Dreamwalker's Tale: First (and Last?) Adventure

Late afternoon, the sun was slowly sinking on its way to the horizon, and I felt giddy with excitement. In fact, the amount of nervous energy buildup had been quite ridiculous over the last hour or so, and on several instances had I started pacing around, only to once again settle in front of the fireplace in Celestia’s study and eagerly watch the sun agonizingly slowly crawl its way down.

She would be here soon. I hoped. And with little else to do, my mind had started to keep itself occupied. With stupid one-liners and quips I could greet her with. With jokes and random, stray thoughts that kept me busy for a couple of minutes, before my impatience caught up with me again. I had even settled on one of these quips, and was now even more eagerly awaiting her arrival, just to see her face.

One last time, I told myself again while I glanced at her desk. I had taken the liberty of removing a bunch of her usual bric-a-brac. Empty sheets of paper had been sorted away to a side table. Inkwell — side table. Feather case — side table. Actually, that side table looked a little overloaded. Oh well. It stood in the corner of the room for now, so nopony should accidentally bump against it and make a mess. Especially seeing as usually, only Celestia herself and I were roaming around in here.

The desk itself was everything but empty though. I had sprawled out my map and fixed it in place with what I assumed were paperweights. A stack of papers was waiting on top of it – Moondancer’s transcription of the book passage. And my saddlebags currently occupied her chair. There really was not a lot to miss or forget about. I had made us a pot of tea, with two cups waiting. My tea was terrible. For her refined tastes anyway. I knew that much and yet I made the occasional pot here and there anyway. And she drank it and said it was terrible and that she loved it. And I loved her and everything was fine.

Terrible tea, it turned out, could be a good thing. Somehow.

At least it made us smile each and every time. And it had become a sort of wordless communication. A ritual, almost. I rarely bothered with the tea — since it was terrible and all that. But when I did, it usually meant I was willing to go the extra mile and that whatever I wanted to bring up was something important. Maybe not important to the fate of Equestria. But certainly important to me. She had picked up on that early. A lot sooner than I had myself, which maybe should have been embarrassing, but then again, she was Celestia. A couple thousand years of dealing with ponies probably helped a lot in understanding them and predicting their behavior.

I was considering if maybe I should get up again and somehow organize for the kitchen staff to bring us some snacks. But that line of thought was cut short when I heard it. That telltale click, when the door handle was pushed down and in reaction to it, all the different enchantments securing the room and its privacy were unlocked. I had become accustomed to it by now. Enough that I could feel the magic working as it disabled itself.

It also meant that she was finally coming.

I jumped to my hooves and whirled around, facing her direction with what I hoped was a smug smile, but more likely looked like the grin of a madpony. “You love Twilight, don’t you?”

Building excitement sometimes was a bad thing. The timing was all kinds of wrong. She stopped dead in her tracks, looked at me in bewilderment first, before a many-layered smile played on her lips. Her eyes quickly glanced to the side and she noticed the changes to her desk. Her nostrils flared ever so slightly as she took in the aroma of the tea that surely permeated the entire room by now. Had I waited just a couple of seconds longer, showed just that tiny smidge of self-restraint, maybe I would have seen her blush in sheer surprise. But I just had to blurt it out like a teenager eager to ask for a date.

Oh well. There would always be a next time.

Celestia, for her part, unfroze herself and took three more steps to fully enter the room. “Well, this should be interesting,” she said in her serene, calm voice. But I saw that amused twinkle in her eyes. She closed the door with her magic and the enchantments realigned themselves to reinstate the protective bubble of dozens of spells.

Instead of dealing with me right away, she took her time. Because she was a mean pony and a tease. Given such a prime opportunity, I could not begrudge her this. She slowly lifted her regalia off of her, putting it down on the half-ponykin nearby. She stepped out of her horseshoes. She craned her neck and stretched her legs and back, just for good measure.

And to put on a little show, I suspected. I could not not stare. Ponies rarely wore clothes anyway. And this was not about the ‘clothing’, if one were to even describe her regalia as such. This was a transformation of sorts. The Princess of Equestria had stepped into this room, and right in front of my eyes, the layers of decorum and false pretenses were peeled off, and my lovely Sunny emerged. And such a pretty mare she was.

Her faint giggle broke my reverie.

“You can close your mouth now,” she whispered and walked over to me.

I did not blush. Of course not. I would never grant her the satisfaction of knowing how to push my every button. So I did not blush. It was just warm in here. Yes. Warm.

In an attempt at self-defense, I filled both cups with tea and levitated one over to her. “Want some?”

She eyed the poison with a critical glance, before taking it into her own magic with a smile. “Do you not think that you might be overreacting? Was I really that bad of a pony to deserve this?”

With a few more steps, she stood right before me. And as usual, she towered over me by a good deal of height difference. She sat down on the thick, plush carpet beneath us and I was finally allowed to properly greet her. One long, deep kiss later, I still felt like I wanted more and stayed close to her. I slowly brushed my neck along hers, nuzzled into her mane and enjoyed the almost electric sensation thoroughly. “Hey love,” I whispered as I inhaled her scent with every breath. Summer heat, morning dew and sunflowers. “I missed you,” I added. To be fair, that had been my own fault. Nopony had forced me to stay apart from the ponies I loved for the entire time I had been here. Nopony but me. Moondancer’s presence had certainly helped, but in the same way a patchwork bridge helped with a gap for a couple of uses before its improvised nature became apparent.

“I missed you too,” she replied and pulled back to steal another kiss from me. I was all too happy and eager to oblige. Just being this close to her, feeling the warmth she radiated, seeing her genuine smile — it made all the anxious energy from before drain away. I had occasionally entertained the thought that her calming presence might actually be some sort of supernatural aura. Maybe it was.

Instead of pondering this once more, I moved over to her side and sat down next to her. She usually would have put a wing over me and I loved the gesture. It was intimate. But she knew that I was already struggling with the change of seasons and she was quite warm already, without offering me a thick, downy blanket. In an ultimately inadequate attempt to compensate, I leaned against her and we both took a sip from our cups.

“Tastes awful,” I concluded with a quiet chuckle. “Too much tea in my tea.”

And while she giggled for a brief moment, she shook her head afterwards. “The amount of tea is not the issue this time.” She took another sip, barely grimacing at all. “You used boiling water and you let the tea settle for too long.” I looked into my cup as if the tea itself would nod in confirmation of her assessment. So that was where the unexpected bitterness came from? “It does taste awful, though,” she agreed, and I could hear the mirth in her voice.

I shrugged and downed the rest in my cup, just to be done with it. “Uargh. Phew. It really does.”

For a few precious minutes, we settled into a comfortable silence. This could not go on forever of course. And my weak will to break this moment made that task fall to her. “To answer your question,” she started, “Yes. Yes, I do. Very much. My faithful—… Twilight has been nothing but an inspiration to many ponies, myself included.”

It took me a moment to realize what she was even talking about, as I had already forgotten about my entire spiel from earlier. I smirked a little about her stumble. In a sense, Twilight would probably remain her faithful student for the next couple of centuries. For somepony that was used to the idea of counting centuries, she had made a fast and deep connection with this student of hers. Twilight had left quite the impression. But then again, that was just what she did. “Do you want to tell me what this is about, then? Why am I not allowed to use my desk this evening?” Celestia added.

I considered my options. How to best approach this conversation. I had done so before, of course, but while I had managed to decide on that stupid little quip, I had not been able to settle on a course of action once the actual conversation was concerned. Many angles, many pitfalls. In the end, I just silently sighed and resorted to my usual habit of just winging it. “Alright. But first… can you do your thing?”

She looked at me, first in mild confusion, then recognition. And a small smile lit up her features. “The one wherein I silently sit here and listen patiently until you have explained everything, eventually repeating yourself? Or the one where I slowly raise an eyebrow to question your motives, ideas or sanity?”

I chuckled a bit and nodded. “Yes. First one first, and we’ll see about the other.”

She leaned down and after another kiss, she gave a curt nod. “Very well. You may start.”

I had to wrangle my goofy grin first, but after a moment, I tried to explain myself. “Right, so. This idea started… about a week ago, or so. I’m not entirely sure, some of those last days had been a bit of a blur. Before all that, I went to visit Rarity and we talked about some stuff. Smalltalk, really. But you know how she is. She gave me an idea. And I followed that up by taking a train and I lived in the Archives for a bit. Moondancer helped me out a lot. Like… a lot. None of this would have been possible were it not for her. She helped me find the right books. Which is a librarian’s job, I guess. But she also helped me translate another book. And she helped me with the map. Anyway, point is: I want you to take a vacation. With me.”

I looked up at her and tried to gauge her first reaction, but my love had effortlessly slipped into her Princess persona and nothing, not even the end of the world, would be able to even crack that calm, unmoving façade. She waited patiently for me to continue, so I did. “That map over there depicts a section of the western parts of the Forbidden Jungle. There’s a couple of… hm… I’m not entirely sure. Ruins, I guess? Temples? There’s a couple of things there. Relatively close to each other, which makes sense given they are part of a trial, I guess.”

“The jungle?” she interrupted me, much to my surprise — and judging by her expression, even her own. “You want us to go into the jungle? You don’t like high humidity.”

“I know,” I replied with a grin.

“Or heat,” she continued with a furrowed brow.

“I know,” I answered once more.

“Or insects.”

“…”

“Or the wilderness in general, really.”

“…”

“You don’t even like camping.”

“…”

Of course I had realized that she was just rattling down all the things that were wrong with my proposal. All the really obvious things that immediately sprang to mind. Hers, and mine. After all, those were all good and valid points I had tried to plan for, tried to consider myself.

And after a moment or two, she realized that this was probably the case, and that I was just waiting for her at this point. She shook her head with a smile. “I feel like I might have been more spot on than I first imagined. This seems as if it will be quite interesting indeed. Please, I interrupted you. Continue.”

“Right. Uh… where was I?” I scratched my neck in confusion, trying to mentally walk back a couple of steps in our conversation. But she quickly helped me out with a simple “the jungle” and I nodded gratefully. “Jungle, right. So. I gave it some thought. I know how ridiculous that sounds. I don’t… I mean… I like adventure stories just fine. But when it comes to my own real life, I prefer to have them take place indoors. I’m well aware of that. And considering how every bloodsucker out there seems to be out for my blood specifically, I’m really not looking forward to this part of the journey. Mosquitos as large as rats. That’s a nightmare for a pony that gets bitten twelve times in one night while wrapped in a blanket, with four friends without blankets sleeping near the windows, and they get away scot-free.”

“Don’t forget about the leeches,” Celestia added with a smirk.

“Riiight. Thaaank you. Leeches. Goodness, hadn’t even considered those.” A small shudder made me tremble at the mere thought of having to pick those off of me. “Ergh. That’s a problem for future-Dreamwalker. So anyway. I was thinking… two days of prep time, max. I’m heading home to Ponyville, and I’ll be asking Rarity if I can lend us her camping kit. She has this fancy tent that is enchanted to keep the inside nice and comfy — and dry. And it’s self-building, too. Works with a command word, if I remember correctly. So I’m going to get that settled and then I head to Zecora’s for a spell, and ask her to make us two Neverend bottles. Those, uh… those water bottles that contain a lot more than is physically possible? I have no idea how you get clean, drinkable water in a jungle. Those bottles should solve the issue altogether. Food will be a bit more of a problem. Right now, I’m thinking one week, tops. But food for one week for the two of us will be a bit of a nuisance. It’s a lot to carry. Haven’t quite figured that out yet. But I’m sure I’ll come up with something. On that map, I have marked out the perfect spot for our base camp. It’s a small hill. All our targets are within reach of one day of travel. So after I get our supplies, I use the teleportation stone to come back to Canterlot, you teleport the both of us to the jungle, we set up camp with a fancy tent and then we just explore these marked places. Oh, right, I almost forgot! You will probably want to start with ‘oh but what about the throne’ and such. And to curb any weird metaphors about how Equestria isn’t a teenager anymore and could stay at home without supervision from mommy for a week, I will just say this: You feel needed. And you need that, and I get that. I don’t want to take that from you. Ever. But the fact of the matter is, they depend on you. Heavily. And they always will, unless you make them change something. Luna has been catching up to modern times for a decade now. She’s slowly eased her way back into the wheel. The Night Guard is back in action. The Night Court is doing fine. I think she would be itching to try her hoof on taking over for a while. A week should be a good trial for her. Not too much, so that she shouldn’t completely lose it. After all, ‘only seven days and sister dearest will be back to listen to these pricks rattle on about their self-importance’. But it won’t be too short either. She would get a good impression of how things are and how things work and what you’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis. I think it would help her out a lot, and make her understand you a good deal better. And I’d like to think that this is a very nice bonus on top of it all. So while I’m over in Ponyville, you talk to her and make the necessary preparations to ease the transition. As I said before — they will panic either way. You can reduce it, but I doubt you’ll be able to prevent it. Dealing with that will be a nice first task for Princess Luna. However, I’m not sure if you should call it a ‘vacation’ in public? How to sell it to the masses, you would know better than I do.”

For the first time in what felt like ages, I fell silent. I thought about it. What was I missing? Had I mentioned everything? I barely noticed her levitating the pot over, refilling my cup. I drank a good half of it without thinking much and although it tasted awful — somehow even worse now that it was cold —, it did not stop me from mulling my plans over. And judging by her furrowed brow, my love was thinking about a lot of this as well.

It was a really, really weird proposition. I was well aware of that. Not only because this idea came from me, of all ponies. Visiting the jungle was one thing. Some ponies liked that. Traveling a lot. Visiting different places. Gawking at the scenery. And all the different plants and flowers and trees and critters. But putting her off-days aside, and excluding our admittedly very nice afternoon get-togethers or romantic evenings, this would be our very first real vacation.

I was actually not even sure if she had had one of those since Equestria had been founded.

“You have given this a lot of thought,” she stated after some time had passed. “And I can hear that you seem quite determined to follow through with this plan.” There was no judgment in her voice. No approval, but no refusal either. Just an observation. “May I ask then. You are willing to brave the wilds and contend with rat-sized mosquitoes and leeches. Which are some of the more common and less troublesome dangers of such environments, as I might add. And you want to head into these regions to search for some possibly long-gone ruins. For what exactly? What is this all about?” I grimaced a little as I started to realize that I had not, in fact, told her. I had said a lot. About many things. But I had failed to reveal what the core of this idea actually was. “I assume it somehow relates to Twilight.”

I sighed and tried to smile apologetically. “It does. Sorry, love, I, uh… I might have gotten a little overzealous.” She gave a nod and waited for me to continue. Yet I hesitated. The last time I told somepony, that pony was Moondancer. And she had looked at me like I had lost my mind. So it was with quite some trepidation that I started speaking. “So, according to the translation, these trials offer access to some very rare materials that could be used in smithing. Sun-blessed gold and moon-blessed silver. Have you ever heard of that?”

She looked surprised for a moment. Surprised to hear those names. Which in turn surprised me. The association with sun and moon was obvious, as were the implications. But I could not imagine her having any actual connection to that stuff. “I have heard of it, yes,” she answered. And for just a second, I did not know what to think or say. One half was glad. Glad that maybe, just maybe, I would not have to go into a jungle of all places. And contend with feline predators and leeches. The other half was sad about just that, about my first outdoor-adventure being canceled before it even had a chance for lift-off. Especially after all the time I had already wasted on its preparations. “However, I do not know how it is produced.” And just like that, the conflict fell away. “I had heard of these materials being used by the ancient civilization that once used to live in these parts, but I had no interest in these hostile lands or their customs at the time.”

I nodded. Maybe with a little bit too much vigor. “Right. So, yeah. Fancy metal. I hope to find that there.” And just like we had agreed upon initially, she slowly raised an eyebrow, wordlessly questioning me. She knew I was not telling the whole truth. And with a sigh, I admitted defeat. “I, uh… intend to build something with it. For Twilight’s Hearth’s Warming.”

The other brow creeped up high and joined its sibling. It was rare to see her astounded. “This,” she breathed, looking around at the map, the almost empty tea pot and me, “all of this. For a Hearth’s Warming present?”

I freely admitted to myself: This time, I was blushing. Furiously. Moondancer had asked something very similar, and in both instances, it really did start to feel quite silly. “Yes?” I squeaked out.

Maybe she took pity on me. She sighed after a moment and a warm, loving smile graced her lips. She leaned down and kissed me and my tension started to drain once again. “I did not mean to upset you,” she whispered after breaking the kiss, but she stayed close enough to resume it in an instant, “it is quite a show of affection.”

Maybe it was the lingering nervousness. The rest of the tension. Her enticing scent, her warmth, her proximity. All of it, none of it. I lunged for her. I closed that gap quickly and kissed her fiercely. And for a minute or two, that was all there was. Her lips. Her body beside mine. My hoof stroking through her wavy, ethereal mane. A soft, quiet moan escaped her throat and a part of me wanted to cancel this discussion in favor of other activities. Planning could wait until tomorrow. Or the day after. I wanted more of her, wanted her.

And now, of all times and places, my self-restraint decided to rear its ugly head. I withdrew breathing heavily. So did she. There was unmitigated desire in her eyes. I could feel the same fire burn in my belly. It took some effort to reign it in for now.

“To be fair, this is more than just an exotic shopping trip,” I explained further. “I will probably complain a lot while we’re doing this. About the heat, and the dampness of everything, and the freaking leeches. I fully expect myself to be quite miserable throughout. But telling this story afterwards… I think that will be neat. They all have their stories, you know? Heck, even Derpy has better stories than I do. And that’s okay. I’m not an adventurer. I don’t want to be one, and I never will be one. But I think having this tale to tell will be nice. And… and I think having you there with me would be… it would make things so much easier. Not because of what you can do. Well not only because of that anyway. But just because you are there. With me. Just the two of us. For an entire week. No regalia. No castle walls. No guards. We wouldn't need to hide in your chamber or in your study. I could kiss you whenever and wherever I want. I could be with you for more than just a couple of afternoon hours and a lovely evening. Just you and me. I… I really like the sound of that.”

My sentimental speech did little to diminish that flame in her eyes. But it added a layer of tenderness to them with which she regarded me. And then a mischievous glint rose in those beautiful magenta eyes. “Do I have to worry about my Hearth’s Warming present now?”

I laughed heartily at that. It took a couple of seconds to die down to a chuckle and finally a wide smile. I raised a hoof to get rid of some tears and shook my head. “Nah, I don’t think so. I only have to deal with a god of chaos for yours, should be easy, really.”

With her grin remaining in place, she sighed in relief. “Oh, good. I was worried for a moment.”

We both fell silent once again and quickly got lost in each other’s eyes. After some time, I managed to wiggle myself free from her spell to speak. “So, what do you think?”

She looked around once more. Poured the last of the tea into my half-filled cup. Regarded the map for a moment before turning her attention back to me. “I will have to think about it a little bit more, but I admit that the idea is appealing. And you do seem very committed. I know how you can get when you have decided on something and I would rather be by your side and keep you safe myself than have anything happen to you while under the guidance of somepony else.” She sighed once more and beyond that thin veil, I saw that fire roar. And just like the rabbit freezing before the fox, I stared at her as she lowered her head again, bringing her lips to my ears. “But I also think that this can wait until tomorrow. Would you not agree?”

A little nip at my neck was all it took.

She knew how to push all of my buttons. And most of the time, that really was not all that bad.

When I woke up in her bed the next day, it was late morning already and I felt sore in all the right ways. And I felt happy.

I tilted my head to the left, then to the right, just to make sure. But of course, Celestia was long gone. I continued to lie there for a couple more minutes and reminisced about last night. I even lolled around a little in this massive, massive bed, basking in those remnants of her scent and warmth. But eventually, my thoughts drifted towards the tasks at hoof. The thought that Celestia might have already talked to Luna about our plans over breakfast was exciting. Enough so to finally spur me into action. I climbed out of bed, did my best to fix said bed and went through my usual routine before strapping my saddlebags to my back and exiting her chambers. There was a train I had to catch. And maybe one of Joe’s donuts on the way, as a breakfast of sorts.

“Rarity, I need to borrow your tent.”

For a few precious seconds, the fashionista continued to sew away, before she finally relented and stopped. She put the fabric aside, neatly folded her glasses and put them down on the table and then, and only then, did she turn to me with a slightly soured expression. Her little dip in mood was just a short-lived frustration about my sudden intrusion in her workspace and was quickly replaced by a warmer smile. “Why hello, Dreamwalker. How lovely to see you again. How are you doing? Fine? That is lovely to hear. Me? Oh, I am just doing great myself, thank you for asking. Oh? Oh of course I can spare a few moments to listen to such a good and considerate friend such as yourself! Please, do come in, have a seat.”

Alright. Maybe not all that short-lived after all, I mentally corrected myself. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment while I fidgeted with my hooves a little and cringed every time she intoned another accusation. She finished with an indignant huff and pierced me with a stare, now waiting for my response. And somehow, it suddenly felt like I was dancing across a minefield. “Eh…hehe…heh. I apologize, Rares. I should have just waited downstairs and I shouldn’t have barged in here like that. And I should have greeted you properly.”

She gave a curt nod to each and every acknowledgement of failure, and it did seem to mollify her a little bit. To the point where she held up a hoof and her smile became a little bit warmer, more welcoming. She was nothing if not forgiving. “Apology accepted. I can see that you are quite excited about whatever this is and I am well aware how such excitement might carry one away, as it is. At least you are well-mannered enough to acknowledge your mistakes and hopefully keep them in mind for a while, not like some other multicolored menace I shall not name.”

I grinned a little. “Rainbow giving you a hard time again?”

“And I shall not name,” Rarity repeated with a huff and rolled her eyes. “She flew in through the window yesterday. That is why I keep it closed for now. I had to reorganize my entire fabric shelf after she toppled it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I remarked. And truly, I was. Rarity’s levitation was stronger than mine — but that did not mean that lifting these rolls of fabric was easy. They weighed quite a lot, each one of them. And I knew from Twilight how aggravating some ponies could react when their tried and tested order of things was disturbed by someone less considerate. That was not to say that Rainbow was reckless. Well, that she actually was. But she usually tried to be considerate. Whatever had made her crash the shelf was another matter entirely — from that point forth, there was little she could do. Rainbow and Rarity had vastly different definitions of ‘order’.

The seamstress rubbed the bridge of her muzzle for a moment before putting her glasses back on. “So, you are back home. How was your trip? And what was that about my tent?”

I dared to walk a little closer to her current workstation. It seemed like she was working on some kind of suit, maybe? Everything was still more a bunch of raw materials than anything else. “It went well. I found a bunch of stuff in some dusty old books. Twilight would have loved it. Aaand now I need to borrow your tent for a week, if that’s alright.”

She furrowed her brow and regarded me inquisitively for a moment. “But you hate camping?”

That made me laugh for some reason. “Why does everypony keep bringing that up? Like I don’t know it myself? You hate camping too, you know.”

“I do not,” she answered quickly. A little bit too quickly.

“Yes, you do.”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“Are you the Element of Honesty?”

“That is hardly—… not everypony who is not—… that is not the point!” We tried to stare each other down for a couple of seconds, before we both started to grin. “Fine. So maybe I am not exactly the fiercest of advocates for camping as a pastime. What about it?”

Despite the room being a little bit stuffy, I took a few steps forward to hug her. A brief hug, but a well-meaning one. “Your camping kit kind of reflects that. That tent takes a lot of the ‘camping experience’ out of the, you know, the camping experience. And I think for what I have in mind, I’d like that very much, please. That is, of course, as long as you don’t have any need for it for the next week or so. Might stretch to ten days, I can't say for certain.”

She once again regarded me with that look that ranged between nosy curiosity and critical inquisition. “You may have it. We shall say… you can keep it for two weeks. We non-camping campers have to stick together after all, do we not?”

I grinned from ear to ear. “Yes, ma’am.”

“’Ma’am’? Hm. I might be able to get used to that,” she mused with a grin of her own. “That said, I will have to teach you the command words. That should not take too long I think. And you will have to retrieve it from the attic.”

“No problem,” I happily agreed before I furrowed my brow. “Wait — words? As in ‘more than one’? I thought you used one command word to both set it up and bring it down again?”

Rarity’s smile grew to almost shark-like proportions. “That is one, yes. But that tent cost me a little bit over eight hundred bits, dear, and a lady like myself appreciates luxuries where she can have them. There are twelve command words for twelve different enchantments.”

Hoo boy.

It was around midday the next day then I arrived at Zecora’s hut. Tree. Home.

According to a letter Celestia had sent me through Spike, she had talked to Luna and everything on her side was ready to go. She had even managed to find a solution for our rations issue. She divulged little details about it, which only increased my curiosity, but that simply had to wait until later today, when I would hopefully return to Canterlot with everything else we needed. The two Neverend bottles were the last item on the checklist.

And I felt a little like Twilight, carrying a checklist with me through the thick, damp swamp like it was a treasure to be kept safe and sound. I even played with the idea to frame it after everything was said and done.

I knocked on the shaman’s door. “Please be home,” I muttered before I raised my voice. “Zecora? Are you there?”

A few seconds later I breathed a sigh of relief when the door opened and her striped body appeared in the gap. “Dreamwalker! What a pleasant surprise. Please, come in, before dangers arise.”

Headaches incoming, I tried to mentally prepare myself before I entered and closed the door. I liked Zecora. Really, I did. She was wise and very, very knowledgeable, friendly and kind and always helpful. But goodness gracious me, that constant rhyming could grate on my nerves over time.

She gestured to a sitting pillow nearby a wall before returning to her cauldron. Something stirred within it and needed attention, it seemed. Nothing that appeared to alarm her much, but it required a modicum of attention anyway. “To what do I owe this visit of yours? Do you require tinctures, potions or other cures?”

“Something even more simple, actually,” I replied with a hopeful smile. “See, I’m having my first outdoorsy adventure soon, and I know very little about survival. In the wilds, that is. I was thinking it would probably be a smart idea to have a couple of bottles of Neverend with me? In case getting fresh water turns out to be a bit of a hurdle?”

She chuckled a little and looked in my direction with quite a bit of amusement. “I am surprised to hear you take that leap, and I’ll gladly help so you don’t have to weep. What you seek I can prepare, though to ask a question I first must dare: Twilight knows this all too well. How come you don’t ask your helpful belle?”

I inevitably grimaced a little. I was sooo not willing to regurgitate the entire story again. But maybe I should have seen that particular question coming. “Well… the entire trip is just so that I can get my hooves on some weird materials, which I want to use to make a gift for her. It feels strange to make her work for her own present? Unknowingly or not.”

“I see and understand your plight. So I will help you do this right,” she answered with a smirk. “This brew needs my attention still, so I will guide you to create your fill. Follow my word to a T, and within the hour you shall be free.”

That had me slightly worried. I had not expected to get an impromptu alchemy lesson. Then again, what could go wrong, right? I took in the entire room and looked at it with a different perspective. That of a crafter. It was large. Several holes of varying sizes allowed for vile vapors to escape. A slightly indented floor would mean that liquids collected in the middle, where the central fireplace was currently lit. She had few in regards to furniture. Nothing much that could catch fire or stand in the way of a quick escape. No real room divider. She would, at all stages, be perfectly able to see what I was doing, what ingredients I grabbed, how much I poured into whatever else. The room was perfect to allow for the closest guidance one could hope for.

I sighed deeply, fixed my face in an expression of determination and nodded. “Alright. I’ll do it. Where do I start?”

Zecora seemed quite pleased with my decision. “For a bottle that contains as much as a lake, a special bottle we first have to make.” And at that, my shoulders slumped a little. Had she not said that I would be free within less than an hour? Making bottles… I had no idea how long that actually took. I had never bothered with this specific field of crafting. Glass production. You had to blow that stuff into shape, right? But before I could further think about it, she spoke up once more. “Lucky for you, and lucky for me, such bottles are useful, so I already have three. The water, however, you still have to get. So grab a bucket and do not forget: The stream outside is safe and clear, but do be cautious when silence draws near.”

She pointed a hoof at one of the shelves where I found three small glass bottles with surprisingly sturdy, thick glass walls and a little cork stopper. They were empty. Finding a bucket or three was no issue either and I quickly put one and one together. I had never really questioned how exactly a Neverend bottle actually worked. I had just assumed the water was produced magically. But now I slowly started to realize: That was not how it worked. Not at all. The bottles did not produce anything. They just stored stuff. More than should be able to fit in, but in the end, it was still just a bottle.

Which not only meant that I had to get all the water from the nearby stream. It also meant that I found a new appreciation for the hard work of all those that produced and sold these things. I knew for a fact that Neverend bottles filled with juice or liquor and the like existed. What madpony poured an entire distillery’s worth of alcohol into one bottle?

And that basically explained how the entire hour was supposed to vanish. I carried water from the stream inside to fill the bottles. Relatively early on, I asked Zecora if I could not just take the bottle to the stream instead, but that idea was quickly shot down. It would not work, she said. There had to be a conscious effort to get some liquid inside the bottle. Water pouring against its opening was not conscious, because the stream was not. And at that point, doing the filling inside the hut was simply safer.

I lost track of how many buckets I had poured into which bottle at some point. Surely not a lake’s worth. But hopefully enough. It had been a bit of a mess, figuring out how to get the water from the bucket into the little glass bottle. In the end I improvised a little funnel, much to Zecora's hearty amusement. Only after my solution appeared to work decently enough did she tell me that I should simply have asked — she had a perfectly fine funnel for just such tasks.

Oh well.

I bit down on what looked like dried strips of meat with no small amount of hesitation. Much to my surprise, it mostly tasted like peas and beans with faint traces of carrots and… apples? “Okay, this stuff is… weird. What is this?”

Celestia giggled in exhilaration. She leaned down to nuzzle me and draped her wing over my back. With the balcony door open and the evening wind carrying colder air inside, I really did not mind and happily snuggled against her. “I talked to Luna at breakfast yesterday. And just as you expected, she was quite thrilled about this idea. She even made several suggestions of her own, most of which I will not repeat, now or ever.”

I chuckled for a bit. Of course she would try to embarrass her sister with some lewd commentary. And from the looks of it, it worked. Celestia was faintly blushing beside me even now, so it still worked, even a day later. That almost made me wish I had been there, eavesdropping.

“So this was her idea?” I asked while I still eyed the strip warily.

“Something like that. A long time ago, before Equestria’s foundation, the Griffon Empire saw our arrival as a threat to their sovereignty. They tried to push us back. In those days, the tribes were not exactly on good terms with each other and had yet to discover that each of them was assailed by these hostile forces. What is Equestria today is a good distance away from the Griffon Empire’s borders though. They had issues keeping up their supply lines. One griffon invented something they called ‘Allfood’. It was a nice, flowery way of describing how it was produced. Something I would rather not describe here, since I do not know if your stomach is quite ready for such. Luna led a lot of our troops in defense against those assailants, pushing them back to their own territory. And we encountered similar issues. We had captures, however. We could take a look at their gear and their supplies and Luna fashioned our own version of ‘Allfood’. It is a blend of vegetables, held together by starch. It is not exactly a three-course meal. But it is filling and will keep from spoiling for quite some time, even in harsh environments. It should provide a decent emergency solution to fall back on if we do not find ourselves a decent food source otherwise.”

I squinted a little at the stripe. With the new knowledge in mind, I could almost make out squished kidney beans. Almost. “Huh. I mean… I knew she was clever, but this… this is extra.”

Celestia smiled, almost nostalgic, as her eyes glazed over with memories. “She has always been very creative indeed.” I leaned a little bit heavier against her, just to pull her back before she lost herself in there. And I was rewarded with a grateful smile. Her eyes wandered over to the door, beside which the impressive huddle that was Rarity’s tent was resting. And a couple of saddlebags containing a map, the transcription, the two bottles, a first aid box and a few pieces of other random gear. “So we… we are ready then? Do we have everything?”

And just like that, I wanted to coo and stroke her wings. She suddenly sounded so uncertain. Nervous. And despite her age and experience, parts of this shone through her self-control. It was noticeable in her voice, that tiny tremor in there. In her wings, as they occasionally rustled a little. She was Sol Invictus. The Unyielding Flame. Wasn’t I the one who was supposed to be nervous?

With a flicker of magic, I guided her cheek down, and pressed my lips to hers. It was a comparatively innocent kiss, but one that seemed to help her nonetheless. “We have prepared what we can prepare, love. Luna will do a great job. Hey, maybe she’ll even coral these idiots you sometimes complain about, who knows? This will be our little adventure and a good bit of fun and a vacation for just the two of us, alright?” I could see her, feel her sinking into my eyes as she drew calm from my sudden bout of optimism. She steadied herself with a deep breath and smiled for me. And I loved her for it, all the more.

I turned my head with a smirk and kissed her shoulder. And a little bit down, under her wing. Before slowly drawing my tongue along her wing joint. I was rewarded with a shuddering breath and saw her eyelids flutter shut. It was all the encouragement I needed. “How about I’ll take care of your nerves and help you relax, love? It’s the least I can do, seeing how much complaining from me you will have to endure in the coming days.”

“I would not mind that terribly,” she breathed in reply.

And with a grin so wide my cheeks started to ache, I got to work.