It was a new day, pregnant with all manner of possibilities. Tarnish looked down at a topographical map laid out on a small, light, folding aluminium camp table. The edges had been taped down. It was cold, very much so, and shivering, he hunched over his steaming teacup as he looked at the map.

“As I said, I think the cave is a lava tube,” Maud said as she gestured at the map markers that showed The Scariest Cave in Equestria. “There are other caves here, a geode cave that has been tapped out by miners”—she gestured at another map marker—“and another cave where a small offshoot of the river used to flow through. That offshoot is dried up now, but in heavy rains or snowmelt, it floods, and water flows again.”

“And what about this one?” Tarnish asked as he looked at the markers that Maud hadn’t yet discussed.

“There is a lake here, fed by snowmelt and rain. There is a cave on the edge of the lake. The lake drains into the cave and joins the network of underground rivers that exist in this place.” Maud paused, leaned forwards, and then continued, “The Scariest Cave in Equestria loses some water to the underground river network. This water flows in this direction”—she moved her hoof along a series of dotted lines on the map—“and it joins up with the cave here, on the side of the lake.”

“Why is this important?” Octavia asked as she pulled the blanket wrapped around her a little tighter.

“I’m glad you asked,” Maud replied, looking at Octavia. “It is reasonable to assume that The Scariest Cave in Equestria has a source of magical fear. If we go into this cave, and we feel afraid, we might get a better feel for just how strong this fear effect is, and how much power it has. If the fear is in this cave”—Maud tapped her hoof on the map—“we might be able to build up a thaumaturgical and ecological case that dumping toxic chemical and alchemical waste into the Scariest Cave in Equestria might damage this whole region. We might also be able to convince others that the magical effect in The Scariest Cave in Equestria is worth preserving and studying. But we need to visit some caves that are connected to the underground river network. Octavia, you are going to be our fear detector, as you seem exceptionally vulnerable to the fear effect. You will be our canary in the coal mine, so to speak.”

“Oh, goody…” Octavia did not sound very enthusiastic. Shaking her head, she turned and looked at Tarnish. “Well, I suppose I shall be spending much of this day riding upon your back.” Her cheeks darkened. “I swear, I’m not that sort of mare, really.” She let out a nervous giggle, and then took a sip of hot cocoa from the cup she held between her front hooves.

“Based upon observation, Tarnish is the strongest against the fear effect, perhaps because of how his talent tends to somewhat neutralise hostile magical effects.” Maud picked up her mug and inhaled some of the steam that rose from it.

“It didn’t protect me from the cockatrice.” Tarnish shuddered at the memory.

“To be completely objective, the cockatrice’s magic wasn’t hostile, it perfectly preserved you in stone and kept you safe.” Something almost resembling an emotional reaction crossed over Maud’s face, and her whole body let out a very noticeable shudder. “I still have bad dreams about that day. Stupid nature.”

“So that’s the plan for today.” Tarnish nodded his head, glad to change the subject. He didn’t like thinking about it. “We’ll wait for the clouds to clear a little and for the sun to come up over the ridge. We’ll take lunch with us so we don’t have to hike back.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Octavia said as Vinyl nodded.

“Yes it does,” Maud agreed. “Let’s hope we have better luck today.”

Looking at her husband, Maud felt a keen sense of worry, as she always did when he was lost in his blue orb. She didn’t understand it, she wasn’t sure that she trusted it, and just looking at him while he was zoned out left her feeling unsettled. He was lost, completely lost, and his body was surrounded by a faint blue aura. His cutie mark was also glowing in a weird, unnerving sort of way. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and regular.

Leaning over, she poked Vinyl and asked, “Is he really okay?”

A slate popped into existence near Vinyl, along with a piece of chalk, this one was blue. She scribbled out a message and held it up for Maud to see. He’s fine. Astral travel. I’m jealous.

“Jealous?” Maud was a little surprised by this.

The words on the slate were wiped away, and then new words were printed out. I’m powerful. No bragging. Can’t astral jump. Almost impossible.

“But the orb is doing this.” Maud shook her head.

Not orb, Tarnish is doing this. Vinyl turned and looked into Maud’s eyes. She wiped the slate clean and then added more words. He’s in control. Mostly. He makes the magic happen.

For some reason, the message on the slate comforted Maud. She waited as Vinyl wrote out more, this time in teeny, tiny letters to fit more words on the slate. Maud, a naturally curious pony, had a sincere desire to know what Vinyl felt and saw in Tarnish.

He’ll do better if he senses that you trust him. His biggest problem is confidence. It keeps him from his full potential. His self esteem is about as durable as a champagne flute. Vinyl gave Maud a soft nudge.

Maud didn’t like that description. Champagne flutes shattered if you even looked at them wrong. She sat there, blinking, unable to respond to Vinyl, Maud was at a complete loss for words. She thought about what she knew about Tarnish, the isolation he had suffered, the separation from the herd, and the complete lack of any sort of positive reinforcement from his mother or trusted authority figures during his chaotic phase.

Her thoughts made her want to cry. Maud’s eyes became a little more reflective than usual as excess moisture welled up on their surface, and then, when she blinked, the excess moisture was wiped away, gone, and unnoticed by any of her companions. The only pony that might have noticed was Pinkie Pie, who was off in locations unknown, fighting an army of mutant parasprites.

“It scares me just a little,” Maud confessed, and she found it good for the soul. “I’ve thought about this. He’s doing something I don’t understand, and it bothers me. I’ve been trying to deal with it.”

Gesturing with her hoof, Vinyl pointed over at Octavia, who was busy writing music in a notebook. New words appeared on Vinyl’s slate. There is so much I don’t understand about her. The mystery is why I love her.

Deep within her barrel, Maud felt her heartbeat quicken, and she felt a flood of warmth flow through her stomach and down into her nethers. She looked at Tarnish and could feel the blood pounding through her fetlocks and pulsing into her frogs. She could have married an earth pony. In doing so, she would have a mate that she understood, a mate that was a reflection of herself. But no, she had married a unicorn, and a weird one at that. And Tarnish, he had married an earth pony, also weird. Maud had married outside of tribe and was better for it.

Blinking, Maud had an intense mental revelation. Her brain exploded. The only visible indicator that showed on the outside was a brief flaring of her nostrils. The muscles in her groin clenched and Maud inhaled just a little bit deeper than her usual rate of breathing. “I want to have foals,” Maud announced.

Cocking her head off to one side, Vinyl’s raised eyebrow said what needed to be said. What?

“I want to have foals,” Maud repeated, “and I want to experience the mystery of not knowing what they will be or how they will turn out. Little earth ponies? Little unicorns? I just want to see what will happen. I want to watch the mystery of life unfold. Starting tomorrow, I’m no longer taking my birth control pills.”

Vinyl’s mouth fell open.

“Thank you, Vinyl, you are a good friend.” Maud felt better and let out sigh of relief.

As Tarnish crested the ridge, he couldn’t help but notice that something was a little off with Maud. She kept looking at him and when she did, he couldn’t help but feel funny. There was something almost… predatory about her stare. Something hungry. It was disquieting to say the very least.

She was acting weird. After he had snapped out of his trance, she had bombarded him with praise. Much more so than usual. She had also piled on the affection, wet, sloppy affection that left him breathless and his muzzle soggy. Sure, everything she had done had put him in a fantastic mood, but he felt a little worried and a tiny bit suspicious that something was up.

When he saw the view in front of him, Tarnish froze in his tracks. So did the others. Vinyl began snapping photographs of the majestic view. Mist shrouded the edges of the lake and the pristine blue water sparkled like diamonds in the morning sun. The lake in the valley below wasn’t very large, but it sure was pretty. It was also shaped like a kidney.

Always wary, Tarnish eyeballed the valley below, looking for telltale signs of danger. He couldn’t see a whole lot from up here, but that didn’t stop him from trying. He let out a long whistle of appreciation, and was thankful that he was here to see this. The ponies in the city had no idea of what they were missing.

“Something about the view,” Octavia remarked, “greatly satisfies my inner earth pony.”

There was a pop as Vinyl’s slate poofed into existence. She wrote down a few words in a hurry. I want to tickle your inner earth pony. Date pls?

The message made Tarnish chuckle as Octavia giggled and her face reddened. The slate vanished from view and Vinyl stood with an impish grin upon her face. She adjusted her parasol to keep the now bright sun off of her, scooted her glasses back upon her muzzle, and then continued to take more photos.

“The cave is on the far side of the lake.” Maud pointed with her hoof. “Well go down into the valley and then make our way along the left side, the way looks shorter, and the cave is over there along that cliff face on the far wall of the ravine.”

“That little rock island looks like a lovely place for lunch.” Octavia let heave a satisfied sounding sigh, then let out another love-drunk giggle.

“Too cold to swim. I bet that water is freezing.” Tarnish shivered just thinking about it.

“Not to worry,” Octavia replied, reassuring Tarnish. “Vinyl can get us there to the island. Really, it is the most ideal place to have lunch. Look at it! Look how inviting it is.”

“Okay.” Tarnish relented and decided to trust Octavia.The island appeared to be one large boulder sticking up out of the water, flat on top, and there were a few pine trees growing out of it. No doubt, some glacier had deposited the boulder here long ago.

The valley was a place of exquisite beauty and it filled Tarnish up with a flood of emotions. Unicorns, as a tribe, tended to be urban and urbane. They were sophisticated. A vast majority tended to live in cities. There was empirical data that gave evidence that unicorns prefered to live near libraries and other centres of culture, such as theatres and universities. And that was fine, for them. Tarnish didn’t feel that he was among their number. He took a deep breath and inhaled the pine scented air as deep into his lungs as he could.

“What are you thinking?” Maud asked as she gave Tarnish a nudge.

“What gave me away?” Tarnish angled his head to look down at Maud, who stood beside him. He gave her a smile and thought of his fondness for her.

“The smell of smoke,” Maud deadpanned.

“Oh… oh… oh, that’s how it is. That’s it. Your inner earth pony is gonna get it, Maudlin Persephone Pie.” As Tarnish spoke, he could hear Octavia laughing and he saw that Vinyl was shaking. “You just wait! I’ll find an opening so I can go spelunking and reach her.”

“Actually,” Maud replied, “I’m counting on it.”

Author's Notes:

And here we go...