A glance up at the sun showed it was about mid-day by the time Myth Chaser left Star's store. He carried the bag of equipment on his back, making his way toward the Canterlot library to meet up with Jewel and his sister. He hadn't got much more than what he figured three ponies would need while hiking; three empty canteens for water, some food, a large tent and three sleeping bags, along with extra batteries for the flashlights he already had, and various other items that might be of use.
In general, the full bag of supplies wasn't too heavy for him, especially knowing that the weight would be fairly distributed between him and the two mares once they meet up. If they had been with him, they might have gotten some other things to bring with them. Surely what he got would be enough. He got water and food to last them a few days, and from the look of the map, it wouldn't even take that long to make a round trip where they were going, if they kept a decent pace.
Myth felt a little exhausted after making his way to the library, having to stop just inside the doorway to rest for a short moment and cool off in the air conditioned building. Making his way to the Starswirl archives, he found that there didn't seem to be as many ponies around this time compared to when they were last here. Made sense to him, since school was out today. Nobody wanted to do schoolwork on the weekend.
Snapshot and Jewel were sitting at a table in the back corner of the room. They hadn't noticed him, but he saw that both of them were smiling, and whispering to each other. He went over, more than happy as he took the heavy bag of camping supplies off his back, noticing that they stopped their conversation when they saw him approach.
“What's all that?” Jewel asked, looking at the large bag as Myth sat down across the table from them.
“Camping equipment,” Myth answered. “Got the map, and it looks like we'll be doing some hiking. Figured we'd want to set up camp on the way up and maybe on the way back.”
“Sounds fun,” Snapshot said with a smile. “We haven't been camping in years. Get any marshmallows?”
Myth chuckled at that. “Wouldn't be camping without them.” He looked over the table they were sitting at, seeing the many papers of Starswirl's magic spells. “You two find the right spell?”
“Think so,” Jewel said, gathering a few pages together and pushing the rest aside. “We had to wait for you get here with the lock though, so I could actually test the ones we found.”
“Oh, right.”
Myth leaned down toward his bag, pulling out Starswirl's lock and setting it on the table. Jewel took it in her hooves, her eyes scanning over it for a moment, looking back over the symbols that Starswirl had etched into the surface.
Jewel closed her eyes to concentrate. Her horn began to glow as a blue stream of magic flowed from her horn and connected to the artifact, directly into the dial piece and pushing through to get at the gem inside.
For a few moments it seemed as if nothing would happen. Myth was about to suggest trying another spell until he heard it; a slight click came from the artifact, like the mechanism that he'd seen the gem sitting in had moved. Another few seconds passed, and another change happened. Each runic symbol along the surface of the lock began to give a faint red glow one by one until they were all glowing at once. Then another clicking sound from the dial.
Jewel was smiling as she heard the clicks, assuming it was working, then opened her eyes as the glow surrounding her horn faded away, and she slid the lock across the table toward Myth for him to try.
Myth took the disc shaped artifact, looking over the glowing red symbols. Jewel wasn't doing a spell anymore, yet the symbols still glowed. It was like the artifact just needed to be charged up like a battery. Nervously, he reached a shaky hoof to the middle piece, onto the dial, and gave it a little twist, his heart nearly skipping a beat when it actually moved, seeing the red needle move from the top-most symbol to the top right.
“Well,” Myth said, turning the dial again to point the needle back up to the top-most symbol to keep it in mind which symbol should be at the top when they need it. “That was it.”
“It worked?” Snapshot asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“Yep,” Myth replied, looking over to her.
“Wow.” Jewel gave a little laugh. “That was easy. We didn't even look that hard for it.”
“Really?” Myth asked. “Where did you find it?”
“Well we were looking through the scrolls on the shelf of spells,” Snapshot explained. “As luck would have it, the scroll for this spell just happened to fall to the ground next to me when I was putting one back where it belonged.”
“Huh... Well that was easy,” Myth said.
“Yeah,” Jewel said. “Whatever works though, right?”
“Sure, I guess,” Myth said with a shrug. “I just thought we would have been here longer. We didn't exactly find what we needed here last time.”
“Well it's about time we had some good luck on our side,” Snapshot said, sitting back in her seat. “The journal was stolen from the museum before we could get to it. I was kidnapped and got my wing broken. Myth was caught breaking in trying to get the journal and was taken hostage... It feels nice to have something go our way for once.”
“Yeah... I guess I'm just feeling kind of paranoid,” Myth admitted. “They'd been keeping such a close eye on us from the start, you know? Who's to say they aren't still keeping an eye on us?”
“They aren't that smart, Myth,” Snapshot said. “Like you said, Askari wasn't smart to let you read the journal in the first place, and she wasn't smart enough to know that the artifact Jewel gave her was a fake copy.”
“Plus we were watching out the train windows to make sure they didn't follow us,” Jewel added. “With all three of us keeping an eye out, surely one of us would have seen if any of them were following us. They're still in Manehattan. We're all the way in Canterlot. If by chance they do know that we came to Canterlot, we'll already be long gone from here before the next train.”
“That's true,” Myth said, giving a smile. It made him feel a lot better to know that they hadn't been followed onto the train, and that they'd already be out of Canterlot before they could arrive if they did figure things out. “We should probably expect that they did figure out we came to Canterlot to continue, though, and will be on the way as soon as possible.”
“Time to go camping then,” Snapshot said, being the first to get up from her seat at the table.
Several Hours Later
The sun was starting to set. Myth, Jewel, and Snapshot each carried their share of the camping supplies to lighten the load as fairly as they could, with each carrying their own sleeping bag, canteen, and flashlight, with Myth carrying the tent.
The three ponies were deep in the forest, starting to make their way up the mountain. It was such a large mountain, it didn't seem very steep at all. They'd been following a hiking trail for a few hours but a look at the map showed Myth that they had to stray off the trail to head in the right direction.
The sun was still out, but slowly setting down on the other side of the mountain, covering them in the darkness of the large shadow. It had cooled them off from the scorching heat of the sun. They'd managed to hike a bit further without the exhausting heat to slow them down.
“It's getting darker,” Snapshot spoke up after a couple hours of silence, her voice weak and tired. “We should probably set up camp soon. Get a campfire going before it gets too cold.”
She was right, Myth thought. It was already getting chilly from hiking so high up on the mountain. Night would only make it colder. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Let's find a good open spot and set up camp while we still have some daylight to see what we're doing.”
The trio agreed on that plan. If they were going to set up a campfire they'd need a good clearing so the fire wouldn't reach the trees too easily, and give them enough space to set up the tent.
Soon enough they found the right spot. The clearing wasn't extremely large, but big enough for what they needed. With just enough daylight to be able to see, Snapshot and Jewel began work on setting up the large tent while Myth went searching for firewood.
When all was finished, the sun had set beyond the horizon completely, leaving them in the darkness of the night, and the three had a nice looking campsite just in time. The tent was set up and looked like it had been done perfectly. It wouldn't fall even with them giving it a vigorous shake to test it, so it was stable enough to stay up tonight when they slept inside. The campfire was burning pretty well with a pile of firewood at the ready to keep it burning for as long as they needed, and the three ponies all agreed that the fire was set up right so it wouldn't spread and burn everything.
They'd been fortunate enough to find that there was a small babbling brook nearby, letting them refill their near-empty canteens with the fresh, clean mountain water. They would also be able to use the water to put out their fire when they were done.
Now all three ponies sat around the campfire on logs that Jewel had brought over with her magic. They each held a stick in their hooves with a few marshmallows stuck onto the ends, roasting them over the open fire. It felt peaceful, sitting there with the faint crackling of the flames and the water flowing over rocks in the nearby brook.
Myth felt a nudge at his side, and he looked to his sister who sat beside him. She nodded in Jewel's direction, drawing his attention to her. Myth looked over to Jewel, sitting quietly as her blue eyes seemed so focused on the marshmallows on her stick. She sat on the ground with her back against the lock, finding it more comfortable to lean back than try to sit up.
“Roasting marshmallows around an open campfire...” Snapshot whispered to her brother, quiet enough to keep Jewel from hearing them. “Cold air of the night... The peaceful sounds of nature... So many stars and a bright full moon in the sky...”
“What are you getting at?” Myth asked softly, feeling his cheeks begin to grow warmer.
“You know what I mean,” Snapshot said. “You like her, right?”
“I...” Myth paused for a moment, thinking that over.
“I've seen the way you look at her, Myth,” Snapshot told him. “You're crushing on her so hard, even if you won't admit it.”
Myth looked over to Jewel, who was staring too intently at her marshmallow. He thought back to his times with Jewel so far. Their talk on the hotel balcony, the moment on the hospital's rooftop... He remembered how he'd almost been tempted to kiss her on that roof, when his heart had skipped a beat with them so close together. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
“Make a move then,” she said back. “You're a great guy, I bet she likes you too. You'll never know unless you say something, though.”
Myth sat there silently, leaning forward as he roasted his own marshmallow, trying to think of what he should say. A few moments had gone by. Snapshot waited to see what her brother would do. He seemed lost though. He needed some help...
“Beautiful night,” Snapshot spoke up, breaking the silence.
“Definitely,” Jewel said, taking a quick look up at the night sky. “Never really get to see so many stars like this in the city.”
Snapshot smiled and subtly nudged her brother in the side again. She'd just opened up the conversation. Myth didn't say anything. Not because he didn't want to talk, but more because he didn't know what to say.
“Too bad we didn't get a view of the sunset,” Snapshot said, keeping the talk going.
“I'm sure that would've been amazing,” Jewel agreed. “You probably could have gotten some good pictures of that, huh?”
“Probably,” Snapshot answered. Then a grin grew on her face. She knew just what her brother needed. “Actually...” she trailed off.
The pegasus pulled her marshmallow-impaled stick away from the fire and got up from her seat. She pulled off the single marshmallow and popped it in her mouth, giving it a quick chew as she went into the tent behind Jewel. When she came back out, she had her saddlebags hanging at her sides, strapped around her midsection, and her camera hung from around her neck.
“Where you going?” Myth asked curiously.
“I'm going to take some nighttime shots,” Snapshot said. “I don't get night scenes too often.”
“Good luck,” Jewel said, bringing up her stick and poking a hoof at the marshmallow to check how done it was. “Hope you can get some good pictures.”
With Snapshot behind Jewel, she looked over the unicorn's shoulder to her brother, quietly mouthing the words 'talk to her' and then left the campsite, leaving her brother alone with Jewel.
Myth had watched her walk away, only just then realizing what she had done. She'd just left him alone with Jewel so they could talk in private.
He and Jewel sat on opposite sides of the campfire in silence, roasting their marshmallows, each bathed in the orange glow of the fire. She was keeping an eye on her treat, looking more concentrated on it than anypony usually would.
“You okay?” Myth asked. “You look pretty focused.”
“Yeah,” Jewel said with a little laugh. “I, uhh... Have to admit, this is my first time camping. And... first time roasting marshmallows. I'm just not sure what I'm doing.”
“Really? You and Snapshot seemed to set up the tent pretty easily. I figured you knew what you were doing.”
“She did most of the work,” Jewel admitted. “I just kind of... read the instructions to her. How do I know when this is done?” she asked, watching her marshmallow.
“Depends on how you like it, I guess,” Myth answered as he got up, moving to sit at her side to see how close she held it to the fire. It looked like she was holding it kind of far from the flames. “You need to hold it in closer than that, though, or it'll take forever.”
Jewel lowered her roasting stick a little. “How's this?”
“That can work,” Myth said, moving his own stick where she could see it. “I usually do mine about closer, though. Right around here... Just close enough for the tips of the flames to barely lick at it.”
She moved hers in closer, to the point where Myth had suggested.
“Good. And just start rotating it. Get it toasted evenly on all sides,” Myth said.
Jewel did as he told her, turning her marshmallow around. “And I can try it at any time?” she asked.
He nodded. “I like it best when it's just starting to turn a light brown. Snapshot likes hers darker.” He watched as Jewel seemed so focused, staring at her marshmallow. Myth gave a little chuckle. “Relax. It's not going anywhere. Just keep it in place, keep turning it, and just check on it after a minute or so.”
She smiled softly and took her eyes off of her treat, looking over to Myth. “How'd you get so pro at this?”
“Our parents used to take me and Snapshot camping all the time when we were little,” he answered. “They taught us everything about making the best campsite. Managing the fire, where to set the tent, the best place to set up...”
“Bet you would've made a great coltscout,” Jewel said teasingly.
Myth couldn't help but laugh lightly at that. “My dad tried talking me into that a few times, but I'd rather learn everything from him.”
“He was good at this sort of thing too, then?” she asked, glancing at her marshmallow, seeing a slight darkness starting to form on the end.
“Yeah. Not just camping, either. He knew all kinds of wilderness survival stuff. Taught me how to read a compass, how to use the stars to find what direction we're going... That sort of thing.”
“Was he a coltscout captain or something?”
“No,” Myth said with a chuckle. “Dad was an adventurer, like I am now. He liked hunting down ancient relics and artifacts... Stuff that should be in museums and all that.”
“Sounds like a great guy,” Jewel said. “What about your mom? What did she do?”
“She was a writer. Wrote a few books. She mainly stuck around my dad though. Never let him travel the world without her.”
“She write anything I might have read?”
“Maybe,” Myth answered with a shrug. “She pretty much took inspiration from her adventures with my dad, and made up some bad guys and supernatural elements.”
“She wrote Daring Do?”
“As cool as that would've been, no,” Myth answered. “Something similar to that, though.”
“I'd love to read her books sometime,” Jewel said, pulling her marshmallow away from the fire and bringing it close to her, seeing that the light brown color of the roasted sugary treat seemed even all around it.
“After we're done here, I'll let you borrow them if you want. She gave me and Snapshot each free copies of everything she wrote.”
“That sounds great. I can't wait.” Jewel said, and her magic pulled the treat off the pointed end of her stick. She blew on it to cool it off a bit, and slipped it into her mouth to get her first taste of roasted marshmallow, letting out a happy sigh at the delicious taste as she ate the sticky, chewy treat.
She swallowed it down and licked her lips, smiling to Myth. “Oh, that's so good.”
Myth chuckled a little, pulling his own marshmallow off his roaster and happily swallowing it down. He grabbed the bag of marshmallows, poking another onto his stick and offering her another. Jewel took it in her magic, sticking it in place on the pointed tip of her thin branch.
The two sat there for a moment in silence, slowly turning their marshmallows in the campfire.
“So... You like me?” Jewel asked suddenly without looking away from her marshmallow.
“Huh?” Myth asked in return.
“You like me?” Jewel repeated, turning her attention to look to Myth. “Earlier, before Snapshot left, I heard you two talking.”
“You did...?” Myth asked, feeling nervous already, his heart racing quickly.
Jewel nodded. “Crushing on me so hard you couldn't even admit it to yourself, right?” she asked, practically repeating what Snapshot had said.
Myth was quiet for a moment before he let out a sigh. He'd been caught. “Yeah,” he admitted, his cheeks turning warm as he blushed deeply. He looked away from her, to his marshmallow, feeling too shy to look her in the eye for now. “You're just... You're such a great mare. You listened when I talked about my parents. You helped me get my sister back when she was kidnapped. We just keep getting put in these moments where we're alone together for a while.... I just... You're so beautiful, and smart, and kind, I can't help but like you so much.”
Jewel listened to him talk, her own heart racing a million miles an hour as she heard what he had to say. She looked back to her marshmallow when he looked away from her, not wanting to make him uncomfortable by staring at him.
“I'm sorry,” Myth said. “I understand if you don't like me the same way.”
Jewel stayed silent for another moment. It was killing him that she wasn't saying anything back. He wasn't sure what more to say, and he didn't want this to ruin the friendship that they had. What was she thinking right now? He wanted to say something more to get her to talk, but what could he say? He already said what was on his mind.
“Well,” Jewel finally said. “I... can't say that Snapshot was wrong.”
“About what?” Myth asked.
“About me,” Jewel answered. “About... how I like you too.”
Myth looked up seeing that she was still watching her marshmallow. There was a small smile on her face and he saw a slight blush starting to form on her cheeks, though she didn't want to look away from her food yet. Not because she was scared of burning it like before, but because she seemed just as nervous about their moment as he was.
“You do?”
“From the moment we met, actually,” Jewel admitted. “I... saw you in the Starswirl section of the Canterlot library and... thought you were cute. You were with Snapshot though, and... you know, I didn't know you two were siblings. I thought you were together. I didn't want to intrude on that, so I didn't say anything...”
Jewel looked up after getting that out, her eyes meeting with Myth's. Her blue eyes locked with his brown ones.
“Then I heard you mention something about Starswirl and a magical lock,” Jewel added. “I figured you and I could at least become friends, and I took that chance to come talk to you, since I know about Starswirl and thought I could help out.”
Myth thought back to that moment. His mind raced through all of their private moments together, seeing them with new perspective now that he knew she liked him from the start. He realized that she seemed to be looking at him most of the time. When she found out he and Snapshot were siblings, Jewel had seemed quite a bit happier and said it was good to know. That moment on the rooftop when he'd wanted to kiss her... Had she wanted to kiss him then too?
His attention was brought back to her, and he noticed that she was leaning toward him, and he found himself doing the same, moving closer to her. Their eyes both came to a close as their lips made contact, bringing them into their first kiss together. He didn't know about her, but this was his first kiss in general.
She felt the soft caress of his hoof along her cheek, making her heart skip a beat. Her lips felt so soft, and warm... The kiss had only lasted a few seconds, but they each felt like it had been an eternity.
When they eventually pulled away from each other, Myth saw that Jewel's cheeks were bright red in a hard blush. She gently bit into her lower lip, thinking about what to say. Myth smiled, gazing into her eyes.
“Was that okay?” Myth asked, worried he wasn't good since it was his first time kissing someone.
Jewel smiled and nodded. “I couldn't have hoped for a better first kiss,” she said, admitting that it was her first as well.
He couldn't help but smile, gazing into her eyes as his hoof caressed over her cheek more. Jewel leaned against his hoof, enjoying his touch.