CHAPTER TEN

Twilight picked up a hairbrush, a quill, and a few blank scrolls that she'd found lying on the floor of the library. Coming back into it had made Spike's disappearance hit her like a ton of bricks. Again. He'd always managed to keep the place so neat, and now…the unicorn blinked back a few more tears, trying to stay calm. Spike, if you're still there, and that letter is somehow a mix-up, I'm coming for you as soon as I can.

A few seconds later, Twilight was headed back in the direction of Zecora's house, anxious to talk to the zebra in private. She'd seemed almost reluctant to mention the place she had grown up, as if there were things she didn't want to remember. Twilight didn't mean to pry, but she had a feeling some background on zebra territory would be useful. After all, not too much was known about the lands outside Equestria – not to Equestrian citizens, anyway. Even as Princess Celestia's star student, Twilight only had limited knowledge of the exotic places beyond the border.

Princess Celestia. Twilight couldn't pretend that sending Grojband home was a way to permanently solve her problems. She could still get in trouble for keeping them a secret from the princess; they would be all right, but Twilight might not. And there was still a threat out there, one that had the magic required to open portals to other worlds. But it's a temporary solution, one that makes sure our new friends are safe. And that's the important thing.

She galloped past Fluttershy's house and, doing a double take, skidded to a stop, her eyes taking in the scene. Three small shapes had approached the Pegasus' door and were knocking determinedly. "Hello? Fluttershy? Are ya home?"

Twilight facehoofed. Of all the days the fillies had to show up… Sighing, she turned and trotted up the path to the front door of the cottage just as it opened, almost causing Scootaloo to fall face-first on the welcome mat.

"Oh, um, hello girls. I certainly didn't expect to see you today," Fluttershy said. She had a few crumbs of birdseed in her mane and seemed a bit hassled.

Twilight trotted up before any of the fillies could say a word. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, hi Twilight! We were just going to ask –" began Sweetie Belle.

"– if Fluttershy would lend us a basket –"

"– to do some herb collectin' fer Zecora today," Apple Bloom finished, showing of some broken pieces of fiber. "Ours broke."

"We tried basket weaving yesterday," Sweetie Belle added.

"Oh, I have just the thing. Excuse me," Fluttershy said, trotting away from the door.

"Actually, Fluttershy, Zecora's a bit busy today," Twilight supplied, dragging the Pegasus back to the door with her magic. "I was up there just now and she said that she's going on a trip for about a week and won't be back until next Friday."

"What? Oh, yes," Fluttershy said, prompted by Twilight's vigorous nodding. "That's right. Sorry, girls, but maybe you could try again when she comes back."

"Awwwww," the fillies chorused.

"What if we were gonna actually get our cutie marks this time? We'll never know!" Scootaloo pouted. She was still wearing her helmet, and her ever-present scooter was propped up against the cottage wall."

"I don't know what to tell you," Twilight said. "Why don't you try your hoof at…" She grasped for a suggestion. "…music! I'm sure that with some practice you'd make a great band."

Apple Bloom gasped. "That's a great idea, Twilight!"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ROCK BAND! YAY!" the fillies cheered.

"Well –"

"Did I hear someone say rock band?"

Corey appeared behind Fluttershy, his mane messy from all the running he'd done. "What are we talking about?"

"Oh, nothing," Twilight said, smiling hugely. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, I think you've met Corey Riffin?"

"Not necessarily." Scootaloo said.

"But we know who he is," said Sweetie Belle, giggling.

Twilight looked over her shoulder. Farther down the path, she could see the bouncing form of Pinkie Pie, accompanied by Rarity and Laney. They'll be here any minute, she thought. Maybe they can convince the Crusaders to get out of our manes.

"We saw you with that mare yesterday," Scootaloo blurted out, pointing a forehoof at the small group headed in their direction. "You were fighting."

"Um…were we?" Corey said, cocking his head quizzically. He peered at the ponies until he recognized Laney, then nodded. "Oh, yeah. That happens sometimes."

"Ah think you like her," Apple Bloom said, snorting.

"I what?" Corey sputtered.

"Ha-ha! We got him! We got him! She's his special somepony, he's her special somepony," Sweetie Belle cheered, jumping up and down. The fillies burst out into another peal of giggles; Scootaloo leapt onto her scooter while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle climbed into the wagon attached to it. As they buzzed off past Pinkie, Laney, and Rarity, laughter still echoing from their disappearing forms, Corey yelled after them:

"She's not, though! We're just friends!"

"Who's just friends? Who were those ponies? What's going on?" Laney said, trotting up the path to the front door.

"Oh, nothing," Corey said, the skin on the back of his neck turning a soft red. Twilight smiled when she saw it, but didn't say anything. If he hadn't told his unicorn friend yet, better to wait.

"My sister and her friends can be a bit reckless," Rarity mused. "I assume they simply said something odd to Corey and he didn't know how to reply."

The stallion dipped his head gratefully. "Yeah, that's it. Those girls are crazy. What did they call themselves again?"

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders," Fluttershy explained. "They go around and try to find their special talents. They aren't always very safe about it, either."

Corey shrugged. "Herb collecting doesn't sound too dangerous."

"There's a cutie mark for herb collecting?" Laney scoffed.

"You wouldn't believe half the cutie marks ponies have," Rainbow Dash said, dropping out of the sky. "We about ready to go?"

"Nope!" Pinkie beamed. "We're still waiting on Applejack, Kin, and Kon! But they should be here any minute now!"

Sure enough, the Earth ponies galloped up moments later, toting a large number of full saddlebags. Kin had managed two, handing one to Corey. Applejack had been able to carry three, but Kon had five slung over his wide back.

"How were you able to do that, Kon? Six saddlebags is a lot to carry, even for Big Macintosh," Fluttershy asked, picking up a bag emblazoned with green apples.

Kon shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. I'm big."

"Ah told him Ah'd carry most of 'em, but he insisted," Applejack said, letting her luggage fall to the ground. "Take one. Fresh cider in there for everypony."

"Cider? YES!" Rainbow Dash dove headfirst into her bag and pulled out a slim bottle of amber liquid. "Applejack, you're amazing!"

Laney sized up her yellow saddlebags. "How do we put these on?"

"Oh, that's easy. Just get yer head in like this –" Applejack poked her muzzle underneath the straps of her own bag and flipped it onto her back. "– and then ya just kinda fling it on. It comes natural after a while."

"Here, I'll help you." Fluttershy picked up the saddlebag and placed it on Laney's back, tightening a loose strap under her belly.

Twilight checked the road, making sure nopony else was on their way to Zecora's for a potion or bag of tea leaves. "Did you all tell ponies that we were going somewhere? I don't want anypony to freak out because we're suddenly gone."

"Ah did," Applejack said. "Big Mac and Caramel are goin' to handle the North Field prunin' without me. But it's not a hard job. They're gonna be fine."

"The weather team is good for a little bit," Rainbow agreed.

"Angel is going to watch the house," Fluttershy said, "but I was worried that he'll just keep all the food for himself, so I had Hummingway take a note to Lyra and Bon Bon. They're going to keep an eye on Angel."

Rarity rummaged through her saddlebags, probably checking to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. At least she hadn't brought a huge pile of suitcases like she usually would. "I simply closed up the shop until further notice."

"And the Cakeses didn't mind, as long as I baked extra cupcakes for the time I'd be gone!" Pinkie said. "And I did!"

"Good. I made sure to lock up the library, so we're all set." Twilight levitated her necessities into the saddlebag Applejack had provided and then placed the bags onto her back. "Zecora's probably waiting for us. We need to hurry."

"Twilight, we can't forget our time limit, either." Rarity cautioned, laying a hoof on the purple mare's shoulder. "As of this morning, we have a week to get Grojband home. Then you're free to answer Celestia's questions without their being in danger."

"Yep." Twilight closed Fluttershy's front door and stepped forward. "As long as they're safe, I can freely take any punishment the princess might give me for harboring them."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get a moooove on!" Pinkie sang, a burst of confetti and balloons exploding from her saddlebags.

"I'm going to guess that that's pretty normal for her," Kin said, scratching his head.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "And you'd be right. Let's go."

Zecora was indeed waiting for them outside her house. She didn't have saddlebags, but an intricately carved wagon filled with bundles of ingredients and supplies. A trio of circular charms hung from the spokes of one wheel, jingling in the forest breeze, and a thin, patterned cloth was folded over the front. Twilight suspected that all were from the land that the zebra once called home.

"I hope you're ready to travel far. My home is miles from where we are," Zecora said, placing a final jar into the cart. "But Equestrian ponies are hardy and strong. Perhaps it will not seem so long."

"Zecora, we can't thank you enough," Twilight said gratefully. "This really means a lot."

"Especially for us," Kon piped up.

"If Twilight will protect strangers with her life, I am willing to go through some strife," Zecora said, smiling grimly. She still seemed anxious, but since Twilight had gotten held up at Fluttershy's, there was no way she could catch Zecora alone for quite a while. Maybe she'll choose to tell us without anypony asking her, the unicorn thought.

"So which way are we headed?" Rainbow Dash asked, flicking her tail back and forth excitedly. "North? East? West? South?"

"I have not been home in many years. My first journey brought much sweat and tears," Zecora said. "But I did not have a place to go. Now, with my bearings, I think I know." She closed her eyes and breathed in the air, spicy and thick with the smell of past potions, then extended her hoof towards the south. "This is the path that we must take. Of that there can be no mistake."

Twilight pulled a map out of her saddlebags. "In the direction of Appleloosa or more towards Las Pegasus? Because I have a feeling that settler territory –"

"It's not past Appleloosa, Twi," Applejack muttered. "Trust me."

"Las…Pegasus? Are you serious?" Laney said. She shared a look with Corey, and the two burst out laughing.

"I have a feeling that there's a funny story behind that," Rarity guessed.

"We have no more time to waste. If you have but a week, we must make haste!" Zecora interrupted, taking a few steps forward.

Twilight shoved her map unceremoniously back into her bag. "Zecora's right," she said. "We need to get a move on."

"So…to Las Pegasus?" Fluttershy whispered.

"To Las Pegasus," Twilight confirmed. Actually, she was almost as scared as Fluttershy was. For Spike, for Grojband, and even for herself. She just hoped that everypony would make it back home before it was too late.

Hello, everyone!

We forgot to put this on the bottom of the chapter, so sorry for those of you who follow this and got another email about the changing of the chapter. (They do that, right?)

Anyway, we just wanted to say thanks for the over 400 readers on all of out stories last month. Your reading is much appreciated!

However, we can't know your thoughts and feelings about the story unless you review! Helpful criticism is great and might give us an idea on the future of Magic Song.

It's especially weird that we haven't had a single review since Chapter Seven!

We're not complaining...just want some reactions on how the story's going.

Also, on our tumblr we're doing a December MLP Challenge, where we list our favorite characters, villains, quotes, and more, starting today of course. Check it out if you have the time!

See you next week!