Tempest Shadow and Radiant Hope cross one major road, staying in the trees. When the topography and her reserves permit they traverse miles in the blink of an eye. The time passes quickly, as the sun goes from directly overhead to nestling on the horizon, their shadows lengthening ahead of them.

“Do you ever feel lost?” Radiant Hope asks, her focus drifting from one tree to another in a slow, leisurely manner.

Tempest Shadow ponders the question for a moment. Is her newly invigorated traveling companion referring to right now or life in general? She doesn’t take kindly to the implication that it might be a condemnation of their current course even as they wind through seemingly endless forest.

“Do we seem lost?” she answers testily.

“No.” Radiant Hope giggles, too innocent for it to be a jest at Tempest’s expense. “I feel it too.”

Tempest Shadow isn’t sure what Radiant Hope refers to. They have a destination in mind, do they not? And every trot takes them closer to that destination, even if she cannot see every step of the way.

“Once.” Silence lingers after Tempest’s reply. “After I left Equestria I wandered through many places, not knowing what I was seeking or where I should look.”

“And after that?”

“I joined the Storm King with a singular goal in mind: accumulating enough power to restore my horn.” Tempest Shadow glances at Radiant Hope out of the corner of her eye. “Why do you ask?”

Radiant Hope continues staring at the trees around them, a pensive look on her face. “What if you weren’t lost then?”

Tempest Shadow grunts. “If you find comfort in the idea that there is some greater plan? So be it. But everything bad that has happened to me has been the result of a choice. Sometimes my own, sometimes that of another. Fate doesn’t exist, and Harmony abandoned me long ago.”

They come across a well-maintained dirt road which they follow to a small hamlet. The cursive ‘Hollow Shades’ on the sign out front, while likely meant to be cheerful, comes across as uncanny, a mortician and renderer attempting to hide the nature of their business. The same goes for the two-story thatched roof buildings that comprise the bulk of the town. Nothing seems outright amiss, but they two get the strong impression that the shadows would linger even if it were noon. Well-worn market stalls line the single main thoroughfare while several buildings have faded signs out front. Even the ponies are subdued, a few milling about as the day comes to a close. Most are closing up their shops, but all have their attention on the two newcomers.

“Do you want to stay for the night?” Radiant Hope asks Tempest Shadow while greeting the closest pony a friendly wave. The cyan pegasus mare waves back with a soft smile, then ushers her two foals to a nearby baker’s stand. The tan pegasus proprietor welcomes them with a quick nuzzle, his eyes remaining on the two unicorns while he prepares sandwiches as long as the foals.

“No.” Tempest Shadow looks about for a mayor’s office or some government building, but nothing stands out. She knows Ponhenge is nearby, somewhere, but not precisely. It would give away their intentions to ask around, but Applebaum already knows. She frowns when Radiant Hope trots to the baker’s stand; she follows, keeping her displeasure at her companion’s affable nature in check.

“Hello!” Radiant Hope greets, salivating as she peers over the wide selection of ingredients, stomach audibly grumbling. All the standard ones are on display along with spiced breads, thin slices of cheese, and hearty apples.

“Evening.” The bread-marked baker grins at the two mares, his gaze lingering longer than Tempest Shadow likes. “Name’s Rising Loaf, but you can call me Rise. What brings you two fine fillies to town?”

Tempest Shadow ignores the way he licks at his muzzle. If she was in Klugetown he would have a split lip to focus on, at the minimum. “Where is the weather office?”

“Not an office, per se, but the orders get posted over there.” Rise motions at a tall metal P.O. box with maps and lists of names and times posted under an overhang. He finishes building the sandwich for the two foals, splitting it in half and leaving them to bicker over who gets the bigger one.

Tempest Shadow grunts; the directions are not as much as she hoped. But if the maps are at all adequate it should do, and she starts walking that way.

Rise shrugs to himself and turns to the other unicorn mare. “And you?”

“It all looks so good,” Radiant Hope moans, a hoof lifting up as if to grab a bite to eat, but stops before touching any of the fresh ingredients. “Aww, but I don’t have any bits. I don’t suppose there’s anything you need? I am a pretty good healer!”

“A healer?” Rise rubs at his chin. “Well, I do have a swelling you could take a look at. It’s gotten quite hard.”

“Ooh, that’s not good.” Radiant Hope shakes her head for emphasis. “Is it tender?”

Tempest Shadow ignores the rest; what Radiant Hope does is her business. She inspects the topographic maps at the weather station. Dotted and dashed lines break the surrounding forests into colored sectors along with short descriptions of what defines the borders. Pins mark which pegasus is assigned to each sector. She looks around for a key, finding it at the bottom with a ‘Cold Digger’ signature.

“Got any questions?”

Tempest Shadow glances at the cyan pegasus. She has a broad, friendly smile. In the background the two foals are gaping at whatever Radiant Hope is doing to the stallion with her hooves. She turns back to the map. “We’re looking for the Ponhenge ruins. Have you seen them?”

“The ruins?” The pegasus frowns, then hops forward and stretches to tap a circular but otherwise unremarkable area. “Up here. There’s not much to look at, sadly. Why would you want to go there?” Her face suddenly lights up. “Oh! Are you an explorer like Daring Do?” She giggles. “At first I thought you were an inspector!”

“...Indeed.” Tempest Shadow recognizes the name, not from the books, but from her efforts spoiling the Storm King’s ventures into ancient temples to retrieve artifacts of power. It amuses her to be compared to the plundering pegasus when their goal is to return one of said artifacts, not relinquish it to the Sun Tyrant. Museums. What a laugh; she saw what was stored at the bottom of the Canterhorn, and if that was what Celestia was comfortable leaving laying around? She shakes her head, then plots the quickest course to take them to the ruins.

“...Well,” the cyan pegasus says after Tempest Shadow finishes. “It seems like your friend is… done.” She gags. “I don’t care to watch, you know?”

Tempest Shadow strides back. Rising Loaf has two hearty sandwiches prepared, piled high with lettuce and spinach, and an overly contented look on his face. The two foals scamper back and forth, more excited than she cares for.

“That’s much better,” Rise euphorically moans as Radiant Hope comes out from behind him. “Thanks!”

“Glad to hear!” Radiant Hope grins, then removes a bit of white from her hoof with her horn. She deposits it into a half-full cup of thick, goopy white liquid. “Hey, Tempest! I hope you like mayonnaise!”

Tempest Shadow grunts, her hard stare unwavering, any verbal reply overridden by the foals.

“I’m gonna be a doctor when I get my cutie mark!”

“No, I’m gonna be a doctor!”

Radiant Hope takes a big bite of her sandwich, happily chewing. She slows when Tempest Shadow keeps staring at her. “What?” She glances at Rising Loaf. “That? He had an abscess on his flank. Well, closer to his sheath. So I drained it and patched him up. Good as new!”

“...Indeed.” Tempest Shadow takes a dubious bite of her sandwich. It is heavy on the mayonnaise, as Hope said; the baker must think unicorns have an unhealthy love for the condiment. Well, he’s not wrong, she’s sad to say; it’s been a long time since she has indulged in the oily treat, and the sandwich disappears quickly. “Are you ready?”

Radiant Hope nods. “It was good seeing you!” She waves at Rising Loaf, who returns a cheerful wave of his own, and follows Tempest Shadow at a fast trot as they head back into the forest.

They soon arrive at a large circular clearing. Grass and underbrush quickly give way to bare stone that rises to a central platform. The most striking thing is the six pillars arranged in a circle, each as wide as four ponies and twice as tall. They would have been far higher if not for the diagonal cut shearing the top half away, leaving them like mirrors directing light toward the center. Pieces of rubble litter the ground. At the center of Ponhenge is a raised stone dais, half as tall as a pony and as wide as a pillar.

The two approach the closest pillar, ears perked and gaze furtively shifting from one darkened area to another. The sun has nearly set, making it difficult to tell shape from shadow. Tempest Shadow can’t see anything out of place, just solitary vines creeping along the sides, her keen eyes continuing to scan.

Radiant Hope’s horn glows softer than normal. She shakes her head as the light goes out, whispering, “Nothing I can detect. But I have a blind spot behind the pillars.”

Tempest Shadow nods, calming herself. Then she springs forward, galloping to the center of the ring with the hopes of surprising anypony or anything lurking there. Yet nothing is disturbed, not even a bird or critter in the grass, and she turns her gallop to a quick inspection of the pillars.

While they look solid from the outside, each of the pillars has a flat surface carved into the centrally-facing side. Curved runes spiral around, meaningless as far as she can tell. One has a set of runes, or possibly characters, non-magical and undecipherable. She ends her search at the dais; it has a lip to it, the center depressed, like the parapet of a tower.

“Nothing?” Radiant Hope asks with a twinge of hope, horn glowing bright and eyes white. Getting a head shake in reply she sighs and sits on the edge of the stone dais, slumping slightly. She drops her saddlebags onto the center depressed area with a dull, reverberating *thump*. The bell inside rings, deep and low, the very sound seeming to draw the shadows away.

“...Wait.” Tempest Shadow looks at the center. The sound that it made, and the resulting brightness... “I think this is hollow.”

Radiant Hope spins around, grinning from ear to ear. “Really? Is that why they call it Hollow Shades?” She giggles as her joke, snatching away her saddlebags before giving the stone a hearty tap. “Then-”

The stone crumbles away, falling into pitch darkness. Several seconds later a loud crash echoes from inside.

Radiant Hope’s ears go from flat against her head to perked up. “I guess that works?”

Tempest Shadow feels like a broken record, which is perfectly fine with her. “Indeed.” She looks around for both a light source and a way to get down, settling on the vines ringing several of the pillars.

In an instant the darkened sky disappears, replaced by near-total darkness and a single blue spot in the ceiling. Around her is dimly lit stone, hexagons patterned like tile. Next to her, and the only source of light, is a grinning Radiant Hope. That makes the blue spot the hole they came through, and their only (known) way out. The walls are smooth, the floor free of dust or debris except the pieces of the ceiling they broke through.

“Ready?” Radiant Hope asks.

Tempest Shadow stares at the exit. “I would prefer a method of departure not reliant on you.”

“Then let’s find one!” Hope’s horn flares brighter and brighter until it fully illuminates the hexagonal room. The corner of each wall looks to be directly underneath one of the pillars above ground. An open doorway is in the middle of each wall. Six six-sided gems are socketed, one above each door, colored red, orange, green, teal, pink, and purple.

Tempest Shadow frowns. “Those aren’t the Elements of Harmony.”

“They were,” Radiant Hope corrects. “Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, and Magic.” She gnaws at her lip. “Did the Elements change from when Gusty the Great used them to what they are today?”

Tempest Shadow recalls her analysis of the current Elements of Harmony. “Generosity is purple, not green. And magic, or friendship, is magenta, not purple.”

“Fascinating.” Radiant Hope spends a few more seconds studying the gems, then approaches one of the doors. The passage quickly doubles back, spiraling downward. Three others go down, two up, and otherwise each doorway appears identical. “I guess that’s your exit. Ready?”

Tempest Shadow gives one last, forlorn look at the fading blue circle of sky, then follows Radiant Hope down.

They come to a fairly large pentagon-shaped room, brightly lit by the two-toned floor. The four doorways are there, leading back up, with one door leading out. Stark gold lines criss-cross the crimson pentagons and sapphire stars making up the floor. Seemingly endless other patterns spread out, an encaptivating design Tempest feels she could spend a lifetime studying and not see the end. She ignores it as best she can, her focus occasionally flicking down to spot a similarity to a pattern she’s seen before.

Before Tempest can stop her, Radiant Hope reaches down and plucks one of the tiles from the ground. It has a bright crimson hue, a sharp contrast to the sapphire blues that make up the other approximately forty percent of the tiles. It is an unfamiliar shape, with four pointed edges; the two pieces almost look like triangles, except on the blues one side bulges out while the red dips in.

A single reverberating clop draws her attention to the massive blue ram standing in the doorway. Great horns spiral off his skull, his broad chest decorated with small golden bells. She has never seen such an imperious sight, his golden eyes boring straight through her.

“INFIDELS.”

The single word overwhelms Tempest’s mind as Hope’s horn goes out. The word isn’t an accusation, it’s a descriptor, said with such force and conviction that she has no choice but to accept it. The word carries a weight, heavy and unbearable, that sends her collapsing to her knees. Her head bows in contrition - she is unworthy, she must beg and plead, all her failings coming unbidden to her mind. If it wasn’t for her whole body being frozen in place she would spill those secrets, all those times she failed to live up to the Tenets of Harmony. The first, when she was a filly, when she lost her horn, and her friends, she pushed them away even when they were accepting, and she, she could have been better, she should have...

“You dare desecrate Harmony’s hallowed halls?”

Next Chapter: Ch. 121 - To Dust Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 56 Minutes