Everfree Forest Phenomenal Cosmic Power! (Closed - SteelEagle, BrianBlackberry, Imagination)

[Imagination]

It was about time his skill got some royal recognition. Even if it was from the newest addition to the family.

The letter sent to his home was most welcome indeed. Needing a guide through the Everfree? To look for something mystical? He certainly wasn't going to disappoint. This might be his shot to really get in big time! He made it far in the Army, he's doing pretty great as an adventurer, but if he could become the princess' go-to guy for artifacts and relics! He'd REALLY live it up then!

He contained his excitement as best he could. He was early, but fashionably so. Sitting by the entrance to the Everfree, he was looking like he was ready for some guerrilla stuff. His usual outfit came with the addition of a nice black cap, the same red patch of the 13th recon on it. A little bit of camo paint here and there, and strapped to his back was all the supplies he would need for traps and things of that nature, as well as supplies in case they needed to set up camp. Oh, and a set of binoculars around his neck. The trees were so thick he might not need them, but he'd rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them.

This wasn't his first time in the forest, but the Everfree was a beast of its own. Everypony would have to keep their wits about them here, and take the utmost caution with every step they take. This was a place where just looking in the wrong direction could result in a pony's end deep in the woods. Trailblazer was prepared. He just hoped his charges would be.

[brianblackberry]

Here she was, the Great and Powerful Trixie, greatest show mare in all of Equestria, Mistress of Magic, Princess of the Performing Arts, and last but certainly not least Seeker of Mystical Artifacts. It was that last great skill of the multifaceted mare of talent that lead her to the edge of the greatest forest in all of Equestria, the Everfree!

The problem though was the Everfree was no mere grand forest, it was essentially an outwardly realm, not subject to the natural laws and magical influence of the rest of Equestria. Here the Princesses had no control, no dominion over whatever creatures made the dark abode their home. It was both frightening and exhilarating! At least to Trixie. She had been in the forest before, her refuge after being so unfairly cast out of Ponyville. Even during those darkest days though, the azure colored mare always traveled among the paths and trees of the periphery of the forest, never delving in too deep, for she knew the deeper you went, the more strange and dangerous the forest became.

What she sought though was said to be in the deepest part of the forest, somewhere in the unknown, and some say unknowable, centrer, the oldest region of the forest, and the area most permeated with strange and anarchic magics. It would be worth it though, for what Trixie seeked was the Djinn's Eye, a mystical orb that was rumored to hold the power to grant any pony's desires! How could she resist such untold potential?!

Most ponies would rush in after such a tome, most ponies who seeked it did, and never returned... Trixie though was smart, and not just beautiful, she knew she needed an expert guide, somepony who knew and understood the Everfree, who was expert in tracking and comfortable living in the wilderness. Thus she hired one that she was sure was personally recommended by Whooves despite her own reservations of the pony's… Stability. One Pathfinder.

Unfortunately when Trixie arrived at the pre-determined meeting location, she did not find the pegasus mare who was to guide her, but some spotted pegasus stallion! Who was this guy?! Why was he there?? Trixie was instantly suspicious but she also was astute enough to at least try and pry some information out before assuming too much. "You there, stallion! What brings you to the edge of the forest like this, don't you know it's dangerous?"

[SteelEagle]

"Because I hired him."

Twilight trotted out of the forest edge, a saddlebag strapped firmly to her along with a breastplate from the Royal Guard. She had been opposed to any form of additional protection or royal trappings being with her in the Everfree, but the Guards had been incessant and time had been short. She gave in to their demands simply so she did not have to take an armed escort, who would have caused multiple problems. The more ponies that went this deep into the forest, the more ponies could get hurt, and the greater the likelihood of one of the big dangerous animals finding them. Better to go alone and go fast than spend your time with a slower moving group. Not all of them had wings and non of them could teleport- alone, she could cover four times the ground. And that was doubly important now as what she sought was an artifact of great importance.

References to it in text were somewhat scarce if not almost entirely impossible to find for most outside of what she could get from Saddle Arabia. The Djinn's Eye was a relic from that nation, one that was held in great esteem in many folk tales and legends. It was rumored to grant the wishes of any pony who had control of it, but who was to say that was truth? If it was, how did it ever leave somepony's possession? Why did the previous owner not rule the world or live eternally? It was full of holes, but the fact that when she brought it up with a diplomat he turned stone faced and silent told her something was up. They didn't have time to bother with what may or may not be true, they had to get a hold of it and secure it. Such powerful magic needed control if it was to exist within Equestria's borders so it could be properly studied.

So Twilight had made a determination to find it, and found an adventurer with the knowledge of the land and the skills and training to see it through. A former meber of the Royal Equestrian Army and an adventurer with a positive reputation, a good scout for any expedition. Trailblazer was the right choice. She could have hired Pathfinder, who had made a recent stop in town because one ofthe Daring Do books was getting a fourth printing and she wanted Twilight to get her mother to autograph it, but she had been beaten to it. The revelation that Trixie had hired Pathfinder- Pathfinder never shut up about her jobs- was amusing to the Princess, who could just see the sparks fly between the two. It was therefore no shock to see Trixie at the pre-determined location, somewhat perplexed by Trailblazer's appearance.

"I hired him to find the Djinn's Eye as well. I would have rather gone alone, but if my research is right, the Djinn is deep into the Everfree. No armed escort, better to take a guide," She said, trotting over to her guide and hoofing over a small bag of bits. He wasn't cheap, but he was good.

Pathfinder WAS cheap, however!

"Heya Trixie missy!" Pathfinder yelled from inside the treeline, flying out energetically with her normal getup. She didn't need new clothes or saddlebags. She just needed Pathfinder, which was like ten adventurers rolled. She rubed Trixie's mane enthusiastically, hat notwithstanding.

"I was worried nopony else would show up! I've been here for like ten billion days, or when was the fourth printing released?" The pegasus asked, fluttering in place in wonderment.

"Tuesday."

"Right! That's like four days ago!"

"It was two."

"Same difference. Hey Trailly! Long time no see. How is the tail holding up? Did you escape that cave-in with all your teeth? I almost didn't. Your mane looks great today! I bet you even took a shower, fancy you. I took a bath last night in the river but a sea serpent tried to eat me. We ended up singing songs. The Everfree is a neat place. Well, I guess you and your Princess waifu can just leave this to the true pros! We got this," Pathfinder blathered on, investigating Trailblazer as she did so. No doubt, he was one of her most favoritest adventure buddies of all time. They had so many adventures and betrayals and double crosses and unreturned Hearth's Warming Eve cards that it was nutso! So cool! Such fun!

"It might be best if we stay together. I have a map," Twilight replied evenly, levitating it- Pathfinder grabbed it immediately.

"Thanks!"

"Hey! Give that back!"

"Aww, not even a little chase?"

"Give it back."

"Awwww....."

Pathfinder hooved it back.

"Right. This map shows that we are about three days of hard trotting to the location it may be at-" She looked at Trixie who was the only one there who couldn't just fly. Trouble followed her even when unintentional, "and that is if nothing too poor happens," She levitated that map as well as some in depth topographic maps over to Trailblazer.

"I've mapped out several possible routes. but you're the expert. Lead the way!"

Pathfinder fluttered back towards Trixie, and started following the more 'electable' pair.

"Ahh, don't worry about 'em. I'm sure Twilight will get mud on her hooves eventually and freak out or something. Princesses, pfft. Also, watch out for Trailblazer. I think he loves me."

[Imagination]

He was about to ask this mare the same exact thing, but Princess Sparkle's timing couldn't have been better... At least until he saw who she was dragging along. "Oh you have got to be kidding me." he voiced his displeasure immediately, and perfectly loud enough without shouting. No need to. He didn't want to draw anything to the group before even getting started. He regarded Pathfinder with a defeated sigh. If he wanted to prove to the Princess he was the best choice, and worth keeping around, getting huffy and puffy around his overexcited rival wasn't it. "Hello Pathfinder..." he forced a greeting. He was above using nicknames. Like 'Pathy'. "Please stop sending cards to my home, by the way... How did you even get my address?!"

But this was forgotten when the Princess sat near him and hoofed over his payment. He was smiles again in no time. "Well, 'unarmed' guide wouldn't be entirely accurate, your highness. I still have the materials for basic traps should we get routed and have to set up camp, either on the way there or back. I'm sure I don't have to tell you these woods can have a mind of their own... Or how dangerous they can be." Oh yeah, he heard about the Princess getting petrified some time ago. She was lucky somepony came along and found her! But no use dwelling on that. It didn't make her incapable of exercising caution in these woods. If anything she now had incentive to! With a couple of talented magic users in the group, along with Trailblazer's survival skill's and Pathfinder's... knack for surviving, they should be fine! He had to scowl a bit as Pathfinder too the map, watching she short exchange before it was given to him. "Thank you..." Opening her map, he took a moment to look it over before storing it and setting on his way. "Impressive, your highness! There's a couple of routes you have marked that would be most ideal, so long as we avoid choke-points and-" he was walking and talking at once... Until he caught wind of what Pathfinder was saying. He just rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, I love you to death..."

Clearing his throat, he set his focus on the road before them, taking point and keeping his head on a swivel.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie's initial relief upon spotting Pathfinder arriving was suddenly turned to shock and vexation when she saw the all too familiar form of Twilight Sparkle. The azure unicorn gave Pathfinder a glare of visible disapproval, "why did you bring her here?!" Before even considering giving Pathfinder a chance to explain, Trixie turned instantly to the lavender alicorn, "why are you here, Princess Twilight Sparkle?!? Oh yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie has acknowledged and accepted your royal title and your… Transformation! Indeed the Great and Powerful Trixie is impressed you dare come to the forest without your pegasai colt candy… I mean escort, to protect those delicate wings of yours!"

Despite her hiding behind sarcasm, Trixie was truly worried about Twilight's presence. She was sure that no other pony would have known about the orb, or even if they did, what would have been the chance they would also be willing to brave the Everfree to search for it, let alone at the exact same time!? Now not only did she have competition, but it was Twilight, worse still, alicorn Twilight! There was no way Trixie could effectively stop the lavender princess from searching, let alone magically challenge her when the orb was found if it came to that. Trixie had to just play along for now, and use the one advantage she had… Guile! Sure Twilight Sparkle was academically knowledgeable and a princess, but she was still quite naive when it came to life.

Trixie disliked having to possibly resort to deceit. She didn't hate Twilight, not anymore, but this was her one big chance to fulfill her dreams, and no pony was going to take that way from her, princess or not! Not this time! But for now, all she could do is play along. "Well, do try and keep up, out here there are no royal servants at your beck and call for your every need, so no crying if you chip your hoof, your royal highness!"

Trixie was rather dismissive about the claim that the pegasus stallion was possibly Pathfinder's colt friend, it didn't matter to her other than he would more likely to be amicable. "Now Miss Pathfinder, if you wouldn't mine, shall you and your special somepony here lead the way? You all do know your way through this forest, do you not?"

[SteelEagle]

Trixie made sounds that were probably words but to Twilight sounded more like the mewling cries of a hungry kitten yearning for mother's milk. Twilight's patience for Trixie's whining was directly related to how incessant it was as well as their progress towards the ultimate goal. If she had to endure Trixie for the good of Equestria, she would do so. Having her along was a bit of a insurance policy, as despite her bluster and bad attitude she was still a mare of skill and her recent adventures were sure to give her some valuable experience. As much as Twilight was loathe to admit it, Trixie would be valuable if it came to any danger. Not that Twilight doubted her own abilities. She was more than an incredibly powerful alicorn, but an expert in many fields with a wealth of knowledge that nopony else had. Added onto the fact that she had been on more than a few adventures herself and indeed had every intention of defending herself if it came to it, Twilight was certain that any use of magic would be of good quality.

She believed the same could be said about the hired help for the day, a pair of adventurers with records length and famous. Or infamous. At least in certain circles, anyway. Trailblazer came with a sterling record, and so far had proven himself well. Simple things told larger tales and he didn't have an arrogant sound about him. Willing to take the possibility that she had the correct routes opened as possibilities- she made a good choice. He led on. Pathfinder was a bit cloudier. It wasn't that Twilight doubted her sincerity. In fact, Twilight had little doubt that duplicity was as foreign a concept to the pegasus as bathing or proper etiquette. It had to do with the fact that the so-called adventurer had at best a loose grip on reality and seemed to toss in fantasy as substitute when her preferences in reality were ill met.

In that regard, Trixie and Pathfinder were a match made in heaven.

"You don't need to worry about me, Trailblazer. I was foalish in treating these woods as lightly as I did years ago. A proper respect for danger leads to healthy caution during an adventure. I am prepared. I can use magic effectively, but with you around I suspect that you may find better uses for it than I can off of the top of my head," She smiled, appreciating his preparation. Preparedness was the first and most important step to success. Twilight then shot a quick look back to Trixie, still smiling. If you had to beat a mare it didn't cost you anything to be polite.

"Feel free to follow if you must, Trixie. I am sure Pathfinder will lead you to the correct location quickly in any case."

Speaking of, Pathfinder nudged Trixie.

"Pssh, why would I bring her? She was more interested in others. Poor taste princess! And MY special somepony is Snowfall! He's cool and all, but not as cute as her or even you! He just wishes he had me. I heard that he has all sorts of merchandise of Daring Do that he keeps from me. That may be because I mailed it to them after that one time when i beat him to a Gem and felt bad afterwards. I don't really remember, I've taken a lot of shots to the head. Anyhoof, ahoy!" She screamed, flying swiftly ahead, landing not far from where Trailblazer was, just out of earshot of the two not-so-great-at flying.

"So, find any cool ruins lately? What about mind control scorpions? Those were fun times! Remember that one time under the lakes when you left me behind to be eaten? That was a hoot and a hooollllllleeeeeerrrrr!" She chortled, ducking under a tree branch as she flew on. Then she grew annoyed and turned around.

"Trixie! Move faster please! Grow wings or something, or do you want me to carry you?! Stop being a slow poke!" She flew back a later, a sticky golden substance dripping on her from above. She looked up- score! Everfree dance honey! If they had to make camp, she could do so much with it! Pathfinder took out a small canteen, dumped out a bunch of water (some of it landing in Twilight's tail below, much to the Princess' annoyance), and filled it with the honey.

"Sweeeeet! Trixie, want some of my honey?!"

[Imagination]

Trailblazer listened to the exchange between Twilight and the mare who identified herself as 'The-Great-and-Powerful Trixie'. Oh, so that's who that was? He had heard about the mare, but never had a face to connect to the name. Interesting. Two sets of rivals on the same trip. That wasn't inviting trouble. Not at all. Sarcasm aside, he was sure the Princess could keep things under control. If he could manage the navigation and threat assessment, Twilight could easily handle the rest... Like keeping the other unicorn in check, or keeping Pathfinder away from him.

Speaking of, she wasn't exactly batting a thousand in that unspoken responsibility.

Oh yes, he remembered the mind control scorpions, the swordsnakes, the scarabs, and Celestia knows how many strange horrors they found in those ancient temples and ruins. He also remember the apparently futile and countless efforts he made trying to trap Pathfinder in those very ruins for the monsters to be unleashed upon... But she always managed to find a way out of it. Come out on top, even! If he had a bit for every time one of his little disposal schemes backfired, he wouldn't need to accept contracts that's for sure. As for her question... Yes! He had found a couple of ruins! Why just recently he returned with an ancient Unyasi armor known as the 'Cuirass of the Creator'. It was an ancient piece said to be made entirely of dragonscale and the finest silks! Well it certainly was made of something quite hard that hadn't seen much wear and tear, even sitting dormant for many years, and the intricate fabrics were quite exquisite. Only catch being that the first three to touch it were cursed to suffer a thousand deaths. Whatever that means. Which was why he had paid three tribals to take turns carrying it to his boat before he left the land.

Of course, he... Didn't really include that one in his resume.

"... perhaps." He would love nothing more than to boast about the newest centerpiece of his den... Along with the other things he's found that he has had the fortune of not having to compete with her for... Though to be fair he was more proud of the pieces he 'won'. "Oh yes, I remember several moments of yours, Pathfinder... It's hard to forget you nearly leaving me trapped in an ancient vault for two days..." That was a fun time. Luckily one of the walls gave out and lead him to the exit. He would say more, but he was already earning some points with the Princess, it seemed. He had her full confidence! He didn't want to ruin it, even if it meant biting back his pride. "Would you stop distracting me, please...? I have to stay focused on the path." That was probably the nicest thing he's ever said to her. With that, he kept his eyes on the path before them... Until he listened in behind him and heard water splashing on the ground. He had to stop, looking up at Pathfinder with the most bewildered face. How... why would she... "I don't even..." for honey?! REALLY?!

He collected himself, taking a breath. Looking ahead of the group, they were by a fork in the path anyway. Taking out the map, he wanted to make doubly sure they went the right way. This was the last place you wanted to get lost. "This is the last time we're stopping unless it's an emergency, and we're not staying long" he assured the Princess. They were sitting ducks on the trail, so he didn't want to stay still longer than they had to. He'd look over the map during this moment for the group to make absolutely sure they were ready for the trek. It would only get worse as they went deeper.

[brianblackberry]

Follow? Follow?! Is that what Twilight Sparkle told Trixie she was "free" to do?! Who does this mare think she was? Oh right, princess, of course! Figures such a thing would go to Twilight's head to the point where she just assumed she was just better than everypony else! Well the Humble and Modest Trixie wasn't just gong to sit there and allow some fancy pants noble tell her or anyone else what to do because of supposed aristocratic privilege! This was the Everfree, not Canterlot! "Well, well, well, aren't we just the privileged little special snowflake! Figures you would presume to believe Trixie is here to follow you Twilight Sparkle, as if everypony should just defer to your "royal" presence! No, Trixie was hear first, and Trixie sees to need to follow some sort of archaic, aristocratic protocol! First come..." Trixie bumped Twilight and walked right past her, "first serve!"

As Trixie proudly marched to the front of the group, she held her head up high in her predicated belief in her own righteousness in standing up for the plebeians, which really meant just standing up for her right to get to the orb first and show she didn't have to depend on any pony's help… Well okay, almost anypony, she still needed Pathfinder, annnnnd having Trailblazer along couldn't hurt, annnnnnd having Twilight's magic couldn't either, but she wasn't about to tell them that!

As for Pathfinder, Trixie was finding her as a big of an enigma as ever, an annoying, but necessary enigma. At least the pegasus mare recognized Trixie's natural beauty, and she was cute too, which would be a bigger plus if she wasn't just so… Weird. Still Whooves appeared to believe in her, so there had to be something to her, right? No time for doubt now Trixie! Still the pegasus didn't need to be insulting. Trixie answered Pathfinder's prodding the only way she knew how, through sarcasm, "well it is not Trixie's fault she is the only one without wings! Not all of us were born with, or simply granted as a gift, a pair of wings you know! Trixie is but a mere unicorn, and proud to be so!" Not everypony needed to be an alicorn!

At least Trailblazer had the right idea when he pulled out a map, no doubt of the forest. Trixie lit up her horn to give some illumination as she leaned over the pegasus stallion's shoulder to get a solid look at the map herself. It wasn't as clear as she hoped, but as long as the to pegasai understood it, that was all that really mattered. She was about to inquire with the spotted stallion when Pathfinder interrupted. "What? Your honey? W-What do you mean??" Then it dawned on the horrified azure unicorn, Pathfinder's canteen was full of it. "Are you crazy?! Did you just dump half our water?! You are supposed to be guiding, not… being Whooves! I mean, goofing off! Now do something useful!"

This was going to be a long trip!

[SteelEagle]

Every fiber of Twilight's large resevoir of self-respect vibrated with the will to unleash upon the showpony every piece of intense magical displeasure she could displace. Celestia's Sun, Trixie would make a fine frog for the duration of the journey. When you had enough power and knowledge to bend reality to your will, it took even greater restraint to not flex it once in a while. And Trixie? Trixie was the single most annoying pony in all of existence. It would be a huge improvement. But onstead of doing that, Twilight bit her tongue. The showmare had received Twilight's respect in the past for trying to turn a new leaf. That respect was now draining away like a sieve in a glass, dwindling into nothing but droplets. Trixie bumped Twilight and pushed her way to the front, all the way with her head held high and a degree of haughtiness on every hoof. Twilight rolled her eyes, gritted her teeth, and focused on Trailblazer.

They were at a fork, which by her estimation would have been checkpoint C in path A or checkpoint A in path C, and by the relative swiftness with which they had achieved it meant it was the the second option. They were running eight minutes and twenty one seconds ahead of schedule, so a small break wouldn't hurt. On teh other hoof, it would be wise for them to press on since nopony seemed fatigued and possibly have more time to set up some sort of base camp near the location itself, should they require rest outside of it or possibly retreat. Failing that, Twilight wasn't interested in dealing with Pathfinder still dumping stuff off above. She shot the pegasus a few death glares, but she was as oblivious as always. Back on point.

"I don't think we need a rest now, Trailblazer. We are in good shape and spirits. Well...maybe not so much the second one. Either way, if we can continue our good pace we can get to the location with more time to spare. Then we can rest before we head off to retrieve the artifact. Makes sense...right?" She offered to her guide, hoping that the logic was sound. Seemed to work six ways from every direction but it never hurt to shore up confidence with the opinion of an expert.

Speaking of experts, Pathfinder was an exper in many fields and very few at the same time. When it came to finding something sweet to eat in the middle of nowhere she doubted that there was anypony wiser than she. Of course it may have seemed silly to the uninitiated but that was why they were part timers and second rate adventurers and she was the definition of it. Adventure ponified, just as much as Daring Do! She shrugged as everypony shot down her suggestion of honey. Silly ponies were silly.

"Pssh, have it your way, Trixie. Water is easy to come by in the Everfree! A little tummyache hasn't hurt anypony except for those that it does. Maybe I'll make some honey sandwiches later. Doctor Whooviepooie likes them, that much I know!" She said, flying a bit further than the rest as they came to a short stop to examine the map. It was like they had never even been to the Everfree.

She was gone for a few minutes, flying above the tree cover. Clear weather, boring. No giant fifty foot tall monster, boring. Clear sailing. Gosh, hopefully Twilight went insane and used evil magic. Pathfinder flew back to the ground, sighing.

"I see jack diddly in all directions! Did anypony bring pocket monsters we can grow using water? It doesn't look like Trixie and I can get to show off our super expert companion tag team combat moves if we don't fight a fifty foot tall minotaur! Uggh. Princess, could you, like, summon the Guard or something to stab us with spears or something? I'm sure I have a few warrants somewhere. Trixie probably does, and Trailblazer is so cool he probably has like sixteen. That could add drama!" She said, patting Trailblazer on the head some more. Then she tossed her canteen of honey and tossed it into her infinite bag of adventure, taking out some papers and a quill, writing down something as she hovered above. Fanfiction couldn't write itself and this group was so sloooowwwwwwww.

[Imagination]

Trailblazer put the map away after a short moment, now absolutely sure he knew where he was going. For the most part. He wondered if the woods had shifted at all. "Roger, your highness, we can keep going." With that he stepped off again. "You sound like you've had this planned for quite some time, Lady Twilight. How long have you known the artifact was out here? That is if I'm permitted to ask" He was being uncharacteristically praising... Though the Princess seemed to need all the buttering up she could get. "Also, would you like a towel...? I know Pathfinder can be... difficult... at the best of times..." Having to go through an already miserable hike while wet wasn't all that great. He was no stranger to that, thanks to the Army.

He had not been paying all that much attention to Trixie during the move, but he caught a bit of what she had been saying here and there. He had to question how he was approaching hsi own rivalry, what with Trixie being so outspoken against the Princess... And the effect of her words was clear. All in all, though, she didn't seem all bad. Reminded him a bit of himself in a way. That, and she did call him 'colt candy' earlier. At least, he thought she was referring to him. Oh well. "Miss Trixie, if need be I have extra water I can share-" More than a show of chivalry and a 'cool head' for the Princess rather than an honest-to-goodness generous offer of supplies. But his moment of being accommodating was cut short by Pathfinder trying to find ways to make the trip more dangerous than it needed to be. They were taking certain paths for a reason, darnit!

"Why would the Princess summon her own soldiers to attack her? Do you even listen to yourself when you talk?!" No, Trailblazer, don't get heated. He stopped himself and tried to stay calm when Pathfinder came in for some unwanted physical contact... and suggested he must be a criminal. Psh. No. That was ridiculous... Right? Then again, it was true, had had a few warrants... Just none of them were in Equestria. The Zebras tend to take temple desecration and trespassing pretty darn seriously. "I didn't know being thought a criminal was 'cool'...

In retrospect, she was speaking pretty highly of him. If he wasn't so sickened by the mare she might have done a superb job boosting his ego.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie just face hoofed at Pathfinder's seemingly random quips and observations. It was like listening to a hyperactive foal after a visit to Sugarcube Corner! What did Whooves see in this mare? Oh right, the eccentricity! At least Whooves was useful, most of the time; so far Pathfinder hasn't been helpful at all. The only thing that stopped the azure unicorn from going off on crazy pegasus was the fact Pathfinder referred to Whooves as "Doctor Whooviepooie". Trixie smirked when she heard that comment. So they were close after all, and that name, definitely worth remembering for the right moment when "Whooviepooie" got too full of himself. At least the other scout appeared competent, even helpful, it was a pity he was there for Twilight, which made his trustworthiness slightly dubious, still he certainly beat nothing, or having a nutcase for a guide.

Trixie levitated the canteen of water over to her that Trailblazer offered and took a couple sips, figuring, given the odd circumstances thus far, it be best to ration it. That, and hold onto it. "Er, thanks… Oh! If you are done with that map, the Curious and Observant Trixie wouldn't mind studying it." Before the pegasus stallion could acquiesce, or object, she magically plucked the rolled parchment from his saddlebag and unfurled it before her. There was no way she was going to remain totally dependent on either guide, one who is helping one who Trixie saw as potential competition and the other one, who may just be insane.

Despite her background as a performer, Trixie had grown experienced when it came to trekking through the wild forests and fields that existed around and within Equestria, and regular look ahead of, and all around her as she walked deeper into the forest with the rest of the troop. She didn’t have the knowledge and experience of the two guides, well at least Trailbreaker, but she definitely learned enough on her adventures and magical searches to be constantly aware of her surroundings. It was this awareness that suddenly sprung her into action.

Trixie eyes widened and she and inexplicably galloped over to Twilight, using her magic to momentarily prevent the alicorn princess from moving. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hold Twilight for more than a few seconds, but that was all she needed. As Trixie came right up next to the lavender mare she whispered, “giant spider tripwire, just in front of your forehoof, you almost set it off, shhhhh…” Trixie extended her forehoof in front of Twilight and urged the princess to step back, “we are not alone…”.

[SteelEagle]

Lady Twilight? Odd choice but there was something a bit regal about it that she didn't necessarily dislike. Seemed oddly friendlier than Majesty or Highness. She'd accept it as much as she could any other, she supposed. Moreover, it was simply nice for somepony to notice the preparation she had made on such short notice. She smiled and nodded as the group continued, absorbed momentarily in conversation with a pony worthy of her attention at the moment- take notice, showmares and silly fillies. She snapped her tail, getting a lot of the water out.

"Well, I had an inkling as to this relic being in Equestria for a little while. I tend to keep a running list of old relics and other oddities that may be within Equestria-" She shot a glance at the smiling Pathfinder, "under lock and key and guard in Canterlot-" the smile didn't dim, grew wider, Princess sigh, "but I decided that it became something really worth looking into only recently after I met a Saddle Arabian diplomat. For some legend that wasn't supposed to exist, he and his comrades in the diplomatic corp were entirely too aggressive in their questioning and telling in their own silence in response. I have access to many records and histories so after a few days of narrowing it down from a few thousand possibilities using an algorithm, picked this as the most likely location. Then I mapped out a few dozen infiltration and exfiltration routes. From start to finish, maybe four days. Too slow for my tastes but I had other concerns. And I'll be fine. A little water never hurt anypony," Twilight spoke with a sense of familiarity with the guide before Trixie interrupted the exchange.

She held Twilight magically, which didn't come as a surprise seeing as Trixie was a powerful mare in her own right. There was a brief rise of outrage within Twilight, and justified at that. Holding somepony in place against their place using magic was an especially offensive magical action against a unicorn of any sort. It was beyond the point of personal space. Luckily for Trixie Twilight had a vast resevoir of patience and the self-control that came with her intense and lengthy training and the showmare was spared the indignity of being turned into a hoofguard for a generation in a fetlockjerk reaction to the problem. That allowed her to take in what was said. She looked down- yep, tripwire. But her own magical investigation, which trailed over the tripwire across the length in her own color, indicated something strange.

"No, we aren't alone. Good awareness Trixie. But we might also have another problem- giant spiders don't answer or make homes in the type of wood around us naturally. But the trees around us are hollow. Everfree Hardwood is normally hard as rock and solid all the way through. This isn't a spider trap. This is a magical neutralizer zone. Nopony move- the Everfree itself might be re-arranging the ground floor around us. If we trip them, giant spiders will be the least of our troubles..."

Pathfinder hovered above, nodding all the while with a growing grin.

"Yep! These are the Sappient Sappers. Trip those wires and these babies unleash a stunning anti-magic aura blast which would knock us out for a few seconds. Then these plants come at us, shoot out this gas and when we come to we're inside these trees being drained of everything. I heard that then giant spiders use your mane as a nest, but I can't prove that. I can prove the other stuff though! Finally, something cool. Good eyes, you blue unicorn devil you. Make sure to keep them on the ground for now, these things are wily," Pathfinder rubed her hooves together in excitement before digging out some smoke bombs.

"They're usually in two pairs. Twilight, can you detect the other one?"

A few seconds.

"Next to Trailblazer, the one with the squirrely branch and the one opposite. I could teleport us away."

"Pssh, nah. If you started any dangerous spell, the Sappers would react and blast us. We find the holes, toss some smoke bombs, make sure to keep it contained for a few seconds, and then you teleport us away. One of them is the sensor, the one with the larger hole and that is one we hit. Traily Baily and I will totally save the day and look good doing it," She tossed two smoke bombs to Trailblazer. He'd know what to do because he was a cool guy.

"Trixie, may I borrow your hat?"

[Imagination]

A great treasure some foreign power is greatly interested in, but won't talk about it themselves? Sounded mighty interesting to Trailblazer. He just hoped his greed wouldn't get the better of him when they finally unearthed this thing... He was sure having the trust of the crown could probably pay for this thing tenfold. Besides, the 'artifact' could very well be an old cup... or a book or something. He knew plenty of those disappointments. He nearly quite the business altogether after a string of old griffon ruins that nearly killed him on several occasions only contained a box of dusty old feathers at the end. Sure, they were probably impossibly old and worth a lot to somepony, but he was expecting something with a little more flair!

He still has yet to find someone willing to buy feathers that are hundreds of years old. The only relic of his he's trying to get rid of and make worthwhile. Could always lie to the Aquillian Historical Eggheads and say they're the feathers of some old king or whatever, but he had a feeling they'd know this wasn't the case somehow. Stupid birds were smarter than they looked sometimes...

He was just wrapping up these thoughts when the exploration party was halted! Spiders? Creepy, sure, but nothing he couldn't handle. But the Princess was quick to shed some truth of their predicament. Heaving a frustrated sigh, the guide took a look at the Princess' map again. "Well, your highness, I certainly hope these woods don't shift us off course..." he doubted it, but... the forest was tricky like that sometimes. Then the smoke canister rolled against his hoof, looking away from the map to arch a brow at it. He had his own, but... Oh well. Probably will be better to use up Pathfinder's supplies first anyway. Folding up the map and storing it, he took up the canister and looked to the sapper closest to him, thanks to the Princess. He got himself ready, holding the canister in both hooves and staying focused on that tree. "Just tell me when..."

He had never personally ran into these infamous things, but there was a first time for everything, right? He just wasn't sure about the Princess using a teleportation spell. Where would it take them, exactly? Despite his doubts on the practicality of this little escape plan, he was... confident, in Twilight's abilities. She was the most powerful uni-... Well, WAS the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. Now she was pretty much at the bottom rung of the royal family... Which was still leagues over anypony else.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie's horn stopped glowing as she released Twilight Sparkle from her magical hold, now that the princess had not only realized the trip wire before her but claimed it was something much more hideous than a mere trap set by giant spiders. As she listened to the lavender alicorn's explanation, Trixie wasn't sure if the story was even believable. Sure the Everfree was full of mystery and danger, but in her own many travels, the azure unicorn never recalled coming across something so horrific when she was forced to cross the foreboding forest in the past. Pathfinder though corroborated Twilight's theory and Trail Blazer appeared to believe it too, which meant Trixie was the only one ignorant of such a malevolent trap's existence, something that only served to hurt her confidence. Flustered and scared, she could only add tot he conversation with a worried question, "I… Er, Trixie in all her many travels far and wide had never heard of such a thing! Who or what would create such a monstrosity against the blessed users of magic?!"

There was the mentioning of teleporting away, which at that moment sounded very much like an excellent idea. Twilight appeared on board with this conclusion until Pathfinder said it would only trigger the trap. Trixie though was starting to become so paranoid about the idea of losing that which was most important to her, the ability to do magic, that she wanted to risk it and wink away regardless, ignoring what the others were now discussing; only Pathfinder's question about her hat snapped Trixie from her dangerous train of thought.

Trixie reluctantly took off her beautiful hat, a gift to her from her beloved mother, the only pony who always believed in her. The idea of hoofing it off to anypony else was abhorrent to her, but the circumstances were desperate and she was determined not to become a snack for some tree nor a nest for some spider! She floated it to Pathfinder, only to pull it away at the last second, "just don't… Hurt Trixie's chapau, it is essential for Trixie's stage performances! Return it undamaged." She glared directly at Pathfinder with a stern expression as she again floated it back over, "remember…. Undamaged!!"

She warily released the hat into Pathfinder's hooves without once breaking her stare, "and do hurry, Trixie desires to leave this spot as soon as possible!"

[SteelEagle]

It was good of little ol' Trailblazer to be a good pal and fall in with Pathfinder's plan. It was rare for ponies to actually listen to Pathfinder as they just saw a pony who was just too raw and awesome to ever ever emulate or understand. They did everything that she did not do and got results far less exciting as a result. She couldn't blame them- bless their little hearts, they just weren't awesomecool enough to follow in her most adventerous of hoofsteps. It created real problems for her out in the forest when she was with somepony but they wouldn't just follow her simple, super duh rules to survival. They then failed to survive- well, usually they did but they had their feelings hurt emotionally deep inside, and that was just as bad for some of them. Pathfinder was hard as rocks all the time inside and could take it, but the silly little ponies that couldn't at least provided her with good friendship. Like the Trixiemeister, she was a fun one! Speaking of fun, everything came together. Trixie with the hat, Trail with the look, boom, bam, zoom, doom!

"Dontcha worry Trixie, I don't destroy my companions' things more than half the time!" Pathfinder chortled with dleight before she waved at Trailblazer and gave him the signal. It was so obvious that he would get it, especially when she dropped her two smoke pellets with authority into her tree. She then immediately put Trixie's hat over it, the adorable pointed end out. A moment later the pellets went off, producing egregious amounts of smoke. It started billowing out of a few tiny cracks in the tree, but the biggest surge was through the hole- which went directly into Trixie's hat and right back into the hole. After a few agonizing moments the tree started swaying subtly and the branches started shaking like waving arms, the roots writhing gently below. A sound like that of a cat's infinite low hiss started to grind out from the aether at a low volume before escalating rapidly, painfully. It was angry and it was hurt.

It was also distracted. Twilight sensed the confusion and discombabulation of the hunter and found her time. She closed her eyes and her horn lit up with the fury of the sun. She had been keeping her eyes on the forest horizon which due to the tree cover was just a few dozen feet, but more than enough to escape. In a flash, aether aura was there and in the span of a microsecond it came back and plucked the others. Trixie, Trailblazer, even Pathfinder- all three were snatched from their spots. Their aether auras took their place alongside her and all four ponies were re-phased into material existence less than a half-second after the teleport started, her horn dulling immediately and with no great sign of effort. It was, after all, relatively easy for Twilight now. She looked around to make sure everypony was okay and then gave a sigh of relief. That had been close- better ay attention to the guides some more, and good eye Trixie.

"Good job everypony. I can only guess that Sapient Sappers was a natural evolution of Discord's magic from aeons ego- an anti-magical creature that would have neutralized those that sought out the many artifacts here that could have caused him trouble. the Everfree is a wild place full of both normal wild creatures that live outside of Equestrian normality as well as magical ones that have been somehow changed by dark and powerful magics. Fascinating- and dangerous," She finished as the Sapient Sappers hissed as moew smoke billowed from them. They would be out of commission for a while. Pathfinder slammed the smokey, smelly hat back on Trixie's head.

"Thanks for the help, Mixie Trixie! Let's roll, everypony!"

[Imagination]

At the signal, Trailblazer hurled his smoke pellets with practiced precision. It likely wasn't the first time he had used such things. In truth, he always preferred tricks, traps and gadgets. He was surprised Pathfinder hadn't even mentioned those things. All the times he blinded her with smoke clouds and flash packs, or the tripwires he left for her, or even the bear traps. He almost got her with those... Which was weird, seeing as how she hardly seemed to touch the ground when she was adventuring. The ones he did manage to get her with were usually just ones to slow her down, not really do damage. Either way, it worked out for him. He usually had to credit beating her to treasures to his ingenuity and preference to sabotage.

Once they were teleported, Trailblazer had to take a quick look around to try and orient their position. Luckily the smoking trees were still in sight, and he used those as landmarks, going off the point they last stopped at and the direction they were in to determine... "We're still on the right path. Or, we should be." He seemed confident, but what the Princess noted about the forest rearranging itself below them still worried him some. If they paths were manipulated, the map would be useless. For now, he didn't see any major change, but he'd keep his eyes open and could fall back on his land navigation training if need be.

Once everypony had gotten settled, and Trixie having her now smelly hat returned to her, Trailblazer went to lead the pack once again once Pathfinder prompted them all. From here pretty much marked the area where they'd start encountering more dangers. Or at least being more likely to encounter them. "Let's get moving...Miss Trixie, if you could keep your eyes open I'd appreciate it..." Hey, she spotted the tripwire before, right? While Trailblazer was confident in his own abilities, it never hurt to her an extra set of sharp eyes assisting him. "Princess, if I may, I'd like to have you stay close to me until we reach our destination." Hey, if he was going to be a guide through this place, he may as well double as protector as well. Either that, or it was just a show for the princess.

Pathfinder could just keep on... Pathfinder-ing. He said nothing to her.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie could only stand back and watch with trepidation as the others took care of these terrible “Sapient Sappers” of which she was completely ignorant of. It was an unsettling feeling, being both useless and utterly unfamiliar with such dangerous creatures; how many of these things existed anyway? She’ll have to sneak her way into the Canterlot royal library again the do some research when she finished with this expedition, provided of course she would no longer need to thanks to the rumored power of the Eye.

Thanks to Twilight’s teleportation ability, a skill Trixie was learning to master, they were whisked safely away. As good as that was though, what really caught the azure unicorn’s attention was when the lavender princess told why such dangerous, malevolent traps were set, because of the magical treasures hidden throughout the deep forest! If a creature as powerful in magic as Discord fears such relics of mystical power, they truly must be something to behold, and better still, something to use! This time Trixie would be ready, no more manipulations such as with the Alicorn Amulet, she would be mentally prepared going in!

In her glorious daydream about that moment when the Djinn Eye would be her’s, Trixie momentarily forgot about her hat; that is until Pathfinder placed the smoked stained, sooty smelling, and worst off, still hot topper back her head. The unicorn mare quickly levitated it off and looked at it wide eyed with a mix of horror and devastation. “I.. Er Trixie, the Great and Powerful Trixie said that to return her most illustrious hat undamaged!!” Trixie waved the smoke-filled hat vigorously with her horn, “what do you call this?!! It will be days before Trixie can properly clean it, if at all. Do you have no respect at all for other ponies’ property?!” Her anger was only matched by her disdain for herself, foolishing allowing any other pony to use one of her most cherished possessions in a moment of vulnerability; if they only knew why…

The hat was unwearable at the moment and Trixie didn’t have any saddlebags of her own. She did the only thing she could think of, that is stuff it into one of Twilight’s saddlebags. Surely the princess wouldn’t mind helping out one of her subjects; that is what princesses do, right? Truth was, as much as she still held some jealousy and envy of the lavender alicorn, Twilight was the only one here that Trixie had some trust in, not that she would come out and admit it. “Let us get going, and have no fear oh trail blazing pegasus, the ever Watchful and Astute Trixie will be watching closely for any more magical maledictions and subterfuge with her most keen magical senses!” Trixie lit her horn and focused on its energy to help her read for any magical influences as she walked forward in front of the group.

Not too far forward though, wouldn’t want them to get lost… Or herself.

[SteelEagle]

Ring a ding ding, everything had turned out as well as it possibly could have! The trees were in the past and Pathfinder had led the group to plus one adventure token retrieval. If you got five and turned them in, you could use a special roll to negate any non-Daringness you encountered. Of course, most dungeons and ruins didn't have slots to use the tokens and the few places she encountered that involved others were usually full of large amounts of bad ponies who didn't have the spirit of adventure with them. Her tokens were useless there too. Luckily she ended up sticking the spirit of adventure in them by the end, but the point was that she had a lot of unreedened tokens laying about unintended and someday they would all come in hoof at a giant slot machine of luck.

She wished she could insert one of those tokens right into Trixie's annoying, flappy mouth. What was she on about? Her hat smelled fine. It smelled like adventure! Adventure was dirty and rotten and glorious all the more for it. She should be thanking Pathfinder for helping introduce her all too stuuffy hat to good old fashioned advebture air, as she liked to term her smoke bombs. Maybe one day she'd stop sitting on the top of her pointy hat and join the rest of the super cool adventure ponies in the land of excessive fun. She flapped her hat in front of Pathfinder and it didn't matter much to Pathfinder; she would thank the super pegasus pony later. Probably when Trixie was eating Pathfinder's sugar cookies made from pure sugar in their small tent together. Pathfinder would have to lie until then.

"I'm sorry Trixie, but look at it this way: Now your super cool hat has a story to tell about the time it helped defeat a pair of evil sapient sappers deep in the Everfree! How many magician's hats have stories like that, eh? None, just yours and that means your hat will be the belle of the hat ball!" Pathfinder blathered as she flew about energetically, batting away the hat whenever it was offered up to her like it was a cat toy and she was, well, a cat! With that, she followed Trailblazer. So did Twilight, who kept her eyes and ears about her as they ventured deeper into the Everfree, keeping her awareness sharp. Her horn glowed dully as she sent out a small detection spell in a three-sixty bubble around the group in an attempt to discover any odd magical fluctiations. She did move closer to the guide but it had far less to do with his offer and more to do with basic survival techniques which dictated close order as preferential to open ranks. Not that Pathfinder cared- she flew up and above the tree cover, flapping around excitedly and looking for dangers.

And so the group moved on for several hours of uneventful travel until they breached a clearing...

[Imagination]

He just watched the scene unfold. Honestly, he felt for Trixie. She really did seem to like that hat, and he saw the hesitation when she was asked to hoof it over. Must mean a lot to her. "Pathfinder, do you not have any respect for the belongings of others?" he said, pretty much echoing the blue mare. Good morning, Kettle, my name is Pot. You look rather black today.

Of course, none of this trophies were flat-out stolen, however taking things from ancient ruins and burial grounds probably doesn't sound all that noble and respectful to most ponyfolk. Certainly doesn't to Zebras and Griffons. But whatever. If Equestria had a lot of ancient ruins with ancient, magic, valuable treasures in them, he'd raid those too. Speaking of, weren't they looking for one? But no, he had to restrain himself. Success here, and making sure Twilight walked out of the forest safe and with whatever she was looking for must guarantee she'd hire him again! He usually didn't like taking contracts, but for royalty he'd make an exception.

Of course, he was just trying to build more rapport. "If you like, Trixie, I can teach you a trick I learned in the Army. Helped with dirty, smelly gear, so I don't see why it couldn't work for your hat." He was just so helpful, huh? But with his and Trixie's eyes keeping watch for any more hazards, the party soon reached a clearing! He stepped out and checked the surroundings, taking in every sight, smell, sound, looking for anything out of the ordinary, even in the slightest sense. Trusting Trixie was doing the same, he took a moment to cease his vigil and check the map. If he was right, they seem to be close to their destination... "Your highness?" he asked to confirm, holding the map toward her so she could see. She had a better idea of what to look for than Trailblazer did, after all.

From here, it was a matter of pressing on, or making camp. The party seemed fine to him, but you never know these things. Either way, he was ready. He had tools for both jobs, and either way he was going to have to dig in his pack a pit before moving on.

[brianblackberry]

"Would you please be quiet!" Trixie was both annoyed and upset as she walked forward through the dense wooded terrain. It was difficult enough to focus her magical spells to look for anything useful, or dangerous, in a place such as the Everfree and its propensity for chaotic magic, but to have Pathfinder occasionally and randomly blabber about whatever nonsensical thing that came across her so-called mind was simply intolerable! "The Focused and Diligent Trixie is trying to concentrate! Do you want to run blindly into another magical boobytrap? Go bug the princess!" Why did Trixie hire her in the first place?! Well, Pathfinder did know how to handle those horrible "Sapient Sappers", well her and Twilight, but the lavender alicorn at least had the grace to thank Trixie for spotting the trip ire in the first place!

At least the other pegasus was trying to be helpful, even if he was "the competition". It wasn't so much though the hat didn't smell right, it was that it was damaged at all. What if Pathfinder lost it or it got destroyed?! No, no Trixie, don't think about such things; you got it back, that is all that counts. "The Adventurous and Dauntless Trixie would.. appreciate your advice." It couldn't hurt to hear what he had to say, as long as it didn't mean handing over the hat again.

The woods suddenly opened up into an open clearing, a small hill of short grasses and wild flowers. It may a nice place to look out from, if every direction as far as the horizon wasn't nothing but a tangled weaving of foreboding trees and draping vines, only the distance mountains offered any clue that there was a world beyond the forest. This was the best place to at least set camp for the night, although Trixie had to wonder, how close were they now?

Something was in the air though, not a smell, not a wind, but something magical. Trixie couldn't tell exactly what it was but it was definitely affecting all the ley lines of magic that permeated the forest around them, enough to stand out, but not so much so to be noticed unless one was looking and had the magical ability and focus to carefully detect. It was near, but it wasn't quite possible to pin point where. Then it suddenly hit the azure unicorn, like a crashing wave, the eye!

"It's here!! The Magical and Astute Trixie means it's nearby!! Somewhere! But it is definitely near!" It wasn't going to be out in the open, or just on some pedestal, or at the end of some cave. It's power was definitely there to sense, but it was muted, which explained why she couldn't pinpointed it. That only meant one thing, it was protected by some sort of barrier, an illusion, or a wall, she wasn't sure what, but the protection was definitely magically based and powerful.

Good thing they had the mistress of magic with them! Oh, and the princess too.

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder was used to ponies being rather obtuse and dense when it came to the requirements of adveture, but she HAD expected a little better from Trixie. After all, wasn't she supposed to be some some super duper adventurer pony as well as adorable exotic magician and showmare? Usually they had to have a sense of sacrifice in adveture scenarios. That was how you earned the right to tell really cool stories after all. When the walls came crashing down and it hurt inside, you earned the right to be an adventurer with all the assorted stories. And if it hurt her a little on the inside to see her hat all banged up, then why wasn't she thanking Pathfinder for the stories she could now tell? Some ponies were just weird, Pathfinder thought to herself. She had made sure to send postcards to her Griffon captors in Talinpolis, thanking them for all the fun stories she got to tell. Some ponies were just not very nice.

No matter though. The group moved forward until they reached a clearing, free of the usually aggressive forestry that dominated the everfree. Twilight could feel the same magical energy that Trixie did, a certain barrier that felt at once like a bubble and a shield. The bubble felt permeable and she had a sneaking suspicion that they had crossed it, the whole clearing under its guard. The wall felt different though. It felt stronger and both prevantitive and protective in nature. The only qestion that struck the mare was where exactly that wall was and what it was trying to keep in, if it really was there to protect the Eye. If it was there just for that, why be preventative as well? A certain mystery presented itself ans she loved a good mystery.

"You are very right, Trixie. The Eye must be here and there is some sort of magical wall. But I can't sense where...hmmm..." Twilight began, hoofing the ground under expectantly. The soil felt fine which meant that it wasn't some sort of physical wall imbued with magical properties. It was a purely magical one. The type of power that must have meant was vast, and nopony would dare put such a resource into action unless it was vital. Or they were desparate. What had happened to make somepony want to put so much effort into protecting a little artifact in the middle of the Everfree? It should have worried Twilight and it did a little. But in all truth, she was more excited than worried. Secrets would be unraveled soon!

"I have a spell that may help," Twilight stated lowly as she dropped her saddlebag. Spells like this required a certain amount of concentration and she couldn't have it broken. She closed her eyes and started. It lit up, and Twilight felt herself get lost in the deep fathoms of her own magical knowledge. A vast unseen library of the mind responded to her queries at the clop of a hoof, and she pierced the veil. Spell after spell flew by until in what seemed to be a fraction of a bare moment she had found the spell she needed. The cutting aura that gave such power to her magic was then used like a scythe, cutting across the mental barriers that prevented the completion of a spell. Laid bare, she went to work. Barriers were strong but nothing alone stood forever in such a place. Always vigilant and always decaying, they blended into the background miasma of the aether like phantoms and seemed to carry nothing but the memories of those who had created it. They only stood the test of time when they worked in unison. Like sheets of metal, they could be folded and welded into something far greater. And where there was such work, seams in the aetheral metwork of magic would be apparent.

In a blinding flash, Twilight's horn hit the ground. From it a magical pulse shot out and it revealed what lay beneath them. A patchwork of square magical barriers held together by a weakened magical weld that itself was a patchwork of weak cuts. Another burst and it revealed that it was the work of many dozens of unicorns, signified by the rainbow colors underneath as well as the varying levels of visibility the lines produced. It was then over, the colors of magic plates as well as the patchwork magical welding that held them together plain as day a few feet below them. Twilight took a deep breath, relief washing over her.

"Well, now we have an idea. Many unicorns over a long period of time, so we aren't the first to seek it. Now we need to undo it...but that will take time. I suggest we make camp and go after it in the morning."

[Imagination]

Trailblazer was no stranger to the cards Pathfinder had been thinking about... On the plus side, he didn't have to spend as much money on firewood and tinder in the winter. But now wasn't the time to let Pathfinder bother him. It seemed at last he had reached his objective! Er... The princess' objective. Some kind of magical barrier? If he had the tools and more time he could probably get through the darn thing... But for now he'd have to defer to the unicorn, since he lacked magic-wagic stuff himself.

If these many unicorns were trying so hard to keep this thing in, and anypony else out, it must be very powerful, very valuable, very dangerous, or any combination of the three! Not that this was anything new, of course. The usual treasure he recovered had any slew of things. A curse here, a spiky trap there, crumbling walls everywhere, giant boulders rolling about, snake pits being all hissy, scorpions being all pinchy and stingy, quicksand swallowin' stuff up, arrows shooting from the walls all by their lonesome, poison gas, fireballs, controlled flooding, magical explosions, magical quakes, illusions, hallucinogens, undead tomb guards, bandits, raiders, angry locals, customs officials, other treasure hunters... The point is he's been there done that. A barrier wasn't anything new of anything for him to get excited about. Sure, the historical aspect of it being many unicorns over many years, but at the end of the day they were still gonna wreak the thing and pummel through it.

By the time Twilight had made her suggestion, her guide was way ahead of her. Already he was unpacking his rucksack and getting to work. Pounding in a stake here and there, he was able to erect a tent in a matter of minutes. Fixing up some flaps to it, it offered privacy and protection from the elements. Lovely! He removed the sleeping roll from the bottom of his pack and set it by one of those flaps for later. Digging in again, he recovered a tinder kit, a few small packages of food, a couple canteens, compass, and... some other nasty looking stuff. Not ew nasty, but ouch nasty. "Pathfinder, don't touch my rations-" he addressed first and foremost, rather sternly "Princess, Trixie, you're welcome to my water supply since we... misplaced a good amount on the way here... I'm going to secure the perimeter..." Sure, it sounded official, but all he was really doing was setting up some traps around their camp. Pathfinder would probably recognize a few as he set them up. While he had materials of his own to work with, nature was a great provider too. A few sharpened twigs here and there, maybe some (safe) vines for a makeshift cord or rope... He could get creative. But of course he wasn't intending to do damage to anything, just keep them out. Or at least alert them before they could get into the camp itself.

He kept himself within sight and earshot setting up his traps, not wanting to stray too far from their spot. But the alone time (or what he hoped would amount to alone time) would give him time to think... Oh yes, think about how to keep that fool Pathfinder away from whatever this Eye was. Sure, Trixie wasn't so bad. He identified and sympathized with her in a few respects... But the sad fact of the matter is, she couldn't have the Eye either. Right now Trailblazer's chief concern was making sure the Princess was the one that returned to Canterlot with a fancy new artifact. NOPONY else. But how to do it...? He hoped it wouldn't need to come down to sabotage. He was quite sure the Princess could handle Pathfinder, as well as Trixie as she had done in the past. But if things got out of hoof, he needed to have a plan ready. This was one expedition he wasn't going to come back empty-hoofed from.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie’s first reaction to the idea of settling down for the night, when they were so close, was one of sheer annoyance! To be so close to her goal of obtaining such a powerful artifact, and then have the others treat it as if it were insignificant, to be put off to the morning like some procrastinated chore?! As annoying as he was, Doctor Whooves at least understood the thrill and wonder of a long lost mystery! He would no doubt have some sort of clever and long-winded speech that would bamboozle everypony to shun slumber and instead journey onwards to glory and wondrous magic, shared by all!

Hrm. Or perhaps not shared. Perhaps resting for the evening was not such a bad idea … while they all slumbered, the Great and Powerful Trixie could explore those lines of magic she could feel under the earth, and perhaps have first crack at the mystical wonders within which could only be worthy of the Greatest Magical Equine in all the land!

Trixie pulled a roll of canvas around some pipes from her saddlebags – a gift from Doctor Whooves, though she’d never admitted to him how much she liked it. A wonderful device befitting the Great and Powerful Trixie, it was a contraption that could only be powered up when the crystal center was charged by a unicorn’s magic.

She did so, the purple glow of her magic lighting up the crystal, which then started to glow with an inner, golden light. The poles extended out to either side, digging into the ground to either side of the tent, then extending upwards, carrying the canvas with them. On all four sides the rolled canvas uncoiled to the ground, and at the spreading entrance to the tent, and on the front an over-tarp stretched forward like a porch roof, two more poles extending down to the ground as support. The peaked roof of the fancy tent lifted upwards in a pyramid, and as a final mark upon its magnificence, a small pole emerged from the peak of the roof, flying a pale blue flag with her own cutie mark upon it. Its magic charge spent, the crystal dimmed and was extinguished.

“Don’t be too jealous, my erstwhile companions. Not all ponies can have a tent as fabulous and amazing as the Great and Powerful Trixie’s! Now, if you excuse Trixie, she must get her beauty rest, good night!” The azure unicorn didn’t even consider what the others had planned for camping out for the night, not that it really mattered, as long as they fell asleep.

[SteelEagle]

Talk about awesome sauce! Her pal Trixie had all the hookups, including a magical tent. It looked better than Pathfinder's tent. Most things did. It was a tattered mess only partially capable of stopping high winds and the elements from harming those inside. That is why Pathfinder read her books inside of a sleeping bag with a candle. It had never, not once, gone wrong. Ever ever. But Trixie's tent looked fit for royalty. Maybe Twilight's big royal flank would waddle all the way around it. Of course Pathfinder would use it. She also knew that Trixie's tent lacked the most important thing a tent needed, the one thing that helped a tent overcome the odds ad become a place of extreme coolness and adventurity and that was character of a great class. All of those arrow holes and burn marks was another notch in the history of the tent's grand design of being super cool. Trixie's tent, as awesome as it was, didn't have any character. Well hopefully after this adventure it would be slashed to pieces and would have enough character to patch an airship. Huzzah! That would be super awesome.

But for now they'd all have to be okay with a giant mega tent of coolness. Pathfinder placed her half-tent next to Trixie's, but her night wasn't close to over.

"Got it, Trix. I'll be doing some things so if you hear any explosions, don't fret your pretty little mane!" Pathfinder said, rubbing Trixie's mane for a second or three too long. She then flew off and started setting the perimeter. Trailly the Blazing Blazer knew what the score was and he was setting up all sorts of traps along the perimeter. Trip wires, bear traps, spike pits, camouflaged tree-high nets, the whole shebang and then some. He came loaded for adventure! So did Pathfinder. She added a bit of her own style to the ensemble. A few smoke bombs strategically placed. Some Saddle Arabian noise makers that wouldn't stop until whatever had alerted them retreated. Greek fire trap, which was never a bad idea in a forest. For about half an hour Pathfinder was working, humming a happy little tune all the while as she hoped that somepony or something was cool enough to get through all their traps.

All the while, Pathfinder was thinking. How was she going to make sure she had all the adventure fun? Trixie was a skilled amateur in the adventure game. She still didn't have those instincts you needed to really progress in rank down in the depths but she had enough experience and ability to be a worthwhile companion. The Princess had several legendary adventures but from her recollection none of them had been very long term. Still, she was the most powerful magician in the land from what Pathfinder had heard an she had a great array of knowledge. Then there was Traily. He was super highly skilled, motivated, and a great trap-beater! He was also the Princesses' point stallion, so he had the best opportunity as well. Pathfinder would just have to use her elite skills and start earlier than the rest to get a head-start.

"Hey, no worried Traily! Your rations are normally bland anyway. This time I have a hay bar fortified with...something I can't pronounce!" She offered up with excitement before taking a bite, "yum! That's better than a stale hay bar fortified with something I can't pronounce!"

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Twilight was still staring at the ground. It was nice that Trixie had a tent to match her ego but Twilight was working. It was an intense puzzle for more than a few reasons. It was difficult to work with one or two magical shields but this patchwork was like trying to penetrate a shieldwall with a single arrow. The path was winding and impossible to predict, meaning it was useless attempting to find out what exactly was below them. Of course the edges of each shield that were welded together with other shields tended to be weaker as it was not the job of a professional or a team of them. Dozens of unicorns had taken part over a great period of time and the result was this mish-mash where sme shields were stronger than others and the welding together was hurried and panicked almost every time. It would take only a few hours to undo one or two shields and provide enough of a space for them to dig down, but the question was should they. So many ponies over such a great length of time all worried about the same thing to such a scale was troubling. Of course that passed- they were all in over their heads. Not Twilight. She had a pretty good set of companions with her.

And so in aflash she set up her camp without moving. Her tent looked normal enough but it was made from the Fabric of the Garden, a certain extremely rare fabric used for royalty. It couldn't be torn or pierced or brought down by any force natural or unnatural except by the royalty. A perfect study chamber as well as protection, she trotted in and opened the hole at the bottom. It lay right over the edges of two shields- she would be able to work like this. But first, to put her help'd mind at ease as she poked her head out.

"Oh, I have my own rations. Thank you for the offer!"

[Imagination]

Bland?! He certainly didn't think so. The food he brought was very good for staying properly nourished AND helping to rebuild those muscles after long hikes and/or defying death! He wasn't much for being a health nut, but did agree it had its advantages when on the job. Then, when it's time to relax at home, he can pig out with a veggie burger or two and plop himself in his relaxing chair. Ahhh~

But he couldn't think about taking it easy yet. There was still work to be done. His traps were coming along nicely, though if he didn't know any better, it was as if this place was practically made to be that way.

The clearing they found themselves in seemed pretty easy to secure... There were several gaps in the treeline, but even more were covered with brier bushes and the like. That took care of the ground, but what about critters that could bound through the trees and right past everything? He didn't possibly have enough materials (or time for that matter) to get all the trees... "No, you're over-thinking it..." he assumed himself. It's just an overnight until they can get cracking on the barrier. Besides, if they kept a fire going through the night it should keep most of the things in the forest away. Not used to the light and such.

Emerging from the treeline, he had quite the smile on his face. Plenty of nets, trip-lines, and some improvised brier pits dug around. If he didn't catch something trying to sneak in here, then it'd have a miserable time getting in. But now, part 2... He made absolutely certain he had enough for some extra... Of course, not for the typical 'rather have it and not need it' excuse... After some thinking, he knew that the only way to ensure Twilight 100% left with the Eye, was that he was going to have to play by his rules. Pathfinder had to be taken out of the equation. But how...? He was sure he could make up a story about her disappearing... No, No no no no no no no. He couldn't think like that! He didn't give a flying noodle what happens to Pathfinder, but he just knew the Princess was never going to stand for just leaving her behind. Bagging Pathy and dumping her into the woods was out of the question... Neither was sedating her... Or was it...? There had to be something in these woods that could do-

WAIT. He. Had. The perfect plan.

Here in the Everfree, he had access to a tool that didn't exist anywhere else.

Cockatrices.

He starting grinning to himself as he concocted the most cleverest of plans. Yes! If he could capture one of these things while the rest of them slept... Or at least confine it somewhere, he could rouse Pathfinder in the middle of the night under the guise of wanting to show her some great discovery! She CAN'T pass up adventure! She just can't! Then, it was a matter of leaving her alone with the creature and BAM! Petrified. As far as he knew, the Princess didn't know how to reverse it, and the one who did was back in ponyville. So long as he could somehow have this happen close to the camp... Yes, yes this was coming together nicely.

But how was he going to get a cockatrice near the camp without petrifying himself...?

Stumped. Well, it was worth a shot... But he had to think of something. Luckily, he was used to working through sleep deprivation. "The area is safe, your highness, though I insist that I remain awake the entire evening so I can keep an eye on things." Yes, the Princess would need her sleep. "If you need anything please don't hesitate to call on me" yes, the humble hired servant is at her beck and call.