“Alright Twilight, is everything ready?” I asked.

Twilight looked over her checklist once more and nodded but then noticed one last unchecked item. “No! No, we aren’t! I almost forgot Mr. Smarty Pants!”

“Uh, who?” Sunset asked.

“Not who; Twilight don’t bring your dumb doll. There is no way that could he, lp us… oh? Hmm, I stand corrected, bring a doll you can afford to lose,” I contemplated aloud.

“It’s a doll? Really Twilight?”

“Mr. Smartypants isn’t just a doll he’s….”

“An old un-cute doll only Twilight could think of any other way,” I said interrupting her.

“Rude,” Twilight pouted.

“That was kinda rude,” Sunset agreed.

“Sorry,” I said sealing the last bag.

Once a doll of lesser importance had been procured we set out on the journey to the east.

“This is dumb, we are horses using horse-drawn carts to transport other horses. Like yo, dawg so I heard you like horses, eww old meme. Ugh, I wish I had thought about having to pull the cart myself before suggesting this. I am such an idiot. I wanna know who the hell thought one small horse pulling a couple of other small horses would be the most efficient or the most profitable way to do things. Friggin government lobbyists I’ll bet. Does Equestria do government that way? Well actually ya I know it does. I ought to at this point, I’ve heard enough crap from the weather lobby by now to complain no matter what the weather is. Rock! Tch. Friggin nature man, like why can’t there just be roads out into the nothingness like back home. A car would be nice. I miss air conditioning.” I kicked a rock mumbling to myself.

I looked back at the cart where my unicorn travel companions are sleeping, then to the sky where the pegasus guard Iron Rose is flying.

“So let’s see if I can see that star in that constellation… that means god damn nothing to me. Just go northeast like on the map, it should be easy, even you won’t get lost right? Ugh, thanks, trust the guy with getting directions, sure that’ll work!”

Nearly tripping over a rock I shook myself awake, then checked the harness to be sure the cart was still secure before continuing on.

“Do it for sunset, do it for her. I know. Don’t wake the girls, don’t wake the girls. Ugh, I’m talking to myself again.. I thought I was over this. Keep it down, you’ll wake them up. I need to wake up myself. What has it been 69 years? No idiot, try hours, it hasn’t even been 40 yet. Oh, 40 what a small number of HOURS! I’ve been up longer. Ya, and how’d that turn out fur ya? Fuck off, I don’t need this negativity. What you need is to go to sleep. Well, I can’t do that here, so shut up. Well damn, obviously, find somewhere you can. Look around do you see anywhere we can stop?”

In crossing northeast through Equestria we had come through sparsely forested hills after descending the mountains, and crossing the near desert-like savanna at the base, as we headed further on our way the temperature had been steadily dropping.

Looking up I sew Iron Rose gliding in pace with me occasionally dropping a few meters or so before flapping her wings to regain altitude and circling back.

Iron Rose looked down towards me, dived suddenly, and crashed into the ground almost comically.

“Rose, Rose, are you ok? Are you ok Rosie?” I shook her with a hoof.

Rose rolled onto her side and pointed to the south-east before drawing an arch on the ground followed by a couple of “Z” like shapes.

“Thanks, Rose we…” I shook like a wet dog. “We need to rest.”

I undid the harness and locked the wheels in place.

“Rose,” I shook her again. “Can’t, not here. In cart.” I nod off again but feel a hoof against mine. Opening my eyes I saw that it was Rose.

She yawned and pushed herself up, and tried for the cart’s harness, but fell again.

“Cart. Rose,” I pointed to the cabin where the others were sleeping. Rose nodded once, paused, and make a clockwise circular motion over her chest with a hoof, paused and repeated the motion.

I smiled back. “It’s aight, thanks for watchin’.”
Rose nods and slowly climbs into the cart.

I rubbed my withers and re-attached the harness. I tried to start towards what Rose saw, but the wheels were still locked. With a grumble, I turned towards the cart a spell beginning to form.

Rose’s eyes went wide as she suddenly jolted up-right, and put a hoof out in front of herself, bringing her hooves together and moving her right hoof to her temple in a panic. The signs for “stop” and “learn.”

I blinked once, twice, three times. My eyes mimic hers as I flung the spell north where it impacts a pile of rubble at the base of a small hill. The pebbles suddenly grew wings, flew towards us, and crumbled falling to the ground halfway.

“Good call,” I nodded back to Rose, but she had fallen fast asleep, one hoof hanging off the cart. “Cute,” I smiled back and sigh before properly preparing the cart.

“Oh look, it’s a cave. I’m tired, and talking to myself again. Sorry, Mr. Bear or whatever is in there, it’s mine now, screw you.”

I detached the cart, and secured the wheels, then lined up leaves at the entrance to the cave.

“Here goes,” I took a deep breath looking over a spell scroll. The leaves ignite with a faint blue light and launched into the cave fluttering like bioluminescent bats.

“Cave… clear?” I said after a moment of silence when the leaf bats had become hard to see.

In short order from then, a literally ground-shaking roar erupted from the cave rocking the cart.

“What was that?” Sunset said from inside the cart.

Stepping out of the cave an ursa major stared me down growling.

“Begone from this place you, uh… Fuck off bear,” I stumble forward.

The ursa imposes its massive size standing on its hind legs. I didn’t react to this not out of a lack of fear, but a lack of awareness, as at the time I had fallen asleep on my hooves for a moment before shaking awake.

“Oh, you’re still there? Go away please.” I yawned stepping forward again my horn igniting undirected magic.

“Oh Celestia, Grimoire! Are you stupid?” Sunset shouted pulling me away just in time before the ursa's paw came down indenting the stone.

“What? I made a friend?”

“No wonder you’ve been so against skipping on sleep,” Sunset wheezed gathering herself.

Sunset turned back to see the ursa’s claw shatter a magic shield which caused the claw to land only inches from the cart.

“Ursa!” Twilight yelled before realizing she was the only one who hadn’t left the cart.

As a logical pony, or rather as logical as any pony can be expected to be in such a situation, would Twilight teleported behind us.

“Uh, ok does anypony have a plan?” Sunset asks.

“Friendship?” Twilight suggested backing away, but tripping over a small bush.

“Bonfire, better than nothing,” Sunset looked from the bush to the ursa igniting her horn and creating a spark on the ground which erupted into a bonfire large enough to startle the ursa into stumbling over as Twilight had.

“Oh, pretty,” I said.

“Could you help out here Grimm, Twilight?”

“Pulled the cart,” I stumbled hardly conscious.

“Make it simple,” Sunset calms herself. “Grimm, make a pretty thing,” she says rolling her eyes while her magic recharged and Rose and Twilight were tripping over each other.

“Oh, oookay,” my horn ignites its magic glow fading to Sunset’s aquamarine before it dissipated as the ursa readied a charge.

“Not helpful,” Sunset began a new spell.

Suddenly a spark flickered into existence where Sunset’s had and burst into a ring which flickered into the shape of her mark igniting the ursa's fur. Now on fire, the ursa rans towards the nearby lake. When the fire faded a scorch mark was left behind.

“Pretty,” I repeated falling asleep at last.

Author's Note

Romance is an EXPLOSION!
I have not had much time to write lately, and while I could have everything be on hiatus until valentines day like The Sunset Rises, I don't really want to do that. So not a real hiatus on everything else just me not having the time/ energy to write.