Sunlight broke through the forest canopy, bathing the trail with its light and the back of my neck with its warmth. It offered a slight relief from what would have otherwise been an uncomfortably cool evening. My eyes were trained on a map of the trail I had been walking for the past hour and a half, but my mind was distracted by the desynchronized steps between my heavy feet and the soft trotting of Zecora’s hooves next to me. She lent me the map and agreed to help me study the trail for the school’s field trip I was going to be watching over in six days.
It had taken me a while to find her after the princess gave me my task. I had only been to her hut once before, and that felt like a lifetime ago, back when I was still so confused about the world I had found myself in. She was more than happy to offer a helping hand when I asked for her assistance. She invited me into her home, and we discussed the best way for me to carry out my royal assignment. She even made me a meal; the first decently cooked meal I had had in ages.
To keep the mood up, we decided to play something of a game to get to know each other better. We would ask each other questions, usually about our hobbies and our pasts. Once one of us answered, it was their turn to ask a question. I was poorly stifling my laughter as Zecora recalled one of her times in Ponyville.
“Okay, okay, back up real quick,” I laughed. “What happened to Twilight’s horn again?”
Zecora rolled her eyes with a smile and continued. “After the confusion, I finished my brew, and back to the town we quickly withdrew. It was a simple remedy to cure the foul joke, and in no time I was accepted by the pony folk.”
I was still smiling at the bizarre conditions that fell on Twilight and her friends. They sounded too comical to be true. A part of me wished I could’ve been there to see it for myself.
“I’ve told you my journey here and all that entailed,” she pointed out. “Now it is your turn to tell me of the land which you hail.”
I folded the map and stuffed it back in my jacket pocket, suppressing another laugh with a large grin. “Why do you laugh when it’s your home I inquire?” she asked with a hurt look on her face. “We can stop playing if that is your desire.”
“No, no, it’s not that,” I hurriedly explained. “It’s just an interesting question is all. I’m not used to telling people about it ‘cause they already know about it.” I thought of how to answer her question. It was pretty broad. She could have meant anything from my hometown to Earth as a whole.
“Well…” I started. “I come from this town kind of in the middle of nowhere.” I tried to the best of my ability to describe everything I could about my home, from the small town I grew up in to what I knew of my state and all the sights I’ve been to. I gave her a brief history lesson about my country, although I was sure I missed a few key points here and there. She was hooked on my every word, pressing for details especially when I talked about the geography.
“If all you say is indeed a fact, I can undoubtedly see why you want to go back,” Zecora smiled. “I’ll help you return and hopefully pray that perhaps I can visit for at least a day.”
“Yeah, that would be nice,” I sighed. “I’d love to show you some of the parks. We have hundreds of them. Plenty of hiking trails, too. You could lose yourself in the forests if you wanted. Kinda wish I went to them more. Fewer things tried to kill me back home,” I added with a laugh.
Zecora nodded. “Yes, despite its magnificent features, the Everfree is still home to many dangerous creatures.”
“No kidding. Timberwolves made of actual timber, manticores that’ll make a meal out of you as soon as look at you, dragonflies that actually breathe fire,” I listed. “It’s a wonder why Cheerilee is even thinking about taking the foals through here to begin with.”
“The path is well trodden and for the most part secure,” Zecora explained. “And I am not the only help Miss Cheerilee procured. An expert with animals in a field of her own. She has tamed many beasts through sheer kindness alone.”
“Well, I hope she knows what she’s doing.” We continued to walk in silence as questions rolled around in my head. There were still so many things I could ask Zecora about this place, about her and the ponies. It was impossible to choose.
“Alright, here’s one,” I started. “Now, I have nothing against it, in fact, I think it’s pretty cool, but do you always have to speak in rhyme?”
Zecora paused. This was the first time she had hesitated in answering a question. She usually had a small poem ready on the spot. I caught a small hint of glee in her eyes as she responded.
“You’re not the first to ask; don’t feel like a fool,” she answered rhythmically. “As for your question, I cannot think of a time.”
“Aha!” I exclaimed. I whirled around to face her. “I knew you could speak normally!” She gave me a knowing smile, but said nothing else as she walked past me. Something was wrong. I ran through what she said, and my hand nearly hit my forehead. “Hey, rhyming off me doesn’t count,” I called as I caught up to her.
“Whatever you say, Hunter. There is no reason to pout,” Zecora teased.
I huffed jokingly and shook my head. We picked up our game as we continued down the dirt path. The sun was starting to hide behind the thick wall of trees and bushes, signalling that my tour through the trail was coming to an end. We were just about to finish our last lap when something caught my eye.
I deviated from the path to inspect the odd, blue flower. The last few rays of sunlight managed to make it stand out from its surroundings, but even without it I couldn’t believe I had looked over it so many times. The entire plant was blue, from the elongated stem to its flared anthers. Its petals seemed to glow in the last few minutes of the sun. I had never seen a flower like this before.
“Hey, Zecora, what is this?” I asked, cupping my hand beneath its petals. The entire plant shook, dropping its pollen over my exposed hand.
Hoofsteps thundered up to me, and before I knew it a hoof swatted at my arm, causing me to drop the delicate plant. “Stay away from that flower!” Zecora shouted. “You know not its true power!” I jumped at her sudden outburst and gave her an incredulous look.
“That flower was the poison joke,” she explained. “The very same that bred trouble amongst the pony folk. Though at times its pranks can be weak, it can be the agent of more severe things. This plant alone can bring the strongest to their knees; the bravest adventurers cower from what it brings. Capable of tearing one’s sanity apart, this is truly a plant after Discord’s heart.”
Poison lined her words at the end of the poem, and she glared at the plant in disgust. I inched away from the flower. When I looked down, I saw that my hands were still covered in its pollen, and blue polkadots were slowly starting to form. I recalled the tale Zecora had told about Twilight and her friends, and fear gripped me like a vise. Who knew what was going to happen to me?
Reading my mind, Zecora trotted up and inspected my hands. “Do not worry, Hunter, there’s no need to fret. The poison joke has not pranked you just yet,” she said, rolling my hands over with her scrutinizing eyes. “We should return to my home, as it is already late, and I shall give you the cure that can stop the joke’s fate.”
“Thank you,” I sighed. She led me back to her hut, and I kept my hands away from me, not wanting to spread any leftover pollen. “Sorry about all of this,” I said as we walked through the dense greenery. “I should have known that was the flower you were talking about earlier.”
“No need to apologize. It was an innocent mistake,” Zecora assured. “You are new to the Everfree, and there are still faults to make. Most beasts are wary of the flower of blue, knowing the chaos that often ensues. But as I said, you aren’t the first with this fate. Luckily, the cure is simple to create.”
We broke through the last lines of bushes and found ourselves in Zecora’s front lawn. I ducked into her house and sat patiently against the wall. A smile found its way to my face as a sense of déjà vu came over me. As Zecora poured ingredients into her cauldron, an idea suddenly struck me.
“Zecora, you said the other creatures stay away from this flower, right?” I asked.
She paused her stirring. “Yes, they avoid it for fear of what will transpire. Why do you ask, if you don’t mind my inquire?”
“What if we planted some around the path of the field trip?” I offered. “That would help scare off a lot of the predators.”
Zecora pulled a wooden washbowl from underneath one of the many shelves and dropped it before me. “While you are true, it would keep the large ones at bay, it would also scare the innocent animals away. The field trip was meant to be adventurous by design, and the foals are to study the Everfree’s creatures. If the wildlife was to be scared off and resign, their notes will be filled with simple plant features. Besides, the poison joke would not grow so soon. To reach its full potential would take many moons.”
She grabbed a large jug from the other side of the room, stirring the brew in the cauldron occasionally as she passed it. She ripped the cork off of the top and allowed the water inside to flow into the washbowl.
“Alright. What if we just gathered the pollen instead?” Zecora gave me a confused look. “Think about it,” I continued. “We can get a bag full of poison joke pollen and drop some whenever there are too many predators. It’ll scare them off, keeping the foals safe, and it will be a controlled release, so the the other critters will still be around to be studied. It’s a win-win.”
Zecora rolled the idea in her head a few times as she dipped a ladle into the cauldron. She poured a spoonful of its contents into the water before me.
“It is possible that plan could work out the best, but gathering the pollen would be a long and dangerous quest.”
“I still have the better part of a week,” I pointed out. Zecora carefully pulled my jacket sleeves up, watching with a careful eye to see if the joke had spread. I noticed that my hands were starting to feel a little numb. “It shouldn’t take any longer than that.”
“If you are truly adamant, then take me with you, please,” she said as she led my hands into the water. “I will take the antidote so we can be cured with ease.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” I smiled. I watched in amazement as the spots on my arms melted off. My fingers flexed as if they had gone stiff. I led the water up my arms for good measure.
We spent the rest of the evening in her hut, discussing the field trip again. Zecora claimed she had a few ideas on catching poison joke pollen. I mentioned a couple of other thoughts I had; traps meant to ensnare or fend off any attackers. They were elaborate, but I had a concept on where to start.
We shared a few last laughs before I decided to leave. She offered a place to rest at her home, but I insisted. I couldn’t explain it, but something kept tugging me back to castle at the end of the day. We agreed to meet the next day before noon and get to work.
“Hey, I was wondering…” I started as I ducked through her front door.
Zecora stood in the doorway and looked at me expectantly. “Yes?”
I struggled to find the words. “Would you and Lyra like to come over to my place before the field trip?” I asked. “Just to hang out for a while. I haven’t really seen you two since you saved me from the pit, and I just want to show how much I appreciate all you two have done for me.” A nervous chuckle escaped me. She probably thought it was stupid.
“My, my, Hunter, what a wonderful proposal!” Zecora beamed. “I’ll have to ask Lyra, but I’m sure there will be no refusal.” My spirits started to lift with hers. “Just tell me where it is you stay,” she continued, “and Lyra and I will head that way.”
“It’s pretty deep in the Everfree,” I explained. “Do you know where the river is?” She nodded enthusiastically. “Meet me there, say, the day before the trip at sundown. I’ll take you to my place from there. I’ll try to clean up the best I can and set up a campfire. You might want to bring your own food though,” I added, embarrassed. “I’m kinda living off leftovers from my last raid a while ago.”
“No need to fear, Hunter my dear. I can bring enough to last you the year,” Zecora offered. “And if you are ever in need of food or more, you’re always welcome here. I have an open door.”
“You’re too kind,” I smiled, barely containing my excitement. This was going to be great! I almost couldn’t wait to have them come over. There was so much I had to do, so many things to prepare before guests arrived. I couldn’t remember the last time I had guests come over, much less being this excited about it.
We said our farewells, and I continued to the castle, grinning from ear to ear.
<><><>
I sat patiently in a tree on the ponies’ side of the the river. The sun had set a little over half an hour ago, and the moon rose on the opposite horizon, illuminating the river with its soft, blue light. A part of me worried that I hadn't given Zecora specific enough directions. After all, this river wound through a good portion of the forest.
“Hunter!” a familiar voice called out. It didn’t take too long to remember who it belonged to.
“Lyra?” I answered. A pony broke out of the treeline a ways down the river. She turned her head in my direction and called again. “I’m over here,” I shouted. “Give me a second, and I’ll be right down.”
I stood up on the branch I was reclining on and stretched. Lyra motioned to the trees, and three more ponies emerged. I stopped. My math might have been wrong, but that definitely looked like two more ponies than I invited.
Four ponies against one man, the voice noted. Hardly a fair fight.
Nobody’s fighting, I snapped back. My eyes flickered to the uninvited guests. One of them was slightly larger than the others; a stallion, I noticed, as the group came closer. Zecora tailed behind them with full saddlebags on each side and a small metal pot on her back. Lyra and her companions had saddlebags of their own as well; although theirs were not nearly as full. The third pony had a flashlight in her mouth and was shining it at the nearby bushes. “Nobody’s fighting,” I repeated, more to reassure myself.
I dropped myself to the lower branches and began my descent. The group came to a sudden stop as the tree before them started shaking. I hung off the last branch for a second and let myself drop. The two unfamiliar ponies screamed and hid behind Lyra as I landed before them.
“Hey, Hunter!” Lyra greeted. “Long time, no see.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” I smiled. I nodded my head towards the ponies behind her. “Who are these two?”
The two ponies slowly stepped out from behind Lyra. The stallion was solid blue, save for his golden eyes. His coat was only a slightly lighter shade than his mane.
“I’m Noteworthy,” he introduced himself. He held out a hoof, and I gave it a quick shake. “It’s an honor to meet you. I didn’t believe it at first when Lyra told everypony that she met you, but I went to all her meetings, and she sure painted you in a good light.”
“Nice to meet you. Hunter Grey.”
I turned to face the other mare and found a familiar pink pony. Her curled, light green mane bounced slightly as she looked up to my full height. Her green eyes shrunk to pinpoints as she gave a nervous smile.
“H-Hi,” she said, shaking. “My name is Daisy. Sorry, I knew you were tall, but I just didn’t think you’d be this big.”
“You’re fine,” I assured her. I turned my attention to Lyra. “So, not to sound rude, but I kinda thought this was going to be just you, me, and Zecora.”
“I can explain,” Lyra started. “Ponyville has kinda been on lockdown since your last visit. Nopony really comes in or out of the Everfree without Twilight and the Mayor knowing about it. The only way to be out here at night is to volunteer for a patrol shift. Twilight wasn’t too keen on letting me go when I asked to for a shift tonight. I’ve been pretty vocal about you since we last met, and she thought I would try to sabotage the patrol. So I found two ponies who Twilight trusted and wanted to help you and kinda—”
“Sabotaged the patrol,” I finished.
“Maybe just a little bit,” she blushed, rubbing the back of her neck.
I glanced between Noteworthy and Daisy. They looked back at me almost expectantly. “So, you trust them?” I asked. Lyra nodded in return.
I took a deep breath to calm my antsy nerves. “Alright then, follow me,” I beckoned to the new ponies. They were a little shocked that I had singled them out, but followed anyway. Zecora and Lyra trailed behind.
“I’m so excited, I feel as if I’ll explode,” Zecora mentioned enthusiastically. “I cannot wait to see your abode.”
“I hate to say it, but we still have a bit of a walk ahead of us,” I admitted. I found the tree I was looking for. It was old and dead, and a large chunk was missing out of its side. “I was hoping to finish this before you came,” I explained. “But unfortunately my hatchet was starting to get dull. It looks like it ought to be tall enough to bridge the river.” I positioned myself behind it so that I was facing the river. “I don’t want to be a bad host, but could you two help me push it across?”
The two earth ponies shared a look between each other before joining my side. Together we pushed against the dead tree. The groan of old wood echoed in the forest, and a sharp pop sounded as the tree snapped and fell into the river, creating a large splash as it did. Its frame shuddered as it struck the other shore, and many of its branches splintered on impact, sending little pieces of wood flying.
I gingerly planted my foot on its trunk and tried to give it a shake. It seemed sturdy enough. I cautiously tiptoed across the new bridge, waving at my guests to follow when I made it halfway. There were still branches reaching for the sky, but I managed to hack off any that stood in the way.
They followed close behind me as I led them to the castle. Daisy’s flashlight lit up the path, albeit shakily. Every time a cricket chirped or some leaves crunched she jumped and shined her light in its direction. Luckily, I had walked this path enough times to go through blindfolded.
As the stone walls of the castle peaked through the low branches and bushes, everyone around me gasped.
“No way,” Lyra said excitedly as it came into full view. “The Royal Castle of the Two Sisters? You’ve been living here this whole time?”
“I guess I have,” I smiled. “Do you guys want to check it out?”
“Do we?” Noteworthy laughed. “Come on, let’s go!” He broke off from the group and trotted up to the old rope bridge. Everybody seemed eager to cross, even Daisy.
“Be careful crossing that bridge,” I warned. “It’s not the sturdiest thing out here. Some of the planks busted when I tried to carry some wood across.”
The bridge swayed and groaned as it supported our collective weight. There was a missing section about halfway through where my feet had fallen through a few days ago. It wasn’t too large for the ponies, but I stayed over it to ferry them across it.
The ponies stood in awe at the sight of the castle as we all made it across. I couldn’t help but smile a bit.
“If you want, you can leave your bags over here,” I said pointing out the small fire pit I made for the occasion. A tepee of branches and sticks stood in the middle, its base littered with dry leaves and grass. Small chunks of the old castle walls encircled it to keep the fire contained when it started. Three benches that had once been the shattered trunks of dead trees sat around the pit, making an oddly shaped triangle.
“Sorry there’s not a lot of extra room. I was only expecting two guests,” I admitted with a blush. “Some of us might have to share benches.”
“Hunter dear, we are not foes,” Zecora reminded me. “We do not mind being a little close.”
She, Noteworthy, and Daisy made their way to the pit and unloaded their bags. Noteworthy and Daisy rested their bags against the same bench and helped Zecora unload hers on another. Her metal pot slid off her back and onto the ground with a soft ring. She wasn’t kidding when she said she could bring food. Her supplies nearly took up the whole bench.
“This is a nice setup you have here,” Lyra commented next to me.
“You think so?” I asked. “I know it’s not the best, but I didn’t have a whole lot to work with.”
“It’s perfect,” she smiled. “Thanks for inviting us.”
“Thanks for coming. I hope this isn’t cutting into anything important.”
“Pssh, nah,” Lyra waved a hoof. “My schedule’s been pretty free lately. Nopony wants to hang out with the crazy, brainwashed unicorn ranting about humans.” She gave a halfhearted laugh.
“Well, they must be crazy,” I said. “You’re an amazing friend. I can’t think of anyone who’s ever gone the same lengths as you to help someone they hardly know. And these ‘humans’ sound pretty interesting. I’d love to hear about them sometime.”
“Oh, I bet you would,” Lyra smiled with a roll of her eyes.
“Here, let me take those off you,” I said, reaching for her saddlebags. Her horn lit up, and the buckle holding her bags in place unfastened itself. She thanked me as I took it off her, and we walked to the last bench.
The others had finished unpacking as we arrived at the pit. I told them that they could look around the castle for a bit while I started the fire and that I would call them once everything was ready. “Just be careful with some of the rooms in there,” I warned. “Some of the ceilings and walls are really weathered down.” They excitedly trotted up to the castle’s heavy front doors, but Lyra stayed behind.
“Need any help with the fire?” she asked.
“Nah, I should be good,” I waved her off, pulling a stone out of my jacket pocket.
She eyed it curiously. “What’s that supposed to be?”
“It’s flint,” I explained. “I found it a while ago while I was looking through the castle. I read that you can start a fire if you strike it against steel, which the head of my hatchet is made of. I gave it a try earlier and actually got a few sparks.
“It’s kind of exciting, really,” I said as I pulled out my hatchet. “I studied so much about camping before I came here. My family had so many plans. I guess, in some weird way, I’m finally going to have the vacation we were supposed to have. Just a few weeks too late, huh?” I added with a weak grin.
I held the head of the axe in my left hand and struck the top of it with the flint towards my tinder. Lyra looked over my shoulder with a curious eye. It took a minute, but a spark finally managed to shoot out and land in the pit. The dried grass and flint shavings caught fire around it, and I had to restrain myself from jumping with excitement. I carefully fanned the flame and watched as it grew. I did it, I made a fire!
Lyra must have seen my beaming face. “Congratulations, Hunter. Now let’s see if we can find everypony and get this party started.”
It didn’t take too long to find them; they were all in one of the grand halls, admiring the ancient ornamentations. I escorted them back outside, promising to show them through the rest of the castle once the fire had died down.
The fire cast a warm glow over everyone. Zecora set up her pot above the fire and began adding ingredients after filling it with water. Noteworthy pulled large bags of marshmallows and a handful of roasting sticks out of his saddlebags, and Daisy produced bars of chocolate and crackers to complement them. Lyra brought juice boxes and something called daffodil sandwiches. After noticing the flowers inside the bread, I politely refused. The ponies struck up a conversation about their everyday lives, and I listened contently as I made sure the campfire was well fed.
“So, what’s it like where you’re from?” Daisy suddenly asked me.
I looked up from the fire and noticed everyone was staring at me eagerly. I felt myself shrink under their eyes. “Oh, it’s nothing too special, really,” I waved dismissively.
“Baloney, Hunter. You do no justice to your land,” Zecora accused. “When you explained it to me it sounded quite grand. Hills and valleys, forests and rivers; the imagery alone excites me with shivers.”
“Well, there’s a little more than that,” I pointed out. “We’ve got a lot of cities and towns, too. That’s where humans normally live. But I rarely traveled outside of my own state except for vacations to the beach, and even then, I wasn’t really paying much attention during the trips.”
“Tell us what you know then,” Lyra pressed. “Surely you have some stories about your home.”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t really all that adventurous,” I admitted. Everybody kept egging me on to talk more. I held up my hands to calm them down. “Alright, alright,” I smiled. “I guess I have a few good ones.”
<><><>
The air was filled with howling laughter from my audience. Hours had passed from storytelling from both sides. I stood up from the bench and started reenacting a moment from one of mine.
“So, there I was, flailing my arms around like a complete maniac, trying my hardest to just stop. My classmates are scrambling out of the way, trying to not get plowed over by the class nerd. My friends are already practically on the other side of the rink, my stomach hits the railing, and I double over and fall headfirst to the concrete foundation a good four or five feet down.”
The laughter died as everybody gave an audible wince. “That had to have hurt,” Daisy commented.
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I was out cold the moment my head hit the ground. Luckily I missed all the machinery and cables used to keep the rink frozen. I’ll never forget how I woke up though.
“I kept hearing this guy asking, ‘Hey, kid, are you alright?’ When I finally came to, I told him I was fine. And he said, ‘Good to hear. I saw you flip over the rails about fifteen minutes ago, but you never came back up. Just wanted to make sure you’re alright.’”
Their jaws dropped. “Fifteen minutes?” Lyra echoed.
“Oh yeah,” I nodded. I sat back down on the bench next to her. “And the best part is, he left me to pick myself up. Took me a few minutes to get out of there. Never went ice skating again after that.”
“That was one heck of a story,” Noteworthy said, chuckling in disbelief. He pulled another marshmallow out of his bag, stuck it on his stick, and held it over the crackling fire.
“So you’ve never tried skating since then?” Daisy asked. “How long ago was that?”
“It was a pretty good while,” I replied, struggling to remember. “I want to say about ten years ago, give or take. And I gave rollerskating a shot a few months ago actually. But according to my friends, I have the grace of a cross-eyed, newborn giraffe whenever I’m on those deathtraps.”
“You are indeed a stallion of many talents,” Zecora laughed. “But it sounds as if you still need to work on your balance.”
I shrugged innocently and picked up my bowl of soup. With a few gulps it was emptied again, and I went to refill it. Noteworthy and Daisy had branched off to their own conversation, and Zecora began singing softly in a language I didn’t understand.
As I went to sit back down, a couple of juice boxed floated out of Lyra’s bag. One of them hovered up to me as if to offer itself, and when I touched it the golden aura around it flickered off as it fell in my hand. I turned the little box in my hand, curious about how she managed to make them fly up to me like that, and Lyra started giggling next to me.
“What’s so funny?” I asked with a smile.
“Oh, nothing,” she answered, waving a hoof dismissively. “It’s just nice to see you happy. Zecora told me how hard you two have been working. I bet it’s nice to be able to finally relax for a while.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” I explained. I tore the straw off of the side and pierced the top of the box. “Tonight’s been great. We’ll definitely have to do this again sometime.”
“Maybe we can soon,” Lyra said hopefully. “If everything goes well tomorrow, Princess Celestia might agree to help. And if you get her approval, then a lot of ponies in Ponyville oughta warm up to you.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” she beamed.
I took a sip out of the box, which nearly drained all of it, and paused as a solemn thought surfaced. “What if things don’t go well?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll do fine,” she assured. “Miss Cheerilee recruited me yesterday to help with the field trip. She’s been on the fence about you lately. She isn’t sure whether to listen to me or Twilight. But she figured that if you ever show up, I’d have the best chance to keep you calm and away from the foals.” She nudged my side with her hoof. “So, I’ll have your back the whole time.”
It was comforting to see her so confident. She made me feel like the field trip would go by like a breeze. I was lucky to have a friend like her.
I stopped and looked around the campfire at all the ponies that showed up. Noteworthy and Daisy laughed as they shared another joke and made some s’mores. Complete strangers who have only heard about me, and despite what all the other ponies thought of me, they still wanted to help. Zecora gave me a content smile as she continued to sing. She was the first one to offer a helping hand without question. She healed me, fed me, more than anybody else has out of the kindness of her heart, and she asked for nothing in return. Lyra sat next to me sipping at her juice. We may have been at each other’s throats when we first met, but we’ve made a lot of progress since then. A part of me liked to think we bonded a bit because of it.
A smile crept up on my face as I took it all in. I realized I had made four new friends in this world. Everything felt so right. For a moment, I started to feel like I actually belonged here.
“Hey, Hunter,” Lyra called, breaking my train of thought. “Whatcha smiling about? Remember another story?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted with a content sigh. “I guess I’m just enjoying the moment.”
The party continued for another hour. As the fire began to die and fade, so did everyone’s energy. Yawns were becoming more and more contagious around the fire pit, and it wasn’t long before Daisy started to doze in and out of sleep.
Noteworthy recommended that they started making their way back to town, pointing out that they were technically still on patrol and had to check in soon. I offered to escort them back, but Lyra shook her head. She said that the walk back would help wake them up and that the last thing we needed was for somebody to see me and set everything back to square one.
It kind of hurt to see them all leave. We were having such a great time. I knew the chances were slim, but I really wanted to do this again sometime. I would just have to do my best on the field trip.
I made sure the fire was fully out and made my way to the throne room. This place suddenly felt much more empty than it used to. My fingers brushed against the cold, stone walls as I ascended the staircase. My throne sat patiently at the other side of the room.
Just one more day, I thought to myself as I reclined against the ancient chair. Just one more day, and everything will change for the better.
And if it doesn't? The voice asked unexpectedly, almost making me jump.
“It will.” I replied, closing my eyes to get some much needed rest. There was a brief silence in my head before the voice uttered one last response for the night.
… We’ll see.