//------------------------------//
// The Journey Begins 
// Story: Pathfinder: An Equestrian Tale 
// by Mossbender 
//------------------------------//

The steps of the front porch creaked as Willow made his way up them and towards the front door of his home. Fortunately his mother had left a lantern hanging outside which allowed him to see, but just barely since the lantern's fuel had almost run out. Before going inside, he gently blew on the lantern's flame, putting it out before opening the door and walking inside.

The house was rather small for Willow's tastes, having only the basic rooms such as the kitchen, a living room, a washroom and two bedrooms, as well as a small basement. The hall which he was currently in connected all of them. His mother and father had built their home from scratch when he was just a little foal, but ever since his father went missing in action and was presumed killed during the Changeling attack, the house began to fall apart in various places. What was once a home of love and happiness had turned into that of grief and sorrow, his mother had yet to just accept that his father was gone, even though she pretended she had.

The hall was dark and Willow slowly crept down it as to not wake his mother. When he was passing the living room however, he saw a light turn on and turned his head to find his mother sitting on one of the chairs in her bathrobe, not looking pleased at all.

"Where have you been?" she asked. Willow was able to hear the sternness in her voice. "You've been gone for almost a day Willow! Do you know how worried I was when I couldn't find you this morning!? No note, no goodbye, nothing! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Willow paused for a moment and sighed. "If you really want to know Mother, I was out in the woods," Willow replied. "Hunting the Timberwolves with Swiftwing." He watched as his mother's jaw dropped in shock before she quickly shook her head. His mother, Cheery Maple, although not so cheery now, had the same colour coat as him. Her mane was a light brown and her eyes were the colour of amber. He could see anger in her eyes, but he could also easily see the sadness behind them.

"You... did... WHAT!?" she yelled. "That is a job better left to the guards Willow! You could have died! You-"

"The Timberwolves are dead mother and I'm still alive," Willow said, interrupting his mother before she began to lecture him. "Besides, nopony would have been able to find them if they didn't leave right away. I know these woods, and my father... he taught me everything I know."

"The Timberwolves... are dead? Did you kill them?" she asked and Willow shook his head.

"No. I was able to track them down to their lair with the help of Swiftwing, but upon our arrival we found that something else had killed them. Something... something powerful."

Cheery suddenly rose from her chair and walked over to Willow, her eyes scanning his face. "Willow... what is that mark on your right eye?" she asked.

"Mark? Sure I'm a bit bruised, but I don't recall something happening to my eye," Willow replied.

"Here, step into the light Willow so I can get a better look."

She led him over to the lantern she had lit and made him stand behind it. When the light revealed his face, her eyes widened in surprise.

"I don't believe it..." she whispered. "Willow... when did you receive a vision from the tree?"

"Just recently mother... but wait... how do you know I received a vision? Are you telling me that the Tree of Visions has actually given a vision before?" he asked and Cheery nodded.

"Here Willow," she replied and brought out a small mirror from the table drawer that the lantern was on. "Look for yourself."

She held up the mirror and Willow saw his own reflection clearly. When he focused on his right eye, his eye's widened in surprise. There was indeed a mark there like his mother had said. Although it was faint, he was able to make out a small circle, but the letters and markings inside of it he wasn't able to recognize.

"Is it permanent Mother?" he asked and Cheery shrugged

" I don't know Willow... all I know is that your father... my sweet Obsidian Hoof... he received a vision just before he left for Canterlot. You were out in the woods when it happened, but he refused to tell me what he saw when I pulled him out of the water."

"Then how come when I said goodbye to him before he left he didn't have any markings at all?" Willow asked.

Cheery walked over to one of the windows in the room and sighed. "It disappeared within a couple of hours Willow, but I'm not sure if it happens to be gone for good. What I do want to know though is why you received a vision in the first place."

Willow hesitated to reply. He could tell her that he was cursed, doomed to slowly die and tell her his plan, or he could lie, which would save her from having to worry about him.

"Er... Iron told me to try it when we returned to town," Willow quickly replied. "So being me, I didn't believe him at first and went to go prove it that it wouldn't work. Surprise though, it did work."

"And what did you see Willow?"

"I saw... I saw myself opening a shop in Canterlot, selling... uh... maps...?"

Cheery turned away from the window with a puzzled expression on her face. "Selling maps? Shop... Canterlot!?" she exclaimed. She gasped and her confusion turned to that of joy. "Do you know what this means Willow? You can leave the woods! Make a living for yourself and meet new ponies! Maybe even that special somepony..."

Willow's face turned red as he blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Mom... I'm only twenty-six years old... Swiftwing is enough to keep me company, isn't that right Swiftwing?" he asked. "Swiftwing?" He looked behind him to find that she had fallen asleep on his back.

"That bird won't be around forever you know Willow," Cheery said. "You've lived here your whole life and have never done anything with your skill other than explore the woods over and over again. Go! Explore the land! Sell some maps and have a family! Maybe I can at last have some grandfoals!"

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here Mother," Willow replied. "I still need to say goodbye and tell Mayor Oak that I'm leaving so he won't have to tax you as much. Gardening only gets you so far."

Cheery quickly clapped her forehooves together. "And you need to pack as well! Go and get some rest Willow. In order to get to Canterlot you'll have to take the train from the station on the outskirts of the woods. It's a bit... old, but that's how we get goods imported from other towns and cities. I'll do most of your packing and you decide what else you'll need."

Cheery walked forward and embraced Willow with a brief hug and looked into his eyes. "You have your father's eyes..." she said. "Goodnight Willow, I'm glad that you're okay."

"Yes... goodnight Mom," Willow replied and he left the living room. He walked down the hall and entered his own room which was decorated with various items he had found in the woods over the years, some of which he would probably be taking with him tomorrow.

"Alright girl... time to put you in your cage." He reached behind him with his head and gently nudged Swiftwing. She slowly woke up and waddled over to her cage before quickly falling asleep again. Willow could feel his own eyelids growing heavy as he took off his saddlebag and tossed it onto the floor before collapsing on top of his bed. Before he knew it, he had fallen fast asleep.



Willow awoke to the sound of a rattling cage and saw that Swiftwing had woken up. She screeched at him in annoyance which caused him to sit up. "Ugh... good morning Swiftwing," he said and yawned before getting out of bed. "Just give me a m- minute to wake up." He opened up his bedroom window before walking over to Swiftwing's cage where she had been waiting patiently for the last ten minutes. As soon as he opened the cage Swiftwing flew out of it and then out the window.

"You could have said thank you!" he called out after her and yawned again. It was slightly dark outside still, but that was normal for him since he had to wake up at this time everyday with Swiftwing, who unfortunately was an early riser because of her natural instincts.

Only a few hours sleep... fortunately I didn't have any nightmares, he thought. Or hallucinations. He felt his stomach growl angrily at him which made Willow realize that he had not had anything to eat since yesterday morning. Well I certainly can't travel on any empty stomach... I better find something light to eat before I leave. He exited his room and quickly crossed the hall over to the kitchen where he found Cheery casually sipping away at a cup of her home-grown tea.

"Good morning Willow!" she cheerfully exclaimed. "It's about time you woke up! Did you sleep well?"

"It could have been worse, but what about you?" Willow asked, noticing the bags that had formed underneath Cheery's eyes. "Because it looks like you didn't sleep very well, or at all."

Cheery took another sip of her tea and smiled. "That's because I stayed up these last few hours packing your bag and checking to make sure you have what you need. I know you have your saddlebag, but I assumed that you would want to you use it for any personal belongings you may wish to bring."

"Oh... well that saves me a lot of time. Thank you Mom. By the way, do we have any muffins? I'm feeling rather hungry for muffins this morning."

"Of course! In fact I baked them myself not too long ago," she replied. She reached towards the middle of the table and removed the paper towel that had been covering a tray of muffins. "Don't worry about them being hot, they've had time to cool."

Strange... this is the happiest I've seen her in months. Is it because I'm leaving? Willow thought and he grabbed a muffin from the tray. He bit down on it and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually quite decent, plus it tasted like blueberries which was his favourite fruit, with apples being just behind of course.

"So now get whatever else you want and then we can go see Mayor Oak before you leave. I was surprised that he was able to set aside some time for us, especially since it was very late when I visited him," Cheery said and rose from her chair. "I'll be waiting for you outside just as soon as I freshen myself up."

Willow watched her leave the kitchen just as he finished his muffin and he returned to his own room. Hmm... what should I bring with me? I'm not really going to live in Canterlot, but I still want something to remember home by, he thought. Willow picked up his saddlebag from the floor and opened it to find his lantern, a shortbow with an empty quiver that he still needed to train with and a small hammer he would have used against the Timberwolves. He looked around his room for anything he would want to bring when his eyes fell upon a single black rock, but this was no ordinary rock. No, it was a piece of obsidian that was given to him by his father to remember him by when he was just a foal.

The obsidian was a dark black piece of igneous rock said by his father to only come from volcanos, something Willow wished he could see for himself. It had a rather glossy, translucent appearance and he at last decided that he was going to take it with him. Just as he was putting it in the saddlebag, Swiftwing returned from her morning hunt and screeched that she had arrived.

"Hey Swiftwing, catch something nice to eat?" he asked and Swiftwing flew in a circle once. "Excellent! Well, say goodbye to your cage Swiftwing because we won't be returning for a while, perhaps not at all." He thought he saw her roll her eyes and she landed on his back instead of going to her cage. "Can't say I blame you, if I lived in a cage I wouldn't exactly care for it either."

He tossed his saddlebag onto his back and he took one final look at his room before leaving it and closing the door behind him. He made his way out of the house to find his mom standing on the porch with a rather large bag next to her. She looked better than she had in months and even put on makeup to cover her bags. This was the mother that he knew before that day two years ago.

"All set?" she asked and Willow nodded.

"I'm as set as I'll ever be Mother, let's go before I start having second thoughts." Willow picked up the other bag and Swiftwing moved to make room as he tossed it onto his back as well. The two descended the porch steps and began to make their way over to townhall.

Seeing as it was still very early in the morning, most of the other villagers weren't even up yet. The only ones they saw awake were the guards who were at the end of their night shift. Townhall wasn't too far away from the Tree of Visions fortunately and they made it there in no time at all. They were just about to walk inside when the door opened, revealing none other than Mayor Oak himself.

"Ah! Good morning Willow, Cheery, I was just about to come over to your home to discuss Willow's residency in the town, but it looks like you saved me the trip," he said. "And Cheery, I see your gardening cutie mark is looking better than ever!" This caused Cheery to blush and she looked down at her hooves. Mayor Oak was an Earth pony with a light brown coat and dark brown eye colour. His mane had turned grey over the years due to how stressful it was to run a small town in the middle of nowhere such as this one. His cutie mark was a dark green oak leaf.

"So, you're finally going out on your own eh Willow? They grow up so fast don't they Cheery?" he asked and she nodded. "Now without further ado, I just need you to sign this paper Willow. Since you will no longer be living here, I won't have to tax your home twice as much." He brought out a quill along with some ink and a document that Willow needed to sign and gave it to him. Willow didn't hesitate to put the items on the ground and he quickly signed the document after going over it.

"Thank you very much Willow! I hope that your travels will be pleasant!" Mayor Oak exclaimed and he quickly scooped up the items from the ground and returned them to his own saddlebag. "Oh! Before you go I would like to thank you for taking care of that little problem of ours. A little somepony told me about it and I feel you've earned this on behalf of the town." He reached into his saddlebag and gave Willow a small bag stuffed to the brim with clinking coins.

"Wow... thank you Mayor, this is extremely thoughtful of you," Willow said and Mayor Oak shook his head.

"No Willow, it should be I thanking you!" he replied and held out a hoof which Willow grabbed and shook. "Good luck out there kiddo. I would go to see you off but I have some important business I need to take care of. Good day to both of you! And to you as well Swiftwing." Swiftwing poked her head out and screeched in return just as he returned inside townhall, leaving Willow, Swiftwing and Cheery alone.

"Well, I guess that's that," Willow said and Cheery nodded. "By the way Mom, Mayor Oak definitely has a crush on you."

Cheery looked at him in shock and disgust. "Mayor Oak? That old pony? Although he certainly likes to compliment me I'm sure I'm not the only one," she replied. "Besides, with your father gone I swore I would never marry or date again."

Willow simply shrugged. "Well, it's really none of my business what you do, but can we go now please? I have a train to catch."

"Right! Of course! I'll walk with you to the edge of town before we part ways though because I'm not exactly the young mare I used to be."

They walked to the other side of town in silence which Willow felt would be the last time they ever walked together. Before long they made it to the other gate, only to be surprised when they saw the Council as well as Iron Shield waiting for them.

"Iron Shield! The Council! What brings all of you here?" Cheery asked.

"The same reason why you are here young one," the Speaker of Soul replied. "We are here to wish Willow good luck on his journey."

"Oh... how did you..."

"I told them all about the vision I had yesterday Mom," Willow quickly said. "They were there when I experienced it and I told them that I wanted to follow it."

"Ah! Okay then... well... I guess this is... this is goodbye Willow," Cheery said and she began to tear up.

"Mom... I promise you that Swiftwing and I will be fine," Willow assured her. He could feel the sadness swelling up within him but he did his best to repress it, even though it was unhealthy to do so. Suddenly Cheery stepped forward and embraced him in a tight hug. Tears had begun flowing freely down her face and Willow could feel her shaking.

"J- just be safe okay Willow? Send me a letter as soon as you arrive in Canterlot. I wouldn't be able to handle it if I lost you as well."

She pulled herself away and she weakly smiled, which caused Willow to smile in return. "I love you Willow. No matter what I've said about you before, I'm proud of what you have become."

"Hey Willow," Iron said, getting his attention. "I have two very special ponies that are just waiting to say goodbye to you. Come on out girls! Don't be shy!"

Willow saw a bush rustle a few hoofsteps away and out popped two young fillies. One was a Unicorn and the other one was an Earth pony like her father. "Mister Seeker! Mister Seeker!" they cried in unison and hugged his legs when they reached him.

"Lemon Heart! Azure Berry! It has been so long since I've seen the two of you!" Willow exclaimed. Lemon Heart was the Unicorn with a coat as yellow as a lemon. Her mane was a dark orange and her eyes were the colour of violet. Azure Berry was the Earth pony with a coat like the colour of blueberries. Like her father she had a dark red mane and her eyes were light brown as well.

"So how has school been you two?" Willow asked.

"It's really easy!" Lemon Heart replied. "Although Azure doesn't really like it and would rather explore like you."

"Yeah! Papa has told us so many of your adventures together when you were both little!" Azure exclaimed. "So I want to be an explorer like you!"

Willow chuckled and he patted Azure's head. "You have a long life ahead of you still kiddo and you both have yet to get your cutie marks! But you want to know how I became an explorer? I stayed in school, studied hard, and my true passion came to me just like that!"

"Just like that?" Azure and Lemon asked in unison.

"Just like that," Willow replied.

The two fillies looked at each other and gasped. "If we do well in school... then we can get our cutie marks in no time!" Lemon Heart squealed.

"Yeah!" Azure Berry exclaimed and they hugged each other. "We hope you have fun on your journey Willow!"

"I definitely will, maybe I'll bring something back when I come to visit," he replied and winked at them, which caused the two to giggle and run behind Iron.

The Speaker of Soul cleared her throat, getting Willow's attention again. "We believe it is time for you to leave now Willow, or else you'll miss the morning train."

"Oh... right..." Willow replied and looked at the others. "Well... I guess this is goodbye everypony, I'll write back as often as I can."

Iron walked forward and he grasped Willow's right forehoof. "You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember Willow," he said. "I would absolutely love to go with you, but my place is here with the fair ponies of this village and my little fillies. Good luck out there."

"Thank you Iron, I understand," Willow replied and he faced the open gate. The path he was to take to get to the station laid before him when he was suddenly pulled close to the Speaker of Soul.

"This journey you are about to set out on... it will be filled with many trials and hardships you must overcome," she whispered. "You must find the cure to your predicament, otherwise you'll never see the foe you wish to vanquish. Good luck Willow, go with the blessing of the Council, may it protect you for as long as possible."

She then gave Willow a nudge towards the gate without giving him any time to respond. He took a deep breath and passed through the gate, the guards above watching him as he did so. Before he entered the woods, Willow turned around to have one last look at his village and waved. His mother, Iron, his two fillies and the Council waved in return as they watched Willow disappear into the woods.

"Well Swiftwing, it's you and I against the world," Willow said and Swiftwing let out an excited screech in return. "Yep, it's time for another adventure, and this time, the whole world is open to us."



The journey through the woods to the train station didn't take too long fortunately, but when Willow saw the train station for the first time, he was certain that it had seen better days. Paint was peeling off the walls and the floorboards were rotting. He could hear rats scurrying about right beneath his hooves as he walked over to the ticket booth where a lone pony sat sleeping. The pony was very old and balding and the only way Willow knew he was still alive was the fact that the old pony's chest was still rising with every breath.

A sign rested above the pony's head that said that passage west to Las Pegasus would be ten bits while passage easy to Ponyville would cost fifteen bits. Both were prices that he could easily afford with the bits the mayor had given him, which he had counted on the way to the train station to be around two-hundred and fifty.

Ponyville... I heard that Princess Twilight lives there along with her friends, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, he thought. Maybe I can find some more information about that creature there... "Excuse me? Sir? I would like to purchase a ticket to Ponyville please." The old pony continued to snore away, much to Willow's annoyance. "I think I'm going to have to use something much louder... what do you say Swiftwing?" Swiftwing screeched loudly in response which caused the old pony to suddenly wake up and fall over.

"D- don't rob me! I have nothing! I swear!" the old pony cried and Willow rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I'm not here to rob you good sir, I just wish to purchase a ticket to Ponyville," Willow replied

The old pony slowly got to his hooves and put on a pair of glasses from his pocket. "You... wish to purchase a ticket? Nopony around these parts has purchased a ticket in years!"

A shingle fell from the roof and landed right next to Willow which shattered upon impact with the wooden floorboards. "Yeah... I can probably see why that is," Willow replied. "But I do wish to purchase a ticket still. Do you know when the next train will be arriving?"

"Hmm? Oh! The next train should be arriving shortly, let me just check the time." The old pony looked at the clock on the wall to find that it was broken. "Yep! Any minute now. So that'll be two tickets to Ponyville correct?"

"Hang on, are you saying my bird counts as a passenger?" Willow asked and the old pony nodded.

"Yep, as far as I know anyway, so that'll bring the total to... thirty-five bits please!"

"Th- thirty-five!?" Willow exclaimed. "But it says only fifteen a ticket!"

"Are you forgetting about the Equestrian Train tax sir? It has been the law for the last fifty years. So if you want those tickets or not, say so now because a purchase will notify the train to make a stop."

Willow rubbed his face and sighed. "Fine, two tickets please to Ponyville. Here are the thirty-five bits you require," he said and counted them out before giving it to the old pony. Suddenly he heard the whistle of a train in the distance and looked down the tracks to see that the train was almost to the station. "Please hurry sir."

"Don't rush me these things take time," the old pony replied. "I'm just waiting on your tickets to print, and here... they... are!" The old pony held up two tickets which Willow snatched out of his hooves.

"Thank you very much sir," Willow said but the old pony had already fallen back asleep. "Jeez... how did he end up with a job like that?" He walked over to the tracks and watched as the train pulled into the tiny station and made a complete stop. He was fortunate that he had purchased the tickets at the right time. The many passengers he saw through the windows were confused as to why they had stopped though because White Tail Station was usually just skipped.

As Willow approached one of the cars, the doors hissed open and out stepped a Conductor. "Ah! So you're the reason we stopped here today," he said and Willow nodded. "Well don't just stand there, come aboard! Just let me check your tickets please." Willow showed the Conductor the tickets he had purchased and after careful examination by the Conductor he allowed him to pass. When Willow had climbed aboard, the Conductor waved his hat which indicated that it was time to leave and he climbed aboard as well. The doors hissed shut as the train slowly began to move again and before long it was travelling at the same speed as before.

"Sir, you must take your seat now while the train is moving," the Conductor said and Willow nodded as he made his way towards the back of the train. Every car he went through though was filled to the limit and he received many strange looks from the other passengers, but he just ignored them. It wasn't until he reached the last car of the train, the caboose, that he was finally able to find a seat. Only one other pony was in there, but he or she was wearing a brown hooded cloak, so he decided to sit across from whoever it was.

"Hey, you don't mind if Swiftwing and I sit here do you?" Willow asked. "Every other seat has been taken." The pony remained silent and shook their head, allowing Willow to sigh in relief. "Thank you very much. Well then Swiftwing, make yourself comfortable." Swiftwing flew off of his back and landed on the bars above him. He then took off his saddlebags and carefully placed them underneath the seat before sitting down.

Willow felt slightly awkward because of how silent it was and he decided to break the ice with the pony across from him. "So... where are you heading?" he asked. "Ponyville?" The pony simply nodded in return. "Ah... are you visiting friends? Family? Or do you live there?"

"I'm returning from a research trip I went on in Las Pegasus," the hooded pony replied, much to Willow's surprise. The voice definitely belonged to that of a mare and he was glad that he at least knew the pony's gender now.

"Las Pegasus? That's where we get most of our goods from that come into White Tail Village," Willow replied.

"Ah, I've read about White Tail Village," she said. "It's a rather isolated place, but I believe it is the home for the Tree of Visions correct?"

"That's right, and believe it or not, the tree actually gives visions if one is worthy enough to receive one, which is why I'm here currently."

"Oh really? So what was your vision about?" the mare asked. The topic about visions had intrigued her and she wished to know more.

"Well... you might think I'm crazy... but I'm on a quest to find and stop something I encountered in the White Tail Woods," Willow replied. He felt that he could trust this mare for some odd reason. He couldn't quite explain it. "And so I'm heading to Ponyville first to see if I can find any information."

"Good luck with that," the mare replied. "Ponyville's library was destroyed three weeks ago during Tirek's return, but I do know of a place you can go to that is temporary."

"Really!?" Willow exclaimed. "That's great! Did you hear that Swiftwing? We've been gone for almost two hours now and already somepony is helping us out!" Swiftwing didn't respond as she was busy cleaning her feathers before she suddenly flew down and joined them.

"That is a wonderful bird you have there," the mare said. "And it's a Red-tailed Hawk! However were you able to find one, or even train one?"

Willow chuckled and smiled as he remembered the early days of training Swiftwing. "Well it's a long story, but I'll make it quick," he said. "I found her when she was just a young hawk and was parent-less. She had injured her wing somehow so I took her in and cared for her. Eventually I began to train her to understand our language and also taught her actions that she can use to reply with. We've been together ever since." He patted Swiftwing's head and she nuzzled his side in return before flying over to the mare. Swiftwing cocked her head to the left, determining whether or not the mare was friend or foe. After a minute had passed she too nuzzled the mare.

"Hold out your foreleg," Willow said. "Don't worry, it won't hurt when she lands on it."

"Okay then," the mare replied and she stuck out her right foreleg. Swiftwing noticed this and she flew up and perched on the mare's leg, much to Willow's and the mare's amusement. "Wow... you were lucky to have found her, uh..."

"Willow Seeker, but please, call me Willow."

"Well then Willow, I have a bird as well, an owl actually," she said. "His name is Owlowiscious. I believe that he and Swiftwing would get along just fine."

The two sat in silence for a bit as Swiftwing continued to groom herself when Willow spoke again. "So I've told you my name miss and I've really been enjoying your company, but I have yet to learn your name. Who are you?" he asked. Just then Swiftwing flew up and perched on the bars just as the mare brought both of her hooves to her hood.

"If you really want to know Willow..." she slowly began to say. "I'm... your worst nightmare!" Her eyes began to glow red as she began to change form. Willow watched in horror as the creature materialized before him and grabbed him by the throat. "You will die," he whispered. "I, Volgnash, will not be stopped! Most certainly not by a bunch of ponies!" He then brought him to the very end of the car and blasted the door off of its hinges, revealing the speeding ground below. "Die." Volgnash then threw Willow off of the train and he closed his eyes as the ground rushed forward to meet him. When he opened his eyes though, he found himself slumped over in his seat with the mare at his side. His heart was pounding at an abnormally fast pace.

"Willow! Are you alright?" she asked and Willow slowly sat up.

"Yeah... I'm alright," he replied. "What happened?"

"I was just about to tell you who I was when you suddenly stared at me as if I was the worse thing that crawled out of Tartarus. It wasn't until you fell over that I became worried."

"Oh... I'm... I'm deeply sorry miss, I never meant to worry you at all on this trip," he said. "Can you please forgive me?"

The mare giggled slightly. "Of course I forgive you Willow," she said. She placed her hooves near her hood and removed it. "And please, call me Twilight."

Willow's eyes widened in surprise as he scrambled to kneel before her. "Your highness! I- This- It's an honor to speak with you!" he stammered and Twilight smiled.

"At ease Willow, I may be royalty, but that doesn't mean you should treat me different from everypony else," she said. "Besides, I still need to get used to this, even though it has been about a year already."

"Is that why you are keeping yourself cloaked?" Willow asked. "So you don't draw any attention?" Twilight nodded, confirming that he was correct.

"To be honest Willow, there are some days when I just want to be a pony in the crowd. I went to Las Pegasus to pick up some books I ordered from Saddle Arabia and also visited the museum since I've never been there before. The whole time I was there though I was never left unguarded and many ponies wanted to see me. It's not that I don't want them to do what they do, I'm just still becoming adjusted to this new way of life."

"Heh, like my father used to say, life is full of surprises," Willow said. "But it's up to us to decide what to do with it. I wish he was still here."

"Oh... I'm so sorry for your loss Willow, when did he pass away?" Twilight asked.

"My mother and I were told that he went missing in action during the Canterlot Wedding fiasco. In other words, they pretty much told us that he died, but they weren't able to recover a body."

"Oh, so your father was a soldier Willow?"

"Yes, and not a day goes by that I miss him dearly, although a small part of me believes he is still alive and out there somewhere," Willow replied. "He never wanted to be a soldier... but when he was called upon to go to Canterlot he couldn't refuse the offer."

"I... I was there during the Changeling attack since it was my brother's wedding Willow," Twilight said. "I still remember that day... if it weren't for Cadance breaking Chrysalis's spell over my brother, Equestria would have been a far different place than what it is today. I bet your father was a brave stallion."

"He was your highness... he was."

The train's speakers suddenly crackled to life and was soon followed by the voice of the Conductor. "Good morning everypony, this is your Conductor speaking," he said. "We will be arriving in Ponyville shortly. Please gather your belongings and wait for the train to come to a complete stop. Thank you for taking the Pony Express Line. Our next stop will be Canterlot."

The speakers clicked and the Conductor's voice disappeared. "Time sure does fly by when you're talking," Twilight said and Willow nodded in agreement. "It was nice meeting you Willow. If you want to find some information about whatever it is you're searching for, please stop by the crystal tree, you can't miss it."

"I'll definitely stop by as soon as possible for sure," Willow replied. "Although why can't I go with you right away?"

"I have some business that I need to attend to first, but you can stop by whenever after lunch today if that's okay with you Willow."

"Of course! It is my first time in Ponyville after all so I think I'll do some sightseeing first," he replied.

"It's your first time here Willow? Well, as a warning, watch out for a hyperactive pony who calls herself Pinkie Pie," Twilight said. "She has a habit of throwing parties whenever somepony new strolls into town, but she means well."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind your highness."

They felt the train slowly screech to a halt and Willow looked out the window. From where he was he could just make out the faint outline of Canterlot Castle. He picked up his bags and tossed them onto his back before he whistled for Swiftwing, who quickly flew down and made herself comfortable on his back. Twilight quickly put her hood back on and she walked over to the next car with a door, closely followed by Willow. As they stepped off of the train, Willow had the strangest feeling that something was going to happen while he was here.

"See you later Willow, and welcome to Ponyville," Twilight said and he watched her trot away. He took a deep breath, noticing that the air was slightly drier than what it was back home and sighed.

"Well Swiftwing, what would you like to do first?" Willow asked. Swiftwing simply screeched in return and he nodded. "You're right, let's go exploring, because that is what we are meant to do." Willow stepped off of the platform and began to make his way towards the center of town. Welcome to Ponyville indeed.