PyraohXBlaze - Lol I'd take a ghost pepper over the cinnamon challenge any day

DragonLovingBrony - Who said anything about another mare? Or a vampire? :P

U Dunt Knoe Meh - It was waaaay back in chapter 36

PBJFanFiction - 1st) Assuming there aren't any time-skips ;)

2nd) Sounds pretty tasty... I'll have to try it (I already have the ghost peppers)

3rd) Why does that surprise you?

Kyguy - Because I'm evil and I want to watch you all squirm as you try to figure it out for yourselves?

chipmunkfanatic - Yeah... pretty sure trying to take her with them wouldn't end well for our poor hero...

Guest - Thanks. Lol it wasn't my fault this time though, I swear!

xel101 - Perhaps ;) Or maybe she's just a red herring... Lol I'll never tell! :P

YvngMask - It's all good

Ponified Bacon Boss - Because it hates you... Thanks for catching those, I'll be sure to fix them after I post today

centaurus2 - But how well could Pinkie handle it... and since the root word of 'handle' is 'hand', would the pony version be 'hoofle'...?

coldshadow92 - Thanks :D

KillerWoW - Lol think about what? *bats eyes innocently*

Zero the Warrior of Chaos - Perhaps not even them... It's set before that

DragonLord RyuKizoku - Well, considering that only Wanate/Quickhoof can speak Equestrian, I would guess not a lot...

MortBlackthorn - Lol "Challenge Accepted"

landmoverman - Very good! Though no, this Falathiel bears no actual connection to Thranduil's wife; I just chose that particular name because I liked it.

Darksoul78 - Lol oh really now?

Mikalzilla - Thinking... lots and lots of thinking

A/N - Howdy everypony! I've got some good news for everypony; since I got some extra writing done, I'm going to be posting a double-update this week! In other news, I won't be posting the first chapter of my little side project this week, as I haven't quite finished it yet. As Always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

"Ok, so if I don't push myself too hard, we should be back over Ponyville in three hours or so, maybe a little less if the wind is with us." We were in a small clearing towards the outskirts of the village, with most of the Kokello gathered around us.

It had been about an hour or so since breakfast, and we were finally ready to get on our way. Many of the Kokello had brought gifts for us, from pottery to jewelry to weapons and even a young mare who wanted to go with us and act as my 'Potala', a servant of sorts from what Quickhoof had told me.

"And y'all're sure ya c'n do this?"

I shrugged. "I don't see why not… in fact, I don't see anything at the moment…" Both AJ and Twilight deadpanned at my bad joke. "Look, I practiced flying every day before all this started so I could build up enough skill and confidence to take Scootaloo up with me and maybe do a trick or two with her, so I should be fine flying in a straight line with you two. And since Falathiel can extend the range of my aurasight spell, I should be able to steer clear of trees well enough."

"And what about this?" Twilight held up a small knapsack with her magic, since her hooves were currently tightly bundled in a swath of blankets. "I thought we were going to leave everything behind for now?"

I took the knapsack and handed it to Applejack. "That's different; this pack has the flower we came here for… as well as a couple of books I found in the temple." Twilight's ears immediately perked up at the mention of 'books'.

Two Kokello mares, one of which being not only the one that had served us breakfast but also the one that had wanted to go with us, grabbed the ends of Twilight's blankets and wrapped them around me, tying them off in the back and securing her to my chest in what I could only describe as a giant papoose. Twilight grumbled and shifted around in the folds of her little nest. "I feel ridiculous…"

I could hear Applejack snickering behind me as she tried not to laugh at her friend. "You look fine Twilight; besides, it's not like anyone's gonna see you, right?"

She grumbled and sank lower into the blankets. "Of course now that you've said that, somehow everypony is going to see me like this!" I couldn't argue with that; that did seem to be the way this crazy world that I called home functioned.

"Relax Twi, it's just for a couple of hours, and then you'll be back home in our comfy bed with Spike sleeping in his little basket next to you while you cuddle up to me."

She sighed and poked her head out. "Well… when you put it like that… I suppose it'd be better than trudging back through the woods for the next four days or more. Ok, let's just get this over with."

I looked up to Wanate, who was standing at the edge of the clearing with most of his people. "Thanks again for everything; I doubt I'd have ever come back out of that damnable temple if it weren't for you."

The Kokello Chieftain smirked and saluted with his walking stick. "And you have made my life much more interesting than I would have ever thought. Safe journey to you and your friends, Negara, and may the spirits cause our paths to cross again someday."

I knelt down, allowing Applejack to climb up onto my back, and jumped up into the air, beating my wings to gain some altitude before making my way up and over the treeline.

I felt Applejack reposition herself on my back. I had decided to forego donning my armor, even though it would have made me stronger, in favor of making the trip more comfortable for the two of us; armor, even a suit as well-fitted as my own, wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear for any long period.

I could feel her lean down across my shoulder. "SO, WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN THAT TEMPLE THINGY?"

I cringed at the volume so close to my ear. "You don't have to shout AJ, there isn't that much noise!"

"Sorry. So, what was it like?"

"Well… to put it in a word, it was utter Hell…"

Twilight shifted below me. "I've heard you use that word before… what does it mean?"

I sighed and watched the canopy below zip past for a few moments. "Well… there isn't an easy way to really describe it. On Earth, it's kind of like what Tartarus is here; a prison of sorts for humans that did bad things in their lives… only, the humans that went to Hell were said to be tortured horribly for all eternity. The place was supposedly filled with lakes of fire and demons that took pleasure in torturing the humans that went there, flaying the flesh from their bones and tormenting them with countless other horrors."

I could feel both of them shiver against me, and I could tell it wasn't from the cold air. "That sounds like a terrible place Sugarcube. Why would anypony want ta do something ta go to a place like that?"

"Well, it's a religious thing, so not everyone believes it's a real place… and I'm one of the people that don't believe in either it or the God that supposedly sends those bad people there. Anyway, suffice it to say that it's supposedly a terrible experience, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, not even Nightmare Moon."

Wanting to get off the topic of religion after that, I spent the next hour or so describing the trials Quickhoof and I had gone through, deciding not to leave out any details since I felt that there was no need not to be completely candid with them; I knew my girls, and I knew they could handle anything I could throw at them.

"I-I thought those things seemed familiar!" Twilight exclaimed when I described my final flight from the temple and back into their waiting hooves. "But… something was strange; when they chased you out of the temple, they stopped dead when they got to the entrance, like they hit a wall or something."

We jolted slightly as my wings caught on an unexpected thermal. "Hmm… well, I didn't see them until after they'd already turned back into their stone forms, so the only thing I can think of is that there was some sort of spell in place to make sure the temple's denizens actually stayed in the temple."

"Well, whatever happened, Ah'm just glad them nasty critters didn't get ya Sugarcube…"

I reached back and patted the hoof that AJ had draped over my shoulder. "So am I. I'm sure I would've lived long enough to see you all again, but I don't know what I would've done if I'd had to live knowing that I wouldn't be able to see you again for who-knows-how-long… a thousand years or more maybe…"

I felt Twilight shifting around in her makeshift papoose again. "You mentioned that you found some books in that temple, may I take a look at them?" I knew what she was up to, but I didn't say anything; I didn't exactly want to stay on the subject of the temple either.

"Sure thing Twi, just make sure you don't drop them." I stretched out my wings and went into a glide, making myself as stable as I could while Applejack rummaged around in the knapsack and fished out the books. I had told her earlier which pouch was which in case she needed to get into it for some reason, and I was glad I had.

She reached over my shoulder, books clenched in her teeth, and gave them to Twilight. "Ah dunno what's coverin' that little book, but it sure feels a lot like pony fur…" Crap…

"Umm… that's because it is pony fur… and the other is leather…"

My poor marefriend started spitting and scrabbling at her tongue with her hooves, just like she had when she'd eaten the ghost pepper. "Ptoo! Why didn't y'all tell me that b'fore?! Ah had mah mouth on some poor pony's hide Blake!"

I shrunk back at her anger as well as the predicament would allow. "Sorry AJ, I guess I forgot about that… books are decorated like that all the time back on Earth, so I didn't really think much of it."

"Ya mean y'all cover yer books in poor critter's hides?!"

I shrugged the best I could. "Well, most of the time it's fake, but you'd practically never know it… though using the real thing isn't unheard of either. Personally, I kinda preferred the real thing; I mean, we were eating animals anyway, and a lot of the times their hides would go to waste because they weren't being used for anything else, so at least that way they were being used as more than just food."

I heard an odd sound coming from behind me. "Please stop, Ah can't take no more!" I didn't need a second guess to figure out what the sound was.

I shifted my aurasight back to look at her. "Do you need me to set down?"

Applejack shook her head. "Ah'll be ok, just… no more talkin about… that, ok Sugarcube?"

"Sorry AJ." I turned my aurasight down to Twilight. "So Twi, learn anything yet?"

She was turning the larger of the two books in all sorts of directions with her magic and squinting at the pages. "I… I'm not sure… this just looks like gibberish to me…"

I thought for a moment. "Hmm… Hey, I've got an idea!" I snapped my fingers and craned my head back over my shoulder. "AJ, could you look in the pouch where the books were? I think I might have left that magic-absorbing ink and a quill and paper in there."

She nodded and buried her head back into the knapsack, digging around for anything else that might be in there. "Ah found 'em Sweetheart, but what d' y'all need 'em for?"

I felt Twilight's magic envelop the items. "I think I know what he wants!" I turned my attention ahead as I waited for Twilight to finish her task. "Since Blake can't see the words right now, he wants me to copy some of the words down to see if it's in a language he recognizes; right Blake?"

"You got it Twi." I focused my aurasight down again as I felt her magical pressure getting closer, indicating that she was holding the paper up for me to read. It barely took a second for me to come to a realization. "I can read this! Quick, tell me what this letter looks like!" I pointed to what to me appeared to be a capital 'A'.

"Well… it sort of looks like an arrow pointing towards the top of the paper, but it has a line running horizontally through the middle."

I pointed to a lowercase letter 'h'. "What about this one?"

"That looks like a vertical line with a sort of arch coming off of the right side…" She took the paper back and started studying it. "Why Blake, can't you see them? Did I not write them clearly enough?"

I shook my head. "That's not it Twi; I wanted to make sure whatever magic it is that lets me understand Equestrian wasn't somehow interfering with these letters."

"Why do y'all sound so excited Sugarcube? Do those squiggles mean somethin' to ya?"

"I don't know how AJ, but that book, and I'm guessing the other one too, are written in English, my native language."

Twilight stopped turning the other book over in her magic when she heard that. "Wait… you mean you don't know Equestrian!?"

The realization was a big hit to me as well, but I quickly realized that it didn't matter. "Apparently not… but, as long as we can understand each other just fine, does it really matter?"

Applejack wrapped her strong front legs firmly around my neck, though not tight enough to choke me. "It don't matter a lick ta me Sweetheart! Ah'm just glad Ah know what yer sayin'!"

I rubbed her forelegs gently, since I couldn't hug her back. "I know AJ, I'm glad too… though, it does make me wonder just how different our languages actually are…"

"I could help with that!" We both looked back down to Twilight, who had stashed the books in her little pouch with her. "When I'm feeling better, I could cast a spell that would temporarily suppress the magic that lets you talk to us, that way we could get an idea of what each other's languages actually sound like."

Applejack shifted on my back. "Ah don't know… that sounds awful risky… Ah mean, what if somethin' goes wrong and ya can't reverse it? Blake'd hafta learn our language from scratch, and we'd have no idea what he was sayin' till 'e did…"

Twilight started to protest, but I rested a finger on her lips, silencing her. "I'm with AJ on this one Twilight, at least for now. I'd feel much more comfortable if we did some research and maybe talked to the princesses to find out exactly what's going on before any of us go around casting spells like that." She started to protest again, but I pressed my finger to her lips a little more firmly. "If we can find a way to so it safely, then I'd be willing to let you do it… and I might even have you do it for a longer duration, so you can teach me your language."

"Ya-y'all'd be willin' ta do that?"

I nodded to her. "I would. That way, maybe we could remove the spell permanently, and we wouldn't have to worry about not being able to understand each other if that spell were somehow suppressed, or even dispelled entirely."

The girls were quiet for a moment. "That actually makes a lot of sense." Twilight's outburst startled both Applejack and I, and I had to swerve to make sure she didn't fall off my back. "Whoops… sorry… Anyway, I'll have to get some materials together so I can teach Blake Equestrian, so it might be a few days before we can start."

"That's alright Twi, ya didn't mean ta give us a fright like that." I felt her lean her head down over my shoulder. "And y'all take all the time ya need… Ah got plans fer this one when we get home. Ah'm gonna make sure y'all don't even think about 'lyin' with other mares'…" A shiver ran up and down my spine as she spoke the last part, which was little more than a sultry whisper in my ear.

"GAH! Applejack?! What did you say to him?!" We had dipped down into a nosedive before I had realized that Applejack's whispered promise had caused me to forget to flap my wings.

Fortunately, thanks to Cadance's training as well as my own practice, it didn't take much for me to get us back into the air and back on course. After a quick apology from AJ, though she didn't repeat what she'd said, the flight turned into a quiet and peaceful event, with the three of us content to simply enjoy it.

I couldn't see the sun in the sky above us, but I could feel it shifting in the sky as the direction of its faintly warm autumn light shifted around on my body as we flew. I started keeping a watch below for a particular tree-hut so that I could set down and we could finally be done with this whole terrible ordeal.

"Hey Twi?" She 'Hmmed' to let me know she was listening. "Could you write a letter to Luna for me? I want to let her know what's going on; I missed my last few letters to her, so she's probably worried."

"Sure thing! What do you want it to say?"

I thought for just a moment. "'Dear Luna, I'm sorry I missed my last few letters to you, but I wanted to let you know I got the flower I need and we're currently on our way back to Ponyville. I have so much I want to tell you! I want to tell you in person though, so it'll have to wait. The good news is; the wait won't be that long, because we're heading back by air, if you can believe that! We'll have to stop at Zecora's hut so she can make the potion for me, but if all goes well, we'll be back home, safe and sound, by tomorrow morning. Love you always, Blake.'"

I listened as Twilight finished scribing the letter for me. When she was done, she gave it to me and I cast the spell she had taught me to send it to her. After that was done, the three of us lapsed back into silence.

"Ah hope we find Zecora's hut soon, Ah gotta use the little filly's room…" Fortunately, at just that moment, the very tree we were looking for came into my field of view.

As I circled around to start a slow decent, I realized just how handy my aurasight was; if I hadn't been able to see through the canopy and to the ground below, I never would have seen Zecora's tribal decorations and been able to identify that particular tree as her home.

I angled down for the final leg of the landing, and a few wingbeats later, we were down. Applejack promptly hopped off my back and trotted a short way into the woods, though I didn't keep my aurasight on her once she'd entered the treeline out of respect for her privacy.

I helped Twilight untangle herself from the mass of blankets, not failing to note that she hadn't seemed to sweat the entire trip, even though she was encased in the incredibly warm Kokello blankets. Right about the time she kicked the last of the thick cloth off of her hind hoof, Applejack came trotting back from the woods.

"Whew! Ah wasn't sure Ah'd be able ta make it tha whole way without a pit-stop! Sure am glad we got here when we did though."

With my two marefriends now ready, I walked up to the door to Zecora's hut and knocked lightly on her door. "Now who could that be at my door? Perhaps the human I've been waiting for?"

Derpy

I had spent practically the whole day trying to find out who broke the glass in the bedroom. So much time in fact, that I almost forgot to make dinner for Dinky and Scootaloo. I hadn't seen Scootaloo all day, but I knew she liked to play with her other friends after school, so I wasn't worried about her.

I tried to patch up the broken glass pane to keep the cold air out, but I didn't do a very good job; I tried using tape and some cardboard to cover it up, but the tape didn't stick very well and cold air kept coming in around the edges of the cardboard. I didn't mind that too much though; I actually kind of liked the breeze in the place, and as long as it didn't make the house too cold for Dinky, I was ok with it. I had just finished putting the tape back in the drawer I had gotten it from… at least, I thought that was the drawer I had gotten it from… anyway, I had just finished putting it back when I realized it was time for me to make food for Dinky. She was still sick, so I had gotten Fluttershy to give me her recipe for her soup.

I had never been very good at cooking, but since Blake started giving me lessons, I'd been getting better. I could make Mac and Cheese without burning the house down at least, and I could even make Fluttershy's recipe for soup without burning it… usually.

I made the soup and took it up to Dinky, who was laying under her covers, reading a book. "Hiya sis! I brought you some soup!"

Dinky put her book down, but before she could even say 'hi', her tummy let out the loudest grumble I think I'd ever heard from… well, just about anypony.

She scurried to sit up as I brought the soup in. "Awesome, I'm starving." I set it in her lap and backed up a step while she took the first bite. "Wow sis, this is good!"

A really nice, tingling feeling started up in my heart and spread through my whole body, and I felt really proud of myself. "Thanks Dinky… I guess Blake's cooking lessons have been paying off."

She grinned at me. "They sure have been. You should have him teach you some other stuff too! Who knows what you'll be good at?"

I felt a smile on my own face, and made my way out of the room to let my little sister eat. That wasn't the whole reason though; I didn't want my baby sister to see the tears matting the fur of my face, even though they were happy tears. I knew she'd worry if she did.

I heaved a big sigh when I closed her door and then trotted off down the hallway to fix myself something to eat. I went down into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of muffins out of the little covered dish I kept them in so they'd stay fresh.

I started munching on the muffins as I poured myself a glass of milk to go with them, and a tingling feeling went down my back as I realized that they were the triple chocolate muffins Blake had made for me right before he left for his trip. I felt more tears in my eyes, but these weren't happy tears; my heart hurt and told me I wanted Blake to come back, and what Rainbow Dash had said only made the feeling worse.

Before I realized it, I was lying on the kitchen floor, with my head buried in my hooves, bawling like a newborn foal. Why did Blake being away hurt so much? And why did Rainbow Dash's words make it hurt so much more? Was my heart trying to tell me something?

"Derpy… sis… are you ok?" I looked up and saw that Dinky was standing in front of me with her bowl balanced on her hoof. She was still too young to use magic, but she would be learning when school started. "Why are you crying sis?"

I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of a hoof. "Yeah… I'm ok Dinky, I just miss Blake, that's all…"

She set her bowl down on the floor and wrapped her hooves around my neck. "I know sis, I miss him too." I hugged her back, so glad to have such a loving little sister. "But don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back in no time! With ponies like Applejack and Twilight with him, he'll come back to us safe and sound, you'll see."

I sniffled and hugged her tighter; Dinky really was the best little sister a mare could ever ask for. "Thanks Dinky, I needed that." She grinned at me. I let her go and grabbed her dish and put it in the sink. "Now, let's get you back into bed! You wouldn't want to be sick when your Daddy gets home, now would you?"

Dinky shook her head, ruffling her mane in the most adorable way, and trotted ahead of me back to bed. I tucked her back into her cute little flower-print sheets and left the room so she could rest and get better. I was always jealous of her for still being a filly; she always had the prettiest sheets to sleep in, while us adults had to sleep in boring colors like white or blue. I went back into the kitchen, washed her bowl, and went into the living room to find something to do. I really wanted to go sit in that gigantic hot tub down in the basement, but I didn't want to be that far away from Dinky in case she needed me.

I decided to get out a board game, and after thinking about it for awhile, I decided to play a game of Horseshoes and Saddles. I remembered Blake saying he had a game like it back where he was from… I think it was called 'Chutes and Ladders' or something silly like that. I had just set up the board for a fun match against myself when somepony knocked at the door. I grumbled at having to wait to play my game, and went to answer the door.

I opened the door, and Luna rushed in, giving me a great, big hug. "Miss Derpy, I have the most wonderful news! Our beloved Blake will be home tomorrow!"