A Walk Through a Forest

Quill Tip sat their looking out the train window, trying to relax. He turned to look at his sister. Feather was sound asleep. Quill looked her over when his eyes stopped on the mark of a looking glass with a pair of wings on her flank. A pony with a talent for aerial reconnaissance, Quill thought to himself, of course she’d be recruited for something like this. The thought helped to quiet the others that said she had been recruited to encourage Quill to provided resources. He knew that the expedition had little funding and his maps and books would be very helpful. Quill scolded himself for thinking that. Not everything was about him.

It wasn’t much longer until the train was almost at the siblings’ destination. Quill decided now would be a good time to wake his sister.

Feather Tip got up slowly and shook her head vigorously as the train came to a halt. She checked her reflection in the window to make sure her copper coloured mane was just the way she liked it.

Quill just stood there with his saddle bag on, watching his sister. The routine brought back memories of him waking her up when they were foals.

Feather turned and saw her brother looking at her. “What,” Feather asked while checking herself over, “do I have something on me?”

“No,” Quill replied, a smile appearing on his face, “just reminiscing.”

Feather just walked passed him with a smile matching his and headed towards the exit. Quill followed right behind her.

The second Feather Tip left the train a black stallion with a gray mane appeared in front of her, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Shadowhoof,” Feather Tip exclaimed, her forelimbs wrapping around the stallions neck in a hug, “, it’s been too long.”

“It’s good to see you to, Feather,” the stallion said, looking more than a bit uncomfortable with the sudden embrace. He patted her on the back as she let go of him.

Quill came out from behind feather and nodded at the stallion. “Shadow, it’s good to see you.”

“Likewise, Quill,” Shadowhoof responded. “I heard you would be joining us. Are you sure that is a good idea,” Shadowhoof continued.

“Of course he’s sure.” The response came from a light green pony that had draped his right forelimb over Quills’ shoulder. “It’s not like this is going to be overly dangerous.”

Quill politely moved out of the grasp and looked the earth pony over. He had of course expected Dr. Hunt to be here. What he hadn’t expected was for him to be wearing something that looked like it had been taken straight out of the wardrobe of Daring Do. The only thing that was different was the addition of a sheath holding a large knife. A machete, Quill corrected himself.

“It’s good to see that all of you have made it safely,” The doctor said as he walked in front of the three ponies. Quill noticed the cutie mark of an alligator as he did this. “Now before we discuss anything to do with the expedition lets go to the place I’ve acquired for us to use as a barracks for the night. Follow me.”

The doctor walked off. The three ponies just stared at each other before following.

On the way to the starting base Quill and Feather Tip were able to catch up with their old friend.

“I’m surprised to see you doing a job like this,” Quill said as he took in his surroundings. It was a small village, the kind were you would expect everypony to know each others name. “I thought you were working in Los Pegasus with that acrobatic group.”

“Ya,” Feather piped in, “I’ve been meaning to go and see one of your shows.”

“Management problems,” Shadowhoof muttered. “We’re on hiatus for a couple weeks so I needed to find a job until then. The doctor was paying well, so I decided to join.” Shadowhoof looked at Quill. “It’s not like this is my first expedition.”

“Don’t bother trying to talk him out of it,” Feather responded, “If I couldn’t do it then you don’t stand a chance.”

“Anyway,” Shadowhoof said, leaving the subject behind, “they mentioned that they needed a flyer, and I remember the last time you wrote you said something about looking for more work so I mentioned you.”

“Well it’s nice to have you with us,” Feather said. “It’s nice that the three of us together again.”

The three nodded in agreement. They continued walking until Dr. Hunt stopped them.

“Here we are,” the green stallion said, gesturing in front of him, “the barracks.”

Quill just looked forward. The “barracks” that Hunt had lead them to was a shack that was badly in need of repair. Quill wondered if there were any beds in their or if they were going to sleep on the floor.

Hunt walked into the building, followed by Feather. Quill looked at Shadowhoof who just shrugged and walked in. Quill let out a sigh and followed.

The interior was nicer then Quill expected. It resembled a one room log cabin, with bunk beds on the other three walls. Over in the corner Quill noticed there was a pile of bags with expedition gear in them. In the center of the room there was a square table covered in maps and books with a light hanging over it. Sitting at that table looking at the maps and books was a forest green unicorn with a compass for a cutie mark. She continued to focus on the maps and books on the table after they were all in the building.

“Everypony, this is Tira Point, our navigator,” Hunt said. “Tira, this is Shadowhoof, Feather Tip, and Quill Tip,” Hunt continued, pointing at each one of us as he introduced us.”

“Hello,” Feather said as she walked up to Tira and stuck her hoof out.

“A pleasure,” Tira responded absentmindedly, giving Feathers’ hoof a weak shake.

Quill looked around the room again and noticed that Shadowhoof had put his bags in the opposite corner then all the others and was now sitting on the top bunk of the left wall, which was impressive because they seemed to made to be only accessible to a pegasus. This did not surprise Quill. What did surprise Quill was when he turned around and realized the other three ponies were all staring at him.

“I assume those are the maps I requested,” Tira said as she looked at Quills’ saddle bag.

Quill turned to look at his saddle bag. “They’re the maps I was told to bring,” he said. “I also brought some books and charts I thought would be useful.”

“Would you please just give me the maps I asked for,” Tira said in a flat tone.

Quill did as he was asked. A yellow aura surrounded the maps as they lifted out of the bag and were levitated in between Quill and Tira. There a green aura then replaced the his as Tira took the maps and laid them out with the others on the table. Quill noticed that Hunt and Feather were sitting at the table now and decided to join them.

The four ponies each took a seat at one end of the table and were all paying attention. Shadowhoof stayed on his bunk but made it quite obvious that he was also focused on what was happening. Dr. Hunt looked at Tira who looked back at him and nodded. Hunt then turned to address the other ponies.

“The expedition we will be going on is a search operation. Inside this forest is a ruin that, judging from my research, contains many artifacts that are very valuable.”

“Uh, excuse me,” Quill said with a hoof raised. Everyone just looked at Quill as he lowered his hoof embarrassingly. “I’ve done some research about the forest, and it seems it was very thoroughly explored a few centuries ago, and ever since then nothing of interest has occurred in the area.”

Dr. Hunt just looked at Quill Tip from across the table. Then a big smile appeared on his face. “You’re quite right Quill;” the doctor said, “Anything of archaeological value was long ago removed, excavated, and studied. But what we are after,” Hunt continued, “is something that was placed their after those extraditions.”

Everypony just stared at the doctor, everypony except for Tira, who was focused on the maps. Dr. Hunt just sat there with the same smile on his face, not saying a word. Quill was considering asking him what it was they were after when he finally spoke up.

“A long time ago, Canterlot University decided that some artifacts were too dangerous to be studied in large urban areas like Canterlot. It was decided that search parties would be sent out to find suitable locations that would be safe to test possibly dangerous magical artifacts.

“One of these locations,” Hunt continued, “was an intact castle ruin located in the forest nearby were many valuable artifacts were sent for study. Sadly, contact with the research team was lost quite a while ago and this has caused us to lose many valuable artifacts. Our mission is to go to the castle and discover what has happened to all the artifacts located there.”

“Question,” Shadowhoof said as he leaned over his bunk and looked down on Dr. Hunt, “if the artifacts at this castle are so valuable, why is the university only sending five ponies, three of which aren’t even members of the university, to retrieve them?”

“Well…” Dr. Hunt said nervelessly as he looked around the room at the ponies.

“The doctors’ evidence wasn’t enough to convince the board of chairmen that the castle was one of the off-site research areas,” Tira said as she moved one of the maps closer to another and looked at them carefully, her horn lightly glowing as she did so.

“Thank you Tira,” Hunt said sarcastically. The doctor then turned to the others and let out a long sigh. “Due to pour filing and other factors, most of the records relating to the off-site research areas were lost or damaged, but my research gives great support to the theory that this ruin was one of the locations.”

“Why didn’t you just find someone who worked at the research areas,” Quill asked. “Wouldn’t they know anything about the ruin if it used to be one of them?”

This question was again answered by Tira. “Only ponies who worked at the specific research area had any knowledge of it, and the only name to come up for that specific area is a Professor P. N. Esquire and it is the only place that name is mentioned in any document,” she said in a way that made it sound like she had said this many times before.

“I’m sorry,” Feather Tip said, “but how long ago did we lose contact with this outpost?”

“Well…” Dr. Hunt said, “more than a century ago.”

The room was completely silent except for the sound of shuffling papers coming from Tiras’ work. No pony said a word for quite awhile until Tira shouted.

“I found it!”

Everypony turned to face Tira who was circling a part on one of the maps with a quill. Dr. Hunt seemed the most exited.

“See,” the doctor said, the smile from earlier returning to his face, “it’s not like we are going into the forest blind. Tira is the best navigator out there. By Celestia, it’s her special talent, we know where the castle is, and as he had said,” Dr. Hunt pointed to Quill, “the forest has been well explored. How dangerous could it be,” Hunt finished his last part more as a statement then a question and then stared at the three friends and waited for a response.

Quill saw Feather look up at Shadowhoof. The black stallion just shrugged and then turned over onto his back as to go to sleep. Feather then looked at Quill and he met his sisters’ eyes. He knew if he was going to back out this would be his last chance. Quill looked Feather straight in the eyes and nodded.

Feather turned to Dr. Hunt and just said, “We’re in.”

“Good!” Dr. Hunt exclaimed. “Now we should all get some rest, we’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.” The doctor then climbed into the bunk under Shadowhoofs’ and got ready to fall asleep.

Feather flew up to the bunk opposite Shadowhoofs’ and Quill climbed into the one under that one. Tira went to the bunk opposite the door. Once everypony was in bed the light went out.

“Goodnight,” Quill said, and everypony responded in kind. Quill then turned to face the wall and tried his best to fall asleep.