Aurora: The End of Beginnings.

by WinterLune

Chapter 8 - Lost With the Winds of Question

Dreams are a troublesome thing; you never know when you’re going to have them, whether they will be good or bad, long or short, or even nightmarish. Unfortunately for me the dream I found myself in was more like a living hell, fire, buildings laid to ruin, the ground split open in countless areas with nothing but darkness at the bottom, screams of panic and terror, and a dark figure laying waste to it all with dark and powerful magic.

I myself was floating far above all the wreckage and ruin peering downward in wonder and question of just what I was looking at. The place being laid to ruin was Pony-Ville or at least that’s what I figured I wasn’t quite sure but I did make out what I thought to be Twilights Library set ablaze. As far as I was concerned at the moment I deserved to see all this for what I had done in the waking world even if I had no intentions of doing what I had done, that which being somehow breaking one of Diamond Tiaras legs with a dodge ball.

Of course all dreams do come to an end; the end of my dream came from being hit by a stray magic bolt.

I awoke slowly, still groggy from my sleep my eyes being crusted over from my tears; a quick wiping with my hooves got the crust off along with the dried blood on my nose. A glance at my now more easily to see surroundings told me that I was still inside the cloud I had chosen to hide in, I hadn’t been found yet much to my relief, though it was apparent that I would have to get a move on eventually to get myself something to eat since I had forgotten my lunch back at the school. As for my bag I found it lying next to me, of all things, I hadn’t the time to grab it from inside the school where I had left it; a quick check inside showed me that everything was still inside along with that strange drawing and even stranger still I also found my lunch bag inside it as well.

Perplexing as it may have been I again didn’t have any time to think about how my belongings got here, just the fact of where to go next.

I decided to poke my head out of the cloud I was in to check the time of day, a glance at the sun told me it was getting close to night fall but glancing down at the ground was a different thing entirely; the entire ground was washed with nothing but blue waves of water. Afterward a great gust of wind blasted into my face almost knocking me right back into the cloud, apparently the wind had blown my cloud hiding place so far away from Pony-Ville that I ended up abroad at sea.

“Great, now how am I supposed to get back home?” I asked myself out loud. Unfortunately I didn’t have an answer to that question I already knew from experience that I couldn’t fly all that well, swimming was also out of the question as the sea was far to vast as from the prier check of my surroundings there was no sign of land in any direction, that and I didn’t know how to swim; my choice to run from my wrong doings was going to end up being my bane. Another strong gust of wind blew my cloud farther away from the place I had called home if not only for the few days I had spent living there.

Then a brilliant idea hit me, taking into consideration that I could walk, stand, and most likely move this cloud in whatever way I wanted I decided to climb out and onto the top of the cloud. I may not be able to fly all that well at the moment but with the help of this cloud and the help of the wind at my back I could most likely cover a great amount of distance with the help of my wings; I took a firm grasp onto the cloud under me and flapped my wings in the opposing direction of the wind, the amount of acceleration I had expected was a good deal less than what I felt now, the wind blowing my hair behind me and the world spanning out in front of me.

Even if I may never be able to get back to Pony-Ville because I had no idea where I was at sea there was still a vast world in the direction I was going, it was only a matter of getting to it and the time it took to find it. After all I didn’t exactly have much food or daylight to find land to get more should I run out let alone the time to fly around all day looking for it; whatever “it” may be.

Needless to say with my inexperience with flying it didn’t take long for my wings to tire out from use. The most I could tell about what direction I was going is that it was getting warmer so my best bet is that the wind was blowing me south; best I remember that later if I ever wanted to return to Pony-Ville though again I still didn’t know how far from land I had been blown away.

Since I was tired from flying, I pushed myself back into the cloud for some rest and some deep thinking. I already knew that I was a good deal different from most ponies as being able to use magic and not be a unicorn was something abnormal; thinking farther back I thought about the orb I had found inside of that cave, I had little to no idea why it was inside there to begin with aside thinking it was put there for safe keeping. Why else put it in a cave after all.

“Your thinking is correct young one.”

That same voice again that was in my head earlier made a rather abrupt return, making me look around trying to figure out where it came from.

“Take a look inside your bag my dear.”

“My bag?” I thought for a moment, I had no idea where this voice was coming from but I wasn’t going to bother questioning it; I took a quick look inside my bag only to find none other but that same orb I had picked up in the cave before, it was picked up out of my bag without a second thought. But wait, didn’t it shatter back inside the cave?

“Well, yes and no. More so the seal holding me inside the cave had broken and was bound to none other than yourself, you could say we are bound to each other now.”

“But you’re a talking orb, how exactly does that work and what do you mean by “Bound”?” I asked aloud in question.

“That my dear filly is a rather long story, though considering where we are at the present moment I guess it wouldn't do any harm to tell you what you would eventually learn for yourself in the coming days.” The orb spoke to me in my mind, its soft glow flickering with each word.

“It all started long ago, long before the princesses you know today had come to power and even before they had earned their right to be Alicorn. It was the very beginning of the Equestria you know today back when this land was still young, evil still roamed the land like it was its own and the forces of good where still yet to arise. I was once a filly much like yourself, gifted with magic though I was not of the unicorn race, I was a freak of nature so to speak as back then the races of equine did not see eye to eye and were in fact still at war with themselves. Though every now and again a few select ponies would band together and face the evils that walked our world rather than bickering with each other over silly endeavors, I was one of these select ponies, I fought against the evil that tormented our lands and even found love in the most tormented or places. I even had gotten married and had children. Though before that I had fought with none other than those princesses of today Celestial Sun and Lunar Moon, they were my best friends at the time and had helped me through many a horrible experience fighting a great evil that had ruled our land. He was called Jashiin a demon king of the underworld, he slaughtered many a good pony including my husband after learning that we had found a way to seal his evil away into the forest you now know today as Everfree, back then it was simply known as The Cursed Forest as all who dared stray from the path were never to be heard from again or were turned into the creatures that roam its woods.” The orb stopped for a moment after I took my lunch out from my bag which was of course, more muffins; it continued after my first mouthful.

“Anyway, Jashiin was sealed into the life force of The Cursed Forest using the magic I possessed combined with Celestias’ and Lunas’ magic as well using a spell we had learned from an ancient book of prophecies that we had stolen from under Jashiins’ nose. Though unfortunately the magic that the spell used also used the life force of a select pony from the group using it, I chose myself to be that pony and sacrificed myself to save the life of my friends and my fellow pony but before that moment I had became this orb I had asked Celestia and Luna to seal my daughter inside of a drawing she had made for my birthday the same day we sealed away Jashiin so that she may someday come free of that seal and live a better life in the future of Equestrian kind.”

A drawing; I took a look into my bag and brought out the strange drawing I had found in the same cave with the orb and held it next to it as if it could see it.

“That’s right my dear, you’re my daughter, brought from the past to this present with the same magical gift I once had so long ago. Though I find it interesting that you held no memories from the past when you were released from the drawing; most likely a side effect of being held inside it for so long. But at least hear your true name, and not my own.”

“Her own?” I thought to myself. Does that mean that the book I was reading in Twilights’ library was a history book from the past?

“Aurora?” I said aloud.

“Yes my dear, the book you had found was my and your own diary the drawing inside was done by none other than yourself. Though I think it’s about time you remembered your true name, Vail Aurora Esprit”

The name hit my mind like a bag full of heavy steel bars, memories of the past came rushing through my mind like a waterfall that had been blocked by a dam for many a millennia.

“Now my daughter… the magic of this orb and the drawing holding the rest of your memories is running thin. So with it, I will send you back home….to set things right.”

And with that along with the still rushing flow of memories I felt myself being pulled backwards away from the brightly glowing orb that contained my mother’s spirit inside; before I could even object to her leaving me once again I found myself laying on the ground in front of Twilights library with a loud crash of sound, dirt and pieces of cloud. The door to the library opened shortly after my arrival with Twilight standing in the door with a completely dumbfounded look on her face.

“Where in Equestria have you been?! Do you have any idea how worried Derpy has been?!” She exclaimed after regaining her composer from my abrupt arrival.

The only thing I could think to do was to thrust myself into her in embrace and tears, the memories of my mother still ringing through my mind along with her last words she had said before I had been sealed away inside my own drawing.