Cagnim, 59th, 993 CR

I’m surprised it took this long to get here, half a month from Pax Nexus to the Whispering Wood, between the towns of Hoofreed and Bridlebit. Nagash resides in those woods. I went to visit him earlier, and found he had been studying the spells and formulae I traded with him, and he is now incorporating my designs into his newer constructs and homunculi. It was an interesting meeting between us. Originally I only had an hour before I had to leave and rejoin with Cherry Spice on the road. ‘He really doesn’t like it when I go exploring old ruins. I must make him extremely nervous, so when Nagash offered to have one of his griffon zombies fly me near Cherry Spice’s location, I calculated that with the flying speed of a griffon I’d be able to stay a few hours longer and visit with him, and still make it to the meeting spot with time to spare. Within the time we had, I was able to share a copy of what I learned of the enchanted light stones in Pax Nexus. Surprisingly, Nagash showed me a blue leather bound book containing runic magic and incantations. He offered it to me in exchange for making an enchanted item for him some time in the future of his design and choice. I wholeheartedly agreed since he was giving me a whole BOOK! How could I pass up a chance to read up on how somepony figured out how to use this type of magic and there method of using it?

Anyway, after meeting with Nagash and finalizing our deal with a binding geas, he followed his word from earlier and had one of the less decomposed griffon scouts fly me over to a cliff a short distance from my oblivious traveling companion. I swear, Cherry Spice will get attacked someday and I won’t be there to help him. He keeps brushing it off, but I know how dangerous being out in the open can be, stupid darklings.

The rest of the day was uneventful, other than a few extinguished camp fires and finding a few more of my medicinal herbs. I don’t really have much else to say other than me and Fang led Cherry Spice to one of the old abandoned temples for the night. Must’ve been designed to worship a creature with an affinity to the weather, as there were a few remaining intact murals depicting the seasons.

Twilight Sparkle.

The dark brown dirt compacted slightly as the tarp covered wagon rumbled along over its well worn surface, the wagon itself hitched up to a chocolate brown stallion. His mane and tail both bobbed up and down as he kept a steady pace along the earthen road. A smile broke the young stallion’s face as he turned to look upon his current companion. “Hay Glimmer.“

The unicorn trotted up next to him lifting an eyebrow in his direction. ”Yes?”

“We’re here. Say, do you think they’ll be wanting any of my wares?” He asked, a sharp glint reflecting from his eyes.

The lavender unicorn noded, “Yes, as long as you have plenty of salt, sugar, flour, and powdered yeast, you’ll be able to make some bits here. Otherwise I’m the only one that would make any purchases from your more, exotic wares.” She answered flippantly, swirling her hoof midair.

The young stallions shoulders slumped. “Killjoy.”he muttered under his breath.

“Not my problem Cherry Spice. You asked and I answered.” She replied, having heard his whisper with the same clarity as if he were talking out loud, causing the stallion to sputter and blush furiously.

He remained silent for the rest of the way till they reached the first buildings of the town, “Alright, we’re stopping by the stable first, then we’ll figure out from there what we’re going to do next.”

The lavender unicorn noded in agreement with the decision as they walked a few blocks deeper into the town. Soon they came across a cheery red painted building, with hay and chaff littering the floor, and wooden stalls set up on either side of the building closed tight with several of the more modern Crystal Canterlocks. “Well this looks promising. Alright, let’s see what the stable manager has to say.” With a synchronized nod they entered the shop. With another disarming smile and a quick wave of his hoof, Cherry Spice walked up to the azure blue pegasus behind the counter. “Hello miss, I was wondering you you could give us a bit of-” Suddenly his little speech was cut short as the pegasus raised her wing and held it above her head for a second.

“You’re quiet?” ‘nod’ “Good, alright now, I’m guessing that you’ve just arrived in town and have noticed the streets being somewhat empty at this current time, yes?” Another nod followed the statement. “Alright then, let me Say a few things before you need to ask them. First most of the townsfolk can be found in the town square, meeting with the foreigners from Borneighux. They came from across the Bracken Sea, and are doing a tour of Equestria. If you head out now you shouldn’t miss any of the festivities. I think they might also have a space available for your trading cart as well.” She said, noting the tarp wagon behind Cherry Spice.

“Don’t feel like doing business?” he asked, grinning slyly.

She returned with a grimace, “No, we’re just filled to capacity.”

“Oh.” Cherry folded his ears back, feeling like a mule. “Well then I guess we’ll see you around then.” he finished lamely before following Twilight out of the building.

As soon as they were around the next corner, Twilight lifted a hoof and slammed Cherry Spice upside the head with a resounding clop. “I guess I deserve that.” He said as he massaged the bruise with a hoof.

“”You think? Seriously, it would be like saying that I won’t heal you when I don’t have enough potion ingredients to make a working salve.” The lavender unicorn groused before trotting ahead of Cherry Spice at brisk pace.

As they travelled down the road, Cherry looked at the buildings, their brightly coated multicolored walls were extremely interesting, especially several of the local shops that still had some of their merchandise in the outer viewing windows of their homes. From harmless toys to interesting clothing for the more risque buyer. They even passed by the one of the few sweet shops in the town. Cherry was looking at a bubblegum pink home when suddenly Twilight paused in the street by one of the intersections. “Hmm, Glimmer? What is it?”

The lavender filly looked towards one of the few houses in town that looked to be in great disrepair, nodding once, Twilight gave a glance towards Cherry Spice once before moving towards the building at a calm and steady gait. “Go on ahead Cherry. I’ll catch up when I’m finished here.”

Shrugging, the chocolate brown stallion continued down the road, until he turned the corner and was out of sight. Letting go of a small breath, Twilight stepped up to the frame and placed a hoof against the rickety old door. With the sound of horseshoes on a chalkboard, the door grudgingly opened to the lavender unicorn’s physical demand.

Looking inside, Twilight took a quick note of the interior. Rotting roof beams, sodden floors, and decaying furniture. All of the items were easily ignored as the lavender filly stepped into the old house. Reaching the middle of what she assumed was the living room due to what she could recognise as the remains of a couch. With a nod, Twilight lowered her head and her horn began to glow softly, golden motes of light starting to bleed off from the tip as she conjured the spell within her thoughts. Within seconds, the sparkling motes of light began condensing before her and darkening into a sickly green miasma as the spell began to take form. After another minute of feeding the spell and binding the runes into their proper place, she began projecting the spell outward, swiftly expanding the choking miasma to cover the entire house.

With her horn still lit, to maintain the spell, Twilight raised her head and began looking around the building, stopping when a pale yellow light started bleeding through one of the walls. Twilight then turned to fully focus on the approaching field of light as the first bits of the figure began pressing through the wall. [Future World Music-Spiritual Awakening]

The body began to become further defined as it passed through the wall, the head forming into that of a pony, another step and the front legs become visible, another step and the barrel was revealed, and the final step revealed the hind legs. The body of the colt glowed softly as the flames of his soul lapped at the magical energy giving his presence a physical body, his head facing downward as he stepped further into the room with the dejected look of a child abandoned and ignored tore at the lavender filly’s composure. “Ahem!” Twilight grunted, pulling the colt’s attention from his moping.

Looking up for the first time, he noticed the strange unicorn in his living room. “What? W-who are you?” He said, stepping back in fear.

Twilight released a disarming smile in the colts direction, “My name is Glimmering Wisp. I’ve come to help you.”

The young colt raised an eyebrow. “Why would you need to help me?” asked the ghostly young pony.

Twilight settled down onto her haunches and leaned her head back while taking a deep breath, then released it quietly as she looked back down to face the young cold, her magenta eyes locking with his faded sapphire ones. “You’re dead, and need to move on,“ A pregnant pause filled the air before them, broken only by Twilight’s breaths, and the faint ringing sound of the magic flowing through Twilight’s horn. “You may not remember me, but I remember you. You asked me a few months ago to help you with your ill mother, however when I arrived I realized that it was not your mother that needed help but you.”

The young colt stomped on the ground angrily. “YOU LIE! I saw my mom on the couch moments ago. What did you do to her? Where is she? Why are you in my house?” The young spirit screamed shrilly, in a banshee-esque wail causing the windows throughout the house to crack.

Instead of answering, the lavender filly opened her saddlebags, pulling out a few bolts of medical cloth, and a small collection of medicinal herbs. “I had come originally to fulfil your request, Instead, I found that you both died the year before I even arrived at this town from complications in your illnesses.”

The young spirit stepped back recognizing one of the herbs as one of the more powerful fever medications that an old alchemist had used to try and help before she passed.”But-but I-I… Why? Mommy, why, where are you mom?” His spiritual flames dropped from a roar to a low blaze, the golden shine of his light fading to a dark blue as the flames further weakened from his new emotional state.

Twilight closed her eyes and opened them once more, a determined look overtaking her features. “When your mother died, she accepted her death and moved on. The way you view time as a spirit differs greatly from the time that you viewed it when you lived. I know not where your mother is. However, I know where you are and I can help you join her.” Twilight lifted a hoof forward towards the dark blue spirit.

The young spirit looked towards Twilight, his expression unsure. “Can you really?” He asked shakily, lifting his hoof towards the young filly’s. Twilight nodded affirmatively, her eyes never wavering. The colt finally stopped shaking as he made his decision, then placed his hoof on Twilights. “Alright, I’ll trust you Ms. Glimmer.”

Twilight released the colt’s hoof and stepped back, motioning for him to take the spot she had been standing on the floor. “Thank you for the trust. I’ll try to help you as fast as I can, however I need to read up one last time on the spell to make sure I’m doing it right.” With her piece said for the moment, she lit her horn with a bright magenta aura as she pulled an ancient book out of her back, it’s cover scratched and rubbed raw throughout the ages, with the faint image of a pony skull wreathed in sickly green flame. Opening the book, she swiftly began flipping pages, stopping at the page she had sought. Several triangular and hexagonal diagrams next to hoof written text were visible throughout the page, along with a few mathematical calculations.

Nodding once, as she finished rereading the page, she returned her attention to the patiently waiting colt. “Now in order for this to work, I need to you calm yourself and only think of the happy things in your life.” The spirit closed his eyes and began smiling softly as he remained standing in the middle of the room. “Good.”

Twilight's horn began to brighten as she focused the spell as the book dictated, melting all of the power and sigils into a single incantation within her mind’s eye, and finally after a few seconds a blinding bolt of white light formed at the tip of the lavender filly’s horn, then just as suddenly as it appeared it shot outward from her and towards the resting spirit, however, before the blinding bolt struck him, it disappeared. Instead a light from above streamed down upon the colt as the fabric of reality visibly warped within Twilight’s spell.

Suddenly, the colt opened his eyes and looked up towards the tear, his ear twitching as a bright smile appeared upon his face. Reaching a hoof upwards the tear, the young colt began to cry out. “Mommy, is that you? M-Mom Mom I’m coming mom, just a moment.” Turning around the colt looked towards Twilight, his countenance brighter than the noonday sun. “Thank you Ms. Glimmer… Goodbye” with that he turned around and began sprinting, his hooves blinding underneath him as he galloped upon the floor, yet moving nowhere. His spiritual body started to fade from the physical realm as he ascended into the higher plane.

Twilight smiled, closing her eyes as she turned towards the main entrance of the house. She stopped feeding the spells, allowing the excess magic to fade into the aether as the spells dissipated. She stepped out of the house and back onto the main road, closing the door behind her telekinetically. With a blurry glance back towards the old house, she turned away blinking away a few salty drops of joy, before she began walking down the road once more, following the directions given to reach the town square. ‘I wonder what will be at the festival?’ She mused quietly as she approached the main fairgrounds.

Stepping past the first pair of stalls Twilight’s vision was suddenly blocked by a wall of green. “Oi’ nau look wot wee lass the wind be bringin t’town, ay wee Glimmer? So wot be bringin you back oll o’ a suddin?” Asks a cheery gruff voice from above.

Twilight smiled brightly as she looked up into the grizzled smiling face of one of her friends. “Hello Berry Bash, how have you been?”

The bright green stallion wiggled his hoof in front of her face tisking as it waived. “Naw, naw, can’t be hav’n any O dat. Ai may be foin fer me cheery ol self, but you li’ll misse av’ yet’t answer me first question.”

Twilights smile morphed into a smirk as she answered her excitable friend.“Well if you really must know, I came with my companion Cherry Spice, he’s a trader in cooking spices amongst other things. As for why I’m here? Well, I could say it was for the party but that would be a lie. No, I think it’s more because I want to have fun with you and the others again.”

Suddenly the old green stallion flipped backwards at an impossible angle dodging a fast flying object before answering. “Oi now that’s an answer. Say would’ja mind joinin me and the lads fer a wee game of PIE WARS?!”

Twilight looked at the area, noticing that the crowd had several stalls deeper into the square, while the area before her was plastered in red, purple, and blue confectionary with crumbled crust and juices covering the street and stalls wherever she looked, Lifting a pie from a nearby stall with her magic she bounced it up and down as it approached her, testing it’s weight before finally returning her gaze to her green friend with a smile. “Why not Uncle Berry?” She said, before swiftly launching the pie into his face, causing the confectionary to splatter onto both him and the unponied stall behind him.

music here.

Berry Bash looked forward at his purple unicorn friend, a blank stare taking control of his face as pieces of blueberry pie dropped from his chin, tentatively his tongue pressed out from between his lips and lapped at the coating upon his lips. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened from its stunned state as he swallowed the mouthful of delicious juices. “Oi taste Bluburry... And it taste lack WAAR!” He screamed, a manic grin covering his face as he leapt over to a nearby stand with several untouched pies. He grabbed one of them and tossed it in a seemingly random direction, slamming another pony in the side of the face and causing the poor stallion to drop his pastery ammo as he fell to the ground from a strawberry overdose.

Twilight laughed joyfully as she skirted around another stall and hid behind it just in time to dodge a volley of strawberry pies, using her magic she pulled one from the swarm above her and pulled it over to herself. Pie in hoof she stands from behind the abandoned booth and aimed for a dusty brown stallion crawling towards a stand of cherry pies. Stretching her arm back a bit, she put the entire strength of her foreleg behind the throw, along with a war cry of her own, sending the strawberry filled pastry hurling at a rapid speed towards its target.

The poor stallion took that last moment to look back, and the next was seeing stars as a pair of ponies in white garb with chef’s hats piled him and a few other victims of the pie war onto a serving cart before rolling them out of the field of battle to get cleaned off and recuperate from their traumatic defeat.

The lavender filly pulled out a dark grey cloak allowing her to better fit in with the shadows as her vision began to blur, her sight becoming sharp and unfocused at the same time as she followed the pies flying through the air with ease while noting her opponents’ positions. lifting her ammunition in one hoof she aimed for another blurred figure near her position, tossing it with haste then ducking and rolling towards another stand as two pies she had noted from the side flew over her previous position. Her back against the hard surface of the stand, she quickly took a peek and ducked back down, her expression going blank as she watched two blurred figures carrying away a third from the position of the opponent she had assailed.

Another blur appeared to her right, leaping up from her position, she tapped one of the boards on the counter, lifting them up and sending the attached object flipping gently over her head, dropping to all fours, she waited half a second before lowering her upper body in preparation. Then, with a burst of energy, she reared her back legs and struck the falling object with unerring precision, sending it soaring into the moving blur and causing it to crash into the ground. Nodding once she leapt up onto the stand above her and grabbed three pies in her magical field and twirled them around her as she gathers the location of her next three targets.

Within seconds she had them spotted and flipped the pies into the air, bucking them towards their chosen target one after the other. With a single flip, she landed behind the wooden stall once more as another wave of pies fly past her position. Looking up through the cracks in the wood, she realized her lack of ammo. Thinking quickly, she tipped her eyes above the stall’s counter and noted several other stalls nearby still containing an assortment of pies for her to use. With her target located, she ducked underneath the stall once more.

‘Alright lane is clear to placement three, though only two pies at location, placement six is under heavy scrutiny but has over fifteen pies stacked and ready to use. If I head to placement three I could take out two of the opponents guarding placement six, which would lighten the opposition and improve my chances of reaching placement six to within the eighty percent margin.’ With her plan of action sorted out, Twilight leapt from behind the protection of her stall and rushed across the way and over to another empty stall, quickly reaching the stall, she ducked behind it and waited. Calming her breath, she peeked over her new position and watched as several more ponies were taken out with pies hitting them in either the head or chest, one even got sniped with a cupcake to the eye.

‘That’ll leave a mark.’ Twilight mentally noted before ducking back behind her barrier, having found her two main targets with ease. Levitating her pies down to her level, Twilight placed them both on either hoof, focusing on her own breath for a few seconds, she turned around and leapt up onto her hind legs, her torso above the stand as she tossed both pies with great precision towards where she remembered her targets being. Dropping back to all fours she watched as the pies reached their destinations. However ducks below the counter after seeing only one of the pastry projectiles hit it’s designated target, the other missing as the target had changed position while she wasn’t looking.

‘Out of pies, one down, chances have dropped from eighty percent to around fifty. Acceptable chances.’ With that thought, Twilight leapt from behind her cover like she did from the previous stand and rushed towards her next target, a wooden stand with a metal sheet on top containing fifteen stacked pies. However, just as she was about to reach the stand, a whistling noise caught her attention, and her vision suddenly went grey. After a few seconds Twilight felt her vision began to return, ‘Huh, when did the ground get so close? Why do I feel like I inhaled some of Mshauri’s incense?’ She felt two pairs of hooves grab her and begin pulling her off the field, looking behind her, she noticed three splatters of pie from the position she was laying in. ‘Huh? Oh I got out.’

A loud voice screeched in the background as Twilight finally pulled off the field. “An tha’ laddie is why neu un bets meh at PIE WAAR!” Several nearby ponies rolled their eyes at the antics of one of the town’s most memorable elders.

“Wait, it couldn’t be, can it?” Said a familiar voice, hoof steps approaching, Twilight turned her strawberry coated face over to face the pony, only one eye open as the other seemed to be glued shut by a mixture of crust and blueberry filling. Upon sight the lavender filly began growling at him as if he were the most annoying thing in the world ‘Go away’ She thought, Too bad she couldn’t open her mouth, she had some colorful words to spit in the chocolate brown stallion’s direction. “O-hoh, it is. Schnt, khhga-ha-ha, hhh, hehehe. Eeeh, yea that’s hilarious, The great and pooowerful Glimmering Wisp, laid low by a humble pie. Oooh, you’ve got to admit that’s hilarious.”

Twilight just glared silently at the snickering stallion.‘Yea real funny, especially when there’s three of them hitting you in the face, ughh.’ She mulls angrily while the stallion finally sat down in front of her.

“Well then, now that you’ve been properly humbled, why don’t I help you get cleaned up.” Cherry Spice said chipperly, a wide face-encompassing grin covering the field of Twilight’s vision.

‘Fine.’ Twilight rolled her eyes while grunting assent.

With a jerk of his head, Cherry pulled a wooden bucket off his back and unceremoniously poured its contents all over the pie coated unicorn, causing red streaks to run through her coat as the water absorbed the berry juices and spread them across the remainder of Twilight’s body, staining her once lavender coat an amalgamation of blue and red, with a mix of amber apple.

Cherry Spice started laughing once again, while Twilight glared at him again. with a simple thought Twilight activated her magic and grasped the pie and berry juices covering her coat and pulled them off, without even trying she condensed the mass into a ball and then drops the sticky substance all over Cherry Spice who still continued to laugh. “Totally worth it.”

---

A few hours and several buckets of water later, Twilight sat next to Cherry Spice on the back of his wagon, both of them holding a culinary masterpiece. “So Cherry, what did the bourneioisie ponies say this was?”

The young stallion tapped his chin with a hoof in thought. “I think they called it a crem brulé, name or not, this is definitely one of the better treats I’ve tried during my travels.” He said before biting off another chunk of the sugar topped cream treat.

Twilight smiled and nodded while watching a small group of children run around playing tag with a steel grey unicorn being it at the moment. “Yea, I’ll have to agree. the treat is definitely better to eat than the whipped cream at Whitebeat’s stall.”

Cherry did a double take. “Wait, you actually remember her name?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Yeah, why?”

“Well uh… you know what, never mind.” He said writing the thought off as unnecessary.

“Okay then.” Twilight said before going back to her treat and watching the foals play. ‘Today’s been good, don’t you think Fang?’ A small rustle with a happy gurgling sound under her cloak was her only answer.

---

Lumix, 14th, 993 CR

I’ve made it all the way back to Windbreak Valley. I’m staying at the Drunken Rodent again after spending a good time with Berry Bash. I don’t even know where he gets all of his energy, but I guess I’m pleased nonetheless that he’s still healthy and whole. There was this really nice dish they served there that had lots of fluffy whipped cream on top of a crystalline sugar crust with a warm gooey sweet center. One of the foreigners from across the Bracken Sea made it, I think she called it a crem brulé. All I know is that they are delicious, and I think I had five. I was able to sneak one away from the party afterwards, so I could share it with Fang.

Another bit of good news. Fang has finally stopped antagonizing Cherry Spice, so at least now I don’t have to watch him as much, though I will still be keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t get into anymore trouble like in Pax Nexus. There really isn’t much to report on our travels along the roads. The pace is slow but the scenery is beautiful. Cherry Spice seems to be taking his time while traveling between destinations. There are a few good things about how we’re going at the moment. I’m finding many more alchemical ingredients than before and I’m taking much more time to actually study and fully comprehend the beauty of the surrounding lands. Fang’s taken to making both day and night flights, deep into the surrounding wilderness.

I got to speak with White Wind over a few more of my insights into the fields of magic from what I learned over to space of my travels. The wise counsel earlier has definitely calmed and refined some of my thoughts and fixed a few of my more prominent earlier misconceptions. I definitely helped out where I could and followed the local rules regarding magic, keeping in mind other’s feelings about any spell I cast with company present.

The bed seems to be really pleasant now, I shall go to it and rest a bit, I’ll have another message written in the evening tomorrow.

Twilight Sparkle.

Lumix, 27th, 993 CR

I’ve finally reached the town of Saddle Rest, or so the map would tell me, the other end of the Griffon-Equestrian border. It’s strange, it took more than a month to travel all of this distance from Windbreak. I’m more used to reaching a destination within the space of a few weeks at the most.

I came across those two peculiar timberwolves earlier in the week, I think I forgot to note it, so I’ll do so now. It seems that they follow the command of someone with great influence. I wonder if I’ll get to meet them, I have a few questions on how to tame the timberwolves since all that I understand so far is that they are untameable predators that would attack solitary ponies if it meant a quick meal. Other than their cheerful demeanor outside of hunting, of course.

I’ve met plenty of Zebra here in Saddle Rest. However they seem to all be the same, vendors and greedy fools. It took me a few hours before I found one that was at least decent enough to talk to, I asked him if he would be willing to trade herbal supplies for bits, however he came to Saddle Rest for the same reason. So rather than trade, we decided to settle down and share some of our stories. It was a few hours before we went our separate ways and he let me know of a few unexplored ruins along the main path between Applecrest and Highreach. I think I’ll visit them when I get a chance. I wonder what new wonders they’ll hold?

Eventually I made my purchases from the saturated market and left to meet Cherry Spice at the ‘Three Arabian Knights’ tavern. He had a few drinks and I purchased a few gallons of water in case we run into a dry stretch again. After we finished there, we left and wandered the town until we found the inn were staying in now.I think it’s called ‘The Piper’s Song. ’ There seems to be a discrepancy of griffons and ponies in the area though. I wonder why? Anyway that is a question I don’t plan on answering. I’ll be heading off tomorrow at dawn.

---

Well at least now I know why there’s a dearth of ponies in the town. There’s a whole hive of changelings to the south-east in the middle of the desert. Apparently, they’ve been taking traveling ponies that wouldn’t be missed, and used them as a food source for the Hive. I had a chance to speak with the two changelings that invaded the room I was staying in, and they let me know that Cherry Spice was already in their custody, before I knocked them out and dragged them into the hallway. Luckily I caught their partners trying to drag away a sleeping Cherry Spice, and took them down without too much difficulty either. After tying the changelings up, I moved Cherry Spice’s belongings into my room and I’m having him sleep on the bed, while I rest on my mat.

It’s a good enough arrangement, tomorrow I’ll hide the changelings before Cherry Spice wakes up, then we can head out at the earliest possible time.

Twilight Sparkle.

Thorm, 14th, 993 CR

Well, I’ll say, I may have been looking forward to speaking with Nagash in the next few weeks, but today has definitely reaffirmed some of my reasonings for traveling. The adventure and even the chance to see and learn new things barely understood or even imagined by others.

As I was traveling along one of the side roads, I felt a really intense magical aura flow over me and Cherry Spice. When I asked him if he felt it as well, he just laughed and told me not to be scared of some wind. I guess since he isn’t a unicorn, he really doesn’t have a way of telling the difference between the wind and a magical presence. Anyway, I told him I would be off for a bit to check something out, and left his company.

I traced the magic to its source, arriving at the crest of a hill leading down about forty feet into the beginnings of a ritual sight, where a small group of unicorns, with their fur burned in jagged patterns, resembling runes were casting a powerful ritual spell. I prepared to go down, until I noticed a slight flare of golden light on the other side of the ritual circle, thinking nothing of it, I continued observing the mages at work in their spell casting. After examining their ritualistic spells for a few moments I realized how simplistic they were. After a few moments, I had prepared a working spell from what I saw being done down there. When I tried to cast it, I found a glaring flaw in its makeup and immediately dispelled the runes before I accidentally pulled an unbound creature from the void.~

---

‘What are they doing? Those are royal guards! They are there to help them, not make a stupid mistake.’ Twilight watched as the scene unfolded below her. Two royal guards in Golden armor that covered their whole body, rather than the ceremonial armor that the guard around the royal palace wore. Twilight held her breath as the burned mages began to face the guards. Suddenly Twilight recognized one of the emblems on the guards armor as the same one that he two strangers that followed her were carrying, they had been trailing her since her first night with Velt and Rhode.

“What are they doing here? I thought they disappeared after Pax Nexus?” She muttered to herself as she watched both ponies in the guard armor slaughter several of the scarred mages with both their hooves and magic. The one on the right releasing offensive spells into the crowd of mages forcing them to dodge away while the one on the left cast defensive barriers and illusions to keep any of their attackers on their toes. With a sudden burst of agility, the guard in front charged towards the ritual circle in the center of the field, launching several fireballs and an icicle killing three of the mages with precise blasts to the heads, and injuring three more while pinning one to the wall with his Ice bolt. Twilight placed a hoof over her muzzle to halt any sound that might have come out. ‘What are they doing! They're supposed to protect ponies not EXECUTE them!’

She could hear the battle below with great clarity, several of the mages called out in a strange tongue though one phrase struck out as more common than the rest. “Spawn od el tirano sol.” While the royal guards fought with a ferocity she hadn’t seen since she last visited Ru’I’Vah. Both constantly mentioning a different phrase towards the group of ponies.

“These stupid cultists are being a pain in the flank.” The one in the back yelled.

“They’re the order of the eternal flame, it’s not my fault that they also happen to be bucking demon worshippers that brainwash their members into serving their demonic overlords as if they were gods. My problem with this is how the fuck they were able to stay hidden this long? Especially with this many members.” Yelled the warrior as he released a psionic shock wave sending three of the cultists flying backwards.

Suddenly, several of the cutests begin crying in joy, Twilight turned her focus from the fight to watch as the leader of the group with a full body burn scar cried his joy. “Nuestro señor es liberado, él nos salve de estos ponis sol maldecido. Vamos a ascender en su gloria mis hermanos.”

The stallion with his defensive spells active, swiftly leapt in front of his companion summoning a bright golden barrier before them. “Crap, they pulled one of the prisoners from Tartarus.”

As the smoke cleared, the creature revealed stepped forth, with the lower body of a bull with black fur and a upper body with obsidian fur running along the chest and two crimson arms on either side, he had the face of a goat with a long beard and twin long horns spiering from his head. “Gracias mis secuaces, ahora que yo no te necesito más voy a tomar tu magia.” Suddenly the cultists involuntarily stepped away from the creature they summoned but did not react swift enough as the magic bled from their horns and into the demonic creature’s mouth, his body growing slightly as as he fed on the cultists magic.

The leader looked towards Tirek and cries out in a pitiful voice as he and the rest of his fellows collapse to the ground. “Nuestro Señor nos ha traicionado?”

“¿Por qué” Whispered one of the fallen cultists before losing consciousness.

The centaurian creature began to laugh as he stepped over the collapsed form of one of his cultist followers towards the unicorn warriors in golden armor. “Ja, ja, ja, que pensaba que iba a ayudar a que los ponis? No me hagas reír, una vez que me he ocupado de las mascotas de Celestia, voy a robar toda la magia de toda Equestria!” Then he opened his mouth wide, his intent clear as he faced both unicorn magi, however, instead of a flow of magic from his newest victims, he instead received a fireball to the face.

The guard with his shield active smiles in the demons direction.“What’s wrong, can’t even get a sample? Or is that too spicy for you?” Suddenly his horn flickered to life as the stallion’s shield appears before his companion, just in time to block a blast of magic from the centaur like creature.

“Rghaaa, yo te destruirá perro de Celestia.” The dark creature screamed as he charged both of the unicorns, the area between his horns glowing violently as he built up another destruction spell.

The unicorn charging an Ice bolt to his horn releases a smirk. “Yea? Well then why don’t you suck on an ICE BOLT!” A white beam struck from the stallion’s horn before he dodged to the right while his companion leapt to the left holding his shield around himself as the stream of energy absorbing magic was fed and dissipated by the destructive spell cast by the demon sorcerer.

The destruction bolt finally ended its path when it exploded against one of the weakened cultists sending a limb flying as the rest of his body was disintegrated instantly by the spells explosion. Both unicorn guards simultaneously fired beams of white energy towards the Dark creature, who lifted up his arms casting red magical shields to cover them as they moved to block the energy beams sent at him.

“Hm, hm, hm.” Suddenly he lifted both arms and slammed them into the ground, sending both of his shields flying outwards in the direction of his unicorn opponents, forcing both of them to dodge. Turning to face the female one he opens his mouth and an orb of energy formed between his teeth, before she could react, magic begins weakening as the demon began draining it straight from her horn while her comrade in arms fended off the unicorn cultists still attempting to bring him down, weakened as they are.

Twilight stopped watching realising that her time for action was then and there. Activating her magic, she rifled through her pack before pulling out a crimson red potion with a glowing yellow core. ‘I guess acquiring that lava core payed off after all.’ With that thought she tossed the potion across the distance and watches as it struck on the demons back before ducking and covering her eyes. A blinding flash of light proceeding a deafening explosion of sound assaulted her senses, standing to her full height Twilight began bounding like the deer folk, leaping over the cultists and landing closer to the fight in progress with each jump.

Watching carefully she noticed one of the warriors collapse as well as the demon who had been consuming her magic. The magic that had been flowing steadily into the demon suddenly ripped out of him and back into the unicorn he had been trying to drain. The unicorn guard with her magic returned stood up on wobbly legs, staring defiantly at the demon.

Twilight tore her vision from the unicorn, focusing fully upon the unbound demon with the sure knowledge that all of the other enemies had been incapacitated by the unicorn guards. Leaping forward, she flipped around in mid air and struck swiftly with her hind legs. Feeling a connection, she coiled her legs once more, allowing her momentum to push her into position, then sprung off her opponent with all the force her limbs could muster, causing the taurian creature to stumble backwards with a grunt.

Suddenly in a deep multi toned voice, he screamed. “You will pay for that mortal!” Twilight lit her horn, summoning a small needle thin Icicle, and twirled around launching it into the demons arm. However, her opponent deflected the attack with a simple flash of his own magic. ‘He seems to be immune to immediate physical damage… maybe a few of my more corrosive potions could help’ Twilight pulled out several purplish blue potions from her pack, all of them containing a central glowing green core.

Twilight began charging towards the demon once more, keeping her potions behind her as she approached. The demon, already recovered from the blow, smiled viciously before opening his mouth to try and drain Twilight’s magic. Suddenly, one of the bottles went flying from Twilight’s grip with the magic that was holding it and struck the demon in the face, breaking the potion bottle and releasing it all over the demon’s coat, then sissling violently as it ate away at his regenerating skin.

Twilight then noticed a bright golden light forming to both her right and left as she ran past the creature releasing all four of her remaining potions into the demons legs, causing him to roar out his pain and fury. Leaping forward, she barely cleared a downed cultist before landing and turning, only to be forced to cover her eyes as a blinding light encompassed the field in front of her, hiding the demon from sight. She tried to look up but noticed that the light continued falling from the sky in a massive pillar, the smell of burning flesh and grass reached her nostrils, nearly choking her from the sudden stench.

Lighting her horn, she grasped the body of the cultist that she jumped over and placed it before herself to block both the light and whatever the demon might throw at her while she was blinded. ‘Drake vision should be able to help.’ Twilight noted as she grasped another potion from her pack. She placed the small vial to her lips and drank down the murky grey contents. After a few seconds, her vision began to change, the area blurred within her sight but the light from the outside world became more manageable. Lowering the body slightly, she looked over it towards the pillar of light as it began to finally break apart. She squinted her eyes to reduce the amount of light pollution making it into her retinas, and sharpening her eyesight.

She noted the forms of both guards standing on either side of the fading pillar of light, and the heavily burnt form of the demon standing in the center of the pillars strike zone, surrounded by a circular ring of scorched earth. All was still for but a moment as the demon stood his ground still, even after the heavenly onslaught the two guards had reigned upon him. Next to him was a small rise in the earth in the shape of a pony curled in a fetal position. Then suddenly the demon collapsed onto the ground as his energy gave out, his body no longer able to sustain itself against the injuries he had received.

Both guardsponies then walked forward lifting the demon within their magical fields and open a red glowing portal between them before throwing the listless demon through it, back into the realm from which he came. Twilight nodded once at their action before calling out. “Hey! Are you two okay?” She asked loudly, walking towards the winded guards.

The one on the right nodded before saying. “Do not worry yourself with our well being citizen. We have control of the situation at hoof, we shall be fine.” Suddenly he winced as he placed his hoof down once more. “Though if you could spare us a few potions to help mend our wounds we would be appreciative.”

“Sure, just give me a second.” Twilight said, activating her magenta magic and grasping a few potions and pulling them from her pack. They was a purplish blue coloring, and a small rusty red jar with a mustard yellow past within, then placed them before the guards. “The flasks will heal your wounds after a short period of time, and rub the paste within the jar over your bruises to ease their discomfort.” She said before turning around and walking away.

The sound of shuffling could be heard behind her before the male spoke up once more. “Thank you for the help. Have a glorious day.”

Twilights responded simply. “You’re welcome, good day.” Not even turning around to look as she crested the hill and out of sight.

---

~Turning back to the mages, I prepared once again to go down there, to warn them before they slaughtered themselves by summoning a possibly hostile unbound creature into their midst. However, as I was beginning to stand, two golden armored unicorns leapt down from the hill on the other side of the camp. Both guards charged against the mages casting the ritual. All but one of the unicorns in the ritual stopped casting their summoning spells to look at the golden cloaked unicorn guards. I originally thought, as the guards were landing, that they were there to contain whatever the mages were summoning. But then the mages attacked the unicorn guards. Did they want whatever came from the other side to kill them? The mages attacked the new arrivals flinging magic bolts and fireballs at the two armored unicorns, one of the mages throwing a lightning bolt, just as one of the two unicorn guards landed. However, I noticed the incomplete spell, finishing itself without any of the mages help. That’s when I realized that whatever they had been calling from the other side had decided to finish the ritual circle and appear.

While that was happening, the unicorn guards had already retaliated with lethal efficiency, cutting down the cultists with ice bolts and magic arrows, one of them even launched an incendiary spell. I watched as the guards cut through the ranks of the unicorns, I think I heard one of the guards call the unicorns they were fighting cultists.

The mages had dwindled from the number of thirty down to a meager twelve under the competent assault of the guards. That’s when I noticed that the ritual circle had finished taking form and, with a flash, the portal opened and out stepped what I could only consider a mix between a minotaur and one of our taller Saddle Arabian cousins, instead of fur he had bright red skin on his torso, and slick black fur on the rest of his lower body, his face was flat, and he had two sharp horns at the top of his head.

I watched as the mages cried out with joy when the creature arrived through the portal, until the creature then some how stole their magic reducing them to little more than living husks. The creature then attacked the two guards and they fought back while also being hindered by the severely weakened mages. When the beast locked onto one of the guards while the other was distracted and began draining her magic, I decided it was time to intervene. I threw my lava cored fire catalyst potion and hit him in the back, distracting him. then charged in, intent on making sure he couldn’t harm the others. After hitting him once and obtaining his attention I pulled out a few of my wyvern acid potions and threw them at the demon while rushing past him. When I finally landed and turned around to look at my opponent, I had to shield my eyes as a massive pillar of light struck the ground the demon stood upon, reducing everything to ashes.

After taking a night sight potion allowing me to see with my light blinded eyes once more, I looked over to the unicorn guards and noted down mentally the magical constructs on their horns as they rapidly deteriorated at the same speed as the combined spell they cast. Then, when the pillar of light finally faded, the demon was revealed however he collapsed after a few seconds giving the guards time to grasp him and throw him through another portal back into the depths of the realm he was drawn from.

After that I gave them a few healing potions and a numbing salve to ease the pains of battle before taking my leave to return to Cherry Spice on the road until we made our stop for the night in one of the caves along the mountain range.

Twilight Sparkle.

Thorm, 23rd, 993 CR

My visit with Nagash today went quite well, though I’m quite surprised he called upon my artificing skills so soon. He asked me to make a ring that caps over the horn with the specific enhancements to help focus magic being channeled through it. I already knew he had difficulty channeling the necessary magic needed for some of his more powerful spells, so I asked him to pass me the item he would prefer me to enchant, and it ended up being a brass ring, the same size as the base of his horn. It took me the better part of an hour to finish enchanting the ring, but Nagash was pleased with the result and even said as much. I’m happy I could help him. He also gave me a few tidbits and warnings of places to stay away from.

We had an enjoyable and calm session of tea where I shared a few of the notes I took when I saw the ritual being performed. I swear I’d never seen Nagash get so worked up over a few spells before, so I asked him what it was about and he told me that what I’d witnessed and I quote ‘What you saw was a cult of demon worshippers trying to summon the dreadlord Tirek. Be grateful those two Celestial knights came when they did, because had they been only ten minutes late, then you and I might not be having this conversation now. ’ When I asked him why it was so bad, he just told me that Tirek was a demon sent to Tartarus by the princesses a few hundred years after the fall of Discord, for reasons far worse than simply driving the whole of Equestria mad. I’m glad I know Nagash, even as strange as his habits and company are.

---

The Cervidian I had met a few months ago was waiting for me when as I passed through Nagash’s field of influence After a few awkward moments of silence, he immediately stated that he knew I was consorting with a necromancer, and that he didn’t mind. I diffused the situation with a smile and just decided to be straight forward and told him that it wasn’t his knowledge of the fact that I was friends with the local necromancer, no it was the fact that he knew exactly where I was going to appear when I left Nagash’s barrier. All he had to do was flash me his antlers and immediately I knew the obvious answer. After exchanging a few pleasantries, I followed him to a clearing not too distant from our location and we lay there for an extended period of time, sharing thoughts and wisdom between each other, he was very knowledgeable about unicorn magic theory. When we finally finished our conversation I returned to the road and swiftly caught up with Cherry Spice, Fang riding on my back. After the sun dipped below the horizon we found our resting spot in a cavern half a mile off the road, completely untaken and undisturbed by the presence of others.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Twilight Sparkle.

Thorm, 59th, 993 CR

After having a close call with death I finally decided on the enchantment I’d use on Fang’s charm. A simple barrier spell designed to absorb a charge of magical energy from the ambient magic the user releases unconsciously. With enough power stored, the amulet would then activate if a force strong enough to cause severe damage were to strike Fang, the charm would then activate and spread a golden protective shield around his entire body, blocking all damage for as long as the charge holds.

Fang got assaulted by a small force of griffons, who originally thought he was a dragon spy, sent through Equestria. When they saw his destination, they halted their advance, their commanding officers landed and apologized for their misconduct. I allowed it to pass since it was a complete misunderstanding, and invited them to a pleasant lunch with us. I asked them about safe routes to our next town, since the path along the main road had eroded beyond use due to a combination of landslides and ice flows, both blocking and outright removing the road. They gave some info on a few side roads they deemed safe enough for regular travelers.

I also got a chance to look at their equipment a bit better, while they were eating alongside me and Cherry Spice, I recorded the design of a few of their weapons that caught an interest to me. The first one was an interesting device that involved a pull bar underneath a wooden stalk bisecting a length of wood pulled back by a single leather string, with a wooden box beneath, and a trigger at the end of the main body. The next was a long pole with a large single edged blade at the end. It looked heavy, but it seemed that the griffon peacekeepers were carrying them with ease. Intimidating wouldn’t be the right word to describe the equipment they wield. I would think practical, considering the single edged spear could be just as easily used for sweeping attacks as stabbing attacks, and the wooden construct looked to be able to throw the small lengths of wood set in the canisters at their sides quite a distance.

The clothing they wore was also quite interesting. It involved several sheets of bent metal formed around the curvature of their bodies. A piece wrapped around their heads, tapering off around the shoulders, and opening around their faces, whereas captain Songbird had a piece that fully covered his head, and neck. The other pieces covered their shoulders, chests, backs and in most cases, the front parts of their wings. All of them had metallic gloves fitted around their talons as well. There were thirteen of them in our company, so I asked them what they were doing, and why they were inside the Equestrian border.

Apparently, they received word from the front lines that dragons from the Draconis oligarchy were flying into Equestria then diving into griffon territory throughout the length of the Griffo/Equestrian borders. So the High council had sent a request into Equestria to allow minor platoons of griffons to watch the border for dragon incursions and activity. The princess has allowed this, as long as the griffons keep combat away from Equestrian citizens. He stated that his group was one of the Talon Scouting Parties send along the border to scout and preempt potential dragon strikes. I decided that their cause was somewhat noble so I asked if they would like any potions of healing and such. They accepted the offer and I made them enough of a healing solution to heal all of them for at least three full recoveries per griffon.

I had plenty of materials, thanks to Cherry Spice, and the fact that any item held within my pocket dimension is held within suspended animation, so there would be no degradation due to aging. I am very grateful I found Starswirl’s great tower. Though I think it’s time I study that mirror I took from the ancient castle before I left the Everfree. It’s enchantment feels somewhat like some of the teleportation circles I found within Starswirl’s tower. I wonder what secrets its magic could hold.

After a few hours of traveling with us since the path we were taking was along their patrol route we said our goodbye’s and went separate ways. Fang decided to be funny and blast Songbird with a concussive burst of force as they left. Songbird didn’t even look the least bit affected by it, completely ruining Fang’s moment.

We’re currently resting in the Atrium Inn, several hours from Hoofreed. I wonder how the old mayor’s doing?

Twilight Sparkle.

Zelfoss, 4th, 994 CR

Cherry Spice decided to invite another companion to travel with us as we traveled the trading routes, Her name is Wild Wind. She’s an interesting Pegasus, with a paw cutie mark similar to Tracker’s, though it seems a little strange, especially with the red tinge around its edges. When I asked, she just said that it really wasn’t something to worry about. She likes woodland animals, and is really good at turning away violent, wild storms.

Thankfully nothing much really happened today, I came across the same Timberwolves that I ran into several months ago. The pair of them seemed to be following a yellow Pegasus and her rainbow maned counterpart. They were following the main road while I had Cherry Spice take another of the side roads. The pair looked to be doing very well, even with their massive cart. I guess they must be the pack leaders of the two Timberwolves, considering it was after they passed that the Timberwolves stopped playing and continued after them.

When I returned to check on Cherry Spice and our new companion, she asked why I smelled like cedar. I’ll have to stay up a bit longer tonight, I have some suspicions I need to confirm or debunk before tomorrow.

---

“Hmm...” two lids opened revealing tired yet piercing magenta eyes and the lavender furred unicorn awakened abruptly from her deep rest. “Why is it still dark?” She noted the position of the sky, with the Light of the moon hanging over her head like a beacon while she straightened her ears to better listen to what was happening outside. Within seconds she heard something, a slight ripping sound coming from nearby.

Silently, the lavender filly slipped off of her sleeping mat and grasped the wooden tooth grip of a long wingblade dagger she had obtained from one of her mentors a few years ago. The cloak upon her back fluttering off and congealing before her into a solid ivory staff with a clear zenith crystal at the top held within the confines of the staff’s spiraling branch like grip at the top.

Carefully she stepped from the tent, swiveling her eyes about the darkness, focussing upon the shadows surrounding the encampment. She noted that the camp fire had died down and was now only releasing a small stream of smoke from its dimly glowing embers. Turning away from the dying fire, she continued her search for that which had disturbed her slumber.

Suddenly she heard a sound from her left, a soft pumf emitted by a paw touching the ground. ‘Predator?’ She wondered as she turned her dark adjusted eyes in the direction of the sound only to look between the tent she came out of and the one that her companions slept in.

Within the shade below the moonlit trees she spotted a movement within the shadows, Stalking forward silently she mentally called to her staff recalling it’s presence next to herself. Calling forth the proper pathways into her mind’s eye, Twilight focused her magical energies onto the next spell, with a simple push of her magic the crystal atop the staff flashes brightly for a moment before focussing the beam of light upon the area between the tents.

Twilight quirks an eyebrow as the light reveals the creature making the ruckus within the bushes. “Wild Wind?” She asked recognizing the companion Cherry Spice had asked to join their group when they left town. However before Twilight could even take a step forward, an animalistic growl tore from the other pony’s lips. Leaping forward with her staff attaching itself to her back, Twilight investigated Wild Winds condition.

Twilight distinctly remembered the young pegasus’s eyes being a bright sky blue but some how they had turned a deep amber yellow, somewhat reflecting the light of her staff, while her hooves were somehow splitting the calic breaking and forming into claw like protrusions, finally Twilight looked at the cutie mark. “I knew you looked strange.” The lavender filly whispered under her breath as she looked at the paw cutie mark, that glowed blue underneath the full moon.

Twilight closed her eyes and focussed upon the wind in the same form that her teacher Zecora had taught her, summoning the element to her command within a single small pause, She then leapt backwards a few feet from Wild Wind, aided by the same element. Twilight gazed upon the ailing pony as she fell to the forest floor from the pains of her change begin to reform her body at an alarming rate. “Hmm I hope I’m not too late.” Summoning another spell into her minds eye, this time she held it there as she pushed force into it, suddenly the world outside her eyelids turns a greenish white color. Placing a feed into the spell within the background of her thoughts, Twilight opened her eyes and refocused her attention upon Wild Wind, who was still writhing on the ground, her muffled thuds attesting to the fierceness of her pained struggles.

Twilight stepped forward towards her newer companion her gaze focusing upon the wild magic jolting and rushing around Wild Wind’s body unchecked, unbalancing her natural magic as it ravaged her physical form, it’s disarray becoming even more agitated under the parts of her body where the beams moonlight physically struck. ‘Not too late, however I really hope that what I read about wolf ponies in Zecora’s book was correct, otherwise this won’t end well.’ Stopping just next to Wild Wind, Twilight commanded her staff off of her back to hold itself aloft above Wild Wind with its crystal point towards the writhing pony. Twilight then began focusing her will through the staff as she drove her magic within the disordered field as she studied and tried to discern a way to order it into a calmer, more tame form.

After half a minute, Twilight allowed a smile to form upon her face, as she finished following the distorted magical energies. With a few simple adjustments in the right places, as she had learned from one of the more recent discussions she had with Nagash, after a few seconds, the magic flowing around Wild Wind began to stabilize, the erratic twitches and jumps occurring less and less as the young pegasus’s internal magic began to mend itself.

Another minute passed before Wild Wind’s convulsions stopped, Twilight cancelled the spell converting her sight between the physical and the magical realm, allowing it to fade back to reality. With her true eyesight returned to her Twilight finally saw what her companion now looked like. Wild Wind’s dark orange fur had changed to a deep brown, her teeth had sharpened as well as the changes to her eyes and hooves, ’Well paws now...’ Twilight noted calmly, Wild Wind’s tail had also changed becoming more prehensile with the hair changing into the same composition, and color as her fur.

Wild Wind opened her eyes abruptly causing Twilight to use her wind technique to leap back several feet from the pegasus wolf pony, with her cutie mark still glowing a soft blue as she stood back up. “Mgrr hgggm.” The creature growled as it turned to face Twilight, displeasure could clearly be seen set upon her wrinkled back jaws.

Twilight smiled, lighting her horn with a familiar magenta energy, With a simple thought she grasped a nearby stick in her natural telekinetic field and lifts it into the air, diverting Wild Wind’s attention. ‘This is going to be a long night.’ Twilight allowed her thoughts to grumble before tossing the stick into the woods. She watched as the wolf pony rushed after the flying wooden object. ‘At least it’ll be a fun one.’ She amended before following after her wayward companion.

It had been a long night, Twilight grunted irritably as she stepped through the entrance of Cherry Spice’s tent, ‘I honestly don’t know how I’m still awake, or how many scratches and bruises I acquired last night. But what I do know is that I’ll be aching by tonight because of this fool.’ she thought as she stopped next to the slumbering Cherry Spice, her cloak shimmering behind her, flowing on a non existent breeze. Twilight’s horn glowed a bit brighter as the slumbering figure of Wild Wind floated into the canvas shelter.

Letting out a gentle sigh, Twilight felt her shoulders slump in exhaustion as she looked upon the slumbering figure of her traveling companion Cherry Spice. “What am I going to do with you… Get up!” She said sharply, popping the stallion with a kick just above the stomach, startling the stallion out of his slumber.

“Huh, wha?…” Rolling over onto his stomach the stallion blearily looked up into Twilights amethyst eyes. “Oh, hay Twi, Wha’s going on? Somm’in happ’n last night?” The Stallion said as he focused on getting to his hooves.

“More or less.” Twilight responded shortly, before pointing her hoof behind him at his sleeping bedmate Wild Wind. “She almost accidentally made a meal of you last night.”

Suddenly Cherry Spices eyes gain a sharpness to them as he turns to glare at Twilight. “Now that’s just rude. What makes you say such a thing, it couldn’t have been that bad.” He said indignantly stamping a hoof into the ground emphasising his point.

Twilight lifted a hoof to her face, releasing a slow breath. “Haven’t we been through this conversation before Cherry? You know I’m not lying, so just listen.” Walking around the simmering stallion, she steps in to stand next to the still unconscious Wild Wind. “How about I start with the fact that Wild Wind here is a wolf pony. Apparently she got infected by another wolf pony at some point during a full moon and her magic has been in disarray since, I’ve managed to patch it up a bit so that next time she transforms, she has full control of her faculties rather than going into a blind pain-fueled rage. Anyway I don’t think she knew the extent of her injury when she was infected the first time.” Cherry Spice nodded carefully seeing where Twilight was going next he immediately sagged his shoulders in defeat.

“Alright you win. What is it you want this time?” He moaned bitterly as Twilight smirked in victory.

Opening her mouth she began “Well then straight to the point, good, now I was thinking that...”

---

Aaand I confirmed it. Apparently the pawprint on her flank is not her original cutie mark, but a sign of her curse. Thankfully I was able to calm the raging magics that went through her while she transformed into a wolf pony. Due to that action, she was able to keep some of her sanity, and I was able to keep her feral being entertained until dawn. When we arrived back at camp, I was not happy that Cherry Spice forgot to check our companion for any prior conditions. He had to sacrifice a few of his rules, and lower the prices on his goods for a few weeks after that, along with losing any commission for potions I make till after we leave Applecrest.

Twilight Sparkle.

The morning sun was cresting towards noon as Twilight looked over the well worn dirt road through the Whispering Woods. The birds were reveling in their song as the lavender unicorn traversed silently along the path below, unnoticed. ‘I’m glad that I was able to get out of camp and travel ahead when I did. I swear, if I have to listen to Cherry and Wild Wind’s antics one more time today I’ll probably break something...’ Twilight mused silently as thoughts and visions entered her mind of a tree toppling over with a diagonal slash running cleanly through it’s tough bark. The image followed up with her telekinetic aura surrounding the falling upper half of the tree then, switched to her chasing a brown earth pony through the forest with the tree swinging left and right, slamming down just behind him as further encouragement to run.

Suddenly Twilight’s musings stopped as she heard the crunching of a twig near by, slowed to a stop as she tilted her ear in the direction of the odd sound, focusing upon it. Suddenly her eyes focused onto a nearby bush as a shadow pulled itself from their depths, resolving itself into the form of a bearded deer with a spiraling rack of antlers upon his head, Around his neck hung a simple chain with a jade pendant hanging just above his heart, upon his antlers rested a small web of threads, each one glowing a silvery white in the noonday sun, while his white and brown coat glowed softly as he strode forward.

He stopped as he stepped onto the road, turning to face the lavender filly that had paused to witness his arrival. With only a half seconds warning, the deer braces himself as he feels a large ball of purple fur fly over and hug tackle him. A brilliant smile rested upon Twilight’s face, she closed her eyes as she nuzzled up against the elder deer. Taking a step back, she took in the elder deer’s appearance one more time. “It’s so good to see you again Falagar, has the forest treated you well?”

The stag sighed as he looked over the road then off towards one of the distant mountains. “The forest treats me well, for it knows me as surely as I know it, the only worries that pounce upon my glade are your friend who defies the natural order, and the occasional traveler. Though I have missed your presence of recent times. I enjoy our conversations over theory and life.” With his head, Fajagar gestured towards the woods. “Which reminds me, shall we take this conversation to a place where it is less likely we will be disturbed?”

Twilight nodded in agreement walking over to the bushes and stepping through. Another heartbeat and the elder stag was standing before her. Stepping forth, he led the way through the trees. Several minutes into the journey, Twilight began to notice the difference in the trees as they changed from a typical mountainous cedar and fir forest to a mystical jungle with glowing plants and strange small creatures running about the lower foliage, Twilight noted one of the creatures that looked like a strange mixture between a ferret and an iguana, with a pair of green glands on either side of it’s head, and even a small family of fiery kitsunes playing by a small pond.

‘Reminds me of home. I wonder how Zecora is doing?’ Twilight thought silently, as she distracted her vision with the scenery, always keeping Falagar within her peripheral vision if not in her main sight. Soon they reached a small clearing with the light of the sun filtering through the foliage, being amplified by the serenity of the surrounding clearing and the lack of any corruption within its premises.

Twilight stood at the edge of the clearing, staring in awe at the scenery before her as the elder deer stepped over to the nearby babbling brook and began drinking from the stream. “This is my third time here, and I’m still struck by how beautiful your grove is.” Facing the elder deer once more with a smile Twilight continued. “Thank you again for inviting me Falagar.” She said in a low tone, unconsciously deciding to try her best not to disturb the serenity of the grove. The deer’s ear flicked in recognition as he finishes drinking from the babbling brook.

Standing to his full height Falagar turned to face Twilight, “Indeed, it is beautiful.” Twilight smiled as she continued her pace through the clearing and stopped next to him. “It is one of the many reasons I protect it. I was wondering, Glimmer, have you been practicing your magic recently?” Falagar asked as he laid down, closing his eyes as he soaked in the tranquility of the forest.

In response, Twilight lit her horn and lifted several sticks in her magical aura, then rendered them invisible while covering the area around them in a shimmering effect displacing the sunlight running through the field of magic. All the while smiling with gleeful joy as she looked up towards the meadow sage.

“Impressive. Definitely an improvement over one spell at a time. How did you manage it?” Falagar asked as he returned a soft smile of his own to the young mage.

Canceling the spells, and cutting off the flow of energy to her horn, Twilight watched as the sticks fell to the ground before looking back up and then tapping the hoof against the tip of one of Falagar’s antlers. “Well, at first I tried to separate several spells into different contained groups and split my magic into multiple directions to fill the spells with energy, similar to how your antlers work. But in practice, I found that unicorn horns are woefully direct in that they cannot split magic from the source. However I found a work around solution a few weeks later when I watched a griffon runemage cast several spells using external spell sheets.” Twilight lit her horn and began rummaging through her bags until she finally pulled out several slips of paper with different symbols on them. Spreading them out she placed them on the ground before both her and Falagar.

Opening her mouth wide and taking a deep breath Twilight continues. “I asked the rune mage how she managed to cast the spells all at the same time, and she explained that she didn’t.” Lighting her horn once more Twilight energized the sheet in the middle of the others before continuing. ”Instead she ran her magic through an external filter, allowing it to be split into different paths and sent to empower the other spells.” Twilight then bowed her head towards the runes on the ground as several streams of power flowed from the central rune onto the others and lighting them as well, causing six things to happen, four of the runes begin to float into the other one encasing itself in rock another in water and the last two in fire and air respectively, while the two still on the ground began to churn the air around them a bit as one distorted light while the other brightens as if lit by a candle. “By sending telekinetic commands towards the control rune or filter, you can decide what the other spells do. I also figured out some time ago how to cast the filter without needing any external materials.”

With a smile Twilight turned to her friend once more, her eyes looking deep within the lines of his face as if seeking approval. “So what do you think?”

“Hmm… Quite ingenious if I didn’t already know that there was a spell book within the central Grand Canterlot Library of Equestria that taught just such a spell, I would have been even more impressed by the uniqueness of it. Either way, I am immensely impressed that you were able to figure out the spell unaided as you were.” The elder laid a hoof on Twilights shoulder and looked directly into her eyes, “It is great to see you progress through your studies as swiftly as you do. I see great things in your future.”

Twilight felt her face flush with pride as she smiled at the stag, Then her smile quirked upward slightly, “Is that another one of your visions?” She asked, knowing of his advanced ability, to see into the future.

“No, lets just call it elder’s intuition.” Suddenly he dropped his smile, his eyes turning harder than diamonds as he spoke firmly to the young mage before him. “I know you have the power and the drive to do many great things in this world, no matter what path you choose, remember that I will always be here to speak with.” With the answer passed, his eyes took on a mischievous glint. “Now, are there any stories from the road you’d like to share?”

Twilight’s mischievous smile came to light joining the old cervine’s, “Do I ever. Which one do you want to hear, the time when Cherry and I were being chased by manticores or the time when Cherry nearly fell off the road?”

Raising a hoof to his chin Falagar asked, “Why not both?”

Twilight shook her head before lifting a hoof and pointing it towards the sky. “I can’t. By the position of the sun, I only have an hour left before I need to meet Cherry Spice on the road Otherwise he’ll get worried and enter the forest needlessly, putting himself in danger.” Pulling her hoof back she placed it against her snout before shaking her head. “I’ve tried convincing him that I’m perfectly safe in the woods, but the stone headed fool won’t listen.” With a sigh she released her annoyance before looking back up the the old seer. “So which one would you like to hear?”

“Hmm… How did your traveling companion almost fall off the road?” Falagar asked his hood still scratching his chin in wonderment.

Twilight felt her smile return if a little bit as she began her small tale. “Alright. Several moons ago, Cherry and I while we were still very much on our own as companions, we had many disagreements even after I had proven my superiority when it came to making sound traveling decisions. Anyway, one day we ran into a fork in the road, one leading along the side of the cliff that we both knew would be faster, and another path that led into the valley following a long and winding trail. Both of them were narrow, but the main difference was that along the cliff path you could fall off, while along the valley path the only problem you’d find would be getting a large vehicle stuck between the walls.” Rolling her eyes Twilight let out a bit of a sigh.

“Anyway in a typical view of the situation, the quicker path seemed the more obvious since both would be a hassle to get through. That is what Chery thought. However, while I had the same idea, I realized the faults with the plan especially with the new expanded wagon that Cherry Spice had purchased a few weeks before at Applecrest. Anyway after a brief argument, I decided it would be pointless to sway my idiot companion from his blind course. so instead I decided to take point to insure that if the blundering idiot did manage to trip himself off the edge I’d catch him. Lo and behold, not even ten minutes into the hour long trip, he managed to not only tip his wagon over but also flip himself over the edge, hanging by his harness.” Another sigh reached her lips while her horn glowed once more extracting a small stream of water from the river and guiding it between her lips both slacking her throat and cooling her thoughts before continuing the story in earnest.

“In hindsight, it really should have been obvious something would have happened on that small stretch, Simply for the fact that the path was narrow enough that I could just take one step over and reach the edge.” Shaking her head as if trying to remove a couple of annoying cobwebs, she leaned back and looked into the sky somewhat pensively. “Anyway I used my telekinesis to lift him and the cart back onto the path, I guess it was worth it to see his embarrassed blush the rest of the way, but he still said nothing to me in return for saving his ungrateful flank.” Facing back towards the ground she covered her eyes with another hoof, releasing a frustrated sigh. “Anyway I guess that wasn’t as funny as it was supposed to be, but at least I got the moral across.”

Lifting a hoof to his chin in mock thought the deer respons. “Hmm… Listen to Glimmering Wisp lest ye jump off cliffs?” He asked with the best pokerface he could manage... The laughter still flooded through his eyes.

And Twilight responded in full with loud peals of laughter. After their mutual laughs subsided, Twilight smiled back up to the Elder, “Thank you. Oh, I guess it’s time.” She said looking around the field noticing the golden shades the flora were beginning to take, “It was great seeing you, maybe we can meet again some time?” She asked already standing next to the exit of the garden.

A small smile gently pulled at the edges of his mouth before he responds, “Of course young Wisp, mayhaps...” Suddenly he blanked, his face becoming stone flat as his eyes begin to glow in an eerie golden white glow. Just as suddenly as it came it disappeared. Another half second and the old stag begins to frown in Twilight’s direction, a sad look emanating from his eyes before he spoke once more. “Hooves stained in blood both foreign and familiar, you shall come across in your journey, darkening the road you travel with pain and sorrow. A light you will find that held under your cloak, will guide ” Feeling his rant pass, Falagar slumped to the ground, wheezing a little from the exhaustive process of prophecy flowing through his mortal body. “I’m getting too old for these visions, one of these days I’m going to probably get killed by the stupid blessing.” He said, barely keeping his sentence straight with his breath so taken from him.

Returning his gaze to the unicorn still waiting at the entrance to the sanctuary he nodded for her to go on. “We shall meet at least one more time before I pass so do not worry til then.”

With a single nod, Twilight turned from the exhausted cervine and exited the clearing, Entering the neutral jungle surrounding it, the sounds of nature returning their natural tempo to her hearing as he headed forth through the foliage onto the road and further on as she pressed on to meet up with her traveling companions. Fang flew down to glide next to and around her in joyful arcs.

---

Yill’thui, 32nd, 995 CR

I crossed paths with Falagar Everseer again today. This time I decided not to visit Nagash, so he waited for me on the road while I traveled ahead of Cherry Spice and Wild Wind. Those two are a strange pair, they copulate before going to sleep. As of late, it has been getting increasingly irritating to the point where I decide to travel outside of camp, into the forest to sleep amongst the trees in solitude. Even when I ask them to silence themselves, they just keep going. Falagar and I went to our usual resting spot to speak between each other. He warned me that within the next few days I would come across a revelation through blood, and I would then understand my true goal for traveling. I asked what he meant, but he told me he could not say, lest I fall to weakness and despair. Like Zecora, I understood that portents and revelation were always murky even to those who received them directly.

After sharing some knowledge and traveling tales between us, including the story of how Cherry Spice got himself dangling off the side of a cliff with only the wheel of his wagon keeping him from falling to his death, ‘I couldn’t stop laughing and telling him I told him to take the low road since the high road was too thin to fit his wagon.’ He was especially overjoyed when I shared some of my exploits into enchanting, including the bouncing bit that caused a town wide charge to capture it led by Berry Bash in Windbreak. We broke off and I returned to the caravan to settle a dispute between Cherry Spice and Fang involving a blue sheet of fabric and several lavender stalks. I just can’t believe those two, arguing over the stupidest things.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Twilight Sparkle.

Author's Notes:

Special thanks go to my editors, without them I would have been stuck even longer trying to figure out what my error's were.

Thank you guy's