Twilight felt her body go whiter than a skeleton. A chill slithered up and down her weary spine, jingling her joints and shaking her limbs as though they were nothing but hollow bones. The trembling echoed through the chattering of the mare's teeth, a drum-roll awaiting the moment the red-eyed beast would make its next move.

But the beast held a pause of its own. Its blazing red eyes stood out from the unpigmented countenance, piercing through the smoky black atmosphere with a mysterious energy. They shone through the snowy haze like fiery lanterns. Their strength made Twilight feel as though they were only inches in front of her nose.

This fear held on through an uneasy stillness. Twilight felt her mind in time free itself from its state of shock. It ate its way out of the cocoon of horror surrounding it, only to find itself encaged in a state of confusion.

Why isn't it moving..?

Thoughts of escape began formulating behind contemplative eyes; but even then Twilight dared not remove her gaze from the eyes ahead. In her wait a violent breeze began, stirring and swirling through the ruins like a rapid through a broken blockade.

Twilight kept her eyes open as best she could, until all of a sudden something slapped onto her face. The mare shrieked but closed her lips in time to contain the scream from gushing out. She lit her horn quickly and removed the thin object that had draped across her eyes and held it a foot away for inspection.

It was an envelope. More specifically, it was the one with Twilight’s letter from her Ponyville friends – the one she had been using as a bookmark. The flap in back was open and the sheet inside stuck out, revealing the tiniest bit of Spike's writing on the decorated paper.

Vivid memories began twisting through Twilight's head more wildly than the wind. She had been through her fair share of frights, from her encounter with Nightmare Moon to the parasprite infestation. Each instance she had made it out alive, and many times it was thanks to her planning or whim.

She recalled the images of the stained glass windows within Canterlot of her and her friends' victories. Ponyville's numerous escapes from utter ruin ran through Twilight's brain as well. Deed after deed that passed through her brain the mare felt her confidence growing. She had been through worse. She had come out on top. Overcoming fears was not something unusual to Twilight Sparkle.

“You can do it, Twilight!”

Twilight closed her eyes; she could picture her friends' faces, their confidence and kindness emanating in their energetic expressions.

“We believe in you!”

“Don't give up now!”

Twilight let out a deep sigh.

I won't.

Twilight felt her consciousness return to the present. She placed the envelope back in the book in her bag and fixed her sights on the mysterious creature ahead.

But the glowing red eyes were missing. Not a trace of them remained.

Twilight glanced around the edge of the clearing, waiting for the eyes to show again. As she searched and searched, however, no sign of them emerged. Without a moment to lose she began gathering together a list of ideas of what to do next. She thought through her previous encounters with the Tigbalan, as well as her past escapes. Every detail manifested in her mind.

As minutes passed and no sign of the beast emerged, Twilight stretched deeper into her memory banks. She thought all the way back to the first few days on the island, of every clue or sign she could muster.

Signs... The last two places mentioned to contain signs of monsters were in caves. There might be an underground entry in the ruins. We could hide down there as long as we get away here first. From my studies of larger creatures in Equestria, a majority of larger creatures take on a predatory stance when something nearby runs away. If I can just communicate this to Trixie...

The mare stole a split-second glance of Trixie, who had not yet moved an inch herself. The violet color in her irises turned gray as her eyes mirrored the haze around her. Unsure of the showmare's abilities, Twilight began rethinking her plans.

What if she refuses to listen? I doubt she's up for taking orders from me, though I could maybe fix that with another spell-

Twilight's ears twitched. A shake of shrubbery broke the silence, followed by a rustling bushel of branches. The company of noises grew slightly louder until Twilight felt herself pulled from her state of concentration.

Her awareness heightened, Twilight felt the cold of the winds and snow abruptly return. She shivered to shake off the sensation altogether, but the chill swallowed her up as raging waters do a swimmer.

Suddenly, the mysterious racket sounded again, barely audible above the howling of the wind. It came from out in the forest, beyond where Trixie to the side. The blue mare continued to stare where the monster had stood, her irises shrunk and mouth agape. Twilight wondered if she was just hearing things.

“Twilight! Where are you?” came calls off in the distance. “Trixie? Twilight!”

Trees near the edge of the clearing where the mares stood began shaking, followed by the emergence of four familiar characters. One by one they revealed themselves, each displaying relief upon breaking free of the forest's maze. Their joy in freedom, however, quickly turned into wonder as each stumbled into the great span of the ruins. They wandered like deer through overwhelming pasture, their eyes big and attention taken. They meandered through the piles of stone until spotting Twilight and Trixie across the way.

“Twilight! You're okay!” Quirky said as her sights locked onto the frozen purple figure. She trotted over to Twilight with an unsettled look. “Twilight, you look paler than the moon! What's the matter? Is something wrong?”

Twilight couldn't think of anything to say, and instead began searching the edge of the woods again, hoping to convey her message. The group approached her and Trixie cautiously as the four inspected the duo head to hoof.

“Is it out there?” Windchaser asked.

The others stared with nothing but worry in their eyes. Twilight nodded.

Diamond Chisel lowered her head and her eyes and whispered, “Where?”

Twilight brought her head lower as well and whispered, “I don’t know right now, but it was just here. Can any of you see it?”

The others reluctantly scanned the perimeter. Their stares turned to squints, and then to looks of incertitude.

“I don't see anything but snow, stone and trees,” said Quirky after a mutual pause.

“Maybe it walked off,” Windchaser suggested.

“No, we would have heard or felt it,” Twilight groaned as her heart started pumping, “Trixie, you were staring at it too, right?”

But the blue mare continued to stare off into the distance, blinking sparingly. Diamond Chisel approached the blue mare and tapped her on the back, to which Trixie squealed and leaped clear over a wall of rubble behind her.

Lasso Tussle tipped her hat back and squinted an eye. “Trixie? Is somethin' the matter?”

“What's going on?” Trixie yelped. “Where did you come from!?”

“Trixie, isn't it true that the Tigbalan was just here?” Twilight asked.

“What are talking about!?” Trixie whispered with a hiss. “It's probably still out there!”

But the moment she turned and glanced out at the darkness near the woods where she and Twilight had been facing, nothing stood out from the blurry vision of the edge of the forest. Trixie gulped.

“I-I was just staring at it,” she uttered. “When did it disappear?”

Diamond Chisel uttered, “M-Maybe it's hiding.”

“I dunno,” Twilight said skeptically, “every time we've ran into that monster it's made its presence known one way or another. With its size, especially in this forest, I think we'd hear something.” A spark in Twilight's brain cut her off, only to ignite a new train of thought. “Wait a minute, hearing. That's it!”

Her murmuring shot into a shout, to which the others glared. Her pallid face kept any signs of blushing from emerging, though the ensuing excitement revealed itself through a confident grin.

“Not only has the Tigbalan shown up making lots of noise, it's also only been seen when lots of noise is made,” Twilight said, hushed. “I remember spotting it on the night of Vinyl's concert. We all saw it shortly after the thunder and lightning Trixie summoned, and then Trixie and I saw it later after we got into an argument. It only comes out when something loud happens!”

“What 'bout when it was first seen?” Lasso Tussle interjected. “Wasn't that some weeks ago? Don't remember anythin' loud back then.”

Twilight tapped her muzzle. “Well, it couldn't have been the fireworks show; that was after the first spotting. All I can think of is the cave in.”

Quirky tilted her head as her eyes rolled up. “Cave in? What cave in?”

Twilight felt herself turn almost as pale as she had gone earlier. She glanced over at Windchaser, the only other present that was aware of what she spoke. He held a weight of concern in his platinum eyes. Neither had told anypony about what had happened that first night on the island. Princess Luna had ordered them not to.

“I-I'll tell you guys later, if I can,” Twilight said. “For now, we need to find a way out of here, together.”

Twilight looked at the others, all visibly weighed down with exhaustion and worry in their faces and postures. The riskiness of running off began putting measurements and estimates through Twilight's brain. She ran through the mathematics until they turned into words that spilled out for everypony to hear.

“The chances of escape are minimal unless we stick to going one direction. Based on the area of the forest I calculated before coming out here, it should only take approximately an hour and a half at most to arrive at any edge of the woods. Once we reach that, we can judge where we are based on the surrounding geographic features...”

“But what pace is that at, smart-alec?” Lasso Tussle asked brusquely. “And in just what direction do we even start headin'? What if that monster shows up 'n' throws us off course?”

Twilight paused and looked to the others. Soon their faces were reflecting the concern that emanated from Lasso's words.

“Well, the way I see it, there's no other way out,” Twilight stated. “I think that monster somehow is scaring us out of our senses-”

“Last I checked, every monster does that,” Lasso remarked. “Tell us somethin' we don't know.”

“No, I mean it literally is scaring us out of our senses!” Twilight rejoined. “Don't you remember when we first split up? Why is it that none of us ran in the same direction? Wouldn't it have made more sense to run together, or at least in small groups?”

Lasso had no reply this time, though her teeth were bare in preparation for the second something struck her brain. The others held looks of amazement as they realized the truth in Twilight’s words.

“Every time that thing gets close, it somehow makes us do almost the opposite of what we normally would react,” Twilight said. “I don't know about you guys, but I haven't felt myself since I walked into the woods.” The others, including Lasso, gave in to showing some degree of agreement, whether it was a nod or murmur. “As much as I wish I could test my hypothesis, I don't think that will help us out, especially now that we're all together. What we do need is to pick a direction and stick with it.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Quirky asked helplessly. “There's no telling where we are, and we can't even see a stone's throw ahead of us except for in these random clearings.”

Twilight looked to the grey stallion. “Windchaser, I need you to fly above the treetops and try and look for a landmark. Got it?”

Windchaser shook his head immediately. “Are you crazy? What if it sees me? I'll just be leading that thing right to us.”

“I know it seems like that, but hear me out: I don't think that monster detects things by seeing them. It only knows by hearing,” Twilight explained, strained. “Since you use magic for flying, it shouldn't be able to hear you, at least not above the winds.”

“She's tryin' to get us caught!” Lasso declared as she began backing away. “Listen, y'all can pitter patter and wait fer help. As fer me... I-I ain't stickin' 'round here!”

“Wait, Lasso!” Diamond Chisel shrieked. She looked at the others with mouth agape. “What is she thinking?”

“She’s not thinking,” Twilight said slowly. “Which means that monster’s nearby-!”

Surely enough, as though cued in, a crying whinny cracked the air like a whip. Lasso, not even caring to turn and check and see, started a full-on gallop through the ruins and into the woods opposite where it approached.

“Stick together!” Twilight shouted. “Whatever you do, don't run off on your own!”

The others took off right behind Lasso, not one daring to look over his or her shoulder; the shaking ground was a big enough clue. Twilight only looked back once to see how far back the Tigbalan was. The second she saw the crimson eyes bobbing about, though, she immediately regretted her decision. When she looked back forward, the red was imprinted on the back of her eyelids.

Lasso maintained an incredible pace as she wove through the thick of the trees. Twilight was more surprised by her own stamina, though what truly drove her was the fuel of fear. All the mare could focus on was the nearest pony in front of her and how far off the sound of the monster's steps seemed. Ever so slowly she thought they were pulling away.

Tree after tree threw branches against the ponies' faces as they struggled to find their way out. Not a break waited between huddles of pine, nor smooth ground beneath piles of snow.

“This way!” Windchaser suddenly called from above. “I think I see a trail!”

Twilight dared not stop, but lifted her head enough to see the grey unicorn hovering overhead. He continued to gallop as he soared through the air, his hoofs free of the forest's natural traps, twists and turns. Twilight wished she had studied a similar spell before; it was another to add to her list.

Suddenly Twilight broke free of the branches and found herself in a narrow clearing. The way did offer a view of where they were headed, but it was not part of the official trail. As the six pressed on they formed a line as they galloped through the slender passage. Windchaser touched back down on the ground in front of Lasso at the head but continued running.

“Twilight,” he called back as quietly as possible. “I think we lost it. Should we keep going this way?”

“Why would Twilight know?” Diamond Chisel broke in. “Trixie, you saw that map in the cave. Which way should we go?”

“You saw what-?” Windchaser began, but then shut his mouth and faced forward in his charge.

Trixie, who was panting louder than the rest, managed to reply, “I... I don't know!”

“Don't you remember talking about what we saw?” Diamond Chisel yelled. “I know we read something about that thing written on the cavern wall-”

“I-I didn't read anything, that was just you!” Trixie replied. “I forgot the whole thing as soon as I got back to my room.”

“You WHAT!?” Diamond Chisel cried, digging her hoofs into the ground to come to a sudden stop.

The others halted just as quickly, but they did not stand patiently after doing so. They watched, hopping uneasily as though dancing an antsy ballet, while Diamond Chisel stomped back to Trixie. The approached bit her lip as the mares' eyes locked.

“What exactly is going on here?” Quirky asked, desperation in her tone. “We need to get a move on!”

Diamond Chisel exhaled, though her breaths continued on very short and scattered. “Trixie, don't you remember that week when I was working on my sculpture of Sapphire Shores?”

Trixie stammered, “Well, I, of course I do-”

“And remember just before I finished carving out her hat I was talking to you about reading up on that 'Tigbalan' thing?”

Trixie shook her head slowly as her face slowly went flush, “I may have been present, but perhaps not listening-”

“I told you about how odd it was that a monster, that thing that's following us, wouldn't attack if we did something strange in particular. But what was that something!?”

Windchaser stomped and faced forward again. “This is a waste of time, we need to keep moving-!”

“No! I know that I even went and got the book on mysterious creatures and read the whole passage out loud,” Diamond Chisel stated. “Trixie, you have to remember. What was that something the mythological creatures book mentioned?”

Trixie looked around, from the two she knew to the Ponyville bunch, a nervous frown and shrunken eyes pleading innocence.

“Why can't you remember, Diamond Chisel?” Twilight asked, confused. “If you read the book, wouldn't you remember it better?”

“No,” Diamond Chisel snapped. “I happen to have a terrible memory when it comes to reading. I have more of a picture memory, thank you very much. It's the main reason I'm such an excellent sculptor.”

“Wait!” Trixie stammered. “D-Didn't it have to do with... mountains? T-That's the only thing I can think of.”

Twilight felt a sense of doubt boiling deep down. She knew that tone in the showmare's voice; she had heard it earlier that afternoon.

“Trixie, you can't just make stuff up,” Twilight said. “We have to know for sure what to do.”

“I-I told you, it has to do with the mountains!” Trixie replied helplessly. “We need to... climb one! Yes, that was it!”

“We need to climb a mountain,” Twilight repeated, unimpressed.

Trixie nodded with her nervous grin, but the others' tired, clueless faces did not change in the slightest.

“I'll see if I can find a peak nearby,” Windchaser said, suddenly shooting up above the height of trees.

“What!? No! Stop!” Twilight ordered, stopping Windchaser before he could lift himself high into the air. “Let's be logical. Are you guys really going to believe what Trixie's saying? Somepony who's known for her tall tales?”

The others looked at Trixie, and then back at Twilight. The overall confidence was split in half as an ax chopping a block of wood.

“Well, what else would you suggest?” Lasso Tussle inquired.

Twilight pulled out her spellbook, the sight of which made Trixie jump away.

“No, no! Don't you use that spell on me again!” the blue unicorn objected. “Stay away!”

“Trixie, it's for the good of the group,” Twilight said, then directing her words to the others. “The spell in this book helps draw the truth out from a liar's mouth.”

“What good is that, though?” Quirky asked. “If Trixie doesn't know what we should do, then she doesn't know, period. Right?”

Twilight growled, “While that may be true, I just want to show that she's lying so we don't go climbing a mountain for no reason.”

Thump. Thump. The ground began shaking closer and closer.

“It's coming!” Windchaser exclaimed as he hovered back down. “I think I see mountains nearby!” He restarted the gallop down the narrow path. “We just need to keep going this way!”

Twilight exchanged glances with Trixie for a second. All Twilight could spot was an expression of fear and perplexity consuming the mare's face. She let her spellbook slip from her magic grasp and drop back into her saddlebag.

Trixie... you better not be making this up, too.

---

After a swift gallop the barriers of branches and trails of trees ceased and the terrain shifted from a level forest to a giant mountain. The base was bare and full of boulders with hardly a plant growing on its rocky slope. The peak above disappeared into the low-hanging clouds. Winding down from it were two possible paths, each consisting of boulders stacked upon one another like steps.

“Which way do we go?” Quirky asked as she examined both ways. “Is there even a difference between the two?”

Twilight shook her head faster than her eyes could shift back and forth. “They both look the same to me.”

Right between the gaps a dark orb suddenly appeared. In the blink of an eye it flashed and blinding rays of light shot out, forcing Twilight and the others to quickly shade their eyes as they grunted in pain. When the shining ceased, one by one each of the six managed to open their stinging eyes. Twilight, the last of the group, heard terrified gasps that made her stomach twist.

Standing in the middle of the split between paths was the white, ghostly-like horse. Its back was hunched and neck curved like a crooked arch. Its red eyes were all too familiar. Before any of the ponies had a chance to let out a scream it rose onto its hind hoofs and let out a thunderous whinny; the shrill sound brought each one's hoofs over their ears.

Twilight, fighting the resonance against her ears, made a dash for one of the paths. With a sprint she passed the giant figure, and shortly after its shrieking ceased. She turned around to see the others just past the figure which now looked left and right, contemplating its next step.

“Either way leads up!” Twilight shouted back. “Hurry!”

Twilight turned around and headed up. The slant and the snow swept Twilight's hoofs from underneath her time and time again as she made her advance up the natural steps. With the height of the mountain three times the size of the academy's hill, Twilight felt as though she were headed for the heavens. A quarter of the way up Twilight glanced back down again. Trixie and Windchaser were behind her. Right on their tails was the Tigbalan.

Its advance was slow but steady as every one of its steps dug into the slope. For every stride it made Twilight managed to make several, though half were slips and stumbles rather than steps in the right direction. In time her pace started slowing down.

“It's getting closer!” Trixie screamed, to which Twilight looked back again.

It was just steps from reaching the two. Twilight prepared to jump back down as a spell entered her mind. But the second she turned to hop back down, Windchaser stood tall and turned around himself.

“I'll distract it!” he exclaimed. “You two hurry to the top!”

Not listening for a word of protest the stallion slid down head-first as his horn began glowing a silvery color. His coat began shining like that of his magic as he jumped off the ground and over the monster's head.

He stayed in the air as he hovered around, swooping past the monster's head again and again. The Tigbalan, however, didn't budge an inch. Though it stalled for a moment and watched him fly about, it never swatted or screeched or scowled. Twilight, catching herself staring back at the sight, felt a hoof shoving her rear from behind.

“Keep going!” Trixie ordered. “We didn't make it this far for nothing!”

Twilight looked at the peak of the mountain where Trixie has said to go. Clouds swarmed the top as though the mountain were a needle poking into the fabric of the sky. The chilling sight of the snow-pouring clouds seemed hardly the direction in which to head in case of emergency.

Twilight glared at the blue mare behind her. “If you were lying about all this, Trixie, just admit it already! I know it's not easy to say that you made this all up, but wouldn't you rather live than have us all freeze or something because of your lies?”

“I told you, I remembered!” Trixie said. “Diamond said something about mountains when she was reading that book she had out loud. Why don't you just believe me?”

Twilight's eyes snuck a peek of the contents of her saddlebag; the spellbook stuck out from its leather hold, the letter from her friends stuck between its pages. Conviction and doubt began spinning in the mare's head; the altitude did not help the matter in the least.

“What are you waiting for?” Trixie stated.

Twilight bit her lip and struggled with her churning her stomach, its pain worse than that of a cramp.

How else can I get her to admit the truth? There’s nothing up here but clouds!

The winds blew with a greater might, chilling Twilight's coat all over. She shivered in her boots as her scarf began tugging tighter around her neck. The cold and choking sensations left her stranded where she stood, pondering, caught between the monster and mountaintop.

As Twilight's gaze wandered down the slope, when suddenly that of the monster suddenly lifted. Twilight felt her blood suddenly red hot with fear.

The mare sprinted up the slope without another moment of hesitation; the heat inside pushed her on like a steam engine against the stale, wintry air. Trixie, who had been pushing, fell flat on her face but recovered and trailed right behind. The new energy pushed Twilight all the way to the top, until she found herself completely surrounded by clouds.

The air was thick and dense with water as flakes poured down like grated ice. The cold fought the blazing terror inside of Twilight until the fire was completely put out. With the guiding flame dead and gone, Twilight found herself shivering and staring in every direction, no sign of another spark. To Twilight, though, the cold was preferable to the sight of the stalking eyes.

Feeling the last bits of energy gradually draining, Twilight felt her rear hoofs slipping back down the slope. Before they could fall back a couple inches they hit against something and stopped.

“Oof! Watch where you're going!” Trixie protested.

Twilight tried to turn and shush the loudmouth, but the clouds suddenly began sweeping in a dizzying circle, its curved edge just behind the two mares. The gales that carved the gray fog kept the two from falling out, but that did not stop the two from being utterly terrified. Rather, it was the very presence of the lanky, phantasmal horse before them, centered in the cleared cavern within the clouds.

Twilight tried to look away, but the strange sight caught her off-guard; the creature was no longer hunched over and skulking. It was sitting, much like one that is meditating, with its rear legs crossed and front hoofs extended outward. Its eyes and mouth were closed as its countenance faced skyward.

“Weary wanderers, fortunate few,” came a slow, deep voice, “welcome to these sacred grounds.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 21 (Episode 5, Part 2): Pony Relic Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 45 Minutes