The Gaean Crusade

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: The Missive
Chapter 2: Setting Out
Chapter 3: The Burial Ground of the Buffalo Tribe

Prologue

Throughout the ages, stars have held many points of fascination in both Equestrian and Zebrican culture. The countless pinpricks of light dancing in Luna's night sky have long been argued over. Are they simply motes of magic in the heavens, or are they something more? What is their purpose? Are we alone, or does each star support a world like their own? These questions have lead to new studies of the stars, and all related celestial phenomena. Astronomers of all species enjoy the thrill of the mystery of the heavens.

Stars all have different myths related to them. In Equestrian culture, to catch sight of a falling star is considered a portent of good fortune—that if you make a wish upon it, your wishes will come true. Another myth popular among ponies is that for every star in the sky, there is a soul up in the heavens, and that a falling star is a soul returning to the world to be reborn. Then of course there are the constellations and their relevant myths.

Conversely, the stars hold a more serious role in Zebrican mythology. The stars are the countless children of their creator, Enzu. They believe that Enzu created both Equestria and the stars above in unison, but when he became unsatisfied with his earth-born children, he abandoned the world of Equestria in favor of the star-born. At some unrecorded point in history the zebra deity returned, only to find his Equestrian children had flourished without him, many even forgetting him completely. Enraged, he began to send his star-born children down to Equestria as punishment. This turn in history is markedly known by all zebras as the first appearance of the star-spawn, more commonly known today as the Ursa Minor and Major.

Something that both Equestrian and Zebrican theologists can agree upon, however, is that there are four stars in the sky that are of a most malignant nature. While it is lost to the annals of history exactly how these four stars earned their reputation as portents of destruction, they are most well known for freeing Nightmare Moon in the myth of the Mare in the Moon. Ask a zebra their thoughts on the myth, and they will likely tell you that Enzu cursed the Equestrian Princess Luna for blaspheming his sky, corrupting her against her peoples with the Nightmare.

A lesser spoken of prophecy emerged shortly after the defeat of Nightmare Moon. It was prophesied that during summer solstice marking the sixth year since the Nightmare's failure, Enzu's four generals will return to Equestria. If not stopped, they will rid the world of not just the Alicorns, but all sentient life, thus preparing Equestria for Enzu’s return.

The Gaean Crusade

Oo-Prologue-oO

The stars in Luna's night sky were always particularly beautiful this close to the Summer Sun Celebration. It wasn't a feeling that Twilight Sparkle could really explain, but ever since her first time celebrating the summer solstice in Ponyville, she's been drawn to the night sky this time of year. She might have guessed that it had to do with it marking the beginning of her friendship with Princess Luna, but she couldn't be sure.

Trotting away from her bedroom window, Twilight crossed the chamber and up the steps to her nine and a quarter inch catadioptric telescope. With a wistful sigh, she swiveled the aperture towards the moon. She wasn't sure what she expected to see when she peered through the eyepiece; the moon hadn't changed in the least since Luna was freed.

“Spike, could you please come here for a moment?” she called out, sweeping the telescope across the surface of the moon. She thought she saw something glimmering on the terminator of the moon, but when she looked back, the phenomena was gone.

The young drake thundered hurriedly up the stairs from the library below. She glanced at Spike with a bit of pride. For a long time, she'd wondered if his growth hadn't been stunted. It wasn't until a few months after the aftermath surrounding the Morrigan incident that Spike finally entered the next developmental stage in his life. Since then, he'd gone from being a cute baby dragon to being a handsome—albeit slightly intimidating—young drake.

“What's wrong, Twilight?” he asked, contorting his angular face in a frown. His eyes darted from the unicorn mare in front of him to the telescope, and then he understood. “Oh! It's that time of year again, isn't it?”

Twilight let out a small sigh. “Spike, I just want you to take a quick peek.” She scooted aside, allowing the drake access to the telescope. “It should be just a bit above the Mareanas Trench near the lunar terminator.”

Giving her a tired look, Spike crept up the steps and crouched before the telescope. Peering through the eyepiece, he frowned. “There's nothing there, Twilight. It's not like six years ago. Four stars aren't just going to come out of nowhere and cause something terrible!” Turning to face her, he added, “Come on, go to bed Twilight! You're probably just tired. You've been working yourself ragged over the last three years with this whole minimal magic use thing.”

Blushing at the drake's observation, she smiled. “It's really sweet that you're worried about me, Spike, but I'm fine,” she replied softly. “Besides, it's training for my body and mind. I want to be prepared so that I don't ever accidentally do what I did fighting Discord on Earth.”

“Fine, Twilight,” Spike sighed before making his way back down towards the stairs to the main floor. “Just promise me you'll go to bed early for a change.”

“Okay Spike. I promise,” she whispered, watching the drake slink off into the library and off to his bedroom in the basement. Once she heard the basement door slam shut, she turned and made for her own bed. Wincing as a wave of exhaustion rocked her legs, Twilight blew out the last candle in the room before crawling into her bed.

Maybe I did overdo it helping Applejack today. She gazed out the window, watching the moon travel through the sky. Her eyelids did feel rather heavy, and watching the moon only made her sleepier. Spike's right. Three years isn't enough time to adjust to living the earth pony way.

It was close to midnight by the time Twilight finally drifted off to sleep under the rays of Luna's moon. Not even the cool breeze creeping through the cracked window or the soft hooting of Owlowicious caused her to stir. Had this been any other night, Twilight would have been awake to observe a quartet of stars rise up from the moon's surface and descend upon the four corners of the continent.

Chapter 1: The Missive

Oo-Chapter 1: The Missive-oO

The day following Twilight Sparkle's early resignation from a night of celestial gazing was mostly like any other Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville. It began with a town-wide gathering in the square outside of town hall. From there, everypony watched the eastern sky as the sun rose. On any other year, the town would have gathered in the town hall, but an unplanned heatwave had crept in overnight.

After the sunrise, the regular festivities commenced. Twilight made her rounds to every stand, game, and event. All of them were going swimmingly in spite of the heat, but the most popular events this year were the water-based ones, and the refreshment stands were quickly running low. Still, Twilight felt it would be going even better had she known of the heatwave ahead of time. At least then, she could have suggested more water-based events at the organization meetings.

The only ponies seemingly unfazed by the heat were all the fillies and colts. Ponyville’s new Cutie Mark Crusaders—the Cake twins, Pound and Pumpkin, and Fluttershy's adopted daughter, Puppy Eyes—were thriving in the heat. Apparently hoping for dragon hunter cutie marks, they were stalking Spike like a pack of timber wolves as he helped Twilight make sure everything was going as planned.

“Why did Scootaloo ever give those three the idea to crusade for their cutie marks?” Spike complained as a makeshift net landed on top of his head. He turned towards the bushes the three foals had thrown the net at him from. “Cut it out, you guys!”

Twilight turned to watch as a goldish-gray head topped with a brown mane popped out. “Never!” shouted Pound Cake. “The three of us will fight the fight!”

From beside him, a light yellow unicorn filly popped up, her frizzy orange mane bobbing in the wind. “Yeah!” cried Pumpkin Cake. “There is nothing that we fear!”

“We'll never stop!” exclaimed an earth pony filly as she burst forth from the bush, showing off her mottled green and pink coat. Her blonde and blue-streaked mane flowed freely in the hot afternoon breeze as she gave an expectant look to the other two Crusaders. As they caught her hint, they burst forth from the bushes at either side of her.

“... until our cutie marks are here!” the three screamed in unison, before vanishing into the bushes.

Twilight Sparkle and Spike exchanged amused glances. The young drake let out an amused snort, remembering a certain schoolhouse talent competition. He could clearly remember the previous batch of Cutie Mark Crusaders singing similar lyrics at the beginning of their display.

“Jeez, Twilight!” Spike whispered as he pulled the net off of his head. “Who taught them that song?”

Despite herself, the studious unicorn allowed herself a bit of laughter. “Who do you think taught them?” she offered wryly. “It's the same pony who gave them the idea to be Crusaders in the first place.”

Exasperated, the drake let out a small growl before forcing a puff of smoke from his nostrils. “Scootaloo, of course!” He slammed an open palm into his face as a lasso flew from a nearby bush, narrowly missing his tail.

“Never mind them, Spike,” Twilight said, attempting to take his mind off the futile attempts to contain him. “We've still got a lot to do today. Besides, I'm sure you're dying to check out Allie Way's water bowling setup too.”

“Yeah, sliding down a wet ramp into a bunch of pins and the pool beyond sounds like just the thing for a hot day like this. What were the pegasi even thinking? I—uh oh!” Spike grunted, his eyes bulging wide. As uncouth as it was, the belch he released wasn't unexpected, and neither was the accompanying gout of green flame. The arrival of a letter by dragon fire was still a commonplace fixture in her life.

Without missing a beat, the drake caught and unfurled the scroll that materialized from the flames. He quickly read it over, his eyes remaining wide all the while. Finally, he looked away from the letter, and gave Twilight a serious look. “My faithful student Twilight, I have news of the gravest importance. A letter will follow soon after this one. The letter must be read in the utmost secrecy, and it is for your eyes only.”

Giving her number one assistant a worried look, she turned towards the library. “Come on Spike. If she's sending a letter that not even you are allowed to see, something really important must be happening.” She began running towards the library, but stopped short upon seeing Spike still rooted to the spot. “Sorry Spike, we'll get to try water bowling some other time. I promise.”

Oo-1-oO

My dearest Twilight Sparkle,

I wish it was under better circumstances that I could contact you today. You may already be aware of this, but last night a celestial event was observed by many astronomers across Equestria. Four stars reportedly rose up from the Moon, and fell down to Equestria simultaneously. Luna is rather insistent that the four stars that freed Nightmare Moon are the same involved in the previous night's celestial event, and while I would be inclined to think it is nothing so serious, I cannot deny the coincidence with what has come to pass.

Early this morning, Canterlot castle received a most unexpected guest. You may recall the conversation we shared regarding Mother Gaea after the Morrigan Affair. As happy as we all were to see Mother, the circumstances are not at all what we would desire. When she appeared in the middle of the court, she was incredibly weakened and barely conscious.

I will not attempt to disillusion you, Twilight, for you are mature enough to recognize the gravity of the situation. Gaea is dying, and with her all Alicorns will die soon after. Since her appearance, she has only once become lucid enough to shed any light on the source of her state. The sources of her power have long rested in four temples hidden about Equestria. Each temple houses an altar, upon which a Prime Element sits, binding the associated element in nature to her. That is how it has always been. Without these elements in her control, Equestria would become unstable, and far more wild, like the Everfree Forest, the San Palomino Desert, the Frozen North, and the Badlands.

[

Since the celestial event last night, however, these relics have been disturbed—removed from the altars! Thankfully, the relics cannot be removed from the temples. Mother was very adamant that the fail-safes she placed in each temple would keep the Prime Elements from being removed.Unfortunately, her fail-safe was a double-edged enchantment, intended to protect her power from any children hoping to snatch her power away from her as it much as it was to protect it from thieves. That means none of the Alicorns are able to enter any of the temples. To further complicate things, we don't have any knowledge as to the location of the temples aside from one. The Earth Temple is somewhere in the San Palomino Desert.

It is for this reason, that I delegate this mission to you, my most trusted and treasured student. You have only a day to gather a small party for this mission. For the sake of time constraints, I must ask you to take on only two companions from Ponyville. Luna has suggested Goldenrod hold a place as one of your companions due to his ties to Gaea and unique perspective. The other member of your party should be a pegasus with experience in scouting.

Once you have assembled your party, there will be three tickets to Appleloosa waiting for you at the train-station for a departure first thing in the morning. The fourth party member—a familiar face to be sure—and provisions will be waiting for you upon arrival at the Appleloosa Station. Know that regardless of the outcome of the mission, I will always be proud of you.

Your loving mentor,
Princess Celestia

Oo-1-oO

For Goldenrod, the mundane life of a flower delivery pegasus was a welcome return to normalcy. Sure, it was a far cry from being a butler for a rich family back on Earth, but this was home now. Mundane had taken a different meaning now that he lived in a land of colorful talking ponies as a pegasus, but he was okay with that. As long as he had the wind in his mane, and his adoptive sister to watch over, he didn't care if his job was boring.

That's why in spite of the festivities of the Summer Sun Celebration, he was hard at work delivering flowers for Rose. Flower orders didn't suddenly stop for the holiday. It was quite the opposite; orders doubled on days such as this. Many ponies running an event or stall had put in orders for flowers to graze on throughout the day. That was to say nothing of the large order of roses and daisies that Mayor Mare had placed for the great picnic banquet being held in the Ponyville Common.

At least Rose, Daisy and Lily weren't slave-drivers. They understood that delivering large orders on a hot day like this could wear out even the toughest of ponies. After returning from the banquet delivery, Rose was more than gracious enough to give him the rest of the day off. After stopping by the Common, he'd spent most of the afternoon keeping cool in a cloud over the home he shared with Scootaloo.

I wonder where she's gotten to, anyway? Probably off helping the Ponyville Cartography Union. The adolescent pegasus was always off somewhere. Even with Sweetie Belle at the Canterlot Academy for Talented Musicians, and Apple Bloom inventing in a barn out in Appleloosa, Scootaloo was never without something to do. Ever since Rainbow Dash had taught them both to fly, the orange pegasus had found it very fun to spot things from the air. Her talent might have been courage, but her present joy was finding things. Whatever she did for fun, she always found ways to make him proud. It was a far cry from the filly who always came home covered in tree sap and pine needles after a long day ofcrusading with the others.

“Goldenrod, are you home?” a voice called out from below, as well as a pounding on the door. He knew the voice well. Twilight was always there when he decided to see what the library had to offer. Of everypony who came to Earth with him, Twilight was one of the few he saw on any regular basis. Peeking through the cloud, he watched as Twilight anxiously looked around before groaning. “Where could he be?”

“Sorry, did I have an overdue book, Twilight?” he called down, grinning.

Twilight looked up at him and let out a startled cry. “Sometimes, I wonder if you don't take Landais Caroler's Chalice in Wonderland seriously,” she muttered, glaring up at him. “I swear you enjoy appearing like the Cheshire Cat.”

“What, can you seriously only see my mouth and eyes?” he asked before dropping through the cloud and fluttering down to her side. “So, what's up?”

“I received a letter from Princess Celestia today.” She didn't seem all that thrilled, which seemed contrary to her usual reverence for the Princesses. “I have to depart on a mission first thing in the morning.”

“Well, have fun then,” he offered in a reassuring tone. “You want me to keep Spike out of trouble, is that it? You know he's fine on his own, right?

“It's not that simple, Warren,” she sighed. Whatever was happening, she had his attention. Nopony ever used his Earth name. If she was willing to use it to catch his attention, something was clearly happening.

“What?” he asked hesitantly.

“I need two ponies from Ponyville to come with me.” Twilight glanced at the door to the house. “I really think we should discuss this inside though. This isn't something just anypony can hear about.”

“Alright,” Goldenrod said, opening the lock with a key that dangled from around his neck. Pushing the door open, he ushered her in. “Mi casa es su casa.”

As Twilight trotted into the house, she turned slightly to face him, “I'd ask you when you learned the language of the Caballo tribe, but I keep forgetting that there's a lack of language disparity between the two worlds.”

Goldenrod shrugged before sprawling on a comfortable corduroy love-seat. “Just do like I do and file it away under Morrigan's Rule of Creepy—anything she could make similar between the two worlds, she did.” He laughed in spite of actively fighting off a shudder. After everything that had happened three years ago, it was hard not to shudder. “Anyways, you were saying something about needing two ponies from Ponyville. Why come to me? Surely the others are much better choices.”

Twilight found a nice soft cushion in front of the coffee-table and sat down upon it. “That's just it though. The Princesses—or Princess Luna at least—believe that you're a good choice for this mission.” She paused, glancing about hesitantly. “Because of your link to Gaea, you became a likely candidate, even before the mission was handed off to me.”

Goldenrod's eyes narrowed. “Gaea?” he whispered. “What's she have to do with things?”

“I can't tell you more without you signing on for the mission,” she said sadly. “I'd like to tell you, but I have to be absolutely sure you're not just going to go and do something stupid.”

He blinked at her. It wasn't like the implication of 'something stupid' went over his head. The last time he'd done something incredibly stupid, it was when he'd knowingly run into a trap out of anger, and gave a Draconequus the power she needed to bridge Earth and Equestria. If that was being implied, then this mission was something pretty serious, and dangerous.

“Sorry to waste your time then, Twilight.” He shook his head. “You've got the wrong pony. I've got a job that I can't just leave at the drop of a hat, and even if I could, I still have to make sure our little daredevil doesn't pull a Rainbow Dash and crash. Damned if she ain't a great flier, but the doctors are still amazed she can fly after that wing severance in the hang-gliding incident.”

“It's okay, I understand.” She smiled sweetly, rising off of the cushion. “After that affair three years ago, I can understand your wanting a peaceful life.”

Goldenrod launched off the couch, landing at Twilight's side. Without warning or consideration for personal space, he put one foreleg around her neck and hugged her close. “You'll find ponies much better suited to the job than me for sure. I don't care how dangerous the job is, just make sure you take care of yourself.”

Twilight blushed, but he knew she wasn't particularly put off by his sudden hug. Everypony knew his utter lack of interest in friendships beyond the platonic level with mares well enough to know his hugs weren't any different than shaking a hoof. “Okay—oof! You're crushing me!”

Letting the purple unicorn go, he gave an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry,” he replied, escorting her to the door. He opened the door before adding, “I'm sure you've got a lot of ponies to talk to if you need to leave in the morning.”

“Yeah, and now I need to fill two slots... the one that would have been yours, and then I need to find a scout,” she groaned. “Well, I suppose I should see if the Cartographer's guild or the Town Watch have any scouts willing to help out.”

Watching the mare as she trotted back towards Ponyville Proper, he was about to call out one final 'Good luck' when he saw something that he knew would only mean trouble. Shortly after Twilight departed, an orange and purple blur shot out from the bushes near the door. It went straight after Twilight. Looks like I better prepare for the possibility that she finds a way to wrap Twilight around her little finger—hoof, whatever. Sometimes, pony analogies just don't make sense.

If Scootaloo had heard even the slightest bit about needing a scout for a possibly dangerous mission, he knew she'd be dead-set on selling herself to Twilight, even if it meant damning him in the process. Adventure was the one thing that Scootaloo couldn't resist, and if it meant being able to leave Ponyville to go to interesting or dangerous places, she might not even take no for an answer. She was as hot-blooded as Rainbow Dash, but still had that charming childish nature that made saying no hard.

“Well, I better pack my saddlebags, just in case saying no won't work,” he mumbled to himself. “I might lead a boring life now, but I still know when I'm being dealt a bad hand—hoof, argh! I just hope my bluff is still up to par.”

Oo-1-oO

While Twilight trotted down the road towards the library, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being followed. She had hoped her follower would turn out to be just the Crusaders up to more mischief. After all, they’d been obsessing over catching Spike all day. Them following her home to pester Spike would have made sense.

When she turned around, however, it was not two fillies and a colt that she saw, but a young orange pegasus with a vibrant fuchsia mane. Scootaloo was hovering a few yards behind her, a beaming grin on her face. “Hi Twilight!” she called out in an almost teasing tone.

“Good afternoon, Scootaloo. I’m sorry I can’t really talk right now,” Twilight offered politely. Any other time, she’d be happy to engage Scootaloo in conversation, but today she simply didn’t have time now. “I’m really busy and I need to get ready for a trip.”

“Of course,” the young pegasus replied with a knowing smile. She flew towards Twilight, pulling off a quick corkscrew before landing next to the unicorn mare. “I just wanted to let you know that none of the other scouts the Ponyville Cartography Union has are very comfortable going outside Ponyville. They’re all boring—more interested in scouting places they already know are safe. I swear, they want the most detailed maps of the areas around Ponyville, right down the the tiniest blade of grass!”

Twilight knew immediately that Scootaloo had overheard at least some of her conversation with her big brother. “Oh? I suppose you’re volunteering, is that it?” She shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t let you do that. This mission is likely to be more than just a little dangerous, and we both know that Goldenrod will never allow you to go even if I could allow it.”

“Come on Twilight, you’ve got to take me with you!” Scootaloo groused. “The Union never lets me go anywhere outside Ponyville’s outer boundaries! I can take care of myself now! Besides, I’m easily the best advance scout they would have to offer. If you need somepony in the skies, I’m your eyes! You couldn’t get anypony faster, except Rainbow Dash!

“Besides,” she added in a playful tone. “I know you want Goldenrod to come along. If I go along, he’ll have to come along. If he thinks I’ll just run off to join you anyways, he’s not going to put up much of a resistance.”

“I don’t know what bothers me more, the fact that you’re willing to manipulate your brother so that you can go on an adventure,” Twilight replied, distaste clear in her voice. “...or the fact that you’re asking me to use you to blackmail him in order to make my own job simpler.”

Giving a nervous chuckle, Scootaloo smiled. “It’s not blackmail, exactly,” she said in a knowing tone. “Think of it more as gentle persuasion.”

Twilight sighed. She knew this was wrong, but Scootaloo was right. The filly was the best in ponyville at the moment, and she couldn’t wait for Rainbow Dash to finish her tour with the Wonderbolts. “Fine!” she groaned. “If—and only if—he says you can go, you can come.”

The orange pegasus beamed at her, and immediately began flying back towards her home. “Come on then!”

Oo-1-oO

Goldenrod lay on the corduroy love-seat, staring up at the clock. Given how persuasive Scootaloo can be, I’d say the two of them will be back any time now. To say he was surprised that they weren’t back yet was an understatement. She’d probably already cajoled Twilight with one of her ‘not blackmail’ schemes. Any second now...

Sure enough, the front door burst open, and Scootaloo was right in the doorway. The grin on her face told him that it was better if he didn’t resist. He waited until Twilight appeared behind her in the doorway before rolling his eyes. “There’s no way I’m getting out of this, is there?”

“The way I see it, I can run off with Twilight and you come chase me down to bring me home,” her voice was even, without the slightest implication of threat. “...or you can come voluntarily, just to make sure I stay out of trouble.”

Casting a glance from Scootaloo to Twilight, he put his head down and sighed. “Fine, go pack your saddlebags,” he said with a shake of his head. Once the adolescent pegasus was safely out of the room, he gave Twilight a wistful look. “She’s growing up fast. I feel sorry for whatever colt she chooses to be her special somepony.”

“So you knew she’d attempt to blackmail the both of us?” Twilight looked unimpressed. “Why do you let her get away with that?”

He shrugged, climbing off of the couch. With just a duck of his head, he pulled his saddlebags up from beside the comfortable piece of furniture. “She’s going to do it whether I say something or not,” he said, not particularly proud of himself. “I find that Scootaloo learns her lessons best through experience. Eventually, she’s going to learn that her ‘gentle persuasion’ can get her into trouble. When it does, I’ll be right there to make sure she understands. Her roguish charm is bound to run out eventually.”

Twilight watched him as he put his saddlebags onto his back, just behind his wings. “You know, you can still say no. Nopony would think less of you for it,” she said softly. Her ears had pricked up at the sound of a commotion upstairs. “As a member of the Order of the Eclipse, I could give her over to the first guard I see and have them bring her home.”

“You know as well as I do that she wouldn’t forgive us.” He smiled softly at her as he trotted towards the door. “It would be a betrayal in her eyes. With her friends all elsewhere, I’m all she has left. Besides, she trusts you. You don’t ever want to ruin somepony’s trust. It’s the quickest way to lose a friend.”

Both of them flinched as they heard someone in the chimney shout, “Forever!”

Goldenrod bolted towards the fireplace and stuck his head in to peer up the chimney. “Was that...?”

“Probably,” Twilight said flatly. “I still wonder if Pinkie isn’t part Draconequus. Her ability to appear in the most unusual places is completely unnatural.”

There was a ruckus as Scootaloo stormed down the stairs. “Okay guys, I’m ready to go, now we just—Goldenrod, are you trying to think like Chancellor Puddinghead?” She burst out laughing at the sight of him with his head stuck up into the chimney. “No, seriously! What did I miss?”

“Pinkie Pie, I think,” he replied, pulling his head from the fireplace. Covered in soot, he couldn’t help sneezing uncontrollably. “Let’s spend the night at Twilight’s. If we’re leaving first thing in the morning, it’s probably best if we’re all together.”

Oo-1-oO

By the time Twilight had finished explaining the mission to Goldenrod and Scootaloo, it was well into the night. While the younger pegasus was raring to go, the elder of the pair was no less convinced that coming along was the right thing to do. She didn’t blame him for changing his mind about wanting to come along now, either. Celestia told her three years ago that his body was created by Gaea, so if Gaea died, there was the possibility of him ceasing to exist. He was clever enough to realize this.

Now, Twilight could only bide time until the dawn. She was simply too contemplative to sleep here in her bed. Who is our ally in Appleloosa? Exactly what kind of dangers will we face out there? Is there anything I can do to better prepare for this adventure?

Stricken with an idea of what she could do, Twilight crawled out of bed and crept down to the library. Scootaloo was still out cold on a pile of pillows she’d scavenged from around the library, but Goldenrod was nowhere to be seen. She wondered where he’d gotten to, but she knew he was probably off in one of the privacy alcoves that dotted the main floor of the library.

Poking her head into one such alcove, she saw stacks upon stacks of books upon a table. “You couldn’t sleep either, could you?” a tired voice called out from behind the wall of books.

“Yeah,” she said. Levitating the stacks of books aside, she saw by the bags under his eyes that indicated he was as tired as she felt. He was simply sitting there—chin in hoof—poring over what looked to be a bestiary of some sort. “Doing a bit of light reading?”

“It’s more research. I want to be prepared for anything we might encounter,” he said, pushing the tome aside. A line of dried blonde fur on his arm indicated he’d fallen asleep at least once during his research. “There are some pretty nasty critters out there in the San Palomino. I don’t want to go out there unprepared. How about you?”

Twilight gave him a soft smile. “I was laying in bed thinking about this quest, and everything surrounding it. It was driving me quite mad, as the one night that I’d like to fall asleep early, I simply couldn’t. So I thought to myself, ‘What can I do to help our journey before we’ve even started?’” She turned her head back to the library proper before letting out a giggle. “That’s when I remembered a particular enchantment I came across years ago during my studies of spatial dynamics.

“I hadn’t thought much of it at the time. I couldn’t imagine having use for such a mundane enchantment as spatially compressed saddlebags. The only use I could even come up with was to make grocery shopping simpler.” Giggling, she trotted out of the alcove. As Goldenrod followed her out, she began rooting through the shelves for the tome she had in mind. “I realized that on a journey like this, the amount of supplies and rations we can carry is directly proportional to how much we can carry! The spell matrix involved is surprisingly simple, so it would be no issue at all to enchant all of our saddlebags in one night.”

Goldenrod let out a chuckle before dropping a tome in front of her. “Is Transcending the Boundaries: A Guide to Spatial Dynamics and their Applications in Magic the tome you were looking for?” As Twilight looked down at the book preparing to mouth the question how, he added, “It was under T. You live in a library. Why does this shock you?”

That comment caused the unicorn mare to flush with embarrassment. “Spike kind of does all of the organization and alphabetization of the books. There’s nothing wrong with my system, but other ponies don’t seem to get it all that well even though it simplifies everything!” she groaned, levitating the book over to a nearby table. “If you categorize everything before alphabetizing it—could you bring your saddlebags over here please?—finding what you’re looking for would be so much easier!”

Flipping open the tome, she quickly found the section she was looking for. Eyeing Goldenrod’s saddlebags as he placed it on the table in front of her, she lit her horn. Preparing the spell matrix was always the most complicated part of enchanting an object, but once that was in place, it was as simple as stitching the instructions for the spell into the matrix and placing it upon the item. In the case of this spell, the only instructions necessary involved converting the inside of the bag into its own localized space, and then expanding it. In addition to allowing an impossibly large quantity of items to be placed inside the bag, the weight of its contents was a mere fraction of what it could be. The only associated difficulty was the amount of energy it required.

With a pleased sigh, Twilight smiled at him. “Well, that was even easier than I thought.”

“I’m just surprised you decided to use your magic for something so mundane.” He laughed, poking his blonde maned head into the saddlebag. “Hey, pretty roomy in here, too. Who knew how fun a bag of holding could be! Just imagine how much extra loot we’ll be able to carry!”

The muffled echo of his voice, coupled with the image of a grown pegasus stallion with his head engulfed to the withers in a saddlebag, was nothing if not humorous, but she couldn’t ignore his turn of phrase. “Loot?” she asked, defensively. “We aren’t thieves! We’re just going to the temples to do what we must!”

“Twilight, you’re smarter than that,” he said sadly. “If we’re going to be travelling from place to place, we’re going to need to be able to pay for food and supplies. Do you really think the sigil of the Order of the Eclipse is going to get you freebies everywhere?” He withdrew his head from the saddlebag with a sterling silver pendant clutched in his teeth for emphasis. “We’ll be needing regular resupplies at the least. In some of the worse off scenarios, we’ll probably need medical care. Trinkets found in the temples will be worth something.”

“But-”

“I’m not saying to take everything that isn’t nailed down. We’re better than that.” He shook his head, glancing towards Scootaloo’s sleeping form. “I’m only saying we take what we can barter with. You know that’s what Daring Do would do. Celestia won’t look down on you for doing what needs to be done for the greater good.”

They both went quiet. She knew he was partially right. Celestia would condone the barter of acquired artifacts. She wouldn’t, however, approve of darker things that might need doing. Twilight wasn’t sure she’d be able to let somepony die to continue on her mission. She didn’t believe Goldenrod had it in him either. Eventually, she turned her attention back to enchanting, and Goldenrod finally nodded off to sleep in the middle of a guide to desert survival. There were still two sets of saddlebags to prepare for the journey, and probably more in the future.

After finishing up the last of the saddlebags, Twilight began to feel like she might be ready to sleep. Still, there were things that needed packing. With the new-found storage space, she could easily bring a fifth of the library with her. While she wouldn’t need nearly that many books, there were a large number she could take with her. At the top of her list were Supernaturals, Transcending the Boundaries, and the bestiary Goldenrod had been poring through. A Guide to Ancient Equestrian Runes quickly joined the books.

That was when Twilight spotted a blank tome that she’d purchased for note-taking on friendship. At the behest of Rarity, she decided that her letters to Celestia would suffice and simply let the tome gather dust. Now though, she had a real use for it. She didn’t doubt that it would be important to document their travels. All of her friends would love to hear about this if—when—they succeeded. This quest log would be just what she needed to keep track of these details.

With a smile, she levitated an inkwell and quill over to her. After much consideration, she scrawled The Gaean Crusade upon the cover. Opening to the first blank page, she began to jot down notes.

Quest Received: The Prime Elements - Seek out the Prime Elements of nature, and restore their link to Mother Gaea

Quest Received: The Earthen Four - Proceed to Appleloosa to meet the next member of the party

Scootaloo joined the party

Goldenrod joined the party

Artifacts created: Saddlebags of Holding x3

Chapter 2: Setting Out

Oo-Chapter 2: Setting Out-oO

“Are you sure Princess Celestia is really going to just give out a letter of pardon that gets me out of work for however long this is going to be?” Goldenrod asked impatiently as he trotted alongside Twilight. It took all of his effort to not fly off towards the flower stall and let the girls know that he wasn't going to be in Ponyville for a long time. “I really feel like I should say something to them.”

“There's no time, Goldenrod,” Twilight said. “We've got to get to the train station before 7:30 a.m. The first train out of the station leaves for Appleloosa at 7:45. Just don't worry about it. I had Spike send the request for a letter of pardon before we left. Given our mission, Princess Celestia has no reason not to do everything she can to help us.”

Scootaloo popped her head out of one of his saddlebags, startling both Goldenrod and Twilight. “She's right, bro. She knows what she's doing,” she said with a grin. Catching the startled expressions on her companions faces, she added, “What? It's roomy in here, and I wanted to see what it was like being Pinkie Pie.”

“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” Twilight said with a hint of amusement. “We haven't studied the effects of placing one enchanted saddlebag inside another.” She winked mischievously at Goldenrod. “You might bring about the end of the universe.”

He knew Scootaloo was fast, but the speed at which the adolescent pony flew out of the saddlebag was on par with the freaky speeds Pinkie could move at. Clearly the prospect of being blamed for the end of the universe scared her. It didn't seem to occur to her that if the universe ended, nopony would be able to blame her.

Onward they went, passing by familiar faces in the streets of Ponyville. It eerily felt as though every eye was on them. Goldenrod almost swore that he even caught sight of a few faces that usually weren't seen this early in the morning. A few of them were even waving hello―or was it goodbye?―as they passed.

Sure enough, Lyra and Bon-Bon were both sitting on a bench in front of the train-station, waving their hooves. Goldenrod had his occasional dealings with the aquamarine unicorn. As long as he was feeling charitable, he didn't mind indulging in her obsession with humans. Much to Bon-Bon's chagrin, the two got on well enough. Mostly, she hated hearing Lyra recount his rambling over the loss of his hands. Once she understood that Goldenrod would never be more than a friend, though, she tolerated him.

“Good morning Lyra, Bon-Bon,” Goldenrod nickered. “Are you two going on a romantic getaway?”

Bon-Bon began blushing furiously, while Lyra broke out into raucous laughter. “Nah! It's not a bad idea though,” Lyra said between laughs, giving her life-partner a knowing wink. Impossibly, Bon-Bon started turning even redder. “We just wanted to say goodbye.”

The three outbound adventurers exchanged confused glances. As far as any of them knew, neither Lyra or Bon-Bon possessed any form of precognition. How could anypony have known that they were leaving this morning? The only one who knew they were leaving at all was Spike...

They didn't have time to ask, however. Twilight glanced up at the clock mounted above the station's ticket booth, and dragged her companions forth. Goldenrod paid no attention to the exchange between their leader and the ticket-master. Instead he stifled a yawn and tried not to simply fall asleep right there before they even reached the train platform.

“C'mon bro, you can't sleep here!” Scootaloo kicked him gently in the side. “We're not even on the train yet!” Indolently, he followed close behind Twilight and Scootaloo as they stepped out onto the boarding platform.

Any fatigue he might have been fighting off was soon forgotten. A loud bang went off beside him, and the sudden impact of confetti and streamers nearly blasted him off his hooves. As he gazed around dazedly, he saw that the three of them weren't alone on the platform. Standing right beside him was Pinkie Pie with her party cannon, and while he couldn't hear her over the ringing in his ears, he knew she was probably apologizing. Behind her stood Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and―to his surprise―Spike.

As the ringing in his ears began to clear, he could hear Pinkie talking. “... and Spike said you all were going away on a mission from the Princess and that you'd probably be gone for a long time. So I figured you might want to say bye-bye!” Pinkie was having a motor-mouth moment, and as Goldenrod continued to listen, he knew he had to stop it.

“So, you four all camped out here all night, at the behest of the scaly sneak?” he interjected, laughing. Spike gave him an unimpressed scowl, but didn't reply. “Still, it's a shame Rainbow Dash is on tour with the Wonder Bolts. I know Scoot would have liked to see her one last time before we go.”

The orange pegasus looked a bit downtrodden as the realization struck her that nopony had specifically shown up to say goodbye to her. Applejack caught on quick enough, and offered words of reassurance. “Chin up, sugar-cube. Ah reckon y'all will be havin' plenty o' time to catch up with Apple Bloom in Appleloosa, if what Spike says was true.”

“She's quite right, darling.” Rarity added agreeably. “And of course if you ever stop in Canterlot, I know Sweetie Belle would be dying to get a visit from you. As much as she loves the music academy, I always hear from her how lonely it gets in the dorms.”

Goldenrod could only stand back and watch as everypony said their goodbyes. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see them. On the contrary, he saw most of them on a daily basis per his delivery job; they were all practically a regular fixture in his life. He was just tired of saying goodbye to those he cared for. To him, a goodbye had become the symbol of no return.

Instead he made his way over Spike, who’d also chosen to break off from the group. “Going behind our backs like that, you’re a sneaky bastard,” he said with a small chuckle. “Still, it’s a nice gesture. I can see how much it means to the both of them. When did you even find the time to see Pinkie?”

Spike crossed his arms and leaned gingerly against one of the roof supports for the platform. “It was in the middle of the evening when you all were discussing the mission and what it entailed―not that I was eavesdropping, of course,” he replied smartly. “I just happened to overhear that you guys would probably be gone for a long time before coming back home to Ponyville, and knew that Twilight would want one last chance to see them all before she left.”

This drew a smile from Goldenrod. “You really care for her, don’t you?”

His facial scales becoming a light shade of purple, Spike looked away. Inadvertently, he wound up looking straight at Twilight. Goldenrod followed the drake’s gaze, catching sight of Rarity bequeathing something to Twilight and Scootaloo. “Yeah,” the young dragon finally said. “She’s the only family I have. Since I can’t go with her, the least I can do is make sure she has a good send-off.”

Gazing at Scootaloo, the blonde pegasus nodded. “I know exactly what you mean.” Turning back to Spike, he added, “Don’t worry about her. Scootaloo and I will make sure nothing bad happens to her.”

“You better!” Spike said with an amused snort, before jogging off to join the others.

Oo-2-oO

Shutting her tome quietly, Twilight Sparkle frowned. She’d never much cared for travel by train, especially during the day-time. It was just one of those tedious things that she couldn’t just sleep away as easily as she could on the night-time rides. The vibrations traveling through the floor and seats of their private train-car made dozing off nearly impossible for her when she was so wide awake.

At least, that’s how it was for Twilight. Her two companions seemed to have no such issues with being able to sleep the whole ride. It was eerily like being around two of Rainbow Dash. It left her pondering whether or not all pegasi were like that. Alternatively, it might just have been a learned habit from having learned flying from Dash. It still unnerved her that anypony could sleep sprawled out on a bench instead of lying on a bed that was readily available.

Falling asleep well past midnight, none of them had received much rest. It didn’t help matters that they were all awake before the cock crowed, making last minute preparations. At least they looked like they were having a good sleep. She smiled slightly as she saw Goldenrod’s wing twitching against his side. He must be dreaming about flying.

She could barely contain her laughter when he began mumbling in his sleep. “No, keep it away from me...I don’t wanna eat the garlic and salami...” He continued with various unintelligible mutterings as he slept. It served as a reminder of the luxurious rail-car the Princess had reserved for them. The entire car was soundproofed to the clattering outside. His mumbling and Scootaloo’s soft snoring proved to be the only sounds at all.

Looking out the window at the passing landscape, Twilight guessed that they were about eighty percent of the way there. Much of the landscape remained the same, even five years down the line. At least this time she wouldn’t have to worry about a civil dispute between the buffalo and Appleloosa causing any trouble. Still, part of her hoped to catch sight of the buffalo tribe racing alongside the train once more.

The late afternoon sun proved to beautify the lands around them, in spite of their inhospitable nature. Twilight knew that they weren’t going to arrive in Appleloosa until just before nightfall, but at least they could get a decent night’s sleep at the inn once they arrived. It certainly wouldn’t do for them to have distorted circadian rhythms when out on their quest.

Pulling her attention away from the window, she began going through her saddlebags. Aside from her collection of books and her canteens, Twilight’s enchanted saddlebags had been mostly empty when they left the library. That had changed when her friends had started passing out gifts for their journey. She smiled at the gesture, seeing as their gifts would likely save on provisions they’d need to gather in Appleloosa.

Fluttershy had been most gracious in donating a first-aid kit. Twilight knew only too well that anything and everything was bound to happen, so the least they could do was be prepared for their injuries. Applejack and Pinkie had both given them a good share of foodstuffs. Finally, Rarity had provided not fashion items or umbrellas, but a jeweled necklace that had been enchanted with a water dowsing spell. Rarity claimed to have had it for a camping trip, but never ended up putting it to use. Regardless, being able to find safe water would be vital on their journey.

“Are we there yet?” Goldenrod moaned. “All this cushioning is doing nothing for the vibrations against my undercarriage.”

Twilight nearly knocked the tome she’d set aside off of the bench. She hadn’t expected him to wake up so suddenly. “Just a few more hours.”

“Damn...” he muttered. “Can you toss me one of Applejack’s apples? I think I slept through the food trolley’s last visit.”

It was a reasonable reaction, she supposed. None of them had eaten more than a light breakfast before they left, and he had slept through most of the ride. Levitating an apple from her saddlebag, Twilight said, “I honestly don’t know how you can sleep so much. You’ll be up all night.”

Not waiting for Twilight to give him the apple, Goldenrod flew across the car and snatched up the apple from her telekinetic grasp before returning to his bench. “Speak for yourself. I was moving a lot of product yesterday. You try flying a quarter tonne of flowers halfway across Ponyville in the sweltering heat.” He smiled before taking a voracious bite out of his apple. “Besides, Rainbow Dash always said a pegasus has to be prepared for anything. A big part of being prepared is being well rested.”

Typical of Rainbow Dash, she thought. Only she could pass on a bad habit and justify it like that. It did make sense in that loose Rainbow Dash rationale. Then again, Twilight had never had wings. For all she knew, power-napping was important to keeping a pegasus in tip-top performance. Note to self, when this is all done with, study pegasus sleeping habits.

“A power nap is one thing, Goldenrod, but you’ve been asleep for probably nine hours,” she said, half incredulous. “How will you fall asleep tonight?”

A thoughtful look crossed his face. “Probably in a cloud,” he offered sheepishly. With surprising gusto, he finished his apple, core and all. “I was thinking I’d fly patrol around Appleloosa until I drop.”

Yeah... Definitely pushing her bad habits on others. Twilight rolled her eyes, and then looked down. “Listen...I wanted to talk about Gaea.”

From the opposite side of the car, she could hear him sigh. “There’s not much I can really offer,” Goldenrod replied, flying back across the car to come to rest beside her. “I only ever met her the one time, and it couldn’t have been for more than ten minutes.”

Twilight collected her thoughts, thinking back to what Princess Celestia told her three years ago. ‘The mother of all Alicorns is an ancient by the name of Gaea. She is the embodiment of the world, and the Matron Alicorn to life itself.’ The Princess went on to tell her everything about Gaea, except for what she was like. “What was Gaea like?” she finally asked.

“It’s hard to explain.” he said with a sad smile. “She had a youthful vibrancy about her, but at the same time she felt... ancient. There was this haunted nature about her.”

“Haunted?” Scootaloo asked, meekly breaking into the conversation.

Goldenrod gave a soft nod. “I think it’s a result of predating all other Alicorns,” he whispered. “All the life she’s seen come and go. Imagine how many loved ones she’s outlived.

“In spite of it all, she still had this warm motherly nature about her.” He all but laughed. “I could have become like Celestia and the others when she offered me another chance at life. I wanted nothing of the sort. While she was clearly hurt by not getting to add to the ranks of her children, she seemed...proud.”

“You turned down becoming an Alicorn?” Twilight and Scootaloo shouted in unison. He’d never spoken once about how he’d come back to life as a pegasus on that fateful day. Twilight wanted to be surprised that he’d decided to tell them now, but she was pretty sure she knew why. “What for!?”

“I was selfish,” he said, disinterested. “Mother Gaea came to me, making her offer as a reward for my part in that whole mess with Morrigan and Discord, and there may have been something about noble sacrifice and Equestria needing a strong male figure. I can’t remember it all that well.” He looked over at Scootaloo with pride. “I told her I didn’t need any of that. Equestria didn’t need me more than you, Scoot.”

Twilight gaped at the former human beside her. He’d turned down becoming an all-powerful, mighty figurehead, simply to take care of a filly he bore no familial obligation to. At the same time, she began to question how Gaea chose prospective Alicorns. Was it their noble deeds alone? Was there a character aspect as well? Did that mean the more noteworthy ponies throughout Equestrian history―say, Starswirl the Bearded―had been offered a step into godhood?

“Bro?” Scootaloo said worriedly, noting Twilight’s eyes crossing.. “I think you broke her!”

Oo-2-oO

By the time the train pulled into Appleloosa station, Goldenrod was absolutely elated to be able to stretch his wings and feel the breeze in his mane once more. Say what they might about earth pony engineering, Goldenrod could appreciate that a pegasus was meant to fly. Even in a spacious luxury car, spending most of the day on a train left him feeling very claustrophobic.

Glancing at Scootaloo as they departed the train, he could tell by her ruffled wing feathers that she was just as bothered by their locomotive imprisonment. “C’mon, let’s check out the town,” he said, nudging her with an elbow. “I’m sure Twilight will be fine by herself for just a few minutes.”

For the slightest moment, the adolescent pegasus looked like she might object. That objection died at her lips when she saw him spread his wings, readying himself for takeoff. She grinned, her eyes gleaming in the afternoon sunlight like two purple garnets. Gesturing at a moderately sized cumulus cloud high up above the town, she said, “Race you to that cloud up there!”

“You’re on!” he grunted.

Right then and there, taking off from the train platform never felt so good. It didn’t matter that Scootaloo was faster and had taken a head start, or that Twilight was below them on the platform shouting up at them in frustration. Not even their mission from Celestia could keep them from stretching their wings at that moment.

Scootaloo quickly raced ahead, but to his surprise she shot straight past the designated finish line. Putting on his own burst of speed, he closed in on the cumulus. For once, he thought he just might beat her in a race. Then he saw Scootaloo had looped up and around. She had retracted her wings, and took a corkscrew dive into the cloud like a bullet. At the last possible second, she pulled out of her dive, righting herself and extending her wings to slow her fall. She grinned at him as she touched down on the cloud.

“Show-off.”

“You’re just jealous Rainbow Dash’s awesome didn’t rub off on you.” She stuck her tongue out at him before softening her expression into a wistful look. “Did I ever miss doing that. Scouting doesn’t make many opportunities for stunt-flying.”

“I’d hope not,” he replied dryly, settling down beside her on the cloud. “Unless you’re suddenly in a dogfight, there’s no real need of it.” Inching himself over to the edge of their cloudy platform to peer out at the town below. “Not a bad little town, but too Spaghetti Western for my tastes.”

Scootaloo looked at him, confused. “What? Appleloosa is south of Ponyville, not west!”

“Never mind.” He stared at the train platform. Twilight was still standing there, but she wasn’t alone. A golden-yellow earth stallion, clad in a vest and a cowpony hat not unlike Applejack’s, was talking to her very animatedly. “Looks like the final member of the party has shown.”

Rolling off of the cloud, Goldenrod glided silently down to join Twilight and their new party member. As he came to rest beside his leader, he was floored looking at the stallion before him. He’d thought there was something familiar about the buck simply looking at him from above, but now he knew where he’d seen him before. This was the cousin of Applejack who’d been attending the ceremony in Canterlot three years back. He blushed, recalling Applejack calling him out on checking her cousin out.

“Hey there pardner, welcome ta A-a-a-appleloosa!” The buck was very enthusiastic, and it showed. He was vigorously shaking Goldenrod’s hoof. When he caught sight of the stunned expression on Goldenrod’s face, the earth pony smiled politely. “The name’s Braeburn, and I know who you are, yes sir. You were at that big commemoration up Canterlot ways with cousin Applejack, Twilight and the others! Goldilocks, wasn’t it?”

“I, um...” he stuttered. “Goldenrod―”

“Goldenrod, that’s it!” Braeburn’s green eyes gleamed in recognition. “It’ll be a pleasure working with you. Apple family always says any friend of family is good folks, and Apple Bloom speaks highly enough of you. I’m sure we’ll get along fine. A shame I can’t give you the grand tour though. Apple Bloom’s always saying I scare off the new folk with my vigor.”

It was roughly then that Scootaloo joined them, landing daintily on Goldenrod’s back. “Can we go see her?” she exclaimed. “I haven’t seen her in such a long time!”

“And you must be―”

“Scootaloo, yes.” Twilight interjected. “Sorry Scootaloo, but we really should get going. There are still provisions we have to pick up, and then we need to get out west to the desert. Princess Celestia was quite urgent in her letter”

“T’aint so, Twilight.” Braeburn replied patiently. He adjusted the brim of his hat to better block out the sun, allowing a few amber-gold tresses fall free. “By the time we’re all loaded up to go, the sun will have set. We can’t go traipsing through Buffalo territory past sunset. Even with the agreement regarding the Apple family orchard five years ago, they’re still particular about their land and privacy. We can go at first light.”

Twilight looked like she was about to protest, but logic and Scootaloo’s puppy-dog eyes won out. “Fine.”

Oo-2-oO

After a trip to the livery, Braeburn was very insistent that they all stay the night at the Appleloosa Orchard. As he put it, “No team-mates of mine are going ta spend a night at an inn when I have a few beds available in the workers quarters here on the farm.” Scootaloo was quick to accept for the group. Twilight couldn’t bring herself to object, realizing that a bit saved today is a bit to spend another day.

As they approached, Goldenrod soaked in the sights of the orchard. It was all he could do to stop gawking at Braeburn. While the Appleloosa Orchard was only a third the size of Sweet Apple Acres it was still a sight to behold, even in the dim evening light. It was a thriving patch of life in an inhospitable environment. For him, it was beautiful.

“The workers quarters can be found just behind the barn.” Braeburn explained, leading them towards a large barn at one end of the orchard. “Tain’t anything fancy, but we ensure the farm-hands are well cared for. Y’all can have room three. You won’t have any roommates, but it’s fully furnished, and if y’all get lonely, you’ve got Apple Bloom in the barn.”

A small explosion and crash inside the barn punctuated Braeburn’s sentence. “Dang it!” a familiar voice cried out inside the barn. “I just fixed that!”

“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo shouted, before flying through the open hayloft door above. “Are you alright?”

Twilight and Goldenrod exchanged worried glances before trotting towards the barn door. Instead of seeming concerned, Braeburn sighed and shook his head before joining them. As the trio entered the barn, they saw a familiar pale grayish-olive young mare in a welding face-shield parading about with a fire extinguisher, dousing flames around a spherical metallic object, while Scootaloo dropped a blanket from the hayloft down on a large patch of flames and began stomping it.

Once the flames were out, the young mare flipped off her face-shield. As she wiped some sweat from her brow, she gave a pouting glance at the metal sphere. “Scootaloo! Goldenrod! Twilight! It’s so good ta see y’all,” she said, taking stock of her visitors. “What brings y’all ta Appleloosa?”

“Princess Celestia actually sent us on a very important quest,” Twilight explained. “We can’t tell you too much about it, but we’ll be borrowing Braeburn for an extended period of time.”

Apple Bloom seemed to ponder this for a moment. “Oh, right! Y’all are going out San Palomino way’s, ain’t ya? Braeburn mentioned something about that.” She dashed over to a workbench off in the corner. Sitting on the workbench were four pairs of goggles. “When Ah heard that he was goin’ out that way with three others, Ah reckoned he’d probably need somethin’ ta keep the sand out of his eyes.

“So Ah took some spare pairs of weldin’ goggles I keep about the workshop, swapped out the regular lenses for some real low grade filter lenses, an’ worked in a little somethin’ special,” she babbled. Slapping a pair of the goggles onto her face, she used a hoof to depress a small button on the right side of the goggles. The eye-shields emitted a low whine, and then the lenses emitted two bright beams of light. “Ya never know when you might need to see in the dark, an’ I’m sure it’ll be of use ta yas.”

“That’s incredible Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo squealed. “Where did you find the time to learn all this?”

“This is really impressive Apple Bloom,” Twilight agreed. “Many experienced ponies twice your age would struggle to produce such fine craftsmanship. Did you do all this just today?”

The Apple mare blushed, turning the goggles off and returning them to the workbench. She ran a hoof through her amaranth mane, tied back into a ponytail. “Shucks, tain’t nothin’!” She turned away. “Ah cain’t rightly say Ah hadn’t toyed with the idea before today. Things’re much easier to make when ya’ve done it once anyhow. Hardest part was interfacin’ the Manacite cores with the circuitry.” She pulled open a drawer on the work bench and removed a glowing crystal shard. “Once Ah figured out the proper way ta regulate the power flow, things were easy as cupcakes.”

While Twilight and Scootaloo seemed fascinated with Apple Bloom’s work, all of this magic engineering babble was starting to make Goldenrod’s brain ache. He caught an apologetic smile from Braeburn, and quickly returned it. Clearly Apple Bloom had taken a liking to this branch of ‘inventing’.

“Now if only I could get the power ta properly interface with the hover talisman. Ah might need an array of cores, though, an’ that’s somethin’ Ah just don’t have!” Apple Bloom continued rambling. “But if Ah did, Ah could finish my hover pod prototype. Then earth ponies could haul twice as much and not have ta worry about breaking an axle on a wagon! It could revolutionize Equestria―”

Goldenrod backed away from the mare trio. Twilight had just asked how Apple Bloom came by the Manacite shards and how she’d learned so much about the arcane power source, and Apple Bloom was going on about Buffalo lands or some such. It made no sense to him. He turned to Braeburn, “Think you could show me to our quarters? I thought she was bad when she started messing with alchemy.”

“Thought you’d never ask, pardner.” Braeburn laughed. “Right this way.”

Not quite the reaction Goldenrod had expected. His face went bright scarlet. No, I don’t think he meant it that way. I mean, we just met! There’s no way he’s a shameless flirt! “Thanks...”

Luckily for the blonde pegasus, the new teammate showed him to his quarters without a fuss and that was that. There was not the slightest sign of awkwardness or embarrassment on Braeburn’s part, but there wasn’t any particular sign of disinterest, either. All Goldenrod wanted to do at that point was lay down and let the science bleed out of his brain.

About an hour or two later, he was joined by Twilight and Scootaloo. The younger pegasus seemed particularly pleased with having seen her friend, and why not? Apple Bloom had been out here for a long time now. It warmed his heart to see Scootaloo nod off with a smile on her face.

Twilight, on the other hoof, was fussing about with everypony’s saddlebags. She was adding and removing items seemingly at random to optimize their supplies and add in their new equipment. Finally, she settled on her bed with a tome. To his surprise she began to scrawl out a familiar design on the cover. He’d seen that same design on the medallion sitting in his own saddlebags. She was writing by the time he finally dozed off.

Quest Updated: The Earthen Four - Seek out the Earth Temple in the San Palomino Desert

Quest Added: Arcane Power Sources - Apple Bloom has asked we keep an eye out for Manacite, and drop off any shards we collect the next time we see her.

Braeburn joined the party

Equipment acquired: Food & water provisions, First aid supplies, Desert Goggles x4

Artifact acquired: Dowsing Necklace

Codex updated: Manacite - Formed from the leftover energies used in the creation of Equestria, Manacite is a quartz-like crystallization of pure magic. Though shards of Manacite are uncommon in large quantities, as more plentiful veins of the crystal are discovered, more and more Equestrian technologies incorporate this magical crystal as a power source over the less dependable magically charged gemstones Equestrians once relied on. Arcane devices operating on a Manacite core have been noted to outlast their owner’s lifespan. Devices found in ancient ruins have been noted to crudely use Manacite core as a light source, leading historians to argue that at some point the knowledge was lost and only recently rediscovered.

Chapter 3: The Burial Ground of the Buffalo Tribe

Oo-Chapter 3: The Burial Ground of the Buffalo Tribe-oO

A vicious shaking and a choked scream jarred Twilight Sparkle out of her slumber. As she forced open her eyelids, her first impression was that somepony was shaking her awake because of something that had happened in one of the other quarters, but her clearing vision revealed to her that nopony was near her. Sitting up, she tried to clear the sleep from her mind and avoid slipping into a panic.

The lights were out in the chamber, and with what little moonlight filtered through the window, she could only tell that her companions were awake and fluttering above their beds. It wasn't Twilight or her bed that was being shaken, but the entire room. The pane of glass in the window rattled along with everything else, threatening to shatter at the slightest provocation.

“Is it a stampede?” Scootaloo cried out, failing to keep up her usual plucky demeanor.

Twilight lit her horn so that the others could see her. “I don't think so,” she replied with a shake of her head. “The buffalo should still be camped for the night.”

“It's probably an earthquake,” Goldenrod replied flatly. In the lavender glow of her light cantrip, she could see there was concern on his face, but not one ounce of surprise.

“That doesn't make any sense though!” Twilight replied. “There hasn't been any recorded seismic activity on this side of the Macintosh Hills for almost six hundred years! How can you remain so calm about this?”

“I'm anything but calm. Where I lived, I never once experienced an earthquake. If anything, I'm terrified, but I don't really have time to be scared.” He let out an anxious snort. “Besides, an ancient relic tying the Earth Element to the embodiment of Equestria was unseated. A mere day later, an area not known for earthquakes experiences its first in almost six hundred years. Tell me you don't find that the least bit curious.”

“If this area is experiencing earthquakes, what about the others?” Scootaloo asked. “Somewhere in Equestria, there's probably a lot of fire, and elsewhere, a lot of water.”

The lavender unicorn couldn't help but feel that they were right. It was more than just coincidence. “If your assumption is correct, then that means without Gaea controlling the Fire, Earth Water, and Wind elements, Equestria is only going to get more and more unstable.” The earthquake subsided, punctuating her postulation. “The longer this quest takes, the bigger the risk to Equestria as a whole.”

“So I reckon y'all want to hit the trails early then?” Braeburn's voice came from the doorway. Looking over at him, Twilight saw that he already had on his hat, vest and saddlebags. Misinterpreting her appraising look, he continued speaking, “Sorry! Didn't mean ta surprise you any. I was just doing some last minute preparations before we left when that horrible tremor struck. I came running as soon as I heard the scream.”

Goldenrod landed in front of his bed and donned his saddlebags, and Scootaloo quickly followed suit. “He's right,” the blonde pegasus stated almost eagerly. “It's almost dawn, and the more ground we can cover in the desert during the day, the better. Our biggest nocturnal threats are the Palomino Puma and the giant antlions native to the area.”

The young pegasus mare dashed out the door, nearly bowling Braeburn over. “C’mon everypony! Let’s get going then!”

Goldenrod glanced over at Twilight, and she sighed. “Fine.”

“Not just yet,” Braeburn said. “First thing’s first! We need ta get some breakfast in us. It’s going ta be a long day and we’ll need ta be well fed. Besides, I still want ta wish Ma and Pa farewell before we go.”

Oo-3-oO

An hour and a stack of apple pancakes later, the group was marching west through the plains outside Appleloosa’s limits. Considering the circumstances, all of them were about as rested as they could be, and a full stomach went a long way to helping them feel ready. In truth, the four were terribly anxious for what lay ahead. They’d barely begun their journey and the earthquake was nothing if not ominous.

The events of their awakening did not deter them from moving on though. If anything, their anxiety only spurred them forward. Even as they trotted across the mostly barren landscape in the morning twilight, they could feel their resolve solidifying. Their mission was too important for them to be plagued by doubts.

As Celestia’s sun crested the horizon at their backs, Twilight Sparkle took stock of her surroundings. Immediately, she noticed that the elongated shadows provided a lot of cover for anybody that did not wish to be seen. Braeburn seemed to have realized the same thing and moved in front of Twilight. The next thing that struck her was how deathly silent it was, there wasn’t a single cricket chirping.

Glancing up at Braeburn, she asked, “Is it always like this out here?”

“Not usually,” he admitted. “Then again, I’ve never been out about the edge of buffalo territory during the twilight hours or the night. We’re probably being watched this very moment.”

“Nothing happens on their land without them knowing about it?” Goldenrod offered, fluttering above them. “I’ll go ahead and check with Scootaloo. She should have checked in by now, but if anything hokey is going on, she’ll have spotted it.”

“Alright,” Twilight replied with a soft smile, watching the pegasus fly off into the dim skies ahead. His adopted sister had been flying point for at least half an hour, scouting out the route ahead for danger. For the first fifteen minutes, they’d been able to make out the beams of light from her goggles thin mist rising off the nearby river, but as the first vestiges of sunlight peeked over the horizon, the orange pegasus had exited their sight.

“I sure hope that young one’s alright,” Braeburn said with a smile. “She seems like a brave enough gal, but she seems a mite brash. If she meets up with the buffalo and says the wrong thing, they’re likely to refuse us passage through their lands.”

Twilight nodded somberly. It certainly wasn’t the sort of incident they could afford on a mission this grave. At best, they’d refuse the four passage. Worse off, the buffalo might actively impede them. She couldn’t even come to think about the absolute worst case scenario. She had to remember that Scootaloo wasn’t by any means a stupid pony. “If she does get caught, I think she has enough sense to not put her hoof in all of our mouths. Besides, she has Goldenrod to keep her out of trouble.” If he can keep himself out of it, that is, she thought to herself.

“I sure as rain hope so. He seems a tad skittish ta me.” The apple stallion sighed, tilting the brim of his had back. “I just hope I didn’t say something ta make him uneasy.”

Fighting back a giggle, Twilight turned her attention from her companion back to the skies ahead. It wasn’t her place to play matchmaker, a lesson she’d absorbed from one Hearts and Hooves Day gone awry thanks to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Even if it would alleviate some of the awkward tension between Goldenrod and their new companion, if Braeburn couldn’t pick up that the pegasus was attracted to him, she couldn’t push the issue.

Either way, she didn’t get much opportunity to mull over the thought. Up ahead, Goldenrod and Scootaloo were flying back toward them at a decent clip. Despite the distance, the panic on their faces was as clear as the light of the dawning day. The pair drew nearer and nearer, until suddenly a rough net shot out from behind a boulder. Scootaloo was agile enough to avoid being ensnared.

Her brother wasn’t as lucky. His forward momentum was too great for a pony of his build to change course in time, leading him straight into the path of the thrown net. That same forward momentum quickly became centrifugal force as he strained against the anchor point of the net. Without any semblance of grace, he arced into the ground with a jarring thump!

In spite of Scootaloo’s cries to regroup, and that it was a trap, Twilight and Braeburn rushed to the aid of their fallen ally. As they drew closer, however, a single buffalo stepped out from behind a large boulder and rushed to the side of the fallen pegasus. The look on her face was distraught, and she seemed to be attempting to free him from the net.

Twilight and Braeburn trotted up to the buffalo and their friend—Scootaloo quickly landed beside them, scowling at the buffalo—just in time to hear the buffalo speaking to Goldenrod. “Please accept my apologies for the fall,” the buffalo pleaded in a very clearly female voice. “I only hoped to catch you, not injure you!”

“I—but if you affix a hover pod to the shed, how will you keep it from blowing away?” the dazed pegasus muttered. “I can’t even divide the lettuce into cheese!”

Now that they were close enough to see their apologetic assailant, Twilight could see by the light of the rising sun that the buffalo was a bit larger than Braeburn, and very familiar. Her orange-brown coat and dark amber mane were a big enough giveaway, but the white and purple patterned headband bearing two gryphon feathers sealed it. Standing before her was a Not-so-little Strongheart.

“Don’t worry about him, Little Strongheart.” Twilight said diplomatically. “He’s been through worse, and I have it on good authority that pegasi are incredibly durable.”

The buffalo didn’t look up immediately. “Please, it is just Strongheart now. Buffalo cast off their diminutive titles once they come of age. If my tribe heard you, I would surely be ridiculed,” she replied. She watched anxiously as the fallen Goldenrod shook himself and struggled to his hooves. Contented that he was relatively unharmed, Strongheart turned her attention to his companions. “Braeburn, it has been many seasons since we last met. Many more to you, as well Twilight Sparkle. I hope the winds bring with you good tidings.”

“I wish they did,” Braeburn replied, smiling at his old friend. “Why were y’all chasing my friends here?” He motioned to Goldenrod and Scootaloo with a hoof. “Did they cross too far inta buffalo territory?”

“Yes,” Strongheart replied. “The orange one flew right over the tribe’s camp in the middle of a funerary rite, startling many of the tribe’s elders, and continued in the direction of our most sacred burial grounds. The interim Chief insisted I be the one to bring her, and any that were with her back to the camp. It is certain that Chief Thunderhooves would have wanted peaceful dealings with intruders, and interim Chief Blackhide is very insistent on following Thunderhooves’ path.”

To Scootaloo’s credit, she looked every bit as guilty as a pony who had accidentally interrupted a funeral should. Her ears drooped low, and she lowered her eyes to the ground. “I’m so sorry, Strongheart.” Scootaloo’s voice was so soft that it was almost unheard. “If I’d known I—”

“But you couldn’t have, young pegasus.” The buffalo’s tone was soft, sad, and bearing no hint of anger. She turned to the others. “Please, come with me to the camp, so that you may discuss your intrusion with the interim Chief.” Locking eyes with Braeburn, Strongheart gave him a sad smile. “I am certain having known Thunderhooves, you would be welcome to pay your respects.”

Braeburn lowered his hat from his head, and held it to his chest. Returning her sad smile, he replied. “It would be our honor, Strongheart.”

Oo-3-oO

As Twilight Sparkle and her companions were lead into the buffalo camp, she could feel a strange atmosphere about the place. It wasn’t just the sombre demeanor of the tribe as a whole; the air was tinged with something else entirely—fear and suspicion. Making their way around a large interlaced wood stack at the center of the camp, she caught more than a few restless glances from the youngest buffalo gathered around the pyre.

Once they were passed the mourning mass, Strongheart lead them into the largest tent erected nearest the pyre. Inside, they were greeted by an unusual sight. A large white buffalo turned to greet them, turning her piercing blue eyes across each of the group. “Strongheart, are these the guests?” the buffalo said in a gravelly voice. With a sad smile, she added, “Come closer, young ponies, so I might better see you. This one promises she shall not bite.”

“Chief Blackhide, these are Twilight Sparkle and Braeburn. Do you remember them? They helped our tribe settle the stampeding ground dispute with the Appleloosans four years ago.” Strongheart replied in a tone that spoke nothing but the utmost respect. “With them are their traveling companions, Goldenrod and Scootaloo.

“Friends, this is Blackhide, our shaman, interim chieftain, and first wife of Chief Thunderhooves.”

“It is an honor to be in your presence.” Twilight replied, bowing before the great white buffalo. Quickly, Braeburn, Scootaloo and Goldenrod followed suit and prostrated themselves before Blackhide.

Blackhide eyed the ponies curiously, her unfocused gaze flitting between the pegasi and the two earthbound ponies. Sighing, the buffalo wet her lips before speaking. “What brings young ponies into this tribe’s territory on this solemn day?” There was a glint of recognition in her eye. “Are you the ones following the star?”

“Yes, Chief Blackhide,” Braeburn replied, after an approving nod from Twilight. “We were asked by the Princesses to...”

“It is alright young one. This one has foreseen your coming. You may of course travel across this tribe’s lands,” wheezed the elder buffalo. “Before you go, however, this one has a tale that may serve you as both use and warning. Your hurry does not go unnoticed, and of course the tale is optional.”

“We’ll listen, honored one!” Goldenrod quickly exclaimed. He glanced at his companions and noted their wary stares. Lowering his voice, he whispered, “Don’t look at me like that. The first rule of adventuring is never scoff at information. Daring Do would do no such thing, and neither shall we.”

“You know that there’s fiction you’re referring ta, right pardner?” Braeburn nickered in response. “Daring never did ‘cause Daring never was!”

“It doesn’t make the point any less valid,” Twilight whispered approvingly. “I agree; any information we can get isn’t without its merits. Your thoughts Scootaloo?”

“We listen,” she said with a nod. “If not because she wishes to share with us, at least because Goldenrod thought to mention Daring.”

The elder turned towards Strongheart. “Thank you for being patient, young one. You will make for a fine chief one day. Go and tell the others to continue the funerary service. When the phoenix-fire burns down, we depart for the tribe’s burial grounds. Tell them that in addition to the bearers of Thunderhooves’ remains and the stones for his cairn, we will need two volunteers to bring our guests with us. They will be accompanying us.”

For a long minute, Strongheart did not move. The very idea of outsiders entering their most sacred of grounds did not sit well with her, but didn’t seem to compare with disobeying both the acting village chief in addition to their spiritual leader. Nodding gently, Strongheart backed out of the tent. “It will be done.”

Twilight looked anxiously at the others. They could afford so many diversions in a single day. The others seemed to be thinking the same thing. Goldenrod in particular seemed to be about ready to say something in objection, but his objecting frown was quickly replaced by a knowing smile, as though he’d recalled a critical piece of information.

The lavender unicorn was about to ask him to stop smiling like that and tell them what he was thinking when something Strongheart had mentioned crossed her mind. “Scootaloo flew over the camp, and was flying straight for the...of course!” She smiled at Scootaloo. “If it is not too much trouble, Chief Blackhide, we’re ready to hear your tale.”

“Of course young one.” Blackhide let out a gentle chuckle. “This one would not presume to idle. Many sleeps ago, a mighty buffalo warrior went west into the desert to commune with the spirits of old, as has been tradition for many a millennium. He sought to meditate beneath the laughing mountain. For many days and nights without water, he waited, hoping for some guidance from the spirits.

“No spirits came to him in his meditations this lunar cycle. Instead, he witnessed a single star descend from the heavens and land in the desert before him at the base of the laughing mountain. From that crater, a massive armored serpent rose. The serpent did not see him, so much as feel him on the sands; it struck out at him with its barbed tail, and scrambled into a cave at the base of the mountain.

“The warrior could feel terrible venom coursing through his veins, yet still he carried on. Stampeding all the way across the barren sands, he made his way to the edge of the desert before collapsing upon the outskirts of this very camp. He died but just one night prior, but not without naming a temporary successor and regaling her with his tale in his dying breaths.”

“That was Chief Thunderhooves, wasn’t it?” Braeburn said softly, once Blackhide had made no further motion to speak. “He was a good, strong leader.”

“Yes,” Blackhide replied. “That one was the best this tribe has had for many ages.”

Oo-3-oO

Goldenrod—flying high above the buffalo funerary stampede—couldn’t help but wonder just how many have died in the other areas. Had others inadvertently ended up around those temples that night? Worse off, had anypony settled near one of the temples? It wasn’t something he wanted to imagine, but he couldn’t help it.

Seemingly picking up on her brother’s dismal mood, Scootaloo drifted over to fly by his side. “What’s up?” she poked his side with a hoof. “I can feel your gloom halfway across the sky!”

With a sigh, Goldenrod eyed her carefully. “It’s this whole thing. With the stars, the unseating of Gaea’s artifacts, and now Thunderhooves, I can’t help but feel the situation is escalating into something terrible.” He gave her a serious look. “It’s like... we’re coming up on a river, and our only options are to ford and get swept away in the currents, or stay where we are and die of dysentery. Either way, a lot of ponies are going to die, and I can’t help but be bothered by the ones we can’t save.”

The fuchsia-maned pegasus shook her head at her brother. He’d shown the same regrets over what had happened in the human world months after their return, and it had taken many more for him to accept that some things were simply beyond his control. “C’mon. You know you can’t save everypony!” she replied sadly. “Nopony can... All we can do is make sure that we help those we can. Remember what you told me when you finally got over what happened with Morrigan?”

“I said ‘I’m not fated to save everyone. I’m no hero; I’m just the guy who helps clean up the aftermath.’” he groused. “I know! I’m just tired of all the needless death!”

“So don’t think of yourself as helping save Equestria.” Scootaloo replied with a smirk. “Think of yourself as cleaning up the mess beforehoof. Besides,” she continued, pointing a hoof down at the ground. “I think we’re here.”

Following her extended forelimb, he stared down at the ground through his flight goggles. Below them was an intricate pattern of stone lines and stone mounds. It reminded him vaguely of something akin to a pentacle. His first thought was of an aerial shot of a burial ground he’d seen in a film so long ago. At the very edge of the burial ground, the land dropped off into dunes of sand.

Goldenrod glided down to join the funeral procession on the outermost ring of stone mounds. As he flew down, he could see the bright shimmer of familiar crystals about the the stone piles in the morning sun. Ten buffalo were unloading stones from crude saddlebags as he landed beside Twilight and Braeburn, while six others began digging a pit along an empty arc of the furthest ring.

“I hadn’t realized that the cairn Chief Blackhide mentioned was to be a grave marker,” he said softly. “In hindsight, it all makes sense.”

Twilight looked at him quizzically, but didn’t make to speak. Instead, it was Braeburn that asked, “What do you mean?”

“Last night, Apple Bloom was going on about that Manacite stuff, mentioning the buffalo lands when asked about how she’d gotten a hold of some samples,” he replied solemnly. “When I’d flown down, I saw many of these cairns were adorned with large Manacite crystals. Think, why have the buffalo been so territorial and untrusting of ponies?”

The stark realization hit Twilight and Braeburn simultaneously. “The Manacite that Apple Bloom purchased came from grave robbers!” they said in unison. “But why would they bring four ponies to their graveyard then?”

Goldenrod didn’t answer them. Instead, he turned his back on his companions and trotted up to Strongheart and Chief Blackhide. Stopping a full body length before them, he bowed his head. “Chief Blackhide, I think I understand now just how difficult it is for your tribe merely having us here,” he said softly. “After what our kind has done to yours, you have every right to be suspicious of us. While I cannot make up for every wrong against your tribe, I must at least offer my services. If you would allow it, I would like to aid in the construction of Chief Thunderhooves’ cairn.”

To his surprise, Braeburn, Scootaloo, and Twilight had joined him in front of the buffalo leader. They each gave an approving nod, before offering their own services. They might have had a mission of monumental importance, but it wouldn’t matter if they trampled over those caught up in the whole affair. I can’t save everybody, but if I respect their sacrifices and give it my all, their deaths won’t be in vain.

Quest Updated: The Earthen Four - The party has reached the edge of the San Palomino Desert

Note Added: Chief Blackhide told of a ‘Laughing Mountain’, which is our best bet for finding the Temple

Note Added: A great armored serpent from the stars has entered the cave beneath the laughing mountain

Strongheart has joined the party

Strongheart has left the party

Reputation with the Buffalo has increased - Accepted