//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: request only the best // Story: Beyond Eyesight // by WildcatPony //------------------------------// The sun rose quietly and faintly through the leafy blinds that hid Mosstalon’s room from the outside world. Just minutes after the dawn had settled Mosstalon opened her eyes to see about the new day that had presented itself in such a calming manner. She lifted her head from her feathery pillow and looked out the window, but she wasn’t looking at the ponies walking throughout the street, nor was she looking at the fruit stands that had set up close to her home. No, she was looking out in the distance, far beyond the horizon to someplace hidden and wonderful. As she gazed through the window she allowed her mind to roam freely, something she rarely did in these busy times. She began to see little earth ponies frolicking in a field, fillies and colts just like her with no responsibility of magic or flight. The brooks babbled as the fillies and colts played almost too close to the running streams. In the distance were their parents, two loving, young, admirable parents. Never before could two ponies be in such love, so engrossed with one another yet they knew their surroundings better than others. It began to dawn on Mosstalon that her mind had drifted into a part of her subconscious which she aptly called the pit of wishes. She tried to imagine herself in the daydream, but found it impossible. It had been several days since her lunch with Kana Loa, and Mosstalon had felt, in a sense, different. She continuously thought about the topic Loa had pushed on her and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t shake it. ‘There is no one in Witherknawl that even thinks of me that way’ she thought to herself, doting back to her daydream from just a few seconds ago. Sure it would be nice to have a coltfriend; someone to love that cared about her day and welcomed her into his heart; someone who blessed her lips with sweet kisses that lifted her higher than any Pegasus pony could fly; someone who made her feel more enlightened with magic than someone as powerful as Princess Celestia could in a lifetime. To live a long and happy life and to be able to enjoy a nice lunch without ever saying anything, just like the couple she had encountered last week at The Living End. Finally deciding that these thoughts were of moot point, she shook her head in dismay and rose from her cot. She walked towards her vine covered mirror and as she smiled into it exclaimed that her mane looked horrid. Using a brush she had locked into place in the wall she brushed out her mane to make it look decent to say the least. Using her mouth she grabbed another brush and used it on her tail, catching a few of her ebony hairs in a knot and roughly pulling them out altogether. After wincing for a few seconds she then continued to go about her daily routine of getting ready for the day. About an hour later Mosstalon left her cottage and set off on her morning duties in the rural areas of Witherknawl. As she passed by all the buildings on her way to the Jam’s house she noticed a sort of quietness that screamed from the town. Every door was shut; every window had its blinds covered, and every door mat pulled inside. The only living things to roam the streets were the food vendors that had no idea as to the silence that wreaked the air. Mosstalon however remained relatively calm. She knew this time of day, heck she knew this day of the year. Every year on the 19th of April the town ponies performed a strange ritual. The unicorns refused to use any kind of magic all day and the pegasus ponies avoided flight at all costs. This seemed like a very interesting ritual, but it was very special for the town ponies, for today was the day of revelation, the day that both clans finally settled their differences and came together as one. As a rule that was established when the two clans jointed neither race was to use any particular advantage that they were born with. Thus the unicorns did not use magic and the pegasus ponies didn’t fly. Mosstalon had heard of another ritual performed by other towns that was very similar to this one. She often heard it referred to as the Winter Wrap Up season; it was meant to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring. “Whoa! Watch Out!” Mosstalon had to jump out of the way quickly to avoid a loose fruit stand that rolled down the street. The gray unicorn pony chased after his fruit stand with such gusto it was almost inspiring; ‘He could use his magic to catch his cart’ Moss thought to herself, but then quickly rebutted it, remembering the event. Her trek to the Jam’s house was quiet and seemed to take forever, but only due to the lack of interaction with her fellow neighbors and friends. She finally reached her destination; a small cottage for two built out of wood and stone, topped with a brushy looking roof with algae hanging from the ends. Just as she was about to knock on the door, she saw dark blue majestic pegasus marching up to the house. It was none other than the pegasus chieftain, Moonshine. Her swirly navy blue and white mane bouncing with each step she took closer, her bright pink eyes smiling at the lavender pony, greeting her with a warmness that only a mother could. “Hello Moss, how are you today?” she asked Mosstalon as she finally reached her. “I’m good, just here to help the Jam’s with their strawberry patch, again. It seems they can’t get the grasp of growing strawberries like their daughter did. What’s up mother?” Moss asked Moonshine with a soft and respectful voice. “I am asking you to relieve yourself of your duties for a while, there is something important that came up yesterday and I really need to go over it together with you and your father.” Moonshine looked at her daughter with concern and sternness. Mosstalon nodded in agreement and followed her mother down the street to the main office building of Witherknawl. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The official unicorn and pegasus ponies collaborated at a long oak table about the statistics of Witherknawl until a dark brown unicorn pony with navy green hair entered and silenced them all with a wave of his hoof. His voice rang throughout the room, powerful and stern “Officials of Witherknawl, are we ready to start the meeting?” he asked and was received by nods of agreement and all the ponies found a comfortable place to sit. He cleared his throat and began the meeting “Today as many of you know is the day my wife and I brought together the two rival clans, the unicorns and the pegasi of the marsh. As is custom, we are all advised to not use magic or flight so that we can all bond together, and see past our differences. There is however one subject that we do need to discuss that does not correlate with today’s event.” The unicorn stated as two other ponies made their way into the room, Moonshine and Mosstalon. The brown unicorn smiled as Moonshine made her way to the front of the table and sat next to him while Mosstalon sat in the middle of the table, receiving some gentle nods from the other ponies present. Moonshine then continued where the brown unicorn left off, “My friends and colleagues, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to our 21st annual Revelation Celebration. On another note, I have received some disturbing news from other cities closer to Canterlot. In the past year recent studies of the agricultural department of Equestria have revealed that certain cities, such as Manehattan, Las Pegasus, and Fillydelphia have seriously decreased in the amount of local farms. As such, there crop output has also drastically decreased and is still declining as we speak.” She took a moment to breathe and awaited the response of her peers, especially awaiting Mosstalon’s response, which was as always focused on the task at hand. She then continued, “Most of you may ask ‘what does this have to do with us?’ Well, I am about tell you. The earth ponies in those areas have had a tough time growing on their fields, apparently all of the nutrients in the soil have been used up and the land that they normally grow on has become useless. I have been informed by the mayors of these big cities that they need a plant nutritionist, someone to come there and assist in rejuvenating their plant life as well as assisting in their crop outputs. Specifically, they have asked for my daughter, Mosstalon.” Moonshine finally stopped talking and then was surprised to see Moss’ face stricken with shock. Immediately Moonshine became concerned, no job before had been too much for her little filly to handle, but maybe she thought she would never leave this place and that was what comforted her to do her job to the best of her abilities. Either way she knew that this request had to be filled and she was by any means going to try to convince Mosstalon to go. Finally after a few seconds of letting her words hang in the air, Mosstalon shook her head and spoke “When am I to leave?” Many ponies patted her on the back and clopped their hooves in admiration for her determination. Moonshine looked to her husband, smiled, and turned back. “We will help you make preparations this afternoon, thank you so much my dear for accepting this challenge. These cities are a great deal far away from home, but just know that if anything bad happens or you need any kind of assistance, just ask a fellow pegasus and give it this notice.” Moonshine slid down the table a small scroll with her and her husband’s seals on it. Mosstalon gazed blankly at the scroll for a moment, taking in everything she had said and heard. Her head started to spin and all down her spine were chills of excitement and nervousness, her hooves slightly shaking. The meeting was adjourned with a swift pound against the table by the brown unicorn, even for some of the officials who had been part of the board for years were still a little frightened by this method. The family trio walked out of the building and towards Mosstalon’s small cottage that was only half a mile away. Not much was spoken in the first couple of minutes; all the three could hear was the clopping of their own hooves against the stone and dirt roads, and the shallow breathing that emanated from Mosstalon. The two parents looked at each other nervously, maybe they had made the wrong decision, maybe they should go with their daughter. No, that was a cruel and impossible wish in itself. They both had to stay to govern each race, even though they had joined the two together for years, there was still minute problems for each race that had to be dealt with by leaders of their own faction. Finally Moonshine spoke up to break the silence, “So Moss, what is your plan for this journey? Midnight Drop and I haven’t really talked about how you are to go about this quest and we feel maybe we can help you.” Mosstalon jolted her head out of her dismay and looked into her parents concerned expressions with questioning eyes, “I’m not sure; I have never been outside of the marshes before, so honestly I have no idea about how to even begin my quest. I was kind of hoping one of you could go with me…”she started but knew deep down the request would be difficult for them to answer. She then smiled and exclaimed “it will be ok, I’m sure I can find my way if I have a good map.” Unbeknownst to her, her father Midnight Drop had asked a map maker in Canterlot to come up with a good map of the entirety of Equestria long before she was even requested for such a task. In a small saddlebag he carried on his back, the map protruded from the very edge of one of the flaps, “I have a map for you to use, I just hope you can use it to its full extent, it was a bright bit to get.” Mosstalon received her parent’s expressions, now much calmer than they were before as they approached her cottage. She would miss her cottage; it wasn’t anything fancy, just a cottage for one that had a bathroom, kitchen, living space, and bedroom. It was actually under her supervision that the cottage was built, so that she could be close to her clients in the event of a total disaster, such as infestation of caterpillars or a sudden drought. Moss and her parents walked through the small doorway, Midnight almost hitting his head, and then proceeded to help Moss pack her stuff. It was very lucky for her that the saddle bag was big. Due to her many trips around the marsh she needed to be prepared for anything, and this large saddlebag was definitely useful. The bag was made by her friend Cross Stitch many years ago and it seemed like time and time again it had the best item in her arsenal. Unfortunately though, even a bag as big as this one had its limits, and Moss advised her parents while they helped to only pack the essentials, for some of her tools were items she could purchase or use in other areas of Equestria. After about an hour of searching for the correct items and scanning through her bag, Mosstalon was confident that she was ready to go. The parents invited their daughter into a huge group hug and whispered “Good luck” and “You’ll do fine” into her ears. Finally the three came out of Moss’ cottage only to be welcomed by the entirety of the Witherknawl. They gathered upon Mosstalon’s doorstep, ready to send her off in a manner fitting for a dignified young mare such as herself. Mosstalon made her way through the crowd accepting hoofshakes and cheers of excitement, coming close to tears when she saw Kana Loa at the very end, giving her a teary but happy expression. The light purple pony with long blonde hair hugged her best friend so tightly it almost knocked the wind out of her. Her yellow eyes piercing Moss’ dark orange eyes, begging her not to go, but knowing there was no other way. Kana Loa then spoke “You better find some cute stallions out there or I will find you personally and kick your butt” she joked. Mosstalon kneed her in the shoulder jokingly back, knowing she would deeply miss her best friend. With one last gaze at her parents, who still stood at her doorway with glistening eyes, she turned around and trotted down the lonely path that would start her thousand mile journey.