I know this place.

Tall spire of rock trailed up into the darkness. It was not the cavern he had awoken in. Much smaller. He could see the walls, illuminated in green glowing moss. Several tunnels led away from the chamber in all directions, but only darkness lay further in them.

He was standing in the center of all this. In front of him, a large spear of rock had fallen from the ceiling. Lying still in the epicenter of the ruined spire was a mare, blood red and firey of mane. Her eyes were fixed upon him in an indescribable expression of surprise and pain. A splinter of the rock still stuck out from the side of her crushed chest. There was no blood around her, only thick growth of the glowing moss.

He knew her. And yet, he did not know her.

"Ruby?" He whispered. It felt wrong to break the silence of this place. "Ruby Glow?"

Of course she didn't respond. He swallowed thickly. For some reason, he crept forward and knelt before her, nuzzling against her cold neck and closing her eyes with a hoof. There was a clawing, sinking sensation in his chest.

The sound of soft padding upon stone made the cavern tremble. Shadows began to file out from the many tunnels along the walls. They were huge, some hulking, some lean, but all possessing the same canine grace. Pinpricks of light were there eyes, and darkness was their fur. The unicorn's hackles rose. His horn sparked once, pathetically. He crouched over Ruby, glaring around at the shadows. "Stay back," he rasped. "Stay away!"

Their ranks parted, and one of their own slid forth to stand only yards away in the center of the cavern. It too was made of shadow, but the paws faded into the darkest of greens imaginable. It leveled one of these, the accusing finger pointed forth. It was not directed at the stallion, though. The fallen mare lay in its sights.

"We did this," the shadow said in a rumbling voice. It glided forward.

"I said stay away from us!" he cried. His horn sparked again. This time, the magic caught, and a pale beam of light erupted from his forehead. "Nruaaaghh!"

The shadow warped and twisted around the spell, flowing like liquid. "We. Did. This."

Realizing he could do nothing to stop it, the unicorn searched the chamber, frantically looking for something, anything that could give him leverage. There was nothing aside from the stone and the body of the mare.

His gaze settled on curls of brilliant orange mane.

The shadow was mere paces away. Green-tinged darkness loomed over them. It's eyes narrowed, a long, lanky arm reaching for him.

He backpedaled, before whirling on the spot and breaking into a run. Mid stride, he dipped his head and slid the mare's body up and across his shoulders. She was cold, and yet the weight felt like it had been missing. "Ruaaagh!" A flickering cone of light erupted around him this time, and he charged the ranks of shadowy canines. They parted around him, as he thought, but they could not touch him inside the feeble shield. He dove into the first tunnel he saw and charged onwards blindly.

"Face yourself, Frostycorn!" the shadow boomed in the receding distance. "Or you will never rise!"

The cave blurred around him from speed. He all but flew across the stone, nothing but the small light at the tip of his horn spearing through the darkness. A fork appeared before him -- he went left -- and another -- this time right -- and another, and so on until he realized he'd been no idea where he was going.

Something tapped him on the shoulder. The dead mare looked limply back at his shocked face. "You did this," she said.

He screamed, closing his eyes in fear, and when he opened them, he was outside.

A cool wind flowed through his mane. Grass tickled his fur. Warmth across his entire core. The sun! The scar down his chest had vanished. Ruby Glow sat next to him, smiling as she rubbed the head of a tiny unicorn filly.

"Didja see!?" chriped the little filly. "I did it! I really did it!"

"That was amazing, Ginger." Ruby Glow nuzzled her fondly. "We couldn't be more proud of you."

The little filly turned to him. "I'm finally just like you, daddy!" She was beaming, she was so happy, and he saw himself ripping in half on the reflection of her eyes. "I'm a real 'mancer now. Does this mean I get to go to Canterlot? Huh!?"

"In a year or two," he found himself saying. He hadn't meant to. It came out in a strangled whisper, but neither of them seemed to notice.

"Awwww... well, can you at least teach me until then?"

"Your father and I will help you prepare as much as we can," Ruby said. "There's more to magic than just throwing around fireballs. Telekinesis is an important skill, too!" She pointed to the horn atop her own head. "This little moneymaker makes the best forging in Equestria!"

"Whoaaaa."

"Yup!" she nodded. "But just remember, there's only so much we can teach you. Magic is what makes a unicorn unique, and every unicorn has their own particular brand. It's an extension of their very essence! We can only teach you the basics, but one day, you're going to have to look within yourself to make the true magic shine."

The light atop his forehead pulsed weakly. He flinched, blinked.

His eyes opened again, and a very different scene unfolded before him.

He stood upon the deck of a sleek airship, the chaos of a battle all around him. Dark, bug shapes swarmed through the starlit air, clashing with armored pegasi and two alicorns who wielded the aurora itself. More armored ponies clashed with huge cats across the deck, but several figures emerged from the carnage to face him.

A tall, hooded diamond dog, gripping a magnificent spear in paws that shone with pink fire. At his shoulders, the shadow from the caves.

The blue monster. Ahuitzotl. He grinned with evil intent, licking one of the razor talons on his fingers.

...His daughter. Ginger. Armored in dull gray, metal smoky and charred but still strong. Her horn blazed with a strength his had never known, and all the elements answered her call. Her eyes were glowing a piercing white, the mark of deep magic.

"You did this," she hissed at him.

"Oh, yes you did!" Ahuitzotl rumbled in agreement.

The hooded diamond dog merely leveled his spear, while the shadow at his shoulders cried, "Do not flee from yourself! Face and grow strong!"

All their bodies flickered, morphed, and before his very eyes, swirled together to form a single entity.

Frost Snap hatefully glared at at the unicorn, eyes glowing sickly blue. Dragonbreath hissed from between gritted teeth. A pristine, unblemished white coat glimmered in the night. Small icicles dangled from the tips of his mane. His horn pulsed, and a jagged, three-foot blade of ice grew to encase it. He leveled this, pawing at the deck.

"You did this!" he roared, and charged.

The unicorn couldn't move. Only watch, in utter horror, as the icy horn stabbed into his throat...

RRRRRRRRRIP!

...and tore him open from chest to tail.

"Aaauugh!" His eyes flew open, and met those of a deepest emerald. The mare called Ruby Glow still lay entwined against him, ethereal form flickering ever so slightly.

As their eyes met, she leaned forward and nuzzled him. "Bad dream?"

"The worst..."

They lay together like that for a while, drawing comfort from touch.

Eventually, there came a knocking at the door.

"You have a visitor at the door. I cannot stay." Ruby gently slid away.

He reached out a hoof, catching her by the tail. "Don't go," he pleaded hoarsely.

Ruby's tail flicked out of his grasp. "Warden must not know I am here of my own accord. But, for the record, I've never left," she said, winking over her shoulder.

He tumbled out of bed after her, but the mare vanished before his eyes, fading into oblivion with the sound of faint laughter. The noise seemed to echo through his ears like thunderclaps, though he felt as though they were the sweetest things to ever grace his senses.

The door opened to reveal the alicorn master of the castle, Warden, who saw him sitting upon the stone floor with a hoof still plaintively outstretched. She said nothing, only noting that he had indeed awoken and gesturing with a shriveled wing to her side. The message was clear; he was to follow.

Swallowing, he rose and trotted after her as the cloaked pony began to stalk away. He caught up with her after only a few seconds, casting an eye all around. Greyguard, she had called the castle the previous night, was constructed from solid stone. The floors were smooth, polished granite, white carpet strewn down the center of each passage. Rough-hewn rock made up the walls, laced with veins of glowing crystal that traced strange, otherwordly patterns in every color of the rainbow. Here and there, a tapestry hung, each one a different style. He had no names for the things he saw in them, always pictures of ponies in the middle of the act of some great deed.

They passed through an ornate, gem-studded portcullis, and emerged upon the ramparts of the castle walls. To one side, the empty cavern that the castle inhabited loomed, nothing more than naked stone and swirling shadows. To his other, Greyguard itself, a pale ivory keep that rose upwards from the ground as if it had grown that way. The walls were sleek and reflective. There were no cracks in any surface. From the top of the tallest tower, a mighty stream of light streaked upwards, vanishing at a point far above where the cavern's natural roof should have been.

There were no other inhabitants save Warden and himself, and possibly that blue monster, but he did not wish to go looking for that one. As they entered again into the castle's bowels, they passed a kitchen and a dining area, both appearing as though they had been in use only seconds before; a delicious feast in various stages of setting and preparing had been arranged, though nopony had come to eat or cook it! An infirmary, a nursery, a library, a grand hall all passed them by. Each furnished lavishly and seeming as though occupied, but the deathly quiet couldn't fool him.

It was only until they had entered the keep itself did Warden finally speak, and even then she did not look at him, only continue to stride forward on her thin, pale limbs. "Have you given your situation any thought, little light?"

Little light? He wondered, but made no mention of it. "Yes. I have only grown more confused," he said. And this was true. Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of red. He dare not look at it.

Warden sighed. "The matters of the soul are never an easy thing to understand. Even I do not claim to comprehend their ways, only to guide them to the next stage."

"Is that why I am here, then? To be guided?" He asked.

"If so, not by me." Warden trailed to a halt. Before them stood a large, impressive door, made of blackwood and laced with silver runes. "No," she said. "No, you are no longer a part of my flock. Another has taken you under her wing, you should be grateful. Were your soul returned to the Great Cycle by myself, you would be lost and consumed. It would be as a whisper among a great concert, swallowed up, never to be heard again. I will not do such a thing. My purpose is not to bring ends."

The shattered spire atop her brow sparked to life, a weak white aura that sparked wildly from the jagged tip. The huge door shuddered, before opening with a noise of rumbling stone. A gust of air whipped the stallion's mane before him. He got the impression that his door had not been opened in a long time.

"But... she may have something in mind..."

They stepped in together. Here, the mighty pillar of light he had seen outside traveled down through the tallest tower, coming to a rest upon Greyguard's very foundations. The air around them was violently swirling with motes of light and dust, though he felt it as nothing more than a pleasant breeze. "It's beautiful," he murmured, watching the spiraling column.

"This is the root of the Fount," said Warden. "Here, all that ever was and will be enters and re-enters the living world. The Fount is the very nexus of all magical leylines, and all souls that are reborn into the Great Cycle eventually pass through this point. I would not stand so close," she commented as he began to edge forward, eyes shining in wonder.

He scampered back a couple steps. "Why have you brought me here?"

Warden's pale eyes flickered to him, the Fount, then to him again. "It was requested that the little light who fell so far into my kingdom be brought for judgement."

"Judgement?" his nose scrunched. "You told me that the pony I once was, this... Frost, had committed great crimes, and had met his end. You said I was one sliver of soul he would not give up to darkness. Am I to be judged for the wrongs of my creator?"

"Not judged for crimes. Judged for potential," Warden replied, then pointed with a hoof to the Fount. "Look!"

Something emerged from the Fount itself. He felt himself tremble as a colossal presence entered the room.

A long, black horn speared out of the light like the bowsprit of a great ship. A beautiful equine face followed, fur blacker than the void of space. Her eyes contained no pupils, and only shone with pure whiteness, like the glare of snow on a sunny day, the mark of the deepest of magic. Her mane and tail softly whipped about in a cosmic breeze, and looking at them, he saw hundreds of thousands of galaxies and stars, all bound together in an unfathomable tapestry. This new alicorn was enormous, nearly three times the height of Warden. Huge wings rested half-unfurled at her sides, shooting stars and great nebulae issuing from the tips of her feathers. The mark across her hips was that of a small spark midst the darkness of her fur, and he immediately knew it to be the single burst of existence at the beginning of everything.

The titan mare projected such a sense of serenity that he found tears flowing freely from his face, though he did not weep. This is what it must feel like to have a mother, he thought, and then realized he had not known what a mother even was until he gazed upon this mare. He felt it prudent to bow, and did so, nose pressing flat to the cold stone.

"Galaxia," greeted the other alicorn in the room, if a bit coldy. "I have brought it to you as per your request. If you have further need of me, I will not be far." Warden primly turned and stepped from the chamber, dark cloak flapping in the caressing winds. The stallion watched her go out of the corner of his eye, too frightened to rise.

They were alone in the chamber. He swallowed thickly. What if this mare measured him and found him lacking? The sheer weight of her presence alone told him that he existed only because she willed it. He trembled visibly now, afraid that he would never see Ruby Glow again. He was not sure he knew the red mare -- though maddeningly familiar, the details of his dream were now faint and fuzzy -- but he was forever grateful for her for spending the night with him, and watching over him in this place.

"No."

He would not face oblivion like a coward, if that was indeed what this Galaxia brought with her. He thought of Ruby Glow, of that smirk upon her beautiful face, and of the warmth in his chest whenever she was near. The mighty alicorn did not seem so terrifying anymore. The stallion raised himself from the floor. He faced the alicorn. Stared into the blinding whites of her eyes.

Galaxia blinked.

He could feel something encircling him, coming inside him, a sort of silvery warmth that slipped into the edges of his thoughts. He realized that the alicorn was entering his mind an instant before her gigantic, tranquil presence filled him utterly. He was nothing to this titan. And yet, she only observed, briefly flickering outwards into his consciousness, brushing any halfhearted resistance he mounted with a caress and squeeze.

There wasn't much to go through. The brief moments of his existence played back again. The arrival in the cave of great stone pillars. Ahuitzotl and his arrival. The long journey through Tartarus. The mighty chasm of the Pit. A scarlet hoof catching him as he fell. She saw them. She saw Ruby and him, together. Following the river. The subterranean jungle. Surging pride and rage, Ahuitzotl's agonizing strikes. Warden's restoration of his shattered body. Arriving at the castle in near comatose state. The room. Ruby again, climbing into bed with him, holding him close and simply being there...

And then...

Just as quickly as she entered him, she was gone, and he was alone inside himself again. He breathed a sigh of relief, eyes crossing from the effort of sorting his own thoughts out again.

One corner of Galaxia's lips turned up by the faintest degree.

The stallion felt a sense of reassurance wash over him, as if her were being nestled into the softest of warm blankets as somepony crooned a lullaby above him. He wheezed and laughed, tears still freely flowing. Whatever he had done, he felt as though he had passed the great alicorn's judgement. The effort of standing was now impossible. He felt as though he had run a thousand miles with stones upon his back. He toppled to the ground, still smiling contentedly.

A hoof prodded his shoulder. He rolled, to find Ruby Glow standing above him, Galaxia poised at her shoulder. The red mare had never seemed more tangible. "Told you," Ruby said.

He had never felt more at peace. "You were in my dream... but I can't remember. Who are you? Were you my wife? Who are you really?" he breathed.

"Somepony who loves you," she replied, leaning down to nuzzle him. "And that is all that matters. Thank you for this," she added to Galaxia. "We won't disappoint you!"

Galaxia, for her part, only dipped her head in acknowledgement. Her long, ebony horn flashed once, some indication of a signal, and then she retreated from the pair. They watched as she walked back towards the pulsing column of light, before she paused.

Galaxia looked back at them.

And winked.

With that, she vanished into the light.

There was a moment of silence. Then, Ruby gently asked. "Who are you, though?"

"Not him," he answered quietly. "Or at least, not what he became. I am not Frost." Ruby only smiled at him. It held the kind of warmth he never thought he'd find down here. He reached out and grasped her hoof in his. "But... I can be somepony else. I think I know why I am here!"

The huge doors rumbled open, stealing his next words and he turned to see the gaunt figure of Warden stalking through them. He glanced to his side, finding that Ruby had vanished. Warden stopped a few paces away, staring at him with an expressionless gaze. "I see you are still here. This bodes well for you, spirit. You may yet make it out of this place."

Spirit.

There. That was it!

"Yes," he said. As long as he had Ruby beside him, he was willing to do whatever it took. He knew that she would watch over him, catch him if he started to fall. "I understand, now."

"Do you?"

"A second chance," he affirmed. "To be a better pony. To right the wrongs committed in a past life. I... he did terrible things. But I can rise above the same weakness that drove him down." Warden merely stared. He gulped. "And... and I know that I will never truly redeem myself for what's been done. I will never have a true soul, a truly pony soul ever again. I am no longer a pony. I'm a spirit. I am Spirit."

A new name. A new beginning.

Warden's eyebrow lifted. She said nothing.

Spirit met her gaze evenly, silent as well. Even as she watched, the deep blue of his mane, tail and eyes began to fade, replaced by whiteness. The marks across his flanks, a dark storm cloud spewing flurries, dissolved across his fur and ran down his legs like water, pooling on the floor. His entire body took on a faint distortion, a slight blurring of the edges.

"You are not incorrect in your assumption," Warden said. "You will become the force of good to balance out all the evil caused by your past self. I will send you back into the world to begin your redemption. But first, I must break you down and forge you anew. It will not be easy, and you will not emerge the same. The stains of Frost Snap still coat your essence, and it will take effort to cleanse yourself. But... it can be done. We start on the morrow."

Spirit grinned. For the first time, he knew what hope felt like.

...And in the darkness, a little light sparked into being.

Achievement Earned: "The Only Mushrooms I Do Give Me Extra Lives"
Character revealed! Level up! - Spirit, the White Knight of Winter

-Perk Unlocked: He's Totally the Paladin: (+15 ever-y-thang against all forces of evil) Bubble hearth! Yeah! Bubble hearth! Epic class mount! Yeah! Bubble hearth!

-Spell Unlocked: OP Paladin Smash lulz(I): (200% damage against undead, demon) You surround yourself with a thin veil of light and ram your target with all your might, scorching them and knocking them down. Upgrade further to inflict gratuitous amounts of property damage!

-Spell Upgraded: Lover's Light: (+10 perception, +15 magic) There's something lurking in the darkness. But you aren't afraid. Keep her close to your heart and your light will never waver. This passive aura has grown stronger, and receives a chance to cause Spirit to use deep magic when his health drops below 10%, with no mana cost.

Author's Notes:

galaxia is too op she should get nerfed in the next patch