Counterparts

Shrubs and Vines

"This is as far as the Prince has ordered us to take you."

The five of them were now back at the entrance the mares had seen the two stallions standing in front of before they ran away. The path that led into the trees was covered in shadows, however, the sun was high in the sky, so it made the forest not look so scary.

"We understand." Mocha said with a smile to them. "Thank you very much for escorting us."

"Of course." The purple guard said with a nod. "The Kingdom of Ethelin wishes you the best of luck."

"Thank you." Breeze said quietly before she turned back to the forest entrance. Her thoughts went back to her and Mocha's counterparts.

What do I desire? Breeze thought to herself as she stared down the semi-darkened path. How can I defeat my counterpart if i don't even know myself well enough to know my desire?

"Breeze!" Breeze was snapped out of her thoughts by Cloud, who was hovering in front of her and glaring at her face. "Finally. Welcome back." 

"What?" Breeze looked around in confusion. "Where did the guards go?"

"hey left while you were looking into the forest in a daze." Mocha said, coming up to stand next to her friend. "What's wrong? What's on your mind?"

"It's...it's nothing." Breeze replied. "I'm just worried about Feather, that's all."

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's alright." Cloud said. "Let's get going though. I wanna get to her as soon as possible and end this whole mess."

"You're right, let's go." 

And with that, the mares entered the path together, their mind all on one particular pony.

"OW!" Mocha yelped as the millionth branch snatched at her mane. "This is ridiculous. I'm gonna go bald if this keeps up."

The mares had been walking for hours and with each step they took, they were attacked and dealt blows by nature.

"You're telling me." Cloud said, trudging a bit ahead of the mares with her wings pressed tightly to her sides. "I can't even fly here. My wing got tangled in a really thick spider web. That spider was probably as big as us to have a home that size!"

"It's alright." Breeze commented as she walked along, using minor magic to push branches, leaves and webs out of her path. "We've been going for quite a while. Lets find a place to stop and rest."

"That'll be like finding a strand of hair in a pond." Cloud muttered as a branch smacked her in the face. 

"There's a clearing!" Mocha commented as she pointed her wing beyond the lines of trees to their left. Surely enough, there was a small spot for the mares to rest in. And it wasn't that far away from the path!

"Lets go." Breeze said, taking the led. The other two mares followed. Collectively, they all sat down their things and sighed in relief as the strain lifted from the backs. Cloud spread her wings wide, stretching them to loosen her muscles. Mocha did the same as Breeze sat down and closed her eyes, taking in the sounds of life around them.

"I'm starving." Cloud said as she opened her bag and pulled out an apple and a bags of oats. "Oh! These are the really expensive ones!" 

"I'd like to try some." Mocha said as she trotted over to cloud. "I've only seen them in ads. They cost at least 150 bits a pound!"

While the two mares enjoyed the over priced oats, Breeze began think again about the question that plagued her mind. 

"What do I desire?" She asked herself softly, opening her eyes and staring at the still grass that surrounded her. The sound of laughter made her look up at Cloud and Mocha. 

"What do you both desire?" 

The question made Mocha and Cloud stop eating and they turned to Breeze who had a concerned look on her face.

"What?" Cloud asked as she swallowed her mouthful of oats.

"What do..." Breeze hesitated. "What do you two desire?..."

"Uh..." Mocha looked at Cloud who in turn looked at her. The mares walked over to where Breeze was sitting, the bag of oats now forgotten. 

"I'm asking because I don't know what I desire." Breeze stated. "Feather desires a cutie mark, but what do you two desire?"

"I...haven't really thought about that." Mocha commented.

"Neither have I." Cloud  said, glancing away from the two mares. 

"Our counterparts are here." Breeze said. "They walk the same ground we do...which mean that we have strong desires."

"Well, we never saw mine yet." Cloud said, giving Breeze a strange look. "For all we know, I'm the only innocent one out of this group."

"What do you mean by innocent?" Mocha asked. She had felt a strange feeling from what Cloud had said. 

"I didn't mean it like that." Cloud said defensively. "I just mean that...maybe I'm...I mean...I don't know! That's the only way I can think to say it!"

"Having a desire doesn't make you guilty of anything, though!" Mocha said, standing up. Cloud also stood up and glared at the brown and white haired mare. 

"Guys, just wait a mo-" Breeze stopped as she stared into the treeline behind the mares who were now arguing. 

"If having a desire causes something evil to appear, It doesn't mean you're innocent either!" Cloud snapped. "Everypony who has a counterpart could be the cause of all this craziness happening!"

"Are you saying it's our fault that these counterparts are here?!"

"Guys, wait-"

"Maybe I am!"

"That's ridiculous! None of this wouldn't be happening if it weren't for that pony who started it all!"

"But everypony who's greedy and wants something so badly is just pushing it along!"

"BE QUIET!" Breeze snapped. The mares stopped arguing to stare at Breeze who was glaring at them with a serious expression.

"Listen"

The Mares all took a moment to stand in silence. 

"I don't here anything." Mocha commented.

"Exactly." Breeze said. "Earlier I could hear creatures all around...and now...nothing."

"it's like somepony pressed a mute button." Cloud said, ducking her head a bit and stiffening her wings. "It's making me feel uneasy." 

"Look up!" Mocha said. The mares looked up and gasped when they saw how to sun was moving quickly across the sky.

It was starting to set.

"What the hay." Cloud said. "Why is it setting so quickly? We haven't been here for that long."

"Whatever the reason, we need to find shelter." Breeze said. The mares packed up their belongings and got right back on the path. They began to trot to try and hurry to find a more secure place to pause for the night soon to come.