//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16 
// Story: Combat Magic 
// by totallynotabrony 
//------------------------------//

	The day started before the sun was fully up. Even having missed her beauty sleep ever since she’d arrived on Earth, Rarity was still very displeased about the early hour. Standing watch the previous night had only compounded the issue.
She moaned as everyone else busily prepared for the day’s activity. “Must we begin so soon? I thought the point of summoning a goddess was doing it at our leisure.”
“It’s a long fucking process,” Morgan told her.
“And we’ll need to get to the mountain early to get ahead of any stray hikers,” added Jenny.
Rarity thought it rather pleasant of her to refer to it as merely a mountain rather than an active volcano. Following Spike on his dragon quest had presented quite enough hot lava for her, thank you very much.
With supplies gathered, the six of them drove off for Mount St. Helens, entering the protected national forest that surrounded it. Rarity looked out the window at the scenery.  The nature preserve served a dual purpose, she thought. Both protecting the land from peoples’ influence, and protecting them from it.
As the miles passed and they drew closer, it became apparent that Mount St. Helens was missing its peak. In fact, the whole north side of the mountain was simply gone. It looked more like a horseshoe than a proper, cone-shaped mountain.
“Did you say the last eruption was a little bit more than thirty years ago?” asked Rarity to no one in particular.
“That’s right,” confirmed Bear. “The top quarter of the mountain disappeared and the crater it left is about a mile wide. Most of the debris went north, tearing down that side of what was left of the mountain.”
“Were you there?” asked Rarity.
“Yeah,” Bear confirmed. “That was when I got to know Loowitlatkla.”
Rarity considered that for a moment. “Why was she so angry?”
“Huh? What do you...”
Rob looked up eagerly to see what Bear was thinking, but she suddenly appeared to be trying very hard not to betray the truth, and succeeding at it. Rarity looked at what was in her hand. It was a can of beans, intended for a picnic lunch. The list of ingredients wasn’t that interesting, so whatever had happened must be an important thing Bear wanted to conceal. Rarity understood well that some secrets were better left hidden, and let the matter drop.
Most of the hiking trails were on the southern edge of the mountain. The parking area near the north side was for views and pictures only. Hiking into the crater was prohibited. Rarity rolled her eyes when she heard the news. Of course they would be doing precisely that.
Making sure they were unobserved, the group made their way past the signs telling them to turn back. It was still early morning and no one else was around. Rarity hefted the knapsack she had been given to carry, wondering what might be inside.
The terrain was mostly grey, with a few boulders and smaller rocks. The soil was composed of granular volcanic ash that had condensed over the years to form a relatively firm surface. Here and there, plants grew, their seeds having been carried in over the previous few decades.
Rarity felt like complaining as they picked their way around obstacles of broken rock and hardened pumice. She was pleased to see that there was no superheated magma, but did not like the look of a few small plumes of steam rising from the center of the crater.
The pair of boots on Rarity’s feet seemed to be doing their job. They were a bit stiff from being new, but she was remarkably comfortable after hiking a few miles into the center of a volcano. Well, her feet were, anyway. Rarity proceeded carefully, as if a misstep might cause an eruption.
At a particular spot, the six of them stopped and began unpacking their gear. Much of it was seemingly random items; string, candles, bottles of strange substances, beef jerky. Morgan, with assistance from Bear and occasional help from the others began to prepare the summoning area.
Hours passed. Rarity couldn’t believe how long it was taking. She’d seen Zecora perform complicated ritual spells without having the natural magic of a unicorn, but this was bordering on ridiculous.
When they paused for lunch, Rarity asked why the process was so time consuming.
“Do you want to screw up the summoning of a deity?” demanded Morgan. “A minor deity, to be fair, but still nobody to fuck with.”
“And there’s no guarantee this will work,” added Bear. “It’s not forcing her to show up, it’s just a friendly invitation.”
“We could get by without her, couldn’t we?” asked Rarity. “I mean, just lay low and stay out of sight from Purity’s group, right?”
“Are you going to just hide?” asked Veronica.
“Well, only for another few weeks,” said Rarity. “Then I can go home.”
There was a moment of silence. Rarity suddenly gulped in realization. “Oh! I didn’t mean—”
“Just think about everyone else next time?” said Rob. “The rest of us can’t really go to another planet.”
Rarity politely shut up. It had been a terrible faux pas to insinuate that she would walk out on those in need. And—she’d come to realize—they were her friends. Of course she would do anything to help them.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with further work on the summoning, and no further success. As the sun hovered low over the rim of the crater, Bear decided to call it a day. Rarity was disappointed, but held her tongue because could see that everyone felt the same. This was not a time for complaining.
A woman in a park ranger uniform was standing next to their SUV when they returned to the lot. She was tapping her foot and twisting curls of her blond hair, looking quite bored. Her expression changed to irritation as she spotted the six of them returning from a restricted area. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been standing here waiting on you? It’s inevitable, every so often someone thinks it’s funny to go for a jaunt into the volcano. It’s dangerous to go in there!”
“We’ll be going now,” said Jenny diplomatically. “Sorry.”
“It’s for public safety!” insisted the woman, pointing an accusing finger.
Bear continued to walk towards the vehicle, still fending her off. “Many apologies.”
“We could make excuses, but right now you’re right—we’re lucky we aren’t dead,” added Veronica with exaggeration for effect.
Rarity and Morgan looked at each other, confirming a slight feeling of magic they had both sensed. Morgan stepped forward hesitantly. “Uh, ma’am? I don’t think you’re actually a fu—er, United States Forest Service employee.”
Rarity blinked, but in that instant the woman’s look transformed completely, the uniform replaced by something less formal with more earth tones. Her hair had darkened, and in fact it seemed like her entire appearance had changed.
Bear facepalmed. “Loowitlatkla, I can’t believe you pulled that trick on me again.”
“Well, someone has to.” The newly-revealed volcano goddess smiled. “Who are your friends?”
The introductions seemed to go without incident until Loowitlatkla came to Rarity. Her presence required some explanation.
“So, some sort of foreign exchange mage,” mused Loowitlatkla. “Interesting. Maybe I could help you with a few things.”
“That’s actually what we wanted to talk to you about, Loowit,” said Bear. “We have a bit of a problem and could use some assistance.”
Rarity much preferred the shortened version of the name. “Loowit” was much easier to get her tongue around. She listened while the situation was explained by the others.
“Well, it certainly does sound like an injustice,” decided Loowit. “I can’t leave my mountain, but if you’re in the area I’ll give whatever support I can.”
“We’ll think about moving our base of operations to here,” said Bear. “Otherwise, we’ll just consider it a fallback location.”
Now that Loowit was standing in front of her, Rarity’s curiosity made her want to ask about the last eruption. The mountain spirit didn’t appear to be very prone to violence. In fact, she seemed quite friendly. The question that came out, however, was, “Why call it Mount St. Helens?”
Loowit waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, that was the doing of some British explorer in the late 1700’s. I’ve decided to just play along.”
Rarity decided that perhaps she would have to investigate these mysterious British people. Rob said, “You wouldn’t like them. Even stiffer upper lips than you.”
Loowit promised to keep in touch, and waved goodbye as the rest drove away. Rarity reclined in her seat, deciding that toiling all day for a brief meeting was not really a satisfactory payoff. It had been nice to meet the volcano spirit, but while Rarity had always fancied herself as a socialite, not much had been accomplished. Still, it was a start.
Morgan looked at her. “So Rarity, are the goddesses of your world also massive trolls?”