Vertigo woke up to the feeling of her body being jerked around, her eyes slowly opening as her body was forcibly moved. She couldn’t quite make out what was going on around her, the drowsiness she was feeling nearly forcing her back to sleep. Her mind was fuzzy, and her senses were dulled. The best she could make out were the two blurry shapes in front of her, dragging her along the ground on some kind of makeshift bedding. She tried weakly to move or talk, but found that she was bound and gagged. The pegasus gave a weak groan before letting her head droop back down and her eyes shut once more.
Meanwhile, Jet and the unicorn whom had hired him walked on in silence. They had managed to escape the swamp some time ago, and had been walking for hours. The mercenary was still a bit shell shocked over what had happened before. That unicorn’s little trick back in the swamp had caused him no small amount of distress, and the burns along his body were proof enough of that. His muscles were sore and his whole body ached. This was the precise reason that he preferred not to deal with ponies in the first place. Their magic had always felt like cheating to him, especially when there was so much more satisfaction from using a blade.
The biggest part of Jet was wondering what he was still doing with the unicorn. His original mission, while not a complete success, was finished. The pegasus had been captured and the other two had been left behind. The unicorn who had hired him had already stated that there was no chance that her companions would be able to find them once they reached his base of operations and handed over their captive.
Sure, he hadn’t been paid yet, but that was only a small thing. He could easily meet up with the unicorn at his base later to receive his payment. Something was keeping him there, nagging at him as they traveled. He couldn’t help but to wonder what it was that he was doing helping this organization. The pay was more than enough to set him up for a long time, yes, but that didn’t make him feel much better. While he didn’t know much about the broader plan of this group, he did know that one of their goals was to eradicate or exile his entire species from the world, and he didn’t think that he would be excluded from that.
He looked back to their victim, bound and gagged on the bed of branches that they were dragging behind them, and wondered anew what it was that this innocent little mare was doing out here to begin with. She didn’t seem the adventuring type, nor did she seem like the kind of pony that would risk everything to fight against an opponent as big as this cult. There was something definitely off about this whole ordeal, and the more he thought about it, the more unsure he was about everything.
The sun was just starting to hit the highest point of the day when the unicorn suggested that they stop for a time so they could eat. Jet merely nodded his approval, and the two of them pulled off into a little clearing from the main road. Once they had set out their food, Jet pulling out some dried meat from his bag and the unicorn munching idly on some cheese and bread, the dragon once more looked to the pegasus. She was still unconscious, having only stirred the one time since they had captured her. He didn’t know if the spell the unicorn had used was that powerful, or if she was merely exhausted.
After a few moments of thought, he brought a water skin, some cheese and some bread over to her. The unicorn didn’t pay much attention as Jet softly shook her in an effort to rouse her from slumber. It only took a few moments, and when she opened her eyes Jet furrowed his brow. “Keep quiet and I’ll let you eat.” When she nodded her agreement, he made quick work of taking the gag from her mouth. She coughed a little and gladly accepted the water skin when it was brought to her lips.
He worked on feeding her bits of cheese and bread for a few minutes, letting her drink when she wanted it, then set the gag back in place. Her eyes mirrored her thanks, though there was still plenty of fear reflected there as well. She hadn’t bothered trying to scream or bargain her way out of her current position, which meant that she had either accepted what had happened, or she was smart enough to know that it wouldn’t do her any good.
Before Jet moved away from her he let his eyes wander over her missing wing. It looked like she had gone through a great deal just to get this far, and he couldn’t help but to wonder what it was that she had been through. Her determination must be something to admire, all things considered. Most of the ponies he had seen in this part of the world were either important diplomatic types with a squad of guards, or ones like that big earth pony from before.
Jet averted his eyes and made his way back over to where the unicorn was. The pony looked up to the dragon, then down to their captive. “You did good work, even if the other two survived. The main goal of the mission was a success. You’ll be fairly compensated once we make it back.”
Jet merely nodded and looked back over to the bound and gagged pegasus once more. She was looking back at him, her eyes wide and full of tears and fear, and she was pleading with him silently. He held the eye contact for a moment or two, then looked away. “What is it you plan on doing with her once we get there?”
The unicorn looked up and at the dragon, then lifted a brow. “I’m not entirely sure. That’s not really my department.” His eyes narrowed as he looked the dragon over, then a smile crept along his lips. “I do know that we have her husband, though. We’re converting him, so she’ll probably be used as part of that. If a convert isn’t a willing one, then it’s normal to sacrifice their family to finish bringing them over to our side.”
The unicorn chuckled, but Jet made no reaction other than to simply nod. The more he was learning about this organization, the less certain he was about what he should do. He knew before that they were only out to eventually wipe every race that isn’t pony off the face of the earth, but he wasn’t sure how far along they were to such a goal.
This newest bit of information wasn’t particularly pleasing to him, either. He often made a living hiring out his skills, and has spilled his fair share of blood over the years. But he never made a habit of taking jobs that went against his morals, this one being the obvious exception. He had originally tried to tell himself that it was the pay that had gotten him to take this job, but now he wasn’t so sure. Jet had never been a particularly superstitious or religious type, so the idea of fate always seemed like a bit of a joke to him. But now, as he once again looked over to the mare he had helped capture, he wasn’t so sure.
Starshine looked with a furrowed brow over Mammoth as the sun settled into its routine in the middle of the sky above them. The stallion wasn’t faring very well, despite the guard’s continued efforts. He had managed to get most of the poison out of his system, and all that was left was to make sure that Mammoth was as comfortable as possible, but things still weren’t looking up. Starshine had moved him out of the swamp once most of the work had been done, finding a relatively clear spot several hundred yards away from the imposing bog.
He was worried for more than the obvious reasons. Mammoth’s condition wasn’t getting much better, and that was cause for much of his concern. But a fair amount came from the landscape around them. Starshine wasn’t familiar with this area of the dragon territories, nor was he familiar with the wildlife that might be found here. He had only heard small reports about the land in general, and the rocky landscape wasn’t a comforting one.
The land was flat and nearly barren, with hills scattered around here and there. For the most part it seemed they were in some kind of flatland, but off in the distance there was a rather intimidating range of mountains, and he was fairly certain that the tallest peak, the one dead in the center, was a volcano. There was a steady stream of smoke billowing from the top, clouding the sky and making the day much darker than it should have been. The ground was barren and brown for as far as he could see, pockmarked with craters with a sparse spattering of trees here and there. It truly looked like a desolate location. Though, from what he could tell, there seemed to be a large body of water a few miles off to the north.
He looked back down to Mammoth and sighed. The larger stallion’s breathing was steady at least, if a bit softer than he would like. If he was going to make any more progress, he was going to have to get him to that body of water. That was the only place he was certain to find what he needed to help the guide recover more quickly. The only problem with that was that Mammoth was much larger than himself. Carrying him outright wasn’t an option, there was no way he had the strength for that. Carrying him via magic was possible, but only for short distances. The strain that would put on his strength wasn’t advisable, especially if he ran into any trouble along the way. The only other option was to put together some kind of sled and drag him.
Starshine spent the next couple of hours putting together such a sled, using dried wood and vines from the swamp to fashion it together. When it was done, he looked over his work. It wasn’t the best that could have been made, but it would suffice for now. The guard slowly levitated Mammoth onto the makeshift sled, stepped in front of it, picked up the lead in his mouth, and began the long journey to the body of water.
It was very slow progress, and the hours of the day seemed to tick by just as slowly. The sun beat down on him relentlessly, and it wasn’t long before a lather had worked it’s way over his body from his sweat. He had placed the saddlebags on the sled as well, and he was grateful for his foresight. Hauling those along with pulling Mammoth would have resulted in him chafing, and possibly even wearing away his fur and skin. He was determined to reach his destination, though. The final moments of the fight from the previous night still ran through his mind.
He should have been able to do something more to protect his friends. He should have known that something like this could have happened. But he had been arrogant, thinking that escaping their attackers would have given them enough time to regroup properly. But his fatigue had blinded him to the determination of the pursuers, and had cost him dearly. Now his charge had been kidnapped, and their guide had been badly poisoned. He had managed to save himself from any harm, yes, but that didn’t matter. He had to get Mammoth well again so that they could rescue Vertigo.
That was all that mattered.
The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon when the body of water began to come into clearer focus. He was only about a mile away now, but his body was screaming at him for rest. He wasn’t sure how long he had been pulling Mammoth along like that, but he was sure it had to have been at least five hours. The stallion hadn’t stopped once during the entire journey, determined to make it there as quickly as possible.
He steadied himself and pushed on. He was too close to quit now. His perseverance paid off soon enough, and after another hour of walking he reached the beach to what he soon discovered was a lake. Thick, shale like black rocks covered the beach, and he had to carefully step over each one. They were sharp and jagged, and he knew that a slip here could result in a much greater injury than he wanted.
When he finally made it to the water’s edge, he looked on in disbelief. The water looked stagnant, a putrid green that didn’t moved. There were no ripples, no signs of life under the surface, and no plant life around it’s edges. Had he come this far for nothing?
The night air began to drop in temperature, turning cold very quickly. In but a few moments he began to see his breath cloud in front of him. Starshine gritted his teeth and looked around. He had come too far to give up now, but he wasn’t sure what he could next. The water wasn’t consumable, that much was clear. Though, there was something strange about it. He couldn’t smell any stagnation, nor any kind of toxic contamination. The water was just still and sickly green, not even moving in the breezes that flowed past him.
He was starting to worry. This place wasn’t right; there was something magical about it. He could feel the tingle in the air, like a static charge that shocked his own aura from time to time. His eyes darted around in panic. He was starting to understand. This was a gathering place for the dead. A place for spirits to meet and converge with the living world.
The moon slowly made it’s way to the apex of the sky, and a deep howl echoed around the lake. He had to get out of here. He quickly picked the lead of the sled back up and began to pull Mammoth as fast as he could. The temperature continued to drop, and the howl picked up in intensity. The pitch changed from wind blowing to the sound of thousands crying out in pain. Starshine desperately looked around him for any signs of danger. He wasn’t moving fast enough. If he didn’t get out of there soon, then the dead would consume him.
The lead to the sled broke, the vine having reached its limit, and Starshine tumbled forward. The shale sliced at his body like razors as he slid through it. The guard cried out in pain and stood, casting his magic over his wounds to stem the bleeding. The atmosphere was changing dramatically, the wind shifted and blew in what seemed like all directions at once. A green tinge was falling over them, and a deep fog was rolling in.
Starshine was starting to panic. He had never felt power like this before. It wasn’t malevolent, but it was scary nonetheless. He had to get Mammoth out of here, but pulling him on the sled was no longer an option. He slung the saddlebags over his back, lifted the earth pony in his magic, and took off once more. He was moving much faster now, but the strain of using his magic in two different ways like this for an extended amount of time was starting to wear on him. Blood began to spatter from his wounds as he was having to put more and more concentration on carrying the larger stallion.
He ran off to the right, towards a large hill that edged the shale of the lake. He felt like that was where he needed to go. In his panic induced state, he couldn’t explain why he felt like that, but he knew that that is where he would find safety.
The howling increased once more, and his head ached from the constant noise that assaulted him. The edge of the small valley was close. Just a little bit further. Wisps began to fly around him, ghostly apparitions that clawed at him as they passed. Each touch was cold was ice, and only spurned him to move faster. A deep rumble came from the earth, and he was starting to worry he would lose his footing once more. But he pushed on with new vehemence.
He reached the edge of the valley and began to ascend the hill. Once he was clear of the shale, the howling began to die down, and he no longer felt the pull of the spirits around his body. It didn’t take him long to reach the top, and when he did he settled Mammoth onto the ground and looked back over the lake. It was calm once more, and the water glimmered feintly in the moonlight. It was like nothing had happened at all. Even the sled sat unperturbed in the midst of the shale. Was all that he just experienced an illusion?
He felt the pull again, like an urge to keep moving. It felt like something had connected to his magic was trying to guide him even further away from the lake. It was a foreign feeling, something that wasn’t natural that tugged at him. Someone, or something, had locked onto his presence and was trying to bring him to them. Starshine cast about frantically, hoping for some kind of sign as to what was calling to him, but he saw nothing. The presence, while strong, didn’t feel threatening, and Starshine had no other options.
He levitated Mammoth back into his magic once more, and started to follow the pull. It led him further and further to the east, and the closer he got to it’s source, the calmer he felt. It was like a siren’s call, beckoning him to a salvation he wasn’t sure existed. As he walked, he cast back over his knowledge of the dragon territories. He had never heard of any kind of strong magic in these lands. There had never been any reports of it, in fact. He knew that the dragons were usually very cautious about magic in the first place. They held a natural resistance to it, and were wary of what it could do. So why would there be such a strong magical feeling all the way out here in the middle of their land?
Starshine continued to follow the pull of the magic. He wasn’t sure how long he traveled as he followed its call. He found he was unable to concentrate on the moon above him, but as he travelled, the sky began to lighten. He reached the edge of a dense forest just as the sun began to crawl it’s way up over the horizon.
He stopped at the edge of the thick woodland and furrowed his brow in curiosity. A forest as large and sprawling like this should have been something he could see from where he was the previous morning. Or, if nothing else, there should have been something about it in the reports from previous explorers of the land. But nothing had ever held any mention of it. As far as he knew, the only forested land in the dragon territories had been what they had traveled through when they first entered.
His trepidation only grew as the pull of the magic became stronger. It was urging him into the trees, begging for him to continue following it. Starshine looked to Mammoth. The earth pony still slept soundly, wrapped in his magic and hovering about a foot to his right. The unicorn was weak, though. He had nearly drained all of his magic bringing the earth pony here, and his wounds ached from the distance he had traveled. Blood coated his fur from the shale that had cut into him, but at least he wasn’t bleeding anymore. He felt drained, like he might collapse from loss of blood and exhaustion both.
After a moment’s more of hesitation, he decided that he might as well keep pushing forward. Whatever was calling him was going to be better for him than should he collapse on the edge of the forest and fall prey to whatever creatures roamed this land. It wasn’t long after he began his trek into the forest that he found himself on a path, beaten and wide enough to easily follow. Starshine found his travelling to be much easier from this point on, the woods alive and bright with the sound of animals scurrying about. The atmosphere was almost mystical, and the air sparked with magic so old that it wasn’t recognizable to him.
He could feel the energy of the woods pouring into him, revitalizing and recharging his magic. He had never experienced anything like this before. He didn’t even know that something like this could exist! Usually if a unicorn’s magic was drained, it could take days for it to build back enough for them to make use of it once again. But Starshine could feel his magic returning with every step he took further into the forest.
He had been walking for only half an hour or so when he suddenly felt the magic pull away from him. No longer being guided by its pull, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked around. He had no clue where he was, other than stuck in the middle of this forest. He was just about to pick up and start moving again when a figure stepped out onto the path in front of him. Starshine immediately felt his breath taken away.
She was an immaculate creature, standing just a little over a head taller than him and thin as the branches of any tree. Her coat was a lustrous brown, her chest white as snow. Her legs were long and thin and ended in cloven hooves, her muzzle short, and her large ears were pitched forward. Her nose was nothing more than a black slash above her mouth, and even though she looked down on him with more apathy than curiosity, she was still stunning to behold. Her brilliant blue eyes regarded him coolly as she approached.
“Why are you here?”
The question, spoken firmly and leaving no doubt that he was to answer quickly, hung in the air for a moment before Starshine processed it. He took a step forward and shook his head, “I don’t know, to be honest. I was by the lake with the spirits, and then I felt this magic-”
She immediately took a step forward and narrowed her eyes at him, “You were at the Veil and yet you made it out with your life?” A soft, blue glow formed around her eyes and soon Starshine felt a magical pulse around his body, searching him all over. “Who are you?”
The unicorn blinked and cleared his throat, then motioned to Mammoth in his field of magic. “My name is Starshine. I came here with a friend to help find her lost husband, but we were attacked. She was taken from us and our guide was injured.” He looked at her curiously, “I don’t know what brought me here. It was some kind of magic that led me here.”
The creature before him sighed and shook her head. “Very well.” She turned from him and motioned with a hoof down the path. “Bring your friend and we shall see to him. Be warned, traveller. No outsider has visited the land of the Deer in well over a millennium.”
Starshine nodded his acceptance and followed silently, Mammoth floating beside him in his magical field. The walk was spent in silence, and the unicorn wondered just what he had gotten himself into. He had never heard of deer before, which was strange because most every sentient species was recorded in the Canterlot archives. How could a race with such a strong magical presence have been overlooked? Even if they were so far outside of Equestrian borders? None of this made any sense.
He didn’t have to wait long before the forest started to clear somewhat, and a large, sprawling city spread out before him. Starshine stopped and his mouth fell agape as he looked on in wonder. He couldn’t help but to wonder, once again, how something like this could have fallen below the radar of the likes of Princess Celestia. The deer who was guiding him stopped and looked over her shoulder with a smirk, “Welcome to Schalhara, the city of the Deer.”