twilightpony | Into the Light

Applejack and Big MacIntosh rolled up with a wagon load of second cut timothy grass hay for me, as fresh and green as the day it was baled. Well, Big MacIntosh pulled the wagon and Applejack came to help with the loading and unloading. Once the straps were off I lifted the 15 bales, moved them into single file and sent them up and through the balcony door to their "pantry". There's still plenty of room in there for the third cut, due in a few weeks.

Speaking of food, Pinkie teamed up with Fluttershy two days ago and we had a Hello to Fall supper in Fluttershy's cottage. After having been on such a long trek through a frozen, dark and lifeless land, all of Fluttershy's resident critters popping in and out of their hiding holes to snatch morsels off the table was a welcome distraction. And the food! Fall is the height of the harvest season and Pinkie and Fluttershy spread for us a huge feast. Did I mention that we were hungry a lot on the expedition? Part of our dinner conversation went something like this:

Me: Oh, the smells of home! Never has it felt so good to be back!
Applejack: In winter in Ponyville it don't smell near so full sterile as it were in the dark North. Even buried in snow here you can still smell the trees. Dig a mite and there's dirt and grass waitin' fer Spring. And everywhere, ponies.
Rarity: And perfume!
Pinkie Pie: And mouthwatering bakery aromas!
Fluttershy: Hot cocoa! Cedar chests!
Me: Spice tea!
Rainbow Dash: And... I got nothing.

Back to my field notes!

Day 12. We woke up early and came tumbling out of our tents in our hurry to see if Summer was still watching over us. She was! She was standing right over our camp, a brilliant field of stars in the darkness, held up by four sparkling pillars. She took a step south, looked back and nickered to urge us to follow. We packed up our belongings, hastily ate a few bites of breakfast and trotted after her. It then occurred to me that I felt refreshed and that the rest of our party looked perky as well. Like young foals on their first stroll, we kept as close as we could to Summer, without getting stepped on. I fought the urge to frolic and gallop about.

As I expected, the sun peeked above the southern horizon for a brief moment around noon. It was a bittersweet moment. Summer had left us a few hours earlier as the twilight strengthened. She climbed an invisible (to us) incline into the night sky and from there she galloped westward until she vanished beyond the horizon. We whinnied a sad farewell to her retreating form. After she was gone, we picked up our feet and carried on south, toward home.

We've stopped for lunch. It was beet pulp soup and hay crackers again. We ate mostly in silence. Without her standing over us we feel like lost foals in the wilderness. It's a hard feeling to shake off. Her warmth has gone and I can feel the chill of this cold region again.

Now that it's dark again and we've made camp, I keep looking up to see if I can find her in with the strange northern constellations. Tomorrow we push on.

Day 13. Once again Celestia's sun rides the horizon and our spirits are on the rise. We are all wearing our snow goggles against the glare and gleaming snow. We have left the foothills of Winter's country but everything is white, barren and frozen. It's cold and the snow squeaks.

We've reached the windswept area where the ice expands and contracts into five-sided slabs. Tomorrow we will be into the region of deeper snow.