The Light of Equestria

by Sinthia

Chapter 3 - Heart's Guidance

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Chapter 3 - Heart’s Guidance

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

---

The Princesses sat before their audience, their presence filling the hall.

The eldest sister, Princess Celestia, held her composure well. It seemed no matter what the situation, she would never be caught without her pleasant and perpetually serene demeanor. It was warming, very fitting for her title as the Princess of the Sun.

The younger, Princess Luna, stood impassive. The ponies among the audience preferred not to make eye contact with her, avoiding her cold gaze in preference with Celestia’s. Luna did not mean to look emotionless; in fact her feelings were quite the opposite. She knew first-hand how dire the situation really was, and she knew her sister’s sugarcoated words would only ease the ponies’ minds for so long.

She knew what was at stake while the ponies here played politics.

If her silent stare was enough to ward off these self proclaimed baby-kissers, journalists, gossipers, and the like; then that was all well with her.

“Princess Luna?”

The sound of Celestia addressing her name pulled Luna away from her thoughts.

“Yes,” she said plainly.

“Should I repeat the question, Your Majesty?” asked a pony within the crowd, holding a notepad at his ready. Luna could feel her sister’s subtle stare of disapproval at her side.

She tried her best to maintain her professionalism, despite her desperate need to leave the conference to Celestia.

“Yes, please, once more.”

“Okay, *ahem*...” said the notepad pony. “You were the first to respond to the strange lights near Ponyville, as I understand?”

“Correct.”

“Alright, I know we’ve established that we won’t be getting details on what exactly happened, but myself and the ponies are dying to know, are we safe now?”

“Yes, we’ve said that what was causing the anomaly has been neutralized.”

“But what about the rumours of intermittent lights spotted outside of Fillydelphia?” asked another pony in the group.

“And Appleloosa!” popped another.

“Some citizens are feeling strange residual magic in these areas, how would you explain that?”

Luna was getting aggravated, and it showed on her face. Her next words were spoken through impulse.

“Yes, what happened in the for-”

“My little ponies, calm yourselves,” said Celestia, interrupting Luna. “Princess Luna handled the situation in Ponyville thoroughly, and the threat there is gone. We are looking into any possibilities of reappearance, but all is safe.”

“Forgive me Your Highnesses”, said the notepad pony, “but the citizens are simply concerned. In light of what happened to one of your guards, it’s only natural for us-”

“We have said that the situation has been handled, and so it has!” said Luna, raising her voice. The pony ducked back into the crowd.

Celestia sighed quietly. “I believe this conference has come to an end. If there are no more pressing concerns, you are dismissed from the hall.”

The ponies, some rather reluctantly, exited the hall. A pair of guards closed the door after them, leaving the princesses alone to themselves.

“Luna, you really have to be careful with what you tell the public,” said Celestia.

Luna shook her head defiantly.

“Why must we keep the truth from them, sister? You and I both know what is coming; our subjects have a right to know.”

“They have a right to safety and prosperity, something you and I as leaders must maintain,” answered Celestia. “To break such news to them would not uphold the peace.”

“So we should just keep them ignorant, then? We know what is looming around the corner, and we do not have a way to fight back.”

“That’s not entirely true, you know that.”

Celestia rose from her throne, and walked along the grand hall. Luna followed, the two of them passing by the decorated windows and royal tapestries.

“We still have our magic; the gifts that the Wanderer gave us,” continued Celestia. “Should the times call for defense, we can still prepare.”

Celestia and Luna stopped before a particular window. They looked up at the brilliant display, as the rays of the sun pierced multi-colored rays before them. In the design, ponies were praising a large object in the sky, what looked to be the sun. Luna and Celestia knew differently, the sphere was not the sun.

“We fought the Darkness with the Wanderer’s help,” said Luna. “It is no longer here. What if we can’t, sister? What if we fail?”

“We won’t. We cannot, for our sake, for our world’s sake.”

Celestia gazed at the window, the faded memories of a millennia ago present in her mind.

“When the Darkness comes again,” she whispered. “We must be ready for it.”

---

Lexine stood impatiently as she waited for her turn to receive her new assignments. She cursed herself for not getting to the courtyard sooner; by now it was midday and the Tower was bustling with activity.

Usually, she would not have problems getting up early to beat the rush, but her sleep for the past week had been plagued by relentless nightmares. To many Guardians, and to Warlocks especially, dreams were of great significance and were always considered to have a deeper meaning. Lexine would be more invested in uncovering the meaning of her dreams, if only she could remember them.

She could remember black, she could remember fear, but nothing else.

As such, her restless nights were only a source of stress, something she hoped she could relieve by some time in the field. Hopefully, she thought, Xander would have something interesting for her this time.

As she approached the droid and looked at the available assignments, her hope quickly diminished.

“This is all?” she asked, expressing annoyance.

“These are all of the available assignments for you, Guardian,” Xander said in his artificial voice.

“Impossible. I saw the guardian in front of me accept a strike mission to Venus. Why don’t I get assignments like that?” Lexine was trying to suppress the frustration in her voice. “Do you expect me to go halfway around the world to gather some metal? To scan some old, uninteresting junk?”

The frame beeped a few times before responding.

“Apologies, Guardian. I simply relay assignments directed by the Vanguard. You may wish to speak to them if you have concerns.”

Lexine was about to say something but was interrupted by the guardian standing behind her.

“Look, Warlock,” she said, tapping Lexine’s shoulder. “We’re all waiting behind you. Choose quickly or move on.”

Lexine nodded and turned back towards Xander.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else?” she asked again.

“No, this is -- one moment... a position on city patrol just opened up. Additionally, some new Crucible objectives have been assigned, a few of them specifically for you, Guar-”

“I’ll take the city patrol.”

Xander’s frame light blinked several times as he processed the request.

“Very well, objective assigned. Twenty-four hours of city patrol; report here when completed. Good luck, Guardian.”

Lexine left the frame and started back towards the vaults to arm herself, wanting to waste no time.

“Better luck next time, Warlock,” said the Hunter that was in line behind her. “You’ll get something good soon.”

Lexing gave a slight smile and continued on. City patrol wasn’t too horrible, she enjoyed it on some occasions. There was not much ‘action’ to be had within the city, only the occasional petty crime or a citizen with lots of questions. Weapons were rarely used, and powers of the Light were not authorized. The people were always happy to see a guardian, however, though were sometimes reluctant to stray near a Warlock. Though it technically wasn’t allowed, Lexine found that taking off her helmet helped in those regards.

She was under the impression that these patrols were conducted to simply establish a presence within the city, and she was content with the interaction.

Besides, Lexine thought, there was another Guardian on patrol she was hoping to meet.

She soon arrived at the ‘Vaults’, which were actually kiosks that enabled guardians to transmat any of their gear to and from storage instantly. She was already wearing her armor, so she chose her weapons for the patrol. The hand cannon that Lord Shaxx had given her hadn’t seen any action yet, and while it was unlikely it would see any down at the city, Lexine decided to take it with her. She also equipped her helmet, and was ready for the mission.

“Ghost, are you with me?”

With a flash, the floating construct appeared before her.

“Of course, ready to go.”

She went off to descend the Tower to the city below.

---

The Last City was exactly that, the last known bastion of humanity. After the Darkness struck, humanity lost almost all of its civilization. From colonies throughout the Solar System to long-standing cities on Earth, all perished or were cut-off and lost.

All except the one; the one the Traveler shielded against the Darkness in its dying breath. The city survived the initial onslaught, but still endured many trials that threatened to condemn it, both internal and external. The guardians were the first to protect the city against the forces of Darkness that were persistent in trying to destroying it. From within, the city was always in desperate defense, and many different political factions were vying for control.

In the end, it was finally realized that the city would only survive under unity, and the remaining factions agreed to coexist. Under the protection and guidance of the Tower and its Guardians, little by little, the city slowly grew and prosper.

The area that Lexine was assigned to patrol was special. It was directly under the massive Traveler, an area of the city that stood in almost constant shadow. As a result, the lifestyle of there was much different than the other areas of the city. It wasn’t a bad place, necessarily. The crime rate there was actually lower in comparison to other parts of the city. The Tower theorized it was because of the area’s close proximity to the dormant Traveler above.

It was called the Sheltered Zone, and it was Lexine’s favorite part of the city. The people there were pleasant, and carried a perpetual wonderstruck attitude towards the Traveler, and likewise, to the Guardians. Songsingers, storytellers, and artists alike were in no short supply there, where the legend of the Traveler still rang strong in the people’s hearts.

Lexine had only been on her patrol for a few hours, and she had already interacted with people much more as compared to her time in the Tower.

They asked many questions, and while some of them were naive or redundant, Lexine was happy to answer them.

“How is your armband on fire?” asked a young child while he waited for his mother to finish browsing a street vendor.

“We call it our bond. It’s a manifestation of the powers gifted from the Traveler," said Lexine, pointing towards the white sphere above them.

"Woah... does it hurt? The fire doesn't burn?"

Lexine gave a small laugh.

"No, not unless I want it to."

"Can I touch it?"

"Hmm... I suppose you can."

Lexine knelt before the little boy, leaning her left arm towards him. She had to be careful; if unchecked, her powers could harm herself and others around her. Her bond, however, was well within her control and she was comfortable with letting the child touch it.

"Go on," she gestured.

Slowly at first, the child reached out towards the circle of fire on her arm. When his hand made contact he jumped a little, not out of pain, but of surprise.

"It's not hot at all! And it feels funny... like..."

"Magic?"

The boy nodded with a grin.

"Come now, Artemis," said a voice behind the child. "Don't bother the guardian while she is working."

Lexine stood up to greet the mother.

"Good day, ma'am," she said.

"A pleasure, Guardian.”

“Mama, the guardian showed me her magic!”

“That’s amazing! I’ll tell you what; go find your sister, she’ll want to hear, and then you can tell us all about it.”

The giddy boy skipped off, eager to spread his tale.

“You’ve made his day,” said the mother. “Thank you for your time, Guardian.”

“The pleasure was mine, you and your family stay safe, ma’am.”

Lexine waved her off and watched as she rejoined her children.

“Way better than collecting metal halfway around the world, right?” said Ghost, appearing next to Lexine. She smiled in reply. “Well, I know I’ll be resting easy knowing you’ve made a pyro out of that child, congratulations.”

“Oh, shut up,” she laughed and pushed Ghost away.

For the rest of the day, Lexine roamed the streets and neighborhoods of the Sheltered Zone, occasionally using her Sparrow to cover the required checkpoints, but the majority of the time was spent on foot, and a decent portion of it interacting with locals.

“Can you hear what the Traveler is thinking right now?” asked another citizen later in the day, as he gazed at the sphere above.

“No, but I can feel its Light. Can you?”

The elderly man nodded and smiled as walked away.

“How old are you? I’ve met Guardians in their hundreds.” later said a woman as she sat nearby. The area was less crowded, as the sun began to set on the horizon.

“Compared to them, not close. I’m under a year old, and before I was a Guardian... I don’t know.”

“You don’t remember?” asked the woman.

“No. Just my name, and little else.”

“Well, I’m sorry about that, Guardian,” said the woman as she got up to leave. “Remember when you’re out there, the city is always rooting for you.”

“Good day, ma’am,” Lexine said and gestured the woman goodbye.

The topic lingered within Lexine’s mind for the rest of the evening. Until now, she hadn’t thought too much about her time before she was a Guardian. She was too caught up in this new world to think about the last, but now it started to bother her.

“Ghost, why did you pick me?” she asked as night began to fall, and the streets slowly fell asleep.

“What do you mean?”

“Ghosts search, sometimes for centuries, to find their Guardian. What do you look for? Why me?”

Ghost hovered around Lexine as he answered.

“We look for individuals who are worthy of wielding the Traveler’s light.”

“So, I was some kind of a saint before?”

“Perhaps. Or simply an honorable fighter. A good person.”

“A good person...”

“You have concerns, Lexine? About what that woman said to you earlier?”

“No. Well, yes... but it doesn’t matter. Nevermind.”

Several mechanical chirps resonated from Ghost as he began to speak.

“You know, when we were first brought into this world, we knew very little.”

“Ghosts?”

“Yes. The burning world around us was foreign, the Traveler a stranger, the Darkness an unknown threat. All we had was a directive, something we knew that needed to be done.”

“To find your Guardian.”

“Precisely. You and I are born from Light, for a purpose, and we share a unexplainable bond in this crusade. Ghosts were created by the Traveler, but even we don’t know where we come from.”

Lexine shifted her weight and leaned against the wall behind her.

“So we’re lost children, then,” she said. “Born into a world to fight for a cause that’s older than ourselves.”

“Poetically romantic, I suppose you can put it that way. But I don’t feel lost.”

“How do you feel?”

Ghost thought about it for a few moments.

“Hopeful. Afraid, sometimes.”

“Me too,” said Lexine, and they fell quiet.

The streets by now were mostly empty, and night had fully fallen above the city. The lights from the more populated areas of the city shone bright in the horizon, and Lexine could see the Tower’s lights in the distance.

Night was an interesting time for Lexine, with less things going on the outside, it became too easy to get lost in introspection. But lately, looking inwards only seemed to bother Lexine. Warlocks always had something to think about, whether they wanted to or not. The patrol, so far, had been a welcomed distraction from her stormy mind, but with the tranquil night, there was not much to occupy her thoughts.

As she drifted around in her mind, the transceiver within her helmet alerted her to an incoming transmission.

“Well, it’s our good friend, Deacon,” said Ghost. “Do you want to accept?”

“Yes, I’ll take it from here,” said Lexine.

Static filled her ears as the signal connected. As it cleared, she began to hear a familiar voice.

“Hey there Lex! How’s the patrol coming?”

“It’s slow now, but going well. What’s up?”

“Well, mine ends in a couple of hours, just wanted to see if you wanted to meet up. I’ve got some crazy things to tell you.”

“Sure, maybe I can top whatever story you’ve got.”

“Well, I doubt that,” he laughed, “but I’ll be right there. I’m not too far, see you soon.”

Lexine ended the transmission and removed her helmet. Ghost flashed next to her and circled around her head a few times before speaking.

“Another secret rendezvous, hmm?” he said.

“Oh, hush, you.” hissed Lexine. “Stop being so nosy.”

“I’m not being nosy.”

“You know, it’s rude to read my mind, even if you are my Ghost,” she said, crossing her arms.

“I can’t read your mind. I can only hear thoughts directed to me.”

“Well, what am I thinking right now?”

Ghost gave off some mechanical chirps.

“Hmm... it’s ‘Ghost, you’re a prying little ball of light and you should give me some space.’”

“Good job!”

“Fine, I’ll let you be for the night. Tell Deacon I want you back at the Tower before ten.”

“...I... am not going to acknowledge what you just said.”

With that, Ghost flashed away.

Deacon was one of the few guardians that Lexine shared a bond with. Many other guardians had rather large social circles, and they always seemed to have at least one companion with them on a given assignment. The majority of Lexine’s work was done solo, but when she needed a field partner, it was usually him.

She had met the Titan when she was a newborn guardian, during her first -- and only -- Crucible match. Lexine did not expect she would find a friend within the Crucible, and she certainly didn’t expect to make friends with the guardian that first felled her in the battle.

After the match, Lexine was upset with how it had turned out, and knew the other guardians would judge her for quitting. Deacon approached her and gave her consolation.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” he said. “I’m new too, so next time we’ll stick together.”

Of course, there was no ‘next time’ with the Crucible for Lexine, but she found herself with a companion for many of her future assignments. During a fight, the two of them synergized well together, and they learned many things from each other. In lots of ways, they had each other to thank for their relatively quick progression within their respective orders.

Outside of their duties, they still found some time to spend with each other. Lexine was glad to have a close friend, but exactly how close was something she still needed to figure out.

She left her train of thought as the sound of an approaching Sparrow echoed through the quiet streets. Deacon waved as he approached, and stopped his vehicle before Lexine.

“I ran into this hobo back there,” he said as he dismounted, “who insisted that he had an appointment with the Speaker. Said that I was to take him up the Tower.”

“Is that your crazy story?” Lexine laughed.

“Ha, no. That in a bit. It’s good to see you, Lex.”

“It’s good to see you too, D.”

Lexine felt there was some kind of gesture that needed to be done, but wasn’t sure how.

“Woah, what’s that there?” said Deacon “A hand cannon, that’s new.”

She looked down to the weapon holstered against her hip.

“Oh, yeah. From my last assignment.”

“How did that go, by the way?”

“Pretty interesting! We ended up recovering some Golden-Age tech there. Some kind of portal technology, I actually fought some horse thing that-”

“Wait,” interrupted Deacon. “You said portal technology?”

“Yeah, it was very interesting, but the Vanguard pulled the assignment from me before I could follow through. It kind of pissed me off, too.”

Deacon held a surprised look on his face.

“Spit it out, D,” said Lexine. “What’ve you got?”

“Well, it was that crazy thing I told you about earlier. The Vanguard gave me a special assignment, saying that some sort of lost portal technology was found over a week ago. They’ve been working on a prototype and installed it on a jump-ship.”

“Wha... for what?”

“Well, whatever’s on the other side needs to be investigated, so they offered me the assignment.”

“You’re kidding me.”

Lexine was ready to burst. The Vanguard knew that she wanted to follow through the new lead, but now she finds the Guardian that they’ve handed it off to.

“Oh... damn, I know how this must feel, Lex.”

“I can’t believe it! Did the Vanguard say if you could bring a partner along?”

“Well, no, I actually was told to keep this under wraps. I’ve only told you, but I didn’t know you were the guardian that found the technology in the first place.”

The Warlock had more than half a mind to go right back up the Tower and throw a fireball in the middle of their fancy hall.

“They know that you and I have partnered up many times before! If they wanted to hand it off to you, why didn’t they offer the assignment to me as well?”

Deacon only shook his head, knowing that the Vanguard’s direction was all they could follow.

“When do you leave?” asked Lexine.

“Tomorrow, after I report back from this patrol.”

Her mind was spinning. She wanted to be happy for her friend for finally getting a big assignment, as the two of them had been waiting for a long time. But she couldn’t feel that way, because it was her that discovered the lead. She needed to be the one on that jump-ship.

“Hey, sorry Lexine, I didn’t know,” said Deacon with remorse. “I would ask for you to come with, but the safety mechanisms on the ship call for only one passenger.”

“Where’s the ship now?”

“In the Tower hangar, but what-”

“Race you there!” shouted Lexine, as she called for a transmat for her Sparrow. It quickly appeared and she mounted, zooming off before Deacon could react.

“Oh, shit. Lex!”

Deacon jumped back on his Sparrow and chased behind her, their bright engines cutting through the still streets of the city.

---

Twilight Sparkle sifted through the towers of books stacked throughout her library. It was in disarray, and she was desperate for some particular information.

“If you would tell me what you’re looking for,” said Spike, who stood in the middle library with his arms crossed, “maybe I could help you.”

“No time! Darkness, Wanderer... portals reopening, to the Sol System? Maybe I should look in the mythology section instead...”

Spike walked across the cluttered library, passing by an eyesore of charts, graphs, scratched notes and tossed books. “If this is about those lights we saw,” he said, “the princesses already told us it’s been taken care of.”

“Those weren’t lights I saw, Spike!” said Twilight without lifting her eyes from the book she held. “He said the Hive are coming!”

“You still think you saw a monster? I was there too, Twilight, and I didn’t see or hear anything except the glowy little light.”

“I know what I saw, Spike, and these correlations I’ve been finding can prove it! At first glance, I thought these were extinct creatures from here in Equestria, but the Hive are some sort of alien race, and they are coming back!”

Spike rolled his eyes, only for a book to slam against his face.

“And look at that!” said Twilight. “It tells a story of another world, introduced to us by some being from the stars. This being was called the Wanderer, and it ‘united our worlds, and drove away the forces of darkness and brought prosperity across the universe.’ But when it describes this ‘darkness’, do you know what it tells us?”

“That it’s time for bed because somepony gets loopy after 9PM?”

“It describes an exact match to what these Hive creatures were like!”

“That doesn’t mean anything, maybe the author of that story got inspiration from it.”

“No there’s more! Historical accounts, studies on the origin of magic, beings from a different dimension, it’s connected somehow!”

Spike lifted the book that was thrown at him from before, and looked inside.

“What, to this ball?” he said, pointing to an illustration.

“Yes, Spike! That. Ball. Is. The. Answer.”

Spike gave Twilight an empty stare.

“Okay, Twi, if you want to stay down here and learn about wandering balls, then you go do that, but try to keep it down. I’m going to- hic!”

Spike belched out a flash of green flame from his mouth, and a neatly folded scroll emerged from it and fell to the floor.

“A letter this late?” he said.

Twilight levitated the letter towards her, broke the seal and opened it.

Princess Twilight,

Contrary to what we have told you before, the anomalies that have been surfacing near Ponyville were not mere lights, and they are still a matter of concern. Great concern.

We can’t tell you the matters over letter, so we are announcing our imminent arrival to Ponyville. We realize it may be an inconvenience, but we need you to gather your friends. The situation is sensitive, so please be swift and discrete.

We shall meet soon,

~Princess Celestia and Princess Luna

“I knew it!” shouted Twilight. “Haha, I was right! This is great!” The pony gasped, picking up the letter again. “Oh... no this is certainly not great. I need to get the others! Spike, tidy up the library while I get our friends before the princesses arrive!”

Twilight didn’t bother with walking out of the library, she teleported away in a flash, leaving Spike alone with her chaotic mess. He grumbled to himself as he picked up a pile of crumpled paper.

“Just as I was about to go to bed... it’s gonna be a long night.”

---

---

NEW MISSION ASSIGNED - Vanguard Assignment -- Objective Abandoned
CITY PATROL - Patrol city sector four, also known as the Sheltered Zone. Complete all check points in a twenty-four hour period, report back to the Tower when finished. -- CHECKPOINTS REACHED: 10/12

DIRECTIVE OVERRIDE - MANUAL DISCONNECT FROM TOWER COMMUNICATIONS.

STANDBY. STANDBY.

Comments

[Lon35hadow]

I agree with Lexine here. Fire team lone and I will gladly help you torch the hall of guardians and steal that jumship, Lex. (Gives Exo salute.)

[ArmyOfOne1112]

Awesome story so far, this might end up a decent crossover!

Lex looks like a really interesting character and I'm excited to see what she does next. Like her, I'm not a big fan of PvP in destiny, either (mostly because I'm really bad at it). Lord Shaxx can suck it!

Please continue!

PS: It's obvious she's a Sunsinger Warlock (Represent!!11!! ), but have you specified what race she is? The story is tagged as human but having her be Exo or Awoken would be even more interesting!

[Permanganate]

A nice story so far. In fact, you have written something better than Bungie's employees managed! (Just starting TTK, and I was not impressed with any of the plot in Year 1.)

[ArmyOfOne1112]

You know, the conversation between Lexine and her ghost in this chapter reminded me of that opening cutscene from TTK...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzsuqLDnA7s

It's a striking resemblance, but you posted the chapter 5 days before TTK. So I guess it's the other way around.