Chapter 10: Into the Wild
The two unicorns shared a certain peace, lying there, together. No words were necessary. They had each other, and nothing else mattered. Until Spike rapped on the door.
"Listen, I know you two... ponies are enjoying the chance to spend some time with each other, but we need you out here." Spike's voice was apologetic. Tyro grumbled and scooted backward against Twilight, who smiled at his attitude. "Everypony else is already here, so we're just waiting on you two."
That got their attention. Twilight quickly teleported off the bed as Tyro got up. They looked at each other, realized how they must have looked. Tyro's horn glowed. Twilight's horn glowed. The two looked at each other. Problem solved.
Two unicorns came down the stairs into the main room of the library. Sly looks were briefly exchanged among the assembled ponies. The group waited for the pair to reach the floor, then Rainbow Dash began.
"Listen, everypony, I think we all know why we're here. Tyro has his fancy spell ready, and that's all we were waiting on. I say, we get out there and shove this great hulking thing back into the ground or wherever it came from!"
Applejack nodded. "My winged friend has the right of it. We only have a few days before Primus will be able to reach outside the Everfree Forest. The saddlebags are all packed. I'll carry some of Tyro's supplies on account of his injury."
Rainbow Dash took over again. "The weather over Ponyville is all set for the next five or six days, and the weather team is as prepared as they're going to be."
Twilight looked around. You ponies are right. We're wasting time staying here when we could be out there. It's time to go.
Spike refused to come along this time. "After what Dash here told everypony, I'm staying right here." To prove his point, he sat down hard on the floor.
Twilight shook her head, then the seven ponies went to the farm to collect their bags and set out on their journey.
Twilight remembered the last trip like this they'd taken into the forest. Everypony had been fighting and arguing. The miles had been long ones.
This time, things were different. Ponies were in good moods, and weren't being affected by corrupted magical artifacts.
No, this time they faced different dangers, Twilight thought, after removing the fourth vine to wrap itself around her leg. The forest itself resisted their progress through it. There were no animals in sight, and the forest was silent around them. To Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, this was old news, at least for the inner portions of the forest. Now, it reached into the farther parts of the forest.
Fluttershy wondered what to expect today in the manticore's clearing. She feared what she might find there. The silence was oppressive as the ponies approached.
The clearing was empty. There was no sign of the manticore's presence. Rainbow Dash noticed her nervousness, and spoke up. "Twilight, we should stop here for a moment. Fluttershy has something she needs to do."
The yellow pegasus gave her friends a look of thanks, then approached abush at the side of the clearing. Twilight made as though to follow, but Rainbow Dash stopped her.
"No, Twilight. This is something she must do alone. We can only wait here for her return."
And wait they did, until Fluttershy emerged from the bush again. "Everypony, this is worse than we thought. My friend the manticore there is hiding in the back of his lair, and won't come out. He didn't want me to leave either, I could tell." The pegasus was clearly concerned.
"We should get moving again," Tyro said, after a minute or two. "The sooner we end all this, the sooner the forest can begin to heal again." Fluttershy agreed, and the ponies went on their way.
There was no sign at all of the sea serpent. He had probably left for elsewhere long before. Fording the shallow river, the ponies ventured onward.
Finally, the ponies reached the Palace of the Sisters itself, as night fell. Tyro spoke quietly to Twilight, and then faced everypony. "The palace itself is in ruins here, but Twilight has confirmed my own observation that many of the protective wards around it remain intact. Even with Primus so close, we can safely spend the night here. We should wait for morning to do this." Twilight nodded in agreement. "And besides, dawn and dusk are times of balance. If we cast the spell then, that will increase its power."
Applejack looked unconvinced, but reluctantly agreed with the decision to wait, along with the rest of the ponies. In an effort to relieve for of their worries, Tyro went out of his way to be obvious about casting his own wards around their sleeping area.
"Tyro, what the hay are you doing?" Twilight looked at him. "You're just casting a warding spell, you don't need all this." She pointed to the circle of stones around them. "I don't think most of this would even do anything."
A few worried looks were cast their way, and Tyro quickly responded. "Twilight, you see, this is a very complicated spell, using more than just magic. Our friends need to be sure we're doing everything possible to keep them safe, after all."
Tyro watched a light turn on in Twilight's head. "Oh, I see it now," she exclaimed. "The different magic, I mean. In fact, how about I reinforce your spell with my own magic?" She winked slyly at him.
"Twilight, that's a great idea! Nothing could get past it if we work together." He winked back. The other ponies just sat there and watched the obvious performance. Rainbow Dash was trying very hard not to laugh, and Applejack rolled her eyes. Finally, the unicorns turned and walked back to the rest of the group. Lying down on blankets from Pinkie Pie's pack, the seven ponies drifted off to sleep, Tyro with his back covertly pressed up against Twilight's.
The next morning came too soon for anypony. As Rainbow Dash looked around, bleary-eyed, he saw other ponies waking up. Applejack, naturally, had been awake for over an hour. She seemed to be taking all sorts of equipment out of her packs. Rainbow Dash recognised it immediately. "Climbing gear?"
"We shouldn't actually need this, but I brought it anyway, just in case." Everypony looked relieved at Applejack's explanation, except the pegasi, who just went on looking smug.
"So, is everypony ready? Let's get moving!" Twilight looked excited. She pointed to a set of stairs leading downward at the edge of the cliff. They couldn't have been more than five feet across.
"See ya at the bottom," said Rainbow Dash, as she flew into the air. Or would have, if Applejack wasn't holding her back be the tail.
"No, Dash, you and Fluttershy have an important job to do, yourselves. These stairs are narrow. If someone falls, the two of you will have to catch them. The path doubles back on itself, so you can just lower them to the next switchback."
"How did you find out about all this?" asked the blue pegasus.
Pinkie Pie jumped into the discussion. "He used a map, silly!"
"Anyway," Applejack went on, "you two will be catching anypony who falls, and that means you'll be up here, with us!"
Rainbow Dash frowned unhappily, and the seven ponies began the descent.
Halfway down came the first close call, as Pinkie Pie stumbled over a rock. She would have fallen, but Rainbow Dash was quick enough to simple push ber back onto the path. He didn't like this task, and he was quite willing to point this out, but he couldn't be faulted for his determination to do it well.
The second near-fall was near the bottom. The distance was little enough that the pegasi just carried Rarity to the base of the cliff. A minute or two later, the rest of the group joined her, and they set out looking for a suitable cave. After struggling through plants for five minutes and moving five feet, Twilight got fed up with the interference and leveled a sizable area of plant life. The plants left them alone after that.