Still. Oddly still.
As Feather trod the path ladened with leaves and twigs, it clung to his soul. Stillness. Perhaps frivolous anxiety. A trepidation.
And the sun too proffered heat; despite its generousness, there was little discomfort to that, no sweat. Though it was as if it shone a tad brighter, a bit more fond of Equus and its inhabitants today.
To anypony else, it was an insignificant detail. If it were anypony else, they might have not noticed it at all. Why care for small things that don't matter?
But Feather was no other pony. He took note of that, and why couldn’t it leave his mind? Too often was he accused of that certain awareness. Some even called it pedantic, inexplicable, scrupulous. So he thought: why do things pop up the way they do?
And that stillness grasped harder, relentlessly. Feather swore his rib cage rattled. Why can’t you leave me alone? How could nothingness follow me if it’s nothingness?
Then perhaps it was something. Maybe there’s no such thing as “nothingness.” Then what would stillness be? The way things are? Maybe not moving, but trailing behind somehow. Stalking.
Maybe it’s like a spooky monster…! Lurking, seeking, but never really seen or known. Unless somepony wants to look for it. Huh. Like ghosts?
Little Feather shook his head. There was no such thing as ghosts or spirits.
Abandoning his thoughts, the pegasus continued to follow the ponies up ahead. It was unlike the monster that trailed behind him, a predator unbeknownst to most of the world, for one had to believe it to see it, and it preferred to shy away from the knowledge creatures alike.
Such was the fate of things that deemed themselves too worthy for the rest of ponykind.
Feather rubbed his groggy eyes.
He was never alert when he woke. Feather envied those that could wake and get out of bed, simple as that. He was a part of another group, though, an unfortunate sum which had to fight back the drowsiness for minutes on end before rising from their bedsheets. Half of the time, Feather’s will was not strong enough and he would again be blanketed by sleep. This was not one of those times.
The pegasus stretched his hooves, letting out a whispery groan as he blinked and settled his hooves on the floor. He scratched his eyelids for a moment, regarding the messy bed he left behind.
I was never a calm sleeper, either. It was his first thought of the day, first words. Feather knew they would probably be one of many; he felt this day had a lot in store for him and his friends.
Feather reached for the edges of the blanket and spread it evenly across the mattress, making sure the pillows were centered, neat and orderly. Making his bed was a habit he always told himself to do, despite hard days or hasty morning schedules. It was out of discipline, out of respect for himself. If he hadn't, then what else did he deserve?
Satisfied with the sight of a made bed, Feather instinctively glanced at the bed-side drawer, finding nothing save for an elusive piece of paper. He picked it up and on it read:
“Bring your saddlebag and camera when you come down.” Figures. Only Twilight would tell me instructions without her even being here.
Setting the paper on the table, he glanced once more around the room. So far, so good. Everything was where they should be, his saddle bag in particular on top of an aged chest.
With both Twilight and River not present, all he had for company were his and his friends’ belongings, the wooden furniture that graced the room, carpets, windows that filtered the rays of sunlight.
Feather was surprised when he saw the abundance of it, the glow of Celestia’s new sun. Despite the altitude of the bed and breakfast, he would have guessed that the tree tops would obscure most of them, if not all. It was forgiving that he was blessed with the opportunity of a new day.
“You know, they’re probably talking about Jade right now,” his voice grated.
Feather remembered Twilight making a comment before last night’s Ohteotl trip: questions for Jade of the things she remembered about Tlekokalli. Partly for the search, partly due to her own curiosity. He frowned as he also remembered her pleading him to return to the hotel and fetch her writing materials; he hadn’t known if it was allowed, though the Shaman had smiled and let her “make of that which cannot be expressed.”
He scoffed, smirking. “Jade would find that amusing.” That’s the intriguing part of her; she was like a foreigner experiencing another nation for the first time. Feather likened Jade’s interest to the innocence of a child, inquisitive, questioning, fascinated. Feather smiled when he remembered the dream he just had, just the two of them through a meander in the cosmos.
“Oh! I should write that down.” He made a move to grab his saddle bag and obtained his notebook and pen, flipping it open to the next empty page as fast as he could. Feather squinted his eyes and bit his lip as he recalled the details and jotted them down as quickly and efficiently as he could.
Dreamt of going through space in a train with her. I told her the story and she thanked me for telling. Told her what a train was and the details she told me her thoughts about the modern world and how forgiving it was. She asked me if it was worth the sacrifice.
With a click of his pen and a final read-through, Feather put the two back into his saddlebag, confirmed his camera was inside, and slung it over his withers, patting it to ensure that all was set. He breathed, smiling for no particular reason. With a final brief look of the hotel room, Feather left to go outside.
Outside. It was a fresh morning, a great reset compared to the day before. It was quiet, the locals having finished the festival. Most of the decorations have already been stowed away; he found it impressive they could disassemble all of that so quickly. There were still lanterns out, though they were in no competition to natural sunlight.
He walked down the narrow passageway amongst trees until he found himself in the central treehouse, winding down the staircase to lead to solid footing. Feather reached ground, listening to the slight crunch of twigs and leaves under him. How good it was to be on a quiet day. Satisfying.
“Hey, sleepy head. You know, you should really freshen up when you wake up. It’s common courtesy, for your information; it’s not so hard to do. Speaking of hard, is it a pegasi thing for your wings to do that at night or is it just me?”
Feather wheeled around to face the blue mare. She gave him the look. He could only heavily blush and splay out his wings in agitated distress. “Shut up. It’s perfectly normal for pegasi to do that, okay?”
“I was about to ask if it’s a boy thing as we-”
“Anyway.” He cleared his throat and began his snark, “Why does that even concern you? We’re in the middle of a jungle looking for a lost city to rescue a mare stuck in another dimension. That would rile up a conversation about conspiracies more than staring at me while at bed, right?”
Her expression was that of disbelief. “I wasn’t staring at you! Why would I stare at guys in bed, anyway?”
“Why don’t you ask yourself that?” Feather was glad his mind sharpened minutes after his waking. “Good morning, by the way. Twilight said she wanted me to bring my saddlebag and camera along. Why is that?”
River Moon’s expression lit with an epiphany, seemingly forgetting their charade. “Oh, yeah! I think it would be better if she were to explain it herself. She’s at the dining section right now looking over things. Come, we should join her.” With a flick of her tail, she turned another direction and started walking, Feather following her lead.
It didn’t take long for them to find the supposed dining area. It was in the center of a circular clearing, trees surrounding its perimeter, some leaves of the flora facing the inside cleared so as to let a bit more sunlight come through. In the middle stood a small tree which held a small treehouse, stairs that led down to the ground. It seemed to be the kitchen as he saw a waitress leave with a platter of fresh meals.
All throughout the rough circular area were tables and chairs, and as always, simple and wooden. There seemed not to be many ponies this morning, albeit he spotted a certain purple alicorn mulling over something on her table.
“Good morning, Twi. I’m assuming you’re reading about the stuff Jade has told you, no?”
She turned to face him, offering that smile he always knew. “Yes, Feather. It’s all so fascinating; I shouldn’t have doubted the two of you. She told me stuff—few details— about things that even the most knowledgeable of historians today don’t know much about. Her culture is so interesting.”
“Yeah, you told me that earlier. When she talked to me, she asked me all about Feather, you know.”
“Hold on.” Feather paused as he blinked at River. “Say that again?”
She smirked as she glanced back at him with that look again. “After she talked to Twilight, she then talked to me. She asked me how I was, I said I was okay, then after that she asked me all about you, Feather. You’re a very special pony indeed, wouldn’t you say?”
His eyes widened as he stared at a spot on the ground, smacking his lips rather anticlimactically; though Feather felt anything but. “Wow. Really? What did she even ask?”
River waved a hoof at him as if he already knew. “You know, stuff like talking points that interest you and whatnot. She also asked me things about you, little facts and the sort.”
Feather was genuinely surprised. To think that she would not only ask about himself, but also talking points? He allowed a genuine curl of his lips as the thought came, pride lacing his voice as he repeated it for the others:
“She asked for talking points that interested me. Jade sounds like she wants to start a conversation herself.”
It wasn’t even a question, albeit Twilight responded, “Yes, she asked me about you too in passing, actually.” Her expression softened as she let go of her notes and books on the table. “Now that you mention it, actually meeting with her and hearing what she sounds like... I just can’t think of the words. Jade won’t admit it, but I think she really wants to meet us, and especially you, Feather.”
He gave a reverent nod. “I’d like to meet her, too. And get her out of wherever she may be.”
“And that’s why Twilight here has been thinking of a game plan.” River pointed a hoof at her reading material and notes. “She hasn’t only been researching clues about where this city may be, but she’s been trying to think of how to best approach this. Why don’t you explain it to us?”
Twilight flashed her trusty smile. “Sure! I’ve learned a bit more from my conversations with Jade last night, and I’ve been wondering about it ever since.” Feather and River seated, Twilight lifting her notes and spreading them across the table for them to see.
“Firstly, we know that Tlekokalli has been lost for what has been centuries now.” She pointed at a note that rested near River. “We also know that it was a quite large city from what River has told me, literally being described as being ‘the city of kings.’ It also has a lake on it that they worshiped.” Twilight then pointed at another note that laid next to Feather, a hastily drawn illustration of a city in the lake.
“Wait.” Feather raised his hoof to interrupt her. “I just realized this: Jade mentioned herself and her mother using a causeway that led to Tlekokalli during my Ohteotl trip. Does that mean that the city has to be on a lake?”
Twilight smirked as she levitated her quill to poke him playfully. “You’re faster than you give yourself credit for, Feather. When she gave me the details of Tlekokalli, she mentioned clearly how her city was in the center of a massive lake hidden deep within the Amarezon.”
Feather looked at River and her surprised expression. “Wait, so that would make the legend wrong in that regard?”
“I suspect so,” she replied to her, “Even if the legend you guys told me said ‘in the center laid a great lake,’ I am led to believe that that’s a misconception. Time can muddy even the most obvious of details in legends and stories. Jade even said that she remembers canals in the place of streets that practically made up the city itself.”
“That would make it a city of islands,” Feather noted, wondering how they even pulled off making something like that.
“This is starting to sound juicy,” River joked to herself, an interested smile on her face. It was the face of a mare deepening into a rabbit hole.
“The ultimate question, though, is why it’s so obscured,” Twilight continued. “We know that a previous Conquistador was most probably close to it, but how can a city of that size be so obscured, in a major body of water, no less?” She gave a small smile. “Jade told me that there was a barrier.”
A barrier? “Like a magical barrier surrounding the city to protect it or something?”
That was when Twilight’s beam faltered. “Well, logic would lead to that, but we can’t truly be sure because she doesn’t know much about it. You see, she told me how Tlekokalli was self-sufficient and barely traded with the outside world—a sort of city state, per se. The youth are indoctrinated that the city had this ‘barrier’ that protected it, but other than that, they were told nothing more. The only thing she knows is that one can pass through this barrier with ‘secret knowledge.’”
River blinked. “With secret knowledge? What, like a code or something?”
Twilight merely shrugged. “It’s logical to think it’s some sort of code. Maybe a password?”
“Possibly.” Feather just realized something. “Where do we know where to look, though? Wouldn’t it be quite difficult to do so?”
She seemed suddenly lost. “Unfortunately. We don’t know much about this other than what we already know and what I just told you. It seems that Tlekokalli is kinda like the Crystal Empire, obscured from the outside, so we can’t even rely on maps to find a lake. We have no starting point going forward.”
Twilight sighed, pondering falling leaves. She hushedly said, “Even Princess Luna herself doesn’t truly understand what’s happening here.”
“Woah woah woah.” River lifted her hoof. “You got Princess Luna involved in this? And even she hasn’t a clue?”
The alicorn shook her head morosely.
Even Princess Luna doesn’t know what’s going on, Feather thought. He knew Twilight was in touch with her, that wasn’t a surprise. What did come as a shock was that she’s just as clueless as they were. “What did she say?”
Twilight grimaced, a vague disturbance clouding her eyes. “She’s been trying to access your dreams with Jade but can’t, not even a little peek. It’s like your experiences with her are completely removed from the rest of the dream world...
“And when I mentioned Ohteotl, she didn’t even know what that was.” Twilight sighed again, crossing her hooves. “To think somepony like her hasn’t even heard of the slightest thing we’re involved in... I’m afraid we’re completely alone in this.”
The three ponies shared that crestfallen discontent, unsuredly glancing at unmoving flora and invisible air—though they didn’t particularly care the world seemed of a painting oftentimes. Frozen. A snapshot of a perpetual present, without beginning or end.
“What do we do now?” River’s voice was the first spoken after a seemingly never-ending instant.
Twilight began collecting her notes. “I can use some finder spells to help us, but we’re going to have to be intricate about this if we want to do it right. We can start on the north side of this general area we’re in; it’s less travelled and more obscure than the south.”
“This is gonna be a long ride, isn’t it?” River had a look on her face which made it seem she was a filly tasked to do hours long chores. “I just realized how long this may take us; the Amarezon is such a big place. Celestia knows what kinds of things we’ll find here, even worse the amount of times we won’t.”
“Don’t worry,” Feather said, trying to keep hope for not just himself, but for all of them. “It may look dire, but it’s what we’ll have to deal with. This will all be worth it once we reach there and save Jade. And besides, what’s a forest compared to us? We’ve got each other, right?”
The two mares’ restlessness evaporated to air, replaced with giggles. River pointed at Twilight, saying, “We have her magic and brains,”—she pointed to herself—“we have my toughs,”—and she finally pointed at Feather—“and you have that something. That strength. That will. You’re the one who brought us all together in this adventure, and by us I don’t just mean Twilight and I.”
Feather could only return a proud smile, a strong smile. It was of determination, unfaltering dignity. Somehow, in that moment, he knew Jade was content with all of them. He felt it in his soul, connected to her in ways he couldn’t begin to explain or understand. They were far apart but as close as ever.
“Oh! By the way, that reminds me.” Twilight pointed at his bag. “I left you a note to bring that with you. You do have your camera, right?”
Feather quickly plucked the camera from his bag and presented it to her. “As always. Why’d you ask?”
She gave him an expectant glance. “Come on, Feather, do you really think I would pass up the opportunity of photographing an ancient city? Besides, I know you always bring your camera with you. It can be helpful for documentation and the like.”
“Oh! Oh! Why don’t we take a photo of us all together right now!” River beamed. “We could even frame it and look back at all the memories we made.”
Twilight and Feather shared a glance. “I don’t see why not. Twilight, River, stand over there where the light is just right; I’ll have to set the timer for this thing and be quick.” The two mares headed to that spot he’d just pointed at, Feather squinting his eyes to adjust the camera on the table.
With an adjustment of the timer and a swift click of the shutter button, Feather hastily made his way to the two—Twilight in a simple pose and River wrapping a hoof around Feather’s neck, flashing a toothy smile. Feather heard the camera click; he set it so the flash was off.
Returning to the camera already churning out film, Feather heard Twilight and River walk by his side. He pulled out said film and shook it a tad, revealing to them three ponies surrounded by a background of forest green. Frozen. Unmoving.
It showed two mares, one stallion. This one mare had dignity to her, a simple smile that graced her face. She seemed proud as she puffed out her chest slightly. The other mare was more playful in her expression, a winning smile and bright eyes. She was jovial when she wrapped her hoof around the stallion.
The stallion. He looked back at the camera with... something in his eyes. There was something about him that couldn’t be captured by photographs. From him exuded a calm, a friendliness too when his friend wrapped a hoof around him. His head tilted to the side yet his hooves were planted and firm. He was unsure but expectant. He looked ready for distant travels and escapades. He saw things that can’t be seen with only eyes.
“You can hold this for a while,” Feather hoofed it to River who took it with a squee. He was about to say something, but his own stomach interfered and grumbled; Feather realized that he hadn't even eaten yet.
“We’ve been talking so much that I forgot. I should really grab a bite or something. Have you guys already eaten?”
When the two nodded, Feather searched for the waitress and waved at her. She gave him the menu and he ordered on the spot. With a courteous smile and a little bow, the waitress left to return to that little tree house kitchen in the center of the dining area.
As Twilight and River continued to talk about La Orilla and all the things it may contain, Feather wondered about that himself: not only finding Jade, but of the relics that might’ve been left behind in the great city of kings. What must’ve it been like to live in Tlekokalli back then, and what must it look like now?