Chapter 8: Reunions
>>>You were, you are, difficult. Most ponies have ambitions based in greed or selfish desire. “I want more power, more wealth, more love.” Most ponies, even those who are not selfish in their actions, have selfish ambition. Even you did for a time. But then, she happened. Your already nauseatingly selfless goals became even more so with her. My strength lies in manipulation and corruption. Easy to do with even the slightest impurity. But do you have any idea how hard it is to twist something so perfectly pure?<<<
Lost.
Spring Mist stood in the central room of the ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. He stared long and hard at the pedestal in the center of the room, just before him. Twilight Sparkle stood behind him, gazing with concern.
“What you do mean, Mist?” she asked.
“I can tell you later, perhaps.” Mist moved back outside, making a turn that nearly ended in him careening off the edge of a cliff. He stood and stared into a gaping maw that once held numerous buildings.
Twilight stood next to him, looking down. Aside from a small river, there were large piles of stones – signs of the structures that once stood proud. She looked at Mist. “What is it, Mist?”
“I need to get down there.”
“Down there?”
“Yes. Do you know of a way?”
“I seriously doubt there’s a nice little road down, if that is what you are wondering. But I might be able to teleport us down. Hold on.” She scrunched her eyes together, her horn flaring. Purple magic wrapped both her and Mist, and a second later, they blinked from existence.
They reappeared at the bottom of the gorge, surrounded by the giant husks of buildings. They looked around, one with determination, the other with curiosity.
“What is this?” Twilight asked, more to herself.
“The Arc,” Mist replied, heading off.
“The Arc? What’s the Arc?”
“It was the center of knowledge in Everfree. Scholars of every type worked and studied here. Eventually so did I.”
“Mist, I’ll be honest. I thought you were just some pony who thought they had lived in an ancient city, but you talk about it as if you were actually here.”
“I was actually here,” Mist said, slight anger in his voice, “I told you. I’m not crazy. I just can’t remember most of my life. But it was my life. And it was here. In the city of Everfree.”
“Mist, you have to understand, Everfree hasn’t been a city for hundreds of years. You would have to be at least that old to have lived here. And I don’t know of many ponies who live that long.”
“Twilight, just…” Mist stopped talking, just pressed on.
They eventually came to a rather intact tower, laying on its side. Off in the distance, Mist could see the remains of the old giant telescope. He moved forward, climbing atop the rubble. He made his way into the shell of the tower, ignoring Twilight’s pleas to stop, fearing danger.
An unknown energy pushed him forward, and eventually he came across a small door. The centuries-old wood was warped and splintered. He lifted the door and tossed it aside, revealing a tunnel-like space. Twilight had caught up with Mist, staring at him, then at the opening.
“Oh no. You are not going in there. What if it collapsed?” she warned.
“Trust me.”
He walked forward, pushing back the shadows with his magic, revealing more of the hole. A staircase could be seen on its side. In fact, everything was sideways. As Mist stepped through, he nearly tripped on a sconce. He was walking on one of the walls.
A soft light flared from behind him. Looking back, he saw Twilight’s horn glow, spearing light into the passageway. Mist continued forward. Doors lined the ‘floor’ and ‘ceiling’ of the path. He counted each until he finally came upon one door in particular. Unlike the other doors, this one was in perfect condition, as if it had been made and fitted recently.
Mist pulled the door open. Another space was hidden behind it, dropping down. Mist looked into the room, then jumped. Twilight gasped as he disappeared into the dark. She shone her light into the room, revealing Mist standing amidst a pile of miscellaneous items. She followed him down, landing softly on the ground.
“Mist? What is this room?” she asked quietly.
“This is a storeroom, where all of my things would have been moved. Everything I owned should be here.” He looked at the wooden boxes and chests that littered the room, all in pristine condition. He levitated some of the boxes closer, prying one open.
He looked inside. Within lay an odd assortment of items. Mostly books, but there were other trinkets, baubles. Very little of any importance to Mist at the moment. He moved on to a chest. It was mostly simple, but it bore the design of his cutie mark.
He opened the chest, finding a small collection of treasures. He looked to Twilight. “I found it. Now, we can continue in here, or elsewhere. And, if possible, I’d like to have these things moved to my residence.”
“Of course. We can arrange that. But would you please explain what is going on?”
“I have found something… I think from my friends.”
“Oh? Well, how do you know?”
“I don’t. I just… feel it.”
“I can actually understand that. But Mist, you are going to have to explain all of this to me. This was not quite what I was expecting when I dragged you out here.”
“I hope I can. Now, here? Or outside?”
“Here is okay for now. It seems that there are a few enchantments in place holding this structure together, so we should be okay.”
“Alright. Here is goes.”
Mist looked back to the chest, and the assorted belongings within. A small pile of scrolls, a telescope, and large, folded page. He lifted them all from the box, placing them before him. Twilight moved over to him.
“Mind if I join you?” she asked.
“Please.” He motioned for her to sit.
He floated the telescope over to her. She looked at it closely, studying every facet. “An ancient and archaic design, but functional. And quite the specimen,” she commented almost excitedly.
“It was my first telescope, I think.”
He continued on, lifting the scrolls. He opened the first one, reading its contents.
Dearest Spring Mist,
Should you ever return to us and you find this, know that we all miss you dearly. That night you left us, something wonderful happened. Five strangers, brought together by a common pony, found friendship. We all still see each other, even years later. We had quite the enchantments put on this storage room to keep your belongings safe, strangely enough done by Princess Celestia herself. She seemed to offer it as a tribute or a memorial. We feared the worst, but she reassured us that you were fine. But I know her, she’s hiding something. And I hope you can explain everything to us someday.
If you do not already know, Bloom and Honey are married and had a foal. Summer Fall. Wonderful little pony. Such a dear grandchild. But not everything has been filled with happiness. Some years after your departure, the forest began to grow wild. Wilder than normal. And then there was the Collapse. A great earthquake that leveled most of Everfree. We have all been relocated to the various settlements. We were all lucky enough to be moved to Canterlot together, and life returned to normal for the most part. Clove reopened his little eatery and it is doing quite well.
Shores eventually joined the Royal Guard, and Honey, Bloom, and myself are all working in the Royal Academy. It was painful being away from Everfree, but such is life. Constant change.
Even in the Collapse, this little room survived, and all of your things remain safe. I have returned to the ruins of Everfree to write this final letter, and to live out the last of my days here. Bloom and Honey are with me, and they miss you greatly.
I can feel myself near the end. I think I should like to be buried with my old telescope. How I missed that.
Well, I can only hope that you will return to your friends. I fear I will not be there when you do, so just in case, know that I always cherished you are a dear friend. You brought a bit of a spark back to this old mare, and I thank you.
And lastly, I hope you find what you are looking for, and I hope you are reunited with Luna. You two were a wonderful couple, and I had hoped to see your relationship blossom.
May the stars bless you with their beauty, and the moon light your way in the dark.
Your dear friend,
Caramel Tart
Mist sniffed, tears falling freely, narrowing missing the page. He shut his eyes, trying to hold back the tears. Twilight sat next to him, her hoof on his shoulder, reassuring him.
“Are you okay, Mist?” she asked.
“I miss them. They missed me. They never knew what had really happened to me.”
“What did happen to you?”
“I’m not actually sure…” Mist stood suddenly. “Twi, pack up the chest, bring it outside.”
Before she could respond, he had bolted from the room, through the overhead door. Once outside, he ran to the telescope. As he approached, he could see the shape of a carved stone near the great domed structure. He drew closer, reading the etched words on the stone tablet before him, a familiar cutie mark adorning it.
Caramel Tart
Mother, Grandmother. Scholar, friend.
Laid to rest, returning home.
Spring Mist knelt before the grave of Caramel Tart, tears falling again. Without warning, a shadow engulfed him, making him twist in pain, his mind searing as the images of his past returned to him. His friends, his work, his family, interests, hobbies. The Nightmare. The deal. Luna.
************
Luna walked along the crater that had been left in the wake of the meteorite impact. The plant life was charred, but healing. The earth was dented and broken.
She looked around the floor of the forest, searching. She eventually conjured a spell, and a small light appeared from below the dirt, near the center of the impact. She lifted the soil with her magic, finally finding what she had been looking for: A medallion. A chain, with an inlaid stone, depicting something she had not seen in a thousand years. A black shield, purple star, a crescent moon.
“Mist,” she said to herself.
Her eyes widened with realization. “Zecora.”
She flapped her wings once, lifting into the air, flying fast toward the hut of the zebra herbalist. She made quick time, landing in front of the door to the hut. She knocked frantically.
The door opened, and Zecora stood before her. Luna did not allow the zebra to speak. “Zecora, where is the pony you found in the forest?”
“I took him to Ponyville last week, it is there you must seek.”
Luna flapped her wings again. “Thank you. Apologies for my rudeness, I shall explain later.” She flew off towards Ponyville, frenetically driven by hope and whimsy.
She landed in front of the library. “Twilight Sparkle should know where he is,” she said, pushing the door open. He saw the little dragon assistant of Twilight stacking books. ‘Spike, where is Twilight Sparkle?”
“Ah! Princess Luna, you startled me. I don’t know where Twi is. But you are welcome to stay here and wait. She’s not usually gone a long time.”
“Thank you, I’ll do that.” Luna settled on a small cushion, watching Spike do his chores. She held the medallion she had found tightly to her chest.
********
“Mist!” Twilight called. “Mist! Wake up!”
Mist blinked his eyes open, seeing the purple face of Twilight standing over him, shaking him. He stood, a bright smile appearing on his face.
“Twilight, I remember it all! All of it! No pain! I – Luna!”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Luna, I need to see Luna!”
“Mist, Princess Luna, is in Canterlot. I’d have to send a letter. And I need Spike for that.”
“Then Spike. Quick, we have to get to the library. Now!”
Twilight was startled by Mist’s ramblings. “Okay, calm down. We’ll get there. Just… slowly.”
“No! We have to go. You are just going to have to trust me. I’ll explain everything later. Everything. Anything you want to know.”
“You had better.”
Mist ran back to the face of the cliff that was their way home. Twilight followed. “How far can you port us?” he asked.
“Pretty far. I think I can get us to the edge of the forest.”
“Do it, please. And I’ll find some way to repay you.”
Twilight concentrated, her horn layering with magic. She forced the pair out of the forest, emerging near the edge. She swayed trying to regain balance. “Ugh… bleh,” she complained.
“Come on!” Mist encouraged, running ahead.
He ran full gallop toward the library, startling several ponies on the way. The tree was growing closer, and finally he reached it. He shoved the door open quickly, darting into the center room.
Spike had fallen over, covered in books. But what caught Mist’s eye was the dark blue pony in the middle of the room. She stood, staring as if she had seen a ghost, as she may as well have.
“Luna.”
“Mist?”
Nightmare.
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w00t! This just made my day (again)! Now, back to reading.
Love the story just spent my weekend reading part 1 and 2. Can not wait for the next chapter !
1444663 glad to hear it did! hope you like!
1446471 oh wow, thanks a bunch! glad you're enjoying it so far!
1447692 Oh come on!
iambrony.steeph.tp-radio.de/mlp/gif/133027617488.gif
You can't leave us at a cliffhanger like that! You MUST give us the next chapter!
you must. You must. You must! You Must! YOU MUST!
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1448048 Hehehehe, wouldn't it be the worst if I went on hiatus?
1450345 sadly no, because most awesome stories end up going on Haitus, and never finishing. Mainly all the good Twilight is Alicorn, vampire, or badass stories. So we would be used to it. So sad...
1450969 Wow, that is sad. well, I'm gonna do everything in my power to not go on hiatus. good thing I keep some buffer chapters while I wait for inspiration.
1450983 That's not even the sad part. Usually the story never ends up finish because of real life stuff happening in the Author's life, job or school or moving or accidents. So we can't even be mad at him, cause it's not their fault. But hope this story reaches it's end safely, it's awesome so far.
1450989 Indeed. feeling that pressure myself. But I'm kinda determined to actually finish this project.
I am glad to hear that. I just can't wait to read the next chapter.
Luna!
Mist?
Nightmare.
Donkey!!!