//------------------------------// // Chapter 31: A Ghost's Prophecy // Story: The Bridge Between Worlds // by Artemis Orion //------------------------------// A Ghost's Prophecy Weightlessness. It was all I could feel again, in an empty, pure landscape. Compared to the immense stress and pain I felt previously, it felt like heaven. With nothing but the power of a whim, I flew threw the white light that formed around me as I travelled through it. The wind pressed against my face, and every other part of my body that I knew should be there, but wasn't. I couldn't tell whether I was smiling or not. And I couldn't measure the time I had spent doing this. Maybe it is heaven? "No, it's not. You're not dead yet." The wind fell to a small breeze. I stopped flying, against my will, and descended. I surveyed my bright surroundings, looking for the voice that had just spoken. Although I felt a presence, there was nobody to be seen. I continued falling, or rather, going down. Gravity wasn't there to drag me down, and I floated down like a feather. For moments at a stretch, my feet never came into contact with anything. But I didn't mind. I didn't have a care in the world right there and then. Until at last, I stopped. I looked down to see my shoes, followed by my pants, and top, and hoodie, all form onto me as my feet touched down. Within seconds, I could see and properly feel my body again, head to toe appearing out of the white light that surrounded me. "You're not dead, because we're not letting you die." The voice sounded so familiar; It was friendly, yet serious and worn out. I couldn't recall whose it was. But I didn't have to. In the distance, the frontal image of a horn poked through the light. The grey horn was attached to an equally grey coated pony. The mirage became clearer, and it didn't take me long to remember where I had seen that same horn and pair of wings on one, dull, grey pony. "Then why am I here, Alicorn?" I wasn't angry or sad that I was seeing him again, so be it in my dream or wherever I was right now. Instead, I was glad. Negative emotions seemed a lot harder to conjure up, compared to positive ones at the moment. The Alicorn solidified in my sight, as clear as day. But, unlike his appearance back in the Old Town, he too looked happier. "Because you're here for a reason." He trotted into full view, the smile fully visible on his face. "That, and I'm sure you still would like to know how to go home." "Go on..." I prompted. Even here, his voice sounded different. It wasn't authoritative or hoarse as I thought. The grey Alicorn bowed his head, letting his horn glow with magic. Until now, our surroundings were just filled with white light, thick enough to cut with a knife. The Alicorn changed it all, without the slightest hint of effort. The white faded away, revealing radiant colours of all kinds. "This..." The Alicorn started as, in both our fields of vision, a bright forest filled with trees, flowers and a stream became clear. "... is the bridge." Rays from a non-existent sun broke through the dense forest vegetation, down onto the forest floor, where the soft grass lay and the flowers bloomed. The stream flowed down, quietly gushing down and separating one side of the forest from the other. "W... Where are we?" "Welcome to Limbo." The Alicorn spoke as if it were home. "A place filled with inter-dimensional portals and wormholes that even I can only begin to understand." He cantered onto a plain, arced wooden bridge that was built between the two sides of the river. I hadn't noticed it earlier. "You see, the medallion is not only an amplifier of human magic; it is also a key." At this point, I realized I wasn't wearing the pendant. It was almost instinctive, the way I felt for it on my chest. "So, is this a dream?" "Well... in a way, it is." "That means this place isn't real then?" "Oh, no! Far from it! This place is as real as you and me." To me, it meant that credibility no longer mattered. "Now stop dawdling, and come here!" I immediately obeyed. It wasn't as if there was anything else to do. We stood on the creaky, old bridge. "Look back." I turned myself to face upstream. Following the flow of water, I saw that it came from a great, tall waterfall. It was as high as a mountain, and it's top was buried in clouds. "When I made this Medallion, I had formed a link. A link between both worlds. Before, this place was blank and empty. But now, it represents our link. I call it, Eden Falls." I took in the breathtaking scenery, amazed at the endless waterfall, forest and river. The Alicorn seemed to expect it. "Now don't get carried away! It is impossible to survive in Limbo, even if you tried. Why do you think there are no other creatures here?" "So how will this place take me home." I shook myself from my daze. "And when I do, how will I know how to go back to the time I came from?" "That is the point of Eden Falls. Let me explain." He craned his neck downstream. "This stream is the river of time. As the water flows, so does time. It is fluid. It is never ending." He tapped a hoof on the bridge. "This bridge is your way between Earth and Equestria. Equestria is on one side, and Earth on the other." He gestured to the sides of the wide stream. "Both sides are affected by the stream of time. As time goes by, the banks of both sides corrode; changing for the better or worse. But this bridge? This bridge is your Medallion. This bridge's foundations are strong; buried beneath the soil of the stream. And as time goes by, this bridge will still stand. It is perfectly straight between both sides; it is not tilted, or diagonalized, and this will never change." "How do you know all of this?" My head spun from the imagery and the 'all-to-real' symbolism. "Uh, I'm the creator of the bridge, duh." He warmly grinned. "And don't you worry about the time you go back to. Whenever you return will be the same as the amount of time you spent in Equestria. Please don't ask my why. We don't have time to explain things for the rest of eternity..." "So you're telling me that on Earth, I've actually been gone for, like a month now?!" "You were here for only a month?!" "You're not helping, Alicorn. There's a high chance I'm gonna be screwed when I get home!" "Ah, the responsibilities of the Spirit of Harmony..." "Don't say that..." "But you are! You're undeniably, unquestionably, unreasonably the Spirit of Harmony." "I barely represent Harmony!" Slight anger built up inside. It made me squirm the way he kept calling me that name. "There are good samaritans on Earth that can be chosen by the thousands! People that have caused actual change! Good people that have actually done something good out of their lives!" "And yet here you are." He cooly replied. "As mush as I agree with you, I can't question what the Medallion has done; whether you found it out of luck or not." The Alicorn walked off the bridge, on the side I assumed was Equestria. It was a brighter side of the forest. Compared to the other side, the grass and plants were a brighter green, while the other side was just a little darker and withered. "You have it now, and it's your responsibility. And let's face it. Deep down inside, you've always wanted to be a superhero." "That'll never happen." "Not with that attitude." "But... I'm not ready for all of this..." I was arguing with myself now, trying to convince my mind. A part of me wanted to do this. Another part wanted to walk away and leave the medallion for someone else to find. "You saw what happened in the Old Town. I leveled a whole city, uncontrollably and ignorantly! Who knows what else would happen if I carried on like this. What good could come of that?" My shoulders sagged as I heaved a sigh, slowly strolling of the bridge as well. "Well for one thing, you leveled a whole city. That's a ton of potential right there." "Anyone could have done that. Every human being has an Aura." "Until I see another that can do such a thing, you're not going to weasel your way out of this." His grin turned to a small menacing mirth. "And, about being uncontrollable and ignorant. I know someone that will help you. Think of him as a cage." "And who might that be?" The soft crunch of leaves and grass gave away the position of another man. He was tall, buff and clean shaven, wearing a full set of shiny golden armour... "OH GOD, LEGION'S BACK!" "You see master? He is unwilling! Let us take back the medallion to guard it more carefully! We do not trust this foolish Earth-dweller!" "Hey, feeling's mutual, buddy!" "Enough!" The Alicorn broke the ensuing argument. "You will both learn to live with this decision, whether you two like it or not!" The Alicorn turn to me, staring me sternly, square in the eye. "Let's not forget, we have a prophecy to fulfill. Do you or do you not accept the Medallion and become its bearer?" "Master please-" "Silence, Legion!" The Alicorn swiftly cut off the ethereal warrior's protests before returning his attention to me. "Well, Keith? Walking out now could be dooming Equestria. Not only will I fail again, but you will too. What do you say?" I had a feeling that the Alicorn was putting pressure on me on purpose. But it genuinely concerned me about Equestria's future. Was I really here by chance? Or was there a really small chance that it wasn't by chance? What dark times is he talking about? I grudgingly nodded. "You're not giving me much of a choice here either, so what the heck. I'll do it." "That's what I like to hear." He swung round to stared down Legion. "As for you..." "You're making a mistake master-" The power and anger in his voice fled like a kitten. "We'll see about that. In the meantime. You're to guard the Spirit of Harmony. Make sure nothing happens to it. Because if anything does... you know what I can do to you..." "Yeah, you better defend me!" I hollered. "Don't get your hopes up, Keith. He's not going to protect you from every little scratch and bruise. I said the Spirit of Harmony, and that's the Medallion. So if you ever fall, the medallion will come back to us." I crossed my arms. So much for an ethereal bodyguard. Legion even shot a second's smug look at me. "But don't worry. I have a feeling you won't be dying anytime soon anyway." The Alicorn smiled again. There was no way you could tell if he was serious or not. It reminded me of the situation at hand. "Speaking of dying. What's happening to me right now?" "You're asleep, I think. All I know is that you're unconscious right now, and badly injured" The Alicorn shrugged, leaving Legion to stare daggers at me. I ignored him, caring only about what everypony else would be thinking presently. "Well, I guess I have held you up long enough. You're going to wake up now, if you don't mind... who am I kidding? I'm not giving you a choice!" The beautiful greenery faded back into the white light it came from. The waterfall, stream and bridge began to blur out as well. "Remember, kid: the Mane Six think that everything I told you about the Spirit of Harmony was said by Legion! That's what I used to wipe their memories." "Why not just let them know who you are?" The Alicorn and his human servant began to fade out as well. "That would lead to them telling Celestia, and soon Equestria would be on its toes over a crisis that may or may not occur." "So just tell me what will happen then." "Can't, sorry." His face blurred to a grey blod, but I could tell his smile disappeared. "I can't speak of it. If I did, somethings will happen I'd rather not happen. All you can do is wait, kid. Don't worry. You'll be ready by then!" "Fat chance..." "That's enough out of you, Legion!" I felt myself lift off of the ground again, and disintegrating back into nothing. But I didn't wake up just yet. I had one last question. "I never got your name, Alicorn." "I'm Grey Ghost, but it's not important." His words became slurred in the white haze. It turned his figure and Legion's back into mirages. "Grey Ghost huh? Why Ghost?" As the thick white fog blocked out all sight once more, the Alicorn spoke through it. "Because, rightfully, I'm already dead." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The white turned to yellow, and this light actually stung my eyes. It was just one of the signs that I had returned to reality, other signs being the return of painful sensations. I couldn't move, but I was lying down. Any attempt at moving hurt like hell. I could feel the restrain of bandages around my limbs, and my mind hurt worse than a hangover. I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the sunlight in what felt like a long time. As I adjusted to it, I tried to make sense of where I was. It was a plain square room, with curtains around my bed. An IV and a heart monitor were attached to my body, along with other wires, clips and tubes. I felt numb in several places of my body, and I could only see so much without having to crane my neck. But I didn't need to see any more. I knew where I was. I was in the hospital of Ponyville. It was too much like the show to think otherwise. I was alone in the ward, with the blinders down and the door closed. At least I thought I was alone. At the corner of my eyes, I picked up a shade of a strong pink. Straining to see it, I saw the fluffy pink mane of Ponyville's Premiere Party Pony, all ruffled up. She had her face buried in her hooves, sitting at the corner adjacent to my bed. The rise and fall of her chest showed that she was asleep. No matter, it's morning anyway. I cleared my throat, only to find it as dry as sandpaper. With a sore throat, I called out softly. "Pinkie Pie?" In an instant, a pink flash zoomed from the chair onto my bed, staring my straight in the face. Pinkie's eyes gleamed and a smile had taken over half her head. She hastily wrapped her front legs around my upper body. "Ohmygosh Keith you're awake you're awake! Finally, ohmygosh you've been asleep for a long time! I mean who spends a whole chapter talking in his dream? We've been waiting for days, and we got so worried but you're okay and... Keith, you're face is all red..." "Too... much... hugs..." I grunted in pain. "Whoops! Sorry! I'm just so happy and excited! Let's throw a party! Wait here while I go get the rest of the girls!" She sped out the room, swinging the door wide open. It left a pony in a doctor's coat frozen at the door, staring at me in surprise. "Erm... can I get you anything, Sir?" "Anesthetics and a glass of water please." I said dryly, before slumping back into bed. When Pinkie Pie got back with the girls, there was going to be a lot of explaining to do.