Though the sun had not yet risen, it's light could nevertheless be seen, far away, just about to break and greet the new morning. Twilight stood alone for the moment, looking out upon that horizon, and the path that lay ahead of her. She had not slept well, her mind filled with many doubts and concerns, as per usual. But now, in this crisp, cold morning, she at least had the benefit of not feeling quite so burdened, at least, not for the time being. Exhaling, she allowed herself simply to concentrate on her visible breath on this cold day. The dew on the grass glistened as the light levels continued to rise, and all around, there was nothing but silence, broken only by the occasional songs of the morning birds. It was peaceful, calm and serene. Exactly how Twilight liked it.

But these moments did not last forever, as it was not long before the creaking of a wooden door could soon be heard. Turning, Twilight smiled as she looked upon her friends. Spike led the way out, followed swiftly by Pinkie, Rainbow and Fluttershy. Many of them nodded to the young mage, greeting her, which she nodded back to soon afterwards. After letting out a long yawn, Spike looked to his childhood friend, placing his hands upon his hips before finally breaking the silence.

"So...ready for the next day of this?"

A brief chuckle escaped her before, once more, giving a nod.

"I am. You?"

A smile on Spike's lips gave her all the answer she needed, and it was a sentiment shared in the expressions of all of her companions. However, it was barely a few seconds afterwards when yet more arrivals caught Twilight's attention. Turning, she saw, coming around the corner of the keep, was Granny Smith, once more hobbling along on her ancient cane. Behind her was Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh, each of whom bore welcoming smiles as they neared the young mage.

"Good mornin, young'uns," the older woman called out.

Smiling back, Twilight gave a brief bow of her head.

"And to you, Granny Smith."

Once finally there, the matriarch of the Apple family planted her cane firmly in the ground, holding the top with both hands before surveying the group before her. A silence passed, but it was short-lived, as she soon let out a brief chuckle.

"Well now, look at you. All ready and rarin ta go, eh?"

Twilight regarded her travelling companions, all of whom gave her looks that made it clear that they were indeed ready for this, before turning once more to Granny Smith, nodding once in response to her question. Her own smile widening, Granny Smith turned to her eldest Granddaughter, Applejack, reaching forward and gently placing a hand upon her own.

"Remember, Jacqueline...be safe out there."

A stern nod came from the girl, after which she got to one knee, embracing her Grandmother in a hug. Observing this warm family moment, Twilight couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt about it all.

"Um...Applejack? You know...I appreciate this, but..."

But, she was halted by a raised hand from the girl, as she stood tall once more.

"Now don't y'all go fussin about mah safety, Twilight! We Apples can handle ourselves just fine, thank ya very much. Besides..."

A grin crossed the face of the farm girl, as she reached behind and patted the hilt of that greatsword of hers, which Twilight only now noticed had been strapped to her back this whole time.

"...if anythin comes our way, me an ole Bloomberg here will take care of em fer ya."

Hearing that, Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"You named your sword?"

Looking to her, Applejack frowned.

"Lots of folk name their swords."

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Yeah...a lot of doofuses name their swords."

As one would expect, Applejack's frown deepened upon hearing those words, and she started taking a menacing step towards the ranger. Sensing that a fight was brewing, Twilight immediately stepped between the two, forcing a smile and speaking to Applejack as sweetly as possible.

"Applejack, I...I'm truly grateful that you want to help us out. In truth, we...we really could use the help."

Looking to the mage, Applejack could see that, while her words had been hurried for obvious reasons, there was nevertheless a great deal of honesty there. And that, at the very least, was something the farm girl could appreciate. Sighing, she put on a warm smile, before reaching forward and patting Twilight's shoulder.

"Whatever yer lookin fer, Twi...ah'll do what ah can."

Twilight smiled back, but, for the moment, stayed silent, as Applejack looked once more to her family. They said no words to one another, with Applejack merely looking into the eyes of each and every one of them. Mac seemed concerned, but tried his best to keep it hidden behind some typical stoic expression. Apple Bloom, as the youngest was, naturally, finding this harder to take, and walked past her Grandmother to her sister, who promptly embraced her in a deep hug. Both Pinkie and Fluttershy looked on with soft expressions at this display, as did Twilight, while Rainbow just looked away. When Applejack and her sister parted, the former raised her hand and wiped away a single tear from beneath the eye of the latter, before giving her a brief nod.

"Ah'll be back...ah promise."

The young girl still looked upset, but, for now, gave a nod, accepting that promise for the time being. With that, Applejack stood tall once more, looking to Twilight and, after taking a deep breath, gained a more stern expression.

"Well...shall we?"

Twilight looked to the rest of her group, and here, at last, Pinkie spoke up, rubbing her arms in a clear display of chilliness.

"Yeah, um, sorry for breaking the mood, but...can we go? I'm freezing out here!"

And that, at the very least, did some good in giving everybody cause to laugh for a little bit, much to Pinkie's annoyance. But, when the laughter died down, they all looked to one another a final time before, at last, starting to walk off. They walked at a fair pace, with Sweet Apple Acres growing smaller and smaller in their eyes as they moved. Applejack, naturally, kept her eyes upon her home, looking over her shoulder to it until, finally, it was simply too distant to be seen. With her home no longer in view, she let out a melancholy sigh. Noticing this, Twilight, in a move similar to Applejack herself, placed her hand upon her shoulder. It was a gesture the latter appreciated, as evidenced by the small smile she gave the young mage. But, as sweet as this moment was, it was then interrupted when Rainbow spoke up from behind.

"So...I'm all for heading off, but...does anyone know where we're going?"

Though irritated at the interruption, Applejack looked to the ranger and gave an answer.

"Granny said yer lookin fer old stuff, right?"

To this, Twilight nodded.

"Yes. Ruins and abandoned places from centuries ago. Something that might contain information important to our search."

Nodding, Applejack perked up slightly before replying to that.

"Well, ah do know of one place. Real ancient castle of some sort, on top of the North Peak. Used ta hear all kinds of stories bout it."

To that, all of the rest of the party ground to a halt, staring at Applejack with wide eyes.

"The...the North Peak?!" Twilight exclaimed.

Applejack looked to her and nodded.

"Yep. Northernmost mountain of the Crescent Range. We should get to it after about a day's walkin."

Silence was her response, as all of her companions just stared at her, shocked at her words. After a long while, Rainbow slapped her forehead in a display of frustration.

"Ugh! Great! Now we need to go climb a mountain?!"

To that, Applejack simply chuckled.

"Shoot, Rainbow! Just think of it like...tryin somethin different."

Looking to her, the ranger narrowed her eyes, prompting Applejack to look away.

"Or...maybe not."

A laugh escaped Rainbow, but it was clear that it was dry and utterly humourless.

"Yeah...climb a mountain. After having walked a whole day, and in the middle of the cold season?"

Looking back to her, Applejack frowned again.

"Hey! Y'all said ya wanted ruins. And ruins is what ah gave ya!"

Sensing another fight, Twilight raised her hands, halting both of them. Taking a brief moment of this peace, she took off her glasses, rubbing her temples to relieve some of the stress, before placing the spectacles back upon her face, after which she looked to both of her companions.

"Look, Rainbow...Applejack and her family have lived around this area a long time. If she says that this is something we should look at, then we should at least give it a try."

It was clear that such an answer was far from satisfying for the ranger, as she started to march off down the path ahead in a huff, much to the concern of her comrades. Letting out a sigh, Twilight shook her head.

"It's going to be a long day."

Looking to her, Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Haven't they all?"

Thinking on that for a moment, Twilight gave a brief-but-dry laugh of her own.

"Yeah...good point."