Author's Note

This chapter has yet to be edited and brought in line with my current writing style. I hope it won't irritate you too much.

Chapter 7 - Turn for the Better

Forbidden Jungle, nighttime.

Sapphira was sleeping beside Ray in the hideout which she found earlier, it was situated under one of the giant trees. The amount of things she had to take care of had made her tired physically and mentally. After finding the hideout she had to drag Ray all the way there. It posed a problem as his body could not be pulled by magic power, forcing her to improvise. Inside the hideout, she had to make something passable as bedding, using big leaves, and then retrieve their supplies.

Sapphira had also spent quite some time to find her sword in the overbrush it flew into and to pull the spear out from the manticore’s chest. She was surprised by the amount of force required to do that, but her magic pulled it off after some failed efforts. When she was finished, she decided to cut off the stinger from the manticore’s tail, she thought it will be a worthy trophy for Ray that could gain him some respect in certain circles, and, naturally, it was her small revenge on the manticore.

Contented with her deed, Sapphira returned to their hideout and checked Ray’s condition. After making sure he was not getting worse, she looked at his clothes. The t-shirt was done for, being torn almost in half, so she tore away the cleaner half, used some water to moisten it and clean Ray’s body from all the blood, at least from most of it. After thinking about what to do next, she also cleaned Ray’s spear, then Sapphira took his clothes and gone to the nearby brook she scouted earlier. She tried to wash away at least some of the blood from Ray’s clothes. Sapphira had also cleaned the stinger from the leftover poison. After leaving his clothes on the branches nearby she returned to their hideout. She did not want to attract any predators to their hideout with the smell of blood, so she left the clothes at the brook.

Finally, she returned to Ray, camouflaged the entrance with some torn off branches and simply snuggled by Ray’s side, quickly falling asleep from all the exhaustion accumulated during the last day. Only their steady breathing was heard in their shelter under the tree, interrupted only by cries of night birds from outside.

PoV: Sapphira.

I was slowly waking up after my strange meeting with the Princess of the Night. I still could not understand her motives clearly. But knowing who she is, it was not too surprising that Luna had offered her help when she knew someone was lost in the Forbidden Jungle, while she was nearby and was able to help.

Some light gone through my eyelids, but it should be still night outside, and when I had finally opened my eyes, a strange sight was before me. Ray’s body was bathed in a bright yellow light. Streaks of yellow and green energy were coming out form the middle of his chest and swirling around him, eventually seeping into his body. Some of those were doing the same with my body. I raised my hoof before my eyes, it was undulating with yellow light too, and the remaining holes and cavities on it were closing and mending right before my eyes! I looked at my back and saw my wings no longer had any holes at all! But this process consumed a bigger part of my emotional power. Well, no wonder, the holes are caused by the deficit of magic, which is powered by emotions.

“Now I understand! At least more or less what was happening to me while I was with Ray! He is a walking miracle! No healing magic is capable of mending changeling body! Now I understand why he asked me to be quiet about it.” I carefully examined Ray’s body, his lighter injuries were already gone, and his shoulder had already restored its skin and it was making strange crackling noises, like his bones were shifting and moving into right places. “That’s… fantastic, but it seems rather painful, it’s good he is unconscious!” I was rejoicing at the fact he will be fine and healthy when it all ends.

The process continued for another twenty minutes or so, as I watched it, entranced, but by the end of it I started to feel crazy animalistic hunger, so I had to urgently have a night snack… Well, it’s hard to call it a snack as I fell on the food like a hungry minotaur, reducing our supplies by half. Thinking of it, Ray might be in a same condition when he wakes up, I’ll have to get us some more food in the morning. I have a hunch the sun is already about to rise. I looked outside and, indeed, the sky was already brightening up.

“Why do I feel slightly colder all of a sudden?” I had gone back to check my supply bags and prepare them for my morning raid on edible plants. When I closed in to Ray, I suddenly felt the warmth returning to me. “What?” I had stepped away from ray again, and after several steps I felt this peculiar warmth disappear again and came back when I got within around ten steps from him. When I pondered it for a while, I came to a conclusion it was not a real warmth, but something else entirely, just the sensation was a little similar. “How strange, I’m feeling very comfortable when I’m close to him, will others feel it too or is it just me?” I walked up to sleeping Ray and lowered my head, as I looked at him from above. In the end, I could not restrain myself and started to hug and kiss him lightly, but he did not wake up, so I stopped, still very content with my little shenanigan.

I resumed my preparations, emptying my bags and fastening them to my armor which I had on me since yesterday. It was too bothersome to try to take it off all by myself, and this place is not safe either. I remembered a gash I’ve got yesterday from a manticore, but there were no traces of it by now. The light from the first rays of the rising Sun was already visible through the branches covering the entrance. I decided to not waste time and went out to gather the food.

“I’ve never felt myself so strong before! Ray’s magic is incredible!” I thought, as I felt energized and powerful ever since I woke up. I felt my whole body became slightly… larger. And more… muscular, maybe? It it’s true I was in a poor condition before, so it can only be called returning to the norm, and I’m still far from the figure of a perfect mare! “Oh, I'm sure Ray will like these changes to my body!” I giggled as such naughty thoughts popped inside my head; my ears started twitching on their own in my excitement. The surrounding terrain had no signs of dangerous beasts, so it must be relatively safe around here, especially in the morning when nocturnal beasts usually go to sleep. So I went by my old gathering routine and started my search for food.

PoV: Night Lily.

I was performing a search around the area, which Princess Luna specified for me, for the whole night already. The Sun will soon rise above the horizon. I’ve changed my Lunar Guard disguise for my regular light scout armor. I had two saddle bags with me; one with medicine Princess Luna gave me to treat the wounded targets of my mission, and another one with my personal supplies: food, water, alchemy elixirs and my special pollen bombs. Of course I had a set of all necessary recon equipment too, such as compass, military-grade map, weapons and some other. I could last for several day in this jungle if need be, but my timeframe was limited.

Suddenly, my sensitive nose caught traces of a scent of blood. Princess had told me the targets survived a battle with a manticore. It’s hard to believe, but I will never question Princess Luna’s words. So now I’m trying to trace this scent and find its source. It was hard not to lose it, but eventually I’ve stumbled upon the footprints that matched with the description. It should be a changeling and a bipedal being from the unknown lands. I followed their footprints on the damp ground. They were definitely in a hurry, on the run even! Eventually, I’ve reached the clearing, and it was definitely the source of the bloody scent.

“Luna gracious! That’s an elder manticore!” I exclaimed despite all my trainings in stealth. And how could I not? The dead manticore lied right before me with its chest pierced through. There was much blood in the surroundings too, and it belonged to somepony else, judging by its smell. I rarely see such brutal scenes, and the combat should’ve been even more violent, but my training kept me from getting nauseous or too distressed. There were nothing else left at the clearing, but I’ve noticed a trail of something being dragged, going from the clearing into the overgrowth on the other side. Some traces of blood were seen on that trail, it must’ve been the injured one.

I’ve found a place with another dried pool of blood there; they’ve made a stop here. Another trail was leading out of here, but there were no more blood along the trail, and it was much harder to trace, but I’m called a tracker for a reason, so eventually I’ve stumbled upon a lightly concealed entrance to some kind of a lair under the giant tree. Yes, that must be the exact place. I’ve found them! By this time the Sun was already up in the sky.

I had carefully moved away the branches from the entrance and slipped inside. My thestral eyes quickly adapted to the darkness of this underground lair. Strong smell of earth, moss and mold assaulted my nose. Not a best place for an injured, but definitely a much safer place when you have manticores running around. I spotted a single strange bipedal being lying on large palm leaves at the back of the lair, a voluminous bag was in the corner and some supplies were scattered nearby on another bunch of palm leaves. The changeling was nowhere to be seen, had it run away?

I walked closer to this… hyu-man, as Princess called him. I was expecting something like a minotaur or diamond dog, maybe abyssinian, but he was anything but. While he was definitely not as large as a minotaur, he should be taller than other bipedals, excluding dragons, of course. He does not have any coat, just like a changeling, but his skin is not black. I walked up to him without any noise and continued my observations. Well, I won’t lie to myself, I’m just curious, as I always was. His appearance was somewhat pleasant, if I compare him with other bipedals. Of course, cats have nice appearance, but their thoughts are oftentimes vicious and sly, so they are not far from the diamond dogs in this regard, one should not be fooled by their appearance. I sniffed his skin lightly, he definitely reeked of blood. A mix of manticore’s and, most likely, his own, but I can see no injuries on his body. Strange!

I moved closer to his face to have a better look at it. His eyes seemed a bit small to me, but still had reasonable proportions from my point of view. Suddenly, his eyes moved under his eyelids.

“Mmmmh! ...phi, what are you doing this early in the morning?” He mumbled something hardly coherent while he was still asleep. “Come here, hug me!” he said and his hands suddenly grabbed me by my sides, he lifted my body and carefully put it atop his chest, pressing me against his body while his eyes were still closed.

I was confused for a moment! “He is too daring of a stallion! … The nerve!”

“Why are you still wearing your armor and even saddle bags?” he asked lazily, still unwilling to fully wake up. His hand stroked my head, going up my ear until it reached the tassels. “Fluffy… Fluffy. Fluffy?” His eyes opened abruptly, his hand stopped in place at the side of my head, his bright green eyes were looking right into mine.

“Ha-ha, Ray, you are a fast one! I was gone to gather some food and you had already found yourself another mare in less than an hour?” I’ve heard a mare’s voice from the entrance. Turning my head, I saw an impressive… changeling mare, her appearance was unlike any other changelings I saw before.

“So, you must be Night Lily, right? Do you like my… stallion?” A wide, sly and predatory smile appeared on the changeling’s face.

“Let go of me, scoundrel!” I shouted as I hit the forehead of this cheeky stallion lightly with my hoof.

“Ouch!” His thinking process seemed to halt for the time being, but eventually he had collected himself together from his abrupt awakening, releasing me. “Sorry, but who are you, and what are you doing here? But first tell me why were you standing above me while I was sleeping here?” One of his brows furrowed while another one was raised, he was obviously questioning my own behavior.

The changeling mare was already laughing out loud at this scene. “Hilarious! You both are something, Ray, Lily!” she managed to say it through her laughter. “Ray! If you’re going to grope every mare you meet, I’m going to bite you!” she said jokingly, tilting her head with a toothy smile.

“Do you know each other, girls?” he asked and tried to get up, but the ceiling was too low for him. “Ayya! Damn it!” He exclaimed as he hit his head on a root above. Ray sat down, rubbing his head. The changeling mare just laughed again.

“Ray, haha! We, ha-ha, we don’t know each other. But!” She made a deep breath to stop herself from laughing. “We both know Luna!” she said. The way she addressed the Princess angered me.

“It’s Princess Luna for you, changeling!” I snapped angrily.

“Oh, really? But, mind you, this changeling also has a name.” she said with irony.

“Ah! Sorry, Sapphira, is it?” I asked after realizing my bad manners on a mission which Princess personally assigned to me.

Changeling had started talking in an indifferent manner: “Yes it is indeed Sapphira, you were informed correctly. So, will you insist on using this official manner of speech with all the titles and proper addressing?” Then she switched to her previous lively style of speech. “But remember, Princess do not approve of it when it is unnecessary, as far as I know.” She smiled at me slyly.

“Oh by Luna! Is she playing with me? Like she already know my soft spots!” I could not help but think so as out talk developed in this strange way. “That’s… okay, I will not insist. Just show some respect for the Princess, alright? I’m uncomfortable to call her name without a title.” I was not good at wrestling with word, so I just spoke what was on my mind.

Sapphira walked up to me. “Sorry, I did not mean to upset you, Lily.” She said, after seeing my dejected look.

Sapphira stroked my head with her hoof lightly. She was clearly older than me. This action of hers might have irritated others, but I was always envious of girls who had older sisters when I was younger… And this gesture of hers was pleasant for me; did she just find another of my weak spots? I sighed. But she should be a friend, not an enemy, so it’s fine, I guess?

“It’s alright…” I said, having calmed down, and noticed Ray was just silently sitting there, looking at us with wide eyes. We both turned our heads towards him.

He finally spoke. “Sapphira, what do you mean when you say you know… Luna? And explain me about the ‘Princess’ part in particular too…” He sounded quite confused at the moment. And he had the nerve to call Princess Luna by name without her title! Impudent!

“You have already met her in your dream before, right? So you should know she is one of the two diarchs of Equestria, right? Princess is her title.” Sapphira explained.

It was unexpected, but Ray slapped his face with his hand, covering his eyes with it, in an exaggerated gesture.

“Ha! … Ha-ha! … Ha-ha-ha-ha!” He started laughing somewhat derangedly. “Ha-a-ahhh!” His laughter had transformed into a deep sigh. “I’m a fool! What a blunder… A Princess! Ha-ha… no, no, not just a Princess. The Diarch of the greatest country on the whole continent! Ha-ha! What an epic fail!” he started muttering the things I could not exactly understand. After he stopped having his fit and calmed down, he asked with a serious face. “So, can anyone tell me what’s happening now? The fact that Luna is a Diarch of Equestria is quite shocking news for me, honestly.”

I felt proud about the fact that Princess Luna had such an effect on this country bumpkin from another continent. Of course, he sees her greatness now!

“Princess Luna had tasked me with finding you two to help you to get out of the jungle, and also treat the wounded. You should be honored by her generosity and kindness! But I can’t see any wounds on you, albeit you two just reek of blood!” I declared my mission to them with a smug face.

“So, what do you propose, Lily?” Ray asked me.

“It’s Night Lily, you scoundrel!” I lashed at him as I was still angry at him. “To grope a mare you don’t even know is… is!” I was unable to finish my words.

“Oh, come on, Lily, I know you liked it!” Sapphira cut my verbal outburst with her nonsensical statement, sporting a smug smile on her face.

“What? Nonsense!” I denied these foolish accusations resolutely.

Sapphira just winked at Ray and their bodies started to shake lightly as they were trying not to laugh, looking at me, but failed at the end. They laughed at me! At me!

“Stop making fun of me, you two!” I shouted at them, but they still continued.

“That’s alright, Lily, no one here is making fun of you, it’s just… you are so cute!” Sapphira said with a smile, still giggling lightly.

“I… I’m a personal assistant of the Princess for this expedition! I should not be… cute! You know, it took me the whole night to find you two, and I did not even have any sleep. The last thing I want to experience now is being laughed at!” I replied, but I felt my cheeks blushing heavily. “Did I really like it? No, no, it can’t be! I’m just blushing from being angry!”

“Alright, Sapphira. Lily is obviously not in the mood for jokes now. Lily, I apologize for my actions before, I had mistaken you for Sapphira.” He said to me sincerely and turned to Sapphira, his gaze became very mild. “And Sapphi, I still owe you my thanks, you dragged me all the way here, and also all our belongings too, not mentioning you have gathered more food for us just now… You worked so hard while I did just… pass out.”

Sapphira did not answer anything; she unfastened her bags with magic and put them on the floor, walked up and hugged him tightly. I could hear her sobbing quietly with her head buried in his chest. “I thought you would die there, Ray!” She said through her sobs. Ray was gently caressing her silky mane to calm her down. Seems they really had experienced a fight to the death yesterday… The tension she was holding in finally broke out and now she was crying out all of her accumulated worries and fears. I decided to be quiet for a while. I don’t even want to imagine myself fighting with a manticore and there were, supposedly, two more of younger manticores at that. This two had it hard; I can’t blame them for anything.

While I was looking at this scene, many thoughts appeared in my mind. I can’t describe how astonished I was at this changeling. She just breaks everything I know about changelings. Well, most of it! Unreformed changelings can’t love? They can’t have friends? Shuck! I’ve seen ponies who gone through a lot together, and they are exactly like that. A changeling, and… a hyu-man? She just can’t be pretending, not like that! I just sat in a corner and took some food to nibble on from my saddle bag. If only I had anyone who would love me as I am… But that’s impossible with my job! Hay! I should not think about these things!

PoV: Ray.

I was hugging with Sapphira for quite a long time, until she finally calmed down. While at it, I had complex emotions. Everything that happened was on my conscience to some degree, and I felt guilt for I had put Sapphira into danger and made her worried and stressed out by my state during and after the fight with the manticore. I gave a word to myself to never be this reckless again, not unless absolutely necessary, I’m no longer on my own and I should be mindful of others by my side. She had finally raised her head to look at me with her reddened eyes.

“Everything is fine now, Sapphira, let’s leave this event in the past.” She nodded her head lightly at my words, but still continued to hug me. I turned my gaze towards Night Lily who was looking at me, having heard my voice. “Sorry for the scene, Lily, but the things turned really nasty yesterday, as you can guess.”

“It’s all fine, I don’t mind…” Lily answered awkwardly. “You wanted to ask me if I have any plan for us, didn’t you?” I nodded to her. “Well, it’s not my plan, but Princess’. She said if the road to our current camp is too dangerous or too hard to traverse, I should accompany you to the nearest railroad station. And this is indeed the case, the jungle on the way back is infested with various dangerous beasts and poisonous plants, some parts are swampy or heavily overgrown. But the jungle to the west seems to be much safer. So, we are going to the west, resuming your travel in the same direction you had before. There are no common rail stations nearby, but the supply stations will do. There should be one to the north, according to the map I have. If we follow the railroad tracks, we will not miss it, and I can easily convince any train conductor to give you a ride to Appleloosa.” Lily summarized everything she had in mind.

I thought for a while, looked at Sapphira, who just tilted her head with raised brows momentarily, one of her equivalents to shrugging, before answering. “Alright, this is a decent plan; we have no reason to refuse, Lily.” I said reassuringly to her, as she was nervous for some reason. She must be very skilled in navigating dangerous places to be on her own at night in this jungle, but she seems to have subpar social skills at the same time. Perhaps, it’s a consequence of her lifestyle on the job without much social interactions.

“Good, now I must send a signal that we are going west.” She started to walk towards the exit. After putting on my boots, I followed her with Sapphira behind me. The rest of my clothes could not be found nearby. Well, I’m already somewhat accustomed to walking around only in my boxers… Not the best thing to be accustomed to, honestly.

As we have exited our hideout I was finally able to see Lily’s true appearance. Her amber eyes had their pupils contracted from the bright light, finally revealing their vertical form. Lily’s eyes were very much like those Sapphira had! And I had already noticed before that she have fangs. But the most striking feature was her wings! She had them folded when we were inside and dim lighting prevented me from seeing the details, but now her wings were slightly parted, and those were wings with membranes made of skin! Like those of bats! They had a short velvety coat covering them.

Her overall coat color was mild lilac, changing to silvery grey at the places along her wing bones, outlining the shape of her wings. Her mane was also silvery-grey, with straight, heavy and thick strands of hair. Her hair parted to the sides at the line of her right ear and was a bit ruffled, occasionally covering her left eye when the wind swung her mane. Her tail was the same color as her mane. The thick hair of her tail created a magnificent shape, adding a lot of volume to her tail. It looked impressive even after she had spent so much time in the jungle and got her tail ruffled and a bit tangled. On her flanks she had a mark, a single lily in the color of midnight blue. Lily was fiddling with one of her saddlebags on her side, trying to open it with her hooves.

“Ray, pick up your jaw, you’ve lost it!” I heard Sapphira’s sarcastic voice from behind as I was staring at Lily.

Lily looked at us in confusion while I had a wry smile on my face. Sapphira only chuckled and did not speak anymore.

“Lily, do you need help with your bag?” I asked when I finally paid some attention to what she was doing.

“Oh yes, please, it’s so inconvenient when you don’t have a horn!” she complained about the unyielding buckles on her bags.

I fiddled with the buckle for a moment. “Done, which item do you need?” I asked after quickly opening her bag.

“A yellow pipe, please.” She said, a light smile finally appeared on her face.

I handed her this peculiar item and buckled her bag back. It resembled a firework, somewhat, as it had a cord attached to one side. She took the item with her hoof, this was the first time I’ve seen a pony actively use her contact telekinesis, as Sapphira relied almost solely on her magic for such things. Lily took off into the air above the trees, pointed the tube upwards and pulled the cord. A very bright yellow magical flare shot high into the air and remained at high altitude for quite a long time. This sort of signal must be very effective. It will be hard to miss if someone is actively observing their surroundings.

“All done! Yellow means the road back is dangerous and we are going to the railroad. Princess Luna will embark on her expedition without waiting for me, and I will join her later, after I get you two on a train.” She told us her plans.

“Will you be able to find her in the jungle afterwards?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, Princess gave me everything I need to find her!” she answered proudly.

“Alright, if you say so.” I stopped worrying about her, for the most part. But it still felt a bit off to let this girl go all by herself back into the jungle. The thoughts of Luna still caused a substantial headache for me… Who would have thought… She is a Princess, a ruler of Equestria, one of them to be precise. This whole situation… what it entails for me? I hardly have any decent picture of this world in my mind, and suddenly a diarch shows up? Is fate really playing with me, just for laughs? As if the whole business with Falda’ar was not enough for me! How much more twisted can it become? Bah! Whatever! I’ll be solving my troubles as they arrive, one by one, there is no need to explode my own brains thinking too much of those issues I have no power to control… I’ve made a deep sigh and tried to concentrate on my current difficulties, specifically getting out of this jungle without getting in more trouble! Everything else? I can think about it later.

“Good, then let’s go!” said Lily, after pondering for a while. She tried to sound vigorous, but it was obvious to me she was exhausted from her search and sleep deprivation.

“Lily, I know you want to complete your mission fast, but you are definitely in a bad shape. You should at least have some sleep. We still need some time to pack up, why don’t you have a little rest while we are at it?” I said, concerned about her state. The day will be long and hard and I don’t want to see her suffer. She looked suspiciously at us, probably thinking if we will run away from her or have some other plans.

“We won’t be going anywhere without you Lily, if you’re afraid of it.” Sapphira intervened. “That’s a promise.” Then she smiled to Lily with her regular kind smile I see so often. She was not playing with her this time like before.

“Well, alright, I’ll have some rest. Keep an eye on your surroundings, just in case.” She said as she started walking back inside the hideout. She turned her head to us as said, “Wake me up when you are ready.”

“Of course we will.” I answered with a nod.

Sapphira followed her and soon returned with all of our belongings and put those down on the ground. We started sorting out and packing our stuff. I was sitting on a fallen tree trunk.

“Ray, don’t you, by any chance, feel crazy hunger right now?” Sapphira asked with a raised brow.

“How do you know, Sapphi, don’t tell me you feel it too?” I asked in surprise.

“Yes, I’ve felt it instantly after I woke up, engulfed by your wondrous magic.” She said to me, I can see she have great interest in my magic now. “And I ate half of our supplies…” she guiltily ran her hoof over the ground. “So I went out to gather more, I guessed you will be very hungry too.”

Looking at her attentively one more time in the light of day, I’ve noticed many changes to her body. She had no more holes anywhere, not even a trace. And her whole body became slightly more curvaceous.

“So, you’ve noticed at last! How do you like it?” She said and made a spin to show herself from all sides. Her bright smile told volumes about how she felt about it.

“You are gorgeous!” I complimented her. There were no need for long praises; she was too used to reading my emotions even before listening to my words.

Sapphira walked up to me once again for a hug and a light kiss, but then backed away and brought me lots of food. “We can hug and kiss all we want later, you should eat now. I know how it feels, and your hunger must be even worse, Ray!” she said in concern.

“True that, I’m struggling with my hunger since the moment I woke up.” I answered her with a wry smile and dug into my food. “Thanks, Sapphi!” I said with a full mouth, eliciting a giggle from her. After I finished one strange, but tasty vegetable, I spoke again: “We should probably give Lily two or three hours of sleep. She is too exhausted. But then we should compensate for it by going faster, but if the forest ahead is similar to this one, it will be no problem for me. By the way, what is her specie? I’ve never heard of her kind before.”

Sapphira pondered for a while before speaking. “Giving her some time will not be a problem, I guess. I did not see any signs of dangerous wildlife ahead, and it’s unlikely we will find something like manticores or shadow hounds ahead, as we are closing in to the edges of the jungle. And we’ll be able to chase away any other beasts easily. As for Lily’s species… They are called ‘Thestrals’, but a more common name for them is ‘Batponies’, most ponies refer to them as such.” She was telling me this, while rubbing her chin with her hoof, as I was eating. “She seems to take over my habits… That’s cute!”

“She seems to have some of your traits, Sapphi.” I remarked curiously.

“Well, not that much, apart from her eyes, which can see in the dark, and her fangs. I don’t know much about them, but I’ll tell you what I know. They have a really quiet flight, as well as an ability to step quietly with their hooves. Oftentimes, it’s impossible to notice batponies until you see them with your own eyes or until they make some noise deliberately. They have a very good hearing, and their olfaction is better than a regular pony too. Their eyes are very similar to mine, having no problems seeing in the dark or in broad daylight. Their flight speed is not that remarkable compared to pegasi, just like changeling’s, but it is compensated by their flight agility. They oftentimes exceed us changelings in both aspects, but they can’t hover and move in all directions in flight, like we do, so I can’t tell who is a better flier between us. Also, they seem to be omnivorous, requiring some amount of meat or fish in their rations from time to time, but they mostly prefer fruits to anything else.” I listened attentively as I continued to quickly diminish our food supplies.

“So, in the end, not all of ponies are pure… vegetarians?” My tongue slipped, there is no analogue of ‘vegetarian’ in Equestrian, and I used my native word.

“Vege-who?” Sapphira asked in confusion. Her left ear twitched twice cutely.

“Err… Those who does not eat meat or fish. Herbivores, perhaps?” I asked, feeling myself awkward talking about this.

“Eww… herbivores eat grass and hay! That’s not a good food, Ray! Some ponies try to eat it, but you know… in the end they all find themselves with indigestion or stomach ache. Ponies can eat more varieties of plants than others, but, well, they are not wild horses in the end! In fact, all ponies are omnivores to some degree. It’s just in their culture to prefer plant food.” Sapphira said pensively. She definitely did not like the idea to eat hay! The wind played with her mane, creating a mesmerizing sight of flowing blue colors.

“Then, perhaps, we won’t be stuck with purely plant-based diet in that Appleloosa or other cities.” I remarked. Becoming a vegetarian was not in my priorities, albeit lately I’m not too picky about the food… as long as there is food.

“I was eating plant food for the most of my life, but mainly because of scarcity of other food around. We should be able to find more diverse food in the town, maybe with some difficulties, but I will not refuse to try some dishes containing meat or fish. By the way, pegasi have fish in their ration.” said Sapphira with a pondering face. “Now as we talk about food I’ve become hungry again!” She grabbed a fruit and began munching on it. We continued our meal for some time in silence.

“Sapphira, you know… I find one fact very strange. Ever since I’ve arrived here I’ve never met a common pony. That’s hilarious, don’t you think? Changelings, a batpony and a diarch!” I said as I laughed. “Of course the jungle is a bad place to meet one.”

“Are you serious, Ray? Don’t tell me you have never seen common ponies, they are literally… everywhere on all continents, almost!” Sapphira asked in surprise.

“Yeah, Sapphi, don’t be so surprised, the place I’m coming from is re-e-eally far.” I replied, spreading my hands and shrugging. “But that’s between us. I don’t want to look like some country bumpkin that crawled out of some cave, ha-ha!” I laughed lightly.

“Oh, come on, Ray, I myself had literally crawled out of the cave!” she laughed with me.

“Perhaps, but at least you’ve seen a real common pony, but I didn’t!” Now we were arguing who was a greater caveman, or a cavehorse, among us.

“But how did you manage to get here without seeing any ponies?” she asked with a confused countenance.

“I’ve teleported in, that’s how. Right into that darn altar room we lived in! That’s right! Without any supplies! All I had on me were my clothes, which are too warm for this climate, three seeds of that tree and an artifact I can’t use by myself. Sounds great, right? Ha-ha! Oh, and my physical state was dreadful. You may have already noticed how my body improved while you were with me. It was a lot worse before, Sapphi, a lot! I could barely walk at the start. It was two days before I found you.” I was recounting the circumstances of my arrival. “I did not even know where I am.”

Sapphira listened to me with a slackened jaw. She never thought it was that bad and complicated. “R-ray … ? That was… harsh!” I could see sympathy in her eyes. “And your body… you are really looking much better today! These muscle…” She started to stroke my chest with her hoof, her ears twitching.

“Well, Sapphi,” I stroked her neck, “my circumstances were not harsher than yours when you ran away from your hive, I guess. But look! We’re still alive, healthy, stronger than before and, most important of all, we are together!” I said with a wide grin on my face. Looks like I’ve finally adopted this mindset, and I like it, it keeps me going forward and making getting over nasty stuff easier.

“Yes, Ray, you are right!” She smiled back at me. I’ve made a pause before speaking again.

“And one more thing you should know. Princess Luna is likely investigating the circumstances of my arrival by some leftover magic trace. For anyone else, I was strayed from my expedition group of griffons when shadow hounds attacked, that’s my legend, Sapphira. I did nothing wrong, if you want to know, I’m just avoiding excessive attention to myself.” Sapphira nodded her head. “And by no means do I want to get into the mess of dealing with royalty and everything what follows: military, scientists, politics, elites and whatever else there might be! Yeah, those things are better left alone when possible, I don’t strive for power. So don’t mention my way of arrival to anyone. I won’t lie to you, I like Luna, but involving yourself with powerful figures when you don’t have sufficient power or strength will only draw trouble to the one who do it. I think you understand what I mean.”

Sapphira fell silent again. “I think I can understand it to some extent, but in this case you seem much more experienced than I am… I don’t know much about politics, but what you’ve said can be partially applied to the power structure in the hives too.” She replied.

“Well, it’s just me being cautious, maybe my worries are unfounded. I’m not worried about Luna, she is really kind pony, but a country consists not only of diarchs, and we both can’t judge the situation properly. Well, let’s just go with the flow, we can’t do much about it anyway.” I concluded my thoughts with a wry smile on my face, waving my hand.

Sapphira just nodded her head with a pondering look. “Oh, yes, Luna said she will meet us in our dreams tonight. We did not have much time to talk with her. She seemed to be in a hurry and cared a lot for your safety. Should I be jealous now?” Sapphira smiled at me playfully.

“I don’t know,” I chuckled, “do you think a homeless foreigner with nothing to his name can have a chance with a Princess, and most importantly, how can I dump you?” I raised my brow.

“Ummm, Ray, why are you even mentioning this ‘dumping me’ thing?” she asked, puzzled.

“Pardon? How can I, theoretically, be with a Princess without breaking up with you?” I was not too sure what she meant by all this. “Sapphi… I don’t like where this topic about dumping someone is going to, the very idea of it is repulsive to me.”

“Sorry, Ray! But… can you possibly… no way! Don’t tell me you don’t know about herds?” She asked with an astonished face.

“What do you mean? What herds?” I asked, confused.

Sapphira made a perfect… ‘facehoof’, yeah she definitely adopts my habits. “Ray, you should know that stallion to mare ratios of all species on Equis are greatly uneven, right?” Sapphira asked.

“Errr… nope?” I answered with a silly face.

“Just where were you living, Ray?” She sighed. “For ponies and similar species it’s around four mares to one stallion. The difference is minimal among diamond dogs, but it is still uneven. So the ponies usually have ‘herds’ with one stallion and several mares. Now you get it?”

I scratched my head. “Yeah… more or less. But seriously, proposing to have a… herd… with a Princess is such a joke! Her subjects will eat us alive for it, judging by Night Lily’s reaction.” I smiled when I remembered it. “Damn, what’s wrong with this planet? Four mares to one stallion? Really? From one point of view, those stallions are lucky bastards, but from the other, some of them may live in a real hell!”

“He-he, even if they would not, Night Lily will definitely do it in their place!” Sapphira said jokingly.

After we have finished our talk, Sapphira took me with her to go and retrieve my clothes she left at some brook, not too far away from our hiding place. I sighed, “She even washed my clothes for me, it feels like I’m already married. But that’s not a bad feeling at all! I should definitely spoil her when I get the chance! Such a girl truly deserves it!”

After examining my clothes, I can officially call half of it rags! The manticores did a good job tearing what was left of it. The t-shirt goes to trash, but for the time being it still can be useful as a piece of cloth. My shirt was left in a bag, and still in one piece, that’s good. The coat received extensive damage and I’ll look like a homeless bum wearing it, maybe even worse. But wait! I am a homeless bum! “Yay! Bum li-i-ife! Ha-ha!” I exclaimed in my native.

Sapphira looked at me puzzlingly.

“Forget it Sapphi, I’m just fooling around.” I dismissed it with a smile. My boots were still intact, but were heavily scratched and scuffed, while the jeans were still passable with just minor tears. I decided to wear the coat over my bare upper body to save my shirt for later.

After we have finished with all this, we still had some time before we should wake Lily up, so we decided to spend some time together, nothing too extreme, just being close to each other, talking about small things, venting out yesterday’s stress. I had helped Sapphira to remove her armor as it was uncomfortable to wear it for prolonged periods of time. Unbuckling all of its straps must be very tiring and hard for the wearer.

While we were still at the brook, it was convenient to wash up a little. Naturally, my hands are perfect tools to help Sapphira with her hygiene! This was the first time I inspected Sapphira’s body in such detail with my hands, and it took me some mental effort to stay more or less calm. Yes, I liked her body, her supple velvety skin, her streaming colorful hair. Her legs were a bit longer than lily’s, making her look a bit more graceful and tall. The strain on my mind intensified as such thoughts have filled my head, and I knew Sapphira could not miss that. As I started to wash hear rear side, her breathing became somewhat laborious.

“Ray… Can you wash me… there? You are avoiding that place. It must not be this… awkward… for lovers, right?” she said coyly, her eyes were avoiding my gaze.

“Of course I can, Sapphi, it’s just hard to hold myself together, as you should have already guessed. Alright, it’ll be a challenge for my willpower!” As I said so, I started to gently wash Sapphira’s intimate places, lightly stroking her with my fingers. She flinched from the sensation of cold water and her tail started to swing widely from her excitement. She was making occasional horse-like snorts along with changeling specific chirring. Trying to restrain my volcano of lust, I continued with my duty. We can always do the deed when we get to town, in much more comfortable conditions, without the risk of being attacked by some predatory monstrosity. Sapphira had her eyes closed with a wide smile on her face. “Hmm… I’m wondering how their towns look like.” I had this fleeting thought, which helped me to concentrate on my task at hand without getting too heated up.

“Mmmh… Ray… You are even more explosive now than you were that morning…” She looked at me with half-opened eyes.

I sighed. “But it’s neither the time nor the place for such games, right? I will not put my guard down until I get you to safety. It is already costing me great efforts to just stay calm and talk to you, so please stop teasing me.” I stood up and we went away from the brook. Naturally, my nether parts did not agree to stay calm, but I didn’t care about such things anymore since that morning. I could not help but notice Sapphira throwing glances at my manhood, but now it was flattering for me she was interested in all of my… aspects.

“Anyway, thanks, Ray. I had this armor on for a day already; it’s not that comfortable to wear it for so long. And are you calling you state… ‘calm’, Ray?” she chuckled. “You should at least kiss your mare… as a consolation!” Her lips made a playful smile.

“Of course! I was going to do it anyway!” I said as I was putting on my jeans. I walked up to Sapphira and unexpectedly took her into my hands, plopped myself atop a nearby boulder and sat Sapphira on my lap. She hugged me around the neck instantly with her forehooves. We still had enough time to have some intimacy. As Sapphira was getting comfortable on my lap, I noted to myself I could not call Sapphira’s body small. If she straightens herself fully, sitting on my lap, then even with my height, her big azure eyes will be on the same level as mine, if not higher, considering her longer neck. She had also gained some healthy weight, but still have a work to do in this regard, I suppose.

We were enjoying our closeness, kissing and stroking each other, so I used this chance to properly appreciate the changes in Sapphira’s body one more time. I took her hoof into my hand. The cleanliness of her hoof surprised me, it seems their natural contact telekinesis worked not only for altering the hardness of their hooves and using them in the place of hands, but also repelled most of the dirt. Contrary to my expectations, Sapphira had soft pads under her hooves, which were pleasant and soft to the touch. I could not restrain myself from kissing them.

“Ah!” Sapphira made a quiet moan. “They are sensitive, Ray!” she said, gently rubbing the side of my head with her horn. It was not hard and scratchy as I thought it was before. It was solid, but had a pleasant velvety texture, just like her skin, just more coarse, but the sharp tip was still worrying me a bit.

Sapphira was not lagging behind too, as her hooves were exploring my body as well. “Ray, your mane is growing, it seems!” she said as she touched my ideally bald head. I rubbed my head and felt there were indeed that feel to it. The hair was so short it was barely noticeable, yet Sapphira could still feel it with her hoof. Her hooves are really sensitive!

I could not say anything else, because Sapphira’s lips found their way to mine. Our lips connected in a slow and prolonged kiss. We were unhurriedly indulging in the pleasant sensations of our closeness. As my fingers were gently running all around her body and stroking her silky hair. Her mane and even tail had a thin, but very pleasant aroma to it, reminiscent of fresh air coming from the snowy mountain peaks, despite being a bit disheveled and dusty. I have released all my emotions I was suppressing before, filling Sapphira with power. This was the first time I was able to feel it consciously. This has to be a result of my power merging with my body completely. The thing I’ve failed to achieve on my own because of my impatience… I should investigate my current state later. This must be only the tip of an iceberg.

“Mmmmh! Ray, you are getting distracted, aren’t you?” Sapphira broke our kiss and asked me.

“Sorry, love, I can’t help it, as now I can feel the flow of my emotions around me too, but I can’t discern them like you do. This is too unusual for me.” I told her while gently moving an unruly lock of her azure mane away from her face.

“Oh! Interesting, are you turning into a changeling, perhaps?” She laughed lightly. “But I should tell you something too.” She patted my chest with her hoof lightly. “You have some sort of a bubble of your unique magic around you. I can feel it distinctly. It feels very comfortable to be inside it, its edge is around ten steps from you. Lily does not seem to be able to feel it though.” Sapphira told me while stroking my bare chest with her soft hoof.

“Let me concentrate for a bit and check it, Sapphira. What happened tonight was an emergency spell, things gone south for me, this time for real. I’ve overloaded my body until it broke down. It was the only way to defeat the manticore. This spell saved me, but it was a single use thing and it’s gone now for good. My powers should have grown a little from this occasion.” I told to Sapphira and started to concentrate my mind. She looked really displeased about what I’ve said, specifically about me bringing harm to myself.

The energy revved crazily inside me with almost no efforts, compared to my previous experience. ‘Life essence’ was coming out from somewhere around my heart and solar plexus, quickly filling all of my energy system. “Oh yes! That’s it! Just like during my training with Falda’ar, but this time it feels so real. It is like comparing something from VR with the real deal.” I laughed out loud, puzzling Sapphira with my behavior and clenched my fist tightly, this feeling of power was slightly intoxicating, but I quickly returned to norm.

“Ray, are you alright? You are glowing slightly in green and yellow light…” Sapphira asked cautiously. She was still sitting comfortably on my lap, leaning against my body, as I was supporting her with my left hand.

“Oh, I’m more than alright! Never felt better! And maybe I’m too excited right now, so don’t mind the light.” My eyes were brimming with exhilaration and it worried Sapphira somewhat. That light was actually my lack of control at the moment, there should not be any fancy effects around me, as it is just a useless waste of energy. But how could I not be excited now? I was too used to it through all those years I’ve spent with Falda’ar in that place. It was like being able to breathe again after being deprived of it for some time.

I checked the area around me with my senses and indeed, I had a weak aura of sorts around me which worked like slow raw infusion of my ‘life essence’, so everyone around me will benefit from it slightly. It’s a byproduct of my constant magic-to-essence conversion. And it was not all, now I’m able to sense all living things around me. The radius is not too far, around ten meters, maybe more, if I overload my senses. Small critters and plants are barely noticeable, but I will never miss anything bigger than a cat if I’m paying attention, even stone walls will not impede my senses. This in no way can be called a ‘vision, just a very peculiar sense with its own characteristics.

But why is Sapphira able to sense my aura? I switched all of my attention to her and detected something interesting. Sapphira had a rudimentary ‘life’ circuits inside her body for some reason and my ‘life essence’ were circulating inside her. She is even able to convert small amounts of surrounding magic into ‘life essence’, albeit really slowly, crudely copying my energy structure! I don’t know if she will ever be able to use it, but the benefits of it is obvious, it will make her stronger, healthier, and much more receptive and sensitive to my own energy. I can see no downsides there. When I will be able to contact Falda’ar I should ask him about it, but it won’t happen anytime soon. Such thoughts were swirling inside my head, as I was slowly weaving my fingers through Sapphira’s silky mane.

I have finally calmed down the crazy flow of energy inside my body, returning it to its serene state. Sapphira was still staring at me, waiting for me do say something. She must have a lot of question now for sure, her own ‘life essence’ reacted inside her body, and she could not miss it.

“I have some news for you, Sapphi.” I said to her with a smile. Her eyes became focused after she heard my words. “I should congratulate you for having a semblance of my magic structure inside your body now! Don’t worry, it can’t be a bad thing, but I don’t know if you can actively use it, but even so, it’s a great boon for you. That’s the source of your ability to feel my aura; I think it would be correct to call it so.” I said to her, while rubbing my chin.

Sapphira took some time to ponder this information, but she remembered what she wanted to say earlier. “That’s good and all, but you are changing topics again, Ray! Promise me to never harm yourself the way you did in the fight with the manticore, promise me right now!” She said in a determined voice, her azure eyes looking at me intently.

I sighed deeply before answering. “I promise. But… if your life will be at stake, I’ll still do it, if necessary.” I answered her seriously.

Sapphira fell silent for some time, frowning. “You are incorrigible, Ray! But fine, as long as you hold on to your promise.” She finally relented with a sigh.

“Should we wake Lily up and set out now?” I asked Sapphira. “We can talk about everything later.”

“Perhaps, it’s already time. Alright, let’s set out! We should make it to the edge of the plateau today. If need be, we can even travel in the dark, I and Lily will have no problems doing that, and you should be fine too, to some extent. Oh, right, I’ll gather some fruits for Lily on the way back. I know what she should like!” Sapphira answered.

We were returning back to the hideout in silence. Sapphira had too much things to think of, it seems, as she had thoughtful look the whole way back. But I was already too tired of thinking, so I threw everything out of my head for the time being and was enjoying pleasant morning weather with its cool breeze. The sun was already in its regular place for two hours, so it will become hot again very soon.

PoV: Night Lily.

“…ly… Lily! It’s time to wake up!” I heard Ray’s voice through my sleep. My eyes opened to a slits, but then instantly closed again as I began to fall back to sleep. I have underestimated my exhaustion. Then I felt his hand on my back. He is touching me again! At first, I wanted to lash out at him, but for some reason the feeling I’ve got from his hand was too pleasant. It was like his hand was taking away my tiredness, gradually making me lively. He wanted to take away his hand, but I’ve stopped him, grabbing it and pressing at against my chest. “Can you do it… a little more?” I said as my cheeks blushed, my eyes still closed. Then I felt this sensation again. I held him like that for five minutes or so until my sleepiness vanished completely. I stood up slowly.

“Feeling better now?” he asked me with a smile, fixing my hair lightly with his nimble fingers.

“Yeah, what was that?” I asked with my cheeks still hot.

“A bit of magic, Lily. We are ready to go and will wait for you outside.” Ray said and left the hideout, leaving me alone, flustered.

“He… isn’t that bad…” I thought as I held my still blushing cheeks with my hooves, sitting on the pile of palm leaves. “Gather yourself together, now is not a time to think about such things!” I whispered quietly as I slapped my cheeks slightly to come to my senses. “What a useful magic he has… and he can use it without a horn! Well, he is not the first one to do that anyway.”

I checked my belongings, tidied myself a bit and went out. Ray was sitting on a fallen tree with Sapphira nearby.

“Are you hungry?” said Sapphira, “Come, you should have a good meal before we go, we have a lot of food here.” She opened one of the bags. It was filled with a lot of exotic… FRUITS! This is a feast! Those things are crazily expensive on the markets around the places where I live! I may be a tracker, but I’m not proficient with finding food in this jungle, I would be unable to find much of these fruits here on my own.

“Can I… really?” I asked timidly, my tail twitching in anticipation.

“Why are you so shy, Lily? Eat however much you want!” Ray said like it was nothing.

“Yep, if need be, I’ll just gather more.” Sapphira said in a same tone.

Well, they said it themselves. I will not restrain myself then! And so I dug my teeth into the succulent heavenly fruits. I was eating these delicacies until I was utterly full! After that a small burp escaped my mouth, I’ve covered it with my hoof and stood up. Oh, how uncultured of me, but they didn’t mind at all! These two are such a stark contrast to those Canterlot snobs I was working with before this assignment! They always look down of you, no matter how much you do for the country! They always see you as trash, especially if you are a batpony! Never! I should never agree to work with aristocrats again!

“Thank you for the food! Those were the best fruits!” I said joyfully.

Sapphira poked Ray in the side. “I told you she will like those!” she said with a smile.

“You sure did!” Ray answered with a chuckle.

“What? Did you gather those specifically for me, Sapphira?” I asked in surprise.

“Yes, Lily, I did, but that’s a small thing. It’s time to go. You are a tracker, Lily, so we’ll follow you.” said Sapphira.

“Alright! Wait for me here!” I said joyfully and quickly flew up above the trees to scout the terrain ahead. This strange duo managed to gradually elate my lackluster mood I had since my night search.

The group of three had finally left their temporary camp, continuing their travel to the west. Clouds eventually covered the sky, but there was no rain, so the weather was not so hot anymore, allowing them to travel faster without tiring too much. Areas ahead of them were much safer, with just regular predators you can expect to find in a common jungle, which preferred to stay at a safe distance from the group. It was making the journey easier, at least for now. Lily’s tracker skills allowed them to avoid beast dens and pick easier paths to traverse the forests, everything were going smoothly for them.

At the edge of Forbidden Jungle, the Lunar Guard received the magical signal from Night Lily and reported to Princess Luna. The camp just started to wake up and prepare for departure. Luna was relieved at the fact Night Lily could find Ray and Sapphira, but a little disappointed as she could not meet them personally. But she still had a job to do for today, so Luna did not delay her expedition. Finally sitting down at the roof of her cart, she had activated her magic, using her horn as a sensitive magic antenna. Luna needed all her concentration for this task. It was not easy to track something so intangible, something even the magic geniuses like Twilight or Starlight were unable to sense.

They moved slowly in the air, following the direction Luna was pointing at. At the back of her mind, she was glad the clouds had covered the skies above, it was already uneasy to maintain her state of mind, even without being roasted by the merciless tropical sun. She could not spare her attention for any additional spells to make the environment around her comfortable, and it could also interfere with her search.

They moved like that for several hours, the noon had already passed. It was at this moment that she received a report from one of the guards. Ancient ruins were lying ahead. She thought it was no coincidence. The density of ambient magic flow spiked greatly as they were closing in to the ruins. This was not a common place, and she felt the place they were searching for lied within those ruins too. She quickly recognized the place; it was hard not to do so by this signature submerged pyramid. It was exactly the place mentioned by Ray, the place she had seen in Sapphira’s dream. And so she ordered to direct the magical carriage towards the place where they had their talk in the dream, not too far from the shore of the lake.

PoV: Princess Luna.

We have finally arrived at the place. I would be very happy if not for my mental tiredness caused by maintaining my concentrations for hours. I stood up, as I stretched my legs and my wings.

“Everypony, we have finally arrived! Let’s have a look around.” I said after I flew down from the carriage roof slowly, landing lightly on the ground. My ears twitched in anticipation to uncover the secrets hidden here, but I’ll have to rely on the girls this time. I’m just too tired to use magic. I turned to the commander of this Lunar Guard detachment. “Scout the surrounding area for any danger or abnormality.”

The guard hit his chest plate with his hoof, “As you command, my Princess!” and went to organize his soldiers for the task.

My trio of friends exited the carriage and was observing the surroundings with interest. Indeed, the scenery was very beautiful here. I approached them with a mild smile on my face. “We are finally here! I can feel the source is at the top of this hill, girls. You can inspect this ruin from the outside, but don’t enter it for now, I’m a little afraid to let you go in alone. There can be anything inside. Just wait for me, I’ll take a breather and join you soon.” I’ve made an arrangement for them.

“Princess…” Starlight addressed me coyly. “Are you alright? You are looking exhausted.” She seemed concerned with my state.

“Oh, many thanks for thy concern, Starlight, yet we shall be fine. It’s just… not easy for us to concentrate for such a long time.” As my mind started to relax, my old manners started to surface again. “I shall not delay thou any longer, thou two are free to go now.”

“Please rest. We will be waiting for you up there, Luna!” said Twilight. They started walking uphill unhurriedly, talking about something along the way.

“Spike, please wait! May you remain with us? We shall send the letter to our sister.”

“No problem, Princess! I’m at your service!” said Spike in his theatrical manner.

“Ha-ha! Thanks Spike! Thou are reliable, as always!” I answered, chuckling. He was always very eager to help, as long as he deemed his task important enough. “Just wait for a while; we need to collect our thoughts and wait for our guards’ report.” I still wanted to check something before asking my sister about it.

Sister may not say it directly, but I still could feel she was worried for another reason besides the one she named. And I have my suspicion what it might be. Now I’m closing my eyes and preparing myself to sense all forms of magic in the surrounding area. I hope it will not drain me completely. After mentally preparing myself, I stood up with my wings spread wide, and filled my horn with magic to the limit. I stood still, filling surrounding space with gentle and thin waves of my magic, and listened carefully for any response. What I was seeking was malevolent magic or its residue. I was very familiar with such things, as I had to face various villains over my long life. They were slaves to those dark magic, for the most part, and I myself was one once, to my great shame.

No matter how long I’ve searched, I could not find anything resembling dark magic. There was only one trace of a strange spell, a little prickly to my magic touch. It should be a trace of some lightning spell, and it was very close to me. I released my concentration and stopped my search. In the place I sensed I’ve found a burned stump of a little tree with pieces of charcoal and wooden chips all around. “Was it… that little tree Sapphira sat beside? Who would need to destroy it? Anyhow, I can say the search had no results, which is good in our case.”

With my will and a simple spell I’ve created a parchment and a writing feather. I sat on the ground and started writing a letter with telekinesis:

“Dear sister. We’ve finally found the place. I can’t sense anything out of order here, but we still did not enter the building where the epicenter should’ve been. I am too tired and cannot risk the safety of our girls. But tell me, sister, did you suspect something similar to THAT incident? Am I right? If you did, I can assure you there are no signs of such an event here. I, of course, will investigate further, but it’s still unlikely to be the same case, so you can ease your mind for now. I will relay my further findings to you later, sister.

Your sister Luna.”

“Spike, shall thou be so kind to send this letter to our sister?” I asked him, but my voice was very tired, making him worried. He took the letter from my magic grip.

“Right away, Princess Luna!” he burned the letter in a moment. “But are you fine? You should have some rest, Princess! Don’t be like…” he looked around warily, “like Twilight at the deadline, there is no need to exhaust yourself!” He said in concern, scratching his head.

“You are right, Spike! And sorry for my speech, I snap back to it when I’m tired.” I said with a smile. My eyelids started drooping inadvertently. “Yes, I’m just too tired for now.” I was sitting exactly like Sapphira in that dream, looking at the surface of a lake with sleepy and thoughtful eyes.

“Oh, she is fast!” Spike shouted as he started to hiccup. He belched with a green flame and a letter materialized from it. “Your letter, Princess!” Spike gave me the letter.

“Thank you, Spike!” I said while unfurling the scroll.

“This news brings me great joy, Luna! Yes, I was afraid THAT could happen again. I’m greatly relieved this is not the case this time. Please make sure the girls will not do anything dangerous there. And have a good rest. I know just how tired you must be. For now, send them to investigate if there are any changes to plants and wildlife in the immediate premises of the place. This should keep them busy for some time and is needed to make sure everything is fine.

Your sister Celestia.”

I destroyed the scroll with a magical fire. Twilight and Starlight don’t need to see the mention of that case, not yet. Remembering to use regular speech, I decided to send Spike to the girls; it must be boring for him to just wait here.

“Spike, you can join the girls, if you want.” I told him.

“Then I’m going! I want to see all of it with my own eyes!” Spike became lively as I let him go.

“Please tell the girls to return to me once you have finished investigating the building from the outside. Celestia have a task for them.” I stopped Spike from slipping away, holding him in my telekinetic field. Spike just nodded his head before running away uphill.

I decided to go for a little stroll along the shore of the lake. Slowly walking upon a soft soil of its shores, I’ve noticed a lot of strange hoofprints along the shore. Looking closer I soon realized that it was Ray’s… footprints. Yes, he has feet, then it must be called so. “It would be nice if I could meet him personally, not just in a dream world… Perhaps I can pay an unofficial visit to Appleloosa on my way back? All of this work is tiring me out mentally, and I want to have some entertainment, slow down and relax for a while… If I meet him… we should definitely drink some of my special Moonlight Shimmer wine.” I smiled as I remembered I’ve snatched a few bottles from our royal cellar to take with me, just in case. “Everything around here seems exactly like Ray described, there are no beasts around, they seem to avoid the place. I could not sense anyone, and my guards did not ring any alarms.”

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud popping sound of incoming teleportation. Twilight appeared in a white flash, bringing along Starlight and Spike. Twilight seemed to be in a hurry.

“Did something happen, Twilight?” I asked, tilting my head in a questioning gesture.

Twilight seemed a bit embarrassed and had a little forced smile on her face. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to… Does Princess Celestia have a personal task for us?” That was it, she is always so eager when it comes to personal assignments from my sister. She should have already understood Celestia trusts her completely; she does not need to show her worth so impatiently every time… Well, it will pass naturally with time, she just developed too fast, as a genius magician and as a young alicorn too. A naturally transformed alicorn at that and that’s of immense importance. She has a great potential in magic, the greatest I’ve seen through my years, except mine and Celly’s, of course. My sister had found a real treasure when she noticed Twilight on her exam.

“Yes, she had sent her message to me. She wants you to investigate the surrounding plants and wildlife for the presence of any dark magic or the changes caused by it. I think you two should be up for this task with your extensive knowledge. Am I right?” I finally gave my answer after an awkward pause. Her ears were continuously twitching while she was waiting for my answer.

“Oh that… Of course! We will start right away. Spike, come with us!” said Twilight enthusiastically. She did not even wait for my answer as she began trotting in the direction of the nearest jungle. I wanted to ask her what she had found around that building… This mare… I shook my head, smiling, beckoned one of my guards and made an order to escort Twilight and friends on their search.

Now that I’m already feeling better, I decided to look at the building myself. I may be tired, but don’t forget, I’m an alicorn with an age far exceeding a thousand years. I and my sister may deliberately show our weakness in the face of our enemies, but that’s usually just to encourage Twilight, bearers of the Elements and other ponies to step up the stage and develop their powers. If we keep solving every problem with our sheer power, I’m afraid our subjects will become totally complacent, relying on us for every problem they face. But if need be, we will use our power to defend our land and our subjects with overwhelming force.

It’s good we did not need to resort to such things through our reign. Our opponents were usually quite mild too, like something was forcing them to step on the way of evil, they never got too violent, like they are restraining themselves from within, with the exception of Tirek, I guess. Even in times of my muddy consciousness as Nightmare Moon I did not use my powers to bring great harm to anyone… This could be a lot worse should my personality crumbled completely… I would not be able to return then. I sighed. These matters were just too strange and mysterious to figure out by myself.

I reached the top of the hill when I’ve finished my pondering. There was a trapezoidal building before me. I’ve seen such buildings before, a remnant of a long lost pony civilization. At least half of its population consisted of thestrals. They existed long before the founding of Equestria in these tropical forests, but were destroyed by a magical cataclysm. Like the one I’m investigating right now. It’s not like they were wiped out, but the forests were becoming unsuitable for the living slowly, year by year, plunging their whole civilization to decline. More than a half of their old territory turned to dangerous swamps and bogs, which are now stretching for more than a hundred leagues to the east. They eventually left the forests and relocated into other places, their culture was never restored again. We were still very young at that time and lived in a faraway place, so all we know about it we had read in the books our mother had left us in her library. The thoughts of our mother made my mood a bit melancholic.

I raised my hoof and placed it on the carving depicting an eclipse, carved on the surface of a wall to the left from the door. The spell placed on the carving was still working and reacted to the powers of the Sun and the Moon, instantly activating the door, forcing it to slide down into the floor. I thought it worked a bit too fast for such a spell, even before I channeled my powers into my hoof, but I didn’t put too much thought into it. The interior was dim, so I activated a lighting spell. Contrary to the conventional glowing horn spell, it created a bright sphere of light which flew up, flooding the whole room with bright light, just like a ceiling lamp. The floor and air was dusty, making me sneeze. It was then when I’ve noticed Ray’s and Sapphira’s prints on the dusty floor. I looked over the room again, checking if there were any other open entrances here, but there were none.

“Then how? How did they get inside? It’s not like anyone can open these doors easily without knowing the method. I’m sure Twilight and Starlight were trying to do exactly that all the time they had spent here, I know them too well.” I did not have an answer for this fact. “Then I should probably ask Ray himself, this is getting interesting!”

Opening the door to the left I was greeted only with immense amounts of dust lying on the floor. Ray visited this place too, but did not go farther than the entrance, and I should probably refrain from getting covered in dust too, so I backed off from the room and closed the door. “Now that’s a fact: Ray can open these doors. I’m starting to think that he being here is no coincidence. And thinking of that… he seemed very uncomfortable when he talked about all his business with expedition. Was he trying to avoid some topics? Well, maybe he will tell me if we know each other better.” A light laugher escaped my mouth as I remembered how I preferred to handle such things before. I would probably just force the answers out of him, all the while threatening him, talking in my Royal Canterlot voice. “Ha-ha! Now I have an official reason to meet him, so I can get myself a little vacation and stay out of Canterlot for a while.”

Opening the door on the opposite wall, I saw a room resembling storage. Magic light crystal inside was still working, to my surprise. The room was filled with various ancient military gear. Everything was in a bad state, but specialists in Canterlot will be able to restore some of those articles. We should contact Celestia and call for a freight pegasi carriages to take everything here back as historical artifacts. I noticed something out of place in one corner of the room. It seems this was Ray’s supplies. Ropes made of vines, firewood, some sticks, and various smaller things lying inside a rotten crate. I could not find anything of notice except a small booklet and a card full of symbols I could not recognize, along with a strange black square object. “Probably the things Ray had discarded when he left. Well, I’ll take them with me.” I said as I put those inside my saddlebag and left the room. Everything inside the room was devoid of magic, with the exception of lighting crystal. There was nothing of notice here.

And now, here it is! The room where something mysterious had happened! The magical trace is exactly there. I can feel it if I concentrate. I raised my magic barrier, just in case, before opening the door, but my worries were unfounded. What was inside the room was an ancient altar in the middle, and a makeshift bed on the side with a fireplace near it. Did he make a campfire right in this place? But then I noticed quite a large opening in the ceiling, offering good ventilation. The exact point the trace was pointing to was right before the altar… but… The place was devoid of anything. No marks, no magic, no leftover energy! Absolutely nothing! It was like a bad joke played on me and my sister! All there was is a magic trace which signified there was some great spell at work here, but nothing else! “Agrh! I’ll break my head trying ti think of anything that could happen here!” I was starting to get angry at the whole situation.

I tortured myself there, trying to sense and find at least anything of notice and then girls had returned from their mission. It must have been hours since I’ve started…

“Princess Luna… you are not looking good…” Twilight said in concern. She was bewildered seeing me in my weary state.

“Twilight…” I said, sighing. My mane was disheveled and lost some of it ethereal luster and sparkling. “I’m sitting right at the place, right on it!” I frowned. “And there is absolutely… NOTHING!” I almost shouted in Royal Canterlot voice. The whole situation irritated me. “There should be at least some minor results, but this… A complete zero. Twilight, Starlight, feel free to investigate everything, I’m giving up, at least for now, I’m too tired.” I said in dejection. “Were you able to find any malevolent magic signs?” I asked about their assignment.

“Nothing, Princess.” Starlight answered. “Everything is fine around this place, we are sure of that.” She continued her report.

“Yes! We have checked everything thrice!” Twilight interjected. Of course she did it several times. I have no doubt they didn’t miss anything important. Not with Twilight around. “Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll check everything around here!” Her eyes sparkled. “Oh by the way how did you open the door? And who was living here?” She started bombarding me with questions, her tail twitched slightly in anticipation.

“Not so much questions at once, Twilight.” I smiled. “The door is opened either by a specific key spell, which we do not know, or by infusing the power of the Sun and the Moon into the carving of the eclipse near the doors. You can already do the latter, I suppose.” I explained, while Twilight was already jotting something down on a parchment she procured from her saddlebag. “And about who was living here. I know him, he is an explorer strayed from his group. I’ve found him in the dreamland. Don’t ask me how he opened these doors for I don’t know. I’ll try to meet with him later; maybe he can tell me something about the incident, as he had been here earlier.”

“Explorer you say?” Starlight Glimmer asked dubiously. “Maybe he is just an opportunist doing this kind of things for money. Maybe he even stole some valuable artifacts from this place!” She scoffed.

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “It may not be an honorable thing to do in our pony society, but individuals like him are not criminals by any laws. And he seems well-mannered.” I had a wry smile on my face. “Am I trying to defend him?”

“Canterlot snobs are well mannered too… But you know how they are!” She said angrily, but flinched afterward as she covered her mouth with her hoof, seemingly remembering she was talking to a Princess, with panic in her eyes.

“Oh, Starlight, I don’t mind this kind of conversation with you. I actually like it this way; you don’t have to fear telling me something ‘inappropriate’, at least when we are out of public. And I don’t hold a grudge for what you did in the past; please don’t be so tense around me, alright?” I smiled as I put my hoof on her back, patting her lightly. She had a somewhat forced smile on her face.

“A… Alright, Princess. Thank you!” Her smile finally became natural as she started to calm down.

“See? Luna and Celestia don’t have anything against you, Starlight, like I told you earlier.” Twilight beamed with a smile, looking at her. Starlight just nodded her head.

“Anyway, if any powerful artifact had been here, I should have felt it a long time ago, Starlight.” I was sure there were no such things in this place before we arrived.

“Then, let’s see around this place, Starlight!” said Twilight, bringing her along. Spike was nowhere to be seen already, but I could hear some clanging noises from the armory room.

“Alright girls, take your time. But send Celestia a letter that we did not find any malicious signs here. I’ll go to our carriage to take a little nap. Also, I’ll order Night Guard to make a camp for us here. Make a mention that we’ll need five pegasi teams with freight carriages, along with an escort to move historical artifacts out of here. We are staying for one night. Maybe it will be worth it checking that flooded pyramid tomorrow.” I went back to my carriage after giving my instructions to everyone. Now I need rest, badly.

PoV: Night Lily.

Our journey was going smoothly since we left our resting spot in the morning. We were going in a fast pace all the time, stopping only once to have a dinner. The terrain was slowly going up the slope all the time, a sign we were getting closer to the plateau and foothills. Sapphira, despite her ability to fly, preferred to trek on the ground alongside Ray. I found them pleasant to converse with, so I too spent most of my time on the ground with them. Those two had quite a surprising endurance. By the time I had started to show signs of fatigue, they continued on, like they were on a leisure stroll. This fact, considering my decent physical training, puzzled me.

“Why are you not getting tired, folks?” I asked them when I started to pant lightly.

“Oh, let’s make a little break!” said Ray, throwing an attentive glance at me. “Unfasten your bags.” He added, hanging his bag on a nearby tree.

It felt like his gaze was seeing right through me for a moment, were my instincts overreacting? In other circumstances I’d call it creepy if I had felt such a gaze from somepony, but his gaze was soft and full of genuine concern. He found another fallen tree to sit on. Sometimes, I think that having only two legs is quite convenient! I thought, while I was wrestling with my bags, until Sapphira helped me with them.

“Come, Lily, sit here.” He beckoned me with his hand.

“Umm… Ray, the ground here is wet and dirty.” I said as I walked up to him, looking at the ground below. He scratched his head awkwardly.

“Sorry, Lily. Then… don’t be angry, but that’s no good to do it while standing on your legs.” He said as he bent his body down. His hands had skillfully grabbed me, sitting me on his lap, the rest of my body was leaning against his and he was supporting me with his hands. Sapphira just watched from the side with great interest and a smile on her face.

“What are you doing!? You just like to grab and grope me, don’t you?” I said with a bit of anger in my voice. Well, I don’t know, I’m not really angry at him. I have complex feelings about all this.

“Sorry, sorry, you’ll understand soon.” He said as he clicked fingers on his right hand.

His fingertips instantly started glowing with a mild yellow light. Then he gently placed his hand on my back. Ah, that’s it! I felt it even through my armor! Something like he did when I could not wake up from my tiredness. My legs became limp and I felt like all my body just melted in his hands, relaxing every muscle. The feeling of lightness flooded my whole body as I was cradled in his hands, feeling pure bliss.

“Mmmmmh!” I moaned in pleasure. “Ray? Why did you click your fingers before casting your spell? This gesture reminds me of certain… unpleasant somepony.” I asked in a weak voice, as his magic worked wonders inside my body.

“Ah, that… It’s just a habit I picked up from my teacher. But that makes manifesting my power faster for some reason in some cases, and I like the feel of it.” He answered after he thought a little about it.

“Then it’s all fine as long as your teacher’s name does not start with ‘D’ letter.” I said as my eyes started to close by themselves.

“I’m sure this name won’t tell you anything, but my teacher’s name is Falda’ar.” He told me, now moving his hand on top my head. “Your fatigue from yesterday, and even from earlier time had piled up, that’s why you are getting tired faster today. You should rest more, Lily.”

“Yes, I should rest more…” I said in a sleepy voice, my hooves hugged his chest lightly. I didn’t notice it at first as I did that subconsciously, now my cheeks have started to redden. “Your teacher really have a strange name! But I suppose he is a great magician! He taught you well… So unusual magic…” Now I was just relaxing in these pleasant sensations, my accumulated tension was evaporating from my mind.

“He is indeed great… But I’m not the best student so to speak, but I’m trying.”

My eyes were closed, but I’m sure now he has that wry smile on his face with raised brows, like he usually does when he is being critical to himself. Was I that attentive to him all this time to remember such things? He is of different species, but he is still a stallion… And I didn’t receive much attention from stallions for a long time, not counting those indecent offers I’ve got from some scoundrels. Some of those ended up with a bruised nose.

“Ray! I’m next!” I heard Sapphira’s voice from the side. She was standing next to us, shifting on her hooves in obvious anticipation. Then she shifted her attention to me. “I did tell you he has magical hands, didn’t I, Lily?” she said with a wink and a chuckle.

My face reddened even more and now it should be visible even through my coat. It’s like she is a headmare, directly inviting me into her herd… But I know she just likes to make fun of me with such jokes, she was making those all the way here. I’m not really used to stuff like this…

“Look at what you did, Sapphi, Lily’s face is all red now!” Ray said exaggeratedly. “Well, at least she is lively now! Feeling better now, Lily?” he asked me. I nodded my head silently with a slight smile.

He carefully put me down on my hooves and ruffled my mane a little with his hand, but then quickly fixed it. He had a smile on his face as he was looking at me.

“You know Lily, you asked me if I like to grab you… And I can tell you I certainly like it!” he laughed lightly. “You can hit me if you want…” he raised his hands in surrender, still smiling, when he saw me furrowing my brows.

I raised my head proudly and turned it away from him. “Don’t wanna!” I said stubbornly, but I still could not contain my smile that gave me away.

Meanwhile, Sapphira laughed too and unceremoniously jumped on Ray’s lap, forcing him to catch her. “Now do the same thing for me!” She demanded jokingly, but Ray still did as she asked. “Mmmm… yes! Perfect! Why didn’t you do so earlier?” she asked purringly.

“That’s because I could not do it earlier, that’s all.” He answered matter-of-factly, continuing using his magic seemingly without putting any efforts to concentrating on his task. He must have trained for a long time… That’s respectable; I know a little about magic, my job requires some basic knowledge of many things.

“Alright, while we are having a break, I’ll tell you this: we are closing in to the edge of the jungle, further lies a stretch of plains on the plateau, followed by foothills. There are strong winds in that area and we better spend the night without exiting the forests. Tomorrow we should find a way for Ray to cross the ridge. We will be unable to lift him, even when working together, Sapphi.” I relayed my thoughts to them while looking at her contented and a bit lewd face. “Did I have the same look on my face as she has now? Probably, how embarrassing!” I didn’t notice the moment I started to call her ‘Sapphi’, but she likes it, and I’m already used to be called by them just Lily.

“Then I think we should just do as you say. You know better anyway.” said Ray, still busy with Sapphira who was melting in his hands, speaking figuratively, just like I did before. After some time Ray was finished. “Alright, let’s go, Sapphi, we can rest after we find a place to spend the night at.” He patted her on her back before putting her down.

We have fastened our bags back in its places and continued on our way. I took a look at Ray’s outer clothes. It was something between a coat and a cloak, too warm for this jungle and not suitable for travelling in the wilderness too. That’s strange; he should have more suitable equipment, something like this set of scout armor on me. His coat was badly damaged in many places and was looking more like some rags than actual clothes, but he doesn’t have any spare. I, as a tracker, can tell it was all done by manticores and shadow hounds with some occasional rips here and there. What horrible battles did he have in these forests? He had survived without having any armor, relying only on his spear and support magic. I would be happy to have such a warrior on my assignments…

I sighed. I’m not a warrior or a soldier, albeit I always wanted to become one, but I have no talent for direct confrontations whatsoever. With this being a fact, I’m still working alone more often than not, putting myself in danger. There are not many ponies proficient enough and willing to work in such conditions as me. Like tracking dangerous monsters, or cults of unicorns who are practicing various dark magic, while hiding in the forests. Also, there are smugglers consisting of pegasi and griffons, even robbers along the forest roads in remote regions and other slippery types I have to find and track on a regular basis. There is a dark side to our seemingly idyllic country, but it’s not that bad as it could have been. Ponies and many other races are repulsed by excessive violence, so the cases of bloodshed and other horrible things are rare and dangerous creatures are our main concern usually.

After checking the terrain from the air one more time, I decided it is time for us to start searching for a decent place to spend the night. Ray had chosen a clearing with good visibility and enough free space in case he had to use his spear. Thinking of him as a warrior, he did not have any violent sides in his everyday behavior that races like griffons, dragons, diamond dogs and even abyssinian cats often demonstrate. But he by no means could be called ‘soft’ in a bad meaning. And what I mean by ‘soft’ are those useless and timid regular soldiers in our army. Oftentimes, I can do more than three of those combined! And I mean stallions, war mares can be even worse, albeit I did meet some ferocious fighters, mainly pegasi, but they are too reckless… Ray’s disposition, on the contrary, is just like those warrior stallions of old times had, when Equestria was not that peaceful. Of course, I only read about it in the books, but he leaves that impression on me, a positive impression.

Ray went into the forest with his spear and an axe to gather wood, my gaze inadvertently followed him until his figure disappeared behind the foliage. He was going to start a fire and get enough firewood to last through the night. Indeed, fire can repel many predators away from our place. So, we were left alone in our female company. We have started to unpack our bags and prepare our dining and sleeping places, talking while we were working.

Pov: Ray.

I was busy searching for the next victim of my axe, preferably a dry one without much rotten wood. The task was simple enough and after a few minutes I have found my target. While I was performing a monotonous work, chopping the dry tree and splitting it into usable firewood, I had quite some time to reflect on my situation.

Every single day since I have arrived here was a challenge of its own, and I still had some hope that today I’ll see some changes to this rule. Of course, my life became rather… interesting, but I’d like it to be less extreme… I continued to chop, like a machine, with a steady rhythm. I became sweaty from all the heat generated inside my body. My thoughts shifted to the two pretty mares waiting for me at the clearing. Lily… Sapphira had definitely taken a liking to her, I can see it clearly. Perhaps, it’s her lack of socializing over the years, or they just click well with each other. Lily have some great skills in navigating in the wilderness, she can’t be a simple servant of Luna, that’s a given. Was she sent here to keep an eye on us? Quite likely, but it was inevitable from the start. And she is really helping us to get out, for which I’m grateful. Also, she is really cute… and fluffy. Those tassels on the tips of her ears… I could not help but smile.

Suddenly, through the sounds of my noisy work I’ve heard some voices. I stopped chopping and listened attentively. Girls were shouting something, but I could not discern their words.

“...ay! …ack… ma…cores!” I heard some word fragments.

“What? Manticores? Again? Motherfuckers!” I jumped to my feet and rushed out with the axe in my hand and spear on my back, instantly utilizing my lifeforce to boost my speed. “Should run faster! Faster! Faster!!!” I growled under my breath as I was pumping more and more power into my energy system, breaking whole branches and bushes as I rushed right through them, getting painful hits to my body and face. “I should have found myself a tree closer to our clearing!” I was rushing towards the camp through the jungle with the momentum of a runaway train going downhill. “I must not be late, not this time! They should hold on!”