Chapter 3: Stonetalon Mountains

Twilight and Rarity's hoofsteps echoed throughout the murky cave, the sound of water droplets hitting the floor accompanying them. "Are we ever going to get to the other side of this damned mountain?!" Rarity groaned, holding up her muddy hoof in disgust.

"We're almost there." Twilight mumbled absentmindedly, Rarity had asked that question more than she could care to count. I'm already starting to regret letting you come... she thought to herself, her mouth promptly curving upwards into a smile.

"You've said that three times already." Rarity sighed, her head hanging low in annoyance.

"Well, I mean it this time." Twilight started trotting again, trying to encourage Rarity. It worked, surprisingly, Rarity's attention was immediately caught and she perked up, following Twilight closely.

"I see light!" Rarity gasped and galloped past Twilight into the open, leaving her to cough on the dust kicked up from her hooves. There was indeed light ahead, albeit dim. Once outside, Rarity closed her eyes and basked in the moonlight, taking in great big gulps of fresh air. "It was so stuffy in there! I was getting claustrophobic." Rarity sighed happily, fanning herself with a hoof.

"I'm glad you're comfortable." Twilight had exited the cave shortly behind her companion, and her attention was immediately brought to the skies. She grimaced and gulped.

"What is it?" Rarity followed her gaze, noticing that - high above the sparse pine trees - there were large, winged creatures spiraling in the skies. Rarity tried to study their bodies, but the darkness made it impossible to tell what kind of creatures they were. "What the hell are they?" she asked, turning to Twilight.

"Wyverns, The Horde often tame them for transportation, but feral wyverns are very deadly." Twilight explained, keeping a watchful eye on the horrid creatures soaring in circles above them. They had the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpid, and the wings of a bat, they also screeched loudly as they soared. Twilight covered her ears briefly as a nearby wyvern called out, she sneered in the direction of the call before turning to Rarity. "We need to be very quiet, I read that they have bad eyesight and excellent hearing. So, we should be fine, if...." Twilight paused to conjure some water, pouring it on the dirt, then smearing the mud onto her bright purple coat, "..we are camouflaged!" she finished with a smile as she turned to face Rarity again.

Rarity wrinkled up her nose in disgust, her eyes pleading with Twilight not to, but Twilight stood her ground and shoved the mud in her direction. "It's either the mud or wyvern droppings." she smirked as she pointed to a pile of said droppings.

Rarity scowled at her and stomped her hooves on her approach of the mud. "Ohh!" she whined quietly, smearing the sticky mud onto her coat, which had shone in the moonlight. She smeared it up to the hem of her silk blouse, wincing as the mud nearly touched it, "What about my clothes?" she cried in despair.

"Cover them too, can't chance anything." Twilight had coated her crimson cloak in mud and leaves, and motioned for Rarity to do the same.

"Ugh!" Rarity groaned, steeling herself before she flopped onto her back and rolled on the ground to cover her clothes in the cold mud, Twilight assisted by sprinkling some leaves on her back, making her look like a bush. She then stepped back to look at her handiwork from a distance. Despite her best efforts, Twilight failed to hold in some snickers. "What's so funny?" Rarity snarled.

"Nothing!" Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof in her effort to keep quiet, "Now let's get a move on, we need to find a safe place to camp." Twilight whispered, and giggled quietly as she continued on the path. Rarity let out a whimper with each step she took.

"I do hope we find some sort of civilization soon, my hooves are killing me!" Rarity complained, getting an annoyed glare from Twilight in the process. They had been walking in the dark along the dusty cobblestone path for hours, and both ponies were beginning to tire, resulting in their easy irritation. The landscape around them stayed the same, nothing but sparse pine trees placed just so that they blocked out the moonlight enough to cause tripping.

"We will Rarity, don't worry." Twilight said just as they neared a fork in the road, the sign had one slab of wood pointing left, and two pointing right, the latter two were labeled "Charred Vale" and "Sun Rock Retreat". The other was not given a second glance, the Charred Vale was exactly where Twilight wanted to go. Just then, Twilight spotted something ahead, "See?! There's a house!" she pointed, sitting on the side of the road was a small turquoise hut, colorful baubles and empty liquor bottles hung from the roof. "Goblin made, maybe he or she still lives there. Let's go!" Twilight observed as she sprung into a gallop, Rarity following close behind.

"Heeellooooo!!!" Rarity called as they neared the entrance, no reply, "I guess it's empty....oh well! The more for us right?" Rarity trotted in and looked around, the walls were covered in tacky purple wallpaper laden with pineapples. "I must say I've never seen such, interesting decor..." Rarity shuddered at the sight as she daintily jumped on the small zhevra-striped bed, it creaked under her weight, but settled well.

"I do hope it is empty, a goblin may not take nicely to somepony stealing his or her home. I hear tell they are greedy and possessive." Twilight trotted in after Rarity and observed the inside. The electric bulb in the ceiling looked old, and upon flipping the light switch she found it was burnt out. She yawned and lifted her saddlebags from her back, placing them on the dusty floor. The resulting rising dust caused her to cough, "Woah! *hack!* yeah, I don't think anypony is here." Twilight swiped at the air with her hoof, coughing once again. She let Rarity have the bed, laying her blanket on the floor and sliding down to the ground as she curled up like a dog, tucking her head in the nook of her forelegs. With a final yawn and the gentle smacking of her jaws, she let her tired eyes close. As Twilight began to fall asleep, she was sure she heard Rarity talking, but it sounded more like sleep-talk than anything important, and she dismissed it without a second thought.

Twilight blinked awake and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, stretching her hooves to their full extent before sitting up. "Sleep well?" Rarity asked while she was digging through her satchel, pulling out some dried moonberries in the process.

Thinking back to the night before, Twilight realized, to her surprise, she didn't have a nightmare. "Y-yeah, I slept very well..." Twilight pondered this for a moment before shaking her head, it confused her that she was suddenly not having the dreams as often anymore, but she was thankful that she at least didn't have one. "What about you?" Twilight stood, crouching like a dog to stretch her hind legs.

"Oh I slept quite well dear." Rarity smiled, she had a knowing twinkle in her eyes that Twilight failed to see as she handed her a cloth filled with the deep red berries.

"Thanks." Twilight said through a mouthful of moonberries.

"Of course. Now, where should we head? We turned off the path and the crossing in the road is just a few feet outside." Rarity was holding the map, looking carefully at the roads. She pursed her lips in confusion and narrowed her eyes, "How does one find anything on these?" she murmured, Twilight stood and trotted over. After examining the map, she flipped it around to be right-side-up and raising an eyebrow at the now-blushing white unicorn as she took the map from her telekinesis into her own.

"We need to head past Sun Rock Retreat, Horde territory, but its mainly inhabited by Tauren. They are usually friendly enough, I've no doubt we can get by without a scuffle if we stay to the road." Twilight pointed to a small depiction of a hut on the map as she spoke that supposedly represented Sun Rock Retreat. "Then it's just a straight path through the Charred Vale into Desolace. After which we'll need to take a detour to Nijel's Point for supplies." she moved her hoof down a winding line on the map, moving past a depiction of mountains that the line cut through. Afterwards running her hoof along the mountains to a depiction of a village with the words: Nijel's Point written elegantly above it.

"Ok." Rarity nodded as she looked at the map, listening carefully to Twilight's explanation. "Thank goodness it's such a short journey." Rarity wiped imaginary sweat from her forehead with a grin.

Twilight frowned and shook her head, "Oh no, it's not that easy. Desolace is a difficult place to travel, every beast is hungry for your hide, and there is no water that isn't bitter or poisonous. Then the Centaurs, ugh!" Twilight shuddered, Rarity's ears fell flat, and she gulped.

"Oh! Heh!" Rarity giggled nervously, then her face went blank as a thought occurred to her, "Say, I never heard why we are going to Maraudon? Care to explain?"

Twilight looked outside, taking note of the time of day, with a sigh, she nodded, "Alright, sit down and I'll tell you."

"A long time ago, in the dark reaches of Deepholm - within the core of Azeroth - the Stone Mother; Therazane, let her daughter; Princess Theradras, come to the surface of the world. Here, above the ground, she met Zaetar, a dryad lord, they shortly became lovers and lived in the lush tranquility of Maraudon. When Zaetar and Theradras had children, known as the centuars, her offspring quickly killed Zaetar. No one knows why, but after which, afraid of Cenarius' wrath, Theradras hid his body in her private sanctuary, the crystal caverns of Terramok, known to mortals as Maraudon." Twilight explained, Rarity was listening intently, her gaze fixed on Twilight.

"Then, shortly after, Theradras went mad from her grief, and her minions kill anypony who dares enter Maraudon. Some say she was corrupted by the same forces that drove Neltharion the Earth Binder mad. The reason for my journey is to slay her, and let both her soul, and Zaetar's, rest in peace. That is why Tyrande sent me." Twilight finished, taking in a deep breath to account for her speech.

"That is very interesting." Rarity smiled, glancing down at the silver ankh that hung from her prayer-beads. "I am glad to know. It would be a good deed to put somepony's soul to rest." Rarity stood, pulling on her mud-stained clothes.

"Yes, indeed it would. Now let's go, mustn't be here after nightfall. Who knows where we would find shelter?" Twilight buttoned her cape about her neck and buckled her belt. Then, without another word, they both trotted off into the sparse forests.

Distant screeching echoed around the two ponies as they walked, each was extremely careful, scanning their surroundings. There was nothing but tall, sparse pine trees as far as the eye could see, besides the path that is. "If I didn't know there were so many creatures out to kill me, I might actually enjoy this walk." Rarity jumped at the sound of a bird flying away.

"There aren't that many creatures, deadly ones anyway. Most are simple rabbits and owls, maybe some rams." Twilight gazed at the sky as they walked, looking for any signs of wyverns. Though she knew they were nocturnal, she didn't want to take any chances.

"Another crossroad, to Sun Rock Retreat, correct?" Rarity asked, looking at the sign.

Twilight glanced at it, "Yes, we should be stealthy. Although they aren't nearly as aggressive as the Orcs, I do doubt Tauren would like to see members of the Alliance in their territory." Twilight trotted past Rarity, following the path silently, something elven ponies have a knack for...that and traveling in the dark. Rarity did the same, her hoofsteps barely making a sound as she stepped in Twilight's hoofprints.

"This is maybe a stupid question...but, what do Tauren look like?" Rarity whispered as they walked.

"They look like somepony took a cow and mixed it with a pony, they are large, spiritual, wise, and strong." Twilight replied in a whisper, hoping nopony heard their voices.

"Sounds interesting, I dare say I should like to see that." Rarity giggled quietly, Twilight smiled a little, but it quickly faded as they reached their destination.

"The Charred Vale.." Twilight glanced around, all the trees were black and leaf-less, as if they had been on fire. "And of course, it had to be harpy nests!" Twilight groaned, facehoofing.

"Harpies?!" Rarity squeaked as her ears fell flat in fear, harpies were one of the most deadly known creatures in Kalimdor. "Are they occupied?" she whispered, glancing fearfully at the large, black nests - which looked like sacks - hanging from most of the trees, each was made of dark twigs, and a soft red glow emanated from inside them.

'I hope not, but if they are, I think we are being hunted." Twilight's voice sounded fearful for the first time Rarity could recall, and her ears lay flat against her skull, the fur of her nape rising.

Rarity glanced around nervously - as if she could feel the supposed hunter's gazes - and gulped. "Let's just get it over with, which is the fastest way through?" her voice was shaky.

"Straight through, but I heard there are chimera's around here too, best watch for them, and maybe some basilisks." Twilight began to trot along the path, using her magic to draw her sword. Rarity saw Twilight's magical shield go up, and she did the same, holding her dagger and glancing around as she walked. The sun was setting behind the mountains as they walked, their shadows quickly cast over the vale.

Suddenly a sharp cry sounded above them, they both whirled to face the harpy that was charging at them, it's talons outstretched. It's appearance was humanoid overall, but also bird-like, it's feathers and hair both a bright red.

"Run!" Twilight yelled, spinning on her hooves and galloping across the forest, Rarity followed close behind.

"Why don't we just kill her?!" Rarity called as she galloped after Twilight.

'Because there are likely thousands of them, kill one, they'll all come after us!" Twilight yelled back as she ran. The harpy was flying behind them, flapping it's wings hard in its effort keep up. "I see the passage to Desolace!" Twilight panted, gesturing to the large gap in the mountains ahead. Rarity picked up her pace, running side by side with Twilight.

"We're...gonna make...it!" Rarity's panted heavily, Twilight glanced at her, the poor unicorn was soaked in sweat, and she was stumbling as she ran. Twilight gulped, she didn't know if Rarity would make it. Suddenly they both skidded to a halt as a large, two-headed creature slammed into the ground in-front of them, roaring menacingly and breathing fire.

"A chimera!" Twilight cried in despair, Rarity gasped and wheezed for air, looking back at the harpy with a gulp.

Twilight followed her gaze, contemplating their options, "I'll get the chimera, the harpy will be easier for you." Twilight instructed, charging up her horn in preparation for an arcane blast. Rarity nodded and barred her teeth at the harpy aggressively, firing a bolt of holy fire at the creature. The chimera shot a fire bolt at Twilight, who gritted her teeth in effort to keep her flame ward up as the fire engulfed her. She then shot a powerful blast of arcane energy at one of the creature's heads, it roared in pain and pawed at it's left head, whilst the other snarled at Twilight.

Rarity struck the harpy's wing, and it screeched in pain as it plummeted from the air, crashing a few feet away from Rarity, who charged towards it and slit it's neck in a bloody spray, just as it called for help. "We may have some company." Rarity called as she joined Twilight's attack on the chimera. Twilight used her sword and sliced at the chimera's wing, chopping it off, the chimera howled in pain, blood gushing in torrents from the wound. Rarity flung her dagger at it's neck, it struck home, and the left head's roar broke off as it fell to the ground. Twilight charged in and finished the second head off.

"Phew!" Twilight wiped some sweat - mingled with the chimera's blood - from her face, "That was close."

"Not close enough.." Rarity was staring back at the forest, Twilight followed her gaze, a swarm of harpies was coming straight for them.

"Damnit!" Twilight began to charge a spell, her horn glowing intensely, Rarity charged up her own horn, unsure of what to do. Twilight felt the same, she didn't have enough power reserves to defeat that many harpies. Suddenly an idea came to her, "Rarity! Touch horns!" Twilight yelled, and although the bizarre suggestion rattled her, Rarity hurriedly complied. Just as the swarm reached them, a magnificent explosion of color blasted the harpies back.

They were deterred for now, but Rarity and Twilight nearly passed out from the exertion. Both had collapsed and panted heavily in exhaustion. Twilight had not been expecting that, their magical reserves had been drained so fast it weakened them. "Well...." Twilight chuckled, "..valiant effort, nice knowing you Rarity."

Rarity managed a weak smile, "I suppose..." she whispered, closing her eyes in wait of the harpies, they were too tired to fight back this time.

As the enraged harpies drew closer yet again, the sound of flying arrows and bolts of magic suddenly pierced the air. Rarity glanced up, seeing Alliance soldiers and battle-mages. "Twilight! Look!" she struggled to her hooves wearily, watching the harpies fall back, many were hit and fell to their deaths.

"Thank Celestia! And Luna for that matter!" Twilight sighed, slowly rising, Rarity chuckled, helping her stand. The harpies - albeit angry - retreated at the superior firepower.

Twilight and Rarity sat on their haunches, after a moment to catch their breath, they locked eyes and...burst into ridiculous laughter! "I seriously thought we were gonna die!" Twilight wiped a happy tear, surprising Rarity by willingly hugging her out of relief.

"So did I, oh thank Celestia's Light!" Rarity sighed, holding her stomach as she giggled. Twilight stood up and gently socked her shoulder.

"Well, we didn't, and that's the most important thing." Twilight smiled. Rarity smiled back, but stopped and looked over her shoulder as she noticed something, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

"T-Twilight?" said a voice from behind, in a tone both shocked, and somewhat sad. Twilight gasped in recognition. She looked to her side and turned in the same direction, her eyes widening at the possibility of it being...

It can't be!!

"Shining..Armor?" Twilight's voice broke, the white stallion before her was in shock as well, but he smiled and outstretched his hooves. Twilight's face contorted as she stared, then she let out a sob as she rushed into his embrace. "I thought you were dead!" she cried on his shoulder.

"I thought you were dead..." Shining stroked his sister's purple mane tenderly, letting his tears fall freely.

Author's Note

Shining Armor?! Say whut?
Here's a basic idea of what he looks like: