Egress

by Grey Vicar

Chapter 5: Out. And In.

Twilight still remembered the trips she took with her family to the Equestrian countryside. Quaint dirt roads snaking through lush fields and pastures, forests of a deep green filled with the chatter of wildlife in the trees, ponds and lakes glimmering in the sunlight. So many beautiful sights, though the one that had always moved her the most had always been the sight of uncountable stars glittering against the dark of the sky up above. She'd spent hours tracing constellations with her hoof, enchanted by the twinkling lights she could feel in her very soul.

She wriggled a bit in the cool grass to find a comfortable position. The hill upon which she'd settled offered her a perfect view of the sky without any tree to block the sight of the stars above. A pleasant breeze blew about her, making the hot summer evening much more bearable. This was good. Birds and bugs sang the song of the night around her, a sweet melody that meant she was all alone with her thoughts. She fidgeted with her brass clock, but as she couldn't see much, ended up stuffing it back into her bag. She would try fixing it again tomorrow.

There was a fire somewhere. It crackled and warmed her, and cast a faint light from somewhere near. The stars and the moon, so round and beautiful, looking down from above, were the only other sources of light. Why was there a campfire nearby anyway? When she was alone, she always enjoyed the darkness of night. She didn't want to look around and see where it came from. For once in her life, she just accepted things as they were and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. Had she ever been this relaxed before? The stars rippled and wavered in the black waters of the lake, and the sand of the beach shimmered in the moonlight like silver dust collecting around the lake. Were those whispers she was hearing? Soft voices calling her name? She took a deep breath and ignored them. They nagged at her.

Water lapped against the lakeside beach. The lake below her rippled in the breeze, and pinpricks of light danced with the waves. If it had stood still and calm like a mirror, she could have made herself believe that the stars reflecting against its surface were merely a continuation of the cosmic majesty shining above her. She could imagine herself floating in space, free, without a need to care for anything but the heat of the stars around her. No one but her.

She smiled at the moon, and the moon smiled back. Her confident in dark times. How many prayers had Twilight offered to her silent guardian? How many wishes had she whispered in the night? She'd lost count. The moon had always been a reminder that the light of the sun was never far, even at night, that the ears of were never truly out of reach, that she could always ask for guidance under her breath, and that the moon would whisper back to her, encourage her and guide her.

A flight of books under the moon. She closed her eyes and smiled. This was good.

Water lapped against the lakeside beach. A constant sound in the back of her mind. Water stirring against the rocks. The birds and the bugs had ceased their chant. All was silent. There were whispers. All was silent.

Water lapped against the lakeside beach. The fire crackled no more. Twilight stared at the lake, at the black waters stretching infinitely around her. Somepony stood on the lake, coming closer. She was cold. The moon shone above, like a silver sun rising over the mountains to the north. She smiled and waved and

---

Twilight glided on placid winds.

Equestria was a blur below her, a painting with running colours. The mountains beckoned.

Her sight was fixed on the snow-topped peaks on the horizon. Towering over Equestria, the northern mountains of the Crystal Empire stood like a bulwark against the frost of the arctic lands beyond. They glimmered in her eyes. The green of fields and forests below seemed to feed into them, desperately trying to claw their way to them but unable to cross the rocky terrain that split the land from its northern realm.

She caught an updraft and soared higher. The moon shone over the clouds.

Paper under her hoof. A lazy signature. She tapped her pen, poked her clock. It was four o'clock. She turned away from her desk and stared toward the north. Rocky spires rose over the land. It was five o'clock. Mountains to the north. It was eight o'clock. Mountains to the north. It was zero o'clock.

The mountains beckoned.

She shook water off her mane as she passed through a cloud and teased the canopy of a lush forest with her hooves as she passed overhead. The leaves tickled. She spun and added speed to her wingflaps. The air was getting colder. Denser. Soon, she could see her breath in the air. It blew either side of her face like she was a locomotive pumping out steam. But she wasn't a machine. She was an alicorn, a living being bringing her body heat into a land of cold.

The crowd applauded her performance. She curtsied as the curtains fell. There were two familiar ponies in the crowd. And they were gone. In their place was a grinning window. Snow-topped peaks against a grey sky. The mountains beckoned.

Hoarfrost made the northern lands look like they were encased in crystal. Maybe that had been why the Crystal Empire had been named that way, or maybe it was because the inhabitants were themselves made of crystal. She never understood how they even lived, breathed, ate, or reproduced, and she had never attempted to understand why. One of the rare times she didn't care about not knowing. She never really went to the Crystal Empire anyway. Not anymore.

She changed her course slightly. Going straight would have her go over the sole city present in these lands. She never went to the Crystal Empire. She wasn't about to change that just now. The wind carried her in a wide berth around a wall that seemed made of pure ice, taller than most trees in the land. There were glimmering ponies on top of it. She didn't look at them. Her gaze was locked to the north and its dizzying peaks. The mountains beckoned.

Something splashed in water. Somepony cried out and fell. The tiles were cold. The air was stale. She looked up and saw nothing. She curled up and cried, holding her tail. She stood tall and saluted her legions. She turned her gaze northward, looking down from the constellations. There was nothing but rocks, and grey titans looming on the horizon. She closed her eyes and saw the call clearly, that obsessive whisper dragging her to the farthest reaches of Equestria in search of a Question.

She had come here before, and yet she hadn't.

The mountains beckoned.

Comments

[axxuy]

Oooh, finally some clearer continuity with the last chapter, that's neat. But despite thinking about the night, Twilight avoids thinking about Luna... She goes out of her way to avoid the Crystal Empire without even a hint of Cadance? Hardly anypony has a name or a face, I'm just now realizing. There's her and Noble Duty and the rest are distant, indistinct figures. Oh Twilight, how did you end up so alone?