Of Magic and Machines- Whispers in the Dark
Ever since she got back from being in Deathwing’s equestria, Faith was really bored. Nicko was with Molly and Twilight, trying to figure out what was needed in order for them to return home. But there wasn’t really much to do. She considered looking through the “Tokens” Box that was in her Uncle’s room to try and go somewhere and find a place to visit. But, she was worried that somepony would notice her disappearance. Still, what was the real harm in looking anyway? It might give her the chance to see what was available next time Uncle Nicko and her were on a trip.
Faith silently entered the room and went on over to where the small chest was. but something seemed… off. She noticed that the bottom of the box was uneven and flipped the box over. To her surprise, she found something very surprising. What she found was a book. A book with a mark on the front. When she went to open it, the pages were completely blank.
“Hey there, Faith.”
The young girl turned towards the door, seeing her Uncle smiling as he walked into the room. “Whatcha got there?”
“I-i found this under the box where all the Tokens were.” She replied, letting Nicko have a look at it. The Rune Slayer himself was quite curious as to what it was, finding it odd that the book had a completely blank slate of pages. “What do you think it’s for?”
“Hmm…… maybe it’s a journal.”
“A journal?”
“Yeah,” The Rune Slayer replied, taking out the one that he had that contained Starswirl the Bearded’s notes on Runic Magic. “I use the leftover pages in mine to take notes and write a daily log. Why don’t you use it as a way to record your thoughts and what not?”
“You mean…… like a diary?” Faith asked. She remembered the old one that she kept in her room. But it’s not like she could just go back and grab it.
“Whatever floats your boat.” Her Uncle said. “Here, let me get you something to write with.” A few moments later, Eris had a clickable black gel ink pen form in the Rune Slayer’s hand and to give to Faith. With that, the Code Nemesis was now free to write anything she could think of for her first journal entry. What would be a good way to start?
She thought of it like if she was writing a story. You need a beginning, a middle, and an end. Now with this inside her head, Faith began to write.
My name is Faith Nocte. To understand my current situation, you must believe in the impossible. You got that? Good, because what I’m about to tell you is something that sounds like it came out of a work of fiction. When I was a little girl, I was told of a story of two heroes. Two Brothers. One could harness Runic Magic and was known as The “Rune Slayer” while the other was able to conjure forth swords at will and gained the title of The “Infinity Sword”. One of them, The Rune Slayer; had himself imprisoned in stone in order to save the Infinity Sword when they faced a great evil long ago.
Now get this. The Infinity Sword… That’s my dad. I find this out after getting thrown into the same world that I previously thought was a dream, meeting a few new friends along the way and freeing the brother that was in stone; who turns out to be my Uncle. Now, my Uncle Nicko and I are trying to find a way home within the next seven days (It was originally eight if you counted yesterday). Luckily, I have a few tricks when it comes to fighting and some new skills. But it’s something I’m not totally familiar with. I hope I can be able to figure out how to understand these new abilities and be in complete control of them
-The Code Nemesis, Faith.
The Code Queen finished her entry and closed the book, taking it to her quarters and setting it down on what she would consider as a desk or a work table. She took a moment to look outside, watching as the snow fell down fast and hard in a blinding blizzard. In these conditions, everypony might be indoors. But, that thought was soon demolished when she heard Moby speak to her.
“Faith, I’m detecting signs of life outside of town.”
Cocking an eyebrow, the girl replied with a question. “What kind of signs? Are they animals?”
“No, most animals would be in hibernation right now. These signs were reading are… different.”
“How different?”
“They’re… equine.”
That sent chills down Faith’s spine. Two ponies out in this weather? They would most likely freeze to death!! She had to hurry. “Moby. Remy. Guide me. We need to get them to safety and out of this weather.”
“Yes, Ms. Faith.” The Two Drones replied as they took form and Faith ran out the front entrance of the castle. Following the directions the two machines were giving her, the Code Nemesis was moving as fast as she can, hoping that she wasn’t too late. Moving gracefully through the snow was one thing. But seeing through it was another. Fortunately, Moby and Remy were functioning right now like a turn by turn GPS. They kept track of the location Faith was going towards and adjusted her path accordingly. Moments after starting, she reached forest that she was at earlier.
“They’re inside. You need to hurry. We’re picking up something else chasing them.”
“What is it?”
“Some kind of… Hybrid. But different…” A few feminine screams began to echo as soon as they finished speaking. “We should make haste and hurry.”
‘Thank you, captain obvious.’ Faith told herself as she made her way in.
“S-stay away!!”
The Code Queen could hear the cries of a young girl as she soon came to a clearing. That’s when she saw what was going on.
Four wolves completely made up of Frozen Ice were cornering a young earth pony that was carrying her friend. She had a small crown on her head and her friends looked like she had gotten a fever.
“S-somepony help me!!!”
That was Faith’s cue to put herself between the Wolves and the Two ponies. Moby and Remy assisted her, using the skill Atomic Shield to protect themselves and serve as a temporary barrier. Next, The Blades around her back came forth, causing the predators to back off.
“If you want them, you’re going to have to go through me.”
The Lupine figures growled as each one refocused their attention from the two ponies to her. The They came at all angles from her peripheral vision. But Faith had Moby and Remy. And they were her guides.
“Attack from your right.”
Faith obliged and did so. But due to the weather and the fact that she was wearing her Code Exotic garments, her movements were somewhat limited. This was seen at times where she was barely able to incoming attacks. Her blades were doing most of the work, but the problem was… she was being pushed into a corner.
The wolves saw it as a chance to wound their prey as their chilling claws sliced at Faith’s chest. She flinched in pain, but only for a moment as she tore the dress off, revealing her Code Nemesis attire and preparing to attack head on.
“You boys just made a BIG mistake.” Faith growled. Now despite being a girl, with having a warrior as a father, she knew how to defend herself. But that was against people. This time, it was against four overgrown Frostwolves who were hungry and looking for blood. Not quite the same as handling schoolyard bullies with name calling and pushing around. Still, Faith was going to give it everything she got.
And she was not going to let some Ice Dogs stop her from saving these two ponies.
“Faith, strike the ground!”
Following Remy’s command, the young girl did so and destroyed the first Frostwolf with a Spear Trap. The second one then lashed out with it’s teeth before biting down on a spear that struck the beast between the eyes. The last two wolves try to attack from both sides and cause an assault from two angles. But with her hands stretched out in both directions, she launched herself into the air and caused the wolves heads to collide into one another. Preparing her to use another skill.
The Final strike not only exhausted Faith, but made her glad that the current struggle was over. Now, she could focus and attend to the two earth ponies that she had saved.
“W-who or what are you?” The pink one with the Tiara asked in a serious voice.
“Name’s Faith and I’m more concerned about your Friend. Is she okay?”
The silver maned mare coughed a little and groaned in her friends arms. “Silver’s not feeling well. She also hurt her leg when trying to run from those beasts just now.” That’s when the mare noticed the wounds on Faith’s chest. “Are you okay?”
“J-just a scratch.” Faith groaned a little as Moby and Remy scanned the pony the mare said was known as “Silver”. What they found out was a little scary.
“Faith, this is bad. She’s suffering from Hypothermia. If she’s out in the cold any longer, she might go into shock and die.”
This caused the light pink pony to tense up. She was scared and didn’t want to lose her best friend. Faith saw this and didn’t waste any time on trying to help. “Miss, What’s your name?”
“D-diamond Tiara.”
“Well Diamond, help me carry your friend. We’re going to get you two to safety.”
Castle of Friendship
Nicko and Molly had just finished up with their conversation with Twilight and were trying to catch each other up to speed on what the Rune Slayer had missed while in stone. “So, let me get this straight… Amy is now half pony?”
“I know, it’s a lot to explain and personally, I don’t even know how it happened.”
“Riiiiiiiight… I’ll believe it when I see it for myself.”
“Yeah. Hey, have you seen Faith?”
“Last time I checked, she was in her room resting a little-.”
The Rune Slayer’s comment was interrupted by the loud BANG!! of the door to the castle getting kicked in by Faith’s foot. She and Diamond hurried inside quickly while Nicko himself rushed to his Niece’s side. “What the-? What happened?!”
“These two were caught outside in the forest during the blizzard. Please help. She’s suffering from Hypothermia.”
Nicko hurried and placed his coat over Silver Spoon as Molly rushed to get a fire going in the living room fireplace as they set her down on a nearby couch. As that was finishing up, the Rune Slayer had noticed the gash on Faith’s chest. “Oh dear god, what happened to you!?”
“I…… got in a fight.”
Nicko himself cocked an eyebrow. “A fight? With who?”
“I think you mean what.” Diamond clarified. “While I was trying to find shelter, Silver and I got attacked by some wolves.”
“Wolves? As in Timberwolves?”
“That can’t be right,” Molly replied back, setting the first aid kit down on the table. “Timberwolves only come out during Zap apple season and that’s in Spring. I’m going to go check the encyclopedia and get back to you.”
As the Mastermind left the room, Nicko opened up the first aid kit and got out a few items. This included disinfectant, gauze pads, and bandages. Using a cloth pad, he poured a little bit of the disinfectant onto the pad and brought it close to Faith’s wounds. “Be still. This might sting a bit, but it’s only to make sure that the wound is cleaned.”
As he applied pressure, Faith flinched a little in pain. A common reacting to the stinging sensation of rubbing alcohol across an open wound. After a few moments though, the Rune Slayer was able to wrap the bandages around the deep cuts and make sure his niece was okay before asking her anything. “So, how did you know that these two were out in the snow?”
“Moby and Remy told me.”
“Who?”
“My two drones.” Faith replied, pointing at them as they were checking on Silver’s condition and also creeping out Diamond Tiara a little.
Nicko sighed a little in relief upon remembering what she meant. In Elsword, Eve’s weapon of choice was a pair of drones named Moby and Remy. Given the technological capabilities of the two machines, they must’ve picked up on the life energy of the two mares before Faith ran out the door.
“Alright, even though what you did was reckless, I’m still proud of you.” The Uncle told her. “You saved somepony’s life with your newfound abilities and for that, I’m happy.”
Soon, Molly came back with the encyclopedia. “Got it. Turns out, the creatures Faith encountered were called Winter Wolves. Ice like wolves that only coming out during the winter months. They mostly hunt on their own, but also hunt in packs.”
“That explains why there were four of them going after us.” Diamond said. “But why would they be going after ponies?”
“According to this, the way they survive is Survival of the Fittest. They hunt anything that could possibly feed the pack as a whole. Which means that if Faith weren’t there to save you, you two might’ve become Wolf Lunch.”
The earth pony gulped at that thought, badly picturing them getting devoured alive by the monsters they had just encountered. She then trotted back to Silver Spoon, who was still sleeping, but her condition was improving. Diamond was now beginning to feel very grateful for Faith’s actions. If she weren’t there, who knows what would become of them.
“So Faith, how are you doing?” Molly asked.
“Alright I guess… Just… painful.”
“I’ve been there before. Are you getting use to your new abilities?”
“I guess… I used some of them to help protect Diamond and Silver, but I still feel rusty.” Faith sighed a little as Moby and Remy reverted back to standby, becoming earrings once again. “Maybe when I feel better and the weather clears up, I can find a way to practice.” Hearing that made Nicko think about when Ryu, The Elder Dragon, taught him about Diversity and Mastery. Even though that helped him, Faith herself was a different case. The same teachings would not apply to someone of her skill level.
“Maybe. Right now, I think you need your rest. You’ve been through quite a lot and I think those wounds of yours need to heal first before you do anything reckless.”
Faith sighed and nodded her head. Her uncle made a very good point about her having to rest. So it would be best for her to actually take his advice than ignore it. But something came on her mind. “Hey Nicko? How did you get so strong? Did you have a teacher?”
Now, Molly herself was curious.
“You can say that.” Nicko sighed. “However, he taught me a different lesson. I already knew the skills I was capable of when I met him, but my teacher taught me the difference between mastering your abilities and being diverse with them.”
At this point, Nicko reached into his pocket and was thankful to see that it was still there. He took it out and took a minute to caress the object that he was holding. Around now was when Spike entered the room. He kind of already knew the present situation. But when he came in, the dragon was personally shocked to hear what came next from the Rune Slayer.
“My teacher’s name is Ryu. He’s a Displaced like myself, but he is special. Because where he is from, Ryu is known as an Elder Dragon. What I’m holding now is actually his token. He calls it a Dragon Tear if I remember correctly.”
“Wait wait wait…… You were taught… by a dragon?” Molly said. “That sounds crazy.”
“Not as crazy as you saying your sister is now a pony.” Nicko replied back.
“ …Touche.”
“Plus, I think there is a way for me to prove it to you.”
“Oh yeah? How?”
“Eris can take any memories I have and show them as small movie clips.” The Rune Slayer told her as Eris emerged from Nicko again. The Spirit of Chaos began to conjure a medium sized orb that almost looked like a crystal ball. It looked like a cloudy sky at first, but then, the clips began to play as Faith, Molly and Spike watched like they were seeing a movie at a movie theater.
“Nicko! Get over here. Since I don’t think we have a lot of time until our mutual friend finds a lead, we should get at least some training in.”
“Right.”
The clip continued on to show them starting off with introductions before getting to the two of them clashing at each other with swords. However, to Faith’s surprise, she saw her Uncle actually struggling to win. This went on for several minutes, but one thing actually surprised all three of them.
"If you haven’t noticed, both our fighting styles should be the same.”
That came as a complete surprise to Faith, but not to Molly. Despite both this “Ryu” and Nicko both using different swords and spells, their approach was similar. However, the one thing she noticed that the Elder Dragon had that he didn’t was what Ryu began to speak about next.
Innovation.
“Just because a spell is used in one way doesn’t mean that it could only be used like that. Experiment and learn through trial and error. Break down the components of your magic and create new ways to use them. An explosion is loud, flashy, and carry concussive force. With enough practice and control you could use that force factor to aid you in your movements. You could use their flashy display as a distraction. You could use the noise they make to disorient your enemies. There are many methods for you to choose from, not just these.”
This was what the Elder Dragon explained as Mastery and was soon demonstrated when Nicko used his runes on some stones to create some surprises for his teacher. Eris soon dismissed the ball and stretched out a little, feeling cramped after the amount of magic she used. “Man, does that drain a lot out of me.”
“Go ahead and take a break Eris. You deserve it.”
“Hehe… You’re too kind, Nicky.” The Chaos Spirit said as she disappeared. This left Nicko with Faith, Molly, Spike, and two earth ponies that have had a near death experience…… Wonderful.
But just when he thought that everything had begun to settle down. a new voice echoed throughout the castle. “Princess, Where is my daughter?”
Diamond looked up, startled. “D-dad?”
Oh great, Filthy Rich is here. Like Nicko wanted things to go from bad to worse. “Molly, you did remember to tell Twilight what happened right?”
“Um… kind of?”
“Kind of? The hell does that mean-?”
SLAM!!!
Just when Nicko asked that question, Filthy Rich bursted through the door like a Stallion on a Mission. Not even noticing Nicko and Faith, he rushed over to hug his daughter.
“Diamond, you’re okay!! You scared the hay out of me, young lady!!!”
“I’m sorry dad… It’s just……” The Earth Pony looked at her father. A bit timid.
“Just what? Why were you out there?”
“S-silver had the idea of us finding you something nice for Hearts Warming, so we were going to go to the Diamond Dog caves and get a Frozen Sapphire. You know… Like the one mom liked before she passed away…”
Nicko didn’t realize the situation and the fact that Filthy Rich’s facial expression changed dearly within those few seconds.
“W-we found what we were looking for since the Diamond Dogs were asleep for Hibernation. But when we left the cave, the blizzard hit. Then we were chased by a pack of winter wolves, Silver tripped and…… if it weren’t for Faith, we would have been done for.”
Filthy Rich turned his head in the direction in which her daughter was pointing at the young human girl. He was honestly surprised and at first didn’t believe that she could be capable to protecting Diamond Tiara. That was… until he saw the bandages across her chest and some of the blood soaking through in the shape of a claw. One that would resemble the beasts that his daughter spoke of.
“It’s true. I heard them and rushed to help. Glad we got them in the castle sooner than later. Silver was suffering from Hypothermia and if left out any longer, the same this could’ve happened to her.”
“T-thank you. I appreciate your help…… You actually remind me of a young lad I remembered a few years ago that saved my sister and daughter during a train heist.”
“Would that happen to be me, Mister Rich?” Nicko interjected as he stepped forward. The Stallion’s jaw dropped. Like everypony else in Ponyville, it was believed that Nicko was still encased in stone. Besides the Mane Six, the Cutie Mark Crusader and Amy and her family, nopony else knew of Nicko’s return.
“B-by Celestia herself. Is that really you?”
“Yup.” Nicko replied with a smile. “That’s not the only thing that’s surprising today. Faith is my niece. My brother is her father.”
They continued to talk for a while to pass the time while they waited for Silver Spoon to wake up. To Diamond’s surprise, she was not in trouble this time. Her father actually appreciated her going to extreme measures to get a gift that he would truly never forget. After a while, Silver’s mother soon showed up as she was starting to wake up, relieving them of any worries they might have. In fact, Silver’s reason for going out with Diamond was a lot similar. Except, in reverse. She wanted to find something for her mother after her father was a victim of the terrorist attack by the Diabolic Esper in Canterlot.
The mentioning of what happened in Canterlot made Nicko think about what happened then. Most importantly, what happened when he was there. Amy was put into a Coma and Applejack was beaten to within an inch of her life. He was thankful now that the psychopath was dead. But more importantly, that he was alive again. You don’t always get the chance to cheat death, especially if you’re a victim of getting stoned by Medusa… Hehehe, Stoned.
Anyways, after some time, Both Silver and Diamond left with their parents and things began to calm down a little bit. Faith herself wanted to take a nap in her room as she closed the door and the curtains, darkening the room as she laid to rest. But, she wasn’t alone.
Twas a few hours later, a small black wisp with a faintly glowing center floated through the room from it’s hiding place in the closet. It was cautious of it’s approach to the girl. But when it saw Faith, it gasped a little. “U-umbra?”
The girl soon turned a little as her eyes flickered open. The wisp then backed up to the center of the room, but stayed there. It didn’t believe that this young girl could see it’s presence in the room. But that was soon proven wrong.
“Huh?” The girl spoke as it slowly climbed out of it’s bed after only half an hour of sleep. “What are you, little light?”
“Y-you can see me?” The wisp asked in a low whisper. Faith’s only reply was a nod of the head as it tried to reach out and feel the wisp. Oddly enough, she felt… warm…
“You seem lost. Who are you?”
“What is there to know about me? I was once alive, Had a wife… a daughter… But I gave up everything that made me who I was so I had the power to protect my family and my kingdom. But even then, I couldn’t save them. I made too many mistakes and now… I’m just a wraith floating in the wind. Nopony would forgive me for what I have done.”
She looked at the wisp silently. But her facial expression did not change. There was no fear in her eyes. But she did say something that the wisp would consider as “Unexpected”.
“Are you a king, Mr. Wraith?”
“Some may think that, but not others.”
“Well……” Faith said. “Have you tried being a kind king?”
“A… kind king?”
“Yes… if you can change… then others can think differently of you.”
Their conversation was cut short when the two of them heard a loud knocking on the door. “Faith, are you in there?”
Before Faith could say anything, the wisp faded away as if it weren’t even in the room in the first place. She opened the door to see her Uncle outside it. “Hey, It’s getting close to dinner. Can you help out Spike in the kitchen?”
“Sure!” Faith said as she left the room. Before the door was closed though, Nicko thought he heard something in the darkened room.
He thought he heard Whispers. Whispers in the Dark.
End Log 5
