Chapter 13-
Not for the first time, Rainbow Dash really wished she could use her wings. They’d reached the base of the mountains a few hours after they had encountered the new crater, and they’d been climbing ever since. It was around mid-day by now, and the sun was high over top of them. Without the canopy of trees to protect them, the sun beat down on all three ponies. Rainbow Dash and Daring Do were both drenched with sweat, though Oracle seemed not to mind the heat.
“Let’s take a break,” Daring panted, taking off her hat and wiping sweat from her forehead. Rainbow Dash sat down on the rocky path they were on, silently agreeing with Daring’s request.
Oracle’s tail twitched in annoyance, and the old stallion turned back to them. He was visibly covered in perspiration as well, but he seemed utterly unfazed by the heat. In fact, a strange sort of determination that Rainbow Dash had never seen before glowed in his eyes.
“We cannot,” he said firmly. “We are too close to the stone now.”
“Oracle,” Daring said, trying to sound reasonable. “The stone has been hidden for hundreds of years. Why would a few more hours make any difference?”
The shaman turned back around so his back was facing them.
“Very well,” he said, sounding suddenly sad and defeated. “We will take a break, and give the stone a chance to explode once more, and this time, maybe even kill somepony. Maybe my own village. Maybe they will not be so lucky. But it is your choice. We will take a break, and risk lives. Or we can continue and stop this magic before it destroys all of my country.”
Daring looked as though she was struggling not to strangle the shaman, and Rainbow Dash didn’t blame her. But the adventurer stood back up, replacing her hat on her sweaty head, and sighed.
“Alright,” she consented. “Have it your way. C’mon, kid, let’s keep going.”
Rainbow groaned as she got back to her hooves, and followed after Daring. Oracle walked ahead of them, but Rainbow swore she could see what looked like a smirk on his face. She was really getting the feeling that the shaman was a dirty little rat, and she only wished she could talk to Daring about it. But it seemed like Oracle was always nearby, like he was always listening in on their conversations. The stallion was starting to give her the creeps.
For a long time they walked in silence. Neither Rainbow nor Daring were in the mood to talk, as they were mostly concentrating on not noticing how sore their hooves were or how hot the sun was or how tired they were. Oracle just seemed completely stoic, and barely spared the two pegasi a glance as he continued up the mountain like some sort of machine. Rainbow wondered how a stallion so old could do it.
They were well up into the mountains when Oracle stopped.
“Are we finally taking a break?” Rainbow panted. Oracle ignored her.
“Look,” he said, using a hoof to point upwards. The two pegasi followed his gaze. A higher peak a short distance away was blackened, and a jagged scar was cut into the rock. Daring frowned.
“I’m going to guess that hasn’t always been there?” she asked. Oracle shrugged.
“No,” Oracle said. “That must be where the Alicorn Stone is.”
“It’s not too far,” Daring stated, as the judged the distance. “But I don’t think we’ll be there before nightfall.”
“Ah,” Oracle said, suddenly lightening. “Then it is good that you have me for a guide. I know that there are cave systems that run through these mountains. They should be able to take us to that peak.”
“Caves?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “You mean there are caves running all around here and we’ve been walking up a mountain all day?”
“If we were inside,” Oracle replied calmly. “Then we could not have seen where the stone was located.”
“Oracle, that’s great that there are caves up here,” Daring said. “But do you have a map for them? We could be wandering in caves forever and never find what we’re looking for.”
“Fortunately for you, I have a great sense of direction,” Oracle assured them, sounding almost haughty. “And I will follow the sense of magic the stone is putting off. I will guide you well.”
Daring opened her mouth to argue, but seemed to think better of it. Frowning slightly, she followed after Oracle as the earth shaman started forward again.
“There should be an entrance to the system somewhere up here…” He said, scanning the rocks around them. Rainbow Dash glanced at Daring. The tan pegasus didn’t look pleased with this idea.
“Don’t like caves?” she asked teasingly. Daring glared at her, then shot a glance towards Oracle.
“It’s not the caves that worry me,” she muttered under her breath, but refused to say anything else. Rainbow Dash glances from the adventurer back to Oracle. Was she having doubts about their guide as well?
“There,” Oracle said, and strode forward to a jagged split amongst a pile of rocks. As Rainbow looked up at the huge boulders that towered above them on all sides, she was uncomfortably reminded of the rock slides that had given these mountains their name.
“Are you sure this will take us where we want to go?” Daring asked, standing just outside the entrance to the cave and giving Oracle a severe look. The stallion seemed either generally ignorant of her wariness.
“Of course,” he replied, straight forward. “All of these caverns connect, like I have said. And we merely have to follow my sense of direction.”
Daring still looked unconvinced.
“Alright,” she said. “But if I think we’re getting lost…”
“Then you will not be able to find your way back without my assistance,” Oracle replied. “Here, look.”
He had entered the mouth of the cave, and Daring and Rainbow cautiously followed. Oracle reached out a hoof to the wall, and Rainbow Dash saw an old, dusty torch resting in a crevice in the rock.
“Ponies used to frequent this area before the dangers of the mountains drove them away,” he said, taking the torch. “They used to light the entrances, though now there is not much of a use for that now.”
“If ponies used to frequent these passages,” Daring retorted. “Then why has nopony ever found the Alicorn’s Stone before now?”
“I do not believe anypony has ever tried,” Oracle replied. “Or knew it was here. If the Princesses could not find it, how could an ordinary tribal pony do so?”
Daring frowned, but didn’t have a response. Oracle held the torch out to her, obviously waiting for her to light it. She did so, using one of the matches from her pack, and Oracle held it out in front of them.
“Follow,” he told them, and started into the cave. Daring followed, and Rainbow Dash gave one last look back at the daylight behind them, before she followed as well.
~**~
“There they are,” Twilight said, as she and her friends stood on a hill at the edge of the dense jungle. Before them stood the jagged peaks of the Crumbling Mountains, shadows cast over them by the sun which was inching its way towards the opposite horizon. It had taken them the better part of the day to get out of the jungle, and they still had a ways to go before reaching the mountains themselves.
“Now, what did you say these mountains are called again?” Applejack asked.
“The name given to them by the natives translates to ‘The Crumbling Mountains’, so called for their dangerous rock slides,” Twilight answered.
Fluttershy bit her lip.
“R-rockslides?” the yellow pegasus asked. Twilight nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “If I remember, according to the book, ponies used to use the mountains quite a bit, but they stopped because they were so dangerous. Too many avalanches.”
“And…we’re going there?” Fluttershy squeaked, every second growing more and more scared. Twilight looked back at her friend, sympathetic.
“I know they look scary,” she said. “And…well, they are. But Rainbow Dash is already making her way up them, and we have to get there in time to save her.”
Fluttershy still looked terrified, but she couldn’t stand the thought of losing her friend.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Pinkie Pie chirped, already starting to hop down the cliff.
“Hold on,” Rarity said, her sapphire blue eyes concerned. “Twilight, it’s taken us most of the day to get here. Rainbow Dash and Daring Do could be anywhere in those mountains. How do we expect to find them before the avalanche at the end of the book?”
“Rarity’s right,” Applejack put in, looking at Twilight. “How can we find her in time?”
“Hmm…” Twilight said, thinking for a moment. They did have a point. She hadn’t thought of that. They could be wandering the mountains for ages before they found Rainbow Dash, and by that time it would be too late.
Suddenly, though, she had an idea.
“We don’t have to find her in the mountains, “the unicorn said, her eyes lighting up. “All we have to do is find where the avalanche will happen. The story’s plot will take care of the rest!”
“And where will the avalanche happen?” Applejack asked.
“If I remember the book correctly,” Twilight replied. “It happens on the mountain where they find the stone.”
“And which mountain is that?” Rarity asked.
“The tallest one,” Twilight responded. “On the top”
“So, let me get this straight,” Applejack said, slowly. “All we have to do is cross through the rockslide-prone mountains, find the tallest mountain, climb it, and then not get crushed by falling rocks in order to save Rainbow Dash from falling rocks?”
Twilight looked as hopeful as she could.
“That…pretty much sums it up,” she admitted. Fluttershy squeaked again.
“Well, let’s get a move-on before we lose anymore daylight,” Applejack said flatly, as she started off down the hill. Twilight and the others followed after, but Twilight didn’t miss hearing Applejack mumble, “But I swear, as soon as I find that pony I’m gluing her to one spot in Ponyville so she can’t pull this again.”