//------------------------------// // The Adventure Begins // Story: Manipulation // by Element of Malice //------------------------------// A mirror started to ripple as a light orange mare with streaks of red in her mane stumbled out, getting used to her new form.  “I am so sorry I’m late. I just had to deal with a crazy situation that began with an escaped convict, which led to exposing an underground organization of… Whoa, something tells me this is serious.” Sunset Shimmer exclaimed at the sizable group of ponies in the room, plus the 20 symbols that were hovering around a heavily wooded part of the Everfree Forest.  “Is that where we’re being called to? There’s so many. Do any of you know where that is or how to get there?” She said, pointing out the extensive area that the marks made on the map. Sunburst spoke up, “Actually, I was hoping Starlight would be able to help me out with this one. I’ve been thinking through several possible solutions we could try. But unless anypony here goes into the forest on a daily basis and can navigate through it with their eyes closed, then I’m not seeing any of them working.” “And it’s not like we can take the table with us either. Even then, we still wouldn’t…” “Starlight, you’re a GENIUS!!!” Sunburst exclaimed, nearly grabbing his friend by the hoof, “Come with me Starlight, I need a few materials and books for references.” He said before speeding down the hall. Starlight watched him bolt out of the room, “Uh, okay?” she said before going after him. Upon their return, they had an excited look in their eyes. Celestia chose to be the one to ask the question they all had, “Mind telling us what you were doing?” Sunburst and Starlight each took their turn answering, “So first, I was trying to figure out how to have the map give directions to someone who knew the area.” “But since this is the Everfree Forest, it’s not really a well-known terrain, even for those familiar with it. There’s still a good chance for us to get lost that way.” “And casting a spell like that on something alive would be too risky to attempt, but when Starlight said ‘take the table,’ it hit me! What I was trying to do was too complicated and difficult.” “We’re going to use the same basic concept, but it’s still pretty self-explanatory,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “Whoa whoa whoa wait! Your plan is to drag this table with us on our mission? That has to be one of the top 10 most ridiculous ideas I’ve ever heard of. That thing has to weigh at least a ton, and there’s no way something that big will be able to fit through the trees.” Starlight answered her question, starting up the alternating cycle again, “You’re right, that’s what I was going to tell Sunburst before he had this much better idea.” “We’re going to be taking the map, but not the way you see it here.” “The map has a connection to the Tree of Harmony, but most of us already knew that.” “Although, if my theory is correct, then hypothetically speaking, there should be a way for us to connect other inanimate things to the same source. In this case, the tree. Twilight, do you mind?” “Uh sure…” she said hesitantly, recalling the last time a spell was cast on the table. Starlight and Sunburst approached the map. Starlight’s horn lit up and pulled out a small crystal disk about as big as a mid-sized lens of a magnifying glass while Sunburst walked to the opposite side of where she stood.  As he faced her, Sunburst started using his magic. A beam went from his glowing horn to the table then to the disk. When the light faded, Starlight examined it before giving a satisfying grin, confirming their success. “Not quite what I had in mind when I made that spell,” Star Swirl said stroking his beard, “but I did catch a whiff of location magic as well, so I think I know where this is going,” Sunburst glanced away nervously at Star Swirl’s compliment, “Yeah I uh had to make some alterations on it, you see if I were to—” “Ugh! just get to the point already,” Said a very impatient pink earth pony who somehow managed to fit in Star Swirl’s beard, something inevitable was about to happen. A few ponies mentally braced themselves to keep up with it. “We have a mission we need to take care of and cupcakes to eat.” Pinkie Pie then retreated back into the beard before reappearing over Starlight’s shoulder. Her eyes were focused on the disk, and as predicted, Pinkie began to speak a million words a minute.  “So, is this like some kind of teeny friendship table? That sounds smart because then you can carry it around with you wherever you go and not get lost. But wait, wouldn’t that mean the marks are smaller too? Wouldn’t that make it even harder to see where we needed to go? I think it would. *Gasp*, unless you’re looking at a bigger version on a smaller scale or maybe a smaller version of a bigger scale. That would mean we would be able to see if we’re where we need to be or not. But for that to work, we would have to be there to know that. I don’t know how to get there. Can it tell us how to get there? I hope it can because that would be nice to know which direction we needed to be going. We are going into the Everfree forest after all. There’s a lot of things that have to be avoided, like the endless twists and turns leading to sudden cliffs that appear out of nowhere with a rickety old bridge, or maybe one of many dangerous creatures lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce at us at any given moment. It would need to show us which way we had to go to avoid all of that and get us to our destination safely guiding anypony who uses it to the delicious, mouth-watering cupcakes resting in a pile under a pillar of light. Oooh, I’m calling it a GPS!!” Somehow managing to hear every word, a look of surprise materialized on Sunset’s face.  “Wait a minute, you guys know what a…,” she paused for a moment to think, looking at the pink mare before continuing what she was going to say, “Pinkie, what does GPS stand for here?” “Uh, ‘Guiding Ponies Safely’ duh, what did you think it meant Sunset?” She said, making it sound like it should have been obvious. “Well, where I came from there’s… uh, this device that does exactly what you were describing. It means something completely different, though it’d take too long for me to explain right now.” She said, unwilling to try and explain the concept of satellite tracking to ponies with a, for lack of a better word, primitive lifestyle. “Anyway, it does exactly what you were saying. It’s a map of the world, but you only see a magnified portion showing your current location. It also shows you which route you can take to get from one place to another. Is that actually a thing here, or was that just Pinkie being herself?” Said Sunset, not too surprised at what Pinkie managed to do. Sunburst stood there, agape.  “That was just Pinkie being herself,” he said before pushing up his glasses and muttered to himself, “I need to run some tests on her to find out how she keeps doing that.” Looking back at the group, he spoke louder, “Well, at least you all know how this works now,” the unicorn appeared as though he got cheated out of explaining the most fantastic device ever created, but he wasn’t going to give up. “So, now that we have a hybrid map and compass for directions, shall we head out?” “About time,” said Pinkie, bouncing her way to the door, “those cupcakes aren’t going to eat themselves you know.” “Pinkie, I doubt there’s going to be cupcakes where we’re going.” Said Twilight lighting up her horn, levitating the saddlebags Spike was carrying and dispersing them among the group. “You won’t know until we get there.” Pinkie answered, her singsong voice trailing back into the room. The trees along the forest boundary towered up ahead as the large group approached them. This wasn’t their first time going into the woods, in fact, they’d long gotten used to entering it regularly. But even then, they would go in pairs just to be safe. Or for those confident enough to go alone, they would make sure that someone else knew that they were going in. That way, if they didn’t return before nightfall, a search party could be arranged for their rescue. However, this time, they were being called on a Friendship Mission with four Alicorn Princesses, seasoned fighters from the past and present, along with the most talented scholars Equestria had to offer. Yet even in spite of these factors, the forest seemed to be more haunting than the old exaggerated rumors. Once the group stepped into the Everfree Forest, Sunburst pulled out the GPS and followed the route it gave him. As time went on, there was a sneaky suspicion that something was wrong about the forest, but nobody could pinpoint what it might be, which only made things more unsettling. Almost half an hour had passed when Luna came to a sudden stop.  “Wait, listen. Do you not hear that?”  Everyone stopped and listened. Discord even went as far as increasing the size of his ears. “I’m sorry sister, but I can’t hear anything,” Celestia answered, sounding confused about why Luna was asking that question. “That is exactly our point, when is the last time any of us heard anything other than ourselves?” They listened again, and she was right, there wasn’t a sound. It was so deathly still that it was actually frightening, not even the noises of small woodland animals or insects were heard. It was like the entire Everfree Forest was holding its breath, making everyone feel as if they were the only ones occupying the whole forest. “You’re right Luna, I doubt the forest has ever been this quiet for this long,” Celestia agreed, recalling that back during times of war, such silence meant danger was close. Her main concern was how it hadn’t jumped out the way she was used to. Instead, it had managed to subtly creep upon them. She felt embarrassed about the fact that she hadn’t noticed it sooner if this were anything like the old days, the enemy would have already ambushed them by now. However, this didn’t stop the group as they marched on, determined to get their task over with so they could leave these woods. But as they ventured farther into the forest, the feeling of dread continued increasing to overwhelming proportions. Sunburst stopped, cocking an eyebrow he began to exchange glances between the GPS and thick foliage. He gave the disk a few taps and shook it, but apparently to no avail.  “This can’t be right,” he said, examining the device closer, “It’s telling us to go that way.” He pointed his hoof directly into a wall of thick shrubbery. There was a snap as the trees grew legs and stepped aside without warning, while the bushes inflated and popped like balloons, bursting into square bubbles that laughed when they popped.  “Shall I pave the road in brick as well?” said Discord, nonchalantly giving another snap, but nothing happened. “Odd, I wanted a trail made out of soap bars to appear, unless… but, but that’s impossible.” “Um, guys,” Fluttershy whispered inaudibly. “Impossible? You, Discord, are using the word impossible? I thought that word didn’t exist in your vocabulary or plane of existence.” Rainbow Dash taunted. “Guys?” Fluttershy tried again but was ignored. “Let me inform you,” said Discord taking the defensive approach, “that the only time my magic has ever failed me was when I went to the changeling hive and Chrysalis’s throne sapped it away. But that can’t be the case, because we all saw it blow up, except for you six artifacts.” “Um, e… excuse me,” This time, Sunset heard Fluttershy trying to speak. Thus she loudly cleared her throat to get the other’s attention.  “Sorry to interrupt, but the last time I ignored Fluttershy, I regretted it deeply and promised never to do it again,” she gave a shiver recalling the events that happened, “long story, and I’d rather not talk about it right now. Anyway, what are you trying to tell us.” Fluttershy felt uncomfortable by all the eyes suddenly staring at her, “Uh… thanks, I… Um well… It’s just… I, ah, I don’t like the way this fog is surrounding us.” Everyone looked around, and sure enough, a thick wall of haze had surrounded them in every direction, and it seemed to be closing in. Rainbow face hoofed then asked, “Do you want me to get rid of it for you?” “Yes, please do… if you don’t mind, that is.” Rainbow Dash hovered over to the fog with an exasperated sigh and reached out to start her work. But instead of grabbing the mist, her hoofs passed through as if it was only air. “Whoa, what the?” She landed just past the fog line, “I went through it like it… wasn’t… e… ven…” she fell to the ground unconscious, landing with a thud. “Rainbow? Rainbow Dash!” Twilight ran towards her fallen friend but was stopped by a magical shield that materialized around the group. “Twilight wait,” Celestia said, “something is indeed draining our magic, I may have been able to cast this barrier spell but only just.” Twilight slowly backed away from the barrier, “Believe me, I am as worried about Rainbow Dash as you are, but it won’t do any good if you just run out and put yourself in the same situation.” Celestia looked as if she was having difficulty maintaining the spell. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold this, but right now we have to think of something before—” “The fog’s coming through!” Trixie shrieked as the mist casually fazed itself past their only defense and into their sanctuary. At that moment, Celestia’s spell broke. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said sobbing as she curled up into a ball, “It’s all my fault!” “No sugar cube, Sunset was righ we yall shoulda listened to ya sooner.” “What are we going to do!” exclaimed Rarity. Panicking, Twilight cast a teleportation spell out of habit but only managed to produce a few sparks. There was no magic, no plan, and no visible exit. “Stick together, we don’t know how far this mist goes, and running through it blindly could only get us lost or worse. If we’re lucky, maybe it will leave as fast as it appeared.” She said, putting every ounce of faith into her words, “until then, just hold your breath.” “Brace yourselves!” said Rockhoof as everyone took one last deep breath before the tidal wave of vapor engulfed them. Surprisingly, the air felt warm and relaxing, coaxing them to breathe. ‘Don’t worry,’ it seemed to say, ‘everything will be fine, you’ll be safe.’  The best spa treatment Twilight has ever received felt nothing like this, but she knew the consequences of taking even one breath. One by one, she heard ponies giving in to the temptation promised with the sound of their bodies hitting the ground after gasping for air. Come on just, leave already! She desperately thought.  The silhouette of Flash Magnus went skyward in an attempt to fly above the vapor. But a sudden thud from above told her that he had hit a tree branch. Rockhoof’s large form took a dive to catch the pegasus as he came down, knocking the wind out of both of them. Rarity’s face began to change into colors that made Twilight subconsciously make a mental note to examine and name later before she wondered if it was from her own lack of oxygen. This can’t be happening.  Twilight saw Rarity pass out from holding her breath too long, leaving only her, Celestia, Starlight, and Cadence, who was on the ground… and pointing? Twilight looked in the direction she was indicating just as Cadence exhaled. Even though her vision was starting to blur, she saw Rainbow Dash being dragged away. “AH, something’s got…me,” Starlight shouted as she jumped back before collapsing. Twilight watched more of the group being taken away one by one, but she saw what was happening when she looked at Starlight. I don’t understand. Silver, web-like strands wove their way around her body, tying her up in some kind of net. Celestia gasped for air moments before Twilight did the same. The feeling of drowsiness was far more potent than the relaxation the mist provided, even the impact of hitting the ground was blissful. She couldn’t move...or rather, she didn’t want to move. Instead, she just laid there feeling the heavenly enticing threads gently caress through her fur. I thought our friendship could overcome anything. Why did it have to end like this?  The last thing she felt was her body helplessly being dragged away before everything faded to nothing. “Of course it’s boring here now, but at least you’re not in a cage!” Tirek exclaimed when he heard Cerberus whining. Before he could utter another word, he felt an outside source of magic, making its way into Tartarus.  A portal opened up, and Princess Luna, along with two royal guards, came through escorting a young pegasus filly who Tirek knew all too well. No words were exchanged as they proceeded to put her in the cage right next to his then leaving just as quickly. When the portal closed, Cozy Glow, the new inmate, turned to Tirek and grinned, “Hey neighbor, want to be friends?” Her face did everything except matching the words coming out of her mouth. “After the fiasco you caused, why should I even consider beating you with a TEN FOOT POLE!!” Tirek answered outraged, “I have half a mind to obliterate you the next time I break out. The other half is wanting to leave you here to rot once I escape without your help!” “Oh, don’t worry, that opportunity will happen sooner than you think because I have a one-way ticket out of here.” “Oh please, do tell.” Said Tirek with a scoff turning away from her, folding his arms. “I don’t blame you for not believing me. This plan was pretty intricate after all. But we couldn’t risk you knowing what the real plan was or else the ponies could have gotten information out of you, and that would have only made things even more tricky,” She said matter of factly, “But why tell you, when I can show you?” That was enough to pique his interest in what she was saying.  What real plan, and who’s ‘we’? He turned around and saw her straining in some form of concentration. Her mouth opened up, and her stomach congested as if she had swallowed something and was now bringing it back up.  Her eyes bugged out as he saw an object making its way to her mouth then stopped. Cozy Glow looked like she was choking on whatever she was trying to retrieve. The centaur became fearful, mainly because if Cozy Glow did indeed have a way out of Tartarus, Tirek didn’t want it to be just mere inches away, stuck in the throat of a dead pegasus filly. Thankfully for both parties, with a cough, the object was hurtled across the cavern, followed by the sound of something shattering against the wall.  With a look of panic, Tirek stared in the direction it flew and saw black liquid begin to drip down from the point of impact. “Did you just… break… your own escape plan?” “Don’t be ridiculous, here he comes.” The still gagging filly said, giving her best smile ending with a singsong voice, though it was ruined by the amount of drool around her mouth. When Tirek looked back at the liquid on the wall, he saw it oozing down, sideways, and up. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the dark stain wriggling and contorting like a liquid as if the shadows were swimming with life. Cerberus growled in the direction of the flowing darkness, a notion Tirek almost shared, feeling the presence of a powerful being coming through the dark void.  A large foreboding silhouette emerged from within the liquid wall and began to approach Tirek and Cozy Glow, who was now on the verge of hysterical laughter. Cerberus gave another more menacing snarl towards the intruder, getting ready to attack.  “SIT,” the figure commanded in a volcanic voice that seemed to emanate from all directions. Within an instant, the fierce guard dog became a whimpering coward that slinked back into a corner. Tirek found himself backing away as well, not able to stop himself until he hit the bars of his cell. “Um… so, ah, hehe, who might you be exactly?” He asked with a nervous chuckle and a sheepish grin as he gazed up at the towering figure. Cozy Glow exploded in a fit of uncontrollable laughter when she heard this rolling on her back and kicking her feet in the air. “I don’t understand how you find any of this remotely funny.” “OH… OH HO HO, tha… that’s because. AH HA HA HA HA. That’s because this plan… This plan was so… so obvious from the very beginning AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!” Out of nowhere, she slammed herself against the bars with a look of hatred. This made the centaur jump away from her. “AND NOBODY SAW IT COMING!!,” she blurted out with a gurgling raspy voice, “NOBODY!!! Pff… pff HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!” she fell back to the ground clutching her sides in pain pounding the ground with her hooves, “Oh you shou… you should see the look on your face AHA HA HAAAA!!! So… Much… FEAR!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!” What is happening? Tirek thought, exchanging glances from the bright, frilly, curly-cue, goody two shoe filly to the dark, ominous, foreboding, and demonic entity and back. How can these two possibly have any kind of relationship? The sound of twisting metal could be heard as the centaur’s cage and Cozy Glow’s, were somehow turned into a mangled heap, despite all of the cells in Tartarus having magic nulling property.  The display finally stopped the malicious mare’s fit of laughter as she took flight towards the being, who tossed an orb of extremely potent magic at Tirek.  “If I were you, I’d do as he says,” Cozy Glow demanded before using an overdramatic emphasis in her words and actions. “Oh, Retribution, I honestly had no idea just how generous you truly were. Here I am, a poor, helpless, damsel in distress, and just like that, here you are. Coming to my rescue like the dashing, honorable, and noble knight you are in your bright and shining armor. Oh, such loyalty.” Tirek had to fight the urge to gag. He couldn’t tell if she was mock-acting or being serious as he watched the filly nuzzling the creature named Retribution, before smacking a kiss on his cheek. It couldn’t have possibly looked any more displeased.  “I must be the luckiest girl in the whole wide world to have such a kind-hearted, loving, thoughtful, and caring friend like Gah!…”  Without any kind of warning, Retribution used lightning-quick reflexes to punch the pegasus so hard that she was instantly vaporized into nothing more than a dark red stain on the ground, walls, and the now outstretched limb. The centaur gulped, realizing just how careful he had to be if he was going to escape with a monster who treated his ‘friends’ in this manner.  Now that I think about it, maybe being trapped here with Twilight and her five annoying nuisances for all eternity isn’t so bad after all, then again… he looked at the orb and smiled before swallowing it. The power he felt coursing through his body now made him stand taller than Retribution.  “You should have waited until after conditions were made. I propose a new plan, I crush you now and leave you here, that way you won’t get in my way later.”  If Retribution was even half as powerful as he appeared to be, the amount of magic within him had to be astronomical. Tirek began to siphon what he could before anything else happened. “WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT.” Retribution said calmly. Tirek ceased his attempt when he came up empty, “you have no magic?!” “IF YOU STILL WISH TO CHALLENGE MY AUTHORITY, THEN BY ALL MEANS, YOU ATTACK FIRST.” “Can this possibly get any easier!?” said Tirek releasing a beam of pure magic. Ow, that was the first thing that Twilight thought as she began to stir.  Her entire body was stiff and sore, aching as if it hadn’t moved for days. Her horn similarly felt like it was about to explode, and the pounding headache it came with was unlike anything she’d ever felt before. She could almost hear her eyelids creaking and cracking when they opened in even more discomfort, crusty flakes trying to keep them shut. Every movement she made trying to stand only hurt more than the previous one. “Soooo muuuuuch paaaaaaaiin,” said a weak voice that sounded like a deflating Pinkie Pie. Just hearing her talk was more than enough to make Twilight instantly thirsty. Every word grew quieter when she spoke again.  “My throat feels like a dry washcloth… must… have… waaaaaterrrrrr!” “I didn’t know hooves could throb like this,” Rarity said, wincing afterward, “or teeth.” “We feel as if we were stuffed into the average-sized milk bottle,” Luna commented. “If this is how you guys felt after I cast that brainwash spell on you, I will apologize ten… no twenty-fold.”  Everyone could hear Starlight’s entire body creak and pop more than Granny Smith on a bad day as she began to arise. “You know,” Rainbow Dash said groggily in a raspier voice than usual, “this does feel just like that. Wait, something’s different. Oh, that’s right, when we were under that spell you didn’t order us to jump off the world’s biggest Celestia forsaken cliff, smash our head into every stinking rock on our way down, climb back up it, fight our way through Tartarus and back, and then jump off the cliff again… In one freakn’ afternoon!” She began to cough and tried to inhale past the pain in her torso. “Can any of you check to see if my wings are still attached, I can’t move my head.” “Ah might be the closest to ya, but from this angle, ah can’t tell,” Applejack answered, groaning as she struggled to stand. “I tell you what. There’s cider, there’s too much cider, then there’s this. Seriously ah feel like ah survived a stampede a buffalo after tryn’ ta do apple buckn’ season on my own again. If y’all don’t mind, could somepony that can actually stand help me up? Mah legs ain’t listenen’ to a thing I tell em.” “Oi, this must be what a wee stick of chewing gum feels like after a few hours in the maw of the beast,” Rockhoof stated. “I’ll do… what I… can to… help but… I would… work much… better … if my … head would… stop poun… ding.” Mistmane said, wincing rhythmically as she walked in that direction. With every pause she made, everyone could feel her pain as if it were their own. “Okay, roll call, is anypony missing,” Cadence spoke up, sounding just as bad as everyone else felt, “Twilight?” “Here.” “Rainbow Dash?” “Can I call in sick?” “That’s a yes, okay, Rarity?” “Present.” “Applejack,” “Ten more minutes.” “Pinkie Pie” The pink pony wheezed and raised a shaky hoof. “Good enough, Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” no answer came. “She’s over here,” Somnambula announced, limping out from the bushes carrying a motionless Fluttershy on her back. “Is she alright?” Celestia asked Meadowbrook and Mistmane, who hobbled over to examine her. “Good news is, she’s still breathing. Unfortunately, I can’t… wait a moment,” Meadowbrook leaned in closer to Fluttershy’s mouth. “She said, ‘don’t worry about me, take care of everypony else first.’ I think she’ll be fine.”  Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, that’s Somnambula, Mistmane, and Meadowbrook. Rockhoof?” “Obviously not me best day, but I’m still Kickn’… barely.” “Flash Magnus?” “If someone said my name, can you please speak up, my ears are still ringing!” “Star Swirl?” “Over here!” they heard Sunburst say a fair distance away in the direction Somnambula came from. “Would one of you be so kind as to please check and see if my back is broken or not,” pleaded Star Swirl as he and the orange unicorn stallion emerged. “Okay, that leaves Celestia, Luna, myself, and then there’s…” “My my what is this I see? Eighteen ponies crying out in agony?” “Zecora?” exclaimed Twilight as loud as she dared, “You have no idea just how releveled we are to see you here. You wouldn’t happen to have a potion on you that can treat aches and pains would you?” “If you don’t mind, can you tell me what kind?” Pinkie Pie, with all the strength she could muster, grabbed the zebra’s earrings and pulled her head down, barely wheezing out the one word that summed up their descriptions, “EEEEEEEVERYYYYYYYTHIIIIIIIIING.” Zecora calmly pushed Pinkie back then said, “I’ll check my bag and see what is there. If I do, it won’t be much, so you will all have to share.” “If only you knew,” Sunset said out of nowhere, “at this point, anything helps as…” realization seemed to dawn on her face, “you said eighteen ponies. Who’s missing, where’s Discord?” “There you are, you can’t hide from me,” Zecora said, pulling a large flask out of her satchel, “here take a sip of this remedy,” Pinkie was the first to start guzzling down the fluid inside. Rarity tackled her to prevent the formula from disappearing altogether. She greedily took a mouth full or two, as Pinkie spat out the cork, only to stop herself and passed it around before it became too tempting to resist another swallow. After Rainbow Dash had her share, she smacked her lips and said, “If I had to guess, he probably bailed on us and went home or something.”  It seemed like the drink was starting to work as Dash could already feel herself getting better. The pain was still noticeable, but at least she could move her head, and her wings didn’t feel as if they were wrenched out of their sockets and torn off her body.  “I mean, he disappears all the time. That’s like his thing, you know, nothing new there, right?” Starlight returned the now empty bottle to Zecora. “That does make sense, but… Hold on, where’s Trixie!? TRIXIE!!”  The next few minutes were spent searching the area, but there were no signs of the blue unicorn anywhere.  “For Discord to be gone is one thing, but Trixie? Something is definitely wrong,” Starlight said, now more concerned than ever for her best friend’s location.  “Have you already forgotten the fact that a fog which seemingly appeared out of nowhere knocked us out and made us wake up with the worst imaginable headache we will ever experience,” Rarity replied, now looking similarly healthier than before. “Not to mention all of the strange things that have happened over the past few days. If you ask me, this is even worse than when Cozy Glow tried to trap us in Tartarus with Tirek. At least then, we had something to go off of, but I’m at a complete loss for what’s happening now.” “Uh, not to bring down the mood any further, but we have another problem,” Sunburst said with great concern in his voice, “I can’t find the GPS anywhere.” “Oh, that’s just great! How are we supposed to find our way out of here now!” Rainbow Dash cried out. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I guarantee that we are not in the same place we were when the fog jumped us,” she then pointed towards the sun, “on top of that the sun is a lot lower in the sky meaning it’s late afternoon, almost evening. If anything, I think we should call it a day and keep looking for Trixie tomorrow. At least then we can get our bearings, giving us a better chance of finding her.”  As Rainbow finished her rant, she turned to find her five closest friends looking at her with surprise.  “What?... Whoa, did I just sound like an egghead? How did I know all of that?” “As much as it pains me to say it, I think Rainbow Dash has a point,” Twilight said hesitantly, “to be honest, the thought of leaving her alone at night in the Everfree Forest is disconcerting due to current circumstances. But let’s face it, we’re obviously all exhausted and probably won’t find anything as we are now.”  Though the others didn’t want to admit it, she was right. Despite just waking up, they felt like they hadn’t slept for a week, and some looked about ready to collapse any second.  “And just to put the icing on the cake,” Celestia spoke up, “my magic seems to be very low. I am regaining it as we speak, but it’ll be a while before I can even cast basic spells.” “Zecora, you wouldn’t mind letting us sleep at your hut, would you. It would just be for tonight, then we’ll be out of your mane.” “Uh…um,” a concerned look crossed Zecora’s face as her eyes darted around the rather sizeable group, “I uh, see the dilemma that you currently face, but my hut is too small for you to stay at my place.” She gave a grin that looked slightly nervous. “You’re right, sorry I even bothered asking,” Twilight apologized, now realizing it was stupid to even consider. At the same time, the zebra offered the group a look of sympathy, “Although, could you at least guide us out of here? Like we said before, we still have no idea where we even are right now.” The zebra quickly nodded, more than happy to provide some type of aid. “Of course I can, you see that hill, following that path will lead you to Ponyville.” “Thank you. We’ll come back tomorrow.” Starlight said, “Oh, and if you see Trixie or Discord, can you let us know… in the morning if it’s not too much trouble for you, that is.” “Don’t you worry, I’ll let you know. Though it’s getting darker, so you’d better go.” “Again, thanks, talk to you later,” Twilight said, waving goodbye as the group began their march out of the forest. “WAIT!!!” It had only been five minutes before Zecora came running towards them, “sorry to come back in such a huff, but I believe you left behind some of your stuff.” She held an odd-looking saddlebag that somehow seemed familiar, but none of them recognized it. Sunburst looked inside and found a book with a gem on the cover.  “Oh, my journal!” Twilight exclaimed, “I don’t know what it’s doing in this bag though, thanks.” “Anytime, now take care,” Zecora said, taking off and waving goodbye once more. “And good luck,” She said under her breath as soon as she was far enough away to disappear unnoticed in a green flame.