The morning sky was gaining a dark blue color, allowing a small portion of light to seep through the perpendicular, glassless windows of the large room. It was an unhomely place, only hinting at greatness from bygone times with its brittle, moss covered stone walls, burnt furniture, and soot stains on the ceiling and walls. Time itself had taken possession of the place, and decay advanced into every corner, sealing the building’s ultimate fate.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t uninhabited. In the back of the room, a throne stood on a stone pedestal, mostly shrouded in shadows. It was an old symbol of power, and the engravings in the stone didn’t compare to the more intricate ornaments of more contemporary equivalents. Fire bowls on stands had been set along the walls of the room. They were still warm, having been put out not long ago. One of the stands near the throne lay on the ground, cracks in the stone floor marking the spot where it had been rammed into it. Oil was spread around the pedestal.

On the throne, in the dimness, a pony sat. At a glance, the unmoving form could have appeared to be a statue, frozen with his face against his hoof. It took only a few moments to realize that it was not, a few moments to realize that the room was remarkably quiet, unnaturally so.

The wind from outside seemed reluctant to enter the room. In the quietness, one expected to hear the sounds of mice crawling through the rubble or birds flapping their wings on the roof beams. None of it dared to disturb the silence. In fact, animals were nowhere to be found. Despite the shelter from the outside world it provided, they too seemed to avoid the room.

A few more moments inside the room and one would have sensed an even more disconcerting effect. The sensation was unknown to most ponies and other animals, but unmistakable nonetheless. While places and objects can cause the mind to sense danger where none is, this particular feeling was directed at the individual, forceful even, a warning to everyone who came near its source.

Suddenly, steps echoed through the room. Initially, they were quiet, but they soon grew louder as they neared the double doors opposite of the throne. Eventually, a pony entered the room, a pegasus mare. Her coat and mane were dark purple, whereas the mane’s shade made it appear to be black at first glance. Her pale blue eyes featured an alert gaze that was focused on the throne, but the neutral expression on her face didn’t betray her feelings. Her cutie mark simply depicted a patch of gray mist, a visual cover that left the viewer wondering what lay behind it.

When she arrived at the pedestal, she bowed down, holding the gesture until the pony before her finally spoke.

The voice was calm, deceptively so because the same sensation that had the room in its grip gained intensity at the sinister sound.

“Opaque, i have a mission for you.”

*

Swift never expected to be allowed through the gates of heaven after the life he had led, yet here he was! With his eyes still closed, he woke up to the lovely scent of hot stew caressing his nose, and the feeling of the warm embrace of his bed must have been how a foal experiences the safety of his mother’s womb. The crackle of fire nearby danced around his ears and promised comfort outside of his resting place.

Swift kept his eyes closed and didn’t move, intent on savoring the moment, but when his stomach grumbled, spurring him on to find food, he sighed and got up slowly. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a small tent, big enough for two ponies. Beside his own woolen bed, there was another one, but it was unoccupied. Coldness seeped through the closed entrance of the tent. Swift frowned as he crawled towards it and pulled the cloth to the side.

The tent had been set up on a clearing. Dead trees enclosed the spot as far as the eye could see with very few live ones scattered between them, lost and out of place. The snow on the clearing was old and stiff, and despite its age, very few animal tracks had disturbed the surface.

Most notably, however, was the camp fire in front of the tent. A small cauldron had been placed on top of it, and Wide Fare and Cantrip were both sitting on logs in front of the fire, eating from bowls in their hooves.

Wide Fare’s eyes shifted in Swift’s direction when he noticed his presence. “Ah, you woke up at just the right time,” he said before pointing towards the cauldron. “Help yourself! It’s not half bad if i may say so myself.”

Swift just stared at him in response, unsure as to what to say. The last thing he remembered was fleeing from bloodthirsty unicorns, and now one, bloodthirsty or not, was offering him breakfast.

When the staring didn’t cease, Cantrip chose to interrupt the pause. “Ouch, looks like he hit his head really hard last night.”

Swift ignored her and instead kept his gaze on Wide Fare. “Who are you?”

“Ah yes, the questions. I’m sure you have a few, but why don’t you make yourself comfortable first?” he asked, pointing at another log between him and Cantrip.

After some consideration, Swift took the offer and walked over to the log.

Wide Fare resumed his speech as soon as Swift had taken a seat. “My name is Wide Fare. We’ve met before at the inn south of Marberc.”

Swift just nodded.

“As for my occupation: Well, these days, i merely travel the lands in search of stories worth writing about.” The corners of his mouth were raised slightly in a smile. “Ponies have called me a chronicler of sorts, but i’d like to believe that my stories are a bit more entertaining than the work they put forth.”

Swift spoke in a deadpan voice. “You’re writing stories,” he stated, wanting to make sure that he had heard right.

“Yes, stories can have more impact than a lot of people know. It is my belief that they can change how they see the world and the people around them. These changes i feel are what the world is lacking more than anything nowadays.”

Cantrip snorted humorlessly. “Oh, i don’t know. I’d say what the world is lacking is a nice, hot summer. I’d like to someday leave the house and not freeze my ass off.”

Wide Fare laughed before responding. “Someday, we may or may not be able to enjoy the summer once again. As it is now, we can only try to make the best of what we have, and i feel that the tribes working together is an important part of it.”

“Yeah, right!” Cantrip said, rolling her eyes. “Next, you’re telling us all about the magical power of friendship.”

Wide Fare tilted his head appraisingly. “I don’t know about that.”

Swift felt the need to bring the conversation back in the right direction. “Anyway, you’re surprisingly good with the sword for someone who just writes stories. Fighting like you do doesn’t strike me as something storytellers normally do.”

“As i said, i travel a lot. I’ve done it since i was barely a stallion. The world holds a multitude of dangers, especially in places i used to explore when i was younger.”

He shook his head lightly as he continued. “But that’s in the past. I still maintain old friendships though. In fact, one of my old friends will hopefully be able to help us in our current predicament. He lives in Emedula, which is where we are headed.”

Swift was scooping some stew into a bowl when he froze abruptly. It wasn’t as if there was something keeping Swift in Marberc. In fact, he welcomed the idea of getting as far away from it as possible. Still, he didn’t feel like humoring the unicorn.

He spoke with emphasis, the suspicion in his tone clear. “We?”

A slight frown formed on Wide Fare’s forehead. “They’re on the lookout for you, Swift. I’m sure you’ve already noticed, but what you’re carrying with you is quite important to them, important enough for them to kill to get it.”

“Who are ‘they’?”

Wide Fare took a wooden branch and began to prod the camp fire as he answered. “Swords for hire. They call themselves The Blackwood Stalkers. While most mercenary units prefer to fight in the open field, their specialty lies in staying undetected and laying traps. It was that specialty that made them a much sought after unit. It was also one of the main factors that granted King Platinum and his forces victory in the invasion three years ago.

“When the invasion ended successfully, their contract ended, and they were hired by a new employer. At that time, the unicorn lords were very protective of their newly acquired fiefs in the expanded realm. They hired mercenaries to protect their land against the other lords.

“The Stalkers were among those hired mercenaries. While their combat skills were excellent, it soon turned out that they didn’t take the mercenaries’ code of conduct very seriously. Another lord offered them a lot of money, and they subsequently turned on their own employer. The deed didn’t go as planned, and it was revealed what they had done. Their reputation was damaged beyond repair. Now, no unicorn lord, not even the most devious, would employ them for fear of losing what is still left of their honor.”

Wide Fare’s eyes met Swift’s. “Most of the Stalkers are ruthless professionals, Swift. If i let you go, you’d be in grave danger. It’s best if you stay with me.”

He lowered his voice pensively. “Besides, the orb may have plans of its own with you.”

“Are you telling me that ball can think?” Swift asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

“Well, it is a magical item, and although it’s rare, some of them are said to have some kind of intelligence.”

He shook his head. “Arcane theory tends to go over my head though, which is yet another reason to see Astratitus as soon as possible.”

“Astratitus, huh?” Swift asked, chewing his stew thoughtfully. He thought back to the pony in white robes, who had given him the orb in that fateful night. “Where is that crystal ball from anyway? And who was that pony in white robes? You know who i’m talking about. You were there after all, weren’t you?”

Wide Fare nodded. “That i was. The pony you’ve met belongs to The Order Of The Silent Word. It is that order that keeps these orbs and the prophecies they contain.” He tilted his head towards the tent. “That artifact isn’t the only one of its kind, you know?

“As for the pony: I was supposed to meet him in Marberc, receive the orb, and take it to Astratitus after that to have it examined. The order thinks that, apart from the prophecy, it contains secrets that first need to be decrypted. Astratitus has helped the order before in that regard.

“As you know, it didn’t turn out like that. I tried to keep the attackers away from you, but by the time i was done with them, you had already vanished.

“I went back to the crossing after that. Luckily, the mercenaries were too occupied with chasing you to care about the pony they had left behind. I told him to get back to the order to tell them what had happened. Then, i followed you into the city.”

A detail in the story made Swift pause. “How come you chose Marberc of all places as your meeting spot? The pony came from the west, and he told me that i should bring the orb to Astratitus in Emedula, which is also in the west.”

“Ah, i commend your attentiveness. We chose the city exactly because it doesn’t lie on the way. We hoped that the grasp of the Stalkers doesn’t reach that far.” He twisted his mouth as he continued. “We were wrong. Marberc is actually in relative proximity to the order. You are right though. Emedula lies far to the north west, beyond the sea. I only managed to cross the distance so quickly by using a teleport spell.”

When Wide Fare noticed the questioning look on Cantrip’s face, he smiled. “This,” he said as his horn flared in a yellow light. With a white flash, he was gone, and Cantrip’s jaw almost hit the ground.

A few seconds passed, during which Cantrip’s mouth stayed wide open. Then, with another flash and a tinkling noise in the air, Wide Fare reappeared, sitting in the exact same position on the log as if he had never left it in the first place.

His smile at the sight of Cantrip was now a result of genuine amusement. “...is a teleport spell. It allows unicorns to visit locations in the blink of an eye. The better the unicorn’s familiarity with the location, the easier the spell. However, even in its simplest form, it’s complicated magic, and a proper wizard would perform the spell much more cleanly than i am capable of. In fact, when i teleported to Marberc, the spell misfired, and i reappeared a bit south of the city.”

He laughed softly and humorlessly. “Now that i think about it, nothing really worked as planned lately.”

After that, Cantrip assaulted Wide Fare with questions regarding magic. He started to tell her about different spells and their uses, and Cantrip listened keenly, though interrupting him now and then to redirect the conversation towards the more interesting spells, the more spectacular ones.

Wide Fare didn’t seem to mind though. In fact, he was just as enthusiastic to satisfy her curiosity as she was indulging in it.

Swift didn’t take part in the conversation, though he did listen. The topic of magic was interesting for sure, but there were still more urgent questions plaguing his mind. When the conversation reached a pause, he spoke up again.

“So, who do these Stalker characters work for now?”

The smile on Wide Fare’s face vanished. His response was delayed, and he kept his eyes at the flames as he spoke. For just a moment, Swift thought that Wide Fare’s gaze had become detached, changing into an expression that displayed deep thought or reminiscence.

Then, however, the expression was gone as fast as it had come, leaving Swift to wonder if it had been there in the first place.

“I don’t know... but if he is after a prophecy, he must have a plan.”

The words made Swift’s thoughts go back two nights prior, back to the night of the break-in. The commanding voice was still fresh in his memory, hard to forget.

The bishop even addressed him with ‘lord’... and the voice explicitly told him to find me. Cantrip’s right: i am in great demand at the moment.

Swift had already opened his mouth to talk, but then thought otherwise. What he had experienced in the manor wasn’t of immediate importance. Besides, Swift still couldn’t be sure if Wide Fare was trustworthy. Maybe his rescue was just part of an intricate plan to gain Swift’s trust, only to deliver him directly to the enemy afterwards. This wasn’t even a far-fetched idea considering that the voice in the manor had referred to Wide Fare by name.

Whoever is behind this knows Wide Fare, which means that Wide Fare could know him as well, despite what he claims.

Swift glanced over at the unicorn, who was eating from his bowl while watching the flames dancing and crackling. His look was neutral, unreadable.

Yes, for now, it was best for Swift to keep some secrets of his own. Knowledge is power after all.

Eventually, Wide Fare laid down his emptied bowl and stood up. “We should pack up and continue our journey. I made sure to get as far away from the city as possible, but we’re still relatively close to it. We shouldn’t press our luck any more than we already have.”

With that, he walked over to the tent. “Swift, we would be very grateful if you too would carry some of the load from now on.”

“Well, i guess i don’t have,” Swift began before he interrupted himself. “Wait a moment! We?” His eyes darted towards Cantrip, and his voice was cautious but curious. “What have you done?”

All of a sudden, Cantrip was exceedingly interested in the camp fire she was prodding with a stick. Her mouth was pursed in thought. “Ahem...”

When no answer came, Swift turned to Wide Fare with raised eyebrows. Wide Fare’s eyes in turn alternated between Swift and Cantrip a few times before he explained.

“She’s coming with us because the enemy has found out that there’s a link between you two. As long as they’re looking for us, she runs the risk of getting involved too.”

He hesitated before he resumed. “In fact, that link is how they found you yesterday. It was sheer luck that i happened to witness how the mercenaries closed in on her. When they left the inn, i instantly went over to her, and she told me what she had told them. We arranged to meet at the well to leave the city, before i went after the Stalkers, trying to get ahead of them. Luckily, i made it before they could harm you significantly.”

Swift took a moment to process what he was saying, all the while keeping up a blank stare. Then, he shot a glare in Cantrip’s direction. “You told them where i live!?”

She lifted her hooves in a defensive manner. “Hey look, i had no choice. They were threatening me! What was i to do?”

“How did they even find out that you know me?”

Cantrip looked away, and her ears flattened against her head. Her voice was small. “I may have mentioned your name once or twice.”

Swift’s immediate and instinctive response was to moan loudly. “Didn’t you see that they were up to no good?”

A frown was now appearing on Cantrip’s forehead, and when she spoke again, every bit of shyness in her voice had vanished. “Well, sorry for not thinking much of it. In case you haven’t noticed, you deal with shady ponies all the time.”

Before Swift could retort, Wide Fare stepped in. “Mistakes can happen. I’m sure Cantrip meant for no harm to come of it. For now, i’d be grateful if someone helped me to break camp.” He looked at both of them expectantly yet friendly.

Without any more words, Cantrip got up and headed towards the tent, leaving Swift alone.

Of all the things that could have happened, it was Cantrip who had led them to Swift knowingly! He couldn’t believe it. Swift wasn’t exactly one to stay out of danger, but at least he didn’t ran head first into it... well, at least not when lives were at stake.

Stupid mare!

Swift stood up, walked a few steps away from the fire, and leaned down to grab a good amount of snow from the ground with both of his hooves. Then, he returned to the camp fire and threw the snow into the flames. They were extinguished instantly, causing the hot logs to hiss loudly and emit smoke that rose into the gray morning sky.

*

A wide expanse of monotonous white and gray stretched out to unknown lengths all around. Where once lush forests and green plains had been, now was barren land, uninhabited and largely devoid of life. In this wasteland, three ponies walked to the west, following the old, desolate road.

Swift and Cantrip hadn’t spoken a single word since they had decamped that morning, and Swift was thankful for it. In fact, he didn’t talk to Wide Fare either, blocking his attempts at idle conversation multiple times before Wide Fare eventually gave up.

It wasn’t that he was sulky. His initial surge of anger had receded a short time after they had continued their journey. However, it didn’t fade away entirely. A small part of it lingered, though it wasn’t directed at neither of his traveling companions.

The three didn’t meet any other travelers, but they passed hints of civilization along the way. Lonely inns by the roadside were the most common sight. Weak lights from inside told the group that there were ponies in some of them, but the three didn’t enter. Considering they were on the run, it was best to be seen by as few ponies as possible Wide Fare argued.

The farms that also lay on the way had been damaged by the weather severely, and the fields and orchards around them obviously hadn’t yielded any produce in a long time. No one lived there anymore, most former owners having already fled into the larger cities or even the country. Those who hadn’t fled were most likely dead. These days, the farms’ sole purpose was to provide shelter for the few ponies that still traveled the road.

A few hours after nightfall, after a long and continuous march, the group reached an abandoned village through which the main road led. Despite it being anything but inviting, Wide Fare decided to set up camp, and Swift, tired as he was, didn’t feel like objecting.

It didn’t seem like there was anyone else in the village, and they soon settled on one of the lesser damaged houses as their camp site. Wide Fare ignited a fire, and the three of them ate their evening meal. After that, Swift contented himself with the bedroll Wide Fare had in his possession and left the tent for Wide Fare.

*

When Swift woke, it took him a moment to orient himself. The lack of light despite the holes in the roof told him that it was still dark outside.

Wondering why he woke so early, his whole body suddenly became stiff, and he listening tensely for any suspicious noises nearby. However, when Cantrip’s soft snoring and the faint howl of the wind outside were the only audible sounds, he relaxed. Waking up with no bad surprises waiting for him was starting to become an oddity.

Swift didn’t want to wait until the others woke up as well, so he got up and left the house for an early stroll.

The sky was clear, and the light of the stars and moon allowed Swift to find his way around the village. It was a small hamlet, consisting of roughly a dozen half-timber houses, all of them being in different stages of decay. Wooden fences, sticking out of the tall snow, were all that remained of the fields and enclosures for keeping farm animals.

As Swift walked, it started to snow. Slowly but surely, little snow flakes appeared all around and sunk to the ground, adding to the thick cover that smothered the village like soil on a grave. The nocturnal lights bathed the scene in a cold, unchanging light, and somewhere in one of the houses, the breeze wailed softly.

When Swift came to the center of the village, he approached the church. Like the minster in Marberc, it was made out of stone, but it lacked the intricate reliefs of said building. Still, it was easily the tallest and most robust structure in the village, a former bastion of hope for the ponies of the town.

In front of the church’s entrance, within the enclosure that surrounded the building, there was the graveyard, and Swift walked up to the metal fence to take a look at it. Grave stones and wooden, star shaped religious symbols marked the resting places of the villagers. Some of them were plain in their design, others featured depictions of angels and abstract but artistic ornaments. It made the presence of what caught Swift’s eye next even more peculiar.

Even more grave markings filled out the entire graveyard’s remaining space, but these ones were smaller, barely sticking out of the snow in often askew angles. They were also constructed much more crudely with random twigs and branches having been put together using tied cloth and rusty nails. A lot of them were already broken.

Swift just stood there for a while. Despite being on the run and despite losing control over his life more than ever before, he was able to relax for the first time in what felt like an eternity. The eerie atmosphere evoked a familiar sensation in him. He always treasured it during his nightly forays through the city, when he was in control, even though, just like now, it was just an illusion.

The sensation he felt now was similar to that, but still different as the touch of anger from earlier came with it.

All of a sudden, the sound of hooves in the snow made his ears perk up, and he spun around.

Wide Fare greeted him while he continued his way in Swift’s direction. “Ah, there you are! Good morning!”

Swift decided that the best course of action was to resume his walk slowly, allowing Wide Fare to catch up if he so desired.

Wide Fare did, and soon Swift found himself wandering the village side by side with him. Some time passed before Wide Fare broke the silence.

“Did you know that it’s winter?”

Swift didn’t put much effort into his sarcastic delivery. “How can you tell?”

“I guess that didn’t come out quite right. What i mean is that it’s winter season. The days are shorter, and the sun hangs low. The Astronomical Circle, the society responsible for moving the heavenly bodies, has maintained the regular movements for the past three years. They think that upholding the natural order as much as possible may cause this anomaly to go away.”

“Good to know that even the unicorns are clueless.”

Though it was subtle, Wide Fare’s voice became more firm ever so slightly. “I know i am a stranger to you, Swift, and therefore it is only normal for you to be wary of me, but i want to make sure that you don’t feel the same way about Cantrip.”

“You seem to know her pretty well if you can tell whether someone should be wary of her or not.”

“I’ve met her a day before i found you actually, and i know her well enough to say that what happened wasn’t her fault.”

“It wasn’t?”

“That’s not what i meant.”

Silence followed, but it didn’t save Swift. “Well?”

“Why do you care about it anyway?”

Wide Fare answered half jokingly. “Well, i’m the one with the prospect of having to endure two wranglers on a multiple week long journey across the lands.”

Swift stopped in his tracks and sighed pointedly before responding. “Look, i don’t blame her, reason being that i would have done the same had i been in her position. Don’t worry about it. We’re fine. I’m fine. Alright?”

Wide Fare took his time to look at Swift appraisingly before he answered. “Alright.”

He examined the sky that was gaining a faint gray color as they were speaking. “It’s starting to dawn. I’ll go and wake up Cantrip, and then we should eat something. It’s best if we leave early.”

With that, Wide Fare turned around. Swift kept him in his vision as the unicorn made his way back towards the camp.

Swift meant what he had said to Wide Fare. He would have done the same if he had been in Cantrip’s position. That alone was enough to evoke that nagging feeling once again. He should have known better.

But that was of no matter anymore. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

When Wide Fare turned the corner of a house, he finally disappeared from Swift’s sight.

Yes, i’m fine as long as no one complicates matters. Everyone for himself, he thought.

Everyone for himself.

Author's Note

Wow, that took longer than expected. I actually had a good idea regarding the contents of this chapter. It shows you that laziness is one of the most impeding factors when you should get things done.