Chapter Three: On Our Way

The ponies remained speechless for some time once Xenoelos had finished her story, and It was Pinkie Pie who finally broke the silence.

"What a sad story!" she wailed. Tears poured from her eyes in the manner of miniature waterfalls. Twilight eyed the floor; slightly dazed.

"I knew you were in need of our help, but I never imagined it would be something of this magnitude," she said.

"What's the big deal Twilight?" Rainbow Dash broke in. "We defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis; and that King Sombra guy. How bad can a bunch of dumb clouds be for us?"

Rarity flipped her mane and huffed. "Obviously you weren't listening to the entire story," she said.

"Hmph!"

"Alright you two, that's enough," Twilight said. The room immediately got quiet again. This gave her some time to think carefully about what they were going to do next. After a moments pondering, she eventually came to a conclusion.

"Spike!" she shouted. Seconds after, a little purple dragon appeared at the threshold.

"Yes, Twilight?" he asked.

"I need you to compile a list of things we will need for our journey," she said.

"Journey?" Spike tilted his head to one side.

"There is no time to explain, now please!" She sounded exasperated. Spike nodded and left immediately. Everyone else that had remained in the room eyed Twilight strangely.

"But Twilight, we don't even know where in tarnation this place is!" Applejack piped up.

"Of course we don't, but she knows." Twilight looked over at Xenoelos. The ram got out of bed, and clasped a cloven hoof on the unicorn's shoulder.

"I will gladly take you there, but it's quite a long way," she said.

"Were willing," Twilight said, smiling.

"The path will be fraught with danger," Xenoelos added. But Twilight couldn't be swayed even if she tried.

"Doesn't matter, we will help you no matter what," Twilight replied, and her friends all nodded in agreement behind her. Xenoelos had small glimmer of gratitude her eyes.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

It took well over an hour or so for Twilight and everyone else to prepare for the journey ahead. Rarity wanted to pack everything under the sun, but Twilight firmly instructed her to pack essential things only. She whined of course, but ultimately in the end she obeyed.

Ponies certainly take forever to ready themselves.

But luckily for them, Xenoelos was a patient being. She loitered in a corner of the room, reading a new book as she waited. Eventually, they were all ready to go by the evening. But because the darkness would be setting in soon, everyone had to stay in the library overnight till the next morning. Xenoelos had roused herself before anyone else; with Twilight awakening next while getting everyone else up as well.

Rainbow Dash was the only one to defy Twilight's prodding to wake. But her strong will eventually gave in, and she crankily got to her hooves. Now that everyone was finally awake, they all grabbed their saddlebags and headed for the door. Save for Xenoelos, who had never brought anything with her except for the red cloak that she was wearing. Before they could leave entirely, Spike made sure to be awake in time to see them off.

"Don't worry Twilight!" he called out as they left. I promise to keep an eye on things here!" Twilight turned her head and answered back.

"I know you will!" she replied. "I'll be back soon!" Then, Twilight and everyone else began on their way. Walking further and further until the tree-house melted off into the distance, and eventually vanishing from sight. They were almost at the edge of the Everfree Forest, when Rainbow Dash heard a rustle in a nearby bush.

"What the heck was that?" she asked. Mostly as a query to herself. Suddenly, a Timberwolf burst through the foliage and stopped right dead in front of them. Everyone shrieked and made a fuss, except for Twilight and Xenoelos.

"Settle down, everypony!" Twilight commanded her friends. They fell silent. Xenoelos stepped forward next to Twilight to speak.

"This is Nightshade; he's my friend," she said, pointing her hoof at the Timberwolf. Nightshade ambled over to his master's side, and eyed the somewhat still startled ponies with a look of amusement. Despite what Xenoelos had just said, the five ponies still had their doubts.

"Are you sure he won't turn on us or anything?" Rainbow Dash questioned brashly. Nightshade grunted, and Xenoelos spoke for him.

"He gives you his solemn vow that he would never ever try such a thing," she said. Applejack raised an eyebrow at that.

"Can you understand that critter or somethin'?" she asked. Xenoelos looked at Nightshade fondly.

"We've been together for such a long time, that I can pretty much always know what he is trying to say," she said, as she patted Nightshade's head. Who in response, nudged her with affection. This gesture seemed to quell the ponies' fears drastically. Even Fluttershy mustered enough courage to approach the Timberwolf, and try to become better acquainted with him.

"Hello, Nightshade. My name is Fluttershy," she said with that trademark gentleness in her tone. Then she held out a hoof for him to sniff. It was no surprise to anyone when Nightshade began to lick Fluttershy, and wag his tail vigorously. The yellow pegasus gave a soft laugh and proceeded to rub his belly. "You're such a good boy, yes you are," she cooed. As this was going on, Twilight and the others looked on up ahead with an impending sense of dread.

"The Everfree Forest," Twilight said aloud. As soon as the last word had left her lips, she heard Fluttershy squeak from behind at the mere mention of it's name. Xenoelos began to walk towards the forest entrance with no trace of hesitation.

"Come on everyone," she beckoned, when she noticed that no one was following her except for Nightshade. Hesitantly, they followed after her into the depths of Everfree.

After a decent span of time had passed, Xenoelos began to glance over her shoulder now and then to check on her friends. It seemed as though they were no longer frightened, and they followed behind her confidently. Pinkie Pie especially exuded confidence. Perhaps maybe a little too much confidence. All that hopping and constant singing right the heck out of nowhere was beginning to grate on Xenoelos' nerves. But she somehow managed to keep her temper in check.

When night began to set in later that day, morale began to slip away from the party and Twilight suggested that they lay low for the rest of the evening to recuperate. Xenoelos wanted to keep going, but even she couldn't deny how unsettling this place was. Twilight used her natural leadership skills to direct everyone to a specific task to make camp successfully. Rainbow Dash and Applejack gathered wood for the campfire, Rarity prepared dinner, Pinkie Pie fetched water, and Fluttershy and Nightshade unpacked everyone's sleeping bags. As for Xenoelos, Twilight couldn't seem to find anymore jobs that needed to be done. So she just stood alone by a gnarled little tree, and watched them as they worked. She really admired how they all worked together in harmony. It almost made her a little jealous.

I wish I could help somehow...

Rainbow Dash and Applejack soon returned from their task with each of them carrying a decent sized armful of sticks. They plopped them into a makeshift pit that lay in the center of their ring of sleeping bags, and constructed them into a proper campfire arrangement. Once it was finished, all they had left to do now was light it. But Applejack was having some difficulties in the process, and Twilight came over to investigate the issue. Xenoelos' face lit up.

Now's my chance!

"Twilight, I can help!" Xenoelos called, as she made her way over to where the three ponies stood. Applejack seemed to eye her in utter disbelief for a split second.

"Are you sure you want to do it?" Twilight asked her politely. "If it's too much trouble for you I-"

Xenoelos cut her off. "I don't mind," she said eagerly. She faced the woodpile, and focused. After a minute or so, a small flicker of light sputtered in her fore-hooves. She concentrated even more and closed her eyes. The small flicker soon became much larger, until it eventually burst into a decent sized little ball of flame. She tossed it carefully into the woodpile and it immediately set alight, creating a warm and merry little fire. The ponies' mouths hung open in surprise.

"Amazing!" Twilight exclaimed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack nodded fervently in agreement.

"That was so cool!" Rainbow Dash cried. "Like at first it was just cool, but then it became like twenty percent cooler!" Applejack tipped her hat to the ram.

"It was definitely Ah' spectacle," she said humbly. Xenoelos shook her head. She was feeling a little embarrassed from all of this praise.

"It was nothing, really. I was just glad I could help," she said awkwardly. Everyone just smiled. Now that the fire had been lit, Rarity could finally serve everyone the dinner that she had worked so hard to prepare. Nightshade went off for a bit to catch his own food. He wasn't exactly a vegetarian. As the they all ate, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash entertained everyone with wild stories. Xenoelos had never laughed as much as she did that night. It felt good to be surrounded by kind and friendly folk, that just wanted your friendship in return. Except for Nightshade, she had never really had any real friends back home. But now she could honestly consider these ponies as her friends, and it hurt her knowing that she would have to say goodbye eventually.

After dinner, everyone settled down for sleep. Xenoelos let Nightshade sleep with Fluttershy, since she was afraid of the dark and almost everything in the forest. Xenoelos had expected to sleep on the cold ground, but Twilight had packed an extra sleeping bag just for her. She felt so grateful, as she snuggled up under the covers. She closed her eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep.