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// Bk4/Ch1 Eden's Kiss 
// Story: Love's Lost Decade 
// by Priceless911 
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Book 4/Chapter 1
Eden’s Kiss
Year 01, Month 07, Day 04
Vast hills Covered in green grass littered the horizon as Zeil made his way through one of the most beautiful landscaped he had ever seen. As he trotted along side a stone fence, Zeil paused when he noticed some rare herbs growing against it as he started collecting some for his potions. However as he did, he noticed that a few of the plants were cut with a knife which meant that this herb, that wasn’t used in food, was partially collected by another. Curious as to who collected these same herbs Zeil continued gathering what he needed while leaving one plant untouched so that it could reproduce. Knowing that he had enough, Zeil placed the ingredients in his bag and continued on the trail, however after a few steps, Zeil started to feel an intense headache as the pain caused him to stop traveling as he leaned against the wall gripping his head in pain. 
As the headache pulsated in his mind, Zeil started to see vision of the ruins of an ancient city that rested within the pit of a dormant volcano. Then the visions changed to a large dome shaped room that resembled a crypt only in the middle of the room wasn’t a casket, it was a chest Centered between six pillars, each with a glowing gem imbedded in the side. As the clear view of the old worn chest remained the focus of his vision, the lock on the chest popped open as black sand began seeping from the chest like an overflowing cup. As the sand piled up on the ground around the chest Zeil continued watching the black grains, till they sprang to life and shot into his direction as his vision ended leaving Zeil to realize that he was laying against the bottom of the stone fence on the trial.
Confused of what he had just gone through, Zeil sat up as he rubbed his head, “What?... what was that? A vision?... or… something else?”
As he thought about what he saw, something else caught his attention as he could hear the sound of a music over the top of the hill. Curious, Zeil disregarded the vision as he made his way up the hill twords its peak. As he reached the summit of the steep hill, Zeil looked in the distance and could see where the music was resonating from. From his position, the cloaked changeling could see a small village in the distance that seemed to be built up the side of one of the tallest hills. As he looked at the small village, Zeil smiled as he mumbled, “Well whatever that vision was, it can wait. I need some supplies, and the money to buy them… maybe I can sell a few of my remedies to the local doctor.”
With that, Zeil started trotting down the hill and towards the village. After arriving at the small hillside settlement, Zeil was amazed at the sizes of the houses. Though they were in few, the houses had an abnormally large door, even for the residents which according to the aura Zeil could sense, were horses.
With none of the villagers out in the road, Zeil decided to check where the music was coming from as the bagpipe music echoed from a pub in the center of the village where most of the village’s aura was gathered. As Zeil approached the large bat swing doors that were at eye level to him, the curious changeling could hear a loud commotion inside as the residents of the small settlement played music and drank their stress away. With no hesitation, Zeil entered the pub as the loud commotion of the noisy horses ceased as soon as they laid eyes on their visitor. Equally shocked, Zeil stood just inside the doors of the pub as he looked at the unexpected residents of the hillside town. The creatures were horses as Zeil’s changeling instinct confirmed, but what his senses wouldn’t tell him was that they were all shire horses, the largest and strongest breed as the entire pub stood at least two to three feet taller than their zebra disguised visitor.
Realizing he was staring, Zeil cleared his throat and put the hood of his cloak down as he made his way through then now quiet and curious herd towards the bar. As he trotted, Zeil could hear the residents whisper amongst themselves, “Eh?… what’s up with ‘em?” “I dono… he’s a wee lad ain’t he?” “And what’s with that getup? Did he wakeup from a nap or some’n? What’s with the dark night gown and stripe pajamas?” “Look at em’ he’s smaller then me sheepdog and practically the same color too.” “Ya think he’s lost? Wee lad like that is far from his mama’s dinner table.”
As the whispers continued, Zeil paid no attention to what was said. Despite how uncomfortable the comments were, he could only sense curiosity and no hostility from the herd as the whispers slowly subsided and the surrounding shire horses went back to their merriment. Relived that his presence was slowly being forgotten, Zeil approached the bar as he climbed onto one of the tall stools so he could look over the counter in front of him. As he looked over the bar at the bartender the shire smiled sarcastically as he spoke, “Ya seem a bit far from home wee laddie? Ya old enough to be in here? You barely look of age for anythin’ I’m servin’.”
Zeil replied with an unentertained tone, “I’m older then I look… do you happen to know if there is a doctor in this village?”
The bartender seemed concerned, “A doc?”
Zeil explained, “I’m not hurt or anything, I’m an enchanter with a number of remedies to sell.”
The bartender gave Zeil a suspicious look as he replied, “Closest thing we have to a doc is the clan druid. Ya can find him on the northern side of the hill, only home there so ya cannot miss it… but I should warn ya laddie, he ain’t the uh… normal type if ya get my meanin’. He may seem a wee bit strange, but he’s as reliable as they come… in small doses.”
Zeil gave the bartender a confused look, “Not normal? What do you mean?”
Another patron slammed his mug on the other end of the bar as he yelled, “Another ale! Hurry your plot McNess!”
He bartender turned away as he replied, “You’ll see for yourself laddie. Just mention you’re an enchanter and he’ll welcome ya kindly. Oh… and if you’re curious of his name… its Cunningham.”
As the bartender turned to help his other customers, Zeil could only wonder about the strange tone the bartender gave him as he turned towards the exit and started making his way towards it. Zeil crossed the rowdy pub and putting his hood up as another large stallion in the room stepped into his path and spoke with a slurred tone, “Aye there wee laddie… y-ya seem a might tiny to be roaming round in a town like this. Say… since I’m a lad of good uh… generosity… s’pose I’ll make a deal with ya. If ya spot me a drink, then I'll be obliged to look after ya. Y’see with a big tough stallion like me protectin’ ya. I do not think Nopony will be messin’ with ya. So… wha-do-ya say laddie?”
With no concern in the rambling of a drunk stallion, Zeil trotted passed him as he replied, “I’ll pass…”
Annoyed that he was ignored, the stallion turned around and started speaking in anger, “Ack! Ya think you can just push me aside like some tat? Who do ya think yo-”
Hearing him, Zeil paused as he turned around and glared at the large stallion, “What was that?...”
The large drunk stallion stood with a nervous stare as Zeil’s bone chilling glance made him too worried to respond. As soon as he saw the nervous expression on the large shire’s face, Zeil realized what he said as he decided to ignore the stallion and left the pub with nothing more to say to him. Outside Zeil mumbled, “Why… did I say that?... strange, if I didn’t know any better I would think I was trying to start a fight. I should probably watch my temper a little closer.”
A few minutes later, Zeil made his way onto the other side of the large hill as the shadow of the setting sun casted over the lone house that was there. As Zeil approached the house, he notice a stallion outside wearing old rage as the large shire was tilling the soil for crops. Seeing the only horse in the area, Zeil approached him as he spoke, “Um… Excuse me? Are you the doctor… or uh… druid, Cunningham?”
The large stallion stopped tilling the soil as he turned towards Zeil and gave him a careless look. As soon as Zeil got a good look of the stallion he started to think that the bartender was right about him being abnormal. The old stallion was about the same height as the rest of the shire, but this one seems much skinnier. The torn and worn rags he wore were thin, but were in multiple layers so the holes in the outer layers didn’t reveal his jet black coat underneath. Around his neck, he wore a necklace from small animal bones with the largest of them being an eagle’s skull that rested in the center of the necklace against his chest. And if that didn’t make him strange enough, Zeil couldn’t help but feel a separate aura resonating from this stallion. He was a shire horse like he looked, but it seemed as if there was something more to him then what met the eye, something that felt uneasy.
As the old stallion looked back at Zeil with no expression, he spoke, “Cunningham eh?... who’s askin’? If you’re in need of a doc lad, I can’t help ya. Aside from potion remedies, I can’t cure no ailments.”
Zeil shook his head, “Actually… I’m here to sell some remedies. I’m an enchanter, and… well I’m a little low on money, so I was wondering if you would be interested in buying a few of my cures or ingredients. I’ve been gathering quite a bit in my travels.”
The old stallion gave Zeil a curious look as he thought to himself before replying, “An enchanter ya say? Hmm… What is the most powerful potion ya got laddie?”
Zeil thought to himself before replying, “Hmm… well… I have a growth potion for plants, but I don’t-
“Show me…”
Confused by the stallion’s interruption, Zeil nodded as he put his cloak’s hood down before reaching into his saddlebag and pulling out a small vial with a murky brown potion inside. As Cunningham took the vial, he took one look at the potion and shook his head, “Bahh, it’s a dud… poor quality at best.”
Zeil was confused, “W-what?”
Cunningham pointed at the flask, “Well look at it… it’s far too thick for its own good. Ya used too much oaken sap. Ya could a used half as much and still have the same result as b’for. Poor craftsmanship is what it is, not befittin’ of any good enchanter at all.”
Feeling a little insulted, Zeil replied, “And… you can do better?”
The old shire chuckled at the statement, “Better? Lad, this is foals play to what I can do. This way laddie.”
With that, Cunningham tossed the potion back to its owner as he waited for Zeil to catch it before turning to his home and trotting toward it. As the two reached the door of the home, Cunningham opened the door as he called, “Offspring! Where are ya lad?”
Zeil gave him a confused look, “You call your foal Offspring?”
Cunningham gave him a strange look, “Foal?”
At that moment, a large black raven flew out of the corner of the room as it landed on the shire’s shoulder and squawked loudly. As soon as the raven landed, Cunningham smiled, “Ah, there ya are lad. Go fetch my growth potion, I want to prove a point to this wee wannabe enchanter.”
As the raven flew off, Zeil spoke, “You call your crow offspring?”
Cunningham shook his head, “Nah lad, I call my raven offspring… learn your birds laddie, raven feathers are much more potent then crow feathers in potions.”
As the two waited for Offspring to return with the potion, Zeil looked around the room. The room seemed similar to Zecora’s house with a large cauldron and plenty of bookshelves each with an abundant amount of potions, ingredients, and potion brewing books. Though none were more prominently displayed then a poison joke that was incased in a glass covered vase. As Zeil looked around the raven returned as the bird dropped a small vial into Cunningham’s hoof as he looked at the potion and handed it to Zeil, “There ya are laddie… look at the difference between this and your potion… it’s as plain as day ain’t it?”
With no intention of hearing a reply, Cunningham with the raven on his shoulder, trotted back outside as Zeil looked at both his and Cunningham’s potions together as he immediately spotted the differences between the two. His potion seemed thick closer to mud while the Cunningham’s was thinner and more transparent. Also while his potion seemed more potent, he could see remnants of other ingredients in the mix, while Cunningham’s had no appearance of the other ingredients at all as if it were a simple colored water then a potion. Seeing this, Zeil quickly caught up with Cunningham as he spoke, “Are you sure this even works? Is this even a potion at al-”
Before he could finish Offspring flew in out of nowhere as the clever bird snatched Cunningham’s potion from Zeil’s hoof as it flew over Cunningham’s head and dropped it so that its owner could catch it. After catching the potion Cunningham smiled, “Works? Laddie I’m the best druid the Highlands have to offer, course it works.”
That said, Cunningham tossed the vial over his shoulder as the small glass flask hit a large rock and shattered against it leaving the brown potion scattered across the stone’s surface. Shortly after hitting the stone, the wet part of the rock started quickly growing moss as the grass surrounding the stone also started to grow as the potion’s reaction caused the grass surrounding the stone to grow till it was knee high before stopping. As soon as the grass stopped growing, Zeil stared at the reaction in surprise as Cunningham smiled, “A potion can be like a heart laddie, anypony can act in a way to change things around em’… but it’s up to the quality of their actions that decided whether it be good or bad. That potion ya made… ya teacher did not teach it to ya at all. Fact, ya learned that one from a book… right?”
Zeil remembered the book he learned the spell from in the Castle of the Alicorn Sisters as he nodded, “I did… but… how did you-”
Cunningham smiled, “Lad, every higher leveled potion and spell book written by a true enchanter was written slightly wrong. Potion brewin’ is an art form, only the most skilled can take one look at a recipe and see how it can be improved. Sure the spell will work in a sense, but it’s the quality that matters lad, not the effect. If ya truly want to learn good magic you should stick to potions your teacher teaches ya. Matter a’fact, do ya not have any of those on ya by chance?”
Zeil nodded as he reached into his saddlebag and replied, “I do… but I only have these.”
Zeil pulled out three small vials as he handed them to Cunningham as the large stallion smiled, “Now these are real potions laddie. A cure for the hiccups, a cure for baldness, and a numbing past… little common, but well crafted. You can even see the skill placed behind ‘em. The clarity in each bottle, your teacher was a truly skilled enchanter laddie.”
Zeil nodded, “Yea well… my teacher… didn’t teach me many spells before I left. Most of my lessons were about inner peace and respect for the natural magic around us. But… my time with her… was short. Too short to learn many spells or potions. I wish I could have been with here a little longer.”
Hearing the tone in Zeil’s voice said it all as Cunningham smiled, “Somthin’ tells me that your connection with this teacher a’ yours goes much deeper than just teacher and pupal. Ya said she… So ya teacher was a lass eh?”
Zeil nodded as Cunningham looked back into the potions and spoke, “A mare, makin’ potions as fine as these. A bonnie lass that fine ain’t somethin’ to take lightly. And you… ya fancy her don’t ya laddie?”
Repeating the same action as before, Zeil nodded as Cunningham took the potions with him as he trotted inside, “I cannot pay ya for the stuff you made from that book… but for these… I'll be willin to give ya a room to stay in for the next few days… and as for the other potions ya got… I'll take those as payment for lessons.”
Zeil was confused as he followed the shire back into his house, “Lessons?”
Cunningham nodded as he went inside with the potions in his hoof, “Aye… ya give me those potions and I'll teach ya a trick or two about readin’ potion quality, that way ya don’t go wastein’ anymore ingredients in the future.”
Zeil started feeling suspicious, “Teach me… exactly how long will this take?”
Cunningham replied as he sat the potions in his hoof on a shelf next to a poison joke that was incased in glass, “Only a few days lad… maybe a week at most. If ya want to better manage your supplies, you may want to take me up on this offer laddie. Otherwise you will find it hard makin’ money on the rest of your journey.”
Zeil gave him a distrusting look, “How do you know I was on a journey? How do you know any of this? I didn’t say anything to you. Just who are you?”
Cunningham smiled, “A simple druid lad… that’s all. Ya learned clearly that this world is full of magic, and when ya learn its qualities and its reactions, you can do many things… even see the future.”
Zeil gave him a suspicious look, “Are you saying you can see the future?”
Cunningham shook his head, “No lad… I can’t. But others… can.”
Zeil could see pain in Cunningham’s expression, but rather than asking about it, he decided to let it go as he asked, “So… why offer to teach me anything?”
Cunningham’s expression of sadness faded as he replied, “I would think that your teacher would like to know that ya used her lessons to further your own skills while you were away. After all, her teachin’ was a base for all magic wa’dnt it? So it’s only natural that ya use her teachings to learn more. Right?”
Seeing the logic in the shire’s words Zeil nodded, “I guess.”
Cunningham smiled, “So… it’s agreed then. I'll take these potions off your hooves, and in return, I'll teach ya how to properly make them and to better manage your ingredients… amongst other things. So what do ya say laddie?”
Zeil felt confused about the strange addition to his terms but still nodded as he replied, “Alright… I’ll stay for only a few days… but I can’t stay too long. I still need to get back to Zecora.”
Cunningham nodded, “Ah… so that’s her name… a fine name for a fine lass. It’s settled then, since the day is all but done, we can wait till mornin’ for your first lesson. So get your rest laddie, cuz tomorrow, your lessons begin.”
Zeil followed as Cunningham went into a back room and set up a place for his new guest to sleep.
That night while Zeil slept, strange visions passed through his mind, as he found himself standing in a large open field with a large mountain on the other side that seemed to resemble a dormant volcano with a city in its center. The same city from his vision of the chest earlier. As he recognized the city, Zeil started to feel confused as he looked around to find that in the other side of the field, stood a massive army of all pony races, Earthpony, Pegasi, Unicorn… and even alicorn. Amazed to see such an army which numbered in the thousands, Zeil could only stand in shock as he looked to the head of the army to see a large caravan of the army’s officers. Curious Zeil approached the caravan as he saw a tall pale Alicorn with a red main speaking to an earthpony and a unicorn as she spoke, “Make haste in thy journey. But take heed, Thou should never return until thou is sure it’s safe.”
The unicorn bowed as she replied, "Do not fret your majesty, thou shall ensure the safety of the young princesses. Tis no safer kingdom then that of thine own Equestria.”
The hopeful queen smiled as he nodded, “Princess Platinum, Chancellor Pudding Head. Thou both have thy most sincerest of gratitude.”
Both the earthpony and unicorn nodded in appreciation as the queen looked down at the two little fillies in the group as she hugged her daughters and spoke, “Celestia, Luna. Dost not fear for me. As Queen of Eden, tis thine task to avenge thy kingdom and ensure safety for thee. Till then, Thou should stay together and protect thy sister. For in thine own light, the future will be ensured.”
Surprised, Zeil looked at the two filled as the oldest replied, “Yes mother, Thou will protect Luna with thine own life.”
The young Luna nodded as she spoke, “Mommy… thou will unite with us in Equestria once the fight is won… right?”
The queen smiled as she hugged her youngest daughter, “I will… Once the fight is done, thou will be together again. Now make haste, for time is short.”
With that Chancellor Puddinghead, Princess Platinum, and the two royal fillies left the caravan with a few guards as the queen turned towards the city as an armored pegasus flew up and landed next to her, “Your majesty… The dark alicorn is preparing for an attack… I’m afraid, he has kill all the residents of Eden.”
The queen nodded as she replied with a saddened tone, “Tis a fools thought to assume thy could have stopped this evil from spreading. If only I had the power to protect thy subjects.”
The pegasus nodded as he looked towards the city and replied, “Forgive me if I done speak in the royal tongue… but I think we are passed that. The army of Equestria and Eden are assembled and ready to lay their lives down for you. As am I.”
The queen nodded as she spoke, “Do not speak of thy life as if it were disposable. Though I am pleased to see thee ready to fight for thy kingdom, I would advise thee that if thy life sees no other options than thou must flee to safety.”
The pegasus shook his head, “Commander Hurricane has never fled from a fight before… not even from a Titan… and I don’t plan to now.”
The Queen started smiling at his courage but before he could see her sign of thanks, Commander Hurricane looked to the distant city as he spoke, “There… He’s coming.”
Zeil and the queen looked across the empty field as they saw a large cloud of black dust flying out of the large city in the distance as the pillar like stream flew as high as the clouds above before spreading across the sky. As he watched the rapidly approaching cloud, Zeil notice something strange. What seemed to be dust was actually black airborne sand, and it wasn’t spreading as if it were carried by wind, it was moving as if it were homing in on the army as the army drew their weapons with Commander Hurricane giving the order, “Soldiers, both Eden and Equestrian! Though we stand befor a terrible foe, know that we stand united! For our Kingdoms! For our home! FOR OUR QUEEN!!! ATTACK!!!”
With that order, the thousands of soldiers started charging towards the approaching cloud as Zeil nervously braced himself as the army charged right through him, reminding him that this was all a vision. However as the army charged forward, the black sand cloud in the sky began raining black glass spikes as the fatal rain fell onto the army killing all who were unlucky enough to be pierced by the deadly phenomenon.
Though he knew he was safe, the chaos that surrounded him still sent fear into Zeil’s heart as he watched the brutal show of soldiers dyeing in their charge. Then if that wasn’t bad enough, the glass spiked that were imbedded in the bodies of the soldiers started melting back into black sand as the sand quickly covered, consumed, then devoured the fallen bodies, leaving nothing in its wake, no armor, no flesh, no bone, not even a single drop of blood. As one of the bodies fell right in front of him, Zeil could only step back in horror as it too was devoured by the black sand. Looking at the pile of sand left behind, Zeil could only mumble, “What… what is th-”
At that moment, the pile of sand sprang to life and shot towards him as the shock caused him to wake from the vision and sit up in fear. Breathing deeply, Zeil put his trembling hooves in his face as he spoke, “That… was that a vision… or… a nightmare… I don’t know what’s going on… but something feels bad… as if… it’s all an omen. But then, if it was… why were the princesses there… and… what is that sand?”
Too concerned with his vision, Zeil didn’t notice Cunningham’s aura as the Large Shire stood outside Zeil’s room. As he stood outside with his hoof in the air, Cunningham stared into a small portal that hovered above his hoof as the small potion-made portal revealed to him every detail of Zeil’s dream. After seeing everything Zeil saw, Cunningham mumbled too quietly to be heard, “Hurricane’s last charge… and the extinction of the alicorn race. This lad ain’t who I’m waitin’ for… he’s something else… something worse.”
As the portal disappeared, Cunningham turned to the hall and trotting away with an annoyed expression. As Cunningham entered the main room of his house, Offspring flew towards him and landed on his shoulder as Cunningham spoke with a serious tone, “It would seem that the wee lad can’t be trusted. I thought I felt somthin’ odd about ‘em. I guess… I'll have to kill ‘em.”
After hearing his words, the raven looked at his master and squawked. After hearing the noise Cunningham looked at the bird and replied, “No?... then what would ya suggest? If this lad is as evil as I think, then we need to deal with em’ b’fore he gets a chance to do us in.”
The raven heisted for a few second before flying to the shelf where the druid had placed the recently attained potions. After landing on the shelf, the Raven approached a poison joke that was encased in glass as it pecked the glass then looked back at his owner. Seeing the raven’s actions, Cunningham sighed, “This ain’t ‘bout her lad, he ain’t the one she told us about. This wee changeling is somthin’ different. And seeing the commin’ darkness… this can only mean that his visit wont bode well for us.”
The raven turned around and started pecking at the potions that were the result of Zecora’s teachings as Cunningham saw this too then sighed, “Alright fine… any changeling that can make potions this complex could be of use… but… heed me words bird… if that changeling so much as shows one hint that he and the coming darkness are linked, then I'll do ‘em in meself.”
The raven nodded in agreement as Cunningham sat down at a nearby table and looked at the potion book that sat open in front of him. Then, the old stallion closed the book as he ran his hoof along the name of the book’s author, “Aria… what would you say ‘bout this stranger… would ya give him a chance too?... Like ya gave me?”