//------------------------------//
// Entering Ironridge 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Almost invisible in the darkness of early morning, a concealed dock slid out of the riverbank to the left, next to an alcove barely big enough to harbor a large boat. Gunga's vessel nosed its way in, piloted by the stallion's expert seaponyship and knowledge of the waters. The rain had ceased only recently, and drops of moisture still pattered from overhead branches with just as much frequency as normal weather. A strange heat cloaked the land, as if it hadn't yet stopped soaking in midday sun for the evening, despite it being an hour before sunrise.

In these conditions, Maple woke, a talon gently shaking her shoulder. "Maple." A beaked face blinked down at her. "Rouse Starlight. It seems we have arrived."

Less than a minute later, the two ponies stood, groggily blinking sleep away as Gerardo looked out proudly to shore. A chain unlatched and coiled around a winch somewhere, and the boat rocked into place, its metal boarding ramp swinging down to the secret dock below.

"Here we are," Gunga said with a bow. "I assume you know what to do with yourselves."

It wasn't a question, and Gerardo didn't take it as such. "I have my directions," he answered firmly. "And my warnings. Unless you have something you wish to add?"

Gunga nodded. "See that road? It leads to Sosa. If you don't have business there and wish to bypass it, cut through the forest southeast and hug the base of the mountain. It's overgrown, but I see you have a sword. Don't worry of wild animals. There aren't any this close to the Earth District, and those that are know to keep away from ponies. I wish you luck in your travels."

Rather than going on his way, he sat down to watch as the trio made their next move. Gerardo pulled down his two crates, inspecting them carefully. "Now, how should we go about carrying these?"

"I'll take one," Maple offered with a shrug. "You can take the other. Sorry, Starlight, but you'll probably need to walk this time..."

Starlight pouted, though the effect was diminished by her lack of sleep. "Just because I ride you around all the time doesn't mean I can't walk."

"Excellent," Gerardo replied, hefting his crate and balancing it with his wings. "In that case..."

Maple nodded, sliding her own onto her back, using the same grace, dexterity and possible magic that all earth ponies possessed to keep it from tipping off. "Yes. Let's get going."





The forest parted as they pressed through, wet leaves brushing Starlight's coat and bringing back uncomfortable memories of rain in the mountains. They didn't soak her all the way through, at least, which was a mixed blessing when it actually seemed hot enough to quickly dry. Surprisingly, it wasn't as humid as one would expect of an area with plentiful heat and plentiful rain, to the degree where it would actually be pleasant if she wasn't busy hiking.

Her horn glowed periodically, lighting the makeshift trail for her two companions. It wasn't needed all the time; the cloud cover had rolled back, and the canopy was both low and sparse enough that occasional patches of her namesake shown down, illuminating the forest floor. Starlight led the group, using her small size to crawl underneath plants and bushes as Gerardo hacked a broader passage in her wake, sword clenched in a single talon. The griffon was careful not to disturb too much foliage, though, thinning his efforts the further they pressed, not wanting to inadvertently lead ponies back to what was likely a closely-guarded secret.

Maple brought up the rear, stumbling and occasionally panting from the heat. She didn't talk, but if she had, she likely would have commented on the meager amount of sleep she had managed on the boat. Her reddish-brown tail drooped behind her, occasionally dipping into the forest mud.

The terrain itself was much less jagged than the rocky pits and outcroppings around Riverfall, and possessed far more soil than the high-altitude coverings of moss and needles that made up the ground in the mountains. This did make the mud a more considerable factor, and even as Maple struggled to manage her tail, Starlight waded at times nearly up to her belly fur, short filly legs doing her few favors in the environment.

Vines hung from trees just as stumpy and gnarled as the ones in Riverfall were straight and tall, and Starlight wondered if they might have borne fruit. After all, it would make sense for such a tree to be low, so creatures could reach and eat their bounty, right? Her stomach rumbled as the thought crossed her head, and she realized it would soon be time for breakfast. Idly, she expanded and thinned her telekinetic field, readying her scanning spell to search for fruit she might pull down... when Maple interrupted with a soft call.

"Is anyone tired?" she asked, looking as if she wanted to set her crate down but thought better of it. "I have lots of food packed, if we need to take a break..."

"Yeah!" Starlight nearly bounded over, but slowed herself to avoid slipping in the mud.

"Shh! Wait." Gerardo held a talon to his beak, looking off into the forest at an angle.

"Gerardo?" Maple asked, wiping a hoof clean with which to withdraw some food items, finally relinquishing her crate to the mud. "I can get some for you, too, if you li-"

Gerardo abruptly silenced her. "Quiet. I can hear shouting, coming from over there. Listen."

That got Maple's attention. As she craned her neck in the direction the griffon had indicated, Starlight climbed onto the dropped crate, using it as a vantage point. Her fuzzy ears twitched, straining... and she began to pick up strains of what might have been a distant shouting match. Or, at least, one pony was shouting at something. She looked down at the two adults, waiting to see what they would do.

"Shouting," Maple whispered, to which Gerardo nodded. "What do we do?"

"I," Gerardo muttered, putting his crate aside as well and holding his sword in front of him defensively, "am inclined to take a look. Stay close behind. Arambai instructed us not to become separated."

"Yeah," Maple breathed, putting her cleaned hoof back into the mud with a squelch. Cautiously, she stepped forward, sparing a glance behind her. "Starlight? Stay by me."

"Didn't Arambai say to avoid trouble?" Starlight asked, waddling through the mud to catch up. "Isn't this exactly what he said not to do?"

"Keep your voice down," Gerardo hissed. "In order to properly avoid trouble, one must first ensure that what they have observed is, in fact, trouble. Rest assured I have no intentions of dragging us into any conflicts in which we do not belong."