Evening to change fate

After an uneventful overnight train ride the three friends arrived in Appleloosa where they rested a little and stocked up on food and other essentials for their walk through the desert. The trio started their two day journey through the desert once they finished all their necessary preparation. “So it's two days of walking south in a straight line from here?” Emerald while scanning the horizon in front of her.

“Pretty much. We might even be able to make the trip in a little less than two days, if we don't take too many brakes that is.” Silver replied while doing the same as his green eyed companion.

They have been walking for almost two days, with only a few brakes, when reached the final stretch Emerald whined “Ugh..... how far do we still have to go?”

“Oh come on Em, I can already see it. At least I hope what I see is what we are looking for.” Jerra said to keep her beige friend going while spotting a small tower in the distance.

“Don't worry it should be what we are looking for. But even if it isn't, it's at least a place where we can rest with a roof over our heads.” Silver reassured his two friends as he picked up his pace slightly.

“How are you two not phased by the heat or the sun or the sand?” The beige Earth Pony asked in disbelief at the energy of her friends.

“I think we're just ignoring the heat and sand. As for the sun our shades do a pretty good job making the sun bearable, you should've brought some as well.” The blue Pegasus said after a short pause.

“I would've done that, if they weren't broken. Let's hurry now I want to get out of the sun.” The green eyed mare said in an annoyed voice, while she started to run forward.

It didn't take them long reach the small tower like structure. They were able to enter it over a small balcony that now resides on ground level. The balcony connected to a small study filled with bookshelves made from natural oak wood filled with books of unknown age or origin. Above the door ,that presumably lead to a stairwell, was a circular inscription with a dark purple crystal in it's center. That crystal flashed brightly once the trio reached the middle of the study.

Emerald woke up alone in a colourful meadow filled with wildflowers. “What happened? More importantly where am I?”

“Ah young one you're finally awake. Are you feeling alright?” echoed a seemingly omnipresent voice.

“Except for a headache I'm feeling better than before I passed out actually. But could you please show yourself, I really don't like speaking to a disembodied voice.” the mare explained, while looking all around herself

“Understandable. Tell me young one are you not wondering where your friends are?” the owl like spirit asked as he appeared in front of Emerald.

She sheepishly replied “I do. Can you tell me?”

“Your winged friend has pressed on forward and your magic using friend turned back and is now waiting where you last remember. What will you do young one?” the spirit explained in a matter of factly fashion.

“That doesn't sound right. They wouldn't split up and leave a friend behind or rather Jerra wouldn't and it's even stranger that Silver would turn back he was adamant to find this place.” Emerald muttered to herself as something dawned on her “Wait a sec where am I even, this isn't the old tower I passed out in.”

“Oh is that the case? What makes you so sure that they would not leave you alone?” the spirit asked teasingly.

“Okay then let me enlighten you. My friend Jerra is not the kind of Pony that leaves friends behind and her friend Silver is driven but I don't want to believe he would do that either and we are clearly standing in a nice flower filled meadow last I remember I was in a tower in a desert. So I don't believe what you said about my friends.” the emerald eyed pony explained rather aggressively.

“Well done young one. You figured it almost all out. But have you considered that you never moved out of the tower?” the ancient owl said with a cocked head.

“No, I haven't. I assumed I was knocked out while being teleported here, but I guess that could be.... wait WHAT?!” the Earth Pony exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes young one you are still in the tower right next to your friends. But I can only let you proceed further inside by a test of heart.” the ancient spirit explained.

“Okay go ahead what's the test?” Emerald inquired.

“I will ask you a few questions that you shall answer with absolute truth. Tell one lie and you shall not venture past your point of entry.” the spectral owl explained sternly.

“I understand and I'm ready.” the mare stated firmly, after she took in a deep breathe.

“What is your name?” the ancient spirit asked his first question

“My name is Emerald Dust but my friends call me Em.”

“Speaking of your friends. The two that came here with you, what are their names and why did they come here?”

“Well their names are Jerra Hearthfire and Silver Lining. Jerra came here because she was bored with her life in Ponyville and wanted to go on an adventure with her old friend. As for Silver, all I know is that he's seeking some kind of old curse and that he's friends with Jerra so I guess he doesn't have bad intentions.” Emerald told the spirit but wavered a little on the last thing she said.

“You guess that last part but it's still the truth to you. What do you know about this place?”

“If you mean the place I'm in right now not really anything and if you mean the tower that my body is in, nothing more than the location and what I saw as I entered.” Emerald said calmly.

“Why did you join your friends on this journey?”

“Pretty much the same reason why Jerra joined Silver, I was bored.”

“ Is that really all there is to it?” the ghostly owl inquired with slightly peaked interest

“No, I also didn't see any future for me in Canterlot. I wasted my time studying a field that needs to be experienced not learned exclusively from books.” Emerald explained with a hint of excitement in her voice.

“So there was more to it. What are you hoping to discover?”

“Nothing. I just want to experience the world around me and share the knowledge I have with those who are willing to listen.” the emerald eyed pony said with a small smile.

“I didn't expect such an answer from such a young soul. But you seek to share knowledge, which is admirable. And I grant you access to this house of knowledge.” the spirit said as he spread his ghostly wings while the meadow filled a warm light.

“Thank you.” were Emeralds last words to the ancient Spirit, before she woke up. As she woke up she saw Jerra and Silver waiting for her.

Jerra was startled as she woke up surrounded by knights in dark red armor and said “Why are there knights looking at me?”

The knights quickly bowed to her in recognition and stepped to the side revealing a long stretched hall behind them. Decorated with all kinds of banners, trinkets, statues, paintings and hardwood furniture.

“Wow! This hall is so.....” the blue pegasus started to say something but is interrupted halfway through by a tall unicorn mare.

“Beautiful? I know. I was the one who decorated it. My name is Nightfire; now would you kindly share what brings you to my former residence, miss Hearthfire.” Nightfire explained as she walked up next to Jerra.

“Sure, seeing as you are serving as a guardian for this place. My friend found a map that led here, he is looking for an old curse, and I just tagged along because I was bored.” Jerra explained as if what she said was the most normal thing in the world.

“Oh, aren't you surprised that I know your name? But that aside what is it that you're expecting to find on your journey?” the unicorn mare questioned calmly.

“I was a little shocked to hear my last name but I chalked it up to you being some kind of manifestation of my mind. As for your question I'm not expecting anything from it, I might be hoping to deepen my relationship with my friend Silver but nothing more.” the Pegasus explained rationally.

“HAHAHAHA! You are living up to your family name, at least judging by what you just said. But you are mistaking in one aspect I am no manifestation of mind but your bloodline.” the older mare laughed and pointed out.

“What are you talking about?” Jerra asked in a confused tone and a tilted head.

“How should I put it, I'm basically your aunt from a couple thousand years ago. My sister Winter was the first Pony to carry the family name Hearthfire, as far as I know that is.” Nightfire said to help Jerra out of her confusion

“So if I understand this correctly then the building that my body is in at the moment is the birthplace of my family name, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do I technically have the right to claim ownership over this property and is your full name Nightfire Hearthfire?”

“I believe you do have that right and no my full name is Amber Nightfire and I was the last one to reside here.” Amber said with a sad smile.

Jerra didn't notice Ambers smile and said “I can't wait to see how this place held up. By the way what were you doing here in the middle of nowhere?”

“We were independent lore-keepers. We archived spells, legends, myths, stories and even a few religious texts. It's amazing how much we collected here over generations, I believe there are a few family heirlooms that started out as payment from the rest of ponykind and you know, the best part about it is it's all yours now. You can share it with your friends or keep it all to yourself. It's all up to you.” the tall unicorn explained in a fast-paced manner.

“Why would I ever keep this from my friends? I mean what kind of friend would I be if I didn't share it with them? I'm interested in all the legends and prophecies that are stored here and I bet Silver would love to read his way through everything magic and mythical creature related and Emerald might be able to track down interesting places on a map. This is so exciting!” Jerra exclaimed radiating excitement.

“I would love to spend more time with you, but I believe it's time you continue your journey.” the amber eyed unicorn noted.

“I agree, maybe we can talk again later aunty.” the blue Pegasus agreed with a big smile on her face.

“I'll be here if you find a way to talk to me. Farewell.” Amber said with a small smile of her own.

Jerra was the first one to regain consciousness. After a short moment of confusion, she shook her head and reoriented herself. And as she looked around the room she started to pace.

With a small groan, Silver woke up in a forest of some sort “Let's see there are leaves on the ground and lush green around me, interesting.”

“As expected you are the calmest of your group. Oldened soul tell me what you desire.” the ancient spirit greeted.

“I desire nothing other than knowledge, I don't intend to use any spells that might cause harm to others.” Silver explained calmly as he tried to figure out where exactly he was.

“You already acted against your statement in the past. Why should I entrust you with the knowledge kept in this mansion?” the spirit inquired sharply.

“If you're talking about the Time spell then I can assure you I never use spells I can't control or spells I haven't completely studied yet. Especially now that I travel with my friend.” the grey Unicorn elaborated a little.

“Interesting. Now let's proceed with testing you.” the ancient owl moved on without another question.

'T lx ly pypxj ez pgpcj xzcelw estyr. T htww yze deza lyo T htww yze cpde. Hsz lx T?'

“To get to my riddles core you need keys of which eleven you have already scored the twelfth still needs to be found.” the ancient spirit gave him one clue and observed the reaction of the pony in front of him.

“Well isn't that a nice challenge. Let's see what you're hiding.” Silver didn’t show much of a reaction as he accepted the spirits challenge.

“It appears to be just a bunch of random letters, but I bet there's more to it. Maybe it's some kind of code. But what about the clue with the keys, that doesn't make sense for a code, which means I'm looking at a cypher and not a code. So that makes eleven or twelve my keys to possibly decrypt the question and then it should be easier from there.” the Unicorn analyzed quickly.

“Impressive, you are the fastest to identify it.” the ghostly owl praised the Unicorn.

“Okay, let's see what I'll get when I use twelve as the key.”

‘H zl zm dmdlx sn dudqx lnqszk sghmf. H vhkk mns rsno zmc H vhkk mns qdrs. Vgn zl H?’

“Hmmm, not twelve so it has to be eleven.”

‘I am an enemy to every mortal thing. I will not stop and I will not rest. Who am I?’

“Well that was easy, if you know what you're doing. So then next is the question. Hmmm…..an enemy who doesn't stop or rests. The obvious answer would be death, but it explicitly stated mortal things. So my answer is going to be time.” Silver answered confidently, after his decoding and thinking about the possible answers for a short while.

“You really are an interesting pony.” the spirit said with a smirk on his ghostly beak.

“Was my answer correct or was wrong?” he asked the owl, with a questioning look.

“You were spot on, your first conclusion would also have been correct. So you may go on into the mansion” the spirit answered him, as the wind picked up speed and created a vortex of leaves all around Silver.

Silver closed his eyes and as he opened them again he was back in the study, where Jerra was pacing back and forth.