I quickly unsheathed my blade to block the strike. To my surprise, his sword went straight through my sword and through my body. Instead of shattering my blade and shredding my skin, the blade passed right through without leaving a scratch. I turned to stare at the figure and he continued to speak with someone else. “Do you think that I would simply allow you to do this? It is an insult to leave it here! Firefist made this for you, no one else!”

I was baffled by the scene, it was like watching a movie but in person. The spirit was speaking to someone but I couldn’t see who he spoke with but something told me I already knew who it was.

“You do not deserve the armor you wear! The guardian’s are not meant to leave their responsibilities, and you just decide to up and walk away? I am not letting you leave this place alive. We took the vows, we have the skills, and we both know the cost of betrayal.” The stallions steel glare turned to one of sadness,”We may be the last of the guardians and the price of peace may have been our brothers and sisters” his expression filled with hatred and fury. “But that does not mean you can leave.” He threw his sword at the wall and both the ghostly figure and the sword faded away.

“What was that about? Was he speaking with Senior?” I turned and found the exit of the hall. I found a small room connected to the hall and entered. It was lit with natural sunlight through the many cracks and crevices lining the ceiling. The room was barren, nothing inside but chunks of rock and tangling vines and moss. “There has to be something here.” and fortunately for me, there was. I found a trap door in the corner of the room buried under a pile of creeping moss. I flipped the hatch open and found a ladder leading into a deep darkness of a seemingly endless pit.

As I reached the bottom of the hole, I was engrossed by darkness. I charged up and cast the inferno spell as I slowly made my way through the newly discovered hall. The ghostly figure returned and looked to be battling with the character he was arguing with earlier. He continuously swung his sword with grace and finesse, each strike landing with a powerful blow. I continued to watch as the stallion fought furiously with his opponent. As the battle dragged on, I could see the exhaustion in the stallions facial expression, sweat trickled down his face as he took quick, short breaths.

“Senior! You won’t leave here alive!” Cried the stallion. Blood slowly leaked out of his chest wound and as it was about to hit the floor, it seamlessly vanished. He grasped his gaping wound as he grunted in pain. He seemed to be paying attention to Senior as if he were speaking and cried out,”You won’t get lucky like that again!” As he raised his blade, he leapt towards down the hall. Once he was in the air, he vanished once again.

“What are these two fighting about?” I questioned. I knew that it was about Senior’s betrayal of the past Guardians but there seemed to be more here. ‘If they were the only ones left, why would they spend this time fighting in some goddess forsaken cave?’ I thought.

As I reached the end of the hall, I finally found a large room with unlit candles lining the walls. “This seems promising.” I said. I looked around the room and as I made my way through, I lit the candles with the inferno spell, so I could salvage as much mana as I could for the day. As the room slowly lit up with a dim ambiance, I found someone. I found him lying in the middle of the room. He was calm, and peaceful. I slowly approached him and knelt down beside him. He was holding a note in his hands as he slept on the floor. As I retrieved it from his grasp, I gave it a quick read:

To whom is reading this, My name is Diamond Sprint and I would like to take this time to bestow my knowledge of our Creed into your memory. It was a beloved Guild founded by the great Starswirl the bearded. He raised the guild to be protectors of this great and noble land, to fight the dark forces that seek the eminent destruction of peace.

During the war of the Gryphon kingdoms and the Equestrian kingdoms, we were lead into battle by the fearless and courageous human known as Senior. He was a remarkable man with powerful charisma, able to get any challenge given to him mastered within an hours time. As this man lead our army of guardians into battle, he seemed to crack under the pressure of the rising war before us. He charged in alone, with both his swords at the ready. I watched as he slaughtered many of the winged demons as they tried to rip and tear away at his armor, but to no avail. He must have taken out twenty of the beasts as we watched from afar. Once we seen that he seemed to be struggling, the remainder of the Guardians and I followed in example. We were winning the fight by a devastating amount but had we greater knowledge of the allies the gryphons commanded, we would have been more cautious. A horde of dragons swept over the skies and charred all those that stood in the way of their scorching flames. They burned both guardian and gryphon alike as they stormed through, raining fear and discouragement amongst both armies.

We would have lost if it weren’t for Senior. With his blades drawn, he merely gazed at the dragons and they flew off. Was it fear? Or was it because of the treaty they had signed? All the answers I seek seem to be less important with the passing time of this moment. Each moment growing just a bit darker. I loved Senior as a brother, we fought side by side, through thick and thin. The battle must have been too much for him, for he seeks to return to his world. He claims to be tired of the ordeals of war, But I know better. Senior, he was a man of war. When he put on that armor, he was nearly unstoppable. He fought countless enemies, saved many lives, and risked his own in order to protect the common. He did this righteously, and never asked for a award.

I fear that I’ve lost my dearest brother to the dark thoughts that plague his mind. And now that I know that he’s gone and he leaves me here, I feel mournful. I seek the forgiveness of my fallen brothers and sisters in arms, please know that I soon will be joining you. I love you all.

Till we meet again, Diamond Sprint.

I glanced over to Diamond and gave him a respectful bow in silence. I didn’t wish to leave the stallion to be hidden in a hole, far beneath the ground never to be seen again but I couldn’t muster the strength to concentrate. All I could do was say my quiet goodbyes to the unfortunate soul. “Sleep peacefully brother, I’ll join you and our brothers and sisters in the ethereal plains one day.” I heard a group of hoofsteps and footsteps nearing the room. I didn’t move, I couldn’t move. I wasn’t in fear, I was simply mourning the loss of Diamond Sprint. He was a loyal soul, and would have made a great and trust worthy ally. I felt a warm hand place itself on my shoulder and I stood still.

“Dark, What’s...” Terra looked over my shoulder and found the skeleton of Diamond. He slowly bowed his head and paid his respect to the fallen warrior. “Diamond, I’m sorry.” I could see a tear mustering inside the eyes of the green dragon. “I used to know him, he was a noble and loyal soul. He used to be dear friends with Senior, where was he when this happened?” I didn’t wish to crush the poor dragon’s spirits, so I hid the small letter inside my pants pocket.

“Who’s the dea.. Ouch! What was that for?” Pyro shouted after Axton gave him a shot to the arm.

“Have some respect will ya?” scolded the unicorn.

The group of five including myself stood in silence.

“Goodbye, Diamond.”

Next Chapter: Escaping the Darkness. Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 51 Minutes