Time and Masks

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Spring Break Camping

"Is this it?" Dinky asked, looking at the map.

"Yep," Wind Tunnel responded, "this is it. The perfect camping spot." He flew a circle. "Nice clearing in the surrounded by trees. Flat ground with soft grass and no rocks. Enough space in the branches for my hammock. And there's a river full of fresh water just down that way." He pointed.

"It's very nice," Twinkleshine said, looking around. "I think it will be a wonderful place to spend the week."

"Still seems like an odd idea to me," Ruby spoke up. "If you're going to be sleeping outside all summer, why go camping before then?"

Being a year older than the others, Twinkleshine was finishing her last year at the academy. Sadly she would not be around to enjoy the summer as she had an internship. The unicorn would be spending her time helping catalog an excavation site and try to help decipher any possible stories.

"It's not going to be the same thing," Twinkleshine replied. "it's going to be more passing out from exhaustion after a day of exploring a place nopony has stepped in for centuries. Besides, It will give me the chance to try out my camping supplies and make sure that there aren't any problems."

"Speaking of," Dinky said, "we should probably start setting up. How about Ruby and Wind get water and firewood while Twinkle and I set up the tents?" The others agreed.

"Heh." Ruby grinned as she started walking toward the direction Wind Tunnel said the river was. "Maybe we'll get to see evidence of... Big Hoof."

"Big Hoof?"

"I'll explain when I get back." With that, the pink unicorn cantered into the woods and out of sight with Wind Tunnel not far behind.

Dinky watched her friends go, then gave a shake of her head. She then started to unpack the tent that she and Ruby were planning to be using for trip while Twinkleshine began to unpack her own.

"So are you excited to be leaving Canterlot and school behind?" Dinky asked. She looked at her friend from the corner of her eye, trying to keep most of her attention on the tent.

"Yes," Twinkleshine responded, "and nervous. This is something I have never done before, but always wanted to. Maybe this will be my first step toward leading an expedition into the Everfree Forest and exploring the remnants of the old castle." She grinned, "Maybe I can even find artifacts of other towns and learn stories about the ponies from then."

Dinky always wondered about that. Celestia was over a thousand years old and still alive. There were thousands of books in the Canterlot Library dealing with history. There was even a play every Hearth's Warming about the founding of Equestria. With all that, it was hard to imagine that there were any new stories out there to discover in Equestria.

Still it was a possibility. Nightmare Moon had become a myth to scare foals and an excuse to go out and get candy one night a year until she returned. Discord was thought of as nothing but a statue and an old story until he break free. Nopony knew of King Sombra or The Crystal Empire until both returned. With such events in modern history, who knows what might have been forgotten or unseen for centuries.

"What about you?" Twinkleshine asked. "Your last year is coming up. What are you going to do after you graduate?"

"I don't completely know. I want to do something to protect other ponies. I might spend the summer going through full guard training, but after... I'm not sure."

"Oh." Twinkleshine forgot about her tent for a moment, moving over to Dinky. "Maybe you should become a guard. Then you could request to be assigned to The Crystal Empire. That way you can see if there are any strange monsters still out in the snow. Or maybe you could go back to Ponyville, so when I can mount an expedition into The Everfree Forest, you could accompany me as security."

"Or," Dinky interrupted, "I might not get any special treatment and will have to go where assigned. I could just as easily end up in the castle having to guard Prince Blueblood."

"Oh, wouldn't that be fun," the white unicorn said with a giggle. "Having a stallion who is constantly insulting you for being of birth in a lesser class than he, yet is constantly needing help for even the simplest of things. Not to mention that, being a mare, he would constantly stare at your flank and never understand why aren't simply throwing yourselves at his hooves."

"Oh, go back to your tent," Dinky snapped, getting another snicker from Twinkleshine. The two of them resumed setting up camp. It was a relief when they were finally finished.

"Shouldn't Ruby and Wind be back by now?" Twinkleshine asked after they had waited a while longer. "Maybe we should go look for them."

"One of us should stay here in case they come back. Do you want to stay and wait or go look?"

"I'll stay. I can send up a signal if they get back before you do."

"Okay. I'll head straight down to the river and back. Be as quick as I can."

Dinky left the clearing and headed into the forest. Her ears were up and shifting, trying to catch each and every noise and she scanned the area around her as best she could. As she moved closer to the river, she heard the sound of something moving through the brush. Turning, she looked for the source of it.

Ruby walked out from the underbrush, her horn glowing brightly with magic. Floating in the air behind her was Wind Tunnel. The pegasus had all his limbs pulled up tight against his body. His eyes were wide and pupils small as he stared off into space. He was also completely soaked.

"What happened?" Dinky asked as she moved closer to her friends.

"Beeeaaaar," Wind Tunnel wheezed out.

"Yes," Ruby responded. "Wind Tunnel saw a bear and panicked. He flew into a tree and fell into a river."

"Is he okay?"

"Some scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious."

Dinky moved closer and looked at her pegasus friend. Reaching out with one hoof, she poked at him. The young stallion twitched at the touch, but otherwise did not move.

"So he'll be okay?" she asked. "We don't need to take him to the hospital or anything?"

"No. He should be fine in a few minutes."

"Okay. Were you two able to get water?"

"Yeah. We have enough for now."

"Well you go ahead and take Wind back to camp. I'll be there in a moment with some firewood."

"Ay-ay, Captain Hooves," Ruby said with a salute. She then continued toward the camp, laughing to herself. Dinky groaned and rolled her eyes. Looking around, she began to gather wood for making a fire. Once she felt she gathered enough for the night, she started back for the camp site.

"Is it true?" Twinkleshine asked as soon as Dinky returned.

"Is what true?" the returning unicorn asked.

"Ruby," Wind Tunnel pointed as he spoke, "says that you and her have met bears before."

"...Yeah..." Dinky said slowly. "Fluttershy had all sorts of animals that she would make friends with. Most of them would come and see her around her hut from time to time." She continued to walk as she spoke, setting the wood down for the fire.

"So she just had bears wandering around Ponyville?" Wind Tunnel ask, seeming to go thin and pale in shock.

"No. Most of the animals stayed near the woods or close to Fluttershy's hut She doesn't live in town. Besides, it was Angel you had to be careful of."

"Who's Angel?"

"Fluttershy's rabbit," Ruby answered.

Wind Tunnel burst out in a laugh.

"A rabbit? You two don't think twice about a bear, but you're afraid of a fluffy little bunny."

"Trust me," Ruby replied. "There was nothing fluffy or cute about that rabbit. He would-"

"Ruby," Dinky stated, "Don't bother. There's no way he would believe us anyways. Angel is one of things you would only believe if you actually met him." She gave her friend a sympathetic smile. "Now, what was that you said earlier about Big Hoof?"

Soon, the red unicorn began to tell a tale to the others. She told them of a legendary earth pony. The tales say that he was two or three times larger than the typical pony and was strong enough to knock down a tree. Dinky could not resist laughing and compare the description to Big Macintosh. Ruby chuckled at first, then seemed to seriously consider the comparison.

The four continued to have fun for a while. There did come a problem when the day moved on toward supper time. The ponies all had a little experience with cooking, but none of them had ever done it over an open flame before. It was when some potatoes ended up getting burned that they realized it was a bit of a problem. Fortunately they were able to make something edible.

With dinner finished, the friends tried to keep entertained. Wind Tunnel tried collecting the smoke and shaping it similar to how he would do with a cloud. Twinkleshine told some scary stories, including the classic tale of The Headless Horse. Ruby taught a little bit of emergency first aid, using Wind Tunnel as a demonstration dummy. Twinkle and Dinky giggled a little when his muzzle was bandaged shut. Dinky sang a song that her mother used to sing to her when she was just a foal.

As the night wore on, the group began to grow tired. Twinkleshine decided to go to bed first. After bidding the others good night, she headed to her tent. Next was Wind Tunnel. Instead of a tent, he flew up into a hammock hanging from some of the nearby trees.

That left Ruby and Dinky alone for awhile. As they tended to do, the pair discussed how things used to be and what had changed both since moving apart and since the last time they had seen each other. Some of the stories were still surprising, even after all the years that had passed.

It was Ruby who finally decided to turn in and get some sleep. She went ahead to the tent while Dinky put out the fire. Once satisfied, she headed to the tent as well. Her friend was already asleep.

Silently as she could, the young mare slipped into her sleeping bag, enjoying the warmth. As she got comfortable, Ruby shifted in her sleep, pressing against Dinky. Smiling, the unicorn kissed her sleeping friend on the head. Dinky settled in a little more and closed her eyes.

Then opened them again as she realized what she just did.

Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

planning to be using for the trip while Twinkleshine began to unpack her own.

but a statue and an old story until he broke free.