Alone

by Quill of Filth

Incomplete

"Tempest? What are you doing here?" The small purple dragon asked, his claws keeping the castle door open as he looked to the dark orchid mare standing in front of him.

Tempest averted her eyes before maintaining contact again as she spoke, "I wanted to speak with the princess if that's fine."

"Oh, sure," Spike said, walking forward to push the door further open to allow Tempest to pass.

Tempest stood, looking inside the castle for a moment perturbed at how she was being allowed inside so easily. But she didn't let it show as she sauntered past the small purple dragon.

"What do you wanna see her for?" Spike asked, letting go of the door as he followed after her.

"I just wanted to speak with her about some personal things."

The door closed behind them with a resounding thud.

"Uh, okay well she's probably in the library so it's straight ahead, third hallway on the left and then eight doors down to the right," he listed pointing his fingers parallel side to side in whichever direction he noted, "and it should be on your left. Or no is it right?" He said, touching a claw to his chin, looking up.

Tempest rose a brow.

"Neh, I'm pretty sure it's the left. Anyway," he chuckled, "I have to get going. I hope you find what you're looking for." He departed with a wave, jogging down a hallway leaving Tempest alone.

Turning, her eyes travelled down the long spacious crystal hall before she began forward. She found it strange how quiet it was but the thought came and went as she turned down the third hallway on the left.

Tempest continued walking for a few minutes when she had finally arrived at her destination. Or so she thought as she knocked her hoof on the double doors but no reply or greeting came. She decided to push the door open to take a peek. She only saw darkness. Shutting the door, she continued forward looking around for any signs manifesting from the vacuum of space that may lead her to the correct door.

It wasn't long before she found herself wandering, completely lost. Though she considered wandering is what she had been doing for months.

Finding interest in a door to her left that appeared to be aesthetically no different than the rest, she pushed her hoof against it.

"Tempest?"

Tempest's ears flicked upon hearing her name, turning her gaze down the hall.

Walking toward her was a lavender alicorn mare, with a dark blue straight cut mane with a purple and bright raspberry streak. Her smile was warm and welcoming.

Tempest reciprocated but her features were more calm and subtle.

"Oh, or do you go by Fizzlepop?" Twilight inquired.

"Tempest is fine," she reassured with a hint of a chuckle.

They both stopped and stood a comfortable distance from each other, both examining the other for a few seconds.

"Well, it's good to see you," Twilight affirmed with a widening smile.

Tempest bowed her head in acknowledgment.

Twilight flicked her head, gesturing for her to follow as she turned around.

She obliged, walking alongside her.

"It's a good thing I found you. Otherwise you may have been walking these halls for a while."

"I'm grateful. But I think I could have managed."

"If it's in the morning when a particular baby dragon wakes up, I'm not so sure."

"He tried to point me in the right direction earlier but I guess I'm not good at following orders," Tempest said, looking up and around, surveying the architecture.

"No, don't worry. This place feels like a maze at first. I got used to it pretty quick since I live here."

"Living the luxurious life of a princess," Tempest noted.

"It's not canterlot levels of royalty and luxuriousness. But it's nice. Do you need a place to stay?"

Tempest's gaze fell to the floor. "No… I just- Tempest? Is that you, darling?"

Looking over her flank to the voice, she saw a familiar white unicorn mare with a beautifully straightened and curled indigo mane.

"Hi, Rarity," Twilight greeted.

Tempest was slightly grateful Twilight said her name because if she was being honest, she had forgotten.

Rarity trotted forward, "Hello, and Tempest, my has it been a while. Oh! Or do you go by Fizzlepop?" She asked, raising a hoof over her muzzle.

She gave a calm reassuring smile, "Tempest is fine."

"Well," Rarity started with relief, "how was your travels?"

"It was... solemn."

"Oh. Well..." Rarity's attention seemed to be captured elsewhere. "Is this what you wore?" She asked, scanning her clothes.

Tempest looked down at herself. She wore a dark poncho and a scarf that looked worn with loose and torn threading at the edges. She raised a brow. "Yes?"

"You should stop by for a visit. Not to say that these don't look good on you but I'd love to make you something more luxurious."

"I'm not really into fancy clothing."

"Oh, yes of course," Rarity said, waving her hoof. "But I would tailor it to your liking and I'd love to make you something. Even if it's simple. Perhaps I could make you a more pristine pair."

Tempest noticed a glint of genuineness in Rarity's azure eyes. Her face was blank for a second before she forced a smile. "I think I'll pass. Sorry."

"Oh, well, okay," she said, her tone slightly faltering. But she immediately grew confident again. "I'll be ready if you change your mind."

Tempest gave a courteous nod.

She gave Twilight a warm departing smile as she trotted ahead down the hall, disappearing from sight.

The pair stood in silence, with Tempest contemplating her offer.

Twilight continued forward. "Ever think you'll change your mind?" Twilight asked, as if knowing her train of thought.

Tempest followed alongside her for a few moments. "Probably not."

They sauntered in silence, traversing their own thoughts as their hooves echoed despite being on carpet.

Twilight's horn lit in a magenta aura before she stopped at a seemingly random pair of double doors which opened.

The first thing that greeted Tempest was a large room with a tall curved wall that wrapped around the room's circumference lined with thousands of books. There were crystal trees dividing the walls, two of which pointed up toward a circular lime tinted window which had a tree on it. On either side of the window was a green banner with yellow sides which kept with the theme of tree imagery. The floor itself was purple with long black tracings of vines and in the room were five wooden circular tables.

Twilight ambled toward the central table which had various scrolls and stacked books atop it. "Sooo," she started, "why'd you come visit? Just to say hi?" At the table, she placed her hoof on an open scroll, skimming over it.

"I guess that's partly the reason. But I came back to see if there is anything I could do for you."

The quill held in Twilight's magic aura swirling at the bottom of the scroll ceased, as her violet eyes seemed to stare at nothing for a moment.

It resumed writing.

"What for?" She asked, levitating the quill back into the ink cup.

Tempest's eyes faltered for a moment before she spoke, "I just wanted to know if you needed help with anything. Or if I could do anything for you."

Twilight magically rolled up the scroll, giving Tempest her undivided attention. "Like an errand?"

"I'd prefer it not be as miscellaneous. But if that's all you have…"

Twilight looked away toward the floor in contemplation. Seconds in the low double digits passed before she spoke again. "Have you been to the Frozen North?"

Tempest was surprised at Twilight's lack of prodding, leading her to take a moment to try and formulate a response. "I can't say I have. I've been mostly everywhere. Is there something there that needs to be done?"

"Well, not exactly. Do you mind exploring an area near the Crystal Empire?"

"Am I looking for something?"

"Again, not exactly. I'm more or less.. just curious."

Tempest tilted her head slightly and raised a quizzical brow as she recited her words but slower. "Just curious?"

"Don't worry. It'll be worth it. It might be dangerous though."

"I think I can handle myself."

"Well, I'm gonna send some companions along with you anyway if that's fine."

Tempest pondered who she could be referring to. "Are you suggesting guards accompany me?" Tempest wondered why she would need such drastic protection. But upon reflection, she realized she hadn't seen a single guard in the castle.

As if on cue, the double doors behind her opened. But instead of a guard of some sort, a familiar small purple dragon with green spines waddled forward, with a ruby shard in claw.

"Hi, Tempest," he greeted, before biting the top of the shard with the side of his mouth.

Ignoring the shiver inducing crackle, Tempest connected a few dots. And she didn't like the potential picture.

"Spike, you're early. And aren't you supposed to be spending time with Rarity?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Yep."

"So did it not go as planned?"

"No, I just want to get this done now so I can hang out longer," he said, grabbing a few scrolls and tossing the rest of the ruby in his mouth.

"Well, how did you know I was done?"

"Because you're Twilight," he replied nonchalantly, his mouth still full of the ruby.

Despite it seemingly being a compliment, Twilight rolled her eyes. She looked back to Tempest who simply watched the scene. Looking back at Spike, the remaining pile of scrolls was encapsulated in her magenta aura before being levitated into a tall pyramid in his arms. When the corona dissipated, the pyramid wobbled as he tried to keep it balanced. The motion eased before he walked toward the double doors which magically opened then closed behind him once he passed the threshold by a few feet.

"He's not going with me right?" Tempest asked with worry and slight concern present in her voice.

Twilight chuckled. "Oh, no. I know exactly who's going to accompany you on your trip."

Tempest grew slightly irritated. She didn't like vague 'guess who' games. She preferred a straight to the point answer. Which she used to get through intimidation. But like the scrolls, that was completely off the table.

"Forgive me, Princess, but I don't believe I know who you're referring to. Do I know them?"

Twilight turned her head with a sassy smile. "You will."

Tempest wouldn't admit it, but the implications of her statement along with the possibilities perturbed her.

"I'm going to get in contact with them. You can relax here or explore the castle some more. I'll be back." Her horn was alight with a magical aura before a small circular pink blast enveloped her, leaving Tempest alone in the room.

After a few moments, Tempest examined the high ceiling again. She opted to stay instead of continuing to explore the castle aimlessly. Plus she didn't know how long Twilight would be and she didn't want her searching for her again. But it didn't help being in the castle evoked a strange feeling she couldn't understand.

She sauntered toward the center table, before sitting on a purple cushion. She examined the stacks of books and the white quill resting inside the golden embellished metallic ink cup. She found herself drawn to the stack of books which she extended her foreleg to and pulled toward herself. The stack was nearly as tall as her as she reached up and slid a book off the top. She held it in her hooves, examining it. The whole book was a dull blue with the title: "Magical Fluctuation and Strange Phenomena of Magic".

Most would find the title amusing or disgustingly boring but Tempest seemed to be somewhat intrigued as she opened the book to a random page.

The nature of magic is an enigmatic field. It takes a bright mind to understand it's deep potential intricacies and what it connects to on a macro-scale. It's why the legendary Wizard Starswirl became so well known. He pushed the boundaries of knowledge on the nature of magic and understood certain elements most found hard to conceive or fathom. Part of the reason he accomplished this is because he believed magic held answers to profound mysteries and the nature of everything that exists. He believed it bound and tethered us all in some way.

Tempest's expression was blank as she stared at the table. Moments passed in a serrated silence. A small spark of blue electricity arced from her broken horn.

A pink flash abruptly occurred behind her, bringing her to the present with heightened awareness as she closed the book and turned to face it. It was Twilight.

"Alright! I got in contact and we made a small compromise. But they should be here soon. Which is a small miracle considering getting in contact with one of them is a roll of the dice."

Uncertainty welled inside Tempest.

"Anyway, they should be here soon, so if you want you could head outside. Or stay here. Either or."

In response, Tempest stood up and began toward the double doors. She stopped and spoke over her shoulder.

"Is there a specific place outside the empire I should be looking?"

"Don't worry. One of them should have a map and the area I marked. I know I've been extremely vague but everything should be fine. After a day or two there, you can report back to me what you find."

Tempest stood for a few more moments before pushing through the double doors.

"Enjoy you extended travel!" Twilight called as the doors shut.

Alone, Twilight looked back to the center table and noticed one of her books was not on the stack. After a few steps, she examined the book and its title. A frown formed.

---

Tempest continued down the lookalike hallways, trying to remember the direction of the exit. It was almost like a royal mirror maze, with the only thing keeping one not hopeless or frustrated being the pleasant architecture. Which led to Tempest asking herself a slight vexing and perplexing question.

"How was this castle even built?" She muttered.

Tempest had been in regal locations before - from the Storm King's base to the Castle in Canterlot - but this castle seemed to have no intuitive direction. She felt as though it looped endlessly.

She thought about turning around to ask Twilight for directions, but she quickly disregarded it because she knew the chances of finding the library again were slim. And she also didn't want help.

After a few minutes, she stumbled into a large hallway and looking down it at one end, she noticed a familiar large set of doors. She turned and began down the main hall.

She was glad she didn't have to fight fate at the start of her journey.

Continuing down the hall, she began to contemplate her potential 'companion'. She hoped whomever they were they could carry their own weight. She loathed having to take care of someone else.

She pushed her hoof against the door, the sunlight blurring her vision and covering more of her form as she left the threshold of the castle.

"I practiced countless hours to perfect this trick just to have some dumb brained klutz criticize it and be sarcastic. Of course I'm upset!"

The first distant voice Tempest heard was shrill and sounded female and seemed evidently upset.

"It's not my fault you don't have as much talent as you thought."

The second voice was sardonic and sounded like an older male.

"Can you two just get along?" The other voice groaned who also sounded female.

Her vision began to clear, as the blurry figures began to sharpen. The first figure that caught her eye, who she began to identify, was the levitating chimeric serpent dragon.

He had a brown furred body with a red scaled tail with a tuft of white hair at the end, along with a green lizard leg and a light brown goat leg. He had a purple bat wing and a blue pegasus wing, the arm and paw of a lion, and the arm and talons of an eagle. His neck and head were grey with a short straight cut black mane traveling up and stopping just before his head, which had an antler and goat horn. His face was an odd shape of a stallion with white bushy eyebrows, a white goatee beard, and a single protruding fang from his lips. His eyes were yellow with asymmetric crimson pupils.

Tempest knew who the legendary creature was.

She glanced at the other two with brevity.
An azure unicorn mare with violet iris' dressed in a lavender cape wearing a wizard hat with white and yellow stars that covered part of her curled silver and pale cerulean streaked mane. She was pulling a large purple and gold caravan. Beside her was a lilac unicorn mare with persian blue iris and a curled flowing dark purple mane with a slim aquamarine line.

"Oh! Well, looky who we have here. The fierce and intimidating Tempest Shadow," The draconequus emphasized with a closed fist. "It's a shame I couldn't meet you sooner. Primarily when you tried to take over Canterlot. Not the most unique of plans but I guess all that matters is execution. Which ultimately failed. Like always."

"That is very bold of you to say, Spirit of Chaos," Tempest said coldly.

The draconequus chuckled, "That is indeed one of my many titles."

The lilac unicorn rolled her eyes before looking to Tempest with a smile. "Uh, hi, I'm Starlight. And this is Trixie and obviously that's Discord."

Discord's forearm detached and flew over to Tempest, gesturing for a shake. "Pleased to meet you."

Tempest simply looked to the talons and the draconequus with a callaced glare. "I assume you three are the ones who will be accompanying me on my trip?"

"Yep. That's us," Starlight affirmed in faux zeal and a bordline rictus smile.

There was a pause before Tempest descended down the stairs. "Let's head out while we still have time." At the bottom, she passed them without much thought. Except that it was going to be a bumpy journey.

Trixie watched as Tempest grew further away down the dirt path. "She's…"

"Intimidating?" Starlight finished for Trixie.

Trixie didn't respond but was jostled from her thoughts as she noticed Starlight turn around.

Discord slithered through the air alongside them. "The word I think you're looking for is edgy."

"Be nice, Discord," Starlight gently admonished.

"What? She didn't shake my hand."

"I never did," Trixie replied in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Hence why I'm not nice."

"What!? But you never even offered."

"You never asked," he dismissed curtly.

Trixie glared. "Doubt it'd make a difference," she mumbled.

"I can be nice when I wanna be."

"It's probably been a millennia since those stars have aligned," Starlight deadpanned.

Tempest stopped, gazing over her shoulder. Once they were a few feet behind her, she spoke. "Are we taking the train?"

"Uh, actually, Twilight requested we go the long way. As in 'on hoof'."

"Oh, this'll be fun. Travel buddies for days." Discord slithered between Trixie and Starlight holding them. "Let the bonding comence," he sneered, pulling them close.

Starlight's pupils shrank in realization. Trixie upon realization began pushing him away with a glare. "Can't you just teleport us again?" She asked indignantly.

"Now where's the fun in that?"

"Hearing you talk less."

"Hypocrite."

"Hypocrite?! Trixie is brief in her statements," she replied.

Tempest knew this was the catalyst for a headache. "Save your breath while we travel. At least until we set up camp."

Trixie raised a concerned brow. "Is that a - that's an order," Tempest interrupted on impulse.

Discord rotated his wrist in various circles and averted his eyes away as he spoke. "I fail to recall any point Twilight made you the leader of this trip."

Upon introspection, Tempest calmed her nerves before speaking again in a similar tone, but with a faint softness, "This trip is my task."

"Well, now it's our task," Starlight informed in kind.

Tempest contemplated for a moment before looking up to the sky. She noticed the sun was in the evening position. "We'll walk for a few more hours than set up camp at dusk."

"Do you know which direction it is?"

Tempest stopped. She turned her head to speak over her shoulder, "Do you have the map?"

The three were behind her now when Starlight spoke. "Yep," she said, before a turquoise magical blast conjured a levitating sheet of paper next to her.

Tempest turned to face her when an awkward pause began to grow.

Starlight glanced at Tempest's callaced features. She looked through her sharp cyan eyes for a moment and through them, she saw discipline.

Her smile slowly morphed into a rictus one with each passing second as she analyzed Tempest's features. Her sharp eyelashes. The scar over her right eye and cheek. Eventually, Starlight's gaze laid upon her horn. Broken.

She cleared her throat before magically opening the map. "So we're here," she said, turning the map to Tempest and touching a spot with her hoof, "And we should probablyyy," she drawled trying to think of the direction, "Go that way." She pointed adjacent to Canterlot, which rested on the side of the mountain in the distance.

Looking on, Tempest noticed they would have to cut through the small rural town. She glanced at the dirt path they were on and noticed it branched into it. She turned around and began forward again.

Discord chuckled ominously as he slithered through the air after her.

Starlight sighed before proceeding and Trixie reciprocated a moment later.

Tempest turned down the branching path, glancing ahead at the commotion of the town.

There were quite a few ponies wandering around, and it gave Tempest a sliver of anxiety she couldn't identify. She didn't fear for her safety, she seldom did, but the fear though small was present.

Her brows furrowed.

Entering the town, some ponies took notice of Tempest and the others, raising a brow, giving a glance, glaring, or gazing for a few moments from benches.

Lost in thought, Tempest instincts kicked in as she halted and bumped into something floating. The mass fell upon the collision and Tempest slightly dazed looked over at the thing responsible.

Sprawled on the ground in a brown mailing uniform surrounded by letters was a grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane and comically crossed golden eyes.

Blinking a few times, she pushed her foreleg into the ground then the other before sitting up. She looked behind her in worry, her golden strabismus eyes still present. But as she looked to Tempest, her memory eventually clicked. Her eyes bulged with her mouth forcibly closed with a scrunched muzzle before she gave a sheepish smile. "Oops,"

She began scooping mail into her bag.

Tempest watched with a blank expression.

The remaining letters on the ground were encapsulated in a turquoise aura, making the grey mare's eyes widen before they were levitated into place in her bag. She looked up at Tempest in wonder. Her attention was drawn a few feet away from her as she noticed Starlight waving a hoof and smiling sympathetically.

The grey mare gave a brittle smile with a nervous laugh. Standing up, she turned her head behind her and lifted her wing before biting a leather strap to tighten the saddlebags. "Sorry," she said, dusting off the front of her uniform with a foreleg.

She waved in a quick tempo at Starlight with a nervous smile before she turned around and ran a few steps. Her wings unfurled and began to flap as she left the ground and flew into the air.

Tempest's eyes searched the sky. Her brows furrowed.

A gruff voice spoke from beside her. "Wish you could fly? I can make that happen," Discord said, a wry smile present in his voice.

"We should keep moving." Turning, she began down the dirt road once more.

The draconequus watched for a few moments with a smug smile before he slithered after her.

Starlight and Trixie began forward, both with knitted brows.

Trixie spoke in a hush, "Why do you think she was staring like that?"

Starlight reciprocated, "I don't know."

"Trixie gets the feeling it wasn't good."

"Maybe," she whispered skeptically.

Trixie groaned. "Why did you ask me to come on this trip."

"I already told you."

"Yes, why did you come on this trip?"

Trixie jolted before she looked beside her with an indignant glare. The draconequus receiving the glare was floating alongside her, a paw holding his cheek with a smug snaggletooth smile.

"Because Starlight asked me to," she stated in a matter-of-factly tone. "Why are you here?"

"Because Twilight asked me to," he simply replied.

"Oh, yeah sure. You definitely wanted to go on this long boring trip because Twilight asked you to. Celestia knows why she did considering you wouldn't help her when Equestria depended on it."

"I could've but where's the triumph in that? In chaos is where true growth happens. Besides, Twilight's beaten every villain she's faced. Even if it's with the power of deus ex machina."

"Okay, but that doesn't answer my question." She repeated impatiently.

"Do you not believe it's simply because I want to spend time with some dear friends?"

"No," Trixie and Starlight deadpanned in unison.

"Clearly you must think I'm heartless," he replied, his expression flat.

"Clearly," Trixie replied.

Unamused, Discord snapped his talons, creating a flash of a star before he vanished.

Tempest was staring at the ground, when a flash appeared beside her.

"So, Tempest was it? It seems we've gotten off on the wrong hoof."

Tempest looked ahead, giving the draconequus little attention. "I'm in no mood for your games, Spirit of Chaos."

"It's awfully flattering being referred to in such a regal way, but I can assure you, Discord is fine."

Tempest continued walking with furrowed brows.

"You know, I never really liked the strong silent types. It's quite boring. Not to mention, some of them aren't even strong."

"..."

Discord's expression flattened again. He raised his paw with his pointer finger and thumb pressed together. He snapped, disappearing with a flash.

A somewhat decent distance behind, Trixie and Starlight were conversing.

"They would've said how amazing I was but they didn't need to. Their faces said it all," Trixie finished with a satisfied smile.

Starlight noticing Discord disappeared sighed knowing what was imminent.

A starry flash appeared behind them. They both looked over their shoulders.

Discord was laying on top of the carriage, his expression bored as his lower jaw rested just before the edge where his white goatee hung. "Why did I come on this trip."

---

The sunlight was beginning to dim, amplifying the shadow cast by the oak trees.

Along a dirt trail, Starlight was still alongside Trixie as she was still hauling the caravan. She glanced through the treetops to see the glow of the sun approaching the horizon. Looking ahead again, she gave a tepid smile.

Tempest was still walking, her strides calm and precise.

"Hey, Tempest? Starlight called. "Shouldn't we set up camp?"

"We can travel longer. We still have sunlight to spare."

Starlight glanced at Trixie and noticed her expression was neutral as if awaiting a response. Their eyes met for a moment and through them she saw a shrug. Starlight made a decision. "Well, it'd be great if we can call it now. To get some rest and travel early tomorrow morning."

"We keep moving."

Starlight furrowed her brows. "Well, we're gonna set up camp," she stated with no animosity.

Tempest stopped.

"Fine." She turned to face them, her expression cold.

Trixie examined her surroundings before looking to Starlight. "So, where are we gonna set up camp?"

"Preferably near the path. So we won't get lost."

"Is everyone forgetting that I'm here?"

"Who could forget?" Trixie mocked half-heartedly.

"No one. Especially considering how helpful I can be."

Trixie and Starlight rolled their eyes.

Starlight searched her surroundings, scanning for a potential area. She looked over her shoulder behind the carriage and saw a branching path that led up the closest mountain. "We could try going up that path. It looks like it might lead to a spot."

"Where?" Trixie asked, her vision obscured by the carriage. She briskly tip-hoofed to Starlight's side, peeking over her back. Upon seeing the path, her expression flattened as she let her cheek fall onto Starlight's back. "Uphill."

"Discord?" Trixie started, her voice muffled slightly from her scrunched cheek. "Can you just teleport us up there?"

A starry flash appeared in front of Trixie, revealing the draconequus levitating with a smirk and his chimeric arms crossed. "And what do I get in return?"

"Trixie, me and you have traveled way longer distances. We can do it."

Trixie lifted her head up. "You're right. There's nothing the great and powerful Trixie and her best friend and former assistant can't do!"

Discord gave a wobbly groan. "Oh, I was hoping to hear your desperate proposals."

"And why is that?" Trixie asked, her tone haughty.

He smiled. "So I could say no again," he gestured openly with his talons.

Trixie glared.

Discord continued, raising his pointer finger talon to make his point. "Because I will not be using my magic to shorten this journey in any way like I did before. I will only use my magic when absolutely necessary."

"I can only imagine what your definition of 'absolutely necessary' is," Starlight added.

Discord chuckled almost ominously as he slithered away behind them though the air.

Tempest watched the scene from beginning to end. She felt indifferent about the situation as her mind kept retreating and lingering upon what could be awaiting in the Frozen North.

"What do you think, Tempest?"

Tempest came to, staring at the source of the voice. The lilac unicorn was staring with a manufactured smile. She glanced into her persian blue eyes and saw apprehension. But deeper behind it she saw a hopefulness.

"Lead the way."

Starlight frowned before turning to Trixie. "My turn?"

Trixie in response unbound her harness and magically lifted it up, allowing Starlight to get easily into place.

Starlight turned away, the carriage turning with her and Trixie following suit. Behind the carriage, Tempest stood for a few moments watching it grow more distant before she began to follow.

Her eyes subconsciously scaned around, observing the forest for any signs of oncoming threats. Part of it was instinct, but the other part of it was an underlying fear, an element that was exposed to her and deeply seeded at a young age.

Up the hill, Trixie found herself wondering how far up they were. She approached the edge of the path, lifting her head to see the drop. Her footing gave way.

"WHooOA!"

Hearing the cry, Tempest senses heightened, only to see Trixie falling forward off the cliffside.

Instinct kicked in as she bolted forward, exerting as much energy as possible, but she could tell at her current speed she couldn't make it in time. She kicked her hind legs as hard as she could, extending her forelegs forward into a dive as she hit the dirt and slid forward.

Trixie trying to fix her mistake attempted to turn her body as her hooves left the cliffside. She reached up in hopes of grabbing anything to save herself only to find another hoof in her grasp. In an effort for more safety she immediately grabbed the mystery hoof with her other.

She looked up the foreleg to see Tempest looking down, wincing as she held her. Her expression shifted to more reserved as she looked down at Trixie with what looked to be irritation. But it was short lived as her face scrunched further as she attempted to lift Trixie up.

In an attempt to aid Tempest's efforts, Trixie used her hind legs to try and kick up the cliffside, dislodging various rocks that fell below.

Tempest pulled Trixie to the edge before turning her body to an almost sitting position for more leverage as she pulled her the rest of the way up. Tempest fell to her side leaving Trixie's hind hooves hanging just over the edge.

Laying on her side, Trixie looked over her body toward the cliff.

Tempest got to her hooves, exhaling her last exhausted breath before breathing normally. She gazed at Trixie who looked up at her before avoiding eye contact.

"Trixie!" Starlight called. She galloped to her side. "Are you okay?"

"Did you forget you have a horn?" Tempest asked.

Trixie's eyes searched the ground for something. "I- uh, yeah?"

Tempest continued to stare. "You have magic. You should use it."

Trixie stared blankly as she traversed her thoughts. She raised her chin. "O-of course! I know that!"

Tempest didn't respond and instead turned and began up the hill.

Starlight glared as she watched her depart before looking to Trixie. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Trixie replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Starlight peered over the edge seeing an approximate ten foot drop before the steep hillside. She looked back to Trixie with knitted brows as she laid a hoof on her back. "You could've gotten seriously hurt."

"I know. And I'm okay now. Besides I'm sure one of you would've saved me," she said, shooting Discord a glare.

Smirking, Discord simply raised his paw showing a giant safety net he seemingly had nit together.

---

The rest of the trek up the hill was uneventful with Tempest vaguely hearing some distant chatter as she trailed behind again. They eventually reached a plateau along the side of the mountain after a few minutes.

"This looks like a good enough spot," Starlight sighed.

Trixie pulled the carriage toward the rocky cliffside and parked it before beginning to unfasten her harness.

Tempest examined the spot. The carriage was parked alongside a steep rocky cliffside that had a jagged concave toward the bottom. And due to the mountain's position, it blocked the sun, casting a shadow that stretched just shy of the forest that led back down the mountain. The area itself was fairly flat and open.

Tempest turned and began toward the forest when Starlight called her attention.

"Where are you going?"

She continued without turning around. "I'm gonna need a fire to stay warm," she called back.

"Trixie?" Starlight asked, looking back at the azure unicorn as she magically pulled a drawer compartment at the back of the wagon.

"Yeah, yeah," She replied, dropping it to the ground revealing a pair of stairs that led into the wagon.

The bushes crackled as Tempest crossed the threshold into the forest.

"Tempest!" Starlight called.

She stopped, awaiting a response.

"Trixie has firewood!"

Tempest rolled her eyes. She turned back around and sauntered back toward the group. When she was at a somewhat close proximity, she decided to take a seat in front of where she imagined the fire would be, her eyes resting on the ground.

Starlight gazed at Tempest, noticing her solemn visage as she stared into the dirt.

"How much wood do we need?" Trixie called.

She looked back at the wagon. "Uh, six logs?"

"Small problem. We only have five."

"Wait. That's it? What about tomorrow?"

"We'll be fine," Trixie dismissed.

Starlight facehoofed and looked up to the sky. She sighed, looking back down.

Exiting the carriage, three logs encapsulated in a pale pink aura levitated beside her. The logs floated away toward Tempest before being dropped a couple feet away.

Tempest watched as another set of logs was dropped on top of them. "Do we have any kindle?"

"Probably not," Starlight informed with a smile, her tone laced with slight irritation.

"Nope!" Trixie called inside her wagon again.

Starlight's pseudo smile quickly fell as she glowered. Her demeanor lifted again as she called back, "Did you not think to check before we left Ponyville?"

"Don't blame me! Discord didn't really give us a chance to check!"

Tempest looked over where she saw Discord last and saw him lying in a sheet hammock between two trees that seemingly appeared from nowhere. He wore a relaxed smile with his eyes closed as his red scaled tail with a white tuft of hair at the end draped over the side of the hammock.

The eyes lingering on him seemed to take effect as he opened his lids. "What? Don't look at me," He refuted.

Starlight rolled her eyes before looking back to the wagon. "Do you have paper?"

"Maybe."

"What are you even doing in there?"

"Looking for my cards!"

Starlight rolled her eyes once more before looking to Tempest. "Are you hungry, Tempest?"

"Do you have food?" She asked.

"Pretty sure we do," she muttered. "Hey, Trix?" She called again.

"Ah, ha! Yeah?"

"We have food at least right?"

"We have some oats, apples, and some stuff to make pancakes I think."

"How much?"

There was a pause and some stirring in the caravan. "Not a lot."

Starlight groaned. "How am I just now realizing how poorly planned this was."

"There's good news though," Trixie said, no longer inside the caravan. She was walking toward Starlight with a card deck floating alongside her. "I just found my card deck."

Starlight turned, ambling past Trixie toward the wagon with her head hung low.

Trixie noticed Starlight didn't respond. She looked over her shoulder and watched as Starlight went up the steps into her caravan. Concerned, she turned and trotted toward the wagon.

Looking up, Tempest noticed the afterglow of the sun fading down toward the horizon past the cliff as its remaining light bathed the obscured side of the mountain. The sun was on the cusp of setting.

Her mind began to wander. She contemplated the amount of days it would take to get to the Frozen North. She needed a map to gauge her progress and to estimate how much longer the rest would take.

Looking back to the wagon, she saw Trixie exiting with the same expression as she entered. She approached the pile of logs before taking a seat a comfortable distance away with a blank stare.

"Do you know where the map is?"

Trixie glanced at Tempest in full attention. "Uh, I can ask Starlight to get it," she offered. But before Tempest could respond she began to shout into the air. "Hey, Starlight? Tempest wants to see the map."

"Okay!" Starlight called from inside the wagon.

Shortly after, Starlight left the caravan, magically floating an old brown bag, a small bag of oats, and a rolled piece of paper. The paper unraveled before floating over to Tempest as she approached.

She began to examine the map, looking at the various locations and train tracks. She recounted all the places she had been and the amount she had travelled. Most of her travels were in the south, where most would be happy to hear the fall of the Storm King. Though some didn't take kindly to her anyway.

Her gaze travelled back up toward the north. Judging by where she saw Canterlot earlier, she deduced they were at the end of the woods and just shy of a stretch of plains. It took them a few hours and they were just past Canterlot, and taking into account they had a full day tomorrow where she figured most of the distance would be made, she concluded it would take roughly two days to make it there. She also noted they would have to turn course slightly to avoid climbing mountains.

"Are we gonna start the fire?" Trixie asked.

Starlight looked up, noticing the residual glow still in the sky toward the mountain. "Well, the sun's still up. And we don't have much wood."

"I can ask Celestia to hurry up," Discord proposed in jest.

Starlight magically lifted the bag of oats again while looking at Tempest. "Do you like oats?"

Tempest examined her gesture. "I'm not hungry."

"But I thought you said.. you wanted…" Starlight stuttered.

"I asked if you had food since we didn't have much wood."

She exhaled. "I guess that's a good point."

Trixie's horn lit with a pale pink aura before a card deck levitated out from her cape. She lightly smiled as she magically began to shuffle. "In the meantime, Trixie is going to be practicing some card tricks."

Discord flew over from his hammock, laying on the ground a comfortable distance between Starlight and Tempest. "Don't mind me. I'm just going to watch this abysmal display."

"I'm practicing. Not performing. Like you could do any better," she mumbled.

"At least I can play rock, paper, scissors with myself." Discord moved his body revealing another of himself as he began moving his lion paw up and down with the clone.

On the forth shake, he stopped and stuck out his index finger which turned into a pair of scissors. His clone however had a paw that turned almost two dimensional and appeared to be made of paper. The real Discord cut at the paper before the fake one lifted his paw examining the damage and what was left.

Trixie and Starlight looked on in bewilderment as if they had no idea what they had witnessed. Tempest's expression was still tepid.

Discord snapped his talons, making the doppelganger disappear with a brief starry flash. "I doubt a measly card trick could outdo that."

Trixie levitated the deck over to Discord. "Care to shuffle this for me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, please." He grabbed the air with his talons, magically ripping the deck from Trixie's corona without much effort.

He opened his claws, causing the deck to explode apart, each individual card floating in air. He waved his talons in a circular motion, making the cards spiral like a tornado before closing his talons in a fist with ease, conglomerating all the cards back into a condensed shuffled deck.

The cards were enveloped in a pink aura before they floated back in front of Trixie. They were then fanned out from the middle. "Pick a card. Any card."

Discord plucked the air with his paw, causing a card to be teleported into it. "I assume I don't have a choice. Or perhaps you've cast a spell to read the cards." He held his card and glanced at it.

"Can you remember what card you have?"

"I remember things from thousands of years ago. Of course I can." Knowing where the trick was going, he levitated the card back toward her and into the deck.

"Tell me when to stop." Trixie began to shuffle, but it was obvious from the deck's slow meticulous movement that she hadn't done the trick very often or she wasn't very dexterous with her magic.

Seconds ticked in the tens.

"Stop."

She stopped shuffling, and then magically pulled a card from the top. Starlight leaned over to examine what the card was but wasn't able to sneak a peek before she showed the card with a smug smile.

A three of diamonds.

Discord started cackling to the sky. "All of that just to pull the wrong card? How hysterical!" He gave another almost maniacal laugh.

Trixie was baffled. "What?! It can't be wrong!"

"How did you do it?" Starlight asked.

"I magically marked it when he gave it back."

"Oh, would you looky here," Discord said looking inside a large hardback book. "'How magicians ruin magic'," he read with a wry smile, holding up the book in his talons before it began to flap and fly away.

"So you were lying!?" Trixie fumed.

"I never said that. You still failed the trick. Perhaps you should practice more."

"You changed the card didn't you?"

"Why would I ever do such a thing?"

"To laugh at me."

"While it was funny, don't you remember I'm reformed now?"

"Hardly."

"We saved Equestria for Fluttershy's sake. All of us villains on a spectacular journey together. Like now."

There was an awkward pause.

"Except that you and Trixie treated each other like an arch nemesis," Starlight noted.

"Arch nemesis? She's nowhere near my true arch nemesis."

"Then who is?" Starlight asked.

"It is he who shall not be named," Discord responded as if saying the name was distasteful.

"Something tells me he is not real," Starlight replied skeptically.

"He's very real," Discord denied. "We don't fight as much as we used to."

"Okay! Can you just say it!" Trixie exclaimed, waving her hooves.

"Perhaps I could show you." He snapped his fingers, which conjured a lavender wizard hat with various stars on it in his talons.

Trixie recognizing the hat glanced up and noticed her hat was missing. "Hey!"

"Now. Let's see if I can find him." He reached his paw inside her hat. He looked up in concentration. His face morphed into annoyance as he reached deeper. He rolled his eyes as he took his paw out of the hat, before he inexplicably put his head and most of his neck inside.

Starlight and Trixie wore peaked brows as they watched the display.

Discord's head was still inside the hat for longer than any of them anticipated. He pulled his head out with a devious smile as he reached his paw back inside once more. His expression seemed to suggest he was waiting for a specific moment. Until finally, he pulled his paw back to reveal a snow white bunny within his grasp, who appeared to be surprised as Discord thrust him forward.

"Behold! The one who shall not be named!"

The bunny crossed his arms with a glare as he hung by his ears.

Starlight rose her brow again. "Is that.. Angel?"

The bunny in response glanced at Starlight, giving a jovial bucktooth smile and a wave before he practically began to ogle her.

"You said his name!" Discord exclaimed.

Starlight rolled her eyes, wearing a similar expression to Tempest's.

"That's your arch nemesis?" Trixie droned.

"Your acting surprised," Discord noted.

"It's a rabbit," Trixie deadpanned.

"Yes, and my arch nemesis. We hated each other before we knew one another. That was back when I was the old me. Quite the fun back in those days."

"I'm sure you wish you could go back to being an evil weirdo with freaky magic. Oh wait," Trixie sassed in faux realization.

"I'll have you know, I've been very well behaved in recent days," Discord contended, his voice carrying an underlying sarcasm.

Discord looked back down at the now scowling Angel in his paw, and let go of the hat, letting it levitate before he conjured a cherry with a flash pinched in his talons. He held it in front of Angel who grabbed it and examined it curiously. But it was brief as he was thrust back into the wizard hat.

Discord removed his empty paw from the hat before snapping his fingers, making the hat disappear and reappear with a flash on Trixie's head.

Trixie, noticing her hat vanished, looked up to make sure it was where it was supposed to be. She felt compelled to check inside of it but she didn't want to show interest. She only wanted to make sure the quality of her hat was intact. Or so she told herself.

Begrudgingly, she magically lifted and lowered her hat, glancing inside. There was nothing.

"You guys should do a show together or something," Starlight suggested.

"She won't allow that. She knows I'd just steal the spotlight."

Trixie placed her hat back over her head, her magical aura dissipating. "Like you did at that one Gala?" She shot. "Besides, the only reason ponies would go to the show is because of the great, and powerful, Trixie's magical abilities. It's in the title for a reason."

"At least I got a ticket to the Gala. Even if it's a boring, ritzy, lackluster event," he noted. "But what makes you so sure ponies come to your show to watch magic and not to laugh at you?"

"Because they don't laugh."

"Well, that sounds disheartening," he said with a wry smile.

Starlight groaned, "Why did I even say anything."

"They laugh sometimes!" Trixie exclaimed.

"Out of pity?"

"Can we talk about this later please," Starlight pleaded, her hoof placed on her forehead next to her horn.

Tempest rose to her hooves, making them go silent as she sauntered toward the logs. With brevity, she pushed three logs away from the center, arranging them into a rectangular pyramid.

"Should I go get some sticks or something?" Starlight asked.

"You'll have to make it quick," Tempest replied, gazing blankly at the logs.

In response, Starlight trotted past Tempest toward the darkening forest.

A strange uneasiness overcame Trixie as she watched Tempest stare at the logs. Whether the cause was the awkward atmosphere, Starlights absence, Tempest's presence, or perhaps all three combined eluded her. She saw a sorrowful distance in her cyan eyes.

A turquoise magical aura holding various dead branches and sticks floated toward the logs in front of Tempest, swiftly organizing to aid in the fire's transition and combustion. The sight stirred Tempest back to reality as she examined the structure.

"I can start it if you want," Starlight offered.

Her broken horn began to spark. It began to discharge and arc as the log was encapsulated in blue electricity that travelled rapidly along the rough surface. But just as quickly as it started, it ended, as a small flame rose amongst the steam.

"Oh. Nevermind!" Starlight exclaimed with a nervous chuckle. She ambled past and around Trixie before plopping down adjacent to her.

Unbeknownst to herself, Tempest's brows were furrowed as she stared at the flame. She turned away, taking her seat.

As the flames spread amongst the log, transferring to the dead branches, the steam grew greyer.

Trixie began busying herself by magically shuffling her cards as practice, and Starlight watched.

Starlight turned, looking for the bag of oats. Finding it, she magically floated the bag in front of her before levitating a couple into her mouth and resumed watching Trixie practice.

She swallowed before moving the bag toward Trixie as an offer for some. "Do you know any other card tricks?" She inquired.

"I know a few but I can't remember how to do them," she stated, magically tossing a few oats into her mouth.

Discord rolled his eyes, crossing his chimeric legs before snapping his fingers as he opened a newspaper beginning to read while sitting in air.

The sun had fully set, the fire repelling the shade of night surrounding them. Crackling and popping of the fire alongside the distant army of crickets and the croaking of frogs filled the silence as an hour had passed.

The lilac unicorn brought her hoof in front of her muzzle as she yawned. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. You coming, Trix?"

"Yeah," She replied, her voice a lot softer.

"I suppose I'll be off then as well. May Luna bless all of your dreams with frolicking sheep. See you tomorrow!" he emphasized mockingly, before disappearing in a starry flash.

"Where is he going?" Trixie asked.

"Probably home in his own bed. Whatever that looks like. Who knows if he'll be back tomorrow."

"Good," Trixie stated.

"Wait, where are you gonna sleep, Tempest?" Starlight asked, her voice laced with concern as the implications dawned on her.

"I'll be out here keeping watch."

"You're gonna sleep out here? On the ground?"

The sound of the fire filled the moments of silence.

"I've done it multiple times. It's not that bad."

"Well, the fire will keep most of the dangerous animals away and we might have spare pillows in the wagon so you can at least sleep in there."

"I'm fine."

There was a heavy silence once more as the fire popped.

Starlight rose to her hooves and began toward the wagon, the two bags of food following her in her turquoise aura.

Trixie shortly followed suit, yawning. "Don't forget to put on the mask."

"Hopefully I don't asphyxiate," Starlight replied sarcastically.

"What does that mean? And why does it sound like a Twilight word?"

"It's not a 'Twilight word' and it means to die from lack of breathing," she informed blandly.

"As long as it helps Trixie get some sleep. No, but seriously, you better not die. Or I'll hurt you," she warned.

Starlight snorted as she entered the caravan, Trixie entering shortly after.

Tempest stared at the fire once more. She readjusted her posture, the flames' warmth absorbing in her poncho and continuing to spread across her face and neck.

Her gaze travelled up to the night sky and the constellations above, seeing a passing of a shooting star. She furrowed her brows as the weight upon her seemed to grow heavier.

Author's Note:

If you've made it this far, I applaud your endurance. Because most of this story was written in like long gaps of eight sittings and if I'm honest, didn't have much thought put into it. It kind of just happened. You can probably guess that from the coddiwomple aspect of it. (Fun word). Plus I'm obviously an amateur writer and I beat myself up writing this but I still enjoyed it. But the next chapter should be up soon and it's shorter than this one. It's almost done I just have to finish it. The hard part is the third chapter.