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// Prologue-Remembrance 
// Story: CCC-To Find Her Place 
// by Fresnor 
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Rock Talon Heights was a place I never thought I would go to ever again but time had a way of healing old wounds and adding regrets.  After many years of it weighing on my mind I vowed that returning here one last time would be my first priority if I ever started to travel again.  Even though I was planning to return someday I never did think to check what happened to the town after my last encounter here.  Since a large portion of the town was in flames at the time I expected to find nothing but ruins but other than the collapsed tower it looked like some of the town had recovered over the years since.  While nowhere near the size it was before it was still respectable enough considering what happened.

I just hope that they still aren’t sacrificing random travelers to necromancers or other dangerous beings.  I’d rather not have to be forced into doing something rash considering how much I’ve grown since then.  I glance back at my four tails, the fourth having appeared sometime after I set out on my journey, and cursed the loss of control that came with the new surge of power.  Turning back to the town I throw on a cloak and hood to cover my appearance as I make my way to the ruins of the necromancer’s tower with the rising sun at my back.

As I make my way through the town I notice that the town hasn’t quite recovered as much as I thought, or at least not into the same shape it was before.  Where once the town was a vast sprawl of wooden buildings of the like found in Appleloosa it was now filled with more simple building like in most of Ponyville.  It made sense as the wooden buildings were much more flammable and the straw roofs of the current design would be easy to remove and replace if they were set on fire.  I could almost pretend it was another town if it wasn’t for the fact that the tower’s remains were still there.

As the sun was only just rising there weren’t many being out roaming the street as of yet.  This was fine by me as I didn’t wish to meet anyone on the way to my destination and seeing as the town was burned down because of me I didn’t want to know how they’d react to the sight of a kitsune.  Looking at the few beings that were out and about right now though I could tell that the town still had a bit of a mixed population.  I spotted a few ponies, gryphons, and minotaurs as I moved through the place and I think I even saw signs of diamond dogs as well.  The last one was new for the town and it gave me some potential allies if I needed to leave town in a hurry.

Out of curiosity I decide to wander around the town and see what is around before going to my final destination.  I am glad I did as I notice one business with various stone objects on display outside and realize that it could provide something else to ease my mind.  While it isn’t open as of yet I do see hints of movement behind the coverings of the windows so it probably will open soon.

Soon enough the place opens and I’m glad to see that a diamond dog is running the place which should make the job I want done much easier.  I take my time looking over the different kinds of stones he has available for carving trying to find one that would suit my needs.  I can’t identify what kind of stones they all are but it really isn’t the look that I care about as much as how well the feel in a magical sense.  While there are a few that fit well enough with what I have planned I go with the densest feeling one as it will be able to hold an enchantment better and longer than the others.  I can tell that it is some kind of marble but I am unfamiliar as to what the name of one that looks like fire in stone form is called.  The fact that it looks like it does feels rather fitting as the night of my mother’s death was punctuated by flames.

Lifting the stone in my magic I bring it up to the diamond dog in charge of the shop.  “How much would I need to pay for this stone and have something carved into it?”  The diamond dog looks me and the stone over as I keep myself concealed within my cloak.  My size and stance must confuse him a bit as shown by his next words.  “Pony has good eye for quality.  That rare stone from firelands and cost 1000 bits.  Carving costs 250 and will take a week for me to get to after other jobs then be done in hours.”  I shake my head at the time frame he’s given as I don’t plan to be around that long.

“Is there any way that I can convince you to finish it today?  I’m not able to stick around that long and would like to have it done before I leave.”  The diamond dog shakes his head.  “No, others pay ahead of pony and get work done first.”  I just sigh and decide that this is more important to me than keeping my identity hidden.  “Are you sure about that?  I’d be willing to pay extra; oh and I’m not a pony.”  At this I lower the hood of my cloak revealing my foxy features which causes his eyes to widen in horror as he prostrates himself, to my dismay.

“High One!  I didn’t know, please forgive me!”  I just sigh as I shake my head at his actions.  This is getting rather old.  It’s probably going to get worse as I visit major diamond dog dens as well.  “I didn’t want anyone to know especially after what happened the last time I was here.  Just get it done by today and everything will be fine.”  From past experiences I’ve found that making the request sound like a threat works well enough to get them to not offer more than I’d asked for.  It worked as well this time as he rapidly nods his head as he rises and fetches the stone.

“Now just give me a moment to compose myself so I can get the words just right.”  I wasn’t sure what I wanted exactly as this was all on a spur of the moment.  Thinking back to the last few funerals I had attended as an example I tried to come up with something when I realized an important fact; I didn’t even know my mother’s name.  She never used it in all the time I was with her and the only name I knew her by was ‘Mom.’  I feel myself tearing up a bit at this when the perfect thing comes to mind.

“’Here lies a mother slain by a heartless necromancer.  Avenged by her loving daughter on the same night as her death.  May her soul rest with her ancestors.’  Did you get all that?”  The diamond dog nods as he looks up at me in shock.  “High One lost her mother?  In this town?”  I don’t remember mentioning it happening here, but it was a rather big event so it should have spawned stories of some kind.

“Yes, it happened here.  That same night the town burned as the fires from the tower spread to engulf the entire town.  I’d rather that information not get spread around though.”  I give him a look to which he nods rapidly.  “Since it’s going to be a while I’m just going to take a nap.  I’ll just use that dark corner over there so you can wake me when you finish.”  The diamond dogs nods once again as he proceeds to start carving the letters into the stone with his claws.  Once I make myself comfortable in the fore-mentioned corner I cast a light silence spell to block out the sound of scratching but nothing above that.

I awoke a few hours later to the diamond dog lightly poking at one of my paws.  As soon as he saw that I was awake he immediately jumped backwards as if he had been burned.  Letting out a yawn I look towards the diamond dog I notice that he had finished the grave I had commissioned and I was impressed with how neat and fancy he was able to do the lettering.  “Yes, that will do perfectly.”  Remembering the price he stated before I pull out a platinum bit and five gold ones as payment.  Seeing this he started to protest.

“No no no, that is too much High One!”  He was about to say more before I cut him off.  “This is little enough for what you’ve been able to do for me.  You’re going to take this one way or another and I’d rather not have to sneak in later to leave it for you to find.”  The diamond dog still looks as if he wants to object but takes the bits from me anyways.  With our transaction complete I put my hood back up again and head out of the store with the stone floating along behind me.

Once outside I notice that there are a lot of other beings around now and a quick peek at the sky reveals it to be a couple hours past noon.  I make my way through the town’s populace towards the tower ruins while keeping an eye out for trouble.  While doing so I notice that the town’s populace is a bit more varied than I thought as I spy what looks like a bipedal feline and even a glimpse of the small form of a brownie.  I had only read about that last one and didn’t even know they were real which made me wonder what other marvels I’d find in my travels.

Soon enough I reach the remains of the tower and realize that it doesn’t seem to have been gone through at all since I was last here.  Judging from the weathering on the rocks and various plant matter growing out of it there didn’t seem to be much effort in clearing the place which made me wonder if there was anything that may have survived the fire still buried.  I shake my head to clear it of the thoughts as I want nothing to do with what may remain of the place.

Circling around the ruins I search for an appropriate place to for the grave marker and settle on where the entry to the building was located.  Once I settle the stone down into place I proceed to place two simple enchantments on it as well as modify the stone to absorb ambient magic to sustain itself.  The first enchantment was to guarantee its permanence so that even millennia from now it will still look brand new and the second one to shield it from anything wishing to move or bring harm to it.  Once I had finished with that I pulled out a bundle of flowers from my packs to place in front of it and sat down facing the now finished grave marker.

“I’m sorry that I never had the chance to visit Mom, but many things happened since I last saw you.  I’ve made friends and even found someplace to call home for all these years.  What happened to me that night really scarred me and if it wasn’t for them I probably would never have gotten over my fears or returned to this place.  I still miss you so much and there is much that I don’t know that you should have been there to teach me.  It wasn’t until the first of my friends died that I realized that I didn’t age like them.  How long do we live?  Where do we come from?  What do I do when or if I find others like me?  But most importantly, why did that thing have to kill you?”

At this point the tears are steadily flowing down my face as I remember everything I could about my mother.  Time had taken much from me but I could still remember her smile as well as the feeling of love I always had around her.  I thought that I was alone for all this as the ruins were a good distance from the rebuilt parts of town, but a sniffling sound behind me disabused me of that notion.  Turning slowly I found that a very old looking griffon was laying a small distance behind me who looked a bit apologetic.

“Sorry about that little lady, I didn’t mean to interrupt what you were doing.  It’s just so sweet to see children visiting their elders even if they are gone.  If you don’t mind, may I ask what happened to your mother?”  I really don’t feel like talking to anyone else right now, but from past experiences this just means that talking about it is what I really should be doing.  Judging from the gryphon’s appearance he might have actually been around back then and probably had information from then.  Either way there wouldn’t be much harm in telling him as he didn’t look like he had much longer to live anyways and his words probably meant his family didn’t visit much.

“Well I guess I can tell you, not like much will change if I do or don’t.  It was a long time ago when this place was still standing.  The townsfolk were kidnapping travelers for some reason and bringing them here for a necromancer to sacrifice.  When I found her it was too late and in a panic I killed the necromancer and then escaped.”  I didn’t feel like going into detail but it was still enough to cause the old gryphon’s eyes to widen.  “So all of it really was true then.  I was only a young chick at the time but when the fires destroyed the town my parents told me it was in punishment for what they had done.  They never said more than that but the town did turn for the better after that, what little remained at least.”

I just sit there in silence staring at the words carved into the stone and he thankfully makes no move to interrupt me again.  I don’t know how long I sat there but for some reason he stayed there with me for the entire time.  He probably had more questions, especially as he hadn’t seen what I looked like, but I was thankful for his silence as well as his presence.  Eventually I felt that it was time to go and started the first steps on my journey to find where I belong.

As I pass by the gryphon he clears his throat to stop me for a moment.  “If you don’t mind little miss, but may I ask the name of the one who freed this town from that necromancer?”  I pause for a moment at his words wondering how much that one act long ago changed.  Finally I begin walking again after saying four words.  “My name is Flarenza.”