//------------------------------//
// Guidance 
// Story: Survivor Shy 
// by Mattatatta 
//------------------------------//

The morning sky cracked open above my head and an endless void split the seam wide open, engulfing the dawn-tinted atmosphere with an endless collage of grey. My head refused to turn to look; my eyes ignored the destruction raining down from the heavens. I commanded my wings to dive. I didn’t change direction. I was no longer in control of my own body.
 
The world swiftly collapsed and fell into a void, and I watched it through eyes that I couldn’t move anymore. It’s surrounding me! I screamed inside my head, watching the expanse of grey fill my view. I need to get out of here! Again I tried to take control of my wings, and tried to force my body into a dive – or even stop flapping entirely. Nothing worked. I was trapped inside my own body! I tried to open my mouth to scream, but it never went further than being a thought.

The void swallowed my unwary body whole, and moments later I felt my restraints break free. Gravity abruptly set in and unceremoniously dumped me on the floor in a heap. My muscles shook themselves awake, and in an instant I scrambled upright and whirled around, darting my horrified gaze from side to side. I was trapped inside the grey! Inside the void!
 
"Fluttershy!" a voiced bellowed.
 
I shrieked at the sound, springing upward in a flurry of frightened wing-beats and loose feathers. I twirled around in the air, searching for the owner of the voice.
 
"Fluttershy," she said, this time much softer, and with a very familiar warmth following it. "I saw what happened, it's okay - you're back in the trance." The gentle heat embraced me, pushing the recent horror from my mind. I lowered myself down onto my hooves again.

"Do... Do you remember, Fluttershy?” the voice asked, “That we're in your mind, trying to recover your memories?"

The thoughts clicked in succession, reminding me that what I had seen up until the void opened had happened a long time ago. But why did the void appear at the end? What happened to the sky and the rest of Equestria? Why couldn’t I do anything to save myself? If it was only a memory, why did it feel like I was living through it the first time? My legs were unscathed and clean, and my mane was back to its original length. I didn’t just cut my mane – I believed I had only cut it a few days ago. And up until now my leg was sore underneath a bundle of bandages. I ran a hoof up and down where the cut had been, but it met only soft fur and skin. It didn’t make sense. I really did those things! Nopony can imagine pain that realistic, can they? Could a spell really be that surreal?
 
“It must be quite an experience, to not only remember, but experience your memories as if they were being made for the first time." The mare's voice remarked.
 
I snapped out of my thoughts and glanced around in surprise, "H-how did you know...?" I stopped mid-sentence, forming an ‘o’ with my mouth. "I forgot you could read my thoughts."
 
The voice gave short burst of sweet laughter. "Oh no, Fluttershy! I didn't need to hear your thoughts to know that! All memory spells leave subjects a little puzzled at first."
 
I frowned into the nothingness but changed the subject. "What happened? Why did it seem like the world was falling apart after I flew over the Everfree Forest?"
 
The mare took a moment to form her answer. "Simply put, you reached a point in your memory that is still shrouded and unknown. With nothing to support the visions you were having, you either became aware of the projection or it fractured until you could not go on any longer.”
 
My mouth opened to speak, but the mare continued with assurances.
 
“It’s nothing to be concerned about. In your condition it is going to happen often, but do not be afraid, you are always safe inside your memories, dreams, and here.”
 
“Is it… Is it always that scary?” I squeaked.
 
The mare lowered her voice and I looked up to where I thought she was. “It can be, but you are always safe. All you need to do is to remember to stay calm – it will make the transition easier. If you panic, you will clash with how you really acted in the memory, and will put you through a lot of distress.”
 
My gaze drifted down onto the featureless, grey floor I was stood on. My mane drooped in front of my eyes, framing my clean and unharmed forelegs. A memory collapsing should really be the least of my concerns, the memories themselves were troubling. "So if that ever happens again, I should stay calm?" I asked.
 
"Preferably," the voice said. "Although, you may not have a choice sometimes; you can't control where your memories end and pick up again, after all."
 
"Okay..." I murmured. The comforting feeling had dispersed, and my legs quivered at the absence and uneasiness swirling around my stomach. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but it was real. It was natural. Feeling calm in a blurry world that felt cramped yet open at the same time wasn’t normal for me, and maybe not for anypony I knew. Hearing a mare’s voice but not seeing anypony also reminded me of ghost stories I never wanted to hear – but only now did I feel fear. As uncomfortable as it was to be afraid or feel nervous, not feeling like the same pony I had always been creeped me out even more.

It must be the mare doing it, my thoughts suggested. Her voice can calm me down too easily. Doesn’t she trust me to listen without it? Would she be offended if I asked her to stop? I hope she won’t be upset.
 
My left hoof twitched when I remembered that the mare could read my thoughts. I could’ve upset her already. I gulped down a lump in throat and took a deep breath. I should ask her anyway to be polite.

With a gentle flick I waved my mane from my face and lifted my head up. "Excuse me," I spoke out loud. "Are you using some sort of magic to keep me calm? If you are, I would be very grateful if you could stop.”
 
There was no reply from the mare. “I-I don’t like feeling relaxed when I’m not,” I stammered. “I know you mean well, but I… it’s confusing.”
 
The grey abyss was unfazed and stirred at its slow pace – the only thing telling me that time was not standing still. I found a string of courage to keep talking. “Be honest with me, how do I know you?”
 
Colour bubbled lazily through the grey, but there was no sign of the mare. I spoke up, trying to get an answer. "I'm telling you everything I can remember, and whether I want to or not, I'm sharing my deepest, most personal thoughts with you, too.”
 
My eyes searched for a sign that the mare was still out there, and my voice shrank down the more alone I felt. “Are you really somepony I know? C-could you tell me your name, please?"
 
I scanned the space around me and slowly sat down. The colours faded into a thick fog a few shades darker than the usual backdrop. My head drooped forward, and I felt the space around me become occupied by the dark clouds.
 
She’s been silent for too long. I shrank down and curled myself into a ball. I’ve offended her.
 
I looked down to my hooves and the little holes I had made with nervous scuffs and prods. As I spent a fleeting moment wondering what the floor could possibly be made of, the dents filled themselves in under a wave of light grey that lazily retreated away. I pressed my hoof into the floor and dug up another little hole and uncovered a swatch of beige underneath. The wave filled the hole in once more, but did not stop the beige from spreading out. I dug one more hole, but this time I splashed the gray wake when it returned and gasped when it turned into water.
 
My hoof fell onto sodden, clumped sand. And I took in the sensation of sand underneath my hooves and calm water rhythmically rising and ebbing around my ankles. I closed my eyes and wished I was stood on the sandy shore of one the lakes near Ponyville. I wished my friends were there, and that nothing bad was happening. No, everything was fine. Everything was how I wanted it to be.
 
The lake water seeped out of the depths of my imagination, feeding the trees and bushes around the water. The trees waved gently in the breeze, while the sunlight from above draped its warmth over my back.
 
Rainbow Dash floated by on an inner-tube, lifting her sunglasses up and waving to me. Pinkie Pie quietly rose to the surface behind her, wearing a shark fin on her head and a mischievious grin on her face. She also waved, but also pursed her lips together and silently asked to keep the prank a secret. I smiled and nodded, looking down to my ankles bashfully when Rainbow yelped and a big splash disturbed the calm waves.
 
My ear twitched and swiveled, picking up the laughter and conversation of Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack somewhere behind me. I had no desire to move, no need to break away from the cool water and the day dream I was having. Everything was how I wanted it to be.
 
A deep, sad sigh echoed through the trees. I lifted my head and peered over the shimmering water. The trees began to fade into fog, and slowly, the voices and playful cries of my friends vanished too. Finally, the water around my ankles dried up, and I sat down in the middle of abyss again.
 
“Do you remember when that memory took place?” The mare asked.
 
I nodded stiffly with my gaze fixed far ahead. The trees had become a floating blob of green and were floating away. “Y-yes, I do. About… About five days before we were all called to Canterlot.”
 
My head jerked to where the mare’s voice had come from and I staggered onto my hooves. “You didn’t make me remember that, did you?” I asked.
 
“No, Fluttershy,” the mare quickly replied. “It was by your design and yearning. Anything you remember can be projected onto the landscape – not just memories you recover.”
 
I looked out over the vast and endless grey, only moments ago was it something so real I couldn’t have guessed it was just a dream, or a memory for that matter. The thought of escaping into happier times crossed my mind, and it pushed me to make a short list of potential escapes. But when I realised that every memory involved my friends being with me, the allure of running off into a hallucination quickly evaporated.
 
Hiding away in old memories would only substitute how I felt now with how I felt then, which was no different to having my emotions manipulated by the mare and her voice.
 
“You’re right,” the mare sighed, “and I'm sorry, Fluttershy, I really am. I shall stop manipulating your emotions from now on.”
 
My ears perked up. “Why were you doing that?” I said aloud “Don’t you trust me?”
 
“It is very complex, Fluttershy. I was afraid that you would become too frightened for me to keep the spell under control. I needed to help you stay calm long enough to understand that you are safe here, and that this space is as welcoming as you want it to be. I shouldn’t have influenced you like that, though, for the same reason that I cannot tell you who I am.  Outside information and interference in the spell runs the risk of clouding your memory and changing your ability to remember the truth correctly."
 
My head gently nodded at what the mare said. Her position seemed difficult, and I openly wondered if there were times she wanted to break her silence and tell me what she knew. The mare didn’t say anything, and I nodded again in understanding. Thank you for doing this for me, I’m sorry for upsetting you.
 
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Fluttershy,” she said. “It’s a challenge trying to help you without damaging the integrity of the spell.”
 
There was one thing left to ask while we were still talking in this place. The answer was obvious, but I didn’t know the reasons. “What would happen if I woke up? Could I be woken up right now and then be placed under the spell again? Maybe if I saw you, or somepony I knew, or maybe where I am in the present, um, maybe if I was awake for a few moments I could remember more here.”
 
"No. No, that cannot be done." she stated, her voice revealing the firmness of her answer. “It is dangerous to interrupt the spell before everything has taken its course, and I will not let you come out of the trance until we have uncovered your lost memories and cured your amnesia.”
 
"But why not? I mean… Why can't you?"
 
“Fluttershy…” The mare sighed, losing the strength behind her words. “I was the last thing you saw before I put you under this spell, and you forgot who I was minutes later. This spell... It hides your recent memories in order to allow you to uncover your lost ones faster – without any risk of memories being interpreted wrong through what you did remember. In order to help you cure your amnesia this quickly, the spell had to make it worse, first."
 
"So you're saying that–"
 
"...If we end this session and start another one," the voice followed, "your mind will deteriorate, and the amnesia will get worse – perhaps irreparable. If you don't even come close to curing your memory loss before awakening, it may not just be the last three months you’ll struggle to remember if you’re put under another trance, you could forget much older memories, such as when you were a filly, who your friends are – even who your parents are."
 
My throat dried up, and the dull landscape seemed to shrink into a box barely big enough for three ponies. I slowly sat down and curled up into a ball – pulling my tail up to my chest. “Wh-what if I cannot remember enough? What if I take too long?”
 
“Don’t worry your head about it, little one,” the mysterious mare assured. “Just keep doing what you have been doing already, and the rest of your memories shall follow you into the light - and I'll know what I need to know."
 
I was quiet for a minute, letting myself think things over. It made sense, but there was still a prodding feeling in the back of my head. What my memories held was valuable to the mare. But I couldn’t know why without it carrying the risk of affecting how I remember the truth. Chills ran up my spine; the spell was holding my mind to ransom. Did I even agree to this? Or was I forced into the trance, like I was being forced to continue now?
 
It doesn’t matter, my inner-voice chimed. There are ponies counting on you to remember what happened. You’ll wake up when you’re done, it’ll be okay in the end.
 
A sigh of my own drifted into the tasteless air. I knew I had a choice, but there was only one option that I felt brave enough to go through with. It was also the only option I had if I didn't want to risk forgetting more of my life. "I still need to uncover more of my memories, how long can you maintain the spell?"
 
The mare’s voice shifted tone, fitting a warm smile if there was one to see – but this time there was no unnatural warmth dripping from her words. "Thank you for doing this, Fluttershy, I can maintain the spell for as long as necessary. When you’re ready, let your mind free and latch onto the first thing it finds. It doesn’t matter if the memory doesn’t pick up where you last left off, everything will come to you eventually. If sitting still doesn't help you relax, walking might help."
 
My ears perked up at the words 'free' and 'walking'. My hooves pushed me upright as my gaze landed on a distant speck of green. I concentrated on the word 'free'. What was its significance? Where had I heard it from that made it matter?
 
The speck of green grew and grew, painting grassy hills that slowly dipped and rose up towards where I trotted. Soon the endless expanse of malleable ideas and possibilities twisted into a sparse and grassy plain. In the distance lay hills and cliffs with off-white faces and scattered splashes of oranges, pinks, and green from distant forests that seemed to not know if they were in autumn or spring.
 
This isn’t Equestria. The air smells different. What is that smell? Charcoal?

It was a smell like charcoal, barely noticeable among the sweet scent of rainwater and plant life. I gazed at the unkempt and wild beauty of the landscape, and suddenly, the name came to me.

The Free Lands.

A gentle breeze pushed my mane aside, and when my mane fell back in place it was inexplicably shorter. I ran my hoof through my hair, and recoiled slightly when it bumped into my headband. I took a deep breath and counted to ten – I needed to stay calm to make this work.
 
My saddlebags floated down over my flanks and settled in place, their contents filling them in not long after. My canteen sloshed around in one of the bags, the strap hanging out from being packed away in a hurry; and short shimmers of glowing strips twirled around my foreleg and formed into bandages, covering a nearly-healed cut. Finally, a weight wrapped itself around my neck with a click and gently rested on my chest. I glanced down to see my Element of Harmony around my neck, the Element of Kindness.
 
When did I get this? If I have my Element, then that meant my friends had theirs too, right? But where is everypony? Why am I not in Equestria?
 
I lifted the butterfly-shaped stone up to make sure I wasn’t imagining it, and flinched when it flickered brightly and sent thin beams of light in an impossibly specific direction. The necklace was guiding me somewhere, but to where? And where were my friends?
 
My hooves came to a stop, and gingerly I turned to look at what I was walking away from. The vision quickly filled itself in – allowing the memory to complete itself. Dark and bare mountains jutted into the stormy skies overhead, their crooked and reddish-brown teeth biting into a grey, matted fleece of rainclouds. The clouds directly above the range bled orange and red, staining darkening sky with its glow. There were creatures living up there in those mountains – frightening creatures with lots and lots of teeth and roars that could freeze every muscle in my body. Those mountains were a frightening match for them, and it was good thing I was moving away from that place and not going to it.

But where are my friends? The fleeting phrase echoed in my head, vanishing as the last strand of awareness slipped away. Falling, chilly rain caught up to me, taking the last feelings of comfort and optimism I felt with it, and moulded me into the tired husk that I was.
 

 
I wanted to sleep and escape this waking nightmare. After almost two weeks of endless travelling and coming across abandoned towns, split up with meetings from not-so friendly creatures and narrow escapes from them, I was beyond exhausted. The whole time I tried and tried to find hope, convincing myself that rescue was just over the next hill, or that my friends were waiting for me, I knew better. I knew I had nothing.
 
They were gone – everypony was gone.

Now I wandered hundreds of miles outside of Equestria, barely stopping long enough to fade between dream and reality and back again. But with how the world had become, with how every day has presented an awful sight or dangerous creature, I couldn’t stop moving, even after losing… Even after the Event, I couldn’t find it in my heart to give up – I was too afraid to.

I had only one real goal now, and that was to reunite the Elements of Harmony. Maybe if did that there would be a way for me to accept what has happened. Maybe if I did this for my friends it would bring me some peace.

A Dragon roared across the mountains behind me. Normally, I would be startled by the sound, sometimes scared. But now the sound was only worrying enough to bring me out of my sleepless dreams. My eyes slid back into focus and stared off ahead, following the occasional beam of light flickering from my Element. The beam always shone in one direction, toward a place I somehow knew I needed to go. I didn't feel ready to move just yet. Instead, I brought my focus closer to where I was, and slowly examined the rolling hills and tall wild grass around me.

The Free Lands: a place that Dragons now claimed as part of their own territory. I had heard of this place a few times before in my life. Old stories about the Three Pony Tribes often mentioned how their old home became this place – after the Windigos moved on. It was also a setting Rainbow Dash chose for an adventure story she wanted to write. Nopony really knew the truth about The Free Lands, however, because of whom had owned it for over a dozen centuries.

I gazed at the natural, unmarked landscape. Maybe they only use the airspace above it. I pondered, because I can’t see any burnt trees or claw marks here.

Even the disaster that had swept through Equestria, and possibly beyond, had taken no effect here. But without any ponies here in the first place, not since the three Pony Tribes evacuated the land and founded Equestria thousands of years ago, there was nothing for that horrible spell to change. The Free Lands had been abandoned, leaving whatever cities and history to crumble away and meld with the ground, and be overrun by the forests or seized by the Dragons. Equestria surely faced the same fate, now. I didn't want to believe it, but it lingered in my mind all the time, and plagued my nightmares when I’d allow myself to sleep.

Still, this place was remarkably beautiful and peaceful. The rain carried a gentle and steady rhythm, helping to hide the sounds of nocturnal wildlife that I was lucky to notice. The Free Lands had grown to live up to its namesake. Damp, rich soil dirtied my hooves. Shades of green rose and dipped with the gentle hills. The cloud cover, while bleak and grey, had cracks all over it, allowing the dawn to peek through and turn some of the thinner clouds into beacons of golden light. The Free Lands had grown and built itself from the remains of a dead era, it was how nature worked – I of all ponies understood that. But... This couldn't be the future for Equestria. This couldn’t be the end of ponies. There had to still be hope.

I had been spared from that massive spell for a reason, either through fate, or some fatal mistake, I didn’t disappear like my friends did. No matter how little I thought of myself now, a part of me felt obliged to try and not waste the chance I had been given.
 
Flickering beams snapped me from my walking dreams, directing my vision through the rainfall to a distant forest. My Element wanted to show me something, but even so, I had never seen any of the Elements of Harmony act like this. From strange glows to distorted whispers and visions, I wondered if the Elements were the even same ones from before the Event, or if the megaspell had found a way to tarnish them as it swept over Equestria. I couldn’t be sure. And honestly, I didn’t want to think about it.

A loud grumble lumbered over my head, bringing my attention to the thunderclouds rolling in from the east. Cold water peppered my face, and I shut my eyes for a moment to let the rain rinse off my matted mane and fur. The wind moaned and blew through the grass whipping around my legs, and the thunder drowned out the growing voices inside my head.
 
Finally, my eardrums quietly popped as the outside world broke through. All my thoughts fled and sealed themselves away, and were quickly replaced by cool air and every sound and sight to be had. I was awake, frightened, and in pain. It was still better than being trapped inside my head.
 
Another Dragon roared far behind me, jabbing something sharp into my flanks to get me moving again. I staggered forwards through the waving grass. My shoulders creaked and popped in the first awkward steps, and I made longer strides to stretch and warm up the rest of my stiff joints. My wings unfurled and flexed, and I flapped them gently to loosen them. This was no weather for being outside, but the open expanse of the plains left me no choice but to press on, along with the fear of dragons chasing my ankles.

“You have to focus,” I said aloud. “No more thinking about… bad things. Y-you can do this.”

Narrowing my gaze through the wall of rain, I could just about see the edge of a forest. My wings kicked up and lifted my heavy hooves off the ground. I tucked my legs in and leant towards the headwind, pushing my way through the storm on the promise that I could be hidden and dry in just a few more minutes.
 
“All that matters…” my voice panted, “is finding shelter. Don’t think about anything else, Fluttershy. You can do it.”
 
My wings sluggishly beat down with as much strength as that had left, but I was getting closer to trees. I could do it. I could find shelter, I could find food, I could… I could keep trying. Every day was a different day; every day saw things edge closer and closer. As long as I kept moving forward, nothing could catch up to me.
 
The edge of the forest opened up its arms up to me, and through the bitter cold rain I could see the trees waving and beckoning me to huddle among them. For once, in spite of the thunderstorm, I felt safe where I was. I drifted a few dozen feet into the forest until there no room for my outstretched wings, and I clumsily hopped onto the forest floor and slumped down against a tree. I closed my  eyes, awkwardly yawning between grunts and throbbing aches.
 
The Element of Kindness glowed gently, but did not send out another beam of light. There was no doubt that I hadn’t reached what the necklace wanted me to see, but it didn’t want to push me any further. I slid off the treetrunk and curled up on the grass.
 
“I did it.” I murmured, ignoring the warm droplets falling down my face.
 

 
The deafening roar of a beast bellowed above, shaking me from much-needed sleep. I leapt onto my hooves and looked up through the branches of a tree I was under, expecting to see the shape of a furious Dragon in the clear sky. It was much worse than that, there were dozens of Dragons! Flying and circling around, their roars making the trees shake in fear and the ground shudder. I couldn't move. I was frozen in place no matter how much my legs wobbled to set them loose.
 
They were searching for me, weren't they? They were soon going to find me! I had to find somewhere else to hide, before they started to tear the forest apart to catch me. But the sight of so many Dragons at once was paralyzing, and their chorus of throaty cries pushed me further and further down until I was lying flat on the grass, cowering beside a tree trunk.
 
Suddenly, the circling creatures banked and swung around, changing their direction and aligning themselves toward the jagged mountains that were now far away in the horizon. Moments later, many more Dragons appeared and raced across the sky after them, their bodies casting numerous shadows on the ground as they each passed. What was going on? What were they doing?

If my subconscious was screaming in terror, I couldn’t hear it over the roars and my own heart thudding in my eardrums, because I dared myself to take a peek from the top of a tree. Dragons were meant to be sleeping in caves with their treasures, or terrorising ponies and burning towns down to get more loot. What was happening in the sky didn’t match up to either of those. I had to know what it was.

I opened my stiff wings and forced them to lift me into a tree. I clambered up among the leaves and branches until my head cautiously rose out from the canopy. High in the sky were dozens of Dragons of all shapes and sizes. They were flying together, all heading towards where I had come from. Some were spitting flames randomly into the blue sky, while others rolled and dived carelessly among their own kind. Together, they formed a long and twisting chain of countless Dragons that stretched for miles across.
 
So this was what a Dragon migration looked like.
 
An amber-tinted Dragon passed over in a low fly by, narrowly missing the treetops and somehow not catching sight of me. Seconds later, a strong gust of wind chased after it, blowing the trees side-to-side and almost knocking me from my perch. I clung onto the branch I sat on until the swaying stopped.

Okay, that was enough of that.

Moments later, my hooves landed on the soft grass down under the cover of the forest. The line of Dragons would take a while to pass over, so I decided to keep in the shade of the trees, out of sight. Even with shaky legs trying to dive into the nearest bush, and restless ears constantly searching to place every sound’s location, I had to keep going and follow where the Element of Kindness was leading me.

Dragon migrations are supposed to be quite a number of years apart, which was part of the reason why Rainbow Dash and Twilight wanted me to watch the last one. And though I knew what event had motivated the Dragons to congregate so soon, I didn't want to give it even a flicker of attention. Instead I pushed it away, cramming it into a mounting pile of other dangerous thoughts. This was not the time to face any of it, nor would there ever be. I had one thing to do – one thing that I knew I could do right now: follow the path my Element laid out for me. After that, maybe I could find the missing Elements or at least try. Maybe… But Equestria was a long way away now, what if I didn’t feel ready to turn back? What if I didn’t want to go back? I didn't have a home to go back to anymore, and those I used to care for had either disappeared or left me. If I somehow found the Elements and did this one last favour for my friends, all I would have left is Equestria — and that too was fading away.
 
Shivers ran up and down my spine. Dangerous thoughts: got to avoid dangerous thoughts.
 
I looked down at my Element, and followed where its thin beams of light were pointing. It was leading me towards the base of a cliff with a waterfall raining down from it. As I drew nearer to it, the light shifted upward, pointing to the top. I unfurled my wings once more, but before I lifted off the ground, a Dragon soared out over the cliff, raining rocks and dirt down onto my head. My wings snapped shut, and I didn’t argue with them: maybe now would be a good time to take a break in the shade.
 
I found a large tree to sit underneath and rummaged through my saddlebags. I pulled out my canteen and hung it over my necklace, and gave myself the last of the water it had left. Thankfully, I was near water and could refill both of my canteens, but I would have to wait for the Dragons to pass before I could work up the nerve. I searched one bag for food, but all I found was a book, a rolled-up map, and few loose sticky bandages from a first aid kit. Searching through the other satchel revealed even less, with the only scraps of food being a few berries amongst some shards of coloured glass and an empty matchbox. A large hole had opened in the seams of the satchel, making me frown and run my hoof over the gap. The small amount of fruit I had gathered was long gone now, and I didn’t have any medical supplies either. My chin raised and I followed the waterfall up the cliff face, settling on the blue sky framed between the cliff edge and lip of the tree’s canopy. Two dragons flicked in and out of view, flying with the rest of the migration.
 
It doesn't matter, I assured. There's grass, there's water, maybe berries; it does not matter at all.
 
"Everything will be okay." I murmured automatically.
 
My eyes drifted from cloud to cloud, hopping from each formless and fluffy vessel. The sun peeked out from a straggling raincloud, shining down on the land with a slight amount of warmth in the crisp air. I mumbled to myself that it was likely mid-afternoon already, and let my mind wander up in the sky and down toward the horizon. Something made me do a double-take, and I rubbed my eyes to be sure it really was there. My head tipped to the side in a moment of confusion.
 
The moon? How is it still up there? D-did it rise early? It's only midday—
 
I was forgetting something and I lowered my gaze to the ground in shame. Like everypony else, the Princesses were gone, too. And without them the sun and moon were left to move themselves alone. And while the night sky usually saw the moon leave early nowadays, it was strange to see it in the daytime. It made sense, I just… I just never expected to have to understand it, much less see it for myself.
 
I dried my eyes with my foreleg, and slid my eyelids closed. I needed to stay calm and not let myself give up; I needed to keep my promise. No matter what I was going to bring my friends together again – whether this journey to the Free Lands worked out or not. I had to hang in there, for their sake and my own.
 
The clouds and dragons in the sky drifted by at their leisure, and I quietly unpacked my sewing kit in the shade to repair the hole in my saddlebag while I waited for travel to become safe again.
 
It was a long time until the last few stragglers flew over, and by the time I felt it was okay to carry on again I could see the orange glow of dusk and streaks of lilac clouds in the atmosphere. A gentle breeze swept through the woods, beckoning me to the river. I pushed myself onto my hooves and walked to the water's edge, craning my neck down to submerge the canteen around my neck in the fresh water. The corners of my mouth turned upwards when bubbles rose to the surface, popping loudly as the canteen thirstily drank in the cold water. The sound somehow brought me comfort, reminding me of some of my animal friends at the end of a summer's day. Maybe I would find them when I got back to Equestria, after I had done everything else I could do for the rest of my friends. Maybe I wouldn't be alone. Maybe...
 
Raindrops started to fall into the river, but only when I looked up into the sky did I feel the tears glide down my face. A gentle sigh escaped me, and I brushed my cheeks with my left hoof and twisted the cap for my canteen back on. The grass quietly parted ways as I returned to my saddlebags and packed everything away. When I was ready to go, I took another look up to the top of the cliff and the sky above. It was getting dark, but the moon was already at its apex and promising a gentle glow until it would dip beneath the horizon too soon.
 
I glanced back at my repaired saddlebag and checked my hoofwork. For something I grabbed in blind panic, the sewing kit was worth having around. Being able to use at least one of my talents every now and then was soothing, too.
 
With a quick breath and a couple of quick steps I took wing up alongside the cliff. MY wings faltered a few times, prompting me to flap them harder and force them to work together, but after moment of hovering, I was steady enough to lift myself up. I took things slowly so my muscles and joints wouldn’t flare up, and focused on the sound of the waterfall or the birds singing bedtime songs in the trees. Little things, subtle things, made nature so wonderful to me: the rustle of leaves in the breeze, little creatures scurrying in the bushes, meadows and flowers and picnics in the afternoon — I could go on and on. Though I ached to have somepony with me right now, I doubted they could hear what I could hear, or see what I could see.
 
I will never have the chance to find somepony who could.
 
My wings fell out of sync, and I tumbled into a bush at the top of the cliff. That was not true! It couldn’t be true! How could I even think of something like that? I will do everything I can to make things better. I won’t let myself live out my life alone.

I crawled out of the bush, and pulled a few twigs out of my mane. “This isn’t the end. There’s still hope. I wouldn’t lie to myself like that!”
My head swung down low, and I tightly closed my eyes.” I wouldn’t lie to myself, would I?”

I slowly opened my eyes, and had my view filled by a bright and solid beam of light radiating from the necklace I was wearing. I had to be close, now. I just had to focus: I could that.

I was taken through some bushes and underneath some cherry trees, and soon I stepped out into a clearing. I ground to a halt once my eyes fell upon it; the sight of worn away stone and mossy walls no higher than my shoulders.
 
The walls marked an ancient structure, half of it long since overtaken by shrubbery and trees. If I looked carefully through the overgrown areas, I could see the remains of a turret and exterior wall, and the border of a grand hall that had been open to the stars for countless centuries. The air was still, and even the sound of the nearby waterfall was no longer audible. Like the ruins for thousands of years, the world around me seemed to stand still.
 
The Element of Kindness flashed more erratically and its beam grew stronger, urging me to keep walking. I hopped over the outer wall of the ruins with the aid of my wings. The wall must have been taller in the past, but now it rose only a few feet out of the ground, covered in moss. I followed the guiding beam cautiously, pushing bushes aside to reach the fallen tower. The tower itself had completely collapsed on one side, leaving the rest of the wall looking like a sharpened tooth pointing twenty feet into the sky. The beam angled downwards, pointing down a narrow crevice in the rubble. I poked my head through the gap, using the Element’s light to see a spiral staircase that quickly disappeared into the darkness below. I gulped at the thought of what could be lurking down there – and regretted not having a lantern with me anymore. I couldn’t expect the Element to remain a source of light, but I didn’t have anything else to use or the skills to make a torch – the empty matchbox was proof of that.

With a deep breath and a short countdown, I squeezed through the gap without a second thought and the staircase down. The calm of the night soon faded away with the world above, replaced by the rhythm of my steps and the scuffing of my hooves walking down the worn stairs. The necklace adjusted to the dark and emitted a soft, pink light as I descended. Faint dripping sounds pinged off my ears, and a waft of damp and stagnant water filled my nostrils.  At last, my hooves came into contact with a sunken floor submerged in an inch of water, and I entered a long, cold hallway filled with weeping cracks. Though the corridor’s floor soon rose to where it used to be, the marks on the wall revealed that the corridor had been flooded in the past.

My heart started to beat faster, and my imagination was soon getting the better of me. Before I could turn back, I picked up my pace and fell into a quick trot, bravely making my way down the corridor. When the end faded into the reach of my Element’s light, it revealed a large stone wall with strange markings on it. I slowed down, unsure of what I was seeing.

The wall had a spiral carved into the center, with two stars just off-center but within the spiral. Around this engraving there were six circular depressions arranged together in a hexagonal shape, and rising out of these engravings were symbols I didn't recognise. I took a curious step closer, and narrowed my gaze at each particular marking on the wall. There had to be a reason why this was important for me to see, but what did the symbols mean? Where the glyphs from another language? Was the mural a message? A riddle? Oh, if only I could understand it!

A thunderous crash and light burst between the mural and I. My Element shot out an intense beam of light into one of the outer glyphs. I backpedalled and yelped, but the Element stayed focused and arced its energy over to the mural. Soon, all of the symbols and markings were glowing, and a bright white light blotted out my vision. I wanted to look away or blink, but I was completely entranced. The deafening crackles of magic leaping through thin air quickly died away, replaced by sounds of the wind whistling in my ears and whipping through my mane. The damp smell of the corridor was whisked away and filled in by a crisp, refreshing scent of fresh air. I felt a strange awareness descend on me, as I felt the walls in the corridor phase out and vanish, and the ceiling open up for miles and miles.

And then I heard it – just as my body was released back to me and my vision returned – the cry of a Phoenix from another memory.