//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Second Contact // Story: Harmonious Destiny // by OverlordCornutt //------------------------------// Chapter 4 - Second Contact Five pairs of hooves, and one pair of wings, thundered down the path of Tranquil Trail. Located near the edge of the lively White Tail Woods, it would lead them straight towards the group's destination. Each mare could hear their heartbeat racing, as a multitude of emotions and thoughts raced just as quickly in each of their minds. The forest around them reacted in kind , the denizens fleeing from the maddened charge of the six mares. The trees themselves remained the only commonality, with their dark cousins not but a few meters away. Had it not been for the current circumstances some of the group may have pondered the irony of the two forests. Set right beside one another and get so very different in every manner. The lush and bright White Tail Woods were home to friendly critters and breath-taking flowers, it’s clearings prime spots for frolicking and weekend camping trips, and they seemed to have perpetual bird song in every corner. The flora was bountiful, filling the entire woods with all manner of beautiful colors and scents. It’s tranquil atmosphere offered a peace of mind that was often times hard to replicate outside of its welcoming acres, but it was not the same for its nearby real active. The Everfree Forest, despite its rather unassuming name, was a place of corruption and fear. While creatures of all shapes and sizes did call it home, they were not at all similar to those found in the White Tail Woods or any other part of Equestria. They held the same reactive and feral nature as the numerous predators that stalked in the dark shadows cast by the perpetually twisted and oppressive trees. It’s acres we’re not filled with flowers or tall grasses, but jagged rocks, cracked dying earth and foul magic. The possibility of running into a flesh devouring beast was all but inevitable in any portion of the forest, save a few trails which had been enchanted long ago by both the early Equestrians and Deerfolk in the Era of the Two Sisters. But those where few and far between in the modern age, and the magic not as potent as it once had been. Again though, there were more pressing thoughts in each mare’s mind. Each hurried step churned their minds like a whirlpool, sending them each into a frenzy as they continued to rush towards the strange object's current location. Twilight had been keeping track of it the whole way, and had. Even sprinting as she noticed it had continued to remain stationary. Perhaps they would finally find out just who and what they were dealing with, a thought that brought both giddiness and trepidation. Her friends each shared similar positions, their own emotions swirling amongst the sea of anxiety as they closed in on their target. The group followed her without hesitation, even as she leaped from the trail and began blazing a path through the undergrowth of the EverFree Forest. They flew past trees, brambles and rocks as gnarled and jagged as manticore teeth, past shadows that seemed to reach and grab at their hooves and throats. Not a single mare paid mine to the specters, solely focused on the task at hoof. “It’s just ahead, about 90 meters left” Twilight called as they slowly began to near the target. As they neared, the Everfrees suffocating trees and darkness soon began to recede. The six friends slowly began to ease out of their mad gallop, exhaustion finally catching up to their limbs and lungs. As they came to a halt, Applejack noticed that they had found a rare sight for the Everfree, a moderately sized clearing. The farm pony guessed it was perhaps about 20 meters in diameter, with the dark trees surrounding it seeming to lean away from the clearing itself. This struck her as odd, and her Earth Pony instincts immediately started to detect strange magic at work all around her. Over the last few years she and her friends had encountered numerous magical lands, but the aura in this clearing felt completely alien to her. It wasn’t the foreboding and corrupted magic of the Everfree, but it also wasn’t quite the same as the White Tail Woods tranquility. While she pondered what this strange feeling was, the rest of her friends had taken to gawking at what occupied the rest of the clearing. All the mares slowly took in the sight of a makeshift camp. To one side, just in front of them was a large tent, the open flap revealing a well worn sleeping bag and lantern. It was constructed with large swathes of thick canvas that had been placed on top of sturdy metal rods that gave it its shape. Just outside of the tent was a small smoldering fire pit, with a cooking pot hanging from a metal rod above it, large storms were used to keep it confined, much like what one would read about in a book about camping. Near it was fairly thick log that had been cut in half and placed opposite the tent, a seat for whomever had decided to set the area up,l. A closer look revealed sweeping burn marks across its surface, almost as if it had been cut with a flaming blade. Lastly was a set of moderately sized bags scattered around it with what looked like a myriad of different survival supplies, from bandages and canned foods to fire starters and plastic pouches filled with nuts and dried fruits. Pinkie had swiftly begun digging through these before Applejack had halted her, to direct her attention elsewhere with a shaking foreleg. For what truly captured their attention wasn’t the camp or it’s location. Nor was it the realization that they had found their mystery creatures home, or even that said creature in question was mad enough to live in the EverFree Forest. No, that honor was given to the large metal object currently hovering next to all of it. The mares eyes locked onto its strange shape, studying its surfaces every detail. Every metal plate and marking, from the tubes around what appeared to be engines of some make to the strange shining paint that colored it. The strange flying machine was no less alien looking up close than it was from far below, but none of the mares ahd. Even prepared for how large a machine it was except for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash as a result would find her stupor broken faster than the rest of her companions, and so she began a sweep of the area, making sure none of the dark woods many predators or monsters were waiting in the darkness . As she scanned the area with her eyes and listened for the sounds of stalking beasts, she caught a the echo of a strange, thunderous noise off in the distance. Her head quickly swiveled in the direction, the rest of her body quickly doing the same as she carefully trained all her senses on the distant noise. Meanwhile, the rest of her friends had slowly regained their composure and had approached the machine that had spurred this entire endeavor. Twilight took the lead as she slowly fluttered up onto the ship. Sweat poured down her face and neck as she gulped down her trepidation and began to speak. “G-greetings! I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends. We, uh, noticed your very… unique… machine recently and wanted to talk with you. About it. And what it is and how you made it, if that’s alright” Twilight stuttered her response, cursing herself for not bringing the notecards she had prepared for this very moment. Though in all fairness she had t exactly planned on the very object of her investigation just dropping literally out of the air to hover in Ponyville's nearby forests. She stood there, a large uncomfortable smile placed on her face as she waited for a response. Seconds ticked by with no answer or change in the machine’s behavior. Twilight’s eyes darted to her friends, each still staring in awe and fear of the strange flying contraption. Rarity noticed out of the corner of her eye that Fluttershy had taken to crouching behind Applejack, her face covers by her wings as she shook with fear. The Farmpony seemed stoic on the outside, but years of friendship ahd allowed Rarity to see through this facade. Applejack was many things: Brave, friendly, honest and hardworking just to name a few, but she was not easily frightened. That last though was what made Rarity notice how her irises were not but pinpricks, and sweat was slowly cascading down her face. Applejack was afraid, and Rarity couldn’t say she blamed her. Pinkie Pie retained her usual smile, but it seemed less bright, as if even she could tell that something was amiss. The party pony had been waiting for something to happen, anything really. But the more nothing happened, the more she began to wonder if maybe they had jumped the wagon on rushing out here. The five friends stood in silence, with only the breeze and the rhythmic thrum of the machine. Twilight began to wonder if perhaps she had over stepped. Could it be that the one responsible for this strange craft was afraid of them? Where they too focused on testing this strange creation? The more she thought the less sense it made, and the more concerned she grew. “P-please we just want to uh… to talk. You have nothing to worry about” Twilight tried her best to appear as non threatening as possible, even gliding back onto the ground. As she and the others waited for a response ,Rainbow Dash had continued her investigation into the strange noises coming from deeper in the woods. She hadn’t flown far and in what some might have deemed uncharacteristic, but in reality was cautiongiven her current location, slowly and silently. As she went a few meters towards the sound, she began to hear more concerning noises, like thrashing an- Suddenly there was a familiar and horrifying roar echoing from her investigation source, like a hiss mixed with a landslide. It was followed by more of the shorter sounds, almost like firecrackers but far louder. Rainbow wasn’t as familiar with animals as Fluttershy, but even she knew what a cragodile sounded like, and she could tell something was trying to fend it off. Something that was no critter but most definitely a pony in need! Who else would have firecrackers in this forest afterall? Quick as a flash, she was back in the clearing. The rest of her friends jolted and the sudden appearance of the prismatic maned mare, their eyes darting between her and the machine. Their nerves seemed frayed, even the jovial Pinkie Pie was showing less cheer! “Girls there’s some pony fighting a cragodile out that’a way” she gestured frantically off into the distance before continuing. “They got firecrackers or something, but they won’t last long if we don’t help!” Her violet eyes meet each of her friends, silently urging them to action. Twilight just stared at her, before suddenly her face became oddly flushed. Her head farting from viewing the macchie. And her friend, before erupting into a fit of relieved, or perhaps they were maddened, giggles. The others with her seemed more the former at least. “Hahhahahahaha! Of course! This must, ah, be some sort of advanced animation spell, so we’ve been talking to an empty machine. This whole time… heheheheheheh” Twilights left eye had begun to twitch as bits of her mane seemed to slowly flick out of place. Rainbow rolled her own eyes, and tried to bring her bookish friend back down to Equestria. “Twi, focus! Pony in danger, cragodile, need to help” Rainbow wastes no time with a lengthy rebuke, choosing a more streamlined response. She quickly darted highway into the air, beckoning the others with her fore hoof to follow. Quickly her friends regained their collective composure and jumped into action with her, their nerves steeled once again. As one they ran through the overgrowth , the sounds of battle having grown more noticeable to the rest with their apprehension no longer hindering them. “Ah, don’t suppose this is any crazier than what we already done, but how in tarnation’d you hear this” questioned Applejack as she raced ahead of the tigers, her acclimation to physical labor and Earth Pony strength aiding her gallop. Pinkie bounded beside her, the party pony’s signature smile back in full force as she hopped and skipped beside the farmer with little trouble. Without missing a single beat she quickly responded. “Dashie’s always had better ears than the rest of us, she has to doing all those super duper ruper Amazing tricks while going so fast! Otherwise she’d crash’s lot more because she couldn’t hear over the wind” Pinkie giggles as Rainbow shot her a deadpan look, rolling her eyes at the eccentric ponies antics. “Oh I just hope whoever it is hasn’t been hurt…” worried Fluttershy as she furiously beat her wings to keep pace with the rest. She had seen first hoof what a run in with a hungry cragodile did to some of her animal friends, and she didn’t dare to imagine such a fate happening to a fellow pony. “We need to be careful ourselves though, cragodile tend to be very a-” another of the loud grinding hisses of the ever closer cragodile cut the shy mare off, spuring the group faster onward. They galloped furiously as the sounds of battle began to grow closer and louder. However it soon began to dawn of the group that there was more than firecrackers at play here. A loud thwooming explosion echoed across the forest, along with a burst of bright orange light.Twilight immediately suspected some sort of pyromancy, which would be useless against a hardy creature like the cragodile. They pushed past vines and tree branches, galloped past gnarled trees whose trunks have the appearance of agonized faces or terrifying monsters with razor sharp teeth. The sound of their hooves upon the ground thundered, each mare focused on reaching their fellow pony before it was too late. Soon they were bursting out of the overgrowth, and beheld a horrifying sight. There were not one but two fully grown cragodiles currently snapping at a strange creature holding some sort of long black device. It stood on two legs, using its upper arms and claws to grasp the blocky object, as fire erupted from one end in a deafening crack cra-crack towards the giant beasts. It was covered in strange armor that seemed to make it larger than it already was. A set of large segmented pauldrons with birds painted on them adorning its shoulders and an ornate grey and white sash hanging from its waist that ran down its right leg. It’s head was currently encased in a strange blocky helmet with no visible place for the creature to see out of. It’s chest and legs were clad in more of the balcony armour, a belt with small cylinders across its chest and back and its left leg painted in the same blue and yellow hues as the rest of its armor, sans its left gauntlet which was white. Pouches lined its waist on an armoured belt and its weapon was black and crimson, with the end closest to the creature’s chest emanating a strange glow whilst the other spewed fire. Cyrell swiftly reloaded Blast Furnace, ejecting the spent magazine and replacing it in a single fluid motion. While the Titan was not unaccustomed to fighting resilient foes, the beasts he was currently engaging were certainly a cut above his prior targets. The large monsters had the appearance of a crocodile, but where scales should be was instead hardened earth with what looked like boulders acting as ridges along the back and tail. They were jagged, no doubt meant to pierce would be attackers or prey as the large, maybe reptiles, stalked the dark waters they called home. He swiftly placed some distance between him and the two hungry predators, swapping out his pulse rifle for something that might be better suited to such a task. He didn’t need to say anything as shimmering Light whisked the pulse rifle back into the paracausal space his ghost held his times in and replaced it with a much more appropriate weapon. “Alright, one Ace of Spades coming right up boss” said Selene, her voice heard only by him as she aided her guardian from a safe distance in his hunt. He grasped the large hand cannon, its rounds more adept at penetrating thick hide and armor, a black playing card Spade on its barrel just before the chamber. With precision that would make its original wielder proud he unloaded the hand cannons rounds into the nearest monster. It’s rounds penetrated the beasts hardened flesh and caused it to stagger back, hissing from the pain of his rounds digging into it. Cyrell wasted no time and strafed right, lobbing a magnetic Solar grenade as he did, before promptly reloading the venerable hand cannon for another volley. The explosion rocked the two monsters, briefly dazing them with its power and light. “Uh-oh, these things are a lot tougher than the last few” came Selene’s response, a tinge of worry slowly coating her words. The beast, however, wasted no time responding to the attack, it’s companion circling around to flank Cyrell from the small lake that rested nearby. The first lunges with speed and ferocity, it’s large and eager to tear him to bloody pieces. Cyrell stood his ground, waiting for the right moment, before unloading the round directly into the massive creature's throat, a wail of pain echoing from it as he swiftly dodged to the side and prepared to reload again. “Okay, looks like they are weakest in their mouths and eyes, and probably their bellies too. Let’s use that to our advantage” Selene said, her eye tracking the fight, looking for any openings to aid her Guardian as he battled the large beasts. His target crashed into a nearby set of trees, coughing up bright red blood as its throat reeled from the barrage of lead. Slowly it turned once more to face him, it’s eyes seeming to glow with hatred. “Okay, new plan! Let’s try seeing if explosions are more effective inside rather than out” Selene said as Cyrell holstered the Ace and summoned his Swarm of the Raven, the grenade launcher aimed for the swiftly approaching creature he had already injured. It waited until it was close this time, lunging forward and opening its jaws to grab the Titan. But Cyrell wasn’t having it, channeling his light to his arms and legs, he stomped on the beasts lower jaw with an armored boot. His left hand grasping one of the jagged teeth as he stopped it dead in its tracks before sending the explosives down its gullet and shoving it away. Beating a hasty retreat as the reptilian monster sat dazed for a second. It once more looked towards the Titan with murderous intent, ready to attempt to grab him yet again. But it would never get that chance, as the ordnance within its gut exploded, causing its innards to burst alongside it’s stomach. It’s body flipped lifelessly in the air for a brief moment before crashing back down, bright red blood and gore coating its underside and previous spot. “Haha! Take that ya over grown lizard.. rock.. thing” cheered Selene, taking a moment to scan the area. She noticed her sensors picking up more creatures than last time, and much smaller than the attacking beasts. However she also noticed some very large creatures quickly approaching from the water. “Cyrell we got more incoming” she warned, her focus shifted from the six unknown creatures back towards the fight. Cyrell saw as the other beast had returned, with a much larger beast in tow, seeming to dwarf the two he had been fighting. Cyrell began to feel the anger and frustration that had been gnawing at him comping, his Titan blood boiling in rage as he finally had enough of this drawn out endeavor. With a roar he channeled his light, preparing to put an end to this fight in one fell swoop. But Selene began to worry, while she could resurrect him here with no issue, she really didn’t want to have to wait for the area to be safe when another monster might be waiting to snatch her up. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. They watched in awe and confusion as the armored warrior leaped from where it had been standing, just barely dodging one of the cragodile’s maws. It glides through the air, a strange sound like rushing wind emanating from it as it continued to attack the monsters surrounding it. After a brief moment it landed, it’s breathing heavy, if the rise and fall of its chest were any inclination. It placed its strange weapon on its back and clenched it’s claws, taking a wide stance before its entire body erupted in flames. A large imposing maul of flame coalesced in its grip. They watched in fear and amazement as the armored creature ran towards its attackers without fear, leaping into the air before slamming back down on top of the smaller cragodile’s head, its skull caving in with a mighty CRACK! Pieces of shattered bone covered in blood rocketing around it as blood oozed from its snout and eyes. It gave a weak death groan as it slumped into the murky depths of the lake that had once been it’s home. The larger beast roared in rage at its fallen comrade, and swiftly twisted it’s whole body, the tail whipping forth and slamming into the armored creature. The force of the blow caused it to go sailing through the air, impacting into a set of thick trees with a large crash. The cragodile also howled in pain as its tail was thoroughly burned by the creature’s flame covered form. The armored creature's flames and mystical weapon seemed to disappear as quickly as they had originally appeared, the force of the blow having knocked the wind out of it. With a groan it lifted itself onto its feet and in a flash of light was wielding a new weapon, a large sword glowing with purple light, the blade almost as long as the creature itself and as thick as a tree trunk! It growled in rage and pain before righting itself and taking up a defensive stance, waiting for its foe to attack again. The cragodile quickly obliged by charging straight for it, its maw opening to welcome its would-be meal, only for the armored creature's speed to aid it in once again dodging to the side and slashing at its exposed gums. Blood erupted from the wounds, and the air was filled with roars of pain and anger from both combatants. The two would continue this dance, as blade met claw and tooth meet air. Back and forth the two creatures struggled, until the cragodile managed to land a blow with one of its claws, sending its prey into the shallows of the lake. Rainbow had been watching the battle with a mix of fear and awe, though her friends seemed to favor the former emotion. It wasn’t until she saw the being get thrown by the cragodile matron that she realized that the tide was turning. She swiftly looked to her friends for aid, only to see that they had become rooted in place, their eyes wide and pupils mere pinpricks. Fluttershy had covered her eyes and was shaking in terror with each sound her sensitive ears heard. Rainbow quickly grabbed Twilight and tried to shake her from her stupor. If any of them could help it would be her, and more specifically her magic. “Twi, what are you waiting for!? We gotta help” Rainbow cried, snapping her companions out of their trance. The end of the smaller cragodile had made the situation more manageable, but there was a trepidation to the group. What if they tried to help but got injured by either creature? They had no idea what this thing was or what it was capable of. Afterall it had literally just summoned a giant sword, which it was currently using to hack away at a giant monster of stone and flesh that could swallow it whole! But on the other hoof, it had to be the one who made that strange flying machine! Without it they wouldn’t get any answers, and besides that they had no reason to let any creature die at the hands of an Everfree monster! “Okay, let me charge up a stasis spell. Try and see if you can get the creature to back away” Twilight responded, her horn fully encompassed by a soft lavender hue as she began to cast her spell. Rainbow swiftly nodded, jetting off to rendezvous with their target. Meanwhile Pinkie and Applejack moved to scan the rest of the nearby forest for any unseen dangers. Fluttershy flew up towards the canopy, acting as a watch pony for her friends should they find themselves in need of aid. Rarity meanwhile stood behind Twilight, ready to defend her vulnerable mage friend from any other would be attackers. After years of battling foes they didn’t need to do more than react once a plan was in motion, such was the bond they had forged with one another. Rainbow flew around the battling titans, before finding an opening and poking the cragodile’s eye, a rumbling hiss of pain it’s only response as it was momentarily distracted. She quickly looked towards her armored target, allowing a brief second to further observe its ornate armor before speaking. “Look I don’t have time to explain, but you need to hang back so my friend can blast this thing with some of her magic” she ordered, swiftly grabbing one of the creature’s arms to lead it away from the quickly recovering monstrosity. Unfortunately Rainbow had over estimated just how compliant her target would be as it swiftly yanked its arm away and seemed to just stare at her. “Uh, hello!? We gotta move ya big dumb m-“ her words were cut off as she saw the beast lunge for them once again. Rainbow’s speed allowed her time to evade the large maw, but the armored warrior was not so lucky. At the same time Twilight was almost done charging up her spell, her eyes clenched in concentration as the magical components were formed within her mind. She didn’t even notice as the cragodile’s jaws clamped around the creature's waist and began to roll. Fluttershy gasped as it happened, her eyes brimming with tears as the creature's armor eventually gave way to the foul magic of the cragodile, its body swiftly beaten over and over again as the monster's death roll picked up speed. Rainbow caught her timid friends eyes, a silent order shared between the fillyhood friends as each immediately understood what the other wanted. They dashed to opposite sides of the creature’s head and swiftly attacked its sensitive eyes, causing the creature to roar in pain. Rainbow took that split second of time to grab the creature and use all her strength to remove the bloodied being from the cragodile’s maw. No sooner had she done so, that Twilight's spell fired, her horn shooting a ray of brilliant lavender light at her target. The beast's roar was cut off, as its body was covered in a similar glow of lavender light that pulsed every few seconds. Panting from the exertion, Twilight took a moment to recover before glancing up at her hoofwork. But as she did she felt a loot form in her stomach as she saw Rainbow and Fluttershy standing over the bloodied body of their bipedal acquaintance. It’s armor was dented along its shoulders and arms, and tended along its torso where the razor sharp fangs had pierced its flesh. There was blood oozing from the cracks where it had managed to mostly hold together. The creatures arms bent at angles she didn’t think were supposed to be possible given her understanding of biped anatomy, and it’s ribs looked to have collapsed under the cragodiles terrible bite. Blood slowly flowed from the large punctures where the teeth had clamped down. Twilight's mouth moved frantically, but no sound escaped. She slowly looked towards Fluttershy, searching for some semblance of hope in the pegasus’s cyan eyes. The shy pegasus simply closed her eyes, tears forming at the corners as she slowly shook her head. They were too late, the damage caused by the creatures prior to their arrival and the last death roll had sealed the armored creatures fate. Twilight would never get her answers, and neither would any other creature. It was, without a doubt, dead. The rest of their friends gathered around the creature's body. They all stood around it, silence refining over the battleground. None of the assembled ponies knew what to say, and so they simply mourned in silence for the fallen creature. As one they collected themselves before silently deciding to carry the corpse to its small camp. Silence continued to reign over the forest, the battle having driven off any other creatures nearby. The six mares likewise did not speak a word as they carried the bloodied body of the strange creature, its weight focused on Applejack and Pinkie. A few minutes passed before they had returned to the clearing. The silence continued, as they lay the body beside the ship and gathered around the fire pit. Tears stained each mare's face, as they looked to each other and asked themselves the same question. What now? Selene slowly followed the strange… equines as they carried Cyrell back towards their camp. Normally she would have already brought him back, she had to do so already when they had started hinting the large rock covered crocodiles. But now she wasn’t sure if it was safe. Without her Cyrell would stay dead, and humanity would lose one of its greatest defenders. So she chose to follow and wait, hoping the opportunity to bring back her guardian would present itself soon. She watched as the group of odd brightly colored ponies laid him down by their jump ship, Before turning and circling the fire pit. As she observed them she saw what seemed to be… tears? The suspicion confirmed as the winged pony, a bright yellow with a long pink mane, began to whimper before escalating to a full blown crying fit. Large tears ran down its cheeks as it continued to cry. The pink one soon joined in as did the white horned pony as well. To say the sight was odd was an understatement, and Selene was by no means unaccustomed to odd. The mood of the group continued to decline, before eventually every one of them was crying and leaning on one another, their grief slowly filling the tranquil clearing air. Selene had never seen anyone mourn for a fallen guardian, at least not one that still had a ghost. But then again, these creatures didn’t know what Cyrell was or that he was simply waiting for her to bring him back. Intrigued, but maintaining caution she hovered closer to the group, her shell slowly turning around her core as she listened to them speak, after having cried for as long as they had felt comfortable in such a dangerous place. “I-I guess w-we need to bury it… right?” Said the Lavender colored pony, which also sported a horn much like the white one. Selene recalled how some old engrams she and Cyrell found had held long forgotten texts detailing various ancient earth myths. One set of which pertained to different mythical equines with horns, called unicorns and with wings, called pegasi. How odd to then see these same creatures now not only alive, but in such detail! But what could that mean, surely this wasn’t Earth? There were no signs of the Darkness or Traveller anywhere afterall! Just where had the Drifter’s faulty tech sent them?! She listened as the group slowly made plans to perform a small funeral for the fallen Titan, a fact which still boggles her mind! These creatures could not only talk, but spoke the same language as Cyrell to boot! Their plans for a funeral were also oddly cute, in a macabre sort of way. Selene pondered the situation, before deciding to try and sneak a scan of the lavender unicorn, if they weren’t hostile then maybe they could be trusted… maybe. Her shell slowly began to rotate, its pieces gliding into a dance around her core. From her eye a subtle ray of light traced the back of the unicorn when the rest were looking away. As the data came in, Selene had to repress a gasp at what she was seeing. This creature held some sort of.. paracausality! Not anything like what the Traveller or the various enemies her and Cyrell ahd faced, but it was almost on par with a veteran gaurdian, if not more! She would need to do a more thorough scan to truly understand it, but one thing was clear, the Traveller had to have come here which meant these creatures were a result of its Light! Surely she could trust a fellow creature of the Light… right? Selene took a moment to ponder this before steeling her nerves and gliding down to the group to announce her presence. She hoped to the Traveller that she was right about this. “Uh, hi there little, um, equines” she faltered, unsure if they would perhaps take offense to the term, or if such a term existed here. Now that she thought about it again, there were still a lot of unknowns. She slowly floated in place, her shell anxiously turning about her core as she watched one of the sniffling little equines look up towards her. The bright yellow pegasus locked its eyes on here after a brief moment, it’s eyes dilating the longer it stared at her. “Umm, hi there. I couldn’t help but overhear your plans to put my Guardian in a hole, and thought it best to speak up before that happened. I hate digging you see. Hard to do without help” Selene continued after a moment of stunned silence. She watched the pegasus’s eyes slowly work through a myriad of emotions. First was the confusion, followed by curiosity, wonder and finally sadness. With what seemed to be a monumental effort, the creature once again looked into Slenes lone eye and spoke. “I-I’m s-sorry” she sniffed, a fore hoof faintly wiping her snout and eyes. “But I’m afraid that… that your um… Guardian? Well they have uh…” but the moment it tried to continue it seemed too much for the sensitive thing. It caused Selene to feel a bit guilty for having let this go on for so long. She quickly interrupted, deciding to take the initiative as the other mares slowly began to realize that their friend had started talking to… something. “Died, yes I know. It’s not the first time Cyrell has let his Titan mentality get him killed. Though he really isn’t as bad as some, especially if what Lord Shaxx’s ghost has told me is true when watching the Crucible feed” Selene said, trying to assuage the poor thing as it became more confused with every word she spoke. One of the others, the purple unicorn Selene noted, spoke up next. “What are you talking about? What even ARE you?! This doesn’t make any sense and neither does anything your saying” the unicorn replied, her face twisting from that of melancholy to confused and angry. It continued. “How can that creature have died before? That’s not possible! Once a creature dies t-that’s it, no restarts and no second chances! How can you be so calm about this… you don’t even sound sad” the anger seemed to dominate its face as the unicorn glared at Selene. But she was accustomed to this, some refugees often had a hard time understanding what Guardians were if they hadn’t seen or heard of them before. “Whoa there, calm down! Let me explain! First of all, my name is Selene and I’m a ghost. More importantly I’m his ghost” she motioned with her shell towards Cyrell, his bloodied corpse waiting for her Light to restore it to life. “And he is my Guardian. He died a long, long time ago in a long abandoned facility before I found him and brought him back to life” she continued, the rest of the mares now having fully gathered in and listening with rapt attention as she explained. “It’s a bit of a complicated story, but the long and short of it is that a being called The Traveller, once visited my Guardian, Cyrell, and his people. They learned from it and experienced a Golden Age that has never been seen before or since. All because of an enemy the Traveller had and was fleeing from, The Darkeness.” Selene explained. She continued to inform the ponies of the Collapse, of the birth of the ghosts and how they work, and of some of her and Cyrell’s past adventures. With each sentence the group began to grow more and more enthralled, their eyes gleaming now with wonder and curiosity as she told them fantastic tales of heroism and valor. But despite this there was still that ever rodent gloom and doubt that she could see behind their eyes. The white unicorn and prismatic pegasus seemed enthralled at Cyrell’s legends, whilst the strange orange pony and purple unicorn seemed to mull each tale over. Similar to how a cryptarch mulled over an engram. The yellow pegasus remained slightly anxious, but was by far more relieved when the topic of resurrection came up. As the minutes passed by she explained everything she could think of, and even answered some of their own questions about who and what Cyrell was, until eventually the purple unicorn asked a very specific query about their ship. “So that metal machine can not only fly but is capable of traveling almost as fast as light itself?! How does that work, I need to know! It could revolutionize our entire society, I mean just imagine what we could do with that kind of technology” she practically squealed, Selene finding her antics rather charming. It was like a Warlock who had just found some obscure book or who had just finished being praised by Ikora Ray herself. “Look um, little unicorn, I can’t explain all that now! I need to get Cyrell back on his feet, once that’s done I’m sure he’d be happy to explain more” Selene said, as she quickly coalesced as much Light into her core as she could. Her shells various pieces spinning around her core as the Light she held burst forth and surrounded Cyrell. His wounds sealed and armor was reformed, lifting his once shattered body into the air before a burst of paracausal energy brought him back fully. Cyrell landed on his feet, gasping for breath as he began to slowly right himself. After a few seconds of labored breathing he slowly rose to his full height, glancing to Selene and the odd entourage that now filled his makeshift camp. The Titan was silent, and seemed as still as a statue, staring straight at each of the equines for a second before slowly meeting Selen’s gaze. While none of them could see his face, she knew he had to be completely baffled at this odd scene. That is until he chuckled, his voice low and filled with a kind of giddiness she hadn’t expected given their current circumstances. “What’s so funny? Did I miss something, is my shell dented” Selene asked, titling to the side as she watched him slowly mess with his armor before answering. “I just recalled something the Drifter told me once, about seeing a random horse… it was just a silly thought” he said, his mirth slowly dying out as he came down from his comedic stupor. “So…” he began, approaching the group. The mares all looked towards one another, each nodding as they came to a silent arrangement. “What’d I miss?”