//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Stink Bug // by Some1Else //------------------------------//             “No, Spike, this can’t wait until we’ve come to a complete stop,” Twilight said as she followed Spike across the wobbling gangway connection of the train they were riding into the car containing the luggage they had packed.             Spike’s response had to wait until the door had been closed. “Sweetie Belle’s report isn’t due for another two days.”             “Yes, but she requested this book a week ago. I want to give it to her the moment I see her.”             A plethora of cardboard boxes had been stacked neatly in the compartment. All of them were full of books. Plenty of care had gone into packing them. Spike had been responsible for labeling the boxes and had done so using the Hewey Decimal System.             Spike pointed at a box towards the middle of the third tower. “It’s in that one. Are you sure you want to give her the book before she gets a library card? We might forget to check it out to her and then the new library will have a missing book during its first week of operation.”             His wit had been in top form all day long. Knowing that a twelve-hour shift was ahead of him typically sharpened it to a fine edge. Twilight could bear with it.             “Would you really like for that to happen to me?”             Spike sighed. “No.”             “Then don’t bother thinking about it.”             Using her magic, Twilight grabbed the copy of Superstar Stallions, Magnificent Mares and pulled it through a temporary hole in the box. She checked the table of contents and came across the name of the historical figure that Sweetie Belle had dedicated her report to.             The thrill of the small discovery was not lost on Twilight. “Here he is. Grizzle the Wanderer, professional wayfarer and author of Beyond Equestria.”             “Why don’t we pull that for her as well so she has more material to work with?”             “Great idea.”             “That one is right over there.”             She had two books to give to Spike. He grabbed the first one she had retrieved from her aura. A backpack was waiting in the corner near the door for such an occasion. Spike put the book inside the backpack and carried the satchel on one arm. Twilight let Beyond Equestria remain suspended in the air in front of her. It was an older copy. A golden globe stood out against the red binding of the encyclopedia. Twilight opened it up to a random page and gave the inside of the book a brief smell. Her eyes closed and a smile spread across her face. Knowledge smelled like dust that had been gathered through age. It was an aroma that lingered until the end of time.             “You’re strange,” Spike said.             Twilight gave the book a playful shove as she placed it inside his backpack. “Hush.” She then thought better of her decision and retrieved the book. “Actually, maybe I’ll have another look at this one. It brings back memories.”             “What, did you do a report on him as well?”             “I did. I remember getting a ninety-eight on it because I talked too fast so I could fit in everything I wanted to share in under ten minutes.”             “How traumatic.”             She flicked her tail at him and cracked the book open again. She knew exactly what passage she wanted to reread. Twilight opened the book to the Griffin Octagon, which had been a key part of her presentation. It was a section off the coast of the Griffin kingdom notorious for ships that had gone missing and where Grizzle’s curiosity had gotten the better of him in his old age. Having long ago mastered the art of reading and walking at the same time with Spike’s help, she kept her nose glued to the book as she made her way back to her seat.             “Wouldn’t it be easier if she did a report on her sister?” Spike asked as he climbed into his seat ahead of her. “Rarity fits the requirements, doesn’t she?”             “The pony can’t be a modern figure,” Twilight said, sliding in next to him.             Every word was the same as she remembered it. Grizzle had managed to make the book an easy and entertaining read. Twilight began flipping through pages rapidly, pulling out key information in chunks. An island that was mostly a swamp inhabited by reptiles to the southwest. Strange lines in the sand outside of Saddle Arabia. The mysterious circle of stones in the middle of nowhere that could not be moved. Their world was a strange and beautiful place. She had devoured the book when she was a filly and decided she would give it a proper reread later that year since it still held her interest and might be more relevant to her now than she imagined.             The nostalgia helped her contain her excitement for the task that was ahead of her. By the time her mind wandered back to it, the train came to a stop at the Ponyville station.             “Finally,” Twilight said as she passed the book to Spike. “This ride seriously took longer than it usually does.”             Spike dropped the book into his backpack. “You’re just imaging things. We’re right on schedule.”             The train wasn’t very crowded and they made their way to the exit without having to form a line.             “I’m so glad Ponyville is finally getting a new library,” Twilight said as she stepped off the train and unto the boarding platform.             “I still think the one we run inside the castle is big enough.”             “It does have quite a selection, but it’s unbalanced. There’s more nonfiction in our castle library than fiction.”             “Whose fault is that?”             Twilight ignored him. “If we put more fiction than nonfiction in the new library, it will balance everything out and I won’t have to get rid of any books.”             Applejack appeared from out of the station office. Twilight gave her a wave that she returned. She had asked Applejack to help her move the books into the new library a few days prior to her return to Ponyville. Applejack’s work ethic would keep her motivated throughout the process. With any luck, it would rub off on Spike.             “Howdy, Twilight,” Applejack said. “Are you ready to get started?”             “Am I ever.”             “We’ve got a cart nearby that Big Mac will pull.”             Twilight’s horn lit up and six large cardboard boxes materialized above their heads floating inside purple bubbles. Her unlimited enthusiasm had the cart waiting just outside the station loaded to its capacity before Spike and Applejack even managed to get a single box to it.             “You’re in a bit of a hurry, aren’t you?” Applejack asked.             “Can you blame me? I haven’t had the chance to see this building yet. What does it look like?”             “I ain’t about to spoil it for you, but there was at least one shelf and three trolleys in there the last time I took a gander inside.”             Big Mac strained a little against the weight he had to pull. Twilight was about to teleport a few boxes back to the train car when he took off at a steady pace. Satisfied, she let him take the lead and fell in line behind the cart with Applejack and Spike as Big Mac made his way to the new library. A few onlookers stopped and watched them with interest as they passed. Their requests for free access to the latest bestsellers had finally been granted.             It was the perfect day to be working outside. Fall was approaching, but the warmth from summer was still lingering, coating everyone in a snug blanket. Clouds were drifting by in the sky, which would give them something to look at when they took a break. Leaves were starting to fall, providing the grass with a means of covering itself to hide from everyone that it was losing its youthful sheen. Winter would be there before anyone knew it.             About the only thing out of place was the peculiar aroma lingering in the air. Something eventually always managed to conspire against anyone having to do work outdoors. Twilight spent ten seconds trying to place the source of the scent and then decided it wasn’t anything to worry about. She wasn’t going to let it ruin her homecoming celebration.             “How have your new classes been goin’?” Applejack asked.             “I’m thrilled to be back in school. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were supposed to begin training me six months ago, but scheduling conflicts kept getting in the way.”             “When you say schedulin’ conflicts, do you really mean savin’ Equestria?”             Twilight nodded.             Applejack smiled. “That’s a nice way to put what we do. I’ll have to borrow that one from you.”  “Be my guest.”             Big Mac hit a hole in the road that almost knocked a box off the cart, but Twilight caught it with her aura and put it back where it had been without stopping.             “I’m sorry I didn’t write very often. I used that time to study so I could get home sooner.”             “I thought you would be gone for a lot longer than you were.”             “I finished ahead of schedule, but I still have a long way to go.”             “How tough were the tests?”             “They were very easy. I was already familiar with most of the material. I used to read about spells that only alicorns could use and try to make them available to unicorns, but there’s no way around the amount of power required.”             “A new library must be some graduation present.”             “It is. How did they get it done so quickly?”             “Mayor Mare had a few unicorns from Celestia’s School of Magic come down and help with the construction. I wish I coulda been there when you heard the news. Spike, how did Twilight react when she found out?”             Spike scoffed. “Do you have to ask? If it hadn’t been for Luna, we would have been up all night picking out books, planning events, and deciding what kind of kiosks we were going to have where even though we weren’t given a floorplan. It almost took a spell to calm her down enough to sleep.”             Twilight held her breath as they rounded the last corner they needed to navigate before the building came into view. The sight of the new library struck Twilight with enough force to stop her in her tracks. She couldn’t help but grin broadly, dance in place, and vocalize her excitement with a sharp squeak. While nothing could ever replace the Golden Oak Library, whoever had designed the building had come up with a proper successor.             Darker materials had been used in its construction to make it stand out. It was not as large as Twilight had hoped it would be, but its size had been limited to encourage the head librarian to only carry books that would lend themselves to rentals. More would have to be done with less.             Twilight rushed ahead of everyone. She gave the front door a sharp pull with her aura that failed to make it budge. The door was locked since the library wasn’t open to the public yet. Only then did she become aware that Mayor Mare had been watching her the entire time. Rainbow Dash was supposed to be with her since she had agreed to help move in books in exchange for the privilege of being the first pony to get a library card, but she was absent. Something had to have come up.             Mayor Mare held up a golden key. “I think you’ll need this.”             Using telekinesis, Twilight snatched the key from Mayor Mare’s hoof. “Yes, please!”             Twilight unlocked the front door and burst into the library. She was met with the inviting scent of new oak floors. Having used the previous library for guidance, the interior had been decorated in a way that made it feel like it was run out of the home of a book lover and not by a committee of librarians. Borrowing a book from a friend’s private collection and reading it in the sunlight next to an open window while enjoying tea from their kitchen was a preferable atmosphere to the regal experience patrons received at the Castle of Friendship. Twilight would have to ask to be allowed to run the place every now and then.             The front desk was at the end of the foyer. Patrons in search of a book did not have to look hard to find the librarian on duty. Once they had the book they were looking for, there were plenty of nooks and crannies for them to sneak off into and read in. Off to the right and left were two large rooms full of mahogany shelves that stood to attention, eager to fulfill their purpose.             “Check around the back,” Mayor Mare said.             Twilight wandered towards the back and discovered that a garden had been set up outside. Benches rested near trees that gave them cover. Birds were singing when they weren’t eating out of any of the houses that had been set up around the garden to encourage their stay and provide ambience for those who preferred to read under the comfort of the sun.             “Do you like it?” Mayor Mare asked.             “I love it!” Twilight replied.             “I’m glad to hear that.”             Spike wandered into the conversation. “What are you going to call this place?”             “We held a vote and an overwhelming majority of our town decided to call it the Sparkle Library.”             Having a library named after her was an honor on par with becoming an alicorn. “Wow. I almost don’t know what to say. If they feel that sounds better than Golden Oak Library Junior, then I can’t argue with them.”             “Sparkle Library has a nice ring to it,” Applejack said.             “When will you be able to open it to the public?” Twilight asked.             “We could technically start letting ponies in after we have finished filling the shelves,” Mayor Mare replied. “However, we are waiting on a nameplate, a sign, and a few additional decorations that will help this building live up to its name.”             “We can’t let little things like that stand in the way of reading,” Twilight said. “Let’s open it when the books are ready to be given out.”             “Are you sure? We don’t have a head librarian yet. I’ve been having trouble picking one from the list of applicants. We do have a few volunteers and three staff members who would be ready to begin working within a day, though.”             “That’s plenty,” Twilight said. “Ponies in this town are honest. We could let them in even if we didn’t have a librarian here and they would be able to rent the books out to themselves.”             “You’re absolutely right,” Mayor Mare said.             “Then let’s get started,” Twilight said.             The moment Twilight wandered back outside, the stench hit her. It seemed to be coming somewhere north of town and could no longer be easily ignored. A few ponies were outside with a hoof to their noses while others were carrying clear expressions of disgust on their faces as they went about their business. Hopefully the smell would dissipate before they took a break for lunch.             “Somethin’ wrong?” Applejack asked.             A rumble of thunder came from somewhere nearby. The forecast had called for clouds, but not for rain. Twilight shrugged it off as a fluke.             “Do you smell that?” Twilight asked.             Applejack sniffed the air, but was not affected by the lurking stench. “Yeah. I wonder what it is?”             “I have no idea. Rotten fruit? Body odor? Discord?”             “All of the above?”             A raspy scream echoed through the sky.             Rainbow Dash appeared, flying low to get everyone’s attention. “Run! It’s coming! Run away as fast as you can! This is not a drill!”             Dash flew by, heading in the direction of the Castle of Friendship. A blood curdling scream of mortal terror escaped the throat of a male pony in the direction she had just fled from. Other ponies quickly echoed it, creating a horrifying cacophony to comfortably panic by.             Applejack sighed and clicked her tongue. “Well, I guess we had better go see what they’re runnin’ from.”             “Hold that thought,” Twilight said.             Twilight stepped back inside the library with Applejack at her side. Mayor Mare, Big Mac, and Spike were waiting in the foyer.             “That sounds like the usual brand of excitement our growing hamlet has become famous for,” Mayor Mare said.             “How come we still don’t have a town watch for this sort of thing?” Spike asked.             Mayor Mare grinned nervously. “But Spike, we do have a town watch.”             Spike crossed his arms. “We should get badges.”             Applejack barked a laugh. “Maybe after you learn how to use power and authority responsibly, bud.”             “Speaking of which, I have a job for you, Spike,” Twilight said. “Go with Big Mac and make sure Mayor Mare gets to safety. Applejack and I will find out what’s going on.”             Outside, Bulk Biceps had cleared out the cart they had used to carry their books in. Berryshine, Minuette, and Lyra hugged each other for comfort as they sat in the cart trembling in fear while Bulk began pulling it. Other citizens were stampeding, doing their best to get as far away from the source of the smell as possible. Dust had been thrown into the air and the ground shook slightly under the force of all the hoofs raining down on it. Spike and Big Mac began heading down the street with the mayor traveling behind them. Their retreat was by far the most orderly.             The lurking odor began getting much more intense. Twilight’s eyes started watering and Applejack had covered her muzzle with her hat. It had started getting a lot more humid as well. Sweat began collecting on Twilight’s coat as she wondered if a magical calamity was to blame for the sudden change in the weather. No other explanation made sense.             “Can you do somethin’ about that smell?” Applejack asked. “I don’t know how much more of it I can take.”             Twilight cast a spell that put a protective purple dome around her body and altered the air inside of it to temporarily carry the soothing aroma of lavender. She replicated the spell for Applejack, but filled her bubble with the homey odor of apple strudels.             “Better?”             Applejack returned her hat to its original position. “Much.”             They galloped down the street, dodging other ponies as they made their way to the source of the problem. A few of them were enjoying themselves so much that they were laughing until they started gagging. Only two other unicorns had figured out Twilight’s trick. No other pegasus ponies were in the area, likely having fled to Cloudsdale. When they broke free of the crowd, they came across the ponies that had not been quick enough. Twilight counted at least five bodies lying unconscious in the street and imagined there were more boarded inside the houses and storefronts.             The grass under Twilight’s hoofs was getting wet as she continued onward. After rounding a corner, their visitor came into view. It was heading right for them. Twilight had enough time to give Applejack a telekinetic shove to get her out of the way and launch herself into the air before it tore past them, squealing.             In the safety of the sky, Twilight checked to confirm that Applejack hadn’t been hurt. She appeared from out of the store she had been shoved into and gave Twilight a quick tip of her hat. Twilight looked down at the thing that had almost hit them. It was some type of beetle that was larger than any she had ever seen. The beetle was running scared and had not caused any devastation in its wake. Its shell was dark blue, but flecks of gray, purple, and red were mixed across it. A coat of transparent goo covered its shell. The nightmarish odor had to be coming from it. Even with her protection, Twilight’s head swirled a little at the prospect of standing downwind and catching another whiff of the insect.             She watched it scuttle down the street and bit her bottom lip as it approached the library. The beetle came to an abrupt halt and had a look around. Twilight could see that it had many legs underneath its shell, just like a pill bug. She could also see what was coming next. It was like watching a scary movie and knowing that the creature from the black lagoon was about to jump onto the deck where the ponies were sunbathing and cause a ruckus.             “Oh, please don’t stop there!” Twilight said, extending an imploring hoof towards the creature.             The bug turned around and took up a defensive position in front of the new library. It dug its legs into the ground and stopped moving. Under the right conditions, it could be mistaken for a colorful rock.             “Great,” Twilight said to herself. “They’ll have to keep the windows open for a month to air out the place.”             Twilight looked in the direction the beetle had come from. They were at the edge of the town and looking out into the rolling fields. She could see something peculiar in the distance and signaled for Applejack to follow her as she began heading towards the oddity for a closer look. It didn’t take too long for her to realize what she was looking at. She gasped. If she had been by herself, she would have increased her speed. Applejack was currently in her party. Twilight needed her to arrive at the scene of the accident at the same time she did. She decided on a suitable method from the list of available techniques and landed on the wet grass in front of Applejack with a loud splash. Applejack came to an abrupt halt and had to rear on her hind legs before regaining her balance.             “Did I miss a signal?” Applejack asked. “I had my eyes on the road.”             “Close your eyes,” Twilight said.             “What?” Applejack asked.             Twilight hoisted Applejack into the air with her aura and flew towards her destination with Applejack spinning a few hoofs behind her.             “Put me down!” Applejack said.             “There’s no time!”             “Dagnabbit, I ain’t kiddin’, Twilight!”             Twilight swooped down and landed poorly. Pain shot up to her knees. A bone in her right hind leg shifted slightly underneath her skin, letting her know it would have snapped if any more pressure had been applied to it. She had a split second to stop Applejack from slamming into the ground. All it took was proper timing. Applejack hung suspended in the air for a moment, curled up into a ball and shaking violently with her eyes shut tight. She opened one eye and saw that the wild ride was over. Twilight settled Applejack down to the ground in an upright position.             Applejack glared at Twilight and checked to make sure her hat was on right. “How about we schedule another one of those for never again?”             “I’m sorry, but, I mean, look!”             A section of the soil twice the size of the bug had been permanently altered. Blue grass, purple weeds, and pink dandelions were growing out of ground that was drenched in water.             “Are you waitin’ for me to ask you what this is before you launch into an explanation?” Applejack asked, still a little miffed.             That response was all Twilight needed. “You mean you don’t already know? This piece of land was teleported here. Quite poorly, I might add. That bug is lucky to be alive.”             Applejack glanced at the new terrain and then looked back at Twilight. “Looks fine to me.”             Twilight guffawed. “Looks fine?!”             Now that they were far enough away from the bug, Twilight lowered her protective dome to save her energy. The odor was still noticeable, but she could tolerate it. She thought she might be used to it at this point, but she was mistaken. It still struck her as remarkably offensive. Applejack winced and rubbed at her nose when Twilight lowered her dome.             “Do you see those patches of our grasslands that stick out like a hole in your dress? That indicates a lack of focus. Have you noticed that the sample of land is crooked and not perfectly square? That’s a lack of control. This is outrageous. There are so many reasons why this is bad. I could literally give a three-hour lecture on the subject right now without any notes or prep.”             Her anxiety was getting worse. Twilight felt pressure crushing her chest. She knew she was getting worked up, but she had crossed the point of no return and could no longer stop herself from venting.             Twilight cast a quick spell on the slice of land to learn more about what had happened. “This was not done confidently, which is odd since a lot of power would have been needed to pull this off. Self-doubt and magic do not mix. There are two sources of magic here, but they are so fragmented due to how violent the trip was that I can’t make sense of them, which is as impressive as it is terrifying. Furthermore, where is this even from?”             Applejack nodded in agreement. “It sure ain’t within a hundred miles of here. Do you think this was done by some putz tryin’ to make a name for themselves by beatin’ your record?”             Twilight cared enough to devote a moment to remembering the time she had fled from the dragons that had chased her, Rarity, and Spike when Spike had refused to smash the eggs of a Phoenix bird so many months ago. “It’s a possibility. If that’s the case, they’re in big trouble. Attempting to teleport something beyond the recommended distance would be considered experimentation and you have to use inanimate objects whenever you are playing around with magic.”             “You sure they weren’t tryin’ to send a daisy over and then they just goofed up?”             “That insect was clearly the passenger, which is slang for the thing you’re moving.”             Applejack smirked. “Never woulda been able to guess that myself.”             “I can show this to you while the magic is still fresh. Here.”             The spell she cast revealed a ghostly image of the beetle covered in a green aura. Twilight took a step back as the edge of the new sample of land was highlighted.             “Notice how the target is. . .” Twilight stopped talking and groaned in irritation before she could manage to finish her sentence. “The target is off center! This is thoroughly unbelievable. Whoever cast this spell is biting off a lot more than they can chew. If they don’t wind up hurting themselves, they’re going to hurt someone else.” She began pacing back and forth nervously, which drew a glare from Applejack. “If you botch a teleportation spell, you could wind up summoning something you don’t want to deal with if you somehow manage to avoid opening up a black hole or putting the head of a fly on your neck.”             Applejack planted herself in front of Twilight so that she bumped into her while pacing and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight, I love you dearly, but you have got to stop frettin’ back and forth because it is drivin’ me up a wall. The world is still spinnin’. It doesn’t need your help. Calm down.”             Twilight shuddered as she took a deep breath. It was a momentary relief. She could feel the care radiating from Applejack and was a little sad when she withdrew her hoof.             “There. That’s more like it. Now listen. The way I see it, all we gotta do is find out where that bug came from and then everythin’ else will follow.” Applejack approached the new terrain, dug at it with her hoof, and brought a clump of it up to her muzzle. “This is pretty much clay. It’s mighty tough to grow plants in this kind of soil, but it can be done. I think this had to come from a swamp or maybe even a jungle. Nah, not a jungle. It’s got to be from a swamp. Or a bog. Somethin’ like that. What do you think?”             Twilight’s mind cycled through information as if she were rapidly flipping through a book. Strange insects. Exotic locales. Notable magical disasters. Nothing stood out. The encyclopedia in her brain was too large to provide an immediate answer.             She decided to focus on what was obvious. “Terrain like this can’t be found in Equestria.”             “Maybe it’s from somewhere beyond Equestria, then.”             There were times when finding the answer to a problem felt exactly like coming up for air after spending a too much time underwater.             “That’s it!” Twilight exclaimed.             “What is?”             “Beyond Equestria by Grizzle the Wanderer. I was skimming through it earlier this morning on the train in search of the good bits when I came across the section dealing with a swamp far to the southwest on an island inhabited by reptiles referred to as Salamanders. Grizzle drew a portrait of the land and it looks a lot like this piece in front of us.”             “I guess it’s a good day to buy a lottery ticket. Do you have a copy of that book in the castle library?”             “Naturally. I’ve got the first edition in special collections and all five of the reprints in non-fiction.”             Twilight and Applejack watched as a large, fuzzy caterpillar with dark orange hair crawled out of the blue grass and began inching along unfamiliar ground. The caterpillar managed two scoots before packing everything up and heading back home.             “So, there’s a green hoof out in a swamp somewhere who didn’t like that bug stinkin’ up the place and they wanted to send it as far away as possible as quickly as they could,” Applejack said.             “That’s a decent hypothesis.”             “And somebody has to go all the way over there just to give them a swat on the fetlock?”             “It might be more serious than that. Since they put at least two living entities in danger, they might lose their right to cast magic for at least a month. They might also be forcibly compelled to return to Equestria for a little while since Princess Celestia does not tolerate unicorns that leave Equestria to evade the rules they have to follow to maintain the right to use magic.”             “Who gets to take this trip and bring them back?”             Twilight hadn’t stopped to consider that yet. “Hopefully me. I think I’ll volunteer.”             Applejack looked amused at how quickly she had answered her question. “You don’t have enough to do as a princess?”             “My plans for the week have already had a wrench thrown into them. I was supposed to be at the library for the next five days helping fillies and colts find books that they would be interested in reading, but that’s not going to happen. The other items on my agenda can wait. Besides, Beyond Equestria could really use an update and I’d be qualified to make it.”             Applejack took another look at the sample of where Twilight was headed. “Those colors sure are unique for plants. You had better pack some salve because that overgrown dandelion looks about as friendly as hogweed. You should also bring some galoshes with you. I wouldn’t walk through that bare hoofed for anythin’ less than a million bits.”             Twilight’s gaze drifted towards Applejack’s flank. Her Cutie Mark wasn’t blinking. That had always made organizing her party much easier. Nothing lasted forever.             “Would you like to come with me?”             Applejack looked shocked at the offer. “How do you think I would be able to help? You’re. . .what’s that word Big Mac uses? Oh, yeah. Overpowered. You could do the whole thing yourself.”             “That might be true, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t get lonely.” Twilight looked away from Applejack and blushed a little. “Besides, I could use your common sense in case I come up against something that gets me into one of my tizzies.”             Applejack chuckled. “In that case, I guess I could go along. It does sound like fun. Have we set up trade with them Salamanders?”             With them. Applejack could be a real gem.             Twilight had to keep herself from smiling. “We haven’t. They have elected to live in isolation.”             “I think I might be able to get them to change their minds. Maybe we could get them to help us hunt down that renegade unicorn in exchange for a crate of apples. It would make the task a lot easier since they’re bound to know that swamp better than we do.”             “It might be a bit difficult. They don’t speak our language and they aren’t known to welcome outsiders.”             “Yeah, well, everyone still needs to eat and I’m sure you’ve got a spell to keep us from playin’ charades.”             “I do. Somewhere. Anyway, let’s head back to the castle. We can plan the rest of our expedition there.”