A Wacky Read

The gates of the library were struck open, accompanied with a loud clunk and the Princess of Friendship in its midst. Behind her the Humans checked the scenery and looked at the scattered Ponies and Lizards between the shelves, the table and Mirror.

"Rarity", Twilight yelled and trotted in. "I have an idea but I need your help."

"My help? Dear, surely you have it, but what could I possibly help you with?"

Now the library was cluttered with people. Ponies, Lizards and Humans were standing around, whispering, observing each other. No one trusted the other fully, no one wanted to give in or share their plans.

It was only Twilight, that spoke out, and everyone listened. "The Humans told me about their Mirror."

"Stargate", Rodney complained, "It's not that hard, is it?"

"Their Star-gate. They said, it had imbetted gemstones. Do you think you could find those with your gem-finding-spell?"

"My spell? Why, yes, I think so. If there was gems in there, I could surely try. That's the least I can do, isn't it?"

"But y'all can't just walk across Equestria lookin' for that star-thing." Applejack had a point.

"That's why we're here. We might find a clue where to look here."

Sam stepped forward, "We think there might be a Gate here on this planet. In fact, I'm sure of it. The Gates sometimes redirect their wormholes to other Gates. If our Gate brought us here, then only because there's another one here."

"Nonsense", everyone was looking at Morty, who stood up from the scroll and stepped away from the Mirror.

"Excuse me?", Sam asked slightly pissed.

"Non-Sense! Your path wasn't redirected here, because there's some Gate on the planet. It got disturbed by Unicorn Magic."

All the Ponies gasped. "What?!", Twilight yelled confused.

"It says so here, secured in ink."

"What?!"

Sam went to the scroll, "Let me see this." But when she stood above it, she couldn't read it.

"How do you even -?"

Immediately Hati put the spell-page into her hands and the ink upon it translated the scroll on the floor into their Human letters. "Oh, wow. That's really handy."

Hati showed her the part, that tells of the disturbance of space-time. "I don't know what that means", Sam chuckled.

Rodney was shocked, "What?!"

"It's really not that hard", Rex explained calmly with is deep, dark voice. "This protocol, the protocol that you, Princess, established in the first place, tells of a powerful magical radiation, sent out into spacetime. It ripped a hole into the ether and left this very place as the only destination for everyone traveling beyond it."

"What?!", Twilight yelled again.

"Please, Princess, try to keep up."

"Let me see this!" The Alicorn went to the scroll and looked grumpily at the wavy lines. "This wasn't some radiation. That was", she stopped and gasped. "Oh, no. No-no-no. That wasn't ... I mean. We didn't mean to. I mean -"

"So you did cause it", Rodney concluded. "What did you do?"

Twilight was looking at her Pony friends. "Remember when we freed the Pillars and the Shadow Pony with them?" Her friends nodded and shared worried looks. "When we banished the Shadow into the void, we used the Elements of Harmony."

Hati mumbled, "That sounds familiar."

"What are you sayin', Twilight?"

"It wasn't some radiation ripping a hole in the ether, it was us. The Rainbow caused by the Elements shot into the sky!"

"And up into space", Morty added. "Where it might still fly, and some day, maybe even in the far future, fracture the edge of the cosmos, so that the ether leaks inside."

Cam leaned over to Rodney, "Is it just me or does that make no sense whatsoever?"

"Well, it's phrased like someone from the medieval times would put it, but I can see what they mean. If I'm right, then we have a big problem on our hands."

"You mean bigger than being stranded on an alien planet thousands of years in the future?"

Rodney nodded nervously to the side, "Relative terms, really."

Morty pointed at Twilight with his bone finger and despite his grinning skull, he looked even angrier than before. "You caused all of this mess. Your thoughtless acts not only ripped us from our worlds, it might destroy your cosmos as well. How do you attempt to fix this?"

Twilight’s eyes were jumping, nervously looking for answers, "I ... I don't know. I'm sorry. I didn't know! I would have never done this, if I knew what would happen."

"Now, now, Twilight", Glimmer came to her with a tired smile on her face. "You had to do it, otherwise the world would be in shadow. We saved the day that day. This is nothing. This is fixable. Some elbow grease, some spells, done. No problem."

Cam stepped forward and spoke up, "I say we look for the Gate now. It might not only help us, but you as well."

Rex crossed his arms. "Even if you had the Ring-Gate, you would still need a powerful time-spell to counter the ether."

"That's why Starswirl is in his archives. He'll bring us the spell we need, as soon as he found it", Twilight promised.

Rarity stomped her hoof onto the hard floor. She did look very determined. "We will make it up to you. Let's find this Star-Gate, shall we?"

"Any idea where to look?", Cam asked the Ponies.

"If the Gate is that important", Glimmer thought out loud, "It could be in a temple or ruin."

But Applejack considered, "But if it's that old, it might be buried deep under rubble or forgotten entirely."

"That's what I will help for, dear Applejack."

While the Ponies where hacking out plans, Morty was making his own. "While you look for the Gate, we will try this Starswirl-spell on the Mirror. It might reset its function."

"And if it works", Teal'C said, "You surely won't hesitate to use it, to travel back home."

"And we're staying behind." Cam was shaking his head, "That's not a good deal."

"I take you got a better idea then?", Morty asked him while he came closer.

"Yeah, I do. It's not a great plan, but it might be what we need."

"Why, what a shocker", Rex joked, "A Human with a plan. Why don't we let the pink one make one while we're at it?"

"You got a problem with Humans?"

"Why, not at all. As long as they stay in their place."

Suddenly everyone was yelling. The Humans and the Lizards were standing on opposing sides, engaged in heated argument and with their hands on their weapons.

"There's nothing wrong with Humans!", was said on the one side, and, "Then why do you keep murdering everything?", was said on the other.

Insults were exchanged and soon no word was to be made out from the noise.

Twilight's "STAAHP!" put everyone to shame. Her magical glow framed everyone to freeze them in stasis. Everyone but Hati, Morty and Rex, who remained glowless but joined the silence anyway.

They looked at each other and already had an idea why they were spared.

Twilight too was confused over their immunity. Her spell ended and everyone was freed, when she came to the aliens. Her horn glowed once more but no spell was cast upon the skeleton Man, the green and the blue Lizard.

"That must be the curse", Hati said to Morty.

"Yes, yes", he nodded, "Quite possibly. Interesting, highly interesting."

"And of course", Hati turned to Rex, "The enchanted one, immune to all."

"Was there any doubts, dear?" Rex walked up to Twilight, but she didn't back down. She looked angrily up to him. "Now, dear", he said,
"Whatever you're trying to do here, I advice you to never try it again."

Krator raised his gauntlet to a fist, "I second that! Freezing people is mean!"

"Did you really just say that?", Elisa smiled.

"You know what I mean!"

"Hey!", Cam yelled besides Twilight, "You're not threatening the Princess, alright? It is due to her help, that we might get to see our homes again."

"It is due to her that we're stuck here in the first place." Rex looked down to her, "You and your vast use of magic is ripping the ether apart! Do you even realize what you're doing, when you use that horn of yours?"

"She does what she can, so chill and take a pill."

"I could make you one", Morty commented Cam's threat.

Suddenly Glimmer stood between them and her horn glowed bright. All the Humans were framed by the spark and moved towards the wide library door. When they were brought outside, the door closed and the groups were separated. "There", she said tiredly and sat down. "Now we can talk. Twilight, you talk to the Humans. I'll handle the aliens."

Twilight nodded, "Okay. Good luck." And when she went outside, Applejack and Fluttershy accompanied her.

"Wouldn't you rather talk to the Lizards?", Applejack asked Fluttershy. "Y'Know, being animals 'n all?"

"Oh, I rather not. Their teeth are very scary."

The Humans in the hallway were upset, understandably, and asked the Ponies, what that was all about.

"Starlight thought, it would be best to talk to you separately. Sorry if it was rude."

"Rude?", Rodney yelled, "That wasn't just rude, that was abusive."

"Calm down, Rodney. We gave them no choice."

"And no one was harmed", Daniel added. "So that's good."

Vala commented that with, "Yet."

"But you do still help us finding the Gate", Jack mumbled, "Right?"

"Rarity said, she will. And I will help too", Twilight assured. "Do you think, that, if the Gate redirected to another Gate, as you said, that another one of those Gates is close by?"

Sam nodded, "That could very well be."

"Then let's search the nearest ruins first."

"An’ caves."

"And foh-foh-foh-forrests", Flutters squeaked.

"What about them Lizards?", Cam asked. "How do we know, they ain't tryin' anything funny?"

Twilight put her thinking face on.

But Applejack was faster. "Why don't we just mix up the groups? That way everyone gets to see what the other is doing."

"That is a great idea. What do you think?"

The Humans shared looks, then Cam nodded, "As long as that blue one isn't coming with me, we're good."

"But who gets to go?"

"We'll draw straws", Applejack smiled.

"No need for that." Everyone was looking at Fluttershy. "I figured it out."

In the meanwhile, the Lizards were negotiating with the other Ponies on the other side of the door.

"Y'know, when Twilight told me to come to the library, I was like Yawn, what she want now? But I was not disappointed. This mess is worth watching."

"The Rainbow one is right", Rook nodded while still leaning onto the shelves, "This is humble entertainment."

"You!", Glimmer said to Rex, "You can not just do what you want. Stop treating everypony like dirt."

"Oh, no", Hati tried to persuade her, "He usually does. Don't bother."

Rex came to Glimmer, "Or what? I like you, Unicorn Starlight Glimmer, but don't mistake me for someone with a heart and compassion. I will make a way back home, into our time, into our world. And I won't shy away from any chances."

"You're doing this for your friends, I get that. I would do anything for my friends."

"Then we have an understanding."

They stared at each other in silence, ready to do something rushed and stupid, until Hati came between them.

"So, this Starswirl thing, right? Is that like a method or a place?"

"Starswirl the bearded is but Equestria's most powerful sorcerer", Rarity explained. "If anypony knows how to operate the Mirror, it is him."

"I doubt that a timespell is all that we need", Morty shared his concern with them. "We need to travel through space as well. Who knows how far off we are from our sun."

"Yes", Rex smiled but never let his gaze off Glimmer, "That is why you will go with the Humans. They have the knowledge about space that we need and you will get it from them."

"And how am I gonna do that, huh?"

Rex turned his head and looked at the skeleton, "Why, you're the only one understanding numbers like they do. Or would you rather have me send Rook?"

"Chaos would be the result of that."

"Y'know", Hati concluded, "That's actually not a bad idea. I'll look after Rook and Morty and keep an eye on those Human folks."

"Hmm, very well. Yes, do that." If they were busy hunting, Rex surely would find some time to collect more Inaji. And that is really all they needed to fix everything.

Hati went to the door to inform the Humans. "Then that is settled."

He pulled open the door in a rush, only to find Fluttershy on the other side. "We'll shuffle the teams!", they both said simultaneously.

"That's a great idea!", Hati smiled.

"Why, thank you."

"Then that's settled", Cam said and walked in.

And Rook commented, "That sounds familiar."

Fluttershy floated above the groups in the library. She was happy to share her plan for the search.

Cam Mitchell, Teal'C, Rodney, Vala and Daniel would go with Hati, Rook, Morty and Knom, to find a Gate in the ruins. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow and Twilight would go with them to keep them safe and Equestria safe from them.

Jack, tired and old, loves to stay by the Mirror and watch Sam doing tests with it. Rex, Elisa and Krator would protect the Mirror from her science and make sure she didn't destroy it, while waiting for the timespell of Starswirl. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Starlight and Spike would stay at the castle to protect the aliens from each other and Equestria from them all.

"I appreciate your effort, but your work won't be necessary, dear." Rex stood above Sam, who was kneeling by the Mirror. She had her tablet computer in hands and checked the crystals for spots to connect to.

"And what is your problem, Mister?", she barked back at him. "You want to sit around and wait, be my guest, but I can't do such a thing." She continued sticking cables to the Mirror's frame while she hoped for some readings of her instruments.

"Why, no, of course not", Rex said calmly when his eyes fell upon Glimmer. She was patrolling the library. Tired or not, she had to keep an eye on that blue, sneaky Lizard. "I'm actually working on a solution, believe it or not."

He walked away before Sam was able to say, "Yeah? And what's that?"

Glimmer stopped when Rex cut off her way. "I'm sorry", he said.

"For what?"

"For my behavior. I apologise. I shouldn't have lost control like that."

"You actually seem very calm all the time."

"Well, it is a troublesome situation. And you're just trying to help."

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing this for Twilight, because she asked me to."

"Let me make it up to you."

"I'm listening."

"You need to get some rest, dear."

"No can do. Got to keep watch."

"Yes, I know. I prepared a spell for you, to energise you."

"Are you serious? I'm not stepping into one of you circles ever again."

"Oh, no. My, nothing like that. Here", Rex reached into his coat and brought forth a cup filled with a dark drink. "Have a beverage."

She sniffed it and the scent alone gave her back some of her strength already. "What is that?"

"Humans call it Coffee. It's not magic, it's organic. It will give you back hours of sleep."

"So it's a potion?"

"You can call it whatever you want."

She still hesitated, because she didn't trust the Lizard. And she shouldn't. But Rex proved his point to her. "Look, darling", he took a sip from the cup, "It's perfectly fine. I'm merely concerned over you, dear."

"Okay, I'll try it." Her blue glow framed the cup and she drank from it. It was warm and the taste pleasant. "Hey, this isn't too bad."

"I hoped you'd like it." He walked away, smiling.

And Glimmer went on her way while drinking sip by sip of the black stuff.

He went back to the Mirror, watching Carter doing her useless science.

"Did you give her Coffee?", she asked him. "You know, that horses can't break down caffeine, right? That cup could kill her."

"Why, don't worry your little head about that. It won't be a problem."

Carter shook her head slowly before returning to her notepad. "Something is really off with you."

Elisa took this quiet time to satisfy her curiosity. The little Elf sat down next to the old General Jack O'Neill, who was frankly too old for this shit.

"Are those medals you earned from battle?", she asked him in the cutest way she could think of, which might not been all that cute at all.

Jack shortly looked at her before he mumbled, "I'm not looking for friends."

"Why are you wearing an uniform and the others don't?"

"Carter?!", he yelled over to the Mirror. "Little help here?"

"Sorry, Sir", she smiled, "I'm busy already."

Highpriest Krator, the tall yellow Lizard with wings and golden gauntlets, who never let Elisa out of his sight, made a halt in front of the General.

"Those are from battle, aren't they? You must be a great warrior of your tribe. It would be an honor to meet you formally."

"Formally?", he asked confused.

Krator hit his fist onto his muscled, naked chest. "I'm Highpriest Krator, Templar of Karinthor. This", he pointed at Elisa, "Is the Ki'Ti Elisa Sternklar, the Vendah I've sworn to protect. Hiji'Xaji Roki'Tacho?"

Jack shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't think he speaks Brass'Ka", she said. "And calling me a Ki'Ti is really not nice."

"Maybe", Krator admitted, "But it's fitting." He looked down at Jack, "I was just greeting you, that is all."

"Alright", Jack stood up and reached out his hand to Krator, "Name's General Jack O'Neill of the U.S.A. Air Force."

Krator shook his hand, what lead Jack to twitch in slight pain. "Pleasant, General."

"It means that I'm ordering people around." They let go of the hands.

"I know what a General does. Humans in our world have them too."

"So you have Humans too. Why don't you tell me a bit about your world?"

"My world?", Krator didn't know where to start. "It's vast, beautiful, but also horrifying and cruel. People are at war, fighting the armies of evil, devils and demons."

"Demons like your friend, the skinny one?"

"Morty? Yes, you could say that. But he's on our side."

"He's really only on his own side", Elisa commented.

"I'm making sure he doesn't harm anyone, as it was my oath."

"I can see, you're the protective type. A guardian of sorts."

"That is right, General. I am Highpriest. I am justice, I bring order."

"Or havoc."

"Since when do you know such words?"

"Morty used it sometime."

"So, this war", Jack asked the big guy, "I hope you're winning."

"I do hope so too. We do our best, even Rex. It might not look like it, but he cares. He might be a murderer and a thief-"

"Wow, what?"

"Rex is a legendary assassin, one that reaches into myth and legends. I wish I could rid the world of him, but he is way too useful for the war at hands."

"Not like you could beat him", Elisa smiled.

"You haven't seen me try, Cupcake."

Jack turned to Elisa, "What's your deal, you like this Rex?"

"He's my Master."

"Come again?"

"He teaches me the ways of magic."

"As do I!", Krator pointed out, "I'm her Master too."

"As is Hati for showing me fighty things. And Rook for showing me my way around the anvil."

"Aren't those like too many Masters?"

"Meh", Elisa shrugged, "A girl has to learn, doesn't she? Without their help, I could have never revenged my father or beat my mother."

"I hope she deserved it?"

"Oh, yes", Krator nodded, "She was a witch in league with the Blood King."

"I take that's bad."

"Blood King, wow. That sounds scary." They turned their heads and saw the little Dragon besides them. He joined the cluster for a listen. "But, you beat them too, right?"

"We burned down his kingdom. We haven't seen of him since. But Manus, as he was named, was immortal by nature. One can never be sure of his death."

"Glad he's not here then." Spike smiled at Jack, "Hi, we haven't met yet. I'm Spike."

"Hello?" He wrinkled his forehead, "I'm Jack."

"Yeah, I know. I heard you before. Do you guys need anything? Water, a pillow, a toothbrush?"

"We're good, little one. Be on your ways."

"Actually."

"Yes?"

"You guys have bathrooms?"

"Sure. Upstairs, or ... It's probably best if I brought you."

"Lead the way."

Spike went ahead and Jack stood up with a grunt. "Are you hurt, General?"

"Just old. Be right back." He went to Sam. "You're alright by yourself?"

"You mean between talking Ponies and Lizards?"

"And an Elf."

Sam smiled, "I have my P-90. I'm good."

Jack nodded slowly and turned. Spike made a halt in the door. "Anypony else need to use the bathroom?"

Elisa sighed, "Well, now that you said it."

"In that case, I accompany you", the Highpriest insisted.

Fluttershy shook her head and Pinkie yelled, "I'm good. But do have fun!"

"Ehm, sure. Thanks, Pinkie?", Spike said and closed the door behind himself. He lead the aliens down the hallways so they wouldn't get lost.

The library turned quiet. Pinkie was just reading up some of her favourite books, absolutely unrelated to the crisis they had at their hooves. Fluttershy on the other hoof, felt responsible and floated up and down the shelves, looking for more books that could help them fixing the Mirror.
Sam didn't get anything out of the readings. She hacked her finger at her screen in the effort to combine the two alien technologies. She did this before, it should be easy. But the crystals of the Mirror were new and foreign. Calibrating her system to the vibes of the stones took a lot of patience out of her.

Rex standing over her, watching her work, didn't help. At least he stopped commenting her failures.

A loud snore startled them all. Everyone was turning to the table in their midsts to see what happened. It was Starlight, resting her chest, arms and head on the table, deeply asleep. The cup lay on its side next to her, it was empty.

"Didn't you give her coffee?"

"I did", Rex answered to Sam. "Seems like it didn't work." But it did. Rex caught himself smiling and forced himself to stop.

"That looks like fun!", Pinkie yelled, tossed her head onto the table and snored as loud as she could. "It looks better than what it feels like", she said disappointed.

"Oh, my." Fluttershy floated down to her, "She's so tired, she can't even hear us."

Rex came to her. "We should bed her to rest. Is there a camp near by?"

Pinkie pointed up, "She has a room upstairs."

"I carry her", Rex gently picked the little Pony up, "And you show me the way, pink one."

"Oki doki loki!" The pink one bounced ahead and they left the library together, leaving Fluttershy and Sam alone.

When Sam looked at Shy, she just forcibly smiled back, flapped her wings and rose back to the books. If she looked busy, she might have been able to avoid a conversation.

Sam just shook her head and smiled before she looked back down to her screen.

A minute later, Rex and the pink one reached the door to Glimmer's room. He bedded her like promised. She didn't wake, like it was planned. But Rex couldn't act while the pink one was watching him.

Casting a spell on her wouldn't suffice. She would see him casting the spell and know something was wrong. He didn't have time to lay a trap, but he had the option to summon servants.

"That is some deep sleep!", Pinkie said louder than she should. "Wish I could sleep that well."

"Why, I'm sure of that."

She laughed, "What a creepy thing to say. I like you, Mister."

They left Glimmer upon her bed and headed for the hallway. Pinkie was ahead of Rex and he had the chance to close the door. But before he closed it, he quickly shook a page out of his spellbook. Even while the door was closing, the page floated to the ground. There it lay waiting for them to cover some distance.

Rex smiled while he was walking down the castle hallway. He followed Pinkie, and since he wasn't watched now, he concentrated upon his spell.
His eyes glowed and the page in Glimmer's room glowed in the same nature. The Runes inked on the sheet moved and combined to a ring. Soon the magic did its thing and the ring became a black hole.

First it was only one of the big, black bugs, that crawled out of it. These magical bugs were of Rex's design and suited for many tasks. They were robust and quick, small and silent. Talented in so many ways.
They also followed the mages will and he was able to see through their eyes.
The one bug was soon followed by thousands of siblings, swarming the room. The wave of black, shiny bodies and countless legs conquered the bed and the sleeping Starlight.

It was no time to be hesitant, no need to play it save. Rex went all in and did what he had to, to get what he wanted.
The flesh of the Pony was soon gone, gobbled up by an army of little mouths. Left behind were the skeleton of a Unicorn and the blue magical crystal, the Inaji.

Chip by chip the jaws of the insects broke the Inaji apart. Its pieces were carried down the castle hall, bit by bit. A street of bugs snuck along the corners and down the stairs.
There was nopony to see it. This part of the castle was empty.
Merely Rex was following Pinkie. And when he saw himself with the eyes of the bugs, he couldn't resist to smile.
Without him stopping, the bugs caught up to him and crawled up his long tail. One by one they disappeared in his black coat. A minute later and a few more steps down the hall, the last bug carried the last chip of Inaji to Rex.
Every bit that the Unicorn had in her body was now for Rex to abuse.

The only thing left now, was her skeleton.
Not every bug followed Rex down the hall. There were still thousands of them in her room that now started to eat up the depleted bones.
Once they were done, they rushed back into their black hole that they came from. When the room was empty, the edges of the spell page started to burn. The whole sheet ignited into flames and there was nothing that remained but dust in the wind.
Not even a single drop of blood stained the bed sheets. The Unicorn Starlight Glimmer was eradicated from the face of the world. And Rex was pleased.

They entered the library, joining Sam and Shy. "She's in bed now. Best to let her rest", Rex informed them.

"Not like she could help with this thing", Sam mumbled.

And while Pinkie was checking on Fluttershy, Rex went down the library. Facing the books, he reached into his coat to take out a pebble of Inaji.
He beheld its glorious glow and felt the power within.

The coffee he poisoned was affecting him too. But his body was larger than one of those Unicorns. Now that he held the Inaji in his fingers, he was able to recharge his power and counter his tiredness.

The magic of the pebble was sucked dry, and with power to spare, Rex felt as well as he didn't since he came here.

"Starswirl is here!", he heard the pink one yelling and he turned to see what it was.

The dead Inaji went back into the coat when Rex took a look at the bearded Unicorn from the distance.

His magical gaze revealed to him, how much Inaji was stored in the bones of this one as well. "My-my, look at that", Rex smiled, "I'll be busy all day."

It's been about twenty minutes, since the task-group entered the Everfree Forest.

"I still don't understand, what we're doing here." Morty was grumpy as usual. Since he was cursed and technically undead, he didn't tire. He did grow impatient quickly though, especially if he was left in the dark of things.

"You remember that Ring we saw in the catacombs?", Hati asked him.

"Yes, of course, I'm not retarded!"

"Well, these fine folks think there might be one of those Rings in the forest, alright?"

The plants didn't make it easy for them. And even if they went down trails that looked like made my repetitive animal usage, the tall Lizards and Humans had branches in their faces with every step they made.

"I think that's far enough", Twilight said and the group stopped. She turned to Rarity and nodded. She nodded back and turned on her glowing horn.

"We're close to the Tree of Harmony, that's as good a place to start as any", Twilight added.

Humans and Lizards looked around but didn't see anything magical. Cam was curious, "Is the spell turned on already?"

It made Rarity chuckle, "Why-hy-hy, yes. Of course. There are simply no gems around, darling."

They all got moving, always towards the castle hidden beyond the treetops and its cave underneath.

"Gems, huh?", Morty mumbled and started to collect ideas. "Interesting."

Soon, only a few steps down the trail, a beacon turned up in the ground. The spell of the Unicorn worked after all and they all beheld the glowing gemstone that was visible through the ground. Like the earth was made of glass, it opened a window to the buried treasure.

"See?", Rarity said, "It works after all. But I doubt that's the gem we're looking for."
Grabbed by her magical touch, her shovel digged out the perfectly cut ruby. Quickly it went into her bag. "What?", she answered all the gazes upon her, "We might as well take home what we find."

"Okay", Rodney admitted, "I can see how that is handy. We might just find a Gate."

"Told you. Never give up. We'll find a way, always." Cam went ahead, following the Unicorns on their path.

Morty rushed by the groups straight to the head of things. He stopped Rarity and showed her a treasure of his. Beheld within his fiery claws the Doctor had just a chip of a green gemstone. It had a mysterious glow and a whispering nature that was hard to grasp with a mortal mind.

"Can you locate this gem?", he asked her excitedly. She was mesmerised by its moving shine. "It's called the Shamrah Ashamir. By that, it simply means Green Fragment. All my life, I'm looking for the rest of it, and I'm still missing a good way of tracking it. I was hoping you could be the answer."

Rarity shook her head to free herself from its alien affect. "Doesn't hurt to try."

She pointed her horn at the fragment and her magic shone upon it, but the green glimmer surrounding it wasn't replaced by anything else. It remained as it was.

"Maybe it is because it's glowing already?", she chuckled. "I'm sorry, but it doesn't seem to work. Where did you say, did you get this fine gem?"

Hati caught up with them and explained in calm fashion, "It is just a piece of a magical artefact, a prison, holding a powerful sorcerer. At least, that's what we think it is."

"Maybe", Morty concluded, "It needs to be whole, but then we don't need the spell anymore."

"Maybe it's, because it's from another planet." The crowd looked at Rook, who went on, "Think about it. Cutie MacBeautiful here has a spell for gemstones, that, weirdly enough, are perfectly cut and polished the moment she finds them in the soil. It's perfectly clear."

Everyone was waiting for him to finish but he didn't say another word. Hati pried, "And? What is clear?"

"Isn't it obvious? The spell and the gems know each other. They were made by the same person."

"That makes no sense at all."

"Now-ow-ow", Rarity chuckled, "I made this spell myself, Darling. No one showed me, it just happened. And the gems always look like this, they always have."

The blue skin feather head pointed his index at her, "Exactly."

"Come!", Twilight pushed the group, "Let's get going before it's getting dark again."

Rook looked up and lifted his shades, "I thought it already was dark. Weird. Your days are weird. Might have forgotten to write a sentence there earlier, mate."

Hati put his hand on Rook's shoulder, while the rest got a move on. "You're alright, right?"

"Aye, sure. Was just wondering, how it could go on, y'know? All this search for some Gate that probably isn't there, feels like stalling, man."

"It was a drag since we got here, yeah, I feel the same way. These Humans make it harder than it had to be, alright. Just give Rex a spell to bring us back, or fix the Mirror, right?"

"This Gate is supposed to be like the one we found. But imagine how old this planet must be, if all the gemstones you can find are already cut. How many civilisations does it take to harvest and cut every last bit of mineral?"

Hati was speechless for just a moment. He took a second to process Rooks idea. "You're serious? That would be insane." He turned and looked at the sun through the leafs above him. "But then again, Rex said, there's something strange about his planet, about this sun."

"Shit!", Rook cursed suddenly.

"What?"

"We made a mistake, dude."

Hati thought about it and he caught the idea from the air. "Ohh hell, no. You're right."

They both looked at the group ahead and said simultaneously, "We left Rex alone."

"Well", Hati wrinkled his forehead and chuckled nervously, "He's not exactly alone, right? Krator is there."

"That actually makes it worse. Imagine they start a fight."

"Don't they do that all the time anyway?"

"A fight with magic and spells?"

"You think the Princess would notice if her castle was missing?"

Slowly they followed the pack on their trail. Rarity found a few gems here and there, lost in the soil of the curseth forest. Twilight already stood on a field, free from the shades of trees. And while they were discussing the new vector, the Humans were whispering amongst themselves.

"This isn't that bad, right?", Cam asked his team. "Hiking through a forest, we had worse."

Daniel nodded but his tone was cynical, "Yeah, remember when we took on the empire of gods that spread through all the galaxy? Those were the times."

"They were false gods, Daniel Jackson. Also, we defeated them and the Ori too."

Vala joked, "It beats getting burned alive, I can tell you that."

"I have a question", Rodney asked out loud, "What if we actually find a Gate? How would we get it running? And how, HOW? Would we get back into our own time, huh? Because, do you have a supercomputer on you, somewhere in your bag? Cause I don't and I don't see how we could possibly calculate a sun eruption without it."

"One problem at a time, Rodney. We'll get there. Just don't lose your shit just now, alright? We got a long way to go."

The group came together by the edge of the forest, between the last trees and the cliff of the gorge, that lead to the cave bearing the Tree of Harmony. It was still sunny, a bit too sunny actually. The Humans and Lizards weren't used to such bright light.

Only Morty, who had no eyes that could be blinded, and Rook, who was wearing shades, had a clear view. Even though, Rook only had eyes for a white Unicorn.

"She's one fine Pony, don't you think?", Rook sighed while he stared at Rarity doing her spell while pointing her horn into a few directions.

Hati wrinkled his forehead, "Are you?", and looked at him from the side, "Into Ponies?"

Rook slowly turned his head at Hati, his reflection was clearly visible in his plain, emotionless glasses. "Anatomically? No. I'm talking about her heart here, man. She has a good heart."

"Well", Hati shrugged and looked back at Rarity, "I guess love really is blind. I mean, looks come second, right?"

Rook startled for just a second, now they both looked straight ahead at the Pony at work. "I hope she thinks that way too!"

"If her heart is as you say", Hati laid a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Then I'm sure she doesn't mind."

After a moment of silence Rook asked, "Ponies hatch from eggs, right?" Of which Hati could only respond in stepping ahead.

"Now, which way do we walk down next?", Hati asked the Princess.

"The Tree of Harmony is down this gorge. And the castle ruins are beyond this bridge. We'll have to search both to be sure."

"Let's get a move on then, alright?" Leading by example, Hati crossed the bridge to the castle, forcing them to search it next.

Twilight might have rolled her eyes but she still followed him, alongside with Rarity and her friends.

The Humans were curious about the castle as well, to say the least. They followed them with pleasure.
There was a good chance, that, if there was a Gate on this planet, it might have been here.