Seraphim
Chapter 7
We spent another couple of peaceful days in Old Stable, resting and eating at the Green Clover while spending our remaining time mainly by wandering the small village, conversing with the few ponies we had befriended, as well as reading quite an amount of books courtesy of Ivory Scroll.
I like to think that I learned many a thing about Equestria and its inhabitants during my stay there, but no matter how many texts or tomes I perused, no matter how many ponies I talked to and befriended, I just couldn’t shake the feeling of being out of place. As if I didn’t belong in their world or among them. The feeling was disheartening to say the least, and I got the sensation that the ponies felt it as well; it was almost as if I was an unnatural alien entity, and while my physical form was certainly a reason, I wasn’t sure if that was entirely it.
My suspicions were confirmed one day, when I decided to more closely observe the world’s inhabitants with my Ascended senses. After hours of simply walking around the village, using my Soul Sense to view the ponies’ souls, I discovered that their souls were very different from what I had first expected. It wasn’t something I had noticed before, the oddity so deeply buried in their spirit that it had at first glance been impossible to notice. It would seem that these ponies had a greater connection to their world than I had initially thought, each of them possessing a small sliver of essence, some sort of magical link to their world, almost like a secondary soul within the first.
I’d be the first to admit that I knew very little about other worlds and what effect different worlds would have on their inhabitants, but I was fairly certain that at least Ascended and humans did not have this peculiar connection. When I had originally read about Equestrian magic and its leylines, I had believed that they were just a field of magic to call upon like in all the other magical worlds I had heard about, yet it seemed that I was fundamentally wrong in that regard. It also explained why I felt so out of place, I was the proverbial alien organism in the living being that was Equestria in its entirety, and I could only imagine how the world was trying to rid itself of me like any living body would an invading entity.
The thought… freaked me out a little, to say the least.
It also started a new train of thought. I knew that a living organism could react in a number of ways to such an unknown. It could either attempt to repel and destroy it, and since I hadn’t yet been ripped apart by the heavily magic-saturated environment of Equestria, or felt especially threatened by anything, I could somewhat conclude that the magic of the world was simply too ‘kind’, or Harmonic as it were, for such a destructive solution. That left the other more likely option, that of absorption or integration of said alien entity into the collective organism. I theorised that given enough time, Equestria might seek to add this unique ‘connection’ to my own essence in an effort to deal with my presence.
I just really hoped that I wouldn’t somehow turn into a pony.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I had anything especially against these creatures; they seemed quite peaceful and content really. I just couldn’t see myself with hooves and fur, though it did make me wonder what my potential cutie mark would look like…
“Uhm… Lysander, what are you looking at?”
The uncertain voice of my travelling companion brought me out of my reverie, and I suddenly realised that I had been standing still, probably staring into empty air like an idiot for several minutes now. With a slight blush and a cough, I quickly dismissed the thoughts from my mind, returning to my initial method of dealing with anything weird and Equestria related. Namely me doing absolutely nothing at all, since I probably couldn’t even if I wanted to.
I turned my attention to the white unicorn filly at my feet, doing my best to avoid the awkward gazes I was getting from the ponies doing business in the market. I had really picked a nice spot to suddenly space out in.
“Oh, uhh, it’s nothing at all; just fell into thought there for a moment.” At this she cocked an eyebrow, making it clear to me that it hadn’t been for just a ‘moment’. “Let’s not stand around now, we still need to get to Silver Lining and see how she’s doing.”
With a serious expression I set into a long stride towards the tailor, just barely picking up an exasperated sigh from Crystal Heart before the sound of her clopping hooves signalled that she was following me again. I also promised myself that in the future I’d pick better places for these small contemplations of mine. Damn mortal brain.
A few minutes later we were at Silver Lining’s shop, not even able to pause by the door before we were swiftly spirited inside by the eager unicorn in question.
“Well come on in, we really need to get you out of those rags as quickly as possible!” She exclaimed, the urgency of her voice better suited for a situation with someone about to receive first-aid after losing a limb.
Despite my best protests I was once more dragged along like a ragdoll, placed in front of the single tall mirror in the shop. There I was left standing for a few minutes in silence before she returned with the finished clothes.
The tunic and pants looked quite a bit like the ones I had previously worn, they were both a simple white colour, light blue rims set in a simple pattern, and the wrists and ankles were embroidered with silver thread in arcane symbols I did not recognise. All in all they were simple but nice, the shirt had long sleeves and a tall collar, and both pieces were obviously meant to go with another piece of clothing on top, knee and elbow padding quite visible.
This last piece of clothing was of course the robe, and I couldn’t help but be impressed with the result. It was in the same white colour as the tunic and pants, the sleeves reached down to the elbow, it had the same tall collar with a button like the tunic, though the throat and shoulder piece was made in a tough form-fitted material. The rest of the robe seemed like it would fit well, if a bit baggy, and just around the waist was an indenture for a broad belt which lay to the side. It looked to be made in some sort of leather-like material, and had several tall pockets on its sides.
Just below the crotch and on the opposite side the robe was split in the middle, going down to a length a bit shorter than the pants. The same azure blue and silver threading was used in its design, flowing seamlessly without seeming extravagant.
She had also managed to make a pair of boots in the same not-leather; they had hard rubber-like soles and fit surprisingly well considering she had probably never made anything like it before.
After looking the clothes over I gave an impressed whistle, it was obvious to me that she had put quite a bit into my order, possibly in excitement over the new and unique challenge it presented. And I certainly couldn’t complain about the end result.
“These are really nice,” I said with a sincere smile. “Remind me to come back here if I ever need anything made again.”
Silver Lining simply beamed at the praise. “Yes, it certainly was an interesting affair. I dare say that I wouldn’t mind making something like this again.” At this she turned her gaze expectantly towards me. “Well, what are you waiting for dear? Go ahead and try them on!”
I blinked a moment before sheepishly lifting my broken arm. “I’d really love to, but it might be a bit difficult in my current state.”
The statement was met with a cold glare from the tailor, seconds before it was replaced with a mad glint and an unnerving smile, her horn flaring into a pinkish aura at the same time.
“Oh no you don’t, I’ve worked long and hard on this and I WILL see the finished result!”
I took a nervous step away from the terrifying tailor, doing my best to look for a way out of my predicament. Finding none I returned my attention to the unicorn, her magic already levitating the assembled clothing threateningly towards me. I gulped.
What followed were several very uncomfortable, rather painful moments, as she used her magic to envelop and somehow dress me in the entire collection of clothing, luckily not upsetting my bandaged arm all that much. After she finished she took a few steps back, shooting me an appreciative glance while she took in my clothed form. I for one could only stand there breathing harshly, both glad to be free from the dominating unicorn, yet at the same time somewhat thankful that I finally had clothes covering my entire body. It had been a cold few days.
While she was taking her time walking around me, I looked at myself in the tall mirror in front of me. The clothes fit almost perfectly, only the chest-piece being somewhat baggy, which didn’t bother me all that much. It wasn’t too heavy or too light, I didn’t feel my movement constricted in any way, and being layered as it were I was also quite sure that I would be able to keep a somewhat decent temperature in them.
For the first time in a while I was also able to get a good look at my own face, it was almost the same as I remembered: Amber eyes and blond hair which was currently unkempt and went down to my shoulders, my skin and complexion was still the almost perfectly smooth of my Ascended form, with not a wrinkle or pigmentation out of place.
I could hear Silver Lining humming thoughtfully before she made it all the way around to my front, giving a satisfied nod and smile at her creation.
“Yes, I do believe I’ve outdone myself this time.” She couldn’t keep a hint of pride from her voice. “Celestia knows I’ve been in a creative dump for a while now, I think this was just the thing to get me going again.”
“It certainly looks very nice,” I said, not noticing that she seemed somewhat miffed at my use of the word ‘nice’. “You mentioned that you had some additional pieces to go along with it?”
For a moment it looked like she was going to correct me on something before she simply turned around, activating her magic and levitating four pieces of hardened not-leather towards me. A pair of vambraces, and a pair of greaves. Both pairs were adorned with the same silvery symbols used in the robes. They were designed to fit over the tunic and pants, covering the lower parts of the arm and leg respectively.
“I’ll be the first to admit that protective garments are outside my area of expertise, but I had Ivory find me a book with instructions.” She gave the pieces of armoring a glance before fitting one of the vambraces to my healthy wrist. “And at least it looks like they fit, though I’m not sure if they’d turn a blade away.”
I made a few swings with my arm, satisfied to find that the vambrace didn’t restrict my movements.
“It’s perfect, thank you very much.” I said, giving her a grateful smile and bow.
Silver Lining beamed back at me. “Think nothing of it dear, I suppose I could’ve done far worse.”
After placing the protective pieces in my not-saddlebag I paid Silver Lining the determined upon amount, making sure to give my thanks and saying farewell before I went to retrieve Crystal from whatever colourful frilly gown she was gawking over. We left the tailor shortly after, the pouch in my new belt much lighter than it had been before.
Crystal Heart looked up at me with a pout as we exited the store. “It’s not fair, how come you get new clothes and I can’t get even one dress?”
I looked down at her with a teasing smile. In truth she had been gushing over the various gowns and dresses every time we had been there. “Well, for one thing you don’t need clothes to stay warm, I do. Besides, travelling in one of those things would be pretty hard, and you’d probably ruin it.”
When she didn’t relent, and at this point was giving me a puppy-eye stare, I sighed. “Tell you what, if we manage to get our hands on any more bits before we reach your home, I’ll buy one for you then. How’s that?”
For a moment she gave me a hopeful beaming smile, until it faltered a second later when she turned her head down to look at the ground, mumbling something incoherent to me.
“What was that, Crystal?”
“I said!” She exclaimed as she looked at me with annoyance. “That we don’t have any tailors in my home…”
I gave her an apologetic smile, rubbing the back of my head with my hand. “Sorry, I’m sure we’ll manage to figure something out.”
She didn’t look entirely convinced, but after a while brightened up somewhat. And on that note we went back to the Green Clover to pack up our things, having already decided earlier that day that we would be leaving when I had gotten my clothes.
A few hours later we had returned most of the books we had borrowed from Ivory Scroll, managing to buy a couple of particular interest to us. Most of our things were already packed and ready to go, I had paid Sweet Peach for our stay, making sure to tip her generously.
We were just eating our last meal at the inn, enjoying the company of a few quarry workers returned for their lunch break when I noticed something unnerving.
It started with the air growing heavy, a cold chill going through my spine shortly after, and for a moment I was sure that the atmosphere had dimmed slightly. I suddenly got a terrible feeling of unease, a feeling I hadn’t felt since a few nights ago.
With fearful hesitation I activated my Soul Sense, glancing around my surroundings, taking in the forms of the earth pony workers, and that’s when I saw it.
Their souls were tainted with an ugly black, almost seeming like oil running through clear water in contrast to their otherwise pure souls. I instinctively knew what it was, and the realisation filled me with dread.
‘No…’
Shakingly I got to my feet, moving to the door and out of it in silence, hoping that I was somehow wrong, that it wasn’t what I thought it was. Yet I knew that it was true, and it was confirmed when I walked into the street, quickly locating more earth pony workers coming back from the quarry.
Each of their souls were affected with the same disgusting black taint.
The black taint of Fiends.