//------------------------------// // Point of the Rose: North // Story: Points of the Rose // by Shirlendra //------------------------------// She awoke screaming. Hooves restrained her as she fought against invisible attackers, A voice close by spoke softly and calm washed over her. There was softness beneath her and she could feel a gentle but firm weight above her. The voice spoke, and told her of how she came to this place. It told her that her sight would adjust in time, allowing her to see the wonders of their world. The mare relaxed as the voice spoke in it's calm authoritative tones. She felt the words wash over her tension eased from her frame and after a time, fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. She awoke slowly. Her eyes opened, soft lights bloomed overhead and she again shut them. A voice, unlike the first was near her, It spoke in slow but demanding tones, she understood but could do naught but shake or nod her head to the questions. After a time the voice departed, and the mare once again opened her eyes. She lay, in a bare white room on a bed which was far more utilitarian than comfortable. The light above, while still somewhat painful allowed her to make out the bare walls and large mirror set into the walls on one side of the room. For a time the mare sat in the bed, merely staring at the walls. Finally, feeling as if she had the strength to move, she pulled off the heavy blanket and clumsily, like a foal, finally stood. At first she marveled at how far the floor was from her position, much higher than the edge of the bed. She took a tentative step, nearly falling she threw out a steadying hoof on the nightstand. She righted herself and began the slow walk to the mirror, her steps clumsy but gaining strength. At the mirror she simply stood, and looked at her reflection. Taking in the length of her legs, the long unkempt mane and tail a brilliant gold, her coat the color of the midday sun, her eyes a deep ruby and finally, the short horn which stuck up from her forehead, and the wings, bound to her sides with a length of cloth. It was some time, as the mare stood and looked at her visage before someone came to intrude on her solitude. The door opened and a unicorn stallion in a white labcoat stood in the doorway a clipboard held in his magic, and behind him a small number of armored ponies, who followed the stallion into the room. The ponies in their hardened cloth uniforms set up a small table, and a pair of chairs. The mare bristled at the intrusion into her personal sanctum but the stallion spoke a few kind words and offered her a seat at the small table. The mare, having no recourse but to take him up on his offer did so. The pair sat, and the stallion spoke, the mare after a few failed attempts at verbal communication decided instead to continue with the nods or shakes of her head. Time passed slowly in the little room, which the mare learned was part of a larger complex. She learned a little of who she was and where she had come from, and the stallion provided all the information she needed. After a time, the stallion announced that the mare looked tired and she should rest that their conversation would continue the next day. And so it did, for days and weeks on end. The mare found her voice, a harsh grinding sound which filled the space and made those who heard it, quiver. But the stallion was always there, always willing to help her. During the conversations the mare learned of her magic. The stallion brought games for her to practice it on and so she practiced. Her magic was clumsy, and no matter how much she practiced, it seemed all she could do was move heavier and heavier objects. Finally ending with the bed before the stallion concluded her magic was fit less for fine tasks and more for brute strength. It was some time until the cloth came off and she was allowed to test her wings. Shortly after the cloth came off she was allowed to leave the room, the first time she ever had. She saw more of the armored ponies, taking note of the color of their dark uniforms, a silver 42, on each collar and short blades hidden beneath long jackets. She was led to a large hall where a pegasus mare waited, the pegasus wore a simple grey uniform and explained that she would be teaching her to fly. Flying, the mare had tried to in her small room with little success. Even a few beats of her mighty wings only served to blow over the small chairs where she and the stallion had daily conversations. The pegasus taught her of flight, of how to rise and dive, to evade and after a time attempted to show her how to invoke the ability to gather water from the air to produce clouds. The mare's efforts with clouds were lackluster at best, but her strong wings allowed her to fly fast and true. to move with purpose. Weeks passed in a similar fashion, and the mare met more and more ponies. Those to teach her about history, the world and where she fit within it. There were ponies to teach her of the sciences, mathematics, spoken and written words, diplomacy, and finally of how to protect herself and others. It was in this way that the mare grew and learned, she had heard some of her mentors mention a name. Something she had not yet acquired, and one day as she sat through another boring lesson on law she asked quite unexpectedly what she should be called. The instructor, an aged and round stallion with a portent for rambling sputtered profusely and excused himself from the room. As it was the mare sat and pondered the meaning of the question, until finally the stallion who she had first met entered and took a seat next to her. Finally, she spoke but a single word. "North". And the stallion nodded, and so it was her name became North. For it was in one of their earliest conversations that the stallion had explained that she was found west of Equestria, north of the Zihara which was explained to her as a ocean of sand, deep in the griffon territories. The name stuck, and after weeks of training and learning it was announced the she was being moved. She packed her few meager things, each a small token from her instructors and loaded them into her personal saddlebags. She was given heavy winter gear and after donning it she was lead from her room, past ponies packing the last of the supplies and gear into crates and finally to a large staircase. She walked up the staircase, leaving the underground section of the complex and into the biting cold. She marveled at the sky, the clouds above swirled and snowflakes danced lazily on the wind, but what caught her attention the most was the cruiser sized airship floating above the complex. It was a beautiful ship, painted in whites and golds with a wide hull and ships prow read "Brightwood", it spoke in silent words of the power contained within. Off in the distance she spotted two smaller ships, they appeared to be patrolling the mouth of the hidden valley where the complex sat. She was escorted to a small elevator hoisted between two ropes from the deck of the Brightwood. As she was brought up to the deck she again looked down, at the small complex which she had learned and grew in, and felt a pang of sadness at the thought of leaving it behind. In the following few days she was introduced to the captain, the deck hands and others aboard the ship. Along with the contingent of dark uniformed ponies who she had first seen many months previously. She learned they were called "The 42'nd Lunar Legion" and it was a group under their banner who had first found her in the complex. The trip took them down out of the deep mountains and into smaller foot hills before depositing them over a large ocean of sand, stretching away as far as the eye could see. She learned that the ship was on a course to Canterlot, seat of power in Equestria and that it was there that she would complete her training. When she asked the captain why they had to travel so far he made a pointed cough and ignored the question. It was during one of her long walks around the deck, that she learned of the existence of The Fallen Sun. A pony, angry that his brother had become enslaved by the group was talking a little too eagerly with a fellow deckhand when she overheard. She had stopped behind a few crates to look out at the glittering sand but remained to listen to the ponies tale. He told the other of how his brother had been taken on a supply run along with his only possessions, a worn cart and the clothes on his back. She listened to the tale and the horrors that the pony thought The Fallen Sun must be inflicting on his brother, before stepping out from behind the boxes. She asked calmly what could be done to help. The deckhand telling the story, to his credit, only smacked into one crate while attempting to escape. The other deckhand attempted to flee in the same manner was stopped by a word from the mare. She asked this trembling pony what could be done and the pony could only sputter out a few words about not talking to "The Alicorn" before she sighed and released him. Determined to know what the pony had meant she went to her friend, the stallion in the labcoat. He at first deflected the questions but finally relented after continued persistent questions. He told her the story as he knew it. That the group was some type of ancient cult, determined to remove a race of ponies known as "Selenicans" from the world. Supposedly they had originally come from the moon, and had once lived along the Zihara. The Zihara was the area they now traveled over but what was once a beautiful ocean known as "The Silver Sea". It was unclear exactly what happened, but at some point a great catastrophe destroyed the Selenicans and the ocean where they made their home. This left the Zihara as the only remnant of the Selenicans passing. She then asked about The Fallen Sun and why they would of enslaved one of the deckhands brothers, it was at that when the stallion grew quiet and told her he could answer no further questions. Despite her pleas he refused, leaving her in her cabin to think over the story and what it meant. She decided she didn't like The Fallen Sun much and decided she wouldn't allow anyone else to be taken by them. It was only a day later when the ground turned from the endless dunes to fields of short and tall grasses. It was then when the captain announced they were over Equestria. The ship passed over fields of flowers and lakes so still they looked like little mirrors dotting the landscape. Finally they began to see small towns, where other ponies worked and played in the sunshine. During the night some of the towns were brightly lit, and a few had decorations. When she asked about these the stallion in the labcoat only replied that they were harvest festivals. Finally, in the distance. A small mountain range jutted up from the fertile valleys beneath them, and upon the tallest mountainside sat a city. It was a beautiful city with jutting spires and a massive castle overlooking it all. She breathed the word as soon as she could see it with some detail, "Canterlot". It took no time at all for the ship to reach the city, but before they reached it the stallion in the labcoat asked her to meet with him. When she did he produced a large, finely made cloak of white and grey and requested she wear it. When she asked why he only said that her presence may cause ponies undue stress. When she pushed him on the issue he reiterated the point and allowed her to don the cape. She had already previously secured her saddlebags with her few treasures and that made the cloak a little bulky upon her already large frame. The Brightwood arrived at Canterlots docks with little fanfare, to those working the docks it was simply another ship with more cargo. To her it had been a constant source of learning and wonder. When she departed the ship she was escorted by a retinue of four other cloaked ponies, all wearing the same garment as her. Despite her height advantage over the other ponies they all managed to project an air of confidence of their charge. At the end of the ramp was a cart, the door already open and a pony in a suit waiting. Two of the cloaked ponies joined her in the cabin, while the other two took up positions in the coach and rear of the cart. The stallion in the labcoat followed them in and closed the door. Despite the cramped conditions and drawn curtains the cart ride was pleasantly short. The cart deposited them in an underground garage beneath the castle, where the cloaked ponies once again took up retaining positions and the stallion in the labcoat stood just to her right. After a moment another suited pony opened a door set into the far wall and beckoned them all inside. The group moved with purpose to the door and followed the suited pony through the ancient but well maintained castle. They saw no others on the way to a private wing, where she was given her own room. After a quick glance inside she concluded it was slightly roomier than her cabin on the Brightwood. The cloaked ponies had dispersed by this point and she was left with only the stallion in the labcoat, who said simply that these were her quarters. She was allowed to roam in this specific wing of the castle but was not to go anywhere else for the time being. She agreed to these terms and decided it might be best to take a nap. She removed her cloak, hanging it on a peg at the door before stripping off her saddle bags and placing her few mementos on a provided writing desk. Finally, she closed her eyes and slept. A light sleep, where images and fragments invaded her mind. Images of swords, and ponies and half remembered terrors from the histories she had been taught. She sorted through the dream, and organized the pieces as best she could. But the chaos of it eluded her and the more she struggled to sort it the more it came apart. She awoke sometime early in the morning, the blankets on her bed wrapped tightly around her midsection. She was able to quickly untangle herself and took stock of the room once again. Bookshelf, writing desk, bed with stacked pillows, a closet and small bathroom, everything she assumed to have a comfortable existence. She stood and gathered a robe and slippers from her closet before heading out to find some breakfast. She toured the wing of the castle and nodded to the golden armored ponies who watched over the wing, having picked up the habit from her flight instructor, they always saluted back. She noted on her travels that there were four rooms almost identical to hers and along with the guardposts at either end of the wing, a number of patrols. After coming across a living area, a lecture hall, a set of showers, a small barracks with sleeping guardsponies inside, a library and a tower with a locked door, she finally located the small dining hall. It was laid out with three long tables taking up most of the central floor and one shorter table at the head of the room. A kitchen was situated on the right side, hidden by a solid wall and only a small window and pair of doors to mark it's presence. She walked to the kitchen and knocked the door open with a hoof. A cook kneading bread looked up in shock, but she simply smiled and asked where she might find some food. The cook, taken aback at the suggestion that she feed herself quickly shooed her out with the promise that she would have food fit for royalty in just a few minutes. And so with that, she sat at one of the long tables and played idly with her hooves until the cook brought out a steaming bowl of something hot before performing an all to low bow, before scuttling back to the kitchen. She watched the mare go before taking a look down at the thick soup, she decided the easiest way to drink it would be with her hooves. So she lifted the bowl to her lips with her hooves and with little ceremony drained the bowl in three long sips. She spied the cook over the edge of the bowl, who was at that moment watching her overtly from the small window. The cook quickly ducked back out of sight, to prepare additional soup she supposed. She snorted slightly in mirth and went over to let the cook know the food was delicious and she would be back later. The cook to her credit appeared relieved, nodded enthusiastically and informed her that she was always welcome in the kitchens. With that, She continued her journey across the sleeping wing of the castle. Her ears caught the sound of wood on wood and steel upon steel. She searched about for the sound and located the source of the noise in a smaller room just off the guards barracks. A small circle of combatants had formed in the room, guardsponies wearing padded gear and sparing with various blunted weapons. The group stopped immediately when they saw her but she simply waved a hoof for them to continue and after a few minutes of tentative sparring, the combatants again relaxed and began in earnest. She continued to watch for a time, before requesting a turn. The guardsponies looked taken aback but their captain agreed and allowed her to select a wooden weapon and the largest sparring gear they had. The rest of the morning quickly dissolved into the rest of the day as she sparred with each of the guardsponies in turn. Her very basic defensive training just barely standing up to the simple jabs and swipes of the guardsponies. Finally the captain stepped in and began running through the basics with her, and although her coordination could use some work she made up for it in spirit. By the time she was finished the guard shift had already rotated and only the captain had stayed to continue her training. It was there, long after sunset the stallion in the labcoat found her. Now wearing a more suitable set of clothing for the environment, with a cardigan and shirt with tie under the labcoat. North thought he looked a bit silly, but kept that to herself as he berated the captain for letting her train with the guard. She stepped in after a few moments however and explained that it had been her idea from the start. This seemed to pacify the stallion in the labcoat and they began to walk out together. She remembered at that time that she still wore the sparring gear and made a move to remove it, but the captain stopped her with a wave of the hoof and explained she was welcome to keep it. This clearly drew the ire from the stallion in the labcoat but he did not continue his tirade. The pair then continued on to the dining hall, which was now full of ponies in various garbs in the process of eating and chatting. She saw maids, guards, ponies in suits and others which she couldn't begin to imagine what they did. The stallion in the labcoat led her over to the short table at the head of the hall and pulled out a chair. She stared at it for a moment and then asked him if he intended she sit there. When he agreed she shrugged and sat at it, still wearing her oversized sparring gear. A cook came from the kitchen with several large salad bowls teetered precariously on his back. He took his time setting the large bowls in front of her, making sure they were just right. When she asked the stallion in the labcoat why she received larger portions of food than the others he explained it was necessary for her due to her increased size. She listened intently but only ate a portion which appeared consistent with the others in the hall. She brushed off the stallion in the labcoat when he argued against her bringing her own bowls back, and did so anyway. It was however lost on her that all eyes in the hall were on her when she did so. She set her bowls on the kitchen's small window and with a thanks to the cook she quickly retired to her room for the night. When she got to her room she stripped off the sparring gear, hanging it on an armor rack that hadn't previously been in the room. She noted with pride how even just the simple garment looked on the rack and wondered for the first time what her own set of armor might look like. Finally, she took a quick shower to scrub the sweat from her coat before deciding to retire. The room was quiet and mild so she simply lay beneath the loose sheet and stared at the ceiling, until sleep finally claimed her. The next morning she felt refreshed and as she gathered her sparring gear she noticed with some surprise that it had been cleaned. She quickly donned her gear and headed out to the kitchen to get a quick bite to eat. As she passed the library she spotted something strange from the corner of her eye, she stopped and backtracked. As she looked into the library she noticed a wall of pillows that had been erected overnight, it's height cast a shadow stretching the length of the room. As she stepped inside she could hear someone humming, as she neared the pillows she could tell the sound was coming from someone sitting behind it. As she peaked around the corner of the pillows she came face to face with another mare, who promptly squeaked in panic and fainted. She was taken aback by the reaction but came fully around the wall of pillows and studied the mare beneath her. The mare lay under a soft blanket but if she had to guess, the mare was, give or take a few hooves, the same height as herself. The mares mane was a short cropped pale blue and a horn longer than hers peaked out from under it. The mares coat similarly was of a soft pink, nearly white in the darkness of the library. The mares face was serene, a picture of calm despite the fainting episode. A pair of golden glasses graced the mares face, the wire rims knocked askew. She sat on her hooves and attempted to rouse the startled mare and gently prodded her with a hoof. The mare stirred and blinked, her eyes a deep emerald. She asked the mare as gently as she could if she needed anything after her episode. The mare, unaccustomed to her rough voice flinched slightly and shook her head. She prodded a little more, as she asked pointedly what she was doing in the library. The mare looked down at a book, previously hidden by the blanket and readjusted her glasses before telling her that she wished to be left alone. The mares voice, soft and sweet like fields of golden wheat on a midsummer's afternoon wrapped it's way around her ears. She nodded again, and turned to leave when the mare stuck out a hoof, halting her. She turned back but the mare was transfixed, her eyes darted back and forth between her horn and wings. The mare questioned her, asking if she had always had both the horn and wings. She affirmed this and the mare suddenly far more interested in her than her own book, stood. The blanket slid from her form to reveal that she too, had wings albeit quite a bit smaller than her own oversized assets. She, for her part gaped for only a moment before she snapped her jaw shut. The mare walked to her right, and gingerly avoided her open book and a cup of something steaming which she had previously failed to notice. The mare examined her from the side and then smiled and asked what her name was. She, requested the same in turn and the pair came to a silent agreement. "North." She said. "South." Said the mare. North stared at the mare for a moment, her ruby eyes never wavering. South stared back, her emerald eyes becoming misty behind the askew wire rims. North made the first move and embraced South, her padded gear made the closeness awkward. South made a hiccuping sound and embraced her back as tears sprung to her eyes. The two held each other for a time and North felt large wet droplets on the back of her neck, as South was wracked with silent sobs. After an eternity in embrace, South quieted and North gently released her. South mumbled softly, a few words of thanks to the mare for the comfort. North only smiled in response and pulled the slender mare into another tight but brief hug. South made a soft sound but accepted the kind gesture before pulling away once again. North gestured to the door and asked South if she might accompany her to breakfast. South agreed and pushed her glasses back into place before following the retreating North to the door. North stopped at the door and opened it, allowing South to leave first. North surveyed the library for a moment, savoring the feeling of warmth and comfort she had just experienced and shared a small secret smile with herself as she closed the door. E.P1.