The first stone

If Rain would have eaten anything at all in the past few days, she would be throwing up right now. But she hadn’t, and for the first time, she counted herself lucky for that. The sight in front of her was so disgusting, she could not look at it for long. She noticed Vin felt the same, too. Blasphemy… that was the first word that had crossed her mind when they had arrived.

In front of them was what looked like a hidden shrine. Of course it was damaged. The stone roof was cracked and looked like it would collapse any second. The four pillars that were supporting the roof were damaged and cracked too, but this was not what made Rain so sick. The entire shrine was surrounded by black or blood red creatures. They varied in size but they were al thin, with their yellow eyes that seemed to stare at you no matter where you are hiding, with their broken wings, their torn skin… eating each other’s flesh to stay alive.

The smell that came from the group was so horrible Rain had to breathe through her cloak to stop her from gagging. They had stopped moving… and by the look of the carcasses that were scattered everywhere, they had done so quite a few days ago. There had to be something with the shrine that had made them stop, but Rain did not understand what it was. Not yet, anyway. But she was determined to find out.

She had already seen some of Aras’ items scattered here and there. She recognised them, even in the faint light while she had only ever seen them in the dark. The stone was bound to be around here somewhere, too, and she was determined to find it. She refused to linger in the mountains much longer. She needed food, and Vin too. But she would not leave without the stone.

“I wonder what it is about this place that made them stop.” Vin whispered.
“It’s a shrine… probably from the old Friendship Lands. But it seems so forgotten… I wonder if anyone knows about it existence. These mountains hold a lot of secrets.” Rain replied without taking off her cloak.
“Yeah, you’re right… I think this place was abandoned ages ago. But there has to be something here that made them stop. Do you not sense anything?” Vin asked.

“No, nothing… nothing at all. Maybe we’re not close enough. But I don’t dare to go any closer. Who knows what they might do if they see us.” Rain replied.
She had not given enough thought to how she would get the stone once they would catch up. Would they attack her? Would they see her as Aras’ minion still? Well, they had not hurt Vin… but she was different. Vin had been one of them, she had been much closer to Aras.

“What’s that?” Vin asked, pointing towards the shrine. One of the larger creatures had moved, and a stone table became visible behind it. It was hard to see in the fading light of the evening, but Rain’s heart leapt when she recognised the stone lying on the table. No, it wasn’t a table… it looked more like a cradle with the stone in the centre. It fit perfectly, Rain realized. That stone… it belonged here.

“The creatures… they  brought the stone back to where it belonged.” Rain whispered. “What do you mean?” Vin asked.
“This shrine… it is made for this stone. There is something very special about that stone, and once ponies have build this shrine to honour it. And now the creatures have brought it back here, knowing this was where it belonged. How they knew, I do not know. But it cannot stay here. I have to take that stone home with me. But I have a feeling those creatures will not like it, not at all.”

Rain sighed. The creatures… there were so many of them, and the shrine was in the centre of them. There was no other way to get there than to simply walk through them. But would they let her? Would they let her take away the stone? No… they would not. She was sure they would not. They had brought the stone here for a reason. They were not about to let her take it away.

But then what could she do? She knew her powers… she could take them out in one blow if she wanted to. These mindless creatures… But she did not want to. Not once in her life, she did not want to hurt anyone anymore. She had sworn to set things right, she was not going to make things worse. And Vin could not help her now, either. She could protect herself with her powers, but not him as well. Not if she had to stay focussed.

“Vin… we need a plan. Now.” She whispered.
The white pony nodded. She glanced at him, which made her heart beat faster and her tummy feel weird once more. No matter how much she had grown to love that feeling almost as much as Vin himself, she could not use it. Not now.
“Yes. We do. How about one of us distracts them while the other gets the stone?” Vin suggested.

Rain thought about it for a moment, but she realized it would never work. “That won’t do, Vin. They are with too many. We can’t distract all of them, and I have a feeling we can’t lure them away, either. I see only one solution.”
“And that would be?”
“I just have to risk it.” Rain said. She had expected the look of horror in Vin’s eyes.
“You? No. my lady, please, do not risk yourself. Let me go.”

“Vin…” She admired his bravery. She loved how much he cared for her. But he could not do this for her.
“I can’t let you go. I am a royal pony… the second daughter of the queen. My royal powers… they can, and will, protect me, in ways you can not even begin to understand. If you would go… not only would you risk yourself but also the stone. Besides… I really don’t want to see you die, Vin.”

“I… don’t want to see you die either.” Vin admitted.
 “No… but you won’t. I promise. I will not die, and I will get the stone. I need you here… so that I have someone to return to.” She replied truthfully. She was grateful that Vin began to understand.
“Well… okay then. I will remain here. But please, be careful.”
“I will.” She promised, and before she fully realized what she was doing she kissed Vin on his cheek.

She did not dare to await his response. Somehow, looking in his eyes seemed much scarier than facing the countless creatures ahead of her. As she walked down the rocks to the black mass of creatures, she created a barrier around herself. She did not know how long it would last once the creatures would attack her, but it would protect her, for now.

As she got closer, the first creatures began to notice her. She was relieved when she realized they would not attack her at once. Instead they simply looked at her, observing her. Their scary yellow eyes stared at her, observed her, but they did not move. They would not harm her… did they recognise her? Or did they… simply feel her royal powers?

Well, it could be, Rain realized. Their ancestors were, once, inhabitants of the Friendship Lands, and they had come here to a shrine that had most likely belonged to the same country. It would not even be strange if they did not attack her because they knew what family she belonged to. This, however, did not take her fear away. She was so sure they would still attack her when she took the stone that she found it hard to move her legs when she thought of what would happen.

Yet, so far, she was able to advance. Every single creature had stopped doing what it was doing and was staring at her. The silence that had been created by this was deafening. The sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, leaving the sky bathing in an eerie red glow. The small amounts of snow that was covering the mountain tops and hills had disappeared beneath her. The creatures had made it melt.

As she got closer to the ancient shrine she could see that it had once been much more beautiful. She could still see the last traces of delicate markings and decorations, but she could not even see what they were supposed to represent anymore. This place was old… very old. It had only survived because everyone else seemed to have forgotten about it, and it had not been disturbed for so long.

Now that she was so close, she could finally take a good look at the cradle. It was shaped as a flower, with several petals going to each side, overlapping each other. At the other end of the cradle a stone leaf stood out which was used for balance. The stone was set in the middle, as the heart of the flower. It’s copper color seemed to glow faintly, but Rain was not sure if she was seeing this with her eyes or her royal senses.

As she approached the shrine, she could feel the creatures getting more restless. They knew now, that she was heading for the stone. And yet they did not do anything. Would they attack her? She could feel fear growing inside her heart. They began to growl, to screech, and at last Rain heard the sound of wings taking off into the air. A split second later she felt one of the creatures hitting her barrier.

She knew there was no other way than to run, but she was so close now, so close… she would not leave the stone behind, no matter how pretty it looked. She forced her legs to run while she focussed on her barrier to protect herself. She had now reached the steps, but they kept coming at her. A shadow fell over her and when she looked back she saw the largest one yet towering over her. He was larger than the shrine itself, and Rain knew she could not protect herself from him. He would it her… this would be the end. She would not even be able to keep her promise…

In one last moment of despair, she jumped towards the cradle. She grabbed the stone, and she was instantly blinded by a flash of light. She began to scream, not noticing the creatures had stopped attacking her. Everything around her was so light, she could not open her eyes. White… this was what the heavens must look like, Rain realized. Had she died?

“Hikary… you have remembered.” A voice sounded. It did not come from anywhere. It was just… there, one with the white.
“Hikary, listen to me. This might be the last time I can speak to you, so remember. The link between the earth and the heavens is closing. Now that the Last Guardian has left the earth, there is no way to restore this without our help. So you and Taira, and your other sisters… your ultimate task stands before you.

Resurrect the guardians. Find the five summoning stones of birth, life, love, origin and death. Place them together on the day of the daylight star, which is exactly six years from now, in a circle, and let the last Winged One summon the True Mother. Only then we can return to the earth once more to support the true High Queen and High King, and open the link to the heavens. If you should fail… In the end, not only the earth and the living souls will fade, but the heavens as well. 

Find them… Hikary. Find our stones. You have already found mine… Now find the ones of my sisters. Find the last Winged One. Resurrect the guardians and restore the gate to the heavens, before the final star dies and all will fall into darkness…”  Hikary felt like she was thrown back on the ground. She felt dizzy, but she was very aware of the hot stone she was holding. Everything was so very silent. She glanced at the creatures, but they stood motionless. Had they heard as well?

Holding the stone, she ran back to Vin. The creatures did not even move. Only when she reached Vin, she understood.
“You did it! You got the stone!” Vin exclaimed when he saw her. He had not seen… no one had. Only she had been connected to the guardian, for only a single moment.
“Why did they not attack you?” Vin asked, looking at the motionless creatures.

Hikary glanced at the stone. One of five… It had been a high price for the guardian to stay in contact with her for so long. This stone… The copper stone, the stone of death. One of five… there were four more out there, and they had only six years to find them all. And they did not even know where to look. She glanced at the motionless creatures and she was overwhelmed with pity.
“They never wanted to attack me.” She whispered, “They were only looking for a place to die.”