22. Traversing, Taunting, Training
Traversing, Taunting, Training
Cadance
I could feel the gentle warmth around me as I blinked away the impossible lights from my eyes. I began the normal process of escaping from the confines of the sheet that I had slept in. Only to have one of my hoofs connect with a pony that was beneath the sheet with me. Wrenching my eyes open I could see that I did not feel wrong as Sunset stared at me. Entrapped within the same sheet as I was. Her eyes were a muddled cyan and emerald, filled with uncertainty, that peacefully observed me.
“Morning Dawn.” I happily greeted her as I internally screamed. What had I been thinking last night? Oh right, I was trying to prove my grandfather, the spirit of Chaos, and Celestia wrong. Sunset of course having the perception of a rock continued to stare at me. Thankfully her silence allowed me to still the beating of my heart. “I don’t suppose you would be able to help us get out of this predicament?” The question finally snapped Sunset from just staring at me as her eyes refocused on mine.
“You can't naturally sleep like this, can you?” She asked as she pulled against the blanket slightly. The tension caused the blanket to pull against my still-wounded wing. I let slip a slight hiss of pain and she instantly froze. She was as unmoving as a statue in Celestia’s garden, all except for her emerald eyes that darted around my covered form before focusing on where my wing was hidden. She dissipated in a flash of flames. Reappearing a few feet away from me.
Leaving me alone in the blanket only holding onto the faint remnants of her warmth. It took me a long moment to connect how she had escaped the confines that had bound the two of us. When I finally put it together that she teleported away I glared at her. Did she want to play like that? Fine. I would show her that I was not a pony to be trifled with.
“Did you just teleport away from me? After we spent the night together?” I could see the moment where she made the connection in her head as she spasmed and her red coat began to pale. I didn't let up on the annoying pony that was my partner. “You didn't even leave a note. I see how much you value me.” Sunset’s eyes were filled with panic as her mouth opened but no words came out. She remained like that until Mistletoe’s laughter broke the silence I had summoned.
“Dawn she is messing with you.” She laughed out from atop her cart. Sunset's eyes didn't move from mine; however, she did finally close her mouth. It took her another few moments for the panic to completely filter from her eyes replaced by indignation. All I could do was smile at her and watch as she huffed.
“So should I take that as a no for you helping me out of this trap?” I slyly asked the pony who was still deciding how to deal with me. My words once more knocked her off balance and she immediately manipulated the blanket off me. Her magic takes great care to not agitate my wing any more than necessary. Sunset could be sweet at times. “A treatment fit for a Princess. Wouldn't you agree, Mistletoe?” I asked the still amused pony who was in the process of hitching herself to her cart.
“Hmm. I would have to agree.” She comments after a pause. Her gaze flickered from myself and Sunset. “However I would have to take some points from Dawn’s impression of a fish as they aren't known to teleport.” I couldn't help the chuckle that formed even as Sunset began to glower at me.
“I hate you.” She growled out as she shoved the blanket into the sack. Refusing to catch my gaze.
“No, you don’t.” I beamed back with a bright smile. Sunset didn't respond and I marked this entire exchange as my victory. After I stretched and made sure I was all together I turned to my two traveling companions before speaking. “Well, then shall we continue our trek?” Sunset merely nodded while Mistletoe chimed in her agreement.
With that, we were off once more. Traversing through the well-traveled trail with but few stops. From Mistletoe's cart getting stuck and requiring Sunset to levitate it out of the mud it had gotten stuck in. To even a cockatrice that had stumbled out of the forest. Before I could even think of doing anything Sunset covered my eyes with her hoof and blasted the creature with a torrent of flames. Sending it fleeing back into the forest.
“I can help you know. I'm not helpless.” I muttered to my partner when we broke for a quick meal under the noon Sun. I was once more proving that I was a creature of indomitable unbending will as I leaned against her while I ate the offered salad that Mistletoe graciously gave us. Basking in the warmth that flowed from her, as if she was a campfire in the chill of winter.
“You are not helpless,” Sunset admitted after a moment. I could feel a familiar spell being enforced onto reality. The world shimmered and shifted as we were encased in a private bubble of our reality once more. “You are however less experienced than I am.” She pushed half of her salad over to me.
“I am catching onto your tricks, you can't just have me distracted by shoving food at me.” I didn't even look at the food. It was hers. Not mine. She needed to eat. Even if she was offering it to me. It was hers. I continued that mental chant until she reclaimed the remains of her meal. “How am I supposed to gain the experience you have if you don't allow me to face any problems on my own?” Sunset frowned at my words but I could see my words worming their way into her thoughts.
She may not always respect a pony but she does respect their magic. Or more accurately to say she respects magic more than any pony. I had used the same trick on her to get her to sleep. It now occurs to me that this was slightly manipulative even if it was to her advantage. Deciding to worry about the morality of what I was doing later I went for the kill. “What happens if the next time I am attacked that you aren't around? Should I act as I did with the griffon? Wouldn't it be better to learn how to protect myself under your aegis? It would be the same as our normal lessons with you ready to step in and help if needed.”
If there was one thing that I had learned from Umbrum other than magic it was his way of manipulating a pony. I felt Sunset nod after a moment's deliberation. “Thank you,” I whispered as I further snuggled into her side. Embracing the heat that she provided.
...
Wait. “Sunset?” I hesitatingly questioned, as what I was continuing to do caught up with me.
“Yes?” She seemed far more exasperated than angry which was a plus. However, confusing it was. She let me sleep next to her last night and was now continuing to allow me to embrace her. Taking a moment to debate with myself if I was willing to let sleeping constellations lie. Before deciding that it would be better to talk through it than simply assume.
“Is there a reason you are allowing me to cuddle up to you?” I contorted my head slightly to face Sunset as I asked. “Not that I want to stop. It just doesn't seem like something that you would like and if you don't like it and are letting me do it despite that. I would…” I trailed off not sure what would be the best way to proceed. Sunset however frowned as she responded.
“You would have been cold and you wanted to be warm.” She spoke before continuing in a much lower tone that I knew without my improved senses I would have never caught. “I know that feeling all too well.” That was heartbreaking. Horribly appropriate however for the pony that I was with.
“Thank you Sunset for sharing your warmth,” I whispered my thanks back to the pony whose eyes once more refused to meet mine. We proceeded to just enjoy the silence for a while longer. An Alicorn and a Unicorn laying against one another. Basking in the light of the Sun.
Eventually, we had to separate and get back on the road. Mistletoe wouldn't stop glancing at the two of us trotting side by side from where she was pulling her cart. I had offered to take either the saddlebag or the sack that Sunset continued to drag but she refused.
“You are dealing with the next difficulty that appears. Whether it is bandits or if it is an Ursa Major. You should save your strength for what is ahead.” She informed me. My words had worked wonders. Perhaps too well.
“If there is an Ursa Major you will step in when I fail right?” I couldn't help but ask my partner. Who in response just shrugged. Not looking at me at all. “Or is it that you can't deal with one and are hoping that one does not appear? Attempting to look cool?” I taunted her. She of course did not respond at all. “You know that you are supposed to banter back otherwise this loses all meaning,” I informed her.
“Why would I banter with you again?” She asks, still keeping her head towards the forest. I glanced over her saddlebag but I could see nothing.
“Because silly I am your friend.” My words had an instantaneous effect on the pony before me. Whose head twisted with a frightening snap so that her piercing emerald eyes could meet my gaze.
“Who said we were friends?” She questioned her words and eyes both brutish. I simply rolled my own back at the foolish pony that I had a crush on.
“I did,” I answered her levelly, my gaze narrowing as I dared her to dispute my claim to her friendship. If she knew what was good for her she would agree that we were friends before I had to beat it into her thick skull. Eventually, the emerald orbs softened and she responded.
“So you are my first friend.” She almost listlessly speaks as she turns her attention to the sun that continues to make its journey across the sky. We fell into an easy silence as we continued on the trail. Sunset kept her gaze high tracking the Sun as if it held the answers to the questions that she had. Looking for the moment like the filly that she once was, chasing after the setting Sun.
“I take back every single thing I thought about you. You are far too cute.” Sunset's eyes flickered back to mine and I grinned as we held the others' gaze. The indignation in her eyes bled to the same mirth that I knew filled mine.
“First I am not cute. Second I am morbidly curious about what you have thought about me if you wouldn't mind sharing?” She teased me. It was a rather poor attempt at banter but it still set the butterflies in my heart aflutter. Sunset may not have been the best but she was willing to attempt it for me.
“Dawn, you are certainly cute,” I replied, keeping my gaze connected to her as I stalked closer to her. “And are you sure you want the answer to that question of yours?” After seeing her eyes widen I went for the throat. “After all, once I whisper my answer, you will be unable to forget it. I won't let you.” My declaration made all I could do was watch with anticipation for how she would react to it.
It took a few moments for Sunset to work through my words. I could feel the butterflies begin to wither as the mirth burned from her eyes and was replaced with the beginnings of her rage. Right this was Sunset Shimmer, the one pony in Equestria who will almost always misinterpret actions and words into their worst outcomes. Even as I could feel her begin to bleed heat into the air I put a hoof on her side.
She froze immediately as the heat stopped being suffused into the air. Her eyes were no longer filled with molten hate, but with clear confusion at my actions which no doubt contradicted whatever was going on in her head. “I didn't mean it like that.” I offered in an attempt to dissuade the inner machinations of her mind of my intentions.
“What do you mean?” She responded with her tone guarded. I couldn't help but smother the sigh as I took a breath before responding in turn.
“You took what I said the wrong way. I was only trying to continue the banter.” After a pause, I continued my voice in a lower volume "It wasn't about how we began.” I quickly cast my gaze towards Mistletoe who was continuing on the trail leaving us behind with a glance. Turning my focus back to Sunset who seemed to have dropped her guard.
“How do you know what I was thinking?” She questioned with a frown.
“Sunset I would like to think I know a little about how you work at this point. Just like how you know me. We didn't start the best with one another but we are better.” I smiled at her as I hugged her again. “That took effort from both of us.” I waited for her to inevitably stiffen.
Seconds passed and I could feel the pony that I was embracing shifting slightly within my grasp. She however made no move to buck me off or flee with her spells. Eventually, I let go of her. Watching her cyan eyes swirl with confusion and mirth that ever so clearly showed the reflection of the pony before me. For all she denied it she was rather adorable, even cute.
“Wait if you weren't referring to our mutual beginning, what are you referring to?” Sunset asked as she sought the answer to the newest question that she had found. I just smiled at her as I turned on my frog and began to follow after Mistletoe.
“That is for you to find out,” I called out over my shoulder as I left her behind for the moment. Only for the sounds of her frantic trotting to widen the smile I had plastered on my muzzle as she caught up to me. We spent the next few hours in warm silence as we continued down the trail. The only times the silence was broken was when Sunset attempted to pester me for the answer to the riddle I had posed her or when Mistletoe would comment on her amusement about the two of us.
Like all good things, it must come to an end. Sunset’s head twisted towards the forest on the right side of the trail.
“Umbra, it's time for you to show what you can do.” She slowly spoke as her eyes met mine. All signs of the pleasant version of herself had been burned away the instant that she had detected whatever it was out in the forest. I nodded and called out for Mistletoe to halt. She listened immediately and eventually, it turned into a waiting game.
Turning my attention fully to where Sunset had looked I listened. Hearing the faint pounding of not hooves but something softer, paws perhaps. Low grumblings grew louder as I stepped forwards. Focusing my gaze I could spy what appeared to be three bipedal creatures of varying sizes and shapes, hidden in the brush of the forest. Each however wore a studded color that was rusted and worn. Diamond dogs I believe from the descriptions and illustrations Celestia had shown me.
“Hello, I am Umbra and you three are?” I asked as I caught the gaze of one of the dogs. Whose eyes immediately widened in shock at being called out and spotted so easily. I would assume they had never hidden from an Alicorn before. I ignored the huff that came from Sunset behind me as I kept my attention on the three dogs. Who turned to each other and huddled up grunting and barking incomprehensibly.
Only after a minute of that did they break their huddle and make their way toward us. Stepping onto the trail a little distance from where I was.
“We are diamond dogs.” The second tallest of the three announced as the other two on either side of him nodded. I nodded in acknowledgment as I took note of the tattered vests that they wore along with the claws they had on the end of their paws.
“Do ponies have gems?” The smallest of the three asked as his eyes went beyond me to what I can assume was Sunset and Mistletoe. If this was an attempt at a robbery this was certainly one of the strangest ones performed.
“I am afraid none of us have any gems,” I answered in the negative as I doubted the dogs before me would believe that I had an entire castle made of crystals hidden within my dreams. The three of them looked disappointed as they glanced at one another.
“What do we do now? Ponies have no gems?” The final and largest of the three diamond dogs asks the other two as the other two are scratching their heads. Taking the moment of their confusion I glance back to Sunset and Mistletoe who were just watching what could only be described as negotiations before them. Mistletoe at least looked amused while Sunset had a mask of indifference plastered upon her face. However, that did not stop me from spotting the confusion in her eyes.
Turning back to the dogs with a smile on my face I once more began to speak.
“Do you have any other questions for us, as we are in a tad bit of a hurry,” I interjected into their planning session. They turned towards me once more and I could see them attempting to form a cohesive plan but being incapable of doing so. After a few more moments of silence, the first diamond dog once more spoke up.
“How can we be sure you aren't lying about having gems?” He said with a proud grin on his face. That he came up with that question. I turned back towards Sunset and Mistletoe.
“Do either of you two have any gems?” At my question, both of them answered negatively. Turning my full attention to the trio of dogs before me I continued “See none of us have any gems. If I was lying one of them would have said that we did indeed have gems.”
“The pony has a point.” The smallest dog spoke in its high-pitched whine. “Ponies aren't clever, not like us dogs.” The largest dog shook his head violently in agreement with that point. If this was what Mistletoe had encountered during her trips I could understand her confidence.
“Are you ponies sure that you have no gems?” The middle dog asked one final time and it took more willpower than it should have to not summon a crystal and launch it at his leering face. Thankfully I just nodded and the dog took our admission with a frown and a sigh. “Fine ponies can leave but only if they promise if they find any gems that they will give them to the diamond dogs.” He said as an afterthought.
I just nodded and the three dogs grinned at each other before they began to dig into the trail quickly becoming submerged by the displaced earth. Leaving us three ponies alone once more. I turned back to my partner and Mistletoe, both of whom were still glancing at the freshly dug holes.
“You do realize that you weren't supposed to solve that diplomatically.” Sunset started in a flat tone. Mistletoe took a step back from her, but I doubted Sunset noticed, her attention focused on me. “The entire reason that you were dealing with this encounter was to gain combat experience.” Feeling my cheeks warm I broke our gaze before responding.
“Isn't it better that I could have de-escalated the situation without violence?” I offered the annoyed Unicorn. I didn't dare point out that Celestia would have been glad the conflict had been solved without a single spell cast.
“The entire point of this was so that you could learn how to use violence.” She growled out. “Those three were perfect for you to bludgeon to death.” I narrowed my eyes at her words.
“Why under Celestia’s Sun would I have killed them?” I hissed out. I could faintly see Mistletoe backing away from the two of us after unhitching herself from her cart. “They were of no threat to any pony, much less me.”
“That was the point of the training. So that if in a real battle, you won't freeze up. That you can sever a sentient creature's throat and then continue with your life. So that no pony will be able to take advantage of your mercy.” She spat out as the air around the two of us began to heat.
How could I have forgotten that this was Sunset Shimmer? Even through the rose-tinted way I had recently been viewing her, she was capable of horrific acts. She would have had me butchered those three dogs simply so that in the future I could not be impacted by it. So that I would not be at risk of faltering before an attacker once more. I could see the logic in her words. That did not stop me from detesting them all the same.
“That was not what I wanted. I wished to learn how to deal with problems myself without you stepping in a misguided attempt to coddle me. Not to learn how to kill something.” I hissed out. Refusing to remove my gaze from her emerald pits that swam with hate. “Now that I have made myself clear, do we still have an issue?” I breathed out as I prepared for her reaction.
I watched as Sunset stood still for a moment longer, clearly contemplating to continue this argument, but with the chill that swallowed the heat and the frost upon her form. She had decided against it.
“You won't always be able to rely on me,” Sunset muttered as she twisted her gaze from me with a cracking of ice. Taking a breath of the frigid air myself I closed the small distance between the two of us. Placing a hoof on the frosted pony I responded.
“That may be true but until that point we are partners,” I whispered into her ear as I brushed away some of the frosted ice that clung from her coat. “Even if we disagree with one another,” I said as she turned her head gaze to my own.
“You won't always have the choice in the future. You eventually will be forced to decide on whether it is you or some pony else.” Sunset muttered as she stretched, shattering the rest of the frosted ice. “You won't always have me to prevent your hooves from dirtying.” She said as I watched her emerald eyes flash with an emotion I had not seen before.
“I am not forcing you to do anything that you don't want Sunset and I certainly won't ask you to kill any pony on my behalf,” I responded with a frown.
“No, you wouldn't need to ask.” She mutters as her gaze once more breaks from mine. I don't know how to respond to that… All I could do was hug the pony before me and let her take as much of my warmth as she needed to escape the cold that she had brought against herself.
“Sunset, who taught you this spell?” I asked the pony who still had yet to push me away. “You said earlier that you were used to being cold. Yet you use this spell to punish yourself?” Whenever she needed a moment of clarity or whenever her temper was beginning to get away from her she would cast this spell. Other than her telekinesis it was the most common form of magic I had seen her perform.
She didn't respond but she did look up towards the ever-watching Sun that hung from the heavens far above. Of course, who else would teach Sunset a spell that she would religiously use as a way to regulate herself? Swallowing back the heat that formed in my stomach I once more spoke this time in a softer tone. “Sunset, why is it you continue to use this spell?” I hesitantly asked my partner.
“It makes it better for every pony -” She spoke out in a forced monotone “- I don't go around burning every random pony that annoys me, making less work for Celestia, and it provides clarity when I can't think straight.” She lets out a facsimile of a laugh that would easily be described as a mockery before she continued. “Did you know that she taught it to me as a better way to ensure that my flames didn't grow out of control?”
I didn't but that makes sense. I knew Sunset was fireproof but I doubted she had been born like that. When Celestia began to teach her it would have probably been one of the first things taught. How to smother a flame. That still didn't -. Sunset spoke up once more breaking my line of thought “I repurposed it later on. The first time that she caught me freezing myself I would have sworn she was a hoof step away from locking me in Tartarus and tossing away the key she was so mad.” She let out a much more pony-like snort as she recalled those words.
It was good that Celestia hadn't taught that spell to Sunset so that she would use it upon herself. I would have had words to say the next time I met the Princess of the Sun. From what Sunset was now saying, Celestia was even against her using the spell like that. “She tried all of her tricks to get me to promise to never use it like that again, but by then I had already begun my rebellion against her.” I could feel her tense before the next words were spoken, “She was pathetic trying to do everything in her power to get me to stop using it. Yet she couldn't get me to promise. That was my first true victory against the Sun herself.”
She pushed herself out of my embrace, I was still caught up in her words that I could do nothing but watch her free herself. She turned on her frog a few steps from me and I could feel the frost from earlier begin to seep into my heart. Even with the red coloring of her coat, I could perfectly see the amber Unicorn beneath the spell smiling. A horrific smile that nearly split her mouth. Her emerald eyes were filled with loathing and hatred toward the pony that she loved most.
“I realized something that day. Not even Alicorns are perfect. They have weaknesses that you can exploit. You should get rid of yours before some pony like me takes advantage of them.” The world split around her as it righted once again. When had we been in her privacy spell? I should have sensed it! That was impossible. All I could do was watch as Sunset began to trot down the trail before us. Leaving me and the shards of fear and horror that coiled inside my gut.
Eventually, I was shaken from my stupor by Mistletoe coming out from the forest behind her cart.
“Is everything ok? No ponies about to murder one another?” She asked as she craned her neck to see Sunset walking away from the two of us. Walking away from me.
“Everything is fine.” I lied with ease as I spoke up to banish that previous thought from my mind. “Just a difference of opinions.” I turned to Mistletoe with a smile. “I would like to apologize on both my own and Dawn’s behalf. That was not something that you should have been here to witness.” I spoke once more, adopting the shield of regality.
Mistletoe just turned her gaze from Sunset's form to meet my own.
“You two are wrong. You switch from being all lovey-dovey to utter hatred and loathing on the drop of a bit,” Mistletoe muttered. I could feel the pit in my stomach grow larger with her words. It seemed that each time we were in a better place, that we had taken a step forwards, that something would send us spiraling back.
“We all have our off days,” I said as I forced a smile. “Shall we catch up with her?” I asked Mistletoe. Upon receiving her nod, after she had once more hitched herself to her cart, I began to trot after my partner. We continued in near silence the only sounds were from our hooves hitting the trail and the rolling of Mistletoe’s cart.
Until the Sun began to once more set beyond the horizon as the darkness grew from its absence. Mistletoe broke the silence once more.
“Wingston should only be a few more hours if you don’t mind continuing our trek through the night.” She offered. It would be nice to finally be in some semblance of civilization once more. Especially after how strenuous the last few days had been. Glancing forwards towards the Unicorn who had yet to complain about the journey. Even though she had been carrying the sack and her saddlebag.
“Let me see if Dawn can make the final stretch without stopping,” I responded and upon Mistletoe’s nod I went after Sunset. “Dawn, wait up a moment.” I could see her slow as she turned her head to glance back at me. Reaching her after a few more moments of trotting I smiled at her once more.
“What?” She of course frowned at me as she responded. Damn it Sunset. Ok, she was still annoyed with me from earlier I could deal with that. Taking a breath before I spoke once more.
“Do you think you can continue for a few more hours, as Mistletoe says we are getting close to Wingston?” I informed my partner whose eyes flashed with indignation at my words.
“I am perfectly able to continue. I will not slow you or Mistletoe down.” She informed me with an obvious edge to her words. I was about to respond but she cut me off before I even had a chance. “I will be sure to not drag you down.” She all but snarled at me before she teleported forwards in a flash of emerald flames.
Leaving me to watch as she continued forwards without me. When Mistletoe caught up she thankfully didn't mention what just happened. We once more continued with the tension as thick as the silence that surrounded us.
We traversed through the now moonlit world watched over from high above by the Mare in the Moon. Shadows moved through the dimly lit darkness as we continued our trek. Until eventually I could see that Sunset had stopped and was waiting for us. I refrained from smiling at the sight. Beyond her, I could see a few small huts and houses surrounding a larger building off the side of the trail.
“Welcome to Wingston.” Mistletoe declared.
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That was a good chapter goodluck with the next one.