"You're thinking you found an old artifact?" Twilight asked, cocking her head slightly to one side.

"Yeah." Mac replied, nodding. He handed her a paper upon which he'd written a general description and sketched it.

"Woah..." She muttered quietly, looking over the sheet quickly. "So where is it?"

"Well that's the thing." He said, sitting down in one of her armchairs and cringing as it creaked, sounding like it was about to break. He wasn't the only stallion this big, and he sort of wished they made them a little stronger nowadays. "We're just pretty sure somepony or somethin' is using that. We felt it in the Everfree."

"Who's we?"

"Zecora and Ah." He replied. "It lasted a couple minutes and then faded. Zecora's idea was that it was a test, unfocused. That was why Ah was the only one that could feel it ta such a degree. But in practice it could theoretically be used on anypony, though the spell is harder fer unicorns and pegasi to break. That's what we're thinkin' anyway. It could just be how it is, doin' that stuff by itself."

"Wait, what about the different types of ponies, what did you mean by that?"

He was divulging a little more information here than he had wanted to. "Zecora said that earth ponies can just be more sensitive to that sort of thing." He replied.

"Okay, I guess I'll take her word for it." She replied, looking surprised. Mac had expected the mare to know at least an inkling of that. "That zebra had a grasp on magic, so I suppose anything's possible. But outside of a few exceptions, you ponies have really only been reported to be good with plants."

"Ah'm just reiteratin'." He replied, not eager to share every detail when he himself didn't even know how it worked. It was on his to-do list to figure that whole thing out anyway. If he was one of the special ones or just a pony that had learned a little more than others, he wanted to know which one it was. But it fit that the earth pony part of him was responsible. BonBon had said that he was a quick learner, but he had assumed that was just because he worked hard. "Anyway," he snapped out of his thoughts, "Ah would appreciate it if ya'll looked into it."

"Well, Princess Luna said that she was investigating something strange in the Everfree, so that may have been the same thing. I would consider that resolved if I were you. If whatever it is you felt isn't what she's after, I'm sure she'll feel it and seek it out as well."

"You're probably right. But forward that onto them in case they don't know what they're dealing with."

"Alright, Mac, if you insist." She chuckled, gesturing for Spike to make his way over. "But seriously, I think Luna can handle it."

Luna stared across a small clearing at a large brown unicorn, her hooves frozen to the ground. The pony was just standing there, staring at her, but she couldn't get up the courage to move. Pure fear had taken over her mind, yet it was serene in its influence. Placid and calm, not overbearing yet unmoving. Just like her.

"Princess Luna." He said, stepping closer. His face never deviated from a neutral expression. Her eyes followed him, noticing a metal armor piece he wore around his foreleg. Immediately she knew it was the source of her fear, but she didn't know how to stop it. It was just so out of place with what she could swear was a light glow coming off of it. "How's life treated you?"

She had a snarky comment all ready, but she didn't manage to open her mouth to respond.

"Yeah, yeah, same here." He responded after a few moments of her silence. "I do quite enjoy nature and living out here." He paused. "I like this thing." He said, holding it out for her to see. The artifact Twilight's letter had described. That absolutely had to be it. Luna took a step back. "I found it the other day. Or, should I say, it found me. A real pain in the ass though, this thing. Tell me, do you know what it is?"

Silence.

"Go on, tell me." The armor piece glowed brighter, and Luna gasped quietly.

"No." She responded quickly.

"Interesting." He mulled the thought over for a few seconds, before the sounds of wing flaps pulled him from his thoughts. "Celestia, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He was shoved backwards harshly, Celestia's spell fading immediately as soon as her hooves hit the ground. So it needed the earth to work, then. Or maybe that was the strongest and therefore the only way he attempted it? Luna stuffed that knowledge and the questions that came with it into the back of her brain for later.

So she'd gotten Luna's message then, just before she had ended up in this mess. And now they were both trapped, great. Beads of sweat appeared on the pony's forehead, the energy needed to keep them both under his spell apparently not as small as he expected. But it let her know that the thing didn't supply all of the energy. "So we're going to cut this short." He said. "I guess I don't have to worry about either of you imminently interrupting things." The unicorn shook his head, looking a mixture of fatigued and relieved. "You don't know what this is about anyway. But it's irrelevant right now. Strike this down in whatever way you choose," he began, pointing to the relic, "but I'll have something stronger." He swallowed hard, his demeanor not as bulletproof as he probably would have hoped. There was something weird about this guy that Luna couldn't quite put her hoof on.

An eyebrow inside Luna's mind rose. His lack of confidence was telling of his inexperience, but in a way that made her a little worried. He wasn't confident like a stereotypical bad guy, more like one that had done his research and had considered all the possible issues with his plan. There was no bragging or boasting to it, almost like he was talking to them. Tired, for sure. He seemed very notably normal. Maybe this was his one hurrah, his perfectly planned crime before he rejoined the civilian populace as if nothing had happened. Pushed towards this by something that had happened years ago.

"But in a way this amuses me." He said, rubbing his head tiredly. "I didn't want to use this at all. I don't like it, or the way it talks to me. If you weren't investigating I would've avoided all this. I would rather be doing anything else right now, to be honest."

"What do you want?" Celestia asked, her voice strained. The spell was either degrading or he'd let it work at partial functionality to save energy.

"Revenge." He said. "I wouldn't be able to use this thing otherwise. But that's beside the point." Still no conviction in his voice. The anger of his plots had faded long ago, replaced by fatigue and nervousness. It wasn't really befitting of someone in his position.

Luna felt anger grow within her, but suppressed it. It almost felt foreign, a stark contrast to her normally calm demeanor even in the face of great adversity. She regarded that as one of her greatest strengths, and now it faded in the face of so much rage...

"You should be happy I have a plan, though. I don't want to take power, I don't even want to kill you."

A demigod, held motionless by someone like this? Embarrassing. A voice inside Luna's head pointed out. It riled her up more than she'd care to admit, though she wasn't sure why. He wants revenge, but he's stupid. He'll get us both killed. That had to be the thing he had communicating with her. There was nothing else that could explain it. Why would it act like it was undermining its master?

"But look, I don't want to say it's not personal, because it's super personal. And that's clichéd anyway. But look, I'll just get this thing to make you forget you were here and that'll resolve that. Fear's pretty strong, apparently." His voice lowered. "Of course it is, I know first hand." He stared at Celestia. "You made sure of that." Tendrils of fear snaked their way into Luna's mind. Her memories were clouding with despair, dread, every bad emotion she could think of. Blocking themselves off. But just as she started to forget their conversation, the tendrils faded away.

The spell over Luna broke suddenly and the pony started, beads of sweat running down his forehead. Magic was already flying at him, clipping the arm with the vambrace. It popped off, bouncing several feet away. He stared at it, then her. They both knew there was no way he could get it and expect to escape, not unless he had another trick up his sleeve. A few seconds passed before he sighed in defeat, cut his losses and teleported away. Luna sighed, unhappy that they were dealing with an enemy that was adept in magic by himself to a large enough extent to teleport.

Do not forget the opportunity I've awarded you today. The voice said, disappearing like a gust of wind. It sounded as if the pony allowed the thing to operate, the voice becoming quieter and weaker towards the end of the phrase. But he'd also said that the relic had found him, not the other way around.

"Tia!" Luna exclaimed when she saw the state of her sister, trotting over and waving a hoof in front of her emotionless eyes. She threw a couple hard punches into her shoulder, trying to get her to respond. After the sixth or seventh, by which point she was getting desperate, Celestia turned to face her.

"Luna, you're hurting me." She said, irritated.

"You weren't responding." The dark blue alicorn responded. "I thought you were hurt."

"As if a few timberwolves could hurt me, sister."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Celestia stuck a hoof in front of Luna's face, moving it back and forth. Luna followed it with her eyes, unsure of what to make of her sister's movements. "You don't seem to have a concussion. That's good."

"I didn't hit my head." She said, deadpan. "Surely you remember what happened?"

"Yes, sister. We came out here to assess the state of things in the Everfree. Upon seeing that it was due to that artifact and sensing nothing else out of the ordinary, we attempted to return. A branch fell on you, and I grabbed it just before it hit you on the head. However, I was unable to slow its momentum to a stop with the lack of time and concentration that I had. You passed out, and woke up after a few timberwolves showed up to investigate the noise. You know how they like dead and dying wood. Then I scattered their sticks so they didn't come back. Now here we are, slightly sweaty, but intact.

Luna decided to let the matter drop for the time being, making herself intent on thinking about what she had seen, trying to solidify her memory in case that thing decided it wasn't done. It's true that it could have been what Tia said. Could, only because it covered all the bases. But that seemed far-fetched, and she wasn't about to assume that her version wasn't the right one. It was far too continuous for her to see any outright problem with it. There was a definite broken branch laying on the ground behind her sister, though. That was what worried her.

Then again, the guy had said he would erase their memories of their encounter, and her head didn't really hurt. She had a bit of a headache, but she'd had that all day. If Tia didn't remember it, then it had worked as intended. But she was unaffected, that voice in her head sparing her. Why, though? Did it expect her to enact revenge? If it lent itself only to those seeking revenge, did that mean it caused them to seek it on occasion and made itself usable?

And how powerful was that thing, to be able to mess around with the mind of one of the most powerful beings they could muster?

Celestia moved over to the vambrace, picking it up with a hoof before Luna could protest. "Sister, put that down!" She half expected the princess to burst into flames and start wreaking havoc on the nearby townsponies, but nothing happened. Maybe it was all just mind games by that mystery pony? Or maybe Celestia just didn't want revenge, so it was mundane. Luna'd figured that those not wanting revenge would be barred from touching it, but barred only from its power made more sense.

"Do not worry, sister, I'll put this into a secure place once my student is able to study it. You know how she is; I'd rather she looked at it now than later."

Luna just raised an eyebrow, still very much unsure of her sister. Celestia took off, and Luna followed. Whatever happened, she'd be on the lookout for anything strange out here. This didn't feel like it was over in the slightest. In fact, she knew it wasn't.

Mac held a potted plant in his hooves in his bedroom, staring at it just as he had for the last hour and a half. He had surrounded himself with them, trying to figure out if he could break the code that was everything Zecora had said. He knew for a fact that the cactus he had to his right side needed water. He knew it would be beyond help in three weeks, and that if it were healthy it would bloom in two. He didn't know how he knew those things, but over the long period of time he was sitting here, those facts had steadily just come to him.

He was staring this plant in particular because he had bought it from the market in a hurry before getting the hell out of town, and knew very little about it. He got closer, squinting his eyes and concentrating. There were a lot of things he could assume about the plant, like that the dry soil could imply a need for water on such a water-demanding plant, and the leaves looked like they lacked nutrients. But he didn't know.

A knock came at the door and Mac jumped, falling backwards onto the bed with his heart in his throat. He'd been so deep in concentration that he'd really not been ready for any sort of distraction. He was a little embarrassed, though, letting himself spook that easily. But before he heard the pony on the other side of the door speak up, he knew who they were. He knew that the plant had been watered a week ago. He knew that there was a bird on the roof, about the size of a finch, pecking at a fallen nut.

He let his head fall back against the sheets, sighing. "Come in," he responded to Applejack's announcement as she made it a moment later. His senses were fading inwards, the bird disappearing from his mind, followed by Applejack and the plants in the room a few seconds later. So he needed to either be on adrenaline the whole time or figure it out with a little more thought.

"How's it going?" She sniffed the air. "How come you smell like perfume?"

"Zecora had some, and I needed to go tell Twilight about a weird thing in the Everfree. I have a lot more excuses for smelling like perfume than heat."

Applejack sat down on his bed, looking over at him. "Anything to report?"

He shrugged, sitting back up and sliding backwards against the wall to face her. "Zecora thinks its some old relic or whatever. It's supposed to make ponies afraid above all else. Ah felt it, it's like ya can't even move. Ah can't imagine what it's like if it's focused on ya."

"So ya have it then?"

He chuckled. "Twilight asked me the same question. No, we don't. We're worried about who does." He paused. "And Ah want ya to be on the lookout for weird things. It could be nothin', but in case it isn't... Just- don't go off on your own if ya can't help it."

There was a moment of silence. "Ah'm sure Twilight can take care of it."

"Yeah, apparently the princess is involved too, which doesn't really make me feel better. Ah mean if it's that pressing..."

"It must be bad." Applejack finished. They both lapsed into thought. Minutes passed. "So what about these plants?"

"It's a long story." He confessed, shaking his head.

"Well Ah have time." Applejack responded, rolling onto her side and curling her hooves against her chest. "So shoot."

"Um..." He realized a lot of information would come out if he told her the whole truth. But Applejack was the element of honesty, and if she said she'd keep something secret, she would. To her it was a loophole and it didn't break any moral standard so long as nopony was getting hurt, as she'd worded it. "Close that door."

She got up and closed it wordlessly, returning to her previous position. "Ya got a bombshell?"

"A little." He said. "But Ah'll give ya the short version, on the promise that ya never tell anypony."

"Of course."

"Good. Basically, BonBon taught me how to pick out changelings. Ah still need to focus on it a little, but Ah can do it without much trouble. She-"

"How'd she know how to do that?" Applejack asked, "How'd you even test something like that?"

"Well, she's a changeling, so- Shh!" Whatever thing she was going to say back to him, she stopped. "The changelings in Canterlot are associated with Chrysalis, as Ah'm sure you know. But BonBon is associated with another variety, called the Nomads. They create characters around themselves and become new ponies, as contrary to Chrysalis's changelings impersonating ponies. So when she came into town years ago, you'll find that there was no BonBon in town already, or anywhere. Well, maybe there's another BonBon somewhere, but you know what I mean. There are others like her, but Ah'm not giving you that information. They want as few to know as possible, and the only reason Ah know is in case Ah can vouch for them. In the current state of things though, it's unlikely Ah'd be able to help."

"How do ya know they aren't affiliated? They are pretty good at disguise. It's like, their thing."

"Well, yeah, but what's their plan then? BonBon's lived here for years, been mah friend since long before the Canterlot invasion, and continued ta be after. She has a coltfriend that she loves and is presumably the most full changeling for miles. Ah know Ah wouldn't give that up fer anythin'. Ah mean, she's getting what she wants, why change that?"

Applejack mulled over his words in her head before nodding. He could tell she wasn't having an easy time accepting what he was saying. "Fine."

"Anyway, she tried to teach me, not knowing if it would work, but it did. Took like a month too. Zecora tells me that such a thing wouldn't work with a unicorn or a pegasus. That what we feel as earth ponies, the plants and life around us, is what allows us to grow them so effectively. We sense it like pegasi sense weather. Then that thing happened and Ah had to break myself out of that spell, but long story short now Ah'm here trying to sense these plants. When you scared me half to death opening that door Ah got it to work with you, these plants, and a bird on the roof."

Applejack stared. "Yer pullin' mah leg."

"No." Mac replied, dead serious. "And after you, I'm going to tell Dash. This is not something I'm allowed to keep secret anymore, not when you may be in danger."

"Okay, well pardon me, Mac, but how do you expect to improve your ability to fight by sensin' plants?"

"Sensin' things in general, Applejack." Man, he did sound like a weirdo. "If Ah can react to things Ah can't see, that'd be better, right?" He sighed. "Look, Ah'm not takin' this thing in the forest well, and Ah can tell you're about to write me off, but Ah just- If it's anything like what Ah felt, Ah don't want to be caught unprepared."

"Ah suppose Ah can understand that." A long pause ensued. "What about yer heat?" He regarded her change in subject with slight skepticism, making an annoyed face at her. She shrugged, and he sighed.

"Ta be honest, it's probably making mah worrying worse, with all the hormones or something. It's not that bad today, but Ah'm a little preoccupied with life at the moment. It's definitely surging, and Ah'm gonna be back to a mess tonight Ah'm sure. Ah'm already halfway there."

"Ya sounded like you were having fun though." Applejack grinned, winking at him. Presumably trying to put him in a good mood. He couldn't be sure if she was worried about his state of mind or the details of what he was saying. "Ah'm glad, you deserve it after all these years. A mare that loves ya for who ya are, and apparently knows which buttons to press."

"What'd ya hear?" He asked, feeling chills move down his back. Not too much, he hoped. He didn't regret anything they did, but he didn't want it to be public knowledge. Especially not the stuff last night where he'd been... receiving. Mac had enjoyed the experience and the never-ending intimacy that Dash seemed to be able to create whenever they were together. She had been so caring, looked so completely annoyed and saddened when she'd hurt him... He just knew she cared.

"Yer fun early this morning." She laughed. "There's a big hole in the side of the barn, ya know. Sound goes everywhere. Dash is quieter than Ah thought, though. You guys had a nice duet going on, it meshed well."

By now Mac's face was a deep shade of red. Maybe she was just aiming for embarrassment. "It makes heat a lot easier, havin' somepony. Like beyond the physical. Ah just have somepony that's there for me. Not that ya weren't, but ya know."

Applejack nodded, grinning. "Maybe Ah'll have to find myself a nice stallion, seeing as this relationship thing's working out so well for ya."

"Once this thing's over." Mac reminded. "But yeah. Ah'm sure if he tells the truth to ya for a while yer gonna have to marry him. Bet that's a big turn on."

She tapped her chin, chuckling. "Maybe. But Ah want somepony responsible, but who knows how to have fun on weekends. He wouldn't need to be a muscular giant, but Ah wouldn't want a fatty."

Mac chuckled. "Very direct. To the point. Ah could see you making a business card out uh that."

"Well what'd ya see in Dash then, Mr. Judgemental? Hmm?"

"Ah'm pretty sure you've heard some of this before, but here goes." He cleared his throat. Applejack rolled her eyes, and he chuckled. "She's smart. Absolute, complete requirement that any mare Ah'd have any interest in needs ta be intelligent. Ah don't know how Ah'd get along with a stupid one, and Ah don't want stupid kids." Applejack laughed. "Anyway, she's athletic. Ah will confess that sometimes a curvy mare does catch my fancy, but I enjoy her body type for a much wider range of things. For one, it means we like some of the same things. And there's something about her in motion, really using the strength she's built up, that get's me goin'. Then there's her personality. Funny, always a plus, gets sarcasm. Tenacious and determined but honest and nice." He shook his head. "But Ah'm probably biased."

"You set the bar high for the next mare." Applejack pointed out, looking impressed at his lengthy list.

"Ah suppose. Ah hope she's the one, because Ah have no idea how Ah'd find another one like her. Ah think Ah'd have to end up settlin' for less."

"Ya know, if Dash was the changeling instead of BonBon, Ah think she'd be losing that trim shape right quick with all the love."

"Ya know, Ah'll have to ask her how extra love manifests itself." He paused. "Oh! Look at these!" He fetched the shoebox from under his bed, pulling the tin he kept his petals in. "The Nomads have a thing where if you help them out, they'll return the favor with one of these. It's like super powers in a petal, according to Zecora. Ah'm talking magic, and knowing how to use it all in one package. These are here just in case."

"Well you know, we do have a few stumps that need removin'..."

Mac chuckled. "To be honest, Ah don't know how strong they are. Ah assume they vary. BonBon gave me one she said would only work for me, in case something happened. That's probably really powerful, but Ah hope Ah'll never need to use it."

"Ooh, just get yerself some wings and you'll be an alicorn, magic boy."

He briefly thought of the fake wings potion Zecora had given him. One day he'd have to remember to ask if it was really just a joke. "Ah guess. Any plans for the day?" He asked.

"Ah might buck a few more apples, but Ah dunno. Ah could also just wait until the end of the week when yer back at it, so Ah have somepony ta talk to. Yer stickin' around for that, at least?" She jibed. "Because if ya wanna spend some time with yer ol' sis, Ah'd be down."

"Are you lonely?" He asked, feeling a little bad. Here he was, talking about Dash and doing everything with her and he'd hardly thought about Applejack. "You're right to be, Ah suppose. Ah'm not around here enough." He paused. "After my heat, we'll do that. The movies, I mean. We'll get Applebloom and go to something too violent for her age, maybe bring her friends if we're feeling patient."

"Maybe they'll find one of their cutie marks."

Mac grinned. "We were like that though, once. Trying all those stupid things. A cutie mark is as much a coming of age story as anything else. Not because they happen to do the task but because they know what'll get it for them. It's that realization. As long as they're doing zip-lining and stuff it's not gonna happen. But it's still pretty hilarious."

Applejack shrugged. "Ah like their innocence. There's something so freeing about a blank flank, though with yer hobbies ya may as well not have a mark in the first place."

"Ah had a lot of time on my hooves back when Ah thought Ah was gonna be single mah entire life. When Ah was bored, Ah thought about it. That made it worse. After that one mare, it played on repeat in my head."

Applejack nodded, looking downward and studying the blankets. "Ya sure were quiet fer a while after that one." She said. "In fact, ya never really talked much until this whole thing with Dash. Ya scared me a little, Mac."

He shook his head. He supposed she was right. Maybe he had let himself descend a little too far. "Well Ah tried to fill my life with hobbies and stuff in place of a relationship so Ah couldn't think about it, but Ah was so worried that nopony would ever want me when they found out. You can't imagine how badly Ah felt when Dash found out and flew off. But she came back. That made all the difference." He remembered when he had left to get rid of his erection and shower to try and make it easier to sleep with her around. He'd stumbled drunkenly into his bathroom, dripping various fluids all over at the mere thought of Dash still being out there, not scared or put off.

He came so hard thinking about her, allowing himself to push a hoof under his balls for a reason other than getting rid of heat. He felt no embarrassment, no shame in his body for the first time in years. It had been cathartic, weights lifting off his back at the realization that he might find happiness in a relationship. She'd turned his life around in that moment, turning his hatred at everything about this, especially heat, into something far nicer. He had a bounce in his step as he went back to the barn, and he vividly remembered the wink he'd had when he'd seen Dash, still standing out there. It didn't serve as a cruel reminder of what was under his tail, but as a source of excitement, a sign of things to come.

He snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to see Applejack staring at him. He was glad he was laying on top of his erection, keeping it covered from her, though he knew she could smell him. But that had been the case the whole time, and he'd warned her that heat was setting in again. Boy, was it ever.

"Well, Ah've gotta go make dinner. Ah'll holler when it's done." Applejack stated, rising from his bed. Mac watched the door close, twitching as he accidentally moved his stallionhood against the bedspread. Seemed like there was debauchery in the works, Mac thought with smile.

Heat was a lot more fun when he knew Dash would be around in the very near future.

"What do you make of it, my student?"

Twilight shrugged. "I don't know why you came to me on this one, Princess. I'm surprised you don't know much about it, but I can't say I'll be much help."

"I've seen many artifacts rise and fall in the past, but rarely do I know what they are before they appear. These things are fleeting, Twilight."

"Well I don't know much. Big Macintosh said he thought it was this, but the pattern's changed a bit. It's definitely been around, taken a beating." She hovered over it, reaching out a hoof. "Can I touch it?"

"Absolutely not." Luna said, the first words she'd spoken since they'd showed up. She was over by the door, leaning against the wall in thought. "Tis-" She sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's not something we should mess with. Just like the Alicorn Amulet."

Twilight withdrew her hoof, conceding the point. "I suppose it does target revenge, and anything silly may be enough for it to use."

"Do you know if it's got a mind of its own?" Luna asked. "Like the Alicorn Amulet. And why does Macintosh of all ponies know more than all of us combined?"

"Well..." Twilight began, "he thinks it might. He said that Zecora and him are pretty sure that it's zebra hoodoo, and those things have a habit of being like that."

"You see, sister?" Luna asked, her patience over the whole affair wearing down.

"It is likely a sort of hex, I doubt that it has its own-"

"Tia!" Luna exclaimed, throwing her hooves up. "Do you remember nothing?!" She'd hoped that it would turn out to be temporary, that maybe whatever exactly had been responsible for messing with them would be imperfectly controlled. "A pony threatened us with that thing. He singlehandedly held us under its control for entire minutes. He tried to remove the experience from our memories, but it didn't work, or something stopped it from doing mine." She pointed a hoof towards the table. "That thing is incredibly dangerous!"

Twilight was getting ready to cover her ears, preparing for Luna's royal voice.

"We think it should be destroyed immediately!" A good call, apparently.

Celestia waited until Luna was done. The princess of the night looked annoyed at herself for allowing her royal voice to make an appearance. It had become quite the rarity over the years. "That's quite unorthodox, Luna. Besides, it could prove to be useful."

Luna tried to calm herself. She managed to at least get her volume under control. "Art thou so stuck in your ideals that thou would just let a- a- thing of this caliber exist? Tis not beneficial, tis not-" She struggled to think of a word. "useful. Tis a risk. The unorthodox is necessary, sister. Science tis not the priority, safety is." She wasn't sure if her breaking into her old tongue annoyed her more than her sister. Her mind was too clouded over with anger to think. "We're visiting the zebra." She grabbed a bag, sweeping the thing into it. They didn't move immediately, and Luna turned around. "Well? You all have wings."

A knock sounded on the door, and Zecora rose. Mac made an annoyed sound, losing concentration on a bug he had in a jar behind him. Dash was apparently stuck designing some schedule for rain in the coming weeks. It'd be a full workday for her or longer. He watched her increase the flames on a pot she had on the stove, further overpowering the scent of his heat. If anypony he knew was here, it'd take a lot to smell through that, especially if they were a mare. Stallions could pick it out of just about anything, but Zecora had assured him that as long as they were a little ways away it would be impossible. And besides, the coverup smelled excellent.

He watched the door swing open, his eyes bugging out a little as the princesses and Twilight walked in. He felt the beginnings of a cold sweat. They had better not be able to know. They didn't have boosted senses, right? Zecora shot him a look, which didn't say he was screwed but also didn't say he was in the clear. Maybe it was about something else entirely.

Zecora directed them to her table. "Hello there mares of stature, what is this you've happened to capture?" That was a bit of a stretch, but he couldn't think of a better rhyme.

"We found the thing Mac was talking about." Twilight said, sending a nod his way. He could sort of feel it, so he wasn't surprised. "What happened to Dash?"

"Work." He replied. He wondered if ponies besides Dash and his family knew that he talked more than one word a day. His close friends that Dash had barely known before did, but definitely not Applejack's friends.

She nodded. "Bored?"

"Ahead on the apples." He lied. Maybe they were, who knew. Probably not. She gave him a slight expression of being impressed, then dumped the vambrace from the book on the table. He started, jerking forwards in his seat. They'd said they had it but he almost hadn't expected it to be real. Seeing was believing, he supposed.

"I see you have found the artifact, but how did you endure its attack?" A question indeed. Also a very loose rhyme. Something had Zecora off her game tonight.

"I'm not sure." Luna ventured. "There was a pony there, but he seemed to loose control of the spell he had us under. Then I knocked this off of him before he could get away." Celestia didn't like that answer, but Mac had no idea why. Seeing animosity between the princesses was strange. Celestia was regal in her discomfort, but it was very clear as Luna finished her sentence that she was unhappy. In her tone, her face, everything. Luna seemed like the one to care less about acting royal. Huh. Maybe he was getting somewhere with this sensing stuff.

"We wish to explore our options." Luna stated. "They wish to study this thing, but I think that we should destroy it. I feel that at the very least, we need to know how to do that for safety reasons."

"This is a Zebra creation, so we'll need to be creative in our circumvention." She picked it up, looking at the underside. Irritation flashed across her face. Mac made out a few runes on the surface, colored blood red before she set it back down.

"What do you mean, circumvention?" Twilight asked.

"Many of these enchanted things are unpredictable, but they're almost always nearly indestructible." She pulled out a book. "I think that upon finding a solution, we should give up this foolish illusion."

"And destroy it?" Twilight clarified, surprised. "But it could tell us so many things. What if it results in a breakthrough?"

"Yes." Zecora answered, pulling out a piece of chalk and beginning to draw a circle around it. Twilight was getting antsy. "Do not fear, I merely want to extract some information from our souvenir." Mac idly noted the off-balanced rhythm of her last sentence, still staring down the thing warily. He was beginning to feel it again, spreading bits of fear here and there in a little radius. It almost looked like a slightly darkened sphere, but it could have just been his mind playing tricks on him. He'd never seen a circle like this before, though. He'd seen one or two in her books, but he'd never seen her use one. This was definitely old zebra stuff though. It worried him that she was so resolute in knowing what to do.

She rose, pulling an assortment of stuff from a cabinet. A couple things dropped from her grip and she kicked them out of her way. Candles went on the corners of a triangle inside the circle, and a couple incense things went elsewhere. She lit them, the princesses glancing at each other with slight worry in their eyes. "Huh." Zecora stated, before looking at her book again. She chuckled, adding a bit to the circle. It let off a light glow, the symbol on the front growing in intensity and adding an eerie light to the room. Then it faded away, just the same.

Zecora scratched her head. "It's unaffected. That's certainly not what I expected." Back to normal. She pushed it out of the circle, back towards the others. "You should take it back with you, but I have a few more theories to look through."

"So you didn't learn anything?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"These runes seemed important to me, but I don't know how they affect it in actuality." She said, showing Twilight the underside. Mac couldn't feel the radius of the piece anymore, which was strange. She wrote them down on a piece of paper, and replaced the artifact in the bag. "If I find out what they signify, well... then I'm sure you'll always be nearby. Though I suggest you leave in a hurry, as these clouds look like they may drop their rain in quite the flurry." She offered. Mac could still feel the thing, it just wasn't where it was. That thing of Zecora's had done something for sure.

The princesses offered their thanks and apologies for taking their time, and left.

"What did you do to it?" Mac asked. "It's changed." He concentrated. "It's still here, too!"

"It's on its way out of the forest, Macintosh." Zecora assured.

"No, it's like down..." He leaned over to look under the table, and one of her hooves moved out of view. "What was that?"

No response.

"Ah can feel it on you, Zecora!" He exclaimed angrily. "What're you doing?! You know something!"

She sighed, placing it on the table. "I transferred it into a similar vessel. Easy stuff. Just had it under the table."

Mac took a moment to respond, not sure how to process that information. He rose to his hooves. "Why do ya have a second one?"

More silence.

"Fine, why did you trick the princesses?" There were a few possibilities here, and some of them were very bad.

"I couldn't let them have this. It only causes trouble. I'm going to destroy it, once and for all."

"Ya knew what it was?!" Mac replied, raising his voice. "Why wouldn't ya tell me?!"

"This is my battle, Mac, you weren't supposed to be involved."

"What the hell does that even mean?!" He queried, exasperated. Mac stuck out a hoof for it, trying to take it away. What even was her battle? If it had already driven her insane like it had that other pony...

He didn't have a chance to finish the thought, because it sent what felt like an electric shock through his body as his hoof made contact. He tipped sideways, collapsing in a pile on the floor. Zecora stuck a pillow under his head, stepping over him to leave. "You'll understand why I can't take any chances, Mac." She opened the door to her hut and disappeared into the dusk, thunder sounding in the distance.

Author's Notes:

So basically I figured this story arc thing could fit in one chapter and now it's spread across three mostly finished parts, which is nice because it means I'll release a little more often, but is weird because something like this hasn't happened to me before. Eh. I think this chapter came together nicely as setup, and those of you that had questions about the last chapter will hopefully begin to have them resolved.