|
|
Post by eclipse on Sept 18, 2011 16:27:07 GMT -5
"MmmMmmMmm Mmmm Mn MmmMnmmm..." Willo hummed quietly to the moon, wandering the farther edges of the camp and letting the night swallow her. She'd been staying with the cult for some time now, and had learned a fair amount both through the opportunity to study things for herself, and for the most part felt more at home than she had since she had left her parent's house to learn magic.
And yet still, she couldn't help but feel trapped and rootless... even now, she would go out to the edge of the camp towards the bog and look out, wondering if she had really found her place. She kept humming, taking a few steps further out before stopping, another few feet out from where she had stopped the night before. It had become really poignant after she had gone to Hoofington.
Sighing, she let her humming fade into the night. She could almost see it fall as it travelled through the air, as the sounds of the bog suffocated it slowly. She shook her head and turned away.
|
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Sept 24, 2011 20:23:51 GMT -5
"Lovely night isn't it?" A deep soothing voice asked as she turned, she could instantly see the pony it belonged to, the large stallion Red Charge, leader of the Cult of Eclipse, always dressed in his armor. He was gazing off in the direction she was but moments ago.
"I like going out at night and traversing the bog. It is much more active then, and amazingly beautiful. Observing the wildlife, dangerous or not, was always a great hobby of mine." He gave a deep longing sigh, before continuing on to the issue at hand.
"You must be upset because of what happened in Hoofington. I know I am, poor Ace, Percheron was devastated. I shouldn't have sent him, he wasn't ready. So it was my fault, but survivor's guilt always affects everyone. Even with my verbal skills I can't seem to pierce through it. Ace Brighthorn's death was the result of my actions, I did not only fail him, but I failed all of you." He said.
The honesty behind his words was striking, beneath that, it was also laced with sorrow. Even to the casual observer, it would be obvious that Red Charge was beating himself up over it, even though he managed to maintain his radiant, confident composure.
|
|
|
|
Post by eclipse on Sept 25, 2011 14:20:20 GMT -5
"There's no such thing as an ugly night... The world is at its most beautiful when it sleeps," Willow said absent-mindedly, not really paying attention to who she was talking to for the first few seconds; she tended to respond to simple comments on the night automatically by now, and paid them no mind. "O... Oh..." she said as she realized who she was talking to, not really sure what to say. She didn't really see Red Charge all that often; as a matter of fact she tended to avoid him, mostly because she wasn't sure how to react.
She sighed and smiled weakly as he brought up Hoofington... She actually hadn't thought about it all that much; she hadn't known Ace very well and she'd been out thanks to... she shook her head. "I wasn't able to do anything," she said sighing. "But that's not why I'm out here right now... that's just kind of made the feeling worse." she walked to the edge of the bog. "I've been coming out here every night since I could get out of bed... I guess..." she shook her head.
"I could leave here tonight. Leave, die in the swamp, by some luck make it out, it doesn't matter. No one would miss me," she finally managed to say. "I feel like that there's no place for me here, like no one cares and I'd be better if I just left... but this is the closest thing I've had to a home since Canterlot." she sighed. It felt good to say it out loud, even if it hurt to know the truth.
|
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Sept 27, 2011 18:01:55 GMT -5
"Now what's this nonsense? We all care about you Willow, Watermark has especially pointed out your control while traversing the Mage's Maze, and that you've been quite the asset in the Hoofington fiasco." The stallion answered softly, "And I know I certainly enjoy seeing you around, you have an inquisitive mind, and it's enjoyable to watch Watermark make you work it."
He looked at the stars himself for a moment, "Sometimes I wonder what is up there, we know Nightmare Moon was, and Eclipse is, but who knows what else lies in wait beyond the stars." At that , he leaned up, creating the illusion he impaled a star with his horn, and what a surprise it was when he lowered the star down to Willow, using his magic to stick it in her mane, smiling as he watched her reaction.
"This gift should remind you that at least if no one else, I care about you, alright?"
|
|
|
|
Post by eclipse on Sept 29, 2011 6:36:48 GMT -5
Willow sighed and smiled weakly. "Thanks," she began, looking out into the dark and casting a star of her own; it floated weakly across the bog before it died out, the kind of silly lantern she hadn't made since she was a filly who had just got her cutie mark. "Good to know... But it doesn't change the feeling..." she took another few steps into the shadows of the swamp, letting the cool flavors of the night wash over her. "It really feels like my only tie to this place, this world... I don't really have friends here, or lovers... not even enemies." She shook her head. "I always have had this problem, I suppose... I haven't had a home in a long time, and even in Canterlot I felt alone. I think it feels worse here because..." she sighed.
"Because everyone else here seems really committed to a cause... and I'm just... standing here. In the shadows. Where I always am..." she shook her head.
|
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Oct 2, 2011 14:01:04 GMT -5
Red Charge listened intently, focusing deeply into the eyes of the unicorn, there was something reassuring in his eyes, a sort of fatherly presence, a feeling of warmth and safety, as though nothing bad can happen around him. "You do have friends here, you have Watermark, you have me, we are all friends. Everyone you walk by here will help you in a pinch, they will all stop to listen if you need them to. We're all here for each other. For the betterment of the kingdom, we are here to make Equestria safer for all." He nodded his head slowly at her, indicating that she should understand the importance of that.
"I know that you also desire not to see any pony hurt, that you wish to see ponies happy, it is the heart of all that defines us as a society. We just want our friends to be happy. I want you to be happy, and I am definitely willing to do all I can to make you happier. So tell me, dear, what can I do to help you feel better? As your friend?"
|
|
|
|
Post by eclipse on Oct 3, 2011 1:15:08 GMT -5
Willo nodded solemnly, still completely unsure of herself. "I... I don't know..." she said, sighing tensely. "I guess I just need something to do... I'm probably just thinking too much." She said hesitantly, not really sure if what she was saying was true at all. she walked another few steps into the marsh, the dark water clinging to her hooves with every step; just as she was reaching the edge of her vision, she cast a soft green glow to see by, lighting the trees in the distance with faint shadows. "I've just been feeling really alone... and the mood of this place doesn't help,I don't think..." She fidgeted.
|
|
|
|
Post by Red Charge on Oct 5, 2011 13:08:24 GMT -5
"You're depressed," Red Charge frowned, "It happens, sometimes." He explained, "When I get depressed, I try to think about what my friends would want me to do. I used to have a friend when I was a colt. We studied under the same teacher. We didn't really hang out much, but whenever we'd talk she'd always talk about how she wanted to do the best she can for Equestria. So that's what I do when I'm depressed, I try to think of what I can do for Equestria."
He looked at Willow for a bit, "I don't know if that means anything to you though, but as your friend, I know what I want you to do, I want you to be happy. Come back to the camp, sit around in the Mages' encampment, Watermark's telling jokes by the fireplace. Drink some hot chocolate, cheer yourself up. Don't let it get to you. It's going to be spring soon, and the spring celebrations will start, things will look a lot better then!"
|
|
|
|
Post by eclipse on Oct 6, 2011 17:22:59 GMT -5
Willo gave a sympathetic smile to the other pony and sighed resignedly. What she could do for Equestria, huh? She couldn't do anything that she wasn't already doing; the last time she'd tried something else it hadn't worked out at all... It was nice for somepony to be trying to cheer her up, but it didn't change the fact that she felt as though the words he was speaking to her were empty promises. Maybe that's what being depressed was like? If so she'd been depressed since she'd left Canterlot... She shook her head.
She walked over back to the camp, the words not tonight jumping to her head uncalled for, once again. "Someday that wall is gonna fall..." she sang just under her breath, finishing the song she'd been humming all night as the light of the fire reached her.
Behind her the green lantern she'd made a few moments ago flickered, dancing in the deep darkness of the swamp. For a few moments, it floated out, carried by some unseen breeze deeper into the darkness. Slowly, it died, struggling against the dark but cut off from the magic which supported it. The shadows grew around it, consuming it, and restoring the world of shadows to its proper place.
|
|
