The next morning passed by in a haze of confused farewells and short explanations. Humble Pie managed to find his siblings and asked them to spread the word to his friends. All he told them was that he had found an opportunity to get back in rock farming and was going to be gone for a while. He didn’t dare mention Fortune’s Peak or the dragon, for he knew all too well that his family would try to talk him out of it and berate him for even considering such an insane idea. He felt guilty leaving on such short notice; given the potential danger, it crossed his mind more than once that this could be the last time he saw any of them, but he managed to keep his emotions in check as he bid his relatives farewell.

He returned to his farm to see the pegasi already finished packing and waiting to depart, some more impatiently than others. Star Swirl, Commander Tempest and General Hurricane were looking over a piece of parchment that was laid out on the ground. When Humble Pie arrived the unicorn looked up and waved the earth pony over.

“Ah, Humble! Just who we needed to see,” Star Swirl said as the farmer approached. Looking down at the parchment he could now see that it was a map of the known realms, with the words “MANE VALLEY” written in large lettering at the very center. Upon the wrinkled parchment were illustrations of trees for forests and peaks for mountain ranges, as well as small drawings of buildings to indicate pony settlements and pegasus warrior helmets to mark the location of military outposts. Looking at the map, Humble Pie reflected on the placement of the pony tribes; to the east was the sprawling Pegasi Empire, literally and figuratively looking down from the clouds. To the northwest were the unicorns, acting as lordly as possible up in their mountain castles. And directly in the middle, at the center of tension between these two powerful tribes, were the farms and villages of the earth ponies, reliant on both of the other tribes but staking out their own space. It was a physical manifestation of what Humble Pie had always believed: in the end, no matter how much the pegasi and unicorns tried to deny it, everything revolved around earth ponies.

“Now, here’s Fortune’s Peak,” Star Swirl said, breaking Humble Pie out of his thoughts. The unicorn was pointing at a small illustration of a lone blunt-topped mountain at the lower rightmost corner of the map. “Humble, you’re the only one of us who has been there. Tell us, what route do you think we should take?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Hurricane stated, cutting off the earth pony before he could respond. “We just have to take the straightest, most direct route! Look, there’s this river here,” she said, pointing out a squiggly line that was labeled ‘Long Creek.’ “We could just follow that into the mountains, then cross over to Fortune’s Peak. Simple!”

“Yes, it would be simple…for a pegasus,” Humble Pie muttered. “But for those of us without wings, the headwaters of Long Creek are at some of the steepest cliffs in the world. Imagine a towering wall of stone a thousand hooves high, with jagged rocks at the bottom and frequent rockslides. Unless you pegasi are willing to carry us, there’s no way me or Star Swirl can pass through there,” he finished with a smirk. Hurricane audibly snorted at the idea of carrying a mere earth pony and even Tempest looked slightly disgusted at the thought.

“Very well then, which route would you suggest?” the commander asked.

“When my family fled here, we took a path that led along the edge of the Forest of the Mists,” Humble Pie explained, tracing a hoof on the map as he spoke. “We’d have to walk along the River Mane, then cut across the woods here before we reach the Mists. We don’t have to go into the depths of the forest, but the foothills are so steep that we will have to venture into the trees at times.”

“But that’ll add days to our journey!” Hurricane cried.

“I haven’t seen my grandmother’s mountain in over ten years, General. I can wait a few extra days,” the earth pony stated, giving the pegasus an even look. Hurricane opened her mouth to argue the point, but seemed to decide against it after a moment. “Besides,” Humble Pie continued. “With a bunch of pegasi to fly above the tree tops and check our surroundings, it’s not as if there’s much risk of getting lost in the trees.”

Commander Tempest chuckled. “In any other forest, that would be true. But you seem to have forgotten that this is the Forest of the Mists.”

Humble Pie shrugged. “Nevertheless, we shouldn’t have any problems getting through the forest. From there, we can take a pass through the mountains that will lead us to Fortune’s Peak.” He traced out the path on the map.

“Delightful,” Star Swirl said, levitating the map and rolling it up into a tight scroll with his magic before tucking it into a saddlebag. “Then I believe we are ready to depart!” he announced to the group at large, who responded with a resounding cheer. The pegasi took to the air as the unicorn and the earth pony began trotting along behind. Humble Pie took a moment to glance back up the road at his house, trying to take in the sight of it as much as possible before he left it, knowing he might never see it again. He inhaled deeply, holding in the familiar, fragrant air before he slowly let it go and turned away, intent on not looking back.

***

The first hour passed by without incident. The pegasi flew the entire time, slowly enough that the unicorn and the earth pony could keep up at a steady trot. While none of the pegasi seemed particularly happy about having to fly at a low speed, everypony’s spirits were high and the sunny weather seemed only to bode good tidings for them. General Hurricane had shortly moved to the head of the group, where she was joined by Private Thunderhead. Commander Tempest and Silver Lining were engaged in a quiet conversation over matters of state that no one else in the group would have been likely to take much interest in. Humble Pie and Star Swirl traded a few words, but for the most part trotted along the dirt road in silence. Swift Cloud was taking an immense interest in her surroundings, and her quick speed allowed her to pause and take in the scenery of the farms, the flowing river and the small woods while still keeping up with the rest of the group. She darted between trees, spying birds in their nests and buzzing the leafy branches on top, and would occasionally fly low over the river, letting her hooves skim the top of the water.

Eventually though, Swift Cloud seemed to tire of these sights. At one point she spotted an earth pony family on their farm, staring at the pegasus. She gave them an awkward wave, but received only suspicious glares in return. Swift Cloud fluttered back to the road and landed on the other side of Humble Pie, trotting alongside him and awkwardly trying to shield herself from these cold stares behind the stallion.

“Um…so, Humble Pie,” she began awkwardly. “What’s it like being an earth pony?”

Humble Pie glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. “Well, that depends…what’s it like being a pegasus?”

“Oh! Well…” Swift Cloud paused, at a lost for words. “Well there’s so much to being a pegasus! I wouldn’t even know where to start!”

“And now you see the futility of answering that question,” Humble Pie muttered, turning back to the road. However, Swift Cloud wasn’t bothered by the earth pony’s rebuff.

“Well then, what’s it like not to fly?” the pegasus asked.

“Hard to say. What’s it like to fly?” Humble Pie replied.

“Well, it’s…Oh, I did it again, didn’t I?” Swift Cloud chuckled, giving the earth pony an embarrassed grin. “Alright, let me try this one more time. Why do you like rock farming?”

“I don’t like rock farming,” Humble Pie quickly corrected her. “It’s…deeper than that. It’s…well frankly, I’m not sure you’d understand,” he finished shortly.

“Well, I’m trying to understand but you’re not explaining it very well!” the pegasus admonished the earth pony with a smile. “Alright then, let me tell you a little about myself then!” she offered with a flap of her wings as she took to hovering alongside Humble Pie instead of trotting with him.

“With all due respect,” Humble Pie replied, not sounding like he wanted to give the pegasus beside him any respect whatsoever. “Why would I want to know more about you?”

“In the military we are taught that the only pony we can honorably fight beside with is the one we know like a sister,” Swift Cloud said, placing a hoof solemnly on her chest. “Besides, we’ve got a long journey ahead of us and talking helps pass the time.”

“Fine,” Humble Pie sighed, glancing at the pegasus before opting for the most tired of pony conversation-starters. “How did you get your cutie mark?”

“Ah!” Swift Cloud exclaimed with delight, lifting into the air slightly higher so as to better show off her mark. It depicted a white cloud with a pair of wings protruding from it, though rather than being stationary the wings were in flight position and the cloud had a swept-back shape, as if speeding across the sky. “I got this while at flight academy. Everypony said I was fast, and I knew with my speed I’d make a great soldier!”

Ahead of them, at the front of the pack, Private Thunderhead, flying alongside General Hurricane, glanced back at the pegasus conversing with Humble Pie, regarding the two ponies with narrowed eyes. “What’s Private Swift Cloud doing talking to that groundling?” he growled.

“Hmph. Probably trying to make friends with the earth pony,” Hurricane replied, not bothering to look back. “I swear, she’s worse than Private Pansy sometimes. At least she knows when to follow orders. Private Swift Cloud seems only to care for making friends. For crying out loud, this is the military. We’re not here to make friends; we’re here to serve our nation.”

“I don’t like this,” Thunderhead muttered. “Relying on some simple farmer on a quest as important as this one.”

“I don’t like it much either, but I will not question my mother’s wisdom,” the general responded, giving Thunderhead a level stare. “If she believes that this earth pony will be of some use, then let him. He can have his rocks back and then we won’t have to deal with him any longer.”

***

The rest of the day passed largely in silence. Despite Swift Cloud’s best efforts, she couldn’t coax a very long conversation out of Humble Pie and decided to withhold her barrage of questions for the time being, much to the earth pony’s relief. He didn’t like being the center of attention, especially among a group of ponies he was sure were likely to consider him an anomaly in their group.

It was thus to his relief that they were still firmly in earth pony territory. Each time they passed through a village or past a farm the locals would gawk at this procession of military pegasi passing through their community. Ponies would quickly move out of the way, any activity would ground to a halt, and parents would shield their children or hurry them inside as fast as possible. Many would glare fiercely at them while others would look on in fear. In these instances, Humble Pie would take position at the head of the group, trotting forward with his head held high and occasionally smiling and nodding at the occasional local to assuage their fears. And it seemed to work, but confusion was clearly evident on their faces. Why was this fellow earth pony walking with these pegasi? Was he in trouble with these pegasi? Was he leading these pegasi? And who was that unicorn? Why was he dressed so funny? To Humble Pie’s relief, the pegasi didn’t act out or encourage tension; instead they deliberately ignoring the stares of the ponies they passed, resolutely looking forward without glancing to the side. Even Swift Cloud followed their example, taking up position beside Thunderhead as they flew just behind Commander Tempest.

Every now and then Humble Pie would spot a familiar face, a friend or an acquaintance who lived further up the valley. Each time this happened they would exchange a few words before continuing on, but in the third village they passed through, Humble Pie saw one of the last ponies he wanted to see at the moment: a family member.

“Humble Pie?!” the pony exclaimed, galloping up to the stallion. The pony was a young mare with a light tanned coat and blond hair and was dressed quite well for an earth pony; she was wearing a brown overcoat with a large collar and a large triangular cap with a feather sticking out on one side.

“Cousin Smart Cookie,” the stallion nodded, resolving himself to the barrage of questions that were sure to come. “Here, if you want to talk walk with me, I’ve got to stick close to these pegasi.”

“What in the world are you doing?” Smart Cookie asked, falling in step alongside her cousin. “Who are these pegasi? And what are you doing with them?”

Humble Pie chose to answer only one of these questions. “These pegasi are none other than the very leaders of the Pegasi Empire. That mare there is Commander Tempest, ruler of the pegasi, and the others are all generals, advisors and guards close to her.”

“The leader of the…” Smart Cookie uttered, mouth agape and momentarily at a lost for words. “But what are they doing here? And why are you with them? No offense cousin, but you’ve never seemed all that fond of pegasi.”

Humble Pie gulped and began searching for a distraction. “Uh, Commander Tempest?” he called out. “May I have a moment of your time?”

“You may,” the commander replied, breaking away from her fellow pegasi and landing beside the two earth ponies, who had now stopped walking.

“Commander Tempest, I would like to introduce you to my cousin and good friend, Smart Cookie,” Humble Pie said, gesturing towards the mare. “I have a feeling you might be seeing more of her soon enough; she’s a bit of a rising star in the valley. I imagine before long she’ll be the chancellor.”

“Oh hush,” Smart Cookie muttered, blushing at her cousin’s words. “I may be in politics, but I’ve got a long ways to go before I’m chancellor material.” She swept her hat off her head with one hoof, bowing shortly towards Commander Tempest. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said to the pegasus, who returned the gesture with a smile and a tip of her head.

“Likewise,” Tempest greeted, grinning at the mare before her. “So I trust Humble Pie has informed you of our quest?”

“A quest?” Smart Cookie responded in surprise, looking from the commander to Humble Pie. “You’re on a quest? For what?”

“I take it you haven’t told her then,” a voice nearby chuckled. The three ponies turned to see Star Swirl the Bearded approaching. Humble Pie gave a forced grin as he glanced between Star Swirl and Smart Cookie, who promptly traded greetings while Humble Pie sweated nervously, trying to think of an explanation that would sound believable without betraying the danger or the apparent ludicrousness of this journey.

“Well, cousin?” Smart Cookie inquired.

“Well…I’m going to try to get back into rock farming, and this trip is my chance to find a place to do that,” Humble Pie said, realizing this explanation wouldn’t cut it before he was even finished.

“And you got the leader of the pegasi to help you with that?” Smart Cookie questioned incredulously, raising an eyebrow at the stallion.

Star Swirl seemed to catch on and cut Humble Pie off before the earth pony could stammer through another unconvincing explanation. “Humble Pie has agreed to use his knowledge to help the Pegasi Empire and myself in claiming some unsettled territory for ponykind,” he offered.

“Oh, is that all?” Smart Cookie chuckled. “The way you were acting, for a second I thought you were going to do something dangerous! Not sure what I was thinking though; knowing cousin Humble Pie, he would never do anything risky and foolhardy!” she laughed, eliciting a very awkward and forced laugh from her cousin. Afterwards, Star Swirl suggested that they should keep moving, and Tempest took the hint, with Humble Pie relieved to have an excuse to get away from any more potential questions. They traded farewells with Smart Cookie before departing the village, the pegasi returning to their stoic expressions while Star Swirl and Humble Pie trotted alongside each other down the road.

“Clever girl; she truly lives up to her name,” the unicorn chuckled, the merry sound of his bells accentuating his cheer. “I dare say, if I was not there you would have told her everything before long.”

“Hmph,” the earth pony grunted, his dignity wounded as he avoided the magician’s gaze. Star Swirl only laughed in response.

***

Nightfall came late, owing to the long summer days which were presently gifting the land with their warmth and extended light. By the time the sun set beyond the vast, uncharted wilderness to the west, the group had made very good progress, already passing beyond the most populated region of the valley and reaching the edge of the serene woods which marked the beginning of the Forest of the Mists beyond.

General Hurricane, Private Thunderhead and Private Swift Cloud scouted ahead briefly to seek out a suitable campsite for the night, and returned to lead them to a small clearing on the banks of the River Mane. It was a peaceful setting, with the steady flow of the river offering a soothing rhythm that filled Humble Pie with a deep calmness. As the sunlight faded there was little wind, so the darkening canopy of trees surrounding the clearing remained steady, giving the impression of protective walls that would grant security to the ponies they contained. Between the trunks of those trees, fireflies lazily hovered about; pinpricks of light which would illuminate briefly before vanishing into the darkness, only to reappear a short distance away.

Humble Pie and Star Swirl walked around the clearing, collecting some wood for a fire, although the magician proved to be the most effective at this task, being able to simultaneously lift several pieces in the air at once with his powers. A few sparks from his horn were all that was required to get the pile ablaze. Above, Hurricane stared down at Star Swirl as he lit the fire with his magic, a wary and almost frightened expression on the pegasus’ face, but this went unnoticed by the two grounded ponies, who were soon laying on the soft grass to enjoy the fire’s warmth.

Star Swirl glanced to his side and noticed the earth pony staring into the fire, watching the flames lick the branches of dead wood with a faraway expression on his face.

“You seem troubled,” the unicorn remarked.

“Hmmm? Oh. Hmmm,” Humble Pie muttered, not taking his eyes off the fire. “I was just thinking about what we told cousin Smart Cookie. I can’t help but wonder if I’m making a mistake here.”

“Ah, such is the thought of all who go on adventures,” Star Swirl offered, taking his eyes off the earth pony. “To be away from the comfortable and familiar and venture into the dark unknown beyond the world we know.”

“You’re not helping,” Humble Pie grumbled before grasping a log with his teeth and chucking it into the fire. Star Swirl chuckled, acknowledging his friend’s discomfort. “Well,” the earth pony continued. “I’m here; I’ve just got to resolve myself to it is all.”

“No,” Star Swirl replied, causing Humble Pie to finally look directly at the magician. “Don’t resolve yourself to this task because you think you have no other choice. Do it because of what you stand to gain.”

Humble Pie considered this for a moment. “But I also stand to lose a lot as well.”

“And that’s what makes it an adventure,” Star Swirl stated simply, smiling with the triumph of one who knows the argument has been won.

They sat quietly beside the fire for some time after, the pegasi already asleep in their clouds just above. Finally the two ponies on the ground fell asleep on the grass, the nearby fire fading with their consciousness. The crackles of the fire grew quieter and less frequent, the few remaining sparks drifting into the air where they vanished into the night like the light of the fireflies who were rapidly dispersing as dusk gave way to dark.

However, as the night wore on, some of those pinpricks of light between the trees did not fade. Rather than flickering off and on and drifting lazily through the woods, they remained steady, constant…alert. Soon they began to approach the clearing, and none of the ponies were awake to hear the rustle of bushes that accompanied their movement.