//------------------------------// // The Meeting // Story: Princess Twilight Takes A Walk // by Jake The Army Guy //------------------------------// One hoof in front of the other. Step. Crunch. Step. Crunch. By the time the sun was nearing its zenith, her mind had drifted into a thoughtless void from the monotony. Even her hooves had long since grown numb to the constant buzzing from the scorched earth beneath her, along with the tense flitter of her wings and the ache in her horn. Twilight paused for a moment, casting her eyes upwards; she knew the midday sun was no closer or further than normal, but the dead air around her magnified the gentle summer rays into an oppressive blanket. A bit of sweat stung her eye. She lifted a hoof to wipe it away, but paused, casting a glance at it. From her silver-shod hoof to mid-leg, a fine coat of sickly yellow dust obscured her purple fur. Turning around, a long trail of hoofprints marked her path; the withered grass turned to dust beneath her steps. Pegasi magic died long before it could reach this far into the wasteland, so no wind stirred the decayed plant life that crumbled beneath her step. She sighed and turned back to the front, resuming her trek. Before her, the looming ridge line stood silhouetted against the empty sky, a jagged expanse of brown with a wide ring of jet black at its foot. Perhaps three of four miles away now, she could now make out the rock formations that dotted the sloped hills and the segmented slates of the hills themselves, each easily larger than a normal pony's house. The acrid, sour taste in the air, a minor nuisance before, was now ever-present, dominating her every breath. Her non-corporeal mane flowed forward, succumbing to the pull of the hills. Twilight blinked as a strand of purple fell over her eye. Reaching up, she gingerly pulled back several strands of deep navy hair. While they still held an other-worldly shine, each strand fell limp as soon as she released them. She frowned. Looking around her once more, she noted that the patches of deep black were becoming more and more frequent: the “dead spots” Stalwart had warned about, spots where every ounce of magic—every ounce of life—had been drained by the imposing hills. With a deep breath, grimacing slightly from the stink of the stagnant air, she picked up the pace. She flicked her mane to the side, something she hadn’t had cause to do in countless years. It was happening much sooner than she thought it would, and if she didn’t reach the dead zone by the— So enraptured by her thoughts, she jumped more than she would have liked to admit when the deafening roar sounded from behind her. A dark shadow overtook her. High above the dead land, a massive dragon was circling in a lazy downward spiral. The light filtering through her leathery wings sent emerald shadows across the grass. Twilight allowed herself a small smile. As the drake neared the ground, a harsh wind kicked up. Twilight threw her wing in front of her face to shield from the wall of yellowed dust. Entire swathes of withered grass were blasted to dust by the immense dragon backwinging to the ground before her. The drake set down with an earth-shaking blow and reared back to bellow once more, wings flared proudly. Its announcing cry uttered, it set back down and brought its massive head next to the alicorn. Twilight smiled gently, bowing her head. "She of The Ruby Depths, you honor me with your presence." "Save your platitudes, pony," the dragoness sneered. Her high-pitched growl was even more shrill here in the dead wastes. "We both know I do not wish to be here." "Of course. Still, I was afraid you wouldn't come." "Ha! As if I had a choice! You have been lauding that debt over my head for centuries. I would cross Tartarus itself to be done with it." "Even so, it is always nice to see a familiar face." She frowned slightly as she noticed a deep scar along the dragoness' right side. "That's new. I hope everything is well inside your territory." "Pah, a minor nuisance. A pack of Diamond Dogs felt that my caves were a good place to mine. Little mongrels surprised me with their numbers, is all." Twilight's frown deepened. "Please tell me you did not..." "Oh, relax, your highness," the drake snorted. "I left enough alive to continue their pack, though the trolls will remember my name for generations to come, as well as the folly of entering a dragon's territory uninvited." "How kind of you," Twilight sighed. "Regardless, I'm grateful that you're here. I know this must be difficult for you." The drake reared her head back and laughed, smoke belching from her nostrils. "For one such as yourself, you know surprisingly little about dragons!" "Or perhaps I know more than you think." The mirth in the dragoness' amber eyes died. A deadly growl escaped her lips. "I will be in position for the ritual. I suggest you pick up the pace, pony, lest your magic fail you before you arrive at your... destination." She bent her knees, immense wings tensing. "Of course, She of The Ruby Depths. And... thank you." The drake paused, casting an eye back at Twilight. "It... it means a lot that you came." The dragoness' amber eyes softened for just a moment, then her scowl returned. "You can thank me by not bothering me with pony problems again. And... you might want to preen yourself before you head back to Everfree." Her wings gave a mighty flap, and she took to the air. Twilight blinked then glanced to her own wings. Her once elegant, expansive wings looked bedraggled. Several feathers were jutting out at odd angles. As she watched, a single lavender feather fell from her wing. She followed it with her eyes; the feather floated straight down in the total absence of wind, landing gracefully upon the dead grass that crumbled even under its light weight. Returning her gaze to her wing, she swore that if she squinted, the appendages seemed just a bit smaller than before. She sighed and returned her eyes towards the towering ridge before her. She continued her walk.