Twilight Sparkle had been in Trottingham for two weeks now. It took her the first few days to get over the grief and a few days after to catch up on some sleep. It was odd knowing Princess Luna could blank out a pony's' dreams but not every night could Twilight enjoy that virtue. Luna had visited Twilight once more, that;s when she explained how she could a few ponies dreams each night. In the same dream Princess Luna confirmed what Princess Cadence had told her; she'd be leaving soon.
It was midday and she trotted alongside Thunderer to gather supplies for their expedition. Part of Twilight was looking forward to exploring this area of Equestria but on the other hoof; she was scared. She hadn't been allowed to leave the city since she'd arrived and now she was starting to feel claustrophobic. The buildings of Trottingham didn't help, the tall grey structures and the massive maze of city walls made Twilight feel small. Even reading didn't help and now Twilight had read every book in the house, she'd wanted to come with Thunderer to escape the small house. As they trotted towards the outskirts of the city Twilight became bored with the silence.
"Why are your wings so large?" Twilight asked looking for something to talk about.
Thunderer tripped up over his own hooves and there was a dull metallic thud as the armour punched the cobblestone ground. A few nearby ponies looked at the pair, the few pegasi who looked at them gave Twilight the did-you-just-ask-that look. Twilight held her hoof out for Thunderer to grip as he stood up. Big mistake. Thunderer was large than Twilight in all shapes and dimensions, she was nearly pulled down to the ground with him. Thunderer flapped the huge metallic wings, Twilight could feel a huge gust wind around her hooves. The gust was more forceful than anything Rainbow Dash could produce but she was of a smaller and more athletic frame, Thunderer was big and stocky but most of that was the armour he wore everywhere.
"You know its very personal to ask any pegasi that" Thunderer said in a hushed whisper.
"I know" Twilight sighed, "Its just I've been reading a book on pegasi and its odd how your wings are alicorn sized rather than pegasi sized."
There was a pause as the two ponies continued walking.
"I lost my wings in an accident when Time Turner were experimenting with that Tesseract."
"That cube within a cube; the one Time Turner says that can open portals across space and time" Twilight said shocked.
"That's the one" Thunder replied.
"You should've made a proper procedure when you were testing it, safety equipment..." Twilight ranted.
"I was surprised we actually succeeded more than anything. We only opened the portal for a minute or so and we nearly drained the Element of Laughter."
"Well even so, you lost your wings"
"And in doing so we found out what could happen if our plan works, if that portal shuts with somepony half through it they're dead, if they're still on the other side they'll be trapped at that point in space/time." Thunderer replied defensively.
"So why build larger wings?" Twilight asked studying the metal wings.
"I was never a strong flier" came the reply.
There was few moments silence as the two ponies walked out of exterior wall of Trottingham, before them was a huge expanse of fields. Each field had a different crop growing in it, there were also a few orchids scattered about.
"This is where some of Trottinghams' food is grown, the rest comes from settlements outside our protection. That's why we have the milita". Thunderer raised a hoof and pointed to a group of ponies entering the shield dome.
In charge of the group was Lyra Heartstrings she was carrying her flank bags which had two long swords attached to them, these ran along her back. The group marched forward until they were all in the domes' protection.
"Alright you mules, that was some good work out there, unfortunately myself and Bon Bon have been reassigned so Bulk Biceps will be leading you" Lyra said standing on her two rear hooves.
There were maons and groans from a few ponies within Lyras' unit.
"How does she do that?" Twilight asked.
"Stand on two hooves?"
Twilight nodded. She looked again at Lyra who returned to four hooves and the unit was dismissed.
"She used to tightrope walk, had quite a knack for it when she was young. When she was older she took to music and played the lyre. Standing on two hooves set her apart from the rest. Still does, you should see her fight with those two swords. Force to be reckoned with." Thunderer explained proudly.
"Wait are you and her...?" Twilight began
"Her and I?"
"Me and him?" Lyra stood infront of them
"Together?" Twilight finished.
"Nah, we may have shared a bed once or twice but things between us are casual. A unicorn does need her horn looked after and pegasi do need their wings played with every now and then" Lyra said with a wink.
Twilight stood there with her mouth agape. Thunderer had looked away a bright red blush forming on his white cheeks. The awkwardness could've been struck with a war hammer and still not diminished.
"I'm not sure I wanted to know that..." Twilight said trying to regain her composure.
Lyra simply brushed Thunderers left wing with her tail and turned to join the trio. She levitated an apple from her flank bags and took a bite. They walked in complete silence towards some vendors. It was Thunderer who discussed business with the ponies while Twilight and Lyra stood on the sideline.
"Why is there a militia?" Twilight asked looking to break the silence.
Lyra snorted, "It's because the Royal Guard has to protect the Princess so they have to stay within the city limits to protect her. The militia is used to clear out abominations from nearby and carry supplies from local towns. We also protect them from changling attacks, but we do scouting and other stuff. One day soon we'll take the fight to Queen Chrysalis herself and I can't wait for that day."
"Were you always so high up within the militia?"
"No, as you'll remember I was supposed to be one of Princess Cadences' bridesmaids at the wedding, so after Canterlot fell I escaped but everypony had already heard how I was helping the Queen. So I had to earn it, I enlisted not long after Shining Armours' last stand, worked my way up since then."
Thunderer returned to the group.
"Whatchu mares talking about now?" he said.
"I'm just telling Twilight where you're sweet spots are if she was ever so inclined" Lyra said in a tone of seriousness.
Thunderer looked taken aback and then Lyra laughed hard a few ponies around them looked in their direction.
"You ponies need to lighten up some more, we may be at war but we're only ponies. You need to let your mane down and have a bit of fun while you still can" Lyra said.
The trio moved onto another vendor and Thunderer did all the negotiating again
"For the record, you wouldn't be disappointed" Lyra whispered to Twilight.