How Moonstruck Got Her Groove Back

Finite Sledgehammer

Disclaimer: Hasbro's toybox, I'm just playing in it.

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Chapter 13

Moonstruck spent the next few days puttering around the general vicinity of the castle, taking it easy for the most part. The pain in her wings gradually subsided, and she found she could cast more spells, though her head still hurt if she maintained any of them for more than a few minutes at a time. In the early evening she would sit out on the broken veranda and watch the memories play out, trying to glean as much information from the conversation as she could. She made it a point to sit in different places to see if her mother would look at her every time, but the apparition did not. She always looked to the place that Moonstruck and Joseph had stood in that first night. It was oddly comforting.

She took up taking short flights as the pain in her wings finally faded to a dull ache that seemed to effect her joints more than anything else. At first she merely attempted short glides (more accurately flutter lazily, since her undersized wings didn't actually allow her to glide properly), from tall boulders to the ground, then fluttered a bit less lazily to boulders a few hundred yards away. As her wings gradually recovered, she was surprised by how sore her muscles were. She had been grounded less than a week, but her pectorals complained as though they hadn't been used for a month or more, and simply flexing her wings seemed to take more effort.

It was perplexing, and vexing, but not as vexing as the solution - which was to keep flying. This very much went against her inclination to sleep it off. But she kept at it, flying a little further, and a little higher every day. Sometimes Joseph joined her, others she wandered aimlessly over the river valley in solitude. By the end of the second week she was strong enough to spend the entire day in the air, though she still lacked speed, but she knew that would come with time. Time they didn't have.

"Well..." she said a day later as she and Joseph were settling down to sleep, "guess we should keep moving."

He looked up from inspecting a secondary feather that had gotten out of whack at some point during the day and raised a scaly brow.

"You sure?"

Moonstruck stared into the fire and adjusted her blanket. "Yeah. No point in hanging around here any longer. I'll finish recovering on the move." She grimaced and shifted her wings.

"My wings still hurt, but they're getting better the more I fly."

"And your magic?"

Her grimace darkened into a scowl. "Also still hurts, but I can maintain spells longer, and cast more of them. That's... there's no telling when I'll fully recover."

Joseph scowled as well, opened his wing and ran a hand over his wayward feather to smooth it back into position. He closed it elegantly, crossed his arms in front of his chest... crop... lower neck region (she really wasn't sure what to call that particular section of his anatomy), and pulled his neck back into a tight s-curve to rest his head on his neck, and his neck on his shoulders very much like a bird. Specifically a duck, Moonstruck recalled watching the various ducks around Trot City rest in such a position. It looked a bit less natural without thick feathers to blur the line between shoulder and neck.

"Two more days." He grunted after a short pause. "The plateau has some distortion around it that places it very high. You'll need to spend a couple of days doing some high altitude flying to get used to it."

"Okay." Moonstruck nodded. "How high we talking?"

He furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure exactly. Over fourteen thousand feet."

Moonstruck sputtered. "I've never flown that high in my life!"

"How high are ponies usually good for?"

"I dunno, maybe five or six thousand? I know pegasus cloud cities will rise up to clear mountains, but they don't stay that high for long." Moonstruck stared at the ceiling and tried to remember the usual physical capabilities of pegasai.

"Some pones do live very high up in the mountains, but I think those are actually earth ponies."

She rubbed her chin with one hoof, and tapped the floor with another. "There's gotta be some mountain pegasus ponies who live at extreme altitudes. Doesn't really matter though, 'cause I'm not one of 'em."

"Guess not." He scratched his chest... lower neck region (she really should ask him about that) with one clawed hand, then yawned. "Guess you'll just have to adapt. We'll only need to be up that high for a couple of days – a week tops. Kinda depends on how we time it."

"Is it one of those things where you have to be at a certain spot, at a certain time?" Moonstruck yawned as well and snuggled further down into her blanket.

"Yeah. Luckily it's stuck in about a week long loop, so it's always nearly the right time."

Moonstruck grunted and closed her eyes, letting the warmth, and crackle of the fire lull her to sleep. For a time it seemed Joseph was doing the same, but he suddenly spoke just as she was drifting off.

"I know I've asked you this before but... why are you still trying to complete your mission?"

Moonstruck opened one eye to squint in his general direction, and twitched her tail. "I told you, I'm stubborn."

"It's gotta be more than that."

"It's difficult to explain." She sighed.

"Do you even know?"

"Not really but – why is this so important to you?" She opened her other eye to glare at him properly.

"It isn't. And I haven't known you that long, but it doesn't actually seem that important to you either. So I can't figure out why you'd risk life and limb to do this thing." He snapped.

"Well, if it's so unimportant to you, why are you determined to guide me into Roanamia?" She shot back. "You could just write the instructions down and leave me on my own."

He lifted his head. "Because I said I would. A dragon never goes back on his word."

She smirked. "So, you're stubborn too."

He opened his mouth to reply, paused, shut it again, then tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah... I guess."

"Anyway... I dunno how much you were able to talk to Sarah, but it's pretty bad in there." Moonstruck shook her head. "I guess in an official capacity I know how important this mission is, and that I really need to give it my absolute best shot. In an unofficial capacity; I tend to make stupid gambles, so I wouldn't be giving it my absolute best unless I doggedly keep making stupid gambles until one of them works, or I run outta options."

An odd weight lifted off her shoulders as she said this. She'd still been avoiding thinking too hard on why she was still doing all this, but something about just sort of blurting it out without thinking seemed to bring things into focus.

"That makes more sense." Joseph nodded. "And I did talk to Sarah a bit. She was pretty delirious. But I've poked around in there enough to know when she was telling things like they are, and when she was completely off her rocker."

Moonstruck gave the dragon a long, appraising stare. "You were absolutely bull-hokeying me back when we first met; about not caring about what happened if whatever's in Roanamia got out."

"Maybe a little." Joseph snorted, looking away. "There's not much I can do as one dragon, but if Equestria gets involved, there seemed like more of a chance."

"So why didn't you agree to help me at first? Or – heck, why didn't you just stay with Sarah and tell Princess Celestia yourself?" Moonstruck furrowed her brow.

"My species likes to keep to itself, and we do that by not meddling in the affairs of ponies." Joseph sniff haughtily, then ducked his head. "I figured I'd watch you for a while to decide if you were trustworthy, and up to the task."

"You totally led me around in circles on purpose." She said flatly.

"Nope, just took you the long way." He shifted his wings a little. "I figured that would be enough of a test. Plus, I was a little concerned that you trusted me so readily."

Moonstruck shrugged. "You don't pose any real threat to me; it's impossible to loose me out in the hills then abandon me because I could just decide to give up and I'd end up back where I started; and you had already gone out of your way to help a total stranger. I figured it was a low-risk venture. Also I was seriously considering becoming Queen of the Goats at that point, so I REALLY needed someone to talk to."

"Oh well that – wait, I totally pose a threat to you!" Joseph huffed.

"If you catch me off guard, maybe." Moonstruck rolled her eyes. "I'm an alicorn, dude. I gots the magic like whoa."

"Except for right now." He smirked.

"Pff, I can kick your tail blindfolded with one hoof tied to my chest." She smirked at him, then yawned. "Can we sleep now?"

"Yeah, I guess. Long day tomorrow." Joseph grumbled and rested his head on the ground.

"And I can kick your tail blindfolded with both hands and one wing tied to my chest."

"We'll have to fight sometime and find out." Moonstruck chuckled, pulling her blanket over her head. "G'night."

"Night."

---

One of the most enduring controversies among pegasus was whether or not raising their foals on the ground delayed, or somehow stunted their ability to fly. To non-winged ponies this was a silly debate, for they knew that all pegasus would take to the air eventually, and even if they didn't, they could still live full and happy lives on the ground with their flightless brethren. To the pegasus, it was a matter of fear. Not so much the fear that land-born foals would be lesser fliers, since all ponies learn and grow at their own pace regardless of where they were born, but rather the fear of heights. For a foal born and raised in a cloud city, heights were not an issue. They are so accustomed to the ground being hundreds – if not thousands – of feet down that taking that first tentative flight off the edge of the cloud and into nothingness is but a momentary bout of nervous excitement for most.

A land-raised pegasus, however, has a bit of a steeper learning curve. They start out on the ground, and must gradually work their way up. For most, their first flight above tree height is a daunting one. To fly, one must be okay to fall; fledgling pegasus born and raised on the ground must come to grips with this reality – a reality that is not shared with their cloud-born cohorts. The fear does slow their progress somewhat, as it takes them longer to get used to being well above the ground.

Being born and raised in a castle carved out of a rocky outcropping above a fjord, Moonstruck was one of the ground based fledglings. She hadn't felt any real fear of heights since she was fairly young, but now it was all coming back to her. Being almost sixteen thousand feet up in thin, frosty air that made her light headed, while her joints complained at every flex of her wings would do that to a pony. It didn't help that the lack of oxygen was also causing her head to throb and her stomach to turn a little just to get in on the action.

This was higher than they would need to fly to reach the plateau, Joseph had said, but it still seemed to loom tall off her right wing. She tried not to look at it (or look down), as she trailed after the dragon, and reminded herself that they only needed to spend a few minutes this high to see how long she could stand it. Joseph was having trouble too, but seemed better adapted to a little bit of extreme high altitude flying than she was, though she knew he'd be at his limits soon. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head as a wave of vertigo washed over her, and she momentarily lost track of which way was up. She wasn't sure if it was just the thin air, or the sight of the ground being so far away that was disorienting her so – possibly a combination of both.

"How much longer!?" She shouted, then coughed. She sorely wished there were clouds today; a layer between herself and the ground would be most helpful. It was taking all of her willpower to continue to glide and flutter her wings every few seconds. Perhaps it was a trick of the altitude, or her brain being deprived of oxygen, but she seemed to be able to go without flapping for longer than she recalled.

"I think we're good!" Joseph shouted back, his voice hoarse. "Descend slowly; don't wanna make yourself sick!"

"Too late!" Moonstruck quipped, grimacing. She followed the dragons lead as he adjusted his wings and started his descent. It seemed to take an inordinate amount of time to drop down to ten thousand feet, which was about the last point her head wasn't buzzing as near as she could recall. They spent almost the rest of the day at that height, then spent the last few hours of the day spiraling lazily back to the castle, arriving shortly after moonrise.

After a quick dinner of roasted tubers and willow bark tea, they crashed for the evening, then set off shortly after dawn for another high altitude flight, this time lingering at twelve thousand feet for a while.

Both of them were a tad ill by the time they descended, but Joseph was confident that a slower climb to the plateau should stave off the bulk of their altitude sickness. Moonstruck wasn't so sure, but she was having trouble sorting out the altitude sickness, from the woe she'd been experiencing since the crystal mines. For all she knew the altitude was just making all of that worse. She'd find out soon enough, she knew. Being up at twelve thousand feet all day had been uncomfortable, but not as bad as fifteen thousand feet. Theoretically, spending a few days that high would allow her to properly become accustomed to it.

Moonstruck stiffly gathered her things as Joseph groomed his wings; packing up everything but her bedroll, spare blanket, and something for breakfast. The kettle would have to stay; it was simply too bulky and heavy to take with her. She made a mental note to buy a little travel tea kettle for her next adventure (provided she survived this one), then crawled into bed. She gave the room one last look to confirm that she didn't have anything else lying around that she'd need to pack, then laid her head down, and pulled the blanket over her eyes.

---

They took off shortly after sunrise; catching a thermal and rising swiftly above the valley in a long spiral. Moonstruck stared down at the castle for a while, knowing it would likely be the last time she'd have a proper roof over her head for a while. A month, at least. It had already taken so long to get to this point, that she was unsure if she should poke around Roanamia for very long. She might be able to gather some valuable information, but if it took weeks to reach the outside world, it might not be particularly useful information by the time she got back.

She scowled as Joseph slid to the north, exiting the thermal at about eight thousand feet. They'd have to work to get up to the right altitude, and to the plateau, couldn't just let the thermal do most of the work for them. Something about the angle they needed to approach the plateau by. They settled into an easy pace, and Moonstruck let her mind wander back to the coming weeks. She knew that her duration in Roanamia depended largely on what she found in there, and whether or not she'd be able to maintain her disguise long enough to go poking around in populated areas. She hadn't attempted any more complex spells yet, but her rate of recovery seemed to indicate that she would be able to soon. Flying around in disguise was key – she knew she wouldn't be able to gather much – if any – information without it.

The day passed slowly; her wings hurt for much of the time though it was more of a lingering dull ache. Her lungs burned and head buzzed as they reached their cruising altitude near sunset. Thankfully they were also approaching the plateau, and would be able to land soon. She shook her head as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Double vision was not something she could get used to, she felt. They came to rest as twilight settled on the plateau, the sun out of sight beyond the western mountains, and the glow of the moon just visible on the eastern horizon.

"See, not so bad when we take it slow." Joseph quipped as he ruffled his wings and turned to look at her. He grimaced. "Er..."

Moonstruck squinted at him, and fought back the urge to vomit. She must look pretty bad, for him to be making such a face. "Can we sleep now?"

"Uh... yeah. Plenty of good places to camp in here." He took a hesitant step, watched her wobble. "You know, I'll go find a place you just... sit down and drink some water or something."

Moonstruck grunted and plopped down where she stood, squeezing her eyes shut. She sat very still for a few moments, then carefully slid her saddlebags off her back. Keeping her eyes closed, she rummaged around for her canteen, located it, and clumsily unscrewed the cap with a forehoof. She was not chancing using magic yet – not until she was used to the altitude. Water helped alleviate her nausea and settle down her aching joints, but it didn't do much for her headache. She didn't open her eyes until Joseph returned, and she did so with great reluctance.

He led her along the edge of the plateau for a few minutes, then made a sharp left to go around a jumble of rounded boulders. On the other side there was a shallow ravine that she had not noticed from the air. They walked along the edge of the ravine, traveling north and further on to the plateau. Moonstruck noted blearily that the plateau was huge, stretching far off into the distance. It seemed as though it would go on forever, if not for the high peaks of another mountain range etched against the darkening horizon.

Joseph grunted and pointed at a steep trail that zigzagged down the jagged walls of the small canyon. "This is actually where we want to be. We'll probably be here for a few days, judging by where the sun set."

"Right, good. Should give me time to get used to this." Moonstruck muttered. She started gingerly down the trail after the dragon, glad that her double-vision was not so bad that she couldn't navigate, though it was certainly a tedious climb down to the ravine floor. Thankfully it was only a short climb. While the walls were steep, and perhaps less than a quarter mile across, the ravine was but a shallow cleft in the plateau only a hundred yards or so deep.

Their campsite was a pleasant hollow beneath a large fallen log that was wedged between two rounded boulders. Moonstruck didn't bother setting up her tent, she simply pulled her blanket out of her saddle bag, curled up in it, and collapsed on the lush grass that grew beneath the log. She was asleep before Joseph got the fire going.

hr

Although Moonstruck had experienced similar phenomena before while traveling through the foothills, she was still a tad perplexed the next morning when she dragged herself over to the creek that ran down the center of the ravine, and happened to look up at the late-setting moon. It wasn't that the moon was still out during the day – this happened for various reasons involving tide schedules, last she recalled - no, it was where the moon was setting.

She blinked a few times, furrowed her brow, and wondered if the altitude sickness was causing hallucinations. "Hey, Joseph..."

"Mmm?" The dragon grunted from where he fussed with the fire.

"I was kinda out of it last night, but didn't this ravine open up to the south?"

"It did."

"So... did the whole plateau rotate, or is the moon setting to the south?" Setting to the south almost within those strange, concentric rings in the mountains she'd observed when she'd first trekked across the valley below.

"The plateau rotated. Well, this portion. You know how it works." Joseph shrugged and waved a clawed hand flippantly.

"Right." Moonstruck gingerly shook her head, then waded out into the creek. She'd never seen a shift as dramatic as this. Even when she'd fallen asleep, and woken up to that snowstorm and phantom foals, the landscape had still more or less been oriented the way it had been the night before; mountains to the north, sun came up in the east and set in the west and all that.

The creek water was cold, but not so cold as to send her running back to shore, so she lingered for a bit to let the water soothe her aching joints and clear her head. She half turned to look at Joseph, whom had finished with the fire, and was now gathering up driftwood from the riverbed for firewood.

She finished her bath and crawled out of the creek, shaking off, then daring to cast her go-to drying spell. It was a bit dizzying to use magic, but she felt that momentary nausea was preferable to catching cold at the moment. After breakfast, they decided to explore the ravine a bit, spending the majority of the day leisurely picking their way upstream until they could go no further on hoof. The ravine butted into a solid rock wall beneath which was a wide pool where water bubbled up from underground. Had this place been anywhere else, it would be a very nice swimming hole; Moonstruck almost wished the summer heat would ramp up so that she could take advantage of it.

The next two days passed in a similar manner, for which Moonstruck was grateful. She was still shaky at such an extreme altitude, and while Joseph had been cryptic at best about what they were waiting for, he had informed her bluntly that they would have a narrow window of opportunity to pass through the mountains, and she should be prepared for some serious flying. A few days of laziness seemed like the ideal situation. She was fairly certain she'd only be able to handle some serious high altitude flying once in a blue moon.

She packed her things shortly before sunset the third day, then hopped up onto a large stump at the edge of the creek. The scattered trees growing in the ravine were of the small, scraggly, high altitude type, but this stump seemed to hint that this plateau perhaps wasn't as high up as it is now at some point in the past. Joseph fluttered across the creek to alight on a standing stone. Moonstruck envied his agility for a moment. Though she was a much stronger flier than she had been at the start of her journey, and she could take off with relative ease now even with her lingering aches and pains, there was something about the way the dragon moved that made it look so effortless.

"So, are you gonna finally tell me what we're waiting for, or what?" She drawled, half closing her eyes to watch the sun travel through the red sky towards the circular gaps in the peaks opposite the valley.

"Just sunset." Joseph said.

"And what's so special about sunset today?" Moonstruck lifted a brow and eyed the dragon bemusedly. He was smirking over there on his rock.

"Really? You haven't figured it out yet?" He turned to look at her, smirk edging in on more of a grin.

She scowled. Was it really that obvious? She stared out to the west again, noted that the sun was almost perfectly lined up with the strange rock formations.

"It's gonna set in the rings?"

"Yup."

"This is significant because...?"

"Where are we standing?"

She gave him an odd look. "In a ravine on this bucking high plateau."

"A ravine the lines up perfectly with those rings." He inclined his snout to the geography in question.

Moonstrucks eyebrows shot up towards her forelock as she whirled to inspect the landscape ahead. He was right, those two mountains – more specifically the gravity defying, nearly perfectly circular formations - lined up with this little ravine. She inspected the walls of the ravine, running her eyes over each little furrow of rock, the placement of each boulder. Now that she had an idea what to look for, she noted that the canyon walls appeared as though they'd been blasted out of the plateau, not eroded with the flow of the river. There were even long furrows in the walls that reminded her somewhat of a particular combat spell that acted almost like a drill...

Moonstruck felt her jaw drop open. "Someone blasted those mountains – and this one."

"Dunno for sure, but it sure looks like it." Joseph nodded.

"Someone..." She worked her jaw around a little. "Somepony had enough raw power to destroy mountains. And they used that power."

"Seems like."

"Wha – what direction was it coming from? In or out?" Moonstruck sputtered.

"Outside, I think." Joseph scratched his jaw. "I've only flown over the broken peaks once – it's crazy up there – but the outer peak is wider than the inner. And – well, you know how big this ravine is. My guess is that someone shot some kinda spell towards Roanamia and it bounced off a shield."

Moonstruck found herself nodding along. Celestia had mentioned something about throwing everything they had at the shield Lucena had erected, but she hadn't thought it would be something strong enough to rend mountains!

"When the shield broke, it took everything with it. Time, space, the landscape..."

"Seems logical," Joseph nodded. "Okay, get ready."

Moonstruck bit her lip as she glanced up at the sun sinking into the mountainous rings, feeling like she was on the cusp of figuring out something vital, but unsure of what dots she needed to connect to complete that portion of the picture. The feeling left her as the sun slid into the rings and she felt the world ooze around her.

"Go! Go!" Joseph shouted, whirling and taking flight. Moonstruck lunged after him as he mightily pumped his wings to zoom deeper into the ravine. She kept pace well enough; the canyon was too narrow for the broad winged dragon to fly too quickly, and the landscape seemed to be oozing around a bit as they went, though she wasn't sure if it was actually shifting, or if her altitude sickness was acting up again. All the while the sun shone intensely on their backs, and starkly illuminated the way ahead, boulders and stunted trees along the creek bed casting long, ominous shadows. They reached what should have been the end of the ravine with its inviting pool, and were greeted instead by rock walls that towered hundreds of feet overhead, and a canyon that extended for miles further into the plateau. A wild river roared through the canyon below, not a placid creek.

The sun still lingered on their backs as they raced into this new portion of ravine, twisted through a complicated maze of canyons and crevasses beyond. Moonstruck knew logically that they were no longer flying due east, and that the sun should be below the distant mountains by now, but the golden light seemed reluctant to fade, and they were doing their best to ride it as far as they could. All the while, her ears popped constantly, and the walls of whatever gorge they were barreling down grew ever taller, even though they had remained mostly level as near as she could tell. Then, they rounded a corner, flipped into an upside down dive and into intense darkness. Moonstruck felt her stomach churn as she felt the world heave around her. Her ears did a sickening, off kilter quadruple pop, then a horizon appeared in front of her, dotted with a few high scattered clouds, and emerging stars. She was fairly certain she'd been upside down, but now she was right side up. She was also fairly certain she would puke soon.

Joseph slowed and gestured for her to veer to the right. She did so, and found herself slicing past a tall outcropping of rock. She drifted out further from it, swinging over a ridge to see a chain of rocky foothills sweeping away from her, and a wide valley in the near distance. A vast city filled much of the valley, and a great, twisted tower rose out of the very center of the metropolis, rising high above to rival the mountains. And at the very top of the tower...

"Get down! Dive! Land! Land!" Joseph barked.

Moonstruck happily did as told, tucking her wings and sweeping into a steep dive. She landed heavily on a boulder strewn slope near a tangle of dead trees, took a shaky breath, then promptly vomited into the dust. Joseph landed while she was emptying out her stomach. He stepped over and absently patted her on the back.

"I don't... I don't think it saw us." He hissed, as she quieted down.

"What in blue blazes was that?" She choked, sitting down and squeezing her eyes shut.

"The Eye of Magmanus."

"I think I've heard of a spell like that. The eyes aren't usually so big."

She wrinkled her snout. Floating atop the tall tower in the center of the city had been a great, glowing green eye with a slitted pupil. Like a cat, or a dragon. It seemed to have been staring straight at them. There was a scrying spell that was similar; it manifested a floating, disembodied replica of the eye of the caster, and it could be sent around to spy on things. The spell was not widely used, as it was a difficult, high level, and costly spell to preform, but it turned up quite often in role playing games.

"Can it see this far?"

"I don't know." Joseph shook his head. "It didn't seem to react to us. We might be out of range, or Magmanus might be deeply asleep."

"He keeps it going even in his sleep?" She grimaced. "That must take up a ton of energy."

Joseph shrugged. "No idea. I dunno how it works, I just know to stay out of sight."

Moonstruck grunted, heaved a sigh, and got to her hooves. Silently they moved upwind and in to the grove of dead trees. There would be no fire tonight, she knew. If these mountains were as closely watched as Sarah and Joseph claimed, even a dim light spell would be like a beacon. Thankfully there was just enough lingering twilight to navigate by, and they were able to find a thicket to bed down in without much trouble.

Moonstruck had hoped to get a full nights sleep, and set off after dawn, but Joseph shook her awake an hour or so before sun-up. The way out of Roanamia was nearby, and it could only be accessed at dawn or dusk, it seemed. She reluctantly packed what few things she'd dared to pull out of her saddlebags, then set off after the dragon. She hadn't seen him this nervous before; out on the Equestria side of things, and even past the crystal mine he'd been extremely relaxed, but here he moved silently, and paused often to listen, or sniff around bushes, or he'd stand perfectly still and stare at something she couldn't see for a few tense moments. He was behaving like a small, non-magical animal. She supposed she couldn't blame him; if an extremely territorial dragon of monstrous proportions was sleeping somewhere in these mountains, she'd be nervous too.

She shook her head. There actually was an extremely territorial, monstrous dragon sleeping out here somewhere! And an evil alicorn queen down in the city who seemed to make a hobby of rounding up and enslaving the few free pegasus who lived in her queendom, and said queen had the power to control dragons. Moonstruck should, by all rights, be shaking in her boots (which she forgot to pack). She wasn't sure why she wasn't. Perhaps she was just too mentally tired to really grasp the situation.

Tired, and too busy trying to remember how they were getting to wherever they were going. This stretch of hills was broken up much like the hills on the Equestria side of the divide, so being able to retrace her steps would be vital if, for some reason, she and Joseph were separated.

She froze as Joseph did, and looked around, swiveling her ears to try to pinpoint any stray noises. There weren't any. There weren't any noises at all; there should be a plethora of animals up and about at this hour, but everything was unnaturally still. Apparently satisfied, Joseph started off again, moving at a good clip across a dried up riverbed, then up the embankment on the other side in a series of wing-assisted leaps. Moonstruck followed suit, and looked back for a moment to confirm that nothing moved behind them. The only signs of life in the riverbed were their respective prints and a few wilted plants growing between some of the larger rocks This gave her pause.

"Hey, Joseph?" She whispered.

"Mm?" He grunted.

"Hoofprints."

"What, where?"

"Ours." Moonstruck turned to look at him as he bounded back. "Is it okay to leave tracks?"

He relaxed slightly. "Here, yes. There's no getting to this area without already knowing how to get here." He inclined his snout to more distant hilltops peeking above a nearby ridge. "There, not so much."

Moonstruck frowned, then started off after the dragon again. That certainly complicated things. It meant she, at least, had to keep largely to the air. Her raven illusion was excellent, but she'd still leave pony tracks if she were to land and walk around. She mulled over an alternative disguise as they picked their way up an old rock slide; bounding quickly from boulder to boulder, then doubling back on a slightly different route, then going back along their previous route in something of a figure eight pattern. They reached the top of the slide after the third loop, then jogged along a jagged ridge for a short while. The ridge led them to a narrow crevasse between two towering peaks. The crevasse gave them passage to a small, triangular canyon beneath three conical peaks. There was a pool of water at its base – the first water she'd seen all morning. It was very dry on this side of the mountains.

"Okay, this is how it works," Joseph said, gesturing to the pool. "You can only get here just before dawn, or right after dusk, but you can only get out at noon, when the sun is directly over the pool."

"Remember the swimming hole back at the ravine in the plateau? This pool connects directly to it. At noon, fly up to where the sun is at your back, and dive in; there won't be any water, just darkness. Just keep flying straight, you'll pop up on the other side in a couple of minutes. The water's on the other side – you'll be able to see it as you approach, so you'll know when to hold your breath."

"Trippy." Moonstruck grunted.

"Very. Even I start to panic going this way, but it's the most direct route." He ruffled his wings. "Anyway, the stable parts of the landscape come almost all the way up to the higher mountains here, so it's not hard to find the right path to get here, if you know where to start. If you can outpace your pursuers, they'll just get lost once you're in."

He started back the way they had come in. "I wonder if Sarah accidentally hit one of these spots, and that airship was following close enough to keep up." He mused.

"Probably. How many other places like this are there?" Moonstruck fell into step beside him, for the path was wide enough for two, at this point.

"Maybe a half dozen, that I know of" He scratched the back of his head. "Some are more confusing than others. I wouldn't have thought to dive into the pool if others hadn't told me about it."

"Yeah, was wonderin' about that." Moonstruck grunted. "So... does your kind come and go out here a lot?"

"Er... sorta. Kinda happens in waves as dragons come of age and decide to do dumb stuff." He grinned.

Moonstruck chuckled. They fell into a comfortable silence as the path narrowed and they were forced to trot single file. The sun was up by the time they emerged from the crevasse, which made the going much easier for Moonstruck, but put Joseph on high alert. They exited the distorted chunk of real estate and took to the air, soaring above half-dead forests and vast stretches of dry grass and scrublands with dark stretches of blackened earth and charred stumps where wildfires had once raged. With the sun up, Moonstruck realized that it wasn't simply a desert on this side of the mountains; Roanamia seemed to be in the midst of a very bad drought. Entire forests stood parched, indicating that at some point in the past this entire region was lush and green. Finding water would be a trick, as would securing enough food to last her however long it would take to gather some useful information. The landscape being sparser than usual also meant that they'd have to be extra cautious about where they traveled on the ground; hoof prints would be plainly visible from quite a distance up, and there was less cover to hide in.

They spent a bit of time meandering through the higher parts of the foothills, though below most ridges to stay out of sight of the Eye, trying to decide how they wanted to proceed. Camping would be rougher than usual on account of the various problems involved in having a fire, and the need to be able to flee at a moments notice if they were discovered, so maintaining a sort of base was out, unless they could find a suitable cave to hole up in for short periods of time. Moonstruck would need to venture out of the foothills in the guise of a raven to do some proper spying, though the lack of birds in the area made her a little hesitant to do so. If most of the wild animals had moved on, a lone raven hanging around might seem suspicious. It was possible that birds simply didn't venture this far into the hills, and that they'd find some at lower altitudes.

In the meanwhile, it occurred to her that flying around as an alicorn probably wasn't a good idea. When they finally stopped for breakfast in a decaying grove of tragically parched trees, she experimentally cast a few simple spells, then donned her plain 'ol pegasus illusion, slightly modified from what she'd used to travel up to Stirrup Springs. She didn't bother making herself shorter, simply glossed over her horn, and left herself otherwise unchanged; she likely looked ragged enough to pass for one of the local pegasai anyhow.

"Mmm, oh yeah, any chance we'll bump into any pegasus out here?" She asked as she settled into her illusion, noting that her head only hurt a little from the magical effort. It was simple enough, she should be able to maintain it for several hours at a time. Thankfully she'd slept off the bulk of her altitude sickness and was only slightly dizzy, though her wings continued to ache in places. She found the feeling familiar, in a way, but she couldn't place it.

"Possible, but unlikely." Joseph grunted. "They're extremely secretive, and with this drought they've probably moved to greener pastures."

"Right." Moonstruck nodded absently, scanning the sky. "I wonder if that means fewer patrols out here."

"We'll probably find out soon enough." Joseph grimaced.

They finished up their meal, then set off again, gliding towards the east to circle around to the farthest spur of the foothills and the vast plains of Roanham. Theoretically there should be small villages out in that direction, since the city of Bridle-Dur extended up into the lower foothills, in every direction but north, where the valley opened up into the plains. Moonstruck knew better than to go poking around in a suburb of a big city. A small town a decent distance from a major metropolitan area she could sneak around with relative ease, but suburbs were too close to the main hub for comfort. If something went wrong in the suburbs, it would be more difficult to escape, but in an outlying town she'd likely be well out of the area before any serious threats could arrive.

Unless the whole spy network was super efficient, then it may not matter where she goes snooping around. She was beginning to wonder what Celestia actually expected her to do here if security is as tight as Joseph and Sarah claimed.

They stopped for a breather around noon in another grove of desiccated trees. Moonstruck sparingly sipped her water, and partially filled a bowl for Joseph, who was having trouble remembering where all of the watering holes were.

"The drought must have gotten worse from the last time I was here." He noted as they relaxed in the shade for a few minutes. It was quite warm here, far warmer than the crescent valley they'd departed from just a few days ago. Moonstruck was tempted to snooze for a while in the shade, and set off near sunset. Night flying might be a better idea in this weather.

"When was the last time you were here?" Moonstruck asked around a mouthful of dry grass.

"I dunno, fifteen, twenty years ago. It's been dry here for a long time, but not like this." Joseph shrugged. "There should be a few creeks that still have water in them this time of year, but so far I haven't noticed any."

"Might have to go up into the distorted areas." Moonstruck scowled.

"Yeah."

Moonstruck had the sinking feeling that they may only be able to stick around for a week if there wasn't water, nor anything for either of them to forage. She finished up her snack of dried grass, placed the remaining portion back in her saddlebag, and lifted a tuber out of it. She hadn't roasted it, and she wouldn't be able to roast it without being able to start a fire, which was most definitely out.

"I dunno, you think it's hot enough to roast this in the sun?"

"Nowhere near." Joseph chuckled. "Don't you know a spell for that?"

"No." Moonstruck sighed. She put the tuber back in her saddlebag, just in case they ran into a wildfire or something.

Joseph opened his mouth to say something then froze. Moonstruck was about to ask what was wrong when she heard it; wings. Feathered wings. Several pairs. She couldn't place how many, exactly, nor where they were; there were too many echoes. She pulled her saddlebags back on and got to her hooves as Joseph stood up tall and inhaled very deeply.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?"

They whirled to see a gangly brown pegasus perched on a rock above and behind them. He was young, not much older than Acorn, and he had the same distinctive head, lean build, and large wings as Sarah. "Got us a couple of poachers!"

"What is it, Brian?" Came a second voice from a short distance downwind. Another pegasus came into view; a paint mare that was more white than brown. She was missing most of one ear. "Whoa!"

Then there was a small swarm of pegasai; a dozen in all, swirling overhead then landing in a circle a wary distance away from Moonstruck and Joseph. She noted that they were all fairly young, and in less than ideal health. The main ailment seemed to be lack of food. She saw far too many ribs shifting beneath their earth-tone coats.

"So, you think you can just waltz into some other clans territory and steal all of our food and water, eh?" The first pegasus – Brian – drawled, hopping off the rock and taking a few steps into the circle. "Well, you're wrong."

"Whoa, hold on, we don't want any trouble, we're just passing through." Moonstruck said, taking a step back. This was certainly awkward; these ponies posed no danger to she and Joseph, but they had to act like they did to maintain cover. She was somewhat surprised they weren't particularly phased by the dragons presence.

"No one just passes through these parts." The paint said, snorting a short laugh. "Ponies come out here to try to disappear. Doesn't work though; none of you soft city ponies can last long out here, and the catchers get you anyway."

"Er..." Moonstruck grimaced.

"Hey... hold up, she's a pegasus, but she has one of them fancy magic butt symbols!" A third pony; a buckskin colt said, gesturing to her cutie mark. "I thought only super strong unicorns had those?"

"And what's that bird thing she's got with her?" Queried a sorrel mare.

Moonstruck blinked and exchanged glances with Joseph. They didn't know he was a dragon. And they didn't know what a cutie mark was. She scanned the group, noting that like Sarah, they all lacked cutie marks. And now that she was really paying attention, there was no way she could pass for one of them; they were far more gaunt than she'd expected. None of them had long, curly manes, all of their manes were fairly short, and not by choice. It was simply a result of hard living.

"Er..."

"So what's your deal, you half unicorn or something?" Brian huffed, getting in her face. "You're not all purple or something, at least."

Moonstruck resisted the urge to shove him rather hard, and instead took a timid step back. "Ah ha ha, you got me, I am, actually. It's... it's been troublesome, as you can well imagine..."

The ponies let out disgusted noises and shuffled a few steps back.

"Oh great, she's gotta be some kinda lovechild of a unicorn and his pegasus slave. Probably been pampered and sheltered or something. I mean, look at her, she looks perfectly healthy. Can't have been out here long." The paint mare sneered, rolling her eyes. "Well, guess what sweetheart, adventures over. We should kill her."

There were a few murmured agreements from the others.

"Hold on, hold on, she's still a mare." Brian said, looking her up and down. "A tall, oddly built mare, but a mare."

"We have plenty of mares." The paint snapped. "Besides, for all we know she's a spy. She's already seen too much."

The agreement was a bit louder this time.

"Look, I'll tell you the truth – we're trying to find a way out. Out of Roanamia." Moonstruck huffed, pretending to glance around nervously.

The pegasai burst out laughing, but quickly quieted down, eyes scanning the skies, and ears swiveling rapidly.

"Nobody gets out of Roanamia." Brian shook his head once he and the others seemed to silently agree their short outburst hadn't attracted any attention. "Maybe you're right, Mindy. We should just kill her. And eat her."

"We're not so bad off to resort to cannibalism." The sorrel mare rolled her eyes.

"We will be in a few weeks." The paint – Mindy - muttered. "It didn't rain at all this winter."

"Hey, how about we just leave now, and pretend we never saw you. Problem solved right? We don't use up any of your water – which we haven't even found yet, by the way – or eat any of your food, and you don't have to go to all the effort of killing us."

"I don't think so." Brian shook his head, and stood too close again. "We really do have to kill you."

"Hey! I figured out where all of the rabbits went!" Someone said around a mouthful of something.

Brian half turned, and Moonstruck leaned around him to see a black mare with white socks land a short distance away, she had a rabbit in her jaws. A dead rabbit. Moonstruck felt her blood run cold. They ate meat here?

"Way to ruin the mood Agnes." Brian said flatly.

"What? That's what we were looking for, right?" She gave him a funny look then reached down and tore into the tiny carcass.

They eat meat here! Moonstruck felt her stomach tie itself into knots as she watched the mare devour the cute fuzzy bunny. Her mind flashed back to Sarah, to her curiously long, sharp canine teeth. She managed to tear her eyes away from the feasting pegasus to look at the other ponies. They gaped their mouths open and licked their lips enviously, revealing teeth better suited to a carnivore. Of course they do, Moonstruck realized, also remembering that the doctor back in Stirrup Springs had mentioned that Sarahs digestive tract was quite different than your average pony. If they'd been in a drought for so long, and nutritious plants were few and far between, you ate whatever you could. And a pegasus needed more calories to fly than an earth-bound pony, so meat was the best option. She wondered vaguely how things were going with Sarah.

"We've got something better than rabbits." Brian scoffed, moving aside so that the newcomer could take a look at their catch.

Agnes looked up, licking blood off her jaws. She'd already eaten the bulk of the rabbit. "Weird. How's this better than rabbits? Can we eat the bird thing?"

"We're gonna eat both of 'em." Brian nodded.

"We are not resorting to cannibalism!" The sorrel mare insisted.

"Yet." Mindy added not quite under her breath.

"Aw, c'mon Brian, that's just gross." Agnes sighed.

"Well, we have to kill them now, may as well make the best of it." He huffed.

Agnes scowled. "You sure we have to kill them?"

"YES! They've seen too much!"

"Have they?"

"They know we're in the general vicinity!"

"Um, really, we'd like to get moving. Just passing through and all." Moonstruck said sheepishly.

"Nobody just passes through out here." Agnes rolled her eyes.

"So I've been told."

"They think they're going to find a way out." The sorrel mare chortled.

Agnes snorted a laugh. "I dunno, she looks weird. And the bird thing might be edible. Might want to take them back to see your uncle and the elder."

"And reveal the location of our home and water source!?" Mindy gaped at her.

Agnes shrugged. "Well, you wanted to kill them anyway, Brians Uncle will probably agree. If the bird thing is edible the whole clan can eat, and we won't have to haul it back in pieces."

"She has a point." Brian noted.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't eat my friend, actually." Moonstruck piped up.

"I second this." Joseph added, much to the surprise of the pegasai.

"It talks!? That changes things." The sorrel mare yelped.

"No it doesn't." Mindy hissed.

"It kinda does." Agnes grunted.

"Uggggh, fine. We'll take them to see Uncle Reggie and the elder. They can decide what to do with them, and whether or not we can eat a bird thing if it talks."

The band nodded their agreement. Before Moonstruck knew it, they were at the center of the formation, flying swiftly through the foothills. She was confident that Joseph could easily out-fly the pegasai, or scare them away with his fire breath, but she wasn't sure if she could. Flying was more than something that these pegasus did; it was their livelihoods, it was everything. If they couldn't fly, they were dead meat. Which meant even the best fliers in Equestria couldn't out preform these ponies – especially not on an empty stomach. She had magic, and could use all kinds of tricks to escape, but she wanted to avoid using magic in anyponies presence for as long as possible. Which meant that for now she needed to play along until such a time that she could slip out of sight for a moment and teleport. It seemed that Joseph was on the same page, and was gliding along placidly behind and a little to the left of her.

It was a relatively short flight over some incredibly rugged country; more vertical than anything else. Moonstruck had a hard time believing that anything other than mountain goats and hawks could ever possibly live out here even with the proper amount of water, and she saw neither. The goats and hawks had probably already moved elsewhere; why these ponies were still here was a mystery. They dipped down into a narrow, rock walled valley that, at one point, seemed to have a mighty river flowing through it, and a few rolling hills of what had once been lush grass and woodland, but was now a barren waste say for a few stubborn bushes here and there, and a tiny, pathetic creek running down the lowest portion of the riverbed.

The breeze shifted, bringing with it the scent of water. Moonstruck pricked her ears up, curious. As they approached, she could hear the water as well, and was surprised to spot a thin waterfall descending from the southern cliffs. Above the waterfall, carved from the living bedrock, was the ruins of a castle long abandoned. She jolted and glanced around at their escort. Sarah had said she was from the Waterfall Castle Clan, could this be her clan?

The pegasai made a b-line for the castle, taking them up to the main gates which had long since rotted away, then landing in the grand courtyard beyond. They trotted into the castle, giving Moonstruck no time to try to date the ruin based on its architecture, and down a set of spiraling stairs. At the bottom was a vast, airy room that looked as though it may have been part of a natural cave system at some point. What was left of the river was here, flowing out of a large, ornately carved opening in the south wall, swirling in a small pool, then gliding out of an opening to the north. The pool of water was much smaller than it should be, Moonstruck noted; the basin was quite large, and took up much of the room. The water itself only occupied what would have been the deepest portion, and it was perhaps only a hundred feet across, and likely not very deep. The smooth cobblestones beneath her hooves were slick with condensation, though they had no moss or algae; it was largely growing where the river entered the room. The cavern was deliciously cool, and lit by a long line of tall windows that opened up to the north.

"Uncle, we have captured intruders and possibly food!" Brian shouted as they approached another dozen ponies that were surrounding the pool. The second half of the group seemed to consist largely of ponies minding young foals, and a few who were carefully harvesting moss off of the stones near the rivers entrance.

"Intruders?" A largeish stallion with a dappled gray coat, and a scar across his snout said, stepping away from the group of moss harvesters,

Most of their escort trotted over to the pool to drink water, nibble on moss, and visit with younger siblings or nieces and nephews, leaving Moonstruck and Joseph to stand awkwardly by themselves.

"Uh... hi. We were just passing through – I know, I know, nopony does that. But we were. We'd appreciate it if you didn't kill and or eat us." Moonstruck grinned nervously.

The stallion whom was likely Brians Uncle Reggie paused a short distance away, glaring daggers at them. The rest of the clan gathered behind him. Though he was large in comparison to the other ponies, he was still a good five inches shorter than Moonstruck at the shoulder, which made her feel more out of place than she already did. She wasn't used to being taller than everyone.

"Also, it would be super nice, but totally not necessary if you'd let us refill our canteens." Joseph added cautiously, also grinning.

"Oh, yeah, we want to at least eat the bird thing," Brian supplied helpfully. "I don't think it matters if it talks."

"It doesn't." Reggie grunted, staring hard at Moonstruck, then at Joseph. "Well, she ain't from around here, that's for sure. Where you two headed."

"Out." Moonstruck shifted her weight. "Out of here. Out of Roanamia."

Not surprisingly, the pegasai all erupted into condescending laughter.

"Oh, this is rich!" Reggie guffawed. "We're practically out of food, the river has been getting lower by the day, catchers have been scouring the area for months since they managed to catch a few of us, and now we've got some pampered city half-breed mare trying to get out of the country. What's the matter sugar? Got tired of eating every day?"

The character that Moonstruck was currently playing was quite insulted. "I'm trying to find a way out to get help for everypony. Including you and your clan." She said through gritted teeth. "And I don't see what me being half unicorn has to do with anything. And how do you even know, I'm half?"

"Nobody 'round these parts has a curly mane, or a short snout, or one of them fancy magic butt symbols. Everyone knows only unicorns have short snouts and the magic stuff." Reggie smirked. "Besides, you ain't in rough enough shape to just be from some other clan. And a mare from another clan would just know better."

Moonstruck scowled, she couldn't get a read on this guy. She didn't think he'd kill in cold blood, but at the same time, he probably wouldn't hesitate if he genuinely felt his clan would be better off. She didn't have time to challenge him to a round of cards to know for sure, and she was fairly certain he wouldn't know how to play, anyway.

"Look, we really are just passing through. We don't want any trouble."

"Shoulda thought of that before you left home. Kill her, and the bird thing. I wouldn't normally kill a talking critter, but the foals are hungry." Reggie said cooly and a touch apologetically, lowering his head as several other largeish stallions fanned out behind him.

"You don't have a chance against that one, Reginald." Came a voice that was somehow small and old, but still strong enough to resonate with a wizened clarity.

The stallions jerked their heads up and looked back towards the river as Reggie let out a long suffering sigh.

"What is it this time?"

An old mare walked slowly, but steadily into view. She was thinner than all the others (which was quite the accomplishment), with an iron gray mane and tail. She was a paint, mostly brown with white splashes, and the wrinkles around her dark eyes were heavy, and sad. She very much resembled Sarah. Or, perhaps, Sarah very much resembled her.

"That's a dragon. You'd be dead before you could land a kick on him." Said the old mare.

The stallions took a step back as Joseph grinned and let out a small puff of smoke.

She ran a critical eye over Moonstruck. "And she's a lot stronger than you think, and healthy. It'd take the whole clan to kill her, and she'd take out a few of us before she goes down. Not worth the hassle."

"Glenda..." Reggie sighed. "You know how it works."

"I know. But I also know a lost cause. I'm lookin' at one right now." She quipped, eyeing the stallion sharply. "Best to let them have a bit of water, then send 'em on their way. No trouble, right?"

"Right." Moonstruck nodded.

"So, how'd you know I'm a dragon." Joseph asked, crossing his arms over his chest/crop region and shifting his weight.

"I've seen your kind before, a long time ago. I was just a fledgling. I know you all come and go from here sometimes. Might live way up high in the mountains, might come in from outside. Either way, you know your way around." She said, inspecting the dragon cooly. "And you know the way out. Or if you don't, you can find it."

"Glenda, we all know there is no way out." Reggie said gently. "I know you want to believe that your granddaughter managed to escape, but - "

"She is alive!" Glenda huffed, stamping a hoof. "I can feel it in my bones. She is alive, and she is out of this forsaken place!"

Reggie closed his eyes and hung his head.

Moonstruck exchanged glances with Joseph, wincing inwardly. It was entirely possible that Glenda was Sarahs grandmother. It was taking all of her willpower not to break character and spill every last bean she was holding.

"And you're already aware that venturing out into the broken parts of the mountains may well be the only way the clan will survive." Glenda added, breathing a little heavily. "Even if she didn't make it out, she may be up there somewhere, out of reach of the Watchers and Catchers."

Reggie nodded, eyes still closed. He heaved a heavy sigh, then looked up at Moonstruck and Joseph, then over at Glenda, who was shaking slightly, but still staring evenly at him. Her body was weak, but her eyes were sharp as blades, and bright as dragon fire.

"Alright, you can have some water. No food. If we see either of you again, we will kill you." Reggie said after a long pause. "You owe Elder Glenda your thanks. And her missing granddaughter – normally I would not be so forgiving."

He cast them a stern look, threw a somewhat sour one at the old mare, then spun and walked away. Moonstruck sighed and slumped with relief. Reggie had not gone ten paces before a pegasus burst in from one of the windows, in a panic and out of breath.

"Catchers! Catchers coming in from the Northeast! They're heading straight towards us! We have ten, maybe fifteen minutes!" She shouted, landing haphazardly, then collapsing.

"What direction did you come from!?" Reggie barked at his nephew.

"Uhhhh... Southwest. More south, than west." Brian said timidly, eyes darting around as ponies began bolting towards the south wall, where several ornately carved doorways stood, likely leading back into the mountain, and to freedom.

"Bad timing then. EVERYONE OUT!" Reggie bellowed "GET THE FOALS READY TO FLY!"

"Now what!?" Moonstruck yelped, dancing in place.

"I think we get to evacuate." Joseph said, watching the organized chaos with trepidation. "But probably not with them."

"Guess we could go out the front, I can... uh... hide us." Moonstruck muttered. It wasn't necessary to be quiet, the room was already empty; the last echoes of hooves and a few scared cries of foals rang dully out of the emergency exit tunnel and merged with the soft babbling of the river.

Moonstruck spun and started towards the stairwell at a trot, puzzling over how to cast an invisibility spell over herself, and Joseph. She'd done it before, but it had not worked out quite as planned. Thankfully the particular spell that she'd cast had a time limit on it, otherwise, they'd probably still be looking for Acorn in the back yard.

It took her a few steps to realize that the dragon was not trotting along behind her. She paused and looked over her shoulder, surprised to see him still standing where they had been, staring over at the pool. The chamber was not as empty as she had previously thought; one mare remained, seated at the waters edge. Moonstruck pulled her ears back and scowled. Then she put her head down and cantered over to Joseph.

"Did they abandon her here?" She hissed as she clattered to a stop next to the dragon.

"When everyone bolted, she just sat down by the water." He frowned. "Sometimes, in times of famine elders will starve themselves so that the youngest can eat. She might be too weak to fly."

Moonstruck swore under her breath. Glenda certainly looked like she had been eating far less than the others – and they probably barely ate at all. She and Joseph started moving at the same time, she wasn't sure what they could do to help her escape, but they could at least give her some closure.

"Don't worry about me," Glenda said as they approached, her voice sounding smaller and weaker than before. "They won't bother with such an old nag."

"Sarah is your granddaughter." Joseph said bluntly.

Glenda sat upright, and gaped up at the dragon, dark eyes wide with shock. "How did you - ?"

"I saw her come over the crest of the mountains. She made it out. Barely. I helped her down the other side." Joseph said. He locked eyes with the old mare and tilted his snout downwards slightly.

"So she is...?" Glenda gasped, tearing up.

"Doing quite well, I'd assume. She was pretty beat up when I saw her, but recovering. She's with good ponies." Moonstruck said casually. She stared down at the water, noted that the water level was a little low to touch her horn to the waters surface. She let the illusion fall from her features, and cast a spell that allowed her to walk on water. She plopped off the edge and trotted out a short distance.

"You – how - ?" Glenda gaped at her, then spotted her horn. She scrambled back, but bumped into Joseph. "You – you're – you're a - !"

"Alicorn. Yeah. Kinda useful sometimes." Moonstruck said, waiting for the ripples from her hooves to settle down before she cast her spell. "We were lying earlier. We are spies. But not from Lucena. From outside." She lowered her head and touched the tip of her horn to the water and let the memories she had of Sarah play out in the rippling pool.

Glenda stared down at the enchanted reflection in a strange mix of awe, and horror that gradually changed to hope. Likely the sight of Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadance was disturbing, but seeing her granddaughter up and about, being treated as an honored guest should be encouraging, at the very least. Glenda reached a hoof out towards the last image Moonstruck had of Sarah, then collapsed onto her belly.

"My granddaughter... my granddaughter was all I had left. Catchers took so many of my family..." She said, her voice wavering, tears streaming down her face. She shakily stood and opened her wings, staring Moonstruck dead in the eye.

"How do you I know you're not lying? That this isn't some cruel trick!?"

"Um... good question, actually." Moonstruck said, shifting her weight as a faint twinge resonated behind her eyes. She let the mirror memory spell fade, though the twinge continued to twitch away.

"What would we gain from fooling you?" Joseph asked. "I mean, who'd want a flock of half starved pegasai?"

"You'd be surprised." Glenda snorted.

"I'm pretty sure I have more food in my saddlebags than you have here. Not water though." Moonstruck added. "And he actually does know how to get up into the distorted areas, and there's probably better foraging up there."

Joseph nodded. "And I know how to get out."

"Yeah, I mean, we just got here last night. And I'm still kinda nauseous from the whole trip." Moonstruck shrugged.

"Plus, it's actually really stupid to even be standing here talking to you," Joseph pointed out. "You've got catchers coming in, and she's supposed to be super incognito."

"Oooh, good one. I'm not even supposed to be seen by anypony, much less talk to them. Which kind of makes the whole spying thing kinda difficult." Moonstruck mused, then scowled at the spiral staircase across the room. "We should probably get going."

"Alright, I believe you." Glenda said, shaking her head and carefully folding her wings. "Unless you're an incredible actor, you're not smart enough to do something so cruel as to toy with an old mares heart."

"Nope." Moonstruck nodded. There was a large crash from somewhere overhead, and the sound of many hooves thundering across the courtyard above.

"I thought they said ten or fifteen minutes?!" Moonstruck barked as she fluttered back onto shore. She landed and stumbled, her vision swimming in and out of focus. "Aw, not now..."

"What, what!?" Joseph asked, trotting over.

"I think that memory spell and the water walking spell was a little much." She grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut. It didn't really hurt, but she felt far more tired that she should, and her stomach seemed convinced she was on a boat in rough seas.

"Fantastic." Joseph grumbled. "I guess I could just take them all out or something."

"You - you can't escape?" Glenda asked, staring back and forth from dragon to alicorn.

"I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'." Moonstruck muttered, she listened to the approaching ponies as she lifted her head and walked in a small circle, trying to shake of the nausea. Illusions were out, invisibility was out, combat was out, though Joseph could put a big dent in 'em. She probably couldn't fly well at the moment. She opened her eyes and stared at the dragon and old mare. There had to be a way out of this. Then it hit her.

Magical illusions were out; the best illusions often didn't require any magic at all. She'd already dropped her magical illusion, so now everypony and their dogs would know she was an alicorn. An alicorn was always royalty. Royalty always got special treatment. She let out a shaky breath.

"Okay, I'm going to spin some serious horse apples here, so just play along. Glenda just, try not to cower too much, look like you're right where you belong."

She cautiously and – ah, there it was now – painfully transferred her saddlebags to the old mare while pulling her cloak out. She was very glad that the packs bore no identifying marks.

"Joseph, whatever you do, look official."

"Uhhh?"

She draped her cloak across her back, tossed her mane, then marched over to the edge of the pool as the rain of hoofbeats made it to the bottom of the spiral stairs.

"It's a shame they let this place fall into ruin," Moonstruck said loudly, "What's left of the architecture is quite lovely. And the waterfall is oh so quaint!"

Joseph gave her an odd look. She blinked at him a few times, then looked over her shoulder at the approaching catchers. They were unicorns, for the most part; with a few earth ponies here and there hauling large cages. They all wore dark brown uniforms with pendants and insignia's of a large, green eye with a slitted pupil. There were almost a hundred in all, which was a little surprising, though Moonstruck figured it'd take quite a few to round up a full herd of feral pegasai.

"Well! It's about time somepony showed up! I was beginning to think we'd wander around in these blasted mountains forever!" She adopted her most snobbish tones, and held her head high, half turning to regard the charging unicorns.

The ponies slowed as they realized she was neither earth pony, nor pegasus. She scowled and wrinkled her nose, casting her gaze across them shrewdly.

"Well? Who are you? What's all this? Who's in charge here?"

"Um... Ma'am, this is a restricted area." Said one stallion hesitantly, flicking his eyes over to Joseph (who'd had the place of mind to look tall and imposing), and Glenda (who was standing awkwardly half hidden beyond Joseph). "No one is allowed past the gates into the mountains, you will have to - "

"Excuse me?" Moonstruck stamped a hoof. "I have no idea where I am. I was a part of a trade caravan that got caught in a particularly nasty thunderstorm. My carriage was hit by lightening and my escort was killed in the crash. Though thankfully my bodyguard and maid were both unharmed." She inclined her head towards the dragon and pegasus. "We've been out here for months!"

The silence in the chamber was so thick it could be cut with a dull knife.

"Where are you from?" The stallion, whom Moonstruck decided must be the highest ranking officer, said slowly.

"Bananalund, by way of Timberwhisp." She added a healthy dose of annoyance to her voice. "What does it matter? We're half starved, and I haven't had a hooficure in ages!"

"Bananalund?" The stallion asked, wrinkling his nose.

"The Banana capitol of the United Equid Confederacy. On the southern coast? South of Equestria? Timberwhisp is on the north eastern edge of Griffon territory. We were en route to the Eastern Nations when we were thrown off course."

Moonstruck stood corrected, this silence could be cut with a dull knife. Possibly a spoon.

"Wait, wait, are you saying you're from outside Roanamia? From beyond the mountains?" The stallion asked, taking a step forward and eyeing her critically.

"Yes, where else would I be from? Roanamia has been lost for eons." Moonstruck scoffed. "Are you saying this is Roanamia? Such a poorly run country, I must say."

The unicorns erupted into bawdy laughter. Moonstruck externally fumed, and internally laughed along with them, though they weren't in on the joke as deeply as she was.

"Alright boys, pack 'em up. These three get to tell their little story to the inquisitors back at the base." He nodded, and a dozen unicorns closed in on the trio. "Relay a message back to the airship: we have a rogue unicorn who's probably completely off her rocker, and a... bird... dragon... thing to deal with."

Moonstruck lifted her head and stared down her nose at them like they taught her in charm school, stamped a back hoof and flared her wings, which also had the effect of billowing her cloak dramatically.

"This is an outrage! I refuse to be treated like a common criminal, and I demand to speak to someone in charge at once!"

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A/N: Long chapter. And rank pulling!