Pinkie hit the descent of the circle and fell a bit faster towards the fire. "Ok, Pinkie, you're tied up to a pole over a fire. They're waiting for you to cook. You've been in worse than this!"
An angry grunt came from the figure rotating her. "Shut up, pink pony. Cook faster."
Pinkie frowned before a smile spread over her face. She knew how to escape.
Dark led the two fillies onwards for the rest of the day. In the evening, she refused to set a fire. "The goblins may come back through, and a fire will draw them here like mosquitoes, and we don't need to deal with that." She led them a good way off the trail before they set up their humble camp and ate some food.
Silver Spoon examined one of her hooves as she chewed, saddened and annoyed at the abuse her poor hoof had to endure along the rough mountain road. She raised the hoof and rubbed it against the soft fur of her cheek as she ate, letting out a quiet sigh.
Beside her, Diamond Tiara thought of the capital. "How large of a city are we talking about?"
Dark ripped her ration in half before tearing into it. "Mmm, big. Biggest city in these parts. At least fifty thousand? Everything a little city pony like you could want. They have performances, good food, fights, everything." She swallowed heavily and tore another chunk free. "Assuming you can afford it, of course."
Diamond nodded. "Of course, but we'll handle that." She hooked an arm around Silver, drawing her closer. "We've got what they need, they just don't know it yet." Silver smiled, distracted from her personal miseries by the determined enthusiasm of her friend.
Dark gestured to the ground. "We'll see. For now, we should rest. I'll take first watch. If the goblins come back, it should be soon enough that we'd notice them."
As it turned out, waking the girls for their watches proved difficult but not impossible. Silver accepted it with a miserable sullenness, staring out into the dark until morning came. With the sun rising, they broke camp and resumed their hike.
Walking down the trail, Silver looked aside at her companions. "I had the strangest dream. This white alicorn with purple mane and tail was asking me questions." She rubbed behind her head as she went. "She seemed so nice and calm, but also kind of excited to see me."
Diamond shook her head with confusion. "That's a strange dream, Silver Spoon. I didn't know you were that into alicorns. No wonder you want to be closer to Twilight Sparkle."
Silver blushed brightly. "That's not what I meant at all!" She suddenly tripped, stumbling over something on the trail and collapsing. Behind her was a tattered book. She gathered herself up and picked it up curiously. It was covered in a pidgin of writing that she didn't understand, defacing it with crude letters.
Dark peered at the book. "That's goblin. They're binding words to protect the thoughts in their minds."
Silver flipped it open and most of the pages were covered in more of the goblin scrawl, but she found one entry quickly that seemed to have been spared the goblin's wrath. It had a picture of the horse she saw in her dream. "Here she is!" She pointed at it excitedly.
Diamond leaned over Silver's shoulder to have a better look. "Princess Luminace? Shouldn't that be Luminance?"
Dark shrugged. "Not every name is a word. There's no law saying it must be so."
Silver read voraciously, consumed with curiosity. "She's a goddess of knowledge, magic, and friendship? She likes good people and--"
Dark gently folded the book shut. "Take it with you, chick, and we can read it over lunch."
Diamond Tiara nodded in agreement with Dark Streak. "We have a long way to go, and sitting in the snow reading isn't getting us there any faster."
Silver pouted a little, but tucked the book away, and their journey resumed down the winding trails. Dark pointed across through the mist that veiled one mountain and the next, to where the peak of distant rock could be seen. "That's our next target."
Diamond peered where Dark pointed. "That looks like a thousand miles away!"
Dark frowned. "It's not that far..." She sat and regarded her wards. "This would be faster in the air."
Silver smiled a little and pointed at Dark's wings. "Could you fly us? I mean, we'd all get there faster, and--"
Dark huffed. "You're not my chicks! I'm no wagon for little ponies."
Diamond tapped at her chin. "What if we made it worth your effort?"
Dark raised a brow. "Think carefully before you insult a griffon with payment for their dignity."
Diamond held up her hooves. "This isn't about dignity, this is about you spending weeks walking with us, when we could be there in a few days. And if we get there faster, we can get to work faster, and if we get money faster, you can get paid faster, and there's less chance of any of us being devoured by monsters or mugged by angry little green things. It's practical."
Dark let out an explosive gust of air. "You are correct, of course. It is the most prudent way." She squinted at Diamond. "But I will extract a heavy toll from you when all is said and done." She plucked up the two ponies and regarded them carefully before slipping Silver Spoon into her backpack with Silver's head peeking free. She launched with Diamond Tiara held in her arms.
Silver Spoon grinned widely. The backpack was fairly comfortable and felt secure, and she was amazed at the sights she was able to see from the back of the griffon. The mountains seemed to go on forever, with one mountain going to the next in an unending tide of stone and crags.
Diamond Tiara had a far less positive experience. It felt like she was dangling in the griffon's arms, and the ground far below only promised a sudden and painful stop if she slipped. She clutched tightly to the arms that held her, clenching her eyes shut and hoping it would be over soon.
They flew unmolested, reaching where they hoped to be in three days at the end of the first, and Dark touched down on the mountainside she had pointed to before. Diamond leaped from her grasp and kissed the snow, thankful to be back on the ground.
Silver Spoon didn't move. Dark craned her head. "Are you still there? You've been quiet."
Silver Spoon shuffled around in the backpack before peeking back out. "I'm fine. I've been reading the book." She adjusted her glasses before looking around. "Oh we're on the ground!"
Dark nodded with a light smile. "Come out of there. We're setting up for lunch." She helped Silver reach the ground, and all three got to work setting up a fire circle and soon they had a comfortable fire to sit beside.
As they ate, Diamond looked to Silver. "Why is Dark Streak being so nice to you?"
Silver tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Diamond wobbled a hoof. "Don't act ignorant. She let you ride on top all cozy and safe, and she didn't yell at you. I'm not blind, Silver Spoon."
Silver tapped at her chin. "Maybe it's because I'm treating her nicely? She's going out of her way to help us. She could fly away and leave us behind."
"Don't tempt me." Dark raised a brow at them, still closeby at the small camp site.
Diamond's ears fell. She wasn't experienced with Everglow geography, but her peek at the mountains was more than enough to know they wouldn't survive abandonment, most likely. "Well... Sorry."
Dark leaned forward. "What was that?"
Diamond rubbed a hoof over the ground. "Sorry, and... thanks, for helping us. You won't regret it once we get real jobs."
Dark smiled gently. "You just became easier to put up with, but I don't think I have room for the two of you in my pack."
Silver raised a hoof. "I'll take a turn in your arms. Rest up, Diamond. Thank you again, Dark Streak. We made great time this way!" She took off her glasses and tucked them away. "I don't want to drop those while we're flying."
Dark picked up Diamond and dropped her into the backpack before cradling Silver Spoon. She felt the need to be more careful with the quieter grey filly. She was more trusting, and more delicate.
Diamond giggled from up above. "This is much better!"
Dark rolled her eyes and abandoned the camp with the ponies, ascending along the mountain and clearing its peak in a few hours. Enjoying the act of flying, and not having her arms being painfully pinched, she stayed up a little longer. She came down after the sun had already set, touching down in a clearing she could barely see. Fortunately there didn't seem to be anything else in the area, and they diligently set up for the night. Silver stretched herself out before putting her glasses back on. "That wasn't too bad, but I couldn't see anything."
Diamond clopped her forehooves. "I could. It was mountains, more mountains, and a lot of snow. You didn't miss much. I saw some green that way." She pointed. "Why aren't we going over there?"
Dark shrugged. "Because the capital is not that way. If you want a city, this is the way to go. Unless a field of grass is all you need?"
Diamond quickly shook her head. "No, let's stay the course." She looked to Silver Spoon. "What's the first thing you're gonna buy?"
Silver frowned a little with thought. "I think I want a nice drink. Something with a fancy umbrella, and is sweet and fruity."
Diamond bobbed her head. "That sounds nice. I hope they have that kind of thing, or we're going to have to pay a lot extra for it." She ran a hoof through her mane. "I'm getting a stylist. I want a full makeover. Manecut, hooficure, the works! It isn't proper for a leader to look less than her best at all times. I have to set an example, after all."
Silver tilted her head a little. "An example for who, Diamond Tiara?"
Diamond frowned at Silver. "My inferiors, of course. The ones I'm leading."
Silver frowned in a subtly different way. "Am I one of those?"
Diamond opened her mouth to give a quick reply, but caught herself. "You're... special, Silver Spoon. You're my right-hoof mare. My wingmare! You're not just any old pony, you've always got my back."
Silver smiled a little. "Bump Bump?" Diamond rose to her hooves and they did their little dance, leaving both giggling with companionable joy.
Dark rolled her eyes at the display, but kept her counsel to herself.