Just One Wish

Chapters

It's a Grim New World Little Pony.
Out The Door And Into A New World.
Winter Breaking
Twisting trees part 1
A Stranger On The Road
Sleeping Dreams and Gearing Up

It's a Grim New World Little Pony.

What does one say when all they ever knew disappears in the blink of an eye?

What does one do when home is much farther away now than they ever knew?

******

The next few days went by painfully. When I first woke up my entire chest was covered in bandages and I didn’t wake up in a bed, but on a hard cold stone floor. The room was empty except for the small bowl with a loaf of bread and water… in the same bowl. Not exactly grade A care giving here as the only entrance or exit in the room was a large steel door.

The first few hours I had spent shouting in panic as fear had set in. I didn’t know where I was or who had even taken me off the battlefield. Part of me thought that this was some sort of nightmare that kept growing worse. The small bit that accepted this as reality thought that the bug ponies had captured me and were about to eat me or something… Don’t look at me like that! We are talking about black bug looking ponies with fangs! Only thing I’ve seen with fangs either drained fruit dried or ate meat… Which I’m made up of! I didn’t want to become a bug pony’s lunch!

The first time the doors opened I was both terrified and overjoyed. I was happy to see another pony as I figured I was just caught up in some sort of misunderstanding. The reason why I was terrified was because of how the pony looked. I couldn’t see any guards outside of the door, but the pony that stepped into the room didn’t look like any pony I had ever seen.

The pony was dressed in black leather like armor with bits of metal woven into it. Two large griffin like wings rested on his back as glimpses of metal could be seen through the black feathers. The part that unnerved me the most were his eyes. Pony helmets always revealed the face, but his just had two large red eye pieces and some sort of small nozzle covering his mouth for a “face”. Each intake of breath came with a horrifying hiss as the eye pieces shinned with an unnatural light. I could see myself reflected in those red glowing eyes as I shivered in fear.

The voice spoke in a soft but commanding tone “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“I don’t know!” I shouted in panic “I was near the evergreen forest until I bumped into some big bird thing and suddenly I’m stuck in the middle of a snowy field with ponies dying around me!”

I couldn’t keep my eyes off the unknown pony. I’ve been around pegasi to know how wings should move, but his wings moved in some unnatural way as they swept across the ground tripping me before one was pressed against my neck. His face moved in closer as the metal helmet obscured any features a face should have except for those eyes. Those eyes that seemed to be trapped in some sort of angry stare.

“The truth?” He said as his voice grew louder as that horrible breathing sound increased “You hid from our forces and just happened to deploy some sort of weapon against the Hydra.”

“Sneezing powder!” I whimpered back. “My dad gave it to me just because he heard that a Hydra was in the Evergreen Forest.”

A small chuckle came from the pony as he said “And just what business did you have in this Evergreen Forest then?”

I slowly spoke in embarrassment “I was delivering flowers to Zecora… the zebra living near Ponyville. She was the last one on my stop as I was hoping for an adventure.”

I paused as I looked around in confusion. I didn’t mean to mention I was looking for an adventure, but for some I just couldn’t help, but say it.

The pony took a step back in confusion as he said “Repeat what you remembered of the day before you ended up on the battlefield.”

I then told him everything about that day from how I nearly missed breakfast to all of the minor details of the day including what I was thinking during those moments. A few times I had simply tried to stop talking, but my mouth refused to cooperate as it continued to tell my story against my own will.

It was near the middle of the story I guessed they either had some unicorn preforming a spell to make me say what they wanted or feed me some strange potion when I was asleep. By the end of my story the strange pony left as I was left alone for the rest of the day.

******

The next two days were much less forgiving. Two different ponies interrogated me as each one did it in a different manor. The first one was an earth pony bigger than Big Mac and thankfully wasn’t wearing a creepy helmet. All he did was shout as he tried to figure out the same questions as the previous pony only he would shout louder if he didn’t like the answer.

Whenever he didn’t believe a part of my story he hit me and told me to stop lying. I cried as I told him the truth again only for him to continue until one of the guards told him to leave. He was one of the worst ponies I had ever run into, but he didn’t wasn’t as nearly nice as the second one.

The second one was a unicorn that wore a white suit. He smiled at me as he asked the same questions again as I told him my story. I couldn’t help but wonder why he always spoke with his eyes shut until he finally opened them. One of his eyes were blue, but the left eye… It moved about as I could see the clockwork structure behind the lens of the eye and more importantly I knew he could see me with that strange eye.

The big earth pony simply punched me when he thought I was lying and shouted a lot, but the unicorn was worse. He thought I was also lying, but he didn’t think I was a pony, but rather a bug pony infiltrator which was crazy. Did I look like a bug pony! When he didn’t get the answers he liked… he simply levitated a small knife and started cutting me leaving various small wounds across my body. It felt as if he was trying to kill me with a thousand cuts of something.

This continued until he had to leave for his lunch break as I wasn’t given any food. When he returned the unicorn brought various needles which he stabbed into my body as I screamed in agony. He continued with his sick game as he levitated me up in the air when I tried to fight back. He played with me as he commented on my “life like pony imitation” before tossing me aside in a corner when he was ready to eat his diner.

I slowly cried myself to sleep that night as I begged for Celesta to save me from this nightmare.

******

Cold. Starving. Nopony came to see me for two days. Nobody came to feed me during that time either. Left alone with my injuries I wasn’t sure if I wanted the door to open again in fear of the next nightmare that would walk through it.

I tried to sleep as my dreams always turned into nightmares. I would see the strange ponies walking into the room punishing me for things I had never done. I would think about my parents who I may never see again. Sometimes I would see the other ponies mocking me as they would laugh at my attempt to have an adventure. They would tell me that I wasn’t special and that I deserved to be punished for attempting to do so.

So I stayed awake for two days with only a tiny amount of sleep. My injuries from the unicorn prevented me from moving around much as I was trapped in a very small room with no bathroom. Part of me began to resent the ponies outside and even myself for being so weak. Some of those thoughts turned very dark as I tried to figure out how to escape and prevent the next person that opened the door from stopping me from escaping. Thoughts that a pony shouldn’t have.

So I counted the number of bricks in the wall and then the celling. I counted to count over and over again until I began to wonder if the bug ponies really had captured me. That all of the ponies I had met were really just the same one and just changed his costume every time before he came into the room. That he was toying with his meal before he killed me. It was crazy… but I only saw one pony each time. I didn’t even see any guards outside so… alright maybe a voice... but if there was only one pony then only one pony was in my way from freedom.

It was during that moment I began to count the number of pins that were still stuck in my body. I also began to make note of where each pin had been stuck into and just how sharp or long some of the pins were. The rest of that day I had begun to think of some very un-pony like thoughts. A small bowl full of water with a loaf of bread dumped in it was slid into my cell without my notice.

I slowly crawled over to the bowl and devoured the soggy bread and drank every last drop of water as I plotted my escape. It was not a very nice plan as I’m sure Celestia wouldn’t have been proud of me if she really knew what I was thinking.

Then again… she wasn’t here…. I was alone.

******

The next day and the door slowly opened as I hid behind it. I left a small trail of blood and scratches on the floor trying to get there. Hopefully they would think I was just trying to escape the other side of the room… like I said before. No bathroom.

The door slowly shut as I saw a wing and spat out the pin in my mouth hopping I would hit. Instead the pin shot over his head as the masked pony was in the room again. I threw the rest of my pins except for two as the pony’s wings shot out in front of him blocking my attack. A few pins stuck to the feathers, but the sound of metal hitting metal told me that he had something metal hidden in his wings.

I leapt forward at him as I grabbed a wing with my mouth only to slide off it with a mouth full of feathers as I crashed into the stone floor. I opened my eyes to see a metallic wing hidden underneath the fake feathers. It was like seeing one of these skeleton diagrams in health class.

Before I could understand what it meant the other wing slammed into my chest knocking the wind out of me as the pony put one hoof on my chest as he looked down. My chest ached in pain as he applied pressure to my wounds. My eyes burned as my one chance at escaping failed horribly leaving me trapped in this cell.

“I had to check over a few things,” He spoke down to me as if I was a filly “And I will let you go if you just answer one simple question… Tell me what you think of Luna?”

I slowly cried as the question barely registered “Who?”

His face drew closer as those horrible red eyes seemed to zoom in on me as he repeated “Tell me what you think of Luna.”

Honestly I didn’t know what he meant. Did he mean Nightmare Moon? Wasn’t that an old mare’s tale? I didn’t feel like answering him just to deny him an answer, but when he noticed he simply increased the pressure of his hoof on my injured chest.

“I don’t know!” I truthfully replied in sorrow “Isn’t she just some old mare’s tale?”

The strange pony just sighed as he said “And what was your wish that you asked before you ended up in the snowfield?”

I tried to pull myself back together tears still running down my face “You said one question.”

His hoof went off my chest as he replied “And a bag of winter clothing will certainly help you out if you try to go outside again.”

“I wanted…” I replied with unease. “…an adventure.”

He chuckled as I heard him say under his breath “Thought you looked familiar.” He coughed loudly before speaking out loud “Sorry about your treatment, but we had to make sure you were… real.”

I was about to shout when the door opened up revealing an entire room full of crystals. It just felt so out of place I couldn’t help but stare? The only flag I could see showed an Earth Pony and Unicorn standing together with a snowy mountain in the background. I kept my eyes on the strange pony fearing he would hurt me like the other two before him.

“Some of the problems left during the war still crop up from time to time,” The strange pony added “And a random pony not dressed for this land’s harsh weather marked with the Taint does raise a lot of questions. Even more considering your guards were changelings.”

Changelings? Change as in… fake ponies? I tried to ignore it as I remembered the very real pain in my body. The very real fact that two crazy ponies tortured me. The painful fact that I was stuffed in a cage and made to suffer.

“You locked me up in a cage and tortured me over a misunderstanding!” I screamed in rage “You beat me! Sliced my skin apart with a knife and then jabbed dozens of needles and pins into my body for that!”

“Did I forget to mention changelings?” He spoke with annoyance as he pointed at two guard helmets outside the door.

I shouted “What’s a changeling!”

I stared at them in confusion as two bug ponies outside of my cell were knocked out. It was a bit of an eye opener, but it wasn’t going to make me exactly trust the unknown pony either.

“And sorry for knocking you out while we moved you into a better room in hopes of you calming down before anything happens,” He added as something hit my neck.

“Glitter Frit.” I muttered before I hit the floor.

Really hating this day.

******

As soon as I woke up a prepared for a fight only to feel a very soft mattress underneath me which helped ease the pain in my back, but it did not help ease the fact I was just knocked out again! The room was certainly fancy. Grand Galloping Gala kind of fancy. First thing I did was go straight to the door only to find it locked.

I moaned as I said to myself “And it’s also locked… but at least there is a window.”

I smirked to myself as I moved over to the large balcony window and opened up the blinds. My smirk disappeared as I saw the harsh blizzard outside and by harsh I mean I could barely see outside the window much less open the door which seemed to have been frozen shut outside.

Not a bit of snow blocking the balcony's doors or windows. A nice big frozen wall right on the windows and door which was much stronger than the glass panels keeping me inside. From what little I could see I could tell it was a long drop down.

“Glitter Frit.” I muttered as I looked around at my new cage.

I ignored all the fancy paintings and books on the walls as my grumbling stomach shifted my priorities to the next agenda as I saw food on the table. Not soggy bread in a bowl, but actual food! I quickly started to tear into each meal on the table enjoying the fruits, vegetables, and pies! Nice warm soft pies that filled your heart and your stomach… and if eaten to quickly with an empty stomach leads to a quick trip to the restroom.

I was very happy to have an actual restroom this time. A nice shiny and certainly not a cold corner in the jail cell restroom! Once I got out and managed to eat enough without making me sick again did I bother to explore the room and more importantly my wounds. Fresh bandages were covering them including the various new wounds made by the unicorn that tortured me in the cell. My anger began to rise up again when I thought about it.

At that moment something clicked as I turned around expecting trouble only to see a small orb roll across the floor. Without waiting I jumped behind a couch and covered my ears waiting for the explosion… or gas… or something as time went by for a little while before I peeked out from behind my cover.

The small orb flickered as it suddenly flared. I closed my eyes as the light blinded me for a moment. Then some pony started speaking as I saw… an illusion of the old Heartwarming Eve story being played out. Each race of ponies showing distrust as the winter grew harsh.

I frowned as I didn’t like the story right now… especially after being stuck in a cell. I had ignored it right as I knew the story by heart like every other pony in ponyville. Every side hating each other and then went to find a new land. Leaders arguing, frozen in ice, friendship fire, forgiveness and everypony happy. I went back to the food right up until the story changed. Instead of ending right after the ponies uniting and ending the harsh winter caused by the wendigo monsters it changed.

“Fools!” Muttered one of the ponies forcing me to turn my head “Going out to this “new land” they claim?” The pegasi gritted his teeth “As if changing which area we sit in doesn’t change the lies they use."

I shook my head. This wasn’t part of the story. Everypony got along. They all went to Equestria and became friends. Clover the Clever, Private Pansy, and Smart cookie brought everypony together teaching them to work together and the magic of friendship.

One of the other pegasi whispered “But the Commander.”

“Is a fool!” The Pegasi bitterly replied “We don’t need them! Let the unicorns flee to this “new land” and pretend to raise the sun each day.” He grinned as he pulled out a map “They make those fools continue playing their stupid game while we find a new land for us without those pests!”

The scene played again. Each one going to a different earth pony or unicorn. Each one still filled with mistrust blaming the other races. Each one leaving from what should have been the end of the story with everyone happy. I couldn’t help but shiver. This wasn’t the story I grew up with.

Then all three sides settled in a different area. The unicorns laughed as the sun and moon continued to rise and fall leaving them to continue with “important work” as they called it. The Pegasi laughed as they tried their hooves at farming claiming the earth ponies were lazy. The earth ponies mocked the pegasi and unicorn as rain fell on their crops without the pegasi and the sun and moon continued to rise and fall each day.

All three sides stood apart from each other and began to grow. Each side mocking the other until they ran into each other again. I held my breath waiting for them to get together. Some brave pony to stand up. I mean… they weren’t suffering from the harsh winters and each side seemed to be doing well.

Instead they lashed out. The earth ponies drew swords cutting down the unicorns. The unicorns blasted flares of magic bringing down the pegasi. The pegasi swooped down from the skies killing earth ponies. My stomach lurched as I covered my mouth. This wasn’t a story I wanted to hear. This wasn’t a story from Equestria. Why did they fight! Why did they attack each other! Why couldn’t they get along?

The image flickered as a black alicorn strolled through each camp. He wasn’t a normal looking alicorn like Celestia. Instead of a white coat he had a smoky black coat and his mane? A grey wild mess of locks as he had a cutie mark… of a frying pan just dark enough to stand out on his coat.

He wasn’t… gentle as he pushed aside anypony that got in his way. When he arrived at the leader’s camp he simply hit them over the head with a frying pan and dragged them out of the camp. Soon all the leaders were tied to a bunch of wooden chair glaring at the black alicorn who groaned.

Each side argued bitterly claiming the other side was behind the attack. Each one shouted over each other making a maelstrom of chaos before the black alicorn used the frying pan again to knock some sense into them by simply hitting them again with the frying pan.

The black alicorn muttered “Idiots. Blaming each other for past crimes when the only cause for this senseless war is your own stupidity. Pesagi take care of the clouds making all of you get rain when you need it instead of the droughts being created from this war.”

He pointed his hooves at the earth ponies “The earth ponies take care of the lands. That’s why their crops continue to grow as their subtle magic helps the river that flows towards the few remaining farms you idiots have stopped caring for continue to grow without your help. They are the reason why the crops grow healthy instead of being struck down by the plagues and diseases that have started to run rampant!”

He pointed at the unicorns “And the Unicorns are the ones testing their magic. Experimenting with new ways. Heck the magical cures for the diseases killing ponies came from them. The magical devices you steal alone should tell you that can be of use.”

One of the ponies shouted “And what are you freak!”

The alicorn rolled his eyes “I’m the unlucky idiot who’s trying to fix your mess.”

The images flashed for a moment. Each side staring at each other in bitter distaste as the black alicorn ruled over them. A small castle was built as the sides were forced to work together. Soon the bitter distaste turned to frowns and then just stares before finally they smiled at each other. The kingdom grew as finally ponies were living happily together.

Images then began to flicker as some strange date appeared. A new alicorn stood in the castle as a statue of the black alicorn rested in the background. The female alicorn was bright yellow and had a white mane as she had a frown on her face. Countless papers filled her throne as a few ponies seemed worried when the doors slammed open.

The scene flickered again revealing a majestic city that almost rivaled Canterlot… because you can’t beat Canterlot. The ponies worked together as I couldn’t help but feel they had finally made their happy ending.

Then the image flickered revealing the city burning. The image went back to the castle as ponies were held in chains. Bug ponies laughed as the ponies looked disheartened. On the throne of now stood a large changeling like the one Frostmorn attacked. He looked like a twisted mocker of Celestia if male… but bigger and with jagged limbs… and obviously evil.

The same stranger that I had bumped into near Ponyville now walked across the hallway chuckling as he walked with a staff. The ponies hung their heads lower as the changeling cheered much to their king’s annoyance. The large changeling stepped aside with a low growl as a large bipedal cloaked figure rested on the throne.

The image flickered again as a new date was shown. I still didn’t recognize the symbols for dates, but I was glad it was full of ponies. This obviously meant everything turned out alright. That it was all lies… even though I was being locked in a room against my will, but... it had to have a happy ending right?

The pony with a long beard in red armor shouted “Lies! The Lunar republic had sabotaged our efforts during the war!”

The pony in blue armor sighed as she replied “Those days were harsh days. Any pony could have done it. Even then it was a dark time in our history. What is important that we move onto the future.”

“And follow the path of The True Goddess!” The pony in white armor spoke as the other two looked unease “Now we must dismantle the abominations and return to the old ways.”

The final pony in black armor sighed as he replied “Wouldn’t it be better to try to fix our current problems before setting up new ones? I mean we just got out of one war so let’s not start another.”

The pony with the beard nodded as he replied “For as long as this treaty holds… The Frost Empire shall not expand beyond it’s lands. We shall help search for the information and arcane lore lost during The Raven War.”

The blue pony shrugged as she added “The Lunar Republic shall continue the advancement of current magical theory, spells, and technology,” She stared at the pony in white armor with hatred “Despite what any stubborn mules might have to say!”

The white pony gritted her teeth as she replied “As we shall search for The Goddess and reveal to all the One True Goddess Celestia and,” The white mare stared at the black pony “Any relevant information found. Our borders shall not try to lead any heroic uprisings against our harsh oppressors.”

The Blue pony laughed as she countered “Try using those sticks again and we will shove them right back up where you pulled them out!”

The black pony shook his head as he said “By the Sisters I doubt we will need anyone else’s help in finishing ourselves off at this rate.”

“It is a sad day for Equestria when a Merc is right,” The red armored pony said as if he ate a bad fig “At least our countries managed to remove the taint of The Raven from our lands.”

The black pony smirked as he replied “And yet you lot can barely get along with yourselves, much less each other. Better to be a thief than a crook as my dad always said. I can only imagine what the Sisters would think if they saw us now.”

The image faded out as it finally ended as the door opened up. I turned around to see a very well dressed unicorn walk into the room. He didn’t carry any weapons, but he held himself up high like royalty. I couldn’t help but feel nervous as any remaining hatred I had at the moment had been replaced with the cold fear that everything I knew was gone.

It felt crazy to even think about. Celestia gone? She had ruled Equestria for over a thousand years looking over everypony. I never heard about this black alicorn… or this invasion of bug ponies. I just needed to grab a map and get out of here. Find the first ticket back to ponyville or anywhere else in Equestria.

The unicorn smiled uneasily “My name is Prince Frostmorn. I’m sorry about your treatment, but I made sure to get you out of your cell as soon as I was awake… King Scorn kept a very potent poison in his blade and he nicked me in the battle.”

I shook my head “Where am I? Tell me this is all some sort of cruel joke! That I’m still in Equestria. That Celestia is just playing some sort of prank!” I stared at him waiting for him to say it was all some sort of bad joke or prank or some sort of mistake.

Sorrow filled his eyes as he replied “Honestly we don’t know,” I continued waiting “Much of our history has been lost except for a few of these orbs. In fact the Sisters were thought to have been a myth until fifty years ago confirming they actual existed.”

What? A myth? Did you just ignore my very simple question to claim Celestia was a myth! Just go to Canterlot and you’ll see her! Better yet let me leave so I can tell her about all you crazy ponies so she can send you straight to the moon or something!

Frostmorn sighed as he said “Many things have changed since the Raven War. Even basic history had been lost and from what Shadow Tale has told me you had written a wish into The Raven’s book landing you here.”

Thoughts flickered around in my head. The thought of being kept as a trophy or some sort of book in this room just so I could retell Equestria’s past for their amusement was not a pleasing one. I tried to think of some alternative, but few came to mind. I didn’t have any skills other than delivering packages or growing plants. In fact running around delivering packages was what I had just started doing before I failed at that!

I shook all those disturbing thoughts our of my head. I just need a map and a saddle bag for the food. I would run home by hoof before thinking about staying in this messed up place!

“You threw me in a cell,” I felt my rage growing “Sent ponies to torture me,” My voice continued to grow “And all I want to do is go home now and Celestia isn’t a myth! She’s in Canterlot you crazy pony!”

He stared at me in confusion. Canterlot. The big castle placed on a mountain. The one marked on every map in Equestria as Princess Celestia lives there!

Frostmorn placed a map on the table and rolled it out as I stared at it in fear. This wasn’t Equestria. The land… the river… everything was wrong. Even the very shape of the land was wrong as I looked for anything that looked like Equestria.

“I’m afraid you’re not in Equestria anymore,” Frostmorn spoke softly “Honestly we thought Equestria itself was a myth.”

Cold fear ran through my body. A myth… my home was a myth! That can’t be… It… how do I get back home?

“I don’t care,” I said out loud. “I made a promise to my parents. You said you thought Celestia was a myth until something changed. So I’ll just find it. Find where Equestria is and go back home.”

It shouldn’t be that far away. How far could a couple of ponies go by foot? Besides I know some of the cities and some griffins travel about. All I have to do if find someone who went there and just… be back home before I know it.

Frostmorn shook his head as he replied “The world… this world doesn’t coexist like the stories of Equestria. Even the very wildlife and weather is drastically different as the very weather outside in the Frost Kingdom can not be changed by pegasi.”

“Then I will find a way!” I said to him, but more for my own well-being “I am not going to let a little bit of snow and some ponies who threw me in a dungeon! A very nasty one at that and not try it find a way back home just because you say there isn’t one!”

“Fine,” Frostmorn said as he nodded in agreement much to my surprise “You need time away. I understand that and it would be wrong for me to deny you your right to at least attempt to try. It is the least I can do since you were the one who helped me against the Hydra.”

I was ready to argue back, but his agreement left me surprised “What did you say?” and a little bit confused.

Frostmorn used his hooves to close the curtains as he spoke “You were the little pony who fixed the Drake and helped me get past the Scorn’s Hyrda to stop the Changeling invasion. You were treated poorly and the changeling infiltrators still hidden at the castle are not happy about your involvement in preventing their invasion.”

I blinked as the words shifted through my head. I saved a prince. I saved a real life Prince and helped stopped an invasion of evil bug ponies. Not stand in a corner and swung a broom or something until someone else fixes the problem, but actually do something for once! This was Daring Doo Territory. This was adventure territory… By sweet Celestia my wish actually was granted. I’m on an adventure and saved somepony important as I was possibly doing things nopony from Equestria had done before! So why do I feel so tired and felt like crying?

I shook my head fighting back the tears “So when can I leave?”

Frostmorn smiled “As soon as the storm isn’t white out conditions if you want. Besides I have to get Shadow Tale ready to accompany you and finish the repairs on the Drake you fixed.”

“What?” I asked in confusion.

“You are new to this world so somepony has to help look after you and sadly the currency has changed so Bits won’t be of much use outside the Frost Empire… or Equestria’s bits,” He said easily as my brain was trying to figure out a way to weasel out of this agreement “Even then you managed to from a rather impressive bound with the Drake you fixed in the battlefield. It was hard enough to make it leave your side so they could repair it. In fact I think it would break out of the castle and follow you even if we tried to stop it.”

He walked out of the room and said “Just take some time to think about it. There are a few books that might help, but you might want to catch up on how to repair a Drake if you’re squeamish about using a weapon against another pony… Sadly war has come as almost every nation is fighting against each other now.”

I blinked there was another war coming up when the last one just finished? What messed up land was I stuck in now?

Out The Door And Into A New World.

With little to do while waiting for the storm to end I had tried to read up on some basic history. Most of the books seemed to have been edited or simply had missing pages. Some were missing entire chapters as you could see the large gaps in the books where the pages should have been. The only unaltered book was a small leather book with it's pages tied together with strings was written by a pony named Shadow Tail.

The name kind of struck me strange. Shadow Tail... was he named that because he had a gift for telling stories or because he had a black tail? It's a little strange how common pony names seem to relate to our lives... or maybe I'm thinking to much into this. This is what I get being stuck in a room that only had non-fiction books. Of course I kept an eye on the window ready to leave as soon as the weather stopped... I mean it's going to stop at some point right?

I sighed as I opened up the book and started on the first chapter.

******

Equestria was home to three of the major races of ponies. Each side hated each other and stayed in a cold war were each side only barely tolerated each other only because they needed each other to survive.

When “Equestria” was found half of the tribes spilt off in search of this new fertile land… and the “friendship wave” that cleansed the winter. While most did leave to join this new movement those left behind still didn’t trust the others and set off into a new direction… thus creating our lovely mess that can’t even name the lands past what has been conquered by the current nation/army in charge.

The “closest” that we had to name was Sanctum… and even that is heavily up to debate only because the rule of the alicorns managed to make/force the rest of the ponies to get along making the closest thing to peace anypony has really seen.

Though like most of our bitter history it was the war with the figure called The Raven of Nevermore had drastic repercussions removing the old royal lines… and letting us go back to our bickering ways full of doubt and mistrust instead of working together.

The Frost Kingdom now was faced with deadly storms and weather that could no longer be stopped by pegasi. These wild storms considered once a blessing “freeing” the kingdom from pegasi rule as the clouds would water their crops and essentially did the jobs that pegasi used to do. After the war the "blessed skies" now turned into a deadly monster of death turning the once chilly kingdom into a frozen nightmare.

With the former ruler missing the acting ruler Steel Hoof ordered the pegasi to stop the howling winds. The pegasi had tried their best to alter the terrible storms that plagued their lands, but the clouds that barely listened to them before now completely ignored their commands. They were just as helpless as the grounded ponies below as the public started to doubt the pegasi. The flyers were able to take shelter up in the few remaining clouds under their control protecting them from some of the weather. As the harsh winters grew worse the earth ponies and unicorns started to resent them.

The war had affected most ponies in different ways. The earth ponies had lost many useful gifts founded during the war as the "wild magic" ( *aka Taint*) promptly disappeared after the Raven's demise and the Unicorns had lost many ancient spell books during the harsh wars and rule from The Raven and his dark tyrants. They began to believe that the pegasi were the ones causing the storm in order to weaken them into turn them into servants much like how The Raven and Changelings had used their dark magic to turn them into slaves in the past. With starving fillies and the hash cold they looked at the pegasi which they believed were nice and warm above the storm. They never seemed to face starvation as the ones who came down were fit and healthy.

Of course they didn’t know that any sick or undernourished pegasi would die in the storm before they made it to the crystal kingdom and it’s surrounding lands. Nor did they care as it was their own hatred that kept them moving forward. It was their hatred that pointed their misguided fears onto the pegasi as they placed all their problems on the hidden flyers that they claimed were hidden safely in the skies. Then one day they finally snapped and demanded the pegasi to stop the storm, the torture, and to share the hidden horde of food they kept hidden above the clouds.

The pegasi tried to reason and did their best to explain their situation, but the earth bound ponies did not care. They came at the pegasi with sword, arrow, and magic as they drove the pegasi out of their lands in crazed witch hunts. The unicorns managed to find old spells that let them take the battle to the few remaining clouds the pegasi owned as they slaughtered the survivors and kept the remaining food for rest of the earth bound ponies. Then the worst thing of all happened… The storms stopped.

In truth the wild magic from the war was finally calming down, but the ponies of the crystal kingdom only saw it as confirmation that the pegasi were causing the storm. They claimed that with the pegasi slain or forced out of their homeland the storms had also ceased. The earth ponies and unicorns quickly exiled of all pegasi from the kingdom to “ensure” the storms wouldn’t return. Now an intense distrust of pegasi continues to this day. It didn’t help that the weather has now kept it’s chaotic flare, so while it was no longer as the fierce storm that nearly destroyed them… No pegasi can calm the storms above the crystal kingdom’s lands as many of their original jobs or ancient roles have been replaced with the bat ponies and griffons. (so keep your wings tucked under your cloaks if you need to travel here pegasi)

The Frost Empire now looks for powerful ancient magic spells and magical relics as they support some of the strongest earth ponies and unicorns know in the lands. The harsh sturdy lands have turned the ponies just as equally harsh and sturdy and just as unforgiving as the winter itself. Ponies from this kingdom tend to be stronger and larger than normal with a resistance to cold elements and usually weapons and spells that unleash the frozen wrath of the north itself.

No seriously. They have spells and weapons that can freeze a pony solid and their not afraid to use them!

******

I held my breath after reading that passage as I started to realize just how different this new world was. Sure I’ve heard of the old school play about the three races not being able to get along… but those were old filly tales. Just stories made to teach the lesson of friendship and how everyone should get along or at least that's what I thought.

I couldn’t believe that this… Raven thing managed to fracture their trust to such an extent to cause… that. The old stories had all the groups arguing and going their own separate ways or trying to live separate from the other groups… but they never thought about murdering each other!

“Yet all it took for them to go at each other’s throats was the removal of the alicorn that ruled their land.” Whispered the voice in the back of my mind. “How do you think Equestria would handle itself if Celestia suddenly died?”

I shook the venomous through from my head. This wasn’t Equestria. Equestria managed to hold itself together. Prince Frostmorn came to check in on me as I shut the book and hid it behind me. Just learning he was the king of a nation that committed... that did not make me feel good about meeting him again.

Frostmorn tried to help me out prepare for the outside world with needed supplies and how to defend myself. Two days may not seem like a lot of time, but as soon as the storm ended I planned to get the hoof out the door as soon as possible. I didn’t trust anypony in the castle yet… and from what little I know about them doesn’t make me feel any better.

******

On the day of my leave I was given one of those carts homes you saw show ponies or traveling salesponies move around in from town to town as my two escorts reintroduced themselves to me. The first one I was a little happy to see even if he couldn’t talk back as I finally came up with a more… fitting name for him.

Brigs (Big Red Intelligent Golem System) was a war golem more commonly referred to as a Drake due to their resemblance to dragons. Though what surprised me was that he was the one who was going to be pulling the cart for us. He was happy enough to see me as he gave me a hug before Prince Frostmorn asked him to put me back down. (For a large metal dragon he sure can hug.) I'll admit I was amazed that he was... emotional. Yes I'm talking about a golem, but Brigs is nothing like those silent sentries you read in those old books. He just has that sort of... spark of life. It's hard to explain without seeing him yourself.

Shadow Tail to my surprise and disappointment was creepy interrogator number one only this time he didn’t have any wings on him. I almost mistook him for an earth pony until I looked inside the cart. Inside the room I could see four different sets of wings (one versions pegasi and two versions bat pony and the big griffin wings missing a few feathers) and a couple of weapons. He turned back to me and gave me some sort of glare before he closed a curtain cutting the rest of the room off from my sight.

Frostmorn sighed as it sounded like he was apologizing to me “If you want to find “Equestria”….” Frostmorn slowly spoke the word trying to get it right“… then you will need his help. He is one of the few scholars who know where most of the old sites used to be.”

“He’s a scholar?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Frightening? Yes. Gives the same creepy vibe as Zecora without the peaceful atmosphere? Definitely. Carrying just enough weapons to seem excessively creepy? Walking in the blizzard by myself now sounded safer than traveling with him!

“Just take a deep breath Swift.” I muttered to myself “Don’t let this be another Zecora incident.”

Frostmorn tried to smile as he tried to reassure me by saying “He will make sure nothing happens to you, but he isn’t exactly the most social pony… He isn’t that bad of a pony and he can escort you back to our kingdom if you decide to rethink about your decision about finding this... ponyville.”

Nothing that he said made me feel any better. If anything I felt even more nervous about traveling with him than before! The only thing that was now bugging me was wondering which race Shadow Tail really was. It felt strange calling him a pegasi... because of the whole incident that happened in the past and the current grudge the book listed by the author... who was the pony who I'm now traveling with.

“What kind of pony is Shadow Tail?” I decided to ask.

“One that wants to get this little trip over with!” Shadow Tail shouted from the cart “It’s going to be annoying enough having to answer most of the questions you’re going to be asking throughout the trip!”

Frostmorn shook his head as he replied “May the two sisters watch over your journey with great care.”

I climbed into the back of the cart as I saw Shadow Tail’s tail flicker about from behind the curtain trying to get something on. His tail’s hairs stood out on end as it hadn’t seemed to have been brushed in days. The color was raven black as small feathers seemed to be stuck in it. I moved closer to get a better look as the curtains where quickly drawn open as Shadow Tail had replaced his dark leather armor with a snow white model as the mechanical bat wings now adorned his back.

“Yes?” He asked as the wings moved aside the curtain and picked up one of the saddles with the weapons attached to it “Have you changed your mind.”

How do those things work? I’ve never seen a pegasi move them like… diamond dog paws or something. Of course he could be a bat pony... but do they work like that? I really don't know a lot of bat ponies... but it's strange knowing those wings are fake.

I shook my head trying to ignore the growing questions in the back of my skull “Just wondering how things turned out this way.”

“You will be asking that question to yourself a lot throughout this trip.” He said with disinterest “Now which weapon do you want to hold onto for now? Daggers tend to be up and close, and the pistol does give some nice freedom of movement while attacking, but I personally prefer the riffles or shotguns if you want to get close, but not in face stabbing range.”

“I’ll just stick with what I have right now.” I replied nervously

Sure I now knew what a gun was after finding about it in one of the books and I've used a knife to defend myself once… but the thought of killing another living being didn’t sit right with me. Heck the only time I've really fought anything was a timber wolf and I mostly ran from it.

I could almost swear that Shadow Tail was rolling his eyes underneath that creepy mask as he started to cover his tail with what looked like a metal version of a Griffon’s tail.

I didn’t want to learn how to use a gun. I didn’t want to think about how far the ponies in this crazy land had dedicated their lives to killing each other. We had bows and the royal Canterlot army to protect us. The crazy ponies here had invented new and even deadlier ways to kill each than I would have ever thought possible. Faster I get home the better!

“Suit yourself.” He muttered as he the mechanical bat wings moved to strap the saddle on his back.

How those wings seemed to work so… naturally on him was beyond me. Thankfully the cart started to move as I looked outside to get my mind to stop thinking about my new traveling companion and onto my adventure back home.

I closed my eyes as I thought about where I would find maps. I mean if Equstria was thought to be a myth… than story books, old maps, and stories would help me get back home. I also wanted to look up any information about this Raven character just so I would have an idea on what to say to Princess Celestia or the other ponies after I made it back home… And Mom… Dad… Just wait a little bit longer. I’ll be home soon.

******

The Frost kingdom looked as if the evil never left. Some of the stories from the book in the room talked about it being a shining jewel across the country side as snow gently drifted down from the skies filling the lands with peace and serenity.

Snow didn’t drift onto the ground as it fell like frozen shards of glass. The wind didn’t so much brush against the window, but howl like a chimera as it shook the cart. The open warmth and beauty of the land was now closed shut with a harsh darkness of paranoia and hatred as they very land seemed to be insulted by my very presence.

Shadow Tail whistled as he looked over the journal on his leg. Lyra Heartstrings was the only pony I knew who sat differently. He must have taken the same lessons she did. I don't care if she claims that's how that's how your supposed to sit on a bench. It's still strange! Shadow Tail rubbed his chin while his wings moved about grabbing what ever he was looking for.

“Looks like we have having good weather today.” He said without looking at the blizzard outside.

I blinked as I couldn’t help but ask “Are you begin sarcastic or are you actually being serious?”

Shadow Tail chuckled as he replied “Well I might as well get your impression on what the lands looks like to an outsider from Equestia since the last one that visited was…a very long time ago.“ He motioned at the ragging storm outside “This weather right now is considered tame. More like a summer rain shower or a light storm. Heck most of the Frost Empire’s soldiers are properly training outside today.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I shouted just to hear myself over the storm “Nobody could see where they were going!”

“Isn’t that kind of the point?” Shadow Tail retorted as he started to write “When some enemy force invades they do one of two things… Option A is to try to alter the weather if you’re a Lunar Republic member which leaves a small clear opening for anyone to spot your forces.”

The ground shook a little as Brigs smashed aside a fallen bolder bigger than the cart.

“Or option B and try to wait for the storm to pass over.” Shadow Tail continued apparently not bothered by what was going on outside “During that time anyone not used to the weather is helpless. Just huddled together near campfires trying to stay warm.”

Shadw pulled out a quill made a gesture of pretending to slide it across his neck for just a moment before his other metal wing brought over the ink bottle. He didn't need to explain as I understood the message. I could just picture some poor pony trying to keep warm as a Frost Empire pony snuck around in the snow with a dagger ready slit the pony’s throat.

“Most have a hard time fighting in the weather as they can’t see their friends or allies. Leaving them easy pickings for hidden assassins.” Shadow Tail slowly spoke as he dipped the quill into the ink bottle “Others try to clear the storm so they can fight, but it never lasts for long.”

The wind started to die down as Shadow Tail put away the quill and ink bottle as he quickly strapped his riffle on his side. Without warning the winds suddenly picked up again as the winds screamed. Somepony screamed as an avalanche crashed through the mountain side. A griffin crashed into the side of the cart wearing dark brown armor.

He opened his eyes as his wings were coated in ice as Shadow Tail pointed the riffle straight at his head. I could swear I could see him grinning underneath his mask as he pulled the trigger on the device that kept it attacked to his body. I shut my eyes as I hear the gun fire right next to me as something warm splashed against my fur.

Shadow Tail chuckled as if he heard a good joke practically grinning “Dam amateurs. Nothing stops the Raven’s powers for long.” He kicked aside the Griffin body and fired into the sky as another figure dropped to the ground below. “I have to kill some idiots so please stay in the cart as I’m sure the Drake can protect you from these dolts.”

He jumped out of the cart and flew into the sky. Not bothering to ask how he could fly I just focused on the task of shutting the back of the cart and grabbing a few pieces of wood to seal the hole in the cart. Already snow was starting to pile up as I was freezing my tail off. It was times like these I wish I was a unicorn. They properly didn’t have to try to bother holding planks of woods with their hoof and hammer in the nails themselves as snow kept pelting their face.

I shoved each plank of wood against the hole as the ice bit into my skin. The smell of blood was still fresh as I tried to focus on the nail and wood. I didn’t want to think about the gun shots. I didn’t want to think about the death that was going on outside. I had no idea why ponies… or griffins were attacking us. I mean what did we ever do to them?

Surely they had a reason besides… us being there. Attacking us like highway bandits in those old stories. I tried to hammer in the next plank only for the cart to shake again as a pony smashed into the cart. I stared at the brown pegasi in dark gray armor who smiled at me. Two long sets of chains rested on his back as he pulled one of them out. The cart shook for just a moment as a massive steel hand smashed down on the pony leaving a sickening sound as blood puddle of flesh and bones rested where the pony used to be.

I tried not to throw up. A pony was just killed in front of me. One moment he was going to do something bad to me. The next moment he was a pile of pulp. I tried to keep myself standing as me knees felt weak. I fell out of the cart at the next bump as the snow froze against my fur. My hooves felt slightly warm as I backed away from the dead body I fell in.

Two diamond dogs popped out of the ground and attacked Brigs. He tried to fight them off as a griffin landed in front of me smiling as he held a pair of chains similar to the pony before her.

“Let’s see how much your worth little pony.” The griffin smiled as she grabbed my throat

The ground shook again as she turned his head and screamed in terror. The cart had moved away from us as the snow began to cascade down the mountain. A bolder smashed into the griffin as the snow pushed us aside. I fell down the mountain side as the snow kept spinning me making it impossible to tell which way was up.

It continued as the freezing cold made me feel sleepy. There was a rule with the cold… I tried to remember what it was… Red snow bad… yellow snow bad… lots of snow… meant…

My eyes started to close as I couldn’t remember.

The snow kept spinning me round and round as I drifted asleep.

******

I snapped right up taking a deep breath. Sweat dripped down my face as I looked around. I was back in Ponyville. My legs were covered in bandages as a small medical chart rested beside me.

I sighed in relief. It was all a crazy dream. I must have banged myself up near the Everfree forest and had to be dragged back into Ponyville. I’ll admit a part of my pride was hurt, but I was home again. The door opened up revealing nurse Redheart as she tried to calm down my parents.

“She just needs some rest.” She replied firmly “Her condition is stable which is a lucky thing for a mare who passed out in the Everfree forest.”

I smiled nervously “Hi mom. Hi dad. Sorry for the trouble.”

They smiled as soon more ponies came into the room. Applejack came in with a cart full of apples. No idea how she got them inside the building. Rainbow Dash was bragging about how she had to rescue me as I blushed. Pinkie Pie hopped around the room… and on the celling somehow.

She fell down from the celling laughing “Your in a bit of a bind Ms Lotus.”

I shook my head “I’m just stuck in bed for a while…” I chuckled nervously “And please call me Swift… I keep thinking everypony is revering to the pony that works at the spa when they say Lotus.”

Pinkie Pie giggled “Well sorry! Though you might want to try licking your way out of this cage!” She jumped up and down “Do you think it tastes like candy? I mean it’s all sweet and sticky!”

Nurse Redheart sighed “Come on Pinkie Pie. We need to let her rest.”

Pinkie Pie moaned as she was dragged out of the room “But it’s so boring! Besides resting is the last thing she needs to be doing right now!”

Nurse Redheart dragged Pinkie Pie out the door as more ponies came in. It seemed like the entire town came to visit me because I was sick. The bed was soft as I could feel myself sinking into it. All my fears began to disappear as I just woke up from a nightmare.

Applejack shouted “Now that was a darn reckless thing ya did! Traveling in the Everfree Forest all on your lonesome. What would have happened if a pack of Timber Wolves jumped ya?”

Rainbow Dash right in-between me and Applejack “Why then I would have simply clobbered them all before they did anything!”

Black feathers danced in the background of the crowd of ponies. I tried to focus on the argument between Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I messed up. Rushed in over my head and now I just had to recover. So what if I didn’t get my big adventure just as long as I’m home.

A purple pony walked in the front of the group “What are you doing here?”

“I’m injured.” I quickly replied.

I tired to look at her yet the ponies kept moving around her. Each one talking, moving, bringing items, or checking up on my. I couldn’t help but shiver as the black feathers appeared again in the crowd.

The purple pony scoffed “You know you’re not supposed to be here. You left town and now you’re gone. For Good!”

I shook my head “I’m right here! This is Ponyville… and who are you?”

The purple pony smiled “Why I’m…”

I flinched as static screeched in my ears “Say again?”

The purple pony’s mouth opened as another wave of static tore into my ears. The black wings were moving closer to me as I shut my eyes. I was in Ponyville. I made a stupid mistake and now I’m having to rest. I was home!

The purple pony put a hoof on my chest as I looked up. The purple coat fell apart revealing dark raven feathers. The eyes dissolved into two red glowing lights as her smile soon became plastered across her face like a filly drew it with a crayon. Two black wings stretched out of her back as the eyes focused on my.

Then in a voice that was more of an echo it replied “I’m bored now. Wake up little pony and show me some fun!”

The hoof shoved me deeper into the bed. Now the bed was turning sickly green as it wrapped around my body. It was like taffy as the more I struggled the deeper I sank in. Now all the ponies were laughing at me.

“What a sap!” Rainbow Dash laughed out loud holding her sides “She a hero? Everypony knows it’s always a unicorn or a pesagi! Go back to watering your plants!”

Applejack was laughing as she wiped the tears from her eyes “Didn’t ya hear? Apparently she wanted to give her hoof at racing! That’s why she started that foolish flower delivery service in the first place!”

Rainbow Dash rolled in the air laughing at me “A fast earth pony? Might as well make a talking timber wolf! Heck why do we need her?”

Applejack shrugged “I don’t know considering we already have three other ponies selling flowers. Heck she should have kicked the bucket a long time ago!”

I clawed at the green goo trying to escape. Why didn’t they help me? Why were they doing this!

The black winged pony chuckled “And remember… watch out for the changelings!”

The green stick goo surrounded my body as I rose my head up trying to gasp for air only for the purple hoof to shove me under.

******

My eyes snapped open wide as I tried to get out of the sticky green goo that threatened to smother me to dead! I slowly pushed my way out of the green goop as my mane was soaked in some sort of liquid. I shivered in the cold as I looked around. Two bug ponies were on the ground dead with large gashes through their body.

The green cage that the bug ponies had trapped me in showed damage as whatever killed them had properly helped set me free. The only thing I knew was that I was knocked out for a while and the tracks leading to the cave were fresh as the snow hadn’t finished covering up the trail.

The first thing that came to me was regret. I was back in this twisted nightmare instead of in Ponyville where I belonged. The second thing that came was annoyance at myself. Why couldn’t I just have stayed in the cart or better yet not fall out of it? Now I was stuck in a cave full of evil bug ponies!

“Just take a deep breath Swift.” I said to myself trying to calm myself down “Just find a map and whatever supplies were left behind. Then think of up a plan.”

I held my breath as I moved over to the first dead bug pony. It wore that weird armor they favored, but this one wasn’t like the big heavy suits on the battlefield. Instead it was a lot thinner and more like some sort of scout uniform. It also didn’t fit me, but the two daggers they had were filled with some sort of green liquid.

I gulped as I lifted the dagger and placed it into one of the satchels they left on me. It was important that I had something to defend myself. A hissing sound came from behind me as I ran behind one of the carts. Two of bug ponies walked into the room from a tunnel as they carried a cart with them. Dead bodies filled the cart of other ponies and bug ponies as they lifted the two bodies into the cart.

The first one shook it’s head as it spoke in that hissing tone apparently annoyed at having to clean up the mess. The second one shimmered for a moment before it appeared as a crystal pony in heavy red armor. It stood back shivering as he flailed his arms about as the first bug pony laughed.

The one in the armor shouted “Quick! Follow us to safety! A Raven cultist army has been spotted just a few miles away from this town!”

The second one changed into a little earth filly and wined “But what about the evil changelings?”

The armored one chuckled “Don’t worry. Mister Frostmorn and the flower pony managed to drive them away. You can trust the Frost Kingdom to protect you.”

They both fell to the ground laughing out loud as I looked down the tunnel behind them. Now I knew why they were called changelings as I suddenly gained a new found fear of them. It wasn’t enough that they were capturing ponies, but they were either impersonation or simply replacing the ponies they captured.

My only guess was that once the ponies were lead into the cave the changelings sprung their trap. The ponies fought back and my cage must have been damaged before the fighting ended. Now it was up to me to escape and tell somepony about this!

Both of them went silent as they changed back into their original creepy black bug forms and searched the area. The two spilt up as the first one searched the entrance of the cave properly to check for any hoof prints as the second one started to search the carts. I pulled out one of the daggers and tried to steady my hooves as I moved it into my mouth. My teeth fell into the handle grip easily as I could feel some sort of button.

With one little tug a small squirt of the green liquid hit the floor as I could smell the faint aroma of what I hoped to be a sleeping agent. That or it could be acid. It’s a green liquid and I’m not an exact expert on what this green liquid could be. It might even be poison.

The changeling’s shadow grew closer as I really hoped it was a sleeping agent instead of deadly poison or acid. If not then I was about to kill somepony by accident… a creepy black bug pony that wanted to throw me in a cage. The hissing grew louder silencing and doubts along with my own heart beat as I waited for the evil changeling. Then out of the side of the cart came a small filly without even a cutie mark. She was an earth pony like me as she was trying her best not to cry as she had a runny nose. I lowered my guard as she turned to me with large puppy dog eyes only to freeze in fear as she saw something behind me as she had her hoof pointed out.

I turned around ready to defend her only to see a nothing as a flash of light went off behind me. Pain shot down my neck as something sharp bit into it for a moment as a pair of hooves cover my mouth. I bucked as hard as I could sending the changeling back as my vision started to haze. A dagger fell to the ground beside me similar to the one in my mouth except it left a large pool of the liquid on the ground instead of in my veins.

The changeling hissed as I ran towards him and tackled him. The dagger in my mouth went straight into his thigh as I clenched my jaw with all my might as all of the foul liquid went straight into his body. I just really hoped that they had a similar biology or I would be in trouble. His eyes flickered in rage as his horn glowed and shot me across the room as my body was smashed through a cart.

New fact about changelings. They can cast magical bolts that really, really sting!

I slowly pulled myself up and pulled out another dagger as the second one stood his ground. He was all that stood between me and the howling wind outside as I was the only thing standing in-between him and warning his allies in the tunnels. I glanced at the one I struck with the knife only to see he was knocked out, but not from what I would associate with sleep but a magical burnout.

I gritted my teeth as I stared at the other one as I tried to prepare myself for another painful magical blast. The ground rumbled as the changeling paused and looked at me strangely. Another rumble of the earth cause snow to fall outside as it tried to look outside the cave without losing sight of me.

That was when we saw it. There was a white figure that seemed to stand out of the snow somehow. The creature’s hands, feet, and even its face was blue like a frozen pond. Small puffs of air escaped the creature’s mouth as two large tusks jutted out of its jaws. Ice formed around the creatures hands and feet as it stared at us. The beast suddenly howled in the wind as the earth started to shake again as snow came crashing down outside of the cave. Despite the fallen snow crashing down the cave entrance was still left open as the monster stared at us.

Then to my surprise the changeling had a look of fear on his face as he turned to face the creature leaving himself exposed to me. Then again from judging how his knees were shaking the creature was properly a lot more dangerous than I could ever hope to be. The white monster then stared at us as only one thought could be read from his mind. It was hunger and it didn’t care what we were. To it we were just it’s next meal.

Why can’t life just cut me a break?

******

In the next few hectic moments I had only learned one thing about this monster. If the Everfree forest experienced winter than this brute would fit in easily. Already it used strange absurd abilities like generating ice around it’s immediate area along with their crazy rules that no one understood.

The… white monkey bear? Frost bitten ape?

“What is that thing?” I shouted as a shard of ice nearly impaled me

“Ice” The beast roared as the changeling tried shouting “Soar!”

“Icesor.” I said to myself. I properly misheard it, but at least I have a name for it now. “What’s it doing here!”

The changeling shifted into a pesagi and flew up shouting “It’s hungry.”

Icesor wanted to eat us when there was a cart full of dead ponies and changelings just sitting nearby unguarded. I just learned the monster had some sort of intelligence as it could have easily taken the cart and left considering all we could do was doge its attacks. Apparently it liked its meat fresh.

Icesor jumped into the air and tried to grab the changeling. Ice formed around the celling leaving a large icicle for it to grab to help keep him in the air. The changeling went back to the ground as I ran over to one of the carts and searched for a better weapon. The floor seemed to shake as I saw Icesor land on the ground growling as he hadn’t been able to catch one of us yet.

“Flint, coal? This isn’t what I need!” I shouted to myself as Icesor turned to face me. “Glitter frit.”

I grabbed some of the flint with my hoof and stuck it with my knife repeatedly as the ground began to freeze. I’ll have to say this. Whatever else the ponies kept in that cart was really flammable as the cart quickly turned into a raging ball of fire. Icesor screeched as he landed on the cart as the flames covered his fur. Whatever fancy ice magic rules he had apparently didn’t apply to fire as he howled and stared at me in rage.

I quickly bucked the cart before I ran as it flew down the tunnel as Icesor tried to escape only for the cart to start breaking apart trapping his foot. Thank Celesita for small favors. I turned to face the changeling only to see it had picked up his fallen ally.

He glared at me and said “The hive will not forget this.”

The changeling flew out of the cave as a large buzzing sound came. Dozens of changelings poured out of the tunnel as I ran for cover. Each one of the bug like ponies flew past me as they left the cave. I could still hear Icesor howling in pain. My first thoughts were thinking that it was actually thanking me for getting rid of the monster until they came to a grim thought.

The town the changelings had tricked and captured. The green glow in the tunnel similar to the cell/cocoon I was stuck in. The monster was in the cave with an entire town’s trapped citizens and very angry for being set on fire. I had denied the changelings a meal and granted the monster one instead.

The exit was now unguarded as the storm didn’t seem that bad in comparison to fighting that beast again. There were even a couple of carts that would make traveling in the weather ease for me. I shook the thought out of my head as I opened my bags. It was my fault that the monster was now with them and now it’s my job to save them. All I had to do was figure out a way to deal with the monster and right now I knew fire hurt it. I needed a plan.

Besides it should be easer facing one monster than a swarm of changelings right? Please let me be right.

******

I looked at the Icesor resting in the middle of the cave. Most of his fur had been burnt off leaving his skin pitch black underneath. He was currently blowing on his skin as a cold breeze fell across the room. Thankfully none of the cage/cocoon things had been broken… well that the residents haven’t been turned into snacks for the monster.

Good news is that it was injured as a really big bug pony was dead in front of him. Like freakishly big as Icesar had a couple of claw marks running down his body. Hopefully that would make my task easier. No idea why the giant bug pony didn’t run. Or did he stay to hold off the monster while the others fled?

I shook my head as I didn’t know and as I tried to focus on the current problem. Giant evil monster holding a bunch of ponies hostage. All that was standing between them and a monster’s stomach was me and the items I had!

I looked down at my small collection of items. I really wish one of the heroes from my books was here right now. Daring doo fought tons of monsters… and had much better skills than I did. Star Beard…. Had unicorn magic. Steel hoof… I’m not even sure I could lift his armor, much less wield a hammer that big. I face hoofed myself as I looked to my last inspiration… comics.

To be more specific loony ponies. Always crazy plans and ridiculous luck, but they always worked out in the end. Right now I needed that luck as I was about to do something stupid. Something very stupid.

“Bag over hoof to handle Poison Joke?” I repeated to myself as I lifted the flower out. “Check. Torch for fire?” the wood slowly crackled against the wall “Check! Knife for when things fall apart?” The dagger rested in the saddle with its handle near my mouth “Check.”

I gulped as I slowly crouched around to Icesor’s back. My entire plan was hoping that the flower would act fast enough to prevent anything bad from happening to me. Just a few steps and I would be right next to him. Best thing about this plan was that I could easily change it on the fly. Then again it wasn’t that much of a plan to begin with… think happy thoughts Swift. Happy thoughts.

Icesor’s eyes seemed a lot more red than last time as I can now spot what remained of the cart after what must have been a brutal assault on it. I held my breath as I lifted it up the poison joke and place it near his back.

“Please let it work!” I chanted in my head as it was about to touch.

Icesor’s body quickly twisted around as his teeth snapped right into my leg. I screamed in pain as the teeth were buried into my leg as the posion joke fell into his mouth. I quickly grabbed the knife and plunged it into his right eye as eye goo splashed everywhere. The knife in his eye forced him to let go of my leg as he tried to pry it out.

Without wasting any time I grabbed the torch and started hitting him with it as the flames crackled against his flesh. Icesor simply backhanded me as the force sent me into one of the cell/cocoons which was surprisingly soft… and sticky. I quickly struggled to get as I felt something brake behind me as Icesor turned to look at me with his remaining eye. His very angry eye that would kill me if looks could kill.

He grabbed me and tore me out of the goo as his grip broke a rib. He growled and then put both hands around my body and started squeezing me to death. I couldn’t move as he opened his jaw wide enough to tear me in two. I shut my eyes expecting the worst only to hear it hack as my fur was suddenly covered in… dear Celestia I really hope this gunk is spit.

Icesor’s grip stopped as I fell to the ground as I watched him hacking as if he was about to throw up a lung. His mouth went over my head as I shut my eyes as another splash of hopefully spit covered my body… If I live I will need a bath. A really long and strong bath as something hit my face that wasn’t spit.

A piece of paper stuck my face as I pulled it’s slimy texture off me and saw Icesor no longer as the giant blueish burnt monster that wanted to kill me but instead a small tiny imp made out of ice smaller than a rabbit. He glared as me as he tried to bite me… only to get trapped in the mess covering my body and soon plastered to the floor by it.

I couldn’t help but smile as I looked down at him and said “Not so tough now?”

Icesor hissed at me for a moment before his eyes widened as a pitchfork was plunged straight into his body. I turned around to see a crystal earth pony breathing franticly as another crystal pony with a shovel struck the small imp’s body repeatedly into paste. I stared at them in surprise and tried to smile before I passed out.

Hopefully nothing bad would happen this time.

******

What was this feeling? My body felt weightless, but I was standing. The sky was darkened black yet the sun was out?

“How does it feel to see the fallen sky.” Sang a voice “To touch the end of an age. To sow madness into the very land. To reach out to the stars and pluck out the night sky. To know that the doom you have buried has finally spring forth?”

A laugh rung out as a pony fell through me… A pony fell though me! I started to panic as I touched myself feeling my body was in one piece, but seeing a dead pony lying on the ground in my hoof!

“You call me a monster and that I don’t agree with for you see. For monsters only hunt and kill for food, but you lot oh… you fools…” Came the twisted cheerful voice “You struck the fire. You fueled the furnaces and struck the coals until they burned!” The pony coughed as I realized he was still alive! “So is it my fault? That you got burned or your own stupidity that everything burned!”

A scythe hit the pony’s body as I recoiled in horror. Robes covered the killer’s face as he laughed as everything went dark.

******

“You gave her Past Drought!” shouted a voice.

My body felt like a sack of lead now. Noise erupted around me as the floor began to shake.

The second voice panicked “She was falling apart. We needed to fix the wounds and it was the only thing we had on hand!”

An earth pony stood over me as he shinned. He didn’t have a coat like a normal pony. Instead it seemed more like he was a pony made out of a shining crystal as the teal light danced about. He had a small grin on his face as he looked over me as my body felt like it was dying. He simply put one hoof over my mouth trying to keep me quite.

He shook his head as he whispered “Can’t have you wake up yet.”

******

I opened my eyes again and saw Ponyville. My first reaction was to run around shouting for my mom and dad until a cart passed through my body. I shivered in fear at the unearthly feeling. None of the ponies seemed to be bothered… but none of them were paying any attention to me.

I raced back home desperately seeking mom and dad. They had to see me. They had to know what was going on. Instead the shop was closed as Applejack stood outside the door looking at my mom and dad. She held the package that the zebra was supposed to have gotten.

“Look I know it seems bad, but ya’ll shouldn’t give up hope yet.” Applejack softly replied “I mean the package wasn’t even in the Everfree Forest.”

Mom didn’t look up as tears filled her eyes. Dad softly muttered to himself not really saying anything, but I could tell that he felt responsible for the accident. That it was his fault that I disappeared… or died.

I shook my head screaming “I’m right here!” None of them paid any attention as I ran up to them “I’m still alive! See! I’m right here!”

I cried out loud as I tried to touch mom. As I tried to comfort my own father. They hadn’t done anything wrong. Dad’s crazy powder actually helped save my life. I wasn’t dead… just… missing. My hooves clawed at the dirt. If I was dead then wouldn’t I be able to fly though the dirt or something? That’s what ghosts did right? So as long as the ground was solid I was alive?

I laughed as pain filled my body as I jumped into the air. No flight? Not dead. I’m still earth bound. I’m still alive.

“I’m…” I cried out loud “I want to go home.”

I head hoof steps behind me as I turned around. A pony in scorched blue armor stared at me. Darkness leaked from every crack as the neon blue eyes stared at me from inside the helmet that covered his face. I back peddled away. I wasn’t dead as the specter of death moved closer.

“I’m not dead!” I screamed “Go away reaper pony! Go away!”

The reaper pony hissed “Equestria.”

******

Pain. Wonderful horrible bitter pain that reminded you that you are alive and still breathing wracked my body as my lungs hurt as my body refused to move. Half a dozen blankets were dumped on my body as I couldn’t help but wonder if they were for my health or if somepony just dumped them without looking.

I pushed against the heavy load as my body didn’t fall through them letting me know I was awake instead of stuck in some sort of pseudo dream state again. Snow started to drift in as the pillar of blankets didn’t allow me to see much.

The wood underneath my body felt cold as fresh air slipped through the crack. The room reminded me of the cabin Shadow Tail had expect it was lacking the hostile feeling and loads of weapons surrounding it. The door opened up as somepony sat down as the cold air rushed in.

I groaned “Please shut the door and tell me what I missed.”

“Oh so the little one is awake now.” Said a rich and charming voice.

I shot up shouting “I’m not little!” only for the blankets to weigh me down.

The charming voice simply chuckled as he replied “Maybe you could lose a blanket or two.”

I felt the weight lighten as I buried my head in one of the blankets. I felt like a little filly. The voice simply hummed a few bars as I felt embarrassed. His voice sounded like it belonged to one of those Canterlot elites and unlike the last royal member I ran into he was treating me with respect as I wasn’t locked up or thrown in chains.

After gaining my composer I looked up and stared at him in a mixture of awe and confusion. Instead of seeing a pony I was face to face with a large brown Diamond Dog with a monocle on his right eye and a top hat.

The charming Canterlot voice came from the Diamond Dog saying “Ah… wasn’t expecting a Diamond Dog?”

“No.. I mean…” I smacked my hoof against my face trying not to stutter and failing not to look like an idiot “It’s just the only Diamond Dogs I had seen… Just spoke a lot harsher and more interested in jewels.”

The Diamond Dog chuckled “Broken speech. Lots of shouting. I know the type.”

I blushed in embarrassment “Uh… my name is Swift Lotus. What’s yours?”

The Diamond Dog smiled as he said “Mr Topaz. Though some call me gramps.”

The door swung open widely as two fillies ran in shouting “Is flower pony awake! Is she alright?”

Mr. Topaz turned around and calmly said “She’s just needs her rest. How’s everyone else fairing?”

One of the fillies jumping up and down shouted “Their trying to make sure everything is in one piece. Some of the older ones are worried about the weather though. I heard flower pony took down a Hydra!”

“Well she took down the ice monster!” the second one shouted “And she scared away the changelings!”

Mr. Topaz simply nodded “Now why don’t we let out little hero rest for a moment. She properly needs it before she tries to get rid of the next big bad monster.”

Both of the fillies raced out shouting about talks of adventure. It felt… surreal. I heard them talking about me, but at the same time it didn’t feel like they were referring to me. I didn’t defeat a Hydra… I just threw sneezing powder at it while somepony else did it and for the changelings. It was the monster ice monster was what frightened them away. I just got lucky with a small patch of poison joke. Dad would kill me if he knew I kept some for the Everfree forest… I felt tears growing in my eyes just thinking about him as I rubbed them away.

Mr. Topaz chuckled as he sat back in the wooden chair watching over me. Beside him rested a large blade as tall as the Diamond Dog himself standing up. The armor he wore was more of a heavy leather vest as with pieces of metal in it. A few gems stuck out of his pockets as he tried to push them back down.

Topaz looked back at me “So what’s your story and don’t say you don’t have one. I’m traveling with ponies and you just managed to free an entire village from a changeling hive just after stopping the demon of the north with a flower of all things.”

That made my checks flush as it sounded a lot like a story I would have like to have read… if I didn’t already know what happened.

“Got lost and ended up trying to find a safe place to rest. Then something broke my cage waking me up leading to a series of accidents and lucky moments.” I sheepishly replied “It really wasn’t anything. I’m just trying to get to ponyville.”

“Ponyville?” Mr. Topaz repeated to himself “I can’t say I really heard of that place.”

I heart sunk as it just reminded me just how far I was away from home. I motioned for him to close the door shut as he did. I was left with two choices… lie or tell him the truth. I had only meet this pon… diamond dog and I was tired.

I took a deep breath “It’s a long story… if I tell you can you promise not to tell anypon… I mean anyone.” I could feel my mouth struggling with the last word. It didn’t feel natural.

Mr Topaz smiled “Sometimes all we need is an open ear and a moment to relieve ourselves. I’m all ears.”

Yes it was stupid. Yes it was a bad idea… but after seeing my parents morn for me? I had to say something not to anypony else, but to myself. I was alive and I was going to find a way back home!

I sighed “Well it all started when I was about to deliver a package.”

Winter Breaking

Topaz listened to it all. He didn’t ask any questions or doubt my sanity which I was starting to doubt myself. Funny enough I did feel better after letting it all out.

He sighed when I finally finished and said “That’s an interesting tale. So what are you going to do next?”

I blinked. It seemed obvious to me. Find a way back home starting with a map or something then…then after that…. I just get a cart or a hot air balloon or something… and I’m back home. Yes I’m lacking a few details, but it isn’t that bad of a plan. It can easily be changed and won’t have to many problems fixing it when I run into a problem… like lack of a plan.

I shook my head of the last doubts and replied “You’re not questioning it? The whole I'm a pony from Equestria which apparently everypony around here thinks if a myth?”

Topaz shrugged “Does it matter? Either your story is true and your trying to find a way to get back home… or you were kidnapped as a filly and forced to get a lot of random details from about some random lands far away with a copious amounts of Dream Drought or by the Raven’s dark magic so you can be a living tomb of knowledge for some rich Frost Kingdom Lord.”

I shivered at that last comment. I was almost forced into that last part back at the last place.

Topaz scratched his chin “Either way you’ve been given a crate of Fool’s Gold for your trouble without a map to town.” He noticed my perplexed look “It’s an old expression for rotten luck, besides Shadow Tail tends to attract people with strange stories. It’s not the strangest tale I’ve heard that turned out to be true.”

I sighed. The fact this wasn’t the strangest tale made me worry a little thought for some reason I could believe it. I wish I was back in Equestria. We never had to deal with bug ponies that could make themselves look like other ponies and we never had to worry about crazy magical monsters… and that’s saying something when you live in a town that’s practically right next to the Everfree Forest.

******

Topaz followed me out of the town as I couldn’t tell if he was standing guard to protect me or to protect the town from me. Either way he followed me as the snow continued to drift down just as bad as it did when I was ridding the cart. Funny enough the ponies didn’t seem to mind as little crystal fillies ran around throwing snowballs. The “farms” were large wooden buildings with crystal roofs to give the plants light and keep the snow out

It was kind of strange at first. Crystal ponies looked normal sized as the rest of the unicorns and earth ponies came in the extra-large package. Essentially they were earth ponies… but just shinier and more crystal looking than a normal pony. I never head of crystal ponies before, but I never heard much of this place either... and it didn’t help I wasn’t a history major.

Long story short or at least according to them… there used to be crystal ponies in Equestria until some evil unicorn lord fought the two sisters… whoever they were…. but before the final blow could be struck the evil lord whisked away the kingdom never to be seen again for a thousand something years. The survivors who weren’t in the capital roamed the land and then settled here… somehow. Not going to lie. I’m not sure how much is actual history or just story and considering Equestia itself is considered a myth makes me wonder a little bit. Surely their would be some sort of record of an entire kingdom vanish overnight back home... or possibly taught to foals back before we got our cutie marks. Starting to wish I had access to the library in Ponyville just to double check.

To my surprise though there were other Diamond Dogs in the village… except less charming like Mr Topaz and more similar to the ones back home but with more clothing due to all the snow and they weren't rude. Most of them spoke in a broken speech kind of like the ones back home, but quickly shaped up when Mr. Topaz glared at them.

The glare was something I’ve only seen on a few ponies. A few times when mom was really angry, that time some pony joked about going to the Grand Gallaping Gala in a really bad suit near Rarity… and that one pony who broke a Pinky Promise with Pinky Pie.

“So what’s with all the Diamond Dogs?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Topaz took a deep breath and tried to calmly say “The ground tends to be frozen solid or hard to till. Our claws have an easier time going through them than pony hooves and picks. We like gems, crystals, and other shinny objects and the Crystal ponies can also grow crystals, make gems, and craft some proper fitting objects for us to wear.” He grinned as he took of his monocle and wiped it clean “We help work the land and they pay us in gems and crystals. It’s not that bad of an arrangement for either side.”

I looked up at the sky. The clouds were dark as the wind continued to howl. I couldn’t help but shiver as the storm itself seemed to have a dark presence hanging over it. They didn’t have any pegasi left, but I still couldn’t help but wonder if they couldn’t clean up the sky.

I slowly hummed to myself trying to take my mind off it. The old winter wrap up song was always a nice tune to sing as the words themselves didn’t matter so much as the feeling it brought you. Topaz’s ears perked up as he stared at me in interest and slight confusion.

I grinned sheepishly as my face blushed “An old song we used to sing during Winter Wrap Up.”

“How did you… clean up winter with a song?” Topaz said with interest as he looked at the sky.

I shook my head “We didn’t. We worked… and the song made us feel better.”

How do you get around explaining that back home everypony cleaned up winter without unicorn magic because the town was founded by earth ponies? Come to think of it how did they clean up winter without any pegasi… or did pegasi just visit the town and cleaned up the left over clouds?

That would be one useful bit that this town needed. How to do Winter Wrap up without pegasi or unicorns! Lessons on friendship and forgiveness sold separately.

A filly shouted “You know how to clean up Winter!”

I quickly shook my head and my hooves shouting “NO! Well not exactly. It’s a different place and a different stuff.”

The filly jumped up and down “I’ll get the others!”

I hung my head and sighed as Topaz simply chuckled. How could I clean up a mess that had lasted for over a hundred years? I looked back up at the clouds again. If only a weather pony was here to give the clouds a few good kicks. Maybe a unicorn could move them, but these clouds didn’t look like the ones back home. Even then the book itself said that the Raven’s magic had weakened so it might be possible if the magic continued to weaken…

I shook my head trying to get rid of the crazy thoughts. This was unicorn or pegasi territory, not lost earth pony territory. Topaz simply placed a paw on my shoulder and pointed at the large group of fillies rushing towards me. My brain stopped working as all those bright and cheerful eyes stared at me waiting for me to magically make the weather go away. I’m an earth pony! I don’t have that kind of magic… and their using the puppy dog eyes… with diamond dog puppies in the mix. Now that’s just plain low.

I closed my eyes but I could still feel them. Like a cat or a dog just resting right in front of your face waiting for you to get out of your nice soft bed. One of them even began a small whimper as Topaz chuckled again obviously enjoying my suffering.

“Fine!” I admitted out loud in defeat. “I can give it a shot, but I can’t promise anything.” The fillies cheered “But I’ll need help and you’ll need to sing along with me.”

A purple crystal filly shouted “But we don’t know the word’s Miss Flower!”

I took a deep breath and repeated the same thing I was told as a filly “The word’s done matter as much as the tune or the feeling… just say or sing what comes naturally and we’ll see what we can do.”

Celestia have mercy on these poor infant souls as I’m bound to sing off key very badly. Their eyes widened expecting for some fancy magic trick as Topaz kept glancing back at me and the clouds. My chest tightened as I started to feel stage fright, but I didn’t want to let them down. Of course I didn’t want to mess up either which was more likely, but it was hard trying to stand tall infront of those fillies.

A warm feeling rose in my chest as I tried to sing “Put on this vest and listen. I’ll teach you what to do.”

“But we don’t have vest. We have coats.” One of the fillies responded.

Topaz sighed “They just don’t know what to do.”

“Well, then I’ll explain so you can know that there is nothing you should fear.” My voice sang out “Now come on everyone and sing along with me.”

I nearly said everypony until I remembered the diamond dog puppies. That would have been awkward, but the fillies and diamond pups started to smile as Topaz looked at me strangely. I didn’t care as they were looking up to me. I doubt I would be able to change anything, but I just wanted to put a smile on their face.

“Each year we help to welcome spring. We welcome back the warmth and all things green.”

“But how…” one of the fillies asked. “Just how do you get past the cold and the howling winds?

“Since it’s your first time I’ll take the lead. Topaz some help?” I sang out loud

He blinked “But how do I help. I’m not a pony! What am I supposed to do?”

“Well just come help us out and sing along.” My voice seemed to have taken a mind of it’s own as I hopped out into the fields. “Winter Wrap Up. Winter Wrap Up. You do it. I’m right here!"

One of the fillies smiled as he tried to sing along “Winter Wrap Up. Winter Wrap Up! Come on Mister have no fear!”

“Come on Topaz have no fear.” I sang along as he gave us a gruff look.

“But how do you clear all this snow?” Topaz asked out loud.

I hopped over to the shed with rakes “Well first you grab a rake right here and scoop up all the snow.”

“Then where do you put it?” Another filly asked.

“Why in that cart over there!” I stopped for a second as I remembered this wasn’t ponyville.

A stallion waved at me as a cart was nearby. The fillies and diamond pups started to move the snow into the cart as more ponies were starting to watch. Properly trying to figure out why a crazy pony was singing… or waiting to watch me blunder.

“Then Topaz just help us till the ground right here.” I turned to the fillies and pups “Just don’t worry as you’re doing just fine.”

The fillies chanted back “Winter Wrap Up. Winter Wrap Up!”

“Come on people let’s lend a hoof or hand.” I sang out loud.

More ponies started to enter the chant. Maybe it was out of the warm feeling of watching the fillies and diamond pups or the fact the song seemed brighter than the cold winds around us.

"We can lend a hoof or paw, but how do we clear the clouds that snow upon us now?” A pony asked out loud

I turned around pointing at a unicorn “We just simply move them now.”

All eyes turned to the unicorn as I felt a little guilt as the fillies sang “Winter Wrap Up. Winter Wrap Up!”

“Alone it may seem rough,” Another unicorn sang “but with just a little bit of help! It will be just fine.”

I smiled as more unicorns joined the group. Their magic glowed as the sky seemed to be a little bit brighter this time.

The fillies and pups sang their line again “Winter Wrap Up. Winter Wrap up! With you right here it will be alright!” And apparently added a new verse.

Topaz chuckled as he actually sang “Winter Wrap Up. Winter Wrap Up.”

I sang along as the choir grew. I doubt we were really doing anything, but at least we were feeling good about doing nothing! We continued singing as the feeling grew with each voice that joined in. I did my best to help guide them along as I thought back to each task that needed to be done.

******

Hours passed as apparently none of us cared. Everyone was singing and having a good time as the snow finally stopped. The air felt warm as I looked up and stopped singing for a moment as everyone went silent.

My eyes stung for a few seconds as both ponies and the diamond dogs gasped. The sun was out and the clouds were gone. I didn’t know how long they had been out, but the sun was now shinning down on us as the land felt a bit more cheerful without that darkness lying about.

One of the fillies shouted “Flower Pony’s song worked! She stopped Winter!”

Whispers filled the town as they stared up in the sky in confusion as I remembered the book. The storm eventually died down, but the wild weather never stopped. It never cleared. The Raven’s magic had finally ended other this town.

I shook my head “I didn’t do it. All of you did it.” They were now staring at me in confusion. “I just sang a song to help you out. The rest of you managed to clear it up… I just started the tune and the rest of you finished it.”

At this Topaz laughed out loud shouting “If this was all we had to do then maybe we should have started singing sooner!”

At that moment a few of the other Diamond Dogs started to chuckle as soon the ponies joined in. To them the storm that never ended was finally stopped and all it took to stop it was just a stranger and a few fillies singing as we tried to clean up winter. It actually sounded funny when it was said out loud.

A few of the fillies just chanted “Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up! Have no Fear!”

Everyone was now laughing as there wasn’t even a cold breeze now. Maybe it wasn’t the song that stopped the storm. Maybe it was the fact everyone got together and was happy. They worked side by side and sang a silly tune forcing back the darkness left by this Raven creature’s dark rule. Maybe that was all that was needed in breaking the curse over the town or maybe it just finally gave it. Either way like Topaz said to me… It does it really matter? Right now their happy and the storm is gone. That’s all that really mattered right now.

******

I rested in the cabin as Topaz had guarded the door. The ponies were happy and were enjoying the sunlight for how ever brief it might be. I on the other hoof decided to open up Shadow Tail’s book again to get some much needed information on the world.

The Crystal Kingdom was considering a shining capital that helped spread love and hope all over Equestria or at least it did before it disappeared from our world by the Dark Lord Sombra. With the kingdom lost the Crystal Ponies were scattered until they managed to gather together again and built a new life what is currently known as the Frost Kingdom. With their magic in gems and Crystals they have helped rebuild and made a new kingdom… currently known to the rest of the world as the Crystal Palace. The center of the Frost Kingdom capital along with most of their ancient lore.

Sadly much of history of before the Raven’s time has been lost, but every crystal pony speaks of the lost Crystal Kingdom and how it fell to darkness. Some even claim that Sombra was the first general of darkness though this could be wild tales. All that is known was that over one thousand years ago… There was an evil pony named Sombra. He fought Celestia and Luna, but when he was about to lose he whisked away the Crystal Kingdom taking away the very thing the Two Sisters fought so hard to protect.

The first Drake’s made by the Crystal Kingdom were made in the image of dragons due to their natural size, awe, and power. In fact most are based off of adolescent western dragons as they walk on two legs leaving their front "arms" free to grab or hold weapons. While the Lunar Republic prefers it’s constructs and various robots…. And the Protectorate with it’s magical golems/creatures. The Frost Kingdom forges each Drake with a “miniature Crystal Heart” as they call it. In truth it is nothing like the Crystal Heart that was found in the heart of the Crystal Empire that used positive emotions to power it... But there are rumors of the magical connection and gifts Drakes alone seem to possess that many other constructs and ancient golems do not have despite the countless advancements made during the years since then.

Drakes are also known for their active abilities or "Quirks" that tend to develop under use of an owner. The Berserker Class Drake in particular is quite known for this habit and are some of the first models made during the war and still used to this day. While some constructs may show “Quirks”. Drakes like the image they were forged from are extremely protective and sometimes emotional. Some would even go so far as saying they have a soul. Berserker Class in special can sometimes for a “Bond” with other ponies besides unicorns. Picking a fight with a Bonded Berserker will only end with either the opponent’s death or the destruction of the Drake itself. Kill the owner… The Berserker variant will not stop, or even rest as it will continue to hunt the killer until either they are destroyed or the Berserker is finally destroyed.

As for those who think they can “out wait” a Berserker Drake… Longest recorded hunt was 25 years as the killer fled to Raven Fall. The Drake in question slayed the demons, monsters, and even the Night Lord of the land just to reach the prison the Killer was locked inside. Needless to say the Drake finished his task killing said pony. Try thinking about that before you pick a fight with a Drake.

It showed an image or Brigs tossing a large spider as it stood protectively over a group of crystal ponies. So I had a powerful metal dragon that wouldn’t betray me and would hurt anyone that tried to hurt me. Now only if Brigs was with me right now... Or did I just lose him for good?

I flipped past the pages looking for pictures until I ran into two standing side by side. The crystal heart and a red gem of a unicorn with wings.

Emotion is a powerful force. Much more than most races tend to believe and quite frankly take for granite. The Crystal Heart is the magical crystal that uses the Crystal ponies love, hope, and other various positive emotions to protect the crystal kingdom and even destroy some of their foes.

Sombra was one dark lord who broke the Crystal ponies spirit and will as he hid the gem from them. While hope was all that was needed to save them… Kind of sad considering how things ended. Still many believe this to be a key trait in the miniature crystal hearts. No matter the battle, no matter how bleak the circumstance is. The Drakes will stand tall and defend their owners to the last soldier. To the Frost Kingdom… Drakes are Hope forged into metal form forged to battle the darkness that seeks to destroy them.

The Alicorn amulet on the other hoof focuses on Dark Emotion. Fear, Hatred, Wrath primarily. It can enhance a unicorn’s magic greatly and allow the ability to cast spells previously unable to or even grant new spells to it’s user. Unlike it’s namesake sadly it also enhances the darker emotions of it's host granting the user more power and making them worse as it corrupts them until the amulet is finally removed.

Thankfully removal of the amulet frees the pony of the taint of dark magic it held as most would never do the actions they did under it’s influence. As few tales that speak of such objects say… It takes the worst traits you have and then makes them your only trait until a crude copy of you is in control as you watch helpless in your own body.

Worse even still… just like the original Crystal Heart was the baseline for Drakes… there are quite a lot of magical artifacts that used the Alicorn amulet for their baseline including those nasty side effects.

******

Time had passed by without me knowing until my stomach rumbled letting me know I was hungry. I stretched as I put away the book ready to grab something to eat. Outside everypony was celebrating as tables were filled with food. Immediately two ponies dragged me over to the table as they loaded up my plate with a lot of food.

I smiled and nodded as they gave their thanks. Most of them were just enjoying themselves as they really needed it. Soon drinks were passed and everypony was laughing along with the diamond dogs. I even saw a crystal pony and diamond dog engage in a drinking contest as both contestants tried to outdo the other.

Everypony was happy until a filly started shouting “There’s an army outside!”

The music stopped dead. Ponies and diamond dogs drinking were now spraying their drinks as I could hear a few plates hitting the ground. Nopony waited to see what was going on as they grabbed weapons as some even grabbed chairs until they could replace it with a pitchfork or riffle.

Topaz stayed beside me as he had his blade drawn as we followed the filly near the edge of town. Right in the distance we could see a large group of ponies marching towards the town. These ponies wore white armor that practically blended into the snow itself as their white banners hung in the air. I rubbed my eyes not believing the sight at first, but surely enough the banners held the image of Celestia’s cutie mark.

I should have been jumping for joy, but instead a growing feeling on unease rested in my chest as I continued to watch them. Their armor didn’t match the Royal Guard’s armor at all. Instead it covered the body from head to hoof as only hints of yellow were placed on the armor for detail. Their helmets covered their faces up completely, but instead of an expressive mask like Shadow Tail. Each mask seemed to have been craved in the image of an angry pony. Even the sun itself seemed to be more jagged instead of the soft curved lines it usually had.

The towns ponies came up behind me as they were nervous. I was nervous when the large group stopped with in sight as the stared at us as the sun glinted off their armor making it difficult to look at them.

One of them shouted “Has the storm stopped over this small town?”

Topaz grunted as he shouted back “For now it has!”

He practically growled at them as the ponies held onto their weapons tightly. The armor in white pulled out their blades. Each one as bright as their armor except they had decorations of fire dancing across the hilt in blazing red. These blades did not feel ceremonial at all.

The one that shouted “We wish to see what has happened!”

Weapons were now being pointed at each other. The armored ponies scrapped their hooves across the ground as the towns ponies prepared for a fight.

I stepped forward and shouted “Not to be rude… but who are you?”

The armored pony shouted again “We are the Protectorate! Followers of the true goddess! We have heard of a pestilence roaming this land and seek to end it!”

“Uh… You’re kind of late.” I sheepishly replied “The changelings already fled.” Both sides were silent as I stepped forward just a little bit more “But… if you want we can offer you some food and help point you in the right direction at least.” I glanced back at the towns ponies “If that’s not too much trouble?”

The mayor of the town shouted “We can give it a shot.”

Both parties lowered their weapons as the Protectorate forces marched into town. Parents hid their fillies as the diamond dogs retreated into the shadows. Nopony seemed exactly thrilled, but considering the last army was full of shape shifty bug ponies in disguise I couldn’t blame them.

The white armored ponies continued marching until they reached the center of the town. Everypony was silent as the armored ponies didn’t eat. Instead they spread out searching the town as they glanced through each window and inspected every house nearby.

I glanced around for where the mayor went, but either she left or was hiding along with most of the other ponies. The largest of the group stared at me as Topaz stayed by my side obviously unhappy at the new arrivals.

The large pony spoke with distaste “You have mongrels so close to your borders?”

“Ground’s cold.” I replied uneasily tapping the frozen dirt with my hoof “Besides shouldn’t everypony lend a helping hoof if they can?”

The large pony huffed in annoyance almost as if I had insulted her. I didn’t say much… besides Celestia was a nice pony. Surely they couldn’t be that bad? They were just a bit paranoid with the possibility of but ponies hiding in the town. That could make anypony a bit nervous. The armored ponies went further away from the center of the town as I lost sight of a few of them.

The larger one spoke again “Hard to believe that a bunch of town’s folk could frighten off a group of changelings.”

Topaz growled “We helped.”

The larger one spoke in distaste again “Let me guess? By running?”

Topaz stared at the large pony as I could see his teeth clenched. The large pony kept her mouth near her holster as if expecting a fight to break out. I quickly stepped in-between them trying to stop the fight... I had seen enough dead ponies to last me a life time.

“No… well not exactly.” I replied uneasily “The changelings fled after a monster showed up. We killed the monster and the changelings didn't come back.”

The pony went silent. I really wished one of the others were here. They had the full story... well most of the story. I woke up after I was captured by the bug ponies. I glanced back at the decorations they had. All of it was the image of Celestia’ cutie mark… or of flames. There wasn’t a lot of variation for their group.

I chuckled nervously “So… why are you called the Protectorate?”

“Because we protect.” The pony simply replied as if I was asking what color the sky was.

I nodded trying to get more information “And the flags? That’s Princess Celestia’s cutie mark or is that the sun?”

“Queen Celestia!” The pony practically snapped at me like an angry school teacher “She is the true goddess who watches over these lands. The one who raises the sun each day for which there would be no life without!”

I nodded not exactly because I didn’t believe her, but the fact she was scaring me. Now I felt the very strong urge to keep my past a secret. Princess Celestia was the pony in charge of all Equestria… but she kept the title Princess instead of Queen. No idea why, but nopony is going to argue with the one who gave us one thousand years of peace and harmony over some fancy title wording. Especially when said pony was over one thousand years old! I think she’s been around long enough to pick titles out for herself.

“Got it. Queen Celestia, “The phrase sounded really off for some reason “But… others? Isn’t she the only one?”

The pony raised a hoof ready to snap at me or something, but pause apparently surprised by my confusion. She lowered her hoof and coughed into it for a moment before trying to regain her composer.

“Of course she is.” She stated rather smugly “The lies spread by others speak of a sister when there is only one goddess.”

One of the other ponies marched back to her and shouted “We have cleared our search of the town. Orders?”

The pony glanced up at the sky “Tell me… how did the storm end?”

A small filly crawled out from behind a door and mumbled something underneath her breath. In an instant the large pony glared at the small filly causing her to hide underneath her hooves as her subordinate marched over to the filly dragging her out of the house. I moved to stop her only for a sword to stop me as the blade rested just in front of my chest.

The filly was dumped in front of us as she looked up and shouted “Flower Pony taught us a song and we got rid of the nasty storm!”

The large pony tilted her head “Flower Pony?”

The filly nodded adamantly “Winter Wrap! Winter Wrap!” she sniffed as tears ran down her eyes “She said that’s what they did back home when they cleaned up winter. She didn’t know if it worked here, but she tired anyway unlike you big meanies!”

The pony next to her raised her hooves up as I ducked underneath the sword and pulled the filly away before she got hit. She cried into my coat as I could hear her sniffing loudly. The white armored ponies were frightening a filly for no good reason! I glanced back up at the two waiting to see if she would berate her comrade for such reckless behavior. Topaz was bearing his teeth and had his hand on his sword's hilt. The large pony didn't seemed to care.

Instead she replied “A song? You just sang a song to end the storm?”

“Honestly I was one of the ponies who didn’t think it would work.” I replied honestly.

The mare nodded “I understand what needs to be done.” She glanced at her subordinate “Tell the others to let the town continue their feast. Let them enjoy the party as our forces restock our supplies before we prepare to continue Celestia’s work.”

I smiled. I was scared, but they weren’t going to hurt anypony. They weren’t exactly the nicest ponies I’ve ever meet, but they weren’t bad ponies. The ponies slowly left their homes as the Protectorate forces assured them that everything was alright. I tried to relax as it seemed like everything was going to be okay.

******

The party started back up again. Ponies played music as they tried to enjoy the sunshine. Fillies now danced around shouting, and playing with each other despite the unease of their parents. Everything looked like it was going to be alright.

Sadly this wasn’t exactly true. The diamond dogs were nowhere to be seen. Not even Topaz was around. I didn’t know why they weren’t here, but I could now tell that the Protectorate forces didn’t like them one bit. Still everything was going alright. Nopony was pointing weapons or frightening fillies for no good reason. Everypony was just a bit nervous.

I glanced at the Protectorate forces and noticed something odd. They didn’t have any unicorns. It felt… odd not seeing any unicorns especially since the Royal Guard had a pony from each race filling up their ranks… and the fact that Canterlot had a lot of unicorn nobles and knights, but no unicorns in this group was rather odd. Maybe something happened to the unicorns during their trip?

Still it was a little bit unsettling seeing how few white armored ponies there were. Sure they had a few nearby the tables… but none of them had taken off their helmets. The rest were still searching in case anything was nearby.

All of the Protectorate ponies was covered in the white armor they all worse. Some of them were more… leather like armor as they had guns strapped to their side… Battle Saddles like Shadow Tail with the trigger either attached to their tail, wings, or near their mouth. It was unsettling to see how many different variations of weapons they had on them. Some of the guns looked like riffles, but a few of them just had some sort of nozzle as they seemed to have kegs resting on their backs. They all wore helmets that covered their entire face up as the ones with the kegs had masks more like Shadow Tail expect without the expressive eyes and just had glass covering over their eyes as you couldn’t see past the glass.

One of the ponies stood up as she smiled “I know it’s been a rough past few weeks with Scron’s Invasion… the raids along the borders and even the assault on our very town, but it’s all changed now.”

She motioned towards the skies “The clouds are clear as the sun is shining.” She chuckled “It’s hard to believe that the snow has finally stopped. We stuck through the storms, the bad harvest, and even against invaders, but now… Now it’s a new day. It’s a new day for our foals, for our future and possibly even bright and happy days for us all.”

The ponies cheered as she stepped down as I couldn’t help but smile. The doubt seemed to have been washed away. Now everypony was joking about now. It continued like this for a short while until a small pony stepped to the front of the tables.

She wasn’t much of a pony. She wore a white robe over herself with markings of the sun all over the robes. Unlike the others she didn’t wear a mask that covered up her entire face. Instead she wore a similar mask to the ponies with the kegs covering her mouth, but her eyes were left exposes. Everypony went silent ready to see what she had to say.

She took in a deep breath as the mask in front of her mouth hissed before she said “I have traveled far and seen much in my service to Celestia. It warms my heart to see the storm that has plagued these lands finally start to end.”

Everypony was smiling as a few of the parents tried to have their foals stop playing about and pay attention. Certainly the rest of the Protectorate ponies were listening and it wouldn’t be good to offend them.

The Protectorate pony nodded “Much hardship has plagued this land since the Raven’s war against us. Many ponies have struggled hard keeping true to the One Goddess’s teachings.”

I sighed knowing just how true that statement must be. Banishing the pegasi? Attacking each other? Celestia tried to get everypony to get along. Trying stay peaceful after all the confusion and terror must have been hard. I could feel the wounds from my stay from the prison cell seem to itch just thinking about it.

“And now the sun has come out to bless her the faithful. To bring life back into this frozen land and bring forth new life.” She said with joy “This truly is the start of a new future for us all”

Everypony started getting ready to applause. I laid back no longer fearing the worst as it was going to be all right.

I almost shut my eyes until I hear her hiss “And it is time to cleanse the taint from this land! To burn the heretics so that her blessing shall remain! This is why she has called us here this day!”

The protectorate ponies pulled out their swords as the blades now were covered in flames. The pony on speaking now glared at us all in anger and disgust as if our very presence insulted her very being!

She screamed out loud “As the Goddess herself commands! Spread the flames the burn the taint of this village and all the heretics that live here! Kill them all!”

The ponies screamed as the Protectorate attacked. Flames belched forth from the keg wielding pony’s weapons. Guns opened fire tearing apart the panicking crowd.

“Blessed be the Golden Throne!” She shouted before joining the slaughter.

“Blessed be the Golden Throne!” The others chanted back.

One of the crystal ponies shouted as the town tried to defend themselves. One of the ponies tried to attack the pony who gave the order only for her to pull something out of her robes. An explosion went off sending everypony flying as I landed against one of the houses. I struggled to stay awake, Everything hurt as I could hear ponies screaming before I closed my eyes.

******

I opened my eyes again as my body ached in pain. I could feel blood dripping down from my head as I properly should have a doctor take a look at it. My white coat was a mess and red blood mingled with the dirt and fur. I couldn’t believe what had just happened a few moments ago, but when my senses returned I almost wished they hadn’t.

Sounds of Gun fire rang throughout the town as ponies shouted curses and screams of panic in the air. Good descent ponies were lying dead around me. A dead filly who had just been jumping around laughing had just been slaughtered as her blood dripped onto my face. The blood wasn’t from a head injury… it was from her. I struggled to get up as I saw she wasn’t the only filly as another had been sliced open by a sword as the slice along her body was burnt crisp. Fires raged through out the town as I felt sick to my stomach.

They called themselves the followers of Celestia. The Protectorate of her will. Just in what way did slaughtering fillies count as Celestia will! The Celestia I knew would never want this! It was like they were perverting the peaceful princess that gave a thousand years of peace with their twisted mockery!

The dagger I had taken from the changeling had fallen out of my saddlebag as it laid on the snow. The snow now covered in blood as the twisted ponies were now trying to finish slaughtering the town. I could smell the burning flesh as tears fell from my eyes. This was so much worse then the battle I saw when I first arrived here. Not even the evil bug ponies slaughtered foals!

I picked up the dagger and raced towards the first twisted mockery I could see. It wore white armor covering it’s body, but they didn’t give the same pride that the Canterlot guards held or that strange sense of emotion Shadow Tale’s had. Now I understood why it bothered me so much. It felt cold and emotionless like some sort of clockwork golem instead of a real pony.

The white armored mockery turned as the barrel of the gun turned towards me. I ducked into the snow as a steam of flames shot out above me. As soon as the flames stopped I leapt forward like some sort of wild animal and plunged the blade into his chest. He took a few steps back as he turned the barrel towards me again.

“For the Frost Kingdom!” a pony shouted.

The armored pony turned only for a pitchfork to be plunged into his face. The pony shouted in triumph only for a mace to crack open his head. His body fell before me as his neck was twisted backwards as a new pony stood in front of me. Another white armored monster stood their as a mace floated beside in covered in a red crackling aura. He didn't have a horn, but the mace twisted around to defend him when I kicked up a mound of snow at him and grabbed my knife again.

I charged straight forward without a plan. The mace crashed into my side as my barding protected me. Flames suddenly exploded against my side when the mace hit as I tried to ignore the pain. The pony tried to move away only for me to break the distance and thrust the blade through his throat.

The pony collapsed onto the ground and started gargling as blood flowed out of his mouth. I turned to the next one only to see six other ponies with flaming swords. What was with these freaks and fire? I tired to pick the blade up again as I gave them my best “Do you best” look. I really wish I had a more intimating look. One pony steeped out in a large suit of armor... the same one I had tired to convince not to fight. The pony who betrayed my trust and tried to gather everypony together in one spot and slaughter them all in one move.

She spoke in a tone of annoyance “May you beg for forgiveness when we send you to Celestia's throne.”

I spat at the ground “I don’t know what bucked up Goddess you worship, but the Celestia I know would never agree with the bucked up things you’re doing!”

I never really swore before in my life and right now… it feels good as it’s the only way to get it across just how screwed up these ponies were!

The armored pony charged me as I ducked the flames burned across my mane as she slammed her head against mine. I fell back in pain for a moment before flaming hooves came crashing down upon my face.

I saw the battle saddle on her side holding her gun. I shoved my hoof at it knocking it up as I grabbed the trigger and pulled. Flames scorched across her helmet as she screamed in pain. Her sword swung down tearing the battle saddle off as I tried to crawl away to get a weapon. Her hooves slammed into my back as flames licked my mane making me scream in pain.

She stood over me now in hatred as she kicked my onto my stomach hissing "My Celestia see this mark before you die so she knows the full folly of your transgression heretic!"

Her armor radiated heat practically roasting me alive as the left over snow around me was quickly melting away. My mane felt like it was on fire as her sword went down to my neck for a moment before being raised up to come crashing down like a axe on a log of wood.

The armor glowed red she replied “Celestia is on our side! Nothing shall stop our judgment.”

I clenched the blade in my teeth again as tears ran down my eyes. If Celestia really wanted this then it would be better if I died right here. The armored pony brought her blade down as I shut my eyes only to hear a bone shattering crack. Once I opened them a large red figure protectively stood in front of me as the armored pony laid in a broken mess on the ground. I don’t care how “blessed” she was. I don’t think a neck should be twisted that way and a body for that matter was couldn’t bend that way.

Brigs roared in a bloodthirsty cry frightening the other ponies (including myself) as he clawed at the ground ready for another fight. Two of the ponies raised their blades only for a soft pop as both of them fell to the ground. A shadow flew over me as I couldn’t help but grin in joy. Behind Shadow Tail came a yell as a large group of diamond dogs came tearing through the streets with weapons as they charged towards the armored ponies. Apparently Celestia wasn’t on their side as she had just delivered us a miracle.

I struggled to get back up. This town wasn’t going to burn today.

******

The battle was over as my legs finally gave out. It hurt to walk now. My brain was in agony as I was finally calming down. My first thought was that I killed a pony. The hydra and the red changeling had died because of my actions. The ice monster when shrunk had died due to my actions. Yet it felt different knowing I had personally taken a life.

The second thought was wondering just what where those psychopaths? Daring Doo had villains, but they were in it for money, greed, or trying to bring back an old kingdom. Busho Hooves had villains who had tragic backstories or had tried to change the world. Even if it was with a bad way to achieve the goal like bankrupt a town or something... but they at least had morals! These ponies? They were just a cruel mockery that murdered ponies for no reason!

Brigs simply moved next to me and scooped me up as he then carried me to the wounded tent. All of those ponies that were dead or wounded… all of them were my fault. Just because I song a stupid song I nearly got them all killed.

One of the fillies… dear Celestial she was missing a leg… shouted “It’s Miss Flowers!”

They cheered as they were actually happy to see me. Please stop. It’s my fault all of you got hurt. It’s my fault that your friends and family died. It’s my fault for trusting those twisted ponies.

“It’s not your fault so stop mopping about.” Muttered a voice beside me.

I turned to face Shadow Tail. His mechanical bat wings moved with quick precision that would rival a unicorn’s magic as he plucked out bullets from a pony’s leg with one wing and stitched up the leg with the other. The pony’s face didn’t look at all happy and was relieved when the procedure was over.

Shadow Tail groan “Hey I got the bullets out and you didn’t want to be knocked out for the procedure.”

“You were going to hit me in the head with a frying pan!” the pony shouted back “Haven’t you ever heard of anesthetics?”

Shadow Tail blinked… well his helmet’s eyes blinked. That’s one detailed gas mask.

His wings smacked together “So that’s what I was missing. No big deal.” The pony glared at him “Besides I told you I’m not exactly trained to deal with living ponies.” He turned around to face me “And as for you Miss Guilty Conscious. Stop feeling so glum. So you had to kill a pony. The world isn’t a kind place.”

“But the fight…” I closed my eyes “All of it was…”

“The idiots in white’s fault.” He simply stated “These people were abducted by changelings, had killed a creature created by taint. It didn’t matter if you managed to stop the winter by getting them to work together as you sang a song. They still would have found some other stupid reason to do what they did.”

“Do you really mean it?” I couldn’t help but ask “Or are you trying to make me feel better.”

Shadow Tail grabbed my face and pointed it towards the others “It doesn’t matter if you feel good or bad. The fact is their happy. You saved them from being abducted by changelings, helped kill a monster that terrorized them and a lot of other ponies, then you got rid of a group of psychopaths, but most of all… you stopped the snow.”

He took a deep breath and looked up “For over a two hundred years it would constantly snow as few would ever see the sun. Now… the sun is shining brightly and it doesn’t look like it will disappear anytime soon.”

Despite the wounds most of them seemed happy. The fillies laughed as they told tales about the town ponies and Diamond Dogs that stopped the evil ponies. The grownups were already chatting about which crops they would try to plant as soon as they got out of bed. A few tears were spoken over dead friends, but everyone was happy that the endless winter had finally ended.

Brigs laid me down on one of the beds as Shadow Tale spoke “Now I must warn you. I’m not a doctor. Doctors try not to cause any harm.” He shoved a block of wood in my mouth “I never really could do that part.”

His wings dug into my legs making me scream into the block of wood as I felt my teeth sinking into the block. The bullet going through my leg hurt less than his treatment! Thankfully my low tolerance for pain kicked in as I passed out as Shadow Tail patched me up.

Twisting trees part 1

Shadow drove the cart to our next destination as I opened up the book he had written again. Before I had skimmed… What? It’s a big book and I wasn’t expecting to stay here long! I need to know how to get back home instead of how to stay here.

I skimmed through the table of contents looking past each word. The Frost Kingdom interested me a little since it talked about the Crystal Empire… but I had finished the general overview and the book didn’t talk about it too much… Though Shadow trying to find it brought up a few questions. If the Crystal Empire was supposed to be in Equestria… then did that mean this land was connected to Equestria… there were old tales and rumors…. Well an old tale from an abandoned castle that linked the two together.

I rubbed my aching head and tried to forgot all the growing complications about rumors based on old stories only to feel it grow when I saw the Protectorate. The only use I saw for that section was for kindling… and apparently the “Short version” left by Shadow was only two pages long with one of the pages showing a picture. Apparently he had a distinct dislike of that group and I couldn’t blame him after my short encounter with them.

My eyes focused on the two sections that interested me the most right now. One was about the Raven… which might be hard to understand since it might be missing a couple of things that would have been considered common knowledge… like Princess Celestia back home.

I tried to skip past those thoughts and focused on the next name. The Lunar Republic which… kind of caught my fancy. A kingdom that hunted electric bugs and had made the fancy radio that Shadow now carried. Maybe they were a descent group in this twisted world?

******

The Lunar Republic is a kingdom is different than most kingdoms due to it’s unique government. While the merc nations have taken up various forms of governments (Including my own home nation) the Lunar Republic has made its own attempt.

Officials are voted into office starting from the lower communities or “towns” as some areas simply give the pony the job if they have a cutie mark towards that position. Then from there those individuals rise up and work or vote with each other to promote one of them up to the next position onward until you reach the end of the chain called The Lunar Senate.

The Lunar Senate is the main governing body of the Lunar Republic as most of the decisions that affect their empire happen here. This includes foreign trade policies, declaring war, and all the other assorted jobs that would normally be given to a King or Queen. So it tends to be somewhere between a lot of power, but not as much as people would actually think as the lower members of the senate can block/void actions made by the appointed leader. Apparently you would have to be a politician to fully understand it all.

I skipped through the pages as these seemed to be more detailed than the Frost Kingdom.

How the Lunar Republic was made… Unlike most chapters this is kept near the back due to its… controversy. To say one problem was the cause is an understatement and the fact its formation also coincides with the Protectorate… It’s one of the reasons why bad blood still exists between the two nations and why those! (Lots of scratches and marked out words) But I digress.

The main points was policies, technology, and division. Both sides had looked up to the Two Sisters and for the most part… they were fine and close to their *actual freaking representation! That’s right people! Not one screwed up line about fire and damnation!** Though it did say Celestia controlled the sun. But the rest is complete* (more scratches)

During the war against the Raven… Princess Felicity soon stepped up in her duties and moved some of the other aspects of ruling the kingdom to her subjects. Queen Serenity had ruled and was able to make a countless years of peace and currently they needed to go back to the methods of war… which required an Alicorn on the front lines with combat experience.

--See Fall of Raven Guard, Birth of Taint, and The Final Stand of Unity for more details.--

More books on the subject I didn't care about. Come to think of it would it have killed the writer or publisher to have simply removed the scratched out section of the book?

Princess Felicity’s started to make changes in their society as they encouraged advancement in both social and technological advancement including setting up the Lunar Senate to help deal with the countless reports. That way when morning came the reports that needed the Queen’s approval could be summarized and authorized without taking up most of the day.

For many this was the start of a new era that… if all went well might have prospered quite well… Sadly as we all know. We lost.

After the war ended both sides were divided and with both missing the Alicorns they had looked up. Without the noble line of Alicorns to take up the ruling the land… they fell back to the last two “remaining Alicorns” they knew of… which at this point consisted mostly of stories, rumors, and quite frankly wishful thinking.

Celestia became the deity of light and peace. Her “rule” was focused on the day and return of the old ways before the Raven war. While Luna on the other end became the deity of the Night and patron of advancement. Her “rule” was focused on the night and the new changes made during the Raven war as many cities had started running both during the day and the night or even going completely nocturnal in some cases.

Soon it became a debate between what had been lost and what had been gain. What should be dismantled or tossed away vs what should be recovered from the past or left buried in the past.

Many earth ponies felt threatened with some of their positions possibly being taken by the new industrial technology. It didn’t help that some unicorns even began to wonder the current purpose of the Earth ponies with the new advancements. They no longer needed family farms or the “Earth Pony Talents” with the new golems and farming advancements made during the war and the “Era of The Raven”.

The Unicorns felt threatened by the rapid advancement of magical equipment that the Earth Ponies had suddenly gained including the possibility of “Raven Gifts” seen during the war or the new “talents” some had suddenly seemed to gain overnight. Questions amongst the Earth ponies soon grew as they began to wonder why they needed a bunch of unicorns when they were fine without them since the unicorns seemed to stay in the cities and play nobility or law marker more than “actually lending a hoof” as some called it.

Without the guidance of the Alicorns they had relied on for so long divisions started to form as old misunderstands and grudges started to resurface. In the past ponies could barely tolerate themselves during the “Heartwarming Eve” until a set of friends stopped the harsh winter, but even they barely tolerated each other out of necessity (or be hit on the head by Pan’s frying pan). The earth ponies needed the unicorn magic and the unicorns needed the earth pony crops. Now the unicorns could make their own crops and the earth ponies… they found other means of magical assistance.

In time it might have been fixed, but the final and perhaps biggest nail in the coffin of all was fear and the dreaded fallout from the Frost Kingdom. Hundreds of Pegasi that managed to survive were forced out of the Frost Kingdom for fear and threat of death. For some it was because they managed to leave or escape when the “ground ponies” struck out.

In the past with guidance this would have unified the ponies… but the scars from both the Raven War’s and the changeling infiltrations still ran deep.

So they immediately assumed the worst and thought the other side would force their ideas upon them or end up doing exactly what the ponies in the Frost Kingdom did to the pegasi. So both sides split with lots of bloodshed and violence until they finally stopped trying to kill each other and simply built a massive wall dividing the territory between them.

Oh dear Celestia help me. This world is insane. They tried to kill each other and ignored the fact that everyone is supposed to work together. Sure I’m might have a slight bit of envy towards Pegasi and Unicorns. Heck my dad is one and I would love to do half of the fancy things he does! Looking back at all this… bloodshed... what was it for?

Simply because of a few disputes? The Frost Kingdom has Golems of their own and they didn’t replace the earth ponies. I could understand fear. I mean half of the ponyville is nervous about the Zebra in…

A shiver ran down my spine. What happened to the zebra in the Everfree forest? Did my disappearance make things worse? Did they blame her for my disappearance? She was just a weird stripped pony… oh dear Celestia I can see it now, but I don’t want to believe that it could be possible. Next page! Next Page!

As for the society in general… Like I said before they are a nation striving for advancement. New spells and arcane equipment could be called their central strive and goal. Ponytecha the figurative capital if not most recognized city stands is the center of new innovations and technologies that flow through their society only second to its oldest counterpart Skybolt.

Unicorns can do well in the Lunar Republic as their magic is highly sought after. Pegasi also tend to do rather well as their ability to manipulate the weather is even stronger and more prominent within the Republic’s borders. Many pegasi go to the Skybolt Academy to learn weather control and how to effectively use cloud control on the battlefields.

If you could sum up the Frost Kingdom as a nation of Ice then the Lunar Republic could be summed up as a nation of Lightening. In fact many… eccentric ponies tend to live their along with many schools of advanced learned and education. A few tend to have their mane stand up on end all the time due to all the electricity they mess around with.

Though the situation with the earth ponies has gotten better… Most are treated as second class citizens as certain… stigmas still exists. While it is better than exile or (shudder) death. At best they are seen as disabled… at worst they are discriminated. Some even forced to leave in hopes of finding a future that doesn’t involve crime. If you’re an earth pony… unless you have something to prove it might be better for you to check somewhere else like my home nation.

If you’re a Crystal pony… funny enough jobs are readily available for those with talents for crystal talent and manipulation. Though do be warned that it is not unusual to be checked for illusion enchantments as a couple of earth ponies buy glimmer spells to pretend to be or impersonate crystal ponies in hopes of a better standing in society.

******

I closed the book as I tried to get rid of the dark thoughts that haunted my mind. Tribalist… a term rarely used and mostly phrased as an insult. The crazed belief that certain races were superior to the others, or in this case inferior. The lunar republic hated earth ponies… as the Protectorate hated unicorns… leaving the Frost kingdom to hate pegasi.

What did that mean for me now? It was blatantly clear I held no love for the crazed psychos in white. Did that mean my only place of safety was in the never ending winter storm of the Frost Kingdom? Grant it I might be able to help with the storm part but… What was it like being born as an earth pony in that society? To be hated for something done by somepony else hundreds of years ago?

What about the mercs? Each group seems to have their own demons from that old war. What was their secret demon? Their hidden horror? How would I get home? I stared into the mirror inside the cart trying to get a look at myself as I tried to see if there was some way to disguise myself.

I froze as I saw the strange mare looking back at me. It took me a few seconds before realizing it was me. My light pink mane had turned red… my first thoughts was that it was still matted with blood until I ran a hoof through it. The red hair seemed to have a life of it’s own as I could feel any… dried blood or matts stuck in it.

I took a deep breath trying not to freak out as I pulled out a comb and struggled to stay calm as I ran a comb through it. It felt like my hair… but more like it had been dyed. I held a hoof over my own mouth trying to get the image of how long my hair must have been soaked to get it this red.

I closed the mirror trying not to take a closer look as I took a couple of deep breaths. I tried to ignore the small ruffles in my fur. I knew they were properly small cuts… or possibly scars considering the freaky fire magic they used. I tried to close my eyes hoping that all I needed was a good night’s rest to clear this all up.

******

I awoke grabbing my heart as my body was drench in sweat. Sleep held no safety for me as I just woke up from a nightmare. No nightmare wasn't the right word. That would imply it was fake as I had just seen the Crystal Kingdom before it disappeared. Dozens of crystals ponies tortured… saddened… broken. They were kept in chains… I could feel the misery in the air as one Unicorn lorded over them all. A black unicorn who seemed to be the very persona of “evil overlord” as he even had a jagged black horn instead of the normal horns unicorns had.

I saw Princess Celestia and a smaller dark blue alicorn fly beside her. I didn’t see what happened to her as I was stuck staring outside. The crystal ponies looked up… and then went back to work. Back to their misery… their pain. They didn’t even notice or even seem to think that Princess Celestia could save them.

It left a lump in my throat. That was the pain they felt. The horror, the despair. I felt a lump in my throat… Dear Celestia she was there… Celestia herself. That meant this was a part of Equestria’s history. My home where ponies got along and peace ruled the land. A part of myself felt like slamming my head against the wall for not taking a look at the hills, mountains, or any land marks that could have helped me find a way home. The other half felt chilled to the bone knowing something like that happened in Equestria. I tried to push it out of my head. Crystal kingdom gone and everypony is a much better pony without any crazy evil magic overlords coming back from the grave.

Past Drought was what let me dream of the past. Past Drought let me see the events that had happened. I held a hoof over my mouth trying not to lose my lunch. Past Drought let one feel like they were just there. How hard would it be to bury the past… if you saw it. If you felt it and could almost relive it with just one drop of a crazy potion?

Maybe some things needed to be left in the past. Yet my own mind started to wonder how I could make it… possibly buy it. If there was a connection between this crazy land and Equestira… could I see a map? Something that said “here be Equestria. Dragons over yonder there!” or possibly some sort of magic… No Swift! That’s why other ponies are properly buying it and keep poking at the scars of the past and letting them fester. Just leave it alone!

I looked out the window trying to get my mind off it as a chill went down my spine. This wasn’t your average “It’s freaking cold outside!” but more like Everfree Forest kind of unnatural. It wasn’t the air… which was cold, but not freezing cold like the rest of the time. It wasn’t the pine trees… though how they could lose all their leaves leaving a spiky skeleton of a tree I had no idea.

Shadow spoke in a hushed town “Just near a forest of course. Please let it not be Raven’s Fall.”

I could barely whisper “What’s Raven’s Fall?”

Topaz spoke in fear “The only place one should truly fear.”

“Then why don’t we avoid it?” I couldn’t help but ask. Sounded simple enough.

Topaz shook his head “Because it’s full of the Raven’s magic.”

“Read the freaking book!” Shadow whispered loudly. I stared at him as he face hoofed before sighing out loud “Long story

short it’s a freaking forest that moves on its own!”

The image of walking trees came into mind. It sounded absurd… but so was Poison Joke when you thought about it and I still had some of it left in my saddle. A part of my mind began to wonder how one could grow Poison Joke outside of the Everfree Forest.

I opened the book about this ‘forest’ and found the page as the over abundant amount of warning symbols for the picture certainly didn’t help improve my mood.

Break—

Raven’s Fall. The final site where the Raven had finally been defeated. On the map… it’s just a hundred yards. Not much right? Well the Raven’s magic turned it screwy.

Raven’s Fall on the map is only a hundred yard circle. Raven’s Fall itself? So far it’s guessed to be as big as Equestria itself...which last time was guessed to be an entire continent as big as our own nameless land… I am literally serious. There are entire *kingdoms** ruled by the dammed. It’s is the Everfree Forest’s big cruel brother. The worst part of it all? It moves! It freaking moves!*

One day you look out and see the plains, desert, or whatever is outside your window. Next day? A forest of dead and/or creepy trees sitting outside without anyone noticing. Doesn’t matter if the ground is dirt, rock, desert, steel or a freaking housing development! The forest doesn’t give a (hastily scratched out words) for any law of reality.

So far there are countless theories for how this is possible. Some say the forest literally moves about. Others say sections of it teleports. Some eggheads in the Lunar Republic believe that the point on the map is the *original or "entrance/exit"** to Raven’s Fall. That it now exists as it’s own separate dimension and the parts that “Appear” are just sudden gaps or convergence points of our two realities.*

All you need to know is that this place is bad. Really bad. It’s filled with monsters. The “people” (and I use that term lightly) in charge are usually worse than the monsters. It’s a special place of pain and suffering that tries to turn itself into each individual person’s own nightmare. Many cruel lords control the place each one cursed in their own way, but those strong… or cruel enough are not affected by the cursed land or simply learned how to live with it or ignore it.

Many adventures travel to there trying to be heroes and slay one of the dark lords in control over Raven’s Fall. Most die as many turn back never wanting to talk about their experiences. Only a few actually succeed, but others sometimes are broken… and turned into the nightmares they tried to slay. This can be dying and having one’s body turned into a puppet for the dark lord… or falling and becoming a dark lord and being as twisted as the ones around them.

Many stories talk of how the forest was formed. All of them only agree on one thing. The Raven fought. The Raven lost. The land was cursed due to his death/blood/magic. It’s a bad place to be.

Of course…. Some stories tell that if you find the final resting place of where the Raven fell one could gain his power… or a wish… or possibly stop/defeat the dark forest once and for all.

All you need to know. Don’t go in. Watch out if it appears and if it does. Keep track of your surroundings and leave the same way you came in. QUICKLY! If you do get stuck… just follow your map and hope you can escape.

Not a pleasant place. Got it.

Last notes… The Wild Hunt. The worst possible moment the forest appears away from it’s marked position. These are the worst times. Shut your door. Bar your windows. Run away from the forest and return when it’s gone.

The Wild Hunt is when the forest isn’t just a spooky forsaken place. It’s when it’s filled with it’s (hastily scribbled out words) residents. To be more precise… It’s when *they leave** the forest to attack you and it’s always accompanied by something… Some prefer a horn. Others prefer a drum. In every event there is a warning. There is a resident leaving the forest to tell the unfortunate town that it’s about to happen. Then there is the attack. Don’t ask why they do this. Just be thankful you have been given time to bunker down or flee.*

Once the time begins they will attack. They will kill anyone they see and the few they don’t… are captured and dragged back to their cursed keeps. It is possible to save those captured and escape… but remember their weakness, the way back, and most of all… hope. Because that section of the forest isn’t your nightmare. It’s the ruler’s nightmare. Their punishment that haunts their daily lives. *Their nightmares** that plague the land. Their weakness that can be used against them. You will always have a chance as long as you have hope and find the way home. The forest during that time isn’t out to get you. It’s out for them.*

******

Know what? That wasn’t that bad. Messed up? Crazy? But not that bad. It sounded like one of those old mare tales told to frighten foals. It’s scary, and a lot more frightening in person… but there is a reason and there is something to blame.

I looked up again only to stare at the oddest thing I’ve seen yet. It was a small bug with what looked like a small lightning bolt for a tail. Topaz slammed a glass jar over it and sealed the lid quickly.

“Twitermites.” Shadow spoke with ease “Small bugs that can generate a lot of electricity. A pain in the butt to get, but the Lunar Republic pays a good amount for them.”

Topaz simply shook his head “Better to deal with Crystals and Gems.” He rubbed the gems in his pockets “Easier to deal with and they don’t bite back.”

Shadow chuckled out loud “And if everypony thought that way than half of us would be born with pickaxes for cuite marks. I also doubt your race would be too thrilled about that happening either.”

Topaz grumbled “Grabbing bugs for machines. It’s just as crazy as Rock Farms.”

Topaz looked at me apparently waiting for my opinion on the subject. I just shrugged and gave him my best “How should I know?” look. He smirked at that for a quick moment before the cart stopped.

Shadow Tail went back inside the cart and rummaged around… a lot of stuff that shouldn’t possibly fit back there… and pulled out what looked like a vacuum cleaner? He pulled out two more and tossed them at us. Topaz sniffed it once and looked at it in disgust. I waited to see if he was kidding.

I could practically see Shadow rolling his eyes underneath that mask as he said “We are here for finish a favor so we might as well get paid for it. Bits don’t work to well in the Lunar Republic Topaz and Swift!” I snapped to attention “This will give you some practice that won’t put us at risk.”

Topaz grumbled as he strapped the device on. Shadow moved over and watched me. I slipped it on only for it to slide around on my back. His wings moved above me holding it in place while I pulled on the straps making it tight. Apparently this thing was going to be my training wheels for learning how to use guns. How hard could sucking up a bunch of little bugs be?

Lightening exploded in the background as the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up! A small swarm was buzzing around as another bolt smashed through the ground. Why couldn’t things ever be easy?

Shadow flew out of the cart and activated his device. The bugs were quickly sucked into the machine leaving a clear sky and a bunch of glowing nightlights in a glass jar.

Shadow smiled at me “See it’s easy.”

I face hoofed. Shadow Tail… Swift Lotus has a very different definition of easy.

******

The forest started to liven up as we saw the reason for the skeleton trees. The Twittermites would either swarm to the trees with leaves and starting stripping them bare or accidently fry a couple of them with lightning bolts. They were strangely fascinating in the fact that one bug wasn’t a problem or a bunch if they were shoved into a jar. Yet get enough out in the open they create a “lightening cloud” and then lightning starts flying about.

Properly easier gathering them for electricity than clouds… which makes me wonder why the nation with pegasi and unicorns collected them instead of the Frost Kingdom who can’t control the clouds… unless they were here to steal them.

I shook my head trying to get the thought out of my head. Maybe they were being contracted or the cold interfered with the bugs or something. I shouldn’t be thinking they were here to steal them or something… I ducked to the side as a lightning bolt nearly struck me. More focus on the killer bugs now and focus on the random questions later!

Topaz jumped to the side as a bolt nearly stuck him as he shouted “This is your plan? Wonder around while crazy bugs try to zap us?”

Shadow laughed “Of course not. The Lunar Republic needs them so they will go to areas swarming with them. We are just grabbing an extra paycheck along the way!”

I kind of agreed with Topaz at this point as I struggled to change my new glowing jar with an empty one. My tail was singed. My mane was standing up on end and my eyes were kept scanning the sky for any stray lightning bolts about to hit me.

Dear Celestia I really wish I was a pegasi right now! They would properly have a better shot at surviving lightning bolts than me right now!

The clouds stormed above us as it started to rain. The Twittermites slowed down as more flew under the trees instead of above us leaving a massive swarm hovering above our heads. I strapped on the new jar and starting it up again sucking up the glowing swarm above me.

That’s when I saw the mass in the sky as if Celestia heard my prayers and decided to lend a helping hoof. A dozen of winged pegasi and griffons swooped down from the sky with similar devices on their back as they flew over the swarm sucking it up. The Twittermites started to scatter only for walls of light to surround the forest trapping them. I could see the unicorns hiding in the woods as they kept the swarm contained.

Two large mechanical golems stepped out with machines similar to our own except much bigger stepped into the clearing and turned them in. The Twittermites tried to fly away only for them all to be captured in a matter of seconds.

One Griffin landed on the ground shouting “That was a big swarm!” He laughed out loud as he grinned at us.

Shadow Tail twitched as he took a couple of steps back. Topaz stepped back to the cart standing guard over the Twitermites we had captured. I stared at the unusual griffin and saw a cutie mark on his side… The griffin had a pony back instead of a lion back. What is this creature?

Shadow Tail muttered “It’s a freaking Silver.”

The Griffin laughed out loud “My employers call me Silver. My foes call me Axe while my friends call me Thirsty! Nice to meet ya!”

I stared at his cutie mark. It was a silver great axe and a large wooden mug full of foam. He snapped the hose of his bug vacuum right onto his back as the other griffins and pegasi landed in front of us. All of the pegasi wore blue armor while the griffins wore a brown leather uniform similar to Shadow Tail.

One of the unicorns stepped out wearing a blue uniform and shouted “By order of the Lunar Republic I must tell you to give us all the Twitermites you have collected.”

Topaz nodded “Just as soon you pay for them.”

The unicorn glared at Topaz “A diamond dog that can speak normally. One of the Twitermites must have finally made your brain start working.”

Topaz pulled out his sword as the two metal golem moved to protect the loud mouth unicorn. Shadow flew back to the cart as he placed his Twitermite jar along with the others never taking his eyes off them.

The griffin with the cutie mark groaned “Come on already. Just offer them a contract and they’ll be out of your hair Sour Cream.”

The Unicorn shouted “It’s Cream Crop as in the cream of the crop!”

I looked at him. He had blue fur and a weird green mane. If anything Sour Cream seemed to fit him better than his actual name.

The griffin turned to face me “Yes I’m a Hippogriff and a Silver to boot! Jealous?”

“Hippogriff?” I couldn’t help but ask.

The hippogriff laughed out loud “You really don’t know? Perfect! I can finally tell someone about my extraordinary linage!”

“Don’t!” shouted a voice from above.

I looked up to see a pegasi tackle the hippogriff. She had a light blue coat and a silver mane. She was dressed more like the griffins as her cutie mark was of two silver wings. She quickly blushed as she shoved the Twittermite sucking device over her cutie mark as she tried to keep the hippogriff from talking.

The pegasi spoke in embarrassment “My name is Bright Wing.”

“Silver Wing!” the hippogriff managed to shout out with a hoof in his mouth.

The pegasi punched him as she turned to face us “We already took the job to clear this site of Twittermite infestation. Trying to keep them will only be counted as theft.”

You could tell Shadow was rolling his eyes as he replied “And we aren’t going to give them up for free. Besides we need some “proper” money for the border.”

The pegasi smiled “I’ll let Crimson Mustang know so you two can work out a trade.”

Shadow face hoofed himself as he muttered out loud “Silvers and Mustangs in the Frost Kingdom? This is going to end well.”

******

I waited by the cart as Shadow headed over to one of the larger camp sites. The soldiers had escorted us to their camp as most of them carried guns aimed at the cart in case we tried to head back. The crazy voice on the radio told us to come here and apparently the Lunar Republic didn’t take to kindly for us being here. The only question was what we were supposed to do here.

I stared at the hippogriff as he was already drinking from a mug similar to his cutie mark as a beard of foam rested around his beak. He waved at me with a big grin as I walked over to him. The mug reeked of hops as the drink itself smelled stronger than anything back in Ponyville.

The Hippogriff grinned as he replied “Never seen Storm Wind Ale before?” He shoved a mug in front of me “Have a taste!”

The pegasi… Bright Wing or was it Silver Wing? Well she landed in between us shoving the mug away shouting “Don’t you dare screw this up for us!”

The Hippogriff rolled his eyes “We were going to have a drink Sis. Besides you should be proud being a Silver.”

“My name is Bright Wing!” She shouted as she tried to move the bags on her side over her cutie mark “And it’s not something you want to flaunt about to potential customers.”

“Um… excuse me.” I couldn’t help but butt in “But how exactly are you two related?”

The pegasi frowned as the Hippogriff smiled as he said “Why by having the same mother of course! You should see my Sis the Griff and my Earth Pony Bro!”

I blinked as my mind tried to figure it all out. Somehow I couldn’t exactly figure out how they could be all related to each other… maybe they were adopted? Just to prove me wrong he shoved in front of me a picture. A black coat and silver mane unicorn with an eye patch with four fillies… no two fillies and two griffins… I mean griffin and a hippogriff. It made my brain hurt!

Bright Wing tried to shove her brother (By Celestia that sounds so strange!) away as I could see… some form of family resemblance from the pictures behind it showing older versions of them. Each of them had a hint of silver on them. The earth pony had a silver coat and a brown mane. The Griffon had a silver tuff on his tail and silver claws along with a painted on cutie mark of what was supposed to be a silver shield.

“Just how?” I started to stutter “How did she?”

Bright Wing kicked her brother back “How about something else? Like where are you from or why you are traveling without any barding?”

“Because some long time ago two Griffin kings were awesome!” the Hippogriff shouted trying to jump back to another topic.

I quickly turned my focus on him if only to avoid her focus on me. I didn’t have a story ready to explain why I didn’t know and I don’t think they would believe the truth. The Hippogriff laughed as he managed to pin his sister down to the ground. She struggled to break free as he put his full weight on her.

He cleared his voice and spoke in a dignified tone “Really, really, really back long ago” or tried to sound dignified at least. “There were two really great kings! One called Tender Winds and Another called… Silver… and no one really knew the last part because he really ticked off the Raven.”

He chuckled at that as his sister tried to hide her face “Tender Winds was a famous and powerful Griffin as he untied our people. He built fancy governments and made a kingdom of his own as every griffin was proud to serve under him.”

He tried to look serious as he told the next part “Then one day six ponies came along and demanded to speak to the king. Turns out the some idiot called An-Nar wanted him to step down. Naturally he told her to!”

“Language!” Bright Wing shouted “Civil tongue for civil story!”

It felt like I was missing something big here. Apparently this Griffin King was doing a good job and his subjects liked him. If both sides were at peace then that would have been a stupid move. If they were at war… that would be a really stupid move.

The hippogriff sighed “Then the next day An-Nar’s troops come in and used some fancy magic to strip Tender Winds of his power. Turns out the beloved prince was a pony under the Raven’s magic.” Not good “Not just any pony but a weak and sickly earth pony. The court was outraged as most of them though that An-Nar’s soldiers cast some foul curse to their beloved king!”

I flinched upon hearing it. That really must have caused a lot of problems.. Bright Wings looked shocked at the Hippogriff looked as if he was just told his birthday came early that year.

“Right on!” He shouted in joy before trying to look serious again “Well turns out the An-Nar’s forces were right. The raven was using his magic for something. The griffins didn’t like it as the queen told them to… ahem… less than civil phrases before she kicked them out the door. The queen then tells the other griffins they should be proud like she was. That her husband managed to beat the Raven and he had proven to be a good king. Turns out she was right and they let him continue to rule… though relationships with the city of Unity was strained because of it as the Griffins held a grudge against An-Nar for turning their strong king into a weak pony.”

Bright Wing shook her head as she spoke “From then on their children were cursed… or blessed depending on the story. Now the royal linage could not only give birth to griffin, but a hippogriff or a pony could pop up even with two griffin parents. The pony children from the linage could also do the same this marking the Royal Griffin lineage and like many after the war were feared, cursed, and despised due to their linage being tainted by the Raven.”

The Hippogriff shouted “Only because they were jealous! Only group that managed to last the longest! As for the Silver part…”

Bright wings buried her face in the dirt and muttered “The crazy hippogriff king.”

resident hippogriff had a wide smile as he spoke “King Silver flew around in his mighty sky fortress. With the lost treasure of the Griffins in his claws he led his fellow brethren and did many awesome things! Then the Raven grew annoyed at his constant antics and tried to stop him only to be thwarted each time by his clever genius!”

Bright Wing muttered “Loading your own castle with explosive booby traps is stupid idea. Trying to enrage a dragon by stealing from his horde just to attention on purpose is even worse!”

“But it worked!” He said with glee “In the end no one can say how the majestic and handsome King Silver the First died, but the raven cursed his linage to all bear a mark of silver upon their lives! To just mark how annoying he was for all future generations!” He grinned as he pointed at his own cutie mark “So that means I have BOTH kings in mine! Perfect material to rebuild their empires and become a king of my own or may name isn’t! SILVER AXE!” thunder boomed in the distance “Or Thirsty to my friends.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. He was a strange Hippogriff, but he didn’t seem like a bad guy. Over the top, eccentric, and properly completely bonkers and yet sane in his own way. He would have fit great in ponyville alongside Pinky Pie… if the two of them meeting each other didn’t destroy half the town after the first thirty minutes.

Both of them looked at me in interest as I said “Sorry. You kind of reminded me of somepony I knew. You two would get along or end up covering half the place in assorted pastries.”

Bright Wing blinked as she hesitantly said “That’s it? No grand questions or… no questions about cursed and crazy linage or even the Raven part?”

I shook my head and replied “So? You don’t seem like bad pon.. I mean people. What else is there to question though I can’t help but wonder how your brother will become king.”

Silver Axe laughed out loud “Why by having lots of money of course! Then I’ll just be eccentric because nobody can call the rich crazy!” He pulled out a bag full of metal coins “As for the castle… Well if some zebra can make one with picking up stones off the road then I can do it too but much grander and fancier!”

It was official. He was a crazy pon… I mean Hippogriff. It’s going to be hard remembering to watch my language. Bright Wing seemed to have cheered up as she sat at the table with us as Silver Axe started ranting about the various ideas and festive holidays he would have as obviously no one would trust him to run his own government.

******

Shadow marched out of the central tent in annoyance as a set of guards escorted him. I left the Silver siblings and tried to figure out what was going on. Both guards dumped two bags of coins at the cart and levitated the captured Twitermites back with them.

Topaz picked up one of the coins and said “Gold and Caps. It doesn’t seem that bad of a trade considering what we were doing was illegal.”

“Actually they’re the ones here illegally.” Shadow muttered back “The Mustangs have a grudge with the Crystal Kingdom ever since they conquered their lands and the Frost Kingdom hates them right back.”

Topaz blinked “So Mustang was?”

Shadow nodded “Former royalty. The kind that the Frost Kingdom would pay handsomely for their capture. The guards aren’t here to ensure we haven’t kept any Twittermites. They’re here to ensure we don’t tell the Frost Kingdom about them.”

I stopped as I couldn’t help but feel nervous. Now I could understand the tension in the air. They weren’t supposed to be here and we just barged in on their operation. Topaz waved for me to come closer as Shadow put his hooves around us.

He whispered “So to make it clear to everyone. We have a group of Mustangs with a grudge against the residents of the land along with a Silver.”

“Two actually.” I couldn’t help but add.

Shadow Face hoofed “Two! Freaking great…” He noticed my displeasure “Sorry. It’s just their linage is known for being in, joining in, or creating crazy situations. Now for the final piece of news for this disaster.”

He flipped his radio on as Resity’s voice flared on “That’s right folks. Crystal lake has just been attacked. Survivors explained what happened spelling bad news for anybody in the area. Apparently a section of Raven Fall or “Nightland” to those unbelievers is moving about. It already stuck a nearby town and apparently this Wild Hunt doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon so if you in the area. Get ready to lock the doors or run away if you see a forest suddenly pop up near you folks! The Frost Kingdom as already sent the army out to help protect the surrounding areas in case it pops up again. Resisty signing out!”

Topaz didn’t look happy and I couldn’t blame him. We were literally sitting on a powdered keg situation. It wasn’t hard to see just how badly this could all turn out. I could just see the Frost Kingdom finding them and then immediately blaming them for some of the attacks in the surrounding areas even more considering the fact the last town was attacked by Protectorate… I’m going to have to find a new name for them just that describes my displeasure about them.

Alright maybe it might be a little bit harsh judging them since I only meet them once and the book’s author also has a grudge against them. Maybe if I’m lucky that batch of ponies were just crazed individuals who were sent out in the freezing cold to die so they would infect other ponies with their brand of insanity?

Shadow spoke in annoyance snapping me back to reality “Just to recap. A group run by Mustangs with Silvers in the middle of the woods while the Frost Kingdom is sending out soldiers to the surrounding areas which we are in and to top it all off a Wild Hunt is going on and we are already in a forest so we might not even notice if it pops up next to us with all the Twittermite damage to these woods. Something is going to happen here even if we aren’t here. The only question is what?”

Topaz picked up a handful of coins and said “The border is nearby and we got paid for it so why not go? I wouldn’t mind seeing one pony get into trouble.”

Shadow shook his head “Would love to but can’t unless you want another unexpected house call from that pest. He properly already made himself comfy getting ready to watch the mess unfold.”

“Then why doesn’t he do something about it?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Shadow groaned “That’s why he sent us here. Besides I’m not even sure if he’s close enough to help out, but he is close enough to keep pestering us if he wants to.”

Topaz grabbed both bags of money and replied “I’ll be in the cart until then. Just let me know who exactly your friend is so that I know to avoid him in the future.”

I spotted the small bag of seeds as I just remembered about needing soil and said “I’ll just check to see if there is any good soil around. I still have some seeds left… but not a lot of plants left.”

Shadow nodded as he replied “Just make sure you let the guards know first and don’t wonder too far from the camp!”

I nodded and started getting everything I would need for my little trip in the woods. Another reason to go was that they hadn’t set up any bathrooms and I might have had one too many drinks. I quickly dashed over to one of the guards and whispered as his face turned bright red before giving what I needed and pointed at a general direction in the woods. I needed to go and as long as I avoided the wet parts I should be good for soil.

******

I looked around trying to get a feel of the soil and feeling much better after my small trip in the woods. I’ll admit that I wasn’t much of an adventurer and it was embarrassing to explain why I needed to take a trip out into the woods or to try to find some place to stop to… well two males. So with my first task done I set upon my next task of finding some nice soil… that hadn’t been used by the camp.

The soil around me was… lumpy, but rich. It sounded strange, but it felt more like the Everfree forest soil than pony soil. Pony tended soil tended to be… richer? Softer? Certainly less gritty, but not so moist. Or at least I hoped I was far enough away for it to be regular dirt moist.

A voice chuckled behind me and said “Do you really think tilling about in the mud will help?”

I groaned “Go away mister voice. Just trying to find some dirt for some plants.”

I recognized the voice. It was the same voice that told us to come here. The same voice that lead us to the current powder keg of a situation. He was properly just waiting to watch the fireworks go off as he tried to get away from the explosion when it happened. His taunting certainly wasn’t making it any better.

“Dirt? What’s wrong with trying to find some good dirt.” The voice said with amusement “Sometimes the best dirt is the one you find on people or that lovely splash you make after a rainy day!”

I had no idea where the voice was coming from now. It just echoed around me from all sides. I didn’t know much about him be it didn’t’ sound threatening or dangerous… just mocking and playful though mostly mocking. If anything I was expecting water balloons flying out of the trees than arrows… or bullets.

I tried to ignore him “Since the Everfree forest isn’t here it’s going to make growing these plants more difficult… Unless you know where some good dirt is?”

The voice went silent for a moment as I could almost swear it was grinning when it finally replied “I do… but where the fun would that be? Wouldn’t it be better to find it yourself or to use a bit of your magic?”

Seriously this voice was annoying as I spoke in a frustrated tone “Do I look like I have a horn on my head?”

“Well somepony is in a foul mood.” The voice bitterly responded back to me “Who says you have to be a unicorn to use magic? Or do you think it’s common to be able to grab clouds?”

“Not a pegasi either!” I muttered back “I’m just an earth pony trying to get back home.”

The voice sighed as if he was disappointed in me “Very well. Let’s try a more… proactive approach?”

Pain shot through my eyes! Oh dear Celestia why did he do that! My vision was blurry as it felt as if someone just fired off a set of fireworks right in front of me. I rubbed my eyes trying to regain my sight as I looked at the ground… was it always that green?

The flashes of light continued to flicker in my sight “What did you?”

“What did I do?” He asked innocently “Why all I did was let you open your eyes. Really? Might as well ask how are you walking or why the sky is blue.”

“And the glow?” I couldn’t help but ask as I saw the various lights in the objects around me. “What’s with all the?”

“Magic?” He quickly answered back “Why it’s magic of course silly pony. Did you really think magic was all flashy lights and fancy tricks for everyone to see? Sometimes it’s a bit more… subtle, but of course subtle magic tends to be an earth pony’s specialty. Did you really not find it odd just how easy it is for an earth pony to grow crops or get sudden bursts of strength or Celestia forbid the random acts Pinky Pie is capable of?”

“I can see magic?” I repeated dumbfounded. “Isn’t that a unicorn specialty or something? Also how do you know Pinky Pie?”

“You talk in your sleep.” The voice replied making me shiver “And you have some quite lovely dreams I might add. Well lovely when your not looking into the past.”

“Stay out of my head.” I muttered trying to get used to my new sight. “And my dreams.”

“But to answer you first question about ‘seeing magic’ and stuff. If you want the bland answer yes… but in truth anyone can or anypony in your case. It’s just a matter of getting a grasp of it.” He stated as if we were talking about something that was common sense “And your little blue flowers tend to grow better in soil with lots of magic. Surely you can find some now?”

Argent, condescending, and a great big pain in my butt… though he did help. Good thing the smug jerk is hiding or I would have felt a little guilty bucking him in the face. In fact I would still buck him in the face right now just in general principle.

I took a deep breath trying to calm down “How do you know Shadow Tail and how in Celestia’s name did you make me see magic?”

The voice snickered “If you’re talking about feather head… We had a difference of opinions … and then rest is history.” He didn’t answer my question “As for seeing? Where would be the fun in explaining it?”

His voice echoed around me as he laughed at me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as suddenly my eye sight returned to normal.

“Well it’s already gone.” I muttered in disappointment “Shortest trick in my.”

Something hit my face as I recoiled from the impact. It felt like somepony hit me with a wooden bat covered in frosting somehow. When I opened my eyes again everything was still normal, but more importantly I really wanted to buck that prankster in the jaw right now.

“Why simply take a deep breath and look around silly pony.” The voice mocked me “It’s really quite that simple just looking around you.”

I groaned as I took a deep breath and opened my eyes again. This time I felt something across my body… no something flowing through my body and resting in my eyes. The lights returned as the forest shinned in an array of magic again. Did this mean I needed to be smacked in the face by this prankster anytime I wanted to use this ability? Better yet should I even?

I pulled out my small potting shovel and moved to the brightest patch of dirt. The soil felt much… more like the Everfree forest. Don’t ask me how I know it. There are a couple of plants that are useful in the forest… well near the away from the areas where the giant pony eating monsters don’t roam about.

Once I finished putting away the last bag of dirt I looked around the forest “Do I owe you anything?”

The voice chuckled “Not this time. Just think of it as a gift… I’ll have enough fun just watching the chaos unfold."

And with that I knew the voice had left… in both a satisfying and slightly terrifying kind of way. My vision currently remained magical as I part of me was curious how everyone else would look in this magical sight as I went back to camp.

******

I’ll just say this… Magic sight is amazing. The hues… the colors. Describing the full sensation… I guess it would be like a unicorn trying to describe how they use magic or a pegasi describing flying. The camp had the brightest colors of them all and that’s when I noticed the other ponies.

Each one had their own magical glow and more importantly it was focused in certain areas. The unicorns had the brightest glow near their heads while the Pegasi had it in their wings, but when they were about to move a cloud some of it would shift to their hooves. Was that how they manipulated clouds? Just shift the magic to one’s feet.

I rubbed my head trying to stop the oncoming headache. No wonder certain unicorns spent so much time looking in books and asking questions. It looked so simple… yet complicated. Kind of like breathing. Easy to do and a lot more complex when you see just how it’s done after a biology class. I fought my hardest not to look at my own two hooves. Last thing I need is for them to think I ate a funny looking mushroom out in the middle of the woods.

I went back to the cart and saw Brigs… and he was a sight to see. Magic coursed through his body more like blood veins or something as they slowly gathered in spots. At the center at it all was a purple flame that burned where his heart would be. The other machines had magic… but it stood still… motionless like the rock or if it was painted on them. Brig’s own magical energy pulsed like a heartbeat.

I took a deep breath as my vision returned to normal as I felt slightly disappointed. The world didn’t look… vibrant anymore. It was weird, but it almost felt like I had cut off one of my own five senses. Still I couldn’t help but smile. Finally something good happened.

A shadow appeared behind me as Brigs changed to a combat stance. Swift Lotus? How many times in this crazy world do I have to say it? Keep your big mouth shut!

A Stranger On The Road

The beginning of every story is just like being given a new born baby.

Lots of whining, fussing, and a lot of mistakes left behind that you didn’t notice at first.

******

Do you ever get one of those days where you could trace back all your problems to one single event?

That one exact moment that ended up ruining your whole life as you just wish you could go back in time and tell yourself to simply take a left turn before you ran into that mess?

On second thought scratch that! Wishing was what got me into this mess in the first place as now I’m being chased by crazy ponies, twisted monsters, and trying to piece together what had happened before some crazy pony unleashes a metal golem to kill me. The only comforting fact I can take now is that I’m stuck in a cell freezing my tail off in hope that they are not about to kill me because they stuffed me in a cell!

I guess I should start at the beginning… My name is Swift Lotus and well… I’m an earth pony. I was born in ponyville and wasn’t anyone special… really. The only meaning my name had was the fact I was skilled at growing flowers quickly… I was just a glorified botanist as I just helped my parents run the store for Celestia’s sake!

I’m not even the only pony with the name Lotus… so everyone just calls me Swift. If that doesn’t tell you how unimportant I am I don’t know what will.

Then one day it all changed and if I knew what I know now I would never have written down that wish, but then again no one else knew the danger that lurked in that pony… I mean person. I’m still having to get used to the new terminology. This is my story of how I got myself stuck in this situation. Even if I’m the only one who’s going to hear it.

*****

I pulled out my brush as I combed my mane. Mother always said I was blessed to have such a vibrant color. Honestly what’s so great about having white fur and a pinkish mane. So it’s more of a light pink… well lighter than Pinkie Pie’s fur pink. After I had finished brushing my mane I had raced down the stairs ready to go on my little adventure.

It wasn’t really anything big as I was just supposed to deliver a few flowers around town and to that one zebra, but I had big dreams about it. Just like Daring Doo in those novels running off to do something nopony has ever done before! I just felt that this would be my day in the spot light. I quickly grabbed the saddle full of flowers ready to race out the door until mom stopped me… By Celestia if I knew that would be the last time I ever saw her I’m not sure I would have found the strength to leave the door as I certainly wouldn’t have left so quickly.

She smiled to me and said “Now just because your name is Swift it doesn’t mean you get to leave the house without eating breakfast.”

The table was set out as I dashed over and nearly scarfed down my food whole. To me this was just one minor obstacle before my grand adventure set out before me. Already I could hear the crowd cheering outside as Rainbow Dash just did something awesome. In my mind I could hear them cheering for me after my own daring adventure that I was about to embark on.

“All finished!” I shouted with joy racing out the door before I was lifted up into the air by dad’s magic.

He shook his head as he said “Did you remember your map?”

“I don’t need one for Ponyville and you already showed me how to get to Zibcora’s house.” I said in annoyance.

“It’s Zecora. You should really pay attention to other pony’s names,” Mom practically scolded me in that cheerfully way mothers are always so good at. “You know things are different in the evergreen forest.”

I simply nodded in agreement as it was the main reason why I was so excited about this delivery job. I would be able to go through the evergreen forest! Sure a couple of ponies were still scared of it, but a zebra was living peacefully in the forest so it couldn’t be that dangerous. So what if the town was scared of her? She placed an order and by Celestia I was going to deliver that order! It was time for my own tale to begin!

“Zecora. Got it!” I said as I dashed towards the door again only for dad to catch me again with his magic “I got everything set already. I had everything prepared last night and packed into the saddle. The flowers are safe. I ate breakfast and have everything set!” I wined as I just wanted to go.

Mom simply smiled at me as she said “You forgot one little thing.”

I blushed as I sheepishly said “Sorry. Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I love you too very much and I promise to come right back after my delivery!”

They smiled as I dashed out of the doorway to start my own adventure. I had a feeling that they both knew why I wanted to leave so quickly… I’m just glad I got to say goodbye before I left. I’m not sure I would have been able to sleep now if I didn’t. I just wish I was able to keep my promise.

*****

Two hours later I was done with most of the delivers and racing towards Zecora’s house ready for my adventure only to bump into somebody. It wasn’t a graceful crash as I spun into the air and crashed into a tree. A few papers floated in the air of the other pony recites as my bits fell out onto the ground and spun around into the only pile of mud nearby.

I shook my head and started to collect my fallen items until I noticed that I had ran into someone instead of tripping over a rock like I thought. So I raced over trying to apologize as I tried to help them back up. This was possibly the biggest mistake of my life. The pon... person wore black cloth over their body and stood up like a diamond dog. Black feathers stuck out of the robes as he brushed off the dirt before noticing my presence.

I know what you are thinking right now. Guy dressed in black and you can’t even see their face. Obviously a bad guy and somepony you should quickly run away from. This was before I knew who he was… and Ponyville wasn’t made without some brave pony taking a risk. So not wanting to cause another misunderstanding or judging them before I knew who they really were I decided to help out and it was my fault for running into him.

“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” I franticly chanted “I wasn’t watching where I was running.”

He chuckled as his wispy voice and said “No it’s my fault. I didn’t think anyone would be using this road. Nobody had used it in a long time.”

I looked at him in surprise and shouted “You came from the evergreen forest!”

He shook his head and pulled out a brown book saying “A little bit further from there you could say. Mostly I wanted to check up on an old plant. Sadly that tree is still there and it’s a bit of a nuisance.”

I frowned as something sounded off about this person “Are you trying to get rid of it?”

“No! Of course not…” He rubbed the back of his head as he looked away before whispering “Actually it’s allergies. I can’t stop sneezing when it’s in full bloom. What’s your reason for heading towards that forest? It’s a dangerous place after all… or so says the rumors.”

I practically beamed as I said “One patch of flowers to Miss Zecora! Don’t know if she needs them for something or just trying to spruce up the place, but she lives in the evergreen forest! I just have to watch out for some sort of blue flower... and whatever else lurks in the forest.”

The figure nodded in interest as those feathery hands went into the cowl rubbing his chin I suppose. After he was down marking down what I had just said he simply watched me recovering my belongings.

“So you’re planning to go on an adventure. While the evergreen forest was an interesting place once… It has lost some of its flare… so to speak.” He added quickly. “The last time I saw a pony venture in was a long time ago.”

I smiled as I quickly replied “Well I’m going to be the first one in a long time!”

That should have been my first clue that something was wrong. He spoke in a really odd way… like your parents describing how the town used to be before it changed into what it is now.

I nervously fidgeted about my outburst and ranted “Well hopefully I won’t get lost and actually make it to the zebra’s house. Most of the town is… kind of nervous about someone actually living in the EverFree forest.”

“And what about you?” He said as his practically towered over my head “What is it that you wish for?”

“Me?” I practically shouted “I’m no one really. Well I have everything I want and I’m about to go on an adventure… to deliver a package and go back home really.”

“No regrets?” He said as he practically hovered over me “Not even a Nevermore weighing down on your soul?”

Tall creepy guy wearing all black who is saying strange words in ominous tones. That really should have made me run in any direction that was away from him. That was the second warning I shot down as I thought about it… not the running part. The question he asked.

“Well…” I said hesitantly “Nothing is going to happen. Well something always happens in Ponyville, but nothing really... interesting.”

Like Daring Doo or those lovely stories in the library. Kings and queens. Thrilling tales of adventures and lost treasure. Being sent on a quest by even Celestia herself... and I was just stuck delivering flowers. Nothing special.

“But you do have a wish on your heart.” He whispered in my ear “Something you want to know. Something you want to see with your own two eyes.”

I chuckled nervously as I said “It’s not like anything will ever happen. I’ll just always be in the background of somepony else’s story. I don’t even know what the future holds for me besides delivering flowers.” I couldn’t help but shiver “What is your name by the way?”

The figure seemed to quickly reposition himself in just a second as he coughed into a sleeve near his face “Raven… Raven Nevermore at your service my esteem lady. I just travel around collecting stories and keeping a small list of people’s wishes.” A large black beak appeared as it grinned “I keep a small book on hand that was told to grant wishes.”

I shook my head and said humorously “Then why haven’t you used it already?”

“Who’s to say I haven’t?” He replied as the leather book with black strings holding it together was pulled out of his robes “I wanted to travel around and now I can. I get to see so many stories and get a better idea on some people.” He grinned as he said “Besides what’s the harm of writing something down in a small book?”

The third warning that said get out of there you idiot! If anyone asks “What’s the harm” you know it’s going to end badly. Just like saying “What’s the harm in playing ball inside the house?” only to have a broken window and a very angry mother shouting at you or “What’s the harm in opening up a door” just for some ancient evil to be unleashed! It was that moment where you screamed at the idiot who was about to do something very stupid.

He pulled out a black raven feather from one of his sleeves and dipped it in some ink hidden in his robes as he handed it to me. The old book was opened as dozens of names were written down along with various wishes. Some were tiny ones like wanting to find some object they lost or trying to get to work on time. (Writing it down in a stranger’s book properly doesn’t help)

The part that struck me were the bigger wishes as you could feel the hope written into each letter. Some were a little crazy like wishing they were a griffin or being a Unicorn, but a few wishes didn’t make much sense without context like “I wish for hope” which is kind of strange, but you could feel the sorrow written into the page as you couldn’t help, but think the book was just a little bit magical in a sense.

So I took the quill and placed it on the page scratching it as I tried to get a handle on it as I drew a few doodles with the small batch in the corner before turning the page. The next page was blank except for someone else’s wish. I slowly wrote down my own wish as I read over it and froze when I had finished writing as I noticed the second wish.

The wish said “I wish my sister would notice me.”

My heart stopped as a deep chill ran down my spine. This was written very long ago as a part of me tried to think up an explanation to it all. Part of my mind screamed how crazy it was, but that small nagging bit that saw something strange? It finally reached the front of my brain screaming in panic.

Raven smiled as he said “Luna was an interesting pony. Last time I saw her was after the fall of the Crystal Empire. We talked a little, but I doubt she would even notice me and I had changed since then.”

I took a few steps back in fear as my paranoia ran wild. The raven seemed to have grown as he towered over me with that twisted grin. I couldn’t see his face, but I could see the two beads of light glowing under the hood from the reflection of the sun and his smile… The type of smile you see a cat has before pouncing on a mouse.

Raven drew one of his feathered fingers near his beak and he licked it before placing it on the page “You wish for an adventure. To see the world and do something that no pony from Equestria has ever done before.” He chuckled at the comment “That can easily be arranged.”

The words I had written down began to glow blue as I couldn’t move. The world started to black out around me as the last thing I heard was his laughter.

He snapped the book shut and happily said “And now I have a plan B... just to be safe of course.”

I shouted as my voice couldn’t break through. The world went dark as I was unable to warn anyone about the villain I had just ran into. I was unable to tell anyone what had just happened to me… I was unable to keep my promise or even finish my delivery as Zecora’s package rested on the wooden fence. Hopefully someone would notice me missing.

*****

My eyes slowly opened as strange noises surrounded me. My ears rang in pain as my head felt like it had just been dunked underwater. My first thoughts were that I hit that tree a little bit too hard and I had wasted half the day accidently knocking myself out.

I rubbed my aching head thinking I was in for a migraine only to see a couple of armored ponies charging at each other. It was a little unusual, but a few of the princess’s guards had armor similar looking ones and I had seen two ponies joust or others play pretend battles… but none of them ever drew blood.

I gasped as I slowly recoiled away as I saw the blood and sweat hitting the ground. Something hit my back as I turned around and nearly screamed if my voice hadn’t already died in my mouth. A brown earth pony laid on the ground behind me with his mouth wide open as his face had been brutally hacked apart. Small creatures were nibbling on his exposed flesh and none of them held that cute or harmless look that the animals around Fluttershy had. These beasts had the eyes of ticked off timber wolves and blood soaked claws as bits of flesh dripped from their teeth!

One of them leaped at me as I lost my lunch right on top of the little monster. I know that it was not exactly the best time, but I had never seen something like that before… and the sprawled out intestines from the dead pony that my hooves were tangled up in didn’t help my stomach out much either. Thankfully this frightened the creatures away as the one covered in my vomit fled in annoyance.

After regaining my composure and stopped kicking my hooves wildly freeing myself. I tried to move myself away from the corpse as possible until I started to realize my situation.

Snow covered the ground as I could see mountains in the distance and having lived most of my life in Ponyville I could tell that I was nowhere near my home. All I could tell was that two sides were fighting and killing each other right now. Not tying each other up or knocking somepony over the head… cutting, slashing, and killing.

I could make out the image of ponies in the distance wearing red armor. They were mostly unicorns and earth ponies as large dragons seemed to be fighting with them. Well not dragon large, but bigger than a pony and smaller than a house large.

The other army was composed of black bug like ponies in red armor, but while the pony armor looked like really heavy suits of armor. The bug pony armor was more curved and pointed… and a few bug ponies as large as the dragons.

I had never seen these creatures before! I had never seen ponies try to kill some other pony before! Did it make it alright since the other creatures weren’t ponies? Did it matter that I was on a battlefield full of ponies and bug ponies trying to kill each other!

“Just find a safe spot to hide” I said to myself as I tried not to panic “Running around screaming at the top of your lungs will only get you in more trouble and properly freeze to death as a bonus.”

I shivered from both my fear and the harsh cold wind that grew stronger. All I had was my saddle bag without any winter clothing and this storm was much worse than any winter I had experienced before. So I crawled in the snow despite the ice shattering cold feeling that ran down my hoofs as I tried to get closer to the battle and hopefully wave down a pegasi to whisk me away to safety. Not really a great plan, but I was working with frost bite, and almost full fledge panic so my mind wasn’t working out all the minor details like how I would wave down a pegasi in a battle while it was snowing or how the bug ponies with weapons might see me as a potential target.

Then again they don’t say “Fear is the mind killer” for nothing! Yes… if I survive I promise to read less cheesy sci-fi books.

*****

I had managed to crawl over three dead bodies without throwing up… but that could have been possibly because I didn’t have anything left in my stomach. I had also just found out that what I thought were dragons were really large metal props like the ones used during Nightmare Night, but these could actually hurt ponies as one had torn apart a bug pony in half with its bare claws. None of them looked like the cute picture of baby dragons in the books unless someone tried to think up possibly how horrifying a dragon could grow up to be and on a separate note I just remembered I still had a late library book in me saddle!

I hid behind one of the larger fallen metal dragons as the sounds of battle were really loud now. Before I could hear metal clashing against metal and a few voices, but mostly I could now hear blade cutting flesh and ponies screaming right before they were killed. Any lingering thoughts that this was all some mistake or strange dream went away as I could feel the fresh damp red snow that drifted onto my hooves as a mutilated and bloody body was tossed over my cover. The crimson tide of blood splashed all over my body as the freezing wind cut straight into my bones.

Apparently I was wrong about my stomach… so very wrong as it had managed to find something left to hurl out of my body. I felt so far out of it I didn’t even seemed to be fazed by the dead pony’s head staring at me without the rest of his body. Of course that didn’t stop me from kicking the head out of my sight and trying to focus on anything else besides where the rest of the body fell.

The earth ponies and unicorns were big. Apple Mac big as I didn’t even know a unicorn could grow that big or that buff. One of the unicorns stood was alone as a large hydra was attacking him. In fact a lot of wild monsters were attacking with the bug ponies. I pushed the thought away and focused on the bigger issue. One lone pony wasn’t doing that good against the hydra and some of the bug ponies were starting to notice. I closed my eyes and tried to think what would Daring Doo would do!

She would do something with her whip… or fly… or… I really needed an option that I knew how to do. I rubbed my aching head trying to find some sort of trick that would work.

Just then an idea raced through my head as I dug through my saddle as I remembered one of the old adventure stories. I didn’t have to fight, but just find some way around the hydra. I thanked my good fortune as I pulled out the strange looking powder. There’s a hydra in evergreen forest and the one time it went near ponyville it left after sneezing a whole lot from some funny looking flowers! (Which was a really, really, long shot that it would work again, but this was a large killer pony eating monster! Any idea was a good idea at the moment!)

I looked back at the hydra and hid again as I was just realized the vital flaw in my plan. Having a bag that could deal with it and actually being close enough to throw it were two very big things! I looked back at the metal dragon trying to come up with a plan until I saw the exposed workings of the machine. I had fixed a cart before and saw how some of the clocks worked, but this easily put all them were put to shame as the various gears, wires, and things I didn’t even know moved about.

Peaked out from my cover and saw one of the metal dragons going hoof to hoof with a large snake like creature. If one of these fake dragons could do that then it surely could buy me a few moments against a hydra! I looked back at the inner workings and focused on the parts I knew how to fix… which were the gears and the little bits of metal that connected some of the pieces but seemed to be stuck.

All right I didn’t know how they worked, but I could tell which pieces were supposed to be hooked up to which! It was just a matter of getting it all out and praying I was fixing it instead of randomly ripping out important parts. Hopefully it would be just like fixing that old grandfather clock… well the second grandfather clock.

So I worked out a little hum to get my mind off the death around me and searched the boxes near the metal dragons. Why were there boxes near them? Because somepony had tried fixing them as one pony even had a full set of tools… and missing all his legs. The important thing was that the parts worked as the metal dragon’s eyes shinned wide open and rose up.

I slowly sunk back into the snow as it turned towards me with those big glowing eyes as if I just kicked it in the back while it was in the middle of a nap. I looked past the metal dragon and saw a unicorn wasn’t doing to well as a bug pony as big as Celestia seemed to be hurling spells at him while the hydra was still attacking everypony nearby and protecting big scary big pony!

I pointed my hoof out as I shivered in fear and said “Get the Hydra!”

It turned around and roared catching they Hydra’s attention. Without a second thought I jumped on the metal dragon and hugged his leg as he charged after the Hydra who was just as surprised as I was. The mechanical claw smashed into one of the hydra’s heads sending both the head and myself flying away from him as I crashed into the snow near the unicorn. Two of the Hydra heads rushed towards me as I struggled to get up. I shut my eyes in fear as couldn’t get up in time as I heard them crash into something hard. I slowly opened my eyes and saw metal dragon standing over me as it was keeping the hydra heads off me.

“Thanks big!” I shouted before I heard him growl “I mean Brig!”

I know it sounds foolish giving him a name, but he did save my life and Big Red Intelligent Guy or BRIG isn’t that bad of a name. Besides I don’t want to insult the big guy after saving my life and I certainly did not want an angry two ton metal dragon mad at me for calling him an “it” after seeing him punch out a few of the Hyrda’s teeth with one punch.

I quickly grabbed the small bag and threw it at one of the open hydra heads as the bag tore open covering the head in the dull gray mist. I laughed in triumph only for one of the heads to crash into my side. Pain erupted across my entire body as the breath had been knocked out of my lungs as I crashed into the ground again.

The Hydra prepared to finish me off only for one of their heads to start sneezing. I couldn’t help but chuckle despite the pain it caused as all of their heads started an uncontrollable sneezing fit. The Hydra stumbled backwards as it kept sneezing wildly letting the unicorn charge after the large bug pony who seemed to be staring at the scene in disbelief which didn’t last too long.

My stomach tightened as I saw the bug pony’s head hit the ground as the unicorn snorted in triumph as the bug pony body hit the ground. I turned my eyes away from the scene only to see Brig beating up the Hydra. He was missing one of his arms, but that didn’t seem to bother him as he kept punching the hydra over and over until it collapsed to the ground.

“Please stop for a moment.” I muttered under my breath as Brig turned towards me.

He slowly limped towards my position as I couldn’t help but smirk. My body felt lousy and had nearly died a few moments ago, but I felt happy that I managed to save someone’s life. I had finally had my big adventure moment. I rolled around in the snow and saw another unicorn standing next to a different metal dragon.

The unicorn muttered “Lights out.”

The metal dragon punched me in the face as I started to black out again. Last thing I heard was Brig’s roar as he leapt at the metal dragon that punched me before I blacked out.

Sleeping Dreams and Gearing Up

Any minute I was expecting it wake up and have mom berate me on my messy room. I’d expect dad to warn me about staying up to late or telling me how foolish it was running into the Everfree Forest. I could almost smell waffles being cooked down stairs in the kitchen as I took in a deep breath.

Instead the smell of blood and death filled my nostrils. Dried blood was matted to my fur. Blood dripped somewhere nearby as I could hear the screams coming back again in the back of my mind. I shot up as sweat fell from my body as my heart beat raced in fear. I found myself in the makeshift ward as other injured ponies were resting.

The dream was gone as my bitter reality reasserted itself as my wounds reminded me of my stupidity from yesterday. Groaning in pain I slowly moved myself off the bed and stumbled outside. How the ponies from the comics were able to keep it all in I’ll never know… of course it might be simply because it was all make believe.

I walked out of the make shift ward and glanced at the sky. The night air was cold, but you could see the stars. Tears formed in my eyes as I knew I was still awake. They ran down my face as I didn’t know why it still stung. I know I wasn’t back home. That instead I was stuck freezing my tail off in some twisted strange land, but I guess my heart still refused to believe it.

It refused to believe that I wouldn’t wake up from this nightmare and be back home. I tried to wipe them away so that nopony else would see my tears. I had to stand strong... or at least look strong.

“Are you are right little pony?” Topaz asked behind me.

I sniffed “Just a little bit homesick. How’s everyone else?”

Topaz simply patted me on the back “Sore but happy. A little worried, but filled with even greater hope.” I could hear the snow crunching beside me as he sat down “Better question is if you are alright.”

I looked down at my leg as I saw bandages wrapped around them. They weren’t red or anything and I didn’t feel any swelling. When I looked into the old diamond dog’s eyes I knew he wasn’t talking about that.

I sighed “I just… never saw ponies killing ponies. I never killed anything before and now it just seems to keep on pilling up. I keep thinking about what I could have done…” I felt bile in my throat “And just how such a twisted vision of Princess Celestia could have possibly been made.”

Topaz nodded “To us she’s someone from the past. Too some ponies they don’t even believe she ever existed at all, but to you could actually see her just a few days ago. Something many of us would envy if they knew about it.”

I looked at my cutie mark as the taste of bile touched my tongue. I quickly moved over and threw up as I didn’t dare look at my cutie mark again as the image burned in my mind. The lotus cutie mark used to be red… but now the blood was smeared over it leaving a darker flower in its place. A deathly red flower that filled me with fear.

I closed my eyes trying not to think about it. It sounded silly, but a cutie mark was a representation of yourself. Something that never changed… and seeing it turn red like that... it wasn’t something I wanted to think about too much.

Topaz simply lifted me up “Let’s get you somewhere comfortable.”

“Not the tent.” I muttered wearily “Please don’t put me back in the tent.”

All that blood… Those injuries and the amputations… I couldn’t handle it. Topaz simply carried me into one of the carts and rested my body on top of the pile of blankets. My eyes grew heavy as I fell back to sleep.

******

I groaned as the light hurt my eyes for a few seconds. A laugh rang about as classical music played. There they were again… Rainbow Dash was flying about doing some fancy trick. Applejack selling her wares in town as the apples shinned in her cart. Fluttershy was walking along side Rarity properly getting ready to visit the spa.

I was back in Ponyville and sighed. I already knew it wasn’t real no matter how much my heart wished it so. So I turned around and saw Canterlot. Without any warning the entire place seemed to have shifted as I was now inside the castle.

I saw Princess Celestia talking to somepony as I didn’t bother listening in. I just watched her as I felt sorrow. There she was… a kind and gentle ruler. How anyone could mistake her for a cruel and ruthless tyrant was beyond me. Just looking at her told you that she wouldn’t tell anypony to slaughter helpless ponies… to set entire towns of fire and laugh.

“And there’s Twilight Sparkle” Said a voice beside me.

The pony beside me was dressed in a blue uniform. Not exactly Galloping Gala class, but very… interesting? Expensive? It was hard to pin it down, but it certainly made him look important. He was a light blue unicorn with a dark blue mane. On his side rested a very expensive looking sword that somehow covered his cutie mark.

I looked back at the purple pony beside Celestia and said “So who is she?”

The pony chuckled “Why Celestia’s personal student. The one picked at a young age with an entire destiny set up for her. To have been picked by a Goddess… what a moment it must have been.”

I turned around walking back towards Ponyville. I didn’t want to see this student. Picked by Celestia herself? Did that automatically make her better than me? If so then why the hay wasn’t she sent to this cursed land instead of me!

As soon as I left the castle I was back in Ponyville again. Mayor Mare was talking about some upcoming event. Everypony was listening intently as I ignored the speech as I walked through the crowds as if I was a ghost until I saw them again. Rainbow Dash and the others all set up in their little group.

It hurt seeing them here. It hurt seeing them do things I wouldn’t get to see. I had everything planned out. Travel through the Everfree Forest. Give the flowers and talk to the Zebra a little… tell the story to everypony else. I had even been training for the running of the leaves event. To run and get first place… or close to second at least.

From there Rainbow Dash would say something. I would respond… and then I could finally get a chance to strike up a conversation. Maybe if I was real lucky I could find something out. I always wanted to give racing a shot… but Pegasi seemed to have the market cornered. Unicorns had the schools and magic leaving earth ponies… with the dirt and plants. I didn’t want to be stuck in a house growing flowers for the rest of my life.

Every filly shouted for joy when they got their cutie mark… that special moment of understanding and how their destiny in life finally telling them what they always wanted to do. Not one pony looked back on a cutie mark story with regret… except me.

Me? I missed the once in a life time Rainboom. I got a cutie mark I barely understood… and unlike the others who shouted for joy? I tried to bleach it out in the hope that it would disappear! It was just my luck for it to wear out in just a few days. It was so unremarkable my parents didn’t notice it until the bleach finally wore out as I was left putting up a fake smile as they threw a party as I “finally” got my cutie mark. A party marking me as a nopony in a world full of special ponies.

The unicorn from Canterlot chuckled behind me “Raising the sun? Why the heck should it be special on one day instead of everyday?”

I rolled my eyes “Because it’s the Summer Sun Celebration marks the rule of Celestia and how she finally restored peace to Equestria. It isn’t just raising the sun, but marking the celebration of another year where Equestria is whole instead of shattered and torn apart by countless wars and disasters.”

He paused for a second as I swore he was staring at me. Which was silly. Nopony else noticed me… though it was odd seeing him in Ponyville. Wasn’t he supposed to be back in Canterlot? How did he even get to Ponyville so quickly? How did I? Stupid crazy dream logic.

I trotted towards the Everfree forest. I was stuck in a crazy dream so I might as well finish the job. I walked past the tree where I ran into the creepy person in the hood remembering that stupid wish I made as I tried to kick it as I walked past it. I continued walking as I went straight into the forest following the old path on the ground.

I had no idea who made it as most ponies wouldn’t notice it… or more likely avoid the forest in general, but I’ve been in the Everfree forest enough times to spot it now. It leads straight to Ponyville and you could also follow it to the Zebra’s hut… not that I ever went inside. Mostly I just looked around seeing the wonders the forest had and made sure to stick to the trails so I wouldn’t get lost.

Yes it was pretty stupid thing to do, but this is Ponyville. We built a thriving town right next to the only place everypony fears. The one place we can’t touch as the clouds ignore the pegasi. The plants ignore the earth ponies and the animals? Everything seemed extra resilient against pony magic in this place. Maybe that's why I liked it... the only place in Equestria that was unique like that. As long as you followed the trail or stayed close to it then you wouldn’t run into them… much.

The animals didn’t pay any attention to me as I followed the road going to my secret place. The place only I knew about that made me feel special. The one place I had ran into as a filly and called it my secret base. Nopony really talked about the old castle in the forest. Then again my parents never wanted me to even go near the forest much less this deep into it as my hooves went across the old bridge wooden bridge.

I stood in front of the old castle staring at it and muttered “I’m better off in here. Nopony around. No constantan reminders of what I’m missing.”

I walked straight into the old castle as I continued my rant “Not having to think about ponies I never worked up the courage to talk. No moments where I was just seen as just another pony. No sights of places I’ve never been to or that I may never get to see.”

I sniffed as I walked into the old throne room. The home of my little secret base. The one spot in this lonely castle where I used to play princess or possibly the valiant hero of some story as a filly. It was my little secret kept hidden from the world as I even tried reading the books of magic and the old stories written in the ancient library.

It was stupid really. Unicorns had magic. Pegasi had the skies… and what did that leave me with? Stories and foolish dreams. Like any books left here could actually let me use magic or let me do something special. If anything this castle was just like me… something that might have been special, but in reality it really wasn’t anything special.

“Why do I have to hide from the world in my own dreams?” I said to myself bitterly as I knew there was nothing here for me “It’s not like I can even do anything in here. Heck I can't even touch the books in here.”

The unicorn from Canterlot chuckled “You think your dreaming?”

“I..” I stuttered as I quickly touched the worn out carpet on the floor. It felt solid. I touched it again. I moved to the walls, the floor, the banners. Was I home? The unicorn simply levitated me back to his side before I had a chance to run out of the castle and find another pony!

He turned me to look into his deep blue eyes “I haven’t seen that look of innocence in years.” Seriously creepy moment “But before you ask… No you’re not back. This is simply a byproduct of Dream Drought.”

I looked back at the castle and then back at him. The regal looking unicorn from Canterlot was in this abandoned castle. What was he doing here? What was going on? I shook my head as I felt like racing back to Ponyville shouting to everypony that I was back home. That I was alive.

The unicorn looked at me in sorrow “You can see the past and sometimes even the present, but take too much… you can only dream in this void or of the forest, but never are you here… your just seeing a memory that you can never touch.”

He glanced at the room “What drives you to take such a risk?”

I lowered my head “I didn’t take anything…” My mind raced to my injuries after the ice monster “But somepony gave me something… and now. I just feel guilty.”

The unicorn sat me down on the floor as I looked out the door. It hurt just thinking about it. To have just seen everypony going about their old lives. Nopony seemed to care that I had gone missing. Nopony seemed to have noticed my disappearance. Sure I never had many friends… but was I truly just a ghost in Ponyville before I had disappeared?

It hurt just thinking about it. How little I was. How worthless my life seemed to have been and how costly it was now. It hurt even more so that I was just helpless. I was an observer who could only see but never act in Ponyville. An accident who could only watch, but never fix the problems as I was lost in this new land.

“I sang a song and people got hurt.” I continued. It was a dream after all “They were stuck in winter and I just tried to help them clean it up. I didn’t even expect much to happen.”

The unicorn smiled “You sang a song and stopped the storm. Doesn’t sound that bad to me.”

I nodded as I looked up at the two thrones. One throne had the sun… the other the moon. Two sisters. Two chairs. I never knew much about Luna before… but now I think I know why Princess Celestia called herself Princess now. She held onto the hope that her sister would return… where ever she was or what ever happened to her. Just like me clinging on the belief of home despite the odds before me. Or I was just projecting my problems onto her. How did that old story go anyway?

I closed my eyes remembering the most recent problem that plagued me “Yes but some white armored ponies took offence. They claimed they followed Princess Celestia… and killed a lot of ponies… and diamond dogs.”

The unicorn frowned “And you feel guilty. Would it have stopped them?” I opened my mouth to respond “Did you just sit back and watch them die.” I shook my head “Then if you tried to help them. Tried to make things better and tried to help protect them… What did you do wrong?”

I tried to say something. Trusting the white armored ponies was one of them. Maybe if I didn’t say anything the town’s ponies could have charged them before they waited to spring their attack?

Of course thinking everypony was still a good pony was another mistake I had made. Didn’t the incident with being thrown into a dungeon show me that the ponies here were nothing like the ponies back home! Or the evil bug ponies or the attack on the cart that sent me to the evil bug ponies?

I didn’t even think that the white armored ponies might have been those bug ponies called changlings ready to capture the town again! They had just pretend to be another army sent to protect the town when the fillynapped everypony the first time after all!

Yet all I could say was “I wrote a wish in a book.”

The unicorn shrugged “So why don’t you find that book and just simply remove it?”

I shook my head “Because I don’t know where it is. I don’t know what’s going on and I highly doubt that would work.”

“And yet you sang a song to end a fearsome storm.” He simply stated “It was a foolish thing to do and no one tried it before, but it worked. Sometimes we over think things when sometimes the best solution is actually the easiest one. So why not try?”

I sniffed as I felt a little bit better “I’ll add that to the list. Thanks crazy dream pony thoughts.”

He froze for a moment staring at me in confusion before he grinned “Though I prefer if you would called me Prince Azura. After all I do look the title.” He ran a hoof through her mane as it let it fall to his sides “I certainly do have the hair for it after all.”

“Sure.” I replied without much care. “Leave it to a crazy dream to finally make sense of things… even if I can’t enjoy it.”

Things seemed to dim as I heard him shout “Just remember it’s Dream Drought that brings this realm out when you sleep!”

Break—

I woke up shivering as the sun shined outside. Fillies were running around laughing as some of the ponies had started planting croups outside of their crystal sheds. Topaz and Shadow Tail were standing outside in front of his cart. As soon as I left the room I could hear them talking.

“No. I’ll say it as many times as I need to say it.” Shadow muttered in annoyance “Just because she told you it doesn’t mean you give you a free pass to go gallivanting around the world.”

Topaz simply cleaned his monocle “It’s a long journey and you of all ponies could use an extra hand. Do you really think her journey will just end so easily by dragging her across the country side?”

Shadow shrugged “Does it matter? I’m being paid to drag her around until she gives up and then back to the Frost Kingdom if she wants. Until then it’s just another paycheck.”

I couldn’t help but stare at them. Shadow had swapped out his armor giving him… a more griffin like features. His helmet was now shaped more like a griffin’s head as there were even claws attached to his front feet. His armor was kept to a slight shade of blue and white as the white wings rested against his side.

Shadow pointed up one of the mechanical claws. He was actually pointing at Topaz and said “So far we just managed to severally tick off the Protectorate and made an enemy out of the Scorn Imperium as each of those Reds will be out for her head if they see her! It’s easier to hide a pony than a pony and a diamond dog.”

“Especially when the one in charge has half a dozen disguises tailored for himself.” Topaz added as Shadow nodded “But it’s going to be a long journey.”

Shadow shrugged “I highly doubt it.”

Topaz smiled as he pulled out some small device “I just thought it might be nice to listen to a few tunes or listen to the radio for a moment.”

I have to give credit to Shadow’s work in equipment. The helmet’s red eye grew bigger as he stared at the arcane device as his clawed hand moved towards it. Topaz simply lifted it up out of Shadow’s reach as he pretended to stare at it.

Topaz chuckled “Latest from Pontecha. The PON3 radio and communications headset complete with multiple radio channels, scroll teck manual and” He cleared his throat “memory space to record favorite songs, or other various things for the user to copy or record to be used latter.”

I stared at the device. I didn’t understand most of the meaning, but it looked like some sort of blue bracelet to be put on a pony’s leg. Grant it that it seemed a little strange, but Equestria always did have what some other races called “A mix-mashed society.” Advance in entertainment and other random various technologies and we still have a few areas where trains were manually pulled my ponies instead of being driven by coal. No idea how the trains pulled by ponies thing works out.

Shadow took a few steps back “How? When?”

Topaz grinned revealing his sharp teeth “It pays to have friends. These things are not even supposed to be out in the public market for about… two maybe three years.”

Shadow sighed “Fine… you can come along. Just don’t expect anything fancy.”

Topaz handed over the device to Shadow as he quickly went back into his cart as the sounds of heavy machinery being used could be heard from outside. I blinked as I tried not to think about how the sounds were being made or just what exactly was making them.

Topaz smiled as he waved at me “Hope you don’t mind if I join you in your trip to repay a favor.”

I shook my head “Not to complain… but you don’t owe me anything.”

Topaz looked out at the village and said “Your brought hope to this village and saved them from trouble. The town ponies are on good terms with the diamond dogs now and I feel like going back on the road again. So I figured why not join you on your travels?”

I looked down at the ground “Because I might be crazy?”

Topaz just chuckled “Please. Sanity is over rated these days. If you didn’t think you might be crazy then I might have worried.” He put a hand over his eyes “Now comes the next question… Which do you prefer? Swords or guns?”

“Uh… I don’t know how to use either of them.” I replied only to see a shocked look on his face.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head “It’s going to be a long couple of days.”

******

Shadow Tail had us leave the village as soon as I was ready. The town ponies and the resident diamond dogs waved us goodbye before we left. The cart Shadow Tail was using was fixed, but it had felt a little cramped sharing room with Mr Topaz and all the items that Shadow Tail had picked up.

The first thing I learned was that Shadow Tail would take anything he could use as I spotted a few of the weapons and armor from the ponies that had attacked the town yesterday… complete with bloodstains and bullet holes. While killing ponies didn’t feel right with me I couldn’t help but feel that stripping them of… everything (clothing included) was just going a bit too far.

Shadow drove the cart in his griffin armor as Topaz went over the exact details of certain weapons. The first task had been easy as he simply checked which melee weapons I could actually hold correctly. Swords felt uncomfortable while daggers didn’t give me the “range” Topaz wanted so we settled on what was either a short sword of a long dagger? The blade was jagged and held a very sharp edge as it was nicknamed “The Trench Blade” as it included its own sheath that slipped onto my body quite easily.

When we moved onto guns… I know there are many types of weapons. Canterlot guards can name the different types of spears and their assigned use. Some ponies can even name the various types of sword, origin, and uses for various sizes of length, blade, and shape. Guns were just point and shoot so it couldn’t have been that complicated? Boy was I so, so wrong.

Topaz shook his head for the up-tenth time “I know I should understand why… but seriously? At least tell me you know the difference between a 9 millimeter riffle round and a hollow point variant.”

Guns had types of guns just like swords had types of swords, but it didn’t stop there. It went deeper going into variants of those guns, to even variations of the types of bullets. It sounded like a lot of trouble to be going into, but guns hand one great alternative to melee weapons which was both good and frightening at the same time. You could learn how to use one quickly and it gave range or simply filled the area in front of you with lots of bullets.

Topaz simply pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed “Alright. Ground basics. Let’s just get a standard BB gun and see how well you go with that.” He grabbed one of the battle saddles and strapped me into it. “Now remember. The harness near your mouth is similar to the spear variant, but do not pull the harness. That allows you to fire the gun.”

I simply nodded as he checked me over making sure everything fit. Apparently if it wasn’t put on properly then when you fired the gun you might get muzzle burn on your side if you were lucky. You could shoot yourself or possibly graze with the bullet you were firing if your unlucky. Though if you’re really unlucky or the equipment is also faulty… you could have the gun simply blow up right on your side leaving lots of pieces of metal sticking in your side if not outright killing you. So naturally making sure you could make one fit you comfortably for long periods of time was important

The other important detail I knew as a fact was making sure it was tight… otherwise a pony might be able to use it against you. Like a quick buck and a trigger pull to ruin half of your face. I shivered just thinking about what I had did as I made sure it was tied on tightly to ensure it didn’t happen to me.

A buck’s voice came from outside “This is Resistance News with your host!” In the background trumpets played “Resity! Yes that’s what’s were going with so shut up and like it!”

Topaz smiled “Looks like Shadow is playing with his new toy.”

“Just trying to listen to the radio.” Shadow shouted from up front.

Resity continued “Now guys and gals. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Just because some folk are different from you it does not give you the right to grab, bag, and hang them. Yes I’m talking about you Pyromaniac Nut Jobs in the Protectorate.” I shivered at the name “Last week the idiots in white trudged down to Mystic Swamps and tried a Flaming Dolt welcome to their neighbors by torching the area down because they weren’t ponies! Never mind the fact the surrounding towns had been attacked by monsters for years until their new neighbors showed up and fixed the problem for them.”

I didn’t like them even more. Grant it ponies sometimes got off on the wrong hoof with other races, but we would always try to get along… or find some way to deal with the situation that didn’t involve violence or burning down the other pony’s homes!

Resity laughed “Well apparently the Gater Boys didn’t take a liking to being attacked and yes. They told me to call them Gater Boys. Just because they live in a swamp doesn’t mean their stupid and apparently the Dolts in White forgot the Gater Boys had over a dozen Cragadiles and a whole assortment of deadly creatures under their control. Needless to say it ended badly for the Dolts in White.”

At that Shadow laughed as Topaz looked grim. Apparently that wasn’t a good thing.

Resity coughed “But on a happier note. Boys and Gals mark your calendars because the wicked king has finally kicked the bucket!” The sound a bucket being kicked along with cheers of little foals in the background “Apparently bad old king Scorn tried to attack the Frost Kingdom and let me tell you… it was bad. A handful of knights and infiltrators sabotaging the city from inside with Scorn just a hop, skip and a jump right away from getting right inside the city!”

“Please don’t say it.” Shadow tale muttered “Please don’t.”

“Right up until a flower pony saved the day.” Resity shouted in joy as Shadow Tale shout out curses “Some brave little mare managed to get a Beserker Drake back up running and get this ladies and gents… She threw sneezing powder. I kid you not… *Freaking! Sneezing! Powder!** Crazy I know, but this little batch was made for Hydras of all things and threw it at the monster’s face!*”

A small foal asked “But Mister Resisty? Why is that important?”

Resisty chuckled “Because my little viewer that Hydra was guarding bad old king Scorn himself. With no monster to protect him he had a very angry Prince Frostmorn to deal with an equally angry ten ton metal killing machine. The Prince managed to make the blow slicing the foul king’s head off. He even has the body on display to show the world that *This** blighted monster from the past is dead and Staying dead! Personally I would have just thanked the pony and went on my way…”*

Shadow groaned as I blinked. I was on the radio.

Resisty laughed even louder “But apparently she must have left quite the impression because the king personally gave her the Beskerker Drake she fixed as a reward. That’s right. Out of the blue a stranger shows up and saves you and this brave pony *thanks them** instead of trying to throw them in jail or set their house on fire. Think about that next time when you meet somepony on the road. Maybe they’re just a friend you haven’t met yet. Now let’s hear some music DJ!*”

Music played on the radio as Shadow muttered a string of curses. Grant it Resisty wasn’t entirely correct… because I was thrown in jail. Still it was… nice? Interesting? Confusing? Well one of those words or a mix of them was how I was feeling hearing my name on the radio.

The cart slowed down as Shadow shouted “Here’s a good place to stop and to test her skill with a gun.”

Topaz started grabbing a couple of the guns “Why here?”

Shadow muttered out loud “Because I feel like shooting something since Resisty made my job a lot harder now.”

******

I looked through the little pointer set up on the riffle and tried to aim at the can. I pulled on the harness as the riffle kicked back knocking me on my butt as I could hear either Topaz or Shadow chuckling in the background.

Shadow’s wings lifted me back up as he said “Remember that some of the riffles tend to have a kickback so if you need to stand your ground or crouched down on the ground… go right ahead. The Long Shot Riffle tends to have a bigger kick to ensure the bullet goes through it’s intended target.”

I nodded as I braced myself against the ground and took aim again. I could feel the weight of the gun as I tried to prepare myself for it suddenly kicking backwards again as I fired. This time the riffle pushed me back a little, but the shot hit the can tearing the top half to pieces. I felt a brief moment of joy... until I realize the can was just a few feet away.

Shadow didn't seem to notice as he continued on with his lesson “Still got a kickback, but you hit the target regardless. Want to switch to a larger riffle or go for more than one shot?”

******

I held the blade in my mouth giving it a few practice swings as Topaz watched me. It felt weird trying to go through the movements I saw in the comics. When I held one before it was simple. Hold the blade and charge until it hits something or swing it about like I was trying to hack away vines. Topaz called it running straight forward like an idiot or swinging it around like an idiot which was a small blow to me ego. I thought I wasn't that bad.

Topaz shook his head “Let’s try something else. Sometimes it is better to doge than to hit your foe… Follow my steps.”

I struggled to place the blade back in my hilt as I could still taste the leathery mouth and said “But you’re a diamond dog. Two legs. Not four.”

Topaz smirked “But not my steps in the snow.”

He stood up on his toes and moved gracefully… too gracefully. It felt as if he was defying physics as he practically danced across the snowy field and landed on the side. He pointed down at the snow as large prints were left there. I moved my hoof over one of them just to see it almost fit. Surely enough each hole was spaced far enough for me to move from spot to spot as if the holes were made naturally by a pony instead of a dancing diamond dog on two legs.

Topaz grinned revealing his teeth “Some ponies try to learn other styles. Some dogs try to learn new tricks.”

Which one was he? Obviously he wasn’t going to tell. I moved from step to step trying to fill in the steps.

“Start from the beginning.” Topaz spoke out loud as he pointed at my feet.

One hoof was out of place and he wanted me to try again? “Uh… why am I doing this first of all?”

Topaz shrugged “Because I do not know many pony styles. This one focuses on dueling. Move, doge, and react. I know the basics and it’s better to know how to stop if not doge an opponent’s attacks in case you do get attacked.”

I walked around to the starting line and said “Alright then…” First hole “one…” then twist to the next one “two…” move to the side “three…” over the rock “four.” And avoid the mistake.

“And again!” shouted Topaz as I overshot the next step.

******

Shadow lowered the next gun “This is a shotgun. Close and personal as you don’t even need much precision to shot.”

I pulled the harness as the gun rang next to my ears. A manticore charged out of the forest.

“Second lesson!” Shadow Tail shouted as the riffle on his side opened fire as the mechanical harness started to reload the riffle “Fire, reload, and fire again!”

******

Topaz dropped a log, a pile of leave, and a manticore stinger. He handed me the Trench Blade and a sharpening stone.

Topaz motioned towards the objects and said “Next step is survival training and use of your blade. Unlike others a Trench Blade is a multi-purpose tool. Not as sharp as a sword or the jagged use of a saw, but it has its own perks. Right now use it to help make us a nice warm fire.”

I grabbed the blade and took it out as I felt the log. The outside was cold and wet as clumps of snow was sticking to it, but the inside/cut side was dry. I moved the blade against the log and started cutting. It was not an easy task as bits of saw dust would hit my mouth, but I didn’t complain as Topaz watched me. The untold task wasn’t cutting the log. It was cutting the log without dropping the blade as my next task would be opening up the manticore stinger.

After a short while the blade finished cutting the log in half as I set it on the stone and placed the blade back in my sheath and muttered “I need some flint.”

Topaz sighed “Back piece of the hilt. Use it and the stone to create the sparks you need.”

I pulled out the blade and struck it with the rock. Surely enough a few sparks were made as I used the leaves to start a small fire.

Topaz grinned revealing his teeth as he said “Now cut open the stinger and remove the venom gland.”

I plunged the blade into the stinger as I felt a small splash of blood against my lips and tried not to hurl. Memories of having to kill the crazed Protectorate ponies surfaced as the taste of bile rose in my mouth.

Topaz chuckled “Now you see why I wanted to do the dance steps first instead of mouth in blade?”

I tried to repress the taste of bile in my mouth. Maybe I should have had Shadow Tale teach me how to use it instead.

******

Topaz sharpened his blade “Swords have history. Some magical ones even grow stronger throughout the ages.”

Shadow blew into his riffle “And guns make short work of the enemy. Instead of running against a stronger opponent or a tricky duelist you simply move, shoot, and fire again unless you have to reload.”

Both of them were doing maintenance on their equipment as I cleaned my weapon. Topaz used a sharpening stone on his sword while Shadow Tail used his mechanical limps to dismantle and clean each part of his gun leaving dirt rags and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

Topaz held up his blade inspecting his work “Swords continue to be used to this day.”

“and guns continue to advance along society.” Shadow countered as he started putting his riffle back together “A blade and even a magical one needs to get close. A gun even the non-magical ones don’t. Ponies had a hard time with bows and arrows, but guns make it even for everyone.”

Topaz shook his head not giving up “But what do you do when they get close? Many still prefer to give fliers spears due to their effectiveness. Few things are as terrifying as a squadron of flyers rushing down from above.”

Shadow somehow gave a grin of his own “That’s what the wings are for. To make sure they don’t get close. As for terrifying... obviously you've never seen the terror of being torn apart from the sky as flyers let out a hail of bullets from above.”

I rose my voice “And what happens when they do? I mean when they get close?”

Shadow’s wings scrapped against the ground as he replied “That’s why they’re made out of metal.” The feathers shifted reveling the skeleton like wing underneath and the sharp tips “To make sure they regret it.”

I nodded as I guessed Shadow wouldn’t be able to teach me how to fight. Apparently his method didn’t involve a sword in his mouth or a spear on his side. I certainly don’t want freaky metal wings drilled into my sides. Topaz and Shadow continued their talk about which was better as I focused on learning how to clean the shotgun next. There was even a small book with step by step pictures incase I ran into a problem.

******

The sky was dark as snow drifted down above us. Topaz was munching down on a roasted piece of manticore leg. I knew he properly wasn’t a herbivore, but it made me feel a little bit better knowing that the manticore wasn’t going to waste despite the knot in my stomach seeing him eat another living animal as I looked at my daffodil sandwich. The one that didn’t have a roam about with the possibility of foals waiting for it back home.

Which brought a question to mind “Hey Shadow? Aren’t you going to take off your mask?”

He turned to face me with part of the mark resting nearby. Apparently the bottom half could be removed leaving the face covered as he had a piece of manticore leg in front of his mouth. There were even a couple of bite marks in it. My stomach didn’t feel any better seeing it.

He spoke as his mouth was hidden behind the piece of meat “What? It’s good.”

Topaz rolled his eyes “Some ponies eat meat. You’re the only one I think that’s born part griffin without the beak.”

I shook my head “But don’t we have lots of fresh fruits and vegetables?”

Shadow nodded “And a nice roasting fire with fresh manticore meat only for tonight. The rest turns to jerky or our big jerk beside us.”

Topaz chuckled “And here I thought the meat was for me instead of you.”

At that I couldn’t help but chuckle as Shadow tried to deny it.

******

The light shined in my eyes as I was actually thankful for being awake. How screwed up must you be to be frightened of your own dreams? This time I was Ponyville being founded including a young Granny Smith. It was strange seeing Ponyville like that. Not exactly sure what to make up of that.

Music played out in the distance as I watched Shadow looking over a map. It wasn’t much like the songs I heard of before, but more like one of those songs that one DJ pony played. There was a tune of sorrow in the melody as he seemed lost in another world of thought.

I inched over trying to get a glance of the map. Maybe if I saw it I could figure out where I was. Maybe I could just simply point out where ponyville was or someplace close to the lands near Equestria. To my disappointment and confusion the map didn’t look like Equestria at all.

Instead I saw the same strange map I saw back in the Frost Kingdom. It didn’t look like much to me as I still couldn’t recognize anything… or find where we were or the importance of the few marks on the map represented. I could hear the song ending as I prepared to ask Shadow for help.

He turned around and faced me as his eyes widened in surprise. Mine also widened when I saw his face. Not the mask he wore or the various helmets he wore, but his actual face or most of it at least. He had a red coat and a dark black mane. His brown eyes stared at me in shock, but his eyes seemed old. Granny Smith type old from having seen so much of the world change… but he still looked so young. Maybe just a few years older than me.

Instantly he grabbed his mask and snapped it back as the mask’s filters kicked in. I felt a small pain of regret for him hiding his face so quickly… and also for not checking if the horn on the helmet was part of the helmet or part of his face. His metal wings shot out pushing me aside as he took in a couple of deep breaths as if he almost had a heart attack or something.

When he finally calmed down he shouted “Don’t do that again!”

“I’m sorry… I didn’t expect to see you not wearing your mask.” I slowly responded.

Topaz screamed out loud behind us “Coal Dust! I leave for a few moments and I missed a chance to see it!” Shadow face hoofed himself as Topaz dashed over to me “Come on! You can tell me! What did he look like?”

“My mask was on the ground.” Shadow groaned “She didn’t see anything Topaz.”

I shivered as I felt that comment was more directed at me than Topaz. I didn’t see what the big deal was.

Topaz shook his head “Don’t mind the grouch. He’s the strangest pony I’ve ever meet. “Apparently” they think it’s improper to be seen without clothing or some sort of barding.” Topaz emphasized “Apparently” with small air quotes with his fingers “I’ve traveled with that grouch for five years and I haven’t even seen his face.”

Now I felt dying to know how the rest of him looked like! No! Bad Swift! Thinking thoughts like that could lead to some very bad misunderstandings! I just thought that before I saw his face he was some kind of robo-pony or something, but just seeing a flesh and blood face. It made him… it made him feel more real. More of a real pony than some random stranger.

My face blushed brightly as I realized I wasn’t wearing any sort of barding, clothing, or “Decency” that Shadow had grown up from. Did he think?

Shadow quickly interjected “Yes it was weird. Yes it was strange, and no I am not. I’ve been around the world long enough to get used to the other… traits and customs of other races, beings, and ponies.”

Now my face burned hotter as I tried not to look embarrassed. Was it really that easy to guess what my next question was? This is why you need to phrase things more clearly Swift! It helps avoid these types of situations!

I groaned as Shadow rolled up the map and said “So did you see anything on the map that you recognized?”

I shook my head as my face was still bright red “No.” Sometimes having white fur really worked against you “But the area with the mountains? Was it really the Storm Wind Cliffs?”

Shadow seemed to grin as he checked the map again “Yes… but how do you know of them?”

“Old griffin tale talked about some foreign land.” I replied remembering the old books from the Castle in the Everfree forest “It was some land off in the east or something.”

He sighed as Topaz shook his head “Let me guess. Trying to find some “old sites” to investigate again?”

Shadow shrugged “Matching old tales and rumors tends to be tricky. If there are myths about Equestria then it stands to reason they may have a few myths about us. The trick of course is matching the two up and finding what has been lost. Who knows… maybe I’ll even find the elusive Crystal Kingdom that had been lost to ages.”

This was a conversation I didn’t want to get into. More importantly I just realized how many things I used to use back home.

I tried to change the subject “Not to change the subject… Any idea where we can pick up gardening supplies?”

Topaz blinked as he stared at me. Shadow simply shrugged though slightly less confused as he looked at the map and marked Storm Wind Cliffs as I couldn’t help but wonder what Topaz meant by dragging her along. Was Shadow Tail actually planning on helping me or did he not really care if I ever found a way back home or not?

Shadow sighed "Why do you need gardening supplies?"

A voice chipped on the radio saying “She’s the flower pony so obviously she going to need her supplies back in stock.”

Everyone including myself stared at Shadow’s device on his leg. The voice chuckled in a humors and amused tone. It almost felt as if the person on the other end was trying not to burst out laughing.

Shadow groaned “Please don’t be him. Please don’t be him.”

“Of course it’s me feather head!” sang the voice “And I need you to repay a little favor.”

“No!” Shadow shouted into his device “I already did enough favors. We are even and don’t even try to pull up that mess again or I will have to bring up the garden incident.”

The voice on the other end whimpered… in an almost comical fashion it seemed “But feather head. Didn’t you lose sight of Miss Swift over there when you left her alone on that mountain. You left her all alone when she tumbled down and was left in the freezing cold.”

I focused on the memory… I was alone. I did fall down a mountain side freezing cold, but I woke up having been captured by changelings.

“You where the one who left me to the changelings!” I shouted out loud “Why!”

The voice chuckled as I could picture a stupid grin on his face “Because obviously those ponies and doggies needed saving. I just knew you were just the pony who could do it! You even got rid of that nasty eye sour.”

Topaz looked at me and the device on Shadow’s leg. Shadow on the other hoof was banging his head against the cart. Considering the voice left me to nearly get eaten by Icesoar… the frozen yeti monster that attacked the towns causing problems for everypony.

“You were the one who sent that monster!” I screamed out again “It nearly killed me!”

“But fighting one nasty monster was a lot easier than fighting off an entire hive wasn’t it?” The smug jerk said with ease “Besides it all turned out alright in the end.”

Shadow groaned “What do you want you mix matched bas...”

“Language feather head. You have a young lady in your mists.” The voice berated Shadow “All I want you to do… is simply take a small detour. There are a couple of ponies trying to take care of an infestation of Twitermites.”

“Twitermites?” I couldn’t help but ask.

The voice cheered up “Small little bugs with a nasty jolt. The Lunar Republic likes to collect them to power every gizmo gadget they collect and make. I already marked the location on your map! Some ponies say they always existed and others say they were brought out of some filly’s dream from the Raven’s magic. Have Fun!”

The radio clicked off as Shadow unrolled the map. Topaz and I stared at it in confusion. A large black line raced across the map and circled a small area as what looked like a glove giving a thumbs up hovered over the area.

Shadow groaned “Let’s get this over with.”

Topaz shook his head “Your just going to listen to a random voice on the radio… How did he even?”

“He just does.” Shadow interrupted him “He’s just… a chaotic kind of guy who’s good with magic. It’s better to get his mess solved quickly before he finds some other way to mess with us.”

I looked at the map again as it and a small X marking our location with even a small you are here written above it… and a drawn line marking our destination. Sure I’m happy that somepony saved me from freezing to death a little while ago was nice… but finding you that you have somepony watching out for you for what seems to be their entertainment. Let’s just say I’m happy it’s in the morning because I certainly wouldn’t be able to go to sleep after hearing about this.