Touched by the Light

by Order or Chaos

The Home that I Found.

I open my eyes with a gasp, staring at my hooves with shaky breaths. After taking a moment I look up at Agate sitting by a fire that Greywing made in our cave, his maroon form curled around the back of the small cave where lots of moss grows, leaving his nose in the fires light, his lack of a wing in view. Polaris is sitting in a dark corner between stones by himself, his wizards hat over his eyes as distant quiet snores escape him. Everything seems bleaker.

"Good morning, sis. Was it the nightmare again?" I rub my eyes dry and look Agate into hers.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was." She stands up and walks over to me, carrying a bowl of steaming mushroom soup.

It has been five years. And I still have the same nightmare. Over and over. I lick my dry lips and thank my little sister when she passes me a wooden spoon as I have my breakfast. Thunder throws out a lightning outside as the rain pours for the second day in a row.

"It's quieting down." Agate says and I listen closely. So it is, "Listen, sis..." I hum in response, downing the rest of the soup in one go, "Why is it so hard to find anyone? Friendly, I mean... Why are we so lost?" I think back on how we ran as far as possible. Escaping the evil within the Empire and the spreading cold that surrounds it.

"I do not know. All I know is, this is the safest place we could be." And so it was true. Without Greywing's flight it has been hard traversing the lands. Not immeasurably so, but there were various complications. We managed to secure this cave, free of it's own dragon.

"But... Don't you think we have to keep looking? Should at least?" The area around the cave was our little haven from the world beyond. The true reason none of us met anyone was because Polaris - the wizard that saved us all those years ago, has led us down a safe path. All of us are too scared to travel outside. Maybe not Greywing, but it seems like he is quite comfortable in this cave of his. I personally was too focused on bringing up my little sister and keeping her safe.

"Listen, Agate... I... Can we talk about this later, please? I just woke up." She looks away before turning back to me and nodding, making her way across some of the stones forming a ridge before slipping up to my side on the cloth over leaves that is my bed. Grey has made each of us a little corner of our own to huddle into.

"...Ew."

"What?" I set the bowl down as I wrap my wing around her, evading her horn.

"You reek, sis." My brows fall and I give her dirty main a ruffle.

"Then I will drop you into the pool together with me." She squirms with wide eyes as she shakes her head.

"I'm clean, I'm clean, don't do that!" I giggle and nuzzle her nose with mine.

"Maybe~" I grin as she pouts and grumps, flopping her head sideways on my chest.

Time passes and the fire becomes much dimmer before a shiny yellow eye opens within the darkness and a burst of flame reignites the flames as a claw puts half of half a tree trunk onto the firepit.

"Hey, Grey, we're gonna go splash around for a bit, alright?"

"Very well, but please be careful. As usual, don't stray too far." The whisper of his voice echoes for a bit, the eye closes as Grey rests his head.

"Yeah-yeah, we are fillies and we need fillying all day and night long. We got you, don't worry, I'll keep Agate safe." The eye opens again.

"And yourself." The rumble goes through me.

"But why wouldn't I?" I give the narrowed eye a wave as my little sister and I trot down the caves only tunnel.

We step from rough stone onto soft, wet with rain grass, small pools of water here and there. There are white trees with black stripes marking an open area for us right outside the caves entrance. As for the cave itself, it connects to a mountain part of a long ridge, covered in moss-like grass, stone showing up more often the higher it goes. The clouds are clearing up and the sun is giving us its first rays behind the peak, raining them across our cold fur. It's not the worlds morning, but it is ours. I bristle and stretch my wings before leading Agate through the trees, keeping close to the ridge. Eventually we come up on a grove, multiple streams of water flowing from the side of the mountain, forming streams that connect into a larger one leading deeper into the forest. Birds sing, some even show themselves, colors of blue, red, green and yellow. Sometimes all at once,

Between all the streams flowing down a mountain is another 'leak', flowing into a large natural bath of stone - part of the mountain that was once cut out by all the water - our pool. A few tiny streams lead from the end of the oval pool into the forest river. I pick up my sister and flap my wings, flying over to the pool before gently lowering beside it as she takes off her sleeping rags - our restiched dresses we had on us, gets comfortable and flops on her rump into the water with a sigh. I follow her example and relax in the cool water. Occasionally it becomes warm and when it does I wriggle.

After a some time relaxing, my little sister decides to help my with my wings.

"Agate, I'll be fine, I can do this myseeeelf."

"Remember what happened last time, Bright? You just... Tore-" I wince, "-a ball of feathers out. Come on. Don't be a silly filly that we all know you are. Let your little sister take care of you." I slouch and let her do it, "Annnd... Done!" The sun is already shining almost above us, "Wasn't so bad, now was it?" I trot through the water to let the little waterfalls clean my wings of any stray feathers.

"Ahh, it's cold!" She giggles as I prance away from the water before motioning for her to come closer, "Come on, your turn." Her giggles stop.

"Wait, what?"

After an incredibly tough struggle, I manage to get her close to the waterfall, scrubbing her head while humming along with the birds. She doesn't look happy, but I keep on smiling, "Almost done. Just hold still for a little longer." She groans, "Now, now, let your older sister take care of you. Yeah?" I grin before giving her mane one final wash. She stares at me with it over her eyes.

"Why are you so mean to me?"

"Am not." I give her a light tap on the nose and she scrunches up her muzzle in response, wiggling it. We climb out of the now warm pool the sun drying our fur slowly, "Also, please don't make me as fluffy this-"

Her horn ignites and after a gust of winds hit us combined with the warmth from the sun both of us are left with incredibly puffed up fur. Mine more so than hers. She giggles as she puts her clothes on, "To be fair, it's not as fluffy as last time~" I sigh and look into the pond. I look like a monster.

I give my sister a slap on the back with a wing, "Let us go, don't want to make the old dragon worried."

"Sis, be nice." Agate chastises me as I rub my chin.

"Pretty sure he is old." She pokes my in the side with her horn gently.

"Ow." I fluff her main before I she giggles and pokes me again, galloping ahead across bright yellow flowers as I follow her, trying to catch up before taking to low ground flight.

She turns back and smirks at me before facing forwards again and speeding up, horn pointed forward as it glows white. She suddenly teleports to the Caves entrance but mid-charge and in the air.

"Wooah!" She begins to fall just as I reach her and catch her, "Thanks sis!"

"Yeah, wouldn't want to take a bath again, now would you?" I laugh, "That was impressive, Agate, has Polaris finally taught you that?" She sheepishly shakes her head.

"Nooo... Well, yeah, but I've been training on my own." I hover above grass, right by the entrance to our home, holding her.

"Is that why your hair is so dirty often?" She gives a little nod, "Huh." I set us both down, "I am proud you managed to accomplish that, but please don't do anything risky without Polaris. He knows what he's doing, or so it seems to me, I'm not an expert." I shrug.

"Yeah, okay. I'll be really careful, promise."

"Good. Want to go play in those flowers?"

"Yeah!" Agate bounces.

"Are you going out?" Grey's voice rumbles out of the cave just as Polaris shows up in the tunnel entrance, the fire forming his silhouette.

"Yeah! We are, Grey! Is Polaris coming with us!?" I ask Grey.

"I am." The unicorn stallion nods as he rubs the small beard growing all across his cheeks, chin and above his lips.

"Then stay safe, all of you." My old friend asks from his favorite nesting spot.

"We will!" Agate exclaims from my side.

"Do you wish to train, Agate?" My sister shakes her head in response to the wizards question.

"I wanted to take a break today, can I, pleeeease?"

"I do not see why not. We are not exactly in a rush. The dandelion field?" We both nod with excited grins, "Then let us head off."

We walk into the forest between the thin striped trees with green leaves.

Author's Note:

The past is bleak. But the present is bright.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

...Well, I'll read it, but

/Darkness/Light//Pain/Cry?stal//Alive/
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