It was just past noon when the train reached the station of the last settlement before the start of the Hayseed Swamps, a tiny hamlet called Artax’s Folly, which made Stirrup’s End look like Manehattan in comparison. It had a station, an inn, and a small store. The store and inn were almost adjoined, leaving the station a small distance away from the settlement proper. Even from this distance, it was clear that maintenance on these buildings was not a regular occurrence, as several blinds were missing from the windows of the inn and ivy grew up the side of both it and the store. There were no regular houses at all.
“I know their name isn’t very welcoming, but I would have at least expected somepony to live here,” Rainbow Dash said, looking around while the group exited the train.
Beyond the three buildings of Artax’s Folly lay the heavily forested start of the swamp. A single path could be seen snaking through the trees, where it quickly faded from sight in the gloom.
“This hamlet was named after one of the first ponies to explore this area of Equestria,” Twilight said. “After making his camp here, before the tree line, he set off into the swamp and has never been seen again. When his camp was found, a lot of maps of the area were discovered in it, and Artax’s Folly was raised to guide ponies who wish to enter the swamp. Since then, a larger area of the swamps has been mapped out, though there are still uncharted areas even to this day.”
“Out of curiosity, is there any book in your library that you didn’t memorize before we left?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I just like to be prepared,” Twilight said indignantly.
“And your idea of preparation is to completely memorize every book ever written. Got it,” Rainbow Dash said with a wide grin.
Twilight shot an annoyed look at Rainbow Dash, whose grin got even wider upon seeing it. Twilight managed to hold her annoyed gaze for about five seconds before she cracked and grinned back at Rainbow Dash.
“Okay, okay, I get carried away with my books sometimes. Happy now?” she asked.
“Very,” Rainbow Dash replied.
The group walked over to the store. Inside, the walls were decorated with maps of the various parts of the swamp. Display cases were set up throughout the store seemingly at random places, containing samples of plants that could be found in the swamp. Against the right side wall, there was a large marble slab, on which lay a skull that was so massive a pony could quite comfortably stand inside of it.
“Is that a hydra skull?” Applejack asked with a look at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy nodded. “It looks like it. It seems bigger than the one from Froggy Bottom Bogg,” she said with a shiver.
“Hydras around here tend to grow a bit bigger than elsewhere in Equestria,” somepony said from behind them.
A light green earth pony with a red and yellow flower cutie mark and a dark green mane approached them. Her eyes were the same dark shade of green as her mane.
“Marsh Lily, swamp expert,” she introduced herself. “It’s not every day we get royal visitors in our little backwater. What can I do for you, Your Highness?” she asked with a small bow.
“We were hoping you could provide us with maps of the swamp,” Twilight said.
Marsh Lily raised an eyebrow and pointedly looked at the walls. “I think I’ve got that covered,” she said.
Sunset chuckled at Twilight’s sheepish look. “Is there any particular area you’re interested in visiting?”
“I’m not certain. We’re trying to find the site of a very old magical ritual. If there is a place in the swamp where there a lot of crystals, it will likely be near there,” Twilight replied.
Marsh Lily frowned. “Crystals?” she repeated.
She began walking past the maps on the far wall of the store and stopped at a display case. From where Sunset was standing, she could barely see that it contained a book of some kind. Marsh Lily beckoned the group to come closer.
“This book belonged to Artax,” she said when everypony was gathered around the display cage. “The map you see here is the last one that Artax drew before he vanished.”
Twilight breathed in sharply. Sunset knew she was excited over being this close to an important historical document and she smiled.
“According to the notes in the margins, Artax believed that a large number of gemstones and other crystals could be found deeper into the swamp. It’s widely believed that he disappeared while trying to find these crystals. Even today, that part of the swamp remains unexplored.”
“Why is that?” Applejack asked.
“The terrain is treacherous. It’s not quite liquid enough for a boat, in most places, but it’s often too soggy to safely walk. Farther in, the fog makes it difficult to see things from the air. The area is also rather popular with hydras and cragadiles, so nopony is very eager to go in and properly map it out.” Marsh Lily looked at Twilight. “If I were to guess, I’d say that’s the direction you want to go in. I can provide you with maps detailing the path to the edge, but from there you’d be on your own. I’d normally offer to accompany you there, but I’m currently the only employee here since it’s not really the season for swamp trips. Most folk who come here out of season are experienced in swamp trekking and don’t need guides, so we save costs by only having one pony here…but that does mean I can’t leave.”
Sunset had an uneasy feeling in her stomach. The mine had been one thing, but a swamp infested with violent monsters and treacherous ground was something else altogether, and now it appeared they would have to go in by themselves. It had been quite some time since she’d last fought anything at all as a pony, let alone a legged serpent the size of a building with four heads. Would she even be able to deal any damage at all to a monster that big? She couldn’t remember ever fighting something bigger than a timberwolf, at least, not by herself. And it wasn’t like timberwolves were hard to defeat for someone with a cutie mark in solar magic anyway. Well, perhaps they would get lucky. Perhaps they wouldn’t run into any hydras or cragadiles or whatever other kinds of monsters lived in the swamp. But in her heart, she knew that there was no way things would be that easy.
“Okay, if the map is correct we should be getting to a fork soon,” Twilight said.
They’d bought a number of maps from Marsh Lily, and after having a quick lunch they had set off into the swamp. They’d been underway for just over an hour and a half at this point, and nearing the end of the first, and smallest, of their six maps. Nopony had yet mentioned the obvious fact that, by the time they reached the end of the maps, it would be dark, and they’d have to camp out in the swamp, on the border of an area known to be crawling with monsters. The looks on their faces, however, showed that every single one of them was definitely thinking about that unwelcome prospect.
Sunset looked around. She was amazed that anypony had been able to map out anything here. The path wasn’t much different in color from the sloshy mud around them and the various trees had very few identifying properties. Anypony without a map could easily stray off the path and never be seen again, yet this was considered to be the easy and safe part of the swamp. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing the so-called treacherous areas of it.
“Ah, there’s the fork,” Twilight said.
Sunset looked ahead. There did seem to be a tree in the path, but to Sunset it simply seemed like the path just ended there, rather than splitting into two or more directions. Twilight didn’t seem bothered by the apparent end of the path, though, and turned left when she reached the tree.
After just a few minutes, she stopped walking and turned to face her friends. “We’ll have to walk single file here. According to the map, the path here is narrower than in most other places in the swamp.”
“So why don’t you just use the cloud-walking spell you used before? Wouldn’t that keep everypony on top of the sludge, too?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Oh, I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Fluttershy said before Twilight could respond.
“Why not?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“The muddy ground is a great home for swamp ants. They’re herbivores, but they’re very aggressive if they feel threatened,” Fluttershy explained.
“And they’re not in the paths because…?”
“They prefer the consistency of the mulch. In other places in Equestria, they do live in harder ground sometimes, but in the swamps you’ll really only find them in places where ponies don’t usually come.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I thought you said that swamp creatures were friendly,” she said. “But so far every creature that apparently lives here is violent. I mean, hydras, cragadiles, and now these swamp ants.”
“Yes, but there are many more animals in the swamp than just those,” Fluttershy said patiently. “There are many species of bird, and dragonflies, and lizards, and…”
Rainbow Dash held up a hoof. “Okay, okay, I got it. No cloud-walking spell then…not that I need it, anyway.”
Twilight chuckled. “I will be using that spell, though, once we get into unknown territory, but while we have the maps there’s really no reason to risk an attack by swamp ants. Did you know that when they bite, they spray a digestive acid into the wound, which in addition to being really painful, will also…”
“Yes, thank you, Twilight!” Spike interrupted. “I’m sure everypony was really waiting to hear the details of a swamp ant bite.”
Twilight gave an embarrassed cough. Her friends looked quite uncomfortable, save for Fluttershy, who had already known what swamp ants could do, and who was giving Twilight a rather annoyed look. Sunset didn’t think she’d ever seen that look on Fluttershy’s face before and chuckled. Twilight noticed and good-naturedly rolled her eyes at Sunset, whose grin just got wider. Twilight shook her head as if in resignation, but Sunset saw her smirk.
On and on the group walked through the winding swamp paths. The sun now hung low in the sky and the swamp was bathed in an orange light that filled Sunset with energy. She closed her eyes and used her magic to guide her hooves and keep her on the path. It wasn’t hard to feel the presence of her friends and stay on the path. Years ago, she’d begun training herself to get around using only her magic under the reasoning it might come in handy if there was ever a moment where she couldn’t rely on her eyes. In actuality, she’d only ever used it on moments such as these, when the sun was low and her magic felt strongest. With her eyes closed, she could feel every cell in her body taking in the sunlight and growing stronger, and it kept her mind off the nightmares that would surely plague her again at night. As she basked in the warmth of her magic she wondered why she hadn’t thought to do this before. This wasn’t the first sunny afternoon, after all. It probably was the first one where they were nowhere close to an overnight stop yet, though. She opened her eyes again and walked up to Twilight.
“How much further is it?” she asked.
Twilight glanced at the map levitating next to her head. “We’re about halfway through the final map we have. It’ll be dark well before we reach the end, but I think we shouldn’t stop before we get there.”
“Is that because walking and map-reading keeps your thoughts off the nightmares?” Sunset asked.
Twilight shot her a sideways glance, but said nothing. Sunset wasn’t sure what to say. Hadn’t they discussed these nightmares at length already, many times? Both of them knew what had to happen, and both of them knew that, come nighttime, they would be back in the forest to relive a disaster that had not yet, that could not come to pass. Sunset wondered why this dark force would even bother with nightmares in the first place. If its intention was to destroy Equestria, wouldn’t it make more sense to not warn the very ponies who might put a stop to it? Or was the activation of the Forges the very thing it was hoping to accomplish? But that couldn’t be it, could it? The Forges were said to destroy the dark force, and clearly, activating them in the past had nearly succeeded. Nothing about this whole situation made sense and the more Sunset tried to find any sort of logic in it, the more frustrated she got.
Apparently her frustration was visible, because Rarity said, “Don’t worry, darling. We can do this.”
Sunset appreciated the attempt at boosting her confidence, but she still felt that the words rang quite hollow. Nevertheless, she managed to give Rarity a weak smile.
“You don’t really believe it,” Rarity said. It wasn’t a question.
Sunset sighed. “No,” she admitted. “Everything I’ve faced, everything I’ve seen…it was all so different from this.” She looked at the sky, which was now a dark blue. A small number of stars was already visible within it. “It feels like we’re just holding on to this idea that the Forges will somehow stop this, because the alternative is too terrible to think about. But we’ve activated a Forge, and far from getting better, things have gotten worse. Is that because this dark force is just trying harder to stop us, or is it something else altogether? I want to believe that we can stop this. I won’t give up on our mission. But…I’m afraid of going to sleep tonight.”
She looked at Twilight, hearing the echoes of their conversation the night before, feeling the ghost of the optimism she’d felt then.
“It helps, having you all here. Really, it does,” Sunset went on. “And yet, no matter how often I’m reassured, by Twilight, or by you, or anypony else, the fear returns. And every time it does, it seems to get a little bit worse. Maybe it’s just fatigue. Waking up exhausted isn’t all that great for your mind, I guess. Just last night, I was pretty optimistic. For most of today, I’ve been fine. Just now, when the sun was setting and I could really take in the magic, I felt great, strong. But now…now that it’s getting dark I can only think about what will happen. Tonight, I’ll be in that forest again. I’ll be too late to save you. I’ll hear the voices, the screams…”
She gritted her teeth. It was only now that she noticed she was trembling all over her body, and it was only now that she felt the warmth of Twilight’s wing on her back. She gave Twilight a grateful look. Only Twilight knew exactly what Sunset was talking about. Her other friends, concerned and helpful though they were, just couldn’t really understand what the nightmares were like. If it had been anypony else, Sunset wouldn’t have gotten it either. After all, weren’t they just dreams? Her friends didn’t say anything, and Sunset wondered if her grim speech had dampened their optimism somewhat.
“Sunset, look at me,” Rarity said. Sunset looked up. “Do you think we like seeing you and Twilight suffer like that, night after night, knowing that we can’t do anything at all to help you, and that activating the Forges might make things worse for you? Worse, unlike you or Twilight, we don’t really grasp magical theory. I didn’t understand a word of Twilight’s lecture on the Forge of Generosity, and I was there. But there is one kind of magic we all do know about. The magic of friendship. And with that magic on our side, I simply cannot believe that we’ll fail in this mission, no matter how difficult it gets.”
She had a fierce look on her face.
“Wow, Rarity, what a speech!” Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically. “I almost got goosebumps from it. Although that could be because it’s getting a bit chilly out here.”
Sunset looked at all of her friends in turn. All of them were smiling at her and Twilight, and Sunset felt a wave of affection for them. Deep in her mind, though, that affection had a cold, fearful edge.
The flames crackled merrily within the ring of stones. Finding enough wood hadn’t been difficult, and with the help of some magic to dry it out, the campfire hadn’t taken very long to get going. Sunset sat next to it, enjoying the warmth. They had arrived at the edge of the final map just half an hour before. Twilight and Fluttershy had checked the mushy ground around the path for swamp ants, and after declaring it ant-free, Twilight had cast a spell on it to make it solid enough for the tents to be erected upon it.
“So, which way are we going tomorrow?” Applejack asked.
Twilight, who was studying a map of Equestria alongside a series of maps of the region, replied without looking up, “We’re headed south, but since we have no maps it will be hard to determine where, exactly the Forge will be. We’ll have to assume it won’t be too far from here, since Artax was able to write down his suspicion of the crystals and he was meticulous about his notes and maps. He’d surely have made a map if it were far beyond this location.”
“So what are you still looking at those maps for?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight sighed. “I was hoping I could identify something on them that might help us; elevation, or maybe a pond, denser vegetation, anything that could be seen from the sky. But I guess that if the Forge were visible from the sky, somepony would have seen it by now.”
She looked at Sunset, and Sunset thought she saw an apologetic look on her face. A second later, she knew why.
“We should probably get some rest. We’ll need to get up early to look for the Forge. With any luck, we’ll be able to camp here again here tomorrow night, and we won’t have to spend the night in uncharted territory.”
Sunset nodded slowly. Much as she dreaded going to bed, she knew she’d need all the rest she could get, especially if finding another Forge would lead to another increase in the severity of the nightmares. With a last glance at the flames, she got up and walked to her and Twilight’s tent. Away from the fire’s protective warmth, she immediately felt a cold that nothing to do with actual temperature.
“Ready?” Twilight asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
They got to work, and a few minutes later, with the tent once again protected, Sunset lay in her sleeping bag staring up at the canvas. She wasn’t asleep, but she could already see the forest. She could already hear the whispers of those voices. She already knew what was going to happen, and she knew it was useless to try and stay awake, that it would probably even be detrimental, but she refused to close her eyes. Not yet. She heard Twilight groaning in her sleep. Not yet. The canvas seemed just a little darker. Not yet. It was like the shadows began to move. Not…
As before, Sunset bolted upright, screaming. As before, she could feel the magic lingering in the air. She looked at the sleeping bag next to her and saw Twilight, panting and sweating. She knew she looked about the same. Sunset and Twilight looked at each other. They didn’t speak. They didn’t have to. There was nothing they could say that they hadn’t said before.
“Let’s pack up,” Twilight said wearily.
Sunset just nodded. For some reason, she felt worse than usual this morning. Usual. Sunset thought the word in such a bitter way she could almost taste it. The nightmares had begun less than a month ago, and already waking up screaming felt like enough of a norm that she could judge this particular awakening as worse. The early morning sun, which usually revived her a bit, now seemed to do nothing. Her magic would usually embrace it. Less so than the late afternoon sun, perhaps, but it would still invigorate her a little. Now, it was as inert and listless as Sunset herself was.
The others had apparently noticed her mood, because they seemed wary around her, as if she’d go off on them at the slightest provocation. Sunset paid them no mind as they walked into the foggy swamp ahead.
The going was slow, now that they no longer had a map to guide them. Twilight had a compass, and she and Fluttershy were at the front of the group to make sure they wouldn’t walk over swamp ant nests, or cragadiles, or whatever other creature there happened to be. Sunset felt a little better now than she did when they’d left camp that morning, but she still felt like her hooves were filled with lead.
Some portions of the swamp weren’t as foggy as the others. In those areas, the ‘path’ was clear while the fog hung close over the surface of the murky pools. Sunset relished those moments. Whenever a ray of sunlight fell directly on the path and she walked through it, she could feel the haze in her mind clear up just a little bit. It was a bit worrisome that her magic seemed so slow to recover today, but Sunset was far too happy that it was recovering it all to really dwell on it.
It was during one of the relatively fogless moments that Twilight and Fluttershy suddenly stopped moving. Sunset looked at the others, who seemed as confused about the sudden stop as she was. Sunset walked forwards and looked ahead of Twilight and Fluttershy, to see what had caught their attention.
Nothing really seemed to stand out at first, until she saw something that looked a bright blue light that hovered above the swamp, between a group of trees in the distance. Sunset squinted to get a better look at it.
The light pulsed slowly, rhythmically. It was beautiful to see. Sunset vaguely wondered what it could be, but she knew that she wanted to keep looking at it. The light pulsed a little brighter, and Sunset could almost feel the pulse hitting her. It was cool, soothing.
The pulses now became slightly faster. Sunset felt a blissful feeling wash over her. She could barely remember why she’d been so worked up over her nightmares before. What did they matter? This hauntingly beautiful light washed away more and more of her worries with ever pulse. She felt like everything was going to be alright if she just kept looking at it.
It dimly occurred to her that she didn’t really know who she was anymore. She didn’t care. The light was there, that was all that mattered. Then, the light began to move. Slowly, as if it tried to make it seem like it wasn’t moving at all, it floated backwards.
Fear crept up into her blissful mind. Why was the light leaving? It couldn’t leave! The light would make everything okay. She began to move towards it. As slowly as the light floated away, she followed it. It began to pulse quicker still, almost like a frantic heartbeat.
She began to walk faster. The light had to stay here. She couldn’t let it out of her sight. Something terrible would happen if it got away, she was sure of it. The soggy ground was tugging at her hooves. She forced herself free, kept walking.
She could clearly see the light between the trees. If she could only reach it, everything would be okay forever. She’d never have to worry again. She…
The sunlight on her face was suddenly stunningly bright. The warmth blew away the magical beguilement from the pulsing light. Reality flooded back in with the sunlight, and with it came her own identity.
Sunset shook her head frantically. She stood in swampy mud down to her fetlocks. She’d strayed far off the path and was now in between the trees where the light, which Sunset now realized must have been a Will-o’-Wisp, had hovered before.
She looked at her friends. All of them were still moving towards the Will-o’-Wisp that was still floating in the distance with blank expressions. Sunset glanced at it. Empowered by the ray of sunlight, its magic didn’t overcome her this time, but to prevent any risks of further entrancement Sunset closed her eyes and reached out with her magic.
She could detect the Will-o’-Wisp by its sinister magical aura and she cleared her mind as she began to cast a spell around it. She created a small sphere of magic, and coated it on the inside with a layer of magical reflection. She opened her eyes and saw that her spell had succeeded. Though there was still a blue glow, it was now the cyan of her magic.
She turned to her friends, whose faces now looked pained and frightened. She took another deep breath and gave each of them a small, magical shock, just enough to startle them. The effect was immediate. Life seemed to return to everypony’s eyes, and they looked around in bewilderment.
“What…what was that?!” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I couldn’t even remember my name,” Applejack said incredulously.
“Ignis Fatuus,” Twilight said shakily.
“What was that, darling?”
“Ignis Fatuus,” Sunset repeated, “Or Will-o’-Wisp. They’re ghostly balls of light that mesmerize ponies and draw them towards them, luring them off safe paths and into their dooms in the swamp. Normally they don’t ever release their victims from their spell, but I got lucky. The sunlight broke the enchantment and I was able to seal it in a shell of reflective magic.”
“That was a good reaction, Sunset. I’m glad you managed to snap out of it,” Twilight said gratefully. She shuddered. “I’d hate to think what would have happened if you hadn’t.”
In her mind, Sunset could see the entry on Will-o’-Wisps in her bestiary, describing how ponies would drown once the Will-o’-Wisp had drawn them deep into the swamp. It was even worse for Pegasi. Since they could fly, they would often be spared from drowning…but with their minds still enslaved, they would eventually simply starve to death. Neither way was a particularly nice way to die.
“Are there more of them?” Spike asked nervously.
Sunset nodded. “Most likely. But you can protect yourself from being ensnared by looking away and repeating your own name in your head as soon as you see one, or even just a blue gleam. As you’ll have noticed, their spell just clears everything away from your mind. If you keep reasserting yourself, you can hold on to your own personality and stay focused enough to safely continue your way. If I’d known they would be around here, I’d have warned you…and not fallen for its spell myself,” she said ruefully.
“There was nothing in Artax’s journals about Will-o’-Wisps either,” Twilight said. “There are no known records of them inhabiting this swamp. Even the disappearances could be explained well enough without them…I’d never have guessed, though it makes so much sense in retrospect.”
“Well, at least we made it out okay. Good thing we did, otherwise I’d miss my own ‘we saved Equestria again’ party and then who would eat all the cake?” Pinkie Pie said.
“Wait, you already planned a party for when we get back? We don’t even know when we’ll get back!” Rainbow Dash said in exasperated tone.
“Of course we do, silly. We’ll get back when we have all of the Forges activated,” Pinkie Pie said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Yes, but…we…how…what?! You know what, never mind. If we get out of this adventure alive, I’m sure I’ll find out,” Rainbow Dash said with a resigned look.
“We should keep going,” Twilight said. “If we want to get back out of the uncharted part of the swamp by nightfall, we’ll need to find the Forge as soon as we can.”
As the group got walking again, Sunset began scanning their environment. She was determined not to let another Will-o’-Wisp get the better of her or her friends. The encounter had made her realize, perhaps for the first time, that this mission was not an easy one. Whatever else lay ahead, she would have to be ready for it.
Along the way, the group ran into two more Will-o’-Wisps. Now warned, nopony was affected by them in either encounter, and Sunset had used the same reflection spell she’d used on the first one to make them harmless. Aside from that, though, it didn’t seem like they were getting any closer to the Forge.
Sunset was getting more and more frustrated, and she could see that Twilight wasn’t much happier. She stared at her compass so furiously it was almost like she was blaming it for their lack of results. Just when Sunset walked over to talk to her, Rarity said, “Look, over there.”
Sunset looked up, expecting to see another Will-o’-Wisp she’d have to take care of, but what she saw made her eyes widen. From a tree trunk some distance away from them grew a cluster of crystals. Sunset looked at Twilight, who seemed elated.
“Okay, we should be in the right area. Rarity, can you locate any more crystals around here?”
Rarity nodded and her horn lit up. She sent out magical pulses, which seemed to cause a resonance in the gems on the tree trunk. A few moments later, she opened her eyes again.
“Just a bit further south. I can sense a large concentration of gems there.”
“Is it the Forge?” Applejack asked.
Rarity shrugged. “I don’t know, but there are a lot of crystals there. Maybe when we’re done I can…take some with me. I’m sure I could make some dazzling pieces with them…” She got a dreamy look on her face. Applejack held back a groan, but she did roll her eyes at Rarity’s remark.
Slowly, the group headed towards the area where Rarity had detected the crystals. The ground they walked on grew harder as they neared the area, and Sunset could swear she saw a glassy sheen on it at certain points. Then, they entered a clearing, which was just as perfectly round as the cave holding the Forge of Generosity had been.
The fog, rather than swirling across the ground, seemed to be drawn up as if it were some kind of veil. It flowed, velvet-like, in a dome shape over the clearing, protecting it from the prying eyes of any Pegasus flying overhead. From the ground protruded the same focusing arrays they had seen in the cave, and on the ground, similar but subtly different markings had been carved. Rather than being filled with purple crystals, this one was instead inlaid with orange. Instead of crystals being placed on the walls, here they were placed in carefully constructed holders which to Sunset looked like they’d been carved out of obsidian.
“Honesty,” Twilight said, looking around. “This is the Forge of Honesty. The crystals on the ground have the exact same color as the Element.”
For a moment, Sunset forgot all the misgivings she had about her mission. Seeing this Forge, which nopony had seen in centuries, filled her heart with wonder all over again. It was so similar to the Forge of Generosity, but there were differences in the runes, differences in the focusing crystal clusters, and the student of magic within her was almost painfully excited at all of it. She took in everything about it, began contrasting certain bits of it in her mind with their counterparts from the mine to try and figure out how they differed, what the implications of each change could be.
She glanced at Twilight, who seemed to be doing the exact same thing as Sunset was. Watching, learning, taking in everything she could about this place. Sunset walked from one side of the Forge to the other, examining everything she saw in great detail.
“Do you see how this refraction is different?” Twilight asked, with a gesture at one of the crystals in the array. “It’s more diffuse than in the cave. And because of that, the array behind it handles the refocusing process in an entirely different way. It’s simply amazing.”
“Twilight, Sunset!” Spike yelled. “You should come and take a look at this,” he said, with a claw pointing at something just outside the protective foggy barrier of the Forge, hidden between the roots of an ancient tree.
They walked over, and Sunset saw that Spike had discovered a small crystal chest, which must have been placed there by the very ponies who built the Forge. Its surface was smooth, a cool, light blue color. A golden band ran around the edges of the lid. The golden lock looked untouched by time, and the chest sat on a circular crystal plate. Upon closer inspection, Sunset saw that the roots of the tree had grown around the chest. In ancient times, it must have been clearly visible. She glanced at Twilight, whose eyes had a greedy and yet reverent look in them. She was clearly torn between opening the chest, and not disturbing this ancient, priceless relic.
“Wow, that chest is amazing,” Pinkie Pie said. The others had gathered around as well, and now the eight of them just stood there, staring at the chest as if it held all the answers in the universe for them.
“Why don’t you open it?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I want to,” Twilight said, “But what if we damage something? I couldn’t bear it if I ruined such an important artifact.”
“Well, it’s been in this swamp for millennia, hasn’t it? It hasn’t broken in all those years, so I doubt you’ll do it now,” Applejack said.
Twilight still looked hesitant, so Sunset decided to take matters into her own hooves. She sent her magic into the lock and was met with a gentle jolt of magic as the lock assessed her power. It accepted her within seconds, and the golden lock clicked and opened.
“It was a power lock?” Twilight asked.
Sunset nodded. “I figured it would be given the prominent location of the chest,” she replied.
“Begging your pardon, but what exactly is a power lock?” Applejack asked, nonplussed. The others looked equally stumped.
“A power lock restricts access to ponies beneath a certain amount of magical power,” Twilight said. “They’re commonly used by wizards when they need to share information without anypony unaffiliated getting access to the contents. As you can imagine, this kind of lock isn’t used to protect highly classified information. Even so…this chest will most likely contain research information on the Forge…”
Twilight’s voice trailed off and she looked at the unlocked chest as if it had enchanted her like a Will-o’-Wisp. Sunset chuckled, but she’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t curious as well. Without further ado, she opened the crystal chest and looked in. Several scrolls and thick, leather-bound books lay in the chest.
With utmost respect, Twilight levitated the topmost book out of the chest. Sunset conjured up a wooden book stand for Twilight, and she placed the book on it like it was some kind of relic. She opened it, and the eight looked inside.
“I…have no idea what that says,” Rainbow Dash said.
The book was filled with ancient script, which bore almost no resemblance to the letters they were used to.
“This language predates even Old Ponish,” Twilight said. This fact seemed to both excite and annoy her.
“Can you translate it?” Spike asked.
Twilight grimaced. “I don’t know. I can more or less read the characters, but that doesn’t bring me closer to knowing what it means. Sunset?”
Twilight’s voice was filled with so much hope that Sunset almost felt guilty when she said, “I’m not sure. I’ve seen these characters before, long ago, in a book in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing in Canterlot. I believe it had something to do with an ancient ritual that Star Swirl wanted to replicate. I don’t know if that would help in translating it, though.”
Twilight’s face fell, but then immediately perked up again. “Wait, of course! You’re a genius, Sunset!”
Sunset blinked stupidly. “I’m…what? Did you hear me right? I can’t translate this script,” she said.
Twilight fervently shook her head. “No, I meant what you said about the Star Swirl the Bearded wing. We might not be able to go there now, but Princess Celestia can! We can ask her for the book. Spike? Take a letter, please.”
It was roughly twenty minutes later. They had taken out the books and scrolls and examined each in turn while waiting for Princess Celestia to reply to Twilight’s letter. All of the chest’s contents were written in the same script, something that frustrated Sunset just as much as it did Twilight, although Sunset was less obvious in showing it.
Twilight was pacing back and forth, shooting the books and scrolls a glance every now and then. Rarity was combing her mane. Fluttershy had found a tree lizard in the tree that held the chest and was now eagerly trying to befriend it. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were hoof-wrestling while Pinkie acted as referee. Spike, lastly, kept a worried eye on Twilight.
Sunset, meanwhile, tried to guess simply from the way the scrolls and scripts were written, what each might contain. It seemed like it was a futile effort, until she opened a book that was smaller than the others, bound in dark blue leather rather than the rugged brown of the other books.
Frowning, she opened it. The hornwriting in this book wasn’t as neat as it was in the other books. “I think this one is a journal,” she said.
Twilight walked over and looked at the book. Whatever she was going to say about it, though, was interrupted by Spike, who belched loudly, and a large book materialized in front of the group. Spike belched again and a scroll appeared as well. Twilight opened the scroll first.
“Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I do not think that the book you mentioned will hold the answers you seek. However, Star Swirl did have a book which detailed most of his research and a number of spells, including a spell he used to translate the ancient language. My royal duties prevent me from looking for the spell myself, so I have sent you the book itself. If memory serves, the spell is located somewhere in the second half of the book. I suggest you keep it with you for the duration of your journey, as it may contain other useful spells. Do try to take good care of it. It’s rather valuable.
I wish you and your friends the best of luck.
Princess Celestia”
Twilight’s eyelid twitched and she was nearly foaming at the mouth. She jerkily walked closer to the book and raised a hoof. She nudged the book with it as if she couldn’t believe it was real, and she gasped when she found out that it was.
“Oh dear,” Spike said. He turned to the others. “You may want to cover your ears for this.”
Twilight squealed in a weird, high pitched tone and then began a monologue about just why this book was so amazing to her, speaking so fast that none of her friends actually understood what she was saying. Sunset laughed at how adorable it made her look and let her go on for a moment, before coughing conspicuously. Twilight shot her a questioning look. Sunset made a motion to the book stand, which still held the journal, with her head.
“Oh, right. The spell. Yes. Well,” Twilight said sheepishly.
She began browsing the book, clearly repressing another monologue every time she turned a page. Eventually, she seemed to have found what she was looking for and she approached the book stand.
Keeping one eye on Star Swirl’s notes, Twilight took a deep breath and her horn began to glow, as did the journal in the stand. A moment later, the glow disappeared and Twilight eagerly stepped forward and looked at the first page of the book. Her eyes lit up and she grinned widely. “Yes! The spell worked! We can find out what’s in here now, let’s see…”
Sunset leaned over Twilight’s shoulder and began to read the first entry.
Work on the Forge is progressing well. It was tricky to place the runic focus properly, but I managed it in the end. Received word from Zerzura today; they have the mirage working to keep out prying eyes. I wish I’d been assigned there. All we get for protection is fog. It feels a bit underwhelming compared to all the others. Hippocampus has a water dome, for Harmony’s sake. Speaking of Harmony, Parallax Dream seems to have gotten to Stellar Pulse with his assertions that we’re making a mistake in ignoring Atonement. I’ve told Stellar so many times that she’s too gullible. I just hope it won’t slow down proceedings too much.