Skylark and the Spirit realm

Skylark and the Spirit Realm (Completed)

It was six months since Skylark and ponyville’s ordeal with the Shadow Lurker Pirates. And he was enjoying spending time with all six of his very good friends whom we all know. At this moment he was having a get together picnic with all his friends, each of them supplying something for it. Applejack supplied some of her famous apple treats, Pinkie Pie supplied cupcakes, Fluttershy brought a healthy salad and the list goes on. The seven were all having a good time joking, playing and chatting. Suddenly something really strange happened.
The seven were taking some time to relax silently gazing up at the clouds occasionally commenting on the appearance of a cloud. Then Applejack heard something, it was a faint scream.
“What in tarnation was that?” she said.
“What was what Applejack?” Pinkie asked.
“Wait, listen.” Applejack replied.
The screams continued gradually getting louder. All seven now heard it.
“What WAS that?” Twilight asked.
“Wait I’ll go check.” Skylark said. And he got up and started towards where the screams were coming from. Suddenly he saw an Earth pony dashing towards him. “What’s wrong?” he asked. But the Pony didn’t seem to notice him and kept on running. What’s more his eyes weren’t normal. It was as if there was a dark void where they were supposed to be. He dashed past Skylark and was heading for the six friends. Skylark flew at top speed and got in front of the pony. The pony with a look of sheer horror and fear on his face stopped and looked behind him.
“Whew! I lost it.” he said. Skylark was about to question him when the Pony yelled out, “OH NO THERE IT IS AGAIN!” And he dashed straight into Skylark. The other six were watching intently at the whole ordeal.
Suddenly from the pony came a bolt of electricity that went straight into Skylark. “Aaaaargh!” He exclaimed. The pony collapsed along with Skylark. The now quite shocked six immediately got up to go and help the two other ponies. Twilight picked up the tormented pony and Rarity picked up Skylark. They brought them to the picnic blanket. The pony that was yelling out and running now woke up and seemed perfectly normal.
“What the hay was that?” Applejack asked the pony.
He got up and said “I-I don’t know.” “I think it was some sort of curse.”
Twilight asked the pony how and when he started to experience the effects of this “curse”. He told her that it was when he ran into a pony that was yelling out and screaming just as he was. And when he tried to help him he saw a flash and blacked out. Skylark by now had recovered and was listening intently. The pony explained that when he woke up the pony was gone. He went into town thinking nothing of it then all of a sudden he started seeing things. He grew more frightened by the minute and eventually blacked out and woke up in some sort of world with spirits that started to chase him. Then he woke up later and everything was normal. He explained that this continued for six months until he finally came here.
“I hope for your sake that I did not pass it on to you because if I did then the curse will have left me and come and torment you.” The pony said to Skylark.
“I think we should research this.” Twilight said. “What is your name?” She asked.
“My name is Theodore but you may call me Theo.”
The seven all introduced themselves to Theo and decided to move along into Twilights library to research this strange occurrence.

Once inside Twilight got out a book of ancient unicorn magic and started paging through it. The others sat and waited.
“What was that?” Skylark asked.
What was what? Twilight said.
“There it is!” Skylark pointed towards a desk.
“I fear that the curse is taking effect on Skylark.” Theo said. “Can you not find anything Twilight?”
“No.” she said.

Skylark growing more afraid by the second yelled “There it is again!”
“Hang in there hon.” Applejack said trying to help.
Skylark’s eyes then went pitch black and he collapsed.
“Oh no the curse has taken effect!” Theo said.
Skylark got up and looked around. It appeared to be night time. The library was empty. He looked out the window and saw the bright moon, he also noticed that it was blood red. He grew more fearful by the second. He checked around the library. It seemed normal only eerily quiet. He heard noises, sort of distant wails. He looked around and saw a mysterious cloaked spirit. Its eyes were glowing orange and it had half a face. The other half was a bare skull. It moved slowly around the room, circling Skylark. Its breathing was very loud and heavy. Its cloak was wispy, old and tattered. And there was a dark cloud emanating around its body.
“W-who are you?” He asked. The spirit said nothing and moved towards him slowly. Skylark backed away looking for the door but there was none. The spirit shrieked and drew a long sword.

“AAAAA! Get away from me!” Skylark yelled scrambling to find something to defend himself with. He grabbed the chair and flung it at the pursuing spirit. It simply slashed the chair into lots of little pieces. It was now angry and chased Skylark around the room. Skylark desperately started running around the room. He was about to leap for the window when something tackled him and held him down. He could not see what it was. What he didn’t know was that this was in fact Applejack trying to stop him from leaving the library. This however gave the spirit an opportunity to thrust the sword deep into Skylark’s chest who was trying to break free of this invisible force. He screamed out in pain, gripping his chest. Then he blacked out.

Part two:A Quest

Skylark woke up on the floor. He got up slowly feeling rather dazed. He looked around the library. The seven others were still there. He checked the clock on the wall. The ordeal had lasted a full hour. Twilight noticed he was awake. “Skylark what happened?” She asked“Yeah! You were going crazy running around and even threw a chair that almost hit me!” Applejack said.*“You went as white as a ghost and your eyes seemed to disappear.” Rarity said.“It was horrible.” Skylark said. All the fear he had had was now gone and he remembered quite clearly what happened.“When I woke up the library was completely deserted. It was night time. I saw a spirit come at me with a sword. It had half a face and was dressed in an old robe. I tried to escape it by jumping out the window but I was tackled by some unknown force.” He explained.*“Uh that may have been me.” Applejack said.“It seems that only your spirit goes into this realm and what you do there corresponds to what you do here in reality.” Twilight said. ”Carry on.”Skylark then carried on “So I was being held down by Applejack and this thing decided to take advantage of this and it thrust the sword into my chest. I felt excruciating pain and blacked out. Then I woke up here.”*“Uh sorry about that.” Applejack said.*“That is fine. I don’t think there is any other way to leave that dreaded place.”“There Isn’t.” Theo said “The only way out is to be struck by the spirits.”“We need more information.” Twilight said. “I think Zecora will know more than I.” She said.“Well us others best be going. You probably won’t be needing us for now. Good luck!” Rarity said. And the five others left for home

Twilight, Skylark and Theo went straight to Zecora’s hut. Twilight knocked. Zecora opened and saw all three worried faces. “I can tell something is wrong from just one peek. Come in. I might have the help that all three of you seek.”“Thank you Zecora.” Twilight said as they entered. She explained all that had happened to Zecora.“This phenomenon I know well. It is caused by an evil unicorn named Ghirazelle.”*“Is there any way to stop this?” Twilight asked“There is one way and one way only. It is to banish him with the elements of harmony.”“Seems simple enough.” Skylark said.

“Oh no hold on there is a catch you see. You must banish him in the Spirit realm AND reality.”‘But…the only way to do that is if Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and the others were in the Spirit realm with me.” Skylark said.“It is as you say Skylark. And there is one way in. You must be accompanied by unicorn magic as you drink this potion.”Zecora started to mix and add herbs and spices to her cauldron. She chanted a few words and then filled eight bottles with this potion. She then poured the rest of the potion into a large flask and placed it on a shelf. She then began to mix up another potion and gave it to Skylark. “Skylark if you find yourself in the spirit realm again. Drink a drop of this potion and count to three. You will then find yourself back in reality.”She then gave a stack of notes from all of Zecora’s findings to Twilight. “Twilight this book has everything you need. You must go back to the library and give it a read.”Twilight took the notes and potions, thanked Zecora and left with the others.

Back at the library Twilight opened the book and began to read. Skylark sat the things down and waited with Theo. Twilight finally finished studying the most important bits such as the spell needed to enter the Spirit realm and useful tips and how to ward off Spirits. There was also information on Ghirazelle.Twilight explained to Skylark as he would be the one going into the spirit realm the most the easier he was for the spirits to strike. “If you fight the fear you become a harder target and can then fight back with ease.” Twilight said. I still need to read through the notes again to try decipher the puzzle of Ghirazelle’s whereabouts.“We are going to need to tell the others that we are going on a journey to fight this Ghirazelle.”Twilight said. “And alert Princess Celestia about this so we can obtain the Elements of Harmony.”“I will gladly go and inform the others.” Theo said.“Thanks! That would be a great help.” Twilight said.Theo left the library. Meanwhile Skylark called in Spike to send a letter to the Princess.

Dear Princess Celestia

We are in need of the Elements of Harmony to vanquish a foe that has created a curse moving from pony to pony and causing them endless grief. It s currently affecting one of us friends and we plan to put a stop to it before if moves along to somepony else. We will arrive Tomorrow to collect them.
On behalf of your faithful Student Twilight Sparkle
From Skylark
A reply came through
Dear Skylark
I will gladly lend you six the Elements of harmony to vanquish this foe because the last thing I want is an evil force causing trouble in my kingdom. I will have them ready for you tomorrow.

From Princess Celestia.*

“Okay the Elements will be ready for us when we get there at the palace. Wait…” Skylark felt fear looming over him. ”Oh no it is happening again.” Skylark said *“Come on fight the fear…Fight the fear I can leave whenever I want.” He kept saying this over and over. Twilight looked up.*“Are you okay?” She asked“Yeah I just feel myself-“ He passed out on the floor. His eyes went the unusual black colour.He woke up in the library. It was dark again and the moon was red like last time.*He felt fear creeping up on him. ”Come on Skylark you can do this.” He said to himself. But then he spotted the spirit. The fear overtook him. He screamed and ran. The spirit came towards him and drew its sword. But Skylark wasn’t about to let it strike him. He reached for the potion and let a drop fall into his mouth. The Spirit grew ever closer. “One…Two…Three!” And just before the spirit’s sword hit his head he found himself back in reality. He looked at Twilight. “Unfortunately I haven’t quite mastered controlling my fear yet.” He said“Don’t worry you will eventually.” Twilight saidAt that moment Theo stepped in “I’ve informed the others of what is happening. Fluttershy was a bit reluctant to come along but I managed to persuade her.“All right then.” Twilight said “Tomorrow we leave for the castle!”

Part Three: Armor of the Spirit

At the Train Station:

“Alright.” said Twilight “Everything is packed and ready right?”
“Yes looks like it.” Theo said.
“Alright everyone we’d best be leaving.” Twilight said
“Uh…Twilight…I…uh.” Fluttershy was interrupted by Twilight.
“Fluttershy for the hundredth time we need you with us to banish this enemy.”

“Yes but I really think.” Fluttershy tried but was interrupted.
“No buts! You are needed, you are coming and that is final. Do you want this spell to carry on tormenting innocent ponies?” Twilight asked.
“Well, No.” Fluttershy answered.
“Then hurry up and get on the train it is about to leave.” Twilight said.
They all got on and the train left for Canterlot.
“So where is this Unicorn hiding away?” Applejack asked.

“He lives somewhere far beyond the Everfree Forest. In a place called The Misty Swamp.” said Twilight.
“Why does it have to be a swamp?” Rarity asked. “The thought of having to walk through such a muddy, smelly, buggy place is simply dreadful!”
“Aw don’t be such a baby Rarity!” Applejack said.
“Humph! It is easy for you to say! You spend practically your whole day in the stuff!” Rarity said.
“Now listen here!” Applejack said.
“Please no fighting!” Twilight said.

The two calmed down and were quiet for the rest of the journey. When they arrived Twilight and the rest all grabbed the small amount of things they had for the journey and left straight for the Castle. When they entered they all bowed down to Celestia.
“Welcome my noble subjects.” Celestia said “Twilight you wanted the Elements of harmony. Here they are.” And she handed Twilight a small box containing all the elements. “Now who is this unicorn you are after, and what precisely is he doing?” She asked.
Well his name is Ghirazelle and he has cast a spell that moves from pony to pony and sends them into another realm. It sends them into a realm of spirits.” “He is hiding away in The Misty Swamp.” Twilight explained.
At that moment Skylark started to feel fear again. “Uh oh…” He said
“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked

Skylark started looking around the room.
“I think the spell is taking effect on him” Twilight said to Princess Celestia.
“Isn’t here anything we can do?” Celestia asked.
“No, it is all up to him to fight his fear.” Twilight answered.
Skylark’s eyes went the usual black colour and he passed out.
He woke up in the palace hall. It was night time as usual. The only difference was that instead of only one spirit there were three. They were all armed and heading towards him. “Come on. If I am going to fight this unicorn then I need to first learn to deal with these spirits.” He thought.
“They can’t hurt you if you don’t fear them.” Skylark said over and over. One of the spirits was now upon him and had drawn its sword and swung it down on Skylark. This time Skylark was quick enough to dodge it. He felt the fear slowly drift away. The other two spirits started to attack him now, swinging their swords. “That does it!” Skylark yelled.

He dashed towards one of the spirits before it could slice him with its sword and he kicked it as hard as he could in the face. It backed away screeching and left the hall. The other two now attacked with more force now but Skylark wasn’t letting them off either. He rushed between them and they tried to hit him only succeeding in hitting each other. They too left the hall and all was quiet.

Then he heard more spirits. He spotted them and there were so many he couldn’t count them. He knew he couldn’t fight them all so he got out his potion as quickly as possible but not quickly enough. When he looked up he saw a spirit with a mace that struck him in his side. The blow sent him flying across the hall and when he hit the wall he passed out again.
He woke up against the wall, got up and looked around.
“Are you okay?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Yes I’m quite alright” Skylark said.

“If this is what this spell does then I wish you luck and a safe journey.” Princess Celestia said
Suddenly Skylarks Chest began to glow. “What is happening?” He asked. There was a flash of light and a Brass breast plate appeared on him. “What the heck!” He exclaimed.
“This is rather odd.” Twilight said I’ll see if there is something like this in Zecora’s notes. “For the moment though we should get going on our journey.”
They all left the castle and headed for the train.”We need to go to a town called Gallopos it is the nearest town from what I can see to the village.” Twilight said while looking at a map.

They boarded a train and went straight for the city. On the way Twilight tried to find out information on Skylark’s armour that appeared on him earlier. She found absolutely nothing.
They arrived at Gallopos. Twilight started to look around the town for anyone who knew where the swamp was because the whole town was surrounded by forest and Twilights map was now useless.

She eventually found a Stallion willing to help her. He said “Well I don’t know why you need to go there but anyway there is a slightly overgrown path if you leave going that way. It is the only path there and if you follow it you will get to Misty Swamp. But be careful you can easily get lost in there and there are a lot of monsters in there.”

She thanked the stallion and she and the others went into the forest. Fluttershy had to be dragged as usual but the others got her in. They slowly walked down the path.

Skylark felt the spell taking effect. This time he felt no fear. He passed out and woke up in the spirit realm. He looked around. He saw no spirits around. He did hear a voice calling him though. “Come...” “Come...” “Come this way.” He headed slowly in the direction of the voice. “Come...” “Come...” The voice got louder and louder. He turned the corner and saw a spirit sitting at the side of a small path. “It’s a trap!” He said. He readied himself to ward off the spirit. “I mean you no harm. I am a traveller and I have information that will help you on this task you and your friends face.” The spirit said.

“I see you have already acquired the first element of the spirit.” The spirit said.
“Elements of the spirit what are those?” Skylark asked.
The spirit explained. “For you to get through the road ahead to get to and defeat Ghirazelle you need to defeat what evils you will come across during the way. Your friends will play a vital role in defeating them and you must be able to protect them and get them to Ghirazelle safely.”
“How do you know all this?” Skylark asked.
“I know everything about you and your friends. I know about your encounter and defeat of the Shadowlurker Pirates.” The spirit said.
“Now listen carefully. The elements of the spirit can be learned only in the spirit realm. You have already learned the first one on your own, Courage. There are two more still to learn. They are the Helmet of Wisdom and the Sword of Power. If you learn these your spirit will be strong and you will be able to protect your friends.”
“How and when will I learn these feats?” Skylark asked the spirit.
“You must walk down this road. Do not worry about your friends. You will be reunited with them at the end of this road. I will send them a message to them. But now you must go. Learn and obtain the elements so you can protect your friends in the Misty Swamp.”

“Alright I will.” Skylark said.
He then found himself in reality again. He slowly headed down the path.

Meanwhile the seven others were waiting hoping Skylark would return when Twilight had a vision. It was the spirit telling her that Skylark was fine and that they must press forward where they will meet up with him later.
Twilight told the others of her vision and they pressed forward into the unknowns of the forest.

Part Four: The Trials

It was now up to Skylark to strengthen his spirit so he could help get the others to Ghirazelle safely so that they could defeat him. He moved down the path slowly not knowing what to expect. He carried on moving along keeping a close eye on the things around him. He had moved quite far down the road when he felt the spell taking effect again. He was ready for it this time. He kneeled down onto the ground and closed his eyes. He opened them again and found himself in the spirit realm.

He was met by the spirit he talked to earlier “Skylark. This trial will test your wisdom. You must get through to the other side without being discovered by the spirits. These paths are blocked by sturdy gates in reality but are not in the spirit realm. This will ensure that you cannot cheat in this trial.” “You must choose your path wisely.”
The spirit vanished. Skylark took a good look at both paths. One was narrow and had many bushes in it and there were three spirits patrolling it. The other one was slightly wider and had a few bushes and no spirits. Skylarks immediate intention was to go down the wider path but then he thought.” Maybe this is some sort of trap. The spirit didn’t tell me that this path would be easy. He decided to take the narrow path.

He moved through the bushes and notices the spirit closest to him was about to turn around. He jumped behind one of the bushes. He made a small thump. This however was enough to attract the spirit’s attention and it started to move towards where he was. His mind was racing he grabbed a nearby rock and threw it behind the spirit. It landed with a loud thud and rolled into the bushes. This attracted the attention of all three spirits and they converged to the spot where the rock landed. They were all now making a noise rustling through the bushes. Skylark used this to his advantage and camouflaged himself to look like a plant and moved to one of the bushes further down the path and hid himself in it.

The spirits had now given up searching the bushes and resumed patrolling. Skylark looked for another rock but found none. He didn’t know what to do now. He couldn’t move or else the spirits would notice him. He noticed something. He felt a breeze starting. That was it! He would move when the breeze blew the bushes. He waited for a strong gust of wind. The middle spirit was about to pass him now. The wind blew and all the bushes rustled. Skylark took the opportunity and quietly snuck out behind the spirit. He snuck into one of the further bushes. The spirit was walking the other way. Skylark hid behind one of the bushes.

He waited for another breeze and for the final patrolling spirit to pass by him. He took his opportunity and dashed off down the path. “I’ve done it!” he thought. But suddenly he saw a sturdy gate in the distance guarded by two spirits! He stopped dead and dived behind a bush. He could see there was no way he could get past them without being seen. Then an idea occurred to him. He noticed the gate had an eerie glow. Perhaps this was a gate only seen in the spiritual realm. He thought for a moment. “The spirit said nothing about anything beyond the forked path. And besides, the two paths had joined now anyway.” He decided to drink his potion and go back into reality.

When he returned he looked down the path. No spirits and…no gate! He headed down the path and past where the gate was. ”I think I’ve done it now.” Skylark thought. And he had, a helmet appeared before him. He took it and put it on. Suddenly he heard a message from the spirit. “Congratulations Skylark. You have completed the first trial and gained the helmet of wisdom. The next trial is just down this path.” Skylark carried on down the path.

Meanwhile the other seven had moved quite a distance down the path they were following. Unknown to them though this path was parallel to the path Skylark was walking down. They received a message from the spirit explaining all that will happen and what they must do once they get to Ghirazelle.

“You seven play a vital role in banishing Ghirazelle. Skylark will join you soon and it will be his job to protect you from the monsters that are in the swamp. You must banish Ghirazelle in the spirit realm as you know. But because he also exists in the spirit realm anything he does there will happen in reality. Therefore if he should do any harm to any of you it will carry over into reality. That is why you must be very careful and why Skylark must strengthen his spirit.”

“But what about me what is my purpose?” Theo asked
“Your purpose in all this you will figure out soon enough.” The spirit told him. “Travel safely and be careful.” It said as it left them.

Skylark got to the point where his next challenge was supposed to be. He felt the spell taking effect and he passed out and woke up in the spirit realm again. The spirit was there again to explain to him what he must do. “Skylark this is the final trial that you must face. It will test your battle capabilities and your power. You must defeat all the spirits down this path. You must hurry however. Because your friends will soon encounter a beast and they will not be able to fight it off alone.” The spirit disappeared”

“Oh no! My friends are in danger! I have to complete this trial as quickly as possible.” Skylark exclaimed.

He rushed down the path. He saw that there were again three spirits each with a different weapon. He came across the first one. It had a sword. It spotted him and immediately attacked. It lunged at him but his chest plate protected him. He grabbed the sword from the spirit and swung it down and chopped the spirits leg off. The spirit immediately disappeared. His sword now changed as well. It transformed into the sword of power. Skylark was surprised but he asked no questions. He immediately rushed to attack the other two spirits so he could get to his friends.

Twilight was leading the others through the dark forest. She used her unicorn magic to light the way. She kept hearing noises as if something was coming her way but she kept it a secret as not to scare the others. Then suddenly a large monster appeared around the corner. It looked like a large ghostly Griffin. It roared loudly. The seven ponies were dead scared and all tried to run away from it but it was no use. It was swinging its claws at the ponies driving them into one another. It went for each of them trying to grab them. It looked as if all hope was lost.

Suddenly Skylark appeared around the corner. He drew his sword and charged at the beast yelling out at it. It tried to fight back but Skylark kept on circling around it and cutting it with his sword. It eventually gave up and flew away to avoid being killed.
“Are all of you alright?” Skylark asked.
“Yes we are fine thanks to you.” They all said.
“I am glad you are all okay.” Skylark said “It is going to be my job to protect you all from now on.” he said.
“Come on we have no time to waste. This is the entrance to The Misty Swamp.” Twilight said.
“Yes. And the sooner we defeat Ghirazelle the better.” Theo said.
They all moved slowly into the swamp.

Part Five: The Battle

The eight ponies were finally at the swamp where Ghirazelle was hiding. Finally this whole nightmare was going to come to an end. However it was nighttime now and it was very dark. The eight decided to make a camp fire and build a shelter. Theo, Skylark Applejack gathered wood and leaves and started to build the simple shelter. And the others set about building a nice large fire.

“We best take turns to watch out for monsters.” Twilight suggested. “And if any monsters do show up then Skylark will have to fight them.”
“Um…Skylark? I don’t like you harming these monsters even if they are monsters I don’t think that we should um…harm them.” Fluttershy said quietly.

Skylark calmly explained to her “Fluttershy these monsters are created by Ghirazelle to come and kill us. I have to harm them or else they will kill us all. Do you want that?”
“Um…no…” Fluttershy replied
“Exactly.” Skylark said. Now I will patrol for the first two hours then we can rotate.”
They all settled down in the shelter and fell asleep. Skylark was patrolling around the campsite keeping a close eye on shadows and listening for noises. Skylark came across no monsters and soon the time came to trade places. Pinkie pie traded places with him. She too encountered nothing. Theo was next. He watched for about 20 minutes when out of the bushes leaped a huge monster with legs of a bird and a head of a lizard. It also had large wings and a tail. It hissed and roared which woke everyone else up. Skylark got up immediately and yelled for everyone to get a safe distance away.

Skylark called for Rainbow to create a distraction while he went to attack it. Rainbow swooped down towards it and kept giving it light kicks as she flew past, Skylark drew his sword and rushed at the beast it was too distracted to notice him and he slashed its chest with his sword. It now screamed and attacked Skylark. Nothing Rainbow did would distract it.

Skylark yelled for Rainbow to get back to safety while he dodged and counter attacked the monster. It grabbed Skylarks sword with its sharp talons and took it away from him. Skylark was now completely defenseless. He tried getting the sword back but was only smacked aside by the monster. He decided to fly up into the air and confuse the monster. He flew way up above the tree line and then came zooming down and used his helmet to bash the monster on the head. His helmet absorbed most of the impact but he still felt a little dazed. The creature was the hardest hit it was knocked out temporarily. Skylark quickly grabbed his sword and thrust it into the monster. It slowly evaporated into a thin dark mist.

“What just happened?” The seven others asked.

“I…don’t actually know.” Skylark replied “But it must have something to do with the fact that that monster was sent by Ghirazelle.”
“We should go. This place is no longer safe.” Twilight said
“But what about my beauty sleep? A pony has to stay fresh no matter where they are you know.” Rarity said.
“Aw to heck with sleep! I would be surprised if we even make it out of here!” Applejack said.
“Oh don’t be so negative Applejack.” Pinkie Pie said with her usual grin.
“Yes Pinkie is right, so long as we have one another we will be alright.” said Twilight
“Come on let’s go then. Before more monsters arrive.” Skylark said.
They moved on down the road and were met by the travelling spirit who had given them previous messages.

“You must take great care from this point. Ghirazelle is close and his home is guarded by a large ogre.” He said. “And remember. He exists both in the spirit realm and reality so to defeat him you must banish him in both realms. Also whatever harm he inflicts will be inflicted on your body in reality as well so be careful.”
“Thank you for the warning kind spirit.” Skylark said

The eight ponies advanced cautiously now as they neared Ghirazelle’s hut. They came to a clearing and spotted it. They ran cautiously to it. When they arrived at the door Twilight whispered to them that they would break down the door and hit Ghirazelle immediately with the Elements. They all drank their potion and were transported into the spirit realm.

Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were all a little shocked when they first arrived. Skylark and Theo whom had both been there before kept them calm. Suddenly a spirit came rushing at them from the surrounding forest giving off a loud eerie scream.

Fluttershy screamed loudly with fear.
“Quick Theo help me with this spirit!” Skylark yelled.
Skylark drew his sword and rushed at the spirit. Theo while a bit reluctant charged at the spirit. The spirit swung its sword down but was blocked by Skylark. Then Theo knocked the spirit over with the force of his charge. Skylark took the opportunity and dealt a finishing blow on the spirit. It promptly evaporated.
“Well, well, well…look who we have here. The eight ponies of which my spirit scouts have told me so much about.”
Ghirazelle is a large purple unicorn with a long horn and evil grin. He slowly approached them. The six readied the Elements of Harmony.
“Silly ponies…do you think you can defeat me that easily?” He asked in a smug tone.
“Yes! These are the Elements of Harmony!” Rainbow said.
“They are useless when not in their spiritual form.” Ghirazelle answered.
“Oh really? Well we’ll see about that.” Rainbow said

The six activated the elements of harmony. There was a bright light, the energy came out in a beam and went straight into Ghirazelle. The power stopped and the six then found out that Ghirazelle was completely unharmed.

“Ha ha haa! What did I tell you?” he said. “Now let’s see how well you do without the Elements of Harmony.”

He summoned the ogre that guards his hut. It stood as high as 15 houses. It had a very large axe. It immediately attacked the ponies. Twilight used all of her available magic to defend her friends. Theo and Skylark dealt blows whenever possible and the other five tried to figure out a plan. They tried and tried when suddenly the answer came from an unlikely source. Pinkie Pie had a brainwave.
“Girls don’t you see! This is exactly like baking cupcakes! If you want to make a cupcake you need to put all the ingredients together then put them into and oven to transform them from batter to Cupcakes!” She explained.
“I don’t follow.” Rarity said.
“If the Elements of Harmony are the ingredients then you need to put them together. That means activating them. Now you need to bake them to transform them. That means putting them through something that will change them into spiritual form and what better way than through somepony’s spirit!” She explained.
Twilight was listening between spells. “It sounds crazy but it may just work!” She said
Theo volunteered to be the one to transform the elements. He positioned himself in front of the ogre. The ogre now tried to swing his axe and kill Theo but Skylark foresaw it and thrust his word into the ogres arm. It yelled out and dropped its axe. The Elements fired and the ogre was banished in a flash of light.

“Grrr! Now you’ve done it!” Ghirazelle yelled out with anger.
He drew his own sword using his magic and charged at the seven ponies but was intercepted by Skylark. He slashed at him but Skylark blocked. Skylark needed to buy the other ponies time to use the elements again.
“Come here and fight you coward and fool!” Skylark taunted
Ghirazelle then focused his anger on Skylark and fought brutally with him. Twilight did not have much energy left and used the last of it to activate the Elements one last time. Ghirazelle was so busy fighting with Skylark to realize that he was about to be beaten. He looked up to find the Elements activated and heading for him. He knew he was beaten so in one final attempt he ripped Skylark’s sword out of his hooves and thrust it into an exposed part in his armor. Skylark fell to the floor with a long cry of pain and the elements banished Ghirazelle forever. The Eight ponies’ souls returned to reality.
The eight ponies had accomplished what they set out to do. They had banished the evil Ghirazelle. But this was at a high price. Skylark was now mortally wounded. Twilight had no more power or energy to heal him she needed to rest before she could try again.

“Hang in there Skylark! Fluttershy said as she tried her best to treat his deep stab. “Come on you can and will survive!”

Skylark felt himself slowly slipping away. He was losing consciousness and the pain slowly became even more unbearable. He gave a few gasps and lost consciousness.

“Oh…Oh no! He’s…he’s…” Fluttershy exclaimed.
“What? What?” The others asked.

“He’s…dead.”

Epilogue

Skylark woke to find himself in a very familiar place. It was the place the battle had taken place at. Only, this was not reality. It was the spirit realm!

The helpful spirit was there waiting for him. He said “Skylark. I am afraid you are now dead and have moved into the realm of spirits because the spell has affected you even after your death.”
“What? I’m…dead?” He asked in shock.” But I’m not ready. What about my friends?”
“I assumed you’d say something along those lines” “So I will tell you how you can get back.”
“To go back you must place the elements of the spirit three, onto the stone of your departure. And you will find yourself back in reality. Of that you can be sure.”

“May Celestia bless you kind spirit.” Skylark said. Subconsciously those rhyming words reminded him of Zecora only that was not the way she rhymed.
“I don’t even know your name. And yet you helped me so much!”
“A name is not important. The spirit removed his hood revealing that he was indeed a zebra. But you may thank the one you call Zecora for sending me to guide you.”

Skylark knew there was some kind of connection! “Don’t worry I will!” He replied

He went to the place he died at and found a gravestone with his name on it. He removed his armor and placed it on the three points of the grave. It began to glow. He fell unconscious and woke up with the seven ponies over him. He was back in reality for good now. What a relief! He looked at all the ponies faces. They hadn’t realized he had come to. He saw tear streams down all of their faces.

“H-Hello.” He said.
The ponies looked at him in shock. Then the occurrence of him speaking sunk in. He was alive!

“YOU ARE ALIVE!!” They all shouted. They all embraced him for a long time. “By Celestia’s grace you are back with us!”

The all returned to Ponyville rejoicing and singing. Pinkie Pie set out to make a party larger than all others. Celestia sent a thank you note to all the ponies and Skylark went to give a very big thank you to a very special Zebra.

The End