It was just after noon when Near Miss and Long Shot stopped for lunch. As Near prepared sandwiches for the two of them, Long glided above her in lazy circles, riding the thermals while she scanned the nearby area. Long had been keeping an eye out for their stalker since they had started out that morning, but much to her annoyance she hadn't seen anything yet.

Once Near had finished preparing lunch Long glided back down, announcing, "I didn't see anything from our stalker. But I still feel like I'm being watched."

~~"That's because the author is watching us to find out what happens next."~~

"Weird, maybe it's all just in our heads," Near suggested as she magiced a BLT (basil, lettuce and tomato) into Long's waiting hoof.

After taking a large bite, Long responded through a mouthful of sandwich, "Or maybe they were just scared of getting kerploded by an angry unicorn."

Near swallowed and pondering Long's words for a moment, eventually smiling, "Actually I haven't had this good a reason to 'kerplode' anypony in ages, so while doing it I'd probably be a very happy unicorn."

Long Shot finished her sandwich before replying, "I am very glad that I'm on your side."

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, and by the time they stopped, Near and Long had traveled around seventy-five kilotrots. As Near set about getting dinner ready, Long was once again orbiting above their campsite, looking for any danger, or any sign of anypony nearby. Long had taken to the sky several times since Near had started pulling the caravan after their lunch, and now that it was growing dark, Long could clearly see another caravan stopped alongside the road a few kilotrots ahead of them.

"There's another caravan ahead of us," Long told Near as she landed, "Looks like they've also stopped for the night. But more importantly, I saw a lake not that far away, so I'm going to try to catch a fish or two for my dinner."

Before Near could respond, Long Shot was already out of earshot, and so Near finished cooking her ramane noodles before settling down with a book while she ate. By the time Near had finished her meal, it was fully dark, and starting to get rather cold, and just as she was starting to get worried, she was hit in the head by a falling trout. "Sorry, I meant to drop it next to you," Apologized Long before she landed and folded her wings, "There were tons of tasty fish, so I had my fill and even brought one for breakfast tomorrow. Can you put a spell on it so it won't freeze solid overnight?"

Near sighed before magicing the fish as she climbed into the caravan for the night. She noticed that Long didn't immediately follow her in, and that when the thestral did finally come in, her normally light and fruity scent had a faint but distinct tinge of musk added to it. "At least," Near thought, "Long has the decency to take care of herself outside."

Author's Note

Let me know if you see any typos.