//------------------------------//
// Metaphorically Speaking 
// Story: What Was, What Will Be 
// by Lights Fury 
//------------------------------//

	Stepping away from the fire, where the four seers now sat singing again, Dust hurried over to the white mare. She was sitting by the hut, where Dust could only assume she and the seers lived, staring into the darkness and humming a little song.
The white mare stopped humming as she saw Dust approach, and got up to meet him.
“W- Well?” she asked timidly. “How did it go?”
“It was… strange, to say the least,” Dust replied, shrugging. “I got what I needed though, and that’s all that matters.”
“Oh… yes, they can be strange at times.” The white mare said. “But you get used to it after a while.”
Dust stared at the pony in front of him, and wondered what she would be doing with a group as strange as the seers.
“Um, I uh… I never asked what your name was,” he said, trying not to look into the mares’ blank, milky eyes, which seemed to stare right through him.
The mare shuffled a bit on her feet, feeling just as awkward as he did.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she muttered. “It’s… Flicker Flame…. Sorry if that sounds strange. It’s an old pony tradition to name us after our potential. Funny, I never really figured out what mine’s supposed to be.”
Dust was about to comment on what that was supposed to mean, but remembered why he was talking to Flicker in the first place. 
“Zoka said you could show me the way to ‘the old kingdom,’ or something like that,” He said. “Do you know the way?”
The shy and small look on Flickers face vanished as he said that, a brief look of sadness flashing across her features before disappearing into the appearance of blank nothingness. She reached to a satchel on the side of her cloak, and pulled out a small leather scroll. 
“I can’t show you the way myself,” she said, the words coming from her mouth like practiced lines, performed many times over. “But this will lead you to where you want to go. It’s a map of this swamp, and the kingdom on the other side. “
Flicker handed the scroll to Dust, who unrolled it in his hoofs. He was astounded to see that the map, which looked as if it had been forged by the finest of cartographers, showed a detailed diagram of the entire swamp, with various routes and pathways carefully drawn to show ways in, out, and around it. Furthermore, just as well drawn, was map of the vast expanse of land that lay beyond the swamp itself. Large cities were dotted and labelled, and huge plains and forests were marked between them, with roads listed in small writing on the parchment. Dust looked up at Flicker, holding out the map to her.
“I can’t take this,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll even come back from this journey, let alone have the chance to return this to you. This map is far too well-made to be wasted on somepony like me.”
“Oh, no no no,” said Flicker, smiling in reassurance. “We have many maps like it. My family has been serving here for a long time, more than enough to make more than one map like this. Please, I insist, take it and go on your way. I’d feel absolutely terrible if I didn’t help even a little bit.”
The way Flicker said that was so sincere that Dust couldn’t help but roll up the map and place it by his side. Smiling, he bowed to her, thanking her for her gift. 
“I’ll be sure to return this too you if I make it,” he said. Flicker smiled, and nodded. 
Bidding the white mare goodbye, Dust turned, and ventured back into the shadows of the forest. When he had disappeared into the dark, the light of his torch lost in the shadows of the trees, she returned to her seat, humming as she did so, staring into the darkness as dreams filled her head.
Dust wandered through the swamp, staring at the map he had been given while he did so. There was a road leading from the hut to the edge of the swamp, straight to where he needed to go. Staring at the ground, he realized that it was far less muddy than before. Kicking some of the dirt away, he was surprised to see cobblestones beneath his feet. 
Dust realized in that moment that what he had thought was always a swamp may have once been a settlement of some sort, perhaps even a well-known town. He could only imagine how long ago it had been abandoned, as it seemed the cobblestones that made up the pathway he stood on were the only signs of it left. He shuddered to think of what became of its inhabitants, and would it may have been that made them abandon the place. 
Dust continued to think on this as he made his way down the road, kicking up dirt at some points to make sure he was on the right path. If this place, which had once been a place populated by his kind, had been so consumed by the land, what would this “old kingdom” look like, if even its name had been consumed by time? Would it even still be there, or would it only be rubble, less than the cobbles he stood on now? And who, or what, would live there? Dust could only imagine what he might find, if anything at all.
Slowly, the trees that made up the swamp began to thin, and as the canopy above thinned with it, the first light of the morning broke through onto Dust’s face. He realized that an entire night must have passed since he entered the swamp, and picked up his pace as to not lose himself again. As the trees grew less and less closely together, the mud under his feet began to grow dry, until he was trotting along hard, dust earth.
Finally, he reached the edge of the swamp. As his body passed through the shadows and into the blinding light of day, forcing him to cover his eyes, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, like the darkness that consumed him moments before had spit him out into the light. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Dust took his hoof away from them, and immediately gasped as he saw what lay before him.
Green, sunny fields stretched before him, bathed in the orange light of the morning sun. Rolling hills and tall, knee high grass covered the land, sprinkled patches of flowers. The sun hung in the horizon like a halo of lights, magnificent and shinning with a brilliance Dust hadn’t seen anywhere else in his travels, as if something here had amplified its beauty a thousand times. And below its glowing form, at the edge of the massive fields, a huge city stood, basking in the sun’s light.
Dust stepped forwards, mouth hanging wide open. He had never seen a city before, his life being one of scattered villages and nomadic camps, and to stare on something so different, so monolithic in size and stature was almost too much for him to take in. 
The walls of the city were massive, stretching thirty meters in height above the ground. Peaking over their tops, even larger spires of glistening marble reached up into the sky, glittering white in the sun. Their tops were gilded with precious metals, though worn and cracked, and set with rare gemstones of all kinds, gleaming in a rainbow of sparkling lights. The huge, purple dome of what he could only imagine was temple of some sort could be just barely seen between the spires, a gleaming golden image of the sun perched at its base. The walls and roofs of the buildings, however, were cracked and full of holes in some areas, as if blasted by the force of thousands of projectile objects. Some of the towers had even collapsed in certain portions, stoned hanging loose from their sides. Dust wondered what might have happened to damage such magnificent city.
The greatest sight, however, hung high above the city. Clinging to the side a small mountain that stood at its northern end, there hung a marble castle of immense size, its roofs gleaming even more brightly than those below. Its walls were ridden with cracks and blast marks, as if it had been besieged by some army, but unlike the city below, nothing had ever collapsed entirely. Still, there was a ghostly feeling about the place, like it was staring at everything below it with cold contempt.
Dust ventured towards the city, realizing the seers had been right when they called this place and old kingdom. Though he thought it would be just as ruinous as the swamp consumed town before, this place was certainly meant to last. As he came to the city gates, he stared at the huge craters and gashes in its surface, some large enough for him to stick his hoof in. He knew there would be no way getting in through them, and walked along the side of the wall, looking for a way in.
About a minute in, he found an area where the wall had collapsed. Iron balls as large as his own body rested in the stone rubble, and as he carefully stepped along the broken marble blocks, he couldn't help but wonder what could have thrown them so far.
Dust could feel the towers above him as he stepped into their shadows. He noticed now the many houses and mansions nestled between them, the many shops and studios there were tucked into each other. The cobbles under his feet were smooth, save for the occasional crater, at the center of which and iron ball always sat.
Dust wandered a bit, not really knowing where he was supposed to go. All the while, he could never shake the odd feeling that hung over him. In the swamp, he had felt as if a thousand eyes were watching him, monitoring his every move, but here it was the opposite. He was disturbed by the complete lack of life that he felt in this place, and the desolation that seemed to sit around every corner.
He was shocked when he thought he heard something echo down through the streets at him. It was a low, dull humming of sorts, like some one singing to themselves. Every few seconds or so, it was accompanied by the clicking of something hard hitting the pavement. Dust slowly creeped along the street, following the chose around the winding corners of the ruined city, all the while being sure not to make any noise himself. 
Turning around one last corner, dust saw who was making the noise. A dull, brown stallion, about his own size, sat on the top of a large, worn down stairway leading to the upper levels of the city. A large, crooked horn protruded from his head, marking him as a unicorn. He was humming some song, though it never seemed to have any rhythm or pattern, and sounded more like agonized groaning. Every once and a while, he would pick up a broken, marble brick and throw it down the stairs, watching it bounce down the stairs, cracking into more pieces as he went. 
The pony smiled, and suddenly turned his head to Dust. 
“No need to hide,” he said in a long, dull drawl. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
He chuckled when he said that, his smile turning into a smirk. Dust stepped out from behind the corner, and stepped to the bottom of the staircase. When the brown stallion gestured for him to come closer. Dust simply stood where he was.
“Ah,” said the stallion, his smirk never leaving his face. “Your mommy taught you well, I see. Never trust a stranger…”
He put down the rock he was holding in his hoof, and stared at Dust for a while, his eyes scouring his body. When he caught sight of the dark, twisting blemish on his flank, his smirk grew wider into a mocking grin. And he chuckled once more.
“I see you and I aren’t all that different,” he said. “I too came to this city for the same reason as you. This little, eh, gift we both wish to return, we both bear it.”
He stood, and showed Dust his flank. There, too, was the dark blotch, twisting like Dust’s own. Dust took another step forwards, getting a better look at it as he did so.
“You… you have this curse too?” he asked. The brown unicorn nodded, his grin fading into a slight frown.
“Yes… I suppose I do,” he said. “But then again, everypony in this land has it. From your look, it doesn't quite seem like you know that, though. Do you come from somewhere where this little mark of ours isn't so common?”
Dust thought for a second, trying to think back, but nothing came to him. He tried harder, but only ended up with a headache. He stared in despair at the unicorn looking down at him, who was smirking again.
“I… I don’t remember,” Dust replied. “I don’t know why, but I don’t.”
“Oh my, you really are down in the dumps aren’t you?” the unicorn said. “Don’t fret, it’s quite common for those with this affliction to lose their memories. It does that to us, you know. Sucks up anything that could give us an identity and turns it into nothingness, leaving us as sad excuses for ponies. You’re lucky it hasn’t turned you into an empty shell yet, a mindless beast like it did with everyone in my hometown. They forgot everything, even how to speak and act like civilized beings. Now they’re just… well, I imagine they’ve eaten each other now, but when I left, they weren’t any better than rabid dogs!”
Dust’s eyes widened in fear, but he quickly shook his head and got himself together again.
“I won’t end up like that,” he said. “I’m going to fix this, and end it once and for all, by killing whatever did this to us.”
“That’s the spirit!” the unicorn said, jumping to his feet and running down to Dust. Before he could shove him way, the unicorn has wrapped his arms around his shoulder, embracing him.
“I said the same thing, too,” the unicorn whispered in Dust’s ear. “But like me, you’ll see it’s easier said than done. If your lucky, you’ll end up like me, stuck here forever and ever, wasting away into nothingness. If not, well...”
He pointed up the stairs, to the edge of the large dome Dust had seen earlier. 
“If you’re really set on your course, though, I’d better give you some tips based on personal experience. Up there is the grand temple of the sun, where ponies from all across the land used to worship some fertility goddess of some sort. Now it acts as a home to different kind of religion all together. It’s the first place you’ll need to go in order to help you get into the castle above. The second would be the moon temple, but that’s far from here, and right now I’d worry about the matter at hand.”
Dust looked at the unicorn, which was still clasping him like an old friend. 
“Inside both temples, you’ll find a key, or so I was told by my own predecessor. Get both keys, and you’ll be able to open up the castle, where I’m sure you’ll find a clue as to where that demon is.”
“Wait a minute,” Dust said, breaking away from the stallion. “I thought the Demon was in the center of the kingdom? That’s what the seers told me.”
“Yes, well, I imagine they were only talking metaphorically,” he replied. “I’ve heard Zebras are quite fond of that sort of thing. Now, they just as easily could have meant this place, as this city’s the geographical center of the kingdom, but I imagine they meant the most important place in the land when they said center. And considering this place hasn’t been important in thousands of years, we have no idea where that could be. So I’d suggest you take my word for it and look to the castle for clues as to where to go.”
Dust sighed. He realized now that this was going to be a longer journey than he had expected. He patted the unicorn on the shoulder, before heading up the stairs and towards the temple.
“Wait!” the unicorn cried behind him. Dust turned to see him pulling out a sword and handing it to him.
“You’ll need this,” he said. “You’ll really need it.”
Slowly, Dust took the sword, his eyes growing wide again as he wondered what the unicorn meant. He looked up to ask him what was waiting for him in the church, but was surprised to see that he was already back to his former position, humming away and throwing rocks into the distance. 
Turning to the temple, Dust took a deep breath, and began to make his way upwards, gripping the sword tightly in his hoof and preparing for whatever was to come.