In the sky, south of Dodge City, Gamine stopped her flight and began to float in the air. In front of her towered a rocky mountain range. A road came from the city that she had passed a while ago. She saw the road running through a tunnel in the mountains, leading to the barren lands beyond. To the left of this road was a forest. To the right, an impressive camp. There were eight small circles, each made up of eight midnight-blue tents that formed a circle around four tents that were three times longer than the others. These four tents themselves formed a square around an imposing tent that stood out due to its dark-purple colour.

Pepper broke the silence she had retreated in since they had left the ruins. "Look, Gamine, I am willing to help you find out what is going on, since it arouses my curiosity."

"And I’m supposed to trust you, Pepper?"

"If our survival is at stake, I will always be an ally. Even if I am the worst of monsters in your eyes, my power and my abilities are still your best assets. But once we get to the bottom of this, I shall try to regain full control over you at every opportunity."

"To continue your hunt?"

"Do you naively believe that it will one day end? For now, either you trust me to lead us to the end of the road, or you will have to manage on your own."

"Your thirst for power has broken too many lives. Aren’t you satisfied with the power that you already have?"

From the bottom of her cage, the monster rolled her eyes and sighed. "I have already taken what I wanted from this world. And I have to admit, it does become difficult to find a more powerful prey. I shall stop my hunt, till fate do us part."

"What are you going to do now?"

"A good start would be to avoid rushing in headlong."

"Considering all this purple and blue, it must be affiliated with Luna, but seeing it so far away from Canterlot is strange. The emotion that you felt disappeared a few minutes before you set the sun. The source is further to the south. You have to move forward, one way or another. Go around them. Use the forest to your advantage. And, as soon as the surveillance is reduced, go over the hills. You will have to figure out how to get back on track after that." This was the most appropriate method in the face of a big threat. Pepper was not used to attacking head-on. She acted when the situation was to her advantage, so she could strike when no one expected it.

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Gamine resumed her flight, flapping her wings just enough to glide towards the forest. While keeping an eye on the camp, she dived under the treetops. Once on the ground, she observed the surroundings. The camp couldn’t have been erected just yesterday, as only stumps remained from the trees closest to the road—and there were dozens. Not far from there, she could hear a saw doing its job. She walked cautiously, concentrating on each step to avoid making the slightest noise, the still thick foliage obscuring her vision. She could only use her magic, her horn glowing like a torch to improve her sight, while she was sneaking from one tree to the next.

"All these lives reaped, all these souls collected, and all this power that I have gathered, day after day, reduced to being used to light the path of the poor child that you are. Just great."

"Shut up, Pepper!" Gamine barked back within her head.

The bat ponies had started a contest to see who would pull the handle of their saw the fastest. Their helmets were discarded on the ground, wings spread, heads down and their eyes locked. They smiled at each other, both convinced that they would be the one to give the final blow that would make the tree fall.

The mare was watching from afar, hiding behind a tree trunk.

"Go on your way, Gamine. Luna is still too close for my liking."

She conceded to the order, but barely had time to take three steps when a sudden thud stopped her. In his desire to win, one of the bat ponies had pulled with all his strength. His opponent had been dragged with the saw, shouting when he hit the trunk.

"Hide!" ordered Pepper.

Everything happened at the same time. Gamine galloped away from the bat ponies, while the two soldiers turned towards where she had been standing a moment earlier. They had noticed her with their echolocation. Their eyes scanned the area, and they noticed a small golden halo further within the forest. Donning their helmets once more, they left the saw and the half cut tree behind. Swords in mouths, they rushed forward. They searched the surroundings, their night vision giving them a perfect view of the area. One of them planted his weapon in the ground and issued another echolocation to search the surroundings, but nothing came back.

"Are you spotting anything?"

His comrade-in-arms shook his head, taking care not to touch him with the blade.

"Probably a wild animal. Let's finish harvesting the wood and go back to camp."

They left as they had come, armed and on their guard in complete silence. They finished sawing the tree and cutting it down, gaze sweeping around their surroundings, before tying it with ropes to drag it to the camp.

Leaning against a tree, the unicorn waited several minutes after the last of the noises died down before leaving her hiding place. Attentive to noise, watching for the slightest movement, she made sure that the area was clear.

"Their armour leaves no doubt. They are under Luna's command," Pepper said as Gamine resumed her walk through the woods.