Verve

Upwards and onwards they trekked - a small spring in their steps, and warmth in their words as the leagues melted behind them. But no amount of cheery attitude could prevent the staling of stamina and the loss of nerve, especially as they each came to a realization.

They didn’t know where a safe mountain pass lay. They could start along any hiking trail - but it could coil and bend, or turn steep and impossible to climb without warning. A ship with medium burden, or an expert flying pegasus could easily clear the craggy peaks and frost covered stones, but for the group below - this was a bit too much of a challenge. They had lost the road past the carnival.

At best, Celestia - having a fraction of her power restored - could possibly bring the party upwards in a bolt of levitation; but that was a gross misuse of magic, as many battles stretched before them. What she carried now equated to months of recovery, and it shouldn’t be wasted to save a few hours of time.

“Hmhm! I hate mountains.” Vee spoke behind her new thermos, slurping down a fresh batch of the good stuff. Her tired wings pumped at the thinning air, regardless of the cost. “Hard to fly over, dry on the snooter - makes me want to sneeze. Small-fry! Give me your hat. I need a tissue.”

“Ew! Vee! No!” Pumpkin slapped the intruding pegasus with her tail, Arin chuckling at the sight.

“You two know how to keep spirits high, huh?”

“Only thing high about me is my debt! And snot levels! C’mere, Small-fry! You can wash it later!”

Tempest rolled her eyes with a smirk, flicking Vee’s nose away with a hoof when she hovered a little too close to her small marefriend.

“So, finally found somepony to call your own, Tempest?” Celestia teased, the scarred Unicorn unable to restrain a smile.

“It was just one kiss.”

“It didn’t look like ‘just one’ to me.” The Princess’s smug grin widened, forcing the defenseless Tempest to blush.

“It definitely didn’t feel like one, either!” Pumpkin chimed, bumping to the more dominant mare’s side. She quietly bumped back, letting their armor touch.

The new trail they were on seemed promising, leading into a turn in the peaks. From here, it looked to push onwards - shaving off hours of walking south to overcome it.

And with flatter ground, camp could be made. The pristine Cervine tents, supplied by King Aster - were erected in the pass, Vee taking her point as the sentinel once more. Celestia and Arin were intent on making a little distance for Pumpkin and Tempest, the fire more so to keep Vee company as her thoughts fluttered helplessly in the breeze.

Much preening was to be had, after all. A full day’s rest keeping the shadows at bay. Arin, beyond exhausted after the dip and dance he did, curled up tight to Celestia’s side. The Princess fawned over him with her wings, softly embracing him to her chest.

In a nearby tent, even though they were pummeled by exhaustion from their quest’s call, a duo of mares embraced each other. Keeping warmth and love afloat - cuddling in to share love and warmth in a soft, relaxing rest.

Vee watched over the vale far below, admiring the beauty it now held. With all the swampy disgust washed away, a serenity could bloom. There was no tragedy now; only peace. Even in the approaching night, the world seemed so calm.

It was several hours more before the click of a beak and a flap of familiar wings stirred her from her thoughts, a raven landing tiredly by her side.

“Aha! I knew it! Pecking up trouble, are we?” she asked with a coo, nosing the bird. “I missed my lil’ cookie eater! Perfect for clearing out my kitchen, and for ruining my staring competition with the moon. Bold of you to flap onto MY hoof, next to MY coffee, and expect cookies for the effort! D’ohoho.”

“I am not here for treats, though temptations they may bring. I carry news on swift wings. The Seraphs have grown anxious over the delivery of compensation and their promises of freedom. At Umbra’s beckoning, I forged a letter to delay her execution - but I’m afraid it will do little else but just that. My feathers are tied; the Council has called, and I must venture to realms beyond this for my talon’s interference in the fate of this world.” Onyx gave a winged bow, the strange being seeping with odd, foreign magics.

“Couldn’t free her and bring her back to us, I take it?” she hummed, sipping away another mouthful of her favorite brew.

“I am afraid not. I had hoped the small touch of magic would suffice for both my limitations, and for a purchase of time. Instead, both have fallen short. It may be centuries before we meet again, Vee-Ness. The accord we struck may be void, if I am to accept my fate.”

“Ah…” She tilted the brim of her hat down, her all too familiar frown returning. “I see. You’ve pecked up the wrong tree for the last time, ol’ bird. I guess it’s another piece of me I’ve lost on this journey. My Sister has finally grown up, and now, you’re leaving me too.”

Onyx spotted the thin tears trailing down the usually chipper pegasi’s cheek, the old witch croaking up a sorrow-choked farewell. “You’ve done me proud, Featherbrain. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you. Shame it had to end so soon.”

“Several hundred years is a short time, indeed. The bond we share will linger for an age. Months more, years even if you use my magic sparingly. Perhaps you will find another to grow the tether of your life ever longer.” He clicked his beak. He knew it was a false hope, but one to cling on to.

“No no, I do believe it’s time. There’s many things approaching that my old bones must handle, and I think it’s long overdue that I give fighting the skeletons in my closet a shot.”

With little else to say, Onyx gave a gentle press of his beak - before fading from the light of the fire. For the first time in over seven hundred years, Vee sobbed. She had been alone before, she had fought for causes long past. But never one that took so much from her.

Celestia stretched her elegant wings, as she stepped free from the tent. Refreshed, and with a warm half-dressed Seraph tucked under her wings, she was ready to face the day. Maybe Vee would be inclined to share a cuppa.

Maybe she would be - if the pegasus were still resting by the fire. Unsure, she cast her gaze around the campsite to find her - and seeing Vee overlooking the lake, standing with her spear clutched tight in hoof and wing, gave her worry. Arin caught the sight too, seeing his friend staring into the Lunar Magics wasn’t like her at all. Well, maybe it was like her - it was hard to tell. Vee had a lot of strange quirks one couldn’t just list.

He decided to approach first, leaving the Princess with a kiss to start breakfast up properly. After all, it was one of the few things she could cook without burning down a small village.

“Hey Vee, what’s going on?” He asked, stooping to sit by her side. His legs dangling over the short rocky ledge she gazed from.

“Thoughts,” she replied bluntly, not even turning to acknowledge him.

“Hm? Thoughts? Like… coffee thoughts, or?...”

“Not everything is about coffee, Tall-fry. Sometimes thoughts are about more important things. Things none of you could understand. We all have thoughts about what will happen and things that’ll come, but we never really understand how unimportant they can be. When you look at the big picture, at least.”

She gave her spear a swish, feeling the weight of it in her grip. “I’ve got a lot of thoughts to look through, in this feather brain of mine. Years upon years. And very few years left to think them. I like to play along and let life have its way - but I’ve always been an outsider compared to eternity. Just like Sun-fry, I used to think I’ll still be standing when the few friends I’ve made passed. I never thought the time would come when those very same friends would outlive me.”

She turned to face Arin, the shocked Seraph recovering from the bombshell she just dropped. “I’ve never felt old before, Tall-fry. But today… I feel it. It’s in my bones. Not because I’m aging, but because a friend I’ve held dear has moved on. I asked too much, and the void took it all. Now, I’m old. I’m alone. And soon, I’ll have nothing left to give Equestria. It’s given me many fine cups of coffee, many warm hearted customers to tend to - and now, I’ve got nothing to give it back, save myself.”

She sat down, breathing slow and deep. “Tall-fry. I trust you. I wouldn’t let you stay with me if I didn’t. I know I’m crazy, I’ve got a few screws loose. But I’ve got enough sense left to know when my time has come. And it’s soon. So very soon. I don’t think I can tell the rest of them. Not Pumpkin, never Pumpkin. But if this is the last flap I have, then please. Make sure my Sis knows how much I love her, and that everything I own goes to her. I don’t know when it’ll happen. When I’ll die. I just know it’s soon. Until then… I’ve got to keep it together. Drink my coffee, flap my feathers. I won’t go quiet into the night, like all my friends have around me. Hold this secret. It’s the last thing I could ever ask.”

The Seraph almost teared up, wrapping his arms gently around the pegasus. “It’ll be alright Vee. I don’t know what happened to make you act this way, but it’ll pass. Everything will turn out fine in the end, I promise.”

“How sweet of you to say, Tall-fry. But we both know better that it won’t. Still… Thanks for stopping by for coffee and cake, back when I was still happy. Let’s head back to the fire. I don’t want Princess Snooty thinking something is wrong.”

Making it to their feet and hooves, Celestia pieced together a lovely breakfast of cinnamon oats and fine, fresh, buttery toast. While it couldn’t hold a candle to her pancakes - it was definitely a wonderful start after that stressing revelation.

Tempest and Pumpkin appeared last, the little mare draped over her lover. Sleeping soundly, or simply too tired to awake fully - Pumpkin snuggled up in the lovely warmth. She only stirred when gentle prodding from a bowl of oats snapped her awake.

“Tempest, I know you mentioned this next area before as… ‘spiders’, but… what does that mean? You don’t really mean a bunch of spiders, right? We’re not walking into a nest, are we?” Celestia questioned.

“It’s unexplored for a reason,” she said, voicing worry through her words. “Let’s hope the tales I’ve heard are only that; rumors and ideas to ward off the less than brave.”

With those not-so cheerful words, the party broke camp - Vee sticking extra close to her Sister’s side as they travelled. It was almost to the point of overbearing, her protective wing draped over the little mare.

“Vee, what’s wrong?” she eventually asked, the purple mare quick to respond.

“It’s nothing. I worry about you, that’s all. You’re a Small-fry all grown up; can’t I hold you like I used to, back when you were my struggling apprentice?”

Pumpkin gave an embarrassed blush, but smiled. “You really think I’ve matured?”

“By leagues and feathers. I think it’s time for a new nickname for you, Smols. Something more fitting. A title I think you’ve earned.”

Vee slid her purple hat off with a wave of her hoof - dumping the contents into her Feywild Leather satchel. Potions, pouches of coffee, jars and vials… Once empty, with a flick of her magic, the hat bound to the little witch’s, ringing magic forcing her ragged old topper to fuse to the autumn mare’s.

A long, purple feather hung over the leather strap now, which had shifted to a soft green - a color that matched the odd flecks of viridescence that shone in Vee’s own irises in the right light. Pumpkin’s hooves clattered to a halt, gently plucking the hat from her head. Her eyes wandering the refined curves and trimmed lace along its edge. The original simple buckle had been replaced with three purple flames; Vee’s cutiemark.

“V-Vee…” Pumpkin began, growing worried at the gift. The Purple’s head looked bare without its hat, the rugged, unkempt mane hanging in the stirring breeze.

“It’s yours, Smols. You’ve graduated top of your class. I have nothing left to teach you, unless you want preening lessons. I dub thee an Expert of the Solar Coven of Witchery.”

Pumpkin fiddled with the new trim, the group stopping down the path to watch. In a flash, the little mare jumped into her Sister’s hooves, soft, expertly preened wings darting around her. “B-But… why?” Pumpkin asked quietly, her pastel eyes meeting Vee’s.

“There’s a lot of road left ahead of us, Smols. Pumpkin. My lil’ Sis. You’ve got a spring in your step I’ll never match. One day, you’ll understand.”

Vee continued her pace alongside her Sister, holding her tight in her wings. Tempest soon joined them, unsure what to make of it all. But, it was a sibling moment - one she couldn’t interfere with. Instead, she kept the little mare sandwiched between herself and her Sister - as they finally broke past the mountains and into the new land.

And the first sign of impending trouble loomed before them. Webbing. Thick, massive knots of spider web lay tattered in the winds, the silk covered bushes and trees making the group freeze in their tracks. The dark forest ahead, breaking down the mountainside - loomed with signs of pearly white spider fabric, that gleamed in the sunlight.

“Nope. Nope nope nope.” Tempest began to back up along the path, stopping when Celestia’s voice called out to her.

“So we leave Umbra to her fate, then?” the Princess spoke, with a flash of her wings.

“N-No, but…” Tempest froze, closing her eyes and gathering her resolve. With a deep, steadying breath - and a sparkle of her horn’s electrifying magic, she stepped forward.

“...I can’t leave Umbra to die. I can’t. Vee, you said you speak spider, correct? Maybe you can… go in. First. Without me. And clear a path.”

The solemn mood slowly left the Purple, bucking up with a sip of coffee. “Oho! I speak the universal form of Spider-nese. But just to be safe, keep an eye on my lil’ Sis, will you, Stern-fry? And follow right behind me?”

“But of course. By the way! Is anypony up for a flight? As in, a long distance one - to the other side of this… this…” Tempest waved

“Spidervale?” Celestia offered a name to call it by. Arin stroked his chin in thought, humming.

“Nah, too on the nose. Arachnaland?” he replied. Vee shook her head.

“Squashbug!” she chimed, slurping her coffee.

“No no no… how about, Driderhold?” Pumpkin pointed to the webs; “Like the spooky creatures from pony tales!”

“I have a better idea for a name; ‘Forest Fire in Progress’.” Tempest picked up a stick in her teeth, horn crackling as electricity seared the webbed branch. All of this talk of spiders put her well past her senses. The thin webs immediately caught flame, the nearby Solar Princess gasping.

“You’ll kill us all!” she shouted, smacking the burning wood from Tempest’s muzzle with a bolt of soft red magic, stomping the embers into fine dust beneath her legs. “Are you stupid, or just suicidal?!”

“No, I’m the most sane one among us! This is a sprawling death trap! Entering this is suicide!”

“It’s the only way through! Unless you decide to grow wings or summon an airship, I’d like to see a better idea!” Celestia glowered, pointing over the horizon to the next set of mountains.

“Uh, mares?...” Arin began, but was interrupted by more shouting.

“For an ancient deity capable of wielding the power of the Sun, you sure do have a death wish!” Tempest slammed her hoof into the stony ground, hard enough to shake the very rocks they rested on. “We go around! Lunar Magic be damned, I’m not going to let myself be wrapped up in a cocoon to feed hungry, chitinous creatures, unlike a certain pony!”

“Are you implying what I think you’re implying?” The Princess raised her wings defensively, her eyes piercing through the panicked Commander.

“Oh? What am I implying then, Princess?” she challenged, her wine-colored hoof bumping the morning mare’s chest roughly. “I am a very well educated tactionist, by my own standard - you were once my enemy. And because of this, I’ve studied you. I’ve read the newspapers around your defeats. If there’s one thing that sticks out, is your weakness to entrapment. I’ve even given it a name! ‘Princess Syndrome’! Under any given circumstance, you are the first to fall.”

“So you think I’m some kind of helpless maiden, charging headfirst into danger only to be captured on a whim? Is that it? You don’t think I can protect myself?” Celestia beat her wings, ready for a tussle.

“It’s a statistical fact that a Princess left to her own devices will be captured within the first twenty four hours of being alone,” Tempest growled, nose to nose with the slightly taller Alicorn.

“Ladies!” Arin shouted, the two mares rounding on him at once.

“WHAT!?” The duo both screamed, directing their anger at the shrinking Seraph.

“If we don’t move now, we’ll be fighting spiders in the freezing cold pitch black night. You know. Where they can see, and we can’t.”

“Actually, Arin, spiders can’t see well in the dark. They can feel when something tugs on their webs, though,” Pumpkin offered. And with all eyes on her, she quickly shrank back beneath her new hat. “I-If that um… helps…”

“...Thanks Pumpkin, but… wait, where’s Vee?” Arin asked, breaking the angry silence between the two argumentative ponies with a simple question.

“What are you talking about, she was just…” Tempest began, her eyes scanning the clearing around them. A soft, stale wind tickled her nose - and she turned to face the looming entrance to the forest.

The massive cloth of spider silk draped before the drooping woods was split in twain, a faint tail light bumbling through the dim dark far along the path.

“...She went in,” Celestia whispered, catching on to Tempest’s gaze. In a hurried frenzy, the ponies and Seraph charged after her - bow drawn, staff slung, and a little mare darting behind on her broom. Calls for the brave pegasus breaking through the quiet of the web-covered thickets.