Amaryllis rubbed her eyes sleepily while she bathed in the sunlight by the green-coloured tent. She had awoken by the loss of her second pillow known to most as Thiemo. After their time in the dark room, they had gotten used to sleeping together. It was also aided by the long nights they had spent with various texts, or when he had taught her his language. She had to smile at the thought of how close they were already.

She opened the tent and held up her nose in the cold morning light. At the exhausted campfire sat Hawk. Amy didn’t know what it was about her, but she could clearly feel the mare’s dislike for her. “Where is Thiemo?” She didn’t even bother with a greeting.

Night Hawk stopped in the middle of polishing one of her knives, looking over at her. “Down at the lake with Heart. Filling up the water and getting something real to eat, at least that’s what he said.” She turned back to her blade again. Amaryllis went past her, wanting to find out what he meant by real food now. “Oh, before I forget,” Hawk added and turned towards her again, “I’ll wake up the greenhorn shortly so that we can get moving. I want to leave the flatlands before dark.”

Amy nodded in casual agreement and crossed the small hill behind which the frozen lake was located. Even out in the distance, she could see the human and the pony. The latter was busy filling her canteen with water through a small hole in the ice while Thiemo just seemed to be sitting on a stone. She slid down the small hillside and grinned as he waved at her as a greeting. “Morning. What are you doing there?” It was only then she saw that a third of Thiemo’s tail was hanging in the cold water.

“Ice fishing,” he explained. “After two months of only vegetables, I need some protein.”

“For proteins, you could eat some spinach too, or eggs,” Iron Heart commented from the side.

“Fish? You can eat them?” Both looked at her like she said something wrong.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Now she was confused. “Ponies don’t eat fish, humans do,” Thiemo said to Heart. “I’m sorry you don’t like it, but one fish can replace a whole lot of spinach. And believe me, I don’t even like fish. Or spinach. But it’s better than getting sick from malnutrition.”

“Alright, you have a point there.” The white pegasus mare sighed and began filling the last canteen.

“Before I forget, Hawk said we should hurry. She wants to go soon.” Iron Heart put the canteen back into her saddlebags and placed them on her back again.

“Then I should wake up Lyra,” Heart said and turned around.

“She’s already doing that, she said.”

“Oh oh…”

“What?” Thiemo asked, confused.

A deafening scream came out of direction of their camp. “You bit me!” And then they knew Lyra was awake.

It was late afternoon of the same day that they finally arrived at the borders of the Lost Forest. Again, the name matched the appearance surprisingly well. The whole forest was engulfed in a thick, impervious fog. So thick that you couldn’t even see from one tree to the next.

“I thought pegasi control the weather?” Thiemo asked Heart, who was to his right. To his left walked Amy and behind him, his tail in her mouth, was Lyra. “And isn’t fog supposed to be just low flying clouds?” Just when he thought he had finally unravelled a mystery, planet Albion would come along and mock him about how he was not even close.

He, with his magical sight, and Hawk, with her dragon eyes, were the only ones who could see in this dense fog. “Only in the more densely populated areas. Managing the weather on the whole planet is physically impossible. But we can affect it. Just throw a cloud bank or two above the prairie and they will spread out. For example, Appleloosa has no weather station, but they can still get their weather that way.” Lyra murmured something, but with Thiemo’s tail between her teeth, it was unfortunately incomprehensible.

“You would think that someone who grew up on Albion would know more about this world, or don’t they teach you anything on Ti?” Hawk’s voice came from the front. She had left her baggage with Lyra to fly over the treetops from time to time to make sure they stayed on path.

“You would think that,” he answered and just grinned over to Amy. “So, why is the town called Sunny Town?” He saved the comparison with England. Lyra was on his tail already, and the others didn’t also need to get this information.

Before Heart could answer, he pulled her to his side since she was about to walk into a tree. “Thanks. The city got its name because it’s the only place in the area without fog. The ponies make their money from lumber. They cut down the trees and process them. About every third wood-based product in Equestria has its origin here, even if it’s just the material. During the last census, one thousand, five hundred and one pony lived in the town.”

“Shouldn’t we avoid settlements?” Amy asked. “Won’t they be looking for us?”

Hawk landed next to the group again and took the lead. “Like I said, they’ll be searching in the south. They shouldn’t know about us yet. We will restock our supplies and rest there for a day. We will need all of our strength to get over the mountains. Of course, you two will be staying in the tents, outside of town. Heart and Lyra will take care of the resupplying.” Again something incomprehensible came from the green unicorn. “Believe it or not, but thestrals like me are not welcomed everywhere. Especially in these small isolated cities. Looking like you as though you were a zebra. Thinking we were some kind of damned abomination.” For half a second, Thiemo expected her to turn around and look at Amy, but she kept her eyes up front. “Familiar feeling, am I right, ape boy?”

Thiemo saw in the corner of his eyes that Amy looked up to him, and he asked himself if she understood the hint. She had chosen not to approach both of them upfront, instead choosing an indirect path. “Don’t throw bricks when you live in a glass house, Night Hawk. Maybe we should be nice little monsters for a while and eat others instead of each other.”

“Speaking of monsters, I’ve never seen a human with a tail. Especially not one that looked like it belonged to a pony.” Thiemo was already wondering when they would ask him about that. Hawk beat Heart to it; he had seen her questioning looks at the lake already. “Don’t tell me a human did it with a pony. Didn’t think that was possible.”

“Miss dragon, coming from you….” Thiemo didn’t want to repeat the entire story with the Elements again.

“Thestrals are not really related to dragons. They just have the blood of dragons,” Heart explained. “And about his tail: I heard he got that after fighting the Elements. Rumours in the castle say that it was a curse from Princess Sparkle, just like when she forced a hideous moustache on that stallion for a week that one time.”

“Eh? You fought the Bearers of the Elements? Brave or stupid?” This time, Hawk, who must have only been noticeable as a rough shape for the two ponies next to him, looked back to him.

“What do you mean?” Thiemo had to resist crossing his arms in front of his chest, but that would have meant he would have to pull them off Amy’s and Heart’s back first, who he guided.

“Well, the Elements are powerful enough to cast gods into stone and exorcise powerful ghosts. Everyone who stands against them is either brave or stupid. Since you were asking, I’m just expecting the latter.” Thiemo wanted to correct her, but she was right, unfortunately. Unknowingly, he had approached his opponents, and even after defeating two of them, he still ended up in the cell.

“Halt!” Hawk suddenly shouted and raised her hoof up in the air, which only Thiemo could see. “I think we have reached the end of the fog bank.” She pointed over to some bushes, and they took cover behind them. “We stay at the edge of the fog and set up a camp there, so that we will stay out of sight.” Thiemo nodded, and they slowly sneaked along the edge, the faint outline of a town to their right.

Half an hour later, Hawk had finally found a good spot for their camp near the edge. The fog was weak enough to see a few meters ahead without problem but still thick enough that their tents shouldn’t be noticed by the citizens. It was also between trees and bushes in such a way that they could easily fortify it. Should pursuers appear, the camp would be abandoned before they even knew what had happened. At least, that was Hawk’s explanation to the others as she stomped the last spike into the ground with her hoof. “So, the Professor and Heart are going into town now.” Lyra sighed, unnerved. She still had countless hairs in her mouth. Not that it was something new for her to pull a friend’s tail, but having one in her mouth for hours was really unpleasant. “Only buy what we need. Long-lasting provisions, more accurate maps if they have any, and whatever else you see fit. Hey, Greenhorn, are you listening?”

Lyra was busy stroking her hoof over her tongue to get rid of another annoying hair that was scratching her palate. “What?” she asked and shot a questioning look over to the others.

Night Hawk sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Is she always like that?” Thiemo and Amaryllis, who were busy with their tent, nodded. “Okay, just stick with Iron Heart. And use nicknames if somepony asks you.”

The white pegasus mare had put everything they didn’t need from her saddlebags next to the tent and was putting them on again. “Come now, Minty. Follow your dear Aegis into town.” Lyra was again interrupted in her hair removal as she was poked in the flank by a wing and pulled away by the same. She spat a few times during their short way through the fog, but then her breath caught as they passed the last bush. What she saw was incredible. Sunny Town was on an otherwise empty field about twice the size of Ponyville. The houses had multiple floors and were completely made out of wood. Dark wood had been used to construct the largest part of the buildings, while doors and windows were made out of brighter wood, probably pine or beech. Lyra didn’t know much about wood, but the village almost looked like it was out of one of her books about distant cultures she had studied. To be precise, it came very close to the style of the deer of Cervidas.

“Lyra, you still there?” A hoof waved in front of her face.

“Sorry, Heart. I was just… It looks so alien here. Were there any deer taking part in construction?” But what would deer do here? They lived with the trees, not from them. It was rarely heard of that they would harm plants. Seeds were a valuable resource, just like knowledge.

Iron Heart shook her head. “No, but you would think that. There are mostly only earth ponies living here, and their attitude towards nature is very similar to those of the deer. That shouldn’t be much of surprise; nature is a power on its own.” Nature had its own category of magic just like arcane, elemental, light, and shadow. Nature magic was passive, therefore only rarely used by most unicorns. Every magic had its own traits. Arcane magic was affected by emotions like love, friendship, fear, and hate. Elemental magic, on the other hand, was affect by the individual’s personality.

They had now reached the border of the town and could see the first ponies between the houses doing their day work. For some reason, however, the population seemed too small. “Didn’t you say something about more than thousand citizens? This place looks too small for that.”

“The woodcutters and their families live in the forest itself. Only the saw mill and everything else that is needed to process the wood is inside the town.” They passed a sign, also out of wood, that proclaimed, in large letters, the name of the town as they reached the main road. Every city had one. On it were the most important businesses, like inns, pubs, groceries, and other places that might be relevant for travelers. At the next crossroad was a second ring around the town center with shops for clothes, tools, and furniture. Around the center was the residential area.

Even though every building was unique in its architecture, it all seemed a little dull to Lyra, perhaps too used to the colorful Ponyville. She passed the first citizens, who proceeded to leave the town with carts, fully loaded with wood. They were probably on their way to Canterlot, which was about a day’s trip away from here.

“Remember, Minty, my name is Aegis from now on,” Heart told her from the side as they approached a random pony. “Hello, I’d just have a quick…” But the stallion didn’t stop and just trotted past her with his cart. Heart looked back to Lyra, who only shrugged. She had heard of shy stallions who could barely open their mouths whenever they came into contact with a mare.

Lyra saw a mare with large empty saddlebags coming out of a building and walked towards her. “Excuse me, Miss...” But just like with Heart, she was ignored, and the mare just walked past her across the road. “That’s even worse than a zebra visiting Ponyville. We had at least the decency to acknowledge their existence by barricading ourselves.” Not one of her proudest moments.

“Minty, I don’t think they are ignoring us.” Heart stood in the middle of the road, and just as another stallion with a few wooden bars on his back walked past her, she reached out with her right forehoof. The stallion tripped and the bars fell to the ground as his face met the earth. Lyra expected that Heart would be yelled at any second, but nothing happened. Silently, without even glancing at them, the stallion picked up the bars again, loaded them on his back, and went his way.

“What in Celestia’s name…” Lyra mumbled, confused.

“Look around,” Iron Heart ordered her, and that was exactly what she did. “None of the citizens are talking with each other. They all have this glassy look. It is silent, and not just because they don’t talk. No foals, no animals, and no wind.” Lyra swallowed and her breath caught. Heart was right. She hadn’t noticed any of that before. “It is also winter. I can understand that no snow was on the ground before was it lying on top of the trees, but here. The whole town looks like it’s in midsummer.”

“I’m sorry about not telling you sooner, guys,” Rainbow said and scratched the back of her head with a hoof sheepishly. “But we were both a bit surprised.” She looked over to the stallion at her side who only grinned awkwardly.

Rarity waved her off. “Don’t worry, darling. We understand completely.” Everypony present nodded. Twilight sighed internally. Somehow, she was excited to go on a journey with all of her friends. But it was quite clear to her yesterday that Rainbow Dash would pass when they made that decision. She was pregnant and could even be with twins as she had told them today.

“Uhm… I would like to pass as well if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy said and put down her cup of tea on the table which they all sat around. They had decided to meet up in Rarity’s old boutique. The former premises downstairs were roomier than the library. “I have to care for my friends who stayed for the winter. They need me.” Again, a reply Twilight had expected. “And I don’t think we should be looking for them.” Estoc, who sat next to Rarity, choked on his tea while Twilight was almost spilled hers over the table.

“Uhm… Darling? Would you elaborate that thought?” the designer asked while knocking on the Captain’s back.

“Well… um… What should I say? I talked with him in the maze.” All nodded; this was nothing new to them. She was just glad that he hadn’t hurt her. “He seemed really nice.” Twilight blinked, confused. “For a human at least. What I want to say is… What did he do wrong? Eris told me that it was her idea with the maze. So what did he do to deserve Tartarus?” Silence fell upon the room for a few seconds. “Or Amaryllis. The poor thing was so scared when she ran away from us. I mean… nopony ever ran away from me.”

“Ah don’t like to admit it,” Applejack piped up, “but Fluttershy has a point. He also brought us Auralia and your niece. Ah know ya don’t wanna hear it, but the poor thing just wanted to know more ‘bout her family. Is it her fault who her mother is? Just sayin’.”

Their words caused Twilight to grit her teeth in frustration. She knew that Amaryllis was innocent in that regard, but she was living proof of the torment that her brother and her sister had to go through. For a long time, Cadence was afraid of the dark, and Shining Armor had steadily become paranoid over a year. Demanding a passphrase from everypony was just one way it had manifested himself. Thanks to intense sessions with Luna, they had both returned to some semblance of their old selves. With Skyla on her way, they had both seemed to hasten the process. Still, she would never forget the effect that monster had inflicted on her family.

“Come on, guys!” Pinkie tried to change to mood. “If we don’t catch him, there will still be a sad filly that misses her father. Shouldn’t that be enough motivation?”

“Pinkie is right,” Rarity agreed. “Does that mean you will join us, Pinkie?”

“Well, no… sorry.”

“Oh…” Twilight was beginning to realize what her mother meant when she said that life would go past her.

“The Cakes bought a second store and made me the manager.” Once again, a cough went through the room, this time from everypony. And they were right in doing so. Who would make Pinkie a manager? On the other hoof, she was highly gifted baker. “I have to take care of the furnishings and such.”

“Where exactly did they buy the store, Pinkie?” Soarin asked and licked his lips.

“In Canterlot, where else?” the earth pony grinned. “Pokey is there already, and he’s looking after renovations, delivery of ingredients, and the ad campaign of course.” Twilight had to amend her last thought, finding at least one thing would stay the same – Pinkie would never stop surprising her.

“Well, since nopony else has any further objections,” Estoc began and stretched out a map on the table. “The filly, Auralia, said they met here, outside the town. The only forest nearby would be the Everfree Forest. While we expanded our search in the south, they slipped right past us.” Twilight followed the hoof of the Captain wandering north around Canterlot. “They must have avoided Cloudsdale, or we would have already heard from them. This only leaves one way open: they are going through the Lost Forests.”

“I know the forest.” Rarity beamed. “Most of my furniture is from this darling little place… Sunny Town was it?”

Estoc nodded. “I don’t know about you, but there is something shady about that. It is like they knew how the Royal Guard would proceed. The generals were pretty sure that an insider helped them escape, and this almost confirms that theory. Even if you ladies only come along to find the human, we need to also apprehend the moles.”

“I think everything is clear then. We board the train to Trottingham tonight and get out to Stalliongrad. The city is right next to the forest.” Twilight tapped a hoof on the place on the map. “Then we follow them through the forest. The citizens know their way around the fog like no one else. Surely they would have noticed a human and a changeling being accompanied by ponies.”

“It was like they were ignoring the world around them,” Lyra explained to Amy and Thiemo. Night Hawk was on her way to put down traps. “Heart even made a stallion trip and he said nothing. Didn’t even look at her.”

“To be honest, this sounds like a bad version of Silent Hill. Sure they are just not very welcoming to newcomers? I’ve seen that enough.” Lyra looked at him, deadpanned. “And I know that’s because I’m a human.”

“No, you should have seen their eyes. It was scary. Like they had no life in them.” The green mare shivered.

Thiemo considered that nugget of information. He had seen something like that a while ago. “Amy, do you think changelings did that?”

She shook her head. “Changelings cast a spell on their victims so that no one notices, and never on more than one or two ponies. They would have to keep the spell going on an entire town. That doesn’t sound like changelings.”

Thiemo grinned. “And I was thinking we would be bored here.” He rubbed his hands clean on his pants and stood up from the fallen tree. “I think we should have a look around. If magic is in play, I want to know what’s going on there.”

“Lyra, if it was a spell, shouldn’t you have noticed that?” Heart asked.

“Well… I’m not the best with magic. When I manage to levitate three objects at once without breaking one of them, it’s a good day,” she admitted and turned slightly red.

“Come on, Heart, just a little peek. If they ignore everything, nothing will happen. And if they run away screaming, we at least know they just didn’t like you.” Somehow their behaviour reminded him of humans in big cities.

“No and that’s final! Our mission is to bring you to the Crystal Empire, not caring about this town’s problems. As soon as we are there, I will write a letter to the generals and then someone will help them. We should stay here and wait for Hawk.” Thiemo ignored her words and tied his bag with his last sapphires around his belt.

“Who said I wanted to help? I just want to find the cause and have my fun. Come on Amy. This is going to be funny.” She leaped over to him and both disappeared out of the camp.

Author's Notes:

Sunny Town, being creepy as ever. No, this has nothing to with "Story of The Blanks".
If there are questions, just ask. I will most likely answer if I don't have to spoiler anything.
Also, let me know whats on your mind. I live of comments after all ^^

These are your gods now, bring them all your virgins (male only):
Thanks to Gron for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

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