//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: Dreadwing Bells A'ringing 
// by avatarded01 
//------------------------------//


10.


Twilight noticed it was getting colder. She was sure it was because they were getting closer to the Mountains. This far north it was bound to get colder as chill winds blew down form the snow covered Mountains. Twilight was always fascinated by the geography of the Glitter Top mountains compared to Pyre Mountain. Both were in the north but Glitter Top was covered with snow, while Pyre Mountain was basically an active volcano. She supposed it wasn’t that big a deal really. It didn’t need to be a warm climate for the molten hot magma beneath the earth to come rushing up a naturally formed rock chute and heat the land all around it. Still it did lead to some interesting land formations due to the unstable nature of the land around the mountain, so she was looking forward to seeing it all with her own eyes for the first time. It was just a shame it had to be under these circumstances. She was sitting on a hill, covered in dry brown grass, looking down on a small town she didn’t know the name of. The Princess and the others were behind her, further back on the hill setting up camp for the evening. Twilight had worried the Princess might have had trouble roughing it, but she was managing it better than some of the others. Specifically, Rarity and Fluttershy. Six days after the mess with the train and Rarity had only just stopped complaining about sleeping on the ground, having resigned herself to her fate. Fluttershy hadn’t stopped fussing over what might be hiding in the shadows, not since Dash had returned from her recon and informed them of the Warg that had been hunting them. Rainbow Dash had been strangely quiet for a few days after that night and she’d been reluctant to talk about it. Now though she seemed to be back to normal so no-one was going to harass her over it. Nothing had emerged out of the darkness to attack them so far, but Fluttershy still couldn’t relax at night and her poor sleep had started to show.  Even now instead of helping get the fire going, Fluttershy was quietly nodding off with a stick of fire wood in her mouth. Pinkie Pie appeared next to her and woke Fluttershy with a startle. She jumped and spat the fire wood into Pinkie’s face and looked about in a panic. Zecora had to calm her down while Pinkie recoverd from the branch in the face. Twilight watched for a moment to make sure Fluttershy was all right and then turned back to looking down at the town. It was small with brown and red bricked buildings with thatched roofs. There was a large wooden building with a spire, made of tin, in the middle of the town and she could see a line of stalls and stands stretching across the main road through town. It was there that Applejack and Big Macintosh were buying the last set of supplies they would be able to buy before they met up with the Princes of Pyre Mountain at Glittermine, the town at the foot of the mountains. Unfortunately that had been the plan when they had had a train to bring them most of the way. Without it, they were way off schedule. She hoped that the Princes wouldn't leave without them, or worse; come looking for them and get hurt. Twilight got up from her spot on the hill and trotted through their little camp to find the Princess. She found her near the back of the camp staring out into the woods at the bottom of the hill. Twilight watched her long dark blue hair twisting in the wind as she sat quietly, her aqua eyes focused on the trees. Luna noticed Twilight's presence and turned her head to look over her shoulder,
"Twilight Sparkle, is something amiss?" She asked passively.
"Oh, no, Princess, I-" She had to think for a moment of why exactly she had come along to find Luna but she wasn't entirely sure. Maybe she just wanted someone with a bit of power and authority to assure her that everything was still on track, that they would make it to the Mountain without a problem. She hadn't realised at first, but the attack on the train had hit her harder than she'd thought. It had really forced her to realise just how much danger she and the others were in. It was a miracle that none of them had been seriously hurt, and she dreaded the thought of another incident just like it happening and them not being so lucky. "I was just wondering what you think the Princes from Pyre Mountain might do when we don't show up?" She finished after a moment,
"We are already over due at Glittermine," She replied almost off hand, turning her attention back to the woods, "I imagine the  Princes will wait a few days and then leave and send a message to my Sister." Twilight felt a little as though she had been rebuked, but she was smart enough to now that something else was on the Princesses mind. She hesitated but decided to ask,
"Princess? Is something wrong?" Luna was silent for a moment but then she answered,
"We are being followed." Twilight wasn't sure what to say. She'd had no idea. Was the Princess sure? How could she tell? She tried to think of something smart to say. She didn't want the Princess to think she wasn't being vigilant but... she truly had had no clue.
"Who -" She tried to start but the Princess cut her off,
"A Warg." She stated. Twilight's heart skipped a beat. Rainbow Dash had told them that the Warg following them had been killed by a group of stallions, it couldn't be the same one. Once again Twilight didn't know what to say. The two mares just stared off into the woods as the wind blew across the hilltop. Twilight half expected to see the terrible black beast come stalking out of the woods, right then and there, but all she could see were dry brown leaves blowing in and around the thin tree trunks. She watched the grass lean and bend and listened to the sound of the wind stirring but nothing larger than the small birds, flitting between the branches, moved. She realised that the Princess was looking at her. She glanced back at her and felt a little foolish, as though she were trying to see something that wasn't there, or something only the Princess could see. "It isn't here." She stated calmly, "It's at least two days behind us." Twilight leaned back and sat on her haunches,
"Oh..." She said simply, "I had no idea you were such a survivalist, Princess." Luna smiled an elegant smile that said there was much Twilight didn't know about her. Which was true. Her sister, Twilight knew very well, she had spent years as Princess Celestia's pupil, but Luna... that was a different matter. Other than that night on Nightmare Night a couple of years ago, she had had very little interaction with Luna. The most time she'd spent with her other than that night was at the Gala's Celestia threw and that was limited as it was. Luna sighed and stood up, glancing once more into the woods and then moving away back to the camp, still smiling,
"I have faced the minions of Dreadwing before Twilight Sparkle. I had to learn to keep track of my enemies movements in order to stay ahead of them. For my sake and the sake of those I had to protect." Twilight watched as the Princess trotted away. it was so easy to forget that Luna was thousands of years old. She looked so young but in truth she had seen so much, more than Twilight could really imagine. It was those words, 'those I had to protect,' that finally made Twilight realise just how much responsibility the Princesses shouldered and just how much they had struggled and suffered to make Equestria safe. It stung more than a little to think that she had had a hoof in disturbing that peace. She knew it wasn't exactly her fault but, Spike was a part of it and for that she felt responsible. Spike... she took a deep breath and tried not to think about it. She heard a small commotion coming from the front of the camp and saw that Applejack and Big Mac had returned. She cantered over quickly to join her friends in welcoming them back, but she could see that something had troubled them. Pinkie Pie picked up on it as well and immediately jumped in,
"Hey guys why the long faces?" Big Mac started un-loading the extra supplies he'd carried up the hill while Applejack explained,
"We just heard some news in town." Her tone said a lot. It was bad news,
"What sort of news did you hear, to fill you with such obvious fear?" Zecora rhymed arriving to help with the supplies, but stopping once she'd seen AJ's face. AppleJack took a moment to gather her thoughts and finally said,
"Some Pony's in town said they heard word that there were Dragons nearby." There was more, "Some folk're sayin' that... that um..." Twilight felt her stomach knot up,
"What is it AppleJack?" She asked, but Big Macintosh answered,
"Manehattan was attacked." He said it matter of factly, quickly and then went back to doling out the supplies between their saddle bags. Every pony looked at him and then back at AppleJack for confirmation. She nodded silently.
"Attacked!?" Rarity squeaked,
"By who? Dragons?" Rainbow Dash demanded, buzzing into the air, her face flushed, the rage evident on her features. Once again AppleJack nodded. The others surged forward to bombard her with questions, except Fluttershy who looked pale and sickly at the news, but Princess Luna cut them off without even raising her voice,
"What did you hear about the casualties?" They all stopped to look at her and then back at AJ. She was taken aback for a moment but all she could do in response was shrug,
"Ah, uh... Ah dunno. we just heard it was attacked. A dragon flew in and tore the place up. Some folk said that, um, that half the city got burnt down." Her voice trailed off as she spoke and she looked drained by the mere effort of retelling such terrible news. It was only then that Twilight remebered that AppleJack had family in Manehattan, the Orange Family.
"Oh my Stars! AppleJack your family are they...?" Applejack just shrugged again and took a steadying breath. Before anyone could ask any more Luna spoke,
"We should move on. The dragons are looking for us. That is why they attacked Manehattan. It was our last known destination. Dreadwing will have sent them to see if any-pony there knew more about the route we would take to get to the mountains." For a few moments they all stood around looking at each other, except Big Mac who was busying himself with their bags. Twilight wondered if he was just doing  that to keep his mind off of what had happened, but it was hard to tell. Right now, her own head was swimming. The longer they spent travelling the more they heard about the growing spread of Dreadwing's evil and now it was beginning to have a visceral effect on the land. She began to think about what Princess Celestia would do in response. Would she send relief forces to help the city? Would she fly out there herself and hunt down the dragons responsible? At that moment she wanted nothing more than to see her mentor, her teacher. To ask her what to do,if everything would be okay. Of course that was not an option. She had to keep her head clear and her wits about her. The dragons were literally burning up the countryside looking for them and there was a Warg on their trail. As much as she wanted to feel bad about Manehattan, or yell and scream, or even cry a little, she couldn't afford to do that right now. All of this just helped her to remember that this was very real and very dangerous and just like Princess Luna, all those years ago, she had ponies she had to protect too.