//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: A Warm Cottage // Story: Under the Northern Skies // by Prolet //------------------------------// Rarity and I were sitting on mossy rocks, atop a small hill ascending from the forest below. The sun was still lingering above the mountains, so we’d have some time to set up a camp. We had chosen this site because it was one of the most secure locations nearby. Still wanting to keep our pace up, we were going to sleep for most of the night. One watch for both of us would have to do despite the absence of an alarm or any kind of ward – Rarity’s magical aptitude was focused on the fine control of levitation and other spells useful in her profession. She simply lacked the expertise to cast spells out of her specialization, and training her to cast more advanced ones in a day would’ve been nigh impossible. As I once again studied the map, wind caressed me face, carrying with it a distant chime. My ears perked up. When another breeze met me, I heard it again, this time more clearly. I looked at the approximate direction of the sound, and saw the edge of a clearing about a hundred feet away. “Rarity, I’m hearing something from that direction,” I said, pointing my hoof at the clearing. “It’s probably worth checking out.” My friend gave me a curious look. “Hm?” “Chimes. They can’t be far away. There are no marks of buildings anywhere near us on the map, but it might be outdated. A warm fireplace and a secure shelter would be welcome.” Rarity smiled. “Certainly, darling.” We got on the move, and in no time we were already at the clearing’s edge. Ahead of us sat an idyllic wooden cottage, smoke billowing up from its chimney; I could only wonder how we’d missed the smoke. The clearing held a small field of rye and some root-vegetable I couldn’t identify on the spot. “I can only wonder why somepony would willingly live all the way up here,” Rarity said. “Even Lily Valley is two days from this place.” I watched the inviting building keenly, thinking about the possible reasons. It’d make sense if a pegasus lived here. What took two days for us might be only for a few hours for a fast pegasus, even less for one with the speed matching that of Rainbow’s. Or, the resident just wants to be left alone. Both of us were locked up by surprise as an elderly earth pony mare exited the cottage, her long brown mane draping over her white coat. Her cutie mark was a sickle along with stalks of wheat. Not paying any attention to us, she slowly made her way to the rye field, watching the mountains that now loomed quite close to us. They were already in the shadow, though the sun hadn’t yet set behind them. Concentrating, I tried to cast a spell only for pain to erupt again from my horn. I gasped, cursing my deeply ingrained instincts in my mind. Rarity’s look was full of worry as she held me with her soft hooves for a moment, allowing me to regain my composure. Motive-probing spells were out of the question for the time being. “Should we greet her?” I whispered to Rarity. After considering it for a while, she nodded. Abandoning the ditch on the edge of the field, we walked towards the mare. Rarity cleared her throat. “Good evening, Miss. My name is Rarity, and my friend here is Twilight Sparkle.” The old mare’s mouth was agape for a moment, but she quickly recovered from the surprise, taking measuring looks at us with her yellow eyes. “Good evening, young ladies. Why have you come here, to my humble home, in the middle of the wilds? It’s not often that I get visitors.” Rarity put on her best social smile. I saw that her legs quivered a bit, but that didn’t show in her speech. “We’re here for a mission granted by no other than Princess Celestia. Our destination is still a week’s hike away.” “Ah, travelers! Those have been abundant lately,” the old mare exclaimed with a raspy voice, causing Rarity and me to trade curious expressions. “Please come in; visitors are always welcome in here.” Coughing a bit, the mare made her way inside. We followed closely behind, eager to accept the company and the warm home. The insides of the cottage were decorated with mundane furnishings along with some fancy tapestries. A large central room took up most of the space, though there were also two smaller ones, apparently bedrooms. In the far corner stood a large, slightly cracked hearth, radiating heat across the room. “I’m sorry, young ladies, for I think I haven’t introduced myself yet. Name’s Keen Sickle – been living here since my husband died over a decade ago,” the mare told us, sitting down on one of the worn chairs surrounding a wooden table. “Please sit down. I can see you’re tired.” We took seats without hesitation, enjoying the warmth of the home. Keen seemed quite lively for a mare of her age. “Have you happened to have seen a grey stallion heading by, Miss Sickle?” intrigued Rarity. The mare rubbed her head. “Well, now that you mention it… yes, I did. He came and went, was in a hurry. Didn’t have time to chat at all, just left me standing on the yard as he continued his march. Bought some supplies, you see. I offered them for free, but he insisted on paying.” She paused, staring sternly at us. “And what do you two have to do with this stallion?” “I’m afraid we can’t quite tell you. We’re on a mission of sorts.” Keen rolled her eyes. “Ah, yet another group. Bands of ponies on these ‘missions’ have kept appearing around these parts for a while now. Always going towards the mountains, looking for something.” Her revelation made me frown. There had been at least one unauthorized expedition, that which sparked our journey, but I hadn’t been told of any others. If even Celestia didn’t know all the details, something shady must be going on in here... unless she decided to not tell me everything, but that wouldn’t be anything like her. “Do you have any idea what they’re going there for?” I asked from the old mare. She pinched her eyes closed, as if trying to remember. “No, not really, I’m afraid. Those who have stayed here overnight have mentioned a lake...” The mare opened her eyes and gave us a smile. “That’s it! The Bottomless Lake. They were heading to someplace close to it, though I can but wonder why, for the lake is situated in a valley between two mountains. Must be hard to get there.” “Thanks for your help, Miss Sickle,” said Rarity, looking at me, raising her eyebrows. “Oh, it’s nothing.” We swiftly agreed that Rarity and I could stay in Keen’s cottage for the night. It wasn’t that big of a deal for me after only one night under the stars, but Rarity beamed for the whole evening. To our delight, we also discovered our host to be an amazing cook. Even though the porridge she made us was a really ordinary dish, she somehow managed to make it taste like it was made by Canterlotian cooks. Soon the sun set, and with the elderly Keen already going to bed, Rarity and I had to do the same. The guest bedroom was small, but warm and comfortable. Two inviting beds were sitting in the opposite sides of the room. An oil lamp burned on the windowsill, illuminating the room with a flickering light, one that I’d really need now. Rarity could, of course, use her magic for a simple light spell, but bothering her for something like that would’ve been awkward. Rarity immediately got into the other bed and crept under the blankets, letting out a long yawn. “Good night, Twilight. Please turn the lamp off when you go to sleep, would you?” “Night, Rarity. Don’t worry, I will.” I laid still on my bed for a while. Though I could see the window from there, only darkness was visible outside of it; the lamp wasn’t very powerful. Again was I reminded of my condition by a brief pulse of pain when I tried to levitate the lamp towards my bed. It seemed silly, but manually grabbing things was something that would take a while to get used to. Sighing, I got up and carried the lamp onto my bed table. Then, my pulse raising a bit, I took the book from my bag. Its beautifully drawn cover picture of a mountain sent shivers down my spine. Is this really a good idea? No. But there’s something in that book you have to learn. It can’t be coincidence that it fell into your hooves in the train. No matter how disturbing the contents, you have to find out what the purpose of the book is. The pages were blank this time. Not a single mark was on them, as neither words nor the brown stains that had spattered the book were there. I had been prepared to study the contents for an hour or two, but even though my schedule was slightly thrown off now, I felt relieved. More sleep was always better – I’d need every extra moment possible for the week ahead. With the flick of a switch, the gas stopped flowing into the lamp, extinguishing its flame. I rolled in my sheets for what seemed like an eternity until at last achieving a somewhat comfortable position. Not long after, despite some anxiousness about the sudden change of the book, the sound of wind battering the window and the still prevalent ringing of chimes lulled me to sleep. -- A forest of dark silhouettes surrounded me. The world was one of twilight, as the sun was just under the mountains, casting some light onto the cloudless sky. I knew it wouldn’t rise, for there was no time, no space, and no hope. A certainty that the end was near crushed my mind, making me keel onto the cold ground. But as I looked under me, I noticed the ground wasn’t there. Instead, I was standing on ice. Snow blasted my face, impairing my vision severely. With nothing else to do, I rose up started moving forward, unfazed by the sudden change of my surroundings. “Twilight! You’re taking the wrong direction!” called a sweet, familiar voice from behind me. I turned around to see Rarity standing just a foot away. “Follow me, darling.” For a second, my mouth hung open, but I couldn’t form a response. As Rarity began to walk away, I trod in her hoofsteps without hesitation. She was the only thing I could see or hear clearly in the blizzard. But not a minute had passed when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, instigating a frown from me, not even turning her face towards mine. “She’s nearby, Twilight.” Rarity’s voice was full of what I could only identify as despair. “She’s coming. She needs you. Please understand.” I could barely hear her last words as the wind got even more powerful, making me shiver of cold. “Who is?” was all I managed to mutter out. And then, Rarity vanished. I was now alone in the white void, in the middle of nothing, yet in the center of something important. With no warning or reason, the skies cleared up and the wind stopped entirely. Now I was seeing all the way to the horizon, but everywhere I looked, there was just a flat, white surface of ice and snow. The color of the sky was a very light shade of blue, but the sun wasn’t there. Nothing prepared me for what came next: the light went out. My eyes swiftly adjusted to the new level of illumination. I glanced at every direction, sweat now dripping from my forehead, only to notice that I was in the forest again. Channeling magic to cast a light spell through my horn didn’t work, but oddly, trying didn’t hurt this time. A sudden breeze carried with it a message, not more audible than a whisper: “Twilight Sparkle… you have to come.” The sound had come from somewhere left to me, and with nothing else to do, I started to walk towards that direction. Soon, the sky began getting brighter. The forest around me, however, was only getting darker as it contrasted with the blue above. “I knew you’d come,” a voice from behind me let out. I froze. Rarity stepped to my side, giving me a hearty smile. “Don’t be afraid, Twilight. You have to do it.” Glad to see my friend in the wretched place, I wrapped my hooves around her, and she returned the hug. As her soft coat warmed me, the forest no longer felt ominous at all. It was just a shady backdrop. “I’m not afraid with you, Rares. But why are we here? What is this place?” “You know what place this is,” answered Rarity, still clinging onto me. Her eyes were pointed at the void behind me. “I do?” “Yes.” Rarity snuggled me. “You’ve been here before, Twilight. She was watching.” What my friend told was unnerving, and not even the feeling of her nuzzle resting on my neck could ease the tension that struck me. I held her, shaking a bit, when she suddenly squeezed me. “She’s watching us right now,” whispered Rarity into my ear, holding me in place with tremendous force. I couldn’t move a muscle, and was having a hard time trying to breathe. I was completely helpless as Rarity pushed me into the ground; unable to even voice any kind of protest, shocked by her actions. Rarity was looking at me with a sad smile – tears were forming in her eyes. The ground gave out under her push, and my vision was instantly blurred. When a moment ago it had been hard to breathe, now it was impossible. I was now underwater, Rarity’s hooves keeping me firmly in place. Though I was now trying my best to fight back, there was nothing I could really do. The small amount of oxygen in my lungs was consumed in seconds as I flailed my hooves hopelessly. I started feeling dizzy, and the world faded away. -- My eyes snapped open, but I could see nothing. The ground under me still felt wet, this time with actual moisture instead of an imagined plane of water. I was lying on grass. “Ra… Rarity?” I whimpered into the darkness. Naturally, no response came. My breath became faster and faster as moments passed on. Wind was blasting my face, and I could hear leaves rustling overhead. A lump formed in my neck; I had no idea where I was, how much time it would take for the sun to rise or whether anypony was looking for me or not. When I hastily gathered myself and rose up, light flashed in the darkness, almost blinding me. An unnatural, extremely intense white halo burned a dozen yards away from me. A form of something was standing in front of it, casting a tall shadow. My mind couldn’t process what I was seeing; there was something, but I had no real idea what it looked like, what its shape was, or whether it even existed at all. As abruptly as the light had appeared, it also vanished. Afterimages scorched my vision, balls of light dancing around the void. Suddenly, the wind paused. I felt like running as fast as I could into the nothingness, but was locked in place, dread building up in my mind. “Twilight, over here… follow me,” called the soft voice of Rarity from somewhere near. My heart was pounding with a frenzy not often experienced by me. After catching my breath, I managed to reply. “Is that you, Rarity?” No response came. The void stood still – there was nothing to be heard or seen. I blinked in the darkness, trying to fend off the phantom lights that still lingered in my vision. Dread was creeping into my mind, and I had to do my best to avoid panicking. Use your strengths, Twilight; you aren’t useless without magic. Consider this a part of Celestia’s supposed test. Yes, of course. That was it. This was just a test I needed to overcome, and there hadn’t been one yet that I couldn’t. I inhaled slowly, trying to calm myself down. Taking one careful step forward didn’t change anything, but I was assured that I had indeed woken up and wasn’t in a void. As I took another step, the sound of wind returned. A chime of bells could be heard from somewhere further away. Thank Celestia. If I can follow the noise, I’ll make it back eventually. There was hope again. Being effectively blind in the dark, probably cloudy night was just an obstacle to overcome. But is it really safe? Shouldn’t you just wait for the sun to rise? I considered the possibilities. The break of dawn could’ve been one, two, or even five hours away, and the thought being alone outside while seeing nothing for a long time was not a comforting one. On the other hoof, I might injure myself when moving in the darkness, even if I walked with a slow pace. From the corner of my eye, I saw a dim light, and when I turned my head, it was still there. It was the distinct glow of the light spell; Rarity was probably looking for me. A wave of relief washed over me. This would be over soon. “Rarity!” I shouted with all the strength I could muster, immediately regretting it. If something unfriendly or worse was close, my shout had certainly attracted its attention. I bit my lip. The light stopped moving. “Twilight?” responded Rarity from the distance, her voice only barely audible. I could no longer restrain myself, and started running towards my friend. It was a miracle that I didn’t crash into a tree right away, but I didn’t really care about it at the moment. Only when it actually happened did I regret my impulsiveness - the sudden smack of a rugged trunk against my face was anything but pleasant. A flash of pain in my head along with a very brief blackout made me stop. What the hay are you doing? Calm yourself down, Twilight. Think about your actions beforehand. Taking off like that was just plain stupid, and you know it. Sitting down on the ground and rubbing my head, I called Rarity again. This time, her reply came from a bit closer, and I could see the light moving towards my general direction. Rarity’s face was one of deep concern as she reached me. She was panting heavily, but didn’t stop to catch her breath, instead lunging straight for me. Her hooves constricted me so fiercely that air escaped my lungs and I was knocked over. “Twilight! You’re safe!” Rarity let out. I gasped for air under her. “Yes… just… air…” I could see a blush on Rarity’s face, only inches away from mine. “Oh, I’m sorry, that was a most unladylike act from me,” she said and loosened her grip. “I was just so worried for you! I’ve been searching for you for some time already. When I woke up and went to the toilet and noticed you were gone, I almost panicked!” “Well, here I am,” I said, smiling. “And?” Rarity raised her eyebrows. “Look, Rarity, I have no idea. I simply awoke here after a somewhat unpleasant dream. I’m really glad that you found me, though. Spending the rest of the night alone in the middle of these woods would’ve been terrifying!” “You’re alive and well, that’s all what matters right now. Come, let’s get back to the cottage. Miss Sickle ought to be already waiting for us with some hot soup ready.” It looked like a tear escaped Rarity’s eye, but I couldn’t be sure.