Short Shorts

by Coranth

169. Path of Twilight

"Bastards dumped near two dozen of us off that ship, You and me, we're all that survived the swim. Never was much difference between Exile and the death sentence. Once I catch my breath here we'll take a look around. See what Wraeclast has on offer. Thought I saw some smoke at those ruins up the beach. Could be worth checking if there's--"

Those were the dying man's last words as the corpse next to him suddenly came alive and messily ate him as poor Twilight Sparkle cried out in horror. No sooner had the Zombie had its fill of the dying human, then it groaned hungrily and started to shamble after her. Desperately - as she backed away from the shambling corpse - Twilight summoned her magic in an attempt to teleport away to safety, but instead, her magic, which didn't seem to be working right at all, latched onto - of all things - a small wooden stick made of driftwood; a wand!

With the shambling Zombie almost upon her, Twilight thoughtlessly channeled her magic through the Wand--and cried out in shock as a bolt of physical force rocketed forth from the Driftwood Wand to bisect the creature in half! The Zombie snarled, gurgled, and then moved no more. Still clutching the wand, Twilight Sparkle - in shock - hyperventilated for a time; then when no more Zombies were forthcoming, the little lavender mare calmed. Sobbing softly, feeling utterly ghoulish, Twilight divested the Zombie of its only clothing, a soaked, moth-eaten Shabby Jerkin, and put it on, though the garment did little to stave off the cold. Then, the little pony examined her strange weapon. It was, indeed, little more than a stick of driftwood, and yet... as she examined the weapon, the little mare noticed three hollowed out sockets had been carved from it, each colored with a ring of paint; one red, one green, and one blue.

"How curious..." Twilight mused, turning her new tool this way and that, being careful not to damage it. A moment later - after secreting the tool away in the jerkin she wore, slowly - carefully - the little pony tiptoed her way towards the bisected corpse of the Zombie she had slain, wincing as she realized that she had actually killed another being, even if said being was... already dead. Fear of Princess Celestia's disappointment weighed heavily upon her mind, so much so that - as she walked past the dead Zombie - she almost missed the glint of a small object which had fallen from the creature's tattered clothing before she had claimed it as hers.

Almost. Twilight's eyes, honed from years of reading in low light conditions, caught the reflection, and she gently picked up the object with a hoof. To her surprise, said object seemed to be a small gem! "What's this?" she wondered. As Twilight examined the rich, blue-colored gem she was reminded fondly of the sapphires that her friend Rarity used in her dressmaking; though this was no sapphire, as this gem had wrapped around it a ribbon of golden-colored metal which became the image of... "A ball of fire?"

Confused, Twilight Sparkle made to scratch her head with a hoof--then immediately thought better. Instead of getting sand in her mane, she pulled her Driftwood Wand from her Shabby Jerkin... and then, her eyes widened with realization. 'A blue-colored socket... for a blue-colored gem!' she thought, excitedly. 'But... why? What's this all for? What does it mean?' Gently, the mare employed the breathing technique her old foal-sitter, Cadance, had taught her. Then, "Only one way to find out," she said with finality, before attempting to fit the Fireball Gem into the socket on the Wand.

To her surprise, the small gem fitted easily into the socket--and stayed there as she experimentally waved the tool about--though Twilight found that she could also effortlessly remove the gem, too, if needed. Gently, she reinserted the Fireball Gem into the socket on the Wand and then, inhaling a soft breath, she channeled her magic through her newly enhanced tool to see what effect the gem might have. In awe, Twilight watched as the Fireball Gem glowed brilliantly for a moment--and then a yelp of fear escaped her as from her Driftwood Wand - instead of the usual bolt of physical force - an enormous ball of fire rocketed forth and tore down the desolate beach to smash into another shambling Zombie, setting the corpse alight!

After closing her dropped jaw, Twilight Sparkle marveled at her discovery. "That gem... it's like... some sort of premade spell; all I have to do is channel magic through it and it works! Astounding," she crowed. Her amazed cry, however, had caused the many, many other corpses littering the beach to awaken. This time, however, Twilight wasn't afraid. Girding her loins - raising her gem-enhanced wand - as the first of many undead horrors shambled towards her, the lavender unicorn gritted her teeth. She would fight... or she would die. "The Elysium Fields will have to wait a little longer for this mare," she snarled. And so it was that Twilight Sparkle fought, burning the undead before her as she took her first steps upon the path so many had walked before her. The Path... of Exile.

Comments

[Coranth]

First Comment Reserved. Come on, folks; no love for Path of Exile?

[Liaf112]

7620431 I play it every once in a while. Still only made it to the jungle though.

[Coranth]

7621479 What did you think of this Short? How would Twilight Sparkle fare against the nightmare creatures of the game?

[Liaf112]

7621552 She might make it but I think she will probably be either mentally or emotionally scarred. Or both. Kinda makes me want to play more of it after work today.