A rewritten Past

Dream or Nightmare?

Auriel let out a sharp gasp as she rolled to the side, a burning sensation feasted on her body like a ravenous swarm of locust, only rolling around on the coarse grass relieved the pain ever so slightly. She wheezed quietly as a burned smell, sweet in nature, coated her nostrils like honey to the teeth. Her paws clenched firmly against the sharp and tough grass, claws scraping the hard dirt as she forcefully alleviated herself from the soil, only to awaken to a nightmare come true.

Laying atop a lone hill, she was surrounded by brown grass, littered with bone carcasses of various creatures, some horned, others fanged, with few bearing meat. At the same time, swarms of craus and hagier enjoyed themselves most joyously. These bird-like creatures appearing like a mix between crows and vultures, adorned by spiked bone hooks like jewelry and bearing teeth growing like coral to the point they seemed like a thorn bush in their beaks, gorged themselves on the deceased. The forests far away appeared only as stalks to her eyes, burned to coal and ash, and dilated as close to the sun as they could, almost like praying for mercy. The mountains on the horizon were covered in soot, almost hidden behind black blankets of smoke that barely covered a burning sky with a cruel sun well above.

Auriel shocked her head lightly and lifted one of her paws to her face; the dirt crumbled out of her grasp into a colorless, dead powder as the last remains of her magic in this world faded. She opened her mouth, hoping to inhale at least a whisk of fresh air, but stopped as a painfully deep sting wretched itself deep into her abdomen. Auriel grunted breathlessly before turning to her side and beholding a sight that invoked an atrocious shiver across her skin. A large splinter of shimmering metal pierced her skin, her cold face reflecting on the weapon like a mirror, and she saw only a husk. She stared at the wound for a moment before taking a deep breath, swallowing the fear deep down, before grasping the weapon and ripping out with two tugs. She tried to keep her voice low but screamed highly through her bared teeth.

"It's no fun when only half the people laugh, now is it?" A calm and all too familiar, slightly annoyed voice beckoned from behind in a way, one might assume he was an old friend.

"From all the Lights I have eaten, you sure lay most like a rock in my stomach." Auriel joked with a damp chuckle while holding the bleeding wound from which a pale liquid exuded like soap-water with a bone-like paw, covered in dreadfully rotten fur.

He smirked audibly before his smile faded just as fast and loud. "That I do. Now please, do turn around." Asked Discord, his voice still slightly filled with resentment. However, it was still calm to an extend that induced more fear than it did reassure. Auriel clenched her teeth before turning on the ground, not bearing the strength to stand tall or equal, grinding her fur against the dead vegetation and smothering it in her blood just as much. There he stood, almost exactly how she remembered in her most dreaded nightmares. However, it was not the more approachable 'style' he bore, a tad more... more childish would she dare. The menacing, sickly yellow gleam gone from his eyes, two bushy eyebrows adorning his face, no, it wasn't even the calm demeanor he bore while staring at her with a raised eyebrow. He was colorful, but just as much ethereal, transparent, so much so she could almost see the burned world behind him, but at the moment, she was quite unsure which she preferred.

"You look less like a Scryl now, and more-" Auriel started, her tone attempting to be neutral but often jumping between a compliment and insult in this short, interrupted sentence.

"You?" Finished Discord with crossed arms as he leaned forward to her face with a bored look on his face, now only the comedically large snaggle tooth threatened her. "Well, of course, I would look more like the singing, child-friendly fox 'Borney,' and you a lot less like the fluffy perfection given form, from magic fairy-godmother, to the forest tooth fairy." He spoke with his voice edging ever closer to a venom tone as his appearance began to fade once again.

"So, might I ask how things are being eaten? Just wondering if I ever meet the next one of our accursed kind." Auriel asked as the pain got the better of her, the loss of blood starting to cloud her mind.

"I would claim it as rather charming, however being part of something, instead of the other way leaves one rather empty, just eyeing the world with no real thought." Discord spoke poetically, weaving his hand across the landscape, distorting the very surface like a disrupted surface of quicksilver. "However, as much as I do enjoy this competition of spitting hot fire, my time is running rather short, your body is stabilizing again and I can feel my freedom in this prison wane, so lets cut to the point already." He abruptly stopped his game as his silhouette lost yet another shade of tone.

"Well, what are you waiting then? Not like I am gonna walk away." Auriel said half-jokingly, shaking her head while chuckling to herself like a drunken beggar.

"Yeah, yeah, I was getting to that." Discord spoke dismissively. "So, here's the deal. You see, I've been quite enjoying myself on this planet, as you call it, and from what I could see, hazily may it be, it seems like a much more... enjoyable place than the ones I have visited before. By the way, sorry for the whole burning down things on your turf, just expected things to go like they always go, so I just skipped, dumbly in retrospective, a few chapters ahead." It was honestly tough to tell if he was as upmost truthful as he could be or lying so obviously that it achieved the opposite effect.

"Please... please just get to the point, I'm starting to lose the feeling in my paws." Auriel asked bitterly as her body broke down onto the blood mud that formed under her.

"Shesh, fine joy kill. When you are dead, I want to amuse myself here, without breaking anything important, of course. See the world from a closer perspective, and live in this story." Discord spoke as he extended his arm forward, his eagle paw ignited by a blue flame.

"Why are you asking, if I die then we both are part of another, and if not, you are free to do as you wish." Auriel sneered with anger, lifting her head upwards with tiredness daring to drown her in the accumulated lifeblood.

"Just trust me, you won't die to another of our bunch, and I can't interact with this world like, well, a story, only like a painting without your blessing. Sure, a few wipes of the pencil I can give, but only the outside, and even then I run to ruin the image. So, what do you say, not like you got to lose anything in the end." Discord spoke nonchalantly, his form bleached out ever more from Auriel's whitening vision.

There was a long pause, mayhaps a minute, and it was impressive how the fox stared down the waiting draconequus who stood still as a tree while his colors started to fade like the content of an hourglass, ever one bit for each second passing. Discord suddenly jerked when he heard something, wondering if he accidentally stopped time, only to be proven wrong in an upmost unsavory way.

"You... may never kill."

"Excuse me?" Discord pulled his claw away swiftly while starring at the fox dumbfoundedly. He slapped his left side of the hide with a few hefty hits, causing dust, cobwebs, and spiders to be shot from the other end. "'cause, it almost sounded like you were trying to say-."

"I said, you may never take one's life, you have to play in games, if you wish your powers beyond anything casual, be it for positive or negative, and lastly, never forget this one, always leave an option to lose. Life is a game after all, and after I pass, only the genre will change." Auriel coughed vividly, clenching her chest with the other as she grew cold as if she laid on a thick winter blanket, screams and cries echoing in her mind, as a sobbing drew near.

Discord stared for just a moment before his eyes jerked downwards, his form crumbling away as if an infection of nothingness crawled up from his feet. "Pfffffff-fine, Fox, let the game begin." Discord cursed under his breath before his eagle paw reached out to Auriel, and his fingers tip just barely touched Auriel's before the demon vanished. "No backsies." His voice like airborne venom as his presence was gone once again.

Auriel heard his voice echo from the shadows before she sunk into her own blood as if it was tar. The thick substance held her in an icy embrace, stealing away every sense or need, except for a cold, winter night's chill, the sound of a crackling fire, trampling, heavy hooves, and lastly, her own beating heart accompanied her on this uncanny journey.

"P-please stay with me Luna, j-just a little further, only a little bit more." Auriel heard a young voice tracing ever closer as if she beckoned them, but how? All she saw was a white landscape; a cold chill ran across her skin while the wind howled fiercely. Then, she saw something move, yes, it was someone moving closer.

"Only, a little bit more Luna, I promise, ju-just stay with me a little bit longer, I can do this." Auriel heard the fearful voice edging closer, ever nearer to a sobbing. There she saw it, a white unicorn with pink mane trotting weakly forward. The young mare kept her right eye closed as scarlet lifeblood flew from it, her body battered, beaten, and covered in cuts, all the while carrying on her back a blue pegasus filly on her back.

"S-see, there's light, s-so there must be somepony." Celestia said heavingly while starring hopefully into Auriel's eyes. However, the mare's look of hope soon turned into confusion. She stopped and stared bewildered, almost like something caught her eyes in a mesmerizing manner.

Suddenly, Auriels vision parted into two, but both stared into the magenta eyes of Celestia.

Celestia ventilated heavily, her breath white as a ghost while drawing her face nearer to the strange liquid. The soft shine, however, was warm as a summer day to her skin. "T-thank the heavens f-f-for this blessing." Her voice was weak before she ingested the droplet and gave the other to Luna.

Auriel's vision soon changed, now staring only with one pair of eyes at the floor, as intense light, seemingly originating from her, engulfed the snow in a golden glow, while she heard a loud gasp and a scared screeching.

"W-What!" Celestia screamed, suddenly, Auriel's/Celestia's vision started to shake and spin, first looking at white hooves, before spinning towards Luna, who, still sleeping on her sister's back, bore both wings and horn. Celestia looked blankly forward before turning to her own sides with quivering and seeing a pair of majestic wings now granted to her too. The young mare breathed heavily before turning her eyes upwards; mayhaps, she wondered if she would catch a glimpse of some sort of diving creature.

"Hello? Is someone there?" shouted a young voice, echoing through the snow-covered land.

"Be silent you fool, do you wish to alarm the pegasi raiders? Mayhaps send a flare into the sky too if it quenches your desire for attention." A second, much older voice called out.

Celestia's vision turned quickly, ever-changing in all directions, hoping to find the source. "S-stay back. I-I'm warning you, I know battle spells."

"Pss." Snorted the older voice as if he took the threat as empty as an unopened mystery crate; however, it appears as if one was still moving forward.

"Don't fret, young maid, we are not part of the arsonists, we are but travelers and saw the flames from afar. Please lower your horn, we wish no harm." The young, male voice called out, and soon enough, a ripe stallion walked past a hill of snow, thick coat adorning his sturdy body, while a mane of white covered his head and a small mustache on his face. "I come in peace, and-and I see you are recovered in of many, hopefully, least your own, but I know at least a spell to ease your wounds or heal some cuts." He offered.

Celestia stared at the stallion hard, shivering under the heavy snowfall, and the sight of a clean, thick mantle bearing no holes reminded her only how shamefully she stood, exposed. "I am fine." Celestia spat; she needed no more strangers on this day, or was it already days? She knew not. "My sister skin is burning up, do you have anything for her?"

"Well, I need to know what kind, otherwise I do more harm than good. May I step closer?" The stud answered while staring into his pouches.

Celestia opened her mouth, mayhaps to deny his request on reflex before she saw a figure looming. A large stallion with brown fur and flaming mane, his wrinkles just as deep as his disgust for all. A mage's rope ornamented his body and was he still any cold, so he had a large hat and beard to warm him. "Do see quickly."

The young stallion came closer in regulated speed, already searching with his magic grasp in his packs, before abruptly stopping when Celestia put Luna in the snow. The stallion stared at the filly for a moment, seeing both wing and horn, before his eyes snapped back at the mare, who frowned deeply at him. "Y-yes, just a moment y-your divinity." The young stallion stammered before kneeling down towards Luna and kissing her forehead; blood coated his lips as he cast an analyzation spell.

'So that's why.' Auriel noted while eyeing the glossy blood's drop that traveled down the stud's throat, the liquid bearing a blue gleam in the rare sunlight. "Demon blight, that is horrible." He whispered before turning his head towards the other stallion. "Master Magnus Starfury, the filly is being taken by Demon Blight, I need-"

"Then leave, we have nothing to waste for strangers." The old stallion interrupted his apprentice. "This world is not as kind as you make it be, Starswirl, and I wish not my invested time to be flaunted, because you gave the wrong beggar a bid, before losing all to a poor stallion's knife."

"B-but master, they bear both wing and horn, this has to be a godly sign, mayhaps this is what you were looking for, or least we not face some kind of divine retribution." Starswirl pleaded to his master, like a child begging his parents for help in dire times.

Magnus stared grimly at his apprentice before grasping a bottle containing a green liquid from his mantel. "You better not waste a drop, for you, and the other two, will pay me back every bit on this journey, be it from farm, tavern, or brotlhe, mark my words." As his sentence finished, he levitated the flask towards his apprentice.

Starswirl grasped the medicine in his magic gasp, breathing heavily, while his heart pumped vigorously as if it was nearing explosion. He jerked before ripping off the cork and emptying the content on Luna's mouth. "The flutter herb serum works slowly, but effectively. Come, we are on our journey to marcious, it wouldn't be the most luxurious excurse a mare like should be used to, but I promise safe travel."

Celestia breathed, as her head turned back towards the rising smoke, holding a necklace at her chest, before gulping hardly and taking unconscious Luna on her back once again. "We accept the offer, we are Sunny Day, and our sister's name is Moonshine."

"Greeting, you are now partaking on the journey of Magnus the grand, and his apprentice Starswirl the-well, just Starswirl really." He spoke nervously before turning around and trotting in quick speed to his master, hoping he had not come far with his still healthy hooves.

The world began to fade, as Auriel's vision stayed in place, seeing lastly only the backs of her daughters, through their veins, flowed her blood.

The fox jumped up with a frozen visage and quiet scream, starring forward empty while her heart pounded rapidly. Her form grew and shrank with each breath; sweat ran down her body while a stinging sensation poked her eyes. The vulpine's head turned around, looking frantically as if she was looking for something, a clue, a hint, mayhaps anything out of the norm.

The dark chamber, lit barely by crystal lights on the walls and the few bits of bioluminescent moss, kept the room dim but allowed most not to stumble and fall. On the ceiling, a little chandelier hung a bit away from the room. There was a small nightstand; on the other was nothing, but scratches on the ground might claim that there once was something. Next to the foot of the bed was a patch of soft vegetation; it was no moss, it turned out, but rather a very comfortable type of shroom.

"It..." Auriel choked out as paw pressed against her chest; she could feel the beating ring in her skull, and although lessening, still plagued her most horribly. "...Was it a dream?" Her voice was but a gentle butterfly's whisper. She traced a finger along the underside of her eyes, catching tears, before sinking her whole head into the warm embrace of paws. ' Yesterday wasn't, that I know.'

The fox let out a sigh, coming off as a whistle, and groaned before she revealed her face again. She built herself up slowly, her body aching horribly, and at the same time, it was upmost strange to her to sense something like that again. Pain, physical damage... done by her creation.

Her paw hovered in the air as she was about to set paw onto the floor, her face tightened for a bit, lips curling up as if disgust overtook her. It took her a long breath before she left the comforts of the bed, and as she turned her head to the door, begrudgingly attempting to see the world in all its all so perfect glory, her eyes fell onto something else. It was shining, reflecting—a mirror. For the smallest of moments, she saw something in the mirror, not just herself, but a rainbow shine shone in a single over her reflection.

Auriel's head tilted to the side as she strolled towards the mirror with quivering hooves. It took not long to reach the object, not with such long legs, but the path had much more extended duration than she wished. Auriel's reflection was not as she remembered, less colorful, less cheerful, not happy; if she didn't know better, then Auriel might've thought a changeling tried to copy her, but lacking the glow she bore. The glow.

Auriel's mouth stood open a little bit, the cold air feeling almost painful in inerts. She closed her eyes slowly, letting her magic wash over her form, feeling herself shrink, but stay in the same place still, and fluttered her 'eyes' open with newfound calmness before the horror sank in.

The golden sphere appeared cracked, whisks of dust crumbling off and rejoining a moment later, the leaks shrank ever so slow, but the sight left her with a chill and emptiness in her heart. 'I was hurt... by my creations.' The thought sank deeper and deeper even when she tried to shun the stroke of desperation out, closing her eyes, sealing her vision and hearing, feeling her magic expanding, the anger building ever higher as a burning sensation coated her whole being and-

A crack woke her, her eyes snapping wide open and fluttering while a blinding light illuminated the room like a sun. The mirror hanging from the wall was cracked, the web spreading across the entire piece, dust polluted the air, the fox could only stare at the broken image displayed. A tall standing fox golden with gleaming claws, eyes burning grey and whisks of magic escaping, a matt and unkempt fur covering her body, and a paw turned fist embedded into the glass.

Auriel slowly pulled her paw back, sinking in her form, leaning forward, and supporting herself with the other paw on the mirror. She breathed heavily, white smoke escaping her maw and nose while attempting to close her heart just for this moment. The emotions still sturred in herself as the sensation dared to choke her into submission.

"What is happening to my world... What is happening to me..." Auriel sighed deeply before lifting her head, facing the image again, the broken shards greeting her. The magic she siphoned was little, carefully gathered and infused into the mirror, letting it shine beautifully as the pieces placed themselves together like the surface of the water.

'This sensation of harm by my own magic, this betrayal, this pain. The anger I felt, overwhelming and this sense of power, over them, the thought of superiority, this isn't me, it won't be me.' Auriel thought as she turned away from the mirror, self-reflection was the least she needed, and companionship would do only harm in this very moment. 'I need a bit of silence again, like back then... Yes, things how they used to be.'

The fox pondered silently before extending her paw forward and pulling magic from the world; once, or twice she too should put herself before anything else; it would be better for everyone after all. She always made everything best with a calm mind and magic grip. The air in front of her grew frenzy, circling in an oval pattern, before a golden gate formed, through she sauntered, vanishing from this chamber, leaving the hive and crossing the land.

An errand

"I have flour, water, the stuff that Auriel called chocolate, oh sweet goodness, no! No snacking." Bell mumbled loudly as she stared at a pile of ingredients before she wished away the drool that dripped down her face. Sweets had she so rarely eaten in her life, mayhaps a few fruits preserved in honey through the winter, but never something she'd see royalty eat.

"Ohh, what's all the stuff for?" Asked a young voice, belonging to the one and only princess of the hive.

"Huh, oh, hello Chryssi, morning Chitin." The common mare said with a smile as she looked at the visitors. "Nothing much, I am trying to bake something a bit larger than usual, but I still need a few more ingredients."

"I assume it's for our most soft vulpine?" Queen Chitin asked with an elevated voice, looking at the pile and wondering what exactly the earth pony was trying to concoct.

"Mhm..." Bell hummed while pulling out a large mixing bowl, followed by a sieve and whisker. As she stood up to retreat from her finding, she almost tumbled while standing on her hind legs. "How do you know?" Diamond Bell asked all of a sudden as her head turned to the Matriarch.

"Intuition, however, you are also radiating stress, anxiety, and what I can only describe as butterflies in the stomach like a geysir." Chitin spoke with a straight face while walking over to the mare she towered more than twice. "What do you lack for this treat of yours? Will it be a pie of sort?"

"No, not pie, it will be a cake, I've read a few things in one of the books of the library, and found a really nice recipe. It was written in a very outdated equish, but I believe to understand it. The cake is called 'reunion', and it's pegasus tradition to make it when two friends find one another after a lifetime." Diamon exclaimed proudly before chuckling nervously while tipping her hooves. "But I really just picked it because Auriel absolutely adores whipped cream."

Chitin smirked mischievously at the small mare and just could not surpass the large grin that formed on her face; for heaven's sake, she appeared close to burst into laughter. "So I would assume you still need milk and eggs?"

"Yup, that's all I still need." Diamond Bell asked statically as she went through the list in her head once again. It was astonishing that the changelings possessed such large quantities of fresh food; there was yeast too... even if it all was preserved in those cocoons.

"Of course, you shall get these things, and I'll make sure you two get to be undisturbed." Chitin spoke in a mellow tone before turning towards the door, through which a guard quickly entered. "K2035, please guide Diamond Bell to the Aphyd farm, and let the worker get her some milk and unferalized eggs."

"Of course your majesty, Zoef will not disappoint you." The Guard spoke out with a light giggle at the end before turning towards the door. The queen almost regretted allowing every drone in the hive to not only now own a name but also choosing it for themselves, in contrast to the previous system of only changelings she regularly talks, or have done outstanding deeds.

"Oh, and Bell?" Asked Queen Chitin as she covered her daughter's ears while grinning as much as she could. "I'll make sure to make a stool available, should you need it."

When optimists talk

Princess Platinum looked over the land with a focused gaze while a chunk of sharpened coal and an extra-large piece of parchment floated just below her eyes. She pulled out a very dirty cloth tissue with a sneer, rubbing the still fine dust off, not wasting any material. She knew she would not be able to replace it for quite some time if- Her eyes turned to the giant frozen wall towering all -the glowing fox was to be believed.

"So, uh, what is your majesty drawing, if I may ask." Commander hurricane asked with a confused tone and tilted head. A guard or anypony of military rank had to follow around the 'politicians' to ensure their safety, and he was the unlucky sob to follow her. "You're not planning to build a castle already, are you?" There was no hint of sarcasm present; he asked a serious question, even in a relaxed way.

"Roads." Princess Platinum answered shortly, while her magic guided her makeshift piece of chalk across the image, as her imagination and mind tried to come up with something most efficient. Yet, it seemed as if ever so often, something else would cross her mind, break concentration, and it appeared to be wearing down her patience.

"Huh, roads? How am I to understand that?" The pegasus asked, before fluttering as soft as he could, a few meters into the air, to see a map of a land that was not there. It appeared like an interconnected web of streets between forest, lake, meadow, and mountains, a much tighter city plan than the widespread unicorn tribe could ever hope to achieve.

"If you haven't noticed it yet, commander, most of us can't fly and have to rely on made paths for transportation of ponies and wares." She shuffled quite agitate before pulling her vision away from the piece of drawing, cooling her mind down. "Do you have the slightest idea how much trouble a whole lot of nothing can do to a kingdom to be or come?"

He heard much rambling in his life, be it panicking civilian or drunken soldier, but that was one of the most unusual. "Well, let me think for a moment," Hurricane answered, holding his wing to his temple, while the princess, much to his surprise, seemed to be patiently waiting. "Transporting stuff can be quite hard with bandits hiding and animals lurking, it could also be used as a cover for attacks, or defense, in the worst-case scenario burning it down with everything inside." The use of lightning in a forest was only allowed when things were at their bleakest or if a centurion were to order it with or without the blessing of a general or higher.

Princess Platinum nodded before grimacing slightly. "If looked at a map of Primariou as a whole, with infrastructure, population road, land disputes between lords and dukes, then I can promise you the desire to rip that ugly carpet apart." Her tone was very crass, entirely unlike the princess's usual behavior.

"Uhm." The pegasus let out a questioning tone.

"Something the matter?"

"You-uh, really do know your stuff, huh?" Of course, Hurricane expected somepony to know stuff about their rank the very least. Sure, he wasn't the smartest cookies like one of thus mages spending their days away in libraries, but he knew his salt regarding military tactics and law; it was just.

"What, do you think I spend my life sitting on a throne, eating baby carrots, drinking wine, and talking about gossip?" Princess Platinum asked. There was just one thought running through the pegasus' head, don't nod. "Urgh, why am I even surprised? Laziness is running like a disease through nobility." She shook her head, causing hairs to fall out of her already ruined mane. "My point is that every lord is hoarding their land like a crab and only doing something when needed. The roads are a mess, the villages are overflowing with feces, the ponies are poor and, in some cases, even starving. AND don't even get me started on the damn bickering for every oh so little change that goes even a centimeter over a lord's border." As the unicorn called it, the metric system was a replication of the highly efficient Saddle Arabian measurements; word spread much faster in unicorn land than it did in other. However, land and construction were the polar opposite of that of the earth pony tribes.

"That is a very depressing point of view." Hurricane noted as he walked to the princess's side, nothing he'd often do unless he had to, as the usual order of two steps away and one back applied to any kind of royalty. "I'm assuming you want to change that like some kind of fresh start?" Of course, he wished for some changes too, like ending the mandatory enlistment of civilians; he was tired of eating stale bread and seeing young studs barely out of their father's home wanting to go back watering some fields.

"You are not seeing the greater picture." She noted before putting the half-finished map into her silk pouches. "Things will have to change if either way and this time, with ponies, resources, knowledge, and magic at hoof, maybe things will end up better than they were before the wendigoes came." It was rare for him to see optimism from this princess, not that it was spread thick these days.

"I am unsure if you are secretly happy about most bloody happening." Hurricane noted from her side with a tight look on his face, he had lost many soldiers, friends, and family through the storm that caused Aetherica to fall from the sky. "And besides, I thought you were against the unification, to begin with."

"Do not mistake my optimism with gratitude, commander." She sneered with an angered look when her head turned towards Hurricane. "Second of all, I am against working with their rulers class, not their ponies. Their wishes and desires differ greatly from what is best for everypony, and the dreams of the populous." The look of irritation slowly dissipated before a calmness replaced its place. "I am tired of how things were before, to your credit, of being called insane or kingdom-wrecking due to my ambition to end this dumb power play. Now, maybe things will become better, with two mediators of an immortal kind."

Hurricane let out a sigh as his emotions mixed most sweet and sour. "It is a nice dream I supposed, but I think you are missing quite a lot of details, don't you think?" His voice was low while starring to the west, where he had already seen the large structure the fox, Auriel was her name, said there to be. "This land is already inhabited, and I doubt most highly that they want their way of life to be turned upside down. Not even mentioning us building a kingdom right here, with the capital less than a day away from the border and their castle." He spoke precisely, for his words not to be misunderstood, something he learned the hard way while rising the ranks, before tapping the map pouch with his wing ever so slightly.

"And ponies call me negative." Platinum chuckled quietly to herself. "All of our lives are twisting and turning, even outside of this land, they always do. That's what my father often says in one way or another. As for racial disputes, I think it's more likely that the masses will scream and faint, their wish of bloodlust is primarily on the other tribes." The insect race, changelings were they called. She heard much of them but never saw them, almost nopony saw them and sources of these once mythological creatures were foggy as milk.

Her emotions towards them are unclear but not very negative once the nightmares wore off. A new pony race to be part of the tribe would strengthen bond and power and their need for emotions; again, if the fox was a credible and reliable source of information, not rambling about rainbows and hearts, it could forge a bond. At least if the harvesting process was as or less harmful as a blood transfusion. There were reports of pony corpses appearing as a husk. Still, there was no concrete evidence, and the fact that so few cases through history were ever documented, and an entire civilization living of this trade for heaven, who knows, was at least soothing in some way. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to deal with insane ponies screaming more lies, ruining her idea of a safe and perfect pony kingdom. Like they've done with the first offer of peace.

"The predator does not sit well with me." It was a lonely sentence, bare of emotion or care; not even a second kind of tone was added.

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about." for once. His feelings regarding the fox were split. On one hoof, he could understand her laid-back behavior, Tartarus, he'd do the same if he could, but still. Something was weird about this critter; either it was hiding something or was just really weird around ponies because personal space and not touching everything one sees were not in her dictionary. "So, what is your highness leading me to?"

"Our momentary friend is very powerful indeed, but I doubt she is as high as she believes herself to be." Princess Platinum said calmly while staring at the land; the magic was fresh, the plants brimming with life. "But is not to be underestimated. Insane creatures' motives are hardly ever found out before things are too late."

"That sound... ominous." Hurricane said slowly before pulling out his water skin and taking a large gulp. The water tasted more energizing here, or perhaps it was just the joy of no longer slurping magically melted snow. "But I still don't know where you are going with this."

"What I am trying to say is that I still believe her to be a chosen, a guardian of some sort, with a lot of history, ambition's and plans. She isn't as naive as she makes herself out to be, no one could use such complex magic otherwise." Princess Platinum noted, her nose scrunched up, sniffing lightly at the cold winds that reached deep into the new land. The wall lessened the wind but lessened the warmth. Before the pegasus could answer, she continued. "Are you aware why unicorns say that palmarious is eons old, that it is round, or that the sun goes around the world, and not the other way around?"

"Research?"

"Yes, the research of a single artifact found under castle Elfenbein. I believe it to be one of the 'world stones' as our furred acquaintance calls them. It bears her paw print, her senseless scribbling is also identical to the glyphs, the fact that is made out of titanium and bears unthinkable amounts of power, make me glad mages have not once touched it. It also reinforces my concerns."

"I think you reaching way over your head, Platinum. Like, that sure sounds very much like jumping from a to b to x, if you understand my way of saying." He stopped her rant until things went from possible to conspiracy theories.

"Oh, then please tell me where you think I'm getting to? Don't be worried about me laughing, I have heard the most insane things over blinking twice in a single second before, so I doubt it will surprise me." The level of confidence in her voice made the stallion worry.

"Well, I think you're trying to lull us into the belief that Auriel is some kind of great evil plotting our doom to get rid of her." He had no attachment to the fox outside of his hope to one day be allowed to sleep atop of the Auriel's back, but that did not mean he'd support the murder of civilians or innocent.

The pale-silver colored mare hummed a little at his response. "No, that is not my ambition, however, given the history of unicorns like Pearl Shine or the fearsome Mercury, it does sound plausible. But that is not my point." She shook her head, letting the last strains fall long and free. "There are to be believed in three stages of the divine. For the lowest, we have our guardians and their mentor, but also chief Steel Horn, the forsaken king Vlad, the rich Morgrim, lady Everlance of the deer, and a few more. They all were picked to do a task that would change the mortal world, chosen by either the maker or a chosen. In our case of the alicorns, it's possible that it was Auriel, not that her hints were oh so misleading." Her role of the eyes was so significant, someone would've made a fortune from this picture.

Hurricane snorted at the princess's remark and remembering the few oh so child-like acts of the ancient fox. He doubted most dearly that anyone could be born able to conjure such feats, and he spoke from experience, given how many spells were already hurled in his direction.

"So, I'm still following but not getting the connection between her place and us staying here." He added at the last moment with a raised eyebrow.

"Dear goodness, you are just as impatient as King Cobald claimed you were." Platinum rolled her eyes before turning towards the table in front of the wall of ice. "I believe Starswirl's claim that Auriel is a chosen one, the second tier, but never the maker herself. She shares the same features as Dragonlord Draco, Cerberus, and Matombo, beings older than almost everything, bearing power beyond mortal grasp, and bound to both duty and place."

"Ohh, now I get it!" Hurricane shouted before pointing his hoof at her chest. "You want to get into good graced of her, so she can be to us, like how Draco is to the firebreathers."

"That is about right, and while I do not understand her full purpose like the other chosen ones, I can only assume that her occupation was to create, rather than destroy or warden like the others of her kind."

"And the attack on her?"

"My guess, she got overzealous and came into a fight with the chosen one of the north. The frozen north, that is, and it really did not like our furred friend." She narrowed her eyes at the ice, it was not mortal craft, but too unlike the golden gleam of Auriel to be done by her directly, and claim for the object to have done it sounded awfully suspicious, or at least, too contra-productive to hurt the maker of it. "That predator needs some sense and rationality, and if she feels as bound to the changelings as to us, then I doubt there is much to fear for our future."

"Huh, sounds like a nice idea and all of that, but don't you think she'll get, like, really mad about manipulating her, lying or abusing her for our safety?" He hovered a meter above the ground, crossing his hooves while tilting his head.

Princess Platinum shook her head and turned around and started walking back to the camp. "Everything is a give and take in this world, even friendship is at least a little bit selfish and for their own gain, emotional support and joy count too in that regard. All we need to do is keep an open mind, make ponies accept her, let them become friends, ensure that both stay happy and bound to reality, and I can see myself retiring without seeing another damn war." She stopped and gave a soft smile, a genuine one. "After all, I doubt there will be resource shortages, or anyone dumb enough to attack a chosen one, we all know about the story of Orkum's attempt to slay Mortis, after all."

Commander Hurricane stared after the mare with a tightened jaw. 'Damn noble, when once in a while one of you sticks their head out of their fat plot, you're always scary.' He thought while following her thought process, or at least attempting to, and despite understand, well, the whole upside this plan was, it still laid wrong in his stomach. Well, that and the momentary fear to have accidentally said out loud that Platinum had a fat rear.

"so.... Uhm, Zoef, was it. What am I seeing, exactly?" Bell asked very slowly at the smiling... she actually didn't know if it was stallion or mare, or if 'drones' even had genders; at least this one was differential.

"The Aphyd nest, although we changelings feast on Love, it is only our source of energy, but we are still made up to some part of 'matter' like everything else, not even mentioning that we build our hive with resin." She, he, they? She would call him a 'he' since his voice sounds only the tiniest of bits more masculine. He spoke happily as he pointed his hole at the content of a large chamber, leading towards a giant pit with stairs leading down.

"Yes, I mean, of course, but, uh, how do I say this, where am I supposed to get eggs and milk in here?" The lone pony asked with great uncertainty while eyeing such large and, Uhm, majestic creatures roam on a large, blue, bowl-like floor from which giant bulbs grew that the aphids feasted on. They appeared as giants, slimy, while at the same time with exo-skeleton armored, cyan larvae equipped with two long antennae, a face similar to a walrus with the addition of a 'straw' for a mouth, which they used to drink from the tree-like fountains.

"Well, from our big fellas of course. Since our queen's friend planted that huge bowl down, the livestock has been feeding on the vegetation, instead of roots, which caused them to grow huge. We've got nectar and eggs aplenty now!" Zoef spoke quite happily, with his smile growing large and eyes forced shut while waving down at the workers milking and tending the livestock.

'Livestock.' That word most certainly did not sit well with her, especially after having spent who knows how long in those pods, but she felt not much older, which did not make the lack of apology from Chitin or the obscure passage of time acceptable. "So, I guess that's what the stool is for, I hope I haven't forgotten the basics."

"Oh, there no need for that, we already pumped quite a lot to keep the sleeping giants calm and are already looking into ways to deal with the excess, maybe even trade with it." Zoef spoke happily before calling out with a deep breath. "A dozen eggs and two kegs of milk for our friend here please!"

It took less than a minute before a pair of workers quickly flew up towards the raised ground with the ordered ingredients in tow. Although changeling drones appeared to be generally smaller than a pony, they bore quite a lot of strength, mayhaps even rivaling an ant was it their size when it came to power and work quality.

"Thanks for the help, please just bring them to the kitchen, if it isn't too much, I'm still not used to carrying much around." Bell spoke sheepishly but had not to say another thing before the workers flew past her. Wings, horn, and strength, a bit of all, with a coat and a claim of being cursed, they might've come along as false alicorns if circumstances were fitting. "Wait, then for what is the stool?"

"I cannot say this without running my queen's fun, so all I can say is that you will most likely understand her words. Maybe a soft, thick rug and a rageing chimney fire would make things even better, which ling knows this is unknown to me." Zoef spoke with a grin, before his wings started to buzz, and took off back the way he came from.

"I just don't get it." Bell said out loud while shaking her head, staring at the long corridor.

'Returning Hopes'

Sunny Smiles can say she had her up and down, many of them in fact, throughout her life, she wasn't old, that was true, but she most certainly was no ripe maid anymore. Despite that, much laid behind her, both physical and mentally, she was now confronted with something, or rather, somepony, of her past.

"You seem troubled, Sunny. Got any complaints, or did you eat something weird like Berry?" Asked a topaz colored stallion with a grey mane. If one did not hear him speak, one might've thought him to be a mare due to his size and smaller stature. Like most of the group following the guardians, he was selected due to their position most near the border.

"I'm fine!" A shriek of a scream bellowed from a bush, rocking it down to the roots.

"Yeah, you most certainly did not eat anything like Berry Burst's breakfast." Topaz Star mussed dryly while staring vaguely into the gamble forest, either you eat the best chow you have ever eaten or the worst grub; it's quite a lottery.

"You remember when I told you about my friend, Diamond Bell, you know, the one that just vanished into thin air one day?" Sunny knew the clarification was unnecessary, this wasn't the capital where muggers and murders ran wild, and ponies didn't just disappear like that, at least not such an optimistic mare.

"You don't have to go into detail, Steel Heart already went into detail, heavens, I never thought I'd see a stallion his size this desperate, went into the smallest detail, searched for every hint. I wonder how he's doing, haven't seen him since he was enlisted." The stallion shook his head; while he wasn't friends with either of them before the significant snowfall, that did not mean that he was heartless or didn't grow tight with this little bunch of canned ponies.

"You saw the mare that was with the changelings yesterday?"

"Yup, wasn't one of us, might've been a native or something."

"It was her, that was Diamond Bell."

Topaz's mind halted for a moment before he asked slowly and with great concern in his voice." You sure you're not just mistaking. It really isn't healthy to grasp at straws, and the last thing we need is you starting a fight with the landlord."

"Topaz, listen to me carefully." Sunny said with a severe tone and stare. "I can't fiddle around this anymore, it's driving me nuts. The next time this giant predator is here I need to have a conversation from mare to mare, just to see her again. If she isn't her, which I heavily doubt, end of the story, but I know this is her, and I and her family miss her a lot. It's been already five years, and it won't be six, no matter what."

"Huh, well, I can't really say I can do much, other than saying to the huge sheep that you want to have a talk or at least let you know, but I do what I can." Topaz rubbed his head, pushing the helmet to the side lightly, wishing not to get it dirty again.

"Thank you so much, you won't regret it, I promise." Sunny said as she jumped up, kicking her spear away in the process.

"Yeah, it isn't me who you should make this promise to. That fox and Bell are pretty close, no sane pony would couldle with such huge cat without something keeping them glued together." Topaz spoke before taking a step forward and pulling the mare closer by her collar. "I don't want to imitate the chief, but we don't need another war, be it with the changelings, or that fox as she calls herself. We are guests, so we have to friendly, if not for hospitality, then at the very least make sure as Tartarus not to make that fox our enemy. We know the story of Matombo and the elder, and I don't want to be crushed because you tried to steal away her friend, love, pet-whatever. "

Sunny Smiles was not smiling, frowning in fact, because as much as she was shocked by the sudden aggression or the painful truth, it was all true. "I try not to cause any trouble, be it for myself or the tribe." She spoke confidently while staring deep into his cold, intense eyes before he let go of her a moment later. "I, too am tired of war, and the cold is not any better." She said, before turning around and trapping her spear, and starting to sharpen it again, it was less to let out anger or show signs of bloodlust for anything, but more to calm herself, the grinding's rhythm gave her at least some routine in these strange days.

A grand, flower-filled meadow stretched across the mountain range, one so high that the world below appeared like a realm of ants. The field stretched across this plateau far and wide, and a small forest right in it's middle bathed in the strong sunlight, embraced the cool, fresh air, and feasted on the abundance of fruit untouched by civilization or predator. On this grass laid a family of moose, rested in the sun, bunnies ran through the untamed fields, and birds flew through the air, as all of a sudden an oval disk of energy appeared, floating above the ground. The animals turned their head towards the source of the spreading, primordial magic that breathed new life, awakened the highest and richest yearning in them.

Auriel opened her eyes and stopped, inhaling the sweet, pure air, free of dust, musk, or stench of sweat from either hive or herd. With a deep sigh, she leaned forward before falling onto her four paws, trotting ahead with calmness and elegance, watching the animals, her children unchained by the burden of the mind, not startled or scared from her appearance.

"Oh, is it truly too much to ask for days so long gone, for a time to beg, where the love to my children and their's towards me was unconditional. A time when they would live free, under my eternal guidance from birth to death, no sickness or headache or fatigue ever plaguing? To not fear my children's betrayal, the horror of worrying they might slay me one day, or worst of all, knowing that they choose not to be my side." Auriel spoke out with a sadness filled voice, her head swaying with each step, before abruptly stopping, three pairs of eyes stared at her, only a few meters in front of her.

"Oh little one, don't worry, I won't hurt you." Auriel said with widened eyes, crouching down and coupling her paws around the calf's mellow checks with milky eyes. Her paws gently brushed across the young one's fur, slowly calming it down, before her thumbs hovered above its closed eyes, rubbing them ever so gently with a soft, golden light shinning only a few seconds. Auriel pulled her paws back, slowly, and sat patiently until the calf fluttered its eyes open, a beautiful light blue.

'I have seen it so many times, some even from the very second of birth, others during their dying breath, the sensation of freedom, free of fear and full of joy.' Auriel thought with an affectionate, while she eyed the little calf staggeringly stand up and hopping through the fields like a kangaroo. She jerked suddenly when she felt a wetness on her neck; she stared down with a puzzled look, starring at the female with just a moment of jealousy that was soon buried under compassion.

"Is it truly so much to ask, so horrible to even think about..." Auriel muttered with a whisper before her mouth's arcs fell, and so did she with her chest facing the blue, cloudless sky. Her eyes fixated on a bunny that jumped onto her chest, cuddling and burying itself into her large bush of fluff; the male moose rested his head onto her stomach, a few birds made themselves comfortable on her arms. Auriel rubbed her face against the bunny with a smile gracing her face. "Is it truly so wrong to wish for things to go back when my love, my care, and attention was all they could ask for in a life with no darkness, a garden with only joy and warmth, lacking but one fruit with such horrible aftertaste, when I can offer them all else, and so much more with a buffet, all at the price of one such painful dish? And then, would I even be the villain or the beast or thief that stole from my creation, when they cannot even yearn after what they never and won't have tasted?"

"Or can I just not let go, am I unable to see or just blind as a whole? After all, a Light will never be a mortal, and a mortal never a Light, are our worlds truly this parted, or have I yet to find my place in this world?" Her words flew breathlessly through the air while her eyes stared into beautiful bunny opals.

Blood is thicker...

"No no no..." Starswirl mumbled with a grumble under his voice, clenching his teeth and eyes as shut as they could be without stealing away breath or sight; something was stuck in his nostrils as he vividly scribbled across parchment after another as the memories began to wane and fade.

"Are you okay, sister?" Celestia asked quietly as she passed the tent of their mentor, decorated with stars and colors of blue and white. The alicorn tapped Luna with a soft nudge, breaking her concentration in the process. "Luna, what is wrong, please talk to me."

"Thou lied to us." Luna spoke somberly, while her eyes were still focused on one point, a flat slate of stun colored in blue with a great circle of white and dots by the hundreds. A night sky. "You said you knew not of how we ascended, that you have not met with our mother of nature." Her tone slowly heated up, from cold to lukewarm.

They dreamed this night, but to her surprise, but it seemed as if she was not the only one to have lived through it.

"I have not lied to you." Celestia urged as she quickly stepped in front of her sister, who eluded her gaze, but the expression of irritation was not hidden. "I have, merely... not told the whole truth."

"Then speak, we are not a foal anymore, we demand and deserve to know about our past." Luna flapped her wings and fell onto her hooves in the same motion before stomping angrily once.

Celestia's mouth stayed open, be it just a slit through which air escaped, and watched as her sister's face fell deeper into anger. "It was when you were still young, maybe a year old? our... village, it laid on the border of both the unicorn kingdom and the empire of the pegasi. On this night, a party of raiders, bandits, or deserters I know not, burned down our home. Mother told us to flee, so I took you with me and ran. You were sick already before, and bleeding after a plank hit your head, I was scared you're dead, so I did just leave as fast as I could, not looking back."

"A few hours into the winter night I have found two golden droplets, at the time I didn't know they were Auriel's blood, their power or importance, just that they warm to the touch like sunshine on a summer day. Well, the rest of how Starswirl found us, and all that follows is all true."

Luna's head slowly shook, her face tediously devolving into horror and fear, tears building as her mouth opened ever wider, be it out of a yearning to scream or disgust. "You.. you said our mother died during our birth."

"What was I supposed to tell you?!" Celestia screamed angrily, her hoof slapping the ground. "That our mother was fletched apart by a bugbear? You would've hated and despised your birth-kin to the bottom of Tartarus and back! Left with an emptyness unfillable, I just wanted to spare you my plight!" She breathed heavily.

"It still would've been better just to tell the truth." Luna spoke through her teeth, eyes ablaze with anger and furry. "And all about your whore of a mother, you can keep silent about."

"Why are you speaking such dirt about our only parent?" Celestia whispered with shock, her ears folding back.

"Dirt, you claim I lay filth on her name? Oh, then do lecture me about the title, of a mare lifting her tail for bits!" Luna spat, her wings rising high and unfurled. "We have not a single memory of her, only constant pain of the delusion, of being responsible of her death, and now, where not even a drop of blood of either her or any random stallion on the street flows through our veins, she is but our birth giver."

Celestia took a couple, unsteady steps backward, covering her mouth with her left front hoof. "How can you speak this way, do you feel truly nothing more?"

"It is easy, under the condition when you are cursing about a stranger, but how could you know? You had fourteen years of love of a mother, but I had not a second I fondly remember, warm my heart, and now I begin to question if my heart has not been lying to me regarding another pony I 'should' be calling family." Luna's head sank slightly, starring upward with such wrath.

"Luna..." Celestia reached out with both hoof and word, but her request for atonement was swatted aside with a slap before the blue alicorn turned around and jumped high into the air, flying away as fast as her wings could carry. "I am sorry!"

'We should've never, ever come to this forsake land.' Celestia gritted her teeth in anger, fighting the stinging sensation that pierced deep into her face's flesh. 'We should've just asked the damn minotaurs for refuge, or just walk deeper into the south, and then everything would still be the same.' With a firm smack, did she send a rock flying away and stomping on the last pebble's place for good measure. A heavy sensation wore her body down, daring to drag her deep into the snow and to never awake again. ' If just never meet that damn fox, then I'd still have my sister'

The great white alicorn closed her eyes harder and harder, so much so that her eyelids dared to rip apart or give away into the fatigue. With a heavy pull of magic did she reach for the heaviest object on the ground and pulled it towards herself, and just as she was about to throw it as far away as she could and further, did the smell of unripe liver berries hit her. She opened her eyes and froze when she saw the whole night sky picture. There was a pair of alicorns, blue and white, and in the middle was a fox bearing a white coat and red mane; even the style fit their mother's. The rock fell to the ground with a heavy thud that rocked the grass below her hooves.

"Okay, okay, what is going on out here!?" Starswirl demanded angrily as he trotted out of his tent, a strained expression plastered across his face. "Huh, where has lady Luna gone to-uff!" The old mage was stopped, his lungs nearly crushed, when a roughly one-ton heavy mare, one and a half times his size, fell onto him and hugged his chest, all the while crying her eyes out.

"Oh mentor, what have I done." Celestia's tears, rarely has anyone ever seen her so much so shed a droplet, and now they fell like rain, soaking the poor stud who stared at the horizon with a look of confusion and wonder, eyeing the blue spot shrinking, slowly-shrinking away. "I'm so, so sorry. It's all my fault."

Diamond Bell stared at the large food item in front of her with precision and accuracy, circling each of the three-round sponges, eyeing the decoration like a hawk and made sure not to spare a single spoon of whipped cream, used every fruit that fit and sugar sure was not a rarity. "Father was right, I could've been a baker. Well, if someone owned a mill in that village, but no, a forge for the frontlines was so much more of a necessity." She rolled her eyes before jumping on her hindlegs, standing unsteady for a moment, before placing the beautiful, and most importantly, fragile delicacy, a meal worthy of a king, onto a little wheel cart usually used by Queen Chitin. How nice of her!

With a heavy breath, she gave the kitchen one last look, making sure every last speck was cleaned or splatter remaining on the ceiling. 'Mental note, aphid milk will pop like a geyser when whipped.' Bell nodded happily before pushing the cart forward, salivating slightly at the sweet treat. Sugar was a rarity; any piece of candy or dessert was, how could she ever afford the sweet, white gold? Even a spoon could drain a pouch faster than an infestation with a little garden.

' I wonder what dad would say if he could still see me today.' Bell thought with a solemn expression, the squeaking of the wheels being all that kept her to the world before she suddenly smiled a little bit. 'Ay, me lad 'came friend wid a god, eatin' cake and jumping through the fields like a hopper.' She chuckled under her breath before lifting her head and staring at the pair of guards warding the queen's chamber.

"Excuse me, could you fetch lady Auriel for me? I have a nice little surprise for her!" Bell said with an exaggerated title and a sweet little tone.

"Lady Auriel has not left the chamber." The first guard spoke; the hulking changeling was even larger than her uncle, who was called a giant more than once.

"Huh?"

"No one has trotted through these doors after her majesty queen Chitin, and unless the love-giver has used alternative means or plays another trick of the eyes, she's still residing there." The second guard spoke with a feminine tone. It was sometimes really hard to tell them apart, mostly because of the more similar color patterns.

"Oh, well, then I guess I just enter." Bell spoke slowly, the changeling guards nodded shortly before taking each their respective three steps aside. Bell lifted her hoof and knocked against the gate. "Auriel, can I enter?"

Auriel walked through yet another gate of magic, sighing deeply as the smells of flowers and fresh air were replaced by fungus and staleness, yet it was not the stench that bothered her most, for thinking about doing something was so much heavier on one's soul when the affected ones were standing just a few meters next to you. Their happy chatter, the joy they emitted, the complexity and richness of their emotions radiating off incomparable to the eternal contentment of her time of reign.

And yet.

It would be so easy.' This thought haunted her most, that as single wave could just... just end it all, absorb the magic back, deactivate the world stones, or just wait. It was fear to be alone, be it just encirclement by her creatures bearing no conscious, or the inability to ever create something quite like this. To never built a world like the one she bore in imagination or memory.

This, only this was the most horrifying deeds she could imagine happening both out of her perspective and that of her children. Maybe this was why they were afraid of this massive difference of power not to be seen as a shield, but a cage? It would be all so easy, and there would be nothing stopping her.

It was haunting her that both sides drew her in and made her fur rise, causing a rift in herself. On one paw, mayhaps a world without chances is a better one. After all, a world of ice and snow may not break things like sticks and stones, but, perhaps, they were worth it?

A drip broke thoughts, as she stared down onto the floor, a single tear had fallen, and where a droplet of her's was absorbed into the floor, the stone cracked lightly as a bush of large, green flowers with red feather-like petals grew, staring to the left.

The fox turned around and saw the nightstand of queen Chitin, atop of which laid her collar. She gulped down the dryness of her mouth, hoping to prevent the sour taste to spread as she remembered that the large changeling used to have a timber wolf that wore such clothing. Auriel took a deep breath before pointing her open paw at the object and pulled it towards her. "I guess it's the thought that counts." She thought while staring at the collar; her eyes hovered over the crystal for a moment before dropping every thought again. Shaking her head, the fox was about to put it back; who knew how long she would've not touched it if she didn't see something on the mark's back. "'For my best friend in the world.'" Auriel read aloud, the letters were fresh, and there was still metal dust from the job left.

'Maybe... only a perhaps. Possibly some surprises are nice after all.' Auriel held the collar to her chest and felt a warmth from it, not like a fire, but a gentle, soothing, and lightly tingling sensation in her heart. '...Maybe.'.

"Auriel, can I enter?" Auriel heard the voice of Bell.

"I, uh, yes, of course, why not." Auriel spoke frantically, fiddling at the collar, quickly attaching it to her neck, before sitting down right next to the flower. She would have time later to add it to her little garden. The fox stared patiently at the door, only to see one of the weirdest, and at the same time, the best smelling thing her nose was graced with. She quickly swiped the liquids escaping her muzzle away.

"You seemed so down yesterday and went through so much, and, well, you gave me some of the best time I had in my life, so, I, I made you a cake for cheers and thanks, you know." Bell spoke with an uneasy smile as she pulled the cake off the tray, attempting not to trip, and put the plate down in between the pair most unusual. "Huh, what's with the strange flower?"

"Oh, eh, you see, I tried something else, a new technique, yes, and, uh, this is the result." Auriel stammered with a quivering smile, her heart pounded intensely, yet it somehow was not guilt that dared to burst her chest open. With a wave of her hand did her magic encase a flower, gently plucking it from the bush, before levitating it in from Bell.

The mare stared at the strange, scarlet, almost blood-colored flower with much curiosity for its peculiar uniqueness. Usually, all of her friend's creations bore a gleam, an aura of power, and a form most mystic, but this seemed more familiar and yet unique in its sophistication. Bell leaned forward, her nose resting in its entirety in the bloom and took a deep whiff, and this one moment woke old yearning in her, a sense of excitement and joy for the time of youth, making her heart pound. She, oh she could not resist it and took a large bite.

"And, how does it taste?" Auriel asked; it was not a mocking or joke, but she was worried it was poisonous, or if it was delicious, she would consider making more of it. She channeled every last scrap of magic to her paws, enough to create a mountain or forest, no act of healing or rejuvenation would require such amounts, but the worry demanded it. The fox nearly let out a scream to Bell's reaction.

"Tasty!" Bell exclaimed with a smile as tremendous and goofy as she could muster, the petals were light as air and sweet as honey, and it spread warmth through her body, not like a warm brew, but hug or sunbath. "Auriel, you've got to pick a few more petals and spread them on the cake, it will be mind-blowing, believe me."

Auriel wondered if the plant had infested Bell's brain, as she could not imagine someone using the act of one's head exploding as a positive reinforcement of sort. Reluctantly did she pull a pawful of pallets of the bush and spread them across the king of sweetness, taking the word of her friend above that of her worries.

"What are you waiting for, take a slice, I've already cut it. Go one, there's enough for the two of us, and more." Bell said with a smile, tilting her head to the side.

Auriel's eyes slowly traveled down onto the meal, gulping once, before reaching towards the food with a quivering paw. Maybe it was just body still untrusting her creation, or her mind covered in guilt for such horrendous thought that she was this plagued, but she pushed through anyway. Her nose took a deep whiff, the combination of so many fruits and plants going through so many processes leading to a scent that almost led to her losing control and inhaling it whole. Auriel took a large bite and chewed slowly, such complex textures and rich taste, and the petals stood out most magically.

The fox pulled the cake away with half-closed eyes, breathing deeply as her body grew warmer, her heart pounding harder as she leaned her head back. It invoked so many strange emotions she once could only observe in others, but for just a moment, she could taste it. The harsh world outside the warmth of a home, and yet the desire, despite cold and hardship, to venture out and explore every last gift the world had to over, the desire to live the time available to its fullest with no regret.

Auriel's eyes snapped wide open when she felt a wet, soft, warm texture slide across her face. She opened her ice and saw Bell licking her lips with a grin. "You had some cream on your face, and I couldn't resist."

Auriel could practically feel her colors change to a pink hue as she stared at the small, warm, cuddly little mare standing in the cold chamber, the fire of the chimney long extinguished. Auriel lifted her index finger upwards before pointing at the fireplace, Bell's eyes following, the suddenly erupting fire distracting her. The fox rammed the rest of the cake into her face, barely not bothering to chew and squishing her muzzle into her, rubbing the mixture of cake and fruit everywhere.

"Hey! That's not f-fphh!" Bell started before a great tongue wished across her face. "Oh you little devil, you have no idea what fight you caused." she said before taking a bite out of the cake and jumped at the fox, limbs sprawled wide.

"Eep!"

Mayhaps a world without surprises, without dangers, or headaches, lacking even nightmares would be a 'better' one, but it most certainly would never be a good one. The joys cannot be replicated, and even a being equal to godhood with perfection given form can never find happiness without someone who has the hunger to explore the world, see deeper, and mayhaps unravel things even a deity could've never seen or felt alone.