• Published 12th May 2017
  • 12,544 Views, 449 Comments

Eventide - Dilos1



Taken away from everything she knows and loves, a young girl struggles to find peace within herself.

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Lost Light

Astrid stared intently at the stone laying down in front of her, tuning herself into an almost trance-like state, focusing all her willpower on it. She had long since lost track of time as she spent what must have been over an hour or so practicing her newfound ability, determined to at least have some grasp over it before the day was over.

Breathing deeply, Astrid once more began the process as the tip of her orange hair quivered a little bit, before slowly snaking its way towards the stone. Here came the tricky part, as Astrid mentally coerced it into forming a small loop, constricting around the rock like a strange serpent. It took every bit of concentration she had not to lose control. Ever so lightly, her hair gently tightened around it, and there Astrid held it for a moment, preparing herself for the real test.

Attempting to push aside her weariness, Astrid cleared her mind of all distractions in favor of the action she wanted to perform. Her hair quivered again, and for a moment she feared she had lost it. She quickly stowed the thought however, knowing it would not help. Then, she lifted the stone.

Her heart hammered in her chest, and beads of sweat streaked across her face. She had to fight the overwhelming urge to just give up on the pretense that if she found a way home, she wouldn’t have use of it. The distraction went ignored, and with one final grunt of effort, Astrid lifted the stone a full foot and a half off the ground, beating her previous record of ten inches.

Satisfied with the results of her efforts, Astrid finally saw fit to release her concentration. Her limb of follicles went limp as a noodle and the stone clattered against the pavement before settling a few feet away from her. Despite her exhaustion, Astrid nonetheless felt strangely giddy at having finally attained some semblance of mastery over her alien form, and she was unable to suppress herself from jumping up in excitement, grinning like a madwoman the whole time. “Yes! Ha ha!” She pointed a finger up at the sky and shouted at no one in particular. “Take that! Just you wait, I am getting out of this!”

Eventually her fatigue got the better of her as she sat back down, spine pressed against the cool wall. Her optimism remained undiminished as she wondered, somewhat fancifully, about all of the possible things she could that her extra limb could afford her, once she eventually mastered it that is. It would certainly help in accommodating for her diminutive stature.

For some reason, Astrid found that thought strangely funny, and a tired chuckle escaped her lips.

For a long while Astrid simply sat there recovering her strength. She debated on whether or not she wanted to continued practicing. It seemed that at the rate she was going it would not be that much longer before controlling her hair took no more effort than it did to raise her arm. Although with that came the question of what she was going to do about her other ability.

Astrid remembered in great detail and none too fondly the incident Trixie’s carriage. As frightening as that ordeal had been, the feeling she experienced. . . the sensation of her own body becoming intangible as it melted into the darkness. . .

In truth, it frightened her in a way Astrid was not sure how to describe, and just thinking about it made her clutch her legs close to her chest in a vain attempt to comfort herself. It reminded her vaguely of her reaction to unfiltered sunlight, turning her into a wispy silhouette.

She did not like it. Her hair behaving of its own accord was one thing, but that. . .

Astrid wanted no part of that if she could help it, no matter how helpful it may seem, not while she had no clue on how to control it. Maybe in the future, when she had a better grasp on her alien form, but until then she was going to stay clear of it.

Having no desire to dwell on the matter any further, Astrid eventually decided that she gotten in enough practice for time being. It was a start, and for now was happy with as her thoughts turned to other matters.

“I need a plan,” she muttered. She stood up and began pacing, turning her necklace over in her hands. “I can’t just wing it here, I have to figure what I’m going to do.” Wracking her brain for an idea of what she was going to do, Astrid began the steady process of considering her options. “I can’t stay on the street forever. I need a place to sleep, and I need to eat. Those are immediate.” She paused to take a quick whiff of herself. “Definitely a bath at some point. After that I need. . . what? What do I need to fix this?”

Astrid stopped pacing for a moment, heavily contemplating the quandary before her. She was never that good at problems such as these, she recalled as memories of elementary school popped up in her thoughts. Studies in logic had not been her strong suit, but right now she had to think hard on what would constitute her safe return home.

“Information,” she blurted out, resuming her pacing. “I need information. Information on where I am at. That should be easy enough, just need to find something. . .”

Astrid paused once more, taking note of the jaunty whistle coming from just outside the alleyway. She spied around the corner, seeing a yellow pegasus stallion standing in front of a newspaper dispenser. She watched with rapt attention as he inserted what looked like a gold coin of some sort into a slot, upon which he lifted the top and pulled out a fresh newspaper roll, holding it gingerly in his mouth before tucking it under a wing, before trotting away.

She considered acquiring one, then disregarded it upon recalling that she could not read the alphabet of this world. At most all she would get from a newspaper were a bunch of indecipherable tabloids, articles and. . .

“A map.”

Regardless of her ability to read, she knew a map or anything like that was always useful. Wasting not a single moment more, she left her hiding place, hurrying over to the dispenser. She was stopped when she emerged out into the brightness of day, causing her to recoil and rub her eyes until her sight returned.

She was quickly becoming quite annoyed with her photosensitivity as she pulled the tarp over her head. The mostly white walls of the surrounding buildings did nothing to help as they only seemed to amplify the level of brightness to a degree where Astrid found it almost painful even while covering her eyes. She groped blindly, feeling for the dispenser.

Once she found it, she gripped the lid and lifted with all her meager might. It would not budge however, remaining firmly locked in place. Astrid soon gave up, recognizing that it would not relinquish its contents without an exchange of currency, with she found herself lacking. Trying to break it open was also not an option for her. Even in the blinding light Astrid could still see quite a few ponies walking about, some of which were already giving her curious glances.

In lieu of that, Astrid came up with an alternative course of action.


Astrid was not looking forward to what she was about to do, especially when she considered her actions the previous night. To settle her morals as she waited impatiently at the entrance of the alleyway, she reasoned that was a stark difference between breaking a window and grabbing a bunch of papers. She didn’t like either action, but when it came down to either wandering the streets and hoping she came across something useful or obtaining information that relevant right now, she just had to bite the bullet and forsake her conscience. . . just this once.

Before long the opportunity she had been waiting for revealed itself as a cyan mare with a magenta mane and tail trotted up to the dispenser. Inserting a coin, she soon had a fresh roll of papers held in front of her, casually reading it as it hung suspended in an aura of green. Seeing this Astrid was reminded of Trixie’s stage show, and not for the first time she wondered how all the unicorns she had seen were able to do that with their horns.

She had very little time to ponder it though as the mare approached the alleyway, blissfully unaware of the imp hiding just around the corner. Her heart already racing before she had moved so much as an inch, Astrid prepared herself to run. As soon as the tip of the mares’ muzzle came into view around the corner, she made her move.

Lunging out of the shadows Astrid snatched the newspapers out of the air, scattering a few of them surprising the mare to no end as she let out a frightened scream of surprise, drawing the attention of every pony in the immediate vicinity. “I’mverysorrybutIneedthisrightnow!” Astrid said quickly, wasting no time in making her escape as she dashed back into the alley.

“No! Not my coupons!” she heard the mare lament from behind her, too preoccupied with escaping to look back as she weaved her way through the narrows side streets. She didn’t hear any signs of a pursuit, but she would not feel comfortable until she was far from the scene of the crime. After a few minutes of running Astrid finally felt it was safe enough to stop and catch her breath a bakery shop, huddled behind a dumpster, away from prying eyes and irritating sunlight.

Constantly glancing around her to ensure that she was not about to be jumped, Astrid laid her prize on the ground and took a took a look at the front page of the newspaper, a bit roughed up from her thievery, but otherwise serviceable.
Skimming through the majority, Astrid came across multiple articles and tabloids, not to mention a picture of a rather stern looking mare. She was thrown for a complete loop however upon seeing one image however, and Astrid double checked to ensure she was not merely seeing things.

At first Astrid thought she was looking at nothing more than an odd cloud formation. The monochrome print was doing her no favors, forcing Astrid to squint to clearer idea of what exactly she was looking at, until it finally dawned on her.

Buildings on clouds. There were actual, solid structures built on puffy white clouds. And by the looks it was not just a little bit either, but an entire community, an entire city even, constructed on what basically amounted to an aerosol version of water.

“What is wrong with this place?” Astrid breathed, just barely able to keep herself from crying out in frustration. She had to move on, and just admit to herself that nothing made sense anymore. As long as no other world shattering revelations appeared, she would be happy.

Skipping ahead by a large amount in an effort to preserve what sanity she had left, Astrid came across one page that appeared to be list of job openings. She became excited when she noticed the little map printed next to them, their locations highlighted at various points.

Finally, something she could use to find her way around. She wasn’t great at reading maps, but she was good enough to avoid getting completely lost whenever she went on school fieldtrips and the like. Looking around, Astrid felt that she could actually identify what appeared to be a library, confirming its location on her little map. She now had a point of reference.

As little as it seemed, it gave Astrid a sense of actual control over her immediate future, and that in and of itself was incredibly relieving for her. Her spirits somewhat lifted, she then proceeded to consider what her next step was going to be. As helpful as the newspaper had been, revelation of cloud cities notwithstanding, she knew that she needed more than a few tabloids to start coming up with a plan going forward.

After mulling the issue over for a bit, Astrid became aware of the growing hunger emanating from her midsection, most likely brought on by her exertions from earlier. Forgoing planning in favor of getting something to eat, Astrid tore out the page with the map and rolled up the newspaper, casually tossed it into the dumpster before hurrying away in search of her next meal.


After walking around for a little bit, all the while being careful to avoid the sun if she could help it, Astrid began to absentmindedly think. Not about anything in particular, truth be told. Her thoughts seemed to constantly dart between subjects, everything from her interaction with that mare from the previous night, to what she would potentially use her newfound abilities for. Chief among them was how she was going to be able to keep herself fed without resorting to begging. However much she may have found it distasteful to ask for handouts, or hoofouts as the case may be, Astrid accepted that it may be her only option for the foreseeable future. Maybe she could find loose change on the ground. She was not sure how much those little gold coins were worth here, but if she found enough, she could probably buy herself a decent meal without resorting to thievery, assuming the ponies would be willing to accept her business.

Her encounter with the mare seemed to indicate that the majority of them would, if a bit reluctantly. It was the whole reason Astrid was using the sidewalk as opposed to prowling around in a dank alleyway in her search for a meal. For the most part the most that any of the ponies did when they noticed her was point and whisper. It was unnerving, but until such time as they brought out the torches and pitch forks Astrid would ignore them to the best of her ability.

As Astrid thought, wondering if it would be possible to go for a dive in a fountain for any change the ponies might have tossed inside, a certain aroma tickled her nostrils. Astrid paused. She sniffed the air.

“Is that. . ?” She murmured, not wanting to say it aloud for fear of getting her hopes up. She had to be certain though, and she let her nose guide her to the source of the scent. Shortly into her journey through the city Astrid rounded a corner, and there it was.

Never before had Astrid felt so enamored in all her life, and her eyes widened as she beheld the glorious structure in front of her.

“Oh my God,” she said quietly, rendered completely awestruck as she felt herself be drawn forward, heedless of the curious glances and stares of the ponies in the immediate area. They were inconsequential compared to what she was seeing.

In due time Astrid had her face smooshed up against the window, looking inward at the confectionary treasure trove before her. Everything from powdered to glazed lay within, tragically separated from her only by a pane of glass. And just inside, barely within her field of view, she saw ponies taste testing a few of the delicacies, held up on little plastic plates, and she realized with a fluttering heart and a drooling tongue that they were treating themselves to what could only be free samples.

Astrid ran to the front door, whereupon the little jingle of a bell sounded off as she burst inside, looking forward to gorging herself on as many free samples as she could get away with. Moments later Astrid came scurrying back out, covering her head as she ran while a stocky stallion in an apron chased after her, brandishing a broom in his fetlocks.

“Get!” he shouted after her. “Shoo, ya little pest! Don’t need ya stinkin’ up the place!”

Unwilling to argue with the stallion on the matter and bring up how shoddy the customer service was, Astrid begrudgingly complied with his “request” as she hurried away.


“So much for that,” Astrid muttered bitterly as she kicked at a loose pebble, sending it clattering away across the cobblestone path. In her escape she had found herself in some sort of tree filled park. After consulting with her portion of a map, she guessed that it was somewhere at or close to the edge of the city. She could still see the bell tower from here, so she was not completely lost.

Her mood was heavily soured by what just happened, and she could not keep herself from feeling intensely frustrated about it, although in hindsight she probably should have seen it coming. She chastised herself for being foolish enough to believe it would be that simple, that she could just waltz anywhere she pleased without any repercussions. The mare from the previous night was starting to look more like an exception to the majority of her kind, as Astrid recalled every occurrence in which she had singled out.

It seemed if she was not being confused for some stray animal, then she was actively hunted by whatever passed for a police force.

She kicked at the pebble again, putting a little more force into the strike than was probably necessary, sending it flying off the path entirely and into a spider bush.

“This sucks.”

A gross understatement, she felt, at least in her opinion. Recognizing that continuing to brood on the weight of her predicament would only result in her becoming that much more frustrated about it, Astrid attempted to calm down and just forget about the whole thing entirely.

She came across a wooden bench a few minutes later sitting beneath an oak tree. Hefting herself onto it, Astrid took a moment to just sit there and do nothing. At the moment, she had no desire to do much of anything other than just rest and recuperate. She could figure her next move afterward, when she was in a somewhat milder mindset.
Setting the tarp in a crumpled heap next to her, Astrid felt relief to finally get it off her, and for a long while she simply sat there, basking in the shade of the tree while the trilling melodies of unseen birds soothed her haggard thoughts and emotions.

She was not sure where the thought came from, but for some reason it suddenly occurred to Astrid that she did not yet know what the rest of her small body looked like underneath her nightshirt. Until then she did not view as an important topic, but now that it was on her mind her curiosity refused to leave her be until she addressed it.

Pulling at her shirt she craned her head down to get a better look at herself, already having some idea of what sort of changes had been enacted upon. As she expected, her skin tone was made up a sections of black and white, creating unnatural swirling patterns across her body. What she had not been expecting however was to find that she lacked any sort of defining characteristics or features that were typical of the female body other than her naval.

It was also the first time she noticed that she was wearing basically nothing other her nightshirt. Her other garments had gone missing, probably left behind somewhere in the forest.

Astrid was not sure how this revelation had escaped her attention for so long, but now that she was made aware of the fact that she been basically running around half naked since the moment she first woke up in this place, she felt her face heat up in abject horror and embarrassment. She instinctively hugged herself, attempting to preserve whatever modesty she may have had left as she frantically looked around to see there was anybody or anything watching.

As far as she knew there were no ponies in the immediate vicinity, and Astrid supposed that they would not have really cared all that much, seeing as they don’t wear clothes either. Whatever the case may be, she still felt compelled to once more don the itchy tarp, preferring that over exposing herself.

With a sigh, Astrid slumped downward, already feeling exhausted despite the fact that it was only the middle of the day. All she wanted right now was to just be left alone to stew in peace.

Much to her annoyance however, it seemed that her luck was determined to work against her. Off to her left Astrid picked up the distinctive sound of hooves steadily approaching her location. It was not long before she also heard what sounded like frantic breathing.

Too nervous to remain out in the open, Astrid quickly scrambled to hide herself behind the bench, where she stood peering through the slats. She did so just in time to watch as a young pony, a colt she thought, gallop past as quickly as his legs could carry him. She was not sure, but it looked he was carrying a bunch of items in his saddlebags, but he was going too fast for her to get a good look, and within moments she lost sight of him.

“What was that all about?” she wondered aloud. She was about to step out of her hiding spot when she heard more ponies close by, prompting her to stay put as they drew near. It was a group this time, three of them, all foals by the look of it. Running by, Astrid overheard one of them say, “I saw the runt go this way!” and another reply, “Don’t worry, he ain’t gettin’ far!”

As soon as she heard them say that, it suddenly became all too clear to Astrid what their intentions were, and she looked on with concern as they passed her by in pursuit of their quarry, paying no notice to the little imp hidden behind the bench.

The coast finally clear, allowing her to step out. However, instead of going the opposite way as she knew was probably the smart thing to do, she felt strangely compelled to do something about what she just saw, which confused her to no end. This had nothing to do with her, why should she get herself involved. She had no obligation to after all, and for all she knew it was all just some sort of weird game they were playing. And even if there was foul play involved, what could she realistically do about it?

With a shake of her head, Astrid turned herself around, beginning to trudge back the way she came. “Don’t get involved Astrid,” she repeatedly told herself. “Don’t get involved, it’s not your problem.”

She took exactly three steps before she came to a halt. She let out a breath and her shoulders sagged in resigned defeat. All while telling herself it was a bad idea, she turned and broke into a full sprint, following the foals and hoping she could catch up to them.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. . .”


Sterling was not the sort of colt to begrudge his lot in life. All things considered he had it pretty good, and far be it from him to be ungrateful for any of it. Although at the moment, if there were ever a time he felt inclined to complain about anything, now seemed as appropriate as ever.

The young pinto colt was honestly not sure how much worse things could be, and it was all that he could do to keep himself going at this pace as his saddlebag full of books only felt heavier and heavier with every second that went by. It did not help that his downy mane kept getting in his eyes the whole time.

He knew if he did not think of a way to get out of this situation, and quickly at that, then he would have lot more to be worried about than the black eye coming his way. As much as he wanted to avoid injury, he dreaded the consequences of being late even more. The foals chasing him were the least of his concerns.

Still, Sterling supposed this is what he gets for trying to take a shortcut, even though he knew they would be waiting for him in the park. He had already long since passed the point of regretting his poor decision though, and was now focused solely on staying ahead of his pursuers long enough to make it into the busy streets once more, where he had a better chance of losing them.

He swore he could hear them now, trailing just behind in their feverish attempts to catch him, the tromp of their hooves sounding much too close for comfort.

“Quit now while you can runt! You’re only making it worse for yourself!”

Sterling highly doubted the legitimacy of the statement, but was unfortunately in no mood to stop and debate with them. Somehow he didn’t think they would be up for a lecture. As such he kept going, knowing it was not that much further now until he finally made it out of the park. He soon reached a wooden bridge, spanning twenty feet over a gurgling creek. All he had to do was make it over that and he should be in the clear.

Just when he thought he was about to make it, as soon as Sterling crested the bridge’s peak, he skidded to a halt, recognizing that he had made a grave error in his judgement.

“Hey there runt,” said Glim, a lanky unicorn filly with a fiery pink coat and eyes that matched. The calm manner in which she spoke contrasted heavily with her haggard appearance. She was covered in little scratches and a few twigs stuck in her frizzy magenta mane. He guessed that she must have taken a shortcut of her own to get here before him, and she looked none to pleased about it. Next to her stood one of her cronies, just as scuffed up, but he was not as much of a concern.

Sterling turned to gallop back the way he came, only to find himself blocked in by her other two toadies.

“Sorry, but you’re not gettin’ away that easy this time runt.”

“Buck,” he said under his breath, left with no other option but to accept his fate, all the while wondering why there were no adult ponies in sight as he was boxed by the four foals until his flank was pressed against the railing.

“L-listen guys, I don’t want any trouble, alright?” he stammered ineffectually, pausing to blow a bit of his mane out of his eyes.

Before he could add anything to that statement, Glim cut him off with “Really? Well then you should’ve thought of that before you went and snitched on us you little rat.” Her cronies snickered beside her in amusement.

“Oh come on Glim, you know I had to tell somepony what you all were doing,” he replied, hoping beyond hope that that he could sway them with his reasons for ratting them out the previous day. Of course, it had yet to work the last few times he tried, and each occasion only ended with him getting the snot beat out of him, but at the moment he figured he had nothing else to lose. “I mean, pranks are one thing Glim, but what you were doing. . . somepony could have really gotten hurt.”

Could’ve been hurt,” Glim emphasized with a raised hoof, speaking as though she were a teacher and he the ignorant pupil. She then said with an insincere grin, “I mean, really , it’s not like we would actually want to hurt anypony, right? It’s all in good fun anyways, and that mare had it coming to her for being such a showoff.”

“That’s what you always say, glitter head,” Sterling muttered, before realizing in horror that he had accidentally said it aloud, and too late he covered his mouth with a hoof.

Fiery rage flashed in Glim’s eyes and the tip of her blunt horn sparked. The mouths of her toadies formed small circles as they looked on in awed shock, and they took a unanimous step backwards. Sterling didn’t speak; he knew it would only make things worse than already were for him.

Glim shut her eyes and she sighed. “Sterling,” she said with a shake of her head. This frightened Sterling even more, as she only ever referred to him by name when she was extremely ticked off with him. As demeaning as it was, he honestly preferred it when she called him runt, at least then he knew he had a chance of getting out unscathed. But he knew the consequences would be severe this time, and his apprehension showed as his ears laid flat against his head.

“Oh Sterling.” Glim strolled up to stand next to him, placing a hoof around his withers. He couldn’t stop himself from shaking if he tried. “You know something? I just don’t get you, you know? I mean, we’re all just ponies right? No different from the other than I am from you.”

Sterling felt compelled to say how much they differed, but wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

“But the thing is, it just seems like you think you can tell us what’s right and wrong because you getting special lessons or something like that. You think that because you don’t have to go to regular school like regular foals means you get to decide what’s best.” Her grip tightened ever so slightly. “And you know something Sterling? That really ticks me off like you would not believe.”

In one swift motion Glim had ripped off his saddlebag before he could react.

“No wait!” Sterling shouted, moving to reclaim his possessions. He was not fast enough as he was tackled to the floor by her cronies, one of them holding his head down, leaving him helpless to do anything but watch as Glim rummaged through his saddlebag. She pulled out a hardbound book, scrutinizing the cover.

“Ooh. What’s this? Something important I bet.” She proceeded to then toss it over the rail, along with the saddlebag. Sterling’s heart fell when he heard them splash into the water below. “Oh well, you won’t be needing it anymore anyways, right fellas?”

All Sterling heard was muffled giggling. Tears began leaking out of his eyes, which only made them laugh all the harder.

Glim trotted up toward him, whereupon she bent down to growl into his ear, “Your turn runt.”

“W-wait! Wait a minute!” Sterling shouted. He thrashed and struggled as much as he could. It was useless though, as no matter what he did to escape he was nevertheless lifted up, each of the foals taking a hold of one of his legs. Held upside down, Sterling found it difficult to breathe, much less call for help as they began swing him back and forth in preparation to heave him over the side.

“On three fellas. One. . .” Glim called.

“Wait!”

“Two. . .”

“Please stop!”

“Thr-“

“Usendu ederes!” somepony else shouted, and immediately afterward Sterling felt one of his limbs go free as Glim was yanked away by something, screaming at the top of her lungs.

“What the hay!” he heard the other foals shout. They released him, dropping him to the floor unceremoniously with a hard thud, leaving him dazed and frantically wondering what was going on. He regained his bearings just enough to see Glim go flying over the railing courtesy of an enormous orange limb, kicking and screaming until she hit the water with a respectable splash. Before he could get a good look at whatever the thing was, he was bowled over as the remaining three foals bolted away, having lost all traces of their previous bravado as they ran screaming in terror.

Bruised and battered, Sterling couldn’t help but wince a little as he picked himself up off the ground, then remembered the potential danger he was in. He looked behind him, brushing his lanky mane out of his eyes, fulling expecting to find some sort of hulking monstrosity looming over him, for what else could be so terrible that it could frighten away such ruffians, especially in the middle of their favorite pastime?

What he saw instead made him unsure if he should be relieved, or even more concerned.

Sterling was honestly not sure what he was looking at. The best that his addled mind could come up with was that it was some sort of specter or apparition, but what apparition could lift and throw a filly? It seemed to lack any sort of depth, its shadowy form coalescing into a bipedal shape that was rather diminutive in stature, standing only slightly taller than him. He could make out its silhouette, but other than that the rest of features were oddly obscured. He noticed something shimmering brightly on its chest, but couldn’t make it out clearly.

He almost would not have believed that this strange creature had been what rescued him from being tossed into the creek along with his books, if not for the gigantic, glowing orange limb attached to its head. It was formidable looking, stretching nearly ten feet long and seeming to almost pulsate with barely contained strength and energy.

Rather hard to miss, really. The thing looked strong enough to crush a wagon in its grip. A foal would probably pose it little issue, he thought with a shudder.

While his brain worked overtime in attempting to process just what in Celestia’s name he was looking at, he became further confused when the huge arm suddenly began to dissipate, shrinking down and unraveling into a mass of follicles that fell over the creatures’ face in a curtain of its own sunset tinted hair. It struggled and spat at suddenly finding its vision impaired. “Usai eteijah ish ariari aw erok.” it exclaimed in agitation. Once it had gotten its mane out of its face, the creature looked at him, allowing Sterling to see the one part of it that was not obscured by its depthless countenance, namely its eyes.

They were a deep red, like freshly drawn blood from a wound. For some odd reason, Sterling found that one single aspect to be the unnerving thing about it, even when he considered everything else he had seen so far.

He began shaking when the creature began walking towards him, and for a brief moment he wondered if he was better off with being thrown into the creek.

“Akused, bojiad ni soko aw atan?” it said when it reached him. He noticed that her voice, for it had to be female based on the pitch, had a strange quality to it, as though she were speaking to him from the other side of a tunnel. It echoed and lilted in a way that was almost musical, contrasting with her unsettling appearance.

What she had said was lost on Sterling however, as he had no clue what in the world she had just asked him. He wasn’t sure if it was even a question, he was just guessing based on the way she said it. For all he knew she could be threatening to beat him up if he didn’t give her his lunch money or something. It would not be the first time he had to part with his bits, but the circumstances here were somewhat different.

As such, all Sterling was able to come up with in response was open mouth, “Uhhh. . .” This earned him a look of what he guessed to be uncertainty from her, apparently not expecting that kind of answer.

A splash interrupted his moment of stupefied confusion, following an exclamation of, “I swear, whoever did that is gonna regret it hard!” It was none other than Glim, who had finally dragged herself out of the creek to the muddy shore, coughing and sputtering and soaking wet. The newcomer noticed her presence as well, and her crimson eyes narrowed fiercely at the filly. She stomped past Sterling, who decided to be a polite gentlecolt by scurrying out of her way.

“Uosheduru o koto no uregan atanaw ishita!” She yelled angrily, sounding very much like she was jeering at Glim. The filly took notice of the ire being directed her way. She glanced towards them, first appearing furious before her expression turned to one of intimidated bewilderment. Not even bothering to dry herself off first, Glim galloped in the same direction as her toadies. “Irot ono iah! Ono attarom ga atana!”

For the third time in a span of about three minutes, Sterling was rendered completely dumbfounded, not just by the newcomer, but also that she had forced Glim of all foals to turn tail and retreat, something he had never once in his life expected her to be even capable of. Apparently satisfied, the newcomer turned her attention back to Sterling, muttering something under her breath that he couldn’t quite hear. As she approached, he was once more subjected to the decision of whether he should stay or flee. On the one hoof, he had no idea what she even was or her intentions were; for all he knew she could end up being even worse than all of the abuse he had gotten from Glim and her toadies, and just had not shown it yet.

But on the other hoof though, he could not ignore the fact that she had just saved him from their abuse, and at least seemed to be outwardly concerned for his wellbeing. He just couldn’t decide.

Still muttering what might have been obscenities, the newcomer walked over to a tarp that was laying on the ground a short distance away, picked it up and threw it over her head, concealing her shadowy form. She looked at him, and Sterling was almost taken aback when he saw that her spectral countenance had been replaced by black and white skin. Her eyes retained their unsettling quality though, he noticed as she walked up to him.

“Uoshamirido, ni oroko atemijah eta,” She said to him, standing a few short feet away from him. It was all he could do to keep himself from backing away in intimidation. “Akused eduboji?”

Realizing that she was asking him a question, Sterling shook himself out of his stupor, and replied with “I’m sorry, what was that?”

She cocked her head and quirked an eyebrow at him. There was an air of confusion about her as she repeated the question, to which he responded while holding his hooves up defensively, “I-I’m sorry but have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Oshedna adoja?” She looked and sounded both incredulous, and perhaps even somewhat offended by his answer. Still having no clue what her purpose here was, Sterling steadily began to back away.

“L-listen, I don’t know what you want, and I don’t know if I should really get involved with you, but I really should get going. I have to meet up with my instructor and return those books to. . .“ He trailed off, having suddenly remembered that he was currently not in possession of his saddlebag. “My books!” he exclaimed loudly, startling her severely. Forgetting all about the newcomer, Sterling rushed to the side of the bridge, perched over the wooden railing as he searched desperately for any trace of his saddlebag.

With no regard given to the consequences, he vaulted over the side in the creek below.

The newcomer could only look on in confusion, before giving a weak shrug. “Inoton?” She placed a hand on her hip, using the other to pinch the bridge of her nose, annoyed at having gone to all that trouble, just to watch him throw himself into the creek. With a sigh and shake of her head, she jogged over to the bank.

“Kaba, kaba, kaba, kaba. . .”


In hindsight, it probably was not one of Sterling’s better decisions to leap into the creek, especially after all the pains he had gone to avoid it, but in his panic had failed to take into account the ramifications of cannonballing into approximately four feet of water.

For one thing, he was now both cold and wet. The water was a lot more frigid than he had anticipated, on account of it getting rather close to winter. Canterlot, being sequestered into the side of a mountain far above sea level, was especially susceptible to the changing climate, no matter how much the weather ponies did to negate it.

The second thing was that he was not that great of a swimmer.

The water, however cold it may have been, was just shallow enough that he was not in danger of drowning anytime soon, but even when he stuck to shallower parts to avoid being taken by the current with only his legs submerged, he still made a rather convincing imitation of a floundering fish while he searched for his books.

“Come on, come on, where are they?” he muttered anxiously, attempting to peer into the gurgling waters in the hopes of catching even a fleeting glimpse of his belongings. As soaked as they undoubtedly were now, he was still obligated to return them to his tutor. He just hoped she didn’t mind them being a bit damp when she got them.

He cursed Glim’s name. It was not the first he had done so, and he had his doubts it would be the last even after the newcomer scared her off, he thought bitterly. That filly had always singled him out, and it would take a lot more than the intervention of some stranger to get her to stop altogether. If only he hadn’t opened his stupid mouth. . .

He heard a splash behind him, and he was surprised to find that said newcomer had followed after him, standing in the very edges of the creek and watching him with a look akin to that of bemused frustration.

“What?” he demanded. “What do you want? I’m busy.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and Sterling realized too late how indignant he must have sounded, especially after she had just helped him.

“Etisham ishatiod ne? Usedashnak eta ga ishita aw eros,” she said harshly. She then added with unmistakable sarcasm, “Usamish ashnak ni Ishita.”

Sterling ears flattened against his head, and he blushed in grim embarrassment. He hazarded a guess that she was expecting him to at least show some gratitude, and he really did want to thank her properly. But at the same time, he was under extreme pressure to get going, and he replied, “Listen, I appreciate your help, but I really need to find my stuff. Do you understand? Unless you can help with that then you’re better off not wasting your time with me.”

Still giving him a resentful glare, the newcomer didn’t even bother looking as she pointed at something further down the creek. After getting over his momentary fascination with the way her pointed fingers curled, he followed were she was pointing. It took a second for him to recognize the lump of cloth that was his saddlebag, its straps caught on the extended branches of a fallen tree limb. Wasting no time Sterling hurried over to it, plucking it out of the water and dragging it to shore with his mouth.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” he exclaimed excitedly. He practically tore it open, inspecting the items inside and checking for any extensive damage. Thankfully by the grace of Celestia they were not in the water long enough to suffer any harm that a lengthy period of drying would not fix. The one book Glim had tossed was nowhere to be found unfortunately, but with a laugh Sterling decided that he was more than willing to accept that loss. His tutor would no doubt be displeased that he let such a tragedy befall them, but better to return most of them in a fixable state than not at all.

He looked to the newcomer, wanting to give her his sincere thanks for her help. She was gone though, and Sterling looked around in confusion. He soon found her, walking away at a brisk pace. He could plainly see the frustration in her gait as she stomped away, and once more he felt a sense of guilt for being so coarse with her. He had no time to make amends though, as he packed away what remained of his books and threw the damp saddlebag over his back. He started galloping away, eager to make up for lost time. A few seconds into his run he came to a halt, his mind refusing to let him continue without properly showing his gratitude. He stamped his hoof in indecision, groaning anxiously from the dilemma before him.

Eventually he made his choice, his conscience refusing to leave him be as he turned around to follow after the newcomer. He soon caught sight of her, and he called out, “Hey! Wait a sec’!”

She did not stop, only slowing to glance back at him before continuing on her way. Undeterred, he called after her a second time. It was only when he ran ahead and placed himself in her path that she finally stopped, giving an impatient glare from beneath her makeshift hood.

“Oushedna?”

“Listen,” he gasped, a bit winded from the chase. He blew his mane out of his eyes while being careful to avoid making contact with hers as much as he could. Though he had no desire to be rude, they still succeeded in unnerving him. “I don’t know if you understand me, but I just want to say thanks for. . . you know, what you did back there and all that.”

“Usediok adat aw atana,” was her reply as she crossed her forearms, which he only now just noticed had little forward pointing spikes on them. “Ishita norichom.”

“Uh huh. . . well anyway I really do appreciate it. I mean if you hadn’t showed up when you did, well. . . let’s just say I don’t think Glim would’ve stopped at just tossing me into the creek.” Standing a little straighter, and also deciding to be a little brave and actually look her in her crimson eyes, he added. “I think we kinda got off on the wrong hoof if you know what I mean, what with my, ahem, predicament and whatnot.” Hesitantly, Sterling swallowed his cowardice and extended his right hoof towards. This caused her to flinch at the movement, and she back away ever so slightly. Sterling paid it little mind however. “Allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m Sterling, Sterling Silver. And you are. . ?”

The newcomer eyed him cautiously for a few brief moments, apprehension clear in her expression. A lull settled between them, and Sterling began to second guess about coming after her. Thankfully she seemed to make up her mind when she extended her own forearm, tentatively pinching his hoof in her fingers. As much as he tried to hide his anxiety, Sterling nevertheless still couldn't help but tense up at the contact. He was somewhat comforted when he saw that she was just as if not more anxious about it than him. She kept it brief, giving only a single light shake before retracting her forearm, rubbing it as though she were pained by the contact.

“Arak on imak,” she muttered, finally answering his question.

“That’s your name?”

She glanced at him, then looked away, giving a terse nod. Based on her response Sterling supposed that she did indeed understand him.

“Bit of a mouthful,” he said, to which she cocked an eyebrow as though offended. “D-don’t get me wrong, it’s very pretty, but do you mind if I just call you something a bit shorter? And easier to say?”

Giving him a deadpan glare, she answered, “Ak usedimi uiod? Usediak ijim aheama nonishata. Nesamira edeaman no atana ga Ishita aw eros.”

“. . . You know, how about we figure that out later,” he said.

“Nesamira aw edo. . .” She began heatedly, before giving up on whatever she was saying with a defeated expression, her shoulders sagging in resignation. “Omednan.”

“Alright then.” Readjusting his still damp saddlebag, Sterling added, “Well anyway I should probably get going. My tutor’s probably pretty mad at me right now for being so late. Plus, it’s going to get dark pretty soon, so I should probably let you go so you can go home.” Bidding her farewell, Sterling made to trot past her. “I guess I’ll be seeing. . . you. . . around. . .”

Sterling’s sentence faded into quiet mumble. Even in his haste he saw the look of hurt on Ima’s face, unmistakable beneath her hood. She noticed his staring, quickly turning away from him. Immediately Sterling recognized his error, and just how grievous it was. “Oh, oh sweet Celestia I’m. . . I uh. . .”

In that moment, Sterling was sorely tempted to just walk away before he made the situation even worse. His hooves remained rooted in place, and the pinto colt went nowhere. He couldn’t just ditch her now, not after a blunder such as his.

“Do you. . . not have anywhere to. . .” Again, he trailed off, finding himself unwilling to finish the sentence. He received no response of any kind, yet that was all the answer he needed to truly understand the mistake he made.

Stupid! how could he be so stupid?! It should’ve been clear to him from the start that she was in such a situation. For Celestia’s sake, she was wearing a dingy tarp as a cloak. He wondered if she even had any parents or anypony to look after her. He dared not voice the question though.

His big mouth had gotten him into enough trouble already.

Still entirely uncertain if he should stick around or not, Sterling cautiously approached, well aware that she was probably going through some rather tumultuous emotions, and in all likelihood wanted to be left alone. He had to make this right somehow though.

“Hey uh, listen. I’m sorry for. . .” He took a deep breath, then continued as he tenderly placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to bring up anything sensitive, I just-“

“Etti ni ka okod.”

Even though he had no understanding of her language, Sterling was made very aware of the meaning behind her words as she shrugged him off, walking away from him. Sterling knew that he should just leave, but his sense of conscience nudged him to do the opposite, and he hurried after her, once more putting himself in her way.

“No wait!” he exclaimed. “I’m sorry, really I am.” She refused to make eye contact, but still he persisted. “You don’t deserve that, especially not after what you did for me. So please, will you let me make it up to you?”

No reply. Disheartened, Sterling ears flattened, and he dipped his head in grim acknowledgement of his failure. He perked up though as an idea popped into his head. “How about this? What if you came with me?” Finally, she looked at him. Her expression was pensive, yet he was glad she at least seemed willing to hear him out. “I mean, I’m sure my tutor won’t mind. There’s no way she could be any madder than she probably already is, so she probably won’t mind if you tag along.”

He tried to laugh, but even he had trouble finding humor in his joke. It came out more as a feeble chuckle. He cleared his throat. “Besides, I’ve known her for a while thanks to my mom, so I think she might actually be quite interested in you.” He offered her his hoof, his apprehension replaced by a genuine desire to assist her. Her hard expression softened, and she looked down at the grass in thought. Seconds passed that felt more like minutes to Sterling, and he feared she might actually decline his offer.

His fears were for naught however. She looked up at him, a thin approximation of a smile crossing her face. She gave him a slight nod of her head.

“Agusedon, iatish o eros.”

Sterling beamed, and he began to lead the way.


As much as Astrid had reservations about following this colt, who had previously identified himself as Sterling, she could not deny the appeal of finally finding one local who was at least willing to offer her some form of assistance. Far be it from her to look a gift horse in the mouth. The little while she had spent sequestered in alleys with nothing but her nightshirt and her own hair to keep her warm left her willing to accept just about anything that was offered to her.

As they walked, Sterling decided to talk to her in a rather one sided conversation. He talked about a bunch of things, such as how he had gotten into that situation with those other foals, which apparently involved him snitching on them before they could pull some sort of prank that involved Trixie's show the previous day.

Astrid only listened to the basics, her thoughts centered more so around when she tried to tell him her name. She gritted her teeth at the thought, wondering why he seemed unwilling or unable to understand. As far as she was concerned, they were speaking the same language, yet for some odd reason he seemed completely unaware of anything she said.

He didn’t seem to be doing it to be rude, he genuinely appeared to have no clue what she said. The oddity was highlighted whenever he spoke or asked her a question. As such she kept most of her end of the conversation to a minimum, resorting mostly to either nodding or shaking her head in response to most of his questions.

In an effort to save herself the headache, Astrid set the dilemma aside, choosing instead to just walk with the colt and be grateful for the kindness he was showing her. Given her interactions with most other ponies thus far, she only hoped it did not end up biting her in the butt later on.


It was not very often anymore that Trixie paid visits to her hometown, let alone choose it as the next destination for her show. The showmare considered this to be something of a shame, even considering how much she had tried to distance herself from it over the years.

Still though, she could not help but admit that, in her experience at least, Canterlot still remained one of if not the most lucrative place for her to practice her craft. Street performers and the like were nothing new to the equestrian capital, but Trixie considered herself to be something of a specialist, which was what a pony had to be in order to make a living like she did. Deep down, Trixie still felt some semblance of a connection to Canterlot, and it was this connection that inexorably drove her to return every so often, if only to see how much had changed in her absence.

From what she saw over the past few days, not much, yet that did little to temper her fondness for her place of birth.

That fondness had been severely challenged over the past few days, leaving Trixie on the cusp of pulling her mane out due to frustration.

“Such ungrateful little ponies,” Trixie grumbled bitterly, not even bothering to conceal her distaste as she pulled her wagon through the busy streets of Canterlot. Most ponies did well to stay out of the way, and the few that were not as quick received a death glare courtesy of her, prompting them to hurry along. The trip to the city gates was not long, but the crowd did her no favors in expediting her departure.

“What a bust. Trixie comes all this way, and for what? Just to get harassed and mistreated.”

She muttered similar things along the way, as well as multiple string of curses. She finally made it to the gate, the Royal Guards eyeing her as she passed them by. One she even recognized as the same one that wrote her a ticket a little while back. Something about knocking over a no parking sign with her wagon, she couldn’t really be bothered to remember. She paid them no mind however, refusing to even acknowledge them as she exited the city, mumbling obscenities the whole way.

It was likely going to be a good long while before Trixie deigned to ever return, regardless if it was her home or not. Hopefully when then that far off day arrived she would get the respect she deserved, and the audiences would be a little more appreciative of her talents. At least she was able to replenish her supplies during her stay.

In order to preserve what little good will that had not been sucked out of her, Trixie took to trying to forget about the whole ordeal entirely, instead thinking about where her next stop would be in her tour of Equestria. She mentally checked Canterlot off her list of visited locations. She had already been to Dodge Junction and Hoofington, as well as a few other, smaller hamlets. She had also been to Baltimare and Fillydelphia as well.

She supposed she could traverse the mountains and take her next performance to Hollow Shades, but that was quite a bit out of her way. Ponyville was a lot closer, being only two day trip at most across easy terrain. However, it also had much smaller population, which made for less profit, and the residents were rather. . . simple in Trixie’s humble opinion.

There was also Manehatten, which she had always meant to save for the end of her tour before Winter finally hit. The season was already fast approaching, and it would not be long before the factories in Cloudsadle starting churning out snow clouds. If Trixie went to Manehatten now, she could perhaps make it in time to beat the weather and even get a few of her shows up and running. After that she could ride out the weather in relative comfort.

With her mind made up, Trixie veered her wagon onto an old side road that ran parallel to a railroad track, following it down the mountain.

After a few hours of trekking dilapidated paths and overgrown dirt roads gone unused for months, perhaps even years, Trixie took note of the setting sun as the blue sky faded into a bright and colorful amalgamation of oranges and purples, and for a brief moment Trixie fancied that she had been transported into a painting.

She was tempted to keep going in spite of the coming night, but as the rich oranges and purples gave way to a dark blue star scape, and Celestia’s sun disappeared over the horizon, Trixie decided to call it a day and park her wagon off to the side next to a clump of trees, whereupon she stored away the harness and set about getting ready for bed.

With naught but the glow of an aging oil lamp to see by, Trixie sat on the small stool before her little mirror where she performed her nightly rituals, ensuring that she was presentable for the morning. A mare such as herself had to keep up appearances after all, no matter the circumstance. As such, her mane and tail were both full of curlers and she had just applied a bit of moisturizer to her turquoise coat. She was just about get something to address the stress induced wrinkles under her eyes when Trixie heard something.

It was a subtle noise, almost too quiet to even hear, yet Trixie still managed to pick it up as her ears went erect atop her head, and she paused in her selfcare.

She leaned over, looking out of the window to see if there was something outside. Nothing stirred, and Trixie returned to her rituals, thinking nothing of it.

In due time Trixie finished up. She blew out the light and pulled the covers over her body, ready to let herself be taken by the realm of sleep.

She heard the noise again, clearer this time. It sounded like the fluttering of a birds wings, but much more rapid.

Trixie sat up, her brow furrowing in mild alarm as she wondered what could possibly be lurking out there. “What is that?” she questioned. She waited for about a minute, the fur along her spine standing up due to her growing anxiety.

Again the noise sounded from outside, loud enough for Trixie to decide that it was most definitely not some inconsiderate bird causing the disturbance. To her, it sounded more like the fluttering wings of some enormous bug.

Something impacted on the side of the wagon, causing a dull thud to echo throughout the interior. With a gasped, Trixie jumped and her heart began to race.

“H-hello?” she called. “Who’s out there? Trixie demands to know!” She tried to keep up a brave and fearless tone, but she could not help but pull the covers up to her chin. She was shaking.

She heard a series of rhythmic tapping, above her head. Something was most definitely out there, scuttling atop her wagon.

Trixie decided that she’d had enough. What was she, some scared little filly? Anger replacing fear, Trixie’s horn lit up as she retrieved the wooden baseball bat from beneath her cot hold. It had served her well in the past in beating off some rather overzealous ponies; it would do the job if need be.

Throwing open the door, Trixie hopped outside into the cool night, a cone of light emanating from her horn. She looked at her wagon, scanning for whatever it was that dared keep her from her beauty sleep. Upon first inspection she did not see anything, but a flash of movement caught her attention. The thing had scurried away to the other side. She heard the fluttering of its wings as it attempted to escape. She chased after it, catching only a fleeting glimpse before it disappeared into the trees. Trixie cursed, upset that she had been unable to squash the thing, whatever it was. She did get a great look, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was indeed some form of large insect.

Hoping that it would freeze to death in the cold night, Trixie elected to cut her losses and just try to catch up with whatever sleep she lost, if she was even able to go back to sleep after the ordeal that is. Whatever that thing was, she was more than happy to just forget about it.

Just when Trixie was about to re-enter her wagon, she stopped. She found herself frozen to the spot, her hoof just inches away from the handle as a chill like the claws of death ran down her spine.
She whirled around, brandishing the bat in preparation to swing at whatever was behind her, fully expecting that weird bug to come flying straight at her face.

Nothing, except for a darkness that penetrated deep into the forest, an inky black fog that had settled between the trees.

Trixie lowered the bat as something took hold of her. She was not sure what that was. It may have been a simple yet morbid curiosity about what was in there. All Trixie knew was that, for some unknown reason that she could not readily explain, she felt strangely drawn to it.

Bat held at the ready, Trixie inched forward cautiously, unsure what could possibly be lurking within as the shadows descended upon her in an oppressive miasma. Was it always this dark at night? The glow of the moon and stars was completely gone, blotted out of by the shroud.

Little more than a few seconds into her ill-advised adventure, Trixie abruptly decided that she wanted nothing more to do with this unnatural phenomenon, as well as to pull her wagon somewhere else for the night. Preferably somewhere far away from here. She turned around to head back.

“What. . ?” she blurted out in surprise. “But. . . where. . ?”

She saw nothing. Nothing but the same oppressive darkness and the ghostly outlines of trees. She trotted forward, certain that she was going the way she came. A minute passed, and yet neither her wagon nor anything that could actually be called normal could be found.

“H-hello?” Trixie called out, her own voice sounding strangely hollow in her ears, like she speaking in a tunnel. “Is anypony there? Hello?!”

She quickened her pace, her anxious trot turning into a fear driven gallop. The only thing that kept from completely falling into a panic stricken state was her reasoning that as long as she kept going in a straight line, she would eventually find her way out of this unnatural phenomenon. Eventually. That was her hope at least, and then after that she would have a story to tell her future audiences. Just thinking about it was enough to lighten Trixie’s mood, if only a little. The tale would require some embellishment of course, maybe a battle with a titanic monster or two. Her getting lost did not make for stellar fables.

However, as the minutes passed, and the exit still seemed adamant in evading her, that hope was quickly wearing thin, and Trixie was not sure how much longer she could stand this until she finally-

Trixie skidded to a halt, her hooves digging into the earth. Any other time she would have fretting over all her work polishing them go to waste, but at the moment all of her attention was occupied by a rather odd sight, and her instincts were unable to tell her if she should be relieved at having finally found something, or profoundly worried.

Four objects rested in front of her, forming a small perimeter on the ground. They seemed to be made of stone or a material like it, and they were engraved with geometric patterns interwoven with swooping curves. Trixie was unable to discern what they were supposed to be, if anything, as they were completely foreign to her. She craned her head to get a better look, hesitant to step any closer until she had more information.

Upon more careful inspection, Trixie determined that the objects were actually fragments, pieces of a larger whole. Feeling a somewhat bold, Trixie inched closer. She was summarily startled out of her wits when the grass gave a crunch beneath her hooves, sounding far too loud in the silent gloom and causing her jump slightly.

“Eep!” she exclaimed. It took a moment to calm down and reassure herself she was in no immediate danger. “Come on Trixie,” she muttered, berating herself for her cowardice. “You can handle this. You’re the Great and Powerful Trixie after all! What have you to fear!”

Quite a bit actually, especially right at this moment, but she wasn’t going to admit that out loud. She looked at the fragments again. Remembering that she still had her bat,Trixie levitated it over to them, intending to give one of them a little nudge. Curiously though, when the bat came within about a foot of them, Trixie suddenly lost her hold on the spell, and the bat fell to the ground with a dull thump.

“Ooookay, that’s. . . concerning.”

Whatever these things were, they were obviously not natural. In the back of her mind, Trixie wondered if they were responsible for this darkness. Objects of such power did exist in the world, though she had never seen any for herself, and she most certainly did not expect to find said items just lying around in a forest barely a days’ trot from Canterlot.

They might even be worth a hefty sum of bits, which would go a long way towards funding her future shows.

Assuming that magic was out of the question in retrieving them, Trixie decided to just carry them by hoof. Before that, she took hold of her bat in fetlock, giving the largest fragment, a misshapen thing that seemed to almost stare at her with the eye engraved on its surface, a few little pokes.

Nothing seemed to happen, so she decided it was safe enough to touch them. Already thinking of what she would do with her bits, Trixie reached out a hoof and touched the fragment.

Pain.

Pain like a burning fire raced up her limb, spreading throughout her body before settling into a frigid agony. She couldn’t even scream. She wanted to scream, to cry out for help, but her voice died somewhere within her throat. All that came out was a choked gasp.

She could hear it. It was speaking to her.

They were speaking to her.

Give us form.

Steadily, Trixie felt her body begin to twist upon itself, her bones snapping and moving beneath her flesh. The darkness that surrounding her congealed around her form, adding more mass to the wreck that was her body.

Give us focus.

She could not feel it though. In fact, she barely noticed it was even happening. Whether it was from shock or the fact that her own mind began to fade out from her now misshapen, mutilated body, as if she were being pulled out of it. She could only watch as. . . something else that she could not describe, took her place.

Retrieve for us our light.

At last Trixie could scream, but it did not sound right. It was not her voice that she heard, but rather something like the mournful keen of a dying animal. She wanted to stop but found that she couldn’t. She was now helpless in her own body, reduced to little more than passive observer. She did not like what she saw. She had no more choice in the matter though.

Retrieve for us our lost goddess.

Author's Note:

. . . Oh dear.
So yeah, that happened. When writing the last bits of this chapter, I admit that I did take some inspiration from my other Displaced story for the, ah. . . transformation. Hopefully that paid off.
As always, I thank you all for sticking around to read. And again, you may credit Babroniedad and ShimmerLeaf for making it somewhat legible. I would be lost without them.
I look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely, Dilos1