> Diary Of The Banished
>  by DouglasTrotter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue (Edit/Update, 3/31/2015)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the last rays of light faded from a setting sun, so did the words of the book on top of my hooves.  The clouds' darkness blocked out even the smallest rays of light from the beautiful full moon that rose in the distant horizon.  I levitated the book off of my front hooves and closed its ornate cover.  This book was one of a few, precious, so-called luxuries afforded to me.  With the book returned to its place on the small oak table near the makeshift bed, I find it strange yet appropriate to reside within this cold, desolate place once more.  

Books always had a profound effect on me when their covers were opened.  Though some led to a realm for colts and fillies to fantasize about, mine led to knowledge.  As a colt, the words within those tomes entranced my mind.  Those around me, some of them my fellow scholars when I grew older, spoke of the pursuit of knowledge.  They told of it being acceptable, yet my peers also warned about the dangerous allure of knowledge; knowledge, in the wrong mind and hooves, would bring destruction to the individual and those around them, regardless of how courageous their mind and spirit.  

The harm that befell those ponies and creatures I met along that journey was my fault.  Several stood beside me, ready to reassure my hesitant mind everything would work out in the end.  Even now, I find myself amazed at their compassion, however, their compassionate emotions only cause me to wonder why.  Why did I pursue knowledge so voraciously? 

Otra.  Otra, I'm so sorry.  You were the one that tried to warn me most of all.  Our time together was short.  Though you gave me such wonderful gifts, it's only now that I realize the gift that was once so close to me is now lost.  Those words of warning you whispered into my ear -- along the words of my fellow scholars -- were nothing more than a gentle breeze against the hairs of my silvery mane and tail.  

"All are born with a desire in their hearts that makes them happy," I was once told, and it is now that I see the double-edged truth within those words.  Instead of being a gift to cherish, my happiness is an unforgiving curse.



> Steadfast Ascent (Edit/Update, 3/31/2015)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My father said that when I was born, two beautiful eyes stared back at him.  He laid me on the bed next to my mother, and both of their elated smiles reflected off the two blue eyes that gazed at them.  The eyes that gazed back at them gleamed with happiness and wonder.  In the serene moment, my parents nodded towards each other.  Inside the quaint house that stood near the eastern coast of Equestria, a curious and resolute unicorn colt was born in the village of Gallopia on a calm morning: Steadfast.  

Time passed, and I took my first steps when my hooves were strong enough to carry me.  Each nook, cranny, crack, and crevice held some fascination.  My parents stood behind me to help guide my inquisitive nature while I wandered the house.   Each journey, to my fascination, ended at a particular door beyond my reach.  Though my memories of that young age are clouded, I remember one fateful day when the door beyond my reach opened.  It took a few moments for my eyes to focus as a lush world filled with magnificent objects came into view.

I stood on my father's back.  My eyes gravitated towards the sky before they scanned the area around me.  Grass and tree leaves glistened in the brilliant light of the sun, due to the apparent rain the previous night.  My gaze focused on one object then locked onto the next in rapid succession.  Despite the words of caution my father gave me, I ignored them and fell off his back.   My unicorn father told me how unusual it was I didn't cry.  Instead, I continued to look around the area while still on my back.     

"What have I seen? What was yet to be seen?" and other questions must have raced through my restless, three-year-old mind.  Both of my parents talked about how I stayed up late with my eyes glued to the window in my room.  

The clearest memory comes from the time I passed by the new mirror in the family room while on my father's back.  Time appeared frozen.  while I scrutinized myself.  Unlike my father's hooves, mine were a semi-dark red color while the hairs on my mane and tail were a silvery color.  Even my coat color appeared to have a different hue to it.  The only similarity between my mother, my father, and myself were the horns on our heads.  Time unfroze, and, though we went to the park that day, several other fillies and colts playing with one another, I kept to myself.  

It was later that night I overheard a conversation between my parents.  A "special" day would be coming up for all the fillies in colts in the village.  To my surprise, the special day happened  after my fourth birthday.


*** *** ***


Several families gathered at the fence on the western side of the village.  A grey stone structure cast a long shadow on the ground: in front of us stood a new building several of the villagers had worked on.  I felt ecstatic when I looked at the place. 

A new chapter in my life had come.  My parents told me about school, and, though the cobblestone pathway led to an unimpressive structure made of marble and limestone, images and thoughts resonated within me when I imagined what I could be learn.  My hooves were the first ones to touch the cobblestone pathway.  Three others came behind then passed by me.   I turned my head, catching a glimpse of one small earth pony colt that relentlessly clutched onto his father's tail.  He pleaded with his father then turned to his mother, begging to go home so he could play with his toys.  Some of the other fillies and colts questioned their parents as to why they couldn't stay home. I returned home after the short day, journeyed up the steps to my room, and stared out the window near my desk.  Despite the day being a simple introduction to our teacher Ms. Parabola, it stuck in my mind.   

It's hard to tell who was more annoyed at the dinner table, my mother or father, when I pestered them about when our lessons would begin.  Soon, night turned to day with it being the real day for our first lesson.  

Just like the previous day, my mother woke me up, I gave her a quiet yawn, my father carried me on his back to the school, and they stood near me.  I will always remember what happened next as my mother gave me a firm, gentle hug before I went inside.  Almost on instinct my hooves raised to hug her in return.  The other stallions and mares displayed the same sense of unease as my parents; it was obscured by a veil of cautious, optimistic happiness. 

I settled into a routine, day-by-day, as my insatiable appetite for curiosity grew.  Ponies had learned so much in those two hundred years since Nightmare Moon's imprisonment.  It astounded me, however, the sundial outside of the class room -- much like my happiness -- ticked away towards the end of our lessons. Things changed when my mother picked me up from school one day.  We journeyed down a different street.  I wandered off and came upon a place I had never seen before.  

The mundane door opened.  Shelves lined the wall with a sturdy piece of furniture in the center of that large, circular room.  Each space on the shelf cradled the books that sat on them.  A noise caught me off guard.  Mother spooked me, and then scolded me for running off.  I asked her what I had found.

"This is a library." My mother said.

"Library" barely graced my ears as I darted to one bookcase.  My hooves couldn't touch one tome before I was soon levitated onto my mother's back.  She placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.  Out of kindness or wanting to encourage me, she checked out a book for me to look over at home.  That wondrous place was a second home for me.  

My first book talked about nature, science, and magic.  All subjects fascinated me, but science and magic intrigued me the most.  Both appeared limitless in their potential.  My father showed me his workshop, reinforcing that believe of magic having limitless potential.  There were various piece that appeared broken beyond repair.   Though he took me into the shop from time-to-time, I wasn't allowed to venture into it until I turned seven.  

I watched how my father fixed the items the others ponies had brought him.  He used a spell of his own design.  Developed throughout his lifetime, the spell fixed things in an almost mystical manner.  A broke vase was put in front of me.  I received a wink before the various pieces swirled around the object.  They moved in rhythm with one another until they merged into the original object, cracks and voids disappearing.  I heard that familiar chuckle when I attempted to replicate the spell.  I turned to the vase, my father, and then looked at the broken piece of a toy windmill.  I illuminated my horn, and my father's laughter ceased.  There was a slight gasp when I managed to fix the broken object.   

Another piece was nudged toward me.  I focused my gaze, illuminated my horn, and cast the spell once more.  Just like the first one, it was fixed.  My father scrutinized each section before I received a firm pat on the head.  After that day, I studied all the books on magic the library could offer me.  

Our teacher taught the village's unicorn fillies and colts how to harness their skills.  Some days we trained while other days Ms. Parabola spoke of her days in Canterlot, studying among the other unicorn scholars in the arts of science and magic.  Though I was ready to learn her skills, I wasn't ready to learn about the word "limitations" when we started our levitation training.  

The other unicorns could levitate their objects with ease under the teacher's guidance.  I had no problem either.  Instead, my troubles came from keeping more than three objects aloft at the same time.  I discovered my flaws as all of the other unicorns could levitate six items, some levitating up to ten.  Our lessons progressed beyond simple tricks to more advanced studies. It felt wrong that I could only levitate three objects, but I pressed on, despite those limitations.  Before our lessons began, the teacher would ask us to recite the one rule she believed in among all things.  We were to "never push a magic spell beyond its breaking point," lest dire consequences be brought upon the caster.  

It was a calm summer day when Ms. Parabola lifted part of her mane.  Several gazed on while the color drained from one filly's face, her color almost similar to my coat.  Ms. Parabola's right ear was shorter than the other, singed near the top with a heavy scar across her forehead.  Her dark blue mane covered her disgrace as she lowered it back down.  She spoke of being the "lucky one" in the course of what happened.  In a stern voice she stated to all of us, "This is the consequence of misused magic." 

The scar didn't bother me.  Just like it was wrong for me to levitate only three items, I believed it was wrong to not push magic to its limit.  Every book I looked through in the library spoke of magic's limitless potential.  My father's spell proved it couldn't have boundaries.  I wanted to question Ms. Parabola and what she did wrong, but the words failed to come out.  My rather foalish seven year old self decided that I would break free of my limitations by pushing a spell beyond its limits the next day.  


*** *** ***


No pony saw me when I headed to one of the outside bathroom stalls in Gallopia.  Light from the small, crescent-moon shaped recess embedded in the door barely illuminated my secluded work.  I opened the small bag to the glow from the vial of liquid I prepared with great care.  It pushed my magic to the limit when I imbued that alchemical mix to enhance whatever it was poured onto.  With a small bit of allowance saved, I procured some fireworks four days prior to my experiment.  I caved into my fears. My inner, foal like self took over after I poured the mixture onto the fireworks and watched them glow in a more vibrant green colored light than the liquid initially did.  The bag was left in the bathroom when I darted out of the stall.  

I bolted to a nearby house.  A shrub, sitting near the house, acted as a safe place to hide.  From the safety of natural barrier, I watched the light in the stall glow even brighter.  I ducked.  Splinters flew past me.  The roof of the outhouse flew into the sky.  It disintegrated a cloud in its path.  Ponies from all over the village gathered around.  That childlike sense of panic rooted itself deeper into my core as the commotion continued to grow.  I snuck from spot to spot and made my way home.  Day turned to night, and the chaos subsided.  My parents talked about the incident at the dinner table, and I felt compelled to tell them what happened.  My father snickered at me.  After a sigh from my mother, both said they were glad none were injured. 

From the window in my room, I watched my father leave the house.  He fixed the bathroom stall without a problem.  Before I went to class, I examined the stall.  There were several scratches in the wood surface, a small piece near the back missing.  Part of me remained intrigued at how powerful the blast could have been if I augmented the potion even further.  I returned to my lessons, finding the same emotions of joy and disheartenment with the days that passed.  

*** *** ***

Days turned to months with our lessons coming and going.  Before I knew it, several of my classmates earned their cutie marks.  One colt earned his by juggling a few balls in the air.  A filly earned hers by solving a complex math equation while one of the odder ponies earned theirs by knocking down a tree with one swift buck of a back hoof. My day, or rather night, came when I was at home.

In a brilliant flash of light my "mark" appeared just like the other students said.  I managed to replicate a rather complex spell when the mark appeared on my side.  The cutie mark appeared in the shape of a blue book with three white stars on the cover, the stars forming a triangle.  It seemed to confirm my ability to replicate magic spells, regardless of the their complexity.  As I returned to my studies -- my smile at the fact I earned my cutie mark fading rather quickly -- I heard the feint sound of a sob.  

I crept toward my bedroom door and peered through the small opening to see my father in the hallway next to my mother.  Both of them went into their bedroom.  My mother's cries went silent.  To this day, I'm unsure if she was happy or saddened for me.  The fillies and colts in my class took notice when I went to class the next day.  None of them approached me, even the friendlier ones remained at a distance while I made my way to my desk. 

Hushed voices surrounded me.  I overheard one pony, in a sardonic tone, say the mark fit me "perfectly," turning away as I looked at them.  Ms. Parabola seemed to be the only kind one to speak to me.  I stood in front of the class, after the teacher's kind nod of encouragement, and told the class what I had done.  It took little effort to showcase the spell I learned.  Silence remained in the classroom when I finished the spell and my story. The teacher's elated smile at the complex spell I managed to reproduce faded when I told her about returning to my studies.  Her unusual look fueled my curiosity.  Another student was called to the front to talk about their cutie mark, having earned theirs last night as well.  I wondered if I had done something wrong when I was asked to sit back down.  Ms. Parabola's disheartened gaze is one of several that mar my memories.  

Our final lessons came, and all of us graduated as the first class from the first school in Gallopia.  My mother and father smiled at me when I graduated.  A new set of fillies and colts entered into the school on graduation day.  The mares and stallions that graduated looked toward the village while some looked toward the horizon.  Several talked about the possibilities that lay beyond Gallopia.  Those that left the village had an unusual look about them.  Even if it was a simple task, they smiled at what they did.  The happy smile from my colt-hood had turned into straight faced expression.  I prepared to settle into my life of mediocrity, but fate played an unusual hoof on my eighteenth birthday.  
My parents entered into my room while I sat at my desk.  Time had eluded me as both of them, in a joyous tone, said, "Happy Birthday, Steadfast." 

They levitated an unusual gift towards me, placing it on my back.  For my last birthday, and all of my birthdays since I found the library, I received books.  The meticulous work put into the gift peeked my curiosity: my parent's gift was a bag made for rugged travel.  My mother leaned in, gave a gentle hug, and then removed the saddlebag.  She placed it on the floor between us.  In a hushed voice she said, "you need to find your own path, my little Steady." 

In my father's eyes was a distinct look of determination, holding the same sentiment as my mother.  A strange sensation came over me.  That same, lost feeling of discovery, when I found Gallopia's library as a colt, returned to me.  There were so many words I wanted to say.  I could only manage a "thank you" to my parents. 

Before I could examine the bag further, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder.  An envelope levitated in front of me; it was sealed, a strange emblem embedded into the gold wax seal on the back.  Inside was a note that I wasn't to open until my destination had been reached.  With the note secured in the right pocket, I was told a story that was not unlike something a small filly or colt would be read at bed time.  

My parents spoke about the magnificent city at the heart of Equestria, Canterlot.  Inside the grand, royal walls of Canterlot existed a library that held a plethora of books for any eager pony to study.  The story sounded like a true fairy tale, yet it had to be accepted since Canterlot existed.  Though I heard the words of my mother and father, I heard something else.  I believe, now that I think back on it, their hope was me finding true happiness in this world.  The hug from my mother ceased my frantic thoughts. My hooves rose on instinct when I hugged her in return. With the bag placed with care on the circular carpet in the middle of my room, I ended my studies early and crawled into bed.  

A strange sense of peace washed over me as my mother and father left the bedroom.  Time passed in an instant, my eyes closing to moonlight then opening to sunlight.  That was the first time I had a true peaceful night's sleep.  In the rays of the morning sun, my gift sparkled. It appeared my sleep was more serene than I thought when I saw my bag prepared with food, water, and amenities for a long journey.  One pocket on the rugged saddlebag contained enough bits to rent a shop in Gallopai for an entire month.   The right pocket caused me to stop.  In my mind, the words of my father and mother resonated as I remembered them telling me, "Never open the note until you reach Canterlot's library." 

The bag could take just one more item, and, from my bookcase, I selected the blue book with my personal notes.  My thoughts shifted to the room when I approached the door.  This room, this house, this village served as a home.  It was the last day to give a farewell.  That notion was erased I saw the time: the journey couldn't wait. 


*** *** ***


The saddlebag had a small bit of hefty to it when I levitated it onto my back.  With the door closed to the bedroom -- my hoof steps quieter than usual -- I proceeded down the dimly lit hallway.  A small fireplace existed in the family room.  Nestled under a soft blanket on the couch near the fireplace were my parents.  Their peaceful expressions stopped me.  It was the first time I heard a small voice tell me what to do.  Our house obliged my request when I traveled down the stairs, my hoof steps remaining silent.  At the front door, I gave my parents one last look.  The goodbye to them was given under a quiet, heavy breath when the front door closed behind me.  

Gallopia remained quiet in the early morning hours, the streets empty.  Ms. Parabola taught us that time had no emotion, only representing change in the world.  This instance seemed to contradict our lesson.  My hooves were weighed down with each step I took.  Though a new wonder existed outside of Gallopia, a sense of hesitation took hold at Gallopia's front gate.  My eyes fixated on the sign.  

"Welcome every pony who enter our small quaint village of Gallopia.  Be you welcome any and all." 

For what seemed like the first time since I was a colt, I smiled at what was in front of me.  Today, today the world was my school when I mustered the strength to take that first step past the fence of the village that raised me.  My hopes and dreams were higher than ever when I trotted down the path.  Gallopia vanished behind me.  

I stretched my hooves as I stopped under the shade of a nearby tree after the sun reached its highest point in the sky.  Several leaves fell onto the map.  A noise followed.  In the tree's canopy, tangled amongst the vines, I saw something rather spectacular.  A beautiful, snow white eagle.  She struggled to get free from the thick vines that wrapped around her large, majestic wings.  The eagle squawked louder, almost pleading with any passerby to help remove the vines.  My attempts to loosen the vines with my magic garnered a louder response.  I found myself perplexed by the reaction.  There was little recourse as I decided to climb into the tree.  I tugged on the vines with my teeth while moving some around with my horn.  The eagle soared into the air, freed from entrapment confinement.  She gracefully landed on the ground in front of the tree after her brief flight.  Our eyes met one another.  She appeared to wait for me until I came back down.  

With my hooves back on solid ground, I saw how beautiful she was in the sunlight.  Her feathers shined in the brilliant light.  Though her impressive height intrigued me, being almost as tall as me, her eyes, those beautiful sky-blue eyes struck me; they held an unnatural spark of happiness and lust for life.  She emanated a few gentle squawks.  After I furled the map back up and placed it into my bag, I gave her a soft nod in return then resumed my journey toward Canterlot.  The eagle happily perched herself on my back.  Those wondrous eyes spoke for her.  

I said "suit yourself," smiled, and continued the journey.  With all the memories given to me, that may be the one that engraves itself into my core as I had gained a traveling companion.  On a gentle wind, I heard a voice say "Otra" and spoke that word.  The eagle brushed her soft wing against my right ear.  There was a slight nod from her.  My trot turned into a steady, slow, soft pace.  Three days passed as Otra and I continued our trek toward the distant horizon.  Though both of us grew accustomed to each other, part of me worried about our food supply.  Those worries diminished when Otra found her own food.  

Night came on the third day, and we prepared for bed.  I found the fire to be rather comforting with Otra sitting near me.  I grabbed an extra blanket from the bag then gave it to her.  As we bedded down for the night, my eyes closed while I wondered what tomorrow would bring.  Soon, wind rushed passed my face.  I felt as though I were flying through the air.  My eyes opened, the strange sensation growing stronger.  The ground existed far below me.  Objects came into view before they passed by at a rapid pace.  I looked up.  Otra latched onto me and had flown us some distance from the campsite.  

The more I looked at her eyes, the more she didn't seem like herself.  It terrified me to look into her doll like eyes, the moonlight reflecting off of them.  Though her soulful demeanor was gone, Otra took great care not to drop me.  Her eyes focused on the tower that loomed in the distance.    The dark tower came into view, and Otra flew us to the top.  My body grew cold, almost going numb. 

I remained motionless on the ground where she had placed me.  Otra hopped over to a nearby perch.  Her talons scraped against the solid stone surface.  I got up then laid back down.  Hoof steps echoed in the eerie night air.  The moonlight illuminated a small outside area on the stone structure.  Through my half-closed eyes I watched a sturdy door open.   I encountered that stallion for the first time in my life.


> Unhindered Knowledge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A cold sense of dread ran up and down my spine; the sensation came and went like the waves at the beach as the stallion circled my body.  Though the moon's beautiful glow gave a gentle aura of peace, I found myself terrified.  The horrific experience ceased after a third pass.  The stallion stopped in front of me.  His breath misted in the light of the moon.  For a second, I believed the night air had grown colder, feeling far colder than any winter I encountered in Gallopia.  With a soft yet stern voice he said, "I know you are faking. So, get up." 

I stood up.  My hooves froze in place.  I gazed into the darkness in front of me.  Those eyes weren't illuminated by the brilliant moonlight.  The black void -- residing in the cloak of the stallion's hood -- allowed them to shine through.  With the hood lowered, the pony facing me, I saw an eye with no iris.  It was white as my coat.  The iris of the other had a color similar to my hooves.  Otra dove of the side of the dark tower before I could speak.  Her lifeless expression maintained, she flew to the stallion's side without a single word or sign given.  My companion assumed a position on his back similar to what she had done with me.  

"It seems she has brought a 'gift' to me," he said in an articulate, defined tone.  He leered at Otra then turned towards me.  With a gentle hoof, he motioned towards me.  The hoof moved in a fluid motion when it soon pointed towards the door.  My hooves' frozen state disappeared when he turned away.  I proceeded behind him, the door closing behind us. My eyes were greeted by a semi-decorated stairwell.  Though I caught glimpses of the paintings, I focused on Otra.  She never moved.  There was a invisible, tight leash around her freedom.  In the medium sized stairwell, the stallion's hoof steps remained in unison with one another, not unlike a harmonious orchestra conducting a haunting aria.  

We reached the bottom of the stairs, and my dark desire took hold.  When the door opened in front of us, obsession gnawed at me.  It clawed at the back of my mind when I gazed at the wondrous sight of those beautiful tomes nestled on each bookcase.  I was allowed to gaze into the library.  Beautiful candles hung in a chandelier above a large oval table in the center of the room; their peaceful glow illuminated the grand room, almost mimicking the moon's gentle glow outside.  My eyes bypassed the ornate rug below the large oval table.  Each book, cradled in its individual spot, gave a slight glimpse of what it contained.  A cold hoof pressed against my side.  Broken from my trance, in his cold voice, the stallion said, "Are you a fellow seeker of knowledge?" 

His deadened expression relented and gave way to a malefic smirk.  

The pedestal in the back drew my attention before I could deliver an answer.  Symbols were etched deeply into its strange shape.  Claw like protrusions supported a book on top.  My front right hoof crept forward.  The book on the pedestal called to me, but the stallion's hoof steps broke me out of that second trance.  Those steps grew fainter with each second that passed.  Little time was left to catch up to him.  I watched the stallion approach a door.  It opened at his whim without the use of magic, from what I could sense.  The spire, if that is the appropriate word for it, astonished me.  Part of me believed the spire had to be alive the way it responded to his desires.  

We neared the hallway's end, however, my fascination continued.  The plain wooden door, with a window embedded in it, opened to reveal an eloquent bedroom.  In his cold voice the stallion said while pointing his ebony colored hoof, "You should sleep.  We will talk when you have rested." 

I nodded and proceeded inside.  Elegant couldn't begin to describe the room with objects placed in specific spots to derive the utmost beauty.  To my delight, there was a semi-furnished bookcase which sat flush against the left side of the room.  Before he left, the stallion said I could read any of those books to my heart's content.  With a few books levitated onto the table, I opened one and began to read.  When the door closed, a chink formed in the armor of my obsession. I peered through the small window of the door.  Otra's cold, lifeless expression remained unchanged throughout our small trek.  Her eyes were so beautiful, filled with such a wonderful lust for life.  Whenever I looked into them, I got that sense of happiness from her.  She was nothing more than a shell of her former self while at her master's side.  

The armor's chink repaired itself.  Though I felt exhausted, I couldn't wait to delve into those books. 


*** *** ***


The structure remained silent.  I flipped through one book before it was placed back onto the bookshelf.  Several books had caught my eye -- one talked about an unusual yet interesting technique about magic -- before three tomes called to me.  They were nestled at the end of the bookcase; their covers and binders were blank, covered in some weird material.  The books' mysterious nature fueled my curiosity.  To this day, I wish I had not discovered them nor read their contents. 

I opened the first book.  Under the moonlight that came from the window where the table sat, I read about the ancient creature Discord.  While the information was mundane, it spoke of the possibilities that could be presented if a pony were to harness its magic.  The writings turned into ramblings of an insane individual the more I read, speaking about how to utilize the creature's power.  I placed the book back onto the bookcase and retrieved the second unnamed tome.

Chemical equations and magical formulas detailed advanced processes of alchemy.  New forms of life could be created by using a chimera's "distilled essence" to combine other living beings together.  The book bothered me, and I couldn't understand why.  As I grew older, the library let me read about experiments that were long since banned, their procedures lost to time.  Without a shred of emotion, I read those books about how several ponies experimented on animals.  The mental image and cries of those animals drowned out my will to flip the final page of the book.  With the book back on the bookcase, I levitated the third book off.  It hit the floor. 

The third book shook in my magical grasp when I levitated it off the floor.  My concentration weakened.  I shook my head and steadied my mind, determined to read its contents.  An ethereal wail traveled down the grim hallway and caused the third book to shot into the air, slipped from my grasp, and then slam to the ground.  I bolted to the door.  The sound grew louder and fueled my ambition to force the door to open.  Though the door looked plain, it glowed in a strange light when I placed my horn near it.  My magical knowledge failed in comparison to the unicorn stallion's abilities.  Every spell cast against the door was repelled.  The hallway, the moment, or both, mystically amplified the horrible noise.  In my frustration, I levitated the table off the ground and hurled it against the door. 

The door, maybe sensing the action, fortified itself.  The wooden table disintegrated into splinters.  A few large chunks were scattered.  One hit the bookcase behind me.  In the brief moment of silence between those cries of pain, I heard a hollow sound come from the furniture piece against the wall.  Without hesitation, I rotted the bookcase to the ground with a single spell.  Despite my amazement at the fact it worked, the elated moment ceased when the dust settled. 

A grim laboratory, Tartarus incarnate lay behind the bookcase.  When I entered that place of unhallowed work, I heard primal screams from the cages along the walls.  Creations hissed and howled at me when I walked by.  

"No living creature should ever be in a room like this," I thought.  My obsession clawed at me like these creatures wanting to get out of their cages.  I wanted to know how these creatures were made, and, if these creations could be made even more unique.  My mind shut out the noises when I saw that journal on the table near a freshly lit candle.  Fresh ink on the page shimmered in the candle's dim light.  It spoke about an "exquisite" find, a rare bird that was considered the last of its kind.  

"Please... en-end the suffering.  End the pain.  Please, I beg you! end m-m-my mi-misery." a creature said.  An octopus like appendage wrapped around my front hoof.  The creature begged for relief.  I asked what happened and heard a dark tale of it being a bird that lived freely in the nearby woods.  As the creature continued its macabre story, the sensation of the appendage wrapped around my hoof disappeared.  Its lone eye gazed back at me, begging me a third time to end the suffering.  The words fell on deaf ears when I began to imagine how a simple formula could give a little bird such a form with the ability to speak Equestrian.

Those primal screams silenced the noises of that horrible place.  I stared at the creature.  I apologized.  There was nothing I could do despite the knowledge I had gained in Gallopia.  The creature apologized in return and released me from its grasp.  Its tentacle pointed toward the back wall of the laboratory.  My hooves couldn't carry me fast enough when I started for the brick facade, watching it vanish when I stood in front of it.  

I found myself back inside the grand library.  Though the candles in the chandelier were still lit, the library appeared darker than before.  An eerie purple light surrounded an object on the table with three rings levitating up and down, almost locking it in place.  I squinted.  The object was Otra. The stallion stood near the table with his horn aglow.  The rings contracted.  That scream came again, shaking me to my core.  It was unhindered by the spire's hallways and barriers, distilled to its rawest form.  I felt my back hoof move, wanting me to run away from this place.  My front hooves remained planted in place.  With Otra's second scream my body went numb.  It was the first time I said to myself, "I don't care." 

"That was a rare piece, constructed during the night Nightmare Moon came into existence." The stallion said.  I levitated the pedestal into the air then slammed it on top of the stallion's head.  It disintegrated.  The stallion turned, and I received the same malefic smirk as before. "I never introduced myself," the stallion bowed then rose with his horn still aglow, "You may call me Efficacy."  

He turned toward Otra and told me to watch.  Efficacy said I could learn the "real power of magic" if I would not interfere in Otra's punishment.  I shrugged off the rather stupid idea he would allow me to flee.  Instead, I focused my eyes and horn on Otra.  Each spell I learned from Ms. Parabola about countering magic ran through my mind.  Every spell I constructed she got around without breaking a sweat.  This moment was beyond a colt's simple spell.  The counter spells failed each time, repulsed by the rings.  One ring stop when I casted my second to last spell.    

Otra's beautiful eyes returned when those ethereal rings shattered like glass, casting the final spell.  Her wondrous lust for life returned as well.  She flew onto my back.  Our reunion ended with Efficacy's eerily calm demeanor overshadowing the moment.  Tense seconds ticked by and Otra let out a bold screech before she busted through the nearby window, escaping into the night.  I found myself pinned to the back wall by the large ornate table.  The stallion forced me to look into his dark eye.  He looked at the broken window then towards me.  

The table pressed further into my chest.  I let out a grunt, unable to speak.  The stallion leaned in close, like he did on the roof, and said, "I promise you, she didn't suffer like others did." 

A bellowing screech resonated in the room before my companion returned through the broken window.  As the stallion leaned back Otra flew towards him, ripped off his hooded cloak, and flew out the window then the dark attire into the night air.  The stallion gritted his teeth.  His concentration waned.  I watched the oval table burst into splinters, just like the pedestal, when I wrestled it away from him with my magic and slammed it against his back.    


*** *** ***


The clock's pendulum swung back and forth in the grandfather clock on the opposite wall.  In my brief moment of peace, I remembered the times I practiced magic with my mother and father.  They held back.  Our teacher held back.  Though I might have been stronger than some of my classmates, our games were docile.  Thoughts of actual, full force magical combat like I read in our history books caused my body to tremble.  Time resumed when that book slipped off the bookcase.  

"An ice spell," Efficacy said. 

My spell had barely finished when he said that.  I sent the ball of ice flying towards him.  In a single fluid motion he stopped the ball of ice, materialized an elegant champagne flute, shrunk the ball, and plopped it into the glass.  He sipped on its contents then caused the glass to disappear.  With a flash of his sinister grin, a gale force wind blasted against me.  My body reacted on instinct by creating a reinforced stone wall in front of me.  I found myself in a moment of shock and terror, feeling comfortable as our battle continued.  

Otra's malefic master maintained his firm stance.  Regardless of a spell's complexity, he could effortlessly cast spells like me, yet they were mastered to a degree I had never seen before.  The battle took its toll.  After seven successful counters, I could feel my stamina fading.  I saw the flames of the candles in the chandelier flickering.  The first spell I ever learned was taught to me by my mother.  She showed me how to light the candles in the house by producing a simple flame that ignited the candles' wicks.  I struggled to apologize to my memory of Ms. Parabola, the same to my mother.  There was no choice.  

I steadied myself.  The stallion sighed at me, turning away.  I never heard the words he uttered under that guttural breath.  Inside my body, I tapped into the rawest magic I could muster.  The spell pushed to its breaking point, I forced even more magic into it. A large ball of fire levitated above my horn, its blue flame calming.  

Efficacy seized the moment and slammed into me.  He showed little signs of effort to assert his dominance over the massive ball of fire I had conjured.  The spell succumbed to his dominance as it turned into a dark mass that seemed to absorb the light from the candles in the chandelier. The turn of events shocked us both.  The fireball took on a life of its own when it absorbed the nearby flames of the room and grew larger.  It began to bulge and bubble like lava.  More magic was poured into my creation by the unicorn stallion: it burst.   

Dark embers flew to every corner of the library.  The spire turned into an inferno.  Even with his home ablaze, the pony's calm demeanor remained.  A thick wooden beam from above landed between us.  

"I will keep an eye on you, my fellow knowledge seeker." He said.  Through the flames, his dark eye stared at me.  

The floor beneath my back right hoof gave way.  I found myself trapped.  Efficacy disappeared into a cloud of red mist as the chandelier crashed to the floor.  The back portion of the tower collapsed.  In my heart, I believed this library and its dark knowledge would be my grave.  The inferno's heat continued to grow.  My last memory of that place was a familiar squawking sound in my right ear. 


*** *** *** 


My coughs resounded throughout the small area.  I opened my eyes to see our small camp.  Otra stood by my side with her wing draped over my body.  As I sat up, a dark chill crawled up my spine.  The hairs at the end of my silver tail had a char to them, smelling of smoke.  Otra brushed her wing against my mane.  I looked into her sky-blue eyes.  Her kind gesture -- along with her beautiful soulful gaze -- couldn't quell my thoughts.  I remembered those misshapen creations.  None of them could have survived.  The creature in that forsake laboratory got its wish.  With that horrible price paid, Otra had gained her freedom from the stallion.  

I took a few moments to gather my thoughts and nibble on a slight bit of breakfast.  Otra gave me a tiny smile before she nudged her blanket towards me.  She soared into the air while I cleaned up the last of the campsite.  I stretched my hooves then felt Otra land on my back.  A firm nod came from her.  

As we resumed the journey, in that still moment, I promised to protect Otra.  She wasn't some experiment.  Otra was my companion.  

> Amethyst and the Stone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't move.  No matter how hard I struggled, it was impossible to run.  Rubble surrounded me, bits and pieces of a structure lay scattered about the area.  The silhouette of a tall mare materialized in front of me.  Her tears glinted in the light of the sun as it rose behind her.  She spoke in a gentle voice, so quiet I couldn't hear what had been spoken.  I awoke from that dream, the birds' chirps outside my window growing louder.  My parents, at breakfast, were ecstatic when I told them I had a dream, but their happy demeanor changed when I talked about the dream.  Throughout my young life, I never dreamt.  The one dream I ever had came on the night I earned my cutie mark.   After my encounter with the unicorn stallion in his tower however, the pendulum swung the other way.  

Nightmares about the cursed laboratory tormented me each night since the incident.  The hisses and howls from those abominations pounded against my ears.  In one dream, that creature targeted me with its octopus like tendril.  I had "doomed it to Tartarus" with my reckless actions.  There were times I didn't want to sleep but would crash from exhaustion.  One night,  I awoke in a cold sweat with the moon still overhead after the most powerful nightmare.  The ethereal dark flames felt real as they surrounded me, ready to incinerate my body.  Otra stood by me with her wing draped over my shoulder on several occasions. 

That powerful nightmare may have been the final breaking point as I found myself determined to hone my magical skills.  I wanted to surpass my weakness.  I wanted the ability, the knowledge, and the power to stand hoof-to-hoof against Efficacy in another battle.  My desires led me to use what I had learned from those books in the bedroom.  Each trick, each idea, each notion, all of it did nothing but frustrate me.  No matter what I tried, I couldn't levitate more than three objects at a time.  Seven spells appeared to be a newfound limitation as well, exhausted when I reached that unlucky number.  Day-by-day I trained, and the most basic spells caused my companion flee.   

Otra displayed that same frightened demeanor from when I first met her, using my magic to free her from the tree's vines.  Though our partings were brief, it felt like a part of me went with her.  She always returned when I was done, and, as if she could sense when I were done, she hopped onto my back.  With a gentle tap of her talon, after the materials of our campsite were collected, we resumed our journey.  The first week that passed, since the incident, brought a bit of happiness to me.  My companion stood by me.  There were times I swear she even nodded at me, like she encouraged my actions. Despite my happiness, my nightmares diminishing as well, I knew the seriousness of the matter.  

The second week flew by in the blink of an eye, and I gave Otra a gift to commemorate our time together.  She brushed her snow white wing against the object before I placed it around her neck.  Her eyes lit up at the magic I used to refine a small pebble into a shiny stone for her.  On that day however, Equestria tested our bonds when an object materialized in the distance.  Otra's sharp talons tightened against the sturdy straps of my saddlebag while a dark, cold sensation washed over me.  The haze around the object dissipated, and I charged towards it.  My companion clung onto me for dear life.  

After I slowed down, Otra pecked at the back of my head, twice.  In front of us stood an impressive, gigantic wooden barrier that jutted towards the sky.  My thoughts turned to the notions of it meant to guard something inside from Equestria or to guard Equestria from what was contained inside?  Each log, in perfect placement next to one another, appeared freshly cut.  Otra squawked into my ear, pointed a wing, and then flew into the air.  I flowed her around the circular barrier, and two ponies came into view.  

The stallions stood guard at a large sealed gate.  Though I had read about the symbols of Equestria, new and old, the symbol on the front of the guard's armor didn't seem familiar.  The bizarre nature continued when neither of them attempted to approach me.  My front right hoof touched the bridge.  Both awoke in an instant.  One guard demanded to know what had brought me to the city behind the great barrier.  His partner reiterated the comment in almost the same voice, tone, and manner.  Neither approached me while none of my answers pleased them.  Both earth pony stallions nodded to each other then said one answer had to be the right one.  I was a spy.  

With the word "spy" uttered, they readied their weapons.  I backed away.  A strange feeling came to me before Otra landed on my back.  She spread her wings, a shadow forming on the gate. I illuminated my horn and dug my hooves in.  Magical armor or not on the guards, I would not allow them to harm my companion.  

The tense moment broke when a pony came from behind the guards.  An amulet around her neck displayed the same symbol as the one on the guard's chest plates.  She pointed a swift hoof at the stallions.  They relaxed, to a small degree.  In an articulate voice the young mare said, "I apologize for the rude reception, traveler.  I am Amethyst, the overseer of the village behind the great wall."

In the guards' eyes, both displayed a readiness to assault me and Otra at a moment's notice.  Amethyst pointed her hoof at the stallions once more.  The two calmed and stood at attention.  With no objection, Amethyst welcomed us inside.  


*** *** ***


Opulent banners hung from lampposts along street corners, the city ready to welcome a regal visitor.  Otra remained calm on my back as we traveled through the city.  Though the grand décor fueled my curiosity, I found myself perplexed at the city.  It had a strange aura.  Each part was beautiful, however, no trace existed of a single equine beyond Amethyst and myself.  There was a tinge of bittersweet happiness to Amethyst's voice when she spoke about the history of her home.  She stopped her story, wiped away a tear, and said, "Vestus is my cherished home."  

We stood in front of two magnificent marble statues in the central plaze; the statue of Princess Celestia stood on the left while Princess Luna's stood on the right, a sun and moon behind them.  I learned through Amethyst's historical story that Vestus had been founded after the great battle between Princess Celestia and Nightmare moon.  Princess Celestia granted Amethyst's great grandfather permission to venture into the wilderness of Equestria, in the hopes of founding a new city.  A legend, passed down through Amethyst's family, spoke of a light guiding the group to this spot where the city blossomed.  The light came from a rock, which fell from the sky and nourished a vast utopia of flora and fauna.  Amethyst's pale hoof pointed towards the back of Vestus, "The gift's energies also created the mountain in the distance.  It's the site of my office and residence."

A few scholars that visited Gallopia spoke of such sites, rocks falling from the sky.  They called the stones meteorites, but I found the nomenclature trivial.  Instead, the idea of such a mystical object having wondrous, magical properties stoked my inner fire.  The mare's heavy sigh ended my train of thought.  When I asked about the barrier, Amethyst hesitated before she said we had made it to her office.  The sturdy door opened, its interior rivaling the city's in beauty.  Magnificent tapestries hung from the ceiling; each ornate cloth told the story of Princess Luna, her corruption, and the battle with Princess Celestia.  Otra and I followed the tale to its end at a marble statue of Princess Celestia.  My companion stared at the marble sculpture. 

"That pony bowing to Princess Celestia is my great grandfather, compass." Amethyst said.  Before Otra and I could proceed, Amethyst tapped me on the shoulder. "Have you heard about the hero and the bird? It's a favorite story of mine." 

I shrugged at her, Otra doing the same.  Amethyst had read a story about a hero that would appear in times of need.  I apologized to the young mare after my impolite chuckle.  The story sounded not unlike what would be read to a young pony before bedtime, my parents reading me a few of those tales when I was younger.  Amethyst maintained her scowling gaze.  After I apologized once more, I told her about no books existing in Gallopia that spoke of such a tale.  Otra and I prepared to leave, but Amethyst stepped in front of us and asked for our assistance.    

"Why?" She said. 

I had helped enough, not wanting to repeat the my past mistakes.  Otra contradicted my answer as she nodded at Amethyst.  My companion squinted at me then squeezed my backside with her talon for a second.  Amethyst, after I gave my word to help, took us further into the mountain through a limestone corridor.  A strange scent permeated the air.  Despite the candles' illumination, our surroundings had an eerie darkness.  The strange sensation I encountered outside the city returned.  It happened before I turned to see Otra's wings shivering.  All of it reminded her, and me, of that tower.  

We came to a halt.  Amethyst unlocked the door in front of us.  The library contained a small number of quaint bookshelves.  Two tables sat side-by-side near the room's lone window. One book lay open near a chair.  

"Could you assist me in researching the city's past?" Amethyst said.

After skimming the pages of the first book, I nodded to my companion.  She had agreed to assist Amethyst, and I couldn't back down from my word.  Otra's help accelerated the research.  I refused to let my mind dwell on the bittersweet fact my companion's experience in retrieving the books came at a high price.  Soon, the books piled up.  The light from the window moved in a slow, fluid motion across the tables.  So focused on the research at hoof, I attempted to levitate a fourth book.  It floated into the air for a brief second then fell to the ground; the red bound tome landed on the ground with a loud thud.  Otra and Amethyst gave a stern, quiet stare towards me.  

None of the books helped.  All of them appeared to be random gibberish.  Our breakthrough from the two books delivered to us by Amethyst.  Placed next to the first book, a final story was told between the three, yet bits and pieces contained in each tome contradicted the other.  The pale earth pony's story seemed correct from the first book's point of view while the second tome talked about the rock falling to Equestria thirty years before Nightmare Moon's appearance, 30 B.N. as labeled.  I refused to read more than half of the third book as the grim story told of the mountain serving as a crypt for unicorns; its macabre entry gravitated into nonsensical ramblings.  The more I gazed at the books, the more I felt something was missing.  What puzzled me were the authors' signatures.  Though each book had a different author, each name had the same style of writing.  I ordered each book in the shape of their writings and found a chronological order.  Amethyst poked my side, and, in a kind voice, she asked us to follow her once again. 

Our surroundings grew darker, more natural.  We were led to a large metal door, seemingly crafted from a single piece of heavy iron.  The door groaned and creaked when we pushed it open.  I illuminated my horn, spied four torches on the wall, and lit them.  Before us was an empty room.  Several images were carved into the stone walls.  Amethyst's raised hoof guided my eyes toward the back wall.  My attempts to understand the story, carved into the wall with meticulous precision, failed every time.  Several symbols had been destroyed by some event.  Otra tugged on my mane.  She pointed her right wing toward a symbol of a unicorn.  I shrugged it off, yet my companion pointed to it again.  With the dust blown off the image, a tiny hole appeared in a small circle floating above the unicorn's horn.  It tested my magic to loosen the piece from the wall's heavy grasp.  The object broke free with a final tug.  

From its looks, glinting in the light of the torch, the rod appeared expertly crafted from a solid piece of crystal.  Intricate symbols were carved into its surface.  To have such a unique find in this place was unthinkable.  The rod turned to dust.  Amethyst, Otra, and I watched the wall vanished.  A powerful gust of wind whizzed past our group.  The strange smell grew stronger.  With the torch levitated out of its holder on the wall, our group headed down the path towards a sound in the distance.   


*** *** ***


We stopped.  At the end of the pathway, a giant rock sat atop a small mound inside a cavernous room.  A small, nearby waterfall fed the vegetation around the stone's base.  All of it appeared alive.  Yellow light emanated from the meteorite and illuminated the room.  Each vine pulsated.  My eyes followed one vine along the ground.  The tendril split into smaller vines that covered the face of the wall.  

I remembered the passage from the third book, stating, "...unicorns 'transcended their mortal coils' while the magical essence left within their bodies will nourish the soil and land above."  

That yellow light increased in intensity for a second and lit up the horrible site.  Mares, stallions, fillies, colts, and foals were held prisoner behind those vines.  Smaller vines attached to their horns.  Despite almost being overwhelmed by my emotions, I couldn't turn away.  This rock, this meteorite, this "thing" had come from a place I would never see.  It had to be from a place not even the princesses had glimpsed.  Just like the vines, my mind pulsated.  I wondered how this rock came into being, if those tendrils were siphoning the magic of the unicorns, and the potential of it being a sentient form of life.  A firm, gentle push came to my body.  I took a quick breath then gazed on in disbelief, that image forever frozen within my mind.  

The powerful strike from the thick vine flung Amethyst down the straight tunnel.  As I saw her disappear into the tunnel's darkness, realizing she protected me, it caused those emotional memories of Otra to cascade throughout my body.  I gritted my teeth.  I focused my magic.  That same blue fireball from the spire came into being once more, and I hurled it toward the meteorite.  The lone vine which struck Amethyst blocked my spell and absorbed its magic; my fireball reduced from the size of a small tent to a tiny ember, which was snuffed out by the circular pond of water around the rock.  

I don't know if I was scared more by the moment or the fact the fireball spell had barely taken an ounce of my magic when I cast it that time.  The vines thickened after absorbing the spell's magic.  My companion snapped me out of my shock as she let out a bellowing screech before leaping off my back and attacking those vines with her sharp talons.  I locked my hooves in place.  I wouldn't lose Otra.  I wouldn't lose my companion.  

Water dropped onto the ground from a nearby stalactite formation.  I focused my mind on that sound.  Magic permeated the air, and my body flooded with power.  Each hair on my white coat stood on end in unison with my silvery mane and tail.  Those seconds were painful.  What few thoughts not devoted to the spell kept me wondering, "Was this level of power on par with Princess Celestia?" 

A few moments more, and I would have perished from the magical energy.  I shouted at Otra and told her to move.  My eyes opened.  I marked the sturdy rock base below the meteorite, and then the meteorite itself.  What ticked by were seconds more unbearable than when I began the spell.  Though nothing happened at first, the meteorite appeared to vanish.  The repulsion spell, though a simple spell for any young unicorn, had been heightened to unfathomable levels.  The meteorite launched into the ceiling, barely missing my companion.  It plowed through the hard surface and rocketed toward the heavens.  My actions had undesired consequences.  

Heavy rocks slammed into the ground.  Otra flew to my side.  I looked at the unicorns behind the vines; they turned to dust.  A large chunk of rock landed off to my right side, splashing water onto my face.  My hooves were freed from their invisible chains.  Otra and I charged down the tunnel with a heavy, gale-force wind pushing from behind.  The tunnel collapsed behind us as we made our way back down the tunnel.  All of what we had seen began to disappear.  In the darkness, I struggled to illuminate my horn.  My heart sank when I looked at the floor.  

Amethyst, on the cave's floor, clung to what life she had left.  Through a strained voice she said, "Please... traveler... please take me to see the light of the sun, one last time." 

My magic and strength began to fade, but I mustered enough to levitate Amethyst off of the floor and keep my horn aglow.  With the young mare cradled in a soft aura, we guided ourselves toward the exit.


*** *** ***


Out of the cave, the sun began to set.  Wind blew across the near endless field of grass.  Two trees stood side-by-side near a large bolder several paces away from the cave's entrance.  Amethyst gave a kindhearted smile when I placed her on the soft ground.  She gazed towards the sky.  Otra and I received a hushed "thank you" before Amethyst closed her eyes.  As Equestria's wind peacefully carried the pale earth pony's ashes into the sky, none of what transpired felt real.  

Three small stones were gathered.  I placed two near the cave's entrance, and Otra placed the final stone.  My brilliant mind failed me.  In that moment of silence, precious, kind words eluded my thoughts when I tried to speak.  If it weren't for Amethyst's actions, I would have been imprisoned by the meteorite while Celestia knows what done to my companion.  Though the city may have been an illusion, Amethyst's selfless acts of kindness and generosity were real enough in my heart.  I stared at the grave, and then collapsed.  My tail curled around my dark-red hooves.  Otra placed a wing over my shoulder.  I looked into my companion's serene, sky-blue eyes.  

The sun began its final descent into the horizon.  Back on my hooves, Otra and I paid our final respects to the memory we held of Amethyst.  My companion flew into the air then landed on my back.  With the gentle tap of her talon, I knew the time had come: it was time to resume our journey to Canterlot. 

> Mist
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two long days had passed since we departed that shallow grave I dug for Amethyst's amulet.  On the first day, Otra's gentle taps against my back turned into forceful slams to keep me going.  My flank received several pinches on the second day.  The weight of my hooves on the third day, feeling more and more like iron with each hoof step I took, had taken their toll.  I stopped when the sun began to set behind me.  

Otra and I found ourselves in a forest with thick, giant trees towering above us.  Their tops mingled with one another and formed a dense natural canopy.  The sun's rays vanished while we made our campsite near the base of a large tree;  its giant roots formed a natural barrier to protect us. Rain trickled through the forest's canopy.  The soft rain drops landed on the cold ground, some hitting the campfire's dancing flames.  Another log was tossed onto the fire, its light illuminating my dark-red hooves.  While the fire hissed and crackled from the rain that landed on it, I thought about what I had been taught.  

In our first class, the teacher took a book out of her saddlebag and introduced herself.  Ms. Parabola's voice accentuated the fondness she held for Equestria's capital as, in a calm voice, she said, "Canterlot is a magnanimous sight to behold, only overshadowed by its majestic and wise ruler.  Princess Celestia, a tall and beautifully regal mare is sound in mind, body, and spirit.  Tales speak of her prowess in the magical arts, having powers unrivaled by any unicorn.  Some say her talents rival that of the most powerful unicorn to ever exist, Star Swirl the Bearded." 

"If Princess Celestia had been in that situation with Amethyst, in that situation against Efficacy, she would have succeeded.  She could have saved those ponies and creatures," I thought.  I rested my head on top of my hooves before Otra extended her wing.  I couldn't stomach any of the food from my bag.  Thoughts tossed and turned in the turbulent storm that brewed inside my mind.  My heavy eyes lost the battle. "Is this a fool's journey?" 


*** *** ***


Throughout the night, awakening for a few brief seconds at a time, no creature made a sound.  I opened my eyes to see a blanket around me.  Otra stood by me with the spare blanket around her.  As usual, with the rising sun came the necessity to pack up the campsite.  Though the light of the morning sun helped to light the area, numerous twists and turns led to darkened areas.  The trees formed a natural maze.  A grassy meadow came into view.  I looked at my hooves, and then the saddlebag.  I levitated it off my back.  

Since Otra and I began the journey together, I could hear something on the gentle wind that brushed against my face.  The noise came when I faced the horizon; it had a soft coo.  I believed Canterlot -- with its magnificent knowledge -- called to me.  My faith, my belief in the mythical beacon just beyond the horizon waned.  Wind from the horizon brushed against my face when we found our way out of the maze.   Otra flew off my back and retrieved the bag my parents had given me.  I chucked the saddlebag further.  She returned it.  Our surroundings changed after Otra brought the bag back to me a third time and perched herself on my back, preventing me from chucking it a fourth time.  

This was the worst environment to navigate.  Some travelers were lucky.  They stopped then backed away on shaky hooves, being a few hoof steps away from the edge of a steep cliff.  Others weren't so lucky as one stallion -- a strange pony who pulled a wagon behind him --  told several tales at a carnival in Gallopia.  He spoke of lost travelers, explorers, and merchants. I was unsure of what to expect in this situation, let alone if I should believe those ridiculous tales of mystical creatures stealing bits and such.   

Otra's sharp claws dug into my sides, almost piercing the saddlebag's thick straps.  The fog grew thicker.  My coat hairs stood on end.  

I wanted to turn back.  I wanted to run back to Gallopia and forget this whole journey, but I didn't know where to turn.  I made the idiotic mistake of lighting my horn in that thick fog.  My misfortune provided a bit of amusement for Otra.  I made slow, steady progress along what little of the dirt pathway could be seen.  Otra's claws trembled against my sides.  I looked up to see a soft, gentle, green colored light in the distance.  It danced around, appearing to call to those who could see it.  Though its intensity grew the closer we got, the ball of light remained calm.  An empty area greeted us.  

"What is the jewel that you seek within Equestria's heart?" a voice said.

The voice didn't unnerve me.  Instead, I hung my head.  I thought I knew.  I turned toward my companion.  Though the mist obscured her expression, I sensed Otra shrugging at me.  When I started this journey, I wanted to learn all of what I could in Equestria and the world.  The jewel I sought in Equestria' heart was Canterlot's royal library, yet my mind replayed those two events I had experienced in such a short time.  Both of them showcased the horror of knowledge, and its "limitless" potential.  I thought I knew.   

Otra nuzzled my neck.  I let out a sigh.  My voice and mind calmed as I said, "What jewel?"  

I found it unusually depressing to receive no answer. We attempted to resume our journey, but I stopped when Otra let out a startled screech.  I made the mistake, for a second time, of lighting my horn.  My vision cleared.  Behind us stood the figure of an equine.  

Back on my hooves, I stood over the pony.  At first, I thought it was a small colt, due to the strange look of her mane.   

"Ha-Have you seen my mother?" the filly said in a quiet voice.  Though the air around us was silent, I could barely hear her voice.  She started to back away, but Otra hopped down and moved behind her.  I introduced Otra then myself.  The filly asked for a second time if we had seen her mother.  The filly clutched something around her neck then said, "Please, where's my mom?" 

Otra watched over the small filly while we continued down the path.  I levitated her onto my back, so my companion could keep a closer eye on her.  She whispered into my ear and said there was a cabin nearby, one she and her mother took refuge in it when the fog came.  

"Why are your coat hairs standing on end?" the earth pony filly said.  

My hooves trembled, but I forced them to steady.  I knew with the filly present, we had to find shelter.  Still, it unnerved me to see the cabin's dark silhouette materialize out of thin air.

A loud creaking sound emanated from the cabin's front door.  Otra hopped off my back, and I nodded to her.  I lowered myself to the ground, giving a grin to the filly after she hopped off my back.  With a nearby candle lit, we entered the cabin.  The sitting area near the front door contained a fireplace in the back; it sat flush against the back wall of the medium sized sitting area.  The small room off to the left of the sitting area remained dark, due to the absence of windows.  All of us stuck close together as we ventured into the hallway.  

Beneath our hooves, the floorboards in the hallway had several layers of dust on them.  Two doors on the right side of the hallway came into view.  One room contained a small bed frame with a larger one in the other.  Cobwebs clung to the ceiling of both rooms with a heavier layer of dust on the floor.  The larger bed frame had rotted to the ground.  I heard a quiet whimper from the filly and closed both doors.  Out of the corner of my eye, something glinted in the candlelight when I levitated it higher.  

The filly clutched onto the small object around her neck.  She turned away from me.  In a determined voice, I heard her say I couldn't have the locket.  I patted her mane then said I had no interest in jewelry.  After making her a promise that I wouldn't take her treasure, I was allowed to examine the locket.  It appeared to be expertly crafted from a single large pearl.  Intricate and precise, the one who made it had to be a master jeweler.  The pearl gave off a strange color as well, luminescing in the candle's dim light.  My attempts to open the locket failed, however, I wasn't about to harm the filly's locket.  

Our small distraction had given enough time for the candle to burn out.  I was a frightened foal in the semi-dark corridor, miniscule amounts of light coming through the cabin's windows that kept the fog at bay.  After a moment to calm myself, I lit my horn, steadied my hooves, and pushed forward with Otra and filly behind me. We came to the end of the hallway.  Near the back, embedded into the floor, I spotted a hatch; it had a simple, mundane look.  

An object darted by me.  Otra's chest touched my raised hoof.  She spread her wings then squawked at me.  As she stood between the hatch and me, I nodded to her.  With that nod given, we returned to the family room.  I tossed some nearby logs into the fireplace then lit them.  Though my appetite for food remained the same, I forced a couple bites down to get something into me.  Loa refused to eat.  Otra nibbled on some seeds she picked along the road a day or two ago.  

I removed the blanket from my saddlebag and placed it over the filly.  She closed her eyes as the fire's gentle light illuminated our surroundings.  Otra's unease relaxed as well.  Her wings rested near her sides while she stood between me and the earth pony filly.  I rested my head on top of my hooves and yawned.  Each time I watched the fire, I winced with the pops and cracks from it.  The turbulent storm in my mind came once more.  At the time, I believed it wise to give up on my journey.  Otra shook her head at me.  Before either of us nodded off, a shadowy figure passed by the window.  

"Is it him?" I wondered.  That cold sense of dread from the tower came over me.  Through the small window near the front door, I saw the silhouette of a pony in a cloak.  Otra shielded the earth pony with her wings.  I focused my mind; I lit my horn; I opened the door.  

Before I could blink, the object disappeared.  My companion's eyes widened.  The silhouette bolted passed us.  We relaxed as the filly reached her hooves around the pony's neck and hugged her, removing the pegasus mare's hood in the process. 

"I'm glad you're safe, my daughter.  Don't you dare run off again." The pegasus mare said.  She wiped away the tears of her daughter and herself, using her wing tips.  After our scare, we sat near the fire. "I apologize for the scare.  I'm Misty Meadows.  You've already met my daughter, Loa."  

I introduced me and Otra as travelers.  Mother and daughter told their respective stories to one another while Otra and I listened.  The thick fog around this area was quite common.  When both of them said they called to one another, I found it rather strange since the area around us was silent.  Loa snuggled against her mother.  Misty Meadows asked about me and Otra before I could ask about this cottage being their apparent home.  Though I brushed it off, Misty Meadows seemed insistent I talk.  

I told the grey colored mare a few details about our journey out of the small village towards the east.  We had been on the road for close to three weeks, and I worried about Canterlot being a fool's errand.  The mare tapped her hooves together and stopped me.  She said my kindness of watching over her daughter warranted a reward.  The strange look I received told me to be quiet.  

Once more, I heard a tale about Canterlot.  My parents told me about Canterlot having a library.  Ms. Parabola spoke of Princess Celestia.  I expected it to follow one or the other.  Instead, Misty Meadows told me a story about Princess Celestia's secret library.  Canterlot was no fool's errand.  The grand city existed, but in the depths of Canterlot was a grander sight.  In the throne room, guards were always stationed near a special area.  A strange door existed behind Princess Celestia's throne.  Tomes sat on beautifully ornate bookshelves, all of the books locked inside beyond priceless.  Several, magical books had rarely been seen by the eyes of others in Equestria.  Some contained knowledge thought lost some time ago.   

It may have been the moment, the story, or both, but my eyes grew heavier.  I wanted to ask how she knew about such a secretive place, but the words refused to come out. Otra lost the battle some time ago as she slept near my side.  My head rested atop my hooves.  A strange sense of peace came to me while those dark thoughts retreated into the deeper parts of my mind.  

I fought to keep my eyes open.  After a few moments, the story ending, Misty Meadows came towards me.  Through my right, half-closed eye I watched a wing tip brush against my mane.  With a wisper, she said "thank you" and "sleep well traveler" into my ear.  Those were the last words I heard from Loa's mother. 


*** *** ***


A soft squawk entered into my ear.  I opened my right eye to see Otra watching over me.  We found ourselves in the middle of a grassy field.  The fog and cottage had vanished, along with Misty Meadows and Loa.  My saddlebag sat near Otra.  All of our supplies were intact, our bits as well.  Though the moment disturbed me, my mind and body felt lighter than usual.  With my saddlebag on my back, Otra flying into the sky then assuming her usual position, we searched the area.  Several hoof steps to the south was the dirt path we had traveled along.  A strange clanging sound came from the distance before a wagon came into view.  

"Why hello there," the earth pony stallion said.  He removed his hat and bowed to us.  He placed it back onto his head then asked if we could spare some food.  I believed him to be a charlatan, ready to rob me blind.  He pointed at me and said, "Hey, aren't you that Steadfast colt from Gallopia? I'm Chronicle, remember?" 

Otra squeezed my side.  She glared at me then flew into the sky before I could leave.  After a sigh, I nodded to Chronicle and sat down.  

I kept my bit sac close as the yellow stallion wanted to "repay" me for giving him some food.  He seemed to freeze for a second when I asked him about the area.  Chronicle waved his hoof at me and said he knew some better stories to tell.  The stories were the same ones I heard in Gallopia, talking about manticores then dragons guarding massive piles of treasure.  Otra flew towards us and drank some water from our supplies.  Chronicle eyed my friend, and then asked where I had found her.  I refused to talk, but he tried to provoke a conversation by speaking of a rare sight he saw some time ago.  Chronicle stopped when I returned the favor.

"You know when I spoke about ponies watching their steps in fog?" he said in a melancholic tone, "Well, it's a warning I give to every pony, mare and stallion alike.  Though my wife was a pegasus, she gave birth to an earth pony filly.  Her life was never the same afterwards.  For some reason, her wing strength left her and she could hardly fly.  I think you can figure out the rest." 

I nodded to Chronicle and tossed some bits his way.  We packed up our respective supplies. 

"Something for your troubles." Chronicle said to me. " I'd hate to see this go to waste.  Just to let you know, there's a town not to far from here.  You can see a mountain and Equestria's Heart from it." 

Chronicle headed out.  The wagon wheels groaned and creaked as he made his way to the west.  I checked my saddlebag then looked at what my troubles had brought me.  It was the map my parents had bought me at the carnival and given to me.  Otra leapt onto my back, gave a gentle tap with her talon, and smiled at me.  I grinned at her, and then faced the horizon.  This moment reminded me that Equestria was a strange place.  The sun rising, I faced the path and moved forward on steadier hooves with Otra by my side. 

> Pretense
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Otra, my faithful companion stood by me. I couldn't have survived the arduous trek without her.  The journey, our journey amongst that strange mist brought us closer together.  My hooves felt sturdier than ever after our encounter with Misty Meadows and Loa.  Throughout the week, Otra watched as I honed my skills.  Despite my limitations still being present, I had gained greater control over my magic.  Our strange encounter had the added benefit of keeping those darker emotions at bay whenever I thought about Amethyst and Efficacy.  The bonds we shared grew even more. 

On the first day of the new month, I stood in awe of the sight in front of me.  In the beautiful sunlight of the new morning, Otra and I faced the western horizon.  Since we followed the path out of Gallopia, I made several notations in my blue book.  Among the notes of my independent studies on magic and science, and my encounters, were marks in the corner of a page where I had made a small, unimpressive rendition of Canterlot.  Thirty small marks later, I smiled.  

Otra rubbed her wing against my mane.  I couldn't help staring at the horizon for a bit longer while several ponies moved passed me.  Chronicle was right.  The mountain where Canterlot resided was real, that tiny dot standing as a beacon that called to me even more when I saw it.  A slight squeeze came to my side.  I turned to see Otra facing the other way, a slight smirk across her face.  She hopped off my back then moved alongside me.  

In the large village, mares, stallions, fillies, and colts went about their business.  A gryphon and minotaur passed by, which peaked my curiosity.  Otra rolled her eyes at me then stopped me with her wing.  Her swift wing towards the tavern across the street.  
Once inside, we sat towards the back.  The tavern patrons went about their own conversations.  Legal robbery could best describe the prices.  Though my parents had given me enough bits to travel with, having saved up since I was born to give me this much if I had to guess, this place felt like it would take every single bit.  

I pushed our drinks to the side and unfurled the map.  Otra and I studied our route.  The village didn't appear anywhere on the map.  Instead, our current location had to be estimated based on Chronicle's words. Thus far, the journey had taken a month, and we were a little more than halfway to the destination.  Another two weeks of travel lay ahead at best.  If the tavern's prices were this steep, it would take some finagling to get some fresh supplies to continue.   Otra's shadow receded from the map, and I looked up.  

My companion moved toward another table in the tavern.  She stood between a filly and a mare I ignored when we came in, or tried to ignore.  The other patrons seemed immune to the filly's ranting, though one pegasus shielded himself with a raised wing.  An attendant came by and whispered, "Tell your bird to leave that filly alone, or we'll all get in trouble."  

It was out of my hooves.  I got up, walked towards Otra, and sat down beside her.   The filly squinted at me.  She pointed a sharp hoof at Otra, and then me.  Her fun had been "spoiled" by my companion's actions.  Despite her verbal threats, the filly ran towards the door.  Otra nodded to me with a smile.  My companion was indeed proud of herself.  

We headed towards our table, but a mare trotted up to us.  The pony took the map off the table, rolled it up, forced it into my saddlebag pocket, and pointed at the door.  She refused to take my bits for the drinks.  Four mares and three stallions escorted us outside.  

A small platoon of guards greeted us.  An earth pony stallion moved toward our group.  In a stoic, strong tone he said, "I am Commander Anvil, and you're coming with me."

We matched each other in stature and determination.  Our wills refused to give in to one another, reminding me of the encounter I had with Efficacy.  The unicorn filly from the tavern leaned out from behind his back hooves.  She targeted me with a sharp hoof once more.  None of the villagers stepped forward to refute her claims of assualt.  In a stern tone, the earth pony stallion demanded that I come with him once more. I refused.

Commander Anvil's precise strike took little time to connect.  My ethereal shield crumbled against the stallion's heavy blow.  I found myself thankful -- in a bittersweet way -- to have battled against Efficacy with my reaction time being faster than what it would normally have been.  
Seven successful strikes countered, and my stamina remained intact from when we started the battle.  Windows and doors slammed shut around us.  With the streets empty, the stallion smirked at me.  I raised my shield.   

"Stop," A voice said.  It happed before Commander Anvil's strike could connect, evading my defenses.  An orange pegasus mare descended from the sky, floating to the ground on graceful wings.  She landed on calm hooves and stood between me and the stallion.  "Commander Anvil.  Please tell me Heiress isn't behind this incident." 

The village remained silent.  Otra flew into the air then landed on my back.  Doors and windows opened with the fighting quelled.

"You will have to forgive my sister -- pardon me.  I haven't introduced myself.  My name is Trotia, and this," Trotia said as she brushed the unicorn filly forward with her wing, "is my rather menacing little sister, Heiress. Before you ask, yes, my name is odd.  My mother wanted a colt and picked out the name Trot.  She changed it to Trotia to avoid paying an additional fee to the scribe for a different name." 

I didn't pursue the matter any further after seeing the commander shake his head.  Commander Anvil stood behind me with several guards at his command.  Trotia motioned toward me with her wing, and Otra and I followed our guide through the city.  We reached the steps to the luxurious building I hadn't seen from the village's entrance.  I froze.  

The outside decor, its facade, all of it reminded me of that illusionary city.  The commander's not too gentle shove against my side forced me out of the frozen state.  We continued into the main foyer where several ponies stood behind wooden counters.  They talked with ponies, gryphons, minotaurs, and others; signs hung above the counters with coin emblems etched into their faces.  Two guards stood at attention near a door in the back.   Behind us, the platoon of soldiers dispersed.  

Commander Anvil moved between me and the two ponies in front.  Our group, now smaller, traveled up a circular stairwell and into a hallway.  At the hallway's end, Trotia opened the door.  She flew into the air, and then sat between a pegasus mare and stallion.  Heiress stuck her nose in the air before she gracefully moved toward the group of unicorns on my right.  The earth pony stallion's stoic demeanor remained when he looked at me then Otra.  He closed the door.  His right hoof slammed into the floor.  He stood at attention. 


*** *** ***


Both sets of parents eyed me throughout the trial.  Questions ebbed and flowed like the waters on a beach.  Soon, the questions shifted to what I did in the tavern and where I was headed.  When I spoke about my desire to enter into the royal library, the unicorn father chuckled at me.  He said the library was open to all who ventured to Canterlot, and the thought of Princess Celestia having a secret library was absurd; Princess Celestia made her knowledge available to all ponies.  

The pegasus mother and father, and the unicorn mother weren't so jovial when they shifted the topic back to the tavern.  Otra leapt down off my back, and I pointed at her.  She squawked at me, causing the pegasus mother to snicker.  Trotia cleared her throat.  After a quiet sigh, she made note of an incident, not-too-long ago, where a certain unicorn filly gave Commander Anvil a false recount of a merchant, the same stallion having supposedly stolen a map.  Trotia talked about the map "supposedly" containing a great secret that would be revealed when placed on top of its twin.  I pushed my map further into my bag.   

"You know," the pegasus mother said in a strange tone as she interrupted her daughter, "a young, strapping stallion such as yourself would be perfect for Trotia.  If you are indeed a scholar, she could use some education and guidance." 

Uncomfortable couldn't describe the mare's gaze.  Her eyes traced my body before Otra stepped in.  The unicorn mother glanced at the pegasus, and then raised her eyebrow.  In an emotionless tone, she said it was best to ignore her sister.  

A mare entered the doors behind the two groups, whispered to each parent, and then departed.  My so-called welcome to Gilden Village was cut short when the two parties left.  They brushed off the incident in the tavern then left me in the care of Trotia and Heiress.  I found Heiress not too far behind when Trotia asked me to follow her down another hallway.  Through winding hallways we followed our guide.  One room we passed had a familiar scent, but I couldn't place the smell.  Trotia smiled at us.  She opened a pair of doors to a room then guided us inside.  

The room seemed small compared to Gallopia's library, yet it was larger than that illusionary library I saw in Vestus.  Allowed to browse their library, after paying a small fee per the direction of Heiress then secretly returned to me by Trotia, I marveled at the collection of scrolls, parchments, tomes, and elaborate books they had stored away.    

"Knowledge can be a powerful tool." Trotia said.  She looked at me with a melancholic expression, "However, regardless of how courageous the heart that wields it, knowledge can do far greater damage than any spell or weapon." 

Otra squeezed my flank when I got closer to my fellow scholar.  Trotia laughed when I looked behind me, seeing Otra face the other way.  Heiress stood behind us.  She would give a scowling gaze every so often, catching it from out of the corner of my eye.  On the third attempt to get closer, Otra stood between me and Trotia.  The air became silent.  Trotia's eyes locked onto Otra's.  The pegasus flew to a nearby bookshelf, retrieve an ornate book, and then place it on the table.  

"Magister's Guide to Mythical Birds and Flying creatures.  It's a rare book a traveler bargained with for some supplies." Trotia said. 
Though it's wrong to judge a book by its cover, the information inside appeared mundane.  I levitated the book off the table.  As the pages flipped by, Otra placed her wing on a passage.  

"Though many consider the species extinct, it is a magnificent sight to behold if one is seen.  Most noted for their skyblue eyes, this legendary creature doesn't act like their descendents, the phoenix.  Instead of bursting into flames to renew itself, the Ethereal Phoenix is considered a true immortal being that never ages.  However, this immortality is believed to be a misinterpretation of stories passed down through generations.  The equivalent aging process of these wondrous creatures is anywhere between nine-hundred to three thousand pony years to one ethereal phoenix year.  This cannot be documented or comprehended since stories and their tellers have become rather scarce, and so few birds of this species existed to begin with.  Unknown circumstances have perhaps led to their disappearance from Equestria, in this researcher's humble opinion."  

I skimmed the entry several times to see if I had missed something.  Trotia talked about how she obtained the item through the trade she mentioned, finding the stallion's words to be true about the book being rare; its author was a noted scholar with the book's writing being compared to other copies of her works. Heiress butted in between me and Trotia.  She pulled the book away, my magical grasp disturbed, and shooed at me with her right hoof.  

"Knowledge is a valuable commodity," Trotia rubbed a slow, gentle hoof across the book's cover after retrieving it from Heiress, "one I value more than all the bits in Equestria.  I also believe that knowledge should be shared." Trotia said.  She moved toward me and placed the book in my saddlebag.  Her expression wasn't the same, cheery disposition I saw in the previous room.  She appeared cold, almost distant.  The melancholic emotion changed in an instant as she raised a kind, soft wing and patted her sister on the head. "How about we go for a ride later tonight, Heiress.  You want to see the sunset?"  

For the first time, I saw Heiress smile.  Her sharp, stern demeanor returned when Otra and I saw the smile.  After a final swift pat to her sister's head, Trotia nodded to me and said I needed to keep the book safe.  The gift presented a problem since I had little room left if I were to get some supplies.  I managed to squeeze it into one pocket, but the map fell out.  Heiress darted for it, and Otra leapt on top of the map.  She squawked at the filly.  Trotia and I laughed at her sister's attempts to gain the map while my companion protected it.  Their small quarrel ended when I retrieved the map.  

Sunlight faded away as the sun began to set.  Trotia granted me permission to stay in the library while she excused herself. 

Heiress lit the candles near us with her magic.  She smirked and asked if I was impressed.  I found little to intrigue my mind beyond what Trotia had showed me.  Scrolls, tomes, parchments, even a few old stone tablets, all of them contained information I had read about in Gallopia's library.  One parchment had caught my eye, being shoved into the corner.  Several alchemical notations had been made with a few crossed out.  Before I could study it further,  Heiress bumped against my back leg then asked if I was done.  

Commander Anvil entered the room.  He asked Heiress to go to the dining hall.  I would be escorted to the local inn.  Trotia entered behind him and said I would be her guest at the table. 

Escorted along with Heiress, we arrived at the dining hall.  Several opulent banners hung from the ceiling.  A large fireplace existed on the adjacent wall with a proud.  The picture that hung above the mantle showed both sets of parents with their respect daughters in front of them.    

"Good. I hoped he would stay," Trotia's mother said.  

Otra stood next to me at the large table.  Though her mother objected, Trotia excused herself from the table.  She moved near Heiress and placed the filly onto her back.  The two exited through an adjacent door to a balcony where the pegasus flew into the air. 

I could feel Trotia's mother resume her tracing gaze.  Despite the situation's awkwardness, it felt nice to sit down to a good meal.  The dining hall's smell was pleasant.  Moments passed and four attendants brought out our food.  Fine dining eluded me, always being content with some simple daisies or sunflower seeds.  The gold flakes in my soup were unusual, but it was improper to study my meal.  I levitated my spoon.  I dropped it.

The pegasus stallion clutched onto his neck.  The unicorn mare did the same to her neck.  Soon, the unicorn stallion and pegasus mare fell to the floor.  All four ponies lay on the ground.  I bolted towards them.  Commander Anvil entered.  Heiress and Trotia came in through the balcony door.  

I had no time to react.  The commander lunged at me, pinned my body to the wall, and hit me with his right hoof.  As I lay on the ground, gasping for breath, he ran toward the parents.  I struggled to get up.  Otra came to my side.  I told her to run, but she shook her head at me.  My companion stuck with me until I levitated the large table into the air and chucked it at the window. That was the first time I saw Otra back away from me, almost terrified.  She flew away.  

Heiress ordered Commander Anvil to capture me at all costs, but Trotia demanded that he stand down.  He refused to follow Trotia's order.  Our battle picked up where it left off.  

Commander Anvil thrust his front hooves at me.  I reinforced my shield.  He launched himself into the air.  I swung the shield upward.  He dove on top of me and forced me to the ground.  

"Here's a special present we have for unicorns," He said.  Pinned to the floor under his strength,  the stallion placed something on my horn.  Every ounce of magic in my body faded away in an instant.  My stamina almost went with it.  Commander Anvil pushed me over, "Those rings are quite useful against your kind; it'll drain every ounce of magic from your body and subdue."

"Please, release him." Trotia said. 

"No.  Trotia, I've protected you and Heiress since you were born.  I can't allow any harm to come to you." Commander Anvil said.  He looked down on me and said, "You, traveler, are under arrest for the assassination of the ruling bodies of Gilden Village." 


*** *** ***


The town hid it well, its outside being so peaceful.  Though bars, shackles, and restraints had corroded with time, they remained strong.  My restraints were sturdy, despite the repeated yanks to try and snap them.  Wind blew through the darkened area and taunted me throughout the night, forcing me to stay awake.  The cold stone floor beneath my body didn't help either.  From sheer exhaustion my eyes closed for a few seconds at a time.  They closed for a fourth time, and I saw Trotia standing over me.  Two guards accompanied her while she wore a black hooded cloak.  The dungeon maintained its sinister, dark atmosphere in the early morning hours.

"Why...." Trotia said, then muttered something under a quiet breath. 

The unicorn guard at her side slammed his hoof against the bars, telling me to watch my tone when I asked to plead my case.  Heiress came down the steps while on top of Commander Anvil's back.  With her own black cloak on, she leapt down then stood near Trotia.  As the filly wiped away her tears, time and questions flowed with the commander present.  I could feel the ring on my horn sapping away my magic.  It seemed Commander Anvil was right.  To my surprise and the others, Trotia came into my cell and removed the ring.  

"If he were the assassin, wouldn't he have taken me hostage or run away? What just happened now when I removed the ring?" She said.  

"Trotia, be careful.  You and Heiress are the sole governing bodies of Gilden Village now, and I'm sworn to protect you from all threats.  I won't let your parents down." Commander Anvil said.  He stood in front of Trotia but backed down.  

I was escorted up the stairs and towards the room where my first trial took place.  We made a small stop with Heiress going to her room to grieve.  

Throughout our the small trek, I poured over the knowledge in my mind.  All I knew was the fact the equines clutched their necks before dropping to the ground.  I couldn't examine the food since the staff cleaned the areas last night.  When I asked to gather my things, Trotia said I couldn't.  

We returned to the room where I was "welcomed" to Gilden Village.  Trotia sat at the table.  She glanced to her left then right.  The pegasus mare sighed before shedding a tear.  Before she could speak, Heiress barged into the room.  A vial of the gold colored flakes levitated in front of her.  Heiress raised a swift hoof.  It targeted her sister.  She demanded to know why there was one of Trotia's feathers near the vial with it being found shoved into my bag. 

"Wait, I know this vial." Commander Anvil said.  He moved closer, "You traded supplies to a traveler for that book and this vial."  

Trotia's eyes widened.  She bolted toward us.  Her wings pushed Trotia out of the way.  She clenched her teeth.  

"Please... be strong, my little sister." Trotia said.  Her body went limp in seconds.  

As the light faded from Trotia's eyes, Heiress clutched onto her sister.  She pleaded with her sister to stay.  The filly's words went unheeded.  From underneath her coat, Heiress pulled out Trotia's personal diary.  Amongst the formulas and equations, it talked about a traveler that came by a few days ago.  The stallion, one who never revealed his face but found himself fond of knowledge, gave her the items she wanted in exchange for supplies.

Commander Anvil apologized for not heeding the filly's words about Trotia venturing into a strange room of their home two days ago.  It was the same room we passed by that had an unusual smell.  The feeling sunk in when I realized that familiar smell.  

I pulled the book out of my bag and placed it near Heiress.  Two guards escorted me to the edge of Gilden Village.  It surprised me to see the command standing there after he had taken Heiress to her room.  He reached into his bag and produced the book I returned to Heiress.  She wanted it gone.  Commander Anvil uttered a quiet apology as he gave me the book.  When asked what would become of the village, he said it would be renamed to honor Heiress's departed sister.  

That familiar sensation came to me when I left the village.  I turned to see Otra on my back and felt her slap my flank.  It's what I deserved for ordering my companion to leave.  Otra and I nodded to one another, and then pressed onward towards the dot in the distance.  

To this day, I will never forget my fellow scholar, nor understand why she did such a horrible thing to her sister.  

> Sincerity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Follow the path west from Gilden Village.  When you reach a fork in the road, of the three paths you see, you will go right.  Do not follow the left path." 

The note was written on a slim piece of parchment paper, left as a bookmark in the tome Trotia had given me.  The first day Otra and I departed from Gilden Village was the hardest.  We caught each other looking down the path.  Heiress endured an unfathomable trauma, the unicorn filly losing her family within the space of a single day.  That first night wasn't the easiest either.  My bond with Otra had grown when I pulled a blanket out of my bag instinct and placed it around her before she moved towards me.  

Crickets played their soft melody throughout the night.  The fire popped, hissed, and crackled from time to time. Its noise didn't overshadow our thoughts as we gazed at the starry night sky.  My heavy eyes got the better of me, and I found a blanket over me in the morning.  

Three days passed with our forced departure from Gilden village.  My eyes remained glue on the horizon while Otra stood on my back.  Though she rested, I could feel her soulful demeanor being clouded.  It took a few nudges to get my companion to fly into the open air of Equestria, refreshing her spirit.  She seemed to be at peace amongst the clouds.  On our more serene days, my companion would sit on the clouds and look down on me.  She would rest then catch a few moments later.  Her spirits were brighter after her morning flight. 

We traveled along the path, and the dot in the horizon grew.  Another week and a half of travel lay ahead of us till we would reach the gates of Canterlot.  

I opened the flap to my saddlebag and pulled out the map.  A quick gust of wind brushed passed me.  I turned.  Otra had leapt off my back, emitting a powerful screech.  I looked up.  My companion pointed a wing and bolted down the pathway.  I scratched my head, looked at my saddlebag, and then darted after Otra.  

Down the trail, Otra latched onto a small sac while another creature fought her for it.  I came upon a pegasus pony that relentlessly tugged on my sac of bits.  The colt continued to tug on the sac, even when I levitated it towards me.  I chuckled at the situation.  My companion's demeanor wasn't so jovial as she continued to squawk at the tiny thief. 

"Stop it, Volt." A voice said, calling down from the sky.  Its owner descended toward me and Otra.  The mare pointed her hoof at the small colt, leered at him, and then grabbed him with her hooves.  "I apologize for my son's actions."

Otra stood by me and seemed to smirk when the mother scolded her son.  A pegasus stallion floated to the ground.  Volt's father sighed before rolling his eyes at his son.  Events changed when a cloud descended behind the stallion.  My eyes widened.  I gazed on in disbelief.  From all the books I read it was impossible for such a feat to happen.  

A unicorn mare stood atop a cloud in front of us.  The cloud supported her as if she were a pegasus. 

"May I help you?" The mare said.  She glared at me, "Look with your eyes, not with your hooves." 

The hairs on my silvery mane were brushed aside by a calm wind.  I kept my hooves on the ground per the unicorn's request.  

No matter how I looked at it, the cloud appeared to be a normal cloud.  What followed were several tense moments, soon succeeded by moments of intense intrigue.  The unicorn introduced herself as Slipstream, an adopted pony of the pegasus parents.  That not-too-playful squeeze came to my side.  I turned to Otra who pointed a wing at Slipstream.  With my flank on the dirt path, I listened to the mother's tale of how Slipstream came to be with her.  Despite the saddening tale, the scarlet colored unicorn's demeanor remained unchanged.  That playful squeeze came to my side whenever my eyes gravitated toward the cloud behind the ponies.    

"Since you're interested," Slipstream said in a coy tone, "how about I show you my spell?" 

Her horn glowed in a scarlet colored hue.  An aura of the same color enveloped my hooves.  Slipstream gave a gentle smile, and then backed away from her cloud.  

Words could barely describe the fluffy entity's feeling when I pressed my hooves against its sides; the cloud was twenty times softer than anything I had ever touched, rivaling that of newborn chick's feathers when they were dry from hatching.  I could see my reflection off Slipstream's eyes.  She must have had a sixth sense about her as the unicorn mare said it wasn't possible to teach the spell to me.  The spell was based on instinct vs. actual knowledge, and couldn't it wasn't possible teach it to any other unicorn.  

I found myself puzzled when Slipstream made the strange request that I not attempt to memorize the spell from what I had seen.  Otra thought about pinching my side.  My companion's talon didn't near my side as I told the unicorn I wouldn't memorize it.  

Slipstream leapt onto her cloud.  Our brief meeting seemed over, yet the mare moved her cloud in front of me.  A gentle hoof was extended.  It intrigued me to see a simple firm hoof could push through the cloud but it could support my weight, an almost contradictory notion.  After a quick and quiet sorry to Slipstream, Otra hopped onto my back.  

Our platform ascended into the sky with the pegasi surrounding us.  


*** *** ***


The large village rivaled what I had read in my books, a vast city in the clouds drifting through the skies of Equestria.  Pegasus ponies happily flew about their home.  Some worked on clouds by compressing them into thick materials used for construction.  Others went towards a building in the distance that spewed forth clouds from a stack protruding through the structure's roof.  I wouldn't have known any of this existed if I were to look at this magnificent city from the ground; it would look just like a large cloud, drifting through the skies of Equestria via a gentle breeze.  

My amazement was cut short with several ponies coming up to Slipstream.  It unnerved me when their eyes locked onto me.  I shied away from them, unable to tell if they were curious or viewed me as a hostile outsider.  Their strange gaze turned toward Otra when she flew into the air.  My companion helped divert their attention and gave me some room to breathe. 

Otra entertained the ponies with her aerial acrobatics.  A slight tug came to my tail.  I turned then looked behind me, giving a firm nod to Otra.  She spotted me, and I sensed her idea to fly into a cloud to lose her fans.  

The path in front of me was treacherous.  If it disappeared, I had no way to help myself from plummeting to the ground.  Otra eased my concerns when I felt her come closer then land on my back.  

Slipstream's brother motioned towards me.  My companion and I followed him towards a smaller part of the city and into an alleyway.  

In the small alleyway, made from condensed clouds, Volt spoke about his big sister.  For the first time since I met him, he had a look of distress.  The small pegasus colt asked me what my talent was in regards to my cutie mark.  

Volt leapt towards me and knocked me down.  His eyes lit up when I made the mistake of mentioning I could enhance spells.  He pleaded with me to help his sister.  One night, he awoke to his sister screaming.  She fell off her bed and clutched onto its rim while her back hooves dangled through the cloud floor.  I shook my head and reminded him of the promise that I had made to his big sister.  

The pegasus colt glared at me then undid the strap to my Saddlebag.  It was tossed to the side, almost falling through the cloud pathway.  Otra latched onto Volt before he could flee with my sac of bits.  

"Let me go.  If you won't help my big sister, there's a unicorn that will." He said.  Otra released the colt after I retrieved my sac of bits.  "That's more than enough for him to do it." 

Otra and I, after some persuasion, were guided toward the unicorn's house.  We followed a similar path to that of when I was cornered in the alleyway.  A dark grey house with a single window came into view.  

Though no answer came, the door opened after the final knock.  There were no indications of life inside the house.  Several books were strewn about on a crewed, makeshift bed.  Parchment papers littered the floor with one rolled up on a nearby table.  Before we could leave, an object burst through a side of the wall.  

As the wall reformed, a pony with a robe over his body dusted himself off.  He coughed with a bit of cloud mist coming out of his mouth.  

"Well now, if it isn't little Volt.  Have you gotten the bits I need? I'll enchant those slippers for your sister." He said.  The unicorn's eyes locked onto me.  "How rude of me" he bowed," I am Draft, the most powerful unicorn of aerial magic in Equestria." 

Otra nor I had time for the charlatan.  That earth pony story teller would be a wise sage compared to this arrogant unicorn.  

Draft demanded that I face him, that I bask in his prowess.  When I refused, a slight breeze came from behind.  Whatever spell the stallion used couldn't even blow the papers off the floor.  I faced him as he tried again.  He mustered enough magical strength to blow a piece of paper against my hoof; the parchment's writing caught my eye.  

I told Volt about the unicorn stallion and his so-called "magical" talents. The pegasus colt targeted me with a swift stern hoof.  He stated that I was a liar.  

It took several moments of intense concentration to keep me from slamming my front hoof into the floor.  I demanded that Draft tell the truth about his power.  The unicorn stallion snorted at me then turned away.  

Papers, books, and the stallion's bed swirled about in the room as my frustration took hold.  I demonstrated my own spell for a gust of wind, almost blowing away the house all together.  Otra stood in front of me and squawked in my face.  I stopped.  

Draft's mouth dropped open.  His eyes widened.  Volt gawked at me. 

"Answer his challenge," Volt said when he faced Draft. 

The unicorn stallion regained his composure.  He quickly stated my spell was a fake, a pale imitation of his wondrous creation.  Otra stood in front of me.  She pointed a wing at the door before I could cast another spell.  I gave her a half-hearted smile and walked away.  

Two pegasus stallion guards stood at the door's entrance.  They entered.  One of them eyed me, and then pulled me aside.  The pegasus guard asked his partner to stand out front.  

Volt pressed his hoof against Draft's side.  In a determined voice he said, "You can do it." 

The color drained from the unicorn stallion's face.  His eyes seemed to scan the room before they looked at me.  

"A challenge is issued.  You will accept it or be escorted from the city." The guard said to me in a stern voice.  "Good." 

Despite my heart and mind being at peace, Otra's expression concerned me.  She looked at me with saddened eyes as if I had done something wrong.  Otra, Volt, and I left the house, and Slipstream greeted us a couple of blocks away.  


*** *** ***


Otra and I were welcomed to Slipstream's house for dinner.  Though Otra chuckled, I wasn't so jovial when I saw my hoof practically destroy the house's front door.  The only thing that calmed my nerves, despite being told by the unicorn mare it was alright, was seeing the door reform into its original shape with no damage or harm done.    

Over dinner, Slipstream spoke of Draft and how he came to reside in the city.  She was the one to place the spell on his hooves.  The stallion replicated the spell and attempted to sell it himself.  Slipstream shied away, downplaying her magical abilities when others asked about the spell being her original creation.  

"You did what?!" Slipstream said.  

The conversation about Draft was cut short when I mentioned a challenge being issued.  Slipstream glared at her brother.  The mother and father did the same.  Volt pointed a hoof at me and said I mocked the unicorn's abilities.  I remained silent.  Slipstream's unnerved demeanor changed when she looked at me.  She tapped a gentle hoof against her chin.  Her eyes lit up, and I found myself outside after dinner.  

The scarlet unicorn's horn glowed.  Three glowing balls, the size of marbles, appeared in front of her.  Slipstream chucked them at me.  

"Pop!" Slipstream said after she giggled.  The three spheres exploded, Otra flying off.  She squinted at Slipstream, "Sorry Otra.  I wanted to demonstrate another one of my spells. This is one spell your friend can learn." 

Otra flew down and nodded at Slipstream.  My companion's happiness always allowed her to forgive minor incidents.  She would never let me speak about it, but I caused her lunch to get away one day.  Her forgiveness came a little slower for me with that one.  

I'm not sure which part of me it was that decided to tell Slipstream about Draft's house, but it felt like the right thing.  She shrugged at me.  It was alright to learn her spell and use it in the match.  The only stipulation was that I didn't misuse it.  

My training began, and the night wore on.  Instead of crickets, the gentle breath of the wind came to my ears.  Stars appeared to glow more brightly.  Even the moon looked fuller, more beautiful from this vantage point in the sky.  The drops of sweat from my forehead glistened from the light of the night.  Slipstream behaved almost like Miss Para the way she kept pushing me to go beyond my limitation.  I didn't have to struggle in replicating the spell, seeing it once was enough; I had to form a shield around the air itself, compress the magical energy, and then release it in an instant.  All of it happened in one fluid spell.  Instead, I struggled to go beyond those three spheres.  

Slipstream was a true master of her ability when I witnessed her form eighteen of them in a single instance.  The night came to life with her best attempt being thirty-six at once.

I found happiness even if I couldn't go beyond those three orbs.  Slipstream flicked my horn before I could try my own style with her spell, reminding me to not abuse it.  Otra chuckled at me.  I tossed a few of the balls her way, watching them explode.  My companion leered at me, and then flew towards me with her talons extended.  Slipstream joined in the chase by throwing some orbs my way.  

"Time to head back.  Remember, let the spheres form, compress, and then release in one fluid motion." Slipstream said to me in a calm tone.  

I looked to see the moon had reached its highest point in the sky.  Otra got in one last jab when my back was turned.  Slipstream's hooves seemed to sink into the clouds even more than usual.  She reapplied her spell, her hooves resuming their normal position on the cloud.  

"Before you ask, the answer is still no." Slipstream said to me.  

She was stubborn like her brother.  It wasn't impossible.  I swore that it was possible for me to memorize the spell.  When I told her about my abilities, she made me promise to not use them on the spell I had been taught.  Otra stood by Slipstream.  Their gazes pierced my core.  I raised my hoof and promised to not abuse her spell.  

I should have been nervous, perhaps frightened, but my mind was at peace.  While I slept in the guest bed, those thoughts about battling Draft in the match tomorrow didn't bother me.  


*** *** ***


Tomorrow came with sunlight piercing through the guest bedroom's window.  I ate a light breakfast with Slipstream and her parents, Volt being strangely absent.  Our journey to the coliseum confounded the problem when Slipstream said her brother loved to see the mock duels.  His dream was to be a great dueler like the pegasi he read in his history books.  Slipstream nodded to me as I departed toward the preparation room, guided by the guard from yesterday. 

Draft was already in the room when the guard opened the door. 

"Please lose to me." Draft said when the door closed behind me and Otra.  I faced the stallion.  He snapped his horn off.  The cloak removed from his body, there was nothing at his sides. "Before you ask, I'm not an earth pony either. I'm... I'm a wingless pegasus." 

His cutie mark revealed it all: a potion with a wing inside.  It astounded me that he could make such alchemical creations with rather crude ingredients.  My amazement turned to pure anger when Draft mentioned a village not too far from here where he obtained some prime ingredients to finish a special potion.  

I flung the nearby bench against the stallion and held him in place.  Before I could blink, Otra slammed her talon into my face.  Draft collapsed to the ground.  With Otra squawking in my ear, I felt my hooves shake for the first time since I had come to the city in the clouds.  The fear in Draft's eyes compounded what I had done.

"No fighting before the match!" The guard said, pounding a hoof against the sturdy door.

I apologized to Otra for my actions and turned away from Draft.  The stallion continued to plead with me.  He got on his knees and begged me to let him win the match.  His potion was ready.  All it needed was a final ingredient that would be rewarded by another pony if he won the match.  With the potion, he could grow out his wings and never worry about being shunned by the other pegasi.  The guard outside stopped me and Otra before we could leave.  

Chroma introduced himself and entered the room.  The guard chuckled at the wingless pegasus stallion's misfortune before looking at me.  He made it crystal clear the bits that he had wagered for the match wouldn't be lost.  Another piece to the puzzle was added when Chroma said a small pegasus colt had been taken away for questioning, placing emphasis on the questioning part.  

"Any pony caught interfering with traditional matches, though they may not be between pegasi, will be imprisoned. Their families will be exiled as well." Chroma said, ending with a devilish smirk.  

The gravity of the situation became apparent.  If Draft lost, he wouldn't gain his potion to grow his wings.  Also, he be ratted out by the guard for being a wingless pegasus pony.  If I lost, Volt would be locked away with his family being banished from their home. 

Chroma eyed me, said "make it good," and left the preparation room.  Otra and I turned toward each other before looking at Draft.  The wingless pegasus stallion hung his head.  We were left with ten minutes to prepare ourselves.  Those minutes felt like seconds when the guard knocked on the door and soon escorted us into the coliseum.  

I shielded my eyes from the bright light until they adjusted.  Slipstream came towards me and reinforced her spell on my hooves.  She nodded then walked toward the empty seat near her parents.  I proceeded toward the center of the arena with a cloaked Draft not too far behind.  

On the large cloud in the coliseum's center, the pathway behind us was removed.  The announcer for the event dictated the rules.  We were not pegasi, but the rules would be amended for our battle.  Draft and I were only allowed to use air based magic.  If a single fireball was used, the offending pony would be disqualified. Draft's façade remained stoic, yet I could see the nervousness in his eyes. The judge lowered his hoof, and the match began.  

Draft jumped backward. I remained in place.  The stallion pointed a swift hoof and unleashed a gust of wind; it blew past me with a cloud being flung toward a pony.  Against my better judgment I augmented his potions, wanting the fight to appear real.  I condensed my magic and unleashed a torrent of wind towards him.  Draft gave a wide eyed expression toward me.  I looked behind him to see a giant hole where he once stood.  

Our match continued with spells going back and forth.  The final event came.  Draft unleashed his most powerful "spell" with a bolt of lightning hurled at me.  Part of me was relieved, yet, at the same time, I found myself disappointed it did so little damage to the cloud.  My heart sank.  I looked toward Slipstream before facing my opponent.  The three spheres I formed were gigantic, almost the size of a small house.  They shrunk down to the size of an apple.  

The three spheres shattered.  It almost deafened me to hear such a loud explosion.  Air rushed out from the center point, stronger than the most powerful tornado I read about in my books.  Our cloud platform was destroyed.  Otra ascended into the air and dove after me.  Slipstream dove off as well with her parents  darting towards her.  The scarlet unicorn's horn glowed in a powerful light.  Beautiful wings, almost like that of a butterfly, sprouted from her sides.  Slipstream saved Draft while Otra saved me.  

We were brought back to the coliseum.  My stamina and magic drained, I collapsed onto the cloud floor.  Draft fell to the floor as well.  The announcer looked at both of us.  Her hooves ascended into the air.  She declared our match a tie.  

Mares, stallions, fillies, and colts cheered at us.  Volt ran up to Slipstream.  He let out a gasp while marveling at her wings. 

"Get away from me," Slipstream said after I got to my hooves and approached her.  She didn't share in her brother's amusement.  My apologetic words fell on deaf ears as Slipstream refused to look at me.  

Otra and I made our way towards the exit.  We were stopped outside the coliseum by Chroma.  The pegasus stallion slammed his hooves together, proclaiming we had given a wonderful performance.  No pony had bet on a tie except one.  I was reassured that Draft would get the ingredient for his final potion with Volt, as I had already seen, released from questioning.  If I were to say anything about what transpired, all ponies would suffer repercussions.  

"You want some friendly advice, pursue that power of yours.  It will aid you well." Chroma said before departing.  

Off to my side sat a sac of bits with a note.  The note thanked me for letting the stallion borrow the coin for his anonymous bid.  Inside the sac were two hundred extra bits.  I placed the sac inside my saddlebag and walked along the darkened cloud pathway.  Slipstream's mother came from behind and asked me to stay for dinner, that being the least she could do to reward me for finding Volt.  It seemed Chroma had another lie to tell.  

I found the night not to smooth with Slipstream eerily quiet throughout dinner.  Otra nudged her from time-to-time, but the scarlet hued unicorn kept her distance.  It didn't take a mind reader to understand Slipstream's emotions.  I thanked the parent's for the meal and went outside.  

"Why?" a voice said a few moments after I left the house.  Several tears ran down Slipstream's face, glinting in the light of the starry night sky.  "Couldn't you have done something different instead of corrupting the spell I taught you?" 

I hung my head.  The air remained silent. No gentle wind came to brush against my mane or tail.  Explanations would be excuses.  
Two loud pops came from behind me.  Slipstream's saddened demeanor changed with her and Otra chasing me.  I ran around in my futile attempts to avoid the attack.  The mare conjured up more of her magical spheres then hurled them at me.  Out of energy, I collapsed near the door to her house.  

"The next time you abuse my spell, not even Princess Celestia will be able to save you." Slipstream said before she flicked my horn with a strong hoof.  


*** *** ***


Dawn came and I ate breakfast with Slipstream and her family.  The moment felt brief as I soon found myself stepping outside.  I bid farewell to the pegasus mare and stallion, and Volt.  

Back on solid ground, I dug my hooves into the dirt before letting out a sigh.  A loud pop rang in my ears.  I turned and saw Slipstream chuckling at me with Otra nodding to her.  Otra flew into the air, gave a gentle squawk towards the unicorn mare, and then landed on my back.  We continued down the road a bit with Slipstream floating on top of her cloud.  I thanked the mare for her hospitality, and Slipstream bid a final farewell before she ascended back towards her home.  

My right hoof shook when I reached for the map in my saddlebag.  I thought about the incident in the preparation room.  Those thoughts were quelled by the snow-white colored wing of my companion.  Our journey seemed shortened while residing in the cloud city.  In my heart, in my core I could feel that little flicker of light.  The mountain where Canterlot resided was closer than ever. 

I thanked Slipstream and the time I spent in the city.  It helped remind me how powerful magic can be, used as a tool to help ponies while having the power to gravely hurt them as well. 

> Hubris
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days had passed, and gentle sunlight warmed my face on the third day after our subsequent departure from the city in the clouds.  In the light of the morning sun, Otra and I gathered our supplies from the campsite.  I extinguished what remained of last night's campfire.  Before I could scan our surroundings, a thunderous crack echoed throughout the area.  I gazed at those dark clouds in the distant horizon, and, from the moment I saw them, the day didn't feel right.  

Otra leapt into the air, and I traveled along the grassy path while she flew higher.  The area was bad for a storm.  There was little, if any, high ground.  I felt that familiar sensation come to me.  I turned to see my companion land on my back then shrug at me.  

Shelter was scarce, not to mention the fork in the road didn't seem to exist.  Either the piece of parchment lied about there being a fork in the lightly traveled path, or our time with Slipstream, in the city amongst the clouds, caused us to travel further than I thought.  Another boisterous sound came to our ears as the dark clouds drifted closer; they rolled across the sky with the rain underneath them creating a deluge.  

Otra flew off my back.  The air's intensity change with the wind that rushed passed my silver colored mane and tail.  I pulled the previously stowed material out of my saddlebags. Otra returned with several thick limbs and helped me secure the ropes to the stakes I forced into the ground with my magic.  In a hundred years I couldn't have expected what happened after I felt that force hit me.  

I spotted a large cloaked figure on the ground near my hooves.  Otra hovered above the makeshift tent before she stood beside me.  From underneath the piece of cloth draped around its body, I heard the creature panting in a heavy breath.  A violent gust of wind slammed against my face with the first part of the storm coming overhead.  The storm's darkness engulfed the area around us.  

Inside the makeshift tent, I levitated a small rock off the ground, and then imbued a small bit of magic into it.  The grey stone floated gently in the air after it turned a pale yellow color.  Light from the small stone illuminated the cloaked figure near my hooves.  I reached forward but stopped as the string securing the front tent flap broke free.  Powerful wind rushed through the tent before I could secure the entrance.  

I couldn't fathom what I had seen.  It was a mare, yet her upper torso connected to where the head should be for another mare's body.  Otra gazed at the mare, brushed a gentle wing tip against her face, and then placed a kind wing around her.  In my companion's sky-blue eyes, I sense a special connection with this mare.  

Tears formed in the mare's eyes while I removed the rest of the cloth that was draped around her body.  Several cuts marred her forelegs, some on her back.  I bandaged the wounds on her hooves and the wings of her lower body.  A fine suture circled the part that connected her upper torso and lower body, blending in almost perfectly to the light blue coat hairs on both bodies.  

The mare shot up before I could bandage her any further.  She wriggled loose from my magical grasp.  Her body and head hit the tent's ceiling, almost pulling up the tent stakes.  The rock I imbued with my magic dropped to the ground.  What light existed outside in the storm came through the tent.  My blue eyes focused onto the mare's yellow eyes.   She turned away from me.  Her eyes locked on Otra.  The mare shook her head at my companion.    I made one last attempt to catch the mare, but she summoned an incredible amount of strength, once again breaking free of my magical grasp.  She spotted her shroud, grabbed it, and backed away from Otra and I.  My companion gave me a strange look, one I'll never forget.  Otra bolted after the mare.  Without hesitation, I darted after my companion.  

I found myself thankful the time spent with Otra allowed me to sense her presence.  Despite that ability, I couldn't see Otra amongst the heavy downpour with the storm's ferocity increasing.    

The storm lashed against my face.  Intense bolts of lightning rained down from the sky alongside the deluge of water; several strong blasts were deflected off the magical shield I conjured above my head.  Soon, a tall, thick patch of grass came into view, spotting the grass when I was only a few hoof steps away.  I plowed through the vegetation.  I stopped.  I backed up before my red hooves touched the planks of a decayed lookout post.  

Gentle rain landed on the ground as I gazed towards the sky.  The eye of the storm overhead, any sensation or feeling in my body disappeared.  My vision narrowed, and I watched Otra follow the mare into the ruins.  Neither of them stopped for an instant.  The remains of a darkened castle lay ahead of me.  

I placed my dark red hoof on my chest, and I remembered my vow.  I galloped forward on sturdy hooves. 


*** *** ***


In the dank castle, the saturated, forest green carpet squished beneath my hooves.  Water dripped through several open airways, cracks, and crevices onto the floor.  Thunderous blasts of lightning soon echoed down the stone corridors and passageways.  The eye moved passed the ruins.  The storm resumed its ferocity. 

Questions of "What is she?" and "Why does Otra know her?" crept into my mind while I traveled down a small furnished hallway.  Those dormant memories once pushed to the furthest reaches of my mind found their way to the surface.  At one point, I heard that horrible, ethereal wail like Otra and I were back in that malefic spire.  Despite the fact I could sense my companion's location, I couldn't find her. 

With a moment taken to calm my mind, I proceeded down the hallway towards an open area.  Thick cobwebs, coated in a fine layer of dust, dangled from the three chandeliers that hung in the dining room.  A wooden table resided beneath the chandeliers.  On top of it was a tattered, forest green colored table cloth.  The fireplace in the back was covered in what appeared to be fresh soot.  An ornate picture frame sat on the mantle, its picture ripped out with small remnants of the image left behind in its corners.

I left the dining room, and as I progressed through the structure,  its size seemed too small to be a castle.  

Down one hallway, small statues were displayed on pedestals.  Each of them showed ponies in strange, gruesome depictions.  The first statue showed a pony with two heads that screamed at each other.  Another was in the form of a pegasus that gazed on in horror at the four wings protruding from each side of its body.  The last statue in the back resembled the mare I had encountered.  It was a pony with the body of a pegasus and the upper torso of an earth pony; the small bronze plaque near the statue's base was titled, "Ponytaur." 

I backed away, and then stopped.  My withers shivered.  The yelp I let out resonated off the stone walls, down the hallway, and throughout the ruins.  My companion stood behind me with a sheepish grin.  After I rolled my eyes at her, she hopped onto my back.  We followed the hallway towards a dead end.  An object fell to the floor, grazed by one of us, and shattered on the hard stone ground.  Four sharp spikes ripped through the carpet then embedded themselves in the stone ceiling.  Additional spikes came out of the four that blocked our path.  Otra squawked at me, and I yelled at her.  

The floor dropped out from beneath us.  I formed a shield below my hooves while my companion partially opened her wings to slow our decent. 

Otra and I landed in the basement.  The large, sharp stone spikes in the pit disintegrated beneath the magical shield I formed underneath my hooves.  A medium sized passage, carved out of the ground, trusses pushed into the sides for support, lay in front of us.  Otra glared at the darkness.  I believe she hissed at it.  Her kind, sky-blue eyes were filled with rage and fire.  

We neared the hallway's end.  The dark metal door's rusted hinges creaked and groaned.  I illuminated my horn to a foul smell and sight with a disused laboratory coming into view.  

Rusted chains with red blotches protruded from the soiled ground.  Tools on the adjacent tables were stained the same crimson color as the shackles.  The room's acrid smell denoted its dark purpose.  After I turned towards my companion, she gave me a determined look.  We turned towards the door, and it slammed shut in our faces.  

Every inch of the room was sealed tight.  Otra tapped my back with her talon and pointed at the door with her wing.  With the metal door ripped off its hinges and chucked against the far back stone wall, the loud thud and clang resonating in the room, I galloped down the darkened passage way towards the cylindrical pit.  

A voice came from nowhere and demanded to know who intruded into its home.  The voice's depth changed, but it repeated the same demand.  I leapt back, and then blasted away the faux stone wall after my companion pointed me towards it.  Torches were lit along the passage way.  Several voices echoed off the stone ceiling, walls, and floor.  At a dead end, the wall descended into the ground.  


*** *** ***


The sounds of the spire tore against my mind when I saw those metal cages.  I backed away.  My hooves shook as voices called to me.   I felt sick.  In front of me was a more horrifying sight.  Instead of animals, ponies were locked inside of cages.  All of them begged for help when they saw me.  My hooves locked in place, and my mouth dropped open.  I could feel my heart pounding.  A soft sensation came to the back of my neck.  I centered myself and closed my mouth.  My vision cleared.  

Otra stood in front of me with a kind smile.  Past my companion, I found a bitter-sweet sense of relief.  Those ponies were normal.  

As I moved into the room, sturdy metal cages stood in each corner.  One-by-one I ripped the cage doors from their hinges.  The ponies were mere colts and fillies.  The twelve ponies moved into the center of the room and smiled at each other, me, and Otra.  One filly tugged on my tail.  She asked I had come to save them.  I nodded to her before my companion could.  When asked who had done this, the filly spoke about an earth pony stallion.  He promised to find families for the orphaned ponies he gathered from Canterlot, Gilden Village, and other places.  Otra stayed with the fillies and colts.  I moved towards the door at the room's end.

Two gusts of wind rushed passed me.  I saw the filly who tugged on my tail standing between me and the mare after I opened the door.  She pleaded with me to leave Aqua alone.  Otra stood by the filly then faced the ponytaur.  Aqua raised a gentle hoof and brushed it against my companion's face before she looked at me.  

"Get your worthless flank over here." A voice bellowed.  

Aqua shied away from us.  I shook my head at her.  The three were pushed behind the door with it being closed and secured.  The room contained a freshly furnished laboratory, perfectly hidden within the ruins' confines.  

Bolts of small lightning surrounded five large metal spheres near the ceiling.  The energy emanated a slight crackling sound with the silvery hairs on my mane standing on end.  Tables were covered with white sheets, stained in the same crimson color as the old laboratory.  I averted my eyes from the other aspects of the room.  Instead, I focused on the harsh voice that called once more.  

I came closer and stood silent behind the pony that was described to me.  The earth pony stallion -- no bigger than a regular sized colt -- sighed.  He turned.  I leered at him while he looked at me.  My horn reflected off of his eyes.     

"You better not have let my subjects escape, you stupid unicorn.  I can't stand the lot of you...." the stallion said, soon going on a tirade.  The stallion's words were incomprehensible the way he yammered on about unfamiliar names, and then pony anatomy.  His prattle ceased when Otra leapt onto my back.  He smirked at Otra when she squawked at him.  "Where is your master, experiment?" his smirk degraded into a frown when Aqua stood off to our right, "You're useless, project.  Secure this unicorn stallion and the experiment along with the other raw materials in the closet till I need them.  I'm at the cusp of a magnificent breakthrough." 

Aqua remained silent.  I moved closer towards the small stallion.  With a strong magical grasp, I latched onto one of the metal spheres, crushed it, and let it drop to the ground between the two of us.  For the first time, no fiber of my entire being felt intrigued by what knowledge was in front of me. 

"P-please, don't anger Hide.  If Stein comes out, he'll hurt the little ones." Aqua said, whispering into my ear.  

"You know," the stallion said before his voice changed, "you can belay that order, Project.  I think I'll use our unicorn stallion here as a subject for my own test.  I'll introduce him to Stein." 

The small batted away the chunk of metal.  From the force of the hit, the bronze colored lump of metal embedded itself in the far back stone wall.  Hide's bloodshot eyes locked onto me.  His body twitched, and his hooves grew out.  A mammoth sized pony soon stood in front of me, taking up half the room.  I stood my ground, a grave mistake. 

Stein's hoof launched toward me at incredible speed.  I formed a magical shield, and it shatter from the force of the hit.  

My body slammed against the solid stone wall above the laboratory's door to the prison.  Aqua had latched onto my companion before I hit the back wall.  She received a firm node from Stein.  Otra squawked at the ponytaur to let her go, receiving a firm headshake in return. 

I wheezed and coughed after I hit the floor.  Stein crept toward me.  I made another shield above me and reinforced it.  My creation withstood several direct blows but shattered after two strikes.  I was a doll the way Stein picked my body up then hurled me to the furthest portion of the laboratory.  I stood up.  I ripped three large tables off of their bases.  The mountainous stallion bashed them away with a simple bat of his hoof.  

There was no time for apologies.  I drew upon my magic and recreated the fireball from the spire.  I hurled it against the monster.  It landed a direct hit against Stein's face.  The giant stallion glared at me, a single portion of his dark yellow coat near his face slightly singed.  

I dug into my magic.  For the first time, I managed more than three items and marked Stein's four hooves before I made a final large mark below him.  The stallion rocketed into the air.  He hit his head against the ceiling.  Stein collapsed to the floor.  Rocks fell from the ceiling landed on top of him.  I couldn't catch my breath as the rocks on top of the monstrous stallion were tossed to the side like pebbles when he rose from the pile of rubble.  

Stein grabbed me again.  Instead of chucking me against a wall, he clutched me in his hoof.  Cracks formed in the shield I formed around my body in a desperate attempt for protection.  The stallion relented for a second then brought me towards his chest.  I struggled to maintain the shield while Stein crushed me with all his strength.  He released from his monstrous grasp, and I fell to the floor.  The stallion kicked me with one strong hoof.  My shield shattered against the stone wall near the door to the prison.  I landed against the hard ground.  Every part of my body burned.  Otra, released from Aqua's hold, darted for me.  The fillies and colts came from the back room and surrounded me.  

"Please, save us Aqua.  You have to fight him." One filly said, placing a hoof on the mare's hind quarter.     

The image of the fillies, colts, Otra, and myself reflected off Aqua's yellow eyes.  The piece of cloth she clutched around her body fell to the floor.  Her body trembled.  The mare's tail and mane grew thicker and fuller.  Each part of her body grew until she matched Stein in size.  No words escaped the stallion's mouth before the mare plunged her upper foreleg into his face.  

Stein flew backwards. The force from the hit sent a wave of air rushing past us.  

"Get them out of here!" Aqua shouted.  Her back hoof plunged against the side of the laboratory's grey stone wall, making an opening.  One tall filly and colt helped support my body.  I struggled with my magic.  I mustered enough to make a thin shield around our group.  
We made it outside and into the ferocious storm.  The ground beneath our hooves shook.  All of us gazed at the ruins to see them shake then crumble.  

Aqua rose from the ground with Stein firm in her grasp.  Vicious columns of lightning rained down around them.  The mare flew the stallion higher into the violent storm.  She continued her ascent into the clouds, and, at her peak, Aqua let go of Stein.  Her strong back hooves landed a direct hit against his chest.  The mare darted after the stallion and delivered another powerful strike to his chest.  Equestria itself dealt the ultimate, finishing blow.  Four lightning streaks diverted off course, combined together in mid air, and formed a massive bolt that struck where Stein landed. 

Chunks of rock erupted from the ruins.  Several hunks fell on the shield.  Aqua descended toward the ground and collapsed.  The colt and filly at my side released me and went towards the mare with the others.  I fell to the ground, and my shield dissipated. The wind of the storm rushed against my face as the last bits of energy drained from my body.  


*** *** ***


I opened my eyes to a gentle touch against my face.  I struggled to move, and found myself pushed back by Otra.  The door to the small castle's bedroom opened. Aqua entered the room, followed by the fillies and colts, and she sat beside me.  

Tears ran down the mare's cheek as she thanked me and Otra, however, her thanks turned to apologies.  Aqua spoke of capturing unfortunate travelers for Hide's research.  In her eyes, I could see the mare willing to accept any punishment that came.  The fillies and colts glared at me, along with Otra.

"Do you hate me?" Aqua said in a quiet, mumbled voice.   

I shook my head at her.  

Atonement was a hard road to travel.  It would be worse if traveled alone.  I looked at Aqua and said "no" in a soft voice before explaining my own circumstances.  

After I sat up a bit, Otra and the others seemed to smile with Aqua wiping away the final bits of her tears.  From her re-telling of the story, I learned that I had been passed out from exhaustion for four days since the doctor's demise.  In a quiet voice, Aqua said all that remained of Hide was a few red blotches on the laboratory floor in the center of pony shaped mark with black streaks coming out of it.  Several bolts of lightning continued to strike the area near him until I passed out completely.  This horn, along with my red hooves, had committed another heinous act.  With Hide's horrible deeds, I wondered if I had done a service to Equestria, yet I also questioned if I had the right to carry out such an act against another living being.    

Soft wings grazed my left and right sides.  Otra shook her head at me.  Aqua shooed the fillies and colts outside, one saying "Ms. Aqua has a special some pony." 

"Thank you.  Thank you for freeing the fillies and colts.  And me." Aqua said.  

Two more days passed as I remained in bed.  Otra stood by me while I healed, taking some moments to play with the fillies, colts, and Aqua.  I was relieved to see my materials had been retrieved from the makeshift campsite.  One day, Aqua confirmed a suspicion I had since I awoke.  The book I read back in Efficacy's spire about combining ponies was indeed written by Hide.  Both were colleagues in Canterlot.      
After a final day of rest, I got gathered my things.  Otra and I headed towards the door with the others.  On our way out, the fillies and colts gathered what little supplies were left inside the ruins.  Aqua stated a simple wish, reiterated by the fillies and colts near her.  I nodded to them.  

"I'm sorry," I said in a quiet voice while looking toward the sky and gazing at a soft white cloud.  

I stepped outside for a brief moment.  The large sphere, the size of Stein himself, was compressed down to the size of a pea.  With the others outside, I placed the creation inside what remained of the ruins.  

All of us galloped towards the rotten planks of the decayed lookout post.  A grand spectacle happened as the sphere cracked.  Bright light came from the open areas of the ruins before a thunderous explosion tore the place apart.  Aqua delivered a final bit of news before her group departed for Gilden Village.  I learned that Hide was the one who brought the poison to Gilden Village, trading it for supplies to keep his laboratory well stocked.  

Before that cold shiver came, Otra leapt off my back and nudged me.  She flew into the sky and scouted ahead.  Pointed towards the beacon in the horizon, in the morning of that quiet day, I turned to catch a final glimpse of Aqua.  She had her own journey to undertake, hoping to find homes for the lost fillies and colts.  

> Bonds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moon had touched the horizon's tip behind me when I awoke.  A strong, heavy yawn escaped after rousting myself out of that makeshift bed.  Otra's eyes crept open.  She squinted at me, and then let out a deep yawn herself.  My companion removed her blanket, brought it to me, stretched her wings, and, after a final yawn, flew into the sky.  With our supplies gathered, the campfire's glowing embers extinguished, I made a small mark on the page in my journal before we resumed our journey.

Darkness gave way to light the further we traveled, the sun climbing higher into the sky.  Otra landed on my flank just after the sun had reached its apex.

Soon, our surroundings changed from open, rugged fields to well kempt terrain.  

The little colt inside of me cracked a slight smile while Otra and I stood at the base of a massive mountain.  That quiet smile faded when I looked at the two paths.  One led around the left side of the mount and into a darkened forest. My companion's sharp talons dug into the thick straps of my saddlebag.  She held on for dear life.  Eternity could be the only word to describe how it felt as I galloped around the right side of the mountain, having ignored the left path that led into the forest.  

After I skidded to a stop, I grinned.  

"It exists," I said to myself, over and over again in my mind.  

Five thin marks had been added to the corner of that page which held the unimpressive rendition of Canterlot, in my personal journal, after Otra and I bid farewell to Aqua.  The miraculous dream I once believed futile came true.  Those spectacular structures -- nestled within the space against the mountainside -- were beyond what I imagined.  The rooftops gleamed in the beautiful light of the noontime sun.  Every inch of Canterlot Castle's exterior, that I could see from the gate, had a wondrous luster to it, every building polished to perfection.  All of it -- Canterlot existed.  

My eyes and mind fixated on the opulent sight in front of me, and I remembered those long days.  Despite those places, villages, towns, and encounters, there were day where I felt like the last pony left in Equestria.  I found that day to be the complete opposite with ponies walking, galloping, and trotting by while I stood motionless in the middle of the heavily trodden pathway.  To these ponies, I would be being nothing more than a miss placed piece of red candy in a sack full of blue candies.  The flood of emotions overwhelmed me.  

Without thinking, my quiet, reserved nature vanished as I shouted "it exists" after being silent for so long, causing one pony to stare at me.  A little colt pointed at me and whispered something to the mare near him.  I overheard her tell the colt I must be sick.  

After my initial excitement calmed, Otra tapped a gentle talon against my flank.  She gave me the warmest smile.  I believed that day to be perfect, beyond my wildest imagination.  The journey I started well over a month ago had come to fruition: I will never forget what happened when I took those three steps towards the gates of Canterlot.  

Whenever Otra leapt off my back, I knew -- in my heart -- she would return.  Throughout the journey, I had gained a sixth sense from her.  She gave me a single dejected glance then turned her stalwart gaze towards the path leading down the mountainside.  My companion flew off my back.

I pushed several ponies aside and galloped after Otra.  Her eyes had a determined look in them I had never seen; my companion's gaze bordered on obsession and concern. 

Otra flew faster.

The further I traveled, the more I cursed myself.  I had been offered the chance to study a unicorn filly's spell in class one day, and I refused.  That spell allowed her to glide across the ground, letting keep up with even the fastest pegasi in Gallopia.  There was little time to dwell on past mistakes as Otra's visage began to shrink.  It turned into a dot that faded into the horizon after a few seconds.  My companion's gaze remained fixated towards the horizon.

Bushes, shrubs, and trees whizzed by me while I continued my pursuit.  In the darkened forest I glimpsed at the base of the mountain, moisture from the heavy mist that emerged from the ground clung to my coat hairs, and the hairs on my mane and tail.  Though my hooves sunk into the thick mud, I gathered my strength.  Vines, branches, and roots blocked the barely visible path.  A loud "clang" resonated amongst the dense fog.  

A small speck of light existed in front of me.  I reached what appeared to be the forest's end as the darkness faded.  It took several moments to catch my breath.  

An opulent, pristine village, its architecture unlike anything I had ever seen, lay ahead of me.  Before I could scrutinize the rest of it, a slight twinge came to my withers.  Otra flew above the forest and towards the colossal tree that jutted towards the sky in the village's center.  The gift I gave my companion still dangled from her right talon, its sky-blue center stone glinting in the sunlight.  

The road from the forest to the village was soft, almost invisible.  I galloped towards the tree where my companion landed towards.  Several villagers recoiled in horror when I flew by them.  I dashed by one unicorn filly.  Our eyes locked, time feeling like it froze.  Her eyes traced my outline then seemed to fixate on my cutie mark.  She stared at me with widened eyes before running behind a stone wall.  

Time resumed as I ignored the terrified cries of those around me and propelled myself along the stone road.   I stopped.   After several heavy gasps for air, I crept towards the large tree.  Villagers moved away.  

In the center of the circular area, a pegasus mare stood by a wooden perch.  Her ears perked up.  Otra raised her head, looked at me, and let out a loud screech when she spotted me.  In that tone, though she appeared less than thrilled to see me, her boisterous cry sounded like an ominous warning.  After her loud squawk, two figures darted down a long set of steps leading to a structure in the distance.  The sound of their hooves echoed from the distance.  Two guards, garbed in strange robs, leapt into the air.

The pegasus stallion landed on my left.  An ornate staff protruded from his side, its end having a pointed metal tip.  A minotaur slammed his unusual armored gauntlets into the ground, snorted, and then leered at me after landing off to my right.    

"You're forbidden in this land.  I will give you one chance to leave in peace, Efficacy." The mare said, facing my companion. 

"I'm not that monster," I shouted. 

"Hmm, so you aren't." The pegasus said.  She turned away from my companion, looked at me, and then gave a deep bow, "My apologies."    

The silver colored, pegasus mare held up her hoof.  After the guards relaxed, the mare extended her wings.  She flapped them once.  Without a sound she rose into the air and soon descended on soft hooves near my right side.  Her gentle wings undid the clasps of my saddlebag.  Tense seconds passed.   The minotaur glanced at his partner with the pegasus stallion looking at him in return.

All of the bystanders let out a collective sigh before they moved on with their business, one mare wiping the sweat from her brow.  With my saddlebag returned, placed on the stone ground in front of me, the pegasus mare's stern eye examined my cutie mark.  She poked my flank with her hoof before giving a final apology.  Both guards nodded to the mare then left.  

Otra leapt down from her perch.  She walked towards me.  My companion brushed a gentle wing against my cheek before leaping onto my back.  The action caused the pegasus to rub a slow hoof against her chin before poking my flank with her wing tip.  

Before I could speak, heavy wing flaps preceded a large shadow that overtook the village.  I watched the majestic sight of a large bird descend to the ground near the pegasus mare's side.  It's shape, wing size, and wing color were the same as Otra's.  Unlike my companion's eyes, the other bird's purple colored eyes gave a sense of anger and contempt; its eyes pierced through me and into my core.   

The purple-eyed bird let out a deafening shriek.  It received a squawk in return from Otra.  My companion's retaliatory sound caused the bird to squint at her.  Two taps came to my flank.  I levitated my bag off the ground and faced the street leading towards the forest.  Two birds stood in front of us with their white wings extended.  I believed no beauty could rival that brief glimpse of Canterlot Castle, yet I was mistaken as more white birds descended on the area.  Several flew to their perches embedded into the large tree.  All of them stared at me and my companion.  

Otra hissed at the purple-eyed bird.  Those unrelenting eyes leered back at us.  

The pegasus mare extended her right wing in front of me.  Two, cold, emotionless blue eyes stared at me. She soon pointed her wing at the purple-eyed bird.  

My body felt cold, similar to that empty sensation from when Otra leapt off my back near the gates of Canterlot Castle.  Otra's soft wing brushed against my face.  She came near my ear and gave a soft squawk into it.  I raised my head then watched my companion fly away with the other birds.  There were so many things I wanted to say, yet I remained silent.  At that point, I didn't believe my body could grow any colder.  That "clink" which resonated in my ears proved me wrong when it caused a colder, frozen sensation to wash over me.  

The dark shadow overwhelmed the city once more.  I levitated my companion's gift off the ground and clutched it in my right hoof.  The world's sounds were quiet, almost nonexistent. 

As the sun began to set behind the largest structure in the village, the pegasus mare stepped in front of me.  She pressed a firm hoof against my chest.  The equine delivered a cold "no" in a stern tone.  Her silver wings turned me away from the steps that led towards the large building in the distance.  After retracting one wing, she used her extended one to point towards a small house on the edge of the market district.


*** *** ***


The mare wasn't without some form of generosity.  A small, three roomed house was offered to me as a temporary abode.  

Light from the outside world began to fade with day swiftly turning to night.  While my host fixed dinner in a room adjacent to the bedroom, I removed my saddlebag and placed it near the bed.  The wooden planks creaked when I walked across them.  I collapsed at the small table near the iron cooking pot.  

"You should eat," The mare said, scooping something into a ornately detailed bowl.  

Though I was given a plentiful choice of delicacies to pick from, nothing looked appetizing.  My snarling stomach replied in my silent stead.  

"Poise," she said.  I glanced towards the mare.  In a calm, soft voice, expression to match, she said, "You may call me Poise." 

Moonlight filtered through the bars of the windows near the top of the walls.  The gentle white light reflected off the small treasure I clutched in my hoof, removed from the safety of my saddlebag.  After I placed the item on the table, I nibbled on a few pieces of "noodle" in my bowl.  

I zoned in and out as my host attempted to make some form of idle chat.  The monotone voice, coupled with Poise's melancholic expression left me almost uninterested in this place called Equanimity; her words contained no warmth or joy to them.  I pushed my bowl to the side and remained silent.  I wanted to ask about my companion.  Each time that courage built up to ask about Otra, the look in Poise's eyes dissuaded me.  She would refuse the request.  I knew it.  

The tale continued towards Equanimity's mysterious gates.  None had ever seen a physical manifestation of the gates, only the noise of their closing existed.  On that strange note, Poise ended her story.  She stood up, bowed, and then walked towards the door.  Her hooves made no sound against the boards I had walked along, creaking with each step I took towards the table for dinner.  

Poise left me to my thoughts.  Though the coals in the small pit below the cooking pot crackled, their pops barely disturbed the room's silence.  

"What do I do?" I thought.  

For the first time, I believed myself lost.  Even though a part of me wanted to give up, something about the this place gnawed at my mind.  

Poise's strange behavior from our first encounter being put to the side, I knew from the tale I listened to throughout the quiet dinner that she mentioned living here since she could remember it.  I must have heard her wrong.  It was impossible.  The tree in the center of the village would take five hundred years of growth to reach that size, maybe more.  It would be impossible to behold such a sight in any pony's lifetime.  

Before my mind drifted away from me, a sound resonated in my ears, and a premature smile came.  I peeked out the front door to see a small dark dot on the ground.  Those wing flaps that accompanied the shadow resonated in my ears.   My smile grew bigger, going in unison with the dot's size.  That joyful smile vanished when the pegasus guard from earlier in the day landed on the rooftop of a nearby building.  

Those yellow, cat like eyes scanned the village, the stallion's determined gaze always returning to my temporary abode.  Beyond the obvious fact blasting my way out of the house was a bad idea, another problem existed.  The inhabitants of this "Equanimity" could have abilities and techniques to subdue unicorns that Equestria hadn't conceived.

I hated this sensation, this sense of hopelessness of not knowing what to do.  As I returned to the dining room and sat on the cold mat, a little part of me began to slip away; that little part told me what I should try or attempt in order to solve a problem.  Each room had minimal furniture, enough to necessitate a small stay.  That once warm feeling inside of me, when my companion stood at my side, grew colder.  My hooves began to shiver.  I hung my head.  

In that moment, a different side of me awoke and caused my hooves to stop shaking.  

I focused my mind on the situation in front of me.  Each floorboard, each wall, each piece of furniture was gone over.  They gave me nothing.  The carpet beneath my hooves remained untouched.  

The front door slid open, and the pegasus stallion barged inside.  His eyes glanced at me then around the room several times.  He leered at me.  I furrowed my brow and told him to leave.  The stallion snorted, demanded that I stop using my magic, and slammed the door as he left.  Those words confirmed my suspicions.  Of my two options, I picked the latter and restrained my use of magic.  

With a cautious, nervous hoof I flipped the carpet over.  I had to look twice.   

After bringing each of the four corners together, I brought the carpet to the dining room then laid it on the ground.  Eight strange marks were seared into the fibers, two in each corner of the rectangular carpet.  The pieces glowed in the light of the moon, giving off a slight luminescent color.  I calmed myself.  I pressed my hoof against each portion of the carpet.  

It astonished me to see such ancient magic exist, one I had only read about in magical history books.  The eight green marks floated into the air, and then merged together.  I watched the alchemical symbol embedded itself into iron cooking pot.  Soon, the glowing coals beneath the pot floated into the air then placed themselves inside.  

Several seconds passed while the object shifted into the shape of a perfectly round sphere.  Its exterior changed; my face reflected off the pot's shiny, silvery surface.  The object squished against the wall.  Silvery, spider web thin lines to formed.  A door opened to dust and cobwebs.  After a quiet, heavy gulp, I moved forward then swallowed my pride.  In the light of the moon, the book bore the insignia, the cutie mark of that malefic stallion from the dark spire.  

Page after page -- the way this stallion wrote -- sounded compassionate.  These writings, these emotions were a far cry from the creature I faced in that dark tower.  Poise's strange reaction in the market district made more sense when I skimmed over several more pages.  The notes contained near primordial magical notations.  Three quarters through the book, several pages were dedicated to describing a sacred event in Equanimity.  The tome's final pages gave the answers I had sought.  That new found part of me raged against my other side.  I silenced both of them.  

With a hesitant, magical grasp, I closed the secret door and placed the book in my saddlebag.  The silvery lines coalesced back into the strange orb, which soon formed the iron cooking pot.  I returned the pot to its original place, the alchemical symbol gone from its base.  I placed the carpet back in the room with the door leading to the outside. 

The stallion stood watch, still standing guard from what I could see after peaking out the front door.  The moon had reached the halfway point in the sky. 

I slid the door closed. A floorboard began to jiggle when I turned around.  To my surprise, the small unicorn filly I darted past earlier that day popped up.  She turned around; she looked at me; her eyes widened.  The filly retreated back into the hole while tugging on the floorboard with her magic.  She fled into the hole then flew down a tunnel underneath the structure.  It took a few moments to squish myself through the hole with my saddlebag on.  

Hoof-by-hoof I dragged myself down the tunnel, lanterns strung along the walls.  The tunnel ended at a medium sized area.  

A bookcase and bed were inside with four lanterns along the ceiling, an additional lantern on a nightstand.  A quick gasp came from underneath the bed when I approached the book case, my hoof pressed against a book.  Two green eyes stared at me.  

Soft hooves guided the filly out from underneath the bed.  The lantern levitated in front of her, retrieved from the nearby nightstand, the pony crept towards me.  In a gentle voice she said, "Quiet Study?"

My flank hit the dirt, and my eyes widened.  The little unicorn in front of me raised her light brown hoof and pressed it against mine.  My dark-red hoof dwarfed hers.  It couldn't have been her, yet there was no mistake.  Glide hadn't aged a day since I last saw her in Gallopia.  

Though I never spoke to her in or out of class, the filly would smile at me, being one of the more friendlier ponies in class.   She was one of the few ponies that could stand my idiosyncratic nature.  

I watched the filly in front of me illuminate her horn, causing her four hooves to glow.  True to her nature, from what I could remember, the joyful unicorn filly raced around the area several times.  She came to a stop at the base of my hooves then gave an elated grin towards me.  I applauded my former classmate for her studious efforts in perfecting her spell.  

Glide tugged on my right hoof.  She wanted to play, even being quick to teach me her spell.   I thanked her for the offer but declined.

"Dad brought me to Gallopia, but Mom found me.  She took me away when that smelly place exploded --" Glide shivered, "they give the others some weird medicine in the temple." 

Glide continued to shiver and refused to speak about the subject any further.  

Efficacy's writings were true.  There was a powerful "medicine" made inside the strange structure that ponies consumed.  No book, scroll, or tome told of how it was first made.  The tome only told of a legend that said the elixir was a gift by the first ethereal phoenix.  It had an intoxicating effect on the young and old. If any pony stopped taking the concoction, they would perish.  Despite the fact, the ultimate benefit was not just a cure for all ailments and injuries.  The elixir would grant some form of eternal life with eternal youth.

I didn't care.  I wanted to see my companion and get her out of here.  

Glide remained stubborn.  She refused to help, even though I pleaded with her to take me to where the white birds had flown.  Instead, I was told to forget about the birds and play with her.  There wasn't time for a game, yet, from what I knew of my former classmate, she wasn't too stubborn.     

After taking time to study her spell, I used it on my hooves, and our race began from the center of the small room.  The tunnels were big enough to let my opponent race around.  I struggled to move myself.  Several detours whizzed by.  My opponent ended up in front, and then behind when I used a gust of wind to propel me even faster down the dirt pathway.  Glide shook her hoof at me.  Glide chuckled at me when I slammed into a dead end.  

As I brushed the dirt off of my mane, a small bit of thanks was given for the quick game.  A wooden ladder rose up towards a small hatch.   

"Will you come back and play?" Glide said.  She hugged my front foreleg as I turned away, biting down on my lip.  Two water eyes stared back at me.  I shook my head.  "Watch out for mom.  She guards the temple at night."   

I thanked the filly for her help before she sped down the dirt pathway.

*** *** ***

My mouth felt dry.  I pushed against the hatch and peeked through the small crack to see a darkened area.  

Out of the tunnel, I found myself in an even stranger place than what I had seen thus far.  Several columns rose into the air, one at each point in the unusual structure.  With Glide's spell still on my hooves, I crouched down then moved myself forward with my tail, going from shadow to shadow while taking caution not to push myself too hard.  

The sound of flapping wings came from the ceiling.  A beam of moonlight illuminated the perch in the center of the room.  An ethereal phoenix descended onto it.  My hopes were dashed when the bird opened its eyes.  The bird puffed up its chest, and then relaxed.  All I could hear was the soft noise of a door closing before Poise neared the intricately detailed metal perch.  

The purple-eyed bird emitted a gentle squawk towards the mare who brushed its feathers.  Poise plucked one feather, the bird unphased.

Despite the cool air, I began to sweat.  My stomach snarled, and an object whizzed over head; the strange metal rope's pointed tip glinted in the moon's light.    

"My daughter and her tunnels are such a nuisance." Poise said.  Her eyes followed me as I came forward, struggling to control my hooves.  She gazed at my cutie mark once more when I entered the moonlight.  "I see.  You're that colt from Gallopia.  Steadfast." 

Poise used her wing to rub the purple-eyed bird's chest feathers.  Both mare and bird glared at me.  I couldn't understand it.  When I looked at them, it felt like I was looking into a mirror.  

The ethereal phoenix hissed at me.  

For a split second, I felt that familiar sensation.  My voice echoed in the temple when I yelled for Otra.  Wing flaps resonated inside the structure, and several birds descended to the ground with Poise's outstretched wing gliding by each bird.  

"I'm not in the mood for tests.  Where is my companion," I said. None of the birds in front of us was Otra.  That resolve, that fire in their eyes paled in comparison to my companion's.

The purple-eyed bird screeched at me, causing the other phoenixes to fly towards their perches.  Poise's metal rope wrapped around my neck before I could call to my companion a second time.  It tightened, constricting around my throat like a snake.  There was no time to concentrate on any of the spells I knew, so I wrapped my hoof around the metal rope.  

Poise dug in.  The mare's hooves skidded along the stone floor.  I continued to drag her towards me.  Poise maintained her composure when she relinquished her strange weapon, soon producing a new one.  

I flung myself backwards.  Though Glide's spell was incredible, I had little control over it.  Much like the tunnel, I raced around the temple.  Poise's phoenix darted after me, however, its speed paled in comparison to Otra's.  I could hear the creature hiss when it failed to grab me.  

After using a gust of wind, I propelled myself, by accident, into an ornate door.  A wooden bar used to secure the door turned into splinters.  Glide's spell around my hooves dissipated.  

I scratched my head and stood up.  I smiled before I opened my eyes when that familiar sensation came to me.  Instead of being thrilled to find my companion, I found myself angered to see her chained to the floor of an iron cage.  

I ripped the cage door off its hinges, crushed it into lump of metal, and threw the lump into the middle of the temple, destroying the purple-eyed bird's perch.  Otra rolled her eyes at me.  She sighed then placed a gentle wing against my cheek.  The fire in her sky-blue eyes was a welcomed sight.  With the shackles removed, my companion leapt out of her cage.  She and I walked out of the room towards Poise and the ethereal phoenix at her side.  

The quiet moment ceased as all of the birds squawked at once.  I collapsed to my hooves from the deafening sound.  Poise came closer with the purple-eyed bird on her back.  

The doors to the temple opened.  Villagers began to enter.  All of them stopped and gawked at me.  Poise's melancholic attitude remained unchanged towards the crowd that had formed.  She spoke, in a monotone voice, of how I was like the stallion they took in so long ago, how I had taken advantage of their kind generosity.  To Poise, I was similar in every way to Efficacy as the Ethereal Order of Equanimity barely survived with its matriarch having been stolen when she was just an egg.    

Otra moved in front of me then shielded my body with her wings.  Poise sniffed the air then went for my right saddlebag.  The villagers gasped when she displayed the book that bore Efficacy's insignia.  

"No, Skia." Poise said, the purple-eyed bird giving a menacing glare in return.  The mare pulled the phoenix aside.  

I struggled to my hooves.  Otra looked at the crowd.  She looked at the bird near Poise's side.  My companion turned towards me.  She nodded.  The villagers watched as Otra leapt onto my back then gave two successive taps to my flank.  Hushed voices came from the crowd.    

The villagers formed an opening.  Two more taps came to my flank.  Otra gave a kind smile to me when I turned towards her.  I faced Poise and stared at the book she clutched underneath her left wing.  That awakened part of me wanted to demand the return of the book.  The voice fell silent, and I faced the crowd.

As I moved passed the crowd and down the steps towards the center of Equanimity, I stood near the giant tree.  The warm, beautiful, gentle sunlight filtered through the tree's canopy.  A gentle wing pointed towards the path that led into the forest.  I levitated the small treasure out of my saddlebag. Otra slipped her right talon through it.

Almost on instinct, before I realized it, I had formed a reinforced shield around the two of us.  Otra stood in front of me, ready to shield me from Skia's sharp talons that lashed against the magical shield.  Poise called to the bird once more.  Skia refused to answer the command, bolting into the air then diving at the two of us.  

Otra forced me down.  The magical shield disintegrated.  I stood up.  My companion flew into the sky.     

I looked down to see Glide standing in front of me.  The villagers from the temple gathered in the center of the Equanimity.  All of us watched the fierce battle between Otra and her opponent.  Both of them darted by each other, battling one another in the expansive sky.  Skia's attempts to catch my companion were futile.  Every time she dove after Otra, Skia would miss.  

"Skia, enough." Poise said.  The bird hissed at the mare.  "I said enough, Skia." 

After the final command, the purple-eyed bird turned her vicious gaze towards Glide.  Poise bolted in front of me.  Skia's open talons slashed the mare's right wing.   

Otra dove towards Skia and landed a powerful strike against her.  My companion floated to the ground then looked at Poise's wing.  As Skia got up, she float into the air with her sharp talons raised.  Otra shielded Poise and Glide.  

"Q-Qu-Quiet St-Study?" Glide said. 

A dark, sinister side had taken over.  I opened my eyes to see myself latching onto Skia's neck with my magic.  The purple-eyed bird flailed about, squawking in pain.  It gasped for air while crying, almost begging to be released.  That magical ring around the bird's neck constricted tighter, and then I stopped.  As I recoiled in horror, my magical grasp around the bird's throat ceased.  

Both guards from the temple brought the cage from the room.  Poise turned away, nuzzling her daughter.  My companion squawked at the guards who gave her a nod in return.  The minotaur and pegasus stallion placed Skia inside the cage.

The saddlebag on my back slipped off.  Skia's squawks became little more than a breeze against my ears when Otra looked at me.  

"From the bottom of my heart, I thank you traveler for the deed you have done.  You have returned our most precious treasure to us, however," Poise stood up then pointed her undamaged wing at me, "You will leave the Equanimity and never return." she said.  The villagers' once hushed voices turned into angry shouts of agreement.  Poise lowered her wing.  She winced while folding her damaged wing to her side.  Her once soft hooves grew heavy.  The mare came towards me with Glide at her side.  "The same poison that inflicted Efficacy's mind courses through yours.  For the safety of our village, I forbid you from returning."

Glide moved away from her mother.  She stood in front of me and raised her hooves.  I placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder.  I shook my head when she looked at me.  Glide raised her hoof, and I raised mine.  The filly hugged my front hoof after I put it down.  She walked towards her mother. 

The pegasus stallion and minotaur escorted me along the path that led out of the village.  Both of them reminded me of Poise's words, and how I was forbidden from ever returning.  I gave Equanimity a final glance before facing the pathway out of the village.  On that final look, my companion was gone.  


*** *** ***


I moved into the darkened forest with a heavy heart and hooves.  Trees, roots, and shrubs crept by.  Soon, a wall of darkness appeared.  My hoof trembled when I reached forward.  I looked behind to see the exit of the forest being nothing more than a speck of light.  I turned back.  Two precious, sky-blue eyes full of resolve and life stared looked at me.

Otra placed my saddlebag on the ground.  She then proceeded to squawk into my ear several time, almost disciplining me like I was a misbehaving colt.  My companion gave a final squawk and ended with a heavy sigh.  Though her warm smile helped ease the tension in my chest, it could never erase what I had done.  There was a true monster inside of me that I feared coming out.  

My companion placed the saddlebag onto my back before I could go deeper into thought.  After I checked my belongings, the only thing missing being Efficacy's tome, Otra leapt onto my back.  She tapped my flank twice.  A loud "clang" resonated in the air.  

The thick mist in front of us dissipated, and Otra and I heard a loud scream.  We watched a mare's face turn white before she screamed "ghost." 

To my amazement, we were at the base of the mountain, outside the forest I had galloped into during the pursuit.  The pony galloped off before I could ask the time and day.  Otra and I chuckled at each other.  It must have been absurd to see something like the two of us materialize in that fashion.  

Otra squawked at me.  I smirked at her.  

I galloped up the side of the mountain while she held on for dear life.  My companion relinquished her grasp, flew off my back, and raced me up the mountainside.  At the path's end, I found everything almost exactly the way it must have been when I left.  From my bag, Otra retrieved a small note.  With the strange wax symbol broken, I examined the note to see it written by Poise.  

"
This is my only warning to you, the caretaker of Equanimity's most sacred treasure.  Do not pursue your heart's desire, for it shall lead to your ruination.
" 

My companion pointed at the note with her talon.  I flipped it over to see Glide's small message, demanding a rematch without the use of my spell.  

I looked toward the gates of Canterlot.  That time, I simply smiled.  After that smile, I moved forward -- with Otra at my side -- into Canterlot.