This is not the full chapter. Read the full chapter at Tamed II - As Time Went On
Tamed II - Act 1
Chapter 1 – Mysterious Rendezvous
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On a solemn night, the air was frigid and the wind screeched past the cold rocks of Smokey Mountain. A solitary pony, a Pegasus, trekked carefully along the treacherous path. His eyes were narrowed and his wings tucked tightly. He could barely see where he was going as only the light of a full moon cared to guide his way. He constantly stepped on loose rocks, letting out hisses of pain and disapproval. However, he carried on. He knew he had to reach the top. It wasn’t that he was a daredevil or absolutely insane. It was imperative that he continued...
Eventually, his eyes caught the hint of small breakaway in the path. He was now stuck with two options and was clueless about the layout of the mountain.
“Luna guide me…which way is it?” His voice was completely drowned out by the wind. He couldn’t hear himself much less reach the ears of anypony else. The Pegasus decided to ignore the breakaway and continued along the main path. In retaliation, a large gale pushed him back to the fork. He was so close to losing his ground, but with a quick decision, he lunged towards the path he rejected. Without warning, the wind died out. So fast in fact that the Pegasus’s ears began to ring from the dead silence. However, he was relieved to have finally rid of that annoying adversary.
The path in front of him lit up in the moonlight. It was very narrow and it seemed to go on forever. He was walled on both sides by giant cliffs of rock. The moon, oddly enough, was positioned straight ahead. It loomed over where the path seemed to end.
“Did you hear me?” He whispered to himself. As he progressed, the only sounds he could hear were the light stamping of his hooves on the hard rock and his own labored breathing. Then he suddenly saw something out of the corner of his eye. To his left the Pegasus’s head turned to stare down another pathway, a pathway that he was sure wasn’t there before. He noticed something else and turned his head back. The pathway he was traversing…was gone...or was it? Confused he looked around. He was indeed still on the straight and narrow path with the moon looming in the distance in one direction and complete darkness in the other.
“Where are you taking me?” Whispering, he continued.
There are moments in my life when nothing seems to make sense. As if…walking forward only brings me backward. When I look up…all I see is the ground below. I feel as if I don’t belong…as if the way I see the world is…different. I can see the light before me, but how far off is it? Will I ever be able to reach it?
He blinked. He was now facing a wall. Again, he was disoriented, but the moon again guided him. It begged for him…
I always fear the choices I make…when something seems so obviously right…and it turns out to be the worst decision you’ve ever made.
“Hey!” The Pegasus’s ears perked. He heard a voice that was not his own. Instantly, he turned to the right…down the path of darkness. A pony was standing there…illuminated by the moon. It was a filly…small and adorable. She had violet mane and eyes…a horn and a cute smile. The stripe in her mane… “Follow me! I want to show you something,” She interrupted his thoughts.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes with a hoof. It…wasn’t an illusion. “Shouldn’t we…do as we’re told?” The words left his mouth unwillingly. He put a hoof up to his lips.
“Fyre…you’re no fun. I want to see the world! I hate being cooped up at home all the time.”
The Pegasus, Fyreburst, just stared at the filly for the longest time. His eyes began to well up. He took a step toward her. When his hoof touched the ground, he suddenly yanked it back with a yelp. It felt as if something sharp had impaled it.
“I-I can’t go!” He cried. “Just come back…come back to me!” He reached out to her. “I don’t…want to see you go…”
He blinked again. The filly was gone. In a panic, he looked around. The narrow path was all that was left. She wasn’t there…gone…with no choice to go back.
Panic…the feeling that always tears you up. You feel hopeless…estranged. A part of you is pinned down…to one spot in the past. The more you try to deny it ever happened…the more it hurts you…keeps you awake at night…searching desperately for a way to pull the pin…and correct it, but all you discover is that there’s nothing you can do.
“Moving on…easier said than done.” He muttered. He wiped his eyes and then took off in a gallop towards the moonlight. He could hear whispering all around him…incomprehensible but familiar. Only now and then could he make out the words.
“In every scar comes power, knowledge, and experience, but also a pain you can never forget.” The voice was clearer than the rest. The moon was becoming brighter and brighter with every second.
“Never forget,” He repeated.
“Going beyond the boundaries, new pains and new paths emerge. It’s a difficult choice to make because…can you ever go back?” The voice spoke to him again.
“No…you can’t change the past. All you can do is deny it,” He answered.
As soon as he was done speaking, the light became blinding. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, but once he reopened them, he was standing in front a giant mouth to a very large cave. He had reached the top. Shocked, he looked behind him and could see the fork he had encountered earlier.
“That was…strange.” He shook his head and rubbed it with a hoof. “I must be getting tired. Let’s just find out what this is all about.” He walked toward the cave and entered into its gloomy depths. Blinded was an understatement. He couldn’t see his own hoof in front of his face. He didn’t bring with him any sort of lighting and was simply stuck not being able to see.
“Hello?!” He hollered into the darkness. He waited for an answer, but there was none. Fyre sighed as he remembered something he was told to say, “A long decade come and gone...” He rolled his eyes. “Stare into the blazing dawn…” He inhaled to say the rest…
“Rest upon that smoky spire…leave the land bathed in fire,” A sly, quiet voice finished for him. “So you’ve come…just like she said.”
“Like who said? Who are you?” Fyre looked around, but nothing could be seen in the darkness.
“Fyreburst…that’s your name, right?” The voice cracked…it seemed young and coltish.
“I’m not saying anything until you answer my question.” He stamped his hoof.
“Such defiance will get you killed, Fyre. You come not here by your own will…but by fate…I also know what you seek.”
“Then we can make this short. Tell me what I want to know!” He stepped backwards a little. He was ready to bolt out of there as soon as he could.
“First there’s something you need to tell me.” The voice became slightly louder. Out of the darkness, Fyre could see the glint of two eyes. Not enough to make out their color, but enough to know where the voice was coming from.
“Oh? Something you want to know, huh?” He scoffed. “Look, I was told you would be cooperative.”
“What do you know…about Twilight Sparkle?”
“Twilight Sparkle?” He curved his lips into a small grin. “Actually, I do know something about that pony.”
He could sense the figure he was speaking to become restless once it heard this. The eyes drew closer…close enough to make out their color…purple. “Tell me! Tell me where she is!”
“Ah ah…I just got done climbing this awful, terrible mountain. Give me a break. I want my information first. Then I’ll gladly tell you.”
“And if you don’t…I’ll kill you! You got that?!”
“Fine by me.” He could feel a bead of sweat trickle down his face. His legs tightened and he swallowed the persistent lump in his throat. “Now tell me.”
The voice took a moment to respond, “Go to Ponyville…”
“Ponyville? That…country town? She’s…there?”
“Enough questions…tell me about Twilight!” The figure was getting excited.
“Twilight, huh? Well…I hate to disappoint you…but I’ve never heard of her.”
With that, Fyre swung himself around and dashed towards the exit. He unfurled his amber wings and took to the air.
“You!!” The voice screamed. The anger in it was like nothing he’s ever heard. It was all the more reason to fly as fast as he could. He was sure he got a good lead on whatever it was. He hoped it couldn’t fly…
“Gahh!!” Fyre yelped as he was tackled out of the sky. He hit the hard rock with a deafening thud. The Pegasus rolled to a stop and he quickly tried to recover himself, but before he could even stand he was knocked onto his side. The pain of both falls was tearing into him. He kicked violently at his attacker.
“I told you this would happen! Why would you lie to me?! I can’t trust…anypony!” He heard the voice yell at him. He was forced onto his back. His vision was blurry as he glanced helplessly upward. The figure was silhouetted by the moonlight. Two purple eyes and a purple-hued mane were all he could make out.
“Lights out, Fyre!” was the last thing he heard.
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This is not the full chapter. Read the full chapter at Tamed II - As Time Went On