You’re special. You were born to do great things. And you know what? They were right.
------
Purple. This much purple on a living creature can’t be normal, the Guardian thought as she eyed her reflection in the broken monitor to her side. The screen itself was cracked down the middle and completely dark, giving its undamaged portions enough of a reflective surface for self-inspection. The Guardian’s coloring ranged from pink to dark purple, the same colors as her armor. I wonder if the Ghost did this deliberately… or if this is what I really look like, she mused silently. It was a poor attempt for her to hide the thunder she felt.
“Do you have any other questions?” the Ghost asked, hovering a short distance in front of her expectantly.
The Guardian tore her gaze away from the monitor and locked onto the ghost. “Just to repeat what you told me… the Traveller was found on the fourth planet of this system, which led to the golden age of exploration and civilization. Then the Darkness came and wiped everything out, leaving only ruins and scattered survivors behind. Just before the Traveller died, it created the Ghosts and imbued them with the power of the Light to help their Guardians defend the Last City. Is that about right?”
The Ghost bobbed in place to mimick a nod. “That’s exactly right! Now, we’re approaching--” it started, only to be interrupted when the Guardian’s hooves shot out and plucked the Ghost from the spot it was hovering from.
“No, all of that is wrong,” the Guardian declared as she glared down at her captive. “Who was the Traveller… or what? And what exactly is ‘the Darkness’? Is it a single entity of immense power like the Traveller, or is it an organization or army of sorts? I’m assuming they destroyed everything because of the Traveller, but why? Did the Traveller do something to warrant such an excessive response? And what is this ‘Light’ that the Traveller gave you? Is it knowledge, or power? How can I use that to defend this ‘Last City?’ Is the Last City really the last still standing!?”
Silence filled the cabin of the jumpship as the Guardian’s barrage of questions ended with a deep breath. In that moment, the Ghost chose to reply.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know!? Doesn’t all of that vague history and terminology irritate you?” The coat around the Guardian’s right eye began to twitch with annoyance as she continued, “Your explanation is about as useful as a storybook!” The moment the words were spoken, the image of an old and well-read book flashed before the Guardian’s eyes; a dark brown hard cover with a golden unicorn in profile… but just as quickly as it appeared it vanished from her mind’s eye.
The Ghost took the moment of distraction to extricate itself and retreat to a distance safely out of reach. “That was everything I was told… and to be perfectly honest, finding the answers didn’t seem important. Finding you was a much higher priority.” When the Guardian remained silent and unresponsive, it continued, “If it’s any consolation, the Warlocks of the Tower have a vast library and archive of information that they’ve collected over the years. I’m sure they’d be willing to let you visit to try and find the answers you’re looking for. The Speaker might also be able to help… but I wouldn’t count on it.”
So many questions… and that book, what was that? “Do you think their library might have information about who I am?” she asked, the roaring flames of curiosity that had previously driven her no longer present.
“I know you don’t like it when I say, ‘I don’t know,’” the Ghost replied, still hovering outside of grabbing distance. “So I think I’ll say, ‘I’ll help you look until you find the answers you’re looking for.’”
The answer wasn’t what the Guardian was hoping for, but it was enough to inspire a small smile on her face. “Thanks for offering… you mentioned ‘Warlocks’, right? Are they Guardians like me?” she asked.
“Well…uh, yes?”
The hesitant response was enough to warrant a flat look from the Guardian. “What kind of answer is that? Are they Guardians? Are they like me? How are these questions that you hesitate on?” Her posture drooped a bit as a thought occurred to her. “Have… have you been to the Last City? Do you just not know?”
“I haven’t been to the Last City since I was created,” the Ghost explained quickly, “...but I’ve met Ghosts out in the wilderness as well as Guardians too. I… am not confident I can explain the differences adequately. The last Ghost I spoke with said that the Guardians divide themselves into cadres based on a number of factors. How they channel the Light, preferred tactics, and the like. From some of the things I’ve heard, personality might even be a deciding factor. I think the Warlocks will be the best match for you, but I’ll defer to their decision.”
“I suppose the rest of my questions will have to wait until we get there, right?” The Guardian let out a tired sigh when the Ghost bobbed an affirmative. “Well, I suppose it’ll be nice to finally talk to my peers. And not getting shot at. Or being chased.” She closed her eyes before a thought occurred to her. “You mentioned that the Guardians defend the Last City to protect the Traveller’s resting place, but you wouldn’t have a city for a tomb. Are there others there that we protect?”
The Ghost bobbed again, its voice perking up. “Correct! It’s true that the Last City’s most noteworthy feature is the Traveller, but it is a city. Non-Guardians, the ancestors of the ancient survivors of the Darkness, take refuge there and try to rebuild a little of what they lost. We won’t be entering the city limits, but both the city and the Traveller will be visible from the Guardian Tower.”
An arched eyebrow was the initial response. “Let me guess, the Guardian Tower is a tower… for Guardians? And the Last City is exactly that, the last city on the planet. And the Speaker… speaks for somepony, right? Are some of these names that literal deliberately, or did the first Guardians just not have any imagination?”
“Yes.”
The simple and unhelpful answer was enough to force a facehoof from the Guardian. “Now you’re just being unclear just to mess with me,” she moaned. A sound approximating a giggle from the Ghost was enough to confirm her suspicions. She fixed her Ghost with the best glare she could manage as she grumbled. “So, how long until we’re there? It feels like we’ve been flying for months.”
“Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me! I need to update the Jumpship’s IFF or the Tower defense guns will blast us out of the air…” The Ghost swiveled in place, small strands of light connecting its glowing eye to the bank of still working instruments of the Jumpship. A moment passed before it turned back and said, “There we go, all done! We should be reaching the Tower in the next two minutes.”
The Guardian blinked as she processed her Ghost’s statements. “...Are you saying that we were just moments away from being destroyed by the very people we’re going to see?” she asked, her tone flat.
“Oh, there is no reason to be worried! I updated the ship protocols with at least twenty seconds before the Tower defenses could have engaged us.”
The flat look persisted for several more moments before the Guardian’s gaze drifted to the nearly unassailable wall of instruments arrayed in front of her. “I don’t suppose there’s a window or anything I can use to take a look?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not at the moment. I got the Jumpship running well enough to get us here, but the fine instruments and displays will require some work by the technicians in the Tower,” her Ghost answered, its gaze looking downward slightly before rising again. “Have no worries, though! We’ll be there in just a little bit.”
The Guardian gave a silent nod, her eyes glued to one of the few displays that did work without a hitch: A digital clock. The seconds passed by slowly but surely before her eyes. A flash of light consumed her surroundings just as they had in the Cosmodrome; the cockpit surrounding her instantly replaced by an awe-inspiring view. Beyond the railing before her was a vast drop, giving her a completely unhindered view of the vast cityscape that stretched from the base of the Tower to the horizon itself. As her eyes looked to the distance stretches of the Last City, they were inevitably drawn upwards to the object hovering above it. A massive white sphere loomed over the city like an artificial moon, its surface scarred in places from damage or age… the Guardian couldn’t be certain. “Is that…?” she whispered, unable to complete the question.
“The Traveller, yes. It has protected the Last City with its presence for… centuries at least,” her Ghost finished for her, before circling the Guardian to get her attention. “We should go to the Speaker, I suspect he is waiting for us.” The Guardian was able to tear her eyes from the Traveller and took one step to follow her Ghost… and froze.
The sight of the Last City and the Traveller had demanded ever last bit of her attention. Now that the moment had passed, the Guardian’s gaze swept over rest of the Tower platform and she realised that she wasn’t alone. Dozens of figures were scattered about the platform, some manning booths or kiosks with what looked like goods on display, while others appeared to be browsing or speaking in small groups. Some were clad in heavy armor while others wore robes in much the same style as the Guardian herself, and their colors ranged the gamut from muted greens and grays to vivid pinks and reds.
The two details that took priority in her mind, though: The first was the fact that every last one of them was bipedal and upright in a way that seemed too similar to the Fallen she had just escaped from. The second was that every single one of them had frozen in place to stare at her. The only sounds that could be heard on the Tower platform was the rush of wind and the Guardian’s hoofsteps as she moved to follow in the wake of her Ghost.
It was only when the pair made it into a nearby hallway that she dared speak. “Ghost! You said that there were others like me here!” she hissed as she shot a look at her floating guide. “I didn’t see anypony--”
“They’re all Guardians,” her Ghost interrupted, before turning back to look at the Guardian. “Well, most of them are Guardians. Some are service personnel from the city to keep things running. The Guardians are just like you, though. They have their own Ghosts and the Traveller’s Light within them.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” she growled back, her walking pace accelerating into a trot as the Guardians in the hallway froze and stared just as the ones on the platform had. A growing sense of self-consciousness and unease had taken root in the Guardian’s mind with every gaping glance she passed by. None of them… none are like me. I’m all alone… the Guardian realised as the hallway opened up into another section of the Tower platform.
The area that they had just entered had far less traffic than the first, with relatively few people selling wares to attract a wandering customer. The more likely reason was the spherical structure that dominated the vast portion of the platform’s space. It was only a few quick steps to the entrance, and for the second time in less than five minutes found herself awestruck. The chamber was dominated by a massive machine in the center, with rings of various sizes slowly spinning in some rhythm that she couldn’t immediately decipher. The wall immediately beyond it was gone, giving an unfettered view of the Traveller through the rings. The ceiling itself was vaulted and made of glass, which completely dispelled any feeling of claustrophobia that the exterior appearance had inspired. And then there were the books.
The Guardian’s gaze locked onto them like a hungry predator, memorizing the appearance of every single one on the shelves as her eyes continued to scan. The path of the bookshelves lining the walls led to a staircase and a raised balcony, where stacks of books punctuated the railing at regular intervals. A figure could be seen moving amongst the obstacles on the balcony but it was only when it moved to the staircase that the Guardian could inspect it further.
It was bipedal just like the others that she had seen in the Tower, its upright posture and position at the top of the stairs only adding to the impression that it was looming above the Guardian. A simple white robe covered its body, a stark contrast to the black hood that wrapped around its neck and head. A pure white mask hid any facial features that the hood might have missed and stood out against the black hood as much as the hood did to its robes. Its hands were clasped at its waist as it slowly descended the stairs one at a time.
“I’ve seen countless Guardians answer the Traveller’s call over the centuries” the figure said, the voice low enough to indicate its owner was male and soft spoken in the way that a doting grandparent would speak. “I had thought surprise lost to me, but I am once again reminded that there is still so much I do not know.” The mask turned slightly towards the Guardian’s Ghost and inclined slightly. “You have been gone a very long time… some had assumed your Light had been extinguished before you completed your task. Seeing your companion now, I suspect that you had to travel far and wide to find her.”
The Ghost levitated forward to hover in front of the masked figure, bobbing slightly in a nod. “I found her at the outer perimeter of the Cosmodrome wall. Speaker, I’ve been with her for less than a day and she’s capable of using the Light in ways I didn’t think possible.” When the mask tilted sideways in an unspoken question, the Ghost retreated slightly. “Well, I’ve seen how other Guardians use the Traveller’s gifts while I was searching and… she’s done things I’ve never seen before.”
The mask slowly turned downward to the Guardian as the Speaker descended the last of the steps. “Curious. Very curious,” he said as he knelt down so that the mask was eye level with her. “The Light is brilliant within you, child. Blinding, almost. But… your Light is different, isn’t it? No, your spark comes from a different place. Tell me, do you recall anything of your origins?”
“T-the only thing I think I remember is a book...” the Guardian finally managed to squeak out as she tried not to wither beneath the mask’s gaze. I feel like a bug about to be crushed under the hoof of a giant! He’s even kneeling down but I still feel so small... she thought, unable to tear her eyes away from the Speaker’s mask. It was devoid of any sort of features that might be associated with a face, save for two depressions in the center which went all the way to the top of the mask.
“A book? That may prove to be… troublesome,” the Speaker said as he stood and turned towards the bookshelves lining the wall. “Before the Golden Age, printed books were quite common and easily accessed. Now, like so much else, they’ve been lost to the ravages of the Darkness and time.” The mask panned from left to right to take in the wall of literature as he continued, “I know every word of every book in the Tower, and I cannot recall any describing one such as you. Very interesting…”
The brief memory of the book flashed before her eyes as she listened. The only thing I can remember doesn’t help at all. So I still don’t know anything, the Guardian thought, her heart sinking at the realisation. “If the book is gone then there’s nothing about me anywhere? Not even a name?”
The Speaker turned back, the unreadable mask tilting downward to face the Guardian squarely. “The loss of identity is something that many struggle with, and truthfully it is something that is rarely recovered. If you choose to pursue this mysterious book, I’m sure that many will offer you their aid. If you choose to focus on the present, I’m certain your efforts will be appreciated. Regardless of your choice, there is one thing I know for certain. Your future will be bright indeed, my little Spark.”
Placeholder!
Edit: Our little Guardian finally gets her name at the end of the chapter!
I'll be posting a blog a bit later tonight, as there are some things I need to talk about.
Hope everyone enjoys this little snippet!
Hmm... So she has no memory of who she was.... but I get the feeling she'll remember in due course
descendants
Also:
derpicdn.net/img/2016/9/9/1245121/large.jpeg
Twilight NEEDS this shader when she "levels up" (or however you're going to explain that mechanic in a more "Real" setting) enough to be able to use them...
I'd like to wager Twilight would end up relating closest to the Warlocks and Ikora Rey, but I don't know if she'd end up using any of the conventional Warlock fighting styles. As Dinklebot said, she's capable of using magic or the Light in this case (Not sure if they're connected) in ways that go beyond what a normal Guardian is capable of. I'm looking forward to see how this pans out for 'Spark'.
7996896 Don't forget that Twilight's also an Alicorn. She basically has all the natural strengths of all three classes, while between the overlap and what she's capable of with her magic she's covered most of the weaknesses (Especially when all those Stupid jumping puzzles come into play. Her wings will allow her to just fly past all of them...). She just has to re-learn/remember how to use all of her natural abilities and figure out how her Magic works again...
Now that I think of it, her Magic would probably allow her to replicate any of the Guardians' abilities, including Supers, out of the Hat (Except for possibly the Sunsinger Resurrection), no subclass required and possibly even without the standard recharge times, so I kinda gotta wonder if she won't get her own "Special" super unique to her "Alicorn Class"...
Certainly an interesting update. You see and learn, without the information being parsed in a bad way. Light humor gives it a break, and it comes into a nice point of ending. Well done on this chapter.
My curiosity is picked even if I don't know one thing about the verse crossovered with MLP.
Arad, you prove once more to be a talented fanfic author!
Things are picking up and 'Spark' will have a few things to learn very soon. Though still say my favorite line this chapter simply because it is so meta is:
Chillax, Spark: Have some Grimoire Cards in the meantime.
Shouldn't Ghost and the Guardian get OC tags?
7997265
Technically, no. The Ghost is a canon character in Destiny, and the Guardian... well, she's a purple alicorn who's lost her memory. >_>
Perfect music for this.
I see wat u did thar
Yes to this story so much....
7996956 It also may help that Arad is a better storyteller than the twits Bungie had to make due with for the first year. The guy in charge of the story either quit or got poached by another company real early on. Don't remember which.
Destiny is a much improved game nowadays tho.
So many questions, so little answers. I don't even understand the lore of the game.
The story told doesn't even make sense. If that giant sphere is the Traveler and it protects them, then the story saying the Traveler died is false.
But I'm not going to go into a debate about the game, I'm here for the story.
i liked this it was nice but im totaly still waiting for Mente Materia to update but this has done for now
7998237 Even dead gods dream. I've been playing destiny since mid way through Year 1 and I still don't fully get everything in the lore. Digging into it, discovering the little snippets and piecing everything together is one of the reasons I love games like Destiny and Dark Souls. They make you go looking for the story instead of spoon-feeding it to you so anyone can discover as much or as little as they want.
7998835
True.
This is quickly becoming one of my most looked forward to stories. The possibilities here are awesome, and you've already proven you're damn good at sensibly crossing over MLP with video game fiction, and I'm just psyched to see what you do with this. There's multiple mysteries, here, too! How did Twilight— excuse me, Spark, get to Earth before she died? And the one some might forget, since of course Twilight forgot; what happened to Rainbow Dash? She's the one who vanished without a trace in the first chapter. I'm hooked on this story in multiple ways ways; the mysteries you're creating AND my preexisting love for both source materials.
I don't know where I'm going with any of that. I just need to gush over this story, and I want you to know that I'm gushing.
Gush gush gush.
7997814 The original storyline was so much better, but at least Destiny sharpened my reflexes and recall. I swear, I played that game so many times over that I could probably reacall almost every detail from memory
7999364 I don't doubt it. While the game's story wasn't great at first, the gameplay was simply terrific imo. I do need to get back in sometime and get to the maximum just because I'm not there yet.
7999598 Mmm, but I didn't get any packs, because they were too expensive; I really wanted to get The Dark Below but I then kinda stopped playing
8001048 If you ever get back into it, get the Taken King expansion. It was pretty great.
8001698 Which was the pack that centred around the Awoken?
8001721 The hive.
Or, yeah the awoken mattered there.
8001765 Destiny
8001765
8001800
A breakdown of the evolution of Destiny:
Year 1:
Destiny: "Become Legend". "Paid Beta". Vault of Glass Raid (Still the best raid in the game mechanically IMO)
The Dark Below: The Hive. Crota's End "Raid". Raid bosses are still buggy as hell but Bungie/Activision spend more time patching methods players use to cheese them than fixing the issues that make us look for cheese to begin with. Gjallarhorn becomes the most sought after exotic in the game
The House of Wolves: Fallen, the Reef & Prison of Elders "Bot Arena". Can upgrade any piece of Year 1 Legendary equipment to "36 Light" using rewards from Prison. Trials of Osiris PvP introduced & Speed-running Crota's End "Raid" solo becomes a thing.Whole thing was kinda "Meh" tbh...
Year 2:
The Taken King: Hive... Kinda... Kings Fall Raid. Faster Pace and more immersive story. More story overall. Light mechanics overhaul. New Exotics. Raid is gimmicky as F and the last boss is more choreography than combat or else the brd one shots the whole party. Introduction of Halloween and winter/new-years seasonal events.
Year 3:
Rise of Iron: Augmented Fallen. Even more story. More content to explore. More Exotics to Collect. More Hoops to jump through. More More More! ( ) Wrath of the Machine Raid. Endgame leveling becomes grindy as F just to get into it. Raid is still Gimmicky, though not as bad as Kings Fall but the first boss is harder to fight than the last because of them.
8002149 Umm... thanks
I haven't played destiny in almost a year but even now i am recalling all the pathways and spawns. Damnit i am going to get addicted to this.
Raids... why aren't they open lobby...
8002149 I remember getting my Jellyhorn through a purple engram. My clan mates flipped their shit.
7998835
*gets flashbacks to the dead Reaper in ME2....
Looking forward to D2, due to the PC release, hoping to jump into the world.
I actually channeled my inner Twilight once and chew myself through the Destiny wiki. I believe Im more or less "well versed" in the lore by this point.
8320303
That's actually where I got the quote from.
And yeah, I'm pre-ordered on PC rather than Xbox where I played before. It means I only pay for the game and internet, which I was doing already, and i don't have to add $10/month for XBLGold to my expenses anymore. Also, my PC kicks my Xbone's A in terms of performance, so there's another bonus. Fingers Crossed Battle.net's up to the task of supporting everyone too, but they have experience with large scale server support, so it should be a hecka lot more stable than Microsoft's sorry excuse...
8320303
8320415
Going to be getting Destiny 2 on PC also when it comes out.
Also, I'm probably a page away from having the next chapter of this done, just having trouble finding the time.
8320415
Welcome to the glorious PC gaming Masterrace
A word of caution though, while it might be Blizzard hosting D2 they do have a history of server problems on release days all the way back till WoW. A lot of PC gamers are hungry for D2 so it might be a good idea to ditch day-one and wait about a week until they can get extra servers running.
8321058
Woohoo!
Now my one hope is that the game is not region locked, it would be kinda nice if I could play with you guys.
Lets just hope that lags wont be a problem, since Im Euro and you guys live all the way on the other side of the great pond.
8321349
Spoilers because tangentially Off Topic.
I've been of the blog.logicalincrements.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/pc-master-race.jpg since I started gaming. I simply deign to mingle among the console gamers for certain games that aren't on PC (that
I can't get a working Emulator fordon't have PC Ports) and because I have a friend who refuses to buy anything but Mac "Computers" but still likes to game (I've known the misguided fool since I was 3, so I tolerate his lunacy).I was also Exiled to Console Gameing for a few years due to various hardware failures in my Rig and being incapable of affording repairs/upgrades at the time. This situation has since been rectified and now I'm working on catching up on everything I missed.
We totally should if that's the case. Heh, maybe start a Clan if we can get enough people involved. I have a friend (who's adamantly not a brony due to his little sister when they were younger) who's also Pre-ordered who's also flat-mate with my brother (who's actually responsible for me getting into Pony in the first place) and we're working on getting him involved, but I don't think he's going to commit until the game is out and he's seen what it's like. Now these two? They are Fully PC Gamer Master Race... I think they even sold the consoles they did have, or never replaced them when they died (360 RROD).
8322445
So, Many, Spoiler bars.