//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 
// Story: When Friends are Said and Dun 
// by xenos29 
//------------------------------//

	For what seemed like hours, Twilight felt only the flapping of her wings, a chill wherever the cloak didn’t quite cover, and the gray, jagged face that had pushed itself into her own, taking up her entire view forward.  It seemed they would never cross the mountains until Rainbow Dash steered the chariot towards the snowy plains below and Twilight’s thoughts reluctantly returned to their mission.
As they descended, the chariot quickly glided away from the stony, peaked wall, eventually landing with an icy crunch.  Everypony sitting in the chariot stirred slightly with the small jolt, and as Twilight caught her breath, the snow began to fall in a slow, thick haze.  Through the course of the day, sections of the fine, frozen powder had interwoven randomly with glossy, iced-over strips of land, a frozen patchwork quilt Twilight could scarcely appreciate as she looked back at the chariot.  "Is everypony ok?"
Rarity lowered her mask.  "Yes, Twilight, just fine," she said, answering for all of them.  "How much further?"
"We’re almost there."  Up ahead on the horizon, she could see the outline of a vacant train station, which meant they really weren’t far at all now, a long walk.  Beyond that, the lights of the crystal palace sat unsupported in the middle of the black felt sky.
Their destination finally in sight, the ponies hastily changed places in the chariot.  As Pinkie took Fluttershy’s place in the harness, Twilight helped Applejack into hers, noting a silent disapproval at being behind Alpenglow.  With the two pegasi remaining at the front, the ponies resumed their trek.

The snow had stopped by the time they arrived in the empire proper.  Row after row of umbrous, geometric houses slid past the ponies, as if they were walking in place, not really moving, but being glided along a frozen sea towards harbor, which shined just ahead.  The wheels made a rich sound as they rolled over the polished streets, like a marble rolling over a wooden floor.
Instead of nopony, the empire’s royal messenger was waiting at the main entrance.  The crystal pony ran to greet them as the chariot pulled into the covered spot between the pylon "feet" of the palace.
"Princess Twilight!" she exclaimed.  "The Prince said you would arrive by early evening.  We were preparing to send out a search party."
"Thank you, Quicksilver.  Thankfully, we’re all fine."  Twilight decided to save the time explaining what had delayed them.  "We had some…problems getting here."
"I have no doubt, Your Highness.  It seems news of the attack has spread in no time.  I can only imagine the pressure Princess Cadance is under right now."
"Don’t worry, if anypony can keep Equestria together at a time like this, it’s Cadance."
"Of course, Princess.  With her and the Prince gone, most of the castle staff have gone home for the day.  Please, let me to show you to your rooms."
Quicksilver led everypony inside through the tall corridors of the palace, which glinted and gleamed even in the dim light of the hanging chandeliers.  Eventually they came to the wing which held the guest rooms.
"I’ll be back early tomorrow morning.  If any of you need something during the night, the guards will be happy to help."  She left, and everypony retired to their rooms without another word.
Twilight turned around and closed the door to the royal suite, her eyes sagging and her mind scattered.  However long she stood there, it was enough for Spike to climb into his basket and make himself comfortable before finally noticing her.  "Are you alright, Twilight?"
Still facing the door, Twilight let out a disheartened sigh.  "No, I’m not.  Oh Spike, everything's such a mess.  I don’t know how much longer everypony can keep going like this."
Spike wrestled himself from his basket and walked to her.  "You’ll figure it out, Twilight.  You always do."  He placed a reassuring claw on Twilight’s hoof and walked her to the bed.  She genuinely tried to make herself comfortable as Spike returned to his basket.
"I don’t know, Spike.  I feel so lost.  Ever since we left Ponyville, I feel like I don’t understand anything that’s happened.  Now we’re looking for these Elements of Heroism without even knowing what they are or what they do, just because we hope they're the answer to stopping Blight."  She tried to look outside, but the window was a black screen.  "...I don’t know why Princess Celestia would leave me with so little to go on."
"Maybe she doesn’t have the answers either, Twilight.  Maybe she thinks you’ll be able to figure out something she can’t."
Twilight thought for a moment.  "Like what Blight did to make Alpenglow the way he is now."
Spike shrugged.  "Maybe.  Maybe he was always like that.  He's from a different time; he probably had to be tough to be a knight."  Spike frowned bitterly as he crossed his arms.  "But he didn't have to say all that, and honestly, I think Applejack and Rarity are right."
"What do mean?" she asked uneasily.
"I dunno, after what he said, I don't think we can really trust him.  Sure, he'll help stop Blight, but he made it pretty clear he doesn't care about us or Ponyville."
Twilight closed her eyes with a sudden realization.  For reasons she couldn't quite name, she was convinced that Alpenglow was their key to saving Ponyville.  If her friends started taking sides based on whether or not they trusted him, became divided over it, then there was only one way this mission would end.  She looked at her saddlebag, whose contents even now seemed to peer at her from the foot of the bed.  Telling Spike would decide whether or not she told the rest of her friends, not to mention Alpenglow, and what happened after that was anypony's guess.  At this point, what did she really have to lose?  Keeping this secret had done nopony good so far, so it was high-time for something different.  She lifted her eyes open and sat up.
"Spike," she started, "When we were at the archives, I found out something about Alpenglow, something he doesn’t know I know.  If I'd told you all right away, it might have helped us get through to him, maybe avoided coming to the Crystal Empire in the first place.  I’m sorry for not telling you sooner."
"Don't worry, Twilight," said Spike, sitting up.  "I’m sure you had a good reason.  But why didn’t you tell us?"
"Because it would have wrong for you to hear it from me, and hurtful to Alpenglow, especially if everypony but him had found out."  Twilight picked up her saddlebag and removed the letter.  "He wrote this to Princess Celestia before he was turned to stone.  It says a little about what happened to his friends, and his plan to use the Elements of Heroism to stop Blight."
"So what did happen to them?"
Even at its simplest, the truth was all too adequate.  "Blight turned them against him, one by one, and he never saw them again."
"Oh..."  Spike's frown from earlier softened.  "So...all of them?"
"I don't think so.  Alpenglow mentioned somepony named Tawny Timbre was still with him towards the end.  She was one of the statues we saw in the cave underneath the castle."
"I didn’t get a good look, but I remember one of ‘em kinda stood out.  Was that her?"
"Yes.  I still have no idea what happened to her."
"Do you think Alpenglow does?"
"I'm not sure.  I really think he just chose to forget all of them."
"But why?  They must've all been friends once."
"Probably, but…"  Twilight shifted uncomfortably on the bed.  "I don’t know, Spike.  He’s been fighting Blight for over a thousand years.  There’s no telling what he might’ve forgotten."
"He remembered the princesses and the Elements of Heroism well enough."  He hit his palm with a fist.  "We gotta ask him."
"You really think so?"
"Come on, Twilight, you're the one who taught me lying gets you nowhere.  And not telling the truth when it’s important- that’s not exactly any better."
"I know, Spike.  And I’m sorry for keeping it from you all."
"Nah, it’s alright, Twilight.  I’m not saying you did anything wrong.  Still, everypony needs to know about this, and it's not gonna be pretty for Alpenglow one way or another.  But like Rarity said, our mission is way too big for secrets."  Spike laid back down in his basket.  "And between you and me, I think Applejack needs to hear it too.  She probably has no idea what she meant when she said that to Alpenglow."
"I’m just worried about what telling Alpenglow will do to him, or if it's going to be enough to make everypony come together."
"Well, I think it will.  And he’ll be ok...once he’s got us to help him through it."
"If he’ll let us."  Then, Twilight smiled, playfully raising an eyebrow.  "Since when did you become so wise and sensible?"
Spike stretched and placed his hands behind his head.  "Since the day I was hatched," he said coolly.
Twilight smiled.  "Thanks for listening, Spike.  Sometimes, I don’t know what I’d do without you."
"I’m sure you’d do fine.  Just not as stylishly." 
Despite their best efforts not to, the two of them laughed, but quickly quieted down for fear of waking up anypony.
"I just hope I’m doing the right thing."
"Don’t worry...Twilight." Spike yawned long and loud.  "Plenty of time…to worry...tomorrow."
Like magic, Spike fell fast asleep when the last word left his mouth, and Twilight couldn't help but envy the skill as she sank into her own pillow.  She lay there for a bit, then finally found the peace of mind to sleep.