“I am sure that you would honor our companions with your presence Princess.” Said Lyria and made an interesting looking gesture with her hook. “They have traveled with us for a while, but their own journey was far longer.”
“Oh… you should have informed me about your companions earlier. We would have provided refreshment, food and most importantly a roof over the head. They must be exhausted.”
Borealis chuckled at her last statement making Twilight think like she said something a child would have said in the Nocturian homeland. The stallion used his hook and pointed to the northwest. In the same time a cold gust of wind came from that direction and made both mares shiver. Borealis seemed to not be impressed by it, but he did cover Lyria with his body and wing, while poor Twilight was exposed to the relentless wind brought by the Pegasi.
“We have set camp in a pine forest not so far away from here. One of my friends found a cave and they decided to camp there until we would return. I personally think that some of them are actually afraid of so much open space. I can’t blame them for that though… it also felt strange to me not to be surrounded by stone.”
“Who would have thought that open space can be so overwhelming? Yet after a short while my fear disappeared and this land won my heart.” Lyria looked around. Her eyes were feasting upon the beauty of Equestria and it seemed that she would have lost herself in it if not for Borealis. He spoke something in their language. The mare rolled her eyes, but a sweet sounding chuckle followed right away.
“I am still concerned though…” Twilight kept looking into the wide open fields. She was able to see the small shape of the pine forest in the distance. The wind kept blowing coming from there and ruined her hair with every blow. “Are your companions supplied properly?”
“Oh yes, yes they are. Despite being in a foreign land they can take care of themselves. One thing any being in the Underground has to learn… otherwise you might end up in troublesome situations.” Even the stallion started to get annoyed by the wind, which kept playing around with their manes. “It is a very strong wind. I would not recommend flying now… we would reach our camp faster if we will stay on solid ground.” Borealis was looking at the sky like he could follow every move of the wind.
“I agree.” Lyria let go of him and walked towards the saddlebags. “Many have suffered serious injuries due to haste. It would be fatal for our mission if any of us would share that fate.” She searched through her bag and pulled out a very old looking coat. Quickly she covered herself with it hiding her back and wings from the nasty element. The male Delegate followed his mate’s example and also covered himself with a coat. Twilight watched the couple with great interest. They were not any different from the couples she kept seeing in Ponyville, but it was something unordinary to look upon anyway.
For a Pegasi Borealis was surprisingly big. Broad and muscular as he was made one think that he would not be able to fly, yet he did. And he did it with such elegance it seemed like he would weight nothing. Lyria was smaller than him but still quite big for a mare. Twilight could have bet that she was just a little bit smaller than Princess Luna. One could say that what she was looking at now was a beauty and a beast. The way how the stallion was treating her was very respectable, gentle and kind. Just by watching Twilight could have imagine the feeling of being save around him. He treated her the way any stallion should treat his mare.
Compared to him Lyria was water while he was fire. She moved with grace and elegance. Any of her moves seemed to be well planned, and there was no trace of doubt in her body language. She was happy around Borealis, and she welcomed his kind ways openly, and shared the same trust towards him. While the Delegate was busy with taking all the saddlebags on his back she followed any of his movements. Of course she also helped him while commenting that he did not have to carry everything on his own. It did not work. It also seemed that stallions were all the same no matter if in Equestria or Nocturia.
Once the saddlebags were properly attached to Borealis he stretched his legs and suppressed a yawn. Twilight did notice that both ponies in front of her were showing signs of exhaustion. Although the male was hiding it well Lyria was not as good at it like her mate. It seemed that the Delegate noticed it, as Twilight did, and decided to carry the bags for her.
< A cute way to show that one cares for the other. > Thought Twilight and tried to imagine how it could feel like to have somepony on her side. It was a nice imagination, but for now her private life would have to be pushed aside. For a moment she did feel jealous while watching the couple. Gladly the cold wind brought her back to reality, freeing her of unnecessary thoughts.
“Here Twilight.” Now it was not only the wind that brought her back to reality. It was the sound of Borealis who was standing in front of her. In his mouth he was holding a cloak which explained why his voiced sounded different for a moment. How on earth she did not see him coming towards her remained a mystery. To be honest it was not the first time that something like that happened to her.
“It might be a little bit too big, but it is better than nothing.” It was hard to understand what he was saying now, but before she could reply he covered her with the cloak. At the first sight it made her think that it was made of heavy cloth and that it would be rough to her skin, but surprisingly it was not the case. Yes the cloak was too big for her one would see it right away, yet it felt soft and warm. Twilight could not recognize what it was made of though. It did feel different than any kind of cloth she knew. It also felt foreign and had an interesting scent which she did not recognize either.
“Thank you.” Said Twilight and made sure that the wind would not take away the precious gift. “I suggest we go find your companions. Usually at this time of the year the Pegasi do not only bring forth the wind, but also a lot of rain.”
“In that case let’s move out.” Once more Borealis stretched his bones, but this time a loud sound cut through the air. A sound that made both mares shiver, which was surely noticed by the stallion. His grin only proved it.
“I hate it when you do it…” Said Lyria and started to walk towards the shape of the pine forest. Quickly followed by her two companions their journey began. It was hard to keep up the pace with them. Gladly Lyria noticed it and slowed down, taking place on the side of Borealis who was inspecting the landscape with his cat like eyes. In that moment she noticed how his iris was constantly changing its form. Nothing unusual since all irises adapted to the sun light, but rarely Twilight had the opportunity to see something like that on a Batwing.
The wind remained relentless, and here and there the small group could see Pegasi in the sky, placing clouds in various spots. Gladly the cloak Twilight received from the kind Batwings turned out to be a great shield against the cold element. It did not protect their manes from it though and soon they looked like somepony have just recently dragged the out of bed. Lyria’s mane did *attack* the poor Borealis several times in a row, and it seemed like no matter how many times he switched his position her mane attacked him like a angry snake. Lyria was laughing at her mate while he was mumbling angrily after the savage attack that smacked him right in the face. Twilight joined the mare and also laughed about it. Eventually the stallion joined and their laughter filled the air while the wind carried the sound of it far to the east only to be lost somewhere in the mountains. The female delegate leaned her head against Borealis and gave him a kiss on the place where her hair has struck him. He accepted the apology without any words. Lyria's head moved towards his ear and she whispered something to her special pony.
The reaction was quite unusual because for the first time Twilight saw, that whatever has been whispered to him it took him off guard.
She could read it in his body language. Although the cloak was hiding the most parts of his body she noticed how heavy his walk suddenly became. Like some invisible force has placed a boulder upon his shoulders. Borealis did not whisper back. He simply continued their travel towards the pine forest that grew larger with each step. Both stallion and mares faced the wind that seemed to get stronger and stronger. The smell of the wind was changing, bringing them the message of an upcoming rain that was starting to build up far in the distance. Silence has befallen the small group and only the sound of the elements were cutting through it.
Twilight thought about starting a conversation since the silence felt strange - one could even say heavy or dense. There were so many things she wanted to know about the Nocturians and their society. Yet the tension that was surrounding Borealis was overwhelming and discouraging. For now she would wait and simply follow the two Batwings, hoping that her questions would be answered. While she was going through the countless questions and theories the pine forest started to show its crude and brought size. Soon it became like a natural shield that was hiding whatever was lying behind it. If not for the wind they would have probably reached it after a half hour of walking, but a new obstacle appeared in front of them.
It was a swamp. Borealis and Lyria were looking at it like it would have been made out of gold. They were inspecting it like small children which was a funny thing to look at. The male delegate was brave enough to take a sip of it only to spit it out with disgust. While he tried to clean his tongue with a sip from his water sack Lyria kept watching the various plants and animals she could spot. Eventually the Batwings looked like they were confused or simply lost.
"I do not remember this area..." He spit again and begged the pardon of his companions. "While I was scouting this area I flew several times over this place. This emmm, swamp right?" He asked Twilight while he kept watching his reflection in the water.
"Yes this is a swamp. Nothing unusual in this part of Equestria. We are lucky though that it is not big or deep. We should make it through without flying. But since we do not wish to wait long I could simply teleport us to the verge of the pine forest. Have you even been teleported?"
"Oh yes were." Lyria took a step back once an ugly and fat frog jumped into the swamp not so far away from her. "Certain parts of our Kingdom can be only reached with the help of teleportation."
Twilight blinked surprised at this answer. "But how? I thought that only Batwings were living in your Kingdom."
This time it was Lyria who seemed to be surprised. With a quick glimpse she looked at Borealis who's full attention belonged to a dragonfly, which landed at the tip of his nose.
"It seems that Borealis did not tell you much about our Kingdom then?"
Twilight moved closer to Lyria so only she could hear those words.
"Borealis arrived at the castle very exhausted. Although he was hiding it well the Princesses noticed it right away, and moved the official meeting for the next day. After we accepted the desperate call of the Nocturians he could no longer keep his feelings under control. His tears only showed us how bad the situation beneath the mountain must be."
"A very important task has been placed upon our shoulders Twilight. He was a Delegate long before we first met. Borealis is a very known pony among our society. Loved, and sadly feared alike because he was either bringing good or bad news to the lords and subjects." She looked back at her mate and smiled after she realized that he was under siege of dragonflies, which were landing on his head and lifted hoof. He himself seemed not to like it that much, since he probably did not want to harm any of them with a sudden movement. "He deserves to be treated with respect and honor. If not for his hard work the Underground realm would be shrouded with the flames of civil war. Then he took the responsibility that might change everything on himself. He was the only one who had the courage to accept, while others remained silent. Borealis is a simple stallion despite his..." She did not end the sentence.
"Is it really that bad?" Asked Twilight and lowered her ears. The mere thought of something so terrible and tragic like war was nothing nice to think about. "There were no records of war for decades maybe even for centuries."
"Not in the upper world yes... sadly it was not always the case in the history of Nocturia. But I see now why he decided to wait with this information. I suggest to wait with this conversation until the honor of meeting the two Royal Sisters have been granted to us."
Twilight smiled and nod, but deep in her heart she was disappointed for her thirst for wisdom had to wait.
"May I know what you are talking about maladies?" Somehow he managed to free himself of the Dragonflies and moved closer to them.
"Oh I highly doubt you would like to hear what we were talking about now. Or perhaps you consider yourself a mare?"
"Last time I checked everything was on its rightful place." Borealis chuckled and looked at the pine forest on the other side of the swamp. Lyria rolled her eyes and smiled while blushing slightly. It seemed that the Batwings forgot Twilight for a moment. She decided to be silent and avoid more awkward situations. If possible.
"Twilight offered to teleport us to the verge of the forest Borealis. We would spare a lot of time." She looked into the sky where dark clouds were gathering. "Flying is still not an option. We should agree."
Borealis was thinking for a moment. It looked like he was calculating the distance and the time they would require to cross the swamp. In the end he only shook his head and even let out a curse, that even Twilight knew, after being struck by a strong wind blow.
"If not for the lack of time, and this current unpleasant surprise." It seemed he wanted to spit into the swamp again, but this time he gladly did not. As much as impressive it was how far he could spit Twilight and Lyria disliked to watch him doing that. "I would not accept it..." He looked back at Twilight and a cold shiver ran down her spine. For a moment there was a strange spark in his eyes. Cold was the first word she would use to describe it mixed up with concern and perhaps even fear.
"Do you think you are able to perform such spell for that distance?"
"Yes. Yes I am Borealis."
She answered right away without any doubts or concern. The stallion seemed to be impressed by the bold words of a mare of her size (of course compared to his own size).
"So be it. Lyria and I will not disturb your concentration then." Lyria took her place on the side and with far more noticeable concern she asked if Twilight was really sure about it. The answer remained the same as did Twilight's will. They created a small circle while the Princess of Magic explained them what must be done. It was simple to be honest. The only thing the Delegates had to do was to maintain physical contact with the caster. It would make the performance of the spell easier due to the fact that twilight would not have to grasp after them with the help of magic. Once everything was ready her horn started to glow. Slowly she recalled the place that was close to the forest and far away from the swamp. The words have been spoken, and the world disappeared in a blinding flash.
The glow in Twilight's eyes faded away so did the magic surrounding her horn. Borealis shook his head while Lyria only let out a dampen sigh. Everything went according to the plan. The transport of living beings to the place Twilight has chosen was perfect. But the process cost her more than expected and she would have collapsed if not for the stallion.
"T-thank you..." Said Twilight and tried to stand straight. In that moment she realized and felt that something else was holding her left hoof. Borealis was on her right side, but Lyria remained right in front of her. She was saying something, but Twilight did not hear any sound. The failure of the spell has been right away realized by her mind. The lavender mare completely forgot that strong wind could actually affect the teleportation if simply casted to a place that was not properly prepared for it. Basically the structure known as a Stone Portal had runes carved in the solid stone that were making sure that the spell would remain unaffected by weather or even magic itself.
Since there was no Portal like that here she simply gambled while teleporting. Gladly nothing bad happened. The weakness would fade away and she would be okay in no time. Yet... she was wondering who was holding her left hoof. The natural instinct and curiosity made her look in that certain direction. Her eyes widen up because she saw a huge horned being standing next to her. Twilight yelped out of fear and due to her weakness she lost her consciousness. The world turned dark, and the last thing she remembered was falling right towards the horned being.