As we reached Ivory’s hut, even in my exhausted state, I instinctively realized that something felt off. Namely, while things looked familiar, it didn’t feel like we’d been traveling long enough or in the right direction, for that matter.
The interior was even laid out exactly the same as the other, though the dusty darkness gave me this odd feeling like I’d just stepped several weeks into the future. It was clearly Ivory’s hut and yet, it wasn’t, in the sense that we’d built our friendship somewhere else. I don’t know why it bugged me so much, but it did. Not that I had the energy to do much more than gawk.
Ivory caught my gaze and hastily offered an explanation. “With such a big forest I can’t always be in the same place all the time.”
“Wouldn’t the estate be safer?” I asked.
Ivory nodded. “It would be, if we could get there. Having the roads watched is probably the first thing Prideful would have done.”
“And we’d be sitting ducks,” I admitted.
Blaze let out something resembling a grunt.
Though, as I watched Ivory glance over her shoulder for the tenth time this trip—and the first with the door shut—I suspected she wanted someone else to find us. I might have said more, but every inch of my body ached in protest at the very thought of a second journey.
Despite that, I found some part me was still restless and tried to reason with it. Given the mob’s hesitation to make the first move while we were on their turf, I was willing to bet they’d spend days trying to make someone else take the first step into the forest. I felt the edginess ebb away, leaving me with only pain and fatigue.
I’d been so focused on Blaze that it was only then, standing in the middle of hut, that the reality of my wounds caught up with me; my legs had simply had enough. One second I was looking straight ahead, the next, I was facedown on the ground.
Poor Ivory was left to juggle two incapacitated mares, though her magic certainly helped ease the situation. Her aura slid over the hay bed, both smoothing and thinning it out such that more than one pony could fit. The whole time, she continued to brace Blaze with her body, slowly, but surely, leading the way over.
Next, Ivory stood over me, her horn becoming a blinding column of light. The room lit up as though a fully fed fire were dancing in the fireplace and I felt her magic close in around me.
There’s something strange, almost unsettling about being held in a unicorn’s magic, but at the same time, it also kind of tickled. It may sound like a strange observation for somepony who routinely travels through the air on magical wings, but take it from me that both modes of transport are very different from each other. I might even venture to say that the lack of control makes it even worse for us pegasi.
Once I was settled onto my bed, Ivory appeared over me, her forehead slick with sweat. But she paid it little mind, her eyes rolling over the length of my body.
She lifted each of my legs in turn, her magic poking here and there; I couldn’t help but make the odd yelp when she came across a particularly tender spot, a surprising amount of which were on my chest; given how hard my legs had given out, I’d expected far more damage down there.
“You’re lucky you’re so resilient,” Ivory finally said, eyes flicking up only momentarily. “Somepony with less magical tolerance would have met a much less-pleasant fate.”
“Guess I just don’t know when to quit.” I squeaked out a pained laugh, in a vain attempt to keep the exploding zombie-bird from creeping back into my mind.
“D-don’t say things like that.” Blaze’s face screwed up into a grimace as she curled up against herself. “I… no more death… please.”
“Sorry,” was all I could manage. My mind had become as mud, every thought a slog and with each effort, my eyes grew heavier. Elaboration would have to wait.
“You’ll be fine with some rest.” Ivory looked from me to Blaze. “So there’s no need to worry.”
“Good…” I said, allowing the murky darkness to finally wash over me. And somewhere in there, I thought I felt a muzzle touch my forelock.
---
The creak of a door opening brushed at my consciousness and for a few moments, I thought that I was still in the first hut. Maybe, just maybe, my leg was still healing; I’d wake up and then we’d have a nice chat, just the two of us.
It was a time before Blaze was captured, before I’d failed to get the poster. A time before Ivory had been revealed to the townsfolk and the mob was just chasing a vague, fictional necromancer figure.
I wanted to cry, but my lids merely bit into the dry, crustiness that had formed around them. I heaved them open only to be met with a blurry orange blob. As I jerked my head back, pain cleaving across my neck and chest, the face came into focus. “Agh! Blaze! Personal space!”
“Sorry! Sorry!” Blaze’s face flushed as she darted back. “It’s just, you were making weird noises and I got worried.”
I shook my head and tried to smile. “No, it’s fine. I appreciate the concern.”
She let out a laugh, a tinge of lingering embarrassment throwing it off-level. “I know I shouldn’t have. You sure are tough enough.”
I blinked, taking a moment to glance around the hut. Save the table, select sections of the floor and the fireplace, the dusting of disuse still covered everything. I wondered if it was because I hadn’t been asleep for long or that there were other priorities.
“Er, thanks? What brought that on?”
Blaze scuffed a hoof, stealing a glance back at her flank. The hair had just barely begun to grow back, giving it a short, fuzzy texture that reminded me of a carpet of moss. “You mean aside from surviving all those attacks? How about recovering in two days when Ivory said it’d take you a week?”
I shifted a bit, my body creaking and groaning as I attempted to get a good look at myself. A wave of nausea rolled over me, flattening me against the floor. “I… urgh… I think you might want to reconsider that assessment…”
“Oh! Here!” Blaze was gone and back in an instant, a bowl of water pushed up against my muzzle. “Ivory said this would help with the pain.”
I practically sucked the whole thing back with one gulp. It tasted and smelled awful, but somehow it made me feel less like retching. Still, I wasn’t sure if the nausea or the lingering after-taste was worse. I looked up at Blaze, who grinned.
“Hey, it worked!”
I nodded slowly, the nausea still fleeing my system. “Thanks for being quick about it.”
Blaze stepped back again and after a few moments, my senses were about as close to clear as I could hope.
With some rather undignified grunting, I struggled to my haunches. I teetered a little, but was relieved to find that sitting upright was at least within my current capabilities. Which meant it was time to see just how bad things were.
I looked down at my chest, where it felt the rawest. Sure enough, there was a claw-shaped depression where my hair had melted away, the faint lines of each claw seared into the skin. Ivory’s words came echoing back to me, followed quite shortly by the image of the devastated shopfront. I shuddered.
“Does this happen often?” Blaze asked.
“What, getting attacked by evil bandit-mages?” I peered up at her.
“Uh… maybe? If that’s a thing that happens, I mean. That story you told me, when you said before you were a traveler and not an adventurer...” She motioned in the air with her forehooves, though she produced little more than misshapen circles.
“Yes, what of it?”
A sad look washed across Blaze’s face. “Is that… your life? Just one mess after another?”
I shook my head. “They come up more often than I’d like, let’s leave it at that.”
She bowed her head, letting out a bitter chuckle. “And to think I used to dream about this.”
A sardonic smirk crept across my lips. “Tell me about it.”
The door creaked open and Ivory, followed by Earnest, stepped inside.
“You’re awake!” Earnest’s voice held just the slightest quiver as he charged over to Blaze and pressed his chin tight against her neck. “You have to stop doing this.”
She shrunk into her father’s chest. “I… I know. But she needed my help! I couldn’t sit there and do nothing!”
“How are you feeling?” Ivory asked, eying me up and down.
“Better.” I tried my best to smile. “Just had a little bit of trouble getting up.”
She looked down at the empty bowl. “Understandable, considering how hurt you are. Give it another day or two.”
Ivory glanced over at Blaze. “How’s your leg?”
“Just fine,” Blaze answered, demonstrating by trotting a quick circle around Earnest. He placed a forehoof on her chest.
“Good, then we can get out of here.”
“Wait, what?!” Blaze stepped back to look her father in the eye.
“Your mother and I have gathered what we could and shut down the inn. We’re leaving town,” Earnest answered before turning to Ivory. “I’m sorry to delay this again, but once I’m certain Silver and Blaze are safe, I’ll return.”
Ivory’s eyes fell to the floor. “Will you really?”
“Yes. I swear it on my life.” Earnest drew himself tall and bowed his head, as though he were making a promise to a superior.
“Whoa, whoa, wait.” Blaze jumped between them and waved her forehooves. “We’re just going to give up? We’re going to abandon the Pasture and leave it with him?”
“He is precisely why we have to leave. There’s nothing more we can do at this moment and he knows you’re involved. I won’t risk leaving you within his reach,” Earnest replied, a grim resolve spreading across his face.
“What do you mean ‘there’s nothing we can do!?’ We could… we could—”
“Do something rash that makes him a martyr among the townsfolk and us fugitives for life?” Earnest gave her a stern look. “Escalating the situation will simply play into his hooves.”
Blaze slumped.
Similarly, my stomach felt like a rock and my body sunk accordingly. “He’s right and… I’m sorry. If only I’d gotten the poster, maybe things would be different.”
“Don’t be.” Earnest shook his head. “I don’t know what led up to that riot, but I have no doubt that it was an exceptionally unlucky situation. I think I speak for all of us when I say we’d be sad if you died over a poster.”
“Yeah!” Blaze chimed in. Ivory nodded her agreement.
I gave them my best reassuring smile, even though their words couldn’t completely drive away the guilt. “So then, the letter, can you do anything with it?”
“I can have my friends look into it. It’s certainly suspicious enough to start an investigation. However, know that Prideful will likely catch wind and have ample time to prepare. But they know I don’t pursue frivolous things. It may take time, but they’ll find a way through his wall of lies.”
Blaze and I exchanged solemn glances.
“And that’s not the only front he’ll face,” Earnest added. “Now that the rage has worn off, ponies are asking questions. He clearly overestimated himself and he’s paying the price. While we can barely see it today, his power is showing cracks and once that sort of thing is there, it never goes away.”
A small smile crept up my lips, rising with my spirit, and I looked from Blaze to Ivory. “So we can’t meet him head on, but that doesn’t mean we’re giving up. “One day, everyone will be sick of Prideful Policy’s games. One day they’ll realize that dark magic is simply a tool and it is the ponies who misuse those tools who are evil.”
“Can... ponies really change so much?” Ivory stared ahead, that lost filly swimming back to the surface of her eye.
I motioned to the rest of us. “We may be few, but we did, didn’t we?”
Ivory turned to me and blinked. The silence hung in the air like fresh snow: slow, drifting and… hopeful. A smile began to form, shy, but contented and as bright as the morning sun. “Yes, I… I guess you did.”
A nearly imperceptible giggle touched her muzzle and she gave us all a sheepish look. “I… never introduced myself to you, did I?”
“You didn’t?” Blaze blinked.
I pondered a moment. “Not formally, at least not to me.”
“But you still trusted us with your name. That’s what matters,” Earnest added.
“Half.” Ivory’s grin shrank a little.
I tilted my head. “Half?”
Her horn lit up, brushing her forelock out of her eye as she extended a hoof. “My name... is Ivory Hope. Nice to meet you.”
---
I stood atop the edge of the valley, a cool breeze sifting through my mane as I stared down the trail. It was a rocky, winding path, not unlike the dozens I’d seen before. Lush green foliage of all kinds carpeted the valley wall, hiding parts of the path as it worked its way toward Crystalside.
The town itself was hardly the pinnacle of tourism, but was still grand enough to stick out like a sore hoof. Large, rough shacks sprung up among the trees, their alignment surprisingly organized. A multitude of coloured dots milled around the largest, most central building. And at once, we had our target.
I glanced at Ivory, who, for the fiftieth time, gave me an uncertain look. And for the fiftieth time, I matched it with a reassuring smile.
There had been some persuasion, yes, but there was no question that with the precarious state of her current reputation, Ivory needed to lay low. That meant no sightings of neither zombies nor strange, cloaked figures. Though the need to make such appearances was lower than ever.
With the bandits’ leadership beheaded, the rest disappeared into the night. I can only speculate, but I suspect that the fear I saw was the one thing holding them together. With that gone, they dissolved as everyone sought to look out for themselves. I could only hope that some of them, at least one particular stallion, found their way into a less unsavoury profession.
In any event, it was the right time for a vacation and even though she kept glancing back over her shoulder like a worried mother, I think Ivory knew as much as I did that coming out to Crystalside would give her the distance needed to breathe a little.
Sure, there would still be troubles back in Pasture, with battles undoubtedly on the horizon. But for that moment, we were just two mares, two friends on a journey. And we had a jewel to see.
“Ready?” I asked.
Ivory closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath and holding it. When she finally let it go, the entirety of her being seemed calmer. In fact, that little filly had returned to her eye, sparkling with curiosity. “Yeah.”