Wisp

by rockyrobben

The Pony Dilemma

Clarity came in many forms. That day, as the Spirit shimmered towards the rectangles, it found clarity within its mind.

Memories flooded back to... her. Yes, she had a gender. She hovered in the air behind one of the houses, her wisps of magical light weaving around the thatched roof as if they were a host of sparrows enjoying the late afternoon sun. She closed her eyes, embracing the trickle of information that came to her unbidden. She recalled having a body as hard as rock and as immobile as a mountain. Her stone-like form had a name, but it was as if she forgot how to say the words she wanted.

Not that she could speak at all.

"Muuuum, do I have to do this?"

What was that?

"Yes dear, I know you can do it."

Words! How she had missed them! She spiralled around the country hovel squeaking with glee and shot into the sky, her trail sparking with bursts of electric blue.

She materialised around the two creatures that sauntered behind the hovel. One creature dwarfed the other in size, and she held a warm, if sleepy, smile on her muzzle. She pushed some stray grape coloured strands of hair with a hoof and tucked them back into an impressive ponytail. Wrinkles surrounded her eyes, masked by a couple of drooping eyelids. She had a casual sway about her that seemed completely at odds with the grumbling filly, whose dragging hooves left marks in the soft earth.

As the large one's hoof lowered, the Spirit caught sight of those magenta eyes. Light seemed to sparkle off the glossy surface, and the further she looked, the deeper she fell. It was like she could see the beauty of life itself in those glossy black disks hidden within its coloured confines. It stunned her.

The memories struck her hard. She had seen eyes like those before. Those were eyes from a creature she had adored, cherished, and loved. These creatures must be hers. She just knew it. She turned her attention to her own, formless body that sagged under the scrutiny.

She made a decision.

Her form shuddered as wisps orbited her form to settle somewhere different. She squirmed and fidgeted as she thinned out and lengthened. Her consciousness retreated into a sphere as bursts of electricity shocked her senses. She waved a hoof in front of her new face and watched the wisps race to fill in the gaps. She felt weight -- actual weight! -- on her head and flank as wave after wave of wisps stiffened into a mass of violet hair.

She was one of them! She squealed with joy, almost crying as she felt her mouth move for the first time. She could even make noise! She glowed brightly as the wisps huddled closer and closer giving her ethereal form a defined edge. Blue sparks arced over her body so quickly that her senses saw it as a short haired coat. She was beautiful!

She made her first movements, gliding along the ground with hoof steps that failed to match the pace she set. She could see what resembled muscles bunching and relaxing under her fur! She shook her head and laughed as her mane slapped her in the face. She admired the strands tucked into the braid. When could she achieve this level of detail? But I don't want the ponytail. Suddenly, her hair fell about her shoulders, creating a fluffy cloud of violet light as she hopped in place.

She had made her first real decision! She was a pony! A cold shiver ran through her, agitating her wisps. She watched the sparks on her coat settle down as she tried to rid herself of a curious tightness in her chest. I am a pony! This is the right decision! Somehow, her words sounded less convincing as she repeated it.

She chose to ignore the tightness in her belly. The distraction came quickly when the Spirit found herself face-to-face with the big pony, whose gaze focused on something behind her. Her eyes were just so large...and pretty. She could almost see herself in them, as if they were big, glossy mirrors.

I want the big one's eyes! She exhaled. A small cloud of wisps wafted from her mouth and into the breeze, its colour quickly fading into the air itself.

She floated over to a window behind the mother and child. A hazy reflection of a blue pony with its eyes closed greeted her. Funny, I thought ponies had to use their eyes to see... But that did not quench her excitement as she opened them. Two magenta irises encircled their own little void. It was as if she had captured the thing that had kept her prisoner for eons. Haha! Let's see how you like it!

"...I can't!" cried the little one, startling the Spirit out of her reverie. She had the same structure: four legs, a body and a head. Only she was smaller. Her coat was a pale yellow, which was interesting. Did she mean to be a different colour to the big one? Was that deliberate?

"You can, just focus," cooed the mother. Why was the larger one just watching as the little one spread out with her head down? What would she gain? The mother placed a hoof to her mouth and stifled a yawn.

The young one released a whine that caught in the back of her throat. She stared at a patch of dirt as she panted heavily. She rubbed her forehead with a shoulder, dampening her wavy coat. Her raspberry mane fared no better, dangling lifelessly down her neck. "But I can't. I'll never get my cutie mark," she said as tears beaded in the corners of her eyes.

The Spirit stepped closer, confused as to the feeling of distress that weighed heavy on her. Were the little one's eyes leaking? The mother's expression had not turned to one of horror, so was this normal? Why did she not do something about it? The Spirit tried to place a comforting hoof on the filly, but it just faded through.

Large, globular tears fell down the filly's cheeks as she strained. The Spirit floated one way and another, unable to silence a voice in her head that screamed for her to do something. Her body itched all over, as if restless, making her uncomfortable. There must be something she could do about it! They were her ponies after all.

"You can Rose," replied the mother in a soothing tone. "Just feel the soil and the life within, and give it a gentle push. Make the life feel secure in your presence and encourage it to grow. The magic will come."

Magic. That word had once held great importance to her. Her mind delved into the fog that was her memory. The wisps...are magic. More specifically, they were pure magical energy.

And she was a conduit: a master of the arcane. She flowed with its essence, and lived in its realm.

I am Magic.

Suddenly, a beige aura appeared around the little one. The mother paid no mind to it, but, with a simulated heart aflutter, Magic jumped a few feet into the air to escape its grasp. It was...It was sucking wisps out of the air and into the little one!

She was holding the magic in her body! Both of them were. How had she not seen this before? The little motes of energy zipped through their structures in an orderly fashion as if they were following predetermined tracks. Blood. It's in their blood. Words failed to form in her mind. So that was why she was drawn to them. These creatures were like her!

But why could they not see her? They were partially made from her!

Cold heat smouldered within Magic, pouring out energy as a tempest of light. See this!

Nothing. They were both absorbed with the small patch of earth before the filly.

"I'm doing it!" cried the little one.

"Keep going!" cried the mother.

SEE ME! Damn it, I belong with you! Magic took a step further and into the aura.

She screamed. The wisps that carried her sound simply disappeared into the light...along with her hoof. She watched, helpless, as the filly's aura snatched her very essence from her consciousness's grasp. She quickly pulled herself backwards, her body collapsing back into a cloud.

"Rose! Oh my gosh! Rose, open your eyes!" The large one's eyes could not get more oval if they tried. Her smile widened as her crinkled skin lit up. A single rose, on a stem that weaved left and right in its quest to reach the sky, unfurled its petals and basked in the adoration of the two ponies.

Heart beating frantically, Magic took an unconscious step backwards as she stared at the mother. It almost killed me!
"I did that! I did that!" The little pony hopped around the taller one, all the while laughing and smiling.

Magic scuttled frantically with her hooves but moved smoothly away as the little one approached. That thing... used me! She's not a creature for adoration, she's a...she's a...

The thoughts of the little one absorbing her with that aura sickened her. Her essence, her very soul had been pushed through her fore-hooves just to make that thorny monstrosity! Not only had she been used, she had been wasted. Her back deformed as it sunk into the wall of the cottage.

They don't even care!

"Rose, look at your flank," said the mother with teary eyes.

The little one inhaled so much that Magic thought that she had come to finish the job. Magic's entire body buzzed as she kept her gaze focused on the little filly.

"I have a Cutie Mark? I have a rose Cutie Mark!" She laughed and ran to her mother, who wrapped the filly in a loving embrace. Now the mother was leaking tears? Why?

"I'm so proud of you!" said the mother softly into the filly's ear. "And it's such a magnificent rose as well."

"I know, and I did it!"

Magic snorted. No, I did it. You used me!

But she could not keep a smile from her face. What was so joyous about watching these two hug? She glanced back at the rose and caught her breath. Each petal looked so frail and delicate, but, they curled around each other, bolstering its form. Her mind numbed as her gaze fell into the perfect redness. Even the stem had a rugged attractiveness, as if it was determined to display its art, no matter what obstacle stood in its way.

She shivered as she saw her wisps flow out of its roots to begin the return journey to the base of the magical column. If she had not reacted, that could have been her!

Her form shuddered uncontrollably as she forced herself to watch the hugging couple. She huddled by the wall, tucking her hind legs to her chest and tried not to think about what happened. This was too much. She cursed her foggy mind and those memories that seemed just out of reach.

She fled the scene, her tail and hind legs disintegrating into the cloud as she ascended to the skies.

---

She was far from the magical column --or 'Well' as her mind told her-- that erupted from the centre of the forest. But the ponies of the village seemed oblivious to its magnificence. Why could they not see the wisps --fresh from the well-- that weaved purple trails through the blue sky like a spider's web?

She recoiled as her gaze crossed a bright yellow orb that lit up the sky. She grunted. Even their world seemed to be ignorant of all the gifts given to it. It just took and took, and would just keep on taking. How was that fair?

She whizzed closer to the burning disk of light, her body losing all form, but seemed to get no closer. She stopped when the clouds covered the land below like a soft, fluffy blanket.

A small trail of golden light hung from the giant orb of magical power. It was so slight that she had to squint just to see a dim glow. What was that cord of light? It fell far to the north, where she could just see the top of another Well.

"Just...a little...higher."

What? They fly too? Magic shifted back into her pony form and inspected the intruder as he ascended to her level. Cyan feathers strained as if they were stretching to catch as much air as possible. He flapped with considerable speed as the rest of his body hung limp by his shoulders. Sweat marred his brow and pulled his golden mane over his face, covering his eyes.
So they needed wings to fly then? I must look silly without them then. She thought about adding a set of her own, but flapping them looked like too much effort. Plus, why follow their conventions?

His chest heaved as the pegasus drew in each rasping breath, strengthening a faint blue aura around him that could envelop the filly's entirely. Magic had to hover a good pony's length away as she watched it suck in the few wisps in the air. It was as if the there was less air entirely.

The wisps he gathered flowed straight through his form, not held in his blood like his earth pony cousins, and out into his wings, forming huge cyan replicas that overlaid the originals.

He was losing more wisps than his aura could gather.

Magic snarled. Go on, fall! These creatures were dangerous to her. One less pegasus could only help her, right?

She whizzed around him until she could see the wrinkles in his scrunched shut eyelids. His chest rose and fell lethargically as he focused all his energy into maintaining the magical flow. Her heart leapt as he released a gargled cry of pure determination.

How could she just sit there and watch one of her creatures suffer? She shook the thought out of her head. These creatures
could hurt her! Why should she lose limbs just for his petty --and worthless-- ambition?

Speaking of losing hooves...she checked the injury and saw her hoof that should not be there. Funny...when did I gather the wisps to replace those I lost?

The pegasi's glowing wings exploded with freed energy as his aura failed. The pegasi tumbled.

No!

She dived through him, going formless as she did so. But he had no aura, so every attempt to replenish him failed; she could no more push wisps into him than a rabbit could push a mountain. He had to take them.

They fell through the cloud cover. Suddenly, she saw a sea of green rush up to greet them. Even as an ethereal being, the sight turned her stomach.

His nostrils flared as his lungs expanded to inhale the thick, saturated air. Magic saw his emerald eyes snap open.

For the first time, she panicked. Her mind told her to flee, but gave no directions. Part of her wanted to stop falling, another wanted to fall faster, and a small, fatalistic part just wanted to pray.

Suddenly, his body erupted in a blue aura. Magic screamed as she froze in place. Her mind stuttered with daunting comprehension as half of her being disappeared into the blue light.

She looked below and saw, to her horror, the pegasus show off with an acrobatic flip as he righted himself. "So close!" he screamed. "I almost touched the heavens!"

"No way!" came a cry from below.

"Yes way! I said I could fly high!"

What remained of her whizzed and bristled within Magic. Her form started glowing and energy sparked around her as the wisps clashed and banged into each other with increasing enthusiasm. Her form expanded as she let out a wordless cry. She wanted to beat that pony senseless. He made her care for him, and then he almost used her up. And for what? Some stupid game! This was abuse of magic! This was abuse of her! They paid absolutely no consideration for her. He's stupid...He's...He...

He had almost sent her back to the void!

Her mind lurched as a wracking sob echoed throughout her being, disturbing the wisps that remained. He almost sent me back! She fell to the ground and ran. Her heart beat against its ethereal prison as she dashed into a wall of gingerbread bakery where wafts of sugar and sweetness tickled her nostrils.

Darkness...blessed darkness wrapped around her shuddering form like a blanket. As the tension abated, her mind let go and she wept, too distracted to note the odd architecture she was in.

She was alone, so completely isolated, and nothing more than energy to those around her. Was that what she was: a slave to their whims? If only they could see her. Then they would know that they hurt her.

Despair gripped her thoughts as she wailed into the comforting not-void-dark-darkness while her body replenished its loss.

Comments

[madsamurai]

You have no comments. This story needs comments :)
Haven't finished it yet, but I like the idea so far. Its a cool exploration of consciousness.

[Shadowshame]

5250282
I absolutely agree that there should be more comments here