A Fated Venture

Sorry for the long gap between letters, friend. There hasn't been much time for me to write these last couple of months, nor has there been much to talk about. My horn, silly piece of bone that it is, really wanted Frederick and I to cross this mountain range. You know how mountains are, nothing but snow, rocks, and potential enormous plummets to your death. Same as they ever were.

Some quick advice, before you ever teach my finding spell to any of the brats you bring in to fill the enormous hole I've left in the sentimental workings of your school and your heart - I kid - make sure you add a way for the spell to account for altitude. My version still only points in a straight, horizontal line towards whatever it's seeking. We were almost all the way to the top of the mountain before I realized the spell just wanted us to get to the other side, and it would have been much easier to go around the base. Frederick, amazing little friend he's been through our travels, stuck with me throughout all the harsh, vertical climbing and cold that kept making his little paws quiver. Although, ever since he realized there was nothing at the top and we started heading back down the other side, he's been quite angry at me. And rightly so.

Some good did come of our otherwise pointless mountain-climbing expedition, in that I found our destination. Do you remember the Circular Forest? If not, I may have forgotten to tell you. There’s an old griffon legend that, buried in a valley between the mountains to the north-west of Griffonica, there lies a dense forest, shaped in a perfect circle. Supposedly, if one can brave the forest, their greatest desire can be found in the center. Many claim to have seen the forest, though few griffons actually fly over the mountains, likely for the simple reason that there are no known villages on the other side for them to visit or trade with. Even fewer griffons have actually entered the forest, and supposedly, no griffon who has entered has ever returned.

Much of the legend is, of course, silly and baseless. Ponies often said similar things about the Everfree Forest, but I remember you practically took us on field trips there. But, the legend can't all be false, for from the top of the mountain we could see a large, green circle at the center of the valley. When I activated my spell, my horn pointed right at that circle.

Now, some days later, Frederick and I have made camp just outside a thick row of massive trees. We plan on circling around and observing the outside for a while before jumping in, just to make sure my horn is pointing at something in the forest and not something on the other side. Next time I write you, we'll have stepped into the place where griffons dare not tread. The thought of that has me absolutely giddy. I still have my taste for adventure, and I know something tremendously exciting is bound to be found here.

You’ll be getting this letter late. Normally I try to send these letters as soon as a write them, but I'm frankly exhausted from all this walking and climbing, and I just don't have the energy to teleport something even this small over such a great distance. I'll try to remember to send it first thing in the morning.

Goodbye for now, friend.