The Brightest Light Casts the Longest Shadows

It was eight thirty-seven AM when I turned the corner onto ‘Merchant’s Way’ I saw that my family was waiting for me by the lower gate. Correction, most of my family was waiting for me at the lower gate; my mother was glaring and me and my brother was softly looking at me, sad disappointment clear in his eyes. As I expected my father wasn’t even there, not that I blame him, he has a reputation to uphold.

As I approached my Shiny stepped forward. With small tears in his eyes he wrapped a foreleg around my neck and stood beside me. When he spoke it was in a raspy voice, almost as if he hadn’t had anything to drink for hours. “Twily…”

I nodded. “I know. I’m sorry.”

He continued to hug me. “I know you are, I know.”

I smiled. “You know, I never meant for it to get as far as it did, I just got…”

“Curious?”

“Yeah, curious.”

He hugged me tighter. “You’re a terrible liar; you wanted it to get that far, you just didn’t want to get caught.”

I laughed, a grim chuckle. “It’s true. But still, I got caught… and for that I’m sorry.”

Shining got serious as he motioned with his head to mother. “They’ve already disowned you. I'm going to as well, but I want you to know that I love you.” He sighed. “Look, everypony is dangerous, don’t trust anyone, in the cities or on the road. No one, no pony, no gryphon, no one. Off the record, head for the Gryphon Kingdom, get them to accept you as a citizen. They have a military that will defend you to the death and a sense of honor that won’t be bought or swayed. That just makes the ones you meet on the road more dangerous; they have no honor left to lose, they have no mercy left to give. Keep your eyes on the lookout, keep your alarm spells up at night and be ready for anything. Just keep it in mind…” He hugged me. “…stay safe… good luck.”

I hugged him back. “Goodbye. I love you, big brother.”

He hugged me back. “Goodbye.” As he turned I could have sworn that I heard him whisper under his breath ‘I love you too… little sister.’

I faced my mother and gave her a crisp nod. “Good day mother.”

As I suspected she had already hardened herself. “I have no daughter. I know nothing of you.”

I nodded, putting forth a hardened exterior to keep my tears inside. I turned away from her and looked to the gate.

The two Platinum Guards flanked me and escorted me through the gate. Once outside the city’s gleaming marble walls they stopped.

The guard on my left lifted up three bags in his magic. “Contents of your bank accounts, personal effects and a standard survival kit.”

I turned and faced the city, as I did I chuckled grimly to myself; the entire contents of my life could fit into two saddle bags. Taking them I gently placed the bags inside my saddle bags. “Thank you.” I licked my lips, then turned around and faced South.

A tiny portion of the world opened up below me.

It was massive

___ ______ ___

I reached the end of the switchback I was currently on and turned to the east. When I saw it I groaned, this one was carved into the side of the mountain, barely wide enough for a single cart. On my right a steep, almost cliff, opened down, on my left the trees were so thick I couldn’t see more than ten feet in.

I sat down and took a break, there was a small creak somewhere behind me. Using my magic I undid the clasp on my bags and stood.

It only took me a minuet or so to find the creek. When I found it I leaned down and gulped up as much water as I could before rushing back to the road. My bags were still sitting exactly where I left them.

I groaned when I set them down on my back, my legs felt like jelly. I took a breath, then let it out. Gritting my teeth I continued my journey down the mountain.

___ ______ ___

It turns out that finding a flat place to set up a tent on a mountain is downright impossible. In the fourteen hours that I’d been walking, I hadn’t seen a single spot where camping could be considered appropriate.

I promised myself, if I didn’t find a place to sleep within thirty minuets I’d pitch my tent on an incline and sleep that way.

Fortunately I’d be facing east, away from the setting sun on the next length of the decline.

Still facing west I kept my eyes down. No need to blind myself, or fall and break a leg. I’m no doctor, but I know that a broken bone without either the ability to walk on clouds or hundreds of hours of magical treatment is death. After all a pony can’t support herself on three legs.

Considering the sudden shade I quickly concluded that a cloud must have passed over my head. Without warning I felt something slam into me and force me towards the mountain. I hit the ground hard.

The air flew out of my lungs.

Something pinned me to the ground. Four somethings.

I tried to suck air in.

My head was slammed into the ground. A sharp jolt of pain followed by a tingling passed through my horn.

They must have slammed it against something.

In a final act of desperation I managed to charge a spell. It flew at one of the ponies and sent it flying up the side of the mountain.

Then everything went black.

___ ______ ___

My head hurt. My body hurt. Most importantly; my horn hurt.

I groaned loudly as I woke. When I opened my eyes all I could see was trees passing by, interesting.

A moment later and I realized something more interesting; I was draped sideways across somepony’s barrel. More interestingly; said somepony was walking.

The pony suddenly stopped. “She’s awake.”

I lifted a leg to cover my eyes. “Wha’ happened?”

A female pony called out. “Keep moving, we're only ten minuets out.”

I don't think the sun had shifted, that was good, I hadn’t been out too long. “Where're my things?”

The pony started moving again, as he did he talked quietly. I assumed to me. “They’re safe, got them strapped to one. We’re just taking you back to camp and getting the doc to look you over. Took a bit of a beating didn’t ya?”

It was rhetorical, but I thought I should answer to assure him I was awake. “Yes… who are you?”

He nearly stumbled over something on the ground, but quickly regained his balance and kept walking as if nothing had happened.

“How long was I out?” It was important, longer than five minuets probably meant concussion.

“Three, maybe four minuets.”

“Good.”

“A concerned third party."

"Wha'?"

"That’s who I am.... a third party.”

___ ______ ___

The mare's guess was accurate; about ten minuets after I woke we were at the camp.

It wasn’t very large; just two tents set up side by side. The pony carrying me set me down on the side of the road opposite the camp. “Stay here, I’ll go get the doc.”

As he walked away I got my first look at him, he was a light grey pegasus, the color of a forming storm cloud.

When he returned I was questioning my every life choice. The doctor was a unicorn, yes, that was good, but he looked like he’d been in some fights and was far too young to actually be a doctor.

With a small grimace he approached me and set his bags next to me. “Hello. I’m Spine. I’m gonna take a look at you and see what I can do to patch you up.”

“You the doctor, Spine?”

“Used to be a doctor, medical examiner actually. They took away my PhD after I ran away.”

I was a little stunned. “Oh.”

I could almost hear him smile as he finished examining the wound on the side of his head and moved down to examine the cuts on my flank. “So what’re you out for? I'm assumin' that you took a deal and got banished 'stead of this being you tryin' to run away from the guard's mounting and justice.

I didn’t want to tell him, or anyone. They’d think poorly of a mare who did the things I did. With that thought in mind, I shook my head. “You’d think I’m a freak.”

He laughed. “Darlin’ the thing's I've done ain't considered forgivable, mah boss is a bat and the only reason mah cowerkers ‘avn’t thrown me in a jail for the bounty is ‘cause I’m more valuable here, with them, then the bounty on my head. I don’t judge and I don’t think there’s too much of you that could be considered freakish.”

“Well… I don’t… I don’t think I want to talk about it.”

He finished examining me and stood up. “That’s alright. Here, let’s get you back to the camp and get some food into your belly.” He looked at me for a moment. “You’ll need to take it easy for a few days, a pity there's some hard things I'd love to do with you. Keeping yerself from doing too much shouldn’t be too much of a problem, we’re probably turning around and heading back down the mountain so you can stay with us.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

To the west the sun was a massive blaze. I slowly turned my head and surveyed the land, it sparkled under the sunset. A true work of art… and I was to live on it. I turned my head upwards, Canterlot was reflecting the sun just as much as the land below, but to me it appeared to be covered in dancing flames.

I only had one question; should I trust these ponies?