//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Unforseen // Story: A Grand Journey // by willow_whistle //------------------------------// Somewhere, far-and-away from Ponyville, two very odd young mares sat in the library of a large, and very old, stone spire, studying. The first of whom rifled through volume after volume, as ravenous as an emaciated wolf. She was a unicorn, dark lavender of coat, and white of mane and tail, with bold golden and red streaks through her hair, and a similarly colored starburst on each flank, and seemed truly mortified by the lack of information on what she pursued. The other of the two, a buttercream yellow pegasus with a pastel pink mane and tail, and with violet and magenta streaks contrasting with her partner's, similarly colored as her cutie mark: a swallowtail butterfly with a bumblebee on either side-- that, and she was strikingly, almost painfully beautiful, and not made any less so by the growing sorrow and worry on her face. "Um, Twinkle...?" The pegasus spoke up first, nervously shifting her forelegs in front of her. Her voice was light and soft, but with a slight strain that made it clear she was forcing it to be that way. The unicorn stopped and immediately disappeared in a flash of yellow light, and reappeared just as quickly at her friends side, her horn slightly aglow with residual magic. "What's wrong, Flitter Flutter?" She began in a panic, "Is it too quiet in here? Do you need water-- or some tea? I can make tea--" Twinkle cut herself off, and her face twisted into an expression of terror. "Are you shifting again already?" The already pale Flitter Flutter paled further at this, and struggled not to cry at the suggestion. "N-no!! I promise I'll tell you if I am, Twilight." Twilight Twinkle regained some composure, if she could ever be said to possess such a thing, and wrapped her forelegs around her friend in a hug. Flutter flinched at first, but returned it right away. Twilight spoke, "I just worry, is all... Sorry for kinda freaking out on you." "It's alright, I know it's only because you care..." Nopony had ever made Flitter Flutter feel as safe and comfortable as Twilight Twinkle, and she wasn't sure if it was in spite or because of her neuroses. She could relate to Twinkle on a level she hadn't been able to with any other creature, even the insects with whom she could communicate. “I promise, we’ll figure this out. You’re gonna be okay. I swear.” Twilight looked into her eyes, and Flitter Flutter wished she wouldn’t have thought about kissing her, wished she could just stop acting so predatory-- at least, that’s how she saw it. She felt her heart lurch as she caught sight of the bandage wrapped around Twilight Twinkle's barrel. If she couldn't stop herself from becoming that monster again, then she didn't think she could live with herself. She'd rather die than hurt this pony again. This pony who took care of her even though she was just a freak who talked to bugs like they were other ponies, and who couldn't stop herself from becoming that horrid, stallionish thing again, she might just have to-- Flitter Flutter began to sob. “I think we may be walking in circles, Mints.” Pinky Pie levitated the map the breezies had drawn for them in front of her, trying to compare any significant landmarks on it to what they were seeing in front of them. “I feel like we’ve been at this for ages, and I’m really quite sure we’ve passed by that tree at least three times now.” “Pinky, I’m tired.” Minty said, for what felt to the three like it must have been the hundredth time. “Will ye quit sayin’ that?” Zipzee butted-in, “remindin’ yerself if it cannae make it any better!” “Maybe we should break camp for the night?” Pinky said, pointing a hoof towards the sky, pink and orange with summertime sunset. “Give Sky and Star a call?” “WHAT? But if we get back to Breezy Blossom, ye can jus’ sleep there!” Zipzee squeaked out. “But, Zipzee, we’ve been walking-- or, in your case, flying-- for hours,” Minty whined, donkeyish ears drooped down, “We should stop, and at least use the crystal ball.” Minty took off her yoke, and performed an incredibly prolonged stretch, with accompanying groans, to which Zipzee responded by theatrically rolling her eyes. All the while, Pinky Pie was shifting around the contents of the wagon briefly, and pulled out the ball with her telekinesis. Minty grabbed its special stand from the wagon, and set it down in a flat spot on the grass, while Pinky lowered the ball into it. The ball shone with white light briefly, before showing them a view of Skywishes’ hospital room. The pink pony in the bed’s baggy eyes lit up, and a smile overtook her face. “Minty, Pinky! Hi! How are you?” She asked, with evident mirth. “Pretty alright, but we think we’re lost. How are you?” Pinky replied. “Where’s Starcatcher?” Minty added. “I’m doing alright! Oh, and Star is--” “What’s this bloody thing?” Zipzee came into frame and spat. “Zipzee, that’s Skywishes! Be nice.” Minty admonished. Skywishes gasps, “woah, a talking moth?” “That’s Zipzee, she’s a breezy!” Pinky stated with mirth. “Breezies are real? Wow, so maybe we-- er, uh, you-- really can find the Queen!” Skywishes chirps. “Well, here’s the funny thing…” Minty then explained to Skywishes what Bloomery told her earlier in the day. “Oh my stars,” Skywishes replied, with a somewhat blank, unfocused look. “I-I, uhh…” All of them were very evidently uncomfortable. Even Zipzee, who had no direct connection to any of these ponies, couldn’t help but empathize with Skywishes. It would be very difficult to accept ascension to godhood when you had so many mortal friends and loved ones, especially being married, as Skywishes was. “Well, try to bear in mind that myths are different all over the place!” Minty reassured her, “the version I knew growing up just said you’d have to ‘defeat’ her, or whatever, and who knows which of these is even right?” Skywishes nodded slightly, but still looked pretty lost-in-thought over the news. “I… think I’m gonna head to bed, it’s pretty late. Thanks so much for giving me a call.” She offered a small smile, barely concealing her concern. “Of course! We love you, Sky. Rest well” Pinky says, as she stops channeling into the ball. Minty and Pinky share a sigh, and a hug. “I wish we could’ve done more…” Minty whimpered. “It’s okay, honey, it’s okay…” Pinky cooed at her, and stroked her mane soothingly. “Bleck! Can ye two contain yourselves? Yer gon’ta make me vomit.” Zipzee spurted out. Minty gave her puppy-dog eyes, and Pinky gave her a glare, but all three of them were immediately distracted by some rustling in the nearby bushes. Minty clung to Pinky for protection, and popped her back by accident due to her earth pony strength. Zipzee zoomed behind the other two, unsure of what might pop out of those bushes. Nopony had time to do anything but chirp weakly before, quite anticlimactically, two more breezies flew out of the brush, one had a magenta coat with a purple mane (quite a bit like Skywishes, as a matter of fact), and the other had a light pink coat with a hot pink mane. “Zipzee!?” The lighter pink one piped. “We’ve been looking for you all day!” The other added. Both of these breezies noticeably lacked the accent that Zipzee had. Zipzee flew up from behind the two much larger ponies, and peeped excitedly, hugging the other two breezies. “Tiddlywinks, Tralala! Oh, thank you so much for coming for me!” She said, excitedly, but now also without her accent, and displaying an unexpected level of affection; at least when compared to how she treated Pinky and Minty. Breezies sure were odd creatures… “You know each other?” Minty asked sheepishly, but with evident relief, as she peeked out from the cover of Pinky Pie’s mane. “Of course we do, they’re my girlfriends!” Zipzee stated proudly, did a loop-de-loop in the air, and giggled. “Did you make new friends, Zip?” Tralala, the paler of the two, asked, as she nuzzled Zipzee affectionately. “I did, I did! Oh, let’s take them back to Breezy Blossom!” Minty and Pinky stared on, in a combination of relief and awe, as the three breezies mingled and hugged and did everything that Zipzee had complained about them doing for the past… however many hours it had been. They were both too dumbfounded to do more than listen, as they were led by their tiny guides through a suddenly very evident clearing, full of hoof-sized flowers, and head-sized mushrooms, many of which emitted a soft glow. In spite of the late hour, there were still many breezies zipping through the air, which Minty flinched at the first few times. They really were just like tiny pegasi with butterfly wings, and, stars above, were nothing like what anypony could expect.