//------------------------------// // Becoming Legend // Story: Little Light // by InfinitySlayer //------------------------------// GHOST MEMORY LOG 1-7 ORIGIN POINT: UNKNOWN [>10000 LIGHT YEARS OUTSIDE SOLAR SYSTEM] RETRIEVED [DATA CORRUPTED] ENTRY FOLLOWS, GUARDIAN ATTENTION REQUESTED: The sky seemed much darker. Perhaps that was just because of the amount of time we spent in the forest, but the darkness I felt was more than just the absence of light. It was the presence of something actively creating darkness from nothing, something malicious, calculating, and most terrifying of all, patient. That's probably the worst part about the Vex. They don't fit into any of the stereotypes the Guardians came up for the other minions of the Darkness. The Fallen were the once majestic Elinski race, torn down by greed and division within their own ranks. The uncompromisingly loyal Cabal are led by a totalitarian dictator commanding destruction from light years away. The Hive are malicious beings who do nothing but worship death. But the Vex...they're something else entirely. While the motives of the other branches of the Darkness can be easily traced, from greed to religion, no Guardian knows why the Vex antagonize the Traveler so ferociously. Of course, there are theories, some that make a small degree of sense and others that defy reason as we know it. Some wise Warlocks even claim that the Vex invasion of the Solar System is nothing more than a test of their combat capabilities. That particular idea scares me the most. I can handle the clear cut goals of the Fallen, but the concept that our struggle against the Vex is nothing more than a game to them infuriates me. My Guardian didn't perish as part of some wicked experiment, did she? I shook myself away from those thoughts. Garnering the tender situation, loosing whatever was left of my mind to an endless rabbit hole of questions wasn't a viable option. I turned to face my Guardian. The feeble creature trembled violently under the dark shadows of the dense forest. Her eyes were clearly bloodshot, her complexion, pale, her expression, void by terror. The Thorn still lay on the moist soil. The weapon's sinister design and dark origins seemed to blend into the surroundings perfectly. I racked my consciousness for a solution to the current situational problem. There was no easy way to move forwards. I certainly couldn't just pretend the event didn't really occur; I couldn't simply force Fluttershy to get on her hooves and keep moving. Both events would result in short and long term consequences, yet what else was there to do? A thought danced in my mind, followed swiftly by words even I still do not fully understand, "There's an old adage used by the Guardians of the City. I'm sure you've never heard of it, but it goes something like this: 'heroes are remembered, but legends never die'". "When Guardians honor the death of one of their own, they reference this saying often with proud words like, 'she's become legend', or 'his memory will live on', or some other vague yet uplifting term. I never thought much of this, as most of our science points to an absence of anything beyond death, only Darkness and Light." "But as I think about it, I realize that the saying is much more metaphorical than I thought. I realize that you are the legend my old Guardian left behind, you are the memory that will live on, you are what now exists beyond. Whatever brought me here brought me to you, and I intend to make the most of this situation." "They say there's nothing more dangerous than a man who's lost everything. I've got nothing to lose, Fluttershy, and you've got a world to save." Fluttershy stared at me with wide, tearful eyes. She rose slowly and gently to her hooves, finally speaking with a frail voice, "I-I understand your pain, Blue. Truly, I do. But...but I can't do what you're asking me. I can't be the pony you want me to be. I can't-" "Let me stop you right there. Whether you think you can or can't be a Guardian doesn't matter. What does matter is the simple fact that the lives of your family, your friends, your world, rely on each decision you make from now on." "You are the only chance this world has for survival. You are the only bearer of the Light that stands against the oncoming Darkness. None of your friends have been given this gift. Use it wisely." The sky darkened further. The melody of the nearby song birds halted abruptly. The thousands of points of movement from the crawling insects and scurrying mammals ceased. The warm summer breeze died away, and a blanket of cold air spread its tendrils across the forest. Despite an absence of a formal spinal cord, a chill ran down my back. I could tell that Fluttershy felt the change as well. "When the Darkness grows stronger, Light and life fade away. We have to get moving. I recommend we find a way out of this forest." Fluttershy's eyes instantly shot forwards as she proclaimed, "We can't leave without Twilight and Zecora! If those horrible monsters return...I can't bear to think about what might happen to them." My initial thought was to reject this suggestion altogether. From a tactical point of view, risking her own life in a Vex infested forest to find couple of friends was not worth the danger that lurked in the shadows. However, I thought of how often and how vehemently Fluttershy voiced concern and love for her friends. Although I have not yet met them, I can tell that they are of paramount importance to her. With a sigh, I replied to my Guardian, "Very well, Fluttershy. You're the Guardian, lead the way." A few moments passed before she took her first small step, followed by another, then another. I returned the Thorn to my Glimmer hard-drive inventory and engaged my cloaking system, following my Guardian into the consuming darkness ahead. As we walked in silence, I scanned my old Guardian's various pieces of gear for signs of wear. Her armor was more practical than flashy, quite unlike the elaborate, knight-like plates of Titans and the stealthy, smooth cloaks of Hunters. Her Warlock gear was colored using the Electric Aquarius armor shader, painting the long robes and sleek helmet in a black coat that resembled the night itself. Her primary weapon, the Thorn, had been acquired through a long and arduous Exotic Weapon bounty. I still shudder every time I see an Ogre staring purple bolts of death from its grotesque face at us. Her secondary weapon of choice, the Matador 64, is an efficient Void-based shotgun perfectly capable of felling the largest of foes. Finally, I checked the status of her old heavy weapon, The Ash Factory, an Arc rocket launcher with an incredible blast radius. All of her gear is in operating order, but I'm still not completely sure how I'm going to retrofit the weapons, much less the armor, to Fluttershy's anatomical dimensions. I retrieved a three dimensional blueprint of Fluttershy's physical frame I acquired while scanning her earlier that day and made measurements to compare the existing gear with her size and scale. I then retrieved all available Glimmer and ran calculations based on body mass and density in contrast to the armor's, retrieving a report detailing how much Glimmer it took to transmute the existing gear into workable tools for a quadruped horse...thing. As we turned down the path into an area of the forest that seemed to consume what little light remained poking through the enveloping leaves, I thought about an important factor in creating usable gear for my Guardian, "Have you felt anything...different inside you? Not just the presence of Light within you, but perhaps a dissociation of it within your innermost soul?" Fluttershy shook her head in a mix of both fear and confusion, "Not really. I feel a little warm, if that means anything. I'm just having a hard time thinking about all of this..." She trailed off, staring directly ahead into that devouring forest of darkness. I squinted my lone eye in thought. As a rule, most Guardians are born with two defining features that govern their development and combat effectiveness, their Class and Subclass. My old Guardian, of course, was of the Warlock order, choosing by volition the Sunsinger Subclass. By now, Fluttershy should've had at least an inkling on what hers was, especially after combating that Vex Harpy. I decided not to attempt to strain her Light and emotions any further by pressing her into choosing one involuntarily as I asked, "How much further to this, Zecora's house?" Fluttershy scanned her surroundings as she replied weakly, "Shouldn't be too much further. In fact, we should already be here by now." As she said those words, I detected a distinct drop in temperature in both the air and her body. A chill went through my cold frame as I replied, "What do you mean, Guardian?" Her heartbeat rose steadily as she replied in a panicked voice, "I mean that we should've gotten their already! We've walked too far, and there's no way we could've missed it." I lowered my tone in reply, "Calm down, Fluttershy. I'm sure we just took a wrong turn. Can you retrace-" "Look at that tree, Blue. Haven't we passed it already?" The paranoia in her voice was obvious. I initially assumed it to just be a simple product of the multitudes of stress converging at once on her already weary state. Noticing, however, that no level of reason would calm her down at this point, I activated my scanners and said, "I highly doubt that we've already passed that tree, as we've been traveling in a roughly northeasterly direction for the past half an hour. But just to be safe, I'll scan it to see if it registers in my system." A swift few moments later and I compiled the data on that tree to see if it matched its biological description. "No, no, this can't be right," As I scanned through the data, the discovery that came with it shocked me to denial. "Something's up, Fluttershy. This can't be possible under normal circumstances, but that tree does indeed match the genome of the tree we already passed." Darkness devoured whatever light remained. A strange, black smoke began to materialize all around the shadowed flora. Realization came down on me like a hammer as the panic in my voice became obvious, "We've been played, Fluttershy! The Vex have trapped us in a time loop." Fluttershy's eyes went wide with terror as she responded, "Why would they do that?" Blue light like lightening darted in and out of the consuming black smoke as I replied, "Most likely so they could keep us out of the game while they gathered enough troops to end us." My Guardian began to shake violently as she weakly asked, "What do we do, Blue?" I transmuted the Thorn into reality and strapped it to her right hoof with a hastily created plasteel bond, "I've modified the weapon to suit your biology. This armor should give you some protection as well." Although I would have liked more time to finish the details on the armor, the Warlock helmet, robes, and leg armor attachments fit to her frame quite nicely. As the light within the shadowed smoke grew fiercer, I shouted to Fluttershy, "I can't help you win this fight. Whether we live or die is on you. Eyes up, Guardian." Screams that curdled blood marked their arrival. Instantly, we found ourselves completely surrounded by Vex Goblins. Each one hefted their standard weapon, converging on our position through the dark trees like specters of death. Directed by a distant prevailing mind, they opened fire simultaneously. Their aim proved true as a majority of the bolts struck my Guardian's frame, her shields quickly evaporating under the stress. I watched in horror as my Guardian stood frozen as the crimson daggers tore her armor to pieces and burned significant portions of her once beautiful mane. "Move, Fluttershy! Fight for your life, for the lives of your friends! They're counting on you..." My words faded away as a shot from a Line Rifle slammed into her head. _.o0o._ Where am I? It's so dark. I'm scared. Why can't I feel my legs? Why can't I feel anything? I'm so scared. What happened? Where's Blue, where are my friends, where's home? Wherever I am, at least I'm away from those horrible monsters. They terrify me so. Their screams... They scare Blue too. Where is he? Where am I? I'm scared. What's that in the distance? A little light? Where is it coming from? I'll move closer for a look... It's a ball of fire. How strange. Why is it here? Why am I here? I'm so scared. It's talking to me. It wants me to reach out and touch it. That doesn't sound very safe. Then again, there isn't much else to do. My friends need me. I'll do whatever I can to help them.