I came to, the smell of roasted tubers tickling my nose.

Where was I? What happened?

Why did my head feel like it had been emptied, cleaned, and refilled with wool?

I opened my eyes.

The room above me was clear and sunny.

"Ugh..." I groaned, sitting up and now feeling like every part of me was filled with stuffing.

"Well good morn sleepyhead!" cried a voice from nearby.

I finally got the wherewithal to look around.

The room I found myself in was, in a word, cluttered. Shelves had been built into the wall, but nothing had been put on them. Instead, hanging from the edges were a series of hooks and poles, from which various jars, bottles, and tins, made of everything from terracotta to glass to metal, further hung from strings of leather and flax. From what few glasses there were, I could see various herbs and leaves stashed inside. Occasionally, even the bough of a large plant could be seen, purposefully hung to dry out.

In the middle of the room, stood a simple table, too crude for noble use, but too refined to be made on the road. While it was mostly clear, there were several plates of roasted potatoes, closed jars, a candle holder, and a strange glass pipe with a sphereical bottom, in which I could see ashes.

By far the most notable however, were the two Ponies sitting at the table. One, a blue green Earth Pony mare with a ginger mane tied back with a shawl, and the other, a truly ancient Unicorn mare with a greying lilac coat and semi curved horn.

Stars above... She looked older than Starswirl!

"Hey there sugar!" the Earth Pony cheered. "How ya doin'?"

Being called 'sugar', made the previous night rush back.

"What'd you give me last night?" I asked quietly, clutching my head with a hoof.

"Yew? Nuttin'." The Earth Pony smiled. "Yew jus' happened to walk in on me tryin' a new blend."

"Oh don't mind her dearie." the Unicorn said, her voice slow with age. "She's a right whizz with her herbs."

"I'm... Sorry, I don't believe we've met?"

"Oh forgive me dearie." the Unicorn smiled. "Sometimes I forget not everypony knows who I am." She put a gnarled hoof to her chest. "My name is Mistmane. And my friend here is-"

"Yall keen call me Meadowbrook." The Earth Pony cut in. "Butchu already know tha'."

"... How could you even see last night? I couldn't even see my sister..."

"Aw shoot. Ain't no thang. In my Ma's swamp yew can't get no more than wun candle a moon. So yew learn ta get by with nuttin'."

Meanwhile Mistmane had taken the opportunity to take a sip from the cup she was nursing, not minding the interruption at all.

"Come join us dearie." she smiled kindly. "The day is young and this meal Meadow made won't eat itself."

I was about to respond when something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

The still form of Sapphire Shine, breathing so slowly I wasn't sure if she had stopped at first.

"Oh dun worry 'bout her." Meadowbrook stated. "She'll be out fer a few more hours yet."

"Oh..." I said, getting to the edge of the bed. To my sides, a total of two other beds could be seen. One to my right, and one on the other side of Sapphire.

Donk.

My back hooves hit something on the floor as I sat on the edge of the bed.

I lifted a my right leg to see the hilt of one of my swords, I had accidentally stepped on it, causing the pommel to hit the wooden floor.

Everything was sorted into a neat bundle that I knew I had been in no condition to sort.

"Wiped yer blade fer ye too." Meadowbrook stated, reading my thoughts. "Ah know yew soldier folk dun like yer blades gettin' rusty."

"Thank you." I mumbled out awkwardly, stepping over my stuff to get onto the floor properly.

"Ain't no thang." Meadowbrook waved off. "Jus' a bit of spit an' it was good as new!"

... Tia had been right. This mare certainly was 'eccentric'.

I steadied myself on my hooves and approached the table.

"So... Um..." I started, not wanting to be rude and feeling the need to fill the quiet. "How'd- How'd you meet Tia Meadowbrook?"

"Oh yew wouldn't believe it!" the Earth Pony cheered as she served me some of her potatoes. "One day, my Daddy says ''ey! Ah thank dere's smoke ova yonda!"

Stars above... How is her accent getting thicker?

"Then me an' mah Ma go lookin' ova yonda an' found a campsite of yew Evafree Ponies! Dey're tha wuns who brought us tah yer city an' yer sister."

"Wait, you were already living in the South?" I asked, pulling a chair and sitting down before an empty plate.

"Hmhmm!" Meadowbrook nodded. "Mah family's been living down thar fer generations now. Saw tha way tha wind was blowin' and skedaddled South quick as we could!"

"That long?!" I half exclaimed.

"Hmhmm!" Meadowbrook nodded. "Tha story was the Pegasi didn't bother going that far down! Keent get raided if they dun know yer thar!"

I was about to ask more, but a knock at the door stopped me before I could.

"Come in!" Meadowbrook chirped.

Mistymane sat quietly, sipping from her cup, seemingly at peace with the world as the door opened.

Tia's head appeared.

"Is she up yet?" Tia asked.

"Oh yes!" Meadowbrook nodded enthusiastically. "Jus' in time for breakfas'!" she waved, gesturing for Tia to enter.

Tia's eyes fell on me as she pushed past the door.

"Good morning Lu, how you feeling?" she asked.

"Alright... I guess..." I replied, unsure how to tell Tia I felt like I was full of wool.

"Any problems?" she asked, pulling a chair and sitting down at the table.

"Notta wun." Meadowbrook replied, serving Tia some of her remaining potatoes. "Fit as a fiddle."

I suddenly realized there was food in front of me, and began the process of eating.

"Good good..." Tia commented. "Thank you Meadow."

"Dun mention it. Ain't no Momma of mine gonna accuse me of not serving a friend properly."

"Well I thank you anyway." Tia nodded, picking up her own fork.

I swallowed a bite of the potatoes.

"So um... What's going on? Since last night?" I asked.

"The Nobles are in an uproar." Tia said around a mouth full. "Apparently nopony has tried an assassination at a ball in nearly a decade."

"... Why is that something they keep in mind?" I asked slowly.

"Because dearie, it got so bad the Houses had to make an agreement that certain events were off limits." Mistmane informed.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." Tia said, swallowing.

"Mistmane. Mistmane the Beautiful dearie."

The beautiful? That had to have been been ages ago. In fact now that I thought about it... I was worried the mare was going to keel over any second now.

But I didn't voice that thought out loud. Instead I took another bite of potato, keeping a watchful eye on the old mare just in case she really did decide to die right here and now.

"Celestia." Tia said simply.

"Oh I know who you are dearie. Hard not to." Mistmane smiled.

"Regardless, it's the polite thing to say." Tia replied.

"Not to interrupt or anything, but what about the Nobles?" I interjected.

"Oh right, sorry Lu. The Nobles are malding. They're convinced somepony broke Emerald out of the dungeon for some unknown purpose and are baselessly accusing each other for the deed."

Great. Just great. More of a headache to deal with.

"Hoo boy..." I grumbled, resting my head on a hoof.

"Don't you remember our agreement Lu?" Tia tsked.

"Huh?" I asked.

What was she talking about? What was- Oh. Oh right. There was what felt like a whole evening even after the attack.

"Oh right... Sorry, slipped my mind." I replied

"Understandable." Tia nodded. "But you let me worry about that. I have something else for you to focus on."

"Oh? What might that be?"

"Well Lu, while everypony else may have forgotten with the excitement, I haven't. I still intend to relocate the city."

"Okay... I'm following so far."

"But the problem is, moving all of these Ponies is going to attract a lot of attention from the wild monsters in the area. I want you to take a portion of the army and go hunting. I'd like the numbers of monsters to be as low as possible when we begin moving South." Tia stated.

I felt relief flood my chest.

Oh thank the stars... I don't have to stay here with all these crazy Ponies.

"Yeah. I can do that."

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