//------------------------------// // The Rite of Accusations // Story: My Little Pony: The Pyres of Friendship // by Scribe of the Nightwings //------------------------------// Chapter 4: The Rite of Accusations Musical Cue - The Eight Scribes Twilight walked out of the wagon and was met with the refreshing breeze of the night air. It appeared that while the alicorn was busy reading the Book, the group had set up the blackwagon as a makeshift campsite for the night. She then looked up to see that they had reached their destination: The Ridge of Gol. The Ridge was made up of an orange mineral, giving off the allusion of golden glow emanating from the tall landmark. While it definitely looked like any typical ridge she could find back in Equestria, but there were a few details that were rather odd. On one side of the Ridge, it looked like there were long, sharp teeth similar to that of a dragon carved out of the rock and there was a trail of smoke coming out of the one of the openings. On the other side, it looked as though the Ridge had a long, curvy horn coming out of the side. If the alicorn really stretched her imagination, the Ridge of Gol kind of looked like the head of a giant serpent. Nevertheless, the Ridge was rather impressive, and the mare could see why the Rites would be held in a place like this. Now that she was finished admiring the scenery, Twilight went off to find where Hedwyn, Jodariel and Rukey went off to. Thankfully, she didn’t have to look long as she found them not too far from the camp. The three of them were group together under the Ridge, donned in their raiments and masks in hand. They also all had the copies of the Book that they needed to perform in the Rites. “Keep telling you there’s nothing here!” Rukey exclaimed. “What a bunch of idiots we are.” “If we traveled all this way for nothing…” Jodariel grumbled, clearly impatient about what was to come. “Hey,” Twilight greeted them. “Are you guys okay? What are frustrated about?” The Cur answered her, with no lack cynicism in his voice. “Well sister, we followed the stars’ direction to a tee, arrived at the time that we were supposed to show up, and lo and behold, there’s nothing here! I swear, if this turned out to be some kind of ancient elaborate joke, I’m going to be both upset and impressed, BUT MOSTLY UPSET!” Jodariel then looked over to Hedwyn. “We should go now before the howlers arrive. There is clearly nothing here for us.” Hedwyn looked up to night sky and smiled. “I wouldn’t say that,” he said. “Look up.” The other three joined Hedwyn’s gaze and saw something breathtaking. High above the night sky, there was a group of eight stars of varying colors, surrounded by a blue halo. At first, it looked like the stars were arranged in no particular order, until a line of light began to connect the stars to form the familiar star-symbol that was on the cover of the Book of Rites. The symbol then shined brightly in the night sky, covering the field nearby in a fantastic light. This was more than enough evidence for Twilight to know that the Rites had begun. As the group made there way to the lite up field, Twilight began to hear a familiar voice. “READER! THE STARS ALIGN AT LAST!” Twilight frantically looked up to the sky to find where the Voice was coming from this time. “YOU REACHED THE RIDGE OF GOL, AT THE APPOINTED TIME, AND YOUR TRIUMVERATE IS READY. MAKE HASTE TO THE FIELD!” The alicorn stopped looking up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see it was Hedwyn giving her a comforting look. “Don’t worry about him, my friend. Just focus at what’s in front of you.” Twilight still looked a bit anxious, but she eventually nodded her head and followed Hedwyn to catch up with the others. When they all reached the field, Twilight noticed the same sigil located at the blackwagon at their feet. She then scanned the field to see that there were small mounds scattered throughout, giving the impression that they were meant to be obstacles. On the other side, there was another sigil, however the mare couldn’t see what it was from her angle. YOUR ADVERSARIES IN THE RITES THIS EVE SHALL BE: THE ACCUSERS! At the Voice’s announcement, three figures emerged from the darkness on the other side and took their positions near their sigil. Each of them wore the same thing: raiments colored in brown and gold and wearing the same vertical mask that Hedwyn was wearing. Judging by the fact that they were wearing the same mask as Hedwyn, Twilight hypothesized that all three of her opponents were Nomads. “WHOSEVER PYRE YET BURNS ONCE THE OTHER IS EXSTIGUISHED SHALL STEP CLOSER TO FREEDOM.” “NOW LET THE RITES COMMENCE!” Suddenly, two fireballs plummeted from the sky and towards both of the sigils on the field. The one that hit on Twilight’s side cause the sigil to light with a blue flame, while the sigil on the other side lit up with a golden one. The stars were aligned, and both the pyres burned brightly. The Rite was ready to begin. “Get ready everyone.” Said Hedwyn, putting on his mask. “Alright, I guess we’re really doing this.” Rukey stated somewhat shakily as he too put on his mask. The mare looked to see that Jodariel had followed suit. “Hopefully when we step into that fire, we’ll come back like we did when we got sucked into that book. Hehe.” The gave nervous laugh. Twilight was about to tell Rukey about how it should be fine, but then Jodariel silenced them all. “Be still, we have a visitor.” The mare looked to see that one of the Nomads (the tallest of the three) had crossed the field to their side. At first, they were silent for a few moments before finally deciding to speak up. “At last, the Nightwings graces us with their presence.” came an old, grizzled voice. “I see that the reports of your demise have been exaggerated after all. Even I was beginning to think you were gone for good.” The man then removed his mask to reveal that he was a Nomad, just like Twilight predicted. He looked to be an aging man, with his light blue hair looking like it was in the transition of turning white. His had a fair share of wrinkles and cuts, while a permanent scowl was plastered on his face. “Surprised to see old Lendal again?” he unintentionally introduced himself. “I trust you remember my face, though you must have assumed never to see it again after last time. Never had I come so close to freedom, only for you to dash my hopes.” Based on the confused looks that the trio were giving each other, Twilight could tell that they were unfamiliar with Lendal, or even the Accusers for that matter. Perhaps Lendal wasn’t referring to Hedwyn, Jodariel and Rukey specifically, but instead was referring to the triumvirate of the Nightwings instead. When Hedwyn welcomed her into the Nightwings, the purple mare just assumed that the Nomad coined the name himself. But it appeared that the Nightwings were around long before Hedwyn had taken the mantle. “Eh, listen chum,” Rukey tried explaining. “we not really-“ The Cur was interrupted when Jodariel raised her hand to silence him. The Demon clearly didn’t want to give the adversary too much information on them. It was then Lendal finally took notice of Twilight, who was by this pint trying to somewhat hide away behind the trio. “You.” he pointed towards the alicorn. “I’ve been in this accursed land for longer than I care to admit, but I’ve yet to see something of the likes of you. What are you supposed to be?” Twilight was a bit hesitant about whether or not she should answer his question, but after considering her options, maybe it was time to show a bit more determination in her new role. “I’m…I’m Twilight. I’m the Reader for the Nightwings.” The scowl on Lendal’s face became deeper. “So, the Nightwings are at the point of desperation where they are recruiting such…abominations.” He then took a few steps towards the alicorn in a threatening manner. “These Rites are only meant for men deserving of freedom from this hellhole. Lowly creatures like yourself don’t deserve to breathe the same air as me, let alone be allowed to participate in these Rites.” The purple was beginning to feel uncomfortable around the man and the pseudo-threats against her. Thankfully, Jodariel stepped in front of the Nomad to block him from Twilight. “I would suggest you return to your side if we wish to begin anytime soon.” The Demon’s imposing size and menacing tone was more than enough to convince Lendal to take a few steps back, though he still gave the alicorn a death glare. “Hmm, very well. The Accusers and I will just have to prove your inferiority. Prepare to be vanquished, Nightwings!” Lendal then shoved his mask back onto his face and rushed back to the other side of the field. After the Nomad retreated, the mare let out a sigh of relief. The man was far too intense for her liking. Would all of the adversaries be this hostile towards her and her triumvirate? “Reader,” Jodariel said to Twilight. “Go to that hill overlooking the field over there. That should give you a decent enough vantage point for you to guide us during the Rite.” “You got this, my friend.” Hedwyn gave the mare some final words of encouragement. Twilight looked over to the hill Jodariel was pointing towards and began to head there herself. When she reached the top, the alicorn had a perfect view from one side of the field to the other. From this angle, Twilight was able to see the sigil of their pyre; a broken scale. While looking at the pyre, she saw a field of aura surround each member of the Accusers. The alicorn looked over to the other side to see that aura had surrounded the members of the Nightwings. Suddenly, the Book of Rites floated from under the mare’s wing and hovered before her. The Book then open to reveal a set of glowing pages. Twilight then felt the same connection to Hedwyn as the one back in the tutorial Rite. Musical Cue - Path to Glory She was now properly set to guide the Nightwings to victory. At last, a beam of light shot down to the middle of the field and the Celestial Orb fell to the ground. BEGIN! Lendal wasted no time in rushing towards the orb to pick it up. However, he had used all his stamina just to reach the orb, leaving him defenseless as Hedwyn casted his aura and banished him. Twilight then switched over to Rukey and watched as the Cur dashed to pick up the orb and make his way over to the Accuser’s pyre. Unfortunately, one of the other Accusers blocked the Cur and cast his aura right at him. Luckily, Rukey passed the orb back to Hedwyn before he was banished. Hedwyn used this opportunity quick circle around the Accusers and plunged into the fire. HAVE THE ACCUSERS UNDERESTIMATED YOU, OR WAS IT PERHAPS DUMB LUCK YOU DIVED INTO THE PYRE FIRST? Both triumvirates returned to their sides to the field, save for Hedwyn who was banished for this round. When the orb returned to the center, Twilight switched to Jodariel and slowly made her way to it. When one of the Accusers tried to get to the orb, the Demon casted her wide aura to banish him. Twilight then ordered Jodariel to seek shelter behind one of the mounds to avoid incoming aura casts and switched to Rukey. While Lendal and his teammate closed in on Jodariel with their auras, the Cur circled behind them and banished them both with two quick aura casts. With the field cleared, there was nothing to stop Jodariel from rushing to the pyre and stepping inside. “THE ORB, ENGULFED IN FIRE.” As the triumvirates returned, Hedwyn had returned and had taken Rukey’s place. The alicorn was feeling a strong wave of confidence in the man as he returned. “Hmph, looks that Lendal was all talk and no bite, huh?” “Hold your tongue, boy!” Lendal shouted out at Hedwyn’s comment. “I shall not accept defeat from you Nightwings again! Hear me, Accusers! Stand your ground! Let your aura boil and rage!” The triumvirate then retreated back to their pyre and surrounded it. Their auras linked together, creating a large area of aura that guarded their pyre. “IT WOULD APPEAR THAT YOU’VE FLUSTERED THE ACCUSERS. OF COURSE, THAT ISN’T EXACTLY DIFFICULT, GIVEN LENDAL’S CHECKERED HISTORY. Rukey was getting frustrated. “Gah, they’ve hunkered down! Looks like I’m gonna have to jump in their now!” Twilight was about to follow through with that plan until Hedwyn spoke up. “Wait, let me try something. I have an idea.” The purple mare thought about just going with Rukey’s plan just to be safe. But after feeling the large amount of confidence he had in his plan, Twilight decided to give control over to Hedwyn. The Nomad sprinted over to the other side of the field, right outside of the Accusers’ connected aura. Then, using all of his might, Hedwyn tossed the orb into the pyre, causing the flame to shrink down again. “A DARING DISPLAY, FLINGING THE ORB INTO THE FLAMES LIKE THAT. YOU ELUDE BANISHMENT USING SUCH TRICKS.” True to the Voice’s word, Twilight saw that all three members of the Nightwings were back on their side of the field. The alicorn made should to note such a tactic if she ever wanted to avoid losing someone during a round. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much more time to think about that, as she noticed Lendal had moved to the offensive and casted his aura at both Hedwyn and Rukey. With two of her team members out of commission, Twilight had to Jodariel guard the pyre until they return. However, one of the Accusers grabbed the orb and jumped over Jodariel’s aura field and into the Nightwings’ pyre, causing it to shrink a small bit. “DO TRY TO KEEP FOCUS, READER. ELSE YOU MIGHT END UP THROWING YOUR CHANCE AT FREEDOM AWAY.” Twilight shook her head and focused back onto the Rite. The Accusers’ pyre was over halfway gone now, and she estimated that two more hit to the pyre would win the match for the Nightwings. It was time to get serious. Hedwyn went over to the orb and then threw it over to Jodariel. The Demon walked halfway up the field before throwing the orb back to the Nomad. Lendal and his Accusers cornered Hedwyn and were ready to banish him, but that was all part of the plan. Before he was blasted away, Hedwyn passed the orb back to Jodariel, who then threw it right into the Accusers’ pyre once again. The pyre just flickering now, one more hit from the orb would do the trick. However, it looked like Lendal wasn’t taking this very well. “YOU BLASTED NIGHTWINGS!” he roared out at them. “You think you’re better than me because you have a Reader?! One that is some chattering animal at that?! I will claim what is rightfully mine!” The purple mare couldn’t help but roll her eyes at this outburst. She was getting rather tired of Lendal’s constant mockery and decided to finally end this night. With her determination restoked, Twilight lead Rukey to the far side of the field away from the adversaries to lay her trap. She then switched to Hedwyn who grabbed the orb and began to maneuver around the mounds. Lendal and the two Accusers rushed Hedwyn claim the orb, but Hedwyn had already passed it to Jodariel, who passed it to Rukey at the side. The Cur had a clear path to make one final leap into the Accusers’ pyre. With that, the last flickers of the golden flame faded into nothing. “AND IT IS DONE!” The field reset once again, with all of the Nightwings triumvirate returned to their side. The blue flame on the Nightwings’ pyre rumbled a bit before shoot off into the night sky and exploded into a dazzling, blue replica of the triumvirate’s sigil before dissipating away. “THE NIGHTWINGS HAVE PREVAILED.” “LOXALAS!” Hedwyn, Jodariel and Rukey cheered out into the night sky. Twilight didn’t understand the word that they yelled out, but that didn’t stop her from feeling great about the victory as she made her way back down from the hill to rejoin them. Although, the Voice was rather quick to add his opinion on the victory. “REJOICE THEN IN YOUR SINGLE FLEETING VICTORY, FOR I DOUBT FOR THE SAME CONCLUSION NEXT TIME.” The alicorn tried her best to shrug off the Voice’s snide comments by walking over to the trio and joining them in their celebration. It was short-lived, however, when Lendal walked over with hatred burning in his eyes. “Your cheap tactics may have won you a hollow victory tonight, Nightwings, but know this,” the aged man warned. “You will rue the day you face the Accuser’s again! Mark my words…Twilight.” Lendal then retreated back into the darkness along with his subordinates. The alicorn did begin to worry about the Accusers’ oath for vengeance, but now wasn’t the time for that. Now was for the time for congratulations. “You guys were amazing back there! I had no idea we could work together so well like-“ She cut herself off when she turned around to her companions and witnessed something unexpected. Musical Cue - A Step Closer Hedwyn, Jodariel and Rukey were all bathed in a beam of soft light that originated from seemingly nowhere. The were as shocked by the light as the mare was, but it didn’t look like they were in any pain of sorts. Twilight was nonetheless baffled at what exactly was happening. Luckily, the Voice soon explained the phenomenon that was occurring. “READER, WHAT YOU WITNESS NOW IS THE OBTAINING OF ENLIGHTENMENT.” “FOR EVERY RITE AN EXILE PARTICIPATES IN, THEY WILL GAIN KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE THAT WILL ASSIST THEM IN THEIR PATH TOWARDS FREEDOM.” “AS THEY GAIN ENLIGHTENMENT, EXILE CAN LEARN MASTERIES GRANTED BY THE EIGHT SCRIBES THEMSELVES THAT THEY CAN USE IN RITES TO OBTAIN MORE VICTORIES.” Twilight then noticed a bright, golden light emanating from the center of Hedwyn’s body. The nomad began to hover over the ground as the light spread to the rest of his body. When it was done, Hedwyn lowered back onto the ground and examined himself just to be sure. “IT APPEARS THAT THE MASTER-GENERAL GOLATHANIAN HAS REVEALED HIS STRATEGEM TO THE EXILE HEDWYN. MAY IT NOT GO TO HIS HEAD.” “Hedwyn, are you okay? How do you feel?” the purple mare asked the Nomad, curious in the effects of this “enlightenment”. After thoroughly checking himself over, Hedwyn looked over to the alicorn with a bright smile on his face. “It feels like I understand these proceedings a little bit better now. Participating in these Rites gives me some sense of improvement, both physically and mentally. I’m eager to see these changes in the next one!” The light shining on all three of the Nightwings then slowly faded off. Twilight looked up to see that the stars in the night sky started to dim down back to their original luminosity. The field was no longer covered in the mysterious glow and returned to its previous state. This was enough evidence for the alicorn to know that the Rite for this night had finally concluded. They were now one step closer to freedom. “THUS, CONCLUDES TONIGHT’S PROCEEDINGS. UNTIL THE STARS ALIGN AGAIN.” Musical Cue - Downside Ballad With their job done for the night, the Nightwings made their way back to the campsite they had set up at the base of the ridge. The group was in relatively high spirits thanks to their victory over the Accusers. Twilight let a smile spread across her lips at how she was able to guide the Nightwings to victory. It was a good start to what would be the first of many Rites that they would have to participate in. It would no doubt get harder along the way, but this was certainly a good start. “Woo! Did you all see that?!” Rukey exclaimed. “How I just rushed around those guys and jumped in at the end there?! Old Lendal didn’t see it coming a mile away! Those Accusers didn’t stand a chance!” The Cur then let out a howl to the night sky to emphasize their victory over their adversaries. “I practically taste freedom now!” Hedwyn couldn’t help but chuckle at Rukey’s antics. “Yeah, we did a pretty good job, but let’s not forget that we owe a lot of our victory to Twilight here. She was the one who expertly guided us through the Rite.” Twilight couldn’t help but blush a little at the praise given to her. “Aw, don’t think I was leaving you out, sister! It was team effort after all. Your brains with my quick four paws!” Rukey credited Twilight. “Thanks guys, that means a lot.” the bashful mare said. With congratulations sufficiently passed, the mare began planning on what to do next. “So, I guess when we get back to the campsite, we should for the star in the sky that will let us know where the next Rite will be held at and head there in the morning. Does that sound right, Jodariel?” Twilight looked behind her to confirm with the Demon, but it looked as though her attention was directed somewhere else at the moment. “Something is happening up there.” She stated. Twilight and the other Nightwings looked up to see what Jodariel was looking at. In the sky not too far ahead of them, there was a blue spark that was flickering in-and-out of existence. The anomaly continued to do this for a few seconds before it expanded into a portal-like opening. The group then saw something fall out from the opening and plummet straight to the ground. While none of the Nightwings had any clue at what the falling object was, sparks began to explode in Twilight’s mind. As she saw the thing that was falling was orange, wearing a worn brown Stetson on her head and was letting out a scream of panic in a southern twang, Twilight’s mind finally clicked. She was watching one her friends fall from the sky. “APPLEJACK!” the alicorn cried out as she began to rush forward to catch her falling friend. The Nightwings looked to each other at first, but eventually began to quickly follow Twilight. As the alicorn sprinted towards the farmer, she realized that she wouldn’t make it in time to catch her friend at the rate she was falling. So, she decided to do the next best option and used a large portion of her magic to slow down Applejack’s fall. The plan worked, as the magical field around the orange mare made her hit the ground at a non-lethal speed. Twilight then went over to where she landed to check on her friend. “Applejack are you okay?!” The purple mare quickly examined her friend to see if there was any excessive damage. Thankfully, it looked as though the farmer only had a few scratches and small bruises from her front hooves to the cutiemark on her flank. She had her eyes closed, but that was probably due to the disorientation from the landing. Soon, Applejack’s eyes began to flutter open and looked to Twilight’s worried face. “Ugh, Tw-Twilight, is that you?” she muttered. A huge wave of relief washed over the purple mare as it looked as though her friend was all in one piece. “Oh Applejack!” she yelled out as she pulled her longtime friend in a tight embrace. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” Though she did try her best not to think about it, Twilight began having the notion that it was possible that she would be permanently trapped in the world and would never be able to see her friends and family again. The thought terrified her, hence her methods of thinking about something different if the idea ever manifested itself in her head. Now, all those fears were null-and-void as she was now holding on to her farmer friend. “Woah sugarcube,” Applejack interrupted. “I’m alright now, you don’t have to squeeze me so dang tight!” After realizing that she might have been hugging her friend too tightly, the alicorn released her friend and gave her a sheepish grin as a form of apology. It was then Applejack’s turn to gasp in shock as she looked over the purple mare. “Land sake Twilight, are you okay? You look like you’ve been through the wringer of some sorts.” Twilight looked down and realized that the farmer must have been referring to the bandages that Hedwyn had applied to her front hooves when they first met. “Oh yeah, my forelegs were kinda in bad shape before I got patched up.” Before Applejack could ask who exactly tended to the alicorn’s wounds, the Nightwings had finally caught up to where the two ponies were. “Hey, sister! What was that all about? You could have just-“ Rukey stopped himself as he took notice of Applejack. The Cur then looked to his compatriots. “Uhhh, you guys see an orange pony wearing a hat too, right?” “Indeed.” Jodariel stated plainly. “It looks like she from Twilight’s world.” Hedwyn added. Applejack only stared blankly at the trio before she leaned in closer to her alicorn friend. “Uh, Twilight,” she said in a hushed tone. “Who are those creatures over there and why are they speaking in some fancy gibberish?” Twilight’s eyes widen when she realized the farmer didn’t have the translation on her like she did. “Oh, wait! Hold on for a second, Applejack!” The alicorn then charged her horn towards the earth-pony and released the spell onto her. The magical field wrapped itself around Applejack’s and then disappeared, confirming that the spell was successful. With that inconvenience taken care of, the purple mare turned to the Nightwings and began the introductions. “Guys, this is Applejack. She’s one of my friends from the world I come from.” She then looked to the farmer. “Applejack, this is Hedwyn, Jodariel and Rukey. They were the ones that saved me and patched me up when I almost…didn’t make it when coming here.” Hedwyn was the first one of the trio to step and greet the orange mare. “Nice to meet you.” the Nomad said in a friendly tone. Applejack was small bit hesitant at first, but she eventually walked up to them and tipped her hat. “Uhh…Howdy there, y’all. Can’t say I’ve ever been quite familiar with a lot like you, especially a talking dog with a mustache. But anycreature that saves one my friends is alright in my book!” Hedwyn was about return the kind gesture, but then Rukey made a commotion. “DOG?!?! I am a Cur, for crying out loud!” he yelled. “Name one time you’ve run into a dog with such a fine mustache. Just one!” Jodariel then gave a light tap against the back of Rukey’s head to cease his rant. “Be respectful to our new guest.” she chastised him. The Cur was about to retort to this but decided to grumble something under his breath. Applejack gave a small laugh at this and then looked back to her alicorn friend. “I’m glad to see you’re okay, Twilight. That explosion must’ve did a mighty number on ya. So, do you know where exactly we are now?” she asked her, looking around the area. “Oh, well right now we’re in a place known as the Downside and it looks like-“ Twilight cut herself when she realized something the farmer had said to her. “Wait, what do you mean “explosion”? Did something happen back in Equestria?” Applejack gave her a confused look before it morphed into one of worry. “Wait, you don’t remember, Twi?” A small jolt of panic ran through the alicorn. She knew that her slight amnesia was bad, but now it was starting to sound a lot worse than it seemed. What explosion was Applejack talking about? How big and how much damage did it cause? Were the rest of her friends around when the explosion hit? Were the princesses okay? Twilight’s never-ending streaming of questions that she was going to ask Applejack were interrupted by the Demon. “Reader, the night grows long. I’m sure your companion wouldn’t telling you want happened in your world in the morning. Let us return to the wagon.” The horned woman then looked to the orange mare. “Applejack, there is plenty of room for you in the wagon. Please come with us so that can receive so rest. The exhausted do not last very long in this land.” The apple farmer let out a yawn to confirm her new-found fatigue. “Yeah, I reckon you might be right about that. Much obliged to you, Miss…Jodariel, right?” The Demon nodded and lead the way back to the Nightwings’ camp. Applejack followed along with the group, but she made sure to stay close to Twilight’s side. Despite hearing the news of some sort of “explosion” that lead both her and her friend being transported to this land, Twilight was feeling pretty good all things all things considered. Seeing her friend walk by her again gave the alicorn hope that she would one day be reunited with all of her friends again, be it in one world or another. She would no doubt have to explain multiple things about this new world, from the Rites to the Commonweath. However, there would be time for that in the morning. Right now, it was time to earn some rest. When the group made it back to the blackwagon, Jodariel began giving out instructions. “Rukey, go feed the Drive Imps and oil the wheels so that we’re ready at dawn.” The Cur gave a salute and went to perform his tasks. “Hedwyn, help the Reader look to the stars to find out where we are to head next.” After Hedwyn gave a nod, she turned to Applejack. “I will get Applejack settled and run down the rules of the wagon with her. Come along then.” The imposing woman made her way inside the wagon. Applejack went up to the entrance and turned back to Twilight. “See ya in a bit, Twi. It’s really nice to be seeing ya again.” She then went into the wagon. “Shall we consult the stars, my friend?” Hedwyn asked the alicorn. Twilight nodded, and they made there way to a clearing to look upon the clear night sky. The purple mare did as before and carefully studied the sky for anything out of place. Sure enough, she an orange star shining brighter than the rest. After peering into the star to get an idea of the next location, Twilight pointed out the star for Hedwyn. “Joumer, the Dusk Star,” Hedwyn identified it. “That should bring us to an ancient spring deep in Joumer Valley. We’ll make our way there at dawn.” He was about to head back to the wagon, but the Nomad then noticed Twilight had a small bit of worry hidden under her neutral face. The man made a wild guess at what was bothering the mare and went to reassure her. “She is coming with us, Twilight. No question about that. Our freedom is her freedom as well. I promise you.” He then made his way back to camp. The last of Twilight’s (immediate) worries were washed away at Hedwyn’s promise for Applejack. The last thing she would want was to be reunited with her friend again only to her left behind. There were still a lot of questions in the air, but right now, she was too tired to get answers to them all. So, the alicorn left the clear and went to get some sleep for the journey to Joumer Valley. Hopefully, there won’t be any surprises along the way.