The ruins of Las Pegasus

by Peace Petal

Chapter Three

By the time I was trotting back from church, it was already hot and muggy in the forest. Ideally, we would have left early this morning to avoid the day’s heat and to have extra time for the hike if we needed it. But missing my own church’s congregation was as close to “less active” as I was willing to go. Skipping church entirely was not an option for me.

I arrived at the library and knocked. I heard approaching steps, and the door opened. Dust stood there with a saddlebag and a sunhat. “You’re looking good,” I said. “Let me get my stuff, and we can head out.” I hurried up the stairs and got to Dust’s room. I shoved some food, which I had set aside this morning, into my saddlebag. I filled up my hydration pack and put it into the saddlebag. Iodine tablets, insect repellant. I opened the door and shouted down, “Do you have the map?”

“Why would I not have the map?” Dust called back. Well, that was everything then. I glided back down, spiraling through the middle part of the library where it was all open. I landed with a loud thud as my aluminum horseshoes hit the oak floor. Just moving my wings a little to glide, I was reminded how sore the muscles still were.

Dust froze again at the door of the library. “Are you ready to spend the next eight hours stuck outdoors?” I said.

“Eight hours?” Dust said. “Do you think our excursion will be so prolonged?”

“It depends on how quickly we move,” I said. “I can only guess how fast you’ll be.”

Dust pushed through the doorway. “It’s this way, right?” she said, turning to the left.

“Yes,” I said. “You lead to set the pace. I don’t want to push you.”

Dust started off at a moderate walk. I’d alternate some trotting and walking on a hike like this, but I figured it would be all walking for today. Dust didn’t seem to have as much tension in her body as she did when she went outside yesterday. Good. She would end up sick if she were racked with that much anxiety through the whole hike. The humid heat of the forest was a little stifling, but at least we had shade. Birds sang, and unicorns sauntered through the town. Dust kept her head down.

We were out of the town soon, on a little path that cut through the forest. Green, vibrant undergrowth crowded near the path, but clearly hooves had beaten the path itself down. We were walking on wet but not muddy soil with a few rocks in the path. It wasn’t the toughest footing, but Dust moved more slowly than on the smooth roads of the town. “How are you doing so far?” I said.

“Should I be apprehensive of breaking a leg on these rocks?” Dust said.

“Just keep your eyes on your hooves,” I said. “Nothing bad will happen.”

We continued along the trail, not talking much for the first mile or so. When we got to a big fallen log, Dust said, “Can we take a respite?”

“Of course,” I said. Dust inspected the log and jumped back, startled.

“Ants?” I said. Dust just mumbled something. “I generally don’t find it worthwhile to lie down for breaks. It takes more effort to stand up than to just remain standing.”

“What would we do without the stay apparatus, right?” Dust said.

I took a large swig of water. “Don’t forget to drink,” I said.

Dust sipped from her hydration pack. “Who would have anticipated horseshoes making such a difference?” she said, looking down at her hooves.

“Oh?” I said. “A good difference?” Did I… talk in more questions when I was around Dust?

“What else?” Dust said. “My hooves still aren’t sore, in how far have we gone?”

“I’d guess about a mile,” I said.

“Oh, is that all?” She sounded disappointed.

“It’s hard to tell for sure,” I said. “When we get to the waterfall, we’ll know how far we’ve gone. But we’re in no rush. If we run out of time, we can just turn around before we get to the overlook.” I really did hope we made it to the overlook, though. This trail led to a cliff from which ponies could see an ancient cloud city, Las Pegasus. The city drifted around, so it might not be visible. But there was a chance, and that would be quite the sight.

“Whether we get to the overlook or not, it’s really nice here, don’t you think?” I said. Dozens of pretty, white, heartleaf daisy flowers were in bloom on either side of the trail. Soothing light trickled through a canopy of magenta and violet leaves. Translucent, softly glowing crystals spiked up from the ground here and there. Now that we were stopped in the shade, having just drank water, it didn’t feel so hot. Leaves rustled in a light breeze. There was nopony else in sight or sound.

Dust looked around. “Am I supposed to feel relaxed right now?”

“If you want,” I said. “I just want you to appreciate that we find ourselves in a tranquil, charming patch of forest.”

“It is pleasant, isn’t it?” Dust said. She stepped forward and continued walking. Soon the trail met up with a stream and continued along its banks. The stream was wide and slow, its banks tangled with tree roots and its water murky. The plants that grew by the stream—reeds, horsetails, and ferns—were the greenest of green. The water made soft babbling as it passed over rocks slick with dark algae. The air was a little cooler by the stream.

The ground started inclining down, and the stream became faster and narrower. Dust advanced more slowly and carefully. There was a rushing sound in the distance. “The waterfall,” I said. “We’re making surprisingly good time.”

“What’s surprising?” Dust said. “We’re not even making two miles an hour, are we? Isn’t that sluggish?”

“Not for hiking, especially for a pony with no experience,” I said. “Traveling across winding, sloped, rocky paths is slower than you’d think.” Soon there was a sharp drop ahead of us. The path veered to the left to get down an easier way. I walked off the path a bit to get right next to the top of the waterfall. I couldn’t see much of it from the top, but there was a nice view of the forest below and the sky above. There were some white clouds ahead of us.

“Isn’t that hazardously close to the precipice?” Dust shouted over the roaring waterfall.

“I have wings, remember?” I said, flapping them. I turned around and returned to the trail. “Let’s get to the bottom.” The trail was steep and rocky. “I’ll go first, to make sure it’s safe. Just follow where I step.” I slowly picked my way down the trail, checking to make sure I didn’t leave Dust behind. We made it to the bottom without mishap. The trail turned to join with the stream again at the bottom of the waterfall.

From here we could see the whole length of the waterfall, which was maybe ten ponies high. Cool mist sprang up from where the water splashed into a deep pool at the bottom. The mist watered lush mosses—and other bryophytes—that grew on the nearby rocks and dirt of the cliff wall. “Come on, Dust,” I shouted over the sound of the water. “You can’t get anything like this indoors. The outdoors are nice, don’t you think?”

“Um… would it offend you if I spoke with candor?” Dust said.

“No…”

“How can I enjoy this when my thoughts are still trapped on the harrowing journey down the cliff? Like, if I had faltered, wouldn’t I have just… died?” I looked over at Dust. I hadn’t realized she was so nervous on the way down. Perhaps I was just busy watching my own footing, but I did tend to be bad at picking up on other ponies’ emotions. Indeed, Dust was shaking, and her pupils were contracted. I was reminded that this was a tough journey for Dust’s mind as well as her body.

“Hey,” I said, stepping closer. I wasn’t usually one to touch other ponies, but she needed some comfort. I unfolded my wing and wrapped it over her. I had to reach up a little; she was tall. “Nothing happened. You’re okay.”

I could feel the shaking in Dust’s body. “Thanks, Peace,” she said quietly, her mouth near my ear.

“Do you want to keep going?” I said.

“Uh… can I have a break for a moment?” Dust said.

“Of course,” I said. Dust just stood there, breathing deeply and staring at the waterfall. She used magic to pull my wing a little tighter across herself. The shaking in her body died down, replaced by the up and down of steady breathing.

“Shall we proceed?” Dust said evenly.

“Only if you want to,” I said. Dust stepped forward, and I folded my wing against my body again. The trail was flatter and less rocky here. Dust started off at a slow pace, but she started walking more quickly after a few minutes. The stream veered away to the right, and the path continued straight. We made good time for the next hour or so.

Dust suddenly froze, and I nearly ran into her. “What is it?” I said.

“Shh…” I held still and listened. There was some kind of… ethereal sound? Like wind whistling through a cave, or wolves harmonizing in the distance.

“What is that?” Dust whispered.

It occasionally changed pitches. It was somehow… familiar? Entrancing, even. “I think… it’s singing,” I whispered. I looked off in the direction the sound was coming from. A series of Symphoricarpos shrubs obscured my view. I quietly, slowly pushed my way through them, leaving the path. Dust followed me. I stared into the forest again after passing through the shrubs. Tree trunks still blocked my vision, but I could see much farther now. But I didn’t know what I was looking for. The more I listened to it, the more I thought the sound was some kind of song. The singer used a lot of humming and airy phrases, but I thought there were words in there. So there was a pony somewhere in this forest?

There. I overlooked it half a dozen times because it was dark brown, the same color as many of the tree trunks. But there was undeniably the shape of a pony in there, bent down like they were eating or inspecting something on the ground. But wait, where was the tail? That wasn’t a pony at all. It was a deer, a female going by the lack of antlers. I tapped Dust with my hoof and pointed towards the deer. “It’s a doe,” I whispered.

“Where?” Dust whispered, staring.

“Next to a crystal, way out there next to that big chestnut tree,” I whispered. Dust kept staring, but I didn’t see recognition in her face. Could it be true that pegasi had sharper vision than other ponies? I always thought that was propaganda.

I turned my eyes back to the deer. As she sang to the crystal, it glowed faintly, then more brightly. She finished her song just as Dust stepped forward to try to get a closer look. The deer’s head snapped towards us, then she bounded away. Dust gasped. “Was that her?” she said. “Did she just flee?”

“Yes,” I said. I stood there in awe. “I thought deer were just a legend. That song, there were definitely words to it, though I didn’t understand the language. I have so many questions!” There were legends about many magical creatures in Equestria—dragons, changelings, and such—but in all my biology classes I learned that ponies were the only intelligent animals in the world. All those other creatures were supposed to be just stories.

“Do you desire to follow her?” Dust said.

“No,” I said reluctantly. “I don’t know if deer are dangerous. I promised nothing bad would happen on this hike, and I’m going to keep that promise.” I hesitated, then turned around and pushed through those shrubs back onto the path.

“What do you think she was doing?” Dust said. We continued along the path.

“I don’t know,” I said. “What do those crystals do?”

“Um… how to answer when there are so many theories?” Dust said.

“Nopony knows?” I said. I was surprised to here that, considering how advanced unicorn botany was.

“Would you take my best hypothesis?” Dust said. “Research shows the crystals have magical properties, so could their magic augment the welfare of the forest?”

“The botany books I read suggested that many of these plants can supplement their photosynthesis with ‘magosynthesis.’ So I could believe it.”

“Could that explain why the collectors sent such abundant samples to the herbarium this year?” Dust said.

“Has this been an unusually lush year?” I said.

“What do I know? I’m always indoors, remember?” Dust paused. “How did we end up talking about plants after just seeing a deer?”

I blushed. “I, uh… really like plants.” We continued down the path quietly. I kept listening for another deer, but I just heard birdsong. It was early afternoon now, and I was hungry. But we were close to the overlook. We could eat there.

As we continued, I saw the trees thin out ahead, and clouds beyond. This was the overlook. Dust trotted forward. She stopped at the edge and whistled. I stood by her side, my eyes wide. An expansive amalgamation of clouds floated in front of us, not too far from the cliff we stood atop. It filled most of the sky. Mounted on the clouds were… things. Jagged metal structures, dilapidated stone buildings. This was Las Pegasus, not only easily visible, but much closer than I had imagined. “It appears that we got lucky, wouldn’t you agree?” Dust said.