The leaves of the jungle slowly swayed with the slight breeze as I overlooked it from the upper branches of an especially tall tree. Seriously, these things were massive, they made redwood look small.

The sun burned brightly above, but being in the shade helped and gave me time to think.

Three more days before the rescue ship would arrive. Since the rexosaurus attack, we had been unbothered by the local wildlife. Maybe we were in its territory and it would take time before the others noticed this area was empty now and borders would shift around.

But for the moment, we seemed safe.

Thank Celestia that nopony else was hurt during the attack.

I scraped my hoof against the branch I was laying on, following the slight pattern in the barch with the edge of my hoof. This was where batponies really came from. No wonder the forest felt nice to be in, assuming you could discount the things wanting to eat us, of course.

We knew what happened more or less. Some sort of blood magic to make thestrals stronger, faster. Blood drinkers. That much we knew at least from the carvings in the walls.

But then what? Why did batponies change?

It wasn't the blood magic... and Midnight now knowing what to look for, had verified it in me. Say what you want about Discord, but he don't fuck around. He didn't just make me look like a thestral, he made me one where I had once been a pegasus.

But if it was still just as active as back then, then the question was, 'what happened?'

Midnight suspected a second spell, a curse laid above the blood magic. Maybe an attempt to turn everypony back to the way they were before. Maybe an attempt to just remove the blood drinking.

Maybe an outright attack to try to drive thestrals extinct.

Did it really matter?

I sighed and shifted my wings, extending one to look at it for a long moment. Not really. If batponies were to be accepted, we needed to tear it all down. Curse, blood magic. All of it.

If somepony could break through all of it, it'd be Midnight or Sparks. With them working together, it wouldn't stand a chance.

But then what? Breaking the magic was only a small part of it, the easy part even.

Changing ponies was not something that was as easily done.

...Well, unless you used blood magic apparently.

Smiling slightly at that, I shook my head and stood up on the branch, stretching for a second before I glanced behind me at where the temple rose up out of the jungle, just barely cresting between the trees.

But we could do it. Thestrals built that thing in this monster infested hellhole before they were turned into blood drinking super ponies.

If they could do that, they could turn public opinion. We just needed to strip away the magic shackles around our necks first.

"See anything?" I asked Silver Light as I looked to the side to where the Pegasus was sitting in full armour. The only way Moon Glow would allow me this far away from the rest of the group.

The white coated pegasus shook her head, her pink and braided mane shifting as she did, "No, sir. Too much green."

I looked over to the temple again just as a flare rose high into the air and exploded in bright red sparkles. The once an hour flare that was being sent up just in case any of our missing ponies saw it.

I wasn't exactly hopeful considering it's been over a week and I hadn't spotted any of them in the dream realm, but I wasn't about to order them to stop. Hope is a powerful thing.

Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment.

"Well, we might as well fly back then," I said and stretched my wings, "It was a longshot anyway."

Had hoped we would be able to track the larger predators by the movements of the trees, but I guess the world doesn't work on Jurassic Park logic.

Silver Light smiled and shrugged her wings, picking up her spear from where she leaned it against the tree trunk, "Could have worked."

"Actually, might still," I said and frowned out over the forest, "Might just not be any close enough to spot. But it's likelier that they simply move without bumping into every tree in sight. Don't become the apex predator of a place like this by being clumsy."

With that, I spread my wings and took to the air, flying back towards the temple, flying higher as I scanned the horizon in all directions.

Spotting what I was looking for, I looked over at Silver Light and gave her a wave before pointing with my hoof.

She glanced over and then nodded, "Going to rain soon," she shouted to me over the wind, "Been feeling like it for an hour or so."

That was something I didn't have and don't think I ever had.

Then again, might just be a matter of education, every pegasus in the legion, and the guard for that matter, was required to at least hold a basic weather license.

I had thought about getting one just because it seemed interesting a couple of times, but with what time? Unless I could bribe Celestia, there was only so many hours in a day.

We flew across the pyramid and I scanned the ground, the defenses were repaired and the remains of the rexosaurus was long gone and Midnight wouldn't let me keep a skull so she threw the entire thing off into the forest when it's magic resistance faded away.

Likely good thing, no way Luna would let me keep it at home anyway.

Spotting Dee, I circled down to land next to her, "Hey. How's the drawing going?"

She put her pen down and showed me her notebook, showing the structure of the pyramid, "Mapping it," she said in explanation, "We have spent most of the morning measuring every surface."

"Better get that done soon," I warned her, "Rains coming."

"I can tell," she agreed with a nod, "I'm mostly done with the exterior anyway."

...Maybe taking the time for one of those weather courses wasn't that bad of an idea after all.