//------------------------------// // 77: A Cleansing Started... // Story: An Equestrian Witcher // by OblivionShadow //------------------------------// Oblivion was quiet as Arrow paced in front of him. The stallion was nervous as Oblivion had finished explaining what his plan was for cleansing the town. Beside him, Sasa watched the other pace and she huffed and then she laid down as Oblivion sat in silence. Arrow paused and looked at the black unicorn and began pacing once more. “So you can clean up the fog and all the negative things in town?” “Yes.” “With just one spell?” “Yes.” “And only you can do this?” “Yes.” “By my claws how many times have we been over this?” Sasa complained from her place on the floor by his hooves. “This is the third time.” He replied and waited as Arrow kept pacing. “How do I know you’re not going to make it worse and your magic won’t hurt somepony?” “You don’t.” Oblivion replied easily. “You have to trust that what I am doing is for the benefit of your hometown. The spell is not designed to cause harm.” “So the one where you heal the ponies. Is that a new spell?” “No. I have used it once before. Admittedly it was not on this large of a group but the process is the same.” Oblivion said to him. “So that spell is old but the other one is new?” Oblivion sighed and nodded. “Yes. It’s the same principle as the second spell but it is meant to cleanse the earth that the town rests on.” The stallion stopped and regarded the ever calm Witcher and finally sighed in defeat. “You don’t rattle easily do you?” “No.” “And you’re about as bland as it gets.” He added. Sasa lifted her head and rumbled a growl at the pony who shrugged. “It’s not meant to be an insult. It’s just that he is.” He said to the feline who glared. “Leave it alone. I am meant to be this way.” He said to her and the cat huffed and lowered her head once more. Oblivion pushed himself to his hooves and advanced on the inn room door. They had taken the room several days earlier when nopony appeared to take their bits they simply picked one and took the keys. Arrow had argued but after realizing that nothing would be able to stop the Witcher he had given in. Sasa sat up and yawned and Arrow watched as the black Unicorn made for the door. “Now what are you up to?” He questioned. “For the spell, I am about to use I need time to focus and meditate on how best to use it and work on how much magic I need to channel into it. You may come with me if you wish but I will not be doing anything that needs supervision.” He said back. “Right. So you’re not going to be breaking into any more buildings?” “No. I will be by the edge of town, close to the Everfree.” Oblivion said as his magic opened the door. “Should you need anything ask Sasa. She can contact me and I will return if needed.” “Right, the talking cat.” He said with a sideways look to Sasa who grumbled at him once more. “Not a bad thing just…weird.” “I am starting to dislike his honest streak.” Sasa said to the Witcher as he left the room. The black stallion walked easily out of the inn and into the town. His hooves carried him out of the town and toward the edge of the Everfree. He paused at the border and he folded his legs under him and breathed in a deep breath before closing his eyes to focus on calling Equestria to him. He used the World Spirit to reach out to her and he heard the sound of hooves minutes later. He opened his eyes to see the brilliant white mare standing a few feet from him. She smiled brightly at him as he stood and regarded her. “You are getting quite good at that.” She praised. “Thank you. I have a few questions if I may?” He replied to her. “Of course. What can I do for you, Guardian?” She approached him and came to stand at his side as he began to walk with her. “I trust you noticed the problems of this town?” He began. “When I arrived I did. I am not alerted unless there is a large loss of life. Same as you are alerted when there is a great loss of hope and spirit.” She replied. He nodded as she spoke and waited for her to finish before going on. “I have found that there was a merchant that came here close to two hundred years ago and he brought with him items to sell. While that is not out of the ordinary for a merchant for some reason he made sure to stand out more than would be normal.” “I see. Please go on.” “He sold many of his items and then left in the middle of the night. Nopony saw him leave and he vanished into the night. Many of the items he sold were drawn and described in a file I read through. I drew out some of them to detail their appearance. What do you see?” His magic held out a drawing of one of the paintings and her eyes widened as she looked it over. She stopped and looked closely at the drawing and then her eyes fell on him. “Would it be terribly vain of me if I say it looks like me?” She said back to him as he shook his head. “That is the conclusion Sasa and I came to. Somepony used you as a base for their art. Many of the sculptures bear your likeness as well.” She looked upset by what he had told her and he sent the drawing back to his saddlebags. “There is no mortal alive that knows what I look like. I go to great lengths to stay unseen. If I am seen it’s nothing more than a moment if that.” “The merchant was described as a red stallion with a deep red mane and tail.” He said to her. Her eyes went wide as her head snapped to look at him. “No.” “If you are thinking that it is him then we are of the same mind.” He said to her as she slowly shook her head. “No…it can’t be.” She said to him as she pawed at the ground with one hoof. “I cannot believe that he would do something to an entire town.” “Would you put it beyond him?” He asked her as she pawed once more. She was silent as she considered his words. He could see how disturbed she was by what he had told her. He watched as she closed her eyes and gave a slow, sad shake of her head. “I wish I could say that he was not that cruel… but he was. It is possible that he did something to this entire town. What has he done?” She asked, her voice low and he could hear the sadness within it. “Please tell me that I was able to stop him before it was made worse?” He shook his head and he heard her breathe in. “He left and the items were corrupted and began to infect the ponies. In time they began to become depressed and violent, paranoid. They fell far enough to commit murders and other cruelties.” “Oh by the Worlds.” She said and he could see the sorrow in her eyes as she regarded him. “A Unicorn was sent to try to find out what had caused the sudden violence. He came to the conclusion I did that the items were what was causing the sudden problems. The items were all gathered up and destroyed. When they were naught but ash they were cast into the well.” “Their drinking well? Why?” “I think the Unicorn chose it for the fact that it was a pure wellspring. Perhaps they believed that the pure water would cleanse the ashes and they would do no further harm. I have seen it done and I have seen it do exactly that. I have also seen it fail.” “And it failed here.” “Not really. While the well does have some corruption I do not think it was enough to cause this level of harm on its own. The town was always a bit subdued according to what I have found but it was never to the point of despondency that it is now. I think that it was kept at bay when you took the World Spirit and kept it under your wing. Then I took control of it and it was kept at bay as well.” “Go on.” She urged him to continue, curiosity in her eyes. “But then I was cast out of this world and back to mine. That left the World Spirit with none to guide and protect it. It became unbalanced and this town lost its protection from what was within the well and the lands. Without a properly balanced Spirit, this town fell.” “Oh no. I knew the World Spirit was out of balance but it refused my direction. I was able to take it most of it from him when he was cast out but when you came to us I gifted all of it to you. You might be on to something.” She replied. “Sasa and I think the same thing. Without me the World Spirit was lost and this town’s only protection was lost. Now it is up to me to right it.” “Correct. But how do you propose to right an entire town?” She asked and began to walk with him once more. “I know you have cleansed Blue Blood but this is an entire town that needs the same treatment. It would take you weeks to heal each of them.” “I plan to do it all at once.” “All of it?” “I will cleanse the land and the well first. The next day or so later I will tend to the ponies.” He informed her. She fell silent as he finished speaking and her bright blue eyes regarded him for several seconds before she snorted. “I know that you will do as you feel is right but please be careful. Your control and connection to the World Spirit is greatly improved. But…I do not know if you can harness enough of it to accomplish what you wish to do.” Oblivion considered what she had said and nodded ion understanding. “If I cannot harness enough of it then I will accomplish it in two steps. Cleansing the land and the waters can be done in two steps. But cleansing the ponies is where I will have to push myself a bit. I do not wish to leave them suffering for longer than I have to. Each one is despondent enough to stop interacting with each other and I have even broken into two buildings and they did not notice. They do not see me or Sasa and only one has been able to explain things to me.” “One of them is immune?” “No he left the town three years ago and only came back to try to get his parents to move away to live with him,” Oblivion explained. “He is definitely not affected by the pall over the town.” He added. She smiled lightly at his words and she paused in her walking. “I support you. But please take your time with cleansing them. I advise doing each one or in small groups as you channel the World Spirit. Do not try them all at the same time. But if you do, be ready for it to backfire on you.” She said to him, her tone warning. “I will be careful. I have another question for you.” “Please go on.” She said as they began to walk once more. “Yesterday after we had found out the fallen Guardian is the one that might have harmed this town I was alerted to something at the edge of town. I left the pony with Sasa and went to see what had caused the World Spirit to seek my attention. When I came there I was met by a pony that was made of darkness.” He explained and the mare tilted her head at his description. “There was no other color. Here let me show you.” His horn lit as he showed the white mare the image from his memory. She gave a quiet gasp and shook her head. “I have never seen anything like that personally. Although…” He watched as she came to a stop and her expression was uncertain as she looked at him. “It is possible that it is a remnant.” “A remnant? What is that?” He questioned. “It’s a piece of corruption or a spell that is left in place of a pony or magic-user. In this case I think it could be a remnant that was put in place by the Fallen to monitor his work.” “It did not give off the feeling of being less than a pony.” “I am not sure then.” She admitted as she drew up close to him and urged him forward at an easy pace. “Hmm.” He gave a quiet noise as they walked. “Is it possible that ponies were aware of what the Fallen was doing and supported him?” “I doubt it. He was far too vain for that. While I think he would have enjoyed them admiring his work I don’t think he would have done much more than that with them.” She replied with a derisive snort. “It could have been a pony from some distance throwing their image for you to see. It would take a Unicorn of some skill to accomplish that though.” “Anything that I should worry about in the long run?” He asked her. “I don’t think so. Nopony can go against you in terms of raw power. But their ability to know that you were in town and seeking to correct it is disturbing. I would recommend staying alert and on your claws.” “Understood.” “I did not sense anything during the time that you might have been speaking to this dark pony. But I will keep an eye out just in case. I will try to seek out places that might have been affected. As your connection to the World Spirit becomes stronger you will have the ability to seek out pockets of corruption and right them from afar should you choose to. Though going there is recommended instead.” He nodded as they walked. “I do recommend using the well as a focal point.” “It is the center of town so that was my intention.” He agreed. “By using the center of town I can send out a circle of magic that can hold the entire town within it. I did something similar when I arrived here but that was simply to find out the extent of the issue.” “Now you will be using that same method but then coupling it with the World Spirits power to cleanse. You might consider using your armor as well as a buffer to your magic.” “I had not thought of the armor before you mentioned it. It does provide a significant boost to my magic so it can only help.” “The Elements are meant to cleanse and can heal if used properly so the ability that you are going to be using would work well when put together.” She told him as they moved easily through the grasses. “So the elements were not originally meant to defeat, so much as cleanse and purify?” “Not really. They have that ability but they lose their power when being used against others to cause harm. There is a chance of them being lost when used to harm others.” She explained. “I am no expert on them but they were meant to help in their own way.” “I see. I will have to read more on them when I am able. I had never considered what their original purpose was.” “It is not well known how they came to be or where they came from but in time they became what they are now.” Oblivion fell silent as they walked and the white mare looked over his withers to the afflicted town and sadness crossed her face at the state of the town. “They will be saved. There is no need for you to be so saddened.” He said to her as she looked back at him. “I know you will not abandon them but it is still upsetting to see them. I am the Heart of the World and I wish only joy for those who live here. It is sad to see them this downtrodden. Despite knowing that this will end in the next couple of days it is still saddening to me.” He said nothing to her as they stopped and she stared at the town. He leaned his shoulder against hers in silent support. Oblivion walked silently toward the center of the town and the well. It was early enough in the morning that nopony was out and they didn’t run the risk of a pony getting caught up in the middle of his task. Arrow followed closely on his heels with Sasa. The young stallion had wanted to question him further but Sasa had silenced him. The black Unicorn stopped beside the well and he looked down into it for several seconds. He was not sure exactly how deep the infection was but he knew that it could not be allowed to continue. His magic hummed under his skin and his connection to the World Spirit remained strong as he began to prepare to channel it through his horn once more. “So how is this going to work?” Arrow asked him, his voice quiet. “You have nothing to worry about. I will take care of the town and the lands nearby. Do not interrupt and there is nothing to worry about. Stay back with Sasa.” He replied. Arrow gave a grim nod and he sat down by Sasa as the feline purred. Oblivion braced his hooves and his horn lit as he called on the World Spirit once more. White flame covered his horn as he sent out the same circle to hold the whole of the town within it. His own magic was held back as the Elemental armor slid over his body and set itself in place. His eyes closed as he began to channel more of the World Spirit into his horn and into the world around him. Sasa watched as the black Unicorn began to call on the world around him and she felt it faintly as it came to bear. Beside her Arrow looked nervously at the thin layer of white flame that stayed on the ground and she bumped him to try to comfort him. She watched as the thin fog that had covered the ground began to swirl slowly on the ground and begin to circle toward the Witcher. She watched in silence as the magic coming from him grew in strength. “Wow,” Arrow whispered under his breath as the glow from the white flame grew in intensity. Oblivion felt the World Spirit coming to his command and he began to command it to cleanse the land around him. He set it to seek out the corruption in the land and purge it. He opened his eyes as the flames began to seep into the ground around him. The white fire vanished into the ground, leaving nothing in their wake as his horn remained alight with magic. He could feel the flame as it burned gently through the land and began to gather the corruption to it. He looked up as the fog that permeated the town began to gather around him as it swirled in a small vortex. He said nothing as it gathered and swirled before him. His orange eyes followed the vortex as it moved in front of him and the white flame from the earth came roaring to life within the land itself. He grunted as he channeled more power through his horn and supplemented the World Spirit with his own magic as his horn was covered with an azure and white flame. They began to swirl together and he turned his gaze back to the vortex that remained in front of his eyes. His own magic roared to life as he called on it to control the vortex in front of him as it began to grow in power. He heard Arrow shout and he looked over as Sasa pushed him back and away from the well and the Unicorn. “Be careful, Chosen!” She called out as she moved. Oblivion refocused on the task before him and his magic began to cover the vortex and he worked to force the cyclone to become smaller and at the same time he called on the World Spirit to continue its task. In the back of his mind he heard Equestria’s warning and he pulled back on the amount of force he was using and the World Spirit leveled out and began to pull the infection from within the land. He felt it begin to draw it out and he waited for it to bubble to the surface. Ahead of him, the vortex was still growing in intensity and he pushed more of his magic to quash it before it grew any larger. It had grown to the height of the nearest home and he poured his own magic into containing it. “Holy shit!” Arrow screamed from several yards behind him. Oblivion didn’t look to the stallion until Sasa roared in alarm. He looked back to her and then he could see what had upset her. A tar-like liquid oozed from the ground and the stallion with her was trying to find somewhere to get his hooves off the ground. Sasa was on his heels as they jumped to a nearby cart. He knew that the World Spirit was driving the corruption from the ground and it was now coming to the surface. It covered the ground a bare half-inch tall and he watched it for a bare second before he returned to watching what was in front of him. The Elder Witcher groaned under the strain of using both magic’s and he put his head back as his magic pulled against him. The vortex began to pull away from him and its winds broke free of his magic and began to whip the ooze on the ground, splashing it against a building. He snarled and his razor teeth bared as he channeled more into his horn and he could feel that he was nearing his limit but he ignored the warnings ringing in his ears. “Chosen!” He heard Sasa call out but he chose to ignore the feline. He sent more of his magic into the vortex and he pulled it back into a pocket of magic and its winds were once more held within it. His orange eyes gave off their dull glow as he focused on what he needed to do next. Azure flame held the vortex and he began to use pure force to quash the vortex and force it to disperse. The World Spirit came back to the surface and he focused it on gathering the corruption to the center of town with him. He focused once more on the vortex and his magic began to flare and sparks of flame were thrown into the air as he began to increase the pressure on the vortex to shrink. His magic pressured the vortex into the smaller space and it began to falter under the constant pressure from the azure flames. Oblivion called on the flames to take the air from the vortex and force it to fail. He watched as the flames did as he commanded and he was pleased when the vortex began to fail and was finally ruined. He looked down as his own magic receded and the World Spirit once more became his only source of power and magic. The Witcher watched as the World Spirit pushed the corruption across the ground and it was soon a ball of liquid darkness in front of him. His eyes closed as he brought the World Spirit to bear against the corruption and it drew the last bit of darkness into the ball that he had before him. It swirled slowly in the ball he held and he once more brought his own magic to the front and allowed the World Spirit to recede. He held it within his magic and he felt his armor tighten against his body for several seconds as strength flowed into him. The Witcher began to use his magic to burn through the corruption and turn it into ash and then into nothing as he called on the azure flames to burn hotter and burn longer. Nothing was left when his magic finally faded. His silver mane settled on his neck, it had been blown back at some point, though he did not know when and his forelock fell into his eyes. He panted as he brought his head up to his full height and he called on the World Spirit to check the land around them and it flowed once more through the world around him and came back to him with nothing that caused any alarm. The grounds had been cleansed and he closed his eyes for several seconds as he breathed out a deep sigh. He could hear the sound of hooves on the compact dirt and he looked over his shoulder as Arrow and Sasa approached him. Fatigue bit at him as the World Spirit left him and he sent his armor back into place around his medallion. “Chosen are you okay?” Sasa asked him as they reached him. Oblivion did not immediately respond to her as he waited for the fatigue to fade or grow worse. He opened his mouth to speak as exhaustion rolled over him. He sagged and went to his knees as they buckled. Sasa was at his side as he folded his hind legs under him. “I’ll live.” He assured her. “Are you sure? Your horn was smoking.” Arrow pointed out. Oblivion looked up at the curved horn and if it had been smoking before it was not now. “I will be fine.” He said to him, though the stallion looked unconvinced. Sasa nuzzled him as he breathed in a deep breath and held it for several seconds and then released it slowly. He began to push himself to his hooves and sagged back to the ground with a groan. “Yeah. Not okay.” Arrow accused. “He has a point, Chosen.” Sasa said to him. Oblivion said nothing in reply as he looked at both of them. “It took more than I thought it would.” He admitted. “I can see that. Now, what do we do with you?” Arrow asked him as he came to stand in front of the downed Witcher. Sasa nuzzled his shoulder as she stood close to him. “Now we let you rest for a moment then we get you back to the inn so you can rest.” She said to the Witcher as she sat down beside him. “That seems to be our only option. I don’t think I can do much more today.” “You can’t do anything more today unless you want to hurt yourself.” She replied. “True.” He said to her and then looked at the stallion who was waiting for a reply. “I cannot do much more today. I will finish the job tomorrow.” “Sounds fair. Considering what I just saw that sounds pretty fair to me. I have no idea exactly what you did but it was quite the thing to watch. Aside from the black goo coming from the ground. I guess that is what you meant when you talked about the infection in the land?” “Yes. That is the physical form it takes.” Oblivion informed him. “It is better to avoid touching it so your plan to get away from it was well done.” “Yeah. Me and your cat ran for the hills.” He said with a laugh. “A little warning would have been nice.” “I did not know that is what was going to happen. I have never used that spell on such a large area.” “And the fog?” “That was unexpected. I had to use a separate spell for it.” Oblivion replied easily. Though he had lied about using two forms of magic he knew that the Earth Pony would not know the difference and the lie would go unnoticed. Oblivion laid still for several minutes before he pushed himself to his hooves and this time did not collapse. Arrow got up next to him and made sure he stayed standing. The black Unicorn began the slow trek back to the inn with Arrow and Sasa close at his side.