Chapter 19
The trip to the inn took longer than normal as the trio did their best to stay out of sight. Luckily, most ponies seemed to be focusing their attention on putting out the fire at the center of town. All the group really had to worry about were the pockets of guards searching the streets and houses. They found themselves sometimes curving their way several streets in the opposite direction, climbing over rooftops and through tight alleys. Finally, the inn came into view and the small group made quick work of finding a window and slipping inside. No sooner were they indoors when Discord broke away from the two ponies and disappeared up the nearest flight of stairs, heading for the rooms.
Twilight tried to call after him to stay hidden, but he was gone before she could get the words out. She sighed, turning and heading for one of the round tables where she had left the brochure map she'd gotten earlier that day. When the innkeeper had told her about the mayor, she'd set it down and forgotten about it. Applejack turned to head for the stairs as well when she stopped, freezing in place.
“Twi? We got company!” She said, her ears flattening as she backed up a few steps.
Twilight spun in place, turning to glare in Applejack's direction. Hop Shot, the innkeeper, had just walked into the room, carrying a wooden bucket on his back. He jumped slightly when he saw them, only managing to keep the empty bucket in place through years of practice.
Twilight gave a slight growl, taking several large strides forward to stand beside her friend, her wings opening up aggressively. Hop Shot, however, broke into the same, friendly smile he'd greeted them with when they first arrived.
“Oh, you're back are you?” He said cheerfully.
“Yeah,” Applejack said with an unamused tone. “We're back.”
“I heard you'd escaped the prison somehow,” Hop Shot went on. He moved to walk forward but Applejack's scraping hoof and Twilight's angry flap of her wings stopped him.
“We're here for our friends,” Twilight said pointedly.
“Your friends?” Hop Shot blinked, looking confused.
“They're not here!” Discord suddenly came back into view, taking the stairs two at a time. “The beds are made and there's no sign of Fluttershy or the others or even their-” he stopped when he noticed Hop Shot who'd turned to stare at him in surprise. Discord made a dangerous noise, dropping to all fours before advancing on the innkeeper, head lowering.
“You! Where are our friends, Earth pony?!”
“I was just about to say,” Hop Shot said, taking a few steps backwards but apparently not that frightened. “They left here about an hour ago.”
“They left?!” Twilight snapped. “What do you mean they left?! Where did they go?!”
“I don't know,” Hop Shot said with a shake of his head. “After I told them I heard from Ice Crystal that he'd heard from one of the guards that you'd escaped, they checked out and left. I thought they were going to meet up with you three.”
Discord gave a single, loud laugh. “You think we would believe you after your little play-act this afternoon?!”
“Calm down, Discord.” Applejack said, trotting closer to stand beside him, keeping her eyes on the innkeeper.
Hop Shot seemed confused by the statement. “I'm afraid I really don't know what you mean.” He turned to Twilight. “You did see the mayor, right? I assume so since I heard you three had been thrown in prison. So... I don't really see what you mean by 'play-act'.”
Applejack and Twilight exchanged glances before turning back to the innkeeper. “You knew the Mayor was going to imprison us when you said she wanted to see me, didn't you?”
“Well yes,” He said simply, reaching and pulling the bucket off his back before putting it beside him. He adjusted his shoulders before sitting down. “You're an alicorn after all. Stoneflower isn't fond of ponies with magic in them.”
“Well, did ya think maybe ya coulda warned us about that before ya sent us into that crazy mare's funhouse?!” Applejack snapped.
Hop Shot stared at her before frowning in thought. “Well... no... That wasn't part of the message she sent to you. I was just delivering the message.”
“Along with your oh so insightful blithering on why you thought she might've asked to see Twilight!” Discord spat, although he seemed to be winding down.
“Because she thought the young Miss was here for an important reason. Yes,” Hop Shot nodded earnestly. He looked back and forth between the group, appearing at a loss.
Twilight turned to Applejack with a troubled expression. Applejack tapped the side of her head at the silent question. Twilight made a noise at this, turning back to the innkeeper staring at her with honest confusion on his face.
“So... our friends really left?” Twilight said carefully, watching his face.
“You're not believing such an obvious lie, are you?” Discord said, giving her a frown. “Really Twilight, I would've expected better of you.”
“But they really did leave,” Hop Shot said, standing up again. “They seemed upset when they heard you'd been put in prison, but when I told them you'd escaped and that's why the town hall was on fire, they said they needed to go and left.” he gave a small shrug. “I heard from Beam Rider when he came looking for them that you were assassins sent by Blue Jay, so I just assumed they were heading back to Kerry Shire to meet you.”
“Heading where?” Applejack asked, looking the innkeeper up and down with less anger and more uncertainty this time.
“Kerry Shire,” Hop Shot repeated. “Unless Blue Jay decided to go somewhere else. I just presumed it would be Kerry Shire since he always talked about it so much.”
“Hold on! You actually talked to Blue Jay before he left the Defectors?” Twilight said, her attention focusing in on this new information instantly.
“Not that much, really,” Hop Shot said, picking up his bucket again. “But he often spoke of his home town. Always said how he was going to go back there eventually. I never really understood why. From what I'd heard the town had been burned to the ground by fire ants years ago.”
“Wait, so you're sayin' this Blue Jay pony, after he took the stone thingy, went to this Kerry place?” Applejack added.
“Well, going back is something he always said he'd do. When he stole the stone and killed Black Lavender I just assumed that's where he went.” Hop Shot said as he adjusted his bucket on his back again, making sure it was properly balanced.
Twilight looked over the faces of the others. It was clear from their expressions they were thinking the same thing she was. If Hop Shot really was to be believed, and to be honest she was starting to wonder how much sanity the pony had, Blue Jay returned to his home town after stealing the Stone of Null. She had to admit to herself it was a long shot, but with no other leads and no plans on what they should do when they all regrouped, she wasn't about to ignore this scrap of info. No matter how unhinged the pony giving it might be.
“You wouldn't happen to know where this town is, would you?” Twilight asked cautiously, taking a few steps closer to him.
He thought for a moment. “Like I said, it was burned to the ground many years ago, but I remember hearing from somepony that it was a stroke of luck that Kerry Shire was burned down but not Dartmoorton which is just a mile or so away.” he gave his friendly, service pony smile. “I know where Dartmoorton is.”
Twilight, still unsure whether to trust anything said by this pony, looked over to where she'd dropped the brochure map. She looked back to Hop Shot before trotting over and picking it up. She came back and held it out to the innkeeper.
“Could you, maybe, show us where that is?” She asked, frowning lightly.
“Oh, of course!” Hop Shot smiled happily, turning and trotting over to the stretch bar, scratching around for a quill.
“If I may give my humble opinion,” Discord said in a hushed tone, leaning closer to Twilight, “I don't believe our friend here is operating with a full deck, so to speak.”
“Do you think he's lying?” Twilight asked.
Discord stared at the innkeeper's back, thinking it over. “It's so hard to tell with mental cases. But if it helps, I believe he believes he's telling the truth. He seems too certain of the facts for it to be random nonsense he's made up.”
“I gotta agree,” Applejack nodded. “Well, I mean I can't say anythin' about craziness or any of that stuff, but I don't think he's lyin'.”
Twilight nodded. “Even if he is, I guess it's better than no leads at all. We have to start somewhere, don't we?”
Applejack gave another nod. “Get the place we gotta go to. I'm gonna make sure we ain't getting cornered in here.” She trotted over to one of the windows facing the front of the building, pulling a tasteless curtain aside to peer out.
Hop Shot trotted back over, carrying a quill in his mouth. Twilight set the map down and, after looking it over, Hop Shot made a small x over a spot a few miles to the north of Falabell. He put the quill down and traced a path with his hoof. “It's a few days' walk from here, but it's not that far. Most pony towns stick close to the border. I'm not really sure, but I think Kerry Shire was to the east of Dartmoorton. There's a small canyon separating the two, but it joins together here. You can see it's marked as a tourist spot.”
“Delightful, I'm sure. Can we go now?” Discord said, picking up the map and rolling it up in his paw and claw.
“Still in the clear,” Applejack answered from her spot by the window.
“One last thing,” Twilight said with seriousness. “Did our friends say or did you see which way they went when they left?”
“I wasn't paying too much attention, but I heard Snake Oil say she saw them heading to the forest,” He waved a hoof at one of the walls. “Around that way.”
“Well then, if there's nothing else,” Discord said, not waiting to hear if there was as he headed for the window they'd used to get in.
“Thanks,” Twilight said as she half turned to follow, giving the smiling pony an uncertain look.
“You're very welcome, Miss,” He smiled at her, giving Applejack a small nod as she passed him to follow Discord.
Twilight turned and moved to leave before she stopped, turning back to him. “You know, you should probably leave this town. I mean... it's not safe here. Even if you're an earth pony. You should get away.”
Hop Shot tilted his head at her. “But then who'll run the inn?”
“Come on, Princess!” Discord hissed impatiently from outside.
Twilight gave Hop Shot a last look before she joined Applejack and they climbed out the window. As they darted and weaved away in the direction he'd pointed, Twilight turned and glanced over her shoulder at the inn. She noticed the innkeeper trotting out of it with his bucket on his back, heading for the town hall, looking no more anxious by their talk than he had before.
Stepping carefully and taking advantage of the dark the further they got from the hall, the trio reached the edge of town after a few drawn out minutes. The last few buildings, wooden sheds used to hold farming equipment, gave way to young trees growing on the edge of the forest separating the town from its mountains. They took the last stretch of open land at a run before they got past the tree line. Taking a chance to look over her shoulder, Twilight saw the dying red glow of the town hall as its flames started to lose the fight with the ponies putting it out. She noticed several more silhouettes of pegasi flying over the rooftops than there had been before. They hovered in place before swooping in seemingly random directions, stopping and hovering in a different spot. She didn't need a lot of imagination to guess that with the fire dying down, more ponies were out searching for them.
The forest past the saplings was thick with old-growth and black barked trees. They passed a few stumps left by the town's woodcutters, but they were mossy and each hosted a variety of different mushrooms. There hadn't been much tree felling in some time, it seemed. The uneven ground, unattended undergrowth, and wild, sporadic placement of trees slowed their run to a more deliberate walk. The heavy canopy above them blocked out any shred of moonlight, and the forest almost felt like it was underwater in the darkness. They kept going, always listening if someone was following them, or for the sounds of voices they'd recognise.
“How in the blazes are we gonna find anypony in all this?” Applejack asked, keeping her voice low.
“Hop Shot said they went this way,” Twilight gave as a way of answering, ducking a branch that sprang into existence in front of her.
“The guy was clearly crazy, Twilight,” Applejack said as she picked her footing carefully. “I don't know if we should trust anythin' he had ta say about anythin', to be honest.”
“You can go back and wait for them, if you want to,” Discord said as he strolled confidently through the wild foliage. “Personally, I'd much rather look for Fluttershy and the others in a place they could be rather than a place I know they're not.”
Applejack growled but turned back to the front, grumbling to herself as she caught a hoof in a tangle of roots.
“Keep moving guys,” Twilight urged, “Even if we don't find them right away, we need to get away from that crazy town. They haven't given up looking for us yet.”
“I wish they'd call it a night already,” Discord sighed. “I'm really losing out on my beauty sleep. And I'm doing so without a single drop of earl grey or spiced chai in me. Really, it's quite tragic.”
“Gettin' tired already?” Applejack shot him a sideways look and a lopsided smile. “Ya gonna let 'the ponies' out class ya?”
“Certainly not!” Discord said with a huff, shooting her a frown. “But I must comment on the rather barbarous treatment of their guests these cult ponies seem to have.”
“You mean besides the whole 'getting rid of unicorns' thing,” Twilight sad bluntly as she kept her eyes open for any signs of the others. She wished her horn would respond and give her at least enough light to see more than a few paces in front of her, but it stubbornly refused.
“Well, that's just garden variety madness. But there's a very large difference between being insane and being just plain rude,” Discord said with conviction.
“I'm sure ya'll can offer them some pointers next time,” Applejack said. She punctuated the sentence with a surprised hiccup as her forelegs caught on something and she tripped forward.
The other two stopped, Twillight walking back over.
“You alright?” She asked, helping her back to her hooves.
“'Course,” Applejack grumbled. “It's just these dang trees! I can't see a lick in front of me! Twilight, how're we gonna find anypony? Are we even goin' the right way?”
“I think so,” Twilight said, looking around the area again. The wind rustled leaves and tugged dead branches loose in the trees above them. There were calls from night birds, and unidentifiable insects buzzing to each other in the undergrowth around them, always surrounding them, but never seeming to exist wherever they walked or stood.
Twilight turned to look at the canopy above them. “Maybe... I should check just to make sure?”
“You won't get yourself seen, will ya?” Applejack asked seriously.
“I won't leave the canopy,” Twilight promised, getting airborne.
“Well I'm not going to stay down here,” Discord said as he took wing after her. “I trust my night vision better than yours, Princess.”
“You better not do anythin' crazy and give us away!” Applejack called after him, straining to balance her voice from being heard while also keeping it quiet.
Twilight worked her way up through the branches until she found one high enough to see over the treetops, but which still gave her proper cover from anyone else that might be flying around the area. Discord's head popped up next to her as he landed on the tree and twisted himself snake-like around it.
The town was still close, Twilight was surprised to see. She'd expected to have put more space between them and it in the while they'd been walking, but here in the treetops, she could still clearly make out the wooden rooftops and where the buildings ended and the fields began. Pegasi were still swooping over it, but they were less distinguishable from here and looked more like gnats floating over the scenery. She scanned the town before she spotted what she hoped was Hop Shot's inn, tracing a line from it to where the three of them were. They were wandering a little far to the right, but they hadn't gone too badly off course.
The canopy itself seemed clear of pegasi, although the moving branches and rustling leaves played tricks with her eyes and made her second guess if they really were alone, or if there were ponies she couldn't see hiding in the trees. She decided not to wait around and find out. Satisfied they weren't lost, she was about to fly back down when Discord tapped her on the head.
She turned to frown at him. In response, he pointed a paw towards the forest in the direction they were heading. Twilight couldn't see what he was trying to show her though.
“Is something there?” She whispered, leaning forward.
“There's a pegasus sitting in the tall Douglas Fir over there. Do you see it?” He answered.
Twilight strained her eyes a little harder, trying to spot it. The tree Discord was pointing at stood higher than the ones around it. It's christmas-tree branches fanned out, growing sparse as they neared the top. On one of the higher ones, she finally saw the outline of what she could trick herself into believing looked like a pony. It appeared as a black shape, pointing upwards rather than outwards like the branches. But more than that, she couldn't make out. The tree wasn't far from their own, and Twilight found herself suddenly feeling uncomfortably exposed.
“A guard maybe?” She asked, reluctant to take her eyes off it.
“Or somepony else,” Discord said, squinting as well. “Can't tell all that well from here.”
Twilight made a noise as she turned to fly back down. “Let's keep moving. We're still going the right way.”
“It could be Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash,” Discord whispered after her, not following.
Twilight stopped, hovering below him. She bit her lip, lowering her eyes as she thought it over. After a moment she lifted her gaze back up at him.
“Have they seen us?” She whispered up.
Discord turned to look at it again before answering, “No. It doesn't look like it.”
“What's goin' on?” Applejack called up, standing herself on her hind legs against the tree.
“There's a pegasus in a tree not too far from us,” Twilight answered her.
“Is that a good thing?” Applejack asked.
“We're not sure,” Twilight said, flying down to talk without raising her voice. “We can't tell anything in the dark. I think it'd be safer to keep walking the way we were. Better to try and find all our friends than approaching a single pegasus that might give away where we are.”
“You do that,” Discord whispered down at the two, unwinding himself from the tree trunk and climbing lizard-like down a branch. “I'm going to go say hello.”
“Discord!” Twilight hissed angrily at him. “It could be anypony!”
“Exactly,” He answered, not bothering to look at her. “It could be Fluttershy.”
“Discord, would you just-!”
He ignored her, jumping free of the branch and flying off in the direction of the fir tree. Twilight flew back up, swearing under her breath. She hovered just above the canopy, watching him as he faded to a serpentine shadow in the darkness. She almost went after him, but stayed behind, floating back down to stay with Applejack instead.
“C'mon, let's keep moving,” She said, trotting more urgently in the same direction.
“That whatever-he-is is gonna get us all killed good and proper one of these days,” Applejack grumbled, trotting after Twilight, trying to dodge fallen branches and tangles of ferns as they went.
Discord skimmed over the treetops, focused on the Douglas Fir in front of him. He couldn't make out much in the dark, but he was sure the dark shape sitting in the tree was a pegasus. As he flew, several arguments came to mind that he could've used to persuade Twilight it might be one of their friends; The fact that they didn't appear to be searching for them. The fact that they were a little far from town to just be sitting in a tree. The fact that they seemed to be alone and not backed up by any other pegasi. But somehow, he was glad he hadn't bothered. He probably could've given Twilight a logical reason to go see who it was, but he was never one for logic. He saw a pegasus, and he wanted to know who it was. That's what he wanted to do, and doing what he wanted was all he ever really paid attention to. Logic took too much work. Explaining took too much work. Impulse. He was much better with impulse. Impulse and spontaneous action. And occasionally, a strong cup of tea.
As he got closer, he saw the pegasus shadow move, noticing him. It stood up, watching him for a moment before crouching low on the branch in what looked like an aggressive stance. He adjusted his flight, rising from the trees and travelling through open air for a more direct approach.
When he broke away from the vast blackness of the treetops and his outline was more visible against the sky, the pegasus stood up again. It stayed in place for a moment longer before it took off and flew free of the tree, heading directly for him. It wasn't a dive bomb, and there was no sharp manoeuvring to its flight. It merely flew to meet him. With no sign of danger, he adjusted his flight again, this time flapping more naturally.
“Discord?! Where the heck have you been?!” Rainbow Dash said loudly when she got close enough.
“Oh. It's you,” Discord said with open disappointment, his ears flattening.
“Nice to see you too,” Rainbow crossed her forelegs at him. “Where's Twilight and Applejack?! What happened to you guys?! That innkeeper guy said he heard form somepony who heard from somepony that you were caught by the crazy mayor or something! And he said you set a building on fire?! What've you guys been doing?!”
Discord massaged a temple with his claw, flapping his paw to try and silence her. “Please Rainbow Dash, it's been a rather tiring night and I'd appreciate you keeping your ramblings to a lower volume, if you can.”
“Not until you tell me where Applejack and Twilight are!” Rainbow snapped angrily.
“They're perfectly fine,” Discord rolled his eyes. He waved his paw idly behind him. “They're over there somewhere. I believe they're heading this way.”
“Great!” Rainbow said, moving to fly past him.
He grabbed her by the tail and yanking her back. “Hold on a minute! I have some questions myself! Where is Fluttershy?! Why are you up in a tree by yourself?! Did you leave her and the others behind somewhere?!”
“Heck no!” Rainbow said, snatching her tail back. “I was keeping look out for you three! The others are fine. They're hiding down below in a tree trunk. There's been guards combing the whole place since you set the town on fire!”
“Hardly the entire town,” Discord said, but his mood lightened upon hearing Fluttershy was safe. “Besides, it was either that or get ourselves squeezed like oranges of our magic. Look, it's a rather long and, frankly, exhausting story. Twilight and Applejack are heading this way, so I think I'll bid you goodnight and wait for them with-”
“Didn't you hear me?!” Rainbow yelled, turning back to head in the direction Discord had come from. “I said this place was crawling with guards! I can't let Applejack and Twilight wander around on their own when there could still be crazy ponies around!”
“Well, I'm going to find Fluttershy, so if you want to fly off by yourself, then you-” He stopped mid-sentence, a sharp frown forming on his face as he twisted his head off to the side.
“Then I what?!” Rainbow snapped, turning to glare at him. “If you wanna say something then just say it! I don't have time to try and figure out your mind games when-”
Discord launched forward and threw his full weight against her, knocking her completely off balance and causing Rainbow to go into a spin. She corrected herself and flapped her wings furiously to stop from crashing into the canopy.
“What the heck was-!” She started to yell at him, but was cut off when something whistled past her out from the trees below, dangerously close to her ear.
She gave a yelp, shooting away from wherever the thing had shot out from, banking hard to the left as another one was shot in her direction. She could hear the snap of leaves and whistle of wind as several more of the same objects tore upwards.
“Would you get down?!” Discord yelled at her, streaking past clumsily before making a u-turn and heading back towards the Douglas Fir, diving into the trees.
Rainbow didn't need telling twice as she went into high-gear, rocketing after him as the sound of several more arrows shot up at her. She landed on the forest floor a few paces from where Discord was waiting anxiously, ready to run.
“If you could point out where you've hidden away the others?!” He snapped angrily, breathing hard.
She ignored his tone and flew off in the right direction. “Over here!”
He sprinted after her as she half ran, half flew over the uneven ground, fallen trees and branches. Somewhere not too far behind them, Rainbow Dash could make out the sound of pony voices calling instructions to each other. She pushed herself forward, dodging the trees that sprang out at her, heading back to her friends.
The large, hollowed out tree trunk appeared out of the darkness and she landed, going into a gallop.
“Everypony out, guys! We got company!” She called as she ran.
Two pony heads popped out of the tree, followed by a burst of pink as Pinkie Pie jumped out to meet her. “Company?! What kind of company?!”
“The kind that wants to use us as pin cushions!” Rainbow said, skidding to a halt. “C'mon! Twilight and Applejack are headed this way and I dunno if-”
“Fluttershy!” She was interrupted by a heartfelt cheer as Discord bounded over.
Upon seeing him, Fluttershy broke into a warm smile and started trotting towards him. However, she stumbled to a stop as he pounced on her, picked her up, and then proceeded to crush her against him.
“So happy to see you're alright, my dear!” He said enthusiastically, swinging her back and forth as he clung to her.
“It's... it's good to see you too, Discord,” She squeaked, squirming in the uncomfortably tight hug as she patted his arm gently. “Could you maybe... if you don't mind... not squeeze so tight?”
“I'll squeeze later,” He said, letting her go and turning to the others.
He promptly grabbed Pinkie in one claw and Rarity in the other, putting both ponies on his back before picking Fluttershy up again.
“Fluttershy, Fashion pony and candy pony. Alright, all here! Let's go!” He said, not waiting for a reply as he shot back the way he'd come, Rarity squealing in terror and Pinkie squealing in excitement.
“Whoa, wait up!” Rainbow called as she flew after him.
They flew almost blindly through the twisted forest, speeding past town ponies and guards as every now and then a flurry of arrows tore past them and buried themselves in tree trunks. Soon, the yells from the guards were more behind them than in front, as the heard hooves chase after them. But at full speed, Rainbow Dash had no intention of letting any guard keep up with her, and they eventually heard the voices get more and more distant.
Discord stopped abruptly and dropped to the ground, Rainbow barely preventing herself from crashing straight into him. She was about to ask what was wrong when a familiar pair of voices interrupted her.
“Discord!” Two figures ran towards them out of the darkness.
“Twilight! Applejack! Oh darlings, you have no idea how relieved I am to see you!” Rarity called when they came into better view.
“Hey Everypony!” Applejack called back, breaking into a wide smile. “Boy, am I glad ta see ya'll!”
“I'm so glad you're all ok!” Twilight added, running over and grabbing the nearest pony, being Rainbow Dash, into a tight hug.
“I wouldn't call hiding in a dank forest with all kinds of nasty crawling creatures 'ok', but I suppose things could've been worse,” Rarity said with a smile as she climbed off of Discord to hug Applejack.
“Yay! Group hug!” Pinkie cheered, bouncing over and grabbing each pony she passed until she had everyone clutching each other.
“Alright, alright! Less hugging! More getting away from here!” Discord panted, splitting the group of ponies apart with his arms. “Or would you rather forget the trigger happy maniacs chasing us?”
“Right,” Twilight said, her face serious again. “We're heading this way! Follow me, everypony!”
She turned and ran onwards through the trees, heading north. The mental image of the canopy, the location of the town, and Hop Shot's inn all pointing her in the right direction. The others followed close behind, Discord slowing as he scooped up Rarity and Pinkie, putting them back in place between his wings before picking up Fluttershy and clutching her close to his chest.