Chapter 6

"Repeat after me, eram, eras, erat, eramus, eratis, erant." Crimson Forge said.

"Eram, eras, erat, eramus, eratis, erant." The mare six repeated.

"Bam, bas, bat, bamus, batis, bant."

"Bam, bas, bat, bamus, batis, bant."

"Good, you're all improving." Crimson complimented.

"Man, this Latin stuff is hard!" Pinkie Pie said aloud.

"Well, learning your language was hard for me as well. And if you want to get into Mount Apexia with ease, you're going to have to understand my language." Crimson responded as he stepped through some mud. Rarity followed along as she stepped in it. "Uh, gross!" she said. "Do we really have to walk through this?"

"If you want to keep going on this trail you're going to have to persevere. I told you at the beginning that this trip would be a bit unsanitary." Crimson replied. Rarity nodded and accepted the fact. Crimson stopped causing the others to do the same.

"Why have we stopped?" asked Fluttershy.

"Because we will need to set up camp," Crimson said.

"Already?" Rainbow Dash implied.

"Look up." Crimson responded. The others did. From what they could make out behind the dense vegetation of the forest that the sun had already set beyond the horizon.

"Well I'll be darned!" Applejack said aloud. 'Have we been hiking for that long?"

"Indeed."

"How is it that we've never realized that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Mindfulness my friends."

"But I thought that Mindfulness was all about being aware and such!" Twilight implied.

"Paradoxically so." The other ponies listened up. What in Equestria did Crimson Forge mean by "Paradoxically so?"

"Mindfulness can be both being aware and letting your mind wander about. But both have to do with the concept of acceptance, which is what I am going to teach you as we set up camp."

"Well, now that I think about it, my hooves are killing me so yeah, let's just set up camp." Rainbow Dash said as she took off her backpack. Crimson walked over to her. "Did you pack up everything I wrote in the list I handed to you earlier today?"

"Sure thing, but why did you asks us to pack up so little? I mean all that you asked us to pack was a sleeping bag, some granola, a bag of grain seeds per pony, a toothbrush, a coat, and some other small materials?" she asked.

"Like I told you, this is going to be a long hike, and so for you to conserve energy for hiking. Plus I can help you grow some grains overnight with those seeds you brought."

"How's that possible?" asked Twilight.

"Though alchemy."

"Now that you mention it, I am interested, what is alchemy?'

"It is the process of transformation of materials through magic and science."

"Science?"

"Science by definition means trying to understand the world around us. Back before I was born at Mount Apexia, there used to be conflict between sides on what to put their dependency of life in, science or magic. It almost led to another war."

"That's horrible!" Fluttershy said.

"I know. But overtime, there came a peace in between sides. Eventually magic and science came together to form the art of alchemy. That is how we have come so far in technology and living."

"So how can your alchemy make our grain grow overnight?"

"That's the beauty of alchemy my friends." Crimson implied. "Now we need to find a space for our hay to grow."

"Ooh! Ooh! I found one!" Pinkie Pie said. Crimson walked over there.

"That won't do." he said. "Even though the soil is rich with nutrients, this forest is savage. Weeds will grow over our grain. We need someplace dry."

"Will this do?" Applejack said from a distance. Crimson came over to where she was.

"Awesome. This will do just fine. Would you help me sow these seeds into the ground?"

"Sure thing partner!" Applejack said as Crimson threw a piece of paper to Rarity. "Rarity, would you kindly follow these instructions and set up the rope for the tarp that I have in my backpack? Don't worry, there in your language."

"Since you asked politely, I would be morally obliged to do so." Rarity responded. "Are you sure we will all fit underneath it?"

"Yes. Spike, can you start a fire?"

"Uh, well I never have to be honest. I only have magic breath that doesn't do much."

"Really? Well, now that you've grown up some, the platinum in your lungs should be developed enough to combust a spark which in turn create an actual fire." Spike was dumbfounded. "How do you know all of this?" he asked. Crimson smiled. "I studied the dragon anatomy in my school years." Spike shrugged his shoulders as he walked off to get some wood. As he did, Applejack helped Crimson place the last of the grain seeds. "So that alchemy you were talking about again…"

"Of course." Crimson said as he took a couple of stones and herbs out of his backpack, crushed them, and placed them into a jar of water he carried, just as Spike came back with some wood as Crimson noticed. "Perfect timing Spike! I need a fire to do my alchemy. Give it a shot!"

"Alright." Spike said as he put the wood into place and prepared to breathe fire. At first he wasn't sure if it would work. He knew how to breathe his magic breath, but actual fire? All he could feel was that he was sick in his stomach. That sick feeling started to build up. But then he thought, was it really in his stomach? No, this sensation was different, much different. It didn't feel like a sock feeling at all, but a burning feeling, as if he wanted to light the entire forest on fire. Then with a loud roar flames shot from his mouth and landed on the wood which immediately began to burn. Spike covered his mouth in amazement. Twilight who was helping unpack turned her head to the stop where Spike made a new discovery. "Spike! Did you do that?" she asked. Spike nodded speechless. The others came to him and started to congratulate him in his new achievement, Crimson being the last of them bringing along his jar. "Stand back." he announced as he placed the jar onto the fire. The others seemed unimpressed , but then after a couple of seconds, the water suddenly changed color. The jar seemed to develop a life of its own as the water began to boil. Crimson closed his eyes and began to recite a spell. As his horn began to glow, the water almost seemed to evaporate from the jar, but then was controlled by Crimson's magic. He directed it towards the spot where he and Applejack sowed in the grain seeds. The vapor stopped directly above, then it began to thunder. Thunder? Yes, for when the eyes of the ponies blinked once more, the vapor turned from purple to gray as it took the formation of a raincloud. An intense light shot from below it and beamed down on the seeds before water started dripping from the vapor.

"Is that a miniature rain cloud?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Indeed." Crimson responded.

"That is so way 20% cool!" Rainbow said back. Crimson smiled as he continued, "The rays coming from the vapor which I created will exponentially increase the cycle of photosynthesis for the seeds while the water, being more rich in nutrients than normal will help the seeds grow overnight. And guess what? They'll still taste like fully grown oats."

"Man. This is a lot of stuff to comprehend!" Spike said.

"That's alchemy my friends. Study and work hard long enough and eventually you'd get the hang of it." he said as he began to walk off. "Where are you going?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Fetching for more food!" he responded as he walked off into the forest. After a while, the rest of the ponies sat around the campfire. All expect for Rarity, who was still deciding the right stop to put up the tarp. "No no no that won't do. No, absolutely not." she muttered to herself. Applejack sighed and offered to help out pick a spot. Meanwhile, the others were chatting about the likes of Crimson Forge.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I mean, what if he has something else going on that he might lead us to? Plus, I am not sure he knows the right way."

"We have to trust him." Twilight responded. "Why else would Celestia accept his request on his journey unless something was really wrong?"

"I have to agree on that one." Spike intervened. "Speaking of which, what's taking him so long?"

"Nothing!" came out a voice. It was that of Crimson who seemed to be carrying a stick over his back. Twilight was about to ask what was on the stick until what they saw made everypony gasp in fear. Two dead bunnies hanged tail first from either end of the stick. Their eyes were frozen in fear. Their white cur coats stained in dried blood. Fluttershy being an animal over could not bear to see what was on Crimson's shoulders. She could barely speak as she muttered, "B…but…but why? Why would you do this?"

"What do you mean?" Crimson asked. Just then, his eyes widened as a realization came of him. "Oh, oh no. That's right. I forgot. I just completely…" he was cut off when Fluttershy burst into tears. Crimson tried to get her to listen. "Fluttershy, listen alright? Listen. I am so sorry I forgot all about your relationship with animals. Just please…" he was cut off again when Fluttershy let out an unusual rage inside of her by shouting, "Why should I listen to you when all you do is kill innocent little animals?! You…you barbarian!" She then ran off into the woods.

"Fluttershy!" Crimson shouted as the other ponies started to gang up on Crimson. "I'll ask this again…just who in Equestria do you think you are?!" Rarity blurted out.

"Look what you've done to Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie said. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"I agree!" Rainbow Dash entered. "You barbarian!" Crimson's eye twitched at the remark as Rainbow continued. "You…you sick ugly nasty barba…" All of a sudden. Crimson leapt forward and brought Rainbow Dash to her knees. Crimson raised his claw as if he was about to slash her as he said in a hostile tone, "You call me and my ways barbaric one more time and I swear upon the name of my ancestors I'll…!" Crimson paused even though Rainbow could feel his breath upon her face. Crimson's eyes widened again, looked at his claw as if he were carefully examining it. After a pause he immediately drew back. "I'm…I'm so sorry." he said. "It's just…I haven't' given myself into anger for a long time." He started to walk towards the edge of their camp area. "Please forgive me!" he announced as he trotted off into the woods in search of Fluttershy. Through the forest he had been through before, he felt a fear unlike any other. This was unusual for him. Because he never feared what he had been through a second time. No, no this fear wasn't from the forest. It was the fear of losing Fluttershy. "Fluttershy!" he yelled out as he summoned fire from his horn for a flashlight. No response came to him. "Fluttershy!" Still no response. After a few minutes he heard a familiar sound. He followed the voice over to where she was. Still crying like a child, partly because she was. "Fluttershy?" he said. Fluttershy just kept motionless. Crimson just sat where she was and waited. It might have been minutes, maybe an hour or two before Fluttershy brought herself together. Crimson apologized once she did. He at first expected to her nothing from her mouth. But then she spoke, "That's okay. I guess." Fluttershy responded. Crimson was surprised. "Really?" he responded.

"Yes. You know, when I was crying I just began thinking that all would be…you know death and despair. But then I remember you telling me about mindfulness, recognizing what was in front of you, as well as inside you. Then I realized something else."

"What is it?" Crimson asked.

"I don't know exactly what is was, but I sort of had this rigid thinking while I was upset."

"Well, the mere fact that you recognize this is great news. It's called black and white thinking. When you only think of things from one side or the other, it does seem like a struggle. But as my mother used to say to me, "Try to see life in color."

"Like Rainbow Dash right?"

"You could put it that way." said Crimson.

"But, why did you kill those bunnie rabbits?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'll explain it when we get back to camp." Crimson said as he looked up. It was past evening. "C'mon. Let's go back to camp." he said. Fluttershy nodded her head. As they walked back to camp, Crimson saw the group standing in a circle, looking directly at him. Except for Applejack, who was digging a small grave for the rabbits. Crimson asked, "Anything you want to say?" Twilight nodded.

"Yes. Were, sort of sorry we reacted that way to you." she said. Crimson was surprised as he spoke, "You apologized to me that quickly?"

"Yes. We tried using that…mindfulness method of yours. We couldn't like obtain our…what's it called?" Twilight paused.

"Your elemental potential?"

"Yes, that's it. We couldn't reach it, but we practiced it the best we can. Once we did, we realized that we sort of reacted too quickly. After all, we couldn't just gripe over what you've done. Which reminds me, why did you kill those bunnies?" Crimson sighed. He knew that it would be hard for the rest of the ponies to hear, especially since they came from a different place. "Look, there's something you need to know. Something about this world that you are entering." he said. The ponies listened up. "For your safety, mentally and physically. This world, can be an unforgiving place. But, you still need to have faith and perseverance if you're going to survive. As your new teacher, that is what I humbly ask of you." The ponies did nothing as their faces started to look a bit sad as Crimson continued. "Perseverance, means to push through and keep pushing through. It means to never give up until you've finished what you have started. It is what all of you need, if you are going to make it through this journey. This world can be a dishonest, selfish, betraying, sad, unkind, and unmagical place. But acceptance as well as perseverance is what will get you through. Am I clear?" The ponies just nodded their heads. They understood that they needed to hear this or they wouldn't know any better.

"Alright then, about the bunnies." Crimson continued. "You see, even though ponies like us are plant eaters or herbivores as we call them, Spike is an omnivore."

"Let me see if I can decipher it from the Latin you've taught us so far…" Rarity said as she stood in thought. Then she hit on something. "All eating?"

"Right you are." Crimson responded. "Spike is a dragon. And dragons are mostly meat eaters, but they do sometimes eat plants. So killing those two rabbits were for Spike." Spike's raised at that remark. "Speaking of which, how long has he been small?" Twilight thought for a minute and then spoke, "A couple of years, give or take."

"Has he been eating some meat?'

"No. Mostly plants or baked goods."

"Well, that explains it. Dragons in order for them to grow need a certain something inside food called protein. It's what gives a dragon his energy, while oats, peanuts, and other plants give ponies their protein. So in order for Spike to get stronger and grow faster, he needs protein and plenty of it. That's why I killed those two bunnies for him to eat." The others nodded their heads.

"Can I jus' speak about this? I don't want to be rude or anythin' but…" Applejack said.

"As long as you are not rude, be my guest." Crimson said back.

"I know that Spike needs his protein and whatnot, but can he get it from something else other than rabbits. It's just that…" Applejack sputtered. "It's just not in our blood to do that such a thing where we come from."

"I understand." Crimson said. He turned around and stood in thought. He was thinking of other ways to get Spike the nutrients his needs. He turned back around. "Do you fish?"

"Yes, but we tend to release the fish." Applejack responded.

"Well, this time we are going to have to kill them. But before you make any assumptions, let me tell you fish are more abundant than rabbits, plus they have more protein than rabbits."

"Well, I'm against any killing." Rainbow Dash said in an uncertain tone, "But if I had to, I'd rather kill a slimy fish than a kind land animal. I guess I can handle that."

"Can the rest of you handle that?" Crimson asked. The rest remembered the concept of acceptance that Crimson taught them on their hike here. They, nodded their heads in silence. "Spike. Can you eat these. If you want to I can teach you how to cook them."

"No thanks. I'd rather just eat a small amount."

"Alright, there is a stream nearby. I can catch some fish there, smoke them and then preserve some for the rest of the journey. In the meantime, I would appreciate if you would meditate while I'm gone." Crimson said as he began to walk with some string and his stick only to be stopped by Rainbow Dash who spoke, "What for?"

"Training of course." Crimson replied as he walked off.

"Better do as he says I guess." Twilight remarked as she sat down near the fire. The others at first reluctant but then content soon joined in. Crimson came back a while later with a few fishes, surprised to see that the others were still meditating. But then he realized something else when some drool came from their mouths. Crimson did a facehoof. It never fails. He thought. From what I've seen, this almost always happens when others give meditating a first time. He suddenly then whistled loudly, which made everypony jump, Rainbow Dash was so startled that before she knew it, the found herself in an awkward defense position.

"I reckon you all had a nice meditation?" Crimson said.

"Uh…yeah. We did! It was awesome! We…we…" Rainbow Dash sputtered before she stopped. What was the used of lying? Crimson obviously knew what happened to them.

"Don't worry. It happens to all of us." Crimson replied as he unhooked one of the fishes from the stick and put in on a flat rock. Before the other's knew, he took out a knife.

"What are you doing?" Pinkie Pie asked in a nervous tone.

"Uh, yeah. Listen," announced Crimson. "If you are easily squeamish at this stuff you might want to turn away your heads."

"But what are you going to do?" Pinkie Pie asked again.

"So, basically, I am going to…I don't know any other way to put this, but I going to cut the fish open and clean it with my water bottle." Crimson responded as he placed the knife near the throat of the fish. That was a sign for the others to turn their heads away. All they heard from behind them was the swift movement of a blade as cut through it's target, and hit the rock. The next thing they heard was water pouring on something that sounded squishy. "Okay you can turn around now." said Cimson. As the other's did, they were surprised to see that what remained of the fish was an orange-pinkish piece. "Is…is that fish?" asked Fluttershy.

"It is." Crimson responded. Rainbow Dash started to snicker. "It looks more like one of rarity's clothing dyed in grapefruit juice!" she said aloud.

"You could look at it like that." Crimson implied as he cut the fish in half and threw half of it at Spike. "Here you eat this."

"Uhh, I thought we weren't supposed to eat stuff raw." he said.

"Don't worry. Unlike other animals, fish can be eaten both raw and cooked. Most dragons back where I'm from love it raw. Give it a try!" Crimson remarked before he saw a lump in Spike's throat. The not-so-little-anymore dragon slowly put the fish to his nose and sniffed. After that, he took a bite. Chew after chew, his eyes widen as he made some positive moaning sounds before he swallowed it. Before he knew it, he ate the entire thing. "This is delicious!" he said aloud. "Why didn't I know about this stuff beforehand?"

"The world you live in." Crimson replied.

"Small world."

"Indeed. I'll smoke the rest of the fish tomorrow morning while we make breakfast. Rarity, is the tarp all set up?"

"It sure is!" Rarity replied.

"Great. Let's get some rest, we're going to regain our strength for tomorrow's hike." Crimson said. As we walked over to his backpack to get his sleeping bag, he began to feel a certain doubt inside him. He never has been a teacher before, even though he has been training his life for this moment. As he crawled under the tarp along with the other ponies, he couldn't help but to feel thankful. He never felt so humble in his life. Perhaps because the other ponies understood why he killed those rabbits. But he was also glad Applejack dug a grave for them. She was the most content out of all of them when that event happened. When they woke up the next morning, the others were surprised to see that not only has the miniature rain cloud vanished, but where is used to be there was now grain that had taken its place, and plenty of it! After breakfast, Crimson asked why Applejack was the most content out of all the ponies when he killed the rabbits. He was pleased with her response, "Well, they're dead. Ya can't do anythin' to bring em' back right? I mean, their souls are livin' happily in the afterlife, their bodies are another story." He couldn't help but agree.