Flurry Heart's soft hoof steps clopped through the quiet town as she traveled up the street from Wysoka's house. The poor mare, upon having her entire life divulged to her in mere minutes, had sat completely still a moment before standing and simply stating, "I will be home soon". That had been around 20 minutes ago, and her absence was giving the family much cause for worry. Flurry, being the one to have both told her the bulk of things, and being the one to have hidden the information in the first place, had taken it upon herself to make an attempt at consoling Wysoka. There was no lack of understanding between the family and Wysoka; however, it was perfectly understandable for somepony to need a moment after being told what she had been told, which really had been everything.
They told her of Nightmare Moon's tale, they told her about Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight, they told her what she had done to cause so much anger, and what had caused her thousand year lapse of memory. They told her, with a fair bit of difficulty, who Luna, or Lunaz, was, and why she had appeared within the dream and expelled her from a place she once held totally sacred in her thoughts. Where things became bumpy was explaining to Wysoka the fact she didn't have a family, and never had. Those 23 years of her research and working within the dreams and memories of both herself and those around her had, as Wysoka had so emotionally divulged, really been about trying to find who her parents were. Looking through memories of the Nitzche and seeing their joyous times of being fillies and colts had given her a horrible longing for that same feeling, and seeing that almost every single Nitzche over the years had a very similar set of memories had only made her wonder more and more why the past she brought from her mind was filled with so many bad feelings.
Through the trees, Flurry could now see the entrance of the Library; the one place she could think Wysoka would go. On her way there, she had been fairly confident, but now, as she stood a distance from the two doors, they felt daunting. Her chest tightened as she stared, her vision barely being distracted by a deep gray mare departing from the building. With a deep sigh, she began down the cobblestone path. Before pushing the doors open, her eyes were once more drawn to the scripture engraved so wonderfully on the stone arch above the doors: "Lunaz Lekkti Może Obdarzyć Szczęścia I Pokoju"
Pushing open the leftmost door let a substantial creak echo through the expansive and quiet Library, the chandeliers hanging above now having some of their many candles lit to provide the huge space with an acceptable amount of light. Flurry's eyes instantly went to a modest crowd of Nitzche stood around one of the short reading tables within the Library's center, every single one of them turning to stare at her with their wide, slit pupil eyes. From mare to stallion, every single Nitzche's fur was the exact same shade of gunship gray, the only variance in color being their wonderfully bright eyes and dark tones of their manes and tails. Another thing taken to notice was the fact every single stallion she could see had their figure adorned with the same three items Mennika, Morsemere, and the other two Nitzche they had encountered within the forest wore; a pair of specially attached saddlebags, a deep blue, long-sleeved coat, and a strange, wood and metal weapon slung to their side.
Through the staring crowd Flurry's eyes were drawn to those of Wysoka as she poked her head above the formation, her blood-shot, yet still radiant eyes peering to her with a look she hadn't really expected; happiness. Reluctantly, Flurry began towards the group, their eyes never leaving the young Alicorn as she made her approach.
"Lunaz Gritza, Flurry Heart." One of the mare Nitzche spoke in a soft tone, her expression turning to a little smile.
Flurry's mind couldn't bring any appropriate words to her tongue as she continued her silent walk. Upon having the gap fully closed, many of the Nitzche who had been standing close took Flurry in a warm, collective hug, those who had not gotten the chance to frontally hug the young Alicorn simply nuzzling her sides with their cheeks. Totally paralyzed, Flurry stood with her eyes locked to Wysoka's, a short, tear-shuddered chuckle coming from the black mare as she wiped her cheek with a hoof.
"I-I told them what you told me. The Nitzche are happy that you told me the truth about my past... and about my family. They... they say, at hearing I do not have family... they all told me 'Jesteśmy linia krwi, Wysoka'. It means, 'we are family, Wysoka'."
Her chest shuddered, fresh tears making their way down her already damp cheeks. Flurry felt her heart drop through her chest as she looked to the happily weeping mare, who now had a single Nitzche stallion nuzzling her side in consolation. Those around Flurry broke their embrace, her eyes browsing over their emotional expressions in a quick moment before turning back to Wysoka. For a single moment, the only sound to quietly echo in the hall were the cries from Wysoka. It was a cry unlike one Flurry had ever heard; she had heard many ponies weep over her few years, but this mare's cry was somehow different. With heavy hooves, Wysoka stood from her pillow at the table, loftily stepping to Flurry and kneeling before the younger Alicorn as she pulled her into a tight hug. Wysoka's chest shuttered against Flurry's as the black mare's tears fell, Flurry's own hooves slowly coming to meet the embrace.
"T-Thank you... thank you for coming to this place. Thank you... with all of my being." Wysoka muttered through her shaky breaths, Flurry's own tears beginning to make their way down her cheeks.
"I... I thought you'd be mad at us." Choked Flurry.
"Mad? No... no, never! I know the truth now!" Wysoka gave a sniffle as she released Flurry from her tight embrace, "I do not care you waited, I understand why you waited, I was a horrible being in the past... that is why when you and your family saw me, you were scared."
"What happened in your past doesn't matter, Wysoka. That barely counts as your past; you aren't that pony anymore. Nightmare Moon wasn't a pony that smiled, or..." Flurry laughed, "gave ponies cookies, but you are a pony that smiles... and you're much more than that. Bad pasts don't matter when you have a good present."
Wysoka totally froze, staring at Flurry with her mouth slightly agape.
"I have a good present?"
"That's not a question you ask me, that's a question you ask yourself."
Wysoka's stance straightened as she looked around the Library, her eyes temporarily meeting with each and every one of the surrounding Nitzche who she had the pleasure of calling her family.
"I... I have a good present,"
The collective clop of Wysoka and Flurry's hooves on the cobblestone paths of the pitch-black town rang through the quiet forest as they made their way back home, Flurry's horn giving enough light for her to just barely see the pavement before her as they talked. Wysoka's steps still seeming heavy and her head still held a little low, something Flurry had begun to take notice of.
"It makes me sad to see you sad, Wysoka. I... I'm sorry that you had to find out everything in such a bad way."
"No way to find out would be good, little Flurry. And, do not be sad for me; I will be fine soon," There was a short pause as Wysoka sighed, "I... for a long time, knew, deep in my mind, I wouldn't have family like you. Then, at night, Wsparcie came to me and said "Oh! Wysoka! You cannot believe this, in Ciemny, far far away, we find two poniska, we are sure they are poniska, like you!". I have these three Wsparcie follow you and mother for a while, and then you found Shining Armor, and the three Wsparcie tell me of this, so I make sure that you three can come to Nazomova and be safe from the odziałpisk."
"So you did have somepony follow us! We were wondering why Mennika and his friends kept popping up," Flurry's words stopped for a moment as she thought about something else Wysoka had stated, "What's an 'odzeealpisk'?" She inquired, horribly mispronouncing the word.
"Odziałpisk are black creatures, they feed from bats and, if they are very, very lucky, Nitzche; your father was fighting them in the storm, I remember my three Wsparcie telling me how they were now so sure you were powerful poniskas because he fought lots of Odziałpisk and never gets hurt. After that night, I tell those Wsparcie to keep following and make sure you come to Nazomova because, when I hear you are poniska like me, and I hear you are strong with magic, I think that maybe you and family could help find my memory of family. I am not sad because I do not have the family like you do, little Flurry... I am sad because I thought, for a first time in so long, that I had the way to find my family. I felt hope, I don't feel hope for a long time, then you and family come here, and I felt lots of hope."
That horrible feeling had come back to Flurry's heart as she looked at the slouching Alicorn to her side, Flurry doing her best to give Wysoka's side a nuzzle with her own side, but their height difference rendered such a gesture more loving than actually effective.
"I wish we could have told you that you have family somewhere waiting for you... but like the Nitzche said, you have family here. Some families are stuck together because they're related, but the family you have now; they're special. They chose you, you didn't get born with them. That's a special, loving bond a lot of ponies would want."
Wysoka looked down to Flurry for a moment before bringing her radiantly blue eyes back up to the town before her, the soft warmth of Flurry's little nuzzle to her side bringing her a smile. Silence fell over the duo as they walked, the occasional peep of a bat being the only noticeable sound.
"Little Flurry... do I get old?" Wysoka inquired out of the blue, her question catching Flurry a little off-guard.
"What do you mean?"
"23 years ago, when I first come to Nazomova, I knew many Nitzche who were all young then like you, and I knew some who were like your family, and I knew some that were old, and they are gone... but I look at myself and I have never got older. I look the same; tonight and 23 years... nothing changed. Nitzche told me I am a lot like Lunaz; because I am poniska, and she is, and I have horn and wing like her, they told me I do not get old like her. Is that true?"
"Yeah, it's true. You're immortal, just like Luna, and Celestia, and me and my Mom. You'll outlive every friend and every family member you'll meet."
"I... will live forever?"
"Immortality isn't invincibility, you still need to eat, drink, sleep, and do everything a normal pony does. You won't die like a normal pony, you won't lie in bed while your friends say goodbye... you'll die when someone decides they want to kill you."
Wysoka stayed quiet, her steps slowing a bit as this new information rattled in her mind, "Why would someone want to kill me? I love my Nitzche and they love me."
Flurry too went quiet for a moment, "The Nitzche probably won't ever want to hurt you. Someone else will, or something."
"What if a Nitzche does want to hurt me... what do I do?"
"Wysoka... I don't know. You have to make that decision when the time comes. Hurting others that want to hurt you isn't always a solution. Princess Celestia has been alive for thousands of years, and she's never killed another pony or creature."
"I have killed before... does that make me bad?"
"What did you kill?"
"Odziałpisk. It jumped from tree onto me, and I got scared. I hit Odziałpisk's chest with my magic, and then the Odziałpisk didn't move. I tried to make it get up, but it was dead."
Flurry couldn't take her eyes from the look in Wysoka's gaze as she stared directly forward.
"It was an accident. I have seen Odziałpisk before, and I can take them with my magic and put them back into the tree and they will run away."
"No, that doesn't make you bad, Wysoka. Sometimes... that's something you have to do..."
"But you say Celestia lives for thousands of years, and she has never killed. I want to be like her; I want to be good."
"Wysoka... you are good. Defending yourself doesn't make you bad."
"Are Nitzche good, too? They use their strzalt to kill the Odziałpisk if an Odziałpisk gets close... but the Odziałpisk will kill Nitzche if they get close..."
Flurry chuckled, "Yes, the Nitzche are good, too. Once again, defending yourself isn't bad," She paused, thinking on a single word from Wysoka's dialogue, "Strzalt? Is that what their weapons are called?"
Wysoka gave a little hum, "Strzalt is their weapon, yes. Every Nitzche has one, but the Wsparcie use it the most. Wsparcie, in Equestrian, means Support; they protect Nazomova and Jaskinia from the Odziałpisk."
"Jaskinia?"
"The cave, in the mountain; that is where the Nitzche lived long, long, long ago. They still live there, Jaskinia is where new families have their young and raise their young. Jaskinia is a very special place for the Nitzche... I do not know if they would let me show it to you."
"Wow... the Nitzche really are like bats."
"Bats love Nitzche. Lots of Nitzche have bats that live inside their house, and bats live in the trees here in Nazomova. The trees here are safe; Odziałpisk are smart, they know not to come here."
"Why don't you have any bats in your house? I mean, I don't really like bats... so I'm kind of glad they aren't there, but it seems like you'd have some."
"They come and go. When you and your family slept a few bats came in and slept above you in the ceiling. I like to leave my windows open in the day because they can come in if they like, but Nitzche don't like the day, so they keep windows closed."
"So, you don't mind the sunlight as much as the Nitzche?"
Wysoka hummed, "Sun hurts their eyes, for me, not so bad."
"That certainly explains why all of the Nitzche wear those goggles during the day," Flurry had a thought, her eyes widening a little further at the idea, "Does the sun burn them? Like, being in direct sunlight, does that hurt?"
"No, it is just too warm and bright. They don't like it."
"How about you? Do you like being in the sun?"
Wysoka tilted her head, one corner of her mouth raising further than the other as she gave a little 'eh' of indifference, "The light is too bright for me, but the warm... not so bad. The Wsparcie I have to follow you thought it was funny how you and family slept in the sun. They cannot think of doing that."
"Speaking of the Wsparcie you had follow us, my Mom's been wanting to give Mennika his compass back; he gave it to us the night they found us, but we don't need it anymore, and it does have his name engraved on it."
"I know Mennika, I know his home, too... but he is Wsparcie, Wsparcie spend lots of time out, so I don't know where he can be. I will take the compass and when I see him, I can give it to him."
"What do Wsparcie do while they're 'out'?"
"Lots of things. They make sure Odziałpisk stay far, they find more places to put trees and plants to grow food, and they find best trees to cut down. Tonight, moon is big, so lots of Nitzche are out to cut down tree and move it. That's why Nazomova is quiet now, normally lots of Nitzche walk and fly and talk."
"Wait... what does the moon being full have to do with them working to cut down the tree?"
"Nitzche magic is not like mine, or yours or family's. I... still have hard time to know how theirs works, but it is strong when the moon is high and big. My magic is strong all the time, and is so much stronger than Nitzche. Sometimes they have me help move trees because I can do it all by myself, but they know you are here, so they did not ask tonight."
"Their magic is tied with the moon? That explains why they can use magic without horns, and why it's so weak during the day!"
"How does my magic work? It is always strong, during day or night, and even when the moon is smaller.
"I, well... I don't know. My mom would know more about this kind of thing than I would..." Upon speaking, Flurry's horn cast its light around on her surroundings, "We were supposed to be going back to your house, Wysoka; and your house isn't too far from the library..."
"I wanted to talk more." Smiled Wysoka.
"Fair enough. I just don't want my parents to get worried."
"We can go back, then. I feel mad at myself for not telling your family what I saw in the memory, so I can do that now."
"Wysoka, you learned everything about your life in the span of 5 minutes! You don't need to feel bad for not telling us right away; you needed some time to figure things out."
"And I don't remember a lot of what I saw... I was so focused on Celestia, but like I say! We can go home now, and I will tell what I remember, and when the sun comes up and we all sleep I can search your memories again."
"Hearing somepony say "I can search your memories again" is really weird..."
Cadance and Shining sat up from their cuddled position near the fire as a soft knock sounded from the tall door of Wysoka's house.
"I guess Flurry sorted things out with Wysoka..." Shining commented as he stood, Cadance's soft, pink wing sliding from his figure.
"I hope she's not too horribly shaken by this. When we first told her everything she seemed really upset."
Shining's hoof lifted the simple metal latch holding the door closed up, the now freed door swinging outward with a simple push to reveal the silhouetted figure of a single Nitzche, her bright blue eyes shining through the dark. The mare and Shining shared a look of confusion for a moment, the mare finally stepping closer and peeking over his shoulder into the home.
"Wysoka?"
"She's uh... she's not here." Returned Shining, shaking his head side to side.
"Czy ona nie tutaj?" Spoke the male voice of an unseen Nitzche, Shining's eyes straining to make out his figure in the purely black world beyond the home.
The mare took a step back, looking over her shoulder to her companion, who Shining could now see was standing beside a cart loaded with some sort of cargo, "Nie."
The two shared some dialogue in their tongue, occasionally looking to the still perplexed Shining as they conversed. A familiar, deep female voice called through the darkness, both Nitzche and Shining looking down the street to see Wysoka's gently radiant eyes and mane through the blackness, a shorter, dimly lit pink figure at her side.
"Lunaz Gritza, Wysoka!" Chimed the stallion Nitzche upon seeing her.
"Lunaz Gritza. Przepraszam za to, ze odszedtl," Spoke Wysoka as she closed the gap, Flurry splitting from her side and trotting towards Shining.
"So, I take it Wysoka feels a little better?" Shining asked once Flurry was in earshot, watching as Wysoka craned her head to share a welcoming nuzzle with the stallion.
"A little. She's really curious,"
Shining stepped through the doorway back into the home, Flurry following as they allowed Wysoka and the two Nitzche converse, "About what?"
"Everything. She wants to know about her magic, if she'll live forever, if she's bad for having killed one of the tree panthers... it's so strange to hear questions like that from somepony so smart."
"She's killed one of those things?"
"Yeah; and she feels terrible about it."
"Hello! You were not so worried about me, I hope?" Wysoka spoke, bringing the duo's attention to her as she walked up the little stairs of her home, her blue aura holding a little wooden crate and two sacks.
"Just a little worried," Shining explained, he and Flurry stepping aside to let Wysoka in, "What's all that stuff?"
"More foods. They wanted to give me more because your family is here,"
As Wysoka disappeared down the stairs to the cellar, Shining went back to Cadance's side while Flurry sat at the short table of the little room, taking one of the soft, blue fruits Wysoka had left out in her magic.
"She seems to be taking this well..." Cadance commented quietly, draping her wing back over Shining to pull him closer.
"I walked around with her for a while just talking, and if anything she only wants to know more. That, and the Nitzche helped quite a bit. She told a bunch of them her story while she was in the library and they all told her that they were her family," Finished Flurry as she took a bite of her fruit.
"Aww, that's so sweet of them. They really are a nice group of ponies."
"Yeah, they are. When I walked in a bunch of them hugged me and nuzzled me because, as Wysoka said; they're happy we were able to tell her of her past. And, poor Wysoka, she feels bad that she was too focused on Celestia in my memory and didn't remember much of what actually happened."
"You were there, what do you remember?" Shining inquired.
"I saw what Wysoka saw... it was really odd, I couldn't look around or move, or feel anything, but I remember you and some other guards were holding the door to whatever room we were in shut, and you; Mom, were talking to Princess Celestia, and you both weren't happy."
"I... I don't understand; why was Celestia there? And Luna, and Twilight?"
"Dunno, but we were certainly in Canterlot. We were in some room of the Castle, but I have no clue which one it was."
"Why would we be in Canterlot? That just doesn't make any sense to me..."
"What's even stranger is that whatever was trying to get in... it wasn't a monster or something; it was other ponies. I could hear other voices shouting, and angrily."
Cadance and Shining shared a look of despair, "Honey, you don't think..."
"Okay, food is nice and organized!" Interrupted Wysoka's voice as she came up the stairs, "Flurry's family, I want to say sorry for not keeping my promise," Wysoka sat at her desk, facing the trio, "I said I can find out what happened, but I only focused on Celestia and then Lunaz."
"Told ya." Flurry quickly commented through her mouthful of fruit.
"You're fine, Wysoka. When's the quickest you can look back and try to find out what happened? Flurry told us what she remembered, and I think our friends and family might need our help a lot more than I thought."
A gentle, orange glow began to flood over the seemingly endless ocean of canopy. The sun had just begun to peek over the far off mountain ranges, and from the little rocky platform Wysoka sat upon at the side of Nazomova's mountain face, she watched. The poniska family had gone to sleep a short while ago, and she wanted to give them all time to get comfortable and drift to a more peaceful state of mind. They had been quite stressed after mauling over the details of what little Flurry had seen in her memory, and a stressed state of mind wasn't good when trying to see into another's dreams and memories. Her own thoughts had been clouded by stress and fear, and even now, sitting upon her special plateau of rock that seamlessly melded with the huge, steep face of the mountain, she failed to totally calm herself.
Her methods of clearing thoughts and temporarily forgetting about the world failed her, a lonely feeling and lonely thoughts still managing to seep through walls she always thought to be impenetrable. She still couldn't decide if she was happy or sad to find out she didn't have a birth family like all those around her had. It had been a while's time since she had last truly cared about having a mother and father or not; she had distracted herself by helping her Nitzche friends build homes or cut down trees, but now that her house sheltered the poniska family, it was something she couldn't take her mind from in the slightest. While she sat at her desk either reading books written by other Nitzche friends, or clacking away at her type writer, her eyes couldn't help but peer behind her to the family. Seeing them smile, seeing them sleep together, eat together, talk together; it only reminded her that in her memories those warm feelings didn't exist. She went to her Nitzche friend's houses sometimes to have food and to talk, she would go to the Biblioteka, or 'Library' as little Flurry called it, to read books or to study her own work with some of her Nitzche friends, she would help gather fruit from the trees on the other side of Nazomova's mountain, she would be part of votes and attend the gatherings in Jaskinia where everyone would come to have lots of food and talk, but even with all of the fun things she did, that exact feeling never came.
"Szczęśliwy poranek, Wysoka."
(Happy mornings, Wysoka.)
Spoke a familiar male voice, Wysoka's head raising to see one of her Wsparcie friends approaching through the air, his eyes covered by his special goggles and his short, deep blue mane and tail barely moving in the gentle breeze of the mountain side.
A gentle 'clop' sounded through the perfectly silent morning's air as his hooves touched to the rocks near the plateau, the weapon slung at his side being taken by a faint aura of white magic, its sling coming up and over his head as the weapon came to rest on the stone.
"Szczęśliwy poranek, Pitaya."
(Happy mornings, Pitaya.)
Returned Wysoka with a gentle smile, watching as Pitaya sat to his haunches a short distance from her, facing the same direction as she to look out across Ciemny.
"Edelweiss mi i Morsemere o tym, jak teraz wiemy, co wydarzyło się w przeszłości. Chciałem się upewnić, że nie jesteś smutny."
(Edelweiss told me and Morsemere about how you now know what happened in your past. I wanted to come make sure you were not sad)
Wysoka smiled brightly, unfurling her huge, feathered wing to embrace the much smaller figure of Pitaya, his entire body almost being consumed by the black blanket.
"Dziękuję Ci. Jestem w porządku ... Potrzebuję czasu, aby mój umysł jest spokojny."
(Thank you. I am fine... I need time to let my mind calm.)
"Powiedział pan jesteś dobrze w przeszłości, i nie było w porządku. Chciałem się upewnić."
(You have said you are fine in the past, and not been fine. I wanted to make sure.)
"I będzie w porządku, po pewnym czasie."
(I will be fine, after some time.)
Silence came over the two, both Pitaya and Wysoka enjoying their embrace. Like many of her Nitzche friends, she had known Pitaya since he had been a young colt. Now knowing she would simply remain while those around her would disappear made her pull him closer, the fabric of his uniform and saddlebags being there instead of his fur.
"Jestem nieśmiertelny..."
(I am immortal...)
Wysoka said with an almost lamenting tone.
"Mówisz zdenerwowany... Czy to źle?"
(You sound upset... is that a bad thing?)
"Jeszcze nie wiem."
(I don't know yet.)
"Cieszę się, że można żyć wiecznie. Jesteś zbyt miły umrzeć."
(I'm glad you can live forever. You are too nice to die.)
After speaking, Pitaya leaned himself into Wysoka, his head resting on her side. Her breath caught in her chest, her heart seeming to skip a beat upon hearing Pitaya's words. Her A single tear made it's way down Wysoka's cheek as she looked to her Nitzche friend, who simply returned the gaze with a smile.
The sun now sat fully past the horizon, but those few still awake in the streets of Nazomova could barely tell. Wysoka shared a friendly smile with a young couple as she passed on her way back to her home, the duo wishing her a good day's sleep as they too continued on home. They both looked fairly worn out, especially the stallion; his dark blue coat was unbuttoned and his goggles were lazy draped around his neck. Those other few Nitzche she passed help the same tired stature in their posture; for most, it had been a busy night of working together to move a downed tree or collect more fruit from nearby plantations. She hoped there weren't any hard feelings towards her; normally when a tree was to be downed she would tag along and, with her much stronger magic, move it all on her own. Nitzche's magic wasn't too strong, so anything that involved moving something larger than a crate or cart meant more Nitzche had to help. For the huge trees of Ciemny, a good half of all of Nazomova would be needed to help.
Wysoka sighed as she looked at her home, a few little sleeping bats hung upside down on the edge of the roof. Upon walking down the short path to her home and gently pushing open the door with a hoof, Wysoka stepped inside, her magic quickly taking the door to close it with almost zero sound. The only light in the room came from a small flame still burning within the fireplace, a periodic pop punctuating the room like a timer counting down the fire's life. Walking to her desk, Wysoka opened the topmost drawer and retrieved a little block of cukier trawy, a wonderfully fragrant and relaxing incense made from a sweet-tasting grass that grew around Ciemny. Taken from the top of the desk was a square, wooden dish already topped with the ashen remains of a previous cukier trawy that, annoyingly, fell from the dish to the once pristine surface of the desk.
"Kurwa..." Wysoka mumbled under her breath, setting the dish and cukier trawy down and beginning towards the kitchen.
After taking a washcloth to the kitchen sink to dampen it, she stepped back to the desk and swiftly cleaned the little pile of ash, taking the cukier trawy and dish back to her magic and floating the cloth into the kitchen sink to be cleaned later as she began upstairs. Tucked into her large bed, comfortably and peacefully, was the poniska family, little Flurry's hooves sticking from beneath the blanket and hanging off her side of the bed while her parents faced each other, cuddled together in their embrace. Quietly, Wysoka stepped to little Flurry's side, laying to her stomach and placing the cukier trawy atop the little wooden dish, her magic causing the very top of the block to catch fire, and after letting it burn for a short moment, blew the tiny flame out to leave a glowing ember, a perfect column or relaxing smoke rising into the still air of the room. Taking a deep breath, letting the smoke flow into her nostrils, Wysoka's horn began to hold a black, wavering aura of magic, her head craning to touch the point of her spire-like horn to little Flurry's temple, and like it always had; things went gray.
Being in this purely metaphysical realm once more confirmed something Wysoka had felt the first time being within Flurry's thoughts; there was seemingly more power to them. Not only were they a little clearer than when she looked at her Nitzche friend's dreams, but there were many more than in her Nitzche friend's dreams. Why was little Flurry special? Why, when in her mind, could she see more memories from little Flurry being young and older? There was a second thing she had noticed; little Flurry seemed to have a light energy to her being. When in her own dreams, Wysoka had noticed that her mind and memories had an energy that was, for lack of a better term, dark; dark like the aura her horn held when going directly into another's mind. Her Nitzche friends weren't dark like her, or bright like little Flurry, they were a neutral sort of feeling, like there was balance. It was beginning to trouble Wysoka; what was so special and different about little Flurry? Were all poniska like this? Were her parents like this? Suddenly, an idea clicked into Wysoka's thoughts. When she would sleep, and explore the lands around Ciemny, there was always that neutral feeling like with her Nitzche friends, and when she got too far away to where she couldn't go further, the places beyond weren't dark or neutral, but bright. It was something she had never done before, but what if she could somehow bring little Flurry into that place with her, maybe her light was what would let her go further. Maybe that light was where the other poniska were, and because Flurry was a poniska, she could go there.
Wysoka's eyes opened back to the real world. Little Flurry was still sound asleep before her. It was now totally day-time, a little bit of natural light coming in through the open windows, and the incense had completely burnt away. As she looked around the room, her eyes fell to the still sleeping family, her mind working as she thought of a plan. Maybe little Flurry's parents were like her, and their beings were bright. Could she somehow bring all three of them with her? It was a crazy idea, and she was doubtful it would work at all; but what if she could use their brightness to find the other poniska? Cadance was so worried for her family, and Shining worried about his sister, so what if she could find their family while in that other place? If she could, she could find out if they were safe, and she could go into their dreams and tell them how to find Cadance and Shining and Flurry. But... how could she do that? She could only go into that place while being asleep, and if she could bring another into that place, she had no idea how.
What if she tried to go to her other place while inside little Flurry's dreams? That was something she had never done before... but thinking back, almost everything she had tried to do had succeeded, so... why wouldn't this? That was one thing that frightened her about her abilities; when she slept, there seemed to be no bounds. If she could think of it, it could happen. She spent countless hours simply seeing just what she could create, and thus far her only limiting factor was her imagination and her own hesitation to attempt anything radical. Wysoka shut her eyes, taking a deep breath as her magic began to work, her horn touching to Flurry's temple.
Once more, she entered little Flurry's conscious. Wysoka's magic worked within this realm, her mind focusing as she tried to do what she had never attempted; go to that place within another's mind. Suddenly, very much to her surprise, she was there. Her sight no longer saw the memories and thoughts of little Flurry; instead, she saw the trees above Nazomova, the mountains in the distance, and the permanently twilight sky shimmering with stars. She had done it; she had no idea how, or how it had been so easy, but she had done it. Her sight moved down towards Nazomova, the little dots of dreams of every sleeping creature in the town showing themselves to her like beacons. She had spent many hours within this place in her mind trying to learn more about it, trying to discover what secrets it may hold, or why it showed her the minds of every being around her, yet did not follow the same constraints as the real world. There was no time of day; the sky remained a wonderful deep purple and blue, and the unseen sun cast just enough light for things to be visible, but not enough to blot out the beauty of the night's stars. Her sight turned eastwards, as that was the one direction where that bright light had always come from. North held no light, neither did south or west; but for some reason, east was the place she could feel and see that light like a halo of existence, it felt the exact same as the little contrast she could feel from the Nitzche, and even the surrounding creatures in the forest, but it was so much brighter and wider. That had do be where Equestria was.
As her sight scrolled over the dim lands at a fairly hasty pace, Wysoka heard a young feminine voice speaking through her mind, it was a questioning voice, and a worried one, she asked what was happening, why she was moving, and why she couldn't control anything. It was little Flurry; her mind was awake in the world, and she could see what Wysoka saw.
'Calm, Flurry. This place will feel odd, but there is nothing to fear.'
Flurry's voice returned with questions as to what Wysoka was doing, and why she could see the world passing by as if they were on a quickly moving train.
'I am using our magic to find your Equestria, so I can find Celestia and Lunaz to tell them where you and your family are.'
Flurry remained quiet, seeming to be pleased by the answer. Now, something she hadn't quite anticipated, was being able to hear the thoughts going through little Flurry's mind. She spoke to no one, simply thinking and wondering about her situation and just how odd the entire sensation was. Wysoka let her ponder, not giving any input as she continued forward, the huge trees and winding valley mountain ranges seeming to continue forever. Occasionally she would see the dreams or the simple light of a creature, some being bats, some being Odziałpisk, and some being from various other beings she had never seen in the real world. Flurry's questions to herself continued, her mind wondering as to how she too could see the dreams of creatures.
'You see them, too?'
Flurry's voice came back with a yes followed by a question Wysoka couldn't quite answer; why did she choose her? Why not one of her parents? Wysoka stayed quiet, letting herself focus on the dim world and awesome sky as she pondered an answer.
'I was already within your dreams when I came to this place.'
Flurry inquired as to what she had discovered; if she had found out why there were angry ponies trying to get inside, and why she was with Twilight, Celestia and Luna. Her voice was worried as she now asked if she knew if they were alright.
'I do not know. I had this idea to use your mind to come to this place before I started to look for answers. I hope I can find your friends and family in this place and tell them everything. Maybe they can get you back home, and maybe I can find Lunaz. She had powers like me to be in this place, and if I find her, I can tell her.'
There was an echoing of thoughts as Flurry's mind processed what Wysoka had told her. Flurry then posed another question she would have a hard time answering; what if this doesn't work?
'Then I try harder.'
Her words in Flurry's voice echoed for a second as she thought on them. Flurry then thanked her, saying how she and her family owed her so much for the help she had so generously offered.
'Help others remember is what I do. I have helped my Nitzche friends remember lots of things, big and small. Some want me to remind them where they left their goggles or bag, and some want me to remind me of a loved friend who has gone away. If I will help my Nitzche friends, I will help you the same.'
Once more, and with a very warm feeling, Flurry thanked her. The lands had finally begun to change; the mountains were still quite the same, but the trees were no longer the huge, thick canopy type of Ciemny. They were smaller, more spread out and with thinner leaves; the forest floor faintly visible through the gaps in between trees. There were many little lakes and ponds dotting the now fairly flat lands, many of them most likely being formed by snow melting from the mountains during the summer. She remembered this place; this was always where she could never go past, but as the lands passed by, an incredible feeling of joy came to her mind. Nothing worked to stop her, the trees and mountains simply moved by at a steady but quick pace.
Though, she had now noticed something; the light she suspected to be Equestria and the other poniska was not there, it had been replaced by a dimmer, strange aurora. Suddenly, the land totally stopped; below and all around was water, like a huge, never ending lake. Her sight moved back to see the line of where the land met this huge lake disappearing into the distance. What was this lake, and why did it never seem to end? Now, in all directions, she could see nothing but water. But still; nothing stopped her, nothing hurt, and she had not woken up with blood leaking from her nose. It was working, Flurry's magic had somehow helped to push her further into this twilight land of dreams.
Wysoka was still taken aback at the sheer size of this body of water. Long ago, when she first woke up in that far away field, she had flown over many lakes; some seeming to be quite impressive at the time, but this one? If she had a breath, it would be taken. Flurry's questioning voice returned to ask where they were. Little Flurry was becoming quite good at asking questions Wysoka couldn't answer.
'We are over a lake... one I have neve seen.'
Flurry made a comment on how they weren't over a lake because it was too big, instead insisting that they were over an ocean. Ocean. Wysoka had never heard that word.
'What is an ocean?'
It was explained that it was simply a huge body of water that separated land masses, and upon explaining that, her thoughts ran with questions and speculations on where they were, specifically asking which direction Wysoka had gone.
'East.'
Little Flurry's thoughts once more worked, another set of words she had never heard before cropping up; Forgotten Sea. With a shocked tone to her thoughts, Flurry came to the conclusion that her mother had somehow teleported them to the other side of the planet, or somewhere close to that point.
'Your mother has very strong magic if she can do that. I can move myself, but I have to see the place I want to go.'
As the ocean scrolled past, Wysoka could finally begin to see land; it started as a simple sliver, but as she moved that sliver quickly turned to an entirely new land, one dotted with trees, grass, and tall mountains. It was so similar to the places around Nazomova, yet it was so different. As the ocean faded into the distance and the land took over, Wysoka could now see buildings and houses out in the open, but her sight couldn't see any dreams from whoever lived in these houses. She thought it was odd that these towns were simply open to the world; no trees to cover them from the sun, not even a wall around them to keep out Odziałpisk.
Then, in the distance, she could see more and more towns, all of them being larger than the little ones she had gone past. Through all of the sights within this place, one stood out like no other; a town that was built upon the tall plateau of a mountain, and built into the side of the tallest part of this mountain was an amazing building, one constructed from fine stone, it's tall features topped with wonderful spires and ornate domes.
'Is this Canterlot?'
Flurry's voice returned with a yes, her thoughts then turning to the fact that this magnificent building was where she and her family had been right before being teleported away, and her thoughts began to worry about Twilight, Celestia and Luna. Wysoka's thoughts could only rest on one thing; why could she not see the dreams of those alive in this place? It then occurred to her; in the real world, it was day, and the poniska like Flurry were awake now. Her sight began to wander to other places, looking around the landscapes of a place she now knew to be called Equestria. In the distance, her vision caught something strange; it was not a little glow like the ones given off by the dreams of a sleeping being, it was the opposite, a purely black halo. The longer her sight rested upon it, the bigger it seemed to be. It was coming from a small town tucked right at the beginning of a little forest, that little town eventually disappearing behind the black halo as it slowly expanded outward... or was it moving towards her? Flurry's thoughts began to question what this anomaly was, as had Wysoka's. She tried to move back from this strange blackness, but she found her vision locked in place, her sight not being able to move from the enclosing blackness. It now felt cold; though she had no body, she could feel its chill, it was a feeling that would have brought a knot to her stomach.
In an instant, the world changed from her view of this enclosing black to the moment she remembered from little Flurry's dreams; the bright room in the castle where she had been teleported. Standing away from the window, and facing directly at her, was Lunaz. Wysoka couldn't bring herself to divert her gaze to the frozen memory, the only thing moving in the paused plain of existence was Lunaz, her silent steps bringing her towards Wysoka.
"It simply isn't possible..." Lunaz spoke quietly, her steps pausing as she stared at the spot where Wysoka's vision rested.
"What isn't?"
Shock took Wysoka's thoughts. She had spoken. She couldn't speak in dreams. Why could she now?
"You... you aren't. How are you alive, and able to do what you do?"
"I don't know."
Lunaz shook her head, pacing closer to Wysoka.
"Why are you within my realm, Nightmare Moon?"
Wysoka felt that same fear she had felt the first time she had laid eyes on Lunaz.
"I am Wysoka, not Nightmare Moon. Little Flurry told me about my past, and that I was bad, but I'm good now. I'm helping her and her family."
Lunaz paused completely, her expression holding a scold of confusion.
"You're helping them how?"
"By finding you. Cadance and Shining Armor and little Flurry worry a lot about you and Celestia and Twilight, and they want to come back home, but I found you, so now you can help them."
The dream went black like it had in the past, the only thing in the void being the perfectly still figure of Lunaz, "Indeed I can... but what I must do may hurt you."
"That's okay, Lunaz. I want to be good."
Wysoka saw a look in Lunaz's expression she had never expected to see; a look of sadness. Lunaz disappeared in an instant, Wysoka's eyes beginning to flutter open, her vision only seeing a horribly bright light. Her eyes adjusted to this light, and she began to see the green walls and wooden rafters the room she was in and the blue day-time sky outside the window of the room. It was not her home.
"Luna, did it work?" Inquired a soft, angelic female voice, the voice causing Wysoka to divert her gaze to the right.
Her eyes met with the wonderfully pink eyes of a large, concerned looking white mare, her spiraling horn long like hers, and her long, pink, blue and green mane flowing gently from her figure. It was Celestia. Wysoka's groggy mind raced as she tried to figure out exactly what was going on.
"Luna?"
Wysoka continued staring at Celestia, her head raising from the bed she lay in, her head swimming and entire body feeling light-weight and floaty.
"Princess... I don't think that's Luna. I think she did it." Came a second voice, Wysoka peering to meet the one she now knew to be Twilight.
"It's you. You're Nightmare Moon." Celestia spoke with a low tone, her head craning closer to Wysoka.
"Wysoka..." She returned, her eyes widening and heart now pounding in her chest; the voice she heard had not been her own, it wasn't as deep, it sounded a lot younger than hers.
Her floaty hoof came from beneath the warm sheets tucking her in, and the sight of the limb caused her heart to pound faster. Her fur was not a pure black, but a midnight blue, and her hoof was adorned with a strange, blued-metallic shoe. It looked exactly like Lunaz's hoof.
"Wysoka... that's what you call yourself?" Celestia inquired intently, her expression holding a look of wonder.
"Nitzche called me Wysoka, and so does little Flurry and her family."
Celestia and Twilight shared a look of wonder, a smile working its way onto both of their expressions.
"Thank you for keeping them safe," Celestia spoke as she turned back around, looking down as Wysoka slowly raised her hoof to gently touch the side of her face.
"Celestia... I am sorry for being bad. I am good now."
Her smile faded to a look exactly like the look on Lunaz's face moments ago, "You are good now... Wysoka."
Wysoka had no time to speak before her vision went black, the feeling of her body fading away as her thoughts quieted themselves. Things stayed black. Black like when she had fought with that white ponsika. Feeling began to return, her body burning with a pain like when she had first woken up in the far away field. Slowly, her eyes opened, her gaze meeting with the worried eyes of many of her Nitzche friends. A horrible metallic taste began to fill her mouth, her head throbbing and the base of her horn stinging as if she had been hit in the head. Her head slowly began rising from the floor of her home, her eyes darting around to see she was in her upstairs room, lots and lots of her friends being in the room, looking at her with worry. She groaned loudly, placing her head back to the floor. She had tried to go past that place in her mind again. Her friends would be annoyed that she scared them again by trying to go past that place.
"Wiem ... Próbowałem zrobić to ponownie, a ja powiedziałem, że nie."
(I know... I tried to do it again, and I said I wouldn't.)
She finally spoke, shutting her eyes as she coughed, a few drops of blood leaving her lips and landing to the wooden floor.
"Wysoka, dobrze się czujesz? Spałeś tak długo, a rodzina poniska nie ma!"
(Wysoka, are you okay? You've been asleep for so long, and the poniska family is gone!)
Cried the worried voice of her friend Edelweiss, Wysoka opening her eyes to see her, Morsemere, Pitaya, Speck, Mennika, and many others looking to her.
"Poniska rodzina? O czym mówisz?"
(Poniska family? What are you talking about?)
"Flurry, Cadance i Shining! Przybyli tu kilka dni temu, a oni powiedzieli ci swoją przeszłość, pamiętasz?"
(Flurry, Cadance, and Shining! They came here a few days ago, and they told you your past, remember?)
Wysoka's heart pounded. Someone had told her of her past? Who were the other ponsika that Edelwiess mentioned? Why were they gone? Why couldn't she remember?
"Nie, nie pamiętam ... Ja ... Ja nie pamiętam. Kto powiedział mi moją przeszłość? Co to jest? Czy oni wam też?"
(No, no I don't remember... I... I don't remember. Who told me my past? What is it? Did they tell you, too?)
Edelwiess looked sad, "Powiedziałeś nam, co to było ... ale tylko powiedział nam kilka rzeczy, jak to, że nie mam rodziny."
(You told us what it was... but you only told us a few things, like that you don't have a family.)
Wysoka felt a horrid feeling wash over her, her mind reeling as it tried to process what Edelwiess was telling her.
"N-Nie mam rodzinę?"
(I-I don't have a family?)
She choked, tears of both emotional pain and physical pain now welling up in her eyes as she sat up, looking over all of her worried friends.
Suddenly, Edelwiess, Morsemere, Pitaya, Speck, Mennika, and a few others who sat close by all moved to lovingly nuzzle Wysoka, her breath catching and eyes going wide from their embrace.
"Jesteśmy linia krwi, Wysoka."
(We are family, Wysoka.)