There was a light at the end of the tunnel. Humble Pie, Swift Cloud and Thunderhead could see the faint glimmer of daylight from where they stood in the rocky cave. They were so close they could almost taste it. They could certainly feel it; the air was much fresher this close to the surface.

Unfortunately, the light wasn’t the only thing they could see. There were also the hulking figures of the diamond dogs guarding the entrance, facing outwards.

“Now we rush them?” Swift Cloud asked. Since they had first spotted the entrance, she had been shaking with excitement, eager to finally leave the tunnels behind.

“Now we rush them,” Thunderhead nodded. “You take the one on the right and I’ll take the one on the left. There might be more just outside though, so we’ll need to make a quick escape. Which means getting airborne.” The two pegasi looked at the earth pony standing between them, who merely glared back for a moment before finally sighing.

“I’ve no choice, do I?” Swift Cloud and Thunderhead shook their heads, the former grinning slyly. “Alright. But…can we not go so high up?”

“No promises, groundling.” Thunderhead crouched into position, getting ready to gallop at the entrance. Humble Pie stood between him and Swift Cloud, both also readying themselves. At the pegasus’ signal, they rushed up the tunnel.

The diamond dogs standing at the entrance were alerted by the sound of galloping hooves and turned towards the tunnel just in time to get clobbered by the charging pegasi, who had their heads lowered and smashed their way outside using their heavy helmets.

The moment they were out of the tunnel both pegasi took to the air, grasping Humble Pie with their forelegs as they did so. The earth pony was aware of another diamond dog lunging for him before they were suddenly above it, soaring into the air. The mingled yells and roars of fury from the diamond dogs were shortly drowned out by the rush of wind as the pegasi caught a current and flew high above the slope.

“Yeeeeeeeeah!” Swift Cloud hollered in delight, gleefully flapping her wings as they flew even higher. Thunderhead too seemed to be reveling in the feeling of being outside once more.

“Yes yes, very exciting, now could we please land?!” Humble Pie yelped, his eyes shut tightly.

“Come on, Humble Pie!” Swift Cloud cheered. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”

“YES I AM!” the earth pony squealed, keeping his eyes clenched shut. “So please, PUT ME DOWN!”

“Not yet!” Thunderhead yelled over the wind. “We need to get safely away from the diamond dogs before we can land!” Humble Pie whimpered and tried to close his eyes even tighter.

“Ah, open your eyes already!” Swift Cloud insisted. “It’s beautiful! Come on, we’ve spent enough time seeing the world from your perspective; it’s time you saw it from ours!”

The earth pony swallowed and cautiously opened one eyelid. A flicker of light caught his eye and he looked down to see a small lake reflecting the sunlight. Below him were the rocky slopes of the mountain ridge, gray and speckled with tufts of grass, which swept down into the tall evergreen trees that lay beneath them. In the distance were some isolated mountains that seemed to glow orange from the light of the sun sitting on the horizon. It was spectacular, and now that he’d seen it, Humble Pie couldn’t take his eyes off it.

“We must have spent all day in those caves,” Thunderhead commented. “The sun’s already setting!”

Humble Pie looked around at the surrounding landscape. “No…the sun’s not setting, it’s rising. Look around, everything is completely different! There’s no misty forest and the hills are different; we’re on the other side of the mountain!”

“You mean to say we were down there all night?” Swift Cloud said incredulously.

“So if we’re on the other side, then that means…” Humble Pie trailed off as he began scanning the horizon. “There! That’s it!” he suddenly hollered, pointing a hoof at something in the distance.

“What?” the pegasi answered in unison.

“Fortune’s Peak!” The two pegasi looked over and spotted the mountain their companion was indicating. It was a solitary, jagged peak that rose high above its surroundings. Even from this distance the three ponies could make out smoke wrapped around the top that snaked up into the sky, giving the mountain a grim, foreboding appearance. They stopped and hovered in place for a moment to view it.

“Are you sure that’s it?” Swift Cloud whispered.

“It has to be,” Thunderhead commented, frowning as he looked at the mountain.

“I can’t believe it,” Humble Pie muttered, staring wide-eyed at the peak he once called home. “It’s been so long, and now we’re so close…” His thoughts were interrupted as they suddenly dropped a short distance, a fall the earth pony felt particularly in the pit of his stomach. “What was that?!” he yelped.

“We’re landing,” Thunderhead grunted. “We can’t hold you up forever.” Humble Pie tensed and bit his lip as they approached the ground at, in his opinion, far too great a speed.

Just as they were about to touch the surface once again, the earth pony shut his eyes and braced for impact, but it did not come; at least, not in the way Humble Pie had been expecting. Rather than crashing into the ground, the two pegasi slowed to a hover just above the ground before clumsily but harmlessly dropping the earth pony onto his rear, which startled him into opening his eyes and giving another fearful yelp. Realizing he wasn’t in any danger, he looked sheepishly up at Swift Cloud, who was laughing partly out of amusement at Humble Pie and partly out of the sheer joy she was now feeling.

“Finally!” she cheered, spreading her wings and throwing her forelegs wide, as if to embrace the air itself. “I thought we’d never get out of there!”

“We need to find the others,” Thunderhead ordered, pulling her back to the severity of the moment. “Assuming the groundling doesn’t want to keep flying,” he smirked before turning to Swift Cloud, “one of us will have to stay here with him while the other searches for our companions.”

“I’m not staying here!” Humble Pie exclaimed. “We have to keep moving if the diamond dogs decide to follow us.”

“He’s got a point,” Swift Cloud commented, nodding in agreement. “You go find Commander Tempest and the others. I’ll stay with Humble Pie as we move down the mountain.”

“But this land is vast!” Thunderhead exclaimed, sweeping a hoof towards the horizon. “How are we supposed to find each other if we separate? What if where you wind up is far away from where Commander Tempest will be?”

“But I do know where she will be. Isn’t it obvious?” As the two stallions looked on with blank expressions, she sighed. “She’s going to Fortune’s Peak!” the mare explained, gesturing towards the distant mountain. “In the end, we’re all going to be there. We might as well move in that direction.”

Thunderhead nodded. “In that case, I will stay with the groundling while you search for Commander Tempest and let her know we are safe.”

“I have a name, you know,” Humble Pie grumbled. Swift Cloud glanced at him before turning back to the other pegasus.

“I’ll stay with Humble Pie,” she offered. “If I leave you with him, you two will probably wind up killing each other,” the mare said, chuckling.

“…Are you sure?” Thunderhead replied. “I mean, you are the fastest of all of us.” But as Humble Pie watched him, he got the impression this was just an excuse for covering a different reason he wanted to separate Swift Cloud from him. Why, the earth pony wasn’t entirely sure.

Swift Cloud, however, wasn’t having any of it. She smirked at her fellow private. “Why Thunderhead, I thought you’d appreciate some time alone after having to put up with this ‘groundling’ for so long,” she commented, parroting the stallion’s earlier statement. Thunderhead merely scowled in response.

“Fine,” he grunted, spreading his wings to take to the air. “You two continue south. Private Swift Cloud, try to leave behind the standard signals for the rest of us to follow. With any luck, we’ll meet you on the way to Fortune’s Peak. If not, we’ll meet you at the peak.”

“What if you don’t find Star Swirl and the others?” Humble Pie asked.

“That won’t be a problem.” Thunderhead said confidently before kicking off and flying into the sky, leaving Swift Cloud and Humble Pie once more. The two watched him soar high into the air and pass over the ridge of the mountain. After he finally passed out of sight, the two began making their way down the slope towards the forest of trees below them, the pegasus hovering alongside the earth pony.

“Hey,” Swift Cloud began, hovering low enough that she nuzzled her neck against Humble Pie’s, “thanks for getting me through those tunnels. That’s the second time you’ve saved me on this journey.”

The earth pony blushed lightly at this. “My pleasure. Of course, I should be thanking you for accompanying me instead of having your…err, brother do it.” The pegasus smiled in response.

Humble Pie looked back up at the jagged peak in the distance. “Can you believe it?” he said excitedly. “My home! The end of our journey is finally in sight!”

Something in Swift Cloud seized up at Humble Pie’s statement. Once we’re done he’ll take his farm and we’ll go back to Pegasopolis. She had almost forgotten Thunderhead’s words, but now they came back in full force. “Yeah…so it is…”

“You don’t sound very enthusiastic,” Humble Pie noted. “I understand. I’m scared too.”

“You…you are?” Swift Cloud replied, somewhat confused. ‘Scared’ didn’t quite seem to fit how she felt about this whole situation.

“Of course! Taking on a dragon? I’m downright terrified,” the earth pony remarked.

“Oh, the dragon!” The pegasus laughed and brought a hoof to her forehead. “I wasn’t even thinking about that!”

“Well, what then?” Humble Pie inquired, raising an eyebrow at Swift Cloud. She faltered.

“Oh…um, it’s just that…well, you and me…when we’re done…” The pegasus paused and cleared her throat. “You see, I like you. …A lot.”

“The feeling is mutual, I assure you,” the earth pony grinned at her. “I’ve…well, I’ve never met a mare quite like you.”

He pulled his gaze away from her and looked bashfully at the ground. “This might sound silly, but my mother once told me the best pony you could ever have in your life was the one who brought out the best in you. And I think for me, you are that pony.”

Swift Cloud gulped. Humble Pie wasn’t making this any easier for her. “Yes, well…see, when we are done with this journey, you and I will have to…um, we won’t be able to see each other.” The last part came out as a quiet mumble, but it was loud enough for the earth pony to hear. He froze in his tracks, realization coming over him as he considered her words.

“I mean…I’m a soldier, and you’re a farmer,” the pegasus continued. She feared she was now just driving a dagger further into Humble Pie’s heart by going on, but she needed to make her point clear. “I have a duty to Commander Tempest, and you have to take care of your kin. Once we finish this journey, we’ll have to go our separate ways.”

Humble Pie stared at the ground for a moment in silence. “…I forgot,” he admitted.

“So did I, until just now.”

“I…yes, that makes sense,” Humble Pie muttered. “It’s…it’s silly of course. I mean, I’m an earth pony, and you’re a pegasus.”

“What’s wrong with being a pegasus?” Swift Cloud shot back, hurt by the insinuation.

“N-Nothing!” Humble Pie quickly replied. “It’s just…” he trailed off. ‘Nothing’ was not the answer he would have given to that question just one week ago. Now he stared at Swift Cloud as if truly seeing her for the first time. His gaze fell to the wings at her sides, flapping as she hovered in the air just in front of him. Hovered. He had become so used to it without even realizing it, and now the strangeness of it was coming back.

“…it’s just…I started to think of you not as a pegasus but as…well...as a pony.”

Silence reigned between the two for a while as both looked away from each other, Humble Pie down at the ground and Swift Cloud to the side, idly rubbing a foreleg with the other as she hovered in place. It was as if something between them had been exposed, and now that they had to regard it, the awkwardness was quickly becoming unbearable.

“Perhaps…we should just deal with this when we have to,” Swift Cloud suggested.

“Yes,” Humble Pie quickly agreed, sounding relieved. “No sense in worrying about the future so much that we can’t enjoy the present.”

Nevertheless, as they continued down the mountain in silence, they now found it difficult to enjoy each other’s company. Fortune’s Peak seemed to call out to them, a constant reminder of what they would inevitably have to face.

***

The rest of the day passed slowly for Humble Pie and Swift Cloud, with relatively little conversation between them. As they traveled, the pine trees of the mountain slope soon gave way to a scrubby landscape of short bushes and sparse grass. Where the north side of the mountain range was wet and lush, the south side was almost bone dry, lacking the cloud cover that dominated the other side of the high peaks.

However, as it turned out, the scarcity of clouds proved advantageous as Swift Cloud left behind the signals Thunderhead had asked her to. The signals themselves were made out of cloud, crafted by the pegasus from what little material drifted by and pressed into a smaller, denser form that wouldn’t drift so easily. Then she would give it a clear mark, like a large hole in the middle; something that could be seen from a distance and looked unusual enough to serve as evidence of a pegasus passing through.

The terrain flattened as the slope they descended turned into a rolling, rocky plain that stretched out before them. By the time they started making their way across the desolate landscape that marked the beginning of the Badlands, the sun had reached the peak of its climb across the sky. Fortune’s Peak seemed to grow with each step they took, as well as Humble Pie’s weariness with the hot sun beating down on him.

However, if the earth pony felt tired it was nothing compared to the pegasus. He looked up at Swift Cloud only to be taken aback at how utterly exhausted she looked. Her legs merely dangled below her, her head hung low and her wings flapping just enough to keep her airborne. Her eyelids were almost entirely closed and she threatened to plummet to the ground as her last bits of energy left her.

“Swift Cloud, are you okay?” Humble Pie asked, startled.

“Huh? Oh yes, I’m just-“ She was interrupted as she stumbled in mid-air, catching herself before she could fall too far. “…just tired, is all.”

“You’re exhausted!” the earth pony exclaimed. He looked around and spotted a large boulder with a suitably shady spot beneath it. “Come on, you need rest.”

“I don’t want to hold us up,” the pegasus replied, stifling a yawn.

“We’ve been moving non-stop for over a whole day now. I think we can afford to stop,” Humble Pie insisted, pulling Swift Cloud by the hoof towards the boulder. She complied, less out of a wiliness to do so and more because she currently lacked the energy to resist.

They reached the boulder and Swift Cloud landed, removing her helmet and wiping a hoof at a sheen of sweat that glistened on her forehead. Humble Pie settled on the ground; it was dusty, but the shade provided a welcome respite from the heat. The pegasus set her helmet carefully on the ground before glancing at the earth pony.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked, offering him a small smile. “There aren’t many clouds around for making beds.”

“Of course,” Humble Pie answered, smiling in return. Swift Cloud lay down beside him and rested her head just above his chest. He curved his neck back towards his body, nestling her head in place against his. The earth pony heard her give a sigh of contentment before he quickly drifted off to sleep.

***

When Humble Pie awoke, the sun had long since set and it was the middle of the night. The moon shone down on him through a cloudless sky that was covered in twinkling stars. The earth pony admired the spectacular sight for a moment as he regained his bearings. He had slept soundly; so soundly, in fact, that he felt a stiffness in his muscles as his body refused to acknowledge his mind’s current alertness.

His side felt warm, as if a blanket had been draped over him. Humble Pie glanced over to see Swift Cloud still nuzzled up against him, her head resting against his chest and one of her wings draped over his side. As he moved his head, she stirred slightly, sighing contently.

“Swift Cloud?” Humble Pie whispered.

“Mmm?” she replied, keeping her eyes shut.

“Are you awake?”

“Mmm-hmm,” the pegasus murmured, smiling as her eyes flickered opened. She considered Humble Pie for a moment before giving another sigh, this one more laden with emotion. “Is something wrong with me? I know we’re going to have to say goodbye soon, but…I just don’t want to think about that now.”

“Sounds natural to me,” the earth pony commented, giving her a warm smile. “We might as well enjoy this moment while we can.”

“That’s a nice way to put it,” Swift Cloud laughed. “I think we’re just in denial.” She rose to her hooves and stretched her limbs, extending her wings fully before folding them back in. “We should create some kind of signal in case the others are still following our trail. If only we had Star Swirl, we could make a fire,” she grumbled.

“I can make a fire,” Humble Pie said, drawing a curious look from the pegasus. The earth pony looked around at their surroundings for a moment before walking over to a small pile of rocks and sifting through it. A moment later he let out a small cry of triumph as he retrieved a dark grey stone and lifted it up for Swift Cloud to see. One side had a glassy appearance that reflected the moonlight while the other was a lighter color with a rough, uneven surface that made it easy for him to hold.

“It’s a flint stone,” he explained. “This whole region is covered in them, because of the limestone deposits in the area. If you strike a piece of steel against this, it will create sparks.”

“Really?” Swift Cloud replied incredulously.

“Of course! Surely you pegasi know how to make a fire, right?” Humble Pie asked with a slight grin.

“Not like that. We don’t have rocks or wood up in the clouds, and…well, clouds themselves aren’t the best things to hold fire.”

“So how do you pegasi forge steel to make weapons, then?”

“Well, we use lightning, of course,” Swift Cloud answered as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

“…Oh,” Humble Pie said shortly, coming to terms with this realization. “…That actually makes sense, now that I think about it.”

“Anyway, I still don’t see how your rock will help, because we don’t have a piece of steel to strike it against,” the pegasus pointed out.

“Hmmm. That’s a good point,” the earth pony admitted, pausing to think for a second before catching sight of Swift Cloud’s private helmet still lying on the ground. “What’s your helmet made of?”

“I think it’s made of-“ Swift Cloud stopped abruptly as she caught on to what her companion was suggesting. “Oh no. No, you are not. That is not happening.”

Humble Pie gave her a sly grin, which only served to alarm the pegasus further before he lunged at the helmet. He underestimated her speed, however, and it was snatched out of his grasp before he could get a good hold on it.

“Come on! I won’t break it!” he pleaded.

“No! You are not scratching my helmet!” she retorted, clutching it to her chest as she hovered in the air above him.

“It’s just a hat! All-“

“It is NOT just a hat!” the pegasus yelled forcefully, startling Humble Pie into silence. “This helmet represents everything I worked for to get here! This is the mark of a warrior! To wear this helmet is to bring honor and strength to the Pegasi Empire. And I will not have anypony scratching it up!” she finished resolutely, forcing it over her head and leveling a cold stare down at the earth pony, who flinched before her gaze.

“Alright, I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “But what else are we going to use?”

Swift Cloud was silent for a moment, before giving a heavy sigh. “Here,” she said, lifting a hoof to undo the strap across her chest that held her armor on. “You can use my armor plate. It’s designed to take impacts anyway, so it might as well serve its purpose.” She removed her body armor and handed it over, which Humble Pie gratefully took.

“In that case, I’ll treat it with as much respect as possible, given the circumstances.”

For the next few minutes he set up a small pile of sticks and dry grass, then held up the armor as he struck the flint against it, raining sparks down on the wood pile. It took a few attempts, but soon Humble Pie successfully ignited the fire.

“Not as efficient as Star Swirl’s magic, but it still works,” he said proudly as he threw some larger sticks on the flames to sustain the fire. The two ponies sat down beside it, taking in its light and warmth in a pleasant silence as they sat together, simply enjoying each other’s company. Humble Pie stared into the fire for a long while, seemingly lost in thought.

Finally, he spoke. “I’ve come to a decision,” he announced.

“Huh? Decision? About what?” she replied, utterly perplexed.

“I have decided,” Humble Pie began, “that it doesn’t bother me that you’re a pegasus.”

Swift Cloud snorted, dissolving into a fit of giggles before giving the earth pony a smirk. “Oh, what a difficult decision that must have been. So tell me, what brought about this revelation? Was it just you falling for me, or was it the fact that I saved your sorry skin?”

The troubled expression on Humble Pie’s face caused the pegasus’ smirk to quickly vanish. “No, you don’t understand. Farmers simply don’t like pegasi. At all. Remember how some of them looked at you when we passed through the valley?” Swift Cloud did remember, and she looked down at her hooves as she recollected their suspicious glances. “As a general rule, earth ponies and pegasi aren’t supposed to mix any more than necessary. Sure, we hate the unicorns too, but they’re generally too snobbish and high-minded to bother with us. Beyond arguing over the prices for food, we don’t have to deal with them very much.

“Pegasi, on the other hand, we constantly struggle with. The weather teams work for the benefit of their empire, not the farmers. Not that we are blameless,” he added as Swift Cloud opened her mouth to retort. “If we have a good harvest, we praise our own hard work and fortitude. But if we have a bad year, we blame the pegasi. It’s not fair, I know. But when you’re at the mercy of the weather, nopony feels like being fair.” His ears flattened against his head as he went on. “I heard stories all my life about things that were the pegasi’s fault. Whether they were all true or not I can’t say, but I still grew up hating pegasi.”

Swift Cloud was quiet for a moment as she considered this information. “I can’t speak for my fellow pegasi, but I never thought badly of earth ponies. Frankly, I didn’t think about them at all. You were supposed to just be one more exciting and new thing to see on this epic journey.” She gave out a light laugh. “I never thought it would go like...well, this.”

The stallion swallowed hard. “And ‘this’ is okay, right?”

Swift Cloud giggled and nuzzled against Humble Pie. “This is wonderful.” The earth pony breathed a sigh of relief as he nuzzled her back. “Who knows? Maybe we won’t have to say goodbye forever,” the pegasus continued. “Maybe when the Empire rebuilds the cloudpost on Fortune’s Peak, Commander Tempest will let me work there. And then I can visit you on your rock farm. You never know; it might just work out.”

The two of them looked to the south. The silhouette of Fortune’s Peak, only visible due to the lack of stars against the sky, still seemed to watch over them even in the dark of night. But now as the two ponies looked upon it, the mountain seemed less a sign of danger to come and more a symbol of hope for the future.

“Maybe you’re right,” Humble Pie murmured, leaning his head against Swift Cloud’s. “Maybe it will all work out in the end.”