Chapter 14: The Journey

The sleepy town of Bridleby was well into the evening and those staying at the Sleep Inn could be heard snoozing away, but one stallion was wide awake. A pale green stallion was tossing fitfully in his bed, unable to find rest. Finally, he got up and walked quietly over to the door. He pushed it open and almost stepped out when a hoarse whisper caught him off guard.

“Diggs?”

The green stallion turned his head toward Gemwalker.

“What are you doing?” the white unicorn prodded.

“Shhh,” Diggs hushed the other student. “I can’t stop thinking about those pegasi and I can’t get to sleep. I’m going out for a little. Want to join me?”

“Uh…yeah. Sure.”

The unicorn sleepily pushed himself out of bed and the two students exited the room together.

“So, where are we going?” whispered Gemwalker as the two closed the door behind them.

“I don’t really know,” answered Diggs quietly. “I just need some place where I can think.”

“The main room here at the Sleep Inn is nice,” offered Gemwalker, “It’s got a small fireplace and some comfy couches. I doubt anypony else is up this late at night.”

“That sounds like it’ll work. Come on, we’ve got some things to talk about.”

The two quietly creaked through the hallways and down three flights of stairs to the common room. A small fire was burning comfortingly in the fireplace. The fire plus a few candles gave the room a warm sort of lighting, which danced and flickered over the two stallions.

“Gemwalker,” Diggs opened after he had settled himself in front of the fireplace, “you know I can’t stand some of the things you do, but you’ve got a level head.”

The unicorn wasn’t sure what to make of the compliment/insult combo, so he remained silent as Diggs continued.

“The Professor and Rocky seemed to take to those pegasi like they had been friends for years and so did you. But I don’t like it. They seem WAY too friendly and getting help from a professional treasure hunting couple is far too lucky for mere coincidence. Out of everypony here, you seem to know the most about them. What can you tell me?”

“Diggs, I think you’re overreacting a bit,” cautioned Gemwalker.

Both their faces flickered with light and shadow as the fire crackled and popped in the fireplace.

“Look,” the pale green pony sighed, “I just don’t trust them…yet. Maybe if you can tell me about them I’ll feel more comfortable, but I think that treasure hunters hunt treasure and that means that they’re not sharing Sun Cloak’s treasure with us if we find it.”

Gemwalker paced around the room for a few moments before setting himself by Diggs, in front of the fire. He looked into the dancing flame and let his mind contemplate what his fellow student was saying. In time, the unicorn turned to face the earth stallion.

“Alright, I don’t know much about them, but what I do know I’ll tell you.”

Diggs smiled pleasantly at Gemwalker.

“They really are a treasure hunting couple. Their biggest find was that sunken ship a few years back. They signed a copy of the paper that printed their story and gave it to me. I read through it.

They’ve been hunting for years now, all over the world, but never seem to use conventional methods. Oddly enough, they don’t seem to know what to do with the treasure they find. With the sunken treasure they kept a few bobbles and donated the rest. When I asked them about a specific gem, the fire ruby, they didn’t know anything beyond the fact that they had found a few of them. If you’re really worried about them stealing the treasure, I wouldn’t. I’d be more afraid that they’d donate it all.”

Diggs nodded his head in understanding and then got up. He began to pace, his brows furrowed in thought.

“Hmm…” he murmured, “…alright.”

The green stallion stopped pacing, but had his back turned from Gemwalker.

“Alright, what?” asked Gemwalker when Diggs remained silent for a moment too long.

“Maybe they’re not too bad, but I still don’t trust them. Tell you what, let’s watch them and see how they act. If they’re sincere, then we have nothing to worry about. But they’ve just been getting far too lucky for my tastes. I mean, staying at our exact Inn and on the same floor no less! Plus, being invited to Hooverdale just in time to solve the puzzle? No, there’s got to be something else going on here and, Gemwalker, you and I are going to find out what.”

Diggs turned back around and threw a hoof around the unicorn’s back, almost like they had entered into some kind of secret contract. Gemwalker turned his face and gazed back into the fire. Its orange light bounced warmly across the unicorn’s face.

“…Alright Diggs, I’ll keep my eyes on them. Now come on, we’re leaving early tomorrow and we both need some rest.”

The two stallions left the softly glow of the common room and quietly made their way back up to the third floor and into their cozy room. Soon, the two were snoring away with the rest of the hotel as the moon made its rounds through the celestial heavens.

* * * * * * * * *

A bright morning sunlight was pouring through the windows of Canterlot Castle. The Royal Treasure Seekers had only just finished breakfast and were busy loading their bags onto a large chariot which Princess Celestia had given them for transportation.

“Ok, I think that’s the last of it,” sighed Spike happily.

The little dragon hopped gingerly into the chariot and sat down for a break. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and watched as Twilight and Applejack helped Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy get strapped into the chariot.

“I want to thank you both for being willing to fly us all the way to Hooverdale,” said Twilight gratefully.

“It’s really no problem,” replied Fluttershy in her soft voice. “I’m just glad to be able to help.”

“All I can say,” Rainbow Dash broke into a devious smile, “is that you girls should hold on tight because we’re going to be going fast.”

“Alright, we’re good to go on this end.” Applejack yanked on Rainbow’s harness to prove that it was snug. “How’re ya’ comin’ along, Twilight?”

“We’re tight and secure,” replied the purple unicorn.

Twilight then turned to Fluttershy and asked, “Why don’t you move around a bit and see how it feels?”

The yellow pegasus complied. She shuffled around and fluttered her wings.

“It feels fine to me,” stated Fluttershy.

“Is everything ready up there?” Rarity asked while leaning over the chariot’s front.

“We’re all set,” replied Rainbow Dash with her head turned back toward the chariot.

Twilight and Applejack moved to the back end of the transport and they hopped inside.

“Hold on everypony!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

The two pegasus flapped their wings open and then charged forward to build up some speed. In almost perfect synchronicity, they beat their wings against the air and the chariot bounced into the morning sky.

“Let’s fly!” shouted Pinkie happily with hoof pointed toward the horizon.

* * * * * * * * *

Another team was busy preparing for departure toward Hooverdale that morning. The students from the University of Hoofington and a pegasi couple were making their final arrangements before leaving the town of Bridleby.

“Now students,” Professor McKracken said in his Irish accent, “make sure that ye’ve got everythin’ o’ yours packed. It’s a good five days march to Hooverdale.”

They all glanced around their hotel room one last time.

“I’m ready,” replied Diggs flatly.

“Check-a-roo,” sung Rocky Road.

“I’m set,” said Gemwalker.

“And you’ve got the crystal Mr. Walker?” asked the professor.

“It’s GEM-” started the white unicorn before being interrupted by Diggs.

“When DOESN’T he have it?”

“Alright, alright. No need to get antsy. Now we just need to wait for…” McKracken was cut short by the door flinging open and two pegasi entering.

“We’re here!” said Juliet in a sing-song cheery tone.

“Hope everypony’s ready to go,” stated Boomer.

“Perfect timin’!” applauded the professor. “Alright students, grab your things and let’s go.”

The ponies picked up their saddlebags and said their farewells to the town of Bridleby. The morning slowly moved closer to afternoon as the group of six trekked ever closer to Hooverdale. They talked as they walked, mostly about what to expect when they reached Hooverdale.

“Hooverdale’s a wonderful place,” cooed Juliet with a bounce in her step. “We’ve been there a few times before and I absolutely adore it. The buildings are simply gorgeous and the food is always top notch.”

“That sounds great!” Rocky Road gave a smile of approval.

“That’s fine and all,” stated Diggs bluntly, “but what about before Hooverdale existed? You know, when Small was still standing? Isn’t that the time period we need to be focusing on?”

“Hmm…never thought about it that way,” Boomer thought aloud.

Diggs sighed with annoyance but then spoke up again.

“Then it’s a good thing that I’ve done a bit of research on that particular area for a class project.”

The pale green stallion took a few moments to organize his thoughts before continuing.

“Alright, Hooverdale is the latest project to come up in the area. We all now know about Small University, but after Small was torn down, a different town popped up in its place and then it became a business district. Unfortunately, the businesses didn’t make it and the land got bought up by a young investor. That’s when Hooverdale came into existence. This whole process took a few hundred years and, throughout all of these different projects, there’s been one peculiar factor that has remained the same. According to legend, the land is haunted…”

* * * * * * * * *

“Haunted!?” shrieked Fluttershy.

The yellow pegasus’ wings suddenly snapped shut and the chariot began to shutter and rattle as Rainbow Dash struggled to keep it aloft.

“Fluttershy!” grunted Rainbow beneath the weight. “Fly! Use your wings and fly!”

The timid pegasus clenched her eyes shut and forced her wings to snap back open. They caught the wind and she soon got back into a good rhythm. She reopened her eyes and brought her breathing back under control.

“Sorry about that everypony!” yelled Rainbow Dash back to the shaken group in the chariot. “Fluttershy got a bit spooked, but everything is back under control. Why don’t you keep telling us about Hooverdale Rarity?”

“Um…yes…right,” mumbled the frazzled unicorn as she picked herself off of the floor.

She cleared her throat and attempted to regain her composure before continuing.

“Like I was saying, legend holds that Hooverdale is haunted.”

Fluttershy cringed a little at these words, but managed to continue flying.

“What do you mean…h-haunted?” asked Spike as he hid behind the group’s luggage.

“Are we going to meet a ghost?”  asked Pinkie as she grabbed Spike in her front hooves and spun him around. “Because I’ve always wanted to meet a ghost. It’s on my To-Do list. Right next to ‘Befriend a Zombie’.”

The pink pony set Spike down and then pulled out a tightly rolled scroll titled “To-Do” out of seemingly thin air and proudly displayed it to Twilight, who was standing next to Pinkie. The purple unicorn gently pushed the parchment out of her face as Rarity continued.

“No, it’s not haunted like that.” The white mare shook her head. “There’s only one area that’s actually considered haunted. It’s in the middle of a beautiful forest kept as common ground for the residents of Hooverdale. There is a strange circle is in the center of this forest. Not a single tree, bush, or flower will grow on the circle and even the grass that does grow there doesn’t dare to grow above an inch or two.”

“That’s very peculiar,” mused Twilight.

“Oh, but it gets stranger,” added Rarity. “Some ponies have actually tried to build things, like gazebos, on the circle but, the very next day; all construction has fallen apart like it was never put together in the first place. Apparently not many ponies even walk close to the circle.”

“If anythin’ has magic written all over it, that’s it,” Applejack stated and she stomped down her hoof for added emphasis.

“I guess we know where we’re going then?” gulped Spike.

He shuddered at the thought.

“Bring it on!” shouted Rainbow from the front with a smile.

The chariot suddenly picked up speed and sent those riding tumbling to the floor.

* * * * * * * * *

Early afternoon came upon the small town of Saddleback. A good distance away from the town, however, Trixie awoke. Her eyes painfully opened to let the sunlight in. It took all of her remaining strength to simply push herself onto her hooves. Shakily, she stumbled her way over to a large rock which she leaned against and clung to for support. Her mouth was dry and she was panting hard. Her mind was swimming and her stomach growled loudly at her.

“No,” rasped the unicorn with all the weary strength she could muster, “Trixie is NOT done with this hunt yet.”

Her horn slowly lit up with a good deal of sparking and sputtering. Trixie grunted and wheezed as she placed all of her remaining willpower into one final magic trick. At last, a small bright blue light ignited at the very tip of her horn and remained even as tge rest of her horn’s glow faded.

“Take me to civilization,” ordered Trixie in a hoarse whisper.

The magical spark seemed to understand Trixie’s command and began to drag the weary unicorn across the dusty ground and toward Saddleback. As she was being dragged along, her hooves scratching along the dirt, Trixie’s eyelids drooped shut and she fell back into unconscious.

* * * * * * * * *

Trixie was not the only one to awaken on that sunny afternoon. Far off in a field teaming with tall grasses, a trio of griffins and one dragon were finally beginning to stir. The black and winged beast suddenly inhaled deeply as he twitched and ticked in short mechanical bursts back to life. He shook his head and shook out his body, wings, and tail until he felt the flexibility in his limbs return. The great beast gazed upon his griffin companions who lay, still frozen, in the grasses to his side.

“Animation Magics…” hissed the dragon disdainfully as one of his grizzled claws scratched his chin in thought.

A sudden trio of gasps shook the dragon from his thoughts as his mind came back to the griffins. Each one of the half-eagle, half-lion creatures sputtered back into life, much as he had, and jumped quickly to their feet. They shook out their sore wings and loosened their neck muscles.

“What was that?!” screamed Jay with a combination of anger and shock etched across her face and laced in her voice.

“Animation Magics,” replied Grallix calmly.

“And that means what, exactly?” Jay snapped angrily.

“The red mare can make things move or stop moving. She de-animated us or, in simpler terms, she froze our movements for an entire day.”

The feisty Jay began to pace back and forth while testing her wings. The other griffins began to ruffle their feathers likewise.

“Well, it seems that we’ll have to be more careful around those unicorns then,” grumbled Jay.

She turned to her griffin friends and relayed a new strategy.

“Alright, from what I saw, the magic was a horizontal disk shape and totally flat. It shouldn’t be very hard to dodge. We were simply caught off guard.”

“Yes,” Grallix smiled a toothy grin from behind. “In fact, magics of that sort are extremely tiring. She wouldn’t be able to use that kind of power too many times before she became completely exhausted.”

Jay spun back around to face the dragon, she had on a grin of her own.

“Nice to know. I’m sure we’ll be able to use that to our advantage.”

Grallix stared down at Jay. The griffin stared back into his scarred eye evenly. Suddenly, the dragon closed his eyes and exhaled a powerful sneeze. A small plume of green fire burst from the dragon’s nostrils and a letter materialized from within the fire. Grallix took the paper angrily between his claws, but left it unopened. He snarled at the message and breathed slowly, attempting to hold back a store of hidden anger. His claws began to slowly shred the outside of the parchment as he grated them back and forth on each other.

“So, what’s in a name, Jay Pennsworth?” asked Grallix as calmly as possible, attempting to keep up conversation despite the letter.

“Tell you what,” replied Jay, “I don’t ask you about those messages and you don’t bother about my past.”

She pointed a talon at the slowly shredding paper before crossing her legs in front of herself. Grallix sized up the griffin for a few moments before giving a slow response.

“Agreed.”

He then shot forth a bright burst of orange flame which engulfed the parchment and turned it to blackened ashes before the griffins’ eyes.

“J, we’ve lost a lot of time.” The muscular Sly strode up to his leader.

“Right,” Jay nodded and turned around to her griffin companions. “So, judging by the sun I’d say that it’s sometime in the afternoon. Even if we fly at top speed the entire way, we wouldn’t make it to Hooverdale until extremely late in the evening. If I’ve read Sun Cloak correctly, then I’d say that he’s not done with his game yet. We’ll fly as close to Hooverdale as we can today and then take a rest for the night. It shouldn’t be difficult to solve the puzzle sometime tomorrow and we can gain any lost ground during the next puzzle.”

“Very well,” said Grallix.

The powerful, but comparatively small, dragon spread his large leathery wings and trundled skyward in a blast of air that almost blew the griffins off their feet.

“Let’s fly!” commanded Jay to the griffins.

The three griffins then snapped their wings open and shot into the open blue sky. The fearsome alliance blazed through the air with Jay at the lead and Grallix taking the rear. The feisty female griffin was smirking with a sinister glee as she cut through the sky, eyes dead set on the far horizon.

* * * * * * * * *

The afternoon sun was only just beginning to wane as the Royal Treasure Seekers made their way quickly toward Hooverville. Spike was napping comfortably on the floor of the chariot and the others were busy talking.

“This is your captain, Rainbow Dash, speaking,” Dash yelled back to her friends riding in the chariot. “We are a little past halfway to our destination and the sky looks bright and clear the entire way. The royal kitchens of Canterlot have provided us with snacks for the voyage. Pinkie, would you mind grabbing them for everypony?”

“Okie dokie lokie!” giggled the pink mare happily.

Pinkie Pie rummaged through a small package from Canterlot Castle and pulled out bags filled with food.

“Complimentary peanuts!” Pinkie stated happily. “Who wants some?”

They each got their bags and began to munch happily.

“Hey Pinkie! Can I get some?” shouted Rainbow Dash.

“Sure!” replied the happy-go-lucky equine.

Pinkie Pie snatched up a bag and tossed it into the air and toward Rainbow Dash, but the wind gripped the package of peanuts and sent them hurdling back into the chariot. They smacked the slumbering Spike in the face and the young dragon jumped up in shock.

“We’re under attacked!” screamed the little dragon as he haphazardly breathed small bursts of green fire skyward. “Oh no! Twilight, they’ve blinded me!”

The purple unicorn mare reached up her hoof and removed the small bag of peanuts from the young dragon’s eyes.

“Oh…heh heh,” chuckled Spike nervously as he snagged up the peanuts and his cheeks flushed red. “Thanks.”

The ponies laughed and giggled as their ride continued smoothly through the heavens.

* * * * * * * * *

The day was passing into early evening as a group of four unicorns marched across the land. In the far distance, a speck of civilization came into view. Being such a long way away, the bright mansions of Hooverdale appeared to be miniature replica houses or children’s play things.

“Here we are at last,” huffed a weary Sun Chaser. “Unfortunately we’ve gotten behind. It’s already evening and I was hoping to arrive by the afternoon.”

The unicorns came to a halt and looked upon the distant community with happy relief.

“Sight Seer,” Chaser turned to his lanky friend, “do you have the energy to teleport us that far or should we rest here a few minutes?”

“I can rest when we’re in the city,” replied Sight Seer.

The light blue stallion set his gaze upon the distant community. His horn slowly began to glow violet as he gathered his thoughts and focused them on Hooverdale and then onto himself and the others in the Society. A blinding flash of light surrounded the four unicorns and, when it dissipated, they were standing inside the beautiful gated community of Hooverdale. Sight Seer stumbled forward but luckily found a stone statue of a pegasus and righted himself. He was breathing sharply and gasped for air as his whole frame shook.

“Are you ok?” Rose Shine rushed over to his side and placed a tender hoof on his shoulder.

“I-I’ll be alright. It just t-takes a tremendous amount of p-power to teleport this far,” wheezed Seer.

“Everypony take a breather,” ordered Sun Chaser calmly. “I’m going to see where exactly in Hooverdale we are and I’ll try to figure out where to go from here. Stay in this location. I’ll be back shortly.”

Chaser took in his surroundings. He and his group were in the backyard of a wealthy pony’s house. The lush green grass had been mowed only the day before and felt wonderful beneath their aching hooves. Surrounding the lawn was a shiny black gate made out of some sort of sturdy metal. Various marble statues were placed in the elegant yard along with a single pond, which contained a fountain. Many varieties of flowers, shrubs, bushes, and trees were also present in the luscious backyard. The mansion, which sat adjacent to the garden, was huge and had been painted white. It had many large windows and stood proper and sure. It was three floors tall and appeared to even have a basement. A large wooden patio sat outside the house and was the connector between the mansion and the backyard garden.

Sun Chaser knew that he and his group could not stay in this location long as Hooverdale was a protected community and only those permitted into Hooverdale by friends or were there on important business were allowed. He quickly used his magic to create a trampoline beside the gate and sprung himself up and down a few times before gathering the courage to bounce over the iron bars. He landed softly and then dissolved the magical trampoline. He waved a farewell to his companions from the other side of the bars before taking off into the community itself.

He used his magic once again and a fancy suit formed around his body. Hopefully this would keep any of the rich ponies from asking too many questions as he attempted to discern where he was. The unicorn was aware, however, that the suit would only last for an hour or two. Creation Magic could only create a magical object for a limited time, he knew.

The evening air was pleasant and cool. A few of the high society residents were out enjoying the final rays of sunlight. Many unicorns, pegasus, and even a few entrepreneurial earth ponies made their residences in the large mansions and manors adorning the small hill upon which Hooverdale was built. Sun Chaser noticed that he was close to the bottom of the lush hill and quickly made a trot for the top. Luckily, he was never questioned or stopped by the residents and he made good time. Close to the peak stood the largest building of all. Chaser wisely avoided the place and set about looking down below at the beautiful community.

After only a few moments of searching, the light brown unicorn spotted what he had been searching for, a flourishing forest at the base of the mountain with a strangely empty circle at the center. He noted that the forest was on the opposite side of where his group had been teleported and that they would need to walk around Hooverdale to reach their destination. With all the dignity of one raised in high society, he marched back to his companions to tell them what he had found.

* * * * * * * * *

The light from the slowly setting sun illuminated the peaceful and posh community of Hooverdale. Its high stone gate with black iron bars grew steadily closer to a chariot full of ponies plus one dragon.

“Hooverdale dead ahead! Hold on tight everypony!” shouted Rainbow Dash from her position at the front of the chariot.

The ponies who were riding gripped the chariot’s exterior and gazed in awe at the gorgeous houses and beautiful gardens which filled their view from the sky.

“There!” Rarity pointed toward one of the numerous mansions. “That is Sapphire Shore’s summer house! Ooo! And over there is the home of millionaire, Pony Stark!”

Busy pointing out the mansions of the rich and famous, Rarity had released her hold on the chariot. The metal vehicle came to the earth with a sharp bump. Fluttershy was exerting herself in order to keep up with Rainbow Dash and the chariot rocked and roiled until the two pegasi came to an uneven halt. On first contact with the ground, Rarity was sent flying out of the chariot and into the sky.

“Ah!!!”

“Rarity!” shrieked Spike as he helplessly flung out a claw, hoping to catch her.

The white unicorn flailed her hooves around and screamed as she was sent sailing. She landed with a bump, but continued to yell and shriek and wave her hooves around haphazardly.

“Um…Rarity?” asked Fluttershy softly. “Could you please get off my back?”

The fancy mare stopped her floundering hooves and looked at where she was. She had managed to land perfectly on of Fluttershy’s back and the yellow pegasus was looking at Rarity with pleading eyes.

“Uh, yes,” replied Rarity.

She slid off of the shy pegasus with as much dignity as could be mustered considering the circumstances.

“Thank you,” sighed Fluttershy, whose legs and wings were trembling.

“Rarity, are you ok?!” Spike was the first to hop off the chariot and he rushed over to Rarity’s side and hugged her as fast as lighting.

The white mare cleared her throat and then spoke, “I’m quite alright…thanks to Fluttershy.”

Rarity then smiled sheepishly as she patted Spike on the head. He released his grip on the white mare.

“Can somepony get this thing off of me?” asked Rainbow Dash grumpily from underneath her harness. “I’ve got an itch and I can’t scratch it.”

She was trying to shake the harness off, but it wasn’t doing any good.

“Hold on! One second!” called Twilight from the chariot.

The purple mare jumped out of the vehicle and came to Rainbow’s aide. A magic aura surrounded the Rainbow’s harness before clicking free and floating slowing to the ground.

“Thank you!” said Dash curtly and then saddled up to the chariot and began to rub her back on it. “Ahhhh…” she breathed contentedly as she scratched her back, “that’s it right there.”

“Fluttershy, hold on one second Darling and I’ll have that harness off your back too,” stated Rarity after observing Rainbow Dash’s antics.

A blue magic surrounded Rarity’s horn and Fluttershy’s harness. With the same clicking noise, the harness came loose and floated to the ground. The yellow pegasus sighed deeply and then allowed her wings to droop at her side.

“My wings are so tired, I can’t even feel them,” said Fluttershy.

“Halt!” shouted an imposing female voice from beyond the wall of Hooverdale. “Who goes there?”

The group looked over to the wall and found that two guards had been posted beside the main entrance to Hooverdale. The entrance was an impressive black metal gate crafted in the elegant design of a tree. At the center was the trunk and flowing branches and large leaves tapered off to either side. The guards peered from behind the beautifully crafted gate at the seven newcomers with suspicion in their eyes. Both guards were earth ponies and each one held a spear, but the spears were slung over their shoulders and not held in an aggressive stance. Twilight quickly and calmly trotted over to the gate after grabbing a sheet of fancy paper from her bags and announced the group and their business.

“Hello! I’m Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends.”

The purple unicorn waved a hoof back at those unpacking the chariot.

“I have a document from Princess Celestia allowing us entrance to Hooverdale.”

She handed the paper to the guards, who took it and inspected it for legitimacy.

“Alright, everything looks to be in order,” stated the female guard. “Welcome to Hooverdale.”

The guards moved to opposite ends of the large gate and grunted as the metal tree split in two. It scraped against the ground until the entrance into Hooverdale was wide open. The guards walked outside the open gate and up to Twilight.

“If you’d like, we can park your chariot inside the gates,” offered the guard.

“Thank you very much,” responded Twilight with a smile and a nod.

The guards moved over to the chariot and began to haul it inside while the Royal Treasure Seekers took their first steps inside the rich community of Hooverdale.

“I can’t believe that I’m actually in Hooverdale!” squealed Rarity happily.

She gazed around at the magnificent structures and landscaping with mouth agape and she began giggle, ever so ladylike of course.

“Those are some mighty fine houses.” Applejack gave a short whistle.

“Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight, “did you see where the forest was located from the sky?”

“I sure did,” Dash nodded, “it was-”

“It’s this way!” Rarity interrupted her cyan friend with a gleeful wave of her hoof. Rarity charged ahead of the group, through the streets of Hooverdale and the others followed as the sunlight began to wane.

* * * * * * * * *

The Royal Treasure Seekers found themselves standing at the edge of Hooverdale’s forest. This land was common ground for all residents to enjoy as they saw fit. Many excellent walking trails snaked underneath the green branches. Only one path led to the center of the forest, however, and it was rarely used. Upon this seldom trod trail trotted the six ponies and young dragon.

“Here ghosty, ghosty, ghosty!” called Pinkie Pie into the quickly darkening forest.

Fluttershy shuddered every time a twig snapped and jumped with many a “squee!”

“P-Pinkie, could you stop calling for it?” stuttered Spike.

“But it’s on my list,” responded Pinkie as she once again pulled her list out of thin air and handed it to Spike.

Suddenly the group stopped. Spike, who was reading over the gigantic list, bumped into Rainbow Dash and fell down. They had reached a clearing with nothing but short grass, shaped in a large circle.

“We’re here,” whispered Twilight.

The party walked cautiously into the strange circle. They felt tension in the air and trotted along slowly, constantly glancing this way and that. A sudden pop, flash, and hum came from behind the ponies. They all jumped up and screamed until they realized that it was only Sun Cloak’s ruby, being held by Spike. The unicorn’s familiar transparent image greeted the group as Sun Cloak spoke.

“Welcome to the Small University sports fields!” announced the unicorn with a happy smile. “Ahead of you lies one of the most fun challenges I have ever had the pleasure of creating. In the center of the field you will find three small circles, each one a different size, and one small indent inside the circles. You are to place the rings you found from the last riddle into these circles and then place your gemstone in the indent. I hope you are all somewhat familiar with the fine sport of Merring, but if not I will give a brief explanation once the challenge begins. Oh, and one last thing, have fun!”

Sun Cloak faded. The group found the places where they were to set the rings in the center of the strange clearing. The grass had stopped growing in four places, each spot making a circle the exact size of the rings and one the perfect fit for their ruby. Soon the rings were placed in their respected locations and so was the gem.

The ruby glowed and began to hum a noise reminiscent of a cheering crowd. It spread a warm magical glow over the first ring. The ring also started glowing with the same energy, which then grew until it reached the second ring and then the third ring. With each ring and the crystal glowing, the three golden loops slowly rose of their own accord into the air. The party of ponies looked in awe at the incredible sight, but more was to come.

In an instant, a blinding flash of golden light lit the sky and, when the group could see once again, a massive golden ring comprised of the same transparent substance as Sun Cloak’s image was hovering around the field. Slowly, a glowing track made of pure light spread itself around the semi-visible ring and then five golden towers of the same transparent substance grew up and around the track. The party took a step back and gasped as the field became illuminated by the soft golden glow of the transparent, magical objects. They all gasped and Twilight was the first to speak.

“We’re going to play Merring?!”

Next Chapter: Chapter 15: The Game Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 18 Minutes