Longleap led the six friends through a series of stone hallways and intersections that would have seemed utterly identical were it not for the ponies that milled about. While many wore armor, there were also plenty of off-duty soldiers and ponies who toiled with innumerable other tasks about the fortress.
When they passed a small library staffed by two old unicorn mares, they practically had to pull Twilight away from the open door. The sleep-addled unicorn pony’s brain reacted on pure instinct at the sight of so many books, but the open door passed them by like all the others. Before long, they entered the mess hall, which Twilight noted had room to seat at least a hundred ponies at the same time.
"There are a lot more ponies here than I would have thought," Twilight exclaimed in the wake of a yawn, earning a nod from Longleap.
"We are at full capacity. There is no shortage of ponies who wish to serve, but there is only room and need for so many in Canterlot and the major cities," Longleap explained as he indicated a nearby table. As the ponies seated themselves, he walked over to a long counter separating the kitchen from the table area, trading a few quick words with a ladle-cutiemarked pegasus before returning and continuing.
"Equestria only needs so many overdressed ponies prancing about the gilded streets of Canterlot, is what I'm saying." Twilight couldn't tell to what degree the sergeant was joking, if at all.
"A lot cooler to be on the frontline, yeah? See some real action?" Dash asked, making the sergeant shake his head briskly, all traces of mirth draining from his face instantly.
"No. And don't think for a second I want to see 'action'. The warrior who desires combat and glory is the worst of the lot. I thank Celestia for every day like this one," Longleap said. "And Luna, I suppose. It's going to take some getting used to that. Ah, I told the cook to butter up some sandwiches for you. I hope you weren't expecting something fancier. We are sort of gearing up for a bigger dinner later, given the occasion."
Dash was frowning at the rebuke, blushing. She seemed to be scanning the room for something else to do, but it was bare except for tables and lights, so she sat there fuming in silence as they waited.
It didn’t take long before the pegasus they had seen earlier emerged from a small side door with a tray of sandwiches garnished with a variety of vegetables. If Longleap had any hopes of leaving the six ponies alone there, they were swiftly dashed to the ground and buried in questions about the library from Twilight and various inquiries about the building itself. Even as the earth pony sergeant admitted he knew little about the library, Rarity had questions on the state of the fortress and Applejack was curious about the vegetable farms outside.
As the food disappeared Longleap sidestepped a rather personal question from Rarity regarding his marital status, instead offering the ponies a tour of the fortress, something they were quick to accept. "I haven't reported in to my superior after our sortie, and I am fairly certain that the captain is annoyed with the princess for giving me a direct order. It’s pretty convenient for me, though, I guess."
"I noticed that," Twilight said, frowning and stifling a yawn as they made to follow the sergeant out of the dining hall. Standing back up was hard, but once they were moving, she woke up a little. "She is above the captain, then? I saw him actually salute her."
"We swear to protect and serve the sisters two. The vows have been the same for as long as history has been recorded in the guard," Longleap said. Twilight's ears perked up when she heard the H-word.
"Even during Luna's absence everypony who joined the guard, myself included, swore his or her life to both princesses. They are technically our highest authority. Luna tells me to eat gravel, I will," the sergeant said with a proud smile.
"So you went and introduced yourself as 'Princess Longleap' to your top commander, then?" Applejack asked, lips pursed in contemplation. Rainbow Dash snorted and clutched her chest with a hoof. Longleap sighed heavily as he directed them up a broad set of stone stairs.
"That I did, and if anypony else had seen, I'd never live that down," Longleap said with a blush that was all too visible against the white of his cheeks. "Right, down here, we can exit to the lower battlements-"
The sergeant had paused with one hoof still extended to indicate a direction, gaze locked over Twilight's shoulder in an expression of horror. The purple unicorn followed his eyes to Rainbow Dash, who was grinning broadly at the stallion.
"You can't tell anypony!" Longleap said, his jaw slack. "I'll be the laughing stock for years!"
Fluttershy slowly walked between the two ponies and gave Rainbow Dash a look. It wasn't a stare, but her eyes were dangerously narrow. Dash glanced around nervously. "Uh, of course not, just joking. I wouldn't do anything like that oh sweet Celestia don'tlookatmelikethat." Rainbow Dash cringed and made herself very small as if bracing for impact.
Fluttershy suddenly giggled, shortly followed by Pinkie and all the others except Rainbow Dash. It took a few seconds before she realized the joke was on her, and when she did, the blue pegasus rolled her eyes and joined in on the laughter.
Longleap scratched his neck with an armored hoof. "And you are friends of the princess, you say. Well, this certainly breaks up the monotony of guard duty."
The rest of the tour took them nearly two hours due in part to the size of the fortress but also because of the numerous questions and occasional antics. Twilight still had dozens of questions, fascinated by the place, but as they wandered around the fort and the surrounding area with Sergeant Longleap, she kept dozing off whenever they stopped.
Twice, she nearly fell asleep. It was all too easy to tell herself that she was just going to close her eyes. She wasn’t really going to sleep. Her friends' voices reminded her that all was safe and calm. Her last memory was the sergeant answering some questions Fluttershy and Applejack had about the carrot patch they were looking at, having moved on to the courtyard.
"Wake up sugarcube," Applejack said. Twilight reluctantly pried her eyes open. It was darker outside than the unicorn remembered, and they were still in the carrot patch behind the fort. She was sure that they had been talking about moving on.
"I wasn't asleep. Are we leaving?" Twilight groaned as she rubbed her eyes with her forehooves, looking around. The vegetable garden that took up the whole rear half of the courtyard was empty except for two pegasus guards on patrol. "Um, where is everypony?"
Applejack winced, offering Twilight a hoof to help her up, which was gratefully accepted. "They're all inside eatin'. Ah'd hardly call it a feast, but there's six score ponies and good food in the mess hall, so spirits are high." The farmpony's green eyes were filled with concern. "When we went inside, we tried waking ya, but, um. You weren't exactly cooperating, so Ah let you have an hour or so. And..." She hesitated.
"What?" Twilight asked, slightly unsettled now. Applejack was not usually one to mince words, but the orange earth pony's cheeks were tinted with the faintest of reds.
"Ah kind of told Luna off. Ah know she knows why you're not sleepin'." She sighed. "Woke up once to one of your nightmares, Twi'. You were tossing and turning. Ah don't like seein' you like this. Ah may've yelled at Luna. Ah don’t regret it none, though."
Twilight swallowed and nodded slowly. Truth be told, she was glad. Glad that she had friends like Applejack, and glad that she hadn't been there to witness the confrontation she had been afraid to force. It was a scene she was happy to have missed, but she simply did not know how much longer she could go on like this. She was tired. Just thinking about how she couldn’t sleep was enough to make her want to break down and cry.
"Thank you," Twilight said at length, her voice thin.
"Which is why she's not comin' with us to Scandineighvia. She said she's got some business to take care of anyway," Applejack said with a little smile of her own.
Twilight froze, eyes wide. "What?" she blurted, seized by an indescribable terror. The very notion of leaving Luna behind tore at her, and she had to remind herself to breathe. Applejack took a step back, surprised at Twilight's outburst, even as she went on.
"I mean, that doesn't make any sense, we need her. We can't go to a foreign country without her! We don't know what to do, and the whole thing is her plan, right?" Twilight said, eyes darting about.
Applejack's surprise slowly morphed into disappointment and confusion. Twilight held her tongue under the reproving stare, her energy spent. "Twi', Fluttershy knows how to work a map, and Ah'm sure you do, too. We're just checking up on her, right? Rainbow Dash said she knows where Gilda will likely be, and Luna has faith in us. Somethin' that Ah thought'd mean more to you than it does to me. What's got you spooked? T’ain't like you at all, this."
What, indeed? Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but her thoughts lagged behind. Seeing her distress, Applejack softened a little, but Twilight could still not make sense of it.
"Like it or not, you're pretty much calling the shots most of the time. Everypony looks to you, and if you don't have faith in us, what the hay do you think happens then?"
Applejack's words chilled Twilight to the bone. Even if Twilight hadn’t been the one who often took point, fact was, the friends all looked to each other for support. There was a certain saying about chains and links that sprung to mind.
Yet still, the idea of leaving Luna behind filled her with an inescapable, grave sense of loss. "I- I don't know," Twilight admitted, hunching over in defeat. "I mean, I do have faith in you, in all of us! I just, wait- hold on. Why is she staying? This doesn't add up. I'm having some odd dreams, but why is she staying?"
Applejack shrugged at that. "Ah don't know about the 'logic' of it, Twi'. She said it'll help ‘cause it’s her causing it somehow, and Ah wasn’t about to tell her she wasn’t. Ask her, not me! It’s enough for me and the others to know you’ll get better. Now, are you coming with me to get some food, or are we gonna stand here gabbing all night?"
Twilight nodded, feeling numb. She was still decidedly not okay about the whole thing, but she didn't like the idea of confronting Luna about this either. Nevertheless she followed Applejack around the courtyard in the faint moonlight, back into the brighter interior of the fortress. They heard the mess hall long before they saw it, the din of the crowd echoing in the hallways. Ponies eating, chatting, and- was that Pinkie Pie singing?
When they entered through the door-less arch into the large room, it was hard to recognize the sterile and almost soulless dining hall they had briefly visited earlier. Every single hoof-breadth of the room seemed covered in ponies, food, or both. Without their enchanted armor to make their appearances uniform, the guardponies were as varied a bunch as any ponies, the bustle a riot of mane and coat colors.
As Applejack had promised - or warned - spirits were high, and so was the volume. By the time they got to their table, Twilight's ears were already hurting. Pinkie Pie had staged an impromptu musical based on their adventures over by the other side of the room, but the rest of the friends, sans Luna, were clustered around a table. Twilight sat down to a round of sympathetic greetings.
"I am very sorry, Twilight. We didn't mean to leave you out there," Fluttershy said, barely audible through the din.
Twilight dismissed the apology with a hoof-wave and smiled, collecting for herself a solid helping of honeyed oats from the table. The bookish mare was still blinking a lot to try to clear her eyes and stifled a yawn. Glancing around, she spotted Luna over by another table. The princess was sitting at the head of the table, flanked by Captain Pike and an ochre unicorn mare of advanced age. Luna did not look her way, so Twilight simply dug into her food, thinking.
Separation anxiety. That’s what it sounded like to Twilight. Not what it felt like, but what it sounded like, based on what she’d read. She shoved another helping of hay into her mouth as she tried recalling what she’d read in that psychological primer a few months ago. It relied on there being an emotional attachment present, if she remembered it right. She closed her eyes to see if she could think of anything else.
Twilight opened her eyes and gasped. She felt light-headed, and Applejack was looking straight at her. "I'm awake," Twilight said defensively, looking around. Nothing seemed to have changed, except that Pinkie Pie was now back at the table chatting animatedly with Fluttershy.
"Didn't say you weren't, was just asking you if you were feeling okay. For what feels like the tenth time now, Ah might add." Applejack was frowning, and Twilight shook her head to try to clear the fog from her brain.
"Sorry, I'm just a little tired," Twilight said, her voice reduced to a croak. She levitated over a carafe of watered cider with which to fill her glass, drinking deeply before looking over at Luna again. The princess was busy talking with the captain, entirely focused on the old stallion. If she wanted to, she could just head over there and ask a moment of her time. The princess wouldn't refuse her, she knew that.
She had been thinking about emotional attachment, she suddenly remembered. Twilight had decided she no longer feared Princess Luna, the Goddess of the Night Sky. However, she was apparently a little intimidated by mere ‘Luna’. It was an odd realization. She spent almost every night thinking about the mystery that was the princess, and this evening was turning out no different, but this was going somewhere. The analytical part of her mind rejoiced.
Twilight wanted to go talk to her, but she found that she simply couldn’t. She had never before been particularly shy when there were answers to be gotten. It infuriated her and fascinated her to no end. Here she had an honest question, that of why Luna thought leaving her - leaving them, she corrected herself - would make her sleep better. She simply could not make her legs move.
Powerless, Twilight remained seated, her gaze flitting over the ponies all around them. The vast majority of them were stallions, and they were mostly sitting at their tables talking loudly. Rarity was currently engaged in a discussion with a group of them at another table, basking in the attention. Twilight chuckled to herself and closed her eyes for a second.
Her eyes fluttered back open. There was a lot less noise, now. Her head was resting on the table and her neck felt stiff. She slowly sat back up straight while wiping dried drool off her muzzle with a foreleg. Pinkie Pie sat next to her now. The pink earth pony had one of her forelegs draped around her neck protectively, holding her close even as she talked to someone else next to her. Pinkie didn’t even seem to notice Twilight was awake. A good half the ponies were gone from the room. She stole a glance over at a certain table across from her, looking for Luna through half-lidded eyes, and found the princess looking back at her.
As their eyes met, the princess’ mouth opened, and her face fell. She looked away as if in shame, quickly engaging herself in a conversation with the captain. Twilight blinked, unsure if she had seen that right, but every time she blinked, her eyes would open less and less. She turned to Pinkie Pie with the intent of telling her that something was wrong, and that she thought she might- she forgot exactly what, but it was very important. She just had to close her eyes and think for a second.
"The poor thing. Maybe we should just head back home," Twilight heard Rarity say.
"Don't think she'd want that, Rarity." Applejack was speaking, now.
"Well, I'm telling you, if the princess is wrong, I am turning around on the spot tomorrow," Rarity said, sounding angry.
"I'm with Rarity there. Sorry AJ. This is getting stupid. If Twilight gets hurt..." A third voice warned, much closer. Rainbow Dash.
When she had spoken, Twilight not only heard it, but she felt it as a very faint vibration. For some reason, she was also bobbing up and down. It made her a little queasy. Draped over Dash's back, then, she figured. She opened her eyes and looked straight into Pinkie Pie's eyes, the earth pony walking at Dash's side.
“Ah ain’t protesting that, simmer the hay down the two of you. Ah’m saying Ah think Twi’ will,” Applejack said in front of her.
“She’s not hurt. She’s just tired, I’m really quite sure. It's still awful, though,” Fluttershy’s voice added from somewhere nearby.
"Don't worry, Twilight. Go to sleep," Pinkie whispered with a smile and a wink that told Twilight everything was okay. That was all the encouragement the drowsy unicorn needed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep again, voluntarily this time, and it felt like the best thing in the world. She briefly stirred when she was put down onto something soft, but after that, sweet nothingness all around.
When Twilight once again returned to wakefulness, it was after a long night of uninterrupted sleep. She remembered only fragments of what she had dreamt. It involved Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie- or was it Fluttershy? Her cheeks were flushed, but the memories of the patently absurd dream slipped away and quickly became insignificant compared to the fact that she actually felt rested. Sure, she was tired, but it was a regular brand of tiredness that came with waking up and not being a morning pony. It was normal.
Apparently they'd been given a disused sleeping quarter all to themselves. The stone walls were lined with nothing but bunk beds and storage chests, and a single narrow glassless window betrayed that it was already well past sunrise. Yesterday was still a bit of a blur to Twilight, but looking around at her friends, she suspected that she wouldn't be alone in having a hazy memory of yesterday. Everypony appeared to be fast asleep still. Even Applejack, who usually rose with the sun, was still snoring away.
Somepony must have popped a cask of cider after they had hauled Twilight off to bed. Fluttershy lay in the same bed as Applejack, curled up at the rear-hoof end with an empty pewter goblet. Rainbow Dash was asleep belly-up across Pinkie Pie's back. Twilight winced at the sight. That couldn't possibly be comfortable.
"Good morning, Twilight," Rarity said, looking at her from a bed across the room. Twilight had thought the other unicorn asleep, but she had obviously been wrong.
“Good morning Rarity. Had a good time, I see," Twilight said with a grin. It wasn't really a question, and Rarity did not treat it as thus either, merely responding with a tired smile of her own. The fashionista's usually impeccable mane was dishevelled, and true to form, the first thing she did when she got out of bed was to collect her brushes.
It wasn't long before the others awoke. No matter how quiet they tried to be, Pinkie was awake within a minute, and when the party pony was up, it was very hard for anypony else to sleep. Applejack nearly panicked when she saw it was light out, needing a moment to remember that there were precious few apples that needed bucking today, and that she wasn't late for any chores. Judging by the farmpony's look, it was not an entirely happy realization.
The rest of the morning disappeared very quickly. An attendant mare met them at the door and led them to the baths, which was a very welcome stop for everypony. They entire room was deserted, what with it being between shifts, and they could have taken one of the huge tubs for themselves each if they so desired. The warm water and soap all felt indescribably good to Twilight after having relied on unpleasant but necessary soaks in natural streams for so long. When Rarity started drying herself off, fearing she was getting positively “pruny”, Twilight was still soaking and reluctant to leave.
After hygiene was dealt with, and after having consumed a quick breakfast, their attendant took them into the kitchen itself to help them “stock up for the journey” at Luna’s suggestion. They were all forced to give up at least one of their saddlebags to make room for food and water for the road. Twilight spent many gruelling minutes pining over which of her books to leave behind, and it took the threat of Applejack choosing for her to make Rarity leave behind any of her clothes, mane products or art supplies. Fluttershy donated some of her bandages and herbs to the infirmary at the fort, happy that they would be of use, and they were well received. Pinkie Pie, oddly, already had a free bag.
“You can do a lot of things with a lot of things, but you can do twice as much with an empty bag. I brought potential!” the earth pony explained excitedly, making Twilight’s head hurt a little. At the very least she wasn’t forced to spend a bag of “party” on the spot, as Twilight had feared.
After getting them sorted in the kitchens, the helpful unicorn mare led them to a nondescript storeroom and began fishing out heavy woolen garments from a previously sealed crate. Twilight nodded her thanks, though still confused, accepting what turned out to be a grey and dusty yet well-preserved clothing article of some description. They all received one each except Fluttershy and Dash. Due to the pegasus magic that warded them from all but the worst of chills, there would be no sense covering up their wings.
Rarity was staring at the unassuming grey garment as if its very existence was offensive to her. The thing apparently violated every imaginable principle of fashion, judging by her look, and she hadn’t even moved past scrutinizing the fabric yet.
"It's by her majesty's suggestion, though you are of course free to refuse. It’s only going to get colder where you’re going," the older mare said with a chuckle. "You'll want to put those on right away, too. They'll take up a lot of space if you're going to carry them. Allow me to show you."
Without preamble, she walked over to Applejack to demonstrate, seizing a hold of the cloth with a glimmer of bright red magic. The orange earth pony was already trying to put hers on with moderate success, only requiring a little help to get it right. A double clasp fastened the long cloak-like garment around the neck and the heavy fabric fell down to cover her sides and flank, the fabric splitting at the tail. The cloaks were long enough that they nearly touched the ground, reminding Twilight of heavier, larger versions of the cloak Zecora often wore.
"There's a hood as well," the attendant mare said, indicating the extra fabric that rested on Applejack’s back. "And there are straps that go around the belly if the winds get too fierce. We sometimes use these during the winter, but weather rarely gets bad enough to warrant it."
A few minutes and some token complaints from Rarity about design later, four of the ponies were well covered, and the attending mare bid them all farewell, her tasks completed.
While the number of ponies around the fort wasn’t noticeably diminished in the aftermath of the banquet, there was a conspicuous lack of higher-ranked personnel around. Sergeant Longleap, they were told, had mysteriously decided to spend the day in 'planning' along with all officers of rank. As one guard remarked, the officers ‘planning’ were conspicuously all above the rank one would theoretically require to order the cider out of the kitchen during an equally theoretical after party. Said guard admitted to theoretical bitterness over having left early.
Thus almost leaderless, everypony at the fort ran on routine alone. The result of this was that absolutely nothing changed, testament to the stability of fortress life.
When they were informed that Princess Luna was not currently at the fort, and that Captain Pike was unable to see them, there was very little left to do at the fort for the six ponies. Twilight had really wanted to see Luna one last time, gripped by a niggling fear that she might have done something wrong.
Saddlebags heavy with supplies, they were outside the fortress sometime around noon. Even Rainbow Dash had been made to wear a set of saddlebags, and her complaining about this had been the forced topic for the last five minutes
Twilight eyed the mountains close by and sighed. She felt as fresh as she had the day they had left Ponyville, and it wasn't until she experienced the contrast now that she truly appreciated how tired she had been. Yet for all that she felt refreshed and awake, she couldn’t shake the idea that it had come at a cost she did not want to pay.
Applejack took one look at Twilight and jerked her head, indicating the mountains. "Ah ain't got no map, but Ah reckon' it's that way, yes?" The farmpony promptly began walking, leaving the rest to follow. At her side, Rarity unfolded a map they had been given at the fort and held it steady with her magic so Fluttershy could have a look at it.
"You look even dorkier than usual with that cloak," Rainbow Dash said with a grin over at Twilight.
"We look like creepy evil enchantresses!" Pinkie Pie agreed. Or disagreed.
Twilight grumbled, but a smirk crept up on her soon after. "Well, we can't all be pegasi. Speaking of pegasi, how's flying with those saddlebags?"
Rainbow Dash frowned. "We're eating the stuff in my bags first."
"Hey, if you can't handle it, Ah'm sure I could carry your bags, too, Rainbow Dash," Applejack offered.
Dash glared at the orange earth pony, looking for a challenge that wasn’t there. "I’m fine. But really. Can we do that? I mean, I'm all for helping carry stuff, but we need me to, um, scout, right? And flying with these things on blows."
"It makes the most sense. I don't think it'll be a problem," Twilight agreed. "As long as you don't eat everything on our first stop just so you can get rid of them."
"Oh come on, give me some credit," Dash groaned.
"Um. About food," Fluttershy interjected, looking up from the map she was studying. "I was just wondering. We're bringing the food because Scandineighvia is kind of bare?"
Twilight nodded. "It's mountains, rocky shores and equally rocky subarctic tundra, mostly, and I don't think any of us feel like eating moss and grazing on any random vegetation we can find. We should have plenty to spare, though. Don't worry, Fluttershy."
"Oh I'm not worried, it’s just... There are tribes of griffins there," Fluttershy said, furrowing her brow in mild consternation.
"Well duh, that's why we're going there, right?" Dash said, rolling her eyes. Fluttershy lowered her head a little.
"What do they eat then? If they can’t farm, I mean," Fluttershy finally asked.
Dash opened her mouth and Twilight immediately fixed her with an angry stare, as if she could will the pegasus to shut up and be quiet. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash did notice and froze mid breath-intake, but Fluttershy saw the exchange, too. Though the yellow mare may be timid to a fault, she wasn't stupid.
"Oh," was all Fluttershy said, licking her lips and swallowing. After a moment of awkward silence, she was quick to leap back into a discussion on landmarks and campsites with Rarity again. Within a minute, she called Rainbow Dash over to show her where she thought Gilda would likely be. Fluttershy was talking a lot more than usual, obviously trying to distract herself from thinking about it, but Twilight couldn't think of anything to add.
"We keep moving, they keep getting bigger, but we're really not gettin' any closer, are we?" Applejack said with a note of wonder in her voice as she looked at the still-growing mountains.
"I'm sure we'll get there soon," Twilight offered without much conviction. She craned her neck to look up the mountains of Orion’s Breath. The peaks disappeared in the puffy white clouds above.
Every step felt like it was taking her in the wrong direction, like a rubber band just waiting for the opportunity to snap back into place. While she was thus lost in thought, Rarity fell back from the lead to join the other ponies.
"You certainly seem, well, better, if you don't mind me saying. I am glad the princess was right," Rarity said cheerfully. "She's been a little more forthcoming since we left that dreadful village, don’t you think?"
Twilight nodded. "I think she's realized she's not going to scare us away. Do you know why she thought she was causing my dreams, anyway?"
"She just knew!" Pinkie piped. "Maybe it's like a tingly Luna-sense? A prin-sense? Or maybe it's because she's the Princess of Dreams? I mean, duh!"
Blinking, Twilight turned to the pink pony. It was of course entirely true, and it made perfect sense, uncanny as that was coming from Pinkie Pie. Of course Luna would know. "Okay, I really should have caught up on that," Twilight admitted in a mutter, feeling a little silly for missing what had been right in front of her all the time.
It didn’t explain the specifics, though. Nor did it cover why the princess hadn’t talked to her about it, either. What it did was make her her feel twice as stupid for not simply asking her straight up. Perhaps there was another way that meant they could avoid splitting up, but the princess simply assumed that this was the best way? Perhaps there was some sort of alternative?
Pinkie bounced a little closer, her cloak flapping up and down around her like a wayward tent in a storm. She tilted her head at Twilight with concern. "Twilight? Why are you all frowny?"
Twilight didn't even try to hide her frustration. "Because the second the princess starts making even a little bit of sense, I've driven her away. Now we have to go to Scandineighvia alone, and I’m pretty sure it's my fault. Of course I'm not happy about that!"
Applejack suddenly stopped right in front of Twilight, making the unicorn collide with her and halting everypony else dead in their tracks. A dazed Twilight looked up to see Applejack glaring at her, annoyance brandished like a weapon. "Okay, Twi'? That's just about enough of your gosh-darn bellyachin'!"
The purple unicorn gaped, scrabbling for a reply, but Pinkie Pie smartly slid in between them, facing Twilight. Fluttershy, similarly, was at Applejack's side putting a hoof to her side. Rainbow Dash looked ready to hop in and hold Applejack back, but she made no move to advance.
"Twilight," the pink pony said, gazing straight at her. "You're not alone. None of us are alone. We have each other, right?" She was smiling, as always, but there was something imploring in her look. One corner of her mouth twitched.
Twilight nodded reluctantly, ashamed. She was about to speak up, but Pinkie stole the initiative again, the party pony implacably chipper. "Besides, if Luna is trying to fix your bad dreams, that means she cares about you and likes you a lot, too, right?" Pinkie paused to glance over at Applejack. The farmpony was thankfully content to watch, calming down.
"Even if she's a Blunt McBluntycape, Applejack is right. Well, except the part about belly-aching. Aw, if you have a tummy ache, we need to fix that! Oo, I think Fluttershy brought some leaves for that!" Pinkie bounced over to Fluttershy, who was giving her a very confused look.
"Oh, no, wait. That wasn't my point! We all love you, but we need you to be extra super Twilight-Sparkly! We're going really far away, and we only have each other, but that's like, a lot! More than anypony could possibly dream of!"
Twilight flushed, looking around at all her friends. She wasn't being herself, true enough. She knew she could be a better friend than this, and she certainly had not meant to make any of them worry. Looking around, she saw five sets of cautiously hopeful smiles. "I'm sorry. I'll try harder," she managed. “I’m just thinking a lot, I guess. And all these dreams haven’t helped.”
"Don't worry 'bout it sugarcube," Applejack said, moving over to give her a hug. There was a collective sigh of relief as they crossed necks; in short order they were moving again, faster this time, and in a considerably better mood.
One thing was gnawing on Twilight's mind still, though, and she felt compelled to ask. "Er, Pinkie, what did you say about Luna again? That I 'like her a lot'?" Twilight asked, but she got no reply and it soon became clear why. The others had halted. The bookish unicorn had been so used to seeing the grey wall of Orion’s Breath ahead of them that she had almost stopped considering the possibility of actually arriving at the pass.
Having just crested a small hill, they could see that said pass was now scant few minutes’ gallop away now, and so were the mountains. Looking up the sheer and jagged mountain hurt her neck. The others crowded around her, their gazes also pulled up the near sheer wall ahead.
"That's... very tall," Fluttershy finally said, looking almost straight up. There was a muted thud of a takeoff and Rainbow Dash soared up into the air. Within less than a minute, she pierced the clouds and disappeared.
"Well, we're not going up and over, at least. There’s our ticket," Twilight said, pointing at what Fluttershy had named ‘The Scar’. The dirt road they had faithfully followed for so long went straight into what wasn't so much a pass as it was a crack in the mountain wall. It looked open to the sky from here, but it was hard to see very far as the path fell into darkness.
"I'm tempted to say I'd prefer the mountaintops to that gloomy little path," Rarity muttered. "But most of all, I'd prefer neither of the two."
Rainbow Dash thundered down from the clouds and landed next to Twilight wearing a huge grin. "Oh I wish you guys should see this!" The chromatic pegasus exclaimed. "Mountains and untamed clouds everywhere! I don't even know if I could fly through that unless I went above." As she spoke, her eyes grew wider still. "Ohmygosh, but I am so gonna try!"
Rainbow Dash's form sunk down a little as Applejack walked up behind her and put the pegasus' saddlebags back on for her. "Yeah well, not today you ain't. Ah don't care how fast you are, but we ain't losing each other here now," Applejack snorted.
Twilight nodded at the wisdom of this, as did they all. Rainbow Dash groaned and stared longingly up into the sky, but said nothing legible in protest. Taking the vanguard, Twilight trotted ahead into the false dusk of the pass. The others soon followed, hastening to close the gap and stick together.
Though it was still early enough that it would be rather pessimistic to call it afternoon, Celestia's sun disappeared as they stepped into the mountain pass. It would have been difficult to fit two carts side by side, and without Twilight and Rarity, it would be very dark indeed.
The first few minutes passed in silence, everypony glancing about apprehensively though there was precious little to see. To their sides there was only grey rock. Far above, barely any wider than the path, a thin stripe of blue sky taunted them. It seemed to exist only to make sure nopony could call it a cave, for it served no other use. The road soon started sloping gently downwards, and it seemed to Twilight that what little light came in from above perpetually threatened to disappear.
"I really wonder how this place came to be," Twilight said, breaking the silence.
"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You suspect this is shaped? Unnatural?” Rarity asked.
"It's a bit odd, that's all," Twilight shrugged.
Fluttershy drew a little closer at that, suddenly nervous. "Um. The map didn't say anything about that."
"Maybe the princess did it and ran away?" Pinkie Pie asked, though whether it was said to try to soothe Fluttershy or if it was an honest suggestion, Twilight couldn't tell.
"What did you find out anyway? Can I have a look at the map?" Twilight asked, and Fluttershy was happy to oblige, retrieving the map for Twilight to levitate as they walked.
Fluttershy pointed with her snout at a few key locations and explained. "It's not very detailed when you get through the mountains. I mean, I'm sure it's a very nice map, but..." The pegasus frowned. "Once we get through the pass, we'll be in what's labelled ‘The Grand Tundra’. Rainbow Dash says we should head to this point here. That's Clawford, the closest town. There aren’t a lot of landmarks, but it’s by a mountain that stands by itself, so it shouldn’t be very hard to find."
"You think Gilda will be there?" Twilight asked Dash.
"Maybe. She told me about the town way back, should at least be somepony there who knows where her tribe is," Dash explained.
"Tribe?" Rarity asked, aghast.
"Most griffins live in tribes, yeah. You know, hunting, warpaint, that kinda stuff. Gilda is from a tribe like that." Rainbow Dash shrugged and faced forwards.
"What in the world was she doing in Equestria then?" Rarity pressed, confused.
Dash looked away, which in the tight confines of the pass meant she faced the mountain wall. "Listen, these aren't really my secrets to tell, you know. Can we just drop it, please?"
Twilight shook her head in support of Rarity. "I'm sorry Rainbow, but I don't think we can. We're here to help, right? And if I'm not mistaken, you know what's happened." She thought back to Dash's outburst before they had even left Ponyville. "If we're going to help you help her, then we need to know what's going on. You know more than Luna does, don't you?"
After a moment’s contemplation, Dash nodded at her friends, though still visibly reluctant. "Okay, just, not now. I'll tell you before we reach Clawford. That cool? Just let me, ugh, think."
Twilight nodded and smiled. "That's fine, yes." Satisfied they would be getting answers and leaving Rainbow Dash to her thoughts, she turned her attention back to the map, indicating a symbol. "Hey, what's this, then, Fluttershy?"
"Oh, that's the major trade route from Clopenhagen to the villages just past the Equestria-Scandineighvian border," Fluttershy explained, smiling. "There’s a major pass to our west. This pass we're taking now, The Scar, really isn't used a lot. In fact, um, we may be the first to use it in a very long while."
Twilight looked back and forth between the stone walls that flanked them and quirked a brow. "I can't imagine why anypony would want to miss out on this beautiful scenery. This is practically a national treasure."
She remembered her own words an hour later when the little slice of blue that had kept them company far above suddenly disappeared. In a matter of seconds, the pass had finally taken the plunge and became a tunnel. The soothing blue-white light of Rarity's horn glowed in concerto with Twilight's own, and the six ponies forged onwards with nary a complaint. At least that seemed to be the case until Rainbow Dash noticed something.
"Uh, is it just me, or is the cave getting smaller?" Dash asked.
"I thought it was Fluttershy who was afraid of caves," Twilight admitted, eliciting a weak noise of protest from Fluttershy herself. Rainbow Dash was adamant.
"I'm not! But it is!" The blue pegasus pointed up with a hoof, and Twilight obliged by intensifying the light. True enough, the ceiling of the cave appeared to be a lower than it had a while ago.
"Ah hope we're not gonna hit a dead end," Applejack remarked, yet the cave ceiling’s encroachment did not seem deterred by her concerns. Soon, Twilight did not have to make an effort with her light to see the rock over their heads anymore, and the walls at their sides began closing in as well. A little later, the ponies couldn't walk more than three abreast. Ten minutes after that, it was uncomfortable to walk side by side for even two of them. Later still, they were walking single file, with many complaints from Dash about being unable to even spread her wings.
"Um, Pinkie? Could you please maybe stop biting my tail?" Fluttershy asked.
"Mrph," came the muffled reply before Pinkie let go of the butter-colored pegasus' pink tail. "I'm sorry, but I'm tired of rocks, and your tail is better than rocks, so..." Pinkie paused, shrugged, and Fluttershy yelped and sighed as her tail was once again seized in the party pony's mouth.
"And that's why I'm back here!" Rainbow Dash piped from behind Pinkie.
“Ah’m sure that’s the only reason, sugarcube,” Applejack chuckled.
"Well, if you're unhappy about the walking order, that's tough, because I don't think I could even turn around any longer. We'd be walking backwards for half an hour," Twilight said, but even as she spoke, she could see natural light ahead. She upped her pace, careful not to have her saddlebags snag on the uneven walls that nearly hugged them now. There was a round of hopeful noises behind her. Within minutes, they finally passed through a tiny opening, barely big enough for a pony to pass comfortably through.
Applejack was the last to exit the pass, and the first to comment on what greeted them. "Well, that's about the sorriest sight Ah ever saw since a cart ran over my hat."
Rarity pursed her lips and surveyed the landscape thoughtfully. "Well, it certainly has a savage beauty, I think? It's different, at the very least." The fashionista retrieved papers and coals almost subconsciously as she spoke. “Very different.”
The stark tundra ahead presented a variety of colors, but they were all on the darker side of the spectrum. The ground was mostly dry rock or soil with swathes of dark green moss and lichen. Not a single tree was visible for as far as they could see. In the distance, in the gaps between mountains and tall hills, there was a massive expanse of dark blue stretching to the horizon.
After giving the tundra the briefest of glances, however, Twilight’s attention was drawn to the immediate area. They were quite clearly standing in a crater that bordered on the Scar’s exit. Even though it was heavily eroded, the gentle bowl-shape described a crater the size of the library tree in Ponyville, perhaps six or seven hooves deep at the center. Something had struck here at the base of the mountain, and the 'pass' was directed outwards from the middle of it.
"The ocean!" Fluttershy exclaimed, eyes wide with wonder. “I do hope we get to see the ocean!”
"Well, Clawford is by the coast. Let's take a short rest and work on getting there, yes?" Twilight asked with a smile, pleased to see that the proposition was met with enthusiastic assent. They briefly considered having their dinner inside the cave, but the cramped conditions made the notion very impractical. Instead, they sat down their supplies and rested in the crater, sharing the food from one of Rainbow Dash's saddlebags.
As they ate, Twilight realized that what was growing in her gut wasn’t so much an eagerness to explore and move on, as she had first suspected, but an uneasiness about the existence of the crater as a whole. When they left behind the marginal shelter it offered, packing their things and moving on, Twilight couldn’t quite hold back a sigh of relief.
Fluttershy had already decided on a direction, pointing the party almost due south. Twilight was quick to pull the hood of her cloak up as they began moving. As they had been warned, the air was colder on this side of the mountains, and it didn’t get any warmer as the day went on. The situation wasn’t helped by the lack of cover from the wind on the tundra. Each of the two next breaks were less cheery than the last, the non-pegasi huddling under their cloaks and eating quickly.
Despite this, the day passed quickly and quietly with so many new smells and sights to explore. Fluttershy was looking for animal life, of which precious little showed itself, while Twilight busied herself watching Rarity sketching away as they walked. The white unicorn's precision was a marvel to behold. She did a better job with her coals on the move than Twilight could when she sat down at her desk. There was a reason the purple unicorn had Spike write her letters.
At the present moment, Rarity was sketching out something that looked vaguely reminiscent of the cloaks they were wearing, but with a number of additions and modifications. Twilight was not usually too concerned with matters of fashion, but she could certainly appreciate Rarity's skill and dedication. When asked, Rarity confirmed that she was indeed working on cloak designs. "I wouldn't want to be without these cloaks right now, especially if it gets colder in the evening, but if there's a market for these in Equestria somewhere, surely there's a way to stay warm without offending the eyes," the fashionista explained.
When time came to make camp for the night, the harsh reality of the tundra became even more apparent. There wasn't exactly a lot of firewood around, and while Twilight could certainly have made a fire without any fuel, she'd have to maintain it with her magic all night. Short on options, the ponies huddled close together in the growing shadow of a little hill.
Now that they were no longer moving, the wind was felt twice as keenly, cloaks or no cloaks. Rarity fished out a thin blanket from her bags to cover them all, but it was meager protection from the night. Though they might be less susceptible to the cold, Twilight could tell that the wind bothered Fluttershy, at least. As the dark of night fully seized them, only Rarity and the pegasi were asleep.
"So it's all Celestia, huh?" Pinkie Pie whispered, looking up at the moon above. The party pony was on her back, all but her face covered in cloak, blanket, and one of Fluttershy's wings.
"Guess so," Applejack whispered back. "What of it, sugar?"
"I just know I'm not happy when I don't get to party," Pinkie Pie said, sounding oddly pensive. "I'd go crazy alone here without you girls."
Twilight felt a hoof sneak over and draw her into a hug with the pink earth pony. She offered no resistance, instead hugging Pinkie Pie right back, glad for the extra warmth. "You're right, Pinkie," she muttered. "And Applejack, you're really not happy when you're dragged away from Sweet Apple Acres, are you?" she asked. It was as rhetorical a question as they came.
There was a moment's silence before the apple farmer admitted it. "You know Ah ain't, Twi'. There's a reason Rarity brings her work with her, too. And Ah reckon it might explain Fluttershy, um, goin’ off her rockers back in the Hollows." Twilight felt a chill go down her spine at the mention of that whole scene, nodding mutely.
The unicorn thought about this for a long while. When she finally spoke again, she wasn't sure if anypony else was awake, so it was in the smallest of whispers she asked. "Do you think that's why Luna's acting strange?"
No reply came. It was a silly question anyway. Twilight had no idea how Luna was supposed to be, despite her protests to her friends earlier. She just didn't know, but thinking about all this kindled another memory, a far more recent one. Twilight twisted around, stuck between Pinkie Pie and Rarity as she was, until she came face to face with Pinkie. "Pinkie, what did you say earlier about Luna and me? What was it you said again?"
Pinkie Pie giggled in her sleep and leaned in to snore against Twilight's neck.