This Story is Koenma Approved!
Bright Heart wandered through Ponyville aimlessly, his green fur and short white mane barely keeping him warm from the cold midday air. Tonight was Nightmare Night, but not even the excitement of a fun holiday could relieve his restlessness. He was a skilled Unicorn, adept in the ways of arcane magic and he wanted to make use of his talents but unfortunately, there was little need for a Mage in this sleepy town. The one thing he yearned for was adventure, but he knew he'd never find it, and with that thought, he let out a deep sigh before returning home.
When he stepped inside his house, he saw something or somepony curled up on the floor in front of his fireplace. This intruder resembled a mare with sand colored fur, but her body was seemed to be almost transparent in places, giving her an eerie spectral appearance. Adding to this, her mane seemed to be made of some unknown energy with a look similar to Princess Celestia's mane, and it glowed a bright reddish brown as it flowed freely in the air, not restrained in any way by gravity. As he look her over, the mare opened her eyes and looked back at him with eyes that glowed the same color as her mane, making Bright Heart jump in surprise.
“Are you Bright Heart?” the strange mare asked.
“Yes I am, how do you know my name, and more importantly, who or what are you?” Bright Heart asked in reply suspiciously.
“My name is Glowing Fate and I am a Wisp, I came here because you have the highest Spirit Energy level in this area,”
“A- a Wisp? You mean, as in one of those bright glowing orbs that serves as a harbinger of doom?!” Bright Heart responded, remembering all of the horrible folktales he'd heard as a child and going into a panic.
“No, none of that stuff is true, it's all just a rumor that got way out of control. We Wisps are the messengers of the Other World, servants of the Spirit King who take the souls of those who have passed away to their final resting places. And no, you aren't about to die by the way,” She explained, adding in that last part once she noticed the look of fear intensify on Bright Heart's face.
“Alright then, so why are you here?” he asked, beginning to calm down.
“Well you see, every year around this time, the boundaries between this world and the next grow thin, allowing those spirits that are strong enough to travel back to our world on this night and check up on their still living loved ones. Normally, this would be a very happy time in the Other World, but this year something went horribly wrong. A demon, a horrible evil creature of pure malice managed to take advantage of the weakened boundaries and break into this world so that it can cause chaos and feed on all of the suffering caused by it's rampage. I tried to stop it, but it overpowered me and so, I had no choice but to seek you out for help,” Glowing Fate explained.
“You need my help?”
“Yes, not only do you have enough Spirit Energy to see me and the demon, but you also possess a skill with arcane magic that should allow you to help me take on the demon. So, will you help me?”
A smile crossed Bright Heart's face as he answered, “Without hesitation.”
“Excellent, then follow me,” Glowing Fate said, rising from the floor before heading out the door.
The two left Ponyville and headed into the Everfree Forest, walking through the ocean of trees for what felt like hours before they encountered something rather unusual. It was a small, strange creature that stood at about half the height of a Pony. It's body seemed to be made of some sort of red and black energy that pulsed and shimmered sporadically, while it's form was dominated by two gangling arms that ended in claws that reached down to the ground next to the tentacles that made up it's lower half. The very top of it's body was taken up by a massive mouth full of long sharp teeth with two small white eyes starring out above that huge maw.
“Bight Heart look out, those things are fragments of the demon!” Glowing Fate shouted as the creature rushed towards the two, dragging itself along by it's arms while it's gaping maw gnashed wildly. Behind it, Bright Heart could see a whole horde of these creatures charging towards him, ensuring that this would not be an easy fight.
Bright Heart launched an arcane attack at the demonic fragment closest to him, destroying the beast with a bright flash of purple light. He looked to his right, and saw the Wisp launch an attack of her own, a fireball with the same reddish brown color as her mane and eyes, which quickly consumed a demon spawn in flames, leaving nothing left behind but charred inert matter. As more of the creatures charged, the pony and the Wisp grew closer, each taking on one side until the small demons eventually stopped coming and they could rest.
“So where did those things come from?” Bright Heart asked catching his breath.
“The demon must have created them, this is bad, if it's strong enough to create demon spawn already, then it must be gaining strength faster than I thought,” Glowing Fate replied, similarly exhausted.
“Gaining strength? But I thought it was here already.”
“It did manage to break through to this side, but the process left it weakened, it's been recovering it's strength in a nearby cave, I just hope that it's not back to one hundred percent by the time we get there.”
“I guess we've got to move then,” Bright Heart replied, before Glowing Fate nodded in agreement and the two began moving again.
Thankfully there were no more demon spawn between them and the cave, but when they finally reached the demon's lair, Bright Heart truly realized what he was in for. The demon was a massive creature, it's head almost hitting the roof of the fairly high ceiling and it's thin arms stood like the support beams of a large imposing castle. The demon itself resembled the spawn that had been sent to attack the two in the woods, but it possessed a number of spikes on it's back which formed a shape not unlike a sun behind the creature.
“You were fools to come here! One Wisp and one Mortal Pony will never be enough to banish me!” the demon said, it's maw thrashing violently as it spoke.
“We'll see about that!” Glowing Fate said before launching a fire ball at the creature. The attack landed, but unfortunately, it seemed to do no damage.
“Brave but futile!” the demon responded as it stretched out one of it's long arms, and sent a beam of red and black energy out directly towards the Wisp, knocking her backwards onto the cold stone floor.
“Fate!” Bright Heart shouted before launching all of the arcane attacks he could towards the beast.
“A valiant effort, but regardless of whether it's spirit magic or the arcane arts, you'll never be able to harm me!” the demon shouted, launching another beam at Bright Heart and knocking him back towards the Wisp.
“We have to do something, got any ideas?” Bright Heart said, facing the Wisp.
“I think I may, but it's a long shot. If we channel our powers together and direct it at the beast, it may be able to defeat it. I'm not sure if this is going to work, but it's the only thing I can think of,” Glowing Fate suggested.
“It's worth a shot, let's try it!” Bright Heart said as the two rose to stand again.
They both focused and channeled their magic, the Wisp's reddish brown flames wrapping around the Unicorn's purple arcane beam before the now fiery beam stretched out to reach the demon. The demon responded by launching it's own beam in defense, as the two attacks connected in midair.
“Come on, we have to keep pushing! Channel your inner strength, due whatever you have to so we can beat this thing!” the Wisp urged. Bright Heart closed his eyes and remembered all the feelings of frustration he had felt, his inability to make use of his skills, his restlessness back in Ponyville, and most importantly, all the Ponies who had told him no, that he would never really amount to anything and should just give up. With those feelings in his heart, the Unicorn channeled his pent up frustrations, causing the beam to greatly grow in strength and push back the demon's attack more and more before it finally reached the beast's chest, hitting with extreme force and sending the monster crashing to the ground with a loud pained roar. As the pair moved towards the creature's body, they saw it be consumed by flames which glowed with the purple light of arcane magic, before all traces of the monster were gone, burned away by that strong combined attack.
“We did it!” Glowing Fate said, smiling for the first time since Bright Heart had met her.
“Yeah I guess we did,” Bright Heart said in reply.
“There's one more thing that we have left to do, it's a special order from the king for when we won, just wait there and don't panic.”
“What do mean by special orde-” Bright Heart began to say before he say his body become transparent like Glowing Fate's and he saw her suddenly begin to rise into the air. Before he could do anything, he felt himself be pulled up after her with extreme force as the two phased through the cave ceiling and soared off into the twilight sky.
Flying through the clouds, Bright Heart looked down to see Ponyville below him, looking more like a pile of sticks than a town from the high vantage point. Ahead of him, he could see Canterlot, now resembling a miniature in a museum against the glow of the setting sun. As the two rose higher and higher, they inevitably flew past the tallest clouds, where the young Unicorn was surprised to see what looked like an entire castle somehow situated atop of one of the clouds. It was a tall structure with large sloped roofs organized in tiers and a large stone foundation keeping the whole structure sturdy. The two flew towards the castle and once they reached it, Bright Heart saw his body become fully solid again, as he and the Wisp gently landed on their hooves.
“Glowing Fate that was amazing!” Bright Heat said, feeling rather overwhelmed by what he had just experienced.
“Is it? I guess I do it this so often that I don't really think much of it anymore,” the Wisp said idly. “Anyways, welcome to the Other World! Now if you'll please follow me, there's someone very special who would like to see you.” As the two moved towards the massive gates to the castle, the doors opened on their own, ushering the Pony and Wisp inside. Once inside, Bright Heart found himself in a large room, lit by a huge number of candles held in small bowls that floated across the room. Before them at the end of the room was a massive throne upon which sat an equally massive pony. His fur was a light red and his mane was messy and flowing, it's black color shimmering against the light of all the candles.
“My liege, I have brought the one who helped banish the demon as requested,” Glowing Fate said once the two reached the base of the throne, bowing before the large Pony as she did so.
“Ah excellent work Glowing Fate,” he replied before turning his attention to the Unicorn before him. “You must be Bright Heart. I was able to observe your battle with the demon and I must say, I am impressed. That combination of Spirit Energy, Arcane Skill, and determination don't come around too often.”
“Thank you sir,” Bright Heart said, bowing down as the Wisp beside him did, “You must be the Spirit King.”
“There's no need to bow, I may be the king, but for what I'm proposing, I'd like it if you were at more of an eye level,” the Spirit King said.
“you have a proposal my lord?” the Unicorn asked, rising once more.
“Yes you see, things like this are actually way more common than you might think. Other World matters that affect the Mortal Realm are fairly common and well, I'd like to know if you'd like to become one of my Spirit Guardians, a Mage who protects the Mortal Realm from Other World threats,” the King proposed.
Bright Heart smiled again, finally sensing the big break he'd been looking for, “I'd be glad to accept my lord.”
“Excellent, now stand still while I begin the initiation,” the Spirit King said, before reaching out with one of his hooves and gazing deep into Bright Heart's eyes. As he met the King's gaze, the Unicorn saw himself become engulfed in the reddish brown flames of the Wisps, but despite it's warmth, this fire didn't burn him, instead, it left him with a warm and cozy feeling as it all entered into his body before disappearing as the King lowered his hoof. “There, your Spirit Energy has been awakened. In time, you'll learn how to control that energy in the form of Spirit Magic, but for now, I think you've earned a rest. Glowing Fate, please get him home safely as quickly as you can,” the Spirit King said, turning to the still bowing Wisp during that last part.
“Yes my liege,” Glowing Fate responded, rising before making the Unicorn Mage transparent again, causing him to float up in the air.
“Farewell, Spirit Guardian, I look forward to seeing you progress,” the Spirit King said to Bright Heart before the Unicorn was suddenly thrust down ward and phased though the floor.
As he was flown downward, he saw that it was already night, and that both Canterlot and Ponyville were lit up as brightly as possible, a clear sign that the Nightmare Night festivities were well under way. As they soared downwards, the Unicorn saw the town of Ponyville grow larger and larger until in no time at all, he had phased through the roof to his house, stopping just before he hit the ground and being returned to his normal self once more.
“Well this is it Spirit Guardian, thank you so much for everything,” Glowing Fate said, turning to face the Stallion.
“Will I ever see you again?” Bright Heart asked in reply.
“Of course you will, somepony has to tell you when something needs your attention down here, but until then, you can have this,” the Wisp said before quickly moving forward and planting a light kiss on the Guardian's cheek before moving back and flying away through his ceiling once again. Bright Heart was stunned, it was only now, standing alone in his home that he realized what had just happened, and he loved all of it. He knew that he was going to like being a Spirit Guardian, it was just the kind of adventure he'd been looking for.