The two of them headed across the soft grass of the plain. Occasionally they'd head into one of the little wooded glades. Most of the trees were just Live Oaks, however every other glade seemed to have a couple of apple trees. It was in one such glove that the two of them stopped for lunch.
"Hey Escutcheon, do you think that we could slow down a bit?" Dusk rubbed her eyes.
"Are you tired already?" Escutcheon joked taking another bite from his apple. "It's only noon."
"It's not that it's the sunlight is so bright it's really starting to hurt my eyes. And it's so freaking hot how can you ponies deal with it." She scrunched up her face and kept rubbing her eyes.
"Oh, your not used to the heat of the day." Escutcheon pulled grabbed Dusk's canteen and helped her get a couple of swigs from it, before fastening it back to her saddle bags. "Dusk take off your close." She did so. "Okay now lay down Escutcheon took the curtain body wrap thing and started climbing up one of the trees. "This would be so much easier with my magic." He tied it to the trunk of the tree and headed over to one of the others and did the same. Tying each of the for corners to one a different tree, creating a roof over the two of them, casting them both into a dark shadow. "Okay is that better?" He trotted back over to Dusk and lay down beside her.
"A little bit." She opened up her eyes. They were slightly bloodshot. "Crud, this sucks." She started rubbing her eyes again. "We'll never get to the colony at this pace." She lay down on the grass.
"It's fine." Escutcheon yawned, and closed his eyes. "Once the sunsets we can get a couple of more hours of traveling done." He yawned again before pulling out his blanket curling up under it. "That's fair right?"
"Yeah, thanks." Dusk got under the blanket with him. In a couple of minutes she was asleep. Escutcheon lay awake next to her. It was a only a few hours in the after noon and no matter how hard he told himself he should get some sleep. His mind refused to get quite.
"Hey wake up sleepy head." Escutcheon groaned and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Come on Escutcheon, wakey, wakey." Dusk grinned down at him. "Wake up, or I'll have to wake you up your choice." She smiled devilishly as he rolled over mumbling something. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." In one fluid motion she pulled Escutcheon's blanket off of him, and blew a raspberry on his stomach.
"Stop it!" Escutcheon laughed.
"Not until you're awake." Dusk smiled as she blew an other raspberry on the colt.
"I'm awake, I'm awake! Stop it please." Dusk smiled victoriously as Escutcheon rolled over and pointed an accusatory hoof at her. "That was mean, don't ever do that again!"
"Don't ignore me when I tell you to wake up, and I won't have to resort to it." Dusk laughed as she folded up his blanket and passed it back to him. "Now come on lets get going." As soon as Escutcheon fastened his saddle bags to his sides the world around him was enveloped in a soft ambient blue light.
The two of them pushed their way into the night. The only lights were the light of the waning moon and the strange sapphire. The wind was whipped across the trees and grass. Escutcheon stayed close to Dusk's side. "Hey Dusk why aren't you wearing your weird curtain thing."
"My tarp yeah no I don't need to, this weather is perfect." She opened her wings and sighed as the wind wrapped around her and pooled into her wings. Escutcheon smiled at how alive she looked.
"Do you mind if I borrow your tarp this weather is nothing like what I'm used too." He shivered. She nodded and pulled the tarp out of her bag. "Thank you." He opened it up and tried to figure out how to turn it into close like she had. "Uhm." She giggled as he tried to get it on.
"Here silly let me help you." She grabbed the tarp and helped wrap it around his body and legs until he was dressed. "It's a little tough, it took me years to figure out how to do it."
"Thanks."
"Sure." She blushed as she watched the wind blowing through his golden mane. She shook her head. "Come on now lets get going."
"Right." The two of them pushed on, doing their best to stay along the tree line in an attempt to stay out of the strong gusts of wind for to long. The moon had reached it's zenith and Escutcheon was beginning to fall behind. His legs started to feel like lead, and his eyelids refused to stay open for him. "Dusk can we stop for the night?"
"Sure I guess it's only fair. You stopped for me at noon I'll stop for you at midnight. Come on now." She helped guide him into the wooded glade. He started to fall asleep as soon as she lay him down on the soft dew covered grass. He didn't even feel her pull out their blankets and wrap the two of them in the two blankets.
"Good night." Sleep causing his voice to grow soft.
"Good night." She snuggled up to him the two of them warming each other. They soon drifted into sleep.