"Huh?" Cadence took a cautious step back, her hoof waving wildly as her invisible platform seemed to end. She was seized by vertigo, and lay down quickly, hooves cautiously searching for the other edges.
"Dang, you've gotten a might antsy since ah last saw yah!" The Earth Pony grinned, trotting over to her and helping her stand. "Ah'm Applejack, remember?"
"A-Applejack?"
The Earth Pony nodded, eyes seeming to glow. "Ah swear, ah meant to getcha here sooner, but I got tangled up with some old... friends."
"Here?"
Applejack rolled her eyes, spinning to wave at the scenery in general. "The home of the great brush goddesses? Where you were born and raised?"
Cadence blinked.
"Yah hafta remember! If you don't Celestia'll sear my skin off! You're Cadence, the mortal form of the ancient god Cadenza!"
"Cadenza?"
"She sacrificed herself to save an Empire, and was given goddess status when she entered the heavens. She chose tah stay landborn, though, and took up hold in a shrine near the city. When the great darkness re-awoke, yah were born in her stead." Applejack nodded again, eyes coaxing her to remember.
"If I'm Cadenza... who does that make you?"
"Ah'm the direct descendant of the ancient life god Renovatio. When he joined the other gods on the immortal plane, he gifted the mortals with crops and seeds, and makes the trees blossom each year. Which, of course, ah also do." She frowned, taking Cadence's hoof in her own. "But these are dark days on the mortal plane, and ah can't reach down there no more. You, as the divine goddess, hafta take my place. There's thirteen of us goddesses linked to the mortal world, and ah'm the only one that could make it up here.
"Cadence, you hafta understand; yah need to banish the darkness from their shrines and return them to the immortal plane before the shadow wins. They all have unique powers, and they will help yah every step of the way. Do yah accept this challenge?"
Cadence nodded, feeling warmth seep into her slender frame from the Earth Pony's touch. "I do."
Applejack smiled and took a step back, bowing down towards her. Her cutie mark started glowing, a rich, vivid red that stained the golden air around her. "Then ah, brush goddess Applejack, gift my powers of restoration onto yah. Use them powers well."
The golden sky went dark, the light from Applejacks' cutie mark glowing a while longer, and the grassy hillside reappeared. Applejack's phantom voice echoed around her.
"Use your wings to cover an area in celestial ink, like you connected the stars. When the surface is covered, the destroyed area will be returned. Now, cross the river."
She trotted back down the hill, purpose speeding her hooves. She found grass blossoming full of flowers behind her steps, something that Applejack quietly assured would change with her powers. She reached the very edge of the pier, eyeing the darkness beyond, and spread her wing, sweeping it purposefully over the dark space.
Sure enough, as she folded her wing, stars and blue light began shining from the shadows, and a clear, bright path stretched from the island to a much smaller piece of land. She glided down towards the path, sinking as she tried to land. She panicked, kicking and flapping, and struggled on the surface until she realized it was just like water. Normally, water didn't seem to flow comfortably cold under your skin and rejuvenate you, but nothing had really been normal so far.
The river wasn't as long as she had expected, and when she ungracefully hauled herself onto land on the other side, she found herself completely dry. As well as that, there was a small, completely out-of-place chest sitting in the middle of the smaller island.
Curiosity piqued, she wandered over, the lid lifting easily. Two objects rose out of their own accord, surging towards her and promptly taking what she assumed were their places.
Object number one was a pair of white saddlebags, adorned with her cutie mark and slung with one set of straps on either side of her wings. Object number two was a large, blue, heart-shaped crystal, with gleaming sharps edges and smaller crystal spikes hovering on either side. When Cadence extended both of her wings to get a better look at it, it shot over her right shoulder, blades spinning around it like a shiny necklace of death, and returned over her left shoulder, snapping back into place without ever touching her.
Experimentally, she flicked her wings open again, and the weapon - it had to be a weapon, no shield did that - repeated it's attack. She laughed, rearing up, and the chest disappeared, replaced by a jade doorway, a brilliant light shining from within. Knowing that every other time something had been glowing it had been safe, she walked through.
She found herself on the edge of a dirt path, her entryway nowhere to be seen. Once again, torches lit the area and the pale faces of boulders lay strewn in the grass along the path. As she continued up the path, the rise grew steeper, dirt trail turning cobblestone, clear scenery turning to short grass and tall trees. A small river ran back down the hill beside the path, and the air smelled clean and fresh. Nothing seemed wrong with the area; the plants grew strong and green, and no darkness reached into the serene air.
Another bridge, this one only to cross water, was and easy pass, a short glance at a small sign telling her she was travelling towards the 'Shrine of Gold Ore'. A small cave opened ahead of her, and she trotted in. The calmness was disrupted by a hidden door, having been suspended in the ceiling, dropping down behind her and sealing her in. Finding no way back out immediately, she looked at the other side of the cave.
A huge statue, hewn in rough stone, stood ahead of her, of a well-muscled stallion raising a sword into the air. The moon shone down from above, illuminating the broken tip on the sword and the heavy moss covering it. Cadence trotted closer, raising a wing to absently trace the lost portion of the sword.
With a gentle chime, the missing blade reappeared, and the moss coating the statue vanished abruptly. The very stone shimmered in the moonlight, sparkles floating around it-
She startled, realizing it was not sparkling on it's own. Another constellation shone down from above the statue, and she traced the glowing stars with a wobbly fervor. The stars shone brilliantly, and Cadence closed her eyes, finding herself back in the golden space where she had met Applejack.
This pony, though, was very different than Applejack had been. While the Earth Pony had been standing patiently, this was a Unicorn in the midst of a haphazard pile of gemstones, whittling them with a short diamond blade.
She looked up, though, and smiled tiredly. "Hello, Cadence darling! One moment, I'm just sharpening some new blades so you can get yourself a better weapon later. I'm Rarity, by the way."
"Better?" Cadence glanced at the heart on her back. It seemed pretty good to her.
"Of course, darling! Have you seen those edges? Incredibly dull!" She sighed and shook her head. "I assume Applejack has told you of your powers?"
"Enough." Cadence replied.
Rarity nodded, picking her way through her workspace to join the Alicorn. "My celestial ancestor is Segmentum, the ancient brush god of power slash. I know it doesn't sound as glamorous as 'life god' does, but the talent does come in handy." She laughed, lifting Cadence's hoof, and the pink Alicorn felt shards as cold as ice enter her skin from her touch. "Sorry about the feeling, dear, but it's necessary. I give to you the ability of power slash, which you can use to slice through your foes and your obstacles with a line of ink."
The dark fell quickly, a brilliant blue light shining from Rarity's triple-gemstone cutie marks before the final wisp of the golden world faded and the cave reappeared.
She stared down the wooden door, the thick logs looking like mere twigs under her new power. They snapped with a sweep of one wing, chucks tumbling in all directions. Filled with purpose, she galloped out of the cavern, heading for the bridge as her flowery trail sprouted small crystal shards along the edges.
Almost as quickly as she had left the cave, a shimmering red veil surged from the ground, trapping her in a circle lined with old runes she didn't recognize. Two shadowy figures, long-legged ponies with shining red eyes and pale crystal masks over their muzzles, materialized out of the red smog.
As one, they lunged for her, legs ending in sharp spikes where hooves would normally be. She ducked the first blow, spreading her wings to instinctively block the second, when her weapon shone brightly and swung in front of her, knock the two demons back. Cadence followed the attack with a leap over both of their heads, using her wings to spin in midair and deliver another blow. The two demons backed away from the onslaught, one turning a pale gray as it began to dissolve.
With the two so close together, Cadence was able to swipe a line of ink across them both. The gray one vanished immediately, leaving a small cluster of crystals in its wake, and the other disintegrated into the heavy air. Cadence lifted her head, watching for another attack as the runes shimmered out of existence and allowed her to continue on her path.
Much more cautiously, she returned back to her steady pace down the cobblestone trail. She was not confronted again, and was met by a new, glowing gate at the end of the trail. She stepped through it, only to find herself where she had entered the new area, the chest in front of her lying empty and open. A goal in mind, she retraced her steps along the celestial plane. A final gate loomed where she had first awoken, a new one unlike any she had ever seen.
It was, once again, carved from jade, with thirteen ponies etched into what appeared to be clouds on the top half, and hundreds more ponies below, working fields and running through villages. Each ponies' eye was a shard of gleaming ivory, and she could have sworn they blinked as she pushed the door open and stepped through into darkness.
A huge tree loomed where the gate had been, and the ground was dusty and dead. Grass sprung in ashy tufts under the decaying branches of the great blossom, and the dark purple sky seemed to swirl with dark red waves. Cadence trembled, her fur on edge. Above, a huge fruit hung suspended, the only color other than the sky in this desolate wasteland. She knew that fruits held seeds, and hoped she could try to grow plants here. Rejuvenation, she soon realized, didn't work on such troubled soil, and she was left with only one other power.
Glaring at the large fruit above, she drew a quick line over where it stemmed from the branch. It swung a few times, seemingly impervious, before dropping quite quickly and - to her surprise - exploding.
Crystal blossom leaves filled the air as the darkness began to clear, petals upon petals seeming to scour the air clean with their light. Cadence watched as the grass returned and as trees sprouted and lanced up from the ground when the darkness released them.
The figure that startled her most was another Earth Pony, with a pale golden coat, and a dark velvet mane laced with pink. Her cutie mark, when not obscured by a flowing kimono, was a small rosebud. She was also semi-transparent.
"Hello, Cadenza." She smiled, nodding politely. "I must thank you for saving the village, and in turn, myself."
"You're welcome?" The pony replied, smiling awkwardly.
"My name is Roseluck, the guardian spirit of this village. A dark force has awoken here, and the great brush goddesses had enough time before they were trapped to help me hide the village from the shadows' prying eyes. You have come to no harm, yes?"
Cadence shrugged. "I met some demons, I think, but they were no big trouble."
Roseluck smiled. "I only wish I was as strong as you, great spirit. I cannot travel far from my tree to check on my ponies; could you do that for me? I do hope they're alright."
Cadence nodded, flapping her wings. "I will."
"Oh, before you go, I need to give you a gift." Roseluck lifted a crystal blossom from the ground and limped over, tying the delicate flower into Cadence's forelock. "This will keep the ponies of the mortal plane from seeing you as you truly are. To them, you will be a simple pink Earth Pony, with a purple and yellow mane. Beware; some who have great faith in the goddesses and their works will still see you as an Alicorn."
Cadence nodded, trotting in place as she anxiously awaited to meet something that wasn't a spirit. Roseluck sighed and vanished with a smile, allowing the Alicorn to trot into the village below.
The winding path down the mountain was paved with smooth stone, trees growing comfortingly on either side. She was expecting a little more noise, but she couldn't fret over something so simple. When she reached the village and still heard nothing, it became more than unnerving.
Even more so were the incredibly life-like statues lining the path. Carved out of different shades of crystal, each one seemed completely unique. Here, an old mare sifted through waving flower gardens, smiling softly. Across the path was a colt chasing a baby dragon, poised mid-jump, only one back hoof keeping him steady. Slowly, Cadence began to realize that there was no noise because there were no villagers. The thought stunned her; who would leave such a nice town, and such nice statues, behind?
As if answering her fears, a loud roar rang out, and a dark form raced at her from behind one of the houses. Just as she was about to attack, a pale purple blur fell from the sky, landing on the shoulders of the demon and slicing a set of sharp claws through its neck. The smoky figure cleared, and Cadence's supposed savior looked up.
He was a dragon, no doubt; pale purple scales covered most of his body, with larger green scales protecting his belly. A dark green crest stuck out like a set of blades on his head, ran down his back, and tapered just before the triangle of his tail-tip. His green eyes glittered as he stood up, matching her in height.
"How are you still alive?" He asked, waving a claw at where the demon had been slain. "I've been staked out here for a week now, waiting for the sun to rise, and you manage to live without even knowing how to confront a demon?!" He dragged a hand down his muzzle, before reaching out to shake her hoof. "I'm Spike, by the way. Resident artist here in Crystallus."
"Artist?" Cadence questioned, shaking his hand. "I've never met a dragon artist, especially not one your age."
"I'm not that young." He protested. "I've already gone through my first growth sleep, so technically, I'm a teenager. And you are?"
"Cadence." She replied quickly, before realizing her mistake.
"Cadence? Like after the goddess Cadenza? Cool!" Spike grinned, before looking around and ushering her towards the closest house. "We really should be getting inside, it's not quite safe out here at the moment."
Spike set a candle down between the two mats, sitting down on opposite Cadence. He sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Where'd you come from, anyway? Must still have sunlight there, if you don't know how to fight demons."
"I came from the north." She lied. "The cold must've kept them away."
"You're a northerner? I guess you do have the build for it. Anyways, I can tell you what happened here, if you'd like."
Cadence nodded, folding her front hooves. "Yes, please."
"Well, just over a week ago, one of the young colts went to the Crystal Cave to impress his crush. I think he ended up releasing Sombra's spirit, but since I can't ask him, I don't know. Anyways, shadows started expanding, killing every plant in their path, and within an hour, it was like this! I don't know how I wasn't affected - maybe because I'm a dragon, or something - but everyone else's been turned to crystal." He sighed, absently tracing the scales on his leg. "Then the demons showed up, but they're easy to kill if you can see them coming, and then you showed up."
"How do you think we can fix all this?"
Spike frowned. "If the sun came back, or we could gather enough light, we might be able to reveal the demons keeping the ponies trapped. I know where there's an overlook of the town, and there's a clear view of the sky there."
Cadence nodded, standing up. "Lets' go."
"Hey now, you don't seem very prepared. You can't just run into stuff like this! You don't even have shoes!"
"I'll be fine." She said.
Spike shrugged, getting up as well. "I guess I have to come along, if only to make sure you don't get killed."