The Golden Trail

In spite of her past and the odd quirks of her present life, Gold considered herself a fairly simple mare. She had her routines, her hobbies, and a few ponies that she was happy to spend her free time with. It was simple, soothing, and structured. Just the way she liked it. As is often the case, life had decided to throw a wrench into all of it in the most spectacular of ways.

Eyes closed, she sat on her haunches in the shade of her favorite tree. She tried to empty her mind and calm herself as she had dozens of times before, but something was putting her too far on edge. That something came in the form of a meditating Starlight Glimmer sitting a couple hooves to her left.

In spite of her attempts to stay calm, she couldn't keep the shaking out of her breaths. She tried to push her focus away from the mare to literally anything else. The trees. The grass. Her cloak. Anything! Unfortunately, no matter what she tried to distract herself with, her mind kept dragging her attention back to the Unicorn sitting next to her.

She is not Moonstone. Y-Y-You have n-nothing to fear.

She knew that she was right, that she was as safe as she could be, but that didn't stop the fear from slithering in.

A small crunch at Starlight's hooves was all it took to shatter Gold's resolve. With a startled squeak Gold jumped away from the mare. Starlight stared at her with eyes as wide as Gold's, the later crouched low in preparation for an attack. Starlight flinched back when their eyes met, the fear they held instantly catching her off guard.

"M-My apologies," Gold forced out, schooling herself with a shuddering breath."I....I thought I heard something."

"That's okay," Starlight nodded, an awkward smile gracing her muzzle. "Just...Uh....take your time."

Gold nodded,.

Staring at the ground, she retook her seat and tried to resume her meditation. As she tried to find her center, she could not hold back a few mental curses at the chain of events that led to her new situation.

***

It took every ounce of Gold's remaining dignity to keep her from bolting straight towards Gaia. After being forced to wear her cursed cloak for most of the day, she felt like a foal waking up on Hearths Warming day the second she crossed into the forest. Her four bodyguards watched her with concern, but otherwise kept their thoughts to themselves.

As such, the party progressed in relative silence, the forest's dimly lit ambiance calming their nerves. At least, it did with the wolves. With each step she took, new horrors crept to the front of Gold's mind about what kind of foul magics Rarity could have sewn into her cloak's fabric. Every possibility made her skin crawl, most of them being the kind of things she used to use or had used on her countless times in her past life. Granted, most of the curses she knew of were nearly impossible to learn, but that still didn't do much to ease her fears. After all, just because a spell isn't forbidden, it doesn't mean a creative caster can't do something twisted with it.

By the time they reached Gaia's clearing, Gold almost ran screaming to its center. Fortunately, she was able to hold onto just enough of her composure to tame that urge.

Gaia laid at the heart of the clearing, a small smile gracing her muzzle. Standing before her, covered with old scars, was an elder manticore. Gold almost forgot about her troubles when her eyes fell onto the beast, not out of fear, but wonder. She had heard rumors of such creatures; of how they could take on a whole squadron of Celestia's elite guards or that the poison from their sting had aged to the point that even dragons feared it. Hulking in size, even by the standards of its own kin with a shoulder hight of fifteen feet and a full body length of Twenty five, there were few things that could truly match its bloody fury. In her old life, she brushed such rumors off as simple stories; things ponies told each other over drinks or on the camping trail. A small rueful smile spread across her muzzle at that, marking it as yet another thing she had been wrong about.

Keeping a respectful distance from her lady's guest, Gold took a seat before Gaia and patiently waited her turn. The elder cut himself off for a moment to give her a curious glance. Instead of cowering under the beast's gaze, she offered a small smile and nod in greeting. His eyes narrowed, a rumbling growl shaking the air as he bared his fangs. Gold held her ground, her smile unshaken as she met the beast's stare. They continued their stare-down for several minutes, neither of them gaining or losing ground.

Eventually, the manticore dropped the display, low grumbles slipping past his jowls as he turned to face Gaia. Said Spirit held a proud smile, a playfully sounding growl slipping past her own muzzle. The manticore only huffed, giving a reluctant nod and a low growl.

Gold tittered behind a hoof, enjoying the back and forth between the two apex predators. It was almost enough to distract her from the reason why she came here in the first place. A passing breeze reminded her, painfully twisting her stomach into knots.

Taking a shaky breath, she tried to push the cloak to the back of her mind. Unfortunately, being so close to a remedy to her problem rendered her attempts almost null. As she watched the duo interact, her anxieties started to crawl across her body like a bad itch. When the meeting concluded, it took everything she had not to jump for joy. Both she and Gaia watched the elder manticore move past the tree line back into the forest proper.

The second he was out of sight, Gold finally let all of her barriers fall away.

Like a mare possessed, she frantically undid the clasp on her cloak with her hooves and threw it at her lady's paws.

"I apologize for my brashness, m'lady, but please examine this for me," she choked out, frantic and shaking.

"Pardon?" Gaia blinked, eyes moving back and forth between the mare and the cloak.

Sighing, Hazel broke from the pack to take a seat next to Gold.

"She spazzed out on a Unicorn a few days ago and has to wear that cloak as a way to make up for it."

"I see," Gaia frowned, raising a brow. "Sounds like a fairly simple condition to make."

"It's enchanted," Hazel snorted.

"I can see that," Gaia nodded, only for realization to form on her face a second later. "Your phobia."

She gave Gold an understanding smile at that addition, to which Gold responded with a shaky nod.

"I am....willing to endure her condition," Gold gulped, eyes still locked onto the cloak. "E-E-Even knowing that it is enchanted. My concern comes from what kind of enchantments have been woven into it."

"I see," Gaia nodded, picking up the cloak with a claw. "Is this the only condition the Unicorn has put into place?"

"No," she sighed. "I also need to join her for tea on the weekends."

"I see," the spirit nodded, a wide smile forming on her muzzle as she continued to examine the article of clothing. "Tell me more about this Unicorn."

For the next few minutes, Gold told her everything she knew about Rarity and the events that led to her current situation. All the while, Gaia continued to examine Gold's cloak, not a hint of worry or concern crossing her face. The elder spirit continued her examination long after Gold's report, the suspense slowly eating away at her patience like rocks under waves.

Her breath was trapped when Gaia finally set the cloak down at Gold's hooves.

"After a careful examination, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that there are no hostile spells woven into this cloak."

"Oh, thank the Maker," Gold sighed, almost falling over with relief.

"Told ya;," Hazel snorted.

Gaia chuckled good naturedly at the exchange, much to Gold's chagrin.

"I must say," Gaia continued, pulling all attention back to her. "The spell-work integrated into this cloak is very impressive. This was clearly the work of a caster that greatly cares for their work."

"Yes, Rarity did strike me as a mare that loves her work," Gold nodded, Smiling softly at her new cloak. "I should tell her as much when we next meet."

"That would be wise," Gaia sagely nodded, then gave an equally wise smile as she added, "This could also be good for you in the end."

"Pardon?" Gold blinked.

"While I can understand your fear, you cannot avoid Unicorns forever."

"I....I am aware," Gold wilted, staring down at the cloak. "Believe me. I know that all too well. It is just...."

The shiver that ran down her spine was the only addition she needed to give to get her point across.

"Moonstone's wounds are deep," Gaia nodded, sympathy clear in her glowing green eyes. "It will take time for them to heal properly."

Gold nodded, lightly trembling.

"Hopefully, this 'Rarity' will be able to hasten the process."

"H-Hopefully," Gold nervously allowed. "I hate that, that cow still has such a hold on me. I want to move on from all of that taint, damn it!"

Hazel flinched back at that, staring down at her charge in shock. It was rare that Gold swore and none of those times were in front of Gaia. The elder spirit in question was surprised as well, but only a trace of it was visible on her face. Realizing her error, Gold took a deep breath and offered her mistress an apologetic smile.

"My humblest apologies, Lady Gaia. Such a crass tongue should never be uttered in your presence."

"You are forgiven," Gaia nodded. "Such a thing may rial other spirit, but you will find that I am much more lenient on such things."

"So long as none of it is aimed at you," Hazel snorted.

"That noble should've known better," Gaia huffed.

"Quite," Gold nervously chuckled.

"That aside," Gaia sighed. "I support this agreement you have with Rarity. She sounds like just the pony you will need to help you move past your fears."

"I.....think you are right," Gold reluctantly nodded. "I am willing to give her a chance, at the very least."

"Not that you have much of a choice," Hazel snorted. "It's part of your punishment, right?"

"I am well aware of that," Gold huffed, aiming a sharp glare at the wolf. "I am simply saying that I am open to getting more than forgiveness out of this exchange."

"So that's how you swing," Hazel said, giving the mare a suggestive smile.

"That is not what I meant and you know it!" she barked, scowling face red as she pointed a hoof at the wolf.

"Whatever you say," she shrugged.

"Regardless," Gaia cut in. "I approve of your willingness to see this through."

"Thank you," Gold said, offering her mistress a small smile and bow.

Gaia smiled down at her student, a hint of pride filling her heart. Said smile wilted when she felt a disturbance in her forest. A disturbance that was slowly closing in on her clearing, in spite of the various spells turning the path into a twisting maze. The change in Gaia's demeanor was quickly noticed by everyone present, all of them quickly jumping to their feet and looking around. Their attention was instantly focused on one particular part of the tree line when Gaia gave it her full attention.

From what Gold could glean from the trees, two mares were making their way through the forest towards them. The fact that they were apparently both Unicorns initially put her completely on edge, the feeling she got from the trees dulled it with curiosity. While one of them was a stranger to the trees, the other was a presence that the trees were not only familiar with, but ecstatic to see. Perplexed, she lowered her guard a little, but still kept her eyes locked onto the tree line.

Her eyes widened when a familiar green mare entered the clearing. Just like the time before, a warmth filled Gold's heart as her Grammy approached her. A warmth that took on a pained edge when the few rays of light that made it through the forest's canopy hit the mare. They phased through her, adding to the phantom shimmer of her spectral body and reminding her of what she was staring at. The fact that everycreature else could see her too made the pain a little less intense. She was not a hallucination. She was real and walking towards her with the same kind smile she sported in all of Gold's oldest memories.

Her grandmother's companion, on the other hoof, filled her with deep-seated dread. Out of all of the Unicorns she knew of, Starlight Glimmer was on the top of the list of ones she wanted to avoid. She could tell, both from how she carried herself and the intense magic aura she gave off, that she was powerful. That alone turned her blood into ice, but the fact that she was so closely connected to Princess Twilight Sparkle froze her to her soul. Even being surrounded by so many powerful protectors couldn't keep her body from trembling.

The two mares stopped twenty feet away from the group, one holding a serene smile while the other looked just as scared as Gold. Starlight gave Manchineel and Gaia nervous glances, but otherwise still held her ground. When Manchineel casually sat at her haunches, Starlight nearly dropped herself into the same position. That earned a small snicker from Hazel and Birch while Arbor and Willow remained hard to read.

"Good day, Lady Gaia," Manchineel said, offering a small bow. "I apologize for interrupting your meeting with my granddaughter, but I fear that this was something that could not wait."

"Indeed," Gaia nodded, poise stoic. "To what do I owe this rare pleasure?"

"A simple bout of curiosity," Manchineel stated, offering Starlight a small passing glance. "One that I wished to see satisfied without bloodshed."

Gaia gave Starlight her full attention, the mare in question nervously gulping under the elder spirit's piercing gaze.

"What kind of curiosity?' she pressed, eyes still locked onto Starlight.

"She wished to know more about my granddaughter. Normally, I wouldn't need a reason to get involved over something like that, but her methods were a bit...eccentric, to say the least."

"I see," Gaia nodded, refusing to take her eyes off of Starlight. "Tell me, mare, what do they call you?'

"S-S-Starlight G-G-Glimmer," she stammered out, whole body trembling under the spirit's gaze.

"Well then, Starlight Glimmer, what do you wish to know about my student?"

"S-S-Student?" she stammered, eyes rapidly switching focus between Gaia and Gold.

"Yes. Student," Gaia intoned, eyes narrowing.

Starlight flinched from the intensity in the spirit's tone, but shakily held her ground. Taking her time, she forced her scared mind to carefully form a question that, hopefully, would not end badly for her.

"I...I want to know more about her....in general."

"I see," Gaia nodded. "Care to elaborate?"

Starlight nervously returned the nod.

"She's supposed to be related to my friend Applejack, but she acts way too much like a Canterlot noble to be an Apple. She knows a lot more about Unicorn magic than she should, including what kind of things can cause something as rare as Mana Rot. She's also a very skilled brewer, a skill that is rare in the Apple family outside of cider and a few folk remedies. Then there's the Timberwolves...."

As she said that last part, she gave Gaia and the four other wolves in the clearing a brief sweeping glance.

"Quite the observations," Gaia mused. "How long have you been stalking her?"

Gold's face paled, a look of pure terror slowly spreading across her face at that revelation.

"A....few days," Starlight awkwardly replied, looking away.

"Out of simple curiosity?" she pressed.

Starlight nodded, still looking away.

"Did you not think to simply ask her questions directly?"

"The...um....last time we talked didn't end well," Starlight sighed, meeting the spirit's eyes with an ashamed grimace.

"Is this true?' Gaia asked, shifting her attention to Manchineel and Gold.

Gold nodded, not taking her eyes off of Starlight, while Manchineel did the same with a sad sigh.

"It was after Gold snapped at Rarity. When Starlight teleported herself and the mare away, she scared Gold so badly that her heart popped."

"That was how it happened?" Gaia asked, shock crossing her face.

"Yes," Gold stiffly responded, still watching Starlight.

Said mare gave the group confused looks, then sputtered out, "Gold's heart did what?!"

"Popped," Gold frowned. "Like a balloon."

"Wha...." Starlight blinked, her mind petering out along with her voice.

"I obviously recovered," Gold huffed.

"How!?" Starlight barked, shaking off her confusion.

"Do you honestly expect me to tell you?" she growled. "There is no way I can trust such information with a pony like you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Starlight frowned, ignoring the wolves surrounding them.

"Simple," Gold sneered, her magic already surging in her veins. "I refuse to be some Unicorn's toy."

Starlight reeled back as if struck, then let a small understanding smile grace her lips.

"That's right. A Unicorn hurt you."

Shock came to everyones faces.

Gold's turned into anger as she roughly asked, "Who told you that?"

"Applejack," she sighed. "She didn't give me anything more than that, though."

Gold glared deep into Starlight's eyes, looking for even the slightest hint of deception. When none revealed themselves to her, she let her guard drop just a bit.

"Very well," she huffed. "I will choose to believe you."

"Thank you," Starlight smiled.

Gold's frown deepened, but was otherwise unaffected by the friendly display.

"An interesting development, wouldn't you say?" Manchineel asked, staring at the two mares.

"Quite," Gaia nodded, doing the same. "Maybe an opportunity as well."

"Pardon?" Gold asked, finally tearing her eyes away from Starlight.

Gaia aimed yet another stoic glare down at Starlight.

"Starlight Glimmer, is your curiosity satisfied?"

Starlight opened her mouth, possibly to say she was, but froze at the last second. After taking a moment to think, she closed her mouth, sheepishly looked at the ground, and shook her head. Gaia's features softened slightly, a small approving smile briefly gracing her muzzle before it was covered by her stoic mask.

"Do you wish to harm my student?" she pressed.

"Of course not!" Starlight gaped. "I mean, so long as she doesn't hurt my friends, anyway."

"Understandable," the spirit nodded. "Though I doubt my student would ever do such a thing."

"Absolutely not," Gold growled, glaring sabers into Starlight's side. "They have been nothing, but civil with me and I will return the favor. That aside, I would sooner tie myself to a stone and sink to the ocean floor than harm my family."

"Well said," Manchineel nodded, sporting a small smile.

"Agreed," Gaia nodded. "Which leads to my current proposal."

Everyone present gave Gaia their full attention, wondering where the elder spirit was going with this.

"My student needs to overcome her fears and you need satisfaction for both of you to find peace. As such, I suggest that the two of you spend some time together."

"Huh?" Starlight blinked.

"WHAT THE TAKER DID YOU SAY!?" Gold screeched, pure terror plastered across her face.

"You heard me," Gaia frowned. "I can see that this mare is the type that is a slave to her curiosities, a list that you have fallen onto."

Gold shivered at that.

"Further more, you need to overcome your phobia. While visiting Rarity is a good start, I feel that repeated exposure in a more typical setting would also be a boon."

Gold wanted to argue, oh how she wanted to, but she could not deny that her teacher had a point. Whether she liked it or not, she had landed on Starlight's radar and it was clear that the mare was not going to leave her be. This led to two possible options. She could reject having the mare around her just to have her spy on her from the shadows or have her in her presence where she could at least keep an eye on her. Both options made her skin crawl, but it was clear which one was the lesser of two evils.

"F-Fine," Gold stammered out, staring at the ground. "I-I-I will allow it."

"I promise that you will not regret this turn of events," Gaia smiled.

"I highly doubt it, but I will trust in your judgement, m'lady."

"Understood," she chuckled. "And if in the off chance that this mare does try to harm you, the consequences will be the stuff of legends."

As she said that, she and the rest of the pack gave Starlight predatory grins; ones that put their fangs on full display. The mare in question chuckled weakly at them, looking more like a mouse surrounded by feral cats than a powerful mage. In spite of the dread that rattled her bones and the hint of guilt it caused, Gold could not hold back the small smile that the sight invoked.

***

Gold bit back her anger and fear that Starlight's presence inspired, her meditation suffering as a result. Every time she came close to finding her center, her awareness would drift towards her uninvited companion. The trees around her tried to comfort her, but it did very little to improve her mood.

Letting out a frustrated huff, she let herself fall out of what little of her zen she could salvage and stomped towards a nearby tree. She ignored the nervous stares Starlight gave her as she plucked her cloak off of a low-hanging branch. Aggressively snapping the clasp in place, the rattled earth pony mare made her way towards the farm house. She fought down a near panic attack when she heard Starlight's hoofsteps behind her.

She is not Moonstone. She is not Moonstone. She...is....not...moonstone.

She continued the mental mantra even when Starlight moved to her left, keeping a respectful four-foot distance between them.

"So, done meditating?" Starlight nervously asked.

Gold flinched, then snipped, "Unfortunately."

Starlight flinched back, chuckling awkwardly as she looked away.

The two walked in heavy silence, one unsure of how to proceed and the other completely unwilling.

This is not working, Gold fumed. Honestly, what was Lady Gaia thinking? I know I need to overcome my fears, but how am I supposed to do that with this mare?!

A nervous question from Starlight pulled her out of her mind before the thoughts could get any more heated.

"So, what do you do for fun?"

"If you have been spying on me, I would assume that you would know," Gold spat.

"Right," Starlight cringed. "That....wasn't as....informative as you probably think."

"Enlighten me," she frowned, a hint of intrigue mixing with her paranoid ire.

"Well, when I was...doing that, your grandmother kept tripping me up."

"In what ways?" she asked, a slight raise of the brow creeping past her stoic front.

"She smeared this itchy powder on me, pushed me into sap puddles, got me with some kind of paralyzing agent, and a bunch of other things."

Gold couldn't contain a small smile and snort.

"That sounds like the kind of things she would do. Grammy Manchineel was a massive prankster and a true master with potions and toxins."

"I noticed," Starlight flatly stated.

Gold let out another snort at that.

"Indeed. To answer your question, I often spend my free time with my family."

"You do that for fun?" she blinked.

Gold gave her a sharp glare.

"Sorry! That came out wrong!" she gulped, taking a step away from the mare. "I-I meant that a lot of ponies would've seen that as chores or something."

"Then they are fools," Gold spat.

"I....guess," Starlight allowed. "Maybe it depends on the family?"

Gold was about to deny that claim, but stopped herself. As much as she loved her new family, she could not argue that her old one was anywhere close to them in quality. With bitter resignation, she nodded in agreement with her unwanted companion.

Seeing a chance to move forward, Starlight asked, "What do you like to do when you're not helping out?"

Gold thought about that for a moment, then said, "I commune with the trees."

"You....what?"

Gold frowned at her.

"You wouldn't understand even if I tried to explain."

"Right, sorry," Starlight sighed.

The duo fell back into silence, though a lighter one from before as they continued down the path. Soon, the farmhouse came into view. As they closed in on it, they heard a familiar rough female voice letting out a small string of bitter cries. Gold let out small chuckle while Starlight raised a brow. When they reached the front door, there was no doubt in their minds who the voice belonged to. When she reached forward to open the door, a brief series of equally familiar clacks froze her dead in place.

Oh, no. How could I have forgotten about Skully?!

For seconds that felt like hours, she stayed locked in place, struggling to think of what to do. If Starlight was going to be spending time with her, it would only be a matter of time before she met the skeleton. She could already imagine the mare's horrified reaction to what stood beyond this door. Her heart started to hammer in her chest as an image of a sickened Starlight entered her mind before the imagined mare's expression turned to one of hate. Her head started to spin as a massive beam of white light flew towards her from the mare's horn.

She closed her eyes tight and tried to shake off the delusion, haggard pants falling out of her suddenly dry mouth. When she opened her eyes, she was staring at the door, its knob held tightly in her hoof's grip.

"Are you okay?" Starlight worriedly asked, fidgeting in place a short distance away.

"Y-Y-Yes," she forced out, aiming a nervous glance over shoulder. "J-Just, p-p-please listen."

Starlight nodded, confusion seeping into the worry on her face.

"What....What you are about to see in there has a reasonable explanation and I promise to provide it to you at a later date. Just know that it is not as bad as it looks and.....please do not think....ill of me."

Before she could lose her nerve or Starlight could give and answer, Gold entered the house. Starlight quickly followed, lightly closing the door behind them. Head hung low, Gold walked through the house towards the dining room with Starlight following at an agreeable distance. As they got closer to the room in question, Rainbow's voice and the clacking became clearer to the pair. When they reached their destination, both mare's stopped at the entryway into the room.

Rainbow and Skully sat at the dining room table with a Chess board set between them. The living mare stared down at the board with a sharp glare, slowly reaching for a glass of apple juice while the revenant sat with her forelegs crossed in a smug manner.

Skully clacked her teeth and gave her opponent an encouraging nod.

"I know, I know!" Rainbow snapped, "Just....give me a minute, okay?"

Skully mimed a small chuckle.

While this back and forth continued, Gold nervously watched Starlight's reaction. Naturally, wide-eyed shock was her first reaction, only for a blank expression to slowly take its place. In a lot of ways, this was worse than what she thought was going to happen. It was roughly two minutes after their arrival that Rainbow noticed them, the Pegasus's face paling the second she saw Starlight. Skully slowly turned to follow Rainbow's line of sight, then froze. An awkward silence dominated the room, neither of them sure how to break it.

Eventually, Rainbow found her voice

"Uh, hey Starlight. What's up?"

"Fine," Starlight stiffly replied, a shaky smile slowly stitching itself onto her muzzle. "I'm fine! How are you??"

"I'm, uh, I'm cool," she nervously chuckled. "Just, hanging with a friend, y'know?"

"Right," Starlight gulped, turning her head towards Skully. "And you are...?"

"Starlight," Gold calmly and cautiously cut in. "I would like you to meet my....twin sister, Skully."

Gold gave Skully her full attention and continued.

"Skully, this is Starlight Glimmer. She is my....stalker."

"Funny," Starlight deadpanned, giving Gold a flat look.

"I am not wrong, am I?" Gold calmly asked.

Starlight gave no rebuttal to that beyond small scowl.

"So, that's your sister," she asked, pointing.

"Um, yes?" Gold blinked, taken aback by the mare's organic response so far.

"And your Grandmother's dead, right?"

"Has been for many years," she nodded.

"I see," Starlight nodded. "So you're a necromancer."

"What?!" Gold squawked, appalled by the accusation. "I will have you Kn-"

"It's fine, I get it," Starlight chuckled. "You want to turn over a new leaf and some of your old life stuck with you. I can kind've understand why you're so secretive about everything now."

"You...I...that is not..." Gold continued to sputter.

"Don't worry, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to," Starlight chuckled, only to bitterly sigh as she added, "It's not like I'm one to give you any grief on that kind of stuff anyway."

"Um....thank...you?" she blinked.

"You know, you're taking this whole, 'walking skeleton' thing pretty well," Rainbow chuckled.

"Oh, I'm not actually," Starlight chuckled, left eye twitching. "In fact, I think I'm about to fai-"

At that moment, Starlight's eyes rolled back and she passed out on the spot. Rainbow dashed to her side just before she hit the ground, then carefully moved her towards the living room. With Starlight taken out of sight, all of the tension holding Gold up fell out of her, dropping her to her haunches.

"(Well, that went well,)" Skully clacked, getting out of her chair.

"Indeed," Gold panted. "Skully, could you be a dear and pour me a glass of cider?"

"(You are aware that you can not get drunk, correct?)"

"Catharsis my dear friend. That is all I need at the moment. In fact, just bring me a bottle and we'll see if I am truly immune."

Nodding in understanding, Skully made her way towards the kitchen to prepare Gold's much needed drink.