Chapters Chapter 0: Prelude
A dark night. Moonlight upon the ridge of every hill, splashed across the trees of a land unknown. Such a night was quiet, save for the soft hoots of an owl, or the gentle ‘shashing’ of the leaves in the trees as the occasional slight breeze washed over and through them. Now and again, a limb groaned from the weight of a hundred years of extending towards the heavens above.
Peaceful.
A noise from below the canopy, lashing out against the quiet rest of the forest floor. Hooves against hard ground underneath crunchy leaves and the softness of earth. Those hooves belonged to a pony, a young female, horn poking out from beneath her robes as she ran, ran deeper into the wood. Her breath was ragged as she pushed herself as fast and as far as she could. Clouds rolled over the moonlight, forcing the Unicorn to remove her hood as a soft, red glow sparked from her horn, then ignited the world immediately around her with a bright red blaze of light.
Her breath remained ragged as the moon was revealed from behind the clouds as they moved on. The Unicorn mare, white as snow, with a soft red and blue mane climbed to the top of a steep embankment, and tumbled, down into the frigid water of a stream. She was tired, and pulled herself back onto her hooves with significant labor. Panic forced her to shoot a glance around before she once more took off, hooves splashing as she reached for the opposite bank and rose, with great effort, to the top.
The mare’s chest heaved as she slid down on wet leaves, tearing her cloak at the bottom on a branch that had almost gutted her. She cursed, wishing that she had carried with her a change of clothes, but continued on, running in a weakened state that was propelled only by the sheer panic of being chased. If she stopped, it would be over. She knew that. It was the only thing she could think of right then. The only thing she was sure she remembered.
Do not. Stop.
Ever.
Further into the darkened wood, where even the moonlight failed to follow, the mare moved, crashing through underbrush when she could afford the stamina, and creeping as quiet as she could when she was unable to do the former. Occasionally, the mare would trip, cutting herself on a briar or rock. Dust and dirt slowly built up on her form from consecutive falls and injuries. She did not stop, despite it. No amount of stinging would stop her. When she could no longer see because her light spell was failing and she had not the strength to maintain a new one, she pulled out a torch and held it in her mouth, stepping more carefully to avoid running into or off of something more dangerous than an embankment or a pile of brambles.
The mare slowed to a trot. She had arrived at the stone gate of a long-forgotten sanctuary. Long forgotten to all but her and a few others, as it were. The gate marked the last safe place she could go. It was the only one such as it left, as all the others had long since fallen. Such horrible memories filled her mind, swelling her chest with sorrow and regret at the visions of her lost family, consumed by a corruptive mist. In spite of those memories, the snow-colored mare cantered forward, having caught her breath in a moment of rest. She approached a ground-level basin which sat amidst the pillars of millenia-old stone. Around her, in a circle, they stood at the center of the Everfree Forest. Nothing could get her there. The mare peered into the basin, as if she searched for something. She sighed once more in relief as her purple eyes reflected back at her from the clear water, and she tossed her torch off to the side.
“Good…” she moaned, as she fell backwards to a sitting position on the ruined, cobbled floor. “Everything... is…”
Her attention was averted from resting towards a small light. A ghostly, green light.
She stood, and shook with exhaustion, “No…” she almost whined before she said once more in desperation, “Nooo~!”
Panic filled her purple eyes, as she searched for the exit. All the while, the ghostly form grew and began to fill the room. It only took a few seconds for her to bolt to where she had come from, but it had taken a minute for her to find the entrance from whence she had come again. The exhausted mare had been so tired that she had forgotten where she had entered! Finally, she found it, but she was not alone as she left in haste. The incorporeal mist followed her. She looked back, rounding a tree, and fired a bolt of energy into the greenish mist, but it was unaffected. So she took off running again, passing under low-hanging branches and swatting vines from her face as they wrapped around her in her passing. The Unicorn mare grunted and growled as she fought the natural barriers of the forest, they being unmoving but still seeming to be so willing to snare her and sacrifice her to whatever formless creature or spirit which was pursuing her. It was a vain hope indeed, that the underbrush would halt her aggressor, and she gave everything she had to try and escape. She even went so far as to bite at the vines that blocked her movement more than once, and fired off a few more ineffective spells to try and dispel the ghost-like mist.
The mare broke out of the forest at last, and into a clearing, though it was still dark. She re-lit her light spell and started again running a mad dash. Her lungs were ablaze with exertion, and she was nearing her limit. She knew that. But she had to keep going, or her life was forfeit!
Despite the urgings in the white mare’s mind, however, she was unable to keep going once she crested another hill. She stopped, cramping and hyperventilating as she fell over, rolling down the other side of the hill and coming to a stop at its base. The mist wafted down the slope and surrounded her, and she choked on its pungent fumes. Her journey was over, and the mare closed her violet eyes for the last time, just as the moon came out once more from behind the passing clouds.
Chapter 1: Wake Up
The white-coated, purple-eyed mare awoke, bleary-eyed and aching all over. What a dream she had the night before! She remembered running, falling… something being after her, but then…
She felt the covers beneath her. They were almost burlap, and felt a bit nasty, as if they’d been used by many before her, for many years. The pillow beneath her head was, in essence, a thick sheet with a head indent in it. She was not in her bed. The Unicorn mare tried her best to remember what had happened the night before in clearer detail, but made no progress. Trying to force it only made her head hurt. She groaned and wiped her eyes, extracting the crust of a fitful sleep from them, then decided to get up.
Rolling over and out of bed was a task in itself, as every muscle in her body ached from whatever ordeal she could only scarcely remember. A few tries, however, and she managed to land on her feet, next to the bed, and wobbled. Her legs were weak, but then… so was everything else about her. The mare stumbled and fell, then tried to curse… and found herself unable. This gave her pause. She knew what she wanted to say, at least conceptually, but couldn’t find the words to say them.
She tried to shake off the feeling that something was wrong with her other than just the fact that she couldn’t walk right, but was unable. The mare looked around, hoping to find something to distract herself from the sinking feeling that she was getting, but as it turned out, her surroundings were just as eerie and depressing as her dream.
The room around her was made of cold, grey stone, and had enough dust caked on it to make her feel like she had to sneeze just by looking at it. Her bed was old, splintered, and looked like it was held together by twine, though it had a regality to it, suggesting it had seen better days. Especially the headboard, which, though worn, was clearly of a finer craft than her surroundings. She herself was sitting, or rather laying, on a ragged carpet that was slipped up under the bed, so at least she was warm, laying on the floor there. Cobwebs hung from the support beams above, waving softly in the draft, which came somewhere from nearby, though she couldn’t quite see into the room next to her. Amidst all this, the walls of stone held torches, lit and casting a soft light around her, popping and crackling. There were a few bookshelves as well, but they were empty.
Somehow, the mare felt as if it didn’t matter how many ponies ended up down here, they were always empty. Though, she wasn’t entirely sure why that would change…
Feeling stronger after having moved a bit, the mare decided to try her hoof at standing once again. The second attempt was much easier, and she rose shakily to an upright position. Yep… she was okay, mostly. Taking a look around once more, and scruching her nose at the almost dungeon-esque place she was in, the mare trotted into the next room, which was much of the same as the last. Except, there was a ladder. A way out. If she could manage to climb it. Trotting over, the mare put one hoof up on the ladder, and began making her way towards the hatch door above her. As she neared the top, her hind legs began to shake, but she couldn’t find the strength to back down, and so reached for the door above. Just as her hoof grasped the door’s latch, her hind legs gave way and she fell, letting loose a yell of surprise and frustration before hitting the ground and rolling onto her back.
Once more, she tried to curse, but was unable to find the words.
“Geeze…” the mare groaned, laying there for a moment as the dust from years past slowly settled on and around her, “... Ouch…”
She really hoped she hadn’t cracked something. The last thing she wanted to do was spend more time in that dreary cellar, regardless of how well taken-care of she was at the time. Noise from above alerted her to the presence of who she hoped had been her caretaker. She wanted out.
The hatch-door above cracked open, and in spilled enough light to make her eyes hurt, and cause the pony above to be little more than a silhouette. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she heard the pony speak.
“I hope you did not hurt your head, as I only just saved you from being dead.” a masculine, deep voice called down to her, “In fact I should say, that you should be in bed.”
“A rhyming pony?” the mare thought, with slight irritation “This is going to do wonders for my headache…”
More of the pony was revealed once her eyes were as adjusted as they could get, and it turned out to be a Zebra. That explained the rhyming at least. She said nothing, being unsure how to address the zebra stallion.
He frowned down at her, craning his neck into the hole, “Perhaps the damage is worse than I thought, as I do not know what creature wrought.” he mused, eyeing her carefully, “Surely you are not so lame, speak up now and tell me your name?”
The mare opened her mouth. But then she closed it, furrowing her brow.
“My name…” she mused, searching her mind for any sort of clue. She had a name! She knew she did, but the only memories she had were of the mist… and of running. She couldn’t remember any further back than that!
The Zebra male shook his head and reached out a hoof, “Come on up to the ground floor, certainly you don’t want to be down there anymore.” he said as the mare arose and climbed a portion of the way up, reaching and grasping his hoof.
She was hoisted easily into what looked to be some kind of hut. Portions of it were stone, like the basement, but most of it was wood, including the floor below her hooves. The interior was decorated with masks of varying patterns and colors, and most were flanked by shelves with potions and ingredients of just the same description. Wide, open windows made it easy for light to enter, and kept the air fresh despite the multiple pots of boiling potions or stews near the fireplaces on the far side of the room.
The mare still did not speak. She felt overwhelmed, as she couldn’t ever remember encountering a Zebra before. Not that she could remember much else beyond running, presumably the night before.
“I am Umbrus.” the Zebra stated as he turned to face the pots and head towards them.
The blue-maned mare followed, taking note of the dreadlocks that made up the stallion’s mane and tail before speaking.
“I… don’t know who *I* am. I apologize.” she said. Her last few words were muttered, and she felt guilty about not being able to give a proper introduction. It was silly to feel bad about it, she knew, but it just felt so rude.
“That much I can gather, and in a way it does not matter.” Umbrus shrugged, stirring one of the pots, “You have no name, that is true. But all that means, is you are you.”
Aerie frowned, not quite understanding. And not understanding was giving her another headache. She grimaced a little and shook her head before asking what that meant. Umbrus explained that she was, as far as he could tell, a blank slate. A new pony. She didn’t have a cutie mark. She didn’t have a name. She could be anypony.
Needless to say, the mare was not as optimistic.
“If I don’t know what I’m supposed to be… then what am I supposed to do!?” she asked with mild frustration, “I’m a grown mare… without my mark, won’t it be hard to find a decent job?”
Umbrus chuckled deeply, “My dear mare, all you need to do is dare!” he asserted, “If you are so very unsure, all you must do is have an adventure!”
The mare grumbled. An adventure? That was his cure for her amnesia? Her life being turned upside down? Umbrus must have sensed her dissatisfaction, because he moved over to her with a sympathetic look on his snout.
“If it would help ease your mind, I have an job,interesting, that you might find.” he said with a smile, “South of this place, this house, there is a Unicorn who does grouse.”
With that advice, the mare felt like she at least had *some* kind of direction. Still, she sighed, and Umbrus furrowed his brow at her with concern.
“I… I appreciate your help, Umbrus.” the mare began, “And I’ll seek out what you’ve described, it’s just that I don’t even know where I am.” she complained, “Is there somewhere I can go that will tell me more about this place, and those beyond?”
Umbrus chuckled heartily, and pointed to a shelf across the room as his potion-cauldron spewed a rainbow at the ceiling, “Take a look, it is in a book.” he said with a smile, then turned back to his potion.
With that, and a strange look at her odd new friend, the mare headed towards the bookshelf. She pulled books off the shelf and began hoofing through a few, but found that most of the information was either too simplistic to be worth remembering, or too complex and political to understand.
“Well…” she muttered as she put the books back, “One thing’s for certain. I’m not a historian…”
The last book she put back had something interesting in it, unlike the others. It fell out and fluttered to the floor. It was a simple sheet of paper, but when she turned it over… there was a very disturbing picture of something that looked like a half-dead pony with… were those scythes for hooves? The mare frowned, feeling a little sick at the sheer detail of the image. She took it one of her hooves and trotted towards Umbrus, asking him what it was, and if it was something he’d drawn.
“The pencil indeed was mine, but that is from another time.” he told her, frowning and taking the paper from her, only to place it on a table nearby. He did not turn around to look at her as he said, “If you must know more… then you should walk right out the door.”
The mare nodded, and made her way to the threshold of the Zebra’s home. It seemed that it was time for her to go.
Chapter 2: A Name, Delve Deep
Chapter 2: A Name, Delve Deep
Outside of Umbrus’ home, the sun shone down from the sky above, casting rays of warmth amongst the cool shadows of the trees. She was in a village, the mare observed, one was protected by large wooden palisades that completely encircled it. She wondered what a village so small needed palisades for, but put the question off to the side as she began to overhear a conversation. The mare made her way away from the hut which she’d come out of, and towards a larger, more traditional, thatched-roof building. Skirting the edges of the home, she hid in the brush which grew up alongside it, her ears flicking, her eyes watching from her hiding spot.
“Silent Seal, how are you this morning?” a young, pale green, female pony with leaves and vines growing along her hooves asked another, “It’s strange seeing you up and about so early.”
The voice which responded was older, and quite jovial. “I’m doing quite fine, Leaf Litter, quite fine indeed. Your tea has done wonders for me!”
The mare had to adjust her place to get a better view of the pony what kind of pony Silent Seal was, who was revealed to be a Unicorn once the mare had settled into a better vantage point amongst the brush. A much, much older Unicorn than his voice might have betrayed. His robes were clearly ancient, and his beard was white and ragged. The ancient-looking stallion even carried a staff to help him walk.
Leaf Litter, smiling happily at such praise, brushed her hoof against the ground, acting bashful “Well that’s good. We’ve all been worried about you lately… so-”
It was then that Silent Seal changed. Without warning and suddenly, the older stallion began yelling at the top of his lungs about the end of days. It frankly scared the living buck out of the mare, who shrunk back behind the corner of the house, only listening, but daring not to look.
“HE SHALL RISE!” Silent Seal raged without warning, his voice booming, his cloak billowing with ethereal power, “NEMESIS SHALL RISE AND TAKE THEE ALL WITH HIM BACK DOWN TO THE GATES OF TARTARUS!”
“Silent Seal! Please, calm down! You need to rest!” the mare heard Leaf Litter cry, “You’re not in your right mind!”
“IT IS TOO LATE, THOU ART ALL DOOMED!”
The mare, still hiding in the bushes shuddered at the voice. It was powerful, reminiscent of old magics. Powerful magics. She heard the clopping of hooves as Leaf Litter chased after Silent Seal, away from her place of hiding. She was grateful for it, and shuddered, rocking a little against the wall which she hid behind. It was then that Umbrus approached, peeling the bushes back, as if he’d known where she was.
“I see you have observed Silent Seal, I still hope this job you will not repeal.” Umbrus frowned, reaching out to the mare, who took the hoof, feeling as if she were in a haze.
She shook off her fear, which took a few moments, and calmed down, “Umbrus… what was that?” she asked, “What was he talking about?”
Umbrus sighed, staring down the now empty cobbled streets where Leaf Litter and Silent Seal had stood only moments before, “His is an affliction of the mind, something has caused it to unbind. If a cure is not soon found, I fear that this village will become open ground.”
More riddles. The mare was becoming quite tired of riddles, and it showed up her face. Fortune would have it that he did not stop speaking there, either because Umbrus had seen her expression, or because he knew for a fact it wasn’t enough to gain any real information off of.
“Silent Seal is a powerful mage, it is quite unusual for him to rage. If his mind is not rebound fast, we will all be memories in a time soon past! For a soul is trapped beneath the sand, an enemy powerful and grand!”
Such words rekindled the fear in the mare’s heart. Her purple eyes gazed up at Umbrus as he finished.
“... Why are you telling me this?”
Umbrus almost glared down at the mare, who shrunk at his gaze, “If you do not know, then I assure you that you should go. Stay and find the truth, reveal! or leave and let us enjoy our last meal!”
With that, Umbrus turned and trotted back into his home, leaving the poor mare to stand, stunned at his words. The mare breathed a heavy sigh and moved away from the wall.
“If I stay… I could get hurt.” she thought, “... but if I leave… I mean, they did help me after all…”
It was a tough decision. Whatever Silent Seal’s problem was, it was likely outside her league. She could barely remember what she was doing the night before, and couldn’t even remember her name. Even if she HAD been some kind of warrior or explorer.... she didn’t remember how.
“WHOO WHOO!”
Her ears flicked. She looked around.
“WHOO WHOO!” the sound came again.
“What is that noise?” the mare asked aloud, looking all over, then up towards a nearby tree.
“WHO WHOOO!” the noise came again, “You might be able to get by on your good looks, but thinking or reading for more than a few minutes gives you a headache! Intelligence fifteen! WHO WHOO!”
That was uncalled for, though the mare. In fact, it was downright insulting.
“Who’s there!?” she asked, glaring around at any tree or rock she could see that might hide the insulting catcaller, “What do you want?”
“Frail old mares beat you at arm wrestling! Strength ten! WHOO WHOO!”
The mare gritted her teeth, and was about to leave just as she spotted the culprit. An owl. In a tree about fifteen feet in the air. An owl with a smile like an… well… she didn’t have words for it! It didn’t look friendly!
“What’s all that mess you’re talking?” she asked the owl, frowning up at it.
“WHO WHOO! You’re as clumsy as an ox and as slow on your feet, the healer thinks you have a gladular deficiency! Agility ten! WHOO WHO!”
The mare stomped her hoof, and stumbled. “You… you bucking bird!” she screamed, finding her first curse at last, hopping a little, each time stumbling a litte less, “I ought to come up there an pluck all your feathers off!” she screamed in frustrated anger, her horn glowing, then fizzling out before she could fire a spell off.
“WHO WHOO! If you tried, you’d break your butt! Problem solving ZERO! WHOO WHOO!” it said, then flew off into the distance and beyond the palisade fence.
This left the white Unicorn mare to grumble and fume as she headed around the home and towards the edge of town, to the south. Or what she assumed was south. She headed for the gate, in other words. Near the gate, at the edge of town, she spotted the home the Umbrus had told her about, and Leaf Litter. She looked different. A lot more… blue and shiny. The mare approached Leaf Litter, who did not turn to face her.
“Um… Leaf Litter…?” the mare asked, unsure of how to approach the strange looking mare, “Leaf… Litt- Oh my…”
Leaf Litter was frozen almost completely. The only thing she could do was move her mouth a little and move her eyes to look at the mare as she came around to the front of the frozen pony.
“P-please…! Help me…!” the Forest Pony managed to shivver out between her chattering teeth, “I-I’m going to f-freeze to death!”
The mare suddenly felt… strange. She started to chuckle.
“You sure you want to get out of there?” she asked Leaf Litter, “You’ll end up being a pretty nice ice-sculpture in a few hours. People will come from miles away to see the most lifelike-”
“Please!” she chattered, “I-I don’t wanna die!”
The mare sighed, “You’re nuts, aren’t you?” she asked, “You must think *I’m* crazy if you think I’m going to just waltz up to the door of that “Unicorn and…”
But the mare was cut off by a sudden yelling, coming from the window of the home of Silent Seal.
“BEGONE FOUL DEMON! I WILL NOT SUFFER YOUR DARK WILES, HERALD OF NEMESIS, YE SUCCUBUS OF DARK WHIMS!”
The stallion poked his staff out the window.
“Now wait just a minute, you insane old fart…! I’m not a succubus, and she’s not here to hurt you. Put the staff down so we can talk and maybe-”
An explosive bolt of energy struck the ground next to the mare, knocking over Leaf Litter. It was fortunate that she landed on something soft, or else her skin and coat might have shattered. It was not so fortunate for the mare who had tried to talk Silent Seal down, however, because she ended up falling down the well next to the house after being sent through the air like pony-shaped cannon-ball.
She did manage to scream most of the way down, landing in a deep pool of water at the bottom, which saved her from any real damage.
“Buck…!” she choked as she surfaced and splashed around. It didn’t take long for her to remember she could swim. Sort of. She struggled to reach the edge and pull herself up onto shore, and coughed up foul-tasting water as she rolled over once she’d reached it. She cursed once more, righting herself slowly. She felt dazed, and wobbled as she walked, but otherwise she felt okay.
“I guess I deserved that after telling the Leaf… whatever her name was that she’d make a great ice sculpture…”
The well was dank, messy, and smelled of rotten carrots. Really rotten. The mare gagged once at the heady smell, then headed towards one of the nearby torches, where a book lay atop a barrel, framed by weak light from old torches which sat in metal holders, bolted to the crumbling, moisture-wicked walls.
“Delve Deep… by the Inter-Village Cave-Diving Union…” she muttered, reading the title and opening the cover.
The first page was blank. And the second. And the one after that. Every page was blank!
“This… is useless…” she muttered, annoyed at the waste of time and putting the book down, “I could write anything I want in that book and no one would know the difference… Who even leaves a blank book laying around? Stupid book...”
For a moment, the mare decided to walk away, but just as she reached the grating on the other side of the room and reached for the lever… she stopped.
“I could write anything I want…” she repeated, her purple eyes lighting up, “I could write anything I want!”
The Unicorn mare galloped over to the book. She gathered it up in her hooves as she slid to a stop and grinned at it.
“I am Delve Deep…” she said, staring at the empty pages, almost drooling at the idea, “... and I will be anypony I want to be!”