Dear reader,

I'm still catching my breath from tonight. We're sitting in a diner now, enjoying pancakes with syrup. It's great, but it would be better if my nightmare isn't chasing me everywhere I go.

I'm sitting next to Wing Noir. I catch him stealing glances from time to time, and I catch myself doing so too. Shadowflame is sitting across the table, watching us, and smirking knowingly.

As a matter of fact, Shadowflame made me write this all down. If he didn't, I wouldn't have picked up the quill in a long, long time. I was shaking, I couldn't concentrate so I had to do it with my mouth. I'm still shaking, actually.

How did he get away, anyway? I have no idea, so I asked him. I tried to lift my quill with magic – and I succeeded! Yes!

Anyway, he thought for a moment. "Well… After I went through the door, I ran for the nearest exit: the stairs. I ran down, but at the second floor I heard a loud thump and a crack behind me. I looked and saw that the stairs collapsed! I ran as fast as I could, but the stairs in front of me were blocked too.

I had to come up with something, fast.

The wall behind me was also the outer wall. It had a window in it, big enough for me to go through – but too high for me to reach for. It would be too high to jump anyway.

You know, last week, I wrote a new spell. There are many spells out there, but not so much spells on force fields. Most force fields are used as shields or barriers, protecting you with walls or domes. My spell, however, expands its usability from just shields to, well, anything you'd like.

So I decided to test a new spell about floating platforms.

I'm not going to endlessly talk about how I did it, but I succeeded in the nick of time, and safely floated out of the window between the second and the first floor. It did attract the attention of quite a few ponies, but when my hooves safely touched the ground, there was nothing more to see for them anymore.

So, then, I went to find you, and I did, and well, you know the rest."

I nodded. Yes, we knew the rest, for sure.

I looked out of the window. The moon was now almost setting.

"Oh, I have an idea!" says Shadowflame. "How about we watch the sunrise at my favorite spot?"

Wing Noir clearly doubts this idea. "I don't know," he says, "I just want to get out of this place, before anything else bad happens."

I nodded, shivering. Wing Noir touched my shoulder for a second, and I stopped shivering. Shadowflame sighs.

"It'll be safe, I promise."

Shadow paid for the pancakes, and we prepared to leave.

Dear reader,

I can tell you, sunrises in Equestria truly are beautiful. Especially if you're with ponies you like. Maybe, just maybe, even like-like. Eheheh, don't let Noir read this. Ever.

Wing Noir is interesting, I can give you that. Hard on the outside, kind on the inside. He is a mystery, and I like to solve one. But after the fire, he's way more than a mystery now. I don't even know what.

I mean, come on. I only know him for three days and I'm way too young to even think about that kind of things. And I only know him for three days. Three days. Three! Days!

But I trust him, and he trusts me. He is my friend, that's for sure now.

It isn't hard to think about these things when you're watching the sunrise. The sunrise is truly beautiful; I already said that, but I'm going to repeat it. The sunrise is gorgeous.

Shadowflame brought us to the woods, not far from town. It was still very dark there, but you could see the grayish light of dawn approaching. Through the branches you could see the stars faint and the moon low.

We came on an open spot, in the middle of the woods. A hillside, full of green grass, gave a beautiful view of the city, and the mountains around the city, and most important: the sunrise.

Daisies and dandelions, buttercups and forget-me-nots added some color to the green grass, but all seemed gold in the early morning sun. The clouds and the sky were painted in many orange, yellow, purple and blue varieties. The mountains were colored gold as well, its snow yellow and the rocky mountainsides brown-gold.

Just like his eyes, I thought. I sighed. I saw him glancing at me. I wonder what he's thinking right now. I also wonder if it would be so good if I'd be able to read his mind. I look at him, he's looking at the mountains too, away from me.

I sighed again. What will this day bring?

Dear reader,

We're on the road again. Shadowflame says he's got some friends in Tall Tales, a bit to the south. So now we're walking through a forest path. It wasn't without hesitation, though.

"So, where are we going now?" Shadow said, after the sky has reached its natural blue colors of the day.

Noir huffed. "Are you kidding? 'We' aren't going anywhere anymore." He stood up and walked away.

"Noir, wait!" I shouted. "Where are you going?"

"Away."

"But-"

"No." He turned around, his eyes brimming with tears. "Everywhere I go, something bad happens. Shadow, Civviq, I'm sorry I had to put you all through this. I shouldn't have agreed to travelling with you." He stared into my eyes, and then at Shadow's, and then turned around to go.

"You think this is your fault?" Shadow said, standing up. Wing Noir looked back. "Noir, if it is anypony's fault, It's mine. I chose the inn."

Noir huffed, turning around to face him. "Yes, you did. You did choose the inn. But I am the bad luck. My mom didn't want me because of my bad luck. Dad left because of my bad luck. And see where it got him?"

"Noir, don't be so irrational," Shadowflame said, stomping his hoof. "I'm sorry about your parents, but nopony can ever embody bad luck, unless you're some or another spirit. And you aren't a spirit, you're just a pony that comes across bad things."

"No. I am bad luck. And you have to go without me."

Shadow raised his voice. "Noir. Stop thinking like that. The fire wasn't your fault."

Now Noir raised his voice too. "No, it wasn't. Like you said, it was your fault, because you chose the inn."

"Oh, so now you're holding a grudge against me?"

"If you really want me to."

"You aren't old enough to travel alone."

"I've been doing so for years, and I'm still here."

"For now."

"What are you saying?"

I thought it was time to say something, before it went out of hoof.

"Guys, stop," I tried to say, "please? Stop?"

They didn't hear me, so I raised my voice gradually with each shout.

"Guys? Guys, stop. Stop it!"

They looked at me. I took a deep breath.

"Please, it was neither of your fault. That fire had nothing to do with either of you."

They both tried to say something, but I stopped them. "No. Please, stop arguing. There is nopony to blame. I mean, you can't just leave? Just because something bad happened?" I stopped, to look both of them in their eyes.

"After all, bad things will happen if you're alone as well, and you can face things better together then alone."

I looked at them, pleading. "Please, you are the only ones I know best. Please don't give up now."

Silence.

"Well…" Shadow said to Wing Noir, "She does have a point…"

Wing Noir looked at me, uncertain of what to do. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Absolutely."

We looked at each other.

"Well then, where will we go?" I asked.

Shadowflame thought for a moment. "I think we need to rest, somewhere where it's safe. I have a friend in Tall Tales. Maybe we should go there, see if he's willing to take us in."

Wing Noir looked to his hooves, mumbling something inaudible. I nodded.

"All right. This way, then."

And Shadowflame lead the way.