From the ashes

Chapters

Ashes-breaking apart
Arrival-from the void
A start-the beginning
A Rise- Within Shadows

Ashes-breaking apart

“You said this couldn’t happen” chewing his lips painfully “I thought that A…At the very least we would be able to prevent this from happening” the words flowing out his throat like so many feathers. He looked to his companion looking at the scaled creature quizzically as if he was a frustratingly blank book. “Why must it end this way. why? Why is it impossible for me to come with you?”

“Why” spoke his companion as they marched down the dark, broken, and deserted hallway. “Why? ...Because you will not survive the process. I am sorry I could not train you further but only you can take the next step in your studies child” he turned his softly scaled head to stair softly into his younger companions’ eyes and even his soul. “Had I not asked you to further your studies’? Have I not taught you that the true road to power is long and arduous but fulfilling? Had you continued your studies and not involved yourself with the Hume’s maybe then possibly you would have had the skills and power needed to journey with this ashen shell of a creature.” it turned its face away deciding to no longer see his companions despair the haunting look of one who has seen many horrors and many years yet beside all of this has decided to press on even though deep down they know.

“So this truly is the end no backing out I guess.” The man’s eyes bore holes into the back of his companions head mercilessly “But…But I did train. I did practice, why wasn’t it enough?”

His companion turned on him and glared daggers into his eyes. And spoke in a hissing yet silken tone. “humph… why wasn’t it enough? You ask. For starters you decided that instead of following the path I had carefully shown you. You forsook my advice your training and decided to play hero and for 300 years and now this… This is the price you pay for not realizing how treacherous your race is and this is the price I pay for not realizing from the beginning how unredeemable you kind are.”

Faintly for a few minutes while both companions were locked staring at each other in silence they could hear distantly outside of the corridor and the castle the sounds of clashing steel and powerful magic’s being cast between forces. As one they turned and continued their calm strides deeper into the dank corridor. After a few moments of cold silence the hume spoke up from his internal ramblings.

“So how did my race become unredeemable?”

His companion cocked his head to the side as if to hear him better. “No. it’s not that simple if it was I would have wiped out you kind a few millennia ago it’s not only your race no it’s the world its self. The major races that control this realm are corrupt and are now allied and prepared to engage the very force which has kept this world alive. No I shall take my leave of this realm after I give what remaining wisdom I can to the remainder of our friends and give ïllýa our last goodbyes then I shall take my leave”

“So” replied his dejected companion in a dull voice “what are you going to reveal to me, Urgash, and wýnn. What is it that would help us to better protect and serve ïllýa before she leaves for the dark shores?”he pleaded though his gaze forcibly remaining blank while they reached their destination.

Before them stood a small iron door inlayed with green enchanted runes of a forgotten tongue the door would easily be misconceived as if it were old and weak but that is by design clearly so as to lure any would be adventurer into the magical trap that was promised by the glowing inscription upon the dull and rusted metallic surface.

The hume dragged his eyes back to his scaled companion with a deep calm to his movement” So this is our final meeting eh!” he muttered more to himself than his winged companion. “well let’s get this over and done with.”

“Indeed” grunted the creature, which raised its paw with sharp points on the ends of its three fingers and draws out several archaic glyphs mid-air and started chanting in a silent wordless tone causing the runes on the door to die out allowing the door to open with a grinding screech of metal upon stone. Again the dark creature focused upon its companion and relayed in calming tones as it passed through the threshold into a vast chamber lit by only 3 power crystals. ”Coming friend? I of course would understand your reluctance if you wish not to end our acquaintance so soon. Take your time you have at least a day before you’ll be needed outside here mike.”

“It’s not that” mike spoke softly as he slowly walked into the cheerfully bright room “it’s just that this’ll be our last official meeting. I wish it wasn’t but it is, now where are the other’s” he looked around at his surroundings searching the shadows and any other place that an unknown could have hid “I knew that while you were with me you had enough time to send at least a mental message to them they should have been here by now.” but before he could start to thoroughly investigate two more forms appeared from the door.

“AH but we have only just arrived! isn’t that right dear wýnn?” spoke the darker of the two new arrivals startling mike out of his futile searching.

The younger of the two looked up at her taller companion with skeptical eyes. “Correct!” she agreed “But still you didn’t have to wake the forgotten ones we already know your undead ŭrgash there is no need to rub your abilities in!” she glanced the creatures way “so what has our fearless leader cooked up for us this time? I am curious as to what you are going to tell us?”Her slight shifting of the shoulders giving off just a slight bit of nervousness.

Turning around slowly, speaking in the same soft voice the creature calmly glances over all three of his companions. “so this is all that remains of our group? Soon you too will return to the ashes from whence you came!” its eyes brightened a little. “But that is of no consequence! I kindly suggest that you take a seat I fear that what I have to tell you will be quite grave indeed.”

it watched the hume’s as they processed the incoming information while taking their seats, one already knowing what is going on but having yet to receive the full extent of the situation while the other two grimaced over what was about to come.

Of the group ŭrgash decided to speak up first, also rather than risk puncturing the cushions with his bones to just float in the air. “SO what are these…Fears that you speak of? And how do they apply to us?” he asked in the same tone devoid of life yet full of it?

Setting its baleful slits upon the necromancer with a piercing gaze that could cut through mountains it softly returned. “here’s what is happening then” shifting its wings for a little more balance it continued. “apparently as you can tell the forces outside are joined together in their crusade to eliminate the threat to their demon over lords that threat being us as all the forces of light have fallen including the angels but you already know that but in this realization there is also a price to their success one that is impossibly irrevocable. This place the last bastion of creation but not only that you are also the caretakers of the planets life force however hold no regrets it would be unkind to return the poor child to the suffering state we brought her away from, this however is not the main reason I asked you to come my reason for this is simply to let you know that I am preparing to depart from this world”

This elicited a gasp from the two living of the three warriors and caused the third to bow his head In understanding.

It continued on as if nothing happened “and to ask one final task of all three of you. This task I ask of you is that you protect ïllýa she is the only part of this world keeping it from being destroyed I ask this of you as your final task for me. What I mean to say is I will no longer be your master or leader when I leave, I am just a friend asking that you live what remains of your lives to the best of your abilities.”

Mike decided then to raise his voice in calm acceptance “I just wish you could have stayed longer but no sense crying over what could have Ben's instead I hopefully speak for all of us when I say thank you for being our leader and that we will carry out your orders to the best of our abilities.” but what should of came out as firm and accepting instead came out as brazen and rushed.

The creature noticed this and speaking levelly “I understand your worry, but you don’t need to I know you are having difficulty with accepting this but listen.” the features on its smooth scaly face relaxed into a soft smile It lifted its reptilian eyes then stretched its clawed hand in a calming gesture as if to assuage a raging beast, he positioned it in the middle of the group and summoned up a single sphere of light which split into three separate balls of energy blue, yellow, and red and then spoke up in a soft whispery golden voice “I’m sorry I will not stay to see you to the end however I can and will will impart unto you one final gift these powers, I do not give these lightly however I trust all of you to use these gifts with great discernment” it nodded as if to its self. “for you ŭrgash “the deep” I increase your mana reserve thrice to allow for your more… powerful spells”

A hollow voice answered “my humble thanks master I wish you would stay but I understand that the time streams would not allow it I hope you will remember me in your next world beyond the void!” the necromancer bowed a humble thanks much to the surprise of his fellows who know how hard it is to convince the proud immortal to demean himself willingly.

To that the dark creature nodded its head in acknowledgement “for you young wýnn “The Sage” I give an increased perception and accuracy you are also now allowed to enter the meditation grotto and sanctuary but remember you enter at your own risk the training I have given you here is child’s play compared to the dangers you would face in there, but alas It would be necessary training for the new leader of our forces.” Almost as a second thought the master decided to pluck one of its scales and place it in the hands of the diminutive hume and then softly closed them in reverence.

Wýnn smiled up at the creature but couldn’t form the words in her mind to respond to the great gift that she had just received or her ire at the position she’d just been damned to she decided to settle on just lowering her eyes to the gem-like scale in her hands giving off a fresh magical rainbow like glow, closing her eyes she decided to relax in its heartwarming joyful aura with a sigh.

The final target now within its sight the creature spoke with strong finality to its tone. “mike “The Elder” it has been far too many years since you were last here and now on the brink of cataclysm you seek to make amends for your foolishness I however have known you for a long long time you were foolish to assume you could purify that which had already fallen but I commend you for at least trying.” The creature padded over and softly placed its claws softly mikes chin and lifted it so there eyes met. “I forgive you I wish though that you and I could stay and chat a little longer but we both know that cannot be. So as a final gift I bestow upon you the red-moon blade it is a powerful weapon that must be used wisely for it drains the life energy’s of your enemy’s and transfers them directly to the one who holds this weapon but as a price it also drains the users life force over time too, you will find its other uses throughout your remaining time here” then with a nod of finality the creature turned its head to carefully take in the image of all three students and then released mikes jaw, without pause it walked to the door on the opposite side of the room and turned to face its allies one more time. “It has been a pleasure knowing all of you ‘I would do more to help but that would be just another wasted effort so instead I’ll just say’ this … this is goodbye” suddenly without even a bat of an eye the creature spun around to face the smooth buttery yellow wooden door and pressed its hand against it and in a flash of sparkling light was gone leaving behind a small puff of ashen cloud.

The three warriors decided to follow their master’s wishes to the very end and with these final gifts they truly felt they could face almost anything put before them. With a final deep bow from all three figures towards the last location of their master they left the chamber for truly the final time.

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With a small gust of wind and a light rustle of leaves the creature materialized within a new spherical chamber with no visible exit in the center of the room was a warm pale white light chasing all of the shadows from the strange chamber even stranger was what was ensnared deep within the light. Deep within the light was contained a small hume curled into a ball looking as if she were sleeping comfortably without a worry in the world that is until the creature spoke up.

“ïllýa?”

Slowly the light surrounding the entity began to filter around the little girl who looked to be no older than 14 winters and yet as she slowly descended to the floor by the seeming will of the floating lights surrounding her she opened her eyes revealing a knowing mind one that has seen many things, more than most mortal minds could possibly see in their own life times. As the enfolding light released her to the ground she turned her face towards the unimposing figure ‘this creature is something of a mystery yet an enigma’ instead of wondering on those thoughts she decided to respond softly to her summons with a warm smile that could melt metal “it is good to see you again you silly drakonian, I was wondering when you’d return”

The drakonian responded in kind “It’s been long ïllýa too long. I wish I could have been here sooner or could stay here longer but for now I wish to pay my final respects we both know this world is dying” the reptile shifted nervously flicking its wings left and right “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you” it arched its head lower in sadness “but I do promise” lifting its head a little to make eye contact with the calm little girl. “at least have a few months left before the end.”

Ïllýa walked closer and lifted her hand to the creature’s face to wipe away a tear that was forming at the edge of the bright reptilian eyes “there, there we both know not everything goes as we plan or wish but know this thanks to you these have been the happiest years of my existence and I would not trade them for anything thank you… for .. everything.” Her smile became even brighter as she said this. “I also know it is time for you to leave I bid you farewell and hope you never forget me or our friends. But before you go there is something I wish to give you a… project I should say, something I’ve been working on since our minds were linked I’ve been wanting to tell you but you weren’t here till now.” She lowered her hand and placed a few seeds into the creatures delicate grasp.

The drakonian eyed the little orbs suspiciously “what are these?” it asked in a soft incredulous voice

The girl answered “They are essences of a few races you’ve known deeply in the past.” She giggled softly “one of them was quite cuddly if you didn’t count the claws and they moved in packs while the other were quick thinkers and builders but they never seemed to advance in technology beyond what they termed as needed. Anyway I wanted to give you a few life seeds to rebuild old races that I know you still mourn.” She stared at the creature with contempt eyes lit with mirth knowing that she had accomplished far more than the creature before her had hoped.

Hearing this the creature recoiled slightly then slowly smiled in glee “thank you its been a long time since I have seen those races sadly only a world soul can create them but thanks to you I finally have a chance at having my old allies back.” Then it noticed the slight glint of sadness in the girl’s eye “consider this as payback for me giving you freedom and joy. I can never thank you enough for the relief you have given me.” The creature softly but firmly allowed its tail to slide up to the girls cheek and softly caressed it with gentle intensity bringing a smile to her lips once more.

The girl stepped back “yes remembrance is all I can ask of you now again for my freedom you have my gratitude.” Slowly sunlit tears slid down past her temples as the golden white rays of light began their descent to raise her into their cocoon of protection and rest.

As she was rising the creature spoke in uneven tones “no matter where I end up as long as I have these seeds I’ll remember you Ïllýa. G-Goodbye!” slowly the creature turned around and walked to the darkest part of the room then proceeded with the ritual needed to transfer between dimensions it encased itself in a field of perpetual darkness as it slowly summoned the signs and sigils needed to focus upon the deeper workings of the magic eventually succeeding in summoning the portal after a few minutes the creature stepped through the void touched portal and into a place that was not yet was a place between dimensions where many a foolish traveler who tarried too long lost there minds and became another part of the void between the universes.

It placed the seeds of life within its jaws so as to both better protect them and to allow for better searching for a new universe to live in one that had fewer conflicts and hopefully allowed for some kind of anonymity. It found many but they were all similar to the one it just left so it continued searching watching the glassy mirror like ponds of reality of all these places eventually the creature found one that suited its needs and even better it was at the beginning stages of its life cycle. ‘hmm there seems to be another entity here malevolent no less I guess it couldn’t hurt to see if I could live here.’ so without further thought the creature touched the mirror and melted into the image without a second thought.

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Celestia was watching over her sleeping little charge the small dark blue filly had yet to wake up after her last night’s administrations but soon celestia will have to raise the sun again not that it upset her or anything but still the stupid creatures could at least be a little more grateful she even created the sun in the first place. “These creatures are insufferably ignorant not to mention rude.” She looked over at the sleeping form right next to her “at least I have you luna… I really don’t know how much longer I would have lasted had I not met you even if you still drive me to your own ‘snickers’ celestial body” then she smiled down at her still obliviously sleeping sibling ‘well as long as there’s still something to look forward too I’ll be right here little sister”

Just then she felt a small burst of magic form the sky ‘what could that be’ she wondered but then decided to think nothing of it and continued watching her little sister sleep.

Arrival-from the void

It was an hour from morning, ‘a little chilly’ the hydra thought as it slowly descended into the roiling depths of the swamp on its marry way to its favorite ambushing pond where it usually caught 1 0r 2 meals. One of the heads was watching the sky with bemusement when it noticed something appear as if sliding through water midair. The head gave a brief squawk until its stomach rumbled ‘food’, it was time to hunt.

Waking up while falling the creature found itself mere meters from the ground and did the only thing it could think of, it spread its dark grey black wings for a hard break. Even with its light build the creature landed with a crash, lifting itself to its feet it felt a pain along the main shaft of the wing ‘Apparently I won’t be flying anytime soon’ the creature thought bitterly as it gauged the situation looking around at the forested cliff side it landed on it thought quickly ‘ok I’m in the middle of the woods and I’ve drained myself too far AGAIN, oh well at least no… ’ it stopped the internal monologue, noticing the small distinct vibrations on the ground of something huge coming ‘maybe one of the locals? ’ it wondered idly.

Thump.

CRASH.

The scaled creature strangely chuckled as the giant three headed hydra towered over him completely dashing the last idea the creature had to bits like the tree crushed under the monstrosity’s foot.

The hydra hungrily tore the ground rushing at the small creature in front of it not even wondering why the creature wasn’t running away instead all it could thing about was the insufferable growl of its stomach. Then as if on cue the air in front of the hydra caught fire but instead of worrying about it, it pushed through the illusory flames still pressing on to feed on its declared target which was already started raising its arm as if in defense.

Before the hydra could even reach the grimacing creature a blinding light flashed from its hand. When the light cleared and vision returned to normal the creature did a double take on the remains of the hydra and the still burning trunks of at least three hundred trees behind it then whispered a soft “woops” while thinking ‘ok so at least for now I’ll just have to assume I didn’t lose control of my power for a second and that this new world just multiplies the power of the magic you use hmmm this’ll be interesting, I guess I’ll just have to figure out just what the laws of this world are and if and what nations already exist I already felt magic other than mine before I cast that flare three. but befor i do any of that shelter first!’ it carefully scratched the irritating area underneath its chin while observing the area for any notable dangers, it walked past the charred and unrecognizable remains of the foolish hydra that attacked, and into the forest to hide from any inconsequential observers, off into the area scouting for a safe place to spend the next night considering what had just happened.

The creature had seen a few buildings of what could be a town, and even a griffon or two passing overhead with some direction to their path while walking through the jungle eventually reaching the other side of the valley the sun already having cleared the tips of the mountain tops and almost well over head the creature decides to take a quick break and drink some water, and clean the wounds on its broken wing befor using a basic cell re-growth spell and resetting the broken bone in its wing to make sure it could fly the next day after the quick ministrations it decided to continue on in search of shelter.

At noon daytime by the phase of the bright sun-like orb over head the creature had managed to sequester itself into a safe well hidden cave in a cliff face at least 20 miles from its ‘point of origin’ it thought with a smirk, ‘well, could be worse what with all the powerful forces I’ve detected, it’ll be a good Idea-’ the creature summoned up some magical string and used it to tie some planks of wood together making a small temporary barricade at the entrance to the cave which was thrice checked to be empty and echoed to make sure there was only one entrance ‘to keep a low profile until the local ‘gods'' it thought with a chuckle ‘are proven to be nonhostile-’ seeing it had time to rest it decided to reminisce over the reasons why being so careful was a must ‘learned that the hard way from the kreegans that invaded Erathia, the so called Gods just called a giant cataclysm just because the planet was infested with the demonic parasites even after they were wiped out the heroes that were trained by falagar in the year 1507 after the initiation of the ancients war’ the creature thought angrily. The thought of anything that would be termed a god after the depredations the creature saw from such forces really kindled its ire. It imagined the last so called god it faced, something called ‘sin’ weak as it was it still managed to keep an entire populace under its control. one fundamental thing about all these worlds it thought was that they were all destroyed by unforeseen consequences, I need to stop moping and pay attention, ok-’ placing its hand on its chin thoughtfully while laying its head back upon a soft piece of sandstone ‘first I have shelter, second after resting figure out what the locals are like I thought I noticed a town on the east side of the mountain, and third keep a low profile, forth make some allies or at the very least friends’ and with that thought the creature decided to get some rest to recuperate from the magic used in the healing earlier, by curling around and making a small nest in the semi wet clay sediment of the cave floor it settled its head in-between its arms on the sand-stone pillow replacement, and promptly began bubbling out peaceful breaths of comforting sleep

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Earlier just as the sun was peaking over the horizon, within a cliff home a pair of griffons was having an argument. “What no thou shall not command me this way I may beist thin daughter but, you must realize patriarch Talon that thin child is no longer a chick but a well grown adult.” The child ruffled and puffed-out her feathers in annoyance at the elders skepticism “your continued worry is an irksome matter I wish that thou would’st realize this. I need not be monitored like some foolish and weak pony” She then threw a piercing glare of defiance her father’s way. “I know well how to handle mine own self in dangerous situations.”

“hmm do you now young Mieldar?” answered the gravelly voice of her father. “ist thou sure that thou can handle thyself in such situations as say the hydra of boggy bottom swamp? Hmm?” the older griffon gave her a knowing smirk.

mieldar bristled with annoyance at the affront “thou doubtest mine own skills I wouldst have thou remember that to slay a hydra even a young one requirest a small band of well trained warriors but yes I have faced a hydra and escaped.” She lifted her paw as if to hold something up to her eye that was within her grasp. “doest this explanation answer thin question?” she returned her paw to the floor than did an about face towards the entrance to the small cliff-side cavern. “now excuse me before I do something I'll regret later!”

Her father called to her as she was padding out the exit.

“Then be careful Mieldar for thou knowest that thou art the only living offspring of my clutch …”

she didn’t listen to the rest of his spiel having heard it time and again she was tired of it, right now only wishing to put as much distance between her and that loud mouth as possible. She decided to do a few tricks flying over the forest valley to clear her thoughts, but as she was flying over head for at least an hour she noticed something strange in the distance a thin black smoky mist was rising over a part of the forest near the swamp quarter, after an internal argument over whether it was safe or not curiosity got the best of her and drove her to check it out.

When she landed the first thing she noticed was how unnatural the forest fire was instead of raging and flowing like an unstoppable mass of flame and death like what happened in black forest deep in the northern ranges of griffonia instead it was as if a focused beam of power had blasted the branches from all of the trees in its wake ending at the scorched cliff face not 100 meters away. Realizing she didn’t know anyone or anything that could possibly cause this kind of damage and after arriving at the realization that whatever caused this had probably moved on leaving the remnants of its actions for all to see, after this realization she decided it would be safe to check and see if she could find the epicenter of where this thing was caused she leaped back into the air then, with a decided goal in mind she began heading to where the sides of the blasted ground met, what she found made her shudder, at the epicenter located just in front of the blast was a huge blackened husk obviously the body of a huge creature. ‘what was this thing, what was it fighting, and what nightmarish creature could hold so much power’ she looked back at the ashen swath behind her fidgeting her wings nervously she came to a decision that she would remain quiet about this apparently no one else had noticed so she was in the clear. ‘alright I’m heading back to get some rest hopefully I can get this out of my head tomorrow I have watch on mesa three, hopefully watching those boring pony’s will clear this crap out of my head’ and with that thought she started flying back to the crag which made up her home, and also returning to that boring old father of hers.

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“luna … lunaaa. Waketh up sleepy head” with both the prodding and the bright light shining in her face she couldn’t help but groan “tia wouldst thou allow a few more minutes please!” the poking paused as if in acquiescence of the request then she felt herself lifting into the air she squealed “celestia what ist thou doing! Put me down this instant!”

Celestia put on a serious face as her smaller sister turned to glare at her “now, now lulu we both know its morning and I needest thin help in lowering the moon so I can raiseth my sun. Of course afterward we can go into town and playest with our other friends yes or thou can tend to thin rest however thou seest fit while I play.” She grinned ear to ear while her sisters grimace warmed under the suggestions rays.

“Ok celly I hopest that thou wouldest not be so wude” she finished just as her sister set her back down on the soft grass on the field. Looking up at the starlit sky she spoke “ok tia weddy when you awe!” and with that both alicorns stood at the ready, lifted their horn’s, and closed their eyes as they guided there celestial namesakes through the sky’s to start another day.

Once they had finished celestia turned to luna with a half moon grin on her face “thou havest a good rest lulu I shall return later to check up on you lest thou comest later on to join in the fun at hayville. See ya!” and with that she took off like a rocket through the forest like the beams of sunlight that was just now cresting over the mountains on the horizon.

“I’ll be coming later celly I just need some rest.” She spoke softly while she laid down and went to sleep on the soft grass.

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Celestia loved hayville the small town had a lot of very nice pony’s and even better lots of other foals and filly’s to play alongside. “YAY!” she squeed as she shot through the entrance to the town. She looked both ways along the streets seeing so many brightly colored pony’s then she gasped with joy as she saw her quarry a middle aged brown coated mare with a cutie mark resembling a sewing needle and a ball of yarn.“Hello miss tailor how art thou today may thy colt known as sillystrings come out and play?” she stepped in front of the mare who’d been working over her latest sewing project and gave the poor lady the most innocent smile she could.

The mare looked at the small filly in front of her and gave a long sigh finally speaking up “oi E may come out an play but ‘member don’ make any problems! O ‘nd one more ting you’ll find de rest o tem friends o yors in ol mare oats. AN WATCH Y’SELVS Y’HEAR!” she yelled the last as the two small filly’s one pearlescent white the other a shade darker than copper with a white blaze around his mouth went scurrying down the street on there way to meet up with the others and play. Then she turned back to her work and continued on the corn silk fabric jerken.

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Luna joined in with celestia and the others later on but however as with all things the day came to an end and celestia was grateful if tired to finally be able to set the sun and go to bed after seeing luna’s beautiful stars and commenting on them then smiling just befor sleep over took her.

Elsewhere a pair of tawny griffons looked at each other across the table from each other the smaller looking cross while the older more grizzled one smirked on his jagged beak at the smaller one who then decided it would be a better idea to sleep than listen to another one of the elders rants.

In a dank dark cavern rested the creature, its breath bubbling underneath the sound of water dripping from the many ceiling stalagmites, its slender form slowly rising and falling underneath the dim glow of the moonlight trickling in from the entrance to the cavern.

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The next day the sun shinned brightly, there were few clouds in the sky and it was time to actually scout the new world that the creature was in. only now the creature was already outside the cavern and ready to take off the only reason it wasn’t flying already was because it was taking its time to fully cook 2 twig-snared squirrels and a rabbit the squirrels were wrapped in leaves for later and the rabbit was downed quickly in one bite then followed instantly with a few hastily picked berries from the surrounding woods the day before. After being sated it finally felt ready to test the mended wing to make sure it was ready for flight after having been mangled so bad the day before finding the first sweep more than satisfactory the creature took to the sky’s.

Still not wanting to be seen by any of the locals it decided to stay close to the tree tops so as to not be noticed along with using a simple illusion spell to dawn a disguise of one of the many birds it had seen above its head but like the first spell for some reason it went wild when the creature launched itself mid air and made the creature look like a blazing phoenix so it had to touch down and make a firmer adjustment to the spell making sure he wouldn’t break and go wild again then took off to scout the area and take note of any locations of interest.

After a few hours and 4 rounds of the valley the creature landed at the mouth of its layer and was ready to plan but ‘first lunch’ it thought as it slowly walked into the cavern and summoning a small orb of magefire ‘stew? Maybe hmmm no just berry’s it seems that the common locals I saw in that town on the sunny top side of the valley near those peculiar planes are vegetarian so I’ll have to stick with a simple diet of foraged foods rather than the kind that bled! ’it thought with a smile until it looked inside its pack then smirked “after I eat these.” Referring to the still unfinished squirrels in its pack, after drowning the remaining bits in its throat with some water gathered from the damp surroundings of the cave. It came to the quick conclusion that the most dominant species here was the pony’s and that if he was to gain any ally’s it’d have to disguise and scout the town from below before making the next move. And so with the quickly strung plans in head the creature removed any sign of its presence in the cavern within and without, and with that the creature took off towards the sunny town on the eastern side of the valley.

Arriving at the town just at noon the creature landed in a shaded position just outside of town deciding it was as good a position to spy the actions going on watching the town as any settled in for a long session of studying. Occasionally using his disguise to either fly to a new position so as to look less suspicious or to follow pony’s of interest on pair amongst a large group of what the creature would consider children grabbed its attention the most a midnight blue filly with the strange mixture of both horn and wings and a near Identical companion of pearlescent white of the same features larger only by inches the ‘reason it’s so strange-’ the creature thought ‘is because there are no others of the same make-up as them. hmmm, ah this is where scan comes into play!. Now to just get close enough.’ The creature ruffled its illusory plumage in thought then decided ‘ok I won’t be able to get up close in a disguise so I’ll just have to take my chances with a transformation spell’ and with that the creature took wing to a secluded spot where it swiftly transformed into a rabbit the creature sighed in disgust‘I guess this’ll have to do till I finish scanning the pony’s.’

As the creature was returning to the field where the pony’s were playing the creature reminded himself ironically‘Well I guess this is kind of my fault for not making contact with anything else but plants and those three morsels’ at that the creature sighed out of its rabbit teeth as it made its way onto field where the children were playing. Surprisingly as it started crossing the field the creature felt itself being watched and took a quick glance at the pony’s and noticed a few of them blatantly staring at it, then without warning they suddenly started charging its position and in a flurry and rush they quickly overtook the creature and started by picking it up and snuggling in between their forearms and faces ‘ANCESTORS DAMN IT’ it thought miserably ‘The transformation spell apparently works well…Too well.*’ It sighed in annoyance as it was picked up and hugged yet again due to its accidental cuteness ‘so much for subtlety, at least I can finish my scan and figure out how these creatures work. Now to just figure out an escape or just wait for them to get bored of this silly little game of crush the bunny!*’at that last thought it rolled it eyes in annoyance as it once again got sucked into another hug this time with the midnight blue equine, it had already scanned the others and found they all had some form of magic or other that could be manipulated on its own and that it was a decent amount too surprisingly.

The creature originally thought that the two abnormal equines like most mixes would be weak instead when the creature came in contact with the midnight blue … ‘Alicorn’

the word immediately came into its thoughts as it was assaulted by A thousand years of memory’s the creature sensed even farther into the pony and found an immense ocean sized pool of energy within the creature '… by the ashes!, I knew this world was young but I didn’t expect it to be this young not to mention how young these two creators are. Hmmm I’m thoroughly impressed but now that I’ve scanned every ‘pony’ should be some simple terminology to learn other than that it doesn’t seem really hard to fit in best of all I don’t really have to worry about danger so I’ll finally get some rest, but first I need to I need to find a way to introduce myself to these pony’s so I’m convincing and can fit in easily which means’ it thought with a groan maning more bordome and ‘more scouting’

it was safely thirty minutes of cuteness before the creature found its escape through a small briar bush it was able to jump into, that it was connected directly to the forest of course it waved a quick mocking good bye before taking off into the comfortingly safe camouflage of the forest, to plan its next move.

A start-the beginning

2 hours past dawn a lone griffon could be found sitting on a well camouflaged tower overlooking hayville.

‘Well this is boring’ thought Mieldar ‘I mean common how could these lame ponies even earn a watch?’ she wondered not for the first time. As she looked below ruffling her grayish yellow plumage ‘they don’t even fight, not to mention that they don’t even eat meat.’ She began reminiscing about the vegetable swill the ponies ate, with a shiver she went back on topic ‘ok stop imagining things and watch the lame ponies.’ She watched carefully as the ponies inside the town followed their normal daily routines for a few more hours. She also watched as the common duo of pony filly’s entering town from the forest. ‘Now I know it’s going to get real lame how those two are able to stir up the towns foals I know not but, ancestors ashes they are lame.’

A few hours later ‘well that’s interesting what are those foals doing!?, never seen em play a game like that! Looks like their trying to kill the rabbit…’ the thin griffon started chortling at her own joke. When the rabbit escaped a bit later she resumed her board watch keeping an eye on the ponies, after eating her swift meal of broiled fish and squirrel chunks. ‘Damn, it’s soo boring watching these ponies.’

It was about 3 hours since the rabbit incident and Mieldar could barely keep her eyes open having watched the activities of the ponies below was slowly grinding away at her will to stay up, Slowly she lowered her face then in a flash she jerked awake.

Just below her was one of the stupid ponies. As she watched it the ponies head moved slowly as if to track something off in the distance with a serious expression. ‘What the hell I should’ve noticed that pony before it got even this close, how did it do that?’ she continued watching the small leaf-green unicorn below, she noticed the attitude of detached watchfulness that she’s never seen before on a pony. ‘That’s strange aren’t ponies supposed to be more expressive? Anyway this one’s too close, need to take it down before it can get information back to the other ones.’ And with that she charged down at the pony on the ground and gave a sharp war cry as she neared her target.

having only seconds to decide on how best to dodge the charging griffon ultimately it decided non-lethal melee until it had more control over its magic, the creature quickly ducked and rolled out of the griffons trajectory, as the creature got to its feat it quickly jumped in and gently tapped the griffon right between the ridges snugly in the middle of the wings causing both of the griffons wings to fall limp. The griffon then twirled around eyes wide looking at the now terrifying pony before it ‘hmm unlike the others I’ve met before in my travels this one at least shows some kind of intelligence maybe it speaks? If it does I’ll have a chance to figure out more information’ the creature thought within milliseconds as it eyed the tawny golden feathered griffon before it gauging how much It could do and what moves would leave it disabled but ultimately not kill it.

Mean while the griffon looked at the pony in front of her in disbelief ’20 second in and already my wings are disabled how the hell does a pony get so skilled?... ’ “How do I defeat this unicorn if I can’t even fly” she muttered under her breath while backing up trying to get some distance from the cold, emotionless pony in front of her.

‘It spoke?!!’ the creature blanched mentally only giving away its emotion in that it flicked an ear to listen in on the birds speaking. ‘Hmm so that’s the form of pony I’ve taken? Ok I’ve established that it can speak and... I’m not gonna try that just yet. Ok I understand the language so I guess now as good a time as any’ the creature cocked its head to the side and swished its new equine tail softly from side to side looking at the griffon with a disarming smile “Hello.” It said in a warm voice.

The griffon gawked ‘how can this pony be so calm after nearly being eviscerated? What’s it trying to do? Calm me?’ “Wh-wh-who the buck art thou?” she asked timidly.

The creature chuckled somewhat then answered “I’m Sylvack, and you are? “ Then Sylvack asked calmly.

“Mieldar.” The griffon responded in kind. “Sylvack? That’s a strange name for a pony!”

“I guess you could say that tho what are you doing here?” the creature gave her a quizzical smile, as the two started circling each other.

“I could’ve asked thee the same. Shouldest thou be in the town playing with the other lame ponies?” her confidence built back up she pulls her beak back into a slight smirk. ‘Maybe if I move fast enough I could take this pony out.’ With that thought she pulls back to lung.

However what she wasn’t expecting was the unicorn in front of her to instantly break into full gallop instantly straight towards her effectively knocking her down without warning and completely cutting off her attack.

“That was too easy” commented Sylvack as the griffon was mercilessly poked in her more vulnerable regions causing her to remain on the ground howling in laughter. “Try harder, but I’ll tell you why I’m not in the town talking to the ponies its quite simple really. I’m not from their and before you tried to… play with me I was studying them trying to gauge how best to introduce myself to them.”

After a few moments Sylvack let up the assault on her but still held a defensive stance watching her carefully knowing full well that the griffon was the aggressor. Mieldar slowly got back up then gave a bale full stare at the somewhat grinning unicorn before her. “If you’re not from their then where?” The griffon asked incredulously.

“if you wish to know so much then I’ll tell you, but only on one condition”

“And that is” the griffon tapped her talons on the ground in brash annoyance.

“Hit me” Sylvack declared calmly “hit me at least once and I’ll tell you where I came from” and with that he grinned and dodged as Mieldar not wasting any time took a swift swipe at his face only to trip as Sylvack ducked and lifted underneath the back of Mieldar’s legs unbalancing and knocking her over, then just as quickly jumped out of the way as the disgruntled griffon tried to swipe him with her back claws, and easily dodging out of the way.

“you’re going to have to be more swift than that if you’re going to hit this one” he poked at the fuming griffon who then proceeded to throw a fury of swipes which he dodged with ease while backing into a tree which he then touched off of doing a flip over the surprised griffons head then proceeded to land then take a swift swiping kick knocking the unprepared griffon off her feet.

“RAAAAAAAA-” her war cry coming loud and strong served to only inform the pony she was after to her presence “I shall catch thee be it the last thing I do!” with that she quickly stood up and charged the infuriating pony standing before her with a grin plastered to its face.

Ducking another swipe the forest green unicorn spoke up “it just might be the last thing you do, truth be told I still have plenty of energy left… maybe if you calmed down you’d figure out how to hit me I’m actually being easy on you.” At that the griffon guffawed and did a double take at the pony’s words.

“I don’t believe you, there is no way thou couldst keep dodging me like that without tiring.”

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-Hours later-

“b-b-but how” the griffon was dumbfounded ‘how did this welp of a pony best me, I’m the fastest griffon in the area’

“Simple you didn’t figure out the pattern I gave you, all you needed to do was figure it out then strike me when I was left vulnerable” the pony laughed, tail swishing back and forth in amusement ‘this is always fun maybe she could be an ally but first I need to convince her to hit me then I’ll tell her otherwise I’ll find another, joining the town can wait.’ He gazed over at the tired griffon “Well go ahead and try a few more times, maybe you can hit me if you try a little harder.”

Mieldar not needing any goading immediately realizes what she’s been doing wrong and immediately realizes what she needs to do to end this quickly. She quickly starts by throwing a set of three swipes and an upper-cut, then she promptly bites upward trying to catch the pony jumping over her head then kicks off the ground as Xaldon lands to do a sweeping kick then does a back flip to escape a hind claw swipe that never comes. Instead Mieldar jumps forward then uses the tree as a spring board to increase the speed of her attack as she kicks off and does a flying tackle to knock the still landing unicorn sending them both flying across the ground and finally landing on a soft patch of grass leaving a few crimson stains as they both separated.

The unicorn was the first to speak up “it’s been a long time since I’ve ever been hit you must be quite the griffon! Most I’ve met have either been unrequited dumb bruits or were underneath someone else’s claws, but I digress you’ve finally managed to hit me there for I shall keep up my part of the bargain and tell you where I came from plus a few extra tid-bits.” He smiled unphased by the smell of blood and the red flowing gashes on his flanks. “the question is where should I begin for I see you have many a question yes?”

The griffon was dumbfounded “what?!!” her eye twitched “just like that?” the unicorn nodded “ok then I guess I shall start with where thou comest from.” She looked at him as if expecting him to try and weasel his way out of the bargain.

Instead his wounds healed within seconds of a greenish glow starting at his horn completely encompassing the body then he responded in a soft but steady voice. “What I say here stays between us and goes no further unless I allow it, is that understood?” the griffon shook her head in agreement. Not noticing the briefest of flashes as the unicorn’s eye’s brightened a little “Then the bind is made deviation from this agreement shall result in the offender being unable to articulate sensible actions, sorry” he said the last softly “I wish I could trust you with such information freely but anyway I’ll tell you now. I came from a place known as Telanya, it was … a beautiful place. I can tell you all about it later what else do you wish to know?” he looked at her expectantly.

“Ok tell me who thou art truly and why thou hast cometh here, also how didst thee sneak up underneath mine tower like that?” she asked these questions perplexed but now fully expecting the truth from this creature.

He laughed at the end of her questions “sneak up on you? Really I didn’t notice you up there till you tried to pounce on me.” He prodded. She just rolled her eyes eliciting a chuckle from the green pony “I am Sylvack of the wind-swept, my purpose for coming to this world is so I could start a new life and begin anew.” He looked at the griffon and eyed her carefully then spoke reassuringly “As for now I shall remain within this unicorn form it seems to allow a little bit more control over my magic than my previous form, Tho if you wish to see it all you need to do is ask.” He gave a wistful smile after that.

“Ok now thou art surly jesting, how can thee be anything but a pony? It is … impossible!” she gave him a scalding look then took a swipe at his face for good measure.

He laughed at her antics “you ‘honestly ’think I’m joking?”

She gave no response and swiped at him again. a swipe which he barely dodged.

“Wow and I thought you were just dense, this is just retarded. Anyway do you want to know anything else or are you finished with your simple ‘one-sided’ questions?” he turned and began to walk to the edge of the clearing in a faux haughty gait.

“Wait I still have questions for you glue-stick.” Mieldar blundered angrily. Sylvack spun around and landed on his haunches waiting patiently as if to say ‘well I’m waiting’. “Ok if thou art not a unicorn then what art thou?, And secondly what doest thou know about the ponies in yonder town?” her tail flicked impatiently.

“to answer your second question they are led by a counsel of sorts and they seem to be very relaxed about rules considering how peaceful real ponies are, to answer the first my race is extinct so technically you could call me a dragon since that is what my true form looks like in essence but truth be told I no longer remember what we called ourselves it has been a long time since I left around two thousand millenia ago”.

She balked "Tis not possible that thou art that ancient!" she points a claw at herself. "What do you take me for? a fool!?"

"No. No I do not" the unicorn returned calmly "However I do speak truth my age tho is of no importance all it speaks of is just greater intelligence."

Mieldar huffed in acceptance of the explanation "Fine then, but still thou said thin form was similar to that of a dragon... i would like to see for myself if thou wouldst accept and reveal it to me."

He eyed the griffon carefully “Are you sure you wish to see?”

“YES” she returned shortly.

He sighed “Ok but don’t say I didn’t warn you!” he returned calmly, then he started glowing then in a flash he broke the spell holding his changed from reverting him back to his original state.

The griffon did a double take at the creature standing before her then promptly fell over onto her back crying her eyes out in laughter. The creature looking at her sighed in contempt. The griffon after being allowed a few moments to compose herself spoke “Hah thou thought thou wouldst scare me with that puny form? Oh this is rich thou art also a paw shorter than I too.” Then without warning she was lifted into the air by an invisible force “WHAT!!?” was all she could say before she was dropped back down disgracefully.

The creature releasing its telekinetic grip on the griffon lowered its arm and lifted an eyebrow towards the still shocked chick “I should have warned you, in this form I have much more power in magic, Not to mention that my magic is also superior to that of the ponies, not that it matters really. So I do have a question for you”

“What dost thou ask?” She answered politely having been roundly trumped.

“If you are willing I could train you beyond the bounds of your current mortal abilities. It’s your decision, what do you think? You’ve already seen what I can do even in an unfamiliar body but still the choice is ultimately yours…, you have a week to decide.” With that he turned to leave but not before answering her unvoiced question “if you wish to find me at any time I’ll be watching over this town from the broken ridges to the east of this position” with that said he disappeared into the underbrush like a ghost on mid-summers eve.

Mieldar stood there gawking for a few minutes then realized that her shift was almost up and she’d have to get back on the watch or it wouldn’t look good for her and she’d have to pick-up a ‘shivers’ wing mate. And with similar thoughts floating throughout her head she flew back up to her position on the watch tower watching the ponies below half heartedly due to the past hours of fighting and revelation. ‘wonder what he could teach me or what he knows?, hope the trainings quick. Hmm you know what I don’t care what my old man says that half pint definitely knows how to fight maybe nah but I will be a lot stronger than the rest of these pipsqueaks by the end of the training… you know what buck it I’m taking his deal next watch when I get the chance.’

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-3 days post-altercation… at sunset-

“Hay lulu!”

“Yes tia” Luna yawned looking at her sister sleepily as she prepared to raise the moon.

Celestia looked over Luna with a soft but worried smile “have you noticed anything strange over the past few days?” she said a little worriedly.

“Other than that magical rabbit” she started “I hath not noticed anything much, other than the constant watch the griffons are giving us, nothing new” she sighed again now raising the moon the sun having fully set.

“Ok” Celestia spoke quickly ‘I know I shouldn’t be worrying but something is bothering me it feels like were being watched by something …’

just then there was a crunching sound just to the east of the plain the two pony sisters were resting in, and out from the shadows of the trees stepped a creature they had never seen in all their years of living in this valley they so lovingly tended, on a world Celestia had spent several millennia creating and propagating life allowing the world to become the beauty its become today with the exception of the new violent creatures that have been strangely showing up over the past few hundred years. Now this new creature walks calmly into the clearing both alicorns rested in. not showing even a smidgen of emotion to either of the sisters. Celestia and Luna both respond by waking up immediately and jerking out of habit to face the direction of the strange visitor so as to not allow it any chance to catch them by surprise, they were prepared for combat within seconds that is if the diminutive pony heighted green and black scaled creature was even inclined to fight them.

As the draconian slowed to stop twenty-meters from the sisters it looked at them and laughed in a calm friendly manner. ‘Surely they wish not to fight’ externally “hello I am sorry if I interrupted your sleep how are you?” Sylvack asked, after watching their actions and schedules over the past few days he decided that just after sunset would be the best time to greet them also considering that he really didn’t want his presence widely known throughout the region meant he needed to keep a low profile and only communicate with those of interest, of course all of this running through his mind while he continued speaking in a jovial and calm tone “you two look quite adorable in those combat positions but seriously I have no quarrel with you, however I only wish to speak with you before going to sleep tonight. Would that be an acceptable proposition?” he looked at them then closed his eyes and breathed for a moment letting the two before him relax from their battle stances.

“What is it then that thou dost wisheth to speak of? Who art thou,? And art thou the presence we have felt watching my sister and I these past three days?” she eyed the draconian carefully as if to say ‘I dare you to try and lie to me’.

‘No need to lie, the only thing I won’t tell them is that I’ll still be watching them afterward otherwise I will divulge only what they ask, I only ask the same from them’ with that thought shooting through his head within only the space of a millisecond he nodded and began “you two are so cute when you try and be serious, anyway to answer your first question I wish to share information that both of our parties could benefit from also to let you know that I wish to hopefully be your friend and ally, second I am Sylvack as of now I am a … watcher, and third … yes I have been the one following you recently I was making sure of a few things.” He nodded silently to himself. “Now I wish to know your names I already know you are the harbingers of both the dawn and the night. But I wish to know where did the violent creatures come from I know for sure that you didn’t create them it would be completely against your wills. And before you ask I did visit you two personally while you were playing in the fields with the other foals I came in the form of that rabbit you all cuddled so much I was able to thoroughly scan the magical signatures of you and those mortal friends of yours.” The creature then sat down signaling the end of his speaking.

Luna answered before her older sister could even formulate her response “I am Luna and this is mine sister Celestia. We know not where such malevolent creatures came from.” Luna looked pointedly at her peeved sister whome assented to the truthfulness of the statement with a noncommittal grunt.

“Wait you scanned us? How? And why?” Celestia asked with caution to her interest.

The Sylvack laughed then decided rather than answer vocally he’d just show them the results. He started glowing softly then his wings began to retract and his arms and legs began to become thinner as his midsection grew his head and neck thickened as a green-yellow flecked mane started growing in place of his spines and finally a large emerald horn grew out of his forehead, he finished his transformation within seconds and came out a dark forest-green unicorn with a flowing mane that was a little bit brighter than his coat with bright yellow highlights. He spoke while the sisters were still stunned from his performance.“Of course I would need a disguise if I were to even hope to become a part of your community but I wanted to know you two better before I even tried that avenue also the scanning was so I didn’t get any nasty surprises like say if I entered town and found out you weren’t really friendly.” the unicorn sighed then spoke again in swift calming tones “I do truly wish to be your ally but also I came for another reason I wish to offer my services as a guardian in case there are dangers that have yet to reveal themselves. Not to mention that you are part of a select few I will truly try and make an acquaintance with.” he smiled as the sisters regained their composure.

The white alicorn spoke quickly “it thou art truly speaking these things, then art thou sure about thin choice? If thou art then I accept your assistance but we wish that thou wouldst play with us often but we should speak of this at some latter time I wish to rest for Luna’s night, Luna art thou tired as well?”… ‘hnzzzzzzzzzzzz’ celestia sighed then looked at the unicorn standing before her “ok before thou dost leave I wish to know how to contact thee.” She said in a commanding tone that brooked no dissention.

The unicorn blinked than gave a small chuckle “if you wish to communicate then…” with a gesture he summoned his magic to gather some dust from the ground then solidified it into two separate stone coins each the size of a hoof. The tablets as Celestia realized were made from lunar dust “take one of these and I’ll be just a word away.” With that he nodded and turned to reenter the brush he came from but stopped at the entrance and turned to face the child “the word is 'Exsto'” the runes started glowing a pale yellow light and instantly a image of Xaldons true form along with a copy of herself were shot from both runes her copy from the rune held in the unicorns magic and the draconian image from the one Celestia was holding. The sudden appearance of these two images caused her to flinch back a few steps almost whinnying in fear eyes widened. “Sorry I do guess the magic used here is a little bit more advanced than what your used to, anyway as I said before I am only a call away ” and with that the runes stopped glowing along with the disappearing images, as he turned and exited through the brush leaving a somewhat confused but content Celestia behind.

‘Exsto… Exsto hmmm how much does he know’ she shook her head trying to clear her thoughts before laying down and trying to sleep ‘maybe I can ask him to teach me some at a later time’ and then drifted off to sleep after a few moments cuddling right next to her sister.

Unbeknownst to her a pair of pale yellow reptillian eyes was watching her. ‘One of these days I and my brothers will rise and then you shall know who truly rules this world.’ The mismatched patchwork creature smiled malevolently. Its one tooth jutting out from yellowed teeth ‘we’ll give you a few hundred years to make your dull peace before we really crank up the chaos.’

A Rise- Within Shadows

Chapter 4 A Rise - Within Shadows

‘It’s funny really’ Sylvack thought as he progressed through the darkness ahead of him its shifting colors inviting the senses with thoughts and experiences of the euphoria cold could bring, or the joys of the dark void in forgetfulness of pains long felt being passed on to the nothing. ‘it really is funny how I can enter the dream realm yet still feel as if I was still awake’ the draconian finally decided to tempt the maddening shades within the void filled dreamscape with an out stretched hand claws flicking out into the distance calling forth memory’s of times long past, immediately a light sparked in the darkness and the void exploded into many shades of color.

The image began to unfold into a vivid scene depicting a small force of twelve bipedal creatures. Their armor glittered a bright silvery blue-white sheen that somewhat resembled the moon the helmets were off from their angular faces shaped in a triangular fashion, ears tapering to a sharp tip, they sat around a camp fire resting against either bags or trees in the crisp cool night air. In the sky as it began to shape in the void wrought dreamlike memory their appeared 3 moons each one glimmering dimes in the sky in sheer beauty, shining down their beautiful light upon the scene about to play out before him. Two of the creatures were standing just outside of the range of the camp fire staring into the forest around them watching waiting as if something were preparing an ambush or preparing an assault upon the camp. The first sentinel to respond was on the edge of camp standing on top of a sturdy piece of rubble that was covered in at least a hundred years of moss growth the piece having fallen from a dilapidated tower who’s previous occupants had abandoned it long in the past. It stood and ran to hide in the shadow of a fallen tree to watch something coming as if from the distance then it happened. A flicker of flame bright as if from a candle then the silently moving shadows creeping closer to the camp as if alive is it passed the firelights boarder a shrill trio if hastily whistled notes pierced the darkness from the position of the hidden creature now stepping from the tree into the open arms held outward at an angle twin stilettos. At the sound the rest of the platoon immediately lunged to their feet weapons at the ready prepared to face what darkness the forest would have to bring against them. and they were not disappointed as the first wave came bursting from the brush, small figures no taller than a young mare rushing forward on two legs, with skin the color of stone, their every breath releasing soot and shadow, as they approached the armored warriors.

The battle was slow as the warriors cut down the creatures quickly and efficiently usually cutting off limbs or walking past only to let the creature trying to attack them fall on the ground its eyes mysteriously blank and devoid of life. Then came the second wave just moments after the first had been completely wiped out, leaving the warriors little worse for wear with only minor scratches as a rebuttal for their quick and efficient slaughter, the second wave came fast and furiously as fireballs and arcane spells lanced from the tree line and quickly struck at the warriors who raised their own magic in defense. Creating barriers and shields either of pure magical energy and focus or elemental barriers but it was all for naught as dark creatures made as if from pure darkness started walking onto the small battle field imparting frenzies of spells completely crushing the pitiful barriers the soldiers were using. The warriors were well trained for such an occasion tho seven went down as they dropped the barriers and dodged for cover the remaining five were swift and rushed in from separate directions but in an ill planned counter attack all save one were caught in the defensive blasts from the shadow creatures the surviving warrior plunged one of its blades deep into the chest of one of the creatures and then followed up with a quick toss of his other only living long enough to see it embed deep into the throat area of another one of the shadow creatures as he fell a small smile played on his face as he fell to the ground dying as if the mortal felt a sense of accomplishment in its hallow victory against what is known the their race as the shadow scourge.

It was then that the dream world began to separate pulling away from his memories and becoming the blank slated landscape as before. It all faded away as he slowly woke up for the day ‘interesting and to think I thought I’d forgotten my time amongst the Clovarlee… silly elves their skills are commendable but it’s still foolish to fight a shadow wraith squad.’ He shook his head as he got up the dull gray of his dream reality traded places with the vibrant prismatic colors of the realm of waking. He slowly stood up and looked over the embers of the still decaying fire pit ‘Ashes really, ashes after all this time I’ve only found ashes in each world I’ve visited maybe it is no surprise that I’ve been so serious lately. Oh well’

the draconian yawned as he contemplated over these thoughts as he had many times. He shook his head clearing it and allowing for the day to actually begin in earnest he decided to see the town again and possibly check on the lookout incase the griffon was there on duty again if not then he could continue checking out the town and figure out how their society works. Already he knew that they ran on five simple rules of living that preached love and tolerate all over the first was kindness having been shown constantly through the constant helping of others, the next was joy and laughter giving a small chuckle even in a tight squeeze, the third was honesty explained in their blunt and forward manner in dealing with each other, forth was generosity ‘unlike any human settlement I’d come across these ponies have almost no solidly distinguishable classes but at least they are nice about their separation.’, and fifth loyalty ‘if watching them didn’t prove it seeing the avatars of the sun and moon defiantly protect one another without backing down definitely sealed the deal. Their stance on peace is commendable I guess I can settle down for once maybe this time I won’t have to directly involve myself in any of the mortal affairs for once save for creating my forces again’ lifting his chin up he smiled in joy “time to begin anew” he spoke clearly without hesitation.

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‘That was way too close last time. At least I made it back on time so I don’t need a wing guard this time’ Mieldar sighed as she rested on her high perch Mieldar watched as the ponies in Hayville went about their daily routines. She almost decided to go to sleep but then she remembered …

‘too slow’ in a calmly whispered voice. ‘Is that the best you’ve got’ the same voice said with contempt.

No she was not going to dose off on the job again if anything she was going to keep a stronger vigil at least so she didn’t get caught off guard again, then she heard it a soft rustling of the brush below. ‘is it that damn creature again?’ she looked below but saw nothing instead it was all clear below then she turned her attention back to the town ahead of her. ”wha?” she didn’t get out another syllable as she was bucked from her perch and sent spiraling to the ground.

“I thought you were a better watcher than that” the same voice from her memory spoke again with mirth. As it landed on the same place she was so forcefully ejected from.

“gah! Uuk!” she bounced off a tree just before she landed on the soft padded ground, as she slowly stood back up hindered by the pain of her injury she screeched “what is the meaning of this unprovocated assault” she then turned a spite full glare at the nickering unicorn above.

“oh I say no need to be so upset just a good bit of fun.” He continued laughing at Mieldar as she glared at him, then after a few minutes he rolled his eyes “fine I’ll get to the point of why I’m here I wish to here you’re answer to my offer yea or nay” he then looked at the furious griffon expectantly.

“mine answer is thus. Yae. i am tired of being coddles like some desperate hachling left in the nest long after its cluch mates had already flown off. i also wish to see exactly what you have in store to teach me.” She softened her glare to a smoldering smirk “so when doth the training start?” as she said this she flew back up to land right next to her old perch.

“Soon once you have your affairs in order I’m going to fabricate your death and you won’t be seeing any of these old acquaintances again, the reason behind this is you’re going to be training with me for quite a bit before your ready for the kind of tasks I’ll be setting before you” Mieldar was looking at him as if he was crazy and said so as well “now don’t be like that plus the agreement is binding but by the time you actually start the real training you’ll understand the necessity of it”

She gave him a look that spoke volumes “and why would that be?” her tone was honest.

“Because the training will be nothing like you’re used to, wait it’ll be much more grueling and no I’m not going to make the obstacles lethal …yet. But that’s enough, you have one day to set your affairs in order then meet me in the burnt part of the forest where the remains of the hydra are also bring a few allies to watch so that they at least believe you have died and in turn I will fake my own death by their hands it’ll be pretty simple really now I’m off to go prepare the area o and I will be disguised as a hydra class three.”

She gave him a strange look having not been trained in combat specifics like the best of the warrior cast not to mention threat specifics. “what is a class three hydra” she asks dumbly.

“A Hydra with three heads” he retorted disappointedly shaking his snout in her direction “ughh, ok you definitely require a lot of teaching as well as training” then he facehooved “ok do you have any other questions?” he raised a scaled eye-ridge.

“No I don’t” she raised her head and reintensified her gaze upon the diminutive unicorn before her “I have made my decision and I will not back out of this agreement but I do expect to become more awe inspiring, besides how intense could your training style be?” She turned her eyes back toward the town pondering what the training will be like.

He flicked his eyes to her for a split second before gazing back towards the town “by the end of it … well its best to let you decide before I say anything definitive.” The moss colored unicorn lowered his head hiding his eyes with his mane only to flick it back up with a grunt of annoyance. “However I cannot have you go through the more intense course until I have experimented and pieced together a few things of the utmost importance so you just have to deal with minor opponents and courses when you start soon.” He jumped down from the high perch upon the balcony of the outpost and landed on the ground a few hundred feet below without even a single sound, then spoke calmly back up to the stunned griffon above “thanks for your time, until tomorrow I bid you adieu.” Then he trotted off into the forest leaving the griffon to her own thoughts on who would be best to bring on the 'Hunt'.

‘Heh that griffon will be quite the adventure eventually she’ll learn some humility tho it might be interesting to see her hold onto some of that attitude. Hmm WHAT!’

‘Exsto!’ before him the image formed and burst into a near perfect projection of Celestia. “Hello Sylvack I was hoping that thou would be willing to teach me a few spells.”

He smiled as she explained what she wanted “Of course child i am willing to teach you a few spells however i do have a limited amount of time to teach them." he smiled softly "so which ones would you like to learn?”

The alabaster alicorns eyes lit up as he spoke. “I was wondering if thou could teach me how to improve on my revealing magic mayhap even how to better use the suns power?” her face setting into a cautious interest as she continued to watch him.

“which ones have you known already? For many of my magical abilities are based upon manipulation of the natural order.” sylvack responded smoothly.

She held a hood up to her mouth “some magic’s I know plenty of, many of which are based on having the sun directly above I know how to brighten the darkness and reveal the hidden but I have yet to figure out how to see through a magical disguise, and well the only sun spells I do know are the ones that can only be used during the day.”

“hmm ok I’ll teach you a simple spell that you can enchant your eyes with that’ll allow the user to ignore others disguises tho I do warn you sometimes its better not to see what lies underneath” he shivered a little as if to accentuate the warning “,and as for the sun spells well theirs more than one form of solar magic simply put you could easily concentrate some of the suns energy into specially designed sun crystals that will allow you to preserve the suns power for later use… tho you might want to be a little careful with that one.”

“Why?” she queried.

“Because even tho sun crystals are useful they consist of pure energy much as the sun and that also means they can be used by anyone unless bound to the user like your namesake is bound to you and can only be used by others only if you allow it.”

“understandable thanks again for agreeing to help me with this.”

“It’s ok just please don’t mention it to anyone outside of our circle, besides I offered last night in the first place which reminds me where’s your sister I wanted to comment on how lovely her night was.”

“O she is resting right now. She exhausted herself playing with the townsfolk. Anyway are you ready?”

“But of course child which spell shall we start with, the spectral sight or how to solidify and grow sun crystals?”

“Spectral sight” Celestia asks cocking her head a little. “So that what you call it? Anyway we should start with that one.”

Xaldon nods in understanding “ok first how much do you know about physical augmentation magic and healing magic?”

“I’m pretty good with healing magic I use it constantly when Luna gets reckless with the other foals, but what are physical augmentations.”

“they are ability enhancing spells, a little difficult but only because they have to be maintained and yes they are possible how do you think I move around so quickly or actually transform myself so completely, also its good that you know healing magic healers usually have a sharp eye naturally for physical anomaly’s which is a good thing in this circumstance it means it’ll be a lot easier to teach you the spells needed in order to cast spectral sight” he then lifts his right limb forward palm outward “first I’ll teach you the basics of physical augmentation magic.”

…2 Hours later

“Alright first piercing sight to sharpen your vision, next mana vision, now look at me. What do you see?”

Celestia lifted her snout to look at the image before her “hmmm? It seems thin image hath been cleared from my vision? Is that supposed to happen?”

“Yes perfect! Now what you need to do is finish by collapsing sunlight into your vision and that should finish the spell also be thankful that you’re immune to the ill effects of staring into the sun, because this spell is just like looking straight at the brilliant object. Hence the reason I’m teaching it to you for few can use it safely and even fewer will be able to tell and detect it for what it truly is.”

“Ok done thank…you?” as the spells finished joining together Celestia took another look at the position Xaldon’s projected image was supposed to be in and instead of seeing the dragon form she saw the pony form he met her in the night previous. “Umm… am I supposed to be seeing thee as a pony?” she asked, slightly phased by the difference.

Xaldon lifted an eyebrow “Ah I see it works as expected the spell is designed to see through illusion and shadow and so it basically reforms the projection to fit the parameters of the person speaking through it revealing the true form of the creature shown. I happen to be in a unicorn body at the moment so yes also the reason it changed the image is because the magic I used to transform myself is more thorough than skin deep I actually change the form of the body so as to ignore detection magic like what your using now” he nodded in her direction.

“so that means the form being shown to me by the rune is false?”

“no of course not in truth the from shown by the rune is my true form but it’s also just an illusion of my true form over the form I’m currently using so do not fret the spell if anything else woks as it should.”

She sighs in relief “Ok now can we get on to the sun crystals? I’m quite intrigued in how to create them but first how long doest thou have left to teach me this?”

“About 3 hours.” He answered calmly.

“Ok so where do we start then?”

“First what do you know about crystals in general, and how to make and what mana is composed of, also I’d like to know your skill with attuning magic’s between objects and others. Like say the moon and your sister.”

“crystals?... o you mean gems and other baubles well I know that they look pretty and they come out of the ground, what is mana it sounds similar to magic tho so… what is it? And I know that I can attune items to each other with my magic basically having two objects share the same instance between each other even in separate locations is that related enough?”

“No I’m talking about crystal’s they are like gems but unlike gems they can be grown and unlike plants they grow without the life giving light of the sun. Mana is concentrated magic or energy used in the creation of powerful magical items or focal gems that are held at the top of staffs helping intensify the user’s spell casting, you are quite close with the attunement spell but item linking is a very minor form of the spell you’ll need to learn in order to bind the crystals to yourself” the unicorn raised its hoof, scratching his chin. “It seems you still have much to learn it might take a few days to master this spell are you sure you want to learn it?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise.” Celestia snorts in derision at Sylvack’s suggestion that she would be unprepared “So how about I contact you next time I’m ready for the study session?”

“Sounds fair tho one more thing I do probably have enough time to teach you how to concentrate your magic into a tangible form, You should also practice with the other spells I taught you they will become easier to cast with use and familiarity.” The unicorn points his hoof at Celestia “I warn you now that I won’t be available for lessons till three sun rises from this day, there is a small project I will be working on within that time period. However I shall be available should you immediately need my assistance with something important”

Celestia smiles and gives Sylvack a look of understanding. “I see, well then let us continue then.”

Sylvack nods in agreement “Alright then to start off first find your magic, your core being.” He pauses watching carefully as Celestia begins concentrating her features going tense “Close your eyes if needed to focus, it should be similar to an internal light.” A gasp from Celestia is all the prompting he needs to move on to the next phase of the spell. “Alright now you’ve got it, it should feel warm and comforting somewhat familiar.” Celestia nods slowly in agreement to the statement. “Ahh Pleasant... now with it firmly grasped try casting a spell but continue holding onto it. For your first spell try levitation so you may sense how the spell paths to the object.” A small glow envelopes her horn as she concentrates on an unseen object. “Good, good now how does it feel? What do you sense from it?”

Celestia smiles as her muscles relax while her spell cancels out. “That was amazing. It was like having a third hoof extend from my head, a little awkward but still quite interesting.” She frowns in thought. “Why haven’t I ever thought of that before tho?”

The unicorn chuckled “Why? Well the same reason you aren’t an adult yet.” He spoke crisply. “It takes more than a few thousand years to learn the wisdom I wield from scratch, without assistance, and by relation you are still quite young.” He smiled disarmingly to tie back any frayed nerves. “Now are you ready for the next step?” she nods excitedly ‘such a youthful child it’ll be interesting to see her grow through the years’ he thought with a ting of nostalgia as he explained the next step which involved the same method of touching the internal magic as before except with the addition of the ability to siphon and focus the energy into a tangible form that could be touched.

“Amazing” stated Celestia as she waved her hooves through the semi corporeal substance. “It feels like water except” she taps her hoof on her chin thoughtfully. “Except… it feels more viscous like sap, excluding the stickiness of course.” Then she scowled even harder in thought and lowered her hoof to the ground as she came forth with the vexing question plaguing her mind. “How do we solidify the liquid substance?”

Sylvack gave a hearty laugh “The annoyingly simple answer to that question in theory is that you must condense the liquid tightly so it does not escape and melt back into the fabric of reality once you have completed that task you must then continue adding pressure to the substance slowing it down all the while releasing heat energy from the condensed fluid eventually it will reach a point where you cannot condense it any further. At that point it will be solid enough to release pressure and it will retain form though surprisingly mana for being a liquid/gaseous substance solidifies into crystal like formations probably due to the fact that you might be unable to keep from capturing gas as well in the compression spells.” He smiles at Celestia as he continues “If I were there I would give you a rudimentary demonstration but alas I am not there for I won’t. Sadly I think our lesson is over for the day I do bid you farewell and a nice rest, one last thing before I leave.”

Celestia still smiling looks the unicorn in the eye curiously. “yes? What then do you wish to say?”

“Just continue practicing your magic and the spells you learned the only way to truly learn is through practice.” He shoots a sly look in her direction. “But I assume that you already know that, don’t you?” Celestia rolled her eyes at him as if to state clearly ‘Duhh of course I knew that!’ he smiled at her antics “anyway till later continue your studies Celestia.” And with that the connection cut off leaving Sylvack to continue on his way to the site where he will initiate the griffon. ‘Mieldar was it? … Hmmm yes. Yes it was’ feeling in a chipper mood he transformed into a 3 headed shadow hydra, and plodded off on his way to prep the area for the griffon hunting party that should arrive at in a mattter of sixteen hours.