//------------------------------// // Dreaming of a Better Future // Story: Lonely Mountains // by TadStone //------------------------------// Dreaming of a Better Future She was surrounded by darkness, floating through a void with nothing but a small speck of orange at a distant horizon casting a faint light. She felt disconnected, body and mind no longer connecting to the same entity. Here, she was nothing but thoughts, a spirit free and yet caught in tight confine. She knew this place. Only last time, she had been here alone. Summoning all her energy, she reached out to the other entity, trying to console the fearful and sad being that was calling her name, pleas and destroyed hopes rushing through the empty space in colourful waves of light. There was pain, so much sorrow, a revoked desire to live. If only she could find a way to directly communicate with it, to express all her love, but the distance was too great, her spirit stretched too thin. All she could do was watch and weep as the filly withdrew into herself again, leaving behind nothing but darkness and sadness. It was time for her to leave this place as well. “I’ve failed.” Her voice was weak from a long time of disuse. Even the light movement of her jaw sent jolts of pain soaring through her skull, reinforcing the hollow feeling even more. “You have all but failed, Rainbow. You have protected the clans and your own country. The coffin had crossed the border two days ago.” Until now, she had refused to open her eyes, but she revoked her decision as she heard the voice of the blind unicorn leader. The light burned harshly into her retinas as her lids opened up, but she refused to close them again, forcing herself to fully wake up. It wasn’t easy, some very exhausted aspect in herself working against her efforts, dragging her back to sleep. She was lying in a cave, the rough fabric of her uncomfortable bedding sticking to her sweat-soaked fur. She didn’t notice the wet stains her own tears had created on the pillow she was resting on. Not far from her position, a plain, grey fireplace lit up the room, spending warmth with the flickering motion of the flames burning within. On a worn, red cushion, Jǫðurr sat right next to it, indulging in the heat that engulfed his old joints. A small burst of light erupted from the grey unicorn’s horn, sending out a previously agreed signal for the ponies under his command. At least that was what Rainbow guessed it was, as only a few moments later, a light-brown earth pony entered the room, balancing a tablet with water as well as another cup filled with an unidentifiable liquid on her head. Suddenly feeling very hungry, Rainbow tried to sit up, crying out in severe pain as she moved her hoof mere inches across the rough cotton fabric. “Please don’t move, Rainbow. Your body is still in shock after losing too much magic.” “But I need to move.” Rainbow tried again, only to scream in pain the second she moved her leg. Her whole body felt as if it was on fire, her sore wings and the cut on her side alone creating enough agony that a lesser pony would black out immediately. “Please stay down, Rainbow. You mustn't strain yourself. Everything is alright.” It was phrased as a request, but his tone clearly stated that it was an order. “Nothing is alright. My daughter isn’t—” Rainbow’s voice gave out after this statement, a big lump forming in her throat as a new stream of tears built up in her eyes, wasting what little water was left in her weakened body. Hastily, the servants took one of the glasses she had brought, aligning the edge to Rainbow’s mouth and forcing the mare to swallow a thick green substance that tasted suspiciously like medicinal herbs mixed with hazelnut pulp and water. “Thank you, Terna. I think she will feel better in a while. I’ll see that she drinks more of it later.” Even though it went unnoticed by her leader, the earth pony mare slightly bowed before retreating through the door, closing it as she passed through. “You seem very young to have a daughter. Tell me about her.” Jǫðurr slowly rose from his position, joints creaking as he stretched them. He seemed years older than just a few days ago, letting his age show as there was no one left in the room he had to put on a show for. Rainbow tried to turn her head, preferring to face her conversational partner, but failed, this time venting her agony in a low growl and a fearsome distortion of her facial expression. Admitting defeat, she spoke to the ceiling, knowing the words would find their destination nevertheless. “She’s a lovely young pegasus. She lost her birth parents at a very young age and was severely mistreated in the orphanage she was put into. Can’t even fly on her own.” Rainbow kept quiet for a moment, fighting her own emotions that overtook her again. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. She’s like a mini version of me. Only so much better. Signed the adoption papers right before I came to your aid.” Rainbow paused again, swallowing a big lump before continuing, not even trying anymore to stop the stream of tears clouding her vision. “Jǫðurr, she’s connected herself to my element. I could feel her crying out for me. I just had to endure the pain I inflicted on the one pony I love most.” The old unicorn kept silent, instead deciding to move forward. In one long, almost painful looking motion, he lowered himself to the edge of Rainbow’s bed, making sure not to accidentally hurt the mare using his magical senses. Seemingly lost in thought, he brought down his horn to Rainbow Dash’s forehead, a soft white glow emanating from its tip as it made contact with the tender flesh. A fast array of pictures formed before the pegasus’s inner eye, some of them blurred out by years of imperfect storage, others as sharp as if they came through her own eyes. All of them contained a set of three different ponies. At first, there was only one of them, an earth pony mare of breathtaking beauty with a green coat and shimmering violet eyes. A strange sexual attraction accompanied some of her pictures, mystifying Rainbow as it was not her own sentiment. Two other ponies entered the pictures; A male, grey, earth pony foal followed by a vivid-green unicorn daughter. Many pictures showed them playing with each other as they slowly grew up into their teens, while others showed them cuddling with their mom. The stream of happy pictures suddenly stopped, giving way to images of gore and fire that could not be described by words. Rainbow felt the heat singeing her fur, the anger and hatred rising in herself, not just because those feelings were imposed on her. No creature in this world deserved death, especially not in this fashion. Thankfully, this was where the vision stopped, giving way to the image of the broken stallion next to her, tears emerging freely out of his dead eyes that were staring nowhere in particular. “I’ve had a family once too,” he started in weak voice very unlike his usual commanding manner. “They all died during a raid of another clan. My wife was decapitated right before my eyes. She’d tried to hide the foals but without success. I found their stiff corpses three days later, deposited like trash in a heap of dead friends.” He involuntarily raised his voice as he spoke the last words, sparks of energy traveling from his horn to the ceiling where they left black soot stains. “This is what is considered everyday life here.” He was back to a normal volume, but his words were dripping with sadness. “The orb has been the centre of our quarrels for over three hundred years now. Claims have been made that whoever finds the orb first shall be crowned the ruler over all the clans. And yet, nopony ever found it. Didn’t keep those morons from slaughtering each other to gain the territories they thought it might be in. Never even questioned their bucking methods to find it. This damned nation is so far from harmony that not a single pony for generations could even feel this frigging artifact!” He was back to shouting, his face distorted by anger and a shaking hoof raised to the air. Only his unmoving yet emotional eyes betrayed the deep sadness within him, showing the broken stallion he really was. “Rainbow, thanks to you, the orb has left the north. You have sparked a new hope for all of us. Thanks to you, I will live to experience peace for the first time in my very long life.” The smile that crept on his face for a few seconds looked very out of place on his worn features, inexperience clearly showing and telling a good part about his past. Wearily, he straightened up, directly facing the bedridden mare. “If there was a way to bring you to your daughter right now. I would do everything I could to make it possible. I would even give my life if it would help. But at the moment, you have to heal. Many have left Blenda's side to join ours, but she still has power in the clans and so does her father who is the chief of a rather large tribe. She was rather well respected, traveling as some kind of ambassador for many years. That’s what made her so valuable to us until her betrayal... “With her father and her remaining friends, she has closed the border in the vain hope that she could still intercept the orb. The only way through for you is to fly fast in high altitudes, your body dyed another colour. You won’t be able to move for one week, and I fear you won’t be back to proper flying conditions for another two weeks. I am so sorry...” Rainbow groaned, the feelings of Scootaloo she had just felt through her element returning to her. Life sure was cruel to that poor filly. “What about that Fliers Sprout I brought?” Rainbow inquired with a weak voice, already suspecting the answer. “We used it all up. The protective spell we casted on you worked perfectly. We could revive you easily enough, and the wound on your head was only shallow thanks to the magic, but we had to utilise a large amount of energy out of you for the puppet. Your levels were critically low way too often. I feared for you life, so I ordered them to feed you all of it,” Jǫðurr answered in a sad, low voice. “And the crystal is gone fueling the puppet,” Rainbow added more to herself than to her conversational partner, slowly realising that the stallion was right in his assessment. The two sat in silence for a little while before Rainbow started to speak again. “You know that I had brought a year's worth of that herb? That stuff sure is rare.” “But not as rare as you are.” He slowly got up from the bed again, stretching out his legs a little. “I will leave you to rest a little for now. Know that you are safe here. Yrr and her companions still believe you are dead. If you need anything I can provide, there will be somepony within earshot at all times. Just tell them, and it will be done.” He moved over to the door, just to stop and turn around again before actually leaving the room. “I know it’s hard, but try to sleep a little.” And with that, he was gone.