White Tail Village
The afternoon sun was trying its best to shine through the dense foliage as Willow and Iron along with Swiftwing made their way back to the village. Birds chirped and the smell of damp earth filled the air. Why would anypony want to live in a town or city such as Canterlot and miss out on the wonders of the forest?
Willow inhaled deeply and sighed. No matter how old I get, I will always remember this scent, he thought. We should be close to the village gate by now... Suddenly a sharp pain blossomed within his chest, causing him to slow down. His breathing had also turned dangerously shallow and ragged. Iron noticed that Willow wasn't beside him anymore and looked behind him to see Willow walking slowly.
"Are you okay Willow?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. "Because the face you're giving me is telling me otherwise." Willow swallowed and tried his best to slow his breathing. He also realized he was holding his hoof to his chest as well and quickly planted it on the ground.
"I'm... fine Iron," Willow lied, trying his best to conceal the pain that was still present.
"Are you sure Willow? We can stop you know, the others won't be worried about us for a while."
"Yes yes I'm sure," Willow quickly replied. "It'll be dark soon Iron. Although the Timberwolves are gone and I know this place like the back of my own hoof, I don't want to be out here since that thing could still be out there. It could be watching us right now for all we know."
Iron looked at him carefully for another minute before he turned his head and continued walking. "Well... if you say so Wiilow," he replied. "But if you ever feel the need to stop, just say so. I'm pretty sure Swiftwing and I can wait for you."
"Y- yes, of course Iron. Thank you for the suggestion," Willow said and quickly caught up to him. That creature... it must have been that orb it threw at me back at the cave. I'm beginning to think there was more to that creature than meets the eye...
They continued walking for about a minute when Willow felt Swiftwing begin to nip at him. "Hey! What did I say about nipping ponies girl, especially me? There has to be a better way to tell me that you're hungry." Swiftwing screeched softly in return and he smiled. "Fine, go and get something to eat girl, but promise me you won't take too long."
Swiftwing immediately flapped her wings and flew off his back, disappearing into the trees ahead of them shortly after. "I have to say, I'm quite jealous of your hawk Willow," Iron said. "I've never seen a bird and a pony communicate so well until the two of you came along."
"Yes, you could say that she is my pride and joy," Willow replied. "I don't know what I would do if I lost her, she's like an extension of myself."
"No kidding, she acts exactly like you, which isn't a bad thing of course."
"Yeah... hey, how are your little fillies doing by the way Iron? I haven't seen them often since..." Willow trailed off, realizing that he just crossed a sensitive line he shouldn't have. "Wait Iron, I didn't mean-"
"Lemon Heart and Azure Berry are doing just fine," Iron replied coldly. "They miss her very dearly... I miss her very dearly..."
One year ago, there was a terrible forest fire that had quickly spread to the village. Iron Shield's home was the first to be reached by the flames, and most certainly wasn't the last. Reacting quickly, Iron Shield was able to get his two newborns to safety, but as for his wife... she wasn't so fortunate. Ever since that day, Willow knew that Iron Shield wasn't the stallion he once was, but that didn't stop him from continuing their friendship.
"I... I miss her too Iron Shield. The whole village does. She was the local nurse after all," Willow softly replied. There was an awkward silence between the two and he quickly decided to change the topic. "Hey, did I ever tell you of the time that Swiftwing ate her meal on top of Old Pony Grouch's hat? Now that was a hilarious sight to see."
Iron Shield shook his head and chuckled. "Really now? I wouldn't go anywhere near that grump even if somepony offered me a hundred bits to, but I wish I could have been there to see it happen. What happened next?"
"Well... let's just say that Grouch and Swiftwing 'danced' for a bit Iron," Willow said and both of them burst out laughing, having already forgotten what they were talking about before.
Their laughter quickly died down though and the two kept walking through the woods until at last Iron spoke again. "You know Willow, the whole village is going to be extremely grateful that you destroyed the Timberwolves that had been pestering us for so long," he said.
Willow nodded in agreement. "The Timberwolves were a huge thorn in our side, but with them being gone now I'm more concerned about the hooded creature who destroyed them in the first place." He suddenly saw something small and dark move out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to investigate, only to find nothing.
"What is it Willow? Is there something there?" Iron asked and Willow shook his head.
"No... I thought there was... but it must have been my imagination. I did hit my head rather hard in the cave before you found me." They heard a screech in the distance and Willow extended his leg before him. Swiftwing came back from wherever she went and carefully perched herself on his leg.
"Did you find something to eat Swiftwing?" Willow asked and saw that her beak was splattered with some unfortunate creature's blood, answering the question for him. "Okay, whatever you do don't wipe your beak-" He was too late though since she just began to clean her beak by rubbing the blood off on him. "On me... ugh, now I have to bathe when we get back." Swiftwing looked at him and he thought she saw her smile before she quickly moved up his leg and onto his back.
"Just like you," Iron said and chuckled. "And what do you know, it looks like she hunted right outside the village!" As the trees continued to thin out, Willow saw the familiar place that he called home. White Tail Village was built with the very trees the ponies that came before them chopped down, leaving a large circular area devoid of all trees save for one which was located in the center of town. The Tree of Visions.
Over the years as the town continued to grow and expand, fortifications had been built around it, making the village seem more like a fort than an actual village, but time and time again the Mayor assured them that it was for their own safety. It was unfortunate that a couple of Timberwolves were able to make it through though since one of the guards didn't make sure the gate was closed all the way.
"Good timing too," Iron continued. "I was afraid that the sun was going to disappear behind the trees before we got back."
"Yeah, it would have been... ugh... would have... been..." Willow tried to say but was having difficulty thinking.
"Would have been what Willow? Willow? Willow!" Iron shouted. "What are you doing!?"
Willow had begun to stumble about, trying hard to stay balanced but it was as if the very world was slipping from underneath him. He heard something shout his name, but his hearing made everything sound slower, deeper.
"Swiftwing! Come over here!" Iron shouted. "It's not safe for you to be on him... not when he's like... like this!" Swiftwing looked at Iron and cocked her head slightly to the side before quickly shaking her head. "Bah! You act just like Willow would!"
What... is happening to me? Willow thought. My vision... it's becoming blurry... He closed his eyes and shook his head, hoping that it would pass, but when he opened his eyes again, he was not outside his village anymore. Instead, he was standing outside a place he had never been to before. It looked to be some sort of castle.
Wait... I've seen this building before on a map... is this... is this Canterlot Castle? The castle suddenly erupted in flame before him and he turned his head away as the whole place exploded, leaving nothing but a smoking crater and burning rubble that rained from above. Meteorites began to hurtle from the sky and they crashed into the buildings behind him, but Canterlot was not the only place being hit. He slowly turned around on the spot, watching the meteorites fall as far as the eye could see.
"What is going on here!? Why am I here!?" Willow shouted, but only the sound of falling meteorites was the reply he received. He suddenly heard a booming chuckle come from behind him and he turned around to see that it was none other than the creature he saw before standing in the middle of the smoking crater that was once Canterlot Castle, but it looked... different.
It was no longer floating in the air like before since the thing now had legs. Its hood was drawn back, revealing a clean-shaven face covered in various tattoos and markings. His horns and eyes glowed red as if they were embers.
"Look around you pony! Your empire has fallen!" he yelled, his voice striking Willow to the bone. "For far too long have I waited for this day... the other Runelords were fools to not have included me, deciding to remain at a mere seven instead of eight! Karzoug... Alaznist... all of them are fools! But look who has the most land now... this world... it belongs to ME!"
He raised his staff upwards and it unleashed a beam of purple energy towards the sky, slicing through anything that stood in its path. Willow looked up and his eyes widened in horror as he watched a meteorite descend towards him, larger than any of the other ones he had seen already. Knowing he wouldn't be able to get to safety in time, he held his breath and closed his eyes just as the meteorite struck Canterlot.
When he opened them again, he found himself lying on the ground with Iron and Swiftwing hovering just above his head. He looked at each of them quickly before he closed his eyes again, having fainted from the terrifying ordeal he just experienced
"Guards! Open the gate!" Iron shouted. "We have a pony here that needs help stat!" Swiftwing nudged her master, trying to get him to respond. When there wasn't any response from him she dug her claws into the ground and covered her head with her right wing. The guards up above on the ramparts pulled a lever and the gears began to turn as the gate slowly opened, revealing a trio of cloaked elderly mares that made their way over to the three.
Iron looked up from his unconscious friend and saw the three mares walking towards them, his eyes widening as he recognized who they were. "The... the Council!" he exclaimed. "Please! Help my friend! He began to rant about destruction and anarchy and then he suddenly collapsed!"
"Do not fear young one, for we have heard," the mare on the far left said.
"We have felt," the middle mare said.
"And we have seen," the last mare said. "Come, bring your friend and follow us to the Tree of Visions. We have much to discuss."
The three turned around and walked back into the village, leaving Iron to drag Willow on his own. "We'll be there shortly wise ones!" he called out after them. "Somepony up on the ramparts! Come down and help me carry Willow please! He's heavier than he looks!"
Willow slowly awoke to find himself lying down on a rather uncomfortable bed. Where... where am I? The last thing I remember was standing with Iron just outside the village, he thought. Willow craned his neck to get a good look at his surroundings. He looked to be in some sort of makeshift tent that lacked anything of interest except for a wooden chair that was in the right corner of the tent. He could see a small light flickering outside through the tent flaps and assumed that night had fallen.
The tent flaps suddenly parted, revealing Iron Shield along with Swiftwing who was perched on his shoulder. When they saw that Willow had woken up at last, Iron sighed in relief while Swiftwing screeched in joy and flew over to him. She began to nuzzle him as soon as she landed on his stomach.
"Good, you're awake at last," Iron said. "How are you feeling Willow?"
"Ugh... I haven't felt this bad since the flu outbreak four years ago," Willow replied. "I'm sore all over... how long was I out for Iron?"
Iron walked over to the chair in the corner and dragged it towards Willow's bed before he sat down and made himself comfortable on it. "You've been out for about three hours Willow, midnight has already passed. For a while there, I thought we had lost you. What happened to you outside the village Willow? Do you remember?"
"No... the last thing I remember was standing next to you outside the village, but then everything is fuzzy from there. I found myself here afterwards." Swiftwing walked around in a circle on his stomach a couple of times before finally sitting down, having grown very tired since she should have been asleep hours ago.
The two friends remained silent for some time when Iron rose from his chair. "Come Willow, we are needed elsewhere. You'll find out what happened soon enough," he said and extended a hoof towards him. Willow eagerly grabbed it and Iron pulled him off the bed, causing Swiftwing to fly off of his stomach and land on his back after, much to her annoyance.
"Where are we going Iron?" Willow asked. "Shouldn't I be resting? And why won't you tell me what happened?"
Iron stopped in front of the tent flaps and turned his head until he was looking back at Willow. "Because the Council of Farseers know more than I," he replied and he exited the tent.
"The Council!?" Willow exclaimed. "Iron, wait for me!" He rushed outside of the tent but he didn't have to go far since Iron had already stopped. "How is the Council-" He stopped as soon as he recognized where they were and the three mares that stood before them.
"Welcome back to the realm of reality Willow," the far left one said.
"You may be wondering what is going on," the middle one said.
"But you have nothing to fear, for you shall receive your answers here," the far right one said.
Willow and Iron immediately knelt before them. "I... I'm honoured to see all of you oh wise ones," Willow said. "The Speaker of Heart, the Speaker of Mind and the Speaker of Soul." Behind the three mares was a massive tree that was surrounded by a faint white glow that Willow had recognized. The Tree of Visions. It was on an island that was just big enough for it to grow on.
"You may rise young ones," the far left one known as the Speaker of Heart said and Willow and Iron slowly stood up. "Come with us Willow to the water surrounding the tree, we will show you the answers you seek."
Willow nodded and he looked over at Iron who silently urged him to go on. He took a deep breath and he followed the Council over to the water that encircled the tree.
"Take a seat on the grass Willow, and observe," the one known as the Speaker of Mind said. Willow quickly did what he was instructed to do and the three mares surrounded him. One was in front of him while the other two were on either side of him. They lowered their hoods, revealing their horns and what they looked like.
They all looked very weathered and weary, their faces covered with wrinkles, but that did not mean they were weak. Nopony knew when the three mares arrived to live in White Tail Village, but most believed that it had something to do with the tree. The three Unicorns were indeed very mysterious, and so was their power that they wielded.
The Speaker of Soul's coat was a vanilla white with eyes the colour of the sea. Her mane was very well maintained and was a dark blue colour. The Speaker of Heart's coat was the colour of cherries with eyes that were a dark shade of violet. Her mane was also blue, but it was somewhat lighter than the Speaker of Soul's. The Speaker of Mind's coat was a pale yellow, almost like the colour of the sun. Her eyes were the colour of amber and like the others, her mane was blue, but it was the lightest blue of them all.
The three mares closed their eyes and their horns began to glow the same colour as their eyes. "Relax Willow," the Speaker of Mind said. "And we shall show you what we saw transpire within you."
They channelled their beams towards Willow's head and Swiftwing quickly flew away and perched on one of the Tree of Visions many branches. Willow felt a warm and slightly tickling sensation when suddenly a scene shimmered into view in front of him. He saw himself standing in front of a castle, but as the scene continued to play out in front of him, his eyes widened in fear. He gasped when he saw a figure that he recognized.
"The creature! It... he... he is planning on destroying not only Equestria but the world for his own gain!?" Willow exclaimed and he turned his head away. "Stop! I've seen enough!" The scene slowly faded away as the three Unicorns ceased channeling their beams and raised their hoods again. "Why... why didn't it kill me then? Back at the cave?"
"By what we've seen within your mind Willow, it seems that this creature... he is not yet at his full power," the Speaker of Heart said. "But..."
"But what? Why didn't he kill me if what we saw is what that creature is trying to do?" Willow asked.
The mares all looked at each other and they nodded. "What happened to you at the cave Willow... it is what he intended to do," the Speaker of Heart continued. "I've seen it within your heart Willow... you have been cursed... cursed to die."
Willow's jaw dropped in disbelief. Cursed to die? That was impossible! "How... how do you know this is true?" he asked.
"Because Willow, when the creature used its power on you, it corrupted your soul," the Speaker of Soul said. "That scene that you just witnessed, it is a side effect of his curse, these hallucinations. They will only continue to get worse until you at last... cease to exist."
Willow rose from his spot and he began to pace back and forth in silence. "Is there... is there a way to break the curse?" he asked. "How much longer... how much longer do I have?"
The Speaker of Soul shook her head. "We do not know ourselves Willow, but perhaps... perhaps there still is a solution," she said and she turned to face the Tree of Visions.
Willow noticed this and he stifled a laugh. "With all due respect farseer, I don't see how a tree will be able to help me. Even though it's called the Tree of Visions, I don't think it has actually given a vision at all. It's only a legend!"
"Oh? So you are willing to forsake your life simply because you don't believe? Legends can be more real than you know young Willow... Think about your mother, your friends... you wish to give it all up?"
"W- wait, that's not what I meant!" Willow exclaimed and he sighed. "If you... if you believe this will help then I trust your judgement farseer. What do you need me to do?"
"Simply approach the tree young one and it will show the way if you are worthy," the Speaker of Heart said. "If you are, you must tread water for as long as you can, for the vision will only last as long as you are able to."
"Alright then, sounds simple enough," Willow replied and he looked up at Swiftwing. "Make sure I don't accidentally drown myself girl." Swiftwing flapped her wings twice and he smiled in return. "Thanks for the support."
Willow slowly approached the water's edge and the Speaker of Soul walked back to join her fellow farseers. Well, here goes nothing, he thought and he jumped into the water. The water was cool but refreshing as he slowly swam over to the base of the tree. Little did he know that Iron had come to see what was going on and he stood next to the farseers, watching, waiting.
Almost... there... With one final push, Willow was able to touch the base of the tree and he stayed in the water, hoping something would happen. Come on... please work... When nothing happened, Willow sighed and began to make the trip back to shore when suddenly a white glow came from behind him. He turned around to see that the tree was glowing a brilliant white and he felt something stir within his mind, then everything went dark.
When he could see again, images flashed before his eyes. He was only able to catch glimpses of each image before they were immediately replaced by another one. In one of them, he saw himself speaking with a male Pegasus. In another, the same Pegasus was with him except they were gathered around a fire, alongside what looked to be a female Unicorn. He suddenly found himself on a ship sailing across an ocean, which was soon followed by an image of Griffons surrounding him and the two other ponies that seemed to be in most of them.
An image that really stuck out for him though was that of the creature. He saw him standing at the back of an army of creatures he didn't recognize. Then suddenly everything turned bright and he found himself back on land, dripping wet and gasping for breath.
"Willow! Can you hear me?" Iron asked. Willow looked up at him to see that he was wet as well. Swiftwing was busy flapping her wings above Willow, trying her best to dry him off.
"Yeah... I can hear you," Willow replied and he coughed up some water that had still been in his lungs. "Did I go under?"
"Just slightly Willow. As soon as I saw you weren't able to keep yourself up, I immediately pulled you out. I'm sorry if I interrupted a vision you were having."
"No no, it's alright Iron. Thank you for getting me out of there," Willow said.
The farseers then approached him and he stood up to meet them. "What did you see Willow?" the Speaker of Soul asked. "Did you see a solution? Did you discover a cure for your problem?"
"Unfortunately... I did not, but the tree, the vision, it did give me some guidance," Willow replied.
The Speaker of Mind closed her eyes and she gasped before opening them again. "So you... you have a plan Willow," she said. "A plan that involves..."
"Going after that creature and bringing about his end, yes," Willow said, finishing her sentence for her. "Although I did not see a solution to my current predicament, I won't allow our land or the world suffer because of this creature."
"Willow... are you hearing what you are saying?" Iron asked. "That thing almost killed you back at the cave! How can you possibly stop it? The last time I checked, you weren't an Alicorn or one of those ponies that can use the Elements of Harmony."
Willow walked past all of them and whistled for Swiftwing who quickly flew over and landed on his back. "You're right Iron, I'm not an Alicorn or even a Unicorn. I'm just a simple Earth pony among thousands of others. But when you create a spark... you ignite the fire. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check in on my mother."
The farseers and Iron watched as Willow walked away and disappeared into the night. "And so it begins..." the Speaker of Soul said. "He'll most likely set out early tomorrow morning... I don't think we'll be able to change his mind."
Iron Shield continued to stare at the spot where he saw Willow disappear. Willow...
Far away from White Tail Village, a shadowy figure was looking out across the land from the top of a mountain. He held a necklace in one hand and his staff in the other. From where he was, he was able to see a small castle in the distance, lit up by hundreds of lights.
"Soon... I will carry out my plan..." he whispered and he gripped the necklace even tighter. "The journey here took much more power out of me than last time... I was lucky... lucky to have known about the Starstone before the impact..." He held out the necklace in front of him and it slowly began to levitate.
"I very well might be the last Runelord alive... even if the others didn't think of me as one... but I'll prove them wrong... even when they are already in the Plane of Hell!" Dark storm clouds brewed above him and his eyes flashed red. "Why share a small part of Golarion... when I can have a world to myself! A world for the Runelord of Anarchy!
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If our earth pony protagonist was voiced, what would he sound like?
5046103 Well... that is an interesting question Starlight. I would usually just let my readers decide for themselves, but if I had to choose a voice, I can picture him having a voice similar to Viggo Mortensen, but that's just me =)
Nice chapter. This is getting good. I hope we have more ponies in this crew soon. We know we will get a pegasus, A female unicorn, maybe a griffion. I would recommend for this party to eventually get two more. Great chapter by the way. I can't wait to read how this story progresses.
5050114 Thank you for the positive feedback! Comments like yours give me the motivation to write more! I'm as excited about the progression of this story as you are
5051142 I think this story has a lot of potential and I can't wait to read more. How do you think this story will be? in chapters 10, 30 or maybe even 50 or more? The longer the better in my opinion.
5051632 I have many ideas floating around in my head Sage. Big ideas. The story will start off slow, but it will continue to become more and more interesting. The best part about writing a story like this is definitely the character development and world building, getting to create lore and locations and characters that are actually interesting. I'm not saying that canon characters won't be used or seen, but I don't have as much fun writing about them as I do with my own OC. There will be betrayal, sacrifice, courage, relationships, everything that a good adventure story needs. Don't worry about the story being short my friend, I have a feeling that it will at least exceed 50+ chapters. I'm not going anywhere, but by that time it will most likely have been over a year's worth of epicness. Now if I can just get more attention...
5051913 Yeah. I'm happy about that. Question. Assuming that this is based off of Dungeons and dragons, what classes are the main characters going to be. I know Willow is a ranger. I think a Berserker, Mage, and Cleric and Rogue. I'm not sure, I could be completely off. Sorry if you don't like people butting in on your story.
5051956 You're not butting in at all. The story will have some very loose RPG elements (eg. classes) based on the Pathfinder RPG (which is like D&D). Willow is indeed very much like a Ranger. As for the other characters, I was thinking something like this: Rogue (Thief), Druid, Wizard (Mage), Fighter, and a Cleric. Now remember, these characters will have traits, personalities, and skills somewhat like the classes, but there won't be a time when they are referred to as such. (For example, Willow won't say that he is a Ranger, nor will another member say that he/she is a Fighter, but their actions will give the reader an idea of who they are and what they are good or bad at) Plus, I think you might be able to determine the races because of this before you even meet them!
5052068 Okay. I played a bit of pathfinder with a group. We didn't finish, it was a college group, so our druid, sorcerer, and vampire druid left. I was a half blooded dragon beserker. I kicked butt.
5052081 Heh, I wish my elven sorcerer wasn't so squishy. ( I'm currently in an adventure which is on hiatus for now) But it has been the most hilarious experience so far!
5052107 My Beserker would l just smash everything to pieces. That was fun.