We're Storytellers of Sorts

Chapters

Chapter I: Assignment
Chapter II: Vlines
Chapter III: Never Should Have Come
Chapter IV: Introductions

Chapter I: Assignment

Canterlot was considered a peaceful city. They say it was the most in all of Equestria, but I never could bring myself to believe such a harmless lie. On the surface, the city was home to royal families whose various members held power in the Royal Court. Ponies relaxed and lavished in the calm and soothing rays of the sun, walking with friends and making small banter with said friends on the way to the major hubs of stores or gardens. The royalty would flash their latest articles of fashion, as unnecessary and narcissistic it was, while others would speak in hushed words about their envy of someone’s latest civvies and the less wealthy inhabitants of Canterlot scratched their heads as to why rich ponies bothered putting clothes on anytime besides winter.

Underneath it all, Canterlot was just as fierce as Griffonstone. She had her fair share of murders and crimes. The only difference Canterlot held from the other major Equestrian cities is that she was better at hiding her problems. The Royal Guard cleaned up scenes as quickly as they had discovered them and news of crimes were heavily suppressed to fake the illusion of a perfect world, as was the case with Equestria as a whole.

That was something we had all been taught from a young age; Equestria was a paradise. The idea of a paradise was heavily enforced in many generations. The Historians were right for the most part. Ever since Equestria formed, there were virtually no wars fought in our borders and there was a peaceful reign for almost a thousand years after The Divine Sisters had come into our society. But the one thing Equestria had never embraced, was perfection and its total impossibility.

Other nations of the world never boldly proclaimed themselves to be the greatest and most peaceful land to ever exist as much as Equestria had. Griffonstone’s history was fraught with conflicts and wars, but the griffons never shied away from expressing that as a part of their culture, Dragons were naturally brutal and they never embraced peace as an ideology, The Stags of the Everfree hated ponies enough to cause a war that lasted no more than five minutes and have retained a hatred towards all of ponykind ever since. The Crystal Empire had only recently started shedding blood to quell the uproaring and unhappy populace.

But those are stories for another day. I’d never seen these acts of brutality personally, nor did I ever wish to. My new one began three days ago and went by like a flash. I could barely believe how fast everything had come at me.

Normally, I spent most of my time aiding my fellow historians and researchers in creating what we had dubbed simply as ‘The Encyclopedia’. Like all books of its nature, we had gathered resources from all corners of the known world and spent countless hours and sleepless nights trying to compile all the information into one sizable text. We had divided ourselves to cover the most ground, splitting into groups of two or three. I had the fortune of being paired with the brilliant mind that was Twilight Sparkle.

On that day, however, I decided to take a break, allowing myself some time alone in the city. I brought no money with me, I had no real destination, I just followed the flow of the city. It was when I had stopped to take a seat in the Royal Gardens that I was met with a letter manifesting before me, bearing Celestia’s wax seal; a sun with rays beaming from all directions.

I was called to the Royal Court, though the vague letter explained no more. When I got to the palace, I found myself staring down the central corridor to the throne room, trembling with a mix of fear and excitement. The grand halls leading up to the magnificent room giving me time to breathe and collect my thoughts. There was usually a briefing from one of the advisers, usually Autumn following me, readying me for my meeting with the most powerful pony in Equestria. But there was no one. Just me and the guards who stood by every door and the ones who stood guard in the center of the halls, spears pointing up and eyes facing forward like they were engaged in an eternal staring contest.

A soft velveteen carpet stretched down the length of the corridor, crimson and embroidered with golden edges. My hooves relaxed with each step, gently planting themselves on the silky surface. My bags bounced lightly at my sides with the rattling of pens and juggling of ink containers roaring through the silent hall. Under normal circumstances, I would have relished the noise, but here, it made my ears twitch uncomfortably. A mixed aroma of flowers and perfume swept through the hall, a scent that I was far too familiar with. But there was something different in the air. A coarse metallic smell, not unlike that of the Royal Guard, but still foreign.

I passed by stained glass windows, each depicting a pivotal event in Equestrian history. On my off-time, I loved this hallway. There were so many emotions that text could not convey properly. The rise of the royal families made up of all unicorns and the horrors peasants endured under their rule; famine, poverty, civil unrest. An uprising that tore families apart and threw away the leading royalty. The conflict of the three various tribes and their imminent unity under one banner, bringing upon a new age of pure hope.

I remember being taught lessons on these pivotal points in Equestrian history. Lords and Ladies had all seen Equestria as their land. When the tribes united there was a matter of who would settle where in the world. Would pegasi dominate the north, unicorns the central regions and earth ponies the south? Who would truly rule the Equestrian people? Could there truly be an age of peace and prosperity? In the end, it was the first question ponies themselves had actually answered and agreed upon.

Before the great double doors leading to the throne room, The Royal Court, as it was so aptly named by the local flavor, there was the last image. The Arrival, as it were, of the Divine Sisters. Two tall figures descending from the heavens and the ponies bowing their heads and kneeling before the self proclaimed rulers of the land. There was no opposition. It just happened and everyone accepted it. The one thing most historians agreed upon was there was no opposition.

Except for me.

I looked at the two guards stationed beside the doors leading to Celestia’s throne.

“I was summoned to Most Holy’s presence,” I said, levitating the letter with her seal. The guards both grunted, stepped aside and opened the doors with their magic, all the while focusing their gaze on me. I tried my best to ignore, but I imagined the things they would say about me once those doors closed.

I was greeted by a room full of solid colors beaming in from the left side; the sun’s light shining through the stained glass windows that depicted pieces of history yet to come. Who had made those is still unknown, but whoever had foreseen those prophecies had clear signs of a doomed future. Discord had come and gone, Changelings made their presence known to everyone, a group of Crystal Ponies began cult calling for some kind of nameless king to return. Everything had come true so far. It was the last images that nobody spoke of: an Equestria bathed in fire and destruction, but that was a long way off.

Turning away from the cryptic images, I looked at the other inhabitants in the room. An earth pony here, a unicorn there. But there was one figure that caught my eye. It was a griffon, or some kind of permutation of one. The front half of its form was that of an owl rather than an eagle. The feathers on its body were smooth, the wings recently preened, with a gradient of hazel to silver. What confused me was the beasts rear, which had taken the form of a pony. Claws on the front end, but hooves on the rear. Of all the research conducted, neither Twilight nor I had read about a griffon of this type.

Equestria was accustomed to Royal Griffons; the typical eagle and lion hybrids whose lust for gold was comparable to that of a dragon, although not all shared this lust. Snow Griffons were reclusive and had no lust for materialistic things, but rather a lust for knowledge. They took to more of an owl appearance mixed with a mountain cat of some sort, but their feathers and fur were almost always pure white unlike the strange griffon standing before me. I mulled over the different Griffons Twilight and I read about; Sea Griffons, Desert Striders, Foresters. None of our research mentioned anything with the rear end of a pony.

I fixed my sights on the regal alicorn sitting on her golden throne. Her tall form was relaxed but there was a form of intensity in her stance; the way her back straightened and held her chest out. She smiled at the sight of me, though whether it was out of genuine respect for me or of pity I could not say.

“Your grace,” I whispered, bowing my head. My heart stopped for a moment, realizing she had not heard me. I cleared my throat and repeated louder; “Your grace.”

“Trixie,” Celestia greeted. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’d rather begin when all parties are in the room. Though they should have been here already.”

I nodded, although I had no real understanding of what was happening.

Clopping hooves came from behind and several more ponies came running in, some panting and sweating. Noteworthy, Amethyst, Bluebell, the list went on. The ponies I had worked with on The Encyclopedia were gathered here. Not all, but less than half of the team was here. Twilight was among the twenty pony crowd, among other scholars I had recognized.

“Hey.” Twilight made her way beside me. “Any idea what’s going on?”

“Not a clue,” I admitted. I pointed a hoof at the unknown guest. “My guess is whoever that is has something to do with it.”

The not-a-griffon looked in my direction and I dropped my hoof like a child caught stealing candy. I looked back at Twilight, quizzically staring at the creature.

“That’s not a griffon,” She observed. “Is it?”

Can’t be, I wanted to answer. Princess Celestia clopped a hoof on the ground, garnering everyone’s attention. The team all lined up next to each other and in perfect unison, bowed their heads and gently spoke “Your Grace.”

All rose their heads and we all stared at the Princess. Well, almost all of us.

“These are your Rekishiya?” The griffon-pony hybrid spoke slowly. I cringed slightly at his pronunciation of words some words. The way he stressed certain syllables and vowels as opposed to others. “Uh….Historians?”

“Historians, scholars,” Celestia spoke in a gentle voice. “These ponies are the best at what they do.”

“I see.” He looked over all of us lined up analyzing all of us with those strange golden eyes. “My Equestrian is… warui. Would you mind...explain?”

“Of course.” Celestia stood from her throne, her immense size dwarfing all who stood beside her. She stepped gracefully down the porcelain steps leading to her throne. “You each have shown an admiration for compiling the knowledge of the world; spending countless hours and sleepless nights researching and recording your findings. Some of you have even been to the darkest corners of the known world just to gain insight.

“The work you do preserves knowledge of all things. It is, to say the least, a noble goal that you are all working towards.” Celestia smiled at Twilight and I, a smile that slowly faded as she looked upon the rest of us scholars. “I am most pleased with the progress you have all made, but that’s besides the point. This is Nijo. He is a Hippogriff from Cystera.”

The way Celestia explained that made me feel like a foal in a classroom. I looked at Twilight, but she was busy staring at this Hippogriff, no doubt compiling a list of questions she would ask him once the Princess was finished with her speech. I must admit that I had been doing the same ever since I first saw him.

“You all have been selected to enter the Hippogriff homeland,” Celestia continued. She paused, I assume to let that tiny fact sink in a little with us. I looked at Twilight. She seemed unsure whether or not she should be excited or scared. Her face shifted and she bit her lower lip. I could tell she wanted to say something in protest, but she held her tongue.

I did the same.

“I understand what it is that I ask of each of you. So I give you the choice to leave now if you do not wish to partake in this journey. I understand that you work in twos? I think it would be best to decide with your partners what you should do.”

Nobody moved, either out of fear or because they had genuinely wished to be a part of this monumental moment. Maybe it was a mix of both. I found myself staring at Twilight, clinging to this false sense of hope that for once she would back down from seeking the answers to questions she did not need the answers to. She never even looked at me. That was typical Twilight.

I loved Twilight like a sister. She had been there for me when I enrolled in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, pretty much helping me cheat my way into the school. She guided me through most of my classes and helped turn me into the tenacious worker that I am today. I had never seen or sensed anger or frustration whenever my personality got the better of me or whenever I had failed something. Twilight was the pony I desperately wanted to be. Kind, modest. By Luna, the list goes on.

In the end, four ponies left us and Twilight had stayed, looking at me with a smile. “Glad you decided to stay.”

“We’re a team, are we not?” I put on a faux smile. “Besides, I can’t have you bore the Hippogriffs while we stay….wherever we’d be staying.

“Thanks, Trixie.” Twilight nuzzled my mane. I felt my muscles relax when she did, even when she pulled away. “We’ll take ‘em by storm.”

“Right,” I tried to fake my enthusiasm as best I could. Twilight seemed to not notice though. She reverted back to Princess Celestia.

“I thank you for your courage.” Celestia bowed her head to the ponies who had stayed. “Now, a little history lesson, if you will...”

Cystera

Cystera is an island nation located in the seas to the southeast of Griffonstone. The country is divided into several regions, each ruled by a military leader, who in turn, answered to a higher ranking military general that answered to the emperor of the land. Although within close proximity to Griffonstone, a vast majority of Cystera's inhabitants are in fact Hippogriffs and not Griffons. Military might and...

Present

I lay silently on the rough surface of my blanket, sinking into the modest bed, reading what I had written so far. There was hardly any good information to go on based on what Celestia said. I wanted to get started on my entry for The Encyclopedia, but without any real knowledge, I was going nowhere fast. Most of the entry was a guess from the sparse information Princess Celestia had of the land. Nijo had barely made an attempt to clear up that information. How could he? The man could barely even speak proper Equestrian.

Tomorrow was the start of our journey. We would take a boat and sail for most likely two weeks before we arrived at Cystera's shores. I found myself staring at the clock hanging directly overhead wishing the hands would move back rather than forward. I could not decide what I wished to see once we arrived. Would there be a prospering united land of these strange bird-pony hybrids? Would we arrive at a war-torn land that promised honor and tradition while its populace held a dagger at our throats? Was the earth fertile, blooming with flowers and trees or was it much like Griffonstone; barren and worthless?

I dropped the parchment and let it fall, drifting onto the floor with no intention of picking it up. I do not know what I should have believed. I wanted a peaceful land and no conflict. Maybe there was no war in this place. Either way, I had made my choice along with Twilight. We would go and be welcomed by another ambassador, this time from one of Cystera's many clans. Asteria if memory serves well. A respected family. Loyal.

I let my fears overwhelm me while I lay in in the silence of my private quarters.

My bedroom was in the Mythic Glow residential quarters inside the Royal Palace. It was a room very similar to the room I had grown up in as a filly. My bed sat neatly in the corner of the claustrophobic space with sheets, blankets and pillows that smelled of apple cinnamon and were spotless of stains and any wrinkles. I made it my mission to be able to fit my bed beside the small window which was always left open. It was strange, but I imagined the moon had given off rays of warmth during my short bursts of sleep and if that were untrue, I liked to imagine the light rays of Luna’s divine brilliance was actually the alicorn of the night herself hugging my face and helping me fall asleep or just Luna blissfully smiling, watching like a mother watches her foals drift off into the land of sleep.

Shelves were mounted on the wall, each full of various books on various subjects. A good seventy-five percent of those books had been gifted to me from Twilight on birthdays and Hearth’s Warming. Naturally, a good book demanded to be read and Twilight had assured me that the books she had gotten me were always good books and she knew as much from experiencing them before I could. I did not mind that my books were essentially hand-me-downs from my best friend, but it would have been nice to know that I was the first one to open those books.

A tiny space meant to be a closet ended up being a place where I tossed anything that had no place on my shelves or in my drawers. Aging leather bags and various articles of clothing that had been gifted to me from other friends found their place there. Books I never wanted to see again and memorabilia that held no special place in my heart were strewn and thrown on its floors, tucked away to never be seen again.

A small bureau had been stuffed directly across from the bed, most of the drawers containing pens, notebooks, ink containers and other amenities that aided in my work. On the surface, I planted a grand mirror so I had something decent to look at while I had nothing better to do. The dresser itself gave me a small isle of walking space in my room, but it was something I had grown accustomed to. It rested close enough to my cushioned bed so it could double as a desk. I used the surface of the dresser for everything. It gave me a place to write my journal entries and entries for The Encyclopedia. It gave me a place to cry when nights were rough and Twilight was away. It gave me a place to reflect and beat myself up for mistakes that could have easily been avoided.

But most importantly, the second drawer on the left held something near and dear to me.

I shifted myself to the edge of my bed and opened the drawer, pulling out the black and white ‘magic’ wand and violet star covered magicians hat. I lay on my back and clutched the items in my chest with my hooves. A sigh released itself from my lungs and I buried my face in the hat.

“Mother, what am I to do?” I ask, half expecting an answer and half knowing nobody would say anything. “I don’t know a single thing about...Hippogriffs. What if I end up making a fool of myself and end up embarrassing Twilight? What if we don't come back?”

I let out a groan. “Mother, what would you do?”

I was a historian by nature. Sure, I had travelled to Griffonstone and The Crystal Empire, but there was some kind of familiarity to the land. I had never heard of Cystera nor had I ever seen or considered the possibility of Hippogriffs in the world. I suppose it would be like travelling back in time to feudal Equestria. If what Celestia had said was true, then we would have nothing to fear other than the wildlife, but even then, the Hippogriffs respected guests as if they were family and would be ready to put their lives on the line to defend us.

It made me feel better that Twilight and I would even be getting our own personal escorts. Twilight’s escort was a pale magenta unicorn who went by the name Sparkler. Twilight had the pleasure of meeting her immediately after our meeting with Celestia, but my own escort had come earlier tonight, about nine hours before we were supposed to depart for Cystera.

A knock came on the door forcing me to get up from my nightly daydreams and look at the clock on my wall briefly before heading towards the door.

Upon opening, I was greeted by a slender aquamarine unicorn clad in grand golden armor. She scanned down at my hooves and made her way up to meet my eyes, smiling. I considered shutting the door on this pony, mistaking her for a drunk. She noticed my horn glow and my door begin to creak.

“You’re Trixie,” She stated simply. “Right?”

“Is there a reason one of Celestia’s guards is searching for me—” I glanced back at the clock in my room. “Ten o’clock at night? Shouldn’t you be a uh...bat pony or something?”

“Well...Yeah?” She shrugged. I rolled my eyes and started closing the door, but the mare stopped it with her hoof. “Please, ma’am, I just wanted to introduce myself early before tomorrow's departure.”

“Oh.” I say, releasing my arcane grip from the door. “I would have appreciated it if you came earlier. By that, I mean a day or two ago.”

“I’m sorry for being late on this,” The mare apologized. “But I’m Lyra. I had heard a lot about you. Very respectable pony.”

“I hope you don’t mind Lyra,” I put on a small smile. “But I’d much rather get to know each other over the boat ride. Right now, I need sleep. And so do you.”

“R-right.” Lyra sputtered. She held a hoof beside her horn, straightening her back and holding her chest out. “Goodnight ma’am.”

And with that she had left and I returned to my bed, resting for the next two hours before coming to my current position.

I hugged the hat and wand, pressing my muzzle against the fabric of Mother’s old hat. My heart began to slow down and my muscles relaxed, allowing me to sink into the squishy bed and making the wool blanket’s fabric dig underneath my fur and poke on my skin. I closed my eyes and pictured my mother smiling at me. Her deep magenta eyes filled me with a warmth I was almost unfamiliar with. My hooves carried my tiny frame across dew covered grass embracing the wind coursing through my fur and mane.

Mother let me into her hooves and I buried my head into the fluff of her lavender chest. She smelled of lilies and roses. Her curly mane twisted and brushed against the tip of my ears. I did not mind. I longed for this moment many times in my life. Mother was everything. She taught me a lot of what I know.

“Mother,” I whispered, the last words I had spoken that night. “Please guide me through this.”

Chapter II: Vlines

Twilight hugged her parents, both with tears in their eyes but smiling, congratulating their daughter no doubt. Noteworthy hugged his wife and son, Sparkler kissed who I assumed to be her lover and went their separate ways. Even Lyra had someone she was saying goodbye to. I looked around in vain hope that somebody, anybody, would come looking for me.

I watched from the deck of one of the hippogriff ships, workers pacing around readying the vessel for travel. One by one, ponies boarded the ship via a ramp, walking around the workers and setting themselves on the edge of the bowed deck and resting themselves on the edge of the thick wooden railing. Thankfully, the deck was wide enough to fit most of us simultaneously. Other ponies had made their peace and entered the box-like structure on the rear end of the ship. Twilight boarded last, smiling after waving goodbye to her parents. Cheers roared all around this section of Horseshoe Bay in one ear splitting wave. I found myself waving too, though at nobody in particular.

“You ready for this?” Twilight beamed with pure innocence and happiness. “Ooh, I’m so excited!”

“Me too.” I smiled. “It’s a new opportunity for us. A chance to learn something new. I know you’d just love that.”

“Think of all the opportunities we’ll have!” Twilight started walking into the ornate hub protruding from the rear of the ship. It was dark and filled mostly with tables and a sweet aroma that permeated the salt-filled air. To the rear was a set of steep steps that led to the other areas of the ship. “We’ll have so much knowledge to add to The Encyclopedia!”

“Well, of course,” I said. “It’s a new land.”

We made our way to the lower deck and claimed our beds. Next to the rectangular window, very similar to the one in my room in Canterlot. I placed my bags on the bottom bunk before Twilight could drop hers. She frowned and raised an eyebrow. Instead she levitated her bags and slung it on a broad hook. I felt myself flush and my ears flopped.

“I guess the bottom bunk is yours then?”

“I’m sorry. Here, I’ll move.”

“No! No, Trixie, it’s fine.” Twilight pat me on the back. “I’m just teasing. I’m used to top bunk.”

“Right.” I grinned. “Of course.”

The first day on our journey was fraught with a strange kind of paranoia. I could not blame the ponies. They had never seen a hippogriff before and we knew next to nothing about them. They were accommodating though; polite enough to sneak comments about us behind our backs in their native tongue.

Twilight spent most of her time with majority of the ponies hanging around the center around the mast. My guess is that they were afraid of The Captain who stood on his rear hooves and watched the seas carry us through the waters. Ponies like me who were not a fan of big crowds took to the lower deck’s bedding area lit by candles hanging from the support beams. It was like a perpetual night in the lower deck.

I met with Lyra who was not that bad of a pony. When we spoke to each other she did most of the talking, but I did not mind. It was a nice break from the educational conversations Twilight and I often shared. She told me stories of her misadventures in initiate training with Sparkler, the time she shot magic darts at her teacher when she was a filly and her boring duties as a Royal Guard.

“I’m doing a lot of talking,” Lyra spoke through a smile. She polished the hoof guard of her golden armor. “What about you? You got anything? Stories, jokes?”

I thought for a moment. “I don’t really have anything worth talking about.”

“C’mon, there’s gotta be something.”

I thought again. “Well, when I was younger I used to want to be a magician.”

Lyra chuckled. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I found myself smirking. “I would gather all the ponies I knew around the block at Canterlot and put on a stupid little show. Fillies and colts all watched as I did my thing, throwing sparks here, pulling colorful rags out of some poor colt’s ear. For a while I knew how to do the old bunny out of a hat trick. I’d do it all the time.”

“What happened?” Lyra raised an eyebrow.

“I must have cast the wrong spell or something,” I started to smirk. “I used one colt as a volunteer for...something. Instead of actually doing what I wanted, his tail raised and next thing I know, he’s farting out arcane sparks all over the block.”

“No way!” Lyra burst out laughing. “How old were you? I wish I could have done that!”

“Eight,” I said through soft chuckles. I remember the flustered expression of the fat brown pegasus as he frantically hopped around the street and sidewalk, the kids all laughing. “He didn’t deserve it, but the neighborhood had a good laugh for about a week. You know how Canterlot is. Give it about a week and the commotion dies down eventually.”

We spent the entire first day just talking and laughing.

Day two was a little more productive. Twilight suggested getting to know the crew, starting with The Captain. Several other ponies had the same idea and were well ahead of us in terms of getting to know the crew, but none had the gall of meeting the captain.

He introduced himself as Captain Thorntail and he had been commanding this transport vessel for over fifteen years, though most of his endeavors took him to Griffonstone. From what Twilight and I could understand from his broken Equestrian, Nijo had hired him on behalf of The Emperor of Cystera, offering him lots of coin to partake in this trip. Unfortunately that was all Captain Thorntail wished to divulge. Any questions about his homeland was met with a grunt and shrug. Either he did not want to give anything away or he could not understand the question.

“We should see if the other hippogriffs on this ship can tell us anything,” Twilight suggested.

I nodded and followed close behind.

To say the least, the workers were a little apprehensive and expecting us to disrespect them in some form or another, but I of course let Twilight do the talking while I sat behind her and took notes on what I thought was important, but looking back at my notes, there was nothing useful besides how pretty the trees were and how good the food was. We all experienced the food and I can agree that the food was savory, but soup would start to get old after a while.

Twilight had wanted to speak with the Hippogriffs in the middle deck, but the captain had made it clear they were not to be bothered while the oars were manned. No matter how much Twilight had insisted The Captain remained steadfast. No talking to anyone in the middle decks. Before we were forced to leave, I caught a glimpse of the sailors.

They looked abysmal.

I caught some sort of sickness for the next few days. I lost track of time while I lay in bed writhing and trying not to puke despite Lyra bringing me a bucket. It was not just me that was sick; about four other ponies were starting to catch something. I doubted the lethality, but every time I threw up I got the impression that I would nap and wind up staying asleep. At most, it was incredible sea sickness.

“Jeez, you look like shit,” Lyra said simply working with her fellow guard trying to get the sick food and whatever else would help us feel better. I managed a smile at the small jest.

“Hope you feel better Trixie.” Sparkler said in a hushed whisper. That was the only real interaction I had with her since she had been appointed as Twilight’s personal guard. I wondered if she truly liked her job. Even in the presence of Twilight, Sparkler hardly spoke a word, often resorting to grunts and the occasional ‘mmhmm’ when addressed.

“Thanks,” I managed. My eyes were heavy and I just wanted to get off the damned boat. The constant rocking made my head spin and my legs were thin noodles every time Twilight tried to help me get up and around. I felt myself get hot when Twilight looked at me. The way her face contorted and her nose scrunched. I hated it.

But Twilight held my hoof through it and in a couple of days I was able to walk more than five steps without puking my guts out. I spent most of my time on the deck, watching the waves with The Captain, silently admiring the the beauty the South Celestial Sea had to offer. The breeze crept between each strand of fur and each strand of my mane and for a moment the dizziness vanished.

Tonight was the last night we would be on this ship. A part of me was glad to finally be off this damned thing in the morning, but another part of me did not want to abandon my friend. Friends. It was a restless night for everyone. The Captain had gone to sleep, probably because he did not want to be a part of any more interviews. All of the ponies except for Twilight and myself were sitting around on the deck surrounding the central mast, taking in the sweet air of Cystera. To my left was the land we had all been so anxious to see.

Green. There was a lot of it. The trees stood tall and blossomed with beautiful green sparsely growing leaves. The darkness of the forest left a lot to the imagination, but mine was tame at the moment. Luna had blessed us with a beautiful night and there was no way I could completely ruin it besides being subject to my own thoughts.

“I shouldn’t have come,” I say silently to myself staring out into the peaceful moonlit waters. The ship rocked and creaked as the waves carried us east. The breeze made my fur stand on edge and sent chills through my whole body. The sea salt in the air made my stomach churn slightly, but there was nothing in my system that my body could force overboard. The bobbing and bouncing swayed my saddle packs softly against my ribs.

“Did you say something?” Twilight asked. Her eyes held genuine care.

“No,” I lied. “Just thinking.”

“I’m glad you decided to come,” Twilight put a hoof on my back. “Would have been hard trying to catalogue and record everything on my own.”

We chuckled together for the first time since this trip started. It was nice. Later, when Sparkler and Lyra had joined us, we reviewed our plans for our arrival. There would be hippogriffs at the docks, each wielding a banner of sorts with the symbols of their respective clans. Twilight and I had been given the clan Asteria, whose symbol was that of a black flower with seven petals on a white background. We did not know who would be holding the banner and we did not know exactly how to greet him or her. We figured it would be best to just bow our heads or shake hooves and claws upon meeting, although we hoped desperately that either would not upset the ambassador.

“Let’s hope they’re as peaceful as they say they are,” Sparkler said with slight frown.

“Lighten up, Sparks,” Lyra remarked. “Think about it this way; if they wanted us dead, they’d have either killed us at Canterlot or killed us in our sleep!”

I turned my head and glared at the unicorn. She lowered her head and forced a wide grin while releasing an equally forced chuckle. “Um...Forget I said that.”

“I suppose she’s right though,” Twilight reassured. “We’re obviously held with some degree of care. Just look at how they helped nurse the sick back to health.”

I nodded slowly in agreement. The hippogriffs were equipped with a versatile set of skills. If harming others was one of them, they had not made that clear. The most they had done was speak behind our backs, but even then, when we saw the workers later on during the day most held seemingly natural smiles.

When the sun rose we had entered what Captain Thorntail had called Vlinesport. There were no docks per se, there was just a marble staircase that met the water, small vessels hovering dangerously close to them, hippogriffs and griffons alike stepping off the wood and onto the marble stairs. Some just flapped their wings and planted themselves atop the stairs. Beyond the stairs was a white wall and a large circular opening and beyond that were what I assumed to be merchants, fishermen and civilians in general who were perusing wares. The trees had been used to shield the town behind the wall from any exterior view. Were it not for the walls of the town, I would have thought the forests went on forever.

Overlooking the town perched on what I presumed to be an artificial hill of stone was a towering fortress of grand proportions. I envied the hippogriff’s magnificent architecture. The eaves of the roofing spread out incrementally smaller the higher the structure stretched, sloped at roughly the same angle.

Along the top of the steps were several hippogriffs, each holding a thin banner waving in the wind each with a special insignia and sets of symbols underneath. Ponies began to gather on the deck gasping and taking in the surrounding environment. The air was fresh, full of pleasant aromas of foreign fruits, trees and plants. As our vessels made their approach towards the steps, Captain Thorntail emerged from the lower decks of the ship a small smile stretched on his beak.

“Welcome!” His voice boomed over the commotion caused by us flabbergasted ponies. “Welcome to Cystera!”

A small ramp was lifted from the dark wooden deck of the ship to the stone stairs. This was it. Our first steps in a new, alien land. Twilight had giddily hopped as the ponies formed a single file line, beginning to eagerly step off the vessel.

“I can’t believe we’re here!” She blurted. “What kind of trees do you think those are? What is the local wildlife like? What if Lord Asteria doesn’t like us?”

“Twilight, please,” I interjected. “Why do you think we’re here?”

“Right.” Twilight’s face burned slightly and her ears fell.

Sparkler and Lyra cantered their way out of the central hub of the ship, blades sheathed and saddle packs bobbing as they made their approach. Silently they stood behind us, Sparkler to the left and Lyra to the right. I felt it strange how they shadowed Twilight and myself but hardly said a word. When they did speak, it was amongst themselves in hushed tones. Other Royal Guards emerged and took a spot beside their respective companions.

Hippogriffs had gathered around to watch as each pony stepped off the docks and onto the stone ground. Their eyes widened at the sight of us, backing away as each pony began to spread out and distance themselves, taking in more of the land. As the Royal Guards unloaded, the hippogriffs backed away, some shielding their children in hopes we were not invaders. The armor clad ponies attempted to smile despite their normally stone-faced expressions. The natives relaxed and began approaching the guards with their blades sheathed, but refused to advance on the pegasi holding polearms with their wings.

As Twilight, Lyra, Sparkler and I began our ascent off the rocking vessel, more hippogriffs began to crowd around. Children kept their eyes trained on us, eyes skipping along from pony to pony, tugging at their parent’s robes and speaking at a breakneck pace what I assumed to be questions about us. Had the concept of a pony really been so foreign to a race who was half of one? The closer I came to foreign grounds, the more I pondered that question.

I recoiled at how deceivingly wet the cobblestone was despite its dry appearance. Thankfully, I was not the only pony who felt this as several others, including Sparkler, raised an eyebrow as they took their first steps onto foreign stone. Three steps onto the ground and I was met with a tug at my tail. Instinctively, I turned and was met with a bright eyed short and stout owl hippogriff. His tiny claws were still gripping my tail despite the way his brow raised, curving upward and he pouted about as best any being with a beak could.

“Well hello there.” I tried to go for a gentle tone. Instead, my voice squeaked and I cleared my throat, ready to present myself again in a less pitiful manner. However, before I could speak again, the child darted away yelping as if I had just threatened his life and the life of his parents, who stood close to the ramp. Their child screeched and cried, but both laughed and gave me an apologetic smile.

I smirked and turned to Twilight. Sparkler stood in front of her fending off a swarm of little ones who mistook Sparkler’s warnings and hoof shaking as a playful gesture. The minors chirped and laughed, clinging to Sparkler’s hoof and rubbing her gleaming golden armor. Twilight tried to garner their attention, but the erratic movement of Sparkler trying to frantically get the children away from her just encouraged them even more. The way her brow furrowed and grit her teeth should have given them a hint.

“Huh.” Lyra tapped her chin with the tip of her hoof guard. I gestured toward the wall and we both maneuvered past clusters of ponies and inquisitive hippogriffs into a space as clear as possible from any of the local riff raff. I had noticed the hippogriffs holding banners and standing on their rear legs had moved back closer to the town walls and were speaking amongst each other, giggling like students passing a rumor in a classroom.

“I wonder why she’s getting all the attention.” Lyra wondered out loud.

“Must be the colors,” I replied. Lyra pursed her lips and her brow lifted. A part of me wanted to slap myself in the face. “They might find her colors… More appealing to look at.”

“And what the heck is that supposed to mean?” Lyra held a hoof to her chest in a matter-of-factly manner. She gently pounded her breastplate. “I think the gold of my armor really brings out my eyes. If anything, it should be me the kids want to play with.”

“Soft spot for children?”

“Eh, kinda.” Lyra stared at Sparkler who had freed herself from the clutches of the young hippogriffs and backed away, hiding behind Twilight. The purple unicorn happily greeted the younglings, if you counted asking them twenty one questions as a greeting. “I mean I won’t go out of my way to greet them, but it would be nice to be noticed. Sparkler’s nice, but it’s kinda obvious she’d probably kill them if given the opportunity.”

I nodded in agreement. Twilight may have proven to be a more amiable pony than I, but I often suspected her of tipping the local younglings and making them follow me around Canterlot like I was somebody worth caring about, like a celebrity of some kind. Even when we walked together, the children had followed me rather than Twilight.

Thankfully, I had not been given the same misfortune this time around. Twilight held her own however and soon all her talk managed to bore the young hippogriffs, who started to disperse and bother other ponies and their personal guards. Sparkler emerged from behind Twilight, clearing her throat and muttering something to her. Both had found Lyra and I standing and watching, chuckling among ourselves.

“I-I think it’s time we, uh,” Sparkler stammered. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I think we should find our representative.”

“Looked like you were having fun over there.” Lyra teased, grinning. Sparkler’s only response was a scowl.

“She’s right,” Twilight interjected. “Let’s get back on track.”

Finding our representative was not hard. All we had to do was look to our right, at the ambassadors and find which one was carrying our flag. The one holding the banner of Clan Asteria was a bright eyed and small compared to his burly and taller companions. His beak was small, but still featured that signature curve at the tip. Despite his small frame, the ambassador’s wings had grown lengthy, the feathers reaching beyond his flank. He was primarily a light brown hue with black spots covering the base of the feathers on his body, starting from the bottom of his neck.

We made our approach, my mind racing nervously hoping he would say the first words and Twilight or myself would not wind up making fools of ourselves.

“Greetings!” The hippogriff smiled, his small beak twisting to its best attempt at a smile. He bowed his head slowly. “I am a representative of the Asteria Clan. You are Twilight and Trixie, yes? And these are your personal guards?”

“That’s us,” I bobbed my head in Twilight’s direction.

“It is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance! I am Ikeda Redquill.” He raised his head and met my gaze. I took note of how fluent he was in Equestrian; he spoke at a moderate pace, just fast enough to hold my attention with a smooth and young voice. “I see you know our nobori. Our banner.”

“We have…” Twilight finally turned to Redquill and took a good look at him. “We’ve been told very limited things about your clan unfortunately. Your banner was one of them.”

“Well, you are here to learn.” Redquill nodded. “Lucky for you two, unlike most of your compatriots, we have only a ten minute journey to meet the lord of my clan. He would gladly answer any questions you have. As will I.”

He turned around and gestured towards the grand palace resting atop the hill overlooking the whole harbor. It stood on a stone foundation as if to boost its already massive height. From our current distance, the layers of tiled roof plates seemed to reach all the way to the clouds. I have to admit that I was completely threatened by the sheer immensity of the structure. It was like I was looking at alabaster cubes bordered with smooth wood stacked on top of each other, getting smaller the higher the palace stretched out. Along the top of the fortress, hippogriffs soared and circled around, occasionally landing and resting on the balcony at the summit.

My Canterlot pride wavered, knowing that the hippogriffs had hundreds, if not, thousands of fortresses like that scattered in Cystera’s various regions if what Nijo’s information held any truth..

I looked at Twilight again. She hopped excitedly on her hooves a smile beaming on her face. I shared the gesture; not the hopping, rather just the smiling. I was excited. My fears had been put to rest for now, but so far, we were met with nothing but kindness so the chances of those anxieties returning were meager at best.

“We’re going up there?!” Twilight beamed. “Please lead the way!”

“As you wish,” Redquill accepted, turning around and beginning through the circular opening of the wall.

The town was deceivingly large, detracting from its modest exterior. Multiple dirt paths led through a maze of buildings, all with similar architecture and covered by the tall trees that grew nearby. The architecture followed that of the fortress atop the hill. Wooden support beams framing almost paper-thin walls, sloped tiled roofs and elevated, although not as extreme as the grand overlooking castle. The walls slid open by the village’s children and adults, revealing a single large room with almost nothing inside. I did not mean to snoop or poke my head in where it did not belong, but every time a door slid open, I took notice of how empty the homes seemed.

There were wooden stands where vendors sold wares; fish, fishing supplies, wood, pottery, the list goes on. Workers flew boxes around, unloading from cargo ships no doubt, and rested them in various spots beside shop owners who quickly tossed the workers a few coins for their troubles. Women wore dresses of a velveteen, shining material with designs of various birds or scenery beautifully and seamlessly stitched into the dress. They held bags full of goods and whispered among each other as Twilight, Lyra, Sparkler and I passed them.

I took a quick glance at Twilight as we followed Ambassador Redquill. She stared in all directions, taking in the grand architecture. One look in her eyes and you can see there were a million questions she could ask. Unfortunately when we met the lord of the Asteria Clan, those questions would probably all come out in one single breath and we may wind up being frowned upon because of her possible clamorous presentation.

Another quick glance at Lyra and Sparkler showed the two were taking in the sights, much like Twilight. Sparkler tried to keep her focus on the buildings and the merchants trying to ignore the questioning stares of the townsfolk. Lyra, however, embraced the townsfolk. She smiled and raised her hoof, lightly waving hoping someone would return the gesture.

A wide set of cobblestone steps began at the end of the town, hidden by foliage. Redquill turned to us as if to make sure we were still following him. “Be mindful of where you step, especially the higher we go. It’s a long way up and a very long way down.”

Despite being a Canterlot pony, I hated climbing stairs. These steps seemed to go on for an eternity. Every time I assumed we had reached the midpoint, I looked up, past the leaves and long behold, the palace had come closer by mere inches.

Lyra panted heavily and occasionally whispered to herself; “How much longer?”

Sparkler, despite her stern appearance, took breaths at a normal pace, but her breaths were heavy and she frequently let out a long, exasperated sigh. Both guards wiped sweat from their brow, but followed behind Twilight and I without much complaining.

“So,” Twilight managed through breaths. “Is this your clan’s capital?”

“Goodness no!” Redquill’s wings unfurled and quickly folded back. “This is the home of Lord Attis, vassal of the Asteria Clan.”

Vassal. The word made my ear twitch. The steps began to turn and the view of the town at the bottom was blocked by the stone foundation of the castle.

“Cystera is split into a multitude of regions controlled by different kazoku. Families. We are in Lord Attis’ lands, Vlines. Lord Asteria holds control of several provinces with the capital being Borea. My lord wished to arrive here himself as he was very eager to meet the two who would chronicle the history of his home and family.”

Redquill paused. “Perhaps somebody else can explain better than I.”

“Interesting,” Twilight muttered.

We had reached the top of the steps after what felt like forever and were met a grand vista in front of us and studded gates to the right; the entrance to the palace. Ahead were rolling hills of forests and a neat dirt path untouched by grass or any other vegetation. A wooden bridge was constructed, arching over the continuously flowing river just enough to allow boats to float underneath. The trees rolled with the wind and for a moment, I wished we could stay.

Two massive hippogriff statues stood sentry outside of the gates, their faces twisted into a war cry. They donned armor almost reminiscent of dragon scales; plates of stone in rows that conformed to the contour of the body. The fine details showed the small plates were held together via rope and underneath was a layer of...something. I assumed it to be leather. The shoulders were protected by a large, solid plate of armor, constructed similarly to the cuirass. The armor took the shape of a skirt as it got closer to the rear legs, still made of armor plating held together by the rope. Their forearms were covered up with smooth gauntlets of what I could guess would be leather.

Redquill knocked on the gate. “Now, don’t be alarmed by the guards. Unless you or your guards do anything deemed threatening to the lords’ safety, they will mind themselves.”

Sparkler let out a grunt, causing my ear to twitch.

The gate opened revealing an open, gravel filled courtyard surrounded by a wooden platform, stretching out towards the base of the fortress. The gravel consisted of thousands of small pebbles that had all been raked into an intricate swirling design around a central plot of dirt, grass and a single tree in its infancy. Several hippogriffs stood silently and still, equipped with the same armor as the statues standing outside. The metal plates held a glossy indigo hue on top of a black fabric underneath. Like the Royal Guards of Canterlot, these guards held the same stone-faced glare into nothing.

Just before the spindly tree in the center of the courtyard was...a mare! I would have mistook her for an alicorn of sorts because of her height and slender frame. She could have been one underneath the azure robes she donned with beautiful designs of doves and falling leaves, hiding her possibly magnificent wings. Her silver coat and light purple eyes reminded me of Princess Celestia, or what she would have looked like if her colorful mane was replaced with flowing cerulean braids. A horn parted her sleek mane, sharp at the tip like a spear.

In her arcane grasp was a wooden rake that parted the sand-like gravel. Her hooves hovered above the ground as to not destroy her handiwork. She raised her rake and set it upon the dirt and took several steps back, creating more arcane steps under her hooves and levitating herself higher. She tilted her head and her mouth curved upwards. Her eyes took notice of Redquill and she turned her whole slender frame towards us. She elegantly stepped down from her artificial platforms until her hooves clopped against the cool surface of the wood.

“Oh Celestia!” I blurted before the unicorn had the chance to speak. “Another pony! I didn’t think there would be any around here.”

The slender gaunt mare raised an eyebrow and let a smirk creep on her face. “Yes, I am a pony much like yourself, although you’d be wise to keep thoughts like that to yourself.”

“Oh, right.” I looked over at Redquill and Twilight. Both let out a light chuckle. “I meant no offense.”

“Ī nda yo,” Redquill said simply, bowing his head slightly. “No hard feelings.”

The majestic unicorn stepped forward, placing her one hoof directly in front of the other. “I am Sapphire Dream. You can call me Sapphire. Or Dream, I suppose. Either one works.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Twilight extended a hoof. Sapphire raised her eyebrow again and Twilight planted her hoof back on the ground. She curtsied instead and the approving smile returned to Sapphire’s face. “What is a unicorn doing all the way out here, if I may be so bold?”

“I serve as my lord’s Sorcerer.” Sapphire explained. She gestured for Twilight and I to follow. I looked behind me to make sure Lyra and Sparkler were still there. They had been completely quiet, though Lyra had opened her mouth and pursed her lips periodically. We followed, but my eyes found themselves drifting towards Sapphire’s dress, though more specifically, the flank region. I averted my gaze when Sapphire turned her head as if she were a mother making sure her children were still following. I hoped she had not noticed. “I nurse my lord’s family into good health, I manage an apothecary and I offer wisdom and guidance whenever I can. It’s a very demanding position I admit, but my lord has ways of rewarding excellence.”

Our hooves echoed through the beautiful courtyard while Sapphire spoke her duties and the generosity and the grace of Lord Asteria. I imagined a tall, steadfast man, his beak shining and perfectly preened grey feathers. Despite his daunting appearance, he would have all the traits Sapphire had been describing.

Sapphire stopped before a set of sliding doors, painted with a serene illustration of the town we had just left behind. They were framed by pieces of dark wood with the central painted material being a cloth of some sorts. Roaring laughter boomed from inside followed by a rough coarse voice speaking in a tongue neither Twilight nor I could understand. Sapphire turned to us and tapped a hoof on her chin.

“Now,” Sapphire paused briefly. “When addressing Lord Asteria, he does not care about formalities too much. Simply address him as, ‘Lord’, ‘Lord Asteria’, ‘My Lord’. You get the idea.”

The gaunt mare reached a hoof out to open the door, but slammed her hoof back on the ground, turning to us again. “Oh! And please do mind yourselves around him and his family! They know very little Equestrian, except for their eldest son. Lord Asteria is a very tolerant man, but he does not take kindly to—”

“Sapphire,” Redquill interrupted. “They understand. They will learn. Is that not why they have come?”

“I suppose,” Sapphire responded, biting her lip. “Okay.”

She placed a hoof in a little indent on the door and slid it to the side. The floor was smooth to the touch and our steps made no sound, like they had been absorbed by the paper-thin fabric covering the tiled wood. The room was vast and spacious, however it was devoid of any real furniture.

In the center was a small oak table about a foot off the ground. Shining cups of water lay untended, but two hippogriffs sat, an elder facing the door and a younger one sitting to his left. There were two cushions, empty directly in front of both hosts.

The eldest was broad and towering despite the fact he was sitting on his haunches. His feathers were grey and remained well groomed except for his wings which were terribly faded and messy. Despite his immense size, the elder moved slow and calmly, using his dusty, aging talons to place his cup gently back on the table. His beak extended outward and curved down towards the tip, cracking and fading on several spots.

The younger one was no different in some regard. He was just as broad, though not as imposing as the elder. His feathers held a blue hue to them and were neatly groomed with no imperfections. His talons and beak were devoid of any aging and cracks and he moved more sporadically and quicker than his elder.

The elder’s tired golden eyes met mine and for a moment my heart stopped and my stomach dropped. For a moment I felt I was not welcome.

He spoke, though I could not understand any of what he said. Immediately, Redquill had bowed, returned a phrase and left, closing the door behind him. I looked at Twilight for any indication of what to do, then Sparkler, then Lyra. Each seemed just as lost as I was.

The elder spoke again, this time gesturing at Twilight and myself in a motion that I assumed meant to sit down around the table. I looked at Sapphire who still managed that sweet smile.

“Please,” She nodded her head towards the cushion on the floor beside the table. “Take a seat.”

We did as we were commanded. I took the spot directly across from the younger hippogriff who stared at me inquisitively. I had done the same, noting the scar running across his chest, starting from the bottom of his neck and hiding underneath a flurry of feathers the further down the scar had run. Twilight took her seat across from the elder, eyeballing all parties in the room and holding a nervous grin. Lyra and Sparkler stood at attention beside the doors acting as if this were their own palace to defend. They exchanged glances between each other visibly unsure of what their roles were.

The elder began to speak in his native tongue, shifting glances from Twilight and myself. His voice was rough, deep, and gravelly. The words came blindingly fast and we sat with the utmost confusion. I felt my brow start to wrinkle as I tried to understand what was being spoken and my lip quivered, but I stopped myself from speaking. I made out only two words, which just so happened to be ‘Twilight’ and ‘Trixie’ but that was the extent of it. Asteria was said, but whether or not he had given his first name remained a mystery. It was clear who he was.

“Lord Asteria welcomes you to Cystera,” Sapphire translated when the old lord had finished his lengthy speech. “He would like to introduce himself as Kiso Asteria, although customs dictate you would be referring to him as...Well, I already went over that. This is his second eldest son—”

“Soma,” The young boy smiled. “I can speak Jibun no tame.”

Sapphire smirked. “Yes, I suppose you can.”

Soma turned to Twilight and I, beaming with delight. “I’ve never met ponies before! I’d very much like to know more about your―”

“Please.” Lord Asteria raised a talon. “Have water.”

Twilight and I did as we were commanded, although the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was not an order but rather a gesture of hospitality. I sipped until half the cup was about half empty. The water was warm and there was a pleasant aftertaste. Was it honey?. I placed my cup gently on the table as if it had come down any harder the whole thing would have shattered.

Twilight, probably under her anxiety’s influence downed the whole cup and dropped it on the table. “We’ve been really eager to meet you. We’ve heard nothing but good things about you, I can promise you that.”

Relax Twilight, I thought to myself. “There is much we wish to learn. About Cystera and the people. And your family of course.”

Sapphire translated, chuckling as she did so. The sentence seemed longer than it should have been, but then again; I knew nothing about the hippogriff’s language. Lord Asteria chortled and spoke again, his rough voice sounding more and more exasperated the more he spoke.

“We both can benefit from such an interesting exchange of knowledge,” Sapphire translated. “There is much we can learn from each other. For now, My Lord is tired and requires rest. He has waited anxiously for your arrival and we must continue this conversation later today if you don’t mind. Shall I escort you and your guards to your quarters?”

“Sure,” I said. Lord Asteria and his son smiled as Twilight and I stood. We had bowed and said our thanks before following Sapphire once again.

Cystera

Cystera is an island nation located in the seas to the southeast of Griffonstone. Much like feudal Equestria, the Cysteran government works as a hierarchy of positions with the emperor spearheading and leading the populace. Underneath the emperor was a powerful military leader labelled the shogun. All the royal families and nobility answered to the shogun rather than the emperor, who many viewed as a religious leader. Those who ruled the various provinces of Cystera were given the titles of daimyo….

More information to come....

~Trixie Lulamoon

Chapter III: Never Should Have Come

Our bedroom was very much like the dining room where we had met Lord Asteria; empty save for hooks on the walls where we hung our bags, sliding doors for a small space I presumed was a closet and four sets of thin mattresses and equally thin sheets. A broad table was set in the center with several empty cups and bowls on top and surrounded by four dark green mats.

Another set of open doors led to an outer balcony area overlooking the modest fishing village, though the trees mostly obscured the view. A thick black wooden railing was supported by crimson posts, intricate abstract designs filling the gaps between them. A cool breeze rolled inside and I instantly thought back to my quarters in Canterlot. The wind felt the same and for a moment, the way it enveloped me gave me a sense of security.

“Don’t get too cozy,” Sapphire warned. “We’ll take our leave at first light.”

Sapphire turned towards Sparkler and Lyra, both glancing around the emptiness of the room. Perhaps they had imagined something a little more familiar. In a way, I had.

“Shall I get you anything? Water perhaps?” Sapphire tilted her head. “I could have one of the servants bring you tea, if you wish?”

Sparkler shook her head simply.

“I’ll take some tea,” Lyra answered. “I’m parched.”

“Do you have a preference?”

“Surprise me.” Lyra turned away and started for the beds, but spun around rapidly. “Actually! Do you mind bringing enough for all of us? I don’t want to be the only one enjoying a good drink.”

“As you wish. I’ll send a servant here immediately. I’ll come back before bansan. Supper.” Sapphire had then left us alone.

The beds were laid out in a row evenly spaced beside each other neatly made pressed against the wall farthest from the door just beside the entrance to the balcony. Sparkler had claimed the bed closest to the closet against the corner, stepping out of her hoof guards and beginning to unbuckle her breastplate. The inner leather padding was damp with sweat. I noticed that despite stripping herself of armor, Sparkler had kept the leather buckle holding her blade.

Lyra had done the same, placing her belongings on the bedding beside Sparkler’s. Her bags hit the floor with a blunt thud, followed by the ringing metal of her armor dropping haphazardly on the bed. Sparkler shot her a glare and Lyra began to organize her articles of armor with a shy smirk.

Twilight looked at me quizzically. “Well, they claimed their beds. You have a preference?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I replied. I hung my packs on one of the six hooks attached to the wooden supports. I looked at the other three before quickly opening my front left pouch. The hat and wand still sat snugly beside each other. I let out a sigh and turned towards my companions once again. Lyra sloppily set her armor pieces in the spaces between the beds. She had lay down on top of her blankets, spreading herself out and staring at the ceiling.

Twilight claimed the bed beside the balcony leaving me in the middle. She sat on her haunches, journal levitated in front of her and quill already dipped in ink and writing. I walked towards my soft pad on the ground. It did not look all that comfortable. In fact, it was the lack of a thick and plush pillow that bugged me. I longed for my old bed, with the rough wool blanket and soft silky sheets and thick, cushy headrest.

Regardless of what I wanted, I lay down and let myself sink into the mattress as much as I could.

“Wow,” I pick my head up. “This is...Well, it’s going to take some getting used to.”

“Nah, you’re just spoiled.” Lyra threw a hoof behind her head, propping it against the wall, which stretched slightly under her weight. “The beds down in that little village are probably worse than these things.”

“Can you get any worse than this?”

“You could be sleeping on the rug.”

I considered that possibility. I imagined laying on the strange flat surface of the rugs on top of the wooden floors. “I suppose you’re right.”

A knock came on the door frame. Twilight opened the door and welcomed a frail griffon girl bearing a tray with a steaming silver kettle. Her eyes bounced wildly from pony to pony, but was mostly trained on her little legs scurrying towards the table. She set the tray down, stood up and bowed, but remained still, eyes focused on Lyra and Sparkler and their armor on the floor. Before I could say anything to her, she bowed again and scampered out of the room.

“What was that about?” Sparkler watched the girl’s shadow scuttle down the hall.

“Who cares?” Lyra stood and walked towards the kettle, taking a seat beside the table. “Tea’s here. And damn good smelling tea too!”

She was right. The herbal scent permeated the room mixing with the serene fresh air devoid of industrial pollution. My curiosity brought me forward and soon enough there were four ponies gathered around, all of us interested in having our first taste of foreign tea. Lyra started pouring us cups, all of us watching with childlike persistence as if the tea were going to start levitating or do some other magical act had we looked away.

“Welp,” Lyra sounded. “If it’s poisoned, at least it smells pretty decent.”

We took our first sips. Sweet and malty. Not my favorite type of tea. Nobody said anything about the taste. We just put our cups down and sat silently looking among each other in silence.

“So,” Twilight spoke. “Being that we’ve got time to ourselves for a little bit, how do you suppose we do our jobs?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“For The Encyclopedia,” Twilight answered. In all the introductions and new sights, the fact that we were here on behalf of Equestria to acquire knowledge of the known world had slipped my mind. “I mean, look at this place! The people, the art on the walls in the halls, the architecture. We have to document and catalog all kinds of information and in doing that, I swear, we’d only just be scratching the surface of what Cystera has to offer.”

There were reasons why I liked Twilight. She was knowledgable where it counted and had a good sense of what was right and wrong. She stood up for what she believed in and best of all, treated me like family.

Her pointing out how much work we had cut out for us was one of her less desirable qualities. Considering how long I have known her, I should have seen that coming sooner or later, especially since we were in this strangers-in-a-foreign-land-trying-to-gather-information-if-the-known-world-were-to-fall predicament.

“Well,” I started. “I assume we’ll have access to a library of some kind when we arrive...wherever we’re headed tomorrow. There’s one resource.”

“You guys also have Sapphire,” Lyra put in, finishing her tea and pouring herself another cup. “She might be useful. The lord and his son too.”

“You guys also have the natives,” Sparkler replied. “Assuming they understand what you’re asking. How do you plan on getting past the language barrier?”

“Redquill can help us?” Twilight offered. “If he accepts in helping us.”

We had discussed possible strategies of attack, so to speak. A lot of our work will be accomplished in the library or anything similar to one. Copious notes and journals full of drafts were all I could imagine in that time frame. In a perfect world, we would have Redquill’s help as a translator, or someone who was well versed in Equestrian should we have any questions for the townsfolk in the surrounding area, assuming there were any to speak to.

It was after we had confidently agreed on our plan that we ran into another roadblock.

Reading.

How in Equestria were we supposed to read Cysteran books or scrolls? I found myself groaning and resting my head on my hoof. Sparkler and Lyra had exhausted all of their ideas and left Twilight and I to figure out our own problems. We avoided trying to say it, but the truth was undeniable; we would have to learn the language and its alphabet.

“Ugh!” I groaned louder this time and pressed both of my hooves against my cheeks before rubbing my eyes. “I was hoping we would have it a little easy for once.”

“I’m all for learning,” Twilight said. “Besides, our jobs kinda promote it, you know?”

“Yes, I know,” I replied. I just don’t want to be here for too long.

We sat for a few hours, relaxing and getting used to the lack of activities. Sparkler had finally removed her leather straps, allowing her sheathed blade to hang from the wall. She and Lyra had taken to polishing their armor and speaking among themselves. Allow me to rephrase that; Lyra had spoken and Sparkler just nodded her head, rolled her eyes, or grunted in acknowledgment. Twilight went back to her journal and I watched as she wrote.

I started writing my entry of Cystera again, though despite the lack of any real information besides what Sapphire had told us earlier as we were guided to our room, there was nothing I could have done to expand what I had written. I frowned when I stared at the mostly blank parchment.

“Ready for dinner?” Sapphire poked her head in as I began to stuff the papers into my packs. I nodded simply, but the mere mention of the word dinner forced an eager grumble from my stomach. I allowed Twilight to leave before cutting in front of Lyra and matching my eager friend’s pace.

The strange thing about Cysteran architecture were the halls. For me, it was hard to differentiate what was an actual hallway and what were just rooms with their weird wall/doors opened. It was like trying to navigate through a labyrinth of shifting doors and expanding hallways. It became easier as the rooms became progressively bigger and more useful. Rooms started to hold what looked like shrines though not to a god of any kind, but to weapons and armor. There were times when we navigated through the fortress that we wandered into the ‘wrong room’, often consisting of griffon servants cleaning or Hippogriff guards resting. It made me feel better that as we cantered through the fortress that Sapphire had not quite known her way around.

Hippogriffs wandered, seemingly aimlessly, their robes held close and bowing at the sight of Twilight, Lyra, Sparkler and I. Guards rushed down the narrow corridors while we tucked ourselves into occupied rooms to avoid them. A hippogriff guard and griffon servant were in the middle of lurid activities in a dimly lit room while we tried to avoid the oncoming rush of a mix of soldiers and griffons all carrying laundry and dishes.

The burly hippogriff stood on all fours, barking at us while his ladylove covered herself with her silky silver dress. I felt my ears drop and I turned away, hoping the hall would clear up soon. Twilight and Sparkler looked at me with pursed lips, trying to ignore the yells from the exposed guard. It took me a moment to realize, but it was Lyra he had been yelling at, who was staring intently at one of the two with a sheepish grin. I smacked her on the back of the head, garnering a glare from the mint-blue mare. Sapphire muttered something under her breath, looking up at the ceiling and shuffling in place.

“Oh please hurry,” She whispered. “Oh, I should have left earlier. I wish I knew Attis couldn’t keep a grip on his own damned men.”

The screeching guard continued his raves and Sapphire’s ears started to twitch. She turned rapidly and roared at the poor hippogriff, who was slowly backing himself against the wall. I understood none of what was being said—like usual—but I was moreso surprised with how fluent Sapphire managed to be and how diverse her vocal range was. She started yelling at the griffon girl laying wide eyed and starting to get her dress back on.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Sapphire said, casually walking past us, each with our mouths agape, save for Lyra. “Let’s try to find that dining room shall we?”

“I wish Bon-Bon had a voice like that,” Lyra murmured. My ears twitched, but I decided against any questions. Lyra just has a colorful mind I suppose.

We managed to find a set of stairs and Sapphire let out a sigh of relief. Internally, I groaned, hoping we would only be going down a few floors.

Four floors down was the ‘guest dining area’ as Sapphire called it. Out of the stairwell was another set of doors amidst an endless hallway to our sides. The doors opened and we were greeted by several female hippogriffs, white smooth fur-like feathers and shining black beaks. They bowed their heads and spoke among themselves while staring at us and covering their mouths with the draping sleeves of their attire.

The room was a far cry from the others we had seen in the palace. It was an open space for the most part, but there was a small black framed glass cube with two openings in the center and inside that was a long set table with actual seats. The exterior walls were home to paintings of war and triumphant battles. Domination of a clan holding a crimson banner and the burning of villages acted as valiant acts among the other images of a hippogriff leading his men and defending women and children from a black mist of invaders. On the other side of the room, was a hippogriff bending the knee to a leader on a hill who had a striking resemblance to Lord Asteria, who was smiling at the same picture.

Looking around at the walls gave me a horrible aura of homesickness. It was like a foreign and more primitive version of Canterlot’s grand halls, with the stained glass historical portrayals. Even the straw rugs managed to feel just as smooth as the crimson, velvet carpets laid out in the halls of my home.

There were small wooden stands holding instruments of some kind. Wooden flutes without a colored finish, boxy guitars with absurdly small bodies, long necks and four strings, something resembling a lap-guitar. It took me a moment to put 2 and 2 together, realizing that the women with their draping garments were probably here to play the instruments.

Soma turned to us, tapping his father’s shoulder and mouthing something to him. They approached and Sapphire greeted him with a smile. When he turned to me, I lowered my head and spoke; “Your gr—erm...My Lord.”

Twilight, Sparkler and Lyra all did the same, though they had not stuttered their words. Lord Asteria gave a humbling smile. He gestured for us to follow him towards the black glass cube structure in the center of the room.

Lord Asteria entered first, followed by his son and lastly Sapphire. I looked at the two armor clad hippogriffs stationed beside the entrance to the dining room. I would have mistaken them for mannequins had their chests not risen in unison, barely moving their plated black armor. At their sides were ornate black-handled spears, golden trimmings separating the leather grips from the timber. A common theme with the guards, either Asteria or Attis, was the lack of a helmet.

Twilight entered first, eager to eat her first Cysteran meal. I followed behind her, sharing the excitement, Lyra’s hooves clopping gently behind me.

“Sparkler,” Twilight looked back at the mare. She cautiously entered behind us, mindful of the guards. “Sparkler, look. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.”

“Yeah,” Sparkler continued forward, weary of her surroundings. Images of Sparkler tossing the table and blatantly attacking Lord Asteria and wrestling with his son in a fit of paranoid rage dominated my mind. I pictured her fiercely using her magic and maybe even killing someone as the guards stormed in and dealt with the issue.

Sapphire placing a hoof on my back and guiding me to my seat as though I were a foal snapped me out of my twisted thoughts. She placed me between Lyra and Twilight, across from Soma and his lord father.

I relaxed myself and let my body sink into the slightly elevated chair, my muscles feeling relieved after a long day. A sharp pain shot up my back and I let out a yelp.

“Ah, ah!” Sapphire took a seat at the end of the table. She shook her head. “Sorry to sound like an uptight mother, but when in the presence of a lord, one must retain a posture of ...Well, here—” Her blue magic enveloped my body, straightening my back to almost bone-breaking levels. “—And here.” My head moved on its own, tilting up slightly.

I raised my eyebrow and looked at Sapphire, who was grinning at her handiwork. I tried to maintain the new posture and looked forward at Soma, who tried to stifle a giggle.

“Relax,” Lord Asteria said, shifting his gaze towards Sapphire. “You are gesuto, yes, but you need not completely adopt our bunka. Our...ehh...”

“Culture,” Soma translated. The ladies outside of the glass room picked up their instruments and began to play. The music was soothing and slowly, I allowed myself to relax, keeping an eye on Sapphire to make sure she did not try to zap me again. She gave a coy smile and averted her attention to the sliding doors we had entered from. Four griffons entered hurriedly, platters in their claws and exotic foods on each. The handed out each dish, placing them on the table softly and followed by a clear glass of water and a steaming black cup of what I assumed to be tea to go along with it.

Lyra, Sparkler and Twilight had been given the same dish as I. Thin, spindly, clear noodles with no toppings besides some sort of herb on top and chopped carrots and sliced cabbage. We had each been given small jugs of a black liquid. Either out of fear or respect, I dared not ask what it was. Instead I just smiled and gave the griffons a low ‘thank you’ as they worked around the table giving everyone their meals, beverages and utensils.

Lord Asteria and Soma were given steaming hot dishes of similarly thin noodles mixed with varying vegetables. There was also a large chunk of breaded meat. Each, despite their high status, humble thanked the griffons as they began to take their leave.

“Itadakimasu,” The lords and sorceror spoke before beginning to ready themselves to eat. I looked at Twilight, biting my lip, unsure of what to say.

“We know meat isn’t exactly smiled upon in Equestria,” Sapphire explained, using her magic to straighten out her rolled up napkin, which held two thin, straight, sticks. “So, we had it excluded from your meal.”

I watched in horror as she tossed a slice of pork into her mouth and started chewing. I must not have been the only one gawking at her. She rose her head and shifted her eyes from mine, to Twilight’s, to Lyra’s, to Sparkler’s and back to mine. She finished chewing and my stomach churned when she swallowed.

“Is something the matter?” She asked innocently.

“Isn’t that just a little…” Twilight paused. “A little—”

“Not gonna lie,” Lyra interjected. “That was a bit gross.”

I shot a glare at Lyra, as did Twilight, but the flippant unicorn proceeded to drizzle the black sauce on her pasta without looking up and any hint of shame. Sapphire continued eating, ignoring the remark entirely.

I had to admit, the food was actually pretty good. I poured a meager amount of sauce onto my dish and when using the crude wooden fork provided for me, the combination of plain wheat, mixed vegetables, and the mouth-water dressing filled me with delight. How could a simple dish be so exquisite?

“Is good, yes?” Lord Asteria asked. He shoved nearly the whole chunk of meat down his throat. I felt my eyebrows raise and eyes widen at the sight. I wondered if he actually chewed before he swallowed. “Haha! It is!”

“Y-yes!” I responded. “Very pleasant!”

The female hippogriffs continued playing their soothing song as we ate. My ears twitched when I realized they had been playing the same melodies over and over. I did not care though; the music made my muscles relax and slowed my eating pace.

“You four are ready for the journey to Borea tomorrow?” Soma had asked after a period of silence.

“How will we be travelling?” Twilight asked.

“We’ve arranged for drivers to fly us home,” Soma put down his two sticks. “I expect the journey would last us a day at least, if the weather is on our side.”

I let out a sigh of relief. There was talk of what to expect, though Soma had done his best to make Borea sound similar to Vlines, although the location would be different. His face beamed at the mention of the rest of his family, who he obviously was eager for us to meet. I felt my heart warm at his childlike enthusiasm.

However, the expression slowly faded and he muttered something in his native tongue, garnering Sapphire’s attention. The unicorn shuddered, but remained silent. I exchanged glances between the two, but neither one had read my thoughts. Maybe out of cowardice, I did not dig into affairs that may have had nothing to do with me.

The rest of our supper was met with very few words. Twilight had asked about Lord Attis’ whereabouts. Soma explained that the lord had taken to eating with his family in the guest dining room for tonight because of Lord Asteria’s presence. Sparkler asked about Borea, the Asteria capital, but Sapphire withheld information, saying nothing more than its location was below the summit of one of Cystera’s great mountains. Besides the questions we had, Lord Asteria had said nothing. Perhaps he had forgotten the things he wished to ask of us or he was waiting for another time to do so.

When dinner was finished, we had all said our goodbyes and Sapphire urged us to thank each of the musicians individually before she guided us back to our temporary rooms. I embraced the idea of sleep after such a meal.

Darkness.

It surrounded them as they slept and it surrounded me as I stared into the ceiling. It was everywhere and I suddenly realized how uncomfortable I felt. It was not the thin mattress I lay on, nor was it the chill of midnight that the thin blanket could not shelter me from. The darkness had taken hold and despite other ponies being in the same room, I felt there was something else watching me. Everywhere I looked, there was nothing and yet, there was something in here. I could feel it.

I turned my head towards Twilight, watching her body rise and fall, rise and fall. She softly snored in her sleep and lay on her back, completely still.

My head thudded lightly against the pillow and I let out a sigh. It must have been the foreign air or the lack of windows which added to my uneasy feelings. Maybe it was because I had so selfishly left mother’s belongings in my bags. It could be that she was watching me and shaking her head at my actions. Turning to my right, I saw Lyra lying on her back, helmet clutched against her chest. The bed beside her was empty, Sparkler nowhere in sight. I sat up, looking around for any indication of the mare, hoping she had not decided to sneak around.

As I stood, I felt the invisible eyes of the darkness avert their gaze, suddenly feeling comfortable at the small crack of light coming from the balcony door.

I opened it and immediately was met with a startled mare leaning on the railing.

“I’m sorry,” Sparkler apologized, taking her weight off of the railing and standing on all fours. She set her sights back onto the fishing village lit by fading lanterns and torches. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, no,” I waved a forehoof. “It’s okay.”

“I’m not entirely sure what to make of this place.” I looked at Sparkler. She was staring out past the leaves and watching the water carry small vessels and guards marching down the maze of buildings, their lanterns bobbing with each step. “I want to feel safe here, but something is off.”

“What do you mean?”

Sparkler pinched the inside of her mouth. “I don’t know. It might just be me, but I don’t trust these guys. Hippogriffs. Whatever they call themselves.”

“They seem accommodating so far,” I tried to reassure. A hippogriff glided from the top of the fortress, making his way down towards the town while another flew upwards onto the top perch. A part of me suspected that through the paper-thin walls the natives of the land were listening in and understood. “You also seemed to enjoy yourself during dinner. As—dare I say—antiquated as their culture is, they have done nothing but treat us like family.”

“I know, but…” Sparkler pursed her lips. She turned to her gaze to me, our eyes meeting. “I don’t know Trixie. Call me paranoid, but this stuff has to come at a cost, you know? I understand why we’re here and what we’re supposed to do, but...what if they decide that we can’t leave?”

“It won’t come to that.”

“How do you know?”

I paused. Sparkler grunted. “You don’t believe that do you?”

“I’ve been bouncing back and forth, I admit.” I open the door with my magic slowly as to not disturb the two sleeping ponies inside. I grabbed my tea and closed the door as I took a sip from the cup.

Sapphire had been right. The tea tasted better warm. When cool, the drink was stale, almost unbearably so. I continued to drink however, like a sign of respect to some unknown host.

“I think it’s the griffons,” Sparkler said out of the blue. I raised an eyebrow. “On the docks, sure most of the workers were hippogriffs, but the griffons were doing all the heavy lifting. Around here, the servants are mostly griffons. See the pattern?”

I paused again. “I do. But—”

“But what?” Sparkler raised her voice. She recoiled at how loud she had gotten.

Several hippogriffs came soaring into the air and landed on the floors above us. They growled and muttered amongst each other, although I understood none of what was said. I could not help but get the feeling that it was us they were talking about. The way they giggled and laughed and mimicked high pitched voice added on to my suspicions.

I had not quite seen things the way Sparkler had, but her suspicions of the hippogriffs so far had been justified to some degree. We were strangers in this land and knew only a handful of things about the people here and their culture. Equestria in it’s infancy had treated earth-ponies as second-class citizens and while it took some time to get rid of that distaste, we had still managed to do it without The Divine Sisters’ help. I figured that would be the case here in Cystera, although we may not live to see that happen between the hippogriffs and griffons.

“We’re only in one part of Cystera though,” I said, hoping that would bring some kind of comfort to the distrustful mare. “Hopefully it’s not common around the country.”

I saw the look in her eyes; the concern, the worry, the fading hope. I understood. Read it perfectly. “I want to believe that.”

“Me too.” I silently admitted.

A smirk came across Sparkler’s face, the most positive emotion I’ve ever seen from her. “That doesn’t really help, you know.”

“Pardon?”

“Typically, you want to make it seem like you believe your own lies.” Sparkler cast a pointed look. “I appreciate the talk though. We should probably get some sleep.”

She opened the door and slowly stepped inside. “You comin’?”

“Yeah.” I took a final look at the fishing village below.

“There’s someone in the woods.”

My ears twitched and I rose slowly from my bedroll, my horn brushing against the damp fabric of the tent. Lyra had done the same and eventually Twilight willed herself awake, though she groggily looked about our modest tent. Through the thin entrance, a magenta light bounced around and a bulky figure pacing around.

The ride from Vlines was rather uneventful, with a lot of napping and Lyra trying to spark up conversation. The weather had done everything to work against us during our trip to Borea as well, unleashing a storm before we could enter the mountain regions. The four carriages (thankfully) were big enough to hold emergency camping gear, although it was obvious it had not been used for some time. Dust filled my nose and I spent most of the early moments of the night sneezing more than anything else.

We landed in a clearing beside a wide dirt path deep in the forests, the peak of the craggy mountains rising on either side of us. The carriages were arranged in a circular formation, covering almost all sides. The leaking sky all around made a campfire impossible, even when flared by Twilight’s magic. The hippogriffs’ lanterns flickered and bobbed, but they remained lit despite their erratic movements. Surrounding trees did little to shelter us from the rain, confining us all to our shoddy tents.

Lord Asteria had assured us that if the storm lightened up, we could proceed on foot up the mountain. I would have much rather preferred the limited warmth of the tents instead of sitting in a tight-spaced carriage with my companions.

“Was that Sparkler?” Twilight struggled. She sat up, wiping her eyes with a forehoof.

Lyra started strapping on her armor and unsheathed her blade. “Yeah. You two stay here for now. Until we say otherwise, don’t leave the tent.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, beginning to stand, my head low as to not poke a hole in the roof. Lyra did not answer me. Instead, she went outside and joined Sparkler. Her armor lightly rang with each pelt of rain.

Twilight looked at me worriedly when the other hippogriffs of the camp were alerted by the rustling of bushes. There was more yelling and threatening screeching, similar to dogs warding off intruders. My heart started racing.

“What’s going on out there?” Twilight asked in a hushed whisper.

“Come out!” Sparkler shouted, seeming to forget the natives would not be able to understand her. “We know you’re out there!”

The bushes rustled some more as a response. The hippogriff guards began to unsheathe their blades as they began to yell words of their own. My heart thudded in my ears as the silence answered with hushed whispers. I felt myself edging closer to Twilight until our flanks came together, pathetically anticipating the worst. With each warning given, my heart and stomach sank lower.

A cacophony of screams, yelps and screeches erupted outside. The ground trembled and Sparkler’s arcane light vanished. No—There it was again! Just a few steps away from her original position and again it vanished. Her horn glowed once again, dimly this time, farther away and closer to the ground. I felt the air grow thick.

Armor crashed together and blades scraped against one another. Lyra’s uncharacteristically roar rang in my ears along with the roars of several others. Vibrant gold streaks of light ran past the front of the tent and dispersed mere meters away. The clash of blades rang directly in front of us and a thicker, darker liquid sprayed on the tent’s walls. I choked up and fought back tears.

“We have to help them!” Twilight thrashed, getting out of her sheets.

I reached a hoof and frantically grabbed the bookworm’s tail, causing a high pitched “Ah!” from her. I struggled to gain my footing as I strained to pull the deceivingly heavy mare.

“No!” I whinnied. “Lyra told us to wait in here!”

“Can’t you hear what’s going on out there?” I hated that look of pained anxiety. The way her eyes flicked from every possible spot on my tense face.

The death. “I do—” The agonizing howls of hippogriffs and our possible companions. “—But w-we can’t do anything!” The ground I stood on was uneasy and my breathing wavered. I released my grip of Twilight’s tail, expecting her to go off running, but she turned and bit her lip.

She opened her mouth to speak again, but my view of her was obscured. I froze in place, feeling as though everything in my body ceased to function. A searing hot pain rushed from my muzzle, a warmness began trickling down and into the side of my mouth. The salty coppery taste drizzled its way into my mouth and dripped from my chin.

“Trixie!” Lyra’s voice cried out. The moment the spear removed itself from the tent and my face, I bolted out of the tent. Twilight had not been in front of me.

It was pure chaos outside. Lord Asteria’s guards swung their blades, carving through the cloth of the attackers, crimson leaking in all directions. The dim lights of lanterns flickered in an attempt to censor most of the violence, but the dead had littered the forest grounds, gashes nearly splitting limbs in half and entrails strewn about.

Air escaped me when I took note of one of the bodies. I shuddered and shivered.

Redquill, I solemnly recognized. A slice to the throat had ripped the soul from his body.

I gasped for air. Everywhere I looked, there was fighting. The light glimmer of razor-edge blades and shots of magic erupting against attacking hippogriffs clad in robes and crude wooden armor. I could taste more copper. It was not from the cut along my muzzle. It was in the air.

My legs started to carry me, though their destination was uncertain. I made a dash for the carriage, hoping it would provide some shelter from the fighting. A body flung, wrapped in a blue aura—Sapphire’s magic—the body slamming against the corner of the ornate wagon with a sickening crunch! The body dropped, lifeless.

Everywhere I looked, there was no avoiding it. The death. The hippogriffs kept emerging from the forests and... Ran past us? My heart thumped inside my chest and my ears started ringing, blocking out the harrowing shrieks. My eyes scanned the battle. The enemy ran past us, only a handful acknowledging our presence and staying to fight.

I had spotted Sparkler, fighting off two opponents beside our Clan Asteria allies. She dodged both of their swipes, jamming her sword into the leg of one, her horn flaring in the face of the other. She stood tall, slapping the injured hippogriff with the broad of her blade. The other suffered wicked burns on his face. Sparkler left him to writhe in the pain. Lord Asteria drove his blade into the head of one of his attackers. Soma defended his father’s back, his talons slashing at the throat of a hippogriff who seemed to have fallen from one of the trees. He fell, gripping at his wound.

Soma forced the tip of his curved sword into the poor man's chest.

“Luna!” I yelped. My left flank was on fire! I looked back, my cutie mark beginning to bleed. Three cuts crossed the moon and wand on my flank. I ducked a swipe of a studded club and backed away. The hippogriff snarled and raised his club again. I lowered my head. “P-p-please...don’t!”

I shut my eyes and felt a liquid warmer than the rain spray on me. The club fell beside my head, missing me by mere inches, splashing mud onto my face. A golden aura coiled around the gilded hilt of an Equestrian longsword. The hippogriff fell. I shuffled back.

“Trixie!” Lyra’s hoof touched my back only for a moment and I recoiled, slapping her away. She held me steady with her magic. “Trixie stop! Celestia, your nose!”

I have to find Twilight! I wanted to order. “I-I’ll be…”

The words could not come out. Behind Lyra, in the trees, something moved. It was not a hippogriff, nor was it a large group of them. It slithered—no—it crawled, a dozen legs shifting together. The ragged carapace made its way into the light, the tanned surface shuddering.

Lyra turned towards it, her breathing disrupted, and her forehead wrinkling in shock.

“What. In. Tartarus. Is. THAT?!” Lyra pushed me back.

A giant CENTIPEDE?!

My stomach churned. It coiled around us, stirring up mud with each step it took. It’s head arched back, overlooking the whole camp site. The low bass of its roar shook my chest and sucked whatever courage I had left. I froze, watching the thing wrap itself around a helpless Asteria guard, jamming its fangs into him.

The shouting resumed and now everyone was unsure if they should run or fight the beast. Most of the forest attackers fled for their lives, Lord Asteria's men wavering. It dropped the corpse and skittered along the forest floor. Sapphire darted from the main group, Lord Asteria following. Soma flew into the air, circling overhead.

The soldiers backed away as the unnaturally large centipede reared up again, gazing upon all of us.

“Into the carriage,” Lyra ordered. “Now!”

She charged with the hippogriffs, who had been using a mix of spears and curved, single edged blades. Sparkler appeared among them, swinging and landing the first strike under the beast's carapace.

I already threw the door to the carriage open. I climbed in soaking wet with rain water, blood, and mud, throwing myself onto the seating, clutching my hooves close. I let the tears pour down my cheeks, stinging small scrapes I had not known about until now.

What had I just witnessed? By Luna, what just happened? I felt sick. The carriage rocked back and forth as the fighting continued outside. My hooves shook uncontrollably. Had I really almost died?

“Trixie!” Twilight’s voice sobbed. I relaxed only slightly. She had come out virtually unscathed by the fighting. Her mane dripped with a mixture of blood and rain. She wrapped her hooves around me, although I lay still as a statue. Agonizing and harrowing screams emanated outside. We sat in somber the somber silence of the tight-packed carriage.

We never should have come here, I wanted to say. The words were unable to form. Instead, I sat close to Twilight, praying to the powers that be for the fighting to end.

Chapter IV: Introductions

“I wish you ponies didn’t have to see any of that.”

Sapphire’s words passed through me. The sun rose hours ago and we’d be arriving in Borea’s mighty castle within the hour according to Sapphire.

“I’m sorry,” She continued. I looked down at my hooves. I hoped that was mud still staining me. Twilight sat close to me like she left space for someone else to fit beside her. Lyra and Sparkler sat across from us, with Sapphire in the middle. They tried to find the right words, but kept their mouths closed. I felt that I would have done the same in their position. “I’ll arrange for baths immediately when we arrive.”

“Thank you,” Twilight managed. I just nodded my head in acknowledgment. Twilight rested her head on my shoulder for the fourth time during the journey. She tried to catch up on sleep while we rode, but every time her eyes closed for more than five minutes, she would start breathing heavy and wake herself from whatever terrors were plaguing her dreams.

My heart wrenched every time I looked at her. The fur around her eyes had visible dark streaks where tears had fallen and despite their efforts, Asteria’s men had tried their best cleaning the grime from her purple coat and mane, going through the same procedure with me; wiping us with soft towels while telling us to focus on the carriage if we were unable to handle the death all around us. It was easy for me to do; just keep my eyes trained on Lyra who tried to make light of what just happened. I don’t know what Twilight did, but if Sparkler’s reaction was any indication, it was the opposite of what she was told.

I admired her for trying to brighten the mood though. Despite the initial trauma, it seemed like she was hardly affected.

“I shouldn’t be as freaked out as I am,” She said to me when the carriage took off. “I was in here just about the whole time. You were the one out there facing it all. I should have been there.”

She was right. She was in the carriage the whole time and I can only imagine what tricks her mind had played to elevate the intensity of her situation. But she should not have been there. I was grateful she had not seen the violence as it unfolded.

Twilight tried defending her reasons for leaving me. Naturally, it was the spear that tore into my muzzle that caused her to panic. She scrambled, unsure of where to go, until she found Sparkler, who ordered her into the carriage. Twilight tried to convince her guard to look for me, but if the mare had actually tried to look for me was a mystery as I had left the tent soon after the spear removed itself. I did not have the stomach to ask Sparkler if she did.

Despite what Twilight would consider cowardice, there was no reason to hold a grudge against her. Her eyebrows raised and lip quivered, as though I had lied to her about my forgiveness, but she did not say anything about the matter again for the remainder of the trip.

Lord Asteria and Soma had remained in the camp, I assumed to find anything that could lead to who had attacked us. Sapphire claimed it to be rebels, but Sparkler and Lyra snickered.

“Rebels?” Sparkler shifted in her seat. “Pretty smart rebels.”

“Almost like they knew where your lord would be staying for the night.” Lyra noted.

Sapphire remained silent, burdened by the accusing presence of the Royal Guards squeezed beside her. She looked pained, but did not argue their points.

I did find it strange how quickly the storm formed and departed. Now that my mind was clearer and less panicked I could collect my thoughts. I never knew what naturally occurring weather was like until I set foot in Griffonstone. The griffons had moderate control over the weather. If there was ever a storm, they would clear up the clouds and avoid the rain altogether, unless it helped them in the long-run.

“In Equestria, pegasi are typically responsible for controlling the weather,” I started. “Is there anyone responsible for doing the same thing here?”

“Not that I know of,” Sapphire looked towards the windows. “Cystera’s weather is all natural. Unless blessed by a spell, I don’t think a hippogriff could be capable of shaping the weather.”

“Are there any pegasi in Cystera?”

Sapphire paused and bit her lower lip. “They are...around. Too far and too few of them these days. Cystera was a...strange nation. Griffons were around for a while. Ponies were introduced long ago.”

“And hippogriffs?” Twilight asked.

“Well, that’s a story for another day, my dear,” Sapphire waved a hoof gently. I took note of the way she glanced back and forth from the windows and Twilight and myself, as if hoping we would not press the issue any further. I felt my eyes narrow and a strange suspicion growing inside me, though I could not place a hoof on what I had grown suspicious of.

“Well, you see Trixie,” Lyra spoke in her always-joking tone. “When a pony and griffon love each other very much….”

My head shook as I waved a hoof, ushering her to stop. I personally did not want to entertain the idea of a pony and a griffon...copulating. And, there it was, the image ingrained in my head despite my attempts to stop it.

It seemed like we were in the carriage for days. In truth it had only been a few more hours before the air grew crisp and I could see my breaths materialize before me, although barely visible. I assumed we approached the mountains Borea rested on.

The carriage turned and gave us a view of where we would be staying in the coming months.

Borea’s castle and most of the surrounding city was built upon an artificial platform of black, corroded stone underneath the peak of the stout mountain. The castle held similar architecture to the one in Vlines, although the wooden supports were a dark green and the walls held a darker hue.

The main spire was built almost into the mountain, rising from the sloping surface, the base covered with vegetation. Surrounding the central tower were two symmetrical wings, descending with the slope of the mountain, erecting two adjacent spires just behind the castle gates. Guards flocked at the tips of the palace towers, the balconies which they would land on and perch lined with loose straw and hay as though trying to mimic a bird’s nest.

There were several courtyards scattered throughout the palace grounds, separating sections of the building. Obsidian statues stood vigil, posed with their spears towards the sky and their eyes staring off into endless space. They watched each courtyard, standing out amongst the forest-green supports and gardens, placed in various positions where I thought actual guards should have been. Lining the top of the exterior wall separating the castle from the rest of the town was a golden serpent that had coiled above the doors and began to devour its own tail. Behind the gates, shadowy figures manifested, watching us approach.

“Look at that architecture. All that land!” Twilight whispered, eyes glued to the window. She looked over the whole mountain; from the trees hiding the city and parts of the palace to the homes and storefronts layered on top of each other as the slope went steeper, until it all evened out at the base of the mountain. I was in awe of how much ground the city covered. The whole bottom of the city snaked around the mountain-bottom, almost unexpectedly transitioning to farmlands cleared of forests and spanned the nearby hills.

The carriage made a sharp turn before we started to approach Borea Palace’s entrance courtyard. The unnatural size and scope of the Lord Asteria’s home city became menacing, dwarfing Canterlot and her surrounding territories. I looked out towards our landing zone, a small family gathered. The nobility that was Clan Asteria

“How long would it take to build a city like this?” I thought out loud. Almost instinctively I looked at Sapphire, who smirked for the first time since we left the site of the battle.

“If memory serves,” She explained in a soft tone. “Borea was originally justs a small trading town along the road connecting Nokar and Veriols no more than 246 years ago. Long story short, the population boomed during Keleth’s Rebellion because Borea never chose a side. Hippogriffs had a little more honor and respected tradition back in the days. Perhaps we can discuss more later.”

“Keleth and Veriols,” Twilight muttered. “Those are dragon names.”

“Cystera has a…” Sapphire thoughtfully tapped her chin. “Colorful history. Mostly red. I’m surprised you were able to make the distinction.”

Twilight was quiet for a moment. “When I was a filly, my entrance exam to Celestia’s School was to use magic to hatch a dragon egg. The night before, I looked up a whole slew of names, their history and such.”

“Interesting.” Sapphire paused. “What name did you choose?”

“I…” Twilight stammered. She let a somber simper spread on her face. “I wanted to name him Spike. Simple and easy to remember.”

There was a kind of hurt in her eyes. The same kind a pony gets when they reminisce the life of a loved one. Sapphire could see it too. Twilight never continued and Sapphire looked away worriedly.

My stomach churned as the carriage lowered into the palace’s main courtyard. The family of hippogriffs smiled as our carriage descended on the stone courtyard. I had to admit; I actually was extremely eager to meet them, and under different circumstances, I might have actually expressed it better. Twilight’s head lifted at the sight of them, as did Lyra’s.

Lady Asteria, to my surprise, was a Forester. Her hazel eyes danced between her four children and unlike most other citizens of Cystera, she had not covered herself, revealing her (extremely) voluptuous frame. Like most Foresters, she had a zebra-like stripe pattern on her fluffy feathers and wings and a short, hooked, beak. Unlike all Foresters, however, she still had hooves for hindlegs rather than paws.

Crawling around under and all around Lady Asteria, a short, stout hippogriff no older than four chased little particles of dust. There were hardly any defining features of gender on the child, but still took on the appearance of its mother.

Beside her was a broad, imposing, yet grandiose hippogriff standing still and proud with his chest out and head held high. He stood, towering above all the other inhabitants of the courtyard. I suspected he would even stand taller than his own father. His eyes—much like his mother’s—watched his siblings play fight with mild disinterest. His fading brown feathers had been carefully groomed and preened, save for a few feathers that dangled over his face.

Two girls fought each other, biting at each other and playfully clawing at each other, disregarding the disapproving glare of Lady Asteria. I could not help but to smile at the sight of two, seemingly unaware of our descent into their home. They rolled until one was on top of the other. The two girls shared identical features, very much like their mother. Large, beady, blue eyes, small beak and striped pattern feathers.

The carriage landed hard, but I did not mind. I just wanted to get off and take a well deserved bath. I smelled rank and I dared not think what the others smelled from me.

Sparkler was the first to exit, followed by Sapphire who hung her head guiltily. I felt a pang of guilt as I watched her unboard and the expressions of the Asteria Family shift from excitement to something else. Was it fear? Shock? It was hard to tell.

Here we were, their first look at the outside world beyond Cystera, and we were battered and bloodied from conflict with rebels who opposed their father’s rule. Rebels who were aware of where we were going to be landing on a rainy night. Or so my thoughts had told me.

Sapphire began speaking, forgetting all formalities and, I assume, explaining what happened. She must not have spared any detail, judging from the shift of expressions on the children’s faces.

“Dōkō-kai,” Lady Asteria said under her breath. Her voice was airy and sweet, with just the right amount of rasp. She approached us, her children following close beside her, save for the youngest who perched herself on her mother’s back. I put on my best smile and waved at her, but she hid behind Lady Asteria’s fluffy feathers. “I deeply apologize for what you had to endure to get here. Welcome to our great capital.”

A part of me wanted to roll my eyes. A jealous part of me. Instead, I managed a weak smile and tried to keep my eyes open. Twilight went through the trouble of dipping her head down, but struggled with getting her head back up.

“Please,” The curvy hippogriff raised a talon. “No need for such formalities. I can see...”

She said a phrase to us, but we turned towards Sapphire for translation. “It’s been a rough night for all of you.”

“You don’t know the half of it, sister,” Lyra grumbled, kicking dust around with her hoof.

“No, I suppose I don’t.” Lady Asteria spoke with a frown. I felt a pang of guilt looking at her. It was like looking at my own mother or some maternal figure who just learned their child was victim of harassment in school. Her brows raised and she struggled to find her words. “I’ll keep introductions short for now.”

She gestured towards her children and her beak hung agape. She tried to speak, but each time, stopped herself. The lady’s eyes drifted towards Sapphire, who—despite her regal frame and appearance—resisted the urge to plant a hoof on her face. Instead, she raised a hoof towards the towering hippogriff and began.

“This is the heir to the Asteria name, Lord Ichiro Asteria.” He bowed his head, extending his wings as he did so. Sapphire looked down towards the two younger girls. “These two are Princess Taira and Kaiya.”

The two stiffly nodded their heads. Both of their tails swung about behind them, rapidly. I smiled at that.

“Of course,” Sapphire continued walking towards the child on Lady Asteria’s back. “Let’s not forget about the young Princess Sora.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Twilight returned weakly. Sora’s head peeped out once again at the sound of Twilight’s voice. She cowered at the sight of the bloodied Lyra and Sparkler, but only briefly cast her inquisitive gaze towards me.

“We can all get better acquainted over dinner,” Sapphire explained. “For now, we must get you all cleaned up. I’ll have the servants take your things to your quarters.”

Immediately, Taira shot up, raising a claw. She spoke, beaming with delight and an eagerness only a child could have. Lady Asteria and Sapphire exchanged questioning glances. Kaiya shook her head as a grin spread across her beak.

“What did she say?” I managed to ask.

“She…” Sapphire struggled. “Would like to guide you to the baths and spa. We can have someone take a look at your wounds while you relax.”

“Spa?” My companions and I all beamed in unison.

“Oh!” I yelped. The gentle claws of the griffons made their way up and down my back, putting pressure on just the right spots of my body. Another moan of delight escaped me as another griffon hovered above my back, sending a calm breeze down my neck as she massaged the strained muscles away from the upper portion of my hooves. .

Taira had been kind in her guiding us to the spa. She mixed an energetic prance and hovered with her wings as she led us four dirty mares to the bathing room. The small girl turned frequently, as if to make sure we were still following her. Much like when Twilight and I first arrived in Cystera, Taira had many questions for us. I assumed that was the reason why Lady Asteria urged for us to allow Connie, a gaunt griffon with a kind and heartwarming demeanor.

“Is Equestria really ruled….only Ni alicorns?”

“Yes.” I answered, assuming she meant two.

“Earth ponies...do..serve?”

“Equestria has no servants other than those in royal houses.” Twilight explained. Taira probably only understood a handful of the words she had said. "Unicorns are seem as more fitting for that type of job. They are very versatile."

Her last question made my heart skip a beat however. A question that smacked me with all its force, straight out of the blue. “Can alicorn’s die?”

I let the question linger. Twilight, Sparkler and Lyra had not a single idea of how to answer that question and neither did I. The best answer I felt I could give was that it was never tested in recent history. I was sure if somebody wanted the Royal Sisters dead, history would have told us. Unless they removed that part from the history books.

When we arrived, my jaw almost hit the floor. The bath was along the top portion of the central tower and granted a gorgeous view of Borea. The city below and the farmland that seemed to stretch onward for miles. The tub itself was installed in the floor steaming and big enough for all of us to fit.

Several griffons appeared, seemingly out of nowhere as Taira left, doing that strange walk and hover mix. It took them a matter of seconds to scrub off all the dirt and grime. Lyra and Twilight welcomed their presence, already spoiled by Clan Asteria’s hospitality. I hesitated before allowing them to lay a talon on me, fully aware that it may have been rude to reject the services of the family’s servants. My opinion changed once they started tending to my wounds, spreading an alien cream on my muzzle which started to heal the wound. I was sure that it would scar, regardless of treatment.

Sparkler outright denied the help of the servants.

“I can clean myself,” She said sternly. The griffons only tilted their heads and raised an eyebrow. When they tried again, Sparkler swatted their arms away. “My friends may like to be pampered by slaves, but I’m no foal. I can take care of myself.”

Twilight and Lyra glared at the mare, who had begun to scrub herself with the yellow sponge without a hint of shame. I could not help but to agree with her statement, but she was right about one thing. I did enjoy the pampering as much as I began to hate myself for it. Next time, I would take care of cleaning myself on my own. Judging from the growing uncomfortable expressions that spread on their faces, Twilight and Lyra felt the same way.

The griffons helped us dry off and then ushered us into the spa; a warm room with several massage tables and plants whose scents permeated throughout the room. Sparkler remained in the tub by herself. I wished to stay with her and grant her some company, but my treatment was about to begin. Unfortunately, the sound of a nice, relaxing massage had a better sound than sitting besides a mare who had practically just insulted me no more than ten minutes ago.

“Wow.” Lyra moaned. I could not turn my head far enough to see what she was experiencing, but from the look of pure bliss wide across her face, the warrior’s body must be experiencing heaven, or something close to it.

The griffon hovering above me twisted my head back into place, looking straight ahead. I complied, holding my tongue as to not start a scene. Her claws harshly rubbed uncomfortably at my neck

“I take back some of the negative thoughts I had about this place,” Twilight said in a shaky voice. “Ever get service like this before?”

“One time,” I answered, trying to keep my eyes from tearing up. I feared each time a claw made contact with my neck, as if I’d be strangled any second. “When I went to Griffonstone to meet one of the Royal Chroniclers.”

“You know,” Twilight chortled. “You don’t talk about the time you spent there too much.”

“I know.”

Part of me thought Twilight would have questioned me some more on the topic. I was thankful that she did not. Those were...difficult times. Times I’d rather leave in the past and not ever think about again. To be fair though, I did have a good time in Griffonstone for the first three days.

“So,” Lyra voiced in a breathy tone. “You guys are going to the library after this right?”

“Depends on what Twilight wants to do, really.” I replied. I would have turned to face the unicorn who we flocked to as a leader, but my neck was still being assaulted by the spa griffon. I let out a yelp, bucking my hind-legs when the second griffon’s gentle talons crossed over my bruised flank. She backed away and I relaxed, letting out a sheepish laugh. “Sorry.”

The three cuts on my flank burned with acknowledgement as did the scar on my nose. The griffons went back to work on me. I was able to turn my head freely now that my neck was done. Twilight pondered my previous statement, distracted by her divine treatment.

“Umm.” She winced as her back audibly cracked several times in rapid succession. “Yeah, I’d like to get an idea of what we’re working with. Maybe we could also go into the city for a little bit.”

“Who’ll translate?” I asked. “Sapphire would have her hooves full no doubt. I don’t know if anyone in the family would be willing to help.”

“Redquill, right?”

My heart stung. I barely knew the hippogriff, despite him being the first one we had officially met. He seemed kind enough and was pleased with having us. From what I figured, he would have been appointed to cater to our needs, essentially replacing Sapphire’s role. I suspected that he would have taken her place in the carriage had he survived.

Twilight acknowledged the silence and hung her head. “Oh.”

We remained quiet for the remainder of the session.

“Can you believe it!?” Twilight spun around wildly, progressing through the vast open space haphazardly. She almost knocked into several carts full of scrolls and tomes.

Lyra and Sparkler had decided to take a tour of the whole palace, learning from the Captain of The Guard the layout and, in the event of an attack, where to take Twilight and myself. Lyra encouraged that we head to the library, much to Sparkler’s dismay. I would have agreed with Sparkler if given the choice, but once Lyra said her words, Lady Asteria took us and began to guide us.

Shelves made up the walls, reaching towards the skylights above. It seemed very Equestrian in nature. I glanced at the pillars separating each aisle of shelves, expecting to see a carving of Celestia or Luna, but was met with the kind and mysterious gaze of a rather sultry looking hippogriff. I could not help but draw comparisons to Canterlot’s Royal Library everywhere I looked. There were miniscule differences in style, besides Borea’s library being constructed as a long corridor of sorts.

The books here were arguably thicker and were often placed alongside scrolls, which did not seem to have their own section at all. Banners hung from sturdy wooden catwalks the further up you went, black with the white symbol of a blooming flower. In Canterlot, if a book was out of reach of even a ladder, a pegasus pony was your best bet, but the ladders here not only slide, but enabled for extensions via a sliding mechanism.

At least one of these books had to be written in Equestrian. There had to be something.

“Look at all of this!” Twilight beamed. I swore there was a sparkle in her teeth as she smiled. “There’s enough books in here to stock all the shelves in Canterlot Royal Library four times over!”

“It sure is amazing,” I commented, watching griffons and hippogriffs alike float to and from the shelves above us. “It would probably be better if we could read them.”

Lady Asteria landed in front of us on her two hind hooves, wings stretched out to their fullest and two talons holding a pile of thick tomes. She placed them on a dark wood table with a sheepish grin. “These may be able to help. I had the servants bring me the few books we had written in your native language. ”

Oh great, I thought selfishly. My body fought hard to keep my mouth from falling agape. As if the size of the books were not daunting, there was a lot of them. Twilight eagerly sat beside the table, falling on her haunches against the rough straw mat. I guess she forgot there were small chairs for that. She turned towards Lady Asteria, giddily, like a filly during the early mornings of Hearth’s Warming.

I gingerly took a seat, eyeballing the stack of tomes which threatened me with their immense wealth of knowledge. I liked books as much as the next pony, but there was a size limit with me. Anything thicker than my hoof, and I was not a happy camper.

Twilight levitated the first book in front of her, and I took the next. I wiped dust off the cover with my hoof, even blowing the remaining particles away. It smelled antique. Luna knows the last time this book had seen any action. The cover was blank, engraved with swirling designs and lined with actual gold metal.

Upon opening the book, I was met with a heavenly illustration of a map of Cystera. The country was unfathomably large and serpent-like. It curved, as if bracing itself to coil around the southern tip of the Griffon’s home continent. Several satellites hovered around Cystera, each of which still a territory that belonged to the hippogriffs if the lines connecting them all were any indication.

I turned the page and smile.

For a moment.

The letters were definitely Equestrian in nature; broad and strong strokes, not the flourished and fancy symbols the hippogriffs wrote with. But the formatting was...very Stag. The characters were warped into unreadable positions and the text read vertically, divided into four columns. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it), I was not given the pleasure of going to the Everfree Forest to learn about their culture. I flipped through pages and much to my dismay, the whole book was written this way.

“This is helpful,” Lady Asteria smiled innocently. The smile faded when took note of my pursed lips and my look to Twilight to see if she had understood any of it. On the off chance that she did, I would gladly take the role of her personal note-taker. Panic gripped her eyes, darting from character to character. She looked up in defeat, shutting the book. “Is it not?”

“Do you know how to read Equestrian by any chance?” I asked. “Pony, more specifically.”

“Trixie!” Twilight shot me a disapproving glare.

“What? I don’t suppose you learned how to read the Stag language.” I looked down at the book and let out a groan. I rested my head between my hooves.“Why can’t things be easy for once?”

“Is there anyone willing to teach us your language?” Twilight ignored my complaint. “It would be beneficial to the both of us.”

Of course, Lady Asteria nodded her head. Someone by the name of Hara was well versed in several different languages. It scared me, honestly. The fact that someone was capable of retaining multiple languages seemed otherworldly. Lady Asteria assured me that the lessons would cover basics and heavily emphasize reading and writing, if we so choose.

We did have the option to learn from Sapphire, but Twilight and I knew she was busy dealing with a hundred other duties for the family. We chose Hara, for the sake of giving Sapphire a chance to keep her sanity.

Twilight was, to put it bluntly, eager and impatient to begin, but Hara ‘needed time to prepare’ as Lady Asteria put it. She seemed to share Twilight’s enthusiasm. I felt like an outsider again. I remembered that I wanted nothing to do with this land. I wanted to just stay in Canterlot.

I would have been spared the gritty visuals of last night. I would have been safe. I could be in the familiar walls of the Royal Library with other ponies who would be kind enough to offer help to me should I need it. The comforting glow of the moon unobscured by windowless walls and I would be left alone with no friends to….

Maybe this was not as bad as it could be. I figured that I would have to make the best of the current situation.

I stared at the ceiling. Mother’s hat was clutched in my hooves, close to my chest. It offered me no comfort.

Sleep came in short bursts when it actually decided to come to me. My dreams were fragmented memories. Mother’s soft fur against my cheek, her magic carrying me around while I pretended to be a pegasus, the magic shows she hosted on the street for the other neighborhood ponies. I remembered it all.

But then, I’d wake up and realize that those days were gone now. I strove to be like her. I wanted to be her. The best pony in all of Equestria. The Great and Powerful Trixie, I thought, reminding myself of how childish I had been. I could have been the best magician in all of Equestria. But Mother had encouraged that I go to school. Told me that I should at least learn basic arcane theory before stepping into similar shoes.

I lay down, realizing that I had that feeling again. The darkness was watching me again. A million eyes focused on not only me, but the others as well. Everywhere I looked, there was darkness. Nothing had been watching me. I feared that every night would consist of my normal habits of wallowing into depression and the feeling of being watched at my most vulnerable.

This time it felt different. It was as though whatever could see me was there to hurt me. I clutched the hat against my chest tighter and shut my eyes. Perhaps I could…

No. I cannot sleep.

I picked my head up and almost simultaneously, Twilight had done the same. We stared at each other for a moment, as if we had seen a ghost manifest in the space between us.

“Can’t sleep?” She asked gently. I nodded and put the hat down, beside the bags next to my futon, as the hippogriffs called them. Bed.

“I need some air.” I turned away and looked around the room. The feeling was gone. We were alone with a sleeping Sparkler and Lyra. I stood up silently and Twilight followed. She suggested we find our way to the courtyard. The Asteria Clan had let us know that we were free to roam certain wings of the palace. They had placed a lot of trust in us.

We silently slid the room door closed and made our way down the stairs, silently trotting until we reached the base floor of the palace. Guards were scattered, stationary in most halls. The halls were still very much like a maze, but Twilight’s memory served better than mine. When we reached the main hall that connected the central spire to the two sections of the palace, she went left. Towards the library.

“Something’s been bothering you for a while.” Twilight slowed her pace. I felt a pang of guilt. I knew that I occasionally voiced my displeasure of Cystera, but I tried to keep it to a minimum when with Twilight. After all, she had been eager to come here. I just happened to be dragged along. “I don’t mean to pry, but that’s not the first time I’ve seen you with that hat. I didn’t realize that you brought it with you.”

“It’s nothing,” I lied. I took note at the lack of guards in the palace. In Vlines, there was one everywhere you looked. But up here, it was like the Asteria Clan trusted others not to invade their palace.

Twilight knew better than to believe me. “It means alot to you obviously. Of all the times we had been together, I’ve never seen you wear it or hold it in your sleep. I just knew you had it.”

“It was my mother’s,” I answered after a long period of silence. “She umm….”

“Trixie,” Twilight rested a hoof on my back. “We’re friends, you know that right?”

“I know, but—”

“You can always talk to me Trixie. I know this may be a personal issue, but whenever you need to let something off your chest, I’m here for you.”

We heard screaming from the main hall. We looked at each other, unsure if we should investigate. Clawing at the floor forced me to cover my ears and turn my head towards the corner, which around, the sounds had come from.

“We should head back,” Twilight suggested, her voice shaking. But my head was already peeking around the corner towards Lord Asteria's court. The room was large and empty, a recurring theme. The doors to my right led to the central courtyard of the palace; where my companions and I had entered from earlier today. His throne sat upon a platform; made from straw, and wood and lined with various gemstones. It was modest, to say the least. There was a sinister atmosphere about this place.

It was hard to see clearly in the darkness, but there were dimly lit lanterns in the grasps of several of Lord Asteria’s guards, as well as the lord himself.

Lord Asteria held a grim look as his old rickety legs rushed towards the darkness of the main hall. Beside him, two of his guards flanked, holding spears and walking on their hind hooves. Soma followed behind, guards flanking him and three more behind him, forcing a bloodied griffon to walk despite two lame legs.

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of him and I covered my mouth to stifle a gasp. One of his wings was missing, a piece of bone twitching frantically where it had once been. His body bore multiple fresh gashes besides old drying ones. His tail was clipped off at the middle and was still bleeding profusely, trailing on the carpets underneath him.

He hobbled, eyes darting around as if hoping for a way to escape. The hippogriffs around him viciously threw him forward, eliciting a cry from the poor soul. Soma turned and barked a threat. The griffon’s eyes widened, but he remained silent, following his captors down a dark hall across from me. As they walked away, the prisoner let out another painful screech, followed by a bark of boisterous laughter from the hippogriffs. My blood boiled.

I wanted to help him, despite what he had tried to do, the lives he had taken. That was no way to handle a—

“Trixie, please!” Twilight pleaded. I turned to see the mare pacing nervously.

“You two should be in bed.” Sapphire glowered. I never thought I would see such a disapproving glare from her. I backed away slowly, feeling my blood turn cold and my ears dropped. Twilight’s magic enveloped me and spun me around, forcing me to walk back to our room.

“You may find it in your best interests to forget what you saw Trixie,” Sapphire voiced sternly as we trotted away. When I turned to look at her, she had already gone around the corner, illuminating the darkness with her horn.