They had been assembled in the training yard. Dawn Event paced back and forth, looking over the team dubiously. "Team Friendship?" he asked, one brow raising.
Twilight flushed softly but said nothing, keeping her eyes ahead as she stood alongside her teammates.
"A donkey and three outworlders that have just barely learned what the word adventure means," continued Dawn, "Surely the gods do test us in their ways." He lifted a hoof to point at Long Road, "You, paladin. Are your oaths intact after years of living a simple life?"
Long Road nodded swiftly, "I never set aside morality for sake of my business."
"Good," spoke Dawn, moving his hoof to point at Pinkie, "And you. I am informed you are a bard. Are you prepared to support us when the odds turn against us and hope is lost?"
Pinkie bobbed her head fiercely before bursting into a familiar song, "My name is Pinkie Pie. And I am here to say. I'm gonna make you smile and I will brighten up your day." Dawn Event waved his pointing hoof, but she continued unimpeded, "It doesn't matter now. If you are sad or blue, 'Cause cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie's here to do!"
"Yes," he spoke, "I see." He closed his eyes and let out his breath in a slow release before looking at the group. "Well, we're as ready as we are going to be. Miss Sparkle, read this and learn it." He produced a scroll and held it to her in mouth. She easily lifted it away from him, floating it as she began studying the spell written thereon. "You will need to cast it, then we begin our journey. Speed is important, so we will be riding on what Miss Sparkle summons. The spell will not last a full day, Miss Sparkle, so bare it in mind and recast it every few hours."
Twilight only nodded distractedly, pulling out her spellbook and making quick notes of the spell in her own words and shortcuts. As she put the final touches on it, the scroll suddenly burst into flames and fell to the ground as so much ash. "That never happened before," she noted with some surprise.
"The ink in scrolls are made to be used once, unlike spellbooks, but they are empowered to be cast directly, if we so choose. It is more useful under your direct usage, as you are a skilled spellcaster," explained Dawn Event, "Now, cast."
Twilight looked back over her notes, furiously reading over them as sparks and eddies seemed to swirl around her. Internally she shuffled around the compartmentalized memory she had learned from Under Score, nudging out the invisibility trick and filling that space with this new spell in a feat of rapid memorization. Smiling with pride, she began to speak the words of power. Energy rushed in from all directions, gathering as she spoke, forming five horses of radiant light that pawed at the ground. "There," she announced, then blinked at them, "They're like the things the orcs were riding."
Dawn Event reared into two legs, then swung himself up on top of one of the horses, "Horses. Larger, stronger, but not given the divine spark of intelligence by the gods. These are magical creations of them. Come."
Spike started to scramble onto one, then slid off, grunting. "Wait, I bet I can fly as fast as these things run," he said dismissively, lifting from the ground and hovering there. "I don't need a horse."
Pinkie was eager to try a new thing, bouncing on top of hers and holding on tightly. What she lacked in skill, she made up for in enjoying the new height, giggling all the while.
Twilight felt information flowing from the circlet on her head and smoothly mounted her horse without issue as if it were second nature, "And here I thought that would be useless," she murmured, relying on the riding skill the band was imparting.
Long Road was last, more skilled than Pinkie and Spike, but not as much as Twilight, he at least knew how to get in place and nudge his horse towards the road, "The sooner we head off, the sooner we get there."
"Well spoken," said Dawn as he urged his horse ahead, overtaking and moving past Long Road, he lead the way out of the city. The crowds moved out of the way of the horses seemingly out of instinct, and the gate came up swiftly. The guards wished them well on the way past, and soon they were on the small trade road heading westwards.
As they road, Pinkie began to bounce in place, singing gleefully as music roused around her to join in soft western twang, "We ride on to the west, to take our very first test. We're gonna prove them all wrong, that's why I'm gonna sing a song! We got brains," she directed to Twilight with her snout, "and brawn," she looked to Spike, "And heart as pure as gold!" She turned to look at Long Road, "So long as we stick together, this epic tale will be told! Nothing's gonna stop us now, we're gonna prove our worth. Nothing's gonna stop us now, even if we have to travel 'cross the earth!"
Long Road and Spike gave their soft applause at the impromptu song as Dawn Event pulled alongside Twilight, "I doubt you can keep the spell going for more than two hours at a time. Be sure to tell us when to pause to recast it or we'll end up on the ground in a very undignified fashion."
Twilight gave a firm nod, and they made good speed across the trail. Riding a horse was a new experience for Twilight and Pinkie, feeling the powerful equines beneath them in a controlled gallop that seemed to devour the landscape. By the time came to cast the spell a third time, Dawn Event called a break for lunch. They hopped off their horses and allowed them to vanish back into magic before they set up camp beside the road. Unused to riding, Pinkie began to stretch out and work the kinks that had built in her springy body. Spike drifted easily, snickering softly down at her, "Shame you can't fly as fast as a horse," he taunted.
Pinkie stuck out her tongue in an enthusiastic raspberry before giggling, "We can't all be super cool dragons, Spike, Sheesh. Now come down here and have some lunch." Spike saluted and they both rejoined the others as Dawn Event was just finishing conjuring his foodstuffs. Pinkie tilted her head and sniffed at it before she reached into her backpack and pulled out some dried trail rations of her own, "May as well eat the tasty stuff before it goes bad," she reasoned, chewing happily on her oat cakes.
Dawn Event looked surprised, "You brought rations? Out of everyone here? You astound me, bard."
"Pinkie," corrected Pinkie before she took another large bite, savoring the taste before washing it down with some of the water Dawn had summoned, "Always be prepared! I used to have all kinds of things stashed away for emergencies back home."
Twilight rolled her eyes, "Including balls, in trees," she said with a rueful smirk, "And eye-patches."
Spike took his food and started floating up with it, "I'll take a look for anyone coming, just in case."
Long Road nodded between his own thoughtful chews, "Good idea. Tell us if you see anything."
The sky dragon chewed on the summoned meat softly as he did a slow rotation, taking in the countryside, flat as it was in most directions. He could see some rolling hills to the north, and the road continuing to the west, avoiding the hills. Not spotting any incoming raiders or otherwise, he rejoined the group, reporting what he saw as the last bit of his meal vanished down his gullet.
Dawn nodded, "To be expected. We are making acceptable time. We may reach Ebon Silk by tomorrow, then we go north along the lake until we reach the rail line."
Pinkie leaned over, "You guys have a train too? We have a train! It goes all across Equestria."
Long Road made a wide gesture, "It's a long path across the middle of Everglow. I was told the dwarves and ponies worked together to make it, but I've never been on it myself."
"I have," spoke Dawn Event. "It will get us to Viljatown swiftly. I will give further directions there."
Twilight lifted an ear even as she stood up along with everyone else, meal completed. "Viljatown, that's the capital isn't it?" At Dawn Event's nod, she smiled broadly, "Maybe we'll meet the princess, that would be fantastic."
"Queen," spoke Dawn Event, "And she rarely appears publicly since the attack. Still, the gods clearly have plans for you. I will rule out nothing."
They mounted up, minus Spike who was content to float alongside them. Even at the gallop, Spike wasn't even going at what felt like a walking speed. He reveled in his mobility, doing lazy circles around the group as they went along.
Twilight nudged her horse alongside Dawn Event's as she asked, "Dawn, how did you know? I mean, what I did."
Dawn's expression became more unreadable, "The gods whisper." he said.
Pinkie clumsily guided her horse to be at the other end of Dawn, "Turn that frown around! What has you down?"
His neutral expression fell to an outright frown, "It is of no concern to you, bard."
"Pinkie."
"Bard. The gods whisper to me when I call to them," said Dawn Event, tone turning acidic.
"What... were you calling to them about?" asked Twilight, then realization flashed over her expression, "Wait, were you talking to her, to Luminace?" Dawn's jaw set firmly as Twilight continued in her musing, "But the books I read said... you can't just... chat with a god, unless they're in front of you, which you said can only be done once in a while, so that couldn't be it. So you used a spell, but you have to ask specific questions with those, so you had a specific question for Luminace, which was related to this, and..."
"Yes!" shouted Dawn Event, "I was going to oversee the coming of Princess Luminace. It was to be the first time I was chosen for the task. I was nervous, and asked her if she was ready. Imagine my dismay, my horror, when she replied no."
"No?!" cried a shocked Dawn Event, "Have I offended you, kind scholar?"
"No," came the gentle voice of the goddess in his mind.
"Are your enemies preventing your arrival?"
"No."
I was quickly running out of the holy water needed to keep asking questions, so I paused to consider it carefully. If not enemies, what would stop a goddess from arriving.
"Will it break the rules if you come?"
"Yes."
And there it was.
"Were you summoned too recently?"
"Yes."
Rage filled my being. How could this happen? Only those well versed in religion could even know how, and those who knew how would know not to do so! Someone had to be punished. I begged for guidance.
"How can I summon you without breaking the rules?"
"Find the summoner from another world, and take her to find the tome of lost heart."
Another world? There were only two that I knew that fit under that category. Summoner?
"It was then that I appeared in your room, giving you the tongue lashing you deserved," explained Dawn Event.
"Well," said Twilight, fidgeting on her horse, "I am sorry, truly. I did not mean to mess up your holiday, and we'll do everything we can to fix it."
"Pray that it is enough," spoke Dawn, guiding his horse away from the others to brood on his own.
Pinkie bumped her horse into Twilight's, wobbling dangerously before she regained her balance, "He's really down. Do you think I should cheer him up?"
Long Road came up to join them in line, "He needs his time, and space. We'll see how he feels when we're not riding."