A Journey of Bonding

Chapters

Chapter 1: Like it or Not
Chapter 2: A Noble's Sword
Chapter 3: Unexpected
Chapter 5: Highest Quality
Chapter 6: Still a long way
Chapter 7: A Shortcut
Final Chapter: Journey's End
Chapter 4: Worth Fighting For

Chapter 1: Like it or Not

"I guarantee this sword is durable, it was made by blacksmiths from Saddle Arabia using an ancient technique. You can see it in the pattern of the blade." Souvenir smiled at the griffon holding the sword, knowing this was an opportunity to sell it.

"Interesting, how much for it?" asked the griffon.

"Since it is rare in these lands, that will be...1001 bits!"

"1001 bits?! You can't be serious, pony...I have 1000 bits, can't we forget about that one bit?"

"Sorry, 1001 bits, not one bit less. Gotta make money somehow."

"Now that I think about it, not worth it. Do you have anything similar to this but less expensive?"

"Well, I have a dagger made with the same technique." Souvenir pointed at a dagger with a similar appearance. "Smaller, just as durable, easier to carry around. 750 bits."

"I'll take it." The griffon put the sword back in its place and took the dagger. Counting the coins in his bag, he gave her the money for the dagger and left.

"Thank you, kind sir!"

It had been a long day of selling rare items and Souvenir had made quite a bit of bits. She had been doing the same for one year, travelling from country to country collecting rare items and then selling some of them in the next country she visited. While her prices were high, no one could say it was a ripoff as her items were of good quality, something she herself checked before adding anything to her collection. Her job often involved dealing with thieves or the black market, but she always found a way to strike a deal with them, often offering one of her items in exchange for another. This was something even a brave pony would consider dangerous, but Souvenir had been travelling around the world for a couple years already and was used to this.

She looked up at the sky, noticing Princess Luna's moon was at the highest point, meaning it was midnight already. She decided it was time to return to Equestria after so long. She thought it would be good to see her friends again, but another reason was that she couldn't stand being in the Griffon Kingdoms much longer. While the griffons did not cause her any problems, she did not like them that much, or at all. After putting everything back in her cart, she headed back to where she was staying and paid some of the local griffon guards to keep an eye on her cart, knowing they would be outside all night, and they happily accepted.

Before going to bed she went to the tavern to ask if anyone knew the way to Equestria from the Griffon Kingdoms, since this was the first time she made her final stop there. While she didn't like asking griffons for help, she had no choice.

Souvenir stood at the entrance and cleared her throat. "Anypo-" Souvenir realized her mistake before finishing the word. "Anybody knows how to get to Equestria from here?" she shouted.

The griffons stared at her, then pointed at a single black griffon who either didn't hear her or simply ignored her.

Souvenir walked up to him. "Excuse me, do you know how to get to Equestria?"

The griffon put his drink on the table and looked at her, not happy to be interrupted. "Aye...why you ask?"

"Well, I am on my way there and I thought you could give me some directions?"

The griffon laughed at this. "Directions? You want directions? Alright, listen closely because I won't repeat it."

For the next few minutes the griffon talked, giving her an accurate but long description of the path she had to take. Unfortunately, the long talking plus his accent made it impossible for Souvenir to understand, and the griffon could see it in her confused look.

"...I won't repeat it." The griffon went back to his drink.

"Fine! I'll go ask somepo-...someone else!" said Souvenir, angry. "Even better, I'll go find the way myself! Souvenir turned around and began walking.

The griffon grabbed her tail and pulled, stopping her. "You really want to go out there and be free food for the beasts?"

"Let me go! I do what I want and-...wait...what beasts?"

"Nothing extraordinary." The griffon let go of her. "Just packs of timberwolves, manticores, hydras, giant spiders, rocs, dragons, ursas, nothing very uncommon."

Souvenir's jaw dropped. "JUST that?!"

"...I forgot, there are also diamond dogs and minotaurs."

"Where do you griffons live?! The Griffon Kingdoms or the Everfree Forest?!"

"Why do you think most griffons FLY to Equestria?"

"Great, now I'm stuck in here."

The griffon was starting to get annoyed. "Why don't you simply ask a griffon to fly you to Equestria? It is a long way but it is a couple days shorter by air."

Souvenir began to panic. "N-No thanks! I...I'm better off travelling by land, heh."

The griffon thought for a second and looked at her. "Look, pony...I don't like you, and you certainly don't like me, but let's face it, you are not going back to Equestria alone. Against my better judgement I will go with you, but only because I have some business to attend to in Equestria, and I don't want the beasts to have easy prey."

"Yay, me and my partner the griffon..." said Souvenir, sarcastic.

"I will leave tomorrow at sunrise. I will be waiting outside the inn, but if you are late I will leave without you, understood?"

"Yes...what's your name anyway?"

"Alastair the Third."

"Mine is Souvenir...'nice' to meet you."

Souvenir left shortly afterwards. She really disliked Alastair, and knew he disliked her as well, but thanks to their little deal they were now stuck travelling together whether they like it or not. She went to bed and slept for hours, though if it wasn't for her window letting the sunlight in directly at her face she would have slept much more. Remembering she had to be outside quick, she made sure she didn't forget to do anything and left the inn, finding Alastair with a bag next to her cart. At first she was confused as to how he guessed it was her cart, but then remembered that she wrote her name on the sides.

"There you are, ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes, let me get my cart."

As she began making the preparations, Alastair put the bag in the cart next to Souvenir's things. She noticed the added weight, and though it wasn't much, she still found it somewhat offensive that he didn't even ask for permission. Before she could say anything Alastair began walking in front of her, and Souvenir quickly realized it was pointless to begin arguing now and followed him.

"I want to make one thing clear, Souvenir. We don't have to be nice to each other for the sake of the journey, we don't even have to like each other."

"At least we agree on something..."

They left the town and walked into the woods. The townsfolk wished them a good trip, but they both knew they weren't going to like this journey.

Chapter 2: A Noble's Sword

The journey had just begun and it was already getting awkward for Souvenir. While she didn't like griffons, and especially Alastair, she hated to be quiet when she was with someone else. Looking at her always serious griffon companion, she thought that maybe he liked to be quiet, remembering he was one of the very few silent griffons at the bar.

Oh, awkward silence, how I hate you. I need to do something fast. Souvenir looked around, trying to find something interesting to ask Alastair about. Sadly all she could see were plants and rocks. Rocks, he will think I'm stupid...If he doesn't already. She then noticed Alastair's sword, which he had been carrying the entire time even when they met at the bar, sheathed and strapped to his side. Having acquired and sold many weapons as part of her job, it caught her interest almost instantly. Well, well, now that is something nice. A longsword I bet, the grip looks like it would too big to hold with one hand and the blade seems to be long. The guard looks simple, I wonder if that is gold. And the scabbard, it seems very practical, not overly decorated, but that emblem on the side looks important. Alright, I think I have something to talk about. Souvenir walked a bit faster to be next to Alastair who was walking in front of her. "That is a very interesting sword you are carrying."

Alastair sighed. Bloody fantastic, now she wants to talk. He looked at her, expecting to see her with a bored expression, only to see that she was actually interested in the sword. Oh, she really is...interested? Well, now I can't pretend I did not hear her. He looked at the sword and began talking with a somewhat friendlier tone. "Yes, it is...it is called the Bloodfeather."

"That is a pleasant name..."

"It is, and it means much more than that." Alastair began to flap his wings and jumped off the ground, flying beside Souvenir. He unsheathed the sword and held it so that she could see the blade. "A very strong steel, forged by the best blacksmiths of the Northern Griffon Kingdoms centuries ago. None other can wield it, only I can."

"Ooh, and why's that?" asked Souvenir, more interested than ever.

Alastair realized something, and quickly sheathed the sword, going back to walking beside her. "You don't need to know. It is a long story that I do not wish to share with a pony."

Souvenir felt offended. "Oh really? Why? You think I am a stupid pony who doesn't know anything?"

"Aye, but that's not the point."

Souvenir was now angry. He did NOT just call me stupid! He is stupid for thinking I am stupid! She decided to insist until he gave up and answered her. "Is it because it is so heavy that no one else can wield it?" she said, the anger fueling her sarcasm.

"No."

"Is it because it's magic?"

"Not exactly."

"Is it because it's haunted by an evil spirit demanding heads?!" Souvenir tried to sound dramatic.

Alastair simply looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"...is it because of some honor thingy?"

She is not going to leave me alone without an answer, is she? Alastair sighed. "Yes, now stop asking me."

"...okay, back to the awkward silence..."

For the rest of the day they walked quietly, not talking to each other at all. When the sun set they stopped near a cave, both deciding to continue in the morning. Alastair went into the cave to see if it was safe while Souvenir waited outside.

Finally some peace and quiet. I used to be the heir of House Bloodfeather, what did I do to deserve dealing with this pony? Alastair sat at the end of the cave, not far from the entrance. More importantly, why am I even with her? I could just fly off now and leave her to the mercy of whatever finds her. No, no, I am better than that. We protect, we do not let anyone die. Griffon or Pony. Alastair was about to call Souvenir when she heard her screaming. He unsheathed his sword and ran outside to see Souvenir being attacked by a timberwolf.

"Help!" she screamed, unable to run due to her cart's weight.

Alastair quickly got between the timberwolf and his companion, holding his sword ready to attack. The timberwolf did not wait and attacked him. With a single fast swing of his sword, Alastair cut the timberwolf in half, each side falling to the ground and breaking into many pieces of wood.

Souvenir was speechless. She had never seen someone defeat a timberwolf so easily, and couldn't help but feel amazed.

"Are you alright?" asked Alastair.

"That...was...AMAZING!" Souvenir jumped excitedly. She then remembered who she was praising and the excitement disappeared. "I...I mean...thank you, I guess."

Alastair did not expect her initial reaction, but chose not to ask her about it. "The cave is empty, we can spend the night here." He picked up some of the timberwolf's pieces and walked into the cave and Souvenir followed him shortly afterwards.

An hour later they had set up an improvised campsite, the timberwolf's pieces being used for a campfire and Souvenir setting up a tent big enough for both of them to sleep inside. However, Alastair made it clear that he was going to stand watch outside the tent, and this seemed like a better idea to Souvenir. As they ate their food by the campfire, Souvenir had the idea of asking about the sword again.

"That sword of yours...why is it so important?"

"I told you, it is a long story."

"Can't you at least shorten it?"

"...it belonged to my family, let us leave it at that."

"Was that so difficult?"

"Be quiet." Alastair went back to eating.

Souvenir was a bit frustrated, she absent-mindedly took a fruit and decided to continue eating, but as she took a bite she remembered she had finished eating her fruits a while ago and had just tried to eat a rock. She quickly let go of the rock and put her hooves on her mouth, in pain. "Ow, dumb rock!"

Alastair saw what she did and he couldn't help but laugh at her. He slowly stopped laughing when Souvenir stood up and went into her tent. One thing is for sure, this journey will not be boring. Alastair finished eating, put out the fire and stood by the tent the rest of the night.

Author's Note

I apologize for some repetitive words. Though I know a lot of it, english is not my first language.

Chapter 3: Unexpected

Souvenir woke up in her tent covered in clothing. She had had a good night sleep and could have sworn she was home already if it wasn't for the tent reminding her she was still in the middle of a journey. It was then when she realized that it was early in the morning, and she was puzzled since she was never one to wake up early. As she wondered the reason behind this, she heard a noise outside that made her ears hurt. Sounds like someone is stepping on a cat...no, a lot of cats. She covered her ears and slowly came out of the tent to see, to her dismay, her companion sitting outside the tent playing a strange instrument that was no doubt the source of such dreadful noise. "ALASTAIR!" she shouted.

Alastair stopped playing and looked at her. "Ah, you are awake finally," he said with a smirk, "did you sleep well?"

"What the HAY is that?!" Souvenir pointed at the instrument.

"My bagpipe. The sound is amazing, is it not?"

"It sounded like the 'Dying Cat Parade'! Did you wake me up with that on purpose?!"

"It actually was the 'Victorious Noble March'...and yes, I did, we need to get going before the bears decide to go to the river we need to cross." Alastair carefully put his bagpipes into his bag in Souvenir's cart. "You did not wake up when I tried talking to you so I had to resort to this."

"Ha ha, funny." Souvenir began taking down the tent and putting it back into her cart. I'm really starting to actually hate this guy. Who does he think he is?

They left the cave the same way they had started the journey, not talking to each other. They walked through the woods, picking fruits whenever they had the chance and avoiding places the wild animals used as hunting grounds. While neither of them was interested in the scenery, they both admired how it looked. It was natural for Souvenir since she had never been there, but it was the first time Alastair actually walked through the woods instead of flying above them. It was almost as if the calm nature made them forget they disliked this journey.

"We're here." Alastair stopped in front of a river.

Souvenir stopped beside him and was surprised to see just how big the river was. She had expected something small and easy to cross, but the distance covered by the waters was roughly twice the size of her house in Ponyville, and it was a big house. She noticed there was no bridge and thus no way to cross. "Well, now how are we going to cross?" she asked, expecting a relatively simple answer from Alastair.

"Well, I could fly you and then the cart to the other side."

"NO!" Souvenir's face was pale and her tone was that of a scared filly. She slowly calmed down and looked at Alastair. "I...how do I know you won't drop me when we are halfway across?"

"As tempting as that would be, I am not going to drop you, that would simply be cruel." Alastair tried to sound as convincing as he could, but he knew the reason behind Souvenir's reaction wasn't fear of being dropped into the river.

"Well, I'm not sure if I trust you, let's find another way!"

Alastair lost his patience. He got Souvenir to stop pulling the cart and, pulling it himself, ran towards the river and jumped. He opened and flapped his wings to fly across the river with the heavy cart. It worked almost perfectly, the only flaw being the cart's weight, which hurt Alastair's back. He ignored it and went back to the other side.

"How did you...?" Souvenir was quite impressed, she herself knew the cart was heavy enough to give her problems pulling it.

"Now you have no choice," said Alastair, "either fly to the other side or try to find another way before the bears get here."

Souvenir began to panic again. She looked at Alastair, then at the river and then at the woods, repeating for about three minutes. She really did not know what to do. She could try to swim but she didn't know how to swim, she could let Alastair fly her to the over side but she was really afraid of flying, and she definitely couldn't wait for the bears to show up. Suddenly a noise from the woods startled her and she impulsively took a long tree branch from the ground. She then pushed Alastair into the river and got on top of him before he could react, using him as a boat while rowing with the tree branch very quickly. It was either luck or her speed induced by the scare, but Alastair did not sink or drown and she got safely to the other side, but even that was not enough to calm her down and she ran into the cart, knocking it down and causing some of the things in it to fall out.

Alastair stood up, he was wet and still trying to understand what had just happened. He shook his head and glared at the pony. "What the bloody hell was that?! Was it really necessary!?" he shouted.

Souvenir finally calmed down and realized what she just did. She looked at the items and bags that had fallen off the cart and Alastair, who simply stood in front of her with a glare that seemed to make his orange eyes become fireballs, the only thing not covered in water in his whole body. She smiled nervously, letting out a very weak giggle. "Heh...sorry..."

Alastair simply brought his palm to his face and sighed. "Alright, let's place these back into the cart." He began to pick up the items and placing them in the cart, but quickly stopped when he saw his own bag had fallen very close to the river, open. He ran up to it and took it out, it was wet. He looked inside and was shocked by what he saw. "My bagpipe!" He took out his instrument, it was just as wet as he was.

Souvenir was now really afraid of what he would do to her, it was the final nail in the coffin. "Well...on the brighter side...you won't be killing cats anymore!" She slapped herself for saying something so ridiculous. She sat there, trembling as Alastair began walking towards her. He's going to behead me! He's going to cut me up in little pieces! He's going to behead me AND cut me up in little pieces!

Alastair looked at the face of the pony who was likely fearing for her life and then grabbed her hoof. He lifted her and threw her into the river and she fell right into it, struggling to get out until she finally could.

"Hey! I could have drowned!" she said, trembling because of the cold water.

"On the brighter side, we are even!" Alastair began laughing heartily.

Souvenir was confused, she did not expect Alastair to have a sense of humor in such a situation, and soon found herself laughing with him, though at first she did not understand why. They laughed both at each other and themselves for a long while, and when they continued their journey they were still laughing at what happened.

Author's Note

I promise I will someday improve my writing.

Chapter 5: Highest Quality

After sunrise, the two friends woke up in Souvenir's tent. After what they made each other go through last night, they had decided to share the tent, in part because Souvenir wanted Alastair to sleep well and in part because there was no use in standing watch outside while near a village. Like before, Alastair woke up first and Souvenir had to be woken up, but this time he didn't have to resort to torturing her ears to do so. After breakfast, Alastair and Souvenir continued the journey, though this time it was Alastair the one pulling the cart. He himself had offered to do so, and Souvenir was more than happy with the idea.

As they walked, Alastair began to wonder why this pony traveled with so many items. From weapons to jewels to ancient relics, and from all across the world. 'Maybe she works for a museum. Or maybe she is a collector with an interest in other cultures. Or maybe she just sells them to earn a living.' Alastair considered the latter choice to be the right one, but he never jumped to conclusions without evidence.

"You have a lot of items in this cart. What do you do with them?" he asked.

"Oh, I travel to other lands from Equestria and collect as many valuable things as I can, then sell them to interested maniacs." Souvenir looked at the cart. "And what I can't sell, I bring back to Ponyville with me."

"As souvenirs?" Alastair laughed at the irony of the question.

"Not exactly, my best friend's family owns the museum in Ponyville. Whatever I can't sell that seems to have historical value ends up there. Every year I bring various objects that then go to the museum. It's good business and some ponies say I am like the famous Daring Do."

"Daring Do? Ah, the books. I see, so you must be famous in Ponyville?"

"Not really, besides my friends the only ones who care enough about the museum's stuff to know who I am are school teachers, historians and librarians. There's this unicorn librarian who has asked me about my travels, but I can't remember her name."

"Aren't you worried you might have duplicates or fakes?"

"Oh no no no, I know when someone is trying to rip me off. That's my talent!" Souvenir looked at her cutie mark before looking again at her friend. "One fake diamond, one low quality sword, one plastic vase looking like it is real ceramic, and I WILL know about it!"

"Really? How?"

"Uh..." Souvenir walked quietly for several seconds, looking quickly from side to side. She had never been asked that question before, and she most certainly had never thought how to answer it.

Alastair noticed his friend was having trouble answering his question and tried to answer it for her. "You DO know, right? Are you sure you don't just guess?"

"Yes! ...and no..." said Souvenir, certain at first but then doubtful.

"What?" Alastair raised an eyebrow, trying to understand what the pony had meant.

"I'm saying no, but I'm also saying yes!" Souvenir could tell herself that the words coming out of her mouth sounded ridiculous and just raised further questions.

"So it's yes?" he asked.

"No!"

"So it's no."

"Not necessarily."

Alastair was very smart, but trying to understand this game of words gave him a headache. "Well then what is it then?!"

"I don't know! It's like when you know something...without actually knowing something, you just do!" Souvenir wanted to end the conversation about her talent right there and her griffon friend got her message, even if neither of them truly understood what it meant.

"So how much do you make in a single one of your travels?" Alastair asked, trying to change the subject.

"Enough to have a mansion!" Souvenir answered cheerfully.

"Do you have a mansion?"

"Well, not a huge mansion, more like a bigger-than-average house. I like to save money for emergencies, not for luxuries. I could be one of the richest ponies in Ponyville but I don't like to be seen as more than what I am: a traveler, a free spirit, a pony who likes to learn of the world!" Souvenir felt like if she was giving a speech to many young ponies about herself and her travels. She felt proud of herself and closed her eyes to feel the growing triumph in her self.

"But you couldn't seem to learn how to fight a pair of rabbits for a carrot."

Souvenir's triumphant feeling fell like an anvil dropped by a flying pegasus. Her face transformed her proud smile into an expression that showed the sudden realization of what she had just heard. She looked at Alastair, who started laughing heartily at her. "Hey," she shouted as she saw Alastair running away, "get back here!" Souvenir began to chase the griffon who still laughed.

It took her several minutes to finally catch up to Alastair, who let go of the cart to run faster. However, being an earth pony came with advantages for Souvenir, and she managed to jump far enough to catch Alastair and throw him off-balance, causing them to roll. They stopped rolling right next to the road, with Alastair on top of Souvenir, both of them laughing at what just happened. Once they stopped laughing they looked at each other and for a reason they couldn't understand they felt something strange that they were unable to explain. It was like if their eyes met and couldn't look away, like if there was something in each others eyes that made them feel intrigued and fascinated. It took them not less than three minutes to break eye contact and get up, though both of them felt those minutes going as slowly as hours. They felt the blood in their faces heating up, causing them to blush. It was subtle for Alastair, but Souvenir's pale yellow face turned red, and she seemed desperate to hide it from him. They continued the journey trying not to look at each other, in a silence far more awkward than the one they had at the start of their journey.

When the night came they set up camp. They were in the middle of the field, with the moonlight providing more light than a campfire. Alastair wanted to stay outside for the night, claiming that the place wasn't entirely safe despite being so quiet that a leaf falling from a tree would have been heard loud and clear. He sat outside the tent, waiting for the night to pass quickly, trying not to think about Souvenir. He didn't know what had happened earlier but he was convinced he didn't want to repeat it. He didn't want to think about those lavender eyes that made him feel so fascinated. And yet there he was, thinking exactly about them. Before he could think any more, he heard Souvenir laughing inside the tent. Curious, he looked inside to see Souvenir holding a bottle and looking strange.

"Oh hello Alastair, 'verything good outside?" she asked, her words slurring together.

"Yes, I heard you laughing, what is going on in-"

"Nothin'! Just me enjoyin' this drink, it's o' the HIGHEST quality! Gets you to feeeel it with just feeling the smell in the air!" Souvenir held the bottle out to him. "Try some, buddy!"

Alastair was confused, but his mind was too busy to think clearly. He took the bottle and slowly drank from it. As soon as he finished, he realized what happened. He immediately took the bottle off his beak and looked at Souvenir. "Y-You're drunk?!" he shouted, not wanting to use that tone but the alcohol was already making effect.

Souvenir looked at him, her eyes disoriented but at the same time focusing on him. She winked at him and answered his question. "Aye!"

Chapter 6: Still a long way

Celestia's sun was rising when Alastair woke up. He felt tired, which was very rare, his eyes had trouble opening and he could have sworn he was still dreaming. He heard a yawn and quickly knew it was Souvenir's. Even not fully awake, he was surprised that Souvenir was waking up at the same time he did. He began attempting to talk, believing it would help him snap out of the sleepy state he was in.

"N...Nice to see you're...awake so early..."

"Ha, you're just waking up later..." she replied, going through the same struggle to wake up he was having.

"Not likely..."

"So how close are we getting to Equestria today?" Souvenir asked, trying to shake her head but not being able to do so.

"If we don't stop...in three days we will be near the frontier...I guess." Alastair was now beginning to truly wake up.

"Aww come on...on second thought, I think it IS early...can't we sleep some more?" Souvenir began to rub her head against her soft pillow.

"As much as I feel like saying yes, we need to-" Alastair realized he couldn't move his right arm, something was holding it down. Confused, he moved his hand and then each of his fingers.

"Hey, stop! It tickles!" Souvenir laughed a little and this was enough to wake her up.

"Sorry, my arm is-" Alastair stopped his sentence as he finally opened his eyes.

The sudden realization hit them both, strong like a full grown dragon falling from the sky. Souvenir's soft pillow was actually Alastair's feathery chest, and Alastair's arm couldn't move because Souvenir was on it. They looked at each other and saw in shock that they had been sleeping together. After the shock they were both quick to back away from each other, still surprised.

"YOU!" they both shouted, pointing at each other.

For the next five minutes they argued, though both were talking at the same time, therefore calling it a conversation would have been an overstatement. Neither of them knew how they ended up sleeping together, but they both blamed the other, even though deep down they both knew it didn't make any sense. It wasn't until they saw an empty bottle on the floor that they remembered what happened, or at least why it happened. This did not make the situation any less awkward, and it left them both with one big important question: What DID they do last night?

The taking down of the tent was silent, and the first hours of that day's journey had been awkward. They walked at a fair distance from each other and avoided even acknowledging the other's presence. After several failed attempts to talk, they simply looked at each other, and silently agreed not to speak of it again. The truth is, they were both thinking about that, and it was driving them crazy. 'Even blaming the alcohol, something had to be on my mind when it happened...'. They had no way to tell, but those words were heard in both of their minds in almost perfect unison.

Hours passed and they stopped to have lunch. The fruits they had were running out, and Alastair knew there wouldn't be any trees anywhere near their path that day, so they would only have fruit for one small meal, and even then it would not make up for what they should eat. He wanted to tell Souvenir, but to his surprise it was Souvenir who began to talk about the same thing.

"Running low on fruits...we only have three apples left." Souvenir looked at Alastair, her concern clearly expressed. "What will we do?"

"...I...think we should hunt." Alastair looked at his sheathed sword.

"Hunt? I don't eat meat!"

"I never said you would need to...you keep the fruits and I will eat whatever I can find and kill tonight..."

"But...this doesn't look like a place for a lot of creatures. And the sun sets in three hours, how far can we get?"

"Not very far...but I'm positive I can find a rabbit or two...maybe a hare or a fox, any should suffice..."

Souvenir could tell her friend was only saying that so that she wouldn't worry, and that he knew a hunt wouldn't be successful. Before she could say anything, Alastair decided to continue and get as far as they could before dusk. Knowing it would be pointless to talk now, she followed. The path ahead disappointed them both as it proved Souvenir was right. It was just tall grass, any small animal would be able to use it to its advantage and escape even a griffon.

Once they found themselves at dusk, Souvenir set up camp while Alastair stubbornly went hunting. She knew he was not going to return for a while and used the time to try to remember what happened the night before. Did they simply fall asleep together or had she actually "fooled around" with him? As she thought about it, she came up with another question: Why would she even think about doing that with him?

'Could it be that I was so smashed I forgot he was a griffon? Maybe we both were in that state and just went along with it? Or...does it mean that I...?'. She stopped herself before finishing that thought, her cheeks starting to feel warmer. 'No, that can't be it. We just met a couple days ago, I can't think of him like that, even for romance novels it would be too early. Wait, no, I shouldn't even think about thinking of him like that, he's a griffon and I'm a pony, entirely different. Can't happen, won't happen.'

Alastair returned three hours after he had left, and as expected, he returned empty handed. He got into the tent where Souvenir was waiting for him with the last three apples. No questions had to be asked, she already knew how the hunt had gone by the look on his face, and he simply sat on his side of the tent, silent. Souvenir gave him one of the apples while she started eating another one, and Alastair reluctantly ate it. After they had both eaten their apple, Souvenir looked at the remaining one. They were both still hungry, after all this was their worst meal since they had started the journey, a normal meal consisted at least of 3 different pairs of fruits, and this one just consisted of one little apple. Souvenir made a quick decision and ate half of the apple, then offered the other half to Alastair. He merely waved his hand refusing the offer, but she insisted and was not taking a no for an answer. He finally decided to take it, and ate it quickly, looking reluctant but deep down he was grateful. After finishing, Souvenir hugged him without thinking, realizing shortly after, but before she could pull herself away from him, she felt a wing holding her close. She saw with great surprise that Alastair had hugged her back, and unbeknownst to her, he had done it without thinking as well. They were both, at first, surprised at their own actions, though then neither of them tried to stop it as they felt the warmth of each other's touch. The embrace continued until they went to sleep, each on their own side of the tent.

Chapter 7: A Shortcut

Continuing the journey without anything to eat for breakfast was a challenge in itself, but doing so knowing there wouldn't be any food for the entire day was worse. Souvenir certainly wasn't used to this, her travels always turned out to be lucky and she'd find food when she needed it. Alastair was in a similar situation, while he was able to go several hours without even thinking of food, he never had to walk without eating, and flying would have definitely helped him get somewhere quicker than hunger would get him. In an effort to get their minds off of thinking about how hungry they were, Souvenir tried to start a conversation, but soon realized there was nothing to talk about unless it was something personal. One topic came to her mind, but she knew he wouldn't like it.

"So...if you are a survivor of a house of nobles, how come no one treats you as such?" she asked.

Souvenir was right, Alastair didn't like the question. "No real reason...other than only a handful of griffons know who I am."

"I figured, but why?"

"House Bloodfeather was respected, but feared as well..."

"And why?"

"You don't want to know," Alastair said, looking at her. "Trust me..."

Taking that as a warning, Souvenir stopped talking. They didn't talk for a couple hours until they reached a mountain. She could tell it wasn't made for earth-walkers as there were barely any flat surfaces to walk on. Climbing the mountain would certainly require a lot of help and it would be nearly impossible for them both to climb.

"We have to climb this mountain?"

"We should, but we can't since we have a heavy cart with us." Alastair began looking for something on the rocks.

"What...are you doing?" asked Souvenir, confused.

"Looking for a shortcut."

"On the rocks...right, that only happens in Daring Do books and in movies, Alastair." Souvenir began to laugh, however the sound of a rock falling over silenced her. She looked to see Alastair standing in front of a tunnel that was covered with a big rock. Her jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide. 'You HAVE to be kidding me!'

Alastair smirked and looked at her. "Only happens in books and movies?" He began to walk into the tunnel.

It took Souvenir's brain several seconds to begin functioning again, and she quickly followed him into the tunnel. It was dark like a stormy night, but a couple lights of various colors could be seen in the distance. She knew that they were magic gems, a special kind of gems that radiated magic and had its own light. She herself had acquired a few of them in her travels, and had heard that they could be used as magic amplifiers and could even give non-unicorns some degree of magic, but she dismissed the latter as rumors and was backed up by Ponyville's librarian on that thought. As they got close to the magic gems, Souvenir had the idea of taking the smaller ones with her, not because she was greedy, but those things were a sight to behold. While she began taking the small ones, Alastair took notice of something scary: there was a griffon skeleton on the ground. It must have belonged to a warrior as it was holding a broken ax and a worn buckler. Alastair thought for a second and carefully took the buckler from the unfortunate warrior's corpse, he couldn't properly hold it with his hand but he was able to use it on his arm. It was big enough to provide cover and had a spike on its center, and he thought he would need it since the part of the road after the mountain was the most dangerous. Once Souvenir was done picking up gems she looked at Alastair and noticed the shield, but chose not to ask about it and they kept walking.

After a while they saw the tunnel led them to a dead end. What would have been the exit was covered by a giant rock. Frustrated, Alastair turned around to see that the path behind them now had a hole, big enough for them both to fall in with the cart if they they had walked back. He knew what this meant and reached for his sword.

"What's wrong?" asked Souvenir, hearing the sound of his unsheathing sword.

"Diamond dogs..." he replied as he held his sword.

Something jumped at them from the hole, but it was too quick for Alastair to react. It was indeed a diamond dog, but much larger than normal, and was followed by another creature resembling a wingless griffon with spikes coming out of its body. Souvenir and Alastair were quickly trapped by them, and were dragged into the hole along with the cart. It was a painful fall though fortunately nothing was broken. The diamond dog took advantage of the landing and delivered a strong blow to Alastair's head, knocking him out. Souvenir was shocked and screamed a little.

"How can you do this to him?!"

"Silence, pony!" shouted the diamond dog as he took the sword from Alastair's hands.

"You are coming with us, along with your precious items!" said the strange beast as he forced her to pull the cart away, some items falling from it in the process.

Alastair didn't wake up until a couple hours later. While the blow was strong, he had been through worse. He was, at first, unaware of his surroundings, but slowly remembered what had happened and where he was. He sighed as he saw his sword was missing. 'Bloody hell, not again!'. He saw he still had the buckler, and looked around hoping to find Souvenir or the two beasts. All he saw was one of the items that had fallen off the cart, namely a golf club. He took the golf club and realized it was heavier than he had expected. Not wasting time, he began looking for any traces of Souvenir and to his delight saw that the cart's wheels had left a barely noticeable trace, but it was better than nothing. He followed it as fast as he could until he heard someone coming, and hid behind a rock. From the sound of the steps it was clear it was a creature walking on four legs without hooves, and remembering the earlier incident it was likely a diamond dog or a keythong, the wingless, earth-dwelling cousins of griffons. He realized that besides the buckler's spike he had no way to defend himself, but then an idea came to his mind as he looked at the golf club. '...I must be crazy...'.

As the steps became closer and louder, he held the golf club ready to swing. He did so as soon as he saw the creature's head was within reach, hitting it with so much force that it made the creature fall back. It was indeed a keythong, but not the one that had attacked them. Alastair moved closer to the keythong and held the golf club menacingly. To anyone that would have seemed ridiculous, but the keythong had just experienced what it was like to be hit with a golf club, and didn't want it to happen again.

"I surrender! Don't hit me again!" said the keythong, covering himself with his arms.

"Where is the yellow pony with the cart?" asked Alastair.

"The pony? Oh, the slave! I-I mean, I have no idea!"

"Don't make me use this again, mate..." Alastair was ready to swing the club again.

"Alright, alright! They brought her to the mines, down that tunnel!" The keythong pointed at the tunnel he came from.

"What are they going to do with her?"

"Force her to pull the carts for the gems and all the things we steal."

"And just what are you?"

"Not telling you-" The keythong saw Alastair preparing to swing again and cowered in fear. "-I mean, we are just a group of keythongs and diamond dogs stealing from anyone unfortunate enough or simply dumb enough to travel by these mountains!"

"I see...you have been most useful, coward."

Alastair hit the keythong again, knocking him unconscious. He was amused by how easy it was to interrogate thieves like these, but knew that the same tactic would not work on all of them. He began to fly through the tunnel to get to the mines as quickly as possible, encountering diamond dogs and keythongs along the way, beating them with his somewhat threatening golf club or charging into them with help of his buckler. After making many bandits develop a fear of golf clubs, he found the mines. Many diamond dogs and keythongs were mining for diamonds and other gems, but there was only one cart pulled by only one pony, Souvenir, who was under constant vigilance and threatened with a whip. Alastair was furious and knew he'd have to act quickly. Looking around, he found his sword and the rest of the lost items, along with several others he knew weren't Souvenir's, next to a very well-decorated chair, although the word "throne" might have been more accurate. He soon saw who the throne belonged to: an elderly black and grey keythong who had apparently been through many fights, since most of his spikes were broken, he was seemingly the leader. Alastair tried to think fast, he had to create a diversion to get his sword and then he'd have an advantage. He saw a stone on the ground, and maybe it was coincidence or irony, but it was very similar to a golf ball. He would have laughed but he wasn't in the mood and simply brought the golf club down ready to hit the ball...or stone. Aiming at the leader, he hit the stone and sent it flying towards him, hitting the keythong's beak. The results were satisfying, the keythong shouted asking who threw the stone and the other keythongs and diamond dogs were distracted, giving Alastair time to quickly fly over to the throne and grab his sword. However he did not go unnoticed as others ran to the leader's side.

The elderly keythong looked at him with piercing, sinister eyes and spoke with a tone that was just as grim. "What do you think you are doing here, winged freak? Your kind are not welcome in the ground..."

"You can avoid losing your followers if you do as I say..." said Alastair with a threatening tone.

"You are outnumbered, griffon. You'd be better off running for your life!"

"I will not leave unless you release the pony and give back what you stole from her." He looked at Souvenir, who had seen the distraction and how it was going.

"I don't think so..." said the keythong as he snapped his fingers.

In less than twenty seconds, Souvenir fell victim to fifteen painful strikes coming from the diamond dog with the whip. Seeing her being subjected to such torture enraged Alastair, to the point where his mind was filled with fury and he no longer cared for anything but making them pay. He squinted his eyes shut and held his sword tightly, so strongly he would have crushed bones with his hand. He opened his eyes and the bandits in front of him took a step back, surprised and scared by what they saw. Alastair's eyes now glowed with an orange, fiery color, and looking into them was like looking at a huge consuming fire. With seething rage, Alastair charged at the leader, the spike of the buckler going through his right shoulder, then kicked him off. As the leader fell unconscious to the ground, Alastair attacked the other bandits that rushed to their leader's aid, and soon the fight became a bloodbath. Limbs fell as the Bloodfeather sliced and cut through the bandits that had decided to attack, while others fled in fear. Souvenir herself was afraid of what she saw, and her heart nearly stopped when Alastair stood in front of her, having beaten all the attackers. What she felt at the river paled in comparison to what she was feeling now, and thought for a second that Alastair was going to kill her in his blind rage. However, to her surprise, Alastair let go of his sword and threw his arms around her, holding her in a tight embrace as the fire in his eyes faded away. Souvenir felt the blood on Alastair's fur and feathers, and the hug slightly hurt her thanks to the whipping she had received earlier, but she ignored all of it as she hugged back just as tightly.

***

The leader woke up to feel his blood rushing to his head and saw that the world was upside down, but then quickly realized he was the one who was upside down. He looked around to see Alastair flying above a giant, deep hole in the center of the mine, holding him above it.

"AH! Let me go!" The leader squirmed in fear but stopped once he noticed his own words. "WAIT, NO! DON'T LET ME GO!"

"If you want to live, tell us where the exit is," Alastair said as he lowered him a couple inches. "My arm is getting tired."

"Alright! You can leave this tunnel network following the tunnel over there!" The leader pointed to a tunnel and kept talking. "It will lead you directly to the south east!"

"Good...and we are taking your stolen goods with us."

"WHAT?! Never!" It only took Alastair letting him go for one second before grabbing his leg to convince the keythong. "Alright, you can take all you want, just let me live!"

Alastair dropped the keythong in a safe place, but made sure the fall was painful enough to prevent him from running away. He walked over to Souvenir, who was placing the stolen items back into her cart, and also taking any good-quality items the bandits already had, especially the "throne". Alastair was amused by this, the cart was already heavy enough and this wouldn't be any better, but Souvenir couldn't leave a good object lying around like that. The cart was just enough for everything to fit in there, though this meant Alastair would have to carry his bag the rest of the journey.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes, I think this is everything that is worth something."

"Good, did you find any food in there?"

"Oh, I don't think we're going to have empty stomachs for a while!" Souvenir happily announced.

The pair walked through the tunnel and found no hostiles in it. It took them little time to reach the end of the tunnel, and came out of it to find themselves in a place even Souvenir recognized. The tunnel had led them near Equestria's northern mountains, and she was so happy she jumped with excitement.

"Look at those mountains! We are close to Equestria!" she said with a huge smile on her face as she pointed at the mountains.

"Well, you don't see that everyday. Our wingless friends shortened our journey by about two days." Alastair looked up to see the sun was setting. "Too bad we need to find a place to set up camp...and a lake or something to wash off this blood."

They walked for one hour until they found a good place to camp, and to their delight, it was close to not a lake, but to a hot spring. Once they set up camp they both hurried to the spring and had a well-deserved time to relax. As the warm water covered and cleaned their bodies, Souvenir looked at Alastair and thought it was about time to ask about what had happened in the mines.

"The thing at the mines...with your eyes going all glowy and stuff...what was that about?" she asked, determined to get an answer.

"That...that was the reason my family was respected and feared. What you saw is the Bloodfeather's secret. When a member of House Bloodfeather is enraged by someone wronging them, the sword will strengthen the user's fury. To put it simply, it turns the user into a mortal vessel of wrath until the payback is done."

"Wow...wait, you said it wasn't a magic sword!"

"I said NOT EXACTLY a magic sword..."

"But...that is the same..." Souvenir brought her hoof to her face. "...whatever...so, why did it work now but not when Graham insulted you and your family?"

"I'm not sure..." Alastair looked at the sword on a rock close to the spring. "I guess this time I had someone I wanted to protect," he said absent-mindedly.

Both of them blushed as they realized what he said, and looked at each other. Alastair quickly looked away but Souvenir felt a strange joy in her. She moved closer to him and gave him a tender hug, rubbing her head against his neck. "That is so sweet of you, Alastair!" she said as she backed away and left the spring. "I am going to get food ready, you coming?"

Alastair sat where he was, his wings open spread. "No thanks, I will stay here until you are ready..." he said somewhat nervously, tough fortunately she didn't notice and kept walking. Alastair looked at his wings and crossed his arms, as if somewhat frustrated. He looked at the sword and began talking to it as if it were a living being. "What are you looking at? You are ALWAYS hard!"

Author's Note

This chapter took a while to write. I had a lot of fun with this one though.

Final Chapter: Journey's End

It was almost time for Celestia to raise the sun, but if she was there she would have been surprised to see a pair of travelers waking up before dawn. While it wasn't dawn yet, Souvenir and Alastair decided to continue their journey as early as possible, hoping to get to Equestria before sunset.

Walking excitedly, Souvenir offered to pull the heavier-than-before cart herself, doing so without problem. Alastair wanted to protest but after much thought allowed himself to simply walk beside his friend. When the sun finally came to the sky, Alastair decided to fly beside Souvenir while looking for something in his bag. She looked at him, curious at first, but then quickly realized what he was looking for and braced herself for ear torture. Alastair took out his bagpipes and began playing a tune that to his ears sounded like inspiring music, while it was clear that Souvenir simply thought it was loud.

'Oh sweet Celestia, why does he insist on playing that thing? It's like if he just wanted cats to die and perform a concert with their dying meows!. Souvenir simply tried to think of a different music in her head, and started remembering drums from a parade. However, the normal rhythm of the drums somehow changed in her head and the bagpipes' tune merged with it, and it made the music sound excellent in her head. 'Wait...this isn't nearly as bad. It's like I...like it? Why am I liking this?. After a couple seconds she realized the bagpipes didn't have the same effect on her as the first time she heard them. 'Maybe this guy's rubbing off on me...' she thought with a smile.

Alastair was quick to notice the way Souvenir smiled and found himself smiling as well. "I assume you have a better taste in music now?" he asked.

"Oh be quiet! You're just playing better, that's all!" she replied with a cheerful tone. "But it won't be one of the things I'll miss about you when we part ways."

That last phrase made both of them stop where they were and feel like if something was drilling a hole through their hearts. Souvenir didn't even think when she said that. "I...I'm sorry...I..." she tried to talk but couldn't find a way to continue. "...what DO you have to do in Equestria anyways?" she finally asked, the question being unanswered since she met him.

"I...let's just say I have a message to deliver..." he replied with a sad tone.

"Just that? ...wow...I...feel awful now..." Souvenir looked down at the ground as she spoke. "You only wanted to deliver a message and because of me you are here instead of flying there, lost your sword twice and got into fights..." Her eyes started to water and her voice was breaking.

"Souvenir? Are you alright?" he asked, flying closer to her.

"Look, I...I can get to Equestria from here. Just go and deliver the message, I won't be delaying you anymore."

"No...we started this together, and we will end this together. Like it or not..."

"Alastair...ple-"

"Souvenir, I said I would go with you, and I will!"

That was enough for them to continue in silence. However, while on the outside he was silent, Alastair's mind was overflowing with thoughts. 'She's right...I have gone through a lot of unnecessary trouble because of her....' The more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't mind the trouble through the journey. He liked to protect her, to see her safe. When they fought over the loss of his sword he could have easily left, but he didn't. He didn't want to leave her alone. When the bandits captured them his first concern was not to find his sword, he wanted to find her. He wanted to make sure she was safe. 'But...any trouble is worth it. I just want her to be safe....' He remembered the times they were close together, all the hugs and tender moments, somehow remembering that morning they woke up together last. The night before was still a mystery, but one thing was not, even though he denied it. He loved being that close to her, even if it lasted only a couple minutes and the shock had outweighed the good feeling. He loved to feel her breath so close to him, to see those beautiful eyes of hers, it made him happy. 'Ha, look at me, thinking about this pony like that. It almost sounds like if....' He stopped as he realized what it all meant.

"Alastair, what's wrong?" Souvenir asked as she saw her friend had stopped. She didn't get an answer, Alastair simply stopped flying and kept walking ahead of her, his face showing an expression of surprise. She didn't ask about it and followed him.

***

When the night came they were already in Equestrian land, just past the mountains. Souvenir knew they were near the Neighagra Falls, and could see Canterlot from the distance. However they were too tired to continue and they set up camp. Alastair still didn't talk to her, and she was growing impatient. After she offered him dinner and he didn't even respond, she snapped.

"Alright, what is your problem?!" she shouted. "You have been avoiding me all day and I want to know why!"

"Leave it alone, Souvenir, it's nothing." he replied, not looking at her.

"Oh no, I sure as hay won't! You are going to answer me or I will...I will...grr!" She sat down and crossed her forelegs in frustration as she realized she had nothing to threaten him with.

"You know, Souvenir...this will be the last night we spend together..." he said, his tone making his concern clear.

Souvenir herself began to feel sad as she realized he was right. "Oh...you're right...Ponyville is half a day from here...wait, where is the place you have to deliver your message?"

"Canterlot..."

"Oh, that is near Ponyville...I guess we'll have to say goodbye there..." Her eyes began to water at the thought. "I...I'm going to miss you..." she finally said.

"...Souvenir...I..." he began, but couldn't continue.

"But...you know...there's no reason you can't come visit sometime..." She said those words, but in her mind she still wasn't sure why. "Maybe have a few drinks together, remembering this journey we had..." she continued, "And maybe just hanging out talking about present stuff...or any kind of stuff..." Her voice broke as her tears began running down her face.

Alastair pulled her into a tight embrace as Souvenir began to cry on his shoulder, hugging him back. He began stroking her mane as his own eyes began to shed tears. Souvenir pulled herself away just a bit to look at him in the eyes. Those fiery eyes that often scared her but at the same time made her feel safe. They looked into each others eyes with the same feeling that surfaced the first time they did. Finally, Souvenir began to lean in close as her eyes were slowly closing, and Alastair began doing the same. Her mouth and his beak were very close to touching and their eyes were almost closed. However, just before any contact, Alastair turned his head away quickly, but Souvenir didn't stop and kissed his cheek. It wasn't what she aimed for but was just as satisfying. She had done this impulsively, but this was the first time she didn't try to fight her urges. As she opened her eyes and saw Alastair looking away, she thought she had made a mistake, and one that couldn't be fixed. She broke the embrace and stormed into the tent, crying. Alastair would have followed her, but right now his mind was busy with something else. He, too, had apparently made a mistake.

***

The dawn came and Souvenir left her tent. She had cried herself to sleep rather quickly, but was surprised to see that Alastair wasn't in the tent. He wasn't outside either, and this made Souvenir worry. She finally saw a note on her cart and read it.

"I'm sorry, Souvenir. This can never happen between us. Goodbye, I will miss you too."

This broke her heart and she fell to the ground, crying like if the most important thing in the world no longer existed. In the middle of her crying, she finally realized something she should have realized a long time ago, something that she tried to deny. She loved Alastair, but now he was gone forever. After she finally stopped crying, not because she wanted to, but rather because she had no tears left, she decided to go back to Ponyville, alone.

She finally reached Ponyville before the night came. The sight of her hometown cheered her up, but only a small bit. She was greeted by the residents who were glad to see her back after one year, especially the museum workers and Ponyville's librarian. Immediately after, she was assaulted with questions about her journey and where she had been. While she tried her best to answer them, she was about to cry again when asked how she came back. She didn't ask any further questions and tried to hurry to her house. Before she opened her door, she saw her window, showing a reflection of Canterlot's mountain. This finally made her cry again, and she didn't even look at the items she had to get from her cart before running inside and closing the door behind her.

***

It was minutes before Princess Luna had to make the moon rise, and she saw a lonely figure on Canterlot's rooftops. It was a black griffon carrying a sword, looking down in Ponyville's direction. Intrigued, she approached the griffon.

"Who are you, griffon?" she asked.

He looked at her, realizing she was the princess of the night. "I am...Alastair III of House Bloodfeather, your highness..."

"What are you doing out here alone in the middle of my night, Alastair?" Princess Luna was quick to notice the sorrow in Alastair's tone.

"Nothing..." he replied and looked down again.

"Did you lose a dear friend?"

"Aye...but there is no point in thinking about it now."

"Isn't there? I believe she misses you..."

Alastair was too depressed to even notice she had correctly guessed the gender of his friend and the context of the loss. "Even if she does, I made a horrible mistake last night, and this morning...I can't go back to her."

"But even that can be fixed, Alastair. If you ask for forgiveness, you might have it."

"It is not that simple, Princess Luna..." he said stubbornly.

"Mending a broken heart is not always simple, that is true. But sometimes all it takes is a simple action."

"What can I do? Nothing..."

"If you believe that, then you truly have lost her. You must face your fears, go back to her or the nightmares will continue, and all will be lost if you decide to give up." Princess Luna turned around and began flying away. "Remember that, young Alastair."

Alastair finally remembered he had seen Princess Luna before, more specifically, in his dream last night. She was there when he dreamed that Souvenir left, years passed and they didn't see each other again. At first he thought it was a coincidence, but eventually came to realize she had seen his dream and attempted to help him. To a griffon this was confusing, but Alastair had heard of Princess Luna's dream powers last time he visited Equestria. He began to think about what the princess had told him. He realized that he didn't make such a big mistake last night, or that morning. His only mistake was denying his feelings for Souvenir, the feelings which made him apologize for yelling at her, the feelings which made him want to keep her safe. His only mistake was denying that he loved her. After calling himself stupid countless times in his head, he finally resolved to fly to Ponyville and look for Souvenir, then apologize and confess his love. His return was seen by the Princess, who smiled at this.

He arrived in Ponyville when the moon was up in the sky. His arrival did not go unnoticed, and a pink pony with blue eyes and puffy hair approached him excitedly.

"HI! I'm Pinkie Pie! I've never seen you around here before, are you new?" the pony asked.

"Aye, look, I'm looking for a pony."

"Well, you found one!" the pony said, laughing.

"You misunderstand, I'm looking for a pony called Souvenir. Yellow coat, black hair, lavender eyes?"

"Let me check...Souvenir, Souvenir...AHA! You are looking for the item collector that travels every year!"

"Aye, exactly! Where can I find her?"

"Hey, no need to rush! Let me welcome you to Ponyville first!"

"No, no, I have no time for this, just tell me where to find her!" Alastair was growing impatient.

"Hey, no need to yell at me! I insist on welcoming you now, it will only take a minute!"

"We can do this later, please!"

"Ok, you said later! She is in her house over there!" Pinkie Pie pointed in the direction of Souvenir's house, but before she could say anything Alastair rushed to the house.

He arrived in mere minutes. Her cart was there, and still full of items. The house was indeed bigger than the other ones around, like Souvenir told him. He looked at the door and noticed a sign saying "DO NOT DISTURB". Knowing she wouldn't open the door to simple knocking, he thought of a better idea to get her attention. Taking out his bagpipes from his bag, he began playing the same tune that Souvenir had liked. This drew more attention than he intended, as many ponies that were ready to rest at their homes began hearing the loud music and went outside to see what was happening.

Souvenir was crying in her room when she heard the tune. At first she believed she was imagining it, but as the tune got louder she realized it was real and quickly ran to her window. She saw Alastair playing just outside her house while a large group of ponies gathered to see what he was doing. Rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining this, she quickly realized he actually was outside and ran out of her room, down the stairs and to the door, opening it. As soon as she opened it, Alastair stopped playing and they looked at each other.

"What do you think you are doing here?" she asked, not angry but rather confused.

"Souvenir, I'm sorry...about this morning...I..." Alastair found himself unable to continue his sentence. Remembering the Princess' words, he decided to act. He dropped his bagpipes and hugged her, much to the surprise of everypony. "I was wrong..." he added, breaking the embrace. "I don't want to be without you...I love you, Souvenir."

Everypony gasped at this and looked at Souvenir, who was in shock herself. She felt like something in her heart ignited her soul with a burning, pleasant fire. Her eyes watered as she smiled and blushed, her heart beating quickly. "Alastair...I love you too!" she said as she threw her forelegs around him, hugging him tightly, and he soon returned it. They looked at each other and leaned in close, finishing what they started the night before as they finally kissed. The touch of their mouths, being clearly different, felt a tad bit strange, but they wouldn't have it any other way. They broke the kiss after a couple seconds that felt like ages, and saw the ponies of Ponyville with mixed reactions. Some were still surprised, some were cheering and others were confused. "He heh...everypony, this is Alastair...I suppose you can say he is my 'coltfriend'."

"HEY! You know what this calls for?!" said a voice that even Alastair recognized.

"Let me guess..." said Souvenir rolling her eyes, not intending to finish the sentence.

"A PARTY!" Pinkie Pie came out of the crowd with a cannon. Upon firing it the crowd was covered in confetti, streamers and cake. The ponies soon began to laugh and an improvised party started.

Alastair was confused and turned to face Souvenir. "Is it always like this in Ponyville?"

Souvenir laughed and kissed his cheek. "You get used to it..."

The couple soon joined the party, after all there was no other way to end such a great journey.

Author's Note

And this is the end. I will someday write with a better variety of words, but for now all I have to offer is this. Enjoy or criticize, both are encouraged!

Chapter 4: Worth Fighting For

It had been hours after the river incident, which was still funny when they remembered it, and the pair was leaving the woods for good. They now found themselves in a field, following a road that seemed to go on for miles, uninterrupted. Souvenir was glad they were out of the woods, but Alastair was mostly unimpressed as he had been there before.

"So, how far are we from Equestria?" asked Souvenir.

"Still very far away...but I believe there is a village down this road, we should get there by sunset," replied Alastair, "If memory serves, there is a good place to set up camp for another night near it."

"Why? Can't we spend the night there?"

"Doubt it, it is always full of rather questionable griffons." Alastair looked more serious than usual for a moment until he felt a hoof touching him on the shoulder.

"Come on, don't tell me the griffon warrior with the important sword can't deal with a couple outcasts!" Souvenir said jokingly.

Alastair smiled. "Of course not, I'm more worried about what they might do to a pony with plenty of valuable objects in her cart."

"Ha, no thief has ever stolen from me, and tonight won't be the time it happens!" Souvenir laughed

The pair kept walking down the road for what seemed to be hours, but neither of them kept track of time. Souvenir used the time to look at the scenery. It was beautiful, though the beauty was somehow different from Equestria's. The sky was cloudy but it did not block the sun all the time, making it easier to stand around for a long time without getting sunburns while still being able to enjoy the sunlight. Mountains and hills could be seen far in the horizon, probably reaching heights similar to the Canterlot mountain. The field was grassland as far as the eye could see, with only a few trees breaking the pattern of grass, rocks and bushes. Souvenir wanted to take a picture of the place, but sadly she never brought cameras during their travels, her items being more than enough to remind her of where she had been.

The sun was setting when the traveling pair stopped on a hill near a town. At Alastair's urging, they decided to camp there, out of town. As she finished setting up the tent, Souvenir's mind sparked with an idea.

"Hey, does this town have any good taverns?" she asked.

"Aye, but the quality of their drinks is not worth the trouble of having to sit with...you know what I mean."

"Well, how about we go have a drink? It's still too early to go to bed and I want to visit the town." Souvenir put her hooves together and looked at her companion. "Please?"

Alastair thought for a moment before he began talking. "Fine, but you are buying."

"It's a deal!" she happily replied.

Moments later they entered the village. Souvenir could quickly tell Alastair was not lying, the townsfolk all seemed rather shady, wild or violent, in contrast to the last village she visited where the griffons were calm and somewhat likable. She had been in these kinds of town before, but it seemed easier to deal with questionable ponies than with questionable griffons, and she was glad she wasn't pulling her cart in town. After an hour of looking for a decent tavern, they found one that seemed to be the most quiet and went inside, with Alastair looking around carefully and hiding his sword with his wing. They were greeted by the owner, who seemed to recognize Alastair.

"Wait, I know you. Aren't you Alastair III of House Bloodfeather?"

Alastair attempted to avoid the question, but failed to realize this would make Souvenir curious.

"Wait, House Bloodfeather? What is he talking about?" asked Souvenir, confused.

"Nothing, let's look for another tavern." Alastair turned around to leave.

"Hey! Now where you think you're goin', lad?" said a brown griffon with only one wing, sitting somewhere in the tavern. "Ye want to leave and be a bloody coward like the rest of your delusional family?"

Alastair stopped right where he was and slowly turned around to look at the griffon. "Who do you think you are insulting MY family?"

The griffon stood up and walked up to them. He was bigger and clearly older than Alastair and talked with a thicker accent, words slurring together giving away the fact he was drunk. "Why, I'm Graham, the one yer bloody father left without a wing years ago! Ye know how many nights I CURSED the name Bloodfeather?! Heavens know my joy when I heard that their lineage was down to only one survivor!" Graham laughed as the other griffons in the tavern looked at them.

Alastair tried to leave once again only to be stopped by Graham. "I do not wish to use my sword in an otherwise calm place, take it back or else I will be forced to make you lose your other wing." he said, slowly uncovering his sword.

Souvenir placed her hoof on Alastair's shoulder. "Don't, it's not worth it. Let's just go now."

Graham laughed at the pair. "HA! The survivor of the famous House Bloodfeather befriended a PONY? Can you bloody believe that?! Not only is Bloodfeather a family of cowards, but their heir is a pony lover?! Wonder what mighty Alastair II would think o' that one!"

Alastair snapped. Insulting his family was one thing he did not tolerate, but when he was part of the insult his anger exploded. Grabbing Graham by his feathers, he threw him out of the tavern into the street outside. Pushing Souvenir and the tavern owner out of his way, he unsheathed his sword and charged at Graham. Unfortunately, being drunk did not make Graham an easy target as he jumped out of the way, completely avoiding the attack. As Alastair tried to stop before hitting a wall, Graham took the opportunity to grab an empty glass bottle from the ground and with surprising aim threw it at Alastair's head. The hit and pieces of shattered glass on the ground were enough to provide a permanent advantage, and soon Graham defeated Alastair in unarmed combat.

"HA HA! Me talons were enough to defeat a bloody Bloodfeather! You are a disgrace to yer family, lad!" Graham laughed at the defeated Alastair as the griffons and Souvenir looked on. "Now, to the victor go the spoils!" he shouted as he took the sword from Alastair and walked back to the tavern laughing triumphantly. "Next round's on me, mates!" he said as he pushed Souvenir out of the way.

Souvenir ran up to Alastair and attempted to help him up, but the griffon only glared at her. She could tell it wasn't a good idea to talk to him right now, and simply waited until he walked away to follow him silently. She waited until they had left the town and returned to their camp to talk.

"On the brighter side, you-"

"Shut your mouth!" Alastair interrupted her.

"I'm just saying, it was just a sword..." Souvenir tried to sound reassuring.

"JUST a sword?!" Alastair yelled. He held back his anger before, but now it was like a bomb detonating. "Listen, pony! I have been carrying and using that sword for years! It belonged to my forefathers and it USED to belong to me! If it wasn't for a certain PONY wanting to go VISIT the town! I am sick of you! Go find another griffon to guide you to Equestria, I'm leaving! I hope whatever finds you kills you on sight!" he yelled at Souvenir. He took his bag from the cart and, for the moment unable to fly due to the battle, walked away from the camp, away from Souvenir.

Normally Souvenir would have yelled back, but she didn't,she was busy crying. She didn't know why she was crying herself, she just did. For another hour she just sat there, staring at nothing as the tears flowed from her eyes. As she cried, she decided to do something, even though she didn't entirely understand it. She didn't know the reason, nor cared why, but she had to go back, find Graham and take the sword from him by any means necessary. With that resolve, she stopped crying and galloped back to the town.

Finding the tavern was easy, and finding Graham was much easier. Souvenir walked into the tavern to see Graham, drunker than before and holding the sword in his hand, bragging about his strength as the rest of the griffons listened. She walked up to him, determined to get Alastair's sword back.

"Excuse me, that is my friend's sword you have, I want you to give it back."

"Ah, wha? Give back ME sword? It's mine now, girl!" said Graham as he kept drinking.

"I don't think you heard me...give, it, back..."

"HA! I don't think so!" Graham stood up on his lion legs and held the sword. "This sword is mine, what are ye gonna do about it, little wingless big-eyed vomit-colored manure-smelling plant-eater moneybag-on-my-butt pony?"

Souvenir remained calm despite the long insult. "Well, this little pony is going to get that sword back from you!" She turned around and used her hind legs to deliver a strong blow aimed directly between the griffon's legs.

***

Alastair walked until he found himself far from the hill and the town. He sat on the ground as he thought about what had happened. After much thought he came to the conclusion he had done something foolish. It wasn't Souvenir's fault that he lost his sword, and he had yelled at her like she was the only one to blame. He called himself an idiot many times in his mind before he decided to go back and apologize. As he walked back, he wondered why he stopped to think about Souvenir, but couldn't come up with an answer and thought it was better to apologize first. However, he realized she was not in the camp, but the tent and cart were still there. He wondered where she could have gone and came up with only one answer. He left his bag in the cart and ran as fast as he could to the town. When he arrived he looked for the tavern, hoping he wouldn't be too late. As he found the tavern, he was greeted once again by the owner.

"Ah, welcome again, mister...I trust you will not participate in more fights in my tavern?" asked the owner raising an eyebrow.

"I don't have time for this, I'm looking for the pony that was with me!" answered Alastair.

"Ah, yes, you just missed a fight, come in!"

"A what?!" Alastair rushed inside. What he saw left him speechless.

Graham was lying on the floor, badly beaten and unconscious. Sitting on top of him was Souvenir, her body left with signs of a recent and intense fight, though she seemed to ignore it as she smiled triumphantly while the griffons in the tavern were looking at her and applauding her. Alastair was confused, and it took him a couple seconds to piece together what happened. He walked up to Souvenir, still amazed.

"What...did you do?!" he asked her.

Souvenir looked at him and then looked at something on the floor. "Sorry, it wasn't easy!" she said as she picked it up with her teeth and gave it to him. It was Alastair's sword.

Alastair held the sword, his eyes watered. He sheathed his sword and smiled at Souvenir. "Thank you...this...this is the kindest thing a pony has done for me."

Souvenir stepped down from Graham's body. "Don't thank me yet, I still owe you a drink!" she said as she slowly walked away.

Alastair shook his head and followed her. "How did you manage to fight him?" he asked.

"It wasn't easy, but he was totally smashed, and that helped a little. And to think my only fight before this was when I fought a pair of rabbits over a carrot and lost!" she answered, laughing at the last part.

Alastair stopped walking as his mind attempted to understand how that was possible, even for a pony. He soon decided not to question it and just be thankful that Souvenir had succeeded mostly unhurt. He kept walking and sat down with Souvenir to have the drinks she had promised earlier.

"So...does this mean we are good now?" Souvenir asked.

"Aye" replied Alastair, smiling.

The pair held their drinks and looked at each other. They smiled at each other and brought their glasses together before drinking, both knowing without a doubt that they were no longer a pony and a griffon traveling together, now they were friends.