Chapter 8 - Mimisbrunnr

Silence hung thick in the air as I tried to compose a response that wouldn't get me killed. I had no idea who Skinfaxi was and I couldn't remember ever coming across anything referring the 'Veroa' or 'Changlings' in my studies, but Amore...

Amore was the founder of the Crystal Empire, daughter of the first ponies to discover Equestria. If I remembered right her father had led a small mixed group into the frozen wastes when the three tribes separated, taking shelter in the ruins of a lost city when the blizzard returned. He died and the group would have been lost except while looking for shelter Amore had discovered a unique artifact in the ruins... Right up until Sombra cursed the kingdom in his banishment that relic, the Crystal Heart, had held back the fury of the frozen north protecting the city and its ponies.

Was Mim a holdout, a loyalist of Sombra? As a colt I had heard plenty of stories about Sombra's banishment and the fractured bands of loyalists scattered throughout the North that planed in secret for his return... Then again, none of the stories had ever said anything about a 'Skinfaxi' or the 'Veroa' and both names were strange enough to have stuck in my mind. The name 'Changeling' was likewise unfamiliar although it wasn't hard to guess where that one came from.

My thoughts slowly spiraled back to the question. I was born to a Pegasus and an Earth pony; I was a fusion, not a 'pure blood' Unicorn, so there was no way I could be related to Amore. Unless of course one of my ancestors had been a fusion, or was related to her family in some way... A lot could have happened in the 500-whatever years since the empire was founded, and technically we were all decedents of the original group to enter Equestria so who could know if I was or wasn't related to Amore?

Mim scoffed as if reading my confused thoughts and lifted a clay pot out of the fireplace, setting it down between us; "We will soon know all there is to know, pony. This is Briddlestain, it will tell the truth of you and your meaning here."

So saying she lifted out a glob of thick green-blue paste and flung it at me faster than I could follow. It was cold and soaked through my coat with distressing rapidity. Curiously, as soon as it hit me I felt myself relaxing as if under a soothing rejuvenation spell. Part of my mind recognized that I was being lulled, but I was powerless to resist and not entirely willing to do so in any case. Absently, I wondered if the ointment was any good for bruises as the room began fade around me.

Colors slowly flashed through my vision and I drifted, unconcerned about the world or the creatures in who's company I found myself. Memories of my parents came to mind, of our tidy little farm on the outskirts of town and of my friends and teachers and my dear Master. Again I saw the broken clock tower and felt it calling to me, felt the elation of finding my cutie mark and the confusion that came with it. Again I met my first teacher, my first friend, and discovered the beauty of blending magic with machinery to create something that was more than the sum of it's parts. Through the drifting mists I saw the crystal cave again and watched as we toiled away to uncover it's secrets.

As more recent memories drifted through my mind I slowly became aware of a voice in my head asking questions I couldn't quite hear and getting answers I didn't quite understand. The harder I tried to listen to it the quieter it became until I finally gave up and just let the murmur wash over me. After a blurry eternity I felt something give and suddenly I found myself inside the mind of Mimisbrunnr.

She was ancient. Shadows older than Equestria drifted through her memory in the shape of armies and Alicorns, castles and creatures for which I did not have a name... I saw her create things beautiful and terrible, watched them rise up before her only to crumble with age and fade as others grew to take their place... Visions of war filled my head, of war and treachery and rage. Before I could fully grasp what was happening my perception shifted again and all of my senses grew dark and cold, and in the darkness I felt something watching, indifferently waiting, gauging my strength and studying the distance between us.

I felt insignificant in it's gaze, like a leaf caught in the wind of a passing charger plunging headlong into battle. But I was not insignificant, I would not be ignored! Anger washed over me as if from a external source and I fought the descending darkness, lashing out against the watcher as if it embodied all the evils of the world. A searing flash of flame exploded in the night and all remaining senses of self were lost a red-orange haze.

~~~~~~

For the third time in a day I felt the floor calling to me; clearly that was where I was meant to be. My journey towards it's dubious comforts was interrupted as a dark leg appeared and wrapped around my chest, holding me upright. As the room wavered and surged I fixated on the holes piercing the leg, fascinated by the view of the floor through them and wondering if the insides were soft or hard, guessing at whether they formed as a Veroa grew or if they were the result of some horrible spell or disease...

It took a few minutes for the lingering effects of the Briddlestain to wear off allowing me to sit up on my own again. Once certain that I wasn't about to fall over Vair left and returned with a odd tasting but very welcome drink. Min sat silently in reflection, glaring a nothing in particular.

Something about her seemed different although I couldn't quite figure out what it was. Somehow she seemed less hard, less sharp and imposing. In a way she seemed a bit more like Vair now, strange and alien to be sure, but no longer terrifying and intimidating. Glancing at my fanged companion I found reason to question my standards.

Mim looked up; "You are not what you seem." It wasn't an offer of friendship but neither was it a death sentence; I hesitantly considered that progress. "You know not how you came to be in this place but I have seen the path you walk. It is strange to me though I know the land it treads." Mim studied me for a long moment; "You were sent to us with purpose, pony. Do you know it?"