Everything about Igneous was gruff, yet gentle, and Tarnish felt it when the old stallion hugged him. The foreleg that wrapped around his neck was as hard as the unyielding stone, well muscled, and covered in a fine latticework of scar tissue that was rough and sandpapery against Tarnish’s pelt. As they embraced, Tarnish thought about the foreleg around his neck; as strange as it might be while being hugged, it was what came to his mind and he reflected upon it. It was a limb that Igneous’ beloved fillies had clung to during times of trouble or fright. He comforted them, hugged them, that strong, burly foreleg was Igneous’ connection to his family, and also, to Tarnish as well.

When Igneous pulled away, their eyes met, just as Tarnish’s eyes had met with Cloudy’s when she had hugged him. Something was different now, so very different, but Tarnish couldn’t say what it was.

Tarnish stepped back, blinking, and then watched as Igneous was tackled by Limestone, who had no idea what gentle affection was. He watched as she kissed her father’s face and then attempted to squeeze the life out of him.

Off to his left, Tarnish heard a soft gasp, and then he was being hugged by Marble. He leaned into her affection, treasuring it, and then Maud embraced the both of them in a three way squeeze. It was hard, saying goodbye, but important and meaningful. Having been almost killed several times during the last trip, the need to say goodbye was now a priority. Anything could happen. These ponies were his family, and he loved them. He had come a long way since being banished from Ponyville. He had a place where he belonged, a unicorn among earth ponies.

“I’ll look after the cabbages and keep planting stuff among the poison joke,” Marble said as she rubbed her cheek against both Tarnish and Maud. “It’s nice growing stuff.”

“At least the poison joke can look after itself,” Maud said to her sister. “Mom and Dad are going to be mopey, Marble. Make sure you look after them. You’re the only one who will be left at home and Daddy is going to be upset.”

“I’ll be fine!” Igneous snapped.

“See, he’s already distraught,” Maud said in a flat, unremarkable monotone.

“I am not!” Igneous, who still had Limestone hanging off of him, stomped over to where Maud was, pulled her free from Marble and Tarnish, and then gave her a fierce hug as he squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re my little Maudlin… come back to me.”

“Aw, look, Daddy’s all emotional,” Limestone said as she let go of her father. She sat down in the dirt and glanced over at her mother, who now stood beside her. “Daddy and Maud are so much alike.”

Cloudy, sniffling, nodded her head, which made her glasses go askew, and draped a foreleg over Limestone’s withers. She squeezed her daughter, blinked a few times, and then kissed Limestone’s cheek. Overhead, feral clouds were pink and orange in the rosy light of dawn, and the reflections could be seen in her glasses.

“Look after Buttons if she drops by… please? She’s lonely and she needs friends,” Tarnish said.

“We’ll give her a fair chance,” Cloudy replied.

“Thank you,” Tarnish said to Cloudy, “it means a lot to me. She’s a good diamond dog. She’s really lonely. I’m sure she’d love to help out if ponies would just give her a chance, but they need to see that Buttons can be trusted. You all have a lot of influence in these parts.”

“I’m willing to respect anypony—” Igneous paused and his brows furrowed as he pulled away from Maud. “I’m willing to give anyone a fair shot if they work hard, diamond dogs included.”

“You had all better get going,” Cloudy said in a worried voice. “More clouds are rolling in and it feels humid. I bet there will be rain later. Get some distance before the storm comes.”

“Mom is right.” Limestone rose and stood up. “Maud, want to double hitch so we put on some speed?”

“Sure.” Maud gave her sister a nod. “Tarnish, are you ready to go?”

“Yeah I am,” Tarnish replied as Marble let go of him. He leaned over, stretched out his neck, and kissed Marble on the cheek as she scooted away, causing her to blush. He adjusted his trusty pith helmet and then began strapping on the rest of his gear. When he had his saddlebags secured, he hung Flamingo from his saddlebag strap.

He watched as the two Pie sisters went to the wagon. Maud opened the tack box, pulled out a second harness, and began to attach it to the wagon with some pins and clips. Maud was quick and the second harness was secured in no time. She and Limestone slipped into their harnesses with practiced ease, and a part of Tarnish wished that he was a little bit stronger. Or a whole lot stronger.

Maud’s pith helmet wasn’t quite as beat up and battered as his own, but he knew that with some time, it would gain character. The road was all about character. It was about being cold, or hot, or wet, and somehow liking it. It was about being miserable, or in danger, or being bored, and somehow making yourself believe that you were having a good time. Tarnish had learned what character was during his first outing, and he was eager to find out what he would learn from this new jaunt.

The brake lever was popped and the hoof brake was undone. The wagon made a creak as the two sisters gave it a test tug. Tarnish turned to look at Marble, Igneous, and Cloudy, who were all sitting together.

“Goodbye,” the three of them said together.

Tarnish nodded. No more delays, no more waiting, it was time to go. “Goodbye…”

The two Pie sisters moved with surprising speed, and the rock farm along with Rock Haven was soon far behind them. Tarnish kept up with relative ease, and his well secured saddlebags did not slap against his sides, beating him up with every step. He had learned much from his experiences.

They headed south, along the road, with their destination just north of the Hayseed Swamps, east of the Rambling Rock Ridge, along the river, which eventually dumped out into the Horseshoe bay.

“I want to see the world a little bit,” Limestone said to her sister. “Before I settle in and become a bat guano magnate, I want to see the world and have a little fun.” Limestone’s ears bounced with every step and she appeared to be expending no effort at all. “And after the mine is running well, I think I’ll use some of the money I make to visit the Grittish Isles and Trottingham.”

“We still have family there,” Maud said to her sister.

“I know… I’m thinking about trying to meet some of them. I’ve done a bit of looking, some of them still use the Pye and Coffyns and Coffins name.” Limestone smiled. “Funny names for pies, but it is what it is.”

Overhead, more clouds moved in, some of them a bit dark. A feral storm was brewing, that was for certain. It was unseasonably warm and humid, but the breeze was chilly, cold even, goose bump inducing.

Tarnish was glad that this was going to be a rather short trip to get to where they were going. They wouldn’t be crossing Equestria, just going south a bit until they reached The Scariest Cave in Equestria, although they had plans to stop and see some sights along the way. Maud knew of some fantastic geological formations.

Pulling out his camera, Tarnish snapped a photo of the two sisters as they pulled the wagon. This was a treasured, happy moment and he wanted to remember it. He snapped a second photo and then stuffed the camera back into his saddlebags.

“I’ve never been hitched to a wagon that pulls this easy,” Limestone said as she turned her head and looked back over her shoulder at the wagon behind her. “This low friction low resistance rolling stuff is more than just a gimmick.”

“This almost feels wrong,” Maud agreed in deadpan.

Looking around him, Tarnish checked out the scenery. There were wildflowers along the side of the road, bushes, trees, and there were a lot of bees about. Birds squawked and scolded as the trio traveled past. Off in the distance, beyond some trees that acted as a windbreak along the road, a well groomed field spread out before them. Earth ponies stood out among the green rows, labouring in the sun, harvesting their crops as the fall season crept ever closer. Foals darted about the fields, running around beneath the legs of the adults, and probably acting more like a nuisance than any sort of help.

Tarnish’s head turned and he stared at Maud, knowing what curves lurked beneath her smock. He loved those curves, each and every one of them, treasured them, and thinking about them made him smile. He thought about the foals in the field. Maybe a foal wouldn’t be so bad. Just one of course. Just one. A little colt might be nice. Yes, a little colt. A cute little chocolate brown colt, a miniature version of himself, a little version of Tarnish to make Maud happy. Tarnish thought about a little version of himself and the adventures they could have together as he stared at Maud.

It would be easy to convince Maud to try motherhood. She was already interested, but if his suggestion failed for whatever reason, he knew that if he rubbed her backside with his hooves, just above her cutie marks, then rubbed her back as he crept over her and made his way up to her neck, he could wear down her stony defenses and make her agree to anything.

Blinking, Tarnish yanked his head forwards and gave himself a mental slap. What was he thinking? He wasn’t ready for fatherhood just yet. Nope. Nope. Nope! He didn’t know what had just come over him, but it scared him. He glanced over the vast green fields and the happy herd of earth ponies. Again, he felt a strange sense of longing when he saw the frolicking foals. What strange and horrible magic was at work here? He turned away from the pastoral fields and focused upon the road up ahead.

A foal was further on up the road. It was a destination that would come later on the journey. For now, he needed to continue to establish himself. Make a name for himself, like Maud had made a name for herself. She had a volcano named after her. Tarnish’s gaze drifted back over to Maud, who was talking to her sister. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t hear a word they were saying.

“So, now that we are away from Mom and Dad, when are you going to make me an aunt? I’d like to have a little foal to spoil, but I ain’t ready for the responsibility of having one.”

Glancing upwards, Tarnish kept a wary eye on the weather situation. It felt good to be on the road again. His legs knew what to do and he walked with the pace of a seasoned traveler. The clouds overhead were getting thicker and thicker, while the day was growing dimmer and dimmer. What little of the sun that was visible showed that it was not yet noon. There would be rain by lunchtime or the afternoon by the very latest, and a real drencher by the looks of things.

“Oh, I don’t know, Limestone, I think that’s a long way off. I think Tarnish and I are happy with how things are. But, if things change, I’ll let you know.”

As Tarnish walked, he thought about the coming winter. The cottage would be done by then. He wasn’t sure what he and Maud would do during the winter. The snow would make travel all but impossible. How many months would winter endure and trap them on the rock farm? Tarnish began to feel a growing sense of fear—he wasn’t afraid of being snowed in, stuck in a cottage with Maud, that sounded lovely, but to be trapped for months with no means to go anywhere, just stuck, that sounded awful. That was a recipe for stir crazy.

Maybe he and Maud could travel south for the winter, like the birds, to a place where it wasn’t so cold. He sighed. That didn’t feel fair to Igneous, Cloudy, Marble, Limestone, Pinky, or his mother, Pinny. They were all probably looking forward to having a nice holiday together. They were all a family now and families spent the holidays together.

“You know, Maud, while Marble keeps planning for things like marriage and having foals, I just can’t seem to get into that. I mean, it would be nice and all, great even, but I keep thinking about business stuff. Going to university. Growing a nice mining business. Maybe having myself an empire, something so big that I would need my own airship just to get from one place to another. It’s not even money that I want, at least I don’t think it is, the money is just a means to an end. I just want to do something grand, something spectacular.”

The breeze picked up, now coming in from the north, and blowing against Tarnish’s tail. This breeze wasn’t chilly, but quite warm. Feeling it made Tarnish realise that there was serious trouble brewing, doubly so when the strong southern breeze blew into his face a moment later, bringing with it a wash of cold. Overhead, the clouds began to swirl.

Tarnish came to an abrupt halt and adjusted his pith helmet. “You know, ladies, I think it is time we made camp. I think we’re about to have a squall...”

Author's Notes:

And we're off on an adventure!