The trio traveled the darkness in unbroken silence for what seemed to be ages. Twilight used her night light spell to try and illuminate their path, but it didn’t seem to do much. It only served to confirm Sky’s belief that the darkness was not a natural darkness.
After a long while had passed, Sky heard a voice speak up from behind him. “You know, Sky, we’ve been traveling with you this entire time, but you really haven’t told us anything about yourself. You sure seem to know a lot about us, or at least Twilight, so why don’t you tell us some stuff about you? You know, like, where you’re from, about your family…anything, really? Besides, I bet it’ll help lighten things up.”
Sky smiled in spite of himself. “You know, Spike, I’m not sure if you’re just a really good rider, or if you’re just so light, but I keep forgetting that you’re back there.”
“You can attribute that to skill, since that’s what it is,” came the reply, an air of satisfaction flowing along with it.
“Well, what would you like to know?” Sky asked, glancing ahead. He had felt no dark sensations since leaving Zecora’s hut, but somehow, he knew that those fearsome red eyes were beckoning him onward. And whether he knew it or not, they were probably guiding him to a specific place. But he was grateful for the distraction.
“Well, why not start at the beginning?” Twilight offered.
“You mean when I was born?” Sky asked, somewhat embarrassed.
“Why not? I’ve always thought that the best place to start is at the beginning.”
“How profound,” Spike commented from behind.
“Well, let’s see. I was born in Cloudsdale—”
“Cloudsdale?! Haha, some of our friends are from Cloudsdale, too!” Spike said, suddenly enthusiastic.
“Spike!” Twilight chided. “At least let him finish a sentence.”
“Oh, right,” he said, toning down his excitement. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Sky said. “Anyways, I was born in Cloudsdale in late spring. Both of my parents were pegasi, so we stayed in Cloudsdale. It’s where I spent most of my colthood.”
“Did you like it there?” Twilight asked, directing her glowing horn forward, apparently hoping to brighten the nearby area.
“Yeah, I did. I’m a pegasus, so it was only natural for me to love a city in the sky. I learned to fly, and I flew really well, too, if I say so myself. I think I made some of my friends jealous.”
“I think a certain Rainbow Dash might have something to say about that,” Spike said.
“I think you’re right. When we get back to Ponyville, I’ll have to introduce her to you,” Twilight agreed.
“Sounds like a plan.” Sky was surprised by how much better he was feeling just in the short time he had been talking about his home. Spike was right; it was lightening things up.
“So, is that it? Nothing else happened until you ended up in Canterlot?” Twilight asked.
“Just hold on. A few years later, my mom had another foal. She was a cute little filly, and my parents named her Cinnamint.”
“Cinnamint? What kind of a name is that?” Spike asked.
“Spike! Really, where are you manners?”
“Nono, it’s alright,” Sky interjected. “They named her that because her mane was a reddish orange and her body was a cool green color.”
“Oh, okay,” Spike responded. “Pretty clever name, huh, Twilight?”
“Sure is. Did you teach her to fly as well as you?” the unicorn asked.
“’Fraid not.”
“Did you teach her to fly at all?” she prodded.
“No.”
“Then who did?” Spike asked, curiosity rising.
“No one did.”
“Wait…your sister is a pegasus that can’t fly?” Twilight asked, confusion etched on her face.
“I never said that she was a pegasus in the first place,” Sky said, letting the smallest trace of sadness creep into his voice.
“She’s…not a pegasus?” Spike asked. The question sounded as though it had been asked reluctantly.
“No, she’s just a regular pony. Quite a shock to my parents. But what really made it interesting was that we were living in Cloudsdale. And the only ponies that can walk on the clouds are the pegasi.”
“Without the help of magic, of course,” Twilight quickly added. “But I can see the problem. So what did you do?”
“Well, she was alright for a little while, but when she would start to grow up, the clouds wouldn’t be able to support her, so my parents decided that we would all move to Foalumbus. That was hard for me…moving from a pegasus’ paradise to a city on the ground with all new faces…That was rough. But I understood that we had to do it to keep my sister safe. So I went along with it.”
“You’re a good brother,” Twilight said with a smile. “I know my brother would have done the same thing for me. You should be proud that you two have that in common.”
Sky nodded but didn’t say anything in response. “So, what happened then? Did you stay in Foalumbus?” Spike asked, eager for the story to continue.
“For a few years, yes. But eventually, I decided to strike out on my own. I headed east to Coltlanta, and I lived there for a while.”
“Wow, Coltlanta. You’ve been to so many of these places that I’ve never been to, Sky. You’ll have to tell us about them,” Twilight pleaded.
“I’ve got pictures back in Canterlot. When I go back, I’ll get them so I can show them to you.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“But how did you end up in Canterlot?” questioned Spike. “Coltlanta isn’t really that close to Canterlot, at any rate.”
“You’re right, it isn’t,” Sky agreed. “I was actually visiting Cloudsdale again, and I decided to visit Canterlot on a whim. I was out for an evening stroll and Princess Luna happened to come by. She saw me and came over, and we struck up a conversation.”
“With the Princess? Wow, I didn’t think she did that much. I didn’t even think that she would be willing to leave the palace,” Spike said, chuckling softly.
“She doesn’t and isn’t,” Twilight said solemnly. “She must have seen something very special in you, Sky.”
He sighed and shrugged. “Maybe so,” he admitted. “She asked me all sorts of questions, like where I had come from, and what I liked to do, and what I did in Coltlanta. Hehe, I remember being so stunned that she was talking to me, that I just stared at her for several minutes before I realized she was asking questions.”
“Must have been an awkward few minutes,” Spike said under his breath. Sky gave him a quick buck as a sign that he had heard the remark.
“Anyways, she eventually got down to the point where she told me that she was looking for a few brave ponies to help her with some work around Equestria. She told me that she was impressed with me (though I’m not sure why), and that she was hoping that I would be willing to help her out.” He paused, smiling at the memory.
“And you did, I’m assuming?” Twilight asked.
“I did. I was feeling adventurous, and besides, what stallion can turn down a request from a princess? I mean, really…”
Spike made a sound behind him, but he chose to ignore it. “It started out as a few small chores, essentially, and they gradually became more and more involved,” he continued. “And a few months after that, I find myself on the edge of Everfree Forest, talking to Twilight Sparkle and Spike about picking flowers for a zebra friend of theirs.” He snorted. “I guess that’s the story to this point.”
“Well, it’s a fine story for now,” Spike commented, “but I think that once this adventure is done, it’ll be a great story! Just think about it, Sky! You could be as famous as Twilight, or Shining Armor, or even Celestia and Luna! That’d be amazing!”
Sky half-closed his eyes and let his head fall a bit. “I’d rather it not turn out that way.”
“Why not? You should be recognized for good things that you do,” Twilight replied.
But Sky shook his head. “I’m no good in front of crowds. And you know how ponies can be. A famous pony shows up, and it’s an instantaneous stampede to try and catch up with them to get their autograph or something.”
“Maybe ‘famous’ is the wrong word. What about ‘honored’ or ‘regarded’?”
He paused, considering. “Well, that’d be fine for me, but I’m not so concerned about what I think of myself as how everypony else views me. I don’t wanna be a celebrity.”
“Then don’t be!” Spike said emphatically. “All six holders of the Elements of Harmony live in Ponyville, but they’re just regular ponies in the town. You don’t have to be a celebrity if you don’t want to.”
“Spike makes a good point, Sky. Besides, I think most ponies respect each other enough to know when they’re making somepony uncomfortable,” agreed Twilight.
Sky managed a smile. “Where’d you get so smart, Twilight?”
“What?”
“You always have an answer, and more times than not, it’s a good answer. How do you do that?” Sky asked, admiration seeping into his voice.
“She’s getting lucky today,” Spike chuckled. “She’s had her fair share of rough spots.”
Twilight sighed, but chose not to respond to Spike’s teasing. “Ever since I became the wielder of the Element of Magic, Princess Celestia has assigned me the task of reporting on the strengths and workings of the magic of friendship. I’ve learned a lot, and I guess I’m just passing that wisdom on to you. In a manner of speaking.”
“I see.” He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let his mind wander back to brighter days. He saw his parents, his little sister, and many of his friends and classmates from his colthood. There were the white spires of Cloudsdale, the bright lights of Coltlanta, the mighty towers of Canterlot. He saw the solemn yet confident faces of the members of the Royal Council, especially that of Princess Luna.
Then, surprising himself, he saw the face of a familiar baby dragon, followed by that of a certain friendly violet unicorn whose hoofsteps he could still hear beside him. His heart jumped in his chest, and he felt his stomach tighten.
Panicking, he swallowed a breath, causing him to begin coughing. Opening an eye, he saw the wooden post just in front of him as a cough left his mouth—
*koff* *Thunk*
“My goodness, Sky, are you okay?” Twilight called out. Sky could hear her hooffalls quicken as she galloped over to where he lay flat on the ground, rubbing his nose and coughing.
“Oh, I’m fine, thanks for asking,” came Spike’s voice from his other side, sounding slightly offended.
“Yeah, I’m *cough* fine. Just a moment of *cough* clumsiness,” he managed. He blinked a few times as he rose back to his hooves, looking ahead. To his surprise, he found that the post may have saved him from a nasty fall. Just on the other side of the post was a deep, mist-filled chasm. Beside the post he had bumped into was a similar wooden stake. And only after closer inspection did Sky notice the pair of ropes tied around them, presumably holding a rope bridge up, though there was no sign that the bridge still spanned the chasm.
“Wow, that was a close one, huh?” Sky said, clearing his throat as he felt his wits return to him. He turned to face Twilight, who was standing silent, looking across the chasm. But her eyes were wide with disbelief. “Twi? What is it?” he asked, turning to follow her gaze.
Across the canyon, Sky saw what appeared to be the ruins of an old castle of some sort. Several of its towers were missing or only partially intact, and there were gaps in the walls, probably lost due to the passage of time. And perhaps it was just a trick of the eyes, or his mind being overly imaginative, but in one of the gaps, he could have sworn he saw a pair of red lights like eyes, staring out at him.
Instantly, his knees went weak, and he went cold inside. “T-Twi?” he stammered.
Her voice was soft and distant. “This…this is the place where we found the Elements of Harmony and freed Princess Luna from her guise as Nightmare Moon. But…” Her voice faded away for a moment before returning. “We had to go through so much more to get here before! There was a river, and a cliff edge, and…and…”
“I think,” Sky said, swallowing hard in hopes that it would keep his stomach from twisting any more, “that this is v-very d-different from that time. I d-don’t think that Nightmare Moon wanted you to ever actually g-get here. Whatever it is this time has been guiding us to this point, s-so it’s been easier.”
“You mean it…wants us to f-find it?” Spike asked, trembling as he held onto Sky’s leg.
Sky summoned the image of his sister back to his mind, attempting to steel his resolve. “For some reason, yes. And I’d say that whatever it is, it’s waiting for us in there.”
“Then what will you do?” Twilight asked innocently enough, but the question pierced deep into the pegasus’ thoughts.
What will I do? he thought. She’s right, even though she doesn’t even know it. This is MY mission, not hers, not Spike’s. They came voluntarily. The outcome of this quest rides on my shoulders.
Then another voice rose in his mind. It was familiar; he had heard it only a few short days ago:
“Will you do this for us?”
As the question rang in his ears, he finally succumbed to the fact that there was no running from this. He had never abandoned the idea up until this point, but now that he was here, he knew that he couldn’t turn tail and flee. With a quick chuckle that felt more like a defiant sneer, Sky leveled his eyes and stared into the darkness of the ruins beyond the chasm.
“I guess we shouldn’t keep it waiting.”