Starswirl reached the end of the winding trail up the side of Bothrin Tor, slipped between two rounded rocks, and strode out onto the summit of the outcropping. Behind him, Clover puffed along in his hoofsteps as her every step caused her body to scream for relief. The long walk had reignited the ache of the hard day's work, and she couldn't take a step without heaving for breath. Finally she planted a hoof on the summit and hauled herself atop it, then leaned against the rock to stop herself from passing out as the world spun around her.
"You're right," the wizard said, pleasantly surprised. "We can see everything from up here."
Clover looked to the sky, where the sun was sliding towards the waiting horizon. Or rather, the world was rotating away from the sun, as she now knew but still only half-believed. She saw another sheet of mist cascading like an avalanche off the distant mountains that sinisterly loomed over the spread of the ancient forest that began at the bottom of the tor. The same forest that gave this sorcerer, Nightshade, all of his power.
Trying her hardest to sound like she was innocently curious, she asked, "We better not stay up here too long, or it'll be nighttime and that stallion might get us. Uh, do you think he can make it up this far, Starswirl?"
Busily rooting around in his saddlebag, the wizard said, "Tough to say. I can't see why he would come this far from the town, unless it was to harass the farmers."
"Of course," she said, slightly more at ease.
After all, it ain't like he's out to get me, she thought. No reason at all for him coming up here.
"Ah, here we go," Starswirl declared.
From the saddlebag he took out a brass and wood tube with a round piece of glass on one end. He held it by the ends and pulled it apart so its length extended from one foot to three. He held the tapered end up to his eye and pointed it at the farmsteads sitting in the center of the large colored patches of farmland.
"Get the notebook, will you?" he asked.
By the time the wizard pushed the telescope together again and stowed it back in his saddlebag, the sky had taken on a definite golden tint as the sunlight prepared to fade away for another day. Clover spat the quill out of her mouth and stared down at the lines of text she'd written.
"So," the wizard announced, "seventeen farmsteads with that particular ram's head symbol, all of them painted so they're pointing towards the forest, plus I'd wager there are more we can't see at this angle. Clover, did you label that map yet?"
"Starswirl, I told you, I don't know where the farming ponies live. I hardly ever even leave the village!"
"You must know something," he said. "What sort of crops does everypony harvest?"
"I been working a field all day. You expect me to remember something like that right now? I just want to go home and go to sleep."
That was a lie, of course; sleep was the farthest thing from her mind. As always, once she had committed herself to a bold move the doubt set in before too long. She told herself again and again that if Nightshade wanted to frighten the townfolk he wouldn't go past the town and all the way out to a deserted hill like this one, yet the regret still ate away at her.
Because I'm a coward, she thought suddenly and savagely. I ain't got the guts to do it.
I do, too! I'll show....well, myself. I'll show me.
Clover and Starswirl tread lightly as they made their way back through Hollowed Ground. The sun was at their backs and sent their elongated and misshaped shadows stretching out in front of them. Their hooves beat against the ground, the only sound in the deathly silence of the town. Every so often a pony would run across their path, bound for their home, or a mare would drag a foal through their front door before slamming it. Curtains parted as ponies stared out their windows, their fearful faces drawing down into suspicious scowls once they saw the unicorns.
Again, a torturous fretting came over Clover and tore her insides up with doubt.
If anything, I'll be safer by not being in town, she said to calm herself. Out there, on Bothrin Tor, I'll be far away from Nightshade. Yeah.
But despite the fear, she somehow found the strength to persist in her plan. She didn't know where this reservoir of confidence came from--her deeper mind maybe--but she wasn't going to let fear stop her from meeting her new friend. She'd wait and see if Nightshade was going to appear, and then proceed with caution. Ahead of her, Starswirl reached the mill and gave the door a push. It swung open on its hinges, revealing a hearty fire blazing in the hearth and her bleary-eyed father sitting at the table.
"Feeling better?" the wizard asked.
Carmine made a great effort to lift his head up. "Not by much, I can tell you that."
"Brace yourself," Starswirl said, "it gets worse."
"How could it get worse?"
The wizard fell silent for a moment. Clover snuck a peek up at his face and saw him deep in concentration, like he was deciding how much he should tell her father. Finally, he took a seat at the table opposite Carmine, and Clover sat between them both. Starswirl placed her forehooves on the table and started absently tracing them over the warped wood.
"I believe there is a sorcerer in town," he said. "A very powerful one who seeks to split this town in two."
"A sorcerer? But we three are the only unicorns here."
"Perhaps not. According to my theory, there is another unicorn. Or, to be more precise...." The wizard's eyes flicked up from the table and locked onto her father's. "A unicorn without a horn."
Her father said nothing to this, his expression blank, although she couldn't tell if he was making an effort to keep it that way. He got up from the table and wandered in silence over to the roaring fire.
"He is drawing power from the disharmony of the town," the wizard explained. "He also has the ability to cast illusions, which is why Clover followed me out into the forest yesterday morning: she thought she heard me calling to her."
"You seen any illusions?"
Starswirl nodded. "I have. Which is why it is imperative you heed my words: do not trust your senses. Not entirely. Anything out of the ordinary you see or hear may be this sorcerer trying to deceive you. And I believe....he has reason to target you, specifically."
Her father turned sharply at that. "Why me?"
"Think, Carmine. Is there nothing from your past--?"
"I left my past behind," Carmine said. "No one could find me out here, you hear me? No one."
"And what about you? Are there no....ulterior motives you had for settling in this place--?"
"Now that's enough," Carmine snapped.
"You can't run from your past, Car--"
"I ain't running from nothing! I buried my past, and I don't appreciate you coming round here and digging it up again."
"You're not thinking rationally," Starswirl said.
Clover watched in horror as her father lurched forward and kicked the chair he'd been sitting on out of the way. It hit the wall and splintered. Never in all her eleven years had she seen him get this angry and violent.
"I know what this is," he said, pointing a hoof at the wizard. "I know. Maybe you are trying to worm your way in here and tear us all apart. After all, ain't that what the townfolk say all unicorns do anyway?"
Still the definition of calm, Starswirl replied, "You know that's not true."
Carmine seethed and growled, "Truth ain't forever, Varnetian. It only lasts as long as ponies got a use for it."
"....but hate is forever," Starswirl said.
"I think maybe it's time you thought about moving on, Starswirl. Let us all get on with our lives."
"And let this sorcerer wreck havoc?"
"You say he wants to spread discord, but ain't that what you're doing while you're here?"
"Nonsense."
"Oh, really?"
"Carmine, take a deep breath and think about this for a moment. If somepony from your past is--"
Carmine slammed his forelegs on the table so hard Clover screamed.
"I'm sorry, Carmine, as your gracious guest, I was wildly out of line. I assure you, tomorrow I shall be on my way."
Clover burst out, "But....what? You can't! What about the sorcerer?"
"Now you're filling her head with all your lies?" Carmine asked. "I gave you a place to sleep and meals to eat, and you turn around and betray me like this? You're right you'll be on your way tomorrow." He dragged his hooves off the table and stomped up the stairs. "Bright and early, you're out of here. Now come on up to bed, Clover."
The filly whispered, "Starswirl, why is papa acting so mean?!"
"Because a pony's ability to blind himself to the things he does not like about his own self rivals even the Harmony for sheer power, which is exactly why it's so devastating."
"Clover," Carmine called from the top of the stairs, "get your flank up here, now."
"It's alright," Starswirl said with a nod. "I'll think of something, don't you fret."
As Clover pushed herself up from her seat, she thought that it was too late for that by a long shot, because now she had several hours of fretting in silence in the darkness to look forward to.