"Sometimes, the most difficult thing an individual can do is starting something new." – Unknown.

Chapter One

It was a perfect day to sleep in, as one young colt thought groggily. The sun had begun its slow ascension into the sky as dawn broke, and the first rays of light fell over Greensborough, bathing the entire town in a warm, ethereal glow. He had woken up when the sunlight fell across his face as it streamed through his window. The warmth of his bed and the pet cat sleeping peacefully on his shoulder convinced him that sleeping in would be the best possible thing. The colt pushed the long strands of his gray mane out of his eyes and looked around for a tired moment. With a yawn, he snuggled deeper with his pillow, and both he and his cat sighed contently.

That was, until the door to his room opened, and in stepped a unicorn mare. Her coat was the same auburn color as his, though her mane was a curious mix of navy, white, and red that ran down to her tail in three solid stripes.

"Wanderer, get your rump out of bed. I've been calling you down for breakfast for ten minutes now." The unicorn glared at the colt, who was still attempting to sleep.

The colt lazily lifted his head from his comfy pillow. "Aww, mom, can't you let me sleep in? I'm tired."

She went about picking up a few things off of the floor with her magic. "If you didn't stay up all night reading Daring Do books, you'd get all the sleep you'd need." She finished tidying up. "Now come on, breakfast is ready."

"I can't."

"You can't?" She looked back to him with a raised eyebrow. She fully expected him to pull the "I'm not feeling well" excuse.

"Chewie is holding me down," he answered, looking to the sleeping feline on his shoulder. The cat merely stretched one paw out and flexed his claws into the blanket before tucking it back in to cradle his head.

The mare gave her son a flat stare. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. He's got me pinned down and I can't move."

"Move the cat, Wanderer."

"I can't. If I move him, then I'll disturb him, and that would be cruel of me." Wanderer smiled inwardly, thinking himself clever.

A cerulean aura surrounded the cat, lifting it and promptly dropping it to the wooden floor. The cat landed on its feet and stretched, giving the mare a dark glare.

"He's disturbed. Now get up," his mother said flatly and trotted out of the bedroom.

Wanderer thought to stay in his bed anyway but found his blanket lifted off of him and tossed aside by the same magical aura. Without his warm blanket, the cool air caused the colt to shudder.

"Up!" his mother shouted from the hallway as she descended the stairs.

Wanderer sighed as he knew his warm, comfy spot was no more. He sat up on the side of his bed and yawned, looking at his cat, who stood nearby, grooming itself.

"Whole lot of help you were," Wanderer muttered, brushing the tangled locks of his mane out of his face. The cat continued to groom, silently ignoring the colt's grumbles.

Wanderer hopped out of bed and looked out the window of his room. He saw many of the lumberjack ponies making their way towards the lumberyards, each one chatting or laughing at some joke their fellows made. A number of merchants pulled their carts behind them on their way to the market, and he couldn't help but smile a bit.

The town of Greensborough was a thriving community of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. Much of Equestria's timber was said to come from the oak forests surrounding Greensborough. The earth ponies and unicorns worked to fell the trees while the pegasi kept the persistent cloud cover and fog from the village.

With a grunt, Wanderer left his room and went down the stairs to the kitchen. He saw his mother was finishing setting the table for the two of them. She idly hummed a tune to herself as she set a plate of biscuits, a bowl of pepper gravy, and a bowl of persimmons for breakfast.

The colt reached out to grab one of the biscuits and looked to the bottom and saw the underneath was slightly blackened.

"BBBs again, Mom?" he asked.

She looked at him curiously.

"Burnt-Bottom Biscuits," he explained, showing her the biscuit with a wide, humored smile.

She glared at him dangerously.

He wisely took a bite of the biscuit. "Best you've ever made," he said quickly.

She rolled her eyes at her son's sarcasm. Such a trait ran thick in their family; it was almost considered a sign of affection.

The two ate their breakfast together as the house cat ate from his food bowl nearby.

"You gotta work today, Mom?" he asked as he helped her clean the table of dishes.

She nodded. "Yes, but I will be done in time to walk you home from school." She filled the sink with hot water.

Wanderer huffed and grabbed a towel to help her. "I can walk myself home, Mom. I'm not a little foal anymore."

"Last time I let you walk home alone, you ended up in a lumberyard all the way on the other side of town," she said dryly, though she did smile faintly at him.

His cheeks turned a brighter shade of red. "Aww, Mom, that was, ah, that was…" He couldn't come up with an excuse that didn't sound silly.

She chuckled warmly. "You've always have had a bad sense of direction, Wanderer." She levitated the dishes to him so he could dry them.

"Not true. I managed to find my way to the post office on my own. That day you asked me to send those letters," he said defensively as he put the dried dishes away.

"You left home to do that in the morning and didn't make your way home until dusk." She looked to him curiously. "Where did you go anyway?"

"I thought I was going in the right direction for the post office, but I found the train station instead. I turned back, thinking I went the right way, and I found town hall," he muttered. "But the point is, I found it… eventually." His ears and eyes lowered as he spoke.

His mother chuckled, and wrapped a forearm her colt affectionately. "Don't worry, Wanderer. You'll grow out of it one day. You just need to be patient."

"Like with my cutie mark?" he asked with a faintly dry tone, glancing at his blank flank.

"Especially for your cutie mark. You can't rush these things." They both finished cleaning the dishes and hung their towels to dry. "Did you know that Greensborough is going to host the next Summer Sun Celebration?" She collected her bag and started stuffing it with supplies and lunch for the day.

He smiled wide. "No way! When did that happen?"

"It was announced yesterday while you were in school."

"Didn't Cloudsdale host the last one?" he asked as he moved a piece of string around for his cat. The cat leapt and pounced at the tantalizing bit of string.

She nodded, using her magic to tie her tri-colored mane into a braid. "Yes, and Princess Celestia chose Greensborough for the next one."

He looked to her in excitement. "That means I'll get to see the princess. That will be so cool! I wonder if she is as tall as everypony says she is?" The cat snagged the string with his teeth and started giving it a proper mauling.

She smiled inwardly. "You will find out next summer." She tied her saddlebags up and placed them on her back. "Now, go get your saddlebag. I'll walk you to school on my way to work."

Wanderer nodded, and collected his bag from his room. As he walked towards the door of their home, he had the feeling that he was forgetting something.

His mother raised an eyebrow at his expression. "What's wrong, Wanderer?"

"I don't know…" His eyes widened all of a sudden. "What day is it, Mom?"

"Friday." Her brow furrowed at him.

"The?"

"The eighth."

His eyes widened further. "Uh oh," he thought to himself.

His mother looked to him expectantly. "What did you forget?"

"I didn't forget…" he said evasively.

"Wanderer." She gave him an unamused look.

He sighed and gave up trying to be sly. "I have an assignment due."

She sighed. "Well, you'll have to finish it when you get home. When is it due?"

"Ah…today," he said rubbing at the back of his head.

She simply stared at him with shocked, flabbergasted eyes.

"I love you, Momma," he said in a pathetic attempt to save himself.

The ensuing lecture echoed across the town, startling birds for miles around.

-0-

Wanderer sat dejectedly at his desk in the classroom of his one-room schoolhouse. The teacher prattled on about equations, figures, and other things that were really boring. It wasn't that he didn't like to learn—he loved it in fact—but he always preferred to learn by doing hooves-on work rather than listening or reading about it. Mixed with the teachers droning voice and the fact that his ears were still ringing from the lecture he had received from his mother a small headache was forming. He slumped and let his forehead rest on his desk with a faint thud.

Unfortunately, that was when the teacher paused.

"Is my class that boring to you, Wanderer?" the teacher asked dryly, pushing his black-banded glasses back up his yellow muzzle.

Wanderer sighed. Instead of being embarrassed, he figured he would just roll with the situation. "No, Mr. Leaf," he said, still not lifting his head from his desk.

"Perhaps you would like to demonstrate to the class how to solve the first equation?" The pegasus gestured to the chalkboard. A number of math equations were written out, waiting to be answered.

Wanderer stepped up to the chalkboard, and after a moment's study, he answered the equation.

"Very good, Wanderer." Mr. Leaf nodded in approval. The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. "Alright, class, see you again on Monday," he called after his rapidly diminishing classroom.

He looked at Wanderer as the colt finished collecting his saddlebags. "Are you feeling well, Wanderer? You don't look so good."

He rubbed at the side of his head. "Mom gave me another lecture this morning about being responsible. I guess it got kind of loud," he muttered.

"I think the whole town heard it, Wanderer." The teacher smiled in good humor, which Wanderer returned. "She is right, however. You do need to start remembering to get your assignments and responsibilities done in a timely manner."

Wanderer sighed inwardly. "Not another lecture…"

"But I will make a deal with you. I'll let you turn in the assignment on Monday, and you will start doing your work on time from now on, deal?"

"Yes, Mr. Leaf, I'll do it," Wanderer said quickly, happy to get a second chance.

The teacher smiled. "Alright, I'll see you on Monday."

Wanderer stepped out of the schoolhouse and saw that his mother hadn't arrived yet. Most of his classmates had already gone home. A few were playing on the playground, but he had no real desire to join them. Before he went to bed last night, he had been reading the latest Daring Do book and had fallen asleep during the scene where she had been forced to flee a crumbling temple, a long sought after treasure in hoof. How could he possibly go play on the playground when there was so much excitement waiting at home for him? It was Daring Do, the most awesome adventurer ever! He had to find out what happened with the temple. Such excitement could not be delayed by a swing set or slide!

He grudgingly sat down on the stairs that led into the school and waited for his mother to arrive. As he waited, his thoughts began to wander, mostly on his book at home, but also on the assignment.

"Ugh, how can I think of school when I have a whole weekend to do it?" he asked out loud. Some things have priority, and school work was not on the top of the list. He waited an hour for his mother to arrive, but she didn't show up. It was not uncommon for her to run late; a patient might have required her to stay and help out, or it could have been any other number of things that happen at a hospital. Whatever the reason, the waiting was driving him nuts.

A bored sigh escaped his lips before a thought occurred to him. Why wait for his mom? He was certain he knew the way back home from school—he had walked it many times with her before. Surely he couldn't get lost on such a beaten path. Besides, he could prove how responsible he was by showing her that he could take care of himself. The more he thought on it, the more he liked it. He absently wondered what a cutie mark in responsibility would look like, and there was only one way to find out!

With a smile of confidence, he gathered his saddlebag and charged down the path towards home.

Of course what seemed like an hour to Wanderer was, in truth, only fifteen minutes. No sooner had he charged down the path, did his mother walk around the school building looking for him.

-0-

As Wanderer confidently trotted down the streets, he kindly responded to those who greeted him. He noted his favorite eatery, a restaurant named Colton's. Maybe if he proved to his mom how responsible he was, he could talk her into dining out.

As he went, his thoughts drifted again. He had planned an excursion into the local woods for the weekend, to a part he hadn't been to before. It was still one of the places the locals considered safe, but he privately hoped to find some of the creatures that were rumored to live in the woods. The dangerous ones of course. Who looked forward to finding fluffy bunnies or cuddly something-or-others? He had always wanted to see timberwolves or other creatures that nopony else had ever seen before. He knew it would be dangerous, but was safe ever exciting? No, it wasn't. His role model, Daring Do, never did anything safe. It would have made for very boring stories.

As Wanderer's mind rambled on, he was pulled back to reality by a loud, shrill whistle. He jumped five feet straight into the air, his boyish voice cracking in surprise. He looked around in confusion—the whistle had sounded like a train's. He saw a train rolling into the station and watched as its passengers began to disembark.

"Wait… If I'm at the train station, then…" Wanderer facehoofed. He had gotten lost again. He knew that he'd never live it down once his mother found out. His eyes widened. If his mother found out, he would be in no end of trouble.

He sighed but knew he wasn't too badly lost; his home wasn't too far from the train station. If he were to make it home before his mom, everything could still work out.

He wasn't sure why, but a few ponies disembarking from the train caught his eye. One was an older gray pegasus stallion, about the same age as his mother. He quietly snickered at the thought; if he was as old as his mom, he had to be ancient. He was followed by two young ponies. The first, the one to catch his eye, was a blue-green pegasus filly with a teal-colored mane. The second was a rust-colored unicorn with an orange mane. Wanderer also noticed the two foals lacked cutie marks too.

Before he could think more on them, a shout from behind froze his blood instantly. His eyes shrunk to mere pinpoints as he recognized the voice.

"There you are!" his mother said from behind him. Her face wasn't angry but disappointed with him. "What were you thinking?"

"Mom, I—" he started until she took hold of his left ear with her magic and dragged him along behind her.

"You and I are going to have a long chat, buster," she said as she lead him down the street.

"We all carry baggage throughout our lives, and we gain more with each new experience, but it is how we carry that baggage that defines who we are." — Unknown

Chapter Two

A young blue-green, teal-maned pegasus filly stuck her head and front legs out of the window of a passenger cart. Her lavender eyes were wide with excitement as the train approached the massive Forest of the Oak. She was looking directly at the towering oak tree that stood in the forest's center. Even from this distance, the tree easily stood out.

The young filly squealed in excitement as the train passed into the wood's fringe, the trees passing by in a green blur. They were moving to a new home, one away from the hustle and bustle of Manehatten, in the quiet forested town of Greensborough. The filly was bursting with excitement at the idea of exploring a new and mysterious place.

"When do you think we'll get there, Dad?" she asked a gray pegasus, who was reclining against the wall of the cart. His coppery mane was tied back in a long ponytail, and his cutie mark was an easel.

"It shouldn't be too much longer, Tourmaline." His sky blue eyes had a warm, yet weary, look to them as he watched his daughter. "Come on, get your head back inside before a bug hits you."

"Oh, don't worry, Dad." She head held high in complete confidence. "I'm not gonna—" she began to cough and gag, her expression a mix of disgust and horror. "Gah, I—" she coughed some more "—swallowed a bug!"

"Told you," he remarked dryly. This earned a snicker from another foal, a rust-colored unicorn colt with a burnt-orange mane.

The filly took a large gulp from a bottle of water, shuddering in revulsion. "That was vile." She stuck her tongue out in disgust before closing the window to the cart. She shook her head and her mane settled into its usual place, though she had to brush aside one lock of hair that frustratingly kept falling in front her face.

"Try not to let it bug you, Tourmaline," her dad said with a smile, which only caused the colt to laugh louder.

Tourmaline glared first at her dad for the atrocious pun and then at the colt for laughing.

"You're as bad as Dad is, Tormod." She huffed, but the mood couldn't hold up to her growing excitement. "What do you think it's like in Greensborough? Do you think they actually live in the trees? That would be so cool!"

"I guess it would be if you like keeping your hooves off the ground," Tormod muttered. He looked at a book and map that was beside him. "According to this, Greensborough is just like any other small community. The only difference is that it is inside the woods." He picked up the map with his magic and studied it for a moment. "Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing what the town has to do and to see our new school."

Tourmaline groaned. "We can do that anytime. I can't wait to see the forest. There are supposed to be a whole bunch of mysterious things to find in there, and I'm going to find them all." She looked at the colt with a wide smile. "Aren't you excited, Tormod? A new home, a new place, and a whole huge forest to explore. I can't wait!" She hovered in the air, her wings beating with excitement.

"Well, yeah," Tormod admitted with a nod. "After I get to explore the town."

She flopped back down on her seat. "That sounds boring." She rested her head on her hoof in an exaggerated show of boredom.

"Says you," Tormod said. "Though I do wonder what our house will be like." The two foals began eagerly discussing their soon-to-be home, their plans ranging from practical to ludicrous.

Their father watched them with a warm smile. For him, it was a bittersweet event, moving to Greensborough. It meant that his two foals would grow up in a wholesome, small-town community instead of in the big city. The quiet, rural setting also meant he could further his work as an artist in peace.

He smiled wider as he saw the two pouring over the map. His two foals, and his art, were his life now.

He heard a voice behind him say, "We're coming up on the station, sir. Can I see your tickets?"

The pegasus nodded and hoofed him their tickets. "Get your bags, you two. We're almost there."

With an excited shout, the two were quickly on their hooves. Tourmaline hovered above, collecting their carry-on luggage while Tormod carefully put his map and book away.

"Heads up, Tormod." Tourmaline dropped one of the bags down to him.

Not expecting it, Tormod looked up in confusion. "Wha—" his eyes widened and the heavy bag crushed him with a resounding thud.

"Oops…" she said meekly, holding her hooves over her mouth.

"Tormod!" her father shouted in concern, shoving the bag off of her brother.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Tourmaline cried, as she landed next to her brother.

Tormod had an almost comical, dazed expression on his face. He shook his head to clear the dizziness away, rubbing at his head. "We haven't even gotten there yet and already you're dropping things on me," he muttered and looked to the bag. "Hey! That is my stuff!"

"Sorry, I thought you were paying attention," she said, not looking entirely ashamed.

"Tourmaline, you need to watch what you are doing. You could hurt yourself or somepony else because you weren't thinking. Use your head, girl," her father said with a disappointed frown.

"I'm sorry, Dad," she said, lowering her gaze.

"Don't tell me, tell your brother."

She looked to the unicorn, who sat patiently. "I'm sorry," she said more earnestly.

"It's alright," he said, shrugging slightly. "It just gives me reason to get you back." He grinned at her.

She grinned in turn, more than willing to face that challenge. Their father, however, was not amused.

"Enough fooling around. Get your stuff and let's go," he said as the train rolled into the Greensborough Station.

-0-

Their father led them off of the train without further mishap. Once off the train, the three gazed upon their new hometown. Tall trees of ringed the town, towering over the tallest building. The buildings themselves were made of cut logs with thatched roofing. A spring breeze blew past them, ghosting through the tall trees and buildings. The warm breeze almost felt like the forest itself was welcoming them.

They could see ponies going about their tasks at the train station. Ponies boarded and disembarked the train while workers busied themselves unloading and loading baggage and commodities. The platform itself was fairly busy with hoof traffic, though nothing that compared to Manehatten. A few vendors hawked their wares to travelers, each of them trying to outdo the others.

"So where are we supposed to go, Dad?" Tourmaline asked as she adjusted her saddlebags.

He set down his own suitcase. "Our home is on the eastern side of town." He looked around a moment before settling on the ticket master's office. "Better buy a new map. Tormod, go buy us a new map," he said to his son, who was busy taking in the sights.

"You got it," the colt said excitedly. He ran for the ticket master's office before his dad called after him.

"Yes, Dad?" he asked in confusion.

The stallion flipped him a bit with his wing, a humored grin on his face.

"Oh…right," Tormod said sheepishly, his face flushing a bit. He took the money and hurried away.

Tourmaline and her dad shared a laugh and waited for Tormod to return. She looked around with wide eyes, marveling at all the sights of the new town. Deep down, she had a feeling that she would get her cutie mark somewhere in those woods; she was determined to find her mark, as was her brother.

She heard a shout and turned towards the commotion. She saw a young colt getting a lecture from his mother before being dragged off by the ear. The colt's expression was a cross between fear, resignation, chagrin, and a silent plea for somepony to save him from his upcoming punishment. She giggled at the sight. It had happened to her more than she would admit.

She looked back as her brother returned, the newly purchased map hovering in the air.

"Here is the train station, Dad." Tormod pointed to a place on the paper. "So where is our home?"

The pegasus studied the map a moment before pointing to a place along the eastern side of the town. "There. It is not too far from a restaurant named Colton's. We'll get some takeout to eat at… home."

The two foals were too excited to notice their dad's hesitation.

-0-

Their dad pushed open the door and flicked on the lights. The two young ones rushed inside to find the already furnished home waiting for them. With excited shouts, the two dropped their stuff just inside the doorway and zipped around to explore. It was a comfortable, two-story house with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom downstairs and three bedrooms and one bathroom on the upper floor. The home was a far more humble than the home they had left in Manehatten, but that didn't matter to two foals.

Their father sighed in exasperation as the two ran around wildly. He understood their desire to explore, but they had things to do.

"Alright, you two, take your stuff up to your rooms and unpack. We'll eat after you are done," he said after he dropped the bags of takeout food on the kitchen table.

"Yes, Dad," Tormod said at once. Tourmaline sighed in disappointment before a loud grumble from her stomach hushed her. She wasted no time in running upstairs to put her things away.

When the two had gone upstairs, their father removed a few things from his own bag until he came upon the item he sought after. It was a framed photo of himself, his foals, and his wife. The four of them stood next to each other at a park in Manehatten, smiling to the camera. It had been a happy day, the four of them enjoying the rare day off their mother got from her job at the New Yoke Stock Exchange.

He rested his hoof over the image of his wife. "You always did worry about work more…" he said to himself. The two had loved each other at one point in their lives, but things just didn't stay the same.

He looked to the picture for a long moment before placing it on the mantle over the fireplace. He stepped back and looked to it again, closing eyes in disappointment before turning away to set dinner.

-0-

Later that night, Tormod lay awake in his bed, sleep not coming easily in the new setting. The room was dark, save for the light from the moon that shone through the window. The Mare in the Moon was bright tonight, he noticed idly as he stared through the window.

The move to Greensborough had been a sudden change for him. Being the calm individual that he was, it was not as hard on him as it had been for his sister and his dad. Tourmaline hid her hurt under endless excitement, while his dad endured it quietly. Tormod saw his dad's expression when Tormod suspected he was thinking of mom. It broke Tormod's heart that his family was now separated. He was old enough to know what it meant, and he was sure his sister did as well. He sighed quietly, his gaze on the visage of a mare on the face of the moon, and silently swore that he would be strong for both his sister and his father.

His head turned towards the door as he heard it open slightly, and he saw his sister peering into the room.

"What's wrong, Tourmaline?" he asked.

"I can't sleep. Can I come in?" she asked.

He sighed. "Yeah, come in, but keep quiet, alright?"

She pushed open the door, dragging her blanket by her teeth and balancing her pillow on her back. When the door opened, Tormod heard an atrocious sound from the hallway. He winced at the sound of their dad's snoring; it was likely loud enough to keep all of the town awake.

"I hear that Dad is asleep," he muttered dryly.

She giggled as she closed the door. "Yeah, he almost sounds like one of those mechanical saws we saw earlier."

He laughed. "He does, doesn't he?"

The two joked about their dad's snoring all the time. The foals only got a bigger laugh out of their dad when he would swear by the sun he didn't snore.

Tourmaline laid down on the hardwood floor of the bed room and wrapped up in her blanket. The two lay there in silence, only the sounds of the crickets breaking the silence with their enduring chorus. The two listened to the insects for a while before Tourmaline spoke.

"What do you think Mom is doing?"

Tormod shrugged. "Hopefully sleeping. It's late."

She hummed an acknowledgement. "So what are we going to do tomorrow?" She yawned long and loud.

"Probably walk around town and see where everything is. I can't wait to see our school," he said.

She yawned again. "I wonder what all the other foals are like? Wonder if they all have their cutie marks yet?"

He smiled inwardly. "We'll find out Monday."

There was a long silence before Tormod finally spoke. "I wonder if they have a bookstore or library here. What do you think?"

When no answer came, he turned to see his sister was sound asleep, her blanket rising and falling with each breath. He smiled again and settled into his bed.

"Guess I'll find out tomorrow," he said to himself before he too drifted off to sleep.

"What is a friend? I will tell you… it is someone with whom you dare to be yourself." – Frank Crane

Chapter Three

The weekend came and went too fast for Wanderer. His mother had given him an earful the night she marched him home from the train station, and he felt genuinely bad about it. However, her lecture had been quickly forgotten the following morning, and he spent the weekend tromping through the nearby woods.

Despite his horrible sense of direction, he knew that once the fog began to roll in through the trees, he would have to leave quickly. The only time he had been caught in the fog, he swore he had heard a low groan off in the distance, but he never found its source. Of course, he had earned a lecture back then, but he knew his mother was more concerned than angry.

His weekend was full of adventuring and play, but Monday eventually arrived, and he found himself in the classroom once again. His fellow students chatted amongst themselves as they waited for class to start. Wanderer noticed two empty desks, one beside him, the other just behind it. He knew this meant that there were going to be new students in the class. He smiled wide at the thought; new students meant possible new friends. It wasn't that he didn't have any friends, but that he was the only one in the class without a cutie mark, and the other foals spent their free time doing things that involved their talents rather than random play—something he couldn't join in on.

He sat up straight in his chair as the teacher walked into the classroom. Mr. Leaf left the door to the classroom slightly ajar. "Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Mr. Leaf," they said in unison.

"As you are no doubt aware, we have some new students joining us today. I want you all to welcome them as they have come all the way from Manehattan." The class whispered excitedly amongst themselves.

Mr. Leaf turned towards the door of the classroom. "Come on in."

Wanderer looked to the door excitedly, and in walked a pegasus and unicorn. Wanderer recognized them as the foals he'd seen at the train station. The blue-green, pegasus filly looked to the gathered class with a wide smile, whereas the rust-colored, unicorn colt looked nervous. Wanderer was able to confirm that they also lacked cutie marks.

"Why don't you introduce yourselves to the class?" Mr. Leaf suggested.

"I'm Tourmaline," the pegasus said with a smile.

"Tormod," the unicorn said a bit more quietly.

"Why don't you tell us something of yourselves?" Mr. Leaf suggested again.

"Are you really from Manehattan?" one of the other students asked.

"What's it like there? Is it really as big as they say?" another asked.

"What is there to see?" Wanderer asked with a wide excited smile.

"Apparently nothing to earn their cutie marks," one student muttered. Wanderer scowled at the speaker, a navy-blue earth pony colt with a sickly, yellow-colored mane that was cropped in spikes.

Thankfully, the two new students didn't hear him, but the teacher gave him a disapproving glare.

"Manehattan is a big city with tall buildings and lots of ponies. There is the Mare of Liberty you can climb into, there's the tall skyscrapers, and a whole bunch of other things!" Tourmaline said with a happy smile. She seemed more willing to speak in front of a crowd than Tormod, who simply looked at the students uncomfortably.

"Why'd you come to Greensborough then?" Wanderer asked.

The two didn't answer, both looking downcast at the seemingly innocent question. It was obviously a painful subject to them, and Wanderer regretted asking his question instantly.

Mr. Leaf cleared his throat, moving past the awkward moment quickly. "Why don't we move right along with class then. You two can take your seats by Wanderer and Rogue there." He gave Wanderer a pointed look. "There will be no more unnecessary questions."

Wanderer lowered his head, rubbing at his forehead in embarrassment. A snicker behind him had him glaring at the offender. Rogue, the one to snicker, just gave him a self-satisfying smirk in turn.

As the two walked for their seats, Wanderer softly uttered an apology to them. Tormod gave him a passive glance where Tourmaline gave him a knowing look. Wanderer mentally face-hoofed at his slip—things were starting out swimmingly.

"Alright class, we are going to start the day with a local history lesson." Mr. Leaf sat at his desk and adjusted his glasses. "So who can tell me what we know of Greensborough and the Forest of the Oak?"

Multiple hooves shot up into the air, but the siblings sat quietly and listened.

"Scarlet Scroll," Mr. Leaf called, indicating a lilac-colored, pegasus filly with a dark-green mane.

The lanky filly stood to answer the question. "Greensborough was settled four-hundred years ago by settler ponies. They established the town as a small foresting community before they found the trees were magical."

"Correct." Mr. Leaf nodded, and the filly sat down. "The trees of the Forest of the Oak are known to have magical properties. Not that they are magical when they are cut down, but when seedlings are planted, they regrown to full height within three weeks. That is how our lumberjacks are able to consistently provide lumber for all of Equestria without cutting deeply into the forest." He cleared his throat. "Now, who can tell me anything of the forest itself?"

Wanderer raised his hoof excitedly, waving it around.

"Wanderer," Mr. Leaf called on him.

He eagerly stood. "The Forest of the Oak sprouted from the mother tree in the center of the woods. While it can be seen from far away, nopony has ever been able to see the tree up close."

"Correct, the mother tree is surrounded by fierce, galeforce winds, preventing any pegasi from actually reaching it and nopony has ever managed to get to it on hoof. It is said that the fog that drifts through the forest is rumored to originate from this tree. The fog is known to bring some of the dangerous creatures of the forest with it. Timberwolves and the rare manticore are seen most often, but there are rumors of many other creatures that nopony has identified." He pushed his glasses up his muzzle again, settling into his instructor's instincts. "The Equestrian Guard and the mayor have repeatedly informed all ponies not to be within the woods themselves when the fog rolls in. As hard as the pegasi work to keep it from the town, it still has the tendency to drift in unannounced."

Wanderer stole a quick glance to the two new ponies as the teacher continued on with the lesson, and he could see that they were eagerly listening to the subject. Both of them had wide, eager smiles on their faces. He assumed they wanted to know as much about their new home as they could. He shared their excitement; even if he had heard this lesson before, he always liked hearing the tales again.

-0-

During the recess after lunch, Tourmaline found herself idling time by kicking a ball. She kicked it at the wall of the schoolhouse, and would try her best to rebound the ball before it could bounce past her. It was an excellent way to improve one's reflexes, and she was proud of her reaction time. Her brother, however, reclined against a nearby tree, his muzzle deeply buried in a text book.

Tourmaline landed another kick, but when the ball rebounded back at her, she caught it instead. She wiped the sweat from her brow, pushing back her mane, before looking to her brother.

"So what do you think of our class, Tormod?" She tucked the ball under a foreleg.

He never lowered his book. "I haven't formed an opinion on them yet."

"You could at least look at me when you talk," she muttered in annoyance.

He lowered the book enough to peek over its edge. "It's the first day, Tourmaline. We don't even know anypony yet."

She pensively looked at the nearby playground. "Maybe we should go try talking to a few ponies and see if any of them want to play."

He shrugged and went back to his book. "Maybe."

She stuck her tongue at him. "You are such a stick in the mud."

He snorted and continued to read.

She huffed and took her ball in both hooves and turned back to the wall. She imagined herself in a large stadium on a soccer field. She was the star player, and her next shot would determine the championship. She could see the goalie's fearful expression and hear the crowd excitedly cheering her name.

With a confident smile, she tossed the ball upward and gave it a solid kick. The goalie blocked it, but the ball bounced back at her left side. A quick leap and she launched the ball back at the goalie, who leaped in desperation to block. Tourmaline smiled wide, as she knew that the goalie couldn't hope to block her next shot. As it bounced back at her, she leaped up, spun, kicked… and missed. The ball flew right over her leg and sailed over the hill towards the playground before she could hope to stop it.

-0-

Wanderer paced anxiously around the playground, his expression troubled. He knew that after his hoof-in-muzzle moment in the classroom, the two new ponies might not even want to speak with him. It was obvious his question had stirred up some unpleasant memories. Sure it was an honest mistake, but still, who would so easily forgive such a slip? The two hadn't tried to speak to anypony in class at lunch and had quietly left the classroom for recess.

He huffed, concluding that putting his hoof in his muzzle left a foul taste indeed.

He had considered approaching them at recess but hesitance kept him away. What if the two wanted nothing to do with him? He felt bad that he had upset them and wanted to make it up to them. He groaned in frustration. Why did he have to open his big muzzle? His slip-up might have just pushed away two potential friends.

"I should apologize. I might even make things better," he said to himself. He smiled inwardly, as he might be able to mend bridges and make friends.

He clopped his two front hooves together in determination. "Alright, I got this. Can't let fear stop me." He trotted confidently up the hill where he had last seen them.

As he crested the hill, his eyes only had time to widen as a ball crashed into him and sent him soaring back down the hill to land heavily on the ground, the ball sailing upward into the air. The pegasus filly flew down next to him, babbling out a stream of apologies.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Her violet eyes showed concern as she looked at him. "Are you okay?"

He lay dazed for a moment before shaking the dizziness away. "It's alright." He shakingly got back to his hooves. "That was… quite a toss."

She smiled to him. "It was, wasn't it?" She rubbed at the back of her head. "Hope I didn't hurt you much."

He put on a bold face, brushing his bangs out of his eyes confidently. "Nah, I can take a hit. Just remind me not to be on the opposing team of a dodgeball game."

She looked around in confusion. "Where is my ball anyway?"

On cue, the ball fell back to earth and conveniently ricocheted off Wanderer's head.

"Found it," he said weakly before collapsing to the ground.

"Thanks." She caught the ball as it bounced towards her. She smiled sheepishly as she helped him back to his hooves. "What was your name again? Traveler or something like that?"

"Wanderer. What's yours?"

"Tourmaline. It's good to meet you." She motioned over her shoulder. "Mr. Antisocial up there is my brother, Tormod. He's not usually so talkative."

Wanderer looked towards the tree where the unicorn sat oblivious to their conversation. "He likes to read, huh?"

"You have no idea…" Her eyes brightened. "Hey, want to come play? I like to have somepony to play with instead of a brick wall."

His smile was instantaneous. "Sure!"

"Heh, not that Wanderer would be better than a brick wall," a condescending voice said from behind him.

Wanderer's joy turned quickly to annoyance. "Beat it, Rogue. I don't need you right now." He turned to glower at the approaching earth pony, who was accompanied by two others.

Tourmaline looked at Wanderer curiously. "Who are they?"

"That's Rogue and his friends Stone Hoof and Scarlet Scroll." He nodded to each in turn. Stone Hoof was a solidly built pegasus colt with a slate-colored coat, a neon-yellow mane, and a crushed stone for a cutie mark. Scarlet Scroll was the pegasus who had answered the question in the history class; her cutie mark was a scroll and quill. "They're trouble."

"Hmph, didn't know I was interrupting a romance between two blank flanks. It's so touching," Rogue sneered, the two behind him snickering.

Wanderer sputtered, but Tourmaline furrowed her brow. "What do you mean 'blank flank?'" she demanded.

"Ignore them. 'Blank flank' lost its originality a long time ago. They just can't seem to come up with anything different," Wanderer told her, glaring at Rogue.

Stone Hoof scowled at him. "Watch your mouth, blank flank."

Rogue held up a hoof. "No need for that, Stone. Wanderer knows better than to start a fight again."

"You had that coming, Rogue. I warned you not to say a word about my mom." He glared fiercely at the other colt, who only sneered in turn. "How about you and your friends leave already? You don't need to be a jerk just to be a jerk."

Rogue glared at him, his grin fading. "My dad owns the lumber yards of Greensborough. I'll do whatever I want to."

Wanderer gave him a flat stare. "You never stop telling ponies that, do you?"

Rogue stood arrogantly. "I'm important, unlike you, Wanderer. You should make sure your marefriend here understands that."

Tourmaline beat Wanderer to the retort. "I'm not his marefriend, and you need to get lost."

Scarlet Scroll stepped in front of her, and the two were muzzle to muzzle. "Simmer down, princess. Since you're new, we'll let that slide this time. Don't want to hurt your precious feelings." She smiled snidely.

Tourmaline glared back, not backing down an inch. "I'm not scared of you. I've dealt with bullies from Manehattan who are worse than you."

Scarlet scowled, but Rogue stopped her. "Just because you're from the big city doesn't mean anything. You're still a no-good blank flank."

"And what is going on here?" a bored sounding voice asked. Tormod walking up calmly, looking at the three bullies appraisingly.

"You trying to butt in, blank flank?" Stone Hoof glared at the unicorn.

Tormod raised an unamused eyebrow at the male pegasus. "Seriously? That simple insult is here too?" He shook his head in disgust.

Stone sputtered. "W-Watch your mouth."

"You city ponies think you're that important? You're nothing," Rogue snapped.

Tormod looked at him in turn with no change of expression. "You're the son of an owner of a lumberyard in a small country town. You really have no idea what important is."

Rogue scowled, his facing taking on a red hue. "I won't take that from you. Why don't you and your baby sister run home to mommy, if you even got one."

Wanderer saw that had struck a nerve between the two, and his patience finally snapped. It was one thing to make fun of a pony, but to say something nasty of their family was downright wrong. He was not going to let that slide.

He was in Rogue's face in an instant, his hazel eyes ablaze in fury. Rogue took a reflexive step backwards, his ears flattening at the sudden hostility. "You listen to me, Rogue, and you listen good. You can make fun of me all you want. I don't care. But the moment you insult a pony's family, that is taking it too far. I've had enough of you and your bullying. Take your friends, and do something useful for once and beat it."

The two siblings looked at him in shock, clearly surprised that this stranger would come to their defense without them even knowing them.

Before Rogue could retort, Wanderer cut him off. "I've had it, Rogue. This stops now." His tone was unsettlingly calm, despite his anger.

The other finally glared back at him. "And just what are you going to do?"

"Do you really want your dad to finally find out about your attitude?"

The blue colt flinched. His father was not the forgiving sort when it came to things that would damage his reputation. Having a son who was a known bully would no doubt cause more harm than good.

The two glared daggers at each other. Scarlet stepped forward to say something before Tourmaline stopped her with a glare. Stone was about to push at Wanderer, but Tormod stepped between them.

The tense stand-off went on for a minute, neither side backing down, though Stone gave Rogue quick, worried glances. The pegasus was not looking forward to the idea of a fight. Finally, Rogue took a step back, glowering at Wanderer.

"This isn't over, Wanderer. You and your blank-flank friends can get lost in the woods for all I care." He turned away sharply, and he and his friends left quickly.

Wanderer huffed, a pleased expression on his face.

"Hey, Wanderer, thanks for standing up for us," Tourmaline said with a grateful smile.

"Yes, thank you. I take it he is the class bully?" Tormod asked him, running a hoof through the spikes of his mane, letting out some nervous energy.

"Yeah, they take it upon themselves to give other ponies a hard time just for laughs." He grinned in humor. "I've actually wanted to do tell him off for a while now."

Tormod chuckled. "Well, we're glad to be here to give you the chance."

Tourmaline elbowed her brother. "Anyway, you still want to play? We have the rest of recess yet."

Wanderer smiled wide. "You bet!"

The three spent the remainder of recess playing together. Wanderer had found the friends he had hoped for. They laughed, shared stories, and enjoyed a day of play together. At the end of the school day, they promised to meet again before class the next day. As Wanderer walked home with his mother, he couldn't keep the spring from his step.

"Friendship is not about whom you've known the longest. It's about who walked into your life, and said, 'I'm here for you,' and proved it." – Unknown

Chapter Four

The sun rose over the town of Greensborough like it had for countless days before. For one pegasus filly, it was a day she had been eagerly waiting for. What made this day special was that it was the eve of the Summer Solstice.

Her eyes snapped open, and she quickly scrambled over to look out her bedroom window. The street below was mostly empty, save for a few lumberjacks on their way to the lumberyards. This didn't matter to her, however. With a squeal of delight, she dashed towards her dad's bedroom. The pegasus was snoring loudly in a content sleep, but that ended rather abruptly as she ran in and jumped onto his bed. He sat upright with a pained grunt as she accidentally landed on his stomach. Before he could object, she wrapped her forelegs around him tightly.

"Dad! Dad! Are you awake? Come on, it's the Summer Sun Celebration today! Get up!" Tourmaline released him, her wings fluttering in excitement.

He coughed before his breath came back to him. "Tourmaline, we have all day to enjoy the festival. Why are you up so early?" He rubbed at his sleep-crusted eyes.

She stopped in her flight. "Dad, Princess Celestia is going to be here this morning. I want to go see her when she gets here."

He gave a tired sigh. "You can see her when she raises the sun tomorrow." He nestled in his bed, pulling the covers over his head.

She started bouncing on his bed. "But, Daaaaaaaad! I want to see her before that. I might even get a chance to talk to her. Come on!"

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine." He knew that further attempts at trying to sleep were only going to elicit more begging.

"Yay!" Her wings beat the air so fast that she blew over a number of things on her dad's dresser. "Oops…" she said quietly, watching her dad for a reaction.

He sat up in his bed with a sigh before a yawn overtook him. "Go get your brother up. He's going too."

She blinked in surprise. "I forgot about Tormod!" She zipped out of the bedroom and down the hallway in a teal blur.

"I wonder if other parents are so fortunate?" he muttered aloud, setting the items back on his dresser. An annoyed shout from down the hallway and the excited rumblings of his daughter brought a warm smile to his face nevertheless.

-0-

A short while later, the three of them made their way towards the town square. Tourmaline flew ahead of the other two, who both still looked like they'd rather still be in bed than trudging along the streets in the early morning.

"Come on, Dad, Tormod. She could be here any minute," she called back to them.

"Calm down, Tourmaline. We'll get there with plenty of time," her dad said, walking at a slower pace to keep in step with his trudging son.

The colt yawned. "Did we really have to get up so early? I bet even the princess is still asleep."

Tourmaline gestured to the morning sky, where the sun was completely above the horizon. "The sun's up, Tormod. She's awake."

He glowered at her. "Ever heard of sarcasm?"

"All the time. Besides, more beauty sleep wouldn't do you any good. Come on already." She took off towards the square as they rounded the street.

Her dad called after her, "Don't get too far ahead."

"Are you sure she isn't adopted?" Tormod muttered to him with a pleading look.

He laughed quietly. "I'm sure."

"Of all the luck…" The two trotted ahead to catch up.

-0-

As they arrived, they found that they were not the only ones who had arrived early with hopes of catching a glimpse of the princess. It seemed as if the whole town had turned out to greet her. The square was packed with ponies, all chatting among themselves excitedly. It was well known that the princess would arrive in the early morning and visit with the city that was hosting the Summer Sun Celebration. Many business owners and citizens alike looked forward to getting the chance to speak with the princess in the pony.

Tourmaline flew around to see if there was a way to the front of the crowd, but frowned as she saw it was packed. "Dad, how are we going to get up front to see the princess? I don't see a way to get up there."

The older pegasus looked to the crowd of ponies with a grimace. "We might not be able to."

Tourmaline moaned in disappointment. "There's gotta be a way."

Her dad flattened his ears at the whine in her voice. "Maybe the two of you could squeeze up front and see her. I can wait back here for you."

Tormod looked to the crowd with a frown, but one look at his sister and the big sad, puppy-dog eyes she gave him, he could only sigh in defeat. "Alight, fine. But stay with me, alright?"

"Yay!" she gleefully cheered.

Before they could start to push their way through the crowd, a voice called out to them. "Tormod! Tourmaline! Over here!"

They looked toward the voice and saw Wanderer waving for them to join him.

"Good morning, Wanderer. Did you come to see the princess too?" Tourmaline asked as they trotted up.

He grinned widely. "You bet. I've been looking forward to this for months."

Tormod looked around curiously. "Did you come alone? I don't see your mom."

"Nah, Mom brought me." He gestured to a nearby bench, where his mother sat alone. She looked disheveled with her mane in a mess and dark bags under her eyes. Her tired, bloodshot eyes made her look like she was ready to incinerate the next pony to attempt to talk to her.

"Your mom doesn't like mornings either?" Tormod asked.

Wanderer shrugged. "Not when she worked the night before."

"Wanderer," Tourmaline said to him in disappointment.

He sighed. "I know, I know, but she promised to take me if I did my chores for a week without arguing and I did." He looked at his mom again as the siblings' father sat next to her, albeit cautiously. "I'll tell her sorry later." His smile returned. "But come on. The princess will be here soon. Let's get up front while we can."

The three began slipping past the legs of the adults, working their way to the front of the crowd. The crowd suddenly started cheering loudly. Tourmaline saw that they were all looking to the sky and waving excitedly. With the crowd, however, she couldn't see the sky herself.

She looked back to the two colts. "Hurry up! She's here!"

Trying to push past the crowd of excited adults proved to be a very difficult task. Each time Tourmaline thought she'd make it through, an adult would step in her way, forcing her to mutter a half-hearted apology and go around. She could hear a majestic voice speak to the crowd but wasn't able to make out what was being said over the din.

Finally, she pushed her way to the front right as the crowd started cheering again. She looked around wildly for the princess, but groaned in disappointment as she only caught a glimpse of a majestic, billowing tail make its way through the crowd.

"Darn it," she muttered, crossing her forelegs in a pout.

The two colts appeared from the dispersing crowd, they also looking around quickly before looking at her.

"Did I miss her?" Wanderer asked.

Tourmaline blew at a lock of her mane irritably. "I saw her tail go that way." Wanderer's shoulders slumped in disappointment at her news.

"We got up early just to see the princess's tail," Tormod remarked dryly.

The other two glared at him.

If he was intimidated by their glares, he didn't show it. "Just saying."

Wanderer sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Now we'll have to wait until the next sunrise to see her."

"Ha! Like the princess would want to see the three of you," they heard a snarky voice say.

Their hackles stood on end as they recognized the voice of Rogue. He was accompanied by Stone Hoof and Scarlet Scroll.

"What do you want, Rogue?" Wanderer growled through clenched teeth.

Rogue grinned slyly. "Want? I don't want anything from you three. But it seems to me that you three want something."

"I don't see how it concerns you though," Tormod remarked, looking at the three with narrowed eyes.

Rogue glared at him. "It doesn't concern me, blank flank. I heard you three wanted to see the princess, so I'm here to tell you not to waste your time." His lackeys snickered.

"How thoughtful of you." Wanderer snorted. "How did you know we wanted to see the princess?"

Rogue ignored the question. "I just wanted to let the three of you know that I will get to see the princess. She'll have a luncheon with all of the major business owners in town, and my father and I will be there." He grinned sardonically. "Maybe if you three ask real nicely and do something for me, I'll ask a question for you."

The three instantly glowered at him. "Get lost, Rogue."

Stone bristled at Wanderer, but Rogue kept him back. "Since I'm so nice, I'll ignore that. Come on, what would you do to see the princess?"

Tourmaline had just about enough of the bully. "Don't you have some candy to steal from little foals or something?"

All three glared hatefully at her, but Rogue again brushed it off. "Fine then, waste your chance. Not like the princess would have bothered with the likes of you three noponies." He walked off with an infuriating laugh, which was shared with Scarlet. Stone Hoof glared at the three a moment before following after his friends.

Tormod watched them wander off. "One could really grow to not like him."

"Grow? I already do," Wanderer groused and sat down on the pavement irritably.

Tormod sat down as well. "He's right though. We can't see the princess, not until the rising of the sun ceremony."

"No way! I'm going to see her, and I'm going to talk with her. No matter what Rogue says."

The two colts looked at Tourmaline curiously. Her eyes practically glowed with determination.

"How are you going to do that? We can't just walk up to her and say 'hi,'" Wanderer said.

"Rogue said that she will be attending a luncheon later on. Maybe we can get inside to see her there."

"But it is for business owners only. We can't get in there," her brother objected.

She grinned wickedly. "They don't need to know if we are business owners or not."

Both colts blinked in surprise, but Wanderer was quick to match her grin. "The sneaky approach? I like it."

Tormod looked at them as if they were crazy. "Are you both nuts? We could get in serious—"

"Trouble," the other two deadpanned.

He looked at them helplessly then finally sighed in defeat. "Fine, but it doesn't have to be the luncheon."

They scrunched up their faces in confusion. "What do you mean?" Tourmaline asked.

"I overheard some of the ponies talking about the princess. Apparently, she's going to attend a meeting with the town's officials. I guess she'll want to see how well the town is doing. Maybe we can try there first?"

Tourmaline's eyes lit up in excitement. "We could see her before Rogue does."

Wanderer chuckled evilly. "Oh, he'd love that."

"Beat you there!" Tourmaline challenged, and the two quickly took off in the direction of town hall.

"Wait!" Tormod called after them. "We should tell our parents first…" He trailed off as the two raced away. "Why do I even try?"

-0-

"What do you mean 'no?'" Tourmaline glared at the guard who was blocking her way into town hall's front entrance.

"It's what I said, kid. No admittance," the royal guard said in a gruff, business-like tone. He looked ahead, not directly looking at the three foals who had demanded entrance.

"Come on, we just want to see the princess. We won't get in the way," Wanderer said.

"No."

Tormod stepped forward. "Pardon us, sir. We missed our chance to see her when she arrived this morning. We only wish to see her and perhaps ask a question. Nothing else."

The guard turned his stoic gaze to him. "If I allow every foal to ask a question of the princess, she'll never have time for herself, let alone important matters. My answer stays."

Tourmaline gave him the cutest, widest, most innocent-looking eyes she could muster. The same look worked wonders when she'd wanted something out of her father. "Please?"

The guard remained unmoving. "No."

She stamped a hoof. "You're mean!"

"Move along."

The three reluctantly turned away, grumbling to themselves.

"So, now what?" Wanderer glared back where the guard allowed a pair of ponies into the building.

"Try the luncheon?" Tormod suggested.

"No way!" Tourmaline declared firmly. "We're getting in there. No matter what that stick in the mud says." She glared back at the guard.

Her brother rolled his eyes. "And how are we going to do that? I don't think he's going to move even if the sky falls around his ears."

Tourmaline looked back at the building, frowning faintly in thought.

"How about up there?" Wanderer pointed to a number of shuttered windows that appeared to lead into an attic.

"That could work."

The three made their way towards the back of the building, out of the wary watch of the guard. When they got to an out-of-sight window, they realized a snag in their plan.

"How are we going to get up there?" Wanderer asked.

"I don't see the problem." Tourmaline grinned slyly, flapping her wings.

The two turned their unamused glares on her.

She frowned at them irritably. "I was joking."

Tormod looked around before he pointed to a number of empty barrels that sat outside a shop. "Maybe we can stack those?"

"That's awfully useful," Wanderer remarked.

Tormod looked at his sister. "Better make sure we can get in. See if the window is unlocked."

She nodded and quickly flew up to the shuttered window. When she managed to open them, she started for a second before she turned her head sideways to listen. "Guys, I can hear the princess talking. Hurry up!"

"Help us stack!" Wanderer yelled up. He quickly ran towards the barrels and started rolling them towards the window, using his muzzle to roll them across the dirt.

Between the three, they managed to stack the barrels in a stair-like construct. Tourmaline looked at it warily.

As did her brother, who looked at the stacked barrels like they were a snarling dog. "You sure about this?" he asked, looking at Wanderer doubtfully.

Wanderer thumped his chest, puffing out in pride. "'Course I'm sure. I helped put it together didn't I? I bet it'll hold ten ponies at once."

"Right." Tormod didn't sound convinced.

"Come on, you two!" Tourmaline called down impatiently.

"Let's go, Tormod." Wanderer began to climb the barrels, and Tormod reluctantly followed.

Tourmaline watched them and shivered in excitement. Soon she would get to see Princess Celestia, and she might even get a chance to talk with her. The thought of speaking to royalty made her giddy. She wanted to squeal but kept quiet so the guards wouldn't hear her and find them sneaking into the building.

"What are you doing? Get down from there!" A shout from the corner of the building startled them. Unfortunately, both colts jumped at the shout, which caused the rickety stack of barrels to shake and collapse—taking the two along with them. They landed with resounding thuds, scattering barrels everywhere. Tourmaline could only look down at the mess with her hooves over her muzzle in shock.

Tormod groaned as he pushed Wanderer off of him. "I'll never trust anything you build again, Wanderer."

Wanderer shook his head to clear the dizziness. "Guess I won't get my cutie mark as a builder."

"You three, halt!" a guard yelled.

"Go!" Wanderer shouted, and the three took off, leaving being a flustered guard.

He shook his head at the three as they kicked up a trail of dust in their retreat. "Dang kids."

-0-

After the barrel incident, the three realized they needed a new plan. They headed towards the building where Princess Celestia was to meet with the business owners. They arrived just as the business ponies and their families were arriving. The three could tell the princess hadn't arrived yet, as there were no guards posted at the doors.

"So we're just going to waltz in there, just like that?" Wanderer asked Tormod, his expression skeptical.

Tormod nodded firmly. "It's not that hard, Wanderer. We just walk in with a group, sit somewhere quiet and out of the way, and we get to see the princess. Easy peasy, simple and breezie."

His sister glared at him for the horrible saying. "We'll have to watch out for Rogue though. He'll rat us out in nothing flat." She scanned the growing crowd of ponies.

Tormod nodded. "If we see him, we'll have to sit somewhere he won't see us." He smiled. "If this goes right, we'll get a free lunch and we'll get to see the princess."

Wanderer rubbed at his belly. "Lunch does sound good."

Tormod stood and walked towards the crowd. "Well, let's go."

The three waited near a building for a moment and quietly followed behind a larger group of ponies—inconspicuously following them inside. Any of the other attendees who looked their way thought they were foals from another group and didn't question them.

The dining area of the building was adorned with a number of banners and decorations, all welcoming Princess Celestia to Greensborough. A number of dining tables were set in a semicircle in front of an elevated platform, where a podium and two other tables waited.

The foals looked around, eyes wide and jaws hanging slack. The tables were all set with formal diningware and arranged in ways they hadn't seen before.

"Wow, I've never seen a place like this," Wanderer said. "They have three different forks. Why do they need that many to eat?"

Tormod shrugged. "You got me."

Tourmaline pointed at one of the tables. "Look, they already have fresh rolls out." Her head darted to the side and she took a sharp intake of breath. "There's Rogue. Hide!"

The three hid behind chairs and tables as Rogue and his family walked past. He walked by without so much as a glance towards their hiding place.

"He didn't see us, did he?" Tormod asked from behind a chair.

Tourmaline peeked out from under her table. "Don't think so. He's sitting up front, so we can sit anywhere else."

Wanderer climbed out from under the table he had hidden beneath, and he saw a pair of ponies looking at him oddly.

He looked between them for a second. "Dropped a bit."

The two seemed to accept that and moved on.

The three foals took a seat at one of the tables that was out of the way and not within sight of Rogue. As the waiters walked past, they set a basket of fresh, buttery rolls and glasses of fresh, cool water in front of them. The three dug into the rolls and emptied the basket before the waiter had gone far.

"Can we get another basket, sir?" Tourmaline asked as she wiped the excess butter from her muzzle.

"Of course, young miss." The waiter took the basket and made his way towards the kitchen.

Tormod looked at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head. "Did you just use manners?"

Her ears flattened in her annoyance. "Shush."

The three watched as more ponies began to filter in, and soon the conversation around the room became a dull drone. After they devoured a second basket of rolls, Wanderer looked to them with a butter-covered smile.

"So what are you guys going to ask the princess?"

Tormod smiled eagerly. "I'm going to ask how she manages to keep everything so organized. With everything she does every day, how does she manage to do it?"

Tourmaline rolled her eyes. "Boooring." Wanderer chuckled, using his napkin to clean his face.

"Oh, come on. Aren't you interested at all how she does it? It's a good question," Tormod protested.

"If you wanted to put ponies to sleep." Tourmaline's comment only made the earth pony next to her laugh the harder.

Tormod snorted dismissively. "And what oh-so-exciting question have you got to ask her?"

She lifter her head up proudly. "I'm going to ask her what she does for fun. All the work she does has to get boring after a while. I wanna know what she does in her own time."

Wanderer considered that a moment, then shrugged. "Not a bad question, but she may not want to share that with everypony. Even a princess needs her own time."

"I can still ask though."

"I guess."

Tourmaline waited until after the waiter refilled their glasses. "What are you going to ask her, Wanderer?"

He took a big, healthy drink of his water."I'm going to ask her if she knows Daring Do. If anypony would know about who she really is, it would have to be Princess Celestia."

Tormod rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You think she would know?"

Wanderer took another drink of his water. "She has to. She's the princess. I bet she knows everything."

Tormod shrugged. "Only way to find out, is to ask."

They sat quietly and watched as the serving staff began serving the meals. Their excitement only grew as the lights of the room dimmed and applause from the crowd went up. A stallion dressed in business attire stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Distinguished guests, the guest of honor will arrive momentarily. She bids you all enjoy your meals, and she will join you in five minutes. Good day."

As the announcer stepped back, the waiters pushed carts of cooked food around the tables. The smell of freshly prepared food had the three foals practically drooling.

Wanderer widely smiled. "We get to see Princess Celestia, and we get a free lunch. This was your best idea ever, Tormod."

He smiled proudly. "Yes it is."

"And best yet, nothing can go wrong," Tourmaline said and they began chatting excitedly.

That was when Tourmaline felt someone approach her. She turned with a smile to order her food.

"Yes, I'd like to have the—" she gave a soft squeak of surprise that had both colts looking at her curiously. They both gave similar squeaks as it turned out that the waiter was actually a familiar-looking guard.

"You three, need to come with me," he said in a tone that brokered no argument.

"But sir, we're here with our—" Tormod started.

The guard glared at him. "I know who you three are. Let's go."

"But—"

The guard's eyes narrowed. "Now."

The three quickly found themselves ushered out of the building.

"You kids get on home. Just be glad that your parents won't be told about this. I don't want to see you three around here again, understand?"

The three lowered their heads. "Yes, sir," they said in unison.

He nodded firmly and shut the door behind him. The three stood there for a moment before groaning in frustration. "How did he find out? We tried being extra careful this time." Wanderer asked as he sat down irritably.

Tormod frowned. "Do you think the waiter pointed us out?"

"I don't know. It—" They looked towards a window as they heard a knocking. A smugly grinning Rogue waved at them from the window.

Wanderer snarled. "Rogue!" The other colt laughed insultingly and turned away.

Tourmaline was seething in rage, feeling more than a few feathers fall free. "I really don't like him!"

Tormod scowled fiercely. "He just cost us our chance to talk with the princess."

"Worse yet… we didn't get our free lunch," Wanderer lamented.

The two looked at him before a loud rumbled erupted from their bellies. They gave a collective, disappointed sigh before walking away.

-0-

The cool, summer morning was a pleasant way to start the day Tourmaline thought as she walked beside her dad and Tormod as they made their way towards the town square. She couldn't wait until she got to see Princess Celestia raise the sun. It seemed a poor consolation prize after her high hopes of the previous day. If there had been a chance to speak with her in the pony, it would have made for the best day ever.

"So, are you two excited?" their dad asked.

She nodded eagerly. "Uh huh. I didn't get to see her yesterday, so I'm excited to see her raise the sun today. I can't wait."

"Me too." Tormod looked at his dad. "How much longer until she's supposed to start, Dad?"

The pegasus stallion pensively looked at the large clock that adorned the tower on town hall. "Should be in less than an hour. We better hurry if we want to get a good spot."

The two eagerly cantered ahead of him, and he followed close behind. As they arrived, they saw that many other families had already gathered. Fortunately, the crowd wasn't too large yet, and they found a comfortable spot to sit and wait.

Tourmaline looked towards the stage that the town's workers had constructed for the princess. It stood about four feet off the ground and was wide enough to accommodate the princess and her guards. A backdrop curtain, which was adorned with Equestria's banner, had been set up to give the princess some privacy.

She turned her head as she heard someone address them.

"Good morning, everypony," Wanderer's mom greeted them. Her son stood next to her, appearing as if he had just gotten out of bed, considering the heavy bags under his eyes and messy mane.

"Good morning to you as well," Tourmaline's father said, moving aside so they could join them. "You look better rested than yesterday."

The two sat down, and Wanderer gave a healthy yawn.

She smirked. "I got enough sleep, though the same cannot be said of someone else." She gave a humored smile to her son.

"Didn't get enough sleep, Wanderer?" Tormod asked.

Wanderer grumbled, lying on his belly in the grass. "I would have, but I just couldn't fall asleep. No matter how hard I tried, I just… couldn't." He rubbed at his eyes. "It was horrible. It felt like I had just fallen asleep when Mom woke me up."

Tourmaline's father chuckled. "It happens to me all of the time. It's never any fun."

Wanderer gave him a hopeful look. "Does it get any easier?"

He shook his head sadly. "No, it doesn't."

Wanderer sighed and another loud yawn escaped him.

The five chatted for a while longer as more families entered the town square. Soon, the entire square was filled with excitedly chatting ponies. The longer Tourmaline waited, the more she began to dwell on the events of the previous day. Twice they had almost succeeded in speaking to the princess, and twice they had the rug pulled out from under them. Yes, she was going to see the princess raise the sun, but now it didn't seem enough for her. She wanted to talk to the princess, but it seemed as if it were too late.

Or was it? A devious smile crossed her face as she looked at the stage, and the beginnings of a plan formed in her mind.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Wanderer nudged her in the ribs. "What're you thinking about?" he asked in a whisper.

She turned her grin to him. "I've got a plan," she whispered back. She looked to her dad and spoke louder. "Hey, Dad, can we go up front to see the princess?"

Her father blinked in surprise. "What for? You can see perfectly fine from here."

"But, Dad, we can see a whole lot better up front. We won't get in anypony's way. We promise." She batted her eyelashes at him.

Her father looked at her cute expression for a moment and melted under the adorable eyes. "Fine, as long as no one else minds. If you are asked to leave, you come back. You hear?"

She gave him a heart-melting smile and a hug. "Thanks, Dad. Come on, Tormod."

He looked to her in confusion. "What? Why?"

"Because you want to." She gave him a pointed look.

"I—"

"Go with your sister, Tormod," their dad said to him. "Keep her out of trouble."

Tormod's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine," he muttered.

Wanderer looked at his mom and tried to use the "cute" eyes on her. "Can I go with them, Mom?"

She gave him a flat stare. "Stop trying to sucker me with those eyes, and yes, you can."

"Yes, Mom." He hugged her quickly.

"And stay out of trouble," she hollered after them as they ran off.

"We will," Wanderer called back before vanishing into the crowd.

She sighed. "Why does that not reassure me?" she asked the sibling's father.

He laughed. "Experience?"

She chuckled as well. "Still, I'm sure they'll behave."

-0-

As Tourmaline led the other two towards the stage, it readily became apparent that she was not heading directly towards it.

"Tourmaline, where are you going? I thought we were heading for the stage?" her brother asked.

"We are," she called back

"But—"

"Just keep up, Tormod."

The three wound up along the edge of the stage when Tourmaline finally stopped. She looked around quickly as if searching for something.

Her brother took a moment to catch his breath and noticed that she was looking at the area behind the stage. "Alright, Tourmaline, what are you up to?"

"What did you have planned?" Wanderer asked as he stepped aside for a pony to walk past them.

"We're going to talk to the princess, and I know how." She turned back to them with a confident smile. "And we won't get in trouble either."

Wanderer interrupted Tormod before he could protest. "How?"

She pointed towards the stage. "We'll wait back there for her."

Tormod looked like he wanted to pull his mane out. "Are you insane? We can't go back there, we'll get caught! Can you imagine what will happen if we do?"

She looked at him firmly. "We won't. Not if we do it right."

Wanderer frowned, glancing around for ponies in armor. "What about the guards?"

"Once we get over there—" she pointed to one of the landscaping shrubs that ringed the back of the stage. "—I'll explain everything." She didn't wait for an answer from the other two, once she saw the coast was clear, she dashed for the shrub.

The two shared a look before Wanderer smirked and gave chase. Tormod gave a pleading look to the sky before he ran after them.

Tourmaline ran as quickly as she could and dove into the brush. She pushed aside the leaves as she looked around warily. She realized with a smile that she could see perfectly backstage and was close enough to get to it without being seen. The two colts crashed into the shrub shortly after her.

"Alright, Tourmaline, what is this big plan of yours?" her brother asked as Wanderer spit out a few leaves from his less-than-graceful crash.

She took in a breath. "We'll wait here until Princess Celestia gets up on stage. When she and her guards are facing the crowd, we'll get back stage and wait for her to finish. Once she's done, she'll walk back stage and we'll be the firsts to speak with her. The guards won't do anything since the princess will be there. It's a win-win."

Wanderer gave a thoughtful frown. "But won't we miss the rising of the sun?"

She smiled wanly. "It's the sun, Wanderer. We'll be able to see it anywhere."

He was about to laugh but found Tormod's hoof over his muzzle. "Quiet, we don't want to get caught beforehoof." He turned back to his sister, letting Wanderer go. "As crazy as it is, I admit it sounds like a good plan."

She was about to squeal in delight but he stopped her with a firm glare. "If anything goes wrong, I'm blaming you."

She smiled challengingly, but turned sharply as she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She saw two royal guards walking towards the stage, but they were quickly forgotten as her eyes widened at the sight of the Princess of the Sun.

Standing head and neck above her guards, Princess Celestia walked with the grace of a swan. She was as beautiful as Tourmaline was lead to believe. Her multi-colored mane flowed with a life of its own, and her lilac-colored eyes held a motherly warmth to them. Looking at the princess now, Tourmaline was awestruck.

"She's amazing," she said.

"She's beautiful," Tormod said breathlessly.

"She really is tall," Wanderer said. He turned to see the other two look at him incredulously. "What?"

They shook their heads at him and quietly watched as the princess and her guards climbed the stairs to the stage.

"Okay, once they go up front, that's when we get back stage. Nopony will hear us over the crowd cheering," Tourmaline whispered so that her voice wouldn't carry beyond the dubious cover of the shrub.

Tormod gave her a surprised look. "You came up with all of this on the fly?"

She smiled proudly. "Sure did."

He shook his head helplessly. "You really surprise me sometimes."

They only had to wait a moment more before the trumpets began to blare. The citizens of Greensborough eagerly stood and crowded towards the stage. Cheers rose up to greet their princess as they awaited her appearance. Once the trumpets died down, the guards walked through the curtain, and the princess shortly followed. When she entered the stage, the ponies all cheered and applauded.

"Go!" Tourmaline shouted to the two and they bolted for the stage. Tourmaline and Wanderer hid behind one of the curtain support posts while Tormod hid by the other. As soon as they'd gotten to their spots, the cheering died down, and Princess Celestia addressed the crowd.

"Citizens of Greensborough, I wish to welcome you all to this year's Summer Sun Celebration." The crowd erupted into another cheer, and Tourmaline and Wanderer dared a look past the curtain. The princess had her back to them, and all eyes of the crowed were upon her. The two foals quickly ducked behind the curtain as a guard glanced behind him.

"Did he see us?" she asked, tensing as if she expected the curtain to open and blow their cover.

Wanderer shook his head. "Don't think so." He squirmed a bit. "Move over, you're crowding me."

She nudged him in annoyance. "Am not! Your behind is taking up all the space."

Wanderer was about to retort sharply when Tormod gave them a look that clearly said, "Will you two shut up?"

Fortunately, the princess kept going with her speech. "I wish to thank each and every one of you for the warm welcome. It makes me proud to know that there are such kind-hearted ponies in Equestria."

The crowd cheered again for their princess.

"And now to commence with the rising of the sun ceremony!"

The crowd fell to a quiet hush, and the three foals could see the princess levitate above the curtain. The princess's gaze settled on the moon and its visage for a quiet moment before her horn began to glow. Responding to the magic, the moon began its descent. Only after a moment's pause did the sun begin its rise.

Many times had they seen the sun rise before, but seeing it respond to their ruler's call only sparked amazement and awe. Every set of eyes were wide and every jaw hung slack. They had all heard the tales, but seeing it firsthoof was unlike anything else.

The three foals stood speechless, their expressions alight with wonder. The rising of the sun was everything they had hoped and then some. Tourmaline leaned forward in her wonder, not paying any mind to the world around her.

"Tourmaline, back up. You're shoving me," Wanderer whispered sharply.

She didn't heed him and leaned forward even more.

"Tourmal—" Both of them overbalanced and stumbled into a support for the pole holding the curtain, snapping the plank in two. The three could only look on in horror as the sudden shift in weight caused the other beam to snap, and the curtain fell outwards—right towards Princess Celestia and her guards.

The princess turned in time to see it coming, and with a gasp of surprise, she flapped her wings to get over the falling curtain. Her guards were not as fortunate, and the heavy curtain draped over them, and the backdrop fell to the stage with a loud bang.

The entire population of Greensborough watched in shock as the stage came crashing down with a resounding thud and cloud of dust. The princess hovered in the air, and the guards struggled to free themselves from the curtain as all eyes turned to the three utterly horrified foals who stood on the now-ruined stage. Two ponies among the crowd slunk low as they realized whose foals they were.

Finally, one of the guards freed himself and glared at the foals. "You three!"

"We are so dead…" Wanderer said in a squeak of a voice.

-0-

"Do you three have any idea what you have done?" Wanderer's mom yelled at them as they stood with head and ears lowered in shame. "You almost brained the princess of Equestria! How could you be so… reckless?"

Wanderer cringed, it wasn't as bad as she was making it sound. The guards had rounded them up after the stage had collapsed and had ushered them to their parents while the princess had assured the crowd that everything was alright. The rush to his home had been quiet, unsettlingly so. Wanderer had expected to be yelled at right away, but it was not until he'd gotten home that his mother had practically exploded in an inferno of raw emotion.

"But, Mom, we only—"

"I don't want to hear it, Wanderer. You three have done something that will not be fixed with excuses or an apology." Her gaze swept over the three of them "If the guards wanted to, they could punish you legally. Did you even think of that? Going to jail at a young age? Is that what you wanted?" Tears began to form around her eyes.

Tourmaline was trying to fight back her own tears, her lip quivering as the words sunk in. "We just wanted to talk to her…" she said quietly.

"Tourmaline," her father barked at her. The stallion stood to the side, giving the three a stern, disappointed look. Tourmaline quickly shut up and looked back down, the tears now running down her face. Wanderer gave her a quick look and sympathized—he too felt like crying at that moment. "Regardless what you intended, it doesn't change what you did. You three are in serious trouble, and we don't know what is going to happen yet. You three need to think long and hard on what you have done."

"Dad, it wasn't like that. Please let us explain," Tormod tried to say.

His father looked at him, frowning deeply. "I expected better out of you, Tormod. You were supposed to keep your sister out of trouble, not get yourselves into it."

"But—"

"No excuses," he said firmly.

The three slunk even further, their bellies resting on the floor, feeling absolutely rotten. The two adults began conversing with each other intently while the three didn't move. Wanderer again stole a glance at his friends and saw that Tourmaline was sniffing repeatedly as she tried to suppress her sobs. Tormod was trying to bottle up his anger, though it was obvious he was angry. His eyes practically blazed and his legs trembled in suppressed rage.

Wanderer couldn't blame them, he felt like he wanted to cry out in fear, scream at the world, or a mixture of both. They had never wanted the stage to fall, or to almost injure the princess. All they had wanted was to talk to her, nothing else. Why did nothing ever work out for them? The more he thought on it, the more he wanted to shout. He closed his eyes, trying to force back the tears that threatened to fall.

Finally, the adults turned back to them, their expressions firm. "So, whose idea was it to go backstage to begin with?"

The three didn't immediately respond, but Wanderer felt Tourmaline freeze up at the question. It had been her idea to go backstage, but he and Tormod had gone along with it. They were all just as guilty.

"Well?" their parents pressed, looking to them expectantly.

Wanderer took a breath and spoke.

"It was mine," he and Tourmaline said together.

The two stared at each other in shock. Tourmaline wasn't sure if she wanted to facehoof or slug him.

"Tourmaline, it was mine."

"Wanderer, that's a lie and you know it. You don't have to get in trouble too."

He gave her an intense expression. "You don't have to cover for me!"

"Wanderer!" She glared at him.

Both parents could only sigh. "Whose was it, Tormod?" his father asked.

The colt looked between the two for a moment before sighing. "It was all of ours, Dad."

"Tormod!" the other two shouted.

He continued on despite their objections, holding his head high. "No matter whose it was, we all had a hoof in it. We should all be punished."

Both adults watched the exchange for a moment before slow, proud smiles crossed their faces.

"You three—" They all started in surprise as there was a firm knock at the front door of the home. They stood still, hoping it had been a figment of their imaginations, but when the knock came again, both parents slumped in resignation.

"I'll get it," the stallion said and headed for the door.

The three hunkered down as the knock sounded a third time before they him open the door and speak.

Wanderer's mom looked at them, her expression a mix of worry and grief. "No matter what happens, we'll be there for you three."

The sibling's father looked around the corner. "We need you up front," he said to her.

"I'm coming." She gave the three foals a quick hug before following the stallion to the door.

They listened anxiously to the muffled speech from the other room.

"What's going to happen to us?" Tourmaline whispered.

Her brother shook his head, a growing fear in his eyes. "I don't know. I don't want to know."

"What if Princess Celestia puts us in jail or banishes us from Equestria?" Tourmaline's voice cracked in her fear.

"S-She wouldn't do that," Wanderer protested.

"We almost hit her with a pole! She could send us away, and we'll never get to see our parents again. I-I don't want to go away." Tourmaline all but sobbed.

Tormod rested a hoof on her shoulder. "Tourmaline, that won't happen. Princess Celestia wouldn't do that to us. We're just foals. She only does that to bad ponies."

She looked at him with wide scared eyes. "But we almost killed her! She could do anything to us!"

"No she won't," Wanderer said firmly. "I don't care what she does, I won't let—" He stopped as their parents returned, grave looks on their faces.

"You three have a visitor," Wanderer's mom said and stepped aside.

The three expected it to be the guards coming to take them away and punish them for their crimes. They were going to face their fate with pride and show that they were not newborn foals anymore. That all flew apart as Princess Celestia walked gracefully into the room. Their eyes widened in fear as she looked down at them. It seemed as if doom itself was looking down on them.

"So you three are the—" She stopped as she found three foals clinging to her front fetlocks, each one bawling for forgiveness.

"Please, Princess Celestia, don't punish us!" Tourmaline cried.

"It was an accident, we swear it! Don't send us away!" Tormod begged.

"We're so sorry!" Wanderer cried.

Their parents gave strangled sounds and were about to scold the three when the princess looked to them to wait. She lowered her head to speak to the three softly.

"Please, stop crying, I am not mad."

They looked up at her with watery eyes and noses.

"Y-You're not?" Wanderer asked in a broken voice.

Celestia gave him a small smile. "No, I wanted to make sure you three were not hurt in the collapse. You're not hurt, are you?"

Tormod shook his head, quickly wiping his nose. "No, we're not. You're not hurt either, are you?"

She again gave them a smile, as they released her tear-soaked front legs. "I am not. I am glad you are unhurt." She levitated a box of tissues from nearby.

"Are you going to—" Tourmaline gave a little hiccup as she used a tissue. "—send us away?"

Celestia looked at them with a startled expression. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"But we almost hurt you. What, aren't you mad at us?" Wanderer sniffled and wiped at his watery eyes.

"Because nopony got hurt, and that is what is important. The only thing you really did was cause my guards some embarrassment. Which, now that I think on it, was kind of funny." She gave them a disarming smile.

The three gave weak little laughs, and wiped at their faces, still unsure of themselves.

Celestia stood straighter. "But, tell me, what were you three doing on the stage to begin with?"

"We—We just wanted to talk to you, Princess Celestia," Tormod started.

"But we kept getting stopped every time we tried," Tourmaline continued.

"We only wanted to ask you a few questions," Wanderer finished.

Celestia nodded in recognition. "I see. So you were the ones my guard mentioned. Didn't you ponies know I was going to speak to everypony after I had raised the sun?"

All three had sheepish expressions, rubbing at the backs of their heads. "Uh, no. We didn't," Wanderer said.

Tourmaline looked at her. "But, Princess, would you have talked to us? We are just foals. The adults would have more important questions."

"While it is true I couldn't have spoken to everypony, I would have made time for you foals. It is only right that I try to answer your questions."

"So, we're not in trouble?" Tormod asked carefully.

Celestia looked to them with a serious expression. "I will leave your punishment up to your parents. You still disobeyed what they had told you to do. That is their job as your parents, not mine. I will say that you three must really consider the consequences of your actions before you choose to follow them."

All three lowered their heads again in shame. The princess observed them for a quiet moment before she smiled warmly. "You three really are the best of friends, are you not?"

They looked back at her with confused expressions. "Y-Yes, Princess Celestia," Wanderer answered.

Tourmaline tilted her head curiously. "Why do you ask?"

The princess looked at them with a mysterious but warm smile. "I can tell that you three will do something great one day. I do not know what, but you will. The bonds of friendship will be the key to what you will do, but you must always be careful of your actions. There are always consequences, but as long as you stay true friends, you will succeed. Always watch out for each other, alright?"

The three gave wide eager smiles and nodded vigorously. "We will, Princess Celestia," they said together.

She chuckled. "Alright then. I will turn you over to your parents for now. Just remember what I told you and always think first."

"Count on us, Princess." Wanderer raised a hoof in determination.

"We promise!" Tourmaline said in agreement, her brother nodded firmly along with her.

"That is good to hear. Farewell to you three."

"Bye, Princess Celestia!" they said in unison.

She turned to regard their parents. "I have spoken to the mayor, nothing will come of this as long as they are made aware of their actions."

They both nodded in appreciation, and Wanderer's mom brushed a tear of relief from her eye. "Thank you, Princess Celestia. This means so much to us."

She smiled softly and nodded. "You are most welcome. Farewell then."

They showed her out the door before returning to the kitchen to find the three foals excitedly talking with each other.

"Can you believe Princess Celestia herself came to talk to us?" Tormod asked, his expression almost giddy.

"I know, I know! I can't wait to tell everypony at school." Tourmaline clopped her front hooves together, a wide happy smile on her face.

Wanderer grinned maliciously. "I bet not even Rogue got to talk to her like we did. I can't wait to rub it in his face." The two joined in his evil grin.

"Even with that," his mother said. "You three are still in trouble. Wanderer, you are grounded for the next three months. You can visit your friends at—"

She was cut off as Wanderer suddenly grabbed the sides of his head and yelled in horror.

The others jumped at his sudden scream, looking around wildly for what had spooked him. "What?" they shouted at him.

Without a word, he bolted for the front door. He yanked it open and looked to the sky desperately. He slumped in despair as he saw the princess's carriage fly above the trees and vanished from sight.

"Oh, come on!" he yelled at the sky in frustration.

His mother gave him a look of outraged concern. "Wanderer, what has gotten into you?"

He looked at his friends. "We forgot to ask her our questions!"

It took only a second before the other two reacted much the same way he had.

Tourmaline tugged her ears downward. "We totally did! How could we forget?"

"And we had the perfect opportunity too! I don't believe this!" Tormod buried his face in his hooves.

The two adults looked at the foals with disbelieving stares before simultaneously facehoofing.

"We never know what we're truly capable of until life pushes us to our limits." - Unknown

Chapter Five

The months passed, and the great trees of the forest were beginning to turn their leaves once again. The oak forest slowly released its summer vitality to prepare for its winter slumber. With the crispness of autumn, the foals enjoyed each day and knew that winter would not be far along. What made this particular day even better, was the fact it was a Saturday, and that meant another two days of freedom from the oppressive chains of homework.

Wanderer sat at the table at his home, enjoying a bowl of oatmeal, while his mother finished cleaning up from the morning's meal. Wanderer's mane was still tussled from getting out of bed a few moments earlier, but he ate his breakfast with vigor; the sooner he was done, the sooner he could have fun.

"What are you and your friends doing today, Wanderer?" his mother asked as she put the last of the dishes away.

His wide smile had a bit of oatmeal at one corner as he proudly proclaimed. "We're going to finally get our cutie marks!"

His mother smiled knowingly. "You are, huh?"

"You bet." He wiped the oatmeal from his face. "We have a few ideas on how we're gonna get them too."

She sighed. "Just don't do anything foalish this time."

He smiled impishly. "But we are foals, Mom."

His mother chuckled despite the irritated swish of her tail. "I don't need another visit from the lumberyard workers saying you three are asking to use the wood-cutting machines again."

He rolled his eyes. "We were just trying to be lumberjacks. An axe for a cutie mark would be cool."

"You don't want to be a lumberjack, Wanderer."

There was a tightness in her tone, and he frowned a bit. "What'd you say, Mom?"

"Nothing, honey. It's not important." She finished cleaning the kitchen. "Well, whatever you foals do, just don't hurt yourselves or cause property damage."

Wanderer rubbed at the back of his head. "Hey, the tree in Mr. Leaf's yard was not our fault. We were trying to put in a new birds nest, since their old one fell apart."

"And you managed to knock over the tree, smashing Mr. Leaf's cart."

Wanderer sighed. "How were we supposed to know it was rotten on the inside?"

She smiled. "You couldn't have. At least you all did the favor of getting rid of that tree for him."

"And got him a new cart."

She winced, remembering the bits she and the siblings' father had to shell out. Luckily, Mr. Leaf was an understanding sort, but he had insisted that his cart be replaced.

"Well, whatever you three end up doing, just keep away from the forest. The fog has been thick lately, and the weather pegasi have said it has been harder to clear. I don't want you or your friends out in the woods with that fog."

Wanderer's ears flattened. "Aww, Mom…"

"Don't you 'aww' me, mister. I meant it. Stay out of those woods." She placed her bag on her back and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'm off to work. I'll see you at dinnertime."

"Bye, Mom!" he called as she left.

After the door clicked, a wicked grin crossed his face. She just had to go and forbid him from doing something—of course he had to go and do it now! Saying "don't go" only meant there was excitement to be had. He and his friends might even find their cutie marks!

He quickly devoured the rest of his oatmeal and dashed upstairs to his room. He grabbed a few things for hiking: water bottles, snacks, a comic book, and his own journal. He stopped long enough to skim through the journal, glossing over the ideas for cutie marks. He stuffed it away in his bag, promising today would be the day he could proudly write that he found his cutie mark.

As he gathered his stuff, his cat hopped on the bed and sat on his saddle bag, giving him a disapproving glare.

He looked at the cat with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Chewie meowed at him, still giving him a disapproving stare.

"Of course I'm not going to the forest."

The cat didn't move.

"Alright, so I am," he muttered. "But there's nothing to worry about. We're going to get our cutie marks today, Chewie." He grabbed a few more items from his desk.

The cat meowed again.

Wanderer scoffed. "It's not that dangerous, and even if it was, I can handle it."

Chewie continued glaring at him.

Wanderer waved a hoof at him. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Mom worries too much."

The cat didn't appear convinced.

"Why am I arguing with a cat anyway?" Wanderer grabbed his bag and pulled it out from under the feline, sending it tumbling end over end. "Just you wait, Chewie, I'll come home with the coolest cutie mark ever!" He quickly placed his saddlebags on his back and galloped out of the room.

The cat watched him depart, then began grooming himself. He was sure that when both of his pony family members came home that day, it was going to be anything but quiet.

-0-

The siblings waited outside of their school for Wanderer to show up. He was running late again, and the two shook their heads at the delay. They were just as excited to begin their day. Tormod sat quietly, looking over a list he had compiled, and was oblivious to his surroundings. His sister rolled her eyes at him, wondering how he could be so thick-headed. Resting on a tree limb, she couldn't help but enjoy the weather. The sun was shining, a few clouds were out, and the cool autumn breeze was just so pleasant.

As she regarded her brother, she wondered what sort of boring ideas he had cooked up for them. Tormod was always coming up with ideas that were, frankly speaking, incredibly dull. He once suggested they try pet walking. Who would want a cutie mark for something like that? Certainly not her. She wanted exciting adventures, but maybe not the death-defying ideas that Wanderer often proposed. She privately admitted, with some chagrin, that none of their ideas had worked yet.

She was pulled from her musings when her brother called her name.

"Tourmaline, did you come up with any ideas?"

She looked at him from her perch. "Not really. If anything, I figured I'd just wing it." She smirked faintly, stretching her wings out.

It took her brother a moment before he groaned and gave her a suffering look. "Did you really have to do that?"

She chuckled. "You and Dad aren't the only ones who get to pun you know."

"Yeah, but Dad is at least funny."

She glared at him. "What about you? What ideas have you cooked up to get our cutie marks?"

He smiled excitedly, and levitated his list to her. "A number of different things, all of them simple and safe, and things we haven't tried yet. I'm sure one of these things will get us our cutie marks."

As her brother continued to prattle on, she looked over his list. She couldn't help but slump in despair at what she read. Pet grooming, painting, dancing? How in the wide world of Equestria could her brother think these boring ideas would get them their cutie marks? Her jaw dropped at one item on the list: writers. She couldn't imagine anything else more boring. Besides, who wanted a book for a cutie mark?

"Tormod, this has to be the worst list of ideas for cutie marks, I've ever seen. Writing? Seriously?"

He stopped his rambling. "What's wrong with writing?" He took his list back. "Think about it, we could get our cutie marks in writing and maybe get as famous as the author of the Daring Do books. Imagine it, the next big writers of the century. Who knows, they might even make a play about us on Bridleway. It could even—"

Nearly asleep, Tourmaline tuned him out. She looked around from her perch, hoping to see their friend.

"Are you even listening to me?" her brother demanded.

She looked back at him. "What?"

He moaned in frustration. "I swear your head is always in the clouds."

She smiled. "Was that a pun, Tormod?"

He blinked and then facehoofed. "Where is Wanderer already?"

On cue, the colt came cantering around the school house. He was breathing heavily, but his wide smile told Tourmaline that he had another crazy idea in mind. She smiled eagerly, what ever reckless idea he had, it had to be better than Tormod's snoozefest.

"Sorry I'm late. Had to finish breakfast," Wanderer said after he caught his breath.

Tormod rolled up his list. "Don't worry, we haven't waited too long."

"I've been punishing him while we waited," Tourmaline said with a sweet smile.

Tormod groaned, and Wanderer looked between them a moment before he caught on and laughed.

Tormod looked at him. "Please, don't encourage her. I've suffered enough."

Wanderer only laughed harder.

Tourmaline chuckled and leaped from the branch, gliding down to join them. "So what do you have in mind to get our cutie marks?" she asked Wanderer.

His eyes brightened. "I've got the perfect thing! We're going to head to the woods and see if we can find something nopony has ever seen before. We could be explorers!"

While Tourmaline smiled wide at the idea, Tormod looked worried. "Our dad said we should stay out of the woods. Something about the fog. What is that about?"

"It's an old mare's tale that the fog brings monsters with it. I mean, yeah the timberwolves are occasionally a problem, but they don't go where we'll be going." He grinned wider. "Besides, with the three of us, what could go wrong?"

"Don't answer that," Wanderer interrupted before Tormod could reply.

"Or we could try my list here." Tormod gave the list to Wanderer. "It would be a lot safer and not get us in trouble."

Tourmaline looked at him with a wicked smile. "Where is the fun in that?"

Wanderer laughed after looking over the list. "I'm with her."

Tormod looked between them and took his list back. He crumpled it up and sighed in defeat. "Alright, let's go then."

"Race you!" Tourmaline shouted and took off down the path, Wanderer close on her heels.

Tormod trotted after them. "I'm going to regret this."

-0-

The three of them stood at the fringe of the great forest, the massive oak trees standing over them like sentinels of a great castle. A thin fog drifted about the upper branches of the trees, partly obscuring the branches above.

Tormod looked around worriedly. "I don't think I've been to this part of the woods."

Wanderer motioned ahead. "I used to come this direction all the time before I met you guys. I've never seen anything other than squirrels and other woodland creatures in this part."

Tourmaline shivered a bit after looking towards the tops of the trees."So why are we going in here?"

"I heard some of the pegasi talk about a clearing they saw from above the trees once. I've never heard of anyone actually seeing what is in the clearing, so we could be the firsts." Wanderer smiled in excitement.

"And you know the way?" Tormod looked at him skeptically.

Wanderer flicked his tail in irritation. "'Course I do."

Tormod gave him a knowing look.

"Trust me," Wanderer said confidently and walked into the tree line.

The two shared troubled looks but followed him into the trees.

-0-

As the three disappeared into the forest, they were unaware of the other three sets of eyes watching them.

Stone Hoof looked towards his grinning friend. "What are you thinking, Rogue?"

"Should we follow those trouble makers?" Scarlet Scroll asked.

Rogue shook his head quickly. "No way. I'm not risking my neck for those blank-flank losers."

Stone Hoof looked uncertainly towards Scarlet and back. "So what're we going to do? We know it was them who ratted on you."

Rogue scowled. "I know it was them, and they are not going to get away with it. The way my dad got on my case, I'm never going to forgive them."

"So what are we going to do? I know you have something in mind." Scarlet smiled wickedly.

Rogue gave her a malicious smile. "Oh, I can think of a few who'd be very unhappy to hear where they've gone."

Scarlet Scroll's grin only widened, but Stone Hoof looked confused. "What?"

"Come on, Stone. You'll see." The three of them ran for the town, vicious grins on their faces.

-0-

The Forest of the Oak was a pristine deciduous forest. The towering oaks grew wild, their twisting limbs blocking out the sky with a thick canopy. The thin fog clung to the upper branches, further obscuring the canopy and giving the woods a mystic appearance. All around the three foals, they could hear the sounds of wildlife and the groan of the trees.

Old acorns and twigs were crushed underhoof as Wanderer led his friends through the forest. They had seen a few wild animals, mostly squirrels and rabbits, but no mystical, dangerous creatures as they had hoped.

As he looked around the woods, he felt almost at ease. There was something about these woods that Wanderer liked. He couldn't put it into words, but he felt… at home here. The town might have cool places to visit and spend bits at, but the woods was where the excitement was. He was sure that Daring Do would agree with him. She never wrote stories about adventures that happened in towns.

He looked back to his friends as they walked. Tourmaline was smiling, obviously enjoying the hike as much as he was. Her brother, however, kept a guarded expression. Tormod liked hiking as much as they did but preferred to have planned routes and a firm destination in mind.

"Do you know how much further we have to go, Wanderer?" he asked for the third time.

Wanderer shrugged nonchalantly. "Not much further."

"Not much further as in 'not far,' or not much further as in 'I have no idea?'"

"Trust me. Have I ever led you wrong before?"

He felt their glares boring into the back of his skull.

"Okay, once," he grudgingly admitted.

"So is the clearing the whole reason we're going? I thought we were trying to get our cutie marks?" Tourmaline asked, looking off into the trees.

"We are looking for our cutie marks in forestry, remember?" He stopped suddenly and sputtered, wiping at his face. "Darn spider webs."

"At least it wasn't a star spider's web." Tormod remarked.

Wanderer glowered at him. "Don't even joke about that," he said with an involuntary shudder. "Anyway, we might find a new type of plant or animal, or even some other discovery. Something like that has to be worth a cutie mark."

Tourmaline smiled. "What do you think a cutie mark for this would look like?"

"A tree maybe?"

She smiled but furrowed her brow as well. "I don't know if you meant that seriously or were trying to make a joke?"

He chuckled. "I'll let you decide."

Tormod rolled his eyes. "Alright, so which way?" he asked, cutting off any forth coming back and forth between the two.

Wanderer looked around for a moment and finally pointed. "That way."

They walked onward for an hour more, but the longer they walked, the more often Wanderer looked around. He frowned softly as he gazed about the trees.

"What is it?" Tourmaline asked him. "Do you hear something?"

He frowned a bit. "No… just looking."

"For what?" She looked around as well, trying to see what he had.

"Our way." Came a sarcastic remark from behind.

Wanderer snorted. "We're not lost. So don't say it."

"Right."

Wanderer looked around a bit before his gaze settled on Tourmaline. "But knowing where we are wouldn't hurt. How about it, Tourmaline?"

She looked at him confusedly. "What now?"

"Can you fly above the trees to see where we're at?"

She glanced to the forest canopy above and gulped nervously. "I haven't flow that high before. Dad's taken me on flying lessons, but never that high."

Wanderer smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry, Tourmaline, I know you can do it. We've seen you fly before. I'm sure you can make it up there no sweat."

She looked back to the canopy, uncertainty still on her face.

"I'll tell you what my mom tells me," Wanderer said. "You can't let fear stop you, things are only scary because you haven't conquered them."

She looked at him with a wry smile. "That's cheesy."

He smirked. "Yeah, but it works. In short, once you finally do something, you can do it again."

"It makes sense," Tormod said. "That, and we need to know where we are."

"You've got this, Tourmaline." Wanderer pumped his hoof once in determination.

She smiled a bit wider. "Alright, I'll do it."

The other two grinned. "We'll wait right here for you," her brother said.

She took a calming breath and lept into the air, beating her wings furiously as they worked to take her higher. As she climbed into the air, a soft breeze helped her get the lift she needed to reach the canopy above.

The two colts watched her closely as she made it into the branches above and beyond. Wanderer frowned softly, a nagging thought at the back of his mind.

Tormod glanced at him. "What's wrong? She'll be alright."

He shook his head. "It's not that. I got this feeling I forgot something." He shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing."

-0-

As Tourmaline climbed through the thick, leafy branches, she could see the sky peek through the canopy above. For her, getting this high on her own was an achievement in and of itself. She had never flown this high before, let alone through thick forest canopy. A growing smile crossed her face. She was exhilarated, pushing herself higher than she ever had been.

As her head popped above the trees, the young filly's eyes widened in wonder. The forest stretched out as far as the eye could see. The first thing to draw her attention was the massive Mother Oak. The great tree sat in the middle of the forest, dwarfing all the other trees around it. She saw that it was obscured by fog and mist, just like the legends surrounding it. She knew that nopony had ever been to the massive plant. Those who had tried never found the way. Even pegasi had claimed that the nearer they got, the more unpredictable and dangerous the surrounding winds became. The Mother Oak was a great mystery to all.

With a flap of her wings, Tourmaline hovered above the trees. From her vantage point, she could see for miles. She could see other avian creatures as they flew above the trees. Greensborough was not too far, and the town stood out like a sore hoof among the trees. Off in the distance, she also saw a small clearing in the trees that one could have easily missed if they hadn't been looking for it.

As she looked around, she saw a heavy cloud bank that obscured whole parts of the forest. The cloud bank was what the adults were afraid of, as it was said to bring monsters she had only heard of in scary stories. Not that she was afraid—she was a big girl now and not afraid of scary old stories.

As the wind steadily whipped her mane around, she closed her eyes to soak in the feeling of freedom that came with flying. She always dreamt of the day she would fly high in the sky with the wind in her mane, the cooler air to breathe, and the clouds that she knew she could manipulate. She often wondered if the clouds were as comfortable as her father had always told her.

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of a loud screech. She turned in time to see a huge hawk dive at her.

"Whoa!" She flapped her wings frantically to avoid the hawk's attack. "What was that about?!"

The bird banked sharply and turned to attack again.

"Why are you—" She turned sharply as a second hawk swooped down and landed a glancing blow to her side. Its talons, thankfully, not finding purchase.

Fearfully, she dove back through the trees, the hawks in close pursuit. She weaved in and around the tree branches in hopes of losing her pursuers. The hawks kept up their chase however, seemingly determined to take down the intruder.

When she stole a glance backwards, she instinctively kicked out as one of the hawks got too close. The blow sent the bird spiraling downward, but it quickly corrected itself and went after her again. She was so focused on the hawks that she didn't see the approaching tree branch until it was too late. With a scream, she crashed through it and tumbled down through foliage.

Her fearful screams had the two colts scrambling to find her.

"Tourmaline! Where are you?" Tormod screamed up at the trees, his eyes darting around the branches above.

Wanderer ran around in a near panic, searching the treetops for his friend. "Tourmaline! Get below the trees! Hurry!"

They both looked up in time to see her freefalling through the trees, a pair of large hawks not far behind her.

"Tourmaline!" A burst of adrenaline from seeing his friend in danger gave Wanderer new speed. As she fell, he sprinted and leaped to catch her. His heroic dive saved her from a nasty crash, but the two went tumbling through the forest loam.

The hawks were not done in their attack, and they dove down after her, their focus now on the two foals.

"Get away from my sister!" A small red ray flashed out from Tormod's horn, hitting the lead bird in its side. His magic was not strong enough to seriously hurt the bird, but it was enough to send it tumbling through the air.

The second bird turned its attention to him, but Tourmaline had crawled out from under Wanderer and kicked a stone at the bird. The hawk screeched as the rock grazed it. It flapped its wings, and saw that their quarry was starting to fight back. With a screech, it and its mate flew back to the canopy above.

The three struggled to calm themselves, breathing in ragged gasps.

"What were those things?" Tourmaline asked as she stretched her wings to make sure they were not hurt.

"They looked like hawks to me, really big ones," Tormod said, as he looked her over in concern.

"Thanks, Mr. Obvious," she muttered sarcastically.

"I wasn't trying to be funny," he said, appearing hurt. "Are you alright, Tourmaline?"

She took a calming breath. "Yeah, a few scratches, but I'm not hurt that bad." She looked at Wanderer as he finished getting the remaining twigs and leaves out of his mane. "Thanks for catching me. Didn't know you could move that fast."

He smiled weakly, rubbing at the back of his head. "Yeah… I didn't want you to get hurt so…"

"So what were they, Wanderer?" Tormod asked.

"Oh, those are great hawks. They build their nests up high in the trees. I've heard some of the other pegasi talk about them."

Tormod stole a quick, nervous glance at the canopy. "Are they always so dangerous?"

He shook his head. "Not really, except when they're protecting their nests." He looked upwards where they had last seen the great birds. "Guess those two had a nest nearby."

"Wait a minute!"

They both looked at Tourmaline, taken aback by the outburst.

"You knew about them?" She glared dangerously at Wanderer.

"Um… yeah," he answered carefully.

"And you didn't bother to warn me?"

His ears flattened to the sides of his head. "I...ah, forgot."

"You what?" Her voice squeaked in outrage, and even Tormod seemed flabbergasted at him.

He shrunk down fearfully. "...Sorry."

She whapped the back of his head, causing him to faceplant.

"I deserved that," he uttered, his face still in the leaves.

"You're right you did." She huffed and helped him back to his hooves.

Tormod rolled his eyes. "So did you see anything up there? Besides the hawks."

"I saw Greensborough not far away, but I also saw the clearing Wanderer mentioned." She pointed towards the northwest. "That way."

Wanderer's smile was instantaneous. "Alright, let's check it out!"

"Anything more you forgot to share with us?" Tourmaline glared at him.

"Nothing that comes to mind."

The siblings shared a sigh.

As the three started on their way, Tormod shook his head. "At least we're not lost anymore."

"Hey, we were never lost to begin with," Wanderer said defensively.

"Really?" Tormod looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Wanderer turned his nose at him. "Lost would mean we couldn't find our way, but we were going in the right direction, somewhat."

"You're splitting hairs."

Wanderer shrugged. "Maybe, but now we know where to go, so let's go!" He raced ahead of them.

Tourmaline smiled a bit and flew after him. Tormod shook his head helplessly, but grinned as he gave chase.

-0-

The three only had to backtrack once before they found themselves in the clearing. It turned out to be a fair-sized, pristine lake. A small island of granite stood near the center, and reeds grew in abundance. Fish swam along the shores or leapt from the waters.

All three foals wore wide smiles as they took in the sights of their discovery. Were it not a cool autumn day, it would have been a perfect place to go swimming.

"Wow…" Tourmaline said, her eyes taking in the natural beauty of the place.

"I know." Wanderer grinned and pranced in place. "This is so cool!"

Tormod stood at the lake's edge, peering into the water. "It's so clear. The fishing has to be excellent here." He looked around curiously. "I don't see any piers or boats either."

"Maybe we're the firsts to find it," Tourmaline suggested.

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"No way!" Wanderer ran towards a thick cluster of reeds.

"What is it?" Tormod asked.

Wanderer looked at them, his expression similar to when he visited the sweets shop. "You guys know what these are?" He pointed towards a number of plants that grew out of the water.

"What are those?" Tourmaline asked, looking over the plants curiously.

"These are cattails. They only grow near the water and they're delicious." He chewed off a leaf. "My mom is crazy for these things," he said through a mouthful of food.

"Are they good?" she asked again, giving the plants a skeptical look.

"Try 'em." He pulled a pair of leaves from the reeds and offered them.

The siblings shared a glance but took their respective leaves gingerly. Tormod look the time to examine his, while Tourmaline gave hers a tentative nibble.

She snapped back in surprise, and her eyes widened in joy. "Whoa! These are good! They're kind of sweet." She happily munched on the leaf.

Tormod looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

She swallowed her food and looked at him. "Are you going to eat that?"

He gave her an annoyed look, but gave his leaf a testing bite. His reaction was much the same as hers. "They have a bit of a texture, but they are better than any daffodil and dandelion sandwiches I've had."

Wanderer's smug grin was almost insulting. "That's the difference in living in the country, compared to city living. You'd be amazed by what you can eat out here." He smiled playfully. "City slickers."

The two gave serious thought to throwing him in the lake.

-0-

They spent the next few hours collecting cattail leaves, exploring around the lake, and generally enjoying their day. They saw many types of wildlife also visit the lake, usually long enough for the animals to drink and quietly leave. The foals knew to keep their distance from the wild animals in the forest. Unlike the animals found throughout most of Equestria, the animals here were wild and skittish. They knew if the animals felt threatened, they might attack. Despite this, they still found many things to do and have fun with. Each new find—however small—brought about smiles and laughter.

Tourmaline flew low over the surface of the lake, peering into the clear water at a large cluster of small-shelled creatures. She looked closely at a rather large mussel—the shell had split open with its interior facing the mud of the lake. She dove quickly into the water, and came up sputtering with a face and hoof full of mud.

Tormod looked from his study of small plant at the sound of the splash, and looked at his sister incredulously as she surfaced from the lake. "I'm assuming there was a good reason for that?"

She tossed the lump of earth to the shore and washed the mud from her face. "Of course there is," she answered, her teeth chattering from the chilly water. She hopped from the lake, and shook the water and mud from her coat.

"What did you find?" Tormod asked as Wanderer trotted up to join them.

"Looks like mud," Wanderer remarked.

She glared at him and shifted through the mud clump. She soon found the large shell and washed it. The dull greenish-brown exterior was covered in grime, but the interior was a gleaming pearly-white.

"It's a nice shell. It would make for a good keepsake," Tormod offered. "Though I'm not sure it was worth freezing over."

She snorted and kept sorting through the mud until she found a grime-covered pebble. She took it to the lake to clean. The sunlight reflected off of the pebble, or rather, the pearl she had found. To say she was surprised at what she found would be an understatement.

"Look at this!" Her eyes widened and showed them her find.

Both colts gasped at the rounded pearl. "Wow, Tourmaline, that's a find. A freshwater pearl is really hard to come by."

Her brother smiled. "That one might even be worth a few bits."

Wanderer's gaze swept over the lake. "Maybe we could find a few more?"

The three walked along the shore, eyeing the water for more of the large mussels. Wanderer had gotten ahead of the other two when he heard a noise from a large cluster of reeds nearby. It wasn't the sound of anything he had heard before, so curiosity took control and he went to have a look. He pushed through the reeds until he came across a group of boulders. He looked around with a frown, as he could no longer hear the sound, but dismissed the silence to climb up and look around. As he climbed, he kicked loose a few stones and a glint caught his attention. Taking a closer look, he found a small crystal deposit.

He picked one of the tiny crystals and smiled wide. "Hey guys! Come check this out!"

"What is it?" Tourmaline asked as she landed next to him. Her brother showed up a minute later, parting the reeds with magic.

Wanderer proudly showed off his prize. "What do you think?"

The two peered at the crystal closely, it was a small almost clear crystal with only a few scuffs on its surface.

"A quartz crystal, I think." Tormod looked towards the deposit. "I've seen a few craft vendors sell them before, but they were worked on, so I'm not sure if yours is worth anything."

"It is a nice find though, but still not my pearl." Tourmaline smiled impishly at him.

Wanderer coughed—something was stinking, and he was sure it was her gloating.

"Guess a gem-finding cutie mark is out," he said after checking if one such mark had appeared.

"Apparently," Tormod remarked, then scrunched up his face in disgust. "What is that smell?"

Wanderer gagged, and looked towards the lake. The odor was getting worse. "The lake maybe?"

"Sure, blame the lake," Tourmaline teased, though she also coughed.

"It was not me you guys. I swear everything is—" He stopped as their irises shrunk and they began backing away from him. "What's the matter with you two? I said it wasn't me."

"B-B-Behind you." Tourmaline stuttered, her eyes wide.

Wanderer whirled and found himself face to face with a foul-smelling large timberwolf. Its wooden muzzle dripped a pungent, sticky saliva, and its glowing green eyes glared hungrily at the colt.

"Oh…" Wanderer said pitifully as he took a few instinctive steps back.

The timberwolf stepped forward menacingly, a growl escaping from its throat.

"N-Nice wolfie…" Out of desperation, he chucked his quartz crystal at the wolf. It struck the wolf in its right eye, and it howled in pain.

"Run!" Wanderer and his friends took off like the demons of Tartarus were after them.

The wolf glared back hatefully with its one good eye at the fleeing foals. It raised its muzzle and let loose a long howl. The answering howls echoed through the woods. With a leap, the wolf pursued his meal, his pack not far behind him.

-0-

The trees whisked by in a blur as they ran from the ravenous timberwolves. They could hear more howls join the others as the pack gave chase, which only spurred them on. Their hooves dug deeply into the soil as they ran, their breathing ragged as they fled for their very lives.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Tourmaline yelled.

"We gotta get back to town. They won't follow us there!" Wanderer replied between breaths.

"Which way?"

The three slowed in their run to look around. During their frantic run, they hadn't paid any mind to which direction they were running in.

Wanderer looked around helplessly. "I don't know." He started as the timberwolf howls were getting closer, and he looked back to her. "Can you get above the trees again and see which way we have to go?"

She shook her head firmly. "I won't leave you guys."

"But we—"

"We need to go west. We went towards the sun this morning, so we need to go in the direction of the setting sun." Tormod interrupted.

"Which way is that?" Tourmaline looked through the trees above.

A loud howl erupted near them, and they could make out forms moving in the trees. "That way!"

"Go, go, go!" Wanderer yelled and the three took off. The wolves sniffed at the ground for a moment before pursuing again.

They fled for what felt like hours. Their breathing came in ragged gasps as their young bodies pushed themselves to their limits. They ran until they felt the winds shift, and the trees around them became obscured in a heavy fog. The fog was so thick that they could barely make out the trees ahead of them. The forest canopy was lost in a thick, gray canvas above.

Wanderer looked over his shoulder at the other two. "We gotta keep going. If we stop we—" An exposed root caught his hoof, and he tripped with a surprised yelp.

He had just pushed himself up, spitting leaves, when Tourmaline screamed a warning. He looked over his shoulder to see a timberwolf lunging at him, its jaws drooling eagerly.

Primal instinct kicked in, and he bucked out with all of his might, catching the timberwolf square in the jaw. Its head snapped to the side with a pained yelp.

Wanderer's eyes were wide with a mix of fear and excitement. "Yeah! That's what you get!" he taunted.

The timber wolf looked back at him, its wooden jaw hanging by a hinge. With a pop, the jaw set back in its place, and the wolf slowly stalked towards him.

His bluster completely gone, he backed away from it fearfully. A quick glance over his shoulder, and he could see that he and his friends had been ringed in by the pack of wolves. There was no escape. Tourmaline might get away if she took wing, but for Tormod and him, it was the end. He realized then that he would never see his mother or cat again, and he wanted to cry but was too afraid. At least he wouldn't have to worry about his mother killing him for this—the wolves were going to do it for her.

With a snarl, the alpha wolf leapt for him.

With a scream, Wanderer held up his forelegs in a futile attempt to ward off the killing blow.

He blinked in surprise as there was a yelp, and the attack did not come. He peeked from between his forelegs to find that the alpha wolf had simply vanished. The remaining pack appeared just as confused as the foals were, the wolves looked around confusedly for their leader.

From the fog came the sounds of splintering wood, followed by a loud groaning sound. The timberwolves started backing away, whimpering. A large treelike limb smashed down on one wolf, splintering it into kindling. Another swipe blasted two more wolves apart as they stood in shock at the sight of their squashed pack mate. The rest of the pack scattered with fearful yelps and cries as the unseen assailant continued to attack them.

Between what was happening to the wolves, and the feeling of the ground shaking from whatever was in the fog, the foals didn't dare move except to huddle together.

Finally, the howls of the fleeing survivors faded into the distance. The silence that followed was as heavy as the fog around them. None of the three dared move in fear of attracting whatever had attacked the timberwolves.

When nothing happened, Wanderer was just about to suggest leaving when a large tree trunk slammed into the ground next to them, followed by a second on their other side. The three jumped in fear and looked upward. The tree "trunk" was actually one of four legs that were attached to a larger body. The creature had two arm-like appendages that were as thick as its legs. These appendages ended in root-like tips that squirmed and wiggled like an earthworm.

It lowered itself towards them, and they saw that a face of impossible proportions covered most of the torso. The creature had two sets of eyes, and its nose was long and gnarled, sticking out a few feet from its body. Its mouth was covered by a thick, mossy beard, and leafless branches haphazardly stuck out from the top of its "head."

The sheer size of the creature paralyzed the foals with fear. It gazed down at them curiously, unsure what it was looking at. It lifted one arm and reached out for them. They cringed, but instead of crushing them, the root-like appendages caressed them. They looked up slowly as the tree creature continued to pet them. It almost seemed as if it was trying to calm them.

Realizing the creature meant no harm, Tourmaline spoke in a whisper. "Th-Thank you."

It looked at her as she spoke, its sap-colored eyes refusing to give up its intent.

"For saving us…"

Feeling more confident, Wanderer stood. "You really saved us… What's your name?"

Again, it did not speak, and only the sound of bending wood answered them as the creature stood tall. It still looked down at them with curiosity.

"What are you?" Tormod asked breathlessly.

The creature looked at them for a moment turning slightly and looking off into the distance. After a moment, it lifted one leg, then another as it calmly turned away from them and moved off into the fog.

"Hey, wait! Who are you?" Wanderer called after it.

"Thank you!" Tourmaline yelled as the massive creature vanished into the thick fog. The three could only look after it in wonder.

Until they heard the cries.

Voices called out for them from the fog. "Wanderer! Tourmaline! Tormod!"

"Mom!" Wanderer shouted in relief.

"Dad!" the siblings yelled.

The three foals ran for the voices, their weariness and fear overtaken by elation that their parents had found them.

As they followed the shouts, they could make out the forms of the Equestrian Guard ahead. The pegasi soldiers cleared the fog ahead of the earth pony and unicorn guards, all of whom were shouting for them.

"There they are!" a pegasus guard shouted.

Two forms pushed past the guards, and the three foals had never been happier to see their parents. The siblings tackled their dad to the ground as Wanderer's mom crushed him in a massive hug. He could feel her relieved tears moistening his mane, and her body shook as she held him tight.

"My baby, I'm so happy." She hugged him tighter.

"Mom, Mom, I'm okay," he said as she finally released him. His own tears fell from his face, tears of joy at seeing her, and of shame for making her cry.

"You're not hurt," she said in relief after checking him over. "What about your friends?" She looked towards his friends and their father who was also in the midst of a tearful reunion. The guards watched as the families reunited.

"What happened to you three?" their father asked as he got back to his hooves.

"And what were you thinking?" Wanderer's mom demanded, changing from heartfelt relief to justified anger in mere seconds.

The three foals started babbling at once, and their excited chatter had both adults flatten their ears at the sound.

"One at a time," their father said, rubbing at his sore ears.

"We found a lake—" Tourmaline started.

"But we were chased by timberwolves," Tormod interjected.

"Timberwolves?" the adults demanded. The guards tensed up at the mention of the beasts.

"But some giant, tree spider… thingy, saved us. It smashed those timberwolves to bits!" Wanderer chopped downward with a hoof to emphasize the point. One of the guards looked over his shoulder at him with a frown.

The adults looked at him confusedly. "A what?"

"A tree spider thing is the best I'd call it," Tormod said. "It was tall, and had four legs, two arms, and a face on its body. It had two sets of eyes and moss for a beard. I've never even heard of something like that before."

"What are you—" Wanderer's mom started to ask.

A guard interrupted her. "Where did you see this thing?" His gaze swept over the foals expectantly.

"Uh… back that way." Wanderer motioned in the wrong direction.

The guard simply frowned at him, clearly not amused.

"Do you think it was—" another guard asked before his captain cut him off.

"This is not the time for old mare's tales, soldier. We found them, so let's get back to town, where it is safe."

The procession followed a path back to Greensborough. The pegasi kept the fog at bay, while the others stood around the foals and their parents protectively.

Tourmaline walked beside her dad for a moment before she nudged at him. "How did you know where to look for us, Dad?"

"Your friend, Rogue, told us where you went. When we couldn't find you, we got the guards to help look for you."

The foals cringed. "Rogue did?" Tormod asked, a sick feeling developing in his stomach.

His dad nodded. "He did, and it was a good thing he did. Who knows what might of happened if he didn't."

The three shared a look. They knew that Rogue had likely told their parents about them to get them in trouble. They knew he was going to flaunt this unmercifully now.

"Ma'am," the captain said to Wanderer's mother. "It would be best if you inform your son that he should not come into the woods on his own, or just with his friends. These woods are not a playground."

"Oh, I intend to have a long chat with him once we get home." Her tone and glare had him sinking to the ground.

"And don't think you two are getting out of it either." The sibling's father looked at them disapprovingly. "What you did was beyond foolish."

All three of them drooped in resignation—it was going to be a long time before they were ungrounded.

"Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal." – Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter Six

In the months that followed, the three foals found their freedom restrained. Anytime they had tried to venture into the forest again, they either had to go with an adult or they would find themselves turned away by the Equestrian Guard. They wanted to find the tree creature that had saved them, to prove that they had not made him up, but with their access denied, they had to settle for trying to find their cutie marks in town.

Worse yet, when they walked around town, they received a number of glares from the other townsfolk. Despite the princess having forgiven them, many of the citizens had not. While it was nothing outright hostile, it was clear many were not happy with them. To the three free spirits, it was incredibly frustrating.

As predicted, Rogue and his buddies rubbed it in their faces that it was because of him that they did not end up as timberwolf chow. The three of them denied it, but Rogue kept up with his claims, and worse yet, nearly everypony believed him. As for their tale of the tree spider, nopony seemed to believe them about it, and called it a figment of their imaginations.

Wanderer had spent the day at his friends' home while his mother was at work. The three of them were idly drawing pictures, hoping to earn a cutie mark in art.

Wanderer finished his sketch, a passable drawing of himself looking across a sunset-lit, grassy valley, and looked at the other two.

"So how are you guys doing?" he asked, setting aside his sketch.

Tourmaline pushed aside her sketch with a mutter. It looked like it might have come from a kindergarten classroom. "Bored. Dad tried to teach me how to draw but… it's so boring."

Wanderer folded up his sketch before looking at her. "So now what do you want to do?"

Her smile sprang to life. "Want to go outside and play some kickball?"

He grimaced but smiled nonetheless. "Sure, just don't break my ribs again."

"That's a lie!" she sputtered. "I never broke your ribs."

He rubbed at his barrel. "It felt like it…"

"Whatever." She turned her nose up at him. "You're such a wimp." She grabbed her ball from her toy chest and looked at her brother. "You coming?"

Tormod waved them away, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth and his pencil furiously sketching on the paper. Whatever he was drawing, it took his full attention.

She shrugged. "Come on, Wanderer." The two raced each other down the stairs, sounding like a herd of cattle stampeding through the home.

Tormod huffed, shook his head, and returned to drawing.

-0-

Tourmaline and Wanderer went to the backyard to play. They preferred their game of wall ball, but Tourmaline's father objected to constantly having to repair the siding of the home and asked that they find something else to play. The two had come up with a game that involved them kicking the ball high into the air and catching it before it hit the ground. They usually would get scuffed up from diving catches, but they immensely enjoyed their game.

Wanderer bounced the ball a few times with his forelegs. "So how about you let me win for once?"

She snorted. "Oh please. You've won a few times." She pointed an accusatory hoof at him. "In fact, I remember you gloating about it."

"I don't gloat. You've won the last eight games in a row." He rolled the ball down his withers then bucked to flip it back to his front hooves.

She chuckled at his show. "If you'd put as much effort into keeping the ball alive as you do showing off, you'd win a few games." She tossed her head back, flipping her mane out of the way. "Now quit stalling and play."

Wanderer kicked the ball into the air. "Kind of wish we could go look for our cutie marks."

Tourmaline ran under the ball and headbutted it upwards. "Me too, but they won't let us go anywhere to try."

"Parents can be such a pain, huh?" He bucked the ball again.

She gasped and dove after the ball but missed. She slid across the yard, bits of grass sticking to her fur. "Yeah," she grumbled. "Point for you." She tossed the ball back to him.

He lobbed the ball and hit it upward with punch from a forehoof. He looked at her, frowning. "What's wrong, Tourmaline?"

With a flap of her wings, she kicked the ball skyward. "What do you mean?" she asked, looking back at him.

"You seem so… I don't know… down lately. It isn't like you." He ran under the ball and headbutted it.

"I guess I'm just frustrated." She hopped and kicked the ball.

"Our cutie marks?" He ran under the ball but misjudged its path, and the ball careened off his forehead. "Ow! One for you."

She smiled a bit. "Yeah. It's… just frustrating that you work so hard for something, but you don't get it no matter how hard you try. We've done so much, but still nothing." She punched the ball back up into the air.

He nodded. "I hear you, sister."

She glowered at him. "Don't call me that."

He stopped at her tone and, missed his shot. "Sorry. Point for you." He retrieved the ball and tossed it to her. "I agree though. With everything we've done and gone through, you'd think we'd have earned something at least. All we seem to do is make everypony mad."

"Yeah." She served the ball again and spoke softer. "All the others in school have their cutie marks—even Rogue. What are we doing wrong?" A sad sigh escaped her. "Sometimes I just want to give up looking."

He looked at her depressed face and scowled. When the ball fell back he punched it hard, sending it flying high into the air. "You should never, ever give up, Tourmaline. Quitters never have anything to be proud of, and I'll never let you quit—even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming along."

She was so surprised at him that the ball bounced away completely forgotten. "Would you actually do that?"

"Darn right I would." When she looked at him, she knew for certain that he meant every word.

A slow smile crept across her face. "You would too." She retrieved the ball and roughly tossed it to him. "Point for you. Alright, Mr. Never-Quits, let's see what you can do!"

He grinned. "You better be ready!" He lobbed the ball and kicked it once more.

This time she flew into the air, and instead of kicking it upwards, she kicked it downward. He gasped in surprise and lunged forward, sending the ball back up. Again, she kicked it back at him.

"No fair, Tourmaline!" He dove again to save the ball.

"All you have to do is give up." She said in a sing-song voice—laughing at his frantic dives to keep the ball alive.

"Never!" he shouted in defiance.

"Have it your way." She pounded the ball directly at him.

He turned and bucked the ball hard. Tourmaline's eyes widened in shock as she was forced to dodge the missile.

"Had enough?" he taunted.

"In your dreams," she taunted back. She let the ball fall past her, grazing it with a wing.

"Gotta return it!"

"Cheater!" He dove and tripped over himself, faceplanting into the grass. The ball bounced and rolled to a stop.

"Give up?" she asked sweetly as she landed next to him.

"…Yes…" he moaned through a mouthful of grass.

She laughed warmly as she helped him to his hooves.

"I'm serious though, Tourmaline. I won't let you quit, ever," he said after spitting out the grass.

She smiled a bit. "All right, I'll do the same for you."

"You won't have to, because I never give up." he stood tall, his expression firm.

She gave him a bemused smirk. "Right, and what did you just do?"

He stamped a hoof and swished his tail in protest. "That doesn't count!"

"Tourmaline, Wanderer, come inside. It's time to eat." Their father called.

"Coming, Dad!" She looked back at Wanderer as he collected the ball. "Dad's making his famous spicy burritos today."

The roar from Wanderer's stomach would have shamed a manticore. "Oh yeah! Race you!" The two took off towards the house at full speed—tearing up chunks of turf in their rush for food.

-0-

After dinner, the foals helped clear the mess of dishes. Tormod's sketch hung finished on the refrigerator. It was a beautiful sketch of the lake they had visited the day of the timberwolf attack. It was an amazing piece, but it had not earned the colt a cutie mark—much to his chagrin.

"Wanderer, your mom should be here pretty soon, but she said not to expect to go home yet. She wanted to teach you all a bit more on first-aid," the siblings' father said to him as they finished cleaning.

"Yes, sir." First aid was nothing new to him. He liked to boast that he knew basic first aid before he could walk and how to set a bone before he could talk. He knew his mother wanted to teach them in case there was a repeat of what had happened the previous autumn.

Tourmaline grumbled. "Aww…"

"I don't want to hear it, young lady. Knowing first aid will do you and your brother good," her father said.

She sulked but reluctantly nodded. Her brother, however, smiled at the idea.

They turned their heads as they heard a knock at the door, and Wanderer's mom greeted them.

"Mom!" Wanderer shouted and hurried to greet her. She looked exhausted, but she still smiled as her colt gave her a warm hug.

"How was work?" he asked her after she let him go.

"Exhausting. Did you cause any trouble today?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Do I ever?" He grinned. "I was a perfect angel."

"We'll see." She chuckled and tousled his mane. "Get your friends. We're going over how to wrap a wound."

"Yes, Mom."

His mother spent the next fifteen minutes teaching the foals how to staunch a bleeding wound and properly disinfect it before bandaging. Despite her earlier complaint, Tourmaline took to learning with her usual gusto.

The older mare watched them for a time and nodded. "Not bad, you two. Keep practicing while I talk to your father." She stood and motioned for the older pegasus to join her.

After they left, Wanderer grew curious. He knew eavesdropping was wrong, but his curiosity won out. He snuck closer to the archway to the kitchen to overhear.

"What?!" the pegasus stallion said in surprise, trying to keep his voice low.

"That's right, one of the trains was robbed earlier. Some of the patients were saying it might have been the same band that's been causing trouble on the road lately. Witnesses said they saw a large pony who called himself Reaver demanding their valuables." She gave a tired sigh. "What made it worse this time is that a few passengers were hurt when they tried to resist. Nothing serious, but this band is getting more violent."

"And the guards are doing nothing?"

"They're searching, but they had nothing the last I knew. None of them mentioned anything to me. That's not the worst of it though." She paused a moment. "The bandits stole the money bound for the Greensborough bank. Without that money, the town's economy is going to suffer."

Wanderer heard the pegasus hiss in surprise. "That is bad. The guards need to find them. This town does not need that sort of trouble."

"No," she agreed. "Until they do though, it's going to be rough. We all need to be careful. I don't want the foals to get hurt."

There was a pause for a long moment, before he spoke again. "Do you want something to eat? We have plenty of leftovers."

"I would like that," she said.

Wanderer gagged at the warm tone, before he was struck with a sudden idea. He rejoined his friends and saw that Tormod had botched up a wrapping job around Tourmaline's head. Whether it was on purpose, he couldn't tell.

"You guys won't believe this," he whispered excitedly to them.

Tourmaline tugged the wrapping from her mane. "Now what?"

He held his hooves up for them to keep their voices low. "I just heard my mom tell your dad that one of the trains was robbed by bandits. They took off with a lot of money."

Tormod's eyebrow shot up. "This is exciting, how?"

"I know how we're going to get our cutie marks."

The way he said it caused both of them to realize, with some dread, that he had come up with another crazy idea. "How is that supposed to help us get our cutie marks?" Tourmaline asked.

"Simple, we find the bandits, take back the stolen money, and we come home as heroes," he said with a simple, easy smile.

They both looked at him as if he had grown a fifth leg. "Wanderer, are you insane? Haven't you heard the stories? These are criminals, not Rogue and his group, but vicious thugs. How do you plan to do anything about them?" Tormod asked in a flabbergasted tone.

He flattened his ears. "Not fight them. I'm not stupid."

"That's debatable," Tormod muttered.

"Shut it." Wanderer glowered at his friend. "All we have to do is find them, sneak away with the money, and not get caught."

"You're crazy."

Tourmaline headed off the next argument. "Do you even know where to look, Wanderer?"

"I… got a rough idea. The guards have been looking along the road, but not in the woods. Where the robberies have happened, I know that part of the woods. They have to be around there."

She tilted her head. "How do you plan to go look? Our parents won't let us go anywhere on our own."

Wanderer at his chin, before his eyes sparkled. "We'll have to sneak out at night. It's the only way."

One of Tormod's eyes twitched. "Wanderer, you—"

"We can do this, Tormod. Don't you wonder what a cutie mark for being a hero looks like?"

That gave them pause. "I bet it would be cool," Tourmaline said with a wispy smile.

"You're not considering this are you?" her brother asked. When she nodded, he looked away, gritting his teeth. "You guys—"

"I'm going to do this, Tormod," Wanderer's resolution was obvious in his eyes.

"And I'm going with you," Tourmaline said, her expression matching his.

Tormod looked between the two, obviously torn. Finally he shook his head vigorously. "No, not me. I'm not doing this again."

They both look at him with wide eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. I've followed you two on two other occasions that have gotten us into serious trouble, and I'm not doing it again."

"But, Tormod, you—" his sister started.

"Do you remember when the tree spider saved us?" Tormod interrupted her. "If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't be here now."

Wanderer looked at him with an incredulous scowl. "You're thinking of that now?"

"Why are you not?" Tormod countered.

"What for? We made it out alright. What is there to think about?"

Tormod gave him a stern look. "What if we didn't?"

Wanderer snorted. "If if's were fifths—"

Tormod's glare hardened. "Do you have any idea what that saying means?"

Wanderer shrugged. "Not a clue. I just know when it's used."

"Still, think what could have happened if we didn't. Our parents might not have ever found us, or found what remained of us."

Wanderer crossed his forelegs with an irritated huff. "What's your point?"

"My point is, do you remember how your mom acted when she found you?"

"She wanted to strangle me," Wanderer mumbled.

"Because she was scared. I saw her cry and how my dad was crying. I just… " Tormod mumbled as he looked at the floor. "I don't want to see that again."

The other two lowered their heads. "I haven't seen Dad cry before," Tourmaline admitted.

"Or Mom…" Wanderer agreed.

Tormod nodded. "Just think how it would have been if the spider never saved us? How would they be if it hadn't?"

Wanderer gave him a look. "You're really putting a damper on this."

"Good!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "I'm at least trying to remember what Princess Celestia told us about thinking things through!"

He looked between them for a moment before he sighed, letting out his stress. "Look… all I'm saying is that we at least need to think of what we're doing before we do it. I'm not saying we should stop going into the forest for our cutie marks, just… we need to do it right."

The two huffed and nodded slowly, and Tormod sighed with relief. "We'll get our cutie marks, don't worry, you guys."

They looked up as their parents walked into the room, and as talk and the first aid lessons began again, Tourmaline and Wanderer shared a knowing look and nod.

-0-

Later that night, Wanderer and Tourmaline met outside their schoolhouse. They had packed a few necessities for their trip: some foodstuffs, water, and a pair of small crystals that gave off a little light when tapped. Despite his earlier confidence, Wanderer silently worried that he might be biting off more than he could chew. Even with these doubts, he knew he was not going to back down. A deep-down feeling told him he was doing the right thing, and he was going to follow that feeling.

"You got everything?" Tourmaline asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Yeah, even got my knife." He fished out a small multi-purpose pocket knife that he had received as a birthday present.

"Hope we won't need it," she muttered and looked around the foggy school yard. "So which way are we going?"

He rubbed his chin at the question. His mind told him he should head for the road that lead out of town, but his gut was telling him he should head for the woods.

"Let's head for the woods. They have to have a camp out there."

She nodded, and they stealthily made their way to the part of the woods where the road out of the town lead to the wider plains of Equestria. They used the light of their crystals to see where they were going. The low light helped illuminate their way but was not bright enough to attract attention.

Once they reached the fringe of the woods, they paused, looking to the towering trees again. The darkened woods loomed above them, and a feeling of foreboding fell over them. They both jumped as a voice sounded from behind them.

"Are you really going to do this?" Tormod asked as he stepped from around the last building. The unicorn had his saddlebag tied to his back, but the look he gave the two was as serious as they had ever seen.

"We didn't think you'd come," Wanderer said, glancing past the unicorn to see if there was anyone else hiding nearby.

"I didn't want to," he admitted. "But I'm not about to let you two go alone. Without me, you'd both be lost in nothing flat."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," his sister muttered.

Wanderer knew his friend was going to try to dissuade him, not out of fear for himself, but fear of his friend—and more importantly, of his sister. They could all very well get hurt in this crazy stunt. Wanderer sympathized with his friend, but he was not turning back.

He stood tall. "I'm here, and I'm going."

Tourmaline gave him a cocky smile. "I'm right behind you."

Tormod looked between them and sighed. "Alright, let's go then."

As they stepped under the trees, Tourmaline bumped her brother playfully. "Glad you came."

He rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I didn't want to."

"And for not telling dad."

"Oh, I left a note. And told him where we've gone, how long we intended to be gone, and to look for a certain mark to show where we're going. I am not throwing caution to the wind like you two are."

She shook her head helplessly, but Wanderer spoke. "Probably a good idea."

-0-

At Wanderer's home, Chewie was returning to the colt's room after a midnight snack. The cat always enjoyed sleeping with his pony companion. The colt was heavy sleeper and didn't move around much, making it perfect for the cat to find a warm spot to curl up in and snooze.

Chewie pushed his way into the bedroom and realized right away that something was missing. Hopping on the bed, the cat was surprised to see the colt gone. He had heard him moving around upstairs, but thought the colt had made his way to the room with the odd bowl of water the ponies used instead of a litter box. The cat then saw the window had been opened and a quick look outside showed the colt was nowhere to be seen.

Worriedly, the cat went to the room where the colt's mother slept. Chewie never tried to sleep with her, she constantly moved about and tossed him out of the room when he woke her. Slipping inside the door, he lept on the bed and walked towards the sleeping mare's head and meowed.

"Mm…" she mumbled.

The cat rubbed his head against her chin.

"Mmph… go away, Chewie," she muttered with a groggy voice.

He again rubbed up against her nose.

She sneezed and tossed him to the floor with a charge of her horn. "Let me sleep, dang cat."

The cat stubbornly hopped back on the bed, and instead of the gentle approach, he put one paw on her upraised cheek and flexed his claws.

"OW! I'm up!" She brushed the cat away and sat up in bed, and yawned. "Did Wanderer forget to feed you again?"

The cat ran out of the room and down the hallway. With an irritated mutter she slid out of bed and wrapped herself in a robe as she left her room. She walked by her son's room to check on him.

The boy was a free spirit, something he inherited from her, she privately admitted. It caused more grief than she thought possible. While she appreciated his lust for life, she wished he wasn't so reckless. She often wondered if her own mother had thought the same of her.

Another yawn took her, as she pushed the door open a bit to peer inside. She furrowed her brow as she saw his bed was empty, and his cat sitting on the open window seal. She looked down the hallway to the bathroom, but saw the door was open and the light was off.

"Wanderer?" She looked through the room.

"Wanderer," she called from the stairs. She checked the lower floor, calling for him, her concern quickly growing.

"Wanderer, this is not funny. Where are you?" she called, fear rising up in her chest.

The frantic mare ran back upstairs for any clues that might tell her where he had gone. She tore his room apart, still calling for him. She noticed that his bag was not hanging on its peg, as well as his pocket knife he kept on his desk. She rushed to the window and called out for him.

When nothing came back, she ran downstairs and for galloped for his friend's house. She prayed to Celestia that he was there and he was safe.

-0-

The furious pounding on his door had him stumbling down the stairwell in his haste to answer the door. The sibling's father opened it to see Wanderer's mother looking at him with wide frantic eyes.

"Mrs—" he began.

She cut him off. "Is Wanderer here?"

He blinked, trying to clear his head of sleep. "Wanderer? No, he went home with you. What happened?"

Tears were rimming her eyes. "He's not at home. I can't find him!"

He stepped aside to let her in. "I'll go upstairs and ask the foals. Take a seat and try to calm down. I'm sure he just went for a walk."

She sat down on the couch, holding her face as she tried to ease her frayed nerves. He shook his head at the sight—the worry that colt of hers put her through was enough to age the stallion from just watching her.

As he opened the door to his daughter's room, he peered inside and frowned. Her bed lay empty, the covers tossed negligently to the floor. Frowning, he tried his son's room and found it just as bare, though the bed was neatly made, not that he cared at this point.

"Tormod! Tourmaline! Come out, or I will tan your hides!" He searched the rooms upstairs for them, but found nothing. He looked down the hall and saw Wanderer's mom at the top of the stairs looking at him worriedly.

"They're not here!" he yelled.

A quick search of their rooms shown that their packs were missing as well, but, in Tormod's room, they found a folded piece of parchment on the colt's bed. They quickly unfolded it and read the small note.

Dad,

If you found this note, it means we didn't get home before dawn like planned. Don't worry though, I'll tell you where we have gone. We went to the northeastern part of the forest, north of the road, to look for something important. Look for this symbol, the line will tell you which direction we have gone based on a compass. We won't go far, I will make sure of it. I'll bring them home.

Love, Tormod.

Their father almost crumpled up the note in his frustration.

"Tell me they didn't!"

"The woods!" she cried. The two galloped out of the home and towards the northeastern wood's fringe. When they got there they called out for the foals, but were met with silence.

"No, no, no, where could they have gone?" the mare asked, desperately searching the tree's for Tormod's mark. She wanted nothing more than to rush into the trees after them, but reason prevailed her emotion.

Gritting his teeth, their father forced himself to calm down. "All right, keep calm. We'll get the guard and—"

"By Celestia's mane!" the mare cried out, her eyes wide. The stallion turned, and his jaw dropped. The lower branches of the trees were moving, not by the wind—as there was none—but of their own accord. The branches all moved and bent until they pointed in a certain direction.

"W-What is that?" he stuttered after a moment.

"Are they… pointing?" She looked at the branches for a stunned moment before looking at him. "Do you think they are telling us where to go?"

The stallion shrugged, clearly at a loss. "I don't know. I'll go get the guard, then we'll find out."

"Even a rediscovery is a new discovery of its own. – Unknown.

Chapter Seven

The foals made their way cautiously through the night enshrouded woods. What little moonlight that filtered through the forest canopy was obscured by the light fog that ghosted through the trees. A small breeze made its way through the branches, rustling leaves and bending branches. The three tensed up at any sound that reached their ears. Images of horrors, both real and made up, crossed their minds as they expected to be pounced at any moment. The light of their crystals settled most of their fears, the soft glow illuminated the darkness and gave them confidence to continue on.

"The woods are a lot different at night," Tourmaline whispered as she hovered above the other two. Her sharper eyes made her the better look out for trouble. "They're spooky but… not. I don't know."

Wanderer nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've never been in them at dark. Mom would never let me."

"Likely with good reason," Tormod said in a hushed tone. "I know I sound like a coward, but I can only think of the stories I've heard. We know the timberwolves are real, but what about the other things?"

"Maybe the tree spider is out there, keeping them away," Wanderer offered, privately hoping it was true.

Tourmaline smiled. "That would be so cool, especially if we could show him to everypony else that he is real."

Their mood lightened at the discussion, and they moved on for a while longer before resting. After a quick snack and drink, the three considered where to look next.

"So now where?" Tourmaline asked as she brushed parts of the forest loam out of her coat.

Wanderer looked around the woods for a moment pensively. "What way is back to town?"

"That way." Tormod motioned. He held a compass in his hoof, a gift he had received from his birthday.

Wanderer nodded and looked around again in deep thought. His mind rationally told him to head towards the road and search there, but his gut was telling him to head further into the woods.

We'll go that way." He pointed in a direction away from the road.

"Why that way?"

Wanderer shrugged. "I got a feeling."

Tormod looked at him skeptically. "You have a feeling?"

The earth pony nodded easily. "Yep."

"Are you sure that isn't the burritos you had for supper?" Tourmaline smirked playfully.

"Fun-ny," he said dryly. "Come on, you guys." He stood and started walking in the direction he indicated.

"Hold on," Tormod said. "Wanderer, can I borrow your knife again?"

Wanderer passed over the small knife, and the unicorn quickly carved a symbol into the bark of a tree. After checking his compass, he finished carving. It was a circle with a line drawn in it, pointing northwest.

Wanderer looked to the mark for a curious moment. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"To let any who are following us know which way we've gone. After last time, I figured we needed something like this."

"That's smart." Wanderer nodded in approval.

The unicorn grinned. "I know."

"Doesn't happen often, does it, brother?" Tourmaline smiled impishly. His brother only glared at her, and Wanderer couldn't help but laugh.

"Let's go, you guys," he said.

As they continued to hike through the woods at Wanderer's direction, the colt could feel his smile growing. He enjoyed this, the exploring and discovering of new things. It reminded him so much of his heroine Daring Do. She was an adventurer and explorer who saw amazing things on an almost daily basis. If she were here, he didn't doubt she'd have found the bandits and gave them a good thrashing before she'd return the stolen look, and became the town's hero in the process.

This dream had pushed him further on, he wanted to be a famous adventurer just like her. This walking in the woods at night made him feel… amazing. Seeing new things he had never seen before made him feel alive.

He was pulled from his musing at a sound that had him looking to his left intently. "Stop," he hissed quietly, his eyes searching the woods for the source of the sound.

The other two were on alert instantly. "What?" Tourmaline asked intently.

He closed his eyes, listening to the woods around them. "I thought I—" His head turned again as he heard it. "Over there, I heard somepony cough."

"Cough?" Tormod turned his head, trying to hear it himself.

"Hold on." Tourmaline flapped her wings and flew above them. She gasped quickly and landed by them. "I thought I saw a light."

Wanderer's grin was instantaneous. "Come on."

The three crept closer towards the source of the light, keeping low to the ground as to not make any noise. The three approached a ledge quietly, the flickering light of a fire on the trees around them. They could hear the muted sounds of coughing, snoring, and gruff laughter. They put away their crystals and peered over the ledge.

Below, they could see a camp of about twenty rough looking ponies. They appeared dirty and unwashed, wearing weathered clothing of forested colors. Most of them were asleep, while a few others were sharing a round of cider. The group looked like they had been partying all night with many empty casks of cider strewn about.

As the three watched, their eyes were drawn to a large, brown-coated, black-maned, earth pony stallion who seemed to tower over his fellows. A large battle axe lay over his back, and the three could clearly see his crossed battle axe cutie mark. He and a few fellows were drinking over a card game before one called the larger one a cheat. The large earth pony laughed before shoving over his accuser. The rest of the thugs laughed as the pony stumbled and spilled his cider all over him, muttering curses all the while.

The foals ducked behind the ledge quickly.

"That's them," Tormod whispered. "The big pony must be the 'Reaver' you told us about."

Tourmaline glanced over the ledge once, then quickly ducked back to cover. "So we found them, now what?"

They both looked at Wanderer, but saw the colt was not paying them any attention. In fact, he had a goofy grin on his face. He inwardly celebrating the fact that they had found the bandits. He and his friends had found an elusive band of thugs that even the Equestrian Guards couldn't find. This discovery gave him a new confidence in his abilities. Even with a bad sense of direction, he could find anything if he believed in himself. It was a truly wonderful feeling.

There was a brief flash of light that originated from his body, or rather from his backside. The siblings gave a startled intake of breath, but when Wanderer tried to see it was, it was too dark to see anything.

"Tormod, a light please," he said quietly with barely contained excitement.

The unicorn complied, and lit a soft red glow from his horn. The light illuminated their hiding place to where they could see Wanderer's long, sought-after cutie mark—a blue spy glass.

"My cutie mph—" He almost shouted before two different hooves were shoved in his mouth.

"Quiet," Tormod hissed intently as he let his light fade.

Tourmaline peeked over the ledge quickly and ducked back down. "They didn't move. They haven't seen us." She turned a wide, happy smile to her friend. "You did it, Wanderer, way to go."

The colt smiled like a fool, wishing he could bask in the moment, but not with a band of roughians nearby.

Tormod patted him on the shoulder encouragingly before looking at the camp again. "Alright, we found them. Should we head back and get the guards?"

Wanderer looked over the encampment and shook his head. "Nah, we should try to find the stolen money while they're all asleep. We bring back the stolen loot and you both could earn your cutie marks too." He could not keep the joy out of his tone. He scanned the camp carefully. "Now where would they keep it?"

They watched the camp a while longer, and grew more confident as the rest of the band sought their tents. Reaver remained at the table, but his head was bobbing in a silent snooze.

"Over there," Tourmaline whispered. She pointed to a partially concealed cave, the faint glow of a torch giving its secret away.

Wanderer nodded firmly. "Alright, lets sneak in there, get the loot, and get out before they know we're here."

Tourmaline smiled eagerly. "They'll never know we were ever here."

Tormod nodded after a hesitant moment.

"Let's go."

They made their way down the ledge as quietly as they could. Just as Wanderer was to pass between two trees, he was yanked back by the tail.

"Tourmaline, wha—" he started before he found her hoof over his mouth again.

"Look." She pointed. About knee height, was a thin, pale line. Wanderer had not seen it. If she hadn't stopped him, he would have blindly stumbled over it. They followed the line to a nearby tree where a small crystal was suspended by a similar line.

"An illumination crystal. If that went off, it would have lit up the whole area," Tormod said, looking around for similar traps.

Wanderer smiled to her. "Good eyes, Tourmaline."

She smiled in turn. "Thanks. We shouldn't stop though. I'll keep looking for more."

They carefully stepped over the line, and made their way towards the cave stealthily. They hid behind barrels and crates that were stacked along the way, before slipping into the cave unseen.

-0-

Once inside the cave, the three saw that it was illuminated by a number of torches that hung on the tunnel walls. After making sure they was not seen, Tourmaline lead the way deeper in, keeping watch for more trip wires. They had only gone a short distance before they came to a branching intersection of four tunnels. They looked for any signs to see what tunnel when were, but found nothing.

"Now what?" Tormod asked.

Wanderer looked between the tunnels thoughtfully. "We can't search each tunnel, we don't have the time for that, and splitting up is never a good idea."

Tourmaline peer at each tunnel carefully, but didn't offer any suggestions.

"I guess we take that one." Wanderer pointed to a tunnel to his left.

"Wait," Tourmaline said softly.

The two turned to see her staring intently at the right most tunnel. "What do you see?" Wanderer asked, looking down the passage as well.

She didn't respond straight away, only narrowing her eyes at something. She walked forwards and knelt to examine the ground. She dug around for a bit before she lifted up a single gold coin. The coin looked like it had been dropped and trampled into the soft dirt of the cavern. She had only seen it due to the edge of the coin that stuck above the dirt glinted off the fire light of a nearby torch.

"Nice find," her brother said. "How did you see that?"

She shrugged. "I just did. If there is a coin here, maybe the rest is ahead?"

Wanderer smiled wide. "Let's go. The loot has to be ahead."

As they followed the tunnel, Tourmaline couldn't help but feel proud of herself. Finding the coin had been a stroke of luck, as had spotting the trip wire earlier. She was proud of the fact she had spotted them were her brother and friend had not. Just like the day she had found the freshwater pearl, she felt good that she was able to do so. The pearl had helped her family pay most of their bills off and her father couldn't have been prouder of her. While she was a confident filly—cocky at times—she like the feeling it gave her.

They followed the passage until it ended at a door. Wanderer tried to turn the handle, but it move.

"Locked," he muttered, and turned back to them. "How do we get in?"

"Find the key?" Tormod suggested, his tone dry.

"Maybe I can kick it in." Wanderer brought his hind legs up to give the door a solid kick.

"Wait!" Tourmaline hissed. Wanderer stopped himself mid-kick and fell on his belly. "If you kick it in, it could wake the bandits up."

Wanderer picked himself up while grumbling, dusting himself off. "How then?"

She looked at the door a moment before turning back to him. "Give me your knife."

He passed over the tool and she looked at the keyhole a moment, before sticking the knife edge into it.

"Do you have any idea how to pick a lock?" Tormod asked.

"No."

"Yet, you're going to try?"

"Yes."

He face-hoofed and Wanderer snickered at him.

After fiddling with the lock, she stood straighter, the door remaining locked. "No good. We'll have to find the—" She looked at the torch bracket near the door. She flew up and grabbed a small iron key that was almost cleverly hidden. "—key." She presented her find to them.

This time, both colts face-hooved.

They opened the door and slipped inside, Tourmaline put the key back in its place before closing the door behind her. The three looked around the room with wide, amazed eyes. Inside was the bandit's treasure hoard. There were bags of bits everywhere, each of them bearing the symbol of the Equestiran Treasury. A large, heavy, wooden chest sat open, yet empty, nearby. There were casks of cider and crates of foodstuffs sorted out in stacks along the wall.

Wanderer shook in restrained joy. "Ha! We found it. I can't believe we did it."

Tormod smirked proudly. "Nice job, Tourmaline. How did you know where to look?"

She shrugged, not really able to explain it. "I just…I don't know. I just did."

"Followed your gut, right?" Wanderer asked her with a knowing smile.

"First the pearl, the coin, the key, and now the lost money, you're like a treasure seeker," her brother half joked.

"Hey, that sounds special to me," Wanderer could not help but laugh.

The pegasus smiled along with him. She felt elated. Finding the lost money would no doubt help the town out of financial trouble, and she knew the grown-ups would be happy about that. It felt great that she was going to be helpful, she felt a surge of pride that it was because of her it was found. The mix of feelings she felt, it was almost indescribeable.

Another brief flash of light lit up the cave and both colts gasped in surprise. In the torchlight, she turned to look at her flank. It was now adorned by a trio of overlapping gold coins, her cutie mark had finally arrived.

"My cutie mph—" she almost shouted before the two colts slapped their hooves over her mouth. Silenced as she was, she pulled both colts into a fierce hug, tears of joy running down her face. The two returned the hug, Wanderer happy that he and his best friend found their cutie marks together, and Tormod she proud tears for his baby sister.

"Alright, guys," she said, breaking up the moment. "Let's get the money and get out of here." She wiped the tears from her face and looked proudly at her new cutie mark.

"Right," they said together and looked to the many sacks of heavy coins.

"How?" Wanderer asked.

Tourmaline looked at him in shock. "It was your idea. Didn't you figure it out first?"

"I…ah…didn't think that far ahead."

After a stunned moment, he got whapped upside the head.

He rubbed at his head. "I deserved that."

"We need to figure it out, we can't stay here," Tormod said, nervously watching the door.

"Maybe we could take what we can carry, and point the way back for the guards?" Tourmaline suggested.

Wanderer shook his head. "We can't carry it all, and the bandits will have taken the rest before the guards could get here."

"Then how?"

Wanderer's eyes settled on the open chest. "Tormod, could you lift that?"

The unicorn looked to the chest skeptically. "I might, but I won't be able to carry it for long."

"How about making it light enough for me to carry on my back? With your help, I should be able to carry it and we'll be able to take all the money with us."

"Well, whatever we do, we—" Tourmaline stopped as they heard the approaching sounds of heavy hoof steps.

Their blood froze in fear. "Hide!" Wanderer hissed, and he and Tourmaline hid behind the large chest, while Tormod hid behind the large casks of cider.

Just as they hid, the handle of the door turned and in strode the large earth pony, Reaver. His bloodshot eyes swept the room before he smiled greedily at the bags of money.

"The lad did good. A good haul it was. We can be livin' off these spoils fer a year or more," he said to himself. "Though the boss should get his share'o the loot first, I'm thinkin'."

The gruff pony began stuffing the bags of money into the chest, chuckling greedily to himself. The foals dared not to make a sound as he shuffled through the room. Wanderer shared a quick, frightened look with Tourmaline. She looked back to him, her expression easily matching his.

"'Ello, what's this?" they heard Reaver say. They tensed up even further, expecting to have been found out. "What's a pocket knife doin' in here?"

Wanderer turned pale, his knife! He must have dropped it in his scramble to hide. He mentally slapped himself for doing something to stupid.

With a grunt, the older pony looked around the room closely. The two foals could hear him approach the chest, their eyes wide in panic.

A shout echoed from the hallway. "Boss!"

The two foals breathed a sigh of relief as Reaver moved away from the chest at the shout. "What's the bloody problem, lad?"

"It's the Equestrian Guard! They found us!"

"What?!" Reaver roared.

"They tripped one of the light markers, but they were already on us before we could do anything. The lads are fighting them off, but there's too many of them, boss! What do we do?"

"Gather the lads and show'em a fight to remember. They ain't takin' our hard-earned loot without a fight!"

"What about you, boss?"

"I'll be makin' sure they don't get it. Go, lad!"

The other pony ran out of the room, and they heard the door slam close behind him.

"Ye best be commin' out now, ye buggers! I know yer in here!" Reaver shouted. "Come out and fight like'a stallion, ye cowards!"

The foals dared not move, not even breath.

Tourmaline and Wanderer fell back with terrified screams as the heavy chest lurched at them. The heavy blade of an axe protruded partially out of the ruined wood.

"I told ye I'd—" Reaver's rage-filled face turned to shock as he looked at the cowering foals. "Foals?! Bloody foals brought the guards on us? Tried ta steal me treasure did ye? Come 'ere!" He reached for them.

On pure instinct, Wanderer lunged at the taller earth pony, head butting him full in the face. Reaver stumbled back with a roar of pain and rage.

"Run!" Wanderer shouted to his friends.

Reaver roared and back-hoofed Wanderer aside as he caught Tourmaline out of the air. She struggled and kicked futilely under his crushing grip.

"Get your hooves off my sister!" Tormod blasted the brute in the side with a bolt of magic. The magical attack caused the earth pony to stumbled, releasing his hold on Tourmaline. She wasted no time in kicking him as he let her go.

Growling like some feral animal, he lunged at her again. He missed and received another kick for his efforts. Wanderer rushed back in, sore from being slapped, but seeing his friends in danger he didn't even think as he ran to protect them. He kicked the larger stallion in the ribs just as Tormod hit him with another attack.

"That's enough!" Reaver roared and slapped Wanderer aside again, as well as swatting Tourmaline out of the air. The brute turned his attention on the unicorn, with a angered shout, he charged at him.

Tormod shot at him again, but the larger pony dodged and leapt at him. Tormod stepped aside and delievered a kick of his own. He might as well had been kicking stone for all the good it did.

Before Tormod could react, Reaver grabbed him painfully by the horn and threw him at the crates of food. The unicorn groaned as he crashed through them, squirming painfully.

"Tormod!" Tourmaline shrieked and flew at the offending stallion. As he tried to grab or hit at her, she would dodge and kick back at him. Being more athletic than her brother, her kicks were a bit more powerful, but that only seemed to make the brute angrier.

Wanderer picked himself up again in time to see Reaver catch her by the tail. He flung her at the casks of cider, causing the casks to tip over and spill their contents over the groaning pegasus.

"No!" Wanderer yelled and ran at the stallion. Just as he got close, the brute grabbed him and slammed him to the floor.

"Don't know who ye runts are, but yer going ta learn ye shouldn't mess with others. 'Specially me!" Reaver roared at the supine colt.

Wanderer flinched, but kicked upwards. Reaver grunted in pain and slapped him aside. Grunting with pain, Wanderer stubbornly stood back up, glaring at the stallion.

"Got some fight left in ye, boy?" Reaver scowled at him.

"You hurt my friends. I won't let you get away with it!" Wanderer ran back at him and ducked under Reaver's swing. He pivoted and bucked out with all his strength, kicking the stallion square in the chest.

Reaver stumbled back, holding his chest painfully. Seething with rage, he grabbed the stunned colt and threw him. Wanderer skidded and landed against the ruined chest. He lay there trying to hold back tears of pain. As he tried to stand again, a heavy hoof pinned him to the ground.

"Ye put up'a good fight, lad. I'll give ye that." Reaver ripped his axe from the chest, splinters of wood flying everywhere. "I don't waste my edge on foals, but for ye, I'm makin' an exception."

Wanderer squeaked in fright, tears running down his face, but couldn't move under the heavy press of the hoof. Reaver lifted his axe high, and Wanderer could only look on in fear as the weapon's edge gleamed in the torch light.

A cerulean beam took the thug square in the side, blasting him against the wall. The axe went flying from Reaver's grip and spun until it landed inches from Wanderer's snout.

"Get away from my son!" Wanderer looked at the door and saw him mother standing in the door frame. Her eyes blazed with a furry unmatched by anything he had ever seen, they were paled only by the fury of the magic that surrounded her horn.

"Mom!" he cried out to her.

The unicorn mare blasted the thug again as he tried to stand, and again, and every time he tried to stand. When he finally did make it to his hooves, he looked up to see the face of a very angry pegasus stallion glare back at him only inches away.

"What're ye goin' ta—" he managed before a fierce blow to the face put him down for the count.

"That was for laying hoof on my foals."

"Dad!" the siblings yelled in joy, limping their way to him.

"Tourmaline, Tormod, thank Celestia you're safe." He went to them and scooped them up in a careful, but relieved hug.

Wanderer's mom was behind him, holding him tightly. Her entire frame shaking as she held him tightly.

"I'm sorry, mom." His voice cracked as he cried. "I just wanted—"

"I know, Wanderer, I know." She finally looked at him, her face soaked from crying. She looked at his face critically. "He hit you good, didn't he?" She glared hatefully at the unconscious form of Reaver.

"I can handle it, mom," Wanderer said, trying to put on a bold façade. In truth, he was hurting a lot and wanted nothing more than to hold on to her.

"Dad, did you see it?" They heard Tourmaline say with excitement.

"See what?" he asked.

"My cutie mark!" She hopped back and proudly showed off her adorned flank.

Her dad's smile was instantaneous. "Tourmaline, I'm so proud." He hugged her tightly, his son joining in on the hug. "I'm happy for you, and I'm glad you found it, but I really wished you would have found a safer way of doing it."

Tormod stepped back and looked to the ground in shame. "We, just wanted to help, dad."

His father ruffled his mane affectionately. "I know, son. Just… the gray hairs are growing faster with the worry you put me through."

Wanderer looked at his mother, his fear taking a back seat to his excitement. "Mom, I got my cutie mark too!" He turned to show off his spyglass cutie mark for all of its glory.

Her smile was just as fast in appearing. "You did! I knew you would." She hugged him again. "You know you are grounded, right?" she asked in an eerily calm tone.

"I know," he said just as nonchalant.

"For the rest of your life."

"Sounds fair."

She chuckled and stood as the guards finally caught up to them.

"Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart." – Eleanor Roosevelt

Chapter Eight

The foals and their parents gathered outside of the cave as the guards rounded up the last of the bandits. The stolen money was collected and set aside while Reaver was led away in chains. The guard captain demanded a full explanation from the foals of all that had transpired in the cave. Once they had finished, the guard nodded thoughtfully as he mulled over the news.

Finally he spoke. "As glad as I am to finally put these thugs behind bars, you three should have known that this is, well was, incredibly dangerous. These criminals could have hurt you, or worse, taken you hostage. If anything like this ever happens again—" he gave them a stern glare. "— which it won't, get an adult. I don't want foals hurt on my watch."

The three looked to the ground, heads and shoulders slumping low.

He continued, "That being said, good work, you three. I'll make sure to let the mayor know who it was that found them."

The foals looked up, beaming at the complement.

The captain looked at their parents. "I don't have the men to escort you back. Do you remember the path to town?"

They nodded. "We remember the way. Thank you, Captain," Wanderer's mom said.

The captain nodded gruffly and began barking orders to have the prisoners gathered.

"Let's go, you three," his mother said to them, ushering them away from camp.

-0-

Morning light filtered through the forest, setting the foggy trees aglow with a warm luminescence. To Wanderer, the day was the brightest he had ever seen. A feeling of contentment washed over him as he walked beside his mother. He and his friends had not only found the bandits and the stolen money, but also their cutie marks. He looked quickly at Tormod and amended that thought. Despite the night's adventure, the unicorn colt still had not earned his. Wanderer had privately hoped they would have found their marks together, but it seems it was not meant to be. Even though Wanderer had his own cutie mark, he promised he would still help Tormod find his.

"So, Wanderer," his mother said, breaking him out of his musing. "Did you and Tourmaline find your cutie marks together?" Tourmaline's dad looked at the older mare before he smiled knowingly.

Wanderer looked between them, his brow furrowing. "Well, not at the same time, but not more than an hour apart."

"Why?" Tourmaline asked as she rested on her dad's back.

A humored smile crossed the mare's face. "Surely you both have heard the old tales of ponies finding their cutie marks together?"

"No," they said in unison.

"There is a legend," the pegasus stallion began. "That two foals who find their cutie marks in the same day are bound together by fate, and that the two are soulmates."

It took them a moment to digest that. "So that means—" Tourmaline started.

"—Tourmaline and me—" Wanderer continued.

"—are soulmates?" Tourmaline finished. The two foals looked at each other for a moment.

They shared a simultaneous look of disgust. "Eww!"

The other three all shared a deep laugh at their expense.

Wanderer was about to deny it further when he spotted movement in the trees. "What's that?"

The group stopped in their tracks and looked in the direction he was pointing. They could make out a large form standing in the fog. It was obscured, but the foals recognized it right away. The form stood on four legs, had two long arms, and had a large torso with many tines at its crown. The creature remained in the fog, quietly watching them.

"What is—" Wanderer's mom started.

"It's him! We told you he was real!" Wanderer shouted in joy, a huge smile crossing his face.

For a minute, the creature stood there before vanishing into the fog. A low groan was heard as it departed deeper into the trees.

"Thank you!" Tourmaline shouted after it.

"That was your tree spider?" their dad asked, clearly taken aback by what he had just seen.

"Yes it was," Tormod said. "He must have come to check on us." The three foals began chatting with each other excitedly.

The adults shared a look. "Do you think it was that thing that pointed the way for us?" the mare asked.

The stallion just shook his head helplessly. "Let's get you foals home. We all need a good night's sleep." He looked to the canopy as it continued to brighten. "Well... day's sleep."

For some reason, the mere mention of sleep made Wanderer drowsy. He found that his hooves were suddenly very heavy to lift and his eyelids drooped.

"Mom, can I… ride on your back?" he asked groggily.

Her smile turned wistful. "Of course." She lifted her son onto her back with a quick charge of her horn.

"Come on, Tormod. You too," the colt's father said to him, kneeling low.

"I'm all right, Dad," he protested.

"You've been up all night, trudging through the woods and fighting with bandits. It's a surprise you're still going. Come on, I'll carry you."

He didn't argue further and climbed up on his father's back to settle against his sister. The three foals were soon sound asleep, their parents walking silently for home.

-0-

As summer progressed, Wanderer and his friends found their recognition for their deeds to be everything they dreamed of. The town had honored them with a party in their honor, where the mayor presented them with medals to show for their bravery. Wanderer had to admit, all of the praise was more than a little embarrassing—but in a pleasant way. Tourmaline soaked up the praise and attention like a sponge, while Tormod was more humble.

Unfortunately for Tormod, his cutie mark hadn't appeared. Wanderer was confident that his friend would have earned his mark after all they had done, yet it never showed. Tormod tried shrugging it away, but the other two knew better. Even if he never vocally expressed it, they knew he was frustrated. Being the only one in their class without a cutie mark had to have been disconcerting. The three still tried many different activities together to help him find his special talent, but it stubbornly refused to show itself.

One day at school, things came to a head.

"Still without your cutie mark, blank flank?" Rogue sneered. He and his cronies had found the unicorn by himself on the playground, reading a book. "Don't think that book will help you find it either."

"Are you still on that?" Tormod asked, not looking away from his book.

"You've been here for two years now, I doubt you'll ever find it." Rogue cast a quick smirk at his fiends before looking back. "Must be pretty embarrassing to know you're so pathetic."

"Mm…" Tormod flipped a page, not dignifying that in the least.

Rogue knocked the book out of Tormod's hooves, glaring at the bored looking unicorn. "You pay attention to your betters," he growled.

Tormod smirked. "I would, but I have yet to meet them."

Stone Hoof and Scarlet Scroll winced at the remark while Rogue seethed.

"I've had just about enough from you!"

"Try me," Tormod said firmly. "After Reaver, you don't scare me."

The earth pony looked like he was about to throw a punch, but a shout stopped him cold.

"That is enough!" Mr. Leaf trotted up to them, glaring sternly at Rogue. "Rogue, your father is here to pick you up. However, I think we all should have a chat about your attitude."

Rogue cringed, his anger replaced by fear.

The teacher looked to the other two. "You two, find something else to do before I start assigning extra homework." The two pegasi wasted no time in fleeing.

As Mr. Leaf escorted a dejected Rogue to the school house, Tormod sat back down by the tree with a sigh. He privately was sick of Rogue's bullying. Since he was the only one in their class without a cutie mark, the bully was almost constantly picking on him. For a while, he had laughed him away, but lately, the lack of a cutie mark was bringing up questions he didn't like asking. The lack of answers was beginning to frustrate him. He had worked so hard, just like everypony else around him, so why was his destiny still a mystery? He was a patient pony—priding himself on rarely losing his temper— but how much can one pony be expected to take? Why couldn't he have found his mark too?

He sighed deeply and looked to the sky with a lost expression.

Wanderer and Tourmaline soon joined him by the tree, carrying their lunches. The two had expressions similar to a pony winning the Pony Lotto.

"Tormod, did you see Rogue? His father was giving him one doozy of a lecture. It was even worse than Dad's." Tourmaline smiled wide.

"Normally, I'd feel sorry for anypony getting yelled at like that, but for Rogue… nah!" Wanderer said, and the two shared a laugh.

Tourmaline dropped the bag lunch meant for Tormod on his lap. "What do you think, Tormod?"

"I don't have anything to say." He dug through his lunch and took a bite of his dandelion sandwich.

The other two shared a concerned look, before Wanderer spoke. "So what do you want to do after school today? Maybe we can try some of your ideas to find your cutie mark."

Tormod shrugged noncommittally.

"Oh, come on, Tormod. What's wrong with you?" Tourmaline asked her brother.

Again he shrugged and took a bite of his food.

Her ears pinned back. "You can't be upset about your cutie mark."

He glared at her. "And why can't I?"

"You'll get it. I know you will. You just have to keep looking."

"I have been looking," he snapped back. "I have been looking ever since I moved here. I keep trying, but it is not doing me any good."

Wanderer gave his friend a sympathetic look and rested a hoof on his shoulder. "You can't give up, Tormod. You shouldn't ever give up."

Tormod brushed the hoof off his shoulder. "Don't spout your mom's sayings at me, Wanderer. I've heard them so often I could recite them in my sleep."

Wanderer looked at him with a hurt expression. Tourmaline stared at her brother in shock, having never seen him act like that before.

Tormod looked to the ground in shame. "I'm sorry."

Wanderer waved it away. "It's all right. I understand."

"No, you don't." Tormod dropped his lunch to the ground and collected his book.

"Where are you going, Tormod?" Tourmaline asked him, her lip quivering slightly.

"I just want to be alone." The unicorn walked off without looking back.

"Tormod…" She watched her brother go, tears rimming her eyes.

Wanderer ran a hoof through his mane. "He's not handling it well."

Tourmaline sniffed and nodded.

Wanderer gave her a determined look. "Don't worry, Tourmaline. I won't give up on him, just like I wouldn't give up on you."

She smiled softly, but wondered what she or Wanderer could do to help her brother overcome his depression.

-0-

As the siblings and their father sat around the table for dinner, Tormod poked at his food. Their father watched his son with cautious eyes, while Tourmaline ate her dinner with gusto.

As their father finished his meal, he turned to Tourmaline as she finished licking her plate clean. "Tourmaline, can you go outside for a bit? I have another trick I want to teach you."

She smiled eagerly at the thought of learning another flying technique. "Alright!" She hopped away from the table and rushed out the door.

"Do your wing-ups! I'll be out in a bit," her father called after her.

He looked at his son with concern. "Do you have something you want to tell me, son?"

Tormod looked at him for a moment before looking away. "I was bullied at school again."

The pegasus scowled. "Rogue?" He shook his head as Tormod nodded. "That colt needs a serious talking to."

"Mr. Leaf caught him today, and he and Rogue had a long discussion with his father at school," Tormod said, taking no joy in such a fact.

The stallion nodded firmly. "Good."

Tormod looked at his dinner, showing no apparent emotion. His dad cleared his throat, which caused the colt to look back at him.

"What do you think of your school?"

Tormod frowned in confusion at the question. "I like it. Mr. Leaf is nice, and Wanderer and the others are my friends. It's just Rogue and his friends I have problems with."

"But do you feel you are learning all that you can there, Tormod? Do you feel like you are actually getting somewhere at your school?"

Tormod looked at his blank flank and sighed. "No."

His dad smiled as he retrieved an envelope from the counter and passed it over. "Then you should perhaps see this."

Intrigued, Tormod lifted the letter with his magic. The letter had already been opened, and Tormod was surprised to see the royal seal on the wax.

"What is this?"

"Read it," his father said with a growing smile.

As Tormod read the letter, his eyes lost their placidness and sparkled with renewed life. "Dad… this is—"

"An acceptance letter to Princess Celestia's School of Gifted Unicorns." His father beamed with pride.

"I-how-when-huh?" the unicorn sputtered, his mind a chaotic jumble.

The stallion's smile grew a bit more. "The mayor put in a good word for you when I sent in the application. Apparently, they want you at their school." His smile faded some. "But now you have to choose. Do you want to go, or remain here? Tourmaline and I cannot move to Canterlot with you, since we can't afford another move. You will have to move to their dorms." His smile grew again. "But it is only a day's train ride. We can visit you, and you can come back during summer break."

Tormod's elation was tempered at his father's words. On one hoof, he would be a student at the most prestigious school in Equestria, but on the other he would have to leave his friends and family behind. He truly liked his life in Greensborough. He had his friends, his family, and a comfortable community that was grateful to him and his sister. Could he really leave all of that behind? However, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he passed it up, he would have to live with the regret of wondering 'what if.'

His father stood, his chair groaning, and collected the dirty dishes from dinner. "You don't have to decide now, Tormod. Soon, but not now. I understand it is a big decision."

Tormod looked at his flank yet again and came to a realization. He took a deep breath and did something he rarely ever did: he took a chance.

"No, Dad. I know what I want to do."

His father looked at him expectantly.

His eyes shone with his resolve. "I want to go."

His father smiled wide and crushed his son with a hug full of fatherly pride. "My boy, when did you get to be so grown up?"

Tormod seemed to melt under his father's hug. He wanted to cry but was not sure what for.

-0-

A week later, Wanderer and his mother joined Tormod and his family at the train station to see them off. Wanderer kept the sadness from his expression, determined not cry in front of his friend. He knew that Tormod would come back on vacation and for summer break, but that really didn't help matters. He was glad that Tourmaline would still be around at least, but without Tormod, their little group wouldn't be the same.

On the other hoof, he knew that his sadness was selfish. Tormod was the brother he never had, and like any brother, he didn't want to see him leave. This was an opportunity for the unicorn that he shouldn't pass up. In fact, Wanderer was more than a little jealous—going to Canterlot was a dream of his. He would have to go visit his friend one summer and see what the capital of Equestria had to offer.

The train station was bustling with pony and train traffic during the afternoon hours. Travelers boarded and disembarked from the train, while workers loaded and unloaded baggage and commodities. The general chatter was a steady drone as the five gathered near the passenger carts.

Not for the first time, Tormod's dad asked him,"You got all of your stuff?"

He nodded. "Everything, Dad. I triple-checked and made sure I have everything."

"Even your stuffed bunny?" Tourmaline asked with an impish smile.

Tormod sputtered. "T-Tourmaline!" He was privately glad his dark coat hid most of his embarrassment.

The other four had a good laugh at him anyway.

Wanderer's mother levitated a brown bag from her son's saddlebag. "Here, Tormod. We got this for you."

The unicorn colt took hold of the bag with his own magic and peered inside curiously. "A sketchbook and some colored pencils. Thank you both." He smiled gratefully.

"Heh, I know you like to draw, so I figured you could use it," Wanderer said.

"All aboard the train for Canterlot! The train leaves in five minutes!" the train conductor shouted.

Their father collected his son's suitcase. "We better get on. Don't want to miss our train."

Wanderer shared a gruff hug with Tormod. "Don't forget to have fun," he said to him.

"Look after my sister for me." He stepped back and glared at him. "Anything happens to her and you answer to me."

Wanderer gave him his trademark lopsided grin. "Trust me."

Tormod jabbed him in the sternum. "That's why I warned you."

The two laughed and Tormod climbed the steps to the passenger cart.

Wanderer then received a bone crushing hug from Tourmaline. "Don't get into too much trouble without me."

He hugged her back. "Wouldn't dream of it." He let her go, somewhat reluctantly. "I'll miss you, er-you guys. I'll miss you guys."

"Me and dad will be back. We're just helping Tormod get settled in, then we'll be back," she assured him.

"Wish I could go." He sighed with some dramatics. "Ah well, next time." He smirked playfully.

"All aboard!" the conductor yelled.

"Tourmaline!" her father called.

"Gotta go." She flew for the train and boarded. The conductor closed the door behind her, and soon the train started pulling away. The siblings stuck their heads out of the windows and waved.

"I'll see you all soon!" Tormod called.

"We'll be back, Wanderer!" Tourmaline yelled, waving a foreleg at him.

Wanderer waved and shouted after them. He watched the train until it disappeared into the trees, a final blow of the train's horn blew back to him, as if it were also saying goodbye to him. He stood there for a time, a few tears gathered around his eyes as he looked down the train tracks.

His mother stood beside him. "Why are you sad, Wanderer?"

He shook his head. "I'm not, Mom."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" She pointed to his eyes.

He wiped away the moisture and sighed. "I just… don't like seeing my friends leave."

"Tourmaline will be back in a few days, and Tormod will be back for the summer. Are they really leaving you?"

He lowered his head. "N-No, it's just…"

She smiled softly at him, knowing full well what her son was going through. "Not the same?"

He sniffed and sat down. "Yeah."

She looked down the tracks with him. "You three have done a lot together, right?"

"Yeah."

"They're also your best friends, right?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes."

She gave him an understanding look. "Do you really think that distance is going to put a dent in that friendship?"

He looked down at planks of the platform for a moment. "…No."

She smiled softly at him. "It doesn't matter how far apart you are. You are still friends. As long as you stay true to them, nothing can get between you three."

He wiped at his face again and stood straighter. "I'll still miss them."

She nodded. "I am not arguing that. But as long as you stay true friends in your heart, that is all that matters."

He sighed sadly and smiled to her. "Thanks, Mom."

She gave him a warm hug, and the two turned for home.

"One should never stop seeking the next destination. To stop is to have no drive, no purpose." – Unknown

Chapter Nine

As the years went by, Wanderer and Tourmaline grew to become the closest of friends—the two were nearly inseparable. They still frequented the great forest in search of the tree spider but never found sign of it again. They had many escapades throughout the town as life kept up its steady march. Seasons would come and go as they always did, each year the foals getting a little bit older and a little bit taller.

On the summers that Tormod came home, the three were never apart. Unfortunately, the unicorn still did not have his cutie mark. When asked about it, he seemed genuinely unbothered. He often stated that he had too many things to study and learn in Canterlot and didn't have time to look for his mark. During the school year, he would send weekly letters, but as time passed, they became less frequent. Eventually, Tormod stopped spending the entire summer at Greensborough, preferring to get his studies done in Canterlot. While the other two really wished it otherwise, they knew he was busy with his studies at the School for Gifted Unicorns.

It was the evening of their graduation from school. The two were now in their late teens and almost fully grown. Wanderer had grown tall, his gray mane hanging loosely on both sides of his neck—having an almost mop-like appearance. Tourmaline was a fully grown mare and a skilled flyer—no longer hesitant to soar high into the sky.

The two stood outside the schoolhouse with the other students and family members as the celebration raged around them. They moved around from one group to another, congratulating their fellow students, as the long awaited day had finally come.

"Graduation finally got here!" Wanderer said, smiling wide to Tourmaline and a pair of other students. "Took it long enough if you ask me."

Tourmaline and the other two laughed in agreement.

"There were times we'd thought you'd never make it, Wanderer, with all the trouble you got into," one of the other students said.

He took a look of mock hurt. "Hey, I didn't get into that much trouble."

Tourmaline gave him a skeptical look. "You didn't?"

He gave her a flat stare. "You're not helping."

"You got into your own share of it too, Tourmaline. We all remember the streamers incident," the other student remarked playfully.

Tourmaline winced, a lock of her long, curly mane falling in front of her face, the mention of said incident invoking a fierce blush.

Wanderer smiled wide. "I remember that. It was pretty funny. And I didn't even have anything to do with it."

The glare in her eyes promised painful retribution. "Shut it, Wanderer!"

"Yes, ma'am," he said with mock meekness.

Again, they all shared a laugh.

"A pity Tormod couldn't be here," the second student said. "He would have loved this."

The two friends winced, and Tourmaline looked to the ground for a moment. "He said he couldn't get away to be here," she said softly.

The other frowned as he realized the discomfort he had unintentionally caused. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

She shrugged, standing straighter. "It's alright." She gave him an assuring smile. "You didn't know."

"Well, we're going to talk to the others. We'll see you guys later. It was fun," the two said before moving to another group.

Wanderer looked at her for a moment in silence. "You all right?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm all right. I'm used to Tormod not being around anymore. I just… wish he could've been here."

He bumped against her playfully. "Hey, cheer up. You know he would have been here if he could."

She smiled faintly. "I know."

Wanderer looked around for a moment before he smiled, a faint blush creeping up on him. "I… ah, got something to cheer you up."

She looked at him curiously.

"I got it for you as a graduation present." He removed a small box and hoofed it to her. "Had to do a few odd jobs around town to afford it, but… thought you would like it."

She looked over the box with a curious gaze. "What'd you get?"

He rolled his eyes. "Open it and find out."

She stuck her tongue at him and opened the box. Her eyes widened, and she smiled just as wide as she saw its contents.

"Wanderer, I love it!" She lifted up a opal-beaded necklace. After looking at it for a moment, she hugged her friend fiercely. "Thank you so much."

He smiled and returned the hug. "Glad you like it."

"Here." She gave the necklace back to him. "Help me put it on." She turned and held up her mane for him to snap it around her neck. Once it was set, she turned to show off the piece of jewelry. "What do you think?"

"It looks good on you," said a different voice.

They both whirled, astonished smiles on their faces. "Tormod!"

The rust-colored unicorn approached them with a wide smile. "Tourmaline, Wanderer, good to—" That was as far as he got before his sister tackled him to the ground, hugging him tightly. Tears of joy ran down her face in rivers.

"Tormod, you came home! Why didn't you tell anypony you were coming home? When did you get here?"

He pushed his sister off of him so he could breathe. "Just an hour ago. The train ran late. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Wanderer helped his friend to his hooves, and took a good look at him. The unicorn was almost as tall as he and carried himself in a far more confident manner than he'd remembered. His burnt-orange mane was cropped short, as was the style of Canterlot.

Tourmaline gasped and pointed to her brother's flank. "Tormod, is that…"

The unicorn smiled and proudly showed off his now-adorned flank. "My cutie mark."

Wanderer saw that Tormod's cutie mark was a small circle-like device with a sequence of numbers and a small needle in its center.

"…What is it?" Wanderer asked, as he had never seen anything like it before.

"It is an astrolabe. It is a tool used for navigation, sea navigation to be exact."

"So that means…?" Tourmaline was just as confused as Wanderer.

"My cutie mark represents navigation. I guess all of the time I spent studying maps and the tools associated with them was my special talent all along." He smirked wanly. "Who could have known?"

Tourmaline looked at him curiously. "Wait, don't you have more school to go still? And why didn't you tell me you got your cutie mark!" Her eyes blazed in outrage at the last question.

The unicorn hunkered down at her rage. "I didn't say because I wanted to be there to see your face when you learned I earned my cutie mark. I didn't want you to find out by a piece of paper." He stood straighter as she calmed down. "It was something I wanted to share in pony. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

She tilted her head at him. "Does Dad know?"

Tormod nodded. "He does, but I asked him not to tell you." He looked at her with a soft expression. "I hope you're not mad at me, Tourmaline."

Tears welled in her eyes as she crushed her brother in a hug. "I'm not mad. I'm just so happy to see you home again." She looked at him again. "What about school? Do you have to go back?"

He shook his head. "I graduated a week ago." He smiled wider. "I'm home for good now."

The two crushed Tormod under a tight group hug, which he gladly returned. To say the other two were happy would have been an understatement.

"Come on, let's find our parents and celebrate!" Wanderer shouted with no small amount of joy.

The three were soon off, and the remainder of the night was full of reunions and warm memories. It was a night they would never forget, as the three friends were reunited once again.

-0-

It was a few days later when the three had gathered at Wanderer's home to discuss the future and what it could hold for them. For Wanderer, the thought of trying to find something more to do beyond the comfort of what he already knew in life was a disquieting thing. It wasn't that he didn't want to find a career—he just couldn't think of a career that he actually wanted to do.

"I guess we should get normal jobs," Tourmaline suggested.

Wanderer grumbled. "That sounds boring."

"Maybe so," Tormod said. "But we will have to find something to support ourselves now that we are finished with school. We can't live off our parents for the remainder of our lives."

Wanderer grudgingly nodded. "Yeah, but—"

"It's boring," the two deadpanned for him.

He looked between them. "Repeating myself?"

Tourmaline nodded. "A lot."

Wanderer sighed. "Sorry. At least you two can find good jobs with your talents. Me? What job can I find for somepony whose special talent is wandering?"

The two frowned softly. "Maybe you could become a sea captain?" Tourmaline offered, the light of the room reflecting off the opals of her necklace.

Wanderer shrugged, not too enthused by the idea.

Tormod gave him a knowing look. "Perhaps you need to think on it more. The answer will come to you."

Wanderer half shrugged, half nodded. "At least you could get hired by any company or merchant," he said to the unicorn. "Any of them would be glad to have a navigator with them."

The unicorn nodded. "Maybe."

"I could be an investigator, or even a scout for the guard. Maybe even the Royal Guard." She smiled. "That would be cool, being a Royal Guard."

"Because our previous encounters with them would not hold you back any," Tormod teased.

She glowered at him. "Shush."

The three of them sat quietly for a time, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Wanderer looked around the room, his mind a chaotic mess. He knew that the day would come where he would have to follow his destiny, but what sort of job was there for somepony whose talent was wandering? None that he knew of, and the realization frustrated him to no end.

Finally his eyes settled on his collection of Daring Do novels, and he smiled inwardly. Daring Do did a whole lot of things that he dreamt of doing. She didn't have a normal job like everypony else—well, that he knew of anyway. To be able to live freely and see the world for all of its glory. That would be a dream come true. A soft sigh escaped. If only he could be like Daring Do.

Why shouldn't he be like Daring Do? What if he had been wrong about his cutie mark all along? Could it be that his mark actually meant adventuring, rather than blind wandering? The night he had earned his cutie mark was a night of adventure and risk taking—not something born of idle wandering. The spyglass—maybe it meant looking for something beyond his sight and the thrill of finding it. This revelation was like a light in darkness. He could fulfill his colthood dream and be just like his heroine, Daring Do!

"I've got an idea!"

The two started at his sudden outburst. "What?" they asked in unison.

"I could be an adventurer! Just like Daring Do! What if my cutie mark is about adventuring, not wandering? It makes sense when you think about it. A spyglass is every adventurer's tool in looking ahead to their next destination."

Tormod furrowed his brow. "I suppose it could be, but what do you know about adventuring?"

Wanderer proudly pointed to his full collection of Daring Do novels. "All I need to know is in there."

The two looked at the collection of books before Tourmaline chuckled. "You think that's enough, Wanderer? Real adventures are not like what Daring Do goes through. Remember the timberwolves and Reaver?"

"I know that. I am not stupid enough to blindly follow the books. I remember everything that happened those days. Yes I was frightened, but… I felt alive." He looked at his forehooves thoughtfully. "I know that doesn't make sense, but… it is how I felt." He looked back at them, the resolve easy to see in his eyes. "I know this is right. I feel it in my gut. I was meant to be an adventurer."

Tourmaline watched her friend, and the energy he gave off by his words. To her, it truly seemed as if he was set on his idea. His wide smile and energetic eyes was enough to send her own thoughts down the same tracks. She had honestly thought of being an investigator or a guard, because she had felt… good when her life was on the line. She'd been afraid, but at the end of the day when she had made it home safely, she'd felt fantastic. Both of those jobs might have given her the same rush, but perhaps the life of an adventurer would give her that and the freedom to do as she wished that she wouldn't have as a guard.

"Yeah," she said, a slow smile crossing her face. "We could see the world and things that most ponies only dream of seeing. We might not get a steady paycheck, but I am sure we can find hidden or lost treasures to make up for it." She smiled cockily. "And I'll be the pony to find them."

Wanderer's smile grew as he found support from his friend. "Exactly! There are many unexplored areas all over Equestria, and we could be the first to explore them. We might even become as famous as Daring Do. Our names will go down in history."

"How do you intend to do that?" Tormod asked, playing Tartarus's advocate.

"If we were to find a lost civilization or some valuable artifacts, our names would be spoke across Equestria. They'll write books about our findings and adventures," Wanderer said.

Tormod looked between them. "You both know that we might not ever find anything, right?"

They both nodded firmly, their resolution fading none. "If there is anyone who can do it, other than Daring Do, it is us," Wanderer said confidently.

Finally, Tormod smiled. "It would be much more exciting than a ship navigator."

Their smiles only grew. "So that means—" his sister started.

"I am liking the idea as well. Besides, without me, the two of you would be lost the moment you were out of Greensborough."

"I would not!"

Tormod laughed at his sister's objection and nodded to Wanderer. "No, but he would."

"He would too," she remarked before Wanderer could object.

He thought to argue, but realized that they were likely right. Instead he settled on laughing to himself. "All right, it's settled. Adventurers?" He held out his hoof.

Tourmaline placed her hoof on top of his. "Adventurers. Just like when we were foals."

Tormod placed his hoof with theirs. "To a life of thrill and excitement."

-0-

From that day on, the three were committed to their lives as adventurers. At first their parents objected, but with the right wording, their parents finally gave their blessings. The three would go on to have other adventures around Equestria—most of them with nothing to show, but they occasionally found the rare venture that earned them a good sum of bits.

Despite it all, they hadn't made that one discovery that would put their names in the history books. Even so, they never once regretted their decision. They adventured as friends, and as friends they were happy.

It was only a few years after they had left home that they found themselves in the small town of New Hayshire along the southern border of Equestria. They had stopped for supplies for their next venture and entered an inn they'd rented a room at.

"Wanderer, I don't believe a word you're saying," Tourmaline grumbled, setting her bags next to a table in the inn's common room.

"It's a true story, I swear. That's how the zap apples were made," he argued as they took their seats at the table. A serving pony walked over and took their drink orders before he spoke again. "Why would I make something like that up?"

She glowered at him. "Because you're you."

"Hey!" he protested.

Tormod rolled his eyes. "All right, you two, don't make me separate you."

They turned their glares at him, but he didn't back down. "You both sound like foals arguing over something trival."

"Oh, hush," they said together.

Tormod chuckled and shook his head. "So where do we go from here? I haven't heard of anything else nearby to look into."

The two considered the question a moment, before Wanderer spoke. "Perhaps we can look into the Everfree Forest? You know, where the Elements of Harmony were found. Maybe there is something more to find there."

Tormod frowned. "The Everfree is a long train ride from here, and I don't think we have the bits to afford tickets."

"We could always walk," Wanderer suggested.

Tormod looked at him like he was insane. "Wanderer, that is weeks of travel by hoof. We would have to forage or graze for food by the time we get there."

Tourmaline toyed with her necklace and thanked the waitress when she brought them their drinks. "What about the Crystal Empire? We haven't been there yet, and I bet there are a lot of things to discover in the north."

Again, Tormod shook his head. "That is even further away, and the same reasons hold. We need to earn some more bits if we are to head to our next destination."

"We'd have more bits if somepony didn't buy so many jars of zap-apple jam for no good reason." She gave Wanderer a pointed glare.

He snorted. "If you'd try it, you'd see what I mean."

Her ears flattened at him in her annoyance. "You're so infuriating sometimes!"

He smiled cockily at her, to which she gave a withering stare.

Tormod sighed at their antics.. "Enough already, we need to think. Come on, what can we do to get our next break?"

As they discussed possible ideas for normal jobs, Wanderer found his thoughts drifting from the subject. His gaze settled to looking around the bustling inn as ponies enjoyed their meals from its kitchen. While he and his friends had done so before, working average jobs until they had money to move on again, he had never really cared about doing it. He did what he had to so that he could continue to follow his passion. He sighed inwardly—if only a lead would fall into his lap so they could continue on without having to resort to being busponies.

His ear twitched as he heard a pair talking with each other in the booth next to them. Having never learned his lesson as a colt, he turned an ear to eavesdrop.

"You really think there is anything out there?" one of the stallions asked his companion.

"There has to be. We see ponies go there all the time. There wouldn't be smoke without a fire, you know?"

"Yeah, but that jungle is something else. There's all sort of creatures in there that would gobble a pony up in nothing flat. I don't want to go in there."

"Neither do I, but still, it's the rumor that is going around these days."

Wanderer poked his head around the corner to look at the two. "Excuse me, what were you guys talking about?"

The two ponies regarded him warily. "About what?"

"About the jungle you were talking about. What's the rumor behind it?"

The two shared a look before one spoke to him. "It's nothing, just old mare's tales. Not something young foals need to worry about."

Wanderer smirked faintly. "How about a trade?" He reached into his bag and produced a jar of zap apple jam, before his companions could protest. "A jar of amazing zap apple jam, for an old mare's tale?"

The two's eyes lit up and one quickly snatched the jar from him. "Fine, we'll tell you. The jungle to the south is said to have ancient temples and other buildings of a lost civilization. A lot of ponies have gone in, but only a few of them ever returned. The thing is, some of the ponies that returned, came back with saddlebags of gold and gems. Now how can that be if there isn't some truth to the tales?"

"Saddlebags of gold and gems?" Wanderer asked, his eyes sparkling a bit.

"Yeah, we saw one pony enter town with them, and he said he found them in a ruin to the south. Might be some left still, but the monsters that live in that jungle are not worth the effort. Nothing is, if you ask me."

Wanderer smiled in excitement. "Thank you. Enjoy the jam."

The two snickered. "We will. Thanks, young stallion."

Wanderer looked back to his companions and found the two staring at him. Tourmaline in particular was glowering at him rather fiercely.

He smiled smugly at her. "Told you it was a good idea to buy the jam."

"I hate you sometimes."

His laughter erupted from deep down, and she found herself smiling along with him.

Tormod smiled faintly, rubbing at his chin. "Gold and gems, you say?"

Wanderer nodded. "That's what they told me. If true, we could be set for a while. If we do find a lost civilization, we could one day lead archeologists to it and get credited for its discovery." He smiled in excitement. "This could be our big chance."

Tourmaline shook her head helplessly, but smirked anyway. "I say we go for it."

Tormod nodded in agreement. "We really don't have much to lose."

Wanderer practically shook with excitement. "All right, come morning we head south. To the discovery of a lifetime!" He lifted up his glass in a toast that the other two eagerly joined in.

They had no idea what they were getting into. There was no way they could have known that their venture would cause a major shift in the balance of their world. It would be remembered as the day that harmony became undone.