16

by AlwaysDressesInStyle

Act I: North Star (Bonus Chapter Part 1)

Dream Valley: forty-nine years, eleven months, and seven days before the portal opens

The humidity of the jungle was like walking into a sauna. Even though I’d cropped it short, my mane was matted against my coat as I pushed ever deeper through the dense foliage. Somewhere off to my right roared a river, but as refreshing as a cool dip sounded, I was on a mission. I could ford the rapids later, using them to aid in my escape with the fabled Golden Scepter of Prince Charming the First.

I knew that the rival team of Wind Whistler and Firefly were close by, but I always worked alone. It would be easy to beat them to the prize. Double-W always triple-checked her solutions to the puzzles to make sure she got them just right. Even Firefly’s speed wouldn’t be enough to…

“North Star!”

---

I blinked. I was daydreaming. Ponyfeathers, what class is this again?

“I asked you who invaded Unicornia in 871 Before Celestia.”

Oh thank goodness. History. I could pass this in my sleep. “Storm Front.” The various city states were rather barbaric in those days before Discord’s unchecked chaos united everypony in a way that hadn’t happened since the windigos.

“Very good.” Miss Hackney smiled. “Somepony’s been studying. But that doesn’t mean you get to drift through my class without paying attention. I expect a three-page paper on the fall of Unicornia. Due Friday. It would’ve been five pages if you hadn’t gotten the answer right.”

I groaned as the rest of the class giggled. I was the curve-breaker on most tests, so they enjoyed seeing me get my comeuppance.

“I, for one, think it was nothing but a lucky guess. Perhaps you should make it a ten-page essay.” Wind Whistler, my scholastic nemesis, biggest rival, and all-around best friend weighed in. “She’ll have plenty of time considering she’s now caught up on her slumber, and hence should have no difficulty combusting the midnight fuel to convey just how apologetic she is for having caused such a disturbance in your never-ending toil to educate us.”

Teacher’s pet. I’d have said it out loud, but I had no desire to add more pages to my assignment. I’ll just have to get her back for that later.

---

Dream Valley: forty-eight years, five months, and twenty-nine days before the portal opens

I could barely feel my wings. Flying was impossible due to all the layers of clothing I was wearing. The arctic wind of the Frozen North cut a path through the fabric, straight to my bones. Even my natural pegasus insulation was no match for the biting cold, one of the reasons that even Pegasopolis had eventually given up ponykind’s ancestral lands to the windigos in favor of finding a climate better suited for survival.

I trudged through flank-deep snow, the rest of my expedition in tow. We’d connected ourselves together with a lifeline; a rope tied to each of us in turn so we couldn’t get separated by accident. I’d learned to tie strong knots while in the Filly Guides.

“North Star!” Heart Throb’s voice called out through the frigid air.

---

Wait a minute, why would I take Heart Throb on a mission to the Frozen North? My surroundings returned as the pink pegasus filly shoved me. We were sitting around a campfire, and I’d apparently missed our scoutmaster teaching us how to tie proper knots, since Heart Throb was now passing out marshmallows to roast over the flames. I sighed, knot-tying was a lesson that would likely come in handy someday. I’d just have to ask Double-W to show me at a later date.

I took the marshmallow from Heart Throb and skewered it with a stick. Heart Throb came back around with graham crackers and Horsey chocolate and I took those as well, squishing my now toasted marshmallow between the other ingredients. I let it cool for a minute, then enjoyed my s’more. Tastes like seconds…

We sat around eating s’mores and telling scary tales for a few hours, then went swimming in the lake by the starlight. We weren’t supposed to swim after hours when no lifeguard was on duty, but that never stopped us. With more than a dozen of us, we kept an eye on each other to make sure we all stayed safe.

Mostly safe. I slipped up behind Wind Whistler, grabbing her from behind and dunking us both. Caught by surprise, she flailed her legs uselessly until I let go.

She sputtered as she surfaced. “Why are you engaging in such roughhousing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you should write a ten-page paper on the subject theorizing my motives. A scathing look into my psyche that reveals just as much about your own.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“I don’t know what that means, but yeah, probably.”

---

Dream Valley: forty-eight years, five months, and twenty days before the portal opens

The Sun Stone, the lifeblood of Flutter Valley. The flutter ponies lived in the cliffs surrounding the valley. The valley had been buried by an eruption of the Volcano of Gloom in 637 Before Celestia, and the Sun Stone with it. The last queen of Flutter Valley, Rosedust, was mentioned in a number of surviving historical tomes, but few shed any light on what the civilization was like, merely describing flutter ponies as pegasi with shimmering butterfly-like wings instead of feathery wings or leathery thestral wings.

Our expedition’s primary goal was to obtain the Sun Stone. It was unlikely to be damaged in a volcanic eruption, unlike everything else on my wish list of secondary goals. The Flutter civilization’s collapse preceded the Discordian Era by a few hundred years, so it was my sincere hope that Flutter Valley’s libraries miraculously remained preserved under the rubble. The odds that tomes could survive were slim, but books from before Discord’s reign were few and far between. Most were now in the private library of Princess Celestia, available to read only with her permission. It was an honor primarily bestowed upon unicorns attending her school for the gifted.

Others on my team would no doubt…

“North Star!” The whisper was accompanied by somepony jabbing my barrel. “Wake up.”

---

Visions of Flutter Valley faded away and I found myself back at summer camp. Paradise nodded her head towards Scoutmaster Starscout. I’d missed the first part of what she was talking about, but vaguely remembered we were supposed to learn how to navigate using a map and the stars. We were to be separated into groups, blindfolded, and then dropped off at various points in the forest around the camp.

“Before we begin, there are two rules: no magic, and no flying.” Starscout held up onyx magic inhibiting horn rings and rope to bind wings. “The object of this lesson is to learn how to navigate. Sure, you could fly high enough to find the camp, or wink back here, but that defeats the purpose. What happens if you’re lost and injured someday, unable to fly or teleport? That’s where map-reading and navigating by the constellations comes in. That’s why we’re doing this task at twilight. You’ll start in the daylight and end under the stars. Good luck, everypony.”

We were then divided up into groups of four, with at least one unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony in each group. I was teamed with a unicorn named Pinwheel, and a pair of earth ponies: Trickles and Confetti. I rode in the wagon in silence, blindfolded. The others were chatting, but I was paying attention to the way the wagon turned. I gave up after a while when I realized we were going in circles – they were intentionally trying to disorient us. It also meant we were probably a lot closer to the camp than anypony would expect considering how long the ride was.

Eventually we stopped, and our blindfolds were removed. I folded my wings closed so they could be bound, while Pinwheel lowered her head to receive the magic inhibitor. The rope was enchanted – there’d be no asking my cohorts to remove it so I could cheat and fly up to get a peek. Not that I would – that would defeat the entire point of learning how to navigate; a skillset I desperately needed if I wanted to be an explorer someday.

While the others were arguing about which direction they should walk in, I pulled a compass from my saddlebag. I faced due north and looked at the map. The camp was surrounded by woods. There were few landmarks, and none of them were visible. “Okay everypony, start looking for a watchtower.”

We started walking northwest since the camp was situated in the northwest corner of the map. My idea was that we’d go in one direction until we found a landmark of some sort, then we’d correct our course and make it back to the camp.

Trickles caught the scent of water, so we changed directions and followed her nose to a stream. We took the opportunity to rest our hooves and top off our canteens. We’d found a landmark, and even though it had been Trickles that had made the discovery, everypony turned their attention to me on what to do next.

“If we follow this downstream, we’ll eventually come to a larger body of water. Maybe a river or a lake. Or an ocean, but considering how far inland we are, if we find an ocean we’re really lost. Odds are pretty good this flows into the lake we go swimming in, and if we can find that, we can find our way back to the camp.”

A few minutes later we reached a river, and I held up a wing to stop our party from continuing on. There was only one river on the map, and it flowed into the lake further north than the camp. I was sure they’d done that intentionally. They’d led us all north of the camp, expecting everypony to head northwest from their starting point.

“We need to go southwest. They disoriented us and gave us intentionally misleading maps.”

The others nodded and followed me as I led the way. I was thankful none of them were arguing. Not that dissenting opinions couldn’t be a good thing sometimes, but this wasn’t the time for it. No doubt at least some of our fellow campers were wasting daylight debating amongst themselves. I’d shown my work, proven my point, and they trusted me to lead them back home.

The sun set, and we continued trotting. The stars started appearing, and I verified we were continuing in the correct direction by the position of my namesake, the north star.

“How do you navigate by the stars?” Confetti asked.

“There’s a bright star aligned with the North Pole that’s known as the north star. No relation.” I giggled at my joke. “Because of its position it appears nearly stationary in the night sky, while everything else appears to revolve around it. Ancient legends suggest that it was placed in this position to serve as a navigational aid by an alicorn named Luna, sister to Princess Celestia. She was the alicorn of the night, contrasting with Princess Celestia’s daytime. You would know her better as the legendary Nightmare Moon that Nightmare Night is named after. She’s also known as the Mare in the Moon, as she’s supposedly imprisoned inside. A classic battle of good versus evil, something to keep the foals entertained.”

The other fillies would’ve been on the edge of their seats if they’d been sitting down.

“Is she real? Does Princess Celestia really have a sister?”

“She really sealed her sister in the moon? Can she send my little brother there too?”

I chuckled. “Like I said, it’s just a story. There’s probably some truth to it. Sadly, that truth has been embellished and lost to history.” But perhaps someday… The abandoned castle in the Everfree Forest is known as the Castle of the Two Sisters. I bet that would be a good place to look for real answers.

The other fillies got to see what I meant about the fixed position of the north star as we trotted. Pinwheel was almost mesmerized by the night sky, and I suspected she’d picked up a newfound appreciation for astronomy.

It was then that I caught a glimpse of the Filly Guides flag waving in the moonlight. “Camp’s this way!” I took off at a run, ignoring their shouts.

We were the first group to arrive back at camp. I burst through the door, the others hot on my hooves.

Starscout looked up in surprise. “That was quick.” She shuffled some papers around her desk until she found a logbook to verify things. “Yes, this appears to be a new camp record. Congratulations to all of you for setting a record, and to North Star for acquiring your cutie mark. I’ll start making preparations for a cuteceañera.”

“What?!?” I turned to look at my flank, where a compass rose was now situated. “Why didn’t any of you fillies tell me that I got this?”

Confetti giggled. “It came in right when you spotted the camp, but before any of us could say anything you’d taken off at a gallop. But hey, it’s funnier that you found out this way.”

“See if I invite any of you to my cuteceañera.”

“I don’t think you’re going to have much choice. Looks like everypony’s coming to your party.” Trickles wrapped me in a hug and I couldn’t stay mad at her or the others.

I wasn’t surprised that Wind Whistler’s group was the next to find camp, but what did shock me was that it took her more than an hour longer to make it back. Plus, she was still a blank flank, so I enjoyed rubbing it in a little.

---

Paradise Estate: forty-one years, eight months, and twenty-six days before the portal opens

Somewhere in the desert west of Somnambula we marched. It was too hot to travel by day, so we moved by night, covering the ground between oases by the light of the moon. Legend had it that Pharaoh Ram-Z the Second’s treasure was still inside the pyramid, supposedly guarded by a giant sphynx. More than a thousand years had passed, and if the legendary sphinx had ever truly existed, he was likely long since dead.

If I was wrong, well, that’s why Wind Whistler was by my side. Between the two of us, we could solve any riddle the overgrown feline could throw our way.

Desert sand had partially buried the pyramids over the years, and we had to excavate the pyramid’s base to find the entrance. There was no door, so we let ourselves in once all the sand was out of the way.

The passageway to the pharaoh’s tomb seemed to stretch on forever.

“Oh, it’s been a long, long time since I had visitors.”

We turned to look at the giant sphynx that had somehow managed to sneak up on us, blocking our only escape route.

“Riddle me this, riddle me that…”

“North Star!”

---

I snapped to attention, the sphynx’s unasked riddle dying on his tongue as the daydream faded away. I was in Professor Fossil’s archeology class.

Fresh out of graduate school, Professor Fossil couldn’t have been more than five years older than the rest of us. She was new to teaching, and we were her first class. We totally took advantage of that.

Except now she was calling on me and I didn’t know why.

“Is the history of the Crystal Empire that boring that it’s putting you to sleep?”

Oh, the Crystal Empire. Lost to us nearly a thousand years ago, with a potential return date only decades away. I might get the chance to explore it someday… I looked at her sheepishly and fibbed a bit. “Actually, it’s so fascinating I pictured myself there.” I thought back to what I knew of the empire. “Seeing the Crystal Heart for myself. Maybe even meeting a yak.” Yakyakistan had closed their borders after the empire’s disappearance, and there hadn’t been a yak in Equestria in all the centuries since.

“Very well then. I’ll let that pass… this time. But no more daydreaming in class, mmkay?”

“Sure thing!”

“Now, if everypony could turn to page 127 in your textbooks, we’re going to discuss the remaining known artifacts from the Crystal Empire. The first thing you’ll notice is the overhead view of where we think the Crystal Empire was located, with Crystalvania directly to the south. One of the main landmarks is an ancient meteor crater…” Surprise put a hoof up and Professor Fossil called on her. “Yes, Surprise?”

“If that meteor had landed just a little to the left, it would’ve hit the railroad tracks!”

The rest of the class burst out laughing as Dr. Fossil stood there with her jaw hanging open. “But… the tracks… The railroad didn’t exist when that bolide impact took place! The Crystal Empire didn’t even exist then! The railroad didn’t even exist in the Crystal Empire’s time! That’s why the tracks only extend to Fort Hope and not to where the Empire once was.”

We took turns tormenting Professor Fossil in our own unique ways – Wind Whistler insisted on putting her hoof up to answer every single question, Surprise made random nonsensical comments that made the professor sputter trying to come up with a reply, Firefly kept trying to ‘spice up’ history by inserting fictional action-adventure elements, while Heart Throb just doodled Professor Fossil’s name and random other pony names inside hearts. I kept spacing out, wanting to be out in the field instead of stuck in the classroom.

It was glorious.

---

Ruins of Leona: forty-one years, six months, and eleven days before the portal opens

“The Mighty Helm charged into battle, brandishing spears as they defended their village from marauding pirates. Their opponents had the superior weaponry, armed with swords and canons. Just when things seemed like they couldn’t get any worse, the volcano erupted.”

“North Star!”

---

Paradise glared at me. “Tell the story right. There were no pirates back then.”

“Whoops, I got a little carried away there.”

“Well, I was enjoying the story.” Firefly snorted. “Beats digging up rocks.”

“Depends on the rocks.” Heart Throb had found a diamond, and she was quite proud of her accomplishment, even if it had no historic value whatsoever. “I wouldn’t mind finding a few more like this one.”

No history buff would be complete without a favorite era, and Professor Fossil’s was the Mighty Helm. Which was why for our final project, we were spending a week digging up whatever we could find in the village. Our grades were to be based on skill of excavation, with special attention paid to picking worthwhile areas to excavate and doing as little damage to artifacts as possible. No test, no term paper, just digging in the dirt for a week.

Leona was a small village crammed between a rocky coast and a volcano. With the benefit of hindsight, it was a horrible place to put a nascent civilization. The legend is that a wimpy stallion by the name of Rockhoof saved the village by digging a trench with a shovel, transforming into a large, powerful stallion in the process. Professor Fossil had outright rejected that Rockhoof ever existed.

The rest of us though… we wanted to believe.

For Firefly, it would make the archeological expedition much more exciting if we could find proof that the legend was real. Heart Throb wanted to dig up some sort of tragic love story, like the kind in the bit-store romance novels she enjoyed reading. Wind Whistler, Paradise, and I just wanted to find something of note. Something that would validate this as an important archeological site, while knowing deep down they didn’t take college students anywhere truly illustrious. Professor Fossil was fresh out of college herself, with no tenure. The university wasn’t springing for a trip anywhere expensive. The stars aligned since her dream expedition just happened to be both historically unimportant and cheap enough that it was feasible.

There were no hotels near the long-abandoned village, a fact that Heart Throb wouldn’t stop whining about. Instead we slept in tents, eating canned rations and whatever we could forage in the surrounding forest. It was a lot like being back in the Filly Guides, but without indoor plumbing. Which was another thing that Heart Throb brought up continuously. Her idea of ‘roughing it’ is a three-star hotel.

Despite that, she’d taken this class with us. I’d been friends with Heart Throb, Paradise, and Surprise since Filly Guides, and Wind Whistler and Firefly since kindergarten. The six of us had been more or less inseparable since then, despite our differences. Or perhaps, because of them. We had a well-rounded group, and somewhere along the way my ambition to be a famous archeologist had rubbed off on all of them. Someday I’m going to lead an expedition, and these five ponies will be right there with me. We just need to hone our skills a little more first.

---

Everfree Forest: thirty-nine years, six months, and eighteen days before the portal opens

The Everfree Forest. The one place within the borders of Equestria where the plants, animals, and weather were all feral. ‘Keep out’ signs were posted on all the paths leading to the uninhabited woods. Everfree City was once the capital of Equestria, though the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters were all that remained of the once thriving city. According to legend, Equestria was once a diarchy, and that Celestia’s sister became jealous and tried to usurp her. Upon her defeat, she was sealed in the moon for all eternity.

It was an ancient ruin tantalizingly close to Canterlot, yet never explored. Apparently, royal permission was needed to mount an official expedition to the castle, and that had never been granted. Princess Celestia is hiding something and we’re going to find out what.

In modern times, Nightmare Moon was primarily a story told to young foals to keep them in line. If Princess Celestia was willing to seal her own little sister in the moon, what would she do to a naughty filly or colt? Most ponies over the age of ten regarded the Mare in the Moon to be nothing but an old mare’s tale.

But if one were to dig deep enough, one could normally ascertain some element of truth to ancient legends. The Castle of the Two Sisters, for example, was tangible evidence that the Everfree Forest used to be inhabited. It could also be verified by looking at ancient maps. Something anypony willing to trot into a museum could have access to.

I felt secure in the knowledge that the seven of us would find something of interest, I just wasn’t sure what. Despite the castle’s close proximity to Ponyville and Canterlot both, it was relatively untouched since antiquity. The creepy forest inhabited by all manner of monsters was a pretty good deterrent. I’d assembled a team of hyper-competent ponies: Wind Whistler, of course; she’d been my best friend and occasional rival since we were foals. She was one of the few ponies as knowledgeable on history as myself. Firefly, the fastest flyer in town, and a thrill seeker. The Everfree was full of dangers, and she was fast enough to fly out of almost any jam. Surprise, practical joker extraordinaire, and amateur escape artist. If we got caught in any traps, we’d be counting on her to get us out. Heart Throb, a pony I’d made the mistake of dismissing more than once had proven herself adept at taking care of herself. Paradise, the master of ancient lore. Finally, there was Brightbow, the tagalong. She’d asked to come and I wasn’t going to turn down help on a mission. Mostly, that meant carrying equipment that wasn’t immediately needed, such as our tents, rations, etc.

Pegasi, all of us, it was my hope to fly over the forest, avoiding the predators that roamed the woods. There were airborne threats as well, primarily thunderbats. Thankfully, thunderbats were nocturnal, so as long as we didn’t encounter any delays we’d be fine.

Not that there weren’t diurnal threats, because the forest was dangerous during the day as well. But hydras and manticores could be avoided by flying over them. All of this, the most dangerous terrain in Equestria, laying atop the ruins of its once capital city. Whatever has cursed Everfree City to become this Celestia-forsaken forest must be incredibly powerful magic. If not for the inherent dangers of ground travel, I would’ve invited Galaxy and other unicorns along on this expedition to examine the magic within the forest.

“I’m tired.”

I turned to look at Brightbow. She was carrying more provisions than the rest of us.

“I need to land and rest.”

“But this is the Everfree…” She started her descent before I could offer to take her load.

She glided into the canopy, and the rest of us had no choice but to follow her.

Brightbow landed in a clearing, while the rest of us chose to alight in the surrounding trees.

“Brightbow,” I called down to the pegasus. “That’s dangerous. It’s safer in the trees.”

“I don’t trust the trees. I’m in the middle of a clearing. I can see anything coming and fly away. What if something’s in those trees, hmn? It could sneak up on you and gobble you up.”

She had a point, and I noticed several team members look over their shoulders at her words, Wind Whistler and Firefly being the only exceptions other than myself.

“Which is why I instructed us not to land in the first place. The whole point of only taking pegasi on this expedition was to avoid the ground entirely.”

“You’re the one who loaded me up like a pack mule.”

“You volunteered to take the equipment. I seem to recall you saying that you wanted to feel useful.”

“But it’s heavy!”

I wanted to facehoof. She was the only member of the team I hadn’t hoof-chosen. She’d volunteered at the last second, and I’d foolishly accepted, thankful to have more help on the expedition.

That had been a mistake. One I’d have to be careful to never repeat. From now on I vet every single member of the crew beforehoof.

The noise of our argument had attracted unwanted attention. Vines shot out from one side of the clearing, taking Brightbow by surprise, and pulling her away from where she stood.

The vines entangled Brightbow, flipping the pink pegasus upside down and dangling her over the purple flower that served as the predatory plant’s mouth. “North Star!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

I blinked to dispel the daydream. But when I opened my eyes Brightbow was still suspended over the Everfree Forest. Huh, usually somepony screaming my name like that snaps me out of a daydream and brings me back to reality, already in progress. This time it’s real. Come on, think North Star, we need to save her…

The vines continued wrapping around Brightbow as I realized that as exciting as this scene would later be in the novel I’d doubtless write, that actually required saving her. Think. I looked around, seeing what we had to work with, and watched as two of the vines started chasing after Paradise and Wind Whistler. Knots! That’s it! “Everypony! Fly around the vines and get them to chase you! We’ll get them all tied up in knots!”

I took to the air, the others mirroring my efforts. I dove and looped, leading the vines on a wild goose chase.

Fortunately for Brightbow, she was too big for the plant to eat whole. Vines wrapped around her neck, holding her up while other vines spanked her hindquarters like a parent disciplining a naughty foal. The vines then wrapped around her rump, threatening to tear the pink pegasus in half.

“Quickly! Before she ends up plant food!”

“No need for dramatics, North Star. While I don’t recommend dallying longer than necessary, Brightbow’s not in any real danger. Floom isn’t designed to eat prey larger than rodents or birds.”

“Ow! Ow! Ow!”

It was, however, strong enough to start plucking the hairs from her pretty blue, purple, and yellow mane and tail.

It took five minutes of stunt flying, but Firefly and Surprise were up to the challenge. The rest of us flew in circles around the floom, dividing the plant’s attention so it couldn’t focus on what they were doing until it was too late.

“That was awesome!” Firefly declared as she landed. “I didn’t know you were such a good flyer, Surprise.”

“I’ve got a few tricks in my repertoire.”

“You should try out for the Wonderbolts with me.”

Surprise pondered that. “Maybe.”

While they were congratulating each other, Wind Whistler and I extracted Brightbow from the floom.

“Are you okay, Brightbow?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“The bald look is in this year.” Surprise nodded. “Very fashionable.”

“That was floom,” Wind Whistler added. “One of the primary ingredients in Smooze, the purple goop that destroyed Grundleland in 2,351 Before Celestia.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it. I definitely don’t want a history lesson about it. I’d very much like to go home now.”

“I’ll take her,” Firefly volunteered.

I shook my head. “I should do it. As the organizer of this trip, it’s my responsibility…”

“To see it through to the finish,” Firefly interrupted. “I’m the fastest flyer of all of us. I’m the only one who can make it back before dark.”

“It’s dangerous to go alone.”

“Danger is my life, North Star!”

I put a hoof on Brightbow’s withers. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? I’m sorry I ever agreed to come on this trip. What’s wrong with all of you ponies? There are plenty of perfectly good towns that aren’t in the middle of this creepy forest. Why did we venture into these Celestia-forsaken woods in the first place?”

“Adventure!” Firefly puffed out her chest.

“Knowledge,” added Wind Whistler.

Surprise shrugged. “I was bored.”

“Answers.” Paradise pulled a few ancient tomes from her saddlebags. “Books can only tell you so much.”

“I was hoping to run into a handsome prince.” The rest of turned to look at Heart Throb. “Our destination is a castle. A mare can dream, am I right?”

“History,” I answered, turning to Brightbow. “So why did you come out here? Forgive me for saying this, but you don’t seem suited to this. At all.”

She sniffled and wiped her nose with a hoof. “You all were going and I was tired of being left behind all the time and… and, and, and I have like, no survival skills whatsoever! I don’t even like to go camping!” She started wailing, her sobs making more noise than was wise in the Everfree.

I patted her withers. “Let’s just get you back home, okay?”

“No.” Brightbow stood up on shaky legs. “I’m not going to split the party. That’s a bad idea, isn’t it?”

I nodded. “There’s safety in numbers. Relatively speaking, considering this is the Everfree.”

“Just give me a little time to recover. I’m sorry for freaking out.” Her lips quivered. “I’m not cut out for adventure. I know that now. I’m sorry I’ve been holding you all back. Maybe I should just feed myself to a timberwolf.”

“What, do you want to give them food poisoning? Besides, didn’t you read all the signs posted? It’s illegal to feed the wild animals of the Everfree Forest. The timberwolf would have to spit you out and arrest you.”

Surprise’s jokes were horrible, yet Brightbow started giggling anyway. “Okay, okay, I get it. I guess it’s a good thing I’m not tasty. That means when the monsters eat all of you, I’ll be the one to escape.” She laughed, the sound more unsettling than mirthful.

The rest of us each took an involuntary step backwards. At that moment I decided Brightbow wouldn’t be invited on any future expeditions. Somehow I don’t think she’ll object to that any more than the rest of us.

I decided to round up the rest of the party – we were wasting daylight and none of us wanted to be out in the Everfree after dark. “All right, everypony, break’s over. Let’s get flying.”

Surprise, Wind Whistler, Firefly, Paradise, and Brightbow were ready to go. “Heart Throb? Where are you?”

“Sorry, but I had to stop and pick one of these lovely blue flowers.” Heart Throb motioned to the flower she’d woven in to her hair.

I facehoofed. “Heart Throb. That’s poison joke.”

“Poison what?”

“Poison joke. Didn’t you learn about this in the Filly Guides? You should never, ever touch it. Now that you have, something weird will happen to you tonight in your sleep. From my understanding, it’ll probably be something ironic.”

She laughed it off, while Wind Whistler tutted her tongue. Whatever would happen to Heart Throb, it was unlikely to truly harm her, but it would probably be really inconvenient for the rest of us.

The Castle of the Two Sisters was still a distance off and we were rapidly running out of daylight. With Brightbow rescued and Heart Throb no longer distracted, we returned to the air.

“I’d advise making haste. There’s never an opportune time to be in the Everfree, but we’re rapidly approaching the hour when it’s really inadvisable to be in this forest.” Wind Whistler wasn’t the most athletic of us, but she surged ahead, inspiring the rest of us to pick up the pace.

Never one to back down from a potential race, Firefly charged after her.

Boom. The trees swayed beneath us as a clap of thunder reverberated through the forest.

That can only mean one thing. “Thunderbats!”

The booms grew louder as the bats sensed us and started pursuing us.

“Into the canopy, it’s our only chance!” Wind Whistler could barely be heard over the constant booming of the bats. She ducked into the trees and the rest of us followed. The bats could navigate the forest better with their echolocation, but we were smaller and more maneuverable. More importantly, we could fit places the bats couldn’t go.

We slalomed around trees, and Surprise even doubled back on the bats to confuse them. We landed when the trees were too thick to continue on wing, and galloped ahead through gaps in the forest. The bats stopped pursuing us, but we were now on the ground, in the dark, completely at the mercy of the rest of the Everfree’s dangerous predators.

“There! Up ahead!” Firefly pointed with a wing and the rest of us saw the castle rising in the distance, on the other side of a gorge. We came to a halt at the edge – there was a rickety bridge crossing it, but it didn’t look safe. We flew over instead.

The castle’s windows were broken, and the walls were missing in places; scorch marks proving that there’d indeed been some sort of ancient magical battle here. Possibly between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon. I got goosebumps as we took our first steps inside.

“Careful.” Wind Whistler held up a wing to stop us. “With the deficiencies in the structural integrity of the walls, it would be prudent to take precautions before traversing further.” She opened her saddlebags and pulled out a flashlight. “If we can readily gain entry, so too can any manner of other beasts. However, with proper preparations, this will make a hospitable place to spend the night. Certainly more hospitable than the alternative.”

We eventually found an interior room that was intact, and set up camp inside. Heart Throb was appalled by the centuries of dust, and did her best to clean the room. It was a losing battle.

By luck, the tapestry was still hanging from the wall, and only had a few holes from where moths had eaten through it. Firefly removed it from the wall and draped it over herself as a blanket, and the rest of us snuggled in with her.

---

Everfree Forest: thirty-nine years, six months, and seventeen days before the portal opens

His Elevated Immanence. The picturesque purple mountain deity guarded by Crunch the Rockdog. I’d spent months researching the Purple Range, trying to figure out which one of the many mountains had been the worshipped mountain amongst the population of Unicornia. Knowing the Unicornians in general, and Princess Platinum in particular, it was no doubt filled with gems.

Or perhaps the icecap on top of the tallest mountain glistened like a diamond…

“North Star!”

---

Huh? My surroundings came back to me – I was under a musty old blanket. That’s more like it. Being woken out of an adventure dream. I was stiff from sleeping and stretched my wings out as I stood up. Seeing the cold stone floor reminded me of where I was and what we were doing. I paused. That had been a stallion that called out my name. This is the first time I’ve woken out of an adventure dream during an actual adventure. Wait, we didn’t bring any stallions with us…

I hadn’t even managed to get out from under the blanket before a pink stallion nudged me. “North Star! This is terrible!”

I recognized the voice. It was deeper than normal, but a quick look at the stallion’s flank confirmed it. “Heart Throb, I told you that poison joke would do something ironic to you.” And how! The lovesick mare that chases after any stallion she can find is now a stallion herself. The horseshoe’s on the other hoof for once.

“Well how do we fix it?” Heart Throb shuffled her hooves, her tail failing to cover up what she was desperately trying to hide. I don’t know why she’s hiding, she’s a handsome stallion.

I shrugged. “There’s a cure, but I don’t know what it is. That’s more of a Wind Whistler question. But poison joke is one of the reasons why I warned everypony to fly, not trot. Look on the bright side, this could be much, much worse.”

“How?”

“You’re not hurt, you’re not sick, and you’ll still be able to carry on with our expedition. Poison joke is one of the least harmful threats in the Everfree Forest. I’ll let that sink in for a minute. Even floomisn’t all that dangerous in the grand scheme of things.”

“Speak for yourself!” Brightbow shouted from where she’d been sleeping. “Shut up and let me sleep.” She rolled over, showing her completely plucked dock before pulling the tapestry back over herself.

After her ordeal the day before, I wasn’t going to push Brightbow to help out. She’d already gone through enough, and she lacked the qualifications the rest of us had. Heart Throb had a different problem, one she was embarrassed by. “Heart Throb, why don’t you stay here with Brightbow. That way she’s not alone while the rest of us work. I’ll talk to Double-W and see if we can whip up a solution to your, uh… situation. But you may have to wait until we get back to civilization.”

I gathered the others, and we set out to explore the castle. Our primary goal was to find a library of some sort. One would think that books would be one of the first things packed when relocating to the new capital, but looking around it appeared as if the castle was simply abandoned. Things that should’ve been taken were still there, though most were ruined from over nine hundred years of neglect.

The library was in much better shape than it had any right to be. There were holes in the ceiling, yet the books were intact. The wards placed on this room must be incredibly strong if exposure to the elements hasn’t destroyed the contents.

Paradise grinned, and we left the mare to her work. Firefly broke off to examine the scorch marks on the wall, and Surprise just disappeared. Double-W and I trotted off. We knew what we needed to find – artifacts. We both knew the artifacts most associated with the castle were the Elements of Harmony.

“So that big dais in the main foyer.”

I nodded. “Yeah, five branches and a bigger pedestal on the higher level.”

“You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yup.”

It seemed possible this was once the resting place of the Elements of Harmony, but if it was, they were long gone. Wind Whistler poked around the base of the dais, and discovered that it was originally mobile – it could slide into the floor or be raised up to stand where it currently rested. Unfortunately, the mechanism had rusted beyond repair, and the pedestal would forever be stuck in the open position.

“A precursory examination indicates the probability of this being the former home of the Elements of Harmony to be 72.6%. Retractable dais to keep irreplaceable relics out of the way of prying eyes. Furthermore, this has been left open, as if it had been opened in the final moments before this castle was abandoned for good.”

“Something important was definitely on this. It also has five branches, for the five known elements,” I replied.

“With a prominent decoration at the zenith to disguise the mysterious sixth element. While this is scant circumstantial evidence that leaves ample room for reinterpretation, I speculate that this is the most logical final known resting place for the elements.”

“I concur.” Wind Whistler wasn’t the only pony with an advanced vocabulary, though I knew I stood no chance of beating her at Scrabble.

“There’s more than sufficient evidence to support that this castle was attacked, with the damages never being repaired. I calculate the story of The Mare In The Moon to be mostly true with 86% certainty. While there is no doubt that there have been embellishments to the factual story, only Princess Celestia would be able to recount the events that unfolded here a millennium ago.”

I was already satisfied with the results of our expedition. We hadn’t proven anything, per say, but we’d produced enough evidence to lend credence to the ancient legend. Who the mysterious Nightmare Moon had been was a mystery I was hoping Paradise had found an answer to in the library. The castle was known as ‘The Castle of the Two Sisters’ and Princess Celestia was almost assuredly one of the siblings.

“Is there any point in continuing to search for relics or artifacts, or should we return to the real treasure trove – the library?”

Wind Whistler shrugged. “It’s your expedition, North Star. I’ll abide by whatever you decide.”

“I think it’s safe to say we’re coming back. We can poke around looking for surviving relics next time. I want to help Paradise investigate the library.”

“I concur. Let us make haste. Though perhaps we should investigate where that organ music is coming from first?”

“What music?” I swiveled my ears until I caught the notes that had commandeered Wind Whistler’s attention. “That’s really odd.”

We looked at each other and said ‘Surprise’ at the exact same time. With Surprise, we always had a logical reason for anything unexplained. It was only when we could rule her out as the source that things got interesting. It was exceptionally rare that we ruled her out.

Following the music wasn’t difficult, and as we’d surmised, we found Surprise playing the instrument with gusto.

“Oh hi guys! So I found this neat old organ and look at what I can make it do!” She played some notes, and a trapdoor opened in the floor. Another ditty revealed a secret passageway. “This is way cool!”

“That’s… unique.”

“What Wind Whistler is trying to say is that somepony was having fun when they designed this place.”

“No, what I’m failing to convey is the absurdity of such a device. What function could this possibly have?”

“Well, duh. It keeps things surprising, of course!” Surprise had summoned confetti from somewhere, as was her wont. “Who knows how many other things this organ could open up to us? Or how many other functions have ceased to exist with the castle’s destruction.”

“Truly a pity. This castle is begging for a complete restoration to its former glory.” The others agreed with my assessment. “Hidden passages and secret rooms? This place is going to take months to fully explore.”

Surprise shrugged. “Not like I’ve got anything better to do. Besides, this is fun!”

“Be that as it may, we’re here to find archeological treasures.” Wind Whistler pulled Surprise away from the organ. “I find it most peculiar that this castle hasn’t been looted previously.”

“Would you even say you’re …surprised… by that?” Surprise wiggled her eyebrows at her horrible joke.

Wind Whistler groaned. “The only thing surprising is that I lacked the foresight to anticipate such a response.”

When the three of us arrived in the library, Paradise was happy to see us. She had stacks of books ready to go. We found Firefly, then loaded ourselves up with as many books as we could carry.

We walked into the room we’d spent the previous night, and Brightbow was in a considerably better mood than she’d been in earlier that morning.

“Got some sleep?”

She nodded. “Yup. I’m feeling much better. Did you find what you were looking for?”

“I think so. Paradise found some interesting books in the library, Wind Whistler and I think we found proof that the Elements of Harmony were real, Surprise found an organ that activates all kinds of secret panels and passageways, and Firefly reconstructed the battle that destroyed this castle. Overall it was successful. We’ll probably need to come back a few more times to gather more data and confirm our theories. So what did you two do besides catch up on sleep?”

“I helped Heart Throb test some new equipment.”

“I take it everything performed as expected?”

“Perfectly.”

“Splendid. You’ll be happy to know we’re heading out first thing in the morning. “We’d leave now, but traveling through the Everfree at night is inadvisable.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” She wiggled her fleshy, currently bald dock.

“Anyways, since you and Heart Throb got to sleep in, you get the first watch tonight. Make sure nothing sneaks in here and tries to eat us. Heart Throb will relieve you.” I yawned. “Surprise can have the next watch after that, and then Paradise, Firefly, Wind Whistler, and I’ll take the last watch before sunup. I can start breakfast and gather everything together so we can leave at first light. I trust everypony learned a lesson on the way in about dawdling in the Everfree. This time, we’ll have precious cargo.” I motioned to the books. “We’ll probably have to leave some of our equipment here. The camping gear mostly, but that’s okay, because we’re coming back.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“Okay, the rest of us are coming back. You needn’t join us, Brightbow.”

“And I won’t. But I’ll make sure nothing snacks on you tonight.”

“Thank you!”

“But only because I don’t know how to get back to civilization from here.”

“I take back my ‘thank you’.”

“You’re welcome!”

---

Everfree Forest: thirty-nine years, six months, and sixteen days before the portal opens

Wind Whistler woke me before dawn. She decided against going back to bed, and instead helped me prepare for our return trip. We packed everything up, giving priority to the books. As expected, we left all of our camping equipment behind to make room.

I left Wind Whistler to the task of distributing the loads as equally as possible while I set about cooking. My cooking was awful, but Wind Whistler’s, somehow, was even worse. The problem was that while she could follow recipes, she was completely incapable of tweaking them. And anything that required ‘a pinch of this’ or a ‘dash of that’ frustrated her. She needed a precise measurement for ‘pinch’ and ‘dash’ or she couldn’t proceed.

I made pancakes. It was a simple meal, and the smell of the cooking batter was enough to make almost everypony wake up without prodding. The exception was Paradise, but she’d spent half the night reading by candlelight until it was time for her watch, so it wasn’t surprising that she was reluctant to rise. Not that I blamed her, I was eager to dig into the ancient tomes as well.

Firefly was the first to get up, arching her back like a cat as she stretched. Without a word she started digging through our provisions. I gave her the first pancake as soon as it was done, and she poured maple syrup on top.

We let Paradise sleep until it was time to head out, and she wolfed down her pancakes as we flew over the Everfree. Ponyville was the closest town, but we all lived in Canterlot, which wasn’t much further. We started flying towards Canterlot, until Wind Whistler noted that it might be more prudent to fly to Ponyville and take the train the rest of the way. We switched directions mid-flight. That was never a problem for me; I could guide ponies anywhere with my inner compass.

It meant we were flying a different route than we’d come in on. The Everfree had all manner of threats, and we’d barely avoided disaster multiple times on the way in. I led the way, while Wind Whistler brought up the rear, making sure nothing snuck up on us from behind.

Firefly and Surprise, the fastest of us, flew off to the sides, scanning the forest below for threats.

“Whoa, what’s that?”

I turned my head to look at Firefly and the rainbow that had attracted her attention. Firefly broke course and glided to the cloud the rainbow was jutting out of. The rainbow was incomplete, and not naturally formed. It was as broken as any of the other ruins of the former Equestrian capital.

At the end of the rainbow was a shimmering light that had completely transfixed Firefly. “What is this thing?”

“If I were to hazard an uninformed guess, it appears to be an interdimensional rift in the time-space continuum.”

“In Equestrian, Wind Whistler.”

She huffed. “It’s a portal, Firefly.”

“To where?”

Wind Whistler shrugged. “I don’t know. It could be somewhere else on Equus, it could be to another world entirely. There are ancient legends of other places. Everfree was once the capital of Equestria. It stands to reason that a gateway such as this would be someplace important. Like, for example, the center of power for an entire nation.”

“There’s only one way to find out!” Firefly dashed through before we could stop her.

The others all turned to me. I pulled a rope from my saddlebags and tossed it to Double-W. “Tie this to a tree. I’ll go in after her and see if it’s safe.” I fumbled with tying the rope around my barrel. I sighed. I never did learn how to properly tie a knot. “A little help?” Surprise tied me up and I mentally prepared myself for the task at hoof. “If I tug on the rope, pull me through. If I’m not back in a minute, pull me through. If I don’t come back, assume the worst and do not follow.”

I took a deep breath before plunging through the portal. I’ve got a minute’s worth of air. Hold my breath and stay by the portal.

I came out on the other side disoriented, but I didn’t see the collapsed figure of Firefly. That was a good sign. If the atmosphere was toxic, she wouldn’t have made it far before succumbing. I hesitantly took a breath. The air was breathable, though it seemed less fresh than Equestria’s air. Firefly was nowhere in sight. I trotted through the portal back to Equestria.

“Breathable atmosphere, similar looking forest. I have no idea of what dangers it may contain, nor did I see any sign of Firefly. I’m going back in after her. Any volunteers to go with me?”

Surprise stepped forward. One by one everypony else did too. Brightbow only did so reluctantly, once she realized she’d be alone in the Everfree if she didn’t. Surprise was the first to go through, followed by Wind Whistler. Paradise went next, while Heart Throb carried Brightbow through the portal when she hesitated.

“This side of the interdimensional rift is underwhelming compared to the expectations such a momentous occasion should elicit.” Wind Whistler continued looking around. “It appears less dangerous than the Everfree Forest we just vacated. The vegetation is primarily pine, which would indicate poor soil, likely acidic and/or sandy.”

Brightbow breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of us visibly relaxed also. If we were still in Equestria, all we’d need to do would be find the nearest town and take a train to Canterlot.

I flew as high as I dared, looking for signs of civilization. They were surprisingly all around, but I didn’t recognize anything I saw. I descended just as quickly, afraid of drawing attention to myself.

“What did you ascertain?”

“Civilized world, but most likely not Equus.”

Double-W nodded. “Then we should take all manner of precautions and treat this as a rescue mission.”

We circled for hours, flying in ever widening arcs looking for any sign of Firefly. The rash pegasus was the fastest flyer of all of us, and she had a head start. She could be anywhere. I wasn’t keen on leaving her behind, but we could theoretically search this world forever without finding her. The further we got from the portal, the higher the risk of losing sight of it and being trapped outside of Equestria permanently. I’d be fine, my navigational sense would always guide me home, but the others would be lost if we were to be separated.

Wind Whistler was making a crude map as we went, having been the only one of us to bring parchment and a quill. Finding landmarks was difficult considering we were in a forest. Brightbow hovered over the portal, and the rest of us agreed to fly only to the point where we were in danger of losing sight of her. If we didn’t find Firefly… we’d have to come back with a rescue team if she didn’t make it back on her own first. Princess Celestia would no doubt want to explore this land, and we’d come back with a properly equipped expedition.

“This is getting us nowhere.” I beckoned everypony to return to the portal. “I want all of you to hover here, and as soon as I come back through, I want all of you to follow me.” I stepped through the portal, back to the Everfree Forest. I galloped a little distance into the forest, then turned around and charged into the portal, taking flight as soon as I transitioned from one world to the other. “Come on, everypony, follow me. Flying fast in a straight line is what Firefly does best. We’ll try this, and if it doesn’t work, I can guide us back to the portal.”

I stayed as low as I dared over the forest’s canopy. This new world was an unknown quantity, and my expertise lay in discovering ancient civilizations, not making first contact with extant civilizations.

We eventually ran out of forest and we all hesitated near the edge, observing what lay ahead of us. There were cranberry bogs and what appeared to be roads. The nearest structure was slightly off to the right, and we agreed that this would be the most logical place for Firefly to land.

We circled the property by air, and there was bipedal creature by a well, standing next to a very familiar pink and blue pegasus. We landed and Firefly excitedly dragged me to meet her new friend.

“Hi!” I said, waving. “I don’t suppose you speak Equestrian?”

It started speaking, though the language was unfamiliar. Even Paradise, who’d studied a bunch of dead languages, seemed lost. It eventually held out a gangly limb with digits at the end.

I held up a hoof, and the human grabbed hold of it, giving it a shake, before releasing it.

The others looked at me and I shrugged. “I think we just hoofbumped. I think it’s friendly.”

Paradise pulled a book from her saddlebags and hoofed it to the figure. It examined it, shaking its head. Paradise pointed to the book, then to the biped, then to herself. Paradise continued pantomiming, and eventually the creature went inside the house and returned with books.

Paradise smiled and dropped them into her saddlebags. She pointed to herself, and the rest of us, then back to the forest that we’d come from. There were tears in the creature’s eyes. She opened her arms, inviting us for a hug. Unsurprisingly, it was Firefly who embraced her first. The rest of us did in turn.

We waved goodbye as we trotted off.

“Going to try cracking their language, Paradise?”

“That’s my plan. I’ll bring these books to my language professors and see if we get any results. I’ll say I found them in the Castle of the Two Sisters.”

“I’ll help,” added Wind Whistler.

“When we come back, I plan to have books designed for foals with me. Perhaps we can teach them our language. Especially if I can’t make heads or tails of theirs. I’m hoping that when the creature sees the kinds of books I bring, it can give us similar early-learning books. I can teach myself their language with the right tools.”

“I’d be most interested in getting my hooves on some of their technology.” Wind Whistler paused. “Did any of you take a look around? This appears to be a highly-advanced society. Much more advanced than our own. They have much to teach us.”

“So we’re agreed about coming back?” I asked.

With the exception of Brightbow, the others responded affirmatively.

Comments

[Emil]

“If that meteor had landed just a little to the left, it would’ve hit the railroad tracks!”

Surprise brings to mind "One of the major difficulties Trillian experienced in her relationship with Zaphod was learning to distinguish between him pretending to be stupid just to get people off their guard, pretending to be stupid because he couldn't be bothered to think and wanted someone else to do it for him, pretending to be outrageously stupid to hide the fact that he actually didn’t understand what was going on, and really being genuinely stupid."

[readsponies]

Lucky the new equipment didn't perform completely up to standard.

[PiMan]

11784251
We never saw Brightbow again, so we don't have anything to say it didn't work.