The Path of the Sky: The Mountains in the North.

Chapters

Tents and Eggs.
Reflection and Rain.
Evenings Respite.
Steps in the Dark.
Peaceful Morning.
Fire and Shadow.
Hard Morning.
Speaking to the Stars.
Findings and Burials.

Tents and Eggs.

Rarity stirred in her sleep feeling a drop of rain break against her cheek, the water spread slightly but quickly found it's place, soaking in and damping her short white fur creating a cold and overall annoying sensation, she brought a fore hoof out from the meagre warmth of her Canvas blanket and prodded at the area, she pulled the corner of her blanket close to her face and wiped away the dampness, the rough material of the cover irritated her skin slightly but she chose to ignore it, and content with her victory, she decided to go back to sleep.

She nuzzled against the pile of cloth that was her makeshift pillow, letting her head fall deeper into the folds and relax once again, finally ready to return to her slumber, she felt another drop against her fur and another and another and another, Rarity grimaced and growled to herself, grinding her teeth slightly and squeezing her eyes shut tighter, willing the rain to disappear and allow her to sleep, It didn't as ever more droplets of rain fell upon her face.

She groggily opened an eye, and turned her attention to the source of the irritating liquid, looking towards the roof of her shoddy tent, her eyes were suddenly assaulted with a flood of harsh light a frown spread across her face as she raised a hoof to shield herself from the brightness. Rarity cursed silently under her breath, a tear had opened in the roof and the harsh light of morning filled the tent alongside the slow but relentless drizzle.

A sigh escaped the white mares lips as she propped herself up on one leg, her head hung low towards the ground as she rubbed her eyes with her other hoof as though she were trying to expel the tiredness from her. She sat upright and looked towards the tent door glumly, her surroundings were bathed in a sickly yellow light, the same sickly yellow colour she'd seen every morning for months now, she despised the colour. She didn't feel quite ready for the morning yet, her body still ached from the toll of the previous days travel, Rarity tiredly lifted a hoof up to her shoulder and craned her neck left and right in some vain hope that the simple stretching would rid her body of the dull pangs of pain that racked it.

Rarity sighed again as she slowly dragged herself towards the tents door, her muscles where unwilling and stiff, yearning to return to rest, but she had no time and many miles to travel. She fired up her horn and slowly undid the buttons that held the two flaps of cloth together, with the last button undone, Rarity flung the door open, allowing her access to the the outside world, Rarity strained her eyes as they took a moment to adjust to the harsh light beyond her tent once more. She stepped out from the tent and let the door fall meekly behind her as the magic that had gripped it dissipated, she felt the ground between her hooves, thankfully the rain was only light and the earth below was still firm, at least she didn't have to contend with mud on top of everything else.

Rarity surveyed the clearing around her, taking a moment to take In her temporary home, the trees stood tall around the edge of the clearing, their trunks slender and grey, the cracked cylinders rose high from the ground before their trunks split off into smaller branches that were adorned with thick clusters of fir leaves, tall stems of dull green grass carpeted the floor of the clearing and was broken here and there by patches of dry, yellow earth, smooth boulders ranging in size and shape were dotted about, in the middle a small pool sat but the water was an uninviting murky green, clumps of green mucus sat still atop the stagnant water, the sky above was a canvas of thick grey clouds of different shades and forms, being slowly ushered on by the light wind. Rarity closed her eyes, letting her other sense take over, she relished the chill of the wind as it blew over her body and through her mane and fur, she felt herself calmed by the sound of the swaying grass and leaves all around her.

Close to her tent a group of ancient, moss covered logs created a ring around the smoky remains of last nights fire, but as her gaze drifted towards this, Rarity frowned and quietly reprimanded herself. The fire was long dead, but thin strands of wispy smoke still rose from the charred remains of the fire, wafting up above the tree line where it dissipated and become lost to the winds. She let out an annoyed sigh and walked towards the dead camp fire, how could she have forgotten to smother the embers before she had gone to sleep the night before? Any manner of creature or worse could have spotted her camp during the night.

“Rarity you fool” She whispered to herself as she crawled back into her tent, she surveyed the back of the tent looking for one of the many bags that had been lazily thrown in there the night before, she spotted the one she needed and reached in further grabbing the strap of the bag with her mouth and yanking it out of the tent. She emerged flank first from the tent once again and pulled the bag out with a final yank, the motion strained her already aching neck a little and she felt a small pang of pain spread about it.

Her horn was engulfed in a blue aura as was the bag shortly after, she pondered to herself why she hadn't used her magic in the first place, the bag was composed of rough brown leather and had some weight to it but this was still a lot easier than dragging the thing around, she shook her head again once again mentally reprimanding herself for the lack of foresight, she briskly trotted towards the circle of logs and took a seat on one that appeared less decayed than the others, laying the bag in front of her. She opened the flap and surveyed the contents, a small hatchet some flint and steel and a bundle of small twigs.

She'd need to set up a new camp fire before she could have any kind of breakfast and there was simply no way she was packing up and moving on before she'd had a good meal. She clipped the bag shut and hopped to all fours, resting it against the trunk she set off towards the tree line, she'd need some dry grass to use as kindling, thankfully though, the rain had come to a halt so at least she wouldn't have to worry about anything getting any wetter.

Rarity reached the first row of trees, her brisk trotting came to a halt, she leaned in closely to the ground, inspecting the grass, luckily for her the the tall fir trees above must have taken the brunt of rainfall in the area as the ground inside the woods was coated in thick tufts of yellowed, dry grass. A slight smile appeared on Rarity's lips, perhaps today would go on better than it began. She lit up her horn once again, pulling small clumps of the dead grass from around her and forming them into a larger ball, pleased that she had enough she trotted back over to the ring of logs.

She opened the rough leather bag with her mouth and gently placed the dried grass within clipping the bag shut to keep it safe from any moisture, she made her way back to the tent she grimaced at the hole in the top, if only she had some thread and a needle to repair it but unfortunately she'd simply have to leave it behind, Rarity decided she may as well take the thing down now and get the job out of the way.

A short while later the pegs and poles had been removed, and now the fabric was nothing more than a mess on the ground, she gathered up the many different components with her magic and trotted towards the stagnant pool, she despised the thought of littering, especially out here in the wilderness but she couldn't risk leaving a presence here unless any pony or any other kind of creature came wandering through. She reached the pond, taking a moment to regard her reflection in the murky green water, no make up was to be seen on her face, replaced with splotches of dried dirt here and there, Her carefully styled main was absent of it's curls and now fell into simple messy waves by her side.

Rarity shuddered slightly at the image, fighting back her old urges of cleanliness and beauty, there was no time for such trivial issues anymore she had much more important matters to attend to. She used the canvas of the tent as a makeshift bag, using it to hold the metal pegs and poles inside she tied it up in a knot and threw it into the pond watching it slowly sink to the bottom until it disappeared into the grimy depths of the pond, at least she wouldn't have to see that sickly yellow colour ever again.

She trotted back to the patch her tent had once stood and began ferrying her belongs over to the camp fire, she'd need to be moving again soon and didn't want to take to long to prepare but before she was going anywhere, she was having something to eat. She opened the rough leather saddle bag once again, taking out the dry grass, flint and tinder and bundle of twigs and got to work making a small fire, the task was a short one Rarity had been out in the wilderness for some months now and she'd become quite efficient at it, she threw a couple more twigs onto the pile which were quickly engulfed by the flame, but the fire remained steady and burning.

She levitated a smaller satchel bag over to herself and opened it, setting it down beside her gently she pulled out a small frying pan, a half gone block of butter and two eggs that she gently placed on the grass, holding the frying pan above the fire she cut a chunk from the butter and slid it into the pan, it instantly began to sizzle as it made contact with the metal and sweet aromas filled Rarity's nostrils as it began to melt, she chuckled to herself, if anything was going to find her, now would be the time. She watched the butter slide about the pan and melt away before levitating the two eggs up to the pan, she cracked one and quickly dumped the contents inside and quickly followed suit with the other.

She watched hungrily as the eggs began to whiten, once she was happy that they were ready she took the pan away from the fire and placed it on the logs next to her, she reached into the bag again and fetched out a very small vial glass, she carefully undid the lid and lightly shook it over the contents of the pan coating the eggs with a plentiful helping of pepper, she screwed the lid on once again and returned it, no reason she couldn't have a little luxury, she quickly grabbed her fork and dug in.

The taste exploded in her mouth, despite being a simple fried egg with pepper she found it euphoric, you never appreciated proper food until you'd spent months with nothing else she ate happily, looking at her few belongings, her saddle bags, back pack, satchel bag, the crude leather and mail armour she now wore as opposed to fancy dresses and silks she had been so used to. Her eyes drifted to her sword and lingered there, propped up against a tree and resting in it's rugged leather scabbard she studied it as she often did, a magical aura enveloped the hilt and she lifted it towards her, freeing it from the scabbard.

It was designed for mouth or magic wielding, thus owing to it's hilt, it was wrapped with a dark red suede and topped with a steel pommel. It was and unsightly, unwieldy blade, heavy, long and wide, composed of thick steel with one side being completely blunt and the other side being edged with a diagonal tip connecting the two it barely resembled the average sword, it lacked any of the elegance or grace Rarity so adored in her life, but she'd become quite attached to the weapon she recounted the day she'd acquired it, before sheathing it once more.

With her meal finished and her belly full she stood up from the log, it was time to pack up and leave, she wrapped up the butter once again and placed it back in the satchel along the pan and her cutlery, she hoped she'd come across a town or village soon, as her food was running short, she clipped the bag forward and put it to one side. Levitating her saddle bags to her side, she stored away the flint and tinder as well as her sleeping blankets in the other side, and buckled them both shut.

With everything squared away she trotted towards her armour lifting the leather body peice up, she stepped into the holes that made room for her forelegs, and did the belts at her back, buckling them up tightly. Rarity wiggled a little, letting the chain mail uncoil and fall loosely around her flank and forelegs, she secured the straps on her fore legs and tested the movement as fluid as ever. She looked back and her horn lit up once more, secure the chain at her flank around her hind legs, the chain was cold against her fur, but she welcomed the protection it offered.

She trotted back to her belongings, hoisting them up and securing the one by one, her satchel bag rested comfortably on her flank and her saddlebags felt comfortable at her side, with another flare of magic she lift up the sheathed sword and led it across her back, pulling the leather strap through her front legs and buckling it across her belly, luckily for her it was the only item that harboured any significant weight and she had become much more accustomed to it's presence at her back. Rarity performed a final wiggle to make sure everything was secure and stayed in place, to her joy it did.

She looked back towards the two dead fires, she'd scatter the ash before she left, her horn shone with a final flare of magic as she lifted the debris of the camp-fire into one ball, crushing and snapping the charred twigs with ease, she raised her head in one swift motion, the magic surrounding the remains quickly disappeared with a slight pop spreading the ash and twigs into the surrounding long grass, she smiled, happy that she'd covered her tracks well enough she turned around and trotted off into the forest northbound, the crystal empire was still far away and she had a lot of ground to cover.

Author's Note

This is my first fanfic, and first real attempt at any sort of telling , so any constructive criticism is much appreciated, I hope you enjoy. :)

Reflection and Rain.

Rarity huffed and panted, she had been walking steadily for many hours now through the sparse woodland and the weight of her belongings was once again creeping up on her, bringing added effort and ache to every step, the weight was unaided by the fact her armour rested quite uncomfortably around her body. Her back was taking the worst of it, the weight of the sword could probably be counted as a testament to it's shoddy craftsmanship she pondered although she also took into account the resilience to damage and wear the blade had shown many, many times over. She become lost in her thoughts regarding the weapon, she found it an overall curious object and often wondered what purpose it was meant to serve in a combat situation and why it had even been created in the first place.

More importantly, she wondered why she felt so attached to the weapon and why she couldn't let it go, it lacked any of the elegance or sophistication that Rarity loved in all things, from clothes to weapons and there had been a few ample opportunities to discard the sword in favour of something lighter and more practical in the passing months, but she could never bring herself to leave the clumsy slab of metal behind and quite frankly, it had posed itself as a hindrance on many an occasion.

Rarity was far from a talented warrior, sure there had been bits of fighting and scrapping here and there on her past adventures with her friends but it had never been necessary for her to hone said skill, it was only the recent situation that had forced her to improve and to do it quickly and over the last few months, she'd developed into a capable fighter, at least capable enough to defend herself and she'd been doing that plenty. There was no doubting that she was far stronger now, physically and perhaps mentally than she'd ever been in her life, her muscles and magic had grown stronger and faster in recent times, but that was obviously a by-product of the life she'd been forced to adopt.

Despite her new found strength in both areas, the sword was still heavy to wield in mouth and magic alike, and although she could use it proficiently enough, it was still sluggish and slow to use, and required quite a deal of effort on her part as well, a soldier of the equestrian military would probably pose a great threat with such a weapon but they were trained for years to hone their skills, both physical and magical. Searching inwards however, she knew why she clung to the weapon and was saddened by the far gone memory.

Perhaps I'll never be properly suited for this Rarity lamented to herself, her expression overall glum and vacant as she searched her thoughts, she was snapped back to reality however when she heard a great roar of thunder above that faded into lower, more distant rolls among the clouds. Rarity turned her head towards the sky, the clouds where dark and rain was close, very close. It wouldn't be much of a bother but the further she had travelled from her camp site, the sparser the woodland had become around her, the tall fir pines had descended lower and lower into smaller trees that had become few and father between, she was definitely approaching a more hilly region.

She muttered to herself in annoyance, rain and mud could only help in slowing her down, her horn lit up and she opened one of her side saddle bags, a blue aurora rummaged around the bag, probing the many items within until Rarity felt the right one in her grasp, she pulled it out from under the various items and closed the bag behind her. It was a simple hood and mantle made of brown leather and lined with brown suede with two brass buttons on the front, perfectly boring but perfectly functional, she unclipped the buttons and pulled it around her neck and chest and buttoned it back, fidgeting with the many straps at her back so it would sit comfortably. Content, she pulled the hood over her head,at least it would offer some protection from the rain.

She carried on walking and almost on queue the clouds above her burst, sending a great downpour hurtling towards the earth, the heavy patter of the rain on leaves and dirt surrounded Rarity completely, the sound was rhythmic and relaxing, so at least she could thank the rain for that, she shuddered in the cold as droplets seeped through her chain mail and down her flank and hind legs I really must invest in some proper under-layers Rarity mused as she continued her way through the sparse trees and newly formed mud at her hooves, she definitely couldn't thank the rain for the brown stains that now splattered across her white coat.

The sound of rain on leaves became ever more distant as she left the woodlands behind her, her ears where once again filled with new noises, the sound of rain breaking against her leather, the steel pommel of her sword and the hood around her, the sound of wind willing the leaves and branches to and fro was gone and only the low, lonely whistle and howl of the winds remained in it's stead. She walked alone on a hill now, long grass stroked and parted against her legs and the ground below squelched beneath her hooves.

She looked beyond the hill, to the mountain range in the far distance, rising like the stone spine of some great, slumbering beast beneath the earth, their peaks where hidden by thick cloud as they too were lashed by the merciless rain. They towered over the a fertile green landscape of trees and grasslands below, even their bases had been overtaken by the sprawling forest giving them the appearance of gargantuan mossy stones from this distance. Thunder rolled across the landscape once more as Rarity looked towards the forest below, it stretched on northwards as far as she could see, far beyond the slope of the last mountain, and perhaps father still beyond the wall of grey mist in the distance, she marvelled at it's immensity.

The southern border of the forest reminded rarity of a wave breaking against a beach with the tree line curving in and out and ending at many different points along the way, the trees led into a wide expanse of grassland that ended at the tree line she herself had just left, it too stretched on for many miles but not nearly as far as the neighbouring forest. Her eyes scoured the grasslands, they began many, many miles away, sloping down from the mountains, there was little to be seen upon them other than a thickets of bushes here and there and single trees that stood solemn and alone between the two forests, they brought Rarity's mind to images of lonely soldiers, crossing a great battlefield to return home. The grey clouds above stretched seemingly ever onward across the landscape, grey sheaths of rain hurtled fast towards the lands below.

Rarity observed the scenery with bitter sweet emotion, there was great beauty to be seen in the world beyond Ponyville, beyond Canterlot and she envied those who would never seen it, who regarded the lands outside the ponies will as gnarled and fierce woodlands akin to the Everfree forest. She had seen a great many sights and still witnessed only a minute fraction of the worlds beauty on her pilgrimage, she had never longed for adventure or travelling before but sights like this made her want to see everything that could be seen. It was that thought that kept her going forward day and night, that kept her walking onward hoof over hoof, that gave her some focus beyond the tainted memories she had left behind her.

Part of her yearned to head towards the mountains, to see and traverse them up close, to see the lands that existed beyond them and the lands that existed beyond those, but they resided in the east and her mission took her north. Reluctantly she pulled her eyes away from the sprawling vista and began her slow journey northward once again.

Evenings Respite.

The rain had passed and the clouds had parted as the sun was setting, the sky was no longer the grey canvas it had been for the last few days and a few clouds drifted lazily southwards in the cool evening breeze overhead, the drab colours that had been ever present were nowhere to be seen as the sky was now painted with darkening, humble blues towards a brilliant orange, the suns diminishing rays still broke through the low branches and leaves above and lit up the still wet grass like so many shimmering flames against the dark backdrop of ground beneath, the whole forest was bathed in calming, dim orange light.

Rarity sat at the foot of a large fir tree, its trunk was easily twice as thick as it's surrounding brethren and and it rose up nearly twice as high from what Rarity could see from below, towering over the the forest like a silent guardian, she had managed to find a comfortable seat for herself in the nook of the great trees roots and the ground had remained dry enough despite the storm, her sword was propped by her side and her many bags sat in mound of misshapen leather, she slowly nibbled at a thin wedge of cheese with a look clear boredom spread across her face.

It had been a long day and a tiring one at that and despite the many hours and miles she had managed to put behind her, she knew that she could have managed to travel further had the rain and mud not slowed her down a considerable amount and make the days trek evermore insufferable. Her forehead scrunched in quiet annoyance as she rested it on her hoof, Rarity sighed whilst she contemplated what to do, it felt too late to carry on moving but too early to make camp for the night, she couldn't quite rightly sit here and wait after all, lest she went mad with boredom.

Rarity quickly got to her hooves, deciding it would be best to carry on ahead anyway, the trees were still quite sparse here and she'd prefer to make camp in an area that had more cover, it wasn't like she'd need to go through the trouble of setting the tent up in the dark after all. She wrapped the remaining cheese up in a thin cloth before putting it back with the rest of her food, she grimaced at the sight, her stocks were running worryingly low and she hoped to run into some kind of town or village soon. Rarity fished about in her saddlebags with her magic, before plucking out a small bobble, she parted the wet hair that stuck to her coat at either side and pulled it into a ponytail.

She threw on her bags once again and jiggled about, tightening the straps and moving things about where needed, she hoisted up her sword in her mouth and craned her neck back, laying the thing across her back she tight end the strap with her magic, unfortunately for Rarity her rest had not made the weight of the thing any easier for her. She faced north and stood silently for a moment, there was little to be heard in the forest, the chirps of birds as they signalled goodnight to one another, a solitary drop of water here and there, standing in silence, Rarity realised just how alone she was out here and how alone she had been for months now. With a sad sigh she began her slow march forward once again and continued her journey north.

Steps in the Dark.

The looming darkness surround Rarity, threatening to swallow her whole as she slowly and carefully tread the now near pitch black forest, the forest floor which had been home to nothing but tall grass only a short while ago had evolved into a mess of thick brambles and gnarled roots, waiting to trip up an unsuspecting pony at any moment. No moonlight could find it way through the thick mesh of leaves above, and the meagre light she could muster from her horn was barely enough to illuminate anything further than a few feet around her. Rarity could feel the sense of exhaustion slowly creeping up on her, she cursed herself for being so foolish, not stopping to make camp whilst she still had light above her.

She placed hoof over careful hoof as she navigated the cluttered path before her, if one could even call it a path, her eyes searched the ground before her prudently, trying to spot anything that might cause her to fall. She needed to find somewhere clear enough to camp soon or she was afraid she would simply keel over in the middle of the forest from exhaustion at this rate. Rarity let out a pained sigh, her legs trembled and threatened to give way beneath her as she staggered forward in an almost drunken state, she felt hot and sickly, the days travel had surely taken it's toll on her.

Rarity stumbled in her tiredness, her focus had drifted as she had been aimlessly wandering forward into the dark, her hoof connected with a jutting out root or rock below her and sent her crashing face first to the ground, she landed ungracefully, just managing to lift her hoof up to protect her face as she hit the floor, the momentum shook the sword loose from it's scabbard, sending it forward with her, it's steel pommel connected with her horn emitting a loud thunk.

Rarity yelped out as pangs of sharp plain travelled down her horn to her forehead, she managed to get up but disorderedly staggered about before falling into a nearby tree which she used to support herself, her breathing was heavy and ragged as she tried to regain her focus, the world felt like it was spinning around her and the flickering light of her horn was matched the a sharp throbbing pain in her head.

She rested her back against the tree and slid to the ground, her horn failed her and the light that emerged from it slowly vanished allowing the thick darkness to spread in, engulfing Rarity. She cupped her face in her hooves and simply sat unmoving there was nothing to be heard in the encompassing darkness other than her own ragged breathing. Her fore hooves fell shakily by her side as her breathing slowed down, the throbbing pain was slowly coming to a halt, Rarity let out a long drawn out sigh.

“Stupid sword” She quietly muttered to herself, her eyes fluttered and she strained to keep them open, she knew it would be foolish to fall asleep here without a fire or a blanket to warm her but she couldn't help it, she had already felt exhausted before the episode with her horn and now she felt that any energy she had left had been completely drained from her. Rarity felt odd all of a sudden, she should had been freezing in the dead of night, but the dark around her felt warm, and comforting, it felt tangible like she could simply reach out and touch it, her eyelids fell closed and she felt the wash of sleep ready to take her.

And that's when Rarity heard the unmistakable sound hoof steps behind her, trotting briskly through the foliage. Her eyes shot open and she quickly sprang to all four hooves with renewed vigour, no quicker than she had got up she'd turned her head back, grabbing the hit of her sword in her mouth and unsheathing it as quietly as possible, holding the weapon steady before her, waiting to fight. Her eyes scanned the forest around her but nothing entered her vision but complete darkness, she didn't dare try to power up her horn, lest it send her dizzy once again. The sound of rustling grass and trotting hooves had disappeared as soon as she had got up, she momentarily wondered if it had simply been her imagination in a moment of exhaustion.

But then she heard the hoof steps behind her once more, she circled around to where she had heard the sound emit from but was once again met with nothing but a wall of darkness, behind her once more the sound of running hooves entered her ears she span around quickly only to hear them begin again at her back, whoever it was, there was more than one of them. Rarity stood dead still, a thin film of sweat had begun to congregate on her forehead and she dared not make a sound, she could still hear them now, one in front and one behind, circling her slowly, but only in a few steps each time, moving backwards and forward in some clumsy repeated rhythm.

She tensed her muscles, ready to strike at any pony or any creature than might come running at from the thick veil of dark, not that she would see them, she could only trust her ears to aid her now, and then she heard it, somewhere off in the distance but growing louder at an alarming speed, the sound of galloping hooves tearing through the foliage, and heading straight towards her like the very flames of Tartus burned at the hooves. Rarity tensed up, blocking out every sound other than the heavy pounding of hooves against dirt that were bearing down on her, closer and closer, she had to wait for the perfect time to strike.

Raritys ears twitched, they were almost on her, now was the time, she gripped the hilt of her sword hard in her mouth and craned her neck to the left before throwing it right with as much force as she could muster, her legs played along as the swords own weight dragged her around to the charging foe, it would be a clean swing. The sound of the pounding hooves was accompanied by a loud scream, filled with anger and contempt as she span round, but to her shock the swing connected with nothing, there was no enemy awaiting her, the screaming filled her ears and Rarity felt a great rush of wind pass over her body which sent her stumbling backwards, tumbling into the foliage, the scream carried on behind, as did the sound of galloping becoming fainter and fainter with each second.

She quickly got to her feet, wide eyed with panic, twirling round and round, again and again her eyes frantically searching the never ending dark for the invisible enemy, her coat had become slick with sweat and her breathing was fast and panicked. What is this place, what's happening here Rarity thought to herself has her eyes continue to scan the darkness around her. Her thoughts were interrupted however when she heard countless numbers of hooves approaching her and coming to a dead stop a mere few feet away, she gulped and slowly re sheathed her sword, she stood deadly still for a moment too afraid to move a single muscle, she snapped out of it and turned tail, galloping head first into the darkness.

Rarity ran as fast her legs could carry her, behind her, all around her she heard the sounds of screaming voices and uncountable sets of galloping hooves bearing down on her, she closed her eyes shut as the foul noises filled her ears, they served her no purpose anyway, she was blind in these woods she felt like she was galloping deeper and deeper into the darkness, wondering if this was her end she prayed that she wouldn't trip and fall, at this speed she was likely to break something. The muscles in her legs burned in agony, as though they were screaming alongside the trailing phantoms, she had no choice but to ignore it though Rarity knew that if she stopped running, she'd be dead.

The sounds of innumerable screams rattled around her mind, she began to weep openly, the tears falling from her as she charged on with speed, was there anyway out of this darkness, was there anyway for her to escape she thought in her despair, her eyes flew and her heart skipped a beat, in the distance she could see it, pale moonlight spilling in through gaps in the dense forest, some kind of clearing lay beyond. Rarity charged on faster, gritting her teeth as twangs of pain shot through every muscle in her body, she knew she needed to get to the light, just then her hoof smashed against something hard she cried out in pain as she was sent rolling through bushes and twigs.

Rarity screamed in pain, her hoof felt like it was on fire, like it was ready to explode, she panted heavily through gritted teeth but once more the sound of screams and charging hooves filled her ears, she looked towards the light, the roll had carried her a fair distance and now it was only a short trot away, but the phantoms were unrelentingly fast and were gaining on her with each passing second. She got up, grunting with pain as she hobbled forward as fast as she could muster, which wasn't very fast at all considering the limp, the sounds of screaming and galloping where loud now, very loud and growing louder, she looked behind her but once again so nothing she looked forward, the clearing was mere feet away. With a burst of adrenaline and pure determination she broke into a slow run, what sounded like hundreds of screams blared out in the darkness behind her and she felt many grabbing hooves pass through her tail.

Rarity screamed aloud as she threw herself forward into the awaiting pale light, she landed harshly on soft grass and quickly looked behind her back at the the dark woods, a great rush of wind entered the clearing and the sounds of screaming and galloping grew immediately faint and disappeared into the cold air, Rarity stared back into the darkness of the woods, mouth agape in shock and terror. Her heart pounded against her chest, every muscle, every fibre of her being burned and ached, her head pounded in agony and her injured hoof was stained with blood and racked with insufferable pain, but by sol she was alive, she had made it out.

Rarity collapsed into the soft grass, she covered her eyes with her fore hooves and openly sobbed she wished to be back home, among her friends and dresses, in her nice clean kitchen making hot cocoa for Sweetie and her friends on a cold night, snuggled up in her silk sheets, enjoying a book on a quiet rainy morning, but all that was gone now and here she led in the middle of nowhere, weeping with a bleeding hoof. She wiped her tears away with her clean hoof and stood up groggily , she turned her attention towards the centre of the clearing. Four large pointed rocks stood in the centre, their surfaces were too fine and the shapes to elegant to be natural, they had to have been the works of some sort of craftsmen and must have been placed here for a reason.

Rarity hobbled her way towards the stones trying her best to keep pressure off her injured hoof, she reached the stones and flopped against one of them letting it support her weight, the surface was cold and smooth against her cheek and aided in calming her frayed nerves. The stones surrounded a small pool of water that shone a pale blue and shimmered in the moonlight, at it's base Rarity could see hundreds of tiny pebbles, there polished surfaces gleamed in the light and they all shared black coats that were interrupt by streaks of white here and there. Staring at the water, Rarity suddenly became aware of the dryness in her throat and just how incredibly thirsty she felt, she couldn't even recall the last time she'd had something to drink

She dragged herself to the side of the pool and inspected the water more closely, she was always weary upon finding a water source out in the wild as there could be any kind of germ or disease lurking within, to say this water looked clean however would be an understatement, it looked pristine beyond measure and the way the water gently rippled in the wind and shimmered made it look evermore inviting. Unable to contain herself any long Rarity plunged her head into the cool waters she held still for a few moments before throwing her head back, spraying droplets onto the stone and grass behind her. She took heavy, content breaths as she relished the feeling of the cold water that coated her fur, a smile spread across Rarity's face , she returned her face to the pool once again and began greedily lapping up the pristine water.

The taste was incredible as the water filled Rarity's mouth and washed over her tongue, the cold liquid soothed her burning throat, it may have been due to her great thirst or her slight delirium but she swore the water was the best thing she'd ever tasted and there was no doubt it was the nicest thing she'd ever drank. With every gulp Rarity could feel aches and pains around her body grow duller and felt her focus returning to her, she carried on drinking the delicious water until her thirst had been quenched and she couldn't drink anymore. Rarity fell back against the stone, panting in the cold air she smiled contently to herself, the water had calmed her raging mind and the searing pain in her muscles had faded into dull aches, she couldn't ignore the pain in her right hoof however.

Rarity lifted the hoof closer to face to inspect the wound, whatever she had hit and certainly left its mark on her, a large cut had formed across the width of Raritys hoof and the surrounding fur was matted and stained red with thick congealed blood, she tried to move her hoof in a circular motion but found it only caused her a great deal of pain, the bone inside must have broken, she cursed under her breath and sighed in frustration, a cut she could deal with, but a broken bone was a far more serious matter. The cut was still beading, albeit slowly, she mused that must have something to do with the water from the pool, at any rate the wound would need cleaning and bandaging she approached the pool once again and gingerly submerged her injured hoof into the cold waters.

To Raritys surprise there was no stinging, no pain as the water flooded into the open wound, expelling the blood that oozed from it, the dried blood that stained her hoof also lifted and a red cloud formed, spreading about the pool. Rarity lamented, wishing she'd filled her canteen with the sweet water before tending to her injury but to her surprise and joy, the red mist sank to the bottom of the pool, disappearing below, it sank through the gaps in the pebbles and was gone in a matter of seconds the water in turn returned to it's clean, pristine state. Rarity removed her hoof from the pool and decided to leave it wet, pondering that whatever magic the water was imbued with could have some beneficial effect if it was left to dry whilst she slept.

She looked through her saddle bags and pulled out the thin cloth she had been using as a pillow, it would have to do in place of any real bandages, she fired up her horn and was pleased to find no pain ailing her mind, grabbing a corner of the the material in a blue aura, Rarity flicked her head and ripped a strip clean off with precision one could only garner from years of tailoring, using her magic she wrapped the cloth tight around her wound, pulling two strands around her neck and tying them up in a knot to make a crude, makeshift sling, she'd have to fashion some kind of crutch come the morning.

Rarity made herself busy creating a humble fire with the sticks and kindling she had lift, and before long found herself wrapped up in her canvas blanket propped against one of the stones, her few belongings rested beside her, she stared into the dancing flames as she went over the events of the day like a reel in her mind, she pondered what evil dwelled in those dark woods and how she could fend it off if need be she also pondered the pool that lay before her and what magic powered it. She yawned sleepily and gazed into the night sky, the clouds above were few and far between, countless stars shone back at her twinkling like diamonds in the endless blackness of space, the streaming band of the milky way spread across the night sky like a splash of celestial dust, lighting up the endless void with deep blue hues that pulled at Rarity eyes. She stared intently at the lonely moon, it's alabaster form reflected in the sapphire of her eyes, she felt as though it was staring back at her, watching her as though it were a lonesome protector in the darkness of night, and then suddenly, she realised.

“Luna...” Rarity whispered quietly into the nights cold air, her mouth hung agape as she regarded the moon with awestruck eyes, almost afraid to accept the truth that she had just realised lest it be undone and taken from her, her eyes began to water as she covered her mouth with a shaking hoof.

“Thank you” Rarity whispered, a single tear travelled down her cheek but she didn't remove eyes from the rugged orb.

“Thank you so much” She whispered again, wiping the tear from her fur she gazed up at the moon once again, and regarded it with a warm, gentle smile. She stared at the moon with thankful eyes until she felt the soft lulling kiss of slumber take her.

Between the pale glow of moonlight and the orange shimmer of dancing flames, no ill fated memory invaded Rartys dreams, she slept soundly that night with a smile on her face and when the sky passed over Rarity, it smiled back.

Peaceful Morning.

A soft breeze swept over Raritys sleeping form, the soothing chill of morning air elicited stirring from beneath her brown canvas blanket, she pulled her hooves in tight to her chest and buried her face into the rough material, trying in vain to capture what little warmth she could under her measly sheets, her eyelids fluttered open reluctantly, Revealing deep sapphire blue eyes that pointed upwards looking towards the sky. To her surprise her sleepy eyes were not met with the harsh rays of sunlight this morning, the sun had yet to creep above the the tree line of the clearing and the sky was awash with an unbroken canvas of pale blue, Rarity smiled, it was a lovely morning.

Flashes of pain broke Raritys peaceful demeanour as she slowly pulled herself up, her muscles felt stiff and whilst they hurt considerably less than the night prior, she still had lasting aches and pains here and there the worst of which came from her broken leg. She rested her back against the stone that had served as her pillow, Rarity craned her neck from side to side, visibly cringing at the pops and cracks that sounded off as she worked the muscle. She stretched out her good limbs, even after all these months of the same morning routine she couldn't say whether she was doing it right or not or if it even helped at all, she wished she'd paid more attention to Rainbow Dash's ramblings about sport and exercise.

Her expression deflated as the thought of her friend entered her mind, a flood of past moments crawled through her mind, each one rattling her resolve and pushing her closer to breaking, trying to coax the reluctant mare to her spa trips, their light and friendly back and forth teasing, being saved from becoming a red stain on the floor of Equestria in a blur of wind and colour. Rarity found herself remembering pointless things since she'd began her trek north, things that had gone unnoticed before, filed away into her subconscious to be pulled up and examined during these lonely days, the shape of her eyes, the way her mane fell into a prismatic mess, the tone and curve of her muscles,the scratching rasp that flavoured her words, too often she found her brain replaying old memories, focusing on the minute details that made her friends whole beings, details she'd never considered important before, perhaps to try and preserve her friends in every possible way, or perhaps the loneliness was driving her mad.

Rarity dabbed at her wetting eyes with her good hoof, she shook her head and let out a pained sigh, it was better to block the out the ghosts of the past than to let them haunt the future she pondered. Her focus shifted towards her bandaged hoof, a darker brown had spread among the makeshift bandage and she could feel it sticking to her beneath, she noted with surprise that it seemed to have bled much less than she'd anticipated, no doubt due to the magic waters she'd soaked the bandage in. A shimmering blue enveloped the canvas material as Rarity slowly peeled it from her hoof, she grimaced as strands of fur were harshly plucked from her leg, her expression soured once the ghastly wound was revealed the torn flesh was tinted a soft pink leading down into deep crimson that made Raritys stomach churn.

She hobbled over to the pool, being careful to avoid putting any weight on her broken leg, Rarity flopped down before the still water, placing her injured leg into the the pool with a wince as the cool liquid flushed into her open wound. Once again she watched on quizzically as the blood and bile was swept from the cut, the thick red cloud sinking away beneath the pebbles to some unknown place, not a trace of red left behind in it's stead. She levitated the bloodied rag over, submerging it in the water and pulling it about, staring intently as the blood, sweat, dirt and whatever else had dirtied the former pillow was pulled off and cast away. Rarity removed the dripping rag from the pool, pulling and tieing until she was content once again with the sling she'd made.

The first rays of sunlight crept over the tree line, lucid beams of golden light touched Raritys fur, warming her and renewing a sense of old comfort, she sat silently as the sun continued it's slow ascension into the clear blue sky. Inch by inch the clearing became bathed in a soft golden hue, the silence of the forest was broken by the tweets and chirps of bird as they bid one another good morning. Rarity sat in silence, her eyes fluttered closed and her ears twitched as her other senses began to take over, she could hear the sounds of the birds but they felt strangely distant as though they were suddenly much further away.

She could feel some faint magic tugging at her, she'd been exposed to different types of magic during her time but she couldn't recall one that felt quite like this and even with her weak perception of such things she could still feel that it bubbled with old and powerful energy. Rarity felt a low hum travel down the length of her horn that spread about the rest of her body, her features scrunched in struggle against the faint buzz of energy that throbbed inside her, it was an odd feeling that Rarity couldn't quite understand, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, powerful yet somewhat sickly.

Rarity could feel another sense awakening, one that she'd not used in a long time and, admittedly, had little control over, she could feel her minds eye slowly creep open, urged on by the ancient power of this place to look beyond the physical world and stare into the magic that remained hidden from normal eyes and whilst her perception of it might be weaker than that of other unicorns it didn't seem to matter in this place. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she turned her head towards the pool, she could see the magic that emitted from it now, a great beam of white light that seemed to rise forever upward, piercing the sky above like a furious beacon blaring into the empty void, the floor of the clearing was awash with wandering trails of interlacing light that fluttered in a non existent breeze and travelled the space with no cause or pattern.

The small boulders that had sat just at the edge of the parting trees where now awash with strange markings that Rarity couldn't place into any alphabet she recognised, each stone featured a unique marking but they all burned the same hot white, it came to her that she could see very little else, the blue sky above was gone, as was the ground beneath her feet and the surrounding woodland was nowhere to be seen, all were replaced by an endless expanse of black. Rarity stood up and took a cautious hood towards the pool but suddenly felt as though she was being dragged upward at an alarming rate the urge to scream reached her lips but she quickly felt the panic leave her mind, her rapid ascent came to an even quicker halt and she found herself suspended motionless in the black void far above Equestria, she looked down, even now she could see the clearing, burning a hot white like a distant star amid a vast swirling darkness, alone like a solitary island standing firm against a raging ocean.

Rarity span in place as she looked all around her, across the expanse of Equestria lines of glowing colour spread across different part of the lands like vines creeping through a garden, In places they glowed red or blue, in others they were green and in some pockets here and there Rarity could make out hundreds of different colours all bunched together and moving like droplets or rain blown from a window. In some places the same swirling darkness beneath her was all that could be seen and far to the north she could see another beam of light, not unlike the one emitted from the pool, it shone a glorious pink, but seemed weaker and faltered here and there , Rarity found herself oddly transfixed by the wavering light.

Suddenly she found herself plummeting out of her suspension, hurtling towards earth like a lead balloon dropped from the clouds the urge to scream once again reached her lips and nothing suppressed it this time as she tumbled through the dark skies, inching closer and closer to the burning white light, Rarity hopelessly lifted her hooves to her face moments before impact and for a second, all she could see was darkness. Raritys eyes shot wide open as rasping, panicked breaths escaped her, she looked around frantically, no beam of light, no swirling darkness, no great mesh of glowing colour, just the same green clearing she had been in moments ago, a long sigh of relief, tinged with annoyance, emitted from her and the energy that had been buzzing throughout her had all but subsided.

“I swear, I'm quite sick of all the surrounding me lately” she spoke allowed to herself in a irritated tone.

“No time to dwell on it now, there's things to prepare Rarity” she muttered, shaking her head and getting to her hooves. She turned her focus to her bags and fired up her horn, for a moment Rarity felt cautious that using her magic might somehow trigger another magic based hallucination but her horn seemed to work just as it always had. Popping open her saddlebags she rummaged around until her magic felt the wooden handle of the hatchet, gripping it in her aura she pulled it from her bag and made her way to the tree line, she expected she'd a lot of wood for the following nights.

The hacking of wood split the air as Rarity brought her hatchet down on another branch scattering splinters into the foliage below, another swing brought the thick branch crashing to the ground with thud If they wanted to kill me last night, I doubt they will be anymore pleased with me after this Rarity thought to herself , wrapping her magic around the fallen log and levitating it over to the rest of her bundle, a film of sweat coated her forehead which she promptly wiped away, it had been a good hour of collecting enough wood to make camp in the forest if she absolutely had to, but she lamented that the bundle would only make her already weighty load even heavier which in turn was made more difficult with only three working limbs, never the less it was time to start moving again.

She had constructed a makeshift crutch for herself using a few sticks and yet more bedsheets, not to mention she'd had to sacrifice more to bundle all the logs together, she really should have invested in some ropes. Rarity sighed, at this rate she'd be left with nothing to sleep under except the stars, she began her marginally faster hobble back to the pool but found her attention quickly drawn away to a small boulder resting by the foot of one the trees that sat at the threshold into the clearing, the boulder was completely run of the mill, grey, jagged and completely uninteresting, all apart from the strange marking that was carved into it's surface. Rarity leaned in to get a closer look at the carving, it was made up of a straight line and a connecting line that shot down diagonally, two dots were carved vertically beneath the diagonal line.

It was one of many that Rarity had seen only recently, except now she felt no magical power emit from the strange mark, she pondered it and the other carvings meanings, perhaps they belonged to some old and forgotten magical alphabet or were ancient runes form a civilisation long past, perhaps she'd never know but she certainly wouldn't learn of their meaning, or the meaning behind her hallucination from standing here. She brushed her hoof along the carving before getting to her feet and trotting, if it could be called that, back to the pool. She gave a glance to the pool, she almost felt sad to leave this place, this oasis of calm surrounded by a world plunged into madness but there was nothing to be done about it, she had somewhere to be and she didn't have time to waste, her horn became engulfed in blue light as she plucked one of the pebbles from the pool, no reason she couldn't keep a memento of this magical place, Rarity placed the bundle by the rest of her belongings and began getting ready for the days travelling.

The process of getting her armour on had been surprisingly more difficult than she'd first anticipated with her broken leg, but with a lot of squirming, fidgeting and perhaps a small amount of whining, she had finally managed it. With slow care she placed her sword down the length of her back, releasing the weapon from the grip of her magic she felt all it's weight at once, her crutch wobbled and she had to fight to steady herself from falling, once she'd regained her footing she made sure to strap the weapon in place tight, she looked to the bundle of wood and fired up her horn carefully levitating the bundle so it sat atop the sword she pulled the strips of cloth around her belly and tied them in the strongest knot she could, she hoped they'd stay firm for the days travel. She took a few wary steps forwards, the weight the logs added was definitely considerable and it would take some of getting used to before she could properly walk with her crutch, even now she was already panting due to the weight led across her back

“Come on now Rarity” She muttered to herself through gritted teeth “It's time to pony up” with that she mustered whatever strength she could from her healthy legs and approached the forest with determined strides, her resolve was quickly diminished when she found herself staring into the darkened woods before her. She gulped as the events of still warm memories of last nights horrible events entered her mind, the awful screaming and pounding of hooves seemed to ring in her ears. She swallowed hard and looked on at the woods with a cold glare, she'd overcome many an obstacle already and she wasn't about to let some ghost in the woods stops her, it wasn't like she could rightly just stay in this clearing forever either, she took a swig from her canteen. The pristine waters once again aided in calming her nerves, her resolve restored Rarity stepped over the threshold and began again her journey through this cursed forest.

Author's Note

Hello! To anyone that's actually been following this story, I'm deeply sorry for the wait. A mix of job hunting, writer block and not really feeling in the mood for writing slowed it down to a snails place, this chapter was definitely a thinker, not one that just wrote itself. I did however plan out the chapters for this story, and some key points and chapters of the the coming stories in this series, so hopefully that will make the process a lot quicker :)

Thank You to anyone who's read already and an extra thank you to anyone who reads on and sticks with me :)

-Joe

Fire and Shadow.

Colour slipped away from the surrounding woodlands as the sun finally crept below the distant horizon, the greens and browns that had painted the plant life that populated the forest had melted away, the rays of light had diminished, slowly climbing upwards until they had been lost to the dark of night sky, stealing away with them the orange glow that had bathed the threatening woodlands in a layer of comfort leaving nothing behind but the growing, foreboding darkness. As the darkness grew thicker, swallowing up any inkling of colour, Rarity swore that the towering trees became closer and more inward, trapping her with a wall of bark, it felt like they had crawled towards her, threatening to seal her in and making the already tight woodlands even more claustrophobic.

Like a snake coiling around her body, ready to bite, Rarity felt her muscles tighten as worry began to brew in the pit of her stomach, a bead of sweat traced down the side of her face as her panic grew, she'd managed to find herself in the worst possible situation she could be in, without daylight and without a place to make camp for the night Perhaps stopping to give somepony a burial wasn't the best idea Rarity thought to herself frowning. With a yank she freed her crutch from the thorn bush it had been entwined in, taking a moment to revitalise herself Rarity took a swig from her canteen but found it had lost it's previous splendour, the water was now lukewarm and offered no reprieve against her rising panic.

Rarity rested her shoulder against the trunk of a nearby tree, cracked bark poked at he skin like rugged spear heads, robbing her of any comfort that had been possible and despite the night air the bark was warm to touch, hard breaths escaped as the air seemed to change all at once, becoming somehow heavier and thicker, she felt a wash of sticky heat all over her body as well as a feeling of growing neusa churning through her stomach, suddenly her vision parted and even focusing on her relatively simple surroundings became a struggle, heavy eyelids fought with Raritys will to stay awake as her eyes fluttered sending her vision into flickering darkness which did nothing to subside the growing pounding in her head, Rarity felt her mind go numb as a sudden feeling of exhaustion overtook her, her eyes fell closed as sleeps lulling kiss lead her to darkness.

No sooner than she had fell to sleep had her eyes shot open, wide in horror as Rarity realised she'd experienced this kind of thing before, as soon as power reached her horn her ears picked up the sound of uncoordinated hooves tramping through the thick undergrowth all about her, growing slowly closer. All her previous ailments vanished in an instant as she handled her magic with precise focus, quickly grabbing the items she needed, the oil from earlier, her torn and dwindling bed sheet as well as her flint and steel. She worked as quickly possible, using the full extent of her magic to work with all the different items gripped by her levitation in synchrony.

She tore a strip from the sheet with a sharp rip, wrapping it around the piece of lumber and dousing the cloth with oil, she brought the flint and steel to the now torch, trying in vain to get a spark from it all the while she could still hear the phantoms edging closer towards her. She struck the metal against the flint time and time again, growing more frustrated and frantic with each failure. After a final failure Rarity discarded the flint and steel back to her bags with an annoyed grunt, resorting to a more magical approach, with fierce focus she turned her attention to the oil soaked rag, channelling more power through her horn, the magical grip she held on the torch began to falter slightly as her own magically ability was pushed towards its breaking part.

Her horn grew hot as it brimmed with trapped magic eager to escape, beads of sweat dotted across her brow as she grunted through gritted teeth, trying her best to focus the unwieldy magic into the desired spell. Despite her divided concentration and the gowning pain becoming apparent in her temple, the sound of faint galloping didn't go unnoticed, each hoof fell against the dirt like approaching thunder sending Raritys heart beating like a drum against her chest as the danger bore down her like a starved beast desperate for a kill.

“Come on” Rarity muttered her voice strained with concentration, she stared hard at the oiled rag, focusing all her magic onto a single point, a small wisp of smoke appeared that quickly rose into the air, the searing in her horn vanished instantly as the magic jumped to it's target like an invisible ray of heat, creating a minuscule flame on the spot that quickly set the oil alight, engulfing the torch in fierce, billowing flames. The sudden release of the magic had took her by surprise, sending her tumbling to the dirt onto her rump, she rubbed at her temple as if to rub away the dull pangs in her head, the slamming of hooves into the dirt snapped her back to the situation, briskly getting to her hooves Rarity grabbed the torch in her magic and held it aloft.

Moving quickly on her hooves Rarity span about to face the darkness and the invisible assailants that lurked among it, focusing on the thunderous galloping that approached her, she swung her torch out wide with a trail of flickering hanging fire that the shadows moved along with, willing or not the darkness moved at the will of the flame now, it made Rarity feel in control, made her feel strong. The darkness surrounding Rarity dissipated as light once again filled the forest, the flame of her torch shone alone a flickering beacon among the trees, allowing her the resolve to stand firm against the choking darkness and the phantoms that stalked it, the fire gave her hope, it gave her courage they had caught her unaware last time, but now Rarity had light on her side, she was ready.

The hooves were mere feet from her now but stopped dead in the tracks as if the phantom had come to a sudden halt, not a split second later a blood curdling screech emitted from the bushes to her right, puncturing the night air like a knife in the dark, the shadowy figure of an equine topped with a gaunt, dead face sprung from the bushes screaming, trailed by a mass of billowing black mist and dark smoke that bubbled and curled about its form moving independently from the phantoms own, acting as seemingly separate entities. Rarity fell back screaming, her previous composure shattered under the threat of attack, acting on impulse she blindly swung the torch, smashing it into the phantoms side in an explosion of sparks and shadows.

The creature screamed in agony as it went whirling into the undergrowth, black smoke erupted from it's side along side a strange ink like substance, the pitch black liquid spurted from the creature into the air like a water fountain, it strangely sizzled and bubbled before hitting the ground however and evaporated into nothingness. The creature rolled across the ground before smashing into a tree trunk with a painful thud, sending splinters of bark cascading about the area, distorted growling escaped the being as it wasted no time getting back on it's hooves with rigid and uncoordinated movements, Rarity followed its example, pulling herself up on her crutch she growled at the beast, gritting her teeth she held her torch in front of her, ready to fight.

The things mouth opened wide releasing a hollow breathless scream, it rushed towards Rarity with a whoosh of smoke and mist, who was far too slow to respond to the surprising speed of her attacker, the phantom charged into her, lifting her from her feet and slamming her into a tree, she only just managed to hold her grip on the torch as the back of her head slammed against the tree creating sharp sudden pain. She let out a yelp, the phantom struck again, landing a head butt straight against her nose that almost instantly filled with thick blood. The creature flung it's head back rearing forward to land another head butt, Rarity dodge this time and the phantom slammed it's face into the awaiting bark, spraying Rarity in a shower of chippings and splinters, without hesitation she raised her torch slamming it harshly into the creatures back, it screamed in pain once again, losing its hold on Rarity who dropped to her hooves taking advantage of the phantoms pain she raised the torch high, smacking it's back with the flame once more sending the Phantom to the dirt.

With a furious, blood fuelled screech she delivered a final blow into the Phantom, scattering it to the four winds as it exploded into a swirling maelstrom of mist and smoke that fled into the dark woods with a fading scream, before she even had a moment to catch her breath three separate screams sounded around her and in a moment her enemy was upon her, two phantoms leapt at her from either side, their ghostly screams promising death and pain. Acting fast Rarity threw herself forward, rolling beneath the approaching phantom before her, the two collided into a bubbling mass of inky darkness and billowing smoke on the ground in front of her, before she had time to process it the third slammed into her with a heavy shoulder barge sending her skidding along the dirt, it pounced atop her but was met with a whack to the side of it's face from Rarities torch, spraying it's dead face with hot sparks.

It reeled back in pain, its scream punctuated with sickly gargling whilst black ooze dripped from its quivering mouth, Rarity jumped forward and swung her torch back around, slamming it into the other side of its head with another rupture of ooze and sparks, arcing it around she followed up by repeatedly bashing the Phantom in its head each bash punctuated by a grunt of increasing frustration, dropping the torch low she swung up with yell, the phantoms head exploded into a mess of smoke and ooze on contact with the uppercut and it too split, fleeing to the tree line with a scream. She turned her attention back to where the two had collided, but nothing remained, no mess of inky black and no phantoms either, Rarity arched an eyebrow In confusion a confusion that was quickly broken by a pair of hooves slamming into her face, sending her tumbling to the ground and breaking her hold on the torch.

Every nerve in the side of Raritys face screamed as it flooded with overwhelming agony, she coughed and spluttered, staining the brown dirt with a splatter of crimson red blood that dripped from her stinging mouth and nose, lying still her body shook in pain and fear, clenching her eyes shut Rarity squeezed out a single tear, hearing the lonely tear break against the hard floor triggered something in the back of her mind, bringing her new, determined resolves. Shakily getting to her hooves, she stared down the phantom that prowled about her, fury awoke inside her as it's cold dead eyes met hers and throwing caution to the wind she charged with phantom.

The creature jumped at her with furious intent, screaming bloody murder as it closed on in her, Rarity threw herself towards the dirt, rolling underneath the looming phantom towards her torch she quickly fired up her horn grabbing it, she rose it high above her head and span on her hooves, bringing the flaming weapon down on her awaiting foe. To her shock, her torch connected with nothing but the hard dirt as the phantom split before her into a stringy black mass like some unseen force was tearing it apart, the inky tendons that held the splitting mass together snapped becoming flailing whips that struck at Rarity with a crack, sending her skidding backwards, the tendrils retracted back into the inky blobs , the liquid seemed to hiss and pop as it distorted and crumbled, quickly taking on the form of two growling phantoms ready to attack.

Lost in her shock Rarity didn't realise their attack was already upon her, swinging her torch far too soon, she left herself completely defenceless against the attacking phantom that delivered a head butt straight to her shoulder sending her flying backwards into the awaiting hooves of the second phantom that planted a swift buck to her side, luckily for her the leather armour to the brunt of damage causing her to stumble slightly, taking her chance she swung again with all her strength, only to miss again as the phantom skidded sideways in a shadowy trail, travelling behind her and reforming with it's ally for a moment before bursting out it's side once again in a burst of sizzling black fluid.

Rarity screamed and threw herself at the phantom, swinging again and again in flurry of enraged but clumsy attacks that the phantom seemed to effortlessly dodge, spliting and shaping it's from around the burning weapon just before she could land a hit, blind in her rage Rarity did nothing to intercept the second phantom that barrelled into her side, grappling her to the ground it flung it's maw wide and howled into raritys face, it's hanging mouth producing black mist. Growling back she slammed her torch into the creatures face, holding it against the pale, dead flesh eliciting an extended, piercing scream from the phantom, steadying her hooves under it's stomach Rarity kicked it from her only to be met with a pair of black hooves falling on her, she rolled over instantly as the hooves pounded against her sword, she silently thanked the weapon for saving her back for a change before rolling again straight into the phantoms backs hooves and disrupting it's balance. Rarity propped herself up on her crutch and struck the phantom in it's flank in a mesh of sparks and shadow, it flung it's legs outward desperately, bucking rarity straight in the forehead not a sound emitted form the unicorn as she flew threw the air, drops of blood glinted against the flame as they dropped to the dirt.

In the darkness Rarity felt a trickle of warm blood travel down her forehead to her muzzle, joining the blood that trickled from her nostrils, dripping into the pool that formed at her mouth, her eyes opened and shut as she fought to stay conscious, her vision was blurry and parted and she struggled to focus on what she could see, the torch sat like a dying flare in the corner of her vision, irritating her eyes and worsening the deep thumping in her head. The phantoms were squirming and popping, screaming against the pain of the burns that Rarity had left them, she looked to her right, her crutch was split, broken and useless in two parts and a mess of splinters, to her right scattered belongs that had fallen from her torn saddlebag.

A trail of black mist erupted from the back of one of the phantoms as it was pulled into the other, it's head snapped back sharply staring Rarity down and growling, the raw animalism of it's growl was gone, it sounded spiteful and venomous as it gazed upon her with it's dead eyes that now seemed full of hate, it took slow steps towards her it knew it had her now, she had lost and it was toying with the prey, ready to make the kill, she watched it's face twist and contort in ways she couldn't seem to comprehend in her current state of mind, was this happiness, pride, was the awful beast attempting to smile at her helplessness. Rarity tried to push herself up on her hoof but found her cheek fall hard against the cold dirt, her leg weak and shaking falling under her weight, the white-noise that whistled through her brain made way for the clarity of slow, approaching hooves coming her way, each thud spelling out her doom.

Rarity racked her brain for an out, trying to think past the numb pain around her face or the constant ringing in her mind, her eyes travelled from the intense light of the still burning torch across from her to the canister of oil that was lead at her side, it took her mind a moment to process the information that was already laid out in front of her, she gasped wide eyed as the idea pinged into existence becoming clear to her, on shaking legs she got to her hooves swaying from left to right as she struggled to stay balanced, she tried to use her magic but couldn't get her horn to respond to any command, scooping down she grabbed the handle of the canister in her mouth, craning her head to the side she threw forward, throwing the cannister towards the waiting flame, falling down as the momentum of her own action was too much effort to expend.

She watched as the canister arced through the air hitting the ground with a hard clunk, the lid fell open and oil rushed gushed out creating a spreading pool that crept ever closer to the dwindling flame, rarity watched on with hopeful anticipation as the phantom stepped closer it's black hooves landing into the pool with a splash sending precious droplets hurtling towards the flame, a fire broke out instantly, tearing through the oil pool in seconds surrounding the phantom in a roaring, burning fire. It began shrieking in terror as the fire spread to it's body engulfing it in a layer of dancing flame that tore at its dark skin, it split in two in a last ditched effort to escape from the burning but nothing more than a limping shadow engulfed in fire walked from it, falling to the floor and crumpling inwards as it burnt away into nothingness, the phantom trapped in the rising blaze screamed aloud in horrible pain as it's skin seared and cracked under the intense heat, it flailed about, truing on the spot before it swayed and fell into the flames, it's screams became quieter and quieter until eventually they faded into nothingness, leaving on the low rustling hum of the.

Rarity stood mouth agape, taking uneasy, laboured steps forward toward the fie her breathing was slow and raspy, she stared intently into the raging blaze the fierce orange reflected in the sapphire of her eyes, there was no from to be see among the licking flames, no burning body left, again it was as it always was in these haunted woodlands just her alone and scared, a blinding flash entered her vision and she heard the sound of thunder break the silence quickly followed by the light patter of rain as the first drops of rain broke against the canopy above, bloody and bruised with a face numb with pain and a slow, rhythmic thump still rolling through her mind, Raritys legs betrayed her, falling to the dirt her mind slipped into unconsciousness and all was black.

Hard Morning.

“War? You can't be serious”

“I have ta fight Rarity, I have ta”

“Please! Please don't leave me!”

“Go now, Little one, we will meet again”

“Rainbow Dash, AppleJack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, AppleJack, Pinkie pie, Rain Bow, AppleJack, Fluttershy, Pinky Pie, Raibow, AJ, Shy, Pinkie, RaimbowApplejackFluttersPinkie, RainbowApplesFlutterspinkie, go north, north, north”

“Go north”

Sickly red filled the abyss as light burnt through Raritys eyelids forcing them to creep open slowly, held halfway closed by the sticky layer of sleep that encrusted her eyelids, It didn't matter she would fix it later during her beauty regime, it wasn't time to get up anyway she closed her eyes hoping to be met again by the comforting dark but only saw the same nauseating red, had she forgot to close the curtains last night again? A familiar scent tickled at her nostrils bringing up half faded memories of interrupted sleep on weekend mornings or was it late nights going over the register, she couldn't seem t recall, like a jar of old change left by the window on a hot day, but there was something else behind that, burning something was burning.

“Sweetie belle!” Rarity gasped, sapphire eyes stretching wide tugging away at the sleep that had entangled a few precious eyelashes together plucking them away with a sharp sting, her eyes welled up slightly at the pain and trying to move a hoof to dab away the forming tear rewarded her with an even more painful sensation squirming its way through her limb. Rarity groaned as the reality hit her like a wave breaking against the coast, she wasn't snuggled beneath her satin sheets in her room in her home in Ponyville, she was in the middle of nowhere in a forest that wanted her dead, battered and bloodied. A long painful sigh broke the silence as she tried to force herself up on shaking legs, as her mind awoke she became more aware of the patches of pain around her body and the numbness at the side of her face.

Her body shook as she struggled to get up, falling asleep in her armour and with most of her gear on, especially her sword had been a bad idea, her muscles definitely didn't thank her for it as the weight had made them stiff and achy over the night. Fighting her way to sitting position she found herself already short of breath from such an easy task, head hanging limply she recounted several terrible mornings over the course of this journey but this one was no doubt the worst thus far, she was cold and in pain, her hair was filthy with dirt and clung to the side of her aching face with awful, slick grease and the blood had dried into a reddish brown mess, matting the fur on her face, the coppery smell made her feel sick, assaulting her nose and taste buds.

The pain pulsing through her brain brought her thoughts to the dryness in her throat and just how thirsty she was, she channelled what little energy she could into her horn which shone a faint, dying pale blue bringing about weak magic that slowly made it's way through her bags looking for the canteen, she panicked for a moment after she thought she'd exhausted all the bags and worried she'd lost the canteen until she recognised the massive tear that had formed in the right bag, she sighed mourning another item lost to last nights combat, she craned her neck around in a stiff motion, spotting the silver canteen lying in the dirt near the foot of a tree across the clearing.

Grunting and straining she slowly got to her hooves, her broken leg dragged along lifelessly as she slowly plodded towards the canteen, she'd have to make another sling for the injured limb, the crutch was only getting caught and slowing her down every other minute, scattered belongings were laden on the ground and Rarity pondered what she could reasonably leave behind, the axe, rope, frying pan? Her stomach growled at her, confirming one thing she could leave here, it wasn't like she had any food to cook with it anymore, glum eyes pointed downwards as her stomach rumbled again hitting her like just another painful kick in the ribs to make the morning even more terribly poignant.

Magic wrapped around the canteen, reflecting pale blue off the polished silver surface and reached upward unscrewing the cap, Rarity brought the canteen to her lips throwing her head back and taking down large gulps of water, thankfully cooled by the cold night air it had been left in, its magical effects were long gone and her many pains remained, but it was enough to quench her first and prevent the approaching migraine. Rarity looked at the black mark that had been burnt into the floor by last nights blaze, flashbacks of the combat flickered through her mind all the fire and shadow, the phantoms had fought with fury the kind she hadn't faced before, and she counted herself lucky she'd come out of the fray alive, although she couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't come back for her after she'd passed out, perhaps the blaze scared them away from an area, or her show of strength taught them a lesson.

Best not to get too confident Rarity she thought to herself grimacing when she spotted the bundle of lumber she had worked so hard to collect now burnt into nothing but a pile of crumbling charcoal the fight had cost her a lot, her bag, the wood, the oil, things she'd needed desperately to have a chance at surviving her trek through this cursed place, but in her state she doubted she would have even been able to carry the lumber without keeling over.

“You will just have to improvise Rarity, you're good at that” She muttered to herself, limping back to her scattered belongings.

“Then again, I suppose this a slightly different situation than running out of rubies on a last minute order” She spoke aloud, staring nowhere in particular.

Rarity began to busy herself with her belongings, dropping the sword on the ground with a thunk she discarded her saddlebags she wouldn't have much use of them anymore, she took out the flint and steel, leather hood, canvas blanket and bobble, pulling up her hair she secured it in a bun, getting the greasy strands out of her face, reminding herself too buy some kind of shampoo at the next town along. Ripping two strips from the canvas blanket she made a sling for her injured leg as well as wrapping the over around her forehead, covering up the cut.

In the interest of shedding weight Rarity undid the thonging that held the chain skirt to her leather armour, instantly feeling the relief on her hind legs as the chain fell into a silver heap with a jingle, securing her pouch once again she put the small hatchet and flint and steel inside, it was a perfect fit since the pouch was now devoid of any other item, she direly hoped she could get out of this place before she starved to death and find a town to restock. Rarity pulled up her hood has drops of rain broke through the roof of leaves, finally glad to have something other than trees and bushes around her, even if it was rain, pulling tight on the buckle of her scabbard to make sure the sword hugged her back tight, Rarity threw the remaining canvas around her like a cloak, tying it in a knot at her neck.

Even in her current, hungry, aching, weak state she felt a great sense of relief from shedding so much weight, feeling so much lighter even with the weight of her sword still pressing down on her, hopefully it would help her find her way out of the forest quicker. Folding up the chainmail she put it inside the saddle bag and popped the pan on top with the rope and various other nick nacks and items she was leaving behind, levitating it over to sit beneath a nearby tree safe from the rain, waiting for some other poor soul forced to journey through this horrible place to find, hopefully it could serve them more use than it could serve her now.

Thunder broke the clouds above, roaring through the air like an ancient beast, Rarity closed her eyes and listened to it roll off into the distance and speak again, louder and cracking like a hammer shattering the heavens all the while the pitter patter of rain served as a gentle backdrop in a beautiful symphony that reminded Rarity of the world that existed outside and reminded her that she was still alive, stood in darkness, clouded images of ruby eyes flashed through her mind, she regarded them warmly as though they were staring with care into her own, it made her feel a warmth even the cold air couldn't diminish, Her moment passed with another bellow of thunder, fading away into memory as all things had, and she took her first cautious steps back into the woodlands, even with such little left she still had her journey and her salvation lied far in the north.

Speaking to the Stars.

The moon hung like a ghostly lamp, static against the backwash of endless stars that spoke to one another, twinkling bright in grand conversation across unmeasurable miles of black void, often one would burst from the emerald spray of the galaxy, streaking across the night sky with a silver trail, burning a path like a holy messenger on a quest elsewhere, glancing momentarily to smile on the turning planet, to smile at her. The stars spoke but what did they speak of, what did these tiny illuminations whisper in the night, they told her of hope and of freedom, telling her tales of boundless exploration as she stared deep into the astral glitter with eyes, awestruck by the beauty of creation, they told her this every single night she turned her eyes upward, beckoning her to look upon their beauty as they did with all lesser creatures and when she did look upon them, they always whispered back the same beautiful promises with a smile.

Rainbow Dash smiled back, wondering if anything out there could see it, be warmed by it as she trod this globe, an insignificant speck upon another, perhaps Luna had been right so many hundred of years ago, perhaps the ponies were foolish to sleep through such beautiful nights. Chuckling away her own poetic thoughts lest they intrude on the bastion of cool that was her personality, Rainbow turned her attention back to the cobbled path she slowly clip clopped her way up surrounded by they chirps and calls of insects and the arcane beasts that called the forest home surrounded her in brilliant, natural symphony. She smirked at he gnarled and throned trees of the Everfree, the forest had lost it mask of threat on that magical night, all those bygone years ago.

Bitter-sweet was the flavour of the memory and even now she could recalled it well, a party had, a bond of friendship forged, the world saved and yet another party had, all in one wonderful night , she smiled in sad remembrance but did nothing to push the biting images from her mind, Dash knew loyalty and it knew her and that is how she would remain, loyal to their memory. It passed into the back of her mind as easily as the moon passed behind the approaching clouds, hovering through the air like floating sentinels, dark and full of anger, she could feel the static in the air, the rising heat and the anticipation of rain, a storm was on its way, she grinned, a storm could only aid in helping them.

Veering off the path to the right, she shook and shimmied her way through thick foliage and branches into the darkness of the woods, pulling up her black leather hood to hide her prismatic mane, but realised the futility as she had no way of hiding her tail, she was clad from neck to hoof in segmented black leather, impressive articulated leg armour, boasting steel plating at the joints was enough to keep her safe and fast at the same time, as well as the dozens of the separate hardened leather rectangles around her chest and body, strengthened further with steel studs for that small defencive edge in battle, her flank was coated with thick segmented sheets of leather, joined together in a skirt like shape that ended just at the top of her hind legs, Rainbow Dash wasn't one for an all black get up she was a mare of colour and vibrancy, hell the word rainbow made up half of her name, but when you worked in Lunas service, there wasn't a great deal of variation in colour to be seen.

Rainbow pushed her way into a small clearing, her ears twitched as she heard the unmistakable sounds of approaching hooves clad in metal trailing her, she quickly vanished ducking behind one of the nearby trees out of sight from her stalker, waiting with baited breath as she listened intently to the approaching hooves, unbeknownst to the unfortunate pony their gait gave them away, nothing but a slow and relaxed stroll in the forest on a calm night, this would be easy too easy. A knowing grin played across her face as her eyes narrowed, her muscles tensed as she got ready to pounce on her unknowing victim, as there hoof falls sounded mere inches away she sprung her deadly trap, leaping out at the stalker with a screech.

“Boo!” Dash yelled at the top of her lungs flailing her hooves about erratically, her face mere centimetres apart from that of a distraught bat pony, his amber eyes wide with terror as he fell back screaming, covering his face to protect himself from this mad pony he'd encountered in the woods, Rainbow swore his silver tail had gone rigid in fear, his greyish purple fur turned pale with fear, Rainbows prank fell apart instantly at his reaction, her lips trembled as she struggled to hold back the laughter rising in her stomach a battle she quickly lost as she exploded into a mess of laughter, gripping her stomach with her hooves and rolling about on the floor.

The pony in question took slow deliberate breaths as he calmed down, his embarrassment outweighing his terror, huffing in annoyance as he got two his hooves, shooting rainbow an angry glare as she thrashed about on the ground laughter, at his full stand he was a large pony, broad and tall, considerably more so than dash, no doubt sporting a toned muscular body beneath his armour that was not unlike Rainbows but more adorned with far more plate, the most unique feature was his helmet, angled and polished to perfection with three wicked spikes protruding out across the brow, his face was sharp and pointed with elegance.

“That's not funny Rainbow Dash!” He yelled back at her, his voice instantly shattering his stern features and intimidating size, it was high and flowed softly with a slightly effeminate tone, even as he yelled.

“It...hehe...looked pretty...heh..hehe..funny to me!” Dash choke out in response her voice broke up by sharp breathless laughs, batting away the forming tears with her hoof, there was a rustle in the leaves above them that silenced Rainbows laughter, she smirked and got to her feet.

“C'mon Gildy, no need to be such a sour pony, it was just a prank” Rainbow said cooly, waving a dismissive hoof at him.

“That's Gilded Glider to you!” He replied with a pout, turning his nose up at her “Besides! Where on mission! Now's no time for pranks! You could get us spotted or worse!” Glider replied with a stomp, gurning at her, oblivious to the slender form that dropped out of the trees behind him, hanging upside down like a sleeping bat, Rainbow sniggered, struggling to hold in a second wave of frothing giggles.

“Oh come on Guildy” Rainbow drew out the last word, purposefully surrounding out the syllables to get under his skin “Lighten up Dude, you're such a kill joy” Dash leaned casually against the tree, staring Gilded down with half lidded eyes.

“Fine!” He snorted “If I'm such a killjoy I'll just trot my way back on to the castle!” Glider scoffed, believing he had gained the upper hand, Rainbow trembled with suppressed laughter as he turned around, obliviously becoming face to face with another horrific prank.

“BOO!” Shouted the new bat pony, hanging upside down from her hiding place staring into Gilded Glider with fierce, blood red eyes her mouth wide open baring her fangs as though she was about to pounce on her prey, hungry for a meal. A chorus of shrill shrieks fled his body as quickly as he fled this new attacker, he hurtled toward the dirt impacting with a loud thud as the two girls around him burst into an uproar of raucous laughter once more. Rainbow gripped her chest as her sides became riddled with stitches from the sheer force of the laughter, she fell to the floor tears forming in her eyes, the albino bat pony across from her swayed back and forth gripping at her chest as she hung upside down, she dropped from the tree flipping in the air and landing gracefully on her hooves, a movement she performed with as much ease as putting one hoof in front of the other, even while in a painful fit of laughter.

“I hate you two” Mumbled Glider, his dull fur turned vibrant as a deep crimson rush burnt across his face, huffing and crossing his hooves.

“That was perfect Fangs, oh man Gildy, how'd you ever manage to make rank” Rainbow bopped him on the back of the helmet straining the words out through laughter.

Gilded Glider stared daggers at the giggling bat pony standing over him, she was short, even shorter than Rainbow, with a slender and lithe frame and a short mane that fell just over her eyes in a spiky mess but had no tail to speak of, her mane and fur where pure white, broken here and there by grey scars that covered her face and her eyes were a piercing blood red, the most prominent feature were her fearsome canines however far more sharp and pointed than Gilded Gliders, almost like she'd sharpened them herself, every feature of her body screamed danger. Her armour was quite unlike the other two ponies, it was less armour and more of a rugged, black leather body suit held together by thick thonging that ran down her belly, her joints where the only place that had any real armour and that was just simply, hardened leather pads, her armour sported one feature that supported her dangerous demeanour, hardened leather hoof guards that worked around the back of her legs, each one had a small metal blade protruding out the back like a murderous steel thorn, tainted red with years of use.

“You're really flank hole White Night, you know that right?” Gilded said sternly, staring into her eyes as he got to his hooves, towering over the much smaller pony and trying his best to look imposing and threatening, snorting into her face.

White Night stopped her giggles, her tongue rubbed quick circles against her canines, purposefully pressing into the sharp points, she raised a hoof placing the blade on his breast plate with a clink and pulling down with a sharp metallic creak, she stared up at him obviously unaffected at his attempt to seem menacing.

“How about you put me in my place then tough guy? Huh?” White Night said calmly her voice high and raspy, tapping the blade on his armour, the repeated annoying clinks seemed to shake him slightly, breaking his act as he spoke out, the words getting caught in his mouth.

“Oh...I-I'm gonna” He replied shakily, trying hard not to falter under White Nights unblinking daze.

“Well, do it then” The tapping got faster and louder a she spoke a deadly smirk tugged at her mouth.

“Here it comes! You're gonna be sorry!” He tried to yell, pushing himself up on his hind legs in an attempt to looking bigger, rearing over her. Rainbow watched the petty squabble unfold, her laughter had long since died a bored and deadpan look plastered on her face, she rolled her eyes and rested her face in a hoof grumbling.

“Great! Can't wait!” White Night hissed back, flapping her wings to meet Gilded Glider at eye level, moving to tap the blade on his helmet instead. Gilded squirmed on the spot, his eyes darting from place to place trying to avoid White Nights stare, he opened his mouth slowly trying in vain to think of a biting comeback that would win him the game but could only wrap his lips around one pathetic phrase.

“M-me neither” He whispered pathetically, conceding in his defeat, White Night let out a goofy laugh, giving Gilded Gilder a pat on the head that seemed almost loving, falling to her hooves without so much as a breath of noise.

“You'll win one day buddy, chin up” She snickered, bumping him on the shoulder as he stared at the floor looking far more dejected than he probably was.

“Alright you two cut the crap, missions on fillys” Rainbow exclaimed sternly, taking an authoritative step towards the over towards the bat pony.

“That's what I already said” Mumbled Gilded gilder, slouching as he stood to attention, White Night gave Rainbow a mock salute grinning.

“Aye-Aye cap, what's the game plan?”

“Scouting mission, we need to get some high ground and do a full survey of the Red Alliances activity at Ghastly gorge. Any questions Lieutenant?” Trotting back and forth before them Rainbow made a show of giving white night a pointed glare with a grin that betrayed her stern tone.

“Just one captain!” White Knight yelled, adopting firm posture “Why are we bringing along this dweeb on a stealth mission captain!” White Knight threw the irritated pony by her side a glance.

“I outrank you!” He yelled back with a snort.

“Yeah but I'm better” White Night replied, regarding her hooves with disinterest.

“And I outrank you both so shut up!” Rainbow interjected, sensing the verge on another fight between the two.

“Yeah about that” Glider raised a questioning hoof “How did you even become captain anyway? Because I've been in the Night guard way longer than you” He bumped a hoof against Rainbows chest that she quickly batted away, frowning at him.

“You ask this every time, element of harmony, saved the world multiple times, faced down manticores, dragons, chaos gods, personal friends with the princess, come on dude you know the sitch, that and I'm captain because you're such a dork” White Night snickered quietly by his side, raising a hoof that dash returned with a bump, Gilded responded with a sigh rolling his eyes.

“Right, now that's over, let's roll fillies, follow me, survey point ain't far from here” Rainbow yelled at the two Bat ponies, taking off in a quick trot towards the thick of the forest.

“Heh, don't worry cap, I'll follow, watch your flank for ya” White Light said with a sultry tone, staring half lidded at Rainbow who shook her head with a smirk.

“Luna help me...” Glider muttered quietly, quickly catching up with the two in a brisk trot once he realised he was being left behind.

Rainbow trampled her way through the thick undergrowth, trying to waste as little time as possible getting caught up in the bushels and branches, every now and then she could hear Glider behind her, muttering curse words under his breath as he had to yank his armour free from the entangling vines, White Night on the over hand seemed to have no difficulty finding where to place her hooves, moving slightly and quickly through the undergrowth, scaling trees and leaping silently when she found a particularly dense patch she couldn't find a direct route across, it amazed Rainbow how silently the slight pony could move and she found herself having to focus to even hear her steps.

The black forest was illuminated a striking blue for a split second as lightning lashed across the sky, the low rumble of thunder followed not more than a moment later, Rainbows surroundings became suddenly loud, and damp, dripping wet as the furious clouds above assaulted the world below with all they could muster, booming thunder and devilish forks of lightning alongside a heavy burst of torrential rain that drowned away any noise she could have heard previous, pulling her hood to protect herself from the relentless downpour, Rainbow couldn't help but smile at the ease of the mission at hand, the storm would give them the perfect cover and the Red Alliance would have no idea what was coming for them.

Pushing through a final wall of bushes, Rainbow stepped out on a cliff that looked over the gorge, White Night was already waiting, perched at the edge, intently surveying the target location through damp strands of her mane, Glider forced his way through the bushes in a not so graceful movement, both of them joined White night at the edge. Rainbow stared down into the darkness for a moment, unable to make out the canopy of leaves below, it'd be a mean drop without wings, Ghastly gorge was lit up like a molten scar across the earth and Rainbow couldn't see any of the lands beyond the gorge, or even much surrounding it due to the sheer volume of rain falling around them.

“All right Fillies” Rainbow said with a grin, turning to her comrades “Let's get to work” With that rainbow spread her wings and dove from the cliff, cutting a trail through the rain as she made her slow glide towards the hostile gorge, the other two quickly falling in behind her as they tore a winged path towards the enemy.

Findings and Burials.

The few rays of sunlight that had managed to penetrate the thick canopy of leaves above washed the surround forest in a deep, burnt orange that helped somewhat in making the looming woodlands a little less intimidating, had her life not be threatened by a mob of malevolent spirits the night before, Rarity just might have been able to trick herself into believing she was simply having a nice walk in the woods, but it was very, very far from that. As the sun had rose so had the humidity and even now with the sun made it's slow descent towards the awaiting horizon the air was still hot and sticky.

Rarity heaved with every new step forward, every time the great weight that burdened her back shifted with her own momentum she swore her spine was going to simply break under all the pressure, and not being one for dramatics, Rarity saw this a real possibility. To say the days travel had been hard would be an understatement, it had undoubtedly been the most gruelling and awkward one yet despite the apparently tame terrain of the flat woodland the ground was plagued with exposed roots that had sent her tumbling on more than one occasion and thorn bushes that would cut her legs and snag at her crutch, refusing to let go as though the forest itself was trying to keep her from moving forward which Rarity mused could fully be the case in this awful place.

She counted herself at least somewhat lucky that she'd chanced her way onto some kind of dirt path after a few hours of stumbling and tripping through the woodlands. Be it natural or pony made she didn't know nor did she really care, all she cared about was that it boosted the speed of the journey from impossibly slow to incredibly slow, which was some kind of blessing amid these haunted trees. The minutes had stretched into hours and the hours had stretched on and on in an annoying, sweaty conflict that Rarity was definitely losing. Rarity knew she had covered very little ground in comparison to any other day of her arduous journey, every thud of her own alabaster hooves that reached her ears did nothing more than add to her rising frustration, there was no feeling of reaching a goal today, no beautiful scenery or vistas to busy her eyes, everywhere she looked her eyes were met with nothing more than a mess of green bushes and shrubs that overran the forest as well as dull brown tree trunks that rose up into the darkening canopy, the same shrubs and tree trunks that seemed to populate every single inch of this damned forest. It annoyed her, every thing here annoyed her.

The monotonous beating of her hooves halted as Rarity came to a standstill, allowing her ragged panting the chance to be the only noise to punctuate the still air, every muscle in her body seemed to scream at her for a moments rest and she was not hesitant to comply, falling roughly to her rump she wiped the sweat from her forehead and ran it through her mane with a cringe, the purple locks had once been her pride and joy that she maintained and strived over to a state of constant perfection, but now they were slick with sweat and grease, Rarity didn't think she could recall how many weeks it had been since she'd had a shower it was a disgusting thing to contemplate. Her horn shone pale blue as Rarity levitated her canteen from the saddlebags, raising the cold metal to her lips she took careful sips, the water was still as pristine and delicious as it had been the first time, but she wanted to save as much as possible to tend to her wounded leg.

It didn't take much of the magic water to revitalise her it seemed, even as the sparse droplets paved a cooling path down her throat Rarity could feel her muscles growing strong again and her frustrations leaving even with such small sips. She screwed the lid tight into place and placed the canteen back into it's leather prison, getting up to continue her hobbling journey, Rarity found her focus stolen by something glinting in the corner of her eye. She turned her head, squinting her eyes to see if she could better spot its source among the foliage, she jerked her head slightly and once again tiny flashes of amber light filled her vision, she could see the source of the glinting now, it appeared to be a small gem attached to some golden band, sticking up behind one of the taller bushes, perhaps against her better judgement, Rarity decided to investigate this mystery.

She set off towards the mysterious gem, carving the best path she could through the thick branches and coiling thorns at her feet, every now and then she felt a sharp tug at one of her legs eliciting very unladylike words to be uttered from the unicorns mouth. After a few minutes of struggling and swearing through the bushes, Rarity had almost made it to the end of her side quest but it would seem fate wanted to have yet more mischief with the unicorn as her crutch became ensnared in a knot of branches and thorns sending her tumbling through the final obstacle in her path, falling chest first with an ungraceful thud, Rarity cried out it was not a cry of pain but one of pure frustration.

“I swear with Luna as my witness that I absolutely detest th-WAHAHAHAAA!” Rarity found her complaining harshly cut short as she craned her neck around, staring deep into the hollow eyes of a ponies skeleton, she wrenched her crutch free and scrambled backwards into a tree, curling inwards like a cat threatened by a broom, her breathing was fast and heavy after the sudden spike of fear that had erupted throughout her nervous system and she could feel her heart pounding against her chest, it took a good few minutes of simply staring at the deceased equine before she found herself relatively calm once again, Rarity had seen dead bodies, but it was another thing to fall head first into one.

She swept her fallen bangs from her face and gingerly got to her feet, taking a step closer to inspect the skeleton, the first thing that drew her eye was the source of the glinting as Rarity had thought it had come from an amber gem that was embedded in a gold band which surrounded a helmet of hard leather that sat atop the deceased ponies head, this pony had clearly been some kind of adventurer or possibly a bandit during their life, that much was obvious from the crude and ragged studded leather armour that encased the skeletons ribs and flank as well as the battle axe and shield that sat by the dead pony, propped up against the tree where it had experienced its final breaths, Rarity shuddered at the thought of this poor pony dying alone and terrified in a place as awful as these cursed woodlands and chose not to think in too much detail about the conditions of their death.

A dark expression spread across Raritys face, she couldn't, no wouldn't let this become her fate, dead In the middle of the worst forest in Equestria, forgotten by all with her body never to be recovered, just another phantom left to wander the endless tree, she shut her eyes, shaking her head It will not happen, It can't happen she found her attention brought away from the skeleton in front of her, a great many bags were piled high upon one another against a tree opposite the skeleton, no doubt this deceased fellows belongings. A small chest sat at Raritys feet, it was filled to spilling points with gold coins of a make Rarity didn't recognise as well as jewellery and all manner of small jewels and gems, not far from that a shovel was lead across the ground, the earth was upturned and mounds of dirt were scattered about the small clearing.

I wonder if he was retrieving it or trying to hide it Rarity though to herself, her attention drifting back towards the dead ponies belongings Perhaps there's something there I can make use of she pondered, hobbling towards the ponies many bags. Rarity removed the bundle of lumber from her back, placing it gently on the floor before she began rummaging through the bags, it seemed this pony had been something of a hoarder in life as there was copious amounts of useless junk to be found within the leather satchels, snow globes , telescopes, clocks, various pendants of varying craft and quality, one bag was filled to the brim with nothing but marbles and silverware and Rarity could not begin to fathom how or why a pony would carry so much junk with them, she still took care when handling the deceased ponies belongings however, for all they knew they had all held huge significance in their life. When she reached the very bottom of the pile and opened the last bag to inspect the goods inside she found herself overcome with ecstatic joy, fully expecting another avalanche of useless, yet admittedly thought provoking oddities to be bound within the leather, she was far beyond pleasantly surprised when she found a bundle of rope and a small can of lantern oil that was near full. A goofy grin spread across her face as she pulled the items to her chest, almost hugging them.

“You wouldn't mind passing these on would you darling? It would be hugely appreciated!” She spoke allowed, addressing the deceased pony with all the warmth one would a very alive friend, she turned around practically bouncing on the spot, staring at the pony skeleton with beaming eyes and a hide smile, it's head simply fell to the side and Rarity took that as fates way of giving her the all clear.

“I can't thank you enough dear, you've made me a very happy mare” Rarity beamed, placing her new find items in her saddle bags, the oil would come in extremely handy for the approaching night.

“But, let it not be said that Rarity does not pay her dues, you have done me favour and now I shall do one for you my friend” She said with a certain conviction to her tone, her horn became bathed in light once more and her aura gripped the shovel, without hesitation she got to work digging.

It had taken a good forty minutes and cost Rarity a great deal of precious sunlight but with one final shovel full of dirt she had finally dug an appropriate grave for this poor pony and their many bizarre belongings, she threw the shovel to one side panting, it had taken a great deal more magical energy than she had first anticipated but Rarity felt that it was worth it. With tender care she closed and levitated the skeletal ponies bags into the grave one by one, creating a kind of mattress once that was finished she turned herself towards the pony in question, the skeleton became wrapped in her pale blue aura and with great focus and care, Rarity slowly levitated it into the grave, laying it down as gently as she could, crossing its fore hooves across its chest to give it a more dignified look.

Moving the dirt back was as simple as gathering it all up in one large magical field , laying it over the ponies skeletal form she distributed it evenly, smoothing it out here and there were she felt it was necessary, she placed the battle axe in the middle of the dirt mound and then the shield on top of it, above that she placed a single snow globe that looked to her to represent Manehatten, whoever this pony had been, they had travelled much further than she could imagine, below the axe and shield she placed three marbles in a vertical line, she obviously had no way of knowing this ponies name, but she hoped the grave she had made did them some justice to their identity, grabbing the shovel in her magic once more she flung it into the bushes where it would be hidden out of sight, she couldn't bear the thought of this strangers grave being desecrated.

“Thank you again for the supplies sir, or, madame I suppose” Rarity said solemnly, staring at the newly created grave “I know it's far from ideal, but I do hope this offers you some comfort, wherever you may be” She stood alone in the silence for a moment, the ghost of a smile played at her lips and despite everything, an old feeling a happiness and satisfaction overtook her.

“I must be off now darling, I'll be seeing you” Rarity said, turning from the grave she placed the the wood bundle onto her back once more, tying the knots, she gave a little wiggle to make sure everything was firm and in place, content she made her way back to the dirt path, oddly she found herself not bothered by the weight anymore, no thorns grabbed at her hooves, no twisting vines grabbed at her crutch, for the first time today she felt content, without stress or worry to burden her weary mind. Still, it was time to start moving and to do it quickly, night was approaching fast and she still had to set up a decent camp before it fell, rejoining the dirt path, Rarity quickened her pace as best she could and set off deeper into the darkening woods.