//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Thaw // Story: Unmarked // by Croswynd //------------------------------// Chapter 9: The Thaw -Illustration courtesy of Master Shake Eventually the timeless moment passed for the pegasus, his thoughts resolutely returning to normal speed as he turned away from where Havoc had vanished. The breath of the wind around him was little more than a light touch, the frigidity kept at bay by his indifference to temperature and the warming beats of his wings. Nothing but the sound of wind-swept peaks below him echoed in the dark of the night, so much deeper now that the moon had fled.         For the first time in several days, Novell felt as though his mind was as clear as the air he was breathing in. It burned his lungs to stay up so high, floating there, thinking. It was what he was best at, after all. Just thinking, planning, remembering. Feeling sorry for himself, if he had to be honest.         With a jolt, he realized his friends were still below in the cavern, the echo of Havoc’s laughter in his ears as he picked out the hole in the roof of one of the mountains. The steam that had shot him out of the mountain and nearly cooked his friends alive was no longer in evidence - it was completely dissipated by the freezing breezes that stalked the heights.         Novell let his body drop as he headed for the opening, just now beginning to feel a deep sickness spreading through his chest. It felt as though he had eaten something wriggling and alive as he fought the urge to give voice to his sorrow. Stinging tears formed in his eyes, knowing now that he had done something unforgivable. He would have been able to console himself if he had been thinking of saving his friends, trading a possible future for their survival. But the truth was, he hadn’t. He had given into his momentary weakness all because he wanted to survive. Not for the Professor, not for Pensive - for himself. It didn’t matter that he had initially sought to save them, nor did it matter that he had been manipulated by an evil far more cunning and powerful than he realized. He had opened the possibility of Equestria’s final hours just to find out his purpose in life. “And look what that got you,” he muttered bitterly as he descended through the hole in the mountain. Water dripped incessantly in his ears as he entered the cavern, the entire floor flooded with meltwater and the aftereffects of the steam. Even as he noticed it, the environment was already hard at work returning it all to its icy origination as patches began to gloss over.         The darkness was surprising to the pegasus, at first, but then he realized the magical light, like so much else about the prison, had no point if there was no prisoner. He felt the chilling thrill of panic fluttering in his throat as he glanced around, still flapping and ready to dart away at a moment’s notice. His heart hammered in his throat as stared at the impenetrable darkness, thoughts of slavering Yeti and other monsters already beginning to prey in on his mind. “Professor?” he whispered with a slight tremor in his voice. “Pensive?” A flash of light from the corner of his vision appeared, causing his head to snap in that direction fast enough to give him a slight headache. It was a pale glow, one that almost reminded Novell of moonlight, both in color and the comfort it provided. Not only was he now no longer alone in the dark, but he knew which unicorn the light belonged to. “By Celestia’s magnificent mane, that was an incredible experience!” the Professor’s rumbling voice echoed in the cavern. “I have never seen such intense pressure explode outward like that, nor have I ever been in the vicinity to watch an Afrit fly!” “He is a Dracone-,” Pensive interrupted the Professor before being overridden by the other unicorn’s overenthusiastic tones. “I have never known that their species could fly, let alone on such tattered wings! I must record this in my journal! Those snooty ponies back at Canterlot University will be knocked out of their fetlocks at this discovery!” As Novell descended to rest his hooves against the steadily cooling water on the floor of the cavern, the Professor pulled his dilapidated, old notebook from behind him as if from nowhere. Dismissing it as an inexplicable peculiarity of his friend, the alabaster pegasus rushed forward and hugged the stallion. “Hold on, my boy, just wait a minute, you’ve almost made me drop my notebook! Oh, there we go, back to normal,” the Professor exclaimed excitedly as he dashed an instantly appearing quill across the page, leaving ink in its wake. Even before the unicorn could stash the logbook away, Novell felt himself shudder and blubber against the other’s coat. A tiny voice in his head reprimanded him, reminding him that he was a grown up pony now and there was no reason he should be crying! “I-, I let him escape! He got out and its all my fault and now the world is going to-.” Novell felt a foreleg encircle him as the Professor shushed him and then hold him at hoof’s length. “Calm yourself, lad. What’s your fault? What did you do?” The pegasus drew in a ragged breath and tried to ignore the feeling of his tears freezing on his cheek. “Havoc! He’s out and just because I was so selfish and I’m so stupid and, and-.” “You did it to save us,” Pensive’s voice interrupted quietly from Novell’s right. He stared at the unicorn for a second, uncomprehending. And then the full weight of what he had done rushed in on him and all the pegasus wanted to do was fall down and try to drown himself in the water below. “But I-,” “Hush,” Professor Search admonished, drawing the pegasus’ attention. “I don’t know what you did, but it doesn’t matter. Right now, we need to figure out a way out of here before we expire. I’m afraid I’ve had just about enough of frozen hooves this week.” But that only set Novell off even further, because it reminded him that Whisper was no longer with them. And it was his fault, again, that she had followed him up the mountain, trusting him despite her instincts.         Stop crying, blank flank. You’re embarrassing, the orange pegasus’ voice criticized in his mind. Novell felt himself drawn back to the memory as her annoyed tone faded away, trying to snatch the last echo of his friend before it disappeared. ***** Novell watched with a twinge of sadness as the memory played out in front of him, looking on it as if from the side. The edges of the scene were indistinct, leaving only the arena where two young pegasi were currently arguing. “I’m not embarrassing!” a white pegasus colt gritted out, staring at the younger orange one in consternation. Tears glistened in the colt’s eyes but none of them fell as he widened his stance in anger. “I’m Novell!” A burst of air came from the filly as she glared at him, the small snail on top of her head staring at him without interest. “Psh, like I care! You’re just a cryfilly blank flank!” “At least I can fly!” “Oh yeah? You want me to pound you?” Whisper growled, stepping forward with a bruise already beginning to swell up on her forehead from the fight she had gotten into. She had accidentally crashed into one of the others that were taunting him in another failed attempt to fly. Needless to say, she had won, being the toughest foal of their class. Her little wings fluttered and a strong gust picked up, enough to send a small tornado of dust toward the colt. Novell dodged it and flew up into the air as the orange filly tried to tackle him, a smile breaking out on his muzzle. He laughed and buzzed away just out of the other pony’s reach, the tears long forgotten as the scene fell away to whiteness. A chill ghosted across his back as the scene cleared enough to show snow all around, an adolescent pegasus almost blending in with the flakes. Breath misted out in front of the pony as he gave a huge sigh and stared morosely from a cloud overlooking a frosted Hoofington. Without warning, a ball of orange fell through the sky, almost exactly repeating the scene Novell had experienced only just recently before finding the Professor. He stared at the two ponies as they argued again, feeling a lightening of his mood as the moment went on. “Would you please stop bugging me?” the younger Novell said in exasperation, throwing his hooves in the air. The pegasus took a double take as the snail on the mare’s head shifted through a variety of cool, blue and violet colors. Whisper just grinned. “If I stop bugging you, who’s going to do all the work for me today? Aren’t you supposed to be moderating the snow to see if that’s your cutie mark? I mean, you’re the same color as snow, so maybe you just can’t see your talent.” “I think I’d know if I had my cutie mark or not and I’ve never seen a pony with one that blended in. That’s just silly!” “Sillier than not having one?” she rejoined, a gleeful look in her eye as she caught him in her verbal web. Novell snorted and rolled his eyes, trying to distance himself from the pony while still tugging on the wind streams that directed the snowflakes. “Go away, Whisper, I’ve got work to do. And so do you!” A grin tugged on the older pegasus’ face as the scene disappeared, a flash of teal appearing in his peripheral. You miss this mare despite the bickering that takes place when you are together, Pensive stated simply. Novell didn’t even pause in his response as another scene appeared - a more recent one. “Yes, I do.” This is good, the unicorn continued as they watched the pegasus awake to find Whisper chewing on his tail. Since you will see her soon. What? Novell recoiled from the other pony, the memory in front of him exploding into mist as a dark thought ghosted into his mind. Pensive stared at him with a furrowed brow, not looking the least bit hostile. Ah, I see, his friend let a smile slip across his muzzle and closed his eyes momentarily. I only meant that she is still alive and you will see her soon. The things I rescued from the cages are with her and caring for her. Wh-wh-what? How?! She is alive. ***** “What do you mean alive?” Novell asked incredulously, barely daring to believe it as he whirled on the teal pony. He was just about at his wit’s end after all that had happened and now the unicorn was bringing this up? “I saw her fall. I saw her fall!” “She survived the fall,” Pensive said, deadpanned. “What’s all this about? Who fell?” Professor Search broke in between the two as Novell tried to keep from falling down. His head was swimming with relief and confusion battling the depression at the corners of his mind. “Whisper...fell,” the pegasus returned with a catch in his voice. “It was after you were frozen. Whisper tackled me to get away but Pensive- no, Havoc caught her with his magic. He- he pinned her wings and she...” “By the Goddess, Novell, I’m- I can’t imagine how you felt.” Professor Search concernedly gazed into the pegasus’ eyes as the tears began to return. Novell gritted his teeth just like he had when he was little and held them back - he could cry later when they were all safe. “She’s alive. That’s what counts, my boy.” With a quick, calming breath, Novell let his eyelids droop before steadying himself. “Can you teleport us there now?” “I...want to,” Pensive confessed, sweat beading between his eyes and sparks beginning to fly from his horn. “But I am out of magic. I could barely teleport my body here. Creating this light is...taxing enough on its own. I am no longer connected to my originator’s source.” Concern for his friend overwrote his worry as he glanced around at the seemingly growing darkness. “The Professor can light the way, but we need to get out of here. I don’t like this place.” “Now, that begs the question of where exactly to go,” Professor Search spoke, rubbing a hoof along his mustache and glancing around. “There appears to be no other way out of here aside from the hole you made in the roof, my boy and you are the only one who can fly.” Novell floundered for a moment before an idea blazed to life in his thoughts. “Professor, do you have some sort of lightening spell?” “Lightning spell? I don’t see how that would help us, unless you mean to fill this room with water from a thundersto-,” “No, no, no,” the pegasus quickly replied, stifling any attempt on the unicorn’s part to drown them inside a mountain. Novell paused for a moment, wondering at how odd that sounded in his mind before shrugging it off and continuing. “I meant a spell that makes you lighter. So I can carry you.” “Oh, that,” the Professor managed to look put out. “I suppose I do have something like that, but I doubt you could carry both of us even with the spell.” “Don’t leave me alone, please,” Pensive said, his voice tinged with the slightest bits of nervousness. Novell felt himself shudder involuntarily at the thought of being stuck inside the mountain by himself. His ear flicked around as he thought of another plan, catching the sounds from the water collecting on the floor in a mesmerizing rhythm. The weariness he had kept at bay throughout the encounter with Havoc suddenly returned as his knees buckled. He caught himself with a splash, managing to stay aright just as his ears picked up a new sound. A buzzing noise was rippling through his brain and making it hard to concentrate on all but a single point in front of him - the wall of the cavern. As he stared at it, whispers began to echo all around him as an ethereal light appeared to suffuse the area. The hum increased as white, ethereal shapes coalesced around the three ponies, Professor Search abnormally silent and staring all around with a slackened jaw. The journal the unicorn carried with him appeared within an eyeblink, the quill already scribbling away.  Novell glanced around, the ghosts’ strange eyes staring at them with an intensity that made the pegasus uncomfortable. Soundmaker, one of the more feminine whispers rose above the others as a calm fell along Novell’s entire body. He was vaguely aware that he should be frightened out of his fetlocks, but he couldn’t bring himself to focus on anything but the scene in front of him as the ice blazed with a soft, white light. You have driven away That-Which-Binds. “I did it to save myself,” Novell felt his mouth move as the whisper drew the truth from his innermost self. Nevertheless, That-Which-Binds is no longer. A shape appeared through the icy wall, contrails of white sliding away into nothingness from its form. Within the space of a thought, the shape defined itself and withdrew from the wall to stand in front of him, staring at him uncannily with its snowflake shaped pupils. They darted to and fro, taking him in before boring into his own. His mind made the connection with the ghostly thing in front of him as it resolved itself into a pony. It’s just like the one Chipper carved into that pillar. “The Originator will not stay away forever,” a voice devoid of all emotion said from the pegasus’ right. You must stop this from happening, Soundmaker, the whispering chill of the snowpony’s voice proclaimed to Novell. We shall not be chained to a single will again. “I can’t.” Novell was almost sure of that. “I’m just one pony without even a single talent. What can I do?” What can I do? The thought resounded through his mind, picked up by the hundreds of increasingly agitated whispers. You can see and shape, Soundmaker, the snowpony clarified as the rest fell completely silent. We see, but cannot shape as you can. Promise us to halt That-Which-Binds and we shall show you the way through our mountains. “And if I refuse?” The voice that issued from his throat was deep and deceptively calm, the echo of possibility. Then you shall join us amongst the mountain’s bones. Not much of a choice, he thought wryly, still distanced from his feelings. With the snowpony’s effect on him as well as Pensive’s, Novell felt like he could understand and examine all the possible paths without any emotions affecting his decisions - which was a good thing, considering if he was in full control of himself he would have fainted from sheer terror. He stared into the leader’s eyes, noticing the beauty inherent in its unique pattern of ice crystals, and nodded. “I promise I will do my best to keep him from bringing this mountain under his thrall again, though I do not know if I can.” The pact has been made, she replied cryptically, nodding her head with a flash strobing through her body. The effect streamed from her to the rest of the assembled snowponies with what Novell assumed was satisfaction with the arrangement. One of the shapes appeared through the wall, a familiar splash of light brown evident on its flanks. “My saddlebags,” Novell whispered with a grin stretching across his face. He felt a bubbly sensation as the snowpony carrying it smiled and draped it across his flank. The memories stored here are a treasure, the bearer of his saddlebags whispered in a deep vibrato. Never let them leave you.         With a bow to the retreating snow stallion, Novell returned his attention to the one who had first spoken, remembering the effect these entities had on Chipper. “I will forget this promise, won’t I? Forget everything here?”         The snowmare dipped her head in affirmation. But the promise shall not be forgotten entirely. Simply look upon the carving in your pack and the whisper of our pact will remind you.         “How do you know I’ll remember to look at it?”         A faint humor rippled through his mind at that. We can see, Soundmaker, as we have said. Now it is your turn to shape.         “I wish I could stay,” Professor Search said longingly, his first words since the encounter. “Forgetting something like this...”         It is our curse, just as it is our blessing, Soundmaker, the telepathic voice came again, referring this time to the grey unicorn. But the pursuit of knowledge is your dream more than any thing we have encountered and you would eventually move on. So pursue it.         “Have you things any recriminations for me?” Pensive asked apprehensively, pawing the watery floor of the cavern.         You were bound more than any of us -  we cannot fault you now that you are separate from That-Which-Binds.         “I suppose we are family, in a way,” the teal unicorn replied wistfully, staring around at the others and momentarily becoming transparent. Before Novell could blink, the sparks in Pensive’s horn appeared and he fluttered back into clarity. A blend of happiness and loneliness issued from the teal pony’s mind to wash over everypony present.         The snowpony nodded and gestured to the wall she had appeared from as the forms around them disappeared into the floor and ceiling. This is the path to the others who wait for you. Walk it and return to them. “Interesting. I suppose this is a form of teleporta- ah,” The Professor’s excited gleam died before he could finish his thought, a slight smile appearing on his muzzle. “I suppose it doesn’t matter what it is. Thank you for letting us go, madame. You are truly a beautiful creature.”         She is not lost yet, Soundmaker, she replied cryptically, staring at Novell as the Professor did a double take. The pegasus started at the sudden change in the conversation, wondering if the snowmare was talking about Whisper. Furrowing his brow, he continued walking toward the wall as Pensive calmly trotted through, the ice rippling strangely as the unicorn was completely swallowed. As he came to a stop before the portal, a sense of unease appeared in his chest. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to go through the-.         “In you go, lad!” The Professor’s subdued voice came a second before he was shoved through. “What do you know of...”         The rest was lost as Novell’s world twisted nonsensically, his body feeling as though it was being simultaneously stretched, squished, and swirled all at once. A sense of nausea overcame him as he slid forward, a sudden light appearing a second before he felt the temperature drop and the feeling of ice slipping under his hooves.         “Oof!” His breath expelled outward as he slammed into what he recognized was Pensive’s form a moment before he hit the other pony. He lay there for a few seconds, stunned by the abrupt turn of events. As he fought to regain control of his diaphragm, a thought occurred to him that filled him with panic enough for him to glance backward to where he had come from.         A heavy weight slammed into his chest as Professor Search rocketed out of the wall, knocking them both over Pensive’s prostrate form. Pain exploded between his eyes as he tumbled with the unicorn into a wall before falling into a pile. Stars and miniature versions of Havoc spun around his vision, the latter giggling in a high pitched tone.         For the second time in as many minutes, Novell’s mouth gaped open like a fish out of water, willing his lungs to draw in a breath as he rolled off of the Professor.         “Nice crash, Novell,” a voice the pegasus never expected to hear again snidely remarked. “Taking lessons from me, I see.”         “Whisper?” he gasped out, still trying to pull in some oxygen. His eyes flicked around what he figured was a cave in the side of the mountain. An orange, flickering glow was lighting his surroundings and the smell of smoke was enough to make him dizzy, but he was too light headed to make out anything clearly.         “Does he do that a lot?” another, younger female voice asked contemptuously. “He’s not anymore impressive from outside a cage than in one.”         “He saved us, Quills! Don’t be so mean,” Scrolls replied from above Novell, having entered his field of vision to investigate the pegasus. His parted hair bobbed as he cocked his head and offered a hoof.         “Correction, the teal one saved us. And he was the one who captured us in the first place.”         “Would you two please shut it?” Whisper’s annoyed tones returned, though she was more subdued than usual. There was something off about the way she was speaking, but he couldn’t concentrate enough to conjure the reason.         Finally, Novell was able to draw in a breath and roll over with Scrolls’ help, regaining his hooves with little difficulty after that. The first thing he noticed was both of the twins were unharmed, thankfully, with Whisper sitting near the fire facing him. A scrape of Pensive’s hooves from his left echoed from near the wall that had...wait, what? Wall?         Before he could pursue that line of thought, his gaze fell upon Whisper and the snail that was just as tall as her shifting through a full spectrum of colors. Novell’s jaw dropped at the sight, his mind unable to reconcile Swirley’s new size with the previous image of the mollusk. It stared back at him and slid toward him quicker than he thought possible, leaving a trail of neon blue slime that glowed in the low light.         A second later he was glomped by a giant snail, the slimy, slippery underside running along his forelegs. He was left momentarily paralyzed, the blue goo sticking in his fur as Whisper’s pet turned and started toward the Professor. Search was just beginning to pick himself up when Swirley bumped into him and flashed through a quick spectrum of purples, blues, and greens.         “You did what now? Astonishing! You can grow that much just from that bit of magic?” the Professor asked incredulously as the snail responded in more rainbow colors. “You’ll be back to your normal size soon, I expect. Have no fear, my little mollusk.”         “Oh, great, it’s you,” Quills’ voice distracted Novell, his gaze drawn to the adolescent pony curled up behind Whisper’s back. The earth pony was holding something long and white in her hoof, gently winding it around in a peculiar motion. The mare’s face contorted in pain every few seconds, but she forced it away and continued staring at him.         “You just going to stand there and not ask?” the orange pegasus asked softly, firelight flickering in her eyes. Novell was entranced, the beat of his pulse deafening in the following silence and thundering painfully in his neck. As his heart sped up, he asked his question.         “Are you okay?”         Whisper managed to look cross for a few seconds before a grin crept upon her face. “No, but I’m glad you’re here to be annoying anyway.”         “What do you mean? I saw you fall. How did you-,” he began before being cut off.         “The round thing saved her,” Pensive put in, butting into the conversation with his normal abruptness. “It ingested Havoc’s magic and freed her.”         “What?” Novell asked, but it was already coming back - the night in the clearing when Whisper had first joined their band. What was it that the Professor had said? As if summoned by the memory, the wise unicorn rolled into his lecturing voice while planting a hoof against his chest.         “The Refferentus snail has a remarkable attribute of being one of the few animals in the world capable of absorbing magic. From what I’ve read, the species devours magic in times of trouble, such as famine and the like, to make finding mates simpler!”         “Which means that since this ‘Swirley’ and its owner were falling to their demise, it was able to call upon that skill...,” Scrolls continued the Professor’s explanation. The young earth pony’s eyes found his sister’s and blanched at her expression.         “I’m not going to finish that sentence,” she growled, glaring at Professor Search.         “Anyway,” Whisper cut the argument off with a roll of her eyes, “I flipped myself over and caught some air before slamming my wing right into a sharp piece of rock. I barely got myself and my new giant Swirley to the ground before I crashed into a pile of snow. That stuff isn’t as soft as you’d think, even if it saved me.” Novell winced in sympathy, his own wings rustling reassuringly.         “Your wing-,”         “Is damaged,” Pensive supplied helpfully, sidling up to inspect the mare’s injury. “With enough magic, I could attempt to heal it, but...”         “You’re cut off and used your own stores,” Novell finished sadly, glancing over at the Professor. “Could you teach Search?”         Pensive’s eyes fell to his hooves and grimaced. “I do not know how my spells work other than that they do. There is no...formula to memorize. It is instinctive.”         “So how bad is it?” Novell feared to know the answer, but his concern overwrote everything else.         Quills stared coolly at him and nodded over to the side of the cave, motioning for him to follow her. With a quick twist, the parchment-colored pony finished her wrapping and trotted with him. Novell glanced backward to see Swirley shrink in a puff of blue mist, which set the Professor into a coughing fit. The little guy wasn’t quite back to his regular size, but the fact that he was returning to normal was another weight off of the pegasus’ mind. He returned his attention to the filly in front of him as she began speaking. “The wing muscles were torn when she hit the cliffside, as well as quite a few of her feathers, too. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do here other than stemming the bleeding, without unicorn magic.” Her voice was clinically detached as she listed off the problems. “There are several herbs and such that would heal her, but we don’t have access to any in these mountains. I would recommend finding the closest town and finding a healer there.” Novell digested that for a few moments, glancing back at the linen wrapped wing and wondered idly where the wrapping had come from before dismissing the notion. The ponies in this party had a habit of pulling items out of nowhere. As he stared at the wing, a thought occurred to him. “We have a time limit on this, don’t we?” The filly had the guts to look him straight in the eye as she answered. “Yes. If we don’t find her a healer very soon, her wing will not be able to be healed completely by even unicorn magic.” “How long do we have?” Quills squinted into the mid distance, the wheels visibly turning in her mind. “I’d say a couple of more days. Two at the most, but the sooner the better.” “You sure know a lot about this kind of thing,” Novell pointed out, trying to think of where they were in relation to Ponyville. That was the closest town to the mountain, less than half a day away, but he didn’t know if they had any medical ponies there. Of course, Hoofington was a further distance, but he knew there was a healer in the larger town. “I transcribe books and scrolls in my library, so I know a lot about everything,” she boasted easily, not batting an eye. “Thank you,” Novell earnestly replied. A slight flush came over the young pony’s muzzle, but she just nodded and walked back to her patient. With the thought of Whisper’s imminent disability, Havoc’s escape, and now that he thought about it, the caretaking of two young ponies, Novell felt his eyelids droop and his knees shake. Even so, he waved it away with as much determination as he could muster and tried to get the group’s attention. “Everypony? Excuse me?” Novell called out to the other five ponies, all of whom turned to stare at him. A nervousness suddenly suffused the pegasus and he gave a cheesy smile, not at all confident. “We have some problems.” “You’ve got that right,” Quills snorted before being cuffed by her brother. She glared at her twin, but she remained silent all the same. Novell decided to come right out and say it. “Havoc escaped.” “What!?” the twins shouted in unison, their eyes darting around in panic. “How, but why-.” “Who’s Havoc?” Whisper interrupted the two in her customary tone of annoyance. Novell was about to open his mouth to tell her when a buzzing he knew all too well appeared in his mind. Havoc is an Afri- “Draconequus,” Pensive broke into the Professor’s monologue. Novell noticed the twins stand stock still and stare wide eyed at the old unicorn. -is a Draconequus imprisoned within the mountain we reside upon. Or, I suppose, was held here, since our meddling in immortal affairs caused the chain reaction of events that cascaded down into the one outcome that Havoc wished - escape from his icy tomb. This reminds this stunning stallion of sanctimonious searching of a time when he released a Gole- “Get out of my head!” Quills screeched, falling to the ground and covering her ears with her forehooves. “Go, get away, go away!” “Quills!” Scrolls yelled, holding his sister close as his eyes once more began rapidly shifting from place to place. Novell’s eyes widened as his exhausted brain tried to reason what was going on. “My dear! I apolo-,” Professor Search began, a stricken look on his face. He was interrupted by a glaring, tear-filled gaze. “Don’t ever get in my head again! Never! You...you horrible pony!” She descended into sobbing, Scrolls protectively directing her gaze away from the Professor. Novell’s fuzzy brain was trying hard to reconcile any particular reason for the earth pony to have come unhinged like that, especially after her cool diagnosis of Whisper earlier. As he worked through the problem, Pensive strode up and touched his mind. I can tell these things the rest, if you would prefer to sleep. Novell took a deep breath and shook his head, feeling like he had to let them all know himself. “Thank you, Pensive, but this is my fault. It’s my responsibility.” Before the Professor could get himself into further trouble, the pegasus stood in between him and the twins. He glanced into Scrolls’ eyes, but he found no answer there, though several ideas presented themselves. They had been locked up with Havoc for awhile before he had joined them inside the mountain. “Havoc escaped,” he repeated, “but we have more immediate problems. Whisper is in trouble, as I’m sure we all know by now and if we don’t find her a healer soon...” “I’ll lose my wings,” the mare finished, her voice thick with grief. Novell’s eyes found the Professor’s and he nodded at the empathy the older pony displayed in them. “So we need to make a decision,” Novell’s voice broke at that as tears filled his vision again. He shoved the feelings down and continued. “To continue as we were to Ponyville or return to Hoofington.” Quills spoke up from the pegasus’ right. “Ponyville is closer. And we-.” “-need to warn the Princesses about Havoc before he causes any trouble,” Scrolls finished softly, but firmly. “Is there a healer in Ponyville we can rely on to help Whisper?” Novell asked, hoping the answer would be yes. He was disappointed by the filly’s next words. “I don’t know.” The pegasus could tell how much the admission annoyed her, but at least the question seemed to have lifted her mood a bit. “We didn’t stay long enough to find out.” Novell worked his jaw as he thought about that before nodding. “Alright, so we don’t know if there’s a healer there. I do know there is one in Hoofington, though.” “We don’t have time to wait on me if this ‘Havoc’ is as bad as you say he is,” the orange pegasus said fiercely as Swirley cuddled up beside her. “Let’s go to Canterlot and you can drop me off in Ponyville on the way.” Pensive chose to weigh in at that. “My Originator will rest for a few days before attempting anything. I...don’t know much about his power anymore, but at the moment, I believe he only has as much as a regular unicorn.” “Even a normal unicorn’s power is enough to cause turmoil in the right places,” The Professor countered softly, sighing as Quills winced away from his voice. “I believe we must warn somepony in authority, and soon, but I cannot in good conscience just abandon a wounded friend.” “Could you fly to Canterlot, Novell?” asked Scrolls with a hopeful expression. “I would,” the pegasus replied, looking down guiltily, “but I don’t know if I could even get to see the Princesses or if anypony would believe me if I did. I’m just a blank flank...” A snort from the mare in the midst of all this drew Novell’s attention. “And you probably wouldn’t know the way if we pointed you in the right direction.” “Hey, I have a sense of direction. I’m not the one who-,” he cut himself off before he could say anything that would hurt her feelings. “I’m not the pony who got lost in a cloud that one time.” A blush appeared on her orange muzzle, tinting it a bit darker than normal, but there was still a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. “I oughta pound you for mentioning that. You’re lucky I’m so tired.” “So it’s decided,” proclaimed the Professor with a smile under his bushy mustache. “We leave together.” “Toward Ponyville,” Novell nodded. And then to Canterlot to tell the Princesses that I just released an agent of chaos into the world. The pony broke out in a sweat just thinking of it, but a touch from Pensive’s hoof calmed him. He gave the unicorn a weak grin, which his friend tried to imitate. This involved the corners of one side of Pensive’s mouth to turn up while the other twitched upward, resulting in a grimace. Mirth bubbled up in Novell’s throat at that, but he kept it inside, glad to see the teal pony trying to show emotion. “Who made you the leader?” Quills asked bitterly. “Maybe we should just go to Canterlot by ourselves, Scrolls. We don’t need them.” “My dear, I don’t think travelling alone at your age is-,” the Professor began. “I don’t need you to tell me what I can’t and can’t do, Professor Research!” she yelled at him as her pale muzzle turned red. Her saddle shook with her rage, its fluffiness a counterpoint to her attitude. Wow, I really am getting tired if I’m making analogies like that, Novell thought as if in a fog. “Quills!” “Shut it! I don’t care. I’m going to bed!” the adolescent pony replied before trotting off to the other end of their small cave and turning her back to them. She plopped down and began muttering to herself, Scrolls following a second later with a mournful look on his face. Novell couldn’t imagine what kind of trouble the young pony went through with a sister like that. That thought brought him up short as he looked to Whisper automatically. The mare patted her pet and gave the snail a quick hug before settling her head on her hooves in front of her. “I do so detest that nickname,” the Professor seethed next to Novell, careful to keep his voice low before breathing a deep sigh of resignation. “A good rest will do us all good, I suppose. We will handle all of this on the morrow, lad. Good night.” “Yeah,” the pegasus responded absently, letting his saddlebags fall as he sat down on his haunches. He yawned and turned toward them, glad to have them back. He hoped the dreams his mother told him they would help him chase would be part of his slumber tonight. After everything that had happened, he really needed something pleasant to occur. Something caught his eye as he settled down to rest, a bit of brown that differed from the lighter colored saddlebags. He examined it closer, curious as to why he felt a connection to the thing. With a muted sound of leather sliding across itself, he opened one side of this saddlebags and pulled the object out. I promise I will do my best to keep him from bringing this mountain under his thrall again, though I do not know if I can.         Novell stared blankly at the crudely made sculpture of a pegasus in flight, a spark alighting in his eyes. He needed to stop Havoc, whatever the Princesses said.         Then the pact is made, a voice whispered from the carving as he turned it on his hoof.         With a renewed purpose in mind, Novell glanced over at Whisper once more. The promise was his to keep, but he was going to make sure his friend was taken care of before he did anything else. With a smile, the pegasus nodded off next to the steadily dwindling fire, his companions already beginning to snore as slumber overtook them. Just before he let his mind free from mortal worries, a whisper echoed through his mind.         We would have it no other way, Soundmaker.