Silver Spirit, Ghost of Equestria.

by Powerdrainer

A Cry For Help

Edited by Slayerseba, Halusm, and Clawder.

A New Lease On Life

<<>><<>><<>>

"DANNY!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted, horrified as they watched Danny get shot in the back by Sweetie Belle, then fall into the depths below the city.

Shocked by what had happened, both ponies stood frozen on the spot, unable to will their legs to move, and all they could do was to look up at their friend as she dove down with a shriek and glowing hooves.

A burst of green slammed into the stone in between the two ponies, finally snapping them out of their stupor, as they realized the rampaging spirit flew towards them.

Not waiting a second longer, both fillies turned tail and ran while Sweetie Belle threw bolt after bolt of ectoplasm, blowing holes in the stone, and leaving numerous scorch marks, but never hitting her intended target.

'NO!' Sweetie Belle faltered, dropping several feet before she caught herself, shaking the disorientation off as she continued her hunt. But the short moment of weakness allowed the two ponies to widen the distance and she could just catch a glimpse of a purple tail disappearing through one of the many onyx portals leading inside the rock.

Growling, she fired two bolts of ectoplasm towards the closing door, damaging it, but not destroying the obstruction while the runes etched around the edges of the magical stone shone brightly in response, before flickering and dying out.

With a snarl, she moved further into the city in search of fear.

<<>><<>><<>>

Chests heaving for breath, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stood with their backs pressed against a wall after having run inside the first open door they found; sharing the room with three changelings. Two of which were a head taller than them, while the third was most likely several years younger than them.

"Is… is she gone?" the smallest of the three asked, huddling in a corner, hooves covering his head.

"The wall's closed," one of the older changelings risked a glance past the corner.

"Not that that means much," Scootaloo replied hastily. "She can move through walls."

"But how, and why?" Apple Bloom slowly lowered back to all fours. "She couldn't do that back when she was… still herself."

"How should I know?" Scootaloo shot back.

"Then what do we do now?" The third changeling asked, keeping a close eye on the runes encircling the onyx door for any sign of activation with a nervous twitch of her eyes.

"We have ta git through ta her, somehow," Apple Bloom started pacing in the room. "Sweetie Belle's still in there somewhere. Ah know she is."

"But she just shot down Danny," Scootaloo reminded them. "Danny! He's been a ghost for ages now and she just shot him down like that. What can we do to stop her?"

"Ah don't know," Apple Bloom said defeatedly, her bow sagging in her mane. "Somethaing, anythaing."

"Any ideas?" Scootaloo asked the three changelings with them.

All three looked at one another, then back at Scootaloo; shaking their heads in unison.

"We know nothing about these spirits, or ghosts," one of the older changelings said.

"But…" the second changeling paused, looking off to the side. "She's gone, though," she said, focusing back on those with her. "Attacking the others further into the city."

"So we can go out?" Apple Bloom turned to look at the door.

"And do what?" asked Scootaloo.

"Whatever we can," the apple farming filly replied strongly. "We have ta. She would do tha same fer us."

"Yeah, but shouldn't we have, you know, a plan, or something?"

"Yeah, but we don't have any so we jus' need ta try whatever we can."

Taking a deep breath, and releasing it slowly, Scootaloo gave her friend a single, resolute nod.

"Right. Just wing it. Like we always do, right?"

"Right," Apple Bloom confirmed with a nod of her own.

"Okay," Scootaloo stepped closer to the closed door. "Can you guys open this thing for us? We have a spirit to stop."

Again all three changelings looked at one another, reaching the same conclusion over their shared mind: Ponies really are as crazy as they were told.

Still, something had to be done to stop Sweetie Belle, so they obliged; one of them powering the runes with a weak spark of the horn, taking several tries before the onyx melted away and allowing the two ponies to exit.

"Okay, now where-" Scootaloo jumped out, looking around for any sign of her corrupted friend, when everything lit up.

<<>><<>><<>>

Erlea ran, her hooves pounding on the stone of the walkways, not daring to look back while green flashes of light detonated just a step behind her; always a step behind her. Scorching her tail and pelting her with numerous small fragments bouncing off her chitin, but never quite hitting her.

Her hooves hurt, her lungs burned and exhaustion tried its best to grab hold of her, yet she pushed on; luring away this terror from the rest as they sought cover, taking with them the unconscious Abella after their failed attempt to fight Sweetie Belle.

But she couldn't keep this up. The ache she felt creeping up from her legs forced her to make more and more missteps, while the absolute drain on what little reserves she still had slowed her down more and more.

'There… there has to be a way. Some way to stop her!?' she wondered, tears starting to blur her vision as the green flashes came closer and closer. 'Someling, anyling, HELP!'

Thumb Thumb

"Wh- what?"

The city lit up.

With a gasp of shock and surprise, Erlea lost track of her legs and tumbled end over end as they tangled up; Sweetie Belle overshooting her while hissing out, a leg covering her eyes from the sudden brightness.

Looking up, eyes wide, Erlea stared slack-jawed at the Murgröna as its once dim glow increased exponentially, fully illuminating the city with brilliant light.

"It can't be," she half whispered, unable to believe her eyes. Eyes that widened even further when she saw the leaves ripple, all of them angling towards a blurring streak flying through the city towards Sweetie Belle; the spirit already targeting a group of other changelings unfortunately in her sight when the spots vanished from her vision.

Crossing the path of the two beams of energy she fired at the group, the white haired human blocked the attack with a glowing shield of his own, stopping one of the beams cold, while the other ricocheted away down into the depths.

Slowly picking herself up, Erlea watched as Danny tried to communicate with Sweetie Belle, but what he said was mostly lost to her as all she could really see were the uncountable leaves of the Murgröna as they aimed all at him.

"Impossible," she murmured, blinking slowly as she saw the budding, then blooming flowers grow above Danny.

A new glow drew her attention and she gasped out upon seeing Sweetie Belle creating a massive ball of destructive might above her horn. Then, with a shout of rage, she fired the intense gathering of power at Danny, and Erlea realized that she cried out in distress as the sphere of doom threatened to overpower his shield.

Her exhaustion completely forgotten, she ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the city and towards Danny, never taking her eyes off the combatants, shocked when she saw the human pushed back by the force of Sweetie Belle's attack.

Much greater was her relief when, to her absolute amazement, Danny somehow caught the sphere and then flung it away into a far wall of a hatchery. One of numerous in the city… and right now, thankfully, completely empty.

But then Sweetie Belle attacked again and she cried out a warning, before she even realized. Thankfully her warning came just in time and Danny managed to avoid the charging spirit, then used the momentum of his evasion to his advantage by hooking his arm around the pony's midsection.

Erlea lost sight of what happened after that, as she had to run around one of the stalagmites to reach the bridge crossing the chasm to the other side.

A bridge, she realized not much later, was also where Danny had brought the thrashing filly, his arm a mess of green glowing goop as Sweetie Belle had bit down with her fangs. Yet despite this, he seemed to ignore the injury as he spoke to her.

"You're nothing more than a frightened child, desperately reaching out for help. The mere thought of fighting you, while you are the one who needs help the most is revolting in more ways than I can think of," he spoke with a hardened edge to his voice. "Especially knowing who it is you really are. You are no monster. You never were. You never will be. And I will not, not now, not ever, fight with violence against someone who can just as easily be beaten by heartfelt kindness."

Erlea slowly stepped closer, confused as to why he would show kindness to someone who had attacked him, listening intently to his words… his convictions.

Somewhere, deep down, she felt something respond.

"I've got nothing to fear from you," Danny continued, slowly sitting down while keeping the filly close. "Because, deep down, you do not want to hurt me, your friends, the changelings, anyone. It's that part of you that is stronger than anything else. A part that can beat this. Maybe not alone, but with the help of your friends. But you must make the first move, Sweetie Belle. Fight this. I know you can. After all, you're a Cutie Mark Crusader. You and your friends have done crazier things than this."

"Danny's, right," Apple Bloom slowly approached and Erlea blinked, surprised by the pony's sudden appearance. It was only then she realized she hadn't been the only one led here by the Murgröna, as all around Danny, keeping a safe distance, stood every other changeling able to do so. And with them, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo as well.

"Sweetie Belle, ya ain't a monster. An' we'll help ya get through this--" she joined in on the hug, pressing her friend as close as she could, ignoring the slick green blood staining her coat, "--'cause that's what friends do."

"YEAH!" Scootaloo agreed, jumping up and wings buzzing for what little lift they could generate to be seen over the group of changelings as she stood somewhere at the back of them all. "Just, --hold on, let me through. C'mon," she strained as she pushed through the mass of shapeshifters, getting her rump stuck in between two larger changelings and, with all her strength, pulled unexpectedly free. Shooting forwards, rolling end over end she came to a stop, lying in a heap before the group hug in the process.

"Totally meant to do that," she was quick to point out. None of the changelings believed her.

Pulling herself up, she turned to Sweetie Belle.

"You're our friend, and you going all crazy spirit isn't going to change that. So snap out of this, alright. Danny knows you can do it. So does Apple Bloom and me."

In the silence that followed, all could hear Sweetie Belle sniffle before letting go of Danny's arm; a wave of revolt passing through the hive mind upon seeing the sickly green goop flowing out of her mouth and onto the ground.

"Help me," Sweetie Belle gasped between sobs, desperately clinging on her friends as if her life depended on it, inadvertently smearing the green glowing blood staining her fur on her friends as well.

Taking a half step closer, continuously looking at Danny and the blooming flowers growing high above him, their eyes met.

"I know time is a luxury we don't have, but could some of you help these three?" he asked of her, then turned back to the three ponies.

"Devora, where are you?" Erlea asked over the hive mind.

"Behind you," came the reply, and she joined her friend's side. "I got here as fast as I could when…" she waved a hoof at the Murgröna. "Abella's safe, too. Hurt, but safe."

"Good," Erlea sighed out, then looked back up at the Murgröna.

"Please don't tell me you're thinking what I know you're thinking."

"You know it just as well as I do," she said quietly. "The Murgröna has awakened. It has to be a sign."

Unable to find a proper response to this, Devora merely nodded her head as she, too, looked up at the blooming flowers above, before her gaze lowered to the human before her.

Their eyes met.

"Take her back to her guest room," he told her. "Get cleaned up; ectoplasm is difficult to get rid off when it has a chance to dry up, and keep her company. I'll be back to help her as soon as we have removed the hate from the group we broke out of prison."

"Aren't ya going ta remove the fear from Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked, confused.

Looking at the still distraught filly, Danny sighed out.

"Removing the fear she took won't fix this. From what I understand, she feeds upon it like a changeling feeds upon love. Right now, she has her fill, and this is probably part of the reason she is able to control herself. If I remove the fear-"

"She will be hungry again," Devora continued, doing so without realizing until after the fact. "And most likely lose control again." She blinked, confused, eyes flashing up at the glowing plant overhead, then back to Danny.

"Exactly," Danny confirmed. "Which is where you, all of you, come in," he aimed at the young shapeshifters around him. "She must learn to control this ability. An ability you share. Maybe not exactly the same, but close enough for it to work… hopefully," he sighed out, a hand placed on the back of his head. "Trying to figure out these powers without a clue of how they work is not easy. Never was, never will be. But at least some lessons can be learned from you. So help her, please," he implored.

Devora and Erlea looked at one another, nodding once as a consensus was reached over the hive mind; the other changelings present nodding as well.

"She… she has done terrible things, harmful things," Devora said and Sweetie Belle flinched as if struck. "But… we know what the hunger feels like, what it can do. If she has the same, it is up to us to help her."

"Like a changeling, but not like a changeling," Erlea spoke up, stepping away from the crowd as she carefully studied Danny; noticing the injury on his arm had already fully healed.

"So you'll help her?" Danny sought clarification.

Erlea looked up, staring at the bright glowing Murgröna in search of answers.

"The Murgröna has awakened," she replied cryptically, slowly looking back down at Danny. "Pulled from its slumber by you. You ask for help, we will answer."

"Eehh…?" Danny uttered, confused. "Is that a yes, or a no?"

"We will help, now and forever," she promised. A promise she knew would be remembered for eternity as her vow spread through the hive mind.

Danny blinked, then blinked again, looking at Erlea in bewilderment, then saw that all changelings present stood with their wings spread out, looking at him with a strange gleam to their eyes.

"Not again," he sighed out, much to the surprise and confusion of everyone else present.

<<>><<>><<>>

They were back at the guest room where this latest disaster had begun, the bed still burned in places, while Sweetie Belle lay in a fetal position on top of it, quietly shivering, while keeping her eyes clenched shut, while her friends lay beside her on the bed.

With her in the room also was Devora while, standing in the hallway outside, were several of the braver changelings standing guard just in case; some of them wearing ill fitting helmets, armor, or a combination of the two.

Pacing around while shooting nervous glances towards Sweetie Belle, Devora quietly muttered to herself, while they waited for Danny to return.

It had been nearly twenty minutes now, counting the time since Danny left to, hopefully, save the last six sick changelings and them returning to the guest chamber. And while she couldn't find any fault in the reasoning behind his choice to leave the clearly unstable pony with them, after somehow managing to break through to her hunger addled mind, this instability made her wary of what could happen at any given time, should Sweetie Belle turn on them again.

So far it seemed unlikely, watching the filly cry and shiver while her friends kept her company after having helped her clean up, before doing so themselves as well. Strangely at ease with their close proximity to their friend, despite what had happened not even an hour ago.

True, she too would stick by the side of her friends no matter what. But it was also a hard taught lesson to all changelings to avoid succumbing to the hunger, because those who did would become a danger to themselves and all around them. Exactly what they witnessed happen today… in a pony no less.

"Like a changeling, but not like a changeling," she mirrored Erlea in a mutter.

"What was that?" asked Scootaloo, ears perking up as she turned her attention towards the pacing shapeshifter.

"Just thinking aloud," Devora replied, not stopping her attempt to wear down a groove in the floor.

" 'bout what?" Apple Bloom joined in on the developing conversation.

Devora didn't answer immediately, completing three more laps before coming to a sudden stop, staring at the empty bookcase.

"Your friend, she has the hunger," she pointed out.

"Ah guess," Apple Bloom replied.

"No, you don't guess," Devora rebuked, finally turning to look at the ponies and shooting a heated glare at the earth pony. "I do not know how, or why. And right now it does not matter. She has the hunger. A hunger we changelings all have. But she is not a changeling. Nothing about this makes any sense!"

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shared a glance, Scootaloo replying with a halfhearted: "Meh," before Apple Bloom returned her focus on Devora.

"That sums us three up rather well, ta be honest," she said, pushing herself up, stretching out her legs, then jumped off the bed and sat down next to the flummoxed changeling. "We've done all kinds of weird things in our search fer our Cutie Marks. It's how Sweetie Belle became a spirit in tha first place."

"Yup," Scootaloo confirmed, then looked off to the side, a hoof pressed against her chin. "Coming to think of it, since that day, we haven't really been crusading for Cutie Marks either."

"Hey, yeah," Apple Bloom shared in her realization.

Looking at her flank, a pensive frown creased Scootaloo's face. "What do ya think a riding a windigo Cutie Mark looks like?"

"Ah dunno? Shouldn't ya already have gotten ya Cutie Mark if riding windigos is yer talent?"

"Pony feathers," Scootaloo muttered as she looked away from her flank.

"The stories were false," Devora said simply, having watched the exchange with growing confusion and bewilderment. "You ponies are even weirder than what we've been told."

Scootaloo shrugged in response. "Just the average Ponyville experience as far as I can tell."

"A lot more ghosts, though," Apple Bloom replied.

"True," Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

"... Crazy," was all Devora muttered as she took a step away from the ponies, instead looking intently at the door. "Shouldn't the human be done by now? I do not want to risk doing anything that might set her off again without him being here," she muttered iritably, not noticing the flinch coming from Sweetie Belle over her words.

Scootaloo, however, did notice and placed a comforting hoof on her friend's back.

"He'll be here soon enough," she said as much to Devora as to Sweetie Belle. "You'll see."

"Hmhmm," Apple Bloom nodded agreeably, then paused as she pressed a hoof against her chin in thought. "Say, Devora. Ah know there's a lot goin' on and all, but Ah was curious about tha' plant growin' all over tha city. Why did it suddenly become all bright like it did?"

Devora looked at the bow wearing pony, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. But before she could even begin to formulate a response, the glyphs surrounding the closed door lit up and the onyx melted away.

"See, there he is already," Scootaloo said confidently, only to falter when instead of Danny, one of the changelings on guard ran in.

"What's going on?" Devora asked, surprisingly calm as she turned to the colt who rushed in.

"It's the Murgröna," the colt gasped out. "It's doing… something. I don't know what."

"WHAT!?" Devora shouted, tuning in on her shared mind, only now hearing the wild chatter lost to her during her brief, but confusing conversation with the ponies.

Not able to learn anything from the multitude of overlapping voices, and no reply from Elrea either, she quickly rushed outside, ran through the endless hallways to the nearest exit, and all but flew outside; coming to a screeching stop the second she did, eyes and mouth wide open as she stared in shock and awe at the pulsating waves of light coming from their ancestral memories growing throughout the city. All moving towards the same area further into the city.

""By the hive," she breathed. "What is going on?"

Author's Note:

Comments

[Cosmic Potato]

The picture looks like sweetie Belle is triggered and about to Omae wa mou shindeiru someone

[Powerdrainer]

10175488
NANI!?

[Pony addiction]

Wow, more?

[Powerdrainer]

10246479
More what?

[ProjectRabbid]

im trying to read the stories side by side now