Into the Twilight

After several hours of hard work, Starlight and Twilight looked up at their creation, exhausted but proud. It was beautiful, but it wasn't the same. Twilight couldn't be Princess Celestia, she couldn't replicate her golden sun, but she could damn well try.

"Well-" Starlight said while panting, "I wasn't sure we'd be able to pull it off, but there it is."

Twilight rubbed her eyes, evidently staring at the mimic sun for too long, "According to the clock, we'll have to lower it soon. Make sure you're ready to leave in the morning, I asked Pinkie Pie pack our bags for tomorrow, I made sure she only packed the bare essentials."

Starlight frowned, looking over at Sugercube Corner, "Twilight, do you think Pinkie Pie is alright?"

Twilight gave her a confused look, Starlight continued, "I don't think I've seen her smile since you first left. I'm worried about her."

Twilight began walking toward the castle with Starlight in tow, "Yeah, I'm worried about her too. I was hoping the sun would at least brighten her mood a little and pull her out of that slump, but no such luck."

She paused at the castle doors before continuing, "I need to study up on my pyromancy spells before we leave tomorrow, but before we do, I'll have the castle arranged so that any pony that lost their home during the attack has a place to stay."

Starlight bowed her head and smiled, "That's very noble of you."

Twilight huffed in response, "Whatever you say, I'll be in the library if you need me. Do me a favor and check up on the construction team, see how that wall is coming along."

Starlight gave her a mock salute, "Will do, Princess."

The rest of the day went swimmingly, Applejack and the rest of the Earth Ponies had constructed most of the wall. It wrapped around most of Ponyville, and even though it was shoddy, it would be reinforced over the next several days.

Twilight could only bring so many of her friends with her on this mission. Applejack was needed in Ponyville to help keep the town fed, Rarity and Fluttershy, on the other hoof, needed to provide warmth to Ponyville as fast as possible. That was the one thing the false sun didn't do, it didn't replicate the warmth of Princess Celestia's sun.

Still, the light from it was enough to keep every pony in good spirits.

The next morning, Twilight would take Starlight, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie to New Canterlot, which had supposedly been set up at the base of Canterlot Mountain. Hopefully, it would still be there by the time they arrived.

The journey itself would not take longer than a day, but Twilight made sure to be prepared, just in case. They packed enough to last them two days on the road, and enough rations to feed seven ponies. It was probably unnecessary, but anything they didn't eat wouldn't be wasted. There was going to be a long road ahead of them, and Twilight was afraid again.

"So Twilight," Rainbow Dash paused, adjusting the lantern on the side of her satchel, "I thought of a name for the creatures that keep attacking us."

Twilight smirked at her, "Oh yeah? Let's hear it then."

"What if we call them Outsiders?"

"Outsiders? I kind of like it. Of course, I wouldn't mind catching a live one so that we could study its biology. I just don't understand how its possible for a creature like that to exist."

Dash snickered, "Alright egghead, a simple 'okay' would have been good."

They walked in silence for the next few minutes. They had already been walking for several hours without seeing any Outsiders for miles. It was almost, peaceful. Still, they had to keep their guard up at all times, the last thing they wanted was to be ambushed and surrounded.

Twilight heard Pinkie Pie whimper behind her, causing her to glance back in concern, "Pinkie, are you alright?"

"Am I useless, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie timidly asked.

The three of them went slack-jawed, unable to think of any suitable response. Pinkie Pie continued, "I just feel like you gave every pony a role Twilight, and you just didn't know what to do with me."

Twilight gave herself a minute to compose herself, "I wanted you to pack our bags because I knew that you had a keen eye for detail. I would have done it myself, but I was so busy making that illusion spell, I just had to pick the next best pony."

Pinkie Pie smiled a little, Twilight pressed on, "I brought you along for a reason Pinkie, and it wasn't because I felt sorry for you. If any Outsiders came after us, you'd be the first to know, you're unnaturally perceptive like that."

"I guess so," Pinkie said, still not fully convinced.

Twilight stopped for a second to stare at Pinkie, looking into her bright blue eyes, "When we get back to town, we're going to need you Pinkie Pie. You're going to have to teach a lot of ponies how to smile again, I hope you're up for it."

Pinkie's smile brightened, "You betcha! I'll do anything I can to help out!"

Rainbow Dash hovered next to Twilight, her posture unusually rigid, "That goes for all of us Twilight. If there's anything we can do to help out, just let us know."

Twilight gave them a soft smile, "Thanks, guys."

Screech!

Starlight scoffed, "I'd hate to ruin a heartfelt moment, but we have to run guys!"

In the last two days, it became blatantly apparent to Twilight that she was lacking in the endurance department. It had only been ten minutes of running and Twilight was already breathing heavily. Granted, she was still sore from the day before, but doing more cardio exercises would have to become routine for her in the future.

They were rapidly approaching the base of Canterlot Mountain, luckily, it seemed to be well illuminated by something other than fire. "We're almost there guys, just a mile or so more!" Twilight yelled over the sound of the Outsider's screeches.

"If it makes you feel any better," Starlight huffed, "We have a pretty good incentive not to slow down, or else we might be eaten alive!"

"You're not helping Starlight!" Twilight retorted.

Crack!

Their skirmish was interrupted by the sound of a large bolt of magic, which disintegrated one of the closer Outsiders behind them. Princess Luna peered over one of the outpost's walls, a smile on her face, "Open the doors! Princess Twilight has arrived!"