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The Journey Back
As the two unicorns slumber the remaining night grows still and quiet. The little red fox raises his head and looks about. All is safe and there are no threats afoot. He looks down at Thistledown and is surprised to see another unicorn laying alongside Thistledown. Shaking his head to make sure it was not a dream he remembers. While he was sleeping that strange dream! It was a wall of foggy mist but something was calling him to come near. Where was it and why did it want him to come near. And then that strange voice! It sounded just like Rosepetal but that couldn't be. She was being protected by the Village Dwellers. But then the voice seemed to speak to him again. "At the misty fog you will see a heart shaped stone. Right there, no where else, right there. They will know what to do!" Still puzzled the little red fox lay back down and drifted off to sleep once again. Back at the Lake Dwellers the master swan slowly swam back to his nest in the reeds knowing he would have to be wide awake to remind the little red fox and help as much as he could.
As the moon passed over the glade where the two unicorns slept a bright beam of moonlight fell on the two. Wind Runner and Thistledown snuggled closer as though to comfort one another in their sleep. Thistledown nuzzled closer to Wind Runner and it seemed a smile appeared. Wind Runner had a familiar scent, one that he grew up with, and it put him at total ease. He was content to have his old friend with him. Even though he was asleep he still felt the loneliness leave him. The past couple years melted away and he was back with his best friend.
Wind Runner was not quite asleep and was resting in the twilight of the very early morning. She felt Thistledown stir and then move closer to her. His added warmth felt good and she remembered how much she missed being close with her friend. She closed her eyes and she found she could pretend that they were back so many years ago when it was just the two of them as companions and friends. She remembered them running together seeing who could run the fastest. Thistledown always seemed to win the races but then she smiled and thought, "He always beat me in a race but if I really tried........." The sky started to lighten and the song birds of the morning were stirring in the trees.
Thistledown was the first to stir from the nights rest. When he opened his eyes at first he was startled to see Rosepetal, oh no it is Wind Runner. My they look so much alike. Thistledown blinked a few times to make sure his vision was clear and yes it is Wind Runner. Slowly he rose from behind the fallen tree and surveyed the forest around them. The little red fox stirred and looked at Thistledown. Using that special power of talking to a unicorn the little red fox told Thistledown of his strange dream and the voice that told him, "At the misty fog you will see a heart shaped stone. Right there, no where else, right there. They will know what to do!". Thistledown was puzzled. He didn't know what the dream meant either.
Wind Runner stirred and stood to greet Thistledown and the little red fox. All the while she had been listening to the conversation between them. She said, "I think I know what it means. I saw Rosepetal in the pond reflection when she sent me to find you. She told me that the little red fox would know how to get to her and the baby. That must be what she meant. She told me to have us run like the wind past the heart shaped stone. That the little red fox would show us where it is. We need to get moving because I sense the Village Dwellers magic is getting weaker all the time."
Thistledown and the little red fox joined Wind Runner and they moved through the brush to the trail and started back to the Village Dwellers. The little red fox ran on ahead and disappeared around a bend in the trail. His thoughts came back to the unicorns, "I will go and find the heart shaped stone. No one will know why I was there so if they see me they won't get suspicious." The little red fox ran off with great determination.
Thistledown and Wind Runner kept to the path to make good time. But then Thistledown remembered about hoof prints and how men could track them if the found the prints. Thistledown pictured Wind Runner in his mind and thought to her. "Wind Runner we have to make sure we don't leave prints on the trail. Clear your thoughts of all your troubled concerns and your prints will get as light as your heart and we won't leave any prints." Both unicorns concentrated together to clear their minds of their concerns and looked back at the trail. Both could see their hoof prints lighten and then disappear. They looked at one another and smiled then continued down the trail back to the Village Dwellers.
After a few hours of walking along in silence Wind Runner thinks to Thistledown. "I think I know what Rosepetal was trying to tell us. The little red fox is going to find the heart shaped stone and show it to us. There must be a way through the misty fog at the heart shaped stone. She told me to that we need to run like the wind past the heart shaped stone. I think she remembered how we used to race with one another when we were young and how fast we can run. Maybe that is the secret. You can't just walk though the misty fog, you have to run, and run very fast like we can."
Thistledown nodded and thought, "Yes, that must be it. Only she would know how fast we can run. And the Village Dwellers must have told her about the heart shaped stone and the secret entrance to the Village Dwellers. Now what will we do if there are men about watching for us?"
"If we have to we will split up and one of us will make the dash through the misty fog while the other runs off into the meadow. The men will follow the one who goes into the meadow because the one who runs to the Village Dwellers will disappear behind the misty fog." Wind Runner thought of this plan and passed it to Thistledown in thoughts. "I think I should run to the Village Dwellers since Rosepetal sent me the message. The baby might need some female care and I can help her more than you might. You are faster than me so the men won't be able to catch you and you know where the maple tree is that you can hide yourself. When it is clear you can get the Meadow Dwellers to get the 'Spirit Holding Place' ready for Rosepetal and the baby just in case we need it."
Thistledown thought of this plan and had to agree it was the best thing to do. He didn't want to think about the 'Spirit Holding Place' but also knew that it might have to be used. If Rosepetal and the baby were not being protected by the Village Dwellers magic then that could be drastic. He hated to think of it but it was possible so they had to be ready for everything. After running the plan though his mind and thinking all of the details over he had to agree with Wind Runner and nodded his agreement. Just then he heard the little red fox exclaim, "I found it, the heart shaped stone. When you get to the Village Dwellers boundary with the Meadow Dwellers follow the creek. The heart shaped stone is half way between the start of the 'Meadow of Magic' and the maple tree."
Both of the unicorns knew exactly what the little red fox meant. They had wandered around and played in the 'Meadow of Magic' and the maple tree is where Thistledown nuzzled Wind Runner for the first time as young unicorns. The heart shaped stone must have been put there on purpose so that both the unicorns could find it easily.
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