//------------------------------// // Level 8 - On Wyvern's Wings // Story: Twilight Goes to Dalaran // by Leila Drake //------------------------------// Several days later, the tents of Taunka'le Village appeared in the distance. Behind it Twilight made out a dark snow-covered mountain. It seemed they were leaving the warm geyser fields now and as soon as the last hot spring was past the group, the two living party members huddled up under their cloaks. "Wow", said Twilight. "Is that an ancient city at the foot of the mountain?" Tak snorted. "It was. Now ruins are all that's left. It has been cleansed of the Undead Scourge and nobody has set foot or hoof there ever since." Twilight frowned. "Then how come the tents of that village are this close to it?" "The taunka lived here first", commented Priest. "Then the Scouge attacked the village. After some time, the survivors started to return here and rebuild the village." "Oh", mumbled Twilight. "Look: Two houses are already finished. The taunka are faster than I thought", said Priest. Twilight noticed that he had been warming up recently, at least figuratively. Since he did not smell like death anymore it had gotten much easier for her and Tak to talk to him. She was even starting to get used to his furless and in places skinless face. His honesty and occasional stubbornness were kind of refreshing and reminded her a little of Applejack. Tak sighed with relief. They approached the village now and could see movement between the tents and sturdy wooden houses. The taunka had put up fences and stone walls to mark and protect the new village's boundaries - though those walls were not higher than two ponies standing on top of each other. Thus the guards were able to stand within the walls and still look over them. Tak waved at them. Priest groaned, "Let's get this over with." As Tak stopped waving, he asked, "What now?" "Uh", said the undead, "In case you didn't notice, I don't get along too well with the living." Twilight smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry, we just need to get two of those windriders Tak told us about. I'm sure there won't be any problems as long as we pay for them. Right?" She looked at Tak expectantly. He just nodded and threw a look at Priest. The undead stared at the tents with narrowed eyes. In the end it was Tak again who did the talking. As they entered the village, almost all of the inhabitants put down their work to watch them walk over to the keeper of the windriders, a brown-furred taunka who introduced himself as Omu Spiritbreeze. He gave them two windriders and suggested "the Forsaken and the pet should take one wyvern together". Twilight rolled her eyes at the "pet" but did not complain. She was not sure whether it was such a good idea to travel by windrider. They resembled the manticores of the Everfree Forest more than she liked it, a muscular lion's body ending in a scorpion's tail and the leathery wings not unlike those of a giant bat. They seemed wild and confident to her and triggered her flight instinct. "Are you sure they are not aggressive?", she asked with a hint of a shiver in her voice as Tak mounted his windrider. "Of course I am", said Tak. "They've been with the taunka for years. Come on, you have wings, too, that's more than I can say about the two of us. I bet you are going to enjoy the flight." Priest climbed onto the second wyvern's back. The beasts had been equipped with saddles to ease the flight. Twilight had no idea how to sit on them properly. She stretched her wings and flew on top of the windrider, to the free spot right before Priest. Then she awkwardly tried to sit down with one foreleg and one hind leg at each side. It was extremely uncomfortable, reminding her of her first night as an alicorn in Canterlot when she tried to persuade her wings to stay folded to her sides. "That doesn't look right", observed the undead. "Guess how it feels." Twilight frowned. "Let me try something else." "Can we take off?", asked Tak from the back of his mount. "Just a minute", said the alicorn desperately. "I just need to – aha!" She decided to sit down sideways which still was not so comfortable either - but bearable. She just hoped that the windrider would not do any barrel rolls or dives. Priest secured them with a leather belt that was sewn to the windrider's saddle. "In case of a fight", he explained. Twilight went pale. "We are ready," said Priest. "No, we're not", whispered Twilight. "All right, take off", announced Tak and bent forward, pressing his knees into the sides of the mount. His windrider started to run, followed by Priest and Twilight's mount. Both animals flapped their wings and when they had enough speed they jumped off the ground, heading straight for the village gate. "Watch out!", shouted Twilight, ducking instinctively as if she could prevent the collision this way. They missed the lintel of the gate by inches, making Twilight gasp. The beast growled and flapped its wings even harder, heading in the direction of the mountain in the east. The temple ruins below them were clearly visible by now, spiky towers and crumbling walls and ziggurats. Priest laughed, a loud, dusty, cackling noise in the depth of his throat. "That's more like it!" he shouted. Twilight turned her head. His robes moved wildly in the wind like a ragged flag. There was a smile on the undead's face that made him look much more alive than ever, and he looked down at Twilight who sat in front of him and held on for her dear life. "Flying is great", he declared. She could not help but grin. They left the village behind very fast, flying higher and above cloud level. The wind felt like icy knifes trying to cut Twilight's skin, making her shake despite the thick cape enveloping her. Priest noticed her shivering and cast a spell. Suddenly her chest started to feel warm as if she had drunk a hot tea. The feeling did not stay there but expanded to her limbs and head, chasing away the numbness. It took another minute until the shivering stopped. Twilight lay her head upon her forelegs, trusting the belt and Priest to keep her safely on the wyvern's back, and dozed off. - - - When she woke up again they were still airborne, flying over a giant row of mountains. From up here it looked like a toymaker's dream. Everything was covered by snow and ice. There were hardly any trees. More ancient ruins were scattered on the ground, sturdier than the Riplash ruins and their golden edges shining in the sun. From what Twilight could tell at this distance they seemed much older. On their port side a gigantic fortress sat on top of the highest mountain, its spires and fortified walls shining with a cold, menacing dark blue. Twilight had never seen such a material before. The fortress seemed oddly out of place but the alicorn was unable to put her hoof on it. Still, the citadel dominated the entire landscape not only because of its size. Even the ruins in the valley below were dwarfed by it. Twilight could easily imagine King Sombra building a new castle like this in the Crystal Empire had he not been defeated again. He would have used more crystals, obviously, but the eerie air of the fortress would have been just like it. She looked up and saw Tak's windrider slightly ahead. It was starting to struggle, exhausted by carrying such a big passenger for this long and Twilight hoped for Tak's sake that the flight would be over soon.