> Hoofswell that Ends Well
>  by SpearmintSonnet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The one where they meet at the bar... er, Library
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A small, tan unicorn sat at her window as the last drops of the spring rain splashed delicately into the puddles in the road. A small stack of library books sat on a table just out of hoofs reach from where she sat. The small slip of paper sticking out of the cover of the top book said that the return date for them was today and Dovetail knew that Twilight Sparkle, the town librarian, would be very upset if her books were returned late, but the rain had detained her inside the dry warmth of her home longer than she had anticipated. Her horn ignited with a soft green light, the same light surrounding the books as she carefully levitated them into the saddlebags sitting at her hoof. Once inside, she shifted her levitation spell to the bags, letting them slide over her haunches before she carefully cinched them into place under her stomach.

Walking towards the door, she tossed her black and gray mane as she glanced around, making sure she had gotten all her due library books, even though she had double and triple checked while rain had gently pattered on the roof. Satisfied that she was not forgetting any, Dove opened the door and stepped out onto the soft, squishy mud that crisscrossed Ponyville in place of the usual dirt roads. Dove was not the only pony emerging from the safety of indoors now that the rain had ceased. Many others were getting out to enjoy the rest of the lovely spring day and the roads were quickly becoming unusually packed as the lone mare wove her way through the crowd into the market place. She lived opposite the market from Twilight's library and, not for the first time, she wished she had had the foresight to pick a house closer to it when she'd first moved to Ponyville.

The market, always busy during this time of day, was easily twice so now since the morning patrons were shopping as well. This made the already slippery roads even more treacherous and Dove found herself winding closer and closer to other ponies as she worked her ways slowly across the square. Her eyes constantly strayed towards her hooves as the mare's natural shyness began to overcome her desire to go to the library. The only thing helping her put one hoof in front of the other was the thought of Twilight's disappointed sigh if she returned the books tomorrow.

Caught up in her hooves and thoughts, Dovetail never noticed the tall, armored pegasus stallion turn from one of the stalls and into her path. She stepped firmly into him, knocking herself back a pace as his much sturdier form reflected the minute momentum of her stride. “Hey, what's the big idea?” The stallion glanced down at her with a look that she interpreted as boiling anger. Shrinking back, Dove mumbled a quick apology, but before she could dash away back into the crowd the stallion's demeanor changed dramatically. He smiled slightly, “No, I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to startle you. What's your name?”

“N-no pony important,” she murmured quietly, glancing around his larger frame, trying to gauge if she could dash around him. “I was just trying to get to the library...”

The stallion reached out and tapped Dove on the shoulder in a friendly manner, “aww, don't say that! Everypony's important!” He glanced around at the dense crowd and then back at the unicorn mare, “tell you what, let's go to that library and get out of this melee. And maybe you could tell me your name on the way?” He smiled down at the mare and she could feel warmth spread across her cheeks.

Glancing down at her hooves for a moment, she nodded slowly, “um.... okay.”

He grinned broadly, “well them, lead the way my unicorn friend! Because I have no idea where we are at the moment.”

Dove blinked, “Well.. um... okay,” she carefully stepped around him, “follow me.” The two begin walking in step with each other and the mare admitted it was nice to walk with somepony else, especially since ponies were now getting out of her way and not the other way around. Smiling slightly, she looked up at her pegasus companion and said, “M-my name's Dovetail, by the way...”

“Dovetail, eh? How about I just call you 'Dove'? My name's Striker, Cloudstriker.” He smiled again and Dove could feel a blush creep across her cheeks again. He was brash and boisterous, very different from the ponies she usually talked to, but... the change was nice. “I'm from up North,” he added, “say? Have you tried the apples here? They're just AWESOME!”

“Cloudstriker,” the mare murmured quietly under her breath. “Yes,” she smiled, “the apples around here are very delicious. Sweet Apple Acres is famous for their produce. And you said you were from up North? How far north?” Her words begin to flow faster as she became more comfortable around Striker with each hoofstep, “Are you from Cloudsdale? I've always wondered what it's like there... OH! Or are you from near Dragon Mount? Or the Drakkenridge Mountains? That's right next to Griffon territory! Have you ever met a-” Dove cuts herself off and her cheeks flush a deeper shade of red. She drops her gaze to the ground, wishing, not for the first time, that she was able to grow out her bangs so she could hide behind them at times like these.

But Striker only smiles, “You sure can talk fast when you want to! Yes, I live by the Griffon lands. Let's just say that Griffons are way bigger than they ever tell you in flight school. Luckily we have good relations with the Griffons now, or they'd have to face the likes of me!” Dove giggled, raising a hoof to her mouth as she came to a halt outside the hollowed out tree that served as the Ponyville Library. “So, Dove? Where is this library of yours?”

The smaller mare gestured to the unmarked tree, “It's right here.” She glanced up at the stallion and, for the first time since they met, she met his gaze squarely. “Thank you for walking me here...” she paused and she could feel her shyness creeping back as her eyes dropped back to the ground around her hooves, “um... well... I guess I'd better go inside... these books aren't going to return themselves... unless...” she paused and taking a deep breath she asked, “unless you'd like to come in... and see the library?” Shaking her head quickly, she adds, “never mind... Maybe I'll see you again?” As the pair idled in front of the library, a young, yellow earth pony moves around them to enter the building. He cast them a glance before pushing the door open and letting it shut quietly behind him. Dove barely registered the passing pony as her attention is centered on Striker.

Striker's attention was caught by the library, his eyes wide and excited as he stared up at the thick foliage of the upper levels of the great tree, “This is the library? Wow... I wonder if my buddy is here. He always loved books. Come on! Let's go see!” Without waiting for a response, and clearly unaware of Dove's awkward and halfhearted attempt at a parting, he wrapped his wing around the mare and usured her into the library. Inside was even more impressive than out- the library was circular to match the curvature of the tree trunk, but it appeared much larger on the inside than would have been possible without magic. Floor-to-ceiling shelves lined the walls and all were overflowing with all kinds of literature. In the center of the space were several low tables were ponies could sit and read the books they didn't want to take home. Two ponies sat at one such table, the yellow stallion from before and a small mint and brown speckled pegasus mare, their heads close together as they whispered conspiratorially to each other. Across the room from the door was a wide counter behind which sat a purple unicorn mare, her eyes glued to the pages of a book, but by the way she sat, facing the pair at the table with only the book to block her gaze, it was obvious that she knew of her patrons.

When the door opened before Dove and Striker, a small bell tinkled to announce their arrival. Twilight Sparkle set her book down on the counter and smiled warmly. Dove returned the smile before turning back to Striker, but before she could say anything the pegasus mare from the table shot up, “Cloudstriker! What are you doing here? I didn't take you for the literary type!” Her voice was loud, much too loud for Twilight's quiet library and the purple mare cast her patron a stinging glance that the other mare pointedly ignored as she half flew the short distance to Striker and Dove.

Cloudstriker grinned at the young mare, “Hello again, Minty.” Dove felt a small knot form in her stomach as the stallion turned his attention from her to the equally boisterous pegasus.

Minty smiled, “Nice to see you again!” Glancing around the stallion she smiled at Dovetail, “who's your friend?”

Striker spread his wing and covered the unicorn mare in its feathery warmth, “this is Dove, she's pretty cool. Doesn't talk a lot, though. So, what are you doing here, Minty?”

“Just wasting time before I need to head back to Cloudsdale,” Minty said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes, “If I'm lucky, the weather team won't notice I'm gone.” Turning her attention to Dove, she smiled, “I'm Spearmint Sonnet, though it seems like the nickname 'Minty' is catching on,” she glanced at Striker who shrugged.

“I just nickname ponies! Is that so bad?”

Dove nodded cordially at the other mare, “very please to meet you, Minty, ah... Spearmint Sonnet.”

“Oh, just Minty is fine. I guess my whole name can be a bit of a mouthful,” the mare said, her mouth curving into a small smile.

The three ponies stood in silence for a moment before Dove said quickly, “I need to return these books and it seems like you two would like to catch up. If you'll excuse me.” The tan mare turned quickly and hurried over to the counter.

Striker watched her go with a small frown on his face, “see ya, Dove,” he forced a small smile and a wave before turning back to the pale green mare. The two began talking animatedly as Dove stepped up to the counter and smiled at Twilight. “I got those books back, just like I promised.”

Twilight's eyes lit up, “oh excellent! I was worried the unscheduled downpour would keep you at home! Rainbow Dash really needs to do a better job controlling those storms.”

“I can't really blame her, though,” Dovetail commented as she levitated the novels from her saddlebags, “what with her in training to be a Wonderbolt and all.”

Twilight grimaced, “hmmm, well, she should be paying more attention to her work than the tricks she plans to use to get their attention. If she spent half as much time doing a good job on the weather team as she does playing around, she might already be a Wonderbolt.” The two unicorns laughed quietly to themselves as Twilight carefully checked the condition of the books Dove was returning. “I do have a favor to ask you, as well,” the mare sighed, “it seems Pinkie Pie thought it'd be a good idea to stack a bunch of chairs to reach a book she wanted rather than get Spike or me to help. Well, long story short, she broke the legs on one. I was hoping you could fix it?”

“Of course,” Dove smiled. Twilight stepped around the counter and motioned with her head for the other unicorn to follow. Against one of the few tables, a chair had been propped up, the two back legs of which were snapped neatly in two.

“I could try to fix it,” Twilight admitted, “but I'm not nearly as adept as I'd like to be at carpentry. I figure, in this case, it's better to ask a professional.”

Looking over the damage, Dove nodded, “I'm sure you of all ponies could do it, but I'm flattered that you came for my help. Give me just a minute and it'll be good as new.”

“Thank you very much, Dovetail,” Twilight smiled gratefully as she walked back towards the counter.

Dove concentrated on the chair, her horn glowing with her soft green magic as she carefully picked up the first broken leg.

Across the room, Minty had ducked away from Striker to continue browsing the library and the stallion was now approached by the yellow earth pony. “Sounds like you two really hit it off,” he smiled warmly. “Congrats.”

“Hmm?” Striker was taken by surprise at the other pony's approach. “What do you mean?”

“You and...” the other stallion grinned, “Dovetail.”

Striker's eyes widened slightly, “me and Dove? Nonono,” he chuckled slightly and shook his head, “I mean... she's nice and all, but we, like, just met!”

Dove felt her magic falter as she couldn't help but overhear the conversation the two stallions were having. Narrowing her eyes, she focused again on the task at hoof. He's right... we've only just met.

“I dunno.” The other stallion raised his eyebrows and grinned, “looks to me like the two of you were meant for each other.” He chuckled, “of course, that's just the observation of an uninterested bystander.”

Striker shook his head. Eager to find a distraction away from this conversation he said, “you know, I don't think I ever caught your name, though I'm sure I saw you in the market earlier... or was it more recently than that?”

“My name's Blazer,” the black maned stallion said, giving Striker a look that clearly showed he was well aware of the other stallion's diversion tactic, “and I was just behind you when you were buying apples. I also passed you and Dovetail before coming into the library.”

“That must have been it,” Striker nodded, ignoring Blazer's pointed look, “my name's Cloudstriker, by the way. Nice to meet ya.”

“Same to you,” Blazer smiled, “so, anyway, what brings you to Ponyville, Cloudstriker? Not that I have much room to talk, I've only been here a few days myself.” The shorter stallion gave Striker a quick glance with his eyes and said, “from your armor I can see you're enlisted in Celestia's military. Are you Air force?”

“You know it!” Striker grinned as he stood just a little taller, “I'm from a base up north. I was sent here by my base commander to deliver a message, but I got held up because of the rainstorm.”

“They didn't tell you about the scheduled rain?” Blazer asked, surprised.

“No,” Striker groaned, pressing a hoof against his forehead and rubbing it in slow circles, “of course not. I swear, my CO has it out for me sometimes. It's so frustrating.”

“Does stuff like that happen a lot?” Blazer asked, “I mean, I thought Celestia's Guards were... I don't know... better than that?”

Striker couldn't help but chuckle, “maybe they'd like to be portrayed that way, but we're all still just ponies. We can try to reach higher ideals... can't always make it there.” He paused and sighed, his attention roaming from Blazer to Dovetail who was setting the repaired chair back at the table where it had been sitting before.

Nodding in satisfaction, the mare glanced around the room, catching Striker's eye for just a moment. She smiled at him, but instead of walking over and interrupting his conversation with the other stallion, she moved to where Minty was standing at the bookshelves, leafing her way through a novel. “What book is that?” The tan mare asked as she stepped up to the bookshelf. Minty yelped in surprise, tucking the book under her wing self-consciously.

“N-nothing...” she muttered, her eyes flicking to the left where she hoped Dove wouldn't notice the hole in the shelf where the newest iteration of Laser Burn and the Intergalactic Space Ponies was missing. The other mare followed her gaze and smiled brightly.

“Oh I love these books!” Picking up the first novel, 'Laser Burn and Comet of Calamity 6', she flipped through the pages with a sigh. “It's been too long since Daft Pony wrote a new one, don't you think? He left us at a real cliffhanger when Laser Burn couldn't make it back to his ship when he was being chased by aliens on Lestian V.”

Minty gave a small sigh of relief and smiled, “yeah, I think he'll be fine, though. Laser Burn was able to communicate with the Lestians, unlike the Gallopans of Stellar 075. And he made it out of that one alive.”

Dove giggled as she put the book back on the shelf, straightening the others around it. “Wouldn't it be fun to go on an adventure like Laser Burn?” The unicorn murmured quietly, “I mean... to live by trust and skill alone?”

“It'd certainly be exciting,” Minty agreed enthusiastically. “That's what I love about reading, though, going on adventures without all the... sticky consequences.”

The other mare giggled, “yes, there do seem to be a lot of those.”

Minty sighed wistfully, “I sometimes wish I could write epic novels like Daft, but sadly, my talent lies elsewhere.”

“What exactly do you do, Minty?” The tan mare asked, curious.

I'm a painter,” the other mare lifted her wing to show off the cutie mark on her flank when the book she'd been hiding fell to the ground with a thump. Minty winced as the cover hit the floor and cast a quick glace at Twilight, but the librarian was nose deep in her reading and didn't notice. Silently, Dovetail picked up the book in her magic and returned it to its place on the shelf.

“You were saying?” Dove pressed gently.

“Oh, yes, ah...” Minty shook her head to regain her train of thought, “well, like I said, I'm a painter. Most of what I do are land- and sky-scapes, but my favorite paintings are done on the insides of storms.”

Dovetail's eyes widened, “you paint inside storms? How do you do that and not get injured? Or at the very least, how do you paint in those conditions?”

Minty giggled, “it's not easy, let me tell you, but I have a unicorn friend who helps me out from time to time. He's the one who enchants my brushes, paints, and canvases so they aren't as affected by wind and rain. As for not hurting myself, I'm just lucky, I guess.” There was a short pause before Minty added, “what about you? What's your talent?'

“I'm a carpenter,” Dovetail beamed. “I have a shop on the other side of the market and I make all kinds of things- bookshelves, chairs, tables- but I don't just make furniture.” Her horn lit up with magic as she opened the other side of her saddlebags. From the depths of the canvas bag, she pulled a small block of wood up in her magic. “My real talent is carving,” Taking a deep breath, she quickly formed a small, thin blade of magic. With the ethereal knife Dove began to cut at the wood with tiny, precise strokes. The tiny carving slowly fills her vision as she concentrates on making each cut perfect, even one small deviation could ruin the piece.

So intent was she on her carving that the tan mare didn't notice that she was drawing a larger audience than just Minty. Both Striker and Blazer had come to investigate what was going on when her horn had lit up with magic and now all three ponies were mesmerized by the intensity of her concentration. After several minutes, the carving was complete and with a gentle breath of air to remove the last of the wood shavings and dust, Dove revealed what she had created. What had been a shapeless block of wood moments ago was now a delicate rose, barely three inches tall from the tip of the stem to the tallest petal. As she turned the rose to let them all see, the light from outside touched the gently curving petals giving the rose a warm and happy glow that made it look alive.

“Oh wow...” Striker murmured, breaking the stunned silence, “you're so good at that, Dove!”

Dovetail blushed deeply and dropped her eyes to look at her hooves, “Thank you. It's something that I've been practicing a lot... I love the outdoors and I thought that maybe I could use my talent to make something beautiful, like the flowers that Roseluck and her sisters grow.” The flower floats between the four ponies a moment longer. Glancing at the other three ponies, Dove offers the rose to Minty, but the other mare shakes her head to decline the gift. Surprised, and more than a little miffed, she lets the rose drift slightly until it stops in front of Striker.

The armored stallion blinks at the rose in front of him, “wait... are you giving it to me?”

Dove turns and blushes, “Well... um, y-yeeee... ah... I mean...” there was a long pause that ended in a nearly imperceptible, “yes.”

Striker grinned and carefully cradled the rose in his hoof as he wrapped a wing around Dove in a pegasus hug. “That's so awesome, Dove! Thanks!” He grins down at her, “you're such a great friend!”

Blazer grinned at Minty, leaning over to whisper, “yeah, they're perfect for each other.”

Minty giggled and nodded her silent agreement as Dove tried to hide her embarrassment behind her still too short mane. “You're welcome,” the unicorn murmured in the same quiet voice, leaning against his warm side. She closed her eyes, enjoying his closeness for a brief moment, before her shyness took over and she hurriedly stepped out from under his wing, stammering, “um... ah... I just remembered... I have to go home and do a... thing... bye! It was nice meeting you all!”

Almost faster than the others could follow, Dovetail hightailed it from the library. Minty shook her head and sighed, “that mare is so shy!”

Striker, on the other hoof, looked surprised, “I wonder what she had to go do?”

Minty rolled her eyes and not so gently punched him in the shoulder, “Go after her, idiot.” She muttered, “offer to walk her home!”

Striker gave her a confused look before his eyes widened in understanding, “hey why'd you ki-OH!”Hurrying after the mare, he pushed the door open and called after her, “Hey Dove, wait up!” The unicorn mare, already several pony-lengths away from the library, turned around in surprise, her face regaining it's warm red undertones as she recognized Cloudstriker. Catching up to her quickly in a few hurried strides, he grinned, “I thought I could tag along with your or something... Since you gave me the awesome gift. Maybe I can walk you home?” He paused, a goofy grin crossing his face, “That way if any griffons show up I can show you what the R.E.A is made of!”

Dove blinked a moment before smiling, “Oh... well, of course you can! I mean... if you don't mind... well, I supposed if you did mind you wouldn't have offered... then...” she glanced down at her hooves before adding quietly, “Um... I was going to my workshop... i-is that okay with you?”

“If that's where you make more awesome stuff like this,” he gestures to the rose that he had carefully wedged into the top of his breastplate, “then I'm in!”

As the two started walking down the streets of Ponyville, Dove opened conversation, “The workshop is... where I work, obviously...” She blushed slightly, “The workshop was owned by the master carpenter who taught me my craft- Hardnail- and when he decided to move away from Ponyville, he left the place to me.”

“He trusted you a lot to leave such a place in your hooves,” Striker said, more astute than usual.

“Hardnail was like a second father to me,” Dove admitted, “since my family lives...” she paused for a long moment, “far away...”

The pair walked in silence for a bit before Dovetail stopped in front of a one story building that looked nearly identical to the others on the street, except there were a lot more wood chips and scraps covering the yard than the others, “Well, here we are...” The mare smiled weakly. “Hardnail had once tried to think of a name for it, but decided it didn't need one. So it's just The Workshop.” She lead the way up the narrow walk between the road and the door and was about to open it when a young, gray pegasus mare dropped from the sky almost on top of them.

“Oops! Sorry!” her voice was bouncy and light as she giggled awkwardly, hovering a moment before alighting on the grass next to Dove. She looked up and smiled at Dove, her golden wall-eyed gaze still taking the unicorn by surprise, even though she'd known Ditzy Doo for years now. “I have a letter for you, Miss Dovetail. The stallion at the post office said it was really important I get it to you, so I flew right here!”

“Thank you very much, Miss Doo,” Dove smiled back at the gray mare who used her wing to pull a sealed envelope from her saddlebags. Handing it over, she smiled and gave a quick salute before jumping back into the air.

“See you later, Miss Dovetail!” She said as she circled once over the Workshop before flying away to continue her deliveries.

Dovetail shook her head with a chuckle before using her magic to levitate the letter in front of her. Striker's eyes were on the sky as he watched Ditzy Doo fly away, “What's up with her?” he asked.

“Who? Ditzy?” Dove smiled warmly, “she's Ponyville's mail mare. Lovely young thing, she's just a little awkward sometimes, but she does try. Smart as a tack, Ditzy just can't always see straight.”

“Ah, which is why she almost landed on us,” Striker nodded.

“Right,” Dove agreed as she carefully tore the top of the envelope off to reveal the letter inside. Unfolding the paper, she tucked the envelope into her saddlebags so she wasn't littering on her lawn. Her eyes skimmed over the first few lines quickly, before she stopped.

Striker had no idea what the contents of the letter were, but he could tell from the way Dove's expression fell dramatically that none of it was good. After he watched her read and reread the letter, he spoke quietly, “What's wrong, Dove?”

The mare shook her head a moment as her eyes filled with tears that she quickly dashed away with a hoof, “I- I'm sorry, Striker. I'm not going to... be able to show you the Workshop today... I... I have to go home...”

“Well, I can at least walk you there, right? So you aren't alone?” Cloudstriker's eyes were wide with worry as he watched the mare try not to cry in front of him.

“No... no, not to my home here in Ponyville,” she said quietly, “I have to go home.”

The pegasus looked confused a moment as she started to walk back to the road, “wait Dove! Like away from here? All by yourself?”

The mare stopped short, her hoof suspended over the road as she turned to face Striker again, “I... I have to. There's... something bad has happened and they need me.”

“Well...” Striker ruffled his wings as he stepped up next to her, “you're not going alone!”

“But... I haven't even told you where I have to go! You don't even know who I am!” Dovetail protested.

He raised a hoof and smiled slightly, “None of that matters. I can't possibly let you go on a journey like this all by yourself.” Striker placed a hoof on Dove shoulder and added, “it'd be my honor to accompany you.” Movement beyond the mare caught Striker's attention. Minty and Blazer were walking together on their way across town. Striker grinned and added, “hey! Maybe Blazer and Minty would like to come along, too!” Without waiting for her response, which would have been negative, Striker waved furiously to catch the other ponies' attention.

Blazer noticed and pointed to the pair standing outside Dove's workshop before walking over, Minty a half step behind him. “Hey you two. What's up?”

Dove shrank back slightly, she was in no mood to talk to more ponies at the moment, the predicament of her family fresh and painful in her mind. Instead it was Striker who spoke up, “Dove and I are going on a trip and were wondering if you wanted to join us.”

Minty and Blazer shared a quick glance, “well... would you really want us along? If it's just the two of you...” Blazer asked slowly.

“But it'd be so much more fun with more ponies along,” Striker said, oblivious to Blazer's insinuation. “Come on!”

“If you really want us along...” Minty said slowly, glancing at Dove, she stepped up to the other mare and asked, “what's wrong? Did something happen?”

Striker's wing extended comfortingly over the unicorn as she nodded slowly, “yes... something did... My family... I have to go.” She paused to take a steadying breath and used the moment to show both ponies before her the letter she'd received, “I haven't really spoken to my family recently, but I got this letter from them just now... They aren't from around here.”

Blazer turned his head slightly, “Where are you from?”

A small smile touched Dove's lips as she answered, “it's pretty obvious if you look at my colors. Unicorns, well ponies of all kinds, are much more colorful here in Ponyville, Canterlot, Trottingham... My family is from Hoofswell in the far north.” There was a small pause again as Dove collected her thoughts, “but I moved here with my older brother some time ago. After a while, he decided to go back home, but I couldn't leave. I love it here... and now...” her eyes began to fill with tears again, a pair of crystalline drops sliding slowy down her cheeks, “and now... my brother and father... they're gone...”

“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Minty asked, her eyes worried.

The unicorn shook her head slowly, “They're just... gone. Nopony knows what happened. They were just gone one morning. But they didn't just leave. They wouldn't.” She insisted.

“So you're going back to Hoofswell?” Blazer's voice was quiet.

Dovetail nodded, “I have to. My mother can't handle this on her own... she needs me.”

“Well then we have to go with you, Dove!” Striker said, using his wing to pull Dove against his side, holding her tightly.

“Of course! There's no reason you have to travel all the way to Hoofswell on your own!” Minty chimed in, “I'll come too!”

Blazer nodded firmly, “You need support just as much as your mother does in this. I'm in.”

Dove looked at each of the three ponies before her with shock. She'd only just met them today and yet they were all willing to put down their lives to help her. Tears began to fill her eyes again, but this time they were tears of happiness, “You'd.... you'd all do that? You'd go with me?”

Striker grinned down at her, “We just said we would, didn't we?”

A small smile pulled at the corners of Dove's mouth as she chuckled through the tears, “of course you did. I just... I can't believe you would do that for me.” She nodded firmly, but after a moment she sighed, “I don't know why they're missing... or where they could be... I have no idea what we could be trying to do.”

Minty extended a hoof and tapped Dove on the shoulder comfortingly, “we have a long trip to think about that. Let's worry about getting you home first.”

Again Dove nodded, “you're right. Thank you...” turning to the two stallions she added, “thank you all.”

Striker glanced at the sky, the sun was just cresting its zenith, “it's too late to leave today if we want to cover any serious ground.” He said, “I suggest we take the rest of today to prepare and wrap up business. We'll meet back here tomorrow morning.”

“How about the library instead?” Dove offered. “It's easier to find than my little shop. And I don't want anyone getting left behind... since you were all so eager to help me.”

Minty nodded, “The library it is, then!”
> Is this what you call a Random Encounter?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning, the warm Equestrian sun cast a gentle glow across the country, obliviously unaware of the tension that was gripping Dovetail as she rechecked, repacked, and stressed over the contents of her saddlebags. “I just can't forget anything,” she mumbled to herself as she glanced around her small home for the hundredth time since the day before. Seeing a large map of Equestria pinned to her wall, she quickly pulled it down with her magic, rolled it up, and stuffed it haphazardly in amid the food and traveling supplies already filling the bags. Finally convinced that she was not forgetting a thing, Dove tail levitated the bags over her flank and left her house, remembering to lock the door securely behind her, “who knows when- or if- I'll see this place again...” she murmured sadly to herself.

Stepping out onto the street, Dove walked at a slow, sedate pace, wanting to remember as much of the little town as she could. She waved to several ponies as she walked, all of whom waved back. They were friends, neighbors, and even strangers, but for once Dove didn't care about hiding carefully in the shadows, she wanted to remember everypony... and to be remembered by them.

It was almost too soon before she reached the Library tree and she wondered if she might have time to walk down to the park and back before she was missed by her friends, but as she approached, she saw Blazer standing out front. She could tell he had run all the way there by the way he was panting. With a sigh, Dove realized she wouldn't be able to put off the inevitable any longer. “Good morning, Blazer!” She called out with a smile.

The yellow stallion turned in surprise, a look of relief washing over his face as he slowly got his breath back, “Oh good! I'm not late! I slept through my alarm and...” he shook his head, “ah, never mind. It seems my fears were unfounded.”

“I wouldn't have left without you, Blazer,” Dovetail reassured him, “even if you were late.” Pushing open the door into the library, Dove was happy to see both Cloudstriker and Minty were already inside, both with saddlebags weighing them down. “Good morning Striker, Minty,” she said to get their attention.

Minty waved excitedly, “Morning Dove! Morning Blazer! You ready to go?”

Blazer and Dove both nodded, “Then I guess that's everything!” Striker grinned, his wings flaring away from his sides in anticipation of flight. “No reason to stay here any longer.”

“I agree,” Dove said, “the sooner we're on our way, the sooner we can get to Hoofswell, but first we need to work out a route there.” Using her magic, she pulled the now folded map of Equestria from her bags and laid it out on one of the tables. All four ponies gathered around as Dove placed a hoof at the lower right quadrant of the map. “Here's where we are, Ponyville. And we're going up to Hoofswell here,” she used her magic to place a small green token on the opposite side of the map.” She took a moment to glance over the vague topography of the map before continuing, “The way the crow flies, the most direct route, takes us over the Canterlot Mountain Range as well as the neighboring Jagged Peaks. Not exactly the easiest route. Or the quickest,  considering we'd have to traverse the mountains.”

“I suggest we head north towards Germaneigh,” Striker said, using his wingtip to trace a path from Ponyville to the northern border. “It's a little longer than going through Canterlot, but it'll get us there the fastest.”

“But won't we have to traverse the Tambelon Forest?” Blazer asked, indicated the wide swath of green that dominated the no-pony-land between Equestria, Griffon Territory, and Germaneigh, “it'd be really dangerous. Maybe we should just stay in Equestria all together, take a southern route around the mountains. It'd take a while, but at least we'd all get there in one piece.”

“Ah, Blazer, where's your sense of adventure?” Minty teased, giving the stallion a nudge with her shoulder and a smile, “but in all seriousness, we can't just think about comfort here. If Dove's family is in trouble, we need to focus on speed- even if it is more dangerous.”

“As loathe as I am to deviate from a safe path,” Dove said quietly, “Minty's right. Speed is a priority...” She looked up at Striker, “you said you're stationed up north? So you know the area fairly well.”

Striker nodded, “I'm familiar with the land between Fort Colting and the Tambelon Forest, after that...” he paused, “well, let's just hope we don't lose the map.”

There was silence in the group for a long moment before Dove spoke again, “We're taking the northern route. There are only rumors about Tambelon, and so long as we're careful to cross it during the day we should have no problems.” She glanced around the table, but when no pony argued she nodded, “alright then.” Gathering up the map and stowing it away in her pack, she resettled the bags on her flanks before turning towards the door.

The four ponies exited the library and began walking towards the edge of town in silence, but the quiet lasted for only a short while as none of them wished to be alone with their thoughts. Striker immediately took to the air, flying in low arcs around the group, keeping a careful eye out ahead of them. Equestrian roads weren't known for their danger, at least not the inner most roads, but the closer their group traveled towards the boarders, the more likely they were to encounter unforeseen circumstances. Something the military pony was all too familiar with. He glanced down at the other pegasus traveling with him and his brow furrowed slightly. On a day like today, any pegasus worth their wings would want to be up in the sky. He called down to the mare, “hey Minty! Not flying today?”

The green pegasus looked up at him in surprise, “Uh...” she smiled, but it looked forced, “not right now, Striker. I... strained my wing flying to the library this morning. I think I'm earth-bound for the moment.”

“Are you going to be okay?” He asked, his voice taking on a worried tone.

“Oh yeah,” Minty waved him off with her hoof, “trust me, all it needs is a little rest and then I'll be good as new. Nothing to worry about, I promise.”

“If you're sure,” he called, taking a moment to flip backwards a couple times as he reveled in the warm sun and cool breeze. “It's too bad, though, weather's perfect for flying!”

Dove stepped back from leading the group to walk next to Minty, “are you sure there's nothing we can do for your wing, Minty?”

The pegasus mare shook her head, “nothing except rest it. A good morning's walk should take care of it.” She smiled, “thanks for your concern, though Dove.”

The other mare smiled slightly, “oh, no problem.”

Again silence overtook the group until Blazer spoke up about a mile farther down the road. He was quiet and hesitant as he asked, “Dove... if you don't mind my asking... could you tell us about your family?” Dove didn't answer immediately and a new, much more awkward silence stretched between the traveling ponies.

Blazer was about to open his mouth and retract the question when Dovetail sighed, “I suppose I should, shouldn't I?” She took a deep breath before beginning her explanation, “my family is... or was extremely close. My parents owned a small shop in Hoofswell selling furniture, carpentry was their talent as well. They wanted my brother and me to help as we got older... but we wanted to leave.” Striker landed quietly, wanting to hear what Dove had to say more than he wanted to enjoy the spring sun on his wings.

Dove smiled as she watched him and the others move a little closer to hear her better, but soon her gaze turned towards he horizon and her eyes glazed over as she searched her mind for the few fragmented memories of her family. “We wanted to leave Hoofswell, try our luck elsewhere in Equestria, see more of the world... So... we left, but not on very good terms with our parents, unfortunately.

“We moved around a lot that year, trying to settle in several different towns, including Canterlot for a time, but there wasn't a place for us anywhere. We finally decided to try Manehatten, but we had no money so we ended up in Ponyville, homeless and penniless.” Dove's head drooped slightly and she sighed, “Some adventurous ponies we turned out to be...”

Minty stepped up and tried to offer some words of comfort, “at least you had each other, right?”

Dove nodded, “yes... I suppose you're right. Anyway, we had to beg for a place to sleep for several nights while we both tried to find work. Thank Celestia for the kindness and generosity of the ponies in that town... No other place we visited had the heart that Ponyville does. Which is why I had to stay... no matter what. Hardnail, the Master Carpenter who taught me my craft, found us on the fourth day. He offered both my brother and me jobs working for him- fixing odds and ends, building, and whatever other things he needed help with- and it was great... for a time.”

Striker moved to place his wing over Dovetail as she took a moment to gather herself. The unicorn smiled as she felt the warmth of Striker's wing rest over her back and while it did make her feel a little too warm, she wasn't about to shake him off, “but then... my brother started to change.” She continued, this time much slower and more deliberately. “He began to get angry easily, snapping at me and our friends at the slightest provocation. One night, I finally confronted him about it, but instead of explaining his attitude, he simply said he was leaving and that I should come with him.”

Dovetail shook her head slowly, “I couldn't believe, after all we'd been through, that he just wanted to get up and leave again. I asked him if he was going to Manehatten like we'd talked about previously, but he said no. He was returning home to Hoofswell.”

“But you didn't want to leave...” Blazer murmured quietly, but Dovetail shook her head vehemently.

“No, it wasn't just that I didn't want to- I couldn't leave. Ponyville... it was, it is, my home now. I love it more than I loved anyplace before, even Hoofswell with my parents. And Hammer... my brother... he just didn't understand.” Glancing up at the sky, she closed her eyes as tears began to prick at the corners. “Or care... He left the next day without another word to me or Hardnail or anypony else. Not even a note explaining why he disappeared.”

“Dove, we're going to find him...” Striker murmured as he pulled her closer with his wing, “and then you can find out why he left.”

Dovetail was silent for a long moment before she sighed deeply, “Striker... I'm not sure I even want to know why he left... he was so unhappy... so angry at everything... but now that I'm going back...”her words petered off into silence and she shook her head, “never mind.”

“What is it?” Minty asked, her concern evident in both her eyes and voice.

“No, please... it's just complicated.” The other mare murmured, ending the conversation in its tracks.

Striker tried to smile and though it was forced, he said excitedly, “let's not worry about things like that right now. We're on an adventure! There's going to be all kinds of interesting things to see, but we're going to miss them all if we're moping and looking at our hooves all day!” Just then his stomach growled and broke the awkward tension in the group. He grinned again, and this time it was much more genuine “but first... Lunch!”

The four ponies stepped off the beaten track and onto a field. All around them for many miles were grasslands, but flanking them to the west were the tall, foreboding mountains of the Canterlot Range. As she pulled a blanket from her saddlebags, Dovetail glanced at the mountains, her brows furrowing into a frown. They'd have to cross them eventually, Hoofswell lay just beyond the northern most portion of the Canterlot Range, known by the locals as the Jagged Peaks. Just like their name would suggest, the Jagged Peaks were dangerous to cross, even in the best of conditions. Most ponies would only dare travel through the Shivering Pass, the only way in or out of Hoofswell.

“What are you thinking about now?” Striker's voice was so close to her that it made Dove jump.

She gasped, “Striker! Please don't sneak up on me like that!”

The pegasus gave her an odd look, but shrugged, “sorry, but you were just standing there with your blanket. Seemed to me like you'd forgotten about the rest of us.”

The mare blushed as she quickly used her magic to drape the cloth over the grass to let her friends sit, “no, I'm sorry. I just got distracted is all.” She sat down quickly as everypony reached into their packs for food.

After taking a large bite from an apple, Striker said, “mmm, since we're heading north, we're going to pass close to my base on the way to Colting Pass.”

“Really?” Dove perked up slightly as she turned to Striker, her magic deftly slicing the pear she held into wedges even after her attention shifted.

“Yep!” Striker smiled, “we'll have to go through Redtail Woods first, but it's a pretty small forest. Then we'll be heading through the Pass. After that it shouldn't take more than a day, maybe a day and a half to reach the Tambelon Forest by hoof.”

“Will we have to sleep in the pass?” Blazer asked, his ears laying back against his head.

“I doubt it,” Striker said, shaking his head, “unless we seriously pick up the pace, we won't even see the pass before night fall, but it's alright. The plains are safe enough to sleep in, so long as we're careful.”

“So... there are bandits?” Minty asked, her wings laid out flat along the grass as she looked up at the sky. She held half of an apple in her hoof, eating it lazily as she watched the clouds float by overhead.

“Not here,” Striker sat up just a little straighter, “me and my buddies up at the Fort keep the area very safe. But there are wild critters- Timber Wolves and the occasional Manticore. We'll just make sure to have a look out and we'll be fine.” He added with a reassuring smile to Blazer who looked rather unnerved by the idea of being stalked in the night.

Flipping back over, Minty stretched her wings towards the sky. Dropping them quickly towards the ground, she thrust herself up into the sky a few pony lengths where she hovered, enjoying the midday sun on her back. She circled slowly around the picnic blanket for a few moments, content and completely forgetting that her wing had been aching until minutes before. Until Striker sat up and grinned, “Awesome! Your wing's feeling better then? How about a race, Minty?”

Dropping to the ground, her wings frozen mid-stroke, Minty coughed slightly, “Um... well, yeah, my wing's feeling a little better... but I don't think I can race...” She stretched her right wing out fully and winced, pulling it back against her side. “Yeah, racing is definitely out... Sorry, Striker.”

The white pegasus's face fell, “oh... well, alright. That's too bad. You'll have to tell me when you're really feeling better, then we can race! Okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Minty mumbled halfheartedly, her hoof scuffing against the grass as she held her wings close to her sides.

Dovetail gave the other mare a worried look, but didn't say anything. Instead, she stood up, “If everypony's done eating, I think we should keep going.”

Blazer stood up with a quiet groan, “I could stand to stay here a little longer, but we do need to keep going.” With everypony off the blanket, Dovetail grabbed the cloth in her magic, folding it carefully before replacing it in her very full looking bag. The earth pony gave the satchel across her flank a curious glance. “Dove? How on earth can you fit that blanket in there? Isn't your bag already full?”

The unicorn blinked, “No, it's really not.” Glancing back at the stallion she cocked her head to one side, “why do you ask?”

“Uh...” Blazer was taken aback by her reply and caught off guard, “Well... because it looks full!”

Again the mare blinked in surprise before she realized what he was talking about, “Oh! Of course you don't know- my saddlebags are enchanted. They might look full, but they have room for just about anything I want to put in them.”

“That's really cool!” Striker grinned, “What kind of other cool stuff do you have in there, Dove?”

The mare blushed, “not a whole lot, mostly just food and money. Blankets if it gets too cold. Stuff like that.”

“Awesome, you really came prepared,” Striker glanced at his own bags, “I feel like I'm forgetting things now!”

“I'm sure you brought everything you thought we'd need,” Dove said quietly, her face turning another shade of red as she ducked her head in embarrassment.

Striker just shrugged and jumped into the air, “we need to get moving! We should try to get to the Pass before night fall. I don't think we will, but the closer we can get, the better.”

With that the four ponies stepped back onto the road which meandered east and west by turns, but moved predominately north. Of all the ponies, Striker was the most determined to enjoy the rest of the warm spring day. As the other three ponies plodded along the path, the white pegasus flew recklessly above them. Turning loops and speeding high into the air only to stall and fall hundreds of feet before catching himself bare feet before he would otherwise crash to earth. “Yeah!” He cried out as he flew low to the ground at high speed, his belly brushing the tips of the grass. His voice grew loud and then quickly faded away as he passed by his friends in an instant.

Striker enjoyed flying so much, he couldn't imagine not being able to, for any reason. But thinking about not flying reminded him of Minty. The young pegasus was walking slowly in front of Dove and Blazer, who were now talking quietly together. Landing next to the mare, he put a wing over her back to get her attention, “Hey... so what's up with your wing anyway? I don't think I've ever seen a pegasus so hesitant to fly before.”

Minty jumped slightly as she was jerked from her thoughts by the other pegasus, “Oh... it's just... uh... just a sprain, ya know?” She turned a smiled weakly at him, “it's probably not that bad, but I don't want to take chances. Just in case... right?”

He looked at her for a long moment with a blank expression on his face. She smiled again, or tried to, but it looked like a grimace. The stallion sighed, “But... don't you want to feel the wind whistling through your feathers and mane? I've had worse injuries and been up in the air way before I was supposed to...”

The green mare ducked out from under his wing, cutting off the other pony, “I just don't want to make it worse than it is. I'll be fine, okay?” Her words came out sharper than she meant and she could see the hurt in Striker's eyes. Minty sighed, turning away from him slightly, “I'm sorry, it's just that we're out in the middle of nowhere and are going to be for a while. I don't want to slow you guys down just because I messed up my wing, or worse, trying to fly too fast.”

Watching her for a moment, Striker stepped back up to her, his voice quiet and serious, “Okay, Minty, you don't look find to me, but if you don't want to talk about it now, that's okay. I'll be here if you ever want to talk about this. Okay?” She nodded slowly in response and he smiled, “alright. Don't dwell on this stuff, it won't do you any good.” Spreading his wings, the stallion lifted back up into the sky.

As she watched him fly off again, Minty rolled her eyes, No one ever just... leaves well enough alone.

Minutes turn into hours as the small party made their way towards the low mountains rising from the grasslands before them. The Drackenridge Mountains were hardly the largest or tallest range in the region, but it was well known as one of the more dangerous for climbers because of the dragons that loved to roost in the high crags and rocky outcroppings. Usually the flying creatures would leave ponies alone, but they were very territorial and didn't like intruders at all. Only the Pass was perfectly safe to travel through, and only because Princess Celestia was a well-spoken diplomat.

Eventually the sun began to set in the west, signaling the end of a very long day. All the ponies were showing signs of wear as they began to camp for the night, the exception being Striker, who looked almost more chipper than he had been that morning. The white pegasus dropped back to the ground as Dovetail called for everypony to stop, “We should rest here for the night.”

“Good idea,” Striker agreed, his hooves digging small furrows into the soft earth as he skidded to a halt. “I can see the entrance to the Pass not too far from here. We made better time than I thought.” Turning to Blazer he said, “can you go gather wood for the fire?”

“Won't fire attract animals?” Blazer asked, his ears laying back against his head.

“Actually it's the opposite,” Dove said with a smile, “most animals avoid fire.”

“Oh... okay,” Blazer looked relieved and quickly galloped back towards the woods they'd just left to find twigs and branches. While he was gone, Striker painstakingly dug out a fire pit, lining it with stones. The younger earth pony returned and, with the soldier's help, they were able to build a passable fire.

“Alright,” Striker grinned, turning his attention to his saddlebags, “now where'd I put those matches?” Dove smiled slyly and as her horn ignited with magic, so to did the branches in the pit. Instantly they burned brightly with playful red and orange flames. “Thanks for the light,” Striker said before he glanced up to see the fire burning merrily. His mouth dropped open in surprise, but he quickly grinned, “that's awesome, Dove! You're pretty useful to have around.”

The mare blushed as she settled down next to the fire. “It's just a simple thing, any unicorn could do it,” she murmured quietly.

“Doesn't make it any less useful,” Striker insisted as he settled down across the fire from her.

“I know you said animals won't investigate our fire, but what about other ponies?” Blazer asked.

“Nah,” Striker waved his hoof dismissively. “Like I said, we're totally safe around here. Fort Colting isn't far away from here. Maybe three miles north west.”

Minty settled quietly near the fire, her eyes watching the flames dance as her ears barely registered the conversation around her. Dove glanced at the other mare before turning back towards the stallions, “Didn't you say we should have a night guard?” She asked Striker.

“Well, I don't think we need one here,” Striker shrugged, “but if you'd like, I can stay up a little later and keep watch. I'm not really tired.” Standing up again, he stretched his wings, “Maybe I'll even do a quick perimeter check, if that'll make you feel safer.”

“Sounds good,” Blazer yawned, resting his head on his hooves as his eyes drooped. The long walk had exhausted the young stallion and as darkness settled across their camp, he found it harder and harder to resist sleep. Striker nodded and lifted off into the twilight sky, quickly disappearing into the distance as he began to circle the camp.

Silence descended upon the small group as everypony began to drift to sleep. Everything was quiet for several minutes until the sound of wingbeats filled the air around them. Jerked from their dozing, all three ponies sat up with a start.

“What's going on?” Blazer mumbled as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. “Is it Striker?”

Dove's eyes flew open and she glanced towards the sky where the sound was coming from, “It sounds like more than one pony...” The words were barely out of her mouth before three fully-armored stallions came into view. They landed in the middle of the camp, facing the three groggy ponies.

“What are you doing out here? State your business,” the stallion who spoke had red and gold accents to his otherwise plain silver armor. He glared at each of the ponies in turn before turning his attention to Blazer, “Well?”

The yellow stallion shrank back slightly, “W-we're just travelers, sir.” He spoke loud enough to be heard, but his voice shook ever so slightly.

“Really? And where exactly are you 'just traveling' to?” The stallion narrowed his eyes, “answer me!”

“Whoa, whoa!” Blazer stood up, “We're just passing through! We're heading to Hoofswell!”

“Hoofswell?” The armored stallion raised his eyebrows high enough they almost disappeared under his helmet. “That's a load of pony feathers. No pony travels this way to reach Hoofswell. Now, where are you really going?”

“Hey!” Minty shook her head to brush off the last vestiges of sleep, “we're telling the truth! And who are you to interrogate us?”

A second stallion turned towards Minty, his eyes narrowing, “we're from Fort Colting, miss. Or don't you recognize the royal insignia?” He turned so he could show off the crest emblazoned on his brestplate.

Minty's ears laid flat against her head, “I recognize the armor just fine, sir, I just don't always trust ponies who wear it when they attack in the middle of the night!”

“Hey! Calm down!” A voice from overhead stalled any further argument between the soldier and Minty. Striker dove towards the ground and landed just outside the circle of ponies, “Everypony hold your horses!” He said glancing at the group.

The stallion with red and gold on his armor stepped up to Striker, “And what are you doing out here, Sergeant?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, “Aren't you supposed to be back at base?”

Saluting the stallion quickly, Striker said, “I'm escorting Dovetail, Minty, and Blazer through the area, Sir. We're making a trip north to find Dovetail's missing relatives.”

Dove stepped forward then and nodded, though her knees shook slightly, “I-it's true, sir. W-what he says is... is true.” Her voice faded quickly as the armored stallion turned his attention towards her.

The stallion narrowed his eyes, “Likely story... very well, we'll leave you to go your way, but,” he turned back to Striker, “your Captain will hear about this, Sergeant Cloudstriker.” All three stallions lifted off into the night, leaving the small camp in the same abrupt fashion as they had arrived.

Striker watched them go and sighed, turning back to his friends, “I'm sorry. I should have been here sooner... I didn't see them until it was too late. It would have been much simpler if I'd been here when they showed up.”

“It's okay, Striker,” Minty said, sinking back to the ground as her legs refused to hold her upright any longer.

The stallion shook his head, but settled down next to the fire, tucking his head under his wing as he curled up to sleep. Following suit, the other ponies allowed themselves to fall asleep as well, hoping that there would be no more rude awakenings before morning.

~~~

Midday sun was streaming through the windows of the Workshop, creating a warm glow in the room full of newly sanded wood. Small shavings still floated in the air as a pair of ponies sat at a table pushed up against the wall. The table and the pair of chairs on either side were the only finished pieces of furniture in the room. Dovetail sat down across from her mentor, Hardnail, as he brought their lunches from the back room. The morning had been busy and Dove was grateful for the break. She wiped a hoof across her brow to keep sweat from dripping into her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak to Hardnail, but when she looked back at him, his face had changed.

Instead of the gruff yet compassionate face of her mentor and friend, the stallion facing her looked older, more haggard. Though she could tell that if he smiled a little more and worried a little less, he would look much younger. She watched him silently for a moment, wracking her brain for who this stallion might be. When it finally clicked, her eyes widened, “Dad?” she asked. The word was barely out of her mouth when the front door of the Workshop- no not the Workshop anymore. Along with her mentor, the building around her had shifted as well. The warm and familiar walls of her Workshop in Ponyville had be replaced with an unfamiliar entryway. The hall was long and lead deep into what had to be a much larger mansion, but Dove had no time to look around the room as a dozen soldiers in unfamiliar armor filed into the entryway and began roughing up the place.

They tore pictures from the walls and porcelain figures from shelves. Dove watched open mouthed as her father turned and yelled something at the soldiers, but she didn't hear what he said. Her eyes were pulled from the soldiers as they moved deeper into the mansion back towards the front door. Silhouetted against the midday sky was a large stallion, his wings spread so that the tips brushed the frame as he walked through the door. His gaze moved lazily from one side of the entry way to the other until his gaze caught Dovetail's.

His expression, unconcerned and disinterested before, was suddenly hungry and full of desire. He moved towards her slowly, impossibly slowly as the world around them seemed to move faster and faster. Dove's eyes grew wide and she felt herself grow ever smaller as the stallion moved towards her. She felt smaller than a kitten as his hoof reached out towards her, but before she could feel his cold hoof against her chest....

...Dovetail awoke in a cold sweat, her mouth hanging open as she panted, her eyes wide as she glanced around her. No walls, no summer sun, no dark stallion with purple eyes. She shuddered, those eyes. Where had she seen them before? In her dream? No, they were too vivid in her memory to be just a dream.

As she slowly calmed down, the details of her dream became fuzzy and less distinct, but the fear of those purple eyes stayed. Each and every time she closed her eyes, Dove felt a shiver run up her spine as those eyes stared at her from the depths of her subconscious. Looking up at the sky, the moon was barely cresting its zenith and the sky around was fully dark. Still the middle of the night, she thought with a sigh as she shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position. Turning around, she moved closer to the mare sleeping next to her. Dove didn't notice just how close she was getting to Minty until her hindquarters bumped against the mare's back.

Jerking away and hoping she didn't wake her friend, Dove turned over and tried to force herself back to sleep, but she felt Minty roll over against her, extending her wing to cover the unicorn. Dove thought about moving away, slipping out from under her wing, but as she closed her eyes instead, she felt the violet eyes fade away until they disappeared entirely in the dark fog of her mind. With a sigh of relief, Dove moved just a little closer to the sleeping mare before falling into a deep, blissfully dreamless sleep.
> Splitting the party is a bad idea, right?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning dawned bright and early, and Minty was up with the sun as is common of pegasi. When she shifted, she realized she'd placed her wing across Dove sometime in the night, though she couldn't exactly remember when. Feeling embarrassed, she pulled her wings tight against her sides as she quickly stood up and moved towards the dying fire. It had lasted through most of the night, but now all that remained of the blaze were a few warm coals. Deciding not to stoke the fire, Minty instead turned towards her saddlebags for a quick bite to eat.

“Don't bother,” Dove said with a smile as she sat up, having been woken up by the cool air rushing over her when Minty had retracted her wing, “I brought pineapple for everypony to share today.” Reaching into her bag with her magic, she pulled out two wonderfully ripe pineapples. Forming her signature carving knife, she began to deftly cut off the spiky skin of the fruit before cutting it into thick slices. She handed the first few slices to Minty who took them eagerly.

“Mmmmm, it's so good,” she sighed, licking some of the golden juice from her hooves before accepting a second slice. “Is all the fruit from Ponyville this amazing? First apples, now pineapples!”

Dovetail chuckled, “I don't know about all the fruit, but I've never had any bad food since moving into Ponyville.”

“I might have to convince my sister to move down to Ponyville after this is all done,” Minty said, brushing her hoof along her mouth.

“You have a sister?” Dove asked, sitting next to the other mare as she finished slicing the first pineapple, setting what they weren't eating on a wooden plate.

“Two, actually,” Minty nodded, “one older, one younger. I'm living with my older sister, Aurora. She's an aspiring singer and she does pretty well for herself... but she's a little flaky and can't hold a bill-paying job to save her life. She keeps insisting that it's because she's going to make the 'big time' soon and she doesn't want to be 'tied down' when that happens.” the mare chuckled, “which is why I'm living with her at the moment. I may not like it, but weather patrol pays.”

“And what about your younger sister?” Dove asked, interested.

“Skylark? She's still just a filly.” Minty smiled, “still hasn't found her cutie mark yet, but I think she's close. She's been doing artistic flying with some of the other fillies at school and she seems to enjoy it a lot. If that did end up being her talent, it'd make our dad happy.”

“Your father doesn't approve of what you and Aurora do?”

“Oh no, I didn't mean that,” Minty shook her head, “no, no, he's perfectly fine with what Aurora and I are doing... er... most of it, at least. Anyway, my father's an athlete. He always wanted a son to follow in his footsteps and be an amazing athlete like him, but he's never not been proud of us fillies.” She smiled, “he just wanted somepony to take up his line of work. If Skylark takes on competitive acrobatics, it'll be like a dream come true.”

“I see,” Dove smiled, “was your mother an artist then? Is that where you got your talent?”

“My mother is a pianist,” Minty explained, “she's done a lot of different things throughout her life, but I don't know if she ever dabbled in visual mediums.”

Blazer yawned and stretched loudly, interrupting the mares' conversation as he woke up. “'Morning ladies,” he yawned, rubbing his eyes with a hoof.

“Morning Blazer,” the two mares said together, Dove adding, “sleep well?”

“Mmmm,” the stallion murmured indecisively, “I'll tell you when I wake up a bit more.” Turning around, he grabbed his saddlebags and started rummaging inside for the apples he'd brought with him.

Dove gestures to the plate of pineapple slices in front of her, “if you'd like some, I brought enough for everypony.” She said with a smile.

Blazer glanced up, “Oh... n-no thanks. I have... uh... allergies?” He ducked his head back into his bags, pulling out a bright red apple in his teeth.

The mare's ears drooped, “Oh... well... alright then...”

Blazer blushed slightly as he quickly set the apple down, “I... I mean... I'd probably eat the whole thing if you let me have some...”

“That's okay. I brought two,” She points to the second, whole pineapple sitting next to her saddlebags where she'd left it.

Across the small campsite, Striker was still sleeping. He rolled over onto his back, his hind legs kicking up into the air as if he were fighting off an enemy in his sleep. He muttered something none of the other ponies could hear before rolling onto his other side and snoring loudly.

Minty giggled, “think I should wake him up?”

Dove shook her head, “only if you want to, I think he deserves his sleep.”

“He probably slept better than the rest of us,” Minty said, rising to her hooves, “He can wake up with us.” Moving around the dampened fire pit, she poked him with a hoof, “Hey sleepy head, wake up! Dove has breakfast.” She had to jump back a half step as the large pegasus rolled back over towards her.

“Mmmm... you wanted me to do... what Princess?” He murmured drowsily, his eyes fluttering slightly as he continued to doze.

“Dove... Has... Breakfast...” Minty persisted, her hoof poking his stomach at each word. “Wake... Up!”

Striker's eyes blinked open and he stared up at the green mare blankly, “huh?”

“We're having breakfast. You want any or are you going to sleep all morning?”

At the mention of food, Striker stood bolt upright, his eyes wide and awake, “Food? I'm there!” He said excitedly. Minty pointed with her hoof to where Dove was sitting with the pineapple and before she could say another word, Striker had lifted into the air and flown the short distance between himself and the unicorn. With barely a “good morning” passing his lips, he began to wolf down slices of pineapple two at a time. “Oh! This is so good!” He exclaimed.

Dovetail giggled, her cheeks tuning a pale shade of rose as she quickly began to cut up the other pineapple with her magic, refilling the plate not nearly fast enough for Striker, but it gave him time to talk between bites. “Careful,” she said with a smile, “eat too fast and you'll make yourself sick.”

“Not this stallion!” Striker said proudly, tapping his chest firmly with a hoof. “I could eat like this all day, every day and I'd never get sick!”

“Hey leave a little for the rest of us,” Minty said, walking back around the fire pit to grab a slice from Dove's magic before it hit the plate. “Dove brought it to share, ya know.”

Striker had the decency to blush slightly, “Sorry Minty. I thought you'd had your share.”

“It's okay, Striker,” Minty grinned, “I'm just giving you a hard time.”

“What about you, Blazer?” Striker asked, turning to the other stallion who was eating his third apple. “Did you want any pineapple?”

“Eh.. no, you can have my share, Striker.” Blazer smiled slightly before turning his attention to the east where the sun was beginning to rise over the mountains. “Wow, I've never seen a sunrise like this before. The tall buildings in Manehatten always block it.”

“You were from Manehatten?” Minty asked, sitting down next to the stallion, her last slice of pineapple finished.

“Mmmhmmm...” Blazer smiled. “Born and raised.”

“That's pretty cool.” Minty smiled, “Did you like it there?”

“I suppose,” Blazer shrugged, taking another bite of his apple, “I mean, a lot of my friends lived there... and there was also... her...” His eyes became distant as he stared at the sunrise, “but I think I like country life better.” He admitted with a small shake of his head. “Much slower. Less stuff to worry about.”

“Yeah, country life can be a lot slower than city life,” Minty agreed, “some might call it more boring too.”

“I don't,” Blazer said, “well... maybe a little, but boring isn't bad. I'll be honest, I didn't initially want to leave Manehatten, but my parents all but forced me out of my house. Didn't want to keep buying my groceries, I guess...” he tried to laugh, but it was forced, “I moved to Ponyville about a week ago, after getting some “starting bits” from my parents, and... here I am!”

“Do you ever plan to go back to Manehatten?” Minty asked.

It was an innocent question, but Blazer's back tensed and his eyes hardened before he replied, “No... I never want to go back...” He paused and shook his head, “I-I mean, not that I hate my family or anything... it's just... it's personal.”

Minty nodded slightly, her voice quieting to a whisper, “Is it... because of...” she paused, not wanting to hurt her friend by asking, but her curiosity was stronger, “her?”

Blazer's eyes narrowed and his nodded slowly, “You could say that.” Standing up, he turned away from Minty, “but that was a long time ago and I'd rather not talk about it.”

“Alright,” Minty said quietly. She smiled, “Well... I'm glad you're here.”

Blazer turned back and smiled, too, his face relaxing again, “So am I.”

“Hey Dove!” Striker voice echoed strangely and all three ponies turned to see what he was doing. The stallion had stuck his head into Dove's enchanted bag and was rummaging around inside, “how much stuff can you fit in these things? They're huge!”

“Well, as much stuff as I need them to, Striker,” Dove said quickly, standing up and moving over to him, “they're enchanted remember?”

“Enchanted, huh? Yeah! You said that, didn't you?” He moved a little farther into the bag, his voice becoming more distant as he did so, “you must be really good at magic then! Fire, carving, and enchanting! You're amazing!”

“Actually,” Dove blushed, “I didn't enchant these bags. Twilight did it for me. She's the one who's really talented at magic.”

“Huh, well, doesn't make you any less amazing,” Striker said. Now he had his head and two front hooves inside the bag. “It seems like this place goes on forever!”

“I don't think you should go any farther,” Dove said apprehensively, reaching a hoof out to stop him, “You don't want to fall in there.”

Striker pulled his head out from the bag and grinned, “What are you worried about? I just think it's really cool!”

“Cool or not, we really should get going,” Blazer said, “if we want to make it through the pass before noon.”

“Well, when you're right, you're right,” Striker grinned, pulling his hooves from the bag. Dove gave a sigh of relief as she stepped back away from him before picking up the bags in her magic and settling them across her flanks. “Well then, let's goooooo!” Striker shouted as he lifted off into the early morning sky, the sun shimmering gold and red off his brilliant silver armor.

The three ponies below followed quickly on hoof as the energetic stallion continued his aerobatics show from the previous day. Flying high and swooping low, he whooped and hollered uproariously. As they reached the shadow of the Drackenridge Mountains, his shouts began to echo off the cliffs making it sound as if there was a second, slightly less excitable, Striker hiding amid the crags.

As they reached the entrance to the Pass, Striker landed with one final whoop. Shaking out his feathers he grinned at Blazer. The yellow stallion was walking a few paces behind the mares and his head was drooping slightly as he gazed at the dirt tack. “Hey, Blazer! How are you holding up?”

The dark maned stallion's head jerked up, “Oh, just a bit tired.” He smiled weakly, “but it's the morning. It'll pass. You?”

“I'm great!” Striker grinned, “a good early morning flight is exactly what the ol' wings need!” He glanced back at the girls who were slowly ascending into the Pass. “So... what's up with those two? Minty seems like an awesome pony, but Dove...” He paused, shifting slightly on his hooves.

“What about her?” Blazer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well... she's just so shy, you know? But she's good at what she does.” He indicated the wooden rose he still had tucked into his armor. “I just... I don't get it.”

Blazer rolled his eyes and tossed his mane, “Mares are all like that. You think you know everything about them, but there are always more mysteries.” He shook his head, If I have to keep talking about mares I'm never going to forget about her...

“Huh, well that's true, I guess.” Striker agreed.

“Have you at least picked up on Dove?” Blazer asked, taking steps to follow the mares up into the Pass, the conversation having driven all fearful thoughts about traversing the mountains from his thoughts.

“Picked up... what?” The other stallion followed, a blank look on his face.

Only sheer will kept Blazer's front hoof from slamming painfully into his forehead, “I mean... you know...” Striker only shook his head, the same blank look on his face. “Ugh... Why do you think she's always blushing around you?”

This time Striker shrugged, “because she's shy?”

“No! Because she likes you!” Blazer sighed heavily, grateful that the mares were out of earshot.

“What? Really?” Striker's eyes widened and, as he glanced up at the tan mare walking a distance ahead of him, he blushed. “How do you know?”

“She told me yesterday when you were talking with Minty.” Blazer confessed, “I was going to wait until she talked with you first, but since she's shy and you're clueless...” he sighed, “I figured you had a right to know.”

“Well... ah...” Striker stammered, searching for something to say.

“You like her don'tcha?” Blazer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well... I mean... that's to say she's a really nice mare and... I just...” He paused and took a breath, “what would I even say to a mare like her? She's so shy!”

Blazer smiled and put a hoof on his friend's shoulder, “just tell her. Tell her how you feel.” He sighed, his expression changing slightly for a moment to something melancholy before he shook his head and smiled again. “If she likes you, she'll respond well.”

“I guess you're right...” Striker said slowly. “Maybe.... maybe I'll talk to her later.”

From up ahead, Minty hollered, “Hey! Are you guys going to just meander around all day or are we going to get through this pass?”

“Sorry!” Blazer shouted back, picking up the pace to close the gap. The mares waited for both stallions to catch up before moving on again, not giving them much time to catch their breath. “Hey... hey Minty,” Blazer said, panting slightly as he fell into step with the green mare. “How's your wing doing today? Any better?”

Minty gently extends her wing and smiles, “yeah, I think it's doing better.”

“That's good to hear,” Dove smiled at her friend and Striker nodded his agreement as well, but his thoughts were clearly elsewhere as he watched the unicorn mare closely.

The group soon reached the highest point of the pass, the rocky path leading down to a narrow plain below before running straight into the Tambelon Forest. Dove swallowed hard, “I... I didn't think we'd reach the forest so soon...” she murmured.

“That's the Tambelon Forest?” Minty asked, her voice quiet, “it looks a lot like the Everfree Forest back home.”

Striker nodded as he started down the lee side of the slope, “yeah, almost exactly the same. It's just yet another forest ponies don't have control over. But for different reasons, if legends are to be believed.”

Blazer glanced at Minty with an eyebrow raised in confusion, “Everfree... I've heard that name before. Where is it?”

“It's the forest just outside Ponyville,” Dove said, following after Striker carefully. “It's... not exactly a friendly forest.”

The yellow stallion swallowed, “yeah... I was afraid you'd say something like that...” He glanced at Striker, “are there a lot of dangerous creatures living here as well?”

“Possibly,” The white pegasus shrugged, “truth be told, I've never been inside to see. Just irregular fly-overs to make sure nothing's amiss.”

“I... I see...”

The four ponies walked down the sloped pass in silence, focusing on keeping their footing on the uneven ground. It was the only thing to keep their minds off traveling through the dangerous, uncharted Tambelon Forest. But all too soon, their hooves moved from rocky ground to soft grass and they were faced with the looming inevitability of traversing the woods.

“Seems like we made better time than I thought,” Striker said quietly, even he was feeling intimidated by the enormity of the woods.

Dove glanced up at the sky. The sun had barely reached its zenith. It was far too early to call it a day, even though she desperately wanted to.

Maybe I shouldn't have been so eager to get going this morning, Blazer thought to himself as he stared into the forest. He couldn't see very far, maybe a hundred feet, before the woods began to blur together in the darkness.

Minty tapped her hoof on the ground, not out of impatience, but because she was nervous as well. She didn't relish the idea of walking through the woods, but the thought of flying over was just as terrifying. Caught between a rock and a hard place, she thought bleakly.

“We should keep moving,” Striker said firmly, drawing attention back to himself as he stretched his wings slowly. “If we spend too much time here, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to get through and it'll be safer once we're on the other side of the forest.”

“W-what makes you say that?” Blazer asked, half curious, half terrified of the answer.

“We've got the mountains to our backs, Blazer,” the other stallion answered, “there are magical creatures that live there, too. I'd rather not have a dragon and a manticore fighting over who gets first bite.”

Blazer swallowed, “y-yeah... that doesn't sound... ah... pleasant.” Both mares agreed with silent nods.

“So, are we ready to tackle this forest everypony?” Striker grinned his infectious and courageous grin.

“Y-yeah.” Blazer grinned back, trying to look more confident than he felt.

Dovetail smiled at Striker, her cheeks flushing slightly as he turned his grin on her and winked. “Striker's right. We need to get going before the sun goes down. We really don't want to be caught in the forest after dark.” She glanced between Striker and Minty before saying, “maybe you two should fly ahead, over the forest? You could scout anything dangerous and wait for us on the other side.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Striker said, turning to Minty. “What do you think?”

“Um...” Minty glanced up at the trees. “I- I guess?”

“Alright then! Come on Minty!” Striker leaped up and flew quickly over the trees and out of sight.

“W-wait!” Minty stammered, “what if one of us flew ahead and the other flew over. We have two pegasi here. We could do that...”

“I don't think we should let one pony fly all alone, even Striker,” Blazer said. “We're pretty far from any cities here, we don't want anypony lost or hurt.”

“Blazer's right, Minty.” Dove agreed. “Don't worry about us, just keep Striker out of trouble, okay?”

Minty smiled weakly, “I'll do my best. You two stay out of trouble, too, okay?”

“Okay,” Dove smiled, hoping she looked braver than she felt as the young pegasus lifted off and flew after Striker. Turning to Blazer she nodded towards the woods, “well, we better not fall behind.”

“Y-yeah...”

As the pair walk determinedly into the forest, the sunlight streams down through the branches, lighting the way before them well for a time, but as they move farther and farther into the trees, the sunlight grows dimmer. Less and less sunlight makes its way through the dense canopy above until the only light around them is eerie, green, and dim, lighting only a few feet around them in any direction. Both glanced around each other, constantly wondering if there were Timber Wolves or Cockatrices watching them from the shadows. Dove shivered as a cool wind blew through the woods. She glanced back at Blazer, his eyes were wide as dinner plates as his gaze darted this way and that, never staying still.

“So... nice weather?” She said slowly, trying not to startle the panicked stallion with her conversation. Her voice echoed unnaturally in the dense woods, despite her low tone.

Blazer jumped slightly, but nodded, “yeah...” Their words echo around them, repeating their conversation hundreds of times as the sound bounces between the trees before eventually fading away into silence again.

“The... the Ruins of Tambelon should be up here soon,” Dove said even quieter than before and she was grateful that the eerie echoes did not pick up her words this time.

“R-ruins of Tambelon?” Blazer asked, a shudder passing through him as yet another gust of wind stirred the trees around them.

“Yes... do you know anything about them?” Dove asked, glancing back at her friend.

“N-not a thing,” he shook his head, “just the name creeps me out.”

“Some ponies think it's the remains of an ancient civilization that predates Nightmare Moon and even the Era of Discord,” Dovetail said. “Some even think there are still creatures living there... in the ruins.”

Blazer shuddered again, “that's creepy! Why are you bringing this up now?”

“Because... the fastest way through these woods is on the path that leads to, through, and beyond those ruins.”

“Is there no other way through?” Blazer asked weakly.

Dove shook her head, “not unless you want to be lost, wondering these woods for days.”

The stallion shuddered, “no, no thank you! I'll take creepy ruins over endless wandering any day.”

“I agree,” Dove said quietly as they pushed through the last bushes protecting the path they were on from the open clearing beyond.

Stepping into the ruins, it was impossible to tell the size of the clearing. Crumbling towers and shattered homes were scattered haphazardly across the enormous space. The sun shone down again on the pair of ponies, but for once, it didn't feel warm. In fact, it now seemed colder than when they had been walking through the woods. Dove's shoulders shook as she lead the way down the most defined stone walkway  that seemed to lead directly through the ruins. Blazer glances around at the buildings, jumping in his skin each time he hears a noise.

“This place is creepy,” he whispered, almost too quietly to be heard.

Dove nodded in agreement and both ponies remained silent after that, feeling as though their very presence was stirring up old bones that should not be disturbed. They had just reached the center of the ruins when both ponies felt a chill run up their spine. Different from before, they suddenly felt like there were dozens of eyes watching them from the crumbling homes. Dove glances back at Blazer nodding for him to keep up as she broke into a quick canter, “we- we just need... to stay calm...” she murmured to herself as they moved faster through the ruins.

Dove was rounding a corner when the building to her left began to crumble before her eyes, large segments of the upper floors fell crashing to the ground, lifting clouds of dust and rock into the air around them. Startled and fearful of what might have caused such a collapse, Dovetail lost all pretense of staying calm and shouted back at Blazer, “RUN!”

~~~

Striker was flying lazily above the forest, a blanket of green stretching out for miles in every direction. Above him, the sky was brilliantly blue and free of clouds. He sighed happily as he flipped over onto his back, letting the warm air carrying him along for a moment. He looked back and smiled as he watched Minty hurrying to catch up, “Good to see you finally up in the air! Doesn't it feel great?” He asked with a grin, righting himself and slowing down to fly next to her.

“Y-yeah it does...” Minty smiled slightly, but it wasn't the ecstatic and relaxed response he had been expecting.

Unwilling to let his good mood be affected by her indifference, Striker pulling his wings in slightly and rolled several times to his right, letting out a yell of delight, “Ah yeeeeeeaaaah!”

As Minty watched him move effortlessly from the rolls into a vertical climb, she sighed enviously. He was completely at home in the sky, never fearing what might happen if his wings would fail him, because his never would. She wished she could have that same effortless belief, but with each wing beat, she could feel the age-old ache in her bones, and old reminder that she'd never be able to fly like other pegasi.

The stallion dove back down towards Minty, flaring his wings at the last moment before banking slightly to come up next to her again, “Come on, Minty!” He grinned, “Have a little fun while we're up here! We don't have much longer before we reach the edge of the forest. Let's see what you've got!”

She wanted desperately to say, “yes! Show me a trick, I want to learn!” but as she opened her mouth, her right wing twinged and she grimaced instead. “No... I don't think that'd be a good idea.”

“Aww, come on! Just do a barrel roll! It's easy. Like this,” Striker rolled once to his right before rolling back towards the other pegasus. “Just... Live a little Minty! Just one! Pleaseeeeeee! You'll be fine!”

Minty blushed as she shook her head, “Striker... I... I can't. I never learned.”

His mouth opened and shut several times as he tried to comprehend what she just said, “You... never learned how to roll in the air?” He finally managed.

She shook her head, “nope.”

“Well, would you like to?” Striker asked. “I mean... I'm not much of a flight instructor, but it's pretty easy,” he grinned, “and so much fun! You should try at least. Every pegasus should know how to have fun in the air.”
Minty nodded, but as she did so, her gaze caught the trees below. Her face blanched and she shook her head, lifting it so that the open sky filled her view, “I'll fall,” she said quietly.

Striker flew a little closer to her, “No you won't. I promise. You're an awesome flier. Besides, we're way up in the air, if you do start to fall, I'll catch you.”

“Promise?” she asked, her eyes wide and pleading.

“Promise,” Striker agreed with a firm nod. “On my honor as a REA flyboy!”

A small smile began to cross her face, “o-okay then...” she took a breath and shifted her wings the way she'd watched other pegasi do hundreds of times in the past. It was so quick, she almost missed it- as soon as her wings shifted, her body rolled through the air, flipping around rapidly until she was upright again. With a laugh, she glanced over at Striker, “I... I did it! I really did it!”

The other pegasus beamed at her, “see? I knew you could do it!” He flew over to her and smiled, “wasn't that fun?”

She nodded, eyes wide with excitement, “can you show me another move?”

Striker laughed, “oh no! What have I unleashed? It seems we have a daredevil mare here!” He winked, “okay, try this one!” He took one heavy stroke of his wings and threw himself up into the air, curing his back and flipping around in a backwards loop-de-loop.

Minty nodded, a fire in her eyes as he came back up next to her, “alright! Lemmie give it a shot.” As she shoved her wings down to get more height, she felt the same twinge in her right wing as before, oh no you don't! She thought angrily, pushing herself higher and farther into the trick. She felt herself cresting the top of the loop when she glanced down at the tree tops. Suddenly, she felt her mind go blank. Her wings locked in place and immediately the air that had been keeping her aloft began to slide between her feathers. She dropped like a rock towards the ground.

“Minty!” Striker cried out as he dove towards her, “I'm coming Minty! Hang on!”

She couldn't hear him, even if the wind hadn't been rushing passed her ears. She was locked in a memory, a terrifying and painful memory. All she could do was close her eyes and wait for the moment replayed infinitely in her mind to be replayed in reality once again. But instead of hitting the hard, unforgiving wood of trees and branches, she felt herself slam heavily into steel. “Owww...” she moaned quietly as the air was pushed forcefully from her lungs. She glanced up and saw Striker's large green eyes watching her intently, full of worry and fear.

“Are you okay? What happened up there?”

Minty opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a quiet sob, “oh Striker...” she murmured, “I'm so sorry...”

“No no...” Striker shook his head quickly, “no you did nothing wrong. Don't apologize. Just please... what happened? It looked like you just kinda... locked up.”

Minty shivered as she righted herself on his back, “I... I just... I got scared...” she said quietly, “the... the trees... the ground...” she shuddered.

“It's okay now, just breathe,” his voice was quiet and soothing. “We're reaching the edge of the forest now. We'll land and then we can talk, okay?”

The young mare just nodded silently, as she watched the forest thinning below her. It happened again... I knew it was only a matter of time...

Striker landed heavily, not used to carrying the weight of an extra pony on his back. I'm just glad we didn't have to fly much farther, he thought to himself. Don't know if I would have made it. Glancing back at Minty again, he wasn't surprised to see she'd jumped off his back and was standing facing away from him. “Minty...” he said quietly. “What happened?”

“I... I told you... I got scared...” she said, still facing away.

“That's not what I mean.” Striker stepped over to her, “what happened to make you freeze up like that. I've seen pegasi balk at a reverse flip before, but never so much that they plummet. Talk to me, Minty, please.”

Minty sighed and glanced at the forest, “W-when I was a filly... not even old enough to get my cutie mark, I was dared by some of my... 'friends'... to stand out on the wisps.”

“The wisps?” Striker asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It's what we call the outer most layer of clouds in pegasi cities,” Minty explained. “It's where everything is too loose and unstable to build. A lot of the wisps are too loose to walk on, too. That's... that's why I fell. I went out too far, to prove I wasn't scared, and... one moment I was standing on firm clouds, easily able to hold the weight of a filly, then next I was falling. I barely remember taking that step, but I must have.

“I fell so far... so fast, I couldn't get my wings out to slow my fall. I thought that if I could open one, it'd slow me enough to lessen the pressure on the other and I'd be fine.”

“But doing that...” Striker's eyes widened.

“Yes,” Minty nodded, “it sent me into a tight spiral. I might have been able to catch myself before that, but after entering that spiral... I couldn't tell up from down, left from right, and by the time I hit the trees...” she shook her head. “with my right wing out, it broke almost instantly. It did do one thing for me, though, I was moving slow enough that I didn't die from the impact. I fell to the ground wing broken, scared, and in the middle of the Everfree.”

“How'd you get home?” he asked quietly.

“I was found by a strange Zebra who lives in those woods. I don't remember her name, but she was a herbalist. She splinted my wing and gave me a tonic to lessen the pain. My parents came and found me a few hours later. After that... everything's a blur. I remember being in the hospital in Ponyville- my parents thought it better that I see a unicorn doctor rather than a pegasus because of the state of my wing. They were probably right. A lot of ponies told me that I was lucky that I can use it at all.” The mare shrugged, “the rest is history, I guess.”

They were silent for a moment before Striker said, “you did awesome up there. And you looked like you were having a lot of fun. You've just gotta get back up in the air and try again because I know you can!” He smiled down at her, but Minty shook her head.

“I... I don't think I can...”

“You did that barrel roll in one try! It took me five to get it right in training camp. And my drill instructor never caught me,” he grinned. “I know you can do more if you just try.”

“Maybe...” Minty said quietly to her hooves, “but no promises... okay?”

Striker laid down with a sigh, “that's fine, but I really think you should try sometime... not now, of course. I need a break, not used to flying for two.” Minty chuckled quietly, joining him on the soft earth. He was quiet a moment before glancing back at her, “Hey Minty...?”

“Hmmm?”

“Don't you think they should have made it here by now? No... it's been too long, they definitely should have been here by now.” He stood up and shook his wings out. “I'm going to go look for them.”

“B-but Blazer said we shouldn't split up!” Minty tried to get to her hooves, but Striker put a hoof on her shoulder.

“No, you're staying here. You look like you need the rest.”

“But you're the one who just said you're not used to flying for two!” Minty argued. “I can fly just fine! I just won't do any fancy tricks!”

“Stay here, Minty. That's an order,” Striker's eyes narrowed. “I'm fine. Besides, I need somepony to stay here in case they come out of the woods before I find them.”

Minty glared at the other pony a moment, the words “I'm not one of your soldiers” on her lips, but she sighed as her knees decided she was better off on the ground, “fine... just be careful... okay?”

“That I can do,” Striker smiled before dashing off into the forest.

~~~

“Dovetail! Wait!” Blazer hollered after the frightened mare. “Keep to the path!”

But Dove couldn't hear him over the sound her own panting. Eyes wide in panic, she ran recklessly down the streets, trying desperately to escape the hundreds of eyes watching her. Ahead of her, the street she was on ended just short of the woods, but she didn't notice. She plunged headlong into the woods, not caring as branches and leaves scratched at her coat.

Blazer followed her as far as the woods, glancing behind him as shadows began to shift ominously at the edges of buildings. He hesitated only a moment more before diving into the woods after Dove. He didn't have to try very hard to follow her trail, she was breaking her way through all the underbrush in her path, only swerving to avoid the largest trees.

With each step, she felt herself growing tired. Plowing through underbrush wasn't something the petite unicorn was used to doing and it was quickly taking its toll on her. Taking a moment to breathe, she stopped next to a large tree, leaning on it as she fought to catch her breath. In the distance, somewhere behind her, she could hear Blazer calling, “Dovetail! Dovetail! Where'd you go?”

Hanging her head, she felt regret well up inside her, why did I do that? You're so stupid, Dovetail! After a moment of panic, she took a breath and forced it down, “After... this I'm not going to be able to find my way out on my own... I just have to hope somepony can find me.” Focusing her magic, she sent a bright green beacon up through the canopy and into the sky beyond. “Please, please Celestia... let somepony have seen that.”

Minutes, or what she thought were minutes, passed slowly and after a while, Dove became worried that no one had seen her signal. “Maybe I should try again,” she muttered to herself, trying to gather the energy to light up another beacon, but as she did so, the magical light given off by her horn glinted off a mental helm and armor. With a gasp, her magic went dark.
> There are somethings you'd rather just forget
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“No... no!” Dove cried out, her eyes wide and fearful as she tried to dash around the tree, but in her haste, her hooves caught on the roots and she sprawled out on the ground. Flipping over, she gasped, “Not again! No!”

The figure before her pulls back slightly before leaning in and reaching a hoof out towards her, “Dove! It's just me!”

“No! Get away from me!” Dove pushed his hoof back as she scrambled back to her hooves, “I won't go!”

The figure stopped and stepped back away from the mare, his eyes sad, “Dove... it's just me... It's Cloudstriker.”

She stopped in her tracks, staring hard at the figure before her. Slowly the fear faded from her heart as she recognized the tall, white stallion. Her eyes began to tear up slightly as she gasped, “I... I'm sorry...”

Blazer burst through the foliage then, “Dove! Is everything alright?” He glanced between the two ponies, but saw there was not threat. Looking at Striker he asked, “What happened?”

“I don't know,” Striker said shrugging his shoulders heavily under his armor, “I just came through the trees and she freaked out.” He turned his attention to the shivering mare, “are you okay, Dove?”

She nodded quickly, her eyes darting from side to side as she shivered “I... I'm sorry I got... got lost like this...” she murmured.

“It's okay,” Blazer said with a small smile, “if it hadn't been you, it would've been me. Those ruins were scary.”

“And everything's okay now, Dove,” Striker added, “you sent up that signal flare I was able to find you, so no harm done.” He tucked his wings against his sides and added, “we should be going now, the edge of the woods isn't far and Minty's waiting for us there.”

He moved to extend his wing over Dove comfortingly, but as he did so, the mare hissed, “Don't touch me.”

Shocked and hurt, Striker stepped back and mumbled a quiet, “okay, sorry,” before silently leading the way out of the forest to where he'd left Minty.

Dovetail followed him, her horn igniting with green magic to cast a soft emerald glow in the darkening forest. Blazer watched for a moment, his brow knit in heavy concentration as the two ponies ahead of him moved deeper into the forest. What happened? The yellow stallion asked himself as his hooves lifted from the damp forest floor to carry him after his friends, why did Dove snap at Striker like that? It doesn't seem like her... Shaking his head, he picked up his pace until he was only a few steps behind the others. 

The trio broke through the tree line moments later as the sun began to redden along the western horizon. Minty jumped to her hooves, a grin on her face when she saw all three ponies safe and sound. “Oh good! When I saw the green flare go up, I was worried something went wrong...” she shook her head, “I'm just glad you're all okay!” Her gaze moved across her three friends and her smile wavered, “I...is something wrong?” Dove turned away slightly, her eyes damp from silent tears and Striker shrugged, a dejected look on his face. Minty turned to Blazer as he stepped around the other two. “Did something happen?”

Blazer shook his head, “something must have happened, but your guess is as good as mine.”

Walking over to Dovetail, Minty pressed her friend, “what happened out there Dove? What's wrong?”

The other mare turned to her friend, her eyes bright with tears, “I... I ran away... into the forest.” her voice was nearly silent, and Minty had to strain her ears to hear. About to ask for more details, the green mare was cut off as Dove buried her muzzle into her mane, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

“Hey, it's okay...” Minty murmured, running a hoof through Dove's short hair and down her back comfortingly, “we all get scared sometimes...” She paused a moment as Dove's uncontrolled sobs calmed down slightly, “so you ran off into the forest...?”

Dove nodded, not taking her muzzle from the other mare's shoulder, “A...an Striker...” she sobbed again, slowly trying to collect herself, “Striker f-found me... and...” This time she began crying again and any other explanation she might have offered was drowned in her tears and sobs.

“Shh...” Minty patted her gently again, “It's okay Dove. Everything's okay.” I just wonder what happened, the mare thought, casting Striker an inquisitive glance. But she doesn't seem to be able to talk about it right now.

“Look, Minty,” Striker didn't move any closer to the two mares, but he raised his voice so they could hear him, “I just found her after she sent off that magical flare and... and she freaked out when I came through the trees... I'm still not sure why...” He turned away and sighed, “I'm going to go get fire wood.” Lifting off into the air, he flew back into the woods.

Dove lifted away from Minty, her eyes following after Striker. She opened her mouth to call after him, but he was gone before she could get the words out. Sighing, she turned and sat down on the ground, her head resting on her hooves.

Minty glanced at Blazer who shrugged and said, “I'll build the fire pit then and... maybe run a quick perimeter check. Just to be safe.”

“Good idea, Blazer,” Minty agreed. She waited until he was farther away before sitting next to Dove. Taking a breath, she sighed, “Dove... will you talk to me? What happened?”

The mare didn't look up from her hooves, “I... I just got startled... that's all.”

Minty's brow furrowed and her mouth pressed into a line, “Dove, you didn't just “get startled”. Striker's never been that standoffish before- it's like he's wary of you! Please... I want to help you.”

“It's not something I can talk about, Minty...” Dove said quietly.

“Fine,” Minty sighed, “I won't make you talk about it if... if you really don't want to, but can you talk to Striker when he comes back? You should at least apologize to him for whatever happened between you.”

“I... I can do that.” Dove nodded, her head barely leaving her hooves.

The green mare stood up and with a final glance at the other mare, she moved to help Blazer finish the fire pit. Striker emerged from the forest a few minutes later. He glanced at where Dove was sitting, but instead of smiling, he turned away abruptly before dropping the kindling he'd gathered into the finished pit, “good job,” he muttered quietly as he quickly assembled the twigs and dried leaves into a tent shape. “Anypony got a match?” He asked, glancing between Blazer and Minty.

“Dove could...” Blazer started, but he closed his mouth as Striker shook his head.

“Match. Please.” Minty walked over to his saddlebags where he'd left them before taking off into the woods before. Opening them up, she rummaged around until she found a small book of paper matches. She tossed them to the stallion who immediately started up a small blaze.

She walked back over to the white pegasus, wondering if she should hug him or punch him for being an idiot. She eventually settled on leaning against him and whispering, “Go talk to her.”

He shook his head, “I don't think...”

“Go talk to her,” the mare said again, more insistently. “There's no reason you two should be fighting like this.”

Striker sighed, “I don't think she wants to talk, Minty. She made it pretty clear before that she didn't want anything to do with me.”

“I talked to her after you left,” Minty said curtly, “just... please. Go talk to her.”

His eyes narrowed and he grunted angrily under his breath, “You think that just because I helped you fix your problem, you can just fix mine?”

“That's NOT what I'm doing,”Minty said angrily. “Dove asked me to tell you to talk to her, so would you get your head out of your flank and talk to her?”

Striker blinked. “Well... if that's the case...” his voice trailed off and he sighed, “sorry... I was being a jerk.”

“You kind of were,” Minty rolled her eyes, “but I'll let it pass. Something happened in those woods and I'm not sure what. But if we're going to keep traveling together, you're going to have to talk things over and patch things up.” The stallion nodded his agreement before walking over to the tan mare. He sat next to her and they began talking in low tones so the other two ponies couldn't hear. Blazer, who had been tending the fire silently, looked up at Minty as she turned around, “He's so Celestia damned stubborn,” she muttered under her breath with a shake of her head. She spread her wings open to the warmth of the fire, the cool evening air beginning to creep up on them as the sun finally touched the edge of the horizon.

Blazer nodded, laying down on the soft grass, careful to brush the ground under him free of sharp pebbles before settling in. “They both can be...” he was quiet a moment before adding, “I think there's more going on than we see. With Dove, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Minty nodded, glancing over her shoulder at the other ponies. She smiled when she saw them talking and laughing together.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the four ponies gathered around their warm fire and settled in for a quiet night.

~~~

The moon began to set slowly as night turned towards morning. Dovetail was roused from her sound sleep by a cold wind blowing across her back. Rolling over, her eyes opened slowly to see the fire burning low. Sitting up, she yawned quietly, glancing over at her three sleeping friends. I should probably get more firewood before anypony else gets cold, she thought, rising to her hooves. About to turn towards the forest, Blazer lifted his head from his hooves, his eyes blinking slowly.

“Where you going, Dove?” he asked quietly, careful not to wake anypony else.

“Just going to get more wood for the fire. I shouldn't be long.” She smiled warmly, “just go back to sleep, okay?”

“Y-you're going back into the forest?” He asked, his eyes widening slightly, “are you sure that's safe?”

“I'll be fine,” Dove said confidently, “don't worry.”

Minty groaned softly and rolled over, her eyes fluttering open, “mmm... Blazer's right, Dove... you shouldn't go into the forest alone.”

“I'm sorry!” Dove murmured, “did we wake you?”

“Not really,” Minty shook her head.

“What about Striker? Will he wake up, too?” The tan mare glanced over at the white stallion snoring loudly on the other side of the dying fire.

“I doubt it,” Blazer said with a shake of his head, “that stallion sleeps like a rock.”

Dove watched the fire sputter again and she hurried towards the forest, “I'll be back in a minute! I won't leave sight of the camp, promise!”

Neither Blazer or Minty had the faculties to chase after Dove, so they just let her go, a worried glance passing between the two ponies. They waited in near silence for several minutes until a form began to emerge from the woods. Blaze stood up, the worried look he wore melting to one of relief as Dovetail came into view, a bundle of sicks magically tied to her back. She smiled as she stepped up to the fire pit, her magic carefully placing a few of the branches across the fire before igniting the bundle into a brand new, burning fire.

“I told you it wouldn't take too long,” she said with a smile.

Minty smiled, “you're right. We shouldn't have doubted you.”

Blazer nodded in agreement before laying back down on his back, staring up at the sky, “are there always so many stars in the sky? I never noticed before.”

“Yeah,” Dove nodded, “it's really pretty, isn't it?”

“Mmmm,” Blazer nodded, his eyes lazily scanning the heavens until they rested on a strange ring of stars. He lifted his hoof and pointed, “Do stars always do things like that? Make shapes in the sky like clouds?”

Minty stared up at the constellation Blazer was indicating, “sometimes. Princess Luna keeps the stars pretty much the same, so ponies can travel at night, but sometimes, for special occasions, she creates new constellations. Didn't you learn about that in school?”

Blazer shrugged, “if I did, I don't remember.”

“We called it Luna's Mane, where I'm from,” Dove said quietly. “ever shifting and ethereal, just like the Princess.” As Dove spoke, another form emerged from the woods.

“I told you I wouldn't be long,” a second Dove smiled as she approached the fire, but she stopped short when she realized that not only was there a fire burning merrily in the middle of the camp, there was a second mare, identical to herself, staring up at her with surprise.

Blazer smiled at the new mare, “Oh, hey, welcome back...Dove...tail...” His words trailed off as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “Minty! Get away from them!” The yellow stallion was up on his hooves in an instant, backing away from the fire and the two mares as his gaze darted between them. Minty flared her wings and rose into the air as she glanced between the two mares who watched each other with identical expressions of surprise and disbelief.

“Who are you?” The first Dovetail asked, her back to the fire as she gasped.

“I-I should be asking you that!” The sticks the second Dovetail had been carrying in her magic tumbled to the ground as she lost control of the spell in her distress.

“Striker!” Blazer cried, turning to the sleeping stallion, “Striker! Get up! Wake up!”

The white stallion rolled over, “what's going on?” His voice had a weird duality to it that wasn't explained until he sat up. Two identical Striker heads rose, their eyes blinking in eerie synchronization as they glanced around at the small camp.

“Two Strikers?” Minty cried from her vantage point in the sky, “what's going on?”

The Striker closer to the fire glanced around, “Two of me? What do you mean?” Turning around, he gasped, his wings flaring out in surprise, “what's going on?” He reached out with a hoof and poked his doppelganger.

The other Striker scooted back, “whoa! This is... this is weird. What's happening? Guys am I seeing things?”

“Not unless we're all seeing things,” Minty said. Turning to the Doves, she implored, “Do you know what's going on, Dove? Either of you?”

The second Dove turned to the other ponies in the camp, her eyes wide, “the... the original inhabitants of these woods...” She glanced at the pony identical and at the same time the pair murmured, “they were Changelings.”

One of the Striker's growled at the other, “What in the name of Equestria do you think you're doing? There's only one Cloudstriker! And that's me!” He lunged at the other pony, who jumped into the air to avoid the body blow.

“Sounds like something an impostor would say!” The flying Striker grinned down at the other.

“He's right,” Minty murmured, she glanced down at Blazer, “We need to figure out who are our friends and who aren't!”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Blazer asked, but his eyes widened and he added, “no! Wait! I have an idea!” Turning to the Dove closest to him, he asked, “What did I tell you earlier? About Striker?”

The Dove he stared intently at blushed slightly, glancing back at her doppelganger, “Ummm...”

Blazer took a few, shuffling steps forward as he added, “Whisper it in my ear, so no pony else can hear.”

Minty's eyes widened as she realized what Blazer was doing. Flying over to the Strikers, she flew between them, “Hey! What tricks did you teach me today?”

The grounded Striker grinned, “Well, answer her! If you can, you impostor!”

“So you can just steal my answer? No deal!” The second Striker glanced angrily between the two ponies as he pushed himself farther away with a quick wing beat.

Minty glanced between them again and sighed, I have to trust one of them. Landing carefully, she stepped up to the first Striker and said, “Whisper it in my ear, if you know the answer.”

Stepping up to the mare, Striker gave the other stallion a wild, confident grin, before leaning down and whispering, “First it was the barrel roll, and you performed that perfectly. And then you tried the backwards loop-de-loop, but you couldn't quite finish it.”

Minty grinned happily, throwing her hooves around Striker's neck as she cried, “Oh I knew it was you! I'm so glad!”

“Ah crap,” the changeling in the air grumbled.

“Watch out, Minty,” Striker glared up at the changeling who, after being discovered, had dropped the form of Striker and returned to his usual black, buggy appearance, his wings fluttering quickly in the night sky. “I have something to take care of...” he lifted into the air and sped towards the changeling with more speed and agility than his armored form should have. He barreled into the changeling, the pair rolling through the air and out of sight.

On the other side of the camp, Blazer was standing next to the first Dove, tears in her eyes, “D-don't you trust me, Blazer?”

The yellow pony's eyes were soft, but he shook his head, “I can't... unless you can answer the question.”

The second Dove, glanced between Blazer and the other mare, “Y-you said that... that I...”

“Oh! You know?” Blazer turned toward the other mare, his eyes wide with anticipation. 

Before she could finish, the first Dove sprint tackled the second and the pair tumbled towards the woods. Blazer raced to break them up, getting caught in the middle of their fight as he cried, “hold it! Wait!” But neither Dove stopped, or rather, the impostor Dove didn't let up. The three ponies fought tooth and hoof until one Dovetail was pinned down by two Blazers. “Oh no...” One Blazer hurriedly stepped off Dove, his eyes wide with shock.

Hearing the commotion behind her, she turned away from Striker's fight. Seeing two Blazer's instead of two Doves, she sighed, “oooh boy...”

The second Blazer stepped back and helped Dove to her hooves, “are you okay there?” but instead of being grateful, Dove stumbled back a half step, her eyes wide. Blazer sighed, stepping away from her, “I-I'm sorry...”

“What are you apologizing for, you damned fake!” The first Blazer's eyes were narrow with anger. “It's your fault she's beat up like that! You started it!”

“Something an impostor would say!” The second Blazer whirled on the first, “what makes you think you're the real me?”

The first Blazer grinned, “because I know things only the real me would know! I suck my hoof at night!”

There was dead silence in the field, other than the occasional distant thump and holler from wherever Striker and his changeling doppelganger were fighting. “Um...” Minty glanced between the two Blazers, her gaze resting on the first, “that's... not exactly definitive. You could be lying.”

“E-exactly!” The second Blazer blushed, “besides! That's totally not true! I never suck my hoof!”

“Well...” The first Blazer raised his eyebrow at Minty, “if that doesn't convince you that I am who I say I am, what will? What dirty little secret do I have to spill to convince you?”

The green mare closed her eyes in thought, “I don't...”

Dove spoke up then, cutting off her friend, “I know! Blazer, which ever of you is the real Blazer, come here and tell me what you told me before. The same thing you wanted me to tell you just now.”

The first Blazer's face fell and his eyes narrowed, “Um....”

“Yeah, you wouldn't know. Just give it up and we'll pretend like nothing happened.” The second Blazer grinned as he walked over to Dove. Leaning close, he whispered something to her. Dove smiled brilliantly and Blazer turned to his impostor, “That's it. You've lost.”

The changeling glowed a brilliant lime green as he reverted back to his usual form. “Ah crap... you guys were a lot smarter than the last band of travelers to pass through here.”

Blazer stepped forward, his eyes burning angrily, “Get lost!”

“We're just trying to survive!” The changeling shouted back, his back arcing like a cat's as he hissed.

“If it's food you needed, you could have just asked,” Dove said quietly.

The changeling shook his head, making a few clicking and chattering noises before explaining, “you don't get it. We're changelings. We feed on emotions.” He lifted his head and growled, “we were only going to replace you for a little while and then leave.”

“If that's all you need,” Blazer said, stepping forward, “feel free to feed on mine. I've got plenty of emotions I don't need.”

The changeling looked him over and smirked, “Yeah... I can sense them. You really should do something about them before they consume you.”

“You want them? Take them! They been torturing me ever since I left Manehatten!” Blazer cried out bitterly.

Out in the distance there was a startling thwump followed by a loud groan and a second thump before silence fell. As Dove, Minty, and Blazer all turned to see the source of the sounds, the changeling took off towards the woods. “Sorry... it doesn't work like that,” he called over his shoulder to Blazer.

The yellow stallion turned and started to run after the changeling, but Dovetail stopped him, wrapping her magic around him and holding him in place as the changeling faded into the woods, “Hey! Come back!” He cried out, but the changeling only chuckled from the darkness before disappearing completely.

“Blazer...” Dove's voice was quiet, but Blazer rounded angrily on her before stopping and sighing. Dove stepped over to him, releasing the stallion from her magic before wrapping him in a tight hug.

“Hey... E-easy!” Blazer gasped, straining to breathe as Dove squeezed him.

She held him a moment longer before stepping back with a smile, “If you ever want to talk about... what happened... We're your friends and we're here to listen.”

Blazer sighed, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof as he stared out into the woods, “A-another time...”

“I understand.” The two stood there for a moment before the green mare jumped with a gasp.

“Oh no! That must have been Striker!” Minty turned around as she tried to locate where the second fight had gone. “He might be hurt!”

Blazer paused a moment in his fruitless search of the woods before turning and looking at the mare, “you're right. We should go find him.”

Minty nodded and lifted off into the air. Hovering high above the ground she turned in a slow circle, trying to locate where Striker and the changeling were. Two forms were standing opposite each other a good distance away down the treeline. She pointed in their direction and said, “I think I see them! Over here!”

“We'll follow you, Minty!” Blazer called from below and the pegasus mare took off into the night. She flew fast, reaching the two combatants in moments. As she landed, she could tell both had taken a beating. Where Striker wasn't protected by armor, he had scuffs and scrapes and the changeling opposite him looked worse. “Are you alright?” The mare asked as she landed next to her larger friend.

“Y-yeah,” Striker gasped, not taking his eyes from the other stallion. “He was tougher than I thought...”

“You weren't the pansy I thought you'd be either,” the changeling grunted as he favored his right side. His wings- large blue and teal butterfly wings- were fluttering gently to his sides, but he didn't have the strength to even put them away as he panted for air.

“You're really hurt!” Minty gasped as the changeling flinched.

“It's nothing,” the changeling hissed as he turned towards the woods, but a yellow stallion stood in his way. “Oh boy...”

Blazer stood on the top of a rise, his saddlebags tossed hurriedly over his flanks. He galloped down the incline directly towards the changeling, “You!” He stopped just shy of barreling into the injured changeling, “your friend said you feed on the emotions of others!”

The changeling looked up and glowered, “yeah, that's what changelings do, but unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to feed tonight... so if you'll excuse me?” He started to limp back towards the woods when Blazer lashed out, knocking the other stallion down again and stomping down on his wing to keep him from running off.

“Hold it!”

“Blazer! What are you doing? You're hurting him!” Minty started towards her friend, but stopped in her tracks when he glared at her.

“Let. Me. Talk,” he hissed before turning back to the grounded changeling. “I need this, do you understand?”

The changeling grimaced, lying totally still, “okay! Okay! We're sorry! For the love of the Moon!”

Blazer sighed, “no, look. I'm offering you my emotions-”

“You sure have a strange way of offering...” the changeling grumbled.

“-but when I asked your friend about it, he said it didn't work that way.”

“Ugh,” the changeling clicked something under his breath, “He... he was half right. You can't give emotions, okay? They aren't like fruits...”

“You think this is a joke?!” Blazer growled.

“Yeah, I'm just dying of laughter down here,” the changeling winced as Blazer's hoof dug into his wing.

Minty stepped up and grabbed a hold of Blazer with a wing, “Hey, calm down, Blazer...”

“Get off me!” Blazer shook her off, his eyes boring into the changeling as they stared each other down. “Then tell me what does work!”

“Alright, that's enough,” Striker indicated for Minty to step back before he lunged forward, tacking Blazer to the ground and freeing the changeling. “You need to chill out.” He said to Blazer and then he turned to the changeling who was struggling to his feet, “and you are going to tell my friend what he wants to know.”

“What makes you think I'll cooperate now?” The changeling asked bitterly.

“I can always let him up,” Striker said as the other stallion struggled underneath him.

“Ugh... fair point.” The changeling paused before sighing, “look, the only way we can feed on emotions is if they're directed at us. Or, rather, the pony you feel it towards.”

Blazer stopped struggling and glanced up at the changeling, “Th-that's it?”

The changeling nodded as he flexed his injured wing and flinched, “yeah.”

“Striker... you can let me up now,” Blazer said meekly. The changeling shifted uncomfortably as the white stallion stepped of his friend, but Blazer just opened the saddlebag still miraculously attached to his flanks. Reaching inside he pulled out a photograph in a frame and set it down in front of the changeling. “Can you change into her?”

The changeling glanced between the photo and Blazer, “then you'll let me go?”

Blazer nodded guiltily, “yes.”

“Fine.” The changeling took a long look at the mare in the photo before he began to glow lime green. As the color slowly crawled up from his hooves towards his torso and head, he morphed into the figure of a lithe azure unicorn with a darker blue mane and tail. After a long moment, the changeling opened its eyes, revealing brilliant jade-green orbs.

The yellow stallion felt his knees go weak as he stared at the young mare, “D-Diadem?”

The mare smiled slightly and nodded, but didn't say anything.

Minty leaned into Striker and whispered, “I think I'm missing something here. I don't get it.”

“I think I understand,” Dovetail stepped up between Minty and Striker, a small, sad smile on her face as she watched Blazer begin to cry. “That mare, he called her Diadem... I believe she broke his heart back in Manehatten. She's probably the reason he left.”

The trio watched as Blazer quietly poured his heart out to the changeling for several minutes. The words he spoke were private and so quiet that it was impossible for his friends to hear him, even as close as they were. After he was done, the mare leaned in and whispered something back before walking off into the woods, the lime green light of changeling transformation glowing from the forest before everything went dark again until the soft light of dawn began to glow on the horizon.


Blazer stood looking into the distance for a moment before shaking his head and looking at Dove, “so... should we get going?”

Dove's gaze turned toward the horizon where the sun was just becoming visible, “I suppose we should.”