Where the Red Shards Stick

by Weezel Soup

Ch 0: Fragments from a Lost Journal

I finally made it to Scorpen's kingdom at the edge of Tartarus again and I have to say I didn't miss it. Not that I was away for a long time, but even if I was away from it for a century, I don't think I'd ever miss this dismal place. Everything is as barren and dead of life as always. Somehow it's still an improvement from what that tyrant Discord has done to Equestria.

Speaking of him, Scorpen says he has a plan to do away with the beast. He gave me this peculiar seed of some sort. I'm not familiar with any foliage that grows from such a dark seed but then again, Scorpen says it was forged from Tireks magic. He says that planting it will produce weapons of some sort but only after several bouts of purification. I assume he means for me to use light magic because he specifically stated that the ponies under Discords influence will not do.

It was all very ambiguous.

I suppose I'll find out along the way, or at least, he assured me that I'll probably figure it out along the way.

I just hope that my experiments aren't tampered with while I'm on this wild goose chase of an endeavor. Even if I'm not doing this specifically for them, I certainly hope that my race will be bowing at my feet after this is all finished.

---

Several months have passed and yet here I am, still with only a half purified seedling. Scorpen certainly didn't mention how long this deed was going to take to accomplish.

Nor did he mention how far I would have to travel. Currently, I'm somewhere very deep inside the Heysead Swamps, closer to Horseshoe Bay than Rambling Rocky Ridge. That's as specific as I can get as the start are shrouded by the heavy foliage.

Between where I currently sit, in front of the dim campfire, and my progress back in the Crystal Empire, there was nothing noteworthy to report but things are finally starting to turn up. The temperature of the seedling has risen dramatically. It almost feels as if it will burn a hole in my robes. In my worry, I've wrapped the thing in several thick pouches before continuing to follow where it leads. I discovered three pony like creatures in the river where the water moves fast and that was when I had to take to levitating the evil plant fetus so that it would not burn me.

I surely hope that this is a sign that this convoluted purification ritual is nearing it's end. If these three are the remaining elements Scorpen speaks of, then maybe I can soon return home to my lovely experiments.

---

The three have all taken the offer of the seedling and it is now completely purified. It seems to have granted the see pony/lake kelpie halfbloods the ability to sing, through some sort of gem or something of that nature. I hadn't had time to completely process the events. The three had begun to act strangely before they disappeared into the darker parts of the water.

It has been three days and I still have not seen them again. My guess is that they've returned to the sea to show their kin what they have "accomplished."

I am still confused about the nature of this plant. Truthfully, after seeing what its done, I'm rather frightened, possibly more frightened of it than I am of Discord at the moment.

As a precaution, I have decided to plant the seed a bit away from my home in the Everfree.

Just in case.