Friendship: The Gathering

by CrossMalaki

First Night

Nightfall found Cross at the borders of the Everfree Forest, a place he never would have known existed if he hadn't demonstrated to Twilight how mind reading spells worked for Planeswalkers. It was a perfect hiding place for those not wishing to be seen; dark, secluded, and covered heavily by vegetation. He had been wandering it simply when he came across a leyline in the earth, a powerful magical strand that would lead to some sort of nexus nearby.
Following it was a simple task, despite it not being marked in any way. He followed both the natural mana of the leyline and its inherited memories of six young, hoofed beings discovering camaraderie, power, and even trust. The memories came to him in spurts, usually just hazy feelings, but the fact that the leyline retained these memories of the past spoke to its powerful magic.
After passing several dark trees seemingly arranged in a particularly disconcerting manner, Cross suddenly felt a nearly irresistible urge to laugh, despite how inappropriate his surroundings were for it. It was at that moment he was certain he was following Twilight and her friend's trail. Before he'd had his suspicions, namely when passing a spot where he felt both extreme danger, yet surprising calm, but now he was dead certain.
"Then they went this way…" Cross took to talking to himself as he went, following the leyline as though it were a scent trail. He even attempted to scent Twilight or Fluttershy along the way, but it had been a long time indeed since they had taken this route. He'd just have to follow the mana, and as he found himself at a large river, he began calling that mana, testing its flavor, looking for what colors it held. He was shocked thoroughly to find it contained all the five colors, both the naturally occurring black and green of the Everfree Forest as well as blue, red, and white, seemingly appearing from nowhere.
"This is a powerful one indeed. No wonder they were drawn to it." Cross released the mana into a spell, shaping a pair of wings with his mind, white and fueled by mana.
"Nimbus wings." With a hushed whisper a brilliant pair of white wings spread from his back in a flash of white light, the wings themselves forming from that light and of light's make. He quickly took to the air, flying over the river and following the leyline deeper into the heart of the forest from the air. He sensed temptation and triumph over it as he passed a bridge over a wide chasm, and then at last found the nexus of the line.
Ancient ruins, long overgrown with moss, stood silently before him, as though sentinels to some great occurrence. He landed silently in the center of the ruins, looking about him as his wings disappeared. Cross walked along the only standing wall, looking towards the center, waiting for some part of the nexus's memories to reach him. He did not have to wait long, as hazy outlines appeared before his eyes, shapes and colors he glimpsed from the corner of his eyes that vanished as he turned towards them.
"This leyline was not here at Equestria's creation. Something, or some pony I believe, created it with a purpose." He sat in the center of the nexus, feeling the mana around him. There was great power here, but also great danger. He needed to see if his hunch was correct, but the conditions were not right at the moment.
"You'll have to wait for the full moon." A voice drew Cross's attention, and he turned towards its origin slowly, keeping himself light in case he needed to fight. A white unicorn pegasus with a flowing rainbow mane stood behind him, in royal regalia no less.
"Princess Celestia. To what do I owe this great honor?" Cross bowed slowly, remembering her name from Twilight's memories. If the princess was surprised she did not show it, smiling and approaching him carefully. He did not sense hostility, and so rose to his feet and watched her, relaxing his muscles from their battle ready state.
"I had felt someone snooping along in the woods. I wanted to be sure this place was not being defiled by someone." Celestia's tone was not accusing, but her words still causing a small sting in Cross's mind. He shook it off and nodded.
"I was merely following out of curiosity. One being can never learn enough about anything, whether they live one hundred years or one hundred lifetimes." It was a phrase Cross had heard many times from Izzet scholars on his home Plane of Ravnica, and he felt it was appropriate for this moment. Celestia's smile told him she agreed with him, and he fully relaxed himself.
"And what have you learned, if I may be so bold?" Celestia sat facing him, and his eyes wandered around the ruins for a moment as he thought over his reply.
"I have learned that this leyline and nexus were not here when this Plane was created. I have learned that someone else made it, a native with great magical power. And they made it for a very specific reason." Cross's eyes once more returned to Celestia as his last sentence finished. Celestia nodded slowly.
"I also have a hunch as to which two people are responsible for this leyline's existence." His words caught Celestia off guard, and she chuckled softly.
"I suppose I've been found out. You're very clever for a wolf. Or a legionnaire." Now it was Cross's turn to be surprised, and he quickly shook himself to hide it from her. She continued, looking him in the eyes as she did.
"I know quite a lot about you already. You were a Wojek sergeant, serving in your home of Ravnica, when you became a Planeswalker and met others with similar powers to you. And so you sought out Jace Beleren, and began working directly under him. Am I correct?" Celestia's words were all true, and Cross nodded quietly. He didn't know for certain, but he assumed Jace had told her, or she had been peeking around inside his mind like Jace would have. He decided to take his turn to speak.
"I'm afraid I know relatively little about you Princess. As you no doubt know I'm a newcomer to this plane, and know only as much as I have experienced." Cross turned to look at the forest, almost expecting Jace to be there, but his Planeswalker ally seemed to still be busy at the moment.
"Well, I suppose I could begin recounting my story, but I have a feeling we don't have time for it." Celestia's words snapped Cross to attention in moments, and he cautiously sniffed the wind. She was right, he could smell oil and steel, even through the mana flowing around him.
"Golems, three I believe. Nothing I can't handle." He turned to race after the constructs, and then looked back to Celestia, "If you are able help, then it would be welcome." He then raced off into the woods, pelting after the Golems.

Three figures moved through the trees, silently approaching the edges of the forest. Two of their brethren had not returned that evening, and their commander sent them to begin the attack without them. If they ran into the one that had destroyed their brothers, they were to kill him on sight.
They kept to the dark, so that their steel bodies would not be visible in the moonlight. They wanted to surprise these little ponies, relishing the thought of tearing into them and hearing their screams for mercy. Then their leader began to glow a bright, fiery red, and melted into slag before the following two's eyes.
"Hello boys. Glad to see me?" A pure white wolf sat in the moonlight ahead, tail slowly flicking from left to right, a smile plastered on his muzzle. The two golems identified the threat and rushed in, when a line of white light shot out at their knees, tripping them as though it were solid iron. As they skidded along the earth as the wolf prepared another spell, breathing pure fire into the larger of the two. The heat welded its gears together, smelted springs, and finally the golem exploded from a build-up of heated air in its core.
The smaller tried to rise and fight, but still more beams of light appeared and slammed into it with the force of boulders. Each was precisely aimed at staggering it, and finally one swept the machine's legs from underneath it, knocking it flat. The beam swung up, and then was brought crashing down on the golem's core, smashing it to so many minuscule pieces.
Cross let out a low howl. A strong gust of wind whipped through his fur and the trees around him, and when it finished the golem pieces were gone, magically swept away into oblivion. The Princess had done well with that light spell, he had been trying for weeks to master something similar. He nodded towards the ruins, then left the Everfree Forest behind, awaiting the dawn.

Comments

[kili79]

Like what you did with the flyover of everfree.

I hope your protagonist sticks to his white red identity from here on out, and appreciate the whole leyline thing and the nimbus wings.
I don't know if Celestia needed to be in this passage, but your the writer.

enjoyed more than chapter 1.