> The Kingdom of Everfree
>  by HeartlessSpartan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Hunters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

										The Kingdom of Everfree

Hunters

Traveling through the forest is dangerous, especially for an injured pegasus. He had nearly escaped death but had taken damage to his wing. He cannot fly and he is not used to traversing the woods through deep snow. The sun would set soon and the cold would overtake him with the little clothing he wore. Entering a clearing in the forest the pegasus stopped. Fear overtook him, his heart raced, and his injured wing that had frozen began to bleed again. He had escaped death but he knew he was being tracked, hunted.

Out of a nearby thicket rose an earth pony, his hooded robes bleached white to match the snow. The hunter had tracked him and cut him off waiting to ambush him here. The pegasus could not see the earth pony’s face, only the bright blue eyes glaring back at him. The faceless figure drew a sword and proceeded toward him.

“Just take it, let me go!” The Pegasus pleaded to the pony cautiously approaching with sword drawn.

“I have family, that is why! I just want to go back to them, take it. Don’t you have family to go back to?” The pegasus asked, desperately holding out a small burlap bag for the pony to take rather than his life.

The earth pony stopped in his approach, his bright blue eyes gleamed as the sun began to set and the shadows of the trees filled the thicket. The pegasus gained a sense of hope that this pony might spare him. However as soon as it seemed the hunter would lower his stance to kill there was a slight whistle on the wind. A short spear shot from the other side of the clearing catching the pegasus in the side and he dropped like a rock. A second hunter appeared from the trees and retrieved his spear, pulling it from the lifeless pegasus. After retrieving his spear he picked up the burlap bag and checked inside.

“Was it worth it you flying rat! Dying for a quarter sack of potatoes,” the second hunter said.

“Was it necessary?” The first hunter asked; sheathing his sword and pulling his hood back to reveal his black coat and blue mane, requiring the camouflage in this environment.

“It is if we want to eat for a day rather than starve for another. These pegasi have no honor, thieves and cowards the lot of them. We do not steal from them!” The second hunter growled with hate.

“Granted we cannot fly,” the first hunter replied.

“Their raiding party abandoned him for our hunters. If we could fly we know there would be no raiding parties at all. Such a waste, well we best get back on patrol,” the second hunter said as he swung the potato bag over his back.

“The sun will set soon, we should get back to the shelter, it seems it will snow again tonight,” the first hunter said, walking past the pegasus knowing the ice would entomb the body.

“Very funny Orion, it snows every day! I cannot even recall there ever having been a warm day since these winters get colder and longer every year,” the second hunter said with a smile.

“It still seems questionable to me that the pegasi would keep this winter going if even they are starving Basil,” Orion, the first hunter said as they proceeded through the woods.

“Well, the pegasi say that we hoard the food that we grow when there is little to none, seeing as how we cannot grow food with the land frozen,” Basil, the second hunter said.

“It’s also said that the unicorns are not raising the sun high enough to warm the land,” Orion mentioned.

“It’s a vicious cycle with no end. We all just have to do what we are best at. For us it is hunting down what we need to survive, others it is growing food, building shelters…” Basil was saying.

“Fighting,” Orion cut in.

Basil stopped and turned to Orion, his green eyes lit by the final glimmers of twilight through the shadows of his hood.

“The fighting Orion, is left to those warriors whose hearts are as barren and frozen as the land itself,” Basil said.

“So your heart is cold and barren?” Orion asked.

“I take no pride in killing Orion. I saw you hesitate back there, had to act. In any situation there is always the risk of being killed. You may have had the advantage then, but had he been hiding something that pegasus would not have hesitated as you have,” Basil explained.

“I see,” Orion sighed.

“I refuse to allow my friend to die only because he shared sympathy his enemy did not,” Basil said in all seriousness.

As night fell upon the land it began to snow, the two earth ponies gradually making their way through the forest. As the snowfall grew heavier, it became more of a light storm. The wind had picked up. Orion pulled his hood over his head, and the two quickly crept through the snow. They came to a stop at the edge of the woods, hiding behind a snowdrift accumulated near a thick tree. Looking out of the woods and up into the clouds they could see what looked like lightning flashes, making the clouds glow.      

“It sounds like thunder-snow but it certainly doesn’t look like it. See the flashes in the clouds, some are different colors,” Basil said.

“Magic?” Orion questioned.

“I believe so. There must be unicorns holed up in ruins on the other side of this field,” Basil said.

“Can’t see across this field, perhaps the pegasi that raided us were waiting for night to raid them,” Orion said.

“There is a ravine that runs out of the woods along the field down that way. It would take us right behind the ruins, we can get a better look from there,” Basil said, giving Orion a tap on the shoulder to follow him.

The two earth ponies made their way back through the woods, the thunderous sounds of the flashes could still be heard yet they were muffled by the dense snow. When they arrived at the ravine there was a decline in the land they could travel on, but they had to be careful, the rocks were icy and further down the decline was a sudden drop too dark to see.

“Is it worth it?” Orion asked.

“Curiosity demands it Orion, I want to know what is happening over there and I do not want to be seen,” Basil said as he made his way along the decline of the ravine.

“No fighting then Basil,” Orion said as he followed.

“No fighting?” Basil asked.

“No fighting, we would not want our hearts to be as alike these stones we traverse,” Orion said jokingly.

“Right, no fighting, lest we become as dangerous as these stones without regret,” Basil replied.

Orion and Basil made their way along the ravine, as they approached the ruins the winter storm grew stronger, and the winds and snow made their path more treacherous. They climbed up to the edge, using a small stone wall for cover they peaked over the top. They saw unicorns scrambling about, shouting orders to each other and firing wildly into the clouds. At first it seemed an entertaining show for the earth ponies. However they soon realized it was not pegasi the unicorns were fighting. Great roars and growls shook the air from the clouds.

“Dragons?” Basil wondered out loud.

“There is no fire,” Orion stated.

The unicorns became more desperate in their attack. With every gust of wind and heavy snow blowing through the ruins more of them would vanish as it blew away. The earth ponies watched as the snow and wind seemingly came to life, thrusting masses of snow and ice against the unicorns. They would either be thrown against the stone walls of their own refuge or buried.
“Basil, we should get out of here, Basil!” Orion shouted to get his friends attention.

“What is it that they are fighting?!” Basil demanded to know.

“Basil!” Orion yelled, grabbing onto him to get him moving.

“Move!” Basil shouted.

An avalanche of snow swept away a unicorn and carried it over the stone wall, pulling Basil and Orion with it. Holding onto Basil, Orion had a grasp on the icy rocks of the ravine but was quickly losing hold. More avalanches of snow blew over the rock wall. It seemed as the weather was intentionally and aggressively causing it. Orion was pushed off the rocks and dragged into the dark pit of the ravine with Basil. It felt as though the ravine dropped forever, dragged down by the snow Orion was overcome with absolute terror.

Orion was unsure of when he reached the bottom, he scrambled sideways out of the snow. It was dark in the ravine, he could barely see and there is more snow carrying rocks down from above. Terrified and shaken Orion scrambled about searching for his friend while being beaten by debris from above.

“Basil!” Orion yelled desperately for his friend as he repeatedly unburied himself from the snow.

“Basil!” Orion yelled again through the chaos, he could see unicorns buried in the snow, killed by the fall.

“Orion!” Basil’s muffled voice could barely be heard through the snow.

Orion began frantically digging for his friend, risking himself due to the danger falling from above. It was difficult to know where Basil was due to the camouflage they wear to protect themselves. Eventually Orion grabbed hold of the dusty white fabric and dragged Basil out of the ice. The two earth ponies leaned on each other and scrambled through the ravine but it was too dark to see.

“Help!” A half buried unicorn cried out, using magic to light the ravine.

Basil and Orion staggered past the unicorn.

“Help me, please don’t leave me to die here!” The unicorn begged.

Orion, stopped and turned to help the unicorn.

“Orion no!” Basil shouted as a warning not to help their enemy.

“I will not be responsible for two lives in one day Basil!” Orion said as he quickly dug out the unicorn.

“I don’t think I can walk on my own!” The unicorn said worriedly.

Orion pulled the unicorn over his back and carried him, following Basil through the ravine. The unicorn kept the path lit as they moved on, the chaos at the ruins became silent and the flashes in the clouds had ceased. The journey through the ravine was a silent one, they eventually came to a rise where a creek had run into the ravine but frozen. They climbed the ice like frozen stairs.

“Basil, I think he’s unconscious,” Orion said, pointing out that there was no longer light.

“Is he breathing?” Basil asked.

“I believe so,” Orion replied.

“We have to get to the shelter, we won’t survive the night if we stay out in the open like this,” Basil suggested, proceeding forward into the woods.

The ponies arrived at their shelter, an igloo naturally camouflaged by snowdrifts. Orion laid the unicorn inside and made a small fire, the smoke funneled through a hole in the roof. Basil sat near the door silently glaring at the unicorn. 

“You should have left him there Orion,” Basil said coldly.

“We needlessly killed one today, I did not want to see another die,” Orion said, tending to the fire.

“We are not free to decide the fate of our enemies Orion, either we kill them or they kill us,” Basil said.

“We can! When fate grants us the opportunity of choice, the power to decide; I stayed to find you, I would never leave you behind Basil. Fate granted me the choice to save him as well so I did,” Orion said in defense.

“Choice? I will remember that Orion but what will you do with him now?” Orion asked.

“I’m not sure what to do from here,” Orion said.

“We cannot take him to our hold, they will kill him. If we let him go, he will die in the forest. If for whatever reason we took him to the unicorn’s keep, they will kill us,” Basil explained the true nature of the situation, making it clear why he chose to let nature kill the unicorn.

“There is no safe place, we are stuck with him,” Orion said.

“There may be one, the guild,” Basil mentioned.

“Guild?” Orion wondered.

“There is a nearby guild, I heard of it the last time we were at the hold. I believe they will be less likely to kill any of us on sight,” Basil said.

“Perhaps they can shed some light on what happened at the ruins,” Orion said.

“Let’s hope, now get some sleep Orion. We’ll take shifts as usual and leave in the morning, wouldn’t want our new friend catching us off guard,” Basil said, receiving a nod from Orion.

> Better than Yesterday
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

											Better than Yesterday

Basil and Orion had packed what little gear they had in the igloo into small pouches that strap around their chest and shoulder. Basil lightly kicked the unicorn that was still asleep on the floor. Waking in a daze the unicorn struggled to get up. Assisted by Orion he managed to stand. There was a sign of relief and bewilderment in the unicorn’s eyes, most likely surprised that he’s still alive.

“Get up, we’ve got a plan to get you fixed up properly that doesn’t get any of us killed,” Basil said.

“Much appreciated…given what you are doing for me it would be impolite not to call you by your names?” The unicorn inquired.

“My name is Basil, your second set of legs there is Orion. If you don’t mind we need to be moving, I’m not entirely sure where this place is,” Basil said, leaving through the door and out into the forest.

“You know our names, it is only fair we know yours,” Orion mentioned as he helped the unicorn along.

“My name is Starswirl,” the unicorn said.

“That sounds like a frightening concept, if we could even see them,” Orion joked as they walked, referring to the winter clouds that cover the sky for several months.

“This, coming from a pony who is named after a constellation,” Starswirl said smartly.

Surprisingly the ponies covered ground rather quickly with Starswirls’ injury. There wasn’t much talking as the ponies made their way through the forest. Starswirl would often have to sit back while the two earth pony hunters scouted the forest ahead. Sometimes he wondered if they would ever come back for him. To his astonishment they did. He began to notice these earth ponies worked well together, as if they were thinking with one mind, one knowing the very expression and body language of the other. A trait picked up most likely by surviving in the forest weeks at a time together. Starswirl eventually realized he was left out of multiple conversations held 
without a word by Basil and Orion, until they reached the mountains.

“Why are we waiting here?” Starswirl asked, hiding with Basil and Orion behind a small thicket at the edge of the woods.

“There are mines here that pass through the mountains,” Basil whispered as he peered over the snow covered branches.

“Gem mines, I’ve heard of them,” Starswirl recalled.

“Gems, crystals, ore; everything they need to build,” Basil said, his breath freezing in the air as he talked.

“The crystal ponies,” Starswirl mentioned.

“Yeah, a luxurious group of creatures those are. Beautiful, smart, and greedy,” Orion chimed in.

“Can we get through?” Starswirl asked.

“No we’ll have to go around, I’d rather take my chances with your keep than go in there,” Basil said.

“Diamond Dogs,” Orion said with a hint of disgust in his voice.

“The crystal ponies use these dogs as servants, a filthy lot willing to work for a pretty employer. These winters cause famine though, consider caverns filled with hungry, cold, pissed off canines with heavy mining tools,” Basil said as he crouched back behind the thicket.

“Lucky for us we can take  a path around the mountains not far from here,” Orion said.

“Right, and no point in wasting more time here,” Basil said as he stood and proceeded back into the woods.

The ponies had a longer journey around the mountains without any interruption. Every so often they would stop to scout the forest or gather edible plants and fresh water from frozen streams. The path around the mountains meant it would take longer to reach the guild, the sun would set soon and the night would freeze them. They would have to make camp to survive the night. Basil pressed urgently onward until they reached the forest on the other side. There they would make camp and a fire to survive as the sun sets.

“Stop!” Basil shouted, stepping back against Orion and Starswirl.

“What is it?” Orion asked.

“A pit, just a giant pit in the middle of the woods,” Basil said, breathing heavily because he nearly fell into it.

“Why is there a pit?” Orion wondered.

“Who digs a pit in the middle of the woods!” Basil said, genuinely upset he didn’t notice it.

“That’s what I wanna’ know!” A female voice shouted from the pit.

“There’s someone down there,” Starswirl said.

The three ponies crept to the edge of the pit and peered down into the darkness. They could see nothing. Starswirl used a spell to cast a ball of light like a flare that gradually fell further down into the pit. At the very bottom was a griffin with claws and wings tied up so she couldn’t move, only writhe around in the dirt. The three ponies immediately stood to converse with one another.

“It’s an oubliette, not a pit,” Starswirl said.

“An… oubliette?” Orion questioned.

“A dungeon of sorts,” Starswirl explained.

“What are you doing up there, is someone going to help me!” the griffin shouted up the pit, she could clearly hear them talking.
Peering back over the edge Basil shouted back, “No thank you, we’d prefer not to climb into confined spaces with species inclined to kill and eat us!”

“I’ll get you for this if you leave me here pony, I swear it!” She yelled back as she frantically rolled about the floor.

“Come on Basil let’s go, we already have Starswirl,” Orion said, pulling Basil back from the edge.

“Agreed, let’s go,” Basil said.

“Basil? Basil, it’s Regina!” The Griffin yelled out.

“Regina? Why does that change anything?” Basil asked, peering over the edge again to see the griffin glaring desperately back at him.

“You owe me Basil,” Regina said as convincingly as she could.

“I’m sorry but if I recall I was going to be eaten the first time,” Basil said.

“You, owe her?” Orion asked.

“It’s a long story,” Basil quickly replied.

“One you’ve never told me!” Orion said, fascinated enough to want to know.

“I let you go Basil,” Regina said with a sigh, hoping he would help her.

“Yes, and your parents freaked and went out looking for their dinner,” Basil replied.

“They didn’t catch you the second time,” Regina murmured.

“This one is on you Basil, we’re still dealing with the last one,” Orion said, referring to Starswirl.

“Regina, how’d you end up tied at the bottom of a pit in the woods?” Basil asked.

“I was hunting and was ambushed by rogue diamond dogs,” Regina said, somewhat embarrassed by it.

“This pit is the diamond dogs’?” Basil asked.

“I’m sure they dug it, but the guild commissioned it,” Regina replied.

“Do you know where the guild is?” Basil asked further.

“Yes, I can take you if you get me out of this freezing pit!” Regina yelled up in spite of her cheap prison.

“I’ve decided to help you Regina, to consider this payment for the first time. However we can’t climb down and you’ve gotten fat since we last met so you’re too big to haul up,” Basil said.

“I’ll also have you know you’d only manage to kill one of us before being taken down yourself,” Basil said to intimidate her.

“Kill the unicorn, maim your friend, and knock you into the pit, you’re making it hard to keep promises Basil,” Regina replied.

“At least she’s honest about it,” Starswirl said from the back.

“How do we get her out of there?” Basil asked, his attention now on Orion and Starswirl.

“She’s large, but I might be able to levitate her out,” Starswirl suggested.

“It’s all we’ve got, and it’s nearing twilight,” Orion pointed out that they don’t have much time to do it.

“Alright Starswirl, you are our best bet,” Basil approved of Starswirl’s plan.  

Starswirl stepped to the edge of the oubliette and peered down below. Regina, being a griffin was larger than most ponies but Basil’s expressions of her weight were exaggerated. As far as he could tell she was a healthy, mammal eating bird monster. The idea of which didn’t help his concentration as he began to lift her with magic. Flying comes naturally to griffins but Regina couldn’t help but squirm as she was forcefully lifted in the air.

“Incredible,” Basil said as he watched Starswirl set Regina down on their level.

Orion drew his sword and Starswirl kept his distance as Basil approached Regina. She barely moved as he untied her, making the situation increasingly tense for the predictable danger to come. Basil kept eye contact with Regina as he pulled the rope away. She slowly stood up and brushed herself off.

“What?” She asked the three ponies staring at her.

“Has the world been spinning backwards these past few days or are we just unnatural?” Orion asked.

“Right then, since we’re not going to kill each other we need to make camp. Preferably someplace away from this massive pit,” Basil suggested as he lead the group back into the woods.

The group quickly found their own ways of helping make camp. Basil and Orion moved and packed snow against trees to act as a better wind barrier while Regina collected firewood and Starswirl used magic to quickly start the fire. It wasn’t long before the group of four sat in a circle around the fire. Basil removed his hood to feel the warmth of the fire, revealing his forest green coat and beige mane.
“Isn’t this unusual for any of you?” Regina asked, breaking the silence of everyone staring at the flames.

“It may be a change from the usual Regina, but today is better than yesterday,” Basil said, staring into the fire, mesmerized by the flames.

“What happened to you three?” Regina asked.

Basil glanced at Starswirl, who shook his head no, Basil then replied, “I don’t think any of us can explain it ourselves.”

“I’m curious to know what the story is between the two of you,” Orion wondered.

“When I was a colt, I wandered into the woods and got lost. What found me was a pair of griffins, and since I was too small for them to eat they brought me to Regina,” Basil said with a sigh and a wave toward Regina.

“Ok, listen to this. To begin with, I’d never killed anything before and my parents bring me this whimpering colt that smelled horrible. My parents left to hunt for themselves, that’s when I decided I didn’t want to eat this smelly thing and told him to take off,” Regina said with a laugh.

“That’s it, there’s got to be more to it,” Orion said.

“There’s always more to it,” Starswirl agreed.

“Well, you’re not going to get it Orion,” Basil said.

“Well what’s your story then, Orion?” Regina asked.

Orion looked at Regina for a moment, it took him a while to think of something to say. He hadn’t really considered the significance of anything he ever did.

“I’m really not sure honestly, I really didn’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. I mean, all the other ponies are farmers or soldiers. I got so tired of watching our political leaders degrade over this famine and war, I had to get away,” Orion said honestly.

“The degrading political leaders, huh? You mean Old Chancellor Pudding Head!” Basil said with great emphasis, raising his arms in the air.

“Do you always make fun of your leaders like this?” Starswirl asked.

“Absolutely,” Orion said.

“They’re all nuts,” Basil replied without regret.

“What about you, Starswirl?” Regina asked. 

“I was more of a scholar than a fighter. I focused my time more into research than battle. Not so favorable in these times of war. I simply wish to further my knowledge of magic for all good rather than to increase its power for destruction,” Starswirl said.

There was a silence for a while, only the sound of the wind and the crackling fire; Until Orion broke the silence.

“I was wondering Basil, if that pegasus could have been here had we not killed him,” Orion said quietly.

“I don’t believe any of us would be here if we let him live,” Basil said as he removed a small dagger from his robes, one that Orion had not seen before, and stuck it in the dirt between them.

“Perhaps, it would do us all good to get some rest,” Starswirl suggested.

“Agreed,” Regina said.

Starswirl and Regina rested in their own places around the fire while Orion watched the fire, and Basil watched the woods.

“That came from the pegasus didn’t it Basil? Basil?!” Orion nudged Basil, who was staring off into the dark forest.

“What? We’ll be fine Orion, don’t worry about it. Get some sleep, I’ll take first shift again,” Basil said.

“Alright then Basil,” Orion said, before finding his own place by the fire.

Basil continued watching the forest, he didn’t mention it to the others, but for a moment, there was definitely something there, looking back.

> The Village
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

										
The Village

Basil gasped, opening his eyes and scrambling to his hooves. He could feel the frost on his muzzle as he saw his breath on the chilling air. He had fallen asleep, the fire had died and the others were not awake yet. Pulling the dagger out of the dirt from the night before, Basil peered through the trees around him. It was absolutely silent, and a light blanket of snow had covered nearly everything, making the forest a blinding white.

“Orion, get up we need to be moving!” Basil said urgently, giving Orion a slight kick.

“Basil, the fire is out. You didn’t wake me for a shift?” Orion wondered, but soon realized what happened.

“Is the unicorn still alive?” Basil asked Orion as he covered the ashes of the fire with snow.

“Starswirl? Yeah he’s still breathing, but we need to get to this guild of yours soon,” Orion said as he nudged Starswirl to wake him.

Basil walked over to Regina, she was still asleep. He wondered if it would be best to leave her, but they needed her in order to find the guild. He knelt down next to her and held her nearest claw. He leaned in closer to her face and gave her a light push with the other hoof.

Regina opened her eyes long enough to see Basil’s familiar green eyes looking back. 

“Did you find anything to eat green eyes?” Regina mumbled as she fell back to sleep.

“We’re not children anymore Regina, wake up,” Basil said as he gave her a heavier push.

Regina woke the second time, she tried to swing her claw at Basil but he already held it. She merely rolled him over in the snow. She stood up and soon realized what she was doing.

“I’m sorry Basil!” Regina said, embarrassed that Orion and Starswirl were watching.

“Is… everything alright?” Orion questioned.

“Fine, just fine,” Basil said, standing and brushing himself off.

“Regina, you said you would take us to the guild,” Orion mentioned.

“That way,” Regina said, pointing directly away from the mountains.

“Great, we can try to get food and lodging when we get there. I’ll scout ahead,” Basil said as he began walking.

“Always on the move, don’t you earth ponies ever stop to eat?” Starswirl asked as he walked assisted by Orion.

“We have no food to eat, that’s why we are moving,” Orion replied.

“I haven’t eaten either,” Regina chimed in from ahead of the two ponies.

“That’s mildly concerning from our perspective Regina, thank you,” Starswirl said ironically.

“I’m not going to eat you. But I would like to know why a unicorn is with the earth ponies?” Regina asked.

“It would seem we all seek answers to what happened two nights ago. These ponies saved me from certain death. After I awoke alive the first morning and realized they hadn’t killed me in my sleep, I decided that my chances were better with these two, rather than dying in the forest trying to escape,” Starswirl explained.

“At least one of us has a good reason. What I want to know is what happened back at camp, between you and Basil Regina?” Orion asked as he carried Starswirl along.

“Fair enough that you know. I didn’t just let Basil go when we were little. I didn’t want to grow up into the griffin clans like my parents. I ran away with him, and we lived in the forest for weeks. He would always wake up before I did, the very first morning I nearly clawed his eyes out when he tried to wake me, but he learned to hold my claw so I wouldn’t,” Regina said sadly, as though she missed it.

“What happened that the two of you parted ways?” Orion asked further.

“We both had to go home eventually. We each made up a fake story to explain what happened. When it came time for me to enter the clan however, I ran away again and landed myself here,” Regina said, shaking her wings as she walked.

“Does anyone else hear that?” Orion asked.

The trio stopped in their tracks and listened, in the distance they could hear the barking and howling of canines quickly approaching them. 

“Diamond dogs!” Regina warned.

“We can’t outrun them,” Starswirl said, referring to his injury.

“Then we fight!” Orion said, releasing Starswirl and drawing his sword.

It didn’t take long for a group of five diamond dogs to catch up with the trio. The three stood back to back as the gray canines surrounded them. The dogs wore ragged vests and spiked collars. The heavy shovels and pickaxes they carried made them ever more intimidating.

“Look, we found a unicorn!” one of the dogs shouted with a raspy voice and pointed to Starswirl.

“No, this one’s white, we want gray!” a larger dog with a coarse voice corrected.

“Black fur! Earth pony has black fur!” another dog cried out.

“Black mane unicorn!” the larger dog shouted before clobbering the other on the head.

“Not very bright are they,” Regina stated.

“I remember you bird, we won’t let you live this time!” the larger dog declared as he raised a pickaxe to swing.

Before the dog could swing his axe Basil, cloaked by his robes, leapt from between the trees like a phantom; tackling the dog to the ground Basil stabbed it in the base of the skull with his dagger. Shocked, the other dogs had little time to react. Regina grabbed the nearest dog by the throat and flew up into the air. Starswirl used a spell to force another dog head first into a tree with a resounding crack. Orion sidestepped the swing of a pickaxe, and while the dog struggled to pull it from the frozen ground, Orion quickly cut him down with a single swing of his sword.

The fifth dog ran for its life, scrambling through the snow and wailing in terror. Orion gave chase to him. The earth pony ran through the snow like the wind, his white robes trailing behind him, he seemed as a ghost coasting through the snow. Basil and Starswirl watched from a distance as Orion dragged the dog to the ground, raised the sword above the flailing creature, and silenced its terrified wails. Being enemies was one thing, being attacked by them was another; now there is no longer a messenger to get help. 

“Where’s Regina?” Basil asked.

A dog fell from the air above, landing heavily into the snowy ground. Regina soon followed and landed next to Basil. They all watched as Orion returned, wiping his blade in the snow, leaving a thin red line between the trees.

“Did any of them have gems, we need something for trade?” Basil asked.

“No, I don’t believe so,” Orion replied, sheathing his sword.

“It’s a shame they decided to attack us, how close are we to the guild?” Starswirl asked.

“I saw a village not far from here when I scouted, it shouldn’t take long,” Basil said as he walked away.

The group moved onward, leaving the dogs behind. It was just another reminder to each of them that even though they’d accepted one another for the time being, the rest of the world continues its violent path. The diamond dogs had overthrown their masters and were now raiding travelers for supplies. Who knows how many more dwell within the mines?

It didn’t take very long for the group of four to reach the gates of a village, as they entered there were many earth ponies going about their daily lives but very few showed any interest as to why there was a unicorn and a griffin here. Whatever this guild was, it must get all kinds of creatures from just about anywhere.

“I’ll take Starswirl, we’ll try to find a doctor,” Orion said.

“Alright, meet us at the hall further into the village.

Basil and Regina proceeded to the hall at the center of the village. It was a typical earth pony structure on the outside, but on the inside it was much warmer and more elegant compared to the structures from home. The light was warming and the ponies were cheerful, except for the gruff looking brown pony that stared them down from a greeter’s table.

“Can I help you?” the pony asked, sizing up Basil and Regina as they approached.

“We are in dire need of food and shelter, unfortunately we were attacked by dogs and one of my friends was injured. I am afraid I haven’t much to offer for trade,” Basil explained.

“Touching story, I hope your friend recovers from his injuries, however I am running a business not a charity. I can’t help you if you have nothing of value to trade for my services, I’m sorry,” the pony said plainly.

“Excuse me! I’ll pay for two rooms for these unfortunate travelers,” a gray unicorn with black mane and red eyes said as he walked up to the table.

The unicorn used magic to lift a few gems from a saddle bag and set them on the table for the pony to inspect.

“I’ll accept this as payment, your rooms will be ready for you shortly,” the greeter said.

“Thank you, what is your name?” Basil asked the unicorn.

“Sombra,” the unicorn replied.

“You just made some friends today Sombra,” Basil said happily.

“Well then I’ll get my new friends something decent to eat, go ahead and take a seat somewhere I’ll bring it to you,” Sombra said, directing the two into the hall.

“That was unexpected,” Basil said, taking a seat at a table with Regina.

“I think that was the unicorn the dogs were after, it’s probably the least he could do for all the trouble we went through,” Regina said.

“I’d like to know why,” Basil said just before Sombra returned.

“It’s not the greatest, but it’s still something,” Sombra said as he set two bowls of pasty potato soup onto the table with some bread, and sat with them.

“Why do this for us Sombra?” Basil asked.

“Those dogs were out looking for me, it’s the least I can do,” Sombra said honestly.

“What did you do to get them so riled up?” Regina asked in between eating her soup.

“Well, I’m from the land of the crystal ponies. Unicorns aren’t all too common there, so when the dogs began to rebel, they required my abilities to quell the uproar. They sent me to the guild to be initiated into it and utilize its resources to make the task easier,” Sombra explained.

“I take it things didn’t go smoothly,” Basil said before breaking a chunk of bread and dipping it into his soup.

“You have no idea! I don’t even want to know what happened to the overseers in those mines. Problem being, the guild doesn’t have enough initiates to approve trials required to be a guild member,” Sombra said.

Basil stopped eating and looked at Sombra before saying, “That’s where we come in isn’t it, you help us out we help you out.”

“Now you’re thinking my way, also, I didn’t catch your names?” Sombra asked.

“My name is Basil, this is Regina, this this other dirty fellow is Orion,” Basil said, handing some bread to Orion as he arrived at the table.

“Good to meet you all,” Sombra said with a smile.

“How’s Starswirl?” Regina asked.

“The doctor’s a unicorn, healing him up with magic. He’ll be here sometime tonight so long as we are staying,” Orion said.

“So, what do you think about joining the guild with me?” Sombra asked.

“Give us some time to consider it Sombra, we’ll let you know tomorrow,” Basil suggested.

“Not a problem Basil, I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Sombra said before leaving the table.

“What was that?” Orion asked through a mouthful of bread.

“I’ll explain it to everyone later tonight. You get some food in you, and then the two of you can claim our rooms,” Basil said, receiving nods of agreement.

Orion took some bread and what remained of Basil’s soup, he then followed Regina to see the greeter about getting their rooms. Basil remained at the table waiting for Starswirl. At one end of the large hall was a great hearth. Basil stared into the flickering fire, thinking about what they had done in the past few days, and how it had gone against so much they’ve learned in the past for many years. There was definitely something more going on than he can explain. Basil also wondered why this guild remains untouched by the wars. What part are they to play in all of this? How much can he trust his old friend Regina and this unicorn they went far out of their way to save?

> Reasons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Reasons

Basil sat at a table in the local town’s hall. He had relocated closer to the hearth to feel the warmth and watch the flames. Starswirl soon arrived, he saw the lone pony sitting at a table half illuminated by the hearth’s fire. He walked over to Basil’s table and stood silently watching the earth pony. Basil’s green eyes mirrored the flames from the hearth, gazing into the blaze as if there was something hidden within, something others could not see. Starswirl sat at the table and looked into the hearth as well.

“Didn’t think you would be coming back,” Basil said, still looking into the fire.

Starswirl was silent for a moment before saying, “I was quite tempted to leave, yet something compelled me to remain.” 

“These past two days I have asked myself what compels someone to act against everything they believe in?” Basil wondered.  

“Curiosity, or perhaps there’s greater purpose to what the two of you have done,” Starswirl said, considering his fortune that he remains alive.

“I don’t see how. Lately I have made decisions that only increased our chances of being killed,” Basil said, regretting his curiosity which nearly killed them the first night.

“The two of you rescued your enemy, allied yourselves with a natural born predator, and risked your very lives to find a place that may not have existed in the first place. All of these things were in fact foolish and likely to get you killed. However you and your friend made it work this far, I want to see what happens next,” Starswirl explained.

Basil flipped the table over and dragged Starswirl to the floor. Basil’s dagger held against the unicorn’s throat, and growled face to face with Starswirl.

“Our lives are no game for your entertainment unicorn! You’re right, we brought you this far and now I want answers. What were all of you doing that night?” Basil demanded, the dagger shaving away the fur under Starswirl’s muzzle.

“We were looking for answers Basil. I am a scholar not a soldier! I dedicate my time to research not violence. I figured these growing winters are of no natural cause and I was right. There is something causing this freeze and it came after us,” Starswirl explained under the point of the dagger.

“What is it?” Basil demanded, shifting his stance to hold the pony down.

Starswirl took the initiative and used his magic to repel Basil away from him. After being caught by surprise the earth pony flew straight into the air, then promptly fell belly first into the floorboards. Starswirl had rolled out of the way and stood up.

“I don’t know what it is Basil, my own kind would rather blame yours than believe me. I want to stop it but I can’t do that alone. I want to work with you Basil, you’re the only group of creatures sensible enough to care and insane enough to try. If you throw away your resentment towards me then I will do the same for you,” Starswirl explained as he held a helping hoof out to Basil.

Basil took Starswirl’s hoof and stood onto his own, then sheathed his dagger.

“Fair enough Starswirl, you want to work with us? You’ll get your opportunity soon. There was a crystal pony that paid for our rooms and gave us an offer. I’m just as well considering taking it granted that conditions back home aren’t worth going back to,” Basil said as he brushed himself off from landing on the floor.

“Good to hear Basil, I won’t be so easy to bring down next time,” Staswirl said.

“Maybe you’ll have more fur to shave under that muzzle of yours Starswirl. You can share the room with Regina if you like,” Basil said jokingly, just before leaving to meet with Orion.

“I’ll take my chances in here,” Starswirl said just as the fire in the hearth blew out behind him, darkening the hall.

Basil entered the room Orion had claimed, it wasn’t as elaborately decorated as the main hall. However a simple bed is much better than the frozen floor of an igloo. Orion sat up on one of the beds with his back against the wall. Orion had taken his camouflage off and piled it onto one end of the bed with his sword resting on top. After the mess they had been through his black coat still managed to shine a little with the flicker of a lantern hanging near the door.

“The unicorn came back, says he wants to stick with us,” Basil said as he stood in the door.

“Why would he want to?” Orion questioned.

“Starswirl claims that there is something specific causing these winters, and wants our help to find it. Apparently he figured that his own kind would leave the blame on everyone else than advance his investigation. Now he might have an opportunity if we work with Sombra,” Basil explained. 

“Makes some sense, but you’ve yet to explain to me what this deal of yours is with the crystal pony,” Orion mentioned.

“He wants us to join this so called guild with him. So far as I can see, this guild has resources,” Basil said.

“It would be better than what we’d have going back to the earth ponies,” Orion said sadly, understanding the harsh reality of the facts.

“It would be better than what I have to go back to,” Regina said as she exited her room next door and entered the hallway.

“Not much waiting for any of us,” Basil sighed.

“Nothing I would want to be part of,” Regina added.

“So that’s it then? We form this ragtag band of fools and do whatever this guild asks of us?” Orion asked.

“If it means I get hot food and a warm bed then yes,” Basil said enthusiastically.

“You had me at hot food,” Orion said.

“Well if we’re a team now, where’s Starswirl?” Regina asked while leaning against the hallway wall outside the door.

“I’m sure he’s somewhere in the main hall still,” Basil replied.

“I guess I’ll have to convince him I won’t kill him in his sleep then,” Regina said as she pushed herself away from the wall and made her way to the main hall.

“You’re fine with all of this?” Orion asked.

“I trust Regina more than I do these unicorns Orion. We’ll just have to see what this guild has to offer,” Basil said after he closed the door to the room.

“I can’t help but think this is all a bad idea,” Orion said, looking at the frost covering the only window in the room.

“Of course it’s a bad idea, that’s all we have had lately is bad ideas, and that’s all we are going to get. Of course we could always go back to starving in the woods,” Basil said as he rested onto a bed on the opposite side of the room from Orion.

“What does this guild actually do?” Orion asked.

“As far as I know of it, they fight evil creatures that threaten everyday life for intelligent creatures,” Basil said.

“So this guild kills off these ignorant pests so that smarter creatures can focus on killing each other off in their own wars?” Orion inquired.

“That is about what they seem to do,” Basil said, removing his cloak and lying onto the bed.

“Seems we’re always killing something,” Orion said with regret.

“It’s the common trade is what it is. Could go for something more though, something better,” Basil said rolling over to face the wall.

“Something more huh? Well that’s your choice, I can’t really imagine the luxury of being more than just a fighter,” Orion said as he watched the frost on the window continue to accumulate.

Regina entered the main hall. Looking around the room she could see the unicorn sitting in the dark near the cold hearth. Regina approached Starswirl, who had his head on the table staring into the blackened hearth. Starswirl looked up at Regina with tired eyes and smirked.

“You’re not going to get any rest sleeping out here,” Regina said.

“How does a creature of such violent nature show such kindness?” Starswirl quietly asked.

“When you have a friend to teach you otherwise,” Regina said.

“So you are staying as well?” Starswirl asked, curious about her position on the group.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be really. Every time I meet Basil my life gets so much better if for just a short time, but sooner or later something happens that it has to end. I’ve decided that whatever happens to end it this time, it’s worth the little bit I get,” Regina explained.

“Basil might not be as terrible as he would first appear after all,” Starswirl said as he scratched under his muzzle.

“Basil is cautious of anything he doesn’t necessarily trust,” Regina said.

“Aren’t we all,” Starswirl said in reply.

Sombra, the unicorn sent by the crystal ponies, sat in his own room behind a desk. The room was larger than the two he rented for the others, and was relatively nicer, warmer, and intended only for one. A lantern hung above the desk where Sombra was overlooking a set of maps and notes. One map was of the area surrounding the mountains. Another was of the crystal mines.

The map of the crystal mines seemed to attract the most of his attention. It was the most recent version he had available since the dogs had rebelled. In order to get it he had to swipe it from under their snouts, but they’re very attuned to detecting intruders. Escaping with the map cost him the opportunity to sneak further into the mines, but it did bring some help his way.

Sombra needs the help of Basil’s entourage to end this rebellion by the diamond dogs. They would need better weapons and equipment which the guild could provide, granted they pass the trials. Nothing could be coming together better for him now, he’ll surely gain some following with the crystal ponies if he succeeds. They’ll be able to build their city and he’ll be a hero.

Sombra felt his plan was coming together nicely. So long as Basil and his associates join the guild with him. He even acquired a special crystal needed for the trials that a guild member said he needed. The crystal naturally generates some form of energy; they must need to power something in these initiation trials. Everything he planned rides on their success in these trials, and seeing how this group handled the diamond dogs they should have no trouble accomplishing this task.

There was also something special about these creatures, their region is pitted in a never ending war against each other. The inclusion of a griffin only complicates the structure of their working together. Sombra wondered under what circumstances, did two opposing enemies and a predator manage to cooperate with each other. Never thought he’d look forward to working with two stubborn earth ponies, a unicorn he has not met yet, and a bird lion.

Sombra figured out that even if this group joins with him, there is no knowing if they’ll really help him. He will have to do more than work with them, he will have to make friends. It seems the only way to ensure that they will follow through with their initial deal. Befriend and follow, should be simple enough granted they will most likely be fighting side by side at some point.

“If I can pull this off, we will all be hailed as heroes by the crystal ponies, and be in connection with the guild,” Sombra said out loud to himself.

Sombra gathered all of his maps and notes, rolled them up with magic and stuffed them into a saddlebag. He would find out the next day if Basil’s group will join, and he has plenty of crystals to trade in order to entice them. Even though these lands are in ruin, they could easily become renowned by working for the guild as unique as they are. 

> The Guild
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

										The Guild

The next morning Orion awoke to see that Basil wasn’t in the room. He put his cloak on and packed his few things and made his way out into the hall. He saw Basil, Regina, and Starswirl waiting together around a table. It was good to see that they had all chosen to stay. He made his way over to join them.

“Good morning to you Orion,” Starswirl said, greeting Orion as he approached the table.

“Let’s hope the rest of the day goes as well,” Orion said.

“What do you mean?” Basil asked.

“Nothing, never mind. Where’s our friend Sombra from last night?” Orion asked.

“Not too far behind,” Regina said as she nodded toward Orion.

Sombra walked up alongside Orion accompanied by another pony and said, “I’m glad to see that you’re all here, plus one I see. I’ve come to see if you all would join the guild with me?”

Basil took a good look around the table before saying, “I believe unanimously that you have our support Sombra.”

“Excellent, we are in need of skilled recruits. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Erik, I am you recruiter for the guild,” the pony that accompanied Sombra said with a classy tone.

The guild pony named Erik has a light blue coat with a well groomed black mane and brown eyes. His cutie mark is of a fluer de lis. He also carries a sheathed rapier and a dagger on either side of him. He was somewhat shorter than most in the group but his posture speaks confidence in his skill with a sword. These guild members may appear friendly but they certainly don’t come across as pushovers.

“How do we go about starting all this Erik?” Basil asked.

“If you will follow me to the castle up the hill I can explain what awaits you in the guild. There the guild leader Marcus can set you up and perhaps even issue your first task as initiates,” Erik said.

“Let’s be on our way then!” Sombra said enthusiastically, eager as he is to get started.

“If you would follow me,” Erik said once again.

Erik lead the group out of the hall and through the streets of the village; weaving their way past the village ponies paying no mind to their presence and going about their business. The villagers all dressed in thick clothes and walked close together to stave off the cold. Erik explained and answered any questions that the group had about the guild along the way.

“By now you may be wondering what exactly it is the guild does and why we do it,” Erik mentioned.

“Those happened to be our peak interests, yes,” Basil agreed.

“What the guild does is remove the lesser undesirable and most often evil creatures from the world of the civilized and sophisticated creatures,” Erik explained.

“Doesn’t exactly sound like the most desirable of occupations,” Orion said, taking into account the dangers involved.

“Of course it isn’t! Which is also why we are well compensated for our endeavors and services,” Eric explained as he opened the large wooden doors to the castle. 

Everyone took a good look at the interior of the entry hall of the castle. The room was beautifully decorated from floor to ceiling with carpets and draperies of numerous colors. The walls were covered with fancy art and chandeliers hung from the ceiling giving the room a warm glow. On top of all this was the welcoming warm air that attempted to rush out the doors behind them before Erik could close them.

“You weren’t joking when you said the guild is well compensated,” Basil said gazing up at the chandeliers.

“Reminds me of the keep back home,” Starswirl said.

“This way,” Erik said as he walked onward through the room.

The group approached two mares that look almost completely identical. They both have tan coats with brown manes and brown eyes. They were a shining essence of beauty until the katana they each carried became visible, intimidating yet barely diminishing their elegance. It was becoming ever more obvious that these ponies in the guild weren’t always local because of their rare weapons.

“Sara and Evelyn, it warms my heart to see your safe return to the guild,” Erik said to the mares with a bow.

“To think there might’ve been something in our way,” Sara said smartly, but with a soft voice.

“You try too hard Erik, though your kindness is much appreciated,” Evelyn said with an very similar soft voice as Sara.

The two mares brushed past the stallions on purpose with simple smiles and didn’t say word. Everyone but Regina watched as they walked away.

“Alright you all can ogle later. Weren’t we doing something!?” Regina said rather loudly to break the stallions from their ‘trance’.

“Indeed, and to the point,” Erik said as he continued.

“Easily distracted?” Regina asked Basil jokingly as they walked.

“Can’t exactly blame me for it can you?” Basil replied with a smile.

“Just watch me,” Regina snapped back.

“Sara and Evelyn are as beautiful as they are deadly. Each of them knows quite well how to utilize their beauty as a weapon. Often enough, giving in to your feminine side is much more a strength than a weakness,” Erik said as they continued through the castle that was elaborately decorated all the way through.

“I think I’ll pass on that Erik,” Regina said.

“Suit yourself, and here we are,” Erik said.

The group stopped outside a large wooden door with intricate swirls carved into the wood. Through the door they could hear a violin play, stop, the play again. Erik knocked on the door, but there was no answer, merely more violin music playing. Erik knocked again before opening the door. As they walked in they saw that the room was a large private office.

The office was decorated with rare trinkets and trophies from most likely all over the world. There was just about everything from skulls and claws to strange masks and musical instruments. A large carved desk sat near the far wall, a fireplace to the right, and a great pane glass window on the opposing wall. Near the window was a great red stallion with an orange mane and yellow eyes, crossed axes for a cutie mark. The stallion was playing a violin and writing notes onto a lyric sheet on a stand near the window.

“I apologize for the interruption, but we have recruits that wish to be initiated into the guild,” Erik said as he approached the red stallion.

“Erik! Good, it’s good you’re here. You’re a true musician, take this and tell me what you think so far,” the stallion said handing the violin to Erik and moved him to the window.

Erik read the sheet and played the violin. He would stop and speak with the stallion looking over his shoulder about the notes. Nobody else could understand what they were saying, but they were also unsure if the stallion had even noticed they were in the room.

“What do you think?” the stallion asked.

“Rudimentary yet surprisingly unique to your qualities Marcus,” Eric said as he set the violin on the desk and directed his attention back to the group waiting near the door.

“So these are the recruits I was told about?” Marcus, the red stallion, asked.

“Indeed they are, and eager for their first task,” Erik said.

“Excellent, if they complete their first mission then they are welcome to stay in any of the extra rooms in the castle,” Marcus said.

“What might that be?” Basil asked.

“Initiates must go through the trials of Knight’s Peak in order to become an official member. You must earn your place here by doing so. A certain crystal is required to make your way through,” Marcus explained.

“A crystal like this?” Sombra asked as he removed a glowing white crystal from a saddlebag.

“Same kind as that, but you’ll need a bigger one than that. The only place I could think to find one now is the unicorn’s keep,” Marcus said as he walked behind his desk and took a seat.

“I know of this crystal, and I know where they happen to keep it,” Starswirl mentioned.

“Excellent, it seems you are more than capable of acquiring this item; especially with your numbers and inside knowledge of its location. You are all welcome to stay the night here to prepare if you wish, and you will be free to stay upon your return. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to find an empty room for each of you here,” Marcus said as he organized papers on his desk.

“I’ll escort you all to the dining room and you’ll be free to go about your business from there,” Erik said as he ushered the group out of the office.

When the group entered the dining room there were three long tables furnished well with silverware, plates, and candles. The walls were lines with cabinets filled with fine china and great chandeliers hung from the high ceiling. A massive pane window at one end of the room overlooked the land outside below the castle. Erik kindly set out some refreshments for the group and made his leave.

Basil made his way to the window to look outside before asking, “What more do you know about getting this crystal Starswirl?”

“Couldn’t be more perfect timing actually, even in these hard times us unicorns certainly know how to host a party. A costume party of sorts, fancy dress, masks, etcetera. They are having it quite soon,” Starswirl was saying.

“A party? Starswirl it sounds as though you already have a plan to steal from your own keep,” Orion said with a laugh as he helped himself to a drink pouring from a carafe.

“I don’t mind doing it so long as we can acquire my research while we’re there. I want the freedom to resume my studies without constraint. I do in fact have a plan,” Starswirl said, sliding a cup toward Orion to pour him a drink as well.

“We’ve done everything thus far to avoid a confrontation with the unicorns Starswirl. I certainly hope you have a convincing plan,” Basil said as he looked back from near the window.

“I don’t want a confrontation any more than you do, which is why we’ll disguise you as unicorns,” Starswirl said before taking a drink.

“I’m sure there’s got to be something we could use here in the castle,” Orion said, waving his hoof about referring to the elegance of everything they can see just in this room.

“Yes, except Regina. I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do to conceal her,” Starswirl mentioned.

“Regina will be our way out in the event we’re discovered. After all she had no problem lifting a diamond dog,” Basil added to the plan.

“I’m fine with this,” Regina said, joining Basil near the window.

“So long as Starswirl can get us in, we’ll get his research and the crystal,” Basil said.

“I can speak with Erik about getting the appropriate attire,” Sombra said, agreeing to the plan.

“Starswirl, how soon is this party?” Orion asked. 

“We should leave as soon as we can in the morning, we wouldn’t last in the night,” Starswirl replied.

“It’s settled then, gather whatever we need, then we’ll leave at the first light of the day,” Basil said.

Regina turned towards the window and quietly asked Basil, “Do you trust them Basil?”

“Just Orion, but something tells me this might actually work. I believe we might get something more from this guild,” Basil quietly replied. 

“More, like what?” Regina asked.

“I’m not sure, anything, everything. A better life, something greater than the starvation and death that awaited us before; I’m thinking we might have a chance to build something instead of destroying. I mean just look at this place,” Basil explained, keeping the conversation quiet enough between the two of them.

“I didn’t think I would ever find myself in a place like this Basil, it gives me even greater reasons to stay,” Regina said.

“I don’t think any of us did Regina, and I think this is just a taste of what we’ll see,” Basil said as he looked out the window at the frozen waste of land, and all the village ponies struggling to survive even with the assistance of the guild.


> The Keep
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

												The Keep

Basil walked alongside Starswirl, they were leading their group through the forest carrying extra saddlebags which held their disguises. The snow under Basil’s hooves felt especially colder this morning after spending the night in a warm castle. Even worse is the plan they concocted to infiltrate the unicorn’s keep. Orion increased his pace to walk with Basil and Starswirl, while Regina and Sombra followed in back.

“Basil, something didn’t seem quite right back at the castle,” Orion said as they walked.

“You mean how luxurious the interior of the castle was compared to the state of the surrounding village?” Basil asked.

“Exactly,” Orion replied.

“I took notice as well, the doctor that treated me was a guild member and waived the fee. The shamble structure of his shop was just a façade for the inside was almost as luxurious as the castle,” Starswirl added.

“These guild members are strange ponies. Orion and I have been hunters for years and never come across a hoard like theirs in all that time. You can’t just get everything from nothing, this guild has secrets,” Basil said as they approached the mountains.

“There weren’t any farms near the village, and the earth ponies never traded food with any guild for services; there’s definitely secrets behind these ponies with strange names,” Orion said.

“Secrets worth protecting, I think it’s best when we return to be cautious of the questions we ask,” Starswirl said.

“Agreed,” Basil replied.

“Not to interrupt your little chat up front, but where do we go from here?” Regina asked from the back.

“Into the mountains of course, that’s where the keep is. There are many paths leading to it, it won’t be too hard to find,” Starswirl said as he took point and lead the group up the slope of the mountains.

“Do the unicorns here have trouble with the diamond dogs?” Sombra asked.

“No, not since I was last at the keep, the dogs never ventured into the mountains,” Starswirl replied.

The trek through the mountains had taken the group some time to reach the keep by the afternoon. They hid behind a ridge overlooking the keep. There were guards at the front gates checking in the guests and patrols returning for the party this evening.

“I’m not seeing a village Starswirl, only an entrance!” Orion said with concern.

“The village is mostly built within the mountain. It was carved from stone to utilize the magical properties of rare crystals found inside,” Starswirl explained.

“What kind of magical properties?” Sombra asked.

“So far, their best use is artificial light,” Starswirl replied.

Orion rested away from the ridge before saying, “So what you’re telling us is that Regina can’t bail us out when things go sour.”

“Sorry Regina, you’ll have to sit this out,” Starswirl said.

“You’re kidding right?” Regina asked.

“You’re making this real difficult Starswirl, how are we getting in anyways if their guards greet everyone that goes in?” Basil questioned.

“Unicorn horns I talked Erik into letting us use for this mission,” Starswirl said as he pulled two replica horns from the saddlebags they carried and handed them to the earth ponies.

“Are these real?” Orion asked.

“I don’t know,” Starswirl said with chilling uncertainty.

“They’ll stick to your heads so long as you hook the attached wires behind your ears. You may want to keep your hoods up. I believe we won’t need the party disguises, I can pose you as part of my returning research patrol,” Starswirl explained as he helped them set the horns properly.

“Are you sure they won’t realize we’re not from here?” Sombra asked.

“The guards at the gate can’t recognize every face in the village. We should get moving now while they’re busy so they rush us through,” Starswirl said before leading the ponies down from the ridge.

“I’ll just wait here then. They better be back before it gets too dark or I’ll eat ‘em,” Regina said out loud as the group left.

Starswirl lead the two earth ponies in disguise and Sombra as group down from the ridge. When they reached the main path they mingled between another returning patrol and a group of villagers. They reached the two great wooden main gates to the keep where they were greeted by a pair of unicorn guards.

“Starswirl, is this all that made it back, where is the rest of your research team?” One of the guards asked.

“They’re still out, it was too dangerous for the entire patrol to make it back in time,” Starswirl said sadly.

“I hope you’ve found something Starswirl. You pushed the king to utilize our resources for this expedition of yours. You face banishment if the king finds your efforts a waste,” the other guard said with disdain.

“As if it wasn’t a waste to start, head in Starswirl, your entourage is holding up the line,” the first guard added, referring to the three other ponies in Starswirl’s patrol.

Starswirl lead his group into the keep. Through the big wooden doors was a fairly large hall that was plainly decorated with tall windows on either side of the room. It seems this is where many of the travelers would rest before proceeding into the mountain. Basil, Orion, and Sombra followed Starswirl down a wide, arched hallway. Every so many feet were glowing crystals carved into different shapes that emitted a calming light that appeared blue against the stone walls.

The group eventually reached the end of the hall which opened into a massive cavern-like room. Here in the walls going in a circle, stretching all the way to the high ceiling were paths and homes carved through the surrounding rock walls. The magical crystals were placed everywhere from within the walls themselves to setting atop pillars along the paths as lamp posts. Even greater there was a massive chandelier made of stone and crystal, just floating in the center, which lit the greater part of the chamber.

“I can’t believe this! How did we get here,” Orion wondered out loud.

“Curiosity,” Basil replied in amazement as he watched the ponies walk up the spiral paths going up along the walls.

“If I recall right, it was curiosity that nearly killed us the first time,” Orion said smartly. 

“It got us this far,” Basil simply replied.

“Try not to look so surprised, you live here after all,” Starswirl said, gathering their attention and reminding them of their agenda.

“Right, where do we go from here?” Basil asked.

“Sombra and Basil can go to a cutter’s shop just up a path to the left here. Sombra has more than enough gems to trade for the power crystal we need. Orion can come with me to my home to help gather my research,” Starswirl said.

“Alright, we can all meet in the hall back where we entered the keep,” Sombra agreed.

Basil and Sombra followed where Starswirl had directed, and Orion followed Starswirl up one of the curved paths to a humble home carved into the wall. Starswirl used magic with ease to open the door to his home. Orion quickly realized that he’ll have to walk through only opened doors; because here it is actually considered unusual to use your hooves just to open a door. Starswirls home was nothing to brag about, as a matter of fact it was a mess of jumbled scrolls and strange trinkets. Orion thought it best not to ask about why this place is more like an office than a home.

“Alright, just get what you can and stuff it into a saddlebag, I’ll get what’s most important,” Starswirl said before folding specific parchments into a saddlebag in the next room.

Orion sifted through the piles of papers feeling more like he was robbing the place rather than packing. If it looked important he would fold it into his saddlebag. Though he couldn’t tell what was important, nothing on these scrolls or books made any sense to him. This unicorn has got to be nuts to call this research. As Orion was randomly selecting books from a shelf, he felt a tug on the sleeve of his cloak. He looked down to see a little, purple filly staring back at him.

“Are you with the patrol?” the filly asked.

“What?” Orion asked, somewhat surprised and confused.

“You’re with Starswirl’s research patrol aren’t you?” the filly asked. 

“Clover!” a white mare with pink mane and purple eyes shouted as she entered the home.

“Sorry Dawn, I saw Starswirl come back and wanted to say hi,” the filly named Clover said as she went over to the mare named Dawn.

“She was always a clever one,” Starswirl said with a smile.

“Starswirl!” Clover shouted happily, running over to greet him.

“Hello Clover, would you like to help me sort this mess like we use to?” Starswirl asked.

“Yeah!” Clover said with enthusiasm, following Starswirl into the next room.

“I’m Dawn by the way; I’m Clover’s foal sitter. I used to bring Clover here often, she loves to learn the different things Starswirl studies,” Dawn said, trying to be friendly to Orion, who seemingly tried to hide from her by looking back at the shelf.

“That’s nice of him,” Orion said as he continued to pack.

“Is something wrong?” Dawn asked, somewhat upset.

“No, I’m sorry. I just don’t see too many cute mares while on patrol,” Orion said, turning to face Dawn.

“Oh, well that’s ok, and thank you. It takes a lot of courage to go on the research patrol,” Dawn said.

“What do you mean?” Orion inquired.

“Your group stood beside Starswirl when he presented the idea of the research expedition to the king. It was good to see someone standing up for what needs to be done. I’m tired of all the fighting, there has to be a solution. That’s why I like ponies like you,” Dawn said, believing that Orion was part of the patrol.

“Oh! Well, you wouldn’t like me all that much. Believe me,” Orion said in response.

“You’re wrong, thanks for doing what’s right,” Dawn said as she pushed Orion’s hood back and kissed him on the cheek.

When Dawn stepped back she saw that his hood pulled his horn off the top of his head.

“You’re an earth pony!” Dawn said, shocked by his disguise, she was ready to bolt out the door.

“Wait!” Orion said, quickly standing between Dawn and the door.

“Why are you here; to rob us, to assassinate the king?!” Dawn demanded to know.

“None of those things,” Orion said.

“Lies,” Dawn said, refusing to believe him after he had fooled her.

“You said you wanted a solution, so the fighting would end right? That’s what we’re here to do. We’re gathering his research because he has nothing to present to the king, and he’ll be banished for it. I’m helping him to find the solution so this winter, and the fighting can come to an end,” Orion explained.

“What happened to the rest of the patrol?” Dawn asked angrily.

“You really want the truth?” Orion asked.

“Yes,” Dawn replied.

“There was an avalanche, that buried them alive in a ravine. I risked my life to save Starswirl from the same fate,” Orion said sadly.

“They were killed by accident?” Dawn asked.

“It was no accident, something unnatural caused it. Whatever it is, it’s same thing causing these winters, and we’re out to stop it. Please believe me,” Orion pleaded.

Dawn sighed before she reached up to fix the horn on top of Orion’s head. She then pulled his hood back over it to hide the wires. She looked him in the eyes not quite believing what she’s doing.

“Don’t ever make me regret this,” she said.

“I won’t, you have my word,” Orion said.

“Orion, is something the matter?” Starswirl asked as he entered the room with Clover.

“There’s nothing wrong Starswirl, but Clover and I should be going now. The party will begin soon,” Dawn said before leading Clover out of the house.

After they were gone Orion looked at Starswirl and said, “We need to go.”

“Right,” Starswirl agreed.

Orion and Starswirl made their way through the crowds of unicorns that gathered in the main chamber. They followed the hallway down to the gates where they met up with Basil and Sombra. Basil carried the saddlebag packed with the large crystal they needed, and Sombra carried his with now much lighter pockets. The group made their way out of the keep and back up to the ridge to meet with Regina, who was patiently waiting in the snow the entire time.

“By the way Starswirl, what were the unicorns gathering to celebrate?” Basil asked.

“The first day of summer,” Starswirl replied.

> Sweet Silence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

											Sweet Silence

The group had made their way down from the mountains and made camp in the forest for the night. They all sat around a campfire, the crystal they had gotten from the unicorns glowed from within a saddlebag, emitting a quiet hum as the light brightened and dimmed. The two earth ponies removed their horns and put them into their saddlebags.  Regina had decided not to ask what it was like inside the keep. She thought it better not to ask given that the group was silent since they came back. Though now it seems the mission had raised more questions that needed to be answered.

“Starswirl, the ponies that joined your patrol; they risked their lives to join you and speak against your king didn’t they?” Orion asked, gazing into the fire with sad eyes.

“They did. The show is over for the unicorns and it’s time the world knew the truth. Things between the keep and the castle are highly unstable,” Starswirl said.

“What castle?” Basil asked.

“My king had separated the village from his estate. His castle lies away from the rest of the unicorns. There, most of our military is stationed to guard him. He hides like a coward, full of greed, and ignorant to the suffering of his own kind,” Starswirl explained.

“Your king claims all for himself and leaves nothing for his subjects?” Regina questioned.

“Indeed, to the point he is afraid of us. He is scared of an uprising, a coup amongst his own. Even if we could manage to dethrone him, he has an heir, his daughter who is as selfish and ignorant as he is,” Starswirl said with hatred.

“The very reasons I had left long ago. It is unfortunate to see the same problems escalated amongst my own kind,” Sombra added with a sigh.

“Having your own kind to overthrow your king may be frowned upon, but what if we did it?” Basil asked, the flickering fire reflecting from his eyes under his hood.

“What you mean is if non-unicorns managed to assassinate him?” Satrswirl inquired.

“Yes, I’m sure that while your king gorges himself in his castle there has to be some guards you are acquainted with there. I’m sure they don’t find it amusing they must guard his selfishness while their families suffer,” Basil mentioned.

“That’s an interesting proposition Basil. Why would you want to help?” Starswirl asked.

Basil inhaled the cold night air and sighed before saying, “After this short time working within our small band here. I’ve come to realize that all I wish to seek now is what’s needed most, stability. There are no innocents amongst either sides, and we are all as guilty as the other. There must be a time we set things right.”

“Not likely in our lifetime,” Sombra said.

“Perhaps we won’t, but we could set things in the right direction,” Basil said.

“It seems like an intriguing plan, but we have to see what this guild has in store for us first. We must leave early in the morning, and we could all use the rest. I will take first watch,” Orion said.

Everyone nodded in agreement and laid their heads to rest. Orion sat and fed sticks to the fire. Thinking on Basil’s plan to stabilize as much of the world they live in appealed to him. That is what he must have meant by expecting more from this guild than he had thought. Everyone here seems to know what they want. Starswirl wants to save the world long frozen. Basil wants to save the ponies from self-destruction. Sombra wants to help a tribe build a home, and Regina just wants to live a life without the need of violent nature. Orion began to wonder, what does he want?

The next morning Orion swept snow over the smoldering ashes of their fire. The group picked up their saddlebags and made their way back to the guild castle. When they arrived inside the doors of the heated castle it once again felt incredibly alien to them. The guild made them ever more uneasy as more questions arose about its inner workings. Erik and Marcus soon greeted their return.

“So I see you’ve all made it back in one piece. Your first mission was a success, you can all clearly handle yourselves. I believe you are ready for your trials,” Marcus said with enthusiasm.

“I think they should meet Silence before we send them on their way, and perhaps a hot meal,” Erik added.

“Silence?” Basil wondered out loud.

“Follow me,” Marcus said as he lead them further into the castle.

“Every guild initiate for some time has met our eldest guild member as a tradition,” Erik said as they followed Marcus up a winding staircase.

“Silence Sweets is a remnant of the original guild back in its peak some years ago. She has a special clairvoyant ability to foresee objects of one’s destiny. Unfortunately she is both blind and mute, so do be respectful,” Marcus said as they reached a short hall at the top of the stairs.

In the hall was a single iron plated door that Marcus unlocked from the outside. As they entered a round room they saw that the walls were covered with strange drawings, there was a simple desk with ink, quill, and parchment. Along the wall was also a small bed, and on the opposing side of the room was an elderly gray haired mare with a white mane, wearing old white robes facing a pane glass window. Marcus walked over and touched Silence on the shoulder. She visibly shivered and turned around to reveal her pale white eyes and sad elderly face.

“We have new initiates Silence,” Marcus said.

Silence walked up to Starswirl and stopped face to face. Starswirl glanced over at Marcus with a puzzled expression.

“Silence sees what others cannot, sometimes I wonder if what she sees is more real than what we do,” Marcus said as Starswirl looked back to Silence.

Silence glared at Starswirl with blind eyes, she soon tugged twice on the hairs under his muzzle with her hoof. She moved on to Orion next. Silence placed her hoof on Orion’s shoulder, smiled, and moved on to Basil. She stood for a moment seemingly staring at Basil, but then she held her hoof along his cheek and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She opened her eyes, moved on, and stopped abruptly in front of Regina. Silence tapped Regina on the beak, nodded with approval, then proceeded over to Sombra.

Silence stood in front of Sombra, he wondered what seemingly irrelevant act she would use on him. He wasn’t ready however when she did. Silence cocked her head slightly to one side, then promptly pushed her hoof out to make Sombra stumble backwards. After Sombra recovered from his surprise Silence walked over to her desk and reached for small pieces of parchment, and picked up a quill.

“What’s she doing?” Sombra asked, still wondering how such an elderly mare could make him stumble.

“Drawing what we’ve come to call totems, something of significance in your future,” Erik explained.

After Silence had found five small cloth parchments, and made her drawings, she carried them over to Starswirl and handed him one. 

“It’s a picture of a tower,” Starswirl said.

Silence nodded and handed another to Orion.

“A heart,” Orion said, Silence shaking her head no in reply.

“Love?” Orion asked.

Silence smiled and handed the next to Basil.

“It’s a picture of a lake?” Basil asked, receiving a nod from Silence.

Regina sighed when Silence handed a picture to her before sarcastically saying, “A tree, fantastic.”

“A crown, interesting,” Sombra said after Silence handed him the last picture.

“Quite interesting, did you have anything more Silence?” Marcus asked.

Silence walked back to her table, felt for two more blank cloth parchments, handed them to Orion and stomped her hoof twice.

“Two more, why?” Orion asked, rather confused.

Silence simply smiled and quietly rested near the window. Marcus ushered everyone out of the room and Erik lead the group back down the winding stairs of the castle tower. Erik brought them back to the large dining room where more bread, fresh water, and hot food awaited them. Erik lit a fireplace built into the wall and made his leave.

“I’ll have to say, this guild is generous given we’re not even full members yet,” Regina said through a mouthful of soup and bread.

“Every time we converse about the guild it makes me uneasy. There are always stranger questions that are best not asked about this place and these ponies the longer we stay,” Orion said, sitting by the fire.

“Something was most unusual about Silence Sweets, she seemed unhappy,” Starswirl said, sitting next to Regina as she demolished a loaf of bread.

“Perhaps she’s afraid,” Basil said from near the great pane window.

“Why would she be afraid?”Sombra asked, knowing there was more to the blind, mute mare that knocked him back.

“I understand she cannot see, so why have her at the top of the tower stairs? I also understand she’s mute, so why lock her room from the outside?” Basil questioned.

“I think these things are best discussed at a later time, and place Basil,” Starswirl said with caution.

“I agree, the walls have eyes and the doors have ears. I want to know why she gave me two more blank sheets if we were given one for each of us,” Orion said.

“We can’t know for sure, but be wary of our new friends. We’ll go through their trial to become members. Maybe then we’ll get some answers,” Basil said.

“There may be a hierarchy in the guild ranks, we may still be left out in the cold,” Sombra added.

“Left in the cold, just like the guild villagers and every other living thing out there. Whatever happens from here on, we need to finish what we started together,” Basil said in all seriousness, and continued to look back out the window at the villagers below.

“I’m sorry, did I miss something? You’ve been talking like that since last night, what exactly did we start?” Sombra questioned, knowing he was the last to join their group.

“Enemies, we’re all enemies here, except maybe my-self and Orion. Even we have our risky disagreements. Not a single one of us should be alive right now. We all should have killed each other days ago! What I learned though, is that if you know you’re supposed to be dead, then you have a very good reason you’re still alive,” Basil said with sheer honesty.

“You say a pre-written destiny decides our fate. If you can give me proof, then I will join you on your oh so heroic quest to save a dying race from a dying land,” Sombra demanded rudely with sarcasm.

“Silence gave you your proof already. You wanted to save the construction of an entire clan of ponies, would they not crown you a hero for that? Starswirl researches magic, as any wizard should dwell in a tower. Griffons often make homes of great trees, and Regina seeks a place she can truly call home. Orion, his totem was love, what’s created by love is family, and who doesn’t want that? All I want is to die in peace, along a beautiful lake that I can’t walk over,” Basil explained.

“You truly wish to stop the winters, to end these wars?” Sombra asked.

“I do,” Basil replied.

“I never heard a pony put their life on the line so passionately for the welfare of any but their own kind. If you truly believe you can do it, then maybe earth pony, just maybe you’ll have my support,” Sombra said, he then sat down to eat at the table.

Orion sat by the fire thinking, everything that Basil had just said made perfect sense. Before he didn’t know what he wanted, perhaps family is what he’s searching for. Maybe the two extra parchments represent those he would come to meet later; even those whose destinies are not yet written. After all of this time however, what mare had he come to love? 

> A Walk in the Park
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

											A Walk in the Park

Orion lay asleep near the fire in the dining hall. Everyone else had rooms as well, but after they feasted they all chose to fall asleep where they were. Basil rested near the great window, Starswirl slept near the fire as well. Sombra fell asleep next to the dining table, and Regina slept with her head resting on a half-eaten pile of bread on the table. Yet there was another mysterious pony that entered the room and nudged Orion awake with one hoof. Orion awoke to see Silence Sweets standing near the fire. She turned to look back at him, her blind gaze was disturbingly accurate. Orion questioned whether or not she was truly blind. 

“Find harmony,” Silence whispered in a sweet yet hoarse voice before she suddenly vanished.

Orion awoke and stood up, he was only dreaming. He quickly made his way up the stairwell Marcus had taken them earlier. He arrived at the solid wooden door, it was locked and he had no key. Instead he slid his blade between the door and the frame. Just barely sliding it down, it forced the end of the bolt from the frame and the old wooden door creaked open. 

Orion looked cautiously into the room. Silence lay like a stone, cold and unmoving. He entered the room, blade at the ready. There was no one else inside, so he checked on silence. The elderly mare lay in bed with her eyes closed. Orion sat alongside the bed and brushed his hoof through her white mane. The poor mare was dead, but this had to be more than coincidence for her to appear in a vision. He noticed a piece of rope lying on the floor, so he turned around to check under the bed.

A short band of rope was stretched and torn. There was pillow there as well, cold and depressed, covered with tufts of gray fur. Orion sat up and lifted Silence’s mane to see the depressions and bruises from a rope. She was murdered, somebody had tried to strangle her but the rope snapped. So they resorted to suffocating her with the pillow to hide the cause.

“What reasons did they have to kill you Silence?” Orion quietly asked.

“The artifacts, the artifacts have the power,” somepony mumbled from behind.

Orion turned around to see Erik standing in the room with the door creaking shut behind him; rapier drawn.

“I must do as he says, I didn’t want to but he made me!” Erik shouted.

“Why?!” Orion demanded to know.

“She knew, she knew everything and now you know too much!” Erik shouted again.

Erik was very skilled with a blade, Orion tried his best to deflect the rapier but he was too fast. Erik’s rapier would just barely make contact on either side of Orion’s face and shoulders. Cutting just deep enough to make him bleed; Orion knew if he stayed trapped in this room he would die. 

Orion picked up a stool from the corner of the room and hit Erik upside the head with it. Erik lost his balance and the tip of his rapier pierced through Orion’s hood and folded it. Falling back, Erik hit the window pulling Orion with him by the hood. The two dueling ponies crashed through the window and out of the tower. They both flailed in the air until they impacted in the snow that collected on the angled roof of the castle. 

Orion painfully picked himself up from the snow; the rapier had slid down through the hood and inflicted a rather serious wound to his left shoulder. He had little time to recover. Erik rose up from the snow with his rapier and their blades clashed against the chilling night air.

Erik was gaining ground on Orion, forcing him gradually to the edge of the rooftop. Every time Orion deflected Erik’s rapier he lost ground, surviving this encounter was becoming increasingly less likely. Erik forced Orion nearly to the edge, so long as he had his rapier he had the upper hoof. However the snow accumulated on the roof had become unstable and dragged the two ponies down in an avalanche. They were carried off the rooftop and down the cliff of the hill the castle rested on.

Down at the bottom of the cliff near the edge of the forest, Orion broke through the snow gasping for air. He pulled himself out along with his blade. He stumbled about, trying to see where he landed. Before he had any idea Erik leapt over a mound of snow, now with both of his daggers. He landed atop Orion, but Orion rolled over and kicked Erik into the cliff wall.

“Die already!” Orion shouted as he thrust the sword through Erik’s neck and into his skull.

Orion staggered back away from Erik, who lay still in the snow gurgling from the last air in his lungs. Orion wandered into the woods, dragging his sword with him. His wounds only bled until they froze to his fur, but even then there were predators that could smell it. As he continued through the forest he could hear the patter of paws rushing through the snow.

A timber wolf leapt from behind a tree and latched onto Orion’s rear leg. It thrashed about as he cried out in agony. He dropped his sword and pried the wolf from his leg by the jaw. He tore the base of its jaw off and threw it into the nearest tree where it broke into pieces of sticks and branches. He rushed onward, the howls of more creatures following behind him.

Orion was gathering further attention. A group of three diamond dogs were patrolling the forest when they saw the wounded earth pony dragging himself onwards. The dogs attacked him with mining tools as they had before. The first swung a pickaxe at him, and just barely dodged it. He pulled the pickaxe to the ground with one hoof and forced the dog’s head down into the opposing end of it with the other.

As Orion cracked the pickaxe out of the dog, the timber wolves that were tailing him had flanked them. Three wolves leapt onto the second diamond dog and began tearing it apart. The third dog that watched his allies go down turned tail began to run. Orion lifted his pickaxe and whipped it through the air and into the dog’s back. Unfortunately throwing the heavy axe opened his wounds again. He staggered over to the second dog being attacked by the wolves. Picking a timber wolf up by its hind legs, he brought it down onto another crushing them both. Orion took hold of a branch that made the spine of the last wolf and tore it out.

“Help!” the second diamond dog cried out in terror before Orion pierced it with the branch.

Orion dragged himself through the snow, and further into the forest toward the mountains. Most of his wounds had frozen again, all but his leg and shoulder. The frozen night and the severe loss of blood was quickly taking hold. He was now running on adrenaline now. The further he carried on the weaker he became. His vision blurred as objects ahead of him blended together. He could hear whispers, voices carried by the wind. Orion stopped walking, he turned his head and stared into the brush next to him. Moments later a bolt of magic fired from the brush and struck him directly in the chest.

Back at the castle Basil was sleeping near the dining hall window. He was then woken by the sound of sheets of ice and snow sliding off the roof of the hall. He stood up and brushed the frost off of his fur from sleeping near the window. He made his way over to the fireplace where Starswirl greeted him with a nod. 

“I think of little but a time when these nights aren’t bitter cold,” Basil said quietly.

“Understandable, I would wish to rest in the grass and watch the stars,” Starswirl thought aloud.      

“It’s a fools dream,” Basil said regretfully.

“Then call me a fool then Basil, call us all fools. The least we can do is dream of something better. The real fools are those who gave up already Basil, the ones who say there is no hope left. Having that dream isn’t foolish, it’s the only right thing we know we’re doing for sure,” Starswirl said, pulling the fur down under his muzzle with his hoof.

“Fools for sure Starswirl. I have the feeling we don’t have as much time as we would hope to have to find out what the cause of these winters is,” Basil said.

“I agree, things may be as dangerous as they are now, but I fear there will be much greater peril awaiting us in our future. Perhaps we may wish to think of the totems Silence Sweets had drawn us as omens that don’t just predict a better future,” Starswirl explained.

“Ill omens? I hope not, I’d rather think of the cup half full than half empty Starswirl. I do agree with you though, these could mean something terrible as much as they could something good,” Basil said as he held his totem out to look at it.  

“Let’s be the fools Basil and hope for the best then,” Starswirl said with a smile.

Over at the dining room table the banter from the two ponies woke Regina. She slid her head up off the table and sat up. She looked across at Sombra who was still asleep. She stood up and walked over and sat with Basil and Starswirl.

“This place feels so unnatural to me. Like it’s everything we needed was just handed to us,” Regina said with a drawn out yawn.

“You’re right, even though there’s these villagers that live outside the castle this food has to come from somewhere,” Basil agreed.

“The food, tables, carpet, tapestries, doors and chandelier; it doesn’t seem possible all of this was accumulated by these guild members as young as they are,” Starswirl said.

“Not including Sweets,” Regina added.

“They locked an elderly, blind and mute mare up the stairs of a tower. Marcus had said that she was the eldest member of the guild,” Basil said curiously.

“Thinking hostile takeover?” Starswirl asked.

“Maybe, it would explain how they have a castle like this,” Basil said.

“We should leave as soon as we can then. Maybe in the morning,” Regina said quietly.

“If all of you have such dire suspicions of this place and it’s owners why don’t you just go exploring like your earth pony friend,” Sombra said as he staggered over toward the window with drink in hoof.

“You saw him leave, when?” Basil asked Sombra.

“Hours ago, I don’ know,” Sombra grumbled, listing to one side.

“He’s plastered,” Regina pointed out.

“He should’ve been back by now,” Basil said.

“I think we will have to leave earlier than just the morning Regina,” Starswirl said hastily.

“Well I think we have a bigger problem Starswirl,” Regina said worriedly and pointed towards the great window at the end of the dining hall behind Sombra.

The entire room began to shake like giant footsteps. Sombra turned around to face the window just in time to see a giant thin gray hand reach up and grab the stone sill outside. An extremely tall and thin troll rose up outside the window. The giant gray monstrosity with long slender arms and black eyes stood looking back at them through the window. Sombra slowly began to back away from the window. The bottle he carried fell to the floor and shattered.

The giant outside looked directly down at Sombra as he began to say, “Oh sh….”

Sombra turned to run as the giant let out a gut wrenching roar that could be heard for miles. It placed its giant hands on the window and leaned inward.

> Envy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

													Envy

Within the dining hall of the castle, Basil couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He watched as Sombra ran from the window back to where everyone stood near the fireplace. Outside the great window stood a giant, slender, troll; it pressed its flat hands against the window, and with all of its weight it pressed inward. The glass shattered in sections and simply slid off the tough skin of the troll. The troll had to crouch downward to fit itself into the hall as it ignored the hail of glass falling from it.

“Sombra, go find Marcus and Erik!” Basil ordered, holding his dagger, unsure of how much good it will really do him here.

“And miss this? I don’t think so,” Sombra said with a sinister smile.

Sombra fired a bolt of magic that struck the troll in the shoulder. It staggered back slightly and glared directly at Sombra. It proceeded inwards toward them, crushing the long dining table to pieces with its clumsy feet. Both Sombra and Starswirl were now firing into it, only slowing it down but having no other effect.

“We can’t take it on in here!” Basil shouted as the troll meandered to one side of the room where it pushed shelves and cabinets in front of the doors.

“It seems to be a lot smarter than it looks,” Regina said as she flapped her wings in the air.

“It wants to trap us inside, it’s going to take more than just magic to take this thing down,” Starswirl said as he maintained fire on the troll.

“We can’t take this thing down in here, it’ll just crush us. We need to force it back outside, it’s a sheer drop down to the village on this 
side,” Basil said as he tried to formulate a plan as the troll attempted to swat Regina out of the air.

“What about the villagers?” Starswirl asked with concern.

“Who cares! I want to know how this thing got in without a word of warning!” Sombra shouted, trying to keep his balance as he fired bolts of magic alternating with Starswirl.

“We can use the chandeliers to force it back. Regina cut them down!” Basil shouted as he tossed his dagger up to her.

Regina cut the safety ropes to a chandelier and tore it from the ceiling. The chandelier dropped down just between the troll and the others. She moved on to the next. The second chandelier landed onto the troll’s head and rolled off in pieces. The troll staggered back to the open window, being pushed back by magic.

Regina began to swing the third chandelier back and forth. Basil knew what she intended to do. He quickly took an oil lantern from a holder on the wall and ran just in front of the troll. He chucked the lantern as high as he could, and it hit just under the troll’s chin. The oil from the lantern ignited and burned its face, blinding it.

The troll wailed and flailed wildly as fast as it could. Basil retreated to allow Starswirl and Sombra to force it back with magic. Regina swung the chandelier back toward the troll and cut it from the ceiling. The chandelier hit the troll in the chest. The troll grabbed hold of it with both hands as it fell backwards.

It was over as quickly as it had started, the troll fell backwards with a pathetic groan and fell out of the window. Only silence and a chilling breeze carrying flurries from the window followed. The three ponies and the griffin made their way to the edge of the broken window and peered cautiously over the edge. Far at the base of the hill lied the unmoving corpse of the troll with its face on fire.

“Why was that easier than I thought it would be?” Regina asked.

Sombra barfed out the window and sickeningly watched as it snowballed down onto the dead troll. Starswirl held Sombra to ensure he would not fall. Basil walked over to the barricaded doors followed by Regina. Someone was knocking on the other side. Together they managed to push aside the cabinets that had sealed them in.

“You’re alive!” Marcus said happily as he pushed into the room.

“Lucky us,” Sombra grumbled before he gagged.

“What was that Marcus?” Basil demanded to know.

“That was a very scrawny, yet rather tall troll,” Marcus replied as he surveyed the damage in the dining hall.

“We got that already Marcus, how did it get in here without anyone noticing?” Basil questioned.

“And don’t say the window,” Regina smartly added.

“I honestly can’t say for sure my friend. It could’ve been after anything in here really. This place is very old and, magical. It’s a miracle that you all survived,” Marcus explained.

“What do you mean magical?” Basil asked.

“Come with me, I think it’s time I show you the rest of the guild castle,” Marcus said as he ushered Basil to follow him.

The group followed Marcus down through the castle, deep within the hill it rested on. The walk was very silent, and as they continued it seemed the entire village rested above a labyrinth of halls, rooms, and large chambers. They passed storerooms and locked vaults, even dungeon cells as they went on. Marcus lead them through a large room, a library full of old books and scrolls catching Starswirl’s curious eyes as they passed through. Eventually they arrived at a locked wooden door with the image of a strange tree carved into it.

Marcus unlocked the door and they followed him in. Inside was a massive underground chamber within the hill the castle and village rested on. In the chamber was a lake with a small island in the middle. The entire room was lit by white glowing crystals hanging from the walls, ceiling, even in the water.

“This place was down here this whole time,” Regina thought out loud.

“Yeah, I wonder what else he’s been hiding from us,” Sombra said as he regained his composure.

“You wanted answers that I was not yet ready to give you, but after you’ve defeated that troll I can see you’ve earned some,” Marcus said.

“What exactly is this place Marcus?” Basil asked.

“Why does it draw such dangerous creatures?” Starswirl added.

“The chamber you stand in was once the home of a very powerful, magical artifact. It was defended by the greatest warriors and creatures these lands had to offer. Unfortunately it had enemies, the kind possessing such unimaginable powers the old guild could not stand forever,” Marcus explained.

“So the old guild was destroyed and the artifact was taken?” Basil asked.

“The artifact was a great and magical tree of power that was moved and hidden so it would not be taken. There was no record of its location and Silence Sweets did not know where they had hidden it,” Marcus said.

“So these creatures still attack believing the tree is still here,” Starswirl said.

“Speaking of Silence, did anyone think to check on her?” Regina asked.

“I haven’t seen Orion in a while either,” Basil added.

“I suppose there is no harm in checking in on her,” Marcus said as he ushered them out of the chamber and locked the door behind them.

“Marcus, may I remain in the library, I may find something of use to us here?” Starswirl asked.

“By all means unicorn, read away. Though someone should remain here with you, if the troll wasn’t all that broke through,” Marcus said.

“I’ll stay, I’m not in the best of conditions to walk back up all of those stairs at the moment,” Sombra said as he took a seat along the library wall.

Marcus, Basil, and Regina made their way all the way back up into the castle. They climbed the stairs of the tower to find the door unlocked. Marcus pushed open the door to see the trashed room and the body of Silence Sweets lying in the bed.

“What happened in here?!” Marcus shouted.

“Whatever happened she wasn’t alone. See the blood on the floor? It trails to the window,” Basil pointed out.

“An assassin?” Regina questioned.

“Perhaps, she may have been elderly, but she was the last living member of the old guild,” Marcus explained.

Looking out the window, Basil could see that the snow had slid off the one side of the rooftop and not the other.

“I think our assassin made a hasty retreat out the window, and slid off the roof and over the cliff of the hill. I also believe one of ours pursued it,” Basil said.

“Do you think Orion went after the assassin Basil?” Regina asked.

“Probably, I don’t believe he would be one to let the murder of a helpless old mare go without punishment,” Basil replied, trying to place events together with what he knows of his friend.

“There is little we can do for poor Silence now. We should look to see if anyone survived the fall,” Marcus said before leaving the room.

Regina and Basil followed Marcus, closing the door behind them. They left the castle and made their way down through the village. Snow flurries blanketed the massive corpse of the troll as townsfolk gathered around it, both to ensure it was dead as well as to collaborate on how to clean it up. Curiously enough, none of them approached Marcus as they proceeded through the village. Instead they all appeared to avoid being in the way, as if they knew he had more important things to do than answer their questions.

When they reached the base of the cliff, Marcus was overcome with anger as he saw his companion lying dead in the snow pile. Marcus sat beside Erik, he searched the cloak of the dead body for anything that might give them some answers.

“You fool!” Marcus shouted at Erik as he removed a dagger from the cloak.

“What?” Basil asked.

“He carried a cursed artifact, the dagger of envy,” Marcus said as he wrapped the dagger in a cloth.

“What is that?” Regina asked.

“The dagger of envy drives and possesses the holder to extreme jealousy. I believe Erik became madly envious of your totems, so he murdered Silence Sweets. He is a fool for holding such a thing,” Marcus explained.

“Any other cursed artifacts we should know about Marcus, I don’t want my next bowl of soup to try choking me to death?” Regina questioned.

“There are six more, one for every capitol sin. None of which should be here, and this is what happens when I am not told of such things,” Marcus said as he carefully bound the dagger.

“Fantastic,” Regina said sarcastically.

“There is no sign of Orion here, I am certain there is nothing buried under the snow either,” Basil said after sifting through for his friend.

“The two of you head back to the castle then, I will tend to the body,” Marcus said as he prepared to move Erik.

Basil nodded and walked with Regina back toward the village until they were far enough away from Marcus to talk so he would not hear.

“Orion survived and made it into the woods,” Basil said as they walked.

“What, how do you know?” Regina asked.

“I just barely discovered his tracks leading into the woods,” Basil said.

“Why didn’t you tell Marcus?” Regina proceeded to ask.

“Orion didn’t come back to meet us, which must mean he discovered something about the rest of this guild that we have yet to find out for ourselves. Be on your guard Regina, the night isn’t over yet,” Basil explained.

“He must’ve thought Erik was ordered to kill him. We should meet with Starswirl and Sombra to tell them what’s happened,” Regina said.

“Agreed,” Basil replied as they picked up their pace back towards the castle.

“Basil, do you think Orion is still alive out there?” Regina asked as they made their way back.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Basil said confidently.

Elsewhere in the land, Orion was slipping in and out of consciousness. Each time was a blurred vision of ponies dragging him, accompanied by violent words and followed by a pleading voice. The last thing he had heard before drifting unconscious again was the sound of being clasped in iron shackles.

> Like Iron
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

												Like Iron

Peace, appeared impossible, the freezing grip of death itself elusive. Such peace would be a luxury. As desired as it might be, but one must endure the pain, must survive. The effort it took Orion to open his eyes was strenuous. He could see out of a stone doorway, a mare speaking with a light blue unicorn guard. They were unicorns. Orion’s legs barely moved; they only slid across the floor grinding his iron shackles against the cold stone floor. The mare walked into the room and sat in front of him. It was Dawn, the mare from the keep that had discovered he was an earth pony.

“How?” Orion whispered.

“Try not to move too much. It took some time to stop the bleeding. It’s remarkable you’re still alive Orion,” Dawn said as she took a wet rag from a bucket and cleaned his wounds.

“Remarkable isn’t the word for it. This thing, is downright unnatural! A monster like this needs to be put down,” The guard said insultingly toward Orion.

“Orion is no more a monster than you are captain,” Dawn said as she wrapped a bandage around Orion’s shoulder.

Orion winced as Dawn pulled the bandage around him. It sounds as if these guards wanted to execute him since they dragged his unconscious pile back from the woods. Did Dawn talk them out of it? Orion was unsure if Dawn had actually believed him or not before, now it seems she clearly does, if not she’s just merciful. If only the same could be said for so many others. Although he is not entirely sure he believes himself either, especially if this is where it gets him.

The Captain leaned his head down face to face with Orion before saying, “I am a soldier, I live to fight, to kill. We are not the same, you fight like an animal; Unmerciful and voracious for the next kill! Real soldiers fight with order, skill, and honor. None of which a savage thing like you possesses.”

“…and yet, this savage lives,” Orion cleverly replied through the pain.

“You’d do well Captain, to know not to ever underestimate your enemies,” a voice said with confidence from the doorway.

“King Bullion! Mi’lord, this is the earth pony we captured from the woods,” the Captain said after turning around to see him.

“Captain Dusk, would you mind stepping away from your captive then. We wouldn’t want this savage choking you to death with the very chains that bind him.” King Bullion said as he entered the room.

Captain Dusk nervously coughed then stepped aside to allow the king through. King bullion was a relatively normal stallion like any other, just with fancier clothes. His crown was a simple jewel studded ring resting atop his head. He knew approaching Orion could be dangerous though he showed no fear yet stayed just out of reach.

“Dusk?” Orion whispered.

“My brother,” Dawn said.

“Brother,” Orion said quietly resting his head on the rough stone floor.

“So this is your savage animal Captain? If this mess truly is as wild and dangerous as you say he is then he may be of some use to me,” Bullion said.

“My King I must protest,” Captain Dusk said with respect.

“Your sister made quite the effort to belay his execution, claiming he has no direct allegiance. Is this true earth pony?” The King inquired.

“I have allegiance only to myself,” Orion grunted.

“You will serve me unless you want to be dumped off the nearest cliff, you will live serving my orders and I will be your new King. I suggest you take the offer,” The King said.

“I have no king but myself,” Orion declared.

“Nothing like you could ever be king,” Dusk replied angrily.

“Who’s to stop me?” Orion questioned.

“Oh I have someone already in mind. Captain?!” King Bullion said.

“Sir,” Dusk responded.

“I want this door locked at all times and guards posted in the hall. Dawn may continue to help him recover. Once he is physically able, I want him unshackled and well fed. Give him something other than these rags to wear and bring him to my court when adequate,” King Bullion ordered.

“It shall be done,” Dusk responded.

“I recommend you behave earth pony, we wouldn’t want you to take a tragic drop from the company of my castle,” Bullion said before walking out.

“Wouldn’t be the first time, Orion said, returning Dusk’s glare.

“What happened Orion, where is Starswirl?” Dawn asked.

“The others were fine the last I saw them, I don’t know now. I was betrayed and attacked by someone and had to flee. I couldn’t warn the others, I want to find them,” Orion said.

“Can you walk?” Dusk asked.

“I can,” Orion replied.

“You shouldn’t!” Dawn snapped at Orion.

Dusk unshackled Orion anyway and he painfully stood up on his hooves.

“You’re a strong one Orion, like iron, I’ll give you that,” Dusk said.

“Since neither of you are going to listen to me I suppose I’ll find something suitable for Orion to wear,” Dawn said before leaving the room.

“Walk with me, and do not stray. Most of the guards here do not know of the king’s orders and would likely expect a commendation for killing you,” Dusk said.

Orion followed alongside the Captain as they proceeded through the castle, receiving odd glares from the other guards.
“I have your sister to thank,” Orion said as they walked.

“That you do, and that is what worries me,” Dusk replied.

“I can understand how that only increases your resentment of me,” Orion said.

“It’s not that I hate you Orion, it’s that she fancies you that I worry about,” Dusk said as they continued down an empty corridor.

“What she does is of her own accord Captain, I have little to do with it,” Orion said honestly.

“I suppose you wouldn’t know. What she told the king to convince him to spare you was most influential. She told us you said something similar,” Dusk explained.

The two ponies stopped outside a large double door with a guard posted on either side. They waited there a moment until Dawn came down the hall with a new cloak for Orion.

Dawn handed the hooded cloak to Orion saying, “Here, this one matches you perfectly.”

The cloak was dark blue with swirling gold trim along the edges and the inside was a smooth black liner.

“This is very nice, your king must have some plans for me already,” Orion said as he put the new cloak on.

The guards at the door took notice of his many scars and wounds across his shiny black coat, looked at one another, yet said nothing.

“Those who serve under the King directly consider it an honor. It’s only proper we look good doing it,” Dusk said before opening the door.

Through the doors was a small hall with a dining table and fireplace. On the table was plenty of food to eat, just not nearly as much as there had been at the guild castle. King Bullion waited for the three ponies to enter and sit down.  

“Go on then, eat,” The King said waving his hoof out over the table of food.

Orion took some bread and potato soup and ate modestly as the King watched.

“If I might ask, what is it you have in mind for me to do all of this for an earth pony?” Orion asked as he ate.

“You are my gamble. Dawn here has convinced me you are trustworthy enough to fight for a worthy cause. Now that I had heard of your ferocity in a fight I wish to fight fire with fire. Have you heard of a group calling themselves a guild lead by a red stallion by the name of Marcus?” Bullion asked.

“I’ve been acquainted, one of his own tried to kill me and so I ended up here,” Orion said.

“Then we have some common ground. You see, it is no guild, just a band of savage murderers. Not too long ago they raided a heavily guarded vault killing my guards mercilessly. The vault contained very powerful magical artifacts from the ancient era of our lands,” The King said.

“Artifacts from the ancient era?” Orion questioned.

“Indeed, my kind was entrusted with their protection long ago. Very few know of their existence or origin, and we’ve managed to keep the recent raid a secret from the main populace,” The king explained.

“How do I fit in all of this?” Orion asked.

Dusk leaned in to take some bread as he said, “You will accompany me and some of the finest soldiers in our garrison to kill their ring leader and retrieve the artifact.”

King Bullion stood up and walked over to the fireplace saying, “There is more to it than that. I do not believe a word you say about bringing the world to balance, about some creatures, or ever that our kinds may be at peace. However, if you manage this then you will certainly earn some credibility to your claims. I want to believe you Orion, I just can’t allow myself to through better judgment. So I will gamble and entrust you with this.”

The King reached behind the mantle of the fireplace and pulled out a cloth wrapped package. He carried it over and unraveled it out on the table in front of Orion, being careful not to touch it. The sword itself had a blackening shine to it, and has a horsehead pommel, a very fine and skillful blade.

“Be careful! Do not touch it unless you are sure to accept it. This is the blade of wrath, it will only accept those it deems capable of such things. It can drive a creature mad just holding it, turning them into a merciless killer without purpose or regret,” The king said seriously.

“This must be one of the artifacts you spoke of. Why do you need me, why not have your Captain wield it?” Orion asked.

“All of my soldiers are trained and far too disciplined, this sword demands someone more… unpredictable,” Bullion explained.

“If you can trust someone like me with such a powerful weapon, then I will take your word against Marcus and his guild of Marauders,” Orion said as he touched the hilt of the sword.

Orion immediately felt a sense of adrenaline, and power flow from this weapon. The feeling was surprising and overwhelming. He did not expect this, his fears and hatred grew within him. A fire of rage grew hotter with confidence as he suddenly became aware of so many possible ways to kill everyone here and escape the castle. Yet the feeling just barely remained distant but grew ever closer until Dawn touched him on the shoulder.

“Orion?” She asked.

Orion immediately let go of the hilt and said, “I’m going to need a sheath for this.”

The King smiled and said, “Make it so.”

The three ponies, Dusk, Dawn, and Orion left the King’s dining hall and had a sheath brought to Orion. He unraveled the sword from the cloth, feeling its influential power as he sheathed it on his left side. He breathed a sigh of relief after he let it go again.

“Does it hurt?” Dusk asked.

“It isn’t that it hurts, more like a fear of harming those around you. I recommend you keep a sharp eye on me, I do not want to be controlled by this thing,” Orion replied.

“I already am,” Dusk replied.

“I should be heading back to the keep with the next guard shift. You look good with that cloak Orion, bye,” Dawn said, glancing quickly between Orion and her brother before leaving.

Dusk simply sighed in frustration and waved Orion to follow him to where a team of four other armored unicorns were waiting for them. They all looked at Orion, some angrily, all questionably. They said nothing as disciplined soldiers; that King Bullion was right about. However Orion wondered why Starswirl and so many other Unicorns wanted this King dethroned. Unless King Bullion is so desperate enough to use him to get these artifacts back, and he didn’t realize until just now that with the powers these things hold. Perhaps they were the origin of his corruption. Orion decided he would not mention this, but it may be unwise to give King Bullion back such power.

> Enemy of My Enemy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

												Enemy of my Enemy

“Sombra, wake up you drunkard!” Starswirl shouted.

Sombra quickly raised his head off the wooden table he’d been resting on. At this point Starswirl had covered it with books and scrolls filled with all manner of magical nonsense; or at least that is how Sombra saw it. He always thought the scholars like Starswirl were wasting their time reading worn out texts about outdated spells. If they were worth anything, they’d already know about it and wouldn’t have to waste their time reading about it.

“What!?” Sombra cried out from his nap.

“Why do you have such an issue with what we’re doing here? You are the one who invited us into this mess in the first place after all,” Starswirl questioned.

“I believe it was the drink that put me under, it’s not something I come across too often these days. Most ponies would consider this a waste,” Sombra painstakingly replied.

“They do, and for good reason. It’s a waste of resources and drowns workers. No one makes the stuff anymore. So where did it come from?” Starswirl asked.

“You know the hair under your muzzle has been bare for days, and nothing’s grown back. Sooner or later like a uh, bush, no a tree is just going to pop out!” Sombra said jokingly.

“That’s not even relevant to my question Sombra. No, it came from a book,” Starswirl said.

Sombra made a popping sound with his mouth and began laughing hysterically. Starswirl glaring back at him knowing Sombra was potentially visualizing a tree instantaneously growing out of his face.  Thankfully Basil and Regina returned through the hall.

“Do you see this? I find something important and he laughs at me,” Starswirl said, pointing over at Sombra across the table.

“We’re leaving,” Basil said as he quickly walked in.

“Leaving why? I just moved my things in from the keep, I can’t leave my research. I just discovered something called a spark that could make nearly all of my spell theories a reality!” Starswirl said pleadingly.

“Is our fellow companion Orion alive Basil?” Sombra asked after taking a deep breath to regain his composure.

“I don’t know yet, but I am sure that our host is out to get us killed,” Basil said seriously.

“I had my suspicions on that, especially after I had discovered here in this journal with cursed artifacts. One of which is a book with the power to change ordinary or terrible things and make them extraordinary. Like turning a basket of rotting potatoes into fresh produce the size of your head, even a barrel of ice water into the finest liquor,” Starswirl explained.

“Any mention of a cursed dagger of envy?” Basil asked.

“There is, how did you know?” Starswirl replied.

“It drove Erik mad, he murdered Silence Sweets and tried to kill Orion and died for it,” Basil explained.

“So Orion did the sensible thing putting our most generous host under suspicion, turned tail and ran,” Sombra added, receiving a menacing scold from Basil.

Basil took Sombra by the shoulders and slammed him into the nearest bookcase.

“Don’t you dare consider Orion a coward you pig! You’re the one that talked us into this mess in the first place,” Basil said, anger in his eyes.

“You may be right about that Basil I did ask for your help, I asked all of you. So then, seeing as how there is a brute with powerful weapons at his disposal planning to kill us off; what’s our next step?” Sombra asked.

“There isn’t one,” Marcus said from the hall.

“Shit,” Regina said just before a bright flash of magic blinded them all.


In the woods outside the guild village Orion, Dusk, and the team of unicorn soldiers walked onward through the snow. The walk there was a silent one, Orion understood Dusk had his reasons, but it wasn’t Dusk he was concerned with. He was more concerned with the four other soldiers that have been on edge since receiving their orders to work with him.

“What’s the plan Orion?” Dusk asked as they walked through a now abandoned village.

“I’m working on it,” Orion said as they proceeded.

“Sir, this village is empty. They knew we were coming,” one of the soldiers said.

“Orion it’s not as though they’re just going to let us walk right through their front door,” Dusk said as they approached the doors of the castle.

Orion promptly pushed open the doors of the castle and walked in.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Dusk said as he followed Orion in, accompanied by his soldiers.

“This castle is a treasure trove!” a soldier said out loud.

“He said you’d come back,” a mare said as she stepped out with her twin into the castle foyer.

“Hey look, it’s you two…” Orion said vaguely.

“I’m insulted you don’t even remember our names,” the other mare said drawing her katana in sync with her twin.

“Where is Marcus?” Dusk asked.

“Where are my friends?!” Orion demanded.

“What do you intend to do, kill us to find out?” one of the mares asked.

“Damn right!” Orion snarled as he unsheathed the sword of wrath.

Orion’s blood began pumping with adrenaline as the blade instructed him to kill. His vision broadened and his movements became faster as he approached the mares. He engaged the left one first. She appeared surprised as their blades clashed. He forced her back, before she was fully confident in her skill with her sword but that confidence was broken by the ferocity of this black stallion’s aggression.

The other mare fought with Dusk and the four other soldiers. They would choose to help their officer and let Orion fight alone, expecting him to die and take the glory for their selves. However the mares were far more skilled and fought in a style unknown to the unicorns. She would dodge their magic like an acrobat but swiftly be upon them before they could charge another spell. They could barely avoid the incredibly sharp katana blade before their ally could fire another spell.

Dusk had stepped back a moment and looked over toward Orion, fighting the other mare on his own. Orion’s aggression was having a clear effect on his opponent. As agile as she was, the mare could only keep up for so long. It was like watching a shadow fight with a sword, his dark blue cloak swaying like a cape with every movement. The mare caught a slash to her front left leg. She lost her balance and allowed Orion to step to one side and drive his blade up through the bottom of her muzzle as she fell into it, killing her instantly.

“No!” the other mare screamed out as the soldiers dragged her to the floor as she watched Orion slide the blade from her sister’s skull.

“Don’t kill her! We need to know where to find Marcus!” Dusk ordered.

“Where are they!?” Orion shouted as he walked over, sword still drawn.

“You monster!” the mare cried out.

“Where are they!?” Orion repeated.

“Knight’s peak, the mountain shaped like a horsehead. That’s where they are and where he’ll kill all of you, but you’ll need the key,” the mare said angrily.

“What key?” Dusk asked.

“A gem one of the unicorns left in a saddlebag in the dining hall. Now just kill me, my sister was everything to me and now I have nothing!” the mare cried.

“No! If my friends are dead then you suffer with me,” Orion said before leaving for the dining hall.

Orion sheathed his sword and walked into the dining hall followed by Dusk. As Orion dug around for the saddlebag Dusk took note of the damage inside this part of the castle.

“What happened in here?” Dusk wondered out loud.

“Marcus happened in here no doubt, seems they put up quite the fight,” Orion said as he lifted a saddlebag containing the large magic gemstone they had gotten from the keep. 

“Is that our key?” Dusk inquired.

“It is, a key to walk right into a trap,” Orion said as he walked out with Dusk and the soldiers, past the mare sobbing on the foyer floor.

“You plan to spring this trap? What makes you so sure they’re even there?” Dusk asked walking out of the castle.

“I plan to spring his trap because he’s not expecting me to have this sword. I know he has them held somewhere because he’s waiting for me to come and get them. He also has more of these cursed artifacts your king is so interested in, which is just what he wants,” Orion said.

“Then why give him what he wants?” Dusk asked, knowing this won’t go well.

“Because what Marcus seems to want most is to have his head delivered in a bag to your king,” Orion said with fire in his eyes.

“You are one insane earth pony Orion, but I have my orders, so you have my support,” Dusk said.

“Any idea where Knight’s Peak is?” Orion asked.

“I do know where it is, it’s a carved rock face not too far from here. I’ll take you there, just don’t pull out that blade of yours unless you absolutely have to,” Dusk said.

Orion walked past Dusk and followed a bend through the village on the outside of the castle. Dusk and the guards followed him. They proceeded until Orion suddenly stopped. The guards became shocked at the sight of the iced over corpse of the troll that had fallen from the castle on the hill.

“Are you willing to risk your life to save your friends Orion?” Dusk asked, staring at the massive corpse.

“Would you not do the same if Dawn were in danger,” Orion said.

“That I would Orion, let’s get going then,” Dusk agreed.

As Dusk lead Orion and his soldiers, he became ever more curious about the earth pony. For so long they had battled each other over such meager things, and under any other circumstances they would have killed each other by now. Dawn had told him about a group of earth ponies and unicorns working together. However adding a griffon to the equation made it just another fillytale. Now however, he believes it. Even though Orion had earned some trust from him, it is clear that he is a dangerous pony. With the blade of wrath his king had given Orion Dusk knew that now, in the event Orion wanted to turn against them, they wouldn’t stand a chance.


Elsewhere, Basil awoke on a cold rock surface. He quickly rose to his hooves and cautiously looked around. He was in a great underground chamber, standing alone on a giant rock pedestal surrounded on all sides by a sheer drop that goes as far as the eye could see. There were other pedestals here as well, many had shielded domes of magic covering whatever was inside.
“Oh it’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone new arrive,” A voice called out from a nearby pedestal.

Basil walked over to the edge of his pedestal to look at who called out. He saw through a magic domed shield on a pedestal below his own. Within the dome was a strange mismatched creature with red and yellow eyes staring back at him. The creature was tall with a brown coat, the head of a goat, and a mismatch of claws, hooves, and horns. It somewhat disgusted Basil to look at it but it was the only other living thing here.

“Where am I? There were others with me, did you see them?” Basil asked the creature.

“Why? Don’t you know? You’re in prison. You must’ve done something horrible to be put this deep in Tartarus,” the creature explained.

“How did I get here?” Basil continued.

“Oh there’s many ways in… or out,” the creature said.

“Out! That’s what I need. I need to get out and find my team,” Basil said as he tried harder to see through other pedestal’s domes.

“You still have your weapons, which meant you were put here in a hurry. That allowed me the opportunity to use my magic to sabotage your pedestal’s dome,” the creature said, having already formulated a plan.

“That makes no sense. If you can use magic to help me escape, why not use it for yourself?” Basil asked, pacing back and forth.

“Does everything have to make sense? This dome is just designed to keep me in, now all I need is something heavy to make contact with the outside of it,” the creature said.

“You expect me to jump!?” Basil inquired.

“You’ll just have to trust me,” the creature said, an eerie smile on its face with one large fang sticking out.

> The Tower of Mirrors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

												The Tower of Mirrors

Basil stood atop the great pillar which served as his prison cell. He looked down over the edge to see the creature curled within its magic cell. Basil lunged from the edge of his pillar, falling straight down onto the dome. The magic barrier failed to break. Basil flailed in a panic to take hold of something as he slid downward. The dome was too smooth to hold on to, within was the wicked creature with a sinister smile on his face.

“You filthy liar!” Basil cried out as he slid off the dome to see the open abyss below him.

To his surprise however his vision was blinded by a flash and he landed onto the floor of a path that ran through the chasm. The creature slithered through the air and hovered above him.

“Now I’ve been called a liar, a cheat, even a grotesque monster, but I’m certainly not filthy. I think it’s you who is in need of a shower,” the creature said, snapping his fingers making a storm cloud appear above Basil and rain on him.

“What are you!” Basil demanded to know, drawing his blade.

“What am I? How about who am I? I am Discord!” the creature exclaimed as he pushed the cloud away with his claws and snapped his fingers to magically dry Basil’s rain soaked cloak.

“Am I supposed to know something here?” Basil asked.

“You really don’t know who I am, do you?” Discord asked, standing in front of Basil.

“No, is there a reason I should?” Basil replied.

“None that concern you, I can’t believe I’ve been forgotten. How long has it been since they trapped me down here,” Discord said as he paced back and forth on the path.

Basil watched Discord, wondering what his options were. He already tricked him to jump nearly to his death. However this creature could also prove to be most useful as a means of escape, even a weapon against his captor. He’ll have to remain cautious while dealing with this one.

“So then, Discord. Do you know a way out of this place?” Basil inquired, sheathing his sword.

“Indeed I do my little pony, however we can’t go out the front. As if a dog with two heads wasn’t ugly enough they had to put three on it, seems like something I would do,” Discord said, giving Basil a pat on the head and receiving an angry glare in return.

“Well alright then, I suppose there’s always more than one way to escape a prison. We’ll just use the back door. Do you see that small pedestal way down below in the chasm?” Discord asked, pointing down into the abyss.

Basil peered over the edge to look into the darkness below them. Discord wasted no time giving him a swift kick in the rump, sending Basil flailing over the edge.

“Damn you!” Basil shouted as he fell.

Basil’s vision turned to black as he fell, though it wasn’t long before he landed on a solid surface even harder than the first time. He stood up and watched Discord slither through the solid stone ceiling above him.

“Now why did we end up here?” Basil asked angrily.

“Tartarus was designed so that even if you tried to escape you’d only be teleported a cell in another prison. I suppose it was their way of minimizing the baddies who broke out of their bubbles,” Discord said with a laugh.

Basil watched as Discord walked around the perimeter of the stone room scraping a claw against the stone. He stopped as soon as a section of the stone shimmered orange like it was some sort of energy. Discord simply clapped and made a thick wooden door appear and opened it into a hallway.

“Ladies first,” he said, waiving Basil out the door.

Basil walked out followed by Discord into a long hallway that followed a bend out of site. Discord walked with his head held low below the ceiling and walked with his elbows sticking out his sides. Basil was forced to follow behind the strange creature down the hall past several other cells with walls that could be seen through. Most were empty, but those that weren’t contained the dust and bones of long dead creatures.

“So, what are the chances my companions are within this prison as well?” Basil asked as he followed at an extra distance to avoid Discord’s long scaly tail.

“There are several other ponies among the creatures of the dark in these halls,” Discord replied.

“How do you know that?” Basil suspiciously inquired.

“Magic!” Discord said waving his arms out his sides for emphasis.

“What of the pony who imprisoned me? His name was Marcus,” Basil said as Discord lead him through one corridor after the other.

“I’m sure that vermin who left me to rot in my dome is still here. He didn’t expect my magic to work outside the magic barriers after being trapped for so long. I can’t physically leave because there is still magic in place to prevent me from doing so,” Discord explained.

“Well, you help me find my companions and I help you escape,” Basil said.

Discord whisked around and picked Basil up by the scruff of his cloak saying, “Listen closely and listen well, my little pony! Any being with such power as my own does not stay locked up forever, and is not here without good reason. Now, you will continue onward until you reach the standing lake overlooking the tower of mirrors. Embedded within that tower is the source of magic preventing me from leaving. Destroy this and I will ensure your ‘companions’ make their way to you. Understood?” Discord snarled his orders directly in Basil’s face.

“Quite!” Basil uttered.

Discord snapped his claws and disappeared, dropping Basil onto the floor in a cloud of dust. Basil stood, now questioning his alliance with this creature, but he also knew he stood little chance against Marcus without everyone else. He continued down the path Discord had lead him on, hoping it was the right direction.

It had taken some time and guesswork but it became abundantly clear what Discord had meant by a standing lake overlooking a tower. Basil had entered a great underground cavern. On one side the entire wall was an underground lake, held in the air by some kind of magic. The opposing wall dropped down into a massive dark chasm. The wall of the cavern opposite of him was covered with stairs, paths, and balconies equal to the side he entered from. In the center of it all was a cylindrical tower standing from floor to ceiling, lit by many glowing crystals on the outside.

Basil made his way through the cavern to the base of the tower facing the lake where two heavy stone doors seemed to open automatically at his presence. However something far more disturbing had caught his attention. The lake behind him emanated a sound reminiscent of rolling thunder throughout the cavern. Basil looked behind him, beyond the barrier that held back the lake waters was a colossal serpent curled up in a state of slumber. Basil convinced himself to move onward, but couldn’t help but wonder how such a creature could be captured.

Entering the tower, the stone doors shut behind Basil. His next challenge, climbing many flights of stairs until he found whatever source of magic Discord had spoken of. At the top of each winding stairwell was an inner room, lined with nothing but the light crystals, and large mirrors. Basil walked slowly through the mirrored rooms; he found it very strange to see himself looking back at him from every direction.

About halfway up the tower Basil noticed something particularly unusual about the mirrors. He walked up to one and looked closely at the image in it. At first he just saw his own reflection, but soon his appearance faded to reveal what almost looked like a beautiful painting of a summer lake. Except that it wasn’t a painting, the grass and the trees moved as though there was wind, the water rippled and the clouds traveled across the clear blue sky.

“Magnificent aren’t they?” Marcus said as he walked from the stairwell to the next floor with a double headed war axe.

“You!” Basil said angrily, drawing his blade.

“Me? Why do you draw your blade friend? It’s not as though I would hurt you after you wouldn’t stay where I put you. No, that would be too easy. I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Marcus said with a devious smile while hefting his axe.

Basil knew there was very little he could do, he could either fight or run. So Basil ran from Marcus’s heavy swings and up the next set of stairs. He could hear the axe break through the stone floor behind him.

“Run and hide green eyes! I have all the power I need to tear this place apart in order to find you,” Marcus yelled up the stairs.

Basil ran up through the tower, searching for the source of the magic. For a moment he thought that Discord had lied, and set him up to die, but he found what he was looking for. On one side of this room of mirrors was a great glowing crystal far larger than the ones he had seen before, it had veins of energy flowing from it and down the rest of the tower. Basil swung his blade desperately at the crystal to try breaking it, and done nothing but scratch it. What happened next was most unexpected. Marcus flew up the stairs, grabbed Basil by the tail, twisted and flung him across the room into a mirror, shattering it to pieces.

“You are such a fool. This amulet grants me the pride of all three races!” Marcus yelled.

“I can fly!” Marcus yelled, hovering in the center of the room, watching as Basil attempted to stand.

“I can shoot!” Marcus yelled again as he swung his axe and fired a bolt of magic off the tip of the blade.

Basil leapt out of the way as the bolt of magic blew a hole through the wall. Marcus landed in front of Basil and picked him up by the neck. 

“… and I have the strength to defeat an army. What are you, just a lone earth pony in tattered rags with a hopeless dream? I could have had everything had your companion not gone looking where he didn’t belong. The troll I lured to the castle may have failed to kill you but I will not,” Marcus declared as he held the axe blade to Basil’s neck.

“Is the pride of all our races fated to always be treated this way?” Basil asked as his body grew weaker with pain.

“As those who are more powerful deem fit,” Marcus said, holding Basil out and pulled his axe back to swing.

Two bolts of magic came through the hole in the tower striking Marcus in the side and pushed him across the room. Basil dropped to the floor and looked up to see Regina carry in both Sombra and Starswirl through the hole and set them down.

“Basil, you had better never call me fat again because these two are heavy!” Regina shouted angrily as she helped Basil up.

“You’re all here,” Basil said with a smile, picking up his blade from under broken glass.

“Quite the reunion isn’t it. You creatures certainly have a knack for screwing things up don’t you? We’ve got the fool, the beast, the nut, and the liar. The only one that’s missing now is the coward that ran away,” Marcus said with a laugh.

Basil stood up next to Regina with Starswirl and Sombra on either side of them.

“Can we kill him already? This guy is really starting to piss me off!” Regina said, bearing her claws.

“Likewise,” Sombra added.

“Wait!” Starswirl said with caution.

Marcus gradually rose up in the air, hefted his axe over his shoulder charging it with magic, and smiled.

> Labyrinth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

														Labyrinth

Orion, Dusk, and the team of unicorn soldiers stepped out of a snow covered tree line to see a great horse head carved into the side of a plateau. The team stood in awe at the structure’s size. The wind swept flurries of snow from the top of the plateau over the horse’s mane, and icicles drooped from its eyes like tears.

“Truly this monument foreshadows a grim future!” A unicorn soldier called out.

“Yes, but for whom I wonder?” Dusk questioned. 

Orion stepped up alongside Dusk answering, “Certainly not ours, for every day its face remains frozen in anguish is another day I am confident it will soon weep tears of joy.”

“A warming of the seasons Orion? I understand Starswirl has you convinced these winters were caused by some force of magic, but we would have discovered it by now,” Dusk replied.

“An impossible task to say the least; to stop the weather even the pegasi could not control!” A soldier spouted.

“There are only impossible tasks for those unwilling to try. You do not succeed at anything without at least attempting to do it in the first place,” Orion said, nodding down toward the base of the plateau where a door appeared to be carved in the stone.

The team of ponies made its way down to the stone door at the base of the plateau. Orion inspected the door, brushing off some snow he found words etched in an ancient language he could not read. Following the seam of the door he found a slot that was just the right size to slide the crystal in. The letters on the door glowed momentarily, then the stone shuddered and the seam split down the middle to sway inward. The door had opened to reveal a long dark hallway, cold and thick with dust and cobwebs.

“Need some light?” Dusk asked as he cast a light spell around his horn.

Orion followed dusk and the soldiers followed in single file behind him. As they proceeded down the hall they could see more and more of the strange language and symbols etched into the stone walls and arches cresting the ceiling. Continuing onward they came to a doorway that opened to a spiraling stairwell that lead into the blackened depths of the earth.

As Orion was about to press onward Dusk stopped him with one hoof.

“Best watch your step, it seems an awfully long way down,” Dusk warned, receiving a nod from Orion.

The ponies proceeded down the steps that seemed only to lead into darkness. The deeper they went the architecture appeared more decrepit. Large wire strands seemed to run across the great drop in the center of the stairwell, seemingly to hold the failing stones in one piece. All until one of the guards, in his heavy armor, shifted his hooves wrong and slipped. It happened so quickly there was no hope of catching him as he plunged screaming into the darkness.

“No,” Dusk said in shock.

“Help, I can’t move I’m stuck!” The soldier cried out from the darkness below.

“He’s still alive!” One of the others shouted.

“Wait,” Orion said, stopping them from proceeding down the steps.

“Why you treacherous…” The soldier was replying.

“Listen,” Orion whispered, interrupting him.

The team listened in absolute silence as the unicorn below struggled to free himself in the darkness. They all looked at the wires supporting the stairs as they vibrated throughout the stairwell. The air seemed to freeze as the hairs on their coats rose from a chilling fear. On the bottoms of the stairs spiraling above them, many slender legged spiders awoke. Their many eyes shimmered in the light cast by Dusk’s spell.

“Run,” Dusk said just before the spider scurried for their fresh prey.

The unicorns fired spells in a panic as they charged down the stairs. As the shots struck their targets the spiders blew into pieces, as did the stairwell they crawled upon. As the spiders swarmed them followed by debris from the stairs crumbling down from above, the team of ponies fell into the pit. 

As Orion fell a spider clasped onto his belly. He drew his sword and slashed across the creature’s face. Its legs wrapped around his back and squeezed as it hissed in pain. The air was forced from Orion’s lungs as soon as they made contact with the web the fallen unicorn had become ensnared.

The unicorns clamored for safety, firing frantically at the writhing walls above them. Unable to pry the grasping creature from his chest, or cry out to Dusk for there was no air in his lungs; Orion swung his blade desperately at the webbing below him; Each swing becoming slower and weaker than the last, vision fading from the grim scene around him. The webbing finally snapped and gave way to the weight of the ponies that plunged into the darkness.

Orion opened his eyes and gasped for breath after he had landed belly down on top of the spider at the bottom of the stairwell, killing it. He was surrounded by hallways on all sides of him, hearing the voices of Dusk and the others, but he could also hear the sounds of hundreds of legs scurrying down from above. So he freed himself from what remained of the web and ran down the nearest hall.

“Just walk through the front door, expected an ambush not this…” Orion said aloud to himself, trailing off as he noticed an ominous green glow further down the hallway.

Orion reached a doorway that finally opened to a room filled with the green light. There appeared to be a large glowing wall that reflected like a mirror. He noticed a crease running down the center and put his weight against it. After a loud snap the mirror wall opened like double doors to reveal a small chamber, and a shattered lock had fallen to the floor. In the center of the room was a light pink mare, with a yellow mane. She was suspended in the air, surrounded by the bright green light. She appeared to be asleep. Orion tapped her hoof, and her visage shimmered momentarily to reveal a blackened creature with insect wings. The mare slowly floated to the floor as Orion drew his sword in caution.

“…fire heart,” the mare said quietly, just before she opened her glimmering green eyes.

“Fire heart, what is that?” Orion questioned, standing away from her with caution.

“What, who are you!?” The mare asked in shock as she stood on her hooves.

“Stay back, whatever you are!” Orion warned.

“Why, I don’t look that threatening,” the mare said as she began to pace the far side of the room.

“I saw merely a glimpse of what you are, and after what I went through just moments ago; I am inclined to believe otherwise,” Orion said.

The mare looked directly at Orion saying, “I don’t ever remember seeing you in these halls before. Where are the others?”

“What others? There are no others, this place is essentially abandoned aside from the hundreds of bloodthirsty creatures trying to kill me!” Orion shouted.

“How did they get out? How long was I asleep!?” the mare questioned in a panic.

“Listen, the only reason I’m here is to rescue my friends from a lunatic hiding down here,” Orion said in growing frustration.

The mare approached him with a demanding tone saying, “Let me through, the guild has no shortage of bloodthirsty lunatics!”

Orion blocked her exit replying, “The Guild! There is no more guild, it died out a very long time ago. Even the last living member lived out the remainder of her years in fear of this lunatic before she was murdered!”

“I don’t believe you!” The mare cried out in Orion’s face.

“Her name was Silence Sweets!” Orion yelled back, seeing the expression on the mare’s face change to the realization of a sad grim reality as he said, “She was gray, with a white mane, and very much beyond her years because she was both blind and mute. She had given me these.”
Orion handed the parchment totems to the mare. She took them as her eyes watered with tears, and she sat on the floor brushing her hoof across the drawn heart on the parchment.

“If I believe you, that what you say is true, can I trust you not to harm me if I tell you what I am?” The mare asked sadly.

“Surprisingly you wouldn’t be the first life I’ve spared without certainty,” Orion said with sympathy, sheathing his sword.

The mare stood up and handed the parchments back to Orion.

“My name is Venesia. I am a changeling that was locked away in this room by a friend for my own protection,” the mare, Venesia, explained.

“Why did he help you?” Orion asked, curious to know why someone would aid a dark creature; though not unlike saving the life of your enemy.

“Because he…” Venesia paused before continuing, “…he believed I could be something other than just a monster.”

“What makes you such a monster besides maybe your… other appearance?” Orion questioned, not actually knowing much about such creatures.

“My kind feeds off of love, and so you are the reason I am not weak after the magic had released me,” Venesia said.

“Love! What love do I have I to give?” Orion questioned.

“You said you came here to save your friends, it takes a great amount of love to go through with such a courageous act,” Venesia said honestly.

“Well Venesia, back down that hallway behind me is a few hundred, terrifyingly hungry, and very pissed off spiders about as big as we are. So I’m really hoping you have another way out of this cell of yours,” Orion said seriously.

Venesia simply smiled at Orion and walked back towards the far wall. She pressed against the wall to push open another set of hidden doors which revealed what appeared to be a private study. Venesia slowly walked into the study. A large crystal within what appeared to be a stone hearth emitted a warming fiery glow.

“This room familiar to you at all?” Orion asked, clearly seeing her attachment to it.

“It is very much so,” Venesia said as she lifted a small red blanket from a stool in front of the fireplace, brushed the dust off, and wrapped it around herself like a scarf.

Orion didn’t say a word as he followed Venesia. He knew that this, changeling, while it may be some form of monster also had some form of feelings as well. To her, this decrepit pit in the ground was once a thriving home for her just moments ago. He actually wondered how damaging it must be to have been magically frozen out of time like that, just to wake and see the world you once knew completely erased. Along with everyone you knew.

“So you knew Silence Sweets?” Orion asked as they walked through a long curving hallway that passed several small rooms.

“Silence was just a filly when I knew her. She was a sweet girl. Sadly enough she was always blind, and she never talked much. However Silence knew how to draw without her eyes. She always had this way of seeing the world in a different way from the rest of us,” Venesia said as she walked onward.

“She was really something special wasn’t she,” Orion said, Venesia stopping in front of him.

“It makes me so sad, and angry that she lived her last days in fear and murdered!” Venesia cried out angrily, her appearance changed to that of a thin black creature, with a crooked horn, the wings of an insect, and sharp eyes like a snake.

Venesia stared back at Orion in her changeling form. He held a grip on the hilt of his blade. She changed back to her pink pony form, a look of apologetic remorse in her eyes. Orion removed his hoof from the hilt of his sword and the two walked on. Orion proceeded while thinking that sooner or later making friends of creatures that are most likely the ones to kill him, will definitely swing back and hurt him in the end. However for the moment this unfortunate, creature, with her inside knowledge is his best chance of success.