Moon Dancer came out of the light only to shield her eyes from the harmfully bright rays that slipped through the overhead bush. By now it was noon, and the sun way up above the clouds never looked more mesmerizing before. Trixie even said so, too. “Has the sun always looked so… Oh, what word would Trixie use for it?”
“Yellow?” Moon Dancer asked.
“Yes, thank you!” Her hoof raised itself up to her lip for a quick moment so she could think straightly. “Anyways, I suppose you can fly us home, right?”
Moon Dancer grimaced. “I can’t carry and fly you! My wings aren’t built like regular feathered wings! These are made of two thin layers of skin. What about you? Can’t you teleport or something?”
Again, Trixie blushed, and looked away. “N-no way… Unless…”
She looked down at her newly acquired medallion. If she wanted to, she could choose the teleportation spell over the fog spell. That way, the two of them could get home right then and there. But then again, what other use would the teleportation spell hold for her? The whole trip would’ve been for nothing. “Trixie?”
“Huh?” She looked up to see Moon Dancer staring at her with worried eyes.
“Did I mention how dangerous Kiyak is?”
“Okay, okay, relax… Trixie could use the medallion to amplify her teleportation magic. That way, we could-”
“No! That’s not what the medallion is supposed to be used for!” Moon Dancer’s expression was so troubled. In fact, she almost looked cute to Trixie. “Luna told me that the fog spell is to be chosen, and that it was also my duty to make sure you only use it for fog-making purposes!”
Trixie blinked, smiled, shook her head, and then started giggling. “Sounds just like Luna… Alright, Trixie supposes you have her beat!”
In her hoof was the trinket, still in the form of Starswirl the Bearded. Trixie had the power, now how about the look? Her horn glistened dimly, and grabbed hold of it. By doing so, it took the form of what Trixie could see in her mind, and then attached itself to the jewel that goes with her coat.
One could see Trixie’s muzzle and finely designed, closed eyes. Her hat curved over all of her hair and went around in a complete circle. The artistic form of the new medallion was unique, and beautiful, and matched Trixie’s being in every way.
The spell came naturally, and fog surrounded the two instantly, but this was no ordinary fog. It was a powerful, magical mist that surrounded both Trixie and Moon Dancer quite easily. “Wow, Trixie’s smoke machines never even compared!”
Suddenly, out of the fog came a familiar, yet broadening figure. “No goodbye?” asked Wolf.
Trixie remained unphased by his abrupt presence, but Moon Dancer still behaved like that of a scaredy bat. She was already up in the trees, hiding behind the bushes as if he was actually going to do something to the two of them. “Uh, well, I knew it wasn’t goodbye… We need your help getting home! Would you help the Great and Powerful Trixie and her batpony guardian?”
Before Wolf could respond, Moon Dancer popped her head out of the leaves to ask, “Does that mean I pass your test, Great and Powerful Trixie?”
Trixie made a deadpan face, and said, “Yes.”
“Yay!” Shortly following Moon Dancer’s mini celebration was a quick growl from Wolf. She was scared right back into hiding.
“Well,” said the winged wolf. “If I help you, what might I be getting in return?”
Trixie looked down, and around herself, and then at the campsite. There really wasn’t anything neither Trixie nor Moon Dancer had that was of any real value, or so they thought. “We… don’t have much…”
“What about… your friendship?” Trixie blinked before looking back at him. He seemed serious. “Not that many would be so bold as to befriend a wolf, you see. So, to have friends, especially here in these mountains, well… friends are hard to come by. You know, I’m getting ready to head down south to a quaint palace called Canterlot. Know of it? Why don’t you two tag along?”
“Trixie wouldn’t mind riding along. Moon Dancer? Are you coming?”
The bat pony peeked her head out again, and asked, “Me, ride on him?!”
“Oh, c’mon,” Trixie chanted while boldly climbing on.
Moon Dancer could only timidly hovered above the ground, and came closer to the wolf’s position. She watched him with the widest eyes he’d ever seen, but still, got on after a moment of fidgeting. Thus, he took off then and there. Trixie gave off a yelp as she heard his claws scrape the dirt away.
Once the cliff below them became pure air, a rush of sweet, cold winds overtook Trixie, but she held fast while her mane whiped all too close to her new guard, just barely missing her. Trixie then realized, this was her first time flying. Trees and small clusters of rocks went closely by them, to where Trixie could feel the brush off the leaves.
All they could see now was the passing of green, and strips of blue beneath them. It was a zigzagging stream that eventually, and finally turned into a deep, wide river. Wolf soared higher so that the two could get a good look at the country he had been occupying.
It was enclosed by mountains, and probably only one entrance in the high north. The way this valley of trees was nestled couldn’t be more perfect. If one was too hot in the south, they simply went up north a ways where the fine line of green turns into a shade of crimson and brown. However, there was much more to see than just trees and rocks.
Trixie witnessed that day a war ravaged land. Yaks fighting, blue and red, against one another in horned combat. Royalists invaders from Yakyakistan against native freedom fighters. Trixie could easily depict what was happening here, but which were the good guys and which were bad guys? That was the question needing to be answered. “Who do you root for?”
The question caught Wolf off guard. Not that he didn’t hear his passenger, just that he wished not to speak about such things, and the way she put it was almost insulting. As if it was a game. “I don’t care very much, and I’m glad to be leaving this place again.”
“Again?” Trixie asked while holding onto her hat.
“Yes, this is my original homeland. I merely stay here on occasion. Though, if you must know, the outsiders in red killed the heir to the throne of Kiyak, and their leader claimed the throne for himself, along with a few select cohorts. The place has been in turmoil ever since.”
Dancer even had to say, “That’s terrible.”
“Equestria should help!” Trixie exclaimed.
“To a useless cause? Loss surrounds this beautiful place. It was once devoted to great faith, and kind individuals inhabited all corners, but now, it’s just dangerous. It’s best if Celestia keeps her ponies in the safety of her harbors and train stations, and let these yaks sort it out themselves.”
While they flew over the border and were plagued by snow, the party of three pretty much kept quiet. They eventually crossed the threshold, though, and cleared the freezing blizzard. Afterwards, Trixie built up the courage to ask, “Will you be returning to Kiyak, or are you planning on staying with Princess Celestia.”
He simply answered, “I’m not sure. It’ll be whatever Celestia decides.”
As they all traveled the rest of the way there in silence, Trixie thought about how she might persuade her mentor into allowing Wolf to stay as her assistant or something. Naturally, the guards were a bit startled to see a wild animal like Wolf walking behind Trixie, but they let her through.
They’d find Celestia and Discord in the ballroom Trixie had been in last time she was over there. Although Trixie had many things to talk about with Princess Celestia, Wolf knew she probably wouldn’t get the chance right away.