Hope

by Dashfast

Chapter 2 : Shards

Twilight awoke with a start, her gaze flitted about from building to building, searching for the noise that had awoken her.

“He-hello?” She asked nervously to the silent ruins around her, “is anypony there?” No response came and the area was silent as a grave. Her eyes probed the dark shadows cast by the full moon overhead for anything out of the ordinary. When readjusting her stance to get a better look at the bakery alley Twilight suddenly stepped on something squishy. It made a gurgling sound as the pressure of her hoof fell on it, making her leap straight up in the air with a yelp. She landed a few feet away and whirled around to face what she had stepped on ready for an attack that would surely follow. Instead, sitting there by her mat, was a brown cloth water skin.

She had seemed so desperate, sleeping on the ground like that; she deserved some water. It’s a rarity up here, and everypony deserves some kindness.

Rushing over to the water skin she picked it up in her magic and unceremoniously popped off the cork. Just when the first drop was about to hit her tongue she stopped. Inclining her head, she sniffed the open end… nothing. Still, she fumbled in her bag looking for the book she had used last night. After pulling it out and flipping past a great many pages she finally found what she was looking for; a magical test to detect any poison.

She closed her eyes and focused. Her magic surrounded the container as she began to sift through the liquid for any unnatural substances. In her mind’s eye she could see each tiny molecule as it passed her meticulous inspection. Little by little she brushed all of the particles to one side creating a clean end and an un-inspected end. After about 5 minutes the water was finally deemed clear and contaminate free.

The cool refreshing liquid splashed into her upturned mouth, sending shiny dribbles down her cheeks and neck. Oh god, water had never tasted so good!

Leaving about half of the water she placed the container into her saddlebags. Standing straight and tall now, she looked around her with renewed vigor. Looking back to the place where the water skin had lay, she began to wonder for the first time who had left it for her. Maybe that somepony was still around.

“Hello?” she called again, more strength in her voice than before, “Thank you for the water whoever you are, I really appreciate it.” She waited a few moments in silence before moving about to pick up her camp for the day.

. . . . . .

She was just starting to roll up her mat when she noticed a piece of paper tacked to a fallen beam with a small, rusty nail not three feet from where he head lay the night before.

No one deserves having any of this happen to them, especially her. But what needs to be done must be done, and she’s our last hope. Even when there is so little hope left.

On the note was a short, scribbled note in handwriting that looked as old as the buildings around her. It read:

Welcome to Hope dear friend, I know why you came and I can’t blame you. The world these days is a grey and heartless place fit only for those who have lost their souls. But that can all change with you.

Gather all six pieces of the heart and you may just set us all free. One piece is under the anvil in this armory, I would get it myself but I am too old and weak to do so.

Celesta bless you, and may love and faith be your guide.

Sincerely

A Friend

Reading the note quickly a second time, Twilight began to feel butterfly’s take flight in her stomach. Turning to the anvil she felt a shiver of anticipation run down her spine. Why was she so nervous, this was what she had been searching for, hoping for. The sun broke over the clouds as she carefully picked her way through the rubble. She moved closer and closer to where the anvil stood, occasionally sidestepping and hopping over fallen debris.

. . . . . .

Dents and marks on its worn surface showed many years of loyal service to the once great empire of Equestria. She had heard that weapons and armor of the highest quality used to come from here and even the unicorns stared in jealously at the silver plating wrought with gold. She seemed to remember Celestia telling her that only the generals in the REA were gifted with such precious armor and armaments to wear.

When she neared the metalwork, the ground became less cluttered with debris. As her footfalls stopped she noticed how large the anvil actually was. It was nearly up to her shoulder in height. Circling it she looked over the tarnished surface for any hidden magic lying in wait. Feeling none, she sat facing the monstrosity and stared at it, gauging how best to topple it.

She sat in contemplative silence for a bit. “Would magic work? No, probably not a good idea in considering the state she was in. Perhaps good old fashioned leg work could do the trick!” She stood back up, turned around, and tensed her muscles before giving the anvil a mighty buck. Her hooves hit just at the top lip, making it teeter on one edge for a split second and fell over with a heavy thud onto the ground sending a plume of ash into the air. Coughing, she looked to the fallen anvil with pride. All of those miles on the road had toned and firmed her legs into peak bucking form. Almost as good as Applejacks used to be.

Moving to the patch of unscathed earth the anvil had been resting on, she drug her hoof across the ground to uncover the fragment. Brown earth piled higher and higher as she dug down into the packed floor, but after digging down at least two inches she still hadn’t uncovered anything but a single, small pebble. Her heart began to beat a little faster as she started to frantically look all around her. Thoughts raced through her head with blinding speed. “Where could it have gone? Did somepony take it a long time ago? Was the old pony wrong about where the fragment was?”

She quickly yanked out the shred of paper containing the note and read it again. Looking away from the parchment she stared at the anvil; she still didn’t get it! Closing her eyes and clenching her teeth she stamped her hoof in frustration. Why was it not under the anvil like his note had indicated? It wasn’t like the anvil had crushed it or anything, it wasn’t even that hea-. A thoughtful expression started to creep across her face. It had been fairly easy to kick it over, almost as if it was…

“Top-heavy” She muttered.

Yes, it had been a little top-heavy when she had bucked it, and that could only mean one thing. She looked closer at the bottom of the anvil and soon spied the faint outline of a rectangle expertly molded into the surrounding iron. Reaching out with her magic she un-slid the panel and uncovered something that brought tears to her eyes.

Inside the hollow square was a small shard, no larger than a daffodil, radiating a bright pink aura. She hadn’t seen colored magic in so long, least something so radiant and beautiful as this shard. Tears fell from her cheeks as she levitated the precious little crystal from is resting place. Her horn felt as if a wafting breeze caressed it at every moment, the magic was so calming and warm; but most of all it was loving.

. . . . . .

Gingerly she moved back across the cluttered floor to the doorway, never loosing hold of the shard. After reaching the door and stepped into the late morning dawn. She walked swiftly to the well, no longer afraid of what may lie inside. As she slowly approached her hooves sank into the moss surrounding the well. When she got close enough to look past the rim and down into its depths she gasped. Gems of all shapes, sizes, and colors swirled and danced about in the shallow depression only 3 feet below her. In the exact center of the well was a ring of six small indents. All of them seemed to fit the shard. Reaching down she gently placed the shard into one of the hollows and pushed.

A brilliant flash of white light burst out of the well causing her to fall blindly backwards onto the mossy steps. Swirls and spots of white luminescence danced behind her eyelids as the ground began to shake and a rumbling started to emanate from somewhere in front of her. Opening her eyes, she saw the ground tremble as small stones started to skip and dance over the cobblestone in front of her. She ducked her head just in time as a second flash of white light brighter than the sun exploded from the center of the armory ruins. The flash only lasted for a few seconds and even though she had closed her eyes she was momentarily blinded again as she hid from whatever was happening in front of her.

. . . . . .

When she opened her eyes again the spots were still there but not so bad that she didn’t try to see what had happened. She blinked a couple of times to fully clear her vision and gasped.

Before her stood a low building with fresh gray coils of smoke trailing out of a wide chimney. Her mouth was agape even after the last tendrils of white energy left the new wooden beams of the armory. Slowly, she walked toward it. No way was this real, it must be ethereal. No magic in all of Equestria could be powerful enough to do that except for an alicorn! She realized her mouth was getting dry from hanging open for so long but didn’t really care.

Through the ornately carved doorway she could see the forge as is once was. Bellows were feeding the smelter and smith in a far corner, making the air hot and thick as a dragon’s breath. The glow from the eternal fire threw weak shadows over everything inside, providing just enough light to see by.

She gently reached out a hoof to the door frame, on which was a language she didn’t recognize, and touched the smooth oak beam. It was actually real. She couldn’t believe it. A shard small enough to fit in a vial had just done something only she could dream about. The amount of power needed was staggering.

Even with the knowledge that the light could attract whatever might be here in the clouds she was grateful to have a warm building to sleep in tonight anyway, magic feat or not. Trotting inside she set up her bed and beside the smelter and settled into it. Warm waves of heat radiated from the orange coals, settling her mind and allowing her to lay down in peace. She smiled. How long had it been since she had smiled in the comfort of a building with a never-ending source of heat, months, years? It didn’t matter anyways, she was here now, warm, safe, and comfortable.