An Elegy of Enlightenment

by Algoortheviking

Chapter two: The Amulet

I never would have thought that this hill was so large. Following Spectra down to the airship really put that into perspective. The metal beams of the envelope’s structure were enormous to say the least. They were stained a dark red from both the fires that scorched them and the rust brought on by the weather. The envelope looked to be around twenty meters tall, though a lot of the bottom was crushed into the ground. So I expect that it was at least double that when it was still in one piece.

“Hey, Spectra, you know a lot about this thing right? How big is it exactly?” I inquired.

“The Knight-class usually has an envelope that is two-hundred and thirty meters long and a diameter of thirty-eight meters wide. That’s about seven-hundred and fifty feet in length and one-hundred twenty-five feet in width.” Spectra replied, almost as if it was child’s play to her. “The cabin hull varies from ship to ship, but it’s usually rounds to one-fourth the length of the envelope and four-fifths the diameter in width. The height is dependent on how many decks the hull has, though they too tend to average out about twelve meters high.”

“Uh ok then, I’ll just go with really big,” not wanting to get into a math lecture with her.

Standing right beside one of the outer beams, I poked my head pass it and looked around at what supposable the inside would have been like. It was phenomenal, though parts of the frame had collapsed and the ground was a sea of twisted metal, machine parts, and tall grass; most of the envelope retained its basic shape. Steel cables and chains hung from many secondary frame structures while parts of the bridging that ran through the center still remained suspended. There was also a ton of pipes and cables that where left bolted to the support structures.

“Wow, this is amazing! I can only imagine what it was like in here back when it was all functional,” I blurted out, unable to contain my excitement.

“It was loud and very noisy; the air inside was hot and often times humid, and the whole place reeked of oil,” Spectra commented in a less enthusiastic tone.

“Wow! Way to kill the moment.” Suddenly something caught my eye down towards the middle section of the structure. It looked a lot different than the rest of the envelope. It was a large platform in the middle while the frame was altered differently, almost as if this part of the ship opened up. And there, lying outside of the main structure was another platform. It was wide and thick however it looked like it would fit that opening in the frame perfectly. As we got closer I could see large gears exposed underneath the burnt wood deck.

“Hey Spectra, what is this thing here?” I asked as I flew up and landed onto the platform. As I landed on it, Spectra teleported up here with me and gave it a quick glance.

“This here is the flight deck,” Spectra replied. “When not in use, they fold up and blend in with the rest of the envelope. But if we need to launch aircraft or pegasi squadrons, we open these flight decks and it gives us a stage to use.”

Spectra then turned her attention to this weird looking steel plate that was slightly elevated off the main deck. There looked to be a metal grove under it that extended strait forward to the edge of the flight deck. She then looked over my way and grinned.

“Autumn, come here for a sec,” she said wearing smirk.

“Yeah, what is it?” I asked knowing she had something to show me.

“Stand right there on that platform and do as I say,” she replied vaguely.

“Um, why?”

“Just do it, I promise it won’t hurt you or anything,” Spectra said, eyeing the large metal disc.

“Alright, fine.” I stepped onto the center of the plate. Examining it, I noticed there were some elevated markers and indentions on it.

“Ok now I want you to face forward, towards the front of the ship. See that rail embedded in the deck, under the platform you are on. You need to align yourself to face the way it runs,” Spectra explained, though her intentions were still unclear to me.

As she said, I faced forward, parallel to the envelope and the rest of the ship.

“Ok, now look at the plate. You should see some grooves where you can slide your hooves into. I need you to spread your legs apart so you can fit into those grooves. You’ll also want to lean forward and keep your legs strait,” Spectra said, pointing to the specific spots. “You’ll want to keep your legs apart and your spine and neck aligned. Think of it as if you’re about to dash off a starting line for a race.”

Doing as she said, I positioned myself to match her instructions. Legs spread, back strait and neck aligned. “Is this right?” I asked. This wasn’t exactly a comfortable position.

“Good. Now I need you to raise you wings upward but at the same time keep your joints bent and tilt them to align with the angle of your body. This is the difference between soaring through the sky or having your wings ripped out of their sockets,” Spectra explained, which was a bit unsettling. Despite how ridiculous I felt, I did what she said, tilting my wings upwards while keeping them bent.

Spectra then started to examine me, glossing over every detail in my posture. “Sorry, but why is any of this important?” I asked her. She continued to just check me out and then she just gave me a smile.

“Excellent, you might actually make a good combat pegasus someday. The whole point is of this stance is to endure break-neck acceleration and not get injured. What you’re standing on is a pegasus launch rail, or what some of us like to call it, the pony catapult. It’s design to take pegasi from zero to a hundred and sixty miles per hour within three seconds.” Spectra explained. I was still trying to take it all in.

Spectra then trotted over to a control panel of some sort and put her hoof on a large lever. “This allows our combat pegasi to engage in a method called terminal vectoring, using terminal velocity as a means to fly at speeds which pegasi normally can’t achieve. Of course this only gives the pegusus a quick jump start; the rest is up to a pegasi’s own knowledge and skill.”

“And now rookie, you’re ready to take flight!” She said with a big smile on her face.

“Wait, what, no don’t -” Before I could finish, Spectra pulled down on the lever. I could hear the rapid clicking of cogs and gears’ turning as the lever was pulled all the way down.
“AHH!” Screaming as loud as I could, I suddenly felt movement as I went flying… backwards? Stumbling backwards in a panic and falling down on the deck, I realized that the platform didn’t move but instead I lost balance expecting to be flung forward.

Spectra also hit the floor, clutching her side and laughing the whole time. “Ahhaha! Oh my God, that has to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time!” She was wiping a tear from her eye. “Your face is what made it priceless!”

My heart was racing, I was scared to death. “You nearly gave me a heart attack, you know!”

Spectra started to pull herself up, still giggling. “Sorry but I couldn’t resist. We use to do that all the time to the new recruits.”

“And what if that thing had actually launched? What then,” I exclaimed still mad at her little scare tactic. I’ll probably look back at this one day and laugh; on second thought I don’t think I will.

“Well for starters, there’s no power; and if it did somehow go off, well let’s just say that the ground would be painted an ugly shade of brown and I would be wanted for ponyslaughter. But like I said, without power that thing won’t move an inch.”

I still wasn’t as amused, or more so that I didn’t want to admit that it was a bit amusing. “Uh my coat isn’t brown, it’s maple.”

“Yeah, yeah, come on lets head over to the bridge,” she said as she teleported back down onto the ground. I just hoped off the edge since it wasn’t that high up.

Drifting away from the envelope now, we made our way over to the severed part of the hull. It too was massive. Spectra was making her way towards the front of the ship. Even I could tell that we were reaching the front as there was a giant convex window that wrapped around the front and bottom of the bridge. Mid ways ran another metal beam that divided the window into two levels; but when I looked inside, it was one giant room with a second story deck towards the back.

Spectra teleported inside, however I decided to fly over and enter through the roof; which was mostly absent. I just hovered above for a moment looking down at the sheer size of it all. This was the command bridge!

“Holy crap, this thing is huge! My house could fit in there, no, two could; easily.” I began my descent. Looking around I noticed that the floor cut off about half way towards the front of the window. It rounded out perfectly to match the curvature of the front of the frame; so was this a design aspect? As I got closer I could see a safety rail lining the front.
After landing on the main deck, I quickly cantered over to the edge and looked down over the railing. All I saw was dirt, grass and debris. But what if this thing was in the air, I would be able to see what was directly beneath the ship. I then looked around at the rest of the massive window that wrapped around the bridge.

“Amazing; so it gave you a one-hundred eighty degree view of the front of the ship. It must have been spectacular.” Suddenly something caught my eye, and I could feel myself tingling with excitement. To the left of me was a console station, though there were many different stations around this bridge; I had a strong feeling as to what this was. Trotting over to it I walked around the back, I was almost giggling as I examined the station.

There was what remained of a large chair; it looked like it would have been comfy. But I was more interested in console in front of it. There were gauges, switches, and dials everywhere. There were a bunch of levers on a lower panel, but what stood out to me the most was the giant wheel in the middle. It looked like the ones found on old sailing ships, though parts of the wood where burnt, it was still in pretty good shape. Then I noticed a second one to the side of the chair. This one was slightly smaller and didn’t have those big nobs like the main one did. I was almost positive that this was the pilot seat.

“Hey, Spectra! Come here for a second,” I shouted since I didn’t actually pay attention as to where she went. Suddenly there was a bright flash right beside me and out of nowhere, Spectra suddenly appeared.

“Yeah, what is it?” she asked, looking to see what I found.

“I’m almost certain of this, but I wanted to be sure. This here is where you fly the ship, correct?”

She took a quick look and grinned. “Yes, this is the flight controls for the aircraft.”

“Ok so I can kinda figure that this big wheel turns the ship, right? What does that other one do?” I ask eagerly.

Spectra just nodded. “You are correct. The main wheel controls the rudder, which turns the ship left or right. That other wheel on the left controls the elevators, either increasing or decreasing the rate of climb. Those levers on that panel right of the pilot seat are the individual throttles for the engines.”

“Wait, are you saying that you actually know how to fly one of these things? That you’re actually a pilot?” I was so intrigued to say the least.

Spectra just smiled back. “Fly, yes. Pilot, no. I know how to fly and maneuver it in the open sky as well as how to perform the proper start-up procedures; but ask me to land, dock, or anything advance like that then there’s gonna be problems.”

I walked up to the wheel and placed my hoof on it, turning it slowly. I then looked at all the different gauges, seeing what I could make sense of. “Spectra, I think, I think I might actually want to be an airship pilot.”

Spectra just laughed a little but then she looked confused “Wait, you’re serious? You actually want to pilot airships?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, smiling as rotated the wheel.

“But you’re a pegasus; a pony with wings,” she said, stating the obvious.

“Yes.”

“A pony that is capable of flight independently.”

“Uh Huh.”

“And you want to fly an airship, despite already being able to fly on your own?”

“Is there something wrong with that?” I asked, since it didn’t seem to click for her.

“No, there’s nothing wrong with it. I just figure that since you can fly there was no sense in why you would want to… never mind, let’s just get moving,” Spectra replied before turning around and headed towards the back of the bridge. I was serious though, I think I might actually want to fly these things as a career. I know that weather companies in large cities use airships, so I can gear my academic studies in that direction instead.

Following Spectra, we soon exited the bridge and entered this long hallway on the second deck. The fire damage was much more present here as I could see where parts of the steel had started to melt. We had to tread much more carefully here since the wood flooring was reduced to ashes, exposing many of the pipes and cables under the floorboards. The corridor was too small to fly through safely, so we just had to watch our step.

“Hey, Spectra, where are we headed to now?” I asked since this was one area I didn’t mind skipping. She just continued a little further and then stopped at a bulkhead door.
“The place in my dream, Autumn. This is my room aboard this ship.” Spectra then grasped the handle and started to pull it backwards. However the door didn’t open. She then got on the other side and tried pushing the handle instead. “Damn, it won’t budge; it’s rusted shut!”

I stepped in to help, grabbing onto whatever I could and pulling back. Moments after, the door started to squeak as the metal hinges began to loosen up. Suddenly we managed to get the door open. Spectra entered first and I followed shortly after. It was a mess, most of the furniture was either halfway melted or just a pile ash. There was debris all over the place; a lot of it looked like it was actually parts of the ceiling.

“So where is this amulet of yours?” I asked Spectra. Since it was her dream, she would know what to look for.

“It’s never in the same spot, but it always appeared in this room. Of course that’s assuming it even exists, which I doubt it even does.”

I continued to look around. “Well you came here in search of it, so you obviously think it exists.”

“It’s just an annoying dream that I keep having. I came here with you because I thought it would be a fun little adventure. That’s all. I didn’t expect to find it, but I wanted to confirm my suspicions and be done with it. You know the feeling. It’s like when you lock you door to your house, but after you leave you can’t remember if you locked it or not. And it bugs you until you return and check. That’s all this is,” Spectra explained as she shifted through some cabinet draws.

I was looking around the bed. All that was left of the mattress was a bunch of spring coils and pile of burnt wool. “So this necklace of yours, what does it look like?”

Spectra was rummaging through a wall safe by now. “I don’t know, if I recall, it was made out of gold and had a wing pattern going on.”

“Large spot for a gemstone in the middle?”

“Uh, yeah; how did you know that?” Spectra was confused by my statement and I didn’t blame her. I was just as confused.

“I think I might have just found your mysterious accessory piece,” I said looking down at a gold amulet lying inside the bed springs.

Spectra rushed over and took a look for herself. She reached in and pulled it out of the mattress frame. Examining it, she had a look of disbelief on her face. “Well I’ll be damn, it actually exist.”

We exited the airship shortly after discovering the amulet. The sun was already starting to set, so we made our way back to town, stopping right outside the main gate of Chesternut. Spectra was wearing the amulet and to be honest, it suited her quite well. It was a bit strange after we found the amulet though; for starters neither, one of us expected to find it. It did give of a slight sense of magical energy and according to Spectra, there was no record of such an item stored on the ship. We did have fun, it was a nice little adventure and a great way to break the day to day routine. I only wish that the airship was flyable because now I can’t stop thinking about being a pilot. But all in all I enjoyed today.

“So what are you going to do now?” I asked. Spectra’s mind was set on discovering what the amulet actually was.

“Well I guess I’m going to do some research on this thing and see if I can’t find something out.” She replied, examining every detail of it. “I’ll be sure to let you know if I discover anything.” Spectra then turned around and started to head back into the wild lands.

“Wait, it’s almost nightfall! You aren’t seriously going to head back out there are you?” I asked worryingly. I mean I don’t know where she lives but I kinda figured it was somewhere in town.

“Yeah, it’s late so I don’t want to waste too much time getting back,” she replied.

“But it’s dangerous out there. If you want, you can stay at my place tonight, I don’t mind,” however Spectra just kept on walking.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine. I am a soldier after all, I can fend for myself. I’ll see you later, ok,” Spectra said as she started to disappear into the distance.

The moon was already starting to rise so I decided to just head back home and get some sleep. Hm, I wonder, are the airships used by weather squads as big as the Sir Dante? I sure hope so, I can’t wait to try my hoof at flying one someday. I continued my walk back home to get a good night sleep. I can’t wait to hear what Spectra discovers about that thing. It did look really cool and rare, so I can’t wait to find out more about it.

The next day, after work, I headed up to the usual meeting spot by the airship. But this time Spectra wasn’t there waiting for me. “Spectra, hey Spectra, are you around? Where are you?” I shouted, looking around for any sign of her presence. However I got no response; but I didn’t think too much about it. Instead I just flopped down on the grass to take a nap, and when Spectra shows up she’ll most likely be lingering over me. I closed my eyes and drifted off, listening to the wind as it blew through the valley.

The sound of cicada could be heard off in the distance. I open my eyes to see an orange sky and the sun was starting to set. However Spectra never showed up today. That was a bit unsettling, but I’m sure she is deeply immersed in research and was unable to make it today. At least that’s all I hope it was. I made my way back to town and I’ll try again tomorrow.

---

I sat upon the hill top, today was a no show again, it’s been this way for the past week. I don’t know why but I was feeling a bit empty on the inside. Why does this always happen; I start to make a new friend and then they end up leaving. It was the same thing back at the academy; all my friends lived in different parts of the country or a completely different part of the world. As for anypony who I knew in town, they would say hi occasionally, but I never did have a true friend to hang out with. And the few that would hang out with me from time to time eventually became too busy with their jobs or ended up getting married and starting families. I was always on the back burner, often over shadowed or forgotten completely. It was a bit sickening, always having to watch my friends go. But this time I thought it would be different, “IT’S NOT FAIR!” Shouting did no good, but it helped me feel a little better or at least I thought it did.

I waited, and waited, and waited; but she never showed up. Did something happen to her? Did she just leave now that she had that amulet? Did she ever see me as a friend, or even as an acquaintance? It’s not knowing that bothers me the most.
“The sun is starting to set, I guess I’ll just try again tomorrow,” I sighed, getting up and making my way back home. Half way down the road, I stopped and took a quick look back; hoping I would spot her, there was no one there.

Reaching my house I looked up at the dark night sky, the moon was now rising above the ocean; its reflection glistened brilliantly off of the pitch black water. It was a peaceful night. I entered my house, dropped my stuff and climbed strait into bed. I wasn’t in the mood for dinner tonight. Pulling the covers over me, I closed my eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Knock knock!

Was somepony at my door, it wasn’t a subtle knocking either. I pulled myself up and glanced over at the door. I was still groggy, rubbing my eyes so as not to fall back asleep. Knock knock knock! There it was again; I peeked over at the window. It was still dark out. I got out of bed, the cold floor and the cool air inside the house made me shiver. I never did like the cold.

Knock knock!

“I’m coming!” I yelled as I walked around my small table in the middle of the room. Taking a glance down at the utensils, I picked up a butter knife and tucked it close to me with my wing, just in case. As I opened the door, I just stood there, unable to believe what I was seeing.

“Spectra? What are you doing here? More so, how did you know where I live?” I was shocked to see her, here this late in the night.

“I’m sorry. I had nopony else to turn to. Please, I need a place to lay low for the night!” she begged with shine in her eyes, illuminated by the moonlight.

“Absolutely, come on in.” She dashed inside without a moment’s hesitation. Her body looked to be bruised up quite a bit. Spectra looked like she had just came out of a battle, and by her looks, I’d wager it wasn’t good.

Spectra suddenly started using her magic, locking the door and closing all of the shutters. The sound of metal and wooden locks filled the room as Spectra sealed us in. She was acting strange, and it was starting to scare me a bit.

“Can I get you anything; some coffee or some tea perhaps?”

“No, I’m good. Thank you so much by the way. I’m sorry I disturbed you so late in the night,” Spectra replied. She was shaken up quite a bit.

“Are you ok, what happened to you?” I asked since I was now getting worried about the whole situation. Something bad was going on, I could feel it.

Spectra just sat there for a moment, catching her breath.

“It happened early on in the morning after we found the amulet. This creature came out of nowhere and attacked me. I couldn’t beat it, I couldn’t hide from it; all I could do was run. It hunted me down all week; and earlier on tonight, that damn thing found me at the airship. I used the wreckage to my advantage and trapped the thing under some debris; however the bastard doesn’t know how to die!” Spectra explained frantically. I didn’t know what to think of the situation. Her ears where twitching, jumpy at every little sound.

“So what is this thing-”

“shhh” Spectra whispered as she dropped to the floor, backing into the corner by my bed. She was motioning me to do the same. I did as she said, backing up into the other corner of my house, away from the kitchen and the front door. Something was wrong; I don’t know how but I could sense it, something evil. Everything was quiet, dark, and disturbing. I could hear something faint; it was like a collection of whispers rambling on. Whatever it was, it was right outside my house.

There was a loud crash coming from my kitchen window. Glass breaking; the wooden shutters splintering!

Spectra looked over at me, horrified. The look of true terror was clear in her shrinking pupils, and her nervous jittering. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I pulled you into this mess.”

I was really scared now, glancing back over at the window. How long until what ever is out there gets in here? In panic, my wing slipped, dropping the knife. It echoed as it bounced of the stone flooring. I jumped out of the corner and got as close as to Spectra as I could. “What is that?!” I asked eagerly, watching the shutter as it was being smashed from outside.

“Listen to me! When it gets in, I’ll distract it. When you get an opening, I want you to get out of here as fast as you can. Do you understand me Autumn!” Spectra ordered as she took up a defensive stance. I heard her, but can she hold this thing off? What if it comes after me when I make a run for the door? Will I even stand a chance at making it that far!

Suddenly the window shattered. The room grew dark as a black cloud quickly filled the room, taking form right in front of my eyes. It had the shape of a pony but it was dark, cloaked in tattered black robes. The hood was up but even then I should have been able to see a face, there was nothing but darkness under the wraps. It had a form, but felt empty. It was like a ghost, but it was physically in existence.

Spectra and I just stood the in shock. The air around us grew cold, and that thing just stared at us. It breathed slowly as it stood there. It felt like time froze over, it was almost paralyzing.

“AUTUMN, NOW!” Spectra shouted as her horn glowed a brilliant white as she casted a spell. It formed a transparent block out of pure light, covered in runes and shining like a star. Spectra’s horn busted into a brilliant glow as she smashed the creature strait into the floor, crushing it under the magic block of light. The whole house shook as the cube fought to hold the monster down, the magic energy was humming loudly as light flashed from the spell block.

I ready myself to make a dash for the door but then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Hanging above the mantle of the fireplace was an old family crest with a pair of rapiers crossed behind it. I dashed to the mantle instead and pulled on the bronze hilt of one of the swords.

“Autumn, what are you doing? I told you to run!”

“I can’t leave you here to fight this thing alone!” I yelled as I fought to dislodge the sword from the brackets. The crest rattled against the wall the more I tried to shake the blade loose.

“Autumn, I can’t hold the spell for much longer, you need to leave now!” Spectra shouted. Her horn was flickering has her magical energy was depleting.

Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise. The room grew dark again as the spell cube shattered into multiple light fragments. I suddenly felt myself falling backwards, pulling the crest down with me. I could hear the sweet sound of scraping steel as the blade slipped free from its brackets.

Spectra collapsed from exhaustion, that spell took a lot out of her, not to mention that she was already in a poor state when she arrived. The monster slowly picked itself up off the floor. Standing up on all fours, it turned its attention to Spectra and started to make its way to her.

“Get away from her!” Jumping in between the two, the sword clutched between my teeth; I swung as hard as I could. The blade screeched loudly as it sliced its way across the monster’s torso. My swing sent the monster flying backwards strait into the kitchen. “Not so tough are now, are you? Prick!” However, my cockiness soon turned to pure disbelief as I watched the monster stand back up.

“This can’t be. That strike should have cut his chest right open, yet it’s acting like its nothing but a scratch.” Clutching the hilt tighter, I jumped over the table and went in for the next attack. This one was going straight through the bastard’s heart. “Let’s see you survive this!”

I swung the blade in a stabbing motion towards its shoulder. Suddenly there was a loud cling as my sword strike came to a halt. It stopped the blade with its hoof, pressing against the tip like it was a stick. Feeling a gust build up around us, I was immediately thrown backwards by a wave of pressurized air; a magical attack from what I figured. Regaining my balance, I could see it lift its hind leg in an attempt to kick me. Acting quickly, I block the kick with the blade; my hind leg pushing against the lower tip of the blade to support parry. I could feel the force of the kick vibrating through the sword.

Suddenly there was a wretched sound of metal shattering. My leg began to slip forward; I lost balance, watching as shards of steel went flying everywhere. “What the hell?” I then felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. My body, thrown backwards into the wall, let out a loud thud as I dropped to the floor. Gasping for air, I was unable to breath from the blow of that kick. There was the distinct sound of metal ringing trough out the room as the rapier rolled across the ground; the blade was now snapped in half.

“Autumn, no!” The creature turned its attention back to Spectra, seemingly to only be interested in her. It ignored me this whole time until I attacked it; but why? Why was it after her?

Spectra’s eyes were no longer showing fear, they now exhibited pure rage as she brought herself back onto her hooves. “Alright! You want to fight? Then fight me!” Using her hind legs to propel her forward; Spectra bolted across the room, swinging her right hind leg straight into the creatures head. It was flung strait into the cabinets, killing my dinner plates in the process.

I focused on trying to get myself up. That kick, I was in so much pain, my stomach felt like it had been hit by a brick. It was still hard to breath. Spectra and the monster continued their fight in the kitchen as I attempted to pick myself up off the ground. My legs felt like they were about to give way under me. It took me a moment to catch my breath and ease the pain. My head down, breathing heavily, I had no idea how I could help. I barely had the strength to stand on my own.

Spectra was fast, she was agile, and she was ferocious. However she was also tiring out. If she can’t beat this thing in hoof to hoof combat then I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance in the state I’m in. The sword! I glanced over to my side and there it was, lying with in my reach. Its blade was broken in two, but it was still usable. I didn’t have the energy to remove the other rapier from the crest. Still a damaged weapon is better than no weapon at all.

My small table split inwards, right down the center as Spectra’s body fell onto it. She was running out of energy. The monster, now towering over her, was moving in closer. Spectra’s was watching as the creature drew closer but then her focus suddenly shifted to what was behind the it. Using my wings and what little energy I had left to get the advantage. I was now in perfect position; directly behind and above its backside.

“Spectra, now! Give it all you got!”

Kicking off of the top of the wall, I dashed strait for my target. Driving the blade all the way through; stabbing it right below the nape, strait through its torso. The creature let out a loud, ear-cringing scream unlike any living thing. It was like listening to somepony scraping their hoof against a chalkboard.

I couldn’t bare it. Releasing the sword hilt and clasping my ears, I fell of the monsters back and crashed onto the floor. As the creature screamed, Spectra made her final strike. She leaped off of the table and pointer her horn up, strait at the monsters chest. Despite the screaming I could also hear the rapid buildup of magic in Spectra’s horn; it shined as bright as the sun.

The room flashed as Spectra let off a blast of pure light, piercing straight through the monster. It was a beam of pure magic, cutting its way through anything. It only lasted for a second, but I could tell it dealt the killing blow. The monster began to glow as bright as the spell, imploding in on itself and bursting into a cloud of black mist. The silence was abruptly interrupted as the rapier fell from the smoke and hit the floor, ringing throughout the room as it rocked back and forth. Spectra following suit, collapsed onto the ground.

I just laid there on the floor, still in disbelief as to what I witnessed. I have never seen or heard of anything like that in my life. “What was that thing?” It was almost as if it was a wraith, but that can’t even be possible, can it? Can there truly be such things as ghost in this world.

Suddenly there was loud a bang coming from the door, splintering the frame. Something else was trying to break the door down. “Oh God, not another one.” I muttered at the thought of it, unable to gather any strength to defend myself. The door suddenly busted open and large stallion ran into the room, wielding a large wood splitting axe. It was Mr. Clover with a few other neighbors rushing in behind him.

“Autumn! Are you here! Autumn, Answer me!” he shouted, ready to swing that large axe of his. He then glanced down; spotting me on the ground, seeing the look of horror on my face with tears running from my eyes. He dropped the axe on the floor and kneeled down in front of me. There was relief in his eyes. “Are you ok? Where does it hurt?” he asked as he examined me over; noticing all the cuts and bruises along my body.

I tried to bring myself to speak. “I… I don’t-”... I was unable to speak, only to start bursting into tears. I wasn’t a crier, but I could not stop crying. Mr. Clover just pulled me in close with a big embrace. “Everything’s fine, you’re safe now, darling. I promise.” He said with a strong and protective yet soothing voice, holding me close. The tears just kept flowing as I buried my face in his chest.

“I thought I was going to die! I really thought I was going to die!” still huddling in fear in between his arms, “I don’t want to die!”

“It’s ok; nothing is going to hurt you now. I’m here to protect you. You’re safe.”