Day Two

The next morning, the group moved quickly and silently. There weren't many constructive things to be said; their plan remained as simple as ever. They were to walk straight forward, without any other form of stimulation. I suppose this is how Pinkie felt back on the rock farm, Rarity said to herself, trudging along the forest path between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Poor filly. I'm used to simple, repetitive work. It's half my job. But Pinkie Pie, a loving, playful spirit trapped in a drab, monotone world; well, it's no wonder something went wrong in her head.

As the day wore on, their attitude worsened in direct proportion to the amount of time they spent walking without rest. Even Applejack, the pony who spent most of her time trotting around Sweet Apple Acres, was beginning to feel the effects of two days of non-stop walking. As for Twilight Sparkle, whose total athletic experience was one race over a year ago, she could barely breathe when they stopped for rest. This, combined with the boredom and the dull scenery, led to foul tempers all around. But fortunately for their continued friendship, arguing takes energy, and there was no energy to waste. So, when something went wrong for the first time in their journey, the obstacle was silently welcomed.

"Well, now what do we do?" asked Rainbow, surveying the path before them over Twilight's shoulder. They had reached a fork in the path. They were so deep into the forest that none of them could remember which way would lead them out.

"Which way do you think Pinkie went?" called Fluttershy's voice from the back of the line.

"Well, we can find out." Twilight closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow. Rainbow looked back at the others, confused. Rarity just shrugged.

"Twilight, what are you..."

"One second, Rainbow. I'm concentrating!" Her horn glowed brighter and brighter, until Rainbow was forced to take a step backwards, for fear of being enveloped in the purple aura radiating from the purple unicorn. And then, it died. The purple sphere of magic retreated back into Twilight's horn with an anti-climactic fizzle. She stood, panting for a moment, before raising a hoof to the path on the right.

"I think…" she panted, sweat running down her forehead. "I think she went that way."

"And how can you tell, darling?" Rarity edged around Rainbow Dash to get a closer look at the exhausted Twilight.

"Well, It's a spell I learned a while back. I haven't done it in a while… I… I think I'm out of practice."

"Well, what does it do?" asked Rainbow impatiently.

"It lets me locate pony life nearby. So… I can tell which general direction Pinkie's in."

"So you know where Pinkie is?"

"Well… probably."

"And what does that mean?" Rainbow was really getting annoyed now. It was easy to tell when Rainbow was annoyed; she didn't try very hard to hide it.

"Rainbow, let her breathe!" said Applejack. Everybody looked around at her; this was the first thing she had said all day. Rainbow nodded resentfully, and backed away from Twilight. Eventually, Twilight gathered the strength to lift her head and look around at the others. This was a mistake, as Rainbow pounced on this sign of recovery.

"So, will you tell us what this spell of yours does?"

"Well, I can tell how far away somepony is, and in which direction. But, the thing is, I can't tell who they are."

"So…."

"The larger an area you search, the harder the spell is to maintain. So, I spread outwards from this area in order to locate the nearest pony. I felt four very strong presences – that's you four – and another one moderately far away. And it was down this path." Rainbow blinked. "To put it simply, somepony is down this path. But I'm not sure if it's Pinkie."

There was a pause as everybody processed this information. Rarity finished first.

"Well, it's all we've got. We may as well try it." There was a general nod of consent.

"I suppose. I just hope we're not blundering off in the wrong direction." Rarity strode confidently past Twilight, who was still eyeing the two paths worriedly.

"Darling, I like being sure as much as you do. But sitting here staring won't make it any clearer."

"Exactly!" Rainbow stepped around Twilight as well, and followed Rarity into the blackness ahead. Applejack was next. Twilight looked up at her, every doubt in her body etched across her face. Applejack just shrugged.

"It's as good a plan as any, sugarcube." And she disappeared into the darkness too. Fluttershy followed along silently. Twilight sat still for a few more seconds, thinking. But then, a voice called back from the shadows ahead.

"We could use a light, Twilight!" She stood, and ran forward to join her friends.

Not many minutes had passed when they encountered the next point of interest. After walking for days in what seemed to be the same direction, the trees were beginning to thin.

"Do you think we're nearing the edge of the forest?" asked Rainbow, who was trotting alongside Twilight.

"We must be. Look, we barely need my horn anymore." Twilight switched the beam of light off, and it was immediately clear that she was right. The dense canopy above was letting through a surprising amount of light. "And, the path's getting wider." This was also true; the tents, which were nearly too large the previously night, could now easily fit on the path. "We must be getting close."

And, as if in intentional confirmation, a sharp turn in the path brought them face-to-face with dazzling sunlight. Twilight raised a hoof to her eyes as she walked outside, followed by Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack, all of whom did likewise.

"We made it!" exclaimed Rainbow happily, slowly lowering her leg as she grew accustomed to the warmth and light.

"Not exactly, Rainbow," said Rarity smoothly. "All being outside will do is make it harder to find her."

Rainbow turned to Twilight for support, with a look of exasperation. Twilight shuffled, uncomfortable. I shouldn't encourage her. I really shouldn't. But she does have a point. She looked around, surveying the landscape.

Apart from the solid wall of forest they had just escaped, the land was absolutely featureless. It was desert: a long expanse of brown, sugary sand. There were sand dunes thrown about carelessly, as if a giant had planted trees throughout the desert, and covered up the seeds with mounds sand. It was beautiful in its way; or at least, it would have been had the onlookers not been faced with the prospect of crossing it.

"Where do you think we are, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy, eyeing the desert ahead worriedly. Twilight opened her saddlebags, and a tightly furled scroll floated out. It unraveled before the ponies' eyes, revealing itself to be a map of Equestria.

"Well, let's see," said Twilight, scanning the map. "Well, here's the Everfree Forest. It looks like we went west from Ponyville, into the forest. Then, I guess we turned north at some point, and went that way for a while. And that fork in the road took us east again. So, it looks like we're right… here!"

She raised a hoof, pointing to a spot on the map. They had taken a semi-circular route through the forest, carving a neat slice out of the huge, green blob that was the Everfree Forest. Upon exiting, they found themselves north of Ponyville, on the edge of a gigantic desert.

"So, where'd Pinkie go?" asked Rainbow, who had taken to the sky and was flying circles around Twilight's head.

"Hold on. I can use number 17."

"Number 17?"

"The same spell I used earlier."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy, concerned. "Using that spell last time really wore you out. Will you be able to do it again?"

"Well… I think so." But she didn't sound sure. But of course, we should be closer to her than we were last time. We've been walking pretty fast. Maybe that'll make it easier. I just hope I don't faint – that'll lose us a lot of time

Twilight bared her teeth, bent her neck, and focused. A purple aura appeared around her horn once more, and grew in intensity. Twilight closed her eyes – energy was coursing over her in ripples. Against the blackness before her, little light popped on and off. Odd, distorted voices echoed in her ears, and she could feel the strength being drained out of her quickly as if she had been sprinting with all her might. Four powerful waves of life washed over her with a whooshing sound, sending tingles down her spine. She waited, clenching every muscle in her body as the strain grew. Then, a different warped voice rang in her ears. It was quiet, but distinct enough from the others to be noticed easily. Another wave of energy splashed over her, and the buzzing in her ears rose violently. Twilight wanted to let go, to end pain that was gathering in her limbs, but she was afraid that doing so would result in some kind of explosion.

Only twice in her life had Twilight performed magic this powerful. The first time, she been just a little filly, and releasing the magic had resulted in an explosion. The second time had been just over a year ago, as she lifted an Ursa Minor into the air and carried him back to his cave. On that occasion, she had been able to let the force building within her die slowly, so as not to overload her own body. However, in didn't look like she had any such ability here.

Twilight had held on long enough. A blinding pain shot through her forehead, and she relaxed her muscles. The buzzing in her ears had died, as had the distant voices. As she swayed on the spot, she was dimly aware of hearing hooves plod against sand, and feeling somebody's forelegs wrap around her neck. Then, she blacked out.

"Well, now what do we do?" asked Rainbow, stomping in frustration. "We can't just wait for her to wake up!"

"I quite agree," said Rarity, walking up to the unconscious body of Twilight Sparkle. "Come on, get up." She prodded Twilight's chin with her hoof, looking down her muzzle impatiently.

"Which way do you think Pinkie went?" asked Applejack, trotting over to the map that Twilight had dropped onto the sand. Nobody answered. Rainbow, Rarity and Fluttershy were all utterly distracted by Twilight's body. "Anypony wanna help?" Still no response. "Fine then, I guess I'll try to figure it out on my own." No response.

Applejack pursed her lips and turned back to the map. To the west of their location lay the Everfree forest, out of which the group had just emerged. To the south was a small cluster of dots, labeled 'Ponyville'. To the east was a large expanse of desert, across which sat Canterlot and the royal palace. And to their north, the map cut off, leaving nothing in sight.

Well, I suppose she didn't come all this way just to go back to Ponyville. So, she's either on her way to Canterlot, or whatever's off the top of this map. Huh… She looked up, scanning the scenery. She probably walked down this path earlier today. She musta left some kinda clue. Let's see… clue… clue… aha!

"Girls! Look at that!" Everybody looked up, and saw Applejack pointing over their heads. Barely noticeable but unmistakably there, a set of hoofprints were embedded in the stretch of sand before them. Had they been anybody's but Pinkie's, the hoofprints would have been too shallow to spot. But despite having a fairly small frame, Pinkie was a violent galloper.

Rainbow turned back to look at Applejack, her eyebrows raised.

"Well spotted, AJ. It's usually Rarity who picks up on those sorts of things." This sent Rarity into a full-blown pouting maneuver.

"Well, excuse me, Rainbow. Next time I'll be sure to make digging through sand my top priority if one of my friends has been knocked unconscious."

"Well," began Applejack, vying for a more peaceful solution than whatever the furious Rainbow was about to suggest, "I figured she was in good hooves with the three o' you lookin' after her."

Rainbow struggled for a moment, her desire to continue arguing conflicting with her desire to keep moving. Eventually, she made her choice.

"Why don't we get moving?"

"But what about Twilight?" asked Fluttershy, who had been spending the last few minutes re-packing Twilight's saddlebags, whose contents had spilled open when she collapsed.

"I suppose..." said Rainbow, looking around at her three remaining companions. "I suppose I could carry her." Both Applejack and Fluttershy immediately objected.

"Really, Rainbow, there's no need," said Applejack, drowning out Fluttershy's complaints. "Why don't I..."

"Are you kidding? You've got a broken leg, for Celestia's sake! Besides, I can fly, and you can't."

"But what if you drop her?"

"I won't." Rainbow smiled confidently at her companions. Applejack and Fluttershy glanced at each other nervously. Rarity, who seemed to have grown bored of the discussion, had already begun to follow the trail of hoofprints.

"Well, okay..." said Applejack. "But please, be careful, Rainbow."

"Aw, quit worrying! It'll be a piece of cake." Rainbow walked over to where Twilight was lying, and scooped her up in her forelegs.

"Well then, why don't we get moving?" Applejack trotted away, following the two sets of hoofprints that would lead them on their way. Rainbow leapt into the air, and whisked past her easily. "It's not a race, Rainbow!" shouted Applejack, breaking into a gallop. Fluttershy walked after them, tight-lipped.

"Wha..." Twilight opened her eyes drearily. Her very first sight was the sky, and the clouds that drifted across it. Her second sight came after she looked down, and realized that she was thirty feet off the ground. Twilight shreiked out loud, and jumped violently.

"Whoa!" The whole world spun, and Rainbow's wide-eyed face whooshed past her vision. She felt a hoof dart underneath her neck, keeping her from tumbling down to the ground. "Take it easy, Twilight! I nearly dropped you."

Twilight, looked around, panting. She quickly ascertained her position; she was in midair, supported only by Rainbow's legs. Rainbow's face was positioned somewhere at the edge of her vision.

"What happened?"

"You passed out after you cast that spell," she said, seemingly unshaken by Twilight's near-fatal joyride. "And I volunteered to carry you. You're lucky I'm here, Twilight. Rarity was all for leaving you."

"Uh-huh," she responded, knowing from experience to ignore this last comment. However, another question occured to her. "So, if I was passed out, how did you know which way to go?"

"We found hoofprints."

"Oh," Twilight said, rather put off. "That's... convenient." She couldn't see, but Twilight could have sworn that Rainbow was grinning.

"So, what are the groups tonight, Twilight?" asked Applejack. Fluttershy was sitting in the sand, apart from the rest. Rainbow had darted into a tent at the first opportunity, and was currently curled into a ball inside a sleeping bag. Rarity was standing beside Applejack, frowning impatiently. Twilight was considering.

I suppose the polite thing to do would be to put Fluttershy and Rainbow together. But... Again, a wave of bitterness beat against her stomach. I suppose in the end, the real nice thing to do would be to seperate them, because... uh... Twilight struggled internally for a moment, trying to think of a justification. Well... maybe... Oh, to pony hell with it.

"How about you, Rarity and Fluttershy sleep in one tent, and I'll be with Rainbow." Twilight glanced over at Fluttershy. She seemed happy enough.

"That sounds fine. Now, we should be getting pretty close to Canterlot. We'll probably arrive tomorrow, so we all oughta get a good night's sleep." Twilight nodded, as she began to walk toward her tent.