Chapter Nine
“One should never stop seeking the next destination. To stop is to have no drive, no purpose.” – Unknown
Chapter Nine
As the years went by, Wanderer and Tourmaline grew to become the closest of friends—the two were nearly inseparable. They still frequented the great forest in search of the tree spider but never found sign of it again. They had many escapades throughout the town as life kept up its steady march. Seasons would come and go as they always did, each year the foals getting a little bit older and a little bit taller.
On the summers that Tormod came home, the three were never apart. Unfortunately, the unicorn still did not have his cutie mark. When asked about it, he seemed genuinely unbothered. He often stated that he had too many things to study and learn in Canterlot and didn’t have time to look for his mark. During the school year, he would send weekly letters, but as time passed, they became less frequent. Eventually, Tormod stopped spending the entire summer at Greensborough, preferring to get his studies done in Canterlot. While the other two really wished it otherwise, they knew he was busy with his studies at the School for Gifted Unicorns.
It was the evening of their graduation from school. The two were now in their late teens and almost fully grown. Wanderer had grown tall, his gray mane hanging loosely on both sides of his neck—having an almost mop-like appearance. Tourmaline was a fully grown mare and a skilled flyer—no longer hesitant to soar high into the sky.
The two stood outside the schoolhouse with the other students and family members as the celebration raged around them. They moved around from one group to another, congratulating their fellow students, as the long awaited day had finally come.
“Graduation finally got here!” Wanderer said, smiling wide to Tourmaline and a pair of other students. “Took it long enough if you ask me.”
Tourmaline and the other two laughed in agreement.
“There were times we’d thought you’d never make it, Wanderer, with all the trouble you got into,” one of the other students said.
He took a look of mock hurt. “Hey, I didn’t get into that much trouble.”
Tourmaline gave him a skeptical look. “You didn’t?”
He gave her a flat stare. “You’re not helping.”
“You got into your own share of it too, Tourmaline. We all remember the streamers incident,” the other student remarked playfully.
Tourmaline winced, a lock of her long, curly mane falling in front of her face, the mention of said incident invoking a fierce blush.
Wanderer smiled wide. “I remember that. It was pretty funny. And I didn’t even have anything to do with it.”
The glare in her eyes promised painful retribution. “Shut it, Wanderer!”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with mock meekness.
Again, they all shared a laugh.
“A pity Tormod couldn’t be here,” the second student said. “He would have loved this.”
The two friends winced, and Tourmaline looked to the ground for a moment. “He said he couldn’t get away to be here,” she said softly.
The other frowned as he realized the discomfort he had unintentionally caused. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
She shrugged, standing straighter. “It’s alright.” She gave him an assuring smile. “You didn’t know.”
“Well, we’re going to talk to the others. We’ll see you guys later. It was fun,” the two said before moving to another group.
Wanderer looked at her for a moment in silence. “You all right?”
She nodded. “Yes, I’m all right. I’m used to Tormod not being around anymore. I just… wish he could’ve been here.”
He bumped against her playfully. “Hey, cheer up. You know he would have been here if he could.”
She smiled faintly. “I know.”
Wanderer looked around for a moment before he smiled, a faint blush creeping up on him. “I… ah, got something to cheer you up.”
She looked at him curiously.
“I got it for you as a graduation present.” He removed a small box and hoofed it to her. “Had to do a few odd jobs around town to afford it, but… thought you would like it.”
She looked over the box with a curious gaze. “What’d you get?”
He rolled his eyes. “Open it and find out.”
She stuck her tongue at him and opened the box. Her eyes widened, and she smiled just as wide as she saw its contents.
“Wanderer, I love it!” She lifted up a opal-beaded necklace. After looking at it for a moment, she hugged her friend fiercely. “Thank you so much.”
He smiled and returned the hug. “Glad you like it.”
“Here.” She gave the necklace back to him. “Help me put it on.” She turned and held up her mane for him to snap it around her neck. Once it was set, she turned to show off the piece of jewelry. “What do you think?”
“It looks good on you,” said a different voice.
They both whirled, astonished smiles on their faces. “Tormod!”
The rust-colored unicorn approached them with a wide smile. “Tourmaline, Wanderer, good to—“ That was as far as he got before his sister tackled him to the ground, hugging him tightly. Tears of joy ran down her face in rivers.
“Tormod, you came home! Why didn’t you tell anypony you were coming home? When did you get here?”
He pushed his sister off of him so he could breathe. “Just an hour ago. The train ran late. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Wanderer helped his friend to his hooves, and took a good look at him. The unicorn was almost as tall as he and carried himself in a far more confident manner than he’d remembered. His burnt-orange mane was cropped short, as was the style of Canterlot.
Tourmaline gasped and pointed to her brother’s flank. “Tormod, is that…”
The unicorn smiled and proudly showed off his now-adorned flank. “My cutie mark.”
Wanderer saw that Tormod’s cutie mark was a small circle-like device with a sequence of numbers and a small needle in its center.
“…What is it?” Wanderer asked, as he had never seen anything like it before.
“It is an astrolabe. It is a tool used for navigation, sea navigation to be exact.”
“So that means…?” Tourmaline was just as confused as Wanderer.
“My cutie mark represents navigation. I guess all of the time I spent studying maps and the tools associated with them was my special talent all along.” He smirked wanly. “Who could have known?”
Tourmaline looked at him curiously. “Wait, don’t you have more school to go still? And why didn’t you tell me you got your cutie mark!” Her eyes blazed in outrage at the last question.
The unicorn hunkered down at her rage. “I didn’t say because I wanted to be there to see your face when you learned I earned my cutie mark. I didn’t want you to find out by a piece of paper.” He stood straighter as she calmed down. “It was something I wanted to share in pony. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
She tilted her head at him. “Does Dad know?”
Tormod nodded. “He does, but I asked him not to tell you.” He looked at her with a soft expression. “I hope you’re not mad at me, Tourmaline.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she crushed her brother in a hug. “I’m not mad. I’m just so happy to see you home again.” She looked at him again. “What about school? Do you have to go back?”
He shook his head. “I graduated a week ago.” He smiled wider. “I’m home for good now.”
The two crushed Tormod under a tight group hug, which he gladly returned. To say the other two were happy would have been an understatement.
“Come on, let’s find our parents and celebrate!” Wanderer shouted with no small amount of joy.
The three were soon off, and the remainder of the night was full of reunions and warm memories. It was a night they would never forget, as the three friends were reunited once again.
-0-
It was a few days later when the three had gathered at Wanderer’s home to discuss the future and what it could hold for them. For Wanderer, the thought of trying to find something more to do beyond the comfort of what he already knew in life was a disquieting thing. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to find a career—he just couldn’t think of a career that he actually wanted to do.
“I guess we should get normal jobs,” Tourmaline suggested.
Wanderer grumbled. “That sounds boring.”
“Maybe so,” Tormod said. “But we will have to find something to support ourselves now that we are finished with school. We can’t live off our parents for the remainder of our lives.”
Wanderer grudgingly nodded. “Yeah, but—“
“It’s boring,” the two deadpanned for him.
He looked between them. “Repeating myself?”
Tourmaline nodded. “A lot.”
Wanderer sighed. “Sorry. At least you two can find good jobs with your talents. Me? What job can I find for somepony whose special talent is wandering?”
The two frowned softly. “Maybe you could become a sea captain?” Tourmaline offered, the light of the room reflecting off the opals of her necklace.
Wanderer shrugged, not too enthused by the idea.
Tormod gave him a knowing look. “Perhaps you need to think on it more. The answer will come to you.”
Wanderer half shrugged, half nodded. “At least you could get hired by any company or merchant,” he said to the unicorn. “Any of them would be glad to have a navigator with them.”
The unicorn nodded. “Maybe.”
“I could be an investigator, or even a scout for the guard. Maybe even the Royal Guard.” She smiled. “That would be cool, being a Royal Guard.”
“Because our previous encounters with them would not hold you back any,” Tormod teased.
She glowered at him. “Shush.”
The three of them sat quietly for a time, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Wanderer looked around the room, his mind a chaotic mess. He knew that the day would come where he would have to follow his destiny, but what sort of job was there for somepony whose talent was wandering? None that he knew of, and the realization frustrated him to no end.
Finally his eyes settled on his collection of Daring Do novels, and he smiled inwardly. Daring Do did a whole lot of things that he dreamt of doing. She didn’t have a normal job like everypony else—well, that he knew of anyway. To be able to live freely and see the world for all of its glory. That would be a dream come true. A soft sigh escaped. If only he could be like Daring Do.
Why shouldn’t he be like Daring Do? What if he had been wrong about his cutie mark all along? Could it be that his mark actually meant adventuring, rather than blind wandering? The night he had earned his cutie mark was a night of adventure and risk taking—not something born of idle wandering. The spyglass—maybe it meant looking for something beyond his sight and the thrill of finding it. This revelation was like a light in darkness. He could fulfill his colthood dream and be just like his heroine, Daring Do!
“I’ve got an idea!”
The two started at his sudden outburst. “What?” they asked in unison.
“I could be an adventurer! Just like Daring Do! What if my cutie mark is about adventuring, not wandering? It makes sense when you think about it. A spyglass is every adventurer’s tool in looking ahead to their next destination.”
Tormod furrowed his brow. “I suppose it could be, but what do you know about adventuring?”
Wanderer proudly pointed to his full collection of Daring Do novels. “All I need to know is in there.”
The two looked at the collection of books before Tourmaline chuckled. “You think that’s enough, Wanderer? Real adventures are not like what Daring Do goes through. Remember the timberwolves and Reaver?”
“I know that. I am not stupid enough to blindly follow the books. I remember everything that happened those days. Yes I was frightened, but… I felt alive.” He looked at his forehooves thoughtfully. “I know that doesn’t make sense, but… it is how I felt.” He looked back at them, the resolve easy to see in his eyes. “I know this is right. I feel it in my gut. I was meant to be an adventurer.”
Tourmaline watched her friend, and the energy he gave off by his words. To her, it truly seemed as if he was set on his idea. His wide smile and energetic eyes was enough to send her own thoughts down the same tracks. She had honestly thought of being an investigator or a guard, because she had felt… good when her life was on the line. She’d been afraid, but at the end of the day when she had made it home safely, she’d felt fantastic. Both of those jobs might have given her the same rush, but perhaps the life of an adventurer would give her that and the freedom to do as she wished that she wouldn’t have as a guard.
“Yeah,” she said, a slow smile crossing her face. “We could see the world and things that most ponies only dream of seeing. We might not get a steady paycheck, but I am sure we can find hidden or lost treasures to make up for it.” She smiled cockily. “And I’ll be the pony to find them.”
Wanderer’s smile grew as he found support from his friend. “Exactly! There are many unexplored areas all over Equestria, and we could be the first to explore them. We might even become as famous as Daring Do. Our names will go down in history.”
“How do you intend to do that?” Tormod asked, playing Tartarus’s advocate.
“If we were to find a lost civilization or some valuable artifacts, our names would be spoke across Equestria. They’ll write books about our findings and adventures,” Wanderer said.
Tormod looked between them. “You both know that we might not ever find anything, right?”
They both nodded firmly, their resolution fading none. “If there is anyone who can do it, other than Daring Do, it is us,” Wanderer said confidently.
Finally, Tormod smiled. “It would be much more exciting than a ship navigator.”
Their smiles only grew. “So that means—“ his sister started.
“I am liking the idea as well. Besides, without me, the two of you would be lost the moment you were out of Greensborough.”
“I would not!”
Tormod laughed at his sister’s objection and nodded to Wanderer. “No, but he would.”
“He would too,” she remarked before Wanderer could object.
He thought to argue, but realized that they were likely right. Instead he settled on laughing to himself. “All right, it’s settled. Adventurers?” He held out his hoof.
Tourmaline placed her hoof on top of his. “Adventurers. Just like when we were foals.”
Tormod placed his hoof with theirs. “To a life of thrill and excitement.”
-0-
From that day on, the three were committed to their lives as adventurers. At first their parents objected, but with the right wording, their parents finally gave their blessings. The three would go on to have other adventures around Equestria—most of them with nothing to show, but they occasionally found the rare venture that earned them a good sum of bits.
Despite it all, they hadn’t made that one discovery that would put their names in the history books. Even so, they never once regretted their decision. They adventured as friends, and as friends they were happy.
It was only a few years after they had left home that they found themselves in the small town of New Hayshire along the southern border of Equestria. They had stopped for supplies for their next venture and entered an inn they’d rented a room at.
“Wanderer, I don’t believe a word you’re saying,” Tourmaline grumbled, setting her bags next to a table in the inn’s common room.
“It’s a true story, I swear. That’s how the zap apples were made,” he argued as they took their seats at the table. A serving pony walked over and took their drink orders before he spoke again. “Why would I make something like that up?”
She glowered at him. “Because you’re you.”
“Hey!” he protested.
Tormod rolled his eyes. “All right, you two, don’t make me separate you.”
They turned their glares at him, but he didn’t back down. “You both sound like foals arguing over something trival.”
“Oh, hush,” they said together.
Tormod chuckled and shook his head. “So where do we go from here? I haven’t heard of anything else nearby to look into.”
The two considered the question a moment, before Wanderer spoke. “Perhaps we can look into the Everfree Forest? You know, where the Elements of Harmony were found. Maybe there is something more to find there.”
Tormod frowned. “The Everfree is a long train ride from here, and I don’t think we have the bits to afford tickets.”
“We could always walk,” Wanderer suggested.
Tormod looked at him like he was insane. “Wanderer, that is weeks of travel by hoof. We would have to forage or graze for food by the time we get there.”
Tourmaline toyed with her necklace and thanked the waitress when she brought them their drinks. “What about the Crystal Empire? We haven’t been there yet, and I bet there are a lot of things to discover in the north.”
Again, Tormod shook his head. “That is even further away, and the same reasons hold. We need to earn some more bits if we are to head to our next destination.”
“We’d have more bits if somepony didn’t buy so many jars of zap-apple jam for no good reason.” She gave Wanderer a pointed glare.
He snorted. “If you’d try it, you’d see what I mean.”
Her ears flattened at him in her annoyance. “You’re so infuriating sometimes!”
He smiled cockily at her, to which she gave a withering stare.
Tormod sighed at their antics.. “Enough already, we need to think. Come on, what can we do to get our next break?”
As they discussed possible ideas for normal jobs, Wanderer found his thoughts drifting from the subject. His gaze settled to looking around the bustling inn as ponies enjoyed their meals from its kitchen. While he and his friends had done so before, working average jobs until they had money to move on again, he had never really cared about doing it. He did what he had to so that he could continue to follow his passion. He sighed inwardly—if only a lead would fall into his lap so they could continue on without having to resort to being busponies.
His ear twitched as he heard a pair talking with each other in the booth next to them. Having never learned his lesson as a colt, he turned an ear to eavesdrop.
“You really think there is anything out there?” one of the stallions asked his companion.
“There has to be. We see ponies go there all the time. There wouldn’t be smoke without a fire, you know?”
“Yeah, but that jungle is something else. There’s all sort of creatures in there that would gobble a pony up in nothing flat. I don’t want to go in there.”
“Neither do I, but still, it’s the rumor that is going around these days.”
Wanderer poked his head around the corner to look at the two. “Excuse me, what were you guys talking about?”
The two ponies regarded him warily. “About what?”
“About the jungle you were talking about. What’s the rumor behind it?”
The two shared a look before one spoke to him. “It’s nothing, just old mare’s tales. Not something young foals need to worry about.”
Wanderer smirked faintly. “How about a trade?” He reached into his bag and produced a jar of zap apple jam, before his companions could protest. “A jar of amazing zap apple jam, for an old mare’s tale?”
The two’s eyes lit up and one quickly snatched the jar from him. “Fine, we’ll tell you. The jungle to the south is said to have ancient temples and other buildings of a lost civilization. A lot of ponies have gone in, but only a few of them ever returned. The thing is, some of the ponies that returned, came back with saddlebags of gold and gems. Now how can that be if there isn’t some truth to the tales?”
“Saddlebags of gold and gems?” Wanderer asked, his eyes sparkling a bit.
“Yeah, we saw one pony enter town with them, and he said he found them in a ruin to the south. Might be some left still, but the monsters that live in that jungle are not worth the effort. Nothing is, if you ask me.”
Wanderer smiled in excitement. “Thank you. Enjoy the jam.”
The two snickered. “We will. Thanks, young stallion.”
Wanderer looked back to his companions and found the two staring at him. Tourmaline in particular was glowering at him rather fiercely.
He smiled smugly at her. “Told you it was a good idea to buy the jam.”
“I hate you sometimes.”
His laughter erupted from deep down, and she found herself smiling along with him.
Tormod smiled faintly, rubbing at his chin. “Gold and gems, you say?”
Wanderer nodded. “That’s what they told me. If true, we could be set for a while. If we do find a lost civilization, we could one day lead archeologists to it and get credited for its discovery.” He smiled in excitement. “This could be our big chance.”
Tourmaline shook her head helplessly, but smirked anyway. “I say we go for it.”
Tormod nodded in agreement. “We really don’t have much to lose.”
Wanderer practically shook with excitement. “All right, come morning we head south. To the discovery of a lifetime!” He lifted up his glass in a toast that the other two eagerly joined in.
They had no idea what they were getting into. There was no way they could have known that their venture would cause a major shift in the balance of their world. It would be remembered as the day that harmony became undone.
And thus we reach the conclusion of Three from the Forest. It was a blast to have written this story. The characters, their interactions, and even their adventures was a thrill to write. More importantly though, it was the pride of watching them grow from simple conceptions to full grown, and realistic characters that I hope my readers have enjoyed to watch as I have.
If you ask me, Tourmaline and Tormod need to put a bell around Wanderer's neck. That way they can find him if he gets lost. Unless he gets them so horribly lost not even a bell would help. 
Curious about Wanderer's story about the zap apples? Check out my entry to 'Letters to Luna', the little side story is considered canon to the Harmony Undone series.
Look forward to the sequel of Harmony Undone: The Rise of Order (the sequel to this story) in a few weeks. Once I get it looked over and edited, we will see what adventures await a certain traveling showmare in Harmony Undone: Consequence of Choice.
As always, comments and criticism are welcome!
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lh4.googleusercontent.com/OQ7svCsPq1zE_mPTkOZbdav7dxJKwYLIrhKRf9zTWj6Ir7VZfZSV5rIKt_K-71O3z-ZXvRn8yL1ftwsYT1pEg0GiyM-EASPIBOmfeeqIMjYQqgd_qYBZfnDJThiZ8pIi1wNp-yy1Rw
Good story even though it reminds me a lot of Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.
5946452 With the most recent of episodes, yeah, I would agree with you. I did, at first thought the 'hunting down bad guys' thing was a bit of a stretch, but now that we've seen even the CMC do the same thing... so much as a stretch after all.
I'm glad you enjoyed the story! Cheers, my friend!
Nice story and great way to wrap it up. :)
5967544 Thanks a ton, Striker. Glad to know you enjoyed it.
If you want to see what else they get into, be sure to check out the sequels. Their antics don't stop here.
Whilst I don't think this is a bad story by any stretch of the definition, it has a handful of things that make it difficult for me to actually get invested in it by chapter seven. For that reason, I'm rejecting it from goodfic bin submissions.
Details are here.
6514947 I'm glad to hear that! Hope you enjoy this and the rest of my series.
6515297 That they do. One is the adventurer, the other the treasure finder, a perfect match it seems.
6817201
Tormod faints...
7939781 I'm glad you like it so far! As I stated in this blog post, chapter four wasn't part of the original story. It was added because I had this fear I had that the story didn't have enough tie to the source material and would be rejected because of that. I've learned later that this fear was unfounded, but I didn't remove the chapter because it does have some foreshadowing to not only this story, but the sequels as well.
It's true I could write it as a form on internal monologue from Tourmaline to better show than what I have now. Possibly change 'her dad and Tormod' to 'her family.'
I didn't think it was that bad...
7939888
It's just a run on sentence with two separate topics crammed into it. And you use *as* twice. It's such a bad sentence in an almost flawlessly structured chapter.
I could tell it was more foreshadowing the other stories, I think that's why I liked it so much.
7941387 It was odd that the same person approved it for one group but then denied it for the Good Fic Bin. But that's just how it played out. What can ya do?
A lot of the things that happen here will be pertinent for Consequence (the third story in the series) so, hope you enjoy it all. :)
I really enjoyed this story. You did a fantastic job introducing the characters, I loved the way they met, and the little moments you showed in their relationships were wonderful. The chase scene when the three were running from Reaver was suspenseful and exciting, and I loved the mystery created by the second appearance of the tree spider thingy. I really hope something comes from that in a later story.
The only complaint I have is how Tormod got his cutie mark. For the other two, it was a special moment and meant something to the story, but Tormod got his off screen. Because of this, it kind of made him feel distant. I feel like I really missed out on something there. But other than that, it was a great story and I'm looking forward to reading the rest.
7979404 so glad you liked it, BD. It feels great to get feedback like this. I hope you enjoy the remainder of the series as Wanderer, Tourmaline, and Tormod's story is far from finished.
When you get to Rise of Order, bear in mind it's still going through it's remastering (fixing up). While the plot doesn't change, the way the story is told is more inline with my better style than when I first started writing.
Enjoy and thanks for reading!
8427386
You gave us nice look into the ordinary life of Greensborough. I hope to get to the next chapters soon.
I see. Well, it surely wasn't boring
8501143
So glad to see ya back! I’m glad you loved this chapter. Introducing Tourmaline and Tormod was such a joy to write. Their interactions are fun and both of them come alive from the get go. Likely because they had each other to bounce off of. And their backstory is one many can relate to, I am certain.
Wanderer was a bit slower to develop, but once he and the siblings get together, it became a roller coaster. :)
Look forward to hearing from you again.
Reading this has been a blast. Really like their dynamic. It's like they're the CMC of this universe.