Flying by island to island, just in hopes of spotting a glimpse of the infamous Sköll wasn’t a particularly pleasing task Twilight had learned. Firstly, just flying by the winds and hoping to spot an island which had Sköll’s trademark trail of destruction was an arduous task, to say the least.

For one thing, it seemed the further out they went into the wild howling north, the more alike each island seemed to become. Gone were the grassy forested timberlands of previous islands, with the occasional coastline here and there. Now there only existed rocky crags jutting up from the barren sea, barren and almost devoid of life.

Eventually, Twilight knew, that too would be replaced by ice as far as the eye could see, and in fact as she landed on a small outcropping Gilda at her side, she could begin to see icebergs out in the distance. They seemed to mock her, saying that just beyond this islands was a place where no creature was meant to go, and yet to she had to forge onwards in hopes of finding Sköll.

“This… This is fruitless,” Twilight panted out, shivering from the cold blasts of wind that flew through the air up from the seas. “Can’t believe I’m following out orders from Fenrir, just in a vague hope he knows something about my past, and pursuing a spurned sun-goddess’ lover. Who may I mention, happens to be a wolf!”

“Well, you could always back out of this…” Gilda advised, nestling herself into the rocks and using her wings to block most of the crosswinds.

“Yeah, that’ll go over real well. If Sól doesn’t kill me for neglecting the mortals and not killing Sköll for her, Fenrir’s likely to send one of his minions -And he’s bound to have some, everybody has worshippers, even him!- after me for neglecting to carry out my task.”

“So, either way you look at it, you’re screwed basically… Am I right?” Gilda questioned.

“Yeah, pretty much…” Twilight whispered, sinking down into herself in fear. “I’m really beginning to hate gods and goddesses…”

“Well, look on the bright side, even if you went to Greece then you’d probably be off no better! I mean, let’s look it this way. Zeus, the big guy up high on his mountain. You want scary, look at Zeus!” Gilda lectured, looking to the skies every so often as if she was checking to make sure Zeus wasn’t watching or wasn’t about to strike them down. Thor, the Norse god of Storms was one of the calmer Norse gods, and even he was in a bad mood the last couple of days. Zeus was a whole ‘nother matter entirely.

“What about him?”

“Okay, let me give you some perspective here. Zeus, he’s in charge of law and order here right?” Gilda questioned. “This is a guy who threw down random lightning bolts and such whenever he got pissed off, and couldn’t keep it in his pants and therefore out went the whole “Death do us part” thing with Hera. Couldn’t even handle his own wedding vows nor his temper, so what wise guy put him in charge of keeping law and order? Hell if I know, but that guy… He’s in charge of making sure kings were acting wisely, oaths were kept, councils were respected and strangers were given hospitality. You nervous yet Twilight?” Gilda asked, still watching the skies, and while it was true they were a cloudy grey no thunder seemed to be rumbling… yet.

“Maybe we’re just out of Zeus’ jurisdiction. I mean, this is Norway... “ Gilda thought, looking towards Twilight, who was shaking at the sheer implications Gilda had brought up. Draping a wing around her, Gilda pulled the dragoness in closer. Just for comfort of course. Not like she actually wanted to snuggle with anyone who wasn’t her lover or anything like that! “That is, unless old Thunderpants has Odin on best buddy-buddy speed dial or something like that.”

“Okay, good,” Gilda said, though Twilight failed to see anything good about it. “Just sayin’, it could always be worse. Fenrir, god-slayer, yes he’s terrible and all, no doubt about that, but you could be dealing with Zeus. That’s what I’m here for, to serve as a guide on the dos and don’ts of mythology and to keep you upbeat.”

“Yeah, a real fine swell job you’re doing there,” Twilight deadpanned. “Keep it up, and at this rate I may not want to fly into a hurricane and get ripped apart.”

“Look Twi, listen… Uh, there’s something I should probably mention,” Gilda said. “A night or so back, I had this dream. Met your mom, or some dragon claiming to be your mom.”

She, of course, was neglecting to mention the fact that she’d met Seth and apparently Seth had this idea in his head that Gilda was somehow related to Horus or whatever. Twilight probably wouldn’t have believed that even for a second, might even have laughed her head off. Not that Gilda would blame her. She honestly doubted Seth -A god of chaos- was telling the truth anyways. Or that he was entirely sane.

“Y-You did?” Twilight asked, her voice shaky and sounding like she was near tears. For her, this was a huge revelation. She barely remembered a thing about her past, and just to discover one relation of hers was a huge thing. Even if it turned out to be worth nothing in the end, this was still worth listening to. Just in case Gilda was right, and she had encountered her mother. “W-Where did you… Where did you meet her?” Twilight asked the griffon.

The logical part of her mind told her that there was no way Gilda should know what her mother looked like, even as well traveled as Gilda seemed to be. It could have been a lie, it could have been just some dragon trying to curry favor with Gilda for whatever reason. Okay, maybe that was the pessimistic side of her. After all, what reason would Gilda have to lie, plus why would a dragon want to curry favor with her anyways? And finally, they had seen no other dragons, or at least Twilight had so again Gilda making this story up just to hurt Twilight seemed unlikely. After all, she was just an insignificant little lindworm so why would anyone want to make up any relations to her?

“Yeah, that’s all I am… Just an insignificant little lindworm so why would anyone, in the end, want to even acknowledge my existence?” Twilight whispered to herself, and Gilda’s ears perked up at

“Is that really what you think of yourself Twilight?” the griffon thought to herself, pale amber eyes widening in shock before surprising even herself she pulled Twilight into a hug.

“Listen, never tell yourself that okay?” Gilda asked Twilight, smacking her upside the head. “Goddess only knows why I’m saying this, as I’m not exactly the soft and mushy sort -Ask anyone I know!- but nobody’s insignificant. That includes you Twilight.”

“Yeah, you say that, but compared to goddesses and titans and spirits and all that, I am rather insignificant. I’m just that small, compared to well… something like that!” Twilight said, pointing to Sól’s sun just barely peeking through the clouds.

“So?” Gilda shrugged her shoulders. “Listen, take this as you will, but everyone’s small compared to the sun. You need to be you right now, whoever that is, and not worry about your size compared to a goddess’ own. Everyone has their part to play, you just need to find yours. So, I ask, what is it?”

“Right now, it seems to be just a weapon of the Norse pantheon. No, a tool, carrying out their will and solving their little domestic squabbles…” Twilight trailed off. “Twilight, do this and you’ll get rewarded with knowledge! Twilight, do that and I’ll keep from frying you to a crisp!”

“So? Take a third option!” Gilda asked. “Break the chains that the Norse Pantheon are holding you to. Don’t do what they want, do what you want,” she told her friend sternly, poking her in the chest.

Twilight chuckled to herself at Gilda’s actions and thought: “Easier said than done when everyone’s got something to hold over you, or they’re simply much more powerful than you are.”

“My mother… what was she like? To you at least?” Twilight asked slowly, not sure if she wanted to know. What if her mother was the worse possible dragon there could have been, the kind she knew only cared about one thing and one thing only, gold? What if she just cared about hurting mortals, burning down their towns and frying them and their bodies to a crisp and eating whatever remained?

“You’re thinking your mother’s a monster aren’t you?” Gilda asked, and Twilight looked at her in shock. “What, don’t look so surprised. I’m good at reading creatures, figuring out what they’re thinking,” Gilda replied in this almost bragging tone. “For you it’s easy enough. I mean, you’re completely anxiety ridden, breathing hard and somehow managing to work up a sweat even in this weather.” Gilda continued.

“Was… Was I that obvious?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, you sorta were…” Gilda trailed off. “But your mother, she wasn’t exactly an evil being. I didn’t get any of that sorta threatening feeling off of her. She was so kind to me, even if it was only just a dream we met in. Twilight’s eyes widened in remembrance.

A pure white dragon soaring through the sky, and although she was unable to tell just how large it was, she could tell this dragoness was probably larger than most and bore spines on her back and tail that looked as if they could be launched at a whim like missiles. Oddly however, Twilight didn’t get a feeling of menace from this elegantly shaped dragoness, and when she seemingly turned to look at Twilight, the mare found herself at peace all at ease in her world.

“Remember Twilight,” the dragoness spoke to her, the voice now finding its source as on the dragoness’ hindquarters a sun blazed.

“This dragoness…” Twilight said in a shaky breath. “Was she pure white, like the newfallen snow?”

“Yes… Yes, she was,” Gilda asked her eyes widening briefly in surprise and wondering how Twilight knew that. It could have been a lucky guess, but Twilight sounded too sure of herself for that. “And she felt so old, and yet so very kind. A great power, blazing like the sun itself. And with all of the warmth that came with it. But… But how did you know all of that?”

“Because… Because I met her in a dream as well!” Twilight stammered out. “Did… Did she give you a name? Did she Gilda?” Twilight asked, grabbing the griffon by the forelegs and shaking her. “Tell me!”

“C-Celestia!” Gilda breathed out. “It was Celestia. That’s all I know. I promise.”

“Celestia…” Twilight whispered, letting the name run across her lips. It felt so warm and so right. Like the sun itself, or perhaps the world’s finest hearth you felt comforted by it’s very mention. Even now, in spite of her fear of what was to come, just hearing that name Twilight knew everything would come out alright in the end. Corny as it sounded to her, that’s what she believed anyways. Gilda would probably laugh at her if she even said this aloud, but Twilight knew right then and there something was right in the world if someone was willing to reveal themselves to her and let them know that they were on her side. Made this land of gods and monsters seem that little less frightening really.

“Celestia, I’m coming to find you…” Twilight thought to herself even as the sun set across the lands, casting an orange-red glow over the waters. The skies soon once more became a river of night and then a belt made of stars and glowing green ribbons of light. “No, that’s not right. Mom, I’m coming to find you. And then, just then maybe I’ll find out more about my past, and who I am.”

Author's Note

Okay, so not much happening here, at least on the surface. But this chapter was mainly made for more bonding between the two leads, and to get me back in the swing of things. Next chapter, hopefully, it'll be more action packed with Gilda and Twilight finally meeting up with Sköll himself.

As ever, comments and thoughts along with feedback are welcomed so feel free to ask away. And as a bonus, here's some music for you to listen to while you read this story. It's what I use as writing music for this story as well. Really gets you in that Viking mindset.