It was a monster, come to destroy his work. A monster that looked and sounded very familiar. “HEY YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THIS LATE?” Definitely a monster.

Gold watched as Solara and Darkfall invaded the stone house he had set up. “Well, if you must know, I was working on another masterpiece. Force of habit, you see, I had to work in secret for the longest time as it was forbidden to show the slightest bit of interest in what you do.”

“That is horrible, it is unacceptable for a school to have treated you like that.” Darkfall entered the cottage. “Might I inquire where did this cottage come from?”

Gold tapped his horn with a hoof. “I’m not completely inept at magic. All I had to do was sculpt a house out of clay and enlarge it, using about half of my remaining energy. It’s not so much, really, energy regenerates quite quickly over time, and I was just struck with inspiration.”

Darkfall took a look around. “Does that stone bed feel comfortable?”

“Laugh all you want, it’s good for my back and I don’t have anything else. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to sleep much anyways, with all this time on my hands, I’ve been busy.” He gestured to a stone workbench, where a half-finished statue of a soaring Pegasus could be seen. “In any case, what are you two doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

Solara retrieved the textbook from her bag and set it on the stone bed. “What do you know about this?” she inquired, gesturing at the article about the Well.
Gold paced around the room. “I was half asleep during the time my class went over it, and this lack of sleep really isn’t helping. I remember something along the lines of: some unicorn discovered an incredible source of power and challenged anypony else to pass his trials. In return he promised to grant any three wishes to the victors. Of course, this has come across skepticism, as the amount of energy to make any wish in Equestria would be tremendous. And of course the few believers who tried have all failed so far and died. I don’t even know why it’s in the textbook at all, to be honest. Although it’s only a side note, there’s never been any proof, aside from rumors, of great magical powers or ancient magic.”

“But it can’t hurt to try, right? Do you have any idea where we could start looking?” Solara pawed at the stone floor impatiently.

“I just don’t see why this is so important to you. Rumor has it, though, that the Well will only appear to those with great ambition, in the Cave of Dreams and Nightmares. You’re not planning on going there, are you? The Cave is in the Everfree Forest, and most likely home to more than just the Well. It’s incredibly dangerous, and nopony should ever go risking their life over a rumor.”

“I’m sorry, Gold, but my mind is made up. I am sick of this life. This world needs change, and it will only take one wish to do it.” Solara turned pages of her book until she found a map of Equestria. “Mark the location.”

With a sigh, Gold took the book and tucked it away in his bag. “I can see there’s no reasoning with you. In that case, I am going with you. You don’t have access to any sort of magic at the moment, so I should come in handy. It is only a short walk from here, and I have enough magic left to handle whatever may come up. I hope.”

“Hold one moment. Are you by any chance suggesting one lazy pegasus and a unicorn flunkie attempt what so many others have failed at?” Darkfall flew towards the doorway. “You may as well feed yourselves to a hungry dragon. But of course, I may join you, with the promise of a share of the reward.” She struck what she thought was a sophisticated pose in an attempt to demonstrate her potential usefulness.

Solara grinned and shoved her sister out of her “sophisticated pose”. “Alright, sis, come along. I’ll only need one wish for myself after all.”