A Journey through Equestria

Dear reader,

My dreams were, once again, filled with fear. And smoke, fire and weird, dark faces. They keep giving me the chills. I had shot up, screaming, from that one terrible dream that always seemed to return.

I whimpered in fear, just thinking back to the dream. I cried softly in the blankets.

A soft voice called. “Civviq? Are you okay?”

I looked up. It was Wing Noir. In the faint, silver light of the moon I could see concern in his eyes.

I closed my eyes in thought. I opened them and softly, I replied. “Yes… I’m okay… I’m sorry I woke you up.”

He walked a bit closer. “It’s okay… I used to have nightmares too, you know. My parents…” He hesitated. I saw him staring at the floor, arguing with himself whether he would tell or not.

“You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay if you don’t. You can tell when the time is right.” I said to him.

He smiled and sat down next to the couch. “And when do you think the time is right?” he said, curious. I shrugged.

“That is up to you.”

His smile got even bigger. His eyes softly glowed, an almost pure gold, in the silver moonlight. They reflected pain and suffering in the past, to kindness and compassion, and hope. So much hope.

“You know… not much ponies trust me so much.”

I tilted my head. “Do you have something to hide, then?”

“No!” he said, a little too fast. Frustrated, he shook his head. “I mean, no, it’s just… well… I’m a street child. They steal, they’re dirty, they have no manners... they’re only fit for the orphanage.” He shuddered in fear for that word.

I shifted to take a better look in his eyes. “Do you steal? And, you don’t seem so ill-mannered to me.”

He lifted his hoof to his mouth to cover his snicker. “No, I don’t steal. But don’t you see the grumpy expression I seem to wear all the time?”

I nodded. “I do, but that’s not you. Why do you always seem so grumpy anyway?”

He turned away. “That’s complicated.”

This time, I couldn’t hold back a giggle. “I see.”

He glared at me, and rolled his eyes. “You don’t know anything about me. Why do you even trust me?”

I pondered about this for a moment. “Well… You’re the first pony I’ve met… And you’re my friend the longest, I guess. You’ve saved me. I wouldn’t have survived a day on the streets without you. That’s a fact.”

He looked into my eyes. He was really surprised by my answer – In a good way, I think. He confirmed it with a hug. “Thank you… Nopony has trusted me like that, since I left…”

He pulled back and smiled. I smiled back. I yawned, suddenly feeling really tired. He held his hoof before his muzzle to try to hide a snicker, but he didn’t succeed. I glared at him.

“It’s not funny. I don’t want to go to sleep.” I shuddered, thinking about the nightmare.

He was a bit taken aback from my sudden grumpiness. “I thought I was the angry one here?”

My ears drooped. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I understand if you don’t want to sleep anymore, but you have to.”

It was silent for a minute, before he shifted his sitting position in to a more comfortable one and spoke again.

“Go to sleep, Civ. I’ll be right here, if it helps.”

I couldn’t help but smile. He spoke again, in a soft, caring tone I never heard of him before.

“Close your eyes, Civ. It’ll all be alright in the morning.”

I closed my eyes, and I was quite surprised that the nightmare didn’t haunt me. No, this time I dreamt more happy things. Weird things, but a good weird. A weird you come across in every dream. I woke up from the morning sun, shining in my eyes. I squinted. Looking around, I saw that Noir had gone back to bed.

I smiled at tonight’s memory, grabbed my quill and notebook and jotted this down.

~

Dear reader,

I’m sitting in the shade in the garden of the great trees in the back of the garden. It’s a very relaxing day.

I read a book or two from Water Word’s collection. (I absolutely love Daring Do.)

I learned another spell or two from Shadowflame. (Force fields are cool!)

I ate a bite or two. (Breakfast and lunch were delicious.)

I tried to write a letter or two. (And so I’m sitting here.)

But there is still something off with Water Word. The whole time he has been here, he hasn’t taken off his glasses once, whether he’s inside or not.

When I asked him about it, he just laughed.

“Kid, these glasses are the coolest things ever. I’m not going to take them off. Yeah!”

This still wouldn’t ease my mind, but who knew?

Anyhow, I’m a bit worried about Wing Noir, though. He’s been sitting around and staring into nothing all day. Well, I can see why. He still needs to process everything concerning his parents – but I still don’t really understand.

Maybe I should go talk to him. Maybe sharing will make the burden a bit lighter, you know.

But would that be such a good idea? Maybe he wouldn’t want to share, or maybe it’ll make everything even worse. I mean, when he wants to tell it, he’ll tell. All in good time.

But he won’t be happy as long as he keeps it inside! He’ll explode!

Well, there’s only one way to find out.

~

I did it, dear reader. I talked to him!

So, I walked to him and sat down.

“Uhm… hey, Noir.”

He said nothing, and kept staring at the trees.

“What’s wrong?”

He flattened his ears, but straightened them again. He sighed. “Not now, okay?”

I nodded and remained silent. Instead, I kept studying the tree.

Trees are quite interesting, you know, when you take a closer look.

Anyway,  we sat there for a while. I shifted position a couple of times, but I knew I had to have patience. Very much patience.

Then, he sighed. “Do you really want to know why I’m sitting here?”

I was silent for a moment. “Do you trust me?”

“What?”

I looked in his eyes. “Do you trust me?”

He looked back, thinking. Without hesitation, he answered.

“Yes.”

He smiled, but didn’t say anything. He seemed lost in thought for a moment.

“You know,” he said, slowly, “when I was really little, my family was still together. My earliest memory… is just us three, laughing and playing in our backyard.

It wasn’t a big backyard, but big enough for us to throw a ball or play tag with my friends. I don’t know how old I was then, but it’s something to hold on to.”

“But then, not shortly after, my mother got really sick. It was a very rare disease. I think she got it from the bite of the rat from the forest.

Cures were few and far between in our home town. Not even the best doctors could cure her.”

He shivered for a moment at the memory. I put my hoof on his shoulder.

“And so, my father left to look for a cure. I was home alone with my mother and my half-blind and half-deaf grandmother.”

He took a deep breath.

“Like I said, the sickness my mother had caught isn’t something like the ordinary flu. It doesn’t make you sick physically – it makes you sick in the head.

She wouldn’t laugh, she wouldn’t play. She turned cold and hating the whole world. She wouldn’t let me play in the backyard, she wouldn’t do anything. She just didn’t care anymore.

But that wasn’t the end of it. A year after father had left, even she began to lose all hope of his return and she began to blame me for it. Why? That still remains a mystery to me. But her screams and shouts and… and…”

He shakily breathed and sighed. The wind blew softly and the birds continued to whistle quietly and happily. The breeze was enough to make the leaves rustle in the trees, making soft, calming sounds.

“I’m sorry.” I said. I wrapped my hoof around his. He looked up to me.

“What do you mean?” he said.

“I mean, I’m sorry about what happened to you.” I looked in his eyes. “I’m not sorry that you told me. You trust me and I will not break that trust.”

“Really?”

“Really. We’re friends.”

He returned staring in nothing. “Friends…”

A smile formed on his lips. It was only half a smile – but it was a smile.

“Friends. Heh. You know, one of the things my mother shouted at me was, that I would never have any friends. That nopony would ever really trust me again.”

He looked at me. “Guess she was wrong then.”

I frowned. “Why would she ever say that to you?”

Noir’s expression turned into a hurt one.

“That… You remember my friends from long ago? Their parents had all forbidden to play with me after my mother turned into, well… you know. I was bullied at school. I had to take care of myself from then on – and I found that you could only survive when you were hard.”

He sighed.

“But that just isn’t me.”

The breeze had turned into a stronger wind, that swept the branches and took the leaves away. The birds hadn’t stopped singing, even though the wind blew stronger every minute. The wind brought the colder evening air, the sun was setting in vibrant colors. My pen was moving as fast as lighning. Noir only glared at it once.

Water Word and Shadowflame had gone inside when it was getting colder.

“Hey kiddo’s! Come inside, the pegasi have planned a storm later this evening and you don’t want to be inside when it happens!” shouted Water Word.

Noir and I looked at each other and stood up to go inside.

Dinner was ready; we’re going to eat pizza. Again.

~

Dear reader,

Today, we are going into town! We need food; Water Word wasn’t quite prepared for visitors…

So yeah, we are going to leave. I wonder if I should bring my quill and notebook with me; it is good practice if I keep on writing, after all. So I made up my mind and kept my quill scribbling over the paper, while we stepped outside to go shopping.

Well, what to say? The weather is nice. Water Word said it was a 10-minute walk to the market. He’s walking in front of us, leading the way. As we moved on, we saw the houses change from big and spacious, with big, green gardens, to terraced houses with smaller gardens. In the inner city, there were a lot of flats.

After 10 minutes of going left, right, and straight on, we came to a big public square. The square was flanked with big apartment buildings, stretching high up to the air. The roads around the square were very busy, with cabs and carriages spreading their noises – and their immediate smell

In the middle of the square was a great, bronze statue of two Alicorns. I recognized the smaller one, Luna. I guess the other one must be Celestia.

Only now I see that Wing Noir was smirking to me. I shot him a glare.

“What?”

He smirked again and chuckled. “You might want to close your mouth, before you catch a fly.”

Blushing, I snapped my mouth shot. I realized I had to be staring with my mouth open, when I was describing the square.

Water Word chuckled. “Okay, kids! Listen up.”

He waited until we were all gathered around.

“I’m giving you a choice. Either you go with us, shopping for groceries…”

He pointed at a playground nearby. It had a slide, swings, and several more stands. Several other fillies and colts are playing there.

“…Or you can go play, make some friends, until we come and get you. So, what will it be?”

Well, the playground sure does sound tempting…

Wing Noir shrugged. “I don’t care. What do you think, Civ?” he said, casually. But I can see, that deep down, he want to play as much as I do.

So I pointed at the playground. “I want to play!”

Shadow smiled. “All right! Remember, don’t go away until we go looking for you!”

We nodded, and ran off. I’ll put my quill and notebook back in my saddlebags – they’ll only slow me down!

~

Yes, playing sure was fun! Water Word and Shadow came looking for us way too soon.

There was a little harsh moment, however, when two older colts entered the playground. They told us all to ‘get lost’ and some other foul things, because it was ‘their playground’.

And, to make matters worse, they walked up to me and began calling me names because of how I look. And if there’s anything I can’t bear, it’s bullying. Their words were still ringing in my ear.

“Ugly!”

“Blank flank!”

“Nerd!”

“Freckled freak!”

“Crybaby!”

I was on the verge of crying, when Wing Noir stood up.

“Leave her alone!”

This took the bullies off guard. The biggest one laughed mockingly and stepped forward.

“So you dare to step up to us, blank flank?” He pushed him away, but he stood up swiftly.

“Yes. I do.”

This made the other colt laugh. “Trying to be brave, blank flank?” He snatched Noir’s hat of his hat. “Trying to be cool, wearing fancy clothes?”

He put on his hat. With a fake voice, he said:  “Oh, look at me, I’m soooo cool!”

This made Wing Noir even angrier. “Give it back to me!”

But he only laughed. “Catch it If you can!” He threw it to his comrade, who threw it back at the other again. Noir tried to catch it, but he failed every time.

This made me really, really angry. Picking on me, okay. But picking on my friends?

“Stop it!” I yelled, but that made the bullies laugh even harder. It was the only thing I could hear – their mocking laughter.

“Stop!”

A sudden surge of magic shot through my horn, into the air. It hit the two colts and the hat, leaving them immobilized in mid-air. Wing Noir flew up to get his hat.

By the time he got it, I realized what I had done. Panting, I lost my concentration and the two colts fell on the sand. They both struggled up and fled. The other colts and fillies, who seemed to have hold their breath the whole time, cheered.

After a moment of rest, we continued playing.

~

On the way back, Noir walked up to me. I smiled to him.

“Thank you.”

He looked at me. “For what?”

“For standing up for me.”

He shrugged. “You did the same for me.” He smirked. “It was pretty cool what you did there.”

I blushed. “To be honest… it was an accident. I don’t regret it, however.” I said, with a confident smirk. He chuckled, and sighed.

“I’m glad to have you as a friend.”

I blushed. “I’m glad to have you as a friend as well.”

He chuckled, and we both burst out laughing.

After five more minutes, we finally arrived at Water Word’s house.

~

Dear reader,

This night, the nightmare was different.

I found myself in a field. The field stretched as far as the eye could see.

The only thing growing was pointy, yellow, dead grass and some burned trees and bushes. It gave the landscape a desolate look.

The sun was burning in my back. I turned around to find some shelter, some shadow, but I found none. My throat felt dry like sandpaper.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw the burned remains of a house. Shocked, I staggered backwards, and I tried to run. But I wouldn´t get a centimeter away of the house, how hard I tried. Panting, I sat down, and I looked back to the house. It was the only thing around here with a shadow big enough to be a bit cool.

I walked to the house in a slow pace, but I quickened it when I felt the sun on my back again, burning harder than ever. It almost hurt.

When I was in the shade, I couldn´t stop. I was pulled through that half-burned door. With a bang, the door closed behind me. It was cold in the house, mercifully cold – but then, too cold. It was also too dark.

“Hello.”

I jumped and turned around, to see nothing in the shadows. I just couldn’t see.

“I’m over here.”

I turned to my left. In the shadow of the walls I couldn’t see a thing.

“Here, you brat.”

I turned around again, to see in the only place with sunshine a huge shadow of a pony. And not only a shadow – a pony, that consisted only of black. His coat was black, his eyes were almost not distinguishable from his coat. His mane and tail weren’t like normal ponies; they were made of pure black energy and waved softly like a fire.

“Surprised?” he said, in an amused tone. “We haven’t met, have we. You can call me Mörk for lack of other names you’re good enough to call me.” He smirked evilly. I grew angry.

“Oh, now you’re angry, are you?” He laughed, outright mocking me. “Oh, I’m sooo afraid now! Please don’t hurt me, ohahahaha!”

“Before you ask me, oh yes, your parents, (hold it for the dramatic effect), are dead.” He spat out.

I whinced. “Why?” I managed to whisper.

He pointed at me. “Because of you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. And it was in vain, because you’re not her.”

“Her?”

He grunted. “Oh, you’re such an  stupid, ignorant, naïve, filly.”

He regained  a bit of his former composure. “Naïve, yes. That’s the word. A filly, who is stupid enough to trust the first pony she sees.”

He laughed a bit more before turning back to me.

“Oh well. My time is up; I’ll best be going. See you later.” With a wave of his hoof, he was gone.

The house was gone, the shade was gone. The sun burned not only on my back, but now on my muzzle, my legs, my head – all over my body, the sun was burning. It was excruciating pain. I was screaming, begging it to stop.

I shot up in my bed, panting. I cried in my cushion – again. It was the fifth day in a row that I had similar nightmares. Why couldn’t it leave me alone?

~

Dear reader,

Today was just another boring day – but I didn’t mind. I finished the Daring Do – series, I did some chores around the house, learned some more magic, ate lunch, drank some milk – the usual.

All the while, Water Word kept on his sunglasses. I also noticed the suspicious glances Shadow shot at him, and the glares Water shot at Shadow when he wasn’t looking. Something was off here, but I don’t know what it is.

Wing Noir is much less grumpy then I first met him. He actually laughed out loud more than a few times today! He can be so funny if he wants to. He doesn’t like books, sadly – but I’m sure I can bring some change to that! I have an idea to get him reading, and I’m sure he’s going to like it!

Anyway, the sun is setting again. Dinner is ready – we’re eating something healthy for a change. Let’s see how I like it!

~

To my dear friend, Carbon Copy,

I have received your letter. I am glad that she is safe, even though she might not be so for long.

First, I want to warn you. Closer examination of the Vanhoover fire – the inn she stayed with her friends – reveal that it wasn’t an accident, like the papers claim. These darker forces we are speaking about must have lit it in the hope she wouldn’t survive.

But she has survived, and I am happy about that.

To answer your question as to her importance: the rest of our force has attended a briefing after you have left.

By the way, there has been some changes to the team. Our close-combat expert has been removed from our team, and replaced by a rookie called Swift Spry. He’s good, but he’s young and a bit lazy.

Our swordscolt has retired, as foreseen. He was replaced by a dragon called Enerjak Vocalis. He´s a good swordscolt (well, swordsdragon,) and also very skilled in the air, but he has some problems with teamwork. And he is young, even for a dragon.

I need to say, though, that Warpath wasn´t glad with the changes. He is going really tough on them, but we need them. Especially Enerjak, because he comes from the Other World.

But that old half-dragon should know better than to question his bosses.

Well, that was before the briefing, that is.

So we got some information about her. Her name’s Civviq Writer, she’s about eleven years old, and she’s from the Other World. But you know this already.

What you don’t know, is who those dark forces are.

You see, that is all about an old prophecy. An alicorn, called Illuminae, will come to restore the balance in a world off-balance. She has come, before Equestria was created, once or twice every thousand years. She does so by reincarnation.

Every reincarnation starts off with her being a small, grey earth pony. Every time she learns something new, she’ll gain a bit more color.  Then a horn and a pair of wings. This will take years and years.

We don’t know for certain yet, but there is a dark cult rising in Equestria. They call themselves the ‘Mörklings.’ Their leader is rumored to be a pony, all black like a shadow. But you know how rumors can be: exaggerated to dust. But I believe there is a hint of truth.

We believe that they have found a lead to who this ‘Illuminae’ will be. This time it will be a human from the Other World. Civviq has been the first one to be transported here – and they have failed, thank Celestia. What they have done to do so, is unknown. Our source, a cultmember who has been arrested, doesn’t want to tell us – or simply can’t because he doesn’t know. We are still looking for his friends, but there is progress.

Anyway, we believe that they still are watching her. They want to know for one hundred percent sure it isn’t her. I believe for one hundred percent she isn’t – she doesn’t look like a small, helpless filly at all. Besides, judging her colors, we can be pretty sure she isn’t this ‘Illuminae’.

We have also tried to find some background information on her friend. His name is Wing Noir, by the way. I believe he is not to be trusted for what he has done in the past. Of course, that is for her to decide. We don’t know how much he has told her yet, but I believe it will not be much. I recommend to keep her safely out of distance of  Wing Noir.

What he has done in the past, will not be stated in this letter. His past, and to an extent, his parent’s past, is heavily intertwined with the cult. This is another reason for you not to trust him.

One more thing. The new members of the group has decided to get themselves a name. I just rolled my eyes and Warpath practically face-hoofed (or clawed), but they wanted to know your opinion too. Their options are ‘the Revengers’, ‘Team Alpha’, ‘Team Illuminae’,  ‘Operation Without A Cool Name, ‘The Z-force’, or ‘The Epic Assembling Mightyness,’ or TEAM. They aren’t good, but if you know any better, please send it in. I’m voting for ‘TEAM’, by the way.

I await your reply,

Your friend,

Snipit Heartstrings