The rest of the week progressed without any incidents to speak of. The fires had died down in the distance, which meant the scouting party would be flying that way to investigate what was happening to the cocoa trees this evening. Hearth's Warming Eve was the next day and Lance had begun to get ahead in successful of pranks. Any other time that would have caused me to become devious in my retaliation, or the very least more wary, yet I had other things on my mind. It got to the point where he was sitting next to me during lunch flicking peas at me and I was not responding. A nice pile had started to form on the table where they would hit my cheek and drop. When Lance ran out of peas he waved his hoof in front of me. I looked at him briefly, then went back to staring out the window.

"Okay, Trots, you always seem to one up me but this is ridiculous. You are going to literally bore me to the finish line. If you are trying to make me throw in the towel, it won't work. I have staying power, you know." This time I looked at him, glanced down and stifled a laugh, then looked back outside. Lance sat back in his seat and grimaced, "Oh real mature. I don't need to prove anything to you, I have plenty of fillies that look my way. Let's see if you like some carrots..." He started picking through the rest of his vegetables.

I put a pea in my mouth while he was not looking and leaned really close to him. He sensed my nearness and looked up with surprise as my muzzle got really close to his, my lips barely hovering near him. I waited until he just started to push his lips forward, then I lifted my head slightly and propelled the pea into his nostril. His head whipped up and he held his breath for the briefest moment before sneezing mucous, and a pea, all over himself, falling off his chair. The rest of the lunch room which had been watching in stunned silence erupted in laughter as they were finally laughing at him and not me for a change. I went back to looking out the window, toward the smoky section of jungle in the distance.

Lance managed to pick himself up, the insides of his ears turning bright red since everywhere else his black fur covered his embarrassment. Once he had finished cleaning himself up with the white napkin he threw it down in front of me with a revolting splat. "You win, there is the stupid towel. That was sneaky, and dirty, and disgusting...and rather genius, and still disgusting..." He noticed I had not moved since he got back up. He made some off-color hoof gestures to some of the other stallions still gossiping about him and slid closer to me. Not dating closer, just close enough. "If you intend on going out there, then we need to do some more talking than this silent garbage."

I sighed and turned to him, "Sorry about the prank war, you can take the win if you want." Lance glared at me and waited. I took a deep breath and let it out. "Yesterday several of the adults went out to that area that was on fire. My father went with them. They should have been back by now and nobody has seen any of them return yet. Father said it would only take a few hours to go out there, look around, and then come right back." Lance turned away from me and started scanning the lunch room. Then he got up.

"Sit tight, Trots, I need to check on someponies." He made his way among the other students eating lunch and leaned in here and there to speak to them. He called me Trots, a reference to my inability to fly. Snarky jerk. That was something I would have thought of. He's been getting better at name calling since I saved his sorry rump. That'll teach me to do anypony any favors. Lance walked back to my table and sat down, looking perturbed. "Some of the others' parents went on that trip too. I thought they were acting strange today, that's why."

I slowly tapped a hoof on the table, pondering. Lance watched me in silence. I finally spoke up, "We need to go out there. I have at least been in the jungle so I know what it's like. You can choose to go if you want."

Lance laughed and waved his hoof, "Hello, I was out there too. And that whole saving me doesn't make you a one-thestral army. Anyway, it was my idea in the first place, remember? Let's get through the rest of today, spend time with our family tomorrow during the first part of Hearth's Warming Eve. We will meet up just outside the cave entrance a few hours past dusk and begin heading out to the location we saw those fires." He noticed my hurt expression and grimaced, "Damn, Jen I'm sorry....look, I think with what you can do and my exceedingly robust leadership skills, we can find your father." I smiled slightly and we finished up our lunches in silence.

The next evening was very difficult. Not a small part because Mother and I exchanged presents without Father there. His we left under the tree as though he would walk through the front entrance of our abode at any minute. I got Mother some cookbook that specialized in chocolate cakes. I purchased it several weeks before all the talk began about the trees. Now it was some sick irony, or coincidence. Mother had given me a small box and I told her I would open it when Father was there. I think that gave her hope that things would be alright. I wanted to think it did.

The other part that made this evening hard was Nightmare Moon's answer to my request. No matter how much of my character frustration was supposed to build, I didn't have to agree with it. She certainly didn't seem to agree with anything I said.

"No. You are not ready, Jen." I was surrounded by stars strewn across blackness. I could feel her everywhere. With how I felt right now, I honestly thought she would be here in such detail I could count every hair on her fur coat. There was nothing, only her voice. "I can sense from their dreams that they have been in danger this past day, yet you would be more so if I were to give you any lessons now."

I blinked away tears and stamped my front hoof defiantly, "How can I not be ready? I've done everything you've ever asked! This is as good a time as any for me to learn how to fight and protect others. Sneaking around following hoofprints in the dirt won't save my father if I have to fight whatever is destroying the jungle!" My words rang out into the darkness. The heat that had risen in me slowly seeped away, leaving me cold. I looked around apprehensively, waiting for her rage. It never came.

"You are going out into the jungle, not knowing where you will end up, not knowing what you will face. Truth, are you afraid?"

I stood there, thinking about when Lance and I discussed going out to the jungle. I thought about the first time I ran from him. I thought about my father. "Yes, I am afraid."

"Instilling fear in others can give you power and control over them. Fear in yourself will cause you to lose control, make you weak. Any fight you get into will already be decided based on that fear. This is why you are not ready. You have what you need for now. We will both know when it is time for you to learn more." And just like that, her presence was gone.

The first few hours of Hearth's Warming Eve with Mother were spent holding each other, talking about idle things like school, hanging out with Lance, anything not involving Father. She held up well, all things considered. As I stepped out of our home with my travel bag on my back, Mother's gift safely tucked into a sidepocket of the bag, I knew she would be crying later in the home where nopony could see her. I couldn't spend all evening consoling her, I had to actually do something, and if Nightmare Moon was unwilling to help, then damn her. I would do it myself.

As I stepped out of the community cave entrance, Lance and several other thestrals walked over from the shadows outside. Two of the colts were named Swift Shade and Gheist. Swift was a leaner thestral with blue highlights in his wings and eyes. Gheist had gray tones with ice blue eyes. The filly was named Sanguine Silence. She had red eyes, long flowing dark red hair and she hardly spoke in class. The three of them were not too pleased I was there. Lance seemed to actively ignore their demeanor. "So, any luck with the extra.....lessons?" It was plain that he hadn't told the others very much and was keeping it that way.

I took my pack off and shook my head, "My 'mentor' says I am not ready, whatever that means. What we have with us right now is what we are bringing to the fight. I packed extra food and water, along with some other small items, nothing fancy. How about you?" The others responded with similar lists of items. Lance added he was bringing a weapon, just in case. He pulled a long dagger out of his pack. It was made of a dark metal with polished highlights and a silver wire wrapped handle, the cross-guard similar to a slim crescent moon with the tips curving toward the blade. The blade itself had several grooves that ran from the hilt to the tip. The weapon was at least three hooves long, the blade two-thirds of the length.

"My uncle from up north gave this to me. He said it was forged from a shooting star that fell out of the skies a long time ago. According to legend, Princess Celestia was not quite herself one night and let one through. They found pieces of it and were able to melt the rocks down to make this." It was impressive, keenly reflecting the moon's light as Lance turned it over. The others inspected the contents of their packs and must have been used to Lance showing off, but I was drawn to it. I had danced the stars in my dreams and here was a piece of one fallen to earth. He smiled and put it away, obviously enjoying the spotlight. I glanced to the others and tilted my head at Lance. He said quietly, "I know, the two of us would have been less conspicuous. Their family members were in the scouting group as well, I couldn't just ask them about it yesterday without letting them in on our plan. Besides, strength in numbers, in case one of us gets hurt or runs into trouble."

I sighed and replied, "They don't like me that much. We may have trouble before we get anywhere useful."

Lance called the others over, making my discomfort more acute than I thought possible. "Guys, this is Jen. Jen, guys." The two colts groaned, relaxing a little. Swift Shade flicked Lance on the shoulder for being a dufus. It didn't break the ice so much as lowered some of the tension. Sanguine frowned a little. Lance looked at her and asked, "SaSi, you two are not going to be pulling each other's hair in an hour, are you?"

She shook her head and said, "I am here to find my older sister. If she can do that, I will gladly give her my hair."

I self-consciously brushed my short hair off my ear and said, "That's ok, hair is not my thing. If any of them has touched the ground or foliage, I will find them."

Sanguine eyed me up and down, then nodded, "That is good enough for me. Darky, we should get going." Lance nodded and we secured our packs, making ready to leave. I sidled up next to Lance.

"Darky?"

Lance's movements became very jerky. "We were playmates when I was younger. We don't hang out together that much. Not lately." I could see his ears reddening. Uh huh. He made a face and closed up his pack.

I made sure the straps on my pack were cinched up correctly and murmured, "Darky."

Lance brushed by rather abruptly and coughed, "Okay guys...ah, let's head that way," and proceeded to walk straight out into the swamps. I caught up to him and had a nice discussion about following the easier terrain south along the base of the mountain ridge before turning east into the jungle, to make better time. He redirected us south. The others alternated between flying and walking to conserve their strength while Lance made it a point to walk the entire way with me, despite my assertions that I could keep up with them.

I was concerned about what we would find, our limited ability to fight off any dangers and the one weapon between the five of us. I didn't care if I wasn't ready, I had to do this.