For a second, it looked as if the train had stopped without reason, but as the ponies looked outside, they found themselves in the middle of a huge camp of royal guards. Some of them were coming, others going, and they all looked exhausted.
Cadance and her escort climbed off the train first, followed by everypony else. From the crowd, Twilight saw somepony trotting forward to meet them. It was Smoke Jumper, the unicorn guard who was with them the night Blight escaped.
"Your Highnesses!" she saluted. "Princess Celestia and Luna are waiting. Their tent's at the center of camp. You’d better follow me; it’s easy to get lost in here."
Smoke Jumper led the ponies through a maze of tents not unlike the one in Canterlot. Everywhere she looked, Twilight saw guards hurriedly eating, talking quietly, or trying to sleep. It was a gloomy sight, contained only once the ponies came to a tent, in front of which stood Smoke Jumper's pegasus partner. Stepping into the dim interior, they found Princess Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor standing around a large table, examining the map that covered it.
Smoke Jumper saluted, clicking her heels together as she came to a halt. The princesses and Twilight's brother looked up with a start.
"Your Highnesses, Princess Cadance and Twilight are here."
"Thank you, Smoke Jumper," said the Princess. "Come in, everypony. We weren’t expecting all of you."
"Are you two alright?" asked Cadance.
Princess Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor walked away from the table. "Don’t worry, we’re all fine. Keeping the shield up has just taken its toll on everypony." Through one of the tent's plastic windows, the Princess pointed over the peaked roofs of the tents. Behind them glowed the shield, looking exactly as it had on the morning of Blight's escape. Through its shifting bands of colored light, Twilight could make out a few buildings, still standing, miraculously.
"We have to rotate ponies out every hour to keep them from collapsing," Shining Armor explained. "We don’t know how, but Blight’s pushing back on it. We’ve been able to keep it from breaking by expanding it every now and then, but we’re not sure how long we can safely do that."
"Fortunately, we have taken care to reinforce the shield as well," Luna added. "He should no longer be able to send out his seeds, though we fear it is only a matter of time until he discovers a weakness."
"Sounds like he already has," said Alpenglow. "He’s not trying to escape, Princess, he’s been biding his time to get his strength back." He turned to Twilight. "We were lucky. It looks like the Elements of Harmony did something to him. Chances are he’s had to deal with whatever effect they had on him in addition to the shield."
Rainbow frowned. "So how does that help us?"
"It means we have more time to figure out how to stop him for good, without wiping Ponyville off the map." He turned to face the princesses. "I figured you kept that in mind from the start."
Princess Celestia frowned. "Yes, we did. As dangerous as Blight is, even he couldn’t stand against everypony here. But doing so would surely destroy Ponyville and the surrounding area in the process. We must keep that plan only as a last resort."
"Please," said Luna, "tell us you have found another way."
"We have," answered Twilight. "With Alpenglow’s help, we were able to fight past Blight and reach the Crystal Empire. We found in the library that the knights used the Elements of Heroism to defeat Blight."
Princess Celestia thought for a moment. "That must be how Starswirl imprisoned Blight the first time. Alpenglow, when we brought you and Blight back to Equestria, we found no trace of the elements."
"They were destroyed," Twilight explained, "but there might be another way. When I looked in Alpenglow’s memories, I saw that the Elements of Heroism were dark magic, which makes them work against Blight."
Luna looked at Twilight, worried. "You...saw what happened the day he defeated Blight?"
Twilight continued, not quite understanding Luna’s concern. "Not a lot, but enough that I think we can use Blight's box with the Elements of Harmony to trap him again."
"That ain’t all we found," added Applejack. "We’ve got it figured to head to that observatory in the Appaloosan mountains. We’re betting on finding the spell to make the whole thing work over there."
"That’s a lot more than we had three days ago," Shining Armor said, wiping his brow. "You guys did some good work."
"Without a doubt," said Princess Celestia. "We will send what we know to Discord right away so he can offer his thoughts on the matter. Cadance, while the rest of them search the observatory, I’d like you to stay here and help with shield. I am certain the rest of the royalty in Canterlot will be able to manage."
Cadance hooked Shining Armor’s hoof with hers. "I’d be happy to."
"Luna and I must remain here as well, but we have every confidence that you will succeed."
"You've made a great deal of progress already," said Luna.
"But as always, be on your guard for Blight," the Princess warned. "He attacked you once, and will certainly try again, if given the chance."
"We’re always careful, Princess!" Rainbow Dash proclaimed.
"Some more than others," Applejack pointed out as they all turned to follow Smoke Jumper out of the camp.
"One moment, Alpenglow," said Luna, "We would like to speak with you. In private."
"Yes, Princess," answered Alpenglow. "...May Twilight stay?"
Princess Celestia and Luna looked at each other a moment. "If you’re sure that’s what you want. Twilight?" the princess said.
Twilight nodded as Spike climbed from her back and left with everypony else. For a moment, nopony talked. The princesses stood next to each other, facing Twilight and Alpenglow, who took off his helmet and clipped it to his saddlebag.
Luna stepped closer. "This is the second time now. When was I ever anything other than ‘Luna’ to you?"
The stallion shrugged. "It’d been a while. It didn’t feel right anymore."
Princess Celestia stepped closer to him. "It doesn’t matter how much time has passed. You’ll always be our student, and our friend. Why couldn’t you talk to us back at the library? We could always talk when it was just us."
"I just...don’t know, Princess. I forgot a lot when I was in there, but I always remembered you, both of you." He paused. "And I always will. But things can’t be like they used to."
"Why not?" asked Luna.
He lowered his head. "It’s different now. I’m not that kid anymore."
Princess Celestia draped her wing over him. "Alpenglow, we told you, many times, that we saw something special in you. It was there when you were a colt, and it’s still there now." She raised his chin with her hoof so he was looking at her. "Nothing you do could ever make us think different. Whatever happened, you can tell us."
Slowly the depth of the three ponies' relationship formed in Twilight's mind. While she appreciated the additional understanding of how personal this whole affair was for both the princesses and Alpenglow, it suddenly made her feel awkward, as if she were intruding. The discomfort passed quickly, for Twilight realized- with no shortage of relief and pride- that her presence was surefire proof of Princess Celestia's trust in her. And perhaps in his request for her to stay, Alpenglow felt the same. Though it had only been mere days, the first time she met him was beginning to feel like a lifetime ago.
Twilight couldn't deny it; she was dreading where this conversation might take all of them, but unlike that night in the Everfree Forest, she truly believed in her power to control her apprehension, as well as the doubt that had kept her quiet in the Crystal Mountains. There was no telling why Alpenglow had asked her to stay, but it didn't change the fact that she was here, and could change things for the better. She held out the letter in her hoof, and everypony's eyes slowly descended upon it.
"Alpenglow," said Twilight, "I know this is hard right now, but you know they just want to help you. We all do. But Princess Celestia and Luna need to know what happened first. They deserve to know. You can’t change your past, but you can rise to face it."
Alpenglow’s eyes were coal lumps, but as he looked up at Twilight, his mouth opened slightly. There was a spark in his eyes, as if he had been waiting for her to say those exact words. He nodded and looked again at the princesses.
"It wasn’t your fault. Even if I said it, none of it was your fault."
Princess Celestia stared at the letter, eyes narrowed and lips pursed. With a slight reluctance, she took it from Twilight and opened it in front of herself and Luna. As Twilight had done the first time she read, their faces drooped with each passing line. Their eyes wavered from left to right, first quickly, then slowly, finishing on the verge of tears.
Princess Celestia hung her head in shame. "I’m...sorry. I'm so sorry, Alpenglow. When we finally found you, we had no idea what happened. We never should have sent you there.
"You did the right thing. If you hadn't sent us, it would've been a lot worse for the griffins. We didn’t know what Blight was then, and when Bridge Builder finally turned on us..." He shook his head. "None of us wanted to believe it."
Luna stared at the letter dolefully. "All of them? Honeydew? Vera?" Alpenglow nodded.
"What about Tawny Timbre?" asked Princess Celestia. "She wasn't with the others when we brought all of you back to Equestria."
"I don't remember."
"If there's a chance that you do, would you take it? If you are willing to remember, then we don't have to risk sending you, Twilight, and everypony else to the observatory. We could stop Blight as soon as tomorrow."
"I can't argue with that."
"Then if I may," suggested Luna, "perhaps it’s time we continued from where we left off at the library." Her horn began to glow.
Alpenglow backed away, but whatever he saw in Twilight's eyes gave him the strength to stop and face Luna. He swallowed hard as her horn came to rest on his head.
There was no flash, no sudden sensation of being somewhere else. The walls of the tent merely melted away before Twilight, revealing not the hills surrounding Ponyville, but an ugly forest of gnarled, dead trees. Twilight felt mud beneath her hooves, and when she looked down at the ground, she saw her body, hazy and translucent. She looked to either side, and could see straight through both princesses, too. Behind them lay more of the same, sad wasteland, so grotesque that it looked unnatural, artificial. It was as if someone had come and with sludge painted over what had once been a pristine pine forest.
The princesses looked around the lifeless landscape in horror, until movement turned their attention forward. Twilight followed their gaze and saw Alpenglow, who was standing at the gaping maw of a cave. Unlike Twilight and the princesses, he was solid. Next to him was another pony in worn, muddy armor. The young mare wore a round, hat-like helmet, and when she turned to look at Alpenglow, underneath the dirt and grime, Twilight could see a caramel face and a pair of bright, hazel eyes. The mare's legs rocked her back and forth sleepily, the way a breeze gently shook a reed, and where the mud hit her hooves, its sloshing became the gurgle of a stony stream. Between that and her vanilla mane, which draped her shoulders like the leaves of a willow, the pony was a pearl in a sewer.
"I guess this is it, huh?" she said in a maple voice.
"He has to be here," Alpenglow uttered hoarsely. "The griffins back in the village said this forest was healthy just a few days ago. We've had nothing else to go on this week."
"You really think the elements will work?"
"That's what Starswirl told us. Blight just never stuck around long enough for us to use them."
The mare rubbed her eyes as she stared back at the dead forest. "Where did last week go?" she sighed.
"I don’t know."
"We’ll find Nautilus and the rest of them. They couldn’t have gotten far. Princess Celestia can fix whatever Blight did to them, then we can work on helping the griffins rebuild their homes. We can fix all of this, right?"
Alpenglow silently stooped over, like an over-burdened mule. When he continued to give no answer, his friend stepped in front of him and used her hoof to force his chin up.
"Right?"
"Yeah...sure."
The mare pouted. "I didn't realize we brought Luna on this mission, too."
"Funny."
"Somepony has to be with you around."
Alpenglow exhaled heavily. He straightened up and smiled weakly at her.
"Thanks, Tawny."
She hugged him, and as the two of them faced the cave again she said, "No sense waiting here. Let’s go."
Alpenglow and Tawny Timbre waded towards the mouth of the cave, the three ghostly princesses following behind. As they walked, Princess Luna explained, "This is not too different from when I enter a pony’s dreams. With luck, Alpenglow's memories will slowly reveal themselves, allowing us to finally see what happened, as well as how he stopped Blight despite losing the Elements of Heroism."
"But if we can see his memories, why didn’t we do that in the first place?" Twilight asked.
"We tried that night in the library, Twilight," answered the Princess. "But he had forgotten too much. The few memories he had left contained nothing useful, which is why we sent him with you."
Twilight thought for a moment. "And you wanted to see if we could help bring him back to normal, to when he was your student."
"Yes. As difficult it may be to believe, he used to be a very different pony. He was always serious, but never cold. He loved to learn and explore, and no matter where he went, he inspired the ponies around him." The Princess frowned bitterly. "It’s hard to remember him in such a way now."
"We had hoped the time spent with you all might help him leave behind his past," continued Luna. "This spell depends on his willingness to remember it, and though I sense he has recovered somewhat, whether or not it is sufficient remains to be seen."
The princesses were cut off by Tawny and Alpenglow talking. They were all deep inside the cave now. Weak slivers of sunlight still trickled in, but quickly retreated when Tawny lit a torch and placed it in a slot on her saddle. Alpenglow took off his helmet. The two knights stood at a crossroad of three tunnels, three neatly dug cylinders.
"I’ve got an idea: let’s split up and cover more ground!" exclaimed Tawny. Alpenglow glared at her in disbelief, giving him no sense to react when Tawny pushed him. He landed on his side with a dusty thud.
"Gotcha," she said with an exhausted smile. "You really thought I was serious."
"You’re nuts, you know that?" Alpenglow stood and brushed himself off. He briefly considered the tunnels and said, "Luna always bragged to me about your sense of direction. Which way?"
"Well, the way I see it, he can’t have been here for more than a day or two, which means he hasn’t had chance to turn this place into the usual maze."
"So all these tunnels should lead somewhere," Alpenglow finished.
"Yeah, we'll probably run into a vineyard before him, but we'll have to take those out anyway. He’s probably still catching his breath from yesterday."
"Which means we’ve got him cornered."
The two of them pointlessly debated on which tunnel to choose for a minute, then settled on going straight down the middle. As they stepped towards the mouth of the tunnel, they crossed onto a patch of loose, freshly dug dirt.
The cave trembled. Like worms emerging from an apple, vines shot from the mud of the cave walls and out of the dirt patch, knocking Tawny and Alpenglow into the air. The torch fell into a nearby mud pit, and with a hiss, darkness took the knights and princesses alike.
Twilight opened her eyes. The memory was over. The princesses snapped out of the spell’s trance, horrified. Alpenglow stood in a daze, his hooves shaking steadily and his eyes fixed on nothing.
"No...I’m done," he whispered, and left the tent.
Luna stamped her hoof angrily. "It is as we feared. There is nothing we can do to make him face his past. He no longer cares." She hung her head in shame. "He is gone. We have failed…again."
"We can’t give up," said Twilight. "There has to be something we can do."
"I don’t see anything we can," Princess Celestia whispered. "Twilight, your best chance is to reach the observatory and find the spell while Luna and I retrieve the box. Alpenglow will of course help and protect you, but I’m afraid you will not be able to count on him for more."
"There must be something we can do," Twilight insisted. "We can try again."
"He is not the pony we knew. He is beyond our help." said Luna bitterly.
The Princess turned away. "I’m afraid Luna is right. Neither of us are in any position to help him, and there are things that time and hate do to a pony that even we cannot fix." In a tone eerily similar to Alpenglow’s, she added, "For now, we must focus on the current task of defeating Blight. Nothing else matters."
"Princess...that’s not true."
"I’m sorry, Twilight, but we knew him for a long time, and maybe one day we can help him, but for now, we are on our own. Now go. There is no time to lose." In a weary walk, the princesses lead her out, and before she could even turn around, they had retreated back into the tent.
Twilight shook her head, almost fuming. Back in the mountains, she realized that being a leader meant persisting even in the face of doubts, whether they came from within her or without. While it hadn't been easy, she accepted that responsibility- to stop everypony from giving up- readily. It was one story with her friends; they all depended on each other, and she would do anything for them. But to see the princesses give up on Alpenglow, after all the time she had spent getting to know him, was just a bit too much to bear. She was frustrated with all three of them for not having the same strength as her friends, but she stopped herself when a moth in her ear whispered:
"Your memories of them were gone, but so was the feeling of losing them. Would you want to remember that, Twilight? Even if it meant losing them all over again?"
It seemed understanding always came at a price. Twilight appreciated that she still struggled to answer Alpenglow’s question. Apparently so did he, and so did the princesses.