A Disparate Bond

by the7Saviors

A New Purpose

Starlight and Twilight eventually caught up to the mare who began to speak once she noticed them following after her.

"You were right for the most part," the mare began, eyeing Twilight over her shoulder, "about this place being a castle I mean. This place in particular is my own personal archive of things I've collect over the years, as well as an... office of sorts."

"Really?" Twilight asked.

The mare nodded and turned to face the path ahead once more.

"Although it's more a fortress than a castle," she continued, "and it's old... very old, and very run down."

Starlight looked around in bemusement before turning back to the mare.

"It doesn't look that old to me," she replied before frowning in thought, "but then again... that dungeon was in really bad condition."

"Yeah," Twilight added with a nod, "the weapons I saw in there were all rusty and the wood on the shelves and cabinets were rotted."

"Exactly," the mare responded, "some of the areas in the fortress are still clean and intact, like the library, but a lot of places are falling apart -- quite literally in some cases."

"But if it's so run down, then why do you stay here?" Twilight asked with a tilt of her head, "besides the library I mean?"

"Because," the mare replied, "it's still the best defense we have against what's out there in the desert."

The trio stepped out of the many rows of shelves and into a small clearing near the back of the room. The area was oddly spartan in its appearance, with only a single large desk with a cushy looking chair behind it, a few books stacked on top of the desk itself, some parchment, and a quill and inkwell. What looked like a smaller version of the chandelier in the library hung above the desk.

Twilight and Starlight gave each other confused looks before turning back to the mare.

"Starlight and I didn't see anything out in the desert until that fog showed up," Twilight answered with a bemused frown.

"Yeah," Starlight added with a frown to match Twilight's, "I've lived in the desert my whole life and I didn't see anything whenever I was allowed, outside other than the occasional wildlife anyway."

"And that's another reason you both interest me," the mare replied as she stepped around the desk and sat down in the chair, "rest assured, fillies, there are monsters out there in that desert -- things that will tear you apart, devour you, drive you insane, drain away your magic until you're nothing but a husk..."

Twilight and Starlight's eyes slowly widened in horror as the mare spoke, but she continued on regardless.

"...which is why I find it so intriguing that you both remain untouched and unseen by any of the monstrosities that dwell here," she leaned forward and steepled her hooves on the desk, her jade brooch glinting in the amber light from the chandelier above, "there's something strange about you two, and I want to know what it is."

The two fillies shifted uncomfortably under the mare's scrutinizing stare. Eventually Starlight found the courage to ask some of the questions that had been plaguing both her and Twilight thus far.

"Who are you?" she asked, before waving a hoof at everything around her, "where are we, and why did you bring us here?"

"And if it wasn't that... Hell Fog you were talking about, then what was that fog that we ran into?" Twilight added, "and what did it do to us? And I think I saw some other ponies before I blacked out too. Who were th--"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE?!" the mare shouted, slamming a hoof into the table and causing both fillies to flinch back in surprise. She closed her eyes, took a calming breath, and rubbed her temples with a sigh, "this is why I hate foals..."

"I-I'm sorry," Twilight said quietly, "I didn't mean to--"

The mare cut her off with a raise of her hoof, her eyes still closed as she spoke again.

"First thing," she began curtly, "you both will refer to me as Aeon like everypony else around here does. That's not my real name, but I don't give my real name to anypony... ever, so don't ask."

She opened her eyes and gave the two a pointed look.

"As I said before, this fortress, which everypony here just calls 'The Fortress', is the only line of defense we have against the monsters and bandits, and other bad things that roam the desert around here -- though most of what we're up against are the hellspawn that escape from Tartarus every so often."

"H-Hellspawn?" Twilight asked incredulously to which Aeon merely nodded.

"Demons and fell creatures and the like," the cobalt mare replied dismissively, "I have the honorable duty of driving these things back to where they came from."

Twilight raised a hesitant hoof and Aeon sighed before gesturing for the filly to continue.

"How can a place like this exist?" she asked, almost pleadingly, "I thought Princess Celestia wiped out all the monsters plaguing Equestria centuries ago?"

"She didn't get them all," Aeon replied, a dark shadow crossing her features, "though this land is still technically part of Equestria, our beautiful Goddess of the Sun locked it away behind a stupidly powerful Barrier using a combination of Runic and Light Magic to keep it static and stable.

"It's invisible and intangible to anything that wasn't spawned in the pits of Tartarus, so the only way demons and the like can enter Equestria proper is through Summoning Magic."

"Summoning Magic?" Twilight asked, curious despite herself, "I've never heard of Summoning Magic, or Runic Magic for that matter."

"I'm not surprised, but if you're looking for an explanation, you'll have to wait," Aeon replied, "anyway, the Barrier is also an effective defense against any kind of Dark Magic, which makes it all the more interesting that you were able to slip through via a Dark Portal spell, Twilight."

"I did what?!" Twilight cried, taking a shocked step back, "no... that can't be right!"

Aeon raised an eyebrow and gave the lavender filly a devilish smirk.

"Oh yes, Twilight Sparkle," she cooed, "it seems you're quite the budding young Dark Mage," she turned from the stunned filly to face Starlight, her smirk widening into a devious smile, "and then there's you, Starlight Glimmer."

Starlight took her own step back and eyed the mare suspiciously.

"What about me?" she asked warily.

"I think you already know where your affinity lies, don't you?" Aeon asked, "why don't you tell your lavender friend here? I'm sure she's dying to know."

Starlight didn't say anything for a moment.

She looked from Aeon to Twilight who was slowly shaking her head as she stared at her hooves. She sighed and jabbed Twilight in the shoulder, causing the filly to flinch and turn to her, confusion still clouding her features.

"You remember that thing I did with the parchment back in the cell?" Starlight asked.

Twilight nodded dumbly, still reeling from what Aeon had revealed.

"That was Runic Magic. That's what my affinity is... apparently," she turned back to Aeon with a frown, "so, you've revealed our affinities, what now? What do you want from us? Why are we here?"

"You two are here because I want to know what you can do, and put that knowledge to practical use," Aeon replied as she leaned back in her chair, "you're going to tell me what you both saw in that vision, and I'm going to train you accordingly."

"What?" Twilight asked, finally snapping out of her stupor, "why? Train us for what?"

Aeon turned to Starlight with another knowing smile.

"To do as Starlight's parents did before her of course."

"What my... parents did?" Starlight asked with wide eyes.

Aeon nodded, her smile softening ever so slightly as she responded.

"To help defend this little fortified town and the rest of Equestria from the horrors that come crawling out of Tartarus."

Author's Note:

To do what I wanted for this story, I needed to place the fillies in the appropriate environment. Outside influence is key in shaping young minds after all...

Anyway, for those who still have questions (which I'm certain you have several), there's more explanations to come in the next chapter.

Comments

[The Cynical One]

Oh yes Mr. Author (I assume) it says here that Sunset and Trixie still exist... will they be dead or... can we meet them please? Sorry I’ll go back to lurking! Nice story though... leaving now

[Victor07]

So this is where Fell Wind came from, the equestrian distant lands, or was it farlands?

[the7Saviors]

11709678
Outlands.