I leave the bathhouse ─immediately covering my eyes so I wouldn’t go blind again─ and start walking to my next destination; Star Swirl’s Library. A massive, three stories tall and six square long marble and oak monument of knowledge. I visited this place many times over the years, reading every book about gods, artifacts and history that I could, but even after going through thousands of books and scrolls, I never managed to read even a tenth of what’s contained here.
As soon as I enter, my vision changes from the glaring white of the streets to the colossal bookshelves that occupy almost every space available in the entrance hall, reaching the ceiling of the second floor, filled with uncountable amounts of books, parchments and scrolls. All of them gathered by the God of Knowledge.
And in front of them, the small reception desk rested, with a familiar grey-skinned woman with black hair tied in a bun sitting behind it, writing on parchment.
The one, and probably only, thing I always hated about this place was that I couldn’t find things on my own, no matter how much I tried. So I had to ask for help.
Her help.
“Good evening, Inkwell,” I greet her with a half-smile.
The woman doesn’t take her eyes away from her work. “Hello Sunset. I see you survived your execution. Congratulations.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” I say through gritted teeth. She always knew how to piss me off with just a few words.
“I’m being honest,” she says, lifting her head so I could see her neutral expression.
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh really?”
“As insufferable as you are, execution seems a bit too hard a punishment.”
“Those may be the kindest words you’ve ever said to me,” I say, mockingly wiping a nonexistent tear.
Inkwell returns her gaze to her work. “This is also the longest conversation we’ve ever had. You would hear them more often if you were more talkative.”
“You’re not that interesting,” I scoff.
Inkwell remains unaffected by my words. “How would you know if we never talk?” I’m about to retort, but she interrupts me. “What information do you need?”
Finally. “I want to know all about a particular goddess. Green hair, sky-colored cape with vines, kind of a nutter.”
Inkwell looks at me with confusion for a moment. “That description doesn’t ring any bells, but you can certainly search for your answer. Follow me.”
Inkwell guides me through the aisles of the library, calling out to some of her coworkers and asking them to retrieve certain books from the bookshelves, until I eventually have a small army of librarians carrying stuff for me.
“This should be all we have about the known goddesses. As long as you don’t destroy anything, you can read them here.” She points at one of the large oak tables and benches where the librarians were piling the books into a small fortress of literature. “Good luck.”
With that, Inkwell leaves, and I’m left alone to research. Just as I’ve always liked it.
It doesn’t feel the same, for some reason.
I start going through the books, quickly finding some information on one of the known goddesses; Mistmane, the Goddess of Beauty.
I always found it ironic that she represents beauty, despite being described as anything but pleasant to look at. Though apparently she once was the pinnacle of beauty. I guess she pissed off some other god and got punished.
Regardless, her hair is known to be grey currently, so she isn’t what I’m looking for. I put her tale aside and keep looking.
The next goddess I find is Somnambula, the Goddess of Hope.
This one sounds a bit closer to what I’m looking for. Makes sense that she would intervene in a hopeless situation. She’s depicted with white clothing and more of a bluish hair, but she may be related in some other way. The tale of her ascension to godhood mentions her defeating the Sphinx, but I wouldn’t consider just scaring it off and not dealing with the problem permanently worthy of godhood. Sadly, I don’t make the rules.
That would be Harmony’s business.
Further research doesn’t reveal anything about a goddess with green hair, so I continue with the next goddess; Mage Meadowbrook, the Goddess of Healing.
She’s not a fit for the description, and her story is basically ‘I invented medicine and got rewarded with godhood’, which honestly is a much better reason than the other two. Doesn’t stop her from being a useless piece of shite.
Hours pass, and my frustration grows with each minute.
Even now, I haven’t found any goddess that fit her description. I had even gone back and reread the tales of the other goddesses in case I missed some mention of a disciple or something, but they didn’t contain even a clue about what I was looking for.
I start going through possible ascendants to godhood, checking if someone had succeeded. There were many ways of achieving the title of god, but many fell short or got killed doing something stupid.
Which isn’t my case. I got snitched on. There’s a difference.
When I glance away from the books for the first time, I realize that it was already night, and the librarians are blowing out the lights of the library.
“I already lost a day and I’ve nothing,” I mutter with clenched teeth.
“You can sleep here if you want,” Inkwell says, throwing a blanket next to me.
“I don’t need your charity,” I tell her with a glare.
“You could work here, you know?” Inkwell offers. “Earn some money during the day and research in the evening. Feed yourself with your own effort.”
“What makes you think I want to be a librarian?”
Inkwell shrugs. “I’m probably the only person in this city that would offer you a job.” With that, she turns around and leaves just as the last lights go out.
I look at the blanket. My new possession. Earned out of pity.
“Suck it up,” I tell myself, placing the blanket over me and laying on top of the bench I’ve been sitting on.
I think back to the warm and comfortable bed I had in my house, now being used by someone who didn’t work for it. And not only that, but all of my possessions,currently in the hands of someone else. My clothes, my paintings, my instruments, my old toys.
I’m not sure if I would prefer that they use them or destroy them.
I wipe my face and do my best to fall asleep. I need to work harder tomorrow.
I will get it all back.
The first voice I hear in the morning makes me want to explode into murderous rage.
"Sunset?"
I slowly rise from my slumber, the blanket falling from my frame and exposing what I hope is an intimidating-enough posture, and I stand full height over the purple woman that had dared to approach me.
"Hi Twilight," I say with as much venom crammed into my words as I can. "What do you want?"
The woman was wearing similar tunics to mine, but in light-blue colors with purple rims. Other than that, we couldn’t be more different.
Her dark-purple hair was straight and simple, while mine was curvy and wild. Her tones were darker, while mine were radiant. She was shy and dependent on others, while I was confident and independent. She barely thinks for herself, while I’m always looking at the future.
And above all that, she’s a slave to Celestia, while I only follow my own path.
“H-hi Sunset...” she mutters pathetically. “You look… uhm...”
“What? Am I too alive for your taste?” I really, really want to strangle her. Let her know how it feels when a noose is placed around your neck. But sun-mommy’s little trophy follower can’t be touched without repercussions, and I’m not eager to return to the gallows.
“I… I didn’t know it was going to go that far! I just wanted to-”
“Well, were it not for some green goddess coming out of nowhere, you would be apologizing to my still-hanging corpse!” I shout, making her shrink more into herself.
“Sunset, what you were trying to do was dangerous. I couldn’t just pretend I didn’t see it coming. I was worried about you-”
“Don’t feed me that shite Twilight! You only care about Celestia giving you praise!”
“That’s not true!” Twilight finally shouts back, clenching her fists in a poor expression of anger. “Why are you always like this? I’m trying to apologize!”
I cross my arms because I know I’ll beat her senseless if they move freely.“Do you, now? Or are you just trying to prove that you’re the better woman?”
“I’m...” The words get caught up in her throat, and I can hear the gears in her brain struggle to think of a response.
“Just tell me what you came here to do before I bash your head against the table.”
“Fine.” She changes her attitude to a more determined one, and stands firm and proper with false bravado. “By order of Princess Celestia, Goddess of the Sun, you’re banished from Mycemare until further notice.” She pauses, expecting some sort of remark from me. Shouting, pleading, cursing, or straight up just beating her to death.
I won’t give her the satisfaction.
I take a deep, deep breath, digging my fingers into my arms to hold it together. "I guess I should've seen it coming."
Twilight's pose falls apart rather quickly after my reaction, and she stumbles over her next words. “W-what? You don’t care?”
“I do. But it’s the will of your goddess,” I say before turning my back to her.
“B-but… I thought you would...” Twilight mumbles as I grab my blanket and start folding it till it's easier to carry.
"Is that all you have?" Twilight questions with her mind-numbing ignorance.
"Yes. Or will Celestia be so graceful to allow me to grab something from my house?" I ask, a little part of me hoping for a yes.
"Actually… It's my house now."
My eye twitches and I turn around, grabbing her by the neck of her tunic before pulling her face up to mine. "If you touch anything, no god alive will protect you from me."
“I would never!” Twilight pleads, eyes filled with fear. She knows I’m not kidding. “Spike’s the one that will live there. I’ll tell him to save your things.”
“He better.” I let go of her and grab my blanket to leave.
Twilight follows me. “Sunset, it’s just till further notice.”
"Oh! That makes a world of difference!" I scream at her with fire reflecting in my eyes.
“It means you can get it back,” she clarifies. “Just apologize to Princess Celestia and-”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me, ye doaty clipe?!” I ask, genuinely dumbfounded by her stupidity.
Twilight takes a step back, apparently realizing the sheer nonsense she just said. “It's not impossible. You know Kindness is one of the six virtues Princess-”
"Kindness?!" I shout, my knuckles turning white as I clench my fists. "Where was this Kindness when your brother placed a noose around my neck? Where was Loyalty when my followers joined the crowd to throw stones at me? Where was Laughter when everyone ridiculed me as I crawled on the dirt towards my execution? Where was Honesty when Celestia said she would never replace me? Where was Generosity when, despite my efforts, I was granted nothing while you got everything on a silver platter?"
Twilight’s about to respond, but I'm tired of her clueless nonsense, so I turn to leave once again.
"Sunset!" Twilight keeps insisting. "I know you think they failed you, but you know they're important."
I stop, but instead of anger, I can't help but laugh. “You know which of the six virtues is truly important,” I say pointing at her. “Magic. Power. The abilities that creatures and gods can harness for their own needs.” I raise my arm and point at the sky. “Magic is the virtue that overshadows all others. The one that can change the world and fix its mistakes. The one that can grant you godhood.” I pause, looking at Twilight straight in the eyes. “The one that can give you the answers to all the things you’re always reading about and researching.”
I grin as my words sink into her head, filling her with ideas that I’m sure Celestia would disagree about, and I leave her behind with higher spirits.
However, before I can fully make my exit, another annoying voice stops me on my way out.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
I sigh and turn to address her. "No Inkwell, Celestia's pet interrupted me to say that I'm no longer welcomed in this city."
Inkwell remains stoic as she keeps writing her scrolls. "I wish she had started with that instead of the execution."
"What's your deal, Inkwell?" I ask, walking up to her desk. "What do you expect to gain from all of this?"
The librarian raises her head to look me straight in the eyes. "Is it that hard to believe that I genuinely want to help you?"
I give her a flat expression. "Out of pity."
She sighs and sets her quill down. “If you want me to be honest, try and be friendly with me. At least in these last moments before we probably never see each other again.”
I look her in the eyes, searching for any kind of trick or ruse, but she keeps being the hardest book to read in this entire library. She’s one of the few people I was never able to fully figure out, and honestly, this may be my only chance.
“Very well, I’ll be ‘friendly’ to you until I leave this library.”
Inkwell nods, taking my word for it, and gives me the answer to my question.
“I admire you.”
I laugh. Loudly. “Shut yer pus.”
Inkwell rolls her eyes, which was honestly surprising coming from her. “To be more clear, I admire how driven you are. You barely escaped being executed and lost everything that was dear to you, yet, only hours after the fact, you already have a new plan that I know you’ll follow till the end. Not everyone can do that.”
“I don’t cry over spilled milk,” I tell her with a cocky smile, but I feel like it doesn't have as much of a punch as I intended.
“Well, you could,” Inkwell proposes. “But I know it’s not your style. At least not in public.”
I cock my head to the side. “I thought you said we didn’t know each other much?”
“There are some things I notice,” she tells me, showing the first smile I ever saw on her face. “And one of those things is that your drive to move forwards and accomplish your goals is both your strength and your weakness. If the path you set for yourself is the wrong one, you’ll crash and burn, just like what you tried with the crown.”
I frown. “That was-”
“I know,” she interrupts me. “You can justify it all you want, but the matter stands that you would’ve died, and you’re alive by the whims of the gods you detest. And if you won’t hear my warning, I hope you find someone who can convince you before it’s too late.”
I clench my teeth, holding back a retort. “Since I’m being ‘friendly’ I’ll let that slide. Goodbye, Inkwell.”
I go for the exit, but the librarian tries to get the last word. “Being friendly isn’t just not being an ass.”
I stop, tapping the side of my thigh before turning around. “As infuriating as it is, I respect how you can keep your composure no matter what.”
Inkwell looked at me, seemingly pondering my words. “I suppose that counts as a compliment.”
“We’re even, then,” I turn to leave once again.
“She’s known as The Forgotten Goddess.”
I turn around and march over to her desk, slamming my hands on it. “How do you know? Since when?”
“Since last night,” she answers calmly. “Princess Luna talked to me in my dreams, and invites you to her temple over in Ceryneigh.”
“And you were going to hide this information from me unless I was friendly?” I ask as I stare her down with all my fury, but she’s completely unaffected.
“I would’ve told you anyway, I just wanted to have a bit of a pleasant talk before you leave.”
I cross my arms. “So it was out of pity.”
Inkwell shakes her head, “That wasn’t out of pity.” She bends down under her desk and pulls out a small wooden box. “This is.” She pushes it against my chest till I’m forced to grab it.
“What is this?”
“Lunch,” Inkwell answers matter-of-factly before diving back into her work.
I look down at the box, my first instinct being to throw it at her face, but instead, I envelop it with my blanket and fasten it to my back.
“Thank you,” I say as low as I can before leaving the library and heading towards the south gate of the city.
With a loud bang, the gates close behind me. A show of spite, since they would need to reopen them soon for the rest of the population when I'm far enough.
I feel tempted to sit down and ridicule them, but Luna's temple is far away, and I don't have much time. I look southwards to the dirt trail that would eventually lead me inside the Everfree Forest, the first and only landmark between here and Ceryneigh.
I sigh and start walking, having nothing to do but to plan ahead.
Okay, so she’s called The Forgotten Goddess, and her reaction to me not knowing who she was makes it clear that she doesn’t get much attention. She certainly has some pull in the pantheon if she can intervene in Celestia’s actions, and Luna told Raven about her, so she’s known with the gods–but not with the humans. She may have a very small following, which would mean she’s not really powerful. Why is she important, though? Did she perform some sort of miracle? She doesn’t look like the fighting type, so she may have powerful magic.
Luna can give me more information about her. I can find an exploit in her insecurities, use it to pull her to my side. If that fails, I can try and steal her followers. Offer to be her spokeswoman and spread the word of her so she isn’t forgotten, then use her as a medium to gain a following. I could also see if I can convince her to give me some useful blessing. The crown wasn’t the only powerful artifact in the world, and I could still steal it with the right tools and a good plan.
I just need to be more careful, and make sure I do it alone. It’s already been proven to me that followers can't be trusted.
After a few more hours of travel, I spot the entrance to the Everfree Forest and decide to sit down and rest at the side of the road, opening the box Raven gave me. Inside, I find some olives and figs, salted fish, a few pieces of cheese and half a loaf of bread, along with a wineskin and a large waterskin. It would last me till tomorrow if I ration it, so I may be able to reach Ceryneigh before I start being truly hungry.
I soak the bread with wine and start eating it in small bites as I check the sky. I only had about an hour more of daylight to travel, and then I would need to find some shelter to pass the night. If I’m really lucky, I may find some scrap of civilization to hide in; otherwise, I might need to settle for a tree in the forest.
I finish the bread and down it with the rest of the wine before going back on the road and entering the Everfree, keeping an eye out for any kind of shelter I can find.
Sadly, I’m not successful. And as the night is about to fall and cover everything in absolute darkness, I’m forced to pick a tree and hope for the best.
I rest my back against a tree and take a long sip of my waterskin before returning it to the box, which I hug to my chest after covering myself with my blanket. The last thing I need is for someone to steal it while I sleep.
Between the hard wood against my back and the bending of my knees to be able to cover myself completely, I can tell for sure that I’ll be sore in the morning, but I don’t have any other option. “Tough it up. This’ll sweeten the victory,” I say to myself before closing my eyes and doing my best to sleep the night away.
The morning was more horrible than I expected.
I wake up feeling anything but restful, and, when I try to stir into some semblance of awakeness, my muscles cramp painfully, and I let out a silent scream as I massage them so they loosen.
At least the pain wakes me up.
I eat a few figs to give myself some energy for the long day of walking, tie my things to my back, and set out on the road again. I try to stretch a bit more as I walk, but my muscles warn me that any wrong movement could end with a new painful cramp. My body isn’t used to this amount of walking, but it’ll get better at it with time.
Since I don’t have the energy or ideas to make plans right now, I settle with observing the world around me.
The Everfree is quite beautiful, to be honest. The tall fir trees flanking the road with their trunks and covering the sky with their branches, full of vibrant green due to the light of the sun that barely pierces through, makes it seem like you’re walking through a tunnel with an elaborate green ceiling, and the sound of birds and other forest life hidden between the trunks not only breaks the monotony, but adds to the natural beauty of the place. If things go right with the green nutter, I would like to pass through here again, without the exhaustion and… other baggage.
There are more people coming and going today, all of them merchants that don’t pay me much attention since it’s clear that I don’t have money on me. It’s something that I appreciate at first, but, after a few hours, I’m so bored that I wouldn’t mind hearing a voice different than the one in my head.
Mostly because it keeps whispering useless stuff in my ears.
But sadly, as the end of the day gets closer, I’m slowly left alone on the road once again. I’m expecting another lonely night of painful sleep, when suddenly I see something up ahead.
“Finally some good fortune!” I think as I approach an ‘abandoned’ cart with two horses still attached. I quickly make my way to it and start rummaging through the cargo, and my smile widens. Without opening some chests and boxes, I find a few dozen bits here, and a couple of tanned skins that could sell for even more, plus some water and a bit of food.
Obviously, the cart isn’t going to remain ‘abandoned’ for long –the owner’s probably shitting somewhere in the bushes– so I need to move fast if I want a quick ticket to Ceryneigh.
I begin climbing onto the cart, but then I hear movement coming from the foliage on the side of the road. I quickly go for the reins, ready to make a rapid escape, when suddenly a beautiful hind with red morning coat jumps over the bushline in a majestic arc before landing on the dirt.
Almost immediately, it turns its head in my direction, focusing his dark eyes on me.
I suddenly feel like a little kid with her hand trapped in the cookie jar. I can feel it judging my actions like a disappointing mother, and, even if it’s just a wild beast, it pisses me off.
“You got a problem?”
The hind moves its large ears a bit, but keeps staring, not even afraid of me. “Go away!” I yell, but it doesn’t even flinch.
Furious, I climb down from the cart and walk up to it, a bit surprised by the fact that it remains so calm. “You better run before I-'' The animal suddenly jumps and fires off like a lightning bolt, getting lost behind the bushes on the other side of the road.
I’m about to laugh, but before I can cry victory, I hear a low whistling sound, and something pierces my left arm. I scream in pain as I clutch my wounded limb, looking at an arrow sticking out of my flesh.
“What are you doing in the middle of the road?!” A voice screams from the bushes where the hind came from, and seconds later a woman walks through them.
She’s wearing a purple hunter’s hat and cape with what looks like little Star painted on it, which are a really bad color to blend into the environment like a hunter should, but taking into account that her hair is white and her skin bright blue, I’ll say that was a lost cause to begin with.
“What are you doing shooting arrows over a commonly used road?!” I scream, still clutching my wounded arm.
“Isn’t it obvious? Trixie was trying to get that hind that you just let escape.”
“Let escape? What, did you expect me to hold it in place while you shot through both of us?”
“Trixie would’ve thanked you for it,” the woman says, finally standing in front of me, and I just want to punch her lights out. She even has the perfect ‘come and batter me’ face.
“Well, I still got injured because of you!” I say pointing at the arrow sticking out of both sides of my left arm.
The woman rolls her eyes. “Don’t be a baby.” She suddenly grabs the arrow with her hands and snaps the tip before taking the rest out in a quick and painful pull.
I scream and, by furious instinct, send my fist towards her face, but the woman dodges it with irritating ease and pushes me against the cart. “If you stop your meckerm, I can patch you up.”
“Ye better dae, fuckn’ dobber.”
The woman rolls her eyes. “Stinkstiefel.” She digs around the cart, making it clear that it belonged to her, and pulls out some simple bandages before wrapping them tightly around my wound till the bleeding stops. “Better?”
“Yeah.” I have to admit, she knows her way around wounds. It doesn't even hurt anymore. “You still owe me for the injury.”
She rolls her eyes once more before shrugging. “Fine, Trixie can give you a ride over to Ceryneigh so you don’t walk while injured. You can see if you can get proper medical care there.”
“That would be a start,” I say before climbing up the cart, moving her stuff around to make a semi-comfortable seat. The woman doesn’t complain and jumps on, leaving her bow and quiver behind her before taking the reins and getting the horses to move.
Well, at least I’ll get an easier trip to my objective, and the wound could earn me some sympathy.
I set my things aside and lay myself to rest, hoping to recharge some energy, but my driver starts speaking. “Trixie’s sure you’re wondering, ‘just who is this beautiful woman who saved me?’”
I frown. “You just said your name in third person.”
“You are lucky to find yourself in the presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” she boasts uselessly to the wind.
“Yay...” I deadpan.
“And who would you be, dear fan?”
I point at my bandages. “The woman you shot with an arrow.”
“Appropriate name. Your parents must be oracles.”
“Shut up,” I warn her, gritting my teeth. I don’t want to think about them.
“And why would Trixie do such a thing?” she asks, clearly offended.
“I just want to get some sleep.”
“And miss out on Trixie’s majestic tales? She has seen interesting things on her travels. There are many wonders to see out in the world.”
“Yeah, sure,” I say disinterested, but then I think of something. “Have you heard of The Forgotten Goddess?”
“Of course Trixie has.” She scoffs. “The Great and Powerful Trixie knows many secrets. That’s what makes her great and powerful.”
“Tell me all you know,” I demand, moving to her side.
“Very well.” She clears her throat before closing her eyes and moving one hand dramatically. “The Forgotten Goddess is who she is thanks to Princess Luna, goddess of-”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah yeah, I know her titles, speed it up.”
The woman frowns at me. “Well aren’t you rude. Do you have no appreciation for proper storytelling?”
“The only thing I’ll appreciate is you telling me what I want to know.” I point at my bandages again. “You still owe me.”
“Trixie’s already taking you to Ceryneigh.”
“It doesn’t cost you anything, neither does telling me about The Forgotten Goddess,” I say, losing patience.
The woman lets out an offended ‘hump’ and looks away from me. “Well, if you want to know so badly, you could apologize to Trixie.”
My eye twitches. “Excuse me?” I say with a frown.
“No, you excuse Trixie. Apologize and let Trixie tell her stories without rude interruptions.”
“Apologize? Rude?! You shot me with an arrow!” I scream clenching my fists.
“It was an accident. Trixie patched you up, and compensated it with a free ride.”
I’m starting to see red. Just what does this woman think she is? She’s even more unbearable and infuriating than Twilight. “Listen to me you little dobber. If you don’t tell me-”
The woman suddenly shoves me with her hand, displaying a surprising amount of strength, and sends me flying out of the cart, landing with my back on the dirt and knocking the air out of my lungs.
I quickly stand up, and I’m about to curse her name and all her future offspring when I realize something. All my possessions are still in the cart.
“Hey wait! Give me back my stuff!” I shout, running after her, but she ignores me and whips the reins, making the cart go just fast enough that I can’t reach it. “Fuckin’ thief!”
“Like you wouldn’t have done the same!” she shouts back at me. “You think Trixie’s stupid? Maybe she should’ve left you wounded on the road!”
I try sprinting faster, but I not only can’t reach it, I trip and fall on my face.
As I stand up and remove the dirt from my face, I realize that the night’s already falling over the forest. Soon it’ll be too dark to see the road ahead and I’ll surely become lost without any light source. The woman doesn’t seem to care. She probably has the road memorized due to her travels.
“Stop! Please!” I shout as I start running again, but she keeps ignoring me.
I’m getting tired and beginning to fall behind, increasing the distance between us. It’s clear I’ll never catch up to her. “Fine!”
I stop, clenching my fist and cursing under my breath. “I’m sorry!”
She doesn’t stop, but she lowers the speed of the cart. “For what?!”
“For being...” I sigh, defeated. “For being rude. And trying to steal your cart!”
She brings the cart to a stop, and turns to look at me. “Do you mean it?”
I’m about to say something snarky, but I stop myself. “Yes. I… lost everything I had recently. It's horrible, and I’m desperate. I shouldn’t have tried to put you into that situation. I’m sorry.” As I say those words, the sun finishes hiding under the horizon, and everything is consumed by darkness.
I lose sight of the woman, and I hear no answer. “Trixie, please!”
A small but bright light appears, trapped inside a dark metal lamp that hangs right beside Trixie. “Come on, grab your stuff.”
“Thank you.” I say honestly, surprising myself. I run up to the cart and jump on, grabbing my things and tying them to my back. “Are you still taking me to Ceryneigh?”
“Yes, that was the compensation for your arm,” she says with a calm smile.
“Thank you,” I say with relief, and I sit at the back.
Trixie whips the reins to get the horses moving. “Trixie recommends that you get some rest. You’ll have the tale of the goddess when you wake up.”
I want to argue. I want the answers now. But she’ll just throw me off again. “Okay.” I’m tired anyway, I can wait a bit more. I get as comfortable as the bumpy cart allows me and close my eyes.
Surprisingly, I fall asleep almost instantly.
I wake up on my own, and to my surprise, it’s still the middle of the night.
“Where are we?” I ask, a bit groggy.
“Welcome to Ceryneigh!” Trixie announces ecstatically.
I look around the cart, and indeed, this is the city of The Moon Goddess.
While Mycemare is a city that reflects the ‘glory of the sun’, Ceryneigh was built to appreciate the night. The roads are wide to let the shine of the moonlight illuminate the city, as its citizens have pleasant nightwalks under the watch of the Star. The buildings are painted in shades of dark blue, and I’ve read that they all need to have at least one large room with a skylight, where all family gatherings and important reunions are organized under the moon. One could argue it’s an invasion of privacy, but Luna can see everyone’s dreams at will, so it’s like arguing that the problem with being burned at the stake is that they use too much wood.
I shake my head and snap out of my thoughts. I’ve a meeting with a god.
I jump off the cart, grabbing my things and securing them to my back before looking over the houses for Luna’s temple. It’s a huge cathedral-like structure, so it should be hard to m-
Turns out, it’s right in front of me.
“You can thank Trixie now.”
I turn back to look at the hunter, and I notice that there’s something weird with her. It's like she has a very subtle moonlight shine over her skin, and her violet eyes look like they were coated in pure silver.
“I’ll need this back,” she says, before grabbing the bandage in my arm and pulling it off.
“What?” I ask, inspecting my supposedly wounded arm. As it turns out, there’s no wound to be seen.
“Say hi to Luna for me.” Trixie grabs the reins and whips them, but instead of the snap of leather, I hear a short thunder, and the cart and horses lurch forward before disappearing from view. I’m left standing with my jaw hanging, wondering what kind of being that woman was.
I slap the sides of my head to come back to my senses and walk towards the temple, knocking on the large ornate doors that had the moon and Star carved into the wood. After a few short seconds, the entrance opens just enough for me to pass, and, when I take a quick peek inside, I notice that there’s no one else here. Looks like I got a private meeting.
I quickly enter and start walking deeper inside the cathedral, looking around for any sign of the Goddess of the Moon.
The roof of the temple is a massive skylight set directly under the moon, illuminating all of the treasures kept inside. Treasures that I can't help but stop to look at.
Gods need followers to keep their powers strong over their dominions, and they attract them in various ways.
Celestia baits her followers with promises of peace and harmony in her marble city.
Luna gains followers with the wonderment of the things in the immense dark.
Looking up, I see the hanging spheres of multiple colors that represent our ‘solar system’., which I’m pretty sure Luna named to honor her sister.
Even if I find the claims that ‘the sun is the center of all’ ridiculous, the fact that there are other worlds completely different than ours fascinates me. We only have representation of nine, but supposedly there’s an unimaginable amount of planets in the immense dark, so the possibilities are literally endless. Sure, the planets that we know of would cause instant death to anything that wasn’t a god-like being if they went there, but it’s possible that a planet just like ours exists, with its own population and gods, but with a different evolution.
(A nutter in Celestia’s academy was obsessed with the idea. She eventually moved to this city so she could search for some dream planet she had imagined when she was little.)
I walk over to a bronze stand where a light gray comet rests in a dormant state. Luna herself brought it down from the night sky for us to ogle at, and, while it doesn’t shine brightly like when it’s up in the immense dark, it’s still quite a sight. The moonlight reflects off of it like polished metal despite having a porous texture, and when I slide my hand over it, it leaves a small tingle in my skin.
According to legends, some of the most powerful artifacts in the world have been created using materials gathered from the immense dark, Luna’s Nightmare Armour being the most used example. I continue ogling over all the things I can only find inside this temple, until a firm but still soft voice calls my name.
I move in the direction of the voice, until suddenly the moon shines as bright as the sun, and all that light focuses on a circle in front of me. I shield my eyes a little, but I manage to see as some shadows appear inside the pillar of light, taking a rough shape of the Moon Goddess.
“Welcome, Sunset,” she says softly, her words sounding like a lullaby.
“Thank you for the invitation.” I say while blinking, my eyes slowly adjusting to the bright light. “Although you could’ve skipped the transport.”
“Transport?” She asks me, tilting her head to the side.
I point behind me. “Yeah, the woman in the cart. It was a test, right?”
Luna laughs at me.
I swear, there must be some sort of bet about who can piss me off the most that I’m not aware about.
“Of course you would think the gods would take the time to test you in some way,” she manages to say as she calms down.
“What? Then what was all that about? I thought you were trying to teach me something or give me a lesson like with Inkwell!”
Luna shakes her head, still chuckling a bit. “We gave no instructions to Raven, and Trixie’s just really self-absorbed. But please forgive her. She’s not a bad woman.”
“I… don’t have enough proof,” I mumble. “What is she by the way?”
“One of my daughters,” Luna answers simply.
I figured. The ‘children’ of gods get some powerful blessings when they’re chosen. Trixie must be a favorite.
“If meeting Trixie was just a massive coincidence, are you just going to point me to the Forgotten Goddess and wish me luck? I would like to know just who she is.”
Luna raises an eyebrow. “Oh really? So you can brew some nefarious scheme against her?”
Shit. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“Sunset...” Luna sighs as she shakes her head. “Have you truly learnt nothing?”
I cross my arms defiantly. “You said the gods didn’t have the time to test me.”
“It’s not the gods testing you, it’s life,” she says with more aggressiveness in her voice, the lullaby tone lost completely. “Were it not for Wallflower, you would be dead and forgotten.”
My mouth morphs into a grin. “So that’s-”
“I said her name on purpose, Sunset,” Luna says with palpable irritation.
Way to take the fun out of it.
“Maybe my sister was right when she called you a lost cause.”
My heart stops for a moment, and I hate it for it. “I learned from her.”
Luna glares at me. “Clearly not.”
It doesn’t hurt. “Whatever. So, her name is Wallflower. Where can I find her?”
The Goddess of the Moon doesn’t respond. She just stares at me with contempt. And as the seconds pass, a small panic grows inside me at the prospect of her just leaving me without answer.
Letting out a long sigh, Luna finally talks. “Sunset, hear me very carefully.”
“My sister has abandoned you. You’ve barely anything to your name. You’re completely alone. The only reason you’re not buried is because Wallflower didn't want you forgotten. And it’s because of her that I’m speaking with you. Yet you still try to jump higher than you can, take more than what you’re offered, and alienate everyone around you. Do you not realize this is your last chance at something good? What will be left of you if Wallflower rejects you as well?”
“I’ll still have this.” I tap my finger against my temple. “I’ll manage.”
Luna shakes her head. “If only you knew how to use it.” She sighs before opening her eyes wide, and for a moment, the color in them changes to a familiar silver. “Trixie will take you to Maremisius. That's where Wallflower’s temple is located.”
“Thank you for the transport.” I’m being genuine, Maremisius is in the heart of the continent. I don’t think I would’ve survived my trip there from this location and with the small bits of food I have.
“You’re welcome.” Her lullaby tone of voice had returned, but her expression was still a bit aggressive. “As a last warning, if you somehow hurt or anger Wallflower-”
“You’ll smite me where I stand,” I say, rolling my eyes as I leave for the door. “No need to be dramatic.”
Luna says something more, but I don’t care. This entire conversation was mostly pointless. Other than the location of the temple, I only got the name of the goddess. I thought Luna would be better than her sister, but she’s just a different brand of annoying. Looking down on me like they’re perfect. Like they know me better than myself.
I exit the temple and find Trixie waiting for me in the cart. “You want to talk about your travels?” I ask her. Maybe I can gather something useful out of her rambling.
Trixie doesn’t respond, she just whips the reins with the familiar sound of thunder, and my entire body is suddenly flung forward at high speed, only to abruptly stop a second later.
I cover my mouth as my stomach threatens to send its contents back up my throat. “Ugh, could’ve warned me!”
I’m suddenly flung again, but this time there’s no invisible force stopping me, and I spin in the air before landing painfully on the ground. “Fuckn’ dobber! What was that for?!”
I lift my head as I scream, and see Trixie staring down at me with her silver eyes glowing ominously.
“Have fun in Tartarus, Hurentochter!” she yells at me before disappearing with another thunder of the reins.
I guess this daughter is really attached to mommy.
I stand up and dust myself off before looking around for the nutter’s temple, and it's then when I realize I’m in the middle of nowhere.
Trixie left me at the base of Maremisius which is covered in dense vegetation and scattered trees along with a large river flowing a few meters next to the mountain, but there’s no signs of civilization here. Except for…
“This can’t be it,” I say as I look at the ruins of a temple.
The stone blocks and pillars that form the structure are cracked, corroded, and covered in vines and other vegetation, which seem to be holding the temple better than its original foundations. On top of that, it’s almost offensively small. One could compare it to a slightly more elaborate house, in which a family of more than three would have problems with space.
I’ve seen shrines in better condition than this, but despite its horrible appearance, I can see people inside. I make my way to the door and step into the temple, discovering that the interior is faring only a little better than the outside. but my attention quickly moves to Wallflower’s followers.
They’re… well… they look rather… as broken as the temple.
None of them are wearing any kind of religious clothing ─there’s not even a priest guiding their prayers─ in fact, the most common type of clothing are rags and parchleather. Some of them look sick, one in particular wearing robes marking him as a leper. And most notable are the three soldiers wearing armor with the insignia of Flash Magnus. You would think that they would be praying for that god instead of whatever Wallflower is.
But no, they, and everyone inside the temple sans me, are crouched and praying to the statue at the other side of the entrance. A statue of a familiar woman with wild hair and long cape with leafy vine patterns.
Compared to the rest of the temple, the statue looks very well preserved.
“You decided to come.”
I nearly jump out of my skin and turn around to find the Forgotten Goddess just standing right behind where I was a moment ago.
Yeah, I forgot, she doesn’t do the dramatic entrance like the other gods.
As I recover from the near-heart attack, I get a good look at the face that I couldn’t discern the day of my execution. Lime-green skin with a few tiny freckles above her cheeks, surrounding a small mousy nose. Her brown eyes look as tired as she sounded that day, but she doesn’t have bags under her eyes. Overall, she looks rather pristine.
That’s god biology for you. Although it’s rather modest compared to the rest of the female side of the pantheon if you count Mistmane’s previous body.
Instead of beautiful or godly gorgeous, she seems to have settled for just cute.
“Hey, are you listening to me?” she asks me, and I realize I’ve been staring at her, completely zoned out.
“Yes! A little. Could you repeat?” Keep it together, Shimmer!
“Forget-Me-Not!” someone shouts behind me.
“Forget-Me-Not! Forget-Me-Not. Forget-Me-Not,” the followers of Wallflower start repeating as they turn to her, bowing and praying, some even crying.
Wallflower smiles, doing a little bow to them. “Forget-Me-Not.” she says, and instantly the chanting and sobbing stops, and a notable sense of relief takes hold of her followers.
I’m out of words. Frozen in place.
This… feels wrong.
No god that I’ve heard of has this kind of desperate devotion. No god just walks into their temple and addresses her followers directly. Not even mentioning the fact that she bowed to them. And that… instant effect on them. How can they go from begging to serene in seconds? Most of these people are knocking on the doors of Tartarus. One of the soldiers I saw earlier is missing an entire arm, while another has half of their face horribly burned! But just a word and a bow and they all just… forget about it?
Who are these people?
I turn to look at Wallflower, who’s just scratching the leather armor covering her forearm like this is just another day.
Who is this goddess?
“Finding my temple and having the will to come to me was the first step of your atonement,” she tells me before moving out of the way to the entrance. “Do you wish to take your next step?”
I take a deep breath and slowly get my emotions under control. Regardless of who she is and what she does, she’s just a tool. I need her to get what is mine, everything else is secondary.
I nod, determined and focused. “What do you need me to do?”