New Beginnings

by PassionQuill

Chapter 3: Trek To The Mountains

When morning came, and the sun shone brightly onto their faces, the flickering light managed to tickle Allington's eyes enough to bring him back to the world of the awake. The first sounds he heard were that of birds and the soft wind, making him remember where he was. However, those sounds were quickly drowned out by the strange noise of Passion snoring right next to him. When he finally did open his eyes, his pupils were met with the sight of Passion’s face resting on his chest. A hint of drool had pooled up on his body from her having apparently snuggled up to him for a long time during their sleep.

It was interesting to Allington to see her sleeping like that. He couldn’t remember her falling asleep while being so closely pushed against his body, and yet there she was, pressed chest to chest with him. Allington chocked it up to her probably having rolled over in her sleep. Smiling softly down at Passion’s sleeping form, he moved his head slowly before freezing, almost acting upon the impulse to lean down and kiss her forehead. Though, the notion of how awkward it would have been held him back.

"Wake up, Passion," whispered Allington, nuzzling her head softly instead of the kiss. He wanted to wake her gently, and while he actually enjoyed looking at her sleeping form, they had quite the trek ahead of them this day.

Passion first groaned sleepily to the sound of his voice, apparently not wanting to wake up just yet. Though, despite her tired demeanor, her eyes flickered wide open and like shot out of a canon, she jetted backwards off of him, knocking their tent over. It only took Passion a second to end up completely encased in their shelter, like a little ball of yarn, all the while yelling,

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

She rolled a bit away, peeking out from the cloth hanging over her head. The two bright blue eyes could just barely be seen from under the remains of their shelter as she panted heavily from fright while getting an idea of where she actually was.

"Oh..." She smiled sheepishly at Allington. "Sorry about that."

During Passion’s entire ordeal, Allington had remained in a prone position, though his head and neck were lifted and alert as he had watched her confused behavior. It was first after she had successfully cocooned herself in his shelter cloth that he got up on his hooves so he could approach her slowly.

"It’s no problem, ma'am. Enjoy your slumber? It appeared so to me, anyway,” said Allington as he began untangling her from the cloth, making sure not to get any of her limbs caught inside the fabric or rope, and to not lacerate or puncture the cloth.

"Anyway, good morning, Passion. Are you at all hungry?"

A slight tinge of red could be detected in her black cheeks as he helped her out of the constraining cloth. The blush was accompanied by a strange smile. It was hard to point out which kind and why she was even smiling, but to Passion it was because she enjoyed how he didn't pay any mind to what she had just done.

"I... I slept really well actually. How about you? And yes! I'm really hungry! But that's okay, I can totally find some food somewhere." With that she stepped out of the mess she'd made and shook her body some to get her fur nice and smooth again, and somehow literally shaking off all the anxiety she had just gone through.

"I promised to not burden you, and then I started out my day doing this... I better find some food for the both of us to make up for it!" giggled Passion.

"You... You’re a silly pony, Passion. I just want to make that clear," he said with a slight giggle, his mouth curling up into a jolly smirk at one edge as he eventually separated the mare from the fabric. "And I do have rations for us to use as food this morning. You needn't have to forage until later on today. We have quite a stretch of land to travel today, as we must try to reach the mountains before nightfall."

"I... am?" His words had only caused Passion to turn more crimson, but she also seemed to rather enjoy that. "Thank you!" She grinned widely, planting herself a few feet away from Allington who had begun the process of shaking the dew off the fabric and rolling it up.

"Do you like oats and tea? I find them easy enough to carry with me in dry form, and they make a nutritious breakfast. ...Does that sound appealing to you?" he asked softly.

"You're giving me tea and oats?!" exclaimed Passion in surprise. Her flabbergasted facial expression was quickly followed by a high pitch squeal reminiscent of something a little filly could make.

"I'd LOVE to get that! I haven't had tea since..." She stopped mid-sentence to count internally. "Erhm, I know it was a birthday… Nevermind! It was a long time ago. Oats will be a real treat as well!" She giddily wiggled around on the spot. "You sure I can have both things?"

Her ecstatic and erratic behavior only further confirmed his earlier statement. She was a very silly pony, and it amused Allington to no end.

"Yes, tea and oats. I was not aware that they were the best combination since cart and wheel though," said Allington, chuckling again. "And I am glad to see that you enjoy tea as well. I collect teas, and I have quite the stock back 'ome. Do you like black teas? The tea I have currently is a black tea." Allington made his way to the fire pit, where he stacked more collected wood into the pit and proceeded to light it. "Now, if you would kindly grab my kettle and pot from the supply bag, I would be grateful, ma'am."

"S-sorry... I don't get nice food like this all that often." It was clear that embarrassment had crept into her face due to her excited behavior towards common things. To rectify it, she mumbled in a more contained manner, "And I don't really know. I've only had tea a couple of times. I don't know the differences between any of them." She turned around to grab the kettle and pot as he asked, handing them over to him as quickly as she could. "There you go, Allington."

"Ah, thank you kindly, ma'am." Allington smiled as he took the kettle and filled it with water from his canteen. "As for the flavor of this tea, it’s a touch stronger than other teas. You should manage just fine though." He fashioned a holder for the kettle and hung it over the fire before standing up and grabbing a tin of dried oats and pouring them into the pot.

"So... You prefer sugar in your oats?"

"Huh? I get sugar too?!" There it was again, her big bright smile. She was positively glowing with giddy excitement over something as boring as sugar. "I'd love that! Jeez, you're such a nice stallion, Allington. I owe you like several favors now!" Snickered Passion. "You just name it and I'll do it, buddy!"

Allington glanced downward rather shyly at what he felt was undue compliments. It was just a nice breakfast. It wasn't like he was taking her to an expensive diner or giving her jewels. Although, a part of him wondered how she would react were somepony to actually give those gifts to her.

"Aye, there's sugar too... And nay, you owe me naught for this. It is just a meager breakfast. You owe no favor to me save to be a good companion, which you are already accomplishing."

"Meager breakfast? It's the best thing I have eaten all month!" She pouted some at him putting down the breakfast.

"Oh, it is?" He hummed in thought. "Well... I suppose that after eating nothing but oats during the trail here for breakfast, I have become accustomed to it as a meager meal. I suppose that puts a new light on things."

"Hhmm, I feel like I owe you something regardless!" She was unsure of what to feel when he complimented her. Being a good companion was a very foreign concept to her, so was being around anypony else really. Despite her extremely timid nature of what he had experienced when they first met, she seemed to grow more and more extroverted the further away she got from her home town.

"You know what. I've read enough books about almost anything you can imagine, even on social conducts between ponies… and by that I mean stories… I know how to repay you now. Close your eyes." With her words came a wide grin, followed by a little snicker.

"...Close my eyes?" He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head a little. "Whatever do you hope to accomplish by me performing that? I will oblige you, though..." Leaning his head back up, he slowly closed his eyes, not entirely sure of what the mare was about to pull on him.

Nothing happened for several moments of his eyes being closed. Only the sound of the fire crackling and the window blowing filled up his sense of hearing. Though, suddenly he heard a bit of scuffling as Passion got back up on her hooves and walked over to him. A wet, warm and slightly pressure filled sensation occupied a little part of his right cheek soon thereafter. It only lasted for a second before dissipating rapidly, though as the sensation impacted his cheek, he knew exactly what had transpired, and it caused a wide grin to slowly spread on his face as she withdrew.

"There, you can open your eyes!" Her own eyes were closed, her cheeks bright red and her head tilted a bit up. "I hope I’ve showed my thankfulness for all you've done for me. I very much look forward to tasting this lovely meal you're preparing for us." She opened her eyes a bit, breaking her very serious look with a small grin.

"Why... Thank you, dear Passion." Allington opened his eyes and blinked a few times, nodding slowly while still grinning. "I much appreciate your gesture of thankfulness. I shall strive to make this meal as sweet as your gesture." He giggled softly and added water to the oats before setting them over the fire as well. He couldn’t help himself from chuckling every now and then as he began preparing the meal, looking at the fire and chewing his tongue in thought about what had just transpired. He found her token of appreciation cute and wondered if she was aware of just how adorable it actually was.

Passion on the other hoof remained fairly red, especially from his comment about making the meal as sweet as her gesture. It caused Passion to shyly lower her head and poke at the ground with one hoof.

"It wasn't that sweet. I'm just, you know, thankful for all of, this." She looked around while saying the last word of her sentence. "Taking me away, being nice to me; Giving me shelter and food!" She smiled widely. "It's great. You're great." With that she gave him a quick glance before staring down at the pot. It didn't seem like Passion had any concept of whether or not she was cute. She didn't seem to have any concepts of how anypony perceived her other than what her town's ponies had beaten into her. "I can't wait to eat this, it'll be so delicious!"

Allington pondered that perhaps her foal-like wonder and ignorance to things was what lent her to being adorable. It was a brief thought as he finished the oats, taking the pot off the fire and stirring in brown sugar he kept in a small container. He even added the last of the dried blueberries as an extra treat.

"Well... I am more than happy to have been of aid, Miss Passion." He looked up from the food and into her eyes for a second before coughing and returning his gaze to the meal. "So, um... I do not have sugar for the tea, so you will have to drink it plain. ...I hope that isn't a concern, ma'am." He poured a lump of the oats into a small bowl. "Here is your food, miss."

"It's okay, Allington. I'm fine with the tea as it is. It's a real treat to me, even without sugar!" She grinned giddily while taking the bowl. "Thank you!" Passion had barely allowed the food to cool down even a smidge before she began devouring it. It became clear within a second that she was a bit of a messy eater. Then again, he figured she probably didn’t have much need for refined eating habits when living alone. Through her large swallows she did manage to mutter, “mmm! This is delicious!”

Her bowl was empty within no time at all, which led her to timidly ask for more food, despite the bowl being rather big for a mare her size. Somehow the little mare could pack away food like nopony else. Though, this could be either her being a bit of a glutton, or maybe she hadn't actually eaten for a few days, it was hard to tell for Allington which it could be. "Mmm, you're great at cooking, Allington."

Chuckling a bit, he gave her a second full helping, not letting her see that there was hardly any oats remaining for himself. Goodness knows when she last had a proper meal, and well, he could do just fine without breakfast today so long as he had tea.

"Why thank you, Passion. I do try to by a decent cook with what I have. I am glad you enjoy it." He smiled as he poured the tea into a travel mug. "Here you go: some hot black tea. I'll get mine once I locate the other mug."

Passion made quick work of the second portion of food that Allington gave her. "Mmm!" Her enjoyment of the food was hard to contain, and it almost caused her to wiggle in her spot. Little bits of oats were smeared on her face when the bowl was finally lowered down and put away. With a full stomach came a new rush of happiness to Passion, and it made her smile widely and warmly at her friend, blushing a bit as she mumbled,

"Sorry... I was a bit hungrier than I thought." She eagerly took the mug to give the tea a little sniff and a happy squeak before taking a sip. "Ooo. It's pretty bitter, but I like it still. Thank you for giving me so much food and a tasty drink!" Though, her overly excited expression started to fade as she asked, "But, what about you? I didn't see you eat anything... did I eat it all?" Her ears fell down low as she came to realize how greedy she'd been.

"No, you didn't eat all the oats. There are still some left in the pot if you wanted them. I’m more than fine without breakfast this morn, so long as I have my tea, which I’m currently drinking. I assure you, had I been hungry I would have rationed myself more of the oats." He nodded slowly before taking another sip. "And I am glad that you enjoyed them, ma'am."

Allington could see that Passion still felt bad about it. She shook her head slowly and mumbled, "No, no- I want you to eat some breakfast as well. Besides, I couldn't eat any more food as is. I'd definitely get sick if I ate another bite." She nodded assertively while pushing her bowl away. "It was really tasty though. Would be a shame if you didn't eat some yourself." She sipped her tea some more, using both hooves to hold the mug. Her soft voice barely carried across the mug as she mumbled, "Anything interesting on our way to Trottingham? Or will it be like no civilization till we get there?"

"Alright, if you insist, Passion. I was actually planning on eating the remainder of the oats in the pot before we pack up camp." He floated over a spoon and the pot before gathering the oats together.

"Good!" she chirped. "I want you to be full for our amazing journey." Passion did a little jump to get back up on her hooves. It seemed like his healing spell had done wonders for her.

"And as for the scenery? This path should be free from other cities until we reach Trottingham proper. I enjoy traveling through the country, and as it were, we would have to detour by about two days to actually run into another city." He shrugged. "I apologize if you were wanting to see other cities before mine."

"No no no! Don't apologize. I'm glad that we avoid small cities..." She slowly rubbed the back of her head before continuing, "I do really want to see Trottingham, and I bet it will be fun. But, a road of quiet nature is something I really treasure." Her gaze turned towards their destination. "I've always wondered what lay beyond the forest of my village... Wondered about so many things I've read about." A smile of pure bliss crept into the shape of her lips as her mind raced through the myriad of possible things to examine for real, now that she actually could do it. "Like, I've never been to a mountain, or really seen a mountain outside a book." She kept on staring at the ones they were heading towards.

"Well, lass, you shall soon see plenty of the mountains, as we will be traversing them by tomorrow if we make pace." He sat and ate his small portion of oats and finished his mug of tea. "The landscape of mountains is far different than other terrains, Passion. Hopefully it will be to your liking." He finished the pot before using his magic to peel any stuck parts together and tossing the lump into the fire. "Anyway, now that breakfast is over, we need to break camp to depart shortly." He smiled warmly at her as he rose to his hooves. "Are you ready for the day? I know I am."

Passion thought about his words for a moment before responding. "I'm sure I'll like the mountains. I love experiencing new things!" She did a few giddy jumps as he told her they were packing up. "Okay! I'm so ready for this!" All their equipment and possessions were swiftly stored away as Passion eagerly did her share to help in packing up their little camp.

"Want me to take some of your stuff? Things will be lighter for you if I do that." Her request to help was followed by a cute and bright smile that was accompanied by her usual shimmering eyed stare.

He looked into her eyes for a minute or two, it seemed to him. Something about that expression... He couldn't say no to it. She was growing on him.

"Sure thing, miss." He smiled and unloaded a medium-sized bag for her to carry. "I appreciate the gesture to help." And he did, though he could carry the full weight on his own easy enough. After all, he did so on the way to the village the first time.

"Yay!" She giggled and bumped a bit into him as he agreed to let her carry some of the stuff. She gladly took on the weight of the bag, wiggling her body some to get use to carrying it. She chirpily followed Allington, staying near to his side this time, much closer than yesterday.

"Well, shall we be off? There's plenty to see today, and I would like it if we could reach the mountain's base by dusk."

“We can totally make it there before dusk! If it starts getting dark before we're there, I'll race you." She smirked a bit confidently at him. She was really coming more and more out of her shell as they went further and further away from her village. She had gotten a lot more comfortable with Allington and it showed. It was getting very clear that she was extremely excited to have a friend.

"So, you would race if it came to that?" He chuckled. "Alright, I'll give you a run for it."

It thrilled him to no end to see Passion acting... well, acting like a normal pony. When he first met her, she had been a timid and cowering mess, and seeing her shed that fear and having a chance to explore the world. Well, it warmed his heart. How much though was uncertain, as he felt something else in that as well. He would sort that feeling out and clarify what it was in due time, though.

"Yeah! I'd totally race you! I'm wicked fast!" She grinned even more confidently than before. "I've gotten really good at running fast! Well... only for like short sprints, but good nonetheless." She nodded and giggled after making her case.

"So you are a sprinter then? That is a useful advantage to have when in a confined space or a dense wood. I personally am more of a marathoner, as I’m a touch slower but can maintain speed for a distance. I suppose we will see." He smiled with a quiet confidence as they traveled together.

"Yeah, I'm a sprinter alright, and oooo" She sounded rather impressed by him stating he was a marathon runner. There was absolutely no discretion with her as she eyed him all over. "You definitely look like you’re in amazing shape, so I don't doubt you can run forever."

Allington's face melded into a strange combination of reservation and pride as he saw her look him over, which caused him to blush a little bit. "Well... I will not boast, though I have some experience in long-distance travel from past experiences."

It was first now that Passion had really taken any notice to Allington’s shape. It was clear that he was a shorter than average stallion, though he wasn't too short. He was built a bit lean, as constant travel and a healthy diet made for little fat on his body, accentuating the muscles on his frame, while Passion was an extraordinary thin, and a bit smaller than the average mare, so compared to each other, they had a similar size difference as a normal stallion and mare would have to each other.

Though, despite never having paid much attention to his physical features, now when pointed out to her, she couldn't help herself from staring a bit more at his body. Taking notice to how great a shape he was in, how muscularly lean he was. She felt a strange, yet pleasing sensation run through her body. It was more than enough to turn her fairly red. Passion quickly shook her head to get rid of the looming thoughts in the back of her mind.

"Also, I can see in the dark," she stated out of nowhere, getting her mind away from what it had previous been occupied by. "If it does get dark, I can see our way to wherever we're going."

"Well, that is indeed a useful ability to have. Although, need I remind you that while you may be able to see in the dark, I cannot and might injure myself. I appreciate the sentiment, though."

Her smile faded some, and so did the perkiness of her ears. An apologetic look filled up her eyes as she stared up at him. "I'm sorry... I forgot that... Well! You could always walk behind me and keep a hoof on my lower back. I'd make sure you didn't hit anything." The cheery demeanor quickly returned to her posture and facial expression when she suggested her solution to the night walking problem. "Also... my night vision makes bright light hurt my eyes." She pouted some as she continued, "The sun can be a bit mean with its brightness, but on most days it's fine. But, really sunny days can hurt."

"Aye, I imagine that the sun would hurt indeed. You know, I imagine that might have led to some ponies thinking you were a vampony of some sort." He chuckled softly and hip-checked her gently as they walked. As for her suggested cure for their traveling at night, well, Allington could see how things could get awkward fast, though he wasn't going to dash her suggestion right there. Besides, they weren't trying to escape from anything, so traveling at night was pointless anyway. With that in mind he continued at pace.

"It really can hurt when being bright.. erk..." she mumbled in annoyance. She looked up at him as he mentioned the vampony thing. It caused her to frown and sigh. "Yeah, some did. My eyes sorta, glow a bit in near total darkness... They freaked out over it." Her ears drooped as much as when he had found her. Talking about this subject had quickly reverted her back to the shaky mess he'd found yesterday. Though, she was shook out of it when she felt her hip being bumped by his, which caused a strange mixture of emotions to rise within the little mare. She blushed, she was a bit surprised, but mostly she was smiling.

Overall, though, he was glad to have her traveling with him. It wasn't often he had the chance to change somepony's life for the better simply by taking them along with you, and Allington considered himself lucky for having decided to try and locate the Euclidian Willow. After all, he made a new friend in the process, and even better, he had the opportunity to help improve her life by removing her from that insane village. Though, where she would stay now that she was free was a question he had been thinking of since last night. Once again, that bridge would be crossed when they got there. For now, he was just enjoying the company of the lively and rather adorable batpony accompanying him.

Being away from the village did her wonders, that was for sure. However, whatever she'd experienced there was not something she could forget in a day's time. Allington figured it was probably not something she could ever forget completely. Her anxieties, fears and instinctive reflexes to certain motions were bound to resurface every now and then for at least a lot longer than a day, but hopefully not for the rest of her life.

Allington had passed the minutes between conversations in a relative peace. Sure, the silence was slightly awkward, but it was fairly manageable. Not sure how to break it himself, he settled for looking ahead at the rather picturesque mountains up ahead of them. Having already traveled through them a few times prior, he knew how cold they became at times, and he hoped that Passion would be able to adapt to the climate changes for the duration of their crossing. It was however the silence which took up Passion’s mind as it had lasted for almost an hour, and because of it, she felt a weird need to fill it with her voice as she said, "Thank you for letting me come with you. I know I've thanked you before, but... I'm really glad to come along." She stared straight ahead as she talked to him this time. Allington could feel some hesitation in her voice as she mumbled her question,

"When we get to Trottingham... Can I still hang around a bit with you? You know, till I figure out how to earn some bits. Would be nice to be able to buy foods, maybe even a place to live there." It was first then that her intentions became clear to Allington. Her plan was to live in Trottingham without a home to start with. "And... even when I reach that point, can we still be friends afterwards?"

"Well, it was the least I could do given the circumstances, honestly." Her soft-spoken question came as a small surprise to him. He had somewhat guessed that she was thinking about living in Trottingham for a spell, but did she think that he would abandon her friendship the moment they arrived?

"And why do you ask that, Passion? Of course you are welcome to accompany me whenever you wish. I had no intentions of simply abandoning you when we arrive to town. And yes, I would like to remain friends with you, ma'am."

Passion's ears fell a bit low once more as he asked his question. "Because, I've already been a bit of a burden on you, and I bring bad luck to anypony I get near. Also, I don't know how this friendship thing really works..." For all Allington had done, it seemed like he could remove the batpony from the superstitious village, but not the superstitious village from the batpony. Though, her ears perked right back up and a bright smile filled up her face when he mentioned they could still be friends even after they got to Trottingham.

"You don't?" she actually sounded rather surprised about that. "Great! I'd love to remain friends with you!" She gave his hips a playful bump with her own, keeping her head a bit low as she mulled over the fact that she'd still have a friend when they had arrived at their destination.

It almost made him sad to think that her idea of friendship was so fleeting. He wondered at that moment just how rough her life at that blasted village had actually been. Not that he would ever intentionally bring that up without some very good reasons behind it, though.

"Why do you sound surprised? I said I was your friend before: I am a stallion of my word, and I intend to keep it."

She smiled weakly at him as she answered, "Well, maybe after this journey you'd have had enough time to reconsider being my friend." She shrugged a bit with her head lowered. It was a mixture of not understanding friendship that well, and having been made out to believe she was less than worthless that gave her the idea she wasn't meant to hold on to something like a friend for very long, if ever.

"Well, I haven't reconsidered your friendship yet. As I said, I am a stallion of my word...” said Allington with a warm smile on his face.

He nodded slowly before returning his gaze forward toward their destination. He figured they had roughly five or so hours before they would be near enough to the mountains. It was still a bit hard to tell. Passion looked up as well, being quite taken with the large mountains ahead of them, and getting closer to them only made her more excited about finally getting to see real mountains up close. She'd read about them in stories, but getting to see them for real was quite something to her, and it was very visibly clear to Allington when he observed her facial expressions and slightly giddy shakes and movements.

He noted with some amusement her excitement about the mountains ahead of them. "You want to see the mountains that badly, eh? Well, I figure that we will be there in five hours time. Less even, if we eat on the move and keep our pace up. Also, I was wondering- and I probably have asked this before- but how do you handle the cold? The mountains can become very windy and cold, especially at nights." He thought about what he could do to make sure that their passage through the mountains was going to be warm and safe. One could never fully predict the weather patterns on the mountains, and he hoped that there would be no snowfall during their passage.

"I do!" She stated to wanting to see the mountains, and she followed up with, "Really? I can totally eat while walking." She grinned proudly and boasted cutely, "I can even eat while running if I have to."

“Also, I hardly expect you to eat during a gallop, so that won't be necessary. It's good to know, though." He chuckled softly.

"Oh, running and eating did get necessary once." She stopped herself from drifting back to something unpleasant, which only beckoned the question of what kind of scenario had she been involved in that required her to run and eat. The only image Allington could conjure up where she needed to eat on the run was if she were to have stolen honey from a beehive… Though that was actually quite an amusing scenario to Allington, and he couldn't help but giggle a bit as she continued talking.

However, the question about how she handled the cold was one that she had to think about for a moment. "Erhm.. hmmm... I think I do really well. I've slept in the snow before. Is that any good?" she asked curiously. "But, we can warm each other if it gets too cold. I feel, safe with you, so I don't mind us touching each other. See." She smiled happily as she placed a hoof on Allington's nose.

He nodded as she told him her experience in the snow. "Well, it's something, I suppose. I certainly hope we won't have to sleep in the snow, as we have a shelte-"

"Boop." she giggled.

He paused when she booped him, and he looked down his muzzle at her hoof. "Oh... Um, well, Thank you." He giggled softly before resuming his pace, though his insides felt a little funny from the cute action.

"Well, I am glad that you are comfortable with those sleeping arrangements, because that is most likely what will be happening."

"I'm sure that with us and our shelter combined, we'll be just fine up in the mountains." She nodded once at the most likely inevitable outcome of their sleeping arrangement, adding, "Well, if that happens, then that's fine with me."

Another couple hours passed in much the same manner, and every so often Allington would pause to collect some wild edible plant that they could share. Thus they kept themselves from getting too hungry as they journeyed. They now were within an hour's trek to where they were going, and were the mountains big. They loomed over everything like an immobile and benign colossus, and they could see the trees and snow on the scale with a lot more clarity as they traveled. Passion kept on walking closely to Allington’s right side as they came closer and closer to the mountains. She remained impressed and excited about every edible plant Allington found for them to snack on, where each and every one of them Passsion found tasty, as the hours went by.

A grin formed on Passion's lips as they got very close to the mountain, she judged the distance to the best of her abilities before deciding to shout, "Race you to the mountain!!" And like shot out of a canon, she was gone.

"Do what? Ra-hey!!" Allington giggled and took off behind her. He was indeed impressed at her speed, she was an incredibly fast runner for a pony that could fly. Although she made a big gap between the two of them, and being able to keep it up for a while, it didn't last forever. They had a good solid ten minutes at Passion's pace, but she died down after a few minutes, allowing Allington to pass her and win their little race to the mountain.

Passion panted heavily as she stopped in front of Allington, sitting down on her plot, "Darn it... you're good at this... I'll win next time!"

Allington panted equally much as they arrived at the foot of the mountain. He chuckled. "Well now, you have quite the acceleration there, lass. You almost lost me for a while."

He looked around at their surroundings. They had made great time during the race, and would actually be able to set up camp fully before they lost daylight. Going up the mountains now would be foolhardy, so Passion's excitement to cross upwards would have to be postponed for the time being.

"Well... seems that we made it to the foot of the mountains, Passion. Would you care to help me set up camp?"

Passion had gotten a bit lost in her thoughts as her head was tilted back to fully take in the scope of how tall those mountains really were. "Huh?" Her head snapped down to look at Allington as she realized he was talking to her. "Oh! Yes, I'd love to help." She giggled and smiled as she took off her bags to unpack, helping her friend with setting up their shelter and the campfire. Though, this time, they weren't able to get a fire started before darkness took over Equestria.

Allington was about to light the fireplace, and put an end to the darkness that would have been pitch black if it hadn't been for the moon shining in the sky. But, it was then he noticed something new about Passion. She mentioned earlier that her eyes glowed a bit in near total darkness. The campfire had last time hidden this well, but now that the moonlight hit her eyes, they glowed. It was faint, yet powerful. Each window housed a spectacular show of intense colors. Last night her eyes had been conduits for the galaxies in the sky above them, tonight they were galaxies in their own right. They were like Sirens calling him in to meet his blissful fate, beckoning him to peer in just a bit deeper to perhaps reveal something that not even he could figure out what would be. They were truly unique to anything he'd seen before, but maybe that was just how every batpony looked when presented like this.

"Allington, what are you waiting for?" asked Passion as she broke the silence and her friend's stare.

"Huh?" It was his turn to be lost in thought. "Oh, sorry." He proceeded to light the fire before returning his gaze to her. "It's just... I had no idea just how luminous your eyes are at night. You said they glowed, but that was far more than glowing... Why, I cannot quite explain it, but they are fascinating to observe." He coughed a bit in shyness and scooted back a little from the fire to look upward at the night sky.

"Well, um, we made it to the mountain base. Another beautiful night provided by our princess..." He glanced back at her, though was almost disappointed to see that the radiance of her eyes had dimmed with the extra light.

"Thank you for setting up camp so quickly, Passion..."

It was hard to detect in the darkness of the night and from the flickering light that danced across her cheeks, but she was blushing profusely from his comment about her eyes. There was also a slight hint of sadness as she'd always been scared of ponies seeing them.

"T-thank you for the compliment..." she mumbled weakly. Her eyes were back to normal once the fire had been lit. The glow and all that it had come with was once again lost, and all there was left, albeit beautiful eyes, were nothing more than mirroring pools that reflected the night sky.

"It's a really beautiful night. Though, I'm a bit bias. I've read my kind at least have a connection to the moon." Passion’s words made Allington wonder if it could be why her eyes shone the way they did when allowed to bask in only the light of the moon.

"Oh, and erhm… No problem, Allington. I'm more than happy to help." She smiled widely from being of assistance to her friend. Passion then scooted backwards to lie down with half her body in their little tent. She stared tiredly into the flames. "I think we should hit the hay early." She let out a yawn before continuing her sentence, "We got a long day through the mountains tomorrow, right?"

He drew another deep breath in contentment as he stared at the fire, turning his head as she mentioned the next day's activities. "Oh yes... we certainly have quite the upwards trek ahead of us, ma'am. I suppose sleep is the best option for the present.

He stretched his back before standing up and retreating to the tent, settling down next to her, himself halfway outside the tent.

Passion's eyes slowly grew heavy and eventually shut themselves completely. She mumbled tiredly from all their walking and running, "Yeah, we really do. Never been that high up before." She yawned again and nuzzled her face into her tucked up forelegs. He could feel her body tilting a bit into him as he came to be in the tent as well. It seemed like Passion had already fallen asleep. She looked peaceful in her sleep as she laid there, her frame small and delicate.

He couldn't help but admire her natural beauty, and he smiled fondly as he gazed upon her sleeping form. He noted the way the light from the flames danced upon them both, and as he gazed he did notice some things, though he left that observation quick before deciding that he needed sleep too. After all, staring while she was asleep was the same thing to him as taking advantage of her, something he never would do. Withdrawing further into the tent, he took a position similar to hers, resting his head on his hooves. He dared to lean against her a little as he began to grow tired himself. He was happy that she came along. That he met her. There was something about her... He managed another glance at her before closing his eyes and settling down for the night.

Comments

[Ron Jeremy Pony]

This has been an amazingly sweet story. I'm interested to see what happens to Passion and Allington, and I do hope that things between them work out for the best. So far it's been a nice journey, and one that has helped her open up to more experiences.

Nice job.

LF

[PassionQuill]

4593943 Glad to hear you enjoy the story Still lots more to come of it

[NobleValor]

Okay, at the "cute nose action," I couldn't help myself.

D'aaaawwwwwww!

[dawn seeker]

boop lol this instantly came to mind

[Mocha Star]