The Elements of Equestria

by trooper7051

Chapter 8

The Elements of Equestria

Part 8

Caramel was not overly fond of milking cows. Doing so with his mouth, being the only option, he had no choice. It didn't help matters that the cows kept continuously commenting about his technique, 'Believe me ladies, this isn't the most fun thing in the world for me either.' he thought. While Big Macintosh had been away, Applejack had always milked the cows to save Caramel the embarrassment. With her gone, he was the only experienced, working-age pony available, there was no clear alternative since the cows didn't know Zecora. The cows were endlessly heckling him about the fact that he was a stallion and plenty of them seemed to enjoy the many possible connotations and likewise saying so, much to the blushing stallion's chagrin. He couldn't help but feel like he was cheating on Applejack somehow. Having his lips wrapped around a female creature's teat was not a common experience for him, to say the least.

Zecora, however didn't seem to be having any problems adjusting to life on the farm. She already had a solid background with plants and herbs, so she just fit right in, like she had always been there. She sang songs in her native language continuously while she worked, providing an atmosphere of ease and casuality. Winter was fast approaching, with the first snowfall scheduled to be in just a few days. The pony and zebra had their work cut out for them. The cows bedding needed to be insulated, the overhang for the pigs needed to be checked for structural integrity, the barn needed to be cleaned up, and the cellar needed to be organized, not to mention emptying out all the water pipes to keep them from bursting, cleaning the gutters of the house and barn . . . the list went on.

The morning routine was the easy part; it was the afternoon tasks which loomed ominously. Zecora and Caramel finished with the morning chores, which took till 2:00 to complete, then met together on the front porch to eat lunch and discuss what to tackle in the afternoon. The day was surprisingly warm, for being so close to winter, even so 67 degrees while sweating isn't the healthiest thing in the world. Granny Smith ordered the two impromptu farm workers to towel off before starting lunch. Zecora was surprisingly dry even before toweling off; Caramel by comparison was lathered in a sheen of sweat and took several minutes to dry. Granny Smith had left a pair of steaming bowls of apple-dumplings on the front porch for them.

Zecora and Caramel dug in happily and planned while they ate,
"I think insulating the cow's bedding would be a good place to start." Caramel began, "We could be done quickly if we work together and still have enough time to take care of checking the overhang for the pigs. What do you think, Zecora?"

The zebra raised her head from her bowl and swallowed her mouthful of dumpling,
"I believe cleaning the barn should be first, if we don't know the location of the tools we need, a situation could go from rough to worst."

Caramel nodded,
"True, the barn does need to be cleaned and organized and I certainly agree with you that we need to know where the tools are if and when we need them. I think this comes down to priorities and logic. We need tools to do most of the other tasks, right?"

Zecora nodded so Caramel continued,
"What say, we organize the barn as quickly as we can then see if we have enough time to insulate the cow's bedding. Sound good?"

"This compromise you suggest leaves me pleased; with teamwork each of the tasks for us will be greatly eased." Zecora said.

"Alright then. How about I take care of moving things and you just tell me where to put them? Then we can both work on clearing out any unnecessary debris. Besides, we need the barn floor cleaned if we're going to get to the bedding in the loft. Good idea Zecora." Caramel said smiling.

Zecora beamed,
"With experience on a farm I don't have a lot, but we have to work with what we've got. I'm surprised you didn't consider the barn a higher priority, then I could have saved myself this entire oratory. We must hurry, we waste time on this porch, daylight doesn't wait, we'll soon need a torch."

Caramel looked up. The sun was already well past its zenith. Night would be falling before too long, 'She's got a point, we do need to hurry.' Caramel thought. The two new farmers left their unfinished lunches on the porch and got right to work on the barn.

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"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called up into the sky for her friend.

The multihued pegasus came swooping in a few moments later and stopped, hovering in front of the purple unicorn,
"What's up, Twilight?"

"It's getting dark. Take Fluttershy and Trooper and see if you can spot anyplace for us to make camp. A clearing would be ideal, but we need a source of water for sure. Most of our canteens have been empty for a while now. How are you three doing up there?" Twilight asked.

"We're fine. Flying is easy as pie. If we need a break, we just stop and rest on a cloud for a minute or two. I made sure to mention how the clouds over the Everfree Forrest tend to dissipate and drop you, so we never stop for very long. We could have made it a lot farther but we didn't want to lose you." Dash responded.

Twilight almost hated to ask her next question,
"Has Trooper given you any more trouble?"

Dash shrugged,
"He hasn't said much, but he's constantly flying. I don't think I've seen him stop for more than a few seconds since we set out. I think he's keeping watch or patrolling or something. I mean, it's not like me or Fluttershy are going to be hurt by a breeze. What about you? Has Live Wire been giving you trouble?"

Twilight put her left hoof to her chin in thought,
"Now that you mention it, I haven't heard him say much all day."

"Maybe you hurt his feelings. You did call him brain-damaged." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

Twilight adopted an embarrassed expression,
"I was hoping nopony heard me this morning."

"It's kind of hard not to hear, the Library has great acoustics for a tree." Dash said.

Twilight quirked an eyebrow,
"No offense Rainbow Dash, but I didn't think you even knew that word."

Dash waved a hoof in the air in front of her,
"Come on Twilight, there's not much I don't know; especially if it has to do with anything involving the air. Sound travels in the air and the tree bounces it off, kind of like a rubber ball."

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth to keep from chuckling,
"Sound waves do travel in the air and they do reverberate off of solid objects, but sound itself is just vibrations that our ears translate into a recognizable format for our brains to process. You've got the right concept though."

Rainbow Dash shrugged and ascended back into the sky, singing something about 'good vibrations'. Twilight heard a rustle in the bushes behind her and turned to see Rarity trotting back out onto the path they were following. The white unicorn had excused herself for a 'nature call' and Twilight had volunteered to stay on the path facing the correct direction so she wouldn't get lost when she came back.

The two picked up the pace so they could catch up to the rest of the group,
"I must admit, Twilight, it's positively ghastly trying to relieve one's self in the woods like a common animal. I have never wished for a bidet more in my life, and my hooves are positively filthy. How long did you say we would be traveling like this?" Rarity asked.

"At least twenty-two more days. You'll just have to get used to it, Rarity." Twilight said.

Rarity hung her head,
"Oh dear, I may have gone in over my head with this trip." turning to Twilight she said, "Oh Twilight, how will I ever survive out here in this wilderness? I've seen bugs; actual insects, Twilight! What do I do if they attack me? I'm no fighting mare, what if the repellent I packed isn't enough?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at her dramatic friend and spoke over her shoulder,
"I don't know," she said sarcastically, "Step on them? You're twenty times bigger than any bug, Rarity. What are they going to do to you?" Twilight stopped and turned back to Rarity, who had also stopped, "Rarity it's not such a big deal. Didn't you have spiders back in your boutique?"

Raising her right fore hoof shakily, Rarity pointed behind Twilight,
"None THAT big!"

Twilight got that oh so familiar feeling of a huge presence behind her and turned around slowly. Behind her stood a monstrous spider, nearly six paces tall. It was pitch black and covered in thousands of long, stiff, creepy hairs. Its chelicerae dripped venom, each nearly half the size of a unicorn's horn. The creature rubbed its front legs together, dislodging dozens of hairs and began to stalk toward the two terrified mares.

Rarity shrieked in an ear piercing volume and turned to flee, but stopped as she heard somepony bellow,
"Blood and vinegar!"

Trooper appeared from the tree tops and collided with the spider with reckless abandon. The two toppled and rolled for several paces in a writhing tangle of limbs and hooves. Trooper dislodged himself and sped off to the spider's left as it leaned down to bite. Its fangs encountered only soil. The spider had an almost surprised look on its face as it met dirt. Trooper appeared from the left and bucked with both hind legs. The spider's head snapped to the right and Trooper was gone again in a flash. The spider shook its head as if to clear its senses and looked to its left. It should have looked behind. With a loud thump, Trooper bucked upwards from below its backside, sending its face into the dirt once more. The spider rose and began to turn only to have its body enveloped by a lavender glow. The arachnid flailed wildly as Twilight levitated it up against its will.

The powerful unicorn brought its hideous face up to her own; her eyes were narrowed angrily,
"Go away." she said simply.

The spider made a whimpering noise, then was violently thrown up through the forest canopy, disappearing into the distance. Twilight let the glow of her horn subside and turned back to Rarity. Rarity, for her part was simply standing behind Twilight with an unbelieving look plastered on her face.

Twilight smirked and trotted back to her friend proudly,
"You also have magic. If something is particularly large, it tends to be slower too. It's like a trade: size and strength for mobility and agility. Come on Rarity . . . " she stopped as Trooper limped back to the two mares.

"Spiders also have hairs. Rather nasty hairs that work like porcupine quills and break off easily so they stay in your skin. Ouch." Trooper said quietly.

Twilight looked at the pegasus with pity. He had the needle like hairs sticking out of nearly every inch of his body save for his eyes and mouth, everything else was punctured. As Trooper limped, he left behind small spots of blood on the leaves wherever he stepped. He was obviously in a great deal of pain. The sound of rustling leaves brought the three ponies to attention. Twilight took a ready stance with Rarity behind her, while Trooper stood in front of them bracing himself, his head held low. He shook from the pain but he was determined to keep the mares safe.

Lemon Lime appeared, jumping from the foliage and landing in a crouch. The little yellow therapist looked around swiftly, eyes sharp for any signs of danger. Seeing nothing, he looked to the other ponies. His eyes fell on Trooper and the state the pegasus was in.

His face immediately fell,
"What happened?" he asked curtly

"We were attacked by a huge spider. Trooper distracted it and I flung it off over the forest." Twilight said, unsure as to why Lemon Lime was acting so aggressive suddenly.

Lemon Lime walked up to Trooper and examined the hairs, then widened his stance and said,
"Hold still."

The yellow unicorn's horn began glowing and Twilight analyzed the spell out of habit. The components were of Controlling and Flesh. With an uneasy feeling, Twilight realized, 'He's going to try to pull the hairs out. We should let Dr. Mend tend to Trooper.' Twilight's horn erupted in its own glow as she countered Lemon Lime's magic, blocking him. The short unicorn stallion shifted his gaze to Twilight and narrowed his eyes.

Maintaining his concentration, Lemon Lime spoke to Twilight,
"These things are hurting him. They need to come out."

"No, we need to wait for Dr. Mend. Trooper needs real medical help." Twilight didn't like how Lemon Lime's expression shifted.

"I’ve got this, Twilight Sparkle. Stop blocking me or I'll break your block." Lemon Lime said, "I've got plenty of reserves and stamina from practice. Let me handle this. We might need Dr. Mend's help later on for something more serious."

Twilight wasn't about to back down,
"I said let Dr. Mend handle this. We've got plenty of supplies for later and . . . "

"You're not the one who’s in pain, Twilight!" Lemon Lime spat, "I've seen ponies in pain before, and Trooper is dealing with a lot of it right now. Let. Me. Do. This."

Twilight didn't release her magic block,
"Listen to me! You might hurt him even more!"

"Let me try just one, then decide. I'm not clumsy when it comes to magic." Lemon Lime said sharply.

"No! It could get infected!" Twilight said growing angry, "Would you just listen to me! I'm trying to help him!"

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" Rarity cried, "Twilight, let him try one and see what happens! Live Wire, she's only trying to look out for him! If it doesn't work, then let it be. If it does work then only do one at a time. Please."

Both unicorns looked ashamed and let their magic fade. Rarity was right, arguing wasn't helping Trooper.

Twilight spoke first,
"Just work on one, alright?"

"Fine, then let me concentrate." Lemon Lime responded tersely.

The yellow therapist focused his magic, his horn lit up dimly. One hair on Trooper's face became enveloped by a yellow glow and began slowly sliding out of the pegasus skin. The pain was excruciating but Trooper didn't dare move. The hair was about an inch inside Trooper's skin. It slid out, and Lemon Lime levitated it over to his face to examine it, 'Let's see. No poison or venom, just a lot of barbs and a sharp tip. I'll have to be careful. The molecular structure looks like it would break off easily. From the angle of the barbs, it looks like it's made to work its way in deeper as the victim moves. We need to keep Trooper still to keep the hairs from going deeper.'

"Twilight, can you immobilize Trooper? The hairs have barbs to inch their way in when he moves. We have to keep him still." Lemon Lime said levitating the hair off the path and dropping it into the surrounding bushes.

Twilight did not look pleased,
"I still don't think this is a good idea." she said sourly.

Her horn lit up as she concentrated. Trooper became stiff as a board. Lemon Lime began pulling hairs out of the tormented pegasus carefully. He struggled to maintain his concentration as the bushes behind him rustled. Big Macintosh, Applejack, Sea Blue, Pinkie Pie, and Dr. Mend burst through the shrubbery behind him. Rarity immediately shushed them and gestured toward Lemon Lime and Twilight. The gathering became quiet as the two unicorns worked. Rarity noticed Trooper was starting to turn blue, even more blue than normal, especially in the lips.

"Um Twilight, darling, Trooper does need to breathe." Rarity said, "Twilight? Twilight! Twilight, Trooper is suffocating! Let him go!"

Twilight blinked and let her horn's glow go out. Trooper gasped for air, panting heavily. Twilight re-engaged her horn and simply held Trooper still, not immobile, just still. Lemon Lime continued working on removing the hairs from Trooper. Dr. Mend set down his saddle-bags and began removing different objects with which to see to the injured pegasus. Lemon Lime continued working steadily. Hair after hair emerged from Trooper's body leaving behind a small hole, each of which oozed blood slowly. Dr. Mend laid a clean sheet of thick fabric on the ground and placed a series of prepared bandages out on it, ready for when Lemon Lime finished with his friend. Trooper held his eyes clenched tightly closed, the pain was nearly unbearable. He felt a mixture of agony as each hair pulled at his flesh, and relief that they were being removed. He began sweating; the physical trauma was getting to him.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy descended through the forest canopy a few minutes later and landed quietly, seemingly somewhat aware of the need for silence. Rarity walked over and filled them in on what had occurred. Fluttershy looked stricken while Rainbow Dash looked pensive.

Dash leaned over to Rarity,
"Twilight asked us to see if we could find a good place to camp tonight. We've got a big field to the," Dash looked up at the setting sun, "South-West and it’s got a river running right through the middle of it. I'll take everypony there and we'll set up camp for the night and leave Fluttershy here since she knows the way. If we get done soon enough, I'll come back for you guys."

Rarity nodded,
"Ask around and see who's willing to go set up, but please darling be quiet about it. Live Wire needs to concentrate."

Rainbow Dash quietly trotted over to the rest of the group and spread the word, while Rarity spoke to Fluttershy. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Big Macintosh, Sea Blue, and Rainbow Dash left a few short minutes later to go set up camp, while everypony else stayed. Time seemed to fade out of existence for Lemon Lime as he continued to work. Twilight had a much easier time of it since she only had to keep Trooper from moving while the hairs were extracted. Fluttershy and Dr. Mend kept watch quietly.

Finally after three solid hours, Lemon Lime extinguished the glow from his horn,
"That's as many as I can get," he said relaxing his stance, "There's a few more, but they broke off inside his body. Dr. Mend, you'll have to get them out. I'm not steady enough right now to take care of the kind of fine movements it would require."

Dr. Mend stepped up to Trooper and began inspecting the hundreds of oozing holes,
"Where are they?"

Lemon Lime illuminated each one with his magic,
"I can keep them lit up if you can get them out. Careful, they break off really easily."

Dr. Mend reached his head back and fished around inside his saddle-bags for a moment, then came out with a long, thin-pointed pair of tweezers held between his teeth. Once again, Trooper was subjected to torturous pain as the cold tweezers slipped into his skin, and in some cases muscle, to pull out sharp, thin hairs which felt as though they were spreading fire throughout his body. The barbs on every hair pulled and scraped his tender, agitated flesh as they were removed. The process had to be done slowly to ensure no more hairs broke off. Trooper couldn't sweat any more; he had dehydrated himself already from perspiring so much. His mouth was dry and his body hurt like nothing else, but he kept still, willing his muscles to stay relaxed so they wouldn't pinch against the barbs as they slid out.

After more than twenty minutes, Dr. Mend finished removing the final hair. He dropped it off to his side and slid the pile away from himself, off into the shrubbery. Twilight let the glow of her horn go and relaxed. Trooper wordlessly limped over to the blanket Dr. Mend had set out and flopped down on it moaning piteously. The sky had gone completely dark by this time, so Lemon Lime lit up his horn for illumination and walked over to Trooper.

The little yellow unicorn stallion examined Trooper carefully while Dr. Mend began cleaning his wounds,
"Problem." Lemon Lime said simply.

Twilight and Fluttershy trotted over to see what he had discovered. Looking down at Trooper, the issue was obvious. There were dozens of broken off hairs sticking out of the bottoms of his hooves, 'He got those from bucking the spider.' Twilight realized, 'That's how he knew they broke off. I can't imagine how much it must have hurt standing on them for hours.'

"Twilight, can you keep a light going while I take care of these?" Lemon Lime asked, "Dr. Mend is busy."

"Those are inside his body." Twilight said, exasperated, "I thought you said you couldn't get to them."

"I don't have much of a choice right now. It's dark and getting colder. Trooper has lost a fair bit of blood and he is dehydrated and exhausted. Dr. Mend is patching him up so somepony has to do this." Lemon Lime turned to the purple unicorn, "Do you think you can do it? I can keep up a light for you."

Twilight squared her shoulders,
"I'll try."

"Fluttershy, you have to hold him down while Twilight pulls the hairs out." Dr. Mend chimed in, "The bottoms of a pony's hooves are very tender and there are a lot of muscles and tendons. Put your full weight on him and hold him still. I can't give him anything to numb the pain right now so it's going to hurt. Talk to him and try to keep him calm." the older Earth pony stroked a hoof against Trooper's mane, "I'm sorry Trooper, but this is going to hurt a lot. Try to stay as still as you can. The more you move, the longer it will take and the more it will hurt."

Trooper grunted as Fluttershy leaned on him and put her hooves around his face,
"Just hold still now alright?"

Trooper nodded his head and closed his eyes, dreading what was to come. Lemon Lime's horn lit up brightly and Twilight used her magic to latch onto the first hair. Fluttershy heard Trooper's sharp intake of breath and felt his muscles tense. The pegasus stallion whimpered and bit his lower lip, clenching his eyes as tears began seeping down from them. Fluttershy leaned over and began whispering soothingly to him trying to hold him still.

Nearly ten minutes of pure, fiery agony later, Twilight pulled the final hair from Trooper and let the glow of her horn fade. Trooper relaxed and let out a shuddering breath. Fluttershy stayed put while Dr. Mend saw to his hooves. The older medical pony wrapped Trooper's hooves in thick bandages then set to work on turning him over and cleaning the other side, the side that had congealed with the blanket. Trooper didn't move an inch, he just lay there breathing. Dr. Mend leaned over and pulled back one of the stallion's eyelids. Trooper had passed out.

Twilight spoke up, whispering quietly to the older, black stallion,
"Will he be able to walk to the camp?"

Dr. Mend shook his head,
"I don't want to wake him. How far away is it?"

Twilight turned to Fluttershy,
"Fluttershy, how far away is the camp site you and Rainbow Dash found?"

"Um, about nine-hundred flaps." Fluttershy said timidly.

"So roughly two-thousand, seven-hundred paces. That's a long way." Twilight said.

"Too long. He needs to stay off his hooves until they've had time to heal. He should be able to fly well enough, but his injuries will heal quickly. They're numerous but small. I'd say if we use some of Valiant's healing potion, we're looking at a day and a half." Dr. Mend said then turned to Fluttershy, "Would you please administer a dose of the healing potion to Trooper please, Fluttershy? I have some in my saddle-bags."

While Fluttershy saw to Trooper, Twilight continued talking,
"Well then how are we going to get him to the camp? Maybe I could levitate him up to Rainbow Dash and she could carry him."

Dr. Mend nodded,
"That sounds good but what about tomorrow? Are we going to keep moving or wait here for a day?" he asked openly.

"I'll carry him." Lemon Lime volunteered.

"You're already loaded down with food, how can you carry him?" Twilight asked.

"I'll levitate him. I've held up the weight of a pony for hours before and I can do it again." Lemon Lime looked like he wanted to say more, but with a force of will, he clamped his teeth shut.

"I'm not sure anypony could do what you're talking about, Lemon Lime . . . " Twilight was cut off by the yellow unicorn.

"Much less me." he finished bluntly, "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it."

Twilight's ears flattened back against her head,
"No, I was going to say that even if it were possible, the unicorn who did it would be exhausted by night fall. You might even be suffering from 'Caster's Stroke' by that time."

"I know my limits, Twilight Sparkle." Lemon Lime said tersely, "I'm not as brain-damaged as you might think."

"I didn't mean that!" Twilight defended.

"Yet you said it." Lemon said slowly.

"And why are you talking so weird? You've been talking weird all day." Twilight asked.

"I'm trying to be less annoying for you." he clarified crossly, "Less words, less annoyance. This conversation is over."

"You can't just end a conversation whenever you feel like it!" Twilight yelled.

"I'm stopping before I say something I don't mean. Some ponies have that kind of restraint." Lemon said.

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Twilight asked.

"You haven't said it once yet, actually." Lemon said quietly.

Twilight blinked several times, then spoke calmly, from her heart,
"Well then, I'm sorry. I apologize for saying all those things. I honestly didn't mean what I said. I never meant to hurt your feelings. I don't think you're brain-damaged or anything like that."

Lemon Lime stood still, absorbing Twilight's words,
"I forgive you, Twilight," he said slowly, "But you really do need to have faith in me. If I say I can do something, that means I'm sure I can. If I say I'll try, that means I'm not certain. It's a thing I picked up while attending The University." he stepped up to Twilight, "I'm sorry too. I'm not trying to be annoying all the time, but it's really hard to speak at a normal rate when my mind is constantly processing and calculating. I guess I'm just trying to impress you. You're powerful and smart. You're Princess Celestia's personal student, that means something. I'm just trying to get you to treat me like an equal." he hung his head, "I'm sorry for pestering you."

Twilight lowered her head so she could look the yellow stallion in the eyes,
"But we are equals, just in different ways. Tossing that giant spider was easy. I didn't have to worry about keeping it particularly safe. Pulling the hairs out of Trooper's hooves was nearly impossible compared to tossing the spider. It took a lot of care and finesse not to break them. You had no trouble with them at all." Twilight smiled, "I'm still not so sure you could have broken through my block though. I've been told it's like trying to peg down a cloud in a wind storm."

Twilight blushed as Lemon Lime nuzzled her once,
"Let's just call it even, alright?" he said.

The purple unicorn stepped back and cleared her throat,
"Don't get too friendly there. I respect you enough, but don't push your luck."

Lemon Lime had to hide a pleased smile,
"Deal." he said out loud, but as Twilight turned away from him, he whispered, "For now."

Rainbow Dash landed abruptly on the pathway from above,
"Hey, are you guys going to come to camp or what?"

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Valiant munched on wild onion and rhubarb soup, thinking about how sour it was. He shifted his weight to get closer to the fire. The night was a cool one and getting progressively colder. His fight with the Lupus had been replaying through his mind the entire day. In retrospect he decided it had been a necessary evil and self preservation besides. The fact that he killed something still hung heavily in his mind but he was starting to come to terms with it. The Lupus was effectively dying in the first place, 'I suppose it could be considered an act of mercy. From what I know about rabies, the creature's mind and whatever personality it had were essentially gone, like it was already dead, just going through very prolonged death-throws.' he thought.

Feeling better about his deed, Valiant finished off the rest of the soup and set his bowl down. He ran through the day's events and made a small mental checklist, 'Woke up, exercised, ate breakfast, broke camp, and walked. Then in the evening, I set up camp, refilled my canteens, started dinner, exercised, and ate dinner. I guess its bedtime now, right after I clean out the pot and bowl.'

The pegasus stallion took the pot and bowl to the nearby stream and rinsed them out thoroughly. He set the pair down on the stream bank and lowered his head to take a drink. As his nose neared the gently rippling water, he smelled a scent which startled him, 'Huh?' he thought. He inched his nose closer to the stream and sniffed again, more carefully. The scent was unmistakable, 'That's the smell of pony. I'm still days from New Yoke. What's another pony doing out here?' Valiant looked upstream and saw the flicker of a campfire off a distance through the trees. He gauged the distance to be maybe three-hundred paces and decided to follow the stream and perhaps say 'hi' to the other pony, 'I haven't spoken with another pony in a while.' he thought

Valiant followed up the stream, creeping quietly so as not to disturb the other pony if they were sleeping. He counted the paces and much to his surprise, the distance was not three-hundred paces, but a mere two-hundred and thirty-three instead. He kept his eyes peeled as he crossed the stream in a leap, landing on the opposite side of the bank, where the other camp was.

The camp looked rather like his own. One lone tent stood seven paces back from a merry campfire that had a cook pot suspended over it. The pot was steaming, but Valiant saw no sign of the inhabitant, 'It's dangerous to leave a pot over a fire if you're not watching it.'

Valiant's thoughts were interrupted as a brash voice echoed over to him from the far side of the campfire, close to the tree line,
"Yo stallion, what's up? I wasn't expecting to see another pony way out here. What gives Earth-bro? You out camping too? Dumb question huh?"

Valiant searched the edge of the forest for any sign of the other pony, who was obviously a stallion,
"Where are you? I can't see you." he called.

The other stallion's laugh sounded like a bark,
"Dude, I'm up here! The trees bro, the trees!"

Valiant adjusted his gaze and spotted the other stallion. He was suspended from a tree branch that had to be no less than twenty paces from the ground. He was hanging from a quartet of hooks that were linked to a shoulder and flank harness. From the distance and with poor lighting, Valiant couldn't make out the other pony's coloration or cutie-mark. As the surprised wingless pegasus watched, the other stallion swung himself from one branch to another, using the hooks to hold on. He swung, flipping from branch to branch, lowering himself slowly and finally landed on the ground in a proud pose.

"Ha, ha!" he laughed, "Bet you've never seen anything like that before have you bro?" he approached Valiant, "My name is Dare Devil!" he spouted in a fake accent, bowing deeply.

Valiant was about to speak when the other stallion spoke up again,
"If you believe that one, I'll tell you another! Sorry, my actual name is Surf & Turf." he said smiling, "I was totally not expecting to run into another pony out here though dude. Are you an extreme sports enthusiast too?"

"Uh, no sorry. I'm Valiant. I saw your fire from downstream and, well, I haven't had any other pony to talk to for a while." he admitted sheepishly.

"It's all cool bro. Conversation withdrawal sucks. I was getting wicked lonely out here too. I'm heading back to New Yoke first thing tomorrow. The wilderness is nice and all but, there's less dangers in the city and a lot more ponies. No offense bro, but when I first spotted you way on the other side of the stream, I was totally hoping you were a hot filly or something. I so miss all the pretty girls at the beach."

Surf & Turf was finally close enough to the fire for Valiant to make out his appearance. The royal blue pegasus stallion wondered how he EVER missed Surf & Turf. He was an Earth pony with all neon colors. His coat was bright neon orange and his mane and tail were bright neon green with bright neon pink highlights that looked natural. Everything about him was BRIGHT. His cutie-mark was of a hang glider crossing paths with a quartet of roller blades and a climbing rope suspended in the center between the two with a cliff-side as the background. It took Valiant a moment to make out Surf & Turf's eye color. His eyes were white with only the very center being black, giving him the look of a pony who was perpetually fascinated or amazed. By contrast, his eyelids seemed to be stuck only half open making him look sleepy at the same time.

"New Yoke?" Valiant asked, "I'm headed that way too. I won't be staying long though; I'm just going to buy a few things from there. As soon as I'm done, I'm heading to my hometown, Haysburg."

“Haysburg!" Surf & Turf exclaimed, "Dude that's awesome! You must have traveled for, like months to get way out here! That's some serious extreme camping right there! I've always wanted to go to Haysburg! I heard there’s some wickedly hot Earth fillies there! Aw dude, I am so down with that! Oh dude! I want to see some Griffons, and hike some swamps, and check out some of the ruins, and oh SO totally check out some fillies! This is going to be just righteous!"

Valiant had to hide a smile,
"Well, it's not all smiles and pretty girls you know. Haysburg gets a ton of tornados and the Griffons aren't always friendly."

"Dude, like I care?" Surf & Turf said, "It's an adventure! I'm psyching myself up for it! I mean, dude, it's not like New Yoke is my home or anything. I'm just hanging there till something else catches my interest." the boisterous stallion's tone shifted to a serious one, "See the thing is dude, I don't have a home. I've been looking around all over the place for somewhere to settle down and everything, but not many places have what I need. New Yoke is nice, but there’s no mountains or anything. I need to live somewhere that I can climb mountains, go camping, go rafting, hang glide, and all that stuff. So far no place has what I need. I've been to Stalliongrad. It's got the mountains, and forests, but it's way too cold and the winds are all crazy and stuff."

Valiant shrugged,
"You can come with me; I'm not going to stop you. I'm just giving you a warning. I would be glad of the company though."

Surf & Turf perked right up,
"Dude, it's settled then! We hike our flaks back to New Yoke, then make our way to Haysburg! I know the fastest path to New Yoke! We can make it in just three days!"

Valiant's jaw dropped,
"Three days?" he asked, "I thought I was more than a week away, closer to two weeks."

"Naw bro," Surf & Turf said waving a hoof, "Just three days. I set up this wicked series of zip lines on the way here. See you would normally have to hike valleys and gorges to get to New Yoke, but with the zip lines, dude, it takes days off the trip. You aren't afraid of heights are you? Some Earth ponies are."

"I'm a pegasus actually."Valiant said smoothly.

Surf & Turf looked at Valiant's back for a moment before the truth hit him,
"Aw dude," he said sympathetically, "I am SO sorry! That sucks Ursa toes! I TOTALLY understand if you don't want to talk about it!"

"That's alright, don't worry about it. To answer your question, no I'm not afraid of heights." Valiant said.

"Alright then dude. Do you want to meet up here at my camp or should I come to you?" Surf asked.

"I'll come to you in the morning, if that's alright." Valiant offered.

"It's all good bro. Whatever works. I got to get some shut eye if we're going to do this tomorrow though. Not trying to be rude or anything dude, but I'm sure you do too." Surf said.

"Good idea. I'll see you tomorrow morning the Surf & Turf." Valiant said turning to leave.

"Dude, just call me Surf -or- Turf. There's no need for both." the other stallion said pulling the pot off the fire.

"Well then, good night Surf." Valiant called over his shoulder.

He headed back to his camp and snuggled down into his blanket. The night had just warmed up a bit.

******************************************************************************

Rainbow Dash called to the camp below,
"Hey, I need somepony to set out a blanket for Trooper. Dr. Mend says I can't put him on the bare ground."

Sea Blue dashed into his tent and brought out a thin white sheet then proceeded to throw it out, spreading it out on the ground,
"Put him down here."

Rainbow Dash set Trooper down on the ground gently. Pinkie Pie and Sea Blue sat on their haunches on either side of the wounded pegasus to keep his warm. He was much cooler than he should have been and the night's temperature had been continuously dropping since nightfall.

Every pony had been busy. Big Mac had unloaded the tents while Rarity organized in Twilight's stead. The white unicorn had asked Sea Blue to help her set up the tents while Big Macintosh and Applejack went looking for something to eat and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash refilled everypony's canteens. They had all accomplished their tasks without much quarreling and soon the campsite had a fire dancing happily inside a ring of stones with a large cook pot on top of a metal grill. The two farm ponies had found a patch of carrots and potatoes for dinner, a lucky find. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity set to peeling the vegetables while Rainbow Dash flew the cook pot over to the stream, not river like she had claimed, and filled it with water to boil out. She had left shortly thereafter to find the others. By the time she returned, there was a delicious smell of cooking vegetables coming from the pot, which was boiling animatedly.

Dr. Mend, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Lemon Lime trotted into camp several minutes after Dash set Trooper down. Twilight was pleasantly surprised to see that the camp was arranged almost exactly as she would have done. The four tents were set with their backs facing the four cardinal directions, like a compass, with the fire in the middle, and yet still a safe distance away from each tent. Each pony's saddle-bags were set up on one side of each tent and covered with a tarp.

Twilight broke away from the others and trotted up the fire,
"Who organized this? It's fantastic!" she gushed.

"Yours truly!" Rarity chimed musically, raising her right hoof into the air.

"Ah was afraid A'd have to get her to ignore the small stuff and deal with what's important again, but she did plum well for herself. Ah got to say Ah'm impressed with ya Rarity." Applejack praised.

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at the compliment,
"But of course, darling. Did you expect anything else? I can learn my lessons just as much as any other pony can. Why, by the time this little outing is over I'm quite sure I'll be a regular old Damsel Boon.” she said haughtily.

The gathered ponies all rolled their eyes, but decided not to say anything. In his unconscious state, Trooper suddenly yelled,
"Look out for the spider!"

Rarity screeched and leapt into Big Macintosh's hooves trembling,
"Spider! Where?! Oh save me Big Mac!"

"Ain't no spider Rarity. Just Trooper talkin' in his sleep." Big Macintosh said with a bored expression.

The gathered ponies all burst into fits of laughter.

Dr. Mend, being arguably the most pragmatic pony present voiced a concern,
"For tonight, I think it would be best for everypony to sleep in a tent. Trooper needs to be kept warm. Somepony will have to sleep on either side of him, use your body heat. Pegasi have the highest body temperature because of their metabolism. Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy keep him warm tonight. Lay facing him. The underside of your body is the warmest, especially the inside of the legs where the blood-vessels flow close to the surface of the skin. Reach over him and press your legs over him, both front and back, also try to keep your bellies pressed to him. There's a lot of warmth there too. If anypony gets cold, snuggle up to your tent-mates to conserve heat. We'll probably have to do this more and more as winter progresses. Remember to be mature, we're all adults here. It's nothing personal or private, so don't go groping or doing anything immature."

Twilight nodded in agreement,
"Let's discuss sleeping arrangements."

Pinkie Pie bounced up and down waving her left hoof,
"Ooh pick me, pick me!"

"Sure Pinkie," Twilight acknowledged, "Go ahead."

"I think we should all sleep as close to our 'co-Elements'," she somehow managed to use her hooves to air quote, "As we can. Obviously we can't all do that, there isn't enough room, so let's divide up. Every tent, other than the 'pegasi tent'," she air quoted again, "Should have two matched Elements in it. Let's put Dr. Mendie, Applejack and me in one, Rarity, Sea Blue, and Big Macintosh in another then Twilight and Live Wire in the third."

Twilight face instantly heated up in flames at the thought of sleeping in a tent with only Lemon Lime,
"That's an odd arrangement Pinkie Pie. Don't you think a different arrangement would work better?"

Pinkie Pie just shook her head smiling,
"Nope! See, this way if any tent is attacked by some monster," Pinkie held up her hooves in what she assumed was an imposing fashion to illustrate the point, "Or something, there's a fighting pony already there, who can protect the others. Rainbow Dash for the first tent, since Trooper's out of it, Applejack is really strong, so is Big Macintosh, and you and Live Wire wield enough power to toss around just about anything that comes your way. It's perfect!"

Twilight HATED to admit it, but Pinkie Pie had a point. The chance of a creature of some sort was not particularly likely, but she didn't want to take the chance, especially in the Everfree Forrest.

Twilight conceded to Pinkie's suggestion,
"Very well. Is the arrangement acceptable to everypony?" she asked hoping for some point of contention.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash bellowed, "I'm not comfortable sleeping so close to a stallion. What if he gets that morning thing that stallions get in the morning?"

"I can sleep in front of him if that makes you feel better." Fluttershy said quietly, "Remember it's nothing personal."

Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her forehead,
"Fluttershy, how much more personal can you get than that?"

"Oh just deal with it Dashie." Pinkie chirped merrily, "It's no big deal. Gee whiz, I never thought I'd see the day when I was more mature than you." she giggled.

"Oh fine." Rainbow Dash huffed, crossing her fore-hooves.

"Now then," Lemon Lime said, "Let's eat. I'm starving."

******************************************************************************

Back in Ponyville, Patch and Sweetie Belle snuggled down next to each other, already good friends. Each needed the other, having had to part with their parental figures. Cheerilee was a wonderful sitter and teacher, but there was no true substitute for family, so the two fillies made do with each other.

"Good night Sweetie Belle. Good night Patch. Remember you have school in the morning. I'll come wake you up for breakfast. Sleep well." Cheerilee said closing the door most of the way, but leaving a crack so the hallway light could filter in without becoming overbearing.

Patch turned to Sweetie Belle,
"What's school here like?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged,
"It's okay, I guess. The best part is having Applebloom and Scootaloo around. Just watch out for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They're mean to every new pony. If they act like they want to be your friends, don't believe it. Trust me, if they're nice to you, they have something planned, and I guarantee it'll be something mean. All the other colts and fillies are nice though. You'll like it. Come on, Patch. Let's get some sleep."

Patch pulled the warm blanket up to her chin, whispering,
"Good night Daddy. I miss you."

Next to her, Sweetie Belle clenched her eyes shut and sniffled quietly,
"Good night big sis. I miss you too."

******************************************************************************

Out at Sweet Apple Acres, Caramel collapsed onto Big Macintosh's bed, asleep almost instantly. He and Zecora had just finished insulating the cow's bedding. Both were weary to the bone. Zecora settled down on Applejack's bed, still uneasy about the notion, 'Do not ever sleep in another's bed, it is an insult to them unless they are dead.' she thought remembering what her mother had taught her. Equestrian pony traditions were very different than that of her own people, but Applejack had seemed insulted that she had suggested NOT sleeping in the Earth pony's own bed. Zecora put the issue out of her mind and settled down to try to get some sleep.

The door to the bedroom cracked open, revealing the small frame of a young Earth pony filly,
"I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you tonight Zecora?" Applebloom asked.

Zecora smiled,
"Of course you can Applebloom, in this bed there is too much room."

As Applebloom crawled into bed with the zebra, Zecora smirked knowingly,
"Was it really a scary nightmare my little friend? Or was it perhaps an excuse, something that's just pretend?"

Applebloom snuggled up against Zecora,
"I miss Applejack and Big Macintosh." she whispered.

"It is completely natural to miss one's family young filly. If you did not, I would think your head is quite silly. I too miss my family often, but time allows the hurt to soften. For now, this is simply what must be, you will be reunited with them soon, you'll see."

Applebloom yawned hugely,
"Thanks Zecora. You're a good friend."

"Remember little Applebloom, you and your family are all sleeping under the same moon." Zecora said softly, "Just I am with my own, although they are all back home."

The pony and zebra fell asleep, both missing their families, but both united by the absence as well.

The night passed, growing colder and colder, heralding the quick approach of winter. Ponies all over Equestria slept peacefully throughout the land. All watched over by the ever-present orb in the night sky, and a certain dark blue alicorn princess, who loved them all, standing as a silent sentinel against various dangers beyond comprehension. She knew she could not hold back the storm forever, but for now she did her best. When the time came, it would all be up to them.

"Rest now, my little ponies. The coming storm will test you beyond anything before. Your ancestors will be proud once all is said and done. Sleep is a precious gift. In time you will long for it as you do the very breath in your lungs. A great many lives rest on your decisions. We have faith in you, prove us right." he voice dropped to a whisper, "I pray, by all that is Equestria, prove us right."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was a tough chapter to write. Many thanks to all my readers for bearing with me. I'll try to update more often from now on. I sincerely hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. As always, all comments are most welcome. A special thanks goes out to Earthroot for having enough faith to trust people he never met. I truly hope they don't let you down, my friend. One last special thanks goes out to my lovely wife: Thank you for putting up with me! I love you more and more every day. :)

Author's Note:

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was a tough chapter to write. Many thanks to all my readers for bearing with me. I'll try to update more often from now on. I sincerely hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. As always, all comments are most welcome. A special thanks goes out to Earthroot for having enough faith to trust people he never met. I truly hope they don't let you down, my friend. One last special thanks goes out to my lovely wife: Thank you for putting up with me! I love you more and more every day. :)