“Got everything you need Seabreeze?” I walked up to my brother, who was behind a cart filled with various supplies and things we would need. We were heading to a thestral village, where some of our friends lived.
“I believe so, you?” Seabreeze looks over to me.
“Yep! So come on let’s go!”
“And not say goodbye to mother or father? Shame on you.” Said an older and feminine voice. I looked behind us to see two ponies, one mare and the other a stallion. The mare was a pegasus with a dark purple coat and light red almost pink flowing mane. Her fangs were a pure white and her wings were a jet black. The stallion was an alicorn with a black coat and black wings, he had a orange mane. His fangs were bigger than the mares and were slightly larger as well.
“Mom! Dad!” I jumped at them and gave both of them a big hug. “Sorry I forgot to say good bye, Good bye! Ok lets go!”
“Not so fast.” My brother walked past me and gave each of our parents of hug. “We won’t be gone long.”
“We know, but please be careful.”
“We will!” We waved to them as we made our way down the trail.
It didn’t take us long before we were at the tree line. Seabreeze stopped and stared back at the city. Almost as if he was missing our family already. Then his expression changed.
“Come on Seabreeze! Lets go!” I tried to push him but he didn’t move.
I turned to see what he was looking at. My happiness faded as I stare, unable to move. “Seabreeze, what is that?”
“I have no idea.” Above the city was a dark figure, just floating there. After a few moments the entire city was covered in what looked like a shield. The only difference was that shields are suppose to protect, this was doing the opposite. I could hear screams and explosions from the city. Then it went silent, a deathly silence that would strike fear into the heart of even the most fearless of ponies.
The barrier surrounding the city fell revealing a gruesome scene. Fire filled the streets and was burning homes. I could make out what looked like, and probably were, dead bodies. Hundreds of them, just laying there.
The dark figure then turned to us. I heard Seabreeze shout and then everything went black.
Hero
Chapter one - A lost hope
By Strychnos
Edited by Shadowrose
“Nightshade, wake up.” called a familiar voice in the darkness.
“Where are we?”
I opened my eyes to what looks like a small hut. There is light coming in through a doorway at the far end of the hut, a small fire in the center used for cooking and heating lit up the room. I’m lying in a small wooden bed covered with furs. I finally focus in front of me, Seabreeze is standing there with a worried expression. There were tear stains on his dark blue coat, he had a bandage on one of his jet black wings. He’s wearing armor that covers most of his body, hiding his gemstone spark(thats what they call a cutie mark). “We are in a nearby Thestral camp.”
“Why are we in a Thes…” It suddenly all came back to me. My family, my friends, my home, all gone. I hugged my brother and weeped into his shoulder.
“Nightshade, it's going to be ok. We will make it through this.” His words were meant to be reassuring, but I know he has little faith in them. “We will find them, all of them. They’re alive out there somewhere.” said Seabreeze
“Is this a bad time?” My brother looked at the visitor to the hut
“Hi Crystal.” Seabreeze went over to Crystal and gave her a hug. “You remember Crystal Clear, right Nightshade?”
I nodded. Crystal has been Seabreeze’s friend for as long as I can remember. She is a thestral, given away by her large, red, dragon like wings and and light blue slitted eyes. Her pink and blue mane is cut short, along with her tail. and she has a light red coat to match her wings.
However she wasn’t the only thestral to walk to in. A very old mare, thestral with dark purple coat and wings. Her mane was white and thin, giving a ghostly look to it, covering her body was a grey and blue robe.
“My name is Fajra, the elder of this village. Crystal here has already told me of your situation, I give you my sympathy for the great loss. But that is not the only thing my friends.”
She took a vial from a bag and gave to me. “Drink this. It will help with the healing process.” I did what I was told and drank the contents of the vial. The liquid tasted horrible, I almost gagged at the taste.
“Thank you.” I croaked out.
“This was not the only reason you wanted to see us correct?” Seabreeze asked the elder thestral.
“No it was not.” She said while setting two stable bags in front of us. One was smaller than the other. “For your safety you must travel far from this land and into the next. You may question why you must leave, and it looks cowardly. But I have seen vision of what happens if you stay, villages burn, entire empires fall. Staying here will bring death to the entire land.”
This was hard to accept, that being in our native lands would bring death to all. “If we’re gone, then who will lead these lands?” I had asked the elder.
“A very good question young one, and one that I am without an answer of.” She replied. “However, while I can’t be certain of whom will take the position, I believe King Inferno will likely see himself as a better ruler than the rest. But I can not be certain, so don’t take my word for it.”
What she said did make sense, but is that the best thing?
“Crystal and Charcoal will be your guides to Equestria. We gave you enough supplies to last you a week or so in Equestria.” Equestria is a land west of here and not much was known about it. The West Griffon Empire are allies with Equestria but that is the extent of our knowledge.
That is the only fact, all else we know are urban legends and myths.
“It is believed that the lands of Equestria are solar based, meaning during the day you could die of light poisoning…” She gave each of us a necklace. The necklaces were made out of alternating gold and silver chain links, the gems on the end were solid black, glistening in the dim light.
“These will protect you from the harmful solar energy, they will also change your appearance to look like normal pegasi.”
Seabreeze put his on and the effects were instant. His coat lightened a few shades from their original dark blue color, his wings changed to the same light blue as his coat, and his fangs disappeared. However his red, gold streaked mane stayed the same. After his appearance changed, a dark colored sphere surrounded him for a second and then disappeared.
Seabreeze rolled his shoulder and shook his head a little as if he took a punch and shook it off. “Oh man, this feels weird. Guess i’ll have to get used to it.”
I put the necklace around my neck and the effects were instant.
I instantly felt a weird, tingly sensation on my skin. My coat began to lighten, just a little to a light gray. Then my jaw felt light, like the feeling after you have had teeth pulled. I went to touch my fangs with my hoof but felt nothing. My horn felt the same way and then it was gone. Just like my brother, my white and gold mane stayed the same. The same shield thing surrounded me but mine was a dark green, when it was done my whole body had the same unexplainable feeling.
“Feels weird right?” Seabreeze affirms to me.
“Yeah, but it's slowly fading away now.” I rub the back of my head with my hoof.
“You can not stay here for long, you must leave as soon as possible.” And with that we took our respective saddle bags and followed crystal out of the hut. “Good luck young ones” The elder said right before left the hut.
We got outside and I took in everything I saw. All thestral towns are built into the ground, with rings that go deeper into the ground, similar to like a round stadium. The layers sink about 6 feet each layer until about the 5th layer, where the town is centered around a bon fire. We were on the 3rd layer, most of the thestrals are near the fire, so no one bothered us as we make our way to the top.
When we reached the top, there were a few small farms but mostly it was thick dense forest. The only clear in the canopy would be directly over the thestral village. Once we climbed up over the last layer there was a cart with supplies on it and another thestral that the cart was connected to. “what took you so long Crystal?”
“This is Charcoal, he is your other guide and a friend of mine.”
“Nice to meet you…” Charcoal went to shake Seabreeze’s hoof
“Seabreeze.” He shakes Charcoals hoof. “And this is my brother, Nightshade.”
“Well it looks like you two have been through alot, mind sharing some stories of your adventures?”
“We will, once we are on our way.”
“Alrighty then.”
We climb onto the cart, as we can't fly with our wings in their current state. In the cart were a few tarps, some books, weapons, armour and 2 chests, one large and one small. The cart began to lift and we flew through the hole in the canopy. “Hang on back there!” Charcoal yelled back to me.