He awoke to blinding contrast. The heat of his own crimson blood trickling from his side, the cold of the snow and ice surrounding him. The dullness of the ache within the lowest reaches of his spine, the sharpness of that pain shooting vicious lines up and toward his neck. He took a staggered but shallow breath, the mist of his exhale rising above him in the stillness of the air. The stillness… he thought, but how. His last memories were not of such stillness, again, the contrast confused and assaulted his already pain-dulled thoughts. He remembered falling… of the wind tearing at him and screaming in his ears. Before that… Climbing, bracing against the cruel wind, being up so very high above everything, almost touching the faint ceiling of the world. His mind gave him brief images of the sight, the memory of mountains surrounding him, their peaks… Below him? Had he been flying… No, he remembered, he had been standing there on that tallest of peaks, the mountains shrouded in clouds, their tops tiny islands in a sea of cumulus white.
He wondered more on these memories for a while before the pain in his side overcame his confusion. His thoughts, replaced now with the basest desire to continue existing, somehow. He lifted his head carefully, slowly. Though there was great pain, it was possible for him to adjust and prop himself upright on an elbow. He looked over his body, frowning with concern at the deep scarlet patch soaked through many thick layers of clothing at his side. With much distress, and great effort, he found he could stand. After a few brief moments steadying himself he began to look around, taking in his surroundings. He was at the base of a seemingly impossibly tall mountain face that rose vertically above him, the ice and snow piled at its bottom to form a small indent there, shielding him from the bitter wind. He remained there for a few moments, gathering his strength and fortifying his will as best he could, before taking the first few gruelling steps through the snow.
It took only minutes for the pain and the biting wind to force him into a rigid monotony, a machine like trudge through the snow and ice. Occasionally his foot would pierce the hard shell of snow and into the softer cold below. Each time he hesitated, gathering his strength back and righting himself, before carrying on and on. His vision began to fuzz and blur, speckled with black dots. He pondered repeatedly in his head, was this the beginning of snow blindness, or the beginning of unconsciousness? The thought itself didn’t matter to him, only that he keep thinking. Thinking of anything kept his mind off the pain. His mind however, was in far better shape than his body, and eventually it was the latter that failed him. After hours of his lumbering shuffle against the wind, he collapsed into the snow and onto his back. Though his wings were protected within his jacket, from the fall he could feel that they too must be quite broken, the sudden sharp pain forcing a cry from his lips, taking precious air from his lungs. He panted softly, each one pushing daggers into him as black curtains began to fold in at the edges of his vision. He closed his eyes, letting his thoughts slip away with the wind.
The smell of smoke was the first tickle at his waking senses, followed immediately by the feel of warm blankets surrounding him. He opened his eyes slowly, taking a deep breath without even a whisper of pain. All he could see was the canvas ceiling of a tent, a hole in the center where smoke was escaping into the gale. He began to lift his head, but it was pushed very gently back down by a hand. The touch was soft, gentle and strangely reassuring to him. It felt familiar. The hand moved gently down to his cheek, remaining there as a face moved into view above him. He recognised that face… He recognised her. She looked at him with concern, her worried expression defining the features of her face around her grey eyes. Her coat was white, her mane a light blue and flowing long around her shoulders, split at her brow around her horn, though usually it was tied back. Was it? How did he know, why did he know? Why did she seem so familiar? She smiled softly, sighing in relief before speaking in a soft voice, though loud enough to be heard above the wind.
“I’m glad you’re alright. You worried me so much… You shouldn’t have just run off like that, why did you run off at all? Of all the places to find you... What were you doing out there?”
He opened his mouth to speak, his mind had begun searching for the answers right away, as if it knew where to find them, but all it found was empty space and a feeling of confusion. He hesitated, frowning slightly.
“Am I… I… Remember being in the snow. Did you save me? Why do I feel like.. I know you?”
The mare’s smile faded slowly, replaced again with concern.
“What do you mean? Why… Why wouldn’t I be familiar? You were just lying out there in the snow, wandering off on your own. I’d been looking for you for days! We need to get you back to Anchor.”
“Anchor..?” The stallion asked, still with that dazed expression.
The mare began to look more and more concerned before looking away from him, muttering to herself.
“She said this might happen… I didn’t think she meant like this. You… You don’t know who I am?”
The stallion looked apologetic at her distress, though he didn’t know what for. He shook his head. The mare looked back to him again.
“Do you know who -you- are..?”
The stallion froze, his mind suddenly screaming. His thoughts so riddled with pain and distress, how had he not even realised. Not only had he no idea how he came to be here, all his efforts to find any information about himself, his identity, turned up nothing. His gaze dropped as his eyes darted back and forth, as if he were looking through his own mind with them. His frown turned into a distraught and confused grimace as he spoke, his voice cracking slightly.
“No… No I don’t.”
The mare stroked his cheek softly, sighing as she did.
“Shh… Don’t worry… You’re safe here, your memories will come back eventually. Or… At least, that’s what she told me. My name is Snowfall, she said I shouldn’t tell you yours if you forgot. You have to remember some things on your own.”
The stallion still looked confused, though more at ease than he was. He looked downward for a moment, before returning his gaze to hers.
“What -can- you tell me?”
“Not all that much… “ Snowfall replied, laying down beside him. “But I can tell you that we’re in the North, the far North. You were born in Anchor, the other side of the mountains to where we are now. Try not to think on it too much now, it will only confuse you more. Rest for now.”
The stallion went to protest, opening his mouth to speak before she silenced him with a finger to his lips, her horn glowing softly as he felt a soothing warmth spread through him, accompanied by an intense tiredness. He closed his eyes, feeling her hand upon his cheek again as he let the feelings carry him off into sleep.
The stallion dreamed, if they could be described as dreams. Moments of clarity waxed and waned as he slept, memories moving and intertwining in all the wrong places. Images, sounds, smells that he recognised, all moving past him, and all too quickly. He could sense the fragments of those memories, he could feel the outline of the jigsaw of his memory, but where the pieces would not fit. A sudden bright flash rose from the mess, a memory of the mare. A memory of Snowfall. He could see her stood in front of a window, looking over a small town bustling with movement within the shadow of tall and jagged mountains. Another mare was stood beside her, looking at him. She looked almost identical to Snowfall, her mane a darker shade of blue. Her mouth moved, but no sounds came from it. He sensed another memory begin to surface… A vision of a taller stallion, a pegasus stood facing toward him. His coat a soft but darker grey, his mane pitch black and his eyes a bright electric blue. He saw these two scenes play in his mind in unison, of the two mares by the window and the curious stallion facing him. He began to walk towards the window, finding that as he did the stallion moved with him. He stopped, raising a hand, though it moved as if moving through water. The stallion’s hand also rose, confusing and assaulting his mind. He gazed around the small room behind him, finding the small furniture and paintings matched the ones the stallion was stood beside. That was -him-, but how… How was he seeing those mares, and himself. A thought pierced him with sudden intensity, he was seeing through both of their eyes. This strange stallion was him, and yet he was seeing himself through that other strange mare as well. Who was she, at Snowfall’s side… Why was he seeing through her eyes. His mind, it seemed, tired with questions, began to pull the dream apart. As he was pulled back toward wakefulness, his senses faded to nothing, all but a last whisper in a mare’s voice.
“Are you sure about this, Silver? You have to be sure, neither of us can go back once this is done.”
He sat up quickly, the blankets falling from him as he began panting heavily. A clatter of metal brought his attention to his side, where Snowfall was sat beside a cooking pot, suspended over smouldering embers. She had a hand to her chest, a startled look on her face. She soon relaxed, sighing in relief.
“Don’t do that! You terrified me.”
The stallion caught his breath before smiling awkwardly “Sorry, it was just a dream”
“What sort of dream?” The mare asked, turning back to the pot and stirring it idly.
The stallion looked confused “What do you mean what sort? It wasn’t a nightmare, if that’s what you’re asking. At least I don’t think it was.”
“Do you remember it? It might be important, you shouldn’t let it just slip away.”
The stallion looked down, thinking for a moment. “Yes… I think I remember my name. I was in a room… You were standing by another mare, she looked like you. Her mane was more, uh, blue. I want to say she’s your sister, but I don’t want it to be a guess. It just, seems right.”
The mare smiles warmly and nods. “Mhm! She is… was.”
“Was? Did something happen to her?”
The mare seemed to consider for a moment with a sad expression, before smiling again “She’s not what you or I might call… around anymore, but she’s not dead, or gone.”
The stallion looks confused at that, “What do you mean?”
“Nevermind.” The mare quickly says. “I think it might have been too much even to say that. So, you remember your name? Tell me.”
He lost himself in thought again, trying as hard as he could to remember the dream. It had begun to fade while he’d been listening to Snowfall, though he soon caught it before it faded completely.
“Silver?” He said with some hesitation, though his eyes lit up afterward as a piece of his memory fell into place. “Silver! My name is Silver Lining!”
The mare hung the stirring spoon on the pot and moved over to him, hugging him tightly “That’s it! I’m glad you’re starting to remember.”
Silver wrapped his arms around her and hugged back just as tightly, elated at his self discovery. He stopped for a moment, lifting his head before smiling brightly “And you’re cooking my favourite meal, aren’t you? The vegetable stew with those dumplings you make.”
Snowfall pulled back from the hug, looking confused. “That isn’t, I mean…” she looked down again with a smile, though there’s some sadness in it. “That was -her- favourite… You always liked the sweet pota-” She looks up suddenly with a look that was clear, she thought she’d said too much. She pulled away from him properly and went back over to the cooking pot, stirring again and clearing her throat.
He watched her go, a look of confusion and curiosity on his face. “Was it..? I… Could have sworn that it was… No, no you’re right. That was hers. What does that mean..?”
“I can’t tell you.” she says quickly. “Just try and relax now, alright? For me? You can think more when we get back to Anchor.”
Silver reluctantly nodded “Alright, I’ll try not to. When will we go back?”
“We’ll start travelling tomorrow morning, the wind should break for long enough to give us a comfortable pass through the mountains.”
He nodded again at that, resting back as he tried to relax. The smell of the food teased at the memory from before. He was certain that memory was right, it felt right. It -was- his favourite, but… At the same time, he was certain that it wasn’t. How could he be certain of both, maybe he was simply too confused by his memories slowly returning. After all, he distinctly remembered the pain of his injuries, the warmth of the blood leaking from his side, but now there was no trace of pain or injury at all. Whatever it was, he had an identity again, even if it was the most basic. He smiled to himself as he recalled his name, Snowd-. His mind locked up at that moment, the cogs of his thoughts seizing up violently for a moment before loosening with another wave of confusion. Silver. His name was Silver Lining.
The first light of the morning had only just begun to light the frozen wastes outside when they left the tent, opting to leave it rather than carry the extra weight. The mountains still cast long shadows over the windswept hardpack of snow, though the air was now still, the sky the washed out blue of early morning. Silver was deep in thought as he began trudging along, a foot occasionally breaking through and into the soft snow beneath. Time had begun to seem fast to him. A high pitched whine had slipped into his hearing, along with a faint sense of urgency he couldn’t explain, as if the world were slowly speeding up around him, a river flowing ever closer and ever faster to a roaring waterfall. Snowfall walked beside him, light enough to pierce the brittle shell underfoot. Even so she slowed to remain at his side. She glanced to him every now and then, not saying a word. He noticed these glances, eventually looking to her worriedly.
“Is… Everything alright?” he asked quietly.
She quickly looked away, continuing to walk on with him. “Sorry, I was just… You hardly said anything all morning”
Silver sighed softly, looking up at the slowly brightening sky. “I’ve had a lot to think about. I keep feeling like my memories are just there, under the surface. Even if I were sure those memories were real, I can’t get to them yet.”
Snowfall listened, watching his face carefully as he spoke. She opened her mouth as if to speak, before suddenly doubling over and holding her stomach. Silver stopped immediately, supporting her with a hand as he looked over her worriedly “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Snowfall took his hand delicately and stood upright again, letting out a slow breath. “I’m fine, it’s nothing. Just a… A bad time of the month to be trekking through these mountains in the cold.”
Silver knew she was lying, he felt it somehow, some part of a memory that still refused to fully surface. He went to protest, before deciding against it, smiling warmly. “Ah, alright. Are you going to be ok? We can always wait a few more days bef-”
Snowfall quickly cut him off “No, no we need to get back. I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. The weather will hold, we need to keep our pace to make it over the mountains before sunset.”
Silver looked over to the mountains, the low slopes of their base now very near. “Alright, but if you hurt again you tell me straight away. Promise me.”
She looked down, “We can’t waste time, we have to-“ she hesitated when she caught his eye, holding his gaze for a moment. “Alright, I promise”
The rest of their journey ascending the mountains was uneventful, no misfortune or misstep to hinder their progress. When they reached the top however, it became clear that something was wrong. Snowfall began looking around frantically over the peaks that stretched in a thin line either side of them.
“The snows have shifted so much since before… The path shouldn’t be covered this deep for another month yet.”
“How long will it take for us without the path?” he asked worriedly.
“Too long, I don’t have the supplies to last us, even if we turned back to the tent.”
Silver looked back the way they’d come, then to Snowfall. Her face was one of intense worry, her eyes looking back and forth between the snow covered valleys and ridges as if she could find some secret, easier path there that would save them. He took his pack off, setting it down in the snow as he began to unzip his jacket. Snowdrift looked at him with worried curiosity.
“What are you doing?”
“We don’t need any of these things if we can make it to town without them, right? I have wings, and we’re already up high enough for me to fly us down without much effort.”
“In this cold?” She asked with a disbelieving look.
“A little frostbite is better than the alternative should we not make it down in time.”
“Can you even carry me that far?”
“Without the sacks, yes, I don’t have to make a climb up to any height, we’ve already climbed it together. This isn’t an argument, this is what we’re doing. Take anything you need out of the rucksacks, leave everything else.”
Snowfall looked around hesitantly, then nodded slightly and began to take off her rucksack. Silver removed his outer coat, his wings folded within stretching out wide, though he could already feel the holes in his under layers made to fit his wings letting in the cold. He took a deep breath, the mist of his exhale whipped away on the wind.
“Are you ready?”
Snowfall nodded, standing in front of him as she reached up with her arms, wrapping them around his neck. He bent a little, picking her up and into his arms carefully, holding her firmly.
“Keep holding on tight, if your arms get too tired, tell me so that we can land.”
She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder and against his neck, burying her muzzle there in the warmth. He took a moment to adjust his hold to be as comfortable as possible, and to beat his wings a few times to warm the muscles involved. After a few more moments of hesitation, he took off with a powerful downbeat of those wings, the snow flying around them as the downdraft whipped up the white powder, the crystals of ice shining like diamonds in the air around them. He soon found a steady rhythm, working twice as hard to keep the both of them airborne as he began to work his way into a downward glide, slowly picking up enough speed to carry the weight along without descending too quickly. Snowfall kept her muzzle pressed against his neck, terrified of the sudden change in pace, though soon relaxing as she focused on his presence, his scent, rather than the rushing of the air and the frequent feeling of weightlessness. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him a little more tightly as she did. Talking was impossible, the rush of the wind far too loud, though words were unneeded.
They flew in comfortable silence, other than the howling wind and the strange combination of sharp and dull pain that came with the cold spreading over his back. After what seemed many hours, but in reality was only one, Silver settled down on the snow before a small village, Anchor. He gently lowered Snowfall, shivering heavily as his wings twitched, near frozen and exhausted. She gently ran her hands over them, trying to warm them as Silver groaned sharply under his breath. She looked back to him with concern, taking his hand and leading him quickly over to the houses there. The town was set on the flats of a frozen lake edge, the lake itself covered in snow. Only around twenty or so buildings were lined up in a neat row around it’s edge, most of them beginning to show signs of life as lights were turned on within, the brightness of the day beginning to fade into the strange half-light of the tundra. Snowfall lead him over to one of those houses, still dark within, one that he recognised. She turned the handle, the door already unlocked as it swung inward, motes of dust hanging in the still, stale air.
He began to walk as if in a dream, through the entrance to the house and into the small, open downstairs area. Snowfall began to wrap him up in blankets as he walked, watching him carefully but not stopping him. His legs began to feel heavier, as if he were wading through mud, the weight of something tremendous pressing in on him. He looked around, only vaguely registering the returning warmth to his back, and the intense pain that came with it. A window faced out onto the village, the same window from his dream where they had all been stood. He stumbled, reaching out to steady himself on a table as a photo frame fell from it. It landed face up, the faces of himself, Snowfall, and her mysterious sister looking up at him. The three were stood in front of a huge stone slab, complex runes and markings carved into it, Silver in the middle, and the two mares either side of him. He looked at it a moment longer, that weight from before pushing in harder and harder. His vision blurred, the world spinning as he retched, his empty stomach only burning his throat with bile. He could hear Snowfall’s voice echoing as if from far away, black curtains closing around his vision. He slumped to the floor, knocking the rest of the table over with him as Snowfall tried, and failed, to keep him upright. She looked around, worried but not panicked, dragging him over to a sofa and resting him down on his back, finding blankets to cover him with. Silver’s body had already begun to heal, however, the frostbitten flesh on his back already shedding and being replaced, but his mind was in a far, far worse state. He dreamt again, but this time the dream had blinding clarity, a realism as if he were living through the experience, and control was entirely out of his hands.
The dream began as most dreams do, without a beginning at all. There was no start, no inception, no evidence of the creation of the dream, it simply was. He found himself looking downward from some point above himself, and yet looking through his own eyes as well. He was walking along a cave, lit by a lantern that cast dancing shadows along the walls with each step. Two mares walked with him, Snowfall and her sister. Snowfall stayed close to him, holding his hand as they walked along. Her sister walked a little way off ahead, holding the lantern before her. Her face still couldn't be seen, and though she could be heard talking about something the words were muffled and incoherent, as if being spoken through a wall. Her voice began to resound as they entered a large open area, still incomprehensible. The walls, floors and ceiling of the cave cut straight and smooth, no sign of natural feature or flow within. In the centre was set a slab of rock, pitch black and glass-like in texture. It faced the entrance to the cave, stood on it's end like a tombstone. Even in the dream he felt its gravity, its pull. A low hum that seemed to resonate in their bones, without being heard or felt in any other way.
Snowfall's sister turned to face the two of them, taking a shaky breath. Her words were no longer muffled, almost unnaturally crisp with no echo bouncing from the walls of the cave.
"This is it, this is really it... "
She walked up to the stone slowly, extending a hand to touch its surface. Patterns began to appear, glowing white within the black of the rock, seemingly underneath its surface. Her hand traced gently along it, almost caressing the smooth surface.
"It's perfect. No cracks, no breaks, it's all still here. This-"
She cleared her throat, taking another deep breath as she lost her composure for a moment.
"This may be the last. Or at the very least the only one we can still reach."
Snowfall walked closer, taking Silver with her as she went. Her voice was soft, almost scared, though the sense of awe she felt kept the fear at bay.
"Does it still work..? Even if it does, what now?
Her sister closed her eyes, her horn glowing the same soft white as the slab. The patterns and markings grew to cover the whole of the surface, concentric rings and lines crossed in a dizzying array of shapes that shifted over and underneath one another. After a moment she held her head with her free hand, grimacing as she fell to her knees, then slumped forward onto the slab with her eyes closed. Snowfall immediately ran over to her, calling out.
"Snowdrift!"
That was her name, it rung like a bell in his head. Silver blinked out of his shock, moving to hurry over to them. Snowfall turned quickly with a terrified expression.
"No! You can't! Stay there, don't come any closer, alright? Promise me."
Silver blinked in surprise and confusion, reaching out but stopping where he was.
"Why? What's going on? You said this was safe!" He cried out, though no echo returned his cry.
"Just stay there, you can't-"
Her sentence was cut off as she touched her sister, the patterns glowing brighter as her horn lit up. She fell to the floor as well, both propped up against the slab with their horns still glowing brightly. He put his hands to his head in frustration and panic, looking around as if he could find help there. He spent a few more moments in terrified confusion, watching and waiting, hoping with everything he was capable of that they'd just wake, smile, tell him it was all fine. 'It was nothing to worry about, just an accident' his racing mind began to tell him, 'something magic he wouldn't understand, they'd tell him all about it wh-' his thoughts halted and exploded into waves of terror as they both began to glow a soft white, matching their horns. He rushed over, pulling them both away from the slab as the glowing ceased abruptly. Their breathing returning to normal.
He sighed in relief, panting and shaking as he looked back over to the slab with a morbid curiosity. It was still glowing, that faint hum he felt in his bones becoming stronger. It pulled at him, like the current of a river, a thick and heavy feeling that began to spread through him. He found himself moving toward it, though his mind screamed over and over for him to stop, his legs carrying themselves forward. He reached the slab, stopping with the cold, smooth surface inches from his face. Again his mind screamed, begging his body to stop, to listen, but it denied him again. His hand raised, touching the surface of the rock. For a moment, nothing happened but the hum, the vibration that pulsed through him, now more than in his bones, it was everywhere. In his chest, his arms, his head. He felt it in his mind, the intensity of it. The lamp that Snowfall had been holding began to flicker and fade, before going out completely.
As the complete darkness surrounded him, the humming ceased as well. He suddenly found himself surrounded by a complete nothingness, no sound or light reached him but the rasp of his breath, no echo or shadow, no scent but the damp of the air. All he felt was the cool of the rock, and... A presence. Not his, not the other two, something else. He felt it skirt at the edges of his mind, teasing and poking at his thoughts with its own curiosity. His breath quickened, his mind a broiling mess of terror and confusion as he wept without expression. He heard a voice, the words meaning nothing to him. It only terrified him further as the presence pushed deeper into his head, finding the right words to use as the language changed to his own. It was the voice of a mare, soft and soothing.
"Hush now, still your thoughts, I mean you no harm"
Silver tried to control his breathing, attempting to calm himself while still shaking. The voice spoke again as the slab lit up with those lines and patterns, his wings glowing a soft white behind him. He felt a hand rests against his chest, and another against his cheek.
"Don't fear me, I've been waiting. The two who came before you, I'm too much for them. You aren't made from the same clay, your magic is subtle but present. Yours is of the sky, not the earth or mind"
Silver felt a hand explore his forehead and wings as the voice spoke, a soothing feeling spreading through him. He felt the hand press against his chest again, a warmth spreading there as the voice seemed to speak closer to him.
"I sense that you don't know what I am. It will make what comes next more difficult, especially considering that the ones who came before you are too fragile to finish what they started. You will have to do."
Silver tensed up again, his heart still racing. He spoke, his voice shaky and unsure.
"What..? What do I have to do? I don't understand, who are you?"
"Someone long gone from this world, this is the only place I can be, but even this place is beginning to fade. My mind will survive in here for only a few years more, and even now I lack the strength to overcome the mind of another. Do not let that worry you, I would not have, even if I could have. I am sorry however, for what I must do. I was entrusted with knowledge, and I keep it here, safe with me until I could be found. I must give myself to you now along with that knowledge. It will change you, Silver Lining, it will make you more than you are, much more, but for what this knowledge will give, it will also take from you."
Silver felt the hand against his chest push a little more firmly, before suddenly passing through the threshold of his body, the sensation of the hand pushing further still, into his chest as another intense wave of warmth and soothing spread through him. He gasped as he felt the presence invade him, though it did so submissively, working it's way into his memories and thoughts as he felt a great pressure push in from all directions. He felt the presence leave the slab entirely and enter him, the patterns fading as his wings glowed a blinding white. He felt the other mind settle behind his, nestling into the embrace of his own being as new memories blossomed into his head, blackness taking him.
He opened his eyes, looking up at a clear blue sky. Stars still shone brightly and clearly above, regardless of the light of the sky. He blinked once in confusion, this no longer felt like a dream, and yet... It didn't feel like reality either. He sat up, rubbing his forehead with a hand as he looked around. He was sat on the top of a huge cliff face, waves crashing loudly against their base. The land behind him consisted of rolling green hills dotted with trees, a cool breeze blowing off the sea. Two mares were stood beside him, though this time only one of the sisters was among them. Snowdrift. The other was of similar height and age, though her coat was a soft buttercup yellow, her mane full of curly white locks. Her eyes were gentle, kind, but there was a deep intelligence behind them. He knew her name without asking it, the word echoing through his head. 'Harmony'. He didn't know how yet, or why, but he knew that they were really here. Not a dream or an illusion, or even a memory, they were here, wherever here was. He stood, looking at her with some confusion. Memories flew through his head, filling his thoughts, flying so fast that he found it difficult to pick information from the flow. He spoke after another moment of hesitation.
"Where are we? What... What is this. What happened?"
Harmony looked to Snowdrift, who nodded slightly before taking his hand.
"This is your mind, or rather, a place that your mind has made for us to speak in. It's a memory of mine, my home. It's where I was born."
Silver nodded slowly, the flow of memories beginning to settle into place. He spoke again with more certainty to his voice.
"You were never from Anchor, you... I remember you telling me once, the Green Isles."
Snowdrift smiled softly at the recollection, speaking with a fondness in her voice.
"You asked me when you were carrying me and my sister through the snow, when you were trying to keep me awake. I remember how cold I was, and how warm your coat was. Our stupid expedition to the top of the world, searching for... For what did this to you. Maybe it was just luck, just chance that you found us when you did, but you still saved the both of us. Do you remember that?"
Silver listened intently, slowly smiling as he did.
"I do, and I remember the first time you both woke. Snowfall was convinced I was some pervert when she woke in my bed, seeing me tending to her frostbite. I had that black eye for weeks."
Snowdrift laughed, a light and melodic sound, continuing a moment after.
"She wouldn't stop apologising for weeks either. Maybe that's why the two of you got so close. She needed someone like you to love, I think you did too. That black eye was worth it, don't you think?"
Silver hesitated, more memories sinking into place, this time with quite an impact. He blinked, raising a hand to his forehead.
"We... I can't believe I didn't remember, that's why she seemed so important to me. She found me in the mountains just now, she brought me home. It must have been so hard for her to see me like that, for me not to remember her. I have a lot of making up to do when I wake up. What about you? What happened, why are you here with her? Why do I know her name..?"
Snowdrift went to speak again, though Harmony raised a hand to stop her. Her voice was the same as the one from the slab, just as soothing and reassuring.
"You know who I am, the memories just haven't settled yet. I caused you quite a mischief, I'm afraid. The rejection of my magic was too much to take for Snowdrift, she was the first to touch my prison. The magic had only just begun its work when she fell under the pressure, her soul unchained from her body, but not with purpose. I was the keeper of this magic, one that worked to push and pull at the forces of life, rather than the more tangible things of the earth. We had discovered the magic for only a few tens of years before we were punished for it. In the hands of those who meant well, it was a beautiful thing. For those who were selfish however, and greedy, it became something else. Some began to look for the aversion of death, immortality above all else. Many tried, many failed. I was one of those trials, taken from my home and set in that stone. Without a mortal body, my mind was bound far beyond my natural years. They used me as a library, a place for them to come and store their knowledge, their findings. All this knowledge I retained, this magic, in the end it was only I that had the skill to finally perform what they had been looking for. They gathered, all of them, no written word or text of their discoveries out of selfishness, fear that others might accomplish the same. They sat in that cave you found me in, circled around as if praying to some god. I waited until they had almost passed the threshold, and I refused them. They faded like shadows at dusk, the coming of the night giving them the death they feared for so long. I remained there for hundreds of lifetimes, waiting, and then you. I've been keeping this knowledge for so long, I mustn't let it die with me. I feel that you know not to be selfish with it, I have no choice but to trust you in that."
Silver listened intently, absorbing the information as she spoke, though it felt very strange to do so. He felt himself finding those memories already within his own head, rather than hearing them for the first time. After she finished he looked down, thinking on it all before speaking up again.
"I still don't understand, what happened to me? To Snowdrift? What does this mean for me?"
Harmony sighed softly, looking a mixture of guilty and apologetic as she began to speak again, quietly this time.
"You will never be able to die. Your soul is fixed to this world now, you'll never find peace in death. My soul was trapped within that stone by magic, the same magic that they fed to me, taught me. Your soul is a vessel now, one of magic itself. I gave myself to you rather than let this legacy of magic fade into nothing. We're all born of the world, a collection of its energies, focused and concentrated into what we are. When we die, we return to that, spread out and accepted again by the world that birthed us. Our soul is the collection of memories, feelings, emotions and thoughts, the person that grows out of the dust. Nobody knows what happens to it when the rest returns to the earth. The soul may do the same, fading and spreading back into the dust, but you... The way to escape death is to be an alternative. Your soul is an afterlife of its own, a place for other souls to remain in this world, even when the dust of their bodies is blown away. You're an ark, a life beyond death that can be certain, rather than guessed. For yourself, it means you can never experience it. Only others can, through you. We are the first two. The process failed with Snowdrift... I had only but touched her mind, disjointing her soul. She had a while to wake, and explain things to her sister, but she would not hold for very long. She gave herself to you in the same way I did."
Silver begins to look distraught, falling to his knees and looking down at the grass, the sea breeze rippling through it. He spoke shakily after a while trying to collect himself.
"I'm so sorry... Snow, I... I don't know what to do. What happens now? I... What am I supposed to do with all this? Why? You can't just, throw all of this on me, I... Am I supposed to just, go around pretending to be some sort of reaper? Some collector of souls? People won't want this, will they? What..."
Snowdrift knelt in front of him as he trailed off, nuzzling his brow softly before wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Shh... Come now, you've no need to worry. I'm happy here, with you. I'm not really gone, I'll be closer than we ever were before. You have Snowfall in your life now, outside this afterlife you hold inside. She loves you, and she understands. I know that she'll want the same afterlife that we've chosen. It's a good thing, Silver. There's no uncertainty to this, there's no fear. Maybe there is a real afterlife, a heaven where all our days are perfect and beautiful, but... It isn't this. I won't ever know how beautiful this possible heaven is, but I don't need to, there's enough beauty in the world already for me to enjoy, and now I'll get to see it in its entirety alongside you. I know that it will be hard, I know you're going to be facing so much grief without the finality of death while it surrounds you regardless, but we'll be here. You can do good with this magic, you can bring more happiness to people than we ever could separately."
Silver leaned into her, still shaking slightly as he nodded, tears flowing down his cheeks. Harmony moved over to stand beside him, giving him a few moments to rest in Snowdrift's embrace before she reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, speaking in a soft but firm tone.
"When you woke, your mind was still settling from the change. You would have gone mad trying to separate our memories from your own. You ran straight, and continued on until you couldn't any longer. Remember not to be afraid, we'll always be here with you. Now go, go to Snowfall, she's still waiting for you. It's time to wake up, and this time, remember not to run."
Silver looked up to Harmony, giving her a slight nod as he wiped his eyes, still feeling very vulnerable and afraid. She reached out with her hands, resting them either side of his head as she leaned down, closing his eyes with her thumbs, kissing his forehead lightly as the world returned to the black, and the silence.
