• Published 18th Jun 2012
  • 745 Views, 5 Comments

Faithless - Darkkon13



This is the story of an uncertain Hero in deceptively peaceful times.

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Episode 2, Ghastly Lights

Hero watched the myriad of strangely colored liquids rush through glass tubes that twisted and looped about in odd ways as he waited. He was supposed to meet the bumbling unicorn from 'The Quick Fix, here in this darkened building. The odd fluids were mesmerizing as they boiled and condensed in their glass prison, he had lost track on how long he had been waiting. Sure enough the chemical wielding pony showed himself, popping up behind a peculiar shaped beaker that stretched his face to look like an apple.

"Oh good you're here!" He said, sticking out his hoof through an open space. Hero leaped back a bit, startled by his sudden appearance .

"oh... yes of course. I always keep a promise no matter what." Hero stated as he shook the chemist's hoof. He took a second to think about how little he knew about himself and corrected his words. "I 'will' keep a promise no matter what." This way he could account for any promises he could not remember from before he had fallen into town.

The unicorn nodded and walked out from behind the lab table. "I'm Blue Flame by the way... Sorry again for that whole, uhmm... Well the thing at the bar. You know..." He grinned sheepishly as he spoke, his words shaking nervously.

"You shouldn't worry so much about it. Everypony forgave you since there was no real harm done. Though I'm not sure they would like seeing you there." Hero stated, waving his hoof dismissively. Since Blue Flame had a reputation for antisocial behavior most of the other ponies forgave him for acting out so strangely, though some of the bar patrons still grumbled about his appearance the other night regardless.

Blue Flame nodded. "Either way I'm still sorry. " He continued while spinning about pulling open a drawer. "Well I have a date with Carrot Top so I'm going to have to collect the sample and go. I'm sorry to have to shove you out like that." He looked back to Hero holding a pair of scissors and a sanitary baggie in his magical grasp.

"Well, I think I'll be fine. I'll have more time to explore Ponyville. I think it would be best to get familiar with the place." Hero swung his mane to the side to give Blue Flame access to his star emblazoned locks.

Blue had an idea while carefully snipping away small unnoticeable portions of Hero's mane. "Well if you're looking to explore, Ghastlie Gorge is beautiful this time of year. I took Carrot Top there for a picnic once and she loved it." He drew his head back as he examined the now filled baggie, the hairs still containing the magical glow of starlight. "Too bad you won't let me have more. You could always get a hat from that hatmaking pony... uhm.. Jordan Action I think." He let a frown crawl over his face, wishing Hero had been a little more generous; it was for science after all.

Hero shook his mane of loose hairs and turned for the door, chuckling lightly. "I think I'll keep my mane, thank you. I'll stop by sometime to see what you come up with."

"You'll be the first to know!" Blue Flame shouted as the light from outside waned from the closing door.

*****

The grip dug deep into the rock wall as Grapple secured a new hoofhold, tiny pebbles falling against her cheeks and to the distant ground below. The stone-gray coated earthpony had been climbing this rock face since early morning and the sun was now setting in the distance, casting heavy shadows through the gorge. These were the sights she set out to see, the sights nopony else had the ability or time to look for. She stopped for a small rest, tieing her rope to the grip and leaning back or a breath. She tilted her head to the side and smiled as she admired the breathtaking view of the valley below her.

Grapple admired the view,it was all so breathtaking the clouds had an enchanting purple haze as they obscured the sun casting their shadows across the gorge. she felt the soft refreshing breeze blowing through her green, blue, and orange mane, She was blissfully unaware of the hushed grinding of pebbles between the grips. In moments her bliss drained into terror as she dropped into a spiraling free fall, the grips tied to her rope flailing out beside her. Through her screams a thundering boom caught her attention, possibly her own imagination playing out the sound of when she would hit the ground.

*****

"Oh wow! This really is nice." Hero stated as he looked out over the gorge, watching a pegasus zip across the sky above him, leaving a rainbow colored trail in it's wake. He looked down into Ghastlie Gorge and stretched out his wings. "Okay... " He gave himself a few test flaps and streched the rest of his body, thinking about how he hadn't taken flight since he could last remember. "let's do this" It felt right, natural and fluid. The urge to leap forward overwhelmed him, his body crouching low and rocketing forward into the sky. The rush of wind through his mane was exhilarating, exciting every sense in his body as the world around him became more vivid.

In this heightened awareness he was able to spot a pony falling into the gorge through the waning sunlight. Something clicked in his mind, the same something that drove him to fight off Blue Flame only two days earlier. He had an ovewhelming urge to save the distressed pony. As if by instinct he stopped mid-flight and kicked off the air as he rocketed into a nosedive, leaving a thunderous sound in his wake. The earth and stream below him grew quickly as he dove ever faster toward, tears forming about his eyes as they were battered with air and dust. With only a moment to spare, just before they both struck the ground at full speed, he scooped the screaming pony into his hooves and slowed to a glide along the river that cut through the gorge.

Grapple slowly opened her eyes as she realized she wasn't falling, a gasp of wonder and relief escaping her lips as she let one hoof down to touch the water. "How...?" She looked back up to see Hero's determined face, his celestial mane and the spectacular show of lights that hung in the air above them. She hated flying, but as the night sky came into view and the aurora lights filled the gorge with a brilliant array of blues and greens; it actually seemed like a magical experience.

Hero slowed to a stop as he swooped up to the top of Ghastly Gorge and gently placed grapple on her hooves. "Are you okay?" He tilted his head slightly, observing her multi colored mane.

"I'm... I'll be fine. Thanks, you really saved my flank out there." She smiled gratefully, dusting herself off and gaving a grateful nod. "I'm Grapple by the way."

"Hero." Her rescuer replied as he stretched out before gently tucking them away..

Grapple couldn't help but giggle a little bit as she began to turn about. "Fitting. Hey I'll catch you around mister 'Hero'" She started off towards the side of the gorge she was climbing, stopping briefly to look back at the curious stallion and offer one bit of advice. "Oh! and next time? Just set me back at the bottom so I can try again." She smiled and settled into a gentle canter under the aurora's light.

Hero watched her trot away. "What an odd pony."

*****

Luna stepped out onto the balcony of the castle tower, her eyes wide in wonderment. " What beautiful lights! And in MY night sky." A tear escaped her eye as she stepped back into her room. She stepped up to her mirror and lifted a small wooden lock box from among a series of old mementos in her magical night blue grasp. "It may have been over a thousand years... But I still remember." The lock clicked open at a touch of light from luna's horn and opened to reveal a blue gem embedded in a leather collar. The gem glowed softly against the crimson velvet cloth it rested on, a thin swirling white impurity pushing the light out from deep within the sapphire.