Pangur Ban

by The Wizard of Words

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Crossover
Length: 101750

The Everfree Forest is ancient and enchanted with time, carrying within its soil and roots an untold amount of untapped magic. There is, however, a very good reason no pony has ever successfully used this power. It isn't their forest.

The Everfree Forest is ancient, carrying within its soil and roots an untold amount of untapped magic. It can be felt by every pony, from the elder alicorns to the untrained earth ponies. Tangible and deep, possibly unending. There is, however, a very good reason no pony has ever successfully used this power.

It isn't their forest.

Story ten in my Twidash Challenge: Crossover Theme
Image by me. Screenshot for "The Secret of Kells"

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-06-14 01:13:47 UTC

A Nervous Introduction

“So, what, they’re like spirits?” The question was spoken through bits of hay and a glass of milk, the words garbling until they were only barely intelligible. Twilight had to sigh before she answered the question.

“Not exactly,” she specified. “Spirits are usually intangible, or existing on a level higher than us. Think… think of the Windigos. They’re real, but we can only just see them, and that’s when they want to be seen.” Dash nodded in understanding, chewing on the massive pile of food in her mouth. She swallowed her mouthful, greedily leaning down for another.

“Kay, kay, then… they’re supposed to be just some random alien species?” The pegasus took another large bit of her hay sandwich, earning a slightly disgruntled look from Twilight.

“No again,” the unicorn shook her head with her answer. “There really isn’t anything random about them. They are supposed to be the one species of intelligible life in early Equestria. We, as a species, are still grasping at the depths of magic and how to use it. The Fae were so intuned with it that they could transform themselves with hardly any effort, using strength only the most well trained of ponies can accomplish.”

“Twi,” Rainbow spoke the unicorn’s name with an air of dryness. “Calm down. You’re getting a bit too into this again.” The lavender mare blinked at her friend, noting the pegasus’s flat look and serious tone. A blush soon grew on her cheeks.

“O-Oh, sorry.” She timidly apologized. Dash dismissed it with a wave of her hoof and her signature grin.

“Don’t worry about it. I get the same way when we’re talking about flying tricks.” Twilight felt herself giggle before she knew it. The same for the words she said next.

“Yeah, as soon as the word speed is mentioned, I can’t get you to think about anything else.”  Dash swallowed the mouthful of hay before giving Twilight an evil eye.

“Are you saying I can’t focus Twilight?” The unicorn chuckled away the accusation given to her

“Well, you aren’t exactly known for thinking things through,” Twilight supplied with a raise of her hoof. “I can’t name the number of times you charged into a situation without waiting for a plan, or even an idea of what to do.”

“That’s not a lack of focus Twilight, that’s a lack of preparation.” Dash’s voice, to Twilight’s growing concern, had yet to lighten. “Sure, I may not think too far ahead, but that doesn’t mean I’m unfocused.” Twilight’s ears began to drop. Dash was being far too serious.

“Alright,” Twilight spoke in defeat. “It was my mistake. I’m sorry that I misspoke.”

“No, it’s not alright.” Dash retorted. It caused the lavender mare’s ears to downturn. “I’m sick of ponies talking about me like I’m stupid or easily distracted. Do you have any idea how hard it is to pull of the tricks I do? I’ll give you a hint, it’s impossible without a bit of focus.” The pegasus advanced on the unicorn as she spoke, lips slowly turning into a snarl. Twilight, shocked and confused, simply backed away with every word her friend spoke.

“R-Rainbow…” the unicorn spoke warily, unsure of what to say.

“And one more thing.” Twilight felt her knees begin to quake at the pegasus’s onslaught. She didn’t know how much more she could take. Clenching her eyes to hide, the unicorn braced herself for the worst.

“You’re one gullible pony.” Twilight’s eyes shot open.

She looked, shocked, at the grinning face of Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was stifling a chuckle that would have doubtlessly sent her to the floor. Twilight grit her teeth.

“You… You tricked me!” She yelled the accusation at the smirking pegasus. Dash shook her head, shaking her mane as she did so.

“Yup,” she admitted with a small rumble of laughter. “Played ya like a harp. Wasn’t too bad, if I do say so myself.” Twilight puckered her lips in a pout, glowering at Rainbow as the pegasus continued to flaunt her success. “I mean, do ya really think I’d just go off on ya like that for no reason? Seriously Twilight, I like ya and all, but don’t you think you take things a bit too seriously sometimes?”

Twilight’s nose lifted in annoyance. By now, Rainbow’s jeers were nothing new to her ears. However, hearing them in relation to her worry over upsetting her friend was something new. Of the many accomplishments Dash had the right to be proud of, tricking the unicorn into thinking she had threatened their friendship was not one of them. Twilight, however could play that game with the pegasus.

“Hey, what’s with the smirk?” Rainbow noted with a motion of her hoofs. “I’m proud of ya Twi, being a good sport and all. The rest of the girls would probab- GAH!” Dash yelled out as she felt her tail being pulled.

Her wings beat frantically as her hoof scrapped against the floor, her balance completely thrown by the pull. She fell to the floor with a rough thump, eyes wide as saucers as they looked up at Twilight. Her horn was glowing on her forehead, casting her smile in a very proud smirk. Dash recognized that look instantly. It was her look.

“What gives Twi?!” The pegasus asked with a yell, still fruitlessly attempting to beat her way free. But the unicorn’s magic trumped her trained strength. Twilight knew it too, or so her confident strut told the captured pegasus.

“Just a little payback,” The unicorn spoke proudly as she kept herself a safe distance from the pegasus. “Doing the one thing to you that I know you can’t stand.” Dash didn’t know if she should have been afraid, confused, or humored.

“Yeah, and what’s that?” The shadow of a smile cast by her magic didn’t bode well for the pegasus, and her wings sunk to prove her point. Leaning in close to the pegasus, Twilight whispered the few words Rainbow never wanted to hear.

“I’m keeping you grounded.” Dash felt a pit in her stomach grow.

“You wouldn’t dare.” The pegasus snarled upwards. Twilight’s coy smile remained unchanged.

“What can I say?” The unicorn asked rhetorically. “We both have a lot of focus. I just have better plans.”

“That’s just low Twilgiht, really low.” The pegasus tried to counter. “I mean, you’re not even supposed to even be good at pranks.”

“Oh Dash, this isn’t a prank.” The unicorn spoke with the air of confidence, walking around the pegasus she kept trapped by her tail. “Think of this like a time out. You did something you shouldn’t have, now I’m teaching you that it was wrong of you to do.”

“What, do you expect me to cave?” Rainbow asked up to her friend, furrowing her brow in a poor attempt to truly convey the anger she felt. Twilight, either ignorant or apathetic towards the display, answered with a tone full of confidence and amateurish poise.

“No Dash,” she spoke with the pegasus’s signature smirk. “I expect you to talk.” Rainbow’s brows unfurled into raised positions.

“Talk?” She questioned, honestly confused. “About what?” The unicorn slowly approached her, making sure with every step that she was just out of the pegasus’s reach. It was driving on Dash’s last nerve. Her hooves may not have been sharp, but grooves were being put into the ground regardless.

“I want you,” Twilight began, stopping daintily with a wry smile. “To say that…” The unicorn’s eyes averted themselves as her mind worked, doubtlessly to think of the perfect thing to demand of Dash. When a flash came from her eyes, matching the lavender aura of her horn, it was more than clear she had it.

“Say that I am cooler than you.” Dash’s eyes nearly fell from their sockets.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she spoke to Twilight, her voice low and dangerous. Twilight’s look matched Dash’s tone.

She leaned in close the pegasus, watching as her friend clawed her way fruitlessly across the wooden floor. Keeping her muzzle just out of hoof’s reach, Twilight opened her mouth to speak to her captured friend.

“Heya girls!”

Twilight and Dash both turned to see a pony walking into the library, Stetson hat adorned and  grin fresh on her face. “Sorry fer bargin’ in. Ah figured it wouldn’t pay ya’ll much mind. Didn’t care to wait in that fog n’ all.” The two stared at her, completely thrown from their situation. The farm pony took notice almost immediately. “Am I interrupting somethin’?”

“Applejack!” Twilight spoke cheerfully, releasing Dash with a small pop of her magic. The pegasus fell forward without grace. Applejack winced at the impact. “It’s good to see you. It’s great to see you! I’m glad to see you!” The two took a quick embrace before separating, the farm pony a bit hesitant to embrace her unicorn friend.

“Yeah, it’s good to see you,” Rainbow Dash spoke as she righted herself from the floor, quickly shaking her coat and mane. “Actually AJ, I didn’t expect to see you today, like at all. Is everything cool?” The earth pony took on a sheepish look at the question. The action did not go unnoticed by the unicorn.

“Is everything alright Applejack? You’re usually much more… upfront I guess is a good word.” A small chuckle came from the farmer at the words.

“Didn’t take long ta see through it, huh? Always was a bad liar.” She righted her hat before addressing her two friends. “It’s mah sister. I’m just… worried about her is all.”

“Ya think something happened to AB?” Rainbow questioned with a flap of her wings, taking to floating in Twilight’s library. “Why, is she lost or something? I did warn you about that fog.”

“And Ah heard ya loud n’ clear,” The farmer shot back to her friend. “And Ah ain’t got nothin’ ta say that mah sis is in any kind ‘er trouble. Just… call it a feelin’ is all. Mah family lives off of feelings like this.”

“Wait, what are you feeling?” Twilight immediately began to question. “Is it like a sense similar to a disruption in casting magic, or is it more closely related to turbulence in the air?” The questions caught Applejack off guard, causing her to back pedal from the inquisitive unicorn.

“A-Ah…” the earth pony droned, unsure of what to say. “I-It ain’t nothin’ like that. Just… just a feelin’, a gut feelin’.” Twilight seemed unconvinced by the words. “Ah don’t know why, but Ah got the feelin’ that somethin’ bad is going to happen, and Ah’m worried for my sis.”

“You think she got lost or something?” Rainbow Dash asked from her spot in the air, looking down on her two friends as she spoke. “You did warn her about the fog, right?” Applejack was more than happy to shoot a look of rising anger at the cyan pegasus.

“Course Ah did,” she spat at Dash. “Ah just told ya that not but a spittin’ second ago.” She snorted as she turned her head, presumably to calm herself down. The long sigh that left her lips was further evidence of the action. “Look, Ah’m sorry Dash but… this churnin’ in mah belly is darn near tearin’ me up.”

“It’s cool, I get it.” Dash dismissed with a hoof. “So, do you wanna go check on her or something?” The pegasus bore a questioning look down on her friend, who was giving a look that seemed caught between pleading and unsure. Lips bitten, but turned downwards, eyes squinted, yet gaze averting.

“Ah don’t know, yeah and no.” Twilight was only further perplexed.

“Why wouldn’t you want to check on her? Did something happen?” The theory was quickly discredited at the earth pony’s shaking gaze.

“Nah, nothin’ bad at all. It’s just… this was supposed ta be her first big step ta being an mare, ya know?” Her hoof motioned out the door, presumably to the Everfree Forest if Twilight had to gamble. Good thing she hated gambling. “If Ah go after her like somethin’s wrong, and nothing is, she’ll be mighty disappointed in me.”

Twilight licked her lips. On the surface, Applejack’s logic made sense. For most foals, a breach in trust is usually taken as a sign of not having faith in them. It was no different than reading a diary or doing their work for them. It was a natural instinct to both be defensive of such facts, but also to shy away from committing them.

However, Applejack wasn’t worried for her sister not getting a job done, but for her safety in the Everfree forest, debatably the most dangerous territory in all of Equestria. It made perfect sense that she would want to take care of her family. And, speaking as a member of the royal family, it was better to be cautious and sorry than ignorant and wrong. Opening her mouth, she was about to say just that.

Rainbow Dash beat the unicorn to it, fast as her name.

“Nah, that’s a load of hayseed.” Twilight thought her friend could have used a bit more tact, but the pegasus wasn’t done yet. “You’re worried for your sis, and it makes a lot more sense to check up on her cause you’re worried than not. Heck, I’d do the same thing for you girls.”

“Yer talkin’ like it’s a simple thing Dash,” Applejack criticized her friend. For a moment, the unicorn between them thought the words did nothing to her friend. However, a knowing smile over the orange coat made it only too clear that she understood. “But when ya got a point, ya sure know how ta say it.”

“So, you are going to check on Apple Bloom?” Twilight questioned. The farm pony nodded in response.

“Yup, Ah’ll bear the burden of shame if Ah’m wrong.” Applejack spoke the words with a smile. “But Ah ain’t gonna risk her safety fer a bit of shame.”

“Thatta girl!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “Let’s go pay her and Zecora a visit!” Her words caused a visible stir in the earth pony.

“Hold on a minute,” she raised her hoof as she spoke. “Yer comin’ too?” Rainbow Dash nodded her head vigorously, matcing the beating of her wings.

“Course I am! You’re like one of my best friends! I’m not gonna let you wander into the Everfree forest alone. Besides, I haven’t seen Old Z for a while.” Twilight twisted her head at the name, thinking hard on what it could mean. It took her just shy of a moment to realize she was speaking of Zecora. The unicorn could only hope her friend wouldn’t call the zebra that name to her face. “And you’re coming too, right Twi?” The question caught the mare completely off guard.

“W-What?” She asked with a shake of her head, honestly confused.

“I said, you’re coming with us, right?” Dash hovered closer to the unicorn, putting their muzzles just breaths apart from one another. The lavender mare lent back to put some room between them.

“Y-Yes, of course.” She spoke with a growing smile. “Sorry, just got a little lost in my head.”

“Yeah, that happens a lot.” Twilight, wisely, ignored Rainbow’s small poke at her. Instead, she faced Applejack as she answered the mare.

“I’d love to go with you. In the very least, I could ask Zecora about a few potion recipes I’ve been researching.” The farm pony nodded.

“Ah hear ya, not wantin’ ta waste a trip.” With small nod of her head and adjustment of her hat, Applejack turned from the two, facing the door out of the library. “Well, Ah’m ready ta head out whenever. Ya girls need anything?”

“I’m all set,” Dash spoke up. “Twi?”

“Well, I could bring some books with me,” the unicorn began to list with small glances around the room. “It would probably be a benefit to bring a writing utensil or two as well. Maybe a pictorial guide for dangerous flora around the forest, in case we get lost due to the fog…”

“She’s good to go,” Rainbow Dash spoke to Applejack, voice bordering on annoyance but falling into monotone. With a small chuckle of understanding, the farm pony nodded her head.

“Alright, and thanks again girls.” Dash nodded at her friend, smirking as her pride was stroked. The pegasus set herself down on the floor, turning to face Twilight as she did so. The unicorn looked at her for a moment, staring into the pink eyes of Rainbow with her own lavender irises. She let out a defeated sigh as she hung her head.

“I guess if it’s a short trip I won’t need anything…” Rainbow, once more, smirked proudly.

“Thatta girl,” she complimented as easily. “Now, chin up! We gotta go pay Zecora and AB a visit!” The pegasus threw her leg around the unicorn’s neck, directing them out of the library as she did so. Applejack was already outside the door, waiting for the pair to join her. “But I’ll tell you what, why don’t you fill AJ in on what we were talking about. Keep her mind off of her sis, you know?” The idea made Twilight’s ears perk. Applejack’s did as well, though the reason was completely different than her unicorn friend’s.

“Wait, what are ya’ll talkin’ about?” The question did wonders for Twilight.

“Rainbow and I were actually discussing the mythological history of an ancient race,” she spoke cheerily with a broad smile on her face. She quickly trotted up next to the farm pony as she spoke. Applejack watched her with curious green eyes. “They were called the Fae, and they were supposedly capable of magical abilities that would take us years to master, but were capable of it with only seconds of practice.”

Their conversation carried as the three began the brisk trot to the Everfree Forest. The fog was still present, but the path was clear in their mind.

“This is all yers?” Apple Bloom spoke the words with no false awe in her voice.

Her youthful eyes scanned the vast canopy of the forest, appreciating its magnitude and size. To the horizon and beyond the trees stretched, leaving her squinting in the hopes of seeing the edge of the forest. She could not.

“Yes.” Aisling spoke in return, nodding with appreciation. “Always has been. Always will be.” Her toothy grin, in the filly’s honest opinion, was the sign of well-deserved pride. “It’s a lot to have, but it talks to me all the time.”

“Wait, it talks to ya?” The filly raised a brow at the white haired creature. Her little hooves were still wrapped around the branch with a rather vicious strength. “Like, as in words ‘n all?”

“No silly,” the creature’s white hair swayed slightly with her head, the wind billowing it far more than her simply turns ever could. “I listen to them.” The words only caused Apple Bloom’s brow to furrow further.

“But… but how can ya talk without words?” Before the foal heard words, she saw the white haired creature smile at her with the same fanged teeth as before.

“Simple,” Aisling spoke. She walked nimbly across the branch the two stood on, though Apple Bloom more lay than stood.

“It’s my forest.”

Apple Bloom’s ears matted against her head while a screwed look took over her eyes. She heard the words Aisling spoke, but the meaning went right over her head. And, while she was lying on the branch of one of the tallest trees in the Everfree Forest, that was saying something.

“Ah really don’t get it,” the filly admitted with a slow shake of her head. “Ah mean, Ah own lots of things, but that doesn’t mean Ah can hear ‘em.”

The long-haired creature puckered her lips, hiding them behind one of the digits of her hand. Here vibrant green eyes stared at Apple Bloom in thought. The filly, to her part, had no idea what to do but wait. It certainly was a better option than trying to climb her way back down. Then, with a small spark in her eyes, Aisling spoke again.

“You have friends, yes?” Apple Bloom nodded at her. “Good friends?” Her head nodded a bit more vigorously. “Your best friends?” shaking the branch they were on. Her hooves gripped the bark a bit tighter. Aisling, for her confidence or apathy, didn’t even shrug at the swaying motion.

“Yeah, mah friends are some of the best friends in all of Equestria.” Apple Bloom confirmed with her words, now far too wary to move again. “So what?”

“Do you know your friends?” The earth pony looked at the white haired creature with a look of confusion. This time, it wasn’t because of the way Aisling was acting. Her words were plenty enough this time.

“’Course Ah do,” the filly spoke confidently. “Ah know mah friends better than just about any other pony out there.”

As she finished her words, the white haired nymph held up her hand to the pony’s muzzle.

One of her fingers was extended, pointing at the small patch of fur between Apple Bloom’s eyes. Aisling did this while leaning over towards the filly, smiling brightly with her large green eyes and captivating fanged smile. Then, with a soft touch, she tapped Apple Bloom on the head.

“That,” she began. “Is how I hear my forest.”

And Apple Bloom understood, sort of.

“Do you want to get down now?”

And Apple Bloom was terrified, without question.

“D-Down?” She stuttered with a shivering jaw. “Like, all the way down?” Aisling giggled lightly at her words.

“Of course silly,” she spoke easily and with a bit of cheer in her voice. “I can’t show you the way to your friend’s home from up here.” Her hand reached outwards again. This time, it sat in midair in front of Apple Bloom, outstretched and with her fingers extended. A warm smile and confident gaze were behind that simple thing. All the while, her hair continued to billow in the wind, stretching outwards in its strong currents.

Apple Bloom peered at the hand, fully knowing what was coming next. The way up was difficult, impossible if not for Aisling’s help. The way down would be much the same. Except the way down and falling down both went in the same direction. One just had a much more terrifying end than the other.

“You’ll be safe.” The creature spoke again, her high voice easily grabbing Apple Bloom’s attention. “I promise.”

She did promise.

Hesitantly, Apple Bloom extended one of her forelegs, uncurling it from the tree as she did so. Aisling, smiling as she did before, lightly grasped the hoof in her hand. It was a tight grip, stronger than the filly thought those thin fingers could have accomplished. Just as slowly, she released the branch with her other hoof, lightly pushing herself upwards. The creature with the billowing hair pulled her up as she did so, helping to secure the filly.

When Apple Bloom was standing on the branch with three hooves, she felt her chest slowly tighten.

“It’s alright,” Aisling spoke in her dialect, filled with rising and falling letters. Apple Bloom licked her lips. “I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.” She did seem rather sure of herself. There wasn’t any fear, doubt, or worry as far as the filly could see. Then again, the filly herself was absolutely filled with all those things combined. Nevertheless, Aisling did promise her, and Apple Bloom did trust her.

She reached up with her other forehoof, holding it out for the creature to grasp. Aisling took it with the same strong grip as Apple Bloom’s other hoof. It felt like she was being held in place by magic. Odd as it sounded, it felt safe.

“Good,” Aisling spoke again. Without ceremony or warning, the creature turned and crouched lower the branch, presenting her back to the filly. Apple Bloom bit her lip. She knew what she had to do, but it was still frightening, only due to the height she was balancing on. But Aisling was holding her, and that was as safe as she could be. This was her forest.

The filly took very slow steps forwards, inching her way towards the creature. Her hooves slowly snaked around Aisling’s thin neck, locking into place and holding her tight against the thin brown material that hung over her body. It was coarse and hard, like bark, but it felt light as the leaves on an apple. Apple Bloom would have been more curious if her mind hadn’t been preoccupied with the shear drop just beneath them. Aisling giggled though and that helped.

BEGIN

“Al-right,” she spoke to the filly on her back, emphasizing the beginning and end of the word. “Now, hold on!” What Apple Bloom was expecting, and half hoping, was for the white haired creature to jump to a lower branch in the tree, jumping from large limb to another until they finally reached the ground far beneath them.

What she got instead was Aisling jumping as far outwards as she could from the tree branch, only twigs beneath them.

Apple Bloom would have screamed if there was any air in her lungs to do so. They fell through the canopy faster than the filly’s eyes could follow, losing track of the thick green blanket and soon receiving only the sight of the ground far below. That’s when she shut her eyes.

The wind ran past her mane, pulling it upwards as she clasped herself as hard as she could to Aisling’s back. It felt like her insides were coming loose, her stomach getting read to lose all of its contents and lungs unable to take a breath of air. Her legs felt light and her body weightless. The only thing the filly could care to feel was her grip around Aisling’s neck. It was tighter than an apple tree’s hold to the ground.

She felt their momentum stop, coming to a sudden halt that jerked her bones. It felt like her lungs had been forced into her gut, making the breath she took deep. But before she dared to open her eyes, she felt Aisling jump again, forcing the pair to fall some more. Before, Apple Bloom couldn’t scream because of her lack of air. Now, she was holding her body too hard against the creature’s back to let out even a peep.

They stopped again, and Apple Bloom heard the crunching of leaves from beneath her, the grass rustling as Aisling moved. The filly refused to release her grasp.

“It’s alright.” The white haired nymph spoke matter-of-factly. “We’re on the ground again.” The words didn’t convince the filly of much.

“A-Ah don’t think I like heights any more.” Apple Bloom shivered as she spoke, fore hooves still gripped firmly around Aisling’s neck. Her perked ears heard the nymph giggle.

“We’re not done yet.” Apple Bloom felt a shiver run down her coat.

“W-We’re not?” Another high chorus of laughter came from Aisling. It did little to help the jittery nerves of the filly.

“No silly, we have to find your friend now.” Moments before, she wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but Apple Bloom’s grip on the nymph’s neck became a bit tighter as the words reached her perked ears. “But you can open your eyes. You still haven’t seen all of my forest.”

There was far more than a bit of hesitance when Apple Bloom attempted her eyes. Her lids flickered and fought for decision, unsure if they wanted to trust the white haired creature again, or simply stay closed and hope they would appear at Zecora’s soon. Aisling either saw or felt her hesitance. Apple Bloom couldn’t be sure which one it was.

“It’s alright. I won’t let you fall.” The words, as carefree in tone and high in pitch as they were, didn’t calm the wary thoughts in Apple Bloom’s mind. “You are my friend.” Those words, however, won the filly over.

Apple Bloom opened her eyes. Once more, she was greeted to the sight of an oasis in the woods. When she was standing at the top of the tree, it was hard to remember just how breathtaking it was beneath the monoliths of the forest.

The colors of rainbows mixed within the flower petals, the moving pictures across the leaves of the trees, and the serenity she felt by staring at the waterfalls that flowed from rocks high to low were never to be forgotten.

So blinded by the sights, Apple Bloom didn’t notice Aisling was running until the wind began to deafen her.

She gasped as she tightened her grip around the nymph’s neck, eyes wider than they had ever been in her young life. Stagnant and still, the forest took her breath away. Moving with the life of the woods, being carried by the declared owner of the enchanted forest, made the filly believe she was in a waking dream.

The rainbow of colors that belonged to the flowers flowed like a river. It carried the life of the forest, a thing that Apple Bloom never believed she had seen before. Birds flew and chirped around them, flying down to their level before gaining air beneath their wings and taking back to the branches high above.

Then, from behind the trees, bucks and does jumped and leapt over the flowing river, prancing with a grace Apple Bloom had never seen a pony show. Pairs would bound around together, keeping close to one another in a way that showed their ties even as they ran.

Slowly, almost noticeably, the colors of the forest began to fade. The cheery bright whites and greens fading into dark and shadowy browns and blacks. The canopy lowered with every forceless bound Aisling took, the light becoming scarcer to the filly’s eyes.

Yet Apple Bloom never felt anything but safe as she clung to the creature’s back, feeling only in the smallest of ways the motions of her arms and legs. She jumped, grabbed, pulled, and ran with a tempo and pace that neither robbed the creature of air nor the filly of the forest’s sights. It was as if she had been making such runs and routes for more lives than Apple Bloom knew how to count.

Then, it was done.

Apple Bloom recognized the familiar sculptures and statutes outside of her friend’s hut, hanging from vines and strings or sitting in the loosened soil of her tree. The carved wood and harsh bark of the surrounded forest was not a memorized detail in the filly’s mind, but it was recognizable to any pony who had made their way to the mysterious zebra.

Gingerly, the creature’s slender fingers wrapped around the foal’s hooves, pulling them off with a force Apple Bloom was surprised to feel. When her hooves were back on the ground, she looked up to see Aisling still smiling at her, fanged teeth peeking out from behind her pale lips.

“And now we’re here.” The words were like the key to a magic spell.

The filly’s lips curled into a wide smile, marveling at the white haired creature that had helped her so much. Not a thing about her was normal, or even familiar to the pony youth, but she was nothing short of amazing.

“That was… amazing! It was… fast a-and colorful a-and… everything!” Apple Bloom spoke breathlessly, though she had done little more than hold onto Aisling’s back, the wind taken out of the filly far more than the creature of the woods. The complement did not go unappreciated from Aisling.

“Like I said, I’m the fastest.” She crossed her arms and nodded towards the filly as she spoke.

Her green eyes looked to the hut to her left, staring at it like she was seeing it for the first time. The wood it was made out of did not burn, the leaves did not fall, and the ground did not crack. But Aisling’s eyes continued to stare and peer towards it, as if attempting to see what the filly could not.

An idea was born in the foal’s mind.

“Do you wanna met her?” To Apple Bloom’s immense surprise, Aisling herself looked shocked to hear the question.

END

“Meet her?” The creature replied, as if unsure of what the filly meant. Apple Bloom herself, however, thought the question was rather clear.

“Yeah, ya know, meet Zecora,” the filly motioned towards the charmed hut as she spoke. “Kinda like how you and Ah met, jus’ without them wolves ‘n all.” Aisling’s gaze was focused on the hut. Her large emerald eyes stared at the carved wood with an unblinking stare.

A cold silence was held in the air between them. Apple Bloom waiting for Aisling to speak and Aisling, most likely, waiting for something to happen. The filly could hear the fire crackle from the hut, the only indication she had that time continued to pass as the two waited in the woods.

“I don’t need to meet her.” The white haired creature finally spoke, though her words still confused the filly earth pony to no end. Aisling, however, was already a step ahead. “She’s not trying to hurt my forest, nor is she trying to hurt anyone else.”

“That’s why ya don’t want ta meet her?” Apple Bloom asked in return, her confusion clear by her words. “Just because ya don’t have ta, ya don’t want to?” Undaunted, Aisling nodded in return.

“Yes,” her voice spoke, a small hiss following her response, as if she was thinking as she spoke. “I like the way my forest is now, and she is not changing that. I don’t want my forest to change.” The filly, however, was no more persuaded than before.

“That ain’t no reason ta turn down meetin’ a pony.” She spoke in return. “Zecora’s a zebra that has lived here fer sometime, and Ah’m sure she’d love ta meet ya!” Apple Bloom made sure she was wearing a broad smile as she spoke, hoping to turn the creature’s mind.

“But why would I have to?” Aisling questioned, twisting her head as she spoke. “Nothing has to be changed, so why would I want it to?”

“Then…” The filly shook her head. “Do you not want things ta change?” Now it was Aisling’s turn to shake her head.

“Things change when they have to change.” The white haired creature began. Before Apple Bloom could voice her question, Aisling jumped. Her long white hair spun with her body as she pounced over the smaller filly, landing deftly and easily beside a tall gnarled tree. She rested her pale hand on the harsh bark, green eyes staring Apple Bloom as she spoke on.

“This tree is old, and has seen many winters.” Her hand rubbed over the hard wood as she spoke, careless or uninterested in the harshness. “Soon, the forest will take it back. The tree will fall, and the wood will rot. When it rots, new plants will grow, and as the new plants grow, new life will begin.” The filly did not miss the subtle smile upon the creature’s lips, small fangs poking out from between her pale skin. “That is change, and all things must change.”

“But… if things have to change… why don’t ya want ta meet Zecora?” The filly was caught between confusion and disbelief.

“Because nothing has to change.” The nymph spoke easily again. “So I don’t want it to change.” Her hand fell from the gnarled tree, her arms crossing over her chest again. Her green eyes looked forwards.

“Well… then… why’d ya help me?” Apple Bloom was almost afraid of the answer she would receive. Her legs didn’t quake and neither did her eyes, but an undeniably deep pit was forming in her belly. No pony, foal or mare, liked that feeling.

“You aren’t a part of my forest,” the words were spoken simply. Apple Bloom opened her mouth to speak, but once more, before she could, Aisling was on the move.

The white hair of the creature flew over the ground, following the lithe figure’s near viper-like crawl across the forest floor. To Apple Bloom, it sounded like mist, felt like wind, and looked like something that could only be described as mystic. It was hard for her to speak while she watched Aisling move. It only became harder when the fanged figure stood next to her, unthreatening as she was.

“I don’t know your friend, but I know she hasn’t done anything to my forest. Why would I want to change that?” There was as secret in those words that Apple Bloom saw. For once, she was glad her friend Sweetie Belle was a regular dictionary. It made seeing between the lines a bit easier.

“Well, nothing has ta change,” the filly spoke with a growing smile. Aisling’s head twisted at the words, one eye squinting in confusion. The foal spoke on. “Zecora’s a great friend of me and mah sister. She’s not too big on changin’ much of anything either.”

“She is not?” The white haired creature asked curiously. Apple Bloom felt it working.

“Ah can prove it to ya! Follow me!” Without waiting for a response the filly was off in a gallop towards the hut.

It hardly took longer than a moment for the filly to reach the home of her zebra friend. Her hoof started to knock on the hardwood of the hut, eager for the meeting to start as quick as possible. The sound of moving instruments came from within, complete with hooves clopping towards the door. The filly felt her hooves shaking with excitement, the bow in her hair doubtlessly close to falling off.

The smile that broke over her face when the door opened was blinding.

“Zecora!” Apple Bloom spoke the zebra’s name cheerfully, taking the few steps necessary to wrap the mare’s torso in a small hug. The Everfree resident returned the embrace with one of her hooves, leaning down to lightly nuzzle the filly’s back.

“It is to my joy to see you well,” Zecora spoke with the dialect the filly knew no other mare possessed. “When you were late, I feared some misfortune may have fell.” Apple Bloom took small steps out of the mare’s embrace at the words. Her stomach tingled and hooves felt light. She always loved the feeling of telling something amazing to some pony.

“Well, somethin’ bad did happen.” The zebra’s ears perked immediately, her cheerful smile and gaze falling into one of worry and concern. Apple Bloom, however, spoke on. “But Ah’m alright, honest. It’s all thanks to mah friend that I…” The filly turned around, motion behind her with one hoof as she spoke.

It swept over open air.

Her smile fell as her eyes widened, shocked and unable to think. She knew Aisling was just behind her, all the way to knocking on Zecora’s door. But now, Aisling wasn’t there. No sound, no sign, nothing.

“Apple Bloom, I am confused,” Zecora spoke behind her. “What friend kept you from being consumed?” The filly turned back to the zebra, a pleading look in her eyes. It bemused the Everfree resident to no end.

“B-But, Ah…” Apple Bloom stuttered and spat out her words, searching for what to say as she said it. “She… she was just right here. Ah know it.”

Zecora looked down on the foal, wondering if the forest had performed its magic on her still developing mind. It would not be the first time the woods had had their ways with the imaginations of the young. A smile grew over her lips as she knelt down to match the filly’s height.

“There is nothing to fret,” she spoke in her distinctive accent. “Your mind left you, it happens to the best.”

“But Ah know she was here!” Apple Bloom whined, taking a pose that looked defiant. “Sh-She… she rescued me from a pack of wolves, and… a-and then made the mist move and took me through a meadow. She made these flowers bloom and colors, and things Ah’ve never seen before!”

“Apple Bloom,” Zecora spoke deeply, but soothingly, to the younger pony, placing a hoof on the foal’s shoulder as she spoke. “These woods are deep and enchanted, carrying magic many take for granted. It is not the impossible you have seen, but merely creative imaginings.” The filly shook her head as Zecora spoke on.

“No!” She spoke at a volume reaching towards a shout. “Her name was Aisling, Ash-ling.” The filly pounded her hooves on the ground as she spoke. “Her mane was longer than she was, and white like a cloud. And… and these are her woods! She kept tellin’ me that!”

“Please child, I do not doubt what you claimed to have seen,” Zecora spoke the filly patiently, smile unfading and calm demeanor unshaken. “I simply believe that what you have seen has not always been.”

“Yeah, but… wha?” The filly’s ears twisted with her eyes, unsure of what the zebra meant. Zecora chuckled deeply, closing her eyes as she enjoyed her own musings, before she answered.

“This forest is far older than us combined,” the zebra spoke in with her rhymes. “To no one thing is this forest entwined. These woods, Apple Bloom, are not yours nor mine. By themselves, alone, they are harmonious and fine.”

“But it is my forest.”

A voice whispered above the pair. Their eyes looked up into leaves of Zecora’s hut. Between the tan colors of the bark and green of the leaves, it was almost impossible to see anything else.

Except for a pale face and emerald green eyes.

“May I come in?”

Zecora, for one of the few moments in her life, was unable to speak.

Aid From The Unseen

An uncountable number of times, Twilight Sparkle had made the journey to Zecora’s hut through the Everfree Forest. She had done so under Celestia’s sun and Luna’s moon, through peaceful breezes and torrential storms. She knew the path as well as the twists, turns, and secret passageways in the Canterlot Library.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t a brilliant pony, but she was talented. One of those many talents was memorization. Whether it be tricks in the air or cloud formation strategies, she was the mare to ask. When it came to land markers and other unique designs upon the earth, she only needed a glance to see and recognize them. Even the complicated paths of the Everfree Forest were a thing she only needed to see once to keep in her mind forever.

But Applejack understood the earth better than the unicorn or pegasus. She could feel the roots in the ground, tell the difference between seemingly identical trees, and even predict how they would grow and flourish. Years on a farm filled with trees had given her already natural gift a boost most ponies would never be able to fathom. Taking Apple Bloom to and from Zecora’s hut had given her more than enough looks at the trees along the way.

That’s why when, their situation was finally announced, it was done so far after it was obvious.

“We’re lost.” The words came from Applejack’s mouth with disgust, spat out like a rotten apple. Her furrowed brow and twisted lips were reflected well on the face of Rainbow Dash.

“No kidding!” She yelled at no pony in particular. The pegasus dug her hoof into the dirt, “I can’t believe this,” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath. “We’ve been to Zecora’s, like, a hundred times before, but the fog just happens to throw us off the one time it really matters we get to see her.”

“Realistically, it’s far more likely we were distracted by a combination of the fog’s density and the need to get to Zecora’s.” Twilight let out a slow sigh as she dragged her hooves over the path none of her friend’s remembered. “It’s harder to recognize landmarks through mist that prevents far sight.”

“Gives me no excuse,” Applejack muttered again, only passively participating in the conversation. “An apple should be able ta feel the earth. Sights got nothin’ ta do with it.”

“Maybe not, but you are worried for your sister.” Twilight lightly countered her friend, concerned for Applejack’s mindset. “It’s perfectly reasonable you would lose focus when you’re worrying about your family.”

“Maybe so, but it ain’t an excuse Ah feel any good bearin’,” Her hoof roughly kicked at a stone that was in their path. It sailed into the dense fog, clicking against trees none of them could see. “Ah don’t rightfully care where we are, Ah just wanna find out how ta get to Zecora’s.”

“Look, why don’t I just fly up and look for her hut?” Rainbow Dash asked her two friends. Her wings were already extended in anticipation of the ascent. “I just have to look for a bit of smoke, then trace the path back to you guys. It’d be a piece of cake.” Her trademark grin was as evident as her excitement. Applejack, however, shook her head, dismissing the pegasus’s claim.

“Yer willin’ ta gamble finding’ us again?” The earth pony questioned harshly. “Cause ya didn’t have much luck findin’ Zecora’s. How are ya expecting ta find me and Twi once ya start to flap your wing.” It was a jab, as evident as mist around them. Dash took it before she lashed out with one of her own.

“Hey, I can at least blame losing track of the path cause of the mist. As long as you guys stay here, there’s no way I’d lost track of you.”

“Right,” Applejack scoffed. “Cause we can trust ya ta remember were me and Twi are once ya take to the skies and fly like a maniac. Sorry RD, but you ain’t no earth pony. Ya can’t tell one tree from another.”

“Oh really?” Rainbow asked, her wings flared for the coming confrontation. She took heavy hoof steps towards the orange-coated pony. “Then what’s your excuse for losing track of the path? Got dirt in yer mind?” The earth pony snarled at her friend, taking the few strides necessary to butt heads with the pegasus.

“Ah admitted mah mistake, but ya can’t seem ta recognize a screw up even when it’s bittin ya in yer rear end!” Applejack’s physically stronger body pushed Rainbow Dash back with a surprising, almost worrying, amount of ease. “Sides, Ah’d rather have a little dirt in my head then open air.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Ya got enough room in yer skull, figure it out!”

“Girls, calm down!”

Twilight yelled as she jumped in front of her bickering friends, her forehooves pushing the pair apart. However, compared to the flying athlete and hardened farm pony, she barely made them budge. So, with a small hum from her horn, the unicorn separated the two, a wall of her lavender aura pushing the squabbling ponies away from one another.

“We’re just stressed. We’re lost in the Everfree forest, but that doesn’t mean we’re in trouble. We just have to think of a plan. To-geth-er!” She alternated her gaze from the Stetson hat wearing pony to the wing-flared pegasus.

Their labored breathing continued for a few moments longer, breaking the otherwise eerie calm of the fog cloaked woods. Then, with a snort, Rainbow turned from the pair, her wings beating against her sides. Twilight hypothesized it was her way of cooling down-- physical activity to draw her mind from the verbal confrontation. Applejack just pushed the brim of her hat further over her eyes, clenching her jaw as she did so. Far more subtle than the pegasus’s actions, but no less serious.

“Look,” Twilight began, attempting to alleviate the thick tension between the competitive ponies. “None of us are happy with where we are. We all made a mistake with finding the path to Zecora’s, and we just happened to make these mistakes simultaneously. It’s an unfortunate coincidence.”

“I thought you hated those things, Twi.” It was hard to decide between momentary pleasure or brief annoyance when Dash’s comment earned a small chirp of laughter from Applejack. On one hoof, it was a way to work out the currently stressed relationship. On the other hoof, being laughed at was never an experience the unicorn would come to enjoy.

“Yes,” she admitted to the pegasus. “As much as I do, there really isn’t any other explanation for it. But that’s not what’s important right now. Right now, we have to figure out a reasonable method for finding Zecora’s and then leaving the woods. Hopefully without us having to split up.” She allowed a small smile to ghost over her lips, fitting for the dense fog they still were held in. “I’m sure if we take a little bit of time and formulate a plan, we can be out of here relatively-”

“Wait,” Applejack spoke up, stopping Twilight from her winded speech by holding one of her hooves upwards. The farm pony had her head twisted, one ear cocked upward out from under her hat. It was twitching fiercely. “Do ya’ll hear that?”

Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a look with one another, confusion written across both of their features. They heard crickets chirping, wind blowing through twisted limbs, and even the light chirping of birds above them. Basically, they heard nothing that would warrant confusion.

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked aloud, turning to face Applejack. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Me either,” Twilight sounded off, looking to her friend. Said earth pony was wearing a face of minor distress, but churned far more in confusion. It did little but heighten the curiosity in the unicorn. There was no reason for her to be anything but curious-- not yet at least.

“Then neither of ya are listening,” Applejack threw the words out in a hiss, her focus clearly on a sense other than sight. Her ears continued to twist and flick, searching for the sound only she could hear. “It’s… Ah don’t know… haunting. Ya’ll have ta be deaf not ta hear it.”

Dash, ever the competitive pony, opened her mouth to argue with her rival. But before she could make a sound, she felt a hoof against her leg. She turned her to see pleading eyes looking up at her through a lavender coat.

“Rainbow,” Twilight began. “Applejack could be hearing something. She is more attuned to her senses then either of us. Maybe… maybe she’s hearing something only she can hear.” The pegasus mumbled something unintelligible. The unicorn wisely ignored the words. “Let me try something.” Removing her hoof from the cyan coat, the unicorn shut her eyes.

Rainbow recognized both the lavender aura and gentle hum that began to emanate from Twilight’s horn. It shined ethereally in the forest, reflecting off of the mist that surrounded them. Like a light to sailors at sea, it captivated the pegasus’s attention and, eventually, Applejack’s as well.

A chill went down Rainbow’s spine, ruffling her feathers as her wings twitched. She felt a cool grasp being held above her head. Specifically, it touched the sensitive ends of her ears. A shuddering breath was taken into her lungs.

“Relax Rainbow,” she heard Twilight tell her. Normally, that wouldn’t mean anything to her. The difference, however, was how Twilight sounded to her. Normally, she sounded confident, held up by a low tone of curiosity that showed her mind’s constant movement.

Now, now the unicorn sounded like she was speaking into her mind.

“I’ve amplified our hearing.” Twilight answered the unasked question. “Just relax Dash, I’m sure we’ll be able to hear… what…” Her voice drifted off into the unseen.

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak again, to ask her friend what was wrong. But before she could, something else began to echo through her mind. It wasn’t the chirping of birds, which now sounded like perfectly pitched bells in her mind. It wasn’t the slow whisper of the wind, which now drifted through her mind like a far off whirlwind.

What it sounded like was what it was...

Singing.

BEGIN

“What… is …” Dash asked in a half whisper, twisting on the ground as she tried to find the direction the voice was coming from. Try as she might, she was left with only a voice that chilled her to her bones. It took only a glance to see that Twilight had also heard the haunting hymn, her eyes wide and disbelieving.

“Ah ain’t got a single clue,” Applejack spoke, head now twisting with her ears. “But… but it’s given me the shivers somethin’ fierce.” From what Twilight could see, there was far more grumbling going than shaking in the fit earth pony’s form. Her own body, however, had goose bumps beneath the lavender layer of her coat, making her body shiver with every slow breath she took.

A pocket of silence found its place beneath the three mares, absorbed and mesmerized by the haunting tune and chilling voice. It flowed through them in ways Twilight could only describe as magic, Dash as flight, and Applejack as the perfect harvest. Conflicting emotions filled the trio, of need and aversion, of desire and repulsion, but more than anything else, yearning and evasion.

It was a voice that belonged to no pony any of them had ever met, carrying a reverence that seemed impossible to obtain. It drew the breath from Dash’s lungs and shook Twilight’s legs. What it did to Applejack, however, was far stronger. It didn’t make her ears bend or eyes widen.

The voice, instead, shook her soul.

Maybe it was because she had no wings or horn or maybe it was because she could hear the needs of her trees before ever inspecting. Maybe… maybe it was something else.

“I think… it’s coming from down there.” Rainbow Dash slowly raised a hoof, pointing down the misted trail they had already traversed. It looked far darker and far more terrifying than the first time they had walked down it.

“Ah… yeah Ah think yer right Dash.” Applejack nodded in agreement, though her throat still managed to swallow heavily on nothing but air. “Ya thinkin’ we should go look for it?” The pegasus shrugged before she answered.

“It’s either that or sitting here listening to it. It’s not like we can get more lost.” Crass as always, but no less true than anything Twilight would have said. Applejack nodded slowly in agreement, her forehooves beginning to rise. Dash joined by her side quickly, but slowed to match the earth pony’s pace.

Normally the pegasus would hate doing anything slower than necessary, or her maximum speed. But right now, lost in the mysterious and misted Everfree forest, following a voice they needed magic or training to hear, a slower pace was something she could deal with.

What she couldn’t deal with was being stopped by a rough pull of her tail.

Applejack gave grunt of discomfort, while Dash yelped in surprise, muzzle hitting the dirt soon after. The farm mare turned to see her orange tail being held taut by a very familiar lavender light in the air next to Rainbow’s. The pegasus stood up quickly, twisting around 180 degrees to face the unicorn she already knew was responsible.

“What gives Twilight?” She asked accusingly, furrowing her brows in a riled stare. “What’s so important tha… that…” Her voice slowly died off as she saw something truly concerning. That concerning thing included many details.

First, her friend was not looking at her, something that could have been easily remedied if her tail was not being used as a leash. Second, the mare’s ears were flat against her skull, bent back far enough to reach her mane. But the third detail was the easiest to see and, just as easily, the most concerning to the pegasus.

Twilight was shaking.

“Whoa there, ya’ll alright there?” Applejack asked with a concerned step towards her friend. Much like her prismatic accomplice, however, she was kept just out of hoof’s reach from the mare. “What’s wrong Twi?”

In a normal situation, their shared unicorn friend would have given a long explanation or detailed summary of what was worrying her. It would probably include what the unicorn would see as the most likely scenario for a future event given the circumstances. Instead, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were told a simple three-word sentence. If it were not for the spell still cast on their ears, the whisper would have been lost on them.

“I saw something.”

It was only then that Dash started to care where the unicorn was looking.

She followed Twilight’s gaze off the beaten path, looking into the dense foliage of the dark greens and twisted trees. For a moment all she could see between forest shrubs was the ever-present mist, thicker than usual now. Then her pink eyes caught a wisp of movement through the fog.

It was nothing more than flick-- a small puff of misted air that rose suddenly from the otherwise calm blanket. It wasn’t much, but it was something. And, with a spell on her ears and worry in her mind, something could be anything.

The pair stared ahead into the misted woods, off the beaten trail and into mist they could hardly see beyond. Applejack watched from behind them both. There was a collective gasp among the trio when another flick of mist rose from the fog.

“Did you see that?” Rainbow harshly whispered to Twilight. The unicorn nodded, shaking as she did so.

“I… I-I saw it the first time. A-and the second… now the th-third.” As another unnatural swirl in the fog reached their collective gaze, the farm pony spoke up.

“Better make that four,” Applejack muttered behind the pair, staring ahead with wide emerald eyes. “Ah don’t like this. We… yeah, we should get while the gettin’s good.”

“It… it can’t be big…” Twilight fruitlessly reasoned. “I-I mean… we’d see by now if it w-was a timberwolf or… Ursa Minor…”

Another displacement occurred in the mist, forcing the fog to rise swiftly. Applejack dug her hooves into the dirt, lowering her head as she did so. Rainbow Dash flared her wings, trying her best to ignore the song that chilled her to her bones. Twilight didn’t know what to do. A quick gasp was drawn from the unicorn as a bush off their beaten path began to rustle. Her lavender eyes stared at it, drawn and terrified by what she might see.

When the creature appeared, it did not disappoint.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she backpedaled at the sight. She didn’t get far; her was tail still stuck in Twilight’s ethereal grasp. “What is that thing?! Twi!? Snap out of it!” The pegasus turned her muzzle to the unicorn, yelling in the hopes to break her intellectual friend from her self imposed reverie. It worked, if at a pace far too slow for the athlete.

“I… uh,” Her voice stuttered and spat, head shaking and hooves scratching at the dirt. “I-I don’t know. Maybe… I-It could be a tangentially related creature t-to the… um… to the windigo…” Twilight’s musings, usually at their peak in the face of something so new and unfamiliar, were left crushed and destroyed under the serenade of the ballad that continued to drift over and through the misted forest.

While Twilight was left a stuttering mess and Rainbow Dash a barely controlled ball of fear and fury, Applejack was left speechless and stunned. She didn’t move or make motion to run, she didn’t speak, and she hardly even breathed. Her green eyes instead followed the misted creature, watching it as it jumped and danced through the thick fog over their path.

She watched, stone still, as it came closer to them, heedless or careless of their motion and noise. It had no eyes that the farm pony could see, let alone a body to smell or hear their presence, but Applejack was sure it was coming towards them. No… them was too general. Even without an indicator, without anything the farm pony could follow, Applejack could tell one very important fact about the ethereal cat.

It wasn’t coming for the three of them. It was coming towards her.

Applejack, the farm pony who had wrestled herds, dealt with timberwolves small and large, and represented the most honest of traits in pony kind, was very sure of one thing.

She did not want the misted creature to come close to her.

“It’s… beautiful…”

The farm pony whipped her head towards the voice of her friend. Twilight was leaning close to the misted creature, her hooves creeping over the thick fog. Her eyes were wider than plates, staring unblinkingly. The magical aura around her horn had dissipated, her mind now completely focused on something else.

The creature came to a slow stop in front of Applejack. The earth pony’s emerald eyes stared at the creature made of fog, unsure of whether to buck it away from her, stay still as stone, or turn tail and run. One option was appealing, one was appalling, but all three seemed impossible to her.

“What’s it doing?” Rainbow asked carefully, leaning down towards the misted creature. Her ears leaned back against her head, careful and unsure of what exactly would happen. The mist of the creature continued to trail behind it, shrinking more the longer the ethereal being held still. Its unseen black eyes looked up towards the farm pony, empty holes staring at the mare. Applejack felt shivers running down her back, and she was rather sure the fog had nothing to do with it.

A gasp was sucked through her lips as the creature jumped.

It lifted off the fog silently, like it was air being directed without force. There was no hum of magic, whoosh of wind, or even thud against the earth. The misted creature jumped to Applejack’s height, hung in the air for a moment, then turned its ethereal tail on the trio.

It moved deftly through the air, gliding until it was at level with the fog once more. For a moment Applejack’s wide emerald eyes lost track of the creature, its form too similar to the rest of the mist that surrounded it. She caught track of it again once, noticing its black unseeing eyes looking at her. The cold shivers returned to the mare once more.

“I… I think it want us to… follow it.” The words were listed slowly by the pegasus, her body having taken to the air. Applejack couldn’t remember when Dash had started flapping her wings, but she must have been too distracted by the dancing fog creature to notice. Even now, her mind was focused on something else. Specifically, what Rainbow had said.

“Are ya out of yer mind?” The farm pony hissed at her friend, leaning low as if to hide from the creature staring at them. “Ya wanna follow that… thing even deeper into the woods?”

“Well, yeah.” Dash words were as blunt as the ends of her hooves. “I mean, it’s not like we’re going to come up with any brighter ideas standing here. Besides, we can just stop following it if things start to look sketchy.”

“Dash has a point.” Twilight agreed with her currently airborne friend. It earned the same wide-eyed gaze from Applejack. “We should follow it. We… we just have to keep one eye on where we are as we do.”

“Ah… Ah can’t believe ya two…” the farm pony spoke quietly, shaking her head in disbelief. Perhaps if she shook it hard enough, time would reverse and she could correct her mistake of letting Apple Bloom walk into the woods alone. “This don’t seem even a little off ta either of ya?”

“Of course something isn’t right,” Twilight countered easily. “But that doesn’t mean that that… thing is behind it.” Her head motioned towards the misted creature, sitting patiently over the mist as they quickly conversed. The ends of its ears rose and dissipated into the air, the fog beneath it rising up and into its form. For all things considered, it looked like it really was part of the thick fog.

“Yeah, I mean, when are we gonna have the chance to do this again?” Dash looked excited about following some alien creature into an enchanted forest that they barely understood. Applejack did not share her friend’s optimism.

“Look, Ah love ya two as much as any pony ever could, but you both are talkin’ dumb as dirt right now.” The farm pony altered her gaze from the unicorn to the pegasus. Both watched her in return, but remained silent as they did so. “We came here ta find mah sis, not follow some mysterious forest critter into them woods like a bunch of fillies with magic on the mind. No offense Twi.” The unicorn waved her hoof before she spoke.

“Applejack,” Twilight began carefully. “I understand your skepticism for this, but… what other choice do we have?” Her lavender eyes pleaded with her voice, widened with a wet gleam. “We’re lost either way. At least now we have something to follow.”

“Ah’d rather we risk losin’ ourselves a bit more than follow some fog cat.” The words were more of a mutter than an argument. Dash was quick to follow up on what she heard.

“Look, AJ, we aren’t saying this is common sense. It’s pretty blatantly not.” The farm pony had no reason to disagree. “But think about it, how many things in the Everfree actually hurt ponies? We got the Timberwolves and a few living constellations running around. Just about everything else is just… here.”

“That doesn’t mean we should just turn tail on where we have ta go and follow the first new thing that crosses our eyes.” Applejack’s resolve was crumbling. Twilight didn’t need a spell to see it happening.

“Applejack,” the unicorn spoke easily to her friend. “Even if it’s just for a little bit, trust Dash and me with this.” She urged her friend as she spoke, laying a hoof over the cow pony’s side. “If anything, anything starts to look… sketchy, we can stop following.”

The farm pony stared into her friend’s eyes, the same eyes that had read more books than she had worked seasons at the orchard, found the secret to the Elements of Harmony and seen through the guise of the Changelings. Twilight was a lot of things, but reckless she was not. Applejack’s hooves dug into the dirt as her resolve began to erode.

“Alright,” she spoke in a huff, avoiding the eyes of her friends as she spoke. “But,” she looked up quickly as she spoke. “As soon as Ah think things are goin’ south I’m turnin’ tail, got it?”

“Absolutely!” Twilight nodded vigorously in agreement, her smile splitting her large head.

“Course, and we’ll be right behind ya.” Rainbow gave a light jab to the farm pony’s side as she spoke, a unique sign of trust and agreement between the two. It brought a slow grin to Applejack’s muzzle.

Her green eyes looked back down the path, searching for the fogged creature that seemed to follow the song still drifting through the cow pony’s mind.

It was hanging in the air several hooves above the mist. The eyes now had nothing to do with the cold breeze Applejack felt crawl over her coat. Her friends, however, didn’t seem to share her skepticism or caution. Rainbow Dash’s blind willingness made sense, but Twilight’s quick acceptance was something even Applejack thought was odd.

Then again, if there was ever anything new and magical in the land of Equestria, Twilight would be the last pony to pass it up. If a flying creature made of mist coming from the Everfree forest didn’t qualify, Applejack wanted to know what did.

“Alright!” Dash spoke up for her friends, flapping her wings the few times necessary to begin her movement forward. “Let’s do this!” Twilight nodded beside her friend, joining in step next to the pegasus. Meekly, hesitantly, Applejack followed behind the two.

As soon as she took her first hoofstep forward, the creature turned from them again, flying down the forest path.

“There it goes!” The excitement was impossible to miss in the unicorn’s voice. Just as noticeable and blatant was the gallop she started to take. Rainbow Dash was just beside her, easily matching the mare’s pace with her wings. Applejack flanked them both, watching as the chase took place.

There were so many ways Twilight could describe the Everfree forest.

On one hoof, she could call it a mystical place where the last wonders of magic were kept. So many acres of it were unexplored, and even more undocumented. There could be troves of treasure lying beneath some unmarked rock, or expansive libraries of knowledge kept beneath the roots of trees.

On another hoof, the magical, astute unicorn would label the place a danger.

But right now, in the moment of a chase through a dense fog she could hardly see through, Twilight could only describe the Everfree as one thing.

Beautiful.

The fog seemed to curl around the trees, possessively holding them into the ground with an unseen force. The dark bark and gnarled branches of the trees twisted in a way the unicorn never paid attention to before. With the dense white fog, the finer details of the large foliage became only more evident to her eyes.

Nothing about it seemed hard or strained. Rather, everything seemed to flow together, like the mist they were walking through and the creature they were following. Despite the differences that were more than evident to her sight, nothing seemed out of place. The foliage of the woods should have mixed with the dense mist, the intangible figure they chased looking at home within the greens of the forest despite its empty sockets.

Even they-- a lavender unicorn, blue pegasus, and orange mare chasing a figure none of them had ever seen in a forest none of them had any claim to-- seemed perfectly reasonable. Everything just felt… connected.

“There it goes!” Dash called out as she pushed ahead, the mist beneath her churning as she flapped her wings. Each beat pushed down a section of the mist before commanding another part to rise. Like waves across still water, the pegasus rode on the fog.

The problem was, her prey was doing much the same. It jumped through and around the mist, diving into the deep white sea before emerging somewhere down the trail hooves further than where it had entered. The pegasus was having trouble following the creature, and listening to song that slowly lulled her mind did not help.

Every wave that she made above the foggy sea seemed to flow in an almost planned pace with the woods around them, a sight Dash only noticed when she turned her head to see the condition of her friends. The mist that she had moved swirled as it descended and dissipated as it rose. Plumes of smoke and whirlpools of fog made the trees around them seem like mountains.

It was hard to describe, especially for a pegasus so used to seeing things shrink the higher she flew, but as the mist around them moved with the beating of her wings, she felt smaller and smaller. No, that wasn’t quite right either. It wasn’t that she was getting smaller, more that she was beginning to realize how small she was.

Applejack, however, had the creature in her eyes and on her mind. She had listened to the trees in her orchard and the foliage that grew here. She had heard them call silently through the ground, asking for water, for food, for attention. She was more than used to the beauty in nature, having more than just a single hoof in creating it on a daily basis.

She was used to nature, but Applejack was not used to a creature with no real shape, sightless black eyes and a body of fog. Her instincts told her turn tail, but her mind told her to keep pace. Her hooves wanted to dig in the dirt hiding beneath the thick fog, but her eyes kept track of every tangled limb and canopy opening, marking the path they were taking. They may have been lost, but she would sooner eat her hat then let a critter get her even more lost, if that were possible.

Suddenly, faster than the farm pony could follow, the creature jumped left, twisting through a thin wall of leaves and out of sight. Dash reached the wall first, hovering in front of it with a rare form of trepidation. It was long enough for Twilight to reach her pegasus friend. Like Rainbow, the unicorn was cautious, refusing to jump through the foliage with needless haste. Instead, she raised a hoof against the hanging limbs, guiding them out of the way.

What she saw must have taken her breath away.

“Wow…” Twilight spoke, shock more than caution overtaking her voice. Her widened eyes stared ahead at something Applejack could not see, beyond the trees.

“I don’t believe it…” Dash spoke next to her friend, both of them staring at something Applejack couldn’t see.

“What?” The earth pony asked, taking the few strides forwards necessary to reach the unicorn’s side. “What do ya see… there… Twi…” The words fell and sputtered out of Applejack’s mouth, falling to the unseen forest floor beneath the dense fog.

Beyond the trees, around the leaves, and in the midst of the fog, sat Zecora’s hut.

The trio stared at it in shock, more than familiar with the sight but completely foreign to the means by which they had found it. No path they had ever taken led them to their friend’s home like this. No forest creatures or magical spells. Only well known tracks on treaded earth. Now… now they were looking at the carved and well-lit tree of their zebra friend.

And, sitting just before the door, was the empty eyed fog cat.

Its tail swished behind it, curling around its misted body in a mesmerizing manner. The tip tucked beneath the ends of its forepaws, the swaying mist flowing up into the creature’s body and then backs down its tail. It was a sight both beautiful and haunting, much like the tune that continued to sing through their minds.

“Ah don’t believe it…” Applejack spoke breathlessly, staring from the spectral creature to the carved hut and back again. So sure was she that she was being lead into a trap that the idea of finding the home of her zebra friend was far out of her mind. It was surprising, magical and unexpected, but not unwelcome. The chuckle that flowed past her lips was proof of that.

“What… should we do?” Dash asked her friends, leaning down to their level from her perch in the air. Silence was kept at bay only by the song that continued to haunt their mind and calm their souls.

“We… we go forward.” Twilight spoke, hardly easily. “I-I mean… maybe… maybe Zecora used a spell for that cat.”

“Y-Yeah!” Rainbow spoke up in agreement, wings beating as she did so. “That mare knows how to use the woods, so… so a foggy creature in the fog makes sense, right?” Applejack, however, didn’t respond.

The earth pony walked forward into the clearing.

No sooner did her hooves touch the barren soil outside of Zecora’s home than the creature of mist floated under the door, fitting through the thin slot with an ease none of the three thought existed. It froze the mare for a moment, but not permanently. Applejack began to move forward again, hearing the fallen leaves hidden beneath the fog she walked through crunch lightly beneath her hooves. The sound of rustling behind her was evidence enough that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were following, wasting barely a moment in doing so. There was another difference between now and the chase only moments prior.

Before they were running through the mist. Now they were stalking cautiously through the fog. Whether it was from caution or fear, Applejack couldn’t tell. All she knew was that her sister was supposed to be in that hut, and that the same misted cat they had chased had just dove into it. If Twilight was right about the cat’s good will, however, then there was nothing to worry about. If she was wrong… Applejack wasn’t sure.

It wasn’t long until she was standing in front of the carved tree’s door, the familiar scent of potions wafting through the cracks. A scuffle of hooves and beating of wings was enough to remind Applejack she wasn’t alone.

Raising her forehoof, she lightly knocked on the hardwood.

END

Complete silence followed.

The sudden end of the song earned a jolt from the three mares. Tentative looks of shock were shared between them, each silently confirming from one another’s expressions that the sudden loss of the haunting voice was not a sensation experienced alone. As each set of eyes from the ponies showed the same look of disbelief, the air only became more tense.

But before any of them could speak, the door to Zecora’s hut opened and a familiar face greeted them, face grinning proudly.

“My friends,” the zebra began, looking over the trio with a joyous expression. “So good to see you again. Please, do come in. It is where our conversation should begin.” She moved aside as she spoke, offering room for the ponies to squeeze through her doorway and into the carved and decorated hut.

“Thank you kindly Zecora,” Applejack spoke with a small nod of her head. “But ‘fore I get carried away with a good talk, have ya seen-” the orange mare didn’t have the time or breath to finish her thought.

“Applejack!” The voice of a youth cried. The farm pony only had time to move her head before a familiar weight crashed into her chest. Her muscled legs kept her balanced, and perpetual habits had her wrapping a hoof around the small bundle currently wrapping its own around her carriage.

“Apple Bloom.” The name was spoken with a small sigh of relief, the cow pony shaking her head and her Stetson hat. “You had me worried somethin’ fierce, ya know that?” The question was spoken as the mare rubbed her hoof over the filly’s back. “Ah’m glad yer alright.”

“Um, excuse me,” The timid voice of Twilight spoke up, warily interrupting the small reunion. Timidness was not a mark of her nature, but caution was. “I’d hate to interrupt, but there are some things I have to ask. We didn’t exactly have a clear path getting here.”

“For what reasons are you concerned?” Zecora kindly asked her unicorn friend. “Hopefully it is something I can help discern.”

“Well, there were a lot of things, actually.” Rainbow Dash flew to Zecora’s side as she spoke, carefully avoiding a hot pot boiling with a brew she didn’t care to question. “I mean, after we all got lost coming into the woods somehow, we started to hear a song that pretty much echoed through the entire forest. Then right when Applejack and I were about to follow it, Twilight over here sees some wispy fog ghost cat floating through the mist. So naturally we chase it through the forest like our lives depend on it. Then, lo and behold, it goes right ahead and slips underneath your door.” The pegasus’s hoof pointed at the zebra as she spoke.

Usually when Dash went off on her tangents, it ended with the pony she was accusing giving perplexed looks or angry rebuttals. It wasn’t anything new or wondrous about the cyan pegasus losing her cool in the midst of a long-winded explanation. What was new, or at least outside the norm, was the calm and nearly cheerful demeanor with which Zecora answered the winged pony.

“My dear Rainbow Dash,” the striped mare spoke as she took steps around her home. “There is no reason to be rash. A song I did hear and a creature I did see, but I assure once more, neither belonged to me.”

“Me ‘either.” Apple Bloom spoke with a touch of joy to her voice, her hooves releasing Applejack. The filly practically bounced across the floor with a smile only Applejack truly recognized. Being the only pony who lived with a sister half her age, the farm pony was familiar with the subtle differences in a filly’s smile. And she could tell from the slight rise in the filly’s left side of her right cheek corner, the minor twisting of her head, and open eyes something that neither Twilight or Rainbow Dash could.

Apple Bloom was hiding something.

“Wait, so… you saw the foggy cat?” Twilight questioned with her hoof towards the striped mare. It slowly swiveled over to the filly. “Both of you?” Both occupants of the carved hut smiled as they responded.

“Yup, we sure did!” Apple Bloom spoke. There was nothing but childish joy in her voice. It was beginning to make Applejack’s limbs shiver.

“Wait, I got a better question,” Dash overruled Twilight as she held up a hoof. Her other three touched down on the hut’s floor, her pink eyes staring at Zecora with an expression of curiosity, twisted eyes and a twisted neck.

“If that wasn’t you singing, and it wasn’t Apple Bloom… then who was it?” Then, a voice spoke. It was a high voice that didn’t belong the youthful earth pony or wise zebra. A voice that spoke while no mouth in the room moved.

“Me.”

It was instinct that made the three look to a darkened corner of the zebra’s home. Those same instincts were what made the jaws fall in collective shock. It was hard not to when parts of the tree began to glow, illuminating a creature none of them had seen before.

“My name is Aisling,” the creature spoke, her emerald eyes captivating the gazes of the three shell-shocked ponies. “I sang to find you. It wasn’t hard. You were in my forest.”

The Last of Her Kind

Celestia was a mare, a pony, no matter what any other foal, colt, filly, stallion, or mare said about her. She needed to eat, she needed to sleep, she needed time to think, but, most mortal of all, she had emotions within her mind.

She would feel her heart mourn as ponies grew old, feel her chest lift when new life was announced, her eyes widen and jaw drop when she was surprised, but, most mundane of all, she felt her teeth grit when stress became too much for her.

This was one of those times.

“And you are sure of this?” she spoke the words with the kindness she was known for, but with an authority she rarely adored in using. But when details such as the ones presented to her were made evident, patience was lost. The pony she addressed nodded vigorously at her words.

“Y-yes, your highness,” the grey stallion spoke after swallowing a ball in his throat. “The numbers were thoroughly checked and adjusted with recalibrations made to the measuring tools involving Ley Line path and power fluxes taking into account variable errors and reasons for…”

“Please, Iron Wit,” Celestia said calmly, holding up her hoof as she did so. “I trust you took every precaution necessary before bringing me such a… phenomenal discovery.”

“T-that’s just it! I-It’s not a discovery!” The pony took several breaths to calm himself. The guards were tense around him, held back only by their diarch’s command. “We’ve known about the Ley Lines for a while. Forever, actually. This… Th-This is just me seeing how they’ve… changed.”

“Yes, observing data that is already known, but being able to find new things within it,” Celestia slowly blinked, letting a calm faux smile wash over her lips. “You should be proud for discovering something like this.”

“I’d be proud if I wasn’t so terrified.” Celestia only had enough time to register what Iron said before he reached his head into a bag by his side.

His muzzle dug into the satchel. Filled to the brim with wrapped scrolls and measuring tools, the bag was a mess for his searching snout to navigate. The further he dug into it, the more his notes and gizmos began to fall out. They clattered to the stone floor, rolling or lightly bouncing until they came to a stand still. Iron Wit paid them little attention.

He lifted his head from the pouch, holding two scrolls of differing sizes in his maw . One was long and tightly wound, resembling a large twig to the princess of the sun. The other was much thicker, though not nearly as long. If the first scroll was a twig, this was a log. He deposited both on the floor, his hooves quickly unwrapping the thinner of the two.

When it was fully unwrapped, Celestia saw the familiar map of Equestria. She would have felt nostalgic if she wasn’t looking at a map of some sort every day in court.

“This,” Iron Wit began, “is what Equestria’s Ley Lines have been measured to represent for the past few millennia. It was first recorded by unicorns far before the founding of Equestria, and has since been used to establish the most fruitful locations for towns and homes. This is so that magic can be used in a needed fashion to support populations and allow proper nutrition to reach the soil for-”

“Yes, Iron Wit, yes,” Celestia impatiently interrupted, nodding her head as she spoke. “I am more than familiar with these things. I was around for most of them.” The hot blush that ran across his gray coat gave an odd sort of joy to the white princess. Familiar, but still odd. Teasing did have its moments, especially during stressful times.

“Yes, of course. M-my apologies.” Despite receiving no signal from the Princess to continue, he did so anyway.

Picking up the other scroll, he placed it over the opened map of Equestria. Though the color was a shade darker, indicating a newer print, there were harsh, hastily scrawled quill markings over the varying sections. Markings over a map did not trouble Celestia, as they changed as often to her as the way her mane billowed.

What concerned her was where those lines were drawn.

For every new piece of parchment Iron Wit laid out over the map of Equestria, a Ley Line altered. Some were moved, some were reversed, but regardless, a great many of them had changed. For not the first time, but certainly the first in a long time, Celestia felt her throat go dry.

“This,” the stallion muttered, tapping on the paper with his hoof. “This is what I’ve found while remeasuring the Ley Lines.” Though the pause between his sentences was great, Celestia was too stunned to speak. The Royal Guards were in much the same condition, sending nervous glances to one another.

“From what I can tell, something has occurred around the Everfree Forest to greatly distort the natural flow of magic throughout Equestria. I-I don’t know how or why, but in some cases there is a complete reversal of the magical properties the Ley Lines usually produce.” His hoof raised itself into the air, scratching at the back of his grey mane before waving in the air.

“I-I had a colleague, a unicorn colleague, cast basic magical spells around the areas that presented the most obvious changes. When he did, he--the unicorn, not me-- noted a twenty five percent gain in magical reach with his levitation spells and nearly forty percent growth in shield densities. Speaking frankly-- I shouldn’t, but I am--” Iron Wit coughed regardless. “I-I think that near this area,” his hoof roughly ran over Ponyville, near the border between the forest and the town. “He could be on par with the Prince of the Crystal Kingdom for shield spells.”

The muttering that came from the guards was audible, something that almost never occurred between the silent guardians. It only grew worse when Celestia felt her wings fall to her sides, unfolding without her command. She felt very mortal at the knowledge.

“And as you’ve said, you have no reasoning for this.” Iron Wit looked up at Celestia only to confirm she was done speaking before he continued.

“Nothing conclusive. No, nothing. A hundred and one ideas, but no solid facts. A-All I can do is just use basic academic level induction to note that these changes are real and they are likely going to stay.” He swallowed heavily on something when he was done. His chest was slowly heaving.

Now Celestia understood him a bit more. Even she would be frantic with this knowledge.

The problem was, though she was shocked, awed, and a bit terrified by the implications, she could not show even a sign. She was who she was, despite what she felt, and she had to be wise even in the times of great change. That was when wisdom mattered the most.

“Surely you have at least one idea that you cannot ignore,” the diarch cautiously supplied. “An idea that pushes at your mind. A whisper of a thought, no matter how small or incoherent, that you cannot erase.” By the swift shifting of his eyes and refusal to meet her gaze, Celestia knew she was right. “Please, tell me.”

There was a very loud and very audible echo of a ball being swallowed throughout the hall before Iron Wit spoke again.

“W-Well, all these changes, they occur within a league’s distance of the Everfree forest, not including the few outliers.” His hoof shook at the few dark pieces of parchment lying over the map. “A-And even though there are a great many of theories involving Ley Lines, from their production, continued magical output, creation, manipulation-”

“Iron Wit.” The stallion nearly bucked himself before he continued.

“There’s one, o-only one theory that directly correlates with a centralized number of changes, in a copious amount of course.” Celestia nodded towards him, beckoning him to continue.

“The Ley Lines, in theory,” Iron Wit clarified before he began, “Have their properties created and managed by magical artifacts, either buried deep beneath the earth, hidden by the magic they produce, or obscured by some other yet to be determined method. The point is, these objects, or things, or creatures, are solid and, therefore, can be moved. If they can be moved, or, in this case, are moved-”

“Then the Ley Lines will change to correlated to this altering of power,” Celestia finished for him, nodding as she let her mind roll with the political fallout and intercontinental consequences of such knowledge.

“Precisely. But that’s not what I think happened.” The diarch and her not-so-motionless guards paused.

“If you think this theory is false, why present it to me?” For once, the stallion was not humbled or made nervous by the princess’s direct question. Rather to the contrary, he was excited.

“I think one was added.” A sharp intake of breath reverberated through the hall. It was neither from Celestia nor Iron Wit.

“Created?” The white alicorn slowly spoke, attempting to fathom the implications of such a thing twice over.

“Yes! Yes! I have nothing to prove it, or back it up, or even suggest I’m right, but!” He pointed to his map again, his hoof slowly circling choice parts of the map, following the aged Ley Lines to his newer alterations.

“These Ley Lines are not diverging or altering their paths, and none have been erased. If, in theory only of course, a source of power was removed, these lines would cease to exist. There’d be no power to continue their supply.” Celestia nodded at the words. His intelligence and reasoning were sound. “Instead of doing these things, however, the Ley Lines actually are growing, moving towards a new source of power within the Everfree Forest. Where, I have no idea. I didn’t have the supplies, group or means to conduct a proper investigation into the woods, let alone a prospective study of the increased strength in unicorns or even pegasi flight around these areas, but-”

“Iron Wit.” Celestia’s voice was cold as stone as she spoke. Her mask slipped to do so, showing the intellectual earth pony the hard inner core of his leader. “Please, what does this mean? For the remaining Ley Lines.”

Iron Wit was silent for a moment, perhaps considering the question, perhaps considering the princess currently sitting on the throne. Celestia was only concerned with the former, and cared very little for the latter.

“For the remaining lines,” he began cautiously, most likely thinking as he spoke. “Those further than two point three leagues away will grow in their magical output, most likely to a ten percent degree. Further than that will see a linear decrease in magical effect. Closer to the origin point, however, the magical effects will likely increase in a near exponential rate. I would be scarcely surprised if a unicorn’s magical output increased well over one hundred percent.” He swallowed. To Celestia, it looked as if he was just beginning to digest his own information.

“Additionally, though no Ley Lines will be severed, as no sources were removed, new branches may be created within the coming weeks to months. Additionally, as we’ve already seen, some of the Ley Line paths have been reversed. For ponies attempting to operate in this area, it is high likely that the magical output will need to be drastically remeasured and tools recalibrated. It is likely, theoretically still, that new crops may be able to be grown in these areas. Here, for example,” He spoke as he hand ghosted over an area Celestia was familiar with. Her favorite apples grew there.

“It is likely that their crops will grow at a phenomenally faster rate, because the Ley Line running beneath the land has been nearly doubled in strength of output. Here, however,” Iron Wit’s hoof moved far across the page, ending at a small settlement on the opposite side of the Everfree Forest.

“The crops here will likely be unable to sustain themselves. The nutrients they need from the Ley Lines to grow at swift, reproducible rates will be nearly robbed completely. If they grew, say, oranges here, then it is likely that apples would have a better chance, or vice-versa, or versa-vice.”

Celestia sat down on her throne.

She wasn’t aware of when she started to stand, but it was most likely near the time Iron Wit proved the changes in the magical Ley Lines. Now, with the information presented to her, a chair wasn’t enough to rest her weary mind. She needed a bed.

But the need of the country mattered more, and that necessity required her mind, aged finely with great wisdom and knowledge.

“What can I do?” She muttered quietly to herself, unsuspecting of any party answering her question. “Even if I gained leave to address this issue, what could I possibly do to alter these Ley Lines? Time would be of the essence, and it is the one thing I possess little of.” She snorted at the irony. An immortal without time to spare. Hilarious.

She likely would not have time to aid her country by hoof and horn, as it doubtlessly would need her more for voice and mind. But there was also a group of ponies beyond the political walls of Canterlot to help her. The smile that reached her lips was almost foreign to her now.

“There is only so much I can do from here, and only so long a time I can leave these walls without a plan in my wake.” Celestia stared out of a stained-glass window, looking beyond the blue of the Crystal Empire detailed in the frame. “It is why I am so fortunate to have so many willing ponies far across this land willing to help me.”

“Your majesty?” Iron Wit’s questioning voice earned the attention of the diarch, who looked at him with wise, patient eyes. “I… I don’t understand. You’ll do nothing, then?”

“Of course not, Iron Wit. I would never even dream of ignoring my duties. And, as you have pointed out, the shifting of old Ley Lines and appearance of new ones is nothing to be ignored.” She took the few trots necessary to reach the earth pony, who was still fidgeting with a nervousness Celestia was quite used to seeing.

“As I said, there are ponies who believe in me that are not tied to chores and politics. These are ponies I trust with my horn and my wings, and I will trust them with this task as well.” The words, complete with their compassion-filled tone, did much good for the trembling grey stallion.

“A-And…” He stuttered out before swallowing, attempting to start again. “A-And you can believe they are capable of analyzing the alternating currents within the Ley Lines power and projecting the outflow capacity in relation to a-”

“Please, Iron Wit, have faith in my decisions.” He bowed his head like she had slapped him. She detested that expression, no matter the circumstances. She lowered her head, waiting until he looked into her eyes, letting him see her kind gaze.

“Among those ponies is my faithful student, and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony,” Celestia took great appreciation in the look of surprise that crossed the grey pony’s face. Even with his nervous traits, the dilation of his eyes and expansion of his chest were still obvious to her well-trained gaze.

“If there are any group of ponies prepared for the impossible, it is them.”

“I… I’m aware of Twilight Sparkle. Top of her class, your personal student, theoretical and metaphysical genius in the fields of magical application…” The stallion shook his head, mostly likely to derail his speeding train. “Sh-She would definitely be able to analyze the Ley Lines, as per my inductive calculations and reasoning. Mrs. Sparkle has a very good chance of developing a reason or hypothesis for these changes through a deductive method. But,” Celestia watched as Iron Wit’s eyes squinted, a note of curiosity drifting through his gaze. “What of the rest of her friends? I-I have just… I’ve never met the other Bearers of Harmony.”

“Do not worry yourself,” Once more Celestia spoke with that calm tone and peaceful demeanor. A calming influence on her subjects was one of the most valuable things in a time of crisis.

Though now at this point, it was much more of a mask than a representation of her mind. Inside, her teeth gritted with having to explain so much to a pony as brilliant as Iron Wit. It was only one more example in her ever-growing record that intelligence did not coincide with common sense.

“I have complete faith, trust, and belief in the Elements of Harmony. They have been through more in this world and experienced more of the unknown that any pony I know.” As soon as Iron Wit licked his lips, she knew what was coming. Fortunately, that meant she knew how to stop it.

“But-” Celestia held up her gold adorned hoof, silencing grey stallion. She took in a breath of air slowly, hoping the increase in time would dampen her tiring patience. Even her spectral mane seemed to slowly still as she controlled herself.

“Believe me. There are no ponies better suited to this than those six. After re-discovery of the Everfree Castle and prevention of the Changeling invasion, what could possibly happen to frighten them?”

“Whoa!” Rainbow cried in shock. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Her hooves rapidly beat against the wood, her wings doing much the same to the air. It was only colliding with a far wall that stopped her. “What is that!? What is that thing?! What in the name of Celestia is that!?”

Aisling, the white haired nymph, took the words as heavy threats.

Her already crouched form reached lower for the forest floor, her clothed chest ghosting over the floor. Her white hair fell around her like a blanket, hiding the patches of her bare skin beneath its long length. Except for her green eyes, of course. Those emerald irises stared at the pegasus with a vicious glare. The snarl that came from her fanged teeth did not help the situation.

“Did it just growl? It growled! Holy Celestia it growled at me!” The pegasus proceeded to drag her body up the wall, wings beating furiously in order to do so.

“Be calm Rainbow Dash! There is no reason to be rash!” Zecora spoke to the cyan pegasus, her voice loud but tone calm in volume. She wisely did not yell, as the pegasus was doing. Her eyes focused on the startled mare, momentarily ignoring the unmistakable growl of a predator coming from the nymph.

“Rash? Rash!? I think this is the absolute perfect time to be rash!” The pegasus shouted in argument, her wide eyes never leaving the long haired nymph. It slowly stalked closer to her, teeth bared in a snarl as a low rumble came from its throat. “Look at that! I bet my wings it’s gonna attack us!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight screamed up at the mare, earning the pegasus’s attention. It earned Dash’s attention, but also made Aisling pause in her stalk. A tense moment of silence passed as the unicorn and pegasus locked eyes, staring at one another. Then, without any indication to the avian horse, Twilight turned to face the white haired creature.

“I apologize for my friend’s behavior,” she began speaking, a practiced and poised smile over her lips. “We just weren’t expecting… company, I guess.”

Quick as the wind, the pale figure stood up, easily matching Twilight’s height. Her green eyes twisted as she stared at the unicorn, mostly likely in silent judgment. This was something that Twilight had become far too accustomed to in the halls of Canterlot.

“It’s alright,” she spoke, voice high with an accent Twilight couldn’t place. “She is new to my forest, and she is wise to be afraid of me.” The fanged grin the nymph gave sent a quick chill down the unicorn’s spine.

“Apple Bloom,” Applejack whispered to her younger kin. “Best be gettin’ behind me. We’ll make tracks first chance we get.” The words that were returned to her were not what the farm pony was expecting, nor from the pony she was anticipating.

“Please, all present, be at peace,” Zecora spoke with a louder tone, trotting in between the two groups of ponies. “Let us first explain our piece.” The zebra did not wait for the trio of mares to speak otherwise. Raising her hoof, she motioned towards the white haired creature, unmistakably lowering herself as she spoke.

BEGIN

“Aisling is this wise creature’s name. She is able to make the woods tame.” Her striped hoof then slowly swung towards the small filly in the group, her eyes only filled with joy and excitement. “It was within these woods that Apple Bloom became lost, yet Aisling returned her to me without exhaust.”

“So…” Applejack began slowly, motioning her hoof towards the white haired creature as if trying to poke the odd figure from afar. “Ya saved mah sister?”

“She was lost in my woods,” Aisling spoke easily, a small shrug of her shoulders accompanying her words. “And she didn’t belong here.”

“Don’t be modest Ash-ling!” Apple Bloom blurted out as she trotted closer to the nymph. The mispronunciation of the creature’s name was left unaddressed. “Ya showed me so much in yer woods. Ah got ta see just about everything!”

“Not everything,” the nymph spoke with a small, mischievous grin. “My woods are vast and filled with life. It will take quite a while to show you everything.” The two shared a giggle together.

“Oh my head,” Rainbow suddenly complained from the ceiling. It took only a glance to see that her form was slowly drifting to the ground, her wing beats slowing in pace. When her hooves finally touched down, she immediately fell to her rump, a forehoof rubbing her head.

“Dash? What’s wrong?” Twilight’s question of concern was met with a minor bark of laughter from the pegasus.

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong, just messed up in a way Discord would be grinning at.” The words came from the pegasus in rough tone, one that immediately put the mare on the offensive. “Fog thicker than the weather team and I coulda created, getting lost in the woods, songs singing through my head, chasing ghost cats through the forest, and finally finding who knows what in Zecora’s hut. Yeah, this is just another peachy day.”

“You can leave, then,” Aisling spoke up, earning the immediate attention of the ponies, Dash included. The pegasus had only a second to take in a breath before finding it frozen in her throat.

Aisling, in manner of time or speed, appeared at breath’s length from the muzzle of the pegasus.

Her green eyes glared at the Rainbow like a predator would a rival cub.

“This is my forest. I only let you in because Apple Bloom said I could trust you-- Zecora as well. But, if you if want to leave, you can.” The nymph leaned back from the pegasus, her long white hair wrapping around her as she did so. But from beneath the long mess of hair, a slim pale arm appeared, pointing towards the entrance to the hut. “Just don’t try coming back. I won’t help you twice.”

“Wait,” Twilight spoke up, earning a twist of Aisling’s head. The unicorn quickly trotted between the two.

“Look, I apologize for my friend. She…” Twilight turned to look at Dash, who looked back to her with an unsure gaze. “She has problems adjusting to new things.” The unicorn ignored the scoff that came from behind her. “I think the reason why she is so hesitant to… well, trust you is because we’re not exactly sure how you helped us.”

“You did hear my singing,” Aisling spoke matter-of-factly, crossing her arms and raising her head towards the unicorn. She carried an air Twilight recognized, if only in a small amount. It reminded her greatly of the nobles of Canterlot; proud and sure of what they owned. “Your friend said you did.”

“Hold the apple for a sec,” Applejack spoke up, trotting towards the trio. “That was yer voice singing for us?” The earth pony wisely, and strongly, held her ground as the white haired nymph grew a sharp fanged grin across her lips.

“Yes, that was me.” One of her arms unfolded from her chest, only to turn back with a thumb at herself. “I asked the forest to lead you to us, and it did.”

“Even I have to agree,” Zecora began, her golden eyes glinting with fascination as she watched the nymph. “Your powers more than impress me.” Aisling grinned at the comment, nodding her head towards the zebra.

“Okay…” Twilight began tentatively, nodding as she licked her lips. Her eyes were going dry from watching Aisling for so long. “That was you singing, I can understand that. But then what about the cat? While it’s entirely possible for it to be its own living entity, as the windigoes are, we all saw it disappear into here.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Instead of answering the unicorn with words, however, Aisling jumped into the air. Twilight felt her legs lock in momentary shock, watching the creature so easily jump to a height that Applejack would have only dreamed to be able to reach.

The unicorn was only able to follow the creature’s deft movements by the long mane of white that trailed behind her. She twisted and curled around branches and roots that hung from Zecora’s ceiling, weaving through the few statues and mask with all the force of a passing breeze. Then, as smoothly as her climbing and speech, Aisling settled on a branch that twisted from and around the ceiling.

“The forest made it to guide you.” The creature spoke easily, her thin linen-covered legs swinging under the branch she sat on. Her long white mane fell further than her limbs. It swayed with every light kick she made.

“Wh-Wha… Huh?” Applejack may have been the pony to voice her confusion, but she was not the only pony who expressed it. Twilight’s eyes were squinted in puzzlement, unsure of what the nymph was speaking of. Dash’s jaw remained unmoved and her head untwisted from before, the former still slack and the latter still knotted.

“I sang to find you,” she spoke again. “The forest helps me when I ask it to, but I have to ask in the right way. The cat was a friend of the forest long ago. He likes to help me now and then, but only if I ask him to.” Her fanged smile was evidence that she believed her explanation to be sufficient, but it did little more than twist the trio’s already frazzled minds.

“She is capable of things I have never seen,” Zecora spoke up, earning the attention of the zebra’s three new guests. “Not from any princess, creature, or thing in-between. As one who’s lived many days, I dare to guess she is a Fae.” The title drew a collective look from the unicorn and pegasus.

“Zecora,” Twilight began, her disbelief far beyond suspended, now drifting to where it might never be found again. “You know what the Fae are?”

“Child, I have lived in the wild all my life. I think it impossible to not hear tales of their strife. Though I confess, one before I have never seen,” the zebra’s golden eyes looked to Aisling, marveling not for the first time at the sight of the foreign creature to a foreign pony. “She is nothing but new to me.”

A tense silence took residence in the home, leaving the three new mares in the hut staring at the white haired creature. Their minds barely kept track of the paths they took, eyes wide and disbelieving. Aisling and Apple Bloom, however, were blissfully ignorant of the attention, the latter giggling up to the creature hanging from a branch.

The nymph smiled before she flipped backwards off the branch, spinning through the air majestically. Her form was lost beneath her long white mane, wrapping around her as she continued to flip through the air. However, her feet landed on the ground with a surprisingly soft thud, her body unwrapping and standing to its tallest again. She gave a fanged smile to the filly beneath her. The only thing that kept Applejack from charging the thing was the joyful laughter her sister gave.

“That’s… incredible…” Twilight spoke breathlessly as she approached the creature once more. Aisling offered the unicorn her attention with a noise of curiosity. Her emerald eyes widened in minor fright, however, as the intellectual mare stood just barely a breath away. “You have a level of agility that’s almost unfounded for most Equestrian mammals, a-and an ability to cast spells that I’ve never seen! Tell me, do you any affiliation with an occult cult, or are you self-studying a new method for spell conjuration?”

Aisling blinked as she looked at the unicorn, shaking from what could only be attributed as excitement. Leaning in a bit closer to the unicorn, until all the other could see was the eyes of the creature opposite of them, the forest nymph spoke four simple words.

“You’re an odd one.”

The words came so suddenly and so bluntly, Twilight didn’t know what to say. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, however, knew exactly what to do. Their laughter collected in a resounding chorus. It earned a pleasant twist of the nymph’s lips. Twilight only needed to glance to see that Apple Bloom and Zecora were holding their laughter back with only mild success.

“I-I’m not odd.” She weakly defended, looking at the creature as her own head slowly sank. “I-I… I’ve just never… met something like you before.”

“And you never will again.” Aisling spoke with not-so-hidden pride. Her hands placed themselves on her hips, her chest puffing outwards. By sight alone, she looked frail and lost, a creature misplaced in time. But by actions, words, and testimony, she was amongst the most frightening and mysterious things Twilight had ever seen. Applejack and Dash only thought of her as the former, not even a hint of the latter.

“Why not?” Twilight questioned, though a visible drop in her optimism was noted. “Are you an outsider or an ostracized member of your culture? That would explain the apparent lack of evidence towards your… well, existence, to be frank.” Before answering, Aisling twisted her head, looking at the unicorn with another expression of minor confusion.

“No silly,” the nymph replied before deftly spinning on her heel. Her hair twisted around her, forming a spiral of ghostly white beauty. “I’m alone now. That is all.”

Those words hung themselves in the air for a moment. None of the mares fully willing to accept what they quiet meant.

“You’re the last of… your kind?” Dash began, much to the surprised of Twilight, with a tone of sincerity. Either her fear was forgotten or simply buried. “Like… no friends, family, or queen?”

“My family is gone, they left long ago.” Twilight wasn’t quite sure if she should be sad or nervous from the almost passive response to the question, especially given the answer. Judging by the way Applejack tucked Apple Bloom behind her hoof, the unicorn was sure where her farming friend’s mind was. “The forest belonged to my mother and father before. When they left, it became my forest, and it is my forest.”

“The woes of your past is a tale I know well,” Zecora’s rhythmic voice began to speak, her golden eyes looking with pity and sympathy to the white haired nymph. “It is a dark tale that I loathe to dwell.”

“It’s alright now though, my friend helped me long ago.” The sincerity and join in her tone were not missed by the most astute of the most honest pony in the group.

“Must have been a heck of a friend.” Applejack testingly spoke, a false smile curled about her lips. She kept her sister behind hoof. “How’d the mare help ya’ll out?”

“He wasn’t a mare,” Aisling spoke easily, earning a quick blush along the farm pony’s muzzle, one her sister saw and eagerly began giggling at. “And he was not equine either. He was far too brave.”

“Too brave?” Twilight held back a sigh. She should have seen it coming, at least the moment Aisling spoke something like she had. “Hey, I’ll take a joke, but are you calling us cowardly?” The pegasus trotted towards the ghost haired Fae as she spoke, her brows furrowed in challenge. “Cuase I’ll have you know that we are some of the bravest ponies in all of Equestria.”

“You yelped like a new-born pup then attempted flee like a startled doe.” The bluntness of the metaphor hit Dash hard, causing her to twitch at the words. Twilight felt herself wince as her perked ears heard Applejack give a low whistle. The low giggling from Zecora and Apple Bloom was not missed, and definitely not ignored.

“H-Hey, don’t give me that,” Rainbow challenged back. “There’s no way I could have been prepared for… you.” She motioned at Aisling with her hoof, swaying up and down the length of the pale creature’s form. The Fae, however, took the words as a compliment, nodding in appreciation. “Besides, we’ve saved our land at least half a dozen times now. It’s a pretty big deal you know.”

“And Brendan saved me.”

The words created an eerie silence through the hut.

Aisling continued to stare at the pegasus, her green eyes hard and piercing, made all the more vivid by the pale backdrop of her hair and skin. The mare she stared at was left blinking in mild confusion, left wondering what she should say next. Fortunately, there was more than one pony in the room willing to speak for her.

“Brendan?” The youngest of the ponies spoke, trotting forward with light hoof steps over the wood. “Is that yer friend from before?”

The pale nymph turned to Apple Bloom, blinking before she did so. In that quick action, her gaze seemed to instantly soften from the piercing glare to a calm gaze. It was instantaneous, and far more disturbing, completely natural for her.

“Yes,” Aisling spoke, smiling lightly as she did so. “He came into my forest long ago, much like you actually.” Another giggle was shared between the pair. Twilight, however, was far too curious to let childish amusement derail her thinking.

“How did he save you?” the unicorn instantly questioned. “Did he help defend against a monstrous beast, or was he able to conjure a spell that guided you to your home, or was he bound to a different tree than you were?” From the trio of questions, one stuck out like a miscolored hoof.

“Bound to what now?” Applejack questioned her friend, twisting her head till her hat nearly fell from it. “Twi, Ah know we aren’t exactly standin’ on common ground here, but you feelin’ alright?”

“Yes, of course,” Twilight instantly answered. “It’s just that members of the Fae, like Aisling here, are commonly bound to a tree or other natural creations. It was only a proper question that he may have been bound a tree far away from hers and had to do something in order to save hers, perhaps drastically on top of it.”

“He wasn’t like me,” the nymph spoke up, earning an almost painfully quick turn of the unicorn and earth pony’s head. “And I’m not bound to any tree. I have seen every tree in these woods grow from a young sapling. That’s why it’s my forest.” Her slender fingers fell on her chest, the same proud fanged smile hanging from between her lips.

The statement appeared to rock Twilight. Her lips instantly began to move as her head turned from the white creature, her mind racing with thoughts and questions she hoped to justify before she spoke. Aisling watched her, her long white hair shifting lightly as her crooked itself.

“She is an odd one.” The nymph spoke again. It earned a light chuckle from the orange mare near her.

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Applejack spoke easily, warm even. “It ain’t that odd for her thoughts ta out pace her sometimes. Ya get used to it, Ah have at least.” The with a slight sigh, her face grew stern. “But ‘fore she starts ramblin’ off the questions again, Ah gotta tell ya something.”

The farm pony trotted the short distance between the two, Apple Bloom moving out of the way for her elder sister. Zecora and Rainbow Dash watched as the apple farmer gazed with a tight vision at the forest nymph, one that Aisling returned in kind.

Then, Applejack extended her hoof.

“Ah wanted ta thank ya.” Her words hung in the air, given no response from any member of their party, so she spoke on. “Cordin’ to both you, Zecora, and mah sis, you saved the life of one of mah kin. Fer that, Ah owe ya a lot.” The farm pony lightly shook her leg in the air, hoping to make her action a bit more known.

“So… thanks.”

Aisling stared at the hoof, her vision growing narrow and eyes harder the longer she did so. It didn’t take much time after that for her straight and proud posture to begin to hunch, her legs lightly tracing backwards into a predatory position. Her pale fingers lightly scratched at the ground as her lips began to snarl. Applejack, much like Zecora, was too stunned to speak or act.

Rainbow, however, wasn’t.

“Hey, what gives?” The athletic pegasus spoke up, taking once more to the air. “She offers to thank you and you act like you’re about to take her head off? What’s that all about?”

“If she means to thank me,” Aisling began, her gaze never even ghosting to the cyan mare. “Then why does she hold to me a tool of pain?”

Applejack didn’t know if she should laugh or shout.

Wisely, she chose neither.

“Pain?” the mare questioned, twisting her hoof until her eyes gazed down at the bare end of her leg, save for a horseshoe for working her farm day in and day out. “What are ya talkin’ about? Ah got nothin’ here but-”

“Iron!” The sudden shout earned a light jump from Applejack and Rainbow. It earned a deep growl from Aisling. Twilight, however, thought little of any of them.

“You’re shoe, Applejack.” The unicorn pointed towards the farm pony’s hoof as she spoke. “It’s made of iron, a material that’s hazardous to members of the Fae. Its meant to act like a deterrent for them. It was supposedly one of the many theories as to why iron was chosen as the material for horseshoes over more common materials we have available to us.”

“Wait, you can’t touch iron?” Dash pointed towards Aisling with her hoof. Before the nymph could answer, the pegasus twisted her leg until she was pointing at the zebra instead. “Then where did your cauldron go?”

“Like any good pot or pan, I put it away when I can.” The huff of annoyance was not lost on the pegasus. Zecora however, turned towards Aisling instead. “But now I must ask you, my most honored guest, about the life you lived before with your friend, whom you’ve now lain to rest.”

“I can tell you,” Aisling spoke easily to Zecora, her carefree smile once more upon her lips, fang still as prominent as ever. “He did teach me the importance of tales. I taught him more though.” Her giggle of satisfaction would have been cute if it had not been vain.

“Wait, he taught you about tales?” Twilight asked the pale creature. Before she could respond, the unicorn continued to speak on. “That means that he had stories, or liked to tell them. He may have even written a few. What kind of stories did he tea- no wait, how did he teach you the importance of stories.”

END

BEGIN

Aisling, for her part, was patient with the unicorn’s frantic words. Then again, watching an entire forest grow meant that she had some level of patience in her bones, or so Apple Bloom thought. The forest Fae lifted a slender finger to the back of her hand, tracing the bare white skin as her eyes looked at nothing. Silence was taking residence in the air, and was heavier than the earth.

“When I met Brendan,” Aisling began. “He was looking for bitter grapes. He told me it was to help him write a book, a book that was meant to help change the ways of all of his people.”

“Wait, his people?” Oddly enough, it was Rainbow Dash who interrupted. Not oddly at all, actually. “I thought he was like… well, you?” Her hoof motioned up and down the pale creature once more. And, just like before, Aisling only laughed in response, her bright fanged teeth prominent.

“No, I was alone then, like now. He was too, though.” The nymph spun on her heel, turning until she was facing away from the five ponies in the room. She walked a short distance before spinning again, one of her hands extended and catching a branch along one of the walls. “No mother, no family.”

“It was one of his friends who wanted the grapes, and he was brave enough to enter my forest to find them, though the elder of his people forbad it.” With what looked to be the lightest of pulls, Aisling spun herself up and over the branch, landing on it until she was lying across it, looking down the ponies with her crossed beneath her head. “He did that often after we met, but I did bring him more bitter grapes.”

“Why… did he need the grapes… to write a book?” Twilight spoke slowly, perhaps to calm her still racing mind, but more than likely, to not seem threatening to the creature she spoke to. Aisling, for her part, only smiled down at the unicorn.

“For the green.” The lithe creature rolled over the branch until she sat near the end, the small bit of wood sticking out from beneath her tattered gray gown. “It made the most vibrant green. He showed me it to prove it. But the grapes eventually weren’t enough. Not for what he needed to do.” A low, perhaps pained, sigh left the Fae’s lips. No spoke a word.

“Eventually, what he needed was something I couldn’t give. Something that was taken by a thing that took everything.” The shiver that ran through her form was not unseen, by any pony. Apple Bloom trotted closer to the pale creature in the branch, the worry in her youthful eyes apparent and sympathetic. Aisling, however spoke on.

“He needed the eye of a monster, the… the thing that took my people, that took my mother.” That was when the first gasp was uttered.

“My dear Aisling of the Fae,” Zecora spoke, worry as evident her voice as the chills along the creature’s bare skin. “Please tell me it is not as you say. He challenged the god of old? Crom Crauch, the dragon with a heart unfeeling cold?”

The slow nod was all the zebra needed to see before averted her gaze, perhaps to catch her breath. The rest of the ponies, however, needed more.

“Ah’m sorry, but who’s this Crom guy?” Applejack questioned, adjusting her hat as she scratched at the back of her mane. “Was he just big, or thick, or just bucket of lard?”

“It was a thing nothing could hope to match.” Aisling spoke lowly, her breaths quickening. Even now, the memory of the long past creature haunting her. “It fed on my people, taking them from me until only I remained. It took my kingdom, my people, my mother. It took everything and continued to yearn for more. It always needed more.” The swallow of a breath that verberated through the room wasn’t from Aisling. Dash was quick scratch at her neck.

“Made of many things, formed by nothing, and searching for everything.” Aisling continued to list the haunting description of the creature. “Crom Crauch, a monster that saw everything, for it was nothing. Nothing but darkness… searching for light. And like all dark things, it was larger than anything else.”

A low whistle blew from between Applejack’s lips, her mind impressed by the tale, and more than a little proud of a being with nothing special doing the impossible. Those were the kind of stories her mother had told her as a foal. The same stories she told Apple Bloom. The filly, just as the elder mare anticipated, was wide eyed and slack jawed at the tale.

“That sounds one heck of a beast.” Rainbow spoke, unsure if her complimenting words were the right thing to say, what with Zecora still breathless and Aisling just getting over her shivers.

“Crom Cruach was the monster of many tales,” the zebra spoke up, as if to answer Dash. “Often hailed as the beast for death, or means to make foals wail. He holds no love in his heart, for his desires only to rend things apart.”

“But Brendan killed it.”

The declaration may as well have been that the sky was falling. It earned a similar reaction.

“How? How did he beat that thing by himself?” Twilight questioned the nymph still sitting above her. “Did he use the Elements of Harmony, or maybe a complex algorithm that found the object meant to turning the nothingness of Cruach back on himself.”

“No, Brendan killed it without a spell or chant.” With a sudden deft flip, the pale haired Fae fell from the small branch, landing on her feet with her white hair soon following behind her. “Without the aid of iron, steel, shield, or another’s will, he ventured into its lair.”

“Whoa! Then how’d Brendan kill it?” Applejack did her best to ignore the absolute excitement she heard pour out of her little sister’s words. Aisling, however, leaned down and eagerly told the filly the answer.

“Brendan beat The Dark One by taking from it the one thing Brendan needed.” Her grin was closed lipped, unfanged. The silence was only a guest, for Aisling started to speak again. But not before she slowly raised one of her slender arms, lightly tapping on one of her closed emerald eyes.

“He took The Eye of Crom from the beast, and left blinded in its own darkness.”

“He did that… by himself?” Dash spoke up, her grin a bit more than eager, her perked ears little different.

“Yes,” Aisling spoke proudly, happy with a memory just as old as the haunting creature. “He took Crom’s eye, turning the place of darkness into one of light.”

END

“That was quite the tale there,” Applejack complimented with a slow nod of her head. “Reckin’ that’ll be one for the Apple Family ta keep on sharin. Ya agree Apple Bloom?”

“Course Ah do!” The young filly eagerly replied

“And… what was the book?” Twilight was on the edge of her hooves with anticipation. “What did he need Crom’s eye for? Was it a piece for the cover, or an alchemy ingredient to find another rare shade of color?”

When Aisling spoke again, she did not disappoint.

“Brendan needed the eye to see everything.” She spoke with an unconcealed smile. “To see the soft flutter of a fly’s wings, to see the life in a single leaf from a tree, and to paint a picture that would turn Brendan’s book into the greatest book of all.”

“That sounds incredible?” Dash spoke, nodding as she spoke. “What was the book called? I bet Twilight would want a copy for her library.” With a slight grin, Aisling answered the eager pegasus.

The pale haired Fae spoke with an air of serene mystery. Then, holding her hands into the air, she spoke her soft answer.

“The Book of Kells. The book… that turned darkness… into light.”

Remaining Mysteries

“Wait, a book did what?” Dash scrutinized the words with a twist of her head, as if trying to let the impossible thought slide out of her ears. “Look, I know I’m not any kind of expert on books, and definitely not one on magic, but I’m pretty sure doing… that is impossible.”

“And I’m telling you it is.” Aisling retorted, letting her hands fall back to her hips. She placed them there with a dry look in her eye, half-lidded green orbs vivid against the white backdrop of her skin and hair. “I have seen the book, and I know what it can do.” The nymph’s pale thumb roughly stabbed at her own chest, the rest of her fingers curled into a fist. It was small-- frail by sight of any pony in the room. Yet despite its size, they could feel the strength behind it.

Applejack was sure it was a sign of conviction from the small Fae. The sheer belief in her own words and memories made her actions stronger. She could understand that position well. She always did feel at her best when she was speaking her mind and being true to herself.

Twilight reasoned that there were magical properties channeling through the creature’s pale arm, no different than the magic running through the unicorn’s own horn. Magic was capable of many things in many creatures, so it would be the farthest thing from unheard of to say that this member of the Fae possessed strength through her magical ties.

Zecora, unlike the rest of the ponies, knew why the white haired nymph was strong. She knew why her words were hard to argue, despite their simplicity, and why her slim body had the endurance of eons behind it.

It was because the nymph had the strength of the forest in her body, flowing in her veins and growing in her bones. She was as strong as the woods she defended, her power as grand as the forest was old.

And every pony knew that the Everfree forest was very, very old.

“Relax Rainbow, this isn’t exactly a topic we have any great amount of prior knowledge to discuss with,” Twilight lightly spoke to her friend, trotting close enough to the mare to let her hoof rest on the pegasus’s shoulder. Dash gave it a glance before conceding, turning her head away with a huff.

“Now, Aisling,” Twilight turned her attention to the Fae. “What kind of photomanipulative spells did Brendan have access to? Were they of the Lavoisteer-Copenhaygen interpretation variety? How much passive energy did they require?”

The nymph turned her head to the side, squinting one eye curiously while opening the other widely. Instead of similar looks of confusion, the rest of her friends only offered the eager unicorn looks of dried up patience.

“Uh, Twi?” Applejack spoke up, waiting until the lavender irises of her friend were looking into her own green orbs before going on. “Ah don’t know what you’re expectin’, but Ah’m willin’ ta wager the farm Aisling didn’t grab any of that. None of us did at least.”

“You didn’t?” Twilight asked with honest perplexion. Her gaze swiveled from mare to mare, seeing similar expressions of dry confusion. None of the ponies were attempting to sift through the unicorn’s words for a meaning they could understand. When her gaze landed on Aisling, head still twisted and eyes screwed, the Fae spoke to the unicorn.

“You are an odd one.” The nymph spoke simply once more. “I told you before, I only sang to the forest. Is it hard for you to understand what it means to sing?” Twilight was unable to think of what to say in response. Thankfully, or unfortunately, Dash was there to speak up instead.

“Hey,” the pegasus said sharply to the nymph again. “Try and be a little less insulting, huh? So Twilight said some words that got away from us. It isn’t the first time. You’re the guest here, so how about acting like one?”

Dash had never spoken more foolish words.

“No, you are wrong.” Dash opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to do so.

She was frozen beneath the gaze of Aisling.

None of the ponies saw her move, didn’t even hear her feet pounce from the floor. But in some unnoticeably small span of time, the agile Fae had moved herself gracefully in front of the pegasus. She hunched, staring at the winged equine with a glare that could freeze fire. The long pale white hair that flowed from her head curtained her view from the other ponies, simultaneously making her large green eyes the only thing Dash could see. The pegasus felt herself swallow on nothing.

“You,” Aisling spoke with a small poke of her finger. “Are in my forest. I let you in because my friend asked me to. I could make you leave whenever I want, so do not test me, Rain-Bow Dash.”

Aisling stared down the pegasus with every syllable of her name, the green orbs growing sharper with each word she spat. Rainbow felt herself shrinking at every sharp stab.

The rest of the mares that surrounded the two were left stunned, unsure of what to say or do. It would have been clear to a dumb, blind, and deaf pony that Rainbow had insulted the nymph, and it was not an action that was quickly being forgiven. So they all watched, silent and stunned, as Aisling loomed over Rainbow Dash, ominous in spite of her pale color.

“Now look, let’s all just simmer down a bit, alright?” The tentative voice of Applejack spoke, guiding the silence away carefully. “We’re just a bustle of new apples being dropped in a fresh bin. Ah’m sure none of us said anything ta hurt the other on purpose. Twilight and Rainbow aren’t like that, and if ya helped out mah sis, ya can’t be much like that either.”

“I’m not being mean.” Aisling spoke the words so simply, Applejack thought she misheard her. That was quickly corrected. “I’m reminding your friend that this is my forest! She can’t remove me.”

“Aisling, I beg of you to hear us out, this is a misunderstanding, there’s no need to shout.” The nymph cocked her head at the zebra, her innocent demeanor returning faster than the mare expected. She rolled her tongue inside her mouth, thinking of something to say. That was when Apple Bloom took it away.

“Hey Aisling,” the filly spoke with far less tact than the mares before her. “Ah think Rainbow Dash was just bein’ a bit hot-headed. Mah sis says that she’s like that all time.” Rainbow Dash managed a quick glare at the elder farm pony before Apple Bloom continued on. “Ah know she didn’t mean anything by what she said. “

“Yeah,” the pegasus droned out carefully, making sure her tone was the farthest thing from disrespectful. Rarity would have been pleased. “Look, I’m sorry. I am, really. It’s my bad. I-I didn’t think before I said that.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Applejack muttered off to the side. It would have earned a challenge or at least a growl from the pegasus in most other circumstances, but most of those scenarios didn’t involve her staring into the haunting eyes of a legendary being.

Aisling looked at the pegasus for a moment longer, her lower lips puffing over her top ones in thought. Dash was familiar with the action, as it was one she had seen Twilight do far more than once before. Usually whilst looking over a good book. If the nymph was anything like the unicorn-- though she wasn’t so far-- then next would come a small smile of understanding.

It was because the two were so different that Dash was surprised when just that happened.

“Alright. I understand,” Aisling spoke easily, leaning away from the pegasus as she spoke. She swiveled on her feet, moving with an incredible degree of balance.

“Wait, that’s it?” Dash was honestly too stunned to think. Thus, her words were unfiltered once more. “No punishment or curse or… whatever?”

“You made a mistake. Simple enough,” Aisling spoke again with a shrug, spinning as she did so. Her long white mane spun around her as she did so. No matter how brief a sight, ignoring it’s beauty was simply not possible. It would be similar to attempting to feign ignorance towards the sun’s existence or the moon’s glow. It would forever be an act, because the truth was plain as light.

“Making mistakes means you are alive. It means you can learn. I wouldn’t be mad at a pup that follows the wrong mother or a fish that swings the wrong way. Correcting them is enough. They are just mistakes.”

“That’s…” Twilight spoke, her voice drifting off as the word came from her lips. “That’s… really philosophical.” The sincerity behind her voice was more than clear. “It has empirical evidence to support the claim and a logical flow of sense to make the view plausible. It sounds like something Princess Celestia would say.”

“Who is Celestia?” Rainbow watched, in amusement, as Twilight’s lavender coat became a shade darker. The reason why was obvious, the pegasus was only left asking if it was out of embarrassment or anger.

“Who… who is…” The unicorn dumbly repeated the words, failing each time to have her lips move. The next breath she took expanded her chest to a visible degree. “Princess Celestia is the ruler of almost all pony kind. She’s a benevolent and immortal ruler that has done nothing but grace us with her wisdom and magic for centuries!”  Her eyes were wide with disbelief, but the flashes of contempt were not impossible to miss.

“Well,” Aisling began simply, walking towards Twilight with large swings in her legs. She leaned back with each kick she made, looking absolutely carefree. “I have never met her, and I have never left my forest before. So I don’t know her and she does not know me. She may have her kingdom, but I have my forest.”

“And they are boundaries we all can see.” Zecora spoke up, dousing the conversation she feared would grow fiery, from the unicorn’s side before the nymph’s. “Neither of you know the other, of that we can agree.”

“If you want, I can tell you ‘bout her.” Apple Bloom spoke up the Fae, trotting behind her to reach the slim nymph again. “But after you show some more of yer forest. I really wanna see what else is out there.”

“Good, because there is much you haven’t seen.” The two shared a giggle, either a joke or a saying that no pony aside from the pair understood. Twilight, however, saw her chance to ask her question.

“Actually, I have a question,” Twilight spoke up, her voice rising as she did so. Aisling either didn’t notice or didn’t care. The unicorn wasn’t sure which one was worse. “Would you, um…?” She searched her mind desperately for something, anything that she could ask this creature Equestria had never seen before. The first thought that popped into her head, she took. “Why don’t you show us around you’re forest? As in all of us?”

The nymph blinked at the unicorn’s words, as if rolling them over in her head. Twilight was nervous, when the answer was not immediate from the Fae, as all her prior answers had been. But when a small smile began to slip over her lips, the unicorn felt the relief of the world flowing off of her.

“Alright,” Aisling agreed, nodding her head with crossed arms. “I can do that, and no one knows the forest better than me.” Her arms unfolded for one of her thumbs to point at her chest, a fanged grin across her lips.

“It’s true,” Apple Bloom chirped upwards, a toothy grin over her young features. “When she saved me, she showed me this awesome field in the forest! It had a bunch of colorful flowers, trees taller than mountains, a-and even rocks she made flowers sprout straight outta.”

“That was just one part of the forest,” Aisling turned to face the filly as she spoke, her fanged smile unchanged as she talked to the young pony. “The forest is big, though, and full of much you haven’t seen. And it’s always changing, so there is always something new to see.” The words only made the smile over Apple Bloom’s face blossom.

“Such is the wonder and joy of things that have life, the mysteries they have will always be rife.” Zecora agreed as she nodded her head, golden eyes grinning with her lips.

“Rife?” Dash whispered to Twilight, who leaned in before she answered the obvious question.

“It means to be abundant, or a lot of.” A small oh and nod of understanding came from the pegasus. Twilight, however, had more to say, just not to the pegasus. “Aisling, is it okay if I… ask to see a certain place?”

“Of course,” the nymph replied, spinning as she stood from in front of Apple Bloom. Her mane washed over the filly like a thick wind, quick and pleasant to the touch. The foal giggled at the sensation. “But what are you looking for? If you want the bitter grapes, we’ll have to walk some distance. They only grow on the tree tops.”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that.” Twilight’s hoof waved as she spoke, dismissing the idea from the nymph. “Actually, I was hoping you’d show me another place where your friend was before. Specifically… where the home of Crom Cruach was.”

The mares around the unicorn were sure that such a request would only invite bad memories and ill contempt from the Fae, Twilight herself included. Instead, the white haired creature simply twisted her head as her shoulders lazed.

“Why would you want to see that place?” Aisling asked with a curious tone, hostility or curiosity barren in her voice. She seemed merely confused, much to the relief of the unicorn. A part of Twilight believed that the Fae would take offense to the request. She was glad to see that part of her was wrong.

“Well, in case you haven’t guessed yet, I’m a researcher of sorts. I find most of my joy in life while trying to understand the actions that made certain events or things in the world possible. It allows me to better develop new methods of magic and societal rules to progress the future in a more positive direction.” The unicorn beamed as she was finished, proud of her technical, but thorough explanation.

It was a surprise to no one what Aisling said next.

“You are an odd one.”

The unicorn’s face fell before she responded.

“Please, stop calling me odd.”

“But you are an odd thing.” Clearly, tact was as much a mystery to Aisling as she was to the ponies she conversed with. “You speak in tongues that no one understands and try to change what should not be changed. That makes you odd.” While Twilight was preparing an counterpoint in her mind towards the Fae’s rude remark, she could not let go of what the faery said. Change what should not be changed.

“What am I changing that… shouldn’t be changed?” Twilight spoke the words simply, doing her utmost to not say any advanced vocabulary. She didn’t want to be called odd again.

Before answering, Aisling rotated her hand in the air, a single finger extended as she spoke. The motion of a whirl was obvious. Its purpose was not, not until the nymph began to speak again.

“Living things.” Aisling spoke as simply as ever. “Trying to make things change for the better is alright, but only if they want to change. You can’t make a tree grow in the shadows, much less make wolf forage for berries. Living things are meant to live their own lives. Their ties are their own, made by their choices and kept by their hands. It isn’t your place to change them.”

“O-Oh, oh!” To the remaining ponies in the room, Twilight sounded a bit too peppy. “You just misunderstood me is all. That’s alright, it happens a lot.” The soft mutters from Rainbow Dash were wisely ignored. “But you don’t have to worry. I don’t force any pony to do anything if they don’t want to. What I try and do is understand things, then simply tell others what I have found out. Just having the information is handy for ponies, as it allows them to form… I-I mean, it helps them to make their own decisions with more confidence.” Aisling lifted a finger to her lips, cupping a digit around her pursed mouth. The elbow of her arm rested in her opposite hand.

“So, you help guide ponies?” She asked. “Like an abbot?” Now it was Twilight’s turn to twist her head. She was not the only one.

“Uh, what’s an abbot?” Dash asked the white haired Fae, her eyes screwed like her ears.

“An abbot’s a teacher. That’s what Brendan told me. His uncle was one.” Aisling turned on her heel, swinging one of her thin pale arms into the air as she did so. It landed on the hard bark of Zecora’s hut, her hand running smoothly over the harsh wood. “I never met him, but he guided a village that was in my forest. Built a great wall to defend his people, but it was torn down. Wasn’t at fault, but felt guilty. I felt it for many seasons and countless moons.”

“An abbot…” Twilight repeated, testing how the word sounded against her tongue. It flowed easily, carrying a surprising amount of weight in spite of its short pronunciation. She liked it. But there was something else pushing on her mind now. “If he had a village, who atta… no, wait, I can’t get ahead of myself.” The unicorn pushed a hoof to her head, as if attempting to stop the train in her mind.

“Look, Ah gotta say Ah’m a right bit curious ‘bout this Crom guy myself now.” Applejack spoke up once more, setting new records in timing and phrasing words. There would have been bonus points if she spoke without her familiar accent. “If it’s alright with you, Ah wouldn’t mind seein’ where the varmint sat down and pouted like a foal.” The bonus points would have been given anyway because then she wouldn’t have had to have her words translated.

“What AJ is trying to say,” Dash spoke up, give a slight rise of her brow to the farmer before doing so. “Is that this Crom guy sounded like a real bad dude. But if he’s gone, then it would it pretty awesome to see what’s left of his place. Besides, it is in your forest now, right?”

The fanged smile Aisling gave the pegasus was all the sign the mare needed to know she had finally spoken the right words.

“That’s right. I’m happy you finally remembered.” Dash bit her lips to keep a witty retort from flying from her mouth. “And I can show you-- it’s not far from here. I just need the forest’s permission.”

“Wait, you need to ask the forest to look through it?” Twilight’s ears folded with one of her eyes. Half her mind thinking of what that meant, the other half straining to hear the nymph’s answer.

“Sure,” Aisling spoke again, as if she were explaining the simplest of manners to the unicorn. “The dark one is gone now, but that still means it once was darkness. Like all things in the woods, the ruins have returned to it. But it’s still a place that it wants to be forgotten.”

“Wanting to forget about its past…” Twilight mused the answer. “That does makes sense, but it implies a level of sentience to the forest that supersedes basic instincts, moving into areas more concerned with appearances and moral guidance.” A long sigh left the unicorn.

“Forget it Twi,” Rainbow instructed, trotting over to the mare as she did so. “At least for now. It’s like you tell me with my training; I gotta focus on one thing at a time. Right now, we wanna see where this Crom guy used to hang out, so just focus on that.” The proud and familiar smile on the pegasus’s face managed to pull one from Twilight’s own.

“You’re right, Dash,” Twilight conceded. “I can’t lose focus right now, not with this rare opportunity. So, Aisling,” the unicorn spoke the nymph’s name, earning her attention away from the filly she conversed with. “How are you going to… ask the forest for permission?”

“I’m going to sing.” The words came from Aisling’s lips with an unmistakable lure of invitation. “It’s fun to sing, and the forest enjoys my singing, but I never could get Brendan to sing with me. He always told me that he was not a good singer, said I wouldn’t like his voice.”

The Fae’s head swayed left and right quickly, whipping her long hair as she did so. Then, in a quick flash of white, she leaned down next to Apple Bloom. True to her precocious colours, she cupped her hand by the filly’s ear.

“I think he was lying.”

The foal gasped at the words. When her eyes met with the nymph’s, Aisling nodded her head, confirming the words that she had spoken.

“Ya really think he lied to ya?” Apple Bloom questioned, disbelieving the action of a life she had never met, and had only heard of moments before. Regardless, Aisling nodded further. “Why do ya think he did that?”

“I don’t know,” Aisling replied, lightly shrugging as she did so, her palms raised into the air. “I don’t see why. I’ve never heard a creature be ashamed of their voice before.” That was when Apple Bloom saw a glint in the large green eyes of the nymph. “Do you want to sing with me?”

Apple Bloom smiled broadly at the invitation.

“Of course Ah do!” The filly cheered in returned, nearly bouncing on her hooves as she beamed at the taller creature. “Ah sing with mah friends all the time! Applejack always did say Ah have a great set of pipes.”

“She ain’t kiddin’ about that,” said pony agreed from behind the conversing pair, watching with amusement and patience as the two chatted and talked.

“What do you think’s going to happen?” The question came from Twilight lightly, whispered over a hushed breath towards the trio of mares next to her. The question only earned another question.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked in return, earning a quick sigh from the unicorn.

“Well, think about it. The last time Aisling sang, she summoned a cat given meta-physical form, literally conjured by the mist. It followed her words and song, simultaneously guiding us through the woods that we could hardly see in whilst obeying the commands of the Fae.” The broad smile over Twilight’s lips was as unmistakable as the long mane of white behind the creature they spoke of. “That’s why I’m curious as to what’s going to happen now.”

“Twilight my dear, there is nothing to fear.” Zecora rhythmically spoke the lavender unicorn, a smile hanging beneath her golden eyes. “Though I must say your thoughts are wrong. The woods guided you, not Aisling and her song.”

“I know, I know,” the unicorn repeated twice to the zebra. “But it was her singing that made the woods do it, right? She used magic on a wavelength and across a medium that I have never heard of before.”

“Once more you do not see what I say. The woods answered a call from Aisling the Fae.” Zecora already knew her repeated words were not enough. “What you must know, and clearly do not, is that against the forest, the nymph is just a dot. It is hers to rule, and hers to command, but the forest must think before offering its hands. Her magic, young unicorn, cannot be studied-- not without leaving your own mind muddied.”

Silence was kept at bay only by the small clambering and whispering between Apple Bloom and the target of their conversation. Oddly enough, it was Applejack who broke the silence, not the inquisitive unicorn or hot-headed pegasus.

“Are you sayin’ she’s castin magic so great that we can’t even imagine?” The question was asked with a small jab of her hoof towards the nymph, spoken over a hushed breath. Zecora smiled kindly at the farm pony before answering.

“I know only tales of old, Applejack; only words written before time kept track.” The zebra’s golden eyes swiveled to see the nymph, currently crouching to Apple Bloom’s level. One of her thin pale hands was cupped around the filly’s ear. She was whispering words none of them could hear, but made the youngest of them all giggle with every passing moment. “Though from what I have seen so far today, she is surely a member of the ancient Fae.”

Twilight opened her mouth, determined to ask more on the subject. But before she could speak, another voice rose up, earning her silence.

“We’re ready to go.” Aisling spoke, her hands at her hips. Apple Bloom giggled beside her, standing to her tallest with her chest puffed out. She looked to be imitating a member of the royal guard, but the smile was a dead giveaway for her lack of experience, size, age, and education aside. “I taught Apple Bloom the lyics. You can sing with us if you want. The forest loves the sound.”

She didn’t leave room for question, as the next moment, she jumped clear across the room. Landing full pony lengths away in front of the wooden door, she rose with an uncanny fluidity. Apple Bloom galloped to her side, determined to follow her.

BEGIN

“Are you ready?” The Fae spoke on an airy breath, chilling the air. Apple Bloom shivered as she nodded, though it was impossible to tell if it was from the cold or excitement. “Good.”

Taking a deep breath of air, Aisling began to sing.

The pitch was utterly different from what the mares had heard before-- higher in tone, more mature in pitch. And yet, it was completely believable that it was her singing all the while.

With an almost elegant push, the door to Zecora’s hut opened, revealing the still fog covered forest beyond it. The rush of air chilled the coats of the ponies in the room, but they did not back away. Aisling ceremoniously strode through the doorway, swinging her arms as if she were preparing for a march. Apple Bloom caught on fast, and she began to mimic the action herself. The Fae and the filly walked out of the hut and into the forest, heads swaying and forelimbs dancing with their words.

From inside, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Zecora watched them, too eager to blink and too stunned to follow. The shock, however, subsided as the need to follow the pair began to outweigh the surprise of their movement and song.

The shock only came back when they saw the mist moving in tune with the song.

“You have got to be kidding,” Dash harshly whispered, her pink eyes wide enough to be mistaken for plates. Yet despite her demand for the show to be an act, no actors or props presented themselves.

Instead, the four mares watched as the mist rose and fell like the waves of an ocean, pulling past the trees as if being led by a string. Paths opened beneath the trees, unwalked and unmarred patches of dirt that appeared in front of the singing pair.

Aisling swung around trees and jumped over branches as her tune continued to flow, moving with all the grace of a spirit, but acting with all the maturity of a child. Apple Bloom, who did her absolute best to keep pace with the singing, followed beneath the agile Fae all the while. It was amazing to watch; the Fae in her element, moving without fear and dancing with her voice. It was beautiful beyond words to any of the mares.

The four ponies behind the pair followed with trepidation, walking the path the nymph did. All the while they were a little afraid that the mist would swallow them whole. It never did anything more than billow under the air they pushed with their breathing and movement.

The gnarled trees they passed, however, began to change. From above the mist, the twisted and aged bark began to smooth. The features of every passing tree became less ominous and more ethereal, more… ancient. It was as if the flora they began to pass, the vegetation remaining strong around the billowing mist, was changing from the weathered and worn trees affected by time into something more… magical.

Twilight could attest to the magical properties as well. Her magical output always changed with respect to her location in the world. If she were in the heart of Canterlot, changing the age of dragons was a plausible feat. But out in the distance, perhaps in the Appleloosa Desert, it was a challenge for her to teleport. Here, walking deeper into the woods as she followed a mythical being, Twilight felt like she could move the sun.

It was beyond just imagination that Dash felt the air becoming fresher, something she wouldn’t have noticed without her adaptive pegasus body. The deeper they followed the peaceful yet haunting tune of the Fae and her filly friend into the forest, the cleaner the air became. It no longer chilled her coat, but warmed it, like it was in the presence of the sun’s rays high in the sky. Simply put, she just felt more… alive amongst it.

Alive was just the word Applejack would have used to describe the new trees she felt. Feeling the life in roots and being able to sense the earth was a trait she was proud to have and proud to use. Around the farm, she felt like she was talking to the trees. In the Everfree forest, she always felt like she was pushing her way through a crowd. Right now, in this section of the forest she had never seen before, Applejack felt like she was being watched by the floral giants. She envisioned being judged silently as she continued to maneuver down the open path in the mist.

Zecora, however, felt something else. She didn’t feel the air changing, she felt the spirits changing. The life around her was changing, that much she was sure of. No longer was she expecting the barking of Timberwolves or the growls of celestial creatures. Instead, she expected what she thought the Everfree woods would never deliver. She expected to hear the patter of deer as they ran away, or pecking of woodpeckers as they burrowed into the dark brown giants that began to surround the party.

Simply put, the mares knew they were walking into a part of the Everfree none of them had ever been to. Only Aisling ahead of them had been to this now mysterious place, and Apple Bloom was the only guest who felt no fear as she followed the Fae.

It was with every hoof fall they began to individually question their choice in coming here, the concern growing greater the longer the song continued to dance through the air.

But it was only too fortunate when the music died and the Fae spoke again.

END

“We’re here.”

Aisling didn’t cheer or yell the words, only spoke them in a pleasant and content tone. Twilight had heard it before. Not from the nymph that was so new to her, but from another life from another place.

Her teacher, Celestia, had spoken very similar words in a strikingly similar way. It was when they went to visit a schoolyard, newly constructed and just opening. The diarch had shown it to Twilight, telling her how important it was to take care of the young because one day they would be old. In turn, she had added, they would raise their own young.

The alicorn had smiled almost the entire day, a genuine smile with peaceful origins. She had looked at the new schoolyard and foals with nothing less than a brilliant glow about her. It was not until later that Twilight dared to ask why that school was so special. None of the ponies were specifically pegasi, unicorns, or earth ponies. It was only a young guard school. It was just another school in another part of Canterlot; she didn’t understand what it was so important.

That was when Celestia, the immortal and eternal diarch of Equestria, explained why a school with nothing special on it had such a special meaning for her.

Several decades before, the school was not a school, but a prison. It housed ponies that had committed crimes against others, and were sent away to learn their lessons. Twilight hated hearing about such a place, thinking about ponies being forced to do nothing for years on end. But Celestia was quick to explain why the school meant so much to her now.

Because it was a place of peace and learning, replacing a building that was once meant to be cold and dark, it mattered to the goddess.

Celestia loved that school, because it turned something that was dark, and made it light. Looking over the ruins in front of her, Twilight knew Aisling thought the same thing about this place. Said Fae turned to the four mares, who were all marveling at the carved stones and growing moss, with a smile on her lips and the air of success about her pale body.

“This is the place, once dark and haunted. Now it is home to light.”

Mysteries Coated In Magic

Aside from the chirping of birds and other small sounds of life, the land the ponies stared across was nearly silent.

Large stone columns littered the otherwise open landscape, currently growing with light grassy vegetation and moss. The weather of time was evident on the stones, but so too were the clear carvings and markings that ever so faintly lined their sides. Once upon a time, these fallen statues may have lined a path to something, but now they were nothing more than fallen titans.

The path they once marked, however, was evident by the oddest thing. It wasn’t a beaten trail, which would have been overgrown, or a small fence, which would have fallen with age. Instead, it was lined and coated with a natural and seasonal sign, a kind of vegetation that you could only see for so long each year.

Flowers.

Small, white, willow-drop flowers were growing down the path. They moved over the grassy terrain in nearly a straight line, marking the road that had been taken back into nature. It was a beautiful sight, but not an impossible one.

What was impossible were the number of flowers growing over the fallen columns, springing up from the hard stone as if it was fertile soil.

Without soil, without nutrients, without anything that could conceivably be considered ground capable of maintaining floral life, the white flowers bloomed. Through the stone and over the marble, they statically turned the dreary and faded grey statues into alabaster images of life.

“Do you like it?” Aisling’s playful tone pierced the veil of thoughts Twilight kept over herself, earning a quick dilation of her eyes. A small shake of her head corrected her vision. She turned to see said girl sitting on a still stable statue, high above the ponies beneath her. “I don’t come here often, but I do still come here.”

“It’s… It is beautiful, Aisling,” Twilight honestly spoke, the awe unable to leave her voice as she did so. “It’s so simple. Using the most common of floral decorations and humblest use of color over the backdrop of the statues creates a euphoric sensation. I…”

“What the egghead is trying to say is that it’s… it’s awesome.” Rainbow Dash summed up the unicorn’s comments rather easily, trotting forwards as she did so. While the rest of the mares around her kept their eyes to the ground, Dash was looking up, marveling at the forest titans that towered over them. A smile was pushed over her lips as the breath left her lungs.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom eagerly cheered, hopping down the path of flowers as she did so. “They’re just like the flowers ya grew in the meadow before!” The small pony chose to stop on the dirt path, taking interest in one lone flower that grabbed at her attention. The nymph smiled down to the younger pony as she spoke.

“They are the same flowers,” Aisling corrected as she jumped from the statue, her hair trailing smoothly behind her. “Brendan once named them, asking me what they were himself. They didn’t have any names before. They just simply were.”

“Names lend little nature, so long as there is life to nurture.” It was difficult to tell from Zecora’s almost passive voice if she was commenting on Aisling’s words, or still looking about the graceful area in awe.

“So, what did Brendan name them?” Twilight trotted up to the pair, kneeling down between the two. Around the three stood a lone flower, no different than the others aside from its outlying from the group. Staring at the one alone, a single specimen, the astute mind of the unicorn began to work.

It had a mild stem, but split as it grew, arching under the heavier weight of the flower bulb and petals. It was likely due to a lack of cellulose in the steam itself, forcing the flower to lose its rigidity. But despite the lack of structural cells, the petals themselves seemed no less vibrantly white. There were no fewer than five pistols to the single stem, each extending from a different branch. They were aimed towards the ground as well.

“Lilies-of-the-Valley.” Aisling’s words once more drew Twilight from her reverie of knowledge, but this time, it was only to add to her the pool of information she was collecting. She watched as one of the nymph’s pale fingers extended towards the flower, gently brushing at it. Twilight did not miss, nor did she imagine, the flower bending towards the girl’s touch.

“That’s a pretty name,” Apple Bloom complimented, her smile splitting her young features, orange eyes staring with the attentiveness Twilight would a book. The giggle from the Fae was all the sign the unicorn needed to know the filly had spoken the right words once more.

“I like it, too. It’s simple… fair.” Aisling’s hand reached around the stem, sliding down the thin green stalk with her own slender fingers. Silently, they brushed against the ground, encircling the lone flower. “My mother showed me these flowers once, long long ago. They always grow in groups, always together. They grow as a family, and as a family, they stray away from evil things.”

What happened next nearly made Twilight’s eyes fall from her sockets.

Gently as ever, but with more power than the unicorn could imagine, the Fae dug her fingers into the dirt, easily pushing away the loose soil as she did so. Then, without the muttering of a spell or glow of magic, Aisling pushed the flower through the dirt path, stopping only when it met the flowers that lined the path.

Twilight could only let her jaw hang loosely as she saw the flower move under Aisling’s command, the soil moving as she did so. Aside from the small amount that was freed under her entry, the ground didn’t groan, stall, or fight the actions of the forest Fae. Rather the opposite happened. It moved with the flower’s trail.

Then, for what had to be entering the double-digits in frequency, Aisling’s words broke the unicorn’s shock.

“It isn’t right to live alone.” The words were simple, carrying a tone that Twilight could read. Then again, her still recovering catatonic state likely played into her inability to judge. “Not when there are others the same as you.”

“Family is important, ain’t any use in denying it.” Applejack spoke upon approaching the pair. Her hooves dug deeply into the ground as she walked, an action that Twilight only faintly noted, but didn’t have the words yet to speak of. “It’s how Ah feel ‘bout my sister. She’s got ta have her room ta grow, but she’ll always have a pair of hooves waiting for her back on the farm.”

“Applejack…” the foal in question spoke softly, looking up at her older sibling with nothing short of complete adoration. “Do ya really mean that?”

“Hey now,” the elder earth pony spoke as she leant down to her sister’s height. “Ya really think Ah’d tell a lie ‘bout my favorite sister?” Applejack snuck one of her fore legs around the filly’s head as she said the question, jostling a giggle from the foal. “Why do ya think Ah worry ‘bout ya so much?”

Apple Bloom fell into her sister’s short embrace, giggling with delight as Applejack chuckled in return. The elder of the two lightly poked and prodded the filly, earning small bursts of laughter from her smaller form. Aisling watched silently.

“They are close, no denying that.” Rainbow Dash spoke up as she settled next to the nymph, carefully about distracting Twilight, who as still staring enraptured at the flower Aisling had moved. “You should see them at the family reunions.” The Fae, however, spoke not a word in return, keeping her green eyes on the two earth ponies all the while. It earned huff of annoyance from Dash.

“Look, I’m sorry for what I said before.” She bowed her head away from the nymph as she spoke. “I really didn’t mean to insult you or anything. I just… look, it isn’t exactly easy being told something that completely turns around what you thought was normal for majority of your life, right?”

As Aisling turned to face the pegasus, she gave the mare a small grin.

“Your friend may be the odd one, but you are the simple one.” Dash’s hooves digging into the ground were the only thing that kept her from leaping from the ground.

“Okay, that was low.” Rainbow returned coldly. “I’m trying to at least make some common ground here. You don’t have to go insulting me with it.” The pegasus scoffed as she looked around the path they were sitting once more, making note of Zecora’s whimsical observation of the forest giants that surrounded them and Twilight’s experimenting with one of the white flowers, playing with it in her hooves.

“It is not bad thing to be simple.” The words earned the attention of Rainbow again, letting her see Aisling rising to her feet, spinning as she did so. A small part of the pegasus’s mind reminded her to not bring up Aisling’s hair in any future conversations with Rarity. The alabaster mare would doubtlessly spend weeks trying to get her mane to flow the same way the nymphs did.

“Wait… it’s not?” Speaking honestly, nearly every time Dash had heard some pony comment about her being simple, it was an insult. The shaking head of Aisling said otherwise this time.

“No, I enjoy simple things. They make the forest easier to understand.” Beginning a point Dash only barely followed, the Fae leant towards the ground, patted the dirt she stood on. “The dirt is here so the plants can grow. The plants grow because they want to live. They live so they can do what they were meant to do. My forest is simple, and I do love my forest.”

Before she was aware of it, Rainbow’s head began to nod in understanding.

“Then, you are simple.” Aisling continued, her hand pointing towards the cyan mare. “You don’t know something, so you say you don’t. You don’t like something, and you say the same thing. That’s simple. Your friend though, the odd one, she asks too many questions to be simple. She’s complicated.” That earned a snicker from the pegasus.

“Yeah, that’s a light way of putting it.” She felt a smile pulling at her lips, forming the same cocky grin she was known for. Aisling had a similar one overtaking her features, but with a gaze that was far more knowing than one Dash could ever muster. “I am sorry though, and I do mean it. You’re pretty cool.” The sure smile slowly fell from the Fae’s lips, replaced with a twisted expression of confusion.

“Cool?” The nymph repeated. “I wasn’t aware it was cold yet. The winter season is still far off. We’ve only just begun summer.” The comment earned another soft chuckle from the pegasus.

“Yeah, sorry, figure of speech.” Dash hoof-waved the comment away, hoping the nymph would drop it as well. Rainbow knew her strengths, and she was sure explaining anything involving language to an alien creature would be beyond any of her fortes. “So… I know this is all your forest but… how often do you come here? I mean, it can’t be easy, right?” The pegasus’s question was as shaky as her voice, knowing the ground she was treading was hallowed.

“I do come here when I can, but not always; sometimes it is painful.” Those words were enough to calm Dash. But, they were not enough to change her train of thought.

“Yeah, I… I can see why coming here would be tough.” The pegasus spoke with a hoof behind her head, scratching at the roots of her mane. “Can’t be easy seeing the place where… ya last saw your family…”

Applejack was only a few seconds away from turning around and putting her rear hooves into the brash mare’s side, hopefully to knock sense into more than just her brain. But before the farm pony could commit with her action, Aisling spoke again. Her words, however, were not what the mare was expecting.

“That is not why it is difficult.”

The words earned the collective attention of the ponies, Zecora now focused on the Fae and Twilight no longer studying the moved flower. Instead, they were all gazing at the nymph, who looked towards Rainbow Dash with a cocked head and still lips.

“Its… not?” Dash questioned simply, a simple question all the ponies shared. “Look, I’m not exactly… okay, I’m flat out blunt at times, but what do you mean this isn’t difficult for that? Didn’t you say you’re mom died he- Augh!” The pegasus roughly jumped to her side, a hoof raised over her wing as she hobbled to maintain balance. A hiss passed through her lips as she felt the making of a bruise already developing over her now tender feathered appendage.

“Best be watchin’ your tongue Rainbow,” Applejack warned as her hooves settled onto the dirt again. “There ‘re some things ya don’t bring up like that.”

“It’s alright.” The voice of the Fae earned a quick look from Applejack. “It is an honest question, and I can answer it.” She twisted on the ground, spinning on her heel as her hair twirled elegantly around her. Applejack could see the same sight everyday for the rest of her life and she would never tire of it. When the Fae was done spinning, however, she was looking upwards, to the opening in the canopy high above them.

“I lost much here, but not because of this place. I lost much because of what was here.” Her small legs moved her the ground graceful as ever, the point where the mares thought she was gliding.

“Crom took my mother. Crom took my family.” Aisling slowly walked towards the statue that had fallen over the path, white flowers growing over its faded and grey textures. Her hand ran across the stone, now far smoother than when it was carved long ago. “But he is gone now, and the forest is light again. Light because of the book that turned the darkness into light.”

“Wait…” Applejack began, an idea forming in her head as she spoke. She wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. “You said that yer friend wrote his book after he beat this Crom guy. How’d that book have anything ta do with this?” The Fae bent towards the mare before she spoke, a slender pale finger raised as she did so.

“Because Brendan came back before he left. And it is here that he remains.”

It took few moments of silence for the meaning of those words to sink in. When they did, it made the void of sound grow immensely.

Twilight stared blankly at the Fae, more than one dawning realization occurring within her mind. The holiness of the dark place, the reverence for its location, and the peace of the land around it, it was impossible to say it added up to any one thing. But with that simple riddle, that question with an easy answer, it deftly solved the conundrum Twilight had only faintly thought of. And now, it was at the forethought of her mind, new magic forgotten, for now at least.

And remembering how she had almost callously asked to come to this place hurt Twilight more than she would have ever wished to imagine.

“Aisling…” the mare spoke softly, feeling her heart shaking as she did so. “I… I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be sad. There is no reason to be.” The words felt wise, even as they were carried on a playful and youthful voice. “Brendan left long ago, and he knew he was leaving, we both did. He wanted to stay with me, and I didn’t wish to see him ago. So when he left, I let him stay. The forest helped me, because the forest wanted him to stay as well.”

“A home for the lost and gone; a place of rest away from amon.” Zecora mused, releasing a sigh as she did so.

“Ah’m a bit confused.” The voice of Apple Bloom earned the ponies’ attention. Applejack, however, already had dawning recognition of what her sister was going to ask. “How did Brendan leave but sta- hmph!” Her voice was cut off as the elder sibling’s hoof was placed over her lips.

“Ha ha, sorry ‘bout her. Guess you could say I’m in charge of keepin’ the lips in line.” Applejack gave a nervous grin to the Fae as she spoke, holding the filly in her hooves still as she spoke. Apple Bloom fruitlessly pushed against the legs.

“It’s alright,” the nymph gently spoke, ushering away the concern the farm mare had. “It’s not hard to explain. It’s simple.” Aisling commented as she walked towards the filly.

Apple Bloom, who had freed herself from her sister’s muffling hoof, looked up at the nymph with a curious stare as the nymph leaned down to her level, white hair falling neatly from her sides. As soft as the texture of her hair, the Fae lifted one of her pale fingers towards the filly, letting the tip rest on the pony’s forehead. Apple Bloom’s eyes crossed to look at the thin appendage.

“Brendan’s mind is gone,” she spoke in a soft voice, a calm tone that belonged to the forest. Her finger slid down Apple Bloom’s coat, tickling the filly as it descended. It stopped when it pressed against the foal’s soft underbelly. “But his heart is still here. I cannot speak to him, but I can see him. I cannot play with him, but I can dream with him.”

“He’s always with you, no matter how long you live.” The calmness of Twilight’s words betrayed the torrent of sorrow that was building in her mind. “Aisling, I… I am so sorry for asking you to take us here. I had no idea this was… this place was so important to you.”

“I told you, there is no reason to be sad.” Aisling twirled deftly towards the unicorn, stopping with her face just breath’s length away from Twilights. “I knew Brendan would leave, and he knew I would stay. You shouldn’t be sad when something is over. You should be happy with memories you made.”

Twilight felt a ball in her throat swell. No amount of swallowing or chocked breaths made it go away. Applejack was faring little better, pulling her hat over her eyes.

“The faith in your ties gives my spirit rise.” Zecora trotted closer to the Fae as she spoke, the small over her features haunting. “I only wish every pony was just as wise.”

“It comes with time,” Aisling spoke with a slight giggle. “You haven’t seen the ages past as I have. You haven’t seen a mountain fade or forest grow like me.”

“You’re looking pretty good for… however old you are,” Rainbow loosely spoke. “I bet Rarity will want your beauty tricks.”

“Who is Rarity?” The nymph asked with a cock of her head, pursing her lips as she did so. “Is she a different kind of pony?” An amused grin pulled itself over the pegasus’s lips.

“Well… yeah, I guess you could call Rarity a ‘rare’ kind of pony.” She stifled her laughter against her hoof as she spoke. “She probably likes to think of herself as one-of-a-kind.”

“But all things are one of their own kind.” Aisling responded to the mare, oblivious to the sarcasm Dash draped her words in. “There is no other you, and I am the only me. The same for the trees, the flowers, and the path we walk. There is ever only one.” Dash’s hoof descended back to the ground, but her smile remained fixed on her muzzle.

“I agree with ya there. There is only one Rainbow Dash. Me.” Her wings expanded as she finished, much to the childish delight of the Fae. That was just before she felt a small pressure on her leg. Turning, the nymph saw the her bow haired friend looking up at her, a question already forming on her lips.

“Um, Aisling I got a question.” Apple Bloom spoke carefully. “How are we gonna get ta Brendan?” The filly honestly, naively almost, asked the question. “Ah mean, how are we gonna get over the fallen statues?”

“Um, a lot of ways.” Twilight spoke up from behind the filly. “We can walk around them, climb over them, Rainbow Dash could fly us over them…”

“I can move them.”

The words seemed to cause a lapse in Twilight’s logic, forcing a mask of empty disbelief to mask her features. Her blank stare was met with only a childish grin from the Fae. Twilight was having an equal amount of trouble deciphering the look as either teasing or innocent honesty as she did the magic she had observed earlier.

“Uh, Aisling, I think you may wanna listen to Twilight on this one.” Rainbow interrupted, lifting a hoof as she did so. “I mean, I know it’s technically in the way but… we aren’t exactly… stuck…”

“But moving them now would make coming back later easier.” The, expectedly, simple response from Aisling answered Rainbow. “Things change to make other things simpler. Sometimes I make the change. It is my forest.”

“Yeah, alright, still, how do you plan on moving that?” The pegasus pointed her hoof at the large boulder as she spoke, clearly indicating its massive size. The Fae walked up to it as the pegasus continued to speak on. “I mean, it’s like the size of a house, and it’s made of out solid rock! That’s like trying to push an entire storm cloud by yourself, or… or bucking an entire orchard in a day.”

“True enough it ain’t easy.” Applejack offered lightly behind Dash. Aisling, however, only cracked her knuckles as she stood in front of the fallen statue, leaning down to tuck her fingers between the hard surface and the dirt beneath it.

“Look, Aisling, I know you're old and wise and a lot of other stuff, but I mean, there’s gotta be a limi-” Rainbow’s words died on her lips, cut off and cut short. Just in front of her, barely a few pony lengths ahead, Aisling had lifted her arms up and over her head.

The statue entire was held up by her frail arms.

No parts of it leaned against the dirt, no sections of the smoothened rock were lightly grabbing at any foliage. It was sitting in the air under the command of the nymph, who was but a speck of white beneath the massive column of gray stone above her.

She looked behind herself to see the faces of disbelief over the faces of the ponies behind her. She had seen their open mouths and wide eyes more often than she had seen them smile.

With just as little effort as it took her to life the boulder, Aisling pushed her arms towards her side, tossing the boulder out of her hands and off of the path.

BOOM!

The impact shook the ground, much like Twilight’s now fragile sanity.

The sudden crash, however, silenced the woods following its wake, scaring away the wildlife that hid nearby. The small meadow was filled once more with silence, different now only with the a bit more of the white flower-lined trail being revealed.

“There,” Aisling said with lighthearted finality, turning to face the ponies with a rather proud smile. “Now we can continue.” The words were enough to jostle a thought from one of the mares.

“Wait… whoa, hold on a second,” Rainbow Dash spoke as her mind began to move again, shocked still by the sudden display of strength on Ailsing’s part. “What… what was that?” Her hoof motioned towards the now-moved statue, laying at the foot of a pair of forest giants.

“That is a statute. It still is actually. I only moved it.” Aisling shrugged as she spoke. For once, Rainbow wished someone would be a bit more detailed in their explanation. That was just way too simple a way to excuse what she had seen.

“No, Aisling, the more appropriate question Dash is trying to ask is… well… how did you throw it!?” Twilight’s voice was near exasperated as the question came from her lips. It caused not a confused state within Aisling’s mind, nor did it incite any shocked form for the sudden display on the unicorn’s part. Instead, it only made the bright green eyes of the Fae narrow dangerously, no differently than when Dash had spoke against her forest before.

“It’s not hard.” Aisling spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, one that did little to ease the now hectic mind of the unicorn. “I only had to move my arms. The forest did help, once I asked.” Twilight what she needed.

“So the forest, your forest, made you stronger, just by asking.” She ended every clause with a punctuated emphasis on her words. As with the sarcasm before, it flew clear over the Fae’s head, leading the what-once-appeared-to-be a little girl to nod at the unicorn, white hair billowing as she did so.

“Yes,” she began. “I asked it to help me move the statue. It let me of course. It is my forest.”

Twilight took a step back, raising a hoof to the base of her horn as she shut her eyes in focus. As carefully as she would organize the notes in her library, she sorted the thoughts in her head.

“Okay, she can communicate with the forest with song and silence, said forest can alter its shape or grant her strength, and to top it all off, she has many moral lessons as Princess Celestia, possibly even more if age is a true factor for wisdom.” A slow sigh left the unicorn’s lips, complete with her hoof dragging down her coat. “This is so much more than I expected.”

“Being a bit frank here,” Applejack spoke up to her friend. “Just what were ya expectin’ when we found the gal?” Twilight only shook her head.

“I… I don’t know…” Her eyes shifted back towards the Fae, who was in the middle of flexing her arm for the filly, zebra, and pegasus surrounding her. Despite the apparent isolation she had endured for sometime, passed only with memories, she carried herself well with strangers. Twilight would have envied that, if there wasn’t so much she was already trying to figure out.

When Aisling moved towards the next fallen statue, however, complete with cheering from Apple Bloom and Rainbow Dash, Twilight got an idea.

“Here Aisling, let me handle this one,” the unicorn lightly offered, her hoof carefully touching on the Fae’s shoulder as she did so. The unicorn was quick to note the smoothness to the bare skin of the girl, as well as the warmth it had. She was quicker to note the look of confusion in the green eyes of the nymph.

“Handle?” The Fae spoke the words as a question. “Do you know how?” Twilight did her utmost to hide her reaction from what she took as an insult to her abilities.

“Of course. I have handled much larger objects than this before.” The Fae turned her gaze back towards the statue that had fallen over the path, the flowers blooming over it swaying in the soft wind. Then the green eyes turned back to Twilight, this time, with a smile on her lips.

“Alright,” the Fae spoke, crossing her arms as she did so. “But I am warning you. It is not as easy at it looks.” Once more Twilight hid the grimace that so badly wanted to pull down on her smile.

“Well,” Twilight began. “I am rather talented with my magic so I should be able to handle this. Besides, it feels rude as… as a guest of your forest to be asking you to do everything for us.” The unicorn saw the brightening in the Fae’s eyes, a spark of pleasure towards the words she had chosen. Twilight was grateful for it.

“Alright then,” Aisling motioned with her arm towards the fallen statue in the path. “Use your magic. But remember to be careful.” Twilight gave a small, but polite, bow towards the nymph before trotting the short distance up to the stone, just before a hoof stopped her.

“Uh, Twilight, what are you doing?” Twilight followed the blue hoof pressing against her side up to Dash’s squinting eyes and bent ears. “I’m pretty sure Aisling can handle moving another one of those things, and you’re not the kind of pony to try and shake out of routines, so why are you trying ta do her job?” The unicorn leaned into the pegasus before she spoke.

“I want to see what kind of power fluxes I experience while I’m here. If I’m right with what I’m thinking, I’ll be able to lift up that rock as easily as I lift a table, or maybe a bookcase.” When the confusion riddling Rainbow’s features persisted, Twilight spoke on. “I know you can feel it too Rainbow. I’m not the only mare here who’s in touch with her natural talent.”

A slow look of dawning realization grew over the pegasus, softening her cheeks and loosening her jaw. A wing extended from her side, lightly flapping by it. Twilight nodded at the action.

“So… you think I could fly faster here, or something?” Twilight licked her lips before speaking.

“It’s the ‘something’ part that has me thinking. Aisling says she asked the forest for help, but I want to see if it’s an exclusive trait for her, or if it’s mutually beneficial to all forms of life.” Dash was close to being satisfied, but not quite.

“Why would you think that? I know you well enough to know you have a reason.” Twilight momentarily banished the question as to how Rainbow knew that. Her question was a good one. The answer was also too simple to not say.

“Because flowers were growing in rock, Dash.” A small grin pulled and released at her lips. “I can’t think of another way for that to happen other than magical interference.”

“Okay, yeah, I’ll give you that one.” The pegasus turned towards the boulder ‘blocking’ their path once more. “Just be careful, kay?” Twilight nodded in response.

“I promise,” the unicorn honestly replied. “Now, stand back. I’m not sure if I’m right or wrong, and I can’t tell what could be possible outcomes if my hypothesis is correct, I might be able to turn it into a theory.” Giving the usual chuckle of only partial understanding, Dash nodded as she trotted away from the unicorn, giving Twilight the requested space.

Turning her lavender eyes upwards, her mind began to work.

By her quick calculations, the size and mass of the stone was substantial. Accounting for the density of granite, which the statue was likely made of, in combination with her by-eye measurements, the rock was nearly 37,000 kg. It was a hefty amount by any scale, but it wasn’t a record on her books.

She had lifted entire orchards worth of apples before, all with the same level of magic as she was about to use now. The richness of the air was not lost on her, as she could feel the magic within her nearly glowing with strength. It was just another variable she had to consider.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight dropped her horn towards the stone, lighting shutting her eyes as she did so. The lavender aura of the unicorn surrounded the stone, her horn humming as she did so. The feeling of strength flowed through the unicorn as she performed the most familiar command to her, the first spell she had ever learned, levitation. With a small flick upwards of her head, she forced her aura to rise, aiming to drag the stone in the air as she did so.

What usually came next was the sensation of a small weight bearing on her mind, a bit of pressure to remind and indicate where and what the object was. That feeling didn’t happen yet. A small flurry of questions rushed through Twilight’s mind, but they were just as quickly dispatched as when they appeared. She simply was lifting enough.

Forcing more of her magic through her horn, Twilight strengthened her hold on the boulder, lifting it up even higher. This time she was rewarded with the weight of her effort.

“Whoa!”

And, a shout of surprise from behind her.

Startled, Twilight released her magic and spun, facing the mares behind her. Her lips were already open, ready to ask what had happened, but she stopped when she saw their gazes looking not at her, but high into the sky above them. She twisted her head upwards to see what they were gazing at, imagining it to be a dragon descending down to them, or another unorthodox appearance of weather.

Instead, Twilight saw the statue sailing into the air at a rate she faster than she could believe.

In another moment, it was out of sight.

The stillness that came over the glade was matched only by the perpetual silence.

The group continued to watch the small patch of sky available to them through the canopy of the trees above, staring into the endless blue the statue had disappeared into.

Until laughter began to echo around them.

Dimly, Twilight turned to see Aisling lying on the ground, her hands wrapped around her midsection as she rolled back and for the over the grass off the flower-lined path. Her long white hair blanketed the ground as she rolled over it, green eyes shut tight as the laughter continued to roll from her lips. It didn’t take much longer for Apple Bloom to settle next to her, lying on her belly over the nymphs pale hair.

“A child!” The Fae cried out amidst her laughter, gritting her teeth in a futile attempt to still her vibrating muscles.

“You have the control of a child! Using all your strength and no restraint!” Her laughter picked right up as she was finished. Her pale arms closed around Apple Bloom as she did so, the filly laughing into the Fae’s neck as she did so.

“But… But I… I don’t…” Twilight was beginning to think the Broca’s area of her mind was deteriorating, given the amount of times her speech had failed her today. That, or her frontal cortex was being overloaded with the amount of information she was having to process and memorize.

“And here I thought I was crazy seeing Aisling lift the first statue by herself,” Rainbow began wistfully, eyes still looking upwards as she spoke. “But then you go and throw another statue clear into orbit. Remind me to never get on your bad side, egghead.”

“That truly was a display of skill, though the ease behind it bodes ill.” Twilight’s head was close to falling off her shoulders with the speed she was shaking it. Zecora’s words did little to help.

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” Her eyes alternated from staring at the now bare patch of land to the blue sky high above them. “I didn’t use even a fraction of my magic pool trying to get that to lift. I used more force while I was lifting the silo in Ponyville, and that was at most a sixth of the weight of the statue!”

“I ain’t gonna pretend I know what yer getting’ at with your math, but I recognize that we’re far past the ‘norm’ right now.” Applejack spoke up as she trotted towards the pair, adjusting her hat on her head as she did so. “Sides, yer probably just not used to this place ‘er somethin like that. Heck, if what Dash told me you told her is true, Ah might be able ta clear buck one of these forest giants straight from it’s roots, not that Ah’m keen on that.”

“Your words hold much truth,” Zecora spoke in agreement with the farm pony, her golden eyes alternating from the now clear dirt path and the chortling Fae and filly. “Though there is little to sleuth.”

“I’m just… sorry, I-I usually have at least a vague idea of how my magic is going to work in new areas.” Twilight took a calming breath or two as she righted her mind. “This is… it’s like I’m standing in the center of a magic reservoir, like I’m directly using the power of the Elements.” Every mare there had experienced the full power of the Elements once before. It made the statement carry more weight than anything else Twilight could have mentioned.

“That was fun,” Aisling spoke on the ends of her laughter, her chest calming beneath her thin cloth. As for the filly, her forelegs were much the same, her form lax over the Fae in a tired state, doubtlessly ready for a long nap. “It reminds of the first time Brendan tried to climb.” Her laughter started again, only to end swiftly afterwards. “From climbing bushes in his village to one of the forest’s elder trees. It took him time to learn.”

The Fae rose to her feet, or more accurately, jumped to them. She leaned back onto her shoulders, placing her hands on the dirt beneath her white hair. Then, with a light push, propelled herself forwards, landing softly and gracefully in her bi-pedal stance. Apple Bloom was caught easily in her embrace, who settled back onto the ground soon afterwards.

“Do you want to meet him now?” It took a quick moment for the mares to remember what the question meant.

“O-Of course.” Twilight spoke up, trotting towards the Fae as she did so. “I mean, if you’re still alright with it.”

“Why would I not be?” Aisling asked honestly. “I did invite you, and the entrance is right there.” The Fae’s pale hand extended past the mares, pointing towards the path behind them.

It didn’t take a dramatic turn of the head to gaze at what the nymph was referring to, nor was it a sight they had not already glanced at. But, without the distraction of magical mysteries and cold revelations, they were not able to appreciate the beauty they saw in it now.

A cave of stone covered in white flowers, shaped rock surrounded by forest giants, and moderate entrance given emphasis by the statue cracked in half around it. Where as the flowers only lined the path before, here they bloomed over the stone in grand numbers. Where the giants only surrounded the path they walked, here they shadowed the large hollow stone. And where the statues before needed moving, here one was already split. The ponies did not want to imagine what had done it.

Despite the light that Aisling spoke of now living in the meadow, the cavern grew dark inside, no light shining from within or sources to fall from on high. Like any hollow material, the deeper in they gazed, the less they could see. However, what little they could see within the cavern, was not escaping Twilight’s attentive eye.

“Those carvings,” Twilight spoke as she slowly trotted forwards, wary of approaching the cave she now blamed for her sudden spike in magic. “They are not ruined nor faded. How has erosion not touched them?” The unicorn expected Aisling to answer her. Instead, she received an almost rebuff remark from Applejack.

“C’mon do ya even have ta ask?” The farm pony questioned with a tilt in her eyes. “I got ten bits saying Aisling asked for it ta stay the same.”

“Yeah, it is her forest.” Dash added in, initiating a high hoof with the farm pony. Twilight let her head fall, grinning as she did so. There were some things she needed her friends to remind her of, complete with their usual show of synergy.

Aside from the trio, however, Zecora looked around the structure, admiring the beauty of the art, the assembly that nature itself had preserved. Change may be needed, the zebra was keen to remind herself, but not while forgetting what once was. Sometimes, you needed something physical to remind what you were.

It made sense to her that the forest would keep a part of itself constant to allow the rest to change. It was unspoken, as she dare not speak it, but Zecora suspected the same remained true for Aisling at her side.

“This truly is a beautiful sight,” she spoke with only truth. “It shines wonderfully under the day’s light.”

“It is easy to see the good, the beauty and yes, the light.” Aisling spoke calmly, smiling with what Zecora recognized to be the mask of euphoria, the expression one donned when they gazed upon something or held someone they loved.

“But that is not why I come here. You do not see what I see.” The question to ask was as obvious as the cave before them.

“And what do you see,” the zebra asked curiously, “what is hidden from me?”

Aisling said nothing. She only smiled sweetly at the memory of the past standing amidst the remains in the present.

“Something I saw long ago, many ages past.” The Fae spoke no more, not until she had taken leaps forwards over the ponies, giving their necks another quick exercise in trying to keep up with her movements. “But you can come in. There is much you can see.” Her gaze turned to the unicorn. “And more you can ask.”

Aisling then swiftly jumped into the cavern, disappearing into the inviting darkness.

“Hey! Wait up Aisling!” Apple Bloom galloped in behind her, her little hooves, clopping against the ground to keep pace.

With only a nod towards one another, the other mare followed.

Where Memories Wait

“There.” Celestia spoke the word with a tone of finality. Her quill lifted from the page, the ink on its end staining the parchment. Pink eyes read over her words quickly, ensuring that everything that needed to be said was present. A small nod of her head confirmed the contents.

Her horn gave a trivial burst of light as it surrounded the paper. The scroll lifted into the air, rolling up upon itself as a ribbon was wrapped around it. It took only a hoof full of seconds for the action to be completed, as she had done it many times in both the recent and distant past. Shutting her eyes, she focused her mind on Twilight, far away from Canterlot.

Celestia quickly banished the usual path of directing the letter to Spike. Easier as it would be for both her and her student, there was no guarantee that Twilight was near her the dragon. A quick list of reasons why were scrolled away in the diarch’s mind, including parties, chores, races, or just small picnics. In the end, it didn’t matter.

This was an urgent matter, and she needed her student’s help. It wasn’t every lifetime that the Ley Lines changed. And in all of Celestia’s long life, they had only changed once before.

A small but echoing pop filled the air, all the indication Celestia needed to know the letter was gone. Opening her eyes, she saw it was very much the case. Her eyes, however, remained stern and focused.

“Tell Tale,” the diarch called, earning the appearance of a tan unicorn by her side. The tied back mane and levitating clipboard betrayed the no-nonsense demeanor of the pony in question.

“Yes, your highness? What do you need?” Celestia wasted no time to instruct her assistant to relax. Truth be told, it would have been very hypocritical for her to ask of somepony something that she herself wouldn’t do.

“Please gather my sister from her chambers and send word to Crystal Kingdom.” The unicorn did not bat even an eye as she quickly scrawled her princess’s command. “A new focal center for the Ley Lines has appeared. We must discuss the implications of this change and deduce the reason for its appearance. Is that understood?” Tell Tale’s quill flicked off the page as Celestia finished.

“Right away, your majesty. Word will be sent post haste.” True to her word, the unicorn galloped from the hall, clipboard floating through the air at her side.

Celestia took a slow, controlled breath of air as her assistant turned out of the hall and out of sight. The situation didn’t leave with her.

Iron Wit had departed some time ago, taking his scrolls, bag, and jostled mind from her court. He spoke as he left about more research he would be conducting on this matter. Celestia remembered ordering him to report any new developments to her, no matter how insubstantial they seemed.

When was the last time she had given an order such as that? Asking for every detail in regards to something?

Such an order would normally fill her court with redundant messages or hoaxes, at a rate faster than she could read, to boot. Her rule had always been conducted with a calm mind and sure resolve, determined, yet controlled. Rash decisions were scarce for her, even over the course of a thousand years. Yet here she was, fully aware of what she had asked but not regretting her words.

Celestia forced herself to blink, unaware of her vacant staring until the aridity of her eyes began to pain her. Another sigh was released.

Once Luna appeared, they would have to discuss in length the measures to be taken in the immediate and late term, actions to prevent possible power struggles from emerging. Her ponies were kind and generous, but just as much were they curious. A curiosity towards power was as innate in them all as their hearts and minds.

In the end, it would have to be Twilight and her friends that would discern the location, and, possibly, the source of the Ley Line focal point. One was required, but the other was preferred. Knowing the exact location within the forest would allow Celestia and her guards to properly protect the likely exploitable amount of magic, at least until it could be contained to acceptable degrees. Knowing the source, however, would quicken both processes while preventing future ones.

A single action likely caused this event to occur. Now, Celestia needed to take half a dozen to prevent it from ruining the balance of Equestria. Despite herself, she grinned.

Such was the way of a leader, taking ten steps forward for every one step back.

“Princess Celestia!” A masculine voice echoed through the great hall.

The pressing call of her name echoed through the hall, immediately grabbing the alicorn’s attention. Her pink eyes saw a guard galloping into the room, head lowered to increase his already impressive speed. He nearly slid to a stop before her throne, not bothering to slow his pace. But despite it all, there was only one thing the diarch was focused on.

The alarm in his eyes; it was more prevalent than any other feature.

“What is it?” She commanded quickly, one hoof already stepping off the throne as she spoke. “Has something happened? Has another focal point appeared?” The guard shook his head viciously, collecting his breath as he did so.

“No,” he spoke on with a heavy exhale. “There is… there is something….”

His eyes turned upwards and his form collapsed. There wasn’t a moment to prepare for it.

Celestia stood to her tallest in a moment, rushing towards the fallen guard. The rest of her golden-armored stallions hurried to her side, and the side of their fallen comrade. Celestia’s eyes looked the guard over quickly, her body towering over his fallen form. But regardless how many times her gaze swept over the stallion, the diarch found no injuries to force his collapse or objects weighing him down. He appeared only exhausted, his labored breathing continuing through his unconscious state.

“Take him to the medical wing, now!” Celestia all but barked at the guard nearest to her, earning a deep bow from the stallion. The golden-clad sentinel bent over the fallen soldier, lifting his body off the floor and onto his back. With haste, the stallion departed, leaving only Celestia and her guards. The tension, however, did not leave with the fallen soldier.

Celestia moved towards the door, preparing to march through it. She could not sit idly by, not after witnessing a member of her personal guard collapsing only a pace in front of her. The very same soldiers stopped her, however.

“Please,” one of the guards explained, his head lowered as he spoke. “You must remain here, your majesty. Allow us to search for what caused him to collapse.” For once, however, the diarch would have nothing to do with it.

“Move lieutenant,” Celestia spoke in an almost cold tone. “I will not play the part of apathy as my ponies fall before me. If he was harmed within these walls, I will see to it personally that the problem is resolved.” The diarch left little room to argue. The guards, however, were duty bound to more than just the crown’s word.

“It is our oath to ensure your safety, your highness,” the same guard spoke again, head still lowered as he did so. “Allowing you to leave this chamber would only place you in the path of harm.” In a quick motion, the guard swung his head to his right, eyes staring at a soldier flanking Celestia. The golden clad soldier nodded once before galloping from the great hall, moving beyond the door and out of sight. “We will find out what is wrong soon, and if it is safe for you to leave.”

“It is safer for me to leave this chamber than for you, lieutenant.” Celestia’s tone hardened with every word. “Your duty is to me, and mine to you. I will not ask nor allow you to place soldiers in the path of harm, not while I am standing and able.”

“I am not asking you to flee, your majesty.” The guard looked up as he spoke now, staring into his ruler’s eyes with a determination only years of diligence could forge. “I am asking only for your loyal soldiers, the ponies who have sworn their life to you, to defend you while you rule from here. Send your order, give warning, but please, bide your time.” With a slow breath, he spoke what he knew would be undeniable.

“If you were to fall, for whatever reason, we would truly be lost.”

Celestia bit back a scream of rage as she was presented the facts.

It was always like this, having to request of others what she could do herself, forced to be so protective of her well-being while disregarding the very real danger her ponies marched into. She would rather be trapped within the sun than where she was now. At least in the sun she would only be able to guess at what was occurring with her absence. Here she had to watch it unfold and sit idly by.

“Very well,” the diarch’s cold tone commanded. “But do so with haste. Rouse my sister and all the guards.”

The soldiers offered only a hasty nod before retreating from the chamber. With the aura of magic at their disposal, the great doors of the hall shut, leaving Celestia alone. She snarled to herself as she did so, hateful of the situation she was in.

Her steps were heavy as she trotted back to her throne, slow but full of strength. Too much was occurring far too quickly. A Ley Line Focal Point creation, a supposed attack on her castle without so much as even a sound, and a refusal of her ponies to allow her to even lift a hoof.

Why couldn’t she hear the sounds of battle? Why did only one of her soldiers find their way to her hall? Why was there not a messenger or letter of warning? What was going on?

It was only too generous that there wasn’t a statue in her hall, else she might have bucked it in two.

“Hurry now, Twilight.” Celestia whispered harshly, her eyes staring up at the golden throne. “I have only the feeling that this is much larger than it appears to be.”

“Did you make these carvings, Aisling, or perhaps touch up on them?” Twilight ventured the question as she looked over the walls, her horn lighting them. “Because they show no form of aging, like the statues outside.” The unicorn was a quick study, and she knew words like erosion and deterioration would either go straight over the nymph’s head or get her called odd again. Maybe both, but neither seemed nice.

“Some I made, some I remade.” Aisling replied simply. She walked only a small pace ahead of the rest of the ponies, her arms stretched outwards as if balancing on a beam. “The forest changes with time, but that doesn’t mean I can’t change it the way I want to.”

“That makes sense,” Applejack noted as she observed one of the markings by her, her hoof running over the tough edge. “Can’t expect anything ta last if ya don’t give it some proper maintenance. True for just ‘bout anything.”

“I often wondered how this forest kept such stable peace,” Zecora mused as she walked to the Fae’s side, smiling at the mystic creature. “It must be because you keep it piece by piece.”

“Not every part,” Aisling spoke as she did a small twirl, her long alabaster hair wrapping around her. “Just the parts that need it. The forest is alive, so it should grow the way it wants. I just make sure it doesn’t make mistakes.”

Twilight half-listened to the conversation of the Fae and her friends as she continued to stare openly at the markings and carvings of the hall walls. She was more than amazed by the detail they had. They were history wrapped in images, all conjoined in seemingly connected and flowing lines. Every time her eyes scanned over one collection of lines, she saw something she had missed before.

At one moment, she saw trees growing, their heights increasing the further she proceeded down the hall. But when Twilight looked over it again, her eyes saw creatures instead, their manes growing longer and stature taller the further she moved.

There was a kind of magic working within the art that was beyond the complex memorization and casting she was so used to. For Twilight, who had spent years studying the art of magic in the mind, this art of magic in carvings and nature was a fresh mystery to her, full of wonder she had yet to completely tap.

Her hoof moved over the carvings as her mind continued to work, eyes attempting as best they could to retain what they saw. She stopped, however, when she felt a pressure on the back of said hoof. It took only a small twist of her head, complete with the light still glowing from her horn, to see Dash’s staring back at her.

“You okay there, Twi?” The pegasus asked her genuinely, one of her brows raised as spoke. “Cause… you’re staring at the wall pretty hard. I thought you were about to start talking to it.” Twilight felt a small blush crawl up her cheeks.

“N-No,” the unicorn weakly spoke in her defense. “I was just trying to memorize the carvings. But… it’s… well, I’ll just say that remembering pictures like this is a lot harder than text on a page.” Her head twisted away from the pegasus as spoke.

That was before she felt Dash move her hoof to Twilight’s head, patting it like she would a filly.

“Hey, don’t worry about it egghead.” Dash gave the unicorn her signature smile as she reassured her friend. “We only just met a supposed-to-be made-up creature in the Everfree Forest. Can’t really say we’re expecting you to learn everything about her in a day.” The unicorn smiled at the gesture and words. She opened her mouth to convey that thanks.

In the next moment, light sparks flew from her horn.

The hall was immediately lit with dancing displays of color, green and lavender hues shining off the stone and illuminating the dark hall. Rainbow swiftly jerked her hoof from Twilight, stumbling backwards with little grace. The rest of the ponies and Fae present were little different, the light earning their immediate attention.

And as the light died down and returned to the subtle glow from before, wide and careful eyes were now fixated on Twilight.

“Whoa, hey!” Dash shouted, backing away from Twilight as she did so. “Geez Twilight, you could have just said I was bothering y-”

“Dash, wait.” Twilight quickly said as she held up one of her hooves. The mares and Fae looked down at it to see a scroll in her grasp, still smoking lightly from its entrance. Aisling jumped over Zecora, landing beside the unicorn, before she spoke.

“Where did you find that?” She asked the unicorn with curiosity in her eyes. “I haven’t seen that in here before.”

“That’s because it wasn’t here,” Twilight explained. “I… I think Princess Celestia just sent it to me. But she usually has to send it through Spike. I-It’s easier that way.” She bit her lip as she finished, eyes looking down at the scroll with a trepid gaze.

“Young Twilight, something ails your mind,” Zecora observed, walking closer to the mare as she did so. “What is on this scroll that you fear to find?” Twilight offered her lavender gaze to the zebra, looking into the wise and astute golden orbs of the elder mare.

“It’s just that… the princess knows that sending scrolls from unicorn to unicorn can often be painful, if the recipient is unprepared. That’s why she thought Spike would be best to send the letters, because he has dragon fire. I… I think something bad has happened.” The words seeped into the mares present.

“Bad how?” Apple Bloom naively asked, pushing her way between Applejack and Rainbow as she did. “Do ya think somethin’ is wrong with Canterlot?” Twilight felt her stomach churn at the possibility.

Instead of speaking again, however, the unicorn took a slow breath into her lungs, calming her mind and body what little she could. Upon its release, she guided the magic in her horn once more.

Her signature lilac aura surrounded the paper, lifting it into the air with a soft hum.

“Dear Twilight,” the mare began to read, the ponies and Fae around her listening intently. “I am writing this to you in great haste, and I apologize if my method of sending this caused you any pain or undue panic. However, this is a grave matter of great importance.” Twilight swallowed a ball in her throat as she read on.

“Only just recently has one of my chief magical advisors, Iron Wit, told me of a rather surprising, if thought to be impossible, event. Even now as I write this, I have called for the presence of my sister and all other impertinent parties to decide on what to do.”

“This is gettin’ a tad bit worryin’.” Applejack spoke with a touch of concern in her voice, eyes focused on Twilight as she spoke.

“According Iron Wit, a new Ley Line Focal Point has been… created?” Twilight spoke the last word as a question, unsure of her own eyes as she read from the paper. Her magic turned and twisted, altering the page as she looked it over. She scrutinized the strained writings of her mentor, hoping to find a missing letter or misplaced word.

“No no no, that can’t be right.” Twilight shook her head in dismissal, not even reading on.

“Yeah, I mean, something like that has never happened before.” Rainbow Dash assured the unicorn, if only for herself. One of her legs itched the other, rubbing up and down as she unevenly chuckled.

“Such… such a declaration is due for some fright.” Zecora’s head fell as she spoke, her golden eyes widening as she did. “I cannot even dream that such a thing is right.”

“What’s not right?” Apple Bloom asked from among the older mares, each of them donning an expression of worry. “What’s wrong? Ah don’t understand.”

“The Ley Lines have changed, haven’t they?”

Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, and Zecora nearly broke their necks with how fast their heads twisted towards Aisling. The nymph, however, in spite of despite the sudden news, merely stared at the many eyes on her, a calm line drawn over her mouth.

“Aisling,” Twilight began, “You… know about they Ley Lines?” Almost immediately, the unicorn clarified her own question. “I mean, how do you know about them? They were a discovery made by unicorns only shortly before the founding of Equestria. How… do you know about them?”

“Because my people found them. Most of them. Brendan’s people found a few, but my people found more.” Then, with a fanged smile and crossed arms, Aisling spoke a single sentence that shook the foundations Twilight stood on. “My mother found line crossings here. She found the gate that helped the forest grow.”

She may as well have told the unicorn she created the heavens and earth, so little else would have shocked Twilight as greatly.

Breath seemed impossible to grasp as Twilight stared at the thin pale Fae, the fairy folk that so easily spoke of her people finding and marking the very magical lines that defined the source of nature and life throughout Equestria.

“Whoa.” Dash spoke lightly, her own voice shrunk beneath the revelation they were handed. There were few other words any of the mares thought properly conveyed the scope of what Aisling had said. Twilight fought with herself over what to do.

She had already had a million and one questions for the Fae-- now there were a million more she could pose. Theories, hypotheses, legends, myths; every story the unicorn had ever heard about the creation of magic, this lone and mystical creature likely knew the truth of. For all rights and purposes, Twilight was looking at the Lost Tomes of Creation.

“What does the rest of this say?” The nymph’s words slowly shook Twilight back to her senses. She regained enough insight realize that the scroll Celestia had sent was now in Aisling’s grasp, being held up at her eye level. Or rather, held at eye level before she started to twist and alter the page, her green eyes screwed in confusion, at least. “This doesn’t look like Brendan’s language. What is it?”

“E-Equestrian…” Twilight slowly spoke, her mind trying to restart itself. “It’s… it’s a very old but developing language that-- hey!” Her thoughts finally centered long enough for her to realize that she had not finished the letter from her mentor.

With a small burst of magic from her horn, she lifted the page from Aisling’s small hand, letting it drift back to the unicorn. A pout was placed over the nymph’s features. Twilight, wisely or otherwise, focused on the letter in her aura.

“Twilight, I must ask you to search the Everfree Forest for the source of this Focal Point, as it will likely need to be measured and monitored. Exploitation of magical sources is always possible, but if a new Focal Point was altered or used by unknown sources, the consequences could be dire. So please, I ask of you and your friends to find this point and, if at all possible, what created it. When you have word of it, or at all, send me what you can with haste. I wish you luck my student, and thank you for all that you have done. Princess Celestia.”

The silence that followed was far shorter than before.

“That’s… that’s a mighty tall order ta fill.” Applejack noted her opinion with no shortage of honesty, adjusting her hat as she did so. “Almost makes me wish Ah’d taken my brother along for this.”

“Your brother?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “Heck, I think we should’ve asked the Wonderbolts for help on this.”

“Now what makes ya think we need a bunch of high flyin’ pegasi ta search the Everfree?” Applejack spoke back. “Ya know they can’t see apples from oranges half a mile in the sky. We’re gonna need muscle for this, not speed.”

“Muscle? We’ve gotta search the entire Everfree Forest and you want muscle?” Rainbow twisted her head as she spoke. “We’re gonna need speed if we want to get this done in our lifetime.”

“I would say you need common sense, else you will be mistaken for dense.” Zecora’s statement stopped the bickering between the two mares, instead moving their challenging gazes towards the zebra. Zecora, however, kept a small grin on her face as she spoke. Turning her head, she directed the eyes of mares towards the outlier in their group.

Aisling looked at Twilight, who stared back at her with a careful gaze.

“Aisling,” the lavender mare carefully spoke, choosing her words before she said them. “Do you know where the Ley Line Focal Point is in your forest?” The nymph twisted her head, put her hands on her hips, and dropped one of her brows before she answered.

“It is not obvious?” She posed the question sincerely, looking at the unicorn skeptically. When Twilight only kept her silence, the Fae spoke on, shrugging before she did so.

“You’re standing over it.” What the rest of the mares expected was fainting from the unicorn. What they got instead was a much more subdued action.

Twilight sighed.

“That’s… that’s what I though.” She agreed simply. “The exponential increase in my magical reserves and levitation alterations was clue enough, if not for the magical properties being exhibited by the flora around us. Heck, even the carvings are full of magic.” The unicorn let her hoof rise and fall over one of the walls as she spoke, tracing the well-maintained etches as she did so.

“We’re… we’re in a focal point?!” Dash all but screamed her statement, giving the group a small sensation of pain thanks to the echoing hall they stood in.

“Keep the screamin’ to a min’, Dash.” Applejack spoke reprimandingly to the pegasus. “Don’t need my ears ringing while my mind’s still reeling.”

“You aren’t in a gate,” Aisling spoke to the pair, walking towards them as she did so. “You can’t enter one. They’re doors, passageways by which magic comes and leaves the world. You can stand on it, but you can’t enter it.” Twilight wasn’t sure if she should be thankful or shocked by the absolute calmness with which Aisling spoke. She settled for both.

“Okay, alright,” the unicorn spoke with a nodding head. “But, that doesn’t explain why we only just found out about it. I mean, Equestria has been founded and charted for over a thousand years, and we’ve known about all the Ley Line Focal Points since then.”

“That’s because Brendan sealed it, at least before he left. It was the last thing he did, and he asked me if he could before he did.” Twilight stared down, jaw agape at the Fae who smiled so simply back up at her. “I know why he did it, and I’m glad he did.”

“Why did he seal it, then?” Rainbow Dash asked the obvious question. “I mean, every foal is taught about Ley Lines at some point. They’re what keep pegasi flying, unicorns casting, and earth ponies farming. Why the heck would somepony want ta seal it?”

“No,” Twilight spoke up before Aisling could possibly answer the question. She had a less obvious, but drastically more important question.

“Aisling, did you unseal the focal point?” If she did, then Twilight knew that she would have to take Aisling to the princess. If she didn’t… then they still had the knowledge of where the focal point was. One better, they had the last life in Equestria that could aptly describe them.

That was what Twilight was thinking all the way until the Fae actually answered.

“No, because…” Aisling drifted off.

The unicorn watched, eyes skewed, as the Fae stopped speaking. It was the first time the unicorn had seen the nymph avoid a conversation or actively drop one. Something was definitely wrong.

The point only became clearer when Aisling turned to head down the hall. A moment later, she was running.

“Aisling!” Apple Bloom called after the nymph. Said Fae was already out of sight, the darkness surrounding her and hiding her fleeing form. Twilight reacted instantly.

Her horn lit up under her command, increasing the intensity of the light. It became almost blinding to her own eyes, and what little she could see revealed her friends shielding her eyes from the offensive glare. Swiftly satisfied, the unicorn bobbed her head forward, releasing the light from the base of her horn.

Like an arrow it flew down the hall, illuminating the pathway as it did. The rock began to glow under the command of her spell. Twilight, however, kept her mind focused on the clearly spooked nymph that had left their party, and not the ethereal carvings that now shone from the walls.

One was far more important than the other.

“C’mon!” The unicorn called as she began a gallop following Aisling’s now departed path. The echoing of clopping hoofs rapidly began to resound through the hallway.

“What just happened?!” Rainbow yelled as she easily matched her pace with Twilight. “One second she’s talking about this curse, er, seal, or whatever, then the next she’s taken off like scared doe!”

“I don’t know!” Twilight yelled back, quickening her pace. “But I’m sure whatever it is, it isn’t good.”

“It is not for the Fae for whom I am concerned.” Zecora spoke as her hooves nearly slammed into the ground with the intensity of her gallop. “But instead the state of her friend this reaction may have earned.”

Even in the midst of a heavy gallop, all the mares felt the cold dread generated by what Zecora’s words meant. If at all possible, their pace quickened.

Apple Bloom stayed mute as she clung to her sister, unable to understand what was happening, but knowing full well that whatever it was, it was something bad. Like Discord hurting her sister or Nightmare Moon or Chrysalis threatening her friends, she knew something was wrong.

“Is that a dead end?!” Applejack called from behind the herd of ponies, her eyes looking down the glowing hall.

While all eyes had seen the abrupt absence of light ahead of them, none were sure it was a dead end; not until Applejack spoke, at least. Regardless, their pace did not slow. Aisling wasn’t in front of them, and there were no paths for her to turn away from them. If there was a way out or a door down ahead of them, then they had to keep moving.

The end, however, was anything but that. The five ponies emerged from the hallway that was glowing.

Their paces slowed as their vision was overtaken by the room they entered, the walls glowing with images they had never seen, shimmering with magic Twilight didn’t believe she was responsible. Her magic was naught but a lavender hue, a single color from a large spectrum.

Across the walls shone magic auras in every color of the rainbow.

They danced over the lines that were etched into the stone, swaying through them like water in a river. They melded together, swirled into the ancient etchings and formed tints, hues, and shades of color the mares had never seen before.

“Why Ah’ll be…” Applejack weakly spoke, her eyes far too distracted to speak clearly. “It’s like it’s alive.” Twilight didn’t have enough information to say she was wrong.

There were few to no reasons other than simplicity for Twilight to attribute sentience to the near rhythmic and enchanting colors of the wall. They gave life to the reliefs, breath to the figures made of lines, and power to the long hidden art. Even if the mare hadn’t just run towards a sprint at her fastest pace, she would have been out of breath at the sights around her.

“Look,” Apple Bloom’s voice weakly called, her tiny hooves pattering over the stone floor as she moved.

Despite the colors that danced over the walls, the foal only just remained lit. The light was far too soft to be illuminating, but its lenient use of strength allowed it to instead draw attention. Twilight was only just able to draw her gaze away from the scenery to look at the foal, whose orange eyes were staring up at a different section of the wall. Apple Bloom’s hoof was outstretched, pointing towards the flowing artwork.

“Ah… Ah think that’s Aisling, ain’t it?” Twilight turned her eyes up towards the artwork the foal was indicating, an action that she did little to fight.

Sure enough, dancing with the colors over the wall was Aisling. Or, more appropriately, there was a portrait of Aisling, half hidden beneath they myriad of colors that soothed and enchanted the unicorn’s sight.

But what truly grabbed her attention was not the vibrant green or pale white of the fae, but the smooth tan of the figure standing in front of her.

“That… who is that?” Rainbow asked next to Twilight. The unicorn didn’t even notice the pegasus approach her. “Wait, it’s Brendan, isn’t it?”

“That’d be mah guess.” Applejack agreed, trotting lightly up to her sister. “Mighty young. Leaves ya wonderin’ when this was made.” She turned easily on her hooves, overlooking the aweing room of light once more. “More like when any of this was made. Gotta be older than the Everfree, Ah’d reckin.”

“Older than that would be my guess.” Zecora agreed, though her gaze was focused on a different portrait as she spoke. It was one that had not only her attention, but her breath as well. “Though each of these portraits are not like the rest. Colors that move and hues that are smooth, it does much to help the mind soothe.”

“Yeah, but… but what is all of it?” Twilight asked, unable to decide if she would upturn her lips at the beauty presented before her, or bite them because of the millions-more questions her mind was developing. “They could be telling a history, but whose history? And if it is history, then who or what keeps track of it? How is this magic being properly maintained after millennia?”

“The Ley Lines were once sealed, but the seals are no more.” Zecora spoke again, not turning towards the unicorn as she spoke. “With a gate of magic so close, this would be no chore.” Twilight found herself nodding at the words.

“I… that makes sense, but… but it still means that someone made these carvings knowing the way the magic would flow through the stone etchings, making sure that the colors weren’t just a conglomerate of displaced light. That would take… could take decades to learn.” Twilight was still looking over the walls, marveling at their work no matter how many times her eyes drifted over them. Months could pass and she would not bore of the art in this room.

“Decades to us are but seconds to the Fae,” Zecora pointed out once more. “There is nothing in this life but mist. We are here only for a short while.”

Something about the zebra’s words were off to the unicorn. It took her a moment to realize what it was.

“Zecora,” Twilight began. “Did you just… not rhyme?” The lavender unicorn turned as she spoke, feeling Rainbow do the same. When the zebra didn’t answer, she opened her mouth to speak again, but stopped when she saw that Zecora was not facing her, nor even starting to turn.

Instead, the elder of the group was staring at another section of the masterfully drawn wall, which was colored differently even with its living art. There were few colors dancing over the wall, less intricacy to its shape. But its size was immense, easily standing from the floor the to the ceiling. But what truly captured Twilight’s attention wasn’t anything that picture was, but this time, what said picture was meant to do.

This living portrait showed a familiar nymph gowned in gold, standing amongst others dressed as she and smiling proudly. It took little for her imagination to piece together what it meant.

“That’s Aisling.” Twilight didn’t leave room for question. “And that’s her… mother… and her father.”

“Carrying cloves of the king and queen.” Zecora spoke so suddenly, the unicorn almost jumped. She would have, too, if she weren’t staring still at the portrait before her. “All colored the same emerald green.”

“Hold on a second,” Rainbow spoke as if it focus her own mind. “The cloves of the king and queen? Doesn’t that make Aisling, like, a princess?” Being perfectly honest to herself, the idea had not occurred to the unicorn before her friend had spoken. It was entirely possible, and what was more, highly likely.

The sole ruler of an enchanted kingdom was escorting them. Twilight was fortunate she had been given many doses of shock today, from magical theory to Pre-Equestrian history, otherwise she would have likely buckled at the legs.

“Aisling?” The questioning name was spoken from behind the mares, faintly flowing towards them.

“Apple Bloom?” Applejack spoke her sister’s name, eyes searching the softly lighted room. It didn’t take long to find her some paces closer to the center of the area than any of its walls. But she wasn’t alone.

There was another figure in the center of the room, one that none of the mares had seen on their entry, their eyes too taken in by the living art around them. But it was only too easy to see now what it was.

Aisling was indeed at the center of the room. Her slender figure and pale hair were unmistakable even in the soft lighting of the chamber. Her form was hunched, huddled over the shape that was projecting from the floor. It was difficult to tell just what it was, as no light shone from it and barely any light reached it.

Difficult, that was, until the flowing light above them saw fit to gloss over the Fae and the figure with a brief moment of pure white light, illuminating the figure and shape. It took all but a breath’s length of time, gone as quickly as it had come, but it was more than enough for Twilight, for all of them, to see it. Aisling was indeed there, but what she was far different from the Fae they had seen only moments ago.

Her thin fingers were clutching at the shape with possessiveness, her gaunt muscles flexing as she clung to the object. Her pale mane fell behind her, hiding from view any features of her face. What she did see, however, was the shape that Aisling was holding so desperately to. It wasn’t a statue. It wasn’t a relief. It certainly wasn’t a simple block.

It was a coffin made of stone.

She heard a small gasp from behind her, and Twilight was sure it was from Zecora, the only the mare she could assuredly guess was aware of Aisling’s state. The problem was, she didn’t think either of them knew what to do.

“Aisling…” Twilight spoke in a meek voice, unsure of what to say. In the end, she didn’t know if she should say anything at all.

A creature that she had just met, someone that she already considered a friend, was huddled over and grasping at was very likely the coffin of her long-past companion. Words didn’t belong here.

“No,” Aisling whispered, her hands roaming over the stone as she spoke. The mares behind the Fae watched as she hurriedly swept her thin arms over rock coffin with ever increasing speed, with ever increasing panic.

Her form circled the lone tomb, bending ‘round the edges, jumping, and, at some moments, crawling over it as well. The long white mane that followed her swayed and whipped with her frantic movements, quickly becoming the only object by which the ponies could keep track of the nymph.

That was until she stopped.

“No no no no no no.” There was a look in her eyes that couldn’t be described. There wasn’t a state of mind that had been named yet to demonstrate just what the Fae conveyed. But with the fire behind her green irises and shallow breathing that came from her lips, Twilight believed she had two words that best described what the nymph conveyed.

Terror and Rage.

“Aisling?” Twilight cautiously spoke, fully aware of the Fae’s likely dangerous state. “What happened?”

The nymph didn’t speak, not immediately. She remained frozen still.

Her body was crouching over the tomb, her pale hair falling ungracefully over her head. It curtained her features and blanketed her body, showing only the haunting gaze of her emerald eyes. Twilight heard a small hiccup from behind, most likely from Apple Bloom. With her keen eyes, Twilight watched the nymph, doing her absolute best to ignore the haunting silence in the tomb. It did little to ease her mind. That was when she noticed something.

Aisling’s hand was scratching a portion of the tomb.

“Aisling,” Twilight tried again. “What’s missing?” The unicorn felt her skin shiver when the nymph spoke.

“The Eye.” Aisling whispered in a haunting voice. “The Eye of the beast that took my family, that took my mother, that Brendan took back. The Eye is gone.”

“The Eye of Crom?” Applejack questioned. Twilight looked back long enough to see the elder mare had a hoof wrapped around her little sister, holding the filly close. The dark tomb and positively terrifying atmosphere around them was likely doing little good for the foal’s mind.

“Whoa, wait, someone stole the Eye of that god thing?” Rainbow, unfortunately, spoke brashly as ever. “What’s that mean?”

“Brendan used the eye to seal the gate.” Aisling hauntingly spoke again. Again, Twilight could only try to not shiver. “He sealed the gate when he came back. He used the Eye and the Book to turn a place of darkness, a place of greed, into one of light. Without the Eye, darkness will come back again.”

No one liked the sound of that.

“Aisling,” Twilight turned to see Zecora speaking, her golden eyes glinting with focus as she spoke. “The eye showed beyond what was real, what could have possibly stolen this seal?”

With a shaking body, arms clutched at her sides, Aisling answered.

“The one Brendan used to it to seal. The evil that came after Crom.”

Twilight was right. This didn’t sound good at all.

“What?” she asked. “What was it?”

BEGIN

Celestia’s mind raced as she thought of what to do.

Leaving the great hall now would only rob the ponies of knowing where she was. Too often in the recent past had she been shown the error of such actions. However, remaining within what amounted to a large stone prison only served to wear down the walls of her mind.

More than once she debated sending a message to her student again, perhaps even to Spike for him to be aware of the situation, but she dismissed it. Just as she was here to keep the faith of her soldiers alive, spreading fear to her most loyal student would be only counterproductive to reaching a desirable end. Now was the time for patience, trust, and control.

Celestia had control and more than enough trust, but her patience was quickly eroding with her pacing.

Her hooves clopped across the floor continuously, her body refusing to sit on her throne until the situation was resolved. Any moment now, the guards were return with news of what had occurred, or the intruders would approach and make threats on her life. She almost hoped for the latter, but she begged for the former. The well-being of her ponies meant far more than her own life. They always did, and they always would.

A breath left her lungs as her hooves came to a stop. Celestia’s gaze rose until she stared at one of the many stained glass panels that decorated the hall. By glance alone, it was little different than the rest of the detailed works that lined the walls and illuminated the room with colors and history. It detailed an event that had occurred over hours, all in a single frame of glass.

In spite of all of the works that surrounded her, this was the only one the monarch detested. For it held memories of events she deplored to think of.

Within the panes, a representation of herself was set. Her wings were extended to their fullest and eyes white as her coat. The Element of Magic sat proudly on her head, the remaining Elements encircling her in a protective aura that was as menacing as it was aweing. The glass that made up her, the elements, and the aura about them was colored in almost every wave of light the diarch was even faintly familiar with. It was, by any measure, a work of art.

But beneath Celestia and her majestic form lay a figure that haunted her dreams, a pony whose life the diarch valued more than even her own. It was colored black, with dots of red and hues of darkened blue. It was a broken mess of a pony that could only be made out by the wiring that separated the panes of glass. One wing spread outwards and another bent inwards, and its head was fallen, caught in either shame or pain. Celestia could not recall which it was. She could not recall the emotion, but she knew the pony well.

Celestia would never forget her greatest moment of failure, that of her sister under the curse of the Miasma.

Her head bowed to avoid gazing at the glass, too ashamed to face her own actions.

“The past is a window to ourselves.”

Celestia whirled on a hoof, her wings extended and eyes focused. Her pink gaze immediately turned to the great doors down the hall, staring at them with the intensity of her years. Though the doors were open once more, none of her ponies stood between the mighty oak. That left only one possibility of who was addressing her.

But, as her pink eyes were quick to correct, it was not a who, but a what that was addressing her.

A figure unlike anything she had ever seen stared at her from across the doors, standing on its hind legs and cloaked in an outfit of red. A mane of black fell from its head, venturing past the upright form’s torso. Its eyes were unseen, and its coat barren, but its voice was colder than any wind Celestia had dared to endure. The diarch’s fur stood on end.

“Few mortals dare to stare past the frame of their own creation. Fewer still accept what they see.” The creature began to walk into the grand hall, chilling the air with its every step. Celestia stared at it with great ferocity, hoping her burning rage would warm her frigid coat.

“You are different from the steeds I passed with my entry, far different from the mounts that once roamed this land long long ago. You have… progressed since then.” Despite every venomous word the thing spoke, Celestia found herself enraptured with its speech. The words, the tone, but, more than anything else, the voice, all called to her in ways she could not fathom, terrorizing her with a voice Celestia dare not imitate.

This creature, this… monster, Celestia realized, struck true terror into her bones. Summoning the strength that came with her title, the diarch spoke to the dark form.

“Who are you?” The figure stood to its tallest before it spoke again, the phantom of a smile over its blood red lips.

“I am Macha. You are my creation. I am your god.”

Tales of Another Time

“Macha?” Twilight spoke the name with more curiosity than fear, unaware of even a passing myth that hinted towards the name. “What… What is that?”

“A witch. A monster. A thing that should never have been.” Aisling whispered viciously, her form still hidden beneath the blanket of her hair. Her arms had yet to rise from the stone coffin she lay across, her body still as the rock beneath her. Twilight heard Apple Bloom sniffling behind her.

“Was…” the unicorn began before letting her voice drop off, unsure of what to say. She turned her head, hoping one of her friends would know better what to do.

Zecora, the mare she hoped would know best of this monster that frightened Aisling so, was simply staring forwards emptily. Her usual wise golden gaze was vacant, a look Twilight was told more than once she would wear in the face of impossible knowledge.

Applejack had her head bowed, hat covering most of her face. It was clear she was only half listening to the frightened nymph, as her unseen eyes were currently looking down at the foal at her hooves. Apple Bloom was shivering against her elder sister, eyes clenched shut for fear of letting them fall. Even her jaw was shaking.

Rainbow Dash, however, was the only mare that had not a look of surprise, panic, or pain. Instead she had her eyes half clenched, her brow furrowed in what Twilight recognized to be concentration. Her stance was strong, wings held to her side, and breathing normal.

Her pink eyes briefly flashed to Twilight’s, seeing the unicorn unable to think of what to say. The pegasus’ jaw moved, though her lips remained shut. Twilight had little idea of what to make of the gesture. That was until Dash took a few hoofsteps forward as she began to speak.

“So, how bad is this thing?” Twilight felt a breath of air get sucked into her lungs faster than she knew she could breathe. Aisling’s head turned to the approaching pegasus, her green gaze wide and shadowed by her cascading hair.

“How bad is it?” The Fae repeated, as if the phrase was new to her. “Not bad. Worse than bad.”

Twilight watched silently as Aisling let her thin arms wrap around herself, shivering over the tomb. Her eyes fell back to the vacant hole in the stone.

“Crom took my family. He took my mother. But he never took my forest.” Her head looked back up, staring at the pair of mares looking back at her. “Macha… Macha tried to take everything. My home, my land, my forest, Brendan’s people!” The ponies took a step back at the shout, but not before letting their jaws drop.

“She… she killed…” Twilight found herself unable to finish the words. No wonder this creature was such a horror. But the swelling in her throat was conflicted as the Fae shook her head violently, her white hair waving as she did so. “Then what stopped her?”

Aisling didn’t answer, not before she began to move.

As agile as she was among the trees of the forest, the nymph leapt off the coffin, approaching Twilight with impressive speed. She quickly stood in front of the lavender mare, placing one of her thin hands at the base of Twilight’s neck. The unicorn could feel her shivering. But more than that, she felt Aisling turning her, forcing her with a significant level of strength to look at the far wall.

It was the same wall she gazed at before. The wall with the swaying colors of Brendan before Aisling, holding seeds of green with a coat of tan.

“Brendan stopped her.” Aisling spoke with a cold tone, her hand pointing towards the obvious figure. “He sealed her. He stopped her from taking everything, from ruining everything.”

“Her terrors stretch far beyond the boundaries of lore.” The suddenness of Zecora’s voice made Twilight turn an eye. The zebra, however, appeared no more collected than she did only a few moments ago. “I would expect nothing less from a goddess of war.”

But her words were still impossible to ignore.

“Wait, war?!” Dash incredulously asked the zebra, who only gave a shuddering breath before turning her head to the ground. The pegasus turned her head back to the nymph, hand still against Twilight’s fur. “Macha is a god of war?!” Aisling did not even shake or flinch at the words as they were bellowed by the mare. “How did this Brendan dude stop something like that?!”

“With the book.”

There was no hesitation in the answer. More than that, there was hope. From the moment Aisling had laid eyes on the tomb, this was the first time her voice sounded even remotely similar to the care-free nymph they found in the forest. Carefully, Twilight removed the Fae’s hand from her neck, turning to look her in the eye.

“Aisling,” she began. “How did Brendan seal Macha? What did the book do?” The Fae turned her gaze away from the unicorn. “Aisling please,” Twilight lightly encouraged. “If Macha did escape, we’re going to have to know how to reseal it.”

“Twi?” Applejack spoke, interrupting the unicorn. The mare gave a light sigh before turning to see the farm pony. What she did not expect was to see both Applejack and Apple Bloom staring wide-eyed at something now behind her.

Her eyes looked back at Aisling, hoping the Fae was looking back at her again. Instead, she too was gazing beside the mare, her features no longer in the terrified state they once were. Her trembling was gone, her form still, but her eyes as wide as the moment Twilight and her friends walked into this cavern.

Turning her gaze, Twilight followed their eyesight. What they beheld was deserving of their silence.

A figure stood just beside Brendan’s coffin, tall and lean in stature. Had Twilight seen the shape only a few hours earlier, she would have said she’d never seen anything like it before in her life. After meeting Aisling, however, that was no longer the case.

The figure stood on two legs, standing far taller than Aisling, Applejack, or any of the ponies. A mane of red hung from its head, wrapping around its chin, bordering just below its lightly-protruding nose. Its skin was pale, eyes blue, clothes hardly a shade darker, and a smile over its lips that was impossible to ignore. But more than that, there was thing that Twilight could only equate to magic surrounding the being.

Simply, it was glowing.

An aura of brilliant yellow surrounded it, lightly moving around it much like the aura of a unicorn’s magic. Vibrant gold, auspicious yellow, and calming white. They were all colors Twilight was familiar and never felt anything short of peace while in their presence.

“Brendan?”

Twilight had to fight to look away from the figure, turning back to the Fae just beside her. Said nymph was lightly walking forward, stepping cautiously towards the taller figure. It was the first time Twilight had seen the nymph so cautious. This was a day of firsts.

The creature smiled, its lips widening until the whites of its teeth shone downwards.

“Hello Aisling,” the white robed shape spoke in a mature voice, its tone as kind and warm as the soft aura that glowed around it. “It has been a long time.”

Aisling embraced his legs. Brendan laughed lightly as he placed his hands behind her back.

Celestia stared at the odd creature before her, a storm of emotions churning within her. She felt rage, for this was doubtlessly the monster that had so easily, and so carelessly, harmed one of her ponies. She felt disgust, as the creature resembled nothing that she had ever seen before, wearing silk redder than blood and a mane darker than the night. But more than anything else, she felt what she abhorred to feel.

She felt fear, because this was a monster that had walked into her castle, walked to her throne, and now stared her down, all without a dash of effort. There was little she knew of this beast, and thus, no way to predict what could happen.

Celestia knew she had to learn more.

“What do you mean my god?” She questioned sternly, raising her stature to its tallest, meeting eye level with the oddly shaped beast. The dark-maned figure only smiled in amusement, her cheeks and eyes relaxed as she stared at the alicorn.

“It means as I say. I created you, and thus, I am your god.” The simplicity to which the monster spoke only made the diarch’s legs flex, preparing for an assault she could only predict.

The creature had yet to move since her entrance, instead staring at the diarch unmoving beyond the gates to Celestia’s hall. She couldn’t hear a breeze, yet it was clear the creature’s gown flowed. She didn’t feel the chill of cold, yet her fur stood on edge. The only thing Celestia was sure of was that the creature was magical, and more than likely, a threat to her and her ponies’ well-being.

“You created me,” Celestia repeated carefully. “Created my ponies as well. For what purpose would you have created life only to leave it?” Macha’s head fell to her side, staring at the alicorn with a blank gaze. It did little to ease the dread that slowly churned in the diarch’s chest.

“It is odd,” Macha noted, caring little for the question the princess spoke. “So easily have the rest of the steeds bowed to me upon my approach.”

Celestia felt her chest constrict.

“What do you mean by that?” She hastily accused, daring to take a step forward as she did so. When the creature did not respond, the diarch did one further. “What have you done to my ponies, monster?” The last word was spat as an insult and the creature took it as one.

The hovering chill that clung to Celestia became a deep freeze as its posture straightened, taking strides towards the alicorn. Celestia stood her ground as it approached, unwilling to give this creature anything.

But her defiance did little when it grabbed her muzzle with a deadly cold hand, holding her in place like an undisciplined pet.

“Mind your tongue beast.” The creature demanded in a voice close to that of the arctic winds.  “You may yet be able to resist my presence, but I am still your god and creator, and I will not allow such a loose tongue to bare itself to me.”

Celestia attempted to pull her head back, flapping her wings to escape the grip of the monster, but she did little more than tear a few hairs from her muzzle. She clenched her eyes in rage, alighting her horn with magic. She sent a beam of her raw power at the pale figure, unrestrained with her might.

The golden shine of her magic swallowed the room, blinding herself as it was pushed forth. She felt the hand holding her jaw release, allowing her to retreat. Celestia’s magic, however, did not cease its assault. She felt her concentration waning the longer she forced her magic forward, clenching her useless eyes shut as she commanded more and more of her ethereal force to smite the foe that so easily assaulted her.

Then, with a slow decline, the ringing of her magic began to cease, returning vision to the room once more. Celestia opened her eyes, thinking she would see nothing but dust and ashes in the wake of the creature, a pile that would be blown into the wind.

Instead she saw the figure still, holding nothing but a hand before itself.

Her red cloth was no more damaged than before, her black mane still blowing in an unfelt wind, and her eyes colder than the surface of ice. The snarl across her lips bode little good to the diarch. Celestia steeled herself once more, fanning her wings as she summoned an aura about her horn.

“Leave here!” She commanded strongly, furrowing her brow as she commanded the creature. “You are not welcome in my lands!”

“How do you resist me so?” The monster asked in disregard to the solar princess’ command. Its pale limb slowly fell to its side, though its angered features did not turn. “Not a thing of my creation has ever before resisted my will. Yet you…”

The goddess lifted its opposite hand towards the still defensive alicorn, pointing at her with an extended finger. Celestia repositioned her hooves, readying herself to jump. Instead though, the creature spoke on.

“You do not only resist, you attack. You dare to harm the goddess that gave your entire species life, permitted you to even grace Ernmas’s land.” As ready as she was for another attempt on her life, Celestia absorbed everything the creature spoke. She knew not what delusions made this pale creature believe she made her ponies, but she knew even less of who Ernmas was.

“I resist the wishes, demands, and delusions of all who attempt to harm my ponies. As a princess of these lands, it is my duty, my honor, and my right to strike down those who desire to do so.” Celestia spoke with the tone of a ruler, letting not a trace of fear or cowardice seep into her words. The former was difficult, but the latter was simple. She had no cowardice to show.

Then the creature’s eyes opened.

They gazed at Celestia with something the diarch could not place. It was difficult to read the emotions of a thing she had never seen before.

Slowly, Macha let her arm descend, her gaze slowly falling as her lips relaxed until they were placed again in the same placid expression of ease she had before. Celestia preferred the anger. Anger was always easy to predict, no matter the gender, race, or species.

“So that is.” The creature’s words came out as an epiphany, a dawning realization to something Celestia had yet to even grasp. “You have been blessed by the Stone of Fal.”

The creature released an audible breath of air as she finished speaking. Celestia did not let her guard drop, too sure that this beast would only try something new now. Her suspicions were nearly confirmed when she saw one of the pale slender appendages of the creature clench, pulling its dull claws against its palm.

“And I was sure the last of the treasures vanished with the death of the mortal.” The question to ask was too obvious, and if the diarch’s luck lasted, it would draw out the inevitable conversation.

“What mortal?”

“Brendan,” Twilight spoke the name testingly, watching as the figure offered his kind blue gaze to the mare. His arms never left the Fae still embracing him. “The same Brendan that… helped Aisling?” He smiled at her, nodding as he did so. The action was as warm as the air around him.

“The one and the same,” he spoke in the soothing voice like before, clearer than water and twice as smooth. “Though a fair amount of time has passed.”

“Too much time.” The quiet voice of Aisling uttered against his robes, her hands pulling at the alabaster cloth. “Brendan, I thought I would never see you again.”

“You’re appearance is nothing short of a gift,” Zecora spoke, slowly walking to stand beside Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “Though I now must question how you came from the rift.”

“Yeah, that… that is a good question.” Rainbow agreed with a nodding head. “I mean, this is awesome, like, insanely cool, but… well I thought you were dead.”

“Rainbow!” Twilight lightly cajoled the pegasus, pushing her as she did so. The mare only looked back with a miffed expression.

“What?” She genuinely asked. “I’m serious. The way Aisling is acting, I’m pretty sure this isn’t normal, even by her standards.”

“No, you are right.” Brendan spoke, earning the full attention of the ponies and nymph gripping his clothes. “I did pass, a long time ago. In this very room in fact.” He raised his hand until it was across the top of Aisling’s head, lightly rubbing her pale hair. The Fae squirmed gently under the pressure, the unmistakable sound of giggling coming from the nymph. “You never did change, Aisling.”

The words served to brighten the nymph’s already soaring hopes.

“You are Brendan!” She cheered gleefully, her smile wide and exultant. “You came back! And you are younger!” Twilight stopped her there.

“Younger?” The unicorn questioned, her logical mind slowly retaking the ground it lost to shock. “But… What happened?” She questioned earnestly, looking at the tall orange-haired creature and back down to the pale Fae. “What happened that made you seal this place? That hurt you? That… that did everything!”

A slow silence filled the room, the mares present turning their attention from the unicorn to the odd couple next to the stone coffin. Brendan looked down, letting his eyes look to Aisling’s large green orbs. The nymph looked back up to him, smiling lightly as she did so. Brendan returned it earnestly.

“Are you keeping secrets again Aisling?” Brendan spoke with a teasing tone, his features anything but serious. The Fae giggled at the act, but only twirled as she answered.

“I didn’t hide anything. I answered what they asked, honestly too. They are only here because I found a new friend.” The nymph finished her spin, stopping as she faced the earth pony siblings across the room.

Lights of blue danced across the walls behind them, illuminating the pair’s orange fur with a mixture of the light as well as Brendan’s still glowing aura. Apple Bloom looked back at the Fae, her form still leaning tightly against her elder sibling. Brendan followed her gaze, smiling at the pair of ponies as his eyes landed on them.

“It is nice to meet you.” He spoke kindly with a light bow, still almost towering over anyone else present. “I am Brendan, Keeper of the Book of Kells.” Aisling danced beneath him as she clarified the hanging question.

“The book that turned darkness… into light.”

Pieces were falling into place in Twilight’s mind, but there were still too many vacancies to call anything a theory just yet.

“It’s… It’s a pleasure ta meet ya Brendan.” Applejack spoke with unease clear on her tone, but honestly just as prevalent across her words. Her forehoof lightly nudged her little sister, who trotted forward under the force. The filly stumbled slightly, but not with any sense of nervousness or disdain.

To the contrary, her eyes were wide with wonder, staring up at the taller creature. Her jaw hung open, held upwards only by the skin of her cheeks. When her lips began to move, they asked a question no one expected.

“You’re the friend Aisling said she raced before, aren’t ya?” The question caught the tall figure by surprise, forcing his eyes to widen before making his smile grow. A genuine strain of laughter came from him.

“Yes, a long time ago. When we first met, and before I first had to leave.” He placed his hand over the nymph’s head again.

This time, however, Aisling reached up with her slender arms, wrapping her pale fingers around his much larger hand, holding it in place. They both smiled at the action.

“Uh, excuse me?” Twilight cautiously interrupted the pair. When her voice earned their attention without apprehending gazes, she spoke on. “I know this is the first time you two have met in a long while, but… but I think we really have to know why you are here, don’t we?”

Twilight felt a pit of dread climb into body when she saw the cheerful look on Brendan’s face fade, his hand sliding from Aisling’s head. The Fae blinked as he did so, turning to look at him when his arm left her. He sighed before he spoke.

“You are right, unfortunately.” Brendan admitted, looking down at his long time friend with a somber expression, “As much I love seeing you again after all this time, I cannot say I have returned only to enjoy your company once more.”

“What has happened?” Aisling asked now, looking at glowing friend. “Brendan, what happened to the eye?” The tall figure shut his eyes for a moment longer than a blink before he opened them again. When he did, he looked not only at Aisling, but the ponies present as well.

“Aisling trusts you all enough to show you here.” He spoke first, nodding towards the five mares as she did so. “I have always trusted her with my life and never once was that trust broken. Aisling,” he spoke the Fae’s name as he looked down on her once more. “Do you want me to tell them? Do you mind?”

The nymph didn’t hesitate to shake her head.

“They are friends, and one has lived in my forest for some time. They are kind, so they should know.” Dash was having her normally thin patience worn to its critical limit.

“Know what?” The pegasus asked. “We have like a million questions right now. What did the Macha try to do? How did you stop her? Why did you seal the gate? How did you seal the gate? And why is this all happening again?”

BEGIN

Brendan smiled as he looked upwards, letting the silence linger before he answered. Twilight followed his gaze. Above them were more shifting colors, lines flowing with fluid traces of tints and hues of the light spectrum. Dancing like water, twisting like air, and as beautiful to gaze across as the endless landscape of the Equestrian country.

“After I helped Aisling rid her forest of Crom, I was forced to leave.” Twilight forced her vision back to gaze at Brendan. His eyes had yet to leave the ceiling high above. “I traveled the lands of Ireland with my mentor, spending the years hearing stories, telling tales, and shaping the book with a tool taken from the clutches of an ancient beast.”

“The Eye of Crom.” Twilight clarified, making sure her visual catalog of information was correct. The smile from the still ethereally glowing figure was all the confirmation she needed.

“When I returned, it was to find my home. My home that was ravaged by the Northman, taken from my people and me. I hoped to find something there, anything that would show me not all was lost in a world being ravaged by darkness. I found not one thing, but two.” His hand lightly fell over Aisling. Again the Fae gripped his hand, holding his far larger limb closer to her.

“My uncle survived the assault, and I was able to show him the book I spent years crafting; years of my life, my mentor’s life, and his mentor’s life. Years of work, generations of talent, all to create a book that would make the darkest of times be filled with the brightest of hopes.” The man took a slow breath before he continued. “I was able to show it to him; The Book of Kells. Not a few hours later did he pass.”

“Oh,” Twilight lightly spoke, kind to the sorrowful memories he was sifting through. “I’m sorry.” Brendan only smiled as his gaze finally fell from the color-dancing ceiling.

“It’s alright. He left this world in peace, and I was glad to help him do so. What is important, however, is not my last meeting with my family, but what transpired much later.” His eyes turned away from the small crowd again, looking at a far wall.

Twilight and the ponies around her followed his gaze, looking at another portrait of shifting hues. Unlike the many other reliefs and moving colors of the rooms around, this one did much more. It did not simply have moving colors, but it also had moving shapes.

Entire figures slowly moved across the portrait, shifting around one another with synchronicity and beauty. The circles turned like clockwork gears, normal blocks of colors swimming as if they contained water. Twisted lines that spun around one another loosened and tightened in a mesmerizing dance, drawing the eyes of the mare present as well as all of her friends.

But more than that, each mare saw something different.

Zecora, whose golden gaze was used to the oddities normally kept from pony eyes, looked past the moving portrait and saw the workings beneath. She saw the small figures shifting beneath the colors and shapes, guiding the lines and twisting the gears.

Applejack saw richness unlike anything she’d seen before. Like a tree aged to perfection, every limb, root, and twig of the picture was perfectly groomed. Every time she looked to see something different, she found it. Every time she looked back to see if it was still there, it was.

Rainbow Dash saw not a picture to admire, but an abyss. It wasn’t the cold and dreary darkness so many ponies feel, it was the opposite. It was the abyss she wanted. It was an endless place for flight and fancy, where she could stretch her wings and soar without fear of those around her, without the restraints of the grounds below or the thin air above. To her, it was freedom, in every shade and hue.

Apple Bloom looked at it with a feeling she had been desiring to feel all her young life. Her entire youth was so far filled with dreams of finding who she was, of discovering that talent no other pony could match. When that day would come, she knew, she just knew, that she would feel what she was feeling now. Unrestrained joy and happiness.

Twilight, for all of her intellect, vocabulary, and studies could only think of one word that described the image.

Beautiful.

STOP

Youtube Video

RESUME

“I shared that image with anyone who wished to see.” Brendan spoke on, letting the mares continue to draw themselves into the image of the moving picture. “I spent the many years I still had to my life traveling the lands, letting those who were in the midst of darkness know that there was still light in the world.”

“Slowly, over time, the age of the North Men came to an end. The darkness was lifting over my land, and my people began to feel hope once more.” The silence that followed his words was tenser than it should have been. “But then everything changed.”

STOP

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Applejack spoke up.

“That’s because you have good instincts.” Brendan complimented with a smile towards the mare. “But you are right. It was not a change that benefitted the world. Because it wasn’t one the world wished to make.”

“This… this was when Macha came, isn’t it?” Twilight ventured, tracing the lines in her mind as they connected. Much like Applejack before her, Brendan nodded as he responded to her question.

“Yes,” he spoke simply, his voice barren of the light his body continued to project. “And it was because of my actions.” Even with the warmth of his voice, his aura, and friendship about him, Twilight felt a chill through her coat.

“Why is that?”

BEGIN

“The point was sealed.” The ethereal voice of Macha spoke to the diarch, her steps slowly moving around the alicorn. Celestia mimicked the action, slowly trotting away from the self-proclaimed god. “A beast from the realm of magic had made the center his home. Like the mindless beast it so very much was, it took the magic of that flowed from the Ley Lines, eating until it could eat no more.”

“It fed on magic,” Celestia clarified, her eyes watching every detail of the pale figure closely. “It ate the life blood of the world.” With her keen eyes, it was impossible to miss the clear grin the dark maned monster gave her.

“Indeed.” The creature raised one of her arms, letting it slowly trace down her opposite arm. Celestia only imagined it was the path of a vein. “The beast was beyond the comprehension of the mortals around it, naming it after things they also could not understand.”

The creatures hand rose away from her arm, lifting into the air until her open palm sat in the air.

“The dark one, crooked beast, the sin taker, there were many names, but there was ever only one that I preferred.” Macha retracted her slender fingers until only one remained extended.

“Crom Cruach.”

“Crom!?” Dash shouted in shock. “That Crom dude was keeping Macha away?!” Brendan nodded slowly at her words.

“He did, and he was, though I am sure it was not his intent.” Brendan looked back down to Aisling, holding the Fae close to him as he spoke on. The nymph was only too eager to lean back against her long passed friend. “Crom was not a beast with origins in this world. He came from the realm of which the Ley Lines grew, the world that has no shape or form, only magic.” His kind eyes looked back to Twilight, smiling at her near sparkling eyed expression. “It is not as fun as you think.”

“Huh? You’ve… you’ve been there?” Twilight breathlessly asked. The very idea of a world of only magic fascinated her to no end. Here, in a place saturated with the magic of a Ley Line Focal Point, she could lift a stone the weight of tons until it flew into orbit. In a place of only magic, with nothing to weaken its presence, Twilight couldn’t pass the idea that she could create life of her own.

“I did, when I ventured into Crom’s lair. I’m sure Aisling told you that I slew him, right?” The Fae smiled up to him, nodding with her gleaming green eyes. Brendan spoke on. “Crom was a beast that fed from the world, and its appetite took too much from her.” It was only too obvious who ‘her’ was. “When I fell into his lair, I was taken from this world and into his. There, I took his eyes, blinding him, trapping him in his world forever more. And it is there I have trapped him since.”

“That must’ve taken a mighty fine amount of courage ta do.” Applejack genuinely complimented the taller creature, adjusting the brim of her hat as she did so. “But how did that help this Macha thing?” Brendan released a breath of air as he continued to recall.

“Because Crom sealed the gate between our worlds with his, taking any magic that came near him, be it from the Ley Lines that were once so rich, or the lives that lived near by.” Aisling gripped his robe a bit harder. Brendan paid no mind. “With him gone, and decades passed, the magic flowed once more. And with the release of that magic came a new beast.”

“Crom…” Celestia began, but stopped herself. She couldn’t instigate this foe. This beast, this Macha, was strong enough to withstand her magic with barely a hoof’s distance between them. She had to learn more before she allowed another strike to fly. “Crom prevented you from awakening?”

“Not prevented, resisted.” Macha continued to circle the diarch, and so too did Celestia let her slow trot around the dark haired monster to remain. “As great as I am, I had not the power to command a beast of the magical realm. Crom and his brethren bowed to no god of any standing, but not for his great strength, rather, his great inanity.”

“Inanity?” Celestia mimed. “I do not understand.”

“As I said, he was a beast, mindless in purpose or intellect. He wished to feed on the magic of the world, and he did. His feasting, however, weakened the hold I had over the forest.” The creature let her arm slowly descend until her slender hand was just before her cold eyes. She gazed at it as if to look for something new. “The lifeblood of the world is my lifeblood. When Crom feasted, he took that power from me. As unintentional as it was, he prevented my actions through his own.”

“And when he was defeated?” Celestia questioned, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer. “What did you do then?” The creature smiled as faintly as any other expression she had given. But it was the words Macha spoke, not the lips she curled, that made Celestia’s breath catch.

“I began to retake my land.”

“The dark times of the North Men ended only to begin a time for the Old Ones.” Brendan spoke his words without joy, without peace. If not for the warm aura that continued to exude from him, Twilight was sure she’d feel a chill at the implications.

“Old Ones…” Dash repeated, licking her lips as her mind connected dots she was only half-way sure of. “That… That includes this Macha thing?” Instead of the tall figure, however, it was Aisling that answered the pegasus.

“Yes.” The Fae responded with a shake of her head. “She came from long ago. Before me, far before me. But she was gone, gone before Crom.”

“A terrible creature that let no creature stay,” Zecora spoke from the back, narrating her own knowledge of this Macha. “Such was her power as a Fae.” That got a reaction.

“This Macha’s a Fae?” Applejack asked the zebra. It was short question, as her attention quickly turned to the other current nymph in the room. “She’s like you? She ain’t like this Crom?”

“No,” Brendan spoke once more, his head shaking lightly and his orange hair shifting as he did so. “Macha was… is a god. Her power was drawn from the Ley Lines and, like all Fae, she needs to be near their point of origin.” Twilight did not miss the way his hand pulled Aisling a bit closer to him. “When Crom was defeated, and the center was opened again, she came back.”

“But what did she do?” Apple Bloom asked, speaking to the pair without fear, only confusion. “She sounds like a meanie, but what did she do to ya?”

Twilight had not missed a single action of Brendan thus far, so enraptured with everything about him that her mind refused to let even the minute details slip. That was why it was impossible for her to miss the way his free hand clenched.

When he answered the filly, his words told too much.

“Crom took Aisling’s people. Macha took mine.”

Celestia’s eyes could not open further.

Her trotting had stopped as she stared at Macha, watching the beast so easily confessed so heinous a crime. Her broad wings fell, nearly grazing the floor in their descent. The silence between them was thick. Yet, despite the clear horror written over the diarch’s features, the dark haired goddess only continued to look back at her, smiling faintly as a summer’s soft breeze, as if expecting an encomium.

She thought it was a game and that she believed she was winning. Worse yet, Celestia knew she was.

“You killed them.” Celestia repeated what she had heard, her voice hardly audible even through the still air. “You killed an… entire species…”

“They no longer worshipped me. They no longer knew me.” The admittance was warmer than the cold logic the goddess gave. “It was asimple thing without the others. The Ley Lines were rich once more, and it allowed me to return. When I did, I returned to a land that looked to the abstract, worshipping emotions over things.”

“But why did you kill them?” Celestia asked once more. “You claim to be a goddess, a ruler to those below you. Why not teach, guide, or aid them? Why did you kill an entire species.”

“It is easier to create something anew than to repair what is broken.” Macha’s eyes looked at Celestia, looking down at the alicorn. “They knew of me before, and they worshipped me as your steeds have already done. To create with the Ley Lines is a far easier task than to mend with my hands.”

Celestia felt bile rising from her throat, causing her chest to constrict painfully. This was beyond any horror she was forced to observe in her long rule. Not the trials of Discord, rebellion of Sombra, or even the betrayal of her sister compared to the evil of which this Macha so easily told. Her wings shuddered as she righted herself, steeling her eyes forward.

“You claim it was so simple,” she began to challenge the deity, her hooves digging into the stone as she spoke. “Yet here you stand without a kingdom, a people, or a crown. You were defeated by those you attempted to kill, weren’t you?”

Macha did not adopt the anger Celestia now wished to burn, the reminder that this creature was not the goddess she claimed to be, omnipotent and powerful. But instead, the black maned creature slowly blinked, her eyes turning tiredly from the alicorn and to one of the many painted glasses across the room.

“Defeated.” Macha spoke the word charily, working it through her ethereal voice. “I was defeated by one of the many I attempted to end, but not by him alone. He had a tool that did not belong to his people.”

“I returned to Aisling’s forest to find much of it gone.” Brendan’s inviting tone was gone, lost beneath the chill of his memories. “It was little different than the rest of the land. Trees burned, homes destroyed, and lives lost.”

Apple Bloom shirked her way back to her sister, searching for an embrace with her kin. Applejack easily took the filly inter her hooves, letting her little sister lean against her. The sniffling was far more than simply understandable; it was expected.

“At that time… I was old, far older than any of the warriors that attempted to resist Macha. But I had an idea that could stop her. Aisling,” His attention turned to the Fae still beside him, gripping his white robe tightly. “You didn’t approve.” She looked up at him before she spoke.

“You know why.” It was a statement, not her tone nor words giving room for otherwise. “You told me when you found me. You said goodbye…” The nymph’s head fell against the taller figure’s legs, all the signal Brendan needed to place his hands behind her back. “You used the book. You used your life.”

If not for the already cold air, Twilight was sure she would have been frozen.

“His what?” The unicorn spoke, her shock palpable. “You what?” Her question was quickly redirected to Brendan, who looked back at her with a somber expression. She watched his eyes look beside and around her, doubtlessly to the other ponies in the room. Twilight was not the only one that had the look of horror on her face.

“I spent my life writing the Book of Kells,” Brendan spoke on, his hand rubbing slow circles over Aisling’s back. “Over the many years I showed it to the people of the land, it became not simply a portray of hope, but a vessel. It was blessed by many lives, many tears, and many prayers.” The unicorn watched lips begin to form words, but then quickly change into something else. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“Tools of metal and wood could not defeat Macha, but I saw that text of wishes and prayers could. When I confronted her, in the very place where we now stand, I let prayers kept within the text free. They weakened her, turned her into a state where her power meant nothing.” Brendan gave a small smile, but Twilight wasn’t sure why. “That was when I used the Eye of Crom to seal the portal, trapping her and ceasing her reign.”

“You gave your life for the safety of all,” Zecora spoke with reverence in her words, “Now I know why you don a white shawl.”

“He was a fool of a boy.” Macha described the man with disdain, a faceless figure that Celestia now swore she would revere past this moment. “His actions changed little in the wake of my plans, only prolonged them for eras I could little stand.”

“It sounds as if he did end your plans.” Celestia challenged, but only so much. Instigation was working wonders, but too much would earn scorn. Scorn would be met with violence, and she was not yet sure she could endure the magic of a creature that slew a species from the planet.

“No, he did not.” Macha’s eyes looked beyond the diarch and to the throne, the golden seat at the end of the hall. Her pale bare feet slowly carried her towards the object. “His people are still gone. Their monuments now naught but dust. Their history is lost.” She stopped enough to give Celestia the coldness of her gaze, the smallest ghost of a smile about her lips.

“You are proof that my steeds are now my new people.”

Celestia let the horror of her words absorb her as she stood frozen like stone, staring at the creature that continued its march. Macha walked gracefully across the floor, the dark of her mane flowing behind her and red of her dress lightly licking the air. Her feet made hardly a sound as they ascended and descended.

The dairch could summon little will to stop the goddess as she walked up the golden steps, turning as she reached their apex. Her tattered red dress lightly whipped about her, stopping only when she leant back.

Macha easily, inconsiderately, placed herself on the Throne of Canterlot.

“You see it now.” She commented to the stunned alicorn, her head lifting up till Celestia could see the underside of her chin. “You see now why it was so easy for me to enter this place, to walk to your presence and past your guards. Time has passed, but your species of mortal are far better to serve then the men from before. You, and your steeds, are far more understanding of power.”

“I do not.” Celestia challenged.

Her wings rose back to her sides, extending to increase her already grand stature, moving until she stood in front of her own invaded throne. Macha watched her with the same cold eyes, but the diarch felt a fire inside of her great enough to rid her form of the cold.

“I stand before you with only the thought of your wickedness. I see no good in your actions nor reason to follow. You are a monster, a murderer, and I will not allow my ponies or myself to ever see you as anything but this.” Celestia took pleasure in the faint snarl that curled the goddess’s lips.

“Your plans have already ended, as you said, yet here stands one of your creations, challenging your rule as the men from long past.” The diarch let magic flow into her horn. “So long as there are those who challenge the tyrants, your dream of rule is just a fantasy.”

“My words were that my plans were not ended, merely extended.” Macha crossed her legs on the throne, looking down at the alicorn as she interlaced her pallid fingers. “There is still much I must do.”

“The Eye of Crom kept Macha away, sealing the Ley Lines from her use. I returned the Eye at the cost of my life, but so that the world continued to live.” Brendan turned his eyes back to the Fae at his legs, smiling at her with the warmth that matched the glow around him. “And much good must have happened after my passing. You’re still here.”

The Fae caught on quick.

“And it’s still my forest.” Brendan laughed as Aisling giggled at her words, a familiar mantra the two shared, and now one the ponies understood. Twilight smiled at the affections the two shared.

“So, you’re back to stop Macha again then, right?” The question from Dash took the unicorn by a small amount of surprise, but she caught on quick to the pegasus’s logic. “I mean, that’s why you’re back. She broke out or something and you’re here to make sure she stays down this time.”

Twilight did not like the somber expression Brendan had.

STOP

A still collected in the air, eyes turning up and towards the tall figure, his own eyes avoiding the collective of gazes focused on him. Aisling’s bright smile slowly faded until it was but a ghost, then a phantom, then gone. Her green eyes stared at her old friend, waiting to hear the words that agreed with the pegasus. They weren’t coming.

“No,” Brendan finally spoke. His head lightly shook as he spoke, stopping only when he looked back at Aisling.

He stepped away from her, though not far. Only far enough for him to descend to one knee, to let his eyes reach the same level as the nymph that had guided and aided him so many centuries ago. She looked back at him, her eyes vulpine and unsure.

“Brendan?” She spoke his name like a question. He didn’t respond. “Brendan, you’re back. What’s wrong?”

“Aisling,” he spoke, raising his arms to rest on her shoulders. “You know I am not really here.”

The words did little good for the Fae.

“Yes you are,” she argued, her thin hands raising to grip one of her larger arms. “I can touch you, I can hear you, and I can see you. You are here, that is what it means.” The spirit’s head shook once more.

“No,” he spoke again. “I am there.”

His free hand lifted from Aisling’s shoulder traveling a short distance in the air before resting on the stone coffin beside them, his coffin, his tomb. The swallow in Aisling’s throat was audible.

“I am here to warn you, to warn them.” Brendan’s eyes turned to the ponies watching them, caught with their guilty voyeurism. “Macha has returned to finish what she began so long ago, but I can no longer act to stop her. All I can do now is share a message, a secret that will guide you and your friends.”

Aisling didn’t speak, she didn’t know what to say. Twilight felt her jaw shiver as Brendan began to rise. She suspected what was happening, saw it as the logical step to how the spirit of a long past life was acting, but she didn’t want to accept it. She couldn’t.

“Macha is strong, and her plans are sinister, but she does not plan to enact them alone.” He took in a slow breath before speaking again. “The book tells of how to stop her, of where to stop her, though not what her plans are.”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Dash spoke up, trotting lightly forward before stopping. “Hold on, you’re talking like… you’re not gonna be here.” Rainbow felt her ears fold when Brendan turned to look at her. She saw in her eyes what she hated to see anyone’s eyes.

Pain.

“It is because I will not.” The gasps were only too expected. “My being here now is nothing more than a gift to answer my wish, and my wish was to keep Aisling safe.”

“Brendan,” said Fae spoke, holding his arm closer as she did so, “Where are you going? Why are you leaving me again?” Even with his smile, Twilight could only describe the look on Brendan’s face as sad.

“I’m going back, back to the Island of the Blest.” Brendan’s hand lifted and fell over Aisling’s, dwarfing the nymph’s smaller hands as he cupped them close. “I’m going back to my family, to be with my people.”

“No,” the Fae whispered miserably. Twilight felt a ball growing in her own throat. “No, you can stay, you can help. You help my forest. You belong here.” Her words became more and more desperate with every passing offer.

“But I don’t Aisling. I belong in the Land of the Young, the place where we all reside once we have past. Aisling,” Brendan’s hand cupped the Fae’s cheek. Tears ran down his palms as he did so. “I lived my life once already. I do not have the right to return to it.”

“But you can,” the nymph continued to implore. “You’re here now, you can stay. Please stay.” The nymph turned her head into the hand she held, pushing her weight into the touch of her long time friend.

She pushed right through him.

Aisling’s head whirled as her eyes opened wide. Her green eyes looked to her friend, horror and confusion written across her features.

Brendan was fading.

“Brendan!” She cried, reaching for him once more. Her hands passed through him. Twilight and her friends gasped behind her, frozen still by the sight. Aisling was little different, her hands held outwards, grasping through the cloak of her friend.

“I’m sorry Aisling,” Brendan spoke once more, the golden aura about him fading, his form turning into nothing. “I have done all that I can. The island is calling me back.”

“No!” The Fae cried again. “No! Don’t go! Brendan, don’t!” Her desperate pleas did not stop his vanishing body. Only more began to fade with each cold passing moment.

“It’s alright, Aisling.” He spoke once more, regretfully once more. “I’ll see you again. I promise.”

And then he was gone.

“Brendan!” Aisling cried as she reached for the fading light, grabbing at nothing. The warmth and brightness of the spirit’s aura gone.

“Brendan!” The Fae jumped at the light, once more holding onto nothing. She fell to the floor in a heap.

“Brendan…” The nymph was still on the stone, weak sobs racking her small form.

The glow of the lights around them only served to make the sight of the weeping Fae more sorrowful, the moving colors painting the image of sorrow. Her hair cocooned her, pale white strands distorted across the cold stone floor.

Tears fell down Twilight’s cheeks, unable to think of a single thing to say. Dash, not far from beside her, had her wings against the ground, hanging from her sides pitifully. Applejack had moved her hat over her eyes, keeping hidden the expression of grief she hated to wear. Zecora bowed her head, letting her own tears lip from her golden eyes.

Apple Bloom, however, was galloping.

It took a moment for Twilight to realize what the sound was, the clopping of hooves over the stone. When she was able to focus her gaze, she saw the filly quickly running for the nymph. A moment later, the little filly had her hooves around the Fae.

“Ah’m sorry,” the earth pony foal spoke in a miserable tone against the pale mane of Aisling. “Ah’m so sorry.”

In a flash, the nymph wrapped her own slender arms around the filly.

Her cries were more audible, the sight of her crying body more clear, and the dread only that much easier to see. The two embraced one another, unclear as to whom was comforting whom.

Twilight watched, tears still running down her muzzle, as Zecora joined the pair, her stripped legs wrapping around the smaller two beings, her head nuzzling over the Fae’s pale hair. It took only a short amount of time before Applejack joined them, her plaintive nature obvious even with her hat hiding her features. Rainbow Dash settled behind them, her wings and hooves blanketing the ponies beneath her, tears falling over the mares and nymph.

Twilight felt her hooves moving before she was aware she told them to. Her trot was slow, her mind still hazed by the scene she had witnessed. When she was standing just before the Fae and her friends, she wrapped her forelegs around the group of ponies, tightly holding onto them.

“I’m sorry Aisling,” she miserably whispered, clenching her legs around the group tight. “I’m so so sorry.”

Aisling let none of them go.

Second Encounters

Luna was barreling down the halls with a hasteful pace. Her hooves tore at the carpet, forcing the chandeliers and candles to rattle at her passing, caution left to the wind.

It was only moments ago that a member of Celestia’s Guard found her in her chambers, sleeping in preparation for the night. But the guard was not as she remembered them to be. His posture was too relaxed, his eyes unfocused, smile obvious, and, above anything else, completely disrespectful.

He awoke her with a rough push, making the dark alicorn turn in her bed. The motion was more than enough to jostle the mare, who was quick to point her disgruntled nature at the stallion. Yet, even with a irritable alicorn gazing at him with the intensity of a solar eclipse, he did little more than sway from side to side.

It was when he spoke that Luna switched from annoyance to panic.

“Our God waits for you in the main hall.”

Luna did more than simply ask the guard for clarification. She ordered, demanded,  and even pushed the pony for every meaning of such a cryptic yet damning phrase. Yet he did little more than move with the blows and smile at the demands. He was more passive to her words than the forest floor in a wind’s breeze.

That was when Luna began her gallop from her room, racing for the main hall that Celestia’s Guard had spoken of. She passed more than one other guard, and each had the same placid expression of peace and bliss about them. They did not bow to her in respect nor even acknowledge her presence. They did nothing at all.  For every one she passed, her pace quickened.

She felt no small amount of relief when she saw the golden doors to the main hall, already opened as she approached. Luna turned without stalling, galloping into the room with haste. Even as she ran forward, she took measure of what was before her.

The grand hall was empty, not a guard within its walls. No visitors either, no ponies seeking the counsel of her wise elder sister. But neither was there any destruction. The throne was still present, their emblems to their respective houses of the Sun and Moon, and every stain glass no different than before.

Then there was Celestia, standing still as stone and gazing away from the galloping dark alicorn.

“Sister!” Luna cried running towards Celestia with no decline in her pace. Only when she was but a few hooves distance from the sun princess did she expand her wings and cease her gallop, sliding some distance over the floor before she stopped. Celestia made only the smallest of motions with her eyes towards her.

“Sister,” Luna spoke again, softer than before but with no loss in alarm. “Celestia, what has happened?” The younger alicorn took deep breaths as she awaited for her sister’s answer.

Celestia however, only continued to gaze at her, making no motion or sign that she was preparing to speak. Her eyes were set on Luna, but that was all. They were hard, cold, but not thoughtful. If anything, Luna would have called them vicious.

“Tia?” The dark alicorn imploring spoke, her worry more focused on the mare before her than the guards behind her. “Celestia, please, what happened?” She watched the elder alicorn take a slow breath. Then, finally, she spoke.

“We were attacked, Luna.” The cold tone with which Celestia spoke chilled Luna far more than the words themselves.

“How?” The younger princess immediately demanded, not needing to be told twice what happened. “How did they subdue our guards? Where are they now?” Celestia shook her head before answering.

“There was only one.” The Princess of the Sun clarified. “Only one creature that was able to command the minds of all our ponies.” Luna did not miss the flare in Celestia’s nostrils, nor did she imagine the sudden fire that sparked in her cold eyes. “This is a threat unlike anything before, Luna. One that, dare I say, we are not prepared to face.” Luna grit her teeth at the words.

“Then I shall gather the Captains and send word to the other nations.” The dark alicorn was swift and wise with her decision. “We must be sure they are also vigilant for this beast.”

“They are not her concern.” Luna wasn’t sure if she should be enraged or terrified by Celestia’s comment. More than anything else, it was a comment she’d never heard her sister say before.

“Celestia, what are you speaking of?” Celestia hardened her already cold gaze, giving Luna an expression she had not seen for millennia, not since before her banishment. It was the gaze of a ruler forced to act, act in a way they did not wish to.

Both alicorns loathed such a gaze.

“The creature spoke with me for some time,” Celestia began to clarify, her words unmistakable. “Her name is Macha, and she is a beast that is older than all other life in this land and likely beyond. She called herself our creator, and thus, our god.” Luna had only time to swallow before her sister continued.

“In ways I dare not wish to see again, she demonstrated the truth of her words, that every pony throughout this land was made through her magic. So easily did she throw away my own strength, as if she had no care for my years of knowledge and wisdom.” It was with no shortness of surprise that Luna watched her usually collected sister snarl in rage. It looked unreal, seeking a visage of anger over her peaceful sibling.

“You… you surely jest,” Luna implored futilely. “Such a beast simply… appeared? How? Why wait for all this time?” The answer she received was not one she was prepared to hear.

“It is for the cause of her return that I must leave.”

Celestia’s wings expanded outwards instantly, nearly sending the younger alicorn reeling. A moment later and the alabaster mare had flung them downwards, sending her impressive stature into the air. It took all of that time and more for her younger sibling to react.

“Sister, wait!” Luna cried, stopping the elder mid-flight. “Where are you going? We must know! If this is truly such desperate times, then are we not entitled to aid you?”

Her words finally forced a calm over Celestia, giving a pregnant pause between the two. Celestia’s gaze softened at her younger sister’s worried expression. The needs of her own family were a thing the princess could never truly ignore.

“Macha proclaimed to me that she came from a Ley Line Focal Point, one that was sealed for millennia to possibly eons. She intended to rule all of our kind, yet I was proof that some could resist her sway. I have no doubt she intends to fulfill her goal, but her methods still elude me.” As helpful as it was, it was not enough for the still-frazzled Luna.

“Then where are you to go? Confronting such a beast alone is suicide!” Celestia had no argument of that fact.

“And I agree. To face an enemy such as this, we must first know her. Thus, I intend to search about this Focal Point she so proudly declared her freedom from. Perhaps then we may find the key to defeating her. And, fear not,” Celestia added as she saw Luna’s lips open again in protest. “I sent word before to young Twilight of this new Center of Magic. I intend to work with her and likely the rest of the elements as well. I will not be alone.”

“Then what of us? Me?” Luna did not need to clarify, for Celestia knew her sister better than any other, and there were ponies who knew her well.

“Awaken the controlled guards, and ensure the safety of the rest of our ponies... Do what you can, my sister.” Celestia commanded, speaking as her tall form hung in the air, her large wings beating with the strength of ten pegasi. “I shall return as swiftly as I can, but what I must do I cannot do from here.”

Then, with a flash of her horn, Celestia was gone.

BEGIN

It had been some time until Aisling’s tears subsided, her choked sobs fading away. She did not shy away from the embrace of the mares around her though. If anything, she huddled closer to their warmth, savoring the comfort. Even as color danced around them, the magic of the Ley Lines swimming around them, every mare there felt cold.

Slowly though, Aisling did move away from the ponies, lightly pushing with her unfathomable strength until she was free of their touch, leaving only the young Apple Bloom by her side. The filly refused to move away from her new friend, and the Fae was unwilling to tell her to leave. It left the rest staring at the pair mutely, all thinking of different things that circled around a single unavoidable subject. Dash broke the silence once more, with a phrase none of the mares could deny.

“This is… this is so unreal.”

The others found themselves nodding at the broken declaration, wondering if there was anything they could possibly add. Instead, they watched for Aisling and Apple Bloom for a moment longer, gazing at the pale nymph as she ran her hand over the filly’s mane, lightly combing her hairs. Their lips were moving, but they were too far away for the others to listen. Regardless, none felt comfortable eavesdropping.

“Unreal and unfathomable this may be, we cannot deny what we all see.” Zecora was the first to move her gaze away from the nymph, staring at the mares she hoped to converse with. Each turned their attention towards the zebra. “Brendan returned to warn us of danger, ensuring that when it came we would not be strangers. Powerful forces now roam these lands, likely from the forest to the far beaches’ sands.”

“There ain’t no denyin’ that somethin’ big is comin’, that much ain’t up for discussion.” Applejack agreed. “Ah’m more hung up on what we gotta do now, not even ta mention that Aisling is about the farthest thing from okay.”

“I’m afraid that there isn’t anything we can do for her, not yet at least.” Twilight let her own purple gaze fall on Aisling as she spoke, watching with pity-filled eyes as Apple Bloom cupped Aisling’s face with her hoof. “She needs friends right now, and that’s all that we can be for her; support. However, according to Brendan, we’re going to need his book in order to figure out how to stop this… Macha.”

“The Book of Kells is what he spoke, a text given power by the common folk. Its strength can challenge even a god, that alone should make it awed.” Zecora’s gaze fell to the coffin as she talked, the only part of the room that did not glow with any power.

“But Brendan didn’t say it was the book that we needed. He said it written in it what we needed.” Twilight clarified for the zebra. “I’m sure it has to reference key landmarks and artifacts from his time, but my concern is how well those will have survived the centuries of passing.”

“So we need to find his book so that we can find something else?” Dash asked for clarification, not at all pleased with the task. “Doesn’t that seem kind of roundabout?”

“Ah’m sure if it was that simple, he woulda done it the first time.” It was hard for anypony to argue with Applejack’s blunt remark. “But I gotta agree, Ah hate the idea of searchin’ for things Ah know nothin’ ‘bout, specially ta stop somethin’ powerful like this Macha gal is supposed ta be.”

“I may speak only in thoughts, but I believe I may have connected some dots.” Zecora’s words earned the collective mares’ attention. “If Macha was stopped by the write of a seal, then perhaps there are others she intends to reveal. If more of the Ley Lines begin to awake, then other things she will have to take. The Eye of Chrom kept this gate shut, then other things must hold these magical paths up.”

Twilight slowly found her head nodding as the zebra shared, agreeing with each point the wise forester made. By the end of it, her own ideas were coming forward, each one a possibility or thought she had to address.

“That makes sense, I mean, in the theory of magical seals, there has to be an item that acts as a ‘key’ to keep the powers locked away. Said objects have to be immensely powerful, especially to hide a Ley Line Font like this.” It didn’t take long for Rainbow Dash to throw up a hoof.

“Whoa there, hold on, what are you talking about keys and stuff? What does that have to do with anything?” Twilight blinked at the pegasus’s outburst, unsure of how to respond. A moment later she was ready to answer.

“Oh. Sorry Dash, I was thinking out loud.” Twilight lit her horn, ready to prepare a screen for the four of them to view, knowing with first-hoof experience how much easier it was to understand something through observation over lecture.

However, as her horn lit up with her familiar magic, Twilight felt the lack of magical stress once more. Not unlike when she lifted the stone outside, her horn was casting magic without even a passing breath of stress. Thankfully, her eyes were open, allowing her to better control the new source of magic.

Above them, a net of energy formed within a barrier of lavender ethereal energy. It was a luminesce grid, not far unlike the same patterns that still moved across the walls. However, unlike the portraits of magic that were flowing like water through one another, Twilight’s magic was still and rigid, completely at her command. She marveled for a moment, how fluid the matter of magic was when left untamed yet how malleable it was when given a conduit to control it.

Twilight quickly refocused, drawing pictures over her grid in preparation for her explanation. She was able to see Aisling and Apple Bloom turn their gaze towards her large graph, sitting in the air as if ostracized by the magic floating through the walls. When the grid was ready, Twilight began to speak.

“When casting a shield or barrier with magic, it actively drains energy from its source, as it has to have energy put into it in order to keep its shape constant.” On the grid above her, Twilight carefully crafted an image of a purple dome. She was amazed herself at how fast and easy it was.

“Let’s say for example that my own shield was hit by a falling rock.” Just as before, an image of a small boulder appeared on the screen, sailing over the luminesce lines until it impacted the lavender dome. When it did, a crack appeared over the barrier, but not a sound was made.

“In order for the barrier to remain constant, I’d have to keep putting my magical energy into it.” Then with a silent pop, her own image appeared on the screen, in detail that nearly made the unicorn believe it was real. Her image lowered her head, casting a silent spell over the false dome. As she did, the crack disappeared, but the false version of Twilight appeared fatigued, her chest laboring as she did so.

“Obviously, over long periods of time, this would tire me out, weakening the barrier until it was eventually cracked.” And on her queue, a series of boulders fell over her dome once more, each one silently impacting the purple barrier. When the final one hit, the dome shattered like glass, leaving behind only Twilight’s image on the ground, lying on her side and clearly unconscious.

“Yeah, I understand that,” Rainbow spoke to Twilight, earning the mare’s attention. “It’s the same thing that happened with Princess Cadance at the Crystal Empire. What I don’t get is how a ‘key’ is involved in any of this.” Twilight, patiently, answered the pegasus.

“Let me show you.” The image of Twilight vanished from the glowing grid, leaving behind another blank slate. As easily as before, with hardly even a touch of her seemingly infinite supply of magic, Twilight created the same barrier as before.

This time however, she had added a choice object just on top of it. A small, but distinguishingly detailed, key.

“Just like before, a barrier or seal needs a constant magical supply in order to sustain it. If there isn’t something present to do so, then it will fail. However, the proper object can substitute for a properly trained unicorn.” Just like before, a few choice boulders mutely fell from the grid, landing on the barrier without a sound.

Now, however, instead of a drained unicorn summoning magic to cure the barrier, the key began to move. It glowed the same ethereal lavender as the barrier, resonating with the shield. As it began to shake, the cracks over the shield quickly healed.

“Basically, a strong magical artifact that is tuned to the same magical wavelengths as the shield, barrier, or even lock can sustain the spell almost indefinitely, or at least as long as the Ley Lines last through Equestria.” With another effortless flick of her horn, Twilight’s glowing grid vanished, leaving the magic of the walls unchallenged. “Understand now Dash?”

“Uh, yeah,” the pegasus responded uneasily, rubbing a hoof over one of her ears as her eyes twisted themselves. “I mean, it makes sense, but like, can any old object be a key? I don’t see why there weren’t like a dozen of them or something.”

“It is no different than making a potion, as memorizing the craft requires devotion.” Zecora took Twilight’s place, earning the gaze of the mares. “For a key to work it must be in the right place, too many will take up the available space. If two powerful things were to collide, their meeting would likely cause a divide. So it is simple Rainbow Dash, more than one key would cause them to clash.”

“Yeeeeaah,” Dash let out slowly, nodding her head if only to show she heard the zebra. “I guess I can get that, but it still doesn’t mean we can’t use, like, a feather or something. You keep saying artifact and powerful, but why?”

“Oh, that’s easy to explain,” Twilight began with no curtain to her joy. “Magically attuned artifacts are required to become keys, as they are the only objects capable of handling the channeling of magic. If you were to feed magic through, say, an average tree, it could burn it down.” Applejack shivered at the thought.

“But those artifacts can take decades to create artificially, leading for most of them to be found in magically gifted areas, like the Crystal Heart for the Crystal Empire!” The example was perfect for Rainbow, as her eyes lit up with the epiphany.

“Oh!” She replied excited. “So that’s why Brendan used the Eye… for…” Dash’s enthusiasm quickly drained as she realized where her conversation was heading.

All eyes turned again to the small nymph, who was once again still in the chamber, her only motion being the petting of Apple Bloom’s mane. No small amount of pity crawled in the pegasus’s gut, guilty for so casually bringing up the subject again.

“Hey Twilight,” Applejack spoke to the unicorn, sorely attempting to break the uneasy somber again. The unicorn was only too eager to join the effort.

“Yes Applejack?” The earth pony rolled her hoof in the air, beginning a question she had stuck in her mind.

“Pardon me if Ah’m reachin’ here, but couldn’t it be possible that Macha beat her way outta that seal? Ah ain’t gotta more than a hoof full of clues, but can ya be sure that Eye remade the spell as fast as that monster was crackin’ it?” Twilight stared at her, blinking lightly as the earth pony finished. Applejack took it the wrong way. “Ah’m just sayin, trees on the farm regrow, but Ah could kick one down with enough time.”

“That… yeah… that’s possible, but given how powerful Aisling described the Eye to be, she must have been fighting for… a long time.”

“Like Brendan said, it’s been centuries.” Dash replied, giving a sigh of annoyance. It was rare for her to be in situations such as this, talking around a sore subject with a new friend. She was not annoyed with anyone; she was only disturbed by the setting itself.

Aisling turned her gaze from the filly to look at the group of mares, her green eyes vacant of the wild abandon she had met them with. Gone was the youthful gaze of a forest spirit. All that remained were her large eyes was the harsh wisdom of eons, centuries of loneliness, and untold years of pain.

Apple Bloom looked up at the nymph, sniffling a bit as she did so. Her small hoof lifted itself to hang off the Fae’s thin hand, stopping the gentle stroking. Aisling turned her gaze down to the young foal when she did.

“What are ya gonna do?” There was an undeniable melancholy in the filly’s voice, her youthful cheer missing as well. Holding on to such a thing after the events that just passed was an impossible act.

“I do not know.” Aisling spoke. It was a slow response, subdued in comparison to her normally confident speech. “I… I am lost in my own woods.” Apple Bloom hugged the Fae closer, pulling the nymphs arm over her neck.

“Is there anything Ah can do?” Aisling shook her head at the filly’s heartfelt question.

“No,” She spoke with no more life in her voice than before. “I do not know what to do. If I do not know what to do, there is nothing that can be done.” Biting her lip, Apple Bloom asked the next question that came to her mind.

“Are… are ya gonna help your friend?”

The question made Aisling blink. Her form was still for a moment, staring downwards at Apple Bloom with an unchanging gaze. With her porcelain pale skin, she almost looked the part of a statue, and the filly nearly cried thinking she had misspoken.

But then, magic happened.

Apple Bloom watched with no small amount of surprise as a smile began to petal over the Fae’s lips, pulling her cheeks back until her white fangs poked out from beneath. A bit of happiness, hope even, bloomed in the bright green eyes of the nymph.

“Yes.” The tiny ring of joy in the Fae’s voice was more than enough to make Apple Bloom smile in turn. “Yes, because Brendan is my friend. Because you are my friend. I must do what Brendan asked to help him now.”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom cheered. “That sounds gre-” Her voice was cut off as the nymph unceremoniously released her, jumping away from the filly with same agility Aisling was now known for.

The nymph landed to the stone tomb of Brendan, her feet hardly making a patter over the stone as she did so. Apple Bloom watched her with no small amount of confusion, but with enough decency instilled to her to let her know not to disturb the Fae.

“Thank you Brendan,” Aisling whispered softly next to the coffin, her head bowing as she spoke, eyes closing in a silent display of respect. It was an act she had not done in an uncountable number of years. “You have been kind to my forest. You have been kind to me. Now… Now I will use your book.”

Her tiny hands slipped over the stone, tracing the delicate carvings that were etched over the heavy rock. No magic coursed through their channels, no life within or without. It was hard stone, no fresh earth. Aisling was as delicate with it as she was a new sapling in her meadow.

Then, her hands tightened over the top, her thin arms bracing themselves over the tomb. Her eyes opened with a furrowed brow as she followed through with her conviction.

STOP

“I will help turn Macha’s darkness, once more, into your light.”

With a mighty push, the stone slab fell from the coffin.

The boom of the impact mad the ponies jump, eliciting a frightened cry from Apple Bloom. Every one of the mares had their eyes wide and focused on the pale nymph, standing next to the now open coffin with her arms still extended outwards.

“Aisling!” Twilight cried to the Fae. “What are you doing! Is that… Brendan’s…” Her voice trailed off as the nymph reached into the tomb, momentarily vanishing from their sight. In another moment, she leant back, pulling herself out of the resting place of her long gone friend.

The silence continued then, with the Fae’s back to the ponies as she continued to stare into the box, seeing what they could not. Twilight watched with horrified interest as the long alabaster hair of Aisling rose and fell, likely from the nymph’s breathing. It was the only thing alive in the room still moving. Then, the nymph turned to them, wearing a small-relaxed smile beneath her contented gaze.

And in her thin pale hands, she held a book.

It was a large volume, easily as large as Aisling’s upper body. It hid much of her chest, leaving only the Fae’s thin arms, legs, and round head to be seen. Thick as well, the it was easy for Twilight to see the difficulty the Fae had for grasping the edges of the text.

But for as large as it, it was also beautiful. A golden cover that shined even in the soft darkness the group found themselves in, more ethereal and unreal than even the pictures made of flowing colors around them. Artwork was laid over the gilded top, segregated into boxes of different portraits. Each one had a story within it.

It was only the cover of the book, only a small shallow preview to what the words within told and pictures showed, but every mare already found themselves enraptured by it.

“Is… that…” Rainbow Dash tried to speak, but found the words hard to grasp. Zecora, thankfully, had enough air to continue for the mare.

“The book that was the secret of Kells, a tome filled with hope powered spells.” Aisling’s grin gave the small glimmer of her fangs as she added her own piece.

“The book that turns the darkness into light.” Her hands pulled the book harder against her chest, arms wrapping around the text possessively. Her shoulders hunched over it, bangs from her long white locks falling over to hide some of the golden cover. The smile hovering over her lips was there, but Twilight could see the fragility in it. Tender and sweet, but hardly even there.

“That’s a mighty fine book.” Applejack complimented followed a low whistle. “Can’t say Ah’ve ever seen anythin’ quite like it ‘fore.”

“You haven’t.” Aisling spoke without room for argument. “Nothing is like this. It is a gift of light. All things from good beginnings are unique.” Twilight could not stop the smile that spread across her lips. She didn’t even try.

“What does it say?” Apple Bloom asked, looking up at the Fae with her wide eyes. “It’s gotta say somethin’ about how to stop Macha.”

“And what is that?”

Twilight blinked when she heard the question, coming from a voice that belong to any of the mares or the nymph. Her head briefly swiveled left and right, confirming that none of her friends had spoken, and indeed, each look as confused as she was. Turning, the unicorn looked across the large mystical room to the path that was their entrance.

There she saw a familiar figure, and her already brightening spirits soared.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight called her teacher’s name with no lack of enthusiasm, watching as the alabaster alicorn trotted across the room. Her joy was short-lived, however, as the hard features of the solar princess became clear.

Twilight could not see the normally peaceful look in Celestia’s eyes, nor the usual smile her lips bore. Instead, she saw pink eyes focused forwards, legs moving with a strict stride. She did not look like the princess that had taught Twilight all of her magic, she appeared instead to be a soldier preparing battle.

“Who are you!”

It took a full second for Twilight to realize that it was Aisling who growled at Celestia.

It took another two for her to notice the Fae baring her white fanged teeth at the tall alicorn.

The second following that, she found her eyes wider than dinner plates and lungs unwilling to move.

Twilight saw the shock quickly form over her mentor’s face, only to quickly be swallowed by the same screwed browed and thin gaze. A chasm was forming within Twilight, a pit that swallowed all of her normally composed ideas.

“That is the same question I have for you.” She heard the hard tone slither from Celestia, her pink gaze towering over the much smaller nymph. “Speak now, as my patience is already worn.” For not the first time, Twilight wished she had conversed further with Aisling. It very well may have prevented the growing storm between the The Princess of the Sun and The Fae of the Woods.

“You are in my forest!” Aisling barked back at the alicorn, her hands still gripping the book with a powerful possessiveness. It was a wonder the golden tome was not ripped asunder under her grasp. “Leave! Or I will tell the wolves to take you!” For a moment, Twilight believed her vision was leaving her, too shocked to even watch the confrontation continue.

“This forest is in my land.” Celestia lowered her head until the tip of her muzzle was just between the Fae’s eyes, burrowing into the nymph. Aisling glared back fearlessly. “You will do well to leave now, or I will be forced to banish you from Equestria.”

Twilight watched, horrified, as her mentor’s horn began to glow. Aisling lips were pulled back completely, showing vicious fangs to Celestia. Twilight didn’t think for a moment that the Fae would hesitate to use them.

“Wait!”

Twilight’s adrenaline filled mind whipped her eyes to Apple Bloom. The filly was galloping quickly to the two, reaching them before she even attempted to stop. When her hooves dug into the ground, she slid to a stop by Aisling, standing next to the nymph with her own terrified expression. Twilight imagined it was close to her own.

“Child,” Celestia whispered harshly, eyes unmoving from Aisling’s green orbs. “Leave this thing’s side. I do not want any harm to fall to you.”

“She ain’t dangerous!” The filly cried up the alicorn, pushing her small body against Aisling as she did so. “She rescued me earlier, and she showed me her forest. She can talk to it and sing to it and make things happen that even Twilight was surprised by! She’s mah friend!”

Never before was Twilight more thankful to see Celestia’s rare gaze of stunned stupor.

“And Aisling,” Apple Bloom continued, turning her head to Fae. The nymph let her head roll to the filly, but her gaze hardly softened, her grip over the book barely ease. “This is Princess Celestia. She’s Twilight’s teacher and ruler fer all of Equestria. She makes sure the sun goes up and down in the morning and at night. She’s our friend too!”

And once more, the Fae’s eyes began to soften, her lips lessening from their snarl back into a puckered gaze of confusion. She blinked her eyes at the filly before moving them back towards the alicorn. The stared silently at each other once more.

Slowly, Celestia raised her head away from Aisling, giving room for both of them to see the other. The mares present watched in mute horror as the two sized one another up, their eyes rolling over each other’s forms.

Aisling’s head bent left and right, arms still clasped tightly around the Book of Kells. Her long white mane lifted and fell with her actions, drifting almost over the stone floor. Celestia’s form was stiller, only her eyes moving up and down to observe the petite creature in front of her. Slowly though, her massive wings pulled themselves back to her chest, shrinking her stature substantially.

“Your name is Aisling.” Celestia’s tone was softer than before, but it was still league’s away from the usual friendly tone Twilight was so familiar with hearing. Aisling was little different, her façade now one of cold indifference, not playful banter.

“Yes,” the Fae nearly snarled back. “And why are you in my forest?” The question did little to ease Celestia’s furrowed brow.

“I have come here to find my student, tracing the spell I used to send my letter before. My business with my student is not yours to know.”

“Your business does not belong in my forest.” Twilight could see the worse happening. She had to do something, and she only wished she knew what that was. Instead, the unicorn settled for acting like her rainbow maned friend. Jumping head first into the fray.

“Wait, Princess, Aisling,” Twilight spoke both of their names as she quickly made her way between the two. The hard gaze of both the immortal Fae and alicorn did little for the mare’s already frayed composure. She swallowed hard before continuing. “I’m sure this is just a big misunderstanding between us right now. Princess Celestia would never do anything disrespectful and Aisling has only been kind and generous to us the hours since we met her.”

The two turned their gazes back to one another, their breathing the only sound that echoed in the large room around them. Twilight continued as best she could.

“Princess, Aisling was showing us the Ley Line Point you told me to investigate before you even sent your letter. She was telling us about her life here, her friend, and all the history of her forest. But now… something terrible has happened, and we are only just thinking of ideas of how to handle it.”

“I come here for no less than the most urgent of needs Twilight,” Celestia spoke to her protégée. “I wish to tell everything, but what I can say now to illustrate the severity of the situation is that Canterlot was attacked, all of guards mesmerized, and a creature not far different than this one proclaiming her godhood to me.”

Those words brought forth a single name from Aisling’s lips, and it was the magic word to bridge an understanding between the two.

“Macha.” The name was a hiss, passing through the nymph’s tight lips, pulled back once more in a snarl. “You saw Macha. The Dark one. The Evil one.” Celestia’s pink gaze widened at the Fae.

“How do you know her?” The alabaster alicorn questioned. “Are you in league with her?” From the way Aisling growled through her fangs, Celestia was rather sure the answer was no.

“Macha is evil.” Aisling spoke once more. “She took my forest. She took my friend.” The Fae pulled the book tighter against her chest, lifting it until her chin was hidden behind its heavy cover.

Celestia, with her ever observant gaze. Did not miss the utter look of sorrow that was painted over the nymph’s emerald eyes. It was a look she abhorred to see, as she knew better than most the cause of such grief. Finally, her anger was smoldered.

“I… apologize.” The princess offered the Fae, lightly bowing her head as she spoke. It earned an equally soft glance from the nymph. “It is a poor excuse, but only moments ago I was assaulted by Macha, she declaring to me that she intends to rule the ponies of my land as a god. With her magic and her strength, she showed me her superiority. As I said, it is a poor excuse, but I hope you forgive my anger that was born from my terror.”

Aisling’s form bent forwards slightly, leaning until her body was beneath the alicorn’s lowered head. Celestia gazed down at her, confusion written in her eyes. The emotion only deepened with the Fae smiled up at her.

“It is alright.” She responded back with a youthful cheer. “You were scared, like I was. It doesn’t feel good to be scared.” Celestia found her own lips lifting at the words.

“No, it does not.” The alicorn agreed with the Fae, nodding her head slowly.

“Oh thank Luna,” Dash let out breathlessly behind the now reconciled party. “I thought for a moment there was gonna be a huge fight or something. I do not want to see either of them getting serious.”

“Ain’t gonna disagree there.” Applejack was waving her face with her hat, shaking off a few beads of sweat collecting over her coat. “Ah don’t think I took a breath of air fer the past minute ore two.”

“No kidding. Like, I thought I was gonna pass out there. I’m Twilight lost a few marbles during all of that.” The pegasus playfully cajoled towards the unicorn, who felt her face momentarily flush at the statement.

“I-I was worried, but I knew it would be alright.” Twilight attempted to brush away, lifting her head up as she spoke.

“Yeah, you can try and talk it away Twilight, but I know what freaks you out better than most and if that didn’t send your freak out meter over ten, then nothing will.” Applejack stifled a laugh at Dash’s words, more than familiar herself with the banter her two friends engaged in. She counted the seconds until Twilight would counter the pegasus. Just as she hit zero, the unicorn spoke.

“Yeah, nothing, just like nothing could be worse than appropriating all the Daring Do books for Children’s Charity.” And like a charm, Dash’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

Zecora watched the trio, pleased to see the energy in the youth even in a moment of serious business. Her attention however turned towards the princess and Fae, aware that the matters between them were of higher consequence than the play between friends.

“Princess Celestia,” Zecora spoke as she approached the tall diarch. “I am glad that we have finally met, for long in your land have I been a guest. I am Zecora of the Everfree, a guest of Aisling as well as thee.” Celestia turned to the approaching zebra, smiling at her with the grace Twilight was deeply familiar with. She was glad to see it once more.

“It is a pleasure to met you as well Zecora. My student has spoken of you in her letters. I am glad I am able to thank you personally for bestowing some of your wisdom to her and her friends.” Zecora bowed lowly at the words, her form practiced and well presented.

“But now, if I may ask, what you are you Aisling?” Said Fae turned her gaze up to the alicorn, who gazed back down at her curiously. “I mean no insult with my inquiry, but you appear… very similar to the one that threatened me.”

“Ah can answer that!” Both turned their gazes down to the young Apple Bloom. The eagerness in her bouncing form was as unmistakable as the magic in the walls around them. “Aisling’s a Fae, and she’s been in this forest for a long time! She’s helped jus’ ‘bout every tree grow and can make plants grow anywhere!”

“Thank you Apple Bloom,” Celestia spoke sweetly to the filly. “But I was hoping Aisling would be more… detailed.” Her pink gaze turned back to the Fae, still gripping the golden book in her arms, framed by her long white locks. The alicorn was thankful to see a small smile over her tiny lips.

“She is right though,” The nymph spoke. “This is my forest, and I have seen all of it grow. I have watched much change and much be altered in time. I have seen light thrive in the darkest of places. But there has always been darkness, just as there has always been light.” Celestia mutely watched, observing closely, as the tiny nymph adjusted her grip on the golden book.

“Macha is the darkness.” Celestia concluded from the Fae’s cryptic speech. “And you are the light.”

The alicorn lowered herself to the ground, a common ritual for when she was preparing for conversation. Twilight watched for a moment as her mentor crossed her legs, adjusting herself for her comfort. The unicorn trotted next to her settling by her side easily. The white wing of the diarch extended around the lavender mare in familiar embrace.

“Macha is darkness,” Aisling agreed. “But I am not the light.”

“Was Brendan the light?” Apple Bloom asked her, her voice subdued with the memory of the boy fresh in her mind. The nymph released one of her hands over the book to pet the filly, her strength more than enough for one arm to handle the large text. Apple Bloom felt her unease dissipating under the Fae’s touch.

“Yes,” She agreed. “Brendan brought much light into the world, doing much good for my forest.” Twilight knew what her mentor was thinking. She turned to the alicorn embracing her to answer the unspoken question.

“Brendan was Aisling’s friend from a long time ago. He… he came back… we saw him…” Twilight fully expected the shock in her mentor’s eyes. “He warned us about Macha, that the seal on the Ley Line Focal Point was broken. It was beautiful… but… but too short.”

Celestia stared at her student for a moment thinking over the implications of what she was told. Slowly, her gaze turned back to the Fae, she saw the look of pain once more.

“I am sorry,” the diarch spoke earnestly.

“It is alright. We said goodbye long ago. We knew it would not be forever. I have lived through many ages, he could not. He did more for my forest than any other, and I will always owe him more than I have.” Celestia saw the pain in the memories Aisling was treading. So, she wisely steered the conversation away.

“That book you hold,” Celestia spoke with a small motion of her forehoof. “It was Brendan’s, was it not?”

“It is his,” Aisling concurred once more. “A book he wrote, a book he continued from his teacher and his teacher’s teacher. A tool made across three generations, crafted to bring hope in times of terror, made to turn darkness… into light.”

“It’s gonna help us stop Macha!” Apple Bloom cheered next to Aisling once more, her excitement unable to be contained. “Brendan told us all about it. He even said the book can tell us to do.” Aisling was quick to agree with her friend.

“The book tells where they are, the keys to stop Macha.”

Celestia heard what every other mare did from Aisling, that the nymph recognizes the knowledge within the book. But to the princes, always looking for the finer details, she heard something else as well.

“Aisling, what are the keys.” The nymph raised her head, looking into the gaze of the tall alicorn. There was a familiar happiness in her eyes, a kind only the old wise could possess. The joy of old and fond memories.

“The treasures of my people,” Aisling smiled sincerely in the face of the surprised mares.

“The Four Golden Treasures.”

Jewel of The North

“A Banshee?” Twilight repeated the name, unfamiliar with any aspects of such a creature. “That’s… that’s not something normally from Equestria.”

“It’s not.” As were nearly all things she said, Aisling’s reply was quick and unmistakable. “It was a wailing woman from before Brendan’s time, before my time. She sings not for death, she sings for the living. She sings of death, forewarning.”

“So, its trying to help the crystal ponies out?” Dash ventured with a screwed look in her eyelids. “How? I mean, yeah, warnings are great and all, but why isn’t it just… you know, telling them? From the letter the princess got, it sounds like it’s just scaring the crap out of them.” The Fae’s white hair whipped to and fro as she shook her head.

“The banshee is not an ‘it’,” the nymph instructed. “She, her, female, woman in form. A woman who mourned for her lost love, warning others of such a fate.” Celestia caught the thread of the story Aisling let loose. Stories, no matter how embellished they could become, always told of some truth of some past.

“This banshee,” the diarch began. “You said she lives in the dark, aiding the light. How did she come to this curse?” Unfortunately, Aisling only shrugged.

“I do not know, so no one knows.” The Fae adjusted the book in her grasp, taking in a breath from the tome’s heavy pages. “My mother only whispered warnings of her to me, reminders to heed her songs. They are never wrong.”

“Never wrong…” Celestia repeated the phrase. Her mind worked at speeds unfounded. Her eyes widened as a conclusion was reached. “Then my niece’s empire is in peril?” The following silence was deafening.

The ponies around the princess all began to make the connection Celestia had. The banshee was not a threat, but the song she sang was not to be taken lightly. If this creature from Aisling’s era was not the cause of the song, then something else was. There was only one thing it could be.

“She’s there.” Applejack spoke as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. “That Macha is there, ain’t she?”

“Such a possibility cannot be ignored,” Zecora agreed. “To deny it is an ignorance we cannot afford.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flapped her wings, taking to the air in the stone tomb. “We gotta get to the Crystal Empire like, right now!”

“She’s right,” Celestia spoke, nodding towards the airborne pegasus. She swiftly turned her gaze back down to the Fae, letting her eyes harden into those of a leader. “Can I assume you will leave with us?”

“Leave?” Aisling repeated the word like a question. Her eyes were open as her brows rose. It was not confusion that she spoke with, but shock.

“Yes,” Celestia repeated. “We must have your aid if we are to fair against Macha and her ploys. Both you,” she spoke as she pointed her hoof at the Fae. “And the book you carry,” her hoof lowered until it aimed at the golden tome. Aisling’s grip became heavier across it, burying it further into her thin chest.

The Fae had no words of reply, not immediately at least. For a time, there was nothing but silence in the chamber. Nothing but still ponies, a frozen Fae, and moving portraits. When sound finally did conquer the air again, it did so with a whisper.

“I’ve never left my woods before.” Never before had Twilight heard a statement that seemed so implausible, yet also so believable.

“Never?” The unicorn repeated, curiosity laying her words. As much as the mare could understand the love of a single location (she had similar affections for her library), she could not imagine living in one for millennia on end. Even she needed to see more than merely words on a page.

“Never,” Aisling repeated. “I have lived for many ages, lived as fish and deer and wolf. The woods, my woods, are safe because I am here.” The nymph shivered against the book held tightly to her chest. She adjusted her grip, letting her head fall over the heavy tome. Her pale hair cascaded around her, blanketing her small form with the long locks.

“You have forever guarded your home… because you never let yourself roam.” If there was anypony who could neatly describe the nymph’s condition, it was Zecora. The Fae did not offer the zebra her gaze, but she did nod her head in agreement.

“Is that true Aisling?” Apple Bloom almost naively asked the Fae, walking up to a hoof’s length away from her. “You’ve never gone exploring before?” Aisling was silent under the filly’s gaze.

With her head hung over the book, only Apple bloom could see the Fae’s face, framed by her pale mane. The filly could see the fear in those green eyes.

“What’s wrong?” The tone of concern was genuine from the foal, concern for a new friend that had already shown her more than she had ever seen before.

“I have always guarded by forest, and always protected it.” The Fae’s whispers continued. This time, however, Celestia could heard the faint snarl of horrid memories dripping into her words. It was only odd to the alicorn to hear it come from someone other than herself. “Wolves made of timber, lizards made of rock, bears made of stars, even a monster made of many things. I have never left nor abandoned my woods. Now… now I must to stop darkness. To keep darkness from changing light.”

The silence came once again, determined to snuff out even the faintest traces of sound. The ponies who watched and listened to Aisling felt their thoughts flee with her words, unable to comprehend the conviction or horror of living the solitude the Fae had endured.

“Is this what Brendan felt?” The questioned was from any context the ponies could observe. The nymph clarified without ever seeing the confusion across their features. “Leaving my home to protect my home. I do not like this.”

Twilight had no words that could be helpful, nothing she could think of to comfort her. She was not an immortal, she had never guarded anything other than the Elements of Harmony, but even worse, there were no book she had ever read on how to deal with something like this. There wasn’t even a friendship report she could reference. This was all far too gone from her normal everyday life.

But that didn’t mean she could do nothing.

The unicorn lightly trotted backwards, spacing herself from the conflicted fairy. Her gaze turned to her friends, both watching the impossible situation. Applejack had her lips between her teeth, clearly just as conflicted as the unicorn was. Dash, however, had her legs drooping down like her jaw, only staying in the air by the almost automatic flexion of her wings.

“Rainbow, Applejack” Twilight spoke to them, getting their attention away from the conversing immortals and filly. “We have to do something.”

“You wouldn’t say that unless you’ve got something in mind.” Dash almost immediately shot back with a knowing grin, her grin. Twilight returned it in kind. “Don’t worry, I’m in.”

“Same here,” Applejack threw in. “Ah hate waitin’ for work to get done if there somethin’ I can do.” The farm pony adjusted her hat till it was tight on her head before finishing. “So what’cha have in mind?”

“Celestia’s right, we need Aisling and the book if we want a chance against Macha. I mean, Celestia by herself couldn’t even phase that… thing. The Book of Kells is the only shot we have.” Twilight took a breath before she continued. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t buy some time, or at the very least warn the rest of the ponies about what’s happening.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Rainbow nodded her head almost as fast as her wings were beating. “We just gotta give the princesses some time. I get it!”

“Ah don’t,” Applejack voiced. “No ‘ffense Twi, but warning the ponies that there’s somethin’ out there stronger than the princess sounds like a mighty fine way to start a panic. Those never do no pony any good.”

“I know, you’re right and I know,” Twilight offered, but didn’t relent. “That’s why we can’t do this alone. Applejack,” the unicorn put her hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “You’re probably the best pony around when it comes to controlling a crowd, be it a stampede or mob.” The farm pony tried not to smirk too brightly. “That’s why I need you to head back to Ponyville and get the rest of the girls. You, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie should easily be enough to warn the rest of the town.”

“Ah think Ah can do that.” The farm pony nodded her head at the instructions, understanding what had to be done. “What should Ah do after that?”

“After that, you need to go the library and get the Elements of Harmony.” Rainbow Dash knew right where the unicorn was going.

“Oh, I get it! She’ll meet you and me up at the Crystal Empire.” Twilight could only beam at the pegasus’s astute thinking.

“Exactly,” she agreed. “You and I are going to fly ahead. There may not be a lot we can do, but at the very least we should be able to warn Cadance and Shining of what’s happening. With any luck, we may even be able to use the Crystal Heart to outright stop Macha.”

“But just in case, the Elements should be ‘nough ta put the old hag down.” Applejack couldn’t help her cheeky grin. “Got it, you can count on me Twi.”

“Same here,” Rainbow flexed her forehoof into the air, giving her signature grin to her pair of friends. “I’ll get us there in no time. Fastest pegasus in Equestria here.”

“This is a good plan you have made,” Zecora spoke the ponies, approaching them as she did so. “But remember, this is no time be delayed. Macha’s plans are still yet a mystery, only the Book of Kells containing her history. You three must be swift as you are brave, else we may be the second people to call this land our grave.”

“Zecora,” Twilight began, but the hoof being held up towards her stopped her.

“I will do what I can to sway the earnest Fae. Be ready for the worst, as our luck may reverse.” Without another word, Zecora trotted briskly to Aisling, still huddled over, eyes shut atop the golden tome.

The trio watched as the small creature turned to offer little attention to the approaching zebra, doubtlessly because of words spoken they could not hear. The small Fae blinked at the striped mare, her large green eyes focused upon the speaker. But as the nymph and zebra talked, Twilight turned her attention to the other immortal.

Celestia was looking upon her as well, her pink gaze showing the strength of the ruler Twilight had always seen. There was kindness and empathy, a level of understanding most ponies would dismiss. But then there was determination and will, the knowledge that her actions carried the weight of more than merely her own safety. And finally, there was hope, a sight that never failed to lift the unicorn’s heart.

They were all the things that made Celestia the princess of the ponies, all the qualities of every leader history had ever cared to record. But through all of that, reflecting off of the diarch’s pink eyes, there was something new. It was not foreign, nothing Twilight had never seen before. She had seen it in the gaze of her friends, of her assistant, and from many other foals around Ponyville.

Celestia believed in Twilight. Twilight, in turn, believed in Celestia.

The unicorn turned away from her mentor then, focusing her gaze on Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Both of the ponies nodded towards her in turn, agreeing silently to what they already discussed out loud.

With little more than a turn of their tails, the trio began to gallop and fly from the tomb.

Celestia watched them go, sure that her student would know what to do. She had taught the unicorn herself. She, however, had her own task to accomplish, and her own goals to fulfill. But most importantly, a frightened immortal she had to console.

“Your worry is well deserved,” the diarch carefully began, placating the Fae’s worries. “No soldier nor guardian wishes to leave their charge, no matter the circumstances that force them to.”

“Then why do they leave?” Aisling asked almost immediately, no mocking tone across her voice. “Wolves leave their den to hunt, a crow to scavenge, and deer to flee. But all will stay if they have a child born, a pup they must protect.” The nymph’s head shook in the space between her words. “I don’t want to leave my forest.”

“And I not only understand, I agree.” Celestia could not challenge the Fae’s worries. That was not how to a situation as delicate as this. She had to convince through words and reason, not threats or consequence. “But someone must feed the child,” she reasoned. It did little to lift Aisling’s spirits. “Leaving your charge, you leaving your woods, is something you should not enjoy. Such a feeling shows not only your devotion, but your love for these woods, your woods. It is a feeling I share for my own home.”

For a moment, the ghost of recognition haunted the nymph. Her head craned up to see the alicorn smiling kindly down upon her, only empathy being projected from her, no mockery or deception about her form. In that same moment, Celestia thought, hoped even, that the Fae would agree. Immortals however, as Celestia was quick to remember, were far harder to convince with words than the mortal.

“You have ponies who aid you. You said you do.” Aisling returned. It was still only a whisper, but it was sharper than the swords her guards carried. “I have my wolves, but they listen to me alone. Without me they are wild, my forest will be vulnerable. I cannot leave my forest alone.”

That was when the zebra made her move.

“Then I will guard your forest in your place,” Zecora spoke with undeniable confidence to Aisling. “I have many ways to give danger chase. Though I am not joined like you, I will protect your woods through and through.”

The pale creature stared at the zebra, emerald eyes unblinking as she memorized the confidence across Zecora’s features. Her equally white hair was drawn about her body, making the Fae’s eyes the only part of Aisling to be seen. Zecora had no qualms or fears staring into the youthful yet ancient eyes.

“And Ah’ll help her!” All eyes turned to the young Apple Bloom, still standing at her tallest besides the nymph. “Ya showed me just how amazin’ your forest is, and Zecora has been taken’ care of me here too. Ah can help tons!”

Zecora smiled kindly at the filly, feeling her elation rise at the Apple Bloom’s exuberant actions. Though she could not clearly see the Fae, she knew a similar feeling must have been rising through the nymph. Aisling’s embrace and worry for the filly before only made that too clear.

“You will protect my forest?” Aisling asked the filly. Apple Bloom nodded vigorously, undeterred by any level of the responsibility she was undertaking. Then the Fae turned her attention to the zebra. “You will keep my woods safe?” Zecora had no need to lie.

“It is a home I have made here, I will not allow it to disappear.” As a smile pulled at Aisling’s lithe lips, Zecora felt her own smile grow.

“You are never alone when you have friends.” The words came from Celestia and Aisling turned to her as she spoke. “For friends working together are what keep us safe. I have little doubts that you and Brendan were much the same.”

It was a risk she had taken, but it was one she made with calculation. Her words spoke no harm to the memory of the boy, of a hero that had banished a dragon of magic from the forest, that had sealed away a goddess before, but it did guess on how Aisling saw the boy, and how he saw her. Thankfully, gracefully, the gamble paid off.

“It was like that.” Aisling admitted, the volume of her voice unchanging, but the words far softer than before. “I aided him, and he helped me, then to and back again.”

“Friends are kind like that.” Celestia let her tone slip, stepping off of her podium as ruler long enough to reach common ground with the Fae. “They care little for being even; only for your safety. It is what I need of you now. And I promise you Aisling, it is a favor I will in turn keep for you.”

The absence of noise was not nearly as tense as before. It was short but needed, for as Aisling raised her head, hair falling to her back and off of her shoulders, the nymph looked every bit as ethereal as the first time Apple Bloom had saw her. The golden tome in her hands was held no harder, yet no softer than before.

“Okay,” Aisling spoke, her smile growing with the volume of her words. Her voice became confident. “I will go.”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom cheered beside the Fae, jumping into the air as she clopped her hooves together. “Save Equestria, Aisling!”

The nymph smiled at the filly, leaning down until their foreheads met together. They giggled at one another as foals do. Celestia had not the mind to stop them, even if haste was something she wished for. After a moment’s time, the two separated. Turning towards Celestia, Aisling nodded.

“I am ready.”

Celestia lit her horn, washing the two of them with her ethereal magic. As the pink haze of the diarch’s mind swiftly enveloped them, the nymph had enough time to gaze at the zebra and filly charged with guarding her forest.

They were young, they were mortal, and they knew little of the true strength of her woods.

Yet, she could think of no others she would trust her forest to more.

In a flash of white, the pair were gone.

BEGIN

“You stay away from her!” Shining Armor shouted at the goddess, either unfazed or apathetic to the power she already displayed over him. “If you lay one hoof on here, just one, and I’ll buck you so far a-AGH!”

The cry of pain erupted from the stallion as his leg was bent backwards.

“Shining!” Cadance cried towards her husband, flaring her wings with every intention to glide towards him. But she was stopped, by something both visible and unseen.

Macha had turned her hand towards the princess, only just after flicking it at the Captain of the Guard. It was only too clear that she was behind his pained state. What’s worse, she clearly had fewer than no qualms of inflicting such pain onto her.

“Do not take flight.” The goddess ordered, her sharp eyes focused on the stallion still. Cadance could not see the creature’s face nor hear any emotion. But someone, yet someway, the princess knew she was grinning. “He will not perish, of this I know.” Cadance, however was not so easily silenced.

“What did you do!?” The princess shouted at the creature, anger not enough a word to express her rage. She wanted to pummel the monster to the stone floor, she wanted to break her bones, she wanted to see the “goddess” suffer! Never before had the princess felt such an emotion before.

“Lower your tone.” Macha responded coldly, unfazed by any words or wrath behind Cadance’s words. “You will not speak in such manner to your creature and ruler.”

“R-Ruler?” Shining stuttered from the floor. Both females turned their attention to him, one of worry and the other of indifference. “W-What makes you think yo-AAAAAGH!”

And again, the stallion fell.

“Stop it!” Cadance screamed at the monster. “Stop it now!” The goddess only turned her head to see the pink alicorn, no smile present upon her lips, but instead shining like a faint glimmer in her cold eyes.

“Silence your tongue.” No different than before did Macha return. “Your sacrifice will come, but not yet.” Cadance couldn’t tell if her mouth went dry because of the words, tone, or the events thus far combined. “Not before you service to me is done.”

The princess felt her wings shaking, extended to their fullest and rigid as stone. Her eyes were wider than serving plates, seeing this black maned demon with fear she never knew she had. Chrysalis, for all her deception, was tamed and beatable. Discord, for all his greatness, never did what couldn’t be undone. This… Macha, in spite of appearing so... plain, was more terrifying than any creature Cadance had seen throughout Equestria.

But Cadance was still the princess of the Crystal Kingdom. Her well-being came second to her empire.

“What are you here for?” The princess growled at the monster, attempting to drown her fear with her rage. It was a short and easily won fight. Macha’s façade did not betray any emotion or tell. “You don’t care about my husband, you haven’t tried to harm me… are you here to claim my land for your own? To pretend to be the goddess you say you are?”

Cadance wanted a reaction, she wanted to see this creature react. A sneer, a growl, a furrowed brow, something to show that the alicorn’s words were piercing the shell that looked harder than the crystals they stood on. But she got nothing, nothing but a frosty voice and taciturn glare.

“My being here has little to do with your faux kingdom.” Macha’s words did little to ease the minds of the Crystal Empire Rulers. “What I care for has been here far before your castle of glass, even longer before your brittle bodies first trotted here.”

“The H-Heart.” It was a pained whisper from the stallion, but spoken still with great strength. “You… You want to take the Crystal Heart.” He sneered at the goddess’s turned head, wishing in spite of his broken bones that she would seem him. Shining never cared to hide how he felt.

“Yes,” Macha replied, still leaving her dead eyes on the alicorn. “Yes and no.”

Air swept through the grand room, the voice of the Banshee still singing through the cold winds. A shiver ran through the princess and prince. It was impossible to know if it was from the cold, the song, the goddess before them, or the threat she posed.

“What?” It was a pitiful word, one said when the speaker truly had little idea of what was happening. At that moment, Cadance had little idea what Macha’s intentions were, both involving and not involving the sacred treasure of the Crystal Kingdom. Thankfully, no matter how small of thanks it was, the goddess chose to respond.

“The heart is a tool, made for a purpose you do not know.” Macha took in a slow breath of air, the first Cadance had seen yet. The princess had the fleeting wonder if this goddess even needed it. If not, then she was likely remembering an event the alicorn could not fathom. “The heart was made to lock a door, a seal that has buried away. To open this path, to regain what was taken, the heart must shatter.”

To Cadance and Shining, who knew little of what Macha was speaking of, the desires the goddess spoke of meant little. No matter what the black maned creature threatened, no matter what actions she had already done, there was only sole fact the royal pair focused on.

Macha wanted to break the Crystal Heart.

“You will not touch the Heart.” Cadance’s voice was that of a ruler, of a mare sitting on her throne and caring more for the kingdom she led than herself. “You will not harm it, you will not gaze upon it, you will not even have the privilege to speak of it again. Not once I am through with you.” If even the smallest amount of the goddess felt threatened, she didn’t show it.

“Couldn’t break it e-even if you w-wanted to.” The alicorn could only wince as her husband chuckled at his own remark, laughter turning into visible pain. He was a brave stallion, and strong pony. “It had to be… h-hidden before. W-Wasn’t possible to break.”

“It has not broken because time has not permitted it to, not even after a millenia, but it is weak. And, like all things brittle and old, it will shatter.” Macha’s hand rose and clenched as she spoke. The action, small and forceless as it was, made the princess’s hooves shake. She forced the feeling down and away.

“The heart is stronger than you give credit for.” Cadance challenged, unwilling to give any ground. “With only but a touch of good will, it has cast a blanket over this kingdom the likes of which even you fear.”

“A thousand years without love,” Macha spoke in turn with no more care than before. “A thousand years with naught but the faintest glimmer of any warm emotion, a void many call the abyss. Tell me, what good is a treasure of magic that has no magic to use?”

Cadance stared coldly at the creature, teeth grit as it calmly walked closer towards her. The voice upon the wind continued to sing, turning the already dangerous encounter into what the princess could only describe as an ominous chant.

“The love and joy of my ponies is powering the heart now.” Cadance challenged the red robed creature, lighting her horn as she barred her teeth. “Against a creature of such spite such as yourself, it will be like moving a mountain!”

What the princess was hoping for was a frown of disapproval from this Macha, a look of disdaining contemplation. The kind of gaze one would offer a bad apple in a freshly bought bushel or a poor grade among an otherwise blemishless report card. That would mean there was room to push against this beast, something that could be used to convince the black-maned creature to leave.

That was not what she gained. Instead, both she and Shining witnessed something that appeared surreal. It was not the transformation into crystal bodies, nor the work of the Elements of Harmony. It was not a trick by Discord nor even something as twisted as the return of Sombra. It was far eerier than the first two and beyond darker than the last.

Macha was laughing.

It was not the shrill cackle of an all powerful queen, nor was it the low snickering of some mischievous spirit. It was high in pitch but low volume. Short on breath but heavy in tone. Caught somewhere between a child’s flirtatious giggle and an elder’s tired chuckle, it made the ice of the north seem warm the pink alicorn.

Cadance felt her wings shiver as they drew in on herself, too late realizing how obvious of a sign it was. Even as the soft cold giggling continued, Macha’s cold gaze was focused on the ruler, unfaltering.

It did not help that the grin across the creature’s face was sharper than any sword or spear the princess had seen.

“Poor deluded mare.” The self-proclaimed goddess spoke to Cadance, her bare feet tapping on the crystal floor as she walked forward. “You dare to think that fleeting emotions of a few of my own subjects will be enough to sway my power? My will? My wrath?” The Crystal Princess was, honestly, no longer sure.

“Stay -ah- away from her!” Shining yelled at the goddess, doing all that he could to stand to his hooves. He only succeeded in letting his already broken bones crack further, echoing through the halls. Cadance wasn’t sure what was worse, the sound of Macha’s laughter or her husband’s bones. His cry of pain gave an answer in no time.

“Shining, stop!” The princess cried back to him, tears brimming at his pained expression. His teeth were grit in pain, but his eyes were alight with rage, no differently than his horn. Macha turned to him for only a moment, a moment long enough to show the end of her patience.

Beneath both gazes and his own exponentially increasing pain, the unicorn slumped over once more, his agony immense and energy spent.

“Be still little beast.” The goddess coolly instructed. “And I will permit you to listen.” Cadance fought every instinct to gulp audibly as Macha turned back towards her.

The goddess’s walk did not cease, but neither did its pace increase. Rather, it only showed her confidence as a trophy. Between the broken Captain of the Guard and the Princess of the Crystal Empire, Macha felt not rush, no hurry, and no need to slow. Her entire form, from the ends of her bare feet to the cool waving dark mane, was the very poise of confidence.

Cadance loathed it more than the Changeling Queen.

“I live from the magic that seeps from the Ley Lines.” Macha noted on an icy breathe, frosted by her grin. “My being, my power, my everything is a product of those remarkable borders in the world. Crafted ages past by an ancestor undeserving of name, grown by the dragons that maneuver their wells, and ultimately, sealed by the second creatures to walk these lands.”

It was a single sentence. It was long and over spoken, but it still was a single sentence. Yet, in that amount of time, Cadance had thought of a dozen questions she wanted answered. She dared not speak a single one as Macha continued.

Where was Celestia when you needed her?

“I was born eons before your kingdom was but a thought. I crafted the minds and wills of your people only after I rid this land of your predecessors. Do you not see what I mean yet, foolish mare?” Truthfully Cadance did not, but her eyes were too terrifyingly captivated on the slowly ascending hands of the creature to speak otherwise.

They were dull digits moving towards her, hovering above her muscle as if she were something easy to break. In truth she was not, but in relation to this monster, she very well maybe.

“I am not only the one who moves the mountains,” Macha all but whispered to the pink alicorn. “I am the one who shaped them.”

Macha’s pale hand descended into Cadance’s mane.

“STO-AGHMFF!” Shining’s cry of protest turned into one of pain before being muffled completely. Cadance was able to divert her shivering eyes just enough to see her husband bound by a muzzle, wrought from black leather and tied by chains. It curled painfully over his coat, digging into his skin as it held his maw tightly shut.

“Your voice is nuisance I can no longer stand.” Macha once more easily, too easily, spoke. The princess was only briefly able to note the backwards manner to which the goddess’s hand was aimed at the now bound stallion. “Be glad you have yet to end. Though, if you continue, that may arrive sooner other than later.”

Cadance could not speak. Her voice was frozen little differently than the lands beyond her castle, caught in the howling winds and frosty voice singing upon them. Her eyes darted, shaking, from her broken and bound husband to the wrecked creature that had battered them both. All the while, the goddess’s hands continued to stroke, prod, and mockingly “comfort” the mare’s mane.

“The banshee still cries young mare,” Macha whispered to the princess, her pale dull claw lightly scraping through Cadance’s mane. She bit back a whimper as Shining screamed into his muffle.

The princess could feel the bare skin of the creature lift over her, its chin settling on top of her head. Her crown had already been pushed away and forgotten. She couldn’t recall when that had happened. All Cadance could think of, pay attention to, was the overwhelmingly powerful creature, heinous in intent and purpose, coddling her like a toy about to be used.

“There is only but one way to end the song.” The words were whispered into the princess’s ear as a mother would to a frightened foal. Their purposes were polar opposites. “Let me help end that song.”

From there, Cadance’s light was overcome by darkness.

END

Songs Unsung

Not since their first escapade to the Crystal Mountains had Twilight or Rainbow seen such harsh winds from a blizzard.

The trip to the Crystal Empire took little time, thanks in no small part to the combination of Rainbow’s speed and Twilight’s magic, but it took the two less than a minute to realize they could not continue to fly in the harsh winds. Twilight could not focus on where to teleport and Dash had barely the power to combat the near thrashing winds. So, begrudgingly by them both, they marched into the kingdom on foot, following the wooden train tracks in the blinding snow.

Both mares lost count of the number of times they had to wipe blankets of white from their eyes, the crystallized water clinging to their coats like greedy foals. Both had deep grimaces, though for two separate reasons.

“This… is… ridiculous!” Rainbow shouted at the top of her lungs, only barely able to speak over the cutting winds. “It’s like getting shouted at by Princess Luna, a thousand times over!” She grunted deeply as she pulled her fore leg from a deep pit of snow only to place it into another.

“We have to keep moving!” Twilight shouted in return. “We have to find Cadance and Shining!”

“I wanna find the freaking castle first!” The cyan mare didn’t bother to turn to her unicorn friend. She doubted she would have been able to see even the deep purple two feet into the white storm. “I can’t even keep track of how close we are!”

Twilight bit her cheek, fully understanding Rainbow’s frustration. She was close to experiencing it herself. All she needed was to at least catch sight of the great Crystal Spire, then maybe she would be able to teleport them closer. She didn’t even dare random teleportation. That could go wrong in more ways she cared to name; and she cared quite a lot.

The two continued to bitterly march through the snow, comforted only by the knowledge that some progress was being made. They were racing against a goddess, a goddess likely already ahead of them, pushing against a storm that was likely making mountains sway, and with not but a track on the ground for direction. Any progress against those hurdles was progress the two would take.

The cold wind continued to bit and snarl into the ponies’ ears, mocking their efforts with each hoof they took forward. It pushed back as spitefully as it threw its words, holding nothing back for the two, showing no signs of offering them mercy. It was as if the Windigoes had seen fit to test these mares for reasons they could not fathom.

But then, beneath the sharp cries of the wind, Rainbow heard something else, something that seemed far more than simply out of place.

She heard a voice. That voice was singing.

BEGIN

With the weight of a storm pushing on her, freezing her wings and soaking her coat, it was hardly something she could call easy to hear. Whether it be through her sensitive hearing or honed sense, the mare wasn’t sure. But the further she moved forward, the surer she was that there was a voice upon the wind, like a filly following her parent’s hooves.

Squinting into the curtain of white, Dash walked towards Twilight, hoping to ask the mare if she heard the voice as well. But as she approached, it became clear by the expression alone that the unicorn did hear the song. Her eyes quizzical, half shut as they were, but ears perked in spite of the already spiteful storm.

Twilight looked to Dash, most likely ready to ask the mare the same thing. Expressions alone shared all that they had to tell.

“It’s the banshee!” It felt wrong to scream atop such a haunting chord, but the cries of the wind would have slashed her words otherwise. Rainbow nodded at the mare, enough so that the blanket of white did not hide the action.

“Yeah, no doubt!” Dash took a deep breath beneath her carriage, not willing to breath in wind that was tearing the fur from her coat. “Sounds creepy! Like Nightmare Moon in my Nightmares on Nightmare Night creepy!” If they weren’t being drowned in snow, Twilight might have laughed. At the moment, she could only smile in return.

That was when a cold through crossed her mind.

“Didn’t Aisling say the Banshee sings for death!?” She honestly wished she should have spoken the question softer. It sounded so horrible to scream about death, but again, she could not let the angry storm to tear her words apart.

“Yeah! She said somethin’ about a warning!” Dash didn’t seem to have the same trouble that Twilight had. To her, words were words, and they only needed to be said as loud as they had to be. Shouting for her wasn’t anything new.

“Then… is she warning us!?”

That was a good question.

The mares didn’t stop moving, despite the renewed silence of their chords. For no short amount of time, the pair were stuck with only the sounds of a mocking wind and a haunting tune, the latter gaining strength the further they walked.

“Nah!” Dash eventually shouted back. “She was singing way before we got here! Remember!? We just gotta hurry! That’s all!” Now it was Twilight’s turn to nod at her friend.

It made sense in most ways. It was highly doubtful that the song was being sung before they came was meant for them. If anything, it was likely there in order to warn all of certain pony’s… demise. Twilight was seriously beginning to hate death and all it’s synonyms. Brendan’s history didn’t help.

She didn’t know what Macha wanted; she didn’t have anything other than a million different theories why the goddess was here. All Twilight knew was that she was strong and she was going to finish whatever she started. No matter what it was, no matter how long the mad goddess had waited, Twilight wasn’t about to let that happen.

‘Convictions give you more than strength.’ Celestia had once told her. ‘They give you purpose, they give you wisdom, and, in some cases, they give you sight.’

Twilight wasn’t sure if was the lesson of her mentor or dumb luck that she finally caught sight of the Crystal Spire.

A ball of joy rose through her, the cold coddling her nearly forgotten. She turned her bright smile to Rainbow, still currently caught in a grimace with snow across her face. Twilight momentarily wondered if her skin was as blue as her coat was now. She quickly dismissed the thought, putting a hoof on the pegasus’s back.

“Dash!” She screamed at her friend, barely heard over the roaring winds. “Look!” Twilight pointed outwards with her hoof, towards the faint outline of the tower. She had to hold the pose against currents of air as Das focused her gaze through the storm. When she saw it, her eyes widened momentarily. She couldn’t keep them open for long with snow blowing in. When Dash turned back to Twilight, she was wearing a careless smile.

“Finally found it!” The pegasus commented on the obvious. “And it only took us an extra few hours!” The sarcasm was unneeded, but still enough to remind the unicorn who she was talking to.

Twilight nodded in response, not wanting to yell anymore than she had to. They had to reach the inside of the castle now, but with it in their sights, it would be much easier for the unicorn. She shifted even closer to the pegasus, wrapping a hoof around the blue mare’s frame. Whether Dash knew what her friend was thinking or was merely acting on instinct, she unfurled her opposite wing, letting it curl around her lavender friend.

Their embrace tight enough to fend off the bitter cold between them, Twilight focused her magic through her horn, channeling in the needed thoughts to teleport. Where she was, where she needed to be, and magic necessary to get there. With a talent in magic, she had plenty of the latter, and her studies had given her more than a grasp of the first two.

With a flash of light, the two vanished from view.

It took only a flash of light for the forms of Celestia and Aisling to reappear in the world. Alone in a plain, the vibrancy of the magic used would have attracted the attention of ponies all around. The pair, however, found themselves not in an open field, but instead in the midst of a snowstorm.

Between the blinding snow and thrashing winds, the appearance of the immortals was both unseen and unheard.

The sounds of roaring gales assaulted the alicorn promptly after appearing. She squinted her eyes and averted her head out on instinct. Her wings rose to shield her already large form, doing little against what was literally a storm.

Something warm then pressed against her leg, leading Celestia squint down at it with her shielded eyes. At first, she saw nothing, nothing but white within a storm of snow. But as her eyes focused harder on the warmth that was doubtlessly clinging to her, she slowly made out the faintest of green.

Celestia wasn’t sure if it was the cold, the wind, or the sound that was making the Fae against her shiver. Regardless of what it was, the princess was no a pony to remain stagnant when others around her were in pain.

The alicorn swiftly lowered her wing to encompass the much smaller creature, wrapping her protectively within her feathers. She already felt cold, though Celestia marked as a consequence of the nymph’s bare skin and the weather around them.

Aisling wasted little time shifting within the embrace, scurrying within the mesh of alabaster feathers like a pup against its mother. Celestia very much doubted the ancient Fae thought of her as such, but the warmth she had, a kind consequence of commanding the sun, allotted her a comfort within the freezing storm.

Still, she could not very well let her wing hold the Fae if she intended to march through the storm. It’s screeching winds pushed against her like vile magic, blinding her vision and protesting her strength. However, it would also be improper and dangerous to let the bare nymph walk amongst frozen water. Fortunately, there was an action she could take.

“Here,” Celestia whispered into the cocoon of her wing. “Clasp onto my back, warm yourself within my mane. I will search for a path through this storm.” The Fae spoke no words in return. Instead, she shifted amongst the feathers of white, moving until her head peaked from the bent wing. Celestia’s pink eyes met the Fae’s curious green. She smiled, though she very much doubted Aisling could see it.

Regardless, the nymph appeared to accept the alicorn’s offer. She slowly reached from within feathers, grabbing at the ethereal rainbow mane that billowed harshly against the blistering winds. Her slender fingers grasped at it, pulling herself onto the alicorn’s back.

Celestia adjusted her wing to give the Fae leverage, not showing even the smallest of discomfort as the nymph pulled on her hair. In truth, it bothered her little. It was far from the first time her mane was tugged, and the creature was far smaller than an orphanage of ponies. Though, to be truthful, the numbing cold most likely played a hand in heightening her tolerance.

The alicorn felt a small force against her inner wing, a feeling accompanied by a small force pressing on her back. The nymph had deftly jumped from the alabaster cocoon to Celestia’s back, curling herself into the ethereal mane as she did. The alicorn felt the hard edges of the Book of Kells push against her, just as well as she felt the nymph snuggle against her coat.

Celestia twisted her neck, hoping to see what little she could of Aisling’s condition. Patches of her pale skin were visible between her own copiously colored mane. The Book of Kells and her long alabaster hair, however, were far clearer to see. Even in a storm of white, Celestia could not ignore the brilliance of gold from the tome, nor the mix of pure white against her own hair. The Fae shivered against her, bringing the alicorn back to focus.

“Be well Aisling, stay warm.” Celestia did all that she could let her soothing words be spoken over the harsh winds. “The cold matters little to me, but you may stay close until it passes.”

“It will not pass.” It was a whisper, like so many of her words were, one as cold as the winds around them. Celestia would have doubtlessly missed it were her head not hunched towards the nymph on her back. “This storm is not natural, it is hers.” There was only one other soul the diarch had heard the Fae speak so coldly of.

“Then she is here.” It was not a fear the diarch suspected would be relieved. “We must find her quickly then.”

“No,” Aisling whispered again. Her grip tightened on the alicorn’s mane, earning a small grimace from the old pony. It was not painful, but it was not a comfortable feeling either. “Find the banshee, the singer of the song. We must find her.”

Celestia needed to wear no mask of confusion to gain more knowledge. With the voice on the wind and conversation from only moments earlier, it was only too clear of whom the Fae spoke. Even now, the haunting tone of a female’s chords echoed through the wind, both beneath its rumbling waves and above its screeching gusts.

“The Banshee is, as you said before, not a reason for fear. It is merely warning the ponies of the Crystal Empire of Macha’s presence.” It was something they had agreed on earlier. “To rid the land of Macha would be dismissing the need for the Banshee.”

“The storm hides Macha,” Aisling spoke her few words again. “You cannot find her when she hides. You cannot find what does not want to be found.” There were so many meanings behind those words, but Celestia focused on only what she needed to in the moment.

“So we cannot find her as long as the storm persists, and we cannot end the storm until she is found.” A cold grimace dark enough to math the storm around them etched itself over the diarch’s features. It was a circle of logic, but one that once made was impossible to break. She favored making them herself, but only now did she feel such loathing for another’s. “Then why the Banshee.”

“She can help.” Simple words with deep meaning once more. Even shivering, cold, and bundled like a new born filly, Aisling didn’t cease to be wise.

“Then find her I shall,” Celestia swore strongly. Her head returned to its normal posture, standing high in the face of the storm. Her wings once more unfolded to cover her vision, fending off the snow that barreled into her. Hoofsteps were difficult, with the harsh wind and deep snow coverage but she had endured far more in her thousand years than a simple storm, no matter its method of creation.

In spite of the pain it caused, Celestia kept her ears up and pointed, searching for the source of the song. It was difficult against the equal cry of the winds, but where the sound of cutting air came from all around, the song only came from a single source.

Her path veered little to the right, hearing the strength of the chords increase as she ventured forward, only to steer left once more as it grew faint. Like a slow wave, she proceeded forward, never once losing track of the sound, but still holding the low fear that there was magic at work she had yet to perceive.

Aisling did little as she moved, little more than continue to grasp her mane and burrow closer to her coat. The alicorn did not mind the small nymph snuggling into her. It reminded the diarch of Twilight when she was but a foal, tired from a long night of reading. The difference was she could remove the foal from her books, even if only for overnight. Celestia very much doubted even the strength of the world would be enough to separate Aisling from Brendan’s Tome.

The diarch’s ears twitched as the volume of the singing grew louder, its voice clearer. The volume was not a change Celestia was surprised about, such a thing was natural to happen the closer she ventured towards the voice.

What she did not have preparedness for was the quieting of the storm.

One did not belittle the other. Sound would normally become too much, and the alicorn would force her ears down. But now, in this terrible blizzard, Celestia found the sounds of winds simply vanishing in place of the song. She didn’t know if she was supposed to be grateful or wary. She settled for both, reconciling that she must be getting closer.

Now she was no longer searching for a song, a song that was now louder than the storm itself. Now she was looking for a shape, a figure, anything that would not belong in a storm such as this. No life in Equestria was made to bear these conditions. Adaptation had made it clear that flight was preferred over fight in the face of a storm.

Her eyes squinted, peaking out from the cover of her wings as often as she could without the billowing snow blinding her. It was not often, but often enough. She often caught the small outlines of the crystal fields, the occasional pillar of ice. Both were stagnant, as solid in the storm as a mountain over the earth.

But Celestia did not cease her search, nor did she allow thoughts of ceasing. More than one life was endangered by the creator of this storm and, according to the nymph that continued to shiver on her back, the key to ridding the Empire of it was singing to them in warning.

No sooner did the thought pass her mind did the sight pass her eyes.

It was faint, quick, like a gust of wind across the forest floor, but the diarch did not doubt what she saw. Throwing caution to the ever-present wind, the diarch lowered her wings, straining her vision against the harsh winds.

And again, she saw it.

It was a tall figure, reminding the alicorn too much of Macha from before. But where as Macha was still and cold, harsh and sharp with her poise and words, the figure appeared the opposite. It flowed behind the curtain of snow like a phantom, parts of it appearing to billow like cloth. There was little more that could be said with the faint sight she possessed.

Steeling herself, Celestia trotted quickly towards the figure, feeling Aisling grip her mane at the jostling.

Then they broke through the storm. There were few to no others ways to describe it. Simply, Celestia was caught in a blizzard that tore at her eyes, ears, and coat, then she was not.

The sharp cries of the winds died to but a whisper. Their harsh claws against the alicorn’s coat turned to little more then petals falling. All around the figure in the snow, the storm was nothing. The storm was nothing because the figure’s song was everything. In every aspect of the word, they were within the calm.

The figure… Celestia trotted towards it, feeling Aisling slip from her back as they approached. It took only a glance to see the Fae was fine. She merely had her eyes trained on the same figure, the Book of Kells still wrapped tightly within her grasp. Her concern for the Fae satisfied, Celestia turned back to the creature they continued to approach.

To her dismay, but not shock, the creature singing the storm very much resembled Macha from earlier. Its skin was coatless bar the silk that hung from its form. Long hair, long like Celestia mane, billowed from the creature’s head. Though the winds of the storm were not but a spring’s breeze, the threads flowed as if they were caught in water. And, much like the Fae besides her, the figure had skin pale as the snow.

But none of those features caught the alicorn’s eyes. She was already used to differences between species, only needing a moment to familiarize what was within and without the norm. Dulled claws, long manes, coatless skin, forever clothed, these were things Celestia had seen on all three of these mythical creatures.

But this one, the singer in the storms, this… Banshee, it had something far more disturbing.

It had eyes white as clouds, crying a river of red.

It was a stream of crimson that flowed down its skin, marring the pale flesh and staining its white silken clothes. The sight was one of the single most disturbing images Celestia was forced to witness, and forced to ignore.

“This…” the alicorn whispered out, unwilling to turn her eyes away. “This is the banshee?” There was only one other life near the ancient pony that heard the question well enough to answer.

“Yes,” Aisling responded. It was a whisper, one that Celestia had become already accustomed to hearing. “The warner of death, the last caution before the end.”

“Then we have found her.” Celestia had far more to say, but she was far too busy staring at the creature that continued to sing. It was a sight horrifically brilliant, terrifyingly captivating. All around, simply wondrous. It forced a question from her lips before she recognized the thoughts.

“I wonder who it was, who she once was.”

“The maiden by the sea, the ghost of Annabelle Lee.”

That earned a whip of the alicorn’s head.

Celestia stared down at the seemingly young Fae, nothing but two spots of green among the blankets of snow around them; her hair and skin all but a part of the cold blanket around them. The nymph, however, had her eyes trained on the Banshee still, who was still singing her endless chant.

“Aisling,” Celestia began. “How do you know… its name? Did you not tell us but a moment past that you knew nothing of it but songs?” The alabaster mare did not think lowly of the Fae, not in the slightest. She did not believe the nymph was lying, nor hoarding information, not with the anger she clearly had for the goddess they were both against.

Aisling did not answer, not with words at least. She shifted in the snow, her barely covered feet crunching the blanket of white around her. Her arms unfolded from her chest, extending outwards with the precious object she still had grasped in her tiny dull claws.

Celestia couldn’t decide which to stare. The banshee still singing her haunting hymn, the nymph who named the creature with knowledge she did not possess, or the golden tome she held, the object she wordlessly blamed for her epiphany.

Even in a world full of magic, the alicorn could not cease to be mystified or mesmerized. There was always questions to be asked, things on which to ponder. Right now was no different. Yet, with a combination of all events around them and behind them, Celestia put them into one word.

“How?” The Fae pulled the tome close against her body as she answered. The Banshee continued to sing.

“I believe in Brendan’s Book.” Aisling spoke the words without any room for discussion. “The hope that it will guide me as it guided him. He wrote in it, as did the man before him, and the man before him. Each writer is guided by the last. Now I believe in it, so it guides me.”

But one does not simply grasp knowledge from nothing, was what Celestia wanted to say. Yet, that wasn’t entirely untrue. Knowledge came from understanding, and comprehension took the form of more than simple words on a page. Yet this was different, Aisling did not “sleep” on a question that annoyed her. She did not approach this problem in new ways.

She simply did not know. And then, with little more than her faith, she did. The mare said a word of thanks to her sister that Twilight was not present. Otherwise, they may never have been able to return to the matters at hand.

Celestia was curious, doubtlessly, but she had been ruler of Equestria long enough to her priorities. Her musings were far beneath the lives of others.

“Aisling, is she causing this storm?” The Fae was quick to shake her head.

“No,” she spoke in the same whisper, carried by the winds, not torn by them. “She sings to warn of death. Death is not in this storm. Death is hiding within it.” Celestia let her wisdom speak in place of her intelligence.

“Then she knows of where the danger is,” the alicorn loosely answered, not as a statement, not as a question. “Will she tell us?” Celestia turned back to the figure of white is a storm of snow, crying with eyes that held no sight. “Can she tell us?”

“No,” Aisling spoke again, no differently than before. “But she can help us.” Celestia did not turn away from the Banshee.

“How?” It was as simple a question as the one she spoke before.

“We can end the storm. She can sing with me.” Now Celestia gave the Fae her sight. Aisling was gazing up at her as well, green eyes like pools of emerald among the shores of white. Her grin was just as blinding. “We are closer to the Ley Lines. The storm will listen, like the forest. I know it will.” She adjusted the book in her arms, pushing her arms away until the book was held in front of her.

Hesitation was clearly thick over the Fae’s eyes, a sharp contrast to the hope and near child like delight she held moment and hours before. The mare could not guess why quickly. There was no reason for her to think the nymph disliked singing. From Twilight’s testimony, it was likely how the Aisling performed her magic.

She had spoken earlier of the banshee’s actions being one of light, not darkness, so there was unlikely some hesitation to sing with her. The young Apple Bloom was only too eager to tell Celestia of how Aisling sang not once, but thrice with her.

So the question was still being begged, why was this seemingly infinitely wise nymph so hesitant to act here?

Then, Aisling was holding the Book of Kells to the alicorn. She had moved so fast Celestia needed a moment to comprehend what she had done. The tome that she had gripped since the moment they had met was being presented to her. It was not like a present, nor a gift or tribute. It was being handed off with greater care and a strong grip, the way a mother would part with her foal towards a friend.

“Guard this,” the nymph spoke in a tone that brokered no discussion. “Keep it safe. Keep it close.”

Celestia stared at the Fae for not the first time in wonder. She near dumbly nodded as she extended her ethereal aura outwards, gripping the book through the conduit that was her horn. The golden book glowed a brighter yellow with the alicorn’s magic, levitating to the all mare.

Aisling held her fingers outwards, long after the book had left her grasp. Her green eyes continued to stare at it, as if read to snatch it away at any moment. Celestia doubted she could blame the nymph if she did. Without the contact of her hoof, without gazing at its pages, Celestia already found herself enraptured by the mighty tome.

She could feel the wisdom of millennia coursing through it, nearly rippling with knowledge the alicorn possessed little of, any pony possessed little of. And the longer her gaze was focused upon it, the clearer her mind became. It was as if the book was mountain and Celestia was standing at its peak. Not even the highest of clouds could obstruct her view. The world was hers to see, hers to learn, and hers to understand.

END

Celestia wasn’t sure when the Banshee, this Annabelle Lee, had finished her song, too enraptured with the tome she held. As the silence of not only the mythical creature, but also the storm around, began to deafen the alicorn, she turned her gaze from the book.

When her gaze turned towards the ghostly creature, she saw its sightless eyes focused not on her, but the Fae standing before her. Aisling stood no taller than the creature’s waist, if barely that. The Banshee had its lips parted, not a sound coming from her. Aisling met the blind gaze without fear or hesitance, hands folded behind her back and neck craned upwards.

“You miss him.” Celestia doubted she would have heard the Fae if the storm encompassing them was making any noise. “You mourn for him, and for others like him.”

The Banshee did not utter a word, not even a breath of air. Its unseeing gaze told as much as her absent words. The only sign it even heard the Fae’s word was the slight tilting of its head. Celestia could not help but wonder if this creature, so named Annabelle Lee, even knew the words Aisling spoke.

“Taken by angels, kept by demons, and forgotten by all.” More noticeable than the first action, the Banshees head lowered slightly. Celestia took it as she saw it.

In this Banshee were the memories of this supposed Annabelle Lee, a maiden from the sea. How preserved the moments of her now long past life are was a matter of debate, but as the Princess of the Day would never forget the banishment of her own sister, she very much doubted this near ethereal creature would forget her own imprisonment.

Celestia blinked at her own inner deduction.

As much of a sleuth as she prided herself to be with others, what she had down was nothing short of foresight, done so without any ritual or magic. She looked at the tome still held in her grasp before she bothered to ask herself how it was possible.

“But it was not all, not entirely.” The alicorn focused on the Fae as she began to speak again. “It was all… but him.” The nymph spoke with a spark of warmth, the alicorn knew she did not imagine it. And if she had, the smile that played at the Fae’s pale lips was apart of it. “He who is yours.”

Now Annabelle reacted.

This figure, only a trait away from being an apparition, raised its hands to its mouth silently as if to hold back a cry Celestia wasn’t sure she would have heard. Her form hunched as if struck, shoulders slumping forwards as if to guard her heart, knees rising to protect the same thing.

“Don’t worry, don’t mourn.” Aisling’s instructions were kind in tone, though they were blunt in speech. “He may be passed, but he is waiting. I know, and you know.”

The Banshee, Annabelle Lee, lifted her gaze to the Fae, her sightless eyes staring as if they possessed a vision of which they did not. The Fae was unperturbed by the sight. Rather, she was grateful for it. It was the only way Celestia could justify the smile across the small nymph’s lips.

Then Aisling began to sing.

BEGIN

In a land of peace and harmony, Celestia had heard ponies of all ages and lands sing before. She had heard ballads, sonnets, poems, verses, rhymes, and even sung allegories. Ever one of them was beautiful in some way, some small piece that captivated her ears.

What Celestia heard now was something else entirely.

The words Aisling sung did not simply wash over the alicorn, they flowed through her. They enveloped the mare like a cool blanket, chilling her skin and taking breath from her lungs. Her spirit froze as the voice continued to sing its song. For all the alicorn was prepared for, this was not among them.

Annabelle Lee responded in much the same way as the diarch. Her unseeing eyes widened at the chords, her hands falling to her chest as the words overcame her. The form she had hunched over in pain now was bent to listen. Without a word, without sight, without sound, the Warner of Death gave all her attention to the Fae.

Aisling was the only one among the trio that was not frozen by her haunting hymn. Her eyes shut lightly as she let the magic of her words flow from her lips, tiptoeing across the snow. Her long hair waved in a hardly felt wind, blithely twisting in the air. Her neck arched with each word she sung with emphasis, dropping only when the chords permitted.

The nymph’s arms waved around her, in a manner the alicorn immediately recognized as a dance. Though it was a motion she had never seen before, a ballet she hardly recognized, she could tell from the control twists, the gentle flicks, and slow arching of the Fae’s fingers that she was, indeed, dancing. It only became too clear as the slow strides of Aisling became small twists, her body twirling with her long mane, that the dance was more than an act of enjoyment.

The storm around the three was hardly felt while the Banshee sung; now it was something else entire. Before it slashed at them like a cruel animal, then it whimpered like a startled babe. Now, under the power of Aisling’s song, it comforted them.

What was once a coo chill made only by Aisling’s haunting hymn was now a mother’s embrace, accompanied by the slow twirling drafts of the blizzard wind.

Then Annabelle Lee began to sing.

As it was before, the Banshee’s tune was not filled with colorful words or descriptive language. Instead, it was a continuous tone, a long gorgeous chord that filled the few vacant pockets of air with life. Unlike before, however, it was not a cold tune that warned of a coming end. It was light as mist, soft as grass, and full of a love that Celestia could feel.

The tall pale figure folded her forelimbs upwards, clasping her dull claws together. Her unseeing eyes looked upwards, up at a thing the diarch didn’t believe existed. The silk of her gown waved as she continued to sing, matched the chords and rhyme of Aisling with an almost practiced ease. Never once faltering, never once failing.

Celestia watched them, captivated by the song, the dance, and the storm around them. They flowed together with magic even the immortal alicorn hardly ever saw. It was not a magic that she could teach, even if she wished to, nor was it one a filly or colt could easily learn.

It was a magic not of the mind nor body, but the heart and soul. It was a channeling of magic that was given strength, not guidance by the soul’s admission, by the heart’s desire. For every turn and twist the Fae committed to, the storm mimicked. For every rise and fall the Banshee sung, the wind repeated.

The diarch watched mutely through the entire performance, never once daring to think of turning away. It was a more amazing than sight then nearly anything else the alicorn had been blessed to see, nearly. The Book of Kells was held strongly in her ethereal grasp, glowing gold under the magic of Celestia, its own golden linings shimmering with the light.

Then Celestia began to sing.

Her voice was much deeper than the Fae or Banshee’s, though by no means less wonderous to hear. While the words and chords of the former two ancient creatures were the silk to the bedding, wrapping the listener in a cocoon of serenity, Celetia’s carefully sung tones lifted them up, holding them suspended in the air.

She let her body move with the word she sung, waving her head in tune with her mane, matching the rise and fall of the chords. Her legs sauntered as she trotted, unwilling to dance but fully prepared to lose herself in the magic of the words, the magic of the Fae, the magic of the Banshee, but most importantly, her own magic.

Before the storm wavered and stalled against the voices of the Fae, now it trembled.

It wavered and shook under the force of the singing immortals, their words and magic guiding it like a shepherd to a flock. The snow waved towards one direction before being swept in another, flowing not like an angry hail in the midst of a storm, but a leaf atop a flowing stream. Peaceful, serene, but nonetheless captivating to watch.

And so their song and dance continued, guiding magic through their words and actions, leaving their thoughts aside from guidance. Magic was meant to be wondrous, and sometimes, acts of wonder came from the lack of thought. This… this was a magic that was long lost to Equestria, a magic not of thought and compromise, but heart and soul.

The nymph that led the song ceased her dance only when she was just a pace away from the Banshee, her voice falling until her lips shut, words and song no longer coming from her. She looked up to the ghost of Annabelle Lee, smiling a kind and forgiving smile. The song around them began to fade.

“Go,” Aisling whispered as her part ended. The Banshee lowered its gaze to the Fae. “He is waiting. You can go now.”

The song ended.

END

Shortly after the storm ended.

Like a falling curtain, the blankets of ice and snow came tumbling down, no wind to guide them or air to hold them. It was a silent fall, one that blinded the

Annabelle Lee was gone.

The silence was tranquil, a peace that came from the absence of sound. There were no harsh winds or soothing melody, only the clear air and crystal structures around them. Celestia took in a breath of the cold air, letting it fill her lungs.

It was in spite of everything that had occurred thus far, it was in disregard to what they had seen up till now, but in this moment, next to a Fae far older and her kingdom, Celestia felt good.

“She is happy.” Aisling’s words slowly drew the diarch back into reality. Her words sounded as if they spoken only breath’s length away from here, the silence of the air a boom for her whispering voice.

“Because you helped her,” Celestia clarified. “That what a very kind thing of you to do.”

“Kind?” The nymph questioned. “It was normal. We help what needs help. That is nature.” Celestia, oddly enough, was only too happy to agree.

“I believe this is yours.” Celestia lightly waved her head to guide her magic.

Even through the song she sang, eyes closed and heart in bliss, she never let her magic over the tome fade. It was a strong force, a protective aura, that kept the book safe, just as she promised the small Fae she would. It was still just as brilliant, still just as heavy, and Celestia was keen to say still just as warm.

Aisling’s small arms eagerly grabbed the Book of Kells, pulling it close to her chest as the golden aura around it faded. Celestia smiled kindly down at the nymph. It was a gesture that was returned. The pair swiftly turned their attention to the large spire, not too far off in the distance.

“She is there.” Celestia did not need to question it.

“She is.” Aisling did not need to doubt it.

“Then let us be off,” Celestia extended her wing towards the nymph once more, just as before. “We must be swift if we are to end this before it begins.”

“We will end this,” Aisling spoke confidently, an ancient strength rumbling her chords. She did not grab the alicorn’s wing, however. Instead, she jumped with impressive height onto the mare’s back. Celestia was stunned only momentarily, quickly righting herself. “For Brendan and his people, for my people and our land, this will end.”

The diarch nodded, shutting her eyes as she channeled the magic of her sun into her horn. Guiding her thoughts, focusing her wishes, she projected for the throne room…

“But we are too late.”

Celestia’s magic stopped.

The glow of her shorted out as connections within her mind failed. Wide eyes turned to the pale nymph on her back, questing with her gaze alone what the Fae meant. Aisling, head bowed behind a long mane of cascading white, answered.

“It has started.”

Twilight was shaking, not shivering.

She felt cold within, but not without.

Her eyes could only see one thing, but she was far from blind.

Her brother, Shining Armor, was bloody and broke on the crystal floor.

“SHINING!”

The terrified cry ripped from her throat as the mare galloped forward, faster than she believed she ever could. Her hooves beat at the crystal with a strength that threatened to crack them, her fearful cries almost enough to shatter them, but the prone and unmoving form of her brother did not give her any notice.

“Shining! Shining!” Twilight wailed as she was soon on top of her brother, sliding to a stop on the cold floor. Her hooves placed themselves over the Captain of the Guard, shaking him like a scared foal would her mother. “Say something! Shining! Please!”

Tears blurred her vision, hiding what the unicorn was sure would have been a sickening sight, more sickening than it already was. What it was was enough to make her stomach rumble with disgust. What little she could still see consisted of colors.

She saw the white of her brother’s coat, hiding beneath the normal purple of his armor, concealed a bit more by the blue of his mane, but all three drenched in red. So much… red.

Then Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder.

The unicorn whirled at the pressure, her senses pushed to a dangerous level. Her terrified and wet gaze made out the blurry image of Rainbow, her mane and coat the only features of the pegasus she could see. Twilight wasted no time in brushing her friend’s hoof off of her. Dash wasted just as much time grabbing the unicorn again.

“Let me go!” Twilight screamed. Dash did no such thing. Rather, instead, she pulled the unicorn back from her brother. Twilight was reminded once more why Dash was a master athlete. Her strength meant nothing against the pegasus’s.

“Twi, calm down!” Rainbow yelled at her, though far softer than the unicorn did. In a sane state of mind, Twilight may have heeded her friend’s words. She was far from sane.

“No!” She nearly screeched back “Let me go! My brother needs me! Let me go! We need to help! We… We need to find Cadance!”

“Do not worry. I am here.” Twilight’s and Rainbow’s respective heads whipped towards the words.

From just behind the Crystal Throne, a sultry figure walked out. It was almost a poetic, definitely clichéd, but nevertheless an eye-catching sight.

The pink-coated form of Princess Cadance was a sight that brought unending relief to Twilight. It didn’t matter that her eyes were grinning like her lips, that he form walked without hurry, that she appeared to walk as if above the, that she stared more at the pegasus and unicorn than her own husband. All that mattered was that Cadance was here, so Shining could be saved.

“Cadance!” Twilight blubbered through her tears. “C-Cadance! Shining! He’s hurt, we have to help him! Macha must have hurt him!”

“I did not hurt him.” The pink alicorn spoke in a voice colder than the air from a mountain’s peak. “I killed him.”

All the relief and hope of saving her brother died like the storm outside.

Past Now Present

Twilight couldn’t breathe; she could hardly see. Her chest was tight, mouth agape, and eyes wider than they had ever been before. Her pupils dilated to the point of being pin needles, she focused on only one thing in the grand crystal hall.

She couldn’t see the shimmering walls, nor the diamond floor. She couldn’t see the stained glass of the windows, or the clear skies beyond them. All she could see, the only thing her mind allowed her to perceive, was the hubristic pose of Cadance.

Twilight felt herself lean against Dash, too shocked by what was around her. Her legs were jelly and her mind nothing but gravel. Had Dash not been there, the unicorn would have likely found herself unceremoniously fallen into a heap on the ground. It already felt as if her stomach was there. With a trembling jaw and unshed tears, Twilight spoke.

“W-Why?” The question was hovering in the air long before the unicorn spoke. Cadance smiled and answered nonetheless.

“He was in the way. He had a tendency to do that.” It was a comment that Cadance would have normally made, with an expression much like the one she was giving now; lips turned up in a coy grin, eyes sparkling with a guilty-like delight. But this was no joke, not to Twilight. Cadance didn’t appear to think the same.

“You… you killed Shining because…” Twilight leaned in closer to her brother’s still form, fighting herself to wrap her hooves around him. “… What?”

“In the way, Twilight,” Cadance repeated with no tremor or fear in her voice. She was as collected as if this were any other day with any normal circumstance. “Trying to stop what needed to begin, not taking ‘no’ for an answer. You and I both know how stubborn he can be at times.” She giggled.

Giggled.

Twilight felt bile rising in her stomach. It was either the extreme cold or cold terror that kept her muscles from allowing it to come up. Instead, she merely knelt closer to her brother, trying her best to wish the horror around her away.

Rainbow had a very different reaction.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” The pegasus shouted at the top of her lungs, flaring her wings as she took to the air. She hovered just above Twilight, between the unicorn and the now clearly-twisted alicorn. “There is no way you did this! I don’t even have to question it! Nu uh, not you. I’ve got a better chance of Fluttershy beating me in a race than you doing something like this!”

“That was before Macha came.” The words were spoken with that same sing-song voice.

It made Dash’s mind freeze for a moment, but only a moment. It was hard for anything to keep the mare still. This didn’t make her stop, it made her mad.

“Macha’s here? Macha did this?!” Rainbow pointed an accusing hoof towards the heap that was one Shining Armor, face furrowed in rage as she glared daggers at the pink alicorn. Cadance either didn’t mind the heat of the gaze, or enjoyed it. Neither made the pegasus any less angry.

“Yes and half-yes, Dash.” Cadance admitted as she began to walk down the stairs. Her hooves clopped loudly against the crystal floor, resounding through the otherwise silent hall. Every small beat of hoof on crystal made Twilight shift closer and closer to her brother, her tear-stained gaze hoping something would change soon, preferably for the better. “She is here, but she only came to talk. Shining was the one who wouldn’t stop getting in the way.” Cadance let her muzzle turn into a thoughtful pose, lips puckered and upturned. It was a poor joke.

“I suppose that is what makes it my fault. I couldn’t seem to tell him to stop.” The words did nothing but turn Twilight’s cold gut into a pit of misery.

“Then where’s Macha now?” Rainbow was holding back her shout, choosing to growl at the princess instead. She’d save shouting for later, when Cadance and/or Macha was beneath her hooves.

“Gone,” Cadance offered swiftly and easily. “Doing what only a goddess like her can do. She said to wait for her, and so I’m waiting. I’m sure she’ll be back soon enough.”

“Well get her back then!” Rainbow shouted back without a moment’s hesitation. “‘Cause Twilight and I are gonna beat the snot, hay, and whatever else is in her, out of her! If she doesn’t show her face soon, she’s nothing but a coward!”

Rainbow heard a rustle behind her.

“As my subject wishes.”

BEGIN

The suddenness of the voice made Twilight gasp, whirling around to face the speaker. Dash did much the same, jumping up as she beat her wings instinctively. What they saw, however, neither could easily explain.

It appeared similar to Aisling, but that was to say Sweetie Belle appeared similar to Princess Celestia. This creature, coated in a red gown with bare skin and a mane darker than night, towered above them, to a height that even the princesses would be forced to raise her gaze up to meet. Its red gown, hanging from the nape of its neck to the bends of its knees, flowed under a wind neither mare could feel. Its hair billowed likewise.

Though Twilight and Rainbow could not feel the wind, they felt the cold. It was enough for both of them to prefer the blizzard’s cutting winds.

“Lady Macha.” Twilight looked to see the twisted voice of Cadance speaking, sounding as if she were pleased to be in the presence of this... thing. “You have returned. Does that mean I can go now?”

“Everything is prepared.” The creature, Macha, turned to the pink mare. Its smile made Twilight shiver and Rainbow snarl, somehow, even more viciously. “You may go.”

“Of course! Thank you my lady!” Twilight was only too mortified by the joy to which Cadance spoke. Rainbow, thankfully, was more focused on what they had said.

“Whoa! Hold on!” The pegasus challenged, flying and landing in front of the pink alicorn before she could take a single step forwards. “You’re not going anywhere! And you!” Dash shouted as she twisted and pointed her hoof at the red gowned creature. “You’re going to explain just what the hay is goi-”

Something heavy and blunt hit her over the back of the head.

It took the rainbow-maned mare a moment to realize that she was just hit by Cadance, likely bucked by the way it felt. It took another moment for her to register she was flying... without her wings. By the next one that passed, she was a sack of wheat across the hall’s floor, ragdolling to a painful stop.

“Rainbow!” Twilight cried her friend’s name in fright, galloping the few strides necessary to reach her injured friend. “Rainow! Are you okay?!” The pegasus groaned from her position on the floor.

“Get the number of that cloud,” she dizzily droned as she rolled her head, lifting a hoof to her tender skull.

Twilight let out a sigh of quick relief. Rainbow was one of only two ponies she knew would crack a joke at her own injury. The situation around her, however, quickly took precedence as it came back into focus. The unicorn’s head whipped to see Cadance trotting, nearly skipping out of the room, her gaze beaming up towards Macha. It was a look Twilight remembered giving to Celestia often.

She was sickened.

“W-Wait! Wait!” Twilight called out, but Cadance had already left, out of the crystal hall and to a place she did not know. That left only the frightened unicorn, the dizzy pegasus, fallen stallion, and the creature of cold darkness, all but one gazing upon each other with varying expressions.

The creature stared at them for a time, Twilight too lost to make a quick decision, still reeling from all that had happened so far. Dash was only able to offer the occasional groan of pain upon the floor, trying to pick herself up as fast as she could. Macha was as still as a statue, only her red gown and dark mane billowing in the nonexistent wind.

“You’re… You’re Macha?” Twilight finally found her voice, choosing to speak questions rather than accusations. No matter how little, questions always led to more information than harsh threats. The creature then took in a slow breath of air before responding.

“I am,” The voice of the creature made the unicorn swallow on a ball in her throat. “Who are you to speak with me and charge my loyal subject?”

Twilight again found herself swallowing on nothing, entire being feeling suppressed by the creature that towered over her. Twilight, the unicorn that had braved Discord’s twisted spells, dared to challenge Nightmare Moon, and discovered the threat of the Changling invasion felt nothing but cold dread in the presence of Macha.

THe goddess did not speak her question again. Instead, she continued her walk forwards, each step of her bare feet tapping on the crystal floor. Her red gown continued to sway to her side, following her movements as if commanded to. Twilight didn’t think it was entirely impossible.

She followed the creature’s path, watching with a bent form as Macha walked around her, sharp eyes upon the pair of them. Twilight could only describe the gaze as a pair of daggers, sharper than any other blade and just as likely to cut.

It was only when Macha circled the pair that Twilight realized she had left her brother alone. Cold panic unrelated to the cold air seeped into her very being. This witch was much closer to her brother’s body than Twilight was. Macha, either through a keen eye or more of her unfamiliar magic, sensed the distress of the mare.

“You worry for him, do you not?” Even the words she used to ask the question were unwelcoming, tone and voice aside. Everything about the beast felt so… cold.

Twilight’s ears perked as she heard speaking behind her. “We’re a little… little past worried.” Twilight turned her head toward the voice, just enough to see Rainbow shifting herself off of the ground. She was pushing herself up, hooves trembling to stay straight. The throbbing that was doubtlessly coursing through the mare’s battered mind didn’t stop her from giving the tall figure a cold glare of her own. “When you see something… something like that.” A blue hoof flashed quickly over to Shining’s still form, returning quickly to keep herself upright. “You don’t feel worry, you feel angry.”

“Perhaps you do, but she does not.” Macha turned her head from Rainbow to Twilight once more, noting aloud the differences she saw. “You scowl at me, showing only the depth of your ignorance. She offers the awe I deserve, though the horror she feels can be understood.”

“Cut the crap!” Rainbow clenched her teeth as she shouted, shaking her head in a vain hope to shake away the pain. “You just killed her brother! The horrifying thing is what I’m gonna do to you.”

Twilight was staring at Rainbow, part out of shock and more out of admiration. Where Twilight was frozen with indecision, Dash shouted, threatened the monster that froze Twilight to the core. Macha, however, offered only an upturned nose and sharpening of her eyes.

“You venture far from your place, mare.” Without a breath, Macha blew a chilling wind to the pegasus. The freezing breeze stilled any throbbing within her mind, but it also froze the rebellious notion in her soul. “Speak only of matters you know.”

Rainbow fed her lower lip in between her teeth, nibbling on the skin as she fought back another outcry. That feeling she had… she had felt it before. She had felt it when she fell from her first cloud. She experienced it when she had failed her first flight test. She felt it when Discord told her Cloudsdale would fall. It was simple.

Macha made Rainbow Dash afraid.

“You presume that I have wrought lethal harm upon this stallion.” Macha’s pale arm floated towards Shining Armor, red gown flowing beneath the appendage. “But I have done no such thing.”

Those words found Twilight her fire.

“Yes you did!” Twilight shouted with all the intensity Rainbow had before her, if not more. Her hooves slammed into the ground as she did so. “Cadance even said, you… killed him because he was trying to stop you!”

Twilight didn’t see it. She didn’t even feel it until it was gone.

Something slapped across her face.

Her face felt cold. Not the cold of pain that came from injury. Twilight had enough of those to know the sensation well. This… this was the cold that came from a splitting wind or winter chill. This was cold that froze water and changed seasons.

This cold had left small patches of ice across her muzzle.

“You both speak out of turn, and you speak too freely.” Macha’s apathetic words came once more, holding no less ice than the slap she had just given. “This punishment is enough, but now you will be wary of your words.”

There was a part of Twilight’s mind that was glad she was the one who was struck by… whatever Macha had used to hit her. If Dash were the one to be hit, she would have charged the creature without a second’s hesitation. At least Twilight had the forethought to think before making a hasty decision.

It was magic, doubtlessly magic, but it was a kind of magic she had never seen. It was not her magic, a unicorn’s magic created through manipulation of magical energy. It was not Discord’s magic, created through mass and space manipulation. It definitely was not Aisling’s magic even, as no words nor sound were made aside from the moment of impact.

Yet still she felt pain, and there was ice in her fur to prove it. Her hoof began to scrape it away, feeling small strands of her coat being pulled at the force.

“Why…” Twilight began, biting every instinct her mind to yell before she continued on. “Why did you… kill… my brother?”

“I did not kill him.” Macha easily, so easily, returned to Twilight. “Not in the methods and manner by which you think.”

That was it. Twilight felt her hooves digging into the ground, ready to jump at Macha, plans be damned! Rainbow had much the same thought process, her wings flared and itching to let her take off. But before either could, or did, act, Macha spoke on.

“I did kill him, but not his body.” The words did nothing but make the hatred in Twilight’s core grow deeper and colder. “He was much like the mare from mountain kingdom, strong and confident. I bent his legs, tried to bend his will, but he would not allow it.”

“You killed him because he wouldn’t listen to you!” Rainbow Dash shouted what Twilight wanted to scream. The unicorn, however, was still to frozen by the sight and words to do little more than tremble.

Macha gave a small frown, shaking her head with slow and deliberate waves. When she stopped, she took in a slow breath of air, closing her eye as if in thought. Then, she spoke on.

“He resisted the bending of his will, so I had to break it.” The pale creature walked closer to the fallen form of Shining, grinning the same cold grin that made the blizzard from earlier feel no different than a summer’s sun. “It is a painful experience, of this I know. It was enough for his body to surrender to nothingness. Now, I have corrected his mind. When he awakens, he will be well.”

“Well?” Twilight questioned, her lips turned in abject horror. “Wha… what do you mean well!? You hurt him! You’ve broken him!” Despite the ferocity of the mare’s words, Macha did little more than sharpen her smile.

“You must be broken in order to heal.” Whether by her pride or confidence, Macha turned away from the fallen stallion and the mares, looking out a nearby window to the now clear and empty sky. She placed one of her dulled claws upon the crystal sill, letting her red gown and black mane flow in the entering wind.

“It is a rule of nature, a law that the first of my kind taught without words.” If Twilight were in a sounder mind, she would have noted clearly the words she heard. As of now, however, she could only dumbly listen as the menacing figure spoke on. “Trees must fall for forests to grow. Hills must flatten for plains to rise. Even death must come before life can enter.”

Macha took another slow breath. Rainbow narrowed her eyes as she flared her wings further. She was waiting for the perfect moment, the right moment to pounce on the creature. All she needed was a clear line between her, Macha, and the window to outside. Dash didn’t know a lot about this “god”, but she knew it didn’t have wings.

“What are you?” The pegasus twisted her head to see Twilight repeating the question. The horror no less present than the first time. “What… what kind of thing breaks some pony like that?! What kind of monster are you?!” For all Twilight’s screaming, Macha seemed not even slightly perturbed.

“In order to set things right, they must be broken. Would you prefer I had killed him?” The very suggestion made Twilight’s stomach sink, and it was clear to the others in the room. “I thought not. And in truth, the one called Cadance did not either.”

“What in the hay is that supposed to mean?” Rainbow asked, gritting her teeth to the point that they were in danger of cracking. “No, scratch that, what did you do to Cadance? I’ve known her just long enough to know she’d never be okay with this, and I mean never.” Twilight had known Cadance far longer than Dash, but her friend was right. It was another question she had, one of many important life-risking questions that had to be asked.

“I awakened her.” Neither mare liked the sound of those words. The cold, sharp smile adorned on Macha’s face did not help.

“Awakened?” Dash repeated the word as a question, one the pale creature easily picked up on.

“Yes, as one would call any epiphany.” Macha looked away from the pair long enough for her dark eyes to fall on the alabaster stallion behind her. Twilight felt her hooves dig into the ground in panic. Her instinct was to charge, but her mind told her to wait. She always listened to her logical side.

“She was terrified of me, whimpering as a babe, gazing upon a new world.” Macha paused briefly, why she did so was beyond the two ponies. “Her husband was the one to charge me, caring not for my words and preferring only a show of his force. It did not bode well for him. “

“You tortured him.” Twilight hissed the word venomously. Macha simply cared not.

“I broke what I could without robbing his life. He is a loyal stallion, and loyalty deserves no punishment, only a shift in direction.” Dash growled, the goddess’s previous words hitting home. Macha’s head then turned away from the two. It was not enough to see the cold expression of her face, the dark eyes and sharp smile, but it was enough to see where she was looking. It required only a glance for Twilight and Rainbow to see the creature staring at the Crystal Throne.

“The display did much to fracture the pink one’s mind.” Twilight held in the urge to vomit. “It was enough for me to set it right. And when I was done, she was thankful.” The creature’s dull claw roamed through its dark mane, pulling at the ever-billowing strands. It appeared to be more out of habit than necessity. “She blamed the pain of her spouse upon herself. A noble thought, but incorrect.”

“That’s why she said it,” Rainbow whispered the words, a cold revelation working through her mind. “She blames herself for what happened to Shining, because he was protecting her from you!”

Now Macha turned towards the pegasus, her red dress twisting about her. It would have been a regal image if the sight of the tall creature alone did not make the mares’ shiver. But Macha did not approach them. Instead, she merely gazed down at the sleeping form of Shining Armor.

“As I said, it was needless. His loyalty was not punished, only the direction in which it lay. That has been corrected, and when he awakens, I will reward him.” There were no less than a million thoughts racing through Twilight’s mind.

Her brother was okay, in the very loosest use of the word. Shining was injured to the point of bleeding, he was unconscious from pain, his mind had been played with, and his wife was being used as some sort of sick marionette. But he was alive, and that was a significant difference than what Twilight had previously feared. She’d take any tidbits of hope while she was drowning in despair.

But a cold, sick thought loomed over all else.

“Are... you going to do that to us now?” Twilight asked the words as if she already knew the answer. What else could an immortal being such as this Macha desire with them? “Are you going to make us… worship you…?”

“Whoa, what!?” Rainbow was, to no surprise of Twilight, much more animated with the implications before them. “She’s gonna do that to us?! Nuh uh, no way! Nope! That’s already happened to me two times more than I need in my life! I’m not gonna let you make it a hat trick!”

“Calm yourself, little mare.” The chilling words of Macha echoed through the halls, vibrating through crystals like a war horn. “As of now, you are protected from me.”

“…What?” Twilight had to think before she asked, to make sure Macha had spoke correctly through her ancient dialect. She was not claiming to protect them, they were being protected from her. “What is it?”

“I know little of the how or why, but you are the same as the white one from before.” Rainbow and Twilight said nothing in return, though they watched the tall creature shut her eyes for a moment longer than a blink. “You have been touched, perhaps blessed, even, by the Stone of Fal, and it is enough for you to be... guarded from me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rainbow Dash began, snarling as she spoke. “But you’re out of your mind if you think a little magic is gonna make me do anything other than kick your flank!” The look Macha gave the pegasus was hardly different than before, with the same cold eyes and the same blank stare. Except now, her lips were tucked in a disapproving frown. It reminded the pegasus of the look her mother used to give her.

“You hold no more means to harm me than a bird does a storm.” The voice echoed across the crystal hall, sending shivers down Rainbow’s back. She tried not to show it. Her wings instinctively tucked themselves in, but her eyes remained ablaze. “You only stand because I do not want any of my subjects harmed.” That got Twilight’s attention.

“Subjects?” The mare questioned singularly again. “You… you’re talking like we’re just… just going to bow down to you.” Twilight started to shake her head, starting slow by picking pace. It didn’t take long until her mane was starting to whip wildly around her. It stopped when she lifted and slammed one of her forehooves down.

“No!” Twilight shouted. “You’re not a god, you’re not even fit to be a ruler! You’re treating us like pawns, like… like we’re all just means to your end!” Rainbow was taken aback, and she’d never felt prouder of Twilight than right now.

“That is what you are.” Macha admitted with such apathy it made the air feel colder. “Your very existence is thanks to my will and blessing. Your lives till now and ancestors past have all existed because I once, long ago, rid this land of the ones who no longer worshiped us.”

Macha stood away from the window, walking towards the pair with a cold air about her, mane and gown still billowing in a wind the two still couldn’t feel. Despite the bareness of her skin, the goddess appeared only too comfortable.

“I have not returned to bring harm or folly. I have returned to finish what was started long ago, to begin what comes after the end.” It wasn’t long before the dark-haired creature towered over the two, cold eyes gazing down upon them. She leaned in close, bending over until her eyes were but horn’s length away from Twilight. The mare did all that she could to not whimper.

“I am to be the guide for your people as I was meant to be, long before that man’s last stand and seal.” Something small changed in Macha as she spoke. It was hardly noticeable, and it nearly escaped Twilight’s normally critical eye, but she saw at least a glimmer of it.

There was a light in her eyes. It looked so odd, to see something so bright in a creature so dark.

“You fear me.” Macha spoke without question. “And justly so. But you do not have to. I will rule again. I will lead these lands again. But you do not have to fear.”

“Why… not…” Rainbow Dash growled out, holding back her own instinct to slam into the pale creature.

Macha turned to her, smile and eyes no different than before, cold aura no warmer than moments ago. If anything, she seemed now ever colder than before.

Her next words turned the mares’ chill into solid ice.

“I will not be alone.”

STOP

If Celestia were honest with herself, then she would have admitted that she had grown rather out of shape the past few decades. Once upon a time, she could have soared through the skies with the grace of an eagle, letting the wind sbe her guide. She could have galloped across the endless plains, matching the strength of the strongest of dragons.

Now though, as her hooves beat against the floor, tearing through the crystal palace, she found herself weak, her breaths heavy, and her mind clouded with fear. The latter was due less to her body and more to the situation at hoof.

Aisling was running besides her, far more comfortable in the magically treated air of the palace than the biting cold outside. Despite the daunting difference in height between the two, the small Fae was keeping pace with the alicorn breathlessly. The book was tucked neatly beneath one of her arms, held securely as if it were a child.

Where the times any different, Celestia would have wanted to show Aisling the grand palace, show the nymph of the woods the splendor of magic beyond the trees. She would have wanted to show her the grand halls fastened to house hundreds, the gardens made to relax the mind, and even the Crystal Heart, a beacon of hope and love in the coldest part of Equestria.

But they were not racing to find the heart; they were running to stop it.

“Near,” Celestia breathed out in between strained panting. Her body was begging to stop, but her mind refused. “We are near now.”

“Yes,” Aisling agreed besides her, speaking completely normally. “I can feel it. Another one. Another center.”  Celestia knew well what the small Fae meant.

Just like the newly opened Ley Line center in the Everfree Forest, one was present here in the Crystal Kingdom. It was knowledge she was aware of far before she had taken her rule, let alone met Aisling. Why else go to the trouble of building a grand castle so far to the north?

“Is it still sealed?” The diarch extended her wings as they turned another corner, a long path now ahead of them. She tucked her wings as she began to spring again. Aisling leapt and bounded next to her without difficulty.

“Yes,” the nymph offered. “Like my forest, like Brendan left it.” A moment of silence was kept between the two, broken only by their great gallops and strong strides. “But it will not be for long. Not with her here.” There was no question what the Fae meant.

Just ahead of the pair, a great set of grand crystal doors blocked their path. They stood as tall as the oak doors in the Canterlot castle, but weighted with shimmering stone, not stained wood. No bolts nor locks were set between the two, only hinges to keep them from falling to the ground. Celestia summoned her magic with ease, surrounding the objects with the intent to swing them open. She would never have needed to stop. But before she could, Aisling acted.

The nymph bounded ahead of her with two great leaps, the Book of Kells swinging in her arm as she jumped forwards. On her third jump, she launched herself forwards. With a grace Celestia had not seen outside of her own ponies, Aisling twirled in mid air, her long mane wrapping around her as she did so.

When she was only hoof lengths from the door, she straightened herself, letting her thin legs slam into the closed doors. They blew open as if struck by Cerberus.

With as much grace as her jump, Aisling twirled backwards to the ground, landing with ease on her feet. Then, with only a deft flick of her long mane, she began to run forwards again. Celestia, despite running as fast as her long legs would allow, never once caught up with the nymph.

Behind the pair of grand doors was another addition to the castle, though not one Celestia was eager to approach. Immaculately carved and shaped stairs were before them, twirling up and out of sight. Celestia’s pace slowed, if only to remind herself that she could not stop, not with a beast like Macha here in the Crystal Empire.

The diarch unfolded her wings as her hooves touched down on the first step, lightly beating them with each stride she took. It was not enough to raise her into the air, but it was enough to make the otherwise steep climb manageable. Celestia already scorned Sombra for his crimes against the Crystal Ponies, but she was starting to understand why Twilight was displeased with the castle itself.

“It is like Kells.” Aisling spoke besides her, still bounding up the stairs with no difficulty in her gait. She was leaning forwards now as she ran, keeping the golden tome tucked against her chest, safe. Her free hand beat against the steps ahead of her legs, however, making her appear almost as if she were a wolf, long white mane trailing fluidly behind her. “It is like Brendan’s Tower, made of steps for those who cannot climb. Few of them could climb.”

Where the timing any different, Celestia might have inquired further about this Kells, and the tower it had. But for now, she was running to stop a long-dead god, nearly out of breath as she ascended a nearly innumerable amount of stairs.

“Almost… Almost there.” The diarch breathed out some time later between her strides and wing-beats, spurring herself on further. Then as if answering her command, another pair of doors appeared around the circular staircase, hiding behind it the chamber both the Fae and alicorn sought.

Celestia was faster with her magic now, quickly waving her head back, then forth as she summoned her ethereal spell. In an instant, the doors were surrounded by her golden aura, swinging under her command. If Aisling was impressed, didn’t show it. Her gait did not slow either. It took only a few more strides before the pair reached the top of the staircase, looking now at the destination they both desired.

They stood out above the Crystal Kingdom, high in the tower that overlooked the now clear landscape below. From the mountains that decorated the horizon to the white plains far behind, all was clear for them to see.

Snow still powdered the crystal flooring, one of the few remnants of the blizzard now past, but despite the absence of the snow storm, the air was no warmer at this elevation. Yet, despite the biting cold, Aisling made no move to warm herself against Celestia as she had before. And the same, Celestia did not find herself folding her wings back into her side. Rather, both had their gazes fixed on something else.

At the center of the platform, floating in the air without a pony’s or Fae’s command, the Crystal Heart of the Empire hovered. It spun slowly and lightly, giving any onlooker more than enough time to see and appreciate every intricate detail of the wondrous sculpture. But one did not need to be magically attuned to recognize there was more to the heart then met the eye.

Even with the cold around them, a gentle warmth was given off by the Crystal Heart, a soothing heat that felt like a friend’s comforting hug, a lover’s soft kiss. It was a sight and feeling Celestia had felt many times before, just as many times as she had gazed upon the heart and helped the Kingdom in its early days. Aisling as well felt similar things, but from an object not far different from this heart.

“It’s a seal.” The words, as simple as they were, were enough to grab Celestia’s attention with the swiftness of the wind.

“What?” She half repeated, both understanding but disbelieving the Fae. Aisling, pulling the Book of Kells closer to her chest once more, spoke in more detail.

“It’s a seal for the Ley Lines, a lock without a key. Made by Brendan’s people, casted by Brendan’s people, and holding back another…” Celestia heard the nymph growl like a threatened hound. It was the most oddly disturbing sound given the small size of the Fae.

“Another what, Aisling?” The diarch questioned, turning to face the smaller immortal. “Another what?”

“Another goddess.” Celestia recognized that voice.

Her head whirled towards its speaker, lighting her horn with a powerful spell ready to be cast. Her every intention was to the blast the creature from the high platform, letting her fall to the tower’s lowest floor. But when her pink eyes met the owner of the voice, she did not she whom she suspected.

It was not the dark goddess Macha, standing tall with dark mane and red gown, walking towards her with the aura of a forever frozen ice. Instead she saw a mare, a pony, a member of her very small family. With a trembling lip, Celestia spoke to her.

“Cadance.” The name came as a whisper, heard only because of the dead silence that surrounded them. The mare in question smiled cutely, as she had pulled a prank upon the elder alicorn.

“She’s tainted.” Aisling hissed before growled, snarling at the pink mare as she held the Book of Kells closer to her chest. “Tainted by the dark one, no longer in the light.”

“I don’t know you, but it is very rude to speak so harshly of somepony you’ve never met.” The Crystal Princess cajoled the Fae as if she were a child. “Besides, ‘no longer in the light’? I’d have to say that’s the complete opposite of what I am. Thanks to Macha, I’m no longer in the dark.”

“Macha,” Celestia repeated, feeling her brow furrow and anger rise at the name. “She got to you then, did something to you.” The diarch began to trot towards her niece, speaking as she did so. “Cadance, please listen to me. I do not know what Macha has done, but we can help you. Twilight and her friends are bringing the Elements of Harmony, Aisling knows magic I have never once imagined. We can cure you of Macha’s vile magic.”

“Vile magic?” Cadance repeated with a slight grin to her features. “Auntie, if any magic here is vile, it is the poor masque of magic you attempt to cast each day.” Celestia was stunned. Cadance took the opportunity to speak on.

“You spin the sun and cast a few rays of light, calling yourself a ruler to the ponies, a title you were never rightfully given.” There was always a line to be crossed, and Celestia found her niece passed it long ago.

“My title was not given, it was earned. As was my sister’s and as was yours.” There was no question to what Celestia accused Cadance of. The pink alicorn, however, only continued to smile.

“They are titles we do not deserve though.” The princess shook her head. “Not when there are others who truly deserve to be called goddesses above us.”

“…essess,” Celestia lightly whispered, fearing the implication. “Aisling, you said the heart was a seal. What is it sealing?”

The Fae, just outside of Celestia’s sight, adjusted the Book of Kells in her grasp, leaning her head over the golden tome as if to hide it. Cascades of her silver-white locks fell around her face, blanketing her feared expression. When she spoke, she spoke in a cold whisper.

“The Goddess of War’s Hatred. Anann.”

The Forest Is Never Alone

“A dash of evergreen, will create the steam, the powder of red moss, will keep it cross,” Zecora chanted in her rhythmic tongue as she worked over her cauldron, crouched in the middle of her hut.

It was not long after she and the young Apple Bloom returned from Aisling’s grove that she set to work. She was no longer merely a guest or visitor in the great Everfree, she was now a charge, a guardian given command to guard it. The zebra, for all her wisdom and knowledge, had never once been given a task of such weight. She knew full well the importance of the situation she was responsible for.

But the zebra could not defend the forest, not without preparing something new. What little she had was used to keep the beasts of the Everfree from attacking her. Not a thing in her possession was made to defend the forest as a whole. So used to, so sure of, the idea that the forest needed no protection, Zecora gave it none.

But now, the very guardian of the woods was asking her to keep it safe in her absence. It was not a task she could fail.

“Let it run with the blue, with Poison Joke’s hue. Then let it sit, like the red of Quick Whit,” Her hooves expertly placed the ingredients in the cauldron as she spoke on, each one acting upon the brew precisely as she had predicted. Her golden eyes peered over the iron brim, studying the concoction she was crafting.

It bubbled lightly with the fire stewing beneath the bot, slow and with great size, like thick molasses. It churned green now, after the addition of all the ingredients in the amounts the zebra had given, it was the perfect shade and hue. She nodded thankfully, sure that it was concoction was coming to fruition as she had wished for it to.

“Now I must move it to the highest tree; there it will keep this forest truly free.” A low sigh escaped her lips as she finished her words.

The stew she brewed was not to be ingested nor intentionally spilled. It was a brew she had read of in her homelands in what now seemed to be ages ago. It had the scent of magic, a taste of ancient arts, and even the color of life behind it. It would do little good for any pony, herself included, to look or draw upon the potion. It was not meant for ponies.

No, the potion she now vatted was meant for something else entirely. She knew full well that she alone, even with the aid of Apple Bloom, could not stand to defend an entire forest, not one that required the efforts of an immortal Fae. What Zecora needed was something to either stave away or draw deeply other ancient spirits. It took some time musing on her way back, just as much time spent in short conversation with Apple Bloom, but it was decided with good reason to pursue a potion to draw spirits.

It was as the ancient Aisling said, she was one of the last now in the land. With the awakening of the Ley Points, new spirits would awaken likewise, both of good and ill. If they were to defend the woods, they would have to draw the spirits that were willing to aid, for no potion would be strong enough to repel the likes of Macha.

So with Zecora’s brew concocted and ready to satiate the winds, all she had to do now was move it. The sagely mare closed her eyes as he thought of just how she was going to manage such a feat.

Apple Bloom had been only too eager to speak of where the tallest tree was, in a glade the Fae had told them from before, but she knew little of how to truly climb such a monolith. It was by the aid of the Tuatha that Apple Bloom was able to climb to such a height, but now she was gone. What’s more, it was incredibly unlikely Aisling would even be able to aid. Her cauldron, after all, was made of iron.

“Zecora?” The curious call of the young filly echoed outside her home. The zebra turned to face the door. “Zecora, can ya come out for a sec? Ah see somethin’ weird.” A small amount of fear gripped the zebra.

The unseen guardian of the Everfree was gone, leaving only the two ponies behind to guard it. Would it be possible for a foe to enter the forest so soon after Aisling’s hasty departure? Zecora could not think so. The Fae were elder creatures, caring not for time. To move in so swiftly after the pale nymph’s mission was the likely action of a creature that was laying in weight, not a great spirit restricted or bound.

Zecora placed a lid over her great pot, quickly making for the door soon after. It opened with a creak, lightly brushing against the twigs and frayed strands of rope. Light rays of sun warmed her coat, diluted by the high canopy. It was an experience she was used to at this point.

It took her barely a moment to located Apple Bloom, her bright coat obvious against the dark colors of the forest’s vegetation. She was turned away from the zebra, her bow and muzzle aimed into the dark foliage of the woods. Her tail swayed lightly, her body as still as the trees around her. Zecora trotted to the filly swiftly.

“What do you see with your youthful eyes? Is there something hidden in a guise?” Zecora asked, scanning the perimeter with her eyes. The filly turned to the elder mare as she approached, already used to Zecora’s rhyme scheme. Frequent visits had made that easier.

“Well, Ah ain’t gonna say it’s hidden, but Ah didn’t want ta just wander into the forest again, not without some pony with me.” If not for the warnings of her sister and Aisling, then the experience earlier today solidified the rule of making any new treks into the Everfree with a partner a must. Zecora looked from the filly to the spot in the forest she was gazing, and then she saw it.

It was impossible to miss.

Like the mist Aisling had sung to or the great moving portraits of Brendan’s tomb, there was a object in the forest that was moving without reason to. It didn’t sway like the fog or drift like the paint from before. Rather, it hovered.

There was a lone flower, cut from the steam and free of the earth, hovering above the ground.

Zecora stared at the object from a distance, her golden eyes squinting at it. She knew full well the impossibility of what she was seeing, impossible without the interference of magic. Though magic it clearly was, she knew knot whose it was.

“Ya think we should check on it?” Apple Bloom asked curiously, her gaze twisted in minor confusion and lips puffed out. Zecora blinked slowly before turning to the filly. Truthfully, she did not know.

It was something she would check on in most other days. The forest was her home, and there was little to fear in the woods. But with the guardian of the forest gone, and the threats of beyond ancient times returning, she knew little of how to approach such a thing. It was, to her great disappointment, outside of her experience.

But, her wisdom was not something to ignore. True, the times were different and the forest now changed, but to ignore a problem was something she simply couldn’t do. Though she could judge little on what the cause of the flower was, it was now her promise to protect the forest, and that meant judging what was normal in the Everfree.

“Indeed we should, but with care. There are new threats, we must beware.” The filly nodded at the zebra, crouching low to the ground. She stuck her tongue out, as if concentrating on how to sneak up on the airborne flower. Zecora eyed her for a moment, remembering that Apple Bloom, brave as she was, was still a filly.

Before Zecora could voice her concern, the filly began to tip-hoof into the woods, sneaking across the underbrush like a clumsy snake. It would have been cute and entertaining if the situation were not potentially dangerous.

The zebra reached out, ready to touch the filly on her shoulder, but Apple Bloom froze before contact was made. Her eyes were wide with wonder once more, but now bore a slack-jawed expression as well. Zecora stopped herself, confused, before her eyes turned back to the flower. And when she did, she saw why the filly had suddenly stopped.

The lone flower was no longer alone.

Around the floating bud hovered something new. Though difficult at first through the shadows and soft light, the new addition became clearer and clearer. It was colored almost completely green, varying only in shades and hues. It had no brown of bark nor colors of petals. Only greens, emeralds, and jades. Neither were branches of trees or bushels of shrubs upon it. Instead everything flowed together, all into one. From a distance, it looked as if it were made purely of silk.

That was not to ignore the fact that it, itself, was also hovering. Weightless in the air and free of any earthly bind, it drifted around the flower, lightly poking higher and lower around it, observing it with vast interest. Silent as a lifeless home, it moved about the lone thing, never doing more than what the two ponies could assume was simply looking.

Then it stopped.

Zecora and Apple Bloom felt a shiver run through their bodies, sensing without sight this new thing staring at them. Across the short clearing and through the foliage of trees, they stared at it and it stared at them. Silence was only kept away by the chorus of the Everfree.

Then it began to move toward them, slowly and gracefully as it had before. It did not lurch forwards nor charge with abandon. Instead it flowed, as if swimming through the air like water. So enchanted and unafraid, Apple Bloom continued to stare at it, raising herself to the tips of her hooves to better reach the height it approached as it came nearer and nearer.

Zecora was far more wary of the new creature, heeding the words of Aisling to guard her forest in her absence. Her form crouched slightly, preparing herself should she need to pounce or move at a moment’s notice. For now, however, she viewed the creature as far more curious than threatening. She could only hope it remained that way.

It didn’t take long for the creature of green to be within whispering distance of the two ponies, and when it was, far more became clearer to see. What was once silk was now seen to be moss, hanging in tightly grown clumps and hanging from its hovering form. Thicker strands were seen to be different, and not the previously thought to be singular object. There was indeed moss hanging from it, but there were also long vines laying downwards, grassy green ropes swaying like hair through the space beneath it.

Zecora and Apple Bloom stared at it, and it, assumingly, stared back at them. Apart from Zecora’s deep breathing and Apple Bloom’s light panting, the two made no other sound. The creature moved again before they did.

Either side of the hovering green figure rose upwards, curling towards the vines that hung from the top of its body. Zecora watched, both enthralled and cautious, as light green fingers poked out from beneath the thick moss. They were dainty, soft, like a freshly grown leaf on a newly blossomed tree. They snaked into the vines, lightly grabbing at the natural ropes. Then, with but a touch of effort, it moved the thick material away.

A face waited beneath.

It was just as green as every other part of the creature, but far more feminine than Zecora thought it would be. Every feature of the anomaly’s face appeared to be untouched, unmarred, by the forest, as if time had simply no effect upon it. Its skin… her skin flowed across her like the rays of a sun upon freshly formed dew.

The only part of the creature that was not green were her eyes. They were golden, much like Zecora’s own. An auburn tint with a curious spark, they peered down at the young filly and aged zebra, full of more wonder than animosity. It was a sight Zecora was somewhat relieved to see.

But if there was only one word Zecora could bring to say about the creature, it would be the word that Apple Bloom had just muttered beneath her awed breath.

“Beautiful.”

BEGIN

The green creature blinked as it looked down at the young filly, its lips still shut, completely silent. Her hands pushed away the remaining vines upon her head, letting them flow to the sides as if she truly did exist in water. Her body fell downwards, almost laying upon the ground as she stared at the filly. Apple Bloom returned the gaze without fright or hesitation.

The creature simply dwarfed the filly in size. Zecora could only imagine the imposing form of a manticore matching the height of this floating creature. But while the manticore would roar in protest of newcomers, this creature of green appeared only to be curious and involved.

“Me?” The word spooked Zecora.

It was ethereal to hear, as if it had not been spoken in centuries past. She could only assume that very much was the case.

“You bet,” Apple bloom spoke in return, her excitement visibly growing. Her tail wagged like a dog as a grin began to ripple across her lips. “Ya look like ya grew straight outta a tree. There are even some branches in yer mane.” The filly’s hoof pointed at the creature’s flowing vines, particularly a leafy attachment that stuck out from them. The creature, however, did not move to clear them.

“It was from a tree that I was born,” the creature spoke in return, her voice lacking none of the fluid tone from before. “A tree where I was wished, crafted, and now reside. A tree that is my home.” A dainty smile lifted her lips. “I remember you.” The words made Apple Bloom blink.

“Ya do? From where? No offense, but Ah would’ve recognized you if Ah’d seen ya before.” The smile on the creature vanished as swiftly as it had appeared.

“Do you not? It was only this morning.” The creature rose upward as she spoke, the full size of her body becoming clear. Zecora took a nervous step back, feeling very small in the shadow of the green creature. “You sat upon my highest branches, looking down upon the wood with awe and joy. It was there the guardian gave you her name.” A light of realization lit itself not in Apple Bloom’s mind, but Zecora’s.

“You are the highest tree of the Everfree,” the zebra spoke with sureness in her tone. “In the glade free of time, you are the tallest tree to climb.” And with those words the smile returned.

“I am,” she spoke in almost a whisper, pleasantries in her voice. “Though I do not remember you swinging from my branches, nor walking upon my roots.” Zecora, like Apple Bloom, blinked at the statement, realizing quickly what the spirit meant.

“Forgive me for the delay, but I have never been to the glade. I know only tales that are tall, as those are simple to recall.” The zebra gave a short bow the creature before raising herself back up. “I am Zecora of the Everfree. This meeting holds a great honor for me.”

“And Ah’m Apple Bloom!” The filly shouted gleefully, lacking the formalities of her striped friend. “What’s yer name?” Though lacking with the awe that satiated Zecora’s words, Apple Bloom held no disrespect in her tone. The tall and ever so elegant creature took none in return.

Rather, she leant down to the filly, scooping up the foal in her hands. Apple Bloom steadied herself as she found herself being raised into the air. It took little time until she was eye to eye with the green creature, staring eye-to-eye with the smile of the forest being.

“I have no name,” she spoke in her song-like voice, the wind following her words. “No title nor label to address by me. I used to be one of many, now I am one of a few. I was saved by the forest’s guardian, and now I grow the forest as I can.”

Zecora’s features went limp.

It was so obvious, too obvious now. The creature was what the young Twilight Sparkle suspected Aisling to initially be. She was not a Fae, not a member of the godly race of the Tuatha De Danann. She was not a creator of anything. She was merely created by something.

This green being had a tree of her own, a sacred root that she could not leave. She had a connection to the woods that only Aisling could rival. She was of a single form, as fluid and flowing as it was. She was what Zecora was attempting to communicate with before.

“You are a sprite,” Zecora whispered with the same awe she had offered Aisling before. “A being with only one plight. You nurture the woods as your home, letting the trees grow and flowers comb.” The green eyes of the green creature sparkled like the sun.

“You know of me?” Her voice asked with delight. “You know of what I do?” Apple Bloom swayed warily in the open palms of the large creature, doing her utmost to keep her four hooves planted.

“I know of stories about your history. Of the rest, you are still but a mystery.” The zebra shook her head more of shame than disrespect. “I may beg of you forgiveness, for much of this I am still amiss. Tales are easy to learn and speak, but to witness them is something to which I am still meek.”

“Actually, we do know yer guardian.” Apple Bloom spoke up, earning the quick gaze of the green fairy again. Her long, emerald-shaded hair waved in the wind, never settling about her shoulders. The young filly, easily dismissed the oddity of that. “Ah mean, you are talkin’ about Aisling, aren’t ya?” And with that question, the sprite’s face beamed again.

“Yes, the one who enjoys the branches as a home.” Apple Bloom and Zecora couldn’t ignore the way the vines and moss about the sprite appeared to flow with her own happiness. It was as if they flowed in her glee. “Countless seasons she has watched over us, ensuring protection in return for our trust. She comes in many forms, as many as the forest has. But every so often she takes the form of man.”

“Yeah, that’s what she said her friend was, right?” Apple Bloom questioned for clarification. “Ah mean, she never said it, but Brendan did look an awful lot like her, ‘cept he was a whole lot taller.”

A small gasp left the sprite’s lips.

One of her dainty hands was raised to her mouth, her golden eyes looking down upon the filly with what Zecora could only assume was shock. Shock, or horror. She prayed to Luna it was the former.

“You have met him?” Her ethereal voice questioned. “You met the one who saved the woods?” Apple Bloom nodded at the question, not doubting who the sprite spoke of. The action did little but cause the sprite to rise it the air. She was hovering well over the heads of the ponies now.

“Does that mean somethin’?” The filly asked curiously. “Ah mean, Aisling invited us to go see him, after we all asked politely ‘course. Then he just sorta… appeared.” Apple Bloom’s features slowly fell as she spoke, until her gaze was on the ground and not the new creature she had just met. Zecora did not have to guess why. “It made Aisling sad.”

“The guardian saw him?” It was a silent dash that put the creature to eye level with the filly, her face still absorbed in the shock of what she had been told. “She saw the savior?” Apple Bloom nodded again.

“If I may pose a question or two, why is this news important to you?” Zecora was careful with her words, but unlike the filly, her mind had never let go of the task she promised to the guardian, to Aisling. She had to defend the woods, and the sprite was very likely an ally they would need. “Surely Aisling must have spoken of this, a stranger that gave her life bliss.”

“The guardian spoke little of her past, of any past. Only of reminders that she had one.” The sprite’s hands vanished into the moss of her body as she looked away from the pair. “Only stories between my sisters and brothers, only whispers of what once was before the time of magic’s end.”

“Magic’s end?” Apple Bloom questioned. “Magic ain’t gone, we use it all the time.” Zecora, however, answered the filly in place of the sprite.

“She speaks not of magic that we require, but of the old world and what transpired. She means of Brendan and the fate of man, such as the Ley Lines and the Tuatha clan.” The sprite nodded eagerly towards the zebra, her vines shaking with her body.

“You know of those times, from your stories and tales?” The zebra made clear eye contact with the floating spirit before nodding again. “Then there is truth in them, truth in what they mean.” Now Zecora was lost again.

“What do you mean what they mean?” Apple Bloom questioned. “Do you know about Macha?”

END

The sprite let out a whimpering cry.

It was a pitiful sound, one that made Zecora’s heart sink more than it did her ears ring. She felt as if a piece of her heart bled by the sound alone, a torture call she could not endure. Her legs felt drained as her face fell down. The sprite fared no better.

Her entire form seemed to darken. The once-light moss grew old and decayed, her long vines thin and withered, even her smooth and soft face wrinkle and cracked. It was as if the filly and zebra had witnessed time wash over the sprite as eons in seconds.

“Wha-What’s wrong?” Apple Bloom blurted out, tears coming quickly to her eyes as she quickly trotted to the creature, placing her hooves on the green ends of the sprites form. “What happened?”

The sprite looked down at the filly, swiftly lifting her up to her face. Apple Bloom let out a small gasp of surprise before she righted herself, staring at the nymph with an all-but terrified gaze. The creature spoke not a word for a moment, instead letting her golden eyes stare at the filly, as if holding the small pony close for warmth. Apple Bloom shivered at the stare.

But slowly, collecting herself in the most literal of ways, life flowed back into the sprite. Color returned to her vines and moss, length to the mane of greens and thickness to the hide of grass. But it was not the same vibrant green as before.

Tints of deep blue ran over the once bright green, specks of white over the hints of emerald. The flowing moss and vines appeared far more rigid, the sprite’s hovering form nearly solid though shivering. It was if a frost of winter had settled over her. Her breath was still slow, her gaze was still terrified, but now she could speak once more.

“She is the one we whisper of, one of the three we shun to name. She is the one that heralds the coming, a spark for the fire or tip of the spear. The first to come and first to warn.” Zecora, for not the first time in her life, absorbed herself in the short story of the sprite.

“Who else will come from this past? Who will be next and who will be last?” The sprite turned to the zebra, her face no less shaken than before.

“We tell of three who were born as one, who live apart until their time has come. Macha will lead and find the two. She will find her sisters, Anann and Badb, and they will rule again.” Though Zecora doubted the sprite needed it, her breath seemed shallow and chest tight.

“W-W-What’s gonna happen then?” Apple Bloom was shivering like the hands she was standing on, terrified and confused. “What are they gonna do?” The sprite, lacking the delicacy of talking to a filly, coated nothing with soft words.

“They will become one, and they will be The Final Queen.” Nothing in that sentence sat well with the zebra, but the sprite was not done. “We must stop them, we must aid the guardian. We all must!”

“Hold for a moment wise sprite, as this also gives us much fright.” There was no need to explain the terror the zebra and filly shared. Just as the green sprite appeared frosted in cold, the two ponies shook in turn. “What is the name of this final queen and what is her coming to truly mean?”

The sprite stared at the zebra, glancing at the quivering filly before returning her gaze once more. Even the vines upon the creature shivered in the silence between the three.

“The Final Queen comes to rule, to take by force and command through destruction.” There were no other ways to take the sprite’s words, but she was not done. “She rules plains through embers, homes through infernos, and trees through a blaze. For her magic is not holy, for the savior gave his all to save us from her evil. The guardian wept for the savior, and we live for them both.”

“W-Who is she?” Apple Bloom asked in a whisper. The sprite answered with her own quiet words.

“She is the winged Fae. She is the meaning of decay. She is the luster of war. She is the messiah of hate. She is the hatred of all and the love of none. She is the beconner of crows and the horn for hell. She is everything the guardian is not.” The sprite finished her dark monologue with a whisper.

“She is the Morrígan.”

This Is My Forest

“An’ you be there ‘fore that fog rolls in, ya hear?” Applejack half spoke, half questioned her little sister, tone lowered to emphasize the severity of her words.

“Ah heard ya the first time sis,” Apple Bloom replied. The back half of her body was just visible to the older pony, sticking out from a wardrobe drawer as her upper half dug through it. Many choice items and articles of clothing were picked up and thrown from the wooden casing, landing uselessly and carelessly across the room. Applejack watched on with a dry gaze.

“Doesn’t matter how many times ya hear me. Ah only care about the one time ya actually listen ta me.” The farm pony spoke as she trotted the short distance across the room to her younger sister. The orange filly jumped from the drawer she had been digging through just as her sister had begun to close the gap between them.

She had a small blue handkerchief in her jaws, spotted with white dots, and just big long to graze the floor. Apple Bloom carried it across the room, dropping it where she needed it, landing on a thin long carrying stick. The filly smiled appreciatively at it.

Apple Bloom started pushing and carrying odds and ends onto the thin piece of fabric, food and goods she thought would be good to bring. A few apples, some crayons, paper, badges, even a compass. If she was going, she was going prepared.

“Are ya gonna answer me Apple Bloom?” The filly turned to her sister, a box of seeds stuck in her jaw. She deposited the item onto her dotted handkerchief before turning to her sister.

“Sorry sis, I hear ya, and I listened to ya, too.” She spoke honestly. “Ah’m just too dog gone excited ta finally be seeing Zecora without you takin’ me there or her comin’ ta pick me up!” The smile across the small pony’s lips was evidence enough of her joy. “Ah’m just too excited ta even think!”

“Careful now, that’s exactly what Ah’m bein’ worried about.” Applejack sternly warned, forcing the filly to calm. The elder sister smiled before speaking. “I do trust ya, like with Winona and herdin’ the cattle after they get a bit too jumpy. But, that don’t mean Ah can’t be a little worried ‘bout ya. Ya are my only sister after all.” The filly turned sheepish at the words.

“Ah know,” Apple Bloom replied, calmer than she was before. “But you promised ta let me go to Zecora’s today, and that I could go alone too.” The filly turned her head from the elder pony, biting down on the edge of the dotted cloth as she started to fold the thin material. She grumbled through the fabric. “It don’t feel much like yer lettin’ me do this alone.”

Silently, Applejack watched her little sister finish folding the fabric over the small rod, tightening the corners until they wrapped around the stick. The filly lifted the small pole with her hooves, testing to see if it could hold the fabric and items it contained. To the immense satisfaction of the younger pony, the rod and the small hoof-made bag of goods held strong. For good measure, Apple Bloom shook the rod as well. The bag at the end was jostled, but the knot at its top neither loosened nor broke.

“Ah can tell you’re ready fer this.” Applejack spoke honestly to her younger sister, putting a hoof on her shoulder for good measure. The younger sibling turned to look into her sister’s large green eyes. “If Ah didn’t trust ya, or didn’t think ya could handle it, Ah wouldn’t have thrown the idea into the pen in the first place.”

“Ya really mean that?” The hope that Apple Bloom spoke with was threaded through her words like it shined in her eyes, blinding and unmistakable. It earned a chuckle from the seasoned farm pony.

“Course Ah meant it. Ya think Ah would tell you a lie?” The words instantly earned a smile across the young filly’s face, complete with a set of high giggles.

“Nah, ya wouldn’t.” Apple Bloom admitted. “But Ah just don’t often hear ya say things like that about me.” Applejack wasn’t sure her sister could have spoken more foolish words.

“Horseapples!” The elder of the two exclaimed. “Ah think yer the brightest and best pony the Apple Family has ever seen, an’ if any pony thinks differently, they got rocks in their brain or chicken feathers for wings.” A light blush crept across Apple Bloom’s face. “But that don’t mean Ah can’t worry ‘bout you none. Ya are mah sister, and it’s mah job to make sure yer safe. Ya understand?” The filly knew she did.

“Yeah, Ah think I do sis.” Apple Bloom genuinely responded. Her smile was more subdued, but no less present. “Ah’m sorry ‘bout gettin’ worked up.” Applejack gave a dismissive scoff as she wrapped her foreleg around her younger sister, pulling the filly in close. Apple Bloom found herself pressed up against her sister’s side.

“Don’t you worry ‘bout it. Just yer nerves workin’ ya over like a spring storm to an orchard’s saplings.” Apple Bloom felt herself being squished closer to her sister as the leg around her flexed. Applejack was strong. That the filly could never deny.

“Now C’mon!” Applejack spoke enthusiastically, releasing the smaller pony as she motioned towards the bedroom door with her head. Apple Bloom looked from the door from to her sister and back again. “If ya want ta get to Zecora’s, we best be sendin’ ya off soon as possible.” The filly’s face beamed in excitement.

“Yeah! Yer right!” Apple Bloom grabbed her stick and bag off the floor, holding it in her jaw as she galloped out her room and down the stairs. Her hooves clopped over the wood as she quickly made her way to the house’s door. The heavier trots of her sister echoed behind her. The filly pushed open the door with the top of her head, jumping out the doorway before it could swing back to her.

The brisk breeze of the morning air tickled her coat, but it only served to make the filly want to move faster. She was nearly jumping like Pinkie Pie preparing for a party. She had just passed the fence marking the edge of the Apple Farm when she came to a stop. Apple Bloom turned to see Applejack not far behind her, trotting at a pace that wasn’t even a jog compared to the filly’s sprinting. For not the first time, the smaller pony was reminded of her size.

“Kay, now Apple Bloom,” Applejack’s stern tone earned the filly’s attention. “Ya gotta go straight ta Zecora’s, no perusin’ or wanderin’ while yer in those woods. Get there fast ta avoid the comin’ fog, and make sure ya listen to her while yer there, ya hear?” Apple Bloom nodded her head, pushing down the urge to comment on how many times her sister had told her those things.

“Yup! Ah’ll be sure I’m more careful than Fluttershy meetin’ a new friend of yers.” The wide smile that broke Applejack’s lips was all the proof the filly needed she had said the perfect thing.

“Well alright then,” Putting a hoof to her sister’s shoulder, Applejack looked down at her proudly. “Ah’m thinkin’ yer all set ta head off now.”

Apple Bloom beamed with delight.

“Ah love ya Applejack!” The young filly spoke with no lack of enthusiasm, hugging her sister’s legs with as strong a grip as she could manage. With a smile, the Stetson-hatted pony returned the embrace in kind, wrapping her free foreleg around the smaller pony.

“And Ah love ya too, AppleBloom.” Applejack nuzzled the mane of her younger sister with her snout, earning a giggle in exchange. “Now you best be goin’ before that fog RD warned us about rolls in. Wouldn’t want ya gettin’ caught in that before ya get to Zecora’s now.” The filly released her sister, instantly grabbing the stick carrying her bag of goodies with her maw.

With a spring in her step, the filly turned to the path facing the EverFree forest, trotting down the dirt road in at a brisk pace. Just as she made it to the top of the hill, the filly turned to see her elder sister watching her go. She gave a wave goodbye to the farm pony, and Applejack gave her one in return. The smile on Apple Bloom’s cheeks feeling just a bit wider, the filly turned tail and began to move.

Zecora was waiting for her, and as much as she loved visiting her zebra friend, she didn’t want to get lost either. And if she could manage this trek alone, then it would only be too easy to make the same trip again, whenever she wanted to.

This was the beginning of her adulthood, and Apple Bloom couldn’t wait to take the first steps towards it.

The filly farm pony practically skipped as she made her way through the Everfree Forest. The path in front of her was as clear as the day and the markers to Zecora’s hut just as easy to follow. She took the fork left at the signpost, avoided the gnarled tree that was knotted twice, and made sure that the poison joke patch of flowers was on her right just as she passed the second biggest boulder she’d ever seen.

It wasn’t long until Apple Bloom began to hum a soft tune to herself, her skips adopting an almost moving dance as she followed the dirt road. Her head bobbed and her mane shook as she took care to follow the last of the directions to get to Zecora’s hut. All she needed to do was pass under the hanging moss trees and keep straight till she found the wooden masks that indicated the hut of Zecora.

She carried on down the same path for a while.

The tune on her lips slowly fell away as her eyes began to roam around the forest. She didn’t recognize the trees, the limbs, and definitely not the path. It was much harsher than the path to Zecora’s, filled with roots and rocks. Her hooves came to a stop as she stared at it, nibbling on her lip. Had she taken a wrong turn? Maybe missed one instead? Or… Or was the Everfree changing on her again?

BEGIN

Apple Bloom spun around to see the path behind her, looking down the trail to see any spot she might recognize. She couldn’t see any familiar rocks, limbs, paths, or even poison joke to help her. Regardless, she started to trot back down the path, her pace increasing with every step she took. The stick in her jaw began to jostle, the bag behind her lifting and falling with every stride she took.

It wasn’t long until the filly was in a full gallop, racing down the unbeaten path as fast as she could. The trees raced past Apple Bloom, becoming darker and taller, gnarled and vicious. Her eyes widened in clear terror the further the she ran. But no matter how much she looked, or how wide her eyes grew, she never saw a single familiar part of the forest.

Apple Bloom’s hooves dug into the dirt, hot pants of air pushing past her teeth. She let her mouth open, the stick she was carrying falling to the ground with a clatter. She stared at it, mind racing faster than she had run.

Apple Bloom was lost. Completely lost in the Everfree Forest.

This was exactly what her sister had warned her about. She was supposed to be careful and follow the path straight to Zecora’s hut. Now she was lost down some road she had never seen before in the one place in Equestria ponies were afraid to go. What was she supposed to do?

Something moved in front of her eyes. It was small, faint, but it was definitely there. It was small and white, wisp-like really, and it trailed on the ground, rising slightly over her stick before disappearing from existence. The filly welcomed the object at first, directing her attention away from her hopeless predicament. Then her eyes looked up, following the path it had come from.

Apple Bloom was met with the sight of incoming fog.

The thick white cloud drifted through the forest, masking the woods in a thick blanket her eyes could only barely see past. It wasn’t racing towards her, in fact it was hard to see it moving at all. But it was there, it wasn’t going away, and it was just beginning to trickle onto a path she already didn’t recognize.

The filly’s chest tightened, constricting her breaths into light gasps. Her hooves paced nervously in place, her mind unable to think of what to do. She looked towards the mist, watching the cloud softly billow through the trees, then looked down the path, seeing the same mist beginning to cover the dirt floor. She did the only thing she could do.

“H-Hello!?” Apple Bloom shouted into the air. “Can anypony hear me!?”

Her voice echoed through the forest air, drifting up and out of earshot. The pony continued to turn and trot in place, hoping desperately for a response to her pleading call. But no matter where her wide eyes looked or how high her perked ears rose, she was met with only whispering wind and a slowly encroaching wall of fog.

“Hello!?” She called again. “Ah’m lost! Can anypony help me!? Please!?” She was only vaguely aware of the tightness in her throat, and the wetness down her cheeks. She wasn’t just scared, she was mortified.

Apple Bloom’s body froze as her ears twisted towards something.

She was only passively aware that she had heard something, her senses and nerves on the edge of a cliff in her fright. She stilled her breathing until it was almost non-existent, her eyes trained into the woods she had heard the noise from. What the noise was she still didn’t know, but instinct roared at her to not make a move.

That’s when she saw its eyes.

Apple Bloom had seen plenty of animals and critters around Ponyville, from the inhabitants of Fluttershy’s cottage to the pets her sister’s friends had. They all had their own eye shapes and colors. She could recognize Spike from a pony, fur, scales, and hooves all aside.

Thanks to her sister, Apple Bloom wasn’t even shy about admitting that she could tell what most animals were just by their eyes, and what they were thinking. Ponies, animals, and any other critter alike, they could always let you know what they were thinking by the looks in their eyes.

In the sharp red eyes Apple Bloom stared at, she could only see one thing.

Hunger.

Fear immediately crowded the filly’s mind, replacing the rational, logical part of her mind with the deeply-rooted instinctual methods. Methods a pony can’t learn, but is born with. And so, she did the only thing her instincts would tell her at that moment.

She ran.

Not knowing where she was going, besides away from the predator, she charged blindly into the mist as fast as her little legs could take her. It didn’t take long for the pounding to begin behind her, something, no, some things galloping towards her at an alarming pace. The filly ducked her head and ran faster, ignoring the twigs that caught in her mane or the growth on the forest floor that whipped at her legs. She just kept running.

The mist may have been hiding some of her from her pursuers, but it also kept Apple Bloom from seeing where she was going. Through the white fog, every tree, shrub, and spare twig looked the same. The only thing that kept her sprinting as fast as she could was the pounding that followed behind. Worse still, it was getting closer.

Apple Bloom pushed herself harder the closer her pursuers came, hoping that her sister’s endurance and talent for fitness was in her too. She cried as a twig snapped into her face, colliding with one of her wide eyes. She didn’t stop though, she couldn’t. The filly just pushed herself, running until her gallops were nearly flying through the mist.

Then the forest opened up into a small clearing.

It came so abruptly the filly was forced to slow, sure for a moment that she had gotten out of the forest. But the pounding behind her didn’t stop, so she couldn’t either.

Apple Bloom ran forward as fast as she could, now no obstacles in her way. The mist continued to open up in front of her, moving aside as she galloped forward. She didn’t stop moving. Not until her muzzle connected with a large rock.

The sudden assault blurred her vision, but the sound of the animals behind her forced the filly to move again. Her eyes looked up at the boulder she had run into, far taller than she was and doubtlessly just as wide. It was too hard to tell with the fog. But it did give her an idea.

Rearing backwards, the filly put all her weight on her hindlegs, crouching to the ground. With a thrust that would have made her sister proud, Apple Bloom jumped into the air, hooves landing on the hard surface of the boulder.

Her grip was loose, though, and she scrambled to get a better one. The desperation in her climb gave her strength, pulling the filly higher up the boulder and further to what she hoped to be safety. It wasn’t long before she reached the top of the rock, sitting above the mist and with a clear view of the forest around her.

For a moment, she was able to take in just how large the clearing was, and how the dark trees of the Everfree still surrounded her. For a second, she was able to see the thick canopy above her, only half-shaded light filtering through the dense pile of leaves high above her.

After those brief passes of time, her pursuers jumped into view.

Apple Bloom cried in open fright as a claw swiped through the fog. It was complete with a vicious howl, hungry barks and the sound of pounding paws echoing through the mist. The filly’s wide eyes watched with terrified fascination as the mist churned and spun with the figures moving through it. Their tails flicked through the air, dark and furred like a dog’s.

The filly couldn’t see anything else, the mist of the forest too much for her to make them out. She could only see them churning the white mist like water, moving around the boulder she now huddled on, the fear for her life evident in her shivering form. Slowly though, just as slowly as the air moved before, the mist began to dissipate, giving up the battle with the creatures in them.

In an open spot the mist had cleared from, the filly was able to catch the faint green of grass, matted and pushed down by the creatures she had still yet to look at. Then, in a flash as terrifying as lightning, one of her pursuers moved into the open batch of air. It had the same red eyes that the filly had seen before, looking at her with a hunger the that terrified her. Its snout was long and jagged, fur dark heavy and, most terrifying of all,  it had claws, which she could see at the end of its paw.

That was the first time Apple Bloom saw a true wolf.

The pony back pedaled on the rock with a shot. The wolf jumped at her, snarling like a mad beast as it did so. Its claws dug on the boulder, racking across the hard surface as it greedily tried to take a piece of the filly. Thankfully, its weight became too much for it, and it fell back to the floor, landing on its paws and staring at the shivering Apple Bloom.

The failure of the first wolf didn’t seem to bother the rest of them though. It wasn’t long before every wolf in the pack was starting to take swings at the pony.

Apple Bloom gave sharp high cries as claws started to swing in front of her, reaching up the boulder in the hopes of catching her. The rock beneath her gave off harsh grinding screeches as their claws dragged over its surface, missing her by hoof lengths. But their assaults never ceased.

She was alone. She was lost. Now, she was trapped.

Fresh tears began to pour down the filly’s face.

“Ah’m sorry sis, Ah’m sorry Celestia, oh Ah’m so sorry fer everything.”

The wolves beneath her continued to jump and growl, claws scraping against the stone, all too eager to grab at the young pony at the top of the rock.

“Ah… A-Ah promise Ah’ll never set hoof in the forest without mah sis again.” Apple Bloom swore to herself like a promise, her hooves pushing her further up the rock to avoid the slashing claws. To her young eyes, it looked as if every passing swipe came closer and closer to her. “And…. And A-Ah’ll do mah chores before school. Ah’ll never say another bad word about another pony as long as Ah live. Ah’ll even bring an apple ta Ms. Cherilee every day at school.”

She hid her eyes beneath her forehooves. A claw reached up towards her, dragging down the rock. It was so close the filly could feel the air move in the strike. Tears were falling down her eyes.

“A-Ah swear it! Ah will!”

END

A howl pierced the air.

Apple Bloom sucked in a breath as the noise rose above the clutter and growls from beneath her, forcing the wolves around her to cease their movement. She didn’t dare move her hooves to see what they were doing. She heard them race around the ground, beating at the soil in what the filly thought was a race. But then they stopped, and they were gone.

Silence took over the air, holding it hostage as Apple Bloom continued to shiver and silently cry on top of the rock. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go to Zecora’s. She wanted to be anywhere than where she was now. She was lost, she was scared, and most importantly, she had no idea what was going to happen to herself.

There was a rustling of movement in front of her, branches and twigs being pushed and moved. The filly didn’t need to know much about the forest to know that the creature was heading towards her. But fear kept Apple Bloom from moving her hooves. The thought of curling into herself until she was small as possible on the rock was a far better option.

This was it. This was where her short life was going to end. She really wasn’t ready to be an adult yet. Biting her lip to keep herself from screaming, Apple Bloom pulled her hooves harder over her eyes. Maybe it would be fast.

“What are you doing?”

The voice made Apple Bloom freeze.

There wasn’t any growling, no swiping of claws or anything else the filly could think of to be threatening. Just silence. Tentatively, she moved her hooves from her eyes, looking over the rock she sat on. The ground was marred with claw marks and paw prints, the wolves making little work of the loose grass and soil. But she didn’t see any pony that could have spoken to her.

“Up here.” The voice spoke again, harsh and demanding, but high in pitch.

Apple Bloom felt the muscles in her neck slowly tilt her head back, looking up into the branches of the canopy above her. At first, she saw nothing. There were just the green leaves, dark bark, and far too many shadows for her eyes to make out anything odd.

Then, something moved.

Specifically, it jumped from a branch hidden in shadows, landing deftly on another branch bathed by the sun’s light, passing through the thick canopy. The filly was left speechless and no less afraid than when the wolves were swiping at her.

A figure sat on the branch. It looked unlike anything the filly had seen before.

Its mane stretched far past the branch it sat on, hanging like moss. However, it shined like moonlight, not a knot or stray leaf stuck in it. The creature was something she could only describe in what it lacked. It had no hooves, no coat, and as far as she could see, no tail. It sat on its hind legs, large green eyes looking at the filly with an upturned nose. It did not appear to be kind.

“What are you doing…” the figure spoke again, fangs flashing in the light, “in my forest?”

Apple Bloom felt herself shiver.

“Are you okay Rainbow?”

Twilight spoke with a tone of concern. It was half meant in earnest, worried that her friend was stressing herself with a problem she couldn’t solve. But the other half was asking just out of the need for conversation. Even in a library, hours of silence could be tiresome.

The pegasus in question was across from the unicorn, a book being held over her head with her forehooves. Dash twisted it left and right in the air, squinting at it with a critical eye, nearly wishing the parts of it that were beyond her understanding would fall out and into her mind. No such thing occurred.

“I’m fine, Twi.” Rainbow muttered irritably, sounding anything but fine. Twilight gave her a dry look over her own book.

“Really? That’s why you twisting your book like a steering rein?” The unicorn couldn’t help but paint a smile over her lips as the pegasus gave a glare of annoyance.

Dash grumbled as she lowered the book. Her body twisted until she was lying on the flat of her stomach, eyes still narrowed at the pages held in her hooves. “I just can’t get what this story is talking about.”

“Is the text too far above your reading level?” Twilight seriously suggested, pushing her book aside as she trotted the short distance to her friend. “I’m pretty sure that I only recommended books to you at the high school reading level.”

“Putting that small insult aside,” Dash spoke dryly to her unicorn friend. “It’s not that I can’t… comprehend it. I just don’t get what it’s talking about. It’s like…” One of her hooves released the book, waving her leg in the air in circular pattern. “Like if I had to explain flying to Applejack. She can see me do it all the time, but it’s not like she’d be able to understand it if I told her.”

“I’m not sure I understand.” Twilight spoke carefully. One of her eyes was squinted in confusion, looking down at Dash’s book. Daring Do and The Kingdom of The Woods was printed over the cover, complete with a very detailed image of a tan coated pegasus flying over a forest. In the forest, however, sat castles and structures literally made of the trees. Unlike her tree home, however, these appeared to be very much alive, and if possible, growing.

“Okay look, let me spell it out for you.” Dash’s free hoof waved to a small shelf at the far end of the room. Several other Daring Do novels were placed on its length. “Just about every other book from Daring Do involves something that ponies have at least a little knowledge of, even if it’s made up. Like her story about that evil Griffon Empire that still had a few members alive today, or searching for Nightmare Moon’s lost chalice. Just above every colt and filly has heard those stories. But this?” Her hoof smacked the page, forcing the book to fall backwards.

“I don’t know anything about lost races or tribes or whatever the hay this is talking about.” The look written across Dash’s face was more of annoyance than defeat. Twilight knew because she had seen both far more than almost any other pony, save Dash herself.

“Let me take a look.” The unicorn supplied, her horn lighting briefly to drag the book up to her eyes. Her lavender eyes briefly scanned the pages, memorizing the proper nouns and locational references peppered through the text. Turning a few pages, looking past a few chapters, she dropped the book back into Dash’s hooves, a smile now over the unicorn’s lips.

“Well, I know the author does a good job with her research.” Twilight started to speak, turning from Dash as she did so. “She’s talking about fairies.”

“Fairies?” Rainbow spoke with a tone of question. “Little flying things that are twice as annoying as flies, and about just as useful? How in the hay is this about them?” The unicorn suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

“Well, for starters, you’re assuming a bit too much with what a fairy is in the first place.” Rainbow’s gaze fell flat as the unicorn addressed her. “You’re too used to the stories of what fairies are in modern interpretations. They were actually supposed to be very helpful to ponies that wandered into places that made their home. Some stories place them in the Crystal mountains, the Griffon kingdom, the Everfree Forest, sometimes even…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it Twi. Me and stereotypes. That’s bad.” The pegasus was rolling her head with her eyes. Twilight found her own gaze sharpening on her friend. “Just… how are these things supposed to be fairies? I mean, according to Daring, they’re not exactly the size of her hooves.”

“That’s just another modern interpretation of them.” Twilight explained as her horn hummed with energy. High above her, a book was surrounded by her familiar purple aura. It slowly drew itself free of the book case before slowly descending in front of her. Her eyes quickly scanned the title, a pleased smile slipping over her muzzle. She turned back to the pegasus with the book still floating in front of her.

“Well then… what isn’t a modern take on them?” To the unicorn, Dash couldn’t have said better words.

“I’m so glad you asked!” The unicorn dropped the book in front of the two. It earned a confused tilt of the pegasus’s head.

“What’s that?” Dash asked as her eyes looked over the thick volume.

“It’s a novel that collects all the old tales of fairies and other mythical creatures. Think of it like a database.” Dash’s confused look twisted into a sardonic stare.

“Yeah, because that’s how I like to think about things. Neat, tidy, and boring.” Twilight felt a blush run through her cheeks before she responded to her friend.

“Right, okay, think of it… like a collection of all of Daring Do’s adventures!” The unicorn tried to hide her satisfied smile as her pegasus’ friends eyes widened. “It looks over all of the past tales and stories that involved the fairies and compiles all the correlating ideas about them. Simply, the more often a trait about them appears, the more likely it’s listed in this.”

“So, all that stuff about them having wings and flying…” Dash began, trailing off in hopes her friend would answer her question. She was not disappointed.

“They’re in here, but they only appear in a few of the stories, and even those stories occurred close to the age of Equestria’s founding.” A small flash from Twilight’s horn turned the pages forwards. Instantly, Dash was assaulted with text smaller than pupils and pictures that looked like photographs.

Most of the pictures showed figures Rainbow had never seen before, running through tall thick trees. Some had manes longer than their bodies, trailing behind them like wind. Others wore leaves and branches, as if they were part of nature around them. Then there were pictures Dash couldn’t understand. The figures that looked so alien were… transforming. Twilight, bless her or curse, seemed to know exactly what Dash was thinking.

“Fairies ranged in size, usually depending on what they wanted to be. Most were the size of fillies, but there were some that were as tall as the princess herself. One of the most enduring traits about them in old stories is their ability to transform into almost any life form.” Twilight’s horn flashed over the book again. This time, her magic turned an exact amount of pages at once, falling open to reveal several animals Dash was more than familiar with.

“They could take the shape of animals like fish, deer, eagles, and anything in between. However, they always preferred one shape, and they stayed in that shape unless they wanted to communicate with different species. How they talked to ponies varied from culture to culture, mostly because back then the three pony races weren’t united yet.”

“Whoa, not yet? How old are these stories Twi?” Dash could see the joy practically glowing from the unicorn’s smile. Her horn had nothing to do with it.

“Hundreds of centuries!” Twilight almost joyfully cried. “They have their roots as being some of the oldest figures in pony history. There is just so much mystery behind them that it would be impossible to ever establish what their culture was like, or could have been like. In the end, it’s just easier for most ponies today to remember them all as something that, quite frankly, they just weren’t.”

The pegasus scanned over the pictures Twilight had produced. So many of the fairies looked alien to her, standing on their hindlegs and bare of any coat. Manes longer than their bodies, but not even a trace of a tail present. The only comforting thing about the way they looked was the size of their eyes, large and full of wonder. Rainbow looked up to see her unicorn friend giving a very similar look back at the pages.

“You seem to know an awful lot about these things Twilight,” she spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “But I’ve never heard you talk about them before. Why aren’t you, I don’t know, researching them?”

“Because they’re just myths, Rainbow.” Twilight spoke with a tone of sadness. “Just stories that were told by parents to their foals before we knew anything about the world. There’s never been anything more than just stories.”

“Hey, wasn’t Nightmare Moon just a story to most ponies?” Dash gave herself a cocky grin as she looked at Twilight. The unicorn scoffed at her, as if insulted.

“That was different, I found several pieces of evidence relating to her very real existence, including historical records detailing Luna’s once present rule and the sudden appearance of the Mare on the Moon. For fairies, there isn’t anything about them but just old mare’s tales.” Rainbow’s perked ears heard the sigh that left her friend’s lips.

“You okay egghead?” A small amount of concern dripped into Dash’s voice as she addressed her friend. Her wings quickly took her into the air. “You sound a little broken up over this. I mean, it’s just a book.”

“It’s not about your book, Dash.” Twilight was quick to clarify. “It’s just… how amazing would it be if they were real? To be able to meet a race older than even ponies? Do you have any idea how many questions they could answer for us?”

“Nope, not a clue.” The bluntness of the answer brought a small smile to Twilight’s lips, complete with a dry laugh. “But hey, if you’re willing ta make me a hay sandwich for lunch, you can tell me all about it.”

With a hoof around her neck, Twilight found herself being led into her kitchen, the pegasus guiding her, smiling all the while. The unicorn couldn’t help but feel a little grateful towards her friend.

“Where do I start?”

“What are you doing in my forest?” The high voice questioned again.

Apple Bloom was still on the rock, staring up at the figure with her breath frozen in her lungs. She had no idea what to do. Run, scream, hide, fight, do nothing? She only chose to do nothing, because she couldn’t summon the willpower to do anything else.

The creature above her snorted with a twist of its head. In a move that almost made Apple Bloom gasp, the figure let herself fall forward and off the branch. She plummeted towards the ground with a breakneck speed. But, instead of a thump and crunch, the creature deftly twisted and landed on her hind hooves, the hair around her soon following her to the ground. Without hesitation, the thing stood to its tallest, placing the oddly shaped ends of her forelegs on her hips.

The figure stood tall, far taller than the filly herself. Apple Bloom was only looking down at her from her position on the boulder, but the figure was well on par with the height of the mist surrounding her. The long white mane that hung from its head seemed to get lost in the fog.

It was leaning towards her, bending at its hips with almost a sneer over her face. It looked at the filly closely, head twisting left and right, judging her silently. Apple Bloom was able to divert her gaze long enough to look over the mist, searching the still empty pockets of air for the wolves that had only moments ago threatened her life. They weren’t anywhere to be seen.

“Where did you come from?” The voice came from right next to the filly. Apple Bloom’s head whirled to look at the speaker.

She was muzzle to muzzle with the white maned figure.

The filly let out a gasp of shock, beating her hooves across the rock as she made to escape. Her body slid over the surface before reaching an edge, falling off the boulder. Her body hit the forest floor with a soft thud, made soft by the wet grass. The pony, however, wasted no time in righting herself, looking back up the rock for the creature. It wasn’t there.

“What are you doing here?” Again, Apple Bloom spun to see the figure just beside her, looking down at her with her forelegs crossed and brow furrowed. Only passively did the filly realize the figure was just as tall as her sister, but her sister didn’t make her hooves shiver.

“W-What are ya?” Apple Bloom stuttered and spat through her lips. Her legs continued to push her back over the grass floor, trying to get away from her approaching predator. Rather than an answer, the creature acted.

It pounced from its crouched position, jumping a phenomenal distance over the forest floor. The filly was able to utter a single eep before the figure loomed over her, white hair dancing around her pale and bald face.

Air entered and left Apple Bloom at an incredibly fast pace. Her eyes were wide as saucers and lips trembling. She was trapped, caught, and afraid for her life. The figure’s inquisitive looks and furrowed brows did not help.

“You still haven’t told me why you are in my forest.” The creature spoke again, lips still turned in a snarl as she spoke. “Are you here to steal from me? To take things that don’t belong to you?”

Apple Bloom was at a complete loss for words.

“N-No! Ah-” She could only manage so few words before the figure’s face fell closer to her, its cool breath chilling her muzzle.

“Because if you came here to take from me, I’ll send you right back where you came from.”

Apple Bloom wanted to cheer.

“Ya mean it!” Like a flipped coin, the filly’s demeanor completely changed. Her wide eyes brightened in hope, quivering lips pulled into a full smile, and chest filled with pockets of air. “That’s great! Ah was scared you were gonna eat me whole ‘er somethin’, but if you’re gonna take me back home, that’s great!”

The creature leaned away from her, four limbs still surrounding the trapped pony. Her head twisted left and right, long white hair billowing with the movement. Then, with a small push, the figure rose back to its hind feet, looking down at Apple Bloom with the same curious expression.

“You… want to go home?” One of the small thin things at the end of her arms pointed towards the filly, a perplexed expression marring her white face. Apple Bloom, only too excited at the idea that this figure was more savior than hunter, jumped to her hooves with a smile.

“Ya!” She spoke with enthusiasm. “Ah came here lookin’ for mah friend, Zecora, but I got lost, and the fog didn’t help me none. Then when those wolves started attackin’ me, Ah thought I was a goner. Ah had no idea ya were comin’ ta save me! Ya should have said somethin’.”

“I did not come to save you.” Those words returned the cold pit to Apple Bloom’s stomach faster than any pony would have liked. “I came because I thought you were here to steal from my forest. No one takes anything from my woods.” The curious expression turned into a glare again. The filly’s legs seemed to be quickly losing the strength they once had.

“W-Well…” the filly stammered. “Ah ain’t here to take nothin’, Ah promise. Ah just wanted ta find mah friend’s home is all.”

“And why would you want to find your friend?” The creature asked sincerely. Even when Apple Bloom’s shocked eyes fell on the pale figure, the filly could see no sign or indication of mockery or lie. It was honestly confused. “Weren’t you already happy at your home? Safe with your mother and father?”

The filly’s features dropped.

They didn’t freeze or quiver, they didn’t do anything at all. They just fell, like the muscles controlling them simply stopped working.  Her neck was next, head falling until her lidded gaze was focused on the forest floor, white mist still dancing across it. Why did the figure have to say something like that?

“Ah… Ah don’t have any parents.” Apple Bloom spoke slowly, still swallowing the bile that rose every time she said it. Images of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon always flashed through her mind. “And Ah wanted to find Zecora cause she’s alone out here. Friend’s don’t let other friends be alone.” The filly’s gaze rose to met the creature’s hoping her gaze was stronger than she felt.

She saw the long white maned creature looking at her with a sense of pitiful shock.

“You have no parents?” She asked. Apple Bloom could hear something in the words. It sounded an awful lot like pity.

“No, Ah don’t.” The filly let out, twisting her head away from the figure.

“No father…. No mother.” Apple Bloom grit her teeth, trying to keep herself from yelling. Applejack had told her all the time that stooping to a bully’s level was admitting they were better than you. She had to keep her cool, like any member of the Apple Family would. “I’m alone, too.”

And just like that, all of the tension in Apple Bloom vanished.

Her eyes looked back up to the creature, unsure of what she would see. No small amount of shock worked through the filly as she saw empathy in the figure’s green eyes. Like jade colored water, the eyes of the figure looking down at Apple Bloom were filled with understanding. It was such a contrast to the harsh glares and hungry gazes from before.

Silence seemed to creep around them, following the mist as it swirled circled the pair. Apple Bloom felt her ears hug against her head, unsure of what to say or do. So she did as she as she had done whenever she was in doubt. She mimicked her sister.

“Ah’m sorry.” She spoke honestly to the creature, earning a twist of its head. “Ah know how hard it can be ta be alone.” The creature blinked at the filly, eyelids flashing with the same pale white as the rest of her bare skin. Apple Bloom made sure she wore a bright smile.

“If ya want, we can be friends!” The filly’s words turned the creature’s curious gaze into an expression of shock.

“Friends?” It spoke curiously, kneeling to the filly’s height as she spoke the word. Wonder swirled in her large eyes. It made joy float through the pony she spoke to.

“Ya!” The farm pony cheered. “As long as we’re friends, then we aren’t alone. It means Ah got yer back, and ya got mine.” The figure smiled as Apple Bloom continued to do so.

“I know what a friend is.” She spoke matter-of-factly. “I have had one before.”

“Really?” The filly asked curiously, taking small steps towards the figure. “Then where did they get off to?”

“They’re gone.” The answer was so blunt, the pony didn’t know how to respond.

“Gone?” Apple Bloom asked curiously. “Where’d they go?”

“Away.” The figure spoke again, expanding her forelegs as far as they could reach. “Far away. The same way all things eventually go. Gone away and far away.” Now Apple Bloom understood.

“Oh,” her tone audibly fell with regret. “Ah’m sorry.” The filly apologized twice now.

“Don’t be sad.” The white maned figure spoke again, leaning close to the filly’s muzzle. Unlike the first time it had happened, Apple Bloom felt no fear with their closeness. Especially not with the small smile over the creature’s white lips. “If we are friends, you can’t be sad. That’s how it works.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom felt she was asking that question more often than she had before. The problem was, she didn’t know what else to say.

“It’s how it worked before.” Without warning, the figure jumped.

Apple Bloom watched, jaw open and wide, as the white maned creature soared over her body. Like a pouncing pegasus, the creature cleared well over the filly’s head, twirling through the air until only her mane could be seen. If she didn’t know any better, Apple Bloom would have thought the figure was just wind.

But then it landed, smoothly standing to its tallest. It turned to look at the filly, still staring in shock.

“Well, are you coming?” The figure’s high pitched words caught the filly off guard. Apple Bloom jumped before she realized she had to move. She trotted over to the creature, keeping her eyes on it in case it jumped away again.

“Where are we goin’?” The question earned a grin from the figure. It turned away from the filly, facing the path away from Apple Bloom. All the pony could see was a thick wall of fog, too dense for her eyes to make out anything beyond.

BEGIN

“To your friend.” The figure spoke again raising her forelegs as she did so. “The forest will show us the way, once I tell it to.” Apple Bloom looked up towards the white maned thing with clear confusion.

“How are ya gonna get the forest ta…” The filly’s voice trailed off as the creature pressed the ends of its legs to the fog.

She grabbed at the mist like it was a blanket.

With a smooth rise, the figure’s forelegs lifted, taking the fog with it. Apple Bloom watched, mesmerized, as the mist began to rise into the air, dissipating like a cloud kicked by a pegasus. She felt a draft beneath her legs, chilling the pony through her coat. Her head looked left and right as the fog around the forest began to rise collectively, vanishing into the air like it never existed. But that was nothing compared to what came next.

Apple Bloom looked out in the direction the white maned figure was facing, and was met with a sight more beautiful than Canterlot at sunset.

Applejack had often told her little sister about meadows, patches of land that were home to many different varieties of plants all huddled together. They were often grown close enough that they would be fighting one another for the water from a good storm, or the nutrients in the soil. Yet, despite all that, a good meadow could capture the eye of even the most cold-hearted of ponies.

If a meadow was meant to capture the eye, then the sight the creature was showing Apple Bloom capture the filly’s soul.

“It’s… amazin’…” she loosely spoke with wide eyes. Breath seemed like such a petty thing to worry about the longer the filly’s large eyes continued to peer at the gorgeous scenery.  “Ah ain’t never seen anything like it.”

“Of course you wouldn’t.” The figure spoke with all the haughtiness of a princess. “This is my forest.” With a single leap, the creature took off into the meadow. It took a moment for Apple Bloom’s mind to catch up to her eyes.

“Hey!” She cried out. “Wait for me!”

The filly’s tiny legs took her into the opening path of the meadow, legs passing over the collection of flowers. They brushed against her coat like a comb, laying a scent over her as she galloped through them. The air that filled her lungs was filled with a freshness she couldn’t describe, but she could passively note it carried the scent of all the flowers she ran through.

The colors whisked by her as she ran forward, making the filly believe with all her might that she truly was under a spell. It was a far easier explanation than finding this lost oasis in the forest.

The filly’s eyes looked over the meadow, large green orbs searching for the figure. She caught a flash of white flying through the air, twirling like it was thrown. It landed on top of a boulder far larger than the one Apple Bloom had taken shelter on before. As with every instance the filly saw the creature, its pale white skin came out from its bright mane, dark woody colors hanging around it.

It was sitting on the rock, legs tucked beneath it like it was kneeling. It held its forelegs up to it’s mouth shutting its eyes as if to concentrate. Apple Bloom watched with mute fascination.

The creature released a breath of air, blowing over the rock with puckered lips.

Apple Bloom watched with wide eyes as flowers began to bloom over the boulder’s hard surface.

They stretched like a blanket over it, each new sprout springing from the supposedly hard surface and blooming, all in the span of the blink of an eye. Each one was colored white, mirroring the same color as the figure that had created them. Said figure was smiling.

“It’s… it’s magic, ain’t it?” The filly half asked, half stated as she trotted around the boulder. “Not even mah sister could get flowers ‘er sprouts ta bloom from a rock.”

“Beidh saol a fháil ar bhealach.” Apple Bloom’s ears perked and twisted to her side, nearly falling over in shock as she saw the figure standing next to her. It was cupping one of the flowers in her hands, taking in a long steady breath of air.

“What did ya just say?” The creature turned and smiled down at the filly, a light giggle petering past its lips as it did so. Then, without another word, it took off again, racing through the meadow. Apple Bloom was left in the rainbow cloud of petals it left behind.

Still, the filly couldn’t help but laugh as well.

She ran after the creature, only half her energy being given to her chase. The rest was left for her to marvel at the meadow she still ran through. The flowers that continued to brush and comb the coat on her legs only grew more colorful and more creative in their design the further she ran. From shapely petals, to elegant sepal, and not to mention their ever changing heights, the flowers really were endless.

But then the trees that walled off the meadow like a great grand fence were no less impressive. Apple Bloom couldn’t marvel or appreciate the beauty of the Everfree trees in her fear and haste, but now, with only a playful chase on her mind, she could see how they truly did stretch to the sky above. Leaves of every color and animals of all sizes moving and living upon them.

To the filly who barely reached her sister’s neck in height, standing beneath the monoliths that were these forest giants would have been breathtaking, were her breath not already spent on the chase she was taking.

Apple bloom gave herself a brisk pace to keep up with the speedy figure. She was far ahead, but not so far she was impossible to see. Against the backdrop of green and the colorful flowers beneath her, the white mane of the forest figure was impossible to miss. It made a mighty leap to reach the base of a tree, one of the many giants that lined the meadow wall. Then she stopped moving.

Apple Bloom trotted up to her, air becoming a precious commodity to her.

“Yer… yer faster than mah… sister even.” The figure’s crossed forelegs were oddly complemented by its sure smile.

“Yes, I’m the fastest. Ha ha ha!” It gave a toothy grin to the filly, one that Apple Bloom was too out of breath to return.

“So, what’s yer name?” Apple Bloom inquired. Strength was returning to her juvenile limbs. It wouldn’t take long before she’d would have to chase after the creature again.

“I’ll tell you,” the figure spoke with a smile. “If you can beat me.” For not nearly the first time, the white maned creature’s words confused Apple Bloom.

“Beat ya?”

“Yes, beat me.” She spoke as she stood to her tallest, hind legs locked in a straight position with her confident gaze aimed at the pony. She stuck one of her fore legs to her chest, the widest of her small appendages pushing into her. Then, her not-hoof raised itself, spindly dull claw pointing upwards into the canopy high above them.

“Beat me to the top.” Apple Bloom swallowed.

The tree was taller than any of the sprouts on her family’s farm; that she knew. What she didn’t know was just how much taller. Even to the pony who had grown among trees, the structure was massive, growing taller than her youthful eyes could even see. The trunk of it seemed to disappear into the canopy above.

“Ya mean climb it?” The filly couldn’t hide the fear that crept into her voice.

“Yes.” The creature spoke with a nod of her head, a cocky smile placed on her lips. “You can climb a tree?” It was question, not a statement.

“Course I can!” The filly answered, with gusto. “Ah’ve grown up around trees all mah life!” She couldn’t stop the blush that rose to her cheeks. Neither could she tell if the creature’s fanged smile was of pride, or knowing just how the filly felt.

“Alright then, follow me.” For what was not nearly the first time that day, Apple Bloom was stunned.

The creature pounced into the air, latching onto the bark of the tree as she started to climb. It acted like a lizard the way it moved up the wood. It’s legs grabbing at the bark like it was the ground, moving without hesitation, patience, or even the smallest amount of caution. Apple Bloom was left staring at the figure’s trailing mane.

The filly turned her head left and right, looking for a branch she could jump onto. There was a low hanging limb, just thick enough to support her weight, or so the filly could guess. Leaning onto her hind legs, she jumped up to it. Her body landed on it deftly, her hooves clopping over the bark. An excited grin reached over the filly’s face.

Her eyes saw another branch in sight, just close enough for her to reach. Leaning back, she performed another tall jump, landing on it with ease. The filly trotted in a small circle, admiring the progress she had made. It only took a brief glance upwards to realize the still unnamed creature was far higher than she was.

“Ah ain’t gonna beat her like this.” Apple Bloom mumbled to herself. Her green eyes caught another branch, a bit higher and a bit farther than the last few. She bit her lip as she looked at it, unsure if she was willing to take the risk.

But she did want to know her new friend’s name.

Leaning back like before, Apple Bloom pushed her hindlegs out, jumping as high as she could. For a moment, a brief yet eternal moment, the filly hung in the air, suspended above the ground and without a force to catch her. She slowly approached the branch in front of her, it growing closer to her out reaching hooves. She just touched the bark of the branch, feeling the coarse wood beneath her hooves, but that was all.

Apple Bloom began to feel herself fall.

But before she could scream, the figure landed on the branch, grabbing onto Apple Bloom’s fore legs. With a simple swing, the filly found herself being picked up and dropped onto the branch.

The filly was still as stone on the branch, frozen with the fear that she had almost fallen. Her breathing was slow, the shock of the experience still working through her. Then, softly as the flowers of the meadow, a shiver worked through her, easing her muscles and calming her mind. Apple Bloom looked up at the figure, who was looking down at her.

“I thought you said you could climb a tree.” There was no malice in its voice, just the same playful tone she had taken the moment they entered the meadow.

“Ah can…” Apple Bloom spoke pitifully. “Ah grew up on an apple farm. They’re just smaller is all.”

“Yeah, like bushes.” A hot flush worked through the filly as the figure giggled again. She hated getting teased. But that’s when she felt something grab her leg. Her green eyes looked at it, seeing the creature’s oddly shaped hoof holding it, bare and dull claws wrapping around her. The filly couldn’t ignore the strength she felt in the grip. It felt like Big Macintosh was holding her.

“Come on.” The figure instructed pulling Apple Bloom up. “I can take you to the top.”

“What?” Those were the only words the filly was able to speak.

In the next moment, she found herself placed on the figure’s back.

In the moment that followed, they were already halfway up the giant tree.

Apple Bloom’s forelegs were locked around the creature’s neck, her body up against its mane. It smelled like the forest, like an apple tree in bloom. But the mane felt like wet leaves, smooth to the touch and hard to grasp. It felt nice.

However, it was hard for the filly to concentrate on much of anything regarding her new friend while they were traveling up the tree faster than Apple Bloom could run on the ground. The branches and leaves passed by them at an almost blinding pace. The critters avoided the pair as they ascended, burrowing into holes in the bark or taking flight from them.

Apple Bloom shut her eyes as the figure climbed higher into the tree. The light became heavier as the canopy thinned, the many blankets of leaves dissipating the higher she climbed.

And then, they stopped.

END

Apple Bloom felt the figure she was clutching still. The air around them was moving, but it was a strong breeze flowing past them, not them rushing through it. Once more she felt the figure grab at her legs, but this time, it was to slip the grip off of her.

The filly felt her hindlegs touch the branch, followed closely by her forelegs. She let her eyes finally open, looking down on what she stood on.

Instead of the branch, she saw the ground so far beneath her.

With a gasp, Apple Bloom shut her eyes tightly, letting her legs grip the branch with all her strength.

“It’s alright. Relax.” The creature spoke to her, laying one of its oddly boned hooves over Apple Bloom’s back. The contact flooded the filly with relief. “Open your eyes, and I’ll tell you my name.”

A small gulp traveled down Apple Bloom’s throat. Heights weren’t anything she was afraid of. But this high up… it was hard for anypony save a pegasus to be fearless. But the figure was near her, and it was keeping her safe.

Flexing her legs around the branch, Apple Bloom slowly opened her eyes, gaining a bleary view of the white maned figure.

It was standing with absolute confidence at the end of the branch, it’s forelegs wrapped behind its back and mane swaying it he wind. It danced through the strong breeze, flowing like water in the air. The creature was smiling at her, green eyes brimming with the joy.

“Aisling.”

Apple Bloom smiled at the name. Wetting her lips, she moved them in time.

“Ash… ling…” The word flowed through her lips smoothly, like it was the easiest word to say. It made Aisling smile brighter.

“Yes, and this…” She stood to her tallest, letting one of her arms spread over the woods below them.

“…Is my forest.”

Songs on the Wind

Luna’s horn glowed her ethereal blue as she focused her magic through it. Her eyes were kept half lidded, focusing her mind as she focused her gaze. The group of guards in front of her were staring emptily back at her, smiling blissfully through their ignorance of the world. As her power washed over them, their glassy gaze began to clear.

One by one, as if instructed to do so, they began to move naturally. Each of the golden armored guards shaking their heads to clear the fog that had collected in them. Blinking through the aura around them, their once idyllic gaze became screwed in confusion, before widening in panic.

“Where-” one of them began urgently. Luna, however, knew the question before it left the stallion’s mouth. She had heard it asked no more than two dozen times already.

“My sister is safe, but she has left to converse with Twilight Sparkle.” She began, the guards’ attention solely focused on her. “She has spoken with the infiltrator that had poisoned your minds, but now seeks a way to defend against her. Go to the Main Hall and speak with the captain. He is in charge of securing Canterlot.”

“Shouldn’t we stay with you, your highness?” One of the guards supplied quickly, earning affirming nods from the company around him. “If the intruder were to return, would it not be best-”

“I am going to speak with the council shortly.” Luna interrupted once again, her gaze no less commanding than before. “They were summoned only just after the castle was made safe. It is your duty now to ensure the rest of Canterlot is no different. Now go, our ponies need you.”

Loyal as they were trained to be, the golden clad guards saluted the Princess of the Night, standing at attention with muscles drawn. Then, when they lowered, they flexed their wings and took flight. It took only a moment for them to round a corner, and then they were gone.

The last ones.

Luna breathed a low sigh of relief, the mess in her castle finally cleaned. Her horn was hot from the magic she had casted, a memory correction spell dozens of times over. It was fortunate there was nothing more done than the manipulation of their minds, though such an act was horrible enough.

However, her work was not done. The perpetrator, Macha, was still at large, threatening her sister and vanishing with nothing but threatening words in her wake. Something had to be done. The council was waiting for her.

Luna made her way to them with haste, preparing what needed to be said as she trotted. It was an easier task to say than to perform, especially when she herself had little information about the attack. She was not present when Macha assaulted her sister, nor when the monster controlled nearly all of the Royal Guard. But it was Luna’s duty to guide her ponies, any way she can, whenever she can.

She was paces from the shut doors, but the sound of conversation already echoed from within. Luna took it as a good sign, as conversation meant curiosity and that was also preferable to ignorance. Close to the doors, she nodded towards the guards, both standing saluting her as she passed. A wave of her horn and her blue aura focused around the door handles, and pushing the doors open, she proceeded inside.

Inside, the council surrounded a large white table, adorned with several tall seats lining the sides. The table was long, wide, and its size able to dwarf almost any creature. Despite its size, it was plain to look at; a soft shade of white with not a carving on it.

Light shined down upon it from a pair of large undecorated windows, letting nothing but pure sunlight brighten the room. Aside from a pair of statues along the far walls, art was scarce in the room, and rightfully so. Luna knew full well that a bored mind would wander easily to captivating words. Such a thing could not happen during discussions as important as these.

The ponies’ conversation silenced as Luna entered the room, all eyes now on her. The Princess of the Night straightened herself, walking into the room with the authority of millennia behind her. Her wings were flared, head high, and gaze collected. The situation was dire, but she had to rise above it.

She circled the table, feeling all eyes of the ponies upon her as she did. Luna silently collected what she could about them as she made her way around. Many of them were dressed messily, likely throwing on their clothing in the spur of the movement. Others looked tired and worn, likely from being roused from their slumber. It made the distinction between the members of the day and night court easier, but ultimately unneeded.

When Luna reached her chair, a tall darkly painted piece of furniture, matched only by the golden one next to it, she stopped. Her horn flashed momentarily, drawing the chair out far enough for her to enter. She trotted in front of it before drawing it back in, never letting her gaze fall from the ponies around her.

For a moment, there was silence, no pony moving and all eyes focused upon her. It brought a high tension into the air, one that had to be cut tentatively. Panic was the quickest path to disorder, and one could never allow chaos to rule when the enemy was at the gates. Or in this case, freely able to walk past them.

“My ponies,” Luna began, focusing their undivided attention. “I have asked you all be brought here for an urgent matter. As you may well know, Canterlot Castle was recently assaulted and my sister, Princess Celestia, threatened.”

A slow murmur grew from her words, carried on fearful breaths. Luna watched them all converse with one another for a moment, waiting for the moment to continue. As the voices slowly began to lower, she did.

“I was told little of the incident itself, as my sister made haste for her student, sure that she knows of what actions must be taken to prevent this thing from returning.” The diarch took a slow breath to control her breathing. “This creature is called Macha, and is a beast of unimaginable power. By her will alone, she distorted the minds of all the guards and confronted my sister with ease.”

Where the voices before were merely a cautionary curious, now they were fearful. It showed in their eyes, wide with doubt and disbelief. The slow bristling of their coats, tightness of their muscles, it was all easy to observe and interpret. They could not imagine, and did not enjoy, the idea of a power greater than their diarchs. Luna rightfully agreed with their fear.

“As of this moment, I have no more information than you all,” Luna motioned with her crystal adorned hoof, waving it over the council as she did so. “We must come to an agreement on a plan to stop this from happening again. So long as the creature is at large, we are not safe. Neither as a city, nor as a country.”

“Y-Your majesty,” one of the council members spoke with clear hesitation. “How… How do you propose we stop this… thing?” It was a fair question, and one Luna was hoping they would answer. There was, however, at least information she could share.

“My sister said she was immune from the creature’s touch upon her mind because she was “blessed by the stone of Fal”, or so the creature spoke.” It was only a small piece of information, but there was no such thing as unimportant facts in this kind of discussion. “The only method I am sure of is finding a way to use this stone to… bless the kingdom. But I will confess, I have not the knowledge of what this stone is nor its workings and neither does my sister.”

The murmurs continued, darker than before. Luna understood it well. She did just tear out from them the one idea that had even hope of working. Now, they were drifting for anything to hold.

“Do we know… where this beast has come from?” It was a trailing question, being asked as it was being thought, but it was no less valid than any other.

“If my sister knew of Macha’s origins, she had little time to tell me before she departed. But perhaps we do.” The thought, the idea more like, hit her as she was speaking. This creature was powerful, of that there was no doubt. Powerful forces do not simply appear, not without great effort or entrance. “Has there been any developments in the land? Anything that has warranted notice to the guards or higher authority?”

Exchanges were glanced amongst the council members, each one looking to the other with pictures of curiosity. Low whispers accompanied each glance, doubtlessly each their own questions and inquiries. It was not uncommon. The council members were close to one another, that meaning only certain members of one another. In this room sat not only some of their greatest friends, but also their most sworn enemies. It was ironic, but irony often produced the greatest of results.

After all, the country was led by both the sun and the moon.

“What about Iron Wit?” One of the council members spoke out. It earned the attention of the collective council, as well as the alicorn in the dark chair.

“Iron Wit?” She repeated. “Is he not the earth pony in study with the artifacts? I do not understand your meaning by speaking of him.”

“If I may your majesty.” One the golden guards spoke as he approached, earning the gaze of the council. “Iron Wit attended a meeting with Princess Celestia earlier this day. He told her of a rather… surprising discovery.”

“And what was this discovery that he made?” Luna questioned. The answer came from another member of the council, dressed in royal purple cloth and lined with gold trimmings. Even a monocle sat on one of his eyes, balanced over his muzzle.

“I do believe he said he discovered a new Ley Line.” Luna was not the only pony to react with surprise. While the diarch, trained to keep her emotions to an observable minimum, only sucked in a breath of air, the other ponies were far more vocal.

“What?!”

“Can he be sure!?”

“That is not possible!”

“He must be mistaken!”

“QUIET!”

The command echoed through the room, silencing the ponies instantly. Their wide and fear tinted eyes gazed at the diarch at the table’s far end, her wings unfurled and imposing. Her gaze was as cold as the stone around them. Luna took in a long breath of air, slowly releasing it through her nostrils as she did. Her wings slowly folded back against her, her large form returning to the less intimidating and less daunting stance.

“I apologize,” she began, offering the words earnestly. “But this is not the time to bicker for things that are and aren’t real, even for a moment. Until we know otherwise, assume all assumptions to be facts. After all, something has escaped our collective notice long enough for a creature to use it.”

A soft murmur followed her words again, accompanied with slightly more verbose agreements to her words. ‘Of course’ and ‘She’s right’ were spoken around her before the voices softly died out again.

“Well, maybe we should call for Iron Wit,” another council member spoke. He shrugged as he spoke, denoting to Luna he was new to his position. Most high class members of Canterlot took their expressions seriously. “He may better be able to explain the likelihood, if any, of something coming from this new… Ley Line. Maybe he might even know how to close it.”

“What good would closing it do now?” Another council member asked, this one far older than most of the other ponies in the room. The princess was sure he was every year he looked. “Assuming this creature came from this new Focal Point, what, are we to believe there are more coming?”

The words gave birth to a dead silence.

There were nothing to say as their minds processed the horror of the question, even the stallion himself lamenting on his own words. What if Macha was only the first? What if the first of this creature’s was so powerful, and there were more to come? Was Macha only but the weakest, a messenger sent in warning?

It terrified the council members, fearing something they as of yet had only heard of. It rattled the guards, all of whom were already subjugated to the beast’s magic, having their minds bent in ways they never wished. But it scared Luna, the Princess of the Night and Alicorn Immortal. Her own sister could not but entertain Macha. What chance would they have, together or apart, against more?

The question did, however, also bear fruit to the first unanimous decision thus far.

“It is top priority that we close this Focal Point,” Luna mumbled more than spoke. She swiftly corrected herself as she spoke on. “Send for Iron Wit, rouse him no matter his state and escort him to us. Notify him of what we are discussing and aid him with any tools he offers to bring. Let us leave nothing to chance.” A guard left the moment the command was uttered. Not a council member raised even a thought of objection.

As the guard left, however, another passed by him, his breath short and face flushed. Luna took note instantly; the rest of the council members following her gaze.

“Guard,” she commanded the golden clad warrior. “What is it? Why do you hasten to interrupt this meeting?”

For a moment, the soldier did not speak, his breathing heavy and forced. Even from beneath his heavy armor, Luna could see the labor behind each lungful he took. After another deep breath of air, he focused his gaze on the diarch before speaking.

“We just received… received an emergency notice fro… from the Crystal Kingdom.” Quiet unlike the stunned silence from before, the room exploded into an uproar at the announcement.

Hooves banged on the table in futile attempts to grab attention, each council member screaming their own surprise and outrage at such a declaration. The guards around the room shook their gazes from one council member to the other, sure that at any moment one would jump from his chair. It was an uproar, plain and simple, but not one Princess Luna partook in.

Like a shadow from her night, Luna removed herself from the dark chair she sat upon, trotting lightly around the table towards the guard. With a wave of her wing, she silently motioned for him to follow her. He did so without question. As the pair left the room, Luna shut the door behind her, dulling the sound of the still-arguing ponies.

“Your highness?” The guard questioned her. “Shouldn’t the other members of the council hear-”

“The council is still debating of the appearance of Macha and they have yet to fully integrate any members of the Crystal Kingdom into their fold out of either spite or incompetence.” There was no room for tact in Luna’s straightforward tone. “If the empire is in immediate danger than I would rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.” The guard nodded at her words. The diarch cared little if it was out of respect or understanding.

“Yes, of course.” The guard took a slow breath before he spoke one. “The message comes from her highness Princess Cadance. She sends word that there is a storm blowing through her kingdom, not orchestrated by any group of pegasi.” Luna nodded at his words.

“That is reason for concern,” the diarch noted. “But surely she would not send such an immediate need for aid. There must be something else.” The guard only nodded vigorously at her words.

“Yes, you are correct your highness,” he admitted easily. “She also says, and I apologize if I may not understand her meaning, there is a phantom voice upon the wind.” Luna’s brows rose.

“A phantom voice?” She repeated carefully. “You are sure this is what she has said.” There was no hesitation in the response that came.

“I would stake my horn on it your majesty.” He swore with a low bow to his ruler. “The message was short, likely written in haste, which is why I came for you and the council quickly.”

“Your decision was a wise one.” Luna complimented the guard. “Now send word to my sister of this. Tell her Canterlot is safe for the moment and of the strife in the Crystal Kingdom. Leave no details to be vague.” Luna instructed one of the unicorn guards, earning a swift salute followed just as quickly by his departure.

She sighed as she turned her attention back to the room, the dull roar of the ponies within echoing past the shut doors. It was not a room she wished to venture back into, but it was one that she had to. Inside were the ponies responsible for maintaining much of Canterlot and Equstria as a whole. Their cooperation was paramount, and as a princess, it was Luna’s duty to ensure it. Luna was never a pony to disregard her obligation, nor was she one to feign ignorance.

Steeling herself, she ventured back into the white council room.

“You have… fascinating tales to tell,” Celestia spoke after a moment of deliberation. In truth, she was quite enthralled with the nymph, an unsaturated curiosity her young pupil shared. The history the Fae had to tell, however, only let the diarch connect so much.

The land and people the nymph spoke of were gone, all but one monument of culture left to dust. There was nothing to say that they were real, nothing to prove they existed. Nothing but the small pale Fae who spoke of them; that, and the joy her memories brought her.

It was enough for Celestia to believe her.

“It’s different, so it must be grand.” Aisling spoke to the princess’s words, adjusting the golden book still held firmly in her arms. “We can never ignore what is new.” The words were simple, as was there meaning. Yet, it was one of the most ancient truths the alicorn had ever heard. It made a light giggle rise to her lips.

“Yes, I suppose that is true.” Her pink eyes swiveled down to gaze at the purple pony still huddled beneath her wing, staring intently at the Fae. Twilight lifted her own eyes up to the princess in turn. Celestia missed that look of wonder she had, seeing what she had never seen before. It was a look the diarch was intimately familiar with from the unicorn’s early years as her pupil.

“Aisling, can Ah ask ya something?” The curious voice of Apple Bloom earned the Fae’s attention. It also earned the gaze of Celestia and Twilight. Taking the nymph’s eyes as an admission, the filly waved her forehoof in the air, flailing towards the walls around them. “What are all these pictures?”

Aisling blinked at the question, her head tilting lightly as she did. She twisted her head towards the walls around them, still dancing around them with colors and lines that seemed held by no laws of reality. Celestia turned her own gaze to the walls, marveling for the first time at the vivid art that flowed like water.

The workings of magic were nothing the diarch was unused to, neither were the efforts of an artist. She had seen paintings, reliefs, statues, and glass all masterfully carved and painted in manners that could capture the attention of any pair of wandering eyes. It was shameless to appreciate the beauty any life could create.

The art around her was beyond anything she had seen before.

“The past,” Aisling spoke to the filly, a toothed grin pulling at her lips. “Memories of my mother, memories of my own. Things that were but are now no more.” The response was far too cryptic for the innocent foal to get.

“Ah… don’t think I get it.” The bow tied pony responded uneasily. “Are they… real ‘er something?”

“She means they are moments from her history.” Celestia spoke to the filly. She made sure to wear her kindest smile as she spoke; it always helped to ease the natural intimidation that came from her large stature. Slowly, she rose to her hooves, removing her wing from over Twilight’s own hunched form. She saw the unicorn shiver as her heat source was removed.

“They are from the past, but they are not all from my own.” Aisling clarified to the alicorn. One of her thin hands washed over the book she held, adjusting it against her. “Only some are mine, most are not.”

“And what do they tell of, Aisling?” Celestia ventured with a cautious hoof, already sure that too strong a question would evoke a swift defense. “I apologize if I am rude, but your history is, as you say, new to me.” The alicorn let a soft smile pull at her lips. When the form of grin grew over the nymph’s features, she knew she had spoken wisely.

“I can tell you. It’s all right to know.” The response lit a light in filly’s eyes the sun would envy.

“Hey sis!” Apple Bloom cheered as she trotted over to her sister’s side. The farm pony turned to her, as did the pegasus and zebra near her. Applejack blinked as her sister quickly approached. “Aisling’s gonna tell us about the art! Ain’t that awesome?”

“She is?” Applejack raised her brows, turning her vision to the Fae across the room. She hooked her leg around the filly when she was close enough, smiling down at her. It didn’t shake the feeling of unease she had.

“That is… a peculiar thing to do.” Zecora, thankfully, felt about as right as Applejack. “Should we not worry instead of the creature that flew?”

“Yeah, this doesn’t really seem like the time to be looking at pictures, does it?” Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head, twisting her own brow as she looked towards Twilight. Half of her hoped that the unicorn would be asking to turn the Fae’s attention to the book she still grasped, but the other knew her well enough that any new information was absolutely not going to be ignored.

“But the art is ‘bout her past.” Apple Bloom spoke to the two other ponies, even as she was still curled beneath her sister’s leg. “It’s like a movin’ family album.” Applejack couldn’t help but grin at the notion.

“Aw, what the heck,” the earth pony easily conceded; a common action when her sister was happier than Winona with a new bone. “Ah’ll trust the princess and the fairy girl. Ah’m there’s somethin’ ta find in the art ta help us. ‘Sides, it is mighty pretty to look at.”

Applejack’s green eyes turned to the fluid artwork. She had marveled at it when they had all entered the room, and her wonder at the art had yet to diminish. Magic was commonplace for her now days, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be impressed. Zecora gave the farm pony a small sigh before she gave her own answer.

“Though I fear this is time we waste, I would enjoy this art without haste.” The zebra turned her attention to the wall she had spied when she had entered, decorated a pale white with the sole figure of the Fae in the center.

“Gah,” Dash scoffed at the quickness to which her friends had conceded. She was, however, suffering from her own curiosities. “Fine, fine, let’s all hear about the history of the art. Never mind the freak of nature walking around Luna knows where.” Celestia was unsure of what kind of expression to where. Mirth for the pegasus’s obvious discomfort, insult for the dismissive nature she displayed, or surprise that Dash had so easily used her sister’s name as a curse.

When she saw the horrified expression on the young Twilight Sparkle, Celestia settled for a light grin. It fit the small humor of the situation well enough. Speaking of which, the diarch felt her lips pull a bit harder across her cheeks as she saw the unicorn march over to the blunt pegasus.

“Dash!” Twilight called the name between a scream and a hiss. It made the mare shiver appropriately. “I really hate to sound like Rarity, but can you please have a bit more tact!” Before Rainbow had a chance to respond, Twilight whirled back the Fae. “I apologize profusely for what Rainbow said.”

“It’s alright,” the absolute ease to which Aisling spoke gave Twilight pause, her anger being beaten away.

“It… It is?” Rainbow spoke uneasily behind Twilight, the memory of the angry nymph still fresh in her mind. However, when Aisling merely nodded her head with a soft smile, the words only rung truer.

“Why would I? That is what you want? Correct?” Twilight stared at the Fae no differently than she had when they first met.

“You’re… okay with… it?” Aisling shrugged at the unicorn’s stunned questioning.

“Your friend wants to stop Macha. So do I.” The nymph’s gaze turned to the obvious object in the room’s center. “This room will not change, no matter how many ages pass. But Macha will.”

Even in a room filled with beauty, the mares felt colder than ice.

“Princess,” Twilight whispered up to her mentor. “Are… are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, I know I want to, but even Aisling agrees that we should be looking for Macha. We could always come back here latter, right?” Just as the unicorn predicted, Celestia had an immediate and absolute response.

“There is little we could learn of Macha out of the ruins that we can learn of her here.” The diarch explained to Twilight. Her pink eyes moved to look at the rest of the ponies in the room, one by one making contact with them. The focused gaze of Rainbow and Applejack, the calm eyes of Zecora, and the youthfully curious expression lighting Apple Bloom. She ended when her eyes full upon the stare of Aisling.

“I do wish to aid my country, as I am sure you wish to help your forest.” The nymph nodded her head, adjusting the book in her arms. “But I do not know where this Macha is, nor what she plans. All I know is that she seeks to continue what she began long ago. If I am to stop her, I must know about her.”

“To make something you must know something.” Aisling whispered softly, her head slowly nodding with her words. “Brendan spoke of that once. He studied to teach and taught to learn.” Celestia felt her heart reach out for this life she had never met.

“Brendan was a wise man,” the diarch spoke to the Fae. The nymph was only too eager to agree.

“Very wise.” Her green eyes turned to the stone coffin in the rooms center, the only object in the magically lit area void of life. “And very Kind.”

“Alright,” Dash spoke in a calm tone, earning the gaze of the all but ancient looking figures. “I’m sorry for sounding so short. I just… I don’t like doing nothing, you know?”

“Few do.” Aisling returned, smiling towards the pegasus. Dash’s already nervous stature intensified as the nymph walked towards her, long hair trailing behind her lithe form. In the few hours Rainbow knew the Fae, she had never seen her walk. Aisling ran, jumped, leapt, and climbed. She did not walk.

Aisling stopped her slow march towards the pegasus with a small grin, her petite but pointed tooth clear in the smile. Dash gulped on empty air.

“I like you.”

Dash felt her heart stop. Of all the things she thought the Fae would do, confessing something like that was not one of them.

“H-Huh?”

“You care for your friends.” The nymph continued. “You care for what you own, for what care for you. That is good thing.”

Dash’s uneasy smile shook in place, her eyes staring unblinkingly into the Fae. Aisling did little more than gaze back at the pegasus, her arms still wrapped tightly around the book, possessively. However, as the moments passed, her smile became easy and Rainbow felt her tight muscles relax. The Fae took it as a sign. Turning to the diarch and her young protégée, Aisling spoke again.

“What do you want to see?”

BEGIN

The ponies looked amongst one another briefly before turning their attention to the walls dancing with light. Each had their own image that captured their eyes, something that seemed to beautiful for words.

“Hmm…” Twilight hummed in thought, her eyes scanning over the seemingly endless number of images about the wall. Choosing one of them was like choosing a star in the sky. Each one looked just as brilliant as the other, attracting her wandering eyes with nothing less than a dazzling display.

She was drawn to the endless blue that came from the frost covered mountains in one such drawing. The snow still blew over the tips of the mountains, the swirling white drifting into the blue before vanishing once more.

Then her gaze was seemingly pulled to another, the near luscious greens of the new portrait a harsh yet beautiful contrast to the ice swept mountains. The leaves moved as if they were alive, bending with the colors that made them. Green swirled with the brown of the bark before being lifted and vanishing into the endless blue of the sky.

It was all so gorgeous, so captivating, so enchanting.

It was impossible for anypony to decide on a single picture.

“I would like to inquire about this image.” Well, any pony aside from the eldest of them all.

The Fae jumped over the embracing siblings, her hair trailing behind. It tickled Apple Bloom and Applejack as it traced over their coats. It elicited a giggle from the former and a chuckle from the latter. It took only a few more leaps and bounds for Aisling to stand beside the alicorn, not even a trace of fatigue about her.

The mares turned their collective attention to Celestia, who had her jewel encrusted hoof pointed towards a plainly appearing piece of art, or at least plain in comparison to the art around it. It danced like the others, lines moving more as water across the wall than dried paint; waving as if it were alive.

However, instead of a myriad of colors that soothed the eyes, there were only two.

Black and white. Darkness and light.

The dark lines of the art were drawn with smooth curves, ending at sharp points that waved like blades of grass in the wind. They crisscrossed over one another, neither fighting for dominance nor taking away from their overall shape and design. Where two lines met, they made symmetry. Where one ran over the other, it created a bridge, not a road. And when all the lines were observed together, it made a picture.

“I give. What’s this paintin’ about?” Applejack found herself asking with a tilted head. No matter what way her eyes bent, all she could see where timberless wolves trying to eat one another. It as much sense to her as it said saying aloud.

“They are wolves,” Aisling spoke to the earth pony, her voice smiling with her lips. “They guarded the forest before my mother. They roamed, they watched, they stalked, they hunted. Always together, never alone.”

“That sounds a little… cruel.” Twilight spoke, already sure she had used the wrong word. The thin gaze Aisling gave her was enough to let the unicorn confirm her own thoughts. “I-I just mean… um… I meant-”

“You meant nothing kind.” The nymph gave the unicorn no room for pause, and no quarter with her thoughts. “You were to call them darkness, where you not? Things that belong in the shadows.” Twilight worked her jaw uselessly.

“Hey, back off Aisling.” If Twilight was not already mortified by her own words, then she surely was now by Rainbow’s own. The pegasus must have been trying to look bad. “We’re kinda used to most wolves trying to eat us. Excuse us for thinking the worst of something like that.”

“My wolves have never eaten a horse.” Aisling hissed back to the pegasus, narrowing her emerald eyes at Dash. For a reason not yet said, the cyan mare did not back down. Her wings flared as she stared at the Fae. “I hunt what lives in my forest.”

“She’s right!” Both heads turned towards the orange filly, waving her hoof in the air for attention her voice couldn’t grab. “Aisling saved me from the wolves ‘fore.”

The pegasus gave the foal a screwed look, thinking the idea impossible. That is, before she remembered just what other impossible events she had witnessed today alone. Her head twisted back to the Fae, still glaring at her with an almost childish appearance. It was a challenge for the pegasus, for her to admit she was wrong.

Rainbow wasn’t going to take it.

“Why are your wolves different Aisling?” Now the two turned towards the taller alicorn, trotting gracefully despite her size towards them. In spite of the spat just before her, Celestia had the same calm smile she must have enjoyed to wear. “Why show these wolves in such a way? Are they an emblem for your people?”

The nymph’s eyes, for just a hair of a moment, went wide. It was too fast for most ponies too see, so focused on the diarch that was speaking. But for Celestia, trained to spot even the smallest of tells, it was clearer than her sun in the sky. The tell vanished in place of the accepting gaze from before, the subtle grin and mischievous gaze that she seemed to offer only a few of the ponies. Celestia was thankfully to be one of those few thus far.

“You are a wise one.” The nymph admitted with a well-concealed tone of awe. It was a tone that the diarch had heard often, usually in reference to her standing, her age, her power, or her wisdom. Though Aisling did speak of her wisdom, Celestia could not shake the feeling she was using the adoration… differently.

It was not the awe a child would offer their parent. It was the adoration of an elder to their youthful counterpart. Aisling, in spite of her vastly inferior size, still saw Celestia as something beneath her.

It made the alicorn grin.

“I have been called wise by many lives,” Celestia noted clearly, drawing on the attention she was offered. “But I would much rather hear your wise words.” Aisling’s smile did not falter, and neither did the diarch’s.

“Wolves are the protectors of the forest.” Aisling spoke with certainty. “They keep away the trespassers, they guard the hidden treasures of the woods. My mother spoke with them often.” That raised a few brows.

“Spoke with ‘em?” Applejack questioned the Fae. She adjusted the hat on her head, making sure they didn’t interfere with her hearing. The nod from the nymph only deepened the earth pony’s curiosity. “Let me guess, that’s somethin’ you can do too, huh?”

“Of course.” Aisling replied immediately. “They help me guard the forest, my forest.”

“It would be inefficient to have safeguards you couldn’t monitor.” Twilight noted from behind the Fae. Celestia nodded pride fully towards her student. Even with the knowledge of entire libraries, she still had a sense for the world around her.

“Hey Aisling, what about this one?” The voice of Rainbow Dash called to the Fae and ponies around her. Their collective gaze turned to see the pegasus hovering in the air, her hoof pointing at a portrait of blue that hung across the wall.

It was different from the others only by its size. It was, like the others, made of hues from one color, moving with the magic of life, and still more gorgeous than near anything else across the land. But as said, its size was far larger than the others.

What it was was a landscape.

Mountains of peaks both near and far were masterfully carved over the stone, given life with the flowing paint of blue and white. The winds were visible across the snow capped peaks, the dust almost clear enough to feel. It captivated the eyes, bringing a shiver to the mares that peered up at it, almost feeling the cold the landscape sought to show.

But in the center of it sat a figure. It was not a statue made of great stone, nor was it a creature standing close to the portait’s frameless surface. It standing behind the mountains and it was looking over them as if they were but obstacles in a field.

“The creature’s name is easy to know,” Zecora spoke as her own eyes attempted to memorize every detail of the flowing art. “A giant, a creature lost so long ago.”

“A giant?” Apple Bloom repeated her friends words. “Ya mean like it’s gigantic? Ah know some of ‘em dragons got pretty big.”

“No. A giant.” Aisling spoke to the filly, leaning down to match Apple Bloom’s height. Their noses nearly touched with their close proximity. “Not a beast of shadow nor a figure of light. A guardian of nothing. A wanderer that is lost. That is a giant.”

“Yeah, well that thing is gigantic.” Rainbow Dash nodded towards her own comment, flying closer to the immobile shape in the rolling art. “I mean seriously, that guy could probably just take a few steps and get from Canterlot to Ponyville like that.” The pegasus flicked her hoof in the air as she finished.

But then something caught her eye. It was nothing significant, a speck to be honest; just a dot on the massive painting detailing a massive creature. But it was there, and Dash’s eyes did not miss it.

“Hey, Aisling,” The Rainbow called the Fae’s name again. “Did one of your… uh, people I guess, ever meet this giant?” The question hung in the air for a moment before the mare spoke on. “Cause I think I can see someone standing on this mountain. And I gotta admit, he’s pretty puny compared to the rest of the art.”

“That is not one of my people.” Dash turned her head back towards the Fae. “It is one of Brendan’s.” Her eyes blinked at the words.

“A human then?” Celestia clarified. The question earned a quick nod from the Fae.

“Yes,” The Fae returned in an excited whisper. “A man of courage, as Brendan said. One who dared the ice and storms for adventure alone.”

“Sounds like a daring kind a guy,” Applejack noted with a nod of her head. A teasing grin took place over her lips. “Hey Dash, ya think you’d be willin’ ta take on one of them beasts?” The answer was as clear as the painting they stared at.

“Heck yeah! Of course I would!” The pegasus spoke with a puffed up chest. “Compared to the rest of the crap we’ve had to deal with, I could wreck one of those guys solo.”

“A giant is not a creature of rage,” Zecora spoke up to Rainbow. The mare looked into the zebra’s cautionary gaze. “They are said be wise beyond their ancient age. They do not hunt, they do no steal. They have nothing they need to conceal.”

“Huh, no kidding.” Dash responded, scratching the back of her head with her forehoof. Her legs slowly touched back on the ground, her wings relazing at her side. “Now I kinda feel like a jerk for saying that stuff.”

“Aw, cheer up Dash,” Twilight offered the pegasus. Despite the words, Rainbow couldn’t help but feel a sense of wariness from the unicorn’s grin. Her next words confirmed her senses. “It’s not the first time you’ve said something you’ve regretted.”

A hot blush ripped across the pegasus’s face at the words. It was only made worse by the snickering from Applejack. Twilight’s satisfied grin, however, was what sealed the embarrassing ordeal.

“Oh yeah, w-well,” Dash began, only to have her voice die off and dribble, searching for a comeback at the unicorn. None rushed to her mind.

“Careful RD, Ah don’t think ya wanna embaress yourself again.” Applejack playfully warned the mare, only to turn the normally blue pegasus red. Twilight let out her own chorus of giggles.

“They are good friends.” Aisling noted away from the three, watching them as she would her wolves. Zecora nodded from beside her.

“Many trials and tasks have brought them together,” the zebra explained to the Fae. “Friendships are strengthened in treacherous weather. Much like you and Brendan from the past, conflict can make them grow fast.”

“You are right,” the nymph offered as she turned to the zebra. Her form leaned over, twisting her head as to look up at Zecora. The stripped mare stared down at Aisling, the Fae’s long white mane laying on the floor around her, green eyes staring upwards. “But you are wrong.”

Zecora blinked at the Fae, unsure of what she meant. The nymph giggled cutely in response, grinning with a barely concealed fang peaking from her lips. With a small twirl, the Fae rose back to her normal height, book still gripped in hand.

“Brendan was my friend before any troubles. He came into my forest uninvited. I told him to leave. He showed me we were alike. Then we were friends.” Aisling tilted her head as she gazed, amusingly, at the zebra’s confused features. “It is that simple. Not all things are a mystery.”

“Um, Aisling?” The Fae and zebra turned their attention to the small voice that called them. Their collective gaze fell upon Apple Bloom waving to them across the room. Celestia was just beside her, gazing up at another portrait on the wall. The question the filly wanted to ask was obvious. “Who’s this supposed ta be?”

Regardless of its obviousness, the foal’s questioning words ceased the friendly bickering of the mares. Their attention turned to be focused on the portrait both Apple Bloom and Celestia gazed upon. It took little time for the mares to trot closer to the flowing portrait, but it took far longer to appreciate the figure that stood on the wall, living through moving colors.

Like many of the other paintings upon the wall, this particular portrait was unique. Not for the figure it showed or the colors it used, but in the detail it held. Even with the colors that swirled upon one another, like died water mixing endlessly, there was an undeniable amount of care that was placed into the art.

A matron stood upon the wall, her clothing scarce but less regal. A cloak of deep green hung from her shoulders, thrown about the figure’s back as the colors moved with it. Though still the picture was doubtlessly painted, the cloak and thin linens that covered the figure moved with a grace the magic of the chamber gracefully permitted.

Ordained with jewelry about herself, the figure had a crown of twisted gold, fashioned and sculpted into what could only be described as the wind given form. It sat upon her head, just above the many red curls that made the silent creature’s mane. It flowed much like the air down her form, billowing in unfelt winds and curling to frame the figure’s face. And the figure had a face that was to be envied.

Sharp green eyes looked out from its porcelain face, staring down at the ponies that gazed up at it. But it was a kind gaze, despite the sharp nature with which it mutely judged them. Such was evidence by the soft smile her lips held, either proud of herself, of where she was, or some other act the mares did not know of.

Then there was the magic. Not the magic that allowed the colors to swirl or the painting to move, but the magic the creature held in her hands. Whether it truly be an illusion or the workings of untapped power, the floating jewel of light the creature commanded swirled. It twisted and bent in a way that magic would, yearning to be set free and create, yet lingering within the binds its creator had placed upon it. The figure held it outwards, completely sure in her power, power that her stance, her gaze, and her size all portrayed.

In the end, there was only way to be describe the figure upon the wall; a single word that every mare agreed with without hesitance.

Beautiful.

“Wow,” Twilight spoke with no concealment of her awe. “I… She’s so picturesque.” None were present that argued with her words.

“She ain’t like nothin’ Ah’ve seen ‘fore.” Applejack agreed lsightly turning her head left and right, hoping to catch the flowing figure in an unkind angle. She couldn’t find any. “But… somethin’ seems… off.”

“Yeah, I get what you’re saying.” Dash agreed with the farm pony, floating in the air besides the mare. She beat her wings with her well toned muscles, floating up closer and higher to the portrait. “It’s like… It’s like I’ve seen her before, or something like that.”

“Wait, Aisling,” Apple Bloom spoke up, turning until she caught the white haired Fae. The nymph turned her gaze towards the filly, her brows lifted as the filly gazed at her. For a moment, the foal didn’t speak. She turned her head from the Fae standing not but a few paces in front of her back to the figure tall against the wall, then back again. A few times she repeated the gesture before finally speaking again.

“That’s yer mother, ain’t it?”

Only those words could have forced the mares to look away from the painting. Each set their eyes on the filly, surprised by her words once more, only to turn their attention to the Fae Apple Bloom had questioned. Aisling had her eyes not on the filly nor the mares, but the flowing art instead. Only two of the ponies present recognized the gaze within her eyes.

Longing.

“Yes,” the word came out lower than a whisper, hesitant to show itself to even the trusted ponies. The nymph hunched over, guarding the book with her body. It was that, or trying to hide her face within the endless white that was her mane. Celestia gazed down at the nymph, the pity and sorrow of a millennia reflecting in her eyes.

For so long the alicorn had endured such thoughts and burdens within her own mind. It was only too obvious, too painfully obvious, to recognize the gaze within another’s eyes. It truly did seem that for every little bit she learned of the Fae the more she found they had in common.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Twilight offered the needless apology, unsure what other words to say. Aisling only shook her head, disregarding the gaze of the ponies upon her. Instead, she walked forward, eyes still cast upon the monarch gazing down upon her.

“It is alright.” The words did not sound cold, only empty. “She left long ago. Long before Brendan, long before his people. Crom took her, claimed her and left. When she left, my people followed. I stayed.” Apple Bloom hiccupped. It was the only indication Applejack needed to slowly draw her younger sibling into an embrace.

“Why?” Even with just one word, Rainbow’s question was as blunt as forest floor. Aisling, however, did not care.

“Because it was my mother’s forest. Now it’s mine.”

Celestia gazed at the nymph, wondering for not the first time what she could say. So often she had wished through the centuries for another to help her, for a pony to be able to understand the pain she had felt. Seeing those that had raised her pass on, those she had been raised with follow, until only she was left. She was graced to have her sister return, but Aisling had no such fortune.

The alicorn trotted forwards, opening her lips to speak what she hoped would be wise words, comforting before all else. But as she did something else happened.

There was a flash of white, the sound of conjuring magic, then a message popped into existence.

END

The ponies and Fae stared at the small piece of parchment, tied up upon the ground. It looked unremarkable, like any other message the pony had written or Aisling had seen Brendan write. But the fact that it had appeared, here and now, gave it far more importance than they dared to admit.

There was no question of what it was, only of who it had come from. Celestia lit her horn, grabbing the scroll of paper in her ethereal light. It floated to her eyes, unraveling as it rose.

“It’s a message from my sister.” The mare answered the unspoken question. Her eyes hastily scanned the message, reading it over with a fervent pace. It was only too clear to Twilight’s detailed eyes the panic that began to set over her mentor’s own. Something was wrong.

“Princess?” The unicorn gingerly spoke her teacher’s name. “Is something wrong?”

A pregnant moment of time passed, with nothing but horrible ideas and imaginings growing in the minds of the mares. Celestia turnd her pink gaze to Twilight, her eyes darkened with worry.

“Something… is happening.” The diarch lifted her hoof before she was done, silencing what she knew would be an outcry of a response from the mares present. “It is not in Canterlot nor Ponyville. From what has been told, there was a message sent from the Crystal Empire.”

“Oh no,” Twilight spoke breathlessly, already feeling the energy draining from her body. “W-What happened? Is Shining okay? What about Cadance?” Celestia shook her head before she responded.

“The message was sent by them, so I can assume they are alright.” Twilight only felt the faintest amount of ease. “However, they are claiming something… odd is happening in the empire.”

“It’s Macha, isn’t it?” Dash jumped at the conclusion without hesitation. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s gotta be her.” Celestia did not answer the pegasus, not immediately. Instead, she turned her gaze to the Fae, still gripping the golden book in her arms as she gazed up at the much taller alicorn.

“Aisling,” Celestia spoke the nymph’s name with clear authority. “My fellow princess in the Crystal Kingdom is claiming that there is… singing on the wind.” While the ponies present only screwed their heads in clear confusion, Aisling brightened her eyes.

“You know what it is.” There was no room for question in the alicorn’s voice.

“I do.”

Celestia didn’t believe anything else would surprise her in this life. Now here she was, being shocked left and right by this tiny creature of immense power. Aisling looked up at her, the Book of Kells still gripped firmly in her hands.

“What is threatening the ponies of the Crystal Kingdom?” If there was any doubt in the words of the diarch, Aisling either paid them no mind or simply did not hear them.

“They hear a voice on the wind, a call both beautiful and shrill, enticing and foreboding.” Celestia nodded towards the nymph, unsure of where she was venturing with her words. “It sang much during Brendan’s time, much more nearer the end. But,” she dotted the word, starring into Celestia’s gaze with her own wide green eyes. “It is not a creature of darkness.”

“What is this creature then?” The dairch asked more specifically, her tone no softer than before. Aisling’s answer, in turn, was no less cryptic.

“It sings in warnings, tunes of fear showing fearful acts.” Celestia watched as the thin muscles on the Fae’s arms tightened, her grip strengthening. It was likely the result of a bad memory. Her next words confirmed the diarch’s theory. “There were many before, always so many during the dark times. They only warn of dark things.”

“What do they warn ‘bout?” Apple Bloom asked the nymph, looking up at Aisling with curious eyes. It was a question shared among the ponies around her. It was with cold eyes and a frozen voice that the nymph answered the question.

“Death.”

The ponies felt their coats bristle at the words, eyes either hardening to steel or quivering with tears. Applejack ushered her sister into her arms.

“Whoa,” Dash breathed uneasily. Her jaw hung open only a small amount, but her eyes were wider than saucers. “It… it sings about your… end?” Aisling shook her head at the question.

“It does not sing for your end, but only to warn you of it. To sailors venturing the sea. To hunters leaving to hunt.” The Fae’s head bowed lightly, white locks falling over her features before she spoke on. “To warriors leaving for war.”

“It sang to Brendan of the Kells.” The nymph’s head whipped in the direction of Zecora, her long white hair lashing at the motion. The zebra held a somber look as Aisling gazed at her with an emotion indescribable. “Then this does not bode well.”

“Aisling,” the nymph turned to the lavender unicorn, the mare holding swallowing when the green eyes of the Fae were upon her. “What… what is the creature called.”

The name was spoken as a whisper, but it echoed through the chamber like a shout.

“The Banshee.”

BEGIN

There was much that could be said about the couple of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.

Newly wed, the two were still strangers to love, exploring it tentatively and cautiously. Each new venture they made was taken with a dash of trepidation, needing assurance before being placed. It was a slow dance, like many things in life were, but it was one both were willing to take.

Some like to say that no two relationships will ever be the same. Never had the statement rung more true than in the case of the Captain of the Guard and the Princess of Love. There were no stories they could read or lessons they could be told. Everything they did together was not only new to them, but also new to Equestria.

Ruling a land brought out of an eternal rest. Stopping an invasion of love eating insects with their bond. Just being a prince and princess was point enough of their difference with normal ponies. That being said, they still found themselves in the face of a new and unforeseen problem.

Neither knew what to do with the voice on the wind.

“Has it stopped yet, even just once?” Shining Armor asked the question aloud, already too aware of the answer.

“No. It has been singing since the cold winds began to blow.” A low and tired sigh left the princess’s lips. Her mind was heavy with thoughts of her crystal ponies. “I do not know what to do. It is difficult to ease the spirits of the ponies when a voice is literally speaking to them non-stop.”

“On the bright side, no pony’s going to be crazy for saying they’re hearing voices, right?” Cadance tiredly turned her eyes to her husband, offering him a look caught between exhaustion and disbelief. His hesitant chuckles died without a hope to live. “Yeah I know, but me acting stupid usually cheers you up.”

The princess offered her husband a soft smile, cheered if not by his actions than by his intentions. He always was an honest stallion, swayed only when the strongest of magic worked into his mind.

She stood from her throne, trotting to the balcony overlooking the Crystal Empire. It was a stretch to call it a view in the moment, the blistering storm of snow and ice making the view as wondrous as an unpainted wall. It did, however, do anything to muffle the voice that sang across the storm’s winds.

“I know I’m not crazy for hearing that voice,” Princess Cadance said. “It’s singing as clearly into every ponies ear as it is my own. Yet… I cannot help but think that is singing towards me.” Her crystal covered hoof pressed itself to her chest, pushing on the void her heart felt.

She felt strong hooves wrap around her just as quickly.

“Hey,” Shining Armor spoke into her ears. It was a sweet tone, a strong and sensual one he offered only in their private hours. She savored every drum it beat within her ears. “There’s no reason to think that. You and I both know that worst is behind us.”

He dragged his hooves up her back, making the mare shiver at his touch. It was a careful touch, light despite the clearly muscled form Shining possessed; a gentle touch to remind a worried mare that a strong stallion was behind her. Even if only a little, it did ease her worried mind.

“Trust me,” The Prince of the Crystal Kingdom spoke with heart filled intentions. “Whatever that voice is, it’s singing for something unrelated to us. It is not singing for you.”

“But she does sing for her.”

As soon as the first word was spoken, Shining whirled towards the voice. His posture was bent with horn alight, eyes sharp as they searched for the speaker. It took little time to find it. And it was the apt way to describe the figure that spoke.

A mane of pitch darkness flowed about the red robed figure, blowing on a wind that was supposedly left outside the castle walls. Standing on its hind legs, posture straight as a well grown tree, it stared at him with empty cold eyes.

“Who are you?!” He questioned in a dangerous tone, his horn already silently casting every warding spell his memory could recall. Over assuming a threat was far preferred to being underprepared. As it turned out, even his most prepared state was not enough.

The creature raised and flicked one of its fore limbs, waving it dismissively in the air no differently than a spoiled aristocrat. There was no ethereal light, no loud and sudden pop, not even the usual glow that accompanied a spell.

There was literally nothing that prepared Shining Armor for being thrown across the room.

The unicorn was not even aware he was airborne until his body crashed into the far crystal wall, pain shooting through his limbs. A pain filled cry clogged itself in his throat, leaving him gasping for air as he writhed. His ears rang like the capital’s loudest alarms and his vision blurred no differently than staring into the sun.

He was aware of very little. He was aware of the wall he had slammed unforgivingly into, of the stone floor he currently twisted upon, of his wife crying his name wordlessly, and the creature now standing over him.

“I am your god, steed.” It nearly sung above him, it’s cold words chilling his pain twisted form. “And I am not here for you.”

Shining watched, unable to move, as the creature’s cold eyes turned towards his wife.