Difficulty, thy name is mountain-climbing. Such was Twilight's foremost thoughts as she and her companions tread carefully with every passing moment. Though none but Applejack had anything even remotely resembling mountaineering experience, they had nevertheless managed to get rather far, all things considering. It was fortunate for all concerned that their destination was not at the very summit of the North Peak, otherwise this journey would have been nigh on impossible for them. Although, in fairness, that's what it seemed like anyway. With cold winds blowing out at them, chilling them to the bone and halting them from hearing anything else, and the crumbling of the rocks all around them, this was not somewhere any of them wanted to be, regardless of whatever useful information they could find at the end of it.

And yet, they were here, which was something they simply had to put up with. The only small comfort any of them could find in all of this was that, at long last, they had reached the point in their trek where they were no longer scaling near-vertical cliff-faces. However, the bad news in that is that their path had been replaced instead with a narrow ledge, one that they had to inch across very carefully, all while their backs were pressed against the mountain itself. To top everything off, a light flurry had begun at this altitude, causing many of them to even have difficulty in seeing where they were going. All in all, it was a difficult time for them. But, on they pressed, moving ever so slowly, lest some stray step send them tumbling to their doom, which was a concern ever-present for them.

"How much longer?!" Spike called out.

Keeping her eyes ahead on her path, Applejack shook her head.

"Dunno! Can't see a thing out here!"

Naturally, such words did little to help matters, but, for the time being, they simply chose to keep on moving as they had done thus far. Every once in a while, a particular spot they stepped on would feel just that tiniest bit loose, causing them to halt in fear. But, as always, nothing came of it, and after a few rounds of relieved sighs, they would carry on. They didn't know how long they'd been carrying on like this, but, given how dark it was becoming, they reckoned that it must have been a few hours at least. They were getting tired, which, out here, was a dangerous prospect. Confidence was dwindling, as evidenced by the looks on everybody's faces, and it looked as if there was no end in sight. But then, at the end of it all, Applejack called out.

"Wait! Ah see...wait...is it? Ye...yes, it is!"

None of the group behind her knew what she was talking about, only that she started to up her pace a bit. Looking to one another, there was a feeling that it was best for them to do the same, and so each of them moved just that little bit faster. Soon afterwards, they all began to see what the farm girl had noticed; a ledge, just further along from them, wide enough for all of them to gather without incident. This narrow ledge they were on was soon ending, causing no end of delight for the group. So, they continued, and, after carefully making their way along, they finally managed to get to the ledge. Panting was abound, as each person struggled to catch their breath.

"If I...never...have to climb...another mountain...it'll...be too soon!" Pinkie remarked.

A round of nods followed that, displaying everybody's agreement with her. However, while nobody could deny that it was a relief to be out of that situation, there was no time to celebrate, as the mood was, rather swiftly, halted. Fluttershy, while taking her final step to be on the same ledge as everybody else, had mis-timed her step, and as such, the point where the path met the ledge had started to crumble. This caused her to start falling backwards, which would, inevitably, have led to her going all the way down the mountain. Thankfully, this tragedy was averted, as Rainbow, just in time, noticed this before it happened, leaping forward and grabbing hold of her hand.

"Fluttershy!"

Her words caused everybody else to notice what was going on, and they looked on in horror at what nearly transpired. Thankfully, Rainbow had enough of a grip on the healer to be able to pull her onto the ledge in earnest. But, for the moment, Fluttershy was clearly terrified over what had just occurred, as shown by the heavy breathing she was doing right now. She dropped to her knees, her expression one of sheer fright, prompting Rainbow to kneel beside her, placing her hand upon her shoulder.

"Hey there...you okay, Flutters?"

There was a pause, during which, all Fluttershy could do was continue her panting. But, after a while, she slowly turned to her friend, giving a brief nod. Rainbow stared at her for a moment, just to make sure she was alright, before giving a nod in response. Turning, the ranger looked to her companions, all of whom seemed just as relieved as she was that things had not gone badly there. For the time being, Twilight looked to the rest of her party, gesturing them to take five for the time being. It was a sentiment they all seemed to appreciate, as they all slumped to the ground, sounding utterly exhausted. In the moments that followed, there was nothing but the howling sounds of the winds around them, and the chill that continued to plague them. In the midst of it all, Spike looked to Twilight.

"So...what is it we're hoping to find here?"

To that, the young mage shook her head.

"I don't know Spike. At this point, I'd just be satisfied with a simple go here kind of message."

A chuckle escaped the Prince after hearing that, and he nodded in agreement. The two looked over to Fluttershy, who seemed to be recovering nicely from her ordeal a few moments ago, with Rainbow constantly by her side. The silent healer looked to her, showing appreciation, which Rainbow couldn't help but smile at. Getting up at long last, Rainbow placed her hands upon her hips, looking around at the place they'd taken their break. However, moments later, her smile faded.

"Um...guys? I think we have a problem."

Naturally, such a remark earned her the attention of all of her companions, and they looked to her with confusion plastered all over their faces. In response to this, the ranger pointed to something over on the other side of the group. Following the trail of her finger, it wasn't long before they all saw what she was staring at. For there, right in a small patch of snow on the nearby ground, was a footprint. The group looked to one another, showing clear concern over this, but Rainbow, narrowing her eyes, walked towards this unexpected sign. Kneeling down beside it, she placed her hand upon the footprint.

"Hmmm...fresh. Whoever made this isn't far off."

Walking beside her, Twilight looked to her companion with worry.

"What do we do?"

Rainbow looked to her for a moment, before turning to face directly ahead of her. Standing tall once more, the ranger took off her bow, readied an arrow, and frowned slightly.

"Stay close. I'll move ahead. If there's trouble...we'll deal with it."

While Twilight was, naturally, concerned with such a plan, she saw that Applejack, who had also walked alongside her, was readying her own weapon, Bloomberg, holding it tightly in her hand and walking to join with Rainbow. Looking over her shoulder, Twilight saw that Fluttershy was standing once more, with Pinkie close by to comfort her. As for Spike, he seemed just as willing to join in on the new plan, though it gave his friend no comfort to think of it. Letting out a sigh, the young mage gave Rainbow a nod, and, with that silent permission given, the latter started to cautiously make her way ahead. The group began to move together now, walking slowly around many a large and jagged rock, always making sure to be as careful as they had been on their climb up here to begin with.

Many minutes passed before anything of note happened, and when it did, Rainbow raised a hand to stop them. When they halted, they looked ahead, eager to see what had happened. When they did, their eyes widened with surprise. For just around the corner, they could see what they had been looking for. It was a castle, clearly centuries old, and crumbling from years of neglect and abandonment. Though Twilight was eager to get closer, she was halted once more by Rainbow, who looked to her with a frown.

"There's somebody over there."

Naturally, Twilight was a little concerned by that, but, ever so slowly, started to peek around Rainbow. Up ahead, near what was clearly the entrance to that castle, there was indeed a figure of some sort. She couldn't recognise them, for they were clad in a long and flowing blue cloak, not unlike her own, complete with a hood. The latter garment was raised, obscuring the wearer's identity, prompting Twilight to look to Rainbow yet again.

"What do we do?"

Rainbow said nothing, her face making it clear that she was deep in thought over their next move. Occasionally, she'd cast a glance in Applejack's direction, and together, the two would simply share a look. After a while of enduring this silence, Twilight watched as Rainbow, still looking ahead, finally answered her.

"There's only one out there. And there's six of us. If we go in, weapons drawn...we might be able to get some answers."

Twilight took on a look of concern at that.

"We don't want to start a fight, Rainbow."

The ranger chuckled.

"I'm not going to start a fight...not unless they start one."

It was clear to Twilight that her companion had already made up her mind on this, and that there was little she could do to change it at this point. Before she could say or do anything else, she observed the two before her stand tall, their weapons in hand, making their way ahead. Though hesitant, Twilight soon joined them, followed shortly by the rest. Together, they walked around the corner, coming out into the clear and finally meeting the figure in open ground. The stranger's head turned towards them, giving away the fact that they'd been seen, and it was here that Rainbow drew back a single arrow.

"Evening," she said.

The figure remained silent and motionless, with their cloak flapping in the still-high winds around them. Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy all bore nervous looks, while Spike's was one of uncertainty. As for Rainbow and Applejack, they stared at the figure, narrowing their eyes, before, at last, it was Applejack who spoke next.

"We don't want no fight, but...it'd be real useful if y'all could tell us who ya are and what yer doin out here."

Again, the figure remained silent, prompting Rainbow to take another step forward.

"So...are you gonna talk to us, or what?"

Again, just silence. Naturally, this was getting on Rainbow's nerves.

"Okay, that's it! Either speak up, or you're getting this arrow your way!"

Twilight looked to her with wide eyes at that.

"What?! No! Rainbow, we don't want to fight them!"

Rainbow kept her eyes ahead as she answered.

"We need to get in there, Twilight, and this...this...whoever it is, is blocking our way! So either they move, or we move them!"

The figure remained as silent and motionless as ever, leading to ever-increasing rage for Rainbow.

"Argh! That does it!"

And with that, the die was cast, as Rainbow's single arrow was finally let loose. Twilight was unable to stop her, even when she tried her magic. Even if she could have concentrated hard enough to conjure a spell, it was already too late, and she watched as the arrow flew through the air, heading straight for the stranger ahead of them. The young mage shut her eyes, expecting fully to hear the clear thudding sound of somebody falling to the ground. But, that was not what happened, and instead, all she could hear was, as usual, more wind. Slowly, she cracked one eye open, and saw, nearby, that Rainbow was looking on at something with shock plastered all over her face. Confused, Twilight turned, and here too, she looked on with disbelief.

For the figure had not fallen. Instead, they remained standing where they had been this entire tie. And the arrow? It was, quite simply, hovering, right in front of their hooded face. It was bathed in a pale-blue aura, which Twilight recognised immediately as magic. Needless to say, looks of shock were abound amongst the group, doubly so when the figure finally released that arrow, letting it fall to the snowy ground beneath them. Here, at last, they took a few steps forward, prompting Rainbow and Applejack to ready their weapons yet again. But, before Twilight had a chance to stop them, she heard, to her surprise, a voice.

"You may want to consider choosing your travelling companions more carefully, Miss Sparkle. These ones lack patience."

To that, Twilight turned to the figure, a look of recognition crossing her face, as she slowly shook her head.

"It...it can't be."

When the figure was only a few metres away, they raised their hands to their hood, and finally, lowered it. Both Twilight and Spike gained looks of shock, while the others simply looked on with confusion, turning from the two friends, to this newcomer before them, and back again. As for the figure, their true face had been revealed; an older woman, with pale skin and dark-purple hair, tied into a bun. Her expression was one of incredulity, with a single raised eyebrow. After hesitating for a moment, Twilight, at long last, spoke.

"La...Lady Rarity?"

The newcomer nodded, looking to the mage with typical stoicism.

"Yes, Miss Sparkle, it is me."

After casting a brief glance to Spike, Twilight said perhaps the only thing she could say under the circumstances.

"Wha...what are you doing here?"

To this, Rarity frowned.

"Simple. I'm here...to get you back on track."

Author's Notes:

With that, the main cast is assembled. And I think that's as good a place as any to take a break from writing this story for a bit. I will be returning to it, have no fear of that, but, for the time being, there are a few other stories I want to get out of my system before I return to this one.

So, for the moment, I hope you've enjoyed what I've written here so far, and I hope you all enjoy when I return to it, whenever that may be.