Pathfinder

by The Sumareian

The Calm

"Taliel, wake up." He opened his eyes to utter blackness, he knew that he was still asleep, but something was different he could fell it. "That voice, I've heard it before." he looked around the sudden scent of sage and honey filling his nose, This smell. no it cant be shes dead. Taliel turned his head to see the one person who he had lost.

"Don't tell me you forgot your grandmother." she said jokingly. Taliel took a step towards his grandmother. "But you died, trying to save me... This is impossible." he looked numbly at his arm it was shorter his grandmother now starting to tower over him.

" You forgot one thing pup." She gently brushed her hand across his cheek. the mark on her left arm shining with near unlimited power."I will always be alive. right here." She placed her hand on his chest.

The void rushed away from the pair, the warm rush of air carried with it the harsh stench of burning wood and flesh. Taliel looked around, numerous villagers ran to and fro trying to put out the blaze in the hamlet.

"Whats happening, Grandma." Taliel looked as people were either engulfed in flames or knocked down by the collapsing buildings. "You don't remember this night? the night everything changed for you." Taliel heart froze in his chest. No, no, no.

"No, Grandmother I cant see you do it, not again." He grabbed her dress, she proceeded to stare coldly at the death and destruction around her. "No, I had to if it wasn't me it would have been you. You were a smart child you knew that it was our blood that could turn this tide of destruction back."

"I cant lose you again. Please." He pleaded. She looked down to him and patted him on the head. "Sometimes the only way to save the ones you care about is to hurt them." he froze as she pulled a dagger out of her sleeve, and brought it to her left arm just below her wrist.

"Sometimes, that pain is the only thing that brings those you love together. Tell me pup do you remember what I told you about people?"

Taliel looked sullenly at the ground. "That sometimes it takes a madman to do the right thing, not because they have the power, but because they aren't afraid to put it all on the line to help those they care about."

He looked up, as he watched in horror as she slit her wrist, and raised it to the sky.Her blood slowly dripping to the ground.

"Remember what I told you." Her face contorted with pain as her mark burned a bright crimson. " Your power is your gift and you should us it to help everyone you can."

Taliel looked as his grandmother created a series of intricate runes and wards around herself. Then she smiled, as a blinding white light engulfed her. The air rippled with power as a loud crack shattered the cobblestone near Taliel. The mark on his arm burned setting his blood afire with pain.....

"Taliel, are you okay. I heard yelling and I..." Taliel tried to focus his vision was blurred and his arm throbbed in waves of dull pain. "Taliel your bleeding." he glanced up to see a blur of blue and red. A coppery stench filled his nostrils, as he attempted to sit up.

"Here take this, oh I knew I should have got the princess." Hearths Fyre gently placed a rag on his nose. "Come on Fyre join the royal staff, it will be simple just a little cleaning ..." She mumbled as she trotted to the window. Opening it the sound of cheers and celebration echoed in the distance.

"Fyre. Whats going on?" Taliel asked weakly as he sat up.

****************************************************

"Today is a day for celebration, for I Princess Celestia of Equestria." Did I just rhyme that time? Celestia paused knowing that her announcement would be met with both cheers and complaints. "Have, negotiated with Lord Regal of Sumareia to build an embassy here in Canterlot." the ponies gathered before her cheered, though she wasn't sure why, seeing as the already strong relationship with the Sumareians could not improve anymore then it already had.

"Thusly our little ponies , we shall host a glorious celebration in the name of peace and harmony!" Luna blurted out. Only to be meet with the blast of confetti cannons and fireworks as the milling crowd of ponies cheered.

"Sister, one of your researchers uncovered something important, we will oversee the festivities in thy absence." She whispered into her sisters ear.

With a curt nod and a simultaneous blast from the confetti cannon She blinked away to her chambers. She paused when she saw Taliel leaning raggedly at her door, the two guardsponies seeming to have abandoned their post.

She entered her room to see Taliel leaning in the doorway, his eyes sunken and his very breathing was racked with effort.

"Taliel whats going on? Are you hurt?" she watched as her guest shambled forward a near by cushion.

"I'm fine, this happens to me every so often. Manciric backwash, of all things." he let out a weak laugh.

"Manciric backwash?" Celestia levitated a small glass of water from her desk to Taliel, who ravenously drank from it.

"The mark is a blessing and a curse in many ways, it gives you power to protect those you love, but in order to unleash the full might of your power it need something more.... A sacrifice." Taliel sat himself down on Celestias bed. "Each one of the scattered communities has at the most two bearers of the mark, two sacrificial lambs to sate the hunger of the taint, they say that when you suffer from one that your time is coming to an end." He looked up to the princesses.

"So your going to die. No not if I can help it yo-"

"I don't have the power to stop the taint that has infected this world, but I do regardless of what you say have a duty to destroy this, I brought it here and I will be the one to destroy it." he snapped.

"But we know we can stop them. Taliel you don't have to do this on your own, there has to be another way then what your proposing." She watched as Taliel stood up and shambled to the window.

"Sadly Princess, I fear they may already be preparing to take the city." He smiled at the group of celebrating ponies in the courtyard. "They aren't prepared for the destruction the taint will bring. The pain the agony the suffering they will feel seeing everything they love being swept away."

"Your wrong Taliel. Believe it or not we have been pushed to the brink before, but there was one thing that got us all through it. Hope. Hope that we would overcome our hardships, hope that we would grow from this dark period in our lives. Hope that we would one day be truly happy." Taliel flinched at her statement.

"Hope.... Princess, you must understand there is no hope for us. From the day you were born to the day we die its all been about survival, for us life was a hardship a weight we must carry." Taliel turned to Celestia slowly walking towards her.

"And this mark, affords me and no one from my world happiness, its because of people like me this taint exists in the first place." he stared the into her eyes angrily. "Your world is to... to full of hope to survive the onslaught." he fumed before shambling out the princesses chambers.

The princess sighed heavily, before glancing over to her desk. A single scroll was resting in her inbox. She trotted over to it and grasped it with her magic preparing to separate the wax emblem that was pressed on it. She paused momentarily to see that indeed the seal of the Magistrate of Magical Research.

Undoing the seal she looked over the letter that was written by the chief repository officer.

Dear Princess Celestia,

The research team form the Magistrate have made an world shattering discovery. At the site we have located several fragments of a unknown metal that seem to hum with magical energies. Sadly however the magical energy we are detecting from the fragments is similar to Dr. Pulse's xeno wave magic like that of the blue sand in Sumareia , however this magical wavelength is radiating outward at a surprising rate literally filling the air and surrounding area with a sort of anti magical bubble. Several of the unicorns on staff have reported headaches and nausea while moving and testing equipment. But that is not what prompted this letter, enclosed are two other scrolls in a undecipherable text, one having what looks like a stamp made from some sort of mana crystal.

Magistrate repository chief Book Smarts.

P.S We have also received strange reports of twisted creatures around the camp.

**************************************************************

"Taliel, you have visitors, something about saying thank you."

Taliel looked up to the door. There standing next to Hearths Fyre were two stallions a mare and a foal. He waved them in each one of the ponies trotted in looking around in sheer awe at how bare the room was.

"What can I do you for today?" Taliel smiled at the group of ponies before him, his mind still racing with his argument with Celestia.

"We just wanted to say thank you for your help the other night." the grey stallion started." Without you and the princess I'm fairly certain we wouldn't be able to see our families ever again." the entire group save for the foal nodded in solemn agreement

"Thank you mister for saving me and my mommy from those monsters." the foal spring forward and hugged him.

"Now, now Neptune, calm down." The mare placed a hoof gently on her child. "We still haven't given him our thank you present." she smiled as she used her magic to pick up a crudely wrapped package, and place it in Taliels hand.

He glanced down at the package its thick brown paper seem to be hastily crumbled around something small and surprisingly light.

"Open it mister." Neptune bounced up and down excitedly, as the two guards smiled and shared a hearty laugh.

Taliel opened the the small package its crumpled brown paper revealing a smooth polished wooden trinket, he looked up at the group then back down. Then it dawned on him it was supposed to be a pony, he smiled to the the mother and daughter.

"Thank you very much all of you." He smiled, as he reached into his tunic to pull out his necklace. He smiled at the small black orb the dangled from it, he saw his reflection in it, his purple eyes staring back, his grandmothers eyes. He undid the leather cord and delicately tying the carving next to his grandmothers last gift to him, the day before her death.

"I'll keep this gift close, always."

He could hear his grandmother humming in the background, the hauntingly sweet melody of Atris Blessing.'Let the homes of those who show love to thee become your home.'

"Book of the Lunar Harvest twenty nine, nine." he whispered to himself. " Home...."

"I'm sorry what was that?" Taliel paused and looked at the white stallion a clearly perplexed look on his face.

"It was something my grandmother... used to quote." He nodded towards Whiterun.

"Well, what are we waiting for. Cider anypony?" His partner smiled and placed two jugs of Apple family cider on a nearby table.

The door creaked open drawing the attention of everyone in the room. As it swung open Celestia regally trotted inside and placed a set of scrolls next to him.

"Taliel, I believe you have a message." She glanced to the group of ponies in the room.

"These are the ponies me and Luna saved in the cemetery the other night." Taliel stated as he unfurled the scroll and began to read it.

"So what does it say?" The filly asked exitedly.

As Taliel read on his expression soured, he hastily grabbed the other scroll and held it to the light.

"By the gods, a Deygoth has appeared." Taliel looked around to the group of confused ponies, before resting his eyes on Celestia. "Princess, where is Ember?"