To Save our Legacy

I can't quite recall what I had dreamt that night, memories and nightmares intertwined in a vortex that more than once brought me out of my slumber with a hand over my heart and panting like a dog. Those nights had been numerous during the last months before my journey into the future, and still plagued me in this new time occasionally, giving my new friends a scare or two. But that hadn’t been the case that day, for a peaceful, dreamless sleep worked the stress out of my tired body, the exhausting march from the day prior no doubt having left no room for anything but rest in my poor body.

However, for as much as I’d wished to sleep for a year or two, I was suddenly dragged away from my dreams by a rustling from nearby bushes. My ears had grown accustomed to the usual sounds of nature: a crunch of a twig, the occasional tweet of a bird, the wind brushing against the leaves of the nearby trees. But something wasn't right.

The forest around us had turned deadly quiet aside from that noise that had triggered my fight or flight instinct.

With my mind still half asleep, I waited in complete silence, not even bothering to raise my head to take a groggy look around, just hoping to discern the origin of the sound which I believed had come from somewhere too close for my liking.

A few moments later of silent searching, I heard it again. There was no doubt about it. It was coming from the bushes on the other side of our impromptu camping site. It was subtle, but no wind was blowing at the moment, nor the chitterin of a small critter reached my ears. Whatever was inside of them was making an effort to not be detected.

None of the other ponies had woken up, which was weird considering their ears are more sensitive than a human’s. I guessed they were truly busted after yesterday’s excursion. Now more awake, I peered down in search of the warm, furry mass that was constricting my movements down and found myself entangled between Izzy’s and Sunny’s forelegs, both of them wrapped over my chest, heads halfway up my with placid, sleepy smiles adorning their muzzles. The way their snouts were almost touching got a little smile out of me.

It was an adorable sight; ponies were gifted like that.

Feeling bad for them, I had no choice but to rustle them. I would take no chances with us so far from home on uncharted territory, or at least what was now uncharted territory.

‘Sorry girls, I’ve gotta check what that rustling is. The last thing I want is a-’ Just as I was about to nudge the sleeping mares, a low, visceral growl interrupted my train of thought.

I recognized that growl instantly, having faced said creatures on more than one occasion. A petty nuisance with proper equipment, but a serious danger for our unprepared team.

“-timberwolf ambush. FuckfuckFUCK!! UP!!! EVERYPONY UP!!!” I screamed to the slumbering ponies while roughly shaking off the two mares sleeping beside me.

My screams surely reached all the way to the three pony settlements, as the ponies promptly flew from their sleeping arrangements, looking frantically at their surroundings with no time to rub the sleep from their crusty orbs.

“WHAT’S GOING ON?!!” “What was that about?!!” “NO! NOT THE MANE!!” The group of ponies began wailing incoherently while trying to make sense of the situation.

“Alex, what’s wrong?!!” Asked Sunny, the first to herself awake all the way and regain her bearings.

“Timberwolves, an ambush, on our six” I informed the group, turning to face the rustling bushes and motion with a closed fists. The gems on the gauntlet began humming as they charged with magical energy.

“If any of you know how to fight, get ready! They’re planning on making us their next meal!” I urged the ponies, sending a silent prayer to Faust for any self-defense knowledge they might harbor.

‘Yeah, right. Centuries of isolation surely has taught them how to tackle outside threats. For fuck’s sake, this is why I hate fieldwork!’

It seemed I was going to be alone for that one, with a home-made, half-assed gauntlet as my only true method of defense. Its limited power output and my embarrassing lack of recent practice meant our chances were pretty low.

Just as I finished directing the group towards our attackers, four timberwolves emerged from the underbrush, their ambush now foiled. They split into groups of two and began to slink towards us, pushing us back towards the rocks that had served as our shelter during the night.

‘Only four in the front. The fifth will remain hidden until the chance comes. The rocks at our back will not allow it to ambush us from behind, but that leaves us cornered.’

"A-Alex, w-what are those things?" Izzy asked in terror, barely able to power up her horn with the shaking of her fuzzy body. The rest of the gang fared no better.

"I-I've never seen anything like them… Hitch?" Sunny asked his friend who protectively stepped between the pegasus sisters and the predators, his sheriff training kicking in and seeing him in a fighting pose.

"Don't look at me! I know some things about critters, but I've never seen anything like this! A-Alex, any weak spots? Anything!?" The terrified sheriff implored me while getting into the defensive position.

The dim sunlight filtering through the trees caused the green glow of their eyes to stand out against their wooden bodies. Vicious growls emanated from their salivating mouths, patiently waiting for the right moment to strike.

As if having a quartet of snarling predators wasn't scary enough!

Neither group seemed more likely to attack first, just prowling in a wide circle around us, waiting for the appropriate chance to tear us a new one. Had I possessed my usual pair of gauntlets, I could’ve made an easy job of them, but with only the rough version Izzy and I had whipped up from literally scraps, I could only alternate my aim between the two of them while searching for any signal of their next actions.

‘Celestia, how I miss my blades right now…’

I had little time for a rushed explanation."They’re magical constructs originating from the Everfree Forest, created from an over-accumulation of wild magic that causes them to arise from branches and other bits of wood and leaves. If you destroy them, they reform again after a few minutes. The only way to get rid of them is to burn them! Incendio!!!" I shouted my incantation, causing a fireball to erupt from my gauntlet and impact one of the timberwolves in the right group, completely obliterating it.

The others saw this sign of hostility and decided not to wait any longer. With a blood-curdling howl, they went on the attack.

I focused on the sole survivor of the right group, who threw himself with unbridled rage at me, a vengeful gleam for his comrade in his glowing eyes. I needed a few moments to cast a spell as powerful as that again, moments that I did not have. Placing my free arm in front of my face, I managed to prevent the timberwolf from tearing it off with its jaws.

"Aaaagh!!! Fucking mutt!!!" I screamed in pain, pushing the timberwolf to the ground with my body weight in an attempt to immobilize it. The cloth from my trusty jacket saved me from the worst of its woody teeth, but it still stung as a bitch, not the best thing when you needed to concentrate for spellcasting.

On the other side of the clearing, the other group of timberwolves was facing a brave Hitch who, flying his rear legs as a certain cowmare was well known for, was desperately trying to whack them to kingdom come with a good buck.

Zipp meanwhile was flying around and swooping down on them in hit-and-fly attacks. Her sister didn't join the battle, preferring to stick to the rock wall, wings clinging to her body and rooted legs trembling with fear.

“Izzy, now!!” I screamed at the unicorn behind me, pointing at the head of the trapped timberwolf under me, his jaws still clamping down on my arm.

Understanding my message, she breached through her petrified state and charged up a basic beam, releasing the magical energies against the wooden canine. Her aim was true, shattering its face into a million pieces. Still, I knew that wouldn’t hold it for long. In a few minutes, it would be up and biting again.

‘Two down, two to go.’

Beside us, Sunny also remained out of the scuffle, eyes clenched in concentration, clenched teeth and muttered curses saw her trying to summon her alicorn form. By the frustrated expression on her face, it seemed she wasn’t making any progress.

A nearby sound of splintering wood signaled to me that one of the other attackers had been obliterated. I looked over, I could tell it had been from a double kick from Hitch’s rear legs. Before I had any chance to congratulate the brave stallion's aim, the remaining timberwolf jumped and clamped his jaws around one of Zipp’s wings as she made for a dive. The poor pegasus screamed in agony, and immediately crashed onto the ground, leaving a trail of blooded features on ehr wake. The now victorious timberwolf rose above her and prepared to bite at her jugular.

“NOT MY SISTER, YOU SMELLY PIECE OF SCRAPS!!!” A shout came from under the rock cover, a pink blur launching immediately after, crashing into the timberwolf and pushing both of them away from the fallen pegasus.

Something had snapped in the petite pegasus, sisterly love dragging her from her stupor and cannonballing her to Zipp’s rescue. But now Pipp was the one in danger of being torn to pieces. It only took the timberwolf a second to recover, now regarding a disoriented Pipp with hateful eyes at being denied its feathery meal.

However, her actions gave me the time I needed. The gauntlet was half charged and ready, and the pain had turned into a numb throb by then. The timberwolf was seconds from getting the pounce on Pipp, the roughed-up mare rising a foreleg over her in a vain last attempt to defend herself.

But I only needed one.

“Diffindo!!” I shouted, my severing spell activating while I was still recovering on the ground, an arc of magical energy rushed towards the predator, cutting into him like he was made of butter as well as a couple of trees behind it until the spell lost its power. The green glow faded from his eyes, and his remains fell to the ground and disintegrated into hundreds of pieces which mixed with the remains of the fallen trees.

With the commotion now over, I took a moment to catch my breath. Timberwolves normally hunted in packs of five, but it seemed the remaining one had chosen to flee after seeing his packmates being completely obliterated, though I wasn’t going to lower my guard just yet.

‘We are still half a day’s journey from the Everfree Forest, what were they doing so far from it?! Perhaps the magical outburst from the crystals’ joining attracted them somehow?’

I couldn’t finish my train of thought as the piercing screams of agony from Zipp reached my ears. She was curled into a ball, clutching her wounded wing in her hooves and loudly crying in pain. Her sister, now having regained both her wits and balance, was at her side, trying to get her to calm down and assess the damage.

I quickly got on my feet and ran towards the wounded pegasus, the rest of the ponies gathering around.

I grabbed her front legs and pushed them apart to get a glimpse of her wounded wing. Blood stains spread across the appendage and stained her white fur a crimson red. The timberwolf had managed to drive its teeth deep into the muscle, and the weight it exerted as it pulled downward had generated deep gouges along the entire length of the patagium and wrist.

‘Nope, this isn’t looking good at all.’ I mentally cursed, my mind already going through my modest repertory of healing spells.

But I wouldn’t be able to do shit with Zipp fighting me to protect her bloody wing. "Zipp! Zipp! I need you to calm down and let me help you. I can fix it, but I need you to calm down. Do you trust me?" I asked her as I stroked her between the ears in an attempt to reassure her.

With teary eyes, Zipp nodded and, letting go of her damaged limb, she painfully stretched out her damaged wing as far as she could to give me better access, her entire body shivering uncontrollably. His sister cried bitterly at the sight of Zipp’s sorry state, as did the rest of the ponies behind me.

"Great. Let's see… Ugh, come on, Alexander, think!!” I bumped myself in my forehead to ease the clog in my thought that prevented me from coming with the appropriate spell. “Okay, I should be able to use one of my healing spells for this. It won't hurt, but it will feel very strange, like a tremendous need to scratch your wing. Fight it, don't interrupt the spell or you might lose the wing. Do you understand me?" I asked her with a serious look, gems humming with energy as they began powering up.

Another teary nod. I signaled to Pipp to hold her down just in case.

"All right, get ready." I instructed as I concentrated. My gauntlet hummed with power. I didn't have much magic left in storage, but it should be enough. Luckily, it wasn't an overly complex or draining spell. What I had should be enough, and I could always use the other trick, albeit I’d rather not to.

“Vulnera sanentur.” I muttered, a soft glow emanating from my hand and spreading throughout Zipp’s wing. I could feel her muscles tensing at the uncomfortable feeling, but with clenched teeth and the help of her sister, she managed to resist the urge I had too experienced on more than one occasion.

Slowly, the tears and gashes on her wing began to mend and the blood returned to its rightful place. After a minute of continuous casting, her wing was as good as new, leaving me a smidge dizzy but overall happy to see her out of danger.

I had to give it to her, she had soldiered through the process. This pony was not a petty-princess-on-her-petty-castle type of royal.

Still not fully believing it, Zipp rose on her hooves and gave a few experimental flaps of the previously-damaged appendage. In the absence of any pain or discomfort, she turned to regard me with a look of bewilderment and profound gratitude.

With a shaky voice, she spoke, “T-Thank you, Alex. Thank you so much, I-I can’t…”

Before she could rant any longer, I placed my hand over her muzzle to gently silence her. “You’re fine Zipp, don’t mention it.” I muttered softly as I gave her an encouraging smile.

With our friend out of danger, I too got back on my feet and addressed the astonished-looking ponies around me. “Is anypony else hurt? Hitch? Izzy?” I prodded the still teary-eyed equines, now visibly deflating with their friend freely flapping her wing in disbelief, her sister close to her side and examining the feathery limb.

“Nothing broken here, just a few scratches and bumps.” Hitch answered while dusting himself repositioning his shoulder strap and badge. His fur was messed and dirty, splinters and scraps of vegetation clinging to it, a reminder of our recent fight. But he didn’t look in need of medical attention, although all the energy we had replenished during the night had promptly vanished in the scuffle.

“I’m okay, too.” Cried the unicorn besides the sheriff. “I just need a minute to keep my heart from bursting out... pheeew, that was a close one!” Said Izzy, followed by her wiping the nonexistent sweat from her forehead.

“Thank goodness.” I allowed myself a breath of relief, but the work was still not done. “Izzy, if you would be so kind as to levitate the broken timberwolves and burn them in the campfire. They will reassemble in a few minutes if we don’t get rid of them for good.”

With an affirmative nod, she hopped on and got to it, powering her horn and gathering the woody scraps and into a neat pile which she unceremoniously dropped over the cooling embers of the campfire. With new fuel, it wasn't long until it roared with life again.

Only one pony was still in need of check up, one which hadn't moved an inch from where she had spent the fight. “How about you, Sunny? Is everything in place?” I turned to look at my friend, only to find her shedding angry tears and sobs, her face full of rage and shame.

Pursing my lips, I was quick to see that something was not right with her. “Sunny?” I tested the earth pony, taking a step closer to her.

“I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry! I-I… *hic*… I couldn’t summon my powers, I-I tried… *hic*… a-and tried b-but…” The mare exploded. “WHAT USE ARE THESE ALICORN POWERS IF I CAN’T USE THEM TO PROTECT MY FRIENDS!!!?” She lashed out in frustration, furiously stomping the ground in a full-on tantrum.

Once in reach, I placed my hand under her chin and forced her to gaze at me, my thumb gently stroking her cheek fur, now matted with tears.

“Sunny, nopony expects you to have full control of your powers at the moment. We have only practiced for the past few days…” I attempted to calm her tantrum.

She wasn’t convinced by my words. Repeating her previous steps, she set out to demonstrate what she had tried to bring out her powers. “Still!! I tried focusing like you told me, tried to feel them inside me and get them…”

*WHOOSH*

With a humming echo and a blinding light, her alicorn form manifested in front of us all.

The sight of her shimmering assets only finished driving her mad. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!? NOW YOU DECIDE TO APPEAR!! YOU USELESS PIECES OF SH…”

“SUNNY!! THAT’S ENOUGH!!” I screamed to cut her ranting short and regain her attention. She immediately ceased her cursing and returned a tearful look, ears pressed against her scalp.

With a long sigh to calm my nerves, I took her head in my grasp and hugged it hard against my chest, allowing her to lose the last tendrils of frustration on me. She grabbed my jacket with both forehooves and continued bitterly crying, staining my shirt with angry tears, muttering obscenities about the injustice of the situation and how one of her best friends could have died while she just stood watching.

I could hear the crackling of the rekindled campfire between her sobs, Izzy now having finished her task and hurrying to reach her sobbing friend. I allowed Sunny to let out all her frustration, gently rubbing over her scalp and neck. The rest of the ponies surrounded us and waited in respectful silence, feeling her pain as their own.

After a few more minutes, her sobs started to quiet down, and her breathing became even against the fabric of my clothes. I kneeled and held her gaze level with mine.

“Sunny, your powers are still new to you. We have barely begun to scratch the surface of what they’re capable of.” I reasoned sweetly. “You were panicking, fearing for our friends and trying to force something that should come out naturally. With experience, you will improve. But for now, don’t push yourself too hard.” I reassured her, drying her tears with my thumbs.

“B-but, without them, I’m completely useless; I-I can’t fly, o-or cast magic, and I’m not trained in hoof-to-hoof combat like Hitch! I can’t do anything…” She tried to lower her pearls in shame, but I held them in place.

“Sunny, I could give you an all-day lecture about how wrong you are, but I think I’m going to let our friends do it for me. If you don’t want to believe my words, at least believe in theirs.” I gently turned her sight in the direction where the ponies had congregated. All of them wore looks of sympathy and concern.

Zipp, ecstatic with her wings stretched fully without a shadow of pain, took a step closer to Sunny and gave her a friendly nuzzle. “Sunny, please don’t ever say things like that again.” She softly chided. “You’re our friend, our leader! You brought us together in the first place and you always try so hard to keep us like that. We understand that you’re still getting to grips with this whole alicorn magic thing... and that’s okay! We won’t ever ask you for anything more than what you are now, Sunny, and we absolutely WON’T think any less of you just because you can’t manifest your powers. Right guys?” She turned her neck back towards the rest of the group, receiving numerous cheers of support.

A tiny smile began to lighten her muzzle. With one last sob, she launched herself over Zipp, trapping her in a big-hoofed-and-winged hug. The rest of the ponies joined the group cuddle, softly delivering their own encouraging words.

The sight warmed my heart. THIS! This is what we strived for. True friendship and understanding between races, not pitting and demanding what others can’t provide, nor looking down at those who can’t reach where we can.

Now out of immediate danger, I powered down my gauntlet and allowed the gems to recharge. Daily casting had allowed me to improve my ‘magical stamina’ a little bit, if you want to call it that. Training and frequent casting meant I could deal with more spells without getting too tired compared to what I was initially capable of. I had lost shape during my slumber, that was painfully obvious to me. With the danger passed for the time being, I now had to deal with the adrenaline crash that always followed, delivering its painful reminder regarding the injury I had been inflicted by that cursed timberwolf. Coming down hard, the pain of two full rows of teeth clamped deep into my arm returned to cheer up my morning.

With a hiss of pain, I sat back on the floor and removed my blood-stained jacket. Its thickness had prevented the timberwolf's sharp teeth from penetrating too far into my skin. But even so, my arm showed numerous bite marks that bled lightly down its length. Without enough magic available at the moment, I would have to wait for a bit until I could use a healing spell… and even then, healing spells don't usually work well when you apply them to yourself.

I had to time myself with the casting. The core gem of my gauntlet, the one I had brought with me, whilst holding shared characteristics with the other ones, it wasn't meant to be able to cast much more magic outside its intended purpose. Enough to get me out of a tight spot like the one we had just gone through, but I feared it wouldn't be able to hold for much longer if I didn't pace myself.

My gesture attracted the ponies’ attention, getting them to disentangle themselves from the group hug and approach my sitting form. I grabbed my bag and pulled out one of my spare shirts I had unceremoniously crumbled inside to create a homemade bandage.

“Alex! Your arm!” Shouted a concerned Izzy, the rest of the ponies wearing similar expressions.

With calming gestures, I reassured them of my condition. “I’m fine guys, only a few scratches. After recharging for a bit, I’ll cast a healing spell on myself, so don’t worry about me.” I eased their concern while tightening the knot around the wounded area. “What we should focus on doing now is to keep moving. I fear the noise of the ruckus and the smell of blood might attract other, much deadlier creatures.”

I zipped up my bag and rested it on my back. With a grunt, I stood up and dusted myself off. With the early sun peeking from the east, I oriented myself facing northwest and signaled the ponies to begin the march anew. With reluctant side-looks, they followed without a word.

Cloudpuff, who had stayed out of danger during the fight, managed to find the trace again, although taking into account yesterday’s wonky trek, I couldn’t bring myself to trust his tracking skills too much. A more prominent question was on my mind, however. One that had been bothering me for a while now.

‘Where the actual fuck is Canterhorn Peak?! We should be able to see it from here!’

I decided to briskly head in that direction, Cloudpuff more or less taking a similar path. The rest of the ponies spread themselves out around me in a protective circle. I was warmed by their concern, but considering our current situation, I wasn’t really the one needing protection.

I frequently checked on Zipp as we continued on our way. Her wing seemed totally fine on the outside, although I advised her not to fly for a few more hours and to allow the tissues to fully rearrange themselves. Not that the glitching magic would allow her in the first place.

We kept up our march until midday, at which point I recommended we take a brief stop to rest and grab something to eat. I had chosen to settle near a few berry bushes, and both Pipp and Izzy volunteered to gather some for us to eat. I then took the chance to heal myself.

“Episkey” I muttered, this spell stinging more than the previous one. My pained hiss attracted Sunny’s attention, giving me a sympathetic smile and a reassuring rub. I returned the gesture in kind, appreciating her concern. A moment later, the bite marks were gone.

‘Faust above, I love magic so much.’

“Alex…” Sunny muttered in a quiet tone, still rubbing my injured arm. Her alicorn form hadn’t yet disappeared, clinging to her for a surprising amount of time.

“Mhm?” I replied while checking over my arm in search of any injuries I might have missed.

“I do believe in you. In your words, I mean...” She quietly referred to our previous conversation.

“I know you do Sunny. You and your friends have been very trusting of me, way more than what I could’ve ever asked of you.”

“It’s just…” She continued with her gaze fixed on the ground, “These powers, it’s very overwhelming. It’s a huge responsibility! Alicorns have always led ponies, always acting as the epitome of what ponykind should aspire to be. I-I don’t know if I’m ready to become something like that. I’m not even sure I want to.” She fumbled with her forehooves nervously. “I’ve always enjoyed helping others and trying to change the world, but this? It's too much. I know I will break from the pressure eventually a-and…” Her breathing began to speed up. She looked on the brink of a panic attack.

Not wanting her to suffer more than necessary, I grabbed her and brought her to my side, hugging her head against my chest once again. She immediately snuggled deeper while squeezing my sides, trying to stop herself from falling into a hysterical crisis.

I gently rubbed her head and neck, slowly rocking her back and forth. “Shhhh, it's okay Sunny. You don’t have to be anything else aside from who you are, alicorn powers or not. I won't lie and say I know the reason why they were entrusted to you, but if I had to take a guess? I believe they’re meant to help with your mission of changing the ponies’ minds about living segregated lives, the same thing you’ve been doing for the past few years.” A half truth only, but she needn't hear that for the time being. “You don’t have to become any kind of powerful, immortal ruler or anything like that. You only have to be you, Sunny. That’s all we can ask of you, and that’s all we need. Don’t feel pressured, okay? The rest of the ponies can think whatever they want, but you will ALWAYS be our Sunny, our cheerful, optimistic and cute earth pony mare, capiche?” I concluded with a playful smirk.

My teasing words got an adorable blush to light up her cheeks. After a few moments, I felt her nodding against my chest. Grinning victoriously at her answer, I gave her a small kiss behind her left ear and a few more encouraging pets. These ponies were too adorable for their own good.

When she finally released me, her blush was still present, but now adorned by a warm smile.

The girls returned with enough berries for all of us. I feared for a moment they would give us indigestion or something worse. Thankfully, Hitch recognized them and reassured us that they were edible.

We ate our meager lunch in comfortable silence, setting aside a few of them to store and use later. While munching on a handful of berries, I fixed my attention in the direction of what should have been a tall singular mountain peak. Now that we were closer, I could discern a smaller peak in the place where Canterhorn used to be, but the tall vegetation and rock formations prevented me from finding any trace of the city that once stood near its summit.

‘Please, PLEASE, don’t let it have collapsed! There are things there I need to retrieve!’

Once we finished our meal, I resumed the path in that direction once again. However, Sunny had other ideas.

“Guys, we’ll get a better lay of the land from above the trees. Zipp, Pipp, can you do a flyover for us? She asked while stretching her translucent wings.

Both the pegasi gave a few test flaps, returning affirmative answers. Zipp looked at me searching for my opinion about her being able to fly by now, myself nodding in confirmation. It had been a couple of hours since the attack, and it wasn’t a bad idea to stretch them a bit and see if there was any lingering pain or discomfort, not that I’d be able to do much about it in the middle of nowhere.

“I can ask some of the critters around here to see if they know about any other timberwolves or dangerous creatures. I don’t want a repeat of this morning’s incident.” Hitch offered.

Izzy on the other side looked uncertain. Getting Sunny’s attention, she voiced her concerns. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to split up…”

“We don’t have a choice, Izzy. Every minute the crystal is separated from the others, our magic will become more and more unstable. We need to use every advantage we have. Alex?” She addressed me to ask for my opinion.

“It’s your call, Sunny. I’ll remain on the ground and follow the same directions I was previously. I’ll signal you if I find something worth checking.” I answered with a shrug. I wanted to leave the choice to her, getting her used to giving orders and directing the group as their leader. I kneeled and showed Cloudpuff my hand, allowing him to record my scent to later guide Hitch back to me.

“Great! Let’s roll, ponies!” Sunny cheered with a clap.

“I still think…” Izzy began saying, but before she could finish, the rest of the gang had already spread out, leaving us alone in the middle of the forest.

“Oh, nuts…” She muttered gloomily.

I gave Izzy a reassuring pat on her flank. “Come on Izz, let’s get moving. I have a possible destination in mind.”

Without protest, she began to follow, but not after sending a sad look behind her.

‘I can’t believe they left me behind again! I mean, I’m not exactly alone… ugh! As if this morning's flyball game wasn’t enough! I know we should make use of our abilities while they last…. but without wings or Hitch’s ability with critters…. uuugh.’

I couldn’t stop going in laps around it as I followed Alex through the forest. The fact that I couldn’t follow my friends and help them due to my differences really, really bothered me. I knew they weren’t doing it on purpose, but still, it felt like they were leaving me behind…

The snapping of twigs brought me back to the waking world. It had been my human friend, who now was taking a moment to reorient himself in the midst of the leafy cover surrounding us.

‘At least he didn’t leave me behind. He looks very sure of himself, even after being left alone with me. I know I’m not the most powerful unicorn there is…’

“You’re very quiet back there Izzy, is my rear that breathtaking? I'll take your silence as a compliment.”

His words brought an amused snort out of me. “Oh, yeah. Worthy of being sculpted in white marble for sure.”

“Ha! I actually WAS offered to get a sculpture of myself done for the royal castle’s gardens. Of course, I said no. Can you imagine my lanky form just standing there in the middle of the grass looking proud, terrorizing the visiting foals?” He jested, imitating the pose his statue would portray with a silly face..

“Come ooon, Alex, I doubt it would have been that bad.” I chuckled with a roll of my eyes. He wasn’t bad looking, not at all in my opinion…

With a small laugh, he added, “I know, I know, it’s just… There are several sculptures in the royal gardens that might or might not have contained some of Equestria’s greatest villains inside. Being immortalized in stone did not always entail a good reason.”

“Really!?” I blurted out, surprised at his revelation.

“Yeah… it’s a long story. I’ll tell you with the rest of our friends later on. Speaking of that, you seemed a bit bothered back there. Everything fine between the lot of you?” He inquired, looking back with concern.

“O-oh! Y-yeah, everything’s fine, totally fine, yes…” I stammered quickly, not wanting to bother him with my silly musings.

His raised eyebrow told me he wasn’t fully convinced. His suspicious silence prodded me to continue. “I-it’s just…. I’m a bit worried about them, I don’t want them to get hurt, not after what happened this morning.” I wasn’t lying; of course, I cared for my friends, but that wasn’t everything.

“… Okay then. I trust you, Izzy. It’s only natural to worry about your closest friends.” He finally replied, although not sounding one hundred percent convinced.

We spent the next few hours walking towards a small mountain, which Alex pointed out was our intended destination. He hadn’t told me what he was expecting to find there, only that there was a chance the thief would have chosen that place as their hideout. He kept glancing at his sides every once in a while, searching for something I couldn’t discern.

“Hmm, hmm… Last Christmas I gave you my heart. But the very next day you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears. I'll give it to someone speciaaal.”

He had begun to hum a little song after we had crossed a small stream, now getting close enough to the mountain that it cast its shadow over us.

“What’s that song you're singing? I’ve never heard it before.” I wondered. It was a beautiful song, although I didn’t recognize any of the lyrics.

“Oh, it’s just a song from my home world, typical of the winter holidays. It was one of those my family used to play for the occasion. Just like three quarters of the world for that matter.” He explained.

“... But it’s the middle of the summer…” A winter song at this time of the year?

He didn’t seem bothered by it. “Your point? It just sprouted in my mind for no particular reason. It was well known to do that.”

An amused snort was my only response. He could be quite random sometimes. I liked that about him, it always got a laugh out of me.

A tiny smile made its way up my muzzle. In the short time I’ve known him, I’ve found myself deeply enjoying our shared time. He’d always shown interest in my work and had asked me to make several things for him, including new clothes and the gauntlet we made together. Every chance I got, I would have lunch with him after his return from working at the hospital, and he sometimes shared some of his crazy knowledge with me and our friends. I mean, we? Having more connections in our brain than stars in our galaxy? Now THAT sounds crazy!

Also, he hadn’t left me behind….

So absorbed was I in my thoughts that I didn’t notice him stop dead in his tracks, causing me to bump against his back and fall backwards onto my rump.

“You okay there, Izzy?” He asked over his houder.

I reassured him with a wave of my hoof. “Everything’s peachy, just a bit distracted, sorry about that.”

“You're good. So, I have a theory of what might be happening here. Those mountains over there, on our right?” He pointed towards a small mountain range at the other end of the forest, “Those are the Foal Mountains. A continuation of the Zephyr Range all the way to kiss the horizon. And the river we have been following on our left? That should be the Silver Run which flows from the Neighagra Falls, far to the north from of our position. That means that this small mountain in front of us HAS to be Canterhorn Peak. There’s no other possibility.” His hand came to brush against his chin. “However, the Canterhorn Peak I remember reached way, WAY higher than this one.”

He approached a nearby chasm. The terrain had begun to turn rockier as we made our slow way up, yet the vegetation remained as dense as ever. I followed him and peered down the black, not able to discern anything due to the darkness of the small abysm.

“Izzy, I need you to cast a wave of magic in the direction of the chasm. Just raw magic, no spell attached, understand?”

Nodding in understanding, I concentrated and built up the energy in my horn. The familiar tingling feeling when holding big amounts of magic signaled to me that there was enough charge, so I pointed my horn towards the abysm and released it.

The raw energy release shook the nearby bushes and caused small fragments of rock to fall down the gap. After a few moments of nothing happening, I saw it, and by Alex’s cheer at my side, he saw it too.

Small glimmering lights of purple and pink shades, a lot of them. Not very bright on their own, but their numbers made up for it. They ran along the walls all the way down until the depth was too great to glimpse anything.

“I knew it! Those are the remains of the crystal galleries below the city. If they’re exposed like this, with the peak now considerably shorter, it means they eventually had to sink it, as we feared we would have to do in the end…” He exclaimed while pointing at the glimmering lights.

I didn’t understand anything about what he had just said. “The what in the where now?”

He chuckled at my bewildered reaction and proceeded to better explain. “Below and inside Canterhorn Peak, which is indeed the small mountain in front of us, stretched dozens of kilometres of underground caves and caverns full of crystals that were mined by the ponies from the city above them and the surrounding towns, making the peak somewhat… ‘hollow’, due to the excavations. However, it seems that the same tunnels that once held the crystal mines have collapsed, sinking the mountain into the earth. But if you look closely, the upper peak remains intact, and we haven’t crossed any other big chasms like this one, nor found any surface exposures of purple crystals. I believe the sinking was intentional, a deliberate effort before it happened naturally, which would have buried the city and its inhabitants under tons of rocks.”

Dusting his hand, he went to return to the invisible path he had been following between the green. “Very well, let’s keep looking, and let’s see if we can find an entrance.”

Once again, he began his march towards our mysterious destiny. I remained a second longer, peering at the glimmering chasm for another moment, trying to make sense of his words.

‘A sunken mountain? A city? What is he talking about?’

We continued our search for another couple of hours, now taking special care to find some kind of ‘entrance’ as he had referred to it.

With aching hooves, I was beginning to get frustrated when I felt a slight rush of air with my ears. Wiggling them a bit, I was able to figure out the source of it. It seemed to be coming from my right, but there was only an accumulation of stones and dense vines over there.

With my curiosity peaked, I approached to investigate. I used my levitation to pull up the dense vegetation and, underneath it all, I found a small entrance to a cave.

“Alex! I think I’ve found something!” I called out to my human friend and began levitating obstructing rocks out of the way to widen the entrance.

Alex, who had gone a bit ways ahead, quickly returned to my side. “What is it, Izzy?” He asked, but soon shared my findings. “Wow, that looks promising. Great job!” He congratulated me.

I returned a strained smile. The rocks were very heavy, but after seeing my struggles, he started using his own magic to ease the effort.

“This could be it. I’ll get to return, way sooner than I was expecting.” I thought I heard him mutter as he floated another big rock out of the way.

‘What?’

Once the entrance was wide enough for us to march in without trouble, I poked my head in to take a look. It wasn’t very deep, and a few cracks on its ceiling allowed some natural light to filter in. Using my ears and snout, I followed the small current to its origin with Alex following behind me, minding his step.

After a short trek, I reached a wall on the other side of the small cave. The air current seemed to be coming from the other side. Alex stood besides me and gave it an analytic look. Brushing aside some ivy and moss, we found not rock, but petrified wood. Carved, ancient-looking wood.

“Okay, this is something worth checking over.” He proposed. “However, I think we should signal the others first, or else we’ll end up too far away to find each other.”

Nodding in agreement, we retraced our steps back into the exterior. With the sky above us, Alex signaled me to fire up a light beacon into the heavens, so the others could find our location. With a scream of ‘Lumos maxima’ he fired his own spell at the same time as I launched mine.

The twin beacons lit up the afternoon sky, like two tiny suns sharing the blue with their big brother. With that done, we sat near the entrance and waited for our friends to arrive. I placed myself at his side, snuggling against him, enjoying the feeling of his arm stretching past me and hugging me against this frame.

So I happen to be a cuddly unicorn, sue me.

He continued humming another song, absentmindedly stroking my fur to the rhythm of it. I had to admit, it felt simply wonderful. He had done similar on numerous occasions during the past few days while hanging out with me, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

With a warm smile, I closed my eyes and snuggled in deeper, listening to his humming. I felt him resting his head over mine, taking care not to poke himself with my horn.

I could have waited like this all day, his quiet voice slowly lulling me to sleep. I wasn’t sure when I had ended up doing so, but a gentle shake from him woke my unwilling self from the impromptu nap.

“Mmmmm….” I mumbled in a half-asleep slur.

He shook me again. “Wake up Izzy, I think I can hear our friends approaching.”

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and strained my ears to listen closely. He was right, I could hear muffled voices coming towards our position.

“They should be around here somewhere…”

“Did you check the position of the beacons correctly, Zipp?”

“Wait up Cloudpuff! Don’t get too far!”

Just as I was going to call to them, a white ball of fluff emerged from the bushes near the road, barking in joy at having found us. He launched himself into Alex’s waiting arms, receiving vigorous pets from the human.

“Hey there, Cloudpuff, did you manage to track us all the way here?” He received an affirmative bark from the Pomeranian. “Such a good boy! Yes, you are!”

Cloudpuff beamed at the praise, jumping from Alex’s grasp and running excited laps around us.

“Guys! Over here!” I heard Hitch call to our friends, jumping out from the clinging bushes into the small clearing a second later.

“Hey there, sheriff, enjoying the relaxing walk through the forest?” I asked the puffing earth pony.

“Ah… ah… no Izzy, it wasn’t relaxing in the slightest.” He snorted tiredly. “Cloudpuff kept dragging me all over the place, and the critters don’t seem to know anything about a thief that might have passed through here. You guys found something?”

Before Alex could answer, the rest of the group emerged from the dense vegetation. Now that we were all together again, I could breathe a little easier. I didn't like the fact that we had to split up. Hadn’t we learned anything from the scary movies?

"Alex! Izzy!" Sunny exclaimed in glee when she saw us and rushed over to give us both a big hug.

“Hey there, Tangerine, how was the flight? Any issues with your magic?”

Receiving a negative answer from Sunny, he repeated the question to the pegasus sisters, only getting complaints from Pipp about how boring the search had been.

‘Tangerine? Heh, that’s a funny nickname. I want one too…’

“So, what did you guys find out? We couldn’t see anything interesting from the air. Perhaps a glimpse of what looked like some ruins of some kind a few kilometers south of here. But we didn’t fly too high in case our magic glitched and we had to use the trees as cushioning, so we couldn’t glimpse too far ahead.” Zipp spoke while the ponies joined in a circle around us.

“It was sooooo booooriiing! I thought for a moment I would end up falling asleep in the air. I really miss my phone…” Pipp complained with a sigh, receiving an annoyed look from her sister.

“Do any of you guys know where we are now?” My human friend hinted at the group. None of the ponies seemed to know, and I wasn’t totally sure myself.

“You said something about a sunken mountain and a city.” I answered, the pony’s expressions morphing into ones of amazement.

“A city!? Here!? What are you talking about, Alex?!” Sunny excitedly prodded while taking a step towards the human. I knew how much she liked these kinds of things, inheritance from her father’s passion I guessed.

With a soft laugh, Alex started to explain. “My dear Sunny, behind me stands… not so proudly now, the mighty Canterhorn Peak, the place where Equestria’s capital once stood, and still stands I hope…”

A huge, muzzle-splitting gasp emanated from my friend, her eyes going to a pair of dark pools of wonder. “CANTERLOT!! THE CITY YOU’RE REFERRING TO IS CANTERLOT!!”

An amused grin from Alex was all the answer she needed. With an excited cheer, she began bouncing around us in celebration.

The rest of us were left speechless.

‘Canterlot! The legendary city from where the princesses of old used to rule over Equestria!’

“AAAAAAHH!! I CAN´T BELIEVE WE FOUND IT!! My dad spent many years trying to, but never found an entrance!! I didn’t know it was here! I-I thought it was located on the top of a huge mountain! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh WE FOUND IT!!” She continued cheering while grabbing Alex and shaking him back and forth.

Pipp finally managed to regain her voice. “Wow, that… okay that sounds amazing.” And then she remembered. “Uuuuugh, and I have no battery to LIVESTREAM IT!” She lamented with an annoyed stomp.

“It also sounds like the perfect place for a thief to hide. We have to check it out!” Zipp added with a pump of her wings.

I decided to intervene, proudly stating our findings. “Alex and I found a possible entrance, it’s just over there inside the cave, we wanted to wait for you.” I stated while puffing my chest in pride.

Alex answered with a playful rub on my chest fluff. I stuck out my tongue at him jokingly.

“WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?!! LET'S MOVE!!” Sunny, bubbling with renewed energy, stood behind Alex and began pushing him with her head over the cave’s entrance.

‘Thank hoofness her alicorn powers are gone, that would have hurt.’ I envisioned the image of Alex getting poked back there… and I couldn’t help releasing a chuckle.

‘Yeah, this is gonna be an interesting day after all.’

Sunny kept pushing me until we had reached the entrance, the moment I had to ask her to stop, else we would trip over with the protruding rocks and taste the moist soil.

“Slow down, Sunny. I know this is very exciting, but we must be careful.” I implored her while placing a hand over her head, signaling to her to stop pushing.

She did so with an embarrassed blush. “Sorry, it’s just… I’ve been dreaming of doing something like this since I was a little filly.”

I gave her a sympathetic scratch behind her ear. “I understand Sunny, it IS a big discovery… and maybe I’ll get to see what became of my home.” I muttered the last part with a small sigh so that she wouldn’t hear it. That was my own business to deal with. We had more important matters to focus on in the meantime.

‘Although I’ll try and take a small detour if possible. Perhaps some of my things managed to survive. The rest of them I left at Twilight’s castle… I’ll have to check that out, too.’

Once all the ponies were settled around the entrance, I used my levitation spell to remove the remaining vegetation.

“I-It’s… IT’S THE SACRED GATE OF THE ANCIENTS!!” Sunny screamed with an audible gasp when the remaining engravings were revealed.

“... The what now?” I asked, confused at her words. Last time I checked, Canterlot had nothing named like that.

“My dad used to read me stories from back when Canterlot became the home of the royal princesses! This gate was built to welcome travelers from all around the world. Behind these gates is the most magical place on Equus! THE VERY PLACE TWILIGHT SPARKLE WAS CORONATED AND BECAME THE RULER OF EQUESTRIA! AND…” The mare did a double take. “This was your home too…” She finished with a low voice, turning to look at me with sad eyes.

“Yes, Sunny, it was… but not anymore. My home is with you guys now, so don’t worry about it, okay?” I reassured the ponies. Sunny and Izzy approached me and gave me sympathetic nuzzles. They understood this was a hard moment for me.

“Hmmm.” I mulled for a second. “This gate wasn’t here the last time I was in the city. Twilight must have built it after I left… well, let’s see what's behind it, shall we?”

I received excited nods from the group. Together, we pushed against the ancient rusty hinges, the massive doors screeching in an effort to open for the first time in probably centuries.

What awaited us was a great surprise for the ponies, but a profound disappointment for me. I had assumed it would've been as such, but a small part of me wished the city had managed to remain pretty and pristine.

In front of us, the dusty ruins of what was once the most gracious city in all of Equestria stretched as far as the eye could see. This new gate connected near the middle level of the city, so the royal castle shouldn’t have been too far. You could distinguish the uppermost peaks of its looming towers from where we stood.

“Yikes! You dreamed of coming here?” Pipp spoke while hesitantly picking up what in the day had been a welcome banner. “No offense, Sunny, but if the thief needed enough money to move out of this ghost town, maybe we should let them keep the crystal.”

Sunny was quick to come up with a rebuttal. “Nopony’s lived in Canterlot for hundreds of years, but I promise you’ll all be able to feel the magic once we start exploring!”

She took a few steps forward and pointed all around the street. “Every one of these shops is a relic from the past. Canterlot culture lived here!”

I took a closer look at the surrounding buildings, finding a small relief in their state. “Hmmm, it seems the old time-preserving spells seeded into the stones have managed to more or less keep the place from totally collapsing. The buildings are still up, and some of the paint, windows and cloth pieces still remain. At least you’ll get an improvised tour.” I joked, Sunny attentively absorbing my words.

We continued our way up the street, with the ponies each approaching the different shops and houses in their own little expedition. Sunny and Izzy trotted together, the former furiously scribbling on her notebook anything she deemed interesting, which was virtually everything in sight.

I continued my slow pace behind the group, taking in the sights with melancholy, memories of my days in the city accompanying every step. I had spent the last years in Canterlot after Twilight moved there to rule from the royal castle. She was ecstatic when I announced I’d be moving with her, repeatedly thanking me for doing so since she feared the distance from Ponyville would affect her relationships with her loved ones. At least she would have Spike and me with her to ease the transition.

It was such a shame to see the city in this state. The one-time beacon of light and friendship was now reduced to a bunch of forgotten ruins.

‘Faust, I can’t even imagine how bad it had to turn out for something like this to result.’

Sunny’s voice brought me out of my dark musings, slowing her step to trot besides me. “Hey, Alex. There’s something I don’t understand.”

“Ask away, Tanguerine.” I encouraged her, silently thanking her for the distraction.

Reading over her notes, she asked. “Wasn’t Canterlot located at the side of the mountain near the top? I mean, I don’t think we’ve even climbed that high.”

“You’re right, Sunny,” I began my explanation, “Canterlot was indeed located near the top of Canterhorn Peak. Back then the fastest way to reach the city was either flying or by train, although there were several roads you could walk if you wished. However, you’ll have noticed how the mighty Canterhorn Peak isn’t looking so mighty now. I believe it had something to do with the crystal mines under the mountain.”

“Is that what you were telling me before?” Inquired Izzy, who had now begun to walk at my other side. The rest of the ponies also neared us to listen to my theory.

“Yes, Izzy. Dozens of kilometres of tunnels filled with gems ran through the interior and under Canterhorn Peak. Ponies from all around Equestria had been mining them for centuries, widening the tunnels and even creating new galleries. That, summed with the numerous…um, ‘conflicts’ Canterlot has been involved in, has clearly ended up compromising the structural integrity of the mountain. Too many bumps, if you will.”

I remembered the day of the quake. What a fright we all had had when the streets began shaking for a spell before stopping as quickly as it had started. “The geologists and seismologists warned us that if the mining activities were to continue unchecked, or if the city faced another destructive event, there was a high chance the tunnels would end up collapsing, dropping the city hundreds of meters and burying it under tons of rock and gems.” The ponies shuddered at the image. It was a shock for us too when we were warned back then.

I continued with my retelling. “So, after consulting with many experts, a plan was devised to solve the issue. With the help of the digging experts, the Diamond Dogs, with whom we had begun to establish more solid relationships, we would collapse all tunnels running inside and under the mountain to sink it into the ground while using the princesses’ combined magic to keep the upper peak and city afloat and stabilized during the process. It was an extremely risky operation, and no doubt the city would have had to be evacuated.” I sent another look around the seemingly unphased ruins. “But from what I can see, it seems that’s exactly what happened.”

‘Which also begs the question regarding the actual need to execute the plan. Mining operations were already highly regulated after the change of government... Did Canterlot become involved in another major conflict after I left?’

A clutter of falling dishes made us all home our sights towards the left side of the street. More specifically, towards a small local, which by the few letters that remained clinging on its facade, I could determine to be Joe's Donut Store.

‘Gosh, how I miss those donuts…’

I signaled the ponies to remain low and quiet. Izzy returned a calming gesture, stating in a whisper she was ‘medium sneaky’, so it wouldn’t be a problem. Whatever that meant.

With silent steps I approached the entrance, the ponies tip-hoofing behind me. After counting to three, I pushed it open. The hinges quickly gave up, and the door fell flat on the floor, making a loud clatter. I cursed under my breath and quickly rushed inside, finding nocreature anywhere inside the shop.

For the last few hours, I had had the feeling we were being observed, causing me to cast numerous glances around us on our way up the mountain. I felt the same thing at the shop, but I was left with no leads.

‘Perhaps it’s my imagination. Since this morning’s attack, I’ve been on edge.’

Shaking my head in disappointment, I signaled the ponies to enter the store if they wished. Izzy quickly took notice of the dusty ragged wall signs. “Hey! This is a donuts’ shop. Oohh, I wonder if there are some remaining around here.” She began searching immediately after.

A victorious ‘Ah ha!’ signaled her success, returning soon after with an old paper box full of petrified donuts.

Placing one on her horn for some reason, she approached Pipp. “We’ve gotta try these donuts. They’ve been aged like, a few hundred years, which means they’re really fancy!”

Pipp didn’t look convinced at all. “Eugh! It’s not like cheese, Izzy. If you eat that, you’ll be sick for days.” She answered while sticking her tongue out in disgust.

“Well, we’re not going to find our crystal thief here. Looks like we’ll have to do some more exploring after all.” Zipp spoke while exiting the store, receiving an excited ‘yes!’ from Sunny.

We exited the building and resumed our walk, Izzy and Sunny taking positions in front of me.

‘Heh, guess the sights aren’t so depressing anymore…’ My monkey brain celebrated at the sight of the beautiful mares’ behinds straight in my line of view. ‘... Gosh, I really need to get laid. I believe I’ve beaten Celestia’s old record of not partaking in any ‘activities’… Why am I saying that as if I’m proud of it?!!’

“I can’t believe I’m here…” Sunny spoke in a low voice, darting her eyes all over the different buildings.

“I think you CAN believe it, and that’s sort of the problem.” Izzy replied to Sunny’s muttering.

Sunny gave her friend a concerned look. “I always saw Canterlot as this… perfect beacon of friendship. A place where unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi lived in harmony, and nopony ever felt left behind…”

“That’s what you want to create in Maretime Bay, right?” Added the unicorn.

“Yeah. But seeing Canterlot like this…” Sunny sent her gaze towards the ruins spreading around the plaza we had just stepped in. “… makes me question how hard it would be to keep it that way.”

“Canterlot was Equestria’s capital, meaning thousands of ponies of all races visited it for numerous reasons all year-round.” I decided to offer her a different point of view, one not distorted by the passage of time. “However, its population was mostly unicorns, and high-class citizens featured prominently. Most of them tended to regard other ponies with contempt due to their ‘lower status.’ The first time I visited the city, I remember receiving numerous looks of disdain and disgust from the nobles. Even before I had the chance to open my mouth, I had already been judged and deemed not welcome amongst them… the same could also be said for countless others before me.”

Their looks turned into incredulous ones. “B-But Canterlot was always depicted as the beacon of friendship amongst ponies and all the other races of the world. Is what you’re saying really true?!” Pleaded Sunny.

“That Canterlot you speak of was the one we fought so hard to achieve, and even after all our efforts, we never got it totally right.” I lamented, popping her balloon. “You know what was the first thought I had regarding the pony’s attitude towards other sapient creatures when I arrived in Equestria?” She shook her head no. “I thought you ponies were all a bunch of racist pricks.”

All ponies present gasped at my words.

“Wow, that’s kinda rude, Alex.” Pipp protested.

“But is it false? I mean, you guys didn’t seem very tolerant of each other until only recently. Each race living separated and at each other’s throats is not what I would call a ‘tolerant approach, yes?”

She couldn’t contradict my words, so instead shook her head in shame.

“That kind of behavior runs deep within ponykind. It’s something that started way before the alicorn sisters’ rule, perhaps it’s even something inherent to a pony’s nature.” I began to reason. “Celestia and Luna fought hard to erase it, and Twilight and the rest of us were very close to doing so… But now, “I motioned around us. “Look at this place. This is the result of ponies turning against everycreature, even their own fellow citizens. Just a nudge here and there, and the rest is downhill… Now, after many, many years, ponykind has a new chance to heal and rejoin once again in harmony, just as was we strived for back then.” I finished voicing my thoughts, the ponies nodding in determination. I’m sure even they had felt like that at some point in their lives. I couldn’t blame them; it was all they knew. But this group of ponies pushed further and went against the rest of ponykind’s beliefs. That’s what brought them together and made them stronger.

I trusted they would be the new heroes, the ones that would guide ponykind towards a new age of prosperity. And they would be able to do so freely after I completed my mission. These kinds of situations, like the one we currently found ourselves in, were exactly of the kind I feared happening the most when we originally envisioned the Unity Crystals.

We were too lost, too far in to think clearly and see the painful truth in front of us.

So absorbed were the ponies in their musings that they hadn’t realized what was in front of us. “Look guys, it’s the royal castle.” I casually pointed towards the imposing building which, even after all these centuries, still retained most of its magnificence.

The setting sun provided a spectacular ambience, its last rays of light reflecting over the dusty, milky white walls and rusty, golden domes, the enormous structure casting its angular shadow over the main square.

And just like that, the previous somber atmosphere gave way to one of excitement, courtesy of one history-geek mare who audibly gasped in amazement.

“THE ROYAL CASTLE!! It’s the perfect place! The thief must be somepony with a power complex who would be drawn to the castle! They would also have the best view from up there to spot incoming threats. ALEX, WE ABSOLUTELY MUST CHECK IT OUT!!” Her half-assed reasoning betrayed her simple desire to check out my old home.

“Also, the main gate is open, so…” Hinted Zipp after Sunny’s outburst.

I nodded in confirmation. I could use the chance to check my old room and the few things I had left behind, and to see if the preservation spells worked as well as I expected.

‘Should I also visit the armory? Binary should still be there…’

“Get in formation, everypony. We’ve got a thief to catch!” Hitch interrupted my mental planning and stood at the front with renewed confidence, the rest of the ponies giving their own cheers.

“Slow down sheriff, it’s going to get dark very soon. The castle is huge, and I highly doubt the lighting spells are still active. We could be easily ambushed in the dark, and the thief could easily slip away without us noticing. Let’s not give it a reason to think we’re chasing them. Let's go inside and find my old room. We’ll spend the night there and resume looking in the morning. There are some things I want to retrieve from there, if you don’t mind.” I requested.

The ponies looked at each other in silent discussion. After a moment, they returned affirmative answers. We were all very tired from the journey and the hard emotions since arriving here, especially Sunny. Her fangirl enthusiasm was the only thing keeping her up at the moment.

‘I’m not sure what Starlight did with the original diagrams for the stasis spell. If she left them in my room, locked, I must retrieve them, and destroy them. If somepony else thought to do as I did, it could be catastrophic…’