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Chapter 9

Seraphim

Chapter 9

I woke up screaming.

The pain felt like nothing I had ever experienced before, agonizing beyond anything else. My body, no, my entire being was aflame as I writhed around on the hard rocky floor, my vision was white and I was unable to hear anything other than my own distant screams. I had bonded with souls before, it was the duty of any Caretaker after all, but never had so many taken residence in my physical form, it felt like my body would explode under the sheer pressure. The souls were in chaos, fighting for dominance in a battle to reach their perceived safe-haven, the core where my own essence resided.

It was almost impossible to think, but I knew that if I didn’t bring the wild spirits under control; they would ravage my meagre mortal body, and rip me apart from the inside. Using several centuries of experience in this exact discipline, I gathered all of my focus, willpower, and determination, trying with all of my spiritual might to divide and corral the individual souls threatening to overpower and consume my being. To bring them into some semblance of harmonic resonance, as trying to force them from my body would be nigh impossible, and most likely lethal.

With painful exertion which sent another bolt of agonizing flames through my body, I managed to split a single soul from the chaos, allowing it entry into my spiritual core. The same process I had undergone so many times before when preparing souls for their rebirth. I felt some familiarity with it, and it brought some slight relief from the unbelievable pain.

And then I braced myself for the new pain I knew was coming, for the process of purifying a soul was never a pleasant one, as one was forced to relive the worst moments of the soul’s most recent life. Its death, all of its trauma, heartbreak, pain, everything would be experienced by the Caretaker. With this in mind I prepared myself as I fell into the depths of the soul’s memories.

His name had been Stone Turner; he was born into an old family of earth ponies native to Old Stable, the oldest of four, he had had two younger brothers and a younger sister. His life had been simple, yet peaceful and joyful, he had been content in almost every way he could think of, he had even gotten the mare of his dreams, Lily Blossom, to say yes when he had asked for her hoof in marriage.

Working the quarry had been hard work, but he did his best every day in order to save up the money for the weeding he felt Lily Blossom had deserved, wanting nothing more than to make her the happiest mare in Equestria.

Indeed, his last thoughts had not concerned himself or his own well-being, even as the fiendish creature opened his throat and his lifeblood escaped his body, all he could think of was how sad Lily Blossom would be, how he could no longer make her happy as he had promised.

And then, Stone Turner, no more than two decades old and with much love left ungiven, had died.

As the young stallion’s memories ran through my mind I felt a profound sadness, every regret, every emotion leading up to his death, and then finally the moment of death itself, new pain running through my already stricken body.

And then, the soul of Stone Turner settled in my being, basking in the comfortable aura of my soul, and content that its story had been told.

Without hesitation I plunged back into the sea of souls inside me, splitting them apart from each other one by one and allowing them access to my own core. Each of them bringing with them new pain, new memories and new emotions. And even while I was wracked with these experiences, the good times and pleasant remembrances of their lives did soothe me to a degree.

There had been more than a dozen, fifteen as it turned out, most of which had been workers in the mines and quarry. Young and old stallions alike, each with their own tale to tell, their own memories and stories which they desperately needed someone to listen to, and that someone was me. There were even the souls of some unfortunate marefriends and wives, who had gone down to their partners with food instead of having them return to the village to eat. Those particular pairs were the easiest to handle, as the presence of such familiar loving souls meant that they were calming to each other.

Every time one of the earth pony souls settled into my being, I felt the pain lessen more and more, the souls themselves drifting lazily around the pleasant flame of my own, like water flowing down a gentle stream. And in turn I felt the closeness of so many souls invigorate my own spirit, the small flame growing ever so slightly in the comfortable presence of so much purified spiritual energy.

When the last soul finally joined the others in my core, I felt the pain leave my body complete, soothing coolness moving through my form in a welcome embrace. My head as well as the rest of my body still ached greatly, but it was nothing compared to what I had just been through.

It was then that I noticed I had stopped screaming, fresh tears still running from my eyes as I fought to come to terms with so many painful memories, so many deaths. Thankfully, Equestria was a peaceful land, and most of the unpleasant experiences the ponies had had in life were somewhat manageable. If these had been the souls of more unfortunate creatures, I feared that I would have been unable to handle it.

Very slowly, my body still groaning in aching pain, I shifted my functioning arm and used it to get to my knees, taking deep painful breaths as my body settled after the unpleasant experience. I looked around the cave with dull throbbing eyes, the previous white gone from my vision. It looked the same, save for the shattered and scattered pieces of the Soul Crystal, the dim illumination provided by the various crystals reflected in their surfaces.

The space was otherwise empty, the only notable difference were the many piles of dark ashes spread around the room, some of them still flickering with emerald green fire, hungrily devouring whatever remained of the Fiends. It was the same green fire I had seen Crystal Heart use, and I suspected that my savior, or saviors, had been unicorns themselves. But why then had they simply left me alone afterwards? Surely they wouldn’t have just come down here to kill the Fiends, and then leave me to writhe in agony.

‘Well they’re gone now by the looks of it, no need to waste time trying to make sense of it just yet.’

I shakily got on my feet, my spine popping and creaking uncomfortably as I stretched out to my full length. Most of the pain in my body had receded at this point, but I still felt the stinging of the claw wound on my cheek, though the blood had already mostly dried up. The cast on my broken arm had been ruined, but to my surprise I didn’t feel much pain in it at all, even being able to move my fingers freely. Either the little magic Ivory Scroll had used on me had worked better than I thought, or the slightly rejuvenated state of my soul had worked wonders on my health. I was incapable of knowing just what effect purifying souls would have on a mortal body, but it was possible that they had somehow healed me during the process in a bid to take care of their new ‘host’.

Despite how I felt I decided not to tempt fate and move my right arm as little as possible, the sling luckily still somewhat intact despite the frantic battle I had just been in. Looking around the cavernous room didn’t tell me anything, the air was still tainted with fiendish energies, but at the very least my spiritual senses informed me that it was unlikely that any Fiends were still nearby. My unicorn saviors had been thorough in their extermination. I noticed that they had even moved away the pile of pony corpses.

All in all I was still alive, actually feeling a bit better than when I had originally decided to come here, though I still had no idea how long I had been out. Deciding that getting out of the mines would be the wisest course of action; I started down the tunnel I had come from, doing my best to remember the route I had taken earlier.

Less than half an hour later I made it to the exit, the sun welcoming me back in its blinding, though comfortable embrace, as I stepped outside into the early afternoon day.

After taking a minute for my eyes to get used to the light, using my left hand to shield me from the sun, I noticed a presence and small shape sitting in front of me a few feet away.

“I guess this means you didn’t really buy that story then.” I said with a small sigh and an apologetic smile towards my observer.

Crystal Heart looked up at me with a narrowed gaze and clear annoyance etched on her face. “Of course not, I’m not some clueless foal, you know.” She said as she huffed, looking away from me in mock insult. After a moment of silence she peered back at me questioningly with a single blue eye. “Did you do what you came here for? And why are you hurt again?” Her tone was low and she was clearly still annoyed that I had lied to her and left her behind, but I also detected worry in her voice.

I looked at my young friend with a sincere smile, relief flooding my system as the realisation that I had actually come back alive hit me. I wouldn’t have to break my promise to her after all. Not like Stone Turner or any of the other ponies had been forced to do. Without hesitation I stepped forward, scooping the unicorn filly up with my arm despite her protests, bringing her struggling form into an embrace, tears threatening to form in my eyes again, entirely ignoring the familiar chill running through my body.

“Yes, I did. And I’m very sorry for worrying you.” She was still struggling, probably doing her best to slap me with one of her hoofs. “I promise that I won’t lie to you again… Forgive me?”

The filly stopped thrashing, begrudgingly returning the embrace. I felt at peace for a few moments, right up until the point where she chomped her teeth into my left arm in a strong bite, causing me to yelp in pain and let go, allowing her to leap down onto the ground again, her gaze locked towards me and an almost sadistically playful smile on her lips.

“I forgive you, but if you ever do anything like that again,” her blue eyes narrowed dangerously and I couldn’t help but gulp lightly. “then it won’t be pleasant for you. Understand?”

I nodded quickly, suddenly very determined not to break any future promises with my unicorn companion. In fact I felt that I’d much rather go through another horde of Imps than raise her ire.

Crystal’s demeanor instantly shifted, beaming up at me with a big smile. “Good! I even brought along our things so we wouldn’t have to head back into the village.”

She motioned with a hoof to the ground where the refurbished saddlebag sat, with her own smaller saddlebags next to it, radiating pride at her foresight. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight, the small unicorn certainly kept surprising me time and again.

“Good thinking, no real reason to go back there now since we already got everything we needed.”

After placing the bag over my shoulder, and Crystal doing the same in turn with her own saddlebags, we started walking away from the mines, heading through the empty quarry and eventually made it to the road leading away from Old Stable towards the north. I felt a slight twinge of regret coming from the earth pony souls at the idea of leaving the small village, but in the end they were at peace with their situation, allowing me to continue forward with only little hesitation. A part of me wanted to return to the village in order to tell the inhabitants what had happened to their loved ones, but eventually I came to terms with the fact that the unicorns that had saved me would most likely explain the situation.

Besides, I was unsure as to how they would handle the idea of their loved ones’ souls residing inside me, or if they would somehow blame me for what had happened.

As for the fiendish energy still tainting some of the earth pony workers, I knew that it would disappear given enough time away from any more Fiends, and the only side effects they would suffer during that time would be a greater likelihood of nightmares and heightened responses to negative emotions. Nothing I knew they wouldn’t be able to handle.

We walked for a few hours on the old dirt road, the map in our possession indicating that we would need to cross a low mountain range if we didn’t want to take the long way around, either into the Mild West or further east into the heart of Equestria. It wasn’t especially dangerous according to Crystal, and at the base of the range on the other side there was supposed to be another small town, a place called Cobalt Crag. After that we would need to go through another large forest before finally reaching Crystal’s home at the southern edge of the Badlands, a tiny hamlet without any real name, and which wasn’t even on the map.

In the end we decided that it would be the safest and probably fastest route, as going west into the Mild West would be dangerous considering there weren’t any pony settlements in the area, and going east into the heartlands of Equestria would most likely take us through the capitol city of Everfree, and my presence there would probably evoke a bit stronger of a reaction than it had in Old Stable, quite possibly slowing us down considerably. Besides, I was afraid that meeting the alicorn sisters might set in motion a serious of events I wasn’t really ready for.

We kept walking through the day, almost in complete silence save for the occasional spirited humming of my companion, or the loose comment about something either of us had spotted. Equestria was a very beautiful land I once more realised; rolling hills, green grassland and the occasional forest dotted the countryside, giving our surroundings an almost idyllic atmosphere, with small critters aplenty and not a real predator in sight if not for a few foxes. Indeed, during that day of travelling my appreciation of Equestria only grew, I even felt a special connection to it I hadn’t before, an almost alien sensation of peace and joy, but if that was because of the pony souls in my core or something else entirely, I couldn’t be sure.

As evening approached and the sun started setting, we managed to find a comfortable spot between two hillocks not far from the road; it offered some shelter from the elements, though the cold late-day breeze wasn’t all that harsh. Having already gotten used to sleeping in the same bed during our days together, we had opted for a single large bedroll and a woollen blanket in order to minimize the gear we would need to drag around. It didn’t bother me much, in fact I felt a strange comfort when I had someone, or in this case somepony, to sleep next to. Probably another peculiarity of my human body, and Crystal Heart seemed more than happy about it, so I certainly wasn’t going to complain.

After eating our meagre ration, a combination of bread and some specially prepared vegetable dishes made with longevity in mind, we settled down by our small fire, Crystal with one of the books we had brought along, and I with my thoughts, going over everything that had happened to me that day. The souls were still content with simply floating around my own, and I for one felt comfortable with their presence, their spiritual energies resonating with the small flame of my essence. Perhaps they really were rejuvenating my damaged soul.

‘Only one way to find out…’

Drawing a deep breath I fell into deep meditation, conjuring and gathering whatever energy I could. As the spiritual energy came together I already knew that my soul had been restored somewhat, but would it be enough? Holding the energy steady I opened my eyes, lifting my left arm out in front of me and willing the gathered power into form as I released the Sealing Mark on my hand. At this point Crystal was looking up at me in curious silence, and after a moment I saw the sigils in my flesh glow brightly, just as a tall brass lantern appeared, hanging from its handle in my grip.

With a sight and satisfied smile I placed the lantern on the ground, its own centre glowing with a pleasant ethereal light. Already I could feel the channelled glow of my own soul soothe my tired body, even aiding in the recovery of my broken arm if the tingling sensation was anything to go by.

Crystal was looking at it with great interest and wide eyes. “Uuuh, what is that? I thought you only had that sword.” She looked up at me questioningly.

I gave a small chuckle at her enthusiasm before explaining. “This is a Lantern, I’ve told you about how my magic comes from the soul, right?” The filly gave a nod at acknowledgement at that. “Well, unlike unicorns I don’t have an external focus for spellcasting, so while unicorns use their horns I need something else, and this,” I said as I motioned to the lantern. ”is that focus. It acts as a sort of conduit to the power inside me, basically allowing me to channel my soul. That’s the light you see from it.”

She looked the lantern over a few times, pacing around it with an inquisitive gaze before stopping to look up at me again. “So it’s like a unicorn horn then?” I gave her a nod and her gaze became a bit uncertain. “But, uhm, is it supposed to be so fickle?”

I winced internally at the comment; it was quite true, the light coming from the lantern wasn’t anywhere near as bright as it had once been, flickering uncertainly from time to time.

“Not optimally, no, it reflects the channeler’s soul as I said, so therefore it also reflects my state of health.” She looked worried, but also uncertain, so I continued. “A soul is made up of Positive energy, the energy of life. And while all souls are connected to the Positive Energy Plane in order to stay alive, the soul of an Ascended such as I is mostly connected to the Flame of Life I told you about.”

The filly nodded understandingly at this before her eyes grew wide in concern. “But you said some bad pony broke it! Is that why it’s so dim?” She said as she gazed worriedly at the lantern.

I gave her a reassuring smile and patted her head; she really was quite clever for someone so young. “That’s pretty much it, when I lost the connection to the Flame I only had that small attachment to the Positive Energy Plane left, which is why the lantern doesn’t give off much light.”

She still seemed fearful at the idea of that small glow supporting my life; it really looked like it could go out at any minute. Despite this her curiosity got the better of her and she continued her line of questioning.

“So you can use magic then? Like a unicorn?”

I rubbed my wounded cheek for a moment before answering. “Not quite, a unicorn draws magic from the leylines of Equestria, then uses their natural focus, the horn, in order to structure and cast spells.” She looked at me with a deadpan look, already quite aware of how her own magic worked. I chuckled in response. “Well, I don’t really have the same connection to Equestria that unicorns do, and even if I did I doubt I could channel it through the lantern. The magic I use is something we call Miracles, and it primarily uses the Positive energy of our souls to heal, enhance and protect. And while it can’t truly be used to conjure anything really destructive, Positive energy being the energy of life and creation after all, I can use my Ascended powers to transform it into something called Holy energy, which can be used to hurt evil beings.”

Crystal Heart nodded her head in contemplation, taking in the new information with a practiced ease any scholar would’ve envied her. Then she looked back at me with another question, though she clearly wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer or not.

“You said ‘hurt evil beings’, evil beings like what?”

With a sigh I fell back onto the bedroll, feeling the comfortable cloth beneath me as the rejuvenating light of my lantern enveloped us in a gentle embrace.

“With any luck, Crystal, you’ll never have to find out.”

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