Nº 3: WYSOKA
Cadance groaned tiredly as she and her family walked, "I hope we find this place soon, my legs are killing me."
For a full day now the group had moved in the compass's directions, and for around 5 hours since their last slumber had they walked. The sun's noon position gave the forest floor little light and little warmth, but these things had become the norm by this point. The chilly air caused no qualms with any of the group; so much movement for such a long time only made the cold seem pleasant.
"It couldn't be that far away. Those three bat-ponies who found us couldn't have been far from their home." Commented Shining Armor.
"Maybe we passed it?" Flurry Heart suggested from behind the group.
"He never said to go any other direction but South..."
The compass held by Cadance's furled wing came free, the tool being brought to her sight by the Alicorn's pink aura as she simply stared at the tool.
"Flurry, when you flew above the canopy yesterday, how far off was that mountain range?"
The daughter tilted her head back, mouth opening a little as she thought, "I'd guess... maybe 5 miles? It was close, I can say that for certain."
"We've been walking for so long, I bet we're getting close to it." Returned Cadance.
"I can still make a clearing in the trees above and check!"
Flurry was prepared for her mother's retaliation, but only a pause of silence came.
"The only reason we weren't doing that before was to keep our presence hidden; the bat-ponies that live somewhere in these woods know we're here, and the tree Panthers know."
There came another pause, Cadance looking to her husband, "Whaddya think?"
"I say go right ahead."
A beaming smile burst to Flurry's expression, her front hooves bouncing, "Really!?"
"Yes," Cadance rolled her eyes, "Go right ahead. Just don't be too... flamboyant."
Flurry spun on her hooves, her wings carrying her a short distance from the grassy ground as her horn came to life, the area being highlighted for a split second with a nearly blinding pink hue, a beam of magic tracing a perfect circle in the canopy overhead. Leaves and branches simply fell from their previous place, Flurry's wings pulling her back as a cascade of perfectly cut limbs fell with a thud, a gentle shower of large, round leaves following. The young Alicorn turned, smiling to her parents as she darted skywards, the two grounded ponies squinting from the beam of sunlight.
"You taught her well."
Cadance gave a short laugh at Shining's comment, "You were the one that made her want to blow up trees. She's been talking about it since we got here."
"We're getting super close! The base of the mountain isn't far off!" Called Flurry's distant voice.
"See anything else up there!?" Cadance returned.
"No! I'm gonna go up higher to get a better view!!"
Upon sitting to his haunches, Shining Armor groaned, "I hope she finds something. If it turns out this place is on the other side of this supposedly huge mountain we'll just stop and live here."
"I can agree to that."
Cadance joined her husband in resting, the warm sunlight provided by Flurry's spell feeling wonderful on the pair's cold fur.
"How are we ever going to get home, Shining?"
"I don't know... but if we got into this mess, we can get out."
The attention went from the conversation to Flurry as she returned through the canopy, her expression still holding a bright smile, "The town! It's at the base of the mountains! I can see a single building poking up through the trees, and the canopy looks a lot thinner around it!" She chimed, trotting to her parents.
"So we're close? It's not on the other side?" Inquired Shining as he and Cadance got to their hooves.
"Yeah! Real close! Maybe another hour of walking!"
Cadance groaned once more, "Another hour? That's not close!"
"If you two are so worn out we can rest for a while..."
Both parents fell back to their haunches, sighing in relief, "Yeah, we're resting for a while." Shining returned.
Having dozed off where she lay in the sunbeam, Cadance left her husband and daughter to their own devices, the two sitting a short distance from the sleeping Alicorn as they quietly conversed.
"....what is the very last thing you can remember? Mom said the last thing she could remember was it being November and the last thing I can remember was it being December..."
Shining's hoof tapped at the grass, his eyes wandering, "I... oh, goodness... the very last thing I remember was having lunch with you and your Mother... but I have no idea what day that was, or what month."
"Do you remember snow?"
"Being on the ground? Yes."
"I do too. There's snow on these mountains, but there's nothing on the trees... so I think we've lost quite a bit of memory."
"Do you remember Hearth's Warming? I don't."
Flurry nodded, "I do, yeah. I remember a little bit after Hearths warming..."
"So Mom's memory is the worst off, and yours is the best off... makes sense, she was the one to teleport us."
"I've never heard of a teleportation spell causing memory loss, though; that's what's so strange about this. Something else had to have happened, maybe before we were teleported, or maybe the spell had some sort of hiccup."
Shining sighed, rolling from his haunches to his back as he relaxed further, "All we can do for now is guess."
"I kind of don't want to find out what caused all of this..." Commented Flurry after a moment.
"I... sort of agree, but I need to know Twily is okay."
"Twilight is the strongest pony I've ever met, so I'm sure she's fine. She's probably more worried about you than you are about her."
Shining smiled, "She probably is. Twilight's never been the kind of pony to worry around. I bet she's working some sort of crazy spell to try and find us."
"With Starlight Glimmer's help, they'll probably end up teleporting in front of us in a few days."
"You're probably right," Chuckled Shining, "Place your bets; how long until they do teleport to us?"
Flurry's ears fell flat, her hoof tapping at the grass, "A week. I'll say a week. Give or take a day."
"That's pretty short. Honestly; I'm going to say two weeks. Those two are good, but I think we're pretty far from Equestria."
"They probably have their own problems, as well. At least the sun and moon are moving; so we know that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are alright."
"For what we know, they're alright. The hoof-ball is at any side of the field at this point... but you're probably right. I can't imagine anything bad happening to the Princesses."
"What if something bad has happened to them," Flurry paused, her tongue catching as she almost mentioned Twilight being involved in something horrible. Maybe it was best to keep silent on that topic.
"It'd take a lot more than that to make your Mom run like she did."
Flurry's head cocked, curiosity spiking as to what theories her father may have, "Like?"
"Maybe Twily was visiting and performed some spell that accidentally made another one of you. By Celestia's name, I know I'd run!"
Flurry smacked her father's side, the two sharing a grin, "She'd run if Twilight made another you! Then there'd be two snoring ponies taking up all of she sheets."
"I do not snore!" Protested Shining, "And I don't take up all of the sheets! If anything, your Mother is the sheet-thief."
"Why don't you just get some larger sheets?"
"Honey, they could weave us sheets that stretched ten miles in each direction and we'd still find a way to pull them all to one side of the bed."
"You could use two sheets."
Shining froze, his eyes simply locking forward, "You're right... how did I never think of that?"
"I may take sheets, but you do snore a lot."
Flurry and Shining peered to Cadance as she lifted her head from the grass, smiling to the two.
"Good... noon," Shining spoke as he looked to the sun above, "Have a nice nap, Honey?"
Still smiling, Cadance nodded, yawning as she rolled to her belly and stretched her wings.
"Flurry solved our sheet problem." Commented Shining
"I heard. When we get out of this mess, I'll certainly have the Castle's seamers sew us a pair of sheets."
"Has it really been a 'mess'?" Flurry inquired, "So far we've been doing great."
After hearing her daughter's words, Shining stood from the grass and stepped to one of the many large trunks nearby, tapping his hoof at the rough bark, "Don't jinx it."
"I was just about to comment on that! She yelled at me yesterday for jinxing us on the tree panthers."
"Is that why three of those things came after me?" Chuckled Shining as he walked back to the group, sitting beside Flurry, "Because you said something like 'good thing we haven't seen any in a while!'" He imitated, raising the pitch of his voice.
Flurry's head went back in laughter, "That's exactly what she said! Good job, Mom; you made Dad almost get eaten by panthers!"
"Yeah, well the next thing that happens, we get to blame it on you!" Cadance smiled in rebuttal.
"Poniska."
Each member of the trio looked to the right, their eyes landing in a single Nitzche standing a short distance from the beam of sunlight, his eyes concealed by a pair of heavily tinted goggles.
"Mennika!" He spoke once more, tapping his chest.
"Oh! Uh... hello Mennika. Good to see you again." Stumbled Flurry, she and her parents still a little stunned from his appearance.
"Nazomova?" He questioned, aiming his hoof South.
Flurry nodded.
After cocking his head, Mennika pointed to Flurry and Cadance, then to his own wings, giving them a quick flap, "Skrzydełka... dlaczego nie lecisz?"
A confused look came to each of the Alicorn's expression, a few moments passing before Flurry gasped, "He doesn't get why we don't fly!"
"Oh! Uh..." Cadance held her injured wing out, purposefully cranking it to give it a wounded appearance, "Hurt." She explained.
Mennika's brow raised, his mouth forming an O, "Poniska, zostak, zostak!" He exclaimed waving both front hooves towards them as his wings spread, his figure turning as he quickly flew into the forest behind him, a few echoing, bat-like calls following his departure.
"I think he wants us to stay here." Flurry commented after a moment.
"How did he find us again, and how long had he been standing there?" Cadance asked, still a little dazed from Mennika's sudden appearance.
"Do you think they're following us?" Thought Shining.
"They must be... but why?"
"Maybe they want to make sure we make it to their town?" Shrugged Flurry.
"But... why would they be so keen on us making it there? When we first saw them, Mennika and his friend, they looked at you and me specifically, Flurry. I swear I could see them looking at our horns and wings... they know something we don't."
The flap of multiple wings became audible through the trees, moments later Mennika and his two comrades, Iris and Speck, who too wore pairs of tinted goggles, landing a short distance from the beam of light created by Flurry. Mennika turned to his leftmost comrade, who the trio recognized as Iris by his mane color, stretching out his wing as he explained something to the other in his native tongue, a hoof aiming at Cadance after speaking. Iris nodded, turning to take a step towards Cadance before pausing just at the sunbeam's fringe.
"Poniska, chzod," Iris spoke, motioning with a hoof for her to follow.
"I think they don't like sun," Cadance stated as she complied, Flurry and Shining following her from the beam back into the shades provided by the canopy above.
"Are they vampires? They do have fangs..." Thought Flurry, sitting with her father at the base of a tree as Cadance lay to her stomach, holding her injured wing out for Iris to inspect.
"Honey, I don't think they're vampires." Smiled Shining.
The two turned their attention up as Iris spoke to Mennika, he and Speck standing a short distance to the side. Mennika shrugged at his words, causing Iris to turn to Cadance as he stumbled with his words, clearly trying to devise a way to communicate. After a moment of silence, he held out his own wing, pushing at the membranous limb with a hoof as he made a crunching sound with his tongue, raising a brow as he wondered if the point had made it across.
"Ooh! No, it's not broken... uh," Cadance's horn came to life as her magic crafted the image of a tree, a pony figure too being created as she showed the little figure impact the tree, her horn ceasing its glow upon Iris nodding. A faint white aura of magic surrounded the latch at one of his saddlebags, the little spell being barely visible in the somewhat bright forest. Upon opening his bag, he brought forth a roll of bandages and a wooden dowel, his hoof lifting Cadance's wing as he began creating a splint to hold the limb in a certain position.
"They don't have horns... how are they using magic?" Shining asked, turning to Flurry.
"No clue."
The pair took notice as the dowel held by the strange white aura fell from its holding force, Iris groaning as his spell slowly lifted the stick from the grass to place it back where he wanted, his tongue poking from the corner of his mouth as the roll of bandages began to secure the splint to Cadance's oddly angled wing. Satisfied with the many wraps he had completed, Iris turned back to his bag as he took a stainless steel pair of shears from inside, the object seeming to have a lot of weight as he slowly moved it to the cloth bandage.
As the shears began closing, the spell holding them fell away, causing Iris to sigh as he looked up at Mennika, saying something to his comrade as his faint aura retook the shears. The aura grew in strength, the weight of the object seeming to lessen as Mennika helped his comrade cut the bandage. With the shears moved back into his bag, Iris fixed the loose end of bandage down by tucking it beneath the other wraps, his hoof coming from the ground as he traced a crescent on the bandage, lightly placing his hoof at the symbol's center.
"Lunaz Gritza, Flurry Heart." He stated with a smile, patting his hoof upon Cadance's wing as he looked up to her.
"Iris, jest to Flurry Heart," Mennika informed, pointing to Flurry, "ze jest Cadance." His hoof then directed to the Alicorn before Iris.
"Oh."
"We do look alike..." Cadance commented as she stood up, looking at her wing.
"Litchdo Lunaz bedzie pomoc skrzydlo, Cadance Poniska." Iris spoke with a smile as he and his two comrades spread their wings, lifting only a short distance before beginning off through the forest.
"What'd he say?" Flurry asked, looking on past the trees at the departing Nitzche.
"You're asking the wrong pony..."
What seemed to have been an hour's time had passed since the family had encountered their Nitzche friends; and for that matter, it had been an hour since Flurry had so excitedly stated 'we're getting close!'. The terrain had at first taken a slight incline, but now the hillside the trio traversed upwards had taken quite the grade. If one was to travel up such a slope for a few minutes, it wouldn't be too horrible, but seeing as the slope had continued on for much longer than a few minutes, fatigue was setting in.
"You said we were close..." Shining commented tiredly.
"I know... I know; it looked close from the air. But... we've got to be getting closer now; we're on a hill! That one building I could see was on a slope, as were the thinner trees... so we've got to be..." Flurry paused as her eyes caught a tiny glimpse of something through the gaps in the thick forest, a little more walking confirming her suspicions of sighting a structure, "right on top of it."
"Oh, thank Celestia! We finally made it!" Exclaimed Cadance as her pace quickened, a few more small homes revealing themselves through the forest, their sloped, stone-tiled roofs short enough to remain totally under the still fully birthed canopy.
The trio paused at a small clearing of trees as they looked on at the homes visible in their general area. In between each little, fairly decorative and elaborately architecturally designed home was one of the huge canopy-bearing trees, their frequency being enough to fully preserve the darkness of the forest floor. Walking in between a buttoned-up house and a tree the duo found a winding stone path that continued up the slope of the hill, houses branching from it with their own little walkways as it went up. Each house was unique; no two seemed to be the same, but they all followed similar design features.
Sloped roofs, thick stone foundations, wood and stone construction (the stone being used only in structural places to act as buttresses), arched doorways and painted navy blue highlights, many of these highlights being on the wooden shutters that sealed every one of the home's windows, the doors, crown moldings and various other locations; it gave a nice contrast. The little winding path was followed up further into the little, perfectly quiet town. Not a single home went without its shutters being closed; the trio could only guess that everypony was asleep.
"It's so quiet..." Flurry commented quietly, the only sounds in the air being her and her parent's hoofsteps on the stone path.
"I guess the bat-ponies are nocturnal... this place can't be abandoned." Returned Shining.
"All of these houses are so pretty... and quaint. We never would have found this place if you two hadn't run into Mennika and his pals."
"I'm glad we did; at least we can find a place to settle down for a while. Mennika had been so nice to us, I can only assume that everypony else here knows we're coming."
Flurry gave a chuckle at her father's response, "I sure hope so."
Continuing up the path lead the group to an intersection, a wider path running adjacent to theirs giving them pause. A quick glance in either direction showed that the new path only went straight for a little way before curving out of view, the homes only continuing for a little bit in each direction. Rolling her shoulders, Flurry continued on forward, her parents trailing a little behind as they walked.
"This town doesn't seem to be all that large," Cadance commented as her eyes wandered across the little homes as they went on; some now being two stories, but despite that their taller roofs still tucked snuggly beneath the concealment of the canopy without being remotely close to contacting the bottom branches.
"From the air, it didn't look too big. I could only see one building through the trees, and it seemed to be right at the base of the mountain. That must be where the town center or town hall is."
"Uh... guys, look up."
Cadance and Flurry followed Shining's directions, their eyes moving up to be met with the sight of many sleeping bats dotting the bottom branches of the canopy, the bats being snuggly packed in little groups with their wings tucked around their individual figures.
"I see the bat-ponies like being with their own kind..." Flurry commented quietly as her eyes wandered to find the same case with many other branches and the occasional corner of a home's roof.
"Let's keep a little quieter than we've been, I'd prefer not to wake them all up." Returned Cadance, following Flurry as she continuing up the stone path.
Only a few more homes past before the path leveled out and widened, each side of the path being flanked by a pair of fairly large, three-story buildings. The left-most structure was a fairly simple stone and brick building, its tall, sloped roof just barely scrapping the canopy, which had grown outward over time to mostly compensate for the structure's intervention of the forest. The front of the building had a single door entrance with a little porch, lining each of the three floors in fairly spaced intervals were wood-framed, 6-pane windows, each one lacking the shutters the homes did.
Each corner of the building had a round, fluted stone column that went from the stone foundation to the roof, the pillars also acting as a nice decorative touch for the rest of the fairly plain building. In very stark contrast, the right building was an elegantly crafted wooden and stone structure; it followed the theme of the many little homes of having a wonderfully unique design. From the building's arched double doors covered by a beautifully elaborate, pointed porch extended the front face of the structure, each side having 4 huge, multi-paned arched windows that spread across all three floors of the building.
The left side of the building became shorter by a story, jutting out at a 90-degree angle and taking a similar window formation of the adjacent structure; simple, square windows in intervals on each floor. The right side of the structure was a little stranger than its fairly contemporary opposite. It stood a full three stories, but it was not square as the rest of the structure was; the outcropping was an octagonally shaped citadel, each of its blue-painted faces being adorned with what was basically a smaller version of the eight large, arched windows at the building's front face.
The citadel finished with a circular, pointed roof, each corner of the octagon being capped with a stone pillar to help hold the wooden and stone structure steady. As the trio approached this building, Flurry's eyes were caught by the engraved and etched stone arch making up the doorway; it had an inscription.
Lunaz Lekkti Może Obdarzyć Szczęścia I Pokoju
"What do ya think that means?" Flurry inquired in a hushed tone as she aimed her hoof to the inscription.
"I... have no clue, but it says 'Lunaz'. I'm starting to notice a theme of 'Luna' related things." Commented Cadance as they continued on past the structure.
As the path continued, it once more gained an incline; a much more steep incline than before.
"You know, I just noticed something..." Flurry spoke as she looked over her shoulder, not to her parents but the path the trio had traveled.
Cadance raised a brow, "And that is...?"
"There aren't any street lamps... anywhere. I didn't see any torches or lamps on the outside of the homes or those two buildings we passed. This place must just be pitch black at night."
"Makes sense; when we last saw Mennika he and his two friends were wearing those dark goggles, the bat-ponies are certainly nocturnal, so I bet their eyes don't have much of a taste of bright lights."
The heavily inclined path made a heavy turn to the right, and as the trio continued to follow the trail up the hill, a strange, arched stone tunnel became visible. The tunnel went directly into the mountain, no light coming from the cavern it led to.
"Should we go in there?" Flurry asked, stopping a little before the entrance as she peered into the darkness.
"Whoa! Uh... should we ask him?!" Exclaimed Shining from behind Cadance and Flurry, the two turning quickly to see a single Nitzche sleeping as a bat would, his tail wrapped around the bottommost branch of a large tree at the edge of the walkway, his wings wrapped around his figure somewhat concealing the blue coat and black saddlebags he wore. His shut eyes were concealed from the light of the day by the same pair of heavily tinted goggles Mennika and his friends wore. Flurry for a moment thought this Nitzche was Mennika, but his mane and tail were a light gray, Mennika's had been a blue that nearly matched his jacket.
"Uh... should we wake him up and ask for, directions?" Cadance asked in a low voice.
"I guess... we can't wander around forever."
"How do we wake him up? Should we just... talk to him until he gets up?" Shining thought.
"Excuse me!" Shouted Flurry, her words not bringing a single reaction from the Nitzche stallion.
"Lunaz Grtiza?! She shouted once more, stepping to where she was almost directly under him.
"Nitzche!!"
The stallion's wings fluttered a little.
"Lunaz Gritza, Nitzche!!"
It had been hard to tell, but his eyes finally came open, his head turning down to look at Flurry.
"Oh, Poniska...?" He asked tiredly, his wings unfurling from his figure as they stretched with his back and front legs.
"Hello! Hi, can you maybe show us around?"
The Nitzche stallion mumbled some things in his own tongue as his tail released the branch, his wings lazily carrying him to the ground as he stood before Flurry.
"Witamy, Poniska..." He greeted groggily, surprising Flurry as he nuzzled his head into her neck, stepping to her parents and doing the same with them.
"Chzod, Poniska."
The trio watched curiously as the Nitzche stallion stepped from the group and began down the path which they had come, his steps heavy and head hung low.
"Poor thing, I feel bad for having to wake him up." Cadance lamented as she and her family began after the stallion.
"What was up with that little nuzzle he gave us? Is that some kind of greeting?" Shining injected.
"I guess so, but it was really cute!" Chimed Flurry, "His fur was so soft! What a sweet little greeting."
Cadance and Shining shared a look before peering to Flurry, their expressions holding cheezy grins, "Did Flurry just find her first love?" Taunted Cadance.
"Oh, give me a break! We're not even the same species!"
"Yeah, but he is pretty cute!" Cadance chimed, her words causing Flurry to blush.
"I said the greeting was cute, not him!"
The parents shared a laugh at Flurry's whining, "If you insist, Sweetheart!" Shining commented, his words bringing a groan from Flurry.
The attention was pulled from the conversation as the Nitzche turned down the path towards the beautifully ornate building they had passed, his hoof pushing open one of the two doors and his faint white aura sliding his goggles from his eyes to around his neck as he walked inside the fairly dark, expansive space, Flurry and her parents following.
Much to their surprise, the building was a library; an amazing one, at that. The floor was occupied by many groups of short tables, carpets, extinguished candles and little square pillows for sitting. The three-tier bookshelves and walkways began at the far end of the building's front and wrapped all the way around, every single shelf being filled with many different types of literature. In between each of the wide, tall shelves rested a fairly sized stone pillar, each of the pillars stretching from the floor to the base of the wooden rafters of the convex ceiling.
Every other rafter had a large, chrome chandelier hanging from it; the many candles of each figure currently extinguished, meaning the only light was given by the dim contrast that made its way through the trees outside. It had taken a moment to notice, but the trio realized Flurry's earlier-spoken words of "the bat-ponies like being with their own kind" held more truth than originally thought. Hung from the level, thick rafters which supported the chandeliers were a fair number of slumbering bats; many sleeping in groups of 4 to 5, spread randomly across the large wooden beams.
"This keeps getting weirder and weirder..." Cadance spoke quietly.
"Wysoka?!" Shouted the stallion Nitzche as he opened a door to the far left of the building; said door leading to the shorter out-cropping of the building.
Shining looked over to Cadance, "Who's Wysoka?"
"Dunno, but we just found our answer to the question of whether they have a connection to Princess Luna or not; look!"
Shining and Cadance flipped around to see that above the door hung a huge mural painting framed in a carved wood, blue-painted frame. The stunningly detailed work showed a crescent moon hung high in the night's sky, but more shocking was the depiction of a blue Alicorn to the right of the moon, her head held high and large, feathered wings spread as she remained suspended in the star-dotted sky. Her light blue mane and tail flowed wonderfully from her figure, and her hooves, temple, and chest were adorned with the exact attire Princess Luna had returned from the moon with. Most notably, and most shocking; was this mare's flank. A deep blue splotch spread inward on her figure, and at its center rested a pure white crescent moon.
"That... that's Princess Luna! But... she's so young... how do they know what she looked like before she was banished?" Exclaimed Cadance.
"Lunaz." Came the stallion's voice, causing the trio to turn and look at him, as he had come back to the three after having no avail in finding whomever he had been searching for.
The trio shared a look, their gaze once more returning to the painting. Question after question ran through their minds; having a language barrier was something not to be favored.
"Eh... Wysoka... what does he... or she, look like? Inquired Flurry, turning back to the Nitzche stallion, who had cocked his head at her words.
"Nie rozumiem, Poniska." He returned, shaking his head gently.
Flurry hummed as she tapped a hoof at the hardwood floor, an idea finally coming to mind. Her wings spread as she flew up to the painting, motioning to 'Lunaz' with a hoof, "Wysoka?" She spoke.
"Nie, Wysoka nie jest Lunaz. Wysoka jest rostly, czarny."
"Wysoka jest rostly?" Flurry repeated as she landed before him.
"Jes, rostly," His own wings carrying him into the air as he used tapped the tip of Flurry's horn, carrying himself a little further as he traced a line a fair two feet from her horn, "Wysoka jest rostly."
Flurry's eyes went wide, "Ohh! Wysoka is tall! Uh, alright... you said czarny... Wysoka jest czarny?"
Now understanding fully what Flurry was attempting to do, the stallion Nitzche flew up to the painting, tapping his hoof at the midnight black, star-dotted sky, "Czarny," the same hoof was placed to his chest, making a circular motion to ruffle his fur, "Jestem szarym, Wysoka jest czarny."
"Wysoka is black. They're tall, and black. Huh."
As the stallion lowered himself back to the floor, he stepped to Flurry and tapped her horn once more, "Wysoka ma I cytadela," he moved to her side, tapping her pink, feathered wing, "Ma tez Skrzydla, jak ty,"
His explanation brought a smile to Flurry's face, "Wysoka is an Alicorn! They must have a hierarchy of Alicorns like we do!"
"Poniska, chzod," Informed the stallion as he pulled his goggles back on, pushing the Library's door open as he walked back outside, the trio following a short distance behind.
"Wysoka sounds like a mare's name, but I could be wrong. It would be really interesting to see a stallion Alicorn." Shining spoke as they followed the Nitzche back down the path they had originated from.
"Wysoka is certainly a mare's name. I wonder what his name is." Commented Flurry, motioning her head toward their self-appointed guide.
Cadance and Shining shared another cheezy look, Flurry not noticing since she had been heading the pack.
"Excuse me, uh, Nitzche?" The stallion paused, turning around, "Eh... how do I ask this, uh..." Flurry thought hard for a moment before tapping her chest with a hoof, "Flurry Heart," She quickly stepped to her mother, doing the same action, "Cadance," The same was repeated for her father, "Shining Armor," Upon completion, Flurry moved back to the Nitzche stallion, tapping his chest, but not saying a word.
"Oh. Morsemere." He replied after a moment, understanding what Flurry was trying to accomplish.
"Lunaz Gritza, Morsemere." Flurry returned with a smile, out-stretching a hoof to offer a hoof shake.
Morsemere simply nuzzled her once more, returning her smile as he turned and continued on forward.
"You two make such a cute couple." Shining teased, his words only adding to Flurry's rosy blush.
"Oh, for Celestia's sake..." She mumbled, continuing on down the path as her parents giggled between themselves.
As Morsemere came to the wider intersecting path previously found by the trio he made a left turn, continuing on past three other joining paths before making his way down the fourth. Only a little bit's travel down the winding, stone road brought Morsemere to a modest two-story house, the wonderfully designed home having a doorway significantly taller than those around it. Upon stepping to the home's entrance, Morsemere gave a few hard raps with a hoof, pausing as he listened for any response.
"Wysoka!" He called, knocking a few more times.
Through the closed door the group could hear heavy, hard-hitting hooves coming down a staircase, a deep, grumbling female voice simply returning with "Cotz?!"
"Wysoka, kucyki tutaj Poniska."
The quick, heavy clop of hooves could he heard through the shut door, the now cheerful voice on the other end shouting excitedly as she approached the door. Each of the trio felt their heart skip a beat as the door opened to reveal a pure black Alicorn; though she was not a Nitzche, she was a pony. Her feathered wings were excitedly held from either side of her body, her seemingly glowing blue, slit pupil eyes darting across each of the trio's shocked expressions as they all stood rigid. The sight of such a being alone was a shock, but the one thing they could not bring their eyes from was the mare's misty, flowing, star-dotted cosmic mane and tail, their appearance being just that of the rest of her body; exactly like Nightmare Moon's.
"Poniska!!" The mare's deep voice sang, her pure white fangs seeming to glow from her mouth as she spoke, trotting happily towards the three as she knelt before them, quickly nuzzling her head into each of their necks. The group sat rigid for a moment as Wysoka... or thus far; as far as Cadance was concerned, Nightmare Moon browsed their shocked expressions, her own being a wonderfully happy smile.
"Chzod! Chzod, Poniska!" She chimed, standing as she trotted back into her home, rambling on in the Nitzche's tongue.
This was... but wasn't Nightmare Moon. It looked exactly like her... minus a few things. Her figure was pure black; no armor of any kind adorned her figure, she simply had a hoof-made necklace and a sleeping blind hung from her neck. Her flanks were not marked by the distorted and discolored cutie-mark she was known to have; they were as pure black as the rest of her figure. Missing, too, was Nightmare's venomous tone, Wysoka's voice, while deep, was gentle and cheerful. Other than that; this mare who had been called Wysoka was, without a doubt, Nightmare Moon... but was her appearance nothing more than that? It was clear that inside something different ticked.
The trio complied in following Wysoka indoors, her eyes glowing through the pitch black as she looked back, calling to Morsemere; who upon hearing her words took flight and departed. Wysoka's horn came to life as two of the home's shuttered front windows came open, natural light somewhat brightening the black room of the house, at the same time a few candles spread throughout the room too came to life with the help of her blue aura. With the room lit, Wysoka stood for a moment as she looked at the shorter ponies before her, her happy look turning to a confused frown.
"Dlaczego wygladasz smutno, Poniska?" She inquired, kneeling back down to them.
"Uh... sorry... Wysoka, but we don't speak, whatever you speak." Stuttered Cadance, both she and her family still dumbfounded by the pure black Alicorn before them.
"Speak again... wait, speak again, Poniska. My... my old word, you had them! Speak again!" Rambled Wysoka through a fairly thick accent as she took Cadance by her shoulders, her wide, glowing blue eyes staring right at her.
"Uh... what would you like me to say?"
Wysoka gasped as her expression turned from shock to pure glee, the mare giggling as she hugged Cadance tightly, pulling the unsuspecting Alicorn into her fuzzy chest, "You speak my old word!! Name... you, what is name? Flurry, jes?" Exclaimed Wysoka as she took Cadance from her chest, her sudden movements having brought a little bit of pain to Cadance's injured wing.
"N-No... my name is Cadance. That's Flurry Heart, my daughter, and he's Shining Armor; my husband." Returned Cadance as she pointed to each of her family members, their expressions still in a state of total shock as their eyes met with Wysoka's.
"You are linia krwi! Eh... not linia krwi... three of you, you are..."
"Family? Is... that what you mean?"
"Jes! Family. Linia krwi! Family..." Wysoka repeated as she craned her head up, looking around in her home, "Sit down? You can be tired, long walking, jes? Hungry or thirsty?"
"All of those, yeah. We'd like some food other than leaf roots and grass."
"Dobrze, dobrze. You sit here; I can bring ciastko, or jablko."
As Wysoka stood, trotting her way to the little home's kitchen area, the three had a moment to look at each other in disbelief as they turned towards the little area Wysoka had motioned to; it was clearly the living room. There were no couches or chairs, but there was a short, dark-wood table at the center of a deep blue and white themed carpet, atop the table was a single candle and some papers along with a quill and ink. The rest of the room, while being fairly barren of furniture, still held a beauty of its own; the dark, lacquered woods of the walls and ceiling negated the effects of the light coming in from the outside as well as the candles, and the navy blue crown molds and wooden pillars spaced about the walls gave a wonderful contrast to this dark theme.
Behind where the family sat at the table was an unlit fireplace, its stone and clay arched mouth finely crafted with many decorative designs, a wooden frame being built around it to both conceal and give shelf-space in the form of a mantle. A little further past the living space sat a short desk, a typewriter, and stacks of various books and papers taking up almost all of the availability of the desk. Instead of a chair, the desk had a simple, square pillow before it to act as a comfortable seat; something the trio thought to be quite curious. Around the desk were random stacks of books, many of them seeming to have no home, as the three wall-fixed shelves adjacent to the desk had zero remaining real estate. To the far right was a simple staircase which led to the unlit upstairs and down into the home's basement.
The wall of this staircase acted as one of the little kitchen's walls, the space being no less than a modestly sized stone oven, cabinetry, and a stone wash-basin that had a rough iron spigot poking from behind it. Past the kitchen was a more or less empty space, the only thing taking up the area between the kitchen's far right wall and the front wall of the home being a pair of two bookcases; all of which were full, and a pillow similar to the one before the desk. Cozy. Dim. Quaint. All were apt descriptions.
"Here! Water, and ciastko! I cook past night, they are good, I hope!" Chimed Wysoka as she stepped from the kitchen, four white and blue painted clay cups and a similarly decorative plate stacked with chocolate chunk cookies being set upon the table before the trio by her blue aura, Wysoka sitting across from them as she smiled. The family happily took a cookie each from the plate with their magic, each pony groaning in joy as they devoured the sweet, chocolatey treats.
"Good, jes? If you like more food, I can get from down." Wysoka added as she pointed downwards with a hoof.
"What other food do you have?" Inquired Flurry through her cookie-filled mouth.
"Lots! Many good fruit, jablko, winogrono, niebieski... I, I can know name in my old words... eh," Wysoka paused, her back leg tapping as she thought, "jablko... eh, round... red."
"Apple?"
"Apple... are apple red and round?"
"Yeah. They grow on trees."
Wysoka nodded, "Jablko are apple. Want apple, maybe?"
"I'm fine with cookies, so far. Mom, Dad, you two want anything else?"
Cadance sat up a little, smiling, "I want an apple! Oh, I love apples."
"I want one, too!"
Wysoka gave a toothy grin, the two large fangs hanging from the roof of her mouth shining through the dim light of the home, "Dobrze! I can get apples!"
The trio watched as Wysoka stood, trotting her way to the staircase as she departed to the home's cellar.
"Are we eating cookies with Nightmare Moon?" Flurry inquired plainly as she took a bite of a second cookie, having finished her first.
Both parents held their silence for a moment, their expressions still showing their utter disbelief at what was happening.
"I... I think so. She looks exactly like Nightmare Moon... but, the way she talks, the way she stands and moves... the way she looks at us. That's not Nightmare Moon. That's... whoever Wysoka is." Cadance returned, her half-eaten cookie coming to rest on the table before her.
"I don't know if I believe what's happening..." Shining stated with exasperation.
"Is Wysoka the name she gave herself or is it a name the bat-ponies gave her?"
"That's a really good question."
"Sorry for my old words being less good, 23 years for last I know them. I come here 23 years last, and the Nitzche learn me their Nitzcheska... then I say Nitzcheska and not old words... what are you called my old words?" Ranted Wysoka as she walked back up the steps, the three apples held in her blue magic being placed next to the plate of cookies.
Each of the three caught on a single set of her words as if they were glue: 23 years. 23 years ago was exactly how long it had been since Princess Luna's return and supposed removal of Nightmare Moon.
"Equestrian, that's what we speak." Flurry explained.
"Eekvestian... I had not know the name for words. Lots of things I know not."
"Is Wysoka the name you were... uh, given by your parents, or the Nitzche?" Inquired Flurry, fully changing the subject.
"Nitzche... I think I have not parents, or family. I work lots of days, years, to remember... but I not." Wysoka explained, pointing a hoof to the many books and papers riddling the desk space.
"Does it mean something?" Probed Flurry.
"Jes, Wysoka are when Lunaz's moon sit high up. Sit high up; you see?"
Flurry's eyes lit up, "Midnight! Your name is Midnight!"
"Midnight... that name, I like lots! Good name, I think; sounds good... midnight what you name this time?"
"Mid-night," Flurry enunciated, "Mid is just short for middle, and night... well, is night. It means the middle of the night; when the moon is highest."
"Nitzche call me Wysoka for my fur; 23 years past I first come to Nazomova, the Nitzche spoke "Twój futro jest czarne wysoka o północy!", they say all "your fur, black, clean, like Lunaz's wysoka." I like very Wysoka, so they call me."
"You like both Wysoka and Midnight... what do you want us to call you?"
"You name me what name you like very best!"
Flurry looked at each of her parents, "I like Wysoka."
"I do, too. It's so nice sounding, and I think it's best if we call you by the name you know." Cadance returned.
"Wysoka sounds way better than Midnight." Added Shining.
"We'll just stick with Wysoka."
Wysoka nodded. A moment of silence went by as she thought, tapping her back hoof on the carpet.
"I very want a know how you three get to Ciemny." Wysoka commented as she looked to Cadance.
"Ciemny...? Is that what the forest is called?"
Wysoka nodded.
"Oh, boy... well, as far as the three of us can tell, I teleported us here. We don't know why; all three of us have pretty bad memory loss from the spell, and neither of us have any idea why I teleported us here, we just know that something really bad must have happened for me to cast the spell... and we think our friends and family back home are in a lot of danger."
Wysoka's eyes went wide, "You not can remember reason for being here? I... I help! I can help! This, this all of my work for past years," Wysoka stood from her place at the short table and trotted to her desk, "My work, I work to remember! Years past, I get very good with remembered! I find lots things in my own remember... I, I am lots sorry for Eekvestrian... hard to spoke with old words, tonight and today I can not sleep, I will work on Eekvestrian! Next night, I can spoke Eekvestrian good, I will promise."
"Wysoka, you're fine for now. Just, keep on going; we understand so far." Cadance spoke, both she and her family enthralled by the prospect of Wysoka being able to help them figure out why they're in their situation.
"Dobrze... dobrze," Wysoka looked a little anxious to continue as she took a breath, turning back to the papers and books as her magic picked up one of the novels, "I spent years, lots years, working for remembering. Working to remember. I want to remember what am I, or who am I; because I wake in place very, very far from here long past ago, and I know not who am I. I... I not can really, uh, explain... I use magic, when I am sleep, and see, I can... I can see what past was for me. I spend so long, I do lots work to remember what seen, and I wrote all I see, and I get Nitzche to help; and see, I can see past of Nitzche! I wrote books to remember, and I make lots of paper, lots of work so I can remember pasts of me!" Her somewhat excited tone fell a little, her smile leaving her expression as she took a more neutral look, "But... so many works and so many years past, I still forget so much. Only small remembers; you see. Big blank; just black for long times, but then I remember, then big blank. Very big. No remember... for very, very, very long... and after lots years... still I not remember what blank is."
Wysoka finally paused, sharing a look with each of the very confused looking family before her, "You... you understand, jes?"
"I-I, well... yes, I understand just fine... this is just, very shocking." Cadance finally explained.
"Next night, I will speak Eekvestrian better! We talk more, and I help you remember! I may can help you go back to home and help friends and family; Nitzche say my magic is power, very lots of power! Power like Lunaz."
Silence fell over the room, all three of the trio holding their silence as they all registered what they had just been told; system overload was a good way to describe it.
"You are looked... worry. I am not scared you, am I?" Wysoka inquired, her imposing figure shrinking as she held her head low in worry.
"No! No, no no, you're not scaring us!" Exclaimed Cadance, "Like I said before; this is all a lot to take in at once. Hearing about what your magic can do, and all. It's hard to think when you're as tired as we are."
"Lots walking make for tired, jes?"
Cadance nodded, "Yeah... we've been walking for a quite a while. It's been really nice to finally sit down and have some good food. We've been really rude, Wysoka. We woke you up in the middle of your sleep, and you let us into your house and gave us food and water, and we haven't even said thank you. So, for that; thank you."
Wysoka smiled softly to Cadance, "No thanks, please. I can thank you, instead, maybe. You are like me, and like Lunaz; Poniska... may can you help me find my pasts; find who am I."
Cadance shared a quick look with Flurry and Shining, their minds on the same track, "Well, we'll do what we can to help... magic dealing with dreams and memories isn't really what I'm good at."
"No matters! If you not can help, I can care not; now I want to help you! Maybe help friends and family you have."
Flurry's loud yawning drew the attention of the conversation to the stretching Alicorn.
"Tired, jes?" Wysoka inquired, smiling to Flurry.
"Tired is an understatement. We've been walking for days..."
"Tired for sleep?"
Flurry nodded, both Cadance and Shining mumbling in agreeance.
"Upstairs is big pillow; I sleep on side not like Nitzche, so I have good special pillow for me, may big for all three of you to sleep!"
"Really?" Flurry asked, perking up, "That would be so nice. We've been sleeping in the short sweet grass for the past three days... a bed and a bath would be so nice."
"Bath! I have good big bath for me; good hot water. You want bath and sleep, jes?"
The trio gave a collective nod.
"Dobrze, good! Come, I can make hot bath." Chimed Wysoka as she trotted from where she stood beside her desk to the staircase, quickly making her way to the home's upstairs.
"Nightmare Moon sure is nice." Flurry commented jokingly as she took a third cookie from the plate for the road.
Cadance gave a chuckle as she and Shining stood, the family following Wysoka upstairs, "I never thought I'd hear somepony say that seriously..."
It had taken some time; enough time for Flurry to have already fallen asleep on Wysoka's large bed, for all three of the group to have a wonderfully cleansing and relaxing bath in the somewhat upscaled stone bath of the home's modest bathroom. The upstairs of the home was fairly basic and seemed a lot more barren in comparison to the downstairs. The bathroom took up a considerable space extending from the home's left wall, leaving the slightly L-shaped room to look a little more cramped than it would if things were totally open.
Two windows, which had been opened by Wysoka, let a little bit of natural light into the single-candle lit room, said candle having been placed atop a small, cherrywood dressing cabinet beside the simple pillow bed which Flurry slept at the fringe of. The bed and dresser rested comfortably against the right wall of the upstairs, adjacent to the resting area sat an odd thing for a bedroom to be equipped with; two bookcases. Cadance looked to the door of the bathroom as it creaked open, pale candlelight spilling from the doorway as a damp Shining Armor exited, a silken towel held by his pink aura working to dry his mane.
"That tub's nice, isn't it?" Cadance asked in a hushed tone, standing from where she sat near the bed.
"Takes a while to fill up, but yeah; it's nice. A lot better than that ice-cold stream Flurry made me jump into." Chuckled Shining, gently closing the door behind him.
"That was quite the night..." Cadance and Shining shared a loving kiss, their eyes meeting in the dim light of the room, "You have no idea how happy I was to see you, Honey."
"When I saw you and Flurry Heart run past those trees towards me, and you called out my name..." Shining chuckled, giving Cadance a second quick kiss, "The last time you made my heart flutter like that was the first time I saw you."
Cadance giggled quietly, nuzzling her head into Shining's neck, "Still such a romantic."
"Being through as much as we've been through... it's more than enough to make us inseparable."
"We can tick 'teleported to strange new lands' off out bucket list."
The two shared a quiet laugh, Shining turning back to the bathroom as he took the towel from his fairly dried mane, "This has been quite the adventure, hasn't it?" He commented, reopening the non-latching door with his magic, hanging his towel from a pair of wooden hooks mounted above the tub, his magic snuffing the candle in the little bathroom as he exited.
"I think it's only just started," Cadance added as she gently brought herself to the large pillow, her good side being rested upon.
"Whatever comes of this whole ordeal, I know we'll all make it back home." Spoke Shining as he joined his wife, the two embracing each other in their hooves as Cadance's magic pulled the large blanket Flurry had been hogging over the pair.
"Oh, great; now three of us are sleeping in the same bed," Shining commented at a whisper.
"Hopefully Flurry doesn't sheet-hog like you do; then I'll only have to worry about you."
"You're in the middle!" He exclaimed quietly, "You'll always have a sheet; I'm gonna have to battle Flurry."
"I love you, Shining." Cadance whispered, pecking his muzzle with a kiss.
"I love you, too, Honey."
"Get a room." Grumbled Flurry.
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7621907 Just a little heads up, chapter 3 was uploaded today if you care to check it out!
and it was a good chapter too
7638702 Glad you liked this chapter, and the story thus far! Consider giving the story a like: I wanna break that 20 like mark.
7638711 I tried to give you a few more likes, it wouldn't let me do but the one I already had.
So Wysoka might be what remains of Nightmare Moon?
I really like her genky personality.
7641503 she is a goofy one, thats for sure
Awww, Nyx is all grown up now. :P
I have a question. How old is flurry,like six or so?
Heh, love trying to figure out what the word could mean before trying to look it up. Saying it out loud helps quiet a lot.
Lunaz Lekkti Może Obdarzyć Szczęścia I Pokoju
Lunas light (should be lekki without the t then though i think) can give happiness and peace ?
Would be Lunino svijetlo moze dati sreću i spokoj in my language heh.
And for linia krwi should be rodzina as in actually family rather then bloodline
Wysoka i keep associating with tall as in my language its "visoka" (tall, female version as in "shes tall" or such)
our
8612321
The bloodline rather than family translation is intentional, actually. Good eye on this stuff, mate!
aaaaah holy fuck quarter this beast
8787447
no u