“So, you just kept your mom’s horn as a trophy?” Twilight asked slightly confused as they walked to what Thorax deemed the Hall of Records.

“No, it’s more of a reminder of what we changelings were once, and how much suffering we experienced,” the king sighed. “It’s to show us how far we have progressed thanks to Nick.”

“Well either way I’m glad you made our mission this much easier,” she smiled softly to him, looking at the jagged horn. It could have been mistaken for a weapon with how it appeared, dagger like.

“Yeah. The Tree actually spoke to you all? Just like it did for Nick?”

The group nodded in unison. “I’d swear I was still dreaming when I heard it,” Twilight replied, rubbing her temples. While she was willing to do what the Tree of Harmony instructed, just like she and her friends did in the past, she couldn’t help but doubt the whole implications of what they were set on accomplishing.

The past year since Nick passed gave her a lot to think about. That the Tree itself was not infallible. The wolf wasn’t the first human or creature that it brought to Equestria and from what Ivy and Matt had told her about their failures, not a single one was successful. It was able to handle the friendship problems through their cutie marks, but who was to say the issues it sensed were really important?

It didn’t warn them of the Storm King invasion, provided no help when Starlight tried to change timelines herself, both VERY critical matters that would have helped having prior warning. Even if they could use the Elements of Harmony against the invasion, they were so caught off guard, it was too late. Now here the Tree was again, trying to correct a major mistake that had impacted her personally.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Tempest asked, clearly noticing as everyone in the room did how she had spaced out.

Shaking her head sighing, she looked at them all. “It’s just, so much has happened in the past few weeks, how can we tell that what we’re doing is right? Is the path we’re going down is correct?”

“Well there isn’t Twilight,” Matt spoke up, seeing how quickly the situation was devolving. It would be in his and Ivy’s best interests that they continue to do what the Tree said, after all, it did send them here. “Yeah the Tree of Harmony isn’t as perfect as you originally thought but it has been right most of the time. It picked Nick right? The one human that was able to save Equestria from eternal darkness. It was able to pick you and your friends to be the Elements of Harmony, who time and again have been able to save Equestria when needed.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Twilight sighed, looking at the horn wistfully. “With this though, now we have to find the gem corresponding to it.”

“Oh, you mean that flash of light we saw land on the outskirts of the hive?” Thorax inquired, looking at the mare with renewed interest. Perhaps this was the right call if the group already knew about that mysterious sign.

“I would suppose so. The gems scattered across Equestria, but I’d assume they’d land closer to where their related relics were. Where on the outskirts?”

“A few miles out east, towards the mountains,” Thorax led them to a map room. It displayed a rather crude layout of the Badlands but had enough information to show where they assumed the light landed. “We sent out a patrol to investigate but…”

“It’s an Element of Harmony, why would it harm anyone?” Starlight inquired, not liking the thought of the gruesome demise of the squad.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but we know that it’s not a good thing, hence my reluctance to give you the horn. But with what I’ve seen from you all, especially Matt and Ivy, then I know that this is the right thing to do. Just… I’d like to be there when you bring him back.”

Twilight nodded and hugged the bug king. “You’ll be one of the first to know,” she smiled at him. “Thank you so much for this Thorax.”

The changeling nodded, smiling as well. “Good luck everyone. We’ll be thinking of you.”

Following the map given to them by Thorax, the trip out west took no longer than a few hours and thanks to the hive resupplying their reserves, the group travelled in relative ease. The heat beat down harshly, with no shade in sight.

“Think there’s a baddie waiting for us with the gem?” Pinkie asked Twilight, finding herself rather calm in the situation. Of course she hoped the changelings were fine, but part of her wondered what monster they would face if she was wrong.

“I’d hope not,” Tempest spoke up. “That would just slow us down even further. As well as obviously placing Twilight and us in danger. But it would be unwise for us to not go in prepared just in case.”

The group nodded in agreement and continued on. The desert breeze rubbed them like sandpaper, the sun beating down mercilessly as they travelled. What felt like an eternity, they finally saw the craggy mountains housing their destination ahead of them. Exhaling a sigh of relief they proceeded with caution.

As they approached, trails of footprints were spotted ahead of them. They appeared to be pony size, and all leading straight ahead of them.

“That must have been the changeling search party,” Twilight commented, feeling a pit of worry in her stomach. “Weird how we didn’t see their prints earlier.”

“Maybe the sand blew away the traces farther out in the open desert,” Tempest commented, looking around at the new landscape. “The wind here seems to have died down, almost like a spell has been cast on it.”

Twilight’s horn flared in response, as if testing her friend’s hypothesis. However she shook her head after a few minutes. “There is no disturbance to the environment that I can detect. But if one thing’s for certain, something is up.”

“In that case, everyone be on guard,” Ivy spoke up, looking to her companion Matt, who nodded in agreement.

“I’ll go scout ahead, maybe lay a few traps in case we need them,” he announced to the group, starting to head forward from the group but being stopped by a hoof.

“As much as I appreciate the concern Matt, I think it’s better if we just stay together,” Twilight smiled at the human. While he had a crude exterior and personality, his head was in the right place. “No need to take unnecessary risks yet. The girls and I have had our fair share of battles.”

While wanting to argue with the mare, Matt saw that there was no real reason to. If he refused, she'd just use her magic to stop him. Still he was not one to be unprepared. “Alright, but I’ll still set up some traps just in case.”

At his concession, she smiled although at the mention of his specialty her curiosity was piqued. “So what exactly do your traps do?”

Seeing as this wasn’t necessarily digging into his past too much, he decided he could indulge her query, feeling a bit of pride well up inside of him about sharing his knowledge. “They can vary. From defensive ones such as smoke bombs and snares, to offensive ones, the typical explody ones and the such. I have yet to find some poison joke to make some noxious ones.”

Satisfied with his answer the mare nodded in acceptance and they trudged further towards the cave.

Author's Note

Sorry these haven't really been consistent in updating, life and all that. Hope you enjoy this new chapter, we're about at the quarter mark for this entire story.