Notes: Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting in a while, but I am pleased to say that "Through A Glass Darkly" has been completed in all of it's dark glory. In addition to that I have also started a new story to replace the one that has been completed! But more on that later. Anyway, several of you brought to my attention that I have not updated "The Salient Link" in a while. I would like to say at this point that though I am not going to abandon it (never have I considered that option) but it is going on the backburner. "A Mending Soul" is by far the most important of my stories, with my new story right behind. Now on to answering some reviews! To Salvardorian Moose: Sorry about not having any marshmallows. I gave them away, and I am a little low on my overall stock of invisible items. To austin: Harvest Snowfall sounds unfamiliar because he is completely new! However, he does have a heavy hand (or hoof... whatever) in the past, but you will have to wait to find out what this means in particular! To Super Vegito: Thanks! To PBJNachos: Hello! It's good to hear from you again! And thanks! To FocusedStream: "You shall cherish your plague forever"? Why would you cherish a plague? That's terrible! I'm just kidding. I know what you meant. To Russet Burbanks: Welcome back to the land of the living! I have not heard from you in a while! And do not worry about giving an acceptance speech. All I need is a 250-page essay on how Harold Dellor has changed your life in a positive way. Good luck with that! Well... I suppose that is all for now. Read on!

Dimension: My Little Pony

Planet: Equestria Earth

Specific Location: The southern reaches of the Stallion Empire

Time: Over a year after Lyric loses his leg.

The air was chokingly hot, and humidity was so great that any pony not accustomed to such climates would feel as if they were drowning. Such was the environment of the great southern lands of the Stallion Empire. Just like the north, it was nothing but extreme, but this time it was on the opposite side of the scale. Instead of mountains and foreboding snow-wrought passes, the south contained countless jungles and treacherous steaming swamps. However, despite this (and the inhospitable climate), the border to the colossal southern jungles was a veritable hub for outlaws and poachers. And so the Broken Idol Tavern in the small outlaw town of Purgatory was just as crowded as ever, tainting the humid air of the building with the stench of sweat, spit, and blood.

The bartender of this "fine" establishment was working hard to dole out a plethora of different types of (mostly illegal) alcoholic beverages like any other day when the door slammed open and a peculiar hooded figure slowly trotted in. He grimaced and beckoned the figure over.

"What can I get for you?" he grumbled, "Hurry up!"

"Nothing to drink… I want some information," the figure replied in a low voice. It was female. The bartender nodded slowly, but was called away from the strange pony by several extremely drunk ponies at one end of the counter.

A pony dressed in ragged safari garb with a rifle slung across his back leaned over from where he was sitting beside the physical specter and said, "You said information? Watcha lookin' for, my sweet? My name is Dozer."

The hooded pony did not even turn her head. "I am looking for an ACCURATE map that leads to Fireswamp Airfield."

Dozer pulled a face and leaned in closer. "Oooh… The Fireswamp? That there is Agrinian Tribe territory. Them Agrinian Ponies don't take kindly to us northern folk, why go there? Lookin' ta get shot with poisoned darts and the like?"

The hooded figure still did not turn her head to even grace him with a glance. "No. My compatriot outside the bar has had some dealings with them in the past. All we need is some form of path through that god-forsaken jungle."

Dozer stretched. "Oh, if you have the Agrinian sorted out… then I would be glad to be actin' as your guide!"

The hooded figure shook her head slightly. "Last time I checked, almost all ponies that venture into the jungle die. Are you telling me you are one of the three percent that didn't?"

Dozer grinned. "That's right m'lady!"

"I'm not your lady," replied the strange pony, "What is it going to cost?"

Dozer kept on grinning. "About 1000 Statons or 700 bits… A peek beneath that hood… And maybe a peek between your legs…"

Dozer suddenly reached forward and seized the hooded pony's hood. He yanked it back, revealing that the pony was Summer. Summer's blank eyes narrowed, what he had just done was unacceptable. With mind-boggling speed, she grabbed Dozer's offending hoof, twisted it painfully, and elbowed him in the face in one move. As he recoiled, she roughly grabbed his mane and rammed his face into the beer mug he had been hovering over, shattering it with his muzzle and stunning him. The entire bar quieted down for a moment to stare… and then went back to normal as if nothing had happened. The bartender trotted over and glanced nonchalantly at the dazed Dozer. He then looked to Summer and said, "What kind of information?"

"My compatriot and I are looking for a good map, or perhaps a guide, into the Agrinian territories of the southern jungle," she replied, "Do you have any leads?"

"Well, sure, I know an old pony who has been in and out of the territories more time than you have had hot breakfasts – which I am sure you can count on two hooves – but it is somewhat expensive… Wait… You're as blind as a bat! What the hell are you talking about? You will never survive the trip!"

"Just because I'm 'blind as a bat' does not make me weak," said Summer, her voice stern. She compounded this by grabbing the mane of the stunned Dozer and slamming his muzzle into the countertop again, this time knocking him out cold. She gently pushed him sideways, letting him collapse onto the floor. Summer then looked expectantly in the general direction of the bartender as she pushed over a small bag of coins.

The bartender nodded hurriedly. "Got it. Go to the very edge of the town, where this place meets the jungle. The very last hut on the outskirts is where the old pony lives. His name is Wind. You sure you don't want a drink?"

Summer shook her head. "I can't hold alcohol very well. I get hideously drunk in a matter of seconds. Thank you though."

She slowly turned about and began to carefully pick her way between drunken and/or unconscious ponies to get to the door.

"Hey! Pony! Are you sure you don't want me to walk you out?" called bartender, half serious, half joking.

"You say that again and I'll come back to smash a beer bottle over your head! But thanks!" called Summer as she reached the door.

She stepped outside, closed the door, and then shuddered. Slowly she used her wings to cast aside the cloak upon her back. She then folded it up and slowly groped her way to the ancient ruin of a fountain, which lay in the very center of a ring of black market setups nearby. She leaned against it and sighed, thinking about how close a shave she had just been through. It was all she could do to keep her back legs from trembling with relief.

Suddenly a pony joined her by the fountain. Summer smiled as she recognized the scent.

"How did the information-hunt at the Broken Idol Tavern go?"

Summer smiled at the question. "Oh, just peachy, Lyric. I did have to smash in the skull of a rogue who was making indecent advances, but everything else went well."

Lyric grinned and chuckled. "Oh? You must have really been in a bad mood to do that. If you decided to 'smash in the skulls' of every pony who made indecent advances upon you, there would be no conscious pony in the Stallion Empire. With a body like yours, it is veritably impossible not to get such 'compliments' as those. Your flank is just so… succulent."

Summer turned her face in the direction of Lyric's voice and glared at him in mock severity. "Just be grateful that I love you Lyric. If any other pony made that remark, I would be assisting their faces in meeting the gravel… at three-hundred-and-forty-three meters a second."

Lyric raised a hoof defensively. "Who knew a year would make such an innocent filly such as yourself so scary? Welllll… Anyway, what information did you get?"

Summer sighed in satisfaction. "I got a good lead… But first… Did you manage to get your leg fixed?"

Lyric looked at the complicated mass of steel, wood, gears, and springs that represented his artificial back right leg. He shook it slightly to test its balance and durability. "Yeah, I met a black market mechanic who only tried to rip me off twice before fixing it under pain of death. Now back to you."

Summer saluted. "Aye, Captain Pegleg!"

"Oh, so you're resorting back to that type of teasing again?" snorted Lyric, "What is it this time? Was I too brisk? Did I forget to brush your mane in the morning?"

"No," replied Summer innocently, "You brush my mane enough in your sleep. But you most certainly were too brisk! Enjoy the moment! Feel the blazing sun burn into your coat! Enjoy the searing rays as they evaporate the sweat drenching you in a sticky mess!"

Lyric actually let his tongue hang out as Summer's description made him painfully aware of the burning climate. "Yeah. Wonderful. Is it too late to change our mind and go back to the Frozen North? At least when it is freezing you can pile on clothes. Here you can only strip off so much until you reach skin and fur!"

Summer sighed. "Yeah. What I wouldn't give for a momentary dip in the icy rivers of the mountains. Well, I suppose it's too late to turn back now! We must venture forward! According to the bartender, there is an old pony named Wind who lives on the border between this dump and the beginning of the southern jungle. Wind has supposedly been in and out of Agrinian territory 'more times than we have had hot meals'."

"So, what? Three times max?"

"Approximately. Anyway, the bartender said he also makes detailed maps. I suggest we check it out and see if we can procure something."

Lyric winced. "Right, give me a second. These adjustments to my leg are always awkward and painful. I need to get used to it. Go ahead, I'll catch up."

Summer just smiled sweetly. She trotted beside him and slung one of his forehooves about her neck. "And leave without my favorite Guide Pony? I barely was able to find this place, imagine how ugly it would be for me to have to find someplace as remote as the outskirts! Just lean on me, Lyric. I will be your legs and you will be my eyes."

Lyric complied, but as he did so he chuckled, "Just look at this: a blind pony helping a lame pony walk so that the lame pony can act as her eyes. You know, if we were to fuse into a single being, we would have just enough undamaged parts to make one whole pony!"

Summer broke out laughing, her sweet voice chiding like silver bells.

It took the two ponies about half an hour to make it to the outskirts of the decrepit town, and the sun was just beginning to set as they arrived at a small run-down hut, with an old Earth Pony covered in dusty war paint and scars sitting outside, staring at the sunset.

"Uh, excuse me?" called Lyric as he and Summer trotted up to him, "My name is Lyric and this is Summer. Could we ask you something?"

The old pony, Wind, shook his head. "Quiet, young one," he murmured, "The sun must set in the west before we may talk."

Lyric glanced at Summer. Summer just smiled. "I think that means 'wait'."

"But I hate waiting!" groaned Lyric.

Summer kissed Lyric on the cheek. "Come! Sit down with me and enjoy a moment! Seriously, you need to cool down for a bit, literally and figuratively."

Lyric snorted begrudgingly, but sat down nonetheless. Summer plopped down beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. As they cuddled, Summer said, "Soooo… Last time I checked, it takes about five minutes max for you to ever to get your artificial leg adjusted. You were gone for ten minutes, and even arrived at the designated meeting place late. What were you doing for the other five minutes?"

Lyric shrugged, and buried his face in Summer's mane, inhaling her sweet – yet dusty – scent. "Does it matter?" he mumbled through her mane, "I just picked up some more supplies."

Summer leaned into Lyric. "Oh, not really… It all depends on the supplies you got. Oh! What is this hidden in the saddle bag? Could this possibly be the 'supplies' you were talking about?"

Lyric slapped a hoof down on his saddle bag and then looked at Summer. She was still leaning on him, but now she was holding an old Grand Pegasus Airlines flight time schedule that he had been trying to hide from her. Though she was blind, Summer was a surprisingly good pickpocket. "Hey!" Lyric exclaimed, "I paid good money for that! Give it here!"

Summer clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. "And here was I, thinking you never kept any more secrets! What is this anyway?"

Summer ignored Lyric's attempt to snatch it away and ran a hoof along the surface, feeling the material with all of its crinkles, rips, and tears. She then put it close to the tip of her muzzle and inhaled deeply. As she did this, she reported on the deductions she was making from the data she got from her senses.

"Hmmmm… The material tells me it was once a high-quality schedule or brochure of some sort… Yes, the ridges confirm it. As for the smell… It smells like… Huh. It smells like the inside of a Grand Pegasus Airplane! I remember smelling something quite similar to this inside the plane I was trapped in before you rescued me. The rips, tears, and crinkles in this paper tells me it has been under use for about… I would say about a year. A Grand Pegasus Air Schedule that is a year old? Why would… you… oh…"

Summer put the folded piece of paper down and exclaimed, "Lyric! You're trying to find about my past again, aren't you?! This schedule you bought is to help you figure out what plane I was flying when it crashed, and where it came from, isn't it?!"

Lyric sighed. "Yeah, guilty as charged."

Summer snorted a little in frustration. "But why? I told you at least a dozen times that I don't want to know anything about my past!"

"But remember what Mattimeo told you!" exclaimed Lyric, recalling Summer's confession about Mattimeo's revealing of her parents' existence.

"What? That they are alive and well?" grumbled Summer, in no mood to talk about her past, "I don't care! I want nothing to do with them or wherever the heck I came from! As far as I want to know, I was born of ice and snow in the Frozen North, and the only pony I want to spend my life with is you, not two elderly ponies who missed out on my life for who knows how long!"

"But they love you!" exclaimed Lyric, "If you were me, you would jump at the chance to meet other ponies beside myself who loved you! I don't know about you, but I have had my fill of ponies trying to murder our faces off… and here we are, about to venture into hostile territory AGAIN!"

"Well, you're not me, sweetie," said Summer, a little pointedly, "I am content with dodging danger for all of eternity as long as I am by your side."

This caring statement diffused whatever argument Lyric had readied. With a sigh he kicked a little bit of dirt over the old Grand Pegasus Airline Schedule lying unread on the ground, signifying that he would give up the search for information about Summer's past… for now.

At this point, the sun had officially set and the pony named Wind slowly scrambled to all fours and turned to look at his two customers. His face was the picture of bewilderment as his eyes fell upon two ponies, barely more than foals, sitting before him. To make it ever worse, one of those ponies was clearly blind, and the other had a missing leg.

"Oh my…" breathed Wind, "Well… H-how may I help you two foals?"

"I would prefer the term 'adventurous ponies' myself," commented Summer, turning her face to look in the general direction of Wind's voice, "Anyway, my friend and I are looking for a map into Agrinian Territory. We are looking for the Fireswamp Airfield."

Wind blinked in shock. Clearly these two foals had a death wish of some sort. "Fireswamp Airfield, eh? What for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Lyric, a little briskly, "There would only be one reason two ponies would go on a suicidal mission to find an illegal airstrip: we want to get the hell off this god-forsaken continent."

"It is true," continued Summer, "Ever since this war between Equidor and the Stallion Empire boiled up from nowhere, all travelling either by air or sea has been restricted, and the military have been treating its civilians and lowlife – exempli gratia, me and my friend – like dogs. Nay, I've heard of some captured mares being treated worse than dogs."

"It was indeed terrible," said Lyric, shuddering, "We are refused travel, and the military is tearing the inside of its empire apart. And thus, we want to leave this whole place behind for good, but the only way to do that is to travel to an illegal airstrip and find passage out of this place via illegal means. So, do you have any maps that could assist us on our little venture?"

Wind nodded his head. "I do indeed. I would generally charge 100 bits for any map of mine… But I like you two and admire your goal, so I will give it to you for 90 bits."

Lyric shook his head. "How about 70 bits?"

"80 bits."

"75 bits."

"75 bits it is, my friend."

Wind winked to Lyric and trotted to his small hut. A moment later he trotted outside with a large, ornate map in his mouth. He set it down in front of Summer and extended it. He then leapt into his post-transaction spiel.

"As you can see, my dear madam, these maps made from the finest material. Tough and tensile. The drawings upon this particular map is especially clear. See how I have marked out the safest pathways throughout the jungle, and how I have marked out the most prominent of the dangers that lie hidden?"

Summer blinked. Then she smiled sweetly. "I am sure I would be pleased with what I saw, Wind… But I'm kind of blinder than a squirrel storing its feast of nuts within a wolf's mouth."

Wind's old face immediately exploded into a tint of red coloring as he realized his mistake. "O-oh! My dear, I am so sorry!"

Lyric chuckled as he took the map from Wind. As he handed him a small sack of bits, in return he said, "That is quite alright. Summer is used to it. Now here is your payment… and I will take this. I look forward to finding this map VERY accurate."

Wind nodded his face solemnly as he pocketed the bits. "I used to be an Agrinian before I was banished for adultery. I know my way about the whole forest quite well. You will find it very satisfactory."

Summer got up and then helped Lyric up. As she brushed the dust off of her coat, she said, "I certainly hope so! It was good doing business with you, Mister Wind. Goodbye!"

Wind waved to the two young ponies as they trotted away from him, toward the jungle. Shaking his head in disbelief, Wind then turned about and trotted into his hut.

"So, now that we have the map, now what?" asked Summer, giving Lyric a gentle lick on the cheek as a sign of affection.

Lyric grinned wildly as he realized they were about to dive into a whole new adventure. Generally he hated putting Summer (and to a lesser extent, himself) at risk in these crazy ventures, but he could not deny the existence of the excitement that packed every second of a journey.

"Well," he started, "I say we set up camp at the very outskirts of the first southern jungle. We will sleep there, and then start off very early in the morning. Dawn, I would say."

Summer nodded wordlessly, and the dynamic duo trotted off into the darkness.

Notes: Writing about Lyric and Summer never ceases to please me. Their adventures are so colorful and meaningful that I cannot help but look forward to each time I plot another step in the storyline. At this time I would like to suggest you all check out my new story, "Still Mountains, Silent Valleys"! I really enjoy writing that book as well, and it is completely different from anything I have attempted before, so I would really appreciate some feedback on how I am faring. Speaking of feedback, what did you think of this chapter? Please let me know! Reviews are the lifeblood of a story! And I need a proverbial blood transfusion greatly! Just kidding, but seriously, you give me a review and I shall give you a bunny rabbit. It may or may not be made of chocolate.