Wish: Book II - The Truth

Chapters

Chapter 1: Awoken
Chapter 2: Reunion of Strangers
Chapter 3: Stolen
Chapter 4: A Hope
Chapter 5: Plan
Chapter 6: Doubtful Figures
Chapter 7: It Toys with the Mind
Chapter 8: Secrets upon Secrets
Chapter 9: Visitor
Chapter 10: Invasion
Chapter 11: The Truth
Chapter 12: The Probability
Chapter 13: True Helplessness
Chapter 14: Unmasked

Chapter 1: Awoken

Everything is so dark, and so cold. I feel weightless; floating aimlessly in this chasm of shadows lost and alone. I can’t breathe, no matter how hard I try, as if air doesn’t exist in this realm. But, I can hear sounds suddenly fade in. Sounds of a breeze slipping through cracks, howling and whispering in my ears. I can feel something; something frigid and rough. I bend each one of my fingers waking their bones and feeling the small loose pebbles scattered about the ground. I feel a rush of this chilling air travel down the canal of my throat and fill my chest. I can feel warmth from the side of my face, and the other side bears the chills. The doors to my eyes fling open, and I can feel this body of mine lift up into the air in a jolt. I feel myself become overwhelmed with the idea that I can now see the world that has been hiding from me. Above, an orange glow pulses over the gray rounded stone cave that expands far beyond the field of shadows. The long pointed stones reaching down to me, and as my back falls back down onto the rough dry ground I can feel the heart in my chest beginning to pump vigorously. Bending the joints in my legs they feel like they’ve been asleep for ages. I lift up my trembling arms and closely look at these hands of mine. Staring at my palms I wonder what I am, where I came from . . . where I had been all this time where time itself didn’t seem to exist.

I breathe in this new world of rock and rubble with my eyes and the feeling of blood flowing through the entirety of my body. The air I breathe is cold, but my body feels warm. I rest my hand on my chest and feel a smooth cold cloth. I find my arms are covered by this same material. It’s black, and the cuffs are outlined in a white that stands out from the dark of this cave. I feel something touching the back of my neck, and reaching back I realize that a fairly tall collar is tucked around it. My muscles feel loose and weak, my bones feel hollow and frail. Helplessly I lay, on this cold bed of stone blanketed in this sleek black material. I feel the need to call out for help, but I cannot unlock my voice from the gates of my throat.

“I don’t believe it. . . You’re awake!” Says a voice from behind the shadows.

At the sound of this voice I twist and turn frantically for whom it may belong to, to beg for help, or to lay in . . . fear. Fear is what’s coursing through my veins, and it feels never-ending.

“Do not be afraid. Can you stand? Go on, try to stand.” He says.

Brought upon the task I begin to think of a way to complete it. I fill my lungs with the cold air and lift up my torso. I can feel my chest tighten and my stomach tense and quiver. Unable to hold myself up I fall back down flat on my back. I turn and push myself over my shoulder so my stomach drops onto the ground. I can feel the cold stone against my cheeks, and the small sharp bits of rock poking them. Breathing in I catch dust and the taste of soil. Pressing my hands against the ground they begin to shake violently as I attempt to push myself up. I can feel the blood building up in my hands and arms as the muscles tighten.

“Yes, come on you’ve almost got it!” He says encouragingly.

But his words have no effect on my performance. My feeble arms give up and allow my body to fall back to the ground. Now, I feel weaker, and exhausted. I cannot do it, I cannot stand. It almost feels impossible.

“No come on now. You can’t give up already. Try once more, just once more.” He says.

Lifting my chin up from the ground I scan around the entirety of the cave, but cannot find anyone. Laying my head back down from my neck straining to keep it up I let myself breathe in consecutively to relieve my body. Once again I place my palms against the ground, and again push my arms to the limit. This time I am able to lock my elbows together to ensure that this time I will not fall. Readying my right leg I quickly pull it inward and rest on the knee. Now, I do the same with my left. In another quick jolt I stomp my foot against the ground and rest an arm on my thigh. I notice that my foot is being protected by a black shoe pointed at the front. What really catches my eyes is the silvery buckle that keeps the shoe tightened. All I must do know is get on both feet, which is the stage I have dreaded. I can now feel the muscles in my leg tense as I set my other foot down onto the ground. My body starts to wobble out of balance as I try to stand myself up fully erect. I hold out my arms to maybe sustain my stance, and it works. Keeping my body as still as possible I take a moment to realize that I’ve won, and I feel amazed at myself for being able to now stare down to the ground instead of feeling like I’m a part of it.

“Good. Now, turn to the light.” He says.

Twisting my body I slide my shoes along the ground positioning them so that they are pointed towards the little orange light emanating from the ground. A small delicate sliver of flame dances with glee as smaller spurts of light flicker from the top of it. It rests in a small nest of twigs and grass bordered by little stones.

“Now walk. Step towards the light.”

Shot with his new request I stand clueless on where to even begin. I don’t even dare to make a single attempt to step forward. Fearing the plummet back to the ground I keep my stance, not wanting to progress any further.

“You can do it. I know you can, and I know ‘you’ know you can.”

I know I cannot delay it any longer, I must try. I can already feel my body smashing into the stone ground and the ache in my bones. My cheeks and eye brows tense up as they expect the same outcome of pain. Lifting up my right leg I can already feel myself wobble, so I quickly stomp back down ahead of me. I do the same with the left, except I nearly lose my footing and desperately try to keep my body standing. I keep still with my legs far apart in this awkward position, too afraid to continue. I feel that even the slightest movement will cause me to topple down.

“Don’t stop now you’re almost there! Just keep going. Don’t think about falling, just think about reaching the light.”

I follow the voice’s advice and focus my eyes on the pulsing flame. I can feel them becoming almost hypnotized by its incandescence. My arms steady, and the trembling about my body seems to have stopped for the moment. Straightening my legs out I stand tall with no intention of turning away from the flame. One at a time I lift up each leg inching my way to the light. Despite all my shuddering and shaking I keep my attention focused on the flame, and with every step I take the less struggle I feel. My posture smoothens out, and the fear simply disappears. Before I even know it I am towering over the young flame, and a wave of disbelief drifts across my mind.

“You see? I told you you could do it.” Says the voice.

My attention is thrown from the flame out into the shadows ahead, as the voice sounded like it came from just beyond there. I hear steps drawing near, and in the little flame’s puddle of light two dark hooves cross the boundary between the dark and the light. My eyes fearfully move their sight up to see the black shrouded torso of the being in front of me. His thick black cloak is very worn and tattered. It appears to be just a mass of dark clothing all stitched together, but looks like it could keep one very warm inside. A thin gray scarf is wrapped all around his neck, and with the brown long-brimmed hat over his head his face is completely hidden. From the scarf it looks like a torn black cape drapes over his back.

“What is your name?” He asks.

I . . . I don’t think I have a name. Even if I did I wouldn’t be able to share it with him. It feels like a stone has been lodged in my throat the more I try to use my voice. No matter how much I beg for it to show it stays locked away.

“Come on, speak.” He whispers. “Tell me your name.”

“. . . A—.” I can feel my voice starting to slip out. “A-Air-eal . . . Aireal.”

The effort it took to push out my voice has tired me to the extent where I need to take a moment to breathe. But I am shocked at what left my lips: Aireal. Is that my name? Why else would I have said it? It was as though I already had the answer prepared, but I don’t recall ever thinking of such a name. I look on at the dark-clothed figure awaiting some kind of response.

“It ‘is’ you. After all this time, you’ve come back.”

The figure tips up his hat and lowers his scarf down to his neck as the flame’s light illuminates his face. I can now see his snout and big brown eyes, his pale white coat and silver mane that partially hides one of his eyes. He looks as though he hasn’t slept in days with the grayness under his eyes. I stare at him in confusion, I don’t understand what he means by ‘I’ve come back’. I’ve never been here before. I don’t think I’ve ever been . . . anywhere.

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” He asks.

I then shake my head no.

“I was afraid this would happen. . .” He mutters to himself. “Listen to me, I want you to take a good long look around you. Does ‘this place’ seem at all familiar?”

Checking all around the dark cave there isn’t anything that calls out to me. Something I hadn’t noticed before is all the scattered papers and buckets of paint tucked away in the dark. Inside the buckets I see the long handles of brushes sticking up from the pigmented liquid, and around the brim drips of the paint have dried and hardened over the paper. As I turn all the way around I notice that behind me is a frozen pond of water, and on the other side of this pond is a pitch black tunnel. Resting atop the surface of the ice is a bundle of what looks like twigs, I’m a bit too far away to be able to tell. Just trying to focus on the little bundle makes my eyes ache and my vision blur. Leaning against the tavern’s walls are stacks upon stacks of canvases. Something I also notice is that embedded in the cave is some kind of stone that appears almost glassy. Turning back to the stallion as he eagerly awaits an answer, I shake my head again. Disappointment overcomes him, and he depressingly lowers his head.

“Right uh . . . just. . .” The stallion puts his hoof under his chin and turns his head away. “Why don’t you just go and wait over there; I need uh . . . I need a moment to think.”

The stallion turns around and paces around the other side of the cave leaving me near the tiny flame. Clueless I decide to leave him alone and retreat to the back of the cave to get a better look at some of the things around here. With the sounds of the pitter pattering of the stallion’s hooves and the crackling of the little flame behind me I use my new ability to walk towards the strange stone embedded into the rock. I curiously draw my eyes closer to its sleek and smooth surface and can see the rock of the cave right through it. Nearby I notice that there’s actually another one of these in the wall. I find that there’s many more of them big and small clustered all around me growing from the rocks. I was never able to notice them because of the darkness.

My eyes are lost in how fascinated they are with the appearance and quantity of these stones. Noticing the sudden silence of the stallion’s hoof-steps I turn my head and see him standing still staring down at the ground in deep thought. I remember there was something else that I wanted to see, the little bundle of twigs on the pond. Walking over to the ice I carefully squat down afraid I might lose my balance. Now with a better look at the bundle I realize that it’s actually a pile of flowers. They all are coated in frost, and their colors are very pale. I reach out and grab one by the stem as it stays as stiff as a stick. It feels so light that any sort of pressure could crush this little flower into pieces. Its pedals are frozen solid, and as I run my fingers over them it feels like they can break off at any second.

“Hey! Don’t touch those!” The stallion shouts.

His intense voice bounces off the cave walls and into my ears triggering me to drop the flower and raise my hands. The stallion gallops towards me with the end of his scarf and torn cape waving behind him. His hooves scrape against the ground as he comes to a sudden stop near the edge of the frozen pond. He delicately grabs the flower I held by his teeth and gently lays it back on the top of the pile. My hands tremble as I sit near him cowering still in shock by his shout.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout; but please, please don’t touch these.” He says calmly.

Too afraid to respond the stallion turns to me waiting for me to express my understanding, so I nervously nod my head. He gets up and walks away, and now I feel too afraid to touch anything else. Behind me I notice one of the many stacks of canvases near the wall. I can feel my curiosity trying to take over me, but I refrain from even thinking about looking at them.

“. . . You can look at those if you want.” Says the stallion. “Just do be careful with them.”

With the stallion’s permission I lift up one of the canvases with caution. Peeking at its surface it’s too dark to see what’s been painted on it. So, I carefully take it from the stack and hold it in front of me. My eyes travel down the canvas exploring the intricate detail of the scene being depicted. There are trees crooked and narrow, their branches are like bony arms reaching out to the dingy wooden cabin in the center. Clumps of moss are growing along their trunks in a variety of greens and browns, and strands of it dangle from the branches. It looks just so real that I feel like I’m actually standing behind these trees staring out at the little wooden shack. An orange light is shining through the cabin’s window and is cast over the smooth mud. Above the roof, as its shingles are peeling right off the wood, is a solid gray sky.

Curious to see what may lie in the other paintings I set this one aside and grab a new one from the pile. The next is a scene of a small grassy area surrounded by trees. Compared to the previous painting these trees are flourishing with life as the Moonlight shines off their rich green leaves. The dark curtain of the sky is dotted with stars, and the Moon almost appears to glow right off of the canvas. Beyond the trees is pure darkness, but little sparkles of light make it more vibrant. I can tell that the grass and leaves are sprinkled with small drops of water as the light reflects off their round surface. My eyes are mesmerized by the Moon, and are given a sense of comfort the longer they stare.

But my curiosity rages on, so I set this painting aside and pick up another. This one is not a scene of nature, but a portrait of a mare. The first thing I notice are her big luscious green eyes that make me feel like she really is staring back at me. I can see the dimples in her cheeks as a smile spreads under her tiny snout. Her mane is a thick red, and it is being blown back by the wind. Her coat is a vanilla white, and she is wearing a beautiful white dress that is swaying in the wind. Behind her is a violet sky spotted with stars near the top, and glowing light posts on the bottom half of the canvas. My eyes have become dazed at the magnificence of this piece. I can almost feel the wind in this painting blowing against me, and I can almost hear the crickets that would be chirping.

“Do you like that one?”

I am broken out of my hypnotic state as the stallion stands directly behind me. He takes a seat near me while I let my heart settle.

“This is probably my favorite paintings out of all of these.”

“Wh-Who . . . Who is she?” I ask.

“Somepony . . . very close to me. . .”

The stallion went on with his story. He told me the mare’s name is Aria, and about the night he met her. He said that he used to be the new pony in town, and he was merely just trying to find a new location for some inspiration for his art. He said that when he first saw her he could already feel the butterflies in his stomach fluttering about. She invited him to attend a party at the local park, and so he accepted. The rest of the night they spent together dancing the time away. He told me that during those moments where he held her hoof he could tell that this was going to last forever. But then, his tone changed. He muttered that she was stolen from him as he turned his head to the pile of flowers on the frozen pond. I could tell his heart was growing heavy as he told me what happened to her. He said his town was getting invaded, overrun, and in the midst of trying to escape he lost her. She plummeted down into a deep dark canyon, and she drowned in the very pond next to us. After he explained his story I could feel my heart turning blue as he explained the purpose of the flowers.

“Every so often, when I leave the safety of this cave, I’ll find a new flower. I make sure I bring it back, careful not to break it, and I leave it here . . . for her.”

“. . . I-I’m . . . S-Sorry.” I say trying to push my voice to explore new sounds.

“You don’t have to be sorry, because of me I had to watch her vanish right before my eyes. . . And I let the same thing happen to another friend of mine. Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing.”

I can tell he’s put himself in a deep state of thought; and I, without words to speak, allow a silence to fall upon us. From him I can tell that he is being haunted by more than what he’s told me, there’s something else, I can almost feel it.

“So, how’s your head?” He asks.

I sit in silence unsure of what to say, so I look on at him confusedly.

“Your head, does it hurt? I say, that was one nasty hit on the head you had. It’s no wonder you can’t remember anything. Your slurred speech, you can barely walk . . . but you knew your name, that’s a start.”

Curiously I touch the top of my head to check for any signs of pain or damage, but Valiari quickly stops me.

“Don’t touch it! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I bandage it up for you.”

Out of fear from his outburst and confusion from the situation I refrain from touching my head and lower my hand. I begin to wonder, perhaps . . . I really did hit my head. It’s the only way I wouldn’t be able to remember anything. It would explain all of this, and after all the things he said . . . it surely must be true. But, who was I before?

“Now, do you remember ‘my’ name?”

I then shake my head no.

“You poor fellow, can’t even remember my name. Well then I suppose we’ll just have to start over, maybe it’ll come back to you later. My name is Valiari, as you’ve seen I’m bit of a painter.”

“They’re amazing.” I say without so much of a struggle.

“Thank you. . . Here, take a look at this one.”

Valiari then reaches over and takes out a canvas from the center of the pile. I set aside the painting of the mare and hold the new painting outward to get a good look at the scene. With a grip along the sides of the canvas I realize how much larger this one is compared to the previous ones.

“This, is the land in which we live.” He says.

The painting depicts an enormous scene of color and life. The bottom half of the canvas shows me a large thick forest of trees that span all the way up to the horizon. Violet mountains topped with snow spread across the canvas, and the Sun is nestled in between one of their valleys. The Sun’s golden light spreads across the paper and changes to orange and red the higher you go. Almost half the right side of the canvas is taken up by the side of a mountain as the Sun’s glow covers the slate and trees along the mountainside. As my eyes are carried up to the top of the mountain I notice that a castle coated in many colors such as gold, white, and violet is built along its side. It is composed of many towers of different sizes and shapes with long pointed rooftops. From the top of the mountain a cool blue waterfall reaches down and fills the castle’s moat.

“See that castle there? That is called Canterlot Castle, it’s where the two Princesses that rule the land live. They are the ones that control the Sun and the Moon when it’s their time to rise. . . Except, this land doesn’t look like it did anymore.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Come on, I’ll show you.”

Valiari gets to his hooves and walks towards the darkness behind us. He turns and beckons me to follow, and so I use the cave’s wall nearby to help me stand as I use my hands to follow up the wall. I can feel the moisture and small pieces of rock stick to my palm, so I rub my hands together to try and get them off. Valiari walks over to a big black bag tucked away in the dark, and bends over to pull out a broken tree branch with something tied to the top in cloth. He carries it clenched by his teeth back to the little flame and sticks the tip of it inside. Immediately the clothed top of the branch catches fire and it illuminates the parts of his body once hidden by shadows.

I walk towards him, and he guides me further into the cave away from the little flame. I can feel the air getting colder and the wind more persistent. My skin is forming goose bumps, and my muscles are beginning to shiver. I can feel tiny flakes of ice hit my cheeks as the chilling air easily finds its way behind the protection of my clothing. My stomach tenses as the air chills my entire torso. I grip the sides of my arms and rub them vigorously to maybe generate some heat, but it doesn’t work very well. I can feel the ground below me turn soft and cushiony as my shoes sink down into it. Every time I lift up my legs to take a step forward many flakes of ice find their way into the soles of my shoes. The stallion stops as the fire illuminates the sparkly white ground below, and so I halt.

“Go on, take a look.” Says Valiari.

I dig my shoes into the ground going deeper and deeper with every step. It reaches up past my ankles, and I stand motionless as my eyes absorb the new world ahead. Thousands of small bundles of ice gently fall down from the charcoal black sky and join the rest below. The trees all are bare, there isn’t a single leaf on their branches. The wind disturbs the flakes of ice along the ground blowing them around crazily. It’s hard to see past the illumination of the fire as it appears that a black curtain of darkness blocks everything the light cannot touch. But, from what I can see, this coating of white covers everything around me.

“The snow never stops, it’s been able to blanket the entire land.” Says Valiari.

Suddenly an explosion of white light flashes from the sky revealing the rest of what cannot be seen for just a quick second. I saw just as he said, the same thing for what looked like miles. Just forests of trees sheeted in snow. I almost thought I saw small buildings in the distance. I saw something beyond it, but I couldn’t quite identify it. The sky begins to roar, and several quick flashes of light strike the horizon revealing the silhouette of the mountains far off in the distance. But I saw, along an enormous mountain much closer than those, the body of a castle with several towers reaching for the sky.

“That, is Canterlot Castle. I plan to journey up there soon.”

I whip around at the very words in surprise.

“W-Why?” I ask.

“Because I can feel that whatever, or whoever is responsible for this, is up there. I never see the Sun or the Moon anymore, so who knows what’s happened to the Princesses? I’m tired of hiding in this cave, watching all of this unfold before my eyes, to know that everypony in Equestria has suffered and there was nothing I could do to stop it! Now, it’s time to fight back. It’s time to take our land back, and rid it of this curse. . . But I can’t do it alone. Of course me being a unicorn could just cast a spell to teleport there myself, but this cold . . . it’s done something to me. It has stunt my ability to utilize my magic, which is why I had to stay hidden like a helpless little animal. I was able to warm up with the fire, but it only gave me enough energy for one single spell.”

“What w-was it?”

“Well, I used my energy to wake you. You were in a coma-like state for so long, and I didn’t know how long it would take for you to come back, if you ever would have woken up. I couldn’t take the chance; I needed you back. I can’t let any more time pass us by before this storm eventually claims us as well. I know you’re just starting to become familiar again with the world around you, and I know you must be afraid, but you must understand time is running out. So, will you come with me?”

The decision has been thrown right at me, and my mind feels it must make the choice quickly. I turn and stare out at the snow-coated land as more streaks of light strike the horizon. It feels like the land itself is listening, waiting to punish me for my answer. I can hear the clouds shouting at me after every strike of light. I need to think, what would ‘I’ really say? What was I like before I was knocked out? I have no idea if I was brave, courageous, or strong; because right now all I feel is cowardice.

“Aireal? Will you?” He asks once more.

My answer is stuck inside my throat, so I force my voice to let it go.

“. . . Yes.”

Chapter 2: Reunion of Strangers

“Haha! That’s the Aireal I remember!” Valiari exclaims with glee.

After setting the flaming branch down into the snow with the lit portion poking upwards he leaps towards me, and embraces me tightly. Squeezing the air right out of me I can feel myself being lifted up from the ground. I allow him to continue crushing my torso as I feel my blood rush to my head. Once he finally lets me go my lungs act like a vacuum sucking in as much air as they can. Valiari picks back up the flaming branch with his teeth and leans his head towards me.

“Here, hold this for a second.” He says.

I barely understood him with the stick in his mouth, so I look on at him, and then down at the branch. I can already feel its relaxing warmth from here, but I almost do not want to even reach out for the branch afraid I might touch the flame. I don’t think I’ve felt such pain as a burn, and I don’t think I ever want to. As he still waits patiently for me to take it I cautiously reach out and grab hold of the branch. I am careful not to put any part of my body near the fire fearing the possible charring of my skin.

“Follow me, we need to get ourselves prepared!” He says excitedly.

He makes his way back into the cave as I follow closely behind him lighting his way. My body is thankful to finally be out of the chilling winds, but knows that soon it will be thrown much deeper into the storm. I follow Valiari all the way to the big black bag I saw him digging through earlier, and I notice the bag is much more intact compared to his clothing. It’s covered in many pockets big and small, and with the bag lying on its side the big flap at the opening is hanging open.

“I need to go collect a few things before we go. It’s going to be quite a walk, so we’re going to need plenty of supplies. Just wait right here.”

Valiari hurriedly trots off to the other side of the cave searching behind and around his stacks of canvases, and I nervously wait near the big black bag. I glance back to get one more look at the knives of light stabbing the mountains in the distance. After each strike a crash of thunder follows, and it feels like each one is pounding right onto my chest. I can’t imagine the intensity of the cold beyond this cave, but I suck in a deep breath to toughen my chest and maybe subside some of this anxiety. Valiari trots back over stuffing other little bags and bundles of things into the sack. He leaves again to go retrieve some more supplies, and for some reason I can’t stop staring at the wide opening of the bag. I can feel myself succumbing to my own curiosity as my eyes wish to see what else might be inside. I bounce my eyes up at Valiari as he is still searching through his things, now would be the perfect time to just sneak a peek.

Squatting down I rest my elbows on my knees and try to catch a quick glance at the inside of the bag, but it’s all too dark to see anything. I bring the flame closer to maybe push aside the darkness, and all I am able to see are the couple bags Valiari had just shoved inside. But I want to see what else he’s keeping inside it, so carefully and quietly I reach in trying to move aside the smaller bags. With my hand gripped on one of the little bags I pull it away while lowering my head to see inside. Straining my eyes I can see something all the way in the back of the bag, but I can’t quite tell what it is. Just as I am about to extend my arm into the bag a shouting fills the cave.

“Hey! Get your hands out of there!” Valiari shouts whilst trotting towards me.

Startled, I jolt and quickly retract my hand from inside the bag. I fall back nearly losing my grip on the flaming branch, and Valiari proceeds to reorganize the little bags that had just fallen out because of me. Now resting on the ground recovering from the shock I watch him as he sighs while getting the small bags back in their original place. After shoving them back inside he lowers his head and takes a deep breath.

“Right then, clearly some rules need to be set.” He says turning his head to me and holding up his hoof. “First, no more snooping through my stuff without my permission, understood?”

I then nervously nod my head.

“Second, you do exactly as I say no matter what. Third, and this is probably the most important, when we venture outside of this cave you stay with me; and ‘don’t’ go off alone. Yes?”

Again, with a nervous gulp, I nod my head.

“Okay . . . well I think we have everything we should need for the trip. Do ‘not’ forget these rules.”

Valiari turns away and lifts up the opened flap of the bag fastening the buckle and strap to keep it shut. Getting to his hooves he hoists the hefty bag with a grunt over his back and orders me to stand.

“Come on then, let’s get going.” He says taking the branch out of my hands.

With the sounds of the crackling flames and the bottom of my shoes grinding the tiny pebbles beneath them I stand myself up waiting for Valiari to take the lead. He walks ahead of me as I follow the warmth and light of the torch, and just before we approach the exit of the cave Valiari stops. He turns his head back to the tiny flame in the center of the cave and the frozen pond of water. I halt and wonder why it is he’s stopped, what could have made him stop so suddenly?

“Wait. There’s just . . . one more thing I need to do before we go.”

Valiari leans towards me with the end of the branch extended to me. I grab hold of it before he dashes back into the cave leaving me to stand and wait. I watch as he stops near the frozen pond with only the slight glow of the little flame on the ground to illuminate him. He gets to all four of his knees before the ice, other than that I can’t quite tell what else he could be doing. After a while he uses his right fore-leg to wipe the side of his cheek, and once he gets to his hooves he lowers his head as if in sadness. He walks over to one of his stacks of paintings and grabs the painting I saw earlier, the one of Aria. He rests it down onto the ice as it blows about icy particles into the air, and after one last long look he turns away and walks back towards me. Dragging himself along as he gets closer I can see strips of sparkles from the branch’s light over his cheeks, and him raising his head to look up at me only makes them clearer.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“W-What h-happened?” I ask.

“. . . I said my goodbyes.”

I am reminded of the story he had told me about the mare, by the look in his eyes and pain in his voice I can tell that they must’ve truly had a strong bond together. My mind can only wonder what such a feeling must be like to experience, but to have it stolen from you must feel like a piece of your heart has gone with it. Behind him the tiny flame is suddenly blown out, but there was not a single breeze that had gone by. Valiari and I jolt turning towards the shadowed place where the flame once lit.

“. . . Let’s get moving.” He says

Valiari turns away and steps into the chilling world outside, while I stay for a mere moment to stare back at the dark. I am lost in wonder as to the flame’s sudden disappearance. Not only that, but I feel as though someone is standing amongst the shadows, watching me.

“Aireal.” Says Valiari freeing me from my trance. “Let’s go now, there’s no reason to stay here.”

Following behind him I cannot withstand the need to glance back as many times as I can to reassure my eyes that no one is there. From the dark passage into the cave it appears that the entrance has been dug into a tall mountain that extends as far as my eyes can see from both sides, or at least, what the small peeks of light will allow me to see. Turning back forward Valiari takes the torch from me and leads our way into the deepening snow. The orange glow from the flame brightens a small section of the blackened world around us. The shadows run and hide, but only so far as a few feet. The intense flashing of the crooked beams of light from the smoky clouds occasionally light up the way, but only for a mere second as it all fades back to the darkness followed by that startling boom in the sky. I caught sight of the trees whose barren braches are reaching out to us as if wanting to be saved, pleading for help. The wind weaving through their hollow bodies sounds like their cries in anguish. But because of their foreboding appearance, the folds in their bark resembling wrinkles in aged skin, and their lanky branches like bony arms wanting to grasp me as I pass by, I hide behind Valiari and the safety of his light.

After what seems like hours of walking my body is tired from the excessive shivering and strain put on my legs, but Valiari is still holding himself up rather strongly. I can feel the cold particles of icy dust still flooding into the top of my shoes sending chills up my legs. The wind sneaks around my neck and down passed my collar to deliver a stream of sharp icy air. My cheeks and the tips of my ears felt as though they were being smothered by flame, but now I can barely feel them at all. As the falling snow cakes itself onto my clothing and hair Valiari suddenly stops. He holds out his torch in my way to bring me to a halt as well. Afraid of the flame touching my body I take a step back awaiting any words from him.

“Stop, did you see it?” He asks.

I then shake my head, and he then turns and looks on with the torch still guarding my path. Streaks of light followed by loud shrieks of the clouds reveal a dingy and utterly destroyed town down below. The buildings appear so tiny from this far a distance. Every last one seems to be either dented or crushed, and all of them are leaning toward us it seems. As if the winds have blown them out of the earth, and the snow has frozen them in such a position.

“This poor little town, it didn’t stand a chance. Let’s go, and be careful, this hill looks steep.”

Keeping his words in mind I follow him down the hill. I dig and plant my shoes as far as they’ll go into the snow to keep my balance, but it feels like at any moment I could topple over. I grab hold of any nearby trees to secure myself as I carefully work my way down. I find that Valiari has already slid down and is still waiting for me to reach the bottom. Not wanting to keep him waiting I hurry the rest of the way down nearly losing my footing. Valiari then continues to lead on towards the desolated town, and with every flash of lightning ahead, the worse the destruction appears. The little houses are all made of dingy rusty metal, and protruding from the sides of the houses facing away from the tall mountains, far ahead with castle resting atop, are icicles of varying sizes and lengths.

Valiari and I weave between the houses glancing left and right into their windows that appear to have become either sheeted in frost, or broken with jagged shards still attached to the sides. This place feels deserted, but every pair of windows on each little shack feels like a pair of saddened eyes staring back at me.

“Hello?! Is anypony here?!” Valiari calls as the wind carries his voice throughout the seemingly empty town. “. . . Hey, what is that?”

Valiari and I stop as he points his hoof to something before us within the torch’s orange glow. Curiously he walks towards it and I, fearing the strange object, follow cautiously behind him. It appears to be a tall mass of snow with an odd shape to define it. Valiari begins to wipe his hoof through the snow as chunks of it fall to the ground. I can see something being revealed as he continues to dig at the snow. Once a clear hole has been dug a solid darkened mass of something lies hidden behind the small shadows. Valiari raises his torch, and as the both of us peer forward the object is revealed to be the terrified face of a pony with its eyes flung open frozen behind a coating of ice staring back at us. Valiari gasps and jumps back out of shock, and I follow suit.

“Wh-What in the-?!” Valiari shouts in horror. “. . . The poor fellow, he didn’t make it.”

Valiari, weary and curious, continues to inspect the statue of the frozen pony even further. Wiping away even more of the snow from its body we can clearly see he’s frozen in a position as if trotting away.

“How strange. It looks as though he was trying to run away, but he . . . froze whilst doing so. That doesn’t make any sense, how could something freeze over so quickly?”

Valiari then turns and scans the area around us, and with a face of shock and horror, he notices something worse around us.

“By the name of Celestia . . . they’re everywhere.” He mutters.

Several more of the lumps of snow are scattered all throughout the town; and with the knowledge that they are all the lifeless bodies of ponies frozen in ice, forgotten by time, sends a fearful shrill up my spine. Valiari’s face changes to despair as he turns away and closes his eyes off from the snowy statues.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” He whispers to himself. “. . . Aireal, let’s go. I don’t think anypony here made it.” He says as he continues his walk through the town.

My eyes have trouble disconnecting from the cold eyes of the frozen pony Valiari uncovered. I can almost feel those empty eyes of his staring back at me, watching me. I can feel the light and warmth leaving me, so I force myself to break contact with the pony’s lifeless eyes and join back up with Valiari. Just as we are about to leave the town something overcomes me. Together, Valiari and I stop and stand motionless. My heart is suddenly excited, and the butterflies in my stomach begin to flutter. Valiari turns his head to me, and I turn to him, the both of us mystified by this unrecognizable feeling.

“You feel that too? I-I know what that is, just where could it be coming from?” He asks.

Valiari turns back into the town mindlessly trotting about in search of the source. We twist and turn around every corner of every building, until this feeling inside grows slightly stronger.

“I-It’s this way, come on!” He urges now galloping away as the flame from his branch leaves an orange tail behind it, and his torn scarf and cape wave crazily behind him.

He’s too fast for me to keep up with, and because my legs are already exhausted from the walk they can barely keep up the work. He goes so far that the dark starts to engulf me to the point to where I cannot see any part of my body as I try to catch up to him. Knowing that this village is completely desolated and deserted, being surrounded by the dark gives me the feeling that I’m being watched from all sides. That all of sudden something in the blackness is stalking me, and ready to attack while I’m alone and vulnerable. This brings me a deep sense of urgency as I push myself through the snow trying desperately to get back to Valiari’s side.

Suddenly he skids to a stop sending a wave of snow spraying ahead of him, and before him is a metal shack similar to all the others. However, this one is different, unlike the others this one is standing straight up. The closer I get the more I realize that this building isn’t as covered in ice and snow as the others. It appears untouched by the elements around it, and even around its borders few blades of grass can actually be seen. I can feel this tingling in my chest and stomach growing stronger, and my skin is becoming warmer. Standing by Valiari’s side I can tell that he too is bewildered by the state of the shack.

“Just look at that.” He says in amazement. “Not even the smallest spec of snow has touched the walls of this house.”

Valiari reaches out and slowly turns the knob of the front door, and with a wicked creaking sound of the metal hinges, the door opens. The both of us enter as we gaze upon how intact the inside of the building is. The orange pulsating glow illuminates the wooden chairs, the rectangular rug, and all the shelves stacked with knick-knacks and books that remain undisturbed. As we continue to walk further in I accidentally stumble over a metal can on the ground as it rolls loudly over the dry wooden floor. Valiari jolts and whips around to me, and after calming himself down from the sudden fear he sighs.

“Watch where you’re stepping, alright?”

“Who is that? Who’s here?!” A voice calls from another room in the small house.

Out from a little hall comes a lightly gray coated mare with a much darker messy mane that droops over her right eye. Her coat is stained with black blotches of dirt or oil, and her face is of fright that only intensifies once her eyes meet mine.

“Who is it Mommy?” A small voice asks from behind her.

“Sweetie get back in your room!” She then turns her attention back to me trying to guard the hall. “You stay away from us! Leave us alone whatever you are!”

“Ma’am please!” Valiari shouts.

“Don’t you shout at me! Just who do you think you are barging in like this?!” She says at the top of her voice.

“Look, let’s all just calm down. We’re not here to cause you harm, we were just hoping to find somepony in this town. Uh-let me introduce myself, my name is Valiari. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope you can forgive me for my rude entrance.”

“. . . Alright, a-and what is that you’ve brought in my house?” She asks in fear.

“Oh! This is my friend Aireal, do not worry, he’s completely harmless.”

Out from behind the mare a small little filly pokes her head around her back. Her mane is short and curls over her eyes with a smooth vanilla white color, and her coat is beige with splotches of dirt or soot just as the mare’s. Her big green eyes stare up at me with the reflection of Valiari’s torch over them. With a little gasp she shows her whole face and smiles brightly at the sight of me.

“It ‘is’ you! Mommy that’s him! That’s Ayreel!” She says excitedly.

“That!? That’s him?! I-I thought you were just making that up!”

“No Mommy I told you he’s real! Can I go say hi to him? Mommy can I?”

“Uh . . . well.” Her Mother trails off in weary thought.

“Don’t worry Miss, I assure you you have nothing to worry about. As I said, he is completely harmless, you have my word.” Says Valiari.

“Mommy please!” She begs while tugging at her Mother’s leg.

“Well . . .” She looks at me filled with uncertainty, and then back down to her daughter. “Okay, go ahead sweetheart.”

The Mother steps aside and the filly instantly gallops towards me. She wraps her little forelegs around my leg gripping it tightly. With her unexpected actions I raise my arms in surprise. Unsure of how to react I try to understand just what is going on. Just who is this little filly? She knew my name, but how? I turn to Valiari expecting him to give me some kind of answer, but all of a sudden he appears just as nervous as me. The filly looks up at me confused, I can tell she’s wondering why I haven’t said a single word or even reacted to her embracing.

“I . . . I’m sorry wh-who are you?” I ask.

At that moment it looks as though I just smashed the little filly’s heart into pieces like glass against stone. Her brows show sadness, and a frown takes over her smile.

“What?” She asks. “I-it’s me, Candle Light! Remember?”

“N-No I . . . I don’t.” I say regretfully.

The filly releases my leg and takes a step back while still keeping her saddened eyes locked onto mine. I can hear her struggling to speak, and her eyes are beginning to flood.

“Y-You don’t?” She asks as the tears begin streaming down her cheeks.

She cannot hold it back any longer, she starts to whimper, and her Mother quickly grabs her to comfort her. My heart is shot with guilt, the longer I witness this young filly’s crying the bigger the tear in my heart becomes. Her Mother stares at me with a mixture of confusion and anger, and Valiari is glancing between the both of us unsure of what to do or say. Until it seems an idea finally strikes him in the middle of his apprehension.

“Uh wait! Wait, wait, wait.” He repeats walking over to the filly’s Mother. “I’m sorry, just let me explain. He’s suffered from a major concussion, and in the process he’s lost basically all of his memories.”

“Oh my.” The Mother says in surprise.

“Alright, um . . . just let me have a word with him.” Valiari then hurries back to me as the filly continues to sob whilst hiding her face behind her Mother’s legs. “Aireal, listen to me.” He whispers. “You know this filly, you and her used to be friends. Believe me, you did. So just . . . just pretend you do, alright? It would make her so much happier, okay?”

“. . . Alright.” I whisper.

“Thank you. . . Alright Miss Candle Light, I believe Aireal has something he wants to say to you.”

The filly fixes her tear-filled eyes onto me, and I wanting to fulfill Valiari’s request, do my best to force a smile. I squat down so that my eyes can be level with hers. I feel I must regain her trust, so I try to come up with the words to accomplish that.

“Oh Candle Light! Yes now I . . . now I remember. H-How could I forget? I’m sorry I didn’t remember sooner.” I say.

Candle Light then leaves her Mother’s side cautiously walking towards me. Her sobbing has calmed, and her cheeks are glistening by her tears reflecting the orange glow of Valiari’s burning branch.

“Y-You do?” She asks with pain in her throat.

“Of course!” I say in the hopes these words sound real. “So, what do you say? Are we still friends?”

She comes closer, silent, but her eyes speak more than her words could. She throws herself into me and puts her forelegs over my shoulders. I can hear a laughter emerge from her struggling voice, and so I set my hands over her back. I feel I have fixed the pain I’ve caused her, but I haven’t healed my own. The guilt is still with me, to know that I must embrace this friendship between her and I despite me never even knowing it existed. But still I hold her, and I let her rid her eyes of those droplets of pain. I look up at Candle Light’s Mother; she looks on uncomfortably with discontent, and with just the turn of my head I see Valiari. I can see by how he’s lowered his head and the gloom in his eyes that he’s filled with just as much guilt as I am.

Chapter 3: Stolen

The little filly’s Mother allowed Valiari and I to stay in her home once he explained our current situation. He and her began talking, getting to know each other, and after a while she seemed comfortable with us around. She treated us to some warm water as we sat at her dingy wooden table. She set a candle in the center and Valiari lit it with his torch. Without anywhere to set his torch he blew out the flame and leaned the charred branch against the metal wall. The filly’s Mother took a seat with us on her creaky wooden chairs. She brought the water in a steaming metal kettle and gave each of us a small ceramic cup with it. Candle Light joined us as she climbed up on her own little wooden stool and rested her little hooves on the edge of the table. Her Mother gave her a little cup of water, and then she turned to us.

“So, you two came a long way to get here?” She asks.

“Indeed we did Miss.” Says Valiari.

“You didn’t um . . . you didn’t happen to see anypony else around did you?”

“No, we didn’t. Only those that were frozen stiff.”

She then lowers her head covering her mouth with her hoof.

“. . . Are you alright Miss?” Valiari asks.

“I-I don’t know.” She says raising her head back up.

I notice that her eyes are turning red, and she’s starting to sniffle. She doesn’t look directly at any of us, instead she glances all around the corners of the dining room and back down to her hooves.

“It’s just that . . . um, m-my husband. He left a while ago to go find food or help. He still hasn’t come back. . . S-Sometimes I hear noises outside, and I always hope it’s him, but when I look outside I see nothing. And every time I turn away the noises start back up again, but th-there’s never anything out there!” She says ecstatically.

Valiari glances at me with a look of shock, and then stutters as he tries to come up with the right words to say.

“Well I-I’m sure he’ll return soon.” He says, but she doesn’t respond.

Instead she continues to sob and hide her face with her hooves and her mane as it droops down over her face.

“Do you hear me? He’ll be back soon, just give it some time.” He persists almost angrily, and from the tone of his voice she jolts and lifts her head up in shock. “There’s no reason for you to lose faith in him; he’ll be back. I’m sure of it. Right now, you need to be strong. Not just for yourself, but for your daughter.”

The mare then smiles with her tear-filled eyes, and almost immediately I can see that most of her sadness has subsided.

“You’re right I . . . I just have to wait, he’ll be back. . . Thank you. All this time my daughter has been the only thing keeping me sane; she’s my world, and I don’t know if I could go on living without her. You know I really should apologize to you, I didn’t mean to yell at you the way I did I was just . . . scared.”

“There’s no need to apologize.”

“No really, and not just to you, but to your friend as well. In fact . . . I’m glad it came along. I remember the days when I was bound to my bed because of my illness, she came home one night and your friend was all she talked about. My heart hadn’t felt so much warmth in such a long time; just to see her jump and smile with so much joy. Of course I didn’t know what to believe except that she was just making up stories, but now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes I’m glad I was wrong. As her Mother I can only do so much, but right now she just needed a friend, and it warms my heart just like it did before to see her so happy. So thank you.”

“Well, you are very welcome. I’m glad we could help. However, it isn’t really ‘me’ you should be thanking.” He says turning his head towards me.

“You’re right.” She then looks on at me. “Thank you, truly.”

I say not a word, but I give her a nod to let her know that I do accept her thanks. I turn to look at Candle Light as she’s sipping out of her little cup. As she smiles at me I can feel that heavy sense of guilt reoccurring, but I push it aside to smile with her. Surely I’ve known her before, at least that’s what I’ve been telling myself. If only I could remember, then it would be easier for me to put my mind at ease. I turn to Valiari as I want to ask him just how exactly this filly and I became friends. However he prepares himself to speak to the mare, and so I keep it to myself. I suppose I'll have to ask him later, and for now I'll just have to wait until the time comes.

“By the way, if I’m not mistaken, didn’t my friend here give your daughter a little gift before he left?” Valiari asks.

“Oh yeah! I have it, it-it’s in my room!” Candle Light exclaims.

“May we see it?”

“Go on sweetie go get it from your room.” Says her Mother.

“Okay!” She says before hopping down from her chair and trotting into the hall.

“I remember when she brought that thing home, it was such a beautiful thing to just stare at. I had never seen anything like it. It was like a sort of ‘good luck charm’ for us. Ever since she brought it home I feel we’ve bonded more as a family. Not only that, but my illness, it kind of just went away! With every passing hour I could feel myself getting better. And even now, as the storms rage on outside, we remain safe. I began to question if it really was just coincidence, or if maybe . . . maybe it wasn’t.”

“Well Miss, you would be correct! As a matter of fact that gift of hers really is something special, and there’s more to it than you think. The fact that you recovered from your illness so quickly is no coincidence, in fact, it’s what could save us all.”

“I got it Mommy!”

“Oh-uh good sweetie, why don’t you go ahead and show them?”

From the edge of the table the little filly sets atop it a small stone. Its shape makes it appear as though it was torn off a much larger rock with all the edges and flat sides. I can feel a wave of warmth overtake me once it is set on the table, but the most outstanding feature of the stone is its vibrant green glow that stretches nearly over the entire table. The light emanates from the very core of the stone, and it diffuses through its glassy form and reflects off of all of our eyes. Valiari appears to be heavily entranced by its light and warm embrace, as he speaks without even a blink.

“Th-That’s it. I knew it! I knew it just had to be! Ma’am, this is what’s going to change everything. With this, we'll be able to stand a chance against the cold.”

“And what makes you think that?” She asks.

“Do you even know what you have here? Within this little stone lies an enormous magical aura unlike anything else. Its special properties can work wonders. It radiates this field of heat and warmth, and I’m sure that right now you can feel your heart beating fast, and your stomach is in knots. You feel relaxed, lively, unlike anything else you’ve ever felt.”

“R-Right. That’s exactly how I feel. How do you know that?”

“Because I’m feeling it right now, so is my friend, and I’m sure your daughter is feeling it as well. Not only that, but watch this.”

Valiari leans out from his chair and grabs the charred tree branch he left leaning against the wall. He grips it tightly between his teeth, and after rolling up his black sleeve to expose his bare fore-leg he uses the end of the branch to scratch himself. The cut already is turning red, and blood is appearing at the top of the broken skin.

“W-Why did you do that?” She asks confusedly.

“Just watch.” He says.

Dropping the branch he reaches his fore-leg over the table near the stone, as the Mother and I watch bewildered by his actions. But as we continue to stare I can see that his cut is beginning to close, and the blood is disappearing. The Mother’s eyes widen with shock as he pulls his leg back to show that his cut has completely healed.

“You see? It has this ability to heal those who are near it! This stone will keep those who possess it safe from harm!”

“I . . . I don’t believe it.” She mutters.

“Now, tell me, if your husband went to go look for help, where do you think he would’ve gone?”

“W-Well um, the only town nearest to ours would be Ponyville. If he would have gone anywhere I suppose that would be the only place I could think of.”

“Alright, then pack up what you need ladies. We’re leaving.”

“W-What?! Why?” She asks exasperated.

“Because we’re not waiting any longer. It’s time for us to take action; we’re going out there to find your husband. And once we find him, we’re going to put a stop to all of this.”

“B-But what if he comes back and we’re not here?”

“We’ll leave him a note, so that if he does, he’ll know where we are, and that you two are safe. So what do you say? Shall we?”

Looking at Valiari as he patiently waits her answer he nonchalantly sips his water, the filly’s Mother contemplates her answer, and I can tell by her face she is full of worry. But soon that leaves, and the spot is taken over by what looks like pure determination.

“. . . Alright, let’s go.”

“Wonderful! Now tell me, just how far is Ponyville from here?”

“Um it’s just down that way, it’ll be through some thick woods. It will be a long walk, but once we get through there should be some wide open fields, we’ll be able to see Ponyville from there.”

“Excellent, then there is no time to waste. Go ahead and pack up what you need ladies, and make sure you keep that stone close and keep it safe. Because with it, I think good luck will start to come for all of us.”

“Okay, come on sweetie help Mommy get ready.”

“Where are we going?” Candle Light asks.

“. . . To get Daddy.”

And so the filly and her Mother hurry into their rooms and begin packing all the things they might need for the trip. I stay with Valiari at the dining table waiting for them to finish, and all he does is stare at the stone.

“. . . You know where this came from don’t you?” He asks.

I shake my head no, but he still doesn’t detract his attention from the stone.

“It came from the caves we were at earlier, this stone is a piece of one of the larger ones that were embedded into the walls. But what I don’t understand is just how could this little stone have survived while all the others’ power had withered away? Believe it or not those caves used to be full of an array of color, but now their power has all but faded. And yet . . . this little one still glows. I just don’t understand how this could be possible, but right now there’s no time for questions. After all that I’ve lost, I’m not ready to lose two more. I already almost lost you once, and there’s no way I’m letting that happen again. The same goes for this poor little family, we ‘will’ find that filly’s Father, no matter what. I’m not going to let any more hearts get torn apart from here and on. . . They must be almost ready by now, let’s get ready to go back out. And Aireal, don’t forget the rules.”

After the filly and her Mother came back into the dining room they had on their backs white bags containing their belongings. Both sacks are covered in smudges of dirt, and each has their own share of holes. Valiari tells the Mother to hold the stone, he said he felt it would be safer with her. We found a wrinkled sheet of paper and a worn wooden pencil with which the Mother used to write the note in case her husband returns. She laid it on the table right next to the lit candle, and after Valiari explained that we all need to stay close together we left the house and began our walk to the next town. With a glance back I could still see the small candle’s flame through the window until the dark consumes it.

The Mother held out the stone, and its light shined through the dark to show us a good deal of the area around us. The snow and all four of our bodies were illuminated in green, the distance our eyes can perceive is much greater than that of Valiari’s torch from before. We left behind all the dingy metal shacks following behind the filly’s Mother as she led the way. Explosions from the clouds scared Candle Light so much that she at one point stopped walking to cover her eyes and tremble. Her Mother was able to calm her down, but from then on she clung to her Mother the rest of the way.

The stone’s warmth makes me feel like I’m not even surrounded by chilling winter winds, but it feels like the air of summer. Flashes of white light expose the woods in the distance. The trees were so tall, and their branches made it look like they were all reaching up to the sky touching the smoky clouds. Once we got to the entrance to the forest all of us stopped walking. It felt like we were about to cross the boundary into a place where danger was just waiting for us from behind the trunks of the trees. As soon as Valiari asked what it was we were waiting for it was like the filly’s Mother was snapped right out of her trance and brushed it off as nothing.

We passed the first few weeping trees with the reoccurring feeling that something is in here with us. I make sure that I follow Valiari’s rule, so I stay near him at all times. Further into the woods we can hear the winds howling through the trees’ hollow trunks and the clacking of the hundreds of branches. Eventually we come across a few particularly strange objects. More piles and stacks of snow in bizarre shapes and many different sizes. Of course we ignore them, but the further we go the more prominent they appear. To settle our curiosity we decide to go ahead and take a closer look at them. Valiari digs at the snow on one of the smaller ones, and what he uncovers disturbs us all. A bird frozen with its wings outstretched as if in midflight. Through the ice we can see that its eyes are milk white and its mouth is hanging open.

Disgusted the filly’s Mother backs away, but she bumps into something behind her. Upon turning around she finds that it was one of the taller statues of snow, and still trembling from fear she decides to wipe away the snow anyway. What she sees sends her in a fret, what she had uncovered was a pair of milk white eyes belonging to a frozen deer in mid gallop. Valiari had to calm her down and beg her to just keep walking. Trembling and whimpering she continued to lead the way, and it was from here, that noises began to sneak up on us from far beyond the trees.

“W-What was that?” The filly’s Mother asks.

The sound of snapping tree branches erupts in the distance. It starts low, but then progressively becomes much more violent and intense.

“Oh no, it’s those noises again. It’s those noises again!” She shouts.

“Shh! Just quiet down!” Valiari orders.

The sounds continue at a constant pace until finally dissipating. The air becomes still and silent, the only sounds left are the sounds of our breathing. Then suddenly the sounds erupt louder than before from one distinct location in the woods. We all jolt and gasp turning to where we believe the source to be, until another explosion of noise occurs behind us. Again and again the noises fluctuate as the Mother continues to panic, the filly begins to panic as well, and Valairi is trying to get them both to calm down. The both of them are shouting at the top of their lungs trying to outdo the heavy crackling noises. Until, everything goes dark, everything becomes cold, and everything turns eerily silent.

“What happened? Aireal, where are you?” Valiari whispers.

“What’s going on?! Where is everypony?! Sweetie stay with Mommy, don’t let go! Why did the noises stop?!”

“Will you please stop shouting?! Just stay calm, I’m going to try and get my torches out from my bag.”

I hear him throw the bag off of his back, but then it is followed by a grunt and something hitting the snow. The crackling starts back up, and the Mother begins to panic yet again. I can hear snow being disturbed all around us, something is here. Perhaps more than just one. Crouched near the snow and coursing with fear I crawl as close as I can to where I believe the Mother and Valiari to be. The Mother’s continuous panicking assures me that I am in the right place.

“V-Valiari! Where are you?!” She exclaims.

“Just . . . just hold on! Something just ran into me.” He says with his voice straining.

“Are you alright?! Please, hurry!”

“Just hold on for a second!”

The air becomes filled with the screams of the Mother as they rattle my heart from inside my chest. I listen as they disappear in the distance, carried away by the wind. The crackling of the branches stops, and the air feels empty. A tiny light begins to glow beneath the dark, growing into the full-fledged green glow it once was. I now see Valiari partially buried in snow glancing all around his general area. With every quick turn of his neck he shakes off piles of snowflakes from the brim of his hat. His hooves are dug in his bag with several smaller bags spread around him.

“. . . Just what in Equestria was that?” He asks.

“Mommy?” Candle Light asks.

Both Valiari and I turn our heads to Candle Light who sits waist below in the snow. But something’s wrong, she’s alone, with her Mother nowhere in sight.

“Mommy where are you?”

“What in the . . . Ma’am?! Ma’am where have you gone?!” Valiari calls, but with no response except his own echo. “It doesn’t make any sense, where could she have gone? Candle Light, where was your Mother when everything went dark?”

“She was right here.” She says pointing to a spot of disturbed snow nearby.

“This can’t be, there’s no tracks or anything. Where could she have gone?” He says developing panic in his voice. “There was something here with us, I felt it push me down!”

Candle Light’s lips are beginning to pout, and I can hear her voice starting to whimper as she covers her eyes. Realizing that she’s about to cry Valiari tries to calm himself down for her sake, and quickly hurries to her side.

“Listen, sweetheart just relax. We’ll find your Mom, don’t worry alright? She can’t be far.”

“Are-Are you sure?”

“Positive, but we should hurry. Now let’s get ready, just stay close to us. We’ll keep you safe. I’ll go and look around the woods. Aireal, I need you to keep an eye on her and stay close to me, can you do that?”

“Y-Yes, yes I can.” I say.

“Alright, good.” He says rubbing his eyes and temples out of tenseness. “Right, let’s . . . let’s go, what are we waiting for? We have to go.”

Valiari stuffs the bags that fell out of his sack back inside, and he picks up the glowing stone from the snow. Leading the way I follow behind him careful to be sure that Candle Light is safely near. We’re filled to the brim with fear as every last snap or creak of a tree branch sends her and I jolting and checking every shadow. Minutes go by, and still we have found no sight or sign of the filly’s Mother. Valiari stops and realizes that we’ve been going in circles. We’ve passed our same tracts a couple times now, and realizing this Valiari drops his bag and sits down leaning his back against a tree trunk.

“I just don’t understand, she wouldn’t just abandon us like this. Especially not her own daughter. Where could she have gone. . ? And to leave no tracks behind. Why? Why did it do this to us? Why would it all of a sudden just stop?” He says looking down at the stone.

“. . . What do we do now?” I ask.

“We . . . we move forward. We have to go to Ponyville.”

“But what about Mommy?” Candle Light asks.

“Honey, we’ll find her. If your Mother went anywhere it would have to be Ponyville. I’m sure once we get there we’ll find her, or she’ll find us. Okay?”

Candle Light then nods her head, and after a minutes rest we collect ourselves and continue forward through the woods. I still notice her occasionally staring out into the woods in the hopes of her Mother appearing, but all that’s out there are the shadows between the trees. None of us speak a word, we simply continue with the voices of the sky shouting at us. I can tell that Valiari is under a great deal of pressure, his voice and his eyes allow it to be plainly shown. The sudden loss of the filly's Mother clearly had a huge effect on him, and I don't think there's anything I could say or do that could relief the tension from his mind. Soon, just like the filly’s Mother said, we finally reach wide open fields of snow arched with several small hills. After struggling to make our way over them Valiari suddenly stops to stare out in the distance.

“Wait, did you see that?” He asks while still staring out into the dark.

“. . . What?” I ask,

“Just wait.”

After waiting a few seconds with the winds blowing snow in our faces a sword of light strikes in the distance, and reveals a great tree not too far ahead. From what I could tell there were several other smaller structures behind it, but what stuck out the most to me was that I saw windows built into the tree’s bark. Also a balcony built along one of the tree’s larger and longer branches.

“I know this place. I’ve seen it before. . . It’s that library.” He mutters.

Chapter 4: A Hope

I want to ask just how exactly does he know this place, but he bolts off up and down the hills ahead before I could even put the words together. Candle Light and I clumsily follow behind desperately trying to keep up. We work our way around the wide trunk of the tree until we find the front door. It’s covered in ice, and as Valiari tries to turn the knob he realizes that the ice has frozen it in place. Frustrated he decides to give his back to the door and kick it open with one swift kick from his back legs. Shards of ice and the screws that held the door’s hinges together fly into the hollow trunk and pitter patter against the floor.

As we enter with the sounds of our steps mixed with the crunching of ice we take a minute to scan the room. In the center of the room lies a round rug, and along the walls of the trunk are shelves built right into the wood filled with books. The entire room is coated in sparkling crystals of frost as the green glow from the stone reflects off of their surface. Candle Light cowers behind my legs once a crash in the sky sends her affright.

“Hello?! Anypony home?!” Valiari calls.

Walking further into the home we pass by a doorway that looks like it goes into a kitchen as I see pots and pans scattered all along the floor. The streaks of light outside invade the home through the open windows partnered with the whistle of the wind. Valiari lets out a gasp as the green glow illuminates a staircase leading upward.

“The stairs! Quick let’s go!” He urges.

On his command both Candle Light and I hurry with him up the staircase. We are brought into a much larger room, more shelves of books line the inside of the trunk, and along the walls are carved very intricate and decorative designs. In the shelves are not just books, but glass beakers filled with some kind of liquid which I’m sure is frozen. Books have been thrown off the shelves and sprawled across the floor. There’s a smaller staircase that leads up to a bed near a large window, its blanket is designed with crescent Moons and suns. Scattered around the room are vases filled with wilted flowers also covered in frost.

Along the floor are pieces of burnt paper, and all the books along the ground appear to have been torn apart. We glide our eyes across the floor following the ashes to a pile of charred sheets of paper. One the other side of the black and gray mass I see two large lumps of something. Valiari and I move closer to get a better look at them, and I find that they are not what I had expected. Huddled behind the pile of ash is a violet coated mare with a horn protruding from the base of her forehead. A flat dark purple mane with pink highlights nearly covers her eyes which are closed. It appears as though she’s sleeping, but her entire body is covered in frost. Cuddled near her stomach is the smaller body of a little reptilian creature. Its scales are purple just like the mare, but from the top of its head all the way down to its tail are rounded green spines.

“It’s a mare!” He exclaims rushing to her motionless body. “She . . . She’s so cold. Same goes for her little lizard pet here. Aireal quick! Go grab some books from the shelves and bring them here!”

On his command I turn and hurry with my mind running crazily to the shelves tearing the books right out from their places and stuffing them between my arms.

“Candle Light sweetheart go stay over there okay?” He asks while pointing to the wall farthest from the two frozen bodies.

She worriedly backs away to the wall staring at Valiari as he tends to the two bodies. He removes his black clothing revealing a brown jacket with a tall collar similar to mine. Stuffed in its pockets are paintbrushes of many different sizes. Around his neck is a smaller torn white scarf tucked in behind his white buttoned shirt. With the big black cape out of the way I can clearly see his legs and the white pants that cover them. The white cloth is stained with splotches of multiple colors. Black shoes cover his hind hooves, which are just like the rest of his clothes, old and worn. He uses his mass of black stitched clothing to cover the mare and the creature beside her to hopefully generate some warmth.

As I bring handfuls of books into the cradle that is my arms my eyes are caught by one particular book. The shine of the silver lettering and the elegant swirls of the cursive lettering guides my eyes across the title as they struggle to make out the words: “The Tale of the Mare of the Snow”. The title arises my interest, and I am tempted to open the front cover.

“Aireal come on hurry!” Valiari urges.

Reminded of the task I was given I frantically shove the book back on the shelf and grab two other books instead. With the bushel of books in my arms I rush back to Valiari’s side careful not to drop any of them as the corners of their covers dig into my arms.

“Alright good, now just set them here.”

I lay them down in the nest of ash as Valiari wastes no time to open them all up and tear them to shreds. After they’ve all been decimated he gathers the remains together in one huge bundle and even throws in the spines of the books. He then digs around inside his big black bag and pulls out a small little box. He opens up the little compartment inside to reveal several small little sticks, and after removing one with his teeth he strikes it against the side of the box. The top of the stick grows a small orange flame, and he drops it into the pile of shredded paper. A much larger flame develops as the paper is being reduced to orange embers, and as it continues to grow Valiari then places the glowing stone in between the two bodies.

“We need all the warmth we can get. I felt around for a pulse, and I swear I could feel the slight beating of her heart. As for the lizard, well he’s cold-blooded anyway so I’m sure he’s fine . . . yeah he should be fine. Anyway, we need to just give it some time. Hopefully they wake up soon. For now, why don’t we all take a rest? I think we could use it. . . Candle Light, I think you should try to get some sleep. Aireal and I will stay awake to keep watch in case we see your Mother, okay?” Valiari says.

“Okay.” She says.

As the fire crackles in the center of the room we all try to make ourselves comfortable around the room. Candle Light takes off her little white bag from her back and pulls out a little blanket to cover herself with. After a while she does manage to fall asleep peacefully, and Valiari and I are resting against one of the book shelves switching our attention between Candle Light, hoping that she would be able to sleep, and the pony and lizard, watching as the frost melts from their bodies.

“I didn’t think she’d actually get to sleep.” Valiari whispers. “So now, I’m going to tell you something, and you keep it between us alright? I don’t want her to know. . . I don’t think her Mother will be showing up any time soon. Now I know that sounds a bit harsh, but just look at what’s happened. One second she’s with us, and then the next she’s gone without a trace. I know there was something in those woods. It surrounded us, it attacked me, and then it took her right out from under us. Now I . . .”

Valiari rests his head all the way back and stares up at the ceiling lost in thought.

“Now I don’t know what to do. . . Well, let me thank you for what you did earlier. For doing what I said about Candle Light, it really helped. I’m sure she feels safe knowing that you’re here.”

“. . . Valiari?” I ask.

“Hm?”

“You said she and I were friends?”

“That’s right.”

“How? What happened?”

“Oh, well, when we came to that little town I was wondering why it looked so familiar. And then I realized, we’ve been there before. A long time ago you and I, we were just passing by one night. And then we found that little town, Shine Village it was called. Ironic though, because from what I remember that little town didn’t have much of anything. Poor housing, poor conditions, everything about it just seemed . . . depressing. But that night, their town glowed brightly. From the skies explosions of furious color joined the stars, and crowds of ponies were all gathered at the spectacle. Turned out somepony also came to visit their town, a traveling magician, and she filled them with awe and wonder once she performed. But, we found one little filly who was separate from the event. It just didn’t look right, nopony deserved to be isolated that night especially not a young little filly such as her. So we went up to her, and we asked what the matter was. But she didn’t say anything, she wouldn’t even look up at us.”

“Why?”

“She wouldn’t say. But you, you were able to get her attention. You might not believe it, but you used to be quite skillful with your words. When you spoke to her, you were able to bring a smile to her face. And before we left, you took out a little bag from your pocket, and you brought out that stone. You always collected them from the caves when you got the chance. You gave it to her as a gift, and at that moment you and her promised you’d always be friends.”

“Th-That happened?”

“Indeed it did.”

“I . . . I wish I could remember.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get your memory back sooner or later. Try not to think about it too much though, you should try to get some sleep.” He says while fixing his bag on the ground and laying his head atop it like a pillow.

“What else can you tell me?” I ask curiously still wanting to know more.

“What do you mean?”

“About me, what else can you tell me?”

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“What um . . . what was I like?”

“Hm, let’s see. . . You were very soft spoken, but you were very kind, very caring for others. And at times, when things would get rough, you were brave. You were, and still are, a good friend. Actually . . . my only friend.”

“. . . Really?”

“That’s right. I remember the days when I started my painting career, I had no time for friends. I was always worried about when my next inspiration would come. I spent so many years keeping myself isolated from everypony, but when you came around I felt . . . happy. I remember the day we met face to face. I don’t think I had ever been so overjoyed to see another face. When you and I were together, it felt like we had already been friends for as long as I could remember. I’ll never forget the . . .” Valiari all of a sudden just trails off in a long pause. “N-Nevermind, we should get some sleep. I hope those two wake up soon. If not then, I suppose we’ll just have to keep moving. Because if they don’t wake up by then well . . . there’s nothing else we can do for them I’m afraid. And Aireal, remember, you don’t tell Candle Light anything about what we’ve talked about.”

“I won’t tell her.”

And with that Valiari turns over to try and make himself comfortable. I, still wide awake, am left to think about the words Valiari had spoken. He said that I was brave at times, but I’m not too sure if I can believe that. All this time I’ve been hiding, cowering. I suppose that’s a part of me I’ll never see again. Brave, now I can’t stop thinking about it. If I was brave I wouldn’t have ran away from the dark to the safety of Valiari’s side. I wouldn’t have cowered while Candle Light’s Mother was being taken away. Maybe I’ll never be the same as I was before.

Valiari said that I was his only friend. And after all the things he said about our supposed friendship it brings back that feeling of guilt. Except this time it’s different. It isn’t just guilt, it’s enhanced with sadness. If only I could be that same friend I was before, because right now, I feel like a complete stranger to him and this whole world around me. It sounds like the friendship we had was something great, but right now I don’t even understand what a friendship feels like. All these thoughts bouncing about in my skull makes me feel like I want to just tear my own hair out. There’s no way I’ll be able to get to sleep.

Time passes me by as I stare up at the ceiling hoping that soon they’ll grow tired, but not even the monotonousness staring can weaken my eye lids. Unless . . . perhaps that book I saw earlier can wash away some of this tension. Quietly I get up careful not to disturb Valiari or Candle Light with my steps. I lift the book up off from the shelf where I left it and set myself back down near Valiari. Lifting up the front cover I meet the first chapter of the book, and so I let my eyes travel across the page straining to recognize the words. The more I read the clearer the words become, and the story begins to take shape.

Once upon a time, on a dark night where the blackened clouds hid the Moon as they rained their tears from the sky, a lonely mare sat safely under the roof of her favorite café. Her soaked baby blue mane laid flat over her eyes, and her white coat shined under the lamp light that hung from the ceiling. In the pocket of her drenched white dress she took out a little golden coin, and she set it on the wooden table hiding it from sight. She was going to use that coin during her usual walk through the park.

That morning the sun shone through the window of the sky stretching its rays of light over the little town. The mare walked down the dirt path as the whistling of the wind through the branches of the trees carried the browned dying leaves across her path. She was on her way to her usual spot, the fountain that spewed crystal clear water through the mouths of two pegasi sculpted in flying positions. She would always sit on the edge of the fountain, close her eyes, clench the coin in her hooves, and after a deep breath she would toss it into the water. Before the coin broke the surface of the water she would make a wish, a wish for the same thing every time: to meet a heart to join hers. Every time she made that wish she always felt silly and pitiful.

Today she didn’t have a chance to make her wish, for as she walked between the tall hedges and evergreen trees she stumbled upon a group of young fillies. She walked right in the middle of their game, and they all stopped to stare at her. She apologizes for interrupting them, but they seemed very excited to meet somepony new. They asked if she wanted to join them, but she refused. She felt guilty for doing so, but she just wasn’t in the mood for games. They begged and begged, and so she finally gave in to their demands. One of the little fillies shouted, “You’re it!” And so she began to chase and catch each of them one by one. To her surprise, they were faster than she thought. By the end she was exhausted, but the fillies begged on to play again. And with the first spark of happiness she had felt in a long time, she agreed.

They played until the sun suddenly began to tuck itself under the graying blankets, and the skies roared with thunder. The fillies ran home, and the mare had to trot to the nearest place, the café. Her hooves quickly became covered in mud as well as the bottom of her dress, and she was relieved to rush through the front door of the shop. She was immediately greeted by Giano, the owner of the coffee shop. He was wearing his signature white apron, and he had his combed brown mane and mustache along with his caramel coat. He was well acquainted with her, in fact, you could almost call them best friends. She would always come in and it would most of the time just be them talking the time away. As soon as he saw her drenched in rain her hurried to her side with a towel and walked her to a seat.

As he prepared a complimentary cup of coffee for her she took out the coin she was going to toss into the fountain, and set it to the side of the table. Once Giano returned he noticed the coin, and so he knew what she was planning. He knew about her dreams and what she wanted most in life, and he knew it was time for another talk. He didn’t want to attack her with his words, he wanted to be gentle. So he ignored the coin on the table and simply asked her if something was bothering her. Of course she denied, but soon she confessed. She expressed how ashamed she was for even believing in such nonsense, but Giano tried to reiterate what he had told her many times before. He told her that in time she would find the right pony, or he just might find her. He told her never to go back on her wish, “A wish is like a promise. Once you make one you should never, under any circumstances, go back on it. As long as you hold it in your heart it will surely shine through someday, you just have to give it time.” He said.

That seemed to cheer her up as she moved her wet hair away from her lush blue eyes and the joyous smile he was hoping to see. She couldn’t deny what he said was true. She always felt there was something about Giano that stood out to her, he always knew what to say. He was right about almost everything, and this wasn’t the first time he had put a smile on her face. Just then they heard the jingling of the bell meaning somepony had just entered the shop. A stallion in a brown overcoat sat at the counter a few stools away from the mare, and he is greeted warmly by Giano. After a friendly hello he orders a cup of black coffee, and so Giano goes to prepare it. Once he returns the stallion digs around in his pockets for his money, but he soon realizes that he’s left his wallet at home. The mare remembers the coin she set on the table, she knows she won’t be needing it anymore, so she offers it to the stallion to pay for his coffee. He refused, but the mare persisted. After finally accepting her offer he handed Giano the coin. He then learned that the stallion was new in town, and after a warm welcome he quickly left the dining room before he could say another word. But not without a quick subtle wink to the mare.

She knew what he was doing, but she didn’t think he’d actually leave her alone. Alone with nothing but silence amongst them, the stallion thanked her for paying for his drink. Afterwards they introduced each other. The mare told him her name was Meriva, and his was Dawston. And it was from there their eyes finally met, and they soon realized they couldn’t turn away. They didn’t know it, but a spark had just ignited within both their hearts, and from here it would grow into a much stronger fire. They spent days and nights together, talking and learning about each other’s thoughts and hearts. They began to grow closer together, and for the first time in years, Meriva woke up every day with a smile on her face to something she hadn’t heard before, the sound of chirping birds. Usually, the birds never sing around her home.

Back at the café Giano had to endure countless days without a single sight of his friend. She never so much as crossed the road where his shop laid. But one morning, he heard the jingling of the bell. And there she was, looking brighter than any other time he had seen her. She apologized for the long passage of time without a single hello, but came with great news. She spoke about how she and Dawston and the feelings that have built up inside her. Giano couldn’t have been happier to see his friend glow with such emotions. But, she spoke about something that made his heart shudder with fear. She said that Dawston had planned on taking a trip up to the Snowy Mountains, and he wanted Meriva to join him. Their little town was built near the Mountains, and so he thought it would be the perfect trip because of the convenience. He told her that once you reached a certain spot, and you looked out to the horizon, you would see a sight that your eyes would thank you for. Meriva was full of excitement, but Giano immediately shunned it for he needed to express the severity of the situation. He told her a trip to the Mountains would be too dangerous, he didn’t want her to get hurt. He told her that it’s always a blizzard up there, the winds are too strong, and the cold is unbearable.

She assured him that everything would fine, and that she would be careful. Dawston had told her that everything would be just fine. But that is what worried Giano the most. He told her that he has beginning to grow suspicions about Dawston, that perhaps something about him just wasn’t right. Meriva, stunned by his words, began to go on the defensive. Giano tried to convince her she had the wrong idea about what he was saying, but she kept up her argument. She called him jealous, and that he just didn’t understand her. With a heated heart she trotted out of his shop with a slam of the door. Giano couldn’t believe his eyes, he knew that he had just made a mistake. So he watched as his one and only friend left his shop, full of anger and hate. He began to question himself, perhaps he really was jealous. As he sat still in shock, all the ponies that were enjoying their coffee were staring at him. He wanted to chase after Meriva, but he knew that it wouldn’t solve anything.

Meriva trotted far away, but she stopped and glanced back at Giano’s shop. She thought what she was doing was wrong, and she should go apologize. Instead, with tears in her eyes, she turned around, and continued down the road. Days later, she packed what she needed and she and Dawston left town to the Mountains. They went higher and higher, and soon they noticed that the clouds were darkening, and the winds were starting to pick up. But they kept going. It began to snow, and the higher they went, the heavier it became. Soon, the winds were so strong they could barely take a step forward. The clouds became so dark they could barely see the path ahead, but still they kept going. Meriva could feel the fear building up inside her, but Dawston was prepared to keep her safe. He assured her that there was a cave somewhere where they could stay and wait out the storm. He grabbed and held tightly onto her hoof. They continued to push themselves through the wall of wind and snow, until suddenly Dawston’s hoof left hers.

She cries and shouts his name, but she receives no response. Alone and lost she wanders the storm, her hooves and ears are numbing, and her throat aches from the screaming. Her tears have frozen onto her cheeks as she desperately tries to find some place safe. Beneath her the ground suddenly gave way, sending her sliding down the side of the mountain. Her body bounced off of the rocky sides, and her legs slammed into a tree trunk before the slope became less steep allowing her to slow down. Because of her speed she slipped off the edge, but she caught it just in time as her aching body dangles painfully off the cliff. The pain was unbearable, and she could feel her grip lessening. She watched as her fore-legs shook trying desperately to hang on, but it was no use. She plummeted down into a pile of snow, her bones in her legs felt like broken glass, and her sides felt like they were on fire. She could feel her heart slowing, and her breathing calming. Her vision was darkening as her eye lids began to close.

Everything then went pitch black, the pain stopped, it seemed to be blissful. It felt as if gravity was now ignoring her, and all the cold had for some reason just vanished. However, she could still feel her fore-legs, she could still breathe. So she opened the gates to her eyes, and she found herself soaring through the air around the mountain. The black clouds have disappeared and made way for the sparkling stars. She didn’t know why, but she felt happy. She stretched out her fore-legs like how a bird stretches out its wings, and she let the wind carry her all around the mountain. Until she noticed something down below. The winds slowed, and she lowered herself down to the snowy ground. What she saw sent her senses affright.

She saw her body buried in the snow. When she looked at herself, she saw that her body has become transparent, her coat and even the white dress she wore. She found her legs have been replaced by a smoky wisp, and she gasped at the sight. Frantic she flew up and around the mountain looking for the one that could possibly comfort her, Dawston. But he was nowhere in sight. She searched all the way until she reached the top and immediately covered her eyes as she cried. Her tears fell through the air, but they disappeared after falling so far. Opening her eyes she could see that through her hooves were lights in the distance. Upon lowering them down she saw her town; and so, like an instinct, aimed for next thing to ease the tension in her mind, hopeful to find help. She flew home.

My eyes have finally grown tired, and so has the rest of my body. I let the book fall from the grip of my fingers and onto my stomach. I don’t remember what chapter I left off on, but that story made me feel so many different things. Things like sadness, fear, happiness; it’s incredible what simply reading words can invoke in the mind. Perhaps I’ll pick this story back up again some other time, right now I already am having trouble holding open my eyes. Valiari by now is deep in his sleep as his snores fill the room, and surprisingly Candle Light is still under her tiny blanket sleeping peacefully. I just hope that I can still be that same friend Valiari once had, or will I continue to just be a useless outline of who I used to be. My head leans down onto my shoulder, and my weary eyes close without warning. I can feel myself drifting away to a rest I have been waiting for, and I let the sounds of the crackling flames carry me.

“. . . He’s lying to you. . .”

Chapter 5: Plan

The doors to my eyes fly open at the sound of a voice whispering in my ears. It sounded like it belonged to a mare, but I’ve never heard such a voice before. I can feel sweat running down my forehead and the back of my neck, my heart is jumping about in my chest, and my breathing has become uncontrollable. I’m trying to remember the words it said, for at the moment my memory of it is quite foggy. It said something about . . . lying. Other than that it’s hard to remember what else it was it said. Scanning the room it all appears the same, but the glow from the fire Valiari had put together has shrunk. However the green light from the stone still brightens the room. I see that Candle Light is still sound asleep turned over under her little blanket. I check to my left and to my right, but Valiari appears to be missing. Just as the anxiety begins to build its wall in my mind I hear a whisper from the other side of the room.

“Aireal, over here.”

Valiari is crouched near the dying flame behind the pile of charred ashes beckoning me to come to him. Knowing that the filly is still asleep I take caution while walking to him careful not to kick or trip over any of the open books sprawled across the floor. I find that laying down next to him are the mare and her apparent pet lizard, but I notice that the mare’s eyes are a creak open, and something I didn’t expect was the glimmer of a smile on her face.

“She’s awake.” Valiari continues to whisper. “I talked to her before you woke up, her name is Twilight, Miss Twilight Sparkle. Go on, say hello.”

“H-Hello.” I whisper.

“. . . Hello.” She barely mutters.

“I told her our names, and what we’ve been through. She can’t talk much right now, but in time she should be able to. The little lizard next to her is actually a baby dragon, and she told me his name is Spike. He should be waking up soon as well.”

The mare and I continue to stare at each other, but it’s in her eyes that something feels strange. I can’t quite tell what it is, but it seems like she’s observing me, searching in my own eyes for something. I hadn’t noticed it before, but her subtle smile has disappeared.

“Come on Aireal, let’s leave her alone now. She needs the rest.” Valiari says as I break apart our stare.

Just as he and I are about to walk back to our spots we stop as we notice the room beginning to darken. The green glow is being overtaken by the darkness, and we both dreadfully turn our heads to the lifeless stone as the room becomes colder with every passing second. Valiari and I can see the fog of our breath leaving our mouths, and the little flame is our only source of light remaining, but it doesn’t look like it will last much longer. Then, we hear a sound creep in from the downstairs. The sound of crackling branches.

“. . . Not again. Aireal quick! More books! We need to keep this fire alive!” He urges.

Valiari and I scatter and buzz around the room like flies as we tear apart the bookshelves grabbing as many books as we can. All the commotion startles Candle Light as he lifts up her head rubbing her eyes.

“Valiari? Ayreel? W-What’s happening?” She asks.

“Candle Light go by the fire now!” Valiari orders.

Hurriedly she grabs her blanket and trots over to what little remains of the fire, but before she sits down she screams.

“Ah! She’s awake! Valiari she’s awake!”

“I know that sweetheart now just stay with her. You hear me? Just stay with her!”

Valiari and I hurry back to the pile of ashes and dump the books we managed to grab onto the pile. All while the sounds are getting progressively louder, as well as the thumping in my chest. Candle Light sits cowering hiding her face with her blanket as Valiari tries to get the fire to spread to the new paper it’s been fed. I can hear the crackling growing louder and more violent while mixing with Candle Light’s cries.

“Candle Light look at me, you stay here, alright?” Valiari asks her with his hooves on her shoulders.

She nods fearfully, and he begins rummaging through his big black bag and pulls out a couple of wooden branches. After holding one inside the fire the top of it catches the fire. He then bolts for the stairs, but urgently beckons me to follow.

“Aireal come on, follow me!”

Without a moment of doubt I chase after Valiari down the staircase. As soon as I reach the downstairs Valiari is trotting back forth around the house lost in what to do. The sounds are so loud they sound like they are right here with us inside the house poking around the inside of my ear canals.

“Aireal the windows! Shut all of the windows!” He shouts.

On his command I run to every window slamming their shutters closed hoping that whatever is outside won’t get inside. Valiari hurries to the front door and tries to shut it, but he realizes that because he’s broken the hinges there’s no way it can close properly. So he braces the door with his hooves planting his hind hooves on the floor to keep himself steady. He is almost thrown off balance by something bashing at the door from the other side. Every smash causes the door to bend so much that the last piece of metal holding the door together is bound to split apart any second. Realizing the danger I run to the door and press my back against it to assist Valiari, and I soon endure the sheer strength of what lies behind the door as my insides rattle with every fierce pound.

“I have an idea. Here, take this.” He says with the branch in his mouth.

I grab hold of the flaming branch as he fumbles to bite onto a new one. He holds the top of the branch near the one in my hands, and it soon catches the flame as well. With both of our torches flaming the pounding suddenly stops, and I can tell by Valiari’s face that both he and I are mystified by the instant halting of the pummeling. I loosen my muscles as the sounds outside have stopped, and my shoulder blades are sore from pressing them against the wood.

“. . . I think it’s gone.” Valiari whispers. “Step away from the door.”

Taking several cautious steps away from the door I keep my flame held out and pointed to the door out of fear. Valiari, with his hoof gripped on the icy knob of the door, pulls the door open as it scratches against the wood floor.

“What in the . . . just look at this.” He says while staring at the door.

I can see that the door’s surface has several long and deep scratch marks embedded into its surface. Holding his torch to the darkness ahead Valiari wanders outside waving his torch while checking around area. I stay behind as I watch the torch shake about beneath my quivering hands. I watch as Valiari becomes enveloped by the dark, and the orange glow from his torch is swallowed with it as well. Now, he’s completely out of sight, but I have this constant feeling that someone is still with me breathing on the back of my neck. I glance back fearfully to find that there is nothing there, just the breeze was gently rubbing against my neck. I can feel myself growing uncomfortable, and so I start to quietly walk to the door afraid of being heard.

“. . . Valiari?” I whisper.

Without a response I walk all the way to the door afraid of stepping into the snow. The sounds of clashing thunder in the distance and the hissing of my flame are all that I can hear, and there still is no sight of any orange glow. Before I can whisper Valiari’s name once more something long and lanky reaches around the side of the doorway and catches the torso of my jacket stabbing at my chest. Panicking I swat at them and jump back holding my torch out in front of me for protection.

“Hey, hey! Relax! It’s just me.” Says Valiari peering around the side of the doorway with a big smile on his face.

In his hooves is a large bundle of assorted branches that appear to have been broken apart. Unsure of where or why he has them makes me stare at him in confusion while my breath tries to catch up with me.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you. But just look at all this!” He says revealing just how many broken twigs and branches he’s carrying. “I found these scattered all around the house, and there’s many more still lying around. Now I wanted to show you these for two reasons. One, because I thought it would frighten you to death, and you did not let me down!” He says trailing off in laughter. “Oh, yes, but really I am quite sorry. . . But I just couldn’t resist. Anyway, two, these weren’t here when we first came here. This place was clear of any kind of debris whatsoever. Now, there’s one more thing I want you to see. Come with me.”

Valiari leads me outside into the chilling cold as my shoes fall deep into the snow. I follow him until he suddenly stops and crouches down lowering his torch to better illuminate the ground. I do see that around us are many scattered twigs all snapped and bent just as he said, but other than that I’m not too sure what else he wants me to see.

“You see that? Not a single track left behind. Now how could something that seemed so large leave not a single trace? None of this is making any sense. . . Come on, let’s get back inside. We need to make sure Candle Light and Twilight are alright up there.” He says dropping the stack of broken branches into the snow.

So, Valiari and I hurry back inside the house, and he tries to position the door carefully so that it stands upright to block the entrance. He blows out both of our torches, and we head back upstairs to find Candle Light and Twilight safe and sound. Twilight has propped herself up against the wall so that she can sit straight up, and Candle Light seems to be looking at something else. The fire Valiari started is still burning strong, but the stone still lies empty and transparent.

“Well, I’m glad to see you two are safe.” Says Valiari.

Candle Light then turns around and gasps at the sight of us.

“Valiari!” She shouts happily while trotting towards him.

She latches onto his leg and starts pulling him towards Twilight.

“Come here come here! It’s awake!” She says.

“Woah, woah just what do mean. . ? Well what do you know? I told you he’d wake up soon. Aireal, why don’t you come on over and meet Spike?”

As he says I walk further into the room and see the small purple dragon sitting up waiting for me to turn the corner. As soon as he gets a good look at me with his big green eyes he fearfully presses himself up against the wall with a face to express it.

“W-W-What is that?!” He mutters.

“Spike, it’s okay.” Says Twilight with her still weak voice.

“Yes I assure you he is completely harmless, go on Aireal say hello.” Says Valiari beckoning me to come closer.

Because of his reaction it makes me feel . . . ashamed of myself. Why is it that whenever someone sees me they act so scared? Am I appalling to them? Am I really that scary? Candle Light’s Mother was furious, and she threatened me as if I was some kind of . . . monster. I refuse to walk any further to the little purple dragon, I just don’t want to meet him. I can feel my heart turning sour as I start to turn away from him.

“Aireal, come on what’s the matter? Why don’t you come over and meet him?” Valiari asks.

“. . . No.” I say.

I almost don’t believe the word actually left my lips. All this time I’ve been following Valiari and doing as he says, and to say no to him just feels wrong of me like if a child denied their parent. But this time I’m ready to accept it, right now I just want to sit by myself. I want to be alone for a moment, maybe longer. Valiari doesn’t attempt to call me over again, and I sit myself down far from them all, far from the light. The border between the shadows that surround me and the light ahead of me feels like a boundary that should keep them away. Valiari whispers something to them before bringing his voice back to its normal volume.

“Well, we know there is something out there, but I just don’t know what. And I believe that light and warmth are what keeps it away. So as long as we stay near the fire we should be alright.”

“Th-That stone, why did it stop glowing?” Twilight asks.

“I haven’t the slightest idea, but whenever it goes out that thing outside decides to strike.” He says while handing the stone to her.

“Hmm, it’s hard for me to tell but I . . . I think its energy is deteriorating.”

“But how?”

“I’m not too sure, but it isn’t going to last much longer.”

Valiari then sighs and presses his hoof against his forehead in deep thought.

“. . . Just what was your plan exactly?” She asks.

“Well, I wanted to check out any nearby towns for any survivors, and after that I . . . I was just going to head to Canterlot Castle.”

“You were just going to ‘walk’ there?” She asks in shock.

“Well, yes that was precisely my plan.”

“Are you insane? A walk to the castle would take days, and that’s not including the hike you would have to take up the mountain. Also I am positive that the train station didn’t survive the storm, so that is out of the question.”

“And just what did you have in mind then Miss Sparkle?”

“I-I know a spell that can transport us to Canterlot, all of us.”

“. . . Well that’s not a bad idea.”

“But there’s just one problem.”

“Wonderful, well we’ve been running into problems consistently so what’s one more?”

“B-Being unconscious in the intense cold h-has stunt my ability to cast my magic, but over the course of a few days, I should recover eventually. So, perhaps if we were to wait it out here until then, I think it would be less of a risk.”

“So you’re saying that staying in one spot, when whatever is out there already knows we’re here, can now have a few days to think about what it wants to do to us before it hunts us down.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying that the chances of us surviving while hiding out in here are much greater than if we were to venture out into the blizzard and not to mention the dangerous hike up the mountain. Especially since this stone of yours is in danger of losing the rest of its energy rather soon. It may last a few days, but it won’t last the week or so it would take to walk to Canterlot. And to make matters worse, this poor little filly won’t be able to keep up the trip, she’s just too young and won’t have the energy.”

“. . . I see your point. Very well then, we’ll wait it out here. And until you’ve gained the energy to cast this spell of yours we’ll—”

Suddenly, the sounds of snapping and cracking tree branches can be heard from behind the walls of the tree trunk, and it causes all of us to glance around the room afraid of what might happen.

“Aireal, come with me, and take some of these with you.” Says Valiari laying out a pile of branches he pulled out from his black bag.

As he says I join him and gather them up. He lights one of them using the bonfire and quickly leads me downstairs as the noises continue to grow louder. We hug the walls on both sides of the doorway with his hoof on the knob as he looks up at me and lights one of the torches in my hands with his.

“Two torches were enough to scare it away the first time, it should work again. On the count of three, we’re going out there.”

His plan strikes me with fear and worry as I feel my hands tense around the wood branches in my arms and the torch in my hand.

“One. . .”

Now I can feel nearly every muscle in my body beginning to tense.

“Two. . .”

My heart is now thumping violently against my chest, dreading the sound of the final number.

“Three!”

My blood is coursing violently throughout my body as Valiari thrusts open the door and we throw ourselves out into the snow waving our torches in every direction. I was so full of adrenaline and terror that I hadn’t noticed that the noises have suddenly stopped. Awkwardly Valiari loosens his body and brushes his fear away almost instantly.

“Alright, see? I told you it would work. Quickly, hand me some of those branches.” He says, and I do as he says handing him about half of the pile I brought out with me. “Now I want you to go ahead, light up all of those, and set them up all around the house on that side. I’ll go and do the same on this side.”

Working my way from the right side of the house I do as Valiari did before lighting each individual branch with the other. I see him starting to stab them down into the ground, and so I do the same thing. Together we form a yellow and orange ring of light all around the tree, and afterwards we walk all the way back to the front of the house.

“Perfect, that should keep whatever is out there away from this house. Hopefully they last long enough before. . .”

Valiari turns and loses his voice as he stares up the house. His eyes are locked onto something, and his mouth is hanging open. Curious as to what has caught his attention I myself turn to the trunk of the tree that has been now lit up by the surrounding torches, and at the top of the tree there are these strange objects hanging from the icy branches. Large sculptures made of broken and bent branches and twigs are bound together in the shape of ponies. Each one is hanging by either a vine or rope, and there are exactly six of them. Their bodies appear so carefully crafted, and they have hollow spots in their head for their eyes. There’s something about them that feels perplexing. Watching them swing and turn with the wind and with the sounds of the ropes straining is almost hypnotizing.

Chapter 6: Doubtful Figures