A week and a half had passed. True to her word, Tia had helped me shop around for various traveling supplies. But while tools, a saddlebag, and a small cart were easy to find, much harder were rations. Spring may have been imminent, but Ùllahdmaiden was still strictly rationing the available food, which was already only available after scraping the bottoms of the preservation barrels.

Finally the day arrived. The snow was gone, yet the ground was still frozen enough to not transform instantly into mud. Even better, the weak yet warming light of the Sun peaked over the Eastern horizon. It would be warm enough today to not wear any Winter clothing, but cold enough that the cart wouldn't get stuck.

The whole village gathered as I hitched myself to my new cart, pulling the leather straps just enough to be comfortable. Tia, Appleflower, Master Brickwork, and Mayor Treesong stood in front of the crowd of ponies.

“We’ll hate to see you go Luna.” Treesong stated on behalf of the whole village.

“I know.” I replied, feeling tears welling. “But I must go.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget when a young filly ki- Did something so shocking that even our Clan decided to adopt a band of refugee Unicorns into our fold.” the Mayor continued. “You’re a special pony Luna. Don’t forget that, wherever you end up.”

“I won’t.” I promised.

“Aye lass. Won’t be the same without ye during our drills.” Appleflower rumbled, now several years older and without her armor, but still the biggest pony present. She put a hoof on my shoulder in solidarity.

“I’ll take care to remember everything you taught me.” I replied, putting a hoof on her arm, attempting to return the gesture. Appleflower held regular drills and training sessions for the village, and I did my best to attend each one. She had taught me how to properly fight, not wave a stick around like a filly.

“The forge ain’t goin’ ta be the same without ye lass.” Master Brickwork bid.

“I’m certain Flame Etch and Ironplate will be able to pick up the slack.” I grinned.

“‘Ey! What about me? Am I too old to pull my own weight?!” Brickwork exclaimed in mock outrage.

“You said it Sir, not me.” I cheekily grinned.

“Hohohoho!” Brickwork began to laugh as I turned to the final pony.

Tia stood there alone, tears were already threatening to try and drown the world. I didn’t say anything, but I pulled her into a tight hug.

“I’ll miss you Tia.” I murmured in her ear.

“I’ll miss you too Lu.” she replied in kind. I felt something wet roll down my coat.

And that was all we needed to say.

I left Ùllahdmaiden occasionally turning in the harness to wave as I pulled my cart into the distance. When the village finally disappeared behind the scenery, I breathed a sigh of relief. I hated goodbyes, I hated the idea that there was a very real possibility I would never see any of those ponies again.

I hated that I may never see Tia again.

But I needed to leave.

For my, and Tia’s sake.

I pushed my emotions down and redoubled my efforts to pull the cart.

The road called to me.

Hours passed in a dull blur. The wild was still grimy after the melted snow deposited whatever dirt it had trapped. The plants hadn’t turned green yet either. The world was brown, dismal, and filthy. But the snowmelt flowed along the landscape. Already I could see even the brown plants beginning to stand straight along the tiny creeks and puddles. I only had the rations for two days, but it looked as if I could get away with stretching one day's worth, harvest a few clumps of grass, and still have a good day’s worth of rations left.

I wondered where I would go? Pegasopolis was out, who knew where it was currently and I didn’t have the wings to fly up to it. To Unicornia itself was an option, I had never been to the capital before. But after the Crown abandoned Queensford to its fate I was hesitant to say the least.

That left the rest of the Earth Pony Clans. Sure, I could never be sure that I would be welcome amongst the other settlements like in Ùllahdmaiden, but at least I knew enough of their culture that I wouldn’t be thrown out immediately.

That settled it. Northeast to the Clan settlements it was.

Unicornia was always still an option if I swung through the Clan territories and kept heading Northward.

Now with a destination in mind, I hummed a merry tune and began to trot with a spring in my step.

That was until I crested the next hilltop.

I froze in my tracks.

Far away in the distance, just before the horizon, a tide of gold glinted in the morning light. Banners of every hue of the rainbow flew. But one stood head and shoulders above the rest. I squinted my eyes to get a better look.

The crest of the House of Queen Iridium.

Nopony who ever grew up or spent any time within the borders of Unicornia could ever mistake it for anything else.

Panicked, I turned my cart around and began to run as fast as I dared.

The Royal House of Unicornia was marching South.

The Royal House of Unicornia was marching South, directly towards Ùllahdmaiden.

Clopclop. Clopclop. Clopclop.

Ùllahdmaiden was before my eyes. The wooden structures had changed remarkably little in the few hours I had been gone.

“Unicornia marches South!” I started crying through the late evening air. “Arm yourselves! Unicornia comes!”

I was now inside the village proper. Bleary eyed ponies who were likely just in bed trying to fall asleep poked their heads out their front doors or windows.

“Arise ponies! There is no time to waste! The Crown of Unicornia approaches!” I exclaimed as I continued running through the streets with my cart.

I caught a glimpse of Tia out of the corner of my eye.

I wanted to run to her and tell her everything I saw, but I needed everypony to know.

Everypony must know.

“Take up your arms! Don your armor! Unicornia marches South!”

“Woah woah woah!” Mayer Treesong was suddenly in front of me, waving her forelegs. I did my best to come to a stop before I ran her over, but I was only partially successful as I bumped into the mare.

“Mayor! There’s no time to lose! Unicornia is coming! They’ll be here within the day!” I frantically tried to tell her.

“Luna slow down! You’re panicking!” she tried to soothe.

Slow down?! No, I needed to speed up! Everypony needed to know! Unicornia was on its way! Why wasn’t she panicking?!

“No! Everypony must know! I have to tell them! I have to warn them! I ha-” I began to rant.

A white presence pressed itself to my side and pulled me into a hug.

“Lu slow down, we can barely understand you.” Tia’s voice murmured gently into my ear.

By now I noticed the crowd of wakened ponies had caught up, and they were all watching and listening.

I followed Tia’s instructions and took several deep breaths.

“Ponies of Ùllahdmaiden!” I exclaimed, now putting effort in slowing my speech down. “I have seen them with my own eyes! A column of gold clad soldiers marching under the banners of the Royal House of Unicornia!”

Murmurs began to ripple through the crowd.

“They march South! Directly towards Ùllahdmaiden! They will be here within the day! There is no time to lose!”

“Ponies! Quiet!” Mayor Treesong exclaimed over the din of the crowd. “Luna, if what you say is true then Ullahdmaiden is in grave danger-”

“What if she’s lying?!” A voice cried from the crowd. “She’s one o’ them! She could be raising the alarm over nothing!”

“Ponies!” the Mayor chastised. “This is our Luna! We have known her for years! We have known her since she was a filly! Unicorn she may be, but she has worked at our sides faithfully for a decent portion of her life!”

“Aye!” Master Brickwork stepped forward from the crowd. “I’ve worked with Luna everyday since she came to our walls! Never ‘ave I known ‘er ta tell a lie!”

“Not once!” Appleflower boomed, standing over the crowd. Several ponies seemed to nod along and agree.

“Who says she hasn’t been paid off or promised something in Unicornia for raising a false alarm?! She’s a unicorn after all!” Another voice I didn’t recognise exclaimed.

“How dare you!” Tia exclaimed at my side. “You were not there when the crown abandoned Queensford! You were not there when we were forced from our homes! You were not there when we had to tend with the hydra without the Queen’s help!” Tia screamed. “Ask any one of the Queensford Unicorns! The Crown betrayed us and we have no love for them!”

That finally seemed to nullify the naysayers. The gaze of every pony fell to the Mayor for a decision.

“... Fortify the village.” She decided. “We will defend our home.”

“Come on Lu, let’s get you out of that harness so you can rest.” Tia nudged my side.

“But I want to help! I need to help!” I started, my panic rising again.

“And you have.” Tia replied gently. “But you look like you’ve been running all day and you need to rest.”

“I-” I wanted to argue, but a deep exhaustion in my bones suddenly made itself known. “ I- Ok Tia.”

She helped me out of my harness and led me back to the house we had shared up until this morning.

“Tia, the cart…” I reminded her.

“Don’t worry about it.” she stated. I felt too exhausted to reply.

Before I knew it, my head smashed into the pillow I had woken up that morning on.

Hello old friend, didn’t think I’d be seeing you so soon.

Dreams claimed me.

Next Chapter: Chapter 72 The Memories Part 31 Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 2 Minutes