Tale of the Sage-Glow

Just a day, sunny, typical day, the usual level happiness flowing through Ponyville. It is the day that a special holiday is celebrated. Sage-Glow Week, caravaners from distant lands barely known by most Equestrians come through Equestria on a journey of trade and good fortune. Winter had passed five moons ago, and today is the day that our young adventurer sets out to find a life of her own. Sallantra is her name, and finding her cutie mark is her aim… or so she claims. She is quite annoyed by her lack of a cutie mark, but that’s merely a setback for her. She lives at home, with her mother, her father having joined the Equestrian Guard. She is just an ordinary pony, barely old enough to live on her own as it is, but this story is one that will last for many a century. The story of the green mare as she begins to discover a mystery known by few ponies and zebras alike.

“Muuum! Why did you have to give me a complicated name that doesn’t help me know what my cutie mark is!?!?” I whined loudly in the general direction of my mother, stretching out on the couch.

“Oh shut it you big cry baby, Sallantra’s a wonderful name.” The blue mare retorted back at her daughter, giggling to herself. She always loved doing this, and it really annoyed me. I just groaned, turning away from her voice.

“Right… I’m gonna go for a bit, I need to return this book to the library soon enough anyway.” Not waiting for a response, I trotted off, grabbing the book with my wing, and opened the door, ready to leave for the library. However, I was not expecting a certain purple unicorn to be standing in the doorway, and smacking face first into her, I dropped the book onto the ground, landing on my rump.

“Oof… oh, are you okay Sallantra?” The purple unicorn smiled calmly at me, as she helped me back to my hooves. Looking down at the book, Twilight picked up the book with her magic, inspecting it’s cover. “Oh, perfect timing, I was just coming to jump on you for not returning it. Ten minutes late.” I groaned in annoyance, facehoofing, making a mental note not to forget, yet again.

“Sorry Twi… it won’t happen again… actually, I was just coming to return this and hopefully find something… different… to read. Like, mythological stories or something. Do you have any ideas on what I could read?” I followed Twilight as she walked towards the library, recounting every book she could and would suggest.

“Oh! I have a great one! It might take me some time to find though…” And with that, she teleported to the library immediately, leaving a stunned me standing in the middle of the road.

“H-hey! Wait up!”

A large, slightly dusty tome sat on a table, with a grinning purple unicorn standing next to it. I looked down at the tome, admiring it’s glistening gold trims and the cursive writing decorating it’s cover.

“Tales of the… Sage-Glow?” I looked up at Twilight in question. “Where’d you find this?”

Twilight simply shrugged and pointed towards a store room in the library. “Came in the last delivery of books from Canterlot. I’d forgotten all about it to be honest.” She gave a nervous chuckle, before looking down at the dusty tome. “It’s a pretty rare book I’m told… but what are we waiting for, let’s read it!” She brushed the dust off with her magic, carefully opening up to page 3. I gazed down at the text covering the page, the cursive text drawing my attention.

“The Crystal Wings…” I continued reading through the page, giving Twilight permission to change pages whenever I finished. “Wow, this is… interesting to say the least Twi. C-can… Can I borrow this?” I peeked up at Twilight, pleadingly and waiting for an answer. She frowned a little, thinking. After about a minute, she turned back to me with a smile.

“Oh, alright, but remember, return it within a week, I don’t want to have to chase down one of my favourite students because they were ten minutes past the due date.” I looked up at Twilight, beaming.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” I couldn’t help but leap up at Twilight, wrapping my hooves around her in a great big hug. The thought of kissing her crossed my mind for a split second but that would probably ruin my friendship with her.

“I’ll check the book out when you leave, unless you’d rather stay in here and read, which is completely fine.” I just sat there, finishing of the paragraph I was reading, before looking up and nodding in acknowledgement.

“Thank you oh so much Twilight. This book must be priceless.” I squee’d in delight, bolting out of the library and back home, up the stairs and straight into bed, immediately getting back to reading about one of the Sage-Glow Tales.

I stood at the entrance to a temple, the walls around me gathering dust and mould, a cowl covered over my muzzle. I quickly made a few minor adjustments to the reinforced leather armor I wore, allowing my saddlebags to be mostly empty, while keeping the rest of my gear strapped to me comfortably and easy to reach. I checked over my forehooves, making sure my leather bracers were attached properly. Looking around to make sure nopony was watching me, I shrugged, unable to shake the feeling that I indeed was being watched. I took a last look to the sky, before cautiously making my way through the temple entrance and through multiple hallways. Every now and then, I came across feral rats and simply crushed those that dared attack beneath my hooves. Didn’t want to get an infection now, of all times. I quickly continued forwards, and entering through a doorway into a large room.

I glanced at my new surroundings. The ground was covered in panels of multiple creatures. A bear, a weird flying snake creature thing I barely recognized, a dragon. Shaking my head, I took to the air and flew over them all, keeping a careful eye out for danger. Landing on the other side, I looked behind me, and quietly chuckled to myself. Too easy, being a pegasus was amazing. Continuing forwards, I eventually came to a large stone door with a strange mark in the centre, like a spiral overlapping a star, but it seemed to change before my eyes. The star seemed to be known as Trickery. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my forehooves against the spiralling star. Suddenly, my whole world flashed bright, a slight burn running through my hooves. That did not feel healthy. Quietly I whispered to myself, bracing against the burning.

“Zrenagar guide me to safety…” What? Who did I know that I don’t know?

“Hey… Sallantra… come on you sleepyhead… the caravaners will arrive soon.” A gentle hoof pushed Sallantra’s shoulder, then a little more forcefully, stirring the young mare.

“Black… pearl… shmyshal shing…” Sallantra’s mother watched her babbling daughter, sighing and shaking her head. Floating her daughter up in her magic, she took her outside, placing her in the grass. Smiling, with a slight chuckle in her throat she floated over a bucket and began to fill it with water from a nearby tap.

“Sometimes you’ve gotta do what’s necessary” She mumbled to herself. Floating the bucket over, now filled to the brim with water, Sallantra’s mother looked down at her still sleeping daughter, unable to hide her glee. She enjoyed screwing around with her daughter like this. Especially when it involved buckets of cold water.

I stared at my mother, unamused as cold water dripped down my face.

“I hate you…” I mumbled in annoyance. My mother simply smiled.

“Oh please, you know that’s not true.” She tossed a towel at me, and I quickly dried my mane to the best of my abilities. Sighing, I plodded back inside to make sure I was prepared for the arrival of the caravans.

“Bits… check… sack… check…” I ran my eyes over the book for a few moments, hesitating. “Awesome book, check.” Satisfied, I nodded, picking up my sack and placing the book and bits inside, before heading outside again. I cast my eyes to the darkening sky for a few moments, before trotting towards the town hall beside my mother. Oh tonight is going to be amazing…

I sat there, staring in awe at a variety of strange looking weapons, especially a purple wooden one with a gleaming silver trim. I hear a chuckle from behind and squeak, looking up in embarrassment.

“That’s my favourite as well, she’s known as Soaring Pain. Made from genuine Sagewood, trimmed in a thin layer of Pohawcium.” Catching my slightly confused look, he quickly added, “Your equivalent for Platinum.” Nodding in clear understanding, I continued looking at it for a few moments, before turning back to the strange pony.

“How does it… work exa-” I stop mid sentence, realizing he was no normal Equestrian. “Whoa… your eyes… they glow… and your ear are like, so fluffy and large looking… that’s so cool…” Gaining a smile of amusement, the pony patted me upon the head.

“Indeed, since I’m a Sage-Glowian.” I smile in return, before returning my gaze to ‘Soaring Pain’. “Ah, yes. You see…” I watch as he walks around, and opens a box sitting inside the caravan his wares were located upon and pulls out a strange glove like leather brace. I gasp, remembering it. It bore resemblance to the ones situated on my hooves during my dream.

“Wait… how… what?” I shake my head, trying to think. “It couldn’t be…”

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, young Equestrian… is something the matter?” Cautiously, I reach up and poke the leather brace.

“I… saw this… two of these… in a dream I just had today… they were… on my forehooves and… there was this light and… I was armoured… in a dungeon…” Realizing the Sage-Glowian was frowning in worry, I shake my head again, trying to grin. Probably just chance anyways. However, judging by his expression, I should be worried. I watched as he locked his wares up inside his caravan in a rush, before realizing I was already being dragged at a gallop towards a large tent.

“Wh-where are you taking me!?” I squeal in panic, trying to wrap my head around the whole situation. Bursting through the flap of the tent, we came face to face with an elderly Sage-Glow pony. A deep booming voice erupts from the pony as soon as he sees the two of us.

“What is the meaning of this?” I shrink back from the elder, and take a few deep breaths to calm myself.

“So sorry to disturb you, Elder Gaion, but… it might be her… I’m positive. It was destined to strike this year as it is, it has to be.” I watched from the entrance, the two ponies talking in hushed whispers. Listening as hard as I can, I barely make out a few words here and there. Equestrian. Saviour. T’asinder?

“By Zrenagar… that’s… I don’t know… it’s the best hope we’ve got.” I looked up in worry, before gaining the courage to speak for myself.

“W-who’s… Zrenagar?” Realizing the blank expressions I got, I doubted to get an answer anytime soon. Instead, the Elder motioned me over to a small ball of swirling gem. In a low, gentle voice, the Elder spoke down to me.

“I need you to place a hoof upon this orb. Gently.” Nodding in understanding, I placed my hoof upon the orb as gently as I could. It was at that moment of contact my world melted away. I felt tiny… non-existant… like I’d been kicked in the head multiple times. I look around at my new surroundings, noticing that the world was shimmering before me. The colours were mixing and combining, and I found it hard to tell what colours existed and which ones didn’t. Of course, I realized that it looked just like the orb I’d placed my hoof upon just a few moments ago. What felt like forever passed eventually and I awoke with my face directly on the ground. Slowly, I pulled myself to my hooves, trying to regain feeling in them. I turned around to look at the Elder, before realizing, my wings weren’t sitting beside my body. Instead, they were snapped out and extremely hard, a wingboner, of course, I still didn’t realize that till I knocked over a table with what I hoped was nothing on top. Squeaking in embarrassment, I looked straight up at the Elder.

“S-so sorry… Elder…” The Elder walked directly in front of me, smiling and shaking his head.

“Worry not, child. The wings are only a side effect.” Blushing even more, I covered my face with my forehooves, sitting on my rear. “Do not worry, young one. Arise to your hooves and let us get you prepared.” Wait, prepared? For what? I shake my head clear of thoughts and slowly stand back up properly. I faced the doorway and nodding in agreement with this ‘Elder’, took a few steps towards the outside. I really wonder what we’re preparing for… and why.

I blinked a few times, looking at the pure white moon, beaming silver rays down at me. It looked brighter and different. Covering my eyes with my slightly stiff wing, I look forwards at the other ponies around me. Most of them had a silvery glow around them, I noticed that one of them had a red glow around them and finding this odd, I looked towards the Elder, frowning.

“What’s with the silvery glows, and why is that one glowing red?” I motioned towards the pony with the red glow, trying to focus on his features.

“Ah, yes, a rare effect of the orb. It’ll last a few minutes. It identifies a ponies karma. Silver usually indicates a good pony, whereas red, indicates evil. We’d best not interfere though, it could change the balance of the world.” I blinked, shaking my head in confusion. “Worry not, you need to stay with us. If luck is going our way...” Sighing in defeat, I continued to walk along, headed towards a weapon rack stacked with all different types of crossbows, swords and some weird, pointy stick thing that looked awfully complicated to design and make. It had spinning blades afterall, if what I saw was correct. Shrugging the thought away, I looked around myself. There were multiple ponies, both Equestrian and Sage, gathered around. A select few of them were standing on their hindhooves, aiming a crossbow at a target. I remembered how hard that was on my trip with my father. Looking towards the Elder, I gave a questioning look, opening my mouth to ask before being interrupted calmly.

“Target practice. If I am to assume that you are the pony we’re looking for, we meed to see if you can survive.” Closing my mouth, I turned towards a row of varying crossbows, some simple, others that looked terribly advanced. “Now, you’re going to select a crossbow and begin practice.” Nodding, I trotted over and began inspecting a few of the crossbows. Damaged, short range, less power, how did I know, I had no idea, it just felt like none were suitable. Groaning in annoyance, I continued along the row, noting the most suitable weapons of the group. That purple one looked familiar, and effective, but an orange one looked much more complex and powerful. Upon closer inspection, it was engineered differently, almost as if it was designed to create a spinning effect. Odd.

Calmly, I picked up the purple crossbow, running a hoof along it’s silver finish. Smiling with satisfaction, I slipped my hoof into the hoof straps attached to the crossbow and began working the straps tightly. Raising my hoof, I made sure the crossbow was attached firmly and correctly. I looked down the sights, nodding to myself.

“The Soaring Pain? Why not the Tornadus? I noticed you were inspecting it afterall.” I looked towards the Elder in surprise, before shrugging, balancing on my rear hooves.

“It felt… correct. I’m… not sure, really.” I looked at the crossbow, resting on my outstretched hoof.

“Interesting. Well, go on, take a shot. We’re wasting time afterall.” I flew over towards the firing range, taking up a free area, and landing smoothly on my rear hooves, balanced myself quickly, taking aim at the targets before me. This is it, remember what you learnt with your father. Grinning, I raised the crossbow slightly, noting the lack of wind.

1. I picked up a bolt and slotted it into the firing mechanism.

2. I drew a deep breath, focusing my aim.

3. I smacked my hoof down onto the side trigger, watching the bolt slingshot out of the crossbow. Time seemed to slow down, as the bolt sped towards the target. Already, I noticed that I was slightly off target, but the bolt continued anyway. The bolt collided into the wooden target, sticking firmly. A mere few centimetres from the center. Instinctively, I loaded another bolt, ready to repeat the process. Looking to my side, in the direction of the Elder, I saw his smile of approval. Preparing myself, I stared back at my target, repeating the process another two more times, the third bolt colliding with the center. Smirking with pride, I looked back towards the Elder, noticing his nod of approval. Beside him was the store owner, who looked just about ready to burst out in cheer. And that’s exactly what he did. Everypony’s attention flung towards him as he yelled his delight.

“SHE DID IT! SHE’S A NATURAL! WHOOPEEH!” Smiling at him, I burst into laughter, slowly making my way towards him. As I neared, he attempted to calm himself, before swiftly pulling me into a tight hug, cutting off my air supply. “YOU ARE AMAZING!” I glared at him for a few moments, before pushing myself away, trying to breathe.

“Don’t choke me like that, please, I need my air.” Giggling to myself, I returned the hug for a few moments, before backing away and preparing to take the crossbow off my hoof. “I assume you’ll be wanting this back?” Calming down a bit more, he looked down at me, smiling.

“No no, it’s fine. Keep it. Payment for almost choking you, if you must.” Grinning, he took a step back, refusing to allow me to return it.

“Oh, um, thank you… it means a lot, really.” I wiped a forming tear away from my eye, hugging him again. Tears were for babies. I heard a cough from beside us, catching my attention. Grinning sheepishly at the Elder, we pulled apart from our hug.

“If you two are done, we need to go. She can shoot, but she still needs to be able to come along with us. I doubt it’s her choice after all. Most likely her mothers.” Pouting, I sighed in defeat. The Elder was correct after all.

“Well then, follow me.” Slowly, I lead the two Sage-Glowians towards my house. Mother said she’d be back home early to prepare a dinner for the feast we’d be participating in. It’s an official part of Sage-Glow Week to hold feasts between Equestria and Sage-Glow, to celebrate our co-operation and unity. Opening my way into the house, I followed the sweet smell that was floating out of the kitchen. Smelled like a raspberry and apple tart. Delicious. Grinning, I waltzed up to my mother, tapping her shoulder.

“Yo, mum! Is it fine if I go with the Sage-Glowian Ponies on their journey through Equestria and back to their home?!” Beaming with delight, I watched as she faced me slowly, frowning in confusion.

“I-I’m sorry, what? You want to… go with the Sage-Glowian Ponies… back to Sage-Wood?” Noticing the worry in her voice, I dropped the smile.

“I’m aware of the risks, mother but they’ve requested I journey with them. My skills could prove useful and I’m a natural with the crossbow.” Looking up at my mother, I showed her the crossbow, still attached to my hoof. “They even gave me this beauty to celebrate my gift. It might even be my cutie mark, mother.” She sighed for a brief moment, taking some time to think about it.

“You’re still young… but… if that’s what you really want. Just, please, be careful… I don’t want to hear about you getting injured, okay?” I nodded simply, before being swept into a hug. “Don’t miss the feast though… it may be our last meal together for a while after all…” I nodded again, wrapping my hooves around my mother.

We sat around a large table. Food was placed all over a larger table nearby, and other adjacent tables next to ours were filled with ponies. Grinning, I walked over, grabbing pieces of food from all over the serving table and placing them onto my plate. Returning to my seat, I watched, waiting for everyone else to collect their food as well. It was rude to start eating before announcements were made. Once everypony had collected their varieties of food and had taken their seats, the Elder walked onto a nearby stage, a proud smile upon his face.

“Welcome, friends and family, to this wonderful night of celebration. We have gathered this fine night to enjoy the unity of Equestria and Sage-Glow and for the prosperity of both our lands. Tonight, under the glow of the moon, we celebrate for a future of further more prosperity as well. And with that, I deem it time to enjoy the food the Equestrians have proudly shared with us, and they too for our foods. Enjoy.” A large amount of us cheered and stamped our hooves on the ground, a few cried prayers into the night air, and soon, we all dug into our food. I sat beside my mother, eating a slice of her tarts. Swallowing my bite, I looked up to her, grinning.

“It tastes amazing, mom. What’s the secret?” She looked down at me, smiling. Of course, still won’t tell me. Typical. Sighing in defeat, I continued eating my food, enjoying every bite. A full stomach later and a night of dancing about to start, I climbed to my hooves, ready for fun.

“Left hoof upon your partners waist, right hoof upon their left. Swapped around if necessary, depends on which side you’re on. And a simple one step left, one step right, two steps left, one step right, twirl under your hoof. Basic. Now, let’s get the music playing!” The pony up on stage leapt down, taking the nearest mare up in his hooves, demonstrating the stance. Awkwardly, I sank away from the crowd, having nopony to dance with, not that I didn’t mind of course. Taking a step backwards, I bumped into another pony, spinning quickly.

“So sorry, I didn’t see you there!” Oh, he’s kinda cute… gah, no, not thinking that. “I was walking backwards and-” Smiling, he cut me off, placing a hoof on my lips.

“Would you accept this dance with me, fair lady?” Oh, how formal, he even bowed. Blushing slightly, I nodded, quickly being dragged onto the dance floor. “Wundervar!” He would make for an amazing prince. Within moments, I found myself dancing, making a few stuff ups here and there, but enjoying the night with this mysterious stallion. Of course, that ended soon, as I found myself flung to another partner. Giggling, I danced with my new partner, before being flung onwards, eventually returning to the princely stallion of silver coat. Floating over a rose, he spun me towards the center, dropping me towards the ground and holding the rose in his mouth. Oh that blush that rushed to my cheeks. Instantly, I was pulled back to my hooves, and we resumed dancing long into the night.

I watched the sun as it’s tips began to rise over the horizon. It had been a long night of packing up and preparing the caravans for travel back to their home. Smiling to myself, I rose to my hooves, walking towards my home. Mother requested I return home before we left, as a final departure. There she was, standing by the door, smiling gently. I rushed over towards her, quickly trapping her in an embrace.

“I’ll miss you, Mother. I’ll miss everyone as well.” Tears began to well up in my eyes. I was about to move on. Leave my whole life behind me. All my friends, mother, father even. But, my life was also just beginning.

“I’ll miss you too Sallantra… we’ll all miss you. Try to return safely, and soon. At least try to stop by next year, alright?” I nodded, on the edge of bawling my eyes out. It was a promise. “Stay safe, and don’t go chasing any stallions just because they can pull you into a dance.” Blushing and giggling, I wiped the tears away from my eyes.

“I won’t mother.” We stood there, hugging for a few minutes, before slowly pulling apart.

“Oh, and before you leave, I have a gift for you… some of it’s from your father.” She turned away and walked inside, before returning with some saddlebags, carefully embroidered with a beautiful green thread. The clasp, I realized, was in the shape of a curled leaf, the family emblem. “Inside, is the gift from your father. Those saddlebags are from me, as well as the small gift.” Smiling, I opened the saddlebags, pulling out a small package and a larger one. Taking Mother’s gift first, I opened the small box, looking inside. A small, neat pendant representing the family emblem was attached to a necklace, a purple gemstone hanging from it sparkling in the low light. Immediately I burst into tears, hugging my mother again.

“Th-thank you, Mother. It’s beautiful.” Eventually I pulled away and carefully slid it over my head, allowing it to rest against my chest.

“You bear the family name, Sallantra Swiftleaf. Make us proud.” Sniffling, she wiped away her tears, motioning to the other gift. “Go on, open it.” Nodding, I reached over towards to the other package, carefully peeling the paper off. What I saw, amazed me. A delicate dagger with a matching bracelet sat before me, an intricate design of leaves and wind like carvings flowing around it. The dagger itself was designed for easy access, as it had a flipping blade designed like a leaf and the handle, I noticed, was engraved with my name in a smooth, cursive design. The amount of work dedicated to this simple tool was amazing. Looking down at it, I pulled a hoof to my chest, gasping to myself. Looking up at my mother, I noticed she was looking down at it, at its design. Quietly, I heard her mumble.

“It’s been forever since I last saw this.” Raising an eye, I waited for mother to continue. “This dagger was made years ago when you were still but a filly. There were fears that the world was about to enter a new stage of war, but that threat subsided. We’ve all had one though. Your father, my father, my mother, their parents. It’s been a tradition to have a form of heirloom, that’s unique for each family member.” Calmly she walked back inside for a few minutes, returning with a similar dagger, engraved with the name Airloft. Airloft Swiftleaf. I noticed that mine was leafier, whereas hers was windier. Just like her cutie mark. Slowly, I attached it to the bracelet, sliding it onto my left hoof and tightening it in place. I flicked my hoof, the blade flipping out, then flicked it back in, allowing me to travel without damaging the blade. My mother looked on proudly, on the verge of crying again. Noticing this, I pulled her into a hug again, tightly pressing my head against her chest.

“Thank you, mother... I love you.” We stood there, embracing each other. After some time, we pulled away, and watched the sun rising slowly. Looking up to my mother, I noticed she was thinking. “What are you thinking about, mother?” Looking down at me, she shook her head.

“Just stuff… the caravans should be passing Canterlot, so you should probably drop in to see your father. It’s been months after all, and he did manage to send your gift in time.” I nodded in agreement. “Your life is starting now Sallantra. Don’t waste it. I’ll be fine, so don’t worry about us. Don’t forget to say goodbye to your friends, they deserve to know what’s happening. It’s time for you to go live your life of adventure. Keep an eye out for Autumn Swiftleaf though, you’ll know her if you see her.” Smiling, she leaned down and nuzzled my cheek. “Goodbye Sallantra, and may the winds swiftly carry you to your destination.”