>Blackness.
>Nothingness.
>The endless void of your mind. And you...
>And you falling through it.
>Heh. It has been some time since you last have visited it. Four years, if you aren't mistaken.
>Yeah... That mass teleportation spell that went so awfully wrong and created an aether vortex instead of the desired pathway through space and time.
>Sucked your consciousness away like a black hole and kept it for nearly a whole day.
>The chance to end up here... Alone with your thoughts and doomed to drift through them until you somehow manage to escape. That is one of the more major downsides of being a magic user.
>And you didn't exactly plan to go there ever again.
>Everyone was so worried the last time... Your parents... Your brother... The few friends that you had back then.
>Wait...
>Brother? Do you even have a brother?
>You are not sure...
>Maybe, maybe not. You will find out soon enough when you eventually find your way back to reality.
>You did it once, you can do it again.
>How though? You don't know any more.
>That is the funny thing here...
>The cold, harsh winds, made of unfinished ideas and thoughts, cut deep into your helpless form like sickles through wheat as they breeze past you.
>Drawing no blood, but memories in a desperate attempt to reach completion.
>A familiar feeling for you now. Not painful, nor agonizing... Just an emptiness that slowly but steadily grows.
>Strange that you can remember this fact... Maybe something wants you to know what happens to you.
>How sadistic.
>It doesn't bother you, though. Should they have them.
>You will get them back once you make it out of here.
>Shouldn't take too long... At least you hope so.
>Time is meaningless here anyway.
>For what seems a small eternity you fall... And fall... And fall... Each passing squall wrenching another precious memory from you.
>A particularly brutal one reels you around like a fish that got caught in a whirlpool, and makes you forget... Something... you loved dearly.
>What a pity.
>You close your eyes and just let them slice you up and empty you.  
>Not that it matters.
>Eventually your limp form hits the ground, or something that resembles the ground, with a dull noise and you take your time to get on your hooves.
>Like you already clarified... Time is meaningless. So why hurry?
>Also it is calm and windless here... Reason enough to enjoy this short moment of rest.
>Shaking the dust off your coat, you start to look around, but see nothing more than a lifeless, greyish, rocky landscape with the pitch black void serving as its sky.
>No stars, no sun, no moon. Only the occasional, blinking wisp interrupts the dark nothingness and provides a faint glimmer of light.
>They are what ideas, thoughts, mindsets, emotions, feelings and even spells become when their possessor finalizes, locks and anchors them in his or her mind.
>Every pony or sapient creature has them, but only magic users can actually access their realm and see them.
>Willingly or not.
>A yellow, rather small one draws closer to you and you let it land on your muzzle.
>Formless... Massless... Just like you remember them.
>A smirk spreads across your lips and a warm feeling of conversance through your stomach.
”Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again.”
>It blinks once and then flits away again. Leaving a glowing trail in its wake.
“Yellow... Must have been greed.”, you chuckle, “Poor thing. It was terribly small.”
>What can you say... You are not exactly a greedy mare.
“So...”
>In which direction should you head to?
>To be honest... It doesn't really matter, since your mind has no end. It will just create something new if you risk to reach one of its borders.
>Or it just loops endlessly.
>One of those two options.
“Hmm...”
>But that mountain-like thingy in the distance looks promising. Quite a few of these wisps flitter around it and it seems to emit some kind of light by its own.
>You can't recall such a thing from your last visit here... Or maybe you just forgot it.
“Okay then.”
>Time to get going.
>Something inside your head tells you that someone is worrying about you.
“Heh, inside my head. How fitting.”
>Whoever that might be.
 
>The air is stale and devoid of all moisture. But luckily you don't really need to breath in here.
>Your body is merely a projection of your consciousness and just serves as a puppet so this unnatural paradox doesn't drive you insane.
>A self-protection mechanism, so to speak.
>Still it feels extremely bizarre and you doubt that you will ever fully accustom to this sensation. No matter how many times you might visit this place in the future.
>Apropos...
>How by Celestia's beard, did you even end up here this time?
>Another spell mishap?
>Possibly. Even if it is kinda unlikely, since you don't remember casting anything big that could have caused this to happen.
>But maybe you just forgot it in your descent down here.
>Well... This mystery will resolve itself, once you are back in the real world again and have all your memories back.
>You hate this empty feeling, but what can you do?
>Nothing, but ignore it and carry on.
“I travelled far and wide~”
>Singing might help.
>Your voice produces no echo and just gets swallowed by the endless hollowness. You didn't expect anything else.
“And laid this head in many ports~”
>Yeah, it kinda does. Makes you feel less lonely.
>Nothing much to see in this port, though. A rather boring walk, but one you have to do.
>But you know that there are... things... in here. Stuff that makes up and represents your intellect in obscure ways.
“I was guided by a compass~”
>It is only a matter of time until you encounter on- Oh.
>What is this? Looky there...
>Your gaze falls on a lonely flower amidst a small pile of pebbles and you decide to give it a closer look.
>Withered petals with no colours... A forgotten memory. Not caused by the winds though. One you forgot yourself.
>Leaning down, you sniff at it and immediately regret it.
>It smells acrid... Most likely a memory of grief or sorrow.
“I wonder why I forgot you...” you ask it while you retrieve your muzzle.
>There are spells to revitalize and refresh it, but you are not particularly interested in doing so.
>Surely, you had your reasons to forget it.
>And casting spells inside your mind is incredibly dangerous. Just one tiny mistake and you could bring about  irreversible damage to yourself.
>So you just beam it a smile as your farewell from it and leave it behind you.
>There is still a long way before you. And the ground under your hooves is hard and unforgiving.
>Shattered figments of your imagination litter it. They shimmer like the most pure nacre, but their edges are sharp as knives and they bore themselves deep into your defenceless hooves.
>Causing no pain, though. Just minor inconveniences when the next step you take, breaks them off again.
“I saw beauty to the north~”
>This place really has a strange and macabre beauty to it. Gloomy, dreary and sorrowful, yes. But in a weird and wonderful way.
>If you can remember even a single thing from your trip here, you might commission a painting of this bizarre landscape.
>You are not sure if you have a fireplace, but it might look pretty good above one.
“I drew the tales of many lives~”
>The mountain doesn't seem to come any closer. But it eventually will. Quite rapidly at that then too.
>When your mind deems you ready. Or whenever it feels like it.
>That is how this nonsensical hell wants it to work. And it shall get its way.
“And wore the faces of my own~”
>You jump over a small gap, but miscalculate your landing and fall harshly on your side. Slicing your right foreleg open on a large sliver in the process.
“Urgh!”
>Again, no pain. Only a dull, throbbing feeling of something essential flowing out of you.
>Groaning, you get up again and inspect the damage on your leg.
“Buck.”
>Just what you needed... A giant gash from your ankle to your thigh. Nice...
“Celestia be damned.”
>It doesn't bleed. At least no blood.
>An ethereal mist escapes from the wound and mixes itself with the soft, dust-filled gusts, before it gets taken away with the breeze.
>Tentatively, you wave it around to see if it still works.
>No... You have no feeling in it any more.
>Might as well leave it behind now... It's rendered completely useless.
>Not the first time you have to do this.
>Sighing, you grab the splinter that is responsible for your injury and bring it above your head..
>In one fluent swipe, you cut through your leg like... like... the blue, winged one through a cloud.
>It lands on the ground and almost immediately turns into same haze that it leaked just a moment ago. And leaves you in the same way as it.
“Goodbye.”
>The cut is clean and doesn't take long to close itself.
>And indeed, after only a few seconds its fully healed and you are on your way to the mountain again.
>Strangely, you walk just as fine on three legs as on four. Almost like your leg got replaced by a phantom of itself.
>Feels nearly the same as before too...
“Tzzk.”
>Don't question it... Just give into the madness and everything will be fine.
“Pinkie would love it here...”
>Hmm... Pinkie... Was she the white or the yellow one of your friends? Or the one who grows apples? Or was it pears?
“Like it matters...”
>Wait, no. Of course it matters. They are your friends. The closest thing to family you have in... in... in... Wherever you live right now.
>Taking a deep breath, you try to imagine their faces. But only blurred blobs of various colours appear before your inner eye.
“Buck it.”
>This will have to do.
>You have to be careful with your apathy... It is easy to lose yourself in it and with that all will to carry on.
>There are too many stories of ponies who got themselves locked inside their minds and never returned to reality.
>And you don't want to join their ranks.
>Although...
>You also heard of ponies who were able to form their mindscapes to their likings and recreated their former lives there.
>But without all the troubles and problems that they had with them...
>Riches... All the friends they always wanted... The love of their lives... Basically their personal heaven.
>Would that be worthwhile for you?
>Are you happy out there? In the real world?
>You have friends, sure... But what about Love?
>For a moment, you stand still and ponder.
>Life hasn't been kind with you in this aspect. That you can remember.
>So much grief... And the flower from before is most likely a part of it.
>But something in some far off corner of your head tells you that this is now otherwise.
>For a split second, an image of a strange bipedal creature pops up in your mind. Its features alien to you and almost intimidating. But it doesn't scare or frighten you.
>No...
>It makes you smile and your heart flutter.
>Could that be it? The love of...
“Huh?”
>A stray wisp began to orbit you and seemingly blink in joy, while you were thinking.
>It is pink... And looks fairly well nourished. Easily five times the size of the one you saw beforehand.
“Hey there little buddy... What are you?”
>The twinkling orb flies down and intensifies its glow. Radiating a soothing warmth that sinks into your fake body and fills it with new energy.
>Ahh~ You certainly needed that.
>Beaming it a soft smile, you sit down on your haunches and beckon it to come closer.
>Judging from its colour, it might be...
“Love? Maybe?”
>No response.
>You giggle and try to poke it. But it dodges your tactical boop.
“Come on. Blink once for yes and twice for no.”
>”Twilight.”
>W-What now? It spoke?
>Surprised, you back away from it.
>”Wake up.”
>Its... Its voice is nothing more than a ghostly whisper. But it sounds so... familiar.
“I'm trying... But... Who are you?”
>”Please.”
>And with that said, it shoots off into the dark skies.
“No! Wait!”
>But it is already gone. A faint pink shimmer remaining as the only proof that it was ever there.
>Alone... Again.
>You reach out to the trail it left behind and let the sparkling dust settle on your hoof. Tinting it in the wisp's colours before it dissolves completely.
>Kinda tickles...
“Well...”
>It may not have answered your question, but it certainly told you something else...
>That everything is alright out there.
>The smile on your lips gets wider and you get up and going again. Your steps accelerated and guided by the promise that someone is waiting for you.
>Someone you might love.
 
>After a short walk, you arrive at something that looks like a dried up riverbed and stop at what formerly was its bank.
>Flowers of various kinds and colours grow between the boulders and rocks in it and give it a strange sense of normality. Almost if this isn't a part of your mind and just a regular scenery.
>Of course the grey soil and the black sky take some of it away... But still...
>Carefully, you slide the shallow slope down and begin to slowly weave through the flowers, so that you don't accidentally trample one of them.
>Some are already withered or in the process of dying, but there are also quite a few that are just blossoming or in full bloom.
>Spreading their scent with all their might... To say that the smell here is breath-taking is an understatement.
>The sweet floral scents of happy or joyful memories mix themselves with the sharp and bitter  notes that come from less... pleasant ones.
>Creating a chaotic and discordant haze that gradually numbs your sense of smell and makes you feel queasy.
>Luckily, there is nothing in your stomach that could be forcefully expelled and sully your fake coat.
>You pass a large, black lily and can't help but to notice that it emits a strange aura that... scares you?
>Against all your instincts, you stop and stare at it.
>No... Scare is too weak... It terrifies you.
>Each passing second increases the nightmarish horror and dread you feel, but also the urge to find out what terrifying memory it holds.
>If you could just get close enough, you would be able to see inside it...
>But should you even do this?
>A wise pony once said that not all secrets are worth revealing... Could this be one of them?
>Only one way to find out.
“Here goes nothing...”
>You raise your remaining front hoof and start to force yourself closer to it.
>Every step takes an immense amount of willpower to take and by the fifth you just want to turn around and run away.
>Black fumes begin to fill your vision and reduce it to a small tunnel once only maybe two more strides separate you from the flower.
>Focusing all your concentration into one manoeuvre, you reach out to it and look inside its inflorescence.
>You wish you never did.
>A dark brown stallion with an argent mane emerges out from it. Towering over and looking down on you with red burning eyes and a devious grin.
>No... It can't be...
“S-S-Silver?!”
>Immediately, you back away from this horrid part of your past. But fear has you firmly in its grip.
“N-No...”
>His grin gets wider and turns into a crooked grimace.
>”Sucking your horn? Do I look like a bucking colt cuddler to you?”
>Tears shoot in your eyes and your stomach turns as the grinning ghost draws closer.
>You are able to take a single step before your legs refuse to obey you again.
“G-Go away!”
>Silver Lining bellows a deafening laughter.
>”I will never go away, Twilight. I will always be there... I was the best thing that ever happened to a dumb librarian like you!”
>He snakes closer and closer until he...
>”Come here now, you useless whorse! That is the only thing you are good for!”
>... Suddenly shoots forward. Forelegs widely spread and ready to catch you.
“NO!”
>You close your eyes and hastily gather every magic wind you can sense around you.
>Hysh, Chamon, Ghyran, Azyr, Ulgu, Shyish, Aqshy, Ghur... It doesn't matter which one, you grab them all and weave them together.
>Into what? You will see.
>Just as the ghostly stallion is about to get hold of you, you release every bit of magical energy you collected.
>A giant, purple beam exits your horn and engulfs Silver Lining in a blinding, amethyst light.
“I.”
>Chamon and Aqshy. Shall his flesh be stripped off by parching metal.
“AM.”
>Ghyran and Hysh. The life-giving sun shall be his judge
“NO.”.
>Shyish and Ulgu. His corpse shall rot in the shadows.
“WHORSE!”
>Ghur and Azyr. And be devoured by birds and beasts alike!
>You burrow your hooves deeper into the rocky soil to counter the immense force of your spell that steadily pushes you back and break your tether to it.
>Free from your restrictions and bounds, it begins to recklessly feast on the ambient magical winds. Growing in power and size with every passing moment.
“DIE! DIE! DIE!”
>Even if you wanted to, you couldn't stop it now.
>It will continue to disintegrate everything in its path until it has ran out of fuel... Or you faint.
>Both scenarios equally likely to happen first.
>And you wouldn't want it any other way.
>Your own grin spreads on your lips and this feeling alone makes the almost unbearable strain on your mind tolerable and worth it.
>Groaning and ignoring the pain, you lean forward and fight against the pushback.
>It feels so good to be finally in power... In control.
>You don't want this to end, but you can already feel the spell getting weaker and weaker by the second.
>But this should have done the trick.
>The beam shrinks until it is nothing more than a fain trail of purple light and then finally sizzles away.
>Leaving only the smell of ozone behind.
“Eheheheh...”
>Huffing and puffing, you collapse onto the hard ground and see much to your delight that... that... Uhm... He, was it? Is gone.
>At whom did you even shoot?
>And why?
“Urgh...”
>You rub your aching horn and inspect the damage you have caused.
>The black lily is reduced pile of ashes... As well as the flowers that stood around it. Meaning whatever memory it hold and all that corresponded to this particular one are eradicated from your intellect.
>By Celestia... How could you be so stupid? Casting spells in your mind?!
>You could have killed yourself!
>But thank goodness, you seem to be still alive. Lets see...
>Left hindleg, check... Right hindleg, check... Left foreleg, check... Right foreleg... Holy sh-
>Oh, yeah... You cut it off before.
>You sigh in relief and that proofs that your head is still where it belongs too. Very good.
>Hopefully those memories weren't too important... It will take a long time until they grow back. At least a year, if not two.
“Oh well... What has been done and so on.”
>There was surely a good reason for you to blast the ever living hell out of it.
>Still it is kinda sad.
>You could accelerate the regrowing process, but you really don't want to cast any more spells... Too risky.
>So you just get on your four... three hooves again and take a last look on the smoldering, scorched patch of land before your turn around and continue to cross the riverbed.
>Making sure not to destroy more than you already did.
>Your form feels tired and depleted of any mental power. A feeling you hate even more than the one of emptiness.
>Honestly, you just want to rest for a bit...
>As soon as you reach the other side... Yeah... That sounds good.
>The rest of the flora here is not especially impressive, so you pass the flowers without giving most of them a second look.
>A few roses there, some tulips here and sometimes a rose. Nothing special... But all in outlandish colours and containing something precious.
>So where were you... Ah yes.
“I had  these memories all around me~”
>This was a rather broad river, you must say... The other riverbank is still a good bit away.
>Or your mind is just fucking with you again... Yeah.
>* splash *
>Wonderful... Now your hooves are getting wet too. Why is there a puddle in the middle of this dried out river?
>* splash *
>Well, at least it is kinda refreshing. Even if a wet phantom hoof is a very strange experience.
>Yawning, you look down and see that the water is brown and dirty.
“So I wouldn't be alone~”
>Meh... Not your real body, so you don't have to worry about cleaning it.
>One of your friends would kill you though, if she would she the state of your hooves.
>You think it was the yellow one with the purple, curly hair.
>Finally, you reach the other side and decide to take your well-deserved rest on a large boulder there, before you start climbing the slope and continue your journey to the mountain.
>It looks rather steep and exhausting...
>You hop on the rock and assume the most comfortable sitting position you can on it.
>Eh... A stone bores itself into your rump... And not in the way you would want something this hard to do.
>But with a bit of readjusting it is bearable.
“Phew~”
>Time to take a look around and see how far you have come.
“Hmm...”
>The mountain looks far closer now. Very nice.
>Thank you very much, mind.
>Now comes your favourite part of the song: The refrain.
>Why you are able to remember this certain song, is a mystery to you.
“Some may be from showing up~”
>You wonder if this river once had special meaning. Did it maybe border something? Specific traits, perhaps?
>Could be.
>But now only memories grow in its moist soil and happily prosper in their isolation from the harsh climates that surround them.
>Strange how some rules of nature still apply in this bizarre place.
>Plants needing water and such things and the wind that softly blows through your mane.
“Others are from growing up~”
>And slowly... It begins to grow on you.
 
>For a few minutes longer, you take in the ambient landscape. Trying hard to etch its image into your mind, so you have something to describe to the painter when you commission that painting you wanted.
>There are so many details to remember... The endless, black sky... All the different kinds of flowers... Those shimmering figments of your imagination.
>If only a fraction catches on... That would be nice enough.
>Huh? What is that?
>You look down to the rocky soil and see a small, yellow dagger flower pushing itself through it. Unfolding its tiny petals once it has prevailed.
>How pretty... Seems that your efforts weren't for vain.
>An equally small smile spreads on your lips and you jump off the boulder. Landing more or less elegantly on your hooves.
“Ach!”
>The rubble here is not big or sharp enough too severely injure you, but you still managed to scrape your ankle on a hidden sliver.
>A thin gush escapes of the multi-chromatic haze sluices from the injury and engulfs the newly born memory. Giving it an eery, yet fascinating sheen where it settles on it.
>You raise your hindleg and immediately lower it again, once you see that the wound already stopped leaking... whatever this mist is.
>What a shame... You kinda looked forward to lick it clean and see how it tastes.
>For some reason its appearance gives you the impression that it would taste fruity... Or at least sweet and sour.
>Just like a particular kind of rock candy, one of your friends makes. They look like the brume when it would take a solid form.
>Well... Maybe later. The way before you is full of those razor-sharp figments and splintery rocks.
>So the chance for another lesion lies somewhere between ninety and one hundred percent. At least if you aren't careful.
>Speaking of the way before you... You think its time to get going again.
“Good bye, memory of my mind. May you grow big and strong. I really want this painting for my potential fireplace.”  
>You shoot it a nod and then start making your way up the slope.
>More than once, you almost slipped on the loose stones and were barely able to save yourself from the fate of tumbling down and starting all over again.
“Celestia be damned... Stupid imaginary slopes...”
>But with a bit of blood, toil, tears and sweat you eventually make it up to the top and sigh in delight once your last hoof makes contact with the level ground.
“Finally.”
>The incline that stops Twilight Sparkle needs to be built, or imagined in this case, first!
>Taking a deep breath, you stretch each of your appendages real quick before you continue trotting towards the mountain.
“Sometimes I was so messed up and didn't have a clue~”
>Doesn't look all too far any more. You can already make out the colours of individual wisps that buzz around there..
>Blue... Green... Purple... You think that one is turquoise and a few red ones.
>Red is most likely anger... So better stay away from them.
>And by the looks of it, your pink friend from before is there too! Flying circles around the mountain peak.
“I ain't winning no one over~”
>Almost seems like it wants to give it a halo with its trail. How cute.
>Maybe ten to fifteen more minutes of walking through this treacherous scenery and then you should finally be there.
>Provided that your mind decides to play along, of course. But you have a feeling that it will.
“I wear it just for you~”
>Meh... Kinda boring here. The riverbed was way more exciting. Nothing here but shimmering shards and grey rocks.
>Which you have to give a wide berth every few steps, since they now tend to appear in dangerous clusters. Prolonging your journey and making it more tedious than it already is.
>Sometimes you wish you could fly... This ability would make it so much easier to traverse all this.
>A nice and large pair of purple wings. Yeah.
>Would have the added benefit of giving ponies winghugs. Which you particularly enjoy, since they are so nice and warm.
>At least you think you do. Nevertheless, its a lovely thought.
“I've got your name written here~”
>You pass an especially nasty and deadly looking clump of figments and see out of the corner of your eye, something dark in its centre. Immediately catching your attention.
“Huh?”
>Backing out a bit, you try to get a good look at it. But the lustre that surrounds your current object of interest, effectively prevents you from doing so.
>Too flashy and distracting for your pony eyes, even in the relative darkness here... Hmm... What to do?
>Those things are kinda brittle, aren't they? The ones that stuck in your hooves always broke off when you stepped on them... So...
>Why not throw a large rock at them?
>You look around and find after a short search, a rock that suits your purposes.
>Not too small and not too large. Also no sharp edges... Perfect.
>Picking it up, you let your real and your imaginary front hooves accustom to its weight and then lunge out.
>It leaves your appendages with quite some speed and collides with the shard cluster. Producing a satisfying shattering noise, not unlike breaking glass, in the process.
>Oh my... What a rare find.
>A black pearl, roughly the size of an apple, rolls out of it and stops right before your hooves.
>Pearls like those, belong to your subconscious and hold your deepest anchored personality traits, fears and beliefs about yourself.
>Things that unconsciously have a bearing on you and make you the pony you are.
>Also they store everything you seemingly forgot or have no memories of. Like your birth or your early years as a foal.
>One could think of those spheres as permanent and undying version of the flowers, only that you don't have direct access to them.
>But a simple spell could activate and reveal whatever secrets it holds... All it needs is a little, magical push.
>And if you wanted you could even destroy or alter whatever is inside... Possibly making you a better mare.
>Just imagine... An old fear just vanishes. Or an undesirable trait like vindictiveness...
>Are you even vindictive? Hmm... You don't think so. But you could be and just not know it!
>However... You already have caused enough damage in and to your mind. And maybe it isn't even worth the effort.
>It could just be you crawling around the floor, making silly noises and soiling your diapers.
“Eww...”
>And you certainly don't need a reminder of that. At least not for the last one.
>So you carefully put it down again, making sure that it can't roll away by steadying it with a few rocks and resume with your travels once you are satisfied with the support you built.
>You already lost enough time as it is.
>So... Where did you left off..?
“I've got your name written here...”
>There... But what is the next line?
>Something with a Rose... But how exactly did it go?
>While you ponder about this, you dodge another bundle of shards and jump over a round boulder. Driving a green wisp out of its hiding place behind it, when you land.
“Sorry, little guy.”
>It angrily flickers at you and spits out a massive cloud of green powder, before flying off into the endless sky.
“Hey! * cough * I said that I was * cough * sorry, didn't I?”
>Coughing and choking, you run out of the mischievous sprite's miasma and look after it once you can breath again.
>With watery eyes, you have to assess that it is already too far away to fear any retributions from your side.
>And it seemingly celebrates this fact by drawing figures on the black canvas that is your mind's void.
>Mocking and taunting you... The nerves this thing has!
“Grr...”
>Green... Jealousy... What else?! It was most likely just jealous of your good looks and tried to ruin them with its stupid dust.
>You shake the remainders of the wisp's powder off and leave this nuisance behind your flanks
>Of which it is probably jealous too. And with good reason!
>They might be illusionary and not your real ones, but they are still a nice exemplar of their kind!
>Shall it have a good look at them while you increase your distance to it with your muzzle in the air and a hastened pace.
>And luckily, it leaves you be and minds its own business.
>Your anger quickly peters out during the rest of the way to the mountain. Which happens, much to your delight, without any other special occurrences.
>No further injuries, no interesting parts of your minds and certainly no additional angry wisps. Thank Celestia for that.
>The dust they emit is kinda itchy... And you don't particularly want to scratch those itches on the rocks here.
>You don't know if this weird mist you loose every time you hurt yourself, is important for your existence here or not... So better not take any risks.
>Anyway... Before you lies the goal of your journey: Mount Twilight... Not exactly imaginative, but it is your mind and so you can call the things here as you will!
>And for that matter, you just decided to call the stupid wisp from before “The great and powerful horse apple”.
>Heh... How funny.
“Hmm...”
>From this vantage point, the mountain looks really more like a high hill. but...
>It is still easily at least half a mile high, but not very steep... Ascending it would be exhausting and a major pain in the flank, but by all means not impossible.
>Did you mention it would be time consuming also? No? Well, now you did.
>You sit down on your haunches and scan the hillside.
>It looks like the ground that surrounds it, but there seems to be something engraved or carved in it... But it is too subtle and understated, so you can't make out what it is supposed to be.
>Especially not in the current lighting conditions...
>Maybe your pink friend can help you along with this problem?
>Where is it though...  It doesn't fly circles around the peak any more.
“Love?” you yell.
>No response...
“Hello? Are you the- WHOA!”
>A sudden pink, bright flash from behind you gives you a jump.
“T-There you are... Ehehehe... Don't startle me like that, please.”
>It gleams once and backs up a bit.
>”Brrzz?”
“Thank you. Say... Could you do me a favour?”
>Another flicker.
>Hey, you think that means yes. Looks like it remembered your previously suggested way of communication.
>Could just be a coincidence though...
“Are you blue?”
>Two blinks.
“Does that mean no?”
>One blink and a buzz that sounded annoyed.
>Wonderful!
>You giggle and point to the hillside.
“Could you light up this place there for me, please? I want to see what these strange markings in it are.”
>It emits a happier twanging drone and promptly flies off to where you pointed at. Dousing it in a lovely, pink light once it reaches it.
“Thank you! And a bit to the left, please! Uhm... right for you!” you shout after it.
>With a barely audible hum, it does as its told and moves a tad to the left.
>Ah now! Much better.
“Uhh... Wow.”
>The carving on the mountain almost looks like your cutie mark! Only with the five smaller stars missing and the big one that is there is a bit on the wonky side... But still very pretty!
>Especially in the shine of your pink friend. Which sinks into carved lines and gives them an spectral glow.
“You can come back now!”
>It breezes back to you again, and you greet it with a quick nuzzle.
>Feels prickly an-... Huh? What now?
>Are your eyes playing tricks on you or...
>No... The carving is still glowing... And quite brightly at that. Even clearer than when the wisp's light shone on it.
>And strangely enough, several spots, where the five other stars of your cutie mark would be, are gleaming too... Without any obvious marks or engravings in them.
>How peculiar...
>You wonder what this could mean... Maybe this is your way out of here.
>Or just a dead end that happens to look very promising and interesting... Well... There is only one way to find out, isn't there!
>Beaming your ethereal companion a smile, you point at the incandescence.
“Wanna go on an adventure? I could use a light source.”
>”Gzzzrraaaa!”
>Uah! That buzz sounded particularly angry and irritated.
>You giggle and gently bop it. Naturally, your hoof meets no resistance.
“And a friend, of course.”
>”Bzzzhh~” it drones happily and loops a loop.
>By Celestia, what a cute creature.
“Wonderful! Lets go then!”
 
>With your new companion by your side, you continue trotting towards the foot of the mountain. Dodging a few more figment clusters along the way.
>Luckily they are far easier to see now with the light it provides. Even the smaller ones that gave your hooves troubles before pose no problems any more.
>Very convenient~ But very inconsistent too...
>It doesn't stop whirring around your head and thus shifts the area it illuminates non stop from side to side.
>Slowly but steadily making you feel sea-sick... And there isn't even a drop of water anywhere nearby!
>Urgh...
“Say?” you beckon the wisp down to you.
>”Brrzzssh?”
“Could you maybe keep a straight course? I'm starting to feel... Well, queasy.”
>It bumbles quietly and apparently stops its swaying to think for a bit, before blinking once and then heading straight for you at a murderous speed.
“Whoa! No! What are you -?”
>You close your eyes to brace yourself for the impact... But it never happens. No fuzzy feeling on your face, no pink explosion... Nothing.
>Yet your horn feels funny... Did it..?
“What now? Where are youuooohhhh!”
>”Bsssh~”
>It did! Somehow it attached itself to your horn. Sticking to it like one of these horn lights that unicorns put on them for Nightmare Night and similar festivals.
>Looks like you are a channeling a spell... Cool...
“Uhh~”
>You shake your head to see how securely it sits there. But no amount of shaking seems to even make it budge an inch.
>Even cooler!
>Now you have your own personal headlight! And one with that you can communicate too!
>That is nearly the epitome of coolness!
“Good idea, love! Thank you!”
>Crooning, it adjust itself on your catalyst until it must feel comfortable or its equivalent to comfortable.
>Whatever this for wisps might be... And however this can be achieved with a horn sticking in one's posterior.
“Good to go?”
>”Ssshh.”
>And a flicker. Perfect.
“Wonderful. Just shine straight ahead and try not to blind me, okay?”
>Meh! That glint of affirmation did exactly that...
>But it quickly focuses its gleam directly in front of you. Illuminating everything you need to see nice and brightly.
>Also tinting your vision pink... But you can live with that. Its a bit distracting, but not annoying.
“Very good!”
>”Bzz Bzz!”
>Heh. How cute.
>Okay then... First things first... Investigating the carvings on the mountainside. They just have to hold at least some kind of clue to your escape from here.
>But they don't look all too different from up close... And the graven lines aren't very special either.
>Just an incessant groove in the ground that happens to glow in a cold and eerie light... Which would be very impressive by itself if it wouldn't frustrate you so much.
>What now?  
>You look around but don't see anything of interest in your general vicinity. Only the same blackish-grey rocks and soil. With the occasional shard cluster thrown in there every few dozen feet.
>Not even a single flower grows here to break up this monotone image.
>And the mountain top doesn't seem to be all too promising either. It could give you a better overview though...
>On what? Rocks and rubble? So that’s worthless too.
>Maybe if you don't find anything that helps you along down here, you will climb it. But until then, you better save your breath and energy.
>Your body might be fake and illusionary, but the exhaustion you feel is very real.
“Okay.”
>Time to move on.
>There is always a way out, you just have to find it. No matter how good your mind has hid it or not.
>And all this is just too striking and salient to have nothing to do with it!
>This is only the first side of the coin. The other one might yield much more fruit.
>So you leave the giant imprint of your cutie mark behind the one on your flanks and begin to make your way along the foot of the mountain.
>Its inclination is for the most parts rather shallow and free from figments, for which you are greatly thankful.
>You are honestly quite sick of this unpleasant feeling when a shard sticks in one of your hooves.
>Unfortunately, this means that your walk is on the boring and uninteresting side too... Five minutes have passed and until now you didn't find anything of interest.
>So you stop for a moment and decide to rest your weary legs. That flat, egg-shaped boulder here looks quite comfy.
>Planting your rump on it, you stare into the endless rocky plains. Maybe something else has popped up there that might be attractive.
>Nope... Still as boring, hazardous and lifeless as before.
>That colourful spot in the distance could be a another patch of flowers, though...
“Hey, love?”
>”Brrsch?”
“Didn't you talk to me before? I mean... With a stallion's voice?”
>Its glow fades a bit.
>”Bsss...”
“Can't remember, eh? Yeah... That place does this to you... I can't remember many things either.”
>A forced chuckle escapes your lips.
“And I am practically surrounded by my memories... So what's my excuse?”
>”Brrrsch.”
“Hehe, exactly. You know what's funny though?”
>No response. As if it knows where this is leading to.
“I can't remember a single one of my friends. Or my family for that matter too! Or what even my bucking home looks like... And...”
>Is it raining?
“Even after everything got taken away from me...”
>Must be. Raindrops are rolling down your cheeks.
“It doesn't bother me! Not in the slightest! Why? Celestia, why?!”
>”Bzz...”
“Shouldn't * hic * Shouldn't I...”
>A warm sensation spreads through your head as the wisp intensifies its glow. Slowly filling your field of vision with a rosy veil.
“Shouldn't I be devastated? I mean... Nothing remained but useless trivia and irrelevances! Thank goodness I still have them, or I wouldn't be able to compare you to a bucking horn light for foals!”
>You don't notice the moment when it got engulfed whole.
“Isn't this just great?! Who am I? For Celes-... Huh?”
>And in this rosy veil, the image of five ponies appears. Hugging a certain purple mare, you know very well... You.
“W-What?”
>It exists just long enough to stop your rambling before it disappears again. But it promptly gets replaced by another one.
>They all give you presents now... Your birthday?
>Must be... That ornamented quill the blue pegasus with the rainbow mane and tail has in her hooves... You recognise it.
>”Bzzssshh.”
>Are those your friends?
>Oh my... Your former assumptions on how they look were totally wrong.
“Hehe... Sorry guys...”
>You reach your hoof out to them, but before it could make contact they are away already.
“No, plea-”
>Instead... A strange creature stands before you. Holding its claw up.
>No...It is not an “it”... He... Somehow you know this.
>His facial features are blurry and undefined, so you can't make them out... But what you are able to see makes you smile nevertheless.
>Just like before.
>”Happy birthday, Twi.”
>!
>Like in a bizarre dia-show, his images sluggishly shifts and almost gives it the appearance that it moves.
>He reaches into his pockets and pulls a small, rectangular package out of it. A pink pony hops into the frame and tries to snatch the present away from him. But he gently shoves her away.
>She falls on her rump and sticks her tongue out at him.
>You can't help but to giggle at this silly sight.
>”It's not much. But I hope you like it!”
>And with that said, he gradually begins to fade away. Along with the shroud and your other friends.
“No! Please stay! Who are you?”
>You tumble forwards, in a desperate attempt to get hold of him, but it is already too late. Nothing but the thin, dusty air fills your hooves.
>Landing on your muzzle, you quickly get up again and frantically start to look around.
>But they are gone already... Everyone.
“No...”
>Frustrated, you stomp the ground beneath you.
“NO!”
>So close! You were so close to find out!
 
>Desperate and devoid of all energy, you collapse to the ground. With tears in your eyes and an empty, gnawing feeling in your head.
>His words echo inside the emptiness... “Happy birthday, Twi.”
>Again and again, until they soften and eventually die down. Leaving you alone with your thoughts once more.
>Who is he?
>And why aren't you allowed to know?
>”Bssshh?”
>Huh? The wisp?
>Listlessly, you straighten yourself again and focus your gaze on the shining mass that sits on top of your horn.
>Its tint looks... darker. Sadder and not as lively as before.
>Does it feel bad about this?
“You showed me them and... him, didn't you?”
>”Bzz.”
“Why?”
>Flickers and drones of varying length and intensity are its response.
>Ah... Yeah... What did you expect? It cannot speak. And this way of communication is only good enough for yes or no questions.
>You sigh and wave it off.
“Let me rephrase that...”
>”Brrshhhzz.”
>But before you even had a chance to think of a way to convert your question into a polar one, your vision gets once more swallowed by the garish, pink veil.
“What..?”
>In there, three of your friends pop up and speak each only a single word, before disappearing again.
>”Because...”, the white unicorn with the purple curly mane says. Holding a cup of tea between her hooves.
>”You were...”, a buttery yellow pegasus meekly whispers, while petting a rabbit.
>”Sad!”, blurts a pink earth pony out and jumps three feet into the air. The same one who tried to steal the present before...
>And as fast as it started, it ends.
>The shroud vanishes again and you are thrown back into the dull and lifeless scenery that is your mind.
“Wow...”
>Was this... Composed out of various memories of yours? How incredibly nifty, you have to admit.
>Even if it makes your head spin in circles..
“Love?”
>No response... And did it just get darker?
>Shaking your dizziness off, you gently bop your companion who suddenly got very silent and very  dim.
>It weakly flickers when your hoof makes “contact” with it.
“Hey... You alright?”
>”Bzz...”
“Tired?”
>One blink... Okay... You wanted to ask it how it did this and why it didn't chose this method of communication in the first place.
>But that already answered your question.  
>Those wisps seem to have a limited energy or power reservoir too... Just like you.
>Which really doesn't make one bucking bit of sense, since they are just part of your mind and imagination, but you decide to just roll with it.
>What does make sense here anyway?
“Rest for a while then... And thank you.”
>”Bzzhh.”
>It had good intentions with what it showed you. Even if this achieved exactly the opposite of what it intended.
>Or did it...
>Yeah, it made you angry and frustrated you a great deal but it also showed you a glimpse of what awaits you outside.
>Your loving and caring friends and... Who or whatever this bipedal creature is.
>How do you stand with him?
>His image made you feel so happy... So content.
>And his voice took all your fears and worries away in an instant... As if they never existed.
>Well! You won't find out if you stay here and waste your time, pondering about this, will you now?
“Nope!”
>”Bss?”
>So you get on your three remaining hooves again and stomp the ground with the invisible one. But this time not out of frustration, but out of determination.
>And funnily enough, it does make a sound.
>But there is no time to marvel at this bizarre feat!
>With a smile on your lips and a spring in your steps, you continue with your circumambulation of the mountain.
>And while you do this, your friend can rest and... recharge? Would that be the correct term, since its basically made out of some kind energy?
>Yeah, why not.
>Not that it matters too much anyway.
>As you progress, more and more rocks and shards begin to cross your path again. They steadily grow in size and density, as if someone has arranged them by those criteria.
>Also the shards begin to look now more like crystals than actual slivers... They get thicker and longer with each accumulation you pass.
“How strange.”
>You wonder if this means anything.
>It doesn't take long until you have to give them wide berths once more and eventually you come to a halt when a particularly large cluster extends itself before you like a crystalline wall.
“Well, buck...”
>A spiky mural in front of you and a literal minefield of razor-sharp crystals and crystal-like slivers behind you... You could just turn around and look for an easier path around all this, if it wasn't for the latter.
>Even with all the precaution and advance planning you put into your steps, you weren't able to avoid all hazards and gave some an involuntary, closer look.
>Stupid rocks which made you trip...
>A rather gruesome looking slash now graces your barrel and didn't stop leaking this strange mist ever since you got it.
>You quickly lost all interest in your former plans of tasting it, after you saw the wound from where it emerges.
>Roughly thirty centimetres long and you don't even want to know how deep it is...
>Luckily, pain doesn't seem to exist in this realm and it doesn't look like that the leakage affects you in any way.
>Aside from the dull, distracting feeling it causes on your side, of course. Which is annoying, but bearable for the time being.
>Sighing, you sit down and take a look at your surroundings.
>Crystals, crystals, crystals... Oh and are those crystals? You think so.
>What to do?
“Hmm...”
>You could just destroy a section of the wall like you did with the cluster that hold the pearl... Its long but it doesn't look all too thick. Maybe a metre or two.
>But the rocks and stones here all are far too heavy and big to pick up. Not to speak of actually throwing them.
>A spell, then? Perhaps?
“Uhh...”
>That is something you really only want to do if you have no other choice... But is there even another viable option other than this one?
>But what if the crystals aren't just more prominent versions of the figments and you actually need them for your existence here. Or even worse... In the real world.
>Tentatively, you let a hoof run over one.
>Doesn't feel and look all too different from the shards... Same nacre-like sheen, same sharp edges and same pointy tips.
“Ow!”
>Yep, very pointy indeed.
>But something seems to be inside them... Something fiery and ethereal. It reminds you of the multi-chromatic vapours you still seep out.
>Meh... It bothers you that they have no name... So they shall be named “Anima”.
>Fitting, isn't it?
“Well then...”
>Better not destroy them and possibly risk your life. Whatever burns in their hollow cores, looks like its important.
>So... Should you just walk along the wall then, until you find some kind of entrance to its inner parts?
>That would be an awfully time consuming endeavour... But one you might have to undertake.
>Now you really wish that you could fly...
>”Brrsch?”
>Oh, hey! Your glowing friend just woke up. And just in time too... You are out of ideas.
>Well at least out of those, that don't involve a lot of walking.
>It lets out a long and monotone buzz, almost like a yawn, and flies off your horn afterwards.
“Good morning, sleepy head. Slept well?” you say, beaming it a smile.
>The wisp flickers once and then starts to erratically whiz around.
“Like you can see... I'm kinda stuck. Got any ideas?”
>”Bzzz....”
>A bright, pink flash blinds you and one of your friends appears before your inner eye.
>It's the orange one with the freckles and the hat.
>She's standing before a large barn and got a small bag of bits in one of her hooves.
>”Wait here, while Ah get yer cider sugarcube.”
>Heh... And apparently a funny accent.
>Very cute... Fits her well.
>And with that said, her image vanishes again into the thin air.
>You giggle and shoot your companion a nod.
“Will do!”
>It glints a few times and emits a low sounding croon, before dashing away.
“Don't forget my cider!” you yell after it.
>You could really do with one right now.
 
>And... It's gone. What was once a rose dot in the distance got quickly swallowed by the endless dark.
>Well, as long as it comes back and don't leaves you hanging for something else, like a pretty girl... or boy wisp... or whatever your friend likes, it's okay.
>Unlikely that these wisps even do kinky stuff, but they seem to enjoy the company of their kind.
>That swarm of red ones you saw before and the current gathering in the airspace above this mountain, lets you think so.
>Looks like they are having fun... Zipping around like that and doing flips and what not.
>Another flip... and another... Can't they do anything different than that?
“Boring...”
>You blow a raspberry at their humdrum air show and decide to focus your attention back to the crystal wall again.
>Maybe you can detect something that will help you along, while your companion does its thing. Whatever that might be.
>Maybe it just searches for an entrance, like you already took into consideration, or perhaps something completely different.
>Lets wait and see then.
“Hmm...”
>Once again, you carefully palpate the smooth surface of the crystals. Making sure not to prick yourself this time.
>The exterior walls doesn't seem too thick... Perhaps an inch at most, since you can feel the heat from the wraithlike flames radiating through them.
”What is their purpose?” you wonder.
>Are they only acting as a barrier to prevent you from progressing and finding an exit from your mind?
>You think that you have read about exactly this once... That minds try their hardest to keep their masters inside them.
>Why? You don't know.
>Conceivably it is easier to operate for them when they don't have to process “outside” stimuli and do it because of that.
>But that would mean, that each mind would have a mind of its own.... And do those minds have their own minds then too..?
>By Celestia... Now it gets confusing.
>Better stop thinking too deep into that, before your brain collapses on itself.
>Retrieving your hoof again, you gently nudge the crystal you fondled.
>Immediately the flames inside it start to fire up and get significantly brighter and hotter by the second.
“Whoa!”
>In mere moments they become incandescent and you have to back off a few steps, to avoid the immense heat they so suddenly began to emanate.
>And it doesn't take long for this fire to spread to the neighbouring crystals and ignite them as well, until the whole cluster is ablaze.
“What in Celestia's name? Urgh... So hot...”
>A few steps won't be enough...
>You cover your eyes, to protect them from the gleaming light and the blistering ardour and jump backwards.
>Hoping that you don't hit anything while doing so... And luckily, you didn't and landed somewhat softly on your rump.
>Still...
>Even after your leap away from the burning mineral, it is almost unbearably hot here.
“Aarrr... End already!”
>You just bopped it! Bucking bopped it! Why does it react in such a violent way?
>In attempt to create more distance between you and the infernal heat, you start to crawl towards an array of crystals. Cowering behind their sharp columns once you finally have reached them.
>And much to your delight, the air there is breathable and much cooler. Even if you don't need it, its nice to fill your lungs with something else than a cooking gas cocktail again.
“M-Much better...”
>You peek over your crystalline fortress of coolness and watch as the wall section, you somehow caused to burn like a forge, slowly anneals until the flames inside it revert to their former colour and intensity.
“Wow...”
>That was certainly something...
>Forsaking your hiding place, you carefully draw closer to the steaming crystal bundle and sit down before it.
>Yeah... Now it is clear what the purpose of this wall is...
>It clearly is here to prevent you from advancing further and thus your potential escape.
>And judging from the way your mind tries to do so, you must be very close to it... Nice.
>This won't stop you.
>You just need to find a way around or through it, without destroying it in the process.
>Otherwise you, or the form you take here, could end up as a pile of smoldering pony ashes...
>You are not sure if you can actually die here, but you aren't particularly fond to find out either.
>In the best case you just wake up where you started, maybe without any memories of your “death”, and just have to try again.
>Like when you lose a life in a video game...
>Strange comparison, but it works.
>Why exactly does an earthworm in a strange metal suit appear before your inner eye, when you think about them?
“Groovy...”
>Huh? Well, okay then. Back to topic.
>But in the worst case you could actually die and fully end your existence. Both in your mind and the outside world.
>Game over, so to speak.
>And you don't think that you have any bits with you to buy a continue...
>What your intellect would have from the latter scenario happening is beyond you, but it works in mysterious and incomprehensible ways.
>And after what you have witnessed just now, you aren't too sure if it even cares if you are alive or not.
>Sighing, you lie down and rest your head on your forelegs while you observe the rising steam.
>It would probably be better for you, not to touch anything any more and just wait for your ghostly friend to return.
>You cannot do much now without risking to kill yourself anyway.
>Either by flames in front of you or by lacerations behind you.
>At least the fumes look kinda pretty.
 
>Some of the sudden, hellish heat from before still remains. Sunken deep in the greyish-black soil and small rocks on which you lie.
>It feels soothing and makes the large gash in your side less noticeable for you.
>Which still hasn't gotten one bucking bit smaller... But at least the anima has ceased to escape from it in the meantime.
>Either you have finally fully bled out or it healed naturally.
>Probably the second possibility, since you don't feel any different than ten minutes ago. Ere you received this gruesome wound.
>Your illusionary coat is slightly singed and you think you now need fake eyelashes, but apart from this you feel fine.
>And you stink... Quite horribly at that too.
>Like smoke, sweat and burned pony... The latter is especially revolting for your stomach.
>Eh... Nothing of all this does really matter.
>Firstly, the body you call your own right now is not actually your own and secondly, nopony is here to smell you and your smoky body odour.
>Only the pink wisp and you are almost certainly sure that it has no nose.
>So why bother?
>Yawning, you let yourself fall on your uninjured side and stretch your appendages.
>The heated ground makes you feel kinda sleepy... And once you managed to ignore the stones and pebbles on it, it is quite comfy too.
>A quick nap wouldn't hurt you, would it?
>And your mind certainly wouldn't try to kill you while you are asleep, would it now?
>...
“Who am I kidding.”
>Of course it would!
>Treacherous, devious thing...
>So you get up again and start to look around to find something to keep yourself occupied.
>But to no avail... Nothing of interest seems to exist in your general vicinity.
>The wisps still do their same old tricks and the wall is still as insurmountable as a few moments ago.
>Not forgetting highly volatile.
>...
>Volatile, huh...
>Maybe you should just throw a small stone at it and let the resulting inferno entertain you. From a safe distance of course.
>Like... You take a few steps back... From here.
>A nice and large crystal pack to hide behind when the light show goes off and an abundance of small rocks to start it. The perfect position.
>You pick one of them up and just as you were about to throw it, you hear a muffled buzz in the distance.
“Huh?”
>Oh, looky there. Your friend is back!
>Tossing the stone behind your back, you shoot the wisp a smile and a wave.
“Yoo-hoo!”
>It quickly bears down to you and by the looks of it, it has something in tow... Quite literally.
>Some kind of object hangs in its trail... Looks small and round...
>Neat! You didn't know they could manipulate things with them.
>Trails? How do they work?
>Its drones gets louder and clearer and in no time at all it has reached you and comes to a full stop in front of your face.
“Hey. Nice to see you back so soon.”
>”Bzzrrsch~”
“Did you bring my cider?”
>”Bzz..?”
>Aww...  Are there no imaginary cider trees somewhere in your mind? Representing your drinking habits?
>What a pity.
>You giggle and nuzzle your ethereal companion.
>Ah... What a strange but nice feeling. You are sure that this is exactly how it would feel if you would nuzzle pure energy.
>Warm, tingling and a bit numbing. But with the added benefit of not burning your face off.
>So you indulge yourself for a bit longer in this pleasant sensation. Much to the dismay of the wisp.
>A bit irritated from your sign of affection, it backs up a bit and hums deeply.
“Heh... Sorry. I got a bit carried away. So what did you bring with you?”
>“Bsss~”
>It lets it trail vanish and the thing that was held in it, falls to the ground with a high pitched clank.
“An amethyst?”
>Picking it up, you inspect the gem in your hooves.
>Yeah... Certainly looks like one... But something is off. You can't make exactly make out what, though
>It has already been cut and polished, and quite professionally at that, so you can see your reflection on its shiny surface.
>By Celestia... You really do need fake eyelashes... They are all gone! And your beak... Oh my... It could really do with a shine...
>Wait, what? Beak?
“Wha!”
>Out of shock and surprise, you chuck the gem away and jump roughly ten feet into the air.
>Where you strangely enough stay... What keeps you up there?
“W-Wings!?” you state flabbergasted, after a quick glance over your shoulder.
>A large, majestic pair of wings grace your pectoral girdle now... With feathers in the same colour as your coat.
>Flapping steadily to prevent you from falling to ground...
>What the hay did just happen to you? Why do you suddenly have wings?
>Your brain feels like its about to explode... You can't comprehend this!
>In an attempt to calm yourself down, you put your face in your hooves. And...
>It... It helps... Slowly but surely, your breathing gets slower again and you are able to think straight once more. But...
>Were they always so pointy and so many?
>Confused you retrieve your appendages again and take a look at them.
“Claws...”
>Two pale-yellow claws... Of an eagle to be precise and with four talons on each.
“Ehehehe.... Why not?”
>You don't really want to... But you look down on the rest of your body.
>Lavender plumes cover your neck down to your chest... Where they change over into a short, dark purple fur for the lower parts of your form.
>Which now include the hindlegs and tail of a lion... Are you... Are you a gryphon now?
“Wow... How incredibly cool.”
>But how... And why?
>Did the amethyst cause this transformation?
>If yes... How did it do this? As far as you know, you shouldn't have control over the form you take in your mind.
>Only on itself... And its landscape... With enough dedicated training, of course.
>A happy sounding buzz interrupts your train of thoughts and a pink blur appears before your eyes.
“Huh? Love?”
>”Brrrrsch!”
“What happened to me? Why am I a gryphon now?”
>The wisps blinks several times and your vision gets swallowed by the pink shroud another time.
>Looks like it wants to tell you something...
>Two of your friends slowly emerge into the frame and speak each only a few words... Just like the first time.
>”It was a dream...”, the posh looking, white one says, while sewing a dress.
>Is she a dressmaker? It is always hoofy to know one in case of dress related emergencies.
>”Of yours!”, speaks the blue mare who gifted you the quill in one of your visions.
>Now that you have a closer look at her, you think that the feather she used to make the quill, once must have belonged to her.
>Most likely one of her primaries, judging by the size of the feather.
>So you must be really close with her, or she wouldn't have made you such a personal gift.
>They vanish again and you return to the airspace of your mind.
>Luckily, the beating of your wings seems to be a subconscious matter, at least when you are distracted. And good thing it is... You already prepared yourself for a harsh impact with the ground.
>You shoot the wisp a confused look.
“A dream of mine? So... I dreamt of being a gryphon once?”
>Your friend flickers once.
“And they are stored in those gems?”
>Another flicker.
“Okay then...”
>Hopefully it went straight for this particular dream and not looked through your kinkier ones first...
>This also begs the question if you could look through them... For solely scientific reasons of course.
>Maybe it could lead you to where ever your dreams are kept and then leave you alone for a bit, so you can...
>It blinks twice.
>What? Can it read your thoughts?
>No response... Of course.
>You wouldn't reveal your ability to read minds too, if you would have it.
>”Bssszzz~”
>Suspicious... But you will let it slide for the time being.
>There are more important matters at hoof right now!
>Your gaze falls on your talons.
>Flexing each individual digit, before you swipe the air with them a few times.
>Or should you say... At claw?
“Heh.”
>Anyway...
>With your newly attained way of travel, you can now easily fly over the volatile crystal walls and look what lies behind them!
>You can already feel the... the... the... However your escape out of here will feel like!
>Most likely like glory and victory!
>But first you have to check a certain thing...
“Excuse me for a bit, will you?”
>The wisp emits a questioning sounding buzz, but doesn't follow you as you glide down.
>What you want to do now, is something done best alone. Without somepony, or something watching.
>When your four limbs make contact with the ground, yep you have four again, you immediately head for the next best cluster of crystals and vanish behind it.
>What will it look like? Oh my... You are excited like a foal in a tuckshop.
>Hmm... Cub or hatchling would be more precise now, considering your current form... But, whatever.
>Sitting down on your haunches, you spread your hindlegs and lean over them.
“Lets see...”
 
>No... What! Why?
>There is nothing there!
>Not even a tiny slit! Nothing!
>Just a more or less smooth hill where your vagina would be... And it isn't even sensitive!
>Only a bit squishy and ticklish... This simply won't do.
“Celestia be damned...”
>You were so curious if it would feel any different from your usual marehood... But your plans got thwarted by your prude mind... Or dreams or whatever.
>Groaning, you get up again and spread your wings.
>But what did you expect? Your probably dreamt this dream as a filly or something, since you have absolutely no memory of it.
>At least not any more.
>And you aren't even sure, if your former pony form had genitals... You certainly didn't feel anything down there before.
>Well, you have wings now instead. That’s something too, isn't it?
>Time to put them to good use.
>You beat them a few times and slowly gain height.
>It feels... weird, to be honest. But you quickly grow accustomed to this new sensation.
>Their handling is not all too different from your other appendages. They only differ in the way they stretch and flex.
>Which is distracting and takes most of your concentrations to keep your flaps steady at first, but you think you got the knack of it, after you flew a couple of circles and begin to ascend towards your pink friend.
>The wind that blows through your mane... Well, it isn't a mane any more... Through the several brightly coloured feathers on your forehead feels spectacular.
>You think they are called “pride feathers”.
“Haha!”
>You roll and twirl around, getting more and more reckless with the tricks you do and what you think you can undertake.
“This is awesome!”
>Just as you were about to soar even higher into the dark skies to perform a dive bomb, your companion flies before you and blocks your way. Droning loudly and blinking frantically.
>”Bzz! Bzz! Bzz!”
“Huh? What’s the matter?”
>And once more, the pink veil engulfs you. This time only the yellow pegasus is there.
>”The winds are lovely up there...”, she says and points upwards.
“Yeah? And?” you ask the wisp a bit irritated.
>Her image begins to shift and morph rapidly... As if it is looking through your memories for a certain phrase or word.
>At last the shifting stops and you see your friend sitting with a sad look on her face.
>”Can I ask you something personal, Twilight?”
>Oh by Celestia... It feels nice to hear her saying your name... A small smile spreads on your lips... Or whatever beaks have.
“O-Of course...” you reply.
>”Do you ever... Think about death?”
>!!!
“D-Death?!”
>And as those words leave your mouth, her images and the veil gets taken away by the harsh winds.
>The winds... How could you forget... Stupid you!
>They would just have torn  into you and rob you of whatever memories you still can call your own.
>Even those you made here...
>Making all the progress you have made until now null and void... And possibly even seal your fate.
“I... I understand...”
 
>With a queasy feeling in your stomach, you let yourself slowly descent again. To a height that you think is safe.
>That... That was close...
>Thank Celestia, your wisp friend was there to stop you before it was too late. Or this could have been the end of your journey.
>You don't even want to think about what could have happened... Forgetting everything you have discovered up to this point. As little as it may be.
>Would you have pursued the same path then? Perhaps... This mountain is kinda striking. Especially since the engravings on it began to glow.
>But its for the better not to find out if this would be the case or not.
>Your companion flies down with you and happily buzzes once you are in safe waters again.
>Beaming it a smile, you steady your altitude and hold a claw out to let it land on it.
>Feels weird to have something else than a hoof there... But you could get used this.
“Thanks, Love. You know... For always looking after me.”
>”Bzzzrsch~”
>It has done so much for you... You wonder, how you could repay it?
>Maybe create a nice home for it in your mind?
>...
>Nah, you don't even know how to scape your mind yet. And you don't plan to spend enough time in there to gain this ability.
>Well, you will see when the time comes... For now you really should continue on your search for a way out of here.
>You let it fly off again and start to look around.
“Hmm...”
>First things first... The crystal wall. Since you can finally get a good look at it from up here.
>It is a lot broader than you formerly thought... At least four to five metres and its middle section is a lot higher than its sides.
>Almost looks like that there could be a tunnel or a passageway inside it... And if so... How to access it?
>The wall stretches for miles in the direction of the endless plains. But it seems to begin at a steeply ascending part of the mountainside, where it forms several gigantic clusters that completely cover the whole area there.
>Certainly there could something be hidden behind them...
>But you can't damage the crystals without risking to accidentally blow the whole thing up. So that method of accessing whatever is in them is beyond dispute.
>There has to be some way inside though...
>Maybe there is an entrance on its other side?
>So you begin to fly along it and keep your eyes open for anything that could resemble an entryway to it.
>But to no avail... It is as unflawed as Princess Celestia's coat. Outright unbroken...
>Why must everything be so bucking complicated here?! Meh...
>You land and scratch your head.
>Uhh... Uhh... Wow... This feels nice... How were you able to live without these amazing talons before?
>Never ever would you have to rub your back or rump against a wall to scratch an itch... If those would just be permanent.
>Well... Lets make the best out of them as long as you still have them. Time for some self belly rubbing.
“Ahh...”
>If only you had genitals then you could... But this is great as well.
>”Bss?”
“Huh? Ah!”
>Embarrassed, you quickly retrieve your appendages again and stare at the rocks on the ground, which suddenly became very interesting.
“I... I certainly was not pleasuring myself.”
>Wait, what? That came out wrong...
>”Brrzzz~”
“Yeah, yeah... Leave me alone for a while please... I need to think.” you say and wave it off.
>And indulge yourself in more of this heavenly scratching~
>Instead of buzzing off, the wisp intensifies its glow and the image of one of your friends starts to form in it.
>Wow... Neat. Must be more energy conserving than the veil thing.
>But... It is not a pony this time... Neither is it the strange bipedal creature... It is a... Small purple dragon?
>By its appearance it seems to be a male ridge dragon... Well, a young one. But the fins on his head are way too prominent for him to be a anything else.
>Aww... He looks so cute! Is he one of your friends too? You sure do hope so!
>”What's the pitch, Twilight?, the very little dragon says in a even tinier voice.
>Your... Your heart! You could just cuddle him to death.
“Eh... I'm a bit frustrated. I'm almost certainly sure that there is something inside this wall, but I can't seem to find a way in!”
>Like before with your yellow pegasus friend, his image shifts and mutates several times until the wisp has found what it has been looking for.
>How does it even access your memories?
>It is love, isn't it? So does that mean it can only “use” those that are associated with this particular emotion? In other words, the ponies you love?
>Most likely... Maybe you should ask it some time later.
>”Why not blast it with fire?”, he states and shrugs.
“F-Fire? No! That would just blow everything up! Me included!”
>He blows you a raspberry.
>Rude.
>”You know how the old saying goes, Twi. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire!”
>Before you could reply to this ridiculous suggestion, the images already dislimns and then fades away completely.
>Your ethereal friend drones weakly and nestles itself in the soft downs on the back of your neck.
>Must be tired... Poor thing. Shall it rest for a while. It doesn't weigh anything anyway, so it won't hinder you.
“Fight fire with fire... Hmm...”
>But maybe it has a point there. This wacky world is so devoid of any logic and sense that this could actually work.
>This begs the question though...
>Where to get fire?
 
>Magic is completely out of the question... Ever since you have turned into a gryphon, you can't feel any of the magic winds around you any more.
>Not even the slightest breeze... A very strange feeling indeed... Like an integral part of you is missing now.
>Which really is a pity, since you now would have certainly taken the chance to cast a simple fire spell... You are pretty sure, that you have sensed a lot of Aqshy before.
>Especially when the that wall section suddenly began to burn like an inferno, the arid wind was really prominent.
“Oh well...”
>You will just have to play the cards you have right and find another way to start a nice, sizzling fire to then somehow use it to find entrance into the crystalline abattis.
>Maybe the rocks here have similar properties to to flints? They look a bit like them...
>Taking two of them in your claws, you smack them together and much to your delight, you manage to create a few sparks by doing so.
>Not the largest ones, for sure, but they will do.
>Very nice... Now you need something to ignite. Something that is easily combustible and available in large quantities.
>But...
>The only things that would meet these criteria, would be the flowers that contain your memories... And you aren't exactly keen on burning one or even several of them.
>Not even  those, that “only” hold remembrances of grief or sorrow... They are important and serve a purpose for you too.
“Buck!”
>What to do?
>What to burn?
>In the worst case, you will just have to sacrifice a part of your past to ensure your future... But this can't possibly be the best possible solution...
>That would be horribly cruel.
>Was there anything else that is flammable? Think, Sparkle think!
>...
>Rocks... Shards... Crystals... Flowers... Those are the things that make up your mind. None of them, except the latter, are inflammable though.
>Well, the crystals are, but they would kill you if you would attempt to break one of them off and even if the shards appear to be related to them, you doubt that they would be anything else than flame-retardant.
>They would kill you... Huh?
>What else is dead here?
>Yes... Of course!
>Who says that you have to burn your living memories? You can just burn your dead ones!
>There were many of these around by the dried out river bed. So why not pick a few of them and then wrap them around a sliver to create some kind of torch?
>You might cut yourself a bit in the process, but its you are sure that the anima you might lose will be worth it.
>If your current form even has anima or if anima even has an actual purpose other than looking pretty and mysterious when your injuries leak it.
>And if you aren't mistaken right now, the dead flowers looked awfully dry too! They would go up like a match!
>But also consumed by the fire just as fast as one, so you will have to be quick.
“Perfect!” you chirp and clap your claws together.
>By Celestia, does this feel so much more right than doing this with hooves! You will absolutely miss those dexterous appendages once they are gone.
>But this is still a long way off... You hope.
>Giggling like a mad mare, you spread your wings and take flight.
>Finally, a problem that seems to have an uncomplicated answer to it! What a Rarity!
>...
>Rarity... Why does this term seem so familiar?
>How strange... Anyway!
>Now you just have to hope that your mind plays along and not decide to fuck with you in the last possible moment. Like it did with the wall.
>You will have to punish it, with a  very badly written fan-fiction for example, as soon as you are out of its treacherous grasp.
>Like “Daring Do and the Jungle of Terror”. You own this, right?
>...
>And if not you will just buy it!
>It really has worked hard to deserve such a treat~
 
>Your wings take you to your desired flying height in almost no time at all, and you begin to glide towards your destination.
>The breeze up here is quite strong, but should still be weak enough to not pose a threat to you and your memories, which it is after.
>And since it comes from behind, it relieves you of some exertion. So you just endure the slight unpleasant feeling that it gives you.
>While you fly with more or less any effort from your side, you start to look around.
>Hmm... Nothing new. The same old dull and depressing scenery... Now just from a new angle and point of view.
>Although... It seems like the clusters of shards and crystals are connected to each other... By very faintly glowing, white lines.
>Almost like ley lines, unicorns use to connect certain magical devices.
>How did you not notice them before? What are these?
>They are hardly ley lines, since you don't recall ever laying some.
>Maybe they are part of some kind of network? To exchange informations between them? Whatever those might be.
>Makes sense... It is still only a theory though.
>And as much as you want to land and find out what they really are, you know that you have other and more important stuff to do right now.
>It bugs you, but... Too much time has already been lost. And since you don't know how long a “mind” hour is in the real world...
>Better hurry, than maybe lose another hour, day, week, month or even year of your actual life. You could be an old mare already!
>And your wisp friend surely wants to return to its everyday wisp life too. You were nothing but a burden to it.
>With a mighty beat of your wings you accelerate and dash away from this new mystery.
>Maybe some other day, you will return to your mind and reveal each and every secret that it holds inside it.
>There are a few spells that allow for safe visits to one's mind.
>Those voluntary trips are often described as not as vivid or detailed as the involuntary ones, but they have the big advantage that you can cancel them any time you want.
>So that's an option for the future.
>...
>A very, very, very distant future.
>The rest of your flight is eventless, but you learned two things:
>Firstly, that flying is much faster and funnier than walking, which is pleasant.
>And secondly, that the glowing lines between the crystal and shard clusters became brighter and more intense with every minute that passed... Which, knowing your mind, probably is not so pleasant.
>But until now, nothing happened... So maybe it is a completely harmless and natural reaction to you flying over them.
>You land near the newly born memory of your mind and beam it a soft smile.
“Hello again.”
>Looks like it already has grown a bit.
>Your painting might actually become a reality. How nice.
>That is not why you are here, though.
“So... Where were they?”
>Might as well start to walk into a random direction. It is only a matter of time, until you stumble upon one of them.
>And there is already one.
>A nice and dry... You think it once was a rose.
>You pick it and continue on your merry walk through the flower field.
>Having claws for tasks like this one is really hoofy. Makes it far easier to walk or talk at the same time.
>Not that you have somepony to talk right now...
>And most of the time, you use your magic to carry stuff around anyway, so...
>Well...
>It is still a nice experience.
>Apropos having somepony to talk with... How is your friend doing?
>You look over your shoulder and see it...
“Aww...”
>How cute. It's softly gleaming form has sunken halfway into your downs!
>And judging by the silent and steady buzzes it emits, it seems to be asleep and quite content with the place it chose.
>Or whatever a wisp's equivalent for sleep is.
>So you don't disturb it further and pick the rest of the flowers as silently as you can.
>After roughly ten minutes and many laps through the dried out stream, you think that you finally have gathered enough and begin to walk back to where you landed before.
>About fifty dead flowers of all kinds and sizes. Roses, lilies, dahlias, tulips and even a few forget-me-nots!
>Heh... The irony is not lost on you.
>Dumping your bundle on the ground there, you secure it with a couple of rocks so it cant get blown away and scattered in every direction by a stray gust.
>That would be a serious pain in the flank now...
“Good.”
>Now that this is done too, you can begin to look around for a shard that is suitable for your torch and you are good to go again.
>But most of the ones you find lying on the black soil, are either too sharp, too thin, too broad or too short... Or everything at once.
>And they can't have neither of these traits. Or you won't be able to properly hold the torch, or worse... Cut the flowers or your talons in half.
“Ehh...”
>Finding the perfect specimen is apparently more difficult than you formerly thought.
>Nevertheless, you pick the few slivers you almost deem usable up and carry them back to the secured bundle of flowers.
>Carefully putting them beside it, you sit down and start to think.
“Hmm... What shall I do with you?”
>Well... You can't do much about their length or width, at least not without magic... But you certainly could do something about their sharpness.  
>Maybe blunten their edges on one of the rocks here?
>...
>Yeah. That could work. But only if you watch out that it doesn't break in the process.
>Despite their sturdy look, they are awfully brittle and delicate. Stupid things...
>Okay, here goes nothing.
>You take one of the longer and thicker shards in your claws and begin to slowly run its most prominent edge across a nearby boulder.
>At first it just cuts deep into it, much to your dismay. But soon enough it seems to lose to some of its bite and nearly gets stuck in the rock fragment in the end.
>Gradually, so it doesn't snap in two, you retrieve it again and then tentatively probe its former edge with a talon.
“Very nice.”
>No cutting sensation... Just a more or less smooth surface. Perfect.
>Looks like it has worked.
>And after repeating this procedure with the two other edges it possesses, you at last have the handle for your torch.
>Which is luckily still in one piece... The last replicate was almost thwarted by a sudden drone from your pink companion.
>Wisps apparently snore or yawn too... Who knew?
>Anyway.
>You grab the flowers and start to enwrap the mother-of-pearl stick with them.
“Phew!”
>That was harder than most books about survival made it look... But... After a few retries and stones kicked away in frustration, it is finally done! You hold your very first self made torch in your claws.
>Admittedly, it looks a bit wonky and unprofessional.. But who gives two flying ponyfeathers about looks? As long as it works, its good enough for you.
>Speaking of flying... Time to get going again.
 
>And speaking of time... It is running.
>So you spread your wings, admire their massive span and their impressive primary feathers for a second or two, and then take off into the dark skies once more. The torch you created, hold safely in your eight talons.
>Of which you are really proud... You can't remember when it was that you last made something with your own two hooves.
>Or claws... Or whatever. Lets just say appendages.
>Usually, you just use your magic whenever possible. It makes virtually everything easier and more convenient to do. But...
>You can't deny that the manual way gives a much higher sense of satisfaction. Like, you really accomplished this by yourself and... Without cheating.
>As dumb as this sounds.
>Maybe you should do things this way more often in the future. Could make you understand your earth pony and pegasus friends better.
>Well... You will see.
>How does the old saying go? Old habits die hard.
>The ground beneath you rapidly drifts by, and you almost have reached the area where the loose shards transition into their cluster form.
>And the lines that connect each of them to their nearby brethren, are still as glowing as acute as before. How nice... You didn't expect anything else, though.
>Crossing the first of many, you notice that it pulses once and then grows in size and intensity after you have done so. Spreading its increased potency then quickly to its neighbours.
>Not a good sign... It looks like they actually do react to you. And only you.
>Better get out of here as fast as possible.
>With a few mighty beats of your wings, you accelerate. Pressing the torch close to your chest, so you don't lose it.
>And it seems to work... You are able to traverse two to three lines before they win on power and after mere moments, the crystal wall is in sight again.
>The knot you have felt ever since you passed the first line, slowly begins to loosen itself again as it draws closer and closer.
>Just a few minutes more and then you will be there.
>You take a look down and have to assess, much to your dismay, that the connections are catching up to you. Their glow now gleaming and pulsating like crazy, as if they are close to reaching some kind of maximum and are about to explode.
>Not exactly something you like to see at this very moment.
>And the hissing sounds they emit aren't particularly calming your nerves either... So your hug your wings close to yourself and enter a slight letdown, in an attempt to leave this potential danger zone with all speed.
>Luckily, they seem to stay in this state. For now...
>”Brssch?”
>Oh, hey. Your friend finally woke up.
>But no time to talk now. You have some fast flying to do!
>It flies off your neck and next to you. Having apparently no problem to keep up with your ridiculous speed.
>How fascinating. You wonder how it does thi...
>And in the moment it does so, you hear an ear piercing sound and the world around you gets engulfed by an incandescent, parching hot veil.
“Ahhh!”
>Harsh blast waves from every direction knock you around like butterfly in a tornado and you fight hard to stay in control of your flight in this sudden outbreaks.
>But to no avail... It doesn't take long until your stunned form meets the rocky ground.
>The last thing you feel is something sharp going through your chest before everything goes black.
>...
>..
>.
>..
>...
>”B...zz z.. Bz...”
“Uuu...”
>Where... Where are you?
>”Bzz! Bzzz!”
>What is that buzzing sound? Your alarm clock?  
“Stop... Urgh!”
>You wave your forelegs around to get this annoying apparatus to cease its waking endeavours. But they find nothing.
>Only stale, torrid air.
>”Bzzzzzz! Brsch!”
>Why is it so hot in your room? And what is this loud background noise? Almost sounds like a waterfall...
>Do you have a  heating fountain in your bedroom?
>Are there even such things as heating fountains?
>Better open your eyes and see for yourself... Yeah...
>And as you do so, you see nothing but pink. How strange.
>”Bssszzztt!”
>The wisp?
“Love?”
>You remember now... It has gotten off you and in that exact moment, you somehow lost control and plummeted down.
>But why?
“What happened?” you ask it and heave yourself up, rubbing your numb claws to get some life back in them again.
>”Bsss....”
>It emits a soft drone, as it is relieved to hear and see you alive and backs off a bit. Gradually exposing how the world around you.
>Oh...
>That happened.
>World is not the right word any more... Hell or pandemonium would be more fitting...
“What in the...”
>The lines... They have erupted into white-hot, burning geysers. Their flames white as alabaster, radiating an intense heat and easily reaching at least one hundred feet into the air...
>And...
>Completely trapping you into a small, triangular patch of land. With no escape out of there, but up.
>For a moment, you contemplate if you shouldn't just fly upwards and... But it quickly comes to you that this isn't an option either.
>Not with the memory robbing winds waiting for you, beyond these blazing pillars.
>You start to look around if there isn't a gap in them for you to squeeze through, but they are unbroken and tightly packed.
“Buck.”
>Its the perfect trap... Either you burn yourself to death or lose all your memories and then get reduced to a smoldering pile of gryphon ashes as they push you into the inferno or just stay here forever.
>And honestly... The first choice... Heh, choice... What a cruel joke... Seems to be the best. At least it will be over quickly.
 >Your companion blinks once. Its flicker barely noticeable in the argent hell you are situated right now.
>What to do...
>By the celestial sisters! What to bucking do?!
>This is ridiculous! What did you do to deserve this?
>Did you kill somepony, or what?!
“Celestia be damned! Why?!” you cry out and slump to the ground.
>Tears start to form in your eyes as you frantically hold your head. Your talons boring themselves deep into your scalp.
>You can feel the anima sizzling out of the small puncture wounds in thin streams, but you don't care.
>”Bzzz...”
>The wisp approaches you. Tinting your vision slightly rosy as it draws closer.  
“Leave me alone!”
>”Bss!”
“I bucking said: LEAVE ME ALONE!”
>”Brsch...”
>It backs away again. Thank goodness... You just want to be alone right now and... and... and... Think or whatever!.
>Curling into a ball, you use your wings to shield you from the searing heat and close your eyes.
>Imagining some happy place.... Far, far away from here.
 
>...
>You don't know how long you have sat there in the middle of three fiery walls, idly petting yourself and thinking about your available options.
>Ten minutes, an hour or a whole day. Could be either one of those.
>But it certainly has been long enough that you barely have any feathers on your wings any more. They all have been singed off by the blistering ardency.
>Which has thinned out the possible ways to kill yourself. How nice.
>Less options... Less trouble... Yeah.
>Your fur has shared the same fate, but it wasn't all too long in the first place so it isn't as noticeable.
>The stench though... Its almost unbearable. You always hated it.
>Only the four long pride feathers on your head are still complete and mostly unscathed. Protected by your excoriated claws.
>No pain though... Like always. The only good thing about this place.
>Your wisp friend hasn't tried to get closer to you, ever since you yelled at it. It just sits there on a nearby rock and watches you.
>At least you think it watches you... Hard to tell with it having no eyes.
>Emitting a low drone every now and then.
>Why is it staying with you? It could just get the hell out of here. The winds have no interest in it.
>But it does... For whatever reason.
>You turn away from it and start to ponder for the Celestia knows how many time. Telling yourself not to involve suicide this time.
>If that has ever worked... In the end it always boils down to this.
>What do you know?
>The lines increased in strength and intensity every time you crossed one.
>They first started to appear when you gained the ability to fly. At least you think so. Maybe you just didn't notice them before, but this is unlikely.
>So they are most likely a countermeasure of your mind to this.
>And they began to erupt when you were maybe a quarter mile away from the wall... You can faintly see its outlines through the incandescent flames.
>Very good, Sparkle! You have come to same conclusions once more! Anything new, though?
>...
>No...
“Argh!”
>If you would just have your magic back, then you could teleport yourself out of here! You exactly know how the vicinity of the walls looks like! It would be no bucking problem!
>You cry out in frustration and throw a rock into the infernal geysers. Watching with great delight as it immediately turns red hot and drops to the ground as a molten ball of stone before it can even reach the other side.
>Such all consuming hotness... And soon you could be part of it.
“Heh.” you chuckle.
>Yeah... In the ends it always boils down to this.
>Getting yourself in a sitting position, you rub your dry eyes and look into the black skies.
>Its hardly even black any more.
“Ach...” you sigh.
>There has to be some other solution... But in the moment it doesn’t seem this way.
>And maybe this will never change.
>What will happen if you end it here? Will you be able to start over and try again or just cease to exist?
>Well... Only one way to find out.
>One last time, you spread your wings to admire their now burnt glory and relish the sense of freedom it gives you.
>One last time, you flex your talons one by one and let them gently run over your belly with closed eyes to get the most out of it.
>Feels as nice as ever...
>You also would like to cast one last spell, but you can't. So the memories of one will have to do.
>And they do nicely. You can almost feel the magic flowing through your horn.
>Filling your lungs with the arid air, you open your eyes and start to slowly walk forwards.  
>You...
>You feel ready.
 
>Each step towards your certain doom is a hell in itself. The heat is excruciating and merciless. Eating away at you and taking the parts it devoured with it.
>But you don't turn around to save yourself. You simply can't.
>This is your last straw. And sadly you have to grasp at it with all hope that is still left in you.
>Throw all your bits into the pot.
>Stake everything on one card.
“He- * cough * Ehehe...”
>That was almost poetic... Who knew that someone who is eye to eye with death, can still be so eloquent.
>Even a small grin spreads on your singed and parched beak.
>Soon you will know. Only a few strides more.
>Maybe you will win, maybe you won't. Either way, it will soon be over.
>”Brrzz!”
>The wisp dashes into your field of vision. Blinking and flickering like fury.
>Oh... Yeah... You should at least make your farewell to it. It deserves as much after all it has done for you.
>So you come to a halt and beam it a smile.
“Hey, little guy.”
>”Bss!”
“You are surely asking yourself what in tartarus I am doing... Well...”
>It tries to shove you back. Which, however, is of little effect, due to its incorporeal form.
>You just feel a tingling sensation on your chest.
>How endearing... Your friend still cares for you, even after you lashed out against it.
>Hmm... That is what being friends is about, eh?
>That makes you a bad one then, doesn't it?
>”Brsssch!”
“This is the only option I have left. There is no other way out of here... I hope you understand.”
>More drones and buzzes that go in at one ear and out at the other. And thus you just continue with your last words to it.
>Standing this near to the infernal ardour is not exactly a nice experience, so you are eager to get this over with as fast as possible.
“I will just roll a few dice... That doesn't have to be my end, you know?”
>”Brsss?”
“It's either me taking the chance on a new chance here or... Spending an eternity in this literal hellhole.”
>You hold a claw out to it and beckon your companion to land on it.
>Oh my... You can almost see the bones through the blistered skin there... It really is time to finally shed this body.
“And I certainly don't want that. I would rather die for good.”
>It doesn't respond immediately. For a moment it just sits in your palm, with its focus and attention focused at you.
>Then you hear a loud buzz and its glow spreads until it has fully engulfed you.
>One last chat, huh? You wonder what it wants to tell you.
>A bright yellow mare with a cerulean mane and tail trots into the frame. Her face bearing a worried look.
>She's a new one.
>”What about your friends?” she asks you with tears in her raspberry eyes.
>You always liked that colour... Suits her well too.
>Forcing a chuckle, you wave the lemony pony off.
“They will do just fine, if my... Demise will be the end result of this. I am sure of that.”
>Her image rapidly morphs and shifts, but the wisp can't seem to find a fitting response. And thus lets your apparent friend disappear again.
>In lieu of her, three incredibly adorable fillies slowly emerge from the pink haze.
>Especially the orange one with the purple and somewhat messy mane is diabetes inducing. But her sisters, you assume, are just as cute as her.
>”But you...”, the yellow one with the bow says.
>Aww... She's balancing an apple on her round head.
>”Can't let it...”, your favourite of the three mutters and tries to get off the ground with her tiny wings.
>They look awfully underdeveloped for her size and age... Does she have a medical issue with them? Poor thing...
>”Win!”, the light-greyish unicorn filly blurts out.
>W-What?
“Let what win?”
>But the foals just blankly stare at you, before they share a  blurry shrug and finally vanish completely.
>The veil goes with them and you are thrown back into the blazing reality of your mind once again. Your pink friend buzzing quietly.
“Tell me... What can't I let win?”
>No response. Just a prolonged blink and a low drone. As if it doesn't want to tell you.
>Then it can't be that important...
>Also it seems that it is more interested in you as a solution to its problem, whatever it might be, than as a friend.
>...
>Yeah... It's time.
>Retrieving your claw, you make your way past the wisp with no further words spoken.
>Immediately it flies before you and tries to cut you off again.
>”Bzz!”
“Please... Thank you for everything. But just let me be.”
>”Bzzrrsssh!”
>This is ridiculous... Slowly but steadily, anger begins to well up inside you. But you try your hardest to contain it and so just shove it gently to the side.
>Strangely enough, your claw doesn't just go through it like usually and actually meets a bit of resistance this time.
>Looks like it can take a more... Substantial form, if the situation calls for it.
>There is still so much you can learn about it and the barren wasteland it calls home...
>...
>You giggle and shake your head.
>Some other time perhaps.
>But it doesn't have any of that and dashes in front of your face another time. Buzzing and flickering more frantic than ever.
“I have made my peace with it! Can't you understand?”
>”Bzzzz! Bzz! Bzzzzzz!”
>It bumps against your chest and tries to push you back with all its might. Which is, despite its newly acquired mass, not much.
>As moving as its attempts to save you might be... You are starting to get annoyed.
“Uargh! Love... If you don't stop, I will...”
>”Brsch!”
>Another time it tries to drive you back.
>And again.
”Ple- Ugh! Please... Don't make me... Agh!”
>And again.
“Grrr...”
>Enough is enough.
>If it doesn't want to understand, you will make it understand.
“For the love of Celestia! Leave me be already!”
>In a fit of rage, you swipe at it. Forgetting for a second, that it isn't incorporeal any more.
>The moment your claw makes contact with it, you immediately regret your decision as the resulting force sends your friend flying... Right towards the burning, white hot pillars.
>No! That wasn't supposed to happen... You didn't want this!
>Time slows down to a crawl and you desperately reach your claws out to the wisp. But nothing than the seething air fills your talons when they close again.
“L-Love!”
 
>Tears shoot in your eyes as you helplessly have to watch the being, that was your companion for so long, nears its inevitable doom.  
>Every second feels like an eternity and when you finally see it entering the inferno, you instantly avert your gaze from this gruesome sight.
>You... You have killed it.
>The only thing that in this mad world you could have called a friend and... You killed it in a spell of mislead anger and bitterness.
“By Celestia, no...”
>Collapsing to the ground and holding your head in despair, you begin to cry.
“Why? Why? Why?”
>How could you have been so stupid? Now you really have nothing any more... Even if you get granted a second chance.
>Without it... You are completely stranded.
>The wisp was basically your “Get out of jail” card. Helping you with everything that you were not able to overcome yourself.
>You might have not realized, or maybe just straight out ignored, the fact that you used it for the same purpose as it might have used you.
>To solve a problem...
>Yours being your return to reality and its... Whatever you were supposed to stop.
>But now, that it is gone for good, neither problem will ever become solved.
>Perhaps... With some luck, you still could make your escape out of here, but would it be even worth it any more?
>The damage you might have caused to yourself, by destroying an entity that held so much of such a precious and important emotion, could be forever irreversible.
>Your grip on your head gets stronger.
>It is entirely possible that you are now no longer able to feel love and every emotion that is related to it.
>At least for long, long time...
>There is a reason, why every book that deals with the exploration of one's mind, strongly suggest not to meddle with the things inside it that seem to be “alive”.
>And you just didn't meddle with one, you utterly destroyed it
“Heh.”
>Might as well move into the badlands then and start looking for a nice and cozy living cell in a  changeling hive... They surely have some love to spare.
>”Brrssh?”
>Huh? What now?
>Did you just hear a buzz or does your mind play tricks on you again?
>”Bzz... Bshh?”
>No, you certainly didn't imagine that!
>Your eyes shoot open and you turn your head to the source of the noises.
>And what you see fills you with an incredible sense of joy and relief...
>Its the wisp... Still in one piece and floating motionless in one spot as it was frozen in time.
>Apparently confused itself by the fact that it is still alive.
“Love!”
>You heave yourself up, to dash to your friend. But stop yourself once you see that it is hovering right between two crystal clusters.
>The line that connects them is still there... But strangely enough, the flame geysers are gone.
>Only small, white-glowing sparks and embers occasionally emerge from it and fly a few feet into the air before dissipating fully.
>What? How?
>Why is the infernal wall gone?
>”Bzzz...”
>The wisp, now seemingly in control of its senses and movements again, flickers and starts to brreeze towards you.
>And as it does so, you see that the lines grow in power and intensity again.
“Stop!” you yell.
>”Brrzzz?”
“Go back where you were... Please.”
>It does as it is told and returns to its former position. And just as you thought, the line loses potency with it doing so.
>Interesting...
>The lines seem to react to the wisp too... But in the exact opposite way than in your case.
>They don't want to harm it.
>Was the reason they didn't erupt, even after they ostensibly already had reached full power, your friend sleeping on the back of your neck?
>Certainly looks like it...
>Those hellish things only did go off after it woke up and began to fly next to you... In a more or less safe distance.
>Of course. That's it!
“Hah!”
>As cruel as this may sound... As long as you let your friend go before you and “disarm” the traps, your mind will not able to touch you!
>Not without destroying something it is apparently just as fond of as you.
>You don't know why your intellect cares for the well being of your companion, when it tries to outright kill you at the same time... But you are doubtlessly going to employ whatever reason it has for doing so to your advantage.
>Tentatively, but with new found hope, you make your first steps towards the now extinguished hell fire.
>Each stride elicits a bright gleam and a threatening hiss from it. But barking dogs don't bite, and so you cross the line without setting it off.
>The wisp emits a questioning and baffled sounding drone as you pass it.
>Once you are on the other side, you quickly leap ahead and sigh in relief.
>Wonderful... It worked.
>For a second or two, you feared that you would end as a roast chicken...
>Turning around, you beckon your ethereal companion to come to you.
>And as expected, just as the rosy sprite has left the airspace right above the line, the incandescent pillars immediately burst out of it again with a blustering explosion.
>”Bsszz?”
“Love!”
>You embrace your friend in a hug. Pressing it so hard against your chest, that you would you suffocate it, if it wasn't for its lack of lungs.
>”BZZZ! BZZZ!”
“By Celestia, I am so glad that you are still alive!”
>”BZZ!”
“Oops, sorry.”
>Releasing it again, you beam it a coy smile.
>”Brsch.....”
>Oh... Sounds like it is still pissed at you for accidentally trying to kill it. And with good reason...
>Gently, you take it into your claws and rub your beak against its glow.
>It is still as tingly and warm as ever.
“Sorry, Love... For lashing out against you.”
>”Bzz...”
“And of course for almost killing you. That totally wasn't my intention... I was just angry and frustrated and desperate...”
>Hopefully, it will understand...
“I felt so hopeless in this moment, and you didn't stop trying to dissuade me and...”
>But before you were able to complete your explanation, you get interrupted by your vision suddenly becoming as ping as the plumage of a flamingo.
>Once more you get drawn into the rose mists...
>The orange earth pony mare appears in it and waves you off. Chuckling and with a wide, friendly grin on her lips.
>She appears to have a chipped tooth. You wonder where and how she got it... Maybe from a fight?
>”It's okay, Twi. Ah know, y'all didn't zap mah apples on purpose.”
>And with that said, she and the haze vanish into the thin air again.
>You giggle and wipe the few tears that survived the extreme heat, that still continues to persist, away.
“Thank you... For forgiving me and everything else.”
>”Bss~”
“Lets just forget that this ever happened and bring both our problems to an end, okay?”
>It blinks once and flies off your talons again with a happy croon.
“Wonderful! Then lets waste no more time!”
>”Bzz!”
>Your friend dashes ahead of you and disables the first of many white-hot flaming geysers that lie between you and the crystal wall.
>You would love to fly, just like it, but with most of your feather burned and gone, you have to rely on your legs again.
>Ah... To feel the wind in your wings one more time...
>But even without them, you are able to make good progress and reach the crystal wall in almost no time.
>There were a few moments though that nearly gave you a heart attack... Mostly caused by a sudden gust of wind that felt just strong enough to blow the wisp away.
>But it stood steadfast as solid as a rock and thus saved your sorry flank from getting incinerated.
>And now...
>You stand before it once more.
>A smile spreads on your beak and you hold your claw out to your companion.
>It bumps against it, before landing on your head. Right on your pride feathers.
>Which are sadly, now singed off too... Well...
>You might be a very ugly gryphon now, but at least you finally have made it to your destination.
>Now you just have to light the torch with two of these rocks and...
>...
>!
>The torch!
>Where is it?!
>Did you... Oh no...
“Celestia be damned!”
 
>Frantically, you start to look around but it is nowhere to be seen.
>And you can't remember if you dropped it when you crashed down or if you just laid it away while you wallowed in your sorrow and desperation.
>Buck! It could either be still back there or totally broken.
“Argh!” you cry out.
>Why does crap like this always happen to you?! You are usually such an organized mare and plan for everything in advance. But when you get harried, no matter how slightly, everything always just collapses like a house of cards.
>Maybe you should find the pearl that contains this trait of your personality and smash it to smithereens.  Would solve a lot of future problems.
>You snort and shake your head.
>Well, you will have to swallow the bitter pill and retrace your steps through the literal minefield, that the plains behind you are.
>Even if the mines are visible...
>Hopefully, it didn't shatter into one thousand pieces.
“Love?”
>”Bsss?”
“We have to go back one more time. Stupid me forgot the torch...”
>”Bzbzbzbzbz~”
>Huh? Sounds like its laughing...
>This is no laughing matter! In the best case you will just lose more time and in the worst, you will lose even more time by going back to the parched out riverbed and creating a new torch.
>And in both cases, you run the risk to be fried to a crisp...
“What is so funny, if I may ask?” you ask and poke it.
>”Brsch~”
>Instead of giving you a more elaborate answer, in form of a vision, it just bumps gently against your chest and gleams softly.
>What now? Is there something on your chest?
“What is th-”, you look down, “Oh... Heh...”
>Looks like you never actually lost the torch... In fact it was with you all the time.
>Securely lodged into your torso... How did you not notice it sticking in there?
>Must have speared itself too deep into you, to give you any sorts of discomfort or trouble. Funny how some things in your mind work.
>The small shards that stuck in your hooves before, were far more uncomfortable than this rather massive sliver.
>Okay then... Time to get it out of you.
>You plop down onto your haunches and take the short section of the torch's handle that protrudes, into your claws.
>Its quite smooth, so you take your time to get a good grip.
“So... This should do nicely.”
>The wisp floats next to you and emits a worried sounding drone.
“No need to worry, Love. So far nothing did hurt me here, and I'm sure that this won't either.”
>”Bssz...”
>At least you hope so...
>Okay. Here goes nothing.
>With a deep breath, you begin to pull with all your might. Slowly and carefully of course, so you don’t accidentally break it.
>Inch by inch, you manage to extract the lighting device out of your chest cavity.
>And you were right... No pain, as per usual. But instead of it, you feel an increasing sense of irritation and numbness with each bit you expose.
“Urgh...”
>Which in itself is almost as bad as actual pain... Your forelegs are shaking and thick beads of sweat are running down your face.
>Only a few inches more, Sparkle. You already have reached midpoint and all the torch needs now is just a dedicated, quick pull.
>Then you can allow yourself a short break before you continue with your escaping endeavours.
>Yeah... That sounds nice.
>One...
>Two...
>Three...
>Pull!
“Augh!”
>* splosh *
>The cresset leaves your body and with it, a thick, powerful stream of anima. Hissing out of you like a multi-chromatic geyser.
>In mere seconds, your vision gets blurry and you feel incredibly weak. To the point that, you just want to collapse and sleep on the spot.
>You slump to the ground and desperately try to keep your wound shut with your one free claw. But to no avail.
>It leaks through your talons like they aren't even there.
“Celestia... * cough * Argh...”
>Your friend just watches and blinks occasionally, while you literally bleed out in front of its eyes.
>Why doesn't it help you?
>You open your beak, but no sound comes out.
>And then, nothing.
>...
>..
>.
>..
>...
>Where... Where are you?
>What did just happen?
>And why can't you feel your wings and talons any more?
>Oh no... Did you...
>Did you kill accidentally kill yourself?
>Groaning, you open your eyes and see...
>The wisp. Sitting on a round builder, a few feet away from the crystal wall.
>Huh?
>You are still here? How so?
>When it notices you, it buzzes happily and flies off its resting place.
>”Bzz!”
>Getting up, you rub your forehead and bump against something hard on it.
“What?”
>A horn? And a hoof?
>What now?
>Are you a pony again?
>You look down on your body and... Yeah, you have to assess that you are indeed in your unicorn form again.
>And much to your delight, it seems to be completely regenerated.
>All four legs and no giant gash on your side. Even the small scratches and cuts are all gone.
>Which is nice, but you don't get how.
“Love? What happened?”
>No response. It just softly pushes your head around.
>”Bss...”
“Oh...”
>Behind you lies your gryphon body. Singed, burned and with a large hole in its chest. Some anima is still funnelling out of it.
>Giving it an eerie and mystifying aura...
>In one of your former claws is the torch... Luckily, still intact and in one piece.
>You sigh and step closer to the corpse.
>By Celestia, it is so abused... Burns of all kinds and severity cover its body and no single feather is sound or at least in a good order.
>Both wings are crippled and deformed beyond recognition... And they were so pretty and majestic once.
>Its a pity, that you were not able to see what you looked like in this form, when it was still in its prime and unharmed.
>But even now, you can tell that it must have been incredibly beautiful. As conceited and arrogant as this may now sound...
>Sitting down, you carefully dislodge the cesset out of its dead talons and put it aside.
>It has served you very well, though...  The least that you can do, is bury it.
>But first things first... A more dignified pose.
>...
>After roughly ten minutes, you have layered several strata of rocks over your former winged body and created so some kind of primitive tomb.
>It is nothing much and far from being pretty... But it will do.
>You even made a celestial cross, which is basically a “T” with two dashes, out of three shards that you tied together with some of the dead flowers and stuck it into the top.
>No engraving though... But you know who lies here.
>Touching the upper bar, you close your eyes and say:
“May Celestia's sun guide your soul...”
>Your hoof moves down to the lower sliver.
“And Luna's moon guard your eternal dream.”
>”Bzz...”
“Until we meet again... In Elysium.”
>It is done.
“Come, Love. Before it starts to rain.”
>“Bsshh?”
 
>With the torch in your magical grip, you walk up to the crystalline wall and start to look for a somewhat accessible section.
>Of which there aren't too many... Either they are too dangerous to approach or don't provide a good spot to use the torch on.
>One with a relatively rapidly rising surface and as many individual crystals as possible would be perfect.
>You don't know how exactly this is supposed to work, so the more of these you can affect at once with the torch, the better.
>At least you think so.
>And since you certainly don't plan to be anywhere near the wall when whatever reaction will go off, this approach seems to be your best bet.
“Hmm...”
>Too steep...
>Too risky...
>Maybe this one? Nah, not enough accessible crystals.
>But after a bit of walking, you find a portion that should do more than nicely.
>A nice and steep part with roughly thirty, small crystals, that grow out from the large cluster and form a kind of prickly pocket on it. Allowing for maximum contact surface and thus is perfect for your cause.
>Also  since they are not too long, you won't hurt yourself by accident when you put the cresset on it.
>That tends to happen a lot recently... With varying consequences.
>Anyway.
>Optimal spot, check. Is there anything to hide behind in your general vicinity?
>Well... Not really. Only a few shard aggregations that are barely large enough for you to crouch behind them.
>And they aren't even that far away. Nothing that you would call a safe distance, but...
>They will have to do.
>Hopefully, that doesn't end in a devastating explosion or some other kind of fiery cataclysm. Or else you are going to be seriously bucked.
>Okay then. Here goes nothing.
>Taking the torch into your hooves, you sit down and begin to prepare a simple fire spell.
>Nothing fancy, only a generic controlled ember. That should do the job.
>Ergh... But there is barely any Aqshy in the air. Which is a real miracle after all that hot stuff that recently happened here.
>Heh... Hot stuff.
>However, with a bit of concentrating and some serious channeling efforts, you are eventually able to gather enough of the arid wind to fuel your spell.
“Scintilla...”
>A gleaming ember leaves your horn and you guide it towards the dry flowers. And like you expected, they go up like matches with a quiet burst.
>Much to your surprise though, the flames are not red, orange or any other natural colour. They are green... Almost like an emerald.
>And just as ethereal in their appearance as your pink friend.
“How pretty.” you mutter to yourself.
>Your memories seem to be consumed by the fire rather at a rather fast rate though. So you quickly lay the torch on the crystalline pocket and run to your hiding place.
>Ducking behind the array of slivers and crystals, you cover your ears and await the inevitable fulmination you expect to happy any second now.
>But even after waiting for a full minute, there is still nothing to hear.
>So you tentatively peek over your cover and see...
>Nothing.
>No conflagration, no smoke, and not even a single sign of an in-situ explosion.
>Just the torch lying in the same position like you put it beforehand.
>It didn't have the good grace to spread its flames one tiny bit. If anything, its nearly dead.
>Your eyebrows furrow.
“Meh...”
>How disappointing.
>Was the wisp mistaken?
>You shoot it a questioning look, but it just blinks and hums softly.
>Or did you do something wrong? Maybe not enough crystals were in contact with the fire.
>Could be. You should check if this was the case or not.
>So you leave your spiky hideout and start to trot towards the wall section.
>But just as you were about to reach it, you hear a sudden, loud hissing noise and immediately back up again.
“Whoa!”
>In an instant, the cresset's small flame grows tenfold in size and spreads its fire onto the large crystal cluster. Almost fully engulfing it in mere seconds.
>You watch in awe as the crystals begin to smelt and seemingly fight against the emerald flames with their own incandescent ones that leak from their broken shells.
>And it looks like they are succeeding in this effort.
>Rapidly they outshine and devour their green opponents until only the very top is still burning verdant.
“Oh no...”
>Is there something you can do?
>Should you even do something?
>Is that even a question?! Of course!
>Without losing any more precious moments, you close your eyes and collect as much of the red breeze as you can.
>But just like before, there is simply not enough around to cast even the simplest spell at whim.
“Buck!”
>What nearly is crushing you with its abundant presence though, is Shyish. The purple wind of change and death.
>It formally screams at you to use it.
>You don't question why there is so much of it or from where it comes. Only one thought comes into your mind:
>Convert!
>More fast than carefully, you start to bend the very basic structure of the wind into one that is unknown and undesirable for it.
>Gruesome and horrifying pictures of your death in all sorts of ways, appear in your head as a last effort of the magical entity to dissuade you from your endeavour.
>Tears shoot in your as you try to ignore a particular terrifying vision of you getting torn to pieces by what seems undead versions of your friends.
>Laughing and cackling at you as they gorge themselves with their rotten teeth on your still living and breathing flesh. Disregarding your begging for mercy and screams of pain.
>But nothing can allure you from stopping the process and throwing away your possibly only chance of escape.
>And finally it is done.
>Purple becomes red and you begin to channel the pure stream of magical energy into the last emerald pocket of resistance.
“Aaaahh!”
>The fiery onrush connects with it and immediately it grows in power again. Easily gaining the upper hand in the twinkling of an eye.
>Driving the incandescence back to the base of the cluster, where it is in its death throes and puts up one attempt to drive its enemy back.
>The spectacle is breath-taking. Green versus White, in an elemental battle for supremacy.
>But to no avail. They have no chance against the strengthened verdant flames and are quickly put out. Leaving the crystalline structure without any defences of its own.
>Perfect~
>You cancel your fueling tether and watch with a smirk on your lips as it first gets fully engulfed once more and then devoured bit by bit.
>Crystals melt and drip to the ground as a molten mineral soup, that quickly dissipates into a white, thick mist.
>And after a short while, nothing than a giant, smoldering gap in the former impervious structure remains. Some green embers still burning in and on it.
“The wall that I cannot break must first be invented.” you say chuckling and step closer to it.
>Well... It wasn't really your effort nor idea, but still you feel a bit proud of the destruction you caused.
>Casting so many spells in your mind and converting Shyish into Aqshy was a bit too risky for your tastes though... But you hope that it was worth it.
>If not. You will bite your flank.
>Okay. Time to see if your theory was correct or not.
>Carefully, you approach the scorched breach and take a look into the inner parts of the crystal wall.
“Wow...”
>There is indeed a tunnel inside of it... How fascinating.
>And satisfying~
>Finally it feels like you are making some real progress.
>Now you just have to see where it leads and what lies at its end.
>At least the one that is located at the mountain... Going into the other direction wouldn't make all too much sense.
>From what you have seen as a gryphon, it stretches for miles. So that is a pointless endeavour as long as you don't like wasting time.
>And you certainly don't like to do that... Usually.
>Towards the mountain it is then.
 
>You enter the narrow, crystal caverns and immediately have to assess that it is nearly pitch black inside them.
>Despite the flames that burn in the hollow cores of their walls... As if they don't want to provide any light any more, now that you successfully and forcefully made your way into them.
>Your mind can be so defiant sometimes...
>But luckily, it didn't envisage your secret weapon and friend.
“Love.”
>”Brsch?”
“Light the way, please.”
>It emits a somewhat worried sounding buzz and tentatively flies in front of you.
>Following it, you see in the light of its glow, that the insides of the wall are just as dangerous as its outsides.
>Crystals grow randomly in every direction out of the tunnel's walls and more than once, you have to crawl under one or squeeze yourself through a particularly narrow and spiked section.
>Making sure you don't accidentally touch one of them too, or else they might burst into flames again and cook you alive like some kind of pony bread.
>You are not sure if they still do this, but you aren't exactly keen on finding out either.
>So you limit yourself to a slow, but comparative steady pace through the crystalline gallery.
>At least the crystals don't seem to increase neither in size nor in density, so that's something... You guess.
>Still its rather difficult to navigate through this mined maze. Each step and every stride is accompanied by an adrenaline rush and a mini heart attack when you barely saved yourself from tripping or bumping into one of the many hazards.
>After roughly ten minutes of walking, squeezing and crawling, you decide to take a small break on a patch of land that happens to be mineral free.
>Sitting down on your haunches, you call the wisp to you and invite it to join you in your short moment of rest.
>”Bzz... Bss...”
>It sounds distressed and cannot seem to stand... Or float, still for a single second. Darting around like it got stung by a bee.
>This must be dangerous for it too... And every second spent doing nothing could be a second in that something possibly severe could happen.
>But you need to relax and rest your hooves for a moment.
“Just for a minute, okay?”
>”Brrrsss...”
“Thanks.”
>Beaming your companion a smile, you see that it struggles to keep its glow at full intensity. It flickers more and more and obviously looks far weaker than at the beginning of your cave exploring.
>Must be tired.
>Or...
“What now?”
>Does its gleam get sucked into the darkness ahead?
>Seems like it...
>Every now and then, small parts of its body break loose and drift away. As if some mysterious force is draining it of whatever energy it possesses.
>That was something that has struck you before, but you dismissed it as another trick that your eyes have played on you.
>But it looks like this isn't the case...
“Hey, little guy...”
>”Bszz?”
“Are you feeling strange? Is something or someone affecting you?”
>No response. Just a sway to the side.
“Tell me...”
>Again, nothing.
>So this is a yes...
>It knows something that you don't. Something that is hazardous to it.
>Maybe it is better for it, if the two of you part ways here. Even if this would drastically exacerbate your further way.
>You don't want to see it hurt or worse.
>But knowing your friend, it won't just leave you alone. It is far too loyal for this.
>Loyalty can be a dangerous field to tread in, though.
“Come here for a moment, will you?”
>”Bzzh?”
“I want you to thank you for everything you have done for me.”
>Reaching a hoof out, it lands on it.
“But if you are endangering yourself, I fear that I can't allow you to stick around any longer.”
>”Bsszz...”
“I see what is happening to you... Something is using up. So please do me and yourself the favour and leave.”
>Gradually, you let magic flow into your horn.
>Two blinks...
>Heh... Like you expected.
>You begin to weave a spell.
“Don't worry...” , you nuzzle it, “I can look after myself. I will just cast a light spell for the rest of the way.”
>Another time it gleams twice.
“You are a real good friend. And I hope you can forgive for what I am about to do. Farewell, Love. I won't forget you.”
>”Bzzrrs?!”
>Before it can do anything about it, you release your arcana and teleport it away. To where your journey has started.
“Promise.”
>And with that said, you begin to channel a lighting spell and get up again.
>No use in staying here any longer.
>If you aren't mistaken, you saw a small flower sprouting right next to you.
 
>Now alone, you continue on your way through the caverns.
>Much to your delight, your mind has decided to cease throwing obstacles at you. So except for the occasional stray crystal spike, your path is free and devoid of hazards.
>If it is because of the fact that you are on your own once more or for the reason that you now nearly have reached the mountain, you don't know.
>And neither do you care.
>Main point is, that you are finally able to make good and undisturbed progress.
>At first it felt strange to be alone again, but you quickly grew accustomed to this feeling. It is nothing new to you after all.
>Also your lighting spell does a slightly better job of illuminating the path before you than the wisp's glow. Perhaps that helps too.
>But still... You already start to miss your ethereal friend.
>Now the only one that is left to talk to, is you. And you don't feel like doing so either.
>So you just stoical trot forwards while trying not to accidentally lose your focus or concentration.
>After a while the walls begin to diverge more and more, until you almost have enough space around you to run around in circles.
>And shortly after that you arrive at a cave entrance and stop to take your and its surroundings in.
>The mouth itself is roughly nine feet tall and six wide and its rim is covered in crystals. But unlike their brethren behind and besides you, these are black and seem to leak a thick, black-greenish ooze.
“How peculiar.”
>It reminds you of something, but you can't exactly say of what.
>You know this particular shade of green... But from where?
>Tentatively, you draw closer to the strange crystals and scoop some of the ooze up with a hoof.
>Feels like... Ooze. Yeah... Slimy, viscous and slick.
>Doesn't smell like much either... But reminds you faintly of insects.
>Why though?
>Deciding against a taste test, you fling the mucous away and enter the cave. Since there is only one way to find out whatever is inside it, isn't there?
>The cave itself is completely coated in those oozing crystals from the very beginning. Lathering you slowly but steadily with the gunk they drop.
>Hopefully, you won't remember this... Why is your mind so icky?! Eww!
>The first thing that you do, once you are back in the real world again, is taking a hot shower. Even if it is just to wash those memories off you.
>With as much soap and shampoo as you can find...
>The path that bears before you is narrow but is, besides the incidental puddle of ooze, free of obstacles or other inconveniences.
>Walking on it is an adventure in itself though... Thanks to the aforementioned puddles. But you manage to do so without slipping.
>Thank Celestia for that...
>After a few twists and turns you notice that the crystals are getting sparser and rarer. Instead of their place on the walls, a strangely organic looking, black and turquoise gunk begins to cover it.
>Until it and the ceiling are composed of literally nothing else than that.
>The matter appears to pulse, relax and contract as if it is breathing... As if it is alive. The viscid, sticky noises it emits are vomit inducing, to say at least.
>Not to speak of the smell... It is the same as the ooze, only intensified immensely.
“I know this... I know that I know what this is!”
>But what is it?
>* squish *
“Eww...”
>And now the floor seems to follow this trend... How nice.
>Well... At least that type of flooring is easier on your hooves than the hard, rocky soil.
>Holding your breath, you continue on your way through the now apparently living cave.
>Every turn you take makes it even more bizarre and grotesque looking than it formerly did. Adding new features and aspects to and on the black gunk.
>First  green, luminescent bubbles or blisters started to appear in it. Tinting the cavern into an eerie verdant light and eliminating the need to sustain your illumination spell.
>Then strange pillar-like, segmented structures began to grow out of the floor. Small and scarce at first, but soon almost twice as high as you and bordering the path on which you walk like a baroque alley of trees.
>Creepy in their appearance, but yet very fascinating.
>Their surface is smooth, shiny and completely black. Except for their turquoise rims and tips, that pulse from time to time like there is something flowing in them.
>Which is the reason why you didn't touch them. Not that they turn out to be just another form of the volatile crystals from before.
>Only now with poison gas or something else that fits into their biological theme to put an end to you....
>Unlikely, but you don't take any chances any more.
>You are too close now to let yourself fail due to misguided curiosity.
>After a good quarter hour of walking more or less in a straight line, you arrive at a junction in the path and come to a stop to look at your surroundings.
>Well... It's not really a crossing... Two of the three possible ways you could go are blocked off by the pillars. Leaving you with only one real option:
>Directly ahead.
>You don't know if this is a good sign or not... Whatever is waiting for you at the and of this cave, wants you to find it.
>Hopefully its the exit and not an abomination of your mind.
>But until now this looks more like the lair of a shoggoth or another hideousness than anything else...
>Stay calm, Sparkle. This just has to be your way out of here. Its far too distinctive and striking to be a dead end or a trap.
>So you take a deep breath and continue on your way.
>...
>If you ever had any doubts that the organic matter that covers everything here is alive or not... Well... They are gone now.
>Shortly after you left the junction, it began to show more... Biological traits.
>Veins, strange organs that you can't seem to recognise and what looks like turquoise compound eyes are embedded in it now.
>Staring you down and following your every step...
>The pillars are almost completely gone by now... But even stranger constructs have taken their place instead:
>Long, segmented legs. Not unlike those of insects sprout from the gunk and twitch and spasm erratically every so often.
>Luckily, they don't try to actually reach out to you or else you would have opted for flight the instant you saw them.
“By Celestia...”
>This isn't natural any more. That simply shouldn't be in your mind!
>Nothing of this!
>Is this the “it” that you aren't supposed to let win? What the wisp was so afraid of?
>No wonder... Whatever has nested here must be terrifying.
>But why didn't your friend tell you so then?
>And far more importantly... What is it and what is it doing in your mind?
>Before you were able to continue this train of thought, you feel something sharp suddenly brushing your thigh.
“Ah!”
>A cold shudder runs down your spine and you are paralysed from shock.
>Jumpily, you turn your head around and see one of those spindly legs slowly crawling up from your leg to your rump.
>Gradually drawing closer to a certain place...
“Oh, nonononononono!”
>In an instant, you run off and leave the creepy molester behind your flanks. Dodging many of its brethren in the process until you eventually reach a spot that is free from them and come to a halt to recollect your senses.
>By the celestial sisters... What did it try to do back there?!
>Definitively nothing friendly... That is for sure.
>Breathing heavily and with your heart beating like crazy, you plop down on your haunches and immediately check if the leg would have had any luck if it would have succeeded in its raping endeavours.
>No... Thank goodness. You are as smooth as a puppet down there.
>Never have you been more thankful to have no genitals at all than at this very moment.
>You sigh in relief and get on your four hooves again.
>That was an experience you would have been able to live without... Even if you never were in any real danger.
>Still... Brrr...
>The thought of what it could have done doesn't leave your head.
“Calm down... Calm down... Everything is alright.” you say to yourself over and over again.
>It could have gripped and held you down... You would have been totally helpless while the other legs would start to explore your body until each of them has found one of its entrances.
>Maybe more than one would find the same..?
>Forcefully they would enter and use them to their liking...
>Of course you would fight against them at first, but the lust that you would feel would slowly start to overwhelm you.
>And then... You would just give in and accept your fate.
>Until they release whatever they have to offer inside of you... Filling you to a brim.
>...
>!
>Stop! This shouldn't arouse you in the slightest!
“Argh!”
>You and your stupid fetishes that you apparently have. This is certainly not the time to live them out!
>Nevertheless... That would make a great erotic fantasy novel. A bit rapey, but you could town it down by changing the legs to tentacles that belong to a friendly monster or something.
>Some ponies would surely buy a story like this. Especially the weird ones.
>...
>Why exactly do you want to turn this into a story? Do you write?
>Ehh... You don't know. But it seems like it, otherwise that idea wouldn't have popped up in your mind.
>Anyway...
>Shaking those thought off, you continue on your way through the breathing gallery with a bright blush on your cheeks.
>After a few more minutes of walking, avoiding those creepy gropers and ignoring the ever gazing eyes, you arrive at something that looks like a cavern.
>Tentatively, you take a look inside of it and see...
“Wow...”
>A somewhat big room... Covered in the same black, organic matter like the tunnels behind you. Including all the strange organs, pulsating veins, molesting legs, glowing blisters and compound eyes.
>But it has a striking difference to them... There is a large sack hanging from its ceiling. Roughly ten feet in height and half as wide.
>It is hold and steadied from below by three especially long and giant legs and is for the most parts overgrown with thick, swollen blood vessels. You can see that something green and translucent is in its centre it though.
>Almost looks like some kind of egg.
>Also you have to correct yourself... Not everything here is covered by the gunk. A small spot on the opposite end of the room seems to completely devoid of it.
>That is something you should definitively investigate later.
>But first things first... The elephant in the room.
“What the heck is this?”
>As you enter the cavern and slowly draw closer to this ominous object, you notice that something seems to be moving in it.
>You only caught a glimpse of it, but it looked black and long... Like a worm.
“Celestia... Give me strength.”
>Taking the last few steps towards the sac, you gulp and force yourself, against all your instincts, to look into it.
>And you wish you never did...
“By the Allmother!” you cry out and jump back.
>Yeah... Its an egg alright...
>A gigantic larva with a black and long body, four pairs of green eyes and at least eight pair of legs, swims around in it.
>Tearing large chunks out of a pink orb with its sabre-like mandibles and devouring them with greedy bites.
>Looks like Love's glow... Is that the thing that drained your friend?!
>It doesn't take long for the creature to notice you.
>Elegantly, it swims towards and then towers over you inside its pellucid egg. Staring at your shivering form with its glowing eyes.
>Immediately you back further off and stare back with mouth agape.
“W-W-W-W...”
>What in the thousand hells is this?!
>The larva lets loose a blood-curdling, high pitched scream and it falls back with a mighty wind of its body only to shoot forwards again.
>Crashing against the shell of its egg and cracking it.
>Panic begins to well up inside of you and you instantly run towards the cavern's entrance.
>But before you were able to reach it, several legs grow out from the floor and block off your way.
“Wah!”
>Another time, the creature slams against the sac. Thin streams of the clear, green liquid start to leak out from the breaches it caused.
>Turning on the spot, you dash past the egg and frantically look around for another exit.
>But there is nothing in sight! Only the living walls...
>Out of the corner of your eye, you see it battering into its translucent prison. More and more of the amniotic fluid gushes out of it as the the ruptures get bigger and bigger.
>Soon it will be out of there and rip you into shreds!
>Think, Sparkle, think!
>There has to be a way out of there! There always is!
>That are the bucking rules of your mind. It has to follow them. It just has to!
>Desperately, you start to scan your surroundings.
>Behind you is the blockade of legs.
>In front of you is a dead end...
>And...
>Wait...
>Its not a dead end... In fact that could be your way out of here!
>There has to be a reason why nothing grows on it.
>Something must have prevented the larva's domain from spreading to there... Something powerful and out of its control.
>You just have to blast your way through to it!
>Yeah!
>The idea of casting another destructive spell inside your mind, is not one you like. But this is your only hope, it seems.
>Okay! Here goes nothing!
>Hastily gathering every single wind that you can sense around you, you weave them together into a crude, but hopefully effective, projectile.
>* crack! *
>* splosh! *
>Buck! It sounds like you have not much time left.
>You hear another deafening scream. Far louder than the one before.
>By Luna and Celestia... You hope this works.
>With a scream of your own, you release your spell and a gleaming ball of pure magical energy leaves your horn.
“Yah!”
>With a blustering explosion, it collides with the suspicious spot on the wall and reveals a incandescent vortex once the dust has settled.
“Yes!”
>Now you just have to ma-
>”HhhhhhrrrrrraaaaaaaaHHHHH!”
>Surprised, you yank your head around.
>The larva is wreathing itself out of its egg. And its already half way out of there!
>No time for soliloquies, even it its only thought.
>Galloping towards the exit, you see that the monster has now fully left its nursery and is slithering right at you.
>With mandibles spread wide and ready to catch you.
>”Hhrrraahhhraaa!”
“No! No! No!”
>Only a few more metres are separating you from your salvation, but the larva is quickly catching up to you.
>Its sixteen legs allowing for far quicker movement than your four.
“No! By Celestia, no!”
>You don't want to die! Not here and certainly not in that way!
>Tears shoot in your eyes and when you can feel its hot, sticky breath on your rump, you take one desperate leap of faith.
>The last thing you hear is cracking snap.