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// Chapter 27 - Fractals 
// Story: The Earth Ponies 
// by RomanCandle 
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Half Note snarled and beat the ground. She screamed and kicked and bucked and shouted words that she didn't know the meaning of - only that they were for when you were very, very angry. Dust plumed upwards and swirled downwards, only to be kicked up again. Tornado Bolt and Firelock backed away - the thrashing and bucking meant any attempt to calm the Earth Pony would likely end in injury. They waited, awkwardly shifting, as the screams of fury dwindled and dwindled, until Half Note collapsed in the dust with a sob.

They were by her side in a moment. Unable to offer words, the merely offered their weight and warmth to the Earth Pony as she shook and gnashed her teeth. Occasionally, between sobs, a few comprehensible words slipped out, but they quickly faded back into the exhausted fury that was Half Note. 

Time passed, and gradually she calmed enough for Tornado Bolt to swallow and venture "So...what now?"

Several minutes passed with the only sound being sniffles before Firelock contributed. "Well...Um...he said to 'Find the Young Mother' - that's all we really have at this point."

Tornado huffed. "But we don't know how. He didn't tell us who she was, where she was, what she looked like - and even if he did, everything looks the same for miles."

Firelock rested her head on her hooves. A few minutes passed before she perked it back up. 

"I think I have an idea. We've been really far south, really far west, and really far north - maybe we should try going east!" She looked at Tornado expectantly.

The Pegasus blinked. "How does that help?"

Firelock blinked back. "Um, I heard that Pegasi can tell which direction is North..."

Tornado snorted. "Yeah, we can. Wanna know how? It's to the left of the Sunrise, and the right of the Sunset."

The Unicorn lowered her head back down. "Oh. Okay."

Half Note hiccuped and shifted her weight. "It was a pretty good idea though, 'Lock."

The three sighed and laid down together, staring and the endless expanse of gray that stretched to the horizon.

Eventually, Half Note rose. The gray dust slid off her coat, not even sticking where her tears had streaked down her face. Still, she shook herself and flicked her tail. Firelock and Tornado looked up at her, and she turned to them and shrugged.

"We should probably start walking. I figure whatever we need to find, it's not here, is it?"

Firelock hummed in the back of her throat as she nodded and rose, brows furrowed. Tornado simply shrugged and lugged herself up with her wings. 

They moved in the direction they had been facing when they rose. Steps were taken slowly, and the grey dust slid back into place as their hooves rose, falling back into place as though they had never been moved. Half Note and Tornado Bolt both stared at the horizon, the former numbly processing each step while the latter scanned for any change.

Firelock, meanwhile, had fallen slightly behind. She was constantly looking around, her forehead wrinkled. None of the three were sure how much time passed walking - their legs were not tired, but it felt like ages nonetheless - when the Unicorn pulled herself between her two companions.

Tornado gave her a nod, though Half Note continued her trudge. Firelock cleared her throat, but when eye contact was made she only managed. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Trudging.

A nervous swallow. "I uh, I had another idea."

An ear tilted towards her. A moment of silence, and she continued.

"Um, the three spirits we've seen so far...Well, uh, they had their names, right? But they also had titles. Um, I think Zephyr had the most." She stumbled on her own hooves. Picking herself up, she continued. "But um, each of them had something about being siblings. Like, ah, Aestrak was the Oldest and Youngest Brother, Zephyr was the Second and Only Sister, and Laccarentia was the Youngest and Oldest Brother."

Tornado stopped watching the horizon to give the Unicorn her attention. Firelock continued.

"Um, so when he said 'Young Mother...' I can't help but think that maybe...he meant that..."

"He meant to find his Mother?" The Pegasus jolted upright midair. "That's weird. I don't think spirits actually have moms."

Firelock shrugged. "Well, I mean, it's also weird that you have two brothers, one who is Oldest and Youngest, and the other is Youngest and Oldest. Spirits are weird." She bit her lip. "Still, though, I think maybe this Young Mother is connected to the other three."

Half Note shook her head slightly, though it had risen above her shoulders during the conversation. "That makes sense, but how is that supposed to help us find her?"

Firelock looked at her hooves. "Well, it's kind of hard since we didn't write stuff down after we left our bags behind. But, um, if they're all tied together, maybe we can find a pattern between them, and figure out something about her that could help? Besides," she sighed, "If we're going to be walking for who-knows-how-long, it couldn't hurt to have something to talk about."

Tornado shrugged, then nodded in agreement. "Fair enough. What should we start with?"

Half Note furrowed her brow. "Well, their names, I guess. Aestrak, Zephyr, and Laccarentia."

Firelock contributed. "Aestrak was a Dragon, Zephyr was a bird - with four wings, and...I don't want to describe Laccarentia, but...we know what he looked like. Like a snake with six legs and horns and spikes."

Tornado straightened. "Huh, kind of like a Basilisk."

The Earth Pony and Unicorn stared at the Pegasus, who took a moment to realize. She cleared her throat. 

"Um, in some of my favorite stories, there are made up monsters. A Basilisk is kind of like a Cockatrice in that it can turn ponies to stone, but sometimes it's described as a snake with six legs. It's not really perfect, but, well, it's pretty close."

Firelock nodded. "Okay, close enough, we'll call him a Basilisk since nothing else really matches." She scrunched her nose. "Those three don't have much in common there...well, I guess they all have six limbs if you count wings?"

Tornado tapped her hooves as she counted, muttering under her breath. "Four legs, two wings...Four wings and two legs and - " she gasped a little " - Ohhhh you're totally right."

Half Note nodded, the ghost of a smile playing at her face. "So whoever this Young Mother is, she probably has six limbs too."

Firelock nodded, and Half Note sighed and looked up to the dull, grey sky.

It wasn't much.

But it was something.