The next morning arrived, and we were busy working on the plan for the next stage of our journey. Having said that, we did have breakfast first, and I have to admit (as somepony who doesn't consider themselves a particular camping type) I was coping with roughing it a little better than I thought I would. But what a crazy adventure this was turning out to be. Trips through old mines and collapsed tunnels, structures with no purpose, dodging guards at a party, and now wandering across old terrain looking for a bunch of crystals.
Sure puts that car crash back in Virginia into perspective, doesn't it? My life was certainly going off in all sorts of weird directions as it rolled along.
But anyway, I soon learned why Sunny had done this- she and Pipp had a bit of an argument the previous day, though that might be a somewhat innacurate description as from what I heard it mostly consisted of Pipp yelling in Sunny's face. To make up for the trouble she had caused, Sunny had decided to make her favourite weekend breakfast- pancakes, butter, and maple syrup from Outingdale's (apparently Outingdale's was a restaurant- I wasn't in Zephyr Heights for long enough to properly establish where everything was, and the sort of temp job I was working meant that high end establishments were out of the question for food). Question is, how had Sunny gotten the syrup in the first place? Had Zipp popped out and bought it for her? An Earth Pony wandering around in the streets of Zephyr Heights would have caused panic if nothing else.
Anyway, we were all pretty full after that was said and done (and eaten), and sure enough our attention was quickly turned to the map, which had quickly appeared on a table which had appeared from nowhere. How is Izzy able to produce things from nowhere? I really have to ask her how she does it.
Anyway, we were soon looking at the map. Safe to say it was a lot more detailed than the vague map I'd been using earlier, so I have no idea where Sunny got it from. Are pegasi better cartographers than Earth Ponies? I guess it makes sense, given planes and all that.
Anyway anyway, we were looking at the map, and it seemed there were two major routes we could take to get to Bridlewood. One cut through a gorge, and the other was rather different. So I outlined this to the others. "The map gives us two options. One route takes us through Ghastly Gorge whilst another takes us over the mountains. Based on the scale of this map, the route over the mountains and into the next valley is shorter."
Sunny, however, had other ideas. "The Ghastly Gorge route is considerably better layed out, and has fewer changes of altitude."
Based on what we saw with that broadcast earlier in Zephyr Heights, time was of the essence. We didn't have time to waste dawdling through canyons and over mountain ranges, we had to get to Bridlewood, and fast. For all we knew the pegasi had already sent planes to bomb the area to smithereens, and if Sunny really did want that crystal she needed to hurry up.
I made this point clear in what I said next. "But my route is faster because the journey is shorter. Frankly, we've wasted enough time already, and we need to speed up."
What Pipp said next surprised me. "I second that. I haven't had a shower in a while, and need a wash. I'm probably starting to smell." Well, you rather than me, princess. You know, because she's a literal princess, and I'm not using the word sarcastically to describe a mare who seems to think they're above others.
You know what, never mind. This explanation isn't working.
Neither of us could agree on a route, and we decided to split up as a result. Sunny and Izzy headed off towards Ghastly Gorge whilst myself and Pipp descended into the next valley via a mountain range. Misty had mysteriously vanished (no pun intended), and that meant none of us had any clue where she was. She had appeared as suddenly as she had vanished.
Which is to say, very suddenly.
Anyway, we continued to press on over the mountains. Even in my shape, I was feeling a little woozy thanks to the altitude, and was glad when we began our descent into the next valley.
It was what came next that surprised me, though. And trust me, it was in no way pretty.
It began with us entering a forest, the first I had been in for a long time. Were we in Bridlewood already? If so, that was quicker than I thought it was going to be.
I soon realised I was wrong, though. For one, we hadn't seen any of the KEEP OUT signs that festooned the exterior of Bridlewood forest itself, and the sky was less forboding that it seemed to be over Bridlewood. There would also have been some noise as well to keep my ears focused on.
That wasn't what was attracting my attention, though. It wasn't noise.
It was the complete lack of it.
No splashing of water. No rustling of trees. No birdsong. Not even twigs and branches being trampled underfoot by hooves. There was no sound whatsoever, apart from myself and Pipp's hooves and our breathing.
Pipp suddenly spoke, which made me jump. "Hitch, this place is creepy. And not the good kind of creepy."
This... baffled me, to say the least. "Is there a good kind of creepy?"
Yes!" she said. "The type with fun scares, not the overwhelming sense of dread and with no clue as to what happened here!" Oh. I'd forgotten she was into spooky stuff.
Before I could interject, the geiger counter I had picked up at the mine suddenly went off, producing the familiar crackling noise anypony who knows anything about nuclear investigations would know. I raised my hoof to stop us, and then looked at the display on the device.
The reading wasn't promising, to be honest. "This is bad."
"What's happening?" Pipp asked. Presumably she had a lack of familiarity with nuclear stuff.
"Radiation reading," I replied. "It's coming back as 7mSv."
"What's that?" Pipp asked. Yeah, it might be a good idea if I stopped talking in jargon for a moment.
"Millisieverts," I answered. It wasn't a great reading, but it also wasn't terrible. Nontheless, I was taking no chances, and pulled two of the radiation suits I'd borrowed from the mine out of a bag. "Put this on. No arguing."
Pipp nodded, and within a few moments we were fully fitted into radiation suits and gas masks. Conversation was by two way radio, and we each had an air tank so we could draw on that if needed.
Pipp was a bit surprised as to how I had this sort of kit on me. There wasn't enough time to explain, so I quickly mentioned the gear would help to filter out the radioactive particles. At worst we'd get a level equal to a chest X-Ray.
So we continued on our way, deeper into the forest. We passed the ruins of an old checkpoint, presumably manned a long time ago but long since fallen into disrepair. The sign warned us to keep out. On reflection this might not have been the best of routes to take, but there wasn't much of a choice given we had now committed to this route. Turning back and going the other way would have wasted even more time. Besides, the gear would keep us safe.
"Something tells me we're not supposed to go in," Pipp said suddenly, the first words exchanged between us in quite a while. Truth be told, I was getting the same sense as well, but it was a bit late to be turning back now.
"If we turn back now we'll have wasted a whole day," I replied. I was scared too, but sometimes we have to be brave to set a good example to others. "We need to keep going. Use the geiger counter I gave you and avoid the spots with high levels. We should be safe."
We proceeded deeper into the area, moving round the fallen signs and into another dark area. The pathway seemed to be climbing through a sea of dead trees and warped landscapes, seemingly reshaped by something otherworldly. Which seems like an odd observation for me to be making considering where I was originally from, but sometimes you do have to roll with the punches and get through things as best you can.
At last the hill came to an end, and I looked down upon an empty valley, still with no sound. Not even birdsong.
Seemingly as if the birds know to stay away.
"How can we be here?" Pipp suddenly asked.
I looked over. "Where?"
It was then I saw it, deep within the mists. A place I hoped had remained on the other side of the dimensions.