The Journey Continues
On my third day I was bitterly awoken by pouring rain. I ran into the mouth of the cave and shook myself as dry as I could. My body was stiff from sleeping on the hard ground the past three nights. I sat as I watched buckets of water fall from the sky with out end. As I sat waiting for the rain to stop my mind began to wander. I thought about how beautiful it made the Everfree Forest look and how every thing gleamed like diamonds. I then thought about how they were like tears from the sky. I remembered my friends back home and how they would never truly know what happened to me. The rain was like fire, so versatile, so many different meanings, so many ways to look at the same thing. I then thought about my magic and wondered if I could see my friends through magic. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind. I focused on my best friend's face, I thought about his voice, I thought about how much I wanted to tell him I was ok and that even though an ocean of stars was between us, I was still there for him. But there was nothing, only the blackness behind my eyelids. I opened my eyes to see that every thing was blurry. Not knowing what else to do I just cried. It was bound to happen eventually, but it had to happen during a rain storm, so many meanings and right now it was saddening. I was alone, I was a wanderer, I had no home to go to. I was used to being alone but for most of my life I at least had Josh. I had money to pay for food, magic lessons, a house, and anything else I could want but I still had nothing. A house isn't a home without people who love you, that is why my house as a child was so empty, you can fill a house with all the "stuff" you want, but it isn't a home until it's filled with your friends and family. I cried until my feelings of solitude subsided. I moved my mind forward on to happier thoughts as the rain continued to fall. I was in Equestria, I was free, I could do anything I wanted. I had been alone my whole life. The only reason being alone now bothered me so is because over the years I came to except that I didn't need to be alone. I had Josh, my best friend, I had learned that there were people who cared for me and that I wasn't the only one believing in myself. I only wished I could give Josh the peace of mind that I was safe and where I needed to be. The day came to a bittersweet close, the rain was stopping, the sun was setting, and I knew tomorrow when I woke up I could press forward with a better mindset. I had no way of telling Josh I was ok, but our bond is strong enough that he probably already knew, and that feeling was enough to convince me. In the distance a rainbow appeared across the horizon.
I woke up the next morning with renewed vigor. I put Eldur Innan sheath's harness on and through on the saddle bags I retrieved two days earlier, they were still filled to the brims with gold, I moved out of the cave and looked out over the Everfree Forest. Everything was darker and gray as the sky was overcast,fearing that it would rain again I moved quickly down the mountain, as I moved the slippery slopes tried to escort me to my death. As the day went on the sun broke though the clouds and gave everything a nice warm drying glow. I reached the bottom by mid-day, going down is so much easier then going up, and I found a stream of fresh water. I drank much and put the bags down to rest, gold is heavy, I then stood and decided to practice with my sword. The more I practiced the more it felt natural, which made it easier to fight with, and I remembered how "alien" I felt back on Earth. A part of me wanted to forget Earth entirely, as to not re awaken the feelings from yesterday, but then I knew. I had to remember, I could never forget my old life, I owed it to Josh that much. I would remember the good and the bad, I had to, it made me what I am today. With that I put Eldur Innan back in his sheath and collected up my saddlebags. I took another long drink and then proceeded into the woods.
Not much happened on my travels through the Everfree Forest. Most days I would wake up, find a source of water, eat some grass, walk in a single direction, and when the sun went down I would gather wood for a fire. The seventh day was my first of many encounters with the Timber Wolves, man does their breath stink, normally they would be a problem but their not so bad. They're the best kind of fire wood, they find you. On the ninth day I encountered a stone alligator, my sword was quite effective at injuring it and driving it away, I was surprised to see that like the legend said the sword sustained no damage. Not a ding or dent, still perfectly strait, didn't even scratch the surface. When I got to Ponyville I would have to ask Twilight about it or something. One night I had it in the embers of my fire for well over three hours and when I pulled it out and touched it, it was cold as ice. Like I said my days in the Everfree Forest were just about uneventful. Besides the occasional Timber Wolf "attack" I was mostly just moving forward. It wasn't until the fifteenth night that I had a good feeling of where I was going.
I was walking in the woods, all was clear, not a cloud in the sky. The moon shone brightly in the sky and after being woken up by Timber Wolves I thought I would get some ground. Thanks to the light of the moon I was able to see clear as day, if not better, I often found that the sun gave of too much light. I had been walking for two hours and I was starting to feel tired again. I couldn't sleep out here, as I knew the pack was still hunting me, I had to find a place to hold up for the remainder of the night. Then I saw it, as I came through the brush, a massive castle lying in ruin. I was at the palace of the sisters. The location of the legendary fight between Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia. I was in awe, this would do perfectly, the wolves dared not to come near this place and if it rained I could take shelter. There might even be a bed in there. As I entered the castle I could see the minor renovations the mane six had done, but most of it was still in ruins. All the debris had been cleared out and everything had been cleaned and polished. Despite this the stone floor was still cracked, the walls covered in vines that were too stubborn to come off, and the windows all had broken glass sitting inside their sills. I looked at the artwork and craftsmanship, for not having fingers they had done a fantastic job, I moved down the corridors and looked for the bedrooms. I remembered the traps as I stepped on a pressure plate and almost fell into a pit that sprang open. I carefully moved around it, and continued down the hall until I reached a room, the door was marked Luna all in runes. Inside the room was beautifully made with a dark blue marble that covered the walls and ceiling, the floor was covered with a black rug that had little white dots to look like stars. The furniture was made of gorgeous black wood polished and covered with a layer of dust. All over the room hung pictures of Luna and Celestia, they looked so young, and on the wardrobe was a book labeled "Luna's thoughts". I ignored the book seeing as it isn't right to pry where one is not allowed. Her bed was large and soft made of hay with a layer of feathers, the sheets were cool and silk, the bed itself rested on a frame made from oak painted blue with swirls of purple. Exhausted I climbed into the bed and curled into a little ball, this room has not shown any ware unlike the rest of the castle, but my thought were silenced as sleep over came me.
I awoke on the floor in a dark room and surrounded by mist I could feel a presence in the room with me. Alarmed I panickedly searched for Eldur Innan so as to defend myself from that in the shadows. A soothing voice then came from the darkness, it sounded similar to Celestia's voice, and then I remembered that this was Luna's voice! Realizing it was a dream I relaxed and listened to what Luna had to say.
"So you are the great power my sister and I had sensed about half a cycle ago. I am pleased to see you are good at heart."
Of course when they "saw" me in my astral projection they must have been sensing my presence and could not actually see me. Before I could respond Luna spoke again.
"The man far from home with two minds, how aren't thou insane? How long have you been dreaming of freedom?It isn't everything you had hoped it to be is it? I sense... I... sense, that despite sadness your joy is stronger. That is good. I had hoped the tree had not made a mistake and it hadn't."
"The tree? As in the tree of harmony? Is that what brought me here? Was I chosen? What is so special about me?" My questions just poured out.
"Patience young one. All will be answered in time and you will be stronger for it. As for now take heed and know your message has been sent. You have a great future ahead of you, lots of learning, lots of healing, lots of pain, lots of grief, but also lots of love. Train well, and follow your heart, it will lead you to glory."
"Message? What message?" But it was too late, the presence was gone, I was left swirling in my mind. Two minds? Message? Great power? And what about me or my future was so important? I felt myself waking up and I saw the tree of harmony glowing in my mind.
I sat up tangled in the blankets and drenched in sweat. I was still trying to figure out what it all meant as I fixed the bed, after all it would be rude to leave the bed messy, and I searched around the castle to see if there was anything related to what Luna had mentioned. I didn't find anything so I moved on. As I stepped out into the court yard I saw the bright sun hanging low in the sky as it continued it's climb higher in the sky. Before I left I went down and saw the tree of harmony. It was much bigger then I had remembered it, I was on four legs now but still, it seemed more powerful than anything else I had ever encountered. I put my hoof on it and closed my eyes. In my head I saw nothing but still felt an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction and peace. When I opened my eyes again the tree shown brightly. I then proceeded to climb the stairs and walk down the path that lead to Ponyville.
As I moved onward I kept thinking about what Luna had told me. I also couldn't help but wonder what she meant by great power, or that I had learning,healing,pain,grief, and love ahead of me. Why was I so important? I had literally gone under the radar everywhere else in my life but here I was going to become super important. Why? Nothing else really happened on the trail, as I walked until I came to the top of a hill and saw what I had been striving for. Ponyville. The sun was setting and it cast amazing shadows across the fields surrounding. I stood marveling at what a magnificent sight it was, I had not seen it in sixteen days, and even now it was more impressive. I wanted to run down and meet everypony in person but then I decided to wait until morning. I moved to a spot where I wouldn't fall down the hill and sighed as I curled up on the ground. I was so close but my journey wasn't over yet, it had been put on hold till the morning.