Chilly it was for the wind was not forgiving this autumn night. Jacob didn't mind though. He's been exposed to this type of weather many times before and is used to it. Living up high in elevation was a very wintry experience. Nightly walks was something he enjoyed and did every other night or so. Ruling an entire kingdom was quite tiresome so a walk through the woods was a sweet escape.Today was more stressful than usual so this night's walk will exceed the normal duration of his walks.
His kingdom rested on the side of a heavily wooded mountain. Behind his castle, trails cut through the forest that only he knew how to get to and threw. They were arranged in a very complex, maze-like manor. Some parts being constructed by his workers and others were already there
The royal guard didn't like the idea of him being out there alone, but he didn't care. He's a grown stallion and can take care of himself. He would have taken offense by that but they where just doing their job. As always th-
CRACK WHISH
An old, dead tree had fallen directly in front of him nearly flattening him. He closed his eyes for a second letting his heart beat calm. Once he reopened his eyes he noticed what the tree branches had been blocking.
A poorly lit, overgrown path that probably hadn't been touched by any pony in ages.
"Ominous," He thought out loud as he squinted at what appeared to be a sign on the path. "This forest just gets more and more odd by the day."
He ventured into the path towards the sign. The letters on it were written in some foreign language. He's seen a lot of different languages in his day but this was very peculiar. Curious as to what lies beyond this sign he dismantled one of the lanterns scattered along the other paths, off its stand with his magic while making a mental note to show this sign to some of his top scribes.
Jacob could feel the path going from dirt to cobblestone as he continued on. His curiosity grew more and more thirsty for satisfaction. Eventually a cave entrance appeared in front of him as the light enclosed it. At least, it looked like a cave but seemed almost man made.
Contemplating on the sanity of going in there, he stared at it for a moment. After a good thirty seconds he cautiously entered the "cave". Making his way through the darkness he tripped over a vine landing flat on his face. This alerted a multitude of bats; resulting in them trying to all exit at once.
"What is this, a foals camp fire story?" Jacob got up, dusted himself off and moved along. After a few feet or so he entered a very large, open part of the cave. Something weird was glowing in the distance. He couldn't make out what it was exactly because it was blindly bright. Approaching it for a closer inspection it appeared to be a small spherical object. He whipped out his handkerchief to cover it so it wasn't so blinding and cautiously picked it up.
It began to glow a little less as he removed it allowing him to finally see the object. It looked like stone but was rather smooth almost as if it were glass.
"Fascinating... " He thought out loud.
Suddenly the rock started to vibrate and blasted eye-blinding light. Just as fast as it began, it was over.
"Your majesty!" cried his lovely assistant and former student Martha. He knew that voice from anywhere. She was like a daughter to him. "where are you!?"
"What are you doing out here?" He replied. "A better question is how did you find your way out here?" Jacob waited for a response.
"I followed you!" she explained. Her voice sounding a bit closer. "thank goodness I found you, I got lost." Jacob wrapped up the stone swiftly and exited the cave. Arriving at the fallen tree he discovered a crazed mare.
"Whoa, you alright?" He asked almost scaring her. His black fur coat was rather hard to see at this hour. If it wasn't for his recognizable voice she might have had a heart attack from the looks of it. "You look terrible..."
"Thanks." She groaned. "Is this where you've been disappearing for an hour almost ever night?"
"It's peaceful out here. It's my secret escape that isn't that secret anymore... "
crack
"Yeah, that's nice now lets get out of here." Martha replied scarcely.
He started to walk. "I guess I've been out here long enough, lets go."
-0-0-0-0-0-
The stone span around on the desk as Jacob lowered his head to have the same eye level as the stone. Then stopping it with his hoof, only to spin it again. Something about that thing was hypnotizing. He couldn't quite put his hoof on it but it had him deeply infatuated.
Knock Knock
The stone quickly was enclosed in a green aura and floated into an open drawer and closed behind it glowing as well.
"Come in." He sighed.
Martha slightly opened the door. "A letter from your brother." The letter was enclosed in a green glow and floated over to Jacob.
"Thanks Martha" He ripped open the letter to further inspect it.
"My pleasure" She smiled with a squee as she closed the door.
"What could he want at this hour." Jacob questioned. "Of course, I almost forgot." He face hoofed and dropped the letter to inspect his room. The top of the letter read "Birthday Invitation". He scanned his room for anything of value. Searching through his bookshelves and tearing up his room.
"No, no, no... there got to be something laying around here." He thought for a second."Screw it, I'll hit the marketplace tomorrow." he sighed and hit the lights. He wasn't going to show up with out a gift. Not to his own brother's birthday.
Surrendering to sleep he layed his head down. Falling asleep a few minutes later.
The stone resting on his desk vibrated again shortly causing it to move glowing deep red for a short second. Just as before, it stopped as fast as it began.
