Apologizes for not updating this in a while. Busy busy busy! I hope you enjoy, and leave a review if you can!

Guest: Since I can't PM you, I'll just put a little shout out to you here. Thanks for the tips! I know I have a lot of grammar errors, but they're easy to miss when one does not have an editor. Thanks for reviewing anyway!

On with the story...

---

After a dizzying spell of teleportation, the three mares and three fillies ended up at the quicksand cove. However, the quicksand that had once been there was now gone, sunk into the ground without a trace.

"Where's the quicksand?" Questioned Scootaloo.

"It was the way to the Orchards of Honesty," Applejack explained, "Because Whooves took the Gear of Honesty, the cave collapsed, and so has the quicksand."

"Quicksand collapsed?" Asked Sweetie Belle, "Well, I'm glad we got out of there in time."

"But we couldn't stop Whooves in time!" Cried Vinyl, kicking the sand, "That means we only have two more Gears, and two more chances to stop him!"

"Y'all did good, none the less," Commented Applejack, "The guy's as slippery as a snake, that's for sure."

"Please don't talk about snakes." Begged a slightly distressed Octavia.

Applejack raised an eyebrow at the mare before turning back to the whole group, "What's important now is that y'all are safe. I, however, am going to have to have a firm talk with a certain guildmaster about allowing my little sister and her friends on a mission when they aren't prepared."

The three Crusaders' ears lowered in disappointment. Just then, the sounds of multiple pairs of hooves against the sand was heard. The group turned, seeing Minuette, Lucky, Derpy, and Carrot Top approaching them.

"What happened?" Minuette asked, her face beaded with sweat from running in the sand.

"We heard and felt the rumble coming from this direction," Lucky stated, a worried look on his face, "Oh no... Please don't tell me-"

"Whooves got the Honesty Gear." Vinyl finished for him.

Carrot Top kicked the sand, "Darn it! If I was there, I would have made sure he didn't get it! What happened? I thought you guys were defending it!"

"We were!" Vinyl argued, "Octavia let him get away!"

"I did no such thing!" Octavia objected, "He distracted me!"

"You let him get away on purpose!" Snarled Vinyl, now turning in the direction of her friend, "I know you have some sympathy towards him for some unknown reason!"

"That's not true!" Octavia yelled back, "I'm just as against him as you are!"

"Alright, alright!" Interrupted Applejack, pushing the two apart, "Just stop it! Fighting ain't gonna help us stop Whooves from stealing the other Gears! Hug and make up!"

For a moment, the two glared at each other, but Vinyl's scowl was the first to lighten.

"Sorry." She apologized with true sincerity.

Octavia took a little longer to stop glowering, "Yes... Me too."

Applejack sighed and turned to the others, "We may have failed, but we still have two more Gears to go. I bet my left hind leg that Whooves is going to strike at the Cavern of Generosity next."

"That's Rarity's place," Said Carrot, "That's many miles northeast from here. He's got a long way to go then."

"If that's the case, I gotta warn Rarity," Said Applejack with heavy anxiousness, "Y'all got to return to the guild and tell Lyra and all of them. After I've seen what this guy can do, I know that Rarity is going to need some help."

The others nodded in agreement. Applejack backed away, unfurling her wings and taking off into the sky. The sun was just starting to come up, turning the sky beautiful shades of oranges, reds, and purples.

"I can't believe we couldn't stop him this time," Vinyl groaned, "We were totally prepared, and yet he caught us off guard anyways!"

"Like Applejack said, we still have two more Gears," Lucky said, "Two more chances to stop him."

"Yeah!" Cheered Derpy, "Don't get so down!"

Both Vinyl and Octavia looked down in disappointment, despite Derpy's encouragement.

"Look," Suggested Lucky, "Let's head back to the guild. We need to tell everypony else what's going on."

They all seemed to agree on this, turning around and heading east.

---

When they arrived back at the guild, the ponies were hungry, tired, and cold. All of them were relieved to see the mint-green tent on the hill come into view. Climbing the stairs felt like climbing Mount Horn all over again, at least to Octavia and Vinyl. They were panting by the time they reached the top. Upon entering the team room, the group was greeted with wide-eyed stares and expectant murmuring. Minuette was the first one to step foward, announcing what had happened.

"We did find the Honesty Gear-" She began, but the other guild members interrupted with happy cheers.

"Hang on!" Cried Bonbon, calming the members down, "She isn't finished yet!"

"-but Whooves got it anyways." Minuette finished sadly.

The other guild members happy smiles dropped into disappointed frowns upon hearing this.

"So you failed?" Questioned Black Thunder, who had to push his way through the crowd in order to get to the front.

Minuette lowered her head in shame, "Yes."

For a moment, Octavia thought Thunder was going to blast Minuette into dust, but his calm smile returned in milliseconds.

"That's fine, my dear," He said nonchalantly, "Whooves is indeed a tricky stallion. He knows many things that the average pony does not know. That's why he's even managed to slip past the Guardians as well."

"So what do we do now?" Questioned Carrot Top.

"You? You're going to rest," Replied Thunder with a nod, "All of you who went to to Dead Mare's will be given the day off."

"Excuse me?" Challenged Bonbon, approaching the stallion, "There are no days off as a rescue team. Besides, who said you were the guild master?"

"I think they should be given the day off," Lyra objected, "They worked all night and deserve to get a break!"

Thunder gave Bonbon a smug, sleazy grin, one that was unlike him. The cream mare scowled in response.

"Very well," She said with heavy reluctance, "Give them the day off. Don't come crying to me when you're short on team members."

"You all need your rest," Lyra insisted, "Go to your chambers and stay there for as long as you like."

The group didn't have much of an arguement. They left the group and retired to their rooms.

---

The Cutie Mark Crusaders followed Vinyl and Octavia to their room once again. They wouldn't stop talking about their adventure to Dead Mare's.

"That was so awesome!" Exclaimed Scootaloo.

"We've been missing out!" Cried Apple Bloom, "We need to go on more adventures together!"

"Yeah!" Agreed Sweetie Belle. She gave the Musical Mares her best puppy-dog eyes, "Oh please won't you take us on more adventures, Miss Vinyl and Octavia?"

Octavia and Vinyl exchanged glances. Vinyl was about to reply, but Octavia answered for her.

"Today was a special treat," She replied firmly, "When we start going to more dangerous places, we can't protect you and fight off enemies at the same time. I mainly only took you so Apple Bloon could see Applejack again."

"We didn't even get one-on-one sister time!" Cried Bloom, "She was already gone before I got the chance to say how much I missed her!"

Octavia looked down, "Perhaps next time. We told the Guardians who lost their Gears that they could stay here at the Guild for the time being. You can see her then."

"We were focusing on stopping Whooves though," Vinyl piped up, "Not sister reunions. Sorry guys, but protecting Equestria comes first."

Apple Bloom's head lowered sadly. Scootaloo saw this and gently patted her on the back.

"Well, I guess Octavia's right," Said Bloom, "Applejack's duty is to protect Equestria."

Vinyl nodded, "Right. You guys should get a quick power nap. We'll talk some more afterwards."

The Crusaders didn't object. They shuffled to the door, leaving Octavia and Vinyl by themselves. The two yawned from a long night of trekking through the desert before lying down on their beds.

"Oh man," Groaned Vinyl, "I'm beyond tired. I feel like I could hibernate for the rest of the year."

Octavia didn't say anything, but mentally she agreed.

"We'll just get ourselves a quick power nap and we'll be up and running again," Vinyl suggested, "How about it?"

"Sounds good to me." Her buddy agreed. And with that, the two laid down to nap.

---

About an hour later, a knock was heard at the door. Octavia lifted her head, attempting to fix her matted mane before answering the door. As expected, it was Trixie. Octavia was a little surprised that Trixie hadn't screamed at them to get up.

"We need you for a meeting," Trixie explained, "Lyra wanted Trixie to get you."

Octavia yawned, "We'll be there in second."

"Hurr?" Vinyl asked. Her mane was pure chaos, matted from a rough nap and yesterday's sand bath. She only looked to be half awake, both eyes almost completely closed.

Trixie cringed, "Vinyl, do Trixie a favor and fix... That." She pointed at Vinyl herself before turning back to Octavia, "You could need a little fixer-upper too."

"Thanks." Octavia remarked sarcastically. Trixie left the two, holding her nose up high like she was the queen of everything. Octavia turned back to Vinyl and also cringed.

"Trixie was right," She said, "You need a serious makeover."

"So do you." Vinyl shot back.

The two mares got up and brushed through their manes, battling with the tangles and sand. Vinyl had to brush her teeth because she had a serious case of morning breath. Octavia smelled herself, realizing she reeked of sweat. She didn't have time to take a shower however, as Vinyl was already out the door and to the hall, forcing Octavia to follow. The rest of the Guild was already gathered in the team room. Lyra, Bonbon, and Black Thunder stood in the middle of them all. When Octavia and Vinyl joined them, Lyra and Thunder began speaking.

"It is apparent that stopping Whooves is going to be much more difficult than expected," Announced Thunder, "We need to be more aggressive towards him. That being said, we believe that he's going to strike the Cavern of Generosity next."

"However, we don't know for certain if he is," Lyra added, "Both the Cavern of Generosity and Mount Magic are the same distances from the Orchards of Honesty. Therefore, we don't know which to go to."

For a long time, there was an uneasy silence. Thunder however, broke it quickly.

"However, I do know a way." He said. He glanced over at Octavia, a smile winding its way onto his face. Everyone turned to face her, making the mare feel awkward.

"Me?" Questioned Octavia.

"Yes," Thunder replied, nodding his head, "Your ability could allow us to see where Whooves is going to strike next."

"Ability?" Lyra butted in, "What ability?"

Thunder turned to Lyra, "Trixie did not tell you? Octavia has the ability to see the past, present, and future of other places. The technical term for this ability is called the Dimensional Scream, because other dimensions, other times, are screaming at the user, telling them what will happen or what did happen."

Lyra gasped, "Why didn't you tell me? This could have been really useful to the whole Guild!"

"I wasn't sure how the rest of you would take it. It's quite rare and is usually only found in creatures capable of magic. I didn't know if you would consider it to be a form of witchcraft or dark magic."

"Are you kidding? I would never believe that Octavia would use dark magic! This could be more useful than Trixie's medicine!"

"Hey!" Objected Trixie from the back of the group.

"The problem is that we need something for Octavia to touch," Thunder said pessimistically, "The Dimensional Scream only activates when she touches a paticular item."

"So? We just need something from Mount Magic or the Cavern of Gernerosity. Does anyone have anything from said places?"

No one spoke up. However, a gray hoof from the back of the group shot up.

"I've got something!" Exclaimed Derpy Hooves, pushing her way to the front of the group, "I've got something from the Cavern of Generosity!"

"Great!" Lyra cheered, "What is it?"

Derpy pulled something out from behind her. It was an ice-blue crystal in the shape of a unicorn's horn, reflecting the light of the torches, creating beautiful blue light on the walls.

"I only got it from the entrance," Derpy explained sadly, "I don't know how much help it will be."

"No, it's perfect!" Thunder said, taking the crystal from her, "This will definitely activate the Dimensional Scream, hopefully telling us something."

Octavia took this to be the cue to walk over. She approached Thunder, who gave her the crystal. It felt nice and cool in her hooves, chilling the heat from yesterday's desert exploration.

"Now tell us when you see something," Thunder said expectantly, "Maybe it will tell us where Whooves is going to strike next."

Octavia stood there while everyone stared at her. She felt very awkward, for she was holding the crystal, but nothing was happening.

They're all watching me... She thought to herself, Oh please do something, this is very uncomfortable.

For a scary moment, nothing happened. Luckily however, Octavia's hoof shot to her head, a dizziness spell coming over her. She dropped the crystal as Vinyl came to her side to keep her from falling over. The mare was thrust into a different time, finding herself in a different place as well. Octavia's surroundings had turned into a crystalline cave, filled with many different types of gems. Most of the area was blurred, except for the part she really needed to see.

Standing in front of the mare was a unicorn with a pure-white coat. Her dark purple mane was perfectly styled, though looked slightly droopy and frizzled. She had dark blue eyes, currently showing a lot of pain. Her wings were stretched out, her horn was glowing weakly, and she was on one knee; clearly she had suffered a beating. Standing a few feet away from the mare was Whooves, looking quite proud of himself. He was just about to jump into the lake that sat before him, but the beaten Alicorn whipped around, grinding her teeth together.

"Don't you dare, you ruffian!" She screamed in a voice with an accent, though Octavia couldn't be sure what kind of accent.

Whooves gave a sympathetic look at the white mare, "I'm sorry. I have no choice."

"I do!" She argued, raising herself back up to all fours. Her horn glowed a violent shade of blue, "You won't be taking that Harmony Gear! You won't be taking anymore!"

The vision cut, blasting Octavia back. She landed on another pony who broke her fall.

"Ow..." The familiar voice of Vinyl Scratch moaned.

Octavia smiled sheepishly as she got off her friend, "Er... Sorry Vinyl."

"I think you broke something..." Vinyl complained, also standing back up.

"You seem to be fine."

"Well, you broke something!"

"What did you see?" Lyra cut in, approaching Octavia.

The mare paused, "A cave of gems. Whooves was there, and a white Alicorn. I think Whooves beat her up and was about to go to the Gear, but the Alicorn said he wasn't going to get it. That's when the vision stopped." She purposely left out the part about Whooves saying "I have no choice".

"Do you know if it happened in the past or the present?" Lyra questioned, seeming very skeptical.

"No clue."

Thunder approached, an idealistic look on his face, "The mare you saw, did she have a purple mane and a cutie mark of three diamonds?"

"I didn't get time to look at her cutie mark," Octavia answered, refusing to meet Thunder's gaze, "She did have a purple mane however."

"That was the Cavern of Generosity then," Thunder concluded, "The mare you saw was Rarity, Guardian of Generosity. As for knowing if it is in the past or future, Whooves couldn't possibly reach the cavern so quickly. Even he isn't that fast."

"So we still have time?" Lyra asked expectantly.

"Yes, but we must act quickly," Explained Thunder, "We need another expedition to the cavern and we need it now. This time, I'll be happy to accompany you."

"We'll go!" Vinyl spoke up, barely hesitating.

"But you just went to Dead Mare's Desert," Questioned Thunder, raising an eyebrow, "Are you not tired?"

"Heck no!" Exclaimed Vinyl. She forced Octavia to hold up her hoof, "We want to help stop Whooves just as much as you do!"

Though seeming reluctant, Thunder nodded solemnly, "Very well. Anyone else?"

A couple of other hooves shot up. Not very many, but enough to make a small expedition.

"Great!" Cheered Lyra, "We'll start the expedition tomorro-"

"No!" Thunder objected suddenly. He cleared his throat and continued, "Erm... Sorry for the sudden snap. We have to go tonight. Whooves will travel all night in order to reach that Gear. We must get there first."

Lyra nodded in agreement, "Now that you say it, that sounds like the better idea." She turned to the other Guild members, raising her voice so that they may hear, "Guild members who are going on the expedition, pack your bags and meet us outside! We begin our trek to the Cavern of Generosity in thirty minutes!"