Chapter 20: Stars and Snow 2

After a hearty Yak breakfast, Starlight and I left the walls of Yakyakistan, accompanied by Prince Rutherford and some guards as we lead them to the spring cavern with the statue.

"Once again, I must thank you for agreeing to bring us back to Equestria," I told the Yak Prince as we slowly moved up the snowy slopes of the mountain.

"Nonsense! We both Princes, Must help each other, yes?" He laughed joyfully, shaking some snow and forcing Starlight to hold on to a nearby rock, "It is least I can do for bringing discovery of Yak history to light,"

"Nevertheless, Your assistance is appreciated all the same," I replied to him with a small smile.

And it wasn't long before we reached the open cavern at the top of the mountain, the gentle sounds of the mountain spring trickling down the walls into the pond in its center entered our ears, and the relaxing smell of the green grass and soft moss on the floor, and the tall stone statue that stood in the middle of the pond.

"Magnificent," One of the Yaks accompanying the prince whispered as he looked at the statue, before turning to look at the open stone door at the back of the cave, "Excuse me, Prince Blueblood, but is this the door you and your friend here came from?"

I look to the door he pointed at, and nodded my head, "Yes," I tell them as I take steps closer to the door, "At the other side of the ruins down here, there was the cave where we came from," I said.

"There was also some large monster down there," Starlight chimed in, already taking a seat on the soft grass near the pond, holding her cheek with her hoof.

"A Monster?!" Rutherford yelled, turning to look at Starlight in surprise.

"Huh?" Starlight sounded when she noticed the eyes of the Yaks on her, before nodding, "Yes, There was this white ape-cat creature down there, we had to throw it off to escape," She explained.

"Indeed, We locked it behind the doors at the bottom of this staircase, so be careful if you plan to explore down there," I said and turned back to Rutherford.

"So? We have shown you the cave, will you tell us how long we'll need to wait before we can set sail back to Equestria?" I asked him, receiving a nod in return.

"Hmmm, I can ready ship to carry you in three days' time, Do not worry Blueblood! You will be back in Equestria before ten days pass!" He yelled with a cheer, quickly joined by the other Yaks.

"Three more days? very well..." Suddenly a thought popped in my head, "In the meantime, Prince Rutherford,"

"Yes?"

"What are your thoughts about trains?" I asked the orange Yak.

"...I'm listening," He replied with a smile.

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The Castle of canterlot was in a joyous mood.

Not for any celebration or event, even though Janitor Barry is getting married, but because news arrived that Prince Blueblood is safe.

Or, it would be more realistic to say that most of the castle was joyous.

Sadly, three Royal Guards were stuck spending the day cleaning up after the tourists visiting the public section of the castle.

"This is so dumb! Why are we being forced to do this?!" A red Pegasus asked as she used her spear as a tool to pick up the trash from the floor, grimacing in disgust when the smell of what she was cleaning hit her nose.

"This sucks, sure, But we also kind of failed to protect the Prince, I'm just glad we're not getting fired," The orange Pegasus said with a chuckle, that trailed off when he noticed that his colleagues weren't laughing along.

"Grrr, What about you Wildflower? Since Flash Sentry is obviously fine with not complaining, do you have anything to add?" Cherry Pop moved her attention to the green Pegasus.

"Umm, I'm also glad we're not fired," The larger Pegasus told his friend, "Can we get back to work? I want to finish this soon so I can buy my sister a present for her birthday next week."

"Ugh, Fine..." Cherry Pop groaned as she dropped her trash into a bag.

"It's Wallflower's birthday next week? Tell her I said Happy Birthday," Flash told his large green friend as he too placed the garbage he picked up in the bag.

"Sure," Wildflower said as just like his coworkers and friends, put the trash in the bag.

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Cosmos perked up when she heard the clip-clip of hooves on the endless space of stars and planets that was her prison.

"So," She turned her head to look at the now familiar form of the White Unicorn, "I think we were doing our introductions?"

Cosmos smiled, "Yes! My name is Cosmos, What's your name?"

"My name is Prince Blueblood Platinum," The unicorn told her, and her smile grew wider in excitement.

The first person in hundreds if not thousands of years that she can talk to, and it's a prince.

The Future keeps looking brighter by the day.

"Cool! Wanna date me now?" She asked him.

"No."

"Haha! Shut down yet again!"  She laughed.

Yep, The future keeps looking brighter and brighter by the minute.