During their three and a half day march, with how little came at them, the Everfree’s reputation now seemed to be a bit exaggerated. They never once got lost, or ran into a single manitcore, cockatrice, or timberwolf, though those were the three most fierce creatures that were known to live in the forest. They had no idea if it was luck on their part, or something or someone was helping.

Ruby was fairly certain that it had to be the latter. Several times, they had run into a strangely quiet section of the forest, which had made them all uneasy. Forest danger 101: sudden silence usually means that something dangerous is nearby. In these sections, she could usually detect faint traces of one of the three predators, but she could also detect something else. Whatever it was had a strange, slight sulfur smell to it. And it was only in those areas; it never trailed off to other parts of the forest the way she would expect to find with any other animal, including flying ones.

Magic Dowser would use his ability to gauge what was around via his ability to see magic, but he never could find any trace of what could be causing it. He could see the creatures of the forest, and the ley lines that flowed around, but he could not see any unknown creature that could cause what they were finding. The behavior of the magical ley lines of the Everfree was, as expected, abnormal, but he still could not see how they could be causing it, either, and he was an expert on them. He even looked for the absence of magic, in his desperation.

After the fifth time, they gave up trying to figure it out, and just did a cursory glance around before continuing. Doing a thorough search every time was time consuming, and none of them wanted to stick around in the forest for too long. Even Magic Dowser, who had returned to Castle Town to begin his research on the Everfree, was not liking it. His plan was to study in a controlled way, not waltz through willy nilly, as even he knew that that would be asking for trouble. He knew that the Everfree was dangerous, and to not test his luck.

The sun was high on the fourth day from Castle Town, when they broke through the trees and found themselves in an ever expanding plain of grass. All three of them sighed in relief. At least now, they could see danger coming, unlike the dark and thick woods. They took this time to eat in relative peace before continuing on, following the compass as it pointed them southward.

“Those are some big-ass rocks.” Magic Dowser whistled as they reached a line of large boulders, most bigger than a typical house. A small creek went between a pair of them, on its way to the Everfree, no doubt.

“The question is, where did they come from? There doesn’t appear to be anything that could be the source for many, many miles…” Minty commented, looking about for a mountain and finding none within sight.

“‘Here be dragons…’” Ruby gulped after she whispered the line she suddenly remembered from the map.

“What do you mean, Ruby?” Minty cocked her head at the dragon’s words. She had gotten to know the whelp quite well in the past several days, and could tell that she was nervous about something.

“There was a map in the castle, and the area south (or, I think it was south) of Everfree was labeled as ‘Here be Dragons...’”

“Maybe it’s because that is the homeland of the dragons… maybe it’s where you are from?” Minty commented. “Either way, south is where your answers lie. Don’t let fear of them stop you.”

Ruby nodded her head, Minty was right. Even though Ruby was apprehensive about meeting with her own kind, she got his far; she might as well finish it. At least, for the moment, the dream had not resurfaced; it was as if this journey was washing it away.

“We had better fill our canteens now; who knows when we will run into more water.”

Ruby couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Magic Dowser. Every time they ran into water that was clean, he said that. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was a smart move, Ruby would have gotten annoyed. She wasn’t a little hatchling, anymore; she didn’t need reminders like that, anymore… But it did give her an opening to tease her brother some more. “I know I’m a girl and mom said for you to keep me safe, but I’m twenty-three. I can take care of myself.”

Magic Dowser shook his head, trying not to come back at her with a snarky remark. He knew that if he gave her an inch, she’d go two miles. He just went about filling his canteens. While he waited for the other two to fill theirs, he checked out the boulder wall. He wondered why the wall was put out in the middle of nowhere. He wondered if maybe the boulders were enchanted or marked by hidden runes by whatever ancient civilization put them here.

However, something about the other side of the boulders and the ley lines beneath the ground intrigued him. The ley lines, the worldly magic conduits, in the EN were malleable and far apart, which usually never interfere with, and even sometimes were used to help pony magic. In contrast, the ones in the Everfree seemed to resist any control, and seemed to shift around slowly, like a dandelion seed in a gentle breeze. The general direction of the flow also appeared to come from the south. South, and the land beyond this boulder wall. There, the amount of ley lines jumped to a number he thought impossible for ley lines, and, furthermore, they danced frantically around, like a fly or a mosquito!

“Dowsy?” Ruby looked at her brother in concern. He looked like a fish out of water.

“Uh… the um… I uh…” Magic Dowser was at a loss for how to explain what he was seeing. “It’s the ley lines beyond the boulders…”

“Yes…” Ruby resisted the urge the facepalm; she needed for him to talk, so that she could help “What about them?”

“I... err…” By this point Magic Dowser was so befuddled that he zoned out completely.

Ruby snapped her fingers in front of Magic Dowser, who had a far off look in his eyes. “I think his brain went on a vacation…and, as much as I find this amusing…” Ruby commented as she unscrewed one of her canteens to dump its contents on the spazzed out pony.

“Are you alright Dowsy?” Ruby leaned down to see eye-to-eye with her brother after dumping the water on him.

“Yeah, it’s just, um… The ley lines of magic on the other side are very dense and actively shifting, unlike the spread out and semi-dormant ones in the Equus Nation…”

Minty’s jaw dropped. She had some knowledge of ley lines, as she was a unicorn, and dating a pony that was an expert on them, and, even to her, it sounded like an impossibility. Her brain couldn’t even fathom a situation like that. Everfree was already considered to be an impossibility to most ponies in the magicology field.

Ruby resisted the urge to facepalm as Minty started to act just like Magic Dowser was a moment ago. She didn’t dump water on her, as that would just be rude. That, and she figured that Dowsy would be able to snap her out of it without resorting something like that.

Minty tried to reach out with her magic, but, as soon as it crossed the boulders, it went haywire, and instead of just feeling, it changed, as if she was casting a spell. Suddenly, all three could see the grass on the other side being lifted in the air by levitation…

“Uh, Minty, why are you doing that?” Magic Dowser questioned.

“I’m not!” Minty grunted as she let loose her magic, canceling it and making the grass float back to the ground. “I’m just trying to feel with my magic...feel, not levitate!”

Magic Dowser blinked in confusion, before realization hit him. The ley lines where morphing Minty’s magic into something other than what she wanted. It reminded him of the ever-changing magic threads within the compass. It was clear that the reason his magic wasn’t effected in the same way was because he could see the ley lines, so he could counter their effects, if he concentrated enough. Obviously, Minty could not. “Minty, I think, for now, you should avoid casting any spells or using magic on the other side of that wall, at least until I can figure out a way to help you compensate for the leyonic magic interference. Ruby? Can you fly over there and see if it affects inner magic, as well?”

Ruby lifted off and hovered just on the other side. Her wings felt just a bit sluggish, but it was so minute as to not be a bother to compensate for.

“Well it does affect dragons, but not as much…” Magic Dowser noted as he watch Ruby’s mana flow, as she hovered. “Maybe it has to do with the amount of mana one has… what about the compass?”

Ruby checked the compass to see that it still pointed to the south. “The compass doesn’t seem to be affected…”

“Well, for the moment, I’m at a loss…” Magic Dowser admitted defeat as he shook his head. They could theoretically spend a bit of time figuring out the ley lines enough to allow Minty to use her magic again, or they could turn around and come back later with more supplies… Either way, it was a delay, and he knew how badly Ruby needed answers… “Ruby, we are here for you. What do you say we do?”

Ruby sighed as she went over everything in her head. Magic Dowser and herself seemed to do okay, along with whatever enchantment was on the compass, she hoped... The problem was Minty. If they ran into trouble, and she was still unable to correct control her spells… but then, there was the fact they made it this far, and even through the dangerous Everfree, without Minty needing to use her magic…

Ugh, decisions… Ruby huffed. She wanted to push on, but she would turn back if Minty felt uncomfortable, this was her journey not Minty’s... “If Minty thinks she can handle it, I say we push on…”

“I’ll be fine.” Minty said after a moment of reflection.

“You sure?” Magic Dowser asked. He wanted to make sure that she was sure.

“Yea, I’m sure.”

The sun was high in the sky on our fourth day in the desert. It had been hot and miserable and, to conserve our water and sanity, we had been walking silently for the past two days. The two most miserable days I’ve had, in nearly twenty years. I was really beginning to consider saying “screw this” and heading home, but we were so far into the desert that I don’t even think that, if I flew us, we could get out and back to a source of water before dying from thirst… or before I killed one or both of them by dropping them. You try holding on to a sweaty pony with slick scales, and you’ll see what I mean.

“Dowsy…” I tiredly called back to him, as I was, for the moment, in the front. We were hoping that the compass would tell us where there was water, and fast. So far, all it did was trick us by leading us to mirage after mirage. On that line, and why I called back, I could see another one in the distance. “Please tell me that the mirage I see isn’t a mirage.”

After a moment of waiting on my part he called back to me. “It’s not a mirage.”

I stopped in my tracks, irritated. My hands clenched into fists as I turned to face Dowsy. “I’m in no mood for your tricks, Dowsy!”

“It’s an oasis,” Dowsy deadpanned, looking at me with conviction. “An oasis, Ruby, which means there is a source of water, and, most likely, shade. I just hope the water is drinkable, as we are low on water.”

“Forget drinkable water.” I griped as I spun back around to continue the march. “All we need right now is enough cool, refreshing water suitable for swimming. Four fucking days in a hot desert and finally, we will walk into a real oasis…”

“But Ruby, you are a dragon.” Minty countered. “The heat shouldn’t be bothering you as much as it does, us.”

“Yeah, true...” I admitted, but that was not what was bothering me. “But... no offense, you two stink to high heaven.”

“True… Hopefully a strong and handsome unicorn can help me wash my hair…”

I facepalmed as my complaint backfired on me. I sped up a bit to get away from the smell of building arousal. How can they be thinking like that at a time like this!? Just because I like to hear the sexual exploits of my brother and his marefriend doesn’t mean that I want to smell it all the time… I want hear about the juicy details, not witness them, as that is… ewwww.

Thankfully, the oasis was quite close, as, within a few minutes, we found ourselves in an inviting and shaded grove of palm trees. A small, deep blue pond of water laid in the center of the grove. Looking at it all could make one swear it was right out of an adventure book. Except for the dilapidated-looking stone shack on the other side of the oasis. Who would want to live out here?

“Um, that is not a shack.” Dowsy commented.

“What?” I blinked. I don’t recall making any out-loud remarks about the ‘building,’ did I? “How can it not be a shack? What, becuase it’s made out of stone blocks, that makes it a mansion or something? It looks poorly built, so it's a shack.”

“Minty do you know the one spell that every student wishes was possible?”

“Yeah, of course… Are you saying?” Minty looked over at Dowsy with wide and shocked eyes, much to my annoyance. Can someone let me in on the secert?

“That it’s possible… Yes.”

“Hello, a fucking non magic user over here.” I growled out in irritation over not knowing what the two were talking about… I hate inside jokes… Well, actually, I don’t, but it’s been a long four days… “Explain in something other than geeky unicorn for dumb dragon here.”

“A bottomless bag spell.” Dowsy explained, rolling his eyes at my ‘So?’ face. “Somehow, that shack is smaller on the outside than the inside.”

Well, then why the fuck couldn't you fucking tell me that in the first place!? Instead of…

“Very good, Magic Dowser…” A tenor voice echoed across the oasis, interrupting my internal rant.

“A bodiless voice spell. Very funny,” I rolled my eyes, “now quit stroking your ego.”

“Uh, Ruby…” Dowsy chuckled nervously. “I didn’t do anything…”

Yeah, rrrrright... I rolled my eyes in disbelief. This isn’t the first time he has done something like this, though I admit, it has been a while… Thought he outgrew this particular one, when he found out that I could tell just by smell if someone was there or not.

“No, he didn’t.” The voice chuckled as he ‘corrected’ me. “I did.”

I was about to backhand my joking brother when he suddenly cowered down, pointing a shaking hoof to something behind me. I would have rolled my eyes, again, but I could smell the sudden shock and fear on him, and that is something he can’t fake.