Part Four: “Only Lost Ponies Ever Find the Spring”

        “Why are you here?”

        Thade froze where he stood, poised for combat.  The moonlight illuminating the castle bedroom seemed to avoid him; he appeared as a dark blotch among the long shadows.

This was not going as he had planned at all—without the element of surprise...  No choice now but to continue, he thought.

        He lashed out with a violent bolt of magic, head lowered, his horn aimed squarely at Celestia.

        “Why are you here?” Celestia repeated.  Around her shimmered a faint aura of light that dispersed his vicious attack like rain against an umbrella.

        He thrashed forward, this time striking with both magic and a front hoof.  The magic was once more scattered by the aura, while he himself sailed clear through it, his powerful hoof striking—thin air.

        “I will ask you once more,” Celestia said patiently, now behind him. “Why are you here?”

        He turned slowly to face her.  “I’m here to recover what’s mine.”

        “I can assure you there is nothing of yours here.  Whatever it is that troubles you, I’ll do everything in my power to—”

        “To the paramount Spring

         A relic you must bring

         Of one loved but now lost—

         Payer of ultimate cost.

         To break through the wall,

         First the Pillars must fall,

         Retying the tether

         That binds worlds together.

         To finish the deed,

         To reveal the portal,

         You will finally need—”

“ —Blood of an Immortal,” Celestia finished for him.  “I understand now.  Child—”

“Don’t call me that!”  he shouted, the magical force of his fury slamming the door into splinters and smashing a tabletop mirror.

“We are all children so long as we exist on this world,” she explained softly.  “The journeys we take here are few compared to those that await us in the next.”

“Shut up with your lies!  You who will live for millennia can know nothing about death!”

Celestia sighed.  “On the contrary, I know more about it than I ever wished to learn.  If you really loved her, child, you would dedicate yourself to honoring her memory instead of tarnishing it with your treacherous actions.”

“I... I just want her back,” he whispered, more to himself than to the Princess.  “I just want to see her again...”

“It would be cruel to impose upon one’s life by forcing them to return to this one,” Celestia continued.  “With patience, lovers will always meet again, regardless of how many worlds lie between them.  Upsetting the balance of life could have consequences far worse than you can imagine.  Child, I am older than the oldest Equestrian mountain; do you think I do not miss the many friends I have met along my path?  The friends who, in the span of my ancient life, amount to no more than a passing stranger in yours?  I miss them, but I do not mourn because I know we will meet again, as all friends and lovers surely do.”

Thade broke down, his determination seemingly melted away by Celestia’s counsel.

“Laska,” he sobbed. “What I’d give to embrace you once more...”

Celestia approached the weeping unicorn, embracing him under a wing.

She crumpled to the floor as the hidden dagger’s poison took effect.

Thade smiled.  She performed better than I expected.  If I believed any of that ridiculous ‘other life’ stupidity, perhaps it would have even been moving.

He held tightly to her dead-weight body, summoning the strength for a long-distance teleportation.  Incredible, the power she has.  I knew she’d best me, but her effortless defense... remarkable.  As he reached the required level of magical buildup, he found himself thinking once more on Celestia’s words.  Complete hogwash.  We’re given one life, and we’re expected to make every moment count.  And when one life is cut short, tragically short—when it’s stolen from the arms of he who loves her—it is his duty not to mourn and forget but to do everything he can to hold her once more.  That is the true sign of love.

With a flash, the unicorn and the alicorn faded from the castle’s room, now silent but for the occasional tinkling of a mirror shard falling to the floor.

***

(Excerpt from Supernaturals, Glossary of Definitions, pg 424)

Space

Space is big.  Really, really big (...)

Sperunkles

Sperunkles are bothersome woodland creatures that mimic a voice crying for help (...)

Spring of Magic

The Spring of Magic is the fabled source of all unicorn magic.  Nopony has ever proved its existence, and its location remains unknown—in old mares’ tales, it is found only by lost ponies trying to find their way home.

The story goes that one fateful day a love-struck pony happened upon the Spring (...)

Spurdnok

The Spurdnok is a fabled being that feasts upon dreams (literal dreams, not metaphorical dreams) (...)

***

        “Ugh!  Twilight, remind me again why you couldn’t just teleport us all to the Spring?”  Rainbow Dash whined, wiping bug guts off a wing.  The swamp was full of the pests, which had a knack for squishing against her flapping appendages.

        Twilight rolled her eyes.  What was it Dash didn’t understand?  She’d only explained it six times.  “First of all, Dash, the Spring contains so much magic that there’d be too much interference for an accurate teleportation.  Second of all, and most importantly, nopony is entirely sure where the Spring is located.  Supernaturals only mentions it once, explaining that we must get lost to find it.  Of course, that sounds ridiculous, but they say it has no fixed location, and appears only when it chooses to appear.  Which is why we’re trying to get lost right now.”

        Applejack sighed.  “Well, we’re certainly off to a great start.  We’ve been walkin’ for hours and all we’ve seen is swamp and more swamp.  And Ah hate swamps.  Got mud in my nice galoshes.”

        “Hey Applejack, can I pretty-please have another of those yummy yummy apple sandwiches you packed?” asked Pinkie Pie.  “My tummy’s all a-grumbly!”

        Applejack was very close to losing her temper.  “For the last time, Pinkie, we need to save those!  We haven’t even been gone one single day and you’ve already eaten half of them!”

        “Oooooh... so, what you’re saying is... If I did have some, you’d be mad, right?  Well then I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t eat the rest of them...”

        “Pinkie, if Ah open my pack right now and don’t see any apple sandwiches, you’re gonna have a lot more to worry about than a ‘grumbly tummy’!”

        “Agh!” exclaimed Rarity.  “Could you please stop your fighting!  Pinkie Pie, next time remember that we don’t know how long we’ll be traveling, and we need all our provisions to last.  Applejack, how could you threaten Pinkie Pie?  If we don’t get along, we won’t make it to the end of day one!”

        Applejack, ears lowered, turned remorsefully to Pinkie.  “Ah’m sorry Ah threatened you, Pinkie.  Ah was just frustrated, is all.  We’ve been walkin’ and seein’ nothin’ but swamp and we’re all tired...”

        “Awww, it’s ok, Applejack, I know you didn’t mean it.  I’m sorry for eating all the sandwiches... I promise that if we find anything to eat out here, I’ll cook it right up and make it nice and tasty!”

        They carried on, all of them tired of travel and the monotonous swampy forest which loomed over them in every direction.

        All of them but one.

        “Oh, aren’t you the cutest thing!” Fluttershy said, hugging a tree squirrel.  “We don’t have squirrels like you in Ponyville!”  Every few minutes, Fluttershy was exclaiming over a new woodland creature.   However, her excitement failed to spread to her friends; if anything, it increased the tension, as the only thing more frustrating than being lost in a swamp happens to be being lost in a swamp while somepony is constantly giggling.

        “Glad somepony’s happy,” mumbled Rainbow Dash, forced to walk because of the pesky bugs that squished against her wings.

        Twilight sighed.  “Dash, it may not be a fun trip, but with so much on the line, we don’t have much of a choice.  Luna is counting on us, not to mention Celestia... oh how I hope she’s ok...”

        Dash peered around, ensuring she and Twilight were out of ears’ reach, and then moved in closer.

        “Twilight,” she began, an expression of worry worn upon the face so commonly cocky, “do you... do you think everything will be ok?  I mean... we’re bumbling about, lost in a swamp, while Celestia is out there somewhere... and who knows how dangerous that evil pony is?  Luna says his hope of raising the dead is never going to work, and that the outcome can only be disaster for everypony... what if we don’t get there in time?  What if we don’t get there at all?”

        Twilight chose her words carefully.  She could see the worry painted upon Dash’s face—Dash, who once kicked a dragon in the head.  “Rainbow, whatever we’re doing, we’re doing it right.  We wouldn’t have left without a plan.  Sure, we’re lost,” she glanced around at the endless murky forest, “but we’re supposed to be lost.  It’s the only way to find the Spring.  Supernaturals says so, and that book was correct about the Poison Joke, wasn’t it?  Also, we’re following Luna’s instructions.  Would she have let us leave if she wasn’t sure we were on the right path?”

        “Yeah, I guess you’re right, Twilight.  I just hope this swampy forest ends soon... not all of us are having as much fun as Fluttershy the Forest Friend.”  She nodded towards Fluttershy, who appeared to be talking to a frog.

        Twilight turned to Dash.  After a moment, they erupted into laughter.

        “What’re ya’ll laughin’ at?” Applejack had caught up to them.

        “Nothing,” giggled Rainbow Dash.

        They trod on, pushing through the dense swamp, every step pulling them further from any semblance of direction but also bringing them closer to the Spring.

***

        “Um... Twilight... I really don’t like caves,” Fluttershy whimpered.

        The one before them extended deeper than the reach of the evening’s dimming light, its mouth gaping and unwelcome.

        “We don’t have a choice, Fluttershy.  We’re finally at the edge of this swamp, but it’s getting dark and we need shelter.  It’s this or sleep out here, and I’m sure the nighttime creatures of this swamp are a lot less adorable than those squirrels I saw you with earlier.”

        Dash flew forward.  “I’ll check this one out for ya!”

        Before Twilight or anypony else could stop her, she raced off into the mouth of the cave.

“Her impatience is going to get us all killed one day,” sighed Twilight.        

Moment’s later, a yelp echoed out of the rocky hole.

“Dash!” the five shouted in unison.

They ran to the mouth of the cave just as she reappeared, rubbing a bruised head.  “I’m ok, you guys!  Just flew into a stalagma-whatchacallit.  The cave’s safe.  Sure is dark, though.”

Fluttershy’s hug was caring, but her voice was angry.  “Don’t scare us like that again, Dash!”

“Sorry.  It’s just been so long since anything exciting has happened... I had to check it out.”

Applejack began walking into the cave.  “Can we all just quit the drama and get some sleep?  All this mucking about in the swamp has made me mighty tired.  Not to mention hungry,” she added, glaring at Pinkie, who smiled guiltily.

The others followed, and soon they were all siting around Twilight, whose horn illuminated the dank cavity.

“Alright, we made some good progress today.  Once we’re clear of the swamp tomorrow, we should move even faster.”  Twilight turned to Applejack.  “We’re low on food, but there were some edible-looking berry bushes along the path we took, and I think I saw an apple tree or two near there, too.  We’re most certainly very lost, so we’re off to a great start.  How are you all feeling?”

Rarity sighed.  “Dirty, but I’ve been worse.  At least all that mud is good for my complexion.”

Fluttershy smiled.  “I’m just happy we’re getting closer to Celestia, and that we’re all together.”

Applejack grunted.  “Hungry and tired, but this ain’t nothin’ compared to a day of apple buckin’.  I’ll get us some food tomorrow mornin’.”

“Pinkie-keen!” laughed Pinkie.

Rainbow Dash was fast asleep on a flat rock, her head resting on her front hooves.  Occasionally her wings flapped gently, as if she were dreaming of flying.

“Well, then, tomorrow we set off again, so let’s get a good night’s sleep.  Goodnight, everypony.”  Twilight’s glowing horn dimmed until the cave was pitch black and echoed with the sounds of snoring.

***

Applejack slung her bag over her back and stepped gingerly over the sleeping Rarity (not an easy task, since it involved avoiding the multiple layers of blankets she had packed).

She made her way out the cave’s entrance into the clearing, the sky already brightening from the sun just below the horizon.  Ah can see Luna’s doin’ her job, she thought.  Alrighty, apple trees, where are y’all hiding?

She wandered along a beaten path she discovered outside the clearing.  After about twenty minutes she stopped and snacked on some berries from the bushes lining the trail.  Mmmmm!  Ah gotta say, if apples ever go outta style, Ah’m gonna get into the berry business!  But... then Ah’d have to change my name.  Berryjack... nah, Ah think I’ll stick to apples.  Why am Ah always so funny when nopony’s around to hear it?

She trod on once more, enjoying her own company.  Of course, she’d always prefer to be with her friends, but the farm pony knew the value of time spent alone.  After another five minutes of walking, an apple tree appeared just off the trail.  She fought through the tough underbrush and had eight apples in her bag as quickly and easily as only an expert apple bucker can.

She turned back to the trail... or was it the other way?  She retraced her steps around the apple tree, trying to orient herself.  Ah came from... this way... if Ah could just see the sun through these trees... but Ah remember that rock...

***

“Applejack’s been gone an awfully long time, don’t you think, Twilight?”  Fluttershy asked, trying to appear calm but failing miserably.

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.  Applejack can take care of herself.  And besides, she’s only been gone for half an hour, I think.  She’s probably just slowed down from all the apples she’s bringing back,”  Twilight said.

Rarity shifted uncomfortably, as if considering whether to speak or not.  “Twilight... I think she’s been gone longer than half an hour.  She stepped on me on her way out, and that was at least an hour ago.  I could tell because the sun wasn’t even up yet.”

“Oh no oh no oh no oh no!  We have to do something!” Fluttershy was pacing around the cave.

“I’m on it!”  Dash spread her wings and began running toward the mouth of the cave when Pinkie Pie stepped in front of her.

“Oh no you don’t!  We can’t lose you, too.  My granny told me that when somepony’s lost, you should never split up, or everypony else will get lost, too!  And you already scared us by flying into this cave last night.”

“But Pinkie!” Dash reasoned, “I could just fly up above the trees and look for her!  I’d have her back here in ten seconds.”

Twilight walked up to the two friends, thinking.  “Hmmm... Dash, I think the tree coverage is too thick for you to be able to see through.  Besides, those apple trees I saw on our way here were very far away... it’d take an hour or two to go there and back.  And Pinkie’s right; there’s no way we’re letting you run off, too.  We either wait here for her a little longer, or we all go out searching together.”  She looked at her four friends, trying to muster up hope.  “And besides, she’s probably fine!  She’ll walk in here any minute with a bag full of apples for us.”

The look on her friends’ faces said enough.

“You’re right.  We’ll head out looking right now.  I hope she’s ok...”

***

Applejack grunted as she forced herself through a particularly thick netting of branches.  The clearing on the other side brought her relief, but only a little.  She was still hopelessly lost, and probably even farther from the cave than when she was at the apple trees.  She didn’t think she could have wandered for more than an hour or two, but the terrain seemed to be drastically changing at an impossible rate.  The thick forest was beginning to give way to cold, rocky slopes—almost as if she were in the mountains.

She sat down in the middle of the clearing, thinking while munching on an apple.  Ah should have listened to what Granny Smith always said... if you’re lost, stay put.  Darn you, Applejack.  You’re so stubborn.  You just had to wander off and get even more lost, didn’t ya?

“Twiiiiliiight!  Rainbow Daaaaaaash!  Rarityyyyyy!  Flutershyyyyy! Pinkieeeeee!”  she called out, and immediately wished she hadn’t.  The echo of her yell was the most lonesome sound she had ever heard.  A wind began stirring up the branches of the thinning trees.

In the clearing, she finally had a clear view of the sky.  Could the sun really be that far down?  How long had it been?  Almost a whole day... was it possible?  The moon had already risen, preparing for its nighttime solo.

The clearing also allowed her a clearer view of the area around her.  In one direction, endless trees.  That was the way she had come.  In the other direction, rocky peaks... was there really a mountain range so near a forest?  She hadn’t remembered seeing any mountains along the journey yesterday.  Can’t sleep in the forest... too dangerous.  If Ah could find a mountain cave, perhaps—

Her thoughts broke off as a brilliant red beam of light erupted out of the nearby mountainside, streaking vertically through the air into the endless heavens.  Where it met the sky, the clouds swirled around it, as if trying to avoid the foreign intruder.  The ground beneath her began to tremble, the surrounding trees creaking in their foundation as if groaning in protest.

Before she had time to process this, she yelped at a pain on her side.  Her pack had grown incredibly hot.  She quickly flung it off.

It began moving along the ground.

At first she could only stare, dumbfounded by the bizarre series of events that had occurred in the past ten seconds.  She broke out of her bewilderment and started chasing after the bag, however, as it neared the edge of the clearing and almost left her sight.

***

“Aaaaaplejaaaaaaack!  Aaaaaplejaaaaaaaaaaack!”  Twilight called.  “Rainbow Dash, now that we’re all out here together, go ahead and fly above the branches and tell us what you see.”

Rainbow Dash saluted and exploded up through the treeline.

“See anythiiiiiing?” shouted Pinkie.

“Just lots and lots of trees!” responded Dash, who came back through the hole she had made in the canopy.

Rarity sat next to Pinkie, deep in thought.  “Hey, Twilight, why not send up a magical flare?  Maybe Applejack could see it and find her way back to us.”

“Excellent idea!”  Twilight bent down in concentration, mustering up as bright a burst as she could achieve.  She unleashed it all at once.  The purple beam penetrated the treeline as though it were glass, and continued up into the sky above.

“Ooooh!  Pretty!” exclaimed Pinkie.

Fluttershy looked up, but her expression never shifted from worry.

“Let’s just hope she saw it,” said Dash.

***

        As the earthquake finally died out, Applejack caught up with the bag, which had entered the thinning trees on the other side of the clearing.  She anxiously pinned it down with one hoof, unsure what to expect.

        The end of the bag bulged as if protesting its entrapment.  She could feel it trying to force itself on in the direction it had been going.  Then, realization struck.

        It ain’t the bag that’s movin’... somethin’ IN the bag is movin’!

        She grabbed hold of the bag, which twisted in her grasp like a captured animal.  She cautiously opened the flap, unsure what to expect.

        Inside were the remaining apples.  They were glowing.

        No... ’taint the apples that are glowin’...

        She took out each apple until the only item left in the bag was her fragment of the Rose, which pulsated madly with green light.  She gingerly poked it, then rushed her burnt hoof into her mouth.  It was still pushing madly in the direction of the thinning trees—the direction of the towering beam of light, which, though still visible, had begun to fade.

        Applejack rubbed her burnt hoof to her head in thought.  Well, I ain’t got nothin’ to go on but this, so Ah suppose Ah don’t have much of a choice.

        She cautiously placed the Rose fragment back in the bag (pushing it in quickly to avoid the heat), then put the apples in on top of it to weigh the bag down.  While gently gripping the thrashing pack in her mouth so as to let it guide the way without escaping, she continued off into the sparse trees, heading in the direction of the mountains, the direction of the Rose, the direction of the beam.

        Though she never noticed it, another beam of light, this one purple, erupted through the treeline far behind her, back beyond the thick forest through which she had come.

***

        “Whew!” Applejack said, her voice muffled by the pack in her mouth, which was pulling her along in the direction of the fading beam.  “Not sure where you’re takin’ me, but this better be good!  I walked all day yesterday and all day today an’ now Ah’m walkin’ some more.”  Suddenly, the situation seemed incredibly grim.  “Ho boy... now that Ah’m thinkin’ about it, we sure walked a heck of a distance yesterday, and Ah think Ah’m goin’ even farther today... you’d better be takin’ me to civilization, Rose, or Ah’m in a heap of trouble.”

        She sighed once more upon realizing she was conversing with an inanimate object.

        It had been about twenty minutes since the enormous beam appeared.  With the Rose’s guidance, she was nearing its source, though it had faded almost beyond the point of visibility. The forest had given way to mountains incredibly fast... unnaturally fast.

        The Rose suddenly began tugging harder than ever.   She clamped her mouth even tighter, following its lead.  At this point she realized she was technically in the mountains, gaining altitude, the trees shrinking beneath her.  The Rose seemed to be following a thin ridge of a trail that climbed along the mountainside.

        She continued along this trail for another ten minutes, until she rounded a winding corner and finally saw the source of the beam—a mountain cavern.  The dying glow somehow escaped through the cavern’s rock ceiling.

        To alleviate the ache in her tired mouth, she quickly dropped the pack and slung it across her back, latching it tightly.  The Rose was pulling with such force it seemed possible it would rip clean through its felt prison, and walking with it attached to her was difficult, though it was still easier than holding it in her mouth.

        The dark hole in the mountain seemed to glare at her as she approached it.  She realized it was lit—dimly lit, but still: lit.  If Ah’m gonna find somepony to help me out, Ah suppose this is the place... but if Ah’m gonna find somepony who wants to cook me in a stew, Ah suppose this is also the place.  She gulped, suddenly feeling extremely uneasy, and carried on.

        ***

        Almost there.  Finally, almost there.  Her previous estimation of distance had turned out to be horribly wrong; for about twenty minutes she traveled, though the cavern never seemed to grow closer.  Eventually, though, with the guidance of the Rose fragment tugging from within the bag on her back, she reached the final stretch; a thick trail bordered by evenly-placed boulders sloped up before her, leading directly into the cavern, which was still lit—now she could see the light was a flickering red.  The beam that had earlier torn through the sky had completely faded.

        At this moment, Applejack realized just how hopelessly separated from her friends she had become.

        What’s gotten into me?  Why’d Ah travel this far?  Ah was only an hour or two away from our cave!  And Ah go and decide to walk across half of Equestria!  Why?  To follow this good-for-nothin’ Rose?

        Though she hadn’t shed a tear since she was a homesick filly in Manehatten, she could feel them coming on now.  In fact, she felt almost exactly like that young filly in Manehatten—alone and isolated from everything she loved.  If only Ah had a sign like Dash’s Rainboom to guide me back like I did then, she thought.

        Well... Ah suppose Ah came all this way... Ah don’t have much of a choice but to finish what Ah started, do Ah?

        She continued up the foreboding path towards the lip of the cavern.  If she hadn’t been a rodeo girl, the pack bucking urgently upon her back would have knocked her down, though it had begun to calm itself.  Eventually she reached the top and could see inside.

The cavern was smaller than she had expected—just larger than Twilight’s library.  It was lined with six towering columns, though two had crumbled into mounds of debris—one of those mounds was still glowing faintly with a bitter red light.

The only other object in the cave was the altar in the center.  A slight red aura danced along its edges like flames.

Applejack froze, paralyzed with horror.

        Upon the altar lay Princess Celestia.  Though she wasn’t visibly restrained, it seemed she could only move her head—a fraction.

        “Run,” the Princess said.  Applejack wasn’t sure if she heard this aloud or in her head, but she didn’t care.

        “Princess!”  It was all she could think to say.

        Celestia turned weakly to her left.  Applejack followed her glance, and noticed an open doorway along the cavern wall.  Beyond it moved a shadow—clearly that of a pony.

“RUN.”

Applejack hesitated a moment, staring into the Princess’s pleading eyes.  She could see in them fear, but also a glimmer of hope.  Then she ran.

She ran out of the horrible cavern chamber.

She ran down the boulder-lined pathway.

She ran back along the cliff ridges that had brought her to the evil den.

She ran back through the trees into the clearing.

She ran and ran.  At one point she looked back.  The mountains were gone.  Not out of sight, but actually gone—where moments ago their stood a towering mountain range now stood only flat forest.  She continued running, the bag bouncing against her back.  It no longer struggled.

***

“Oh, it’s no use,” Twilight sniffed, “She’s either too far away to hear us, or...” she couldn’t finish the thought.

Nearby, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were locked in a tight embrace.  “I’m sure she’ll come back,” Dash comforted.

Twilight walked over to the group.  “Dash... you said you’d leave and search for her?  Are you... are you still willing to do that?”

Dash nodded grimly.

“Noooo!” Pinkie sobbed.  “We can’t lose you, too!”

Rarity joined the group.  “Twilight... one last try.  Just once more.  Please.”

Twilight nodded and gave herself some room.  Her horn glowed as she mustered up the last of her strength, pouring it all into one final attempt.

The beam shot up through the trees, and for a moment purple daylight reigned for miles.  Then it was over.

***

Applejack ran.

The world erupted in light.

Through the treetops, she saw the pillar of light, triumphing over the forest.  Directly in front of her.  Though her experience with beams this evening had been awful to say the least, the familiarity of this purple one brought her warm comfort.

She kept running.

***

After twenty minutes of waiting, Rainbow Dash trod solemnly to Twilight.  “So, should I go now, or should we wait until daylight?  I think—”

She cut off as Applejack tore through the treeline.

“APPLEJACK!” cried Dash and Twilight, as Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy turned around in bewilderment.

Applejack collapsed to the ground and was immediately surrounded by her five friends.

“Give her room!” Twilight ordered.  The others backed off reluctantly, Fluttershy last of all.  Twilight approached Applejack, wiping a tangled mane from her eyes, which were still closed.  “Applejack, can you hear me?  Please get up!”

Though her eyes never opened, Applejack spoke as clearly as if she were conversing with Twilight about apple bucking.  “There once were six, but now there are four,” she said.  “The first two have fallen.” Next Chapter: Part Five: Sonselo Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 60 Minutes