Everfree Village

It was still the middle of the night when Granite woke up, nice and warm, wrapped up as she was. A filly could get used to that!

There was, however, a new problem. She tried to ignore it, but it was getting quite urgent. As a last-ditch effort, Granite tried shuffling into different positions, but none of them helped with the pressure in her bladder.

There was no avoiding it. Her ears were already flat, partly out of embarrassment, partly out of contrition. She would have to wake up Lodestone.

"Um... you sleeping?" she whispered, experimentally. When nothing happened, she nudged the stallion lightly. "Lodestone?"

Lodestone was a light sleeper - that her voice didn't immediately rouse him showed just how exhausted he was after the days' events.

Inhaling deeply, the pegasus turned his head to her and cracked one eye open, "...Yeah? What is it, is something wrong?" He hoped whatever she needed wouldn't require too much movement on his part. Maybe he would be able to slip back to sleep with relative ease.

"Um,..." now that she had to say it, Granite was bashful and embarrassed. She didn't meet the stallion's eyes, but she managed a weak whisper: "I, uh, need to go."

She looked at the door with the sleeping human village outside and gulped. "C-Can you go with me? J-J-Just so we find a bush or something..."

He relaxed and his head plopped to the ground again. Just as he opened his mouth to say something dismissive, he hesitated. Rohan had said nothing good of the night here, and Granite was small and obviously uncomfortable in this unfamiliar place. She must be terrified to even look outside, much less expose herself in such a vulnerable way.

With a small sigh he turned over, sat up, and gently said, "Yeah... okay." He stretched his forelegs over his head and spread his wings wide, then stood and slowly walked toward the door.

With a relieved sigh the distressed pony hurried after her friend. Judging by her rush to get outside, it had sure been critical. She had nearly waited too long.

"W-Which way?" she stuttered, stopping as soon as she was out the door.

There were no humans around, nor any other sort of creature, at least none that Granite could see. Despite the urgency, she waited for Lodestone to go first, even while her hind legs did a little jig in place.

"Uh..." He looked around, then shrugged, "I guess to the river? I think Rohan said that was to the left..." Without waiting for a response, he began walking in that direction.

Granite was only too glad to accept some leadership and gratefully scurried after the stallion. She yawned once or twice along the way, but other than that she was focusing on holding it in.

It wasn't too long before they came to the water, but the young mare seemed uncertain. She looked up and down.

"Just h-here? Won't, uh, the smell? Where do you think these humans drink?"

Unsure of herself, the mare kicked at the water a few times with her hoof.

Lodestone resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"It's a river, Granite, not a stagnant pond. Anything you do here will be rinsed away in moments." He wiggled his snout and made a sour expression, "Besides, the whole village kinda stinks. I doubt they'd even notice."

The ears went flat and the mare turned around. She walked partly into the water, then froze, staring at Lodestone.

"Mind turning away?" Her voice was a lot more confident making this request. "I'm not gonna do it with you watching!"

Good thing the darkness covered her blush. What Granite didn't say was that soon she wouldn't have a choice in the matter. There was such a thing as modesty, though.

The corner of his mouth twitched into a small smirk, "You sure you'll be okay?" He made a show of scouring the far riverbank, "What if a monster jumps out just as I turn around? You wanted a guard, right?"

A small whimper was all the warning Lodestone would get. Of course there'd be nothing to see, but the sound of splashing water was unmistakable. Even as her embarrassment peaked, Granite couldn't contain a heartfelt, relieved sigh.

She still wouldn't meet the stallion's eyes, though. She just stared right in front of her, unseeing, while the sound went on.

His eyes widened. Spinning around as fast as he could manage, he sat down hard, his back to Granite. He had only meant to tease her a bit, not embarrass her like that!

Aside from the embarrassing sounds, Granite didn't make any other noise. Once it was done, she heaved another sigh and came out of the water. Her hind hooves were a bit wet, but they would dry out by the time they returned to the hut.

As she rejoined Lodestone, the mare's gaze was a bit hurt. "Happy now?" she said.

It had been the wrong moment for teasing. "Let's go back," Granite begged.

He rose to his hooves and began walking back to their hut, his ears folded down. If the moon had been brighter, the mare might have noticed his own muzzle was faintly pink.

They walked almost the whole way in stony silence before Lodestone finally spoke. His voice was low and deeply regretful, even more than was really necessary for the small mistake.

"I'm so sorry, Granite. I didn't realize it was that... urgent."

"Shut up," was all the comment she made, at first. Except that it made their walk even more uncomfortable.

A few more steps and she sighed again. "It's fine. Just don't mention it. You didn't see anything anyway!"

She finally realized it was dark and she was facing the stallion. Besides, it wasn't as if ponies habitually wore clothes. It was just that 'doing their business' was considered a private thing.

“Who the fuck is pissin’ in the river! Buncha fuckin’ assholes!”

The two ponies were a good enough distance away by the time they heard the yelling that they wouldn’t be suspect number one if the man decided to search around.

Lodestone froze, then looked over his shoulder and whispered nervously, "What? But..." Shaking his head, he accelerated to a trot, "Nevermind, let's just get inside before anypony suspects us."

Granite gave a frightened, nervous whinny and scurried to the hut she saw up ahead. It might have been theirs, or it might not. They all looked alike to her.

Too bad she made some noise on a patch of hard dirt, though.

She really didn't do well with stealth, it seemed.

At least the doorway wasn't far and the mare gratefully dived inside.

As they entered, something in the hut began to move. From the sound of it, the person, or animal, was quick and moving right towards the pair. In the limited light, neither could easily see it, at least until the human pulled the fur curtain away from the window and let a little light in. It was a human, a bit thicker than Rohan and holding a hammer.

“You little shits scared the spirit outta me! What’re ye doin’ in ma house?! Ye know how eas’ly that could spook someone out here?”

At the very least, he lowered the hammer and started looking out the window to check if anyone else was around.

Failing to grab the mare as she rushed toward the first hut she saw, Lodestone hurried forward and stepped inside behind Granite.

"Sorry sir! Just got a little turned around, won't happen again!"

A wing wrapped around Granite's chest and he tried to tug her back outside.

Granite just stared for a while, so confused that she resisted being pulled out.

"This isn't, um, o-our hut..." she said lamely.

Despite the strange situation, she took the opportunity to look around at how these humans lived. It's wasn't too different from pony homes, if a bit more... rudimentary.

At last she came to her senses and let Lodestone drag her out.

"Sorry!" she said to both the strange human and the stallion. Then, a bit more quietly, she went on just for Lodestone's ears:

"I don't do too well under pressure..."

It had taken a lot to admit that.

“I’ll bet yer sorry, but ye’ll prob’ly make the same mistake twice. Follow me.”

The large human sighed deeply and set the hammer on a nearby table as he walked out with the mare. Even with the little light the moon offered, the stallion would be able to see the human eyeing over his wings.

“I’ll bet that Rohan put ye over here. I’d guess he thought ye’d go undisturbed through the night, since it’s empty and all that.”

The area would look more familiar as the group got closer to the correct hut, though it was undeniable that the humans still awake were all on edge. Even with guards patrolling about, people still seemed afraid of potential threats.

As they followed, the guards' fear began to rub off on Lodestone. He watched the skies nervously, the urge to take flight almost overwhelming.

In an effort to distract himself, he turned to the strange man and asked, "I know Rohan said the nights are dangerous but... don't you people ever sleep?" He gestured a hoof at all the people milling about, "It feels like there are just as many people out here as there were in the day."

Now Granite, too, was catching the mood. Almost unconsciously she began to walk closer and closer to the stallion, until she was pressing against his rump and nearly trodding on his hooves.

The mare scanned the skies fearfully and swiveled her ears at every small, unexplained sound. It was just the humans going about their business, but she was working herself up nonetheless.

It was with considerable relief that she recognized their hut up ahead and breathed a sigh of relief right into Lodestone's ear - that's how close she had gotten.

With a slow shake of his head, the man stopped near the entrance of the hut before either went in.

“Many stay awake so that others can try ta sleep. It helps ta have a guy like Rohan patrol, but he cannae go ev’ry night, ‘s impossible.”

As if lost in thought, he stared out towards the village for a long minute. Once he snapped back to reality, he stepped out of the way of the ponies.

“Alright, off ye go. Get yer sleep so that I can get back to ma house and get some myself.”

Trying to ignore the mare pressing herself against him, he nodded his head in a little bow to the man, "Sorry again for barging into your place."

He turned to enter the hut and only then noticed the crude plank of wood just by the entrance. On it was a tiny pile of raw vegetables, two under-ripe apples... and a small strip of dried meat.

"Phew!" Granite exhaled. "That was close!"

She finally peeled herself off from the stallion and flicked her tail around - a sure sign of nerves.

"He could have been upset I went into his house..." Granite admitted, not quite meeting Lodestone's gaze. She knew it was her own fault. "Sorry."

After a moment's thought, she stepped closer and gave the stallion a tentative nuzzle. "Thanks for going with me..."

Only then did she notice what he was looking at. "What is that? Food?"

Her nuzzle surprised him so much he jerked his gaze away from the food and turned to her. She was standing so close he could feel the fur of her flanks lightly brushing his, and he quickly turned away again, ears folded down in embarrassment.

"Uh, yeah. No problem. Thought you were... mad at me?"

As nonchalantly as he could manage, he grabbed the makeshift tray with a wing and carried it into the hut. He considered trying to swipe the meat and hide it from Granite, but there's no way she wouldn't smell it. He'd just have to hope she wouldn't freak out too badly.

For the moment, the mare wasn't paying the tray any attention whatsoever. She was suddenly focused on the stallion, intently.

Maybe it was all the excitement they'd been through, or maybe it was the cuddling session earlier, but Granite was blushing. It was particularly obvious on the lighter patches of her fur.

"You said you were sorry. I moved p-past it," she explained.

"Umm...."

There was something more, but the pony couldn't find a way to say it. She just stared at Lodestone, mouth hanging open in confusion.

He set the tray down toward the back of the hut, turned around, and was surprised to see Granite still standing in the doorway.

"...Granite? You okay?" Silhouetted against the moonlight outside, he couldn't make out her expression, but he could see she wasn't moving. "Come on, you must be cold out there," He picked up one of the apples and wiggled it at her enticingly, "And you haven't eaten all day, right?"

That got the mare moving and she walked forward. She accepted the fruit gratefully and bit off half in a single chomp.

"'fanksh!" she said with her mouth full.

While she chewed Granite went to the bed and sat. It seemed that one apple was enough for her. Instead, she patted the hay beside her, then swallowed so she could talk.

"This still doesn't mean we're dating, okay? It's just dinner and cuddling."

He stared at her as he munched on some of the vegetables. They weren't anything he recognized, but the flavor reminded him faintly of onions, though they were starchy like potatoes.

"If dinner and cuddling doesn't qualify as a date," he said, lifting his apple and staring at it intently, "...what would?" He slowly raised his eyes to meet hers and bit the apple in half.

"Kissing..." it slipped out before Granite could prevent it. She gasped in shock, then let out an involuntary 'moo' sound.

Unfortunately that just made it worse and she hurriedly plopped down so she could hider her muzzle under her forelegs.

Lodestone chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then shrugged and gave her a wry smile.

"Alright, we just won't kiss then."

He picked up the tray and laid down beside her, wrapping his free wing over her. He realized she was shaking - she must be colder than he realized.

"Here," he said, nudging the rest of the veggies toward her, "you'll need more than just an apple."

Granite wrinkled her nose at the smell. "Hey, what's that?!" she pointed right at the meat.

She audibly sniffed, then gasped. "They gave us meat?! B-But we're ponies!"

The sheer thought was disturbing enough to make the mare squeeze herself closer and hide her face as best as she could under Lodestone's wing. "I think I just lost my appetite."

At least she wasn't running away from it or something...

He gently squeezed her with a wing, "Don't worry, I won't make you eat it. I left most of the vegetables for you." He glared at the meat, trying to look disgusted and uncomfortable, "I'll... force it down. I'm worried if we don't eat everything, it'll insult them or something." He tried to fake a reluctant sigh, then shrugged, "Protein will probably be good for my injury, anyways."

"Yuck!" Granite made a face. "You don't have to do that! Just leave it, there's enough of the other stuff for us both!"

Although, now that the idea had been put in her mind, Granite was intrigued by the prospect. Despite slight nausea, she kept watching what Lodestone would do.

"I h-heard there's some ponies out in Manehattan who like to eat... f-fish," Granite vouchsafed in a whisper, as if it was a big, dreadful secret. "Can you imagine?"

She sniffed the air again, morbidly fascinated in the morsel. The rest of the food was forgotten for the moment.

He shook his head, "I'm not leaving it. We simply can't risk offending these people." He sighed and glanced sidelong at Granite, "If it makes you uncomfortable, do you want me to step outside so you don't have to see? I could even go down to the river and drink some water to get the smell off my breath if you want."

"Nuh-uh!" the mare shook her head. "It's f-fine... You don't have to leave."

She shivered a little, then wiggled a bit closer still. "I'll be fine."

Granite kept watching with wide, unblinking eyes. She was holding her breath, so she wouldn't have to smell it too much, yet she couldn't look away. A pony eating meat - unthinkable, yet strangely alluring.

"Heh," she laughed to dispel some of the tension, "if you have to puke, go outside this time, okay?"

Lodestone grinned at her, then lifted the meat with a wing and sniffed it, looking serious. It smelled good and his mouth began to water. Still trying to keep up the act, he took a cautious nibble at one end, but it was tougher than he expected and he was forced to tear off a chunk much larger than he'd intended.

The flavor was... surprisingly bland. His ears drooped and he huffed slightly, feeling disappointed. The texture was rough and fibrous, not very pleasant, and he considered spitting it out, but then he noticed it did actually have a faint flavor. Curious, he swirled it in his mouth some more and the salty flavor became more noticeable. It was unlike anything he'd ever had before, and it only intensified as he chewed it more and more.

He became suddenly aware of Granite's eyes on him and he swallowed hard, trying to act like he had to struggle to get it down.

"Is it good?" Granite asked in a breathless whisper. She was trembling a little from over-excitement, but at least she wasn't retching or screaming. Maybe seeing somepony else do it was easier on the mare.

"What's it taste like?" she asked, but then changed her mind: "Actually, never mind. I don't wanna know."

Now that the first bite had been taken and nothing too horrible had happened, Granite relaxed and inspected the tray for herself. She picked up something at random and began eating herself.

"Probably for the best," he murmured, "I don't think I could describe it. It's not... bad, but it's texture is really weird. I almost spit it out just for that. It's not like anything I've tasted before, except it's really salty. I guess the saltiness is why it's not so bad..." He shuffled uneasily, and said honestly, "It feels so wrong, though."

There was only a moment of hesitation before he tore off a larger chunk and began chewing it thoroughly.

Granite shivered at the sight, but that just made her giggle for some reason. "So..." she asked with an insolent smile on her muzzle. "How long till your teeth go all sharp and you start hunting like a wolf?"

Before Lodestone might take offense she nudged him with her elbow. "Joking..." she explained, as if it was necessary.

She watched her friend finish the strip of meat, then sighed. "It looks wrong, too. I won't tell anypony, okay? It'll just be our little secret."

He chuckled in response, then continued working on the strangely tasty meat. When he was down to the last piece, he hesitated and glanced at her.

"Sure you don't want to try a tiny piece? It's fine if you don't," he continued hurriedly, "Just wanted to make sure before I finished it."

Granite hurriedly shook her head. She might be morbidly curios to see it done, even strangely attracted to this strange pony who did it, but she knew her own limits. A taste of it would very like make her puke.

"I'm fine," she confirmed, swallowing the last carrot. She kindly left some vegetables in case Lodestone might want to clear the taste of meat from his mouth.

"Oh," the mare continued, "if you decide to throw up while we sleep, don't do it over me, okay?"

She shuffled until she was lying on her side, facing away, but still covered with the wing. "Good night, Lodestone."

He swallowed the last piece, then followed it with the last of the vegetables. It wasn't that he needed the taste out of his mouth, but he was worried the smell on his breath would be too disgusting for Granite to tolerate.

Finally, he scooted the small tray aside and shifted to a more comfortable position, glad the little mare was still friendly after his blunder earlier. Distracted by his thoughts as he snuggled close against her back, he nuzzled her cheek before he realized what he was doing. His muzzle burned hot with embarrassment, and he tried to lay his head down calmly, hoping she was too sleepy to notice what he'd done.

Granite was fully aware, but she took a few seconds to think up her next move.

"Jeez, it's like we really are dating!" she said, mock-complaining. "Keep it between your legs, fly boy!"

That last made her giggle a little. She didn't push the pegasus away, though.

"Actually," she concluded in a whisper almost too faint to hear, "that was kinda nice."

His blush intensified and he twisted his hind legs a bit so he wasn't quite so wrapped around her. The whisper had been just loud enough for him to hear, but since he had no idea how to react, he pretended he hadn't heard it at all. He chuckled gently, then simply murmured, "Good night, Granite."

As the sun began to rise, the people collectively heaved a sigh of relief. Rohan, not one to dawdle, made his way into the hut and began to shake the two ponies awake. Instead of an assortment of furs stitched together, today Rohan was wearing a leather-fur mix reinforced by some metal in various spots. Attached to the belt on his hip was a sheathed sword of some kind.

“If you don’t wake soon, there will be no time to ask about your journey to our holy place, assuming you are still interested.”

True to her embarrassing nickname, Granite woke up with a squeak that ended up sounding a little like a cow's moo. She observed the armed and armored human and shrank back in fear. He must have come for her and there was just one reason she could think of, in her addled, early morning state.

"I didn't mean to pee in the river! I didn't know! I'm sorry!" she whimpered, drawing Lodestone's wing up over her muzzle as if it could protect her.

The pegasus was already beginning to wake from the sound, but Granite grabbing his sensitive primaries startled him wide awake and he almost yanked his wing from her. Of course, then he saw the expression on her face and immediately felt bad, slowly extending his wing again for her.

Finally, his brain caught up and he realized what the man had said as he was waking.

"Oh! Uh, yes, please, we would be honored to see your hallowed grounds." He stifled a yawn and turned to Granite, "Right?"

“You peed in the river? I was not aware of that...”

It explained why he heard someone cursing up a storm last night, but that was of no importance. Right now, he was focused on getting them up.

“If you are to join us then we must go. Time is of the essence and the leaders won’t wait, even for your kind.”

"Where are we going?" Granite asked Lodestone. It was as if she hadn't fully heard what Rohan was saying and was turning to the pegasus for help.

"Is-is it safe?"

Now that the initial panic was over, the mare stood up and stretched a little, but she still kept her eyes on the scary-looking human. She wanted to hide behind Lodestone again, but mastered herself and stayed put. After all, she had been in this place nearly a full day and no one had tried to attack her yet. Maybe they weren't as scary as they had seemed yesterday?

Lodestone shrugged and got to his hooves, "Their holy place, I guess." He turned to Rohan, "You mentioned it was in the mountain, I think? Lead the way."

“Follow closely then.”

He brought them further into town than either of their trips had taken them before. The random, thrown together huts that people lived in gave way to stalls and various shops built with mud bricks. Here was where the village was at its most active, but even with a large crowd, the ponies would find themselves being given a good amount of space. Looking around, each stall was unique in what it sold, meaning people weren’t competing to lower prices. Even then, the stall owners didn’t look that much more well off and people seemed to wear a smile as they traded for what they needed. Rohan lead them dutifully through the “bazaar,” as that’s what it most resembled, and closer towards what seemed like a small mountain. One building at the end of the road, however, stood out from the rest, since it was made of proper stone. The sound of hammer on metal could be heard there and as the trio passed they could see the man from the night before hammering away at what looked to be a spear head. At his side sat an equally large man, though younger in appearance, who used a chisel to carve intricate symbols into the various metal objects.

“This is one of the most well defended places in the village. If you ever have need, I would suggest hiding here.”

"Uh-huh! Okay!" Granite was quick to agree at the mention of safety. She was walking very close to Lodestone, sometimes getting in his way but mostly just brushing flanks. The mare was nervous with all the strangeness and the unusual people she saw, but determined not to show it.

She had eyed the wares in the bazaar with interest, but didn't make a move. She had no money with her, after all. Running away had been a thing she had done with zero preparation.

One thing did prod her curiosity, though, and Granite asked their human guide directly: "Um, mister Rohan, sir?" she began meekly, "why are your weapons carved with art?"

Lodestone nodded, "And the defensive wall, too. It has similar intricate patterns as your spearheads."

While they walked, he looked at everything around him, surprised yet again at the size of the village. Yesterday he had thought he'd seen most of the place, but now he knew that had only been a small fraction. If they weren't so horribly primitive, he'd call it a town instead of a tribal village.

“Ah, they are symbols of power. Between our Shaman and priest, we have found that certain words can contain power. Etching those words into our creations, along with a blessing, can imbue them with special properties. For instance, the wall is slightly sturdier than simple stone.”

He watched the two smiths work on the weapons that had come to define their way of life in the village. Spears were the most typical, but daggers and various kinds of swords had their uses as well. Shields were not particularly common, but there were still a few made, in case of larger creatures attacking by ground.

“We are nearly at the base of the mountain, there you will meet our leaders. Though, you’ve already met one.”

He spoke of the shaman that lodestone had met before. After nearly a quarter mile of hiking on a slight incline, they finally ran into the trio of leaders. Unlike the shaman, the priest was a young lady with long, blonde hair and fair skin. Her blue eyes were like pools and her clothing was a tad more intricate than anything seen in the village. Their chief, who stood in the middle of the two, also happened to be a woman, though much more muscular and barbaric than her companions. Various scars covered her arms and the parts of her body that were showing beneath her wolfskin clothing.

The explanation about magic piqued Granite's interest, but only until she spotted the new humans. She began to relax when she saw they were ladies, but then she noticed the chief's scars and froze.

One glance at the woman's expression was enough to shake the mare's confidence and she edged her way behind the pegasus. She tried to make herself as unobtrusive as possible.

"They look scary," she whispered to Lodestone from behind his back. "Be careful!"

Not knowing what would be proper, he decided to err on the side of too-formal and quickly moved to stand beside the mare, not letting her hide behind him. He dropped into a low bow, bumped her hoof, and eyed her meaningfully until she did the same. He lowered his head and spoke softly.

"Our deepest thanks for your hospitality - and especially for my healed wing. May the Sun and Moon watch over you."

He held his bow until they responded.

“Will you excuse us?”

The chief yanked Rohan away and proceeded to scold him off of the road. As she did, the priest knelt down beside the stallion and began inspecting him up close, even going so far as to reach out to the wing.

“You were right, there is an aura around them, but it is light and warm. Blessed ones, how is it that you come to have-“

The loud thud of the Chief whacking Rohan over the head stopped her train of thought. Having ended whatever they were talking about, both stepped back over to the group and the chief held a hand up in greeting.

“Rohan has informed me you wish to join us on our little outing. You can come, but I’m gonna be watching you. You’re still new to this village, and that means you haven’t necessarily earned my trust, but you are blessed beings and this is a holy site.”

"Out-outing?!" Granite said nervously. She didn't seem to hear or understand all those things about 'blessed ones' and auras, so she just focused on the bits she caught.

"Where? Is it d-dangerous?!" she stammered.

Now that they were talking again, she had stood up from Lodestone's impromptu bow and stepped closer to the stallion.

The pony peered from one human to the next, then worked up her nerve to demand: "How about you stop talking in riddles and tell us where we're going and what we're doing?!"

Lodestone stood and sighed heavily, "Please forgive her. She doesn't take to stress very well. One moment." He stepped close and quickly whispered in her ear, "Please don't anger the army of tribal warriors, yeah?"

After he stepped away, he looked up at the leaders and grinned apologetically, "Though I have to admit I'm also very curious what's going on. Should we just wait and see or can you explain first?"

"The easiest way to put it into words is that it is a place where we can commune with the gods and ancient spirits in order to receive guidance or blessings. So far, the spirits there have only truly attuned themselves to four people: Us."

The chief had started to lead them along the road leading up the mountain as she explained. It was clear that the humans had taken some time to make sure this road was maintained and ready for those of the village to walk its path.

"We have sent many of the villagers into this area, as they still provide insight or some knew knowledge. Our smiths learned about how to carve words of power into stone and metal during their trip, but many hear nothing at all. I guess they just go and reflect, and that reflection allows them to see things more clearly, or something."

Rohan, who had been listening patiently, turned to walk backwards so he could face the pair of ponies.

"Each of us four has received a different type of blessing there too. Our Shaman gained the ability to commune with spirits and life forces, the priest was given the ability to weave spells and fend off sickness and disease with her magic, the chief gained incredible wisdom and was taught how to lead, while I was gifted with combat prowess and power to accompany it. It is because of these blessings that we have been able to survive in this forest."

"Oh, Granite said weakly." It was all too much at once for the poor mare, but she made a game attempt to keep up.

"For us ponies it's just unicorns who can do magic. Oh, and alicorns, like the Princesses."

It wasn't much of a contribution, but it was there. The mare still peered around fearfully, anxious about the scary forest, but at least she didn't bump into Lodestone so much. Talking helped, and focusing her mind on something else but the danger also.

She paused as a thought struck her, then hurried a few steps to catch up. "You think we'll also get magical powers?!"

Nodding thoughtfully, Lodestone followed the group of leaders, hoping to see how they used magic without horns. While the leaders seemed to consider Granite's question, he brought his head close to Granite's and asked, "You doing okay? Let me know if the weirdness starts getting to you."

The mare was feeling a lot better. She actually grinned at Lodestone. "Okay, lemme tell you about yesterday, then..."

She chuckled a bit and bumped her flank against the stallion. "Thanks, tho. I guess this isn't too bad. At least there's no monsters."

Looking up ahead at the humans, Granite hurried to catch up.

The incline slowly leveled off as they got about halfway up the small mountain. The road led into the mouth of a cave, where the humans stopped. Rather than use a torch, the priest mumbled the incantation to a spell that floated a small ball of light just above her head.

“Please stay very close to me, there isn’t much light till we get further into the cavern.”

The other three humans stood back, so the ponies could stick near the priest and the light source.

“Also, umm... please be respectful if the gods and spirits appear before you. They have been mostly kind to us and we don’t want to disrespect them.”

It had been so quick, Lodestone had hardly even noticed the priest's murmuring before the spell was cast. He decided to watch that one closely as they went forward. Maybe he could gain favor with Princess Twilight if he could give details about their magic.

"What will they look like? And... didn't you say we're honored beings or something? I thought we wouldn't have to worry about offending them."

The cave was a bit better for Granite. She didn't have to look around as carefully because there were fewer directions danger might come from. She felt much more at home in the gloom, even with the strange humans and their unusual, non-unicorn magic.

"Respectful," she murmured, "got it. Okay, respectful to ghosts. I can do this..."

She was murmuring mostly to herself, but she kept walking all the while.

"Huh, interesting strata..." she said, not intending for anyone to hear, really.

“Strata? I’m afraid I am unfamiliar with that word.”

Following her gaze, he noticed she was looking at the formation of rocks in the cavern and realized it must be some miner lingo.

“Do you know much about rocks? There is a mine at the base of the mountain. We could use more help down there, if it interests you.”

"Oh right, you mentioned mining yesterday, didn't you?"

The pegasus hurried to jump on the opportunity. Getting in Princess Twilight's good graces would be nice, but Flim and Flam practically owned him. He must remember his assignment.

"We would love to see the local geology, wouldn't we Granite?"

"What? Uh, yeah," the mare confirmed uneasily. It took her a few seconds to remember yesterday, which seemed like ages ago. "Sure. Geology. I can mine."

She stepped closer to Lodestone and lowered her voice. "What are you planning?" she asked, her rushed, quiet tone managing to convey that it would probably turn out to be a stupid idea.

"I won't help you steal from them! I'd like to go on living, thank you very much! Have you seen those spears?!"

Granite had been letting her voice get louder and by the end they could all hear her.

Rohan watched the exchange with a grin and leaned in when she finished.

“You should listen to her. They are very sharp you know.”

The group began to laugh when the mare jumped slightly at his entrance into her whispers, though it ended after only a moment. The cavern opened up and the priests spell faded into nothingness, yet there was no lack of light. Gems, large and, glittered all around the walls. In the middle of the room sat a series of pools, fed by water that dripped from several places in the ceiling. That, however, was not what would gain the ponies’ attention. Jutting our from the ceiling was a massive illuminated sapphire that could easily take up the entirety of one of the huts down in the village.

His face was aghast and it only got worse when he realized the humans had heard her too. Flim and Flam might try and steal from them, but he sure as hay won't!

"Celestia above, Granite, of course I'm not gonna steal from them! I just want to see, maybe try to trade..."

He trailed off and openly gawked as they entered the massive cavern. In all the mining expeditions he had been on, nothing had ever come close to this. Not even the Solution Caves of Neighagra Falls could compare to this... The sapphire alone would be worth more than the entire output of the Crystal Empire and San Palomino Rock Farm combined!

Even the mare stared. She watched the stone for a bit, then said - all too loudly again: "Although, if you stole that, you'd be set for life."

She caught Lodestone's expression and giggled. "I'm kidding! Yeesh!"

It had done Granite some good to joke a bit. She was much more relaxed. The combination of underground, geology and jokes were extremely good at putting her at her ease. The fact that none of the humans had tried anything harmful helped even further.

She made her way closer to Rohan - the human she knew marginally better than the other three. "So, what should we do?"

“We wait for them to start their ritual.”

The humans seemed to have brushed off the jab about stealing the gem as the shaman and priest moved to opposite sides of the room. Both began to chant, though each pulled an object from their clothing for this ritual. Like before, the shaman used the rattling item and began to do a tribalistic dance during her chant. The priest’s item, however, was a harp-like object. As she played, she twirled elegantly and continued her own chant till the two met in the middle underneath the sapphire. The light it was already emitting began to glow bright and brighter until it was blinding. As the light faded, spirits began to appear in the room, though they were not human or pony. Truthfully they were closer to the deer that once controlled the land many, many years before the castle of the two sisters was ever created.

Lowering his wing as the light faded, Lodestone was surprised to see the spirits' forms. He didn't recognize the deer-like creatures, but they were obviously Equestrian in nature.

Unsure what was required of them, he lowered his head respectfully and took a hesitant step toward the spirits, watching to see how the humans would react.

For her part, Granite just stared curiously. Seeing pony-esque shapes calmed her immensely, even if she was uneasy about magic and ghosts. She even waved at one of them in a friendly fashion.

"Cool," she commented, "but why are your spirits equine? Shouldn't they be - dunno - human shaped?"

Granite wasn't looking at the over-bright gem either, so she had plenty of time to inspect their new visitors. She pointed a hoof, while at the same time tapping Lodestone with her other. "Oooh, check out that one!"

“There are some missing...”

The largest of the deer, a stag with beautifully massive horns, stepped forward as the humans began to kneel. It was easily larger than Celestia and it’s eyes held the gaze of one who had many centuries of wisdom to share. It stopped just before the two ponies and lowered its head to inspect them closely.

“Children of the sun have stepped into our domain once more. One- a gentle, yet indomitable spirit. The other- steadfast and brave, yet guided by foolish hooves.”

Its gaze moved from Granite to Lodestone as it spoke about them in turn.

“What is your purpose here?”

There were a thousand questions he wanted to ask, but he thought it best to answer a direct question from... well, whatever these beings were.

"Uh..." His tail flicked nervously, "My employers sent me to this forest to see if it would be a viable to set up a new mining operation here. If they knew this was here..." He shuddered slightly at the thought of what they would do to get a hold of this cave.

In that moment, standing before this mysterious being, staring at the wonders all around him, Lodestone knew he would do everything within his power to keep Flim and Flam away from this forest.

"What?" Granite demanded of stallion, of course at the most inopportune time. "What would they do?"

The mare had lived a relatively sheltered life, where the worst she had seen - what had driven her to run away from home - was light teasing because of her color. She couldn't imagine what ponies like Flim and Flam would be capable off if they saw enough wealth within hoof's reach.

She looked at the spirits and quickly lowered her head. "I was only joking about stealing it, um - forest spirit! I swear! Of course I'd never..."

“Nor would it be within your power to do so. There are other spirits here that would help us to defend what is ours and ours alone.”

He lightly tapped his right forehoof against the ground and the gems that were on the walls began to light up. The lights formed lines between many of the clusters until they finally formed shapes in the same way astrologers do with the stars. The symbol of the deer turned out to be but one of four clusters, as well as the only clan that showed themselves to the ponies.

“The wolf clan, quick and effective, would hunt down transgressors. The mighty Ursus clan could easily overpower an army. My clan, the deer clan, are adept spell casters that would use the very forest against you. The lizard clan, wisest and most ancient of all, would bring fear into their hearts in an unspeakable way.”

The display of power set Lodestone somewhat at ease, but he would still keep his employers well away from this place. He had underestimated them before.

He glanced at the humans and realized each of them must be tied to a clan. While he pondered this, there was an expectant pause and he realized this might be his only opportunity to ask a question. He ignored Granite's question and looked back to the iridescent deer, trying to keep a respectful demeanor.

"I hope you won't be offended if I ask... does Princess Celestia know about you? And, uh, do you... want something from us? I'm guessing you didn't reveal yourselves just to chat..."

“The sun mare and her sister are well known to my kind. They once sought wisdom in this very place, though it was many years ago.”

Before answering the second question, the stag made its way back to the center of the room.

“Your kind have always been less cautious around mine. As such, we were picked to come alone to make a request. These humans have been...displaced. They are not of this world, yet they struggle with all their might to survive in this harsh land. We can only provide so much assistance, but you can provide far more. With the aid of your kind, these “people” can thrive in this world. Will you aid them?”

"What can we do?!" Granite asked plaintively. "I'm just a farmer girl who likes rocks. I don't know anypony big or important!"

She looked at Lodestone with a certain hope in her eyes. "Maybe you know who to take this to? I guess the Princesses, but I don't know how to get a hold of them..."

Now that the request had been voiced, Granite was ready for action. She was prancing a little, seemingly on the verge of running off to do... whatever. Possibly go look for one of the alicorns. She all but forgot about the horrors of the forest around them.

Lodestone's ears folded back, "Well... I guess I could talk to the Mayor and get word up the chain of command..."

He looked up at the deer again, his brow furrowing, "But what do you need us for? Is your power limited to this cave or something?"

“No, the cave is not what binds us, it is merely the home to what we are truly bound to.”

He raises his head to peer up at the magnificent sapphire that had first spawned them.

“Long ago, our four clans bound our spirits to this gemstone, so that we may continue to be a guide to those we left behind. Wherever it moves, so do we. But that is not the main reason for the request.”

His gaze slowly shifted back to the ponies, though now he wore a somber expression.

“I sense that your world is vastly different when compared to when the sisters roamed this land. You can improve the lives of these humans in ways we cannot. But ultimately, it is your choice to make. For now, we must return to our slumber.”

The light from the sapphire faded back to its original glow and the spirits of the deer faded with it.

"Well, that was..." Granite started, then paused to search for the correct word. "mysterious?"

She looked at the humans expectantly. The mare was feeling a lot better, now that she had seen these forest spirits. They instilled her with a sense of safety, at least in this cave. They weren't exactly ponies, but they weren't monsters either. She felt she could trust them.

"Now what happens?"

It sounded almost like Granite was treating the whole exercise as some kind of performance for her amusement. She even glanced at the pegasus, wearing a wide, goofy grin on her muzzle. "That was cool, wasn't it?"

He stared at her foal-like smile, momentarily dumbfounded by how lightly she was taking this. He spoke slowly, half explaining to Granite, half trying to process it for himself.

"We were just talking to... some kind of spirits that the Sister Princesses themselves came to for guidance and wisdom, and they... they tasked us with helping some creatures that aren't even from this plane of existence find a way to live in Equestria... and all you say is 'that was cool'?"

His expression was somewhere between amused and bewildered. A weak chuckle bubbled out of him, then his hindquarters collapsed and he just sat on his haunches awkwardly, his eyes staring blankly in the direction of the mare.

"Jeez, lighten up!" Granite said. She became thoughtful for a moment, then her grin was back. "Here. Moo! That make you laugh?"

It was apparently okay if she made cow jokes about herself - just nopony else was allowed to. Maybe her lightheartedness could be explained by relief after a scary afternoon and night.

“If I may interrupt, I’m actually fairly curious as to “how you can help” too. I trust the spirits to know what they’re talking about, but how are you two gonna make our lives safer and better?”

The chief plopped down on the ground near the two ponies and allowed her eyes to wander around the gems.

Another laugh burst out of Lodestone, sounding a little hysterical now.

"Hay if I know, I'm just a damn skycrane! What am I supposed to do, carry you out of here?"

Danger and stress he could handle, but trying to wrap his head around the sheer gravity of the situation was simply overwhelming. The more he thought about it the less coherent his words became and he began to slump to the ground as he rambled.

"I just wanted to look at some rocks and this ancient being thing comes along and says to help some weird minotaur things and its our choice but of course we can't just say no and leave these people..."

Granite tried to surreptitiously kick her colleague on the ankle. "You okay?" she whispered, before turning a slightly manic grin on the humans. "I'm sure we'll think of something. Right?"

Another kick. "Right Lodestone?!"

It was a small mercy that the spirits weren't visible at the moment.

“Welp, seems like we are doomed. Guess we’ll just head back down to the village and continue on as best we can.”

The chief dismissed the ponies nearly altogether just based on that reaction as she got up to walk towards the exit to wait. Rohan, however, stood by the stallion and gave his shoulder a pat.

“Fret not, little pony, we’ve mostly figured out life in this forest. We just need to find a way to make it safer!”

Lodestone sat up suddenly, looking for all the world as if he'd just cured the world of evil.

"Of course! I even said it earlier, I'll just tell the Mayor. She can explain to Princess Twilight and they can handle it from there! We're just the messengers."

He turned to Granite and chuckled weakly, "Then we can just look for rocks somewhere else, right?"

Granite glanced around the cave at all the gems with big, shiny eyes. Then she shook her head clear. "Y-Yeah. Somewhere else. Sure."

She turned the way they came, waiting for the stallion to come. "So I guess we're going now? Um- can you still fly me out?"

Being faced with the idea of walking through Everfree was making the poor mare quite nervous.

“The spirits asked for your help, not for you to go get help. I will not accept aid from this princess simply so you can shirk off the request and feel good about yourself!”

Rohan gave the stallion an angry glare for such an open affront to what was basically one of his gods. Even the other three were taken aback by his outburst, but the priest slowly nodded in agreement.

“The spirits asked you to help. If some other pony comes along and has impure intentions, they could do more harm. If you wish to leave and not help, that is also your choice.”

The same spell she had used to lead them through the dark part of the cavern was cast once more, though all eyes were on the stallion.

The brief respite had cleared Lodestone's mind somewhat, but Rohan's sudden vehemence brought him up short. He stopped suddenly, forcing the others to halt as well, and tried to control his emotions.

"Um... y-yeah. Of course."

He closed his eyes and took two breaths to steady himself. The tension almost seemed to flow out of him and when he opened his eyes, they were clear and focused again.

"You understand we can't do everything ourselves, right? Eventually we'll need to bring other ponies in to assist, but..." He took one more calming breath, "You're right. I can't just shirk responsibility from somepony like that. I'll do what I can to help."

It sounded like a daunting task and Granite shrank back a little. She wasn't quite as happy as a minute ago, but she swallowed a lump and nodded. "I'll help, too. I'm sure we can do something!"

Not against the monsters, but the mare didn't say that out loud. Maybe she could leave that scary military stuff to Lodestone and focus on something else. Even farming, though she blushed at herself, how quickly she had flipped from her alleged annoyance with the job back at home.

“I trust we are in capable hands then.”

His anger quelled, Rohan took the lead as the group left the way they came.