Author's Note

Hello everyone,

To say I've been busy lately is an understatement. I wanted to get this Extremely short chapter(?) out to you, just as a way of saying that this story is not dead and that I am still working on it.

I want to thank you all for being patient. I hope all is well for you with everything that's going on.

With that said, I hope you enjoy a minute or two of reading.

Love and peace.

4 - Grass

Dread.

Futility.

Darkness.

“…Help me…”

Death.

I slowly opened my eyes. A nightmare? I sat up and shivered as the cool air of my unheated cabin drifted across my soaked skin. The clock on the bedside table read ‘4:23AM’. Ugh. I suppose I could squeeze in an extra hour or two of sleep. I got up and laid towels over the sweat patch. Staring down at my bed I remembered the nightmare.

“…Help me…”

On second thought, I think now is a good time to start the day…

I showered and replaced my jewellery, taking time to run a thumb over the obsidian triangle before placing it on my ear. The clock read ‘4:55AM’. On went my clothes. Wonder what time Lyra will come today? On went the boots. Celly wants us at Canterlot ASAP too. I headed towards the kitchen. Replacing that barrier is a priority. I rinsed out my flask in the sink. Then again, I don’t exactly need to hide anymore… I left the cabin and flung on my cloak as the front door closed with a creak.

At the back of my cabin in a decent size shed, is my pride and joy. If Celly heard me say that, I’d get a smack. Used every day for over five hundred years, maintained to a painstaking degree, my distillery. Magic is a wonderful thing. In one end goes anything organic, a couple of hours later and out the other end comes high proof alcohol. Now, while you can use anything organic, its not recommended. Especially if you want halfway palatable alcohol. So, I use grass. Don’t look at me like that. Living in this world for this long, changes a woman. It’s not half bad, I swear!

Oh, who am I kidding… it’s terrible. But it gets the job done and it’s easy to find. “Hello beautiful.” I smiled, Looking up at the machine. “What have you got for me today?” I slowly made my way towards the other end of the room, where the taps are located. Running my fingers over the copper pipes and rivets, inspecting for any damage. “Look at you, not a scratch.” The containers and pipework seemed to rumble and shake in pride.

The needle in the dial above the pipes was in the green. Its ready to go. The green liquid poured into my flask and I took a whiff. Yep, can definitely feel my nose hairs burning. Excellent. “Thanks, Love.” I said as I put the flask inside my cloak pocket and gave the machine a last pat as I left the shed.

It was dawn now. The birds where singing, and although it was relatively light out. The stars where twinkling away. Luna is back. A smile crept onto my face. Luna is back! Excitement was welling up inside me. I had a nightmare. The smile left. Luna is back… and… I had a nightmare? That makes no sense. Did she just, I don’t know, not care? Whatever. It’s not like I don’t deserve it. I brought out my flask and took a sip. The first of the day. It burned so good.

Back inside the cabin the clock read ‘5:36AM’. Having no idea what time Lyra would arrive, I wrote her a note, then left the cabin once more.

“Lyra,

Meet me at the stones. Expect a long day.

~A.”