The Escape

by Jimbo

Chapter 5

Luna slept late, an impossibility in a life where hitting the snooze button meant the sun didn’t go down on time. She awoke to the smell of something sweet, and when she emerged from her cocoon, she found Joe already scarfing down his breakfast - more donuts.

“Mornin’, Princess.” he rumbled to her, as he caught sight of her peering blearily out of her bedroll. He pushed a blue-and-white speckled plate of donuts over to her. “Breakfast’s served.”

“Don’t you get tired of donuts?” Luna asked softly, her voice thin with sleep as she obligingly began to eat.

“Nah. They’re my favorite. Could probably live the rest of my life eating only donuts, I bet.” Joe chuckled, but the expression dimmed somewhat as he watched her eat. “I can try ta find you something different if you’d like, Princess.”

“No, donuts are fine. Beggars can’t be choosers.” Luna murmured. She hesitated, and then added, “You don’t have to call me Princess. I’ve abandoned my title. Just ‘Luna’ is fine.”

“So no ‘Lulu,’ then?” Joe asked, and under his playful grin, she could see a hint of unease.

“No.” she snapped, a little sharply, and immediately regretted it. She took a small breath - in, out, relax! - and loosed it in a sigh before she answered him again. “Perhaps we should use it if we run across any other ponies, though. Just in case.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me, Pr- Luna.” Joe agreed, licking his hooves clean of frosting before he began to pack up their camp. “We better be on our way - moon’s already up, gotta put as much distance between us and the capital as we can before dawn.”

Luna nodded tiredly - how exhausting a hike could be, after a quiet life in the palace! - and did her best to help. It was obvious that Joe didn’t really need her aid, but she did her best, rolling up her bedroll into a loose, messy ball. When Joe saw how she’d wrapped it, he did his best to stifle his chuckle, but packed it up with his own much-neater one all the same.

“It was a good effort.” he said encouragingly, catching sight of her dismayed visage. “You’ll get better at it.”

Once they’d taken down the tarp and put out the fire, they were on their way again, abandoning their warm little campsite for the frigid cold of the forest. There was no storm tonight, and so their path was clear, all the way until the edge of the trees. Ahead of them, a wide, expansive meadow opened up, filled with tall grass and many varieties of wildflowers. Painfully warm, after the cold of the Evergreen Forest.

“Do you think it’s safe?” Luna asked, her voice low as she hesitated under the spreading branches of a Douglas Fir. “It’s so … exposed.”

“We can’t travel by forest the whole way, unfortunately.” Joe murmured, joining her under the branches. “But under Celestia’s sun, she’d be able to find us immediately; in the moonlight, we may manage to slip by undetected.”

“I hope so.” Luna whispered, eyes locked on the moon, once her beloved companion, and now a potential spy for her sister.

“Keep your hood up, and your mane tucked back; from a distance, you won’t look like you.” Joe murmured back to her, helping her pull up the hood with a smart little tug, double-checking the magic ring around her horn. “C’mon.” And, just like that, he was on his way, his wide body cutting a path through the tall grass.

Luna hesitated at the edge of the forest, looking back into its wintery depths. It would be safer to remain in there; Celestia may never find her, not if the forest itself could dedicate itself to hiding her. But what kind of life would that be, trading one prison for another? She looked back to find Joe - only to find him vanished in the tall grass. “Joe?” she called, hesitating for a moment longer, then broke into a trot, trying to follow the path he’d made in the grass. “Joe!” she repeated, her voice rising.

“I’m just ahead’a ya, follow the sound of my voice.” he called back to her, his voice even and clear. “That, or the smell of the donuts.”

“Not funny!” she snapped, but allowed herself a small smile, despite herself. She continued forward for a few steps, but when she came up empty, she called again. “I can’t hear you! Say something else.”

“Hmm.” he hummed, and when he spoke again, his voice was louder. “You know, I’ve been meaning ta ask why you were runnin’ away from home.”

Luna frowned at the invisible figure of Joe, wishing he was closer so that he could see her distaste. “That doesn’t seem a very fair question to ask, when I’m trying to find you.”

“‘Pologies, Princess, you don’t have to answer.”

Her scowl intensified, but after a moment’s silence - “I ran away because she was putting our kingdom at risk.”

“The entire kingdom? That is bad. No wonder you left. You gonna ask the Griffons to help ya save everyone?”

“... no. It’s not - a direct threat, exactly.”

“Well, what kinda threat is it?” he asked, and she could almost imagine his brows lifting in confusion.

“It’s - complicated.”

“Well, then ya better make it simple for me, toots. I ain’t the complicated type.” he teased, and even from where she stood, she could hear the grin in his voice.

“My sister wishes to have me betrothed to a stallion I’ve never met before.” Luna said brusquely, her voice low.

There was a moment of silence while he considered his answer. “That ain’t right, folks should be allowed ta marry who they like.” Joe called, and now the grin was gone from his voice. “Why don’cha just tell her no? Seems like she can’t get you married against yer will.”

“It’s not - it’s not that simple. I can’t just tell her ‘no,’ it’s a tradition that my family has carried on for generations. And if I say no, that means we’ll argue - and that means I’ll get upset. And if I get upset, and I lose control of my anger - something terrible will happen. But if I consent and marry someone I hate, it’ll be even worse, and ponies might - everyone might -”

There was a rustling of grass, and from her left, Joe emerged, making Luna wonder when she had stopped moving. “What’s wrong with getting angry?”

“Wrong -? Don’t you know who I am? Who I was?” Luna hissed, desperation sharpening her voice. “I can’t take that kind of risk. I have to keep calm, or else - Mare above, it might - she might -”

“But you can’t go through life suppressing your anger, it’ll only make it worse once it finally comes out.” he rumbled, tilting his head at her in confusion, as if this was obvious.

“Not if it doesn’t come out at all. I can control it.” Luna insisted, her brows lowering as she squared-off with the bulkier stallion.

Joe frowned at her, his head-tilt increasing, but he said nothing for a long time. At last, he turned around, and continued leading her through the tall grass. “Well, alright then.”

Luna said nothing, but followed him obediently, frowning at the back of his large, heavy pack. What did he know of her life? Nothing. So he had no right to make judgement on it. He didn’t know what kind of burden it was, carrying this - thing around inside of her.

They passed through the tall grass in silence, and the appearance of the forest was greeted with similar silence. She wondered what this forest was called, or if Joe had any funny commentary on the strange, blue squirrels that darted overhead; but she kept her mouth shut, for right now, she was enforcing the Royal Silence Freeze-Out. So for the moment, she admired the gently-glowing moss in silence, and kept her head tilted up to catch sight of the stars that twinkled through the breaks in the branches. The song of nightbirds filled her ears, and as a quietly hooting owl passed overhead, she thought to herself: You know, this is actually a really nice forest.