“What’s your name?” Jowy asked, not sure what else to say. His hideout seemed very small, now that he was sharing it with someone else.
“My name is Lunarstar…” She whispered. Lunarstar… a fitting name, for such an extraordinary pony as her.
“And yours?” She asked.
“Jowy.” Jowy answered.
"That’s a nice name.” Lunarstar said, smiling.
“You said you were lost?” Jowy asked, not sure what else to say.

“Yes, I am… where am I, anyway?” Lunarstar asked, as if she suddenly remembered.
“You’re near Guare village.” Lunarstar looked as confused as ever.
“So where is that?” She asked.
“Kin… this country is called. You didn’t know?” Jowy was surprised. It made sense to get lost inside a country, but how could she have crossed Kin’s borders without actually knowing where she was? That was impossible, right?

“No, I didn’t know…” Lunarstar admitted. Jowy was at a loss for words. Where did this pony come from? He looked at the pony again, and he realized he had a hard time looking at her. She was so beautiful, he felt as if she hurt his eyes.
“Do you live here?” Lunarstar asked.
“Yes. I live right over there.” Jowy answered, pointing in the direction of his house.
“Or I used to…” He added with a soft voice.
“You used to?”
“I… guess I ran away from home.” Jowy admitted, not only to Lunarstar but also to himself.
“What did you do that for?”
“Because I hate it there!” He bursted out. “My parents will never like me for I am not a girl, and because I’m not “fitting in” they decided to send me off to my aunt, to work in the mines! But I don’t want to, I don’t want to go there…”

Jowy was ashamed to cry, especially in front of a girl, and such a beautiful one at that. But he could no longer stop his tears. He felt so sad and defeated. Maybe he never had any hope for the future he had wished for, but now that his parents would send him away…
“So where are you going now?” Lunarstar asked, before Jowy could even ask himself that question.
“I don’t know. Nowhere. What are you going to do now?” He asked, trying to change the subject. He really didn’t feel comfortable talking about himself.

“I think I should try to find a way to get home. But there’s no way I’m going to get there, unless I can find some…” Lunarstar fell silent, as if she was doubting whether she should tell Jowy.
“Some what?”
“Well… I got here through a gate. I mean, I went through it to get somewhere else, but it went wrong I think, and I ended up here.”
“Right. You lost me.” How could you go through a gate and end up somewhere completely different? Jowy began to doubt Lunarstar’s sanity, because he could see no way in which that would be possible. “Well, it’s just… I can go through a gate, which can bring you from one place to the other, but I guess something went wrong because I didn’t end up where I thought I was going to be. And now I’m stuck here, without a way back.”

Jowy eyed Lunarstar suspiciously.
“So that’s like… a magical gate. Right?”
“Yes, something like that. You probably never heard of anything like it, right?” Lunarstar asked hopeful. Jowy could see in Lunarstar’s eyes that even if this story was utter nonsense, at least she believed in it herself. And there was something about Lunarstar that felt… otherworldly.

Yet her story triggered something in his memory. Something from long ago. He had heard of something like that… in a fairy tale of something, what his mother used to tell him and his sister when they were still really small.
“I know!” He exclaimed so loudly that Lunarstar got startled.
“You know what?” She asked.
“I heard of something like that! I mean, it wasn’t a gate, and it was only a story that my mother told me when I was a little boy, but, you know…”

“Great! Tell me!” Lunarstar was so excited that Jowy felt like he couldn’t tell her that it was only a fairy tale, based on nothing but a pretty story. Still, he began to tell.
“Well, the story is about a princess. Her mother is a powerful queen and had recently expanded her powers to the north, into the ice. But the one who ruled there did not agree and kidnapped the princess, and she would only return her if the queen gave up her claim on the north. But the queen did not agree and valued her territory above her own daughter. So the old ruler of the north took the princess with her to her own home, a island covered in ice called the isle of infinity. The queen’s troops couldn’t find it and the old ruler raised the princess as if she were her own child. But as the ruler had lost her rule over the north the power of the isle of infinity were lost, slowly but surely, until the only way for them to escape was to leave this world completely, and move on to another. Some say they died, but others believe they found a way to continue living in another dimension.”

Right, this is ridiculous, Jowy thought. There was no such thing as the isle of infinity, and besides, the north was just a barren wasteland covered in ice all year long. No one lived there, right?
“Okay, so how do I find this isle?”
“I’m sorry?” Jowy could hardly believe what he was hearing.
“Well, it sounds about right. To move on, another dimension. I have to find that place and get home.” The determination in Lunarstar’s voice shocked Jowy. She’s totally crazy.
“Right. Well, it’s in the north, obviously, but otherwise… no one has ever seen it. It’s a fairy tale, Lunarstar. If you go there alone you’ll probably end up killed before you even can begin looking.”

“You’re not coming with me?” She asked, disappointed.
“What? No!” Jowy exclaimed. “I… I’ve got to get home. I’m moving soon, right? There’s no place for me out there, and there’s no way I’m going to the north like this. I’m sorry, Lunarstar. I hope you will find your home again, but I can’t help you.”
After saying this, Jowy realized there was nothing left for him to say. He slowly crept out of his hiding place, and Lunarstar followed him.
“Well, I guess this is where we part ways, then.” He said, and Lunarstar nodded.
“I guess so.”
“Good luck, Lunarstar.”
“Yeah… you, too.” He didn’t watch to see Lunarstar leave.

Jowy turned around and began to walk back to his home. Or what would be his home only for a few more days… before he would be send off to the mines. That would be his future… He hadn’t even realized he had stopped walking. The wind was toying with his hair now, blowing away from his house, as if it was telling him to leave, to go his own way, even if that meant for him to go north…

“This is insane…” He whispered to himself as he turned around. He could still see Lunarstar walking, somewhere in the distance. He galloped towards her, but when he just reached her, something weird happened. Her mane became white, as did her tail, and on her head appeared the horn as one of a unicorn and on her back… two wings appeared. Jowy was so shocked he crashed on a stone and fell on the ground, making a lot of noise that made Lunarstar startle.
“What? Jowy!” She yelled as she raced towards him.
“Are you hurt?” Jowy tried to get up, but almost fainted again when he saw Lunarstar’s wings and horn. “I… no, but… you…” Lunarstar only now seemed to realize what Jowy saw.

“Oh, my…” She whispered. Jowy was on his feet again, staring at Lunarstar’s horn.
“You are…”
“A winged unicorn. Yes. I… you shouldn’t have seen this…”
“But I have…” Jowy paused. He sensed Lunarstar didn’t want to talk about it right now.
“You still going to the north? To find the isle of infinity?”
“Yes… unless I hear of something better.” She answered.
 “I’m coming with you.” Jowy said resolute.
“You are? But weren’t you…?” Lunarstar asked, confused, but Jowy shook his head.
“No. I’ll choose my own future, and for now, that is to help you get home safely. And if that means us traveling to the icy north, looking for the isle of infinity that only exists in a fairy tale, than that’s what we’re going to do. You with me?”
 He smiled, and Lunarstar smiled back. “I am. Let’s go.”