“And you’re certain she’ll be alright there?”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “Yes Twilight, I’ve told you this twenty-seven times now. We’re going to go to the training grounds for all of the new Monks, I’m going to introduce Scootaloo to the Master Monks, and then we’ll join the Princesses if we can. If not, we’ll come back here.”
He failed to mention the possibility of the Master Monks denying Kyle the right to train Scootaloo.
Twilight sighed. “Alright. You’re cer-”
“I swear Twilight, if you ask me that again I’ll smack you.”
“Fine, fine,” Twilight said. Her horn lit up, and a pair of purple crystals popped into existence. She levitated them into Kyle’s outstretched hand. “Take these. You’ll need them.”
Kyle stared at the gems in his hand. “What’s this?”
“Teleport crystals.”
“What are they for?”
“Well, the extra power from Greed’s crystal has increased the duration that the portal to Azeroth remains open,” Twilight explained. “It now remains open for approximately one hour. But from what I understand, the Princesses will be meeting the Alliance leaders in a city called Ironforge, which is a fair distance from Stormwind. And you and Scootaloo are going to another continent. Besides which, re-opening the portal every hour will get pretty tiring. These crystals, when broken, will release a teleportation spell that will bring you back here to the throne room.”
“Huh,” Kyle muttered, examining the crystal more closely. Aside from the color difference, he could not distinguish it from the crystals Twilight had used in the portal. “Well alright, I’ll take your word for it. One for me and one for Scootaloo.”
“And two more for the Princesses,” Twilight added as another pair of crystals popped up beside her. “They should be ready here in just a minute or two. Make sure you and Scootaloo are as well.”
“We’ll be ready,” Kyle assured her as Twilight turned and walked away. He then turned to face Scootaloo who was slowly circling the throne room in the air. He caught her attention and motioned for her to fly down to him.
“Are we ready to go yet?” she asked as she landed next to Kyle. She began trotting impatiently in place. "I wanna get going!”
“Hold on just a minute,” Kyle replied, holding up a hand to stop her. “So, you know we’re going to Azeroth. It’s dangerous there, you know this. You also know that -”
“While we’re there, I do what you say when you say,” Scootaloo droned, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “Yeah yeah, we’ve been over this a hundred times already.”
“I’m serious,” Kyle replied. “You’ve only seen Stormwind, which is likely the safest place on Azeroth. We’re headed to Pandaria, which is considerably more dangerous. Mantid, Mogu, Yaungol, Saurok, Yetis… Not to mention the Horde.”
“Alright, I’ll be careful. So where is this Peak of Serenity?” Scootaloo asked. “How’re we getting there?”
“Well normally, I’d use my Zen Pilgrimage to get there almost instantly,” Kyle replied. “But since you’re coming along, and you don’t know how to do that yet, we’re going to take the longer route. Once we’re in Stormwind, a mage is going to open two portals. One leads to Ironforge, the Dwarven capital city, where the Princesses are going.”
“Alright.”
“Don’t take that one. Take the other one. It will take us to the Shrine of the Seven Stars, which is located in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms in the heart of Pandaria. We will take a flight path north into Kun-Lai Summit. It’ll drop us off at One Keg, a small town at the foot of the mountains. From there, we’ll be hiking.”
Scootaloo groaned. “Why can’t we just fly up to the Peak?” she asked. “It sounds like it’d be a lot easier.”
“Flight Paths don’t go up to the Peak,” Kyle explained. “The kites we’ll be riding are enchanted to follow a pre-set route. One Keg is as close as we can get by flying.”
Scootaloo huffed, causing Kyle to frown. “How do you think I feel?” he asked. “Normally I’d get there in 10 seconds flat. Every Monk makes the journey at least once before they learn the Zen Pilgrimage technique, and you’re no different.”
“Alright alright, fine,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “So can we go ahead and go? I’m tired of waiting.”
“We’re just waiting on Twilight to open the portal,” Kyle replied. He opened his hand and revealed the twin crystals within his palm. “Once we’re done at the Peak of Serenity, we’ll probably either be headed to Ironforge, or else back here to Canterlot. In the latter case, we break these crystals, and they’ll bring us back here instantly.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Well at least we don’t have to make the trek twice,” she said.
“Think of it this way,” Kyle said with a small smile. “This way is the scenic route. I’ll get to show you some of the rest of Azeroth. You’re already the first Pony to set foot - er, hoof - in another world. Now you’ll get to see a good part of the rest of it! How’s that, eh?”
Scootaloo’s face broke into a smile as well. “Sounds awesome,” she agreed.
“Kyle!” Twilight’s voice called out from behind him. Kyle turned his head towards her to see Twilight standing next to the portal crystals. They were already spitting energy back and forth between each other and humming with power. Kyle motioned with his hand for Scootaloo to follow him as he walked towards Twilight. As he did so, a small backpack and a saddle with two saddlebags floated over from the wall and hovered next to her.
“Are you ready?” Twilight asked, levitating the pack over to Kyle.
Kyle opened the backpack and looked inside, double checking that he had packed everything that he would need. It was filled with some basic survival equipment - a tinderbox, some dried rations, half a dozen bottles of water, a first-aid kit, a map, and an emergency flare. A bedroll was attached to the pack via a set of clips. He then made sure that he had everything else that he needed for combat. He was already wearing his new set of armor, with the maces and daggers all clipped at his belt next to several pouches full of brews.
“I think so,” Kyle replied, slinging the pack over his shoulder and onto his back. “I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve made the trek to the Peak of Serenity on foot. It might take us a couple of days to get there.” He looked over at Scootaloo, who was rummaging through her own saddlebags. She glance over at him and nodded in confirmation. Kyle reached over and lifted the saddle up before placing it on her back.
A bright flash of light from Kyle’s left informed him that the portal was ready. He looked up in time to see Varian and the Princesses approaching. Varian’s eyes locked with his, not breaking the gaze until the King had moved past him and into the portal. The Princesses followed behind him, disappearing into the other side as well.
“Alright. Let’s get rolling,” Kyle nudged Scootaloo before moving towards the portal. He stepped through, feeling the marbled tile transform to grass under his boots as he stepped through. He moved away from the portal just as Scootaloo stepped through behind him.
Already, a mage was waiting for them. Kyle watched as she summoned another portal. She motioned for Varian to enter, and he did so, followed by Celestia and Luna. The mage then turned to Kyle. “You must be Sergeant Slater,” she said. “The Shrine of the Seven Stars, was it?”
“Yes please,” Kyle replied.
A moment later, the mage had conjured a second swirling vortex. “Alright. There you go.”
“Thank you,” Kyle nodded his appreciation before stepping through the portal yet again. He emerged on the balcony of the Shrine, facing towards the interior. A moment later, Scootaloo emerged next to him. She stared up at the Shrine, her eyes wide.
“Wow…” she gasped. “That’s… awesome!”
“Yeah. It is,” Kyle agreed. “But that’s not where we’re going. Come on.” He turned to walk away from the shrine, further out onto the massive sprawing balcony that stretched into the Vale.
As Kyle ascended the steps towards the Kite Master, he glanced out into the Vale. A pang of sorrow shot through him as he was met not with the beautiful fields he once knew, but instead a blackened, desolate landscape. Where once there had been trees full of blossoms in full bloom, now there were only charred husks. The sacred waters had been eradicated completely, leaving only dried stream and lake beds in their place. And where there had once been lively, healthy fauna, now there were only corpses of those unfortunate enough to be caught in the destructive explosion.
A sharp intake of breath behind him let Kyle know that Scootaloo saw the same thing. He turned his head to see her staring out into the Vale, a look of horror on her face. “I’ll explain on the way,” Kyle murmured, continuing towards the Flight Master.
A short conversation later, Kyle and Scootaloo were sitting astride a large Pandaren Kite. Scootaloo would not be able to keep up with the speed of the Kite, and so she would be riding along with Kyle. He gave a short wave to the Flight Master before the Kite took off into the air, soaring out over the Vale.
“What in Tartarus happened here?” Scootaloo asked as the Shrine fell further and further behind them. “When you said ‘Vale of Eternal Blossoms’, I thought it would be prettier than… this. It looks like the Sha came through here!”
“They did,” Kyle said sadly. “This place used to be beautiful. The valley was named after the trees, which were always in bloom regardless of the season. The waters that flowed from the Vale into the Valley of the Four Winds to the south held many magical properties. Crops there grow literally overnight thanks to the magic of the waters. The Pandaren were gracious enough to allow the Alliance, and the Horde, access to one of the Shrines here in the Vale. We took the Shrine of the Seven Stars, and the Horde took the Shrine of the Two Moons.” Kyle gestured to the north, where another shrine rested against the northern mountain range.
“What happened?” Scootaloo asked as they soared between two large mountain peaks. On the other side, she stared as they passed the remnants of a pair of colossal statues, Once tall and mighty but now reduced to ruins.
“Hellscream,” Kyle hissed as the kite turned north. “The ex-warchief of the Horde. His lust for power was so great that he dug up the heart of the fallen Old God, Y’shaarj. He dumped the heart into the pool of water in the center of the Vale and unleashed its powers upon the Vale. The Sha of Pride went on a rampage throughout the Vale, corrupting and twisting everything it touched. Garrosh then took the heart for himself back to his city.”
“That’s… unbelievable,” Scootaloo murmured, staring down at the land below them. Even here, the rotting corpses of cloud serpents and the ruins of the deceased Mogu and their creations littered the ground leading up to the Gate of the August Celestials.
“It will heal in time,” Kyle reassured her. “The Heart of Y’shaarj was destroyed, and with it the seven Sha that once haunted this land. It will be many years, but eventually the Vale will bloom again.”
The kite soared over the gate from the Vale and into the Kun-Lai Summit. Here, the ground was rocky, with only grass and a few sparse shrubs dotting the landscape. The kite continued on its northwards trajectory, flying high above the tundra-like plains. A few minutes after clearing the gate, it sailed over the small town known as Westwind Rest
“See that?” Kyle asked suddenly, pointing off to the northeast
Scootaloo squinted into the distance. Far off just on the horizon, she could make out a large shape through the mist that surrounded the mountains upon which it was located. “Is that… a building?” she asked. “It must be massive to see it from here!”
“That is the Temple of the White Tiger,” Kyle explained. “Home of Xuen the White Tiger, one of the four August Celestials that help to guard this land. The others are Chi-Ji the Red Crane far to the south, Niuzao the Black Ox to the west, and Yu’lon the Jade Serpent to the east. Each one embodies a particular attribute that Monks attempt to emulate - Xuen embodies strength, Yu’lon wisdom, Chi-Ji hope, and Niuzao fortitude. As a Windwalker, I look to Xuen the most for guidance. His strength and ferocity, and his knowledge of when to use these traits, are what all Windwalkers seek to achieve.”
The rest of the trip passed in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the rushing of the wind blowing past them. As they flew progressively farther and farther north, Kyle felt thankful for the armor he was wearing. The thick leather would help protect him from the wind on their climb, which was sure to be frigid this far north in the middle of autumn.
Ten minutes later, their kite dipped downwards, aiming itself at a small town nestled up at the southern base of a large mountain range. “Here we are,” Kyle announced as the kite touched down, hopping off. “One Keg.”
Scootaloo hopped off as well and glanced around, frowning. Kyle could hardly blame her. To call One Keg a town was very generous. It consisted essentially of one small plaza. Only a few buildings stood against the mountain - a tavern for travelers to rest their feet, a shop for them to resupply right across the plaza, and a few houses scattered in between them.
“So… what now?” Scootaloo finally asked.
“Well, our destination is farther north, way up in the mountain range,” Kyle explained. “But I don’t think it would be wise to set out at this time.”
“What?” Scootaloo demanded, her frown deepening. “Why not?”
“Night approaches,” Kyle explained, gesturing up at the sky. Sure enough, they couldn’t even see the sun anymore - it was long hidden behind the towering peaks to the west. Even still, the western edge of the sky was turning orange, indicating the sunset. “And night in Kun-Lai is dangerous,” he added. “Especially at this time of the year. The temperature drops to well below freezing. Not to mention the Hozen than could jump us in the middle of the night, or the tigers, or even Yetis… No, I’d rather spend as few nights out there in the mountains as possible. We’ll spend the night in the Inn instead, and set out at sunrise tomorrow.”
Scootaloo sighed. “Alright, I guess that makes sense,” she hesitantly agreed. “Just how far into the mountains are we going, exactly? How long will it take?”
“Hard to guess,” Kyle admitted, walking towards the tavern. A light layer of snow crunched under his boots as he walked. “It really depends on how lucky we are with the weather, and whether or not we run into any… complications. Best case scenario, we’re sitting down and talking with Grand Master Hight this time two days from now.”
“And worst case?”
“We don’t make it at all,” Kyle said simply. “Not that I think we’ll be that unfortunate.”
“Of course not,” Scootaloo agreed, though the slight waver to her voice betrayed other, less positive thoughts. Kyle ignored his own misgivings and stepped into the tavern, with Scootaloo right behind him.
Kyle glanced around the inn as he stepped in. The inn itself was fairly small, with only two tables scattered around the room. A male Pandaren and a short grummle sat together at one table, each happily drinking from a mug. In the corner, Kyle spied a small, narrow staircase that led to the upstairs area.
“Welcome to the Lucky Traveller!” A female Pandaren greeted them from behind the counter. “I’m Chiyo Mistpaw. How can I help - Um, I’m sorry sir,” Chiyo cut herself off, “but I’m afraid you’ll need to leave your pony outside.”
“Why?” Scootaloo asked before Kyle could reply. “You got something against Ponies?”
“Oh - oh my!” Chiyo squeaked, ducking behind the bar. The other Pandaren and the Grummle seemed not to notice, lost in their drinks as they were
“Chill out Scoots,” Kyle warned. “Remember, they’re not used to Ponies being able to talk.” He then turned his attention back to the bartender. “Sorry about her.”
“It talks!” Chiyo squeaked, poked her eyes out from behind the counter
“She,” Kyle corrected, pulling out a small handful of coins. “We’d like to rent a room for the evening.”
“I’m… I’m sorry sir, but our rules state -” Chiyo began.
“Or we could just leave” Kyle interrupted. “But given how far out of the way this town is, I don’t expect you get much traffic through here. Be a shame to lose out on good money.” Chiyo said nothing, and Kyle moved to put his coins back into his pouch. “But if you insist…”
“Wait!” Chiyo exclaimed eying the money in Kyle’s hand. For a long moment, she fell silent again. “... Fine, she can stay,” she finally muttered, taking the coins from Kyle’s hand. “Your room is the one on the left upstairs. I will warn you, sir, that there is another patron in the room opposite you upstairs. A Tauren.” Kyle hissed under his breath as the bartender continued. “ I must ask that you not start any fights, or I will have to ask all three of you to leave.”
Kyle grimaced, but nodded curtly. “I don’t start fights,” he said, walking towards the stairs. As Scootaloo walked up the stairs in front of him, he turned around and glanced back at the bartender.
“But if he starts one, you can be damn sure that we'll finish it.”