The march back South was not nearly was quick as the march North.

For one, we meandered back and forth constantly, searching for any hint of dangerous beast we could find.

We found and burned a plethora of Timberwolf dens... We spotted Cragodiles sticking up from the muck and had Unicorns and Pegasi hit them with lightning and spellfire... We found Manticore droppings and scrapes; and hunted the solitary predators for days through the wild forests.

We even baited a Hydra into a crevasse that had our ballistae along the outer ridge, trapping it in a spiked pitfall and slaying it despite even its regeneration.

We butchered our way across the land, nary a day or night where something wasn't slain.

I'll freely admit I failed Tia, in bringing back every Pony that came with.

While we did our best to play things safe, behind numbers and intelligence, accidents did happen.

One was too close when a Cragodile started a death roll, being crushed to death. Another had been pounced on by the very Manticore we were after. Another overextended and was overran by Timberwolves.

Whenever we could, they were buried with full honors. When we couldn't... A monument was erected.

But monsters weren't all we found.

Quite often, we found all sorts of odd bits and ends. Once, we found a clay pot inside a tree stump, full of gold coins. Another, a stave resting against easily against a fallen tree, partially buried by mud. Starswirl examined it and said it was enchanted. He then promptly claimed it as his own. One time, we found a strange black obelisk in the middle of nowhere, which hummed strangely. Clover, who was there at the time, took one look at it and screamed at us to tear it down and crush the rubble into gravel.

Apparently anything that died around it would rise as one of the undead.

I made sure it was ground into sand and glassed on site.

It never occurred to me, just how full the woods were with just strange things, left over from a culture of Unicorns who loved their magic artefacts and frequently lost them.

We also found a plethora of villages, both abandoned and occupied. Left vacant by the original exodus, the abandoned villages gave a sort of insight into the lives we were trying to move past. Sometimes, one of my soldiers claimed to be from the abandoned villages we found. When searched, the soldiers often didn't turn up anything better than a few jars of dubious foodstuffs inside those villages of a now bygone era. A few brave souls tried them, with mixed results.

While I pretended it was a sort of hobby, I had taken to marking any village we found on a map I had copied. While I was curious if any sort of comprehensive map, with every minor settlement marked, had ever been compiled. My real purpose however was to locate one of the villages the Moon had shown me.

Now was as good a time as any to begin my quest.

I didn't think I caught all of the villages by any stretch of the imagination, but it was something to do when I was resting.

The most notable events however, were when we found a still living and breathing community. They were much rarer than an abandoned village, but they were always interesting to visit when we found them. I recognized some, having come this way before on the way North, but many were new to me. A few, attempted to defend themselves. But they universally looked very foolish when I explained that I had no interest in fighting them. I extended invitations to all of them, even the ones who had denied me before, offering them a place in Everfree City if they wanted it. A fair few accepted, and joined us as we marched slowly South. And a few... Refused. The reasons ranged from not trusting strangers, to not wanting to work alongside other tribes of Ponies, to not wanting to leave the lands they had lived on for centuries. I would sadly acquiesce to their decision, but I insisted on giving them a few cuts and slabs of the meat we got off the monsters we had slain.

Even though I personally refused to eat it, we had plenty, and the army could barely eat through it all.

With the tribes no longer influencing the North, these villagers would no longer benefit from supplies from the Crown or the Clans.

I comforted myself with the thought that I tried to help them through the coming Winter at the very least. But beyond that, they were on their own if they didn't decide to move by their own volition.

I liked the villages that welcomed us with open arms the best. They'd hold minor celebrations, grateful for the aid we brought. With our surplus of meat, feasts were commonly held. The Reeve would come to me personally and thank me profusely for bringing life back to the village.

It was a distressing fact that many of these villages hadn't seen help in years.

They were the ones who came with us willingly, eager to start a safe, new life under a living Alicorn.

I didn't like bringing it up, and often I didn't even mention she was my sister. I would only use that tactic if the village was on the fence with the decision and I had already expended all other options to convince them.

I just didn't want to look like I was fishing for clout, just because I happened to be sisters with the newly risen Alicorn.

While the forbidden question would scream itself at me while I did so, I wanted to be known for what I myself had done.

It was at one such village, when something mentioned in passing brought my attention front and center.

I had been politely speaking with a villager when she had said it, nursing a clay mug of water as Ponies around us drank fermented juice.

The mare herself wasn't drunk, but her fellows were.

She had nervously said it, like she was both testing for my reaction, and warning me away.

I blinked in surprise.

Did she really just say that? Was I hearing things?

"I'm sorry, could you say that again?" I asked.

The mare's eyes were wide, suddenly afraid she had overstepped.

"Um..." she hummed nervously. "I said... I said..." she swallowed.

"I said our village is in bondage to Lord Bloodmoon."

Plot!

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