a new world hangs outside the window
beautiful and strange
it must be I've fallen awake
I must be

What began as a quick, defiant-driven trip to see the rest of the common lands had turned into a full-fledged adventure. The overall experience was far beyond what Wasp had hoped for, and she even made a friend through all of it. An unlikely friend - even better. The filly followed Ruger into the brush and tall grasses, her stout legs crunching through branches and pushing past thorny twigs as they found a slightly secluded place to rest for the evening. At first, the young Wasp was befuddled by their decision to stay here, out in the common lands, instead of just heading back to the Peak for the night. Macabre and the rest of the herd would for sure not take the filly's disappearance well. They'd likely be looking all night for her.

But on the other hand, the filly knew that no matter what she said or did, her mother and the rest of the mares back at home would not take to Ruger kindly. He was a stranger, and a stallion, and a former well-known name of the Lagoon - it wasn't that Wasp knew this, but the older mares would. That's three strikes.

The dark filly slept in fits. Her amber eyes would grow heavy, and she'd drift into a light slumber. Usually only to wake with a fright, her ears erect and alert, and her hazy eyes wide. Every time she woke, Ruger would be standing guard, never far away. As the sun rose, so did Wasp, shaking the leaf litter and dirt from her coat and looking to the painted stallion for guidance that it was time to go. A big, bright smile crossed over her whiskered lips when Ruger finally hung back, allowing her to take the lead. Her small, fuzzy tuft of a tail spun wildly over her haunches in excitement.

"I hope you're good at climbing!" She called back to the stallion as the familiar path they chose opened up to reveal the mountain in the distance. Soon they passed through the Peak's low-lying valley, and then the terrain and elevation began to change. Wasp hopped from boulder to boulder quite boldly, an attempt to show off to her new-found friend. Her nostrils flared as she breathed in the crisp, clear air of the Peak, and she smiled back at Ruger, watching as he took more careful steps up the rocky incline.

They scaled the mountain for some time, mostly in silence, pausing on patches of flat path to admire the view and catch their breath. Occasionally the call of an osprey would break the silence, its shrill cry bouncing off the rocky walls of the Peak until it faded into nothing. The path became narrower and more difficult to climb the higher they got. "Almost there!" Wasp called back after some time. She took Ruger toward the last, mostly-flat rock she could think of at the top of the mountain, standing to the side to let her friend step out onto the stretch first, and to get a glimpse of the Peak's most spectacular view.

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