As you approach the mountainside, you think you see something strange on the side of the nearest sheer cliff. As you caustiously approach, you simoultaniously realize that the "something" is a door, and you've found some steps carved into the path. You procceed slowly.
When you finally reach the door, you notice symbols carved into the doorframe. Most of them look foreign to you, but you do recognize two words: Magician's Mountain. You take in a breath. So this is the home of that strange unicorn you've heard so much about! Suddenly, you get the strange feeling that someone, or something , is staring at you. You look up and see an eye carved into the doorframe as well. It appears to be looking at you. You move to the side, and the eye follows you. What kind of strange magic is this?!? A burst of freezing cold air blows upon you, causing you to shiver. You quickly make a decision. You muster up your courage, and pull the heavy wooden door open.
As soon as you step in, you are greeted with a rush of heat, and new sights and smells assault your senses. You rub your hands together, thankful for the warmth, and look around. You're in a small foyer room with one hall leading away on your right. The stone walls are decorated in georgeous tapestries depicting scenes from the past, most involving magic. There's a strange odor in the room, familiar and yet you can't place it. You do, however, recognize the smell of cinnamon, lilacs, and smoke. You take a tentitive step forward, peeking around the corner to get a look down the hall.
Suddenly, you hear the sound of hooves on stone. You quickly go back to the door just as a strange looking pony enters the room. She's unlike anything you've ever seen before. She doesn't look like normal MLP's and she isn't one of the new ones. Her face is too long and skinny and she wears a saddle on her back. Her mane and tail are thin and stringy. Her coat gleams of gold and her eyes sparkle like a star does on a clear night. Then you notice she doesn't even have a symbol. You hesitate before you speak.
"Hello. I stumbled upon this place and decided to enter. I hope that's alright?" you ask.
The other pony simply smiles, nods her head, and turns around. She begins to walk down the hallway looking over her shoulder at you. You hesitate for a second and then follow. The hallway is long and narrow. There are slits in the stone and steam pours out of these. Symbols line the walls close to the ceiling and you can make no more sense of these than you could of the ones on the door frame. The strange pony keeps looking and smiling at you. You smile back, hoping that you're not being led into a trap.
Suddenly, you find yourself in a huge circular room, well-lit with numerous candles and by some other strange means. There are sitting-bags and small tables. Bowls of grapes, clover, and other treats lay on some of the various tables. Others hold strange artifacts. The tapestries in this room are even more exquisite than in the foyer. The brightly colored threads almost seem to glow and pulse like they have a life of their own. The golden pony points at one of the sitting-bags and smiles. You sit and she makes another gesture you interpret to be "make yourself at home." She leaves through one of the many exits.
You get up, sampling some of the grapes and looking at the tapestries. You are gazing at one particular one, showing a man carving a pony out of stone, when a unicorn walks in.
"Hello. My name is Magik Sky, and you are...?"
You manage to get out your name without stuttering too bad. She looks exactly like the unicorn in the tapestry you were just looking at. Her coat is pale sky blue. Her mane and tail are white with three golden glitter strands in each. There is a pale amber star on her cheek. You notice this star matches the one on her symbol. There, the star is between two white clouds. Gold streaks go out from each corner of the eight-point star. What is above her symbol makes you gasp. There is a green emarald embedded in her rump. A red star glows from within the gem with gold streaks shooting from these corners too. It doesn't resemble the symbol worn by the Princess ponies but somehow you know this is no ordinary pony.
Magik Sky laughs, the musical tones echoeing off the walls. "Please, be seated," she says. You comply. "Perhaps I should explain some things. First, I want you to meet my dear friend Lopal. She cannot talk, but she can usually express herself quite well."
"How do you two talk?" you ask.
"We have a special relationship. We don't need words to talk. If we want each other to know something, we can tell eachother without saying a word. It's really quite nice. These walls tend to echo a lot." You had heard that this unicorn had strange ways, but talking without words?!
"Why can't she talk?" you ask.
"That is a long story. Would you like to hear it?" You nod yes. "It started a long time ago. There was a man who lived alone in the woods. He was a hermit by nature, but liked animals. One day, a poweful sorceror came to him in disguise. The sorceror asked the man for food and a bed. Gregan decided to grant the wanderer his request as the nights had begun to turn bitterly cold. The sorceror Mikaeli stayed for the better part of a week. When he finally left, Mikaeli dropped his disguise and showed himself not to be a poor old beggar, but a powerful magician. He thanked Gregan for his hospitality saying that he had recently been in a very tiring sorcerors' duel. During his stay, he had managed to replenish his depleted energies. He said that for Gregan's kindness, he would give him a tool to create his own companion. He waved his arms and a wand appeared. He handed this to Gregan and told him whatever he created in stone would come to life if he only pointed the wand at it and uttered a few magic words (I cannot repeat them, you'll understand why). Gregan was extremely grateful and then promised not to tell a soul about Mikaeli's visit.
Lopal was the first being he carved out of stone (the wand apparently also gave its owner a basic understanding of stone-carving). He carved her out of a yellow-glittery stone that was quite common around his cottage. She was the first being he brought to life. But for some reason, she couldn't talk. During his life at the cottage, he had ran into many MLP's and tried to fashion his carvings after them."
"So there are more than just you two?"
"Oh yes. There are two others besides us. They are just in another part of the mountain right now. Unfortuneatly, none of them can talk either."
"How is it that you can than?" you ask puzzled.
"To be completely honest, none of us are sure. We think it is because of my Life Stone. You see, before Gregan was finished carving me, he found this beautiful gem. He said it simply appeared among his things one day. He carved a place for it in my side. When he used the wand on me, I came to life, and my symbol appeared on the Stone. I was different than the others, and I still am. I am the only one that has magic (whether that is because I am a unicorn, I do not know)and can talk. All of us, however, can mind-talk amongst ourselves. We can't to others though. I think the magic links us. Gregan was nice, but nothing lasts forever." She pauses, lowering her head, and lets out a sigh.
"What happened?"
"An evil magician who had been tracking Mikaeli saw Gregan bring me to life. He realized that the wand could be very useful to him. He had heard Gregan speak the magical words so he knew the wand's secret. One night, while we all slept, Bazilx crept in and stole the wand. Lopal heard him and woke Gregan. When Gregan tried to stop him, we learned exactly why Bazilx wanted the wand. The wand could give life to stone, but it could also take it. When Bazilx used the wand on Gregan, he turned to stone. We struggled with Bazilx and two of us were turned back into stone. We finally got the wand back, but before he disappeared, Bazilx cast a spell that made our stone friends shatter. The wand couldn't repair that. They are lost to us forever." A tear flows down her smooth cheek.
"I'm sorry," you say. "You never found Bazilx again did you?"
"Actually we did. He came after the wand again. Ferril, one of my friends, had been keeping the wand, and he stole her as well as the wand. In the end, we defeated Bazilx, but not without the help of the My Little Ponies and the loss of Ferril and another named Yeoryl. [These aren't very ponyish names, you think]. The Ponies invited the remainder of us to live with them. Because of their lack of speech, Lopal, Xanthos, and Nirrya generally don't leave the Mountain. Besides, we found that Gregan had modeled Xanthos and Nirrya after MLP's that he'd met. To avoid confusion, they stay here of their own accord."
"Don't they ever want to leave?" you ask. You can't imagine spending all of your time in the confines of a mountain.
"Occasionally, they'll go outside of the Mountain, walking around the grounds, but neither has a desire to leave. They, we, are safe here."
"And what of Mikoe...oh, ummmm, I mean Mikaeli? Did he ever come looking for his wand again?"
"No."
"You said you're the only one who's magical. Did you have something to do with the tapestries? They look unreal and I can't imagine a source for this light."
"You're quick," says Magic Sky. "Most people never even notice. Yes, I do have something to do with them. I created the tapestries and the lights using my powers." She pauses and you quickly ask what those would be. She hesitates before going on. "I have two powers actually. My first one is that I can recognize the magic of others and protect myself, and, at times, others from it. I can counteract magic with magic. It's complicated. Second, I can understand and use free magic." At the words "free magic," you give her a puzzled look. She laughs. "Free magic is magic that blows like the wind blows. Except free magic is 'alive.' If you understand the nature of free magic, for not all is alike, than you can also understand how to bend it to your needs. In this case, I have used free magic to create tapestries that are truly alive and a light source brighter than any other non-magical light. That's the jist of it."
"Wow! I didn't know there was such a thing as free magic. Can anyone learn to use..." you are cut off by a large BOOM!!
"Oh dear!" Magik Sky exclaims. "You'll have to excuse me. I'm not sure what just happened. Probably just an experiment gone awry, but I'd better go have a look. Lopal will show you around if you like. There's a crystal ball to your right, use that to talk with the others. It's been nice talking to someone who is interested for a change, unlike some visitors." With the latter part muttered under her breath, she hurries down one corridor. Lopal appears and smiles. You smile back and stand up. You look around yourself. You think, while you're here, you might as well look around. But where do you start?! There are just so many corridors!!
You pick up the crystal ball to your right.
It gleams in your hand suddenly,
like a little fire has just been ignited, and your fingers start to tingle.
You look again but see nothing. Your fingers feel fine.
"Lopal," you say, "I don't have a clue where I'd like to go first. Where
do you suggest?" you ask, only expecting her to lead you somewhere.
"Well, nobody's asked me before! I suggest meeting Xanthos and the others," the voice says. But it's not a voice; you hear it in your head. It's like a melody from a flute, rising and falling with every syllable, every word. It almost echoes, leaving traces of the previous notes before fading away. The effect is quite wonderful.
"But...but...I..you...You can't talk!!!" you exclaim.
She laughs, that too ringing through your head. It's even more melodious than her words. "I'm NOT talking, at loud at least. I'm thinking everything, and projecting it to you indirectly. The crystal ball your holding, which is magic by the way, catches my thoughts and then sends them to you. So you're not hearing my words, not exactly."
"Ohhh," you are still in shock from that voice inside your head. You look at the ball, eyes wide, with a new light. You are holding MAGIC in your hands. The idea sends chills up your spine.
Suddenly, a little red dragon flies in the room 
"Who is that?" you ask.
"Ohh..That's Sienna. She's one of our dragon friends. There are more in the Dragon's Lair".
"So where do you want to go?" Lopal asks, voice ringing out again.
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