//------------------------------// // 14 - Fortune // Story: Lacuna // by Drakmire //------------------------------// Twilight stood atop The Swordfish’s bowsprit, basking in the clean ocean breeze and the bright winter sunlight. “C’mon, Applejack!” she shouted back over her shoulder.  “You haven’t tried this once in three weeks.  It’s really nice!” The cowpony leveled a stare at her friend.   “Some of us can’t just wink ourselves to safety iffn we fall off, Twi.” “Come on-n-n, you’ll be fine,” Rainbow said.  She flew in circles around Applejack, giving her friend a challenging grin. “If you get too scared and slip, I’ll catch ya.”   Applejack narrowed her eyes.   “It ain’t that I’m scared, Rainbow.  It’s that I got common sense.  Earth ponies weren’t meant to float across the ocean in big wooden tubs.  I’ll be glad when we finally reach land and get solid ground underhoof.” “Sure sounds like you’re scared,” Rainbow said, still grinning in the face of Applejack’s scowl.  “There’s nothing to worry about--Pinkie Pie’s been over every inch of the ship and swears it’s safe.”  More to herself than Applejack, she added, “I don’t know where she got the snorkeling gear though.” Applejack shot her an incredulous look before saying, “Pinkie ain’t exactly... ya know what?  I’m gonna go see what the princess is up to.  Thought I might come up for a whiff of fresh air, but all I’m smelling is crazy ponies.”  She nodded to Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy, who had looked up at her last word.  “No offense ya’ll.”   They waved off her comment and went back to their own discussion while Applejack went belowdecks.   She picked her way amidships, occasionally stopping to chat with members of the ship’s crew before she finally reached Luna’s cabin in the stern.  Though really the captain’s cabin, it was the only one that would fit Luna’s stature.  As Applejack entered, she noticed that the mild rocking of the sea proved only a minor distraction to those already inside.  They sat at a square table bolted against the middle of the far wall: Luna on one side, Viridian and Sand on the other. A single blue-white magelight hovered above their heads, casting cold, hard shadows across the room, but it served to illuminate the map laid out flat by Luna’s magic. “Howdy, ya’ll.  Whatcha up to?” “Planning,” Luna said.  “The captain says that if the wind keeps up,”--she rapped a hoof twice on the wooden table--”we should be making landfall in less than two days.  We’d best be prepared when that happens.” “Makes sense,” Applejack said, pulling up a seat.  “So what’s the plan then? And shouldn’t the others be here?  If you’re looking for organization, ain’t nopony better suited than Twilight.” Luna nodded.  “A fair point.  While we are still only roughing out ideas, it would be best if Twilight were here as well, though we can leave the others to their business for now.  Would you please go let her know what we’re up to?” Applejack nodded and left, returning shortly with Twilight in tow. “Hi, Princess.”  She plopped herself down at the crowded table, then scooted over to make room for Applejack.  “What’s the plan?” “It’s still nebulous.  We’re working out our approach first.  The most immediate concern is our party size.”  She nodded to Applejack and Twilight as she said, “While there is no doubt that you Bearers work best together, Sand, Viridian, and I operate more comfortably in smaller groups.” “Shouldn’t we just stick together, Princess?  Safety in numbers and all that?” Applejack asked.  She glanced askance at the red-brown buck, who returned a conciliatory smile.   “Personal preferences aside, yes.  We simply do not have the information needed to safely break into smaller forces.” Luna said.  “However, we will need to be prepared in the event that we do become separated, so while we go over other details, please consider different scenarios and how we might react appropriately.” Everyone else nodded, so Luna continued.  “Related to this is the fact that Sand is our only guide here--Selene’s map has provided us the means to reach Fjieena din Tor, but it is not detailed enough to go by once we’re on the ground.” “What should we be expecting?”  Twilight asked Sand.  “It’s almost sounding like we’re planning for a fight instead of just visiting your hometown.” “My return from exile is not likely to go over well, to put it mildly,” Sand explained.  “All the more because I’m bringing outsiders with me.  The insight my people gain from their dreams would be of great interest to outside parties.  Knowledge is power, and in the right--or wrong--hooves, that could be world-changing, so travel in and out of the city is heavily restricted.” Her horn glowed as she picked up a grease pencil, drawing on Selene’s map as she spoke.  “Still, we will need to start somewhere.  Fjieena din Tor is guarded here and here by extremely dense overgrowth.  To anyone not knowing what lies farther in, these areas would appear to be just impassable walls of thick plant life.  The only passages through these sections are called the Gates of the Sun and the Gates of the Moon.  We will need to go here”--she tapped the eastern marker, an empty black circle for the sun--” if we are to approach with any hope of maintaining good relations, or as good as can be expected, given the circumstances.” “All right, so we walk on up, knock on their door, tell ‘em howdy-do and why’d ya try to kill our princess?”  Applejack asked. Luna drew her lips into a thin line.  “Something like that.  While I’m not likely to forgive nor forget their attack, we must step carefully to avoid exacerbating matters.”  She shook her head.  “Would that we had some clear objective to accomplish, some obvious evil that needed thwarting.  We could fly or teleport in and out, then wash our hooves of the matter once and for all.”   “If wishes were bits...” Sand said. Luna sighed.  “We’d all be rich.  Yes, I know, thank you.” “So is that it then?  ‘Stay together and let’s play it by ear?’” Twilight gave Luna an appraising look.  “No offense, Princess, but that’s pretty...” “Nebulous, yes.”  Luna gave Twilight a tight smile.  “And now we’ve come full circle in the discussion.  Have you any thoughts?” “Well...” Twilight looked down at the map.  Her eyes lost focus as her gaze turned inwards.  “We know that they mind-slaved two of their own people.  We know that they sent them far from home, to attack a target that they likely had never seen in the flesh, using a reasonably complex scheme to hide their actions until the last moment.  We know that Princess Celestia and Ambassador Viridian have been unable to pierce the enchantment holding the two attackers’ minds enthralled.”  She drew in a deep breath and looked up.  “All correct, so far?”  Both Viridian and Luna nodded.   “Honestly, it sounds like we’re being lured into a trap,” Twilight said.  “A single attack that Princess Celestia said posed no real threat, yet the magic used on the attackers’ minds is so complex that not even she and a capable spellcaster could break it while working in tandem?”  She shook her head. “It’s like it was designed to pique our interest and draw us away.  I’m not really afraid for Princess Celestia--I’m certain she’s more than capable of handling whatever’s thrown at her.  However, I can’t help but feel like we’re just chess pieces being moved across a board.”   Luna nodded.  “An ominous prospect that, but it changes little in how we can approach.  At this juncture, all we can really do is plan for as many contingencies as possible should things go wrong.” “Now as for that,” Twilight said, smiling, “I have some ideas.” *** The evening before they were to make landfall, Sand came to Twilight as she lay sleeping.   One ivory hoof on her shoulder and several gentle shakes later, Twilight roused from a deep sleep muttering vague threats and bleary ramblings.  As her eyes opened to see Sand’s face looming huge within her vision, she stifled a little shriek, cringing down into her hammock. “No wonder they enjoy doing that so much,” Sand said to herself.  When Twilight scowled at her, Sand allowed herself a grin.  “Sorry to wake you, but could I speak with you?  In private?” She looked around at the occupied hammocks nearby.  “It’s of some importance before we get caught up in our next adventure tomorrow.”   Twilight rubbed a hoof across her eyes, trying to get her heart rate under control as she said, “Of...of course Dawn.”  She opened one eye and half-glared.  “You couldn’t have let me know beforehand that you wanted to talk?” Sand’s grin didn’t wither in the least beneath Twilight’s irritation.  “It’s more fun this way.  C’mon, up on deck where the air’s fresh.”  And with that, not waiting for her friend at all, Sand vanished up the stairs.   Late-night astronomer though she might be, Twilight still needed time to wake fully.  She stumbled more than once, bumping into inanimate objects and muttering half-hearted apologies to an oar here, a coil of rope there, all while her mind spent its energy on more important tasks than hoof-eye coordination.   When she finally found her friend, Sand had her forelegs hooked over the railing and her face turned into the breeze.  Twilight had to fight down a surge of annoyance at how energetic the ivory unicorn seemed to be.  The stars spun overhead, and with an upward glance, Twilight guessed the time to be somewhere between “too damn early” and “really too damn early.” “Not that I didn’t miss our stargazing together, Dawn,” Twilight said evenly, doing her best to keep the annoyance out of her voice, “but I hope you don’t have any more crazy revelations for me tonight.” Sand lowered her gaze to the water, smiling guiltily.   Twilight sighed.  She sidled up next to her friend, hanging her hooves over the railing as well.  “Okay, let’s hear it.” Sand studied her forehooves as she tapped them together. “So... “ Twilight began, prompting Sand to look up.   “Oh, sorry.  Yes.”  She took a deep breath.  “You’ve a lot of experience with books, right?” Twilight only blinked at Sand in response. “Right, of course you do,” Sand continued quickly.  “Have you ever run into... dangerous ones?  Like not just ones where the knowledge within was dangerous, but books that could magically harm you?” Twilight shook her head, the act clearing away the last haze of her sleep.  “Not really, not the way I’m guessing you mean.  More powerful grimoires are warded so that ponies casually looking through them don’t hurt themselves by trying something complicated, but the wards tend to just cause bad headaches that go away as soon as the book is shut.” “What if..” Sand hesitated, licked her lips.  “What if there was a book that you could almost swear was alive and wanted to actually hurt you?” Twilight cocked her head.  “Like...it comes to life and tries to bite you if you dog-ear a page?”  She hoped to get a little laugh out of Sand, or even a smile, but no dice. Sand stared at her, then sighed.  “I’m being obtuse.  I apologize.”  She looked back out over the waters.  “I had hoped I could somehow keep a more lighthearted attitude while I explained my way through the matter, but I fear that would diminish its importance.  Before we venture to my home, I need to tell you about my siblings and how I got my cutie mark.” Twilight thought back to Ponyville and an amber field waving in the wind and the sunshine; it seemed like ages ago.  “You told me that you got your mark by choosing between what you loved and what was necessary.  I tried to puzzle that explanation out on my own for a while, but then I learned how much you enjoy your revelations, so I let it rest.”   In spite of Twilight’s playful tone, Sand grimaced and said, “Celestia always did chide me for how much I loved my secrets.”  Twilight bumped her playfully, prompting Sand to chance a faint smile before continuing. “I had two siblings when I was younger,” Sand began.  Twilight frowned, catching the implication of the tense used.  “We were young and curious.  And foolish.  Very, very foolish.  My little brother Ember and I--we both knew how young and inexperienced we were, but our older sister Curio, now she was a pony we looked up to unquestioningly.  We idolized and loved her as only the innocent truly can, believing that she could lead us to no harm. “Where we grew up, when you’re a young foal and bored out of your mind, you read--I’m sure you can sympathize.  Fortunately, Fjieena din Tor has a truly respectable library for so isolated a town.  Every prophetic dream my people have had tends to be recorded in some fashion, be it a book or a manuscript or just a lone piece of parchment.  Depends on the length, of course.” “Of course.” “They’re all available for public reading, even the more grotesque ones, but these books and records are all mundane in themselves.  Even my book was, originally.  My ability to cast through it was a sort of side effect and...” She trailed off, looking at her friend.  “I’m off track.” Twilight shrugged and gave her a patient smile.  “I’m used to it.”  She paused.  “But my hammock is calling to me.”  She nudged Sand playfully with a hoof. Sand began again slowly, as if trying to retrace her exact steps from so long ago.  “The library had an off-limits section--” “--rare and valuable books that they don’t want damaged?” Twilight guessed. Sand nodded.  “And then it had its off-limits section.” She let the distinction hang in the air for a moment.  “You hear all sorts of crazy things as a foal, and it’s easy to look back on them now and wonder how you could have ever believed such nonsense, but when you’re young and the world is new, everything shines with possibility.”  She paused when she noticed Twilight’s puzzled frown.  “What is it?” “You.  You lived an entire other lifetime with Princess Celestia.”  She let the unasked question speak for itself. “Right, but...” Sand growled in frustration as she fished around for an explanation.  “Our minds don’t always behave the way we’d like, and I was just a foal.  Whatever knowledge and wisdom I gained from my previous life didn’t really sink into my young mind as completely as one would expect--that took a great deal of time and growing up.”  She eyed Twilight, waiting to see if further explanation was needed, then pressed on.  “Anyway, where was I?” “Forbidden things and naivete.” “Okay.  So we spent a lot of time at the library, and we’d been told about the normal off-limits section by the adults plenty of times, but we’d only heard whispers of the truly interesting things from other foals, who heard it from their friend’s brother’s mailmare and...you get the idea.  We tried to find it, but we were never subtle and we always got caught.” Twilight saw where this was going.  “Until one time...” Sand sighed.  “Until one time, we managed to sneak in at night, and it was like everything had been unlocked just for us.  We crawled in through a window, and found our way down to a sub-sub-sub basement where they kept...I still don’t know.  I’ve never learned what was behind the other doors because we were drawn to the only one that was actually open, like it had been waiting for us.”  She shivered.  “We could have turned back at that point, but Curio was named for more than just a whim of our parents, and we were ever her followers.” “You found books, I’m assuming?” “It was a library, Twilight.” Twilight rolled her eyes.  “You know what I mean.” Sand conceded, “Yes, I’m just...”  She look away.  “It’s easier to dodge the topic than think about it.”  She felt Twilight move closer, but she kept looking into the water, as if she could see the scene unfolding again. “I’m pretty sure that all of the books in the room beyond were dangerous, in their own ways, but almost all of their wards were intact.  We couldn’t even get close to those.”  She looked at her friend.  “But one lay unguarded by any magic that we could sense.” Sand’s eyes shifted around, as if searching for someplace, something.   “Curio touched it, and her world ended at that moment.”   Each time that Sand had considered telling this before, she had felt a dull ache in her heart and a tightness in her throat.  With Twilight beside her... well, at least the speaking was easy.  Easier. “She screamed and kept on screaming.  We had to struggle to pull her away from the book.  It was like it was holding onto her somehow with just that little touch, but we managed.”  She paused.  “Didn’t matter, though.  We had her body, but we could see it in her eyes.  She was gone.” A crease appeared between Twilight’s brows.  “Gone like...?” “She was alive--her eyes were open, her heart was beating, she was warm to the touch and we could feel the moisture of her breath, but she wasn’t...there anymore.”  Sand lowered her head, placing it on the railing between her forelegs.  “We dragged her outside and found help.  They took Curio to the hospital, and after a little bit, our parents took Ember and me there too.” “They explained what the book had done, and how it was our fault for being so curious and acting without knowledge.”  Sand looked off into the distance.  The horizon was dark against the ocean such that she couldn’t see where one ended and the other began.  “I sometimes wonder if my parents knew what I would do.  They left us alone there.  For hours, Twilight.  Just Ember and me and the result of our... curiosity.”  The last word came out much quieter than the rest had. Sand squeezed her eyes shut when she felt a foreleg around her shoulders.  “I’m sorry.  This is more difficult to tell when I explain the whole story, rather than merely glossing over the details like I did with Luna.”  She drew in a breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out in a smooth flow.   “I killed her, Twilight.  The last words I ever spoke to my sister were to beg for her forgiveness as I killed her.” Twilight pulled her friend close, not knowing what to say, only sensing the vital necessity of simply being there for her as Sand stared out over the ocean, reliving dark memories.  They let the sounds of the wind and the ocean fill the silence as time flowed around them. Eventually, Sand pulled away from the embrace, but not by much.  “I’m sorry, Twilight.  I promise I didn’t drag you out of your bed just to share an old sob story of mine, however cathartic.”  Twilight began to say something, but Sand rushed to speak first  “I just need you to understand the full context of what it is I left behind, and what I’m returning to.”   When Sand fell silent, Twilight counted the space of a dozen heartbeats.  Then: “What happened after that night?  To you? Your brother? Your parents?”   “Our parents were always distant, Twilight.  Aloof.  It is difficult to explain, but my siblings and I were far closer with one another than anypony else.  Our parents said little to me when they saw what had happened, and even less afterwards as the years wore on.  As for my brother...”   She stared off into the distance.  “To say that Ember and I drifted apart after that night would be too kind.  My brother quickly grew to despise me, and, in a way, I could only agree with him.  The last I heard of him was from an acquaintance of an acquaintance.  I was told that he became a dedicated arcane researcher.  He threw himself into his studies just as I focused on learning the mysteries of the prophecies.”  Her voice was hollow as she added, “I think you might have liked him, Twilight, had circumstances been different.” “Dawn, I...”  Twilight hesitated, then chose to press forward with the simple truth.  “I don’t know what to say.  I’m... “ Pleased?  Honored?  Happy?  Definitely not happy.  “I’m sorry that you had to go through that, but I’m deeply thankful that you felt you could share your troubles with me.”  Twilight gave her a steady look, smiling as Sand’s gaze met her own.  “Whatever demons from your past might be waiting when we arrive, you won’t have to face them alone.” After they said their goodnights to one another and parted ways, Twilight let out a quiet sigh, glad that nobody was around to see the look of horror and doubt that crept across her face. *** The landing party looked like the start of a bad joke.   A princess, a deer, and a scarred unicorn beached their small craft, followed shortly by another carrying everypony else sans Rainbow Dash, who had opted to fly.  Just visible offshore, The Swordfish anchored in deep water, remaining under orders to watch for magical flares should Luna’s party require assistance. ”Kinda deserted, Princess,” Applejack mused, looking up and down the beach.  Long shadows stretched around the ponies as the morning sun laid only the slightest touch on the white-gold sand.   “The nearest town is several miles to the north,” Luna said, folding her wings as she addressed her friends while they disembarked.  “As tempting as it might be to socialize, the fact that Fjieena din Tor exists on no map suggests that we would learn very little that could aid us, and we do not need the attention that we would draw.” “Still, it would have been nice to have seen more civilized parts for a bit,” Rarity said with a dainty sniff, though she had the decency to blush when Luna looked her way.  “But of course, the importance of the mission comes first.” Fluttershy alighted on the beach, lowering her head as she looked around cautiously.  She gave a panicked squeak as Pinkie jumped out of the boat and landed on the sand nearby with a solid fwump.   “Are you girls ready for an adventure?!” Pinkie asked shortly before dipping her head into a pink saddlebag, emerging with a sword pommel between her teeth  The complete absence of a blade did nothing to reassure Fluttershy, who only responded with a slightly-less-panicked squeak.  Rainbow Dash drifted overhead, giving her friends an impatient roll of her eyes, but she chose to hold her peace for a change.   Twilight let the others gather their bearings for a moment while she trotted up to where Luna, Viridian, and Sand were going over some minor details.  Sand had sketched out a rough map during their final hours of the voyage, and with the navigation supplies that had lain long dormant in their boat’s hold, they were almost ready to set out.   “I left my home by a different means than the one Twilight proposed here,” Sand said.  She looked up when Twilight drew near and beckoned her closer.  “No road runs near enough to Fjieena din Tor to matter, so one way is as good as another really.  Cutting through the woods will be slow, but we’d have to do a fair amount of bushwhacking, regardless.”   Twilight studied the map and the scant few topographical markings that Sand had noted from memory, then said, “As long as we approach from the east, it shouldn’t matter then, assuming the ground is passable.  Did anything else come up that I might have missed?”  They thought for a moment, then shook their heads.  She looked back at her other friends. “Okay girls, can I have your attention please?”  She only had to wait a moment.  “Rainbow Dash,  I know you don’t like waiting for us slowpokes, so I want you to scout for us while we travel--we’ve got a rough idea of the terrain, but an aerial view would help a lot, plus it’ll give you something to do with all your pent up energy.”  She favored the cyan pegasus with a grin. “You got it boss!”  Rainbow snapped to attention and saluted.   “Actually, there’s just one more thing,” Twilight said as her expression grew a bit apologetic.  “I know you’re flashy and love to show off, but we need you to be... subtle.”  She felt the incredulous stares of her friends without even needing to look.  “More subtle.  Nuances of subtle.  Subtle-esque.  Rainbows streaking through the sky are probably going to be a dead giveaway, so...”  She gave the cyan pegasus a sheepish grin. Rainbow narrowed her eyes.  “What do you have in mind?” “Just a spell.  A temporary one!” Twilight hastened to add when Rainbow started backing away from her.  “Just to mute your colors while we travel.  I promise it’s just a short-term, visual thing.”   Rainbow sighed.  “Fine, just... get it over with.”   Twilight gave her a reassuring smile, then leaned forward and tapped the pegasus with the tip of her horn.  Twilight had spent some time after the Discord incident reverse engineering the personality-altering spell used on her friends.  The spell itself was massively complex when taken as a whole, but several components stood out in their simplicity.  Ironically, they were like single threads of color woven through a larger monochrome tapestry.  As the spell flowed through Rainbow, her colors washed out and faded to a range of greys.  She looked up, seeing her friends’ looks of apprehension and gave them a little smile as she waved a hoof.   “Don’t worry guys, I’m still me.  One-hundred percent awesome, aww yeah!” “Definitely still RD,” Applejack said with a snort. Twilight said, “Thank you, Rainbow  I promise it isn’t permanent.”   “Might as well just call me ‘Dash’ for now.  Not much of a Rainbow here.”  Dash frowned at her monochromatic coloration, then shrugged. Twilight nodded, then turned to the next of her friends. “Pinkie Pie, you always manage to sneak up on us somehow, and I’m finally going to put that to use.  I need you to coordinate with Dash and scout ahead of us on the ground.”  She paused a moment, trying to work out the particular wording of her next orders.  “If you see someone you don’t know, do not approach them.  Do not throw them a party.  Do not let them know you’re even there, but do report back to us if you can, or to Dash if that would work better.” Pinkie wilted a bit at the mention of no parties, so Twilight amended, “Okay, if we somehow find out that they’re friendly and we’re just being paranoid, then maybe we can throw them a party.  A little party.  Maybe just share some cupcakes.  That work for you?” Pinkie sproinged in place, her previous good cheer returning in full.  “Yes indeedy!” Twilight smiled at Pinkie before turning her attention to the next pony. “Fluttershy, I’d like you to see if you can talk to the animals around here.  I have no idea what they might know, but if there’s anything at all, it’s bound to be better than going in completely blind.” “If...if you’re sure.” “Rarity, please keep an eye out for any gems as we travel. Precious and semi-precious stones are both fine--the more the better, as many as we can carry.  I’ve got a few backup ideas in case you don’t have any luck, but it’d be easier if we had even a few.” “Of course, dear, but whyever for?” “Enchantments.  I’ll need time to set up a rune circle or three, but I can do that when we make camp tonight.  The gems need to be from around here so that they’re attuned to this land and this area or else I’d have just done this on the boat.” Rarity nodded, prompting Twilight to move on. “Applejack, I know you’re not afraid of a little hard work and getting dirty, so I’d like you to help Rarity by digging out any gems she does find.”  Applejack frowned and grumbled a bit.  “And Rarity, please remember that Applejack isn’t Spike.  He might like pretending he’s your servant while you tell him what to do, but we’re all equals here.  Applejack, if you end up digging out more gems than both of you can fit in your saddlebags, just let us know.  I think we’ve all got a little room in our packs, and as I said, the more we can get, the better.”   Applejack flashed Twilight an appreciative grin and said, “Yes ma’am!” She looked around at her friends, smiling.  “Well, we might as well get going while the day is young.  You ready, girls?” They gave her an enthusiastic cheer, and so they set out in a loose gaggle.  Twilight took point; Luna took up the rearguard position, preferring to keep her friends in view at all times.  Sand fell back, walking close beside the princess and said, “I’m surprised you’re not taking charge of the situation.” Luna gave her an amused look.  “What, and hamstring us?  Twilight knows her friends a great deal better than I, and her organization and leadership skills are unparalleled.” “You sure you’re the co-leader of an entire nation, Princess?” Sand said with a smirk. “Being a good leader means knowing when to lead and when to follow,” Luna said, lightly bopping Sand with one wing.  “We should play to our strengths, not some ill-defined, preconceived role.”  She looked to her other side, addressing the red-brown buck who, thus far, had had a minimal amount to say.  “And you?” Viridian blinked.  “What of me, Your High... Luna?” “It’s not too late to back out at this point, should you have changed your mind.  The Swordfish will remain at anchor for the duration of our adventure, but the city to the north must have ships that journey to and from Equestria.  This whole adventure need not even have concerned you.  You answered my sister’s summons, not mine.  There would surely still be help you could offer her at court.” He shook his head.  “Both Princess Celestia and I felt that I could provide more assistance here, with you all.  While she expressed complete faith in you and your friends, another ally might come in handy against the unexpected.”  He let a small grin tug at the corners of his lips.  “And besides, I am ever a traveler.  My perpetual wanderlust is one reason that the Dagda allows me off our island home when so few others get the chance.” With Dash venturing back and forth, they made swift headway for the first few hours.  The crunch of the sandy shore underhoof gave way to the soft whisk-whisk-whisk as they waded through hock-high grass.  This, in turn, transitioned to the muted crackle of dead leaves and twigs as they entered thickening brush and woodlands.  As the forest closed in around them, their pace slowed out of necessity and more than a little apprehension.   Even Dash found herself hard-pressed to maintain her position in the sky.  As the party pushed ever-farther into the forest, she had to descend or else risk losing sight of the party for long stretches of time.  She switched to swooping through the branches, but even that only lasted for a time before the low-light conditions forced her to land or risk injury.  Soon everypony found their paces slowing further and themselves much less eager to push forward.   “Is it all like this?” Twilight asked, looking around at their gloomy surroundings.  If she peered at the canopy hard enough, she could make out faint patches of light from the mid-day sun that shone overhead.  A chill breeze cut through the trees, raising a line of goosebumps along Twilight’s flank.  Her words sounded dampened, muted, as though the forest itself were drinking in her voice. “In every direction for miles around,” Dash said.  “I kept us in the open for as long as I could, but there’re just too many trees to see a clear path.  Pinkie’s probably still up ahead somewhere, but she knows I’m basically grounded.”   Twilight nodded.  “Thanks, Dash.  I hope she doesn’t go too far on her own--I don’t like us getting split up, and even less so when it’s just one of us out there.” She lit her horn, seeing Rarity and Sand do the same.  Luna looked at the unicorns for a moment, then said, “Here, allow me to just...”  She closed her eyes, focusing a magic that blossomed into a small rain of cold blue lights.  As each spark landed atop the head of pony or deer, the spell-touched found their surroundings growing brighter with a pale white-blue light, as though the forest stood beneath the full moon instead of the pressing darkness that encircled them.  Though the magical darkvision was a far cry from the warm glow of the sun, the receding shadows no longer seemed quite so oppressive. “Nice!” Dash said in a muted shout, flapping a few feet off the ground.  “I won’t be able to get all the way up top in the canopy, but at least now I can see the branches well enough to fly some.  I hate walking on the ground.” Twilight wore an appreciative smile.  “Glad to hear it Dash.”  She nodded to Luna.  “And thank you, Princess.  I should really learn that spell if you get a chance to teach me.” “Mm...” Luna began.  Twilight eyed her a moment, then nodded. “Alicorn magic?” “Lunar magic in particular, but yes.” Twilight hummed.  “I’d like to learn the distinction between your magic and mine some day.  There has to be a system to it.”  She turned to Fluttershy.  “How about you, Fluttershy?  Any luck so far?” The yellow pegasus shook her head.  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to convince the animals here to help us.”  She dipped her head behind a curtain of pink hair.  “At least, not without a lot more time and quiet.” Twilight sighed.  “I’m afraid we just don’t have either of those things right now.  Tell you what, maybe tonight after we make camp, you can look around?” Fluttershy shrank a bit when she thought about wandering around in the dark. “I’ll be with you, of course,” Twilight said.  “With as many folks as we have, we might as well start making use of the buddy system.”  Fluttershy chanced a faint smile at that, mildly reassured that she wouldn’t be alone.   The buddy system, while hardly original, was the simplest of the plans that Twilight had come up with.  After all, it would hardly do to have everypony out on watch every time someone needed to answer the call of nature.  Fluttershy and Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity; Luna, Viridian, and Sand formed the last group as per their preference.  Each group was meant to play off the strengths of its members while at the same time shoring up each others’ weaknesses.  Thinking of weaknesses reminded Twilight that they were still (mostly) only mortals. “Okay, break time!” Twilight called out.  Her friends set their packs down, rubbing at sore muscles or stretching out on the cool ground.  “Let’s have some lunch and rest up a bit.  Maybe see if anything jumps out at us.” “Jumps...out?” Fluttershy asked quietly.  She looked around, nearly turning a complete circle as if every shadowed tree might harbor some unseen malice. “Not literally,” Twilight said, trotting over to nuzzle her scared friend.  “I just want to make sure our plans still feel solid after we’ve had some time to digest them.” “Digest?  You don’t eat plans, silly!” Pinkie said as she popped out of nowhere, startling both Twilight and Fluttershy.  “At least, I don’t think you do.  What do they taste like?  I bet they’re not as good as what I found!”  Pinkie sang the last words as she offered up a pile of small berries, their skin colored a dark purple mottled with light blue spots.  They oozed a thick, viscous juice that gave off a cloying aroma, though it was not altogether unpleasant. She shoved a heap of them into Twilight’s hooves before popping another one into her juice-stained mouth, chewing noisily.  “Try some!” “I...” Twilight said, looking down at the berries.  They did look appealing, especially after the long hike.  “Pinkie, do you even know what these are?”  Curly hair flopped back and forth as Pinkie shook her head.  “Well I don’t either.  I’m not going to just eat something that I don’t know--they could be poisonous!”  She called Sand over.  “You’re pretty good with plants.  Do you know what these are?” Sand prodded a berry with her hoof, sniffed the juice that leaked out.  “Fortuneberries.”  She looked at up Twilight.  “They’re not poisonous.  They grow all over around here--pretty major pest species, really.  I was always having to uproot them in my garden.” “Fortuneberries?” Pinkie asked, popping another into her mouth as she ignored Twilight’s glare. “They affect your fortune.”  Sand shrugged.  “Supposedly.” “Like...reading tea leaves or astrology?”  Twilight said, giving a contemptuous sniff. “No, more like changing your luck,” Sand said.  “If you’re having a really bad day and things just aren’t going your way, you can eat some of these and things might get better for you.”  She glanced at Pinkie, but Twilight caught the brief concern that flashed across her friend’s scarred face in that moment.  “The problem is, luck can go either way.  You could go from a bad day to a great one, or it could just go wrong in ways that you never even thought possible.  I never really liked the taste of them, so it’s all just hearsay” Twilight blew a dismissive raspberry at the thought.  “There’s no such thing as luck.  There are just systems complex enough that we can’t account for all the variables.  Luck’s just a superstition.” Sand shrugged again.  “If you want.  It wouldn’t be the strangest thing that you’ve heard of, would it?”  She raised an eyebrow.   Twilight opened her mouth, then shut it again once she considered the numerous things she’d lived through that defied all conventional logic.  And somehow, they almost always involve Pinkie Pie, she thought. “Okay...” Twilight said, giving Pinkie an appraising look.  “Maybe we can hold onto some.  Who knows?  Maybe they’ll come in handy, if for nothing other than as a food source.  But Pinkie, please... I’m all for foraging to stretch out our supplies, but try not to eat random things until we know what they are?”  She drew her mouth into a wide, nervous smile. Pinkie hummed a moment before nodding.  “You betcha, Twilight!”  She popped another berry into her mouth, making Twilight cringe.  “They are pretty good though, you should try them.”  And with that, she bounced off to join the other Bearers where they sat playing cards. Twilight sighed and picked one berry up, eying it suspiciously before putting it in her mouth.  A shiver went through her body as the taste of cinnamon and something mysterious--but unquestionably berry-like--washed over her tongue.  She smiled and said,  “I’ll admit, these are pretty good.”  She saw Sand watching.  “Sure you don’t want some?”  The ivory pony shook her head and walked over to watch the others play.  Twilight shrugged, wrapped the berries in a cloth, and stowed them among her things. “That would have been nice to know beforehand, Sand,” Twilight said once she’d joined her friends.  She stumbled a bit as the rarely-used name rolled off her tongue.   “My sense of premonition is undeveloped, it would seem,” Sand replied coolly.  Applejack and Fluttershy shared an uncomfortable look before returning their attention to their game. Twilight’s ear twitched.  “Well, is there anything else you can tell us about the area that might help?  You’re from around here, after all.” Sand looked around for a moment, then shrugged.  “I don’t know what might be helpful versus what would be white noise.  The journey as planned does not take us through the deep woods, so dangers--true dangers--should be minimal.”  She paused a moment, then looked at Pinkie.  “And as long as nobody starts eating things simply because they look or smell good, we shouldn’t run into problems with the flora.  Assassin’s gladeleaf is only found in sunlit meadows, strangler figs stick to the very largest trees in the forest, tiger orchids don’t usually hunt ponies, and snapdragons only bite if you tease them.”  She missed the looks of apprehension directed her way as she casually enumerated a dozen or so more predaceous or potentially problematic plants and their particular peculiarities.  Twilight blanched.  “Really?  And none of this seemed worth mentioning before we entered the woods?” Sand shrugged.  “I didn’t feel like it would be worth inundating you all with a botany lesson until it became necessary.  The world’s a dangerous place, and every path we might have taken has its own set of risks and problems.”   “There are large, grasping trees in my homeland called manchineels,” Viridian said, drawing their attention to himself as he stepped into the conversation.  “They have long tendrils that lie dormant until prey comes within reach.  Whether you only happen to be strolling nearby or alight in its comfortable branches to take an afternoon nap, they grab at the unwary, wrapping you in thick vines that bind and constrict your movements.”  He waited for the image to sink in, then continued in a voice tinged with faint apprehension.  ”And as if that were not bad enough, their entire surface--from root to trunk to bark to leaftip--burns with an acid that leaves great festering weals on your hide.”  He paused.  “Should you manage to escape, of course.”   Dash sat up straight, then scooted away from the nearest tree, giving it a healthy amount of space.   “Far in the Northlands,” Luna added in a voice pitched just slightly lower than normal, “I know of at least three types of semi-sentient rocks.”  She nodded sagely as she looked around at the astonishment painted on the Bearers’ faces.  “One species of which is particularly proficient in illusions.  They latch onto your mind, projecting your desires and feeding off the resulting outpouring of emotion until you lie spent and forgotten, worn out by hunger and fatigue.”   Rarity’s eyes went just a little bit wider than anypony else’s.  “How... how horrid,” she said.  Her shocked expression turned into a scowl when Applejack shot a smirk her way. Sand caught the tiniest smile shared between Luna and Viridian and suddenly she understood. “To say nothing of actual animals,” Sand said, her voice taking on an air of casual nonchalance that her previous factual recitations had lacked.  “Take ant-lions for instance.” “What... what are those?” Fluttershy asked with her soft voice and wide eyes. “Very much what their name implies.  They’re lions the size of ants,” Sand said, proud that she managed to keep a straight face. “Oh, how wonderful.  They sound so adorable,” Fluttershy wore a wide smile, and Sand almost felt bad for continuing.  Almost. Sand shook her head.  “They may sound cute, but what they lack in size, they make up for in sheer ferocity.  They swarm in great packs--huge carpets of tawny hides and razor-sharp claws blanketing the ground for dozens of meters in every direction.  Faster than you’d think possible, and hungrier too, given their size.  And remember--they’re purely carnivorous and aren’t picky about what--or who--they eat.”  Fluttershy stopped smiling and shivered.   Twilight stared at the three of them in horror, an expression mirrored, in varying degrees, by the other Bearers as they glanced nervously at one another.   “Is there a problem?” Sand asked with polite interest, not daring to look at Luna and Viridian. “It’s just a lot to take in, sugarcube,” Applejack finally said when it was clear that nopony else wanted to speak.  “The world outside’s a lot more dangerous than we thought, and it’s just a mite overwhelming.  But can ya tell us if there’s anything else around here we should be worried about?”  She turned a questioning look on the three doomsayers. For a few moments, there was only silence.  It was hard to tell which of them cracked first, but at almost the same time, Luna, Sand, and Viridian all broke into huge grins that soon blossomed into great guffaws as the confused Bearers looked back and forth.   Twilight caught on faster than the others, and a half-lidded glare soon replaced her puzzled expression.  “Very funny,” she said in a voice that dripped acid.  The others understood moments later, their confusion turning to comprehension, then smiles, and good-natured chuckling. “I thought it was funny!” Pinkie said, grinning hugely as she nearly bounced in her seat.  She looked around at the dark look directed her way by Twilight.  “What?  I mean, c’mon, it was obviously a joke!  Who’d believe that there are rocks that can fool you into...” Her eyes happened to fall on Rarity at just that moment.  “Oh.  Right.”  Rarity harrumphed, turning her nose up at everypony. Twilight looked around at her companions.  “All right, well, if everyone’s done joking around, let’s keep moving.  The sooner we get there, the sooner we get this all done and we can go home.”  The half-hearted cheer from the other Bearers stood in sharp contrast to the one given out just earlier on the beach. While Dash and Pinkie ranged ahead, the rest of the party fell into a loose line as they traveled onwards.  Twilight rolled through a mental checklist or seven while Fluttershy walked alongside her, peering around with cautious curiosity.  Rarity and Applejack occasionally fell behind, disappearing out of sight for minutes only to return shortly thereafter with their saddlebags weighed down just a bit more each time.  After the fourth such occurrence, Twilight slowed her pace so she could speak with them. “Looks like you’ve been having a bit of luck?”  Twilight eyed their saddlebags. “More than that, Twilight!”  Rarity seemed positively chipper, in spite of the all-pervasive dark surrounding them.  “We’ve found rare jewels in infrequent amounts, and just when I think we--I mean, dear Applejack”--she nodded to the cowpony, who returned a smile--”has dug up what little there is to find in this dreadful forest, I find another cache.” “Well, that’s great to hear!” Twilight said, beaming at their good fortune.  “Could I have, say, a dozen gems?  It doesn’t matter too much what kind they are, but the higher quality they are, the better my spells will be.”   “Oh of course dear.”  Rarity noticed the sad way Twilight’s packs were hanging at her sides.  “Actually, why not just take the lot?  We’re bound to find more, and you’ll be able to sort through everything to find exactly what you need without me having to guess.” Twilight floated out the small pile of gems from each of their saddlebags, giving the lot a brief, speculative look before stowing them in her own pack.  “Thanks, you two!  This should help a lot.  Once we settle down for the night, I can get to work, but please, if you find more gems, I can always make use of them.”  Rarity gave her a warm smile and Twilight returned to the head of the pack, practically bouncing like Pinkie Pie at their turn of good luck.   As the thought occurred to her, Twilight floated a few fortuneberries out of her other bag and popped them into her mouth.  The taste of raspberries and cloves washed over her tongue, and she cocked her head in surprise at the distinct change from her previous sampling, though she found the flavor to be more than satisfactory.  “I’m going to have to ask Dawn about that later,” she said to herself. They trudged on for an hour and some before the ground began to slope up at the most gradual degree.  The subtle change sapped their already well-spent reserves, forcing Twilight to consider pushing on at the risk of exhaustion or stopping early for the day.  Pinkie and Rainbow roamed far out of sight and back, reporting only more of the same gradual incline in every direction but the one that they had come from.   Twilight checked the map again, but unless her compass had magically stopped working, they were still on the right track.  Twilight felt a keen need to push forward, but she only needed a quick look around at her companions to see their weariness and fatigue.   “Okay,” she called out.  Their steps faltered and stopped as everyone turned to look on her with bleary eyes.  “Let’s make camp.  We’re all exhausted, and there’s no sense pushing more tonight.  If Dash or Pinkie Pie come back and someone catches them before I do, please let them know.”  The others gave her tired nods, groaning as they dropped their bags to the ground.  Twilight’s pack in particular felt a dozen times heavier than she remembered it being when she had last hefted it.  Gems do not randomly increase in mass like that.  She smiled even as she chided herself.  The thought prompted her to look around for Rarity and Applejack, but they weren’t in attendance.  “Must be off getting a few more gems,” she said to herself.   *** “Unhand me, you brute!”  Rarity said, beating her forehooves against her captor’s back.  The tall, slim canine carrying her walked upright on his hind legs, balancing perfectly in spite of her protests.  His clean, grey tunic fluttered beneath her weak rain of blows, and she could hear a loose clinking of metal beneath the fabric.  “Honestly, what manners.  Do all your kind treat others so ru--ahh!” The dog pulled her off his shoulder, wrapping one enormous paw around her midsection as he brought her to eye level.  The subterranean tunnels were only infrequently lit by torches, but Luna’s darkvision spell allowed Rarity to see her captor’s neutral expression. “Do you mind?  Your claws are all grimy and I--” The dog backhanded her with a casual gesture that staggered Rarity, all the more because his grip prevented her from rolling with the strike.   Applejack gave a strangled cry at seeing her friend thus mistreated.  “Why you dirty, ponynapping jackapples...” She struggled against her bonds, but even if she hadn’t been trussed up like a pig and slung over the shoulder of another, shorter, fatter dog, she would have been at a loss; she had been expertly tied, and the ropes gave her no slack to work with.  “If you lay another filthy finger on my friend again--” “Idle threats,” the first dog said, shaking Rarity like a rag doll.  He looked at Applejack while he held the unicorn aloft.  “Struggle, complain, or fight us and this one suffers.”  He brought Rarity in close to his face, placing a finger beneath her chin to prop her head up.  “Struggle, complain, or fight us, and your friend suffers.” He moved his finger away, and Rarity’s head flopped forward.  She stifled a whimper as best as she could, but she was too disoriented to do more than that.  Her ears still rung from the vicious blow, and her mouth tasted like a copper bit. “You...” Rarity said with a thick voice, fighting to raise her head and keep her eyes open.  She licked her swollen lips and pressed forward even as she saw her captor’s eyes narrow.  “You are not like the diamond dogs back home.” Her captor growled, low and feral, but he did not punish her.  “Diamond dogs,” he sneered.  “Inbred.  Weak.  Spineless.  We are not.”  He turned a cold grin upon her, and in a mocking tone said, “The world’s a dangerous place.” In her dazed state, Rarity took some time to realize that he was imitating Sand’s voice.  Applejack was faster on the draw. “Ya’ll been listening in on our conversations?”  Applejack asked.  The short dog carrying her growled a warning, but her question didn’t provoke another rebuke. “Ponies,” the tall one rumbled, drawing the word into a hiss.  “Always too noisy.”  He fished around in a pocket for a moment before removing several wads of cloth, some of which he handed to his partner.  Applejack struggled instinctively when her captor set her down, but a throaty growl reminded her of why that would be unwise.   She wanted to ask a dozen more questions while she could still speak, but then she looked at Rarity, at her friend’s swollen eye and bleeding lips.  She knew the injuries would heal cleanly, given enough time, but their captors weren’t pulling any punches.  Or if they were, less restrained brutality might not leave such temporary wounds.  She met Rarity’s gaze for just a moment, but it was long enough to catch a slight shake of the unicorn’s head.  Applejack gritted her teeth and remained silent as they covered her eyes stuffed a surprisingly clean ball of cloth in her mouth. The dogs remained quiet through this, only grunting as they hefted their captives again and started down the tunnel.  The only sounds that marked their journey were the soft padding of paws on earth and the labored breathing of ponies and dogs alike.  Applejack tried to keep an ear out for anything that might clue them in on their whereabouts, but there seemed to be nothing else in the world except for the four of them and the endless journey.  The ponies could only guess at how long they traveled, but it felt like hours.   Eventually, Applejack noticed that their captors were no longer walking on soft earth--the sound of claws clacking on solid stone reverberated throughout the tunnels.  Soon afterwards, they slowed and then came to a halt entirely. “Go ahead and put them down there and there,” a soft, calming male voice said.  Although Applejack had yet to hear the shorter dog speak, she suspected that the dulcet tones did not belong to him.  She didn’t get much time to wonder more, however, as she felt herself sailing through the air.  The hard stone landing that she expected never came.  Instead, she found herself bouncing gently, coming to rest on a pile of something that smelled of chicken feathers and cloth. “Please don’t make a fuss, Applejack,” the voice said from nearby, prompting her to twist in alarm.  A gentle hoof on her shoulder made her twitch, but she fought the urge to struggle further when the cloth around her eyes loosened and then fell away. “I’m sorry we had to blindfold you and Rarity, but I’m afraid we all have secrets we’d like to keep.” The speaker moved away, letting Applejack get a clear view of him and their surroundings for the first time in hours.  Luna’s darkvision lit the room with an odd blue cast to it, but Applejack still had to squint against the glow of the dozen torches that lined the walls.  The circular room was maybe two dozen paces across at the center, covered from floor to ceiling in neatly-worked, unpretentious grey stone.  The dogs who had ponynapped them stood unmoving against the far wall, grotesque and gargoyle-like.  Aside from a plain wooden desk and a chest beside it, there were few things to distract the eye. Rarity lay on another pile of cushions, being tended to by a pony that, save for his horn, might have doubled as Applejack’s twin.  His yellow-orange coat and straw-blond mane stood out in stark contrast to the somber tones of their surroundings--even the plush pillows they laid upon were done up in dark shades of red and purple and brown.  On his flank, a white candle burned with a simple ivory flame.   The stallion daubed at her wounds with delicate touches as he spoke to her in a low, reassuring voice.  Though Applejack couldn’t make out what was being said, Rarity seemed to relax visibly as they continued to converse.  The sound of his voice faded for a moment as he leaned in to whisper something, to which Rarity hesitated, then nodded.  A metal ring floated through the air before sliding down her horn.  She flinched a little, but from what Applejack could tell, it didn’t appear to be causing her any real pain.    He stepped back,removing their gags with gentle tugs of his magic.  Applejack ground her teeth, trying to work out the soreness in her jaws as her mind fought to figure out what she wanted to say first.   “And who might you be, pray tell?” Rarity asked first.  Her speech came out clean and free of any hesitation or trace of pain. He gave them a soft smile and dipped his head.  “My apologies, I fear that I have you at a disadvantage.” “Ya think?” Applejack said, wiggling her bound legs. “Point,” he conceded.  His horn glowed, and both Applejack and Rarity found their legs free. “I am sorry for the excessive force my employees used to subdue you,” he said.  Quiet though his voice might be, it reached their ears with little difficulty.  “A necessary evil in their line of work, but it is ultimately my fault--not theirs--for not being more specific in their contract.” “Ya still haven’t answered her question,” Applejack said.  From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Rarity smile. The stallion nodded.  “Once again, you are correct.  Forgive me.” “My name is Ember.” *** (My thanks to Chris, who slogged through this, my longest chapter yet, and still managed to not punch me in the jaw!)