A tan earthpony mare trotted around Sugarcube corner, her deep blue ponytail mane bobbing with her casual movements. The single quill on her flank held true her special talent, a writer. Candlelight, with her shining amber eyes in the summer sun, was headed back to her cheap, cramped apartment to read the latest Daring Doo she obtained through a bid, recently mailed to the Ponyville library for pick up. Candlelight stopped in front of her apartment complex, once a Ponyville-house-turned-apartment so the landlord could make money. Candlelight, a filly from a rich family in Canterlot, came to Ponyville to escape her parents' high-class standards, but she couldn't escape their letters.
"Miss Candlelight?"
A mailpony approached just in the nick of time as Candlelight began searching her saddle bags for her apartment key. "That's me." Candlelight answered, groaning, expecting more pleas from her mother to return to Canterlot and become their show-off daughter.
"Letter and a package for you, ma'am."
The mailpony dropped the package at Candlelight's feet and reached in his bag for the letter. The package caught Candlelight's attention; it had a note taped to the top of the box that read.
To: Candlelight, From: Your Dearest Grandfather
It was odd to her that he would send something out of the blue like this.
Whoa, Granddad hasn't written to me in years, what's he up to nowadays?
Candlelight remembered the last time she had spoken to her Grandfather, back when she was ten and he came for one visit. He favored her over her many relatives, He was the only family she ever connected with; even if he only visited once . They kept a constant penpal relationship afterwards, He introduced her to many of her favorite adventure novels, including The Adventures of Daring Doo. He traveled across the world from the plains of Camelu to the Forgotten Sea, every stop he would send her a postcard telling her how exciting his adventures were.
The Mailpony retrieved the letter from his saddle bag and tossed it on top of the package covering the note's writing as Pen re-read it over again. Interrupted by another letter from her parents Candlelight groaned again at the unmistakable calligraphic handwriting of her Mother.
"Thats it, got to run"
The Mailpony announced to the earthpony with a wave of his hoof and was soon another bystander to Candlelight as she tore open her mothers letter and began reading the contents.
To my dearest daughter
You are my life, ever since your father-
The letter was crumpled, and thrown into the nearest overflowing trash bin as Candlelight retrieved the check from the envelope and stashed it in her saddle bag. With next months rent taken care of she could sit and melt into her new book. Candlelight opened her apartment door, package from her grandfather held from her mouth, then closed her door after trotting in.
A cool breeze ran along the street picking up Candlelight's crumpled letter and rolling it off down the road.
~~<¤>~~
"Cloud I said no!" Rainbow Dash gave her final answer to the cyan buck pleading in front of her. "Your wings are too big for my flyers to maneuver and I know you can't turn that sharp," Dash continued in a more settled voice. Rainbow Dash had taken Flying Cloud around a tree to speak with him, He had shown up at the aquifer ready to fly but was turned down by Rainbow Dash herself.
"How do you know? You've never seen me fly!" Flying Cloud protested without hesitation or thought but Rainbow Dash had first hoof experience with Flying Cloud's airborn skills.
Dash facehoofed, "I was in flight school with you? You had the second lowest scores on the wall? Remember?"
The cyan buck sat on his haunches prodding the grass with his hoof, his sleek black mohawk shining in the sun with its crooked red stripe hanging over his face.
Rainbow Dash sighed and set her hoof on his shoulder, "I hate saying this, but you're a liability on the field, and I can't have you endangering the other fliers." Cloud's large wings fidgeted revealing his cutie mark, a single white fluffy cloud with pegasi wings, it caught Rainbow Dash's attention.
"Now that," Dash pointed to Cloud's cutie mark, "That day was impressive, when you moved that enormous storm-cell cumulonimbus, that none of us could burst, and flew it away from Ponyville." Flying Cloud's ears perked at the memory, and his head lifted to meet Rainbow Dash's eyes. "All while standing on top of it and flapping your wings," Rainbow Dash said, poking Flying Clouds' shoulder. "Now that was true endurance," Rainbow Dash finished with a smile.
"And that's why I like to go by--" Cloud started.
"Flying Cloud now, I know. You've told us this a thousand times. But this isn't your kind of thing, Cloud." Rainbow Dash said softly.
Flying Cloud's ears drooped back down and he unfurled his wingspan, two times the length of an average pegasi, and gave them a large WUMF.
"Look at it this way!" Dash yelled up at the hastily ascending pegasus, "All The fillies in Ponyville dig pegasi, and all but one of them are busy, why don't you go find a date or somepony to hangout with!"
Flying Cloud didn't hear Rainbow Dash's suggestion as he cast a large gust down at her and glided towards the fields bordering Everfree. Each of his flaps winded the cyan buck as he glided over Ponyville, observing the citizens canter about. Flying Cloud was born with unnaturally long wings. His adopted parents took it as a blessing, but they came at a price. He could not make as sharp turns as other fliers and also endangered other weather team pegasi. A sigh escaped the pegasi's mouth as he landed on the grass.
Flying Cloud turned around, and glared towards the sky. The wind ruffled Flying Cloud's feathers, and he closed his eyes, extended his wings and let the breeze lift him off his front legs. He took the longest breath of the fresh miday air and bounced off his rear legs floating backwards balancing in the air with is large wings and softly landing a short distance away.
Flying cloud was kicked out of the weather team a week ago, He had clothes lined Thunderlane and three other pegasi with his wingspan. His wings had brought him a lot of grief his entire life, he could barely fly when he was younger so flightschool didn't work out for him, the only reason Rainbow Dash had kept him on the weather team was because she felt sorry for him. His adopted parents gave him the name "Strato Cirros", but he unofficially changed it to Flying Cloud when his cutiemark became a cloud with wings, and one of the weather team mentioned he had "flown a cloud."
Flying Cloud layed down and rolled over onto his back with his wings unfurled across the grass. He opened his brown eyes and stared at a high flying cloud. It seems so happy in the air, he thought, where do you think it traveled from? Flying Cloud bit down and yanked a cyan feather from its roots and blew it into the air. The cyan feather twirled around the summer breeze while he hummed himself into a nap.
A warm breeze danced along the grass and carried the blue feather away into the wind towards Everfree.
~~<¤>~~
A levitating teapot settled on a hot wood burner stove as a black unicorn buck trotted by, carrying a notebook, quill, and ink in his magical grasp. He was muttering to himself as he settled his rump on a pillow in front of his desk and flipped through pages of his notes. His long tail wrapped around his cutiemark; a hatchet crossed with a broken arrow. The unicorn's long dark blue and red striped mane slipped into his face, but was brushed back over his ear as he brought his frames to rest on his nose. Dream Caster paused to read a small paragraph he had written not a few hours ago as he examined a cross bred Laughing Joke flower he had cut. The young hermit yearned to discover any beneficial effects the dangerous blue flower could hold.
Dream Caster's desk was cluttered with notes and botany books on herbalism. Bottles and vials of different salves and pollen samples lined up in wooden racks, once labeled in alphabetical order and now mixed and matched, with some missing. The room smelled of the chai tea Dream caster had been drinking the night before reading a book on cross pollinating. He left at least a dozen empty tea cups on the lower table next to his desk. The shack Dream Caster had built a month ago still held its integrity; choosing to build his house in Everfree shielded it from winds that would topple it. Caster himself set a spell to ward off insects and retain in heat.
"Ah!" exclaiming to himself, Dream Caster frantically wrote down his revelation and rushed out his front door to the garden outside. The smell of fresh air and the sound of rustling trees met Dream caster's senses with harmony. With an inhale and exhale through his nostrils, he surveyed his garden of hybrid flowers and plants. All of the different shades of blue and indigo met his green eyes, and filled him with pride. Trotting down the wide dirt path with potted flowers on each side. Each row of five pots were labeled with small wooden signs either a hybrid name or a control group. Each had date markings and parent plants written on the wooden signs. After searching for a few empty planters Dream Caster trotted along the covered side of his small shack looking for bags of potting soil he bought from the local orchard last week.
Unfortunately, to Dream Caster's disappointment, his reserves seemed to be empty. He levitated down the empty planter and floated the empty bag of soil into closer inspection. Annoyed with the discovery, Dream Caster hastily trotted around to the front of his shack to retrieve some bits for his newly scheduled trip into Ponyville. As Dream Caster opened his door a cloud of steam rushed out his front door accompanied by a loud whistle from the tea pot he left on the burner. Dream Caster backed up and started fanning his front door to let the all the steam out of his house.
Even more agitated, he entered his abode and immediately swiped the teapot off the wood stove, the whistling slowly subsided in volume; Dream Caster was clearly not pleased with himself. After opening his two windows on opposite sides of his house Dream Caster retrieved his saddlebag with some bits and a water flask. As he was about to leave, he stopped and pondered if he was forgetting something. After a few seconds of scanning around, he remembered and dug a short bow, a quiver of arrows, and a sheathed hatchet out of a storage cabinet. Just to be safe; he lives in the middle of the Everfree forest after all.
The ready-for-anything unicorn trotted nonchalantly down his rows of planters towards the trail to Ponyville, mentally bidding each row of his beautiful flowers a farewell.
As he left, a rogue wind drifted through an open window, enticing a small flame from the wood stove.
Author's Note
Cool, I got an editor and this story is a go. To any who like this tap favorite, I promise you won't be dissapointed!
*Wink*
Candlelight's tiny apartment was, for all matters, a mess. There were trash bins filled to the brim with crumpled papers and used quills. Every time she had filled a trash bin she just replaced it with another instead of emptying it. Her walls were covered in sticky notes and tacked papers, all with reminders and ideas that were never successful. There were also old postcards from her grandfather and a framed painting she received as a gift from her father. There was one window; on it, Instead of shades, she had an old olive blanket pinned to the window frame, keeping the room dimly lit in a dark green. She had a wood floor that was covered with numerous rugs, with papers covering the top. The two oak desks she owned were pushed against one of her walls. Between them, an old, ink stained pillow remained where she sat reading her favorite adventure novels, and when she was trying to write her own. She could never get started on a good fiction; Candlelight always felt like she copied the last novel she read, and ends up throwing away good original content every time, into the very trash bins she never empties.
There were two framed photos, one on each of her desks. One of them was a black and white photograph of her parents when they were younger and before her father's accident. Candlelight's father was a rich art dealer who held silent auctions on very fine and expensive pieces of art and sculptures. One day he had taken a train to Manehatten to meet a client and the train derailed; he lost a leg and had severe head injuries. Now, he's only half the stallion he once was. He was eventually released from the hospital and now lives with his wife in their estate in Canterlot. Candlelight's mother was only a trophy wife before her husband's injury and is now taking care of him. She hasn't been able to attend the parties and gatherings she once enjoyed, and has lately been in need of more company than her father. Since Candlelight's family is so wealthy it's not a problem of her mother sending her money for support, it's actually more her mother trying to bribe Candlelight to come and live with her and Candlelight's father.
The photo of Candlelight's grandfather rested on top of a stack of books lying on the opposite desk. Her Grandfather sent her a photo of him and his friend from Saddle Arabia, they had excavated the entrance to an ancient temple and published a book together. He sent Candlelight the first copy of every single one of his books; everyone of them were kept on her desk in a stack, with the photo on top of them. His travels had brought him across the known world and he sent trinkets and postcards along the way to his beloved granddaughter. He also kept a penpal relationship with Candlelight through which he inspired her to pursue a career in writing, that led to Candlelight gaining her cutiemark.
The oak door creaked open on its jury-rigged hinges while Candlelight stood in the doorway. She sighed while walking in and closing the door with a light half-buck; the package held by a string in her mouth thumped on her desk as she settled on her pillow. The package looked worn and beat up and the letter wasn't stuck well onto the top, it was a miracle it didn't fall off. She didn't even bother to read her new book, as she was too interested in the package from her grandfather. Candlelight got back up to open her window blanket and let some light in. When enough light had filled the room, Candlelight walked back to her desk, sat down, and opened the weathered box to find two books; one looked like a research journal, and the other looked to be an old storybook. There were papers stuffed into the many pages of the journal. There was also a small paper package and another note at the bottom of the box.
"Definitely grandpa's," Candlelight whistled after taking out the journal and skimming some pages.
The research journal had pages upon pages of well written research entries, notes, drawings, and maps. One made Candlelight stop and inspect a sketched drawing of a giant floating rock that was chained to the ground over a forest. What intrigued her the most was that there was a city on top of the floating mass. With more page flipping Candlelight found more maps and quote page numbers. Candlelight, highly interested in what her Grandfather sent her, snatched the other book and read the title aloud.
"'Myths and Legends Beyond the Known World,'" Candlelight announced, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have an author, old guy?" she asked the inanimate book.
Candlelight's attention darted back to the open journal, she flipped back to her grandfather's sketch and found a page number for the reference. She stared at her grandfathers drawing, taking in more of the detail and the shading. It was way too detailed to have been drawn from a book she thought. Candlelight finally turned her attention to the Myths and Legends book and flipped to a specific page her Grandfather had jotted down.
Once again Candlelight read the title out loud, "The Ponies of Old, and the Duue." Candlelight had trouble pronouncing the last word. Squinting hard she repeated it a few times, "Doo... Dwey... no...".
The story talked about an old civilization, pre-Celestial-rule, that gained a sudden technological jump and completely vanished shortly thereafter. It then began a legend of a great sorcerer and his two friends who gained audience with the olden gods. The myth goes on about a dangerous creature that goes by the the name of Duue. The Duue consumed everything in its way and couldn't be stopped by the ponies of old, so the sorcerer and his allies trapped them in a floating city somewhere hidden in the wilderness.
"Dewe?... De?" Candlelight muttered, still stumped on that pronunciation but kept reading.
There were artifacts found in the bottom of a crevice off the east border of Cervidas. A collapsed temple was excavated at the bottom of the ravine. The excavations uncovered old tomes of a cryptic language, translations and dating proved the existence of some pre-Celestial civilization dating back as far as 4000PC. The book continued on comparing the old Legend and the excavation in Cervidas, trying to prove or disprove the age old legend, but mostly leaving it open to the speculation of readers.
It's a collection of very old myths and urban legends, Candlelight thought as she flipped to the front page of the book to read the index. There were fables like Were-pony and folktales of gods older than Celestia. Candlelight spied a stamped message underneath the index that read "Property of Canterlot Royal Archive, Unauthorized Possession is Treason." The stamp included a smaller date and location of stamp "5/13/793, Canterlot Throne Room, By Order of Princess Celestia."
Candlelight whistled lowly, "Gramps, what have you gotten yourself into..." Candlelight immediately felt concerned for her grandfather afterwards as this book is obviously very dangerous to be in possession of. But why did you send it to me! she screamed in her thoughts.
Candlelight hastily dug in the box her grandfather sent her, hoping for answers. There were two last items; a letter, and a wrapped package that gave her chills thinking about, afraid it was another item that was dangerous to be in possession of. She snatched the letter first and gave a it a once-through.
Dear, Candlelight
I have never allowed you on my travels, as I believed you were too young and naive. I have done this to keep you safe, but now I think it is time that you accompanied me. I have finally found it: Urhlu, the city in the sky, the legend I have been chasing since I was younger than you--and I wish for you to see it in all of it's beauty. By the time you are reading this I will already be on my way there. I have left a map with instructions to meet me, and a package along with two other books with this letter. There is a check on page 15 of my journal, it should cover any supplies you may need. Please be safe, as I would have spoken and traveled with you in person, but sadly I would be in quite the predicament if I were to return home, and I could not allow myself to make this discovery all on my own without my dear granddaughter. Do not travel alone, but only with who you can trust, and do not inform your mother--she will have my head if you do.
With regards, your grandfather, Tallowbright.
P.S. Enjoy the bracelet, priceless artifact straight from Cervidas.
Candlelight relaxed at the letter, but she was still going to scold him for worrying her. When Candlelight was younger, she had been trapped at home. Her mother barely had time for her and could not spend time with every one of her children, the family maids were always busy working, and her half-siblings despised her. To cope, she always fantasized about accompanying her Grandfather on his travels. When Candlelight discovered the power of literature in the estate's library, it only intensified her desire to follow her grandfather's hoofsteps.
A smile began at the corner of Candlelight's mouth as thoughts and images of her and her grandfather traveling together raced around her mind. Candlelight finally took the package out of the box and unwrapped it. It revealed a map that was folded around another item. The map was fairly new and had circles and arrows crossing, all pointing to an uncharted valley in the middle of a mountain range. As she unfolded it more a golden-bronze bracelet presented itself from under an edge. It was a open band with swirled carvings and a very peculiar half-inch emerald inside. Candlelight reached a hoof out to poke the facet when the bracelet shook and attached itself around her left fetlock as soon as she made contact.
Candlelight shrieked, trying to shake it off, and fell backwards onto her pillow in the process. Kicking upwards into the air she tried prying it off with her other hooves, and it refused. After exhausting herself trying to remove the bracelet, she sat back up on her pillow and fixed her undone ponytail. With closer inspection the emerald emitted a faint glow and Candlelight put her left hoof under her desk to check if it was just reflecting the light from the window. The emerald was definitely glowing, a bright, smokey green, and Candlelight was getting more and more weirded out. Candlelight softly poked the facet again and the bracelet clicked off her wrist and fell to the floor.
"Oh." Candlelight said, surprised. She huffed and tapped the bracelet once again, and it instantly clasped back around her fetlock. Candlelight pointed her left hoof out to inspect it on herself.
After admiring her grandfather's gift to her, Candlelight started gathering supplies for her trip. She shoveled her double saddlepack with dry food from a basket she had next to her desk. She tucked in her grandfathers journal and a few of his books including the Myths and Legends book he sent her. Candlelight picked up quill pens and pencils precariously before rolling her eyes and sweeping all the junk on her desk into the empty spaces in her pack. Candlelight stopped when she saw her new Daring Doo book and smiled.
At last, she was going on an adventure! A potentially boring adventure, but it will be with her grandfather. Enough pretending and dreaming. Candlelight left the book and stuffed her grass green cloak, a family heirloom, into her bag. Standing in her door way she sighed and looked back. She took a deep breath, trotted out and closed the door. The minuscule apartment was silent once again.
~~~<>~~~
Dream Caster traveled along the Everfree path at a brisk trot, in business.
The trees above creaked and whistled, their leaves filtering rays of light in beams against the stony path. Most ponies never dare travel through Everfree. They assumed it too dangerous, but in truth it wasn't the forest that was dangerous, it was they who were inexperienced and afraid. To Dream Caster, they were children compared to his knowledge of survival. He had spent the past three years living alone in the wilderness, learning what he could from experience, and treasuring past experiences with his father.
Dream Caster froze, he spotted marks on a soft dirt portion of the road, paw-like indents. He approached slowly, keeping his ears perked, and cutting down on his breathing noise. They were Timberwolf tracks, old ones. He had dealt with Timberwolves before, and usually he could scare them away with a intimidation trick, but others may not have the same luck. He thought to himself who else might use this path--the zebra could handle herself, but that courier from north that passes by every week could get hurt. Dream Caster relaxed but kept in mind that he had to keep an eye on this road for a few weeks. Dream Caster's horn lit up a bright white and a small stone levitated and jammed itself into the ground standing upright. He marked his points of interest constantly so he could find them again.
Dream Caster trotted down the path again at a faster pace than before, the stony path turned to a full stone road as he progressed towards Ponyville, and into the grassy outskirts separating Ponyville and Everfree. He stopped at the border and, closing his eyes, faced the sky with a deep inhale. A breeze swept his side and whisked his hair sideways. A long cyan feather brushed his nose. Dream Caster's horn lit up and the feather enveloped in white. His eyes opened and glared at the lengthily feather, exhaling.
"The rainbow one." He said, floating the feather into closer inspection, "No, too long." His eyes scanned the field and met a short grassy hill with a spot of cyan lying on the top. The wind rustled the grass around the hill, and with it a dozen cyan feathers lifted off into the air.
Dream Caster released the feather back into the air, and with a concerned glare towards the spot of cyan, he hastily trotted across the field. The closer he got he could hear snoring, and his pace slowed to stand above a sleeping Pegasus. His wings were spread out on the ground and, to Dream Caster's interest, were very large. Long cyan feathers scattered around him flipping and rolling in the afternoon breeze.
The Pegasus was lying on his back sleeping, and he had a black mohawk mane and short tail, with singular red stripes that went crooked at the ends. Dream Caster scanned the field before lightly kicking the Pegasus's haunch in an attempt to wake him. The cyan Pegasus snorted and awoke to the unicorn standing above him.
Flying Cloud, awoken from his slumber, blinked twice in silence as the dark-grey unicorn spoke to him. "It's not safe here," he said, "You should return to Ponyville." He finished blankly. The unicorn backed up as Flying Cloud got on his hooves, to give him space.
The cyan Pegasus shook his head, stretched his wings out, then his front and back legs while yawning. "Howdy," replied Flying Cloud with a smile and chuckle, "Nice too meet you too."
The unicorn blinked at his response, his expression neutral, unsure if the unfamiliar pony understood the warning. Exhaling, the unicorn trotted around Flying Cloud, towards Ponyville. The Pegasus spun around, wings flared.
"Whoa, whoa, wait up!" Flying Cloud called as he fluttered once and glide-trotted to catch up with the unicorn. As he caught up, he positioned himself beside the unicorn, matching his pace and steps. "Hello, my name's Flying Cloud." He introduced himself, grinning. The unicorn halted as Flying Cloud spun around again to face him.
"Whats your name?" Flying Cloud asked, with another smile.
The unicorn's horn lit up white to adjust his frames. He cleared his throat and shuffled his hooves while Flying Cloud kept his stare, still smiling.
"...Dream Caster." The unicorn answered, glaring at him, "Now, if we're done I have-" he stopped, noticing Flying Cloud had averted his gaze, looking confused. Dream Caster sighed, ignoring him, and trotted around him once again, hopefully for the last time. He could feel the air around him ripple, and the sound of heavy flapping followed. He spun around and watched the newly met cyan Pegasus race through the air towards Everfree. Dream Caster squinted through his glasses and scoffed, then he focused directly on the forest itself.
There in the distance, rising up from somewhere in Everfree, silhouetted against the great mountain ranges, was a ploom of black smoke. But not just somewhere--the direction of Dream Caster's shack. His eyes widened, and he quickly levitated his hatchet into clenched teeth, then dropped his pack. His heart raced as he thought of his research and his work. Dream Caster leaped into a gallop towards Everfree, keeping his sight on both the cyan Pegasus in the air, and the ploom of black smoke he feared was the end of his chance to save his father--all going up in flames.
Author's Note
This story's chapter system is going to be awkward. According to the organisation system on FimFiction this is actually chapter 3. I am going to look into changing the prologue to an actual prologue that doesn't count as a chapter. For now Just subtract one number from each chapter you read to know what chapter it is chronologically. I think you get the idea.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed Chapter two. Chapter three is in the works as of Thursday.
