Six of you, unlikely heroes, will be chosen to fulfill a prophecy, and may ultimately save Equestria... or destroy it.
Six unlikely heroes will be chosen to fulfill a prophecy, and may ultimately save Equestria... or destroy it. Takes place a few years after the first Hearth's Warming Eve incident. Δ
Day [?] The Great Cave, Dragon lands Fifth stage of Rising Sun
"What news have you?" bellowed the deep voice from the darkness. Despite the lack of effort put into them by the speaker, the words were loud and shook the very cave. A young adult green dragon stood there, facing the darkness, standing half as high as the cave ceiling. Any pony that were present would see the giant beast and say he was proud and strong. Maybe even angry.
But on this big a scale, one could see that he was actually downright terrified. "The ponies have walked onto the Sacred Land, my lord."
"..." The voice was clearly waiting for more.
"...They brought the Frost with them."
A low but loud growling could be heard, causing the large dragon to take a single step back. Had any other creature caused him to do that, it would be considered an act of fearless valor."...We must destroy the Frost."
The dragon cocked an eyebrow. "...How... how would we do that, my liege? It... it is snow..."
"It is snow that moves seemingly on its own accord. It is snow that follows creatures and smothers them in ice. This snow is not natural... IT IS BEING CONTROLLED."
"Your infinite wisdom proves itself once again, my lord," the dragon said with a slight bow. "But how will we find the controller?"
"By flying into the eye of the storm, of course."
The dragon got a look of sudden realization on his face.
"Go to the clouds above the ponies. The controller is no doubt following them directly overhead. GO- AND RETURN TO ME WITH NEWS OF OUR ENEMY."
The dragon hesitated, backing off slowly.
"GO."
On the single word, the dragon unfurled his wings, turned, and ran out of the cave, taking off into the skies.
Day [?] Sacred Land Third stage of Setting Sun
The sacred land looked as beautiful as it always did... at least, the southern half did. The northern half was defiled- it was shrouded by a colossal, ominous gray cloud that stretched for miles. Underneath that, the shadowed land was covered in a sheet of snow and ice. There were several gusts of wind that were visible, thanks to the tons of ice pouring down from the clouds above.
There was a particularly windy area around a small cave. It caught the dragon's attention, and he descended towards it.
Day [?] The Great Cave, Dragon lands First stage of Rising Moon
When the dragon returned, he was surprised to see two other dragons in the giant dark cave- a red one and a blue one. They both watched their green comrade as he flapped his wings and landed.
As soon as he did, he heard the low breathing of his master.
"Forestclaw. What news have you of the Frost?" the voice echoed.
Forest smiled. "It has already been defeated, my lord." The two other dragons shared surprised looks.
"...Is that so...?" The voice muttered amusedly. "I should either be impressed that you took care of it on your own, or amused that the enemy was so weak. Regardless... well done."
Forest was about to correct him by saying that it was actually the ponies who defeated the Frost, but decided against it. Compliments from the Great Lord came rarely, and the dragons who served under him had learned to accept them whenever they were given. "Thank you, sir," he said instead. "I barely had to lift a claw."
"Now then," the voice bellowed, moving on. "You have missed much. I have called Bloodscale and Stormbringer here because this is a matter of utmost importance. Instead of going over what I have already discussed with them, I shall simply show you. My sons... we have been blessed." There was the sound of a giant wing unfurling followed quickly by a gust of wind to the right side of the cave. Immediately, a small white orb appeared out of nowhere in the center of the cave, just out of the shadow. Wind encircled it, followed by sparks of magic and electricity. quickly, it shrunk, then expanded with a brief humming sound into a large blue portal, about as tall as an adult dragon, lined with a white glow around the swirling edges.
The three dragons before it stared in awe, jaws agape. "What magic is this?" Stormbringer asked.
"A magic well beyond our field of comprehension," the voice replied.
"Where does it lead...?" Bloodscale asked.
"Somewhere off-limits," came a new voice. Suddenly, the portal closed in on itself, leaving nothing. A low but loud growl came from the shadows. The three dragons turned to see a pony in fully plated black body armor, its chinks highlighted in red, staring at all of them with glowing red eyes. "Sorry."
The three dragons growled and snarled as menacingly as they could, but the pony seem simply unfazed.
"Who are you?!" the voice bellowed, now raised. "You dare enter my lair?!"
"Oh, you don't need to know about lil' ol' me," the pony chortled. "What you do need to know, is that you can't use this portal. You aren't supposed to have it."
"I am the Great Lord. anything I take is mine. I have taken this portal. This portal... is MINE."
The pony shook his head. "If it's not from this universe, you can't have it. Those are the rules."
"I make my own rules..."
The pony shrugged. "Too bad." The three dragons were utterly shocked at what the pony just said to their lord. "Guess what...?" The pony leaned forward. "So do I." There was the loud sound of a furious growl throughout the cave. "And as long as I'm within fifty meters of the portal controller, it won't work." He took a step forward. "So... I'll just be taking that..."
The growling increased. Then, the voice bellowed one more time:
Ah. Welcome. I have been waiting for you. Do not concern yourself with my identity, just listen. Equestria is in peril. Six of you will be ultimately responsible for its fate. Although none of you will remember any of this, let me explain. You are all from different worlds. Different universes, in fact. Different Earths. Different Equestrias. But all from the same time period. After the first Hearth's Warming Eve. When the magical land of Equestria first pokes its head out in the world, the three pony races working together for the first time. You will need that more than ever. I am bringing the six who are willing to help to one specific dimension. Or rather, a point in which your dimensions meet. This way you can meet each other without instantly noticing the world is... wrong. Look, it's complicated. Let's just say I'm an expert at this kind of thing, and leave it at that. What happens here will effect all of your worlds. So I understand if many of you will volunteer... But I can only choose six of you. ...You're probably wondering, "why us?" "We're nothing special." Let me tell you something about ponies. Greatness comes from where you LEAST expect it. When you submit your application, please use this rubric:
[[FOR SIDE CHARACTERS]]: Alliegance: ________
-Neutral
-Helper
-Antagonist
-Enemy (Attack on sight)
Pony Name
Gender: ______
-Male
-Female
Race: __________
-Earth Pony
-Unicorn
-Pegasus
Age: ___________
-Filly/Colt
-Teenager
-Young adult
-Adult
-Elder adult
-Elder
Appearance [Or insert a picture using pony creator] Coat Color: ___________
Reds
-pink
-red
-maroon
Oranges
-pale orange
-orange
-rust
Yellows
-pale yellow
-yellow
-brown
Greens
-lime
-olive
-green
-forest
Green-Blues
-cyan
-aqua
-teal
Blues
-Sky blue
-blue
-navy
Purples
-magenta
-lavender
-plum
Grayscale
-white
-silver
-gray
-black
Mane/Tail Color: ___________
-[SAME OPTIONS AS COAT]
Secondary Mane/Tail Color: ___________
-[SAME OPTIONS AS COAT]
-None
Eye Color: ___________
-[SAME OPTIONS AS COAT]
Mane style: (submit your description)
Tail style: (submit your description)
Cutie Mark: (submit your description)
Attire (if any): (submit your description)
OTHER (if any): (submit your description)
Personality Voice: (submit your description) (how their voice sounds)
Mannerisms: (submit your description) (habits or small minor actions they tend to do absent-mindedly or otherwise)
Assertiveness: _________
-shy
-balanced
-outgoing
-Iron Will
Aggression: ________
-Gandhi
-passive
-neutral
-aggressive
Mood: __________
-depressed
-mad at the world
-dark
-bored with the world
-serious
-bipolar
-neutral
-calm
-positive
-cheerful
-Pinkie Pie
Honesty: ________
-deceiving
-neutral
-honest
Selfishness: _______
-selfless
-neutral
-selfish
Modesty: _______
-modest
-neutral
-boastful
-Trixie
Courage: ________
-fearless
-brave
-neutral
-cowardly
Traits (list all that apply): _____________________
Ability (Choose 2 of the following to excel in, or pick balanced) -Strength -Speed (required for pegasi) -Intelligence -Offensive Magic (unicorns only) -Defensive Magic (unicorns only)
Info Home town: ________ (NOTE: Ponyville has NOT been founded yet, along with other advanced cities (IE: Manehattan)) -Canterlot (Unicorns mainly) -Cloudsdale (Pegasi ONLY) -Fillydelphia (Earth ponies mainly) -Other (small town) -None (wanderer)
Occupation (if any): _________
Backstory (shortened; I'll get the full story when you're selected): ______________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ (NOTE: This is BEFORE Celestia and Luna. The Royal Guard was tasked with protecting Princess Platinum.)
Any additional notes: _________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________
Just use that. Here's an example:
Clover the Clever Gender: Female Race: Unicorn Age: Young adult Appearance Coat Color: lavender Mane/Tail Color: plum Secondary Mane/Tail Color: magenta Eye Color: lavender Mane style: smooth, straight, flat Tail style: smooth, straight, flat Cutie Mark: clover leaf and magic sparks Attire: brown cloak Personality Voice: Tara Strong/Twilight Sparkle Mannerisms: raises eyebrow or taps chin when in thought Assertiveness: balanced Aggression: passive Mood: calm Honesty: neutral Selfishness: neutral Modesty: modest Courage: neutral Traits: kind; generous; noble; clever; helpful Overall Personality Description: passive and insightful, Clover is a student of the greatest wizard of all time, and thus is unaware of her own capabilities. She is usually undisturbed and is resourceful in tight situations. She usually just follows orders, but she can take charge if need be. Ability Intelligence Defensive Magic Info Home town: Canterlot Occupation: Student; Scribe Backstory: The apprentice of Star Swirl the Bearded, Clover has extended experience with many fields of magic. She spends a lot of time studying and exploring, looking for different plants or magical ailments. After sparking the Friendship Beacon during the Windigo incident, she became famous for convincing the Unicorns, including Princess Platinum, to unite with the other pony races. Additional notes: NONE
So yeah. I hope you all will take part in this... And not leave me to do it alone... ...Again... ... So many dead... ... -Hm...? Oh... yes... ...sorry... ...Right. This task is being bestowed upon you. You all will do now what you think is right. You may come here, see me, then just leave, not doing anything about it. Or... perhaps I have caught your attention. Perhaps you will at least apply, knowing that you have the opportunity to achieve greatness. Perhaps some of you don't seek greatness. Perhaps you just want to help others. Or perhaps some of you are just simply curious. Whatever the reason, if you join me... ...You will NOT be disappointed.
So don't disappoint me.
Day I Canterlot, Equestria High Noon
Silver Mine was walking down the streets of the newly constructed Canterlot... uneasily. He was an Earth Pony. Earth ponies had never been in Canterlot before. Or at least... not in a Unicorn city. Well, at least not welcome in a Unicorn city. "Welcome" being the understatement of the century.
Tensions were still high between the three races. Even after all these years after the Windigo incident, and after all the cities the ponies built together in the new country of Equestria, there was still racism and discrimination.
He could confirm that from first-hoof experience. He's had unicorns and pegasi call him brute, dirty, ruffian, dirt-brain... one unicorn even dared to call him "inferior." He received a hard buck to the face.
"And yet, here I am, standing over you, victorious."
Silver shook his head. That was back when he was just as bad as them. He looked around him. There were plenty of ponies in windows fanning out laundry or writing in their scrolls, and a few small groups near the fountain ahead. They were all Unicorns, save a few pegasi flying by overhead. He could hear the construction going on- hammers and picks and shouting. But he couldn't see it. He also didn't see anypony in particular looking at him, despite him walking the road alone. He was on his way to the mountainside quarry, where he would start his new job as a miner.
A rather polite unicorn, Golden Quill, had showed up in his home town and was looking for able Earth ponies to help in the excavation of Canterlot mountain. Certain entrepreneurs such as him were taking advantage of the other ponies' traits, such as the Earth ponies' strength, in their businesses, which they could never do before. Silver, recently deciding to move out, earnestly signed up and began his journey to Canterlot. It had been long and rough, but it would be worth it.
Finally he approached the fountain to stop and check his map. He pulled it out of his saddlebag with his teeth and laid it out on the ground. As he was checking which ways to go, a rather large shadow passed over, temporarily making it hard to read, before it moved away.
Hm. Must be the pegasi doing weatherwork above Canterlot. Good for them.
A large gust of wind followed, forcing Silver to clamp his hoof down to prevent his map from flying away.
Sheesh. They must have a storm planned or something. Or maybe someone's in a hurry.
There were some shouts and loud talking coming from the ponies around him.
Hm. They must be talking about something... arguable.
"Look! In the sky!" a mare shouted.
Hm. She must not be used to seeing pegasi- Oh, for love of- LOOK UP!!
Silver snapped his head upward and gasped. There, in the sky, flying straight for Canterlot castle, was...
...a dragon.
A blood-red, giant, winged, meter-long talons dragon. Flying straight for Canterlot castle. It flapped its great wings as it slowed down right in front of the tallest castle tower... and landed on it, hanging on the side. It raised its head to be eye-level with the balcony. Then it roared. After a few minutes of the public screaming in panic, Silver could see Princess Platinum and Star Swirl the Bearded appear from the balcony, right in front of the dragon. It growled.
It looked like the princess started to say something, but was instantly interrupted by the dragon, whose voice bellowed loud enough to be heard across the whole city.
"You will arrest the Obsidian Knight and surrender him to us, or Canterlot will BURN." Without waiting for a reply, the dragon jumped off of the tower, causing the princess to fall and Star Swirl to catch her. It hovered and shouted even louder: "YOU HAVE TWENTY-FOUR DAYS." ...before flying off.
Even with the dragon gone, the crowds were still frantically murmuring, with much panic in their voices, along with confusion.
"Who's the Obsidian Knight?!"
"What is a dragon doing here?"
"Pack our bags, we're going back to Cloudsdale!"
"WE'RE ALL DOOMED!!!"
Silver's mind, on the other hoof, was somewhere else. He quickly looked around, and spotted a nearby alley. He galloped into it and tucked himself in the corner, pulling out a small red orb from his saddlebag.
"Did... did he say... 'Obsidian Knight'...?" He said into it, with worry in his voice. He sure did. Ugh... Alright. I'll send out the rally forms. Don't worry, Silver. Help's on the way.
This is going great! So far I've seen about threea few several that I really like. I need more OCs, people!I have all the main characters, but I'm still accepting side characters! I want a good selection! Not to sound mean, but I'm sure you guys would like to see some diversity among the group. Not to say you're OCs aren't good! 'Cause they are!
Anyway, here's what I'm aiming for:
•two of each race, just like the main six. (check.)
•at least two of each gender. (check.)
•no two characters have the same personality, appearance, or abilities; everyone's different. (check... more or less.)
•balanced characters- each one has their own faults. Whatever that may be. (check.)
Here are some suggestions as well:
•submit about three ponies, preferably one per race.
•don't have a backstory that conflicts with canon lore or makes your character a big deal (hasn't happened yet, thankfully).
•most importantly- be original! I'd LOVE to see some very unique characters (not that I haven't yet), and they'd help the diversity aspect.
•don't be afraid to be generic! Your pony can still have originality and depth, but have a simple appearance and a simple life. (take Applejack for example.)
So, yeah! Thanks for your support! If you know anyone who's good with OCs, be sure to show them this, too!
Day III Canterlot Quarries, Canterlot, Equestria Dusk
Silver Mine did what he did best when worried about something-- he worked. He swung his pickaxe with strength and precision, hitting the same mark with each swing, effectively taking away chunks of the rockface in little time. When he got a good chunk off, he paused to regain his energy, wiped the sweat off his brow, and looked at the other workers in the vacinity.
All the big, strong, tough ones put all their strength in every swing, taking away small chunks every time. However, their swings were slow and inconsistent, effectively tiring them out and making little overall progress. The smaller, less strong ones were making swift, accurate, little strikes with their picks, taking away little bits at a time. While they conserved their energy, their lack of effort simply didn't make enough progress. Silver shook his head and rolled his eyes to himself.
Accuracy or strength. Why not both? He thought to himself, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. He continued his balanced strategy, making more progress in his sector of the quarry than any other three combined. After a while of working, he noticed the shadow of a pony cast over where he was working. He turned around to see Golden Quill, a middle-aged male unicorn with a rusty-gold coat and a slightly desaturated brown mane. He looked at Silver's progress and smiled.
"Well done, lad," he said cheerfully. "You never disappoint me. Good work."
Silver nodded and smiled back. "Thank you, sir."
Quill waved his hoof dismissively. "Oh, Mr. Mine, please. If you must use formalities, please refrain from using sir. Just call me Mr. Quill." Silver admired Golden Quill. He represented all good things in a pony. Understanding, flexible, sincere, kind, generous, and above all else, he treated everypony as equals. He represented the good things all ponies needed to be during these times. He represented hope. He turned to the rest of the workers and called out: "Take five, everypony!" There were some relieved sighs and grunts of appreciation, followed by faint idle chit-chat. He turned back to Silver. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot. These letters came for you, listed as 'highly urgent'." He pulled out a pile of letters bound together out of his satchel and held them out to Silver. Silver narrowed his eyes briefly in confusion and curiosity, then took the letters. They had no titles, just numbers and an adress-- Silver's work.
"Who are they from?" he asked.
Golden shrugged, his smile now gone. "Anonymous. The messenger said they were supposed to be 'the returned rally forms'." Silver's eyes snapped to Quill's. "He said the recipient would know what it means. Do you, per chance?" Silver nodded slowly and looked down at the bundle of letters. "He also said that more could quite possibly be on the way. I'll let you know if I receive any more." Silver remained there, staring at the letters blankly. "Are you alright, lad?"
Silver looked back up to Quill, who was wearing an expression of concern. Silver nodded. "I'm fine. Would it be too much trouble for me to take the rest of the day off?" he asked.
Quill looked off to the side with a frown. "It shouldn't be that much of a problem. We're almost done for the day anyway."
Silver nodded. "Good. Because I need to look over these for a few hours. You'll be sure to forward these to the inn I'm staying in, should more arrive?" Quill nodded with an understanding smile. Silver nodded back. "Alright. Thanks."
"No problem, lad. Will you be in tomorrow?"
"Hopefully."
"Well, see you tomorrow then, hopefully!" He trotted off with a wave. Silver looked down at the bundle in his hoof. He sighed, rammed his pickaxe in the ground, picked up his saddlebags, and walked off.
Dragons, he thought to himself. Who could possibly be crazy enough to think they could stand against dragons? He sighed. He would have to pick the most elite, fearless, battle-worn soldiers ponykind had ever laid-
"Silver Mine."
Silver froze. He turned to where the deep voice had come from, and his eyes widened. Standing a good five paces away from him was none other than the legendary Star Swirl the Bearded. The old mage glared at the Earth pony with a look of deep seriousness. His eyes were shadowed by the long brim of his hat, darkening his face, yet still allowing his golden eyes to glow unnaturally. Silver said nothing. He just furrowed his brow.
"Listen to me, boy," the timeless wizard said. "I know who you think would be best for this mission- but I must advise you... you are incorrect." Silver remained silent. How had he known of the mission? How did he know what he was thinking? "I am not reading your mind, boy," he answered, as if reading his mind. "But I do know what you are thinking."
Silver remained silent for a little while longer. His eyes narrowed. "How do you know who I am?" he asked. Star Swirl opened his mouth to reply- "More importantly, how do you know what I'm dealing with?" The wizard closed his mouth and darkened his gaze, lowering his head slightly.
"What you are dealing with is severely important, as I'm sure you know already," he replied, ignoring the question. "That bundle of applications you have received," he nodded to the letters, "must be looked at with wise prejudice."
"What kind of prejudice?"
"The kind I'm about to give you." The wizard sighed and closed his eyes. "Soldiers alone will not win your war. You need morale, strategy, familiarity, perception, innovation, devotion, and above all else, cooperation." He looked back up at the miner. "When you choose your heroes, don't pick the best of the best. Pick the most unlikely. Pick the different. The odd ones out. Pick the outcasts."
Silver looked down at the letters in his hoof. "Outcasts..." he repeated. He heard Star Swirl approach him, and he looked up. The wizard's gaze was less hardened now, and more sincere.
"I understand what you're going through, boy," he said softly, placing a hoof on Silver's shoulder. "Making difficult decisions is... troubling. But I trust you will make the best choices." He looked directly into Silver's eyes, staring straight into his very mind. "You're more wise and clever than you give yourself credit for, boy. If it's any consolation, I believe in you." He took his hoof off of the miner and backed up a step. "I think you should, too." His eyes wandered to a particular bulge in Silver's saddlebag and he smiled. "I know he does." With that, his form vanished. Not in a spark like a teleport, or a fade like invisibility, but like a wipe away from existence.
Silver stood there, looking to where the notorious mage once stood. He then looked at the bulge Star had referred to, and opened the bag. There, nestled among his things, was a glowing red orb. He's right, you know.
Day III Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria Dusk
Star Swirl canceled the spell, allowing his consciousness to return to his bedroom in Canterlot Castle. The old mage sighed. A knock came from his door. "Enter," he said. A royal guard cracked the door open and poked his head in.
"Are you alright, sir?" he asked. "I heard you talking. Is someone here?" He started to look around the room, but saw no one.
"No, I'm fine. No one else is here." The mage sighed and turned to his desk, which was littered with scrolls, flasks, bottles, and other magical items. "I will be departing shortly. I will be gone for a few days. how long exactly, I'm not sure. Please inform the princess of my departure, and let her know that I am at her beck and call, should she require my assistance."
The guard nodded. "Of course, sir." He paused, as he watched Star Swirl levitate things into his bags. "Does this have to do with the dragon issue?"
"It does. Please apologize to her on my behalf that I cannot protect her, and ask her to trust my judgment on the matter."
The guard's mouth curved upward slightly. "I think she already does, but I will, sir." The wizard nodded to him without looking, and the guard closed the door.
Coat Color: pink Mane/Tail Color: plum Secondary Mane/Tail Color: magenta Eye Color: plum Mane style: pinned up with a tiara holding it back Tail style: long and a bit wavy Cutie Mark: treble clef and bass clef drawn together to make a heart Attire: pink tiara Personality Voice: high pitched, talks very fast, can talk for a while without breathing Mannerisms: skips, hums, sometimes sings while talking, always smiling/giggling, also breaks out into song (sings quite high pitched) Assertiveness: balanced Aggression: Neutral Mood: pinkie pie Honesty: honest Selfishness: neutral Modesty: modest Courage: brave Traits: kind, clever, sarcastic (sometimes...), joking, helpful, defensive, protecting, OTHER: very, very cheerful Overall personality: -very cheerful, part of this cheerfulness comes from the satisfaction she gets from making others happy -a dreamer, often goes on about what she wants for the future -creative, thinks of ridiculous sounding but actually genius plans (kind of like Mr Bean?) -will never, ever leave a pony behind, and will never lie unless it is to protect some pony else, also never breaks a promise unless it is to protect some pony else -can get annoying because she talks too much Ability Intelligence Defensive Magic Info Home town: Canterlot Occupation: musician/entertainer, mainly sings, but also plays any instrument if asked Backstory: during the separation of the three tribes, melody was quite a sad filly, but began to find happiness when she sang, which in fact made a lot of the tribe quite happy. Princess platinum quite liked melody and after asking for her mother's permission, she became the royal entertainer. Her father had died for reasons unknown. She continued with this job once the three tribes came together.
Hm. An active, excited young mare- always loves to make somepony smile. A good morale booster, perhaps. This may prove to be more useful than some of you think...
Oathbound Gender: Male Race: Earth Pony Age: Adult Appearance Coat Color: Gray Mane/Tail Color: Red Secondary Mane/Tail Color: Yellow Eye Color: Silver Mane style: combed back, split Tail style: Tied together in a rope-ish manner Cutie Mark: A golden shield criss-crossed by two light-blue axes Attire: When abroad, he usually wears a cloak which cover most of his flank, golden leaves on the cloak form an image of his cutie mark. OTHER: He wears a sapphire amulet which gives him magical powers. Unfortunately, he also suffers from a rare disease that makes him unable to take the amulet off for any period of time without causing rapid organ decomposition and premature aging, which will kill him if left unattended for too long. Personality Voice: A low tone of voice, a bit like "Flutterguy", but slightly higher. Mannerisms: He is courteous, mindful of what he does around others. When he is alone, he usually meditates, though he also sometimes summons his magical axes and sharpens them against one another despite the needlessness of it. Assertiveness: Balanced Aggression: Neutral Mood: Neutral Honesty: Neutral Selfishness: Selfless Modesty: Neutral Courage: Fearless Traits: Noble, Chivalrous, Intimidating, Protecting, Defensive, OTHER: Hard To Befriend (He is welcoming to other ponies and strangers of all kinds, but to actually befriend him is a different matter) Overall Personality Description: Oathbound is very, VERY protective of those that he loves. He is slow to make friends of those he considers enemies, but can overcome his past to greet the future. Is willing to go to any lengths to please his friends and to commit any sacrifice for the good of ponykind, even if it means his death. When he wants to, he can become a very intimidating pony to face. He sometimes comes into conflict with his negative emotions, which try to take control of his body (Unimportant for this story), usually with only limited success. In addition, like his name implies, once he swears an oath, he will not take it back under any circumstances. Getting him to swear something however, is an achievement in and of itself. Ability Strength Offensive Magic (Due to his amulet) Info Home town: Canterlot. Occupation: Ex-Captain of the Guard Backstory: Originally he had no home to speak of, as he was a wandering pony with no parents. However, eventually he found the city of Canterlot and saw the Royal Guard. Inspired, he began training to become a guard himself. Quickly proving his worth, he rose through the ranks to become the Captain of the Guard. Eventually though he resigned out of personal shame when he had failed to protect the princess from an assault, though the princess lived. He is still good friends with the princess, but he cannot bring himself to serve directly under her again. Any additional notes: The amulet he wears is basically the only thing keeping him alive. Take it off and his body will start to rapidly decompose due to a disease which makes his body addicted to magic, which kills him if he cannot keep a steady stream of magic up through the amulet. So far there has been no cure.
Ah, yes, the dignified war veteran. His abilities will be most useful... but will his... "condition" prove to be a problem...?
Aurora Dancer Gender: Female Race: Pegasus Age: Teenager/Young adult Appearance Coat Color: night blue/black Mane/Tail Color: light green Eye Color: light green Mane style: longer, wavy almost curly hair Tail style: longer, wavy almost curly hair, the ends kept together with a night blue ribbon Cutie Mark: an aurora borealis Personality Voice: normal young mare Mannerisms: when something excites her she begins to talk like a waterfall and begins to circle around the pony she's talking to, raising and spiraling into the air as if she was dancing and ending taking her first breath since she started talking just before stating her last word- oh, and she likes to dance through the night sky Assertiveness: outgoing Aggression: neutral Mood: mostly positive, though she sometimes starts brooding and then it takes a bit for her to snap out of it Honesty: honest Selfishness: neutral a bit selfless if she considers somepony to be a good friend Modesty: modest Courage: neutral Traits: kind, joking, clever, jokingly clever Overall Personality Description: She loves to dance though mostly not in front of an audience but for herself and she is able to forget during these times, actually not even realizing when someone would approach her during her dance. She has a bit of a problem making friends... or keeping them. While she has no problem when being approached by a stranger she doesn't like to do so herself - and she can become a bit overbearing if she gets used to ones company, easily starting one of her "waterfall talks" about the most stupid and normal things Ability Speed Intelligence Info Home town: Cloudsdale Occupation: aspiring dancer Backstory: even the militaristic pegasus society knows art - their architecture is a sight to behold as are the graceful dancers spiraling though the sky and between the cloud colums. Aurora loved to watch as a young filly and one night she sneaked out and tried it herself, firstly ever so slightly one night she completely forgot about her surroundings and rose higher into the sky and when she finally opened her eyes she regarded the greenish almost eerie light in the night sky, her namesake, and it was for her like an instruction on just how she was supposed to move.
The modest young dancer... her relation to the magnetospheric lights is... interesting.
Carina Gender: Female Race: Unicorn Age: Young Adult Appearance Coat Color: Navy Mane/Tail Color: Gray Eye Color: Sky Blue Mane style: Short in the back, bangs in the front generally with a hairband. Tail style: short Cutie Mark: A pencil drawing a curving line OTHER (if any): Almost always carrying around a beaten up and paint splotched Phoenix stuffed animal Personality Voice: quiet with an edge of nervousness generally Mannerisms: When nervous during conversations she noticeably to whisper to her stuffed phoenix asking for advice, which is almost all conversation with ponies who aren't her close friends. Will occasionally bring out her sketch book and just start drawing regardless of what she is doing at the time. Assertiveness: Shy Aggression: passive Mood: cheerful Honesty: honest Selfishness: neutral Modesty: modest Courage: cowardly Traits (list all that apply): Kind, Generous, Nervous Overall Personality Description: Extremely nervous around other ponies unless she has gotten to know them well, looks for the beauty in the world, especially the world under the light of the moon. While hesitant to meet new ponies Carina is extremely trusting of those ponies who do manage to befriend her. Ability Intelligence Speed Info Home town: Canterlot Occupation: Artist Backstory: Born in Old Equestria, Carina was orphaned during the Windigo crisis, left to the care of an orphanage. It was in the orphanage when she first took up art. When the Unicorn Kingdom finally made their journey to New Equestria, Carina was forced to leave almost all of her possessions behind keeping only her sketch book, pencils, and most importantly her stuffed Phoenix 'Flare', which was a present from her parents. After reaching adulthood, Carina has taken to selling sketches and painting to earn a living, along with various odd jobs to make ends meet.
Huh. A passive, shy, childish artist with a stuffed animal and a troubled childhood... What could she possibly offer the group...? Again... more than you'd think.
Bronze Feather Gender: Male Race: Pegasus Age: Young Adult Appearance Coat Color: Copper, Wing underside color; silver Mane/Tail Color: Red Eye Color: sky blue Mane style: same hair style as doctor whooves Tail style: again like doctor whooves Cutie Mark: A cog, six spokes, and is an iron color. Attire: wears a long brown boot like glove on his right forehoof, as well as a brown vest, which has plenty of pockets. Sometimes wears a cloak to hide his wings from others' view. OTHER: Taller than the average pony and is kinda slim. Personality Voice: A little bit deep due to his size but doesn't carry much weight. Mannerisms: Once his mind is in motion so is the rest of him. He can't sit still at times. Taps on the ground a lot. Sometimes when his mind wanders, so does he. Assertiveness: outgoing Aggression: neutral Mood: positive Honesty: Neutral Selfishness: Selfless Modesty: Boastful Courage: Brave Traits: uncouth, clever, helpful, defensive, protective, generous, OTHER: creative Overall Personality Description: He is a very protective of his friends and quite happy with life until people begin to look down on him. At times will feel like an outcast and even more times will feel that he doesn't belong. Ability Speed Intelligence Info Home town: None Occupation: blacksmith/inventor Backstory: Born in Cloudsdale, Bronze Feather never truly fit in with the other pegasi. Eventually his love of inventing and disinterest in the norm of pegasus society caused him to be banished from cloudsdale. He now lives roaming from town to town selling his wares and helping anypony he can. He now hides his wings behind a cloak due to the hatred earth ponies have for pegasi.
Little does he know that tensions aren't as high as they used to be between the races... However, his innovation may very well prove to be a useful asset.
Coal Scorcher Gender: Male Race: Earth Pony Age: Young adult Appearance Coat Color: Brown Mane/Tail Color: gold Eye Color: teal Mane style: long, messy Tail Style: short, messy Cutie Mark: A piece of coal over a flame background Attire: None, he likely would burn them up in an accident anyway. OTHER: He usually carries around a burnt sliver of wood in his mane, but it is usually indistinguishable from the hair itself. Only those who look closely can see that he actually has it in his hair. Personality Voice: Rather regular voice, a bit whiny in tone but he never whines really. Mannerisms: When he is nervous he usually takes a piece of coal or a rock and just throw it up and catching it. Otherwise he doesn't butt in on conversations unless he thinks he has some constructive stuff to say. A bit like Big Macintosh in a way, but far more sociable. When he goes on long journeys or has to work in an uncomfortable environment, he sometimes hums a tune that only he knows the purpose of, or the origin, for that matter. Assertiveness: Outgoing Aggression: Passive Mood: Cheerful Honesty: Neutral Selfishness: Neutral Modesty: Boastful Courage: Neutral Traits (list all that apply): Clever, Sly, Kind, Joking, Defensive, OTHER: "Oh hey, it's the new guy!" (He usually acts a bit critically towards any new people he knows he's gonna have to handle for a while. He also will keep quiet if he is the "new guy" in a group. At least until a new one shows up.) Overall Personality Description: A gruff, hardworking pony who appreciates deeds over words. He is an accomplished reader and does not mind any experiments done in his vicinity, as long as the experimenters promise to take extra care. When his trust is broken, he usually whacks the trust-breaking pony with a piece of coal, before telling them to learn to keep their promises. Otherwise he is a very kind pony, always has a good word for everypony and has a good reservoir of jokes too. The new guys usually get the worst treatment though. But that's how he was raised. Ability Intelligence Strength Info Home town: Other (A lone cottage near the Badlands) Occupation: Coal Burner Backstory: Coal Scorcher was pretty much the runt of the litter, picked on by his 3 sisters and 2 brothers, not to mention the bullies at school. His parents taught him how to stand up to himself and combined with the rough life-style he had, he grew to become a hard worker who only respects those who can pull their weight. One day his family home was burnt to the ground by a dragon, though he never came to know which dragon it was in the first place. Only thing he knew is that his family was in the house when it happened. The only memento he has of them is the little piece of wood he salvaged from the ruins. Afterwards, he became a wandering workspony, traveling from place to place, offering to warm people's places up in return for some bits until he settled in Canterlot, where he started his own company and began taking ponies in. There he learned that the dragons had been riling up in the Badlands, so he deduced that it was a dragon that killed his family. He swore he would find the dragon and kill it.
Interesting. His family was killed by a fire-breathing dragon, and his special talent is burning coal... I suppose the saying "fight fire with fire" is much more than a metaphor now... I believe he may find some... consolation in this mission.
Those are our heroes. Silver has made his decisions, and is sticking to them. I hope they will make the best choices as well... "-Hold on." ...What? "That's not all of them. There's one more." What? You were supposed to pick only six. "Too bad. There's one more." ... "Just take a look..."
Quill the Scribe Gender: Male Race: Unicorn Age: 24 Appearance Coat Color: Maroon Mane/Tail Color: Red Secondary Mane/Tail Color: Orange Eye Color: Magenta Mane style: Constantly messy, usually out of a lack of self-care. Tail style: Like his mane, ragged at times, but usually simply allowed to grow freely. Cutie Mark: A compass over two scrolls Attire: Has a small, night-blue vest with many pockets, most of which are filled with quills, scrolls, and ink. Personality Voice: Mid-tenor, nearly baritone. Mannerisms: Often very polite... as long as he isn't busy. When occupied, he often can become slightly manic and ignore the other ponies around him. Assertiveness: He generally will follow whatever path he wants to take, and if he senses adventure, not much is going to stop him from trying to join in the action. (outgoing) Aggression: He can be very sensitive to insults, and often responds with long-winded, hateful replies, either of lectures or insults in kind. And any pony who damages or insults his means of living, like his quills and scrolls, will NOT be treated kindly. (neutral) Mood: Normally docile, he keeps to himself in the library most of the time, though he often will swap quickly between calm and manic/excited. (neutral) Honesty: He will lie if it is a victimless crime, and only out of necessity. He talks his way in and out of sticky situations, but will only deceive if he sees no way out. Stories come to him naturally, being an author at heart. (neutral) Selfishness: He can be selfish in the fact that he wants to take every opportunity to get out of the library, but aside from that, he will usually do his best to make sure that he takes only what he needs, sometimes even discretely skipping a meal to make sure that there is enough food to go around. (neutral) Modesty: Quill knows that he isn't well known. He spends most of his time chronicling the events of the high-and-mighty members of Equestria, staying in the corner and observing everything, then going back to the library. (neutral) Courage: Though he spends most of his time in the library, when he finally gets out into the world and finds himself on an adventure, he has very little fear, seeing almost everything as a challenge, rather than danger. (brave) Traits: Very changeable. He can change moods very easily, partially because of the multitude of experiences he's both felt and read about. He can be extremely curious, but also cool under pressure. He is good at fading in and out of being noticed, and can often get into places that he shouldn't due to the fact that he is a National Chronicler. Overall Personality Description: Curious, attentive, swaps easily between calm and manic, and desperate for adventure outside of ponydom. Not really one for socializing, but can interact well when thrown into a situation with many ponies. Ability Intelligence Speed (Light on his hooves, and a skewed perspective that makes him love danger. When his life or the lives of his few friends are threatened, he does have one hail mary magical attack: he can use levitation spells to revolve quills around himself at high speed until the friction with the air causes them to catch fire, creating flaming projectiles. This can be used either as projectile weapons or as a means of creating fire to remove oxygen in the room. This technique, though, is just as dangerous to himself as it is to others, risking asphyxiation and severe burns, so he will only use it in a life-or-death situation.) Info Home town: Canterlot (normally living in a small room above the library.) Occupation: National Chronicler Backstory: After moving to Equestria, Quill's talent for quick observation and ability to write well descriptively made him a prime candidate for the office of recording the most important happenings of Pony History. He spends most of his time either watching international affairs and working on his full-length novelization of the founding of Equestria. After reading dozens upon dozens of adventure novels and hearing first-hand the stories of Equestria's founders, he became obsessed with wanting to have an adventure of his own, to travel across the new and uncharted nation and see and fight things that no one has ever seen or prevailed against before. He has slowly but surely began working on his own novel. Additional notes: [[He's kind of like Bilbo Baggins. He spends most of his time in a quiet life that he enjoys, but when the opportunity for adventure comes, he will leave everything behind and take off for the hills, rising to every occasion. And, he is a good friend of Clover the Clever, who often comes to him for new books.]]
Funny. He doesn't look like a scribe... "See...?" See what? This is a seventh hero. "Ugh, look, if you want to get technical, he's not really one of the 'heroes', persay." ...Really. "Did you see his occupation? 'National Chronicler'. If he won't be one of the 'oh so powerful chosen ones', then he'll just be around for the ride, like me, only as a documentor." ...Why didn't you pick him as a hero? "I didn't want to choose between him and Carina." ... "Look... do you trust my judgment...?" ... "Do. You. Tr-" Yes. Of course I do. "Good. Then wrap it up, and let's get this show on the road." Hmhmhmhmmm. Alright, sir.
There you have it, folks. Our saviors. Do not let us down. Safe travels, and may your Gods bless you. Here are some quick tips... Stay focused. Stay true. Don't lose hope. Don't give up.
We begin our story with a young stallion miner, off-duty at the moment, making his way to Canterlot castle, where his first selection awaits, completely unaware of the fate that is to become of her on this day...
Day IV Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria Fourth stage of Rising Sun
Melody trotted- or rather, skipped happily down the hallway towards the throne room. The pink unicorn hummed to herself a sweet, happy tune. She was excited. Well, more excited than usual. She was on her way to put on a show for Princess Platinum. After the dragon incident, Melody figured it would be a nice way to cheer her up. She had no instruments this time, just her sweet, high-pitched voice and lots of energy.
There were an unusual amount of guards around today, but that was expected. Things have been tense and worrisome the past few days. That, as well, is to be expected from a dragon threatening to burn the capital city down to the ground. And considering Canterlot was built on the side of a mountain... the ground was a long ways down.
Her mind was wandering. It did that sometimes. Oh well, it was up to her to keep everypony's spirits lifted. What a better place to start than with the princess? As she approached the throne room doors, the guards looked at her and stepped aside. After living in the castle for so long, Melody was well-known by the majority of the Royal Guards, more profoundly as "the funny pink girl."
When Melody entered, she spotted the princess sitting atop her throne, talking to a guard, who had taken his helmet off- a common courtesy when having a discussion with, or delivering a report to, royalty. Every guard patrol and post Melody had seen on her way here had no vacancies, so she assumed this one was from a different wing of the castle entirely. As she approached, she overheard their conversation concluding.
"She said that?" Princess Platinum asked.
"Yes, your Highness," the guard replied.
She sighed. "Did you tell her what Star Swirl said?"
"I told her, your Highness. Many times. She can be quite insistent if she wants to."
"I suppose she can... but I don't know how Star Swirl will feel about it. I doubt he wants-" The princess spotted Melody approaching and smiled at her. "Ah, good day, Melody."
"Good day, your Highness!" Melody replied, bowing respectfully.
The princess returned her attention to the guard, who had turned to Melody, given her a nod, then turned back. "Alright. Please tell her that if she is that insistent on leaving, she may." She held up a hoof. "But please warn her that I do not know how Star Swirl will feel about her doing so, and that she runs the risk of his appropriate punishment, whatever he may feel it to be." The guard nodded, bowed, then donned his helmet as he turned and walked away, giving another nod to Melody, who smiled at him. She approached Princess Platinum, who gave her a kind, but tired smile. "What can I do for you, Melody?" she asked rather quietly.
"Actually, Princess, the question is, what can I do for you!" she said cheerily. "I was thinking because of that mean dragon coming in, you could use some cheering up! So I came to sing you a song~!" On the last note, she hopped up in the air and said it in a sing-song voice.
The princess sighed. "Well, that certainly does sound lovely..." she said.
Melody beamed.
"...But I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline."
Melody deflated.
"I'm sorry, but I'm just too overwhelmed with work at the moment, I just don't have the time." She returned to her kind yet tired smile. "But I certainly appreciate the offer, Melody. Thank you." The doors to the throne room opened, and the princess looked up to see some ponies in robes and formal attire approaching. "Ah, and there's the work now." She looked back down at Melody, who had rose to a less disappointed mood. "Run along now, dear. I know how politics can bore you. Once again, I'm sorry I don't have the time."
Melody bowed. "That's alright, your Highness. I understand. Farewell!" She waved as she walked off.
"Farewell!" The princess waved back.
Melody exited the throne room and started walking down the hallways towards no where in particular. Oh, well, she thought. I can understand if she's too busy. I guess I'll just-
"Melody Roseshine."
Melody perked up at the mention of her name and turned to see the speaker down the hallway to her left. He was a light gray Earth pony stallion with a darker gray mane and a pickaxe cutie mark.
"Hello!" Melody said with a smile. "Do I know you?"
"No. Well..." The stallion paused. "...I guess you kind of did. You used to know me."
"I did?" Melody paused. "That's nice, I guess. What's your name?"
"Silver Mine."
"I'm sorry, I don't remember you."
"I wouldn't expect you to." He sighed. "Look, I need to talk to you." He looked over to the pair of guards at the throne room doors, who were eying him suspiciously. "...In private."
"Okay!"
Silver seemed to be caught off guard by Melody's sudden agreement. "Uh... Right." He began walking down the hallway he had come from, followed closely by Melody, who had trotted up to his side, and was smiling at him. Silver seemed to pay no attention to Melody's chipper behavior, and as soon as he rounded the corner, he turned to her. "Three days ago, you sent me a letter."
"I did?"
"Yes. Even if you don't remember doing so, you did." He stuck his muzzle in his saddlebag and rummaged around in it before pulling out an opened letter and dropping it in his left hoof. "This is from you." Melody took the note with her magic and opened it. It was a form describing her in almost every aspect; appearance, personality, occupation, history, everything. "You're probably wondering why you would send me this," he continued. "Right?" Melody nodded, but kept the smile plastered on her face. "You sent me this because you wanted to sign up for something."
"Ooh! Ooh! I know! Was it a singing competition?" Melody asked, waving a hoof in the air.
"Um... no..." Silver shifted his eyes.
"Trumpet competition?"
"No, it-"
"Drums?"
"It wasn't-"
"Lyre?"
"It was-"
"Harp?"
"It-!"
"Bango?"
"...What's a b-?"
"Clarinet?"
"IT WASN'T A MUSIC COMPETITION!" Silver yelled. After a few seconds, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It was for a mission. A very important mission. An... adventure."
"Oooooh... an adventure?" Melody's cheeriness shifted to curiosity and wonder.
"Yes. I assume you're aware of the current dragon threat?"
"Yeah... I was gonna cheer up the princess today... but she was too busy."
"Well, I'm assembling a team to resolve the dragon problem, and you made the cut."
Melody cocked her head at him and blinked. "But... What can I do...?" she asked.
Silver looked out the window to their left. "You like to make ponies happy, right?" he said after a while. Melody nodded with a smile and a 'mhm'. He looked back to her. "Well, the ponies on this mission are going to need all the happiness they can get. His mouth ever so slightly curved up. "I thought that you might be a good morale booster."
Melody smiled back at him. "Aw, thank you!" she said. "I'll be happy to come along!" Once again, Silver was surprised at the sudden willingness.
"...R...really?" She nodded. "Huh..." Silver looked off to the side, in thought. "I... thought it would be harder to convince you for some reason." Melody just stared at him with a smile on her face. "...You realize it could be dangerous, right?" She nodded. "You... haven't even heard the details... how long it's gonna be... who you'll be with, where you're going..." She continued to stare. He shrugged. "Alright. You'll need to pack."
"Right! And I also need to check with my mother first."
Silver froze. "Your... mother...?"
"Mhm. I'm only a teenager after all. I can't go running off on an adventure with a mysterious stallion that I just met without my mother's permission!" she giggled.
"Right..." He paused. "I think I'll come with you, if you don't mind... It would be better if I were to explain it to her."
"Okay! Our house is this way!" She started skipping down the hallway, rather quickly, causing Silver to scramble to catch up.
Day IV Middle-Class district, Canterlot, Equestria Fourth stage of Rising Sun
The two walked up to a rather normal sized home, by Canterlot's standards. It was well decorated on the outside, with flowerbeds and flowerpots lining the garden. It hadn't taken the two long to get there, it was fairly close to the castle. Silver had donned a black wide-brimmed hat that, when tilted down, shadowed his face. He had pulled it out of his saddlebag as they stepped out- the weather was particularly sunny, and he wasn't quite adjusted to it yet.
Melody unlocked and opened the door (where she was keeping the key was beyond Silver). "Mom, I'm home~!" she sung. "I brought a guest with me!" The interior was just as well decorated as the exterior. Fancy furniture in the living room, a crystal chandellier, several paintings...
"Oh?" came a mare's voice from somewhere else in the house. "I'll be right down, dear." A few moments later, a purple coated and pink maned unicorn mare came down the stairs that lead into the living room. She saw Silver and gave him a kind smile.
Silver took off his hat and brought it to his chest, smiling back. A common courtesy when in another's home. "Good day, madam," he said.
"Good day," she said back. Her smile disappeared however. "I-is there something wrong? Did Melody get in trouble?" Melody just smiled and rolled her eyes.
Silver couldn't help but smile, too. "No, madam. I just have an... offer for her, and I believe it would be best if you had a say in it."
The mare's eyes widened slightly. "Oh! I see... well- please, do come in!" She ushered him over to one of the chairs, and he thanked her. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Velvet Roseshine, Melody's mother." Silver noticed the pink rose cutie mark she had on her flank. That would explain the garden flowers, he thought.
"My name is Silver Mine, Mrs. Roseshine."
"A pleasure. Would you like some tea?"
"No... thank you. I don't want to be here for long, I have... other appointments."
"I understand. So what was the... offer?"
Silver paused and looked at Melody, who was standing next to his chair. She smiled at him. "I'm sure you're aware of the current dragon threat, correct?"
Velvet's smile disappeared and she somberly nodded her head. "It's horrifying, isn't it? Just simply terrifying!"
Silver nodded. "Yes. It is. Which is why I am assembling a team to travel to the dragon homeland and solve the conflict before it begins. And... well... how do I put this..."
"I'm gonna be on the team!" chirped Melody.
Silver cringed as Velvet snapped her head towards Melody with a look of utter shock. "Wha-what?" she stuttered. "Wha...bu... you can't... Melody..." She turned to Silver. "She's only a teenager!!"
"Mom..."
"What could she possibly do? She's an entertainer! She's not a soldier, or-or, or a diplomat!"
Silver held up a hoof. "She was chosen because she likes to cheer- and is good at cheering- ponies up. As you can imagine, the members of the team going on this mission are going to have very low morale." He smiled. "Who else is better at raising morale than your daughter...?"
Velvet was silent. Her mouth moved a bit, but no words came out. "I just have one more question..." she said.
"Yes?"
She looked up to Silver with worry in her eyes. "Can you guarantee her safety...?" Silver remained silent, and looked down. "Mr. Mine..." He looked up into her eyes. "Can you guarantee that my daughter will be safe?"
There was a pause.
"No. I can't."
She shook her head. "Then Melody isn't going anywhere."
"Mom!"
"Melody, go to your room."
"But-"
"No 'but's. Go to your room."
Melody pouted. "I'm not a child..." She stomped upstairs.
Velvet turned back to Silver, who was still looking at her. "I'm sorry. But you'll have to find someone else."
"She applied for the position, you know," Silver said.
"I don't care. She's not going."
"She's the only one who's qualified."
"You'll have to find someone else. Now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Silver sighed. I didn't want it to come to this... he thought. "Did you ever find out what happened to your husband, Mrs. Roseshine?"
Velvet's mood shifted to one of surprise and confusion. "What...? How did you..." Silver reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a folder of sorts, and tossed it onto the coffee table in between them. "What's this...?" Velvet asked.
Silver looked at her. "This is what happened to your husband." Velvet put a hoof to her mouth and gasped. She stared at the folder in front of her. Moments passed. The room was quiet. Only the faint sound of the wind from outside could be heard. Slowly, she reached over and picked up the folder, slowly opening it. "He's done a lot of work with portals, hasn't he, Mrs. Roseshine?" She said nothing. She just kept reading the folder. Her eyes slowly welled up with tears. She shook her head multiple times. "Now you understand." No response. "She's more than just a morale boost. Much more." No response. More time passed. Silver sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I had to play this card... but these are desperate times, and you left me no choice." Again, no response. Silver chose to just remain silent and let Velvet speak when she was ready.
Finally, she looked up from the folder and stared into Silver's eyes. Silver looked back at her with an emotionless expression. "What does this mean...?" she asked quietly.
"You know exactly what it means," Silver replied. "The question is... can you honestly keep Melody here... knowing this?" Velvet slowly closed the folder and set it down on the table.
She looked down. She was about to say something, but stopped herself. Then she turned towards the staircase and called up- "Melody?"
"Yeah...?" came the faint response.
"Come down here please..." Moments later, the pink unicorn came down the steps. She wasn't smiling like usual- she had a blank expression on her face. Velvet got up and slowly walked over to her daughter. "Melody, dear..." she said quietly, looking at the floor.
"Yes, mom?"
She looked up at her, revealing that she had been crying. Melody's jaw dropped slightly. "...Pack your things..." Velvet croaked. "You're going on... an adventure..." Melody's face perked up instantly.
"Really?!" she squealed.
Velvet smiled at her eagerness. "Yes. Really."
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!"" Melody gave her mother a crushing hug, which Velvet complied with.
"Don't bother packing necessities," Silver said. "Like food or water. I've got that taken care of. Just be sure to bring a bedroll and anything else you'll need. Don't pack more than you can carry, though..."
Melody nodded to him. "Okay! When are we leaving?"
"As soon as possible. Now, preferably."
"Okay! Be right back!" She zoomed up the stairs and into her room, squealing with excitement.
Silver got up and walked over to Velvet, who was looking up the stairs with a solemn expression. He put a hoof on her shoulder. "Do you have faith in her...?" he asked.
"Of course," she replied. "She's my beloved daughter. And besides... after seeing what was in that folder..." She paused and looked at Silver. "I don't think I have anyone else to have faith in." Silver nodded and took his hoof away. "What about you?" she asked. Silver cocked an eyebrow. "Do you have faith in her...?"
Silver looked up the staircase. After a while, he smiled. "I wouldn't have picked her if I didn't." He looked back at Velvet, turning his smile to her.
"Can you promise me something...?" she asked.
"What is it?"
"...Promise me you'll protect my daughter." Silver gave her a doubtful look that said 'We just discussed this'. "Promise me you'll try to protect my daughter."
Silver smiled. "I promise I will do my best to protect her." Velvet nodded.
"I'm ready!" came Melody's chipper voice. she skipped into view with saddlebags bulging with musical instruments at her sides and a rolled up bedroll on her back. She came down the stairs, and Silver donned his hat, walking towards the door, giving the two some space. "See? I got my bedroll, and my lyre-"
"Melody..."
"-and my drums-"
"Melody-"
"-and some other stuff like-"
"Melody!"
"-Hm? Yes, mom?"
Velvet sighed. "I'm so proud of you..." she stroke Melody's mane back. "Look at you... you're almost all grown up... going on adventures..." She let out a quivering sigh. "I don't think I've told you enough how much I'm proud of you..." She wrapped her hoof around her daughter in a more controlled and intimate hug.
"Thanks, mom..." Melody said quietly.
"There's one more thing I want to tell you before you go..."
"What is it, mom?"
Velvet took a deep breath. "When you're on your journey, you may find things that will scare you, or leave you unsure, or confused. If you ever feel like you are making a tough decision... ignore everything around you..." she put a hoof on Melody's chest. "...and just listen to your heart."
Melody nodded. "I will, mom!"
Velvet nodded back. "Okay... good. Now run along, dear. Go make me even more proud."
"I will!" Melody beamed and skipped over to Silver, who opened the front door for her. She turned back."Bye, mom!"
Velvet's eyes started watering again. "G-goodbye, M-melody..."
"Hey!" Melody chirped. "Turn that frown upside down!"
Velvet couldn't help but smile. After she did, Melody smiled wider and skipped out the door. Silver followed her, but stopped in the doorway. He looked back at Velvet and nodded to her. She nodded back. Silver stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
"So where to first, Mr. Silver?" Melody asked.
"Next," Silver corrected, "We're going back to the castle. We're going to find the next member of our group."
"Sounds good to me! Let's go!"
The two set off back down the road to Canterlot castle, while the lonely mother sobs over the words in a mysterious folder, given to her by a mysterious stallion, under mysterious circumstances, that changed her life forever.
Oathbound did what he normally did when in absent-minded thought; sharpened his axes. Although they never needed sharpening-- they were always conjured as sharp as can be-- it helped they gray stallion think. He didn't have much to think about, being the retired captain of the royal guard. He had no more obligations, no more duties, and hopefully, no more enemies. Yet there he was, sitting underneath a tree in the royal gardens, gazing in concentration at the glowing blue axes levitating in front of him as they sparked against each other.
What was he even thinking about? His life? His disease? His failure to protect the princess that happened years ago, ultimately causing him to resign out of shame, and has been plaguing his mind every night ever since?
Yeah, that's probably it. He sighed, looking down at the amulet around his neck. It was the only thing keeping him from decaying away like a rotted tree. It was also what had given him the power to use his enchanted weapons. He stroked his gold and red mane back with a hoof and looked up into the sky. And now with this whole dragon ordeal... The princess is in more danger than ever now. I hope the situation will resolve itself... He knew he would never serve under the princess again. But still... he felt... useless like this. He wanted to help, but the thought of failure plagued his mind. Besides, he thought, nopony asked me to help.
"Oathbound."
The stallion looked to his right to see a gray earth pony and a pink unicorn, the latter he identified as Melody Roseshine, the princess's entertainer. He had seen her around the palace many times before. She wore a smile while the gray earth pony wore a serious expression. The brim of his hat shaded his eyes.
"Can I help you...?" Oathbound asked simply.
"We have a proposition for you," the stallion said.
Oathbound raised an eyebrow as his glowing blue axes vanished in sparks of light. "What... kind of proposition...?" The stallion walked up to him and sat down at a respectful distance. Melody followed suit.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the stallion said. "My name is Silver Mine. This is Melody Roseshine." He gestured to the pink filly sitting next to him, who waved.
"A pleasure, Mr. Mine," Oathbound said. He looked at Melody and smiled. "Hello, Melody."
"Hi, Oathy!" Melody chirped.
"Oh, you two know each other!" Silver said with interest. A small smile appeared for a brief moment, yet his eyes kept their focused glare. "Good, good..." His smile disappeared, and he stared off into space. "Interesting..."
Oathbound looked back at Silver. "So, Mr. Mine, what was this 'proposition' you had for me?" Silver didn't react. He just kept staring off into space. "Mr. Mine...?" Melody lightly tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hm-?" Silver blinked and darted his eyes from left to right. "Oh... Yes. Sorry." He sighed. "I'm sure you're aware of the current dragon threat...?" Oathbound nodded gravely. "Well, we are assembling a team to stop this conflict before it begins. And we think you would make an excellent contribution to the team."
Oathbound raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? You're sending a team... to stop dragons."
"Diplomatically, yes."
"Diplomatically."
"Well... kind of. It's a bit complicated."
"Why do you need me?"
"There will still be dangers on the journey, and there is a possibility that we may have to fight our way out of situations. With your combat experience and ability to keep a promise 'till the end, you would be a valuable asset."
Oathbound was silent for a moment. "Who recommended me...?" he asked.
"I'm sorry?"
"Very few ponies know that I was captain of the royal guard, or even who I was, for that matter. Who told you about me?" He looked at Melody, then pointed at her. "Was it her...?"
"Nope," Melody said. "I just met him an hour ago!"
Oathbound raised an eyebrow and looked back at the miner. "Then who told you about me?"
Silver looked at Melody. Then he looked back. "...You did."
Oathbound got a perplexed look. He cocked his head at Silver. "...Have we met before?"
"Yes, actually. Well... kind of. Not really. You wouldn't remember, anyway." As Oathbound's expression grew more confused, Silver pulled out a letter from his saddlebag. "A few days ago, you sent me this letter. Even if you don't remember doing so, you did." He held it out to the confused stallion in front of him. Oathbound looked at the letter, then at Silver, then back at the letter. Slowly, he took it from the miner's hooves and opened it. He read it for a few seconds.
"What is this...?" he asked quietly, not looking up.
"It's an application, Oathbound," Silver replied. Oathbound was about to ask what for, but Silver answered, "For the mission." Oathbound stopped reading and looked up at him. "I lied. We don't have a proposition for you." Silver gave an awkward smirk. "You applied for the mission. We're here to tell you that you were selected." Oathbound remained silent for a while, just staring at the miner.
"But..." He looked down at the parchment. "I don't remember writing this... why would I apply for something if I wouldn't remember doing so...?"
"Yeah... sorry, that was our condition. We informed a lot of ponies, and... well, we can't really have this mission be... well-known. So all the applicants-- and non-applicants-- were memory wiped, for their own protection, mainly."
Oathbound slowly looked back up at Silver. "What kind of magic has the power to do something of that magnitude...?"
Silver waved his hoof dismissively. "Don't worry about it. What I need you to focus on is whether or not you want to accept." When he got no reply, he looked over his shoulder, then at Melody, then back at Oathbound. He sighed. "Would you like me to go over the details...?"
"Please."
He sighed again. "I am assembling a team of operatives to travel to the land of the dragons. We will confront the dragon leader. Before we do, however, we will have to collect a few artifacts from different locations scattered across the land. These artifacts will help us. We will tell the dragons to call off their threat, and if they refuse, we will use the artifacts on them. I can't give the details of what they will do, but I can tell you that they will weaken the dragons significantly, and will give us a fighting chance to force them to surrender."
Oathbound was silent. "Seems risky," he said simply.
Silver shrugged. "It wouldn't be so vague and suspicious if it wasn't." He smiled. "But I know that kind of thing doesn't faze you." Oathbound nodded slowly and looked back down at the note in his hooves. It held his information; his physical appearance, his personality, even his personal information- including the reason he resigned. "You have the ability to save lives again, Oath." He looked up. Silver wore a serious expression. "Including the princess."
Oathbound froze. He thought of the princess. He thought of that fateful day...
Years ago Crystal Caverns, Canterlot, Equestria Third stage of Rising Moon
Oathbound led the princess through the jagged crystalline tunnel, frantically searching for a way out. The left side of his helmet was scorched, his chestplate was cracked, and he bore a large gash in his right side, which had crusted over with dried blood, yet was threatening to reopen once more. The princess wasn't doing too well herself- her royal dress was torn, her mane was a mess, and she was panting heavily. The sounds of explosions and magical beams could be heard from above, accompanied by the screams of agony and menacing screeches. Similar sounds could be heard from the tunnel behind them... and they were getting closer.
Oathbound kept pressing forward, making sure the princess was keeping up with him. There was a scream that echoed behind them- another guard had fallen. The ominous chittering noise soon followed. They're getting closer, he thought. The cavernous crystals were surprisingly luminous, albeit very dimly. They could at least see where they were going, for the most part.
He stopped. Ahead of him was an archway to another tunnel, except this one was darker, and Oathbound could have sworn he heard something. He held up his hoof and turned to the princess. "Hold on," he whispered. "Let me scout ahead. Stay here." The princess nodded. Fear was evident in her eyes, if the quick, short breaths weren't evidence enough. He turned back to the dark tunnel and slowly crept forward, keeping his ears open for any sounds of movement. He passed under the archway and looked around. He could barely see, and he didn't want to risk lighting the place up with his amulet, lest whatever was in here would see him. He looked at the shape of the dark crystals, scouting for something that looked more like-
"AAAAAAH!!!"
Oathbound spun around and was horrified. A green bolt of magic shot straight at the princess and struck her, thrusting her to the wall and knocking the tiara off of her head.
"NO!!" he yelled, dashing forward, only to be struck in the back of the head, collapsing to the ground. He watched, dazed and helpless, as a chitinous black figure approached the princess from the far tunnel, fangs bared, ready to strike- right before a spear impaled its neck from behind. It collapsed to reveal three royal guards rushing forward. Oathbound barely heard a screech from behind him, right before a similar black figure leaped over him and toward the guards, who continued charging, spears at the ready. Oathbound faded out of consciousness, right after hearing a word...
"Captain!"
Many hours later, after the invasion was repelled, a very bandaged and beaten Oathbound walked up to the wounded princess, sitting atop her throne, only to see the disapproving glare of the royal advisor standing in his path. She didn't need to say anything- Oathbound knew what she was thinking. He was thinking it, too. He stepped up to her and held out the parchment in his hoof.
"You don't need to do this, Oathbound!" said the princess. "I don't blame you for it! It wasn't your fault!" Both he and the advisor ignored her. The advisor took the parchment, and Oathbound cleared his throat. He decreed:
"I can no longer work directly under the princess."
"You're not going to be working directly for the princess," Silver said. "You'll be working for me and my employer. The princess just happens to be protected as well."
Oathbound was silent for a while. He looked up into the sky. "It was never just about the princess, Mr. Mine..." he said quietly. "It was about failure. You say this mission is such a big deal... That only makes the consequence of failure more devastating."
Silver was quiet. Then, he smiled, and started to chuckle. Oathbound looked at him quizzically. "You know what I think, Oath?" he said finally. "I think you've already made your decision. You made it a while ago. I know it, you know it... heck, I think Melody probably knows it."
Melody smiled and nodded. Then she frowned and looked at Silver. "I do?"
"You've already accepted. Now you're just trying to think up excuses not to go. Am I right...?"
Oathbound was at a loss for words. He was dead right. Oathbound wanted to go... he hated being useless while a situation unfolded. He had to do something. Yet... there was a part of him that kept saying otherwise. Oathbound narrowed his eyes. NO. That part left his body and took its own form a long time ago... and he was NOT about to let it back into his life.
"...You're absolutely right, Mr. Mine," he said slowly. He rose to his hooves. "I have made my decision. I won't sit idly while this new land of peace and harmony is threatened. I will gladly join you and your cause." He placed a hoof on his chest. "...I swear by it."
Silver and Melody both rose as well. Silver smiled and held his hoof out to Oath, saying: "Glad to hear it, Captain. Do you mind if I call you 'Captain'...?"
Oathbound shook the miner's hoof and smiled back. "I haven't been called 'Captain' in a long time... ever since the incident, I've resented the title and all the memories that come with it... but... If you wish to call me that, you may."
"Ooh! Ooh! Can I call you 'Cappy'!?" Melody asked while bouncing up and down. "Or maybe 'Skipper'! Or 'Skippy'! What about 'Captain Oathy'? Or 'Oathy the Skipper'? 'Skipperbound'? 'Skipperooni'? 'Cpt. Oathy McSkipperton'?"
As Melody continued like this for a while, Silver rolled his eyes and gave Oathbound a look that said: "We're gonna have to put up with a lot of this."
Oathbound replied with a wide-eyed stare that said: "May Gods have mercy on our souls." Silver politely gestured for Oathbound to follow him. He nodded. The two stallions started walking off towards the garden gates, leaving Melody to ramble about ridiculous names that, after a while, had nothing to do with 'Captain', 'Skipper', or 'Oathbound'. After they were halfway across the garden, Melody stopped and, realizing they had gone, scrambled to catch up to them and telling them to wait up.
A low growling was heard from an unknown location. "So," the same voice spoke, rapsy and demonic, "He has found something to do with his pathetic life!" There was a sound of something being smashed beneath a hoof, followed by an exhaling snort. "He thinks he can make a difference..." the voice growled, words laced with poison and packed with utter hatred. "I will see to it that he meets nothing but failure!!" A snarl. "Perhaps this is the opportunity I have so hungrily waited for..." There was silence.
"I am you... You are me... I will make you... break.
"And there is nothing you, nor anything else can do to stop me."
A beautiful sight to behold in the already-beautiful night sky. Though nopony really understood how they worked, they were still well known, particularly by the pegasi, who saw them closer than anypony else. Especially one pegasus in particular, who, on that very night, danced in the night sky, along with the beautiful lights, her mane and tail mimicking them in color and grace. Her night blue coat blended in with the rest of the sky, allowing her to become one with the lights. This... was Aurora Dancer.
Cloudsdale was far off behind her, but she didn't care. She was particularly close to the mountainside here, to get a good view of nature's light show, which reflected in the cold lake before her. She wore a relaxed smile on her face, and continued to dance with infinite grace and no fatigue. This was her favorite thing of all.
She didn't perform for anyone- mainly just for herself. She didn't consider herself a shy pony... just not the kind to approach a crowd. She liked it this way. Dancing alone- just her and the borealis. Nopony really appreciated her dancing anyway- certainly not the pegasi she grew up with. While they had some sense of art- such as in architecture or sculptures- they didn't know much in the field of dancing or music. Aurora was an exception- for better or worse.
But she didn't care. She focused on dancing, and dancing alone.
"Aurora Dancer."
She focused on right here, right now.
"Aurora Dancer...?"
Nothing but the movement of her body in the cool wind of the night sky...
"Aurora Dancer!"
She frowned. Was someone calling her name?
"Aurora!"
She blinked and stopped moving. She hovered for a second, then looked down. There, standing on the grassy mountainside, was a gray Earth pony stallion, looking up at her. She was silent for a moment. She didn't know what to say. How long had he been standing there? How did he know her name? Who was he? Why was he watching her? What did he want? She realized she could be asking him these questions. "Um... Hello?" was the first thing she said. She mentally facehoofed for starting off with such a stupid thing to say.
"Hello," he called up to her.
"Um... Can I help you...?" she called back.
"Um, yes, actually," he said. "I'm sorry, could you... maybe..."
Aurora got a look of realization on her face. "Oh! Oh, yeah, sorry..." She hovered down until she was a few feet off the ground in front of him.
He smiled slightly. "Thanks," he said. "Sorry to interrupt your... dance. Which, by the way, I couldn't help but watch, and I have to say, you are very talented."
Aurora blushed and rubbed her leg with a hoof. "Oh... come on, it wasn't that good..." she said.
The stallion rolled his eyes and smiled. "Always the modest ones..." he murmured. Aurora gave him a quizzical look. "Anyway," he continued, "let me introduce myself. My name is Silver Mine."
"Well, nice to meet you, Silver." Aurora paused. "Um... How do you know who I am?"
"Well... that part is a bit complicated. You see..." Silver paused. Then, he reached back into his saddlebag and pulled out a letter. "A few days ago, you sent me this letter. Even if you don't remember doing so-" there was a gust of cold wind. Aurora was used to it, after living at high altitudes so much. Silver, however, cringed. Aurora cocked her head at him. "...Even if you don't remember sending me this letter, you did," he continued.
She raised an eyebrow. "What? How does that work? What did I send you?" Silver held out the letter for Aurora to read for herself. She hovered down slightly and took it before rising again. She opened it and started reading. "This is... my personal information..." She narrowed her eyes and looked at Silver. "How did you get your hooves on this?"
"You sent it to me," Silver repeated simply. "Your signature's at the bottom." Aurora looked back at the letter and, sure enough, saw a hoof stamp the size of her hoof, with an engraving with her name on it. She opened her mouth to say something-- "You're probably wondering why you would send me, a complete stranger, this," he interrupted. Aurora looked back at him and nodded. "Well, to put it simply, it's an application for... a mission."
"A mission?" Aurora repeated. "What kind of mission?"
"Are you aware of the dragon incident in Canterlot?" Silver asked.
Aurora's eyes widened. "What? Dragon? No, I haven't. What happened?"
"Two days ago, a dragon flew into Canterlot and told the Princess to 'arrest and surrender the Obsidian Knight', or the dragons will destroy Canterlot after 24 days." Aurora's jaw dropped. "I'm assembling a team of ponies to travel to the land of the dragons and stop the conflict before it begins."
"How do you plan to do that?"
"First, we'll try diplomacy. If that doesn't work, we'll be able to weaken them, and possibly demotivate them from going through with their threat." He shrugged. "It's hard to specify the details."
Aurora was silent for a while. "And... that's the mission that I applied for...?" Silver nodded. "And... I was selected...?" He nodded again. "And... my... memory was wiped..." He nodded again, slower this time. Aurora nodded slowly as well, but then shifted to shaking her head. "I don't... I just... I don't get it."
"Which part?"
"All of it!" she yelled, throwing her front hooves out to either side of her for emphasis. "Why would I apply for a crazy mission to stop dragons, and not even remember doing so?"
Silver sighed. "Okay," he said. "Fine. I'll explain everything." Another gust of wind blew by, and Silver shuddered. Aurora picked up on this.
"Are you cold?" she asked.
"I'm fine," was the response. Silver's ear twitched. Aurora could tell that he was freezing, but was trying to stay strong and stand his ground. There was another gust of wind, causing him to cringe again.
She gave him a deadpan look. "Are you trying to impress me or something?" she asked.
"Really. I'm fine." Aurora landed and got a better look at him. His fur was standing on end, almost his entire body was shivering, and crystalization was starting to occur at his nostrils. He had been out her for a lot longer than Aurora originally thought. Any longer and he might come down with something. Yet his expression showed no sign of weakness, and no evidence of pain. He was tough, she would give him that.
"No, you're not," Aurora said, walking up to him. "You're freezing. You've been out here for a while-- you might fall ill. I've seen this kind of thing before." She motioned to her right. "There's a cabin I sometimes like to stay in not too far from here. You can explain there, after we get you warm."
"That's not... That's not necessary, I'm..." Silver paused. "...Fine."
"No, you're not-!"
"-No, I mean... Fine." He looked at her. "I am kind of cold..."
Aurora smiled. "Good." She put a wing over his back and started leading him towards the cabin. "Let's get you inside."
Day V Aurora's Cabin, Unicorn Range, near Cloudsdale, Equestria Fourth stage of Rising Moon
Aurora's cabin was a small, cozy wooden structure on the side of a small mountain, overlooking the valley, with a clear view of Cloudsdale. The inside had a warm, homey atmosphere, filled with soft rugs and couches, wooden tables, and a crackling fire. Silver sat in a chair beside the hearth with a comforter draped over him, courtesy of the hostess. Silver stared blankly into the fire, thinking deeply to himself. Or at least, that's what Aurora assumed he was doing. She watched him from her kitchen as she made tea, also thinking to herself.
Who is he really? she thought. Did I really apply for this mission? If so, why? I'm no diplomat... Her thoughts were interrupted by the kettle in front of her letting out a sharp whistle. She poured the hot water into two cups and put the teabags in. When she was finished, she took a deep breath and readied her questions before floating out into the living room, which, in the cabin's case, happened to also be the bedroom.
As she approached Silver, she noticed he paid her no attention until she held out a cup of tea to him. He looked at it briefly, then up at her, and smiled gratefully before taking it. Aurora took the seat across from him. "Now then," she began. "Let's start with the biggest question..." She paused as Silver blew on the cup of tea before taking a sip. "Why was my memory of sending this letter erased?"
Silver looked at her with a stoic expression. "Because many ponies were asked to apply for this mission, but only a few were selected," he explained. "We don't want the majority of Equestria knowing about it, lest someone we don't want to run into on our mission interfere." Aurora raised an eyebrow, but Silver continued. "Some refused, and some applied, but only seven of the applicants were selected. Rather than wiping each individual's memory, save for the seven, we decided it would be easier to wipe the memories of all after they were asked to apply."
"Why would that be easier?" Aurora asked.
Silver waved his hoof and looked up with a furrowed brow as he searched for an answer. "Eh... because... magicy-wagicy... wibbly wobbly... stuff." Aurora gave him a deadpan look. He groaned. "Look, let's just say it's easier to cast one big spell over a large group of ponies than it is to cast a bunch of little ones individually."
"You... casted a spell...?" Aurora said doubtfully. Silver nodded. "But... you're an Earth pony."
"Thank you. You're a pegasus." He said it with barely any emotion. Certainly no negative ones. Aurora sat there for a moment, trying to understand how the stallion's answer worked. Eventually she gave up and shook her head.
"Alright, so, you wiped all our memories because the spell was easier to cast than casting a bunch of individual ones?" she asked in confirmation.
"That's just about the size of it," Silver said. He raised his cup to his muzzle and added under his breath- "Not to mention there were some things you all weren't supposed to see..."
Aurora heard the last part, and by the way Silver was looking at her, she could tell he wanted her to. But she remained silent. Finally, after a while, she nodded and said, "...Okay... I suppose that makes sense..."
Silver nodded. "Any more questions?" He took a sip of tea.
"Plenty." She set her cup of untouched tea down on a small table beside her and leaned forward to get the stallion's full attention. He looked at her placidly and waited. "First. Why me?" She gestured to herself. "I'm no diplomat. I'm no soldier. I'm a dancer." She fluttered her wings in a graceful, wavy motion to emphasize her point. "...I dance."
Silver smiled. "I noticed." He took another sip of tea.
Aurora looked off to the left, then back at Silver. "What, am I supposed to be the entertainer of the group?" she asked half-jokingly. "Am I moral support?"
Silver nearly snorted scolding hot tea out of his nose. "Pffft-hahaha! No... We already... heh...! That's already accounted for," he laughed.
Aurora raised an eyebrow again. "I was... joking...?" What kind of team are they assembling...? She shook her head. "Ugh, whatever! Look, why would I, of all ponies, be selected for this mission, and more importantly, why did I apply in the first place?!"
Silver smiled and put his cup down on the table next to him. "I'd say I've warmed up enough. Let's go for a walk."
Day V Unicorn Range, near Cloudsdale, Equestria Fifth stage of Rising Moon
"That's why you were selected." Silver pointed a hoof at the sky.
Aurora looked up an raised an eyebrow. "The Borealis?" she said. Silver nodded. They were standing on the flat top of the round mountain, overlooking a lake that reflected the vibrant green aurora. "What about it?"
Silver looked up at the light show, then back at the mare. "You know how pegasi can manipulate clouds and control weather?" Aurora gave him another deadpan look and ruffled her wings for emphasis. He looked up at the sky, ignoring the sarcastic confirmation. "Well, normally pegasi can't interact with the northern lights in that way." He looked back at her and smiled. "But you're not a normal pegasus, are you?"
Aurora raised an eyebrow again. "What are you saying?" she asked.
Silver's gaze once again shifted up to the sky. "Have you ever tried touching them, Aurora?"
Aurora opened her mouth, but said nothing. She looked up into the sky. "N-no..." she whispered. In all her years, she had never tried touching the lights that she danced with. Was it even possible to touch them? Were they just light, or were they illuminated gases, similar to clouds? She had familiarized herself with them so much, despite the fact that she didn't know anything about them. Nopony did.
"Well?" Silver asked. Aurora blinked and looked at him. He was looking at her with expectation. She just stood there, blinking. "Go on." He nodded his head at the lights and smiled. Aurora looked up. Out of nowhere, a wave of curiosity washed over her. She flew high up, higher and higher, as the Borealis grew closer and closer, bigger and bigger. She reached the point she normally danced at, but kept going, higher, higher... She flew right up to the Borealis. She reached out with a hoof... and touched it. It dispersed like fog when she moved her hoof through it. It felt cool, and soft, like a cold, dry, vapory cloud. Her mouth remained open as she smiled and lightly laughed a bit in awe of what she had just discovered. She flew forward into the curving lights, brushing it beside her, creating a gap and causing it to make more curves. As she weaved in and out of the green waves, she started to dance.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Silver looked up at her and smiled. How are you going to go about doing this one? "What? Why are you talking to me right now?" I'm just curious. You don't have much to show her without- "I'm gonna show her exactly what she's capable of." What?! You can't do that here! "Watch me."
"Aurora!"
The dark blue mare paused (somewhat) and looked down at the stallion who called up to her. "Yeah?" she called back.
"What do you think?"
"I think it's amazing!" Aurora made a spiral to emphasize her point. "Are you sure I'm the only one who can do this?"
"As far as I know!" Silver called. "I'm not sure! Maybe it runs in your family! But that isn't all you're capable of as far as the Borealis goes!"
Aurora came to a full pause this time and gave Silver her full attention with a curious look on her face. "What do you mean?"
"Try flying in circles over the lake!" Silver made circular motions with his hoof. "Build up speed, as if trying to make a twister out of the Borealis!"
Aurora hesitated. "W...why?"
"Because it'll answer your question!" Silver called up. Aurora's eyes widened. "I'm gonna show you why you were selected!"
Aurora hesitated. "What will it do?"
"Something amazing! Just trust me!" Could she trust him? She had only met him a while ago. And yet, he knew everything about her-- even things she didn't know about.
She glanced at the aurora around her, then down at the lake. "Alright..." she said. She flew over to the lake, and the Borealis seemed to follow her. She started flying around and around, brushing past the lights and causing them to swirl.
I hope you know what you're doing... "Relax. We'll be fine." I'm more concerned about her. "She'll be fine." ... "Don't worry. She's a master at this and she doesn't even know it."
"Good! Keep it up, and keep accelerating!"
"A-alright...!" Aurora called down. She wasn't too sure about this. What was going to happen? She flew faster and faster, making sure to keep up her spiral. The lights swirled with her, twisted, and formed in on her. As she continued picking up speed, she noticed the air was getting warmer around her, and the aurora was growing more and more dense. "W-what's happening?!" she shouted.
"You're doing great! Just keep it up!" She flew faster. The Borealis had turned into a swirling vortex, with her at the eye of the storm. The air was getting very warm now. "Keep going! Faster!" Aurora did her best to speed up. The wind was picking up-- it wasn't just the momentum, there was wind. She could even see some flashes of electric sparks around her as well. She gritted her teeth as she pressed forward... Why was she so determined to do this...? could it just be her curiosity? Or something more...?
Silver watched the spectacular display above the lake before him. The aurora had turned into a swirling green vortex, moving faster and faster, with the struggling mare in the center holding it all together. Sparks of ozone radiated from the sky, followed shortly by a few stray electric bolts striking the water. Silver... "It's fine."
As the storm grew thicker and faster, a small, faint, green orb started to materialize in the epicenter of Aurora's revolution. It fluctuated in an out, growing more and more bright. The wind continued to speed up. The ozone in the air sparked and sizzled. The electric bolts became more and more frequent.
"S-sil-ver...?!" he heard Aurora cry.
"Just hold in there!" he called up to her. "You're doing great!" The vortex kept spinning. Then Silver noticed it wasn't speeding up anymore. He sighed. "Aurora!" She looked down at him. He smiled. "You'll be fine! Trust me!" She kept staring at him as she spun around. Please trust me...
She blinked, looked away, and started flying faster. The Borealis spun faster as well, and the orb continued to glow brighter and brighter. The aurora was a thick, dense, glowing fog. The ozone in the air hissed and sparked more and more, followed by numerous bolts of lightning striking the lake and the area around it. Come on... Come on...! There was a low humming noise coming from the orb, which was growing larger and brighter as the humming grew louder and higher in pitch. Soon, the air itself seemed to be vibrating from the pure amount of energy in the atmosphere. Aurora yelled something to Silver, but he couldn't hear her. He just kept focusing on the display before him, which grew brighter and louder until--
There was a flash of blinding green light.
Day VI Aurora's Cabin, Unicorn Range, near Cloudsdale, Equestria Midnight
Aurora slowly opened her eyes. She felt warm. She looked around. She was in her cottage, lying on the couch, with a blanket draped over her. The fire in the hearth was crackling, and didn't look like it was going to be burning out anytime soon. Someone had recently kindled it. Her eyes fell upon a note left on the coffee table.
Meet me outside when you're awake.
-Silver
Well, that answered that question, she thought. Slowly, she tossed aside the covers and rolled onto her hooves. She stretched out her limbs before cantering toward the front door. She slowly opened it and looked outside to see Silver Mine sitting at the cliff's edge, gazing up at the sky. She closed the door behind herself and walked up to him.
"Why are you out here?" she asked quietly.
"I didn't want to be in your cottage when you woke up," he answered, not looking at her. "I figured it would be discourteous, and a bit creepy."
Aurora laughed as she sat down beside him. "Right. And a strange stallion walking up to me and telling me I sent him all my personal information without remembering doing so, then having said stallion get me to do something strange that nopony else was able to supposedly do, which resulted in me blacking out and awakening in my home on a couch next to a recently-kindled fire isn't creepy?"
Silver pondered this for a moment. Then, he made an expression that said, "yeah, I guess so," while bobbing his head slightly. Aurora rolled her eyes and looked up at the starry sky. There wasn't a Borealis in sight. "You remember what happened after the blast, right...?" Silver asked after a while.
Aurora's placid smile disappeared. She didn't even realize she was smiling until she stopped. She nodded. "I'm just... surprised I was able to do something like that..." she said.
"Understandable," Silver replied. "Although, to be honest, you should be surprised. It'd be kind of weird if you weren't." He sighed. "Do you see now why we need you?"
"I... guess so..." Aurora fell silent. The two stayed like this for a while, staring up at the sky.
"Do you ever wonder about them...?" Silver broke the silence.
"Hm...?" Aurora looked at him.
"The stars." He gestured at the sky. "Do you ever wonder what they are...? What they really are...?"
"Oh..." She looked up again at the twinkling lights in the blackness of the night. "Um... no... not really..."
He chuckled. "No, of course not. You're more into the Borealis, aren't you? You've wondered what that is, I'm sure." Aurora nodded. "I've always liked gazing up at the sky. It helps me think. Heh... it's ironic, really. I'm a miner. I spend most of my days underground, and yet... yet here I am, gazing up instead of down." He sighed and lowered his head, closing his eyes. "You know... sometimes we look at life the wrong way. Sometimes there may be something we think is our destiny, or our love... but it could be something else entirely." He looked at her and smiled. "Or maybe it's exactly what you think it is... but you just have to dig a little deeper." Aurora's mouth was left slightly agape. Was he talking about her and the Borealis...? "It was literal in my case," he continued, looking back up at the stars. "I was mining once, and all I could think about were the stars from the night before. I wasn't focused on my work, and my supervisors noticed. When everypony took five, I had to keep working to make up for lost progress. I kept digging. Deeper... deeper... even past the point I was supposed to dig. Then... I saw them. The wall broke open to reveal the blackness of space, and there they were- the stars." He looked back at her. "Can you guess what it was I really saw...?"
"D-diamonds..." she said. "Diamonds in a cavern."
Silver smiled and nodded. "My diamonds in the rough. I realized something that day. Something confusing... yet enlightening. What was that realization? Ah, well, you see... you have to experience it for yourself, miss Dancer. You have to answer your own questions."
Aurora froze. She had done nothing but ask questions since he came here. What did he mean? What was he trying to say? Was he- Ugh, exactly! She shook her head and sighed. After receiving no reply, Silver looked back up at his beloved stars.
"...Alright," said Aurora.
"What...?" Silver looked at her.
"I accept." She looked at him. "You've convinced me. I'm not exactly sure how, but after seeing that application, and knowing what I'm really capable of, I..." She smiled. "I guess I just need to answer some of my questions." Silver smiled back. "Not to mention I don't really want to sit back while Equestria is in peril," she added.
"That's the spirit!" Silver gave her a playful bump on the shoulder before rising to his hooves. Aurora did so as well. "Go on home and pack whatever you need, other than food or water. I've taken care of that. We'll leave in the morning."
Aurora cocked an eyebrow. "Where will you sleep?"
Silver shrugged. "I'll set up camp."
"Oh, no..." Aurora shook her head and started pushing him toward the cottage. "I know you love the stars, but I also know you're not too used to the cold."
"H-hey! I can survive a night in the cold!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever starboy."
"'Starboy'?"
"You're using my cabin for the night. I'll fly home and sleep in Cloudsdale. I need to pack anyway."
"Er... well... thank you."
"Don't mention it." Silver opened the door and turned back to Aurora, who started to turn away.
"Oh, and one more thing," he said. She stopped and turned back to him. He was wearing a darker expression. "Don't tell anyone what happened after the blast," he warned. She raised an eyebrow again. "It might frighten them. We don't want to make you an outcast."
...an outcast."
...an outcast.
...outcast.
...outcast.
Aurora's mind traveled back into her memories.
"Aurora...?"
Memories of her childhood.
"Aurora?"
Her lonely childhood...
"Aurora!"
She shook her head. "Hm? Oh... yes. I promise." Silver hesitated for a bit before nodding slowly.
"Alright. Meet me back here at the second stage of Rising Sun. If I'm not up, wake me up. Good?"
She nodded. "Good." Silver nodded once more, and slowly closed the door. Aurora sighed and looked up at the sky. Then, she took off, flying towards Cloudsdale.
The young mare with many questions and unique, mysterious power had agreed to join the journey. What is it she is looking for? What other powers might she possess? Many questions buzz around in her head as she flies away from the mountain, which now has one less lake than it did this morning.
Carina slowly walked across the cold, grimy floor. She was hunched over, looking around herself frantically. She was visibly shaking in fear. It was dark around her, and her hoofsteps were the only sounds she heard, apart from the ominously whispering winds. Then, from the shadows, a voice rang out behind her, accompanied by a red glow. A somewhat high-pitched laugh-- one you might hear from a stallion who was on the brink of insanity. Carina spun around and gasped. Her vision blurred, and she quickly looked away. She could just about make out a green figure surrounded in a glowing red aura, grinning at her. She started to run, and the voice started to rhyme.
"Run, run, my little child.
Your punishment will not be mild!
Neehnhnhnhnhnhnhnhn...!"
His chuckle made it clear that he was grinning while he laughed. She knew that grin... The grin that only ceased when he spoke. Suddenly, a door opened a story above her, on her left. In the light from the doorway, Carina could see the sillhouettes of three fillies, all pointing and laughing at her, before they started singing.
"Carina, Carina,
Wouldn't wanna be ya!
Every step she ta~akes,
She quivers and she sha~akes!
Carina, Carina,
No one wants to see ya!
An easy mare to sc~are-
Her only friend is Fla~are!"
"St-stop it...!" she peeped as she ran by. The fillies just laughed and pointed. The grinning laughter chimed in from behind her.
"Carina, Carina..."
"No!"
"So lonely to be ya!"
"Stop!" Carina was crying now. The voice laughed again. Then, Carina felt herself dropping to the floor and being dragged backwards. "No!" she screamed as she dug at the ground with her hooves.
"No friends but Fla~are..."
She was turned over onto her back and gasped when she saw the glowing green face staring back down at her with red eyes, an insane smile plastered on his muzzle.
"Such a lonely ma~are!"
Carina screamed.
She woke up with a start. She frantically looked around the room. Everything was still as it should be in her small apartment. She clutched her ragged stuffed pheonix tighter and sobbed.
Day VI Market District, Canterlot, Equestria Third Stage of Setting Sun
Carina wandered through the market, her head hanging low. Her stuffed pheonix, Flare, was sticking out of her saddlebag. The market was bustling with ponies at this time of day. She would occasionally glance up at the sky, fidgeting nervously. After the dragon incident, she had been more nervous than usual. As she looked around, she noticed that many of the other ponies were also glancing up from time to time. This only made Carina more nervous. While she was looking up, she bumped into someone. He was a dark gold stallion, very large, and gruff-looking.
"Watch it!" he growled.
"Oh, I'm... sorry..." Carina whispered as she backed away. However, without looking where she was going, she bumped into somepony else.
"Hey, watch it, will ya?" complained a mare from behind her. Carina spun around and started backing away again.
"Oh! I'm-I'm sorry..." she peeped. She backed up a few paces before turning around again, and quickly trotting off. The next few minutes she spent shopping around the market, getting all the groceries on her list. Just as she was about to go home, she spotted a gray stallion in a black hat and coat looking around the market. Then he looked at her, and his eyes widened slightly. He started moving towards her. Carina gasped and started to make her way through the crowd, away from the stallion, trying to make herself as invisible as possible. She glanced behind her, but she didn't see him. Still, she wasn't going to take any chances. Whatever this stallion wanted, he obviously knew who she was, and, considering she had never seen him before in her life, probably didn't have the best intentions. Carina decided she would just stay away from that.
She wasted no time trying to dart through the crowds- she had always been quick on her hooves. Finally, the crowd became less... crowded as she approached the street to her district. She glanced behind her once more, but she couldn't see the stallion. With any luck, she had lost him in the crowd.
Day VI Lower-class District, Canterlot, Equestria Fourth Stage of Setting Sun
Carina gently placed her saddlebags on the floor and began unpacking. She took Flare out first and placed him on the table next to the door. Carina smiled and continued unpacking the groceries. "What did you think of the market, Flare?" she whispered softly.
"..." said Flare.
"That stallion was rather... unnerving..." Carina muttered nervously. "Wasn't he?"
"..." was the reply.
The blue mare smiled at the plush phoenix, and continued unpacking. "I wonder what he wanted..." she whispered.
"..."
She smiled again. "No, I don't think he was a dragon in disguise. Silly phoenix!" she playfully prodded at Flare and he fell over. Carina frowned, propped him back up and continued unpacking once more. "Does he know me?"
"..."
"You're right, how could he know me? I've never seen him before in my life."
"..."
"My artwork? No, I don't think so... I'm not that well-known..."
"..."
"I hope he didn't want to hurt me..."
"..."
"Maybe he just wanted to say something..."
"..."
"What do you think he wanted to say?"
"Hello."
Carina squeaked, spun around, and stared at Flare with wide eyes. He just sat there, staring at her. "F-flare...?"
"Flare...?" came the male voice. There was a knock on the door. "Um, no, my name isn't Flare... Can you come to the door, please?" Carina looked at the door, then back at the phoenix. It stared blankly at her. She shook her head and trotted over to the door and opened it a crack.
"Y-yes...?" she said quietly. When she saw who it was, she gasped.
"Carina." It was the stallion from the market. He was wearing his hat, but not his coat, and had a serious look on his face.
"Y-yes...?"Carina peeped.
Seeing the nervous reaction, the stallion smiled kindly. "There's no need to be worried, I just want to talk."
"Oh... um... okay..." There was silence. The stallion's eyes shifted from side to side, and he cleared his throat. Carina got a look of realization. "Oh! Right... sorry..." She slowly opened the door for him and beckoned him inside.
"That's quite alright," he chuckled. He took off his hat and walked in. Carina closed the door behind him and quickly trotted next to him as he observed the apartment. It was a fairly cramped and cheap apartment, but it was new, as was almost everything in the city. It was fairly clean as well, except for one corner in particular, which had a paint-stained tarp on the floor, with an easel, a pile of canvases to the side, and a table sporting some cups filled with brushes, paint, and quills. The walls held several lovely paintings and sketches, all crafted by the resident.
"C-can I get you something?" Carina offered.
"Hm?" The stallion looked at her. "Oh! No, thank you." He looked around. "Uh- why don't you have a seat?" He smiled and gestured to a comfy armchair by the window.
"Um... O-okay..." Carina made her way over to the chair and sat down.
"Let me introduce myself," the stallion said while taking the seat across from her. "My name is Silver Mine."
"Um... nice to meet you, Mr. Mine, sir..." Carina said quietly, avoiding eye contact.
Silver sat there for a moment, blinking. "Uh... right... so you're probably wondering why I was trying to get to you in the market today. Carina nodded shyly. "Well, I actually have a proposition for you."
Carina's ears perked up and she made full eye contact. "A proposition...?"
"Yes." Silver frowned and his ears folded back. "Although, to be honest, now that I look at it, it's probably gonna take a lot of coaxing and reasoning to get you to accept..." Carina cocked her head at him. "Well, let me just give you the run-down. I'm sure you're aware of the current dragon threat...?" Carina shrunk slightly and nodded. "Well, I'm assembling a team to go to the land of the dragons and convince them to retract their threats."
She raised an eyebrow. "How are you going to do that...?" she asked. "They're... they're dragons..."
Silver nodded. "Yes, I know. Which is why I'm picking the most diverse and skilled team members for the mission."
"So... what does this have to do with me...?"
"Well..." He paused to search for the right words."You see... You kinda... You're..." He sighed and looked her straight in the eye. "We want you on the team."
"What?!" Carina squeaked, instantly clamping her hooves over her mouth after such a loud outburst.
Silver took this opportunity to quickly explain: "Look, believe me, I completely understand why you're so surprised. But-"
"Nonononononononono-!" Carina interrupted. "I-I-I can't go on a mission to stop dragons! I-I-I'm a painter! I-I'm shy! I'm... akward, I'm childish, I can't... I can't..."
"Carina." Silver's stern voice silenced her, and her eyes fell to the floor. "Look at me." Her eyes rose again to meet Silver's. He had a serious yet sincere expression. "I know you think you're the last pony for the job. But let me be the first to tell you-- you're one of the best." Her eyes slightly widened. "Now... I'm going to give you a few reasons on why you should come along-- some of which may confuse you. Alright...?" She nodded. "First off. A few days ago, you sent me a letter. Specifically-" Silver reached into his saddlebag and pulled out an envelope. "-this letter." Carina wore a confused expression. "Now. You probably don't remember writing this. Correct?"
"U-um..."
"It's alright. You weren't supposed to remember. It's good that you don't. We told a lot of ponies what we were up to, and only a few replied. We don't want this mission to be well-known, so we wiped everypony's memories, and chose the successful candidates. You were one of the applicants."
Carina hesitated. "B-but why did I apply...?"
Silver shrugged. "I don't know for sure. Maybe you just wanted to help whenever somepony is in need. Maybe you thought you could specialize in some way."
"W-well... what did I say in the letter...?"
Silver held out the letter to her, and she took it. "Just the basics," he said. "Your appearance, personality, abilities, background, etc." Carina read the letter. Sure enough, it was just pretty much an accurate description of her. She was listed as "shy," "modest," "nervous..." It even talked about Flare and her-- she gasped. Slowly, she shrunk lower into her seat with her front hooves in front of her face, still holding the letter. She looked at him with worried (and rather embarrassed) eyes. He remained stoic for a moment, before looking down gravely. He sighed. "Yes. You told me about your parents. And the orphanage... I'm sorry."
Carina was shaking a bit. Memories flooded her mind. She quickly shook her head to stop them from surfacing again. "But-- why would I tell anyone about that?!" she squealed in a cracking voice.
Silver shrugged again. "I don't know, Carina," he said rather sternly. "But you did. Whatever the reason, you wanted to apply. I'm not sure why you would tell me something so deep... Maybe..." He smiled kindly at her. "...you just trusted me." Carina stared at the stallion, mouth open slightly. She looked down at the paper.
"Why did you choose me...?" she asked quietly.
"I think we've already answered that." Carina looked back up. Silver held his smile. "You told a complete stranger your deepest and darkest secret in the interest of the greater good. That shows bravery and sacrifice. Those are the signs of a hero." Carina shrunk even more and looked away, blushing. Silver chuckled. "...Albeit an unlikely one." Carina couldn't help but giggle at his last remark.
However, all her enjoyment drained away. "I... I'm still not sure..." she said.
Silver sighed. "I understand," he murmured. "Believe me, I do." Carina looked up at him. He was blankly staring off into space. "I know how it feels..."
"Y-you do...?"
He nodded, then looked at her. "I was an orphan, too. My parents died when I was very young. I grew up practically my whole life feeling lonely. So believe me, I understand what you've been through."
Such a lonely ma~are...!
Carina flinched. When Silver got a confused look, she blinked and looked at Flare, who was still sitting on the table near the door, staring at the wall. "So," Silver said after a while. "What do you say...?"
"Um... I'd like some time to think about it," Carina said as she got up. "If you don't mind..."
"Please." Carina walked past him and back towards the door. Glancing periodically over her shoulder, she quickly snatched Flare and brought him down to the floor, leaning down to him.
"What do you think, Flare...?" she whispered.
"..." replied the phoenix.
"He makes some good points... that was my signature on the note... It must've been me who wrote that letter. Did I really apply for this mission...?"
"..." sayeth the phoenix.
"But... It's a mission to stop dragons! Big, fire-breathing dragons...! I don't think I'd be able to handle that kind of pressure..."
Quoth the phoenix: "..."
"You're right... He's right. I did show courage when I told him about my childhood... Maybe I really did want to be a part of this... I just... I just don't see how I could possibly... fit in..."
"We could always use a friend." Carina stared at the plush phoenix. It perched below the table near her chamber door.
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Carina shook herself out of her stupor and rose, looking behind her. Silver was looking at her. "Everyone could use a friend. Especially these days." Carina looked back down at the stuffed phoenix.
No friends but Fla~are...!
"...Will you be my friend...?" Carina asked.
"Me...?" Silver raised an eyebrow.
Carina spun around, eyes widened. "Oh! I'm sorry... That was a bit direct... I just..."
"You don't have many friends, do you...?" Silver guessed. Carina nodded, and her eyes fell to the floor. Silver sighed, got up, and walked over to her. "Relax," he said. He put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up at him, and he smiled. "If you accept the mission, we'll be spending so much time together, it'll be hard not to be friends." Carina smiled weakly. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Alright," she said. "I accept the mission." She opened her eyes.
Silver seemed surprised. "...Really?" he asked.
Carina giggled. "Y-yes. You made some good points. I have a feeling that I wanted this mission for some good reason... so... I guess I'll just trust myself. And... I'll trust you."
Silver smiled wider. "Good," he said, backing off. "Right, then. Go on, start packing. Don't bother with food or water, I have that already, but pack a bedroll and anything else you might need. Don't pack more than you can carry."
Carina blinked. "Are... are we leaving now...?" she asked.
"Preferably," Silver answered, walking back to the living area.
"Oh... u-um... o-okay..." Carina scooped Flare up off the floor before entering her small bedroom.
Once she was finished packing, she opened the door to the living area to find Silver looking at one of her paintings. She walked up behind him, head hung low. "I-I know," she said shyly, "they're not very good, are they...?"
"Huh..." Silver muttered, seemingly to himself. "Again with the modesty..." He shook his head and turned to the blue mare, smiling. "Not at all! I really like them." Carina perked up a bit. "Especially this one..." he pointed to the painting he was looking at-- a yellow grassy hill in the foreground, with a lone silver-armored stallion at the edge, overlooking a river, gazing at a menacing castle on the other side, surrounded by ominous clouds.
Carina raised an eyebrow. "You like that one...?"
"Yes, it's very good. What's it called?"
"Um... 'The Lone One goes to War'..."
"Ooh, I like the ring of that."
"But... don't you think it's a bit... generic...?"
"Not at all. I think it's unique. Just like a lot of these other ones!" He motioned to the other paintings on display. "In fact... I'd like to take this one off your hooves..." He walked up to a painting of Canterlot tower in an orange-red-violet twilight hue. "...If you're willing to sell."
Carina was surprised. She had had customers before, sure, but not many were this enthusiastic about her work as this. Still, she was struggling somewhat with money, and she wouldn't turn down a paying customer. "U-um... yes. That one is for sale... I call it 'Twilight Tower'."
"What's your price?"
"Um... thirty bits."
Silver paused. Then, he slowly smiled. "Well. I'm glad- and a bit surprised- to see you're not the underpricing type. Good deal." He fished out three pouches of bits from his saddlebag and gave them to Carina, who gave him a sack to store the painting in. "Right, then. Are you all packed up?" Carina nodded. "Good. Then let's go." The two walked towards the door, only for Silver to stop and look at the lone one on the hill again, with a focused expression.
"What is it...?" Carina asked.
Silver turned to her. "He's not alone."
"What?"
Silver smiled. "The Lone One. He's not alone. Even if he thinks he is, he isn't, and never will be." And with that, Silver put his hat on and opened the door. Carina glanced back at the painting, contemplating what Silver had meant, before walking out the door, followed closely by Silver.
They walked toward the lobby door, and Silver took his coat off the rack. Looking outside, Carina saw it was raining. Silver opened the door, and the two stood there for a moment. "Here," Silver said. Carina felt something warm drape over her body. She looked up at Silver, only to be blinded by the dark brim of a hat being placed on her head. She adjusted it to see Silver without any of his attire. "It'll keep you dry," he said.
Carina smiled at him. "Thanks..." she said. Silver casually walked out into the rain, and stopped, looking up at the gray sky. Carina followed suit. "Won't you get wet...?" she asked.
He smiled and shook his head. "Rain never bothered me. I like it." He sighed, then chuckled. "I dated a pegasus once. I got her to make it rain in the backyard just so I could stand in it for a while. She said I was crazy..." Carina was confused.
"But... interracial coupling hasn't been around so long..." Carina pointed out. "How long ago was this...?"
Silver's smile disappeared, and his eyes fell half-closed. "I can't remember exactly..." he said quietly. Raindrops continued to strike his face, but he seemed completely unfazed.
"Well... what happened to her...?" Carina asked. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted saying them, and she cringed. But Silver just stood there.
There was a gust of wind, and Silver let out a sneeze, followed quickly by a chuckle. "I may like the rain," he said, "but it won't hesitate to give me a cold." He started trotting down the road. "Come on. Let's go." Carina hesitated for a moment, but shook her head and followed.
The two entered an inn not too far from the apartment complex Carina was living in. While Silver went up to talk to the desk clerk, Carina went to a corner and pulled out her stuffed phoenix.
"We're going on an adventure, Flare!" she whispered.
"..." Flare chirped.
"I'm excited, too! But... I'm a little nervous..."
"..."
"I know... thanks."
"..."
"Y-yes, it is all a bit strange..."
"..."
She looked around. Silver was talking to the desk clerk, saying something about 'more on the way.' "You know what the strangest thing about all this is...?" Carina whispered.
"..." asked Flare.
"I... I think I remember writing that letter..."
Run, run, far away We still have more time to play. Run, run, far and fast. You can't escape me, nor your past!
Day VII Mountain road to Canterlot, Equestria. Dawn
Entry 1
I guess I might as well start from the beginning.
I was borne to a prodigious family of blacksmiths, and was taught the finest points in the craft. I was quite excellent in it, but my heart wasn't in my work. My family was one of Thr the main suppliers for the army, thus I was taught to craft weapons. With my displeasure in what I made with my hooves, I began to experiment with what I could build. Soon, I discovered that I could ienvision and create wonderful things. My father,
Bronze Feather's writing was interrupted by a knock on the door of his small wagon. He perked up, closed his journal, and walked over to the door. He opened it to find a unicorn royal guard standing outside. "Yes?" Bronze asked.
"You wished to be informed when the city will be open for entry?" the guard said.
"Is it opening now?" Bronze inferred.
"Yes," the guard replied. "We're opening the gate now."
Bronze nodded. "Good. Thank you, sir." The guard nodded and trotted off down the road, which lead to the massive lowered drawbridge and raising iron gate, built into the tall white wall that stretched off of the cliffside and became one with the edge of the city itself. Bronze stepped out of his cramped wagon and stretched out his legs. He glanced at the brown cloak draped over him before looking at the unicorn, who continued walking away. He quickly shrugged off the cloak, revealing his long, slender wings. They unfurled out to his sides as he stretched them out, the silver underside glistening in the light of the rising sun as he twisted them.
Once he was all stretched, he replaced his cloak and went back in to the cabin. He checked the pockets of his vest- everything was in order. He slipped his custom glove on his right forehoof- nice and comfortable. After double-checking that he was ready for the day, he exited his cabin, closing the door behind him, and walked around to the front of the wagon. He slipped underneath the harness and strapped himself to it before looking at the great white wall, glowing with an orange tint in the early sun. He sighed and started hauling his mobile home up the path, towards the gate-- the gate to a sea of opportunity.
Bronze had just finished setting up his makeshift vendor stand in front of his wagon-- a few crates with various gadgets and tools displayed on them. He looked around. There were a hoofful of ponies milling about, most of them were other vendors setting up shop. Some of them were eying him suspiciously. Bronze did his best to just ignore them. He had certainly had his fair share of discrimination- mainly from the Earth ponies he was used to being around. Which is why he started wearing the cloak in the first place-- to hide his wings. But now that he was in a mostly unicorn city, he figured he was likely to be discriminated either way. Shaking his head and sighing, he looked around some more, and noticed there were some royal guards patrolling the streets. He pondered this for a moment, trying to remember anything that would give a logical explanation for it...
...Hm. Nope. He shrugged and stood behind his row of small crates, looking over his stockpile of artisantry. He couldn't help but grin at his own handiwork. I did a darn good job, didn't I? he thought.
Day VII Market District, Canterlot, Equestria High Noon
Hours passed.
The market was bustling, as expected, and Bronze didn't hesitate to advertise. "Gadgets, trinkets, and tools!" he would shout. "Get them while they're here! They're easy to use, and'll make your job even easier!" He had already made a few sales- a customized wrench to an Earth pony engineer who happened to be looking for a replacement- a telescope to a kind lavender unicorn mare wearing a brown cloak, not too unlike his- and a compass to a red unicorn scribe wearing a blue cape. Odd how a scribe would need a compass... regardless, business was going good. In Bronze's line of work, just a few sales is expected. He put time, effort, and money into his gadgets, and his customers knew it. He wasn't overpriced at all- his wares just needed to be expensive.
"Easy-to-use gadgets! Telescopes! Magnifiers! Music boxes! Wind-up toys! I've got tools for work and trinkets for play!" Bronze spotted a young unicorn filly who had perked her ears up at "wind-up toys." She smiled happily and started moving toward him, only to be yanked back and dragged off by her mother, who said something to her and gave Bronze a death glare. Bronze's smile slowly vanished and his ears drooped. He had dealt with all kinds of hurtful racism, but this one struck him deep down. The look on the filly's face... the look of pure excitement and curiosity... the look of innocence. All she wanted was to see what kind of toys this happy pony wanted to sell her. She didn't care that he wasn't a unicorn. She was too young to know-- or care-- about the strifes between the three races. She was growing up in a world where all ponies were equal... and yet, there she went, being dragged away by her mother, confused, not understanding why or how her mother thought this stallion was bad just by looking at him.
And there's no doubt in my mind that she'll ask her just that, Bronze thought, closing his eyes. And her mother will feed her a bunch of misleading sh- Bronze's thoughts were interrupted by a rather posh-looking magenta unicorn mare slowly approaching him. Just as well, anyway, he thought as he shook himself out of his stupor. I have to be thinking positive. His smile instantly returned as he watched the pony slowly walk up to his "stand," examining the merchandise.
"Good day, Madam!" he said cheerfully. The mare said nothing and didn't look at him. She stopped in front of his row of crates and scanned the various trinkets laid out, adjusting her glasses. Bronze shifted in place for a moment. She held a dull, half-lidded stare of judgment mixed with ever so slight interest. The kind of look a critic would wear. Finally, the mare looked up at him over her glasses. He smiled awkwardly at her.
"Did you craft these... trinkets yourself...?" she said slowly with a posh voice.
"Um... Y-yes. Yes, I did," Bronze replied. The mare slowly nodded and continued examining the wares. As she lowered her head for a closer look, Bronze spotted somepony else looking at him from the crowd. It was a gray Earth pony stallion, wearing a black coat and hat, staring straight at him with a blank expression, not moving. Bronze raised an eyebrow-
"And, you travel from city to city selling your... goods...?" the mare asked.
Bronze blinked and looked back at her. "Um, town to town, mostly," he answered. "This is my first time in Canterlot." Why does she always say it like she's looking for the right word to use for my wares...?
The mare slowly raised an eyebrow, as if she didn't believe him. Bronze stole a glance over her shoulder. The stallion was no longer there.
"Hmm..." the mare hummed. "That is most... interesting."
That was really starting to get annoying. "Um... Thank you?" Are you gonna buy something, or not, lady? after what felt like an hour, the mare simply started to walk off. Bronze just watched her go with a cocked eyebrow. "Uh... Good day..." he said. The mare didn't react. Bronze shook his head right before he heard someone approaching from the other end of his stand. He turned to face them, and sure enough, it was the gray stallion in the coat. He looked at the gadgets as he approached, much like the mare did, but with a blank expression. "Hello, sir!" Bronze chirped. The stallion looked at him. "You looking for something to make your job easier?" The stallion's mouth grew into a giant smirk.
"As a matter of fact, I am."
Day VII The Tipsy Griffon, Canterlot, Equestria Second stage of Setting Sun*
Bronze slammed his custom tankard on the counter with a unique and satisfying PANG. "So let me get this straight..." he said. He looked over to his left at the gray stallion, who introduced himself as Silver Mine, sitting next to him. He was wearing neither coat nor hat, as they were hung up on the coat rack by the tavern door. The tavern itself was dark and musty, with a crowd of primarily Earth ponies and pegasi. Ironic, seeing as how the bartender, who Silver had identified as Shining Clean, was a unicorn. "You told everypony that you were looking for a team to stop the dragon threat..."
"Yes."
"But only a few were selected, and you had to wipe everypony's memories to keep the mission out of jeopardy..."
"Yes."
"But you wiped the ones that were selected anyway..."
"...Yes."
"And I applied to this..."
"Yes."
"And I was selected...?"
"Yes."
"Aaaaand, now you're here to tell me just that?"
"Yes."
"And you showed me this letter, which has my signature, to prove that I actually did apply..."
"Yes."
"And... you expect me to just go on the mission even though I know practically nothing about it, based solely on the fact that I sent an application for reasons that I can't possibly remember?"
Silver paused for a moment and stared off into space. "...Yes."
"Ugh..." Bronze brought a hoof to his face, which happened to be the gloved one, softening the blow. "Well, I'm afraid you're wrong. I'm gonna need to know why I applied if I'm gonna agree to this."
Silver nodded. "Fair enough," he said. "I'm sure we can figure it out. I've already convinced four of the seven of you."
Bronze narrowed his eyes. "Really...?" he said. Silver nodded. "Interesting..." The pegasus turned back towards the bartender. "Could I get a refill?"
Clean smiled and nodded. "Of course." He walked off, looking for a bottle.
Bronze gazed off into space and tapped the counter with his gloved hoof. "Now then... why would I want to go on such an adventure...?" He picked up the letter in front of him with his other hoof, examining it. "I didn't include a reason in the application... Did I...?"
Silver shook his head. "No one did," he said. "It wasn't necessarily a required field. Although, now that I think about it... It would've made my job easier if it was... Why didn't I think of that...?" Silver grunted and took a swig from his mug. Clean came back, and a levitating bottle poured sweet Fillydelphian cider into Bronze's tankard. Bronze barely noticed him as he continued in his train of thought.
"It must've been a good reason," he contemplated, still tapping the counter top. "I mean, sure, I'd support this new country till the end of my days... and I suppose some of my inventions would certainly help with the journey... so I have a reason as to why I would be selected... but why would I apply...? That's the question..."
"Beats me..." Silver muttered as he took another sip of his drink.
"Maybe I just wanted to see my inventions being put to good use...?" Bronze continued, shifting in his seat. "I mean, that's a logical explanation as any, but it doesn't explain why I wanted to actually go on the mission..." Bronze thought to himself in silence for a while. Just then, a pink and yellow earth pony barmaid walked up to the bar on Bronze's right.
"I need four Filly-D ciders, Shiny," she told the bartender, placing a tray on the counter.
"Comin' up," Clean said. "Can you dry off those glasses for me, Juniper?" He nodded toward a group of wet mugs on Silver's side of the bar.
"Sure thing." The barmaid went through the bar door and around the bartender. When she reached the glasses, she spotted Silver and smiled. "Hey, you," she said cheerfully.
Silver smiled back. "Hello, Juney," he said.
Juniper Sweet started drying the glass mugs with a white rag. "Trying to convince another one of your 'recruits'...?" she asked, motioning toward Bronze. Shining nervously glanced at her, then at the crowd of ponies in the room.
Silver shrugged. "Actually, this one seems to be convincing himself," he said, also nodding toward the pegasus on his right, who continued to silently talk to himself, tapping the counter. "I'm just letting him do his thing." Juniper looked at Bronze, then back at Silver. She giggled and continued drying the mugs. Silver smiled and glanced at Shining, who gave him a nervous expression. As Silver gave a questioning look, he nodded towards the other ponies in the bar. Silver gave him a calm smile and shook his head, as if saying "don't worry about it." Clean replied with a shrug that said "if you say so."
Bronze blinked and shook his head. "Hm?! What?" He looked around. "Did somepony mention me...?"
Juniper looked at him and giggled. "He's a lot like you, Silvey," she said.
Silver rolled his eyes and turned to Bronze. "Sorry. This is Juniper Sweet and Shining Clean," he said. "Two very close friends of mine." Bronze smiled at them and nodded. The bartender nodded back before levitating a bottle over four tankards on a tray. Juniper smiled and waved. "So have you thought of anything...?" Silver asked the pegasus.
"Oh... well... I figured I must've learned something that would convince me to go," Bronze speculated. "So either I'm forgetting something that I should be remembering, or whatever it was I learned was wiped with my other memories." Bronze froze. Then, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Silver. "Is... there something you're not telling me...?"
Silver said nothing, but Juniper laughed. "Yeah, he does that a lot," she said. Silver glared at her, and she grinned at him.
"So... what aren't you telling me...?" Bronze asked. Silver remained silent for a while before answering.
"The biggest reason," he said. "The biggest and most influential reason that could ever influence you to go. A reason that would make you drop everything and and sacrifice anything to go on this mission. A reason that would change your life."
Bronze raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you start with that...?"
Silver lowered his head a bit. "Because I was hoping you would find some other reason to go..."
"Why...?"
Silver looked him in the eye. "Because you'd wish you never knew it." Bronze reared his head back a little. "But darn it, you're too smart," Silver continued. "You knew there was something else going on, and you had to look into it. With creativity comes curiosity, I suppose. And now, I have to tell you." Bronze stared at him, mouth agape. "Do you want to hear it...?"
The pegasus remained silent for a while. Then, finally, he nodded. "I have to know."
Silver nodded back. "Very well. Let's step outside." He fished out a hoofful of bits from his satchel and put them on the counter. Bronze did the same.
"Going so soon?" Juniper asked as she finished drying off the mugs.
"I'm afraid so, Juney." Silver said.
"Oh. Well, have a safe journey, Bronze!"
The pegasus looked at her. "Oh, well I haven't actually... uh... thanks."
Juniper trotted over to the tray with the now-filled tankards and placed it on her back. "And keep an eye on this one," she added, pointing at Silver. "When you're out camping, let him sleep in a little. He can get real feisty when you wake him up early." She gave Silver a playful wink as she trotted off. Silver smiled as he watched her leave. Then he looked at Bronze, who was cocking an eyebrow at him. Silver just stared with a blank, innocent look.
"What?"
Bronze shook his head, shrugged, and got up from his stool.
Outside was rather uncrowded, as this part of the city was usually bustling during the later hours of the day. Regardless, Silver led Bronze into the alley next to the tavern. It was wet and muddy from the rain the day before, and was a bit dark. Once he was satisfied no one could hear them, he sighed and looked Bronze in the eye. "Alright," he began. "Not many ponies know this, but there have been some victims of the dragon threat. Already."
Bronze's eyes widened. "Really?"
Silver nodded. "Yes. Some ponies that were drifting too close to the dragon lands were taken captive, and are being held hostage. As if Canterlot wasn't enough."
Bronze narrowed his eyes. "What does this have to do with me...?" Silver bowed his head and closed his eyes. "...Mr. Mine..." He reopened them, but didn't look at the pegasus. "What does this have to do with me...?"
Silver remained silent once again. Finally, he sighed and reached into his saddlebag, pulling out a scroll. "This is the list of the missing ponies," he said, offering it to Bronze. Slowly, Bronze took it out of his hoof and unrolled it.
He scanned the list of names, until he stopped and furrowed his brow. "Hey," he said, "I remember him. He worked at my father's forge-"
"Keep reading."
Bronze obliged. None of the other names meant anything to him, until he read-
He dropped the scroll. It landed in a puddle, and began to soak up. Neither stallion made a move to save it. Bronze's eyes were wide, his pupils small. He shook his head frantically. "No..." he muttered. "No... no no... That's impossible..."
"You know it isn't."
"No, no! That's not... It isn't..." Bronze put a hoof to his head as he backed up a few steps. "She can't..."
"She is." He looked at Silver, who wore a dark glare. "But you... Bronze Feather..." Silver pointed at him. "You... can help her."
Bronze looked down at the wet piece of parchment that changed his life. He stood there for a moment, mouth agape, eyes lost in confusion. But slowly... after a while... those eyes left confusion behind... and took a new form. Slowly and gradually, Bronze's face shifted. By the time he looked up to face Silver...
He was glaring.
"What will I have to pack?"
The inventor joins the team, and with a motive stronger than any of the others, from what we've seen. What that motive is may be revealed at a later time, but for now, the two stallions walk away, leaving behind the soaked piece of parchment that would change dozens of lives at a single glance.
Hours later, in the pub, the barmaid approaches the barkeep, with a question that has been plaguing her mind for a while now...
Day VII The Tipsy Griffon, Canterlot, Equestria Third stage of Rising Moon
Juniper set the tray down on the counter and exhaled. "Boy, tonight's been pretty busy, eh, Shiny?" she said.
"Yup, sure has," The white stallion replied, cleaning a shot glass.
Juniper looked from side to side. "So listen..." she began, in a hushed tone. "I was wondering... do you know much about Silver's 'mission'...?"
Shining shook his head, still not looking at her. "Not much besides the fact that he told us we shouldn't talk about it," he said plainly.
Juniper frowned at him. "Come on, Shining," she said in a more serious tone. "I know you know something about it. Spill it."
Shining sighed and placed the shot glass and rag down on the counter. he looked at her. "Look, all I know is that he's going on a journey to aid in the dragon conflict," he told her. "I don't know what exactly he's doing, or why he needs a team."
Juniper groaned. "I already know all that!"
"Well, then I guess you know just as much as I do on this matter, Jun."
"Well... what if he's trying to handle it all on his own...?" Shining cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well, I mean... you know Silvey. He can get reckless. What if he just told us he was 'aiding' the cause when really he wants to try and stop it himself?"
"You do have a point... That boy can certainly be troublesome... more so to himself."
"Tell me about it..."
"What are you planning to do about it?"
"Well... this might sound a bit crazy, but..."
"After what I've seen from you, I doubt anything else could surprise me."
"Oh really...?"
"Yep."
"I'm carrying Silver's baby."
"Ha ha."
"Anyway, What I was planning on doing was... well... following him. You know, make sure he doesn't get himself killed...?"
"Hm... I suppose he does have a rather... concerning track record..."
"You can afford to close the bar for a few days. Business isn't going that great anyway, since everypony's leaving Canterlot, with the whole dragon thing and all."
"That is a fair point..."
"And your wife and kid are away anyway, so you won't be leaving them behind."
"Hm... Alright. You've convinced me."
"You sound surprised."
"I guess I'll need to pack my things..."
"Me too. Should we close up early tonight...?"
"I think so." Shining levitated a small bell up from under the counter and rang it three times. "Last call!" he called out. There were some grunts and groans of disapproval.
However, in one particular corner, a hooded mare was laying a set of playing cards out on her table, one by one. Her cloak covered her entire face, besides her gray snout. She drew the Jester- a wild card.
Day VIII Hearth's Blaze Company, Canterlot, Equestria Midnight
Coal.
The number one non-magical source of heat and fuel across the world. Ever since Earth ponies learned to mine, coal has warmed the homes and cooked the food of ponies everywhere. It was also the second major good traded between the tribes back when they were divided-- the first being food. It's cheap, abundant, and a little goes a long way. Especially in Mr. Scorcher's case. He could get a crackling fire going with no more than flint, tinder, some twigs and a pebble of coal.
This is what he did for a living. Some may find it hard to believe, but his job is starting fires. While he may be a large, quiet, gruff, hardworking stallion, he has been known to be very outgoing and cheerful once you get to know him. He owned a business in Canterlot, the Hearth's Blaze Company, after settling down from a nomadic travel-based business, in which he provided... well... fire.
One section of his small stone complex was dedicated to providing a warm place for the homeless to stay. There was a large roaring fire in the center of the room, surrounded by wool-covered benches. This section was mostly popular during autumn and winter. Another section was the storage room for coal, tinder, lumber, flint, and other fire-related materials. It even had a large window that opened up at street level for Scorcher to sell the supplies to anyone who needed them. He'd even give complimentary advice to any young lad learning how to survive in the wilderness. His large coal shipment contracts made up the majority of his business. The third section was the furnace room, home to the second biggest furnace in Canterlot, the first being the Royal Forge in Canterlot Keep. He would smelt metals brought to him by customers, mainly from mining quartermasters or independent miners-- which also happened to be where he got most of his coal.
Needless to say, Coal Scorcher had a wide grasp on the business of a rather obscure field. One could claim that he was a middle man when it came to the coal business, but honestly, the mining companies just wanted it off of their hooves, and Coal needed something more to sell at a convenient location for customers. Unfortunately, some ponies didn't understand that. Fortunately, Coal didn't give a flying feather. "They went out of stock a week ago," he would say to a close-minded 'customer'. "I can't give any more. Try coming back tomorrow. I might have some to give then, but honestly, I don't think I will."
Coal's life was pretty good. He wasn't a rich stallion by any means, and he lived at the place he worked, but he wasn't struggling. He had four wonderful ponies working under him, who each did their job well. His life was pretty good.
And yet, he could never seem to sleep at night.
So there he was, wide awake in the furnace room, smelting some iron he was delivered to pass the time. His expression was cold and stern. Under normal circumstances, he would have a rather positive attitude. These were no normal circumstances. The dragon incident aroused... thoughts. Rather distracting thoughts. Thoughts that brought insomnia with them. Thoughts that changed his very personality... Thoughts that were interrupted by a tapping noise on the window shutter.
the brown earth pony looked up from the furnace he was tending and raised an eyebrow at said shutter. Who would want their metal smelted in the middle of the night...? he thought. Then he looked down at what he was doing right then and there, and rolled his eyes. He set down the metal poker he was holding and trotted over to the vending window and raised the shutter slightly. Outside was a gray stallion, an earth pony, with a black mane and a brown saddlebag. He looked at Coal.
"Coal Scorcher," he said.
"Yes...?" Scorcher replied.
"I have something to discuss with you," the pony explained. "May I come in...?"
Coal grunted. He couldn't sleep anyway. What the hay. "I suppose," he replied. "Entrance is around front." He motioned his head to the left, and the gray stallion nodded. Coal closed the shutter and stretched out his legs before walking towards a door. Wonder what this is about... he thought. He opened the door and entered the small, carpeted, stone lobby of his "office" complex. He shut the door behind him and walked past a wooden desk, normally sat at by Shifty Waft, the young blank-flank intern.
When he opened the door, the gray stallion was already there. Scorcher stepped aside and motioned for him to come in, still wearing a blank and tired expression. The stallion nodded in thanks, but was also wearing a similar expression. Coal closed the door behind him and walked around the desk. "How can I help you?" he asked.
"Allow me to introduce myself first," the stallion said. "My name is Silver Mine."
"A pleasure, Mr. Mine."
"Likewise. I have a proposition for you..."
"You work for Golden Quill, don't you?" Coal asked, wiping his hooves with a dirty rag.
Silver blinked. "Uh... yes," he said, confused. "How did you know...?"
"Pickaxe," Coal said simply.
"I'm sorry?"
"Your cutie mark," Coal nodded to Silver's flank. "It's a pickaxe. Not to mention your name is Silver Mine. I figured you were a miner."
"That's not true," Silver objected, earning a raised eyebrow from Scorcher. "I'm well over eighteen." He smirked.
Coal rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Anyway, I figured the only reason a miner would be up here in Canterlot is for the big excavation project, run by none other than Mr. Quill." He turned to fully face Silver. "Am I wrong...?"
Silver chuckled and shook his head. "Nope," he said. "Spot on. But how do you know Mr. Quill?"
Coal motioned to the door on his right, which read "FURNACE ROOM". "He comes by along with the quartermaster sometimes, when she brings me metal to smelt. He's a very nice stallion, isn't he?"
Silver smiled and bobbed his head. "Yes, he's very nice."
Coal dropped the rag on the desk and started walking back towards the furnace room door. "Anyway, what was this proposition you mentioned...?"
"You're insane," Coal replied finally.
"Am I...?"
"Yes, you are."
"That must make you insane, too," Silver pointed out. "Because you applied for this mission." Coal sighed. The miner had a point. He looked back at the letter on the metal table behind him. Not only did it have his signature, but it was smudged with coal dust and stains, a common consistency among documents he signed. There was almost no doubt in his mind that he had written that letter. He turned back to the furnace he was tending to.
"There's no way you can reason with dragons," he said. "They're mindless, evil, corrupt animals that seek nothing but wealth and power. If anything gets in the way of that, they'll kill it."
"Then why did you apply?"
"How am I supposed to know?! Maybe I wasn't thinking right. Maybe I was led to believe something else." Coal paused and turned to Silver slightly. "Maybe you're lying to me."
"I can assure you I'm not," Silver replied, remaining calm and collected. "You wrote this letter, and you know it."
Scorcher sighed once more. "Just because I signed up for something then doesn't mean I'll agree to follow through now if the reason for signing up is unknown to me."
"Sounds like you don't trust yourself."
"I don't trust somepony..."
"Seems to me like you need a good motive, hm...?"
"Among other things," Coal said, "but yes, motive is probably the biggest factor here." He stopped for a moment to look behind him at Silver. "And so far, I haven't gotten a good one."
Silver said nothing as Scorcher turned back to the furnace. He was quiet for a bit. Finally, he sighed.
"Look... I know about how you feel about dragons, Coal." No response. "I know what kind of experience you've had with them."
Scorcher paused. There was silence. "...What do you mean...?"
"...I know what happened to your family."
Coal spun around and looked at Silver with a look of confusion and concern. "How did you know about that?" He asked lowly.
"You included it in your letter."
Coal looked at the letter on the table and snatched it before quickly reading it over. "Why would I tell a stranger about something like that!?"
"Because you wanted to be picked, Coal." Scorcher looked up at him. "You want revenge."
"How do you know-"
"-This is the same dragon?" Silver finished. "I don't. But you thought it was. Deep down, you could feel that it was. And that was reason enough for you to sign up. You desperately wanted to be picked, so you gave me a good motive for yourself. And guess what, Coal...?" He leaned forward. "It worked." Scorcher looked down at the parchment in his hooves. "Is that a good enough motive for you...?"
Coal looked up at the miner, then back down at the parchment. Then he looked over at the crackling fire in the furnace. He stared deep into the inferno... he saw his home in the wood, burned to the ground. He saw the image of his family flicker in the flames. He heard their screams. And he heard the unmistakable dragon's roar. He narrowed his eyes. He looked back at Silver and nodded.
"I'm in."
"Good." Silver turned and started walking toward the door. "Gather your things. We're leaving now."
"What should I bring?"
"A bedroll, saddlebags, plus whatever else you need. I've taken care of food and water. Don't pack more than you can carry. I'll be waiting outside." Coal nodded and turned towards the stairs. "And, Coal...?" He turned back to Silver, who had the lobby door open, and was looking back at him. "The rest of the team thinks this is a diplomatic mission. What I've told you about getting revenge will be our secret. Clear?"
Coal nodded again. "Clear." Silver nodded back and walked out, closing the door behind him. Coal turned back to the furnace and finished tending to the fire. Once he did, he reached up to his messy mane and pulled out a small splinter of slightly-burnt wood. He looked at it for a moment. He sighed, and his gaze drifted into the flames as his mind wandered back to his memories...
Many years ago Haysead Forest, Equestria First stage of Rising Moon
The young Coal Scorcher was hauling a wagon full of lumber through the forest. And he wasn't enjoying it. He grumbled to himself about how unfair it was that his siblings made him do lumber work. Again. He wanted to do the bonfire tonight... but instead he was out here hauling this stupid wagon through this practically uncharted forest.
His thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable smell of wood burning. His pouting only grew. Great, they started it without me, he thought. Looks like they didn't need that extra lumber after all... He shifted the axe on his back and continued a little faster, not wanting to miss any more than he already had. As he grew closer to the edge of the forest it grew less dense. The skies were eerily null of their night blue hue, and were covered by a thick layer of smokey- gray clouds. Even so, Coal could see a tall pillar of smoke coming from the direction of his house. Coal's eyes widened. He figured it must've been a big bonfire. He continued through the forest until he saw the orange haze of fire from the same direction. Coal was awestruck. They must've really sparked a big one. He broke into an excited trot, eager to get home- until he heard a blood-curdling noise that made him stop dead in his tracks.
There was a scream. Not a surprised scream, not even a scream of terror-- it was a scream of sheer, immense, unrelenting pain and agony. And it was his mother's. Coal's heart dropped and he remained frozen for a moment. Suddenly he shook his head and broke out into a full gallop. Or he would've, if the wagon weren't weighing him down. He cursed and tore the harness off of his back before resuming his sprint.
When he exited the forest, he gasped. Off in the near distance, where he would normally see the blurred shape of his lone family cottage, he saw a bright orange light, spouting smoke above it. Coal ran as fast as he could to the cottage, as fast as his legs could carry him, and faster than his lungs recommended. When he could finally see the cottage clearly, he came to a halt. The cottage-- his home-- was on fire. Flames and smoke bellowed out of the windows, the roof was collapsing plank by plank, and the family inside-- Coal's family... his parents... the only two who really loved him... the family inside refused to go quietly.
Coal wanted to shout out to them, but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't speak. He couldn't scream. He couldn't even cry. He was frozen. That's when he heard a second sound. A sound that struck fear into all kinds of creatures everywhere... A dragon's roar. Coal's head snapped up just in time to see the winged shape of a dragon fly overhead. Its red scales were illuminated by the orange glow as it soared over the flames, through the smoke, and land behind the cottage. Coal remained frozen. Slowly, the dragon rose, now facing Coal and looking straight at him, his blazing glare piercing through the flames.
They remained staring at each other for a moment, one with a look of hatred, the other sheer trauma. The red dragon's face was rough and spiny, and he had a triplet of parallel scars across the right side of his snout. The roof of the cottage was fully collapsed now, and the screams had died down to horrible wails. Ash and stray flames scorched the ground around the burning structure, giving the area the feeling of a wasteland. The sky was still gray, the clouds more smokey, now lit up by the fire, showing the movements of smoke and air alike in fine detail. And Coal Scorcher thought to himself...
This... this is Tartarus...
Coal was about to collapse to the ground and cry until agonizing death would be brought upon him as well, but the dragon spoke up, in a loud, booming voice:
"Hio krii zu fron, zu krii hin fron."
It spoke in dragon tongue, which was completely unknown to ponykind, much less Coal. But before the colt could react, the dragon took off into the skies, roaring. Coal remained there, looking at the still-collapsing home in front of him, motionless. Then, finally, a lone tear trickled down his face, and fell. The wails and screams had ceased. There was nothing left. No one left...
Something large and wet hit coal on the back of the neck hard, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Many years ago Near Haysead Forest, Equestria Third stage of Rising Sun
Coal awoke to the smell of burnt lumber. He looked up and remembered everything immediately. He wasn't sure what had knocked him out, but he didn't care. It was a beautiful day out. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing, the sky was blue, and the clouds were white. It was the calm after the storm. But it didn't change the fact that the dead were still dead. Slowly, he crawled to the black and white ghost of a structure that used to be called his home. When he came to the edge of the giant ash pile, he spotted a splinter of wood sticking out of it. It was a light brown, the original color of the wooden house, slightly burned around the edges. He plucked it out of the pile and held it close to him.
Then he curled up into a ball, sobbing.
That went rather quickly. "Well, it wasn't that hard to convince him, considering." "Convince?" You lied to him. "Not necessarily." You really like to get technical, don't you? "I guess I do. But nevertheless, I didn't lie at all." You told him he would have revenge. This is a diplomatic mission. "...Well..." Either way, you're lying to somepony. "Either way, the goal is the same." It doesn't matter. How do you think they'll react when they find out that they each believed in different agendas? "If they find out." When. "They won't care that much, honestly." Really...? Scorcher sure seemed to care. He seemed to have a very strong feeling towards dragons. "Scorcher will have his revenge." So you are going to kill a dragon. "I didn't say anything about killing." Silver... What. Are. You. Planning!? "You want to know what my plan is...?" YES!
Day VIII A grass field on Canterlot Mountain, Equestria Fourth stage of Setting Sun
There was a lack of wind at the grassy cliffside. And it was not helping Quill. He crouched low, hiding within the barely-moving tall grass, creeping forward ever so slowly. Fortunately, the excessive chirps of bugs amongst the grass were enough to mask most of his movement. Unfortunately, said bugs kept buzzing around him and in his face, causing his ears to twitch and his tail to flick out of instinct. But despite all these complications, Quill's magenta eyes remained focused on something ahead of him; something he knew was there, but could not see and could barely hear... something trilling softly and occasionally rustling among the grass, accompanied by a light metallic scraping sound.
He took another careful step forward and made his own rustling noise. He cursed under his breath as the trilling halted. Then, a head poked up out of the grass ahead-- and there it was. It was confirmed. Its bronze beak glinted in the late afternoon sunlight. After a few tense seconds, the bird returned to its... whatever it was doing. There was a small breeze of wind, and Quill took the opportunity to move forward.
Finally, he reached a point of visible contact. There you are... he thought. Slowly, he levitated his journal out from behind him, along with an ink-ready quill. Keeping his eyes on the target, he turned to a specific page; a list of rare and exotic creatures that are supposedly native to Equestria. He then scanned the list until he found what he was looking for...
...
Minotaur
Phoenix
Roc < Badlands?
Salamander, Fire < normally in hot temp
Slime:
Black < caverns, mainly
Blue
Green < Especially common in swamps
Red < almost always near magma, must be in hot temp.
Yellow
Spider, Giant
Stymphalian bird
...
He smirked as he looked back at the bird. Its shining metal feathers softly chimed as they clinked together in ever so slight movements; giving a sound similar to ringmail armor. Quill watched with curiosity as the bird's bronze beak scraped between its feathers, both preening its wings and sharpening its beak. Fascinating, Quill thought. That would explain the metal scraping noise. The scribe smirked again as he levitated his quill over to the journal. Finally, a new addition to his bestiary. He decided he'd work out the details later, and crossed out "Stymphalian bird".
However, at that exact moment, the breeze, the bugs, and the bird decided to stop whatever they were doing. The wind ceased, the bugs went silent, and the bird stopped preening. So right at that moment, in the dead silence, there was a (relatively) loud scratch of a quill being drawn across parchment. Quill froze as the bird's head snapped in his direction.
"...Uh-oh."
The bird let out a metallic-sounding screech, which was surprisingly loud, catching Quill off-guard. Immediately following, the bird took off and hovered a few meters off the ground, its metal wings creating an eerie vibrating noise. It glared at the red unicorn.
Now, Quill had done his homework. He lived over a library after all, so he spent a lot of his free time studying for his upcoming expeditions. He did his research on this.
He knew what happened next.
In one swift motion, Quill levitated his journal and quill straight into his satchel and dove to the side, right before a pair of razor-sharp metal feathers embedded themselves in the spot he was just in. Wasting no time, the bird gave a short squawk and performed another hard flap of its wings, causing another volley of feathers to hurtle straight at Quill.
Stymphalian birds were known to be very hostile. They won't attack for no reason, but if you so much as look at them from a maximum of seven meters away, they'll tag you as an enemy. They have three methods of attack, the first being their metallic screech, combined with the intimidating spread of their metal wings, intending to scare the foe off and avoid a conflict altogether. However, they don't usually give their foes much time. Because almost immediately after, they launch a flurry of razor-sharp feathers, designed not necessarily to kill the enemy, but to cause them pain and/or incapacitate them.
But Quill knew this. Quill was prepared.
Quill snapped his head around, his horn glowing in a light blue aura. With a flick of his head, a half-dome-shaped blue forcefield made up of hexagonal panels conjured in front of him. It pulsated as the feathers bounced harmlessly off of it, one embedding itself in the ground, another flying of to the sky, and one barely missing the bird, who squawked once more in anger.
The volley of feathers was a method to prepare for the third phase. Once the target was incapacitated, the bird would swoop down with its sharpened bronze beak and go in for the kill. But sometimes, when phase two fails, you just have to go straight to phase three.
Quill wasn't prepared for phase three.
Deciding the feathers weren't working, the bird dove down, beak first, headed straight for the scribe. Quill gasped and quickly dove forward, rolling underneath the predator and evading its metal strike. Scrambling to recover, the bird fluttered its wings and did its best to maintain hovering. It turned around and squawked when it saw Quill with his glowing horn at the ready.
The young scribe was rather proficient in magic, at least for what he knew. He would either be very skilled at a spell or know nothing about it. Magical beam was one he knew well.
Quill released a burst of blue sparks from his horn, impacting the bird and stunning it. It fell to the ground, its muscles locked up, as the unicorn took the opportunity to get the hay out of there. Quill knew the spell wouldn't cause any permanent damage-- but that was the idea. He used a stun beam, one of the more famous non-lethal forms of attack in magic. As he ran for his life, he couldn't help but grin widely. I just got into a fight with a Stymphalian bird! he thought. He grinned wider. And I lived to tell about it!!
As he ran off, the bird slowly craned its neck and poked its head out of the grass. When it caught sight of the unicorn, it merely cocked its head and watched him leave, giving a quiet, curious squawk.
Quill stood on the balcony, watching the sun set in an orange hue, its light reflecting off the clouds, appearing as if it were sending out fiery tendrils to the atmosphere around it. It was making its best efforts to cast its final energy upon the land before it would retire for the night. Quill just stood there, gazing at it. Today had been a good day. He had finally gotten out of the castle after... who knows how long. And yet... he couldn't bring himself to smile. Something was troubling him, and he didn't know what it was. He just stood there, with a stern expression.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knocking sound. Slowly, he looked away from the sun and cantered across the candle-lit room, over to the door. As he did, his mind wandered back into reality, and he silently questioned who would visit him after hours on a busy day like today. He opened the door, and standing out on the pathway was-- a purple mare.
More specifically, a mare in a brown scholar's cloak, smiling kindly at Quill. Quill smiled back. "Hello, Clover," he said.
"Hi, Quill," Clover responded.
"Come for another book?" the scribe asked, stepping back and allowing the mare to enter. "Even though the library is closed...?"
Clover rolled her eyes. "Yes, please," she answered as she walked inside. "I'd like something on travelling and wildlife. Like, a guide for camping."
Quill didn't stop to wonder why she wanted such a book, and instead nodded and scanned the walls until he found the shelf he was looking for. He trotted over to it and levitated a few books down to eye level. He looked through them until he found a rather small, green covered book. "Ah. Here we go..." He levitated the other books back on the shelf without even looking, then walked over to Clover and held the book out to her.
"'Camping, Survival, and Everything in Between'," she read. "'A newbie's guide to surviving the wilderness.' Hey!" Clover glared at Quill, who snorted trying to contain his laughter. "I am not a newbie!"
"Then why are you here for a book?" he asked, chuckling.
"I'll have you know that I've discovered an documented several new species of flora and fauna since we've been in Equestria."
Quill let his laughter loose. "Mostly flora, considering most of the fauna you encountered scared you to death!" He laughed more. "How big was that snake, again??" He mockingly held up his hooves no more than half a meter apart.
Clover blushed. "Sh-shut up!"
Quill doubled over and wiped a tear from his eye. "Hahaha! I'm sorry, but it's just-- *snrk*" He took a moment to regain himself. "Sorry. If this isn't what you're looking for, you could always try this one." He levitated over another book, this one olive-colored and much bigger. He held it up to Clover.
"'Mare vs. Wild'," she read, "'by Mare Grylls'. That's an odd title."
Quill shrugged. "Meh. It's an odd book. You'll love it." The book hovered back over to him. "Shall I check it out for you?"
Clover shrugged. "I guess so. Thank you." Quill nodded and walked over to the desk. Once he was all finished with officials, he levitated the book over to Clover, who took it with her own magic and put it in her saddlebag.
"Now then," Quill said. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Clover...?"
Clover's eyes fell to the floor. "Actually, yes," she said. "The book wasn't the only thing I came for."
"Oh?" Quill raised an eyebrow.
Clover looked at him. "...I just wanted to say goodbye."
"Goodbye...?" Quill repeated, surprised.
"Well, not really goodbye," the mare corrected. "I just wanted to let you know... I'll be going away for a while."
"Really?"
"Yes." Clover narrowed her eyes. "What'd you think I needed this book for...?"
Quill furrowed his brow and shrugged. "Duh, I dunno..." he said, pausing to think of a good guess... "...Flowers...?"
Clover rolled her eyes. "No. I'm going travelling."
Quill grinned sheepishly. "Don't suppose you could bring me along, huh...?"
Clover sighed. "No, Quill. You've got too much work now to go off on another one of your adventures."
"But where are you even going...?" Quill asked, now concerned. "Why go now, and what for...?"
Clover hesitated. "I'm... sorry, Quill..." she said, backing off slowly. "I'm afraid I can't tell you..."
"Why not?" Quill asked, taking a step forward.
Clover shook her head, a saddened expression on her face. "I... I just... can't..."
Quill sighed and let his head lower, closing his eyes. "...Fine..." he said. He raised his head and looked at Clover. "If it's that important to you, then fine." He gave her a weak smile. "...I'll miss you."
Clover stopped and looked at Quill for a moment. Then, she smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I'll miss you, too." She turned to the door and walked out.
"And one more thing," the scribe called out. Clover turned to look at him. He smiled. "Happy adventuring, Clover!" The mare smiled back and closed the door. Quill sighed and walked back to the balcony. It was significantly darker now. The fire tendrils had retreated, the energy was ceasing, and the sun was disappearing into the darkness, retiring for the night.
And Quill just stood there, with a stern expression.
Quill scanned through the archive bookshelves, keeping an eye out for anything missing or out of place. A scroll and quill levitated next to him, occasionally checking off each item as he moved along. Everyone else had gone or was going to their homes for the night... everyone but him and the night guard. His mind and body worked like clockwork. It was all the same. There was nothing different in the archives. There was never anything different in the archives...
Quill was finished with this wing. Just one more wing to go, and he could head back to his chamber. The Star Swirl the Bearded Wing. He was glad that it was the smallest of the wings... and was still a work in progress. He'd be home before the third stage. He walked up to the wing's gate, passing by a unicorn guard on patrol, who nodded to him. Quill nodded back, and proceeded to unlock the gate. He entered and casted a torchlight spell, illuminating the room.
"Ah, good," came a male voice from the darkness. "Could you shine that over here, please...?" Quill stopped and wore a confused expression. Who could be here at this time of night...? Quill moved toward one of the bookshelves and rounded the corner. Leaning against the shelf was a gray earth stallion holding a tome in his forehooves, standing on his hindlegs. He smiled when Quill's light touched the tome's pages. "Ah, thanks," the stallion said casually. Quill just stood there for a moment.
"Um... Who are you...?" he asked.
"Oh, right," the stallion said, glancing up from the tome. "Sorry. My name's Silver Mine. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Quill."
"Um... Likewi-? Wait... What? How do you know me?" Quill paused. "...Have we met before...?"
Silver chuckled. "No, but boy, I've heard that a lot this past week. Besides, if we had, I wouldn't have said 'pleasure to meet you'." He closed the tome, placed it back in the shelf and looked up at the confused scribe. "I bet some context would help, huh?"
Quill nodded. "Yes... yes, I think it would..." He looked behind him at the gate, then back at Silver. "For starters, how did you get in here?"
Silver landed his front hooves on the floor, standing properly. He shrugged. "I walked in."
"But... how did you get past the guards...?"
Silver blinked. "There were guards...?"
"Uh... well... how did you get past the locked gate?"
Silver blinked again. "The gate was locked...?"
Now it was Quill's turn to just stand there, blinking. Finally, he shook his head. "Uh-- so-- what are you doing here...?" He looked over at the tome Silver was reading. "Were you looking for something?"
"Yes."
"Was it that tome?"
"No."
"Then what was it?"
"I was looking for you, actually."
Quill reeled back with a cocked eyebrow. "Me...?"
"Yes. You."
"What do you need me for...?"
This was apparently the line that the miner had been waiting for. Because what Quill saw next made him want to truly understand this stallion's character... as well as his... greater role.
Silver's face slowly shifted into what Quill could only describe as the biggest smirk that could ever be imagined in existence. His eyes said it all-- "I'm so glad you asked." However, Quill's uneasy mood was quickly shattered by what the stallion said next...
"...An adventure."
"SOLD."
Both stallions flinched at the fast response. Neither of them were expecting it. Quill was the first to address it. "*Ahem*, I mean, what kind of adventure...?" He attempted to keep a cool demeanor, but Silver could see the sheer excitement in his eyes, which, in turn, revived the smirk.
"We're going to the Dragon homeland," Silver explained. "As I'm sure you're aware, the dragons have threatened Canterlot--"
"I'm a scribe."
Silver paused at the interruption. "...Excuse me...?"
"I'm a scribe. I record all the important moments of Equestrian history. Of course I know when the capital is threatened."
"That's... why I said... 'as I'm sure you're aware'..."
"Right... sorry, I'm getting excited..."
"Anyway, I've assembled a team to confront the dragons and negotiate a truce. And I'd like you to--"
"YES!!" Quill hopped in the air and his horn sparked.
Silver paused before slowly continuing... "...come along and... record the... event..."
Quill cleared his throat. "I mean, uh, yes. I accept."
"Uh... Right... Don't worry about your job here-"
"Ah, don't worry about it," Quill interrupted again, waving his hoof dismissively. "It'll be better to record this event on the front lines, so to speak. Besides, the castle can do without a library for a few weeks. Not to mention only one pony really visited there regularly, and she's gone away, so... It should all be fine."
Silver stared at Quill for a moment with a deadpan expression. Quill grinned awkwardly. "Anyway," Silver continued, "We're basically-" Silver paused. "Wait a minute... What did you just say...?"
Quill cocked his head slightly. "Uh... I said the castle could do without a library for a few weeks."
"No, after that, something about somepony leaving...?"
"Oh. Well, the library really only had one pony who visited there regularly. Clover the Clever. Do you know her?"
"And she... left...?"
"Yeah, she's going away for a while. She didn't tell me where. Why do you ask?" Quill narrowed his eyes at Silver, who was staring off into space, brow furrowed in heavy thought. "Do you know her?" Quill repeated. No response. "Is there something wrong with that...?" Silver just kept staring, thinking, eyes slightly darting from side to side, as if sifting through thoughts. "Mr. Mine...?" Quill was getting concerned. The miner was just standing there... "Silver, are you alright...?"
Silver blinked and looked at Quill. "Hm...? Yes, I'm fine..." he said quietly. Quill looked at him skeptically. "So..." Silver shifted back to his smirk. "I take it you're in...?" Quill hesitated for a bit, before shifting his mood as well. He put on a smile of determination before answering:
"But of course."
With the team assembled, and the Scribe along for the ride, the miner leaves him to finish his work for the night, detailing what he should bring and where to go. The Scribe was waiting for a moment like this... but with barely any details on the mission, was his hasted answer a wise one...?
And what of the Clever one...? She departs from the city, taking but a single glance back at the castle. Back at one specific balcony... of a specific Scribe.
The Miner watches her depart, from a distance... thoughts and questions buzzing in his head. Satisfied with his observations, he takes one last look at the rising moon, irradiating a soft, silver glow upon the clouds, not reaching out with its energy, but merely displaying it. He decides it is time to leave, and he descends the castle rooftops, down to the city below.
Quill stood outside his bedroom door, quietly but nervously trotting in place. He took a deep breath. Okay. You can do this, he thought to himself. You've done it before. It'll all be fine. Quill stopped and let his ears droop. I just... don't like doing this... He sighed through his nostrils, stood up straight, and lightly tapped on the door before pushing it open quietly.
Silver...?
"Hm? Yes?"
"Ixia...?" Quill whispered, poking his head in the room. A pink unicorn mare with a blue and aqua mane was curled up on the bed, sleeping peacefully.
What do you think Quill meant when he said there was something he needed to take care of...?
Quill slowly walked up to the mare, an leaned his head down to her. "Ixia..." he whispered again. He nuzzled her neck affectionately and the mare's eyes started to flutter open. She squinted and looked up at the red stallion.
"Quill...?" she said sleepily. "What is it...?"
"...He's saying goodbye to his fiancée."
Quill was wearing a passionate smile, but it was visibly faltering. "I just wanted to say goodbye."
"'Goodbye'...?" Ixia repeated. She struggled to sit upright, stretching.
...Do you think there will be a problem...?
She looked at Quill confusedly. "Darling, I'm not leaving until tomorrow morning," she said. "Why are you saying goodbye now...?"
"...No. No, I don't."
"Well..." Quill's smile continued to falter. "You see..." Ixia looked at Quill with brilliant emerald eyes, her gaze full of concern.
...Are you sure about that...?
"...You were right," Quill sighed, lowering his head. "My... work has piled up on me. I got ahead of myself and... put it off for too long. I've gotten behind on my archive shift... as well as my compilation of today's royal court records... I'm going to be up all night... So I won't be able to see you off in the morning." He finished with an awkward grin.
Ixia stared at him for a moment. Then she groaned. "I knew you shouldn't have gone off looking for that bird today..." she said.
"Y-yeah..."
"You really need to get your priorities straight, Quill," she muttered. "You made me a promise."
"I-I know..."
"You can't keep going on all these... adventures." Quill's gaze fell to the floor, an the smile had left no trace of ever existing by this point. Ixia placed a hoof on Quill's cheek, and lifted his gaze to fixate on her. "You have to figure out what really matters most."
Quill sighed and nodded somberly. "I know... I'm... I'm sorry..."
"Hey..." Ixia smiled at him. "It's okay, sweetie." She leaned forward and gave Quill a kiss, which revived his own smile. "Goodbye, Quill."
"Goodbye, my flower," Quill replied. He returned her kiss an started walking out. "Have a safe trip."
"Don't worry about me. Goodbye...!"
Quill turned around when he reached the door and started backing out. "Goodbye..." he whispered. He closed the door, turned around, and lowered his head.
"Alright... So far, so good." Mm. "Step one complete." Not quite... "...You're right. I'll check in with them... see if anyone wants to turn back." Are you going to tell them your plans...? "I'm going to tell them the truth. About what this mission might have in store..." ... "...You alright...?" Hm...? Yes... Yes, I'm fine. "...Relax." ... "We'll get you sorted out, too..." My problem should be the least of your concerns...
Day VIII Golden Wood Inn, Canterlot, Equestria Third stage of Rising Moon
Entry 1
I guess I might as well start from the beginning.
I was borne to a prodigious family of blacksmiths, I was taught the finest points in the craft. I was quite excelled in it, but my heart wasn't in my work. My family was one of Thr the main suppliers for the army, thus I was taught to craft weapons. With my displeasure in what I made with my hooves, I began to experiment with what I could build. Soon, I discovered that I could ienvision and create wonderful things. My father, seeing my creations as nothing more than pieces of wasted metal, highly disapproved. My brothers turned their backs on me, and many began to avoid me. It seemed only my sister still felt love for me, and for that I w
"HI!!"
"GAH!" Bronze stumbled back from his journal when he heard the sudden, chipper voice. Standing in front of him was a young pink mare, staring at him with a huge grin on her face.
"Sorry!" She giggled. "I just wanted to say hi! I'm Melody! Melody Roseshine!" She extended her hoof out to the startled pegasus.
Bronze gave her a deadpan look. "Melody, we already introduced ourselves yesterday," he said. "Twice."
"Oh yeah!" She giggled again. "Sorry. I just really really really really like meeting new ponies, and since we haven't gotten to know each other that much, I figured, 'hey, why not get to know each other that much?' And what better way to-" Much to the stallion's relief, Melody's ramble was cut short by the sound of the chamber door opening. In came a gray stallion in black coat, known to all present as Silver Mine.
Silver looked around the room. Nearly everypony was looking at him. Aurora Dancer was lying on her side, on one of the top bunks, smiling and waving when she saw him. Carina was tucked away in a corner, clutching her stuffed phoenix, seemingly isolated from the group. However, when she noticed Silver, she warmed up a bit, smiling and giving a small wave as well. Oathbound and Coal Scorcher were currently locked in a hoof wrestle, oblivious to the stallion who just entered. They appeared to be evenly matched, as their hooves were barely moving. Bronze Feather was sitting on one of the beds, with a journal in front of him. Melody Roseshine was standing nearby, and she waved ecstatically at Silver.
"Hello, everyone," the miner greeted. There was an assortment of greetings in response. Coal looked at Silver, distracting himself and giving Oath the opportunity he needed to slam Coal's hoof on the table. Coal snapped his head back at the veteran, who smiled cockily at him.
"So where's the last member of our crew, Silver?" Aurora asked, noticing he came alone.
"He'll be here shortly," Silver answered. "Have you all gotten acquainted with one another...?"
Aurora shrugged. "Some of us more than others..." she motioned to the shy blue unicorn in the corner, who hid her muzzle behind her plush phoenix.
"Hm." Silver sighed. "I'll have a talk with her later," he muttered quietly. "Don't worry." He turned to the other four in the room, and looked at the two burly stallions. He smiled. "I see you two are getting along well."
Scorcher smiled. "You could say that."
Silver looked at Bronze. "Bronze. How are you doing?"
"Pretty well," was the reply. The pegasus smiled and nodded toward the pink filly next to him. "...Considering."
Silver smiled and turned to said filly. "And sweet, sweet Melody, how are you doing?"
Melody hopped straight up and squealed, as if she was waiting for that question. Which she probably was. "I'm so EXCITED~!" she sang. "Everypony here is so so nice! I love meeting new ponies! Especially nice ones! And today, these ponies are nice, and I'm meeting them! Yay~!"
"Wonderful." He turned to the entirety of the group. "I'm glad you all are getting along so well. Cooperation is going to be the key here." He smiled. "Not to mention it'll make our lives easier." A knock on the door diverted Silver's attention. "Come in," he called out. The door opened, and a red unicorn poked his head in. Once he saw Silver, he smiled slightly.
"Ah, good, I got the room number right," he said. He opened the door fully and entered, taking a look around. All eyes were on him. "Um, hello, all. I'm Quill. Quill the Scribe." He gave a small wave. Melody waved back vigorously.
"So that's our new number seven," Coal said, taking in Quill's appearance. The unicorn certainly came prepared. He wore a brown cloak and saddlebags, the right one filled with several scrolls and small books, while the left seemed to be containing quills, inkwells, and a few miscellaneous objects. "A scribe, huh...?"
Quill shrugged. "More or less." While Coal pondered on that for a moment, Melody approached him.
"Hiya!" she chirped.
Quill was obviously taken aback by Melody's... forthright behavior, but he kept his cool demeanor all the same. "Well hello," he said politely.
"I'm Melody! Melody Roseshine!" The young mare extended a hoof out to him. Quill shook it politely, but was surprised at the speed his hoof was moving.
"N-nice to meet you..." he said once the shaking had stopped. He spotted Bronze looking a him with a puzzled expression. "Something wrong?"
Bronze blinked. "Oh, uh, no. It's just... Have I met you before?"
Quill cocked his head at the pegasus and thought for a moment. Then his face lit up. "Oh! Are you a stall vendor?"
Bronze perked up and nodded. "Yes! That's it!" he said. "You bought something from me. Oh, what was it...?" Quill's horn lit up and his left saddlebag opened. Out from the bag rose a bronze compass, engraved with intricate carvings and clear, precise notches. Bronze pointed at it. "Right! You bought my compass!" He raised an eyebrow. "Wait... you're a scribe? Why would a scribe need a compass?"
Quill shrugged. "I like to get out a lot. Or at least, I try to. Very fine craftsmanship, by the way."
"Thanks. The name's Bronze Feather."
"You're welcome, and nice to meet you." Quill turned to Oathbound. "I feel like I've seen you before, too," he said.
Oathbound grunted. "Wouldn't surprise me," he replied. "Do you work in Canterlot Castle?"
Quill nodded. "Mhm. I'm one of the royal scribes, and the librarian."
"Well there's your answer," Oath said with a gesture. "I used to be the Captain of the Royal Guard. I'm retired now, but I still live on castle grounds. Oathbound. Pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise."
He cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "Funny how you recognize me, but I've never seen you before. You must be pretty perceptive."
Quill shrugged. "It's my job, in a sense." He looked at the other stallion sitting at the table; the one who had first addressed him. "And you are...?" he asked politely.
Coal smiled. The newbie's alright. "Coal Scorcher. Nice to meet you."
Quill nodded and turned around, facing the other two mares.
"Aurora Dancer," said the pegasus, smiling. Quill nodded to her and looked at the shy one, who poked her head out from behind the phoenix doll.
"Oh, um... I'm Carina..." she said quietly. She hid her muzzle behind the doll again, muffling: "It's nice to meet you..."
Quill couldn't help but smile at the mare's timidity.
"If, um... If I could get everyone's attention, please...?" Everypony in the room fully turned to Silver and looked at him expectantly. Silver closed his eyes and sighed through his nostrils.
"This mission... is not going to be easy," he began, looking up at everyone with a grave expression. "It will be life-threatening. Some of you may die. If you want to turn back, now's your chance. I won't hold it against you. But this is for a good cause. For Canterlot... For Equestria... For more than you know. Your lives will be in danger... so that others' won't be. So... who's in?"
Coal rose to his hooves and stepped forward. "I will go to the ends of the Earth to find that dragon and make him pay," he said. He nodded to Silver. "I'm in."
"Death has always been a concern in my line of work," said Oathbound as he rose to his hooves. "It never bothered me before. I don't see why it should now. Not to mention... I never go against my promises." He smiled and nodded. "I'm in as well."
Silver nodded to both of them. "Good. Who else?"
Quill took a step forward and smirked. "I'll never turn down an adventure, nor will I ignore an important historical happening. I'm in."
"You've shown me the role I play in all this," said Aurora, dropping down from the bunk and standing in front of Silver. "It would be a crime to turn back now. Count me in."
"I'm not going to let those dragons hurt any more innocents," said Bronze, rising to his hooves. "I'm in."
"This adventure's going to be so fun!" Melody chirped, jumping straight up. "I know it'll be dangerous, but if we stick together, I know we'll be alright!" She grinned and nodded. "I'm in!"
Silver nodded. "Good." Everypony's eyes fell upon Carina, who was still tucked away in the corner, causing her to squeak and hide her muzzle behind Flare again. She looked around the room at all the unfamiliar faces, the pressure not helping her anxiety. But when her eyes fell upon Silver, who was giving her a calm, trustworthy smile, she slowly came out of her shell, and smiled.
"I... was skeptical about this to begin with..." she said quietly. "Now that I know that it will be even more dangerous than I imagined... I'm even less convinced to go..." Everypony's expression shifted to that of concern, disappointment, or pity. Everyone but Silver, who looked as if he was waiting for Carina to finish. "But..." Carina continued. There it was. "I don't want to sit around while other ponies are in danger. Although I may not like it..." She put on a small smile. "I want to help." Slowly, she stood up, still holding Flare. "I'm in."
Silver smiled sincerely as he looked at her for a moment. Then, he looked at everypony in the room. "Thank you," he said. "All of you. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"May I have a word now...?"
Everyone in the room froze.
"Who... said that....?" Aurora asked, looking around. Slowly, Silver reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a glowing red orb. Everypony else gaped at the object before them.
"I did."
"Everypony, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine," Silver said. "He's the one who sent out the 'applications', and is also responsible for the memory wipe. It's thanks to him that we're all here today."
"What is it...?" Quill asked. He quickly cleared his throat. "I-I mean... what is he?"
"Let's just say I'm not normally like this, and just leave it at that, hm?"
"Well, who is he?" Coal asked.
Silver paused and looked down at the orb, then back up at the stallion. "He... doesn't like to say. But don't worry, we can trust him. Like I said, he's a good friend of mine."
"Well, what do you call him...?" Bronze asked.
"I don't like names..."
"Yeah, he... doesn't really like being named," Silver explained.
"...Like a pet."
"Well, can we be your friends, Mr. Orby?" Melody asked, hopping up to Silver and looking down at the ball, grinning.
"..."
Aurora snickered. Silver couldn't help but smile as well.
"Please... don't call me that..."
"Anyway," Silver interrupted. "You had something to say?"
"Yes. I do."
The orb gave off a quiet sighing sound.
"...This journey... will affect much more than you think it will. It will affect more than just Canterlot... more than the dragons... more than Equestria... it will affect you."
Some of the ponies in the room exchanged glances. Silver was looking at the orb with an unreadable expression.
"Each and every one of you... will be changed by this mission. I can tell you this now... that, for better or worse... when you come back... you will never be the same pony again."
"What do you mean by that?" Bronze asked.
...The orb chuckled.
"That... is for you to find out."
Silver gave the orb a small smile. He looked at the others. "It's getting late. We should turn in. We've got a big day tomorrow." He put the orb back in his saddlebag and placed it next to one of the bunks. The others still remained confused, but they all muttered in agreement. They dispersed to their own bunks. Melody hopped into one of the lower bunks and fell asleep immediately. Oathbound took the lower bunk next to Silver's, laying down, and sighing contently. Although, his face showed no content at all. Aurora fluttered up to one of the top bunks, stretching and yawning. Carina lied down on the bunk beneath the pegasus, levitating a blanket over and snuggling up with Flare. Her eyes showed worry. Bronze flew up onto the bunk above Melody, using his cloak as a blanket. Coal opted to use his bedroll on the floor, saying that he was used to it. Quill climbed the ladder up to the bunk above Oathbound, settling down and staring off into space, thinking.
Silver watched them all and, satisfied they were comfortable, blew out the only remaining candle next to him, engulfing the room in darkness. He lied down in his bunk and pulled the covers over him. After everything he'd been through the past week, it didn't take long for the gift of sleep to overcome him...
Our heroes are finally all assembled-- together... eight strangers... Most of which have not known each other for more than a week. These strangers must work together-- trust one another, protect one another. If they fail to do this, many lives will be placed at great risk. But how is this ragtag group of civilians supposed to accomplish all this... And what dangers or obstacles will interfere with this already troubled band of adventurers...?
One thing is for certain... each and every one of them... will suffer greatly.
Some... more than others.
Well well well, what have we here... A dimly glowing green form appeared in the middle of the room. It was in the shape of a pony, and was walking towards where Silver lay. So many playmates I find so near... The closer the figure stepped, the clearer his form became. His eyes were wide and wild... But not sweet Carina, not for this round... His ears twitched, his horn aglow... And his mouth... was formed in a painfully wide shape of a smile. I've found someone with a more... interesting background...
[[If you're going to listen to the audio version of this, I suggest you wear headphones.(Coming soon...)]]
Oh, hello~o, who is this...?
I don't believe we've met...
Most wouldn't like to,
But there's no need to fret.
See, I am but a dream!
An image in your head...
I cannot hurt you,
But you'll be wishing you were dead!
Mm-hnhnhnhnhnhnhnhnnnnn~...
...
You think you're safe. Don't you...? ... Sitting there, hearing me... Thinking... what...? That there's no way I can haunt you...? Nhnhnhnhn~...
How cute.
You see, I am everywhere.
I'm even close to you.
I'm not just a character...
I'm in your world, too.
That's right everyone~! I'm real, just like you. I'm not a work of fiction. I'm everywhere.
...I'm also right behind you. Neheeheeheehee~...!
...And right beside you~!
Over here~!
...
...BOO. Neigheehehehehehehe!
...
...You don't believe me? Hmph. I can't blame you. But I assure you, I am VERY real. Look around you. Do you see a shadow...? Somewhere you can't see...? ...That's where I am. Hmhmhm.
Why do creatures fear the dark?
They don't like the unknown.
They just can't shake the feeling
That they're not alone! Nhnhnhnhnhnhnhnhn...
I am everywhere. I am nowhere. I'm not in the shadow I'm in. You don't know~! I could be there, I may not be.
You humans...
You always have the need to know. That's why you fear the dark. Because you don't know what's in it...
Who am I...?
I'm the bump in the night
I'm the monster beneath the bed
I'm the rustling of the brush
I'm the nightmare in your head!
I'm the loved one on the table
I'm the stranger at your door
I'm the twister raging toward you
I'm the bloodstain on the floor!
You want to know who I am...?
The answer's quite obvious, really. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet.
...Or have you...?
I can save lives. I can spark a war. I can teach a lesson. I can make chaos.
Or... I could haunt you for eternity.
Which of these do you think is the most fun for me...?
Hmhmhmhmhmhmhhmm...
I'm a wildcard. A Joker. A Jester.
But that's not what I truly am...
I am FEAR.
And it's true, you know... The only thing you have to fear... Is me.
Nhnhnhnhnhnhnhnhnn...
No one is safe from me. No one can survive without me. Fearlessness does not exist. If one were to fear nothing, how would they know when to run...?
Hmhmhmhm...
Run...
Hnhnhn, yes, most people do.
If you meet me, I suggest you do, too.
And I can tell you this... Those masks you wear on "All Hallow's Eve"? ...Won't hide you from me.
I might visit you tonight. Or I might not. ...Maybe I already have. You don't know~!
...And that scares you.
Oh, but this is only a work of fiction. There's no way I'm actually real... ...Right...?
Silver Mine opened his eyes. He was still in the clearing, laying against a tree. Oathbound was still lying there in front of him. "What," he muttered. Get up. "Why." Because you still have a job to do. "Not anymore." Yes, you do! "And just how am I supposed to do it...?" You can start by getting up and helping Oathbound. "I've said this plenty of times before. There's nothing I can do." Silver... you have to get this job done. "But I can't." Well, you HAVE TO TRY!! "..." ... "...They're all gone." Yes, Silver, they're all- "My team...I have no team." Yes. And who's fault is that? "..." ...Well!? "I don't have to say it." Silver closed his eyes again. Silver... have you forgotten how important this is...? "No." Then why the HELL ARE YOU LAYING THERE?! "Because it's over." ...What? "It's over." ... "I lost." Silver... "There's no one to help me." ... "Every one of them is gone." ... "..."
...You're right. "Hm...?" ...It's over.
Silver dazily looked up once more, and his eyes widened. In his blurried vision, he could barely see the large shape of a dragon land a few paces away from him.
Silver closed his eyes.
"Ah, there you are, pony..."
...It's over...
"...How pathetic. Don't worry. I'll make it painless." There was a sound of dragon breath...
...The End.
A searing pain engulfed Silver as he shot up, gasping for air, looking around frantically at the inside of the old hotel room. He was met by seven pairs of eyes, all looking at him with concern and confusion.
"...Sorry..." he muttered. "It's nothing. Just a bad dream... Go back to sleep." None of the pairs of eyes seemed to argue, but one, owned by a blue unicorn, lingered for a bit, before closing. Silver plopped back down on his mattress.
...Silver-? "-Don't talk to me..."
He didn't sleep the rest of the night.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
The past is SO much fun to torment with... But the future... Nhnhnhnn~... ...That's even better.
Many Centuries Later School of Friendship, Ponyville, Equestria Fourth Stage of Setting Sun
The late afternoon sun shined through the windows of the quietened hallway. No longer bustling with students, only the trotting of a single set of hooves echoed across the floor. The pink-coated mare smiled a bit as she glanced out the passing windows. It had been a long day, but a productive one, and she was just about ready to go home.
Until, that is, she heard murmuring coming from the door to the library on her right. She stopped, raised a brow and walked over, unable to ignore her curiosity. She stuck her head through and looked around. It was mostly empty, except for one table with piles of books, papers and scrolls covering the face of it. Sitting there was an orange and white stallion in a blue cloak, frantically scanning through the documents as he muttered to himself, occasionally adjusting his glasses or brushing aside his unkempt rust-colored mane.
The mare tilted her head at him curiously. "Sunburst?" She called over.
The stallion perked up from his papers, somewhat startled, and looked over at her. "Oh! H-hi, Starlight."
Starlight fully walked through the door, approaching him with a raised brow. "What are you still doing here? I thought you went home already." She glanced over the books and papers as she approached. A lot of them seemed to be very old documents.
"Oh, well, I... I did, but only to grab something. I came back here for some of the library's references." Sunburst resumed sifting through the papers, lifting several documents with his levitation, letting them hang in the air as he searched feverishly.
Starlight glanced up at the hovering documents, then looked back at him. "What are you doing?"
"Well, it's... kind of hard to explain," he said a bit quickly. Only now did Starlight realize he wasn't just in some deep delve of studying, he had a troubled look in his eyes.
Starlight stepped closer and looked more carefully at some of the documents. Her eyes widened. "These are from the Canterlot archives..." she said.
He nodded. "The old Canterlot archives." He looked at her, hovering several documents and books in front of him, causing her to take a step back just to avoid having them pressed in her face. "These ancient records were uncovered during the reconstruction of Canterlot castle! Centuries of records, notes, and stories from before the rule of the two sisters."
Starlight smiled, eagerly taking a closer look at some of the documents, looking them over. "That's incredible! So much of Equestria's history..." She paused, noting Sunburst's expression. He was back to looking down at some other documents with that troubled look again. "You... don't seem too excited about it, though."
He sighed, glancing away. "I-I am, it's amazing being able to discover all these records, and-and I'm honored that Princess Twilight would think that my skills would be suited for organizing them and adding them to the current archives."
"So what's wrong?" Starlight walked over to his side with a concerned expression, and he looked at her. A book hovered between them, old and bound by leather. On the cover was an emblem of a quill with a trail of fire circling it.
"This is what's wrong! This is one of the missing journals of Quill the Scribe, and..." He opened the book, revealing multiple pages of detailed notes and sketches, and at the end... several pages were missing, and the back half of the cover had decayed away. "...Most of it was lost."
Starlight frowned, looking down at the old book. "What happened...?"
He shook his head. "We don't know. Maybe the preservation magic placed on it all those years ago failed, or maybe it was damaged in some way before we even found it." He pointed at what wasn't destroyed. "This is what was left after we had someone magically restore it to its original condition. But it's just too old, or... the damage was too much." He looked at the book and sighed.
Starlight's horn glowed as she carefully turned to a few pages before the destroyed section. She quickly skimmed through it, and her eyes widened. "The... 'dragon threat'...?" she read aloud. "Canterlot was under threat of dragons?"
Sunburst nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Oh, yes. There were legends of this event, but only these records have really given us the details on what really happened. The dragons threatened to burn Canterlot, and as far as we know, Quill the Scribe left with six heroes to travel to the Dragonlands to resolve the issue." His ears flattened against his head as his expression fell saddened. "But... He was the only one who could have recorded what actually happened. He wrote briefly about each of the heroes he met, and the days before they left Canterlot..." His horn lit up and the pages flipped to where they were no longer legible. "But... that's where it ends. There's no other written record of their journey."
"There were no copies made?"
"None that we could find. We could only restore so much of the old archives, and given how long ago it was... If there were any copies made, the archives would have been the only place that could have preserved them." He sadly looked at the journal again. "This was it." He sighed, dropping his head on the table. "We'll never know what happened to them... What they encountered in their travels, the trials they had to overcome, or what they managed to accomplish... Everything they did, just... gone." He stared blankly ahead at the candle inches from his muzzle.
Starlight lifted a hoof to his back, patting him as reassuringly as she could, unable to do much more than look down at him sadly. She glanced over at the journal, thinking a moment. "Well... not necessarily, right...?" she offered, tilting her head at him. His eyes flicked up to her. "I mean... Whatever they did, they... succeeded." She removed her hoof, taking a step back to look at the table and levitate one of the documents. "Many of these records talk about how Canterlot was safe once again... and Quill's journal may not be intact, but it did make it back to the archives." She gave Sunburst a smirk and a raised brow. "Plus, Canterlot's still standing, isn't it? Pretty sure we would've known if the dragons went through with their threat way back then."
Sunburst lifted his head, adjusting his glasses and looking at her. "I guess, but... we'll never know how they succeeded. What they had to do to achieve their victory..."
Starlight glanced away. "Well, no, but... we know they did what they had to, to protect their home." She looked at him with a reassuring smile. "They could have gone through anything, and... they knew that before they left Canterlot." She pointed to the journal. "Before they knew they'd win. No matter whatever it was they went through, they won. Maybe knowing that much is... enough?"
Sunburst sighed, closing his eyes. "I get what you're saying, and... maybe." He looked up at her with a small smile. "And I-I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but it's still a shame that we have no other records of what might've happened or... who these heroes really were."
Starlight tapped her chin with her hoof, then glanced over at some of the loose documents on the table. She levitated them over and sifted through them, scanning the words. Then, she paused, raising a brow. "Maybe we don't need other records..." She looked at Sunburst as a smile crept over her face. "Maybe we need other heroes."
Many Centuries Later Starswirl's Temporary Study, Ponyville, Equestria Fifth Stage of Setting Sun
"It is fortunate that I happened to be in town," the old, grey wizard mused, stroking his silver beard. He stared at the half-destroyed journal laid out on the table before him. "Though the misfortune of losing records as extensive as Mr. Quill's is... a tragedy." The dim light of the setting sun through the windows barely illuminated the pages, prompting him to ignite his horn and light a candle on the table. The room was put into a more pleasing light, shining across the books and papers stacked neatly across shelves and desks in the admittedly small study. He looked up at Starlight and Sunburst, standing at the other side of the table, saddlebags full of notes and books.
"There's no doubt about that," Starlight said, pulling out a paper and glancing it over. "But at least you had the fortune of being there, right?" She turned the paper toward him. "You were Princess Platinum's Court Wizard. You were there for the dragon threat."
"Indeed, I was..." Starswirl got a distant look, glancing out the window for a moment, stroking his beard again.
Sunburst and Starlight exchanged glances, until the former spoke up. "We were hoping you... might have some insight on what actually happened. To... fill in the blanks."
The wizard nodded. "I would be happy to share what I know..." He sighed. "But, regrettably, I do not know much more about their journey than you." Sunburst sighed, hanging his head low. Starlight glanced at him, then looked at Starswirl.
"Where were you, then," she asked, "when they went off on the journey? Why didn't you go with them?"
"I knew of the mission," the wizard said, walking over to the wall opposite of the window, "and that a team was being gathered. I was in charge of the contingency. I sought out the means to protect Canterlot from a potential dragon attack." His horn ignited again, and another candle on a nearby shelf lit up. "Specifically, sources of arcane power that could be used to conjure a barrier around the city, or to create a portal that could evacuate the city's inhabitants."
Starlight sighed. "I guess with a threat that large, it would make sense to have a backup plan like that."
"Did you end up finding them?" Sunburst cut in, taking a step closer to Starswirl. "Did you need to use the contingency? What were the arcane relics? Are they still-" He was interrupted by Starlight pulling back on him with her hoof, staring at him blankly. He gave her a sheepish grin and cleared his throat. "Sorry."
Starswirl smiled, turning back to them and walking over. "Thanks to one of my pupils, Clover the Clever," he paused to give a wry smile, "who followed me, despite my directions not to - I did manage to find a suitable conduit of magical energy, but only the one. I returned to Canterlot with only a day to spare, planning on making preparations to evacuate the city. However, when I returned, the citizens were rejoicing. The dragons had rescinded their threat."
"But why?" Starlight asked.
The old wizard stroked his beard again. "From what I understand, the Dragon Lord was deposed. The heroes did exactly what they set out to do - they traveled to the Dragonlands, and managed to force a truce." He sighed. "Sadly... any details on how would have been written by Quill the Scribe." He gestured to the destroyed journal.
Sunburst's ears lowered. "But-but, surely you must have heard something about them o-or what they did!"
The old stallion lowered his head slightly, closing his eyes. "You must understand... I was not a social fellow back then. I rarely wasted my time in revelry, listening to romanticized tales around a fire, or sharing a drink with a renowned hero." He turned away, walking back to the opposite side of the table. "It took trapping myself in Limbo for over a thousand years, and awaking in this strange new world to finally begin learning about friendship." Starlight and Sunburst looked at each other, disappointment clear in their expressions. "...However," the old wizard continued, stroking his beard. "I did get to know the heroes themselves, a little, and a few of their exploits... if by proxy."
Sunburst's eyes lit up and he grinned, eager to hear more, while Starlight raised a brow. "By 'proxy'...?" she repeated.
Starswirl nodded, staring off into space. "I met with the stallion that gathered them all - a miner, by the name of Silver. Through him, I learned about the seven ponies who would set off on the journey." His horn lit up, and a shimmering mist appeared in the air beside the table. A pink unicorn mare formed in the mist, smiling down at them. Her purple mane was pinned up and held back by a small tiara. Sunburst's eyes widened as he quickly levitated a notebook and quill out of his bag, already taking notes.
"Melody Roseshine," Starswirl said, looking up at the image. "A young mare with an unmatched talent for making ponies happy through her song. Her joy and optimism kept the group happy and motivated in the darkest times, always making the best of the worst situations. She regularly sang for Princess Platinum herself, and always brought the mood up in the palace when she was around." The image shifted to depict a much older stallion, an earth pony with a strong stature. His coat was grey, his short mane red and yellow. He wore a set of armor with a glowing amulet around his neck.
"Oathbound. A former captain of the royal guard, retired after a misfortune with protecting the princess. He was a loyal stallion, fully devoted to the protection of those around him, but was also a keen strategist. No doubt his wit, training, and sheer willpower helped see the heroes through to the end... despite the grave injuries he returned with." The two other unicorns exchanged curious glances, then looked back as the image shifted once again, this time into a pegasus mare. She had a deep blue coat as dark as night and a wavy green mane and tail that flowed behind her.
"Aurora Dancer... This one, I took an interest in because of a unique way she could harness magic. She was the only known pegasus able to touch and manipulate the aurora borealis. Apparently, with her familiarity of the lights, she was able to help traverse the northern mountains through any fog or storm by illuminating their path." He began stroking his beard. "I heard there were other ways she could use the aurora... dangerous ways, that she refused to resort to." He glanced at the other ponies, who wore curious expressions and continued to stare with unwavering focus. Starswirl hummed. "But that is as much as I heard. I wanted to seek her out for my personal study of the arcane, but could not find her. I believe she merely wanted to go back home and reflect on her powers in solitude, which, I certainly have no room to comment on." He cleared his throat. "Apologies. Moving on." The mist shimmered and shifted to show a navy blue unicorn mare with a meek expression. Her short grey mane was combed to the side and she had an old phoenix plush by her side.
"Carina was an artist - a rather sheltered individual, mostly keeping to herself and her work with sketches and paintings. She was timid, but her willingness to go out on this mission with complete strangers speaks volumes of her true bravery. She had an eye for detail, and a clever way of seeing the world that I think the others might have missed." The image twisted into a pegasus stallion with a copper coat and a red mane. He wore a chest rig that carried a variety of tools and a thick glove on one hoof.
"Bronze Feather... a tinkerer - an inventor, of sorts. He traveled the country selling his inventions, ranging from telescopes to music boxes. He had a knack for finding inspiration anywhere, and applying clever innovation to any problem that came before him. No matter the struggles, he could always come up with a solution, given enough time, and perhaps some helpful insight from his friends." The image shifted from the lankier stallion to one of a more stout build, with a dark brown coat and a messy, slightly singed blonde mane.
"Coal Scorcher. He ran a smelting business... he was a hardworking stallion with a somewhat gruff attitude, but seemed loyal enough to his friends, after he got to know them. From what I understand, his family was killed by a dragon, and he always resented dragonkind for it. He was devoted to the cause - perhaps with a vengeful heart at first, but seemed to warm up to the group. He helped keep them warm and fed on their travels - tended to them like kindling a fire. I am unsure if he truly got the vengeance he thought he wanted, but... he at least seemed... at peace, with the outcome." The image finally shifted into the form of a red unicorn stallion, mane swept back and colored like fire, a cloak and saddlebags over his back as a quill hovered around him.
"And, finally... Quill the Scribe. You seem to be familiar with some of his other journals, so I don't have to tell you much about him. I knew him better than the others, given that he was the royal scribe. I know he was desperate to get out, and chronicling this journey brought him much excitement. And, from what I understand, he played quite a crucial role in getting the group to cooperate when times were dire." Starswirl shook his head, the image dissipating back into mist. "I am truly sorry I cannot recall anything more specific, but I hope this gave some insight on the heroes themselves."
Starlight was staring at him with a raised brow. "Apart from... a couple of them, those... don't really sound like the 'hero' kind of ponies I was expecting..." she said plainly. The two stallions looked at her and she quickly glanced between them. "N-not to say they weren't brave, or... to discredit everything they did, of course!" she quickly added with a small, nervous chuckle.
Starswirl smiled, lifting his head slightly. "Quite the contrary. You're right, compared to a group of heroes such as the pillars, they do not seem like heroes of legend. However, perhaps that only makes their success more impressive, and more... profound."
Starlight smiled, looking down and away as a familiar thought came across her mind. "You're right about that..." She then looked back up, her expression shifting back to an inquisitive one. "But why were they of all ponies chosen?"
Starswirl smiled again. "They may have been mostly ordinary ponies, but there was something distinct about them - they were the ones to step up to the challenge. They were gathered together, but not before something in their hearts told each of them that something had to be done... and each of them, despite their own troubles and hesitations, had the will to actually do it." He hummed a quiet chuckle. "In truth... they are testaments to the idea that anyone could have been the heroes described in this journal." He gestured to the book in question. "All one would need is the will and unity of these seven misfits."
A silence hung in the air for the moment as Starlight nodded slowly, thinking about that and smiling. The candlelight flickered across the old pages as the afternoon sunlight slowly sank to a firey twilight.
Sunburst furrowed his brow, then carefully levitated the book and turned it toward himself, flipping through the pages. "And... what about this... 'Silver' you mentioned? His name doesn't appear in the journal... or any of the records."
Starswirl glanced away for a moment, staring out the window deep in thought. "...Yes. Curious, isn't it...?"
The two other unicorns exchanged glances for a moment before looking back at the wizard. "Who was he...?" Starlight asked.
Starswirl continued to stare. "...I am not certain," he said quietly, then eventually looked at them. "He seemed like a simple stallion, with a simple job, and yet, he had a very keen mind. As I said, he was the one who gathered all the heroes together for the mission in the first place."
"Like Stygian?" Sunburst said, lifting his quill from his notes. "How he gathered the Pillars together and planned everything?"
The old wizard stroked his beard with a hum and a distant look. "Hmm. No. Stygian sought us out because of our skills. But he... He sent out a call for help. And those seven were the ones who answered."
"Why wasn't he mentioned if he sent out the call?" Starlight asked.
Starswirl continued to stroke his beard, his eyes narrowing further as his mind raced. "There was something... peculiar about him. Something he carried. An entity, not of this world, but anchored to it. Trapped." He looked at them. "I believe, from the magical bond I could sense from them in my brief interactions, that Silver was the anchor."
"Woah, woah, woah, hold on!" Starlight exclaimed, waving her hoof vigorously. "There were otherworldly beings involved in this?!"
"Peripherally."
Starlight groaned. "Why didn't you lead with that?"
Starswirl looked down at the journal. "Because I believe Silver wished to not be remembered for this event." Sunburst paused his furious note-taking and looked up. "Perhaps he wished for the tale to focus on the heroes he gathered, not the fact that he gathered them. After all, as seen with your reaction, don't you think ponies would focus more on an alien entity than the heroism that arrived from their own people?" Starlight opened her mouth to respond, but her gaze fell as she thought about it.
Sunburst's gaze also fell as he nodded. "I-it makes sense that he'd want to hide the entity, I suppose." He looked at the journal. "He used... whatever it was he could do to get seemingly ordinary ponies to show their bravery. To get ponykind to stand up for themselves. I-I mean, there's probably a lot more at work here that... sadly, none of us will ever know, but... Sounds like he wanted this to be about the ponies and their newfound unity." Starswirl nodded with a smile. Starlight nodded slowly as well, also looking at the journal. Sunburst sighed, closing his notebook. "Still... would have been nice to know the details. B-but thank you for everything. This will help fill in as many gaps as we can."
Starswirl hummed. "I am happy to help." He then sighed, turning and walking over to the window. "If only I had known the magic of friendship all those years ago..." he murmured quietly. "Perhaps I could have gotten to know them all a bit better..."
Starlight trotted up beside him, also looking out the window for a moment. She then looked up at him. "And Silver? What do you think happened to him?"
The wizard smiled faintly, watching the sunset. "I haven't the slightest idea."
Day XXIV Canterlot, Equestria Dusk
The evening sunlight shined across the rooftops, peeking between them into the city square, illuminating the colorful banners and streamers strung up from building to building. For miles around, one could hear the music, laughter and cheer of the ponies' celebration. Unicorn, Earth pony and Pegasus alike, the enormous crowd was filled with joy, dancing, eating, and singing.
A grey-coated stallion stood on a terrace overlooking the square with a distant expression. Today was the day this whole city was meant to be consumed by dragonfire. And yet, here it was - the city of Canterlot and its people stood proud in the setting sun, feasting and partying over their saviors. The three races of ponies laughing and embracing each other as one - something they learned to do long before, but were once again reassured in their unity. All thanks to a few unlikely ponies who wanted to step up and do what needed to be done.
Silver held a calm smile on his face. It was a long journey, and there were many times when all hope seemed lost... but those seven beautiful souls managed to show him the way and pull it off. Together.
"I thought I'd find you skulking by your lonesome somewhere," came a playful voice. Silver glanced to his side, spotting the pink and yellow mare trotting up to him with a small smile.
Silver gave her a smile and nodded. "Hey, Jun."
"You really should join them," she said in a more sincere tone, glancing at the crowd. Silver also looked, spotting the seven heroes among the sea of celebrants.
Melody, of course, was leaping around, singing her heart out for everyone. Her sheer joy radiated among the crowd, surrounded by ponies grinning, laughing, and singing along. Aurora danced alongside her, seeming to free herself of all trepidation and just enjoying the moment. She spun around Melody as she sang, and they both laughed for a moment.
Oathbound was having a nice drink with Coal and Bronze, raising their tankards before downing the drinks. They all held looks of... peace and resolution. Whether finding contentment in upholding their duties or finding closure in old wounds, the three stallions held smiles that would last a very long time.
Quill, surrounded by scrolls and books, was enthusiastically spinning tales of their adventures to a crowd of ponies, levitating his quill - still dripping with ink - around for emphasis. His pink-coated fiancee, Ixia, sat beside him, shaking her head at his antics. She looked at him with a fondness - perhaps still frustrated with him running off, but for now just simply glad to have him back home safe.
Standing nearby in front of an easel was Carina, looking a bit shy as usual, but with a strange little smile on her face as she listened to the tale, sketching out the memory with a quill of her own. Maybe a bit uncomfortable with all the attention, but being surrounded by friends after everything they had been through made it... better.
"It's your celebration as much as it is theirs, you know," Juniper continued. "You're just as much a hero as they are."
"Hm." Hero. The word didn't stick right with him. But then again... He looked over the seven of them once more, an odd smile returning to his face. They weren't exactly "hero" material either, and yet, they stepped up to the job. They were just normal ponies who had what it took to set out and get the job done. Maybe "heroic" isn't meant to describe a person, but an action. Perhaps anyone could be a hero, really.
"Quill told me you... didn't want to be mentioned in the records of this event." Juniper tilted her head. "Why?" Silver smiled and turned his head to look at her.
"This story was never about me," he said simply. "It was about them. Their deeds." He looked back at them. They were now all gathered around Quill, laughing as Aurora circled around him in the air, excitedly talking her head off about some moment of their adventure. "It was them who stepped up to actually do something. I'm just the one who brought them together." Juniper just started laughing, earning a raised brow from Silver. He couldn't help but smile. "What...?"
"Oh, that's all you did, is it...?" She smirked. "Their strength came from their unity. They pulled through because they did it together. That was your doing."
"I'm not saying I didn't help..." He looked back at the crowd. "...Just that this... wasn't my story." Melody was doing her best to pull the whole group into one big hug, grinning from ear to ear. Silver smiled. "Besides... I didn't need to do much to get them to work together."
"Even still. Why not let your name go down in history? Even if... for the small part you played?"
He glanced at Juniper, his smile growing warmer. "You know, you helped quite a bit yourself."
"Don't change the subject, Silvey."
He sighed, still smiling, his gaze coming back to the crowd. "I don't want names to take away from their deeds. I don't want it to seem like I orchestrated the whole thing, and get the credit."
"I... think I see what you're saying? But I don't know if that would happen."
Silver shrugged. "Either way... my story is somewhere else."
Juniper sighed. "That's the best answer you're gonna give me, huh?"
"Afraid so." His smile slowly faded. Juniper quirked a brow at the shift in his mood, and her eyes flicked down to the packed saddlebags at his hooves.
"Heading out again so soon?" she asked with a smile, but also a bit of disappointment.
He looked at her and nodded. "...Yeah."
Her smile grew a bit as she shook her head. "Always disappearing and reappearing at the strangest times, Silver Mine. How long you think you'll be gone for this time?"
His face remained blank as he stared into her bright blue eyes. "...I don't think I'm coming back this time, Jun..."
"Oh." She frowned, her expression slowly growing a bit more sad. She stared at him for a while, and he stared back, the dwindling sunlight shining between them. "...Your story's somewhere else, huh...?" Silver nodded slowly. She shook her head, staring into his silver eyes as a sad, yet amused smile slowly crept onto her face. "Just as mysteriously as you arrived into my life, you're leaving. Is it... weird that I feel like I almost expected this...?"
Silver offered a small smile in return. "I suppose not." A pause. "I'm... sorry, Jun. It's just something I have to do."
"I know."
"I'll still write."
"You better." Silver smiled a bit wider and chuckled, causing Juniper to chuckle as well. After a moment, she looked into his eyes and shook her head again. "...Who are you, Silver Mine?"
Silver smiled warmly. "You know who I am."
She laughed quietly. "Always so cryptic..." She stepped closer and wrapped her foreleg around his neck, pulling him into a hug, which he gingerly returned. "I'll miss you..."
"I'll miss you too." After a long moment, He pulled away, leaned down and picked up his saddlebags, strapping them onto his back. He looked back to her. "Give my regards to Shining."
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to the others?" she asked with a tilt of her head.
Silver looked out at the crowd once more. He saw Aurora excitedly fluttering around once again, though this time Quill was also hopping around, the two of them circling around Carina and rambling on as the crowd seemed to struggle to keep up. Bronze was showing Melody some contraption he made for her, which seemed to capture all her focus and excitement. Coal and Oathbound were locked in an intense hoof-wrestling rematch, with plenty of spectators cheering them on. "I... already told them I was leaving."
Juniper quirked a brow at him. "...But not that you were leaving for good."
He shook his head, still watching them. "I'll be writing to them, too..." He felt a hoof placed on his shoulder, and he looked at her.
She smiled sweetly at him. "I hope you find what you're looking for, Silver." Silver blinked a moment, then smiled softly.
"Thanks..."
Juniper nodded, pulling her hoof away with a sigh. "Well, I'd... better get back to the festival. The Tipsy Griffon's been bustling since the celebration began, and I'm pretty sure my break ended a while ago..."
Silver chuckled quietly. "Right... good luck with that." Juniper began walking away, stopping after a few slow steps, turning her head back to him with a sad smile.
"Bye, Silvey."
"Bye, Jun."
With one last sweet smile, she turned and trotted off.
Silver let out a long, quiet sigh as he watched her go, slowly making her way down the streets to the city square. He then looked back at the crowd. It seemed that Coal had beaten Oathbound in the hoof-wrestle this time around - he was lifted in the air by several ponies, cheering in triumph, while Oathbound respectfully applauded. Melody began singing a song for Coal's victory as Bronze flew up and gave him a hoof-bump, followed by a fresh drink. Carina wandered over and timidly showed off her recently finished sketch to the group, attracting the attention of Aurora, who zoomed over to gape at the artistic rendition of the northern lights.
Silver smiled, then noticed Quill sitting a bit away from the others, writing in his journal intently. Silver watched him for a while, his smile fading. Quill then glanced up, looking around, and happened to spot Silver in the distance. He lowered the journal as they made eye contact. Silver stared. Quill offered a small smile as he stared back and gave a nod and a wave. Silver smiled and nodded back, casting one last glance at the seven heroes, then turned and headed down the street.
The sunlight dwindled further, the clear, burning orange skies revealing the deep cosmos of twinkling stars overhead. Silver climbed up to the tallest building he could find near the edge of the city, looking up at the stars for a moment. He then looked back, casting a sweeping glance across Canterlot castle, illuminated in the embers of twilight. "I'm gonna miss this place," he said quietly, a bit of moisture in the corner of his eye. He let out a shaky breath and looked out across the horizon.
"Ready?"
Ready.
His gaze traveled up, to the stars, and then he was gone.
