Rainbow Dash flew west.
The ground beneath her grew grayer and grayer. The vegetation was sparse, but far from nonexistent. Every now and then a bubbling oasis popped up, signifying subterranean springs that breached the dry surface of the earth. The deeper the local ravines dipped, the greener they were, and Rainbow could spot numerous patches of moss and lichen lingering within their shadowed depths.
The landscape wasn't entirely desolate either. Glancing north and south, Rainbow spotted tiny hovels connected by roads. There were dome-like huts built out of mud and tightly compacted earth. At first, the pegasus didn't know what to make of them, until she flew over one particular village and was assaulted with a hauntingly familiar stench: diamond dogs.
Needless to say, Rainbow kept her body elevated. The winds here were soft, forgiving. She flew towards the horizon with ease, and her saddlebag felt lighter. This was hardly of much relief to her; a lighter bag meant that she was rid of one of her jugs of potion. So far, if this trip went on any longer, she was afraid she wouldn't have the necessary broth to carry her numb limbs back. The mare did some painful math in her head, trying to mentally sort out a way to conserve what was left of her priceless supply.
"We're making good progress, actually," Lancie said several hours past dawn. "We appear to be getting closer to our destination."
"Oh yeah?" Rainbow's muzzle scrunched. "How much closer?"
"Do you want a ballpark figure?" Lancie smirked into the wind. "Or an estimated guess from the dugout?"
"Eeeeugh..." Rainbow grumbled, eyelids even. "There are times when I wanna chuck you straight into a ravine."
"That'd make for a very boring trip," Lancie said. "Not to mention a blind one, hmmm?"
"Hmmmm..." Rainbow Dash glanced to her right. She blinked, and in that blink she spotted several tall structures shooting out of the horizon to the north. Normally, something this blatantly contrasting to the otherwise-flat environment would have startled her, except that a small piece of her fatigued memory half-expected to see them. "No friggin' way..."
"Hmm?" Lancie followed her eyesight. He too spotted the spires: tall crystalline stalks that branched out in various jagged directions, towering for dozens of stories above the otherwise barren landscape. "Well, butter my hide and call me a lamprey!"
"No," Rainbow grunted.
"Hah!" Lancie slapped his stone knee, leaning out of the saddlebag pocket. "Well well well... if those haven't gotten threadbare over the last few millennia!" He grinned wide. "Sparky, I remember when those things were shimmering all over with dangling jewells! Diamonds the size of double-decker buses! Can you imagine that?"
"Mrmmmfff..." Rainbow grumbled, keeping her eyes stapeled to the west horizon.
"Pffft... well then..." Lancie planted his hands against his hips. "...I would have expected at least something of a titter even from the likes of you! I may not exactly have an eye for beauty, but back in the day the Crystal Trees of Green Stretch stole the breath out of any mortal's lungs! You? Eh... I suppose you've seen snazzier."
"Uh huh..."
"Granted, this landscape is no longer quite so 'green' and the trees' crystal have lost much of their 'shine.'" He rubbed his stone goatee, then turned to squint at the mare. "Wait... you've seen these before, haven't you?"
Rainbow said nothing.
Lancie arched an eyebrow. "Heard of them?"
"Are your chaos senses leading us to them?"
"Er... no..."
"Then forget 'em," Rainbow grumbled. "They're not important."
"Hmmm. What a shame." Lancie shaded his eyes and squinted at the distant spires. He spotted the faintest of specks flitting from one overstretching branch to another. "Curious. Seems as though some living things have made their roosts among them."
"Yeah." Rainbow exhaled. "And then some."
"Doesn't seem like a very pegasus place to live." Lancie leaned back in his saddlebag. He smirked. "Say... you don't suppose flying pigs are no longer extinct, huh?"
"They're not flying pigs!" Rainbow snapped.
"Hah! Got you there! Flying pigs never existed!" Lancie chuckled and chuckled. "Not yet, at least!"
"Grrfff..."
"Still, it was worth it to get a rise out of you!" He smirked. "Just who exactly lives there now, Sparky? And why does it ruffle your feathers so?"
"Like I already said..." Rainbow grumbled. "It's not important."
"Are you sure about that?" Lancie tapped her skull through her mane. "Cuz it takes an awful lot to rub your coat the wrong way for no reason."
"Lancie, could you just not... not..." Rainbow blinked. She flapped her wings slower, coasting to a hovering stop.
"Hmmmm?" Lancie craned his neck to see beyond her head. "What is it?"
Both the pony and the statue stared at a thick wall of dense rock, rolling over with heav wind-blown fog. Menacing gusts flew over the rigid peaks, filling the air with a shrill, ghostly whistle. Gazing north and south, Rainbow could see that the sharp-knifed plateau stretched as far as her natural eyes could see.
"It's something, alright," Rainbow exhaled. "That's for sure."