking at the pair blankly before trotting away into the darkness, leaving the two unmoving ponies helpless on the cold ground.
They aren't going to spare any of the spirits...
They’re going to take Strike, Jay, Robin...everyone…
Their heart sank, thinking about the spirits that would possibly go through what they've gone through. The turmoiled earth pony tried writhe but it was no use, it only caused more pain. Valor’s mind rushed with ideas before stopping on a possibility.
This probably isn't going to work, I haven't used this type of magic in years but it's worth a try.
They pressed their hooves against the floor and squinted their eyes.
I see...a pony with wings like peaks of the highest mountain, a pony with a coat sleek and majestic, they will follow the song of the wandering spirits...behind the crystal mountains.
Red, black, then white flashed in their mind. Sights of blood, teeth, a crown, screaming and fire. Then an image of a frosty mountain, then it disappeared.
Valor’s mind flooded with devastation and uncertainty as let out a weakened sigh before closing their eyes in defeat.
