Within and Without

by Cloudy Skies

Chapter 6

Eager to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the town of Grey Hollows, Twilight, Luna and all the others were quick to break camp after eating. They travelled through the entire day, though they were forced to keep a slow pace with pauses almost every hour. None of them had slept much, and some, Twilight among them, were still nursing headaches. Winter Sun seemed a little more at ease, but the usually jovial pegasus was still noticeably quiet. There had been a round of demure apologies all around earlier in the day, yet the memory of what had happened was still fresh.

The forest finally started thinning out in earnest as the sun's journey neared its end for the day, much to the exhausted ponies’ relief. The canopy cleared and the Oakwall forest became a mass of green left behind. Rainbow Dash celebrated by taking wing immediately.

When Luna called for the last stop of the day, they stood at the top of a small cliff where the road forked. Ahead, a mass of rolling hills and small valleys were flanked far to the east and west by mountains. One of the roads wound south down the cliff side and was visible here and there as it meandered through the highlands. The other road went straight west through gentler hills, disappearing around a bend to the northwest. The only trees present ahead were in small copses, and patches of snow hid high up in the shadows of the mountains. The wind picked up a little, as if it had been waiting for them to step out of the forest.

"Going west here will probably be the best way to get back to Ponyville, turning due north, then east," Luna announced. "We can set up camp for the night in cover of the cliffs here. Perhaps we should have taken advantage of the protection of the forest while we could, but I do not think any of us desire to take a single step back."

"Ponyville?" Rarity asked, looking up from her sketchpad. She had been quick to grab her sketching coals when they stopped and was struggling to hold the paper down in the wind.

"Yes. Home, I believe you would call it," Luna replied with a quick glance skywards.

"Who is going home?" Twilight and Pinkie Pie asked in chorus.

"You, surely?" The princess looked a little confused.

"Gilda is like, south of here, yeah? Why turn around now?" Rainbow Dash asked, incredulous. "What’s up?"

"Ah think the princess is callin' us a bunch of quitters." Applejack’s announcement was delivered with a smile, and Fluttershy gave a start, looking at Luna with wide eyes.

"And you still owe me an answer," Rarity shot in with a bemused smile. None of the ponies moved an inch, facing Luna and the road south.

"I, ah. I simply assumed that after, well." Luna turned around, putting her back to the cliffs. She faced the ponies, but seemed at a loss for what to say to them.

Twilight grinned, emboldened by the fact that her friends seemed to be of the same mind as she. "I tried telling you. Give us some credit," the purple unicorn said. Any trace of smugness she might have felt was smothered by contentment. They'd get through this, and everypony was prepared to do so together. If only Luna was willing to try.

Winter Sun looked a little uncomfortable in the quiet that followed, and Twilight's heart went out to her. The pegasus stood a little off to the side, almost forgotten. Fluttershy seemed to notice this, too, and went over to talk to her, their voices a quiet murmur. Luna was still looking at them all, switching her attention from pony to pony with almost painful slowness. Her eyes bored into them one by one, and she seemed satisfied with whatever she saw.

"You are resolved, I see. Once again, I underestimate you," Luna said as she started down the southern path. The other ponies followed without hesitation. "I will do everything in my power to make sure you do not regret it."

“Winter Sun,” Luna said. Her voice was soft as she looked over her shoulder at the pegasus, but Winter Sun could not keep from flinching under the princess’ attention. “I suspect you might want to head west down this road from here tomorrow, though you are welcome to stay with us for the night. Unless you are heading for the border fort, or going back through the Hollows, you have precious little choice. Do we have any spare food for Winter Sun here?"

"I got some fruit cake!" Pinkie Pie piped in, though she looked unconvinced, brow knit in concern. "You sure you have to go though, Winter? You're really neat."

"This is more than I really bargained for," Winter Sun chuckled with a bleak smile. She was still staying on the other side of the group, keeping as much distance between herself and Luna as possible on sheer instinct. "I don't... this isn't my life. I love listening to tales, but this is all a little too real for me. No offense. I’m not a hero, and I don’t want to get tangled up in whatever it is you do."

Twilight nodded, still feeling terrible about Winter having lost her establishment. She’d noticed the looks Rarity had been giving Winter Sun, and it was obvious the white unicorn also felt strongly about that exact point.

After following the road that hugged the cliff for a few minutes, they were on level ground below. Luna prompted the party to set up in what wasn't so much a cave as a half loam, half stone indent in a less-than-sheer cliff face. All in all, it looked like a very unimaginative and unskilled giant had made a half-hearted attempt at a cave in a very bad spot. The theoretical giant must also have gotten bored half-way, because it could barely fit everypony. It was better than nothing, but only marginally. The wind was getting stronger and colder still.

"This will have to do," Luna announced, glancing about. "I will stand watch."

"Stand watch?" Twilight asked as the ponies huddled closer for warmth. "Is there anything to stand watch for? We're still in Equestria, right?"

"Ah. Nothing like that," Luna said with a chuckle as the last of the ponies clustered inside the chosen shelter. With everypony behind her, she turned away from them and slowly spread her wings. Winter Sun looked a little nervous, but Twilight was paying rapt attention.

From the edges of the alicorn’s wings, a half-globe of transparent purple energy sprung forth, covering the area around the little cave-indenture and sealing the ponies in. The princess stood half inside and half outside of the bowl-shape that enveloped them. The wind suddenly stopped, and the air felt comfortably warm.

"Well ain't that somethin'," Applejack said. "Guess we don't need firewood after all."

"That. Is awesome," Rainbow Dash said, gaping. Twilight herself was still staring, trying to analyze what exactly Luna had done. What surprised her the most was that there was no evidence that Luna was even using magic right now. The princess stood at rest, her horn silent and dead.

"It's very nice," Fluttershy quietly remarked. "But, um, don't you have to go, soon? You don't have to, I mean, you just usually leave around now to raise the moon." The butter-colored pegasus pointedly glanced over at where the sun was setting in the mountains to the west.

The princess looked back over her flank at the assembled ponies with one eye, offering Fluttershy a lopsided smile. Only Winter Sun had gone to sleep, the now former pub owner exhausted by the rigors of the day. The rest of the ponies, though tired and aching, were awake and attending.

"I have not raised the moon in over a thousand years, Fluttershy," Luna explained. "And certainly never in the past year."

Twilight felt a nervous chuckle form and die in her throat. Luna did not seem to be joking. Everypony else seemed confused, too, exchanging glances.

"My sister handled the night in my absence as you no doubt know. She still does, day after day, even with my, ah, return.” The princess cleared her throat. “I find it hard to even look at the moon, now. Perhaps it is natural, after so many years. I think it is pathetic, personally."

Pinkie Pie rose and took a step forward, looking up at Luna. There was a number of awkward noises. "Princess?" Twilight asked, unsure what she even meant to say, but Luna was undeterred.

"When I came to you with the offer of this trip, I thought it was for the benefit of you and our quarries, if you will. I had done some research on your actions over the past year, and decided that I could do some good. Long ago, I was known to certain tribesponies as the goddess of second chances. I was a symbol of renewal and rebirth. It felt natural that I should be the one to lead you on this journey I had devised,” Luna said, sighing. “I am not so sure who this journey is intended to benefit anymore, now."

The alicorn let her eyes roam over the surprised ponies again, a smile forming on her lips. "No more of this, now. We have more important things to do. Please, rest and sleep for as long as you like tomorrow. The highlands ahead of us will take many days to cross on hoof, and after that, we go through the Scar to Scandineighvia."

It didn't take long before every single pony was asleep aside from Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn was annoyed with herself for being awake, and twice as annoyed for wasting time being annoyed with herself. After listening to Applejack's soft snoring for the better part of an hour, Twilight got up. Her legs protested, her eyes were sore and tired, but she walked over to stand by the princess for lack of a better thing to do. The princess stood with her eyes closed, but clearly heard or felt her approach.

"You really should rest, Twilight," Luna said. She sounded neither surprised nor annoyed.

"Why haven't you done this before?" Twilight asked, experimentally pushing a hoof through the translucent dome of shadowy energy. There was no resistance, and outside, it was even windier and colder than it had been earlier. "It's... very cool." She immediately felt stupid for having said those last words, and winced.

"I underestimated the memory of ponies when I plotted our route through Grey Hollows. I had hoped to make this journey as Luna, not as a princess, but I no longer see the point in being so strict with myself," Luna murmured. She looked and sounded like she was half asleep, entirely still and unmoving except for her mouth.

Twilight thought about that for a second. "What's the difference? I mean, I'm sure you have a life outside of being a princess, but you don't just mean the magic, right?"

Luna inclined her head ever so slightly. "You are right. What is the difference between Twilight and Twilight Sparkle, favored protegé of Princess Celestia?"

The question stayed put while Twilight mentally nibbled at it from different directions. Luna waited patiently. Or slept. The princess' chest moved slightly with her breath, but except for that, she may as well have been a statue.

"I don't know if I'd ever separate the two," Twilight finally admitted, thinking back. She realized that she had almost as many memories of Princess Celestia as she did of her parents. She remembered when Celestia had taught her how to teleport, and how proud she had been when she finally mastered the notoriously complicated spell.

She remembered when she beat Celestia at chess, even though she knew she’d let her win. To this day, Celestia refused to admit it. She remembered when she had hidden in Celestia's closet until the princess became so worried she called for the guards to help her look.

The last memory was a little painful, too. She had come running out of the closet right away when she heard Celestia raise her voice, afraid she would be angry. The princess had swept Twilight up in a crushing hug and told her how much she loved her. It had made Twilight even more afraid than if she’d been angry with her, she reflected.

"I suspect what you are getting at," Twilight mused, trying to bring herself back to the present, "are the duties and obligations that come with titles." Luna nodded at her words.

"There is that, yes. For you and I, more directly, there is Celestia herself, too.” The princess tilted her head towards the ground by a smidgemeter or two. “I love my sister just as much as you do, but after all these years, there are none alive who remember me as I was. For generations yet, I will be compared to my sister, and I will forever be the younger sister. Never you mind that the time between our births is infinitesimal on the grand scale of things, compared to how long we have lived."

Despite that there was nothing but warmth and resolve in Luna’s voice as she spoke of her sister, Twilight could feel her gut clench. Was that how ponies thought of Princess Luna? Forever the lesser of the two, simply because of that damnable word, “younger”? She had to suffer this atop the vague yet indubitably negative rumors surrounding her return?

"I do not know everything that will come of all of this journey, even now as I realize this is for me as much as it is for all of you." Luna chuckled quietly. "Prophecy and dreams, remember? I have seen that at the end of the journey, I will be able to take up my duties again. It gives me hope. A princess of the moon who cannot even look at her namesake? Laughable.”

It was the second time Luna had said words to that effect tonight. That she could not stomach the sight of the Moon. Twilight may have lost her fear for the princess, but she did not want to confront her about it directly, fearing she may only cause more pain. She felt she had to acknowledge it, however.

"Dash and I, we... saw you on the first day at the Copper Road Inn. You were sitting outside," Twilight admitted, glad to have it off her chest. The princess shifted a little.

"I wish you had not seen that," Luna muttered before clearing her throat. "At any rate, I have seen other things, too, in my dreams. If you do not mind me leaving the subject of me and my woes behind, that is. I know that you all have much to gain from this journey, and that Gilda and Trixie are involved. I am very grateful that you managed to convince everyone to stay."

"I didn't do anything," Twilight protested. "You did, and they did. Besides, don't you mean Trixie, Gilda and Blueblood? You haven't said anything about him." She still wanted to know why Rarity had been ignored or rebuffed so many times when she asked about him.

"It's not about Blueblood, it's about your friend Rarity," Luna said with a small shake of her head. "I am sorry, but I cannot spell it out for you. I think you will understand eventually." She sounded everything but sorry, and Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Right. Well, I'm going to see if I can sleep before you start bombarding me with riddles or something," Twilight said with a huff, earning a smile from Luna.

"Sleep well, Twilight."

---

It seemed that every night, Twilight remembered more and more of her dreams after she woke. When she stirred, she had to blink multiple times before she could erase the night sky from her vision. It took actual effort to convince herself the tall spires and towers she had seen weren't real.

It was daylight, and the Sun’s position told Twilight that it was almost noon already. She'd been awoken by a book hitting the ground near her, and came face to face with an apologetic Winter Sun.

The pale pegasus carefully put it atop the stack on her back again. "Sorry, Twilight," the white pegasus said. "I didn't mean to wake you. I was just leaving."

"Leaving," Twilight repeated, rubbing her eyes. All around her, her friends were already up and about. Fluttershy was massaging Rarity's hooves with some ointment and Rainbow Dash had evidently just landed, coming back from a flight. "Ah, you're going west. Right." Twilight finally remembered now, and got up slowly. She had not slept well at all. While she did feel better than yesterday, it was only by the barest of margins.

"There's nothing for me further south," Winter confirmed. "Your friends were kind to share of their supplies, and I've travelled before. I'll be fine, even if I can't fly with all this." She indicated her stack of guest books with her head. “There are oodles of villages west of here. I’ll figure something out.”

"Ah still feel plum terrible about what happened to ya. It’s our fault, at least partially," Applejack said, squaring her jaw. The farm pony did not look happy at all.

"I don't want to blame anypony. These things have a habit of happening to me." The pegasus mare’s optimism was almost surreal. "I got a few bits to my name anyway. And my books, too! It could be a lot worse."

"Winter Sun, do you think you might eventually head for Clopenhagen?" It was Luna who asked, coming a little closer.

Winter looked up at the princess, managing to keep her composure this time. She smiled as she nodded. “I think so. Eventually, anyways. I mean, it’s the biggest town around, and I think I have a cousin there. Even if I head back up north, I mean, I’ll pop by. Why?”

Luna seemed pleased with this, turning over to Rarity. “May I borrow a sheet of paper?”

“Of course, princess. Will sketch paper do?” Rarity asked, tilting her head. She levitated out a clean piece of paper from her saddlebags.

Luna nodded, gratefully accepting a single sheet of paper, though she ignored the proffered sketching coals. The princess set about etching the paper with magic, burning elegant writing onto the letter and filling the available space in a matter of seconds. Folding it by halves, she levitated it in between the pages of one of Winter Sun’s books. “If you would do me the favor of handing this to the city council office in Clopenhagen, I would be very grateful,” she concluded.

Winter beamed. "Oh, of course. Happy to! But, um, can I ask you a question, though, princess? A little favor?"

“Within reason, of course. A favor for a favor only sounds fair,” Luna agreed with a nod.

The pegasus carefully retrieved the smaller of her three books from her back, putting on her biggest smile. "Will you sign my guestbook before I go?"

---

Luna had been happy to acquiesce, and Winter had insisted the other ponies sign as well, something they had gladly done - in return for a promise from Winter Sun that she would visit Ponyville sometime. With business thus concluded, hoof-shakes and a few hugs exchanged, the road once again stretched out before the party, now consisting of seven ponies again. Despite how uneven the terrain had looked from the small shelf above, the road was well enough maintained. The biggest inconveniences were the cold and the constant switch between up- and downhill trotting.

While she was sure it was just something she imagined, Twilight could have sworn that it got colder with every little hill they crested. Rainbow Dash, claiming that she was getting 'sea sick' from all the hills despite never having been on a boat, opted to fly instead of walking.

The upside was the great amount of berries available in the hilly terrain, courtesy of the season. The ponies ate well for the first time since Braidford, something Rarity was quick to comment on. She was swiftly brought back down to Equestria by a callous comment from Dash saying that she never thought she'd hear the fashionista say she was happy about eating wild berries. The resulting quarrel took the better part of their first afternoon in the highlands to resolve.

Whenever the time came for camp to be made, Princess Luna would spread her wings and banish the cold wind, standing silent vigil over the ponies through the night. Unsure of whether she slept like that or if she simply did not need to sleep at all, Twilight had resolved not to bother her any more during the nights. It was as much for her own benefit as it was for Luna's, though, as she wasn’t having much luck sleeping herself. Never before had this been an issue for Twilight; Spike would usually have to throw books at her to get her out of bed in the morning. Now she could not even sleep through the night.

She missed Spike. She missed her bed, too. Twilight had all too much time to think about these things as she lay awake. She would spend hours staring at Luna's back because she'd been startled awake by the vivacity of her dreams. She’d dream of the night sky with each star burning as bright as the sun itself and the Moon looming so close it felt as if though she could reach out and touch it with a hoof. Beautiful, tall towers awaited her in the night, and atop the tallest one stood a shape she couldn't quite make out. Once, Twilight had awoken to a fell laughter that echoed in her head. She lay there staring at the night sky for the rest of that night, naming constellations to herself in an attempt to banish the fear.

She missed Spike, her bed and the library, and now she missed her telescope, too. The stars were as beautiful as ever, but through the dome that protected them from the elements it was all she could do to try to tell Orion and Ursa Major apart. Every night she got less sleep than the last.

Three days after they had left Winter Sun at the crossroads, Rarity approached Twilight in the middle of a brisk trot across the highlands. Rather, as Luna had gradually upped the pace day by day, it was more a case of Rarity letting herself fall back to the exhausted Twilight. The purple unicorn barely noticed when Rarity fell into step next to her. She was aware she was lagging behind, but it was all she could do to keep moving.

"Twilight, darling, we're a little worried about you. I mean, I know you hardly care about upkeep on the road, at least not on the same level that I do, but you're not just looking tired, you look like death itself." Rarity wasn’t fussing; she sounded thoroughly concerned, and it made Twilight worry in turn. She had hoped the obsessive-compulsive stylist would have had a brush and a makeup kit out by now, but Rarity was just looking at her while she trotted at Twilight’s side.

"I guess I look about as good as I feel, huh?" Twilight asked with a grimace. "I really haven't been sleeping well." If only this were the sort of problem where admitting it was half of the solution, the bookish unicorn thought to herself. She'd read a few books on 'problems' of different sorts, and this was most decidedly not one of those. This wasn't one of her crazy studying binges where she tried to get by on as little sleep as possible; she was trying.

"Yes, well, I’ve noticed. Worrying about the library?" Rarity asked, arching a brow. It was a fair assumption. Twilight had indeed spent more than a little time wondering about exactly how the library was doing. She knew it was in capable hands, though, and shook her head, not wanting to lie to her friend.

"I don’t know why I can’t sleep. I miss Spike more than I do the library itself, but I think he'd find a lot of this travelling boring.” She smiled thought. “For me, talking to Luna teaches me more than any books in any library."

Noticing Rarity's mood faltering a little at the mention of the princess, Twilight sighed at her friend, her voice flat. "She still hasn't told you anything about Blueblood, has she?"

"No. And it is driving me crazy!" Rarity exploded, throwing her head back in frustration. "She keeps saying she'll tell me later, not now, but the 'now' is never going to come, is it? And she thinks I won't dare to point out her rudeness!" The white unicorn deflated. "And she's right, of course. It would be very unseemly, telling off royalty."

Twilight nodded while she brushed the cobwebs off some memories of hers, trying to make sense of it. It was tough going, mired by her tiredness, but something felt odd. Even with the fashionista’s penchant for drama, this didn’t sound right. She was a little angry with herself for not thinking critically about this before, busy fretting over the princess.

"Okay, hang on. I can see why Dash worries about Gilda, I think,” Twilight began. “Hay, I worry about her because Dash worries. Trixie, well, especially after what we’ve learned, it’s hard not to be curious there. I mean, she might not show it, but even Applejack can tell something’s wrong, right?" Rarity looked a little uncomfortable, confirming Twilight's suspicions. She was on to something here. “I hope they’re okay, both of them, and that’s part of what we’re doing here,” Twilight went on.

"But unless something happened during the gala that you haven't told me about, I don't understand why you worry so much about Blueblood. I am sure that if something horrible had happened to him, it would have been all over the news. He's royalty, right?" Twilight paused at that, shaking her head in sudden realization. "Okay, I doubt he’s an actual prince, and I’m sending Celestia a letter asking about that the minute we get back, because now I want to know.”

Twilight shook her head violently again, trying to stop herself from getting sidetracked. “My point is, he's fine! I think I even saw him on a magazine a week before we left. It can't just be curiosity over some gossip Luna might have. Why are you obsessing over him? What’s your excuse?"

Rarity looked around as if for an escape, but unless she intended to flat out ignore Twilight or literally bolt for the admittedly conveniently nearby hills, there was no way out. Twilight moved in for the kill.

"This stays between us. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Her eye was already half-closed thanks to fatigue, so it hurt less than usual when she forgot to do the swear properly. The fact that they were moving didn't help her precision. Rarity looked as if she was going to laugh, but it never amounted to much more than a smile.

"He was supposed to be the one, Twilight," Rarity began, tentatively.

"You said as much, but unless 'the one' means 'the one who got you covered in cake', that really didn't work out, did it?" Twilight quipped, making Rarity swallow and nod.

"Yes, quite. But I mean, the one. The one who made me complete, Twilight. The end of the journey. The culmination of all my efforts. The ultimate expression of who I am." Rarity's eyes glossed over a little. "My other half. The goal towards which I have been working all my life, whether I knew it or not."

Twilight suddenly felt wide awake. The words had sparked a memory of something Princess Celestia had told her long ago. She had asked a question with the infinite audacity of somepony who was free to delve into the mysteries of life as told by adults. The big questions that would have marked her as rude and inappropriate had she been older, but were thought adorable from a little filly.

"Princess, why are you alone? Mommy has daddy, and they have me. Why don't you have a daddy too?"

Another adult might have offered some patronizing remark, but Princess Celestia took her seriously. In hindsight, it would have been very easy for her to tell Twilight that everypony in Equestria was her special somepony. She had heard Celestia give that line before, and she did not doubt for a second that it was an honest answer, too. It was not the answer Twilight had been given that day, however.

"Twilight Sparkle, you shouldn't be in a rush to find somepony. I am sure your mommy and daddy love each other very much. I know they do, and they love you, too. But before your mommy found your daddy, and before your daddy found your mommy, they had to love themselves. That’s the most important thing of all."

It had been a very responsible thing to say, and it had given Twilight a measure of peace and confidence as she grew up. They were words she had come back to. Thus, although she was hardly the most experienced pony when it came to love, Rarity's words and their implications worried her. She wanted to tell Rarity this, but she had no idea how. She feared she’d sound patronizing, and she wasn’t really awake enough to debate with anypony.

"Um, Rarity, your other half is a bit of a haybrain," Twilight ended up saying. If nothing else, they were heartfelt and honest words. She still pinched her eyes shut in annoyance. Great going, Twilight. Wise words.

"But what if there's a reason? What if he was, ah, how would Rainbow Dash put it, 'off his game' that evening? Perhaps somepony spiked his drink?" Rarity was smiling a bit too widely, desperate hope tinting her voice.

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "He's probably a super neat stallion underneath the part where he’s a self-absorbed pompous idiot," she offered. Rarity didn't even comment on the obvious sarcasm, keeping quiet. It felt like Twilight should say something more, but she could not for the life of her figure out what. Just like that, the moment was gone.

Rarity gave a practiced, delicate cough. "At any rate, Luna spoke about setting up camp over the next major hill. She said there should be a brook and a pool in a small forest. I don't know about you, but I'm eager to take a bath. Do feel free to borrow my soap if you need some. I assume you didn't pack any." The delicate unicorn frowned. "It seems like it'll be a while still before we have the chance to take a proper bath in a real town, doesn't it?"

"I guess," Twilight muttered. She wanted to know what Luna was planning. Where was Blueblood? What was the princess' angle for keeping quiet about this? Would it help to ask again? The answers didn't nearly keep up with the questions, it seemed. She made a mental note to visit her parents once this was over, missing them terribly in the aftermath of her trip down memory lane.

---

The next few days brought no relief from the dreams and the exhaustion. The only relief was that it didn't get any worse, either. Twilight settled into a stable routine of being constantly tired, of always lagging a little behind. Every day one of her friends would join her at the rear, and it was easy to imagine that in the vanguard ahead, she was an oft-discussed topic. They were all aware that she wasn’t sleeping well, and expressed their sympathies at every turn. Fluttershy had tried to brew her an herbal tea, but it hadn’t helped, much to the yellow pegasus’ chagrin.

Applejack confessed that she was annoyed with Luna. Apparently, the princess had let it slip that she had some theories on what was causing Twilight’s dreams, but she did not want to say until she knew for sure. Well aware that getting information out of the princess took effort, Twilight simply did not have the energy to ask Luna about it. The next day, Pinkie Pie encouraged her to keep moving and distracted her with her stories, and Fluttershy lent her support the day after.

It was steadily getting harder to remember who had walked with her the preceding day. Twilight’s memory slowly collapsed and made every morning feel the same. She was almost lucid in the day, but quickly tired in the afternoon. It was all she could do to put a hoof in front of the other. Her friends grew more and more alarmed, but Luna insisted that they would be alright as soon as they made it to their next stop. Applejack’s efforts to find out exactly how had made the evenings a little sour sometimes.

The mountains that flanked the landscape barely seemed to have moved at all, but the tall peaks that loomed ahead were rapidly closing as they trotted on. A little over a week after leaving the Hollows, they finally drew near the foot of the mountains Luna called Orion’s Breath. It was just past noon when it became apparent that what Twilight had thought a particularly large rock in the distance was in fact a vast stone structure. With their goal in sight and a gentle slope to aid them, the ponies upped their pace a little, and Twilight found her second wind to join in.

As they closed, the structure gained in detail. It was obviously a fortress of some sort, and quite clearly ancient. The fort was covered in moss and the stones were cracked, but it was still whole and fully functional, the Equestrian colors proudly adorning its poles and walls all. Though the fortress was dwarfed by the looming grey mountains that seemed but a stone's throw away now, it was probably big enough to house hundreds of ponies, Twilight thought. The structure seemed like a mountain in its own right, barely more complex than a slab of stone given windows, crenellations and pegasus platforms. Surrounding the fort, sketching a massive courtyard, was an overgrown and worn-down wall so low in places that it barely reached the tip of Twilight’s horn.

Without warning, seemingly coming out of nowhere, a wing of armored pegasi passed low over the ponies and headed for the fortress. Rainbow Dash looked like she wanted to soar after them simply because of the challenge she read in their maneuver, but Luna suggested they might not take too kindly to it.

"You have to realize," Luna explained. "We are at the very border of Equestria, now. While we may not be at war, ponies and other peoples take borders very seriously."

As if to prove her point, eight earth ponies in shining armor galloped out from the maw of the fortress, heading in their direction. While they were indubitably Equestrian and had their weapons sheathed, the display made Twilight a little nervous. The thunder of heavy hooves grew louder and louder as the gilded troop neared.

"Bet you five bits that they'll say 'Hail Luna'," Rainbow Dash said with a grin.

"I'll see your bet and raise you ten. They'll say 'Princess Luna'," Rarity countered smugly.

"I'll take both of those bets!" Pinkie Pie said with a bright smile.

The approaching earth ponies came to a practiced and precise halt in front of the party. One of the ponies stepped forward to perform a crisp salute. "Hail exalted monarch! Mossy Rock Keep greets you!" His salute was echoed by the other warponies, but he alone spoke. Pinkie Pie grinned while Rarity and Dash frowned.

"Hello, sergeant," Luna said, dismissing the formalities as quickly as Pinkie did common sense. The princess began moving again, forcing the detachment of armored ponies to break up and try to design some impromptu formation that looked intentional. They settled for walking four to a side of the other ponies, the leader walking at Luna's left hooves.

"I believe I sent Mossy Rock a letter a few weeks ago warning that we may be passing through, yes?" Luna asked.

"Yes princess. We respect your desire for expediency, but the captain wished for us to extend an offer of food and lodging should you wish to halt here for the evening. Mossy Rock has never had the pleasure of your visit." The sergeant stared straight ahead as he spoke and Twilight imagined she could see the muscles in his neck strain to keep him as rigid as possible.

"We will be happy to take you up on the offer," Luna said with a glance back at Twilight and the others. Twilight, for her part, found it hard to contain her excitement at the prospect of a night in a proper bed. There were assorted nods, agreements and at least one loud whoop, and Luna seemed satisfied. "You can tell your captain that beds, baths and food will be appreciated. I would very much like to discuss some matters with him right away, if you would be so kind as to show me to him."

They were escorted past the overgrown wall and through the courtyard in short order. The courtyard, it seemed, doubled as vegetable garden, and here the sergeant dismissed the other ponies with an order for them to patrol the perimeter. Next, they were led past an old metal gate and into the depths of the fortress. The spacious hallways were in relatively good repair on the inside, and firefly-globes were evenly spaced, rebelling against the randomness of the cracks in the walls. What could have been a ruin was kept alive and cozy well past the end of its natural lifespan thanks to the efforts of its inhabitants.

Passing by numerous open doors, they saw ponies at work maintaining armor and weaponry, ponies cooking, sleeping and relaxing. The full spectrum of fortress life flashed by, room by room, until they were finally presented with an unremarkable yet closed oaken door. Luna opened it even as the sergeant spoke and took up position by the door. "Captain Pike awaits. It is an honor, princess."

Inside, a dark blue earth pony stallion looked up from behind a stack of papers on his desk. The captain wore thin-rimmed glasses and smiled broadly at Luna. The corners of his eyes crinkled, and his voice betrayed his age as rose and saluted. "Princess Luna. It has been long years since we've had a royal visit, and this is quite the honor."

"Good afternoon, captain," Luna said with a curt nod before turning back to the others, momentarily ignoring the captain. Specifically, she looked at the pony who had escorted them here. "Sergeant, thank you for your time. What is your name?"

The sergeant gave a start at being addressed directly, his soldier's countenance shattered in a heartbeat. "Er- I am, er, my name is Princess Longleap! Longleap is my name, princess!" The armored earth pony closed his eyes for a second and grimaced. Twilight would have laughed if she didn't feel so bad for him.

"Well then, Longleap. Would you take my friends down to someplace where they could eat? I will be taking up quite a bit of Captain Pike's time, and I would not want to bore them." Luna was smiling a little too widely, clearly holding back laughter herself.

"At once, princess!" Longleap barked before bowing deeply.

Luna waved a hoof and began closing the door with her magic as she turned to Captain Pike. "Do you have dragonfire?" Twilight heard Luna ask before the door shut and the voices became muffled.

Thus, they traded their princess for a flustered earth pony stallion. The guardpony looked around and was met by a wall of grins and chuckles. He drew deep breath, as if to speak, but Rainbow Dash collapsed to the ground hammering the stone floor with a hoof.

"Princess Longleap! Oh my gosh, that is just awesome!" The pegasus howled while gasping for breath. Applejack had jammed a hoof in her mouth to try to avoid having a similar fit, and Fluttershy hid behind her mane, shaking conspicuously. Twilight was alternating between wincing in sympathy and chuckling.

The sergeant let out his breath again, hanging his head, but he did manage a weak smile. "Right. On behalf of Mossy Rock Keep, let me apologize for that little misstep." Even Rarity was giggling softly and waved dismissively, shaking her head. "May I ask your names? You travel with the princess, so I assume you are no threat, but I would also like to know your purpose if I may. You are clearly not a guard detachment," Longleap commented with a sidelong glance at Dash.

Names were given in a quick round of introductions, with Applejack covering for and introducing Rainbow Dash, who was still in the throes of laughter. It was only when the sergeant turned to Pinkie Pie that Twilight realized that the cheerful party pony hadn't laughed along with the rest. Pinkie was still looking at the door behind which Princess Luna and Captain Pike held their meeting. The pink earth pony was smiling as broadly as Twilight had ever seen her smile, but there was a calm, a serenity to her expression. It wasn’t a maddened grin fueled by sugar, this. Twilight moved up to her and poked Pinkie in the side.

"Um, and this is Pinkie Pie, Longleap. She does this a lot. And by 'this', I mean anything that isn't normal. In fact, I don't think she's ever done 'normal'," Twilight said. She was getting a little worried. Pinkie Pie was always the first to laugh.

Roused by Twilight’s words, Pinkie Pie turned towards the purple unicorn, triumph in her voice. "She called us friends," Pinkie chirped. She bounced over to Longleap and shook one of his forehooves with both of hers, practically oozing joy. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, and we're Princess Luna's friends!"

Twilight found herself smiling as well, along with everpony else. Even Longleap seemed affected by Pinkie's infectious happiness, grinning though he couldn’t tell why.

Comments

[Lurks-no-More]

Pinkie's reaction right there at the end of the chapter shows that sometimes, it's the little details and word choices that make all the difference!

[Ergocogito]

^ Yup. It's only chapter 7/25, but I'm adding this as a favorite for that very reason.

[Archvile]

ah pinkie... always catch onto the little things that matters ^^

[BarrenBaron]

wow how have i not read this sooner?

[CluelessBrony]

D'aaaaaww. She called them friends.

[CouchCrusader]

Fluttershy blowing up at Princess Luna during the previous chapter, and now Pinkie and her smiling serenity here? It's always nifty seeing you tweak our favorite ponies' personalities that way, and these departures feel pretty "natural", given the circumstances.

I'm also struck by... well. Your Equestria is absolutely massive, requiring several days' travel between towns, and I think despite this you have some wonderful pacing to the story. To compare: my first story's covered about a day and a half, is already over 30,000 words, and hasn't even left Equestrian territory yet. I'm quite comfortable with the rate at which you introduce characters into the story and let them fade into the background when they need to depart, and I'd be happy either way if you engineered a way to bring them back or if we never heard from them again.

[khatre]

I kept waiting for Twilight to mention that Ponyville does not have an inn and offer Winter her room in the library to hold her over till she is set up.

[LunaTheFox]

I find myself having difficulty in putting this down so as to get some sleep. It's easily the best adventure story I have read in a long time anywhere. It feels like a true, epic adventure.

[Majk]

Story...fun...night...time...should...sleep....
Blaaargh i'll finish you tomorrow!

[BenRG]

She's the Element of Laughter! Of course she makes everypony feel better!

[ElkinFencer10]

Captain Pike? Is that a coincidence or a Star Trek reference?

[Typoglyphic]

The approaching earth ponies came to a practiced and precise halt in front of the party. One of the ponies stepped forward to perform a crisp salute. "Hail exalted monarch! Mossy Rock Keep greets you!"

Isn't Luna a diarch, not a monarch? If Equestria is a monarchy, then surely Celestia would be the head of state.

[Seraphimus]

This I think was your best pinkie pie moment in the whole story "She called us friends" Pinkie pie is always bubbly and happy but something like that... That's a different kind of joy, Pure unadulterated happiness and you wrote it very well.