//------------------------------//
// A Guest 
// Story: That Which was Lost 
// by LadyRFC 
//------------------------------//

   “Twilight?”
Sighing, the alicorn stopped in midair and peered down at the unicorn who was currently riding on the cart with some supplies. “Yes, Rarity?”
“Are we-“
“Are we there yet?! Are we, are we, are we?!” Pinkie interrupted. But from her constant bouncing, it was clear that she didn’t really care one way or another. 
“No, we’re not there yet. It’s only been a few hours. It’ll take around three days to cross the entire desert.” Twilight flinched and looked back at her wings which were aching considerably. 
“Three days?!” Rarity was one of the only ponies Twilight knew who could make a duration of time sound downright scandalous.
Applejack stopped, the cart stopping with her. She looked back at her cargo with a frown. “We’d be makin’ batter time if ah had less to be pullin’. Besides, that cart is for Twilight when she gets tired.”
“Which she probably is right now,” Rainbow added, flying to Twilight’s side.
Twilight shook her head with a forced smile. “I’m fine. A bit longer and I’ll rest.”
“Are you sure?” Fluttershy murmured, flying higher off the ground to be heard by the alicorn, Spike clinging to her mane. "It's almost been a whole day..."
“Yes, I’m sure,” Twilight answered. She shot the small dragon a more natural smile. “You doing okay, Spike?”
“Yeah, but you should rest now, Twilight.” At the determined look overtaking his caregiver’s face, he hurried to explain. “I mean, your wings are still pretty new and all.”
“Spike’s right,” Rainbow agreed, much to Twilight’s surprise.
“I thought you said I needed to get in more endurance training,” the alicorn reminded her friend. 
Rainbow didn’t return Twilight’s small smile. “Overworking muscles will only set you back. Especially when those muscles are being used for the first time since… well, ever.”
“Twilight!”
Sighing, the alicorn looked down again to see Rarity standing by the cart and waving. 
“Guess I have no-“ Twilight’s eyes had looked back up to Rainbow but a flicker of movement in the vast blue sky behind the pegasus halted her words. “What’s that?”
“What?” Rainbow followed Twilight’s line of sight.
The racing spot grew closer and it wasn’t long before they realized what they were looking at. Another pegasus. And a very confused one at that as he stopped in midair a few yards from Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
He had a jet black mane and tail and a cream colored coat. What looked to be leather-like armor covered his chest and flank, hiding his cutie mark. Twilight felt that he looked different from many other stallions she knew, but was unable to figure out why until she got a good look at his eyes. They were extremely dark brown and far more, well, shaped. In fact, his whole frame was shaped a bit differently than most stallions. He seemed more streamlined, as if he was built for speed and agility rather than brute strength. 
“Hey!”
Rainbow’s voice made Twilight blink and she then realized that as much as she had been staring at the new arrival, he had been staring right back at her with equal amazement. Almost reluctantly, he turned his dark eyes onto the blue pegasus. 
“Just who are you?” The suspicion in her friend’s voice made Twilight cringe. 
It didn’t seem to make a good impression on their new guest either. “That,” he replied, his voice quieter than Twilight had expected, “is a question I should ask of you. Especially as you have crossed over into the realm of our Emperor.”
“Oh, yeah?” Rainbow’s eye brow rose along with her tone. She waved her hooves around. “Well last time I checked, this place belonged to nopony.”
The dark haired pegasus tilted his head. “Then you must have checked wrong.”
“What!“
“Rainbow!” Twilight flew next to her friend, stopping the speed-loving pegasus from rushing the new comer. She eyed him wearily, her wings feeling heavier by the second. “I trust that you’re from the Eastern Kingdom?”
Their guest’s eyes seemed to flex in irritation, but his face remained calm. “If by that you mean that my country lays in the eastern direction, than yes. But it does have a name. It is called Sheon. I ask you to remember it.”
Before Rainbow could bite back a smart mouthed remark, Twilight put her hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. “I will. And I was hoping on speaking to those in your country about something… Would you mind dropping to the ground to finish our conversation?”
His eyes darted towards the ground and the small forms of her companions below who were gathered together, watching them closely. 
"I assure you that we mean you no harm,” Twilight soothed. 
His eyes darted back towards her and glanced over her horn and wings. “Nor I, you.” His eyes hardened as he began to descend. “So long as I’m not given reason to.”

It took all of two seconds after landing for her friends to begin bombarding her with questions. 
“Is he from that country we’re goin’ to?”
“I’ve never seen an outfit quite like that! Is that normal wear for them?”
“Does he like cupcakes? Should we welcome him?! Does he welcome us?! I’ve never been welcomed before!”
“I hope he’s friendly… Is he friendly? He’s not dangerous, is he?”
Twilight sighed. “I don’t know to everything. All I know is that he’s from a place called Sheon, which is probably the place we’re supposed to get to, but I need to talk to him to find out and,” she laid down on the cart bed, trying not to hit the few bags of food that were stuffed in the corners, “I’m tired.”
Twilight closed her eyes for a second, feeling all the tension in her wings slowly begin to fade. Small claws poked into her coat. 
“Are you okay, Twilight? Did you fly too long?” Spike asked.
“Spike! Don’t be climbin’ all over her like that," Applejack scolded. "She’s tired."
Twilight cracked open one eye. “He’s fine, Applejack. He doesn’t weigh much.” She looked over at their guest who stood not far from them, his eyes fixed on her. 
No, not just on her. On Spike. 
Twilight opened both eyes to look back at him. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”
His eyes did not move away from the baby dragon. “Indeed we do.”