//------------------------------// // Discovery // Story: Trailblazer // by Blazer //------------------------------// <> Twilight winced as the carriage hit another abnormally large bump in the rut-filled path. “E-Er… So, Doctor, are you familiar with the gryphons? You live so close to each other.” The young mare shook her head. “Not particularly. Ze gryphons tend to keep to zemselves, so ve haven’t really interacted much.” Twilight glanced outside the carriage, which was surrounded by dense forest as far as the eye could see—which wasn’t very far. “Are you sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that this is called the ‘Forsaken Forest?’” Schneider tapped her muzzle thoughtfully. “Possibly; Ze gryphons have alvays respected zhis place by keeping zeir distance, but, zen again, zey never really liked coming down from zeir mountains in ze first place. Nopony really knows.” Twilight’s eyes darted between the darkened trees in the waning sunlight, shivering involuntarily. “…Do you know why it’s called the ‘Forsaken Forest?’” “Oh, vell, it is a long story, you see.” She took on a thoughtful expression, the gears in her head turning as she recalled the tale. “Ze story of zis place extends to long ago, when ponykind vas first united under ze single banner of Eqvestria. Zis place vas not unlike ze Everfree Forest near your home. It vas vonce a sparse, but fertile, forest vis a massive city at its center. Ze city vas unnamed, as no records remain as to vhat is vas. Not much is known about it or its inhabitants, except zat zey vere ponies und gryphons living togezer, und zey possessed technology zhat vas far ahead of zheir time.” “So, sort of like Atlantis, except on land,” Twilight suggested. “Yes, you could say zat,” Schneider mused before continuing. “Vone day, for reasons incomprehensible to historians, ze inhabitants vere driven insane, und began to fight each ozer. Zis eventually led to ze first great Gryphon-Pony var.” “Wait… I thought that the Gryphons struck first, with the city of Hoofswell.” “Zhat was ze first recorded battle; it doesn’t necessarily mean it vas ze first conflict,” Schneider tutted. “Anyvays, zis forest became the battleground. Zere vere zousands of casualties on both sides, but ze animosity continued to grow. It vasn’t until ze var itself ended zat zis place saw peace. However, ze city vas destroyed, und its ruins lost to ze forest. Only a graveyard honoring zose who have fallen remains to ze norse of zis path. Many have searched for ze ruins, but none vere successful.” Twilight shuddered. “How awful…” The mare nodded. “Indeed. However, a couple of archaeologists have discovered a few building clusters here and zere vithin ze forest, und linked zem vith ze aforementioned settlement vith ze pictures und engravings of ponies und gryphons vorking on various building projects togezer. Ve vill actually stop by vone of zese buildings; you can get a closer look at vone vhen ve get zere.” Twilight gave a small smile. “Thank you; this should be interesting.” *** After another twenty minutes of travel, the carriage pulled alongside a semi-large stone building. It was fairly plain on the outside, bearing no engravings whatsoever. Two rows of monolithic limestone blocks formed the walls, while the roof was not visible from where they were standing. “Zhis is an old varehouse zhat vas used to store various sorts of vine, silk und ozer luxuries. Obviously, zhis was found empty upon us finding it, but several manifests zhat vere found inside suggested zhat zhis place vhas used as such.” Schneider explained. Twilight arched her neck to look up at the massive pillars that supported a large arch that overshadowed the steps. “Seems a bit fancy for a warehouse; what’s with that bit of architecture there?” Schneider shrugged. “Ve do not know. Zhere are some unknown creatures engraved onto ze front. Ve have tried to identify it vith a sort of verevolf, or maybe a dragon. However, it didn’t have any sort of tail or claws to identify it as eizher of zose. It is vone of the great mysteries of zhis place.” Twilight squinted, struggling to get a better look at the stone arch. With a couple flaps of her wings, she hovered upwards until she was almost touching the ancient architecture. A single one of the “unknown creatures” was standing betwixt a gryphon and a pony, facing down an array of fearsome creatures. Chimeras, Minotaurs and Ursa Majors formed a malicious half-circle around the trio, each one opening its mouth in a roar of displeasure. “Does this tell a tale of some sort?” Twilight called back down to Schneider. “Yes; ve zink it vas an old bedtime story, or a popular fable zhat vas a part of zheir culture. However, since zheir records were presumably destroyed in ze Pony-Gryphon war, ve cannot say vhat it is depicting. Some sort of group of heroes zhat faced down evil.” Twilight frowned. “That’s it?” Schneider harrumphed. “Zhat is as much as ve could decipher from zhat illustration. It vas somezhing zhat everypony knew about, so it is possible zhat it vas a story passed down through ze generations.” Twilight landed at the top of the stairs, glancing back at Schneider. “Do you mind if I take a look inside?” The young doctor glanced at the sun setting. “Hrm.. Zhe sun vill be setting soon, but I suppose a couple of minutes of inspection vouldn’t hurt.” Grinning, the eager alicorn trotted inside the warehouse, her eyes scanning the room within. A massive chamber yawned before her, the only source of light being the sunlight framed by the entrance’s doorframe. Thousands of ornate ceramic pots lay emptied, sealed or smashed on the floor, their surfaces covered with dozens of beautiful, but indiscernible engravings and embossments. Occasionally, an odd block of quarried stone, or entire stacks of quarried stones, was visible through the sea of the damaged containers. At the rear of the room, two massive statues stood guard at the rear. A pony and a gryphon, both upright, clad in foreign armor and wielding fearsome battle-axes provided an eerie overwatch to the warehouse’s pilfered contents, their eyes hidden by the lack of natural light. Descending the stairs, Twilight followed a single alley that split the building’s contents through the middle. Stopping here and there to examine the scattered bits of detritus that littered the immediate area around the walkway, she eventually found herself at the foot of the gryphon statue. Unable to suppress her initial curiosity, she flapped her wings a few times, climbing up to the grpyhon’s massive beak. A spark of purple light appeared next to her horn with a soft pop, allowing her to see the gryphon’s face in full view. It was a battle-scarred veteran, his face crossed by various divots and crags that, upon further scrutiny, were not the destructive forces of time, but actually purposeful strokes by the mason who cut the stone. She admired the skilled masonry, especially in their honesty of their haggard portrayal of this nameless warrior. However, when she gazed into his eyes, she noticed something rather strange. A gryphon’s claw mark was carved out of the pupil of the gryphon’s left eye. What shocked her was the realism of the indentation: Every wrinkle and lifeline was engraved into the stone, as if this were once made of soft clay, and a gryphon had simply mashed his hand into it, leaving a pristine gryphon claw-print. Near it, some text had been scratched into the stone. Twilight recognized it as ancient gryphon runes, but it was too difficult to make it out due to the haphazard style it was written in. Pulling away from the statue, she stared hard back at the claw print. Reluctantly, but fueled by her will to know, she pressed her hoof into the indentation. She glanced about, listening hard for a click somewhere, or a door opening at the base of the statue. Of course, she was met with silence. She sighed, almost wanting to smack herself for being so naïve. She hovered over to the second statue: a massive pony guard. His face was much more gentle-looking than the war-hardened gryphon, and completely lacking in scars. His helmet was similar to the ancient Heliopolite hoplite warriors, his snout covered by a long nose guard, the sides of his head flanked by two metal extensions which ended in rough points and traveled backwards. A massive headdress adorned the top of the helmet, which stretched downwards to the pony’s torso. Again, she summoned the orb of light so she could study the facial features. Upon further scrutiny, she noticed something that was somewhat similar to what she had seen earlier on the gryphon. A pair of hoofmarks was engraved into the stallion’s left pupil. In addition, a curious hole was situated between it. Below, a set of scribbles, almost indiscernible in the fading light, read a single message: Down and Through. Find the Truth. Help Him Free. Light the Tree. Close the Maw. Destroy The Sha. “Miss Tvilight? Are you okay?” Schneider called from below. “Ve had best be going; ze sun shall set very soon, und zhis place is very unforgiving at night!” “Just a second; I think I found something…” Twilight replied. “Hm? And vhat might that be?” Schneider asked, genuinely curious. “I’m not sure…” Twilight replied. A shiver ran down her spine as she read the final word again: Sha. We are bladed shadow. We are the Sha. “It’s a single message written in rhyme. Not sure what I can make of it, though,” Twilight explained. “I also found a set of hoofprints up here, and a hole that looks like a magical lock.” “Hrm.. Mezinks zhat maybe ve should leave zhat to ze archaeologists. Ve don’t know vhat it is! It could be a trap set for robbers!” Twilight put her hooves into the engravings, surprised when they fit rather snugly within the indents. Her eyes locked onto the small hole. “I have a feeling I’m about to find out.” Bowing her head, she pushed her horn into it, her eyes widening in surprise when she felt a sudden exodus of magical energy leaving through the appendage. A cacophonous grinding sound roared to life, echoing chaotically off the walls of the warehouse. Twilight attempted to remove herself from the stone statue, but her horn was still stuck in the stone. Frightened, she flexed the muscles in both forelegs and her neck, struggling wildly in a desperate fight to flee. It wasn’t until the grinding noise had stopped that she was able to move away from the statue. “M-Miss Tvilight?! Are you injured?!” Schneider cried. “N-no! I’m okay, I-I think!” Twilight stuttered, struggling to talk with her heartbeat in her throat. Moving away from the statue a little ways, she noticed something fundamentally different about it—the mouth had opened. “By Celestia’s sun…” She gasped. “Vhat? Vhat was that?” “I… The mouth of the statue just opened.” “R-really?! I don’t believe it!” “…I’m going inside.” “Vhat? Princess! Vait! Ve don’t know vhat could be…” The rest was drowned out as Twilight moved inside, descending a staircase that was contained within the massive monolith. A soft pop could be heard as her small orb of light reappeared. The alicorn winced upon noticing that the spell took much more out of her than she expected, which almost resulted in her tumbling the rest of the way down the steps. Shaking herself awake, Twilight descended the remaining steps with careful precision. Upon reaching the bottom, she found herself within a large chamber. It was circular in shape, most of it shrouded in the shadows outside of the small circle of light her orb produced. A thick layer of sand covered the floor, hiding whatever could be inscribed on what felt like stone tiles beneath her hooves. Cautiously, Twilight took a step forward into the darkness that dominated the room. And another step. And another. Clink! Frightened by the sudden noise in the deadening silence, Twilight took a few steps back in surprise. Her fear was immediately replaced by curiosity when she saw a lump beneath the sand. Slowly, she approached it, noting that a part of the lump was uncovered from her stepping onto it. A mysterious green sheen shone through the numerous particles, accented by the purple light that Twilight’s light source radiated. Twilight gritted her teeth as she reached out with her magic, struggling to lift the item. It felt as if it weighed a ton, although it couldn’t have been bigger than a jar of strawberry jam. She presumed it was from the magical lock; their "key" is usually a threshold of magic that is sapped from those that wish to gain entry. After a few tries, she managed to shake off the residual sand particles, lifting it to her eye level. It appeared to be a sort of sword hilt made completely out of silver. The blade was missing entirely, save for a small slot at the top of the hand guard that signified it ever existed. What baffled Twilight is how well preserved it was; not a single spot of rust adorned the weapon, almost causing it to gleam brilliantly in the pitch darkness of the room. Afraid of the dark? Hehehe… Twilight shrieked at the top of her lungs, dropping the hilt in shock. Almost letting her orb of light wink out in surprise, she strained herself to keep it lit at all costs, nearly fainting in the process. Stumbling in a circle, she looked around, calling vainly into the pitch blackness. “Wh-who’s there?!” However, she already recognized the voice. It was the one that had spoken to her within her dreams. You already know who we are. We told you. “J-just leave me alone!” Twilight squeaked, dragging the hilt towards her with a foreleg, as if it could possibly help her defend herself. Yes… Fear. Your soul is brimming with it. Twilight continued backing up, not realizing that she was now moving away from the staircase, as it was almost too dark to see two feet in front of her as her orb of light began to fade. The ringing of the silver hilt was the only noise that accompanied her panicked breathing. “Show yourself! Enough hiding!” Even now, the only courage that remains is feigned. How pathetic. Twilight bumped into something solid behind her, eliciting a horrid screech that the alicorn didn’t know she was capable of. She began to turn on the new arrival, but stopped when a fiery blue blade emerged from the hilt near her hooves. Her attention momentarily captured by the sword, she grabbed it in her teeth, allowing her magical orb to fade into darkness, now using the azure flames as her light source. “C’mon! Ah’m no’ ahraid o’ you!” Twilight cried through gritted teeth. Hahaha! Unlikely! A horrid squelching could be heard all around. Soon, moans and groans that were just as horrid joined the cacophony. Twilight squinted, struggling to see the numerous shapes that writhed in the dark. When one came into the ring of light the sword generated, Twilight nearly dropped the hilt. At the base of the creature, a mass of writhing tentacles served as appendages to move it, while its upper forelegs, each with miniature tentacles of their own, assisted in the maneuver. Its entire top half was made up of a giant mouth, ringed with sickly white teeth. A single column of spines traveled down its back, disappearing into the mass of tentacles at its base. Like lightning, it shot forward, its mouth opened wide. Instinctively, Twilight waved the sword madly, hoping to hit the creature. Luckily for Twilight, she didn’t even have to hit remotely close to the creature to slay it; it dispersed into a hazy black smoke as the blade came close to its body, as if it was a simple shadow burned away by sunlight. Encouraged by the ease with which the creature was killed, Twilight reared back, still swinging the sword wildly. No! Impossible! “Hah! Tha’s righ’!” Twilight exclaimed, still clenching the sword between her teeth. Swarm her! She cannot awaken him! When several dozen of the creatures sped towards her into the ring of light, something in Twilight clicked as a realization struck her. If I’m going to go down, I’ll do as much damage as I can! And he must mean whatever’s behind me… She brought her head round, clenching the hilt in a powerful grip. Hopefully the saying is true… The enemy of my enemy… In one vicious swing, Twilight brought the sword crashing into the mass that sat behind her. The princess blinked, seeing a vague silhouette through what appeared to be glass. A tall blue outline with scattered bands of green and gold flashed before her. The blade sliced through the glass like a sharpened knife through cream, and everything went white. And then everything became still. Absolutely still.