The Scariest Cave in Equestria was just a few hours away. Maud had stopped for a break and to consult the topographical map. She stood on the corners to prevent it from blowing away and glanced over at her husband, who was sipping tea out of his flask. When he was done drinking, his head dropped down to the map so he could pay attention.

“Here,” Maud said, pointing with her nose at a spot on the map. “Here is the tallest hill in the area, there is a broad, flat ridge along the south side overlooking the valley below and the cave. We’ll have a good view of everything and I think we’ll be safer with some elevation and some distance.”

Tarnish nodded agreement.

“There is the cave,” she added, pointing with her nose to a map marker. “The ley line intersection isn’t actually where the cave is, it’s over here.” She touched her nose to a different location. She lifted her head and looked Tarnish in the eye. “Beware of the badger-kin.”

“The what?”

“Badger-kin.” Maud blinked and leaned in closer to Tarnish. “Talking badgers. Sapient.”

“Talking badgers?” Tarnish shook his head. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Like the great cats and jackals of ancient Anugypt, the badger-kin are a race of animals that have gained sapience. They can be a little grumpy and they like to be left alone. They’re builders and farmers. Be respectful of them. You don’t want to make them angry.”

“You learn something new every day,” Tarnish said. “I’ll be careful.”

“I learned all about ancient Anugypt because of their stonework. They made pyramids. Magnificent structures. I will go and see them someday.”

“Correction.” Tarnish’s eyebrow arched. “We’ll go and see them someday. You and I.”

Maud blinked once, then twice, and then felt a growing warmth spreading from her dock. She liked the sound of that. A lot. A romantic trip to go and see ancient stone monuments. And she knew that Tarnish’s interest was genuine. He listened to her rock lectures without falling asleep.

“More rain is coming. With fall on the way, we’ll see more feral storms in this area. They blow in from off of the ocean and soak the Hayseed Swamps. The leftovers make it this far inland and the runoff all flows into a river that runs through The Scariest Cave in Equestria. Another good reason to be high up on a ridge rather than down in the valley.”

“We should get moving then.” Tarnish turned his head skywards and looked at the dull grey clouds off to the east. “I’m excited, Maud. I can’t wait to explore and start looking around. I’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time.”

“You and me both.” Maud stepped off the corners of the map, took a step back, and then watched as Tarnish folded the thick, weatherproof paper. “If we hurry, we should be able to set up camp and then have a few hours before nightfall. It’ll give us a chance to settle in. Hopefully the rain won’t be too bad.” Reaching up with her hoof, Maud adjusted her pith helmet. She now understood why Tarnish wore one. They were quite comfortable, kept the head cool, and perhaps more importantly for Maud, they kept the sun off. Hers had a broader brim that covered her face and much of her neck.

Stepping into her harness, Maud got herself strapped in and ready to go.

Much to Maud’s relief, Tarnish was talking to Twilight through the mirror. She didn’t catch everything being said, but a lot was being said. Tarnish told her about the centaur statue, the shield, the orb, and the timber wolves. He told her about the memories and the strange magic. He held nothing back and for this, Maud was grateful. It allowed her to relax just a little bit.

She was feeling sore, but it was manageable. They were going up a steep incline that would take them to the top of the ridge where they planned to set up base camp. There was something of a trail here, but it was overgrown and Tarnish had to clear debris out of the way as they traveled. She had a marvellous view of his backside as he forged ahead of her.

“No, Twilight, I’ve never heard of druids,” Tarnish said to the mirror that he held up near his face. “They’re gone? They don’t exist? What happened?”

With the sounds of underbrush being cleared, logs being moved, and rocks being rolled out of the way, Maud could hear very little of what Twilight was saying. She kept her ears perked, hoping to make out something of interest.

“So the centaurs were druids.” Tarnish shoved a rotten log full of grubs aside and it collapsed into moist chunks of wood that teemed with white, wiggling larvae. “And some ponies, you say… but the ways of the druids were lost? Gone?”

Perhaps telling Twilight was a bad idea. Perhaps a more responsible princess that could resist the siren call of ancient knowledge. Maud had something of a bad feeling and she wondered that, if perhaps, just maybe, Twilight’s judgment might be impaired. The orb was a powerful source of knowledge, so it seemed obvious that Twilight would take interest.

“Druid magic was dangerous and unpredictable? Almost as bad as Discord’s chaos magic? Is it bad? I mean, is it like dark magic, or evil magic?”

At least Tarnish was asking the right questions. Maud leaned into the harness as the incline got a little steeper. This wagon had very low rolling resistance and compared to her old buckboard, her effort was minimal. The narrow rubber tires cut through the soft ground with very little effort and even with the considerable gear packed into it, the wagon somehow felt rather light, which it was, but there was something with how it rolled. It was an engineering marvel.

“Tarnish, when druid magic caused earthquakes, everything was vulnerable. There’s no targeting a spell like that. No control at—”

Maud couldn’t make out the rest of what was being said by Twilight, but it didn’t sound good. Earthquakes, volcanoes, twisters, these were acts of nature that were both destruction and creation, and any attempts to control them seemed like folly.

“So there are unicorn magic spells that mimic druid magic, but they’re weak and more controlled,” Tarnish said.

There was a loud rustle as Tarnish used his telekinesis to push away a mass of thorny brambles blocking the path. He moved with great care and made certain to get all of them, as getting a thorn in the frog was a most unpleasant experience that nopony wanted to have happen to them.

“—yes, and Sunset Shimmer, Princess Celestia’s former student, she could grow plants, but she couldn’t control them. She tapped into nature magic, but she had trouble controlling it. But I don’t think it was druid magic for the simple reason that—”

“Twilight, it occurs to me, my magical talent is difficult to control and is just as dangerous to me as it is to everypony around me… and I seem to be able to tap into strange magic, Twilight. It’s a strange feeling… it flows through me like water… it’s like a flood… so much power, but I can’t control it.”

“This makes sense, in way, given your knack for hydromancy,” Twilight’s voice said through the mirror. “Keep experimenting, but be careful. Keep me informed. Let me know what you discover. Maybe it is time for old magic to return.”

“I promise, I’ll be careful, Twilight,” Tarnish replied.

Maud could not make out what Twilight said, try as she might. She watched as Tarnish put the mirror away. Her concerns were not assauged. Perhaps it was an earth pony bias, a natural mistrust of magic. Maybe she was just a bit too concerned because Tarnish was the love of her life and she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.

Or perhaps, just maybe, she was jealous because of all the time that Tarnish spent peeping into the orb. Maud snorted and threw herself into her task with renewed vigour. Perhaps this was much ado about nothing. Maybe she was being fearful and superstitious about things she didn’t understand. Maybe, deep down inside, she was no better than the gypsies who had fled into the night, overcome by terror, fearful of something they didn’t understand.

Near the middle of the ridge was an almost perfect campsite, if not outright perfect. There was a broad, flat shelf of land jutting off of the side of the hill, it was sloped on each side to allow rainwater to run off in either direction, rather than a torrent of water trying to go downhill. The flat area was about twenty five feet or so wide and maybe twenty feet deep.The southern exposure on the hill was covered in trees, many, many trees, so there would be plenty of firewood for them to collect, much of it from the ground, if they were lucky.

Tarnish could provide water, so the river being down in the valley below was not an issue. A lightning rod would need to be set up, but Maud had brought one along, as she had planned out this trip with the utmost care.

As an unexpected bonus, there was a vast, thorny raspberry thicket growing at the top of the hill, just above the camp. As for The Scariest Cave in Equestria, it was a little less than a mile from the camp, visible from the edge of the ridge.

Maud could already feel the tingle of strange magic here. It was faint, but noticeable. Nowhere near as bad as the Crack of Doom. It was a faint tickle, like having ants crawl over your pelt. It was said to be strong enough to make unicorn magic just a little erratic.

Tarnish was already making himself useful as Maud took a breather. Using his magic, he set up camp, he laid out rocks in a circle for the fire, secured the wagon, and began clearing away the common debris of the outdoors, such as twigs, leaves, and other fire hazards. Maud felt a sense of pride as she watched him. He had started off as a greenhorn but was now seasoned in the ways of the wilds.

The storm blew closer and Maud could feel a chill in the damp wind. Her mane tumbled around her face and the strong breeze tugged on her pith helmet. She closed her eyes and leaned into the cool, damp breeze, which blew through her smock and teased her sweaty, warm skin, kissing and caressing with ticklish gusts.

Opening her eyes, she turned to tell Tarnish about the lightning rod, but he was already assembling it. With a grunt, he stabbed the base down into the ground, drew out the tension wires, and then began to drive the stakes home to secure the long, thin metal rod. Once he had the base secured, he began to add the extensions, an easy task for a unicorn, not an easy task for an earth pony.

This would be home for the next couple of months, until the winter threatened them into leaving. There was so much to do. There were readings to take, caves to explore, the idea of spelunking made Maud excited, and there was plenty to study. There was a wealth of plants around and Tarnish had warned her that the area had needler cacti down along the valley floor. One bad step and a pony could be paralysed and potentially done for.

There was danger here, real danger, she and Tarnish had already agreed that nopony goes off alone out of sight of the other. Danger was best faced together and she trusted Tarnish to watch her back. She had been with him during some very dangerous moments and she knew that he was capable and quick to adapt in a fight. With the exception of the cockatrice, Tarnish had a good record so far of winning and surviving.

Thinking about it, she realised that Tarnish was gifted when it came to improvisation. She thought about the attack on the spider cave and the raid on the diamond dog camp. He had gone into both with only the barest idea of a plan and had come out on top both times. She tilted her head to one side as she watched him work and then sat down on the soft grass that had something of a tickle-prickle against her hind legs. More than just fighting, he had kept them both alive after the volcano erupted. For that, she loved him, she loved him with all of her heart and without reservation.

As the breeze blew against her, Maud sighed. Tomorrow, work would begin.

Author's Notes:

And now, we begin the next arc.