Star Swirl, Commander Tempest and the other pegasi caught up with Humble Pie and Swift Cloud the following day. Their reunion was accompanied by great cheer as each of the pegasi praised Swift Cloud for once again surviving terrible danger. The unicorn and the earth pony greeted each other warmly, each giving the other a recount of their experiences since they were separated.

Compared to the two privates and Humble Pie, the other ponies had a rather uneventful time. They only encountered diamond dogs once and easily repelled them, quickly making their way through the pass over the mountains before descending into the Badlands to the south. Star Swirl adopted a worried frown when the earth pony told him of the frozen diamond dogs within the cave, which only grew more pronounced when Humble Pie repeated the words of the maddened diamond dog that attacked them.

“Then they are growing more bold,” the magician muttered to himself.

“What are?” the earth pony asked, snapping Star Swirl out of his thoughts. “Are you talking about the pegasi? They might fly, but I don’t think they know how to freeze something like that. Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”

The unicorn sighed. “There is indeed something I’m not telling you, but it was not the pegasi who committed this act. I believe it was windigoes.”

“Windigoes? Why does that sound familiar?” Humble Pie paused for a moment, trying to place where he had heard the word. “Hold on, didn’t that changeling say something about that?”

Star Swirl nodded. “Like the changelings, windigoes are vicious creatures which I have had some...experience with in the past. They would be capable of the things you saw in that cave.”

“And when you say that these ‘windigoes’ are growing more bold, is this something I should be worried about?”

The unicorn faltered for a second. “...No. We’ve got a mission to see to right now.”

The two trudged on, eyeing the steep mountain that loomed above them. Fortune’s Peak stabbed into the sky, its jagged rocks ascending to a dark, swirling cloud of smoke that obscured the top of the peak and spread out across the surrounding landscape. A small breeze picked up from the direction of the peak, causing the ponies to catch their first scent of what lay in the mountain.

“Blergh!” Hurricane exclaimed, gagging slightly. “Oh, horsefeathers...I’ve heard all about how dangerous dragons are, but nopony told me what they smelled like!”

The scent elicited a rather different reaction from Humble Pie, who froze in place as a sudden flood of memories accompanied the smell of the dragon. It was strange how so small a thing could evoke such a strong reaction, but the earth pony suddenly found himself recalling the fear he felt as a colt, the waves of heat that accompanied the overwhelming flames of the dragon when it first arrived and the sheer terror as he watched the ponies he looked up to being helpless before this cruel invader.

Star Swirl noticed the unmoving farmer beside him. “Courage, Humble Pie. This is when we shall need you the most.”

The earth pony snapped out of his thoughts and resumed trotting towards the mountain, but he remained wide-eyed, his gaze fixated on the mountain before him. “Look at it, Star Swirl,” he muttered softly. “Ten years, and look at what has become of my home. The air is foul and the landscape is devoid of life...It’s as if the mountain itself has died.”

“I thought you said the landscape was already devoid of life,” Hurricane remarked.

“I said it appeared to be devoid of life,” Humble Pie snapped back. “What it lacked in plants and animals it thrived with gems and precious stones. But now with nopony caring for the rocks, the gems we sought to harvest haven’t ripened. Look,” he added sadly, picking up a solitary stone and splitting it open to show to the others. Inside was a dull, red crystal. “This poor fellow could have been a glistening ruby with just a few more years of rolling and tender care. On its own, it could take hundreds, maybe even thousands of years before it can ripen.”

He set the two halves of the rock back on the ground and gave both a gentle roll, positioning them carefully so that the exposed surfaces of the crystal weren’t exposed to the sunlight. “Shh,” he cooed, “it’s okay. Daddy Pie is back.”

“Are you talking to the rocks?” Thunderhead asked incredulously, sounding like he was on the verge of bursting out in laughter.

“Don’t laugh at him, private!” Swift Cloud scolded, though she seemed to be suppressing a grin herself. “He’s the rock farmer, after all.” Thunderhead looked taken aback for a moment, still unused to being scolded by his fellow private, and he quickly fell silent.

“Rocks like it when you talk to them,” Humble Pie explained. He looked back up at the mountain and gave a weary sigh. “It’ll take years to undo all this damage. We won’t even be able to harvest anything for the first few seasons.”

“Then let us waste no time getting started,” Silver Lining offered, gesturing at the mountain before them. The earth pony nodded and they proceeded towards the peak once more.

***

The sun dipped below the horizon as the company of travelers came across the charred ruins of Humble Pie’s family home, resting at the foot of Fortune’s Peak. Commander Tempest announced that they would make camp on the site; Star Swirl and Swift Cloud expressed reluctance at the idea, fearing it would depress the earth pony further, but Humble Pie declared his support, agreeing with the commander that it would make for the most defensible spot should anything happen during the course of the night.

Here at the base of the mountain, the air was heavy and choked with smoke from the sleeping dragon above them. The pegasi attempted to blow some of it away to create a small clearing of fresh air, but the smoke hung so thickly in the air that there was only so much they could do. It clung to everything, deposited soot on any surface, got stuck in the nostrils and left a foul taste in the mouth. A few of the pegasi were constantly ruffling their feathers in a never-ending effort to rid their wings of the black dust that accumulated on them.

Faced with a lack of acceptable clouds for sleeping, the pegasi reluctantly decided to sleep on the ground. They set up on a small bluff over the remains of the house proper; Humble Pie wryly noted to himself that even on the ground the pegasi sought to retain height. The last rays of the sun vanished from the western horizon as Commander Tempest called for everypony’s attention.

“Soldiers!” she declared. “And trusted companions,” she added, smiling at Star Swirl and Humble Pie. “I have known some of you for only a short time, while some of you I’ve known for years. But in these past few days you have all become dear friends of mine. We’ve fought together, struggled on together and tomorrow we face our greatest challenge together.

“Here, on the eve of victory, let us remember that we are making history. My friends: tomorrow we will bring glory not only to the Pegasi Empire, but to all ponies!” Tempest unsheathed her sword and brandished it towards the peak. “Let us face down our foe in the name of all of ponykind! Let us dive into this mountain’s depths and reclaim what is ours! Let us wield the tool of the dragon slayer! As she died to bring honor to her empire, let us live to avenge her!” A great ‘hurrah!’ arose out of each of the pegasi at these words, and even Humble Pie felt buoyed by the jubilant spirit of his companions.

Tempest smiled down at the group. “Rest well tonight, my friends. Tomorrow, glory awaits us.”

***

Swift Cloud slept uneasily, twisting and turning as she lay on the sooty ground. She couldn’t get to sleep, in part due to the excitement she felt after the commander’s speech, but also in part to the discomfort she currently felt.

She rolled over on her back and sighed, catching sight of the faint glimmer of stars through a hole in the cloud of smoke overhead. A rumbling sound came from the mountain as the dragon within snored, and soon the smoke obscured the stars once more. At first the sound had been alarming, but as it repeated through the night she had quickly grown accustomed to it.

A completely different sound then met her ears; a sort of scratching noise coming from nearby. She stood up and peered over a large boulder, where she saw Humble Pie standing by an edge of the ruins of the house, standing beside a pile of charred wood he had shifted aside and digging at the ground with his forehooves. Swift Cloud watched on in curiosity for a moment before fluttering down behind him.

“Can’t sleep?” She asked it softly, but she still managed to startle the earth pony. “Sorry,” she added quickly in an apologetic tone before trotting up beside him. “What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for something,” he answered, returning to his digging. “If I remember correctly, it should be right...here,” Humble Pie finished as he unearthed a small, gray stone. He carefully brushed aside the dirt around it before gently picking it up. He held it with both of his forehooves, but it was small enough to fit neatly within a single hoof.

“What’s that?” Swift Cloud inquired. The earth pony examined the rock carefully before twisting it in his hooves. It opened with an unexpected ‘pop!’ to reveal a hollow interior that was lined with sharp, brilliantly purple crystals. Even in the dark they glistened and the pegasus gasped at the sight of their beauty.

“This is a geode,” Humble Pie explained. “More specifically, it’s my geode. Finding this is what got me my cutie mark. Father let me keep it, so I buried it under my bed when I was a little colt.”

“Your bed?” Swift Cloud glanced around at the charred timbers that lined a small section of what was once a house. “So this was your bedroom?”

“Well, not my bedroom. I shared it with my brothers...but yes,” he finished, giving her an awkward smile.

“So if it’s so important to you, why’d you leave it behind?” Swift Cloud inquired.

“I simply forgot it,” the earth pony shrugged. “Left it under my bed, didn’t think about it much after I got my mark and when the dragon attacked we had to flee before I could grab anything. It was only after we left that I remembered it.” He held the stone in his hooves, gazing down at it intently and seemingly lost in thought.

“...You know what?” Humble Pie asked, gently putting the two halves of the geode together. His expression was unreadable.

“...What?” the pegaus replied, feeling somewhat hesitant given the strong memories and emotions the stone was likely evoking in her companion.

The earth pony was silent for a moment. “...It’s a lot smaller than I remember.”

Swift Cloud snorted and dissolved into a fit of giggles, which she quickly tried to stifle. She smiled at him as he now held the geode in one of his hooves. “Are you going to take it with you?” she asked.

“Nah, I just wanted to see if it was still here.” Humble Pie placed the stone on the ground. The faint smile he wore on his face slowly vanished as he looked around at the ruins of the house. “Nothing stays the same, does it? This...all of this,” he muttered, gesturing at their surroundings, “it’s familiar, and yet...it doesn’t resonate with me. Which would make sense, considering that it has been burnt to the ground,” he said bitterly. Swift Cloud’s smile promptly vanished.

“But this,” he continued, picking up the stone in his hoof again, “this was supposed to remain the same. But now I hold it and it feels...different. And all I realize is how much older I am.” Humble Pie shut his eyes tight, clutching the geode in his hoof. “It’s as if everything I know about this place is somepony else’s memories, and...” he trailed off, his eyes clenched shut as if desperate not to let anything escape.

The earth pony took a deep breath to calm down, and a sound that was half sob, half cough came out. He swallowed hard, then made a successful attempt at clearing his throat. “Ahem...I’m sorry,” he said, opening his eyes again and looking at Swift Cloud.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” the pegasus assured him, offering him a gentle nuzzle on the cheek before taking a step back and looking him in the eyes. “Now listen, all of this will go back to how it was before. It will take a lot of work, but I know you can do it. And what’s more, I’ll be here to help you,” she offered, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

Humble Pie’s eyes became watery, but he quickly blinked any potential tears away. “Thank you,” he said, offering her a grateful smile. Swift Cloud pulled him into a hug.

“Now get some sleep already!” she gently scolded as they broke apart. He nodded and she took wing and fluttered back to the top of the bluff. As she flew off, the earth pony deposited the stone back into the hole and began softly burying it once more.

Swift Cloud made her way back to her sleeping spot, her mind occupied by the pony she had just comforted. Warm, tender thoughts circled about in her head, and she prepared herself for an enjoyable rest where she could dwell on them even more. So consumed was she by these thoughts that she didn’t notice the alert pegasus standing out of the corner of her eye.

“Did you just nuzzle him?” Swift Cloud started and turned to face Thunderhead, who was looking at her with a mixture of sternness and appall.

“I...that...none of your business,” Swift Cloud sputtered angrily. Her mind was moving a mile a minute. She considered lying to him, but if he had really seen them then there would be no lie that would convince him otherwise. She looked around and saw with relief that none of the other pegasi were awake or within earshot. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?” she snapped.

“I’m on watch,” he replied simply.

“Oh, watch, huh?” the mare whispered furiously. “Watch means watching out for the dragon, not me!”

“You nuzzled him!” Thunderhead repeated, speaking in an undertone so as not to awake the other pegasi. “And then you hugged him! You hugged a groundling! What is wrong with you?!”

“What is wrong with you?!” she growled through her teeth, shoving a hoof into the stallion’s chest. “If it wasn’t for that pony, neither of us would even be standing here!”

“So you coddle him? He...is...a...groundling!” he hissed, thrusting a hoof in the direction of said pony with each word he spoke.

“And I love him.”

“You love him.” It wasn’t a question; rather Thunderhead was repeating her words with an incredulous tone.

“...Yes.” A slight blush tinged her cheeks, but Swift Cloud looked determined nevertheless.

Thunderhead stared at her for a moment, his mouth hung slightly open, before he sighed and put a hoof to his forehead. “Look, perhaps you are too inexperienced to realize this, but in the course of our duties we meet a lot of ponies. And in the end we have to bid each one farewell-”

“Why can’t you just accept him?” Swift Cloud pleaded. “I think of you as my brother; why won’t you support me in this?”

“I am like a brother to you,” Thunderhead retorted. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection, I want your acceptance!”

“Of this? Your alleged love with a groundling? What has happened to you? What thoughts has that pony been putting inside your head?!”

“If you won’t help me in this, then I’ll do it myself,” the mare snarled before turning around on the spot and stomping away. A few paces later, she stopped and glanced back at the stallion. “Are you going to tell the others about this?”

“Of course not,” Thunderhead replied, taken aback as if she had insulted him. “I would never betray the trust of a sister.”

“Good.” With that, Swift Cloud trotted back to her resting spot and laid on the ground, facing away from her fellow private. She could feel Thunderhead’s glare boring into the back of her head before he finally took flight and resumed his watch. The mare sighed, realizing that all the warm and comforting thoughts she had carried back from her conversation with Humble Pie were now gone. Anger, frustration and disappointment would be her companions tonight.

***

The next morning came early and with nopony having gotten much sleep, nor with a desire to try to sleep. The mood was steely and resolute as they began to scale the mountain, with very few words spoken between them. Swift Cloud and Thunderhead were determinedly ignoring each other, the mare hovering alongside Humble Pie at the front of the herd as the stallion flew beside General Hurricane near the rear of the group.

The plan was straightforward: the dragon slept in a huge cave high up on the peak, which had a entrance large enough for the creature to enter and depart easily. But Humble Pie knew of another entrance to the cave, this one entering the rear of the cavern and big enough for ponies to slip through but far too small for a dragon to notice, let alone use. The group would enter the cave and take the dragon by surprise and if it refused to leave they would push it out by force.

The earth pony scaled the peak carefully, climbing over the large boulders and navigating the narrow crevices with purposeful intent. The pegasi and the unicorn followed, slowly making their way up the mountain. There were moments when Humble Pie would pause, examining the slope before him with a thoughtful expression as he tried to recall what the easiest way up was. The going was slow but steady as they ascended the mountain. The further they went up the thicker the smoke became and the more intense the putrid, sulfuric smell of the dragon was. The rumbling of the dragon’s snores grew so loud that the mountain seemed to shake beneath their hooves. The sound of Star Swirl’s bells were conspicuously absent; he had removed them from his cloak and hat so that they could approach the cave without giving away their presence.

At last, Humble Pie clambered over the top of a tall boulder and suddenly slipped out of sight. Swift Cloud looked up, wondering briefly if he had wandered into the cloud of smoke, but a moment later Humble Pie reappeared, leaning out of the cliff. She fluttered closer and saw that the earth pony was standing in a small alcove in the cliff wall. Behind him was the dark opening of a cave.

“I think I found it!” he whispered excitedly. “Tell the others to enter one at a time, and be careful; the rocks are slippery.” The pegasus nodded and gestured at the others in the group, telling them to approach carefully. Commander Tempest landed beside her and saw the earth pony emerge from the cave, which was so short he had to hunch over. It was so small she couldn’t see how they would have found it on their own, especially if they were flying; from the air it would be virtually invisible.

“This is it,” he confirmed in a low voice, though the dragon’s snores were so loud it seemed unlikely that anything inside the mountain would hear him. Humble Pie backed into the cave and the commander followed, all senses on the alert for what she would find inside. The ground was coated in pebbles and small stones, making it tricky to get a proper hoofing. “The main cavern is just around that bend,” he muttered, pointing ahead. Tempest could just make out a faint glow coming from the end of the tunnel. “Inside is where the dragon sleeps.”

“Excellent.” A sly grin appeared on her face, accompanied by a mad glint in her eyes that sent a chill through the earth pony. She turned to Silver Lining, who was standing behind her at the entrance to the cave. “Simple enter-and-sweep tactics then. We force the dragon out into the open, secure the cave and retreat to this tunnel if we ever need to.” Her advisor nodded and relayed the instructions to the pegasi behind him as she turned back to Humble Pie. “You’ve fulfilled your role, my friend, but I would like to ask one more thing of you.

“With all due respect, you don’t strike me as much of a soldier,” Tempest said, eliciting an awkward chuckle from the earth pony. “But there is a duty I will ask of you: after we enter the cavern, we will then be exposed to danger. I need you to keep the tunnel secure so that we can fall back here if we need to.”

“I think I can do that,” Humble Pie replied, nodding.

“I’m not finished,” the commander continued. “This tunnel is our safe spot, and should any of my soldiers become injured, they will need to come here. Even if they can’t make it on their own.” Tempest gave him a hard, cold stare. “Do you understand me?”

Humble Pie swallowed. “Yes,” he answered, feeling considerably more anxious now.

Tempest nodded and soon each of the ponies followed her into the dark depths of the mountain.