Hex

Breeze awoke at his usual time. The moon was setting, and the sun had not yet risen. He carefully sat up, trying not to disturb Steel Shield and Twilight. As he stood, he saw Applejack standing in front of them, swaying back and forth, trying to stay awake.

"Yo, Applejack..." he greeted. She slowly turned around.

"Howdy, Breeze... I ain't finished with my shift yet; y'all... can go back to sleep." Breeze slowly shook his head.

"You're exhausted. Come on, get to sleep. I've got this," he urged. Applejack stepped back.

"No, no... I'm feelin' just fine! I don't need to sleep just yet... Hey, would you look at that, sun's almost up. We can get movin' pretty soon... Right?" She leaned a little too far to the left and fell to the ground. Breeze watched her as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "I ain't fall cause I'm tired. Just lost my center, that's all..." Applejack slowly fell asleep, Breeze putting the blanket over her.

"I'll take it from here, Applejack. Just rest." He looked towards the moon, which now hung slightly above the horizon. "Applejack sure is acting strange... Wonder if everything's okay..." he said to himself. Twilight yawned, stretching her hooves out. When she saw Breeze awake, she jumped a little. Breeze looked back. "Is everything alright, princess?" he asked. Twilight looked side to side.

"Uh... Yeah! Everything's perfectly fine!" She laughed nervously. Breeze shrugged and brought his attention back to the moon.

"We should be able to reach Araiyah today. If not, then tonight. We can rest there if we need to. Worst case-scenario is we have to camp out in the forest another night. You ready to head out soon?" Twilight hesitantly nodded, staring at his saddlebags. "A'ight. We might have to wait a little while longer; Applejack just fell out. She's been up all night watching our surroundings. If she had just asked me to take over, I gladly would have..." She approached him.

"I can't imagine why she wouldn't... Hey, do you have anything to eat?" she asked. Breeze slid his saddlebags over to her.

"Help yourself." He looked around the clearing. "The trees are beautiful this time of year..." As he talked to himself about the trees, Twilight opened the left saddlebag, and took out the Araiyan spell book. Slowly and cautiously, she slid the book inside of one of the spares, then closed Breeze's and slid them back. "... Can't wait until Autumn comes... Oh, you're finished already?" he asked.

"Yep; I wasn't that hungry. I'm gonna go rest until the others wake up."

"Alright. Don't fall asleep, though. We have to get moving in a couple minutes." She backed up until he turned away, then pulled the spell book back out.

There's no way you could remember the steps after having read it only once or twice. You'll need this to cast Silence of the Void. No spell book, no spell. We're safe... she thought. She put the book back into the spare saddlebags, put them on to make sure Steel Shield didn't take them by mistake, and waited for everypony else to awaken. Several minutes later, Steel Shield sat up.

"Morning, everypony. Ready to go? We can eat breakfast along the way." Breeze was eating an apple from Applejack's saddlebags. He slipped into his own.

"Yeah, let's move. Oh, can you carry Applejack, though? She kinda stayed up all night watching the forest." he took a step forward, but stopped and shifted the saddlebags on his back. "That's strange... These seem lighter than I remember..." There was no response. "Oh well, it's probably nothing. Let's go." The group walked along the path, coming across the crate.

"You two already opened the crate, I see." Twilight said.

"Where do you think all this stuff came from? It wasn't really that hard at all. Steel Shield here hit it, what, three times?"

"Twice," Steel Shield corrected.

"Yeah, twice. Two hits, and I was able to get in." He looked back at the empty crate, then towards the rest. Applejack had woken up and slid off Steel Shield's back. "Hey, you're finally awake."

"I was just takin' a little break, that's all... I'm doing just fine." Breeze stopped her.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were tired last night? I could have taken over for you. You didn't need to stay up all night, you know." Applejack kept walking.

"It ain't important anymore, Breeze. How much longer we got to go?" He frowned.

"Just a little while longer..." Later, they reached a hill. Breeze stopped at the top.

"Watch yourself, everypony. This hill could get pretty bad." He carefully slid down.

"Exactly how steep is this, Breeze?" Twilight asked.

"It ain't that steep, but I'd still be real careful." Applejack shrugged, cautiously sliding down after him, followed by Twilight. "It's just you, Steel Shield. You can do this!"

"I'm not so sure..." He stepped back.

"It'll be fine, bro! Just watch what you're doing!"

"Well... Here I go." He stepped forward, slowly making his way down. "Alright, I'm almost down." When he said that, his hoof connected with a stray rock and he flipped through the air.

"Oh. Well, horseapples," Breeze muttered as Steel Shield seemingly ran into every rock in the area. He hit the ground with a loud thud. "Yo, you good?" His eyes crossed.

"Yeah, I... I think I'm good..." As soon as those words escaped his mouth, his helmet immediately cracked in half, falling to the ground below. The four ponies could only stare at the remnants. "Oh, okay. I guess I'm not good..."

Breeze and Steel Shield stepped away from the broken helmet. "Well, that's actually pretty bad," Breeze stated. Steel Shield lightly pushed him.

"If you hadn't rushed me, I could have found a better one! But no! You said it wouldn't matter!" He looked surprised.

"Yo, how is this my fault? All your helmets are broken!"

"That's not true! ... Not all of them! I could have found a good one!" Breeze raised an eyebrow.

"One of the first helmets you threw out the door had a giant hole straight through the forehead. Through the forehead! How does that even happen?" he asked. Steel Shield desperately tried to collect all the shards of helmet.

"Don't question me, alright! I don't know what happened! It's one of my favorites, and I haven't gotten around to repairing it yet!" While the two stallions yelled at each other, Applejack and Twilight sneaked up the trail a little further. Twilight pulled out the spell book.

"Nice job, Twi! How'd you manage that?" Applejack asked.

"I guess Silent Breeze is rubbing off on me a bit. Now then, if I'm correct..." She opened up to the bookmarked page once more and read over the spell again. "Silence of the Void... Can be done by any Arayian-born pony in possession of this knowledge..." She turned the page. "... And this spell tome! Aha! As long as we keep the book away from him, he can't cast the spell!" she nearly shouted. Both mares sighed in relief.

"This is perfect! He ain't gonna be casting no spell on us, not today!" Steel Shield and Breeze were now inches away from each other.

"Hey, just because I can't bake a good chocolate cake, it doesn't make me a bad pony!" Breeze shouted. Steel Shield chuckled.

"What are you even talking about?" Breeze burst into laughter.

"I forgot what the argument was about, I don't know!" Both stallions laughed. Steel Shield stopped laughing and looked past Breeze. "Hold on, Silent Breeze. Did Princess Twilight always have that book with her?"

"Huh?" Steel Shield pointed past him. He turned around and gasped. "That's an Araiyan spell tome! I had one earlier..." He opened his left saddlebag to reveal an empty space. "I knew these felt lighter!" he exclaimed. "How did they get it off me..."

"Should we go get it?" Steel Shield asked. The two sat in thought for a minute.

"... Yeah, we probably should. Yo, Applejack!"

They ran towards her. She stepped back.

"Uh-oh... Twi, we got a problem..." The mares looked at each other, then sprinted down the path. "Run!" The four ponies raced through the Everfree; Applejack and Twilight ran through the trees, trying to use the plants to slow Steel Shield down, while Breeze flew through the air, dodging branches and vines. Applejack passed the spell book to Twilight, who teleported behind Steel Shield and ran in the other direction. He skidded to a stop, running into a tree in the process, and continued to chase after her. When he got close, she teleported back to Applejack, passing the book back as well, and ran along another path, tricking him into believing she still had it. Breeze continued to pursue Applejack. He reached down, diving for the spell book. She jumped out of the way, and he crashed into a tree. Shaking off the injuries, he jumped into the sky once more.

"Hold up..." he said to himself. He continued to follow Applejack, but instead of flying below the trees, he flew through them, slowing down to try and keep quiet. After minutes of running, Applejack turned around to find nopony behind her.

"Breeze? You gave up, right?" she asked loudly. When she received no answer, she shrugged, placed the book in her right saddlebag, and walked back the way she came. Breeze slowly and silently floated down, hidden by the plant life of the forest. He waited a couple of moments, then approached carefully. Twilight ran into his field of view, followed by a panting Steel Shield. When Applejack rose her hoof to get her attention, Breeze dove out from the bushes and took the book back. Applejack, surprised by his sudden appearance, stepped back a few times. "What... Where were... Dang it!"

"Got it back, bro!" he called to his friend. Steel Shield rose his hoof to congratulate him. Applejack and Twilight sat down, tired from the chase. "Okay... Why did you take the spell book?" he asked, slightly upset. Applejack glared at him.

"Why did you take it from Twilight to begin with?" Breeze looked at Twilight.

"There's a spell I had to learn. It's part of the reason I wanted to return to Araiyah." Applejack wasted no time.

"And what spell would that be, Breeze?" He opened the book.

"It's right here on this page. I left a bookmark. Surely, you saw it," he responded. Twilight looked up.

"Oh, we definitely saw it..." she confirmed between breaths. Steel Shield looked at her.

"Princess, are you alright?" he asked. Twilight shot him a look of anger.

"I'm perfectly fine, thanks for asking!" she snapped. He looked shocked, then turned to Breeze.

"Silent Breeze, what's going on here?" he asked. Breeze closed his eyes.

"I don't know. Applejack, Princess Twilight, what's this all about?" The two mares never took their eyes off him. Twilight sighed, rising to her hooves and flapping her wings once.

"I'm not keeping this in anymore. Applejack, I know we planned on confronting him when we reached Araiyah, but what needs to be said must be said now. I'm sorry." Applejack nodded once. "Silent Breeze, we came across this stolen spell book before our journey even began, when Applejack pointed out how light your bags were. We found a single, lengthy piece of rope, some scissors, and a large amount of blueberries to go with it. Upon checking the spells on the bookmarked page, it became clear to us what your intentions were. Does Silence of the Void sound familiar to you?" Breeze opened his eyes.

"I know of that spell, but I do not know the chant," he answered.

"If you are aware of this spell, then you would know that you are capable of casting said spell. Upon your return to Araiyah, it would be easy to learn this chant, and cast the spell on the way back to Equestria, which you clearly planned to do. Last night, Applejack and I came across you persuading Steel Shield to aid you in this plan. This is a crime against Equestrian royalty, and it will not be tolerated, Araiyan or not." She stomped her hoof. Steel Shield and Silent Breeze were shocked. Twilight's words had rendered them speechless.

"Princess..." Steel Shield began, but Breeze cut him off. He stood confidently, wings spread and eyes locked onto hers.

"You're wrong..." he stated. Twilight was unfazed. "Princess Twilight... At any point, did you consider the other spells on this page?"

"Silence of the Void is circled," she pointed out. Breeze chuckled.

"All of the spells are circled. That's how they're written. I wasn't trying to learn the last spell, no, I was trying to learn the first. Look again." He set the book on the ground and slid it to her. "Its name is Secrets Unbound. It, too, can be cast by any Araiyan. When cast, it reveals the truth. Anything that is hidden will be clear. It's very simple to learn; I just need a catalyst. I left mine at my old home."

"Yeah, sure. Why'd you bring the rope, then?" Applejack asked.

"If you two hadn't have run off, you'd know that a river splits our path in half. I was prepared to build a raft." Twilight closed the book.

"Why should we believe you?"

"If I was trying to send you to the Void, I wouldn't have invited Steel Shield. I'd have lied and said I couldn't find anypony to come along, then I'd take the rope and tie y'all up on the first night. Do you really think I'd take you all the way to Araiyah if I was planning on getting rid of you?" Twilight looked into his unblinking eyes. Her fury gradually subsided. "Don't you see?"

"I... I'm so sorry, Silent Breeze!" she said. "I shouldn't have been so quick to assume, and if you'd like, I'll try to find a spell in here that'll get us past that river and to Araiyah in no time. I hope you can forgive us." Breeze stepped back.

"Nah, nah... I can get there on my own. Steel Shield, take them back." He turned and continued down the path. Steel Shield ran up to him.

"Silent Breeze, come on! Sure, they messed up, but hey! You can forgive them, right? Princess Twilight was only doing what she believed was right." Breeze closed his eyes once more.

"Oh, I know. She's a princess; she gotta keep things safe. It ain't her that I'm mad at." Steel Shield stopped for a second, then turned around and looked at Applejack, who was walking after him.

"I'll go calm him down... You just stay with Twilight." Steel Shield reached out to stop her, but set his hoof back down. Twilight walked up to him.

"Princess, she'll bring Silent Breeze back with her, right? She knows what she's doing... Right?" Twilight nodded, smiling.

"Yes, sir. She usually does."