The trees of Sour Woods rustled in a gentle breeze, as the sun set and nocturnal wildlife emerged from its slumber, filling the air with a harmony of rustling and cries. The night had been blessed with a full moon, but its light was not strong enough to pull through the thicket of leaves, branches and everlasting snow that covered them. The mountainside woods stood proud and silent, only disturbed by the occasional owl catching its prey.
Two figures skipped hurriedly amongst the timeless columns, disturbing what would have otherwise been a beauty frozen in the instant. The hooves of the alien shadows sinked in the snow, pulling up as quickly as they had arrived, creating a clear path behind them.
"This isn't working," one of the shilouettes hissed, "We are leaving too clear of a path in our wake. They'll find us the moment we stop and rest."
"Don't you think I know that?!" hissed back the other one, which seemed to be wearing an odd hat, "I tried to cover our tracks ever since we escaped their clutches at Slumber Rock, but the beasts are just too clever! I too need my rest, and I cannot hide our steps without recovering first!"
The first one nickered and shrugged. They kept galloping, the sound of their hooves hitting the soft snow and heavy breathing being the only noises they could hear. They descended a small, cliff-like rock with caution, but hurried their step once they had reached the base, continuing their endeavour. It was becoming painful to run, and they were soon reduced to find a protected spot to hide where they could sleep in safety.
Once again, the female voice spoke its mind: "Starswirl, couldn't you light a fire?"
The figure with the funny hat shook its weary head, looking away.
"Neigh, even if I had the strength to perform the spell, it would not only attract our pursuers, but also the dangerous creatures lurking in these woods."
A roar echoed in the valley, earning a startled jump from the two.
The mare was shaking violently, trying not to fall asleep in case they were ambushed, or worse, she died of hypothermia.
"I am sorry, Benevolent." spoke Starswirl, sadness in his voice."I do try to protect you, but it just seems the more we seek answers to the countless questions we have, the more danger we bring upon ourselves."
The mare was shivering violently now, holding her forelegs around her shoulders and rubbing in hopes of gaining some heat.
The stallion fiddled at his neck and, after a few seconds, opened his forelegs, revealing he was wearing a cape which he wrapped around his companion.
Though he could not see it, she gave a smile."You needn't worry, Master, I would not give up what we have found if it killed me."
Starswirl chuckled grimly.
"Not that it would make a difference."
Morning soon arose on the townsponies of Cobblebridge, each one of them awakening with a set task in mind for the day.
Said town was a small settlement, a village most ponies would have never heard of, and even so, would have never wished to visit.
Cobblebridge was built over a thousand years ago, right after the Saviours of Ponykind had founded Equestria. Being in such early times meant that the only territory well-known enough for living were the Singing Mountains, at the far North of said Kingdom, a place too near to the Beyond for anypony's liking.
Nevertheless, the ponies of Cobblebridge lived in relative peace, rarely having to repel an attack from the various beasts within the nearby woods.
Snow had just settled upon the town, but the oncoming winter was the last thing to bother the folk of Cobblebridge.
Sounds of battle had been heard from Slumber Rock, and flashes of lightning seen in Sour Woods. Silent fear was gripping on them, for only two things could create such a spectacle: mages and dragons, both of which were feared and unwelcome in the small town.
As the village came to an uneasy livelihood, it was no challenge for the inhabitants to spot the two newcomers who stumbled rather ungracefully towards the buildings.
"But why the cape?" asked Benevolent, whispering her issue as Starswirl had suggested. Unlike the previous night, the light of day revealed her snow-white coat and blonde mane which curled like the rays of the sun. Most of her body was covered by a raggedy cape, from the tip of her back hooves to the front of her head, hiding her inquisitive sea-blue eyes in the shadows.
"I told you," hissed Starswirl. The stallion was a somewhat imposing orange unicorn, mostly to be attributed by the authority in his voice and the sharpness in his violet eyes, mirrors of his ageing soul, of all the things he had seen. He wore a cape also, though it seemed this one was crafted for high class, rather than for peasants like his companion's. It was a celestial blue, decorated with moons and stars and made of the finest silk. He wore a ridiculously large Mage hat, covering his unicorn horn and unruly copper-coloured mane. Under his chin, a similarly coloured short beard could be spotted.
"Well, tell me again." she replied. The curious pair was doing a great job attracting attention, but the clothing hid their horns well enough to let them pass with indifference.
Starswirl sighed. "These ponies haven't seen a unicorn in more than two hundred years, being an earth pony town, and probably don't trust anypony who can cast. Thus, we must hide our true nature if we want their cooperation in finding what we seek."
"But why must I cover my whole body?"
He chuckled lightly. They were now trotting down the main street, the huge number of earth ponies of various sizes and shapes hiding their own uniqueness.
"For one, we do not want unneeded attention from the local colts, and secondly, your cutie mark is too obviously related to magic. Not even if you were a frog would these ponies be fooled into thinking you are anything but a pony of spells."
Under her hood, Benevolent nodded, smiling slyly at her mentor's compliment.
The elder led them through a number of streets, most ponies having now lost interest in the outsiders, busy with their own businesses, though after the main road, it seemed like they mostly swept snow off of the cobble.
Staying true to its name, the village had a huge bridge made entirely of cobblestone, on top of which were settled various buildings of different sizes. The white unicorn looked up to question her master, but soon realised he couldn't see her eyes under the hood, so she instead spoke out her curiosity.
"What is this?"
They stopped in front of an old, stone Inn, apparently still closed.
"When the earth ponies first settled here, they could not near the river because of a sea serpent residing in it. They mined gold for the reptile, which in return allowed them to retrieve water." the pony spoke, while looking inside the dark windows, covering his face with his hooves to see better. " Eventually, the serpent became greedy, and requested more. The ponies could not mine as much as it ordered them, so they could not get to the water."
He knocked on the door. No answer.
"One day, the ponies devised a plan to kill the sea serpent. Using the gold as a distraction, they collapsed the natural dam which had formed upstream, flushing the beast away, along with the gold. The resulting flow washed away the old village too, forcing the townsfolk to build it on the water." He knocked again. Still no answer.
"Eventually, the river turned calm once again, allowing them to reach land once more." He growled in irritation. "Where is the owner?!"
"That would be me."
The both turned to face an elderly pink mare with a gray mane and yellow eyes as old as the mountain they stood on. She was wearing a cloak the colour of wine.
"I apologise for keeping you waiting, but I have not had guests for fifty years, so I now only serve food for our workers and don't bother coming in the mornings."
Starswirl nodded."I understand."
The mare opened the door with some difficulty and invited the pair inside.
"So," she asked, opening a few curtains, letting the sun's rays illuminate the inn. It was a comfortable place, a red carpet with golden motifs laying on the floor and a table at the center of the room. It looked more like a large house, rather than a place for buisness. "What brings two travellers like you to Cobblebridge? Last time I checked, no pony even knew where the town of the dead serpent was."
Starswirl raised an eyebrow, and Benevolent was just confused.
"I thought you said they had rarely any contacts with WinterWind."
He nodded. "But she's not speaking of WinterWind."
The mare dropped her cloak, revealing a pair of elderly wings, causing the young mare to gasp. Pegasus lived in the cities of the sky, rarely seen by common ground peasants or even mages such as herself. The mare turned to look at them, pride and doubt both present in her words. "You have yet to answer me."
Starswirl leaned towards her, but she didn't back away. Benevolent found amusement in seeing her mentor finally finding a challenge to his authority. The elders stated each other down for what seemed an eternity, but was infact a mere moment.
Finally, he spoke.
"We seek those touched by the Night."
This took the Pegasus aback, who fluttered a few pony strides behind. Starswirl's eyes twinkled as he told her, finding pride, courage and fear in telling yet another soul of his life's work.
"We seek the Star Gifted."
Morning approached, bringing light to the world once again, but the Soulwaken Monastery had been active by the light of the lanterns long before.
The ancient place was not as old as the ruins beneath it, the riverside village in the valley below, or even the woods beyond, but the sacred teachings of the Monastery came from a time before even the birth of Mwezi and Jua. The Monks of the Sacred Shrine rarely allowed their apprentices to leave before they competed training, if not in the rare instances where the food they grew themselves was not enough. This was one of those instances. Though not quite so old, the greatest of the Monks agreed that the flashes of lightning from the forest and the clashes of battle from Slumber Rock meant that soon an old promise would have to be kept.
Gyria was not sure what she had meant, nor she knew why, of all apprentices, she chose her to seek reserves in the town below, but she did not complain. The constant isolation of the Monastery made any moment of spare time very boring, and though that was probably meant to push students into practicing, she would have rather done something exciting, so company other than her fellow young ones was welcome. She was, in her master's words, 'the most gifted filly in the whole monastery, but lacked the discipline to master her thoughts.' She had practiced very hard for many years, rapidly reaching a level of ability that would have rivalled that of the youngest of the Monks, but she had achieved that by going along with her inner beast, rather than taming it like taught by her Master, and if she did not do so, she wouldn't make any more progress.
As she descended the steep mountain, leaping from rock to rock with the agility of a wild cat, her mind wondered how might have the town changed in the last four years. The visits her Monastery payed were so rare and silent, barely anypony knew there WAS a monastery. She descended farther, and eventually reached the Soulwaken Ruins, a place of magic but also one of danger. She trotted rather quickly through the destroyed buildings, inspecting her surroundings with a weariness of mind which would have escaped even the average unicorn. The buildings stood silent on the mountainside, holding many mysteries in their quiet watch over the valley, milestones of a time long forgotten.
A sudden rustling to her far right caught her attention, but other than a flick of an ear, she looked unphased. If it was a foe, let it think it had the upper hand. It would be its undoing.
She jumped over a small wall eroded by time, ready to counter an eventual strike. The creatures in the ruins might have been small, but they were cunning and numerous, too.
Gyria sharply turned around a corner, a set path in mind, but a sudden sound of scurrying feet behind her made her aware of an unfriendly presence behind her. The monk's trained ears kept track of the creature's movements around her, finding it had allies amongst the ruins. It moved along the second floor of a building behind her, jumping through a window to the one on her right, while the others kept a formation around her. She stopped and closed her eyes, breathing heavily.
'The ruin beside me is strong enough to hold it, but it does not look very strong in structure. It would probably collapse under my weight.'
She opened one eye, catching a glimpse of the thing who hurriedly retreated back out of sight.
'A whole section of the wall is missing, it does not have a strong hold.'
A sound, a hiss.
'These things are not observing, they are hunting. I am in their territory, they see me as prey. There are at least six, four keeping formation around me and two following me closely.'
She turned suddenly, one of them allowing its red eyes to be seen before retreating.
'They are waiting for an adequate spot, after which they'll close in to prevent my escape, the two freelancers striking me from above.'
She heard the first one scurry along the wooden floor in the building next to her. With impossible speed, she shot her eyes open, turned on her forelegs, every muscle in her body burning with adrenaline, and bucked the column on the front of the ruin with immense force, but in one precise spot, causing the whole thing to shake. She waited for a few seconds, after which a lizard-like being crumbled through the weakened floor, screeching with surprise.
A salamander.
The six legged beast jumped on its feet, hissing at her and revealing its sharp fangs and forked tongue, staring at her with its glowing eyes. Gyria stiffened her body, knowing that, now that they were revealed, the salamanders would not hesitate in attacking her. Sure enough, with a stiff 'POMF', the salamander lit itself on fire, the flames raging like those of an erupting volcano, and shot itself at her like a torpedo, followed by another five similar sounds, lighting the shadows of the ruins.
'The hunt is on.'
Gyria galloped through the ruins, headed towards the woods. She knew the Salamanders would not dare exit their territory on that front, for the Cockatrices lives there. Of course, she also knew they were rare, but there was no need telling them.
As she approached a dead end, she concentrated all her strength in her back legs, stopped dead on her front hooves and pushed as she could on her back hooves, shooting several pony strides in the air and over the wall. The salamanders hissed in irritation as they looked for a way around. The young monk smiled at herself, but dared not relax just yet. The fiery beasts were cunning, and would surely reach her in no time.
As if on cue, an air-piercing whistle came from one of said beasts, and she could she it use its flames to propel itself over the wall, like a living firework, followed by five other whistles.
Gyria ran into the building in front of her, but cursed to herself once she realised she had once again been dragged by her instincts, trapping herself, a mistake that would usually cost her her life.
She sat in the middle of the room, closing her eyes and breathing heavily. She ignored the hissing that was now surrounding her, along with the heat from the salamanders' flames.
They were being cautious. They recognised her as a monk, and as such they had learned not to trust a monk who stopped running.
Inside her mind, Gyria was struggling to keep her beast contained. Her instincts fought to break free, to claim the heads of the things which had dared to attack her, but every time it would find a breach in her defences, she would use all of her willpower to fight back, eventually sealing it in a cage at the back of her mind. It wouldn't hold forever, but it served its purpose for now.
She opened her eyes, new found lucidity and calmness allowing her to see more clearly. The salamanders had suppressed their flames, and were circling around her, waiting for her next move.
She did not flinch, she did not attempt to escape, she did not react at all. She just stared at them.
Suddenly, with the speed of a diving Pegasus, the beast on her right jumped for her neck, clenching its jaw open and revealing its many fangs. However, they never sank into her flesh. A hoof as fast as lightning uppercut it with the power of a steel wall, causing it to fall to the ground, whimpering with pain.
The others followed suit, and jumped for her.
Gyria's eyes sparkled and she jumped on her hind legs, punching one of the salamanders in mid air with one forehoof and striking the other one behind her back with the other one, after which she ducked, allowing the other two to hit each other in their airborne path.
Meanwhile, the first one had recovered and set itself ablaze, hissing and once again jumping at her neck.
To her, it all happened so simply. Her willpower was immense, her mind touching everything in the range of a mile, feeling everything. All her mental power concentrated in one hoof, which began to glow with eerie light, before setting itself ablaze in a blue flame and striking the salamander at such a speed that could have probably pulverised its rib cage. When the two bodies made contact, an explosion of red and blue flames filled the old ruin, reducing most of it to ashes and forcing the rest of the group to cower in fear.
When the fire died down, only she stood.
Her awareness gone, she looked around, vaguely confused.
Silence was her only companion after the battle for her whole journey across the ruins and down to the village.
The Pegasus mare stared at Starswirl with somewhat of a bemused horror.
"You... You can't be serious." she managed to mutter.
He shook his head. "I'm afraid so. It is the only hope for Ponykind."
The terrorised elder quickly regained her posture, once again staring the stallion down, and walked to a small cupboard on the far left of the room. Opening it, she revealed a drawer filled with various keys which she inspected closely, before picking one and offering it to their guests.
"Room number two." she explained, sighing. Her gaze then quickly turned back to stone. "I do not know what they taught you in whatever town you travel from, but around here it is well known that Star Gifts are nothing but mere legends, occasionally used by the young ones to shun others."
Starswirl grabbed the key with his mouth quite clumsily, seeing as he was used to levitate objects, earning a suppressed giggle from his friend, whom he shot a glare at, before returning his attention to the unamused Pegasus.
"Would you like a Saddlebag?"
"If you do not mind."
The sound of an explosion outside caught the group's attention, causing them to run outside on the cold street. They faced the snow-covered mountainside opposite the village, and saw a flash of blue and red flame amongst what seemed the ruins of a stronghold, or perhaps a village. The blazing burst had melted the snow around it, but other than that it was hard to judge the power of it from such a great distance. Squeezing his eyes, the old wizard could spot a peculiar temple far on the top of the mountain.
"What was it?" asked Benevolent.
"If my suspicions are correct, an old friend of mine..." he answered. He turned to the old Pegasus, a side of his mind realising he still ignored her name. "What is that building on the peak of the mountain?"
"The Soulwaken Monastery. Most townsfolk ignore its very existence, but not this old filly."
"Do they visit often?"
She gave a dusty laugh.
"No, quite the opposite. The last time was four years ago, and even then it was only to purchase some supplies." her face grew suddenly grim.
"When they collect extra food, it usually means they're preparing for troubled times."
"What happened last time?"
"The Ursa Minor of Slumber Rock had awoken and had found its way to the woods near the village."
The two unicorns were taken aback by the gravity of the claim.
"Is it... Is it still there?" asked Starswirl's apprentice, well aware of where they had rested the previous night.
"No, it has wandered to the other side of the singing mountains, finding its way into the Beyond."
They let out a breath they didn't know they had held. "Why do they not visit more often?"
"The ruins hide many dangers within their shadows, young one. Even a Monk thinks it is not safe to trend there."
"Do those kind of explosions always occur?" A soft glow shined in Starswirl's eyes as he spoke, which the elderly pony attributed to the morning light, as she could not see the same, violet glow under the stallion's hat.
"Neigh, I've seen them fight the beasts of Soulwaken before, but never to this extent."
She eyed them with a hard stare.
"It seems like these kind of events are getting more common. Many villagers were startled by the sounds of battle and lightning coming from the direction of Slumber Rock."
Starswirl did not flinch, and if it were not for the obvious nervousness coming from his travel companion, it would almost seem like he didn't even know what the pegasus meant."I think we'll take our leave, Miss, but we'll be back tonight."
"Mrs." She corrected.
He gave her a curious side look as he exited the building."Where's the Sire?"
She scoffed at him, closing the door behind them. "That is none of your buisness."
Before the door slammed, the elder wizard was already well on his way, ploughing through the crowd with the determination of a charging bull, his assistant following close behind.
"Where are we headed?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"We are going to meet with the Monk of Soulwaken Monastery." he answered, almost running over a filly in his charge, before her mother dragged her away, indifferent to the narrowly-avoided disaster.
Benevolent sighed as she witnessed this.
'He can be so thick-headed and determined sometimes, he wouldn't notice if a Minotaur was right in front of his muzzle.'
They proceeded to trot through the dense crowd and the freezing town, until they arrived to the end of the bridge, where the newer buildings resided.
Benevolent took notice of the foals and fillies skating on the ice of the frozen river bank, warming her heart as well as driving a needle through it, as it reminded her of the foalhood she never had.
"Look at them." she told Starswirl, though the pain caused to come out as a whisper.
The Mage turned abruptly to see what her protégé meant, and his faced dawned with realisation as he saw the foals, followed by an expression halfway between compassion and exasperation.
He knew Benevolent meant well, that she was easily hurt and that she just wished she could have had what those younglings had now, but one would think that by now the mare would have let it go.
"Benevolent, please..." he pleaded, not wanting to see her suffer like that.
She nodded, looking the other way while she tried to clear away her tears.
"I'm fine, Master. Let us go."
He wasn't entirely convinced, but the task at hoof was too important, and his student was strong enough to wait to let the tears flow for another few hours.
As he once again barged his way through the sea of workponies, he heard the young unicorn whisper something, but all he saw when he turned was the gazing eyes of a devoted student.
He thought he had caught a glimpse of a shadow looming over her, but even if his old age wasn't getting the best of him, he was perfectly aware of whom it might have been.
And it troubled him as much as it reassured him.
Gyria looked upon the town she had so rarely seen with wondering eyes. To any traveler who had visited before, the town would have seemed almost the same, I'd not identical, but she could see, having had so little contact with the outside world, thousands of tiny differences that made it look like an entirely different village, some more obvious than others. Of course, the carrot stand she had broken on her only other visit had been replaced, and the huge traffic of carts in preparation for the winter was no longer there, but there were more subtle changes, like the growth of moss on the side of a house or the nest of a swallow, which also caught her attention.
She dazedly walked on the main street, where her peaked senses allowed her to avoid passerbys even whilst observing the town completely awestruck.
Only when she felt like she had learned of everything that had changed in the town she noticed the various gazes settled upon her form, which were quickly diverted once she looked back.
She could not understand why she was object of so much attention until she realised that most ponies didn't even know there was a Monastery on Soulwaken Peak, meaning a Monk of said Temple would have stood out like an oak tree in a strawberry patch.
Rapidly, she seeked out the shop her Master had told her too look for, as it was from there the Monks had always bought their supplies over the last century, and they were good friends with the family that owned that place.
She was puzzled though not to find said vendor of goods, trying harder and harder to remember what her Teacher had said in case she had forgotten any details.
By pure coincidence, she lifted her gaze to face the mountain and almost jumped in surprise to see the extent of the damage she had done. Her thoughts were still rather confused on what had happened during the wrestle with salamanders, but if her suspicions were correct, she was about to be lifted to the title of Monk.
The thought brought a huge grin upon her face, which sat there with a stupid impression even when she turned to face the stranger who had called her by the name of her order.
The pair of unicorns walked into the open square, which was bustling with ponies, trotting to the fountain at the centre and sitting by it.
The older stallion sat heavily on his rump, grunting as he did and catching the attention of some nearby colts, who were standing close to an apple stand and attentively observed the owner as he demonstrated various fruit-related tricks.
He muttered something through his teeth, earning a sigh from Benevolent as she sat next to him.
"Master, you aren't even that old." she said, almost as a mother would explain nonsense to her colt who wanted to go on holiday on the moon.
"I have seen enough to earn the right to mutter." he replied nonchalantly.
She sighed once more, inspecting her surroundings. "What will we do now?"
He shifted on his rump, gazing around the square at the passing ponies. "Now we wait."
"For what?"
He pointed at the inn before them.
"When I first met the Soulwaken Monks, they told me I would be able to meet them here, though when they did, this was a shop."
The inn was called "The snowy peak", a name appropriate for the mountain which could be seen by anypony looking at the building from the front. The colourful sign, which pictured the former mentioned contrasting on a blue sky, floated silently with each gust of wind.
Benevolent looked confused."So how are we going to find them?"
"Look at the building," he explained patiently,"The sign has barely been scratched, so to mean that it has yet to go through a spring or summer storm that are oh so common at this altitude. If that is true, I can deduce that the Monks are yet to learn that ownership of the land has passes to another, as their last visit was over four winters ago."
Benevolent nodded in understanding and turned back to the colts in silence. They were now playing a game which involved throwing a ball of grass at each other.
She silently observed them, trying to grasp the rules of the game, but the foals had probably made it up themselves, because every time she thought she understood how it worked, the colts would suddenly fight about something, after which the game would change completely.
Eventually she gave up, and instead questioned her mentor on the apparently great resistance of the ball they used.
"Bonegrass," he had answered," It's very common throughout Equestria, but because it is considered a weed, only the wild parts of the Kingdom or secluded areas such as this one still grow it." he shook his shoulders."Shame really, it's quite strong."
Another half-hour of silence followed, eventually leaving Benevolent so bored she closed herself to her thoughts. They could not practice spells, so she might as well train herself in protecting her mind.
Her consciousness floated like a whisper in the immense darkness that was the soul plain, spotting the ghastly outlines of the minds around her, shining eyes of a whole rainbow of gradients pinpointing their position. She scowled, for in her current state of awareness, the mind of a sleeping foal was as good as that of a dead rabbit just outside town.
But not to me.
As the voice of rolling leaves spoke to her, she felt a chill go down her spine, and she knew it was there, neither male nor female, but an ancient power from beyond.
She felt his presence press against hers, cold and damp like a dark cave, but she dared not to turn.
'Go away,' she thought. 'I am in no need of you.'
Come now, do not insult me like that.
She saw the immense black cloud that was his soul edge into her vision, quickly turning to avoid seeing his eyes.
Do I not deserve companionship too, from time to time?
She scowled, a grimace grabbing her ghastly features.
'The price to pay for your help is too high.'
The cloud seemed to rumble with thunder.
I shan't allow anything to harm you, child, and all souls are mine to claim.
She simply sighed internally, showing she had no intention to argue, calming the cloud once more.
'I know...'
She silently floated towards the mind of the sleeping foal, touching it with her own, blessing it with good dreams. The touch of two minds could be a beautiful thing, but it could also be a fate worse than death.
Death is a gift.
She nickered, her scowl deepening, but the lack of a mouth on her spiritual form made it difficult to do so.
'I'd trust you to say so.'
She turned to him, careful not to look in his eyes, for the eyes were the mirrors of the soul, through which one could project their whole mind.
'I am not here for hiding, not this time. Today, it is for mere entertainment.'
An unaware mare passes right through her, bonding their minds for a split second, disturbing them both greatly.
Only when it was too late, had Benevolent realised her mistake to float so near the minds of others, as it gave it time to catch her unawares.
As she had predicted, it was there. Its ghoulish features hidden by a cloak, only its shining red eyes glowed through, portals to an unimaginable wasteland of a dark past with horrible, otherworldly features, things that should be locked away far outside the world. But she could not look away. She could not run. She could only stare. Soon, they would be one.
As we always ought to be.
A blinding beacon of green outshined its own, earning a growl of frustration as it recognised the consciousness that had delayed it so much from what was its.
Benevolent smiled as she recognised the soft, warm light, yet hard and determined, letting herself be pulled towards it, only exit from the bleak world of her Guardian.
