//------------------------------// // Riddles in the Fog // Story: A Trip to Remember // by Gallifrey //------------------------------// A Trip to Remember by Gallifrey Chapter Fourteen Riddles in the Fog Twilight woke the next day in a good mood, until the events of last night came crashing down upon her. “Urgh,” she moaned as she stretched her limbs. Rainbow Dash was sleeping next to her, snoring slightly. The unicorn opened the tent quietly and walked out into the misty morning. Everything seemed to have had the colour leached out of it and it did nothing to improve Twilight’s mood. “Mornin’ sugar cube,” said a voice softly from the direction of the burnt out remains of the fire. “You alright?” Applejack asked as she took a bite out of an apple. “Not really, but I’ll survive. How’s Luna?” “She ain’t great, but she’s handlin’ it better than yer average pony.” “That’s good I guess?” said Twilight, confused. “'T’is kinda.” “Hmmm, I hope we don’t get lost in this,” said Twilight, concerned, looking at the mist. “I trust ya completely Twi, you’re a mighty fine navigator,” said Applejack, handing Twilight an apple. “Thanks AJ.” --------------- It was mid-day, and Twilight was leading the group, with Applejack and Rainbow in tow, and Luna sulkily following at the back, occasionally snorting. The fog had reached great thickness, and even the shadows of the trees were becoming hard to distinguish, their spectral forms fading in and out of view. Twilight was frantically consulting the map for guidance, hoping it would magically show them which way to go. In truth, Twilight had only a vague idea of where they even were. According to her reckoning they were somewhere around the middle of the forest, but with no Sun for guidance, Twilight was at a loss for what direction they were going. Twilight’s anxious demeanour had not escaped the others. “Do you think she knows where we are?” muttered Rainbow to Applejack, concerned. Luna snorted again. “Ah’m not sure sugar cube, but Twilight’s the best mare fer the job, and I’m sure she knows where she is.” “I sure hope so.” Snort. Twilight was becoming increasingly agitated by the noises Luna was making. “Is there something wrong, Luna?” asked Twilight, coming to a stop. “Oh no, I was just wondering why we have been walking around in circles all day…” “We haven’t been walking around in circles,” said Twilight, heatedly. “Then what are these?” asked Luna, pointing at the faint indents of hooves alongside their own. “They could easily be from another pony or woodland creature,” said Twilight dismissively. “Not likely,” Luna murmured, but still loud enough for Twilight to hear. “Well, what do you suggest?” said Twilight through gritted teeth, trying not to lose her temper. “Look where you’re going?” “You—“ “Girls!” barked Applejack suddenly, causing the two mares to snap out of their arguing to look at the earth pony. “Ah think where we are is the least of our worries right now.” “What do you mean?” asked Twilight. Applejack pointed at the ground. There, imprinted on the ground, was a very large pawprint. “What do you think it’s from?” asked Rainbow. “I dunno, an’ ah don’t wanna know!” said Applejack. A deep growling sound came from somewhere in front of them. “What in Equestria is that?” asked Twilight, trembling slightly. “Good afternoon my three young travellers and wise old mare, feel free to run, if you dare,” came a powerful voice. None of them moved. The creature walked slowly into view out of the mists. They had difficulty recognising what it was. Two great wings flared up behind it as it approached, it also seemed to have a lion’s body, and its face was not familiar to any of them. “It’s a sphinx!” Luna whispered to the others. “We must be extremely careful, they are treacherous beings.” “You are quite right, Princess of the Night. I am a sphinx, if you would believe, and if you answer my questions wrong, I shall not let you leave. Looking at you now, you’d make quite a tasty meal, though condemning you to certain death is not quite to my appeal. So, I will give you now a chance to escape this place unscathed, if you answer my two riddles, the way out of these woods shall be paved.” “You’ll show us the way out?” asked Luna. The sphinx simply nodded. “We don’t have a choice, we will have to try and answer the riddles,” said the alicorn. They looked up at the sphinx expectedly. She cleared her throat and began: “There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?” Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow put their heads together trying to figure it out. Luna meanwhile looked incredulously at the sphinx. “Is one being serious here?” asked Luna, not believing the sphinx. She nodded in reply. “Girls, you don’t need to bother with this one, it’s day and night.” The sphinx nodded again. “How did you know that?” asked Twilight. “Well I do command the night,” replied Luna, “it was obvious to me. The two sisters are me and Celly.” “What’s the next question?” asked Twilight. “I’m at the beginning of eternity, At the end of time and space, At the beginning of every end, And the end of every place.” “Now this one is more difficult,” said Luna, frowning. “Any ideas?” said Applejack. The other two shook their heads. Time passed, and the sphinx waited patiently. Twilight’s and Luna’s minds were growing weary of pouring logic into the question, trying to think what was at the end of time and space and what was at the end of which. Rainbow was just staring into the distance, vaguely imagining the ends of many things. Applejack meanwhile thought she was getting close to the answer. “Um, is it E?” she asked tentatively. “Pardon?” said the sphinx. “E, the letter E.” They collectively held their breath as they looked at the sphinx anxiously. She nodded and they all sighed in relief. “AJ, that was amazing!” exclaimed Rainbow. “Well, the Apple family might not be t’smartest of ponies, but we always get the job done in the end,” said Applejack happily. “Can you show us the way out now please?” asked Twilight, eager to leave the misty woods. The sphinx turned around and began walking, the others followed. “What if this is a trap?” whispered Rainbow to Luna. “It won’t be, a sphinx always keeps its word.” Eventually they came to the edge of the woods, at the foothills of the mountains. The sphinx turned and silently walked back into the trees. “Now all we have to do is climb over that,” said Twilight, looking at the daunting height in front of her. “That’s gotta be at over nine thousand feet!” exclaimed Rainbow. “I know, but we can do this! We can get at least half way up today.” -------------- I had hoped that the weather would be good for this bit,thought Twilight as she looked up. Ominous thunderclouds were forming overhead and the mountains were shadowed by their presence. They had been walking uphill all afternoon and were all becoming weary with the ascent. Rainbow Dash was panting slightly, her legs not used to this much exertion. She had noticed Applejack was in front of her a short while ago, which the pegasus had no objections to, now that she had something to look at while she walked. She was admiring Applejack’s behind again when she felt something hit her muzzle. She looked up and another drop of rain hit her. “Um, Twi!” she called to the front, “Don’t you think we should find some shelter? I think it’s gonna really rain in a minute." Twilight stopped and looked around at the rocky landscape for somewhere to hide. Nowhere was immediately obvious to the unicorn as the rain became more frequent. “Twilight!” Applejack called, only to be drowned out by a long rumble of thunder. “Twilight!” she called again. There was no answer. Applejack walked along a narrow path up to find Twilight quivering on the ground, her hooves over her head. “C’mon now sugar cube,” said Applejack nuzzling her wet mane, “I know you don’ like thunder but ah found a place fer us to kip tonight.” Twilight got up and followed where Applejack had pointed. A flash illuminated their surroundings and the purple unicorn yelped, and slipped off the rock to a steep fall. “Twilight!” yelled Applejack, lunging pointlessly forward in a desperate attempt to save her friend. “Woah, woah!” shouted Applejack as she tried not to slip too, but failed as she felt the ground disappear beneath her. “Twilight!” said Luna frantically, shutting her eyes and directing her horn at the falling pony. “Applejack! No!” Rainbow Dash tore her bandages away, knowing full well how painful this was going to be as she flared both wings and forced them into action as she dived over the edge. Her left wing was screaming in protest, but not as loud as the two ponies beneath her were. Rainbow saw Twilight become surrounded by blue magic and start to levitate up. Good, she was safe, now Rainbow only had eyes for the orange mare beneath her. Her time was running out, the ground was racing up to meet both of them. She bit her lip hard, trying to redirect the pain to her mouth instead of her tortured wing. She swooped down, grasped Applejack firmly around the middle, and soared into the sky, missing the hard rock floor by inches. She forced herself to keep flying- she had to keep flying. She got to the top where Luna and Twilight were just before her wings gave out. Applejack and Rainbow crashed roughly to the muddy ground in a heap. Rainbow blearily opened her eyes to see bright green ones in front of her swimming with infinite gratitude. “Rainbow—” she stammered, “you saved my life!” “Heh, ‘s’what I’m here for,” she groaned, her voice weak. The pain all over her body was incredible. “Come here.” Applejack lowered herself so Rainbow could hug her and give her a kiss out of view of Luna and Twilight. “Are you okay? You don’t sound good,” said Applejack, worried. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me!” said Rainbow as she passed out. “Twi! Luna! Ah need some help here!” said Applejack frantically. The other two saw the heroic pegasus and lifted her together, into the cave that Applejack had discovered. Applejack tended to Rainbow Dash, refusing to let the others help as she tenderly reapplied new bandages to Rainbow’s wing, along with drying her body gently so she didn’t catch cold. Twilight and Luna set about putting up the tents and starting the fire. As Luna was struggling with a pole in the tent, Twilight came to assist her, putting a hoof on hers. “Luna, I want to thank you for saving my life today.” “Oh, it’s no problem Twilight,” said Luna warmly, “I’m sure you would do the same for me. We would also like to apologise for our behaviour earlier today as well, I was in a bad mood.” “I’m sorry too, I was a bit short tempered with the navigation.” “Friends?” “Friends.” They both reared up and hugged each other. “Atchoo!” sneezed Applejack. Twilight looked over to her. “AJ! You’re still soaking wet!” she exclaimed. “Ah’m fine! I gotta make sure Rainbow is alright.” “Urgh, you can’t stay wet, you’ll freeze!” said Twilight, levitating a towel to the earth pony, drying her off while she was wrapping blankets around Rainbow Dash. “Sorry about your mane,” said Twilight apologetically, “I would comb it for you but we’ve got to put these tents up.” “It’s no problem Twi,” said Applejack. She bent over Rainbow and tried to wake her. “Rainbow? Rainbow Dash? C’mon, wake up.” She looked at Luna and Twilight, both had their backs to her, using their magic to light the fire. She brushed her lips against Rainbow’s. They felt surprisingly warm and Rainbow stirred slightly. Applejack gently kissed Rainbow, and the pegasus, regaining consciousness, returned the kiss. “How’s my lil’ firefly holdin’ up?” “I feel awful, my wing is killing me and—firefly?” Applejack blushed. “Ah thought I’d try it out, seemed like a nice nickname.” “I like it,” said Rainbow, gingerly getting to her hooves. “Is there anything to eat?” “Twi!” called Applejack, “what food do we have?” “Rainbow, you’re okay! Thank Celestia! And um, we have hay, more hay, some apples, berries, there might be some cake somewhere.” “Cake sounds good,” said Rainbow eagerly. Twilight rummaged through her bag, looking for the cake. “AJ, it might be in yours.” Applejack began searching her bag, and pulled out two objects. First, the cake, that Rainbow took and began devouring, the other, a small compass. “Heh,” said Applejack, scratching the back of her head, “ah forgot about this, might have helped ya in the forest hey Twi?” Twilight placed a hoof on her face in response.