As the sun rose over the small tavern and rest stop that Starswirl and Mistmane called their temporary home, the pair awoke as the light began to roll into the rooms they were using. Starswirl was the first to get onto his hooves, and he glanced over at Mistmane.
"Do you have the message that Flash Magnus sent?" he asked.
Mistmane, still only running at about half speed, stood up as best she could. "Yes. Here you go." Her horn lit up, and she navigated through the menus and screens to get to the message.
It then began to play. Flash Magnus was there on the screen, still injured and smeared in blood. "To all units receiving this transmission," he said, "I am in need of support. Somnambula and I were... able to survive her wrath, but now we're trapped. If you can't find us, you have to stop him and ensure he never finds the device, or he'll become unstoppable. I have no idea how long I have left. We were so close to finding the-"
Abruptly, the message cut off, and the seal of the Cloudsdale Empire appeared again. "This is most strange," said Starswirl. "Firstly, who is she, and then what is this device?"
"More importantly, where are Flash Magnus and Somnambula?" asked Mistmane. "If they're in trouble, we need to find them as soon as we can!"
"Agreed," Starswirl said. "The lives of our fellow Pillars are ultimately more important than garnering knowledge for the sake of knowledge. We must move out, and fast. I can see the storm is clearing, but for how long I don't know." And with such a declaration, the pair moved out of the room, gathering up various items into bags and storage objects, with Mistmane putting her flower into a bag for safety reasons, and Starswirl keeping his spellbook on hand. Or hoof, rather, given he didn't have hands in any way, shape, or form.
The duo, upon leaving the resting place, headed to the southeast. After trotting for a while, they took a sharp left, followed by a right. Starswirl was rather surprised that there were no vehicles out on the road (as it turned out they were called), but that made their job easier. Whilst trotting through a mountain pass, they encountered a sign that stated something hard to understand. Starswirl had an easier time understanding the odd language, but even then he stumbled over some words, such as 'Canada'. After several twists and turns, the pair stopped at a wild, desolate place next to a river for a short rest.
Once refreshed, they then resumed their journey, taking several rest stops along the way as they zigzagged back and forth across the border between one land and another. "I wonder what strange wonders we will find in this land called 'Canaada'," Starswirl said. "Mountains made of pure crystal, rocks so tall they scrape the skies, and rivers of pure gold!"
"I haven't seen anything like that," Mistmane replied. "All I've seen is buildings and endless snow around here. Not that I'm complaining, but it makes navigation that bit more difficult."
"Indeed," Starswirl said. "Speaking of which, how do you know where you're going?"
"Instinct," Mistmane told him. "Instinct and something else. I'm not really sure."
After crossing several rivers, the duo paused once again for a while to get strength back up, before continuing on their way and crossing several more rivers in the process. A large metal contraption passed under the bridge and made a horrible noise as it sailed off down the water. Maybe this was what this world's boats looked like? Such giant metal machines would never have been possible in Equestria, after all.
They took several rights through a town, keeping to a logical road layout, before crossing over another bridge and into another place. "Are we entering another country?" Starswirl asked. "The sign is taking us a place called 'Alberta'. How many countries are there here?"
Mistmane looked behind her. "And that one says... Bri... tish Columbia? Why are words around here so hard to pronounce?"
At long last, they were over the bridge, and after turning straight and left in another town, ascended a ramp and continued along a large road, several lanes wide. This time, they were forced to stay in the hard shoulder as vehicles whizzed up and down, none of them seeming to take any real notice of two anthropomorphic horses wandering along the side of the road anyways.
After they crossed another river, paused, and then crossed yet another river (why were there so many rivers here anyway?), they took some more turns and passed over another of those strange metal strips, where yet another set of iron monsters roared by, with many strange things attached to them that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. They then twisted and turned through the streets of a small town, which Starswirl saw on a sign as being called 'Edmonton', weaving back and forth through tight, constrained alleyways and confusing streets, until they arrived finally at a large building.
"Is this our stop for tonight?" asked Starswirl. "The night is upon us, and we have been walking for many hours."
"Yes, this is our stop," Mistmane replied. "Time to take a break, I think..."
Mistmane and Starswirl crowded around a table in the tavern below, both enjoying a good drink after a long day out on the road. Both of them poured over their notes once more.
"I have been talking to some of the ponies in the area," Starswirl explained, "and they tell me that we have the geography of this area all wrong. It turns out that we are in fact passing through one big country called Canada, which has several different states within it, rather like how Equestria has Cloudsdale, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire. We passed through two such bits today; British Columbia and Alberta."
"Interesting, we learn more about this place with every passing day," Mistmane replied, as she levitated a menu in front of her face. "Hmm. They have Chineighse here. I think I'll have that."
"I can sense you miss home," Starswirl said sagely. "I think I'll have a bean stew, my old favorite. I always looked forward to that after a long day in my tower, creating spells."
After they'd placed their order, the band suddenly struck up with a series of Avalonian hits suitable for dance. "It is rather difficult to keep still with such lively music!" Starswirl admitted.
Mistmane placed her menu down. "Come on then! It's been so long since we last took to the floor together."
"Not since the School of Magic's winter ball," Starswirl admitted, as they left their chairs and took to the floor.
Even amongst their mirth, they had no clue that an old foe was nearby. A lorry pulled up outside the hotel, and several figures got out. Each of them wore heavy body armor, and one adjusted his goggles and gas mask as another vehicle arrived. This, too, stopped.
"Scan complete," said the first. "Targets confirmed. "Mistmane and Starswirl."
"Await clearance to advance," said a female voice over the radio. "We'll jump them when they try to leave, or failing that, manipulate their heroic nature. Project 722 must succeed."