//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Staff of Sir Gallop the Wo/anderer // by BoredAuthor817 //------------------------------// Gallus's Journal : Entry #41 We woke up early the next morning and prepared for our trip into town. While Professor Shimmer patched the tire on the motorbike, I worked on filling the hole I had so tirelessly worked on for days. … Of course, it would be faster to fill it than to dig it... It reminded me of what a shame it was that we were going and undoing all the work of Caches. For those of you who don't know, Caches lived about seven hundred years ago was the one who spent years traveling this world, hiding artifacts deemed too dangerous to remain in Equestria. (Yeah... ironic, isn't it?). But, in the event these items did need to be retrieved, he left a map and a compass of all the cache sites (just no clues as to what's actually hidden there). Only through Professor Shimmer's research, particularly a journal written by Maggie Pie, Caches's assistant, do we have any semblance of an idea to what anything is. As a side note, I'm beginning to understand the allure of this thing called “geo-caching”. The professor was waiting for me when I returned to the RV. The mechanic wasn't yet open when we arrived in town. So, to bide time, we had breakfast at the diner. I was never so delighted to have the greasiest food ever. Steak, eggs, and potatoes never tasted so good. I'd opted to remain in town while Professor Shimmer and the mechanic went back to retrieve the RV. Frankly, if I never see that desert again, it'll be too soon. Instead, I'd been given the assignment of walking around the town, scoping it out and inquiring if Dr. Diggs had passed through that way. (Spoiler alert: He hadn't). Gallus rendezvoused with Sunset at the mechanic's. “You seem in good spirits,” she remarked. “Just happy to be out of the desert and back in civilization,” he smiled, “But, the desert's still all in my nose. What's the word on the RV?” Sunset sighed. “Will have to order tires in. Looks like we're stuck here for a few days. Thankfully, the rental insurance will cover it. We all set up with the hotel?” “Yep. We can check-in in about two hours.” “Sounds good,” Sunset said, loading their bags onto the motorbike, “Lunch?” --- He counted out his pocket change and left it on the counter for the waitress. Though Sunset wasn't up for dessert, Gallus was in the mood for a thick vanilla milkshake. “So, how long till you think Dr. Digger is gonna come back?” he asked. Sunset shrugged, seemingly distracted by something on her phone. “However long it takes him to realize he can't open the chest without magic.” “I tell ya somethin' weird is goin' on!” a man's voice boomed from the booth behind them. “To you, something weird is always going on,” said another man. “This time, it's for real!” “Sure it is...” “Gummy bears falling out the sky out of nowhere ain't weird? Then, what would you call it?” “Well, it ain't aliens. That's the next county over...” “Sounds more like the work of Discord,” Gallus chuckled. Sunset frowned. “More like Equestrian magic. Excuse me, Sir?” She rose from her seat. “Where did you say this happened?” The man seemed more than delighted to be taken seriously and quickly pointed the direction of the incident. Sunset turned to Gallus with a wide smile. “You up for a hike?” Gallus just slumped in his seat. Gallus's Journal : Entry #42 I'm only including this mini episode in my journal because I know I'll get flack if I don't. Thankfully, we were not to be returning to the desert. The place the old man had pointed out was near the edge of town, in a small suburban neighborhood. We walked to what ended up being some sort of playground where a small group of children were playing with a small coin. Each time they tossed it, something strange happened. First, the leaves on the trees turned to goldfish. Then, plants sprouted the ground and flowered tacos (which were very good. I grabbed a few for later). Professor Shimmer said it was “definitely chaos magic.” I could only reply with: “Chaos must be hungry.” I'm not sure what her response was, but it was evident that we had to get the coin away from the children. Turned out to be surprisingly easy. After letting the professor know that I'd handle it, I approached the kids and engaged in conversation with them. I persuaded them to let me hold the coin. I inspected it before handing it back to them and walking off. Oh, the look on Shimmer's face! I couldn't help but be a little cocky. Eventually, I pulled the coin from my pocket. I had a pocketful of Bits that had come through the portal with me. It was very easy to pull a little magic trick and swap one coin for the other. “Just a little thing I picked up on the streets of Griffonstone,” I said, giving the coin a flip. Only then, did I realize what I had done. I'm sure everyone at some time in their lives had wanted to be in a chocolate milk rain shower. Well, I can tell you, it's very sticky.