"I want to try." Those few words escaped Weiss' lips easily. If there was a way back home, a way back to her team, Weiss was going to take it. No offense to any of the ponies she had met, they were pretty nice from what little she knew of them, but this wasn't Weiss' home. Her family, her team wasn't here, Ruby wasn't here. Weiss didn't belong here.
"We would love to help you!" Twilight said, her voice a bit hesitant. Weiss narrowed her eyes as the smallest of the three alicorns spoke. "But the magic mirror in my castle can only open every thirty moons, and even then we don't know for sure if it'll lead to your world."
"It's worth a shot." Weiss sighed. Even if she didn't want to admit it, that was still a big possibility. She would do anything to find a way back home. Well, almost anything.
"We shall help you, Weiss Schnee." Luna declared. She stood up from her seat, using her magical aura to levitate a napkin to her mouth, wiping away the crumbs of her hayburger. "And you can remain here for as long as you wish, as my personal guest."
Princess Luna was a very generous pony, Weiss hadn't even known her a full day.
"Sunset Shimmer was the last pony to come from the mirror, about twenty-six moons ago." Twilight Sparkle continued speaking. "Which means we have about four more moons before the portal opens."
Weiss had no idea what any of that meant, but she took this moment to finish the last of her third perfectly cooked salmon. She was still a bit hungry, but Weiss didn't want to take advantage of the Princess' generosity, at least without a way to pay them back.
"We call our month's moons here." Twilight said at the end of her rant. Her cute lizard had fallen asleep by this point, snoring in his own seat.
"So I'm going to be stuck here for four months." Weiss' face felt tight, and her hands felt heavy. "Is there a way to make the portal open faster?"
"There is, but that would require a magical connection between our world and your world." Twilight spoke honestly. "Like a pair of enchanted journals, but then again, we have no idea if the human world the portal leads to is your world. And time does move differently between our worlds."
That meant that Weiss was most likely stuck here, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try, with or without these ponies' help, if they decided not to help her.
"We shall do our best to return you to your home." Luna interrupted Princess Twilight before she could start another rant. "I know what it's like, longing to return home, to return your loved ones." She said that last part sadly, despite the smile on her face.
"Thank you." Weiss said quietly. Her mind was racing, hundreds if not thousands of thoughts rushed through her brain. While she hoped for the best, the huntress in her also had to prepare for the worst. But above all else, Weiss was going to survive.
Schnee's were survivors after all.
"We have asked more than enough questions for today." Princess Luna said out loud, carefully stretching her wings as Twilight finished the last page of her tenth journal. Spike was long gone, having left the room after his second nap to annoy the baker in the kitchen. "Weiss needs her rest, she must have a lot to think about."
"Of course, Princess Luna." Twilight said sheepishly. She turned her attention back to the sole human in the room, her intelligent eyes scanning the map Princess Luna had brought in. "It was nice meeting you Weiss Schnee! Though I wish it could have been under better circumstances."
Weiss looked up from the map. "Same here, your highness. Thank you for your time and answering my questions." Her defensive tone was long gone by this point, replaced by the politeness and manners that Twilight often saw in Canterlot's upper class. It made sense, given Weiss' position as the former heiress to the Schnee Dust Company back in her world.
Twilight smiled in return. She wished she could've asked more, there was so much she had to learn! But she also didn't want to annoy Princess Luna too much.
"I shall return with your sword and Dust." Princess Luna gave Weiss a warm smile. "Until we announce your arrival, I must implore you to stay in this wing of the palace, ponies get frightened easily."
"Of course." Weiss nodded, her long, loose mane framing her sharp face like a picture. "Thank you."
Gathering her belongings, the lavender alicorn followed the Princess of the Night out the room, closing the door behind her with her magical aura.
"We must do our best to return our guest to her home, Young Sparkle." Princess Luna paused in the middle of the hallway. She gave Twilight a smile. "I know that you can do it."
"I hope so." Twilight beamed. She was going to need help of course. Her friends back in Ponyville, in all honesty, wouldn't be able to do much to help, aside from keeping Weiss company. But there was somepony she could ask for help, beside the two princesses. A certain somepony who was exploring Zebrica.
It was time to use her magic journal!
Sunset Shimmer, despite what her name may have implied, did not like the heat, Zebrica's heat more specifically. The heat in Equestria was bearable, enjoyable even on a nice day. Celestia's sun bore down on Zebrica harshly, as if she was punishing Sunset for the mistakes she made long ago. She deserved it.
"Hold!" Sunset barked loudly. The soldiers under her command paused as she clopped past their ranks. Calling them soldiers was a bit of a stretch, most of them were former farmers, both young and old trying their hand at becoming mercenaries, or freedom fighters in many of their cases. Tobuck was full of warlords that had deep pockets, and that often meant crimes that not even Princess Celestia could forgive.
With her field cap protecting her eyes from the sun's glare, and her uniform shielding Sunset's body from the harsh desert wind, Princess Celestia's former pupil had found her place, using the skills she had learned back at Equestria's now defunct military academy, supporting the followers of harmony where they were oppressed. Heh, if only Blueblood could see her now.
Sunset stopped in front of a young zebra, inspecting her uniform. Her new job paid well, and it helped to distract Sunset from what happened in the human world. The zebra's uniform was covered in mud, despite there being no rain for several weeks.
"Why is your uniform dirty?" Sunset asked, hardening her eyes. Presentation was just as important as abilities.
"I uh-" The mare stuttered under Sunset's glare. "I forgot."
Sunset was going to have to speak to her sergeant later about keeping his squad in line.
"I want you and your squad to run ten laps around the training camp." Sunset sighed as she turned around. "And you better hope that I don't forget how many you've done, otherwise you're going to have to do them all over again."
"Y-Yes Captain!" She saluted and ran off, her squad members groaning as they followed her.
"The rest of you are dismissed." Sunset shouted, twisting her neck to stare at the rest of the company. A pony standing close to her flinched. "We're moving out tomorrow, so have the rest of the day to yourselves."
A few creatures cheered, and they all went their own way after saluting their commander. Sunset decided to stay behind, keeping an eye on the troublemaker. Her left ear twitched at the sound of somepony walking up to her.
"I would've had them whipped." A thick Stalliongrad accent easily identified the mare without having to look at her blue-green fur and dark blue mane. Alesia Snezhnaya was the closest thing to a friend that Sunset had.
"Good thing I'm not you." Sunset scoffed under the shade of her tent. Her fellow Equestrian was a bit rough around the edges, hating Princess Celestia with a passion that rivaled her hatred of communist, but she was decent company, especially on cold nights. How ironic..
Alesia shrugged and sat next to the fiery colored pony. "I'm not going to tell you how to run your company, but I will say that they better impress Pea Shooter if we're going to get the contract."
"Don't worry." Sunset smirked as she turned her attention back to the running squad. "They'll handle it."
The best way to take down a tyrant was from the inside.
"Hm, if you say so." Alesia grumbled as she scooted closer. The older mare's battalion did the most of their actual fighting, while Sunset's company was mostly used as makeshift engineers, thanks to her expertise.
"I do say so." Sunset grinned as the squad slowed down, finishing their last lap. "Ten more laps! I lost count."
She missed Equestria.