"You're doing what now?" I and the others had managed to gather supplies and better thermal gear for the week-long hike we were about to rewalk, and boy, was I happy about that. All the snow and ice and cold and snow and ice. What I hadn't expected was the fact Sombra was waiting for us at the barrier's gate. The gate had been reinforced by half a dozen golems, which was a reasonable precaution. But that wasn't the significant bit. No, that was the fact that the oh-so-great King of the north had, in fact, stated without request he would be joining us.
Now I knew he was invested in besting Nightmare Moon and was a ride-or-die sort, but him leaving his kingdom for an extended tour of Equestria was not the first plan I'd deem as sane or sound. Yet, here he was all the same.
"I can not leave this task to chance. I will be accompanying you from here on. You will need every advantage you can to survive what follows."
"He makes a good point," Spade said.
He did, in fact, make a good point, but it still didn't mean it made sense. "But the empire," I gesture behind me.
"I have advisors and generals for such tasks. If my empire would fall in a week of my absence, then it brought such a fate down on itself."
"Also a good point," Blueblood said from behind his maps.
"Star."
"Yes, Sabre?"
"As much as I detest it, Sombra's assistance and magic could be integral in defeating Nightmare Moon. For the time being, we are at an impasse, and any and all assets we can use to break down the wall that stands before us is an asset worth consideration."
"Your toy soldier speaks the truth."
Sombra seemed to take great pride in the scowl Sabre managed in retaliation. These two were gonna be the death of me. The question is, after, who would be the death of those remaining. I gave up. It was clear I was outvoted here. Sombra was a cold, calculating ruler and an apt magician. This may be what my dreams were leading us to. Not a solution but a necessary ally.
We knew more than we did before making our way into the snow, the cold, ice, and snow. We even had Cadence nice and situated, which I count as a worthwhile use of our time. That left us with the matter of where were we headed. We were clearly headed back to Equestria, probably Canterlot and eventually Everfree, but to what ends?"
"I take it you have a destination in mind?" Blue asked.
"After we return to Canterlot and I've had the chance to search its withered husk?" Sombra asked.
"Yes?" I answered.
"Then yes, I, in fact, do."
"Do tell, I need all the notes I can get before the mojo mo-goes somewhere else."
Bright Pitch had a pencil in his hoof as he stared down our resident dark horse. Sombra attempted to match Bright's look with one of his own. The issue was that Bright had the remarkable ability to cease the need for blinking when it came to his passions. It made my eyes water just watching him. When Sombra lost this stare, it was always a matter of when not if. He returned to looking anywhere and everywhere else.
"The only natural place left to look. The Everfree Palace. If it is as Blueblood and Chrysalis have recounted. The forest grounds will be the most obvious place to search for our trump card. A means to our ultimate ends."
"Right into the belly of the beast," I said with a sigh. I had to wonder, was it just me, was I the only sane pony left. Or, was I the only insane one, so mad, in fact, I'd come back to being very, very sane? One can only ponder and pray he is both wrong and right.
"I wonder, would Luna know anything of the Elements' whereabouts?" Sabre asked.
"If she and Nightmare Moon share a mind, then maybe," Thorax said with a meek smile.
"Well, we'll find out the next time I manage to find her in the eternal darkness that is the dreamscape.
"Agreed, thus will be your objective each and every time we rest for the night."
Oh great, two minutes in, and Sombra was already disregarding my authority. The authority In was happy imagining I had. Stupid King and his absurd candid intensity. But it couldn't be helped. Someone had to do it, and of course, that pony had to be me.
Thus we were off. It was surreal seeing the remains of the battle held only days gone. The bodies were fresh and horrific due to the cold, another reason to hate it and everything about it. The shattered stoned, and broken corpses painted a scene I'd have happily lived without. Bright and I were the only ones, however, to seem put off by the battlefield. It was at that moment I realized just about everyone present had seen their fair share of death. I felt queasy just thinking about it. The scent was swallowed by the winds, which was one mercy. Bright had taken to the skies where there were no dead people. I considered joining him, but after my sky drop the other day, I didn't want to push my luck.
"You okay, Star?" Thorax had slowed down to match my pace. He offered a smile, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Define okay?"
"Star."
Thorax rested a hoof on my shoulder. I shook my head and let his hoof drop away.
"No, seriously. Everything, everything we've done, it is all insane. I mean, yeah it was my idea, but was it, though?" I asked.
"I don't follow."
Thorax wouldn't, I suppose. He'd been in the mud far longer than I had. It left me feeling numb. The shadows played across my vision, and I made no attempt to stop them.
"These dreams, me waking up with no past, all the ponies I've met, just the right ponies for a hail mary. All of this feels like it's been set up from day one. I feel like I haven't had a single decision that wasn't preordained by powers I don't even understand."
"And that's a bad thing?"
I blinked, and Thorax continued.
"You woke up with no past true, but look what you did with your future. You've made friends and found others who care about you. You've decided to fight for everyone. You might have been guided, maybe even set up. I don't know. I do know that no matter what, I set all this in motion. It led to me meeting you and Bright, Blue, Sabre, Spade, and even Sombra. A meeting I wouldn't give up for the world. I was in a really dark place before I met all of you. I was sad, scared, and out of my depth. I had the Hive and My Queen, but even so. I felt so alone after my brother died."
"Thorax."
I pulled the bug into a hug. It was like watching a three-legged puppy. It was bordering on impossible not to hug it.
Thorax let the hug linger for a moment before pulling free. "But ever since I met all of you. I've felt so much less lonely. I don't want to go back to the way I was. I can't. I have friends who need me, and so do you."
Thorax jabbed me in the chest. "So don't worry about the questions you can't answer. Focus on what you do know. Okay?"
I was left subdued. I didn't have an answer, So I let Thorax push me forward and hustle us to catch up with the others. As much as I'd like to stop asking questions, I couldn't. I may not be who I was before waking up in the Everfree. I may not even want to return from where I came from, but I deserved answers. I deserved to be complete. In the meantime, however, Thorax had a point. I would wait to find those answers once the immediate impossible task I'd set out on first was settled. I wouldn't risk Thorax or any of my other friends' lives for my own selfish gain. They deserved better than that.
What followed was the brilliant all, consuming numbness of bitter cold and a need to move forward. We were days out from Canterlot with a headstart who knew what Nightmare would do. It was almost more chilling than the tundra before me. She had us, maybe not in a literal sense, but we were stuck playing detective while she played Gestapo. I hope once we finally settled, Luna would or could reenter my dreams.
The unsettling truth was that it could easily be a ploy, a feeling my gut said was wrong, but my brain had other thoughts on the matter. If Luna did know or had some idea where these Elements were, then all the better for it. If not, well, hide and seek was always fun.
The others seemed as lost in thought as I was. Bright had landed once we'd passed the last of the dead. The winds and sheer were apparently quite the discomfort for fliers. I'm all the more glad I didn't join him. I'd have died from hypothermia or worse.
The dead aside, I wondered if the combined forces of the rebellion and the Crystal Empire stood a chance if it came to an all-out war. With Cadence subdued, it would be a matter of besting just Nightmare. Her forces were rallied by fear and zealotry. If they knew we'd already beaten one alicorn, how many might join the cause? Even if we did fight and did win, I can't imagine anything but a total bloodbath. Then there was the whole move the moon bit. If we defeated and killed Nightmare or imprisoned her, whichever. We'd be no closer to bringing back the day. Though, that would be a matter of time and not one of potential alicorn mauling.
The hours that passed were a monotonous affair. Though when we did stop, a sense of skin-tingling excitement hung in the back of my mind. The looks I got from Sombra and Sabre added to the giddy panic that plagued my every step. The chance to reach out to Luna could make all of this worth it.
"So, dream spelunking then?" Blue asked.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. The unicorn had managed to slide up beside me without my notice. His smile was unmistakable that it was no accident, the stupid jerk.
"If we're lucky. Now that Luna has made herself known, we'd be daft not to at least ask her for help."
I offered a deep sigh. Blueblood seemed none the plussed by any of it. He'd already beat an alicorn, so it was not like he had anything to prove at this point. It was nice, though, in some way. Blueblood had really come around since a few months back. He was irritable, anti-social, and dripping with self-hate. I doubt many would even recognize the stallion next to me.
His smile was genuine, not the type one might politely wield in public. He was teasing me instead of stuffing his face in one of his maps. He gave with little interest in taking. I elbowed the stallion and shrugged.
"Right, well, Mr. Hermit, not all of us can seal away our crazy alicorn cousin in a magical jewel heart, now can we?"
"No, I suppose we can't. But should you ever need assistance in such a field, I believe I have thoroughly proven my expertise, yes?"
"Oh right, because it was you that laid the trap and nearly blew up half the kingdom. Oh, wait, no, that was me," Spade said from his place, pitching the tent. He didn't even look our way. He simply hammered the nail in and smirked when Blueblood scoffed.
"He has a point," I said.
"Fine, WE proved our expertise," Blueblood put a hoof on my shoulder. "That said, you're not alone. If Luna does have a lead, we'll pillage the coffers of Luna's evil half and leave her blind and dumb. You have my word. You can rely on us as we rely on you."
"Everyone is just so wholesome today, huh?" I asked.
"You realize we all heard your conversation with Thorax, yes? The winds carry much in the cold and dark. With that in mind, I can speak for the rest when I say, Thorax is right. No matter where you came from or how you're here now and that is what counts. You've given more than you think since your arrival. So, rest assured, I'm all too happy to give back."
I roll my eyes. "So, is everyone gonna line up to assure me. Because I'm going, to be honest, I don't think my sanity could take it."
Blueblood punched my side. "As I said, all too happy to give back. Especially when you go about being a snide little foal."
"Love you too, Blue."
"Tents are ready," Sabre shouted.
"Thank the stars."
I trotted off, leaving Blueblood to turn his nose up. The more he changes, the more he stays the same. I appreciated that all my friends were willing to put up with this quest of ours, but still, there was something more to it. Like Polaris, we have a direction but no destination.
The creeping suspicion and paranoia could only be driven off for so long. The shadows danced like the embers of the bonfire Sabre had started. I shivered, and for once today, it wasn't from the cold. Our meal was simple and quiet. Sombra seemed especially unnerved. I was surprised he wasn't demanding royal treatment or something. He'd walked without complaint, assisted with procuring wood for the fire, and ate without comment. He seemed almost lost in his head. As if he weren't here at all. The only proof this wasn't some life-like golem was the look he gave me as the meal ended. A look wrought with a weight no one being should have to carry. A weight he and I shared.
"Good night, everyone. Let's hope my dreams prove helpful."
I said before leaving to slumber. This might be the first time since my arrival in the Everfree, where I wanted to dream. The first time the void would be welcomed. One of these days, I'd find out why these dreams plagued me. Though that would have to join the evergrowing mountain of questions that needed to be answered. Tonight, I would dream of Luna.