Blazing a Trail to the Past.

by Daylight_Dreamer

12- A friendly interrogation.

I waited until the second bowl pack to say anything. I wanted her to be open with me. I trusted her not to outright lie, but, I was sensing lies of omission.

"So that Zecora sure is something, huh," I said, "Do all Zebras speak in rhymes?"

"I'm not sure, she's the only one around," Twilight said, "Did she have anything to say?"

"Not much. Just asked me where I found Apple Bloom," I decided not to mention how uneasy Zecora seemed when I told her. I didn't know how much Twilight knew and I didn't want to give anything away.

"She did say that was important to find out what portal was opened," Twilight confirmed, "So we can open it again." Her tone betrayed one of the lies of omission.

"Don't you know what portal she was trying to open?" I asked. Her face immediately sank. I had her.

"That's the thing..." She clearly didn't want to say it, "It wasn't exactly..." she kept pausing, clearly trying to choose the right words.

"Just say it," I said, "I may not want to hear it, but I have to know what's going on."

She took a deep breath, "It wasn't exactly a portal opening spell she used."

"So what other kinds of spells can open portals?" I asked.

She grabbed the pipe off the table and cleared the half pack we left in it in one hit, coughing as she tried to hold it in. "A summoning spell." she finally answered.

I didn't know what to make of that. Why would ponies have a spell that could summon me? "Wouldn't that only bring a certain entity targeted by the spell?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered, "For a being from a land with no magic, you sure know a lot about it."

"I just enjoy fiction," I said, "Pure luck the rules are the same."

"Anyway," She went on, "She was trying to summon Daylight Dreamer. A pony that lived during an ancient Equestrian war, and the last documented element of loyalty. Or 'kinship' as he was known among the 'Protectors' as they called themselves. He's also the only one that lived long enough to see the war end and hide the elements back at the castle until me and my friends could find them."

I decided not to worry about these 'elements' yet since it sounded like I'd hear all about them later, I was focused on who the spell was intended for.

"So she was trying to raise his spirit?" I asked, "or is he some kind of immortal?"

"Not exactly," She said, "legend has it that Daylight never died, he found a way to be reborn so he could come back, He apparently found some prophesy that told of a time that he was needed again, but that was over six-hundred years ago. Even if he was reborn, how could he live that long?"

"Think that may have something to do with the spell backfiring?" I asked, "Couldn't find the target?"

"That's hard to say," she replied, "The summoning spell he left behind was all smudged up, Starswirl swears he managed to fix it but claims he never tested it because he had no reason to. I think he either knew it was a bad idea or didn't manage as well as he thought. Either way, Daylight alive or not, I think it was an ingredient or two off from what the potion should have been. Not to mention Apple Bloom is only a novice potion maker, and she didn't bring a unicorn to cast the recommended protection spell."

"So is there any way to track the portal trail or anything?" I asked.

"That depends," she lowered her head, "A portal opened to open a portal can be traced, but if it truly was a summoning spell, those are often one-way trips. That can vary spell to spell, but usually, it would be you that can reopen it, and being that you have no magic, you wouldn't be able to do that."

"So I have like a 20% chance of getting back?" I asked.

"I'll be honest," She sighed, "That's better odds than I give it."