A Fated Venture

Friday, 4th Week of Summer

I forgot to send the last letter first thing in the morning! I'd actually forgotten that I'd written it until I sat down to write this one. And it looks like you'll have to wait even longer, friend, I'm having trouble with my teleportation spell. Though, as a consolation, I think I may have found evidence for one of your theories.

I'll try to explain. You once said that any excess magic from a spell is discharged into the atmosphere, creating heavier air and unusual events in places with a high unicorn population. I still contend that that “ambient magic” is not why you'd find students sleeping in the chandeliers, we just threw parties whenever we knew you weren't there to stop them. However, I think the overall theory is correct. Why? Because the air in the Circular Forest is so thick with ambient magic I'm practically swimming in it. And it's creating a little bubble around the forest, one that seems to stop me from teleporting anything out.

Honestly, it's much more “magic humidity” than ambient magic at this point. There’s magic condensing into heavy little beads in my coat, then running off and disappearing back into the air. I can't see it, but I can feel it. It tickles. And nauseates. And is very, very chilling. Not in the way the mountain was, with the air itself being cold. Chilling as in a sudden cold rain on an otherwise warm spring day, the little droplets suddenly hitting you and flowing down in a tiny icy river from your head to your hoof. The air isn't hindering my breathing, but I find myself sucking in air slowly, and holding it in for longer than normal. I'm not sure why.

Likewise, I'm not sure why the magic condenses on me at all. The actual water-based humidity doesn't. The forest is fairly cold, probably because of water, fog, and the thick foliage that is blocking all the sunlight. Strangely, the forest always has the same lighting, no matter the time of day. It’s dimly lit, with a sort of blue tint, like the night sky right before it turns black. Fortunately, there’s still enough light for me to distinguish objects and colours, but only at close distance. It continues to remind me of our dear Everfree, the trees all have the same giant dark trunks, the same broad leaves, the same patterns of apparent malformed faces in their knots. Quite a few smaller ones have died, and are probably the homes of the many animals I hear buzzing, cawing, and whispering all around me. Occasionally, I catch sight of one, but never long enough to describe what it actually looks like. Boring though the forest may so-far be, the creepy familiarity makes me feel a little homesick. Hopefully the animals will at least be different than in the Everfree forest, maybe we can find Frederick a new playmate!

Speaking of Frederick, either through time or through fear, he has apparently forgiven me, judging from how close he's been clinging to my back. Poor little guy keeps looking around, with big, dramatic head swings every time he hears a noise. I'm not sure he's blinked since we entered. I suggested he stay outside, but he kept insisting to come along. After the first time he jumped I even offered to turn around, and we'd find somewhere else to explore. He then bucked up, puffed up his chest, and started walking deeper into the forest. I think he knows how much it means to me.

Oh, you know that thing about no griffon ever setting claw here? Absolute rubbish. Well, probably. They most likely did it. What I’m getting at is that some sentient lifeform has carved a clear path in the forest. Another flaw of my spell is that it only finds things ponies have never seen before, it very well could bring me to something another race sees daily.
I doubt that griffons encounter the forest daily, though. There was a mossy, crumbled, stone sign outside the path’s entrance. The characters were far too worn to read, but it didn’t look like a modern griffon’s writing. But it may have been an ancient griffon’s work, so whatever’s here probably hasn’t been seen in centuries.

The path itself is odd. From what I can tell, it’s a perfect spiral, starting from the sign and moving to the forest’s center. There’s a slight downhill inclination as well. Every step I take into the forest is one I’m taking deeper into the ground. The spiral pattern appears in some of the tree’s knots and in rows of vines, as well. Between the life and the ground, I’ve decided that “Spiral Forest” is a more fitting name that “Circular Forest.” And since I’m discovering it for ponykind, I get to call it that.
It’s never been in my nature to just play it safe, but I’ve decided, if only for Frederick’s sake, to stick to the path. I’m sure knowing that someone else has been here, even if it wasn’t a pony and was very long ago, is of some comfort to him. Plus, there’s a chance that this downward motion could turn very steep, very quickly. The path at least allows me to see a sudden dropoff coming.

We’ve made camp for what I assume is night. I’m not sure how many loops there are in this spiral, so the journey to the center could take anywhere from another day to a full week. Unless something odd happens, I doubt I’ll write again until I reach the center. I know you won’t get this until I return, but just the same I hope you’ll wish me luck.

Send me congrats when you finally do get these, friend.