A Journey through Memories

by Centauri

Chapter Seven - Changed Plans

A Journey through Memories

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Chapter Seven - Changed Plans

I had marked out our new route on the map; the massive change in journey I had anticipated was not required; instead, we detoured on a road to a small village slightly north of our track, leading for an extra four or five days on our thirteen-day trip. As I saw the hamlet, I doubted that there would be a shop where we could buy rations for our journey towards Highridge. My fears were quickly allayed, however. There were some apple orchards not a mile from the centre of the settlement. I walked over to what I took to be a farmhouse and politely knocks on the door. A cheerful-looking earth mare answered it.

“Mornin’, folks,” she began in an accent to rival Applejack’s. “Is there anything Ah can do for you...” she trailed off and realised who was before her. “Your Majesty,” she bowed.

“Please, ma’am,” I told her. “I really do prefer Luna. Now, my friends and I had a small situation in Anchorage and we couldn’t get any food for a journey we’re undertaking. Do you have any spare food we might be able to buy?”

“Of course,” she replied. “We have some travelling bread, because my husband often has to take our stock to Anchorage or Cooperton, to the north. Ah think we’d be happy to sell you some of that, Luna. Ah’ve got some apples, as well... Can’t you graze where you’re going?” she asked, curious, but polite.

“I’m afraid not,” I chucked; it was a perfectly reasonable question. “We’re heading towards the south, to Highridge.” The mare gave me an inquisitive look before she went to get some rations.

“Is there a problem with griffins around here?” I directed this question to Twilight, thinking she would know most about geography and interracial relations.

“Not a bad one,” Twilight answered, always a source of knowledge. “It’s mainly to do with the griffins being...” – she broke off quickly, looking at Fluttershy – carnivores¸ she mouthed to me. I nodded, knowing full well the love of animals that most, if not all, ponies held. To us, the idea of eating something which once was living was abhorrent; to the griffins, however, it was survival. Grass does not grow high in the mountains where the griffins live, so they hunt for their food.

The mare returned with some loaves of bread and dried apples. “Ah figured they would last you longer on the road,” explained the mare.

“Thank you very much... I’m sorry, what was your name?” I asked, a bit sheepishly.

“Oh that’s no problem,” the mare graciously accepted the thanks. “My name’s Apple Brown Betty.” She told us.

“AH KNEW IT!” Applejack exclaimed. The rest of us jumped two hooves into the air. Quietening down, Applejack continued, “Ah’m sorry everyone. Auntie Brown, Ah haven’ seen you in ages!”

The mare looked a bit quizzical, and then it dawned on her. “Applejack! When Ah last saw you, you were a filly up to my own knee! Goodness, how much you’ve grown. How’s the Apple family up in Ponyville?”

As the two relations shared stories, we packed the rations we were given into our saddlebags. I thanked Brown Betty and handed her twenty bits in a small pouch; she didn’t accept it until I gave her a raised eyebrow, knowing that it would be useless to resist. We said our goodbyes to the brown mare and left the hamlet via the south-eastern road.

* * *

The trail was dry and composed primarily of gravel; as such, I stopped frequently to make sure everypony’s hooves were free from infection from the pebbles. I was extremely glad I did on numerous occasions, having removed pebbles from everypony’s hooves except for Applejack, who had work-hardened legs from working in the fields for long hours, and didn’t need the attention. We covered many miles that day as our endurance had been significantly strengthened by the journey to Anchorage, and when we finally set up camp, it was at the edge of the forest on the top of a hill. I could see the foothills and judged that they were twenty miles away. I groaned inwardly; we would get there at about mid-afternoon the next day, but from then on, we would only over about two-thirds of the distance in a day, and once we reached the mountains proper, we would cover half that distance again. I borrowed the atlas off Twilight yet again and double-checked my calculations. Yes, I thought to myself. Another fifteen days sounds right. Being perfectly honest, I was not looking forward to the journey ahead of us, but I was glad to be doing it now, in mid autumn and not in midwinter.

As the others rolled themselves up in their travelling cloaks, I stayed awake and performed a weather ward such as the one I practiced on our first leg of the journey; the stakes were getting more serious, and if I did not get this ward right every time, I feared for the ponies I travelled with. It worked tonight, and I stood by the camp, mulling over when I should tell them about the Elements of Harmony. I felt very close to the six mares sleeping behind me: not only had they saved me from Nightmare Moon, but they had also shown themselves to be very strong friends with each other, and with me. I would happily call each one of those ponies a friend.

Two hours later, I noticed that Rarity was restless. Hoping that I could help, I delved into the dream. I kept a “distance” from the dream so that Rarity would not know I was there. I saw the dream from her perspective.

I ran through the alleys, hoping that I could lose them. The city was deserted but for myself and the cloaked assassins hard on my hooves. I ducked behind a door, hoping to hide from them and regain my breath. I recognised this building as the one where we had stayed last night. Do not return to the Forecastle Inn, I heard Luna’s voice inside my head. As I turned, I saw the common room was roaring with business. Thinking I was safe, I then noticed what all the patrons were wearing: the same uniform, black cloak. I backed out of the door as every single pair of eyes turned towards me, but I could not see their faces. Back in the street, I found that the assassins had gained on me so I ran away. I thought I had to leave the town. Yes, that would be the right option. I galloped through the deserted streets, trying to stop the two ponies behind me from following me. My muscles were hurting and I was slowing down. I chanced a glance behind me, and I saw the midnight shadow leaping forwards just as he was about to...

I yanked myself out of the dream; it would have been awkward to explain why we had both woken up at the exact same moment. Rarity woke up violently and gave a small shout a few seconds afterwards, looking around to find the assassin who caught her.

I walked over to her and whispered in her ear. “It’s okay, Rarity,” I reassured her. “We’re here for you, and we are never going to let them catch you.” Slowly, Rarity calmed down, and she gave me a curious look.

“How did you know what I was dreaming about?” She inquired. I thought up a lie based from the truth.

“You were very restless, Rarity,” I began with a truth. “And given what we’ve been through recently, it wasn’t hard to guess what you were dreaming about.”

This seemed to placate Rarity. “I guess so,” she began. “And you’re right: I was thinking about the chase.” There was a long silence between us.

“Anything you want to talk about?” I asked her. I knew that talking about worries often helped the pony who was experiencing them.

She hesitated, and I looked at her, calmly. We locked eyes and something she saw made her trust me. “I was running through the town, with two of those assassins chasing after me. I tried hiding from them in the Forecastle Inn, but it was full of them, there, as well. I remembered hearing your voice, warning us to not go back to the Inn, but I didn’t know I was going and it was all so confusing. I wanted to see someone else, but nopony was there. Not the guards I called for yesterday, nor any of you.”

“Rarity,” I fixed her with a calm and level gaze. “We are here for you. Do not ever forget that. Look around you; there are the others. They have not left you by yourself, and nor have I. If you want to talk to me, then don’t be hesitant to just say what you need to.”

She nodded, and, saying no more, returned to where she was sleeping. I watched after her, slightly worried that I had pressed too far, but worried for her, as well. Eventually, I turned back to watch the mountains. I wanted to draw, so I levitated the parchment and charcoal out of my bag, but instead of drawing the landscape, I turned towards my six friends sleeping on the grass and started drawing. I finished their basic shaped and highlighted the shadows cast by the fire. When I had finished them, I turned my attention to the charcoal itself: I lit up my horn and used it to shape the charcoal to a point, allowing me to add the fine details in my friends’ cutie marks and faces. When I finally finished, I judged it to be four hours until dawn. Relaxed and content, I lay myself down to get what sleep I could.

* * *

Three days later, we had reached the mountains proper. Traversing the steep mountainside was no easy feat for the unicorns and earth ponies, so I stayed with them to help. I found it difficult to get tired physically, and now was no exception, so I was more than willing to carry others’ saddlebags.

“Everypony take the next junction to your right,” Rainbow Dash was guiding us from above, and Fluttershy was hovering nearby us, occasionally landing on a sturdy tree to rest. I followed the directions Dash gave us, trusting her enough to not lead us astray. As I looked behind me, I noticed that the two unicorns were tiring and falling behind quickly. The earth ponies, however, were going well: Applejack was used to strenuous work and travel, while Pinkie Pie seemed to enjoy everything about life, including the heavy activity of traversing a mountain.

“Dash,” I called out above me. “We need to rest. Can you scout around the mountain, quickly, and check that we can’t go around the peak.” She gave a childish salute and darted out of sight. I moved back down the slope to ask the others if they were okay.

Rarity nodded. “Can I just- get some water- please?” she panted. I complied, conjuring her waterskin from her saddlebags on my back. I stopped her after a few sips.

“Don’t drink too much at once,” I warned her. “If you do, you’ll get bloated and travelling will become a lot more difficult.” She complied, but looked as though she would happily empty the waterskin right then and there.

Fluttershy alighted on a nearby tree; we were not so far up that it was impossible for plants to grow. She also consumed a few sips of water, but she wasn’t as tired as the rest of the ponies. Twilight also looked as if she needed water, but was perfectly capable of retrieving it herself: Applejack was carrying their collective saddlebags behind Twilight. As we rested, some ponies (that is to say, Pinkie) tried to initiate conversation with the others, but most of us were so tired that we couldn’t spare the energy required to speak. We waited for Rainbow Dash to return.

“We can head around the mountain,” began Rainbow Dash. “We just need to turn left at the junction twenty yards forward by air. You’ll climb about 3 yards in that distance, so rest well. After that, we turn southeast and follow the mountain around until you hit a ridge. Follow that ridge up, and eventually you’ll find a plateau about three miles south. It’s a gradual rise, so you should be able to handle it okay. It’ll be a good place to camp, but it’s starting to snow, so get your cloaks on now, everypony.”

Realising that I would have given them the exact same advice had I been blessed with the knowledge, I donned my own cloak and followed Dash’s lead, checking that the others were following on behind me. As I saw the others catching up, I stepped aside to let them last, making sure that nopony was going to get left behind. I would hate to lose any one of these ponies: I may have been well on my way to becoming universally accepted, but if I lost one of my friends, then I don’t think I would have wanted to continue with my life. Even alicorns have their limits, I thought to myself as I pondered this. These ponies’ limits may even be greater than my own. I might need to push those limits soon, given that they don’t know the responsibilities given with being the Elements of Harmony.

I followed on behind Applejack, burdened by my knowledge of the weight they would one day have to carry.

* * *

We trudged along the oppressive path. It was becoming difficult for anypony to find laughter in the winding, forbidding road; even Pinkie Pie’s jokes fell on flat ears. All of us wanted to simply arrive at the campsite, fall into their sleeping bags, and be taken by the blissful void of sleep. It was not to be, however; we still had two miles to go up the slope, so all we could do was persist. It was another two hours until we reached the plateau, but it felt like almost triple that time. By the time we reached the plateau, the other mares were almost dead on their feet. I let them care for themselves; they wrapped themselves up in their cloaks and slept close to each other to keep warm. I decided I would help their comfort by performing the weather ward. It was a successful attempt, so knowing they would be safe, I scouted nearby mountains: there were some animals which would be very dangerous to six unwary, sleeping ponies.

In could see easily in any light conditions, but I much preferred the comforting cool light of the moon; the sun rose and burned with the more light it gave, but the moon gave its light without any repercussions. I noticed some life on a nearby peak: a mountain lion was sleeping restlessly because it had not eaten in a few days. I cast a spell to keep its sleeping relaxed, and to stop it from waking before morning. Finding no other threats to the sleeping ponies, I flew west, clearing my mind of distractions. I flew with the increasing wind, and let my body follow its instincts in the air. It took a lot of cold for me to become uncomfortable, and even in this quasi-blizzard, I was fine.

I stopped short. I had just heard a magical cry for help, and the only pony I knew could reach me from this distance from any sort of civilisation was either Celestia, but I would’ve recognised her magic, meaning the only other option was...

Twilight.

I gasped and I started to race back towards the east, but now the blizzard was against me. I strained my wings to try and fly through; I even used magic to conjure wind from the other direction, but it was not enough. I hastened through the night, trying to reach the source of the distress call before it was too late. I dreaded what could have happened. My wings burned in the freezing night; my head hurt from the overload of magic; but I knew I had to continue. If I didn’t get there in time, then I feared that I may have lost one, or all, of my closest friends.

I saw a familiar peak about a hundred yards away: it was where I sedated the mountain lion earlier that night. I knew I only had five hundred more yards to fly, so I redoubled my efforts. As I neared the plateau where my friends had slept, I noticed that a party of griffins was encircling it. Noting their aggressive demeanour, I swore inwardly. I flew closer just in time to see Rainbow Dash squaring up to a griffin inside the circle. The griffin lifted its talons.

I gasped as I saw what the griffin was about to do. I lit up my horn and sent a furious bolt of magic towards the griffin, and I hoped with every ounce of my being that it would stop the griffin from hurting Rainbow Dash.

The griffin’s claw fell.

The bolt hit.

Somewhere distant, I heard a scream.