Wish

Chapter 6

Their laughter rattles within my ears filling them with horror. I thought I knew what the meaning of fear was, but I was wrong. Knowing that your end is near and that it may happen in the most gruesome way you can think of only heightens it. Except when it’s described straight to your face without a single sign of clemency it changes into something worse: A level of fear I didn’t think could have been accomplished. I’m in such a panic but with no desire to try and run, for it would be in vain. My palms are sweating but my body is cold. I can almost feel my body being torn to pieces with their teeth and the blood draining from my veins before it even happens. Their voices are spinning around the room endlessly and so loudly that I feel the need to clasp my hands over my ears to keep it out. I crack open my eyelids just for a moment and their hooves reach out to me, shrouding me.

I no longer hear their laughter; I no longer hear the crackling of the flames. It is replaced by the gentle sound of water dripping and landing against something hard like stone. I feel so calm and relaxed as if ready to go ahead and dream. The first thought in my mind is: Am I dead? My body is too lazy to even try and move, and my eyes are too tired to open. My breathing has eased down to a calm rhythm with the feeling that my body is laying on something cool and soft. The sounds of disruptions in a body of water are drawing near to me. I can feel the waves rippling beneath my body as the presence of something comes clearer. The waves halt, and I can feel something near my body. “Can you hear me? Please, will you carry a message?” A soft soothing female voice asks. As it reverberates in my ears and the world around me it brings a strange feeling in my heart. Similar to what I felt with one of the glowing stone’s in hands. I still cannot identify it, but it is such a peaceful feeling. I do not want it to go away; my heart feels like it’s lying against a pillow weaved from the softest of fabrics and stuffed with downy feathers. My voice feels absent along with the strength to even open my eyes. “Tell him, that every time I peer out to the stars it still feels like you’re right next to me. But I’m always afraid to turn away, because I know I won’t see you.” The voice ends, and all other sounds disappear.

My body is beginning to wake, and I can feel my eyes starting to open. The air has turned muggy as sounds of frogs and crickets show. My face breaks through the warm surface of water as my mouth fills with the filthy taste of it. It soaks into my clothes and weaves through my hair. Without the opportunity to grab a breath before being filled with water my lungs are begging for air. I press my hands against the soft mud below and push myself up to the surface. Pulling air into my lungs I try to keep myself afloat pushing around the water with the lily pads and algae gathered at the surface. I paddle myself to the edge patched with dead grass and dig my fingers into the soft dirt to then lift myself up onto the land. With my back flat on the dirt my chest violently moves up and down taking in the air. Up above are leaning trees with their long thread-like leaves weeping down towards me. My hands and finger nails are covered with dirt, so I dangle my arm over the edge to touch the water and slather my hands together. With my hands now at least somewhat clean I stand myself up and spin around to absorb my surroundings. Nothing but slanted trees and leafy vines stretching across their branches. Nearby is a big stone covered in moss and insects I’m sure. Suddenly a worrying thought runs through my mind as I frantically reach into my pockets to make sure that the stones and smoke balls are still there. Thankfully they are and still dry, but I can’t really say the same for the rest of me. A long strand of dark green algae is resting on my shoulder and brown water is still dripping from my hair and the bottom of my jacket. I take a seat on top of the stone leaning my forearms against my legs with my head down for the water to leak out of my hair.

“Aireal? Aireal! There you are! I casted the spell correctly but I couldn’t find you anywhere. It must’ve gone a bit haywire for a few minutes before I got it back under control. You had me worried there for a while. Anyway what happened? Where did you go?” Valiari’s voice breaks in asking.

“I . . . I saw ponies in . . . robes. They . . . They were talking about the princesses and an army—” I say struggling to keep my voice flowing with my breathing and coughing from the water that sunk down my throat.

“An army!? No, no this can’t be happening . . . I thought they stopped them years ago!” He says fearfully.

“What? . . . What’s going on? Why won’t you tell me?!” I ask in frustration.

“Those, robed ponies were part of something . . . horrible that happened a long time ago. I-I thought that Princess Celestia ended them and their practices back then. Look, I will tell you more about it later. You are in the Lost Swamp at this moment, and this is where I live. Soon we shall finally meet, and I will share with you everything you need to know. For now, did anything else happen? What else did you see?”

“It uhh . . . it went dark and . . . a voice spoke to me. She said every time I peer out to the stars it feels like you’re right next to me . . . but I-I’m always afraid to turn away.”

“Who said that to you?!” Valiari shouts. “Who said that to you?! Tell me right now?!” He shouts furiously. Valiari’s sudden change in tone startles me.

“I-I don’t know—”

“Did she say her name?! Did she say anything else?!”

“No that was all I heard I promise! Sh-She said nothing else!”

“Are you sure you didn’t see her?! Are you sure?!”

“No I didn’t see her! Please just…!” I feel like hiding myself from Valiari’s heated voice in whatever way I can. The only thing that comes to my mind is to cover the top of my head with my arms and crouch down.

“. . . Look Aireal, I’m sorry I snapped I just. . . I’m sorry.” I cautiously lower my arms looking up to the sky believing that he just may shout again. I’m too afraid to try and speak again allowing a long silence to take over. “Hey uhh . . . I saw what you did back at the castle while I was struggling to get the spell working again. I didn’t expect you to make a cloud of smoke and escape! That was pretty impressive.” His comment is kind, and I know he’s only trying to change the subject to something lighter but I still do not feel comfortable trying to speak to him. “I know all of this must be putting a lot of pressure on you, but hey at least you got a free bath out of it.” I can’t hold back the chuckle, and Valiari quickly takes advantage of it. “I knew I’d get you to chuckle! Listen I’m sorry for the outburst. It’s just that what you said was something that . . . I told somepony a very long time ago.”

“. . . Who?”

“Somepony . . . very important to me. Please, let me guide you through the swamp to my location first, and then we will talk more. Besides I think a walk will be a good way for you to dry off.” With a smirk I stand up from the rock and Valiari explains where I need to go. He guides me passed the leaning trees with my shoes occasionally sinking into the mud. Pushing my way through a wall of vines I hear a worrying hiss near my feet forcing me to try and hurry with my arms getting tangled around the vines making sure not to trip over any of them this time. Small winged insects hover around my face no matter how many times I swipe them away. How can Valiari live here? It’s filled with bugs, it’s humid and the air smells of rotting plant life. In some spots the smell gets so unbearable that I need to pinch my nose and breathe through my mouth. “Hey come on it’s not that bad! You get used to it.” Says Valiari. The trees sometimes become so cluttered together it’s such a struggle to maneuver through them with the moss brushing against me and their branches poking me in the face. I’ve had to stop a few times and rest against a tree to take a breather with the sweat trickling down my neck and forehead. After a length of time that feels like forever Valiari finally says that I am close, despite the fact he has said this several times throughout the walk to keep me from quitting. I’ve gathered so much dirt and moss on my person that I feel the need to let myself fall into another pond to rid myself of it. Blocked by yet another wall of branches I lift up a few and see a dingy little shack up ahead. “There it is. Home sweet home. Go ahead and step up to the front door. Remember to knock first it’s the polite thing to do!”

The shack is composed of wood with chipping white paint. Some of the boards’ nails have become weak and are causing them to start peeling apart from the wall. A small dented chimney is protruding from the roof with disordered black shingles releasing small puffs of smoke. The small glass windows are fogged but it glows from the light behind them. I walk through the tall grass that reaches up to my shoulders until I make it to the front door. Its paint is chipping as well, and in between a few cracks small insects crawl in and out. I notice that the knob’s gold finish has faded to a darker color in some spots. I raise my fist ready to knock on the door, but before I can the door flies open and an excited voice escapes. “You were taking a while to knock, so welcome to my home! Step right in!” A white coated stallion with a big bright smile says excitedly. He’s wearing a brown tattered jacket with a tall collar and colorfully stained white pants with a few paint brushes in the pockets. He’s wearing a flat brown hat with a pointed rim that extends passed his snout; a torn puffy white neck tie; and black shoes on his hind hooves. His eyes are brown and are dark around the sockets as if it’s been ages since he’s gotten any sleep. He grabs me by the arms and pulls me inside. “I can’t believe I actually have the chance to finally meet you face to face! I must say though I have lived here for . . .” Valiari looks up to the ceiling pondering about how long he’s been here. “. . . I don’t know, quite some time now! But I didn’t expect you to look dirtier than me! Anyway, why don’t I properly introduce myself? I am Valiari it is a pleasure to finally meet you.” He holds out his hoof to me while still smiling. The shack might be quite a mess, but he brings so much energy and life to it that it becomes barely noticeable. It brings this appreciation for him and his cheerfulness in me. I find myself smiling as well once my hand meets his hoof.

“Aireal, and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you as well.” I say humbly while shaking his hoof.

“Now come on let me give you the grand tour!” Valiari tightens his grip on my hand and pulls me across the shack, so quickly that I can barely keep my balance, into only a few different rooms. It’s a small shack so I didn’t really expect much more than that. “Here’s the bathroom. . .” It’s just a small dark room with a wooden latrine; he then yanks me over to the next room. “Here’s the kitchen. . .” The kitchen is not as dirty as I had expected, but the wood looks worn. There are rows of cupboards along with a rusty refrigerator and oven. The floor transitions from wood to cracked white tiles. “Speaking of which it must’ve been a while since you’ve eaten something. Are you hungry?”

“Well . . . umm.” I should just say no, but honestly I am a bit hungry. However I don’t wish to impose. Besides depending on the quality of this place his food probably isn’t the cleanest either.

“Well of course you are! You are my guest so I will make sure that I get you something to eat! Let’s see here. . .” Says Valiari searching the inside of his fridge. “Ah, here!” He holds out a surprisingly decent looking sandwich of two slices of bread with a cluster of greens beneath them. My teeth cut through the soft bread with the crunch of leaves and cold juice of berries sliding across my tongue. “Oh wait stop! I just remembered those berries in it are poison!” Valiari shouts. Blocking my throat with my tongue to keep the food in my mouth I crazily search for somewhere to spit it out. I push open the window and spew out the disgusting green and red mass of chewed food. I spit an extra couple of times to be sure that there is not a single remnant of the berry juice. “Ha! I was only kidding! Do you really think I would feed you poison berries? Come on!” Being struck with the realization that he was only joking around with me brings relief. If they truly were poison I would have ran to the nearest source of water to wash my mouth out. Even though it was just a joke I’m still a little weary about trying to take another bite, so I continue eating with caution. It feels great to finally have something in my empty stomach. “Now come right on this way. This is the living room where all of my work takes place.”

This room is the messiest out them all. Papers are stuck or tacked to the walls leaving no wood to show. Cans of paint are clustered all around one canvas stand with a painting of a swampy area on it. Against the walls are rows and rows of canvases that have or haven’t been painted on. The sheets of loose paper all have paint on them depicting some kind of scenery or creature. “This is how I’ve been able to keep track of you. But please, do not touch anything.” He says standing near the swamp painting. I don’t understand. He used the painting? But how? It’s merely a picture on paper there’s no way he could’ve been watching me through this. “. . . You seem confused. Why don’t you take a closer look?” I lean in, and am shocked to see that the trees’ branches in the picture are swaying. I can hear the sound of wind emanating from the painting, and the pond in the picture is forming ripples from it. It’s as if I’m looking through a window straight at the scenery. I feel like I can just reach out and touch the tree’s bark and the tall grass. My mind cannot come up with an answer for this; in fact nothing is flowing through my mind at the moment while staring at the painting. “You see I am a painter. It is my specialty. I remember when I first came here. I had been in search of a place where I can stay and feel inspiration come to me so that I may work. And since then I have remained here, in the Lost Swamp, for as long as I can remember. This place has been long forgotten by others; I’m the only one that lives here. I’m sure you’re wondering why out of all places I would choose here. Well you know this place never used to be like this. It used be a lively town. I remember when I would wake up in the morning and look out my window. Everypony was so . . . happy. However the night was when this place really came to life. Sometimes when I walk outside I can still see it. Everypony with smiles on their faces, strands of lights stretching from post to post along a dirt path, rose bushes and lilies would be planted around every cottage. Everypony laughing, having so much fun watching the talented performers that would stop by our town every so often. Or somepony would host a party during a wedding or a holiday for all of us to join and have a good time. Sweethearts day was always a very special day here. . .”

“Sweethearts day?”

“Yes it was a holiday where all the mares and stallions would express their love for their special somepony. Sparks would always seem to fly on that day . . . I’ll never forget mine. That night . . . It was the night that started it all. . . I was returning home with supplies to do my work and a mare came up to me and asked where I was headed. I was quite confused as to why a beautiful mare such as her was bothering to talk to me. She had a vanilla coat and a short thick red mane. Her eyes were such a wonderfully rich shade of green that I did not want to turn away from them for a second. She was wearing a gorgeous white dress that glowed in the light. Of course she was the one to start since I was just standing there frozen like a stiff. The conversation still plays in my head like a record. After she had asked where I was going I just said: “I’m just heading home to get started on some work.” But she persisted on trying to bring me to the Sweethearts day dance. “Come on! There’s a party being held in the park and everypony’s there! You should come and have some fun!” She said. It almost felt impossible to decline, so I said: “. . . Well, sure.” I mean I could’ve started painting the next day. So I dropped off my supplies and headed straight to the park where the party was being held, after making sure I was dressed appropriately of course. There was a metal sign with curved letters spelling out “Flourish Park” and its name couldn’t have been any farther from the truth. There were ponies on a little wooden stage playing instruments such as the violin, cello, and the flute. They played wonderfully and made many couples get together and dance holding one another in their hooves. When I had stepped in I was only in search of her, and as soon as I spotted her, she spotted me. She was just so excited that I had come, but her excitement turned to shyness. I tried to work up the courage to ask, but she decided to ask first. She asked me to dance, and without a second of hesitation I said yes. The next thing I know we’re with all the others gently moving to the music. It had finally occurred to me after a while that I haven’t even introduced myself. She told me her name was Aria. . . Such a beautiful name. And that was all we said the rest of our dance, if felt like we didn’t need to say anything else for that moment. The longer she stared into my eyes the stronger this feeling deep in my heart became, and from that day forward we were together nearly every day and every night.”

“. . . That sounds incredible.” By now I have been sitting down eagerly expecting Valiari to continue with his story. I can only imagine how amazing it must’ve felt for him to just attach to this mare.

“It was . . . and then one night. The two of us were sitting in the cold soft grass looking up to the stars as they twinkled in the night sky. We were so close, and I had hoped that we would always be together. But for some reason I felt that something . . . something was going to tear us apart. She told me that I was just talking nonsense; that nothing like that would ever happen. But still I was afraid, so I told her. . . That if ever we were separated. . . I could peer up to the stars and feel her right next to me. But I would be afraid to turn away from them if I couldn’t see her there. . . That’s why I snapped at you when you said that. Because I couldn’t believe . . . that you truly heard that. But I want to . . . I really want to.” I notice Valiari’s voice has gone down in tone. He isn’t facing me anymore, and I can only assume that his eyes are starting to feel his sadness.

“. . . What happened to her?” It felt like a rude question to ask as I’m sure that it’s the last thing that he wants to talk about, but my curiosity gets the best of me.

“Those . . . robed ponies that you say you saw. It was all because of them. They were part of a dark cult from so long ago. As the days went by everypony in town began to notice that ponies have been disappearing lately, and the strange part was that it was always a unicorn that went missing. Grown stallions . . . little fillies they all went missing. Everypony began to worry and panic. Nopony had any idea where they could have gone or who could’ve taken them. Princess Celestia had taken notice and installed patrol around the town. Finally, they had seen a shadowy figure take a young filly and brought out to the Everfree forest. They followed, and they couldn’t believe what they saw. There was an entire network of them down below in a cave performing rituals and séances. They informed the princess of this, and they had decided to quickly take action. A battle broke out between them and the royal guard. Everypony had to evacuate as quickly as possible.

Aria and I were on the run, but we were followed by a few of the cult members. We took a turn into the forest to maybe get away from them, but they were just so fast. We were eventually stopped near a cliff that descended into nothing but darkness. The both of us were scared so deeply, but I tried to keep myself together. They just stood and stared at us. Their faces were nothing but black, and not being able to see their faces amplified the fear in me. One of them pounced on top of me as soon as I took one second to blink. I tried to fight him off but I just couldn’t. He was just too strong. I shouted at Aria to run, but the other pony loomed over her . . . and pushed her off the edge.” My jaw loses all feeling at the very words. I can’t help but imagine the horrible sight. What he must have felt at that moment must have been as if someone had yanked out his heart. All of the feelings that I have felt throughout this life so far do not compare to what he must have felt on that night. I feel like I truly do not know anything about this place. “I listened as she screamed all the way down . . . until I heard a smash at the bottom. I couldn’t stop shouting; I couldn’t stop fighting; and I couldn’t stop crying. She was dead . . . I knew she was dead. They dragged me through the forest, and then there came a point where I did stop fighting. There was no point in it. I had actually hoped that they would just end it for me. No, they brought me down to a cave full of torches and other clan members gathered near an incline of steps leading up to a podium. They threw me into a cage with other familiar looking unicorns. All of us were trembling while they pulled out each individual pony from the cage and tied them to several large stones five at a time . . . and I was part of the group.

They tied us up as they went down the line. I couldn’t imagine what kind of torture these freaks were going to perform on us, but it was beyond what I could have imagined. One robed pony came with a long blade. He went up to the first pony and laid it down against the top of his horn. He held his throat back with his hoof and began to saw the horn straight off of his head. He screamed and screamed until his horn fell to the ground. Another pony came with a small round pottery bowl of a thick black liquid and a dagger. She dipped it into the liquid and slashed his chest. He didn’t bleed, and he stopped screaming. His head just fell as if he had just passed out. They did the same to the next pony, and then the next, and the moment I was dreading came . . . they then came to me. I was so afraid, until I looked to the pony to my left. It was a little filly and her eyes were soaked in tears. She would be next, and that was something I never wanted to see.” Before Valiari continued he pulled of his hat and showed that his horn was missing. I could still see a small section of it still poking out from his forehead. He pulled down his tie to show a portion of the black streak on his chest. Looking at it makes me put my hand on my chest as I imagine it being slashed by a dagger as he described. “They sawed off my horn and slashed at my chest, but unlike the other three ponies I was barely able to stay awake. They then turned to the filly, set the blade on her horn as I hopelessly watched . . . Then the cave began to shake. The royal guard had found us and were breaking their way in.

The clan members all scattered and began to fight back at them. The one had dropped the blade near the filly with all of us still tied to the stones. I couldn’t escape; I didn’t have the strength to. Before I knew it the rope holding me was cut and I fell to the ground. The little filly was standing before me with the blade being carried by her magic. She had been able to cut herself loose and proceeded to cut my rope. I almost couldn’t believe it, normally I little filly of her size doesn’t have the magic ability to lift such a large object as that blade, but I had no time to think about it too much. There was just so much commotion and so little time I . . . I got to my hooves and led the little filly out of the cave and left the other three behind. I felt guilty, and I still do; but there was no time. As soon as we were about to leave Celestia had finally arrived, she then caused the whole cave to collapse with all the cult members in it. I knew that it’s what they deserved, but the innocent ponies that were still left in there would never make it out. The filly and I walked through the forest back to town without a word. But when we got there everypony was gone, the entire town was destroyed to nothing. I had caught sight of a couple royal gaurds walking by, so I told the filly to go and just leave me behind. She was reluctant at first, but I kept pushing her to go. It was for the best, and I knew that everypony was now somewhere else; but I didn’t want to go. I couldn’t leave this place and Aria’s memory behind. And with this mark on my chest who knows what they would have done to me if they had found out. So I hid in the woods and waited for Princess Celestia and the royal guard to all leave.

Once they did I came out and dragged myself to my home. It was the only place I could go. I was surprised to see that it was still standing. The years would go by, and I began to notice that I have not been aging at all. It’s been so long and here I still am with this . . . curse. Whatever they had done to me it has been keeping my body alive all this time. The woods began to overgrow the demolished town, and that would start to decay into the swamp that stands here now. From that moment on there was only one thing I could do. . . I wished. I wished that maybe one day I could find a way to see my beloved just one more time. Then I found out with what little was left of my horn there still resonated a small sliver of magic. I utilized it and scavenged around the destroyed library for any books that remained if there were any. I gathered what I could and studied spell after spell to obtain as much knowledge as I could. As time passed I found a way to intertwine my magic with my paint. That is how I am able to speak to you through it, and how I am able to manipulate parts of the world around us. But doing so with what little magic I still possess is very difficult as I have mentioned to you before. With these tools I came up with a plan: If I could find the instructions to one certain imitation spell I could maybe combine it with the other spells that I have accumulated and maybe, just maybe, bring her back for one moment. . . I know it sounds strange, but I am so desperate just to see her once more. My dearest Aria. . . She is all I want. Then I found you, and with a spark of hope I saw possibly my only opportunity at accomplishing my goal.”

I do not find it strange that he wants to bring her back just for a moment. He had to watch his love die, and he only wants to see her one more time. Remembering what happened to Trixie and her Mother I feel it my duty to help keep things like this from happening as well. The separation of loved ones is something that no one should ever have to experience, but I am now realizing, that it is something difficult to prevent. I feel guilty for my previous thoughts of wanting to give up on him. “So now you know, and I hope that you can understand my plight. But after all this time and research I am still missing one important component: A piece of her essence. Essence is another term for the spirit of oneself; it’s the magical form that holds everything about you. How you think, how you act . . . and if what you’re saying is true, that you really did hear her voice, then that means her spirit still resonates out there somewhere. However, I know that I will not be able to find it on my own. So . . . will you help me?”

“Yes.” I say almost instantly.

“You will?! Oh I knew I could count on you I just knew it! Thank you. . . Now wait, I’ve been forcing you to help me through a promise that I have made to you since the beginning and I still haven’t held up my end of the bargon. What about you’re friend? She’s still out there somewhere isn’t she?”

“I. . . I don’t know. Those robed ponies said that they got her to jump off of a cliff into a place called the . . . the Tar Pits—”

“The Tar Pits? Well then let’s go.”

“Really? You’ll help me find her?!” I say excitedly while jumping up from the floor.

“Of course! I made a promise to reunite you with your friend and I intend to keep it! The Tar Pits are just a short distance away from here, so let’s get going!” I feel so overwhelmed with excitement and hopefulness. I know I will be forever grateful to him for his assistance. Trixie, I hope you’re out there. . .